*
*We also included some stories fromthesetwoReddit threads.
NOTE: There are mentions of rape, assault, firearms, and violence in this post.
“I said a polite ‘thank you’ and started to walk away.
I was really uncomfortable but decided to be polite in hopes that he’d go away eventually.
I told him I was 14, and he said, ‘No way!
I would’ve guessed 18!’
I said, ‘No, thank you, I’m just headed to browse some clothes.’
When he saw them, he let go and ran off into the corridor.
The police came, statements were taken, security footage was combed, etc.
They never found him.
I was very lucky to get away.
That was 15 years ago, and it messed me up big time.”
u/OGingerSnap
2.
“I worked in a retail pharmacy that closed at midnight.
A guy came in and kept asking me questions like, ‘Where is this?
Where is that?’
He then asked me … when I finished work.
I said 1 a.m. even though I was done at midnight in case he waited for me.
I went back inside with the construction worker and called the police.
I never saw him again.”
u/veh88
3.
We, of course, accepted.
He went outside on a country lane for a piss.
So, we ran, not knowing.
Turns out, he used to drug young boys and sell them to men for sex.
He was arrested and sentenced to 10 years."
u/Intelligent_Job_9004
4.
“I was walking down the street with my mom when I was five.
She was carrying my sister, so she wasn’t holding my hand.
My mom is a superhero, though, and felt something was off as the guy approached.
A grocery store was nearby, so she ran there and called the cops.
“Nothing even happened, and it still messed me up.
Men were very scary to me for over a decade after this.
I couldn’t bring myself to trust them; they looked like predators to me, not people.
I’m really glad I got over that bit.
u/DaughterEarth
5.
“I am 33M, and this was in the mid-late ’80s.
I was kidnapped for a few hours with my cousin.
We were dropped off later and had to walk a few blocks home unharmed.
It was and remains inexplicable.”
I’m not sure of the timeline completely, but we were dropped off around ten blocks away.
Our parents were waiting with the cops because we had been missing for so long.
I still can’t explain it.
I’m not traumatized.
It’s just something weird that happened to me when I was a kid.”
u/808duckfan
6.
“I was seven, and I was at a state park camping.
There was a small playground in the park so I went by myself to play.
The state park wasn’t that big, and I was only a few sites away from my camp.
I was answering and didn’t feel threatened at all.
I went back to our campsite and never saw that guy again.
Looking back on it, I didn’t realize the gravity of the situation.
I had no idea what I was walking into.
I knew not to talk to strangers, but there was nothing threatening about the guy.”
u/nurse1488
7.
I felt terrible in my gut, and the hairs on my neck stood up.
They took pictures of me without my consent with a camera.”
“Suddenly, a lady appeared behind me and pretended to know me.
She took me by the hand and left me in the school.
Two girls from my school disappeared that week and were never found.”
u/Hannakey
8.
“A guy followed me back to my apartment the year after I finished undergrad.
He knocked on my door, and I opened it to a gun in my face.
I only remember scraps of the following three hours, and all of it is terrifying.
I watched him struggle to weigh his options and then take off.
u/Crixxa
9.
“I almost got kidnapped when I was younger.
I was 11 or so and walking back from my friend’s house with my dog.
Alice, come back!'
And she went and grabbed her dad.
u/Aliceinwondaland
10.
The park was right behind my house, so it was pretty close for reference.
She asked us to help her look for the little guy, and I wanted to help.
I loved dogs, and she seemed scared.
I was never warned about female strangers, really, so I didn’t think anything of it.”
The other kid runs off.
I thought he was running home.
This is when I kinda felt odd but still obliged like a fucking idiot.
Her car was across the park, and we started walking toward it.
That’s when I heard my mom screaming for me, running like hell to get to me.
The lady sprinted away toward the car and sped off.
Turns out my buddy went and told my mom about it.
u/Bross93
11. and that man bolted.”
u/MR-DEDPUL
12.
“My dad had an unwell ex.
Or something, as the police could never figure out who his stalker really was.
“One night, when I was four, I woke up to loud scratching noises outside my window.
It was her ripping the screen off to get into my room.
I couldn’t scream.
My brother panicked and screamed for our parents.
u/JadedRabbit
13.
“I had no clue I was being kidnapped because I knew the person.
I thought I was going on a trip for a little bit.
My mom showed up shortly after bawling her eyes out.
She was upset because my mom was with my dad and wanted to get back at him.”
u/ICONZxWILEY
14.
“My mom took me out of school.
She had my little sister and her new boyfriend, Raymond, in tow.
It was basically an extended stay at Gramma’s.
Though my mom wouldn’t let me call my dad, so that sucked.
I had no idea who these women were.
I don’t remember them calling themselves detectives or any sort of name.”
“Honestly, I feel they kidnapped us, not my mother, because of how scared I was.
[deleted]
15.
“I grew up in a well-off neighborhood with a tight-knit community and a somewhat overbearing local police force.
I was at the local park with family and friends one afternoon; I was probably ten years old.
I promptly ran away and told my dad.
He and his friends stormed over there to see what the hell this shady guy was doing.”
“The man peeled out, and we all looked at it as a close call.
Later that night, a police officer came to my house because someone had reported him.
u/Cool_Rob
16.
“It was a setup by my first ex and his best friend.
I was barely 17.
When I get there, he’s acting super strange.
Not distraught, but stressed.
He was also trying to come onto me, constantly checking his watch and phone.
I went home with a really weird feeling.”
“Turns out, my ex was a few blocks away in his car.
The plan was to kidnap me, rape me, kill me, and dump my body.
It was taking a long time.
This guy came into the building and stood beside me to wait.
I got so uncomfortable waiting there that I eventually went to the stairwell.
When I glanced down, I saw him chasing me.
I am thankful I was very athletic back then, as that likely saved my life.
u/sweetpoison02
18.
“When I was in sixth grade, I was a latch-key kid who walked home from school.
One day, I forgot my house key and found myself locked out and very bored.
Then I noticed they were looking at me.Staringat me.”
Between the front door and the driveway was a fenced-in area where the trash cans went.
The silver hatchback followed me up the driveway.
I was obscured from the driveway by the trash can fence.
I heard the car reach the top of the driveway and the doors open.
A man’s voice said, ‘Damn, the kid got away.’
They got back in the car and left.
u/JekBluffkiller
19.
I was getting the last train home, sitting in an empty carriage.
A big bald man got on and just started gunning it toward me.
I hid behind some standing billboards that separated the platform.
I still shudder thinking what could have happened that night if I hadn’t hidden quickly enough.”
“My GPS crashed, and I pulled into a parking lot to fix it.
A guy knocked on my window, asking for directions.
He made me drive to take out money since I didn’t carry cash.
I didn’t realize I was even kidnapped until I talked to the police later.
They never caught him, though.”
As I’m waiting, another car pulls up behind me.”
“A bald man steps out and begins walking toward my car.
He says one minute, he has to grab something to help and leans into his car window.
So glad I did; who knows what would have happened.”
u/DrPeterVankman
22.
I stopped to pick it up and found it was probably like five pounds.
That was strike one.
That was strike two.
I came to my senses and found the whole thing sketchy.
Thankfully, I didn’t stop fighting and managed to run away as fast as I could.
Looking back at it, it was extremely dumb to even get inside his van.”
“This was around my final year of middle school, eight years ago.
So I was like 13.”
VectorPlasm
23.
“My sister had a very close encounter that I think is appropriate to share.
The man didn’t realize (thankfully) that her door opened from the inside.
I took my chance.'
u/drob2094
24.
“I was working for a vet clinic when I was about 16.
A man came in a rush, explaining there were some dogs across the street that needed help.
I declined and jogged over to where I heard the dogs barking.
I found the dogs just simply barking in a fenced area absolutely nothing wrong with them.
The guy immediately drove off like a bat out of hell.
It took me a second to realize what just happened.”
u/mawfks
25.
He was about my dad’s age and started talking to me.
u/hellokiri
26.
So, here I am, an 8-year-old little girl, walking to my friend’s house.
Just as I got out of sight, I saw an adult man walking toward me straight ahead.”
I got the creeps, but I was pretty close to my friend’s house now.
I looked around and realized there wasn’t anyone else outside to witness anything.
He finally got close enough to say something to me, which made me run.
He said,‘Hey, do you think you could take your shoes off?
just, I want to see your feet.
‘And I said, ‘Huh?
And he asked me again to see my feet!!!
Y’all, I turned around and sprinted so fast back to my house.
I was terrified.”
u/sjbrazzy
27.
“I was 16 and going to meet my friends at the beach.
I got to my car, and two men got out of a truck a few spots down.
They just stood there and watched me walk in.
They followed me around the store and stood at their truck again when I came out.
I threw the bag in the cooler, and one of them asked if I needed help.
I got back in my car, and they immediately got back in their truck.
They followed me out of the parking lot and around town for about 15 minutes.”
toothpastenachos
28.
“After my parents divorced, my dad moved abroad.
Then he took us to the ferry port.
And that was about when I clued in.
and raising hell I was about 11, so my options were limited.
Security came running, and my dad took a swing at them and got piled on.
u/RaggySparra
29.
Maybe, like, five cars would drive by a day.
Even at that age, I knew I wasn’t supposed to get close to this guy.
So, I was like, ‘Huh??’
And he repeated himself.
‘I was just wondering if you could give me directions to this place.’
Next thing I knew, my dad came storming out of the front door asking WTF this man wanted.
He mumbled something about needing directions and sped away.”
They know you’re too little to really know how to give directions or help them do something.
Do you know the way to the store?
Do you know where (xyz) Street is?
If someone calls you over, you immediately come to get me or Dad.
You’re allowed to be rude and walk away from strangers.”
u/BerriesLafontaine
30.
A few minutes later, he passes me again from the front side.
I ducked into a side street and hid behind a bush.
A few minutes later, the truck drove by again he would have been coming from behind this time.
He was looking and looking, and he was looking for me.
I called my dad and told him what was going on.
So, I did.
When I was on the main street, the truck drove toward me, and the guy saw me.
I ran so fast.
I knew he would be coming up behind me the next time.
u/LizzardFish
31.
“Seven years ago, I was a dumb teenager.
It was 3 a.m.; I was walking home from a birthday party.
I was alone because the man that was supposed to walk with me said he was too tired.
This man approached me [and] offered [me] a cigarette.
I thanked him, but suddenly, I got this really bad gut feeling.
He asked where I was going.
I said, ‘My dad is waiting for me at home.’
Then, he asked if I wanted to earn some money.
I firmly and loudly said ‘No.’
He asked if I had any friends that would want to.
I started to walk very quickly.
I was just two minutes away from home.
And then, he started running toward me at full speed.
I ran and called my dad.
Told him to go outside and get me.”
“Dude heard it and stopped.
He yelled, ‘Will we meet again!?’
u/RandomPolishGurl
32.
“I was walking home from work along a busy street.
He was driving and slowed way down to keep pace with me.
I said no thanks.
Thankfully, the hotel guard saw me looking uncomfortable.
As soon as the hotel guard took a step toward us, the guy peeled out and sped away.
u/whelpineedhelp
33.
At about 6 a.m., I was chilling, waiting for the bus alone.
Her name was Ms. Francine, and I’m convinced she saved my life that morning.
u/cheesybiscuits912
34.
I stood out like a sore thumb, blonde and tall.
Except we passed many shops and grocery stores and didn’t go in.
It should have cost 50c.
At this point, I knew I’d been scammed and wanted to leave.
But she wouldn’t let me.”
“She insisted I come to her flat for tea as a thank you.
When I said no, she physically pulled me with her.
I let go and ran back.
I had no mobile phone.
I started crying.This country is one of the top countries for human trafficking.
I believe I was almost trafficked.”
u/Cutiepatootiehere
35.
This happened in the American Southwest.
At the back of the park was a gate leading to a parking lot and a gated community.
“I would have to guess he was somewhere in his 30s or so.
The man called me over to him.
He continued by presenting a pocket watch, opening it, and then dangling it by its chain.
‘I’ll give you this if you let me in.’
u/OdinGray
36.
“Ive only felt this gut-wrenching, uncomfortable feeling twice.
Both times, it was a sketchy white van.
I say no and dont answer anything else.
They rolled up the window and sped off.”
It was nothing that unusual, but it slowed down as it passed us.
Except they didn’t ask for directions.
They just slowed down as they drove past.
Then, they did it again.
After the second time, we were both slightly uncomfortable.
The third time, they slowed down even more but then kept driving after.
My friend and I looked at each other and started sprinting home.
[We] genuinely felt frightened that someone was out to get us.
My friend yelled at them to fuck off, and this triggered something.
We both got extremely scared very quickly.
We ran through a small path that actually led to the elementary school.
We hid behind a power unit for a long time.
They had come around the block and parked on the street by the school.
Clearly waiting for us to appear.
Eventually, they left, and we snuck back to my house.
I never walked around at night again.”
u/GoblinCat669
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
