There are those moments during one’s life where your hair stands on end for a moment because something in your brain is screaming “danger.” As it turns out, our good, old survival instincts are there for a reason, but if you still don’t entirely trust yours, it can be helpful to hear from others.
Someone asked “When was a time where your quick thinking likely saved you or a friend from a dangerous situation?” and people shared their stories. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to add your own stories in the comments section down below.
#1
I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but one time a friend and I (both female and in our early 20’s) were s****d and walking down the streets of the red light district in Amsterdam. A very creepy guy started following us and muttering obscene things under his breath. There was nobody around so we both just started walking faster and faster and suddenly he was too close for comfort, like maybe 3 ft behind us, and I turned around with a balled up fist and shouted “DON’T YOU DARE COME ANY CLOSER YOU PIECE OF S**T”. He was definitely caught off guard, I think he didn’t expect us to talk back to him or put up any kind of fight. And fortunately right then a bar keeper opened his door and saw the whole thing. He was big and muscle-y and he said “I’m watching everything man, leave them alone” and the guy slinked away.
Image source: ThedaBarasB**bs, Amit Ovadia / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#2
When i was about 9 my little brother and sister thought it would be a good idea to tie a jump rope to a slide to swing and then go down. my sister (7) went down but the rope ended up around her neck so she was dangling there. i quickly looked at my grandma expecting her (as the adult) to run over there and take her down but the poor lady was in shock she just stood there watching 😭 so i ran over to my sister and pushed her back up the slide which was not easy at all, especially with her body flailing everywhere. my sister ended up with deep cuts around her throat that she had to go to the hospital for and still has the scars from it 12 years later.
we’ve all moved on from it and my sister even jokes “remember that time i accidentally hung myself” 😂😂😂.
Image source: lxzxh, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#3
We arrived at a party with a friend’s brother. He got pretty drunk during the evening and then he tried to make us go outside to wait for him to pick us up when we were going to leave. He got really angry when I said he’s drunk and started screaming at us to go outside, like he looked like he was gonna hit us if we didn’t do as he said.
When we were getting dressed I took the car keys without him noticing. He got really pissed when he was going to unlock the car only to find that he didn’t have the keys. He thought he had dropped them somewhere inside and went looking and after like 20 minutes or so of looking he just wasn’t able to stay awake any longer due to the alcohol. Had we gotten into the car he probably would have crashed it.
Image source: anon, petr sidorov / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#4
I was in the kitchen one evening and my kids (3&5) were playing in their bedroom.
All of a sudden my oldest came tearing in saying his brother was turning blue.
I ran to him and tried doing the heimlich but he was so little it wasn’t working.
To this day I have no idea where the idea came from but I picked him up by his feet and swung him, like when do the airplane thing, and a steel ball came flying out.
It had come out of some toy and he put it in his mouth.
After we got back from the er I went back to fixing dinner and somehow that little s**t got ahold of another one and choked on it again. I had to do the same thing to get it out. I swear I searched all the toys in their toy box and removed everything single thing that could conceivably be choked on, but he still found another one.
I have both of those steel balls in my jewelry box to this day and he is almost 40.
Image source: SparkysJewelry65, Callum Hill / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#5
I was on the tube (underground/metro) late at night on my way to the airport. Train carriage was pretty deserted. It stopped to let people on and a man got on. He looked pretty ‘normal’ but there was something about him that set me on edge, I could feel my heart rate going up. He spotted me, and came to sit directly beside me despite there only being a couple of occupied seats. He never said anything, but he was watching me through my reflection in the window. At the next stop I got off (made sure I didn’t look like I was going to get off until I got up) because he was making me uncomfortable, and immediately got on again in the next carriage. To my complete horror when I sat down I realised he had followed me, he’d only just made it onto the carriage behind me before the doors closed. Again, he sat down directly beside me. I pretended not to have noticed him. At the next stop, I let the doors open, waited, and just as they started to close I quickly jumped up and ran off just in time for the doors to close behind me. I turned round and he was standing behind the doors with a face like thunder – he was so angry that I had outsmarted him. I got out the station and took a taxi the rest of the way because I was so scared that he would get off at the next stop and wait for me.
I think that’s the closest I’ve knowingly been to someone who meant me harm.
Image source: WrackspurtsNargles, Zyanya Citlalli / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#6
I was getting ready for school whilst mum was vomitting in the bathroom. She said it was just a stomach bug and to just go to school but mentioned her arm hurt.
Something didn’t sit right so i called the ambulance from downstairs.
They arrived and took her into the ambulance – she then proceeded to have 3 cardiac arrests and needed defibrillated each time. A double bypass later and she was up and about within a month.
Paramedics told me she would have died 5 mins after i left, if i hadn’t called.
Image source: TheKr1tster, Jonnica Hill / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#7
One time in the public pool I pushed a friend into the water because some (I don’t think I should be using that word here) teenager decided it would be cool to poke at a bee hive that was near the swimming area. My friend was highly allergic to bees and those little stingers were pissed. I didn’t do anything and was still stung a bunch of times before using my head and get in the water too.
MilkNegative1391:
Thankfully they weren’t wasps. Apparently they’ll wait for you above the water’s surface.
Image source: Agreeable_Hippo_7971, Kai Wenzel / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#8
When I was in high school my best friend had her own car so I would ride with her to school and back everyday. One day on the way home from school some guy was following us. She wanted to just drop me off at my house and go straight home. I didn’t want the guy knowing where I live so I directed her to drive to the police department. We ended up at the sheriffs office. He pulled up right next to us in the parking lot on the passenger side of the car. I was scared as s**t to even get out. I was afraid he would grab me. We both got out of the car and went running as fast as we could towards the doors. He got out of his car and started coming after us. Once the officers were alerted he turned around and got back in his car then sped off. He was caught a few blocks up the road. He was high af when they pulled him out of the car. He had d***s on him and some stolen property. His excuse to the cops for following us is that he said my friends car was stolen and he was trying to get it back. He was arrested and taken to jail. They filled out a police report and that was the end of it. To this day I am still glad that I didn’t let her drop me off and go back to her house alone. He would’ve followed her home and done God knows what to her.
Image source: riskykitten1207, Ryan De Hamer / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#9
I was a freshman in high school at a HUGE party of mostly juniors and seniors. By 11pm, the house and grounds were littered with several hundred drunk and/or high kids enjoying the free beer keg and several huge trashcans full of fruit punch and everclear soaked melon balls!! I saw a girlfriend of mine, so totally smashed that she could barely stand being “escorted” away from the party and towards a dark, secluded corner of the back yard by two very large seniors!! I knew whatever their plan, it wasn’t good for her! There wasn’t time to summon anyone so, in a panic, I pretended to be just as drunk! Grasping her hand, I was loud and persistent that she needed to accompany me back towards the party! She was oblivious to what was going on as they began to be physically and forcefully separate us!! I doubled down and eventually, they stopped and walked away into the night!! I KNOW I saved her from a sexual a*****t and to this day!! It is chilling to think about how, had I not been there, how quickly and easily she would have been out of range for anyone to have heard or seen her in distress!!
Image source: Blondeshvmorfun, JESUS ECA / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#10
I was on the high way driving with my learners permit when a semi came into my lane and hit the drivers side rear end of my car, swinging my car sideways in front of his truck l. I slammed my foot on the brake and held the steering wheel straight while he then pushed me down the highway at 60mph for atleast a minute. Mind you this is a 4 lane highway. Next thing I know my car detached from his truck as he pulls off to stop, and I’m left sideways at 5pm in the middle of the busy highway. I see cars coming, I hit the gas and get to the side of the highway my car is facing before the cars get to me. My mom and little sister were in the car with me, and we were all fine. Not a scratch, not a bumped head. Just a totaled car. Had I not been so clear headed and floored it to get the car off the highway, we would have been hit as the other cars did not see my car on the front of the truck. And wouldn’t have had time to stop.
Image source: not-so-desperate, Alim / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#11
I insisted on getting my dad to the hospital when I saw how violent his shakes were from his “cold”. It ended up being a liver infection that if left untreated would have likely evolved into sepsis and probably k**led him.
AlfredoQueen88:
I had a similar experience with my dad, except his was pneumonia. He had an actual cavity eaten through one of his lung lobes. He’s recovered well but he had to see a specialist and was considered for surgery. Thankfully the cavity healed but the scar is nuts on his chest xray.
Image source: thiefcandy, Curated Lifestyle / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#12
This happened last week . . . our family dog (technically she is my Mom’s dog I’m dog sitting) was attacked by two pit bulls at a dog park, completely unprovoked. The pit bulls knocked her down and immediately began EATING HER!!! I lunged into their fancy feast and grabbed our 12-year old, sweet lab mix that weighs 50lbs, despite me having a lifelong fear of pit bulls.
I could have lost a hand, arm, etc. by doing pulling her out of that attack, but that was the last thought in my mind in that moment.
She required surgery, stitches, staples, and 24-hour constant care for the past week.
Image source: anon, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#13
Not me, but this happened to my grandma when she was a child. She was born in 1942 and she was in elementary when this happened so late 40s-early 50s. She and her best friend were walking home from school and some man pulled up next to them asking if they wanted candy. My grandma didn’t have a sweet tooth but her friend was trying to go to the van to get some candy. My grandma pulled her away and they ran home. She still tells this story and knows they would’ve been kidnapped had she not convinced her friend to run home.
Image source: Jay_Boogie96, Nagesh Badu / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#14
I posted this a couple of years back:
I was at a wedding being held at a hotel. I wanted to go back to my room, so I got on the elevator. A man jumped in with me at the last moment and got my attention. I pretended not to notice. When I got to my floor, I got off, and he got off with me and walked behind me in the same direction. I thought “Oh, don’t be silly, he is just a guest like you are”. When I got to my room, he paused, walked past me and stopped at the door next to mine, watching me.
I finally realized he probably was planning to push me into my room when I opened the door. Instead of fishing out my key, I knocked on the door and waited. He also waited, pretending to fumble for a key. I knocked again, said “GEORGE? Are you still in there?”. I sighed and went back toward the elevator, and the man followed me back. The doors opened, he got in, and I quickly backed out before the doors closed on him.
I reported him to the front desk. I think my quick thinking saved my life or at least saved me from being assaulted.
Trust your instincts. Always, always trust them.
Image source: SueBeee
#15
I was 15 at the time, and on my way home from a friend’s house. It was around 6 pm already. While I was walking a guy greeted me hello, thinking he was someone I know or someone my mom knows (it was a very small town where everyone knows everyone) I politely smiled and went on my way. He started following me, asking for my name and if I was single and if I need someone to talk to. I kept on shaking my head and trying to get rid of him. When he suddenly grabbed my arm. without thinking, I pulled away and pushed him hard before running. At the exact moment, I saw a familiar face at the end of a street. it was my uncle’s friend. We weren’t close, but he was a 6 ft tall man with tattoos all over and was smoking a cigarette. With tears in my eyes I immediately ran towards him and called his name. He was startled of course, and it took a while for him to recognize me.
I told him what happened and when I turned around, the guy was staring and he had a very scary look in his face.
My uncle’s friend raised his voice at him and said “Oi! You’re harrassing my niece right here? You want me to beat the s**t out of you?”
The guy raised his hands and immediately backed away. Uncle’s friend took me to the nearby Mcdonald’s and called my uncle who picked me up since he didn’t have a car and didn’t want me to commute on my own.
I’m still thankful for you, Uncle Rod. Thank you for saving my life that night.
Image source: sunnynightmares, Artur Rekstad / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#16
I studied abroad in Prague, which is an amazing and beautiful city, but on one of our first days there a friend and I got lost looking for the college bookstore. As we wandered the streets we got further and further from the touristy/populated places. I noticed two men following us, so I made an odd turn to see if they would too. They did and I thought I need to get away from them. I didn’t know where I was going, but I began following the signs to the castle. I knew it would be populated and touristy. As we got closer, then men disappeared and I knew we were safe.
Image source: Embarrassed_Rise_423, INFOE Studio / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#17
Man started following me in the park, kept trying to talk to me, wouldn’t leave me alone. Even though I was a grown a*s woman of about 26, I saw a group of about five 16-18 year old girls in the park and beelined for them, pretending to know them. They immediately played along. Later they said they had been watching me and were keeping an eye out because they sensed something was wrong.
The man still hung around from a further distance, so the group asked me to accompany them to the shops a 10 minute walk away. We hung out and finally the man gave up. We hugged and went on our merry way.
Image source: musicmaj, Natalia Blauth / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#18
My BF at the time and I were walking to our car in the middle of nowhere at 3am. Forest on both sides of the street and not another person in sight. A car with 4 sketch looking dudes slowed down to where we were walking I told him to bolt. He didn’t want to so I bolted and he felt pressured to follow me and ran after me. The car stopped and guys came out of the car to yell after us telling us to come back. We did not and didn’t stop til we got to the car and drove back. The men were gone and nothing was there.
He asked me why I ran away because they could shoot us if they had guns. I told him no thug will go after difficult prey. Prison penalties are much longer for m**der and theft rather than just theft and mugging. If we run away if they come near us, they will find someone easier to steal from.
Image source: TwinklyLite, Giulia Squillace / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#19
When I was about 14 a guy stopped and offered me a free ride. It looked like a taxi, but when I got inside I realised it wasn’t a genuine one. So I played a ringtone off my phone and pretended to take a call, acted normal and said I was getting a free ride to the bus station in my “phone call”. The guy dropped me off, he seemed annoyed, and gave me a weird lecture on not marrying a rugby player (?). I can’t be sure if he was trying to abduct me, but it was the same time that two women had been attacked near the park he picked me up.
Image source: fjall_persika, Giulia Squillace / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#20
My friend was messing around on the curb of the footpath, and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a fast-moving vehicle. I didn’t know for definite if the car was headed toward us, but I grabbed my friend anyway, and I yanked her away from the road. A second later, it sped past us. If I hadn’t instinctively grabbed her, I think she would have been hit by the car. If the driver was going at a slower speed, it might have just grazed her, and she would have been okay – maybe she would have just lost her balance and not hit the car at all. But the speed the driver was going was far too fast, and it could have been dangerous. She could have been hit or fallen hard onto the road.
Image source: eppydeservedbetter, Eduardo Ramos / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#21
Me and my mom were at a market, and some of the men who were selling were really creepy. This one guy told us that he had “more shoes and bags” in another location, so we followed him (idk why we did). We went in this elevator and we were gonna enter the room (I guess it was an apartment, like an apartment and the market was on the ground floor). Something seemed really off, cause nobody else was going there, and it looked dark inside the apartment, so I told my mom we have to go back downstairs and leave right away.
I really think we would have gotten @ssaulted or m*rdered if we went inside.
Quick thinking in other cases when I have been harassed was running. I run really fast when I’m scared so I just ran like my life depended on it.
Image source: anon, Predrag Pesic / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#22
Back when we were teenagers (I think like 13/14 ish?), my friend and I were out on a snow day. These two men parked up a car next to us, approached and started chatting to us, we were polite initially but they wouldn’t leave us alone and I just got really bad vibes. I grabbed my friend’s hand and just ran as fast we could back to her house (about 0.5 mile away) down some alleys that cars couldn’t go down. I insisted we go inside and we went into her house.
Sure enough maybe 15 mins later, we saw the car driving around our neighbourhood. The men seemed really mad and were just going around knocking over people’s snowmen, peering into people’s houses, like they were looking for us or something. It was really scary. We reported it to the police.
Image source: destria, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#23
I was out with a friend who had 3 drinks max, I had none. She was acting off so I insisted on bringing her home. I rang the next day and she had no memory of leaving the first bar (1 drink) going in my car to another bar (2 drinks), being taken home or calling her boyfriend. A 14 hour gap in memory. So grateful I don’t drink sometimes.
Image source: Blackandorangecats, Kovina Đurić / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#24
When i was like 7 i was in my backyard with my brother and there was a s**t ton of banana trees growing there at the time so he was cutting them down with a machete.(he was an adult at the time) i was standing by him half paying attention when i noticed he was swinging the machete around in the air because there was a wasp. he then dropped it on his foot which immediately started bleeding, i was young so my general idea of how fatal different injuries wasn’t great so i just assumed he was gonna bleed out and die. so i ran into the house screaming “he’s gonna die he’s gonna die” crying and all while his foots gushing blood in the backyard and my mom was like what the hell? so i told her to go out back to see. our dad took him to the hospital and he got stitches and was completely fine. as i got older i’d tell the story and laugh about how dramatic i was but it wasn’t until recently that i found out the doctors had told him he was lucky and if he’d gotten there just a couple minutes later he could have bled out. so it turns out me unknowingly screaming that he was gonna die wasn’t so far off. i’m just glad he’s alive.
Image source: tanamongeau_, Natalia Blauth / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#25
When I was 12 my friend and I rode the same school bus home. She always got off a few stops after me. We decided to sit toward the back of the bus near the 8th graders (thinking we were bada*s) and this guy from the neighborhood (who was a year older) started chatting to us. At first I assumed he was being friendly but then he started to get more aggressive and make flirty comments. I was feeling more uncomfortable and I could tell my friend was scared too. My mom always told me to ask before having friends over but we both got off early at my stop and went to my house. I thought “I’d rather be in trouble with my mom than leave my friend alone with that creep”. My mom was fine with it of course and was really angry after hearing about it.
Image source: fatgoose52, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#26
Going about 35 mph on my dirtbike and hit a jump that launched me and the bike about 12 feet in the air. I missed the landing and was about to absolutely face plant while on the bike. Midair I threw the bike out from me and just took the fall. Beyond blessed to walk away with just scrapes. No broken bones or anything. But that was the one time my life actually flashed before my eyes,
Image source: Sloth-lover22816, Bradley Dunn / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#27
In Mumbai I went to the elevator at the same time as a man with a huge laundry bag. He was going up and I was going down to the pool. He got in the elevator and when it came back he was still on it. I step on. I select my floor. We go down a floor. an employee who has had a cart going to all the rooms stocking supplies steps on at the next floor and turns to us and asks if we’re getting off at the same floor. I said I’m going to 3. Employee asked stranger if he was going there too. Stranger ignored him. Employee asked him in another language. They exhausted words. I realized the man whose ridden up and down never pushed a floor. He was going wherever I went. When the employee stepped off I immediately asked him where the stairs were. It went like this: Me: where are the stairs? Employee: ma’am, we’re (insert high number) of floors up? Me; I know but I want the stairs. Employee: they’re this way. Elevator shuts and man with huge laundry bag disappeared. I started to shake and almost cry. I told the Employee I wasn’t with that man and we weren’t going to the same place and I didn’t feel safe. I asked if he would walk me to the pool to meet my friends. He couldn’t leave his cart so he got another Employee to escort me.
Image source: Unexpected_Genius, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#28
Was watching my toddler nephew and he’d found a metal straw somewhere in the house and started playing with it. He was just tapping stuff and waving it around, but I’d *just* read a story on Reddit about a woman who got completely f****d up by a metal straw when she fell and it impaled her face, so I took the metal one from nephew and gave him a soft, squishy silicone one to play with instead.
I’m not exaggerating when I say less than five minutes later, he fell like toddlers do and I saw the silicone straw all smushed into his cheek.
I had to just sit for a while after that, lol.
Image source: windexfresh
#29
Walked into a parking garage elevator in dangerous area of downtown (couldn’t take stairs), & standing in the far corner. He didn’t exit. I walked in. Then I realized that he was just “riding” the elevator.
He had a gang symbol tattooed between his eyes, his eyes looked strange, like he was out of it, & his facial expression looked angry/ frustrated.
I decided to act friendly, confident, happy, & polite towards him. When the elevator doors opened, he said “I’m getting in your car with you.” I said “I’m sorry, but you can’t come with me.” He aggressively declared “yes I’m going to go with you.” I told him “I’m sorry, but you can’t come. Have a nice day.” Elevator doors closed on him…
There was a story on the news the next morning that someone, with a similar description, attacked a young girl in the area of town that I was in. Who knows.
Image source: Risa–, Andy K. / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#30
This guy at the gas station pump next to me was hitting on me. It wasn’t super sketchy but it also wasn’t the best area. He was done pumping his gas LONG before I was. I got in my car, and something just felt off. Idk if I was being paronoid considering I’ve been followed home before, but it seemed like he was waiting for me. So I decided to wait in my car until he drove off except, HE NEVER LEFT. He sat in his car. Eventually he went into the gas station and I zoomed the heck out of there! I have no idea if there was truly something unsafe to that, but it felt off. Better safe than sorry!
Image source: carlyyay
#31
A female cop went after one of my friends, saying he was being ‘aggressive’. I already had my phone in my hand but I hadn’t started filming yet. I yelled ‘I’ve been filming for the last minute, it’s obvious he didn’t do anything!’ and suddenly the cop was professional again. ACAB, baby.
Image source: den-of-corruption, Daniel Silva / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#32
Going to the car on a side street around 9pm, a man approached from one of the more main roads and asked my bf if this is his car and if he could give him a jump.
As I had just been carjacked at gunpoint 6 months prior, I was wary and the gun he was holding in his pocket did not help my unease.
I just said NOPE and briskly walked in the other direction. Thank GOD my bf just follows me because I straight up nearly left him to die. He trailed a few feet behind me as I called the non emergency police.
In debrief, he has such a kind soul he didn’t think the guy was up to anything. He saw me start to walk away from the car and figured I wasn’t ready to leave so he just followed. I figured he would follow me. Bless him for his reliability.
F*****g trauma.
Image source: kitty_r
#33
Back when I was in college, a friend insisted on me meeting her new boyfriend at a local mall. The guy immediately made me uncomfortable. He was pushy, and controlling not just to my friend but me as well. We hit up the food court for a cheap meal and the man took food off my plate with his fork. When I told him no, he stuck his disgusting bare fingers into my plate of Chinese food to take more- all while making direct eye contact with a sinister smirk on his face.
She insisted that I should give him another chance, and dragged me to another college an hour and a half drive away to visit him. He was even worse on his home turf, suuuper pushy and kept making gross sexual comments to both of us. At one point he made some excuse to get me out of his apartment by demanding I go buy horchata, and shoved me out the door with no idea where I was going.
A half hour later my friend called and asked me to come back and I found him looking smug and her looking like she had been crying. I made an excuse to leave and took her with me. On the way home, she told me that he had put his hands around her throat and tried to choke her while they had s*x and kept trying to do it to the point she passed out which is why she had been crying. I begged her over and over to dump him, and even looked him up on the state circuit court records to show his criminal record.
Eventually I convinced her to dump him, and told her to do it over the phone because he wasn’t safe. She acted like I was overreacting, but did so and when she did he admitted to cheating on her.
Life went back to normal, until a few weeks later when the ex boyfriend made the news. The woman he was cheating with he tried to k**l. He waited until she was driving, took a hold of the wheel by force and turned the truck into oncoming traffic. I know he went to jail and she survived, but nothing past that. I am forever glad I got my friend to break up with him.
Image source: JustDucki314
#34
My friend was driving on the interstate in NOLA at night when a car with no headlights on was completely stopped in the road. She didn’t notice it at all until I screamed at her and she swerved into the other lane, narrowly missing it. It was bad either way because we really could have gotten into a horrible wreck swerving but thankfully no one was there. I don’t think she would have noticed the stopped car until it was too late.
Image source: OverallDisaster
#35
Once while a friend and i were on a walk, i noticed a man in a green truck staring at us a lot. made me feel uncomfortable. i pointed it out to my friend, and we kept walking. i stayed a bit on edge and aware.
later, about 40 minutes, we had made it to a street which no houses or businesses faced. this was unlike the other one, which was quite busy with business and the mall. we kept making our way to our friends house, by this time we had bags of food in our arms.
i notice that a silver car has pulled over ahead of us, facing us. my friend didn’t seem to think it mattered, but i was getting some really bad vibes and listened to them. i told my friend to stop, and had her run away from the car with me.
now, i know to run past the car in these situations so they can’t lean out and grab you. though i didn’t want to run past and already stopped car because i feared they’d hit us down with a door or something and grab us that way.
once we started running, the car sped after us. we started screaming, dropped all of what we were caring and my friend lost her shoe. i have us fake turn into a court, the car falls for it and makes a turn to go in. at that point i scream and physically direct my friend to turn around and run the other way. for a moment the car drives the wrong way on the street to try to get us, but another car starts coming and they instantly turn into the other lane and speed off. we call the cops, and run all the way to our friends house.
the cop didn’t end up believing us, and made us seem crazy or drugged out. told us this wouldn’t happen to girls our age (15) and only happens to small children. i knew she was wrong and hated that she said that.
later, my dad came and picked us up so we didn’t have to walk back. we were traumatized. didn’t know what to say. my friend still stayed at my house, as we didn’t want to be alone.
to this day, walking where cars can drive makes me anxious and i’m very aware of my surroundings. sometimes too much. so glad we’re safe.
Image source: cristynk**ljoy
#36
On holiday in Turkey two 17 year olds, my friend went every year so knew a lot of the guys there who worked the bars and stuff. This one guy (A) was extra letchy with me and one (B) with her, so one day B is trying to get us to go to his apartment with him to find A. My friend started to walk with him and I stopped dead in the middle of the street and refused to budge. I knew she would never go without me, so she stayed with me and B got *irrationally* angry. He had something planned that day and it wouldn’t have ended well for us if I hadn’t trusted my gut and refused.
Image source: carbqween
#37
Managed to get my kiddo and her friend off the swings and away from a man naked apart from a dressing gown and clearly under the influence at 10am in a park. Promised them sweets. Gtfo of there, called the police.
Image source: tinatarantino
#38
I was on business trip to Dublin with my colleague. We went out for the weekend and reached hotel past midnight. So we had to collect the carpark key from reception. She went down as I was the driver. While I was waiting alone in the car, a bunch of guys, clearly drunk, came knocking on my car! I was very scared! Shaking, I locked my door, and shortly after they tried to open my doors!!! I then honked and also stepped on the accelerator, to warn them I’m going to run them over if they come again!
And thankfully the receptionist and my colleague heard the commotion and came out. It’s really one of my scariest experience.
Image source: id_crisis1010
#39
Looking up criminal records of everyone who tries to date me. I’ve found out that several guys who tried to go on a date with me are convicted r*pists and one was even connected to a m**der.
Image source: Victoria5475
#40
A few years ago, I was home with my (at the time) 15 month old baby when someone rang the doorbell. Answered it to find an older disheveled white guy wearing an odd-fitting and overly worn-looking sports coat, sweater and khaki pants, claiming to be a local vacuum salesman. I couldn’t put my finger on why immediately, but my hackles were raised. He was friendly enough but the smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes.
He was extremely pushy in ways that even the salesman I had worked with previously were not. He kept insisting that he wanted to clean my carpet for free, as a demonstration- but he didn’t have a vacuum and all I had were a few area rugs. When he got a brief view of my toddler, he said he had a gift of candy for him and whipped out a dirty, questionable-looking package of gummy bears with no labeling. I told him no thanks maybe half a dozen times but he wouldn’t leave. At one point he ignored me and opened my screen door and got super close, almost as if he was trying to get me to back up for more personal space so he could come in. At that point I’d had enough and told him to get off my porch, and slammed the door in his face and locked it. I later tried googling his company and found no record of it.
I complained to my sister later about it, and that’s when I found out my sister had dealt with the same man a few weeks earlier. She said she felt pressured to be polite and let him and his assistant pressure her into a “demonstration”. Again, even with business cards she could find no record of the company, and even worse several high end pieces of her jewelry were missing afterwards.
Image source: JustDucki314
#41
In central europe my friend and I, both 20ish women from the USA, were walking from our hotel to a bar late at night. A man started following more and more closely in an ally so my friend and I locked eyes, silently agreeing to not speak to give away our tourist accent and not to show we were unfamiliar with the area by checking the directions on our phone. We must have convinced him we knew where we were going because he eventually trailed off.
Image source: flymysi
#42
This Tinder date still haunts me.
The guy was silent the entire date, besides letting me know *he was from the bad part of Russia.* He sat leaned over the table in an intimidating way. Finally I decided to leave and he insisted on walking me out. I went in for a hug *(dumb move I know)* and he went in for a kiss. *He trapped me with his f*****g python arms*. I was shocked, I did not want to kiss him. I pushed against his chest but could not get away. So I was forced to stand there, unable to do anything. *He yanked my f*****g hair back* to end the kiss and asked me to come home with him. I made up an excuse. I’ve been told I have a very earnest and believable face, but he looked down at me like he knew it was all BS. *And I don’t know what possessed me to say this,* but I suddenly said “I’ll call you.” I was like “yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow I promise” with a smile. He quirked an eyebrow and said “really?” and I nodded, repeating “I’ll call you tomorrow.”. Then he stood there assessing me for a solid minute and said “okay”. He kissed me again then very slowly let me go. We slowly parted ways, still eyeing each other, and I watched him turn his back and start to walk away. I watched him reach into his pocket and pull out his phone, the bright light lit up his face as he walked away… *I immediately turned the other direction and ran the f**k out of there.* While I was running I pulled out my phone and unmatched him on Tinder.
*I never gave him my phone number.* It was a bold-face lie. I was banking on him not remembering if he had my number, and I assume he pulled out his phone when walking away to check to see if he had it.
Image source: prettyxxreckless, Jorge Gardner / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#43
My horse got caught on the fence and started freaking out (bucking, kicking, pulling away, rearing), my mother was standing by her right next to the shed (which was off the ground by about 50cm). I was about 5 metres away and saw what was going on. The horse was so close to kicking my mother who had bad hips and mother was just standing there not getting out of the way so I yelled “get in the f*cking shed!” So she wouldn’t get hurt or trampled. I calmed the horse down and then asked her why she didn’t get out of the way and she said she was just shocked and froze and if I hadn’t have yelled at her she wouldn’t have known what to do in that moment. Idiot I tell you!
Image source: shockolat19, Mahmoud Ayad / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#44
One time I was walking home and I decided last minute to stay on the sidewalk a couple of seconds more and a car came whizzing by in a hurry.
Image source: Cheap_Honeydew2986
#45
Followed into a parking garage on campus by a man who was angry that I made him look bad in front of our grad school cohort because he was unprepared, rude, and extremely arrogant about it. It was late-ish at night. I had the feeling someone was behind me as I was walking and turned around and found that he had followed me in. I never saw him until that moment so I don’t know if he’d been following me the whole time or just happened to see me and made the decision.
The look in his eyes was terrifying. I just knew that if I kept going toward my car he was going to try something and if I couldn’t get away and fight him off, I was probably going to die. I ran in the opposite direction, making a huge scene. He wasn’t expecting me to do that by the panicked look on my face.
University police came and took a report and escorted me home. My department was put on alert. He was booted out of our program 6 months later for threatening his female adviser.
Image source: AnyQuantity1
#46
When self-check out lanes started popping up in 2012 I was in the long line that breaks into four registers at a meijer. There were three working and one blinking distress. The biker dude behind me told me to go and I told him “no that one is closed” he bristled and says thru gritted teeth “it’s open just f**king go” and I said “maybe you’re not used to being told ‘no’ but YOU don’t tell ME what to do. Ok??” He said “you better shut your mouth and learn your place woman”. At this point another line opened and I went and checked out. After I realized the guy wasn’t around despite having been behind me. I only had two items. He should STILL be HERE. I asked a manager to walk me to my car. The biker was waiting for me in the delivery truck alley (sans groceries) his face when he saw I was accompanied was RAGE he was gonna teach me to sass him. I know it.
Image source: NeitherWait5587
#47
In 2020/2021, my ex and I were walking back his car after a date night. It was a great evening, but something was off. I turned around a couple of times and noticed that the same man had been walking behind us for a while. I told my ex about it, but he didn’t take it seriously. He did martial arts growing up, and we were in his home city (having met and studied abroad), so he wasn’t worried at all.
I insisted that the man was following us and pressured my ex into approaching a couple of guys who were hanging out outside their bar to explain the situation. They confirmed that it did look like the man was tailing us. So we asked them to accompany us to our car, which they were kind enough to do. The man immediately stopped walking behind us and started dawdling in the street.
One of the bar guys accompanying us took a dig at my ex, saying that he should’ve “been a man” and protected me. I told my ex that what he said was beyond bulls**t because a single person simply doesn’t follow two people unless he’s certain he can keep both of them under control, especially if one of the two is a man. I was convinced the man following us had a weapon of some kind on him and I wasn’t about to take a chance on our lives. Toxic masculinity will have men shaming each other for not risking getting stabbed to death.
Image source: IllustriousAd3002
#48
A little over 10 years ago when I was 18, I was walking back home alone around 5pm from the train station. It was a hot summer day and still very bright out. I had my earphones in and was listening to music on my phone. The walk was a short 9 minutes from the station to my house.
On the way back, I was leisurely crossing a pedestrian light. When the pedestrian light went green adjacent to mine, from the corner of my eye I noticed a group of 3 men crossing very quickly. Immediately, I thought to myself how unusual that was when the light had just turned green. This was a suburban area so unlike the city, people aren’t usually in a rush.
As I turned into my street, I could feel the presence of 3 men behind me. There was a lady walking in front of me so I wasn’t too worried, but I noticed her speed was picking up. She turned left into a side street and I kept walking straight.
I turned around to see the 3 men trailing behind me. It was still very sunny but I was alone now. At this point I was 90% certain they were following me because why were they so quick to cross the green light but now walking at a normal speed behind me?
I subtly called my older brother to see if he was home. I didn’t want the men following me to know I was calling someone in case they jumped into action faster. My parents were overseas at the time so it was just me and my brother. He told me he was home but leaving in 15 minutes to hang out with his friends. I explained to him through the microphone of my earphones that I thought I was being followed and pleaded him to come out of our house and cross the road to meet me.
I kept my brother on the phone and decided to cross the road to put some distance between me and the men and to see if they would continue following me. One of them crossed the road and the other two stayed on the other side.
I was 99% certain they were following me but a part of me was still in disbelief because my mum walks to the shops almost every day in my suburb and it’s always been a relatively safe neighbourhood. She still does to this day.
To seal my gut feeling, I bent down and pretended to tie my shoelace. All 3 men slowed down and I had zero doubts I was being followed at this point.
The 2 men on the other side of the road started to drift apart. They went from walking together to triangulating me so I was surrounded. The lone man who was behind me was picking up his pace.
In the distance, I saw my brother finally come out of the house and cross the road. From the moment I called him to when he came out, it was probably only around 3 minutes but it felt like a lifetime. I rushed to him and held onto his arm, relieved I was with someone safe and that I wasn’t alone anymore.
The man behind me realised I was with someone I knew and walked past us. My brother and I watched him and the other two men across the road until they were completely out of sight. I was afraid to enter our house in case they came back and saw where I lived.
During that time, I also noticed the lady who was in front of me at the beginning of the ordeal had come back onto my street. She must have also noticed the men were following one of us and turned into another street to lose them.
My brother sat me in his car and I burst into tears. I don’t know what would have happened if my brother wasn’t home and those men had caught up to me. My brother’s friend came to pick him up for their hangout and he told his friend about the men following me. They circled our block in his friend’s car a few times to see if the men were still around but they were gone.
It was such a short moment and fairly long ago but I still remember what happened vividly. I was afraid to walk to that train station for a while and went to another one after that.
Image source: qwertyvm
#49
Putting only one of my work shoes in the hotel safe along with my valuables. Literally has stopped me in my tracks from forgetting my wallet and passport in a different country.
Image source: rangacurls
#50
I used to always carry a small high powered flashlight in my pocket. One day my wife had to go to the ER. She was having problems with her feminine bits. Her gyno was called, and during the exam, my wife began to bleed out. The ER was insufficiently equipped as far as portable light sources on hand, and on a whim, as her doctor stepped out of the room, looking panicked, I made a snap decision, pulled that flashlight from my pocket, and offered it to the doctor. I showed her how to operate it, and to make a long story short, that $5 flashlight saved my wife’s life by making it possible for her doctor to find the bleed and stop it. It didn’t save my a*s, but it saved the life of the woman I love more than life itself.
Image source: RudeAndSarcastic
#51
My friend and his wife were having their first child. They had gotten a big packet of information and paperwork to fillout before the due date to make things easier. There were also brochures for genetic testing and other thing that could be done, and one of the things was about saving the cord blood. My friend said that he looked at the front of the brochure and his wife asked if they should do it (it is not cheap, a couple thousand $ to save it and a few hundred a year after that), and my friend said “yes.” Their daughter was born later that year. Three years after her birth, they had a boy, and he was born with an immune disorder (no white cells), and his big sisters cord blood and stem cells were used as a treatment.
Image source: Temporary-Good9696
#52
This guy was following us, causing us to increase our pace (which he continually matched). Suddenly a part of me snapped, and I just turned around and stared him down, almost daring him to come closer. He very promptly crossed the road and disappeared.
I’m hindsight I was quite lucky, I don’t know what I would have done if he took that as the opportunity to attack me.
But I swear to god half of these creeps just enjoy seeing us visibly terrified of their presence, and they never expect a retaliation.
Image source: GoFletchYourself
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