There are creepers in our midst. Sometimes, they are the most unassuming types.
Lone straphangers on a semi-crowded subway are a dime-a-dozen, and they seem to mind their own business.
But when you notice out of your peripheral a person staring at you and grabbing their crotch, well, it's time to either get off at the next stop or move to another car.
Yeah, it happens.
Curious to hear about creepy encounters from strangers on the internet, Redditor T3H9 asked:
"What's the creepiest thing you caught someone doing?"
How well do you know your friends? These Redditors wished they could unlearn some things while others realized it's been too long since they've last seen acquaintances from the past.
Human Lollipop
When I was 13, I went to a friends house. He put his dog under his bed covers and made the dog lick his nipples repeatedly."
."...needless to say, I didn't go back to his house again."
Kid Sister Has Your Back
"I was in my bed then my 5 year old sister came in and said my name, i didnt say anything back, shes went into the bed and started licking my back."
Long-Haired Stalker
"When we were about 18 years old my friend Rich was telling me he was being followed by a strange dude with long hair, beard and mustache. He said he would turn around and see the guy following him from a distance. At night Rich would look out his front window and see the guy standing in the middle of the road staring at his house. 2 weeks later we finished up our band practice in our lead guitarist's back yard and Rich left to put his amp in his car. A few moments later Rich came running back terrified saying the bearded guy was out front and that he was coming through the gate to the backyard. I saw the creep come in and he asked 'Rich?' a few times. Rich asked who he was and he said 'Doug.' They had been schoolmates but Doug had moved away for a few years and grew his hair long. Rich asked him why he didn't say anything earlier and Doug said he was nervous about approaching Rich because he wasn't sure it was him. So he just stalked him for 2 weeks and Rich was terrified the entire time."
Lurkers and stalkers are unnerving, but these creeps have gone way too far.
Bad Photographer
"I caught some weird dude pointing his phone up a lady's skirt in the produce section. I went to confront him and he took off. I told the lady and she just freaking laughed it off...wth?? Told security and they were just like 'oh' like he was a regular problem in the store. Totally f**ed up."
– Marjie94
People Break Down The Creepiest Research Holes They've Ever Fallen Down | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Malicious Bar Patron
"I watched a guy ghost up to the bar while I was drinking with friends, drop something into a girls drink and fade back into the crowd. Super stealthy and if I hadn't been looking down at the bar I wouldn't have caught it."
"Notified the bartender, and the girl. He exchanged the drink, no questions, the bouncer asked me some questions about the guy, and I never found out how it ended up. Scary how fast it happened."
Creepy Dad
"I was in bed lounging around in my former boyfriends house (who lived with his parents at the time), and I heard a knock. I ignored it because I was too sleepy to care. Then I heard the door open a crack."
"Maybe it was instinct, but I knew I was being stared at. I opened one of my eyes slightly and saw my boyfriend's dad peeking at me through the crack in the door."
"We locked gazes and he scurried off, awkwardly."
"I never returned to that house again, and never told anyone."
Safe Dining
"Ok, nobody is going to believe this, but I swear on my life, in roughly 1990, on a greyhound bus, I saw an old lady unwrap and eat a condom. It haunts me to this day…"
Stabbing Witness
"I was serving at a soup kitchen in high school and something shiny caught my eye out the window. I looked and saw a guy holding what looked like a knife and polishing it. About 5 seconds later he lunges out of the bush and stabs a guy minding his own business who was waiting in line for the kitchen to open. No idea what happened to the victim but the whole thing played in slo mo, it was awful. Looking back it seems obvious what was about to happen, but I was like, 15 at the time?"
Some people are neighborly by nature. But there ought to be limitations.
Neighbor At The Loo
"Once I was taking a sh*t in a public restroom and heard weird noises, so I looked under the stall to check the feet of the dude next to me. I'm not sure why, I just did it to be safe. Turns out the dude next to me was checking at the exact same time I was. It was so f'king awkward as we made eye contact nearly upside down by our underwear. I guess it was weird for both of us."
High-Tech Toilet Stall
"Oh man kind of similar story... I was in Germany with my wife, we decided to take a break from sight seeing to just have a pastry and go to the bathroom. We go to this nice restaurant in the city square, my wife orders for us and I run to the bathroom. The stall doors to the bathrooms were clear glass and when you closed the door and locked it the doors would frost over so you couldn't see into the stall but you could see out. Anyway a guy, mid sh*t hadn't locked his stall door just closed it. The dude literally just made bizarre faces at me while I pooped, making direct eye contact the entire time while I was at the urinal. He had no idea I could see him though and it took my entire being to not laugh hysterically."
– The-loon
Looky Loo
"My neighbor stands in the backyard and stares through my windows. She also stands outside my apartment door and occasionally follows me into town and into stores."
"She's a well known creep in town but nothing can be done really because that's as far as she ever takes it also, my state doesnt have great stalking laws so the police can't touch her either."
You would think crowded subways would be places for creeps to avoid doing their pervy things. But being caught must be an added thrill for such offenders.
A friend of mine was literally groped by a strap hanger as she and I boarded the packed subway car.
She yelled directly, at him, "Did you just grab my A**???"
The non-reactive not-so-gentleman just stood there as every passenger glared at him for his ride of shame.
Although we doubted he needed to get off at the next stop, it was good to see him haul his own a** off the train.
Creeps, beware. You never know who won't put up with your handsy proclivities.