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27
“Get Out Of My House”: Couple Gets Kicked Out Of Family’s Home After Prank Goes Too Far
Pranks. Are. Not. Funny. Not all of them, anyway. While some of you might frown and disagree, many people would nod their head in approval, especially those who’ve been subjected to a not-so-funny prank themselves.
Take this redditor’s story, for instance. When her brother’s fiancée made it her life’s mission to scare the OP’s husband, it didn’t take long for her to attempt a jump scare at him. However, instead of frightening the man, she got frightened herself after her prank went wrong. Scroll down to find the full story below.
RELATED:
Some pranks are not only not funny, but can also lead to seriously detrimental outcomes
Image credits: wirestock /envato (not the actual photo)
This woman put on a mask and set to scare the guy that was hosting her, but her prank quickly went wrong
Image credits: Kaboompics.com / pexels (not the actual photo)
The OP provided more information, clarifying certain points in her story
Image credits: NaturalGrocery3159
A prank can have a long-lasting effect on the person on the receiving end
While there are some innocent pranks that can not only be funny but even bring people closer together (that is, if they share a similar sense of humor), many practical jokes end in someone being hurt or terrified. And that can have long-term consequences, turning something seemingly harmless into something that should never be repeated under any circumstances.
Discussing the possible aftermath of pranks in a piece for Psychology Today, a clinical specialist in child and adolescent counseling, Dr. Stephanie A. Sarkis, pointed out that for some people, pranks can trigger past trauma or cause hypervigilance, not to mention humiliate them or reduce the level of trust between the people involved.
According to Sarkis, “Pranks may qualify as a form of emotional or psychological abuse,” which is why it’s important to think long and hard before pranking someone. While doing so, the expert suggests asking yourself certain questions, such as “Has the target of this prank stated they want this behavior to stop, or have they shown distress with any pranks?” or “Could this prank in any way cause harm to a person, either psychologically, physically, or both?” If the answer is yes, it’s probably best to abort the mission and forget about the prank.
More people like to prank others than be pranked themselves
Image credits: Parimal Jain / pexels (not the actual photo)
Whether you hate them or love them, pranks are not a rare occurrence. On the contrary, they are such a prevailing phenomenon nowadays, they even have an entire day dedicated to them. But even on April Fool’s—a day that you know someone will try to prank you—not everyone is fond of that happening.
According to a YouGov poll, close to half of Americans find pranks annoying even on April 1st; those under 30 seem to be the only age group that considers them more comical than annoying. Unsurprisingly, more people like being the prankster rather than the one being pranked; 46% vs 36% of the surveyees respectively.
In the redditor’s story, neither side seemed to be too happy with the prank after it took place. Not only that, their significant others got dragged into it all, too, resulting in a rift between the family members and the OP even considering not coming to her brother’s wedding. The majority of redditors didn’t think that that made her a jerk, though; the netizens shared their thoughts in the comments under the woman’s post.
She also answered some of netizens’ questions in the comments
Most people didn’t think the woman was being a jerk to anyone
Some, however, suggested that she might have been in the wrong about certain things
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What do you think ?
Mike F 1 year ago
An even better way to get your @ss kicked. The majority of the folks here are not armed to the teeth the way others sincerely believe we are, but if threatened, will not hesitate to inflict serious damage upon the person who threatens us. You come out of nowhere and "surprise" me and the first thing I'm gonna do is break your nose, then it will depend on how much time I have left before the authorities arrive.
Load More Replies...
Captive 1 year ago
NTA. That woman is lucky she's not seriously injured or more. The husband's reaction was not wrong at all. She's a grown woman and does pranks like a child and then cries when it backfires
Joe Reaves 1 year ago
And then we find out he's ex-military. Someone who has had a decade of being trained how to react without needing to think to assailants! And she thought she could make him scream? Jesus what does she think the military does when training people? It's all about making sure your instinctive reaction isn't scream or panic but try to disable or kill your assailant because in a war zone they're not going to wait for your instinctive reaction to be over and your conscious reaction to kick in. It would be a stupid prank to play on anyone, but someone ex military? She's lucky she didn't end up in hospital.
Load More Replies...
Insomniac 1 year ago
Who TF sneaks up on a MILITARY VETERAN of all people!??!!? She's lucky it wasn't far, far worse. It's a normal reflex for anyone to start fighting if someone attacks them in the dark, and a veteran is trained to do it very effectively. Sometimes you cannot know people's triggers and tripping them is an accident, but this was utterly stupid on this woman's part. Either she has a single-digit IQ or she was hoping to start some serious drama, possibly to break her fiance's ties with his family. Most people figure out in their teens that pranks are rarely funny and don't often have good outcomes. I'm basically an overgrown child and I know that! There are harmless ways to oscillate the excrement, but pranks are not one of them.
Kari Panda 1 year ago
I‘m inclined to believe OP‘s husband being ex-military is what prevented worse (though everything you said is right). He had enough experience and mental stability to keep his head in such a situation. If I had been in his shoes, I probably would have fought nail and tooth because I would have been in sheer panic. I doubt I would have realised the intruder was someone I know merely playing a prank on me.
Load More Replies...
Anne Nielsen 1 year ago
When scared/startled, there is a fight or flight response, it is an involuntary reflex. Your husband would not have had time in that instant to 1. Figure out it was her. 2. Figure out she meant no harm. 3. Make a plan to personally assault her. It is fight or flight. If they were in an enclosed space(garage). The instantaneous reaction was to fight. The word there is reaction. People have differing levels of startle reflex. One should not assume that everyone has the same level of startle reflex as you . To come onto someone's home and scare/startle them for fun, is very foolish. I have a HUGE startle reflex. Sometimes a simple greeting from my husband, can bring a very "LARGE" response. It takes me an hour to calm down the adrenaline. Thus I do NOT like being scared AT ALL. She needs to apologize for all her assumptions .
Nils Skirnir 1 year ago
By and large, pranksters are evil. And morons. All of them. And so are their followers
Vinnie 1 year ago (edited)
For the exceptions, know thine audience and keep context in mind. People have pranked me in small ways, which I don't usually mind (such as my sister pretending to look for "Villa Maria Peak" in a relatively flat area and asking for my help). Someone trying to upset me on purpose would p!ss me off.
Load More Replies...
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
OF COURSE there is a YTA... Fuqrightoff. Brother should have told wifey that that is how people get killed. She's a f*****g dumbass narcissist and I hope she decides to go NC with OP because they don't need that kind of negativity in their life.
FreeTheUnicorn 1 year ago
Skip the wedding. Go LC but let your brother know when he's ready to get away from her you'll help.
Xenia Harley 1 year ago
People HAVE been killed over pranks! It is incredibly stupid to prank someone like this. The brain goes into flight or fight mode, and the part of the brain that responds is instinctual, before your "thinking" brain gets a chance to catch up. People have shot their own loved ones, thinking it was an intruder. She needs to take responsibility for the prank.
Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
Two months ago, I was leaving the grocery store and walking across the parking lot. My neighbor (also shopping , I didn't see him) thought it would be funny to sneak up behind me and grab me at the waist with both hands and go "boo"... Maybe he thought he was being playful. I had no idea who it was and I elbowed as hard as I could behind me, caught him in the gut, and he fell to his knees. I was quite annoyed when I saw who it was, and happy I didn't turn and kick him, too. I didn't apologize but I did help him up and warn him never to do that again. He said "it was just a joke, it was just a joke."
Melissa Harris 1 year ago
Did you inform your jerk neighbor that physically grabbing someone without consent isn't a joke but assault?
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Melissa Harris 1 year ago (edited)
That woman is immature and maybe mentally unstable. Who ambushes their HOST, accuses them of assault then expects to be allowed to stay. Her reaction to being called out on her BS was like a child being caught in lie. Also, the only 'dark' person here is her. She wanted to humiliate and frighten the OPs husband IN HIS HOME. She wanted to be able to laugh at him after making him feel unsafe. She was a guest in the OPs house and wanted to degrade the OPs husband! WTF is wrong with her?! Don't even get me started on the spineless brother that wanted his sister to invalidate her husbands feeling and legitimate concerns for his safety and reputation just to make his manipulative GF feel less like the idiot she is. I'd worry about my sibling in a relationship like this, but he's an adult and has clearly made his bed. The OPs only real option is to ban that woman from her home and life and talk to her parents/family about what happened. Maybe someone else can get through to the brother that he's about to marry crazy.
Mike F 1 year ago
An even better way to get your @ss kicked. The majority of the folks here are not armed to the teeth the way others sincerely believe we are, but if threatened, will not hesitate to inflict serious damage upon the person who threatens us. You come out of nowhere and "surprise" me and the first thing I'm gonna do is break your nose, then it will depend on how much time I have left before the authorities arrive.
Load More Replies... Captive 1 year ago
NTA. That woman is lucky she's not seriously injured or more. The husband's reaction was not wrong at all. She's a grown woman and does pranks like a child and then cries when it backfires
Joe Reaves 1 year ago
And then we find out he's ex-military. Someone who has had a decade of being trained how to react without needing to think to assailants! And she thought she could make him scream? Jesus what does she think the military does when training people? It's all about making sure your instinctive reaction isn't scream or panic but try to disable or kill your assailant because in a war zone they're not going to wait for your instinctive reaction to be over and your conscious reaction to kick in. It would be a stupid prank to play on anyone, but someone ex military? She's lucky she didn't end up in hospital.
Load More Replies... Insomniac 1 year ago
Who TF sneaks up on a MILITARY VETERAN of all people!??!!? She's lucky it wasn't far, far worse. It's a normal reflex for anyone to start fighting if someone attacks them in the dark, and a veteran is trained to do it very effectively. Sometimes you cannot know people's triggers and tripping them is an accident, but this was utterly stupid on this woman's part. Either she has a single-digit IQ or she was hoping to start some serious drama, possibly to break her fiance's ties with his family. Most people figure out in their teens that pranks are rarely funny and don't often have good outcomes. I'm basically an overgrown child and I know that! There are harmless ways to oscillate the excrement, but pranks are not one of them.
Kari Panda 1 year ago
I‘m inclined to believe OP‘s husband being ex-military is what prevented worse (though everything you said is right). He had enough experience and mental stability to keep his head in such a situation. If I had been in his shoes, I probably would have fought nail and tooth because I would have been in sheer panic. I doubt I would have realised the intruder was someone I know merely playing a prank on me.
Load More Replies... Anne Nielsen 1 year ago
When scared/startled, there is a fight or flight response, it is an involuntary reflex. Your husband would not have had time in that instant to 1. Figure out it was her. 2. Figure out she meant no harm. 3. Make a plan to personally assault her. It is fight or flight. If they were in an enclosed space(garage). The instantaneous reaction was to fight. The word there is reaction. People have differing levels of startle reflex. One should not assume that everyone has the same level of startle reflex as you . To come onto someone's home and scare/startle them for fun, is very foolish. I have a HUGE startle reflex. Sometimes a simple greeting from my husband, can bring a very "LARGE" response. It takes me an hour to calm down the adrenaline. Thus I do NOT like being scared AT ALL. She needs to apologize for all her assumptions .
Nils Skirnir 1 year ago
By and large, pranksters are evil. And morons. All of them. And so are their followers
Vinnie 1 year ago (edited)
For the exceptions, know thine audience and keep context in mind. People have pranked me in small ways, which I don't usually mind (such as my sister pretending to look for "Villa Maria Peak" in a relatively flat area and asking for my help). Someone trying to upset me on purpose would p!ss me off.
Load More Replies... KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
OF COURSE there is a YTA... Fuqrightoff. Brother should have told wifey that that is how people get killed. She's a f*****g dumbass narcissist and I hope she decides to go NC with OP because they don't need that kind of negativity in their life.
FreeTheUnicorn 1 year ago
Skip the wedding. Go LC but let your brother know when he's ready to get away from her you'll help.
Xenia Harley 1 year ago
People HAVE been killed over pranks! It is incredibly stupid to prank someone like this. The brain goes into flight or fight mode, and the part of the brain that responds is instinctual, before your "thinking" brain gets a chance to catch up. People have shot their own loved ones, thinking it was an intruder. She needs to take responsibility for the prank.
Traveling Lady Railfan 1 year ago
Two months ago, I was leaving the grocery store and walking across the parking lot. My neighbor (also shopping , I didn't see him) thought it would be funny to sneak up behind me and grab me at the waist with both hands and go "boo"... Maybe he thought he was being playful. I had no idea who it was and I elbowed as hard as I could behind me, caught him in the gut, and he fell to his knees. I was quite annoyed when I saw who it was, and happy I didn't turn and kick him, too. I didn't apologize but I did help him up and warn him never to do that again. He said "it was just a joke, it was just a joke."
Melissa Harris 1 year ago
Did you inform your jerk neighbor that physically grabbing someone without consent isn't a joke but assault?
Load More Replies... Melissa Harris 1 year ago (edited)
That woman is immature and maybe mentally unstable. Who ambushes their HOST, accuses them of assault then expects to be allowed to stay. Her reaction to being called out on her BS was like a child being caught in lie. Also, the only 'dark' person here is her. She wanted to humiliate and frighten the OPs husband IN HIS HOME. She wanted to be able to laugh at him after making him feel unsafe. She was a guest in the OPs house and wanted to degrade the OPs husband! WTF is wrong with her?! Don't even get me started on the spineless brother that wanted his sister to invalidate her husbands feeling and legitimate concerns for his safety and reputation just to make his manipulative GF feel less like the idiot she is. I'd worry about my sibling in a relationship like this, but he's an adult and has clearly made his bed. The OPs only real option is to ban that woman from her home and life and talk to her parents/family about what happened. Maybe someone else can get through to the brother that he's about to marry crazy.
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