It’s no secret that frightening or shocking stories often receive a lot of attention, hence the popularity of true crime movies or TV series such as ‘You’. But while the latter, for example, gained quite a few fans who were binge watching it safely behind the screen, no one would actually want to come face to face with a stalker.
Sometimes, though, one doesn't even have to come face to face with one, as they can turn to technology to disturb the peace of their victims from afar. On the list below you will find some examples of stalkers doing exactly that, using messages to haunt their targets, that show just how creepy dealing with a stalker is, especially when you know that it’s no TV series.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with a prosecutor and public speaker, Wendy L. Patrick, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about stalking.
This post may include affiliate links.
Persistent Online Stalkers
Sent Flowers To My GF, Stalker Gets Upset And Calls Florist Who Then Gave Them My Name
"A bunch of jealous drunk guys"... there must be some context here.
I Have A Stalker And He Left Me This Book. I’m Creeped Out Right Now
For those unfamiliar, the book is about a man who falls in love with an engaged, then married, woman. She does NOT return his affections. After toying with the idea of killing one of them so he can be free of unrequited love, he decides to kill himself instead.
It’s safe to assume that the thought of stalkers alone sends shivers down many people’s backs; having someone watching your every single move is disturbing, at the very least. However, for many people, it is a nightmare that has unfortunately come true.
According to the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC), an estimated 13.5 million people are stalked in a one-year period in the US, with women becoming the targets more frequently than men.
This Stalker Nice Guy Is Still Texting Me When I Blocked Him Last Week. Hung Out W Him For Almost A Week Before His Amazing Attitude Shined Through
I’m Actually A Nice Stalker!
According to SPARC, the majority of victims are stalked by someone they know, most frequently by an intimate partner—whether current or former—or an acquaintance.
“Although many victims know their stalkers, and many are in fact people with whom they have had relationships, other cases involve stranger stalking where the victims don’t know if the stalkers are on the other side of the world, or a cubicle on the other side of their office floor,” Wendy Patrick told Bored Panda in a recent interview.
Nice Guy Decides To Stalk Girl He Meets On Train. Then Gets Mad That She Doesn't Like Stalkers
One Of Many Of The Old Text Messages From My “Vampire” Stalker
Crazy Stalker Get Jealous When Seen With My Boyfriend
“Stalking is far more common than reported, in part because most people are unaware of the legal elements necessary to prove stalking,” Dr. Patrick explained. “In California, for example, stalking requires that an offender ‘willfully, maliciously and repeatedly harassed or followed’ the victim, making a credible threat of harm intended to put the victim in fear.”
Recently Gave A Dude Directions On A Street, Gave Him Fake # But He Caught On. I Live And Work Downtown And Am Easy To Find Unfortunately. Guess I Have A Stage 5 Clinger, Even After Rejection
"I'm A Creepy Stalker, But You're A Sh*t Person If You Don't Want To Stay With Me!
Asked A Stalker Type Guy To Leave Me Alone Because I Have A Boyfriend And This Was The Response I Got, Lmao
“Stalkers engage in their behavior to provoke a reaction from their victim. But it can be hard to predict who will make good on their threats, which is why stalking victims should report the conduct to law enforcement,” the expert continued, pointing out that stalking doesn’t require a months-long pattern of conduct; in many jurisdictions “two or more” times would suffice.
My Stalker Has "Endless Numbers" And So I'm Quick To Block Anything I Don't Recognize But Will Occasionally Check My Blacked Messages Folder To Make Sure I Didn't Block Anyone Other Than Him. I'm Mostly Just Posting Here Just Incase I Disappear. I'm Sure The Local Police Are Fatigued By Him By Now
"I Still Consider You To Be My Friend Even Though You Hate Me And Don't Consider Me A Friend"-My Friend's Stalker Of 5 Years
My Former Professor Got This After A News Short Aired About Her
Needless to say, being stalked is something that can have long-lasting negative effects on a person. “Stalking can be very traumatic and cause disruption of daily living for victims who live in a constant state of anxiety worrying if and when the stalker will make good on his or her threats,” Wendy Patrick emphasized.
I Guess This Nice Guy Is Also A Stalker…
My Sisters Stalker Of 3 Years With A New Number After Being Blocked Everywhere Else
Even if it was a random club promoter, I would still block immediately.
3 Years After I Blocked Him For Stalking Me. We Went On One Date. He Made 7 Fake Profiles, Stalked Me At Work, And Home. Also Faked His Own Death To Get Me To Talk To His “Friend” (Aka Another Fake Profile)
I'm sorry but WTF would you go out with a creep that stalked you for 3 years?! 🤷♀️
Two-in-three stalkers, according to SPARC, pursue their victims at least once a week; some even do it daily, arguably making the lives of their victims a living hell. And while the scenario is hair-raisingly frightening, there’s more than enough content based on it, from the aforementioned TV series, ‘You’, to one of the classics in the music world, “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, which, in case you didn’t know, was a story from a stalker’s perspective.
Back in 1983, one of the band’s members, Sting, said “I think it’s a nasty little song, really rather evil. It’s about jealousy and surveillance and ownership,” summing up the song, which could be considered somewhat romantic, if you didn’t bear in mind the backstory.
