Category: psychology

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The Story Behind Bloody Mary and Why We Think We See Stuff in Mirrors

Bloody Mary is more than a character. She’s a Halloween (or anytime) tradition amongst young people. You dare each other and egg your friends on until one of you is brave enough to hit the lights, stand in front of a mirror and chant “Bloody Mary” 13 times…

Photo Credit: iStock

Then you wait for the inevitable: for the spirit of the Bloody Mary to appear out of nowhere, kill you and your friends, and ruin your sleepover!

Okay, the murder part doesn’t actually happen, but you know you thought it might when you were a kid (as did I). The ritual is so impactful that different versions of the legend exist across the globe — sometimes centered around a woman named Mary Worth, sometimes involving the devil himself appearing.

It turns out that seeing things in the mirror really isn’t that strange after all. The longer you stare in the mirror, the more likely you are to see stuff that isn’t really there. This phenomenon can be blamed, in part, on what’s known as the Troxler effect. If you stare at the same object for a long time, your brain gets used to the image and the unchanging stimuli. What happens next is pretty incredible: your neurons cancel the information out, and whatever you’re staring at can start to appear blurry or distorted. Until you blink and look around, you’ll continue to see these unusual visions.

Photo Credit: Deviant Art,Skyberry-13

What’s more, if you stare into your own eyes in a mirror long enough, your face will begin to change shape.

Here’s a test for you. Stare at the plus sign in the center of the image below for 8 seconds.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Your brain probably tricked you and distorted your vision in a number of ways, possibly by making the colors in the image fade to gray. Live Science points out that this is actually a coping mechanism. “If you couldn’t ignore the steady hum of your computer monitor, the constant smell of your own body odor or the nose jutting out in front of your face, you’d never be able to focus on the important things — like whether your boss is standing right behind you,” the article explains.

The “strange face in the mirror” phenomenon, like Bloody Mary, is part of this as well. A 2010 experiment conducted by an Italian psychologist had people stare into a mirror for 10 minutes. 66% of the subjects reported seeing “huge deformations” of their face, and 48 % saw “fantastical and monstrous beings.”

Photo Credit: Unsplash,Taylor Smith

So maybe this is why so many people claim to have seen Bloody Mary in the mirror, and why the legend continues to frighten kids to this day. However, while origin of Bloody Mary is debated, but some believe it dates back to a real person — Queen Mary I from the 16th century, who was called Bloody Mary by her protestant enemies.

Others think the legend may be based on a different real person named Mary because varying legends give different versions of her name (Mary Worth, Mary Worthington, Mary Lou). Either way, one thing is for sure — kids will continue to play this spooky game forever, so let’s just hope Bloody Mary doesn’t get angry enough to come bursting through the mirror.

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Kids Are Less Violent in Countries Where Spanking Is Outlawed, Studies Show

When it comes to raising children, the use of corporal punishment is a hot topic of debate. People on the “pro” side often argue that the way they were raised didn’t harm them, so why change? While those on the other worry about the psychological impact childhood violence could have on the next generation…even if it takes years to manifest.

Even though this isn’t the first time science is weighing in on the topic, a new study shows a clear correlation between the use of corporal punishment and incidences of violence in youth and beyond.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In fact, youth living in countries with bans on corporal punishment were found to be 31% less violent than those living in countries that let parents make discipline decisions for themselves.

The study’s data came from 88 countries and covered over 400,000 adolescents, and the results of the “largest cross-national analysis of youth violence” were published in the journal BMJ. The results were clear, if a bit unsurprising for those against the practice of spanking.

“Societies that have these bans in place appear to be safer places for kids to grow up in,” reported lead study author Frank Elgar.

30 of the 88 covered countries had bans on spanking and other forms of corporal punishment, while 38 featured partial bans, and 20 had no bans in place whatsoever. For the purposes of the study, corporal punishment was defined as an adult’s use of physical force to “correct or control” a child’s behavior.

Globally, close to 300 million children between the ages of 2 and 4 receive some type of physical discipline from their caregivers on a regular basis, but researchers hope studies like this one can help educate parents about the future impacts of their discipline choices.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

At the end of this extensive and groundbreaking study, Elgar and his team found the following statistics to be true:

“Boys in countries with a full ban showed 69% the rate of fighting found in countries with no ban. In girls, the gap was even larger, with 42% the rate of fighting found in countries with no ban.”

The lowest rates of violence, if you’re curious, were found in Costa Rica, Portugal, Finland, Honduras, Spain, New Zealand, and Sweden, in that order.

Also of note: the wealth of a country didn’t end up factoring into the study’s results, even though researchers initially expected that it might.

“Bans and levels of youth violence had no relationship to the wealth of a country,” said Elgar. “Some very low-income countries happen to be quite peaceful, while some richer nations, such as the US, UK, and Canada, didn’t fare as well.”

There has been at least one other study to link spanking to future violence; that one looked at over 160,000 kids and published its results in the Journal of Family Psychology. It found that the more children are physically disciplined, the more likely it is they will defy their parents, experience increased anti-social behavior, aggression, and deal with mental health problems as adults.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

It’s important to remember this, if nothing else: children look to their parents for cues on what behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable. If we show them that hitting is a way to handle anger, disappointment, or a loss of control, then that’s exactly how they will behave toward others.

As anyone with kids knows, they’re always watching, and kids will mimic us at the least opportune moment imaginable. Every. Single. Time.

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6 Tricky Riddles for You to Solve

Chances are you’ll be able to solve 1 or 2 of the following riddles if you really put your mind to it — but can you solve them all?  Don’t worry, the 6 riddles below are of varying levels of difficulty (we want to keep your confidence up).

#6. A word problem.

Continue reading when you’re ready to check your answer!

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12+ People Reveal Their Personal “Strange Addictions”

If you’ve never seen the television show My Strange Addiction, you know that there is no limit to how bizarre people’s addictions can get. From eating their cat’s hair to coffee enemas, we’re a little grossed out, but also kind of impressed.

What I’m trying to say is brace yourself before reading through the 15 confessions below.

#15. Chewing

“Chewing the inside of my mouth.”

#14. Only in albums

“All of my music is in albums. Only like one song? Well shit, have to download that album. Song only released as a single? Put it in a folder and pretend it’s an album.

I have Pendulums Hold your Colour 2 times, once in the 2005 and once in the 2007 version because they changed 2 songs but my brain is not satisfied if I only have those 2 changed songs.”

#13. Daydreaming

“I will listen to music for hours on end while walking around a room, imagining various stories and scenarios.”

#12. Stress relieving

“It’s extremely satisfying to pluck my pubes. It’s like, stress relieving. Strange, but stress relieving/addictive.”

#11. Like I can’t breathe without it

“Nose spray. Been on it since I was a kid and feel like I can’t breathe without it. Menthol is my favorite.”

#10. Sounds so good

“When I am out walking in wooded areas I spend a lot of time trying to find pine cones to stand on.

I do it because when you find a suitably dry one it feels amazing and sounds so good.

Do it. Tends to work best if they are stood upright.”

#9. Addicted to picking

“This is so gross but I am addicted to picking. Pimples, dry skin, scabs, anything pick-able I will dig at it till I bleed. No I am not on drugs. It’s so bad that I am contemplating hypnosis.

EDIT – wow didn’t realise I wasn’t the only obsessive compulsive picker, nor did I realise it was an actual condition. Not sure how to feel about the fact that this is a diagnosed disorder though ? Thanks for the tips and advice kind strangers!”

#8. Avoiding phone calls

“I’m addicted to avoiding phone calls.”

#7. Picking and pulling

“Picking the skin on the side of my nails and toe nails. Pulling my eyelashes and eyebrows.”

#6. Specifically from old books

“Eating paper (although I don’t do it as much now). Not any paper though but specifically paper from old books – you know, this yellowish/brownish thin paper that smells really nice. I’ve been eating it since probably 12 and till about 27 or so. I’d just get some old book and keep tearing sheets of paper from then and chew them for some time and then gradually break them into pieces and swallow. Can’t even count how many books I’ve eaten this way, but at some point I had a drawer stuffed with book covers with no paper inside.
Now, you’re probably thinking “There’s no way it’s good for you”, which makes sense, but somehow I never had any health problems because of it, so I didn’t really have any motivation to stop, plus I was craving paper so much. Later I found out that it’s likely I have Pica disorder, which makes people crave uneatable things, but didn’t know where I could get help for it, so I continued.
Anyway, now I moved to another country and didn’t bring any old books with me, so I don’t really eat paper as much anymore (except for occasional pieces of toilet paper or tissues). But whenever I go back to the place where I grew up (which has plenty of old books), I sometimes still can’t resist and end up eating paper again.”

#5. It’s so satisfying

“I crack my ankles incessantly, sort of like how one might crack their knuckles. Idk what it is but it’s so… satisfying.

Edit: a word.”

#4. 100%

“Making sure my nose is 100% booger free.”

#3. 7 so far

“Donating sperm to lesbians.

I started off donating to some friends then they began recommending me to other lesbians through a fb group.

It’s so rewarding and I’ve fathered 7 so far.”

#2. Alongside Steve

“This one guy named Steve on YouTube. He’s like 60-something years old and I’ve been watching his videos for over 10 years now. All he does is post videos of him talking about mundane things in a monotone voice, and he doesn’t really do anything aside from hang around his house and play video games, from what I can tell. But I love his videos. They’re really weird and the fact that he’s been doing it regularly since like 2005 just makes it that much better. I feel like I’ve grown into adulthood alongside Steve. Although Steve has literally been doing the same things for the last 10+ years, whereas I’ve done a few different things, maybe.”

#1. Other brands are just not as good

“Band-aids!! I love band-aids. I have an entire drawer under my bathroom sink full of different styles/types of band-aids. But only Band-Aid brand… other brands are just not as good.”

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

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Viral Twitter Thread Shows The Importance of Being Able to Leave a Situation

Life is full of uncomfortable situations. Some we are required to endure, like awkward college orientation days, but for the most part we stay because we feel like we are supposed to – even when this isn’t exactly true.

Erynn Brook, a feminist writer, wrote a Twitter thread about how her mother taught her to set boundaries.

Photo Credit: Twitter

She starts by discussing the instructions her mother gave her about her first sleepover.

Photo Credit: Twitter

She asked the girl’s mom to call her mom. She persisted, even when the girl’s mom was reluctant.

Photo Credit: Twitter

The girls at the sleepover were confused. Brook’s mom continued to support her in setting boundaries.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Brook acknowledges that this advice runs counter to many of the messages we receive as women.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Brook also acknowledges that in some situations, there is no way out. In other situations, though, we could leave, but don’t realize we have permission.

Photo Credit: Twitter

As Brook continued to struggle with giving herself permission to leave, her mom asked her a key question: “What do you need so you can leave?”

Photo Credit: Twitter

Brook clarified a bit later that although this message may resonate with women, it’s an important lesson to teach all children, regardless of gender identity.

Photo Credit: Twitter

We all have the right to set boundaries, and we all have the right to leave.

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15 People Share Troublesome Trends They’re Beginning to Notice

Society is changing before our very eyes, and sometimes what we see is pretty scary. We are living in strange times, people.

Folks on AskReddit weighed in on what trends they see that are disturbing and worrisome.

1. Take some responsibility

“Parents putting the blame of their child failing classes on the teacher entirely, as if their child could do no wrong in any capacity.

There are a lot of little fart knockers out there who need the parents to be parents and not a friend.”

2. Give me simple

“Seems like you can’t find any simple flavors anymore. Everything has to be fancy. You can’t buy a blueberry muffin, it has to be wild field berries and rolled oat muffin. You can’t by BBQ chips, it has to be Salsa and Roasted Peanut butter chips. Or whatever.

7-Eleven Slurpees used to be available in regular flavors, such as orange, lime, and cherry. I used to love the orange flavor. Now there are no more regular flavors anymore, just things with names like Honey Bubble Gum Sriracha Blast.

There’s rarely any solo caramel flavor anymore. Everything is salted caramel. Just give me regular caramel. What happened?”

3. Get your shots

“Anti-vax. We’re going to have smallpox again if they don’t get their kids fully vaccinated on the recommended schedule.”

4. I agree

“How deeply advertising is penetrating our everyday lives.

Here in Australia a big story at the moment is how a horse race was permitted to advertise via projection on the sails of the Sydney Opera House. Our most recognizable landmark was used as a billboard. It’s embarrassing.”

5. Listen up

“Adults with poor listening skills. Often when talking to a person my age or older they interrupt, talk over me or don’t listen beyond the first few words and I have to repeat myself until they comprehend.

I work with several people like this. And what’s even worse is it translates to email as well. I’ll send them a detailed email going over everything they need to know and then over the next few days I’ll get back multiple emails with questions that I already went over in detail in my initial email.”

6. This is a big problem

“I’m nearly 30, but it seems like teenagers/young people in their early 20s are developing serious mental issues like depression and anxiety earlier and earlier. It almost seems as if it’s normal for a teenager to be depressed and semi-suicidal, and social media isn’t helping.

The amount of pressure put on these kids at a younger and younger age to get into a good school, get a good job, succeed is more in-their-faces than ever, and being constantly connected means that it’s inescapable. When these young people reach adulthood in the next decade or so, and these deeply ingrained issues start to reallycome to fruition, I think we’re going to have a massive mental health tidal wave on our hands that the current professional medical field isn’t prepared to handle.”

7. Class problems

“Rising housing costs and increased homelessness. Seeing much more in the streets and can see why. Rents are so high that anyone struggling with a minimum wage job would be on the streets. Dual income properties are paying more than 60% of their income just for rent alone.

It isn’t long before the lower class isn’t a class anymore and the middle and upper classes will be the poor. The gap between the elite 1 % is growing far too big. Banks own the country and drive prices up. It is a shame.”

8. Let kids be kids

“This is something I’ve noticed change drastically (IMO) during my lifetime (and I’m only 33).

When I was preteen/”tween”, clothing in the girl’s section was clearly meant for children whereas these days most of it could be put in the Junior’s section and I wouldn’t even notice.

There’s also quite a difference in bras- none of the ones available in the girls section when I started wearing one had any padding. There was thicker lining so nipples didn’t show through, but not padded like push-up bras. Now, there are padded bras aimed at little girls just starting to wear bras- I saw them once at Kohls out of the corner of my eye and mistook them for women’s sports bras- it made me feel uncomfortable (and sad) when I went to browse and realized they were actually being aimed at little girls in the 7ish-14ish age range.

My husband held one up once and said, “Babe, you should get one like this! It’s really cute!” He was so embarrassed.”

9. Call out culture

“Maybe I’m just being paranoid but the rise of social media combined the current popularity of outrage-bait and “call-out culture” makes me feel like lynch mobs are about to come back in a big way.

I feel like we’re already entering a new “Salem Witch trials” era if the recent news is anything to be believed.”

10. Help me, Mother

“Can anyone else who works in retail, customer service, basically any public facing job confirm my hunch that over the last ten years there has been a sharp rise in the amount of grown adult men with so few social skills there mother has to come and order those turtle Beach headphones for them? Like they’ll pay with there own money, out of there own Metallica chain wallet but there mom does all the talking. Seems like a lot more grown adult men with the social skills of a shy child.”

11. Ghosted

“Ghosting. And I’m not just talking about millennials on dating apps, I’m talking middle aged hiring managers not bothering to let you know after an interview that they’ve selected another candidate. The more people I talk to the more common this seems to be nowadays.”

12. Annoying

“People blasting their music in enclosed spaces when there’s others around.Parents just handing their phones/tablets to their kids in restaurants and letting them just play shit at full volume. Like I get it, parents sometimes need to distract kids from acting up but if you’re going to do that give those kids some god damn headphones at least. Or you know…raise your kids like everybody else has been raised for generations?

Phone conversations on speakerphone.”

13. Proud to be dumb

“Willful ignorance. People who are proud not to have any knowledge about a given subject, but still have very strong opinions about it. I just had a conversation with a friend of mine on Facebook and her willful ignorance made me want to reach through the screen and strangle her.

She posted this fake news story about a “Pro-Choice Activist Proudly Having Her 27th Abortion.” It took me all of 2 seconds to Google it and find that it was fake. So I told her that it was fake and provided her with links to prove that it was and explained how and why I looked it up. She said: “I ain’t got no time for all that lol i just know it’s disgusting and anyone who does that is a mass murderer in my eyes.”

Okaaaaaaaay nevermind that literally nobody does that and I just showed her that. But whatever. I went on to explain to her about fake news and why it’s being spread and even pointed out that her sharing it is contributing to the problem. She still didn’t seem to care that it was fake.

So I reported the post to FB as fake news and just left it alone.”

14. Big Brother

“Increased government/corporate surveillance and law enforcement presence in every day American life.

There have been important conversations about privacy, NSA abuses, Facebook fuckery, etc in the past few years, but I don’t think much has changed. In the meantime kids graduating college this year do not remember a time before the Patriot Act and imo are way less offended/concerned with the myriad ways our privacy is violated on a daily basis.

Being constantly under surveillance is so normalized I feel like some kind of conspiracy freak when I talk about it. Weirdly, it’s also been politicized so that people assume I’m a right-wing extremist when I talk about it. We should all be concerned about it, tho.”

15. Idiocracy

“Ok, it’s been happening forever – but the dumbing down of pretty much every aspect of society to meet the lowest common denominator.”

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Help Yourself Drink More Water on a Daily Basis With These 10 Useful Tricks

Staying hydrated comes with so many benefits, but it can be tough to keep up with between our busy schedules, bad habits, and, you know…not running to the bathroom every ten minutes.

If you you want to drink more water but are having trouble remembering or finding the time, these 10 tricks can help you change your habits and retain that hydrated glow.

#10. Invest in a smart device.

Image Credit: Pixabay

An Apple watch, Fitbit, or a smart water bottle can not only help you track how much you’ve drunk, it can remind you when it’s time to drink more, too.

#9. Use water to bookend your day.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If you make drinking a couple glasses of water part of your morning and evening ritual then you’ll know you’re getting a decent amount, even if you forget during the day.

#8. Spice up your food.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If drinking water doesn’t come naturally to you, try eating spicier food so you don’t have a choice.

#7. Every time you drink coffee, drink water.

Image Credit: Pixabay

This is a good trick for those of us who fuel our days with caffeine!

#6. Use an app.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Gulps and PlantNanny are just two of many apps that can help you track your water drinking habits and encourage you to up your intake.

#5. Add ice.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If you add some ice to your smoothie, your coffee, and your tea, you’ll be sneaking in some extra hydration.

#4. Refill your glass as soon as its empty.

Image Credit: Pixabay

This will ensure that when you’re thirsty again, you can drink. If you leave it empty, you’ll find excuses to wait “another minute” to go get that drink.

#3. Drink from a straw.

Image Credit: Pixabay

For some reason, we take bigger swallows when using a straw than sipping from a bottle.

#2. Measure your water ahead of time.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Whatever your daily intake goal is, try filling up a gallon jug or measuring the amount at the beginning of the day. That way, you can see how much you have left, and won’t feel good going to sleep until you’ve accomplished your goal.

#1. If you take vitamins or supplements, don’t just take a swallow.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Downing a whole glass of water will not only boost your water intake, it also helps dissolve your meds.

 

I hope one or two of these will make a difference in your life!

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You Don’t Need Medical Insurance to Enjoy These 12+ Therapy Tweets

Therapy is expensive, and unless you have insureance, there’s no way to get around that fact. Fortunately for you, reading tweets about therapy doesn’t cost a thing at all!

What a deal!

1. Good to know.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @pants_leg

2. Sharing is caring.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @topaz_kell

3. Tune me up!

Photo Credit: Twitter: @primawesome

4. It’s a lot to unpack…

Photo Credit: Twitter: @MikeIsaac

5. “NO!”

Photo Credit: Twitter: @nosleepenergy

6. Good idea.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @aparnapkin

7. Too spot on.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @AllieGoertz

8. Dang, doc.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @TimFederle

9. Next best thing.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @meganamram

10. *drops mic*

11. Profound.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @MorganJerkins

12. Touché

Photo Credit: Twitter: @iatemuggles

13. That’s just good time management.

Photo Credit: Twitter: @shutupmay

14. “You’re doing great, I swear!”

Photo Credit: Twitter: @sosadtoday

15. “I’m a therapist, not a wizard.”

Photo Credit: Twitter: @LurkAtHomeMom

And I’m afraid that’s all the time we have. See you next week!

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This Twitter Thread Unpacks Mental Health Stigmas Related to Work and Success

Although people don’t hesitate to get treatment for physical health issues, many people still feel a sense of shame or embarrassment if they need to take medications to manage their mental health. The conversation around mental health issues is improving but there’s still a stigma surrounding it.

Blair Imani, author of Modern HERstory and founder of Equality for Her, tweeted this thread on the stigma associated with mental health. She takes on the misconception that people who are “successful” don’t struggle with mental health.

Photo Credit: Twitter

She discloses some of her own challenges to make her point.

Photo Credit: Twitter

This doesn’t mean that you need to be “productive” to be worthwhile, though. She goes on to address the ideas of mental “strength” and mental “weakness.”

Photo Credit: Twitter

The thread hit home for a lot of people. Many responded to the Twitter thread with their own experiences with mental health in solidarity.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Photo Credit: Twitter

Photo Credit: Twitter

Our worth isn’t based on our productivity. What’s more, just because you appear productive and successful on the outside doesn’t mean you’re not also grappling with mental illness. Regardless of our ability to be “productive,” though, we all deserve to receive the treatment we need without judgement.

If you need help, just remember – there are people who love you, and places you can go where you will not be judged.

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15 Times People’s Creepy Feelings Of A Situation Were Absolutely Right

Our guts never lie. Sometimes we get a bad feeling about something and decide to follow that instinct. These people certainly have, and their intuitions turned out to be right.

Read on as their share 15 stories of times when their gut was totally spot on at detecting a creepy situation.

1. Something was off

“My sister was going to visit her friend out of state, so her friend’s friend offered to drive her there. He drove a few hours to get to our house and was noticeably tired when he arrived, so my sister suggested that he just sleep on our couch and they’ll go in the morning.

The entire night, my mom was going in and out of our rooms saying that there was something off about the guy; that she didn’t really like him but couldn’t figure out why. She actually quietly went out the side door and wrote down his license plate at one point.

The next morning, my sister was in the guy’s car for maybe 30 minutes before she felt sick and asked him to just take her home. Which he does, much to my mother’s delight.

About six months later, my mom was looking at her news feed when she saw a familiar face and called my sister and me over and yelled, ‘I told you something was off about him!’ It turns out that about a year earlier, he murdered his ex-girlfriend and that his friend, who helped him bury her body, finally decided to tell the cops not because he developed a conscience, but because he was mad at him for stealing his toaster.”

2. Controlling

“My mom and I were in a café and she had her handbag down by her feet. This couple comes in and sits at the table behind us, and he attracted my attention because he kept poking his girlfriend and telling her how to sit and stuff.

The hairs on my neck went up, I hate that controlling type of behavior. He was in my periphery and this guy wouldn’t sit still when my mom asked: ‘Hey, where’s my bag?’

She found it a second later, moved and open – she reached in to get her purse and said: ‘My card is missing!’

So the couple behind had stood and were quickly walking towards the door, and I didn’t even hesitate to say: ‘STOP THAT MAN!’ because I figured I could apologize later if I was wrong. One of the waitresses was right by the door and she followed him out the door, at which point, the guy dropped my mom’s card, mumbled something about having found it, and then ran for it.

I guess if he hadn’t been such a jerk to his girlfriend, I probably wouldn’t have noticed.”

3. The new guy

“In college, I worked at a bar and they brought in this new bouncer. From the second I met him, I immediately felt like there was something seriously wrong with him. His smile and eye contact were too intense. I told a coworker that the guy gave me the creeps and she told me she thought he was ‘cute and nice,’ and didn’t get where I was coming from.

A quick Google search pulled up his mug shot and articles about how he was watching his college roommate’s dog one weekend and horribly attacked and abused it.

He burned this poor dog and poured bleach on her. The dog survived and he was arrested. The article talked about how he was laughing at the police arresting him, saying he knew he wouldn’t get in any trouble.

He was fired and told to never come back once management found out.”

4. In on it?

“My mother, who was extremely emotionally and physically abusive, raised four kids by herself. Although she had many siblings and lots of other relatives, no one helped us.

When I was around 12, my mom had a female cousin who started coming around, out of the blue, trying to get my mom to attend church with her. Then, all of a sudden, this same cousin wanted to become my kid sister’s godparent. Okay, whatever.

But I certainly resented the fact that we were all of a sudden being forced to go to church almost every Sunday. I saw it as nothing more than a form of brainwashing.

I always had a sick feeling about her, especially when I had to sit near her in a room. A couple of years later, she started insisting I come along on weekend getaways she would have with my sister at her house. I had absolutely no interest in going.

Not only was I older, but I was thinking, ‘Why do I have to come? She’s not my godmother.’ But, my mom was so weak-minded, psychotic, or just plain evil that she always forced me to go.

When I was around 14 years old, I was still being forced by my own mother to go somewhere that wasn’t necessary, with someone who made me physically sick. I still hadn’t figured out exactly what it was about her that made me so sick.

She was a nurse and had access to certain medications. It turns out that she was medicating me with sedatives when I was at her house, then violating me with her fingers and who knows what else. It really started to bother me how sore and painful I was down below, knowing that I was still pure, or so I thought, and I NEVER felt like that until after I had left her house.

I don’t think she did this to my sister because she was always so fixated on me.

She just used my sister to get to me. It also turns out that pills lose their full effect on you after you’ve been taking them for a while. That is how I found out. I eventually woke up in the middle of being assaulted by her.”

5. Across the street

“I got a bad vibe from the dad across the street when I was a kid. He was a military guy who always seemed to be on a power trip. His oldest son and I went to the same school, and would occasionally carpool.

One day, it was his dad’s turn to drive us. His son stayed home sick, but he offered to drive me all the same.

Thankfully, it wasn’t a long ride, but the entire time he talked about his beat-up Camero. It definitely creeped me out.

A couple of years later, his wife threw him out one morning. It turns out he had been beating the crap out of her for a while. One morning, while hitting her again, he stepped on their 1-year-old baby who was crawling on the floor and broke the kid’s arm.

We never saw him again after that.”

6. Just a phase

“A neighborhood kid I grew up with liked to play with matches and was fascinated with fires of any kind. It made me nervous because a sort of ‘wild look’ came over his eyes when he’d stare at the fire he created.

I even told my parents, who mentioned it to his parents, who thought it was ‘just a phase’ he was going through.

Then, a few years later, it was reported that he burned his parents’ garage down and was being charged with arson and clinically treated for pyromania.”

7. New to the area

“I met a random guy when I was out one night. He was new to the area and was friends with my friend’s brother. He came across as nice and friendly, but then he started being a bit strange, like he kept rubbing my back and touching my legs.

We all went back to my friend’s house, and I was pretty wasted, but this guy kept trying to get me to leave with him without anyone seeing.

I told everyone something was weird about him. It turned out he had been charged with violating a 10-year-old, and that’s why he had left his previous city. He also assaulted a 13-year-old a few weeks before he met me, and the police found he was in possession of a lot of child smut.

My friends had no idea about this guy’s past.

He lived near my friend’s brother, and he had him over at his house in the summer when his kids were running around in swimming suits prior to the discovery. He was devastated and full of guilt when he found out.”

8. Thank goodness they didn’t let her go

“A tennis coach at my kid’s club called to ask me if he could take my 10-year-old daughter with the other five players on road trips to play other clubs. I didn’t like it, she was tiny and just 10 years old. He wasn’t even her coach but another coach at the club. We thought he was creepy and to call like that…so I said no.

The coach ended up going to prison for being a creep and violating several girls older than my kid. His son was also 10, and the poor kid was also a victim of the scum bag. He got 15 years in 2009, and will probably be out soon.

He was convicted of three crimes, but the prosecution dropped an additional 22.

It still blows my mind.”

9. A sixth sense

“My parents tell me that when I was around 4 years old, I was the most extroverted kid. I LOVED going out and about with my parents so I could wave hello to every single person I saw. I never met a stranger.

Little old ladies LOVED me. I would let anyone hold me if they wanted. To the point that my parents were alarmed at how I didn’t mind people I had never met before holding me and bouncing me on their lap.

We had some elderly neighbors who were nice as could be.

One day, their 30-something son came to live with them. The old couple had told my parents about him moving in and how excited they were. Well, they came to our house to introduce him to us since we were in the driveway.

Apparently, I got really quiet when they were walking toward me and when the guy spoke to me, I screamed and hid behind my dad’s legs. My parents thought it was out of character so they actively avoided allowing me to be near him in the weeks that followed.

A few months later, he was arrested for child trafficking and possession of hundreds of pictures and videos of child smut.”

10. Watch out

“I worked for a call center a few years ago and there was a guy that sat at the desk across from me. He was about 50 years old and was not married. I’m young enough to be his daughter.

He would do anything to talk to me.

Come by my desk, run into me in the break room, get in the elevator with me, and what not. It was excessive, but never threatening. At least not at first.

He started to say inappropriate things about my outfits, but I figured he was an awkward dude that did not know how to flirt.

I just brushed him off time and time again, but something was definitely off about him.

At one point, the secretary came up to me and asked if he was bothering me, and I told her what had been happening.

He only did this with the blonde women at the office. He was notorious for harassing them. It started small, but then he would slowly transition into asking them to hook up, even offering to pay for it.

Knowing this, I avoided him altogether. I would pretend he was not there, even if he was talking to me directly. I would catch him staring at me, but he backed down a lot after he realized that I wouldn’t give in.

One day, I came into work and he was gone.

His desk was cleared off. Totally empty. He apparently had sent another blonde woman a bunch of flowers and followed her out to the parking lot when she got off work. He had parked his car right next to hers and tried to force her into his car to go home with him, but she got away.

He was fired and escorted off the property THE NEXT DAY by police.

I’m not sure why he decided to come back, or why he wasn’t arrested sooner, but he was caught at work and removed.”

11. Knives

“When I used to work at a deli, we hired a 20-something kid that looked like the serial killer, Ed Kemper sans the mustache.

At first, he would amuse us by telling us stories about how he had fought off eight guys carrying weapons, or how his girlfriend was a model who traveled all the time (and that is why we never saw her).

Then things started getting bad, especially when someone angered him. I would catch him talking to himself, saying things like, ‘If I see her again, I am going to stick this in both her eyes.’

Management caught wind of this and canned him almost immediately.

Ten months later, we found out he actually went to prison for attempting to assault someone with a knife.”

12. The stepdad

“I always had a weird feeling about my stepdad.

He always made me uncomfortable and I always felt like he was watching me. He would make comments about my body and wardrobe, causing me to feel insecure and watch what I wore around him.

When I told my mom, she would say things like ‘he’s old-fashioned’ or ‘he’s just looking out for you.’

My mom had gone out of the country to visit family leaving my stepdad, myself and my older brother to take care of the house.

One night, my brother went to a party and I stayed home because I worked early the next morning, but left my bedroom door open so I could hear my brother come home and make sure he made it safe. Instead, my stepdad decided to crawl into my bed and try to assault me.

It was one of the scariest moments of my life.

I pushed him off and ran to the bathroom. I was so freaked out I just grabbed my work clothes and went to my car and drove off to a random neighborhood and slept in my car.

My mom found out a year later because I told my older brother, but she’s never talked to me about it.

She’s still with him too. As for me, I am in therapy to deal with my trauma and I feel like I’m getting better.

When I told my brother, we gathered all the money we had been saving up and moved out a month later.

I am blessed to have a brother who loves me and took me out of a bad place. He’s been one of my support systems through all of this.”

13. Jokes

“I used to work at a local restaurant when I was 19 years old. I loved working there, but I ended up quitting because of some jerk that was hired. He was in his mid-30s and gave every girl in the restaurant the absolute creepiest vibes.

He was constantly saying inappropriate stuff about his past and was just a jerk to people in general.

I hated working with him because he creeped me out and was also just mean. I started trading shifts to get away from him.

One day, a night shift manager was fired, and our boss put the creepy guy in a temporary managerial position. I immediately went to our boss and told him I was uncomfortable with the idea and explained how creepy he was.

My boss leveled with me and said that the guy had no actual manager power and was just temporary until he found someone else. He was just there to run shifts. My boss arranged it so my schedule never crossed over with the creep.

One day, a coworker of mine got sick and I was asked to cover her shift.

I got there and the creep was managing. I thought I could deal with one night, but a friend of mine called the store sobbing. She had tried to call my cell around a hundred times but it was in my purse.

She was crying hysterically and told me she had been assaulted and didn’t know what to do or where to go but that she was horrified and too scared to leave.

I told my friend I would be right there and told the manager I had an emergency and would be leaving.

It was a slow night and I wasn’t needed anyway but he freaked out and tried to physically stop me, demanding to know my emergency. I tried to sidestep it, but I eventually told him my friend had been assaulted.

He burst out laughing in my face and told me that was hilarious and not an excuse to leave. I told him to get lost and shoved past him. He told me I couldn’t leave and I said watch me. I went outside and burst into tears and called my boss and told him I quit after explaining what happened.

A few months later, I was working at my new job and a former coworker came in and said they had some news for me.

Apparently, two police officers showed up at my old workplace and served papers to the guy. He had been stalking a girl for the last five years and it started when she was 14 years old. He had also assaulted her.”

14. He loved to chat

“There’s an older guy who visits my workplace a lot just to chat with our staff. He never buys anything – he just really loves talking to us. The first time I met him, we wound up chatting for a solid 15 minutes.

It was ALMOST a pleasant experience (I love chatting with friendly customers), but for some reason, he put me on edge. He spent the whole 15 minutes telling me about his life’s adventures – starring in a Smashing Pumpkins tribute band, getting detained at the airport for having a weapon (he said he was in the military and was flying overseas to do some training exercises in America or something and there was a misunderstanding about his paperwork), and he told me about his work as a guidance counselor.

He flowed from one story to the next without any discernible link connecting them but he was charismatic enough to keep the conversation flowing smoothly anyway. I felt lost at sea.

On the surface, he seemed like a well-traveled, genuinely friendly guy.

But he still set off a bunch of alarm bells in my head.

My general rule with chatty people is: ‘Friendly is good unless you are AGGRESSIVELY excited to be talking to me.’ He definitely fell into the aggressive category.

Later I mentioned the guy to a coworker. He said he thought the guy was creepy too.

Apparently, during one of this guy’s visits, he held my coworker hostage and told him (very cheerily) all about the time he got in a bar fight and he murdered a guy with his three buddies.”

15. A new priest

“This is creepy in a different way than most, but I think it’s relevant. Twenty years ago, when I was a practicing Christian, my church got a new priest. He may as well have been God himself the way people fawned over him.

I liked him at first, too. Then, after a few brief conversations, I got this feeling that his entire life was a major power trip, and he was in no way cut out to lead a congregation of actual human beings.

After he made an off-the-cuff remark to me about being divorced (the shock!), I was like, ‘Later dude’ and transferred to another church.

People thought I was nuts, because how could I not adore Father Perfect the way they did?

After a few months, I noticed a trickle of people from my former parish in my new church, and that trickle eventually became more like a flood.

‘Father Perfect’ had formerly been a highly respected surgeon with a God complex, and he was quite used to giving orders and having them carried out without question (as I would imagine is necessary for a surgical suite).

Not the best quality for a man of the cloth.

Eventually, he drove out several deacons, the choir leader, the sexton, and about half the congregation. He put a message on the church answering machine about what types of messages could and couldn’t be left.

He was a total control freak who apparently mistook himself for God. He finally left after the parish completely fell apart.”

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