Life is getting scary out there! Creepy men have followed me twice, in the library of all places.
Thank goodness I wasn’t harmed, but things could have been different. This is what I did to escape a stalker.
The backstory
My hometown’s library has its main branch located downtown. Since the downtown area wasn’t dangerous (well, at least during the day), I wasn’t afraid to go there alone.
What happened
One day I was there and went up to the nonfiction book section on the 4th floor. I spent like 2 hours up there; just looking around and browsing.
When it was time to go home, I got my books and went to the elevator.
As I waited for the elevator, a guy came up and waited too. At the time, I thought it was a little strange how he just appeared. He came from a part of the library where I had just been and no one else seemed to be there.
While we waited, he didn’t speak or look at me. That didn’t bother me, because I don’t talk to people I don’t know.
Soon the elevator came, and we both got on. During the ride down, I got a weird vibe off of him. It wasn’t a scary feeling–just the feeling that something wasn’t right.
When the elevator got to the first floor, I walked out and got into the checkout line at the Circulation Desk.
After a few minutes, I noticed that the guy from the elevator stood near the counter at the Circulation Desk. I thought that was odd, but thought maybe he was waiting to talk with one of the staff about something.
The whole time I was in the checkout line (about 7 minutes) that guy stood by the Circulation Desk. He never met my eyes and I thought that was odd. I’ve encountered some creepy folk, and eye contact was never a problem. But for some reason, this guy wouldn’t or couldn’t look me in the face.
Finally, I got through the checkout line. As I turned to leave, I looked over my shoulder to see where that guy was. To my surprise, he was walking in my direction! He wasn’t close, but he was walking towards me.
I started to think, is this guy following me? His waiting by the elevators and leaving when I was leaving was too suspicious. So, I decided to test him.
To get out of the side door of the library, you have to go through two sets of glass doors. In between the two sets of doors was a little atrium with a table full of flyers. On the wall next to the table was a large corkboard with flyers pinned into it.
I went through the first set of doors and then stopped to look at the bulletin board and the flyers on the table. My thought was if he’s following me, he’ll stop. If he’s not following me, he’ll walk on by.
To be honest, that’s what I expected. That’s why I had a serious freakout when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the dude stop dead in his tracks!
At that moment, I knew he was following me! So I turned and looked him straight in the eye. He quickly turned to a display case on his right and pretended like he was looking at the items in the case.
As I stood there, I freaked out a little bit more. Where could I go? I couldn’t go to my car. It was in a deserted parking garage. There was no way I was going there alone.
At that moment, some street-smart advice came to me. Go where there are people.
So, I started to think about what I could do, and then it hit me! I could go up to the huge fiction section on the second floor and hide there! There were lots of people and rows of books there.
Photo by Ahmed Zid on Unsplash
What I did to get away
When I went back into the library, I acted like I didn’t see the man. I walked towards the winding staircase which went to the second floor. As I walked up, I looked out of the corner of my eye to see if he followed, and, of course, he did.
As soon as I got to the top of the staircase, I ran to the last row of books and hid behind that stack. From there, I peeked through the rows of shelves to see where he was.
After a few more seconds, I saw him at the top of the stairs. He walked into the fiction area and looked around.
I quickly moved toward the end of the row I was in. I knew the area back there was dimly lit, so he would have a hard time seeing me.
As he started looking down the aisles of books on his left, I crouched down. I was so afraid he would find me. He stopped, turned to his right,t and started looking down the rows of audiobooks.
Though they were next to the book stacks, they didn’t go as far back. I stayed crouched in my hiding spot and didn’t move.
When he finished searching the audiobooks, he went to the computer area. A few minutes later, I saw him walk back to the front of the fiction department. He just stood there and looked around again.
After a minute or two, he walked away toward the elevator. I stayed hidden a little while longer to make sure he was gone.
To me, that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever had happen.
Photo from Pixabay
How to fight back in three steps
If you ever feel you’re being followed, make sure you are being followed. It could be someone going in the same direction as you. Walk faster or take a few turns, and see what the person does.
Secondly, if you are being followed, look the person in the eye. Let them know that you know that they are there.
Also, don’t go anywhere where you will be alone. Always go where there are people. You have a better chance of blending into the crowd and getting away. That was why I didn’t want to go to my car in the lonely parking structure.
Thirdly, get away from the stalker. That’s why I ran and hid. I had every intention of ducking and dodging this dude. I was willing to do what I had to do. And you should too. When your safety is at risk, do what you have to do.
Photo from Pixabay
I remember hearing someone say that if you feel you are being followed while you are driving keep making right hand circle’s until you are about to end up in the same place as you did when you first started to ensure that you are being followed.
And once you are sure that you are drive to a place with a lot of people so that you can call for help.
You can also drive to the police department or a fire station.
However the one thing you should never do is drive home.
Amen! I’ve heard those too; and they make sense when you think about it.