Three Steps I Used To Escape A Stalker–A StoryTime

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 happened the last time and what I did to escape a stalker.

The backstory and how everything began

My hometown’s library has its main branch downtown. Since the downtown area wasn’t dangerous (well, during the day), I wasn’t afraid to go there alone.

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.

What happened

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 seemed to be there.

Anyway while we waited, he didn’t speak or even look at me. That didn’t bother me, because I don’t speak 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 had to describe. It wasn’t a scary or creepy 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 Circulation Desk. I thought that was a little odd, but thought maybe he was waiting to talk with one of the staff about something.

The whole time I’m 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 in the past, 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 now leaving when I was leaving was a little 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.

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 at the very end of the row. I was so afraid he was going to come to where I was but he didn’t. He stopped about twenty-five feet from the row I was hiding in. Turned to his right 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 over 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 alittle while longer to make sure he was gone.

To me, that was one of the scariest things I’ve ever had happen.

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. 

The takeaway

Being stalked can be very scary, but you can fight back. Here are three steps I used to escape a stalker.


1) Make sure you’re being followed! If you’re on foot, make a few turns to see if they follow you.  

If you are sure the person is following you, 2) go to a crowded place. Here you can blend in and possibly get away. If you want, let security know what is going on. If you truly feel threatened, call the police. It’s better to be safe than sorry. 

3) Run and hide. If you are in a place where there is security, let them know what is going on.

If you want to learn more tips about personal safety, click here.

Just saying.

If you want to share a true-life story of being followed and what you did to get away, please put it down in the comment section below. Maybe it will help someone else too.