Recently I wrote a post about the most messed-up things strangers have done to innocent people (based on this Reddit thread by user u/Jemuzu8304).
It inspired the folks of the BuzzFeed Community to share their own stories, and unfortunately, they're truly disturbing.
So, here are the most gruesome things strangers did to people for seemingly no reason at all:
Warning: Some stories include topics of sexual assault, violence, and eating disorders. Please proceed with caution.
1. "When I was maybe 19 and very insecure and timid, I was at the pub with a distant relative of my nan’s. We bumped into a group of men she knew (maybe in their mid-forties), and we were all standing in a circle chatting. The guy next to me was telling me how his daughter wanted to go to my uni the next year with his hand on my ass the whole time. I was worried that maybe my nan’s friend would think it was my fault, so I didn't say anything — but I wish I did now."
—mh2
2. "I went on a cruise with my husband and stepson. On the last night, we were sitting in an area waiting for a show. My stepson wanted a sweatshirt, so my husband took him — they walked to the floor above us (I could see them the whole time), and I put my leg on the seat so they had a place to sit when they got back. Some woman with her little girl started bitching at me about saving seats. I tried to calmly explain to her that they were right upstairs, and only gone for five minutes (no different than if they had gone to the bathroom). I was ignoring her rant, so she picked up her daughter and slammed her down on top of my foot. Since I wouldn't move, she slapped my foot HARD (I was wearing flip-flops). I didn't move, looked her straight in the eye, and said: 'Don't fucking touch me.' She came at me, but her friends stopped her. Then security got involved. I spent the rest of the night in the cabin and met with the sheriff once we docked the next morning."
3. "I was out with a friend watching a band play — we were dancing and minding our own business. A guy came up and asked if he could touch my hair because in his country they 'didn't have red hair.' I politely but firmly said no, and my friend and I moved to another area. A few minutes later I felt someone roughly putting their hands in my hair, so I swatted the hands away and again moved to another area. A few minutes later, the same thing happened (that time I swatted more aggressively, but still not as hard as I should have because, as a woman, I didn't want to 'set off' more aggression from him). I told him in my best scary (but not so loud) voice: 'You. Need. To. Stop. Touching. Me.' He and all his friends laughed and gave me the 'What?!?' gestures, so my friend and I moved AGAIN, but could still see them watching us. We decided to leave — I had the scariest walk to my car, thinking this guy was just going to appear out of the dark."
4. "My boyfriend and I were taking a walk at night when the only car on the road (a truck) approached us and the stop sign we were just passing. As he drove closer, I heard this maniacal laugh (like the Joker in real life). It was scary. Then as we were 30 feet past him (walking just minding our business), this dude (alone in his truck) got out at the stop sign. He faced us and started screaming. He called me a fucking cunt, bitch, and some other crude name to my boyfriend. We stood facing him in silence and shock in the misty darkness as he was standing there like a cowboy in a Western duel. I’m glad he didn’t have a gun or anyone else in the truck with him. I’m also proud of myself for not responding, although part of that was just due to shock."
—rl19
5. "I was walking home from school once as a 13-year-old. I was wearing some flare-style black school trousers. As I was walking down the road minding my own business, two older boys ran up behind me and shouted: 'OI, FATTY IN THE SPANDEX!' I was an underweight child (I now understand I was living with an eating disorder, and was terrified of gaining weight). I was just trying to walk home after a day of school. I got home and cried for hours, and further restricted my eating. It got to the point where my dad had to ensure that the head teacher got me into the breakfast club at school each morning. I’m 31 now, and I still think about it a lot."
6. "By a school, I was walking my eight-month-old puppy across a footbridge (the kids were just let out for the day). All of a sudden, a group of seven-year-old boys ran up to us and began pelting my poor puppy with rocks. I obviously scooped her up and got us out of there first, and dealt with things accordingly later. But it broke my heart because my poor dog has the kindest, sweetest, dearest heart. She was just so upset because she didn't understand what she 'did wrong.'"
7. "I was about 13 leaving my local park with a friend. The pathway was covered by trees, so it was fairly shaded and it opened into a residential street. As we were walking through, these three girls stopped us, and 'the leader' asked if my cousin was so and so. I said yes, and this girl slapped me across my face out of nowhere and threatened me. Apparently they didn’t like each other for some reason (I can’t remember why), so this girl decided I deserved to be targeted. I’m not ashamed to say I was really upset and ran home. My parents were pissed and called the police, and she was told by the police to keep her distance from me. I never saw her again."
8. "One time at an LCD Soundsystem show, I waited through two or three acts in order to get to the very front of the stage near the security barrier. The show started, so people started moving forward. I held my ground with my friends. These girls came up and tried to weasel spots away, and we weren’t having it. So, the girls got pissed off and started doing antagonistic shit. At one point a beer was poured down my back, and my ears were flicked. It was awful. So when my buddy and I turned around to tell them off, they pulled an Uno reverse-card and acted like we were assaulting them. ALLLLL the 'white knights' tried to jump in and save the day within in the surrounding area. It was really bad."
9. "As a teenage lifeguard, I dealt with a man who pushed me in the pool and called me a bitch when I refused to give him my phone number (he eventually got kicked out). The dude looked like he was in his mid-to-late twenties, and I was 16. I was lifeguarding a lazy river, and he passed by me and started waving at me. I kind of half-smiled because I didn't recognize him, and wasn't 100% sure he was waving at me. He was like: 'Yes! I got a smile!' and in my head I was kind of like: 'Okay, that was weird.' He kept coming by and waving and making faces and trying to get my attention (even though I was WORKING). Then, he tried talking to me. I was polite because I was on the job, but I was super uncomfortable. Then when the pool was closing, he came up to me and was like: 'So can I get your number now, or do I have to come back tomorrow?' And I was like: 'I'm sorry, but I don't give my number to patrons.'"
10. "When I was in elementary school, my friend and I were just sitting at recess. Some trouble-maker from another grade threw a huge rock straight at my face — it hit me right in the nose. All of this was literally unprovoked. I'll never understand why he did that."
11. "When I was in college, Kid Cudi came to perform at my school. He was running super behind, and the people were getting rowdy and starting to throw stuff (one of which was an entire brand-new bottle of ranch dressing). It came flying and knocked me right between the eyes. I was totally seeing stars, but didn't want to leave after waiting so long. I was more concerned about: 'Who brings a bottle of dressing to a concert?'"
12. "I had a Greyhound bus driver once who, upon boarding, was like: 'Ugh, you'd be so pretty if you didn't have all that metal on your face' (I had a lip piercing and a nose piercing). I wish I told him to fuck off because 1. I was super cute, so joke's on him, and 2. I didn't need the approval of some random bus driver, thanks."
13. "This encounter sticks with me the most. I had recently dyed my hair blonde and was walking down the street. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched a guy walk across the street to my side. He came up to me and said: 'I don't like your hair,' and then crossed back to the other side of the street he was originally on. He kept walking — he literally went out of his way just to insult me."
14. "When I was 17 and a newly licensed driver, I was just about to get into my car alone in a Walmart parking lot. This guy appeared out of nowhere to try to sell me magazine subscriptions so he could travel somewhere. I let him go through his spiel because I didn't even realize what was going on at first, but when I figured out he wanted me to buy something, I turned him down (and of course, they don't take 'no' for an answer). Eventually, he snatched back whatever form he shoved into my hand, and walked away all annoyed. Obviously not a violent or dangerous thing that happened to me, but I still think about it sometimes — how easy of a mark I looked to him, as a naïve, young girl."
15. And: "I was at this really nice church where they served lunch afterwards — I attended with my best friend and our sons. As my friend and I were sitting eating lunch, an older woman approached us and said: 'Well, now hopefully we won’t make the mistake of having children out of wedlock again.' I am not the hold-my-tongue type of person with anyone (regardless of age), and I felt like I should make her feel as shitty as she made us feel. So, I replied: 'Actually, their fathers were killed overseas.' She immediately looked crestfallen, and apologized and walked away. Moral of the story: Don’t ever presume to know anyone’s situation. Their fathers didn’t die overseas, but I didn’t appreciate this random stranger giving her unwanted two-cents about our lives."
In conclusion:
Note: Some stories have been edited for length and/or clarity.