We’re all taught to spot the obvious red flags, but what about the ones that are so cleverly disguised, they sound like a normal conversation? Sometimes, the most unsettling words don’t register immediately. It’s only hours later, replaying the moment in your head, that the chilling subtext finally clicks into place.
An online community asked people to share the creepiest thing someone ever said that sounded perfectly innocent at first. The responses are a hot mess of disturbing double meanings and conversations that took a sinister turn, and we’ve gathered the most unsettling stories below. Prepare to trust your gut feeling forever.
More info: Reddit
#1
I can walk you home, it’s not that big of a detour.
I hadn’t told them where I lived.
#2
Met one of my mom’s “friends” who complimented my skin upon the first meeting. I said thank you and moved on.
We went to dinner later and she complimented my skin again, then asked to touch it. I had no clue what to do with that question and said “sure” against my instincts. She reached across the table and put her hand on my cheek for a few seconds before stopping. Very weirded out at this point.
When I was leaving my mom’s a few days later, she stopped in and AGAIN goes, “you really have such beautiful skin!! Can I hug you?” Again, against my better judgement, I said “sure” and she hugged me.
My mom doesn’t talk to her anymore for unrelated reasons but I was worried she was going to ask to wear my skin next….
#3
I’m not close to my dad sides so it’s rare to see his family. I might have been 8 or 9 the last time I recall seeing that side of the family.
Anyways, I walk up to the family event to greet my uncle. First thing he said was “wow you look good….*licks his lips* you’re shaped like a woman now” as he took a step back to look me up and down.
That strange, delayed-reaction chill you get when replaying a seemingly normal comment is a real and powerful neurological event. We call it a “gut feeling” or intuition, but according to experts at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), it’s not a mystical sixth sense.
They explain that your brain is a supercomputer that is constantly processing vast amounts of information subconsciously, drawing on all your past experiences and social cues to spot patterns. When someone says something that sounds innocent on the surface but their tone or body language is slightly “off,” your brain recognizes this mismatch long before your conscious mind can pinpoint the problem.
According to Dr. Joel Pearson, a professor of cognitive neuroscience, this happens so fast that your conscious mind isn’t even aware of the processing. That feeling of unease is your brain’s alarm system, telling you that the words you heard don’t match the data you’re receiving.
#4
“If you weren’t 16, I’d be trying to get with you.” – My 35 year old coworker who had a fiancée.
Creeped me out at the time, but the older I get, the memory just keeps getting worse lol.
#5
“Oh I like redheads!” He looked me up and down. I was six.
#6
When I was in middle school and junior h**h, I was in trouble alot. Always in the principal’s office. Once in like 2004, the principal asked me, “you wanna know why I’m so frustrated with you being in trouble all the time?” And I said “why?” And his response was, “because you’re so d**n handsome. You could have anything in life, because you’re so d**n handsome and this is what you do.”
I just said “ok” and then he asked “are you not going to say thank you? Do you not think you’re handsome?” I just said idk and took whatever minor punishment I had for my infraction, which was most likely detention.
Thinking back, I’m very lucky I didn’t do something really bad, because corporal punishment was a thing in my school, and I shudder at the idea of what that pervert would do if he got to paddle me.
The most extreme and terrifying examples of this phenomenon come from the mouths of infamous serial unalivers, many of whom were masters of the “mask of sanity.” People like Ted Bundy or Dennis Rader were known for their ability to appear completely normal, even charming and friendly, to their neighbors and coworkers.
They lived double lives, and their seemingly innocent, everyday comments are rendered horrifying in retrospect, once you know the truth of who they were. A simple phrase like “I like to go for drives at night” is no longer a casual hobby; it becomes a statement about hunting for victims.
Many of their quotes reveal a shocking self-awareness of their own duality. David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam,” said, “Well, you got me. How come it took you such a long time?” This is a disturbingly calm and normal reaction to being caught in NYC’s biggest manhunt, showing the creepy nonchalance that people like him could muster up.
#7
My fiancé’s uncle told me that men like to dominate women like me and he progressively started to get creepier after that.
#8
Guy I went on a date with held my wrist
Him: … your wrists are so small, I can grab it with my hand.
Me: yeah…?
Him: …. I wonder if I can fit one hand around your neck.
Ghosted him the next day.
#9
“Can I hug you?” Proceeded by an extended hug by my male therapist when I was a young adult.
I stopped seeing him for an unrelated reason, but it occurred to me as I got older that instances like that was pretty weird.
Of course, not every unsettling comment is a sign that you’re in the presence of a future criminal. Sometimes, the creepiness comes from a place of pure, unadulterated social awkwardness, delivered by someone who is, by all accounts, a perfectly nice person. Pop culture has given us the patron saint of this phenomenon: Tom Haverford fromParks and Recreation.
He is a fiercely loyal friend and a genuinely good guy, but his romantic playbook seems to have been written by an alien who doesn’t quite get the hang of the whole thing. Tom’s brand of weirdness lies in his complete lack of a natural filter. He deploys strange, made-up slang and delivers compliments that sound less like sweet nothings and more like a strange inventory of a woman’s features.
In the warm, funny context of a sitcom, his over-the-top lines are hilarious. But if a real-life stranger at a bar told you they were “daydreaming about your mouth,” you’d be signaling the bartender for help. So, just remember that a comment can be both harmless in its purpose and deeply creepy in its delivery.
#10
An older guy from work whispered in my ear that he thinks of me a lot, at a company summer outing. An hour or so later I got major freaked out.
#11
1. I was at work kinda bending over a table to reach the sign display and an older man (vendor) walks up behind me and whispers “I’ve been married for way too long. You better watch yourself with those two braids bent over like that” it was the pause before the first sentence and the ending of what he was saying.
2. I was talking to my aunty about the a***e we endure at home from my dad and she says “you better consider yourself lucky. We had it worse when we we’re kids”… sorry….
#12
Matched with a guy on tinder. I only told him my first name.
He found me on Facebook.
He found my LinkedIn.
He found my address in property records.
Send me a pic of my house like it was a cool magic trick. And he asked me about the uni I went to.
I was not impressed.
A first date is a h**h-stakes performance, and it’s arguably the most common setting for a seemingly innocent comment to land with a thud of pure creepiness. Both people are nervous, trying to impress each other, and often overthinking every word. This pressure-cooker environment is the perfect breeding ground for a compliment to go dreadfully wrong.
Relationship writer Karley Sciortino, in an article forVogue, lays out the unwritten rules for what to avoid on a first date, and many of her warnings pinpoint the source of this accidental creepiness. She advises against talking about exes, getting too deep into your personal traumas, or making grand, premature declarations about the future.
A comment like, “I’ve been looking for someone like you my whole life,” might be intended as the ultimate compliment, but to the person on the receiving end, it sounds less like romance and more like you’ve already picked out the curtains for your life together.
#13
TW! SA
My gynecologist touched my legs telling me how nice they are and then did a procedure on me on the chair with his utensils. After was done he said:” Now I was your first time.” and I laughed it off cause it was my first time ever being at a gynecologist.
#14
I was at a gigantic Asian buffet that had one of those chocolate fountains you could dip fruit into. I was making myself some chocolate-covered strawberries, and a guy in his 30s came up and said “Hey, are you making those for me?”
I was fourteen.
Oh – and another thing that happened at the same age. I was visiting my mom’s gym and relaxing in the hot tub. A guy in his 20s-30s came into the tub and started asking me about my life. Where’d I go to school? Was it going okay? Did I have any friends? A boyfriend? What about my parents? So your dad isn’t around, huh?
My parents did *not* teach me jack s**t about stranger danger or anything. I just felt uncomfortable, but entertained him because that’s what my mother would have told me to do – “Be nice, don’t be rude.” So that’s what I did. Again, I didn’t like it and something did feel “off”, but I didn’t know what it was. I got out ahead of him to go to the bathroom. He asked me if I was coming back and I said sure. My mom was in the changing room and said it was time to go because she was ready to go home, so that’s what we did. It didn’t occur to me for quite some time how f****d up that situation was, and how badly it could have ended.
#15
Ringing up a customer and somehow he got on the topic of prison. “You should make the right choices you’re young and got your whole life ahead of you”. Okay sure pretty normal advice until he hits me with “they r**e boys like you in prison they would eat you alive”. Well now you have to leave or im calling the cops.
So, what should you do when you get that chilling, delayed-reaction feeling? The experts say: listen to it. According to a report from the BBC, your gut instinct is your brain using rapid, non-conscious processing to make a judgment call. It takes “cognitive shortcuts” based on a lifetime of experience, and when it comes to social situations, we are all seasoned experts.
We’ve been reading people’s tones, body language, and intentions since we were babies. That feeling of unease is your internal alarm bell, a signal that something doesn’t add up. While intuition can sometimes be clouded by our own biases, in situations involving personal safety, it’s an invaluable t**l.
The advice isn’t to blindly obey the feeling without question, but to use it as a trigger for heightened awareness. When your gut tells you a comment was “off,” it’s your cue to stop being polite, start paying closer attention, and give yourself permission to create distance or leave the situation.
What is the creepiest one-liner you have ever been dealt? Tell us in the comments which red flags we should be looking out for!
#16
“I think I’m in love” then proceeded to confess his love to me and try touching me inappropriately. He was like 60 and we were basically strangers, and we were at a f*****g bus stop. Thankfully my mum just happened to call me and ask me if I was in town, so I had an excuse to leave.
#17
“You look very delicious,” from an old neighbour – on multiple occasions.
It seemed like an odd adjective to use and just got creepier the more I thought about it.
#18
“You smell like my husband when he gets out of the shower. Take that as you may”
-My highschool chemistry teacher… in the middle of a test as she was making rounds. (It was my cologne).
#19
“Hey bro, you should probably get a job where you won’t get stabbed.”
I worked at a variety store for a couple of years, and some sketch bag poked his head in and said that. Turned out he then robbed another variety store that same day, according to one of my regulars.
Edit – I should clarify that I had a regular in the store when the dude poked his head in. My theory is that if there wasn’t someone else there, he would have held me up.
#20
She’s hot !!!
How did you meet her ?
I ba**ed her Mom 16 years ago, and she’s the result.
Guy quickly moved away from me.
#21
On a second date, he smiled and said, “You remind me of my ex, but I know you’ll be different.”.
#22
“I like to people watch.”
They meant they like to watch people. Intently and only specific people, in intimate situations.
#23
I’m a male nurse, 6ft 4in tall, 240lbs, never married and no kids that is prior military and still in the reserves and work at a small hospital. I have heard tons of things that are very forward/creepy from patients, family members, and fellow coworkers-especially when a few times I have brought my coworkers coffee or food and been in uniform….
#24
A girl who had a crush on my brother was trying to talk s**t about another girl who had a crush on him to me.
Neither my brother nor I were friends with either of these girls.
She said “she drives by your house all the time looking for him, I saw her do it.”
B***h NEITHER of us have ever told you where we live, stay the f**k away!
#25
Some guy kept messaging me on FB. As I didnt know him, I kept ignoring him. He started to message my friends and asked them to tell me to reply to his messages. When I asked him why he was harassing my friends he said:,,oh, im not trying to be creepy. I saw you at comic con and thought you looked cool but was too shy to talk to you. Then I noticed that we are in the same FB group.”
That comic con was like 7 months before he started messaging me and that FB group had like 30k members.
#26
I can’t sleep unless I kiss my daughter goodnight.
Fine, but her daughter was stillborn, 13 years ago.
#27
At a party at my in laws house. I was introduced to my FILs boss. We talked about how my husband and I met while working at Disney. His first response was “Did you go have s*x in a closet the day you met?” I laughed about it and said no. then I thought about it more and how f*****g awful his opinion must be if he looked at me and assumed I was having s*x with complete strangers while on the clock at work. Excuse me, but no, I do have work ethics and am not a w***e.
To be fair though, one of my friends did allegedly give head in one of the storage containers during a shift.
#28
A guy said something regarding my last name. I never told him my last name.
#29
I’m a short Asian female and my friend called me the “perfect victim for kidnapping” 😶.
#30
Guy walks into the storefront I’m at, he asks whether the place has insurance and is up to code. That he sees multiple violations occuring that he could sue. That my company could be ina lot of trouble. He goes outside starts smoking a cigar.
I see him walk off and there is smoke coming from the planter there is a small smoldering happening in the wood mulch I walk back inside and grab my full water bottle. I walk out and there is now a small fire I put it out the guy goes your in big trouble now and I shrug and go back inside.
Still don’t know what the hell he was doing.
#31
I was working the drive thru on the 4th of July and my restaurant was right next to a truck stop so after inside closed we’d often have truckers walk up to the drive thru window. Guy said “all these fireworks make me want to go shoot somebody”. I laughed and he left and then what he said fully processed and I was like wtf. All my coworkers had been hanging out in the parking lot since we were so slow I could just take and pack the orders myself and sit in the window the rest of the time. I made them come back in after that and we stopped allowing walk ups pretty soon after.
#32
It wasn’t so much words but actions. I had seen this person with all my drunk friends and he had been nothing but respectful. Until he got me alone. Thank goodness I’m scarier than I look! .
#33
One of my coworkers was FB stalking another younger female coworker. He tipped her off accidentally by asking her a specific question about her dogs. He knew their breeds. She hadn’t told anyone she was living with her sister, who has dogs. They hadn’t even talked previously, he had just looked her up and started digging. He was reprimanded, but not fired.
#34
“Can I take your eyes” I have really blue eyes, like the sky on a sunny day blue. And I get compliments on them every now and then most being some variation of I like your eyes, can I have them and I got used to it but my coworkers reminded me how weird it is.
#35
Whenever someone says “you’re a lucky guy/woman” when talking about that persons spouse. Comes off as “I’d totally f**k your husband/wife” Always rubbed me the wrong way.
#36
My teacher actually read a quote or something on my t-shirt (written on the chest area) like an idiot smiled later realized what he was doing, the very next day wore a tshirt without a quote or a single letter but a flower on it, mf said beautiful flower like you, felt so disgusted.
Something like that happened before this also another teacher read something on my tshirt like randomly while teaching from then on my classmates and I decided not to wear t-shirts with prints in his class.
Also I am not heavy chested or anything, those t-shirts were also simple oversized tees. These incidents were so creepy like these married 35-40 years old men staring at 20 year old like eww.
#37
My sister has a colleague told her he knows everything about my dad(my dad used to work for the military) and mentioned people work with my dad and mentioned there is retirement statement next week . We didn’t care about him and we thought he is just bragging. Few days later there was actually a retirement and my dad has retired.
#38
“Their remains has probably disintegrated by now” was what us kids told eachother while swimming in the tiny lake where two men and a horse broke through the ice and drowned some 70 years earlier.
#39
“Your parents didn’t belong together.” My parents are divorced, so yeah, they didn’t work out, but the way my grandmother said it. I was thinking this woman didn’t want me to exist.