Non-Americans Share Their Local 'Bigfoot' And 'Area 51' Equivalents
Of course you do. It's an American cultural legend. Almost a ghost story--it's a clear cover-up by the government with no true explanation. Only theories. It's almost fun to stew on. But every country must have something like this, right?
ekrgekgt asked Reddit:
Non-Americans of reddit, what is the "Bigfoot" or "Area 51" equivalent of your country?
Here are some culturally diverse urban legends.
Dahut
In france we have a mythical creature in the mountain regions called a "dahut". What's funny is that it supposedly has shorter legs on one side, either left or right, to accomodate the slopes he lives on. So if you encounter one, you just have to shout, which causes him to turn around, thus falling down because the long legs are now on the top side of the slope... That flaw makes them a rare sight and an endangered species.
Ghost Train
In Stockholm (Sweden) we have a half finished metro station that you just pass through. It is rumored that there is a ghost train called Silverpilen (the silver arrow) traveling to that station. If you accidentally board that train your die and your ghost is trapped on the train forever.
Missing
Slovakia here - There's a myth of Bermuda triangle like phenomenon in mountains (or perhaps hills) of TrÃbe?. It is nothing but few hills, forest and it is really hard to get lost there, because of its small size in square kilometres, but few people went missing there and were never found.
Sirens
Grew up in a rural part in the south of Norway. When I was a kid my parents and other adults would tell us stories about "Nøkken". A water creature that would lure you to the water and drown you. I remember the dad of my bestfriend telling me they could come through the toilet and drag you through to your death.
Méxicante
Mexico has "La Llorona" (the crying woman), who's basically a Mexican banshee lady who lives in the countryside.
Also, el Chupacabra, a beast said to suck the blood of farm animals.
Abandonment
In the Netherlands we have a bunch of military bases, which you can all look up on google maps and see the satellite pictures of, but there's this one area of a military school they felt the need to scramble. [link].
I've been in that area once (you can just walk to it, it's about as secure as a regular school), and there's nothing interesting there. It seems like a leftover they forgot to 'undo' when in the past they blurred every military area, but many people in the area think they train special marines there, which I highly doubt.
Unidentified Flying Mountain
Oh boy, I was waiting for this question to be asked.
I live in a small city in Serbia, Zaje?ar. About 35 km away from me is a pyramid shaped mountain called Rtanj . And why that mountain is popular, besides that strange shape is because there are rumors that aliens land there. But, the fun part is, there were lots of UFO sightings over Rtanj and over my home town too. Even I saw a couple of UFO's flying over the mountain. Scientists have gathered a couple of times to investigate what is happening over there. And the only thing they have said is that the UFO's might be lightning balls, although they don't know why they're forming on the mountain.
Now, I will try my best to describe them. My whole family has seen them, since our balcony is directly facing the mountain , and all of them behave and look the same way. Small circles that are moving extremely fast in similar patterns, their paths are usually like geometrical shapes. They also change color, and after travelling for a couple of minutes, they disappear into thin air, sometimes they can even reappear in a different place. Note: the sky was always clear, no clouds were near those things
Ogopogo..ie?
We've got the Ogopogo in Okanagan lake in B.C. Canada. It's kinda like the Loch Ness monster except... wait no there's pretty much no difference
Ghosts
Lots of them in Galicia, Spain. The one that scared me the most as a child was the myth of the "Santa Compaña":
The common belief is that of a procession of the dead (or a procession of souls that are in torment) that wander through the village paths of a parish beginning at midnight wearing white, hooded cloaks. The procession is led by a living person carrying a cross or a cauldron of holy water (sometimes he carries both), followed by several of the souls of the dead holding lit candles. The living leader of the procession is compelled by a supernatural force (in this case, a mysterious curse) to go out every night and walk by towns, villages and forests; but having no recollection of it the following day. By the same token, because the living person is unaware of what he is doing, there is no chance that he will renounce his duty in leading the Santa Compaña as the curse that forces him to lead the procession puts him into a trance every midnight.
The region of Galicia is pretty similar to Ireland, they even share to a certain degree some Celtic traditions. My parents told me that the rainy weather, the fog, etc... was the origin of such stories.
More Than The Yeti
India
We have Yeti, a snowy figure which is rumored to live in the Himalayas.
There are many equivalents of Area 51, mainly:
- Pokhran Test Ranges. Pokhran TR is secured by more than 5 Indian agencies working independently or in tandem with other agencies. The outer perimeter is secured by special BSF commandos while Indian Army secures the facility. Overall security Is maintained by RAW and MI officers. There is also a COIN team to check any leak of information from within. Various ISI spies have been caught trying to get soil or nail samples of the scientists working there. A CIA agent too was rumored to be caught.
- Wheeler's Island. India's missile testing base. India's strategic nuclear missiles and tactical missiles, all are tested here. From Agni 5 to BrahMos, everything takes shape here.
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Of the 572 islands in AANI, only 34 are open to public. AANI also hosts India's top secret Tried Service command.
- Trishul Airbase. Trishul Airbase in Bareilly is the largest underground airbase in Asia. This facility was so secure that it housed the MiG-25 fox bats which were bought under complete secrecy. The acknowledgement of Foxbats happened only on the day they were retired. Imagine an airbase so secure that you don't see which fighter jet flies out of it.
Iceland-Consonants, AND Monsters
Iceland, we have a few. I'll skip the elves, ghosts, trolls and dwarves for now.
- Nykur - a water demon that lures you to your death masquerading as a horse
- Lagarfljótsormurinn - cousin of Loch Ness Monster
- Yule Cat - it will eat the naughty children at Yule (called Christmas in some places these days)
Kareful Of Kappa
In Japan, it would be kappa. A human like green creature that lives around river.
The Fictional City
The city of "Bielefeld" in Germany.
If you look it up on any map, or even on Google, you'll find nothing except a normal looking city.
Except that city does not exist. No one is completely sure why it shows up on almost every map, but it has always been that way. There are some theories, that "Bielefeld" was created by a map maker a few hundred years back to check if anyone copys his maps and after some people did that, Bielefled has become some sort of easter-egg for map designers.
Some guys will argue that they are from Bielefeld, but thats just an old running joke in germany.
A Million Ways To Die
UK.
Instead of UFOS abductions our folklore has a lot of faerie/fairies abductions. People being tempted and drowned in lakes by Kelpies. People stepping into faerie circles/rings and dancing at a party for a few minutes but when they leave its been hundred years and someone see's them dissolve into dust. Fairies stealing babies and swapping changelings in their place. People destroying a fairy fort and getting cursed, even in modern day link and link some of these stories are still heard, but not so much in the abduction side.
Hasn't been a sighting for years but spring heeled jack is an old one.
There's always sightings of big black cats or hounds England) in the countryside and I've had one of these experiences myself. Saw a black cat in a field when I was a passenger in a car but it didn't look right like for the size and distance it was. Something didn't match up. Either a perspective illusion or it was a big cat.
Lot and lots of haunted places. Every town seems to have a good few ghost stories.
Secret societies and what they get up to. Freemasons being linked to jack the ripper (if you read they all love jack) or demon summoning if you follow they are based around king Solomon myths. Funnily Illuminati used to be a real but less sinister group and it sounds like most of the fears about them come from their rivalry with the freemasons. Though in most cases these societies and freemasons seem to be glorified gentlemen's drinking clubs and not that sinister nowadays. There's also Aleister Crowley and his former group the Golden Dawn too.
Tee Hee
In Portugal there's the "Honest Politician". No one has seen any in ages, our parents swear they were a real thing a couple decades ago, but it's been so long since anyone's seen any, that it pretty much became a mythical creature.
The Most Canadian Bigfoot
Aboriginal Canadian... Also Bigfoot. We call him Sabe and he is a tender manitou (spirit creature) of the forest that teaches us honesty. Arguable you could also include the windigo and our various sea serpents, some of which other people living in Canada also believe in.
Also a local Rez has a story about Monkey-Dog, half monkey and half dog that causes mischief. It's not my Rez so I don't know too much about it. I can only assume a white man brought it over to inconvenience them.
A Hot Place
Aussie here. I can't think of anything which fits the bill. Aboriginal people have plenty of legends, but nobody thinks they might be true. The Thylacine is believed to be extinct but if it was found in the wild, nobody would be totally surprised.
There is a story I heard of the Black Dac. Basically a DC4 Dakota painted totally black which is seen flying over the outback from time to time. Most of the stories have it passing over a campsite at 50 feet or so.
But I have never met anybody else who knows that story so it doesn't really qualify.
Evil Mountain
It's not my country, but Russians have Metro 2. It is/was a secret metro system buried deep enough under Moscow to withstand a direct nuclear attack. It was made to help ferry government officials from place to place and act as a nuclear shelter as well. Supposedly it has lines that stretch beyond Moscow so they can flee the city if necessary, but it also has living quarters and offices if they need to stay. Like Area 51, it's existence is confirmed, but there are many legends about what goes on in it, and nobody knows if it is still operational.
They also have Mount Yamantau, which is their closest Area 51 analogue. The mountain itself literally means "Evil Mountain" in the Bashkir language, and the Russians have been constructing some kind of massive facility there. Tens of thousands of workers are housed there but the Russian government has been tight-lipped on what is going on there. They've refused to give the US even a hint of what Mt. Yamantau might be used for, and the speculation is endless.
Tikoloshe
In South Africa, there is a Zulu folklore about a little dude that basically looks like a dwarf/ water sprite/ gremlin type, and he just causes mischief wherever he goes. A lot of Zulu families until this day still put their beds on bricks because they believe that it's too high up for the gremlin to reach. He's known as the Tikoloshe. Zulu shamans created him back in the day to scare people off if they offended the shaman. Apparently he can do all sorts of things; from stealing to killing. The folklore says that the Tikoloshe mostly targets schoolchildren.
Space Dust
The Tunguska Meteorite.
The year was 1908, late June. For several days, in several locations in the Northern Hemisphere strange lights were seen in the sky. Mainly in Western Siberia, but also as far as Bristol in England. Then, on June 30th, an enormous ball of flames flew over Siberia. A giant explosion was seen and heard hundreds of kilometers from the crash site, with observatories all over the world detecting a shockwave from it. Glass was shattered within a radius of a few hundred kilometers, and a wave of hot air was reported by several people living far away from each other. Reports closest to the epicenter of the explosion say that the heatwave was so devastating that dry grass bust into flames.
The force of the explosion is estimated to be up to 50 megatons, equal to the power of the Soviet thermonuclear weapon, the Tsar bomb. The explosion was heard from 800 km and the seismic wave was detected all the way in Germany. For almost the entire month after that, lights in the sky kept appearing.
The year was 1927. A meteorite researcher named Leonid Kulik went on an expedition to find the crater from the supposed meteorite. Having gathered several witness reports in 1921, he determined where the epicenter should have been. He never found the crater. Not even after he photographed 250 square km of land from a plane in 1938. To this day, no crater was found, and consensus is, no crater ever existed. The meteorite exploded several kilometers from the ground. Yet, even now, nobody knows for certain what exactly it was.
The strange lights in the sky were actually easy to explain, it was ice from the meteorite. But it wasn't pure ice, and what caused it to explode before hitting ground is unknown. It's still a mystery, and it caused many science fiction writers to incorporate it into their stories. To this day it is used as a source for alien technology in fiction, with a video game Crysis 2 being a good example.
We often find ourselves having to guess how to make things work and make things fit--in our lives, but also just in our possessions. Will these pants fit me? These shoes?
Will this screw fit my table? Will this charger fit my phone?
If everything was somehow standard, wouldn't it all be so much easier?
u/DigiQuip asked:
What's something that's not standardized but should be?
Here were some of those answers.
No More Vanity Sizes
Sizes for clothing.
Especially for shoes. How hard would it be to just list the sizes in centimeters (or inches if you're American)?
WHY DO WE USE STANDARD MEASUREMENTS FOR OUR CLOTHES, BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT SIZES IN DIFFERENT BRANDS???
Calvin Klein's men's slacks: 32'' waist
Bar III men's slacks: 32'' waist
Perry Ellis slacks: 32'' waist
THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT WAIST SIZES. WHYY?!?!?!?!
Ah Yes, Three Chilis
There's a standard for chili heat levels (the Scoville scale), but food manufacturers never use it. Instead, they use a varying number of chili icons which mean nothing at all.
It's always fun going to like a Thai restaurant in Canada and trying to figure out whether the chili icon means Thai spicy or Canadian spicy.
Ah Yes, This Could Kill Me
Household electrical voltages and sockets.
Interestingly enough, there was an attempt: since 1986, there is an international standard socket, IEC 60906-1. However, only South Africa has implemented it so far.
And it is unlikely it will ever be implemented in other countries, as the EU is even advising against it since 2017:
REFIT found that "the harmonisation of plug and socket outlet systems in Europe, by introducing changes in national wiring legislations (would have) important transitional periods (above 75 years)", and that the cost to "replace the old socket-outlets (and the corresponding plugs of the appliances being used)" was estimated at 100 billion Euro, "generating a huge environmental impact, producing some 700 000 tons of electrical waste".[3] REFIT does not recommend harmonising the plugs and socket-outlet systems in Europe.
Can we just get a little consistency here? Please?!
No Stacks
After working in a grocery store, can diameters should only come in a maybe 4 sizes. And they should all stack.
But they don't. They never do.
I feel your pain. I hate those narrow jars and cans that are slightly narrower than 3 wires of the shelf so they tip over if you don't place them perfectly.
A Computer Mouse, Not A Little Baby Mouse
Modern rechargable batteries.
We spent years with standard size batteries. We are now stuck with proprietary batteries which aren't designed to be user replaceable and often dictate the life of the device.
Yes absolutely. I found this fact especially annoying when looking for a mouse. Most of the more expensive mice come with rechargeable batteries, and it seems that modern tech reviewers are claiming this is better than some standard double A.
All Standard, Yet None Standard
I worked in a hardware store long enough to learn that apparently everything is standardized.
"I need window screens."
Okay, what are your dimensions?
"It's a standard size window."
─
"I'm looking for a replacement ceiling fan."
Okay, do you want small blades, large blades? A modest 30" span or a robust 56"?
"Just standard size."
─
"Do you think this large, bulky, cumbersome commodity will fit in my vehicle?"
I don't know. How big your truck?
"It's a standard one."
protip: it's a sedan. it's always a sedan.
Welp, Here's Your Problem
Based on years of helping my Dad in his shop, doing bodywork on vehicles - fastenings. Bolts, screws. rivets, clips... the sheer amount of specialized fastenings and required tools is insane. Even the variety of types in single vehicles is excessive.
Not to mention many of them are so cheaply made that there is no reusing them.
So Many Sign Languages
Not necessarily something that should be standardised because it would affect many cultures negatively, but I've always wondered what it would be like if every country just spoke one language. Sign language should probably be standardised, but re-learning sign language for people who use it may be difficult and time-consuming
Perhaps We Need To Rethink Policing
Police responses to missing persons across the nation, and the information requirements for police reports to be filled out with specific and complete information at the first point of contact by the person reporting the missing person, regardless of the age, status, or suspected reason for disappearing.
Police should NEVER be allowed to decide a case isn't valid at the first point of contact.
A Recipe For A Lint Fire
The laundry exhaust receptacle in homes should be centered exactly eighteen inches (45.7cm) from the floor with eighteen inches (or 45.7 cm) of clearance on both sides.
The exhaust duct of a clothes dryer should be in the middle of the back of the machine, and centered eighteen inches/45.7 cm from the floor. The dryer should have adjustable feet to allow for slight errors in measurement.
Once this is done, a laundry dryer can be pushed into the wall and we won't need to craft a length of ducting to connect the two.
Just a little bit of sameness and consistency could really go a long way here.
Some things ought not be tried again.
Sure, they made sense the first time. It may have held charm, at least some sense of purpose on the second go around. But eventually, surely, an essential truth became clear: never again.
Reddit is apparently crawling with people carrying around that permanent grudge towards some thing they've done in the past.
Lucky for us, we can learn from their mistakes.
senorllama57 asked, "What is something you will never do again?"
There were, of course, plenty of people who discussed horrible jobs they've held in the past. They may have had little choice at the time, but now that it's all in the past they feel free to share how they really felt.
The Customer Always Seems To Be Wrong
"Work retail. I think every kid fresh out of high school should work a retail job for a year. It builds character." -- ProfessionalTheme415
"How did you get out!?! Lol. It's like a black hole where I work. Everyone that tries to leave comes back." -- threebillion6
A Lot Going On
"Work in a nursing home. The sights, screams and pleas Will haunt me forever." -- M_Lamora
"Honestly working in a nursing home was one of the most weird jobs I ever had. I've never been threatened so many times in my life. I once had a memory care resident ask me if I would help her jump a caregiver."
One After Another
"Work in a call center." -- Evilsmurfkiller
"Sucked the soul right out of me within a year." -- Bandana-mal
"I was at one for 2 and half years and it was not until I left I realized I had work-related depression. I was overeating, not eating, sleep deprived, slept all the time, I had such rage that would come out at times...
"I did not care what happened to me, I left because they were gonna fire me over something dumb because they just fire people for being there long. I left over a year ago, and I have not been this happy to wake up every day in years, my life is so much better now." -- UnusualLight0
Others discussed past struggles they've encountered within the romantic realm. Unfortunately, these lessons came with plenty of emotional struggle.
Committing
"Get married. It'll be 19 years this August and my marriage is my marriage. I reserve the right to have a girlfriend at some point if she passes away before I do, but she's the one and only wife, end of story."
-- StChas77
Stay Attuned
"Ignore red flags when talking to someone I want to date. I've done it twice now, and both times sucked" -- YareYareYandere
"Listen to your gut. If something feels off, you're probably not imagining it." -- SurealGod
Don't Forget About You
"Okay first off I'm sorry if this might sound cringe :D . . . That would be hmm become too attached/codependent on a person. Whether it may be of a lover, friend, or just acquaintance."
"Idk if it's coincidence but they either end up gone one day or become total di**s when you least expect it and I'm forced to cut ties."
And some people chose to recall the things they were so certain would be fun and enjoyable, but turned out to be so not.
A Bad Ratio
"I made a super elaborate meal once. It was ... okay. Certainly not worth the effort involved." -- Astramancer_
"Take an hour to make something, only takes 15 minutes to eat. It's bullsh**." -- SurealGod
Hours and Hours
"Times Square on New Years' Eve. It was fun once, never need to do it again." -- AnswerGuy301
"I was going to answer the same thing. It seemed like it would be so much fun but now that I know what it entails — never again" -- hi_its_me
"I have never been and never understood the attraction of waiting for hours and hours in the shivering weather." -- amrodd
Think of Grease Splatters
"Prepare steaks when drunk" -- Kiaulunne
"Not for your reason, but same here. Cooked one at 2am after half a bottle of rum. Quickly ate and passed out after. Woke up around 8am dying for water and realised I left the gas stove on... So glad nothing burned down..." -- schofield101
Turning Point
"I will never get drunk again. Tipsy, buzzed, sure. Thats fine."
"But when I was in front of that toilet for an hour, being so weak I couldn't even sit up, having people constantly come in to check on me, worrying that I might have alcohol poisoning, that is exactly not a fun time"
-- Raemnant
So take some notes! Or maybe there were some true horrors you went through that this list seems to be lacking.
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You know what they say, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Because the people who have our best interests in mind typically have good intentions when they give us advice, but there's a chance that that advice can go horribly wrong.
Try not to follow the bad advice given here, because you don't want to get the results that these guys did.
U/Duckerton375 asked: What's the worst advice someone ever gave you, but you still followed?
The workplace can bring a cornucopia of terrible advice. Don’t follow these unless you want to get fired.
​Bad jobs are usually not worth it.
Stick with a job no matter how bad it is. I stayed with a terrible job working retail, dealing with horrible customers and sexual harassment. I was told I wouldn't find anything better.
"No, no, you misunderstand. I said you wouldn't find anything better at making you feel like complete garbage."
This gets really creepy really fast.
"After you put in a job application, you need to call them at least once a day every day until they hire you."
Note: this did not get me hired. It got me called out by the HR person I was calling and forbidden to ever contact their facility again.
I work for a law firm that employees over 1500 people in the home office alone. Once I received a call from the building security saying, "Insert Name is here to speak with the owner." Well we are run by a committee so that's odd. Found out they just applied for a job and wanted to talk directly to the person that would potentially hire them. Told him the firm will contact them to schedule an interview. They refused to leave without "talking to the owner." Had security escort them out of the building.
​This is absolutely not true.
"Sleep is for people who do not want success" great words from my uncle, it almost killed me.
Now I may be oversleeping.
​Interpersonal relationships are also a big breeding ground for terrible advice. Don’t listen to any of these.
Heartbreaking.
My father always tought me and my brother that "having friends is bad and in the end they will never be there for you" so everytime I told my father about my friends he would get kinda mad and give me the advice to stop talking to them.
Now I am afraid of people and have several trust issues, thanks dad.
​This won’t end well.
In the fifth grade my teacher was talking about bullying, then she said "if anyone tries to bully you just agree with them." So the next time I got bullied I agreed with the bully and they bullied me more.
Dude one time I saw an anti bullying video that told the victims to just BE NICE TO THE BULLY. Like the bully was hurling insults and the victim was smiling and complimenting him. My first thought was about how much I hated the mere thought that this would work. My second thought was of how the people who came up with that method had clearly never been bullied.
​Oof.
When I met my now wife at the age of 19, one of my coworkers said that it's very important to start at the bottom with presents and work your way up, she still has the socks I gave her on our first anniversary on the wall over our bed as a reminder...
I'm still trying to teach my boyfriend about good presents and bad presents. Biscuits from the supermarket = bad present. Cheap unbranded laptop battery from China as my only present = bad present (and only lasted 2 months). Anything off my 7-page wishlist = good present. It's literally a list of things I want to receive as presents.
​Can tell you from experience that this is a bad idea.
Had a falling out with some friends. My husband recommended I reach out to an old friend who ghosted me suddenly in a manner that induced some pretty severe abandonment trauma. Went for it anyways because "it's been so long, surely they changed". Am now experiencing the same things as last time.
When you follow bad advice, it can lead to mistakes that you just can’t come back from.​
Buying a house is tricky.
"Buy a home now before the prices go up!" -my FIL in 2006.
We bought in 2007 and paid $259,500 for our 1,300 sq ft house (we really couldn't afford it and had an 80/20 so we had 8% interest for one loan and 6% on the other) and in 2008 it was worth $97,000 so refinancing wasn't even an option. We watched all of our neighbors walk away or get foreclosed on but we kept paying our bills and as of this very moment our house is worth $462,000. I'm so happy we stuck it out, we both worked our @sses off and the house will be paid off in 2 years.
It worked out for us, it's a horrible idea. Especially since 1300 sq ft houses are $460+k
My heartbreaks for future generations, I honestly don't know how people are going to afford housing in the future.
It’s there for a reason.
"Never apply for any government assistance."
Cue years of suffering trying to work full-time with a painful disability. Quit a particularly terrible job, and wanted to apply for food aid until I could find another gig; a friend with lots of DHS experience recommended I apply for Social Security "just to get in the system." Turns out my disability was bad enough to get accepted the first time, which I wasn't expecting. Really could've used that support, oh, the 30+ previous years of my life.
Credit is important to have.
I was told to not get a credit card until after college. I was super fortunate to have my college paid for so I had no loans, car paid in cash, no credit card or anything to start building credit. Found myself out in the world at 22 years old with a credit score of 0.
So while a lot of this bad advice came from trusted people, oftentimes they were too misinformed to give that advice in the first place. Don't trust the word of one person--do your research, and make decisions for yourself.
It'll be way better in the long run
Every once in awhile, somebody comes along, enters your life, and catapults themselves to that awful, unique position at the top of your list of the worst people you have ever met.
Sometimes, the person's blindingly terrible behavior and overall essence is actually impressive. We ask ourselves, "how could a person like this actually exist on purpose?"
Alas, they do. And you have to deal with them. Or, if your lucky, you can carve out some distance.
Redditors shared descriptions of the worst people they've ever had the misfortune to meet. Some have escaped the relationship. Some are are still stuck in the clutches.
LoneStar202 asked, "Who is the worst person you have ever met?"
Some chose to talk about the acquaintances they simply couldn't help but encounter. External circumstances beyond their control made the stars align in the worst way possible.
Keeping the Peace
"There was this guy who used to come into the McDonald's where I did security overnight (yes, that's a job), and he was the biggest ahole I've ever met in my life."
"Ginger, 5'6 or so, named Colby, had a perpetual scowl on his face, looked for any reason to start a fight with anyone. He and his friend would come in when it's super busy, not order, and then yell at the staff that he paid and wasn't given a receipt in the hopes that they'd give him free food rather than deal with him."
"I kicked him out for six months on two separate occasions for coming in drunk and throwing things, drinking beer in the restaurant, starting fights, you name it. Only got in my face once and I never had to fight him, but I'm much bigger than him and the law is on my side."
"Not that I would necessarily have won. I'm big and strong, but I have no idea how to fight and he did. I called his bluffs because I was pretty sure he wouldn't attack me and he didn't."
"Funny, I just realized I've finally forgotten his last name. Not that I'd mention it. He might be less of a @ss now and he's no longer my business."
-- Shippo-chan
You Know 'Em
"I work with a real life, archetypal, Karen. She's two-faced, mean, anti-vax, and just generally the whole nine. The first interaction I ever had with her she had to make fun of me behind my back for being a dude with earrings."
"Recently kicked up a stink by making an 'anonymous' email address and emailing our HR department saying people were discriminating against folks not getting the covid vaccine.
"Luckily she's burned too many bridges for anyone to really take her crazy anymore but man is she frustrating to deal with."
Others discussed the family members that, for obvious reasons, they were forced to put up with for years and years. But even family isn't enough to keep a person like that around.
Marrying Into It
"It sounds cliche, but my ex-MIL. What made her the worst is that she was a covert POS."
"We always lived about 1k miles from them, so I didn't pick up on it for far, far too long, but goddamn, I've never met anyone with as much unacknowledged hate and cruelty in their heart."
A Thing of the Past
"My father. Cheater, never paid child support, verbally abusive to my mother, sister and I. Just all around bad dude."
"Haven't talked to him in about 15 years and am 100% ok with that."
-- itsdjc
So Many Problems
"My brother. He's like a cross between Kramer (Seinfeld, 'my newest thing' and mannerisms) and Frank from Its Always Sunny (illegal activity and completely illogical 'logic')."
"He's ripped me off for thousands of dollars (getting close to 5 figures). Constantly stealing anything he can, but claims 'borrowed' if caught with it. Been to jail 3 times and is currently on house arrest after over a year of probation violations. "
"The epitome of 'easier to say sorry than ask permission' (but the apologies are hollow) and 'what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine.' No consideration for anyone or anything. Manages to break virtually anything he touches. Hasn't had a job in over 1.5 years, but has been trying to fraudulently collect unemployment."
"Constantly thinks everyone is out to get him and people are stalking the camper he lives in (has security cameras that he watches frequently and often 'patrols' the area). Tries to break into locked doors and safe, and pulls the 'why don't you believe/trust me' line."
"I'm just scratching the surface here. He'd use your clippers/razor to shave his family jewels and not clean up the mess (something he's done multiple times)."
-- ChuckoRuckus
Finally, there were the stories of classmates. Whether it was high school, college, or even graduate school, there were enough people there all in one place that one or two rotten people were never far away.
Crash Landing
"Guy from my high school was a wannabe thug. He ended up going to juvi junior year. After a year of juvi. He became a true criminal. Broke into people's homes. Stole from stores and got heavy into drugs."
"Then he eventually died after robbing the wrong store at gunpoint. The owner came out the back and shot him with a shotgun."
Wait for the Twist
"My gf's college classmate. Narcistic. Thought of himself as very important so he came into the church where we were graduating, on his HORSE. He damaged a 1000 or something-year-old church floor in Leiden. He thinks he didn't do anything wrong."
"And the weird thing is, we were graduating LAW SCHOOL"
Ride Like Lightning, Crash Like Thunder
"I had a classmate who wanted to become a stock broker and a millionaire. He said more than once, with absolute pride, 'When I'm rich I wont donate a single penny to the poor!' I asked him why and he said 'I have my own problems, and the poor being poor is not one of them.' "
"He opened his own business when he was 23 and was pretty successful, but suddenly a fire burned the place down while he was in it and he suffered from third degree burns all over his body."
"He later confessed setting the fire himself and was found guilty on insurance fraud. He's only 24 now and his professional life is basically over."
-- Sadlycoris
A Sudden Shift
"A teacher I once had. Didn't know me. Never spoke to me much."
"One day just randomly snapped at me. Yelling at me telling me that I had no future, that all the awards I got were to go to waste, that I the article I published which I spent hours working on and submitted didn't matter. That even though I was 14 and had many great achievements, I would end up just like that said teacher."
"Worst person I have ever encountered. Did collateral damage to my life as now I am a high school student with no more ambition. Wanna be a journalist? Wanna be a writer? A lawyer? Not anymore buddy."
Hopefully, you don't have too many of these people in your own life. But, let's face it, there's one or two people on your mind right now.
Here's hoping you managed to let go and get away.
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