In times of immense and looming danger, our gut instincts can literally save our lives. In most psychological thrillers, there are moments leading up to a disaster when the protagonist feels their arm hair stand up straight, while they sense the emergence of mysterious presence of danger.
Sadly though, when it comes to social situations, if you're the only person feeling that gut instinct, it's all too easy to gaslight yourself and assume it is a baseless wave of anxiety vs an evolutionary form of self-protection. But in many cases, our gut instinct is there for a reason, and it's best to at least double check if its valid.
In a recent Reddit thread, people shared the times their gut instincts were correct, and in many of these cases it saved them from illness spreading, violent predators, and other unsavory fates.
1. whateverreddit88 had a sixth sense about their aunt's boyfriend.
"I had a bad feeling about my aunt’s boyfriend. Told my mom he seemed creepy and I didn’t want to stay the night there anymore. I got a bit of a lecture for calling him creepy, but she made sure I was never around him alone. And good thing - he turned out to be a child molester who is currently in jail for his involvement in a kiddie porn ring."
2. PBJBurple and their classmates KNEW the substitute teacher was "off."
"My freshman year, my math class had a substitute teacher who we all agreed was really weird and creepy. He really only talked to the girls and made inappropriate comments. (For context, this man was easily in his 60s)."
"Well, when our teacher come back the next week we complained to him about the sub (and talked crap about him) being a creeper. The teacher was very upset. He said, "I will not stand Sub being disrespected like this! I have known this man for a decade and he is a kind, good man who would never do anything to a student, or any person"
"One week later Sub was caught, in the middle of the night, breaking and entering a college girl's apartment and I believe trying to sexually assault her or doing some other perverse thing. Teacher came in the next day and apologized.
Edit: He was only charged with residential burglary (a felony) but it was a woman's home, at night."
3. 8arockfromthemoon's stepsister almost got scammed.
"I love my stepsister to pieces but she is way too trusting with people she doesn’t know well.
About ten years ago she was living with a couple of roommates who became her “best friends”. She would tell me stories about them (over the phone, we lived in different cities) and I would just think, “Jesus Christ these girls are messes.” She could hear the wariness in my voice after telling me stories about their troubled lives and how “they’re really good people who have just been through a lot!!!” I didn’t buy it. I can’t think of all the stories because it’s been too long but they were always sketchy as hell."
"Cut to my step-sister inheriting 20k from a deceased relative. She was young and super excited about it and I knew she probably didn’t keep the new money a secret. About one fucking week later, one of her roommates calls her panicking, saying that this guy who she’s been talking to online kidnapped her and was holding her for ransom. A 15k ransom. And she called my stepsister for the ransom."
"Not her parents. Her fucking roommate. She calls me, freaking out because she didn’t know what to do. I asked her if she had told her roommate about the money. Of course she did. Move out, sis. Gtfo. Those little girls who are really good people but have just been through a lot...yeah they’re liars. She reluctantly followed my advice and thankfully didn’t try to make a deal with them. I told her to call the police, if I remember correctly she didn’t. She still worries me sometimes."
4. irrelevant_usernam3 and their friend were saved by their gut.
"Freshman year of college, a friend and I were driving across town and he stopped for gas. It wasn't a dangerous part of town or anything, just a quiet gas station with an old Buick out front. But this feeling came over me that we needed to get out of there. I tried to shake the feeling by making a joke: "this feels like somewhere an axe murderer would hide out." My friend immediately gunned it out of there without filling up. He said he had the same feeling and me bringing it up too scared the shit out of him. On the way home there were about 20 police cars outside. It turns out some guy shot 2 people in a carjacking and robbery. The Buick was the car he stole."
5. Marise20 saved their own wallet.
"I was walking home and a woman approached me to ask for directions. I told her how to get where she wanted to go, but she didn't walk that way, but instead walked beside me and kept pace with me. This made me incredibly uncomfortable, so I said "Have a nice day" and doubled my speed (not running, but outpacing her significantly.)"
"A moment later, I heard running footsteps. I must have instinctively gripped my purse strap, because I held onto it as she ran by and tried to snatch it. We ended up tussling for a moment. I shouted very loudly "Help! She's stealing my purse!" Neighbors came outside, causing her to walk away. She did not get my purse."
6. Amithrius and their friend escaped bullets.
"Driving with a friend of mine through a pretty remote forest road. Couple of guys in the middle of nowhere tried flagging us down. I almost stopped for them before an alarm went off in my head and I stepped on the gas. My friend started saying "what the fu..." and at the same time there was a shot and a bullet hit the back of the car. We made it to a police station. Turns out there had been a bunch of people and vehicles going missing in the area that same week."
7. km1018 and their friends may have saved a woman's life.
"130AM leaving a club with a well lit parking lot. We had just bought a bottled water and were walking to the car. We saw a couple, guy holding girl and girl "throwing up". Offered the guy to give the girl our water. He took a swig, didn't give her any, and put it back on the car they were between. We were a little taken aback and told him to give her the water. He made a vile, disgusting face as if we were cheering him on. We walked a few feet and knew something was wrong. Had the guys we were with check back and he was pants down while she was unconscious (not puking). He was forcing himself from behind. From the front, it looked like all clothes were still on."
"Once discovered, they fell to the floor and she smacked her head on the pavement. My friends beat the shit out of him and we called the police. Tried to comfort the girl although she was very confused and disoriented. For some reason he was insistent on explaining himself and calling to her by a wrong name."
"Filed a police report, found her dumbfounded friends, answered all of the detective's questions when they called for a follow up statement to give to the district attorney. Evil has a feeling. If you see something, say something. Looking dumb or feeling dumb is much less shitty than what could actually be happening."
8. jhope71 escaped a serial killer.
"I stopped off at a dollar store to get last-minute stuff for my niece’s birthday party (foil or napkins or something). I went to the one I had never been to, in a seedy part of town. There weren’t many other people there, since it was a Sunday afternoon. A luxury car pulls up and this gorgeous man gets out and starts trying to catch my eye, like he wanted to ask directions. Dream come true, right? Except my gut started screaming RUN for no reason."
"I pretended I didn’t see him and got in my car and left. The next morning I see on the news that three people were murdered in Charleston, they were all connected to one dude, one of their cars was stolen, and the serial killer was on the loose heading west, through my area. Guess who the suspect was? Yep, the dude I’d seen. They arrested him after he’d kidnapped a girl in Augusta the same night I saw him, and she managed to escape."
"Still gives me goosebumps. What if I’d stopped and talked to him?!"
9. JoeSchmo649 sensed their "friend" was dangerous.
"My friend asked me if I wanted to go out to the woods with him and explore abandoned places. He even specifically mentioned that he'll bring a firearm to keep us safe."
"My alarm bells were fucking ringing! I asked him a couple questions, I don't know what, but concluded that it was sketchy as fuck. My gut told me not to go, so I exited from the conversation while he went asking others the same question."
"Fast forward a couple years I heard that he was in prison. I was stunned, but remembered the memory when he asked me if I wanted to go into the woods. Turns out he took a freshman (him being senior at that time) and kept his promise of looking for abandoned places. He found a cabin in the woods, brought his friend inside and as soon as his friend turned his back, bam. Knocked dead. He shot him in the back of the head. I reminisce on this quite often and think what if I had agreed? Every time I think of this I'm very grateful I'm alive."
10. eggosandnosebleeds knew their doctor was gaslighting them.
"I’m a type one diabetic. I began noticing that my kid was having a tough time potty training. He was drinking a lot and peeing a lot. I spoke with his ped about it and she dismissed it, saying we live in a warm area and toddlers are likely to drink more, and therefore pee more, and that I shouldn’t “hear hoofbeats and assume zebras”. He had no other symptoms whatsoever, happy healthy looking little dude. I tried to calm myself down, but I just knew something wasn’t right."
"Finally I took one of his massively full pull ups and used a keto strip to check his urine, and then proceeded to head right to the hospital. He was diagnosed in November 2015.
Got him a new pediatrician immediately."
11. gothiclg could tell their sister's ex-boyfriend was garbage.
"Laid eyes on my sisters then boyfriend and instantly hated him. I then noticed one of our dogs acted out of character around him which made me hate him even more. We found out a year later the boyfriend had been beating her regularly.
Edit: he was beating my sister, not the dog."
12. T_H_M could've been hit at 50mph.
"Less dramatic than a lot of others, but nonetheless. Near my old apartment there was a back road that you would take to get to Target. However, you had to go through one stop light that was just on the other side of a hill’s crest. From my side, the view is slightly blocked by a building towards the hill’s high side. I pull up to the light and wait for it to turn green. It turns, and I wait for a second."
"The person behind me even honks, but something held me back. Before I can even think about starting to go, one of the open trailer trucks used to move construction equipment comes flying through their red lighting at probably 40-50 MPH. Not sure if I would’ve been hit or someone else, but I’m glad I didn’t go."
13. Kmammy sadly knew the cat was unwell before anyone else.
"My parents cat LOVES me. Loves to sniff and lick my feet, play with me from his window perch and generally be an adorable goofy little badass. So last week when we all went out to dinner and back to their house for drinks and the cat didnt come out to greet me it was odd.
He was under the bed and refusing to come out...which was unusual but we had our first thunderstorm of the season and he's only 2 so we chalked it up to being freaked out and left him there."
"90 minutes later my "THIS ISN'T RIGHT" instinct is ringing like a mental fire alarm so I went to check on him and he still wouldnt come out or move...and he didnt seem to recognize me. $1,000 in emergency vet bills at 3am and we find out he had broken his femur very badly, needed another couple thousand worth of surgery and would likely have been in pain for the rest of his life and had bladder complications that would have needed frequent catheterization. We think he must have snagged a nail jumping down from his window perch, which was about 5 feet high and hung there or landed poorly."
"I've never seen my stoic 6'4 dad cry harder than when they made the decision that it was cruel to keep him alive and that if they loved him they should put him down. Our entire family is heartbroken.
I've never regretted being right about anything this much in my entire life."
14. carolinav13 could tell their home environment was awry.
"In high school I came home early one Friday evening to find that my house just felt off. It’s so hard to describe, but the feeling I got walking into my living room just immediately had me on alert and didn’t feel right. I walked into the kitchen to find a half eaten burger from McDonalds which I found strange. Called out to my parents, got no response. Called them on their cell, got no answer. 30 minutes later my brother called to tell me that my dad had a heart attack and to get to the hospital. Thankfully it turned out okay, but my gut quite literally knew something bad had happened the moment I stepped in the front door."
15. 3Gloins_in_afountain's gut lead them to a life-saving ER trip.
"I had a bad allergy season which turned into a bad sinus infection which turned into bronchitis. It wasn't getting any better, so I got into a gp. He said it could be bronchitis or something worse, he couldn't call it. As much as I hate hospitals, my gut was screeching at me that something was wrong."
"Went to ER just in case. I had multiple pulmonary embolisms. One in three people with 1 undiagnosed PE don't make it to the ER. The doc said my lungs glowed in the cat scan. On the upside, I have a strong heart, so I have that going for me."
"If you think something is wrong, if you have that creeping, crawling sense of doom, panic, unease, and fear that settled on the back of your mind like a large spider, listen to it!!"
16. Pixelfrog41 could always tell their coworker was f*cked up.
"I have a coworker I’ve always found to be a little off and didn’t like spending time with. We all thought he was off a little, but we wrote it off as just normal IT geek weird. Last Friday he was arrested for child porn, sexual exploitation of children, and sexual assault of a minor and videoing."
17. clearemollient's mom escaped literal murder.
"I’ve always been prone to gut feelings but my moms takes the cake. She went to a boarding school and ended up leaving her senior year, but her two best friends still went there. They all lived in similar areas for summer and my mom wanted to go back and see everyone towards the end of summer break when she was 17. All 3 girls, including my mom, were going to take a train to a nearby station and meet up there and take a taxi to the school. My mom got to our home train station and got hysterical, which she never does, and told her mom she has a horrible feeling and doesn’t want to go."
"Her mom told her to absolutely not go and they went home. Later on that night, they got a call that the two girls who went were in a car accident with a drunk taxi driver on the way to the school. My moms most best friend in the world was thrown from the car and decapitated. The other girl was so severely injured that she was more or less a vegetable and paralyzed from the neck down. She lived about another decade unable to speak or move and then passed away in a home."
"My mom has been through the ringer in life but this has always made her tell me to always follow my gut feeling. She said she never had a gut feeling when she was a teen, and this was the only time she ever did. She was looking forward to this trip for months but that feeling was enough to make her back out right when she was boarding the train. My mom is so strong and I’m not sure why this happened but I’m thankful for whatever power allowed my mother to be okay."
18. memeagod almost got obliterated by a firework.
"Went to see fireworks one time, as i was watching i got a bad feeling being as close as i was and even wondered how many people have died from fireworks."
"Not even 30 seconds later one of the launch pipes for the fireworks tipped or something, all i remember were fireworks launching and exploding right in my direction and one of the firework tails whizzing right past my head, then me running away like mad"
19. kladen666 has a parental intuition.
"Not extreme but I hope it help other parent. My oldest son, 11 at the time, had mild difficulty in school (adh) and was always strangely tired in the after noon to the point where he would fall asleep on the couch at 4pm. At night, he never seem to be completely sleeping. You could enter is room quietly at anytime and he would sit in bed and talk to us normally."
"I ask his doctor if he could have sleep apnea, basic respond was I doubt it at that age and he wasn't obese or anything but that we could test. SURPRISE!!! he's like NEVER sleeping. He stop breathing 30+time per hour and this probably since the early age. Now have a BPAP machine and his mood/sleep is 400% better."
"I'm happy that we found this but I still kick my self for not thinking about this earlier in his life, which might have help with some other difficulty he has at 13."
20. sansetsuken could tell a guy was creepy from across the bar.
"Went out for beers with some friends, guy at the bar kept staring at my female friend. Didn't think nothing of it initially thought maybe hes just into her. Alarm bells start ringing for some reason. Minutes later he went to my friend then saw him tried to slip somethin in her drink while she was talking to another friend of ours. Good thing i was watching told him to fuck off with that roofie shit. He tried to punch me but missed bouncer saw he got kicked out. Funniest part was that when we met up with a mate of mine from uni that night he was beating ass for doing the same thing to his gf.
Watch your drink lads"