People who give off a vibe

[Hartley99]

Is it just me, or do you ever experience an instant, overpowering reaction to some people? I mean both good and bad.

There is a guy in my local Sainsburys who repels me. He’s in his late 60s, tall and fairly ordinary looking, but something about him disgusts me. This doesn’t happen to me very often, and I can’t explain it. I just get this horrible, sickening feeling when he’s near me. There is something seedy about him. He has never spoken to me. In fact, I’ve never heard him speak! And he’s never done anything that sets off my alarm bells (I’ve never seen him ogling young girls, for example). So what is it? If I was religious I’d say it was his ‘soul’. Instead, I’d use a word like aura or energy. He just radiates something ugly.

I’ve also had the opposite reaction. My partner’s grandmother, for example, radiated this incredible inner beauty. Even though she was in her 80s, it kind of shone through in her eyes and her voice. I felt an almost instant love for that woman.

Yup, definitely know the feeling- we used to have a neighbour I just had a bad feeling about and I’d always say ‘if there’s an emergency go into (the other neighbour)’ and give a multitude of reasons if they ever asked why

Some people I find difficult to get on with and some do give off a strange vibe
Not sure what it is really.

It might be because they remind you in some way of someone who was unkind or hurt or frightened you when you were young. It might be nothing at all to do with them. Still, it's a good idea to trust that feeling and steer clear.

Actually, thinking about it, I’ve had other reactions too, not just like or dislike. Sometimes I feel an overpowering pity for someone. I feel just intensely sad and sorry for them, even though I know nothing about them or their life. I wonder if we have other senses or powers of intuition (or whatever you want to call it) that science has yet to label? When the Saville scandal broke, many people said they couldn’t bear to be in a room with him, even though he never spoke to them or came near them. I’ve heard it said that you should always trust your gut reaction people, because it’s usually correct.

When I moved to our new house there was one neighbour who just gave me a bad feeling. He seemed like a pleasant friendly old man but every time he walked past or said hello I just felt a slight yuk vibe. A few weeks after we moved in he saw me out for a walk with my daughter and as his eyes fell on her the vibe changed. Something in his eyes panicked and disgusted me and massive alarm bells went off in my head and I knew I had to get him away from her. I later found out he’s a convicted paedophile and has been in prison for possessing images of child abuse and for arranging to meet up and have sex with teenage girls.

I know exactly what you mean. My friend has a 12-year-old daughter and recently told me her antennae is now hyper-sensitive. She said it’s like she has a sixth sense. When she’s out with her, she is constantly scanning men’s faces. She lives on a massive new build estate, and there are several single, childless men living near by. One is on the sex offender’s register. Another was arrested for arranging to meet an underage girl online. I don’t know how she found all this out, but I remember her telling me that even before she was told she just knew there was something off or wrong about them. Both were very smiley and friendly, but they gave her the ick. In fact, it was because they were so smiley and friendly that she grew suspicious.

Funny thing is, the guy who lives next door to her is 47 and childless, yet he gives off a totally different vibe. It’s strange. My friend said this neighbour even commented on how beautiful her daughter is, but instead of alarm bells going off, she was flattered and pleased. Somehow it wasn’t creepy or slimy. I remember her saying “when he said it, it was like he was talking about my flowers or my new car - no undercurrent, no bad vibe. He was just being polite.”