Frightened

[IveGotToGoToMeDads]

Just been into the local cemetery walking my dog, and felt uneasy about a man who seemed to be watching me.
He went to one grave down the bottom of the hill, went to another all while watching me, he didn't have any flowers or nothing for anyones grave. He appeared to be talking to himself.
He slowly made his way up towards the hill towards me, at this point my back where to him. I felt really uneasy, so faced towards him and he was staring at me and I felt really intimidated he stopped at another grave and then faced me again staring. I felt is was not quite right and my gut instincted was going, so I decided to abandon my walk with the dog and run back to the car. Got in the car and locked myself in and come back home.

It's only a cemetery, my friends and I used to walk through one as it was a quick way home rather like if you went through a park.

Sounds like the start of ‘Night of the living dead’, just as well you legged it as that didn’t end well for the main characters 🤣

no, yanbu

Always listen to your gut. You did the right thing!

"Oh don't be so silly. I bet most of the people buried in the cemetary loved dogs and most of their relatives love dogs. How do you know the dogs don't bring great comfort?"

How do I know dogs pissing all over the cemetery don't bring me and my family great comfort? 🤪

You know there's a reason they are banned in many cemeteries? And it's not because most people buried there "loved dogs". Don't be so bloody silly.

Glad you are ok. You felt unsafe and you listened to your gut and got out of there. Not sure why you're getting sneering comments suggesting you were over reacting by reporting it - way better to be safe than sorry.

He may have been a man with learning disabilities/mental health issues or simply grief stricken. Or he could have been a weird/dangerous character watching you. Sounds unsettling whichever it was.

Why is there so much sarcasm on this thread? The world is full of weirdo predatory men. Even if they don't/wouldn't actually do you any harm, loads of men get off on knowing that they're making women feel scared. Surely everyone on MN has experienced this at one time or another?

that would have made me feel very uncomfortable!

Near us there is a huge problem with dog walkers and letting their dogs run about and poo on graves, they’re not visiting graves just using the area for dog walking (which some bereaved people find odd or disrespectful).

I know you say yours doesn't poo on graves, but apparently many do. So maybe he has seen and dealt with a few poos on loved ones graves and was keeping an eye out, which on a graveyard is probably not best behaviour.

I hardly take flowers when visiting graves, only if I haven’t been in a while.

Yeah plenty of us have experienced men being in the vicinity not doing anything.

I'm surprised that some posting are suggesting his unsettling manner and behaviour and actions can be normalised!

It can't. You did the right thing in getting out of there!

You’re NU to be cautious. But it was probably unnecessary.

Perhaps, but you were choosing the shortest walk home.

That's completely different from choosing a cemetery as good place to walk a dog. 1) cemeteries are creepy places 2) not much fun for a dog 3) dogs peeing or pooping or walking over graves is disrespectful.

Theres no good reason, cemeteries are not an appropriate place for dog walks.

The man staring was probably trying to get her to see that.

Oh yes, good point about the dog walking probably not the best place. Just read that we went through a Graveyard with very very old gravestones so a bit different.

Remembered not 'read'.

I think you're actually being very unreasonable and making a mountain out of a mole hill, okay you got scared and left good trust your instincts but...you can't have been that worried if you're saying you're going back to walk there again, if you really were as unsettled as you're claiming you'd find somewhere else to walk atleast for a while but just seems youre on here posting for some attention.

Maybe the man had mental health but you don't know that and to make assumptions is stupid. Maybe he was watching you because he doesn't like dogs and was waiting for you to get to where you were going so he could pass hence the stopping at different graves, maybe he wasn't talking to himself and had hands free and was actually talking to someone, maybe he was just as unsettled by you as you've gone into great detail about how you were staring at him...or maybe you've just ran from a masked murder 🤷🏻‍♀️

@CyanFawn I was going to go back today with a friend, not on my own, in the end I didn't go back as it doesn't feel safe now. I'm certainly not posting for attention.
In my opinion the man had some kind of mental health from what I could see. It is not normal to watch someone, unnerve someone by stareing at them.
There was plenty of room for him too pass by me and my dog if he wanted to. He didn't he stopped and stared at me and made me feel uneasy. He didn't have hand free I was very close near him.
I was glancing at him to pass because my dog is reactive.
I left the cemetary straight away to get to safety.

Yes, he probably thought it wasn’t appropriate to have your dog in the cemetery potentially pissing on someone’s grave.

@MagicFarawayTea the dog was on the pathway, he does not urinate on any graves when walked in there.
Also if he had a problem with me being in the cemetary with my dog, i'm sure he could of said, instead of acting strange.

Why would you take yourself to a cemetery and not somewhere a little more crowded?

Well it's done with now isn't it.
Hope you can find somewhere else to walk dog and, in view of previous incident, maybe consider using lead / muzzle when appropriate.

So this would make it ok, to be staring out a woman on her own, in a graveyard!

I didn’t realise, this was a dog bashing thread
It’s quite judgemental to assume the dog wasn’t on a lead and give advice on muzzling, which has nothing to do with the actual thread.

Hope the cyclist who got bitten agrees with you!

Always trust your instincts.

This is a different thread and should be treated as that and it’s not about a dog.

I think OP was given reason why the man could’ve been looking at her? And justifiably so it would seem.