Have you ever felt the presence of evil?

[Petridish]

I mean, without having any rational reason to feel it? It could be a person or a place.

For me, a friend's father used to really radiate evil - much later, my friend confessed that he had been physically and emotionally abused by his father

I also knew a woman who had a senior job with the police. She was a friend of a friend and I had a bad feeling about her. She eventually got struck off and imprisoned for stealing huge amounts of money from a children's charity she was in charge of.

trouble is we dont trust our instincts enough, we worry so much about being politically correct and NOT offending anyone, god forbid! if someone doesnt feel 'right' listen to what your senses are telling you, i regret NOT doing that and discovered a family member had been sexually abusing my kids when all along i had a bad feeling about him but couldnt put my finger on it, wish i trusted my gut instinct all along now, easy to say in hindsight of devasting consequences!

I have experienced this once, with a friend of my then best friend. We were teenagers, and I met him when he was hanging out at her house - that feeling as the hair on your back stands on end - he and I took an instant, visceral dislike to eachother, the atmosphere was suddenly very weird and tense, everyone else could feel it - maybe the opposite of attraction between us.

This lad was a wrong 'un - dealing drugs, womanising, heavy drinker. And used to like to beat up his much younger girlfriend - put her in hospital at age 17.

For some reason, my DBro was enamoured with him and they spent a lot of time together over the next couple of years.

I had a call one day from my brother to say he and this chap had been in a car crash. The evil one had flown out the sunroof as the car rolled, and hit the only rock in the area with his head. SMashed his brains out. They were in the middle of nowhere, and there was no reason for the car to have rolled.

There was not a scratch on my DBro, who was wearing his safety belt.

I felt really relieved that this chap had died.

I do trust my instincts and I've taught my dd to do the same. I do try not to be rude to someone I take against, but even then I find it very hard to control myself.

I live near an abbey in Leeds, and the one and only time I've gone is via a little pathway through some trees. In one area I got shooting stabby pains just under my bra line, and as soon as we passed that area I was fine. Happened going and coming back, so have vowed to never go that way ever again.

I also get really creeped out in Armley Mills Industrial Museum.

I met a bloke I was dating one night. We met half way between our houses (2 miles apart). I left at about 10 We walked the 3 miles to local sea park. We ended lying top to toe next to each other on the big hammack swing thing, and chatting. We were just getting that nice ah look at the stars, cosy, companionable silence. Usually a lot of teenagers hang out there, so was nice having the place to ourselves.

Then I got the weirdest feeling, and sat up, and looked round at car park. There was a man, pacing back and forth, but getting a little closer each time. I was utterly terrified, jumped up, checked my pockets and dragged bloke off, pointing at man. He jumped up, eyes huge, grabbed me and we bolted.

We managed to put a fair bit of distance between us and him, thought we had lost him ages back, but we were still walking quickly. Tried to laugh the weird feeling away. We stopped to have a smoke, leaning against the wall at top of the hill. Next thing, we spot him coming up the path about a football field away. We ran like fuck into town centre, it was truly terrifying. There was something so odd and blank about the man, and the weird pacing. Like he was on drugs. But he knew were we went. We spotted him about a half hour later, on other side of the road, and ran again. To a taxi depot to share a cab home! The worst moment of dread was seeing him the second time. It sounds odd, but he was walking how you would imagine a zombie does. There was something so bizzare about him. Unatural even.

When we talked about it the next day (safely indoors this time) my companion told me he felt exactly the same, before I even oppened my mouth.

As for a place. My grans bathroom. I always hated going in there, had an uneasy/anxious feeling. Convinced I saw a teddy bear move by itself in room next door, terrified for weeks after, but that feeling subsided. The feeling about the bathroom never did. My sister, mum and aunt had felt it too. We used to joke about the upstairs ghost. My grandad was found dying in there, (he had cancer) then 3 years later, gran was found dying in there (unexpected illness). After gran died, it gave us all the chills. Dp refused to use it at her funeral, and family took to going up together. I had to clean in there for the funeral, and it gave me goosebumps/hairs on back of neck stood up. Thank god visitors called in and I roped someone into helping.

My two strangest.

A PP mentioned the church in Godshill on the Isle of Wight, known as the Church of the Lily cross. I was there a couple of weeks ago with my Dsis and we thought it was lovely.

I was totally freaked out in the ex hq now a museum of the secret police in Budapest a few years ago but I was down there by myself in the basement rooms where they executed people so understandably felt uneasy.

The only experience of this was several years ago-there is a local beauty spot ruined castle, lake etc. Despite living in the area for several years I had never visited it.

I remarked to DH one weekend I would take DS there for a walk- DH is very stoical and utterly unwoo (think 6ft4 Yorkshireman country born and bred scared of nothing).He said ' It's not a nice place'

Undeterred I set off on a bright Saturday summer afternoon parked the car.There were quite a few foreign tourists buzzing around taking photos etc, DS was about 3 and running around,rolling in the grass etc-I became overwhelmed with what I can only describe as a feeling of pure terror and evil.I just knew I had to get away.Imminent danger really was the feeling I had.

I have never experienced a panic attack but imagine it would feel like this .I couldn't wait to scoop up DS and get him in the car and drive away. As we drove away the feeling subsided and I felt completely normal again.

I have never been back - I have tried finding out a bit more-DH remembers a suicide there years ago possibly a double suicide or husband killed wife and then himself and people have drowned in the lake over the years. Really strange experience and I have never forgotten it.

Local teenagers often camp there in summer- but even seeing the sign post at the road end makes me shiver now. Can't explain it.

I never had truly bad feeling from people more from places and I think the worst were German death camp in Auschwitz Birkenau and concentration camp in Stutthof. Both truly horrifying places I got the feeling that when so many people die such a terrible deaths in one place it just changes if forever :/ Especially in smaller one in Stutthof, which I visited maybe with 4 other people just before closing time, that the feeling of huge sadness and despair almost overwhelming we didn't stay very long.

Exactly how I felt at Dachau, Blue :( Walking into one of the gas chambers and seeing the ovens still there filled me with a terrible dread. I had to get out of there immediately. I could smell gas and felt I was going to pass out. Still feel shaky at the memory.

I would like to see this thread in classics.

about 10 years ago I was in a dvd rental place its very big (in the states) and I suddenly had that feeling I was being watched I turned around and this guy was looking over. I felt very uncomfortable and he made me feel anxious but I ignored it and just put him down to being a creep. We went about choosing a film I then had that feeling again and I realised he wasn't looking at me but my niece who was around 8 at the time. My brother had also seen him and walked over and basically told him quietly to get out very quickly and to never come near her again. Later on (when my niece wasn't around) my brother and I were talking about it and he said he at first didn't notice him (my niece and I were looking at another section of films) but when he walked past him he felt fearful and he could not explain why he felt he needed to keep an eye on him and he felt sick with violent rage when he saw how he was looking at his daughter.

I think I may have unconsciously picked up that he was watching my niece and that is what made me feel so anxious what my brother picked up on I don't know but it shook us both and my niece still remembers we spoke about it recently but still not told her what really happened. It all happened within the space of a few minutes, there was no big scene but I can remember it so clearly like I am watching us I can see what we are wearing I can remember what we were talking about but I can not see his face but I do remember what he was wearing

I have felt uneasy in a few places, I believe bad feelings can stay somewhere as can nice calming feelings. Hastings beach made me feel uneasy. All seemed fine during the day. At around 7ish we were eating chips on the beech (myself, ds and a friend), few people were still around it was still light and warm and I had the sudden feeling we needed to leave, the atmosphere suddenly felt different a menacing feeling it was very strange as soon as we left the beach I felt fine and safe again.

I was at work (in a shop) with my back to the till, bent over filling shelves when I became aware of a customer waiting. I turned round to serve him and realised it was a lad I used to go to school with.

I apologised to him and he said "don't worry I was enjoying the view" he said it in such a way that my skin totally crawled and I wanted to just run away. I can usually deal with unwanted comments easily, but I felt sick.
I hadn't seen him since school but I couldn't pair up the way I remembered him as a kid with the way he made me feel as an adult.

A few months later he was jailed for the rape and torture of his girlfriend.

A few years ago I used to go and collect lunch for my colleagues from a place in town. The owner was sometimes serving at the counter and he was so scary - I can't even describe why but he used to just creep me out. I hated it if he was serving and I'd always feel like I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible. He'd barely speak and would just glare at me while I ordered the food. He had horrible eyes. I used to get back to the office and give a full run-down to my colleaues on how creepy he'd been on that trip and we'd joke about him. We even had a silly nickname for him - 'Mr Stabby' (this will definitely out me if anybody I know is reading this!). My boss used to make bad jokes about him coming after me with one of the large knives behind the shop counter.

Fast forward a few months and the guy broke into his ex-gfs new partners house and brutally murdered them both on Halloween. We all felt shocked beyond words and my boss felt bad about his poor-taste jokes. He was jailed but I have a horrible feeling he'll be let out soon as this was a while back

I'm finding this thread fascinating. Some of the PPs who've found particular places terrifying might be responding to something known as Panic, as in the old sense of the word. Many people have reported feeling scared senseless in certain places, as if there is a presence there and/or heard a strange buzzing sound. There's a great thread on Panic on the Fortean Times It Happened To Me pages - which are worth a visit if anyone is interested in this sort of thing. I'll try and find a link.

I felt evil in a toilet. My friends and I were in a pub (not drinking alcohol, just having a coffee and a chat), and the toilets were being renovated so were closed. Instead, they'd opened a door that had always been locked before, and there were some toilets down a corridor through there that patrons could use for the time being. It was a fairly small room with 2 toilet cubicles in it, a large mirror and a sink. There was no window and it was extremely shabby - the toilets obviously hadn't been used for a long time, and the carpet and wallpaper etc looked like they dated back from the 60s and were very stained and worn. I popped to the look on my own and immediately got goosebumps. I used the toilet as quickly as possible and washed my hands, but every single part of my body was telling me to get out of there, and I couldn't bring myself to look in the mirror. It wasn't cold in there, but by the time I got back to my friends, I was shivering. I didn't say anything to them about it because I felt daft for feeling that the toilets were evil.

Half an hour later, one of my friends went to use the toilets. She came pegging it out of there about 20 seconds later and begged us to go somewhere else. She hadn't even got her tights down to use the loo when she'd been struck with fear so badly that she'd had to get out of there. She was shivering all over too.

Here it is: forum.forteantimes.com/index.php?threads/panic-a-genuine-example-in-the-old-sense-of-the-word.26643/

I've met one or two people who I would describe not as evil but as exuding nastiness on some level. But the most unsettling was a 7 year old child we met last year. There is something very wrong about her and I wouldn't leave dd alone with her. She has the makings of a psychopath and I don't say that lightly about a child.

Thanks for the link PlummyBrummy
I've just remembered another place which I always found extremely creepy as a child, which is unfortunate as my parents took me there regularly, and that is Dartford Heath. I've never been there as an adult so have no idea if I would feel the same now.

Thinking about those saying they havn't felt evil in the presence of pedophiles as an adult, and others that were scared of certain men as children, and the woman who felt when weird when she realised the man was looking at her niece. With pedophiles, is it maybe that adults don't pick up on the vibes anymore, because there are less bad intentions directed toward them, while children do feel it, because they are the target group of the evil thoughts?

But adults can pick up on it when they have a child with them?

wickedlazy that is so terrifying! And so many nasty creepy men on this thread.

It's worth mentioning a MN favourite book 'The Gift of Fear' by Gavin DeBecker, it's really good and explains why we need to trust our instincts. Would recommend it.

ninacarter. Not Old Wardour Castle by any chance?

The Gift of Fear is a great book.

I possibly did pick up that the man was looking at my niece but didn't register it, but what did my brother pick up when he walked past him. If he had seen him look over before he would certainly said/done something if he knew he was looking at his daughter and if he thought he was staring at me too much he would have made his presence felt (he is not overly protective but eyeing up your sister when she is with your young daughter is just not right)

I think what my brother possibly picked up on was the mans fear he may have seen us all walk in together and it was his fear he had been caught out when my brother first walked towards him

I was in foster care when I was young for a while. I knew the father there was doing bad things and I knew who to I had no understanding of what, his son used to get in my bed every night and tell me to pretend to be asleep when he came in at night (this I remember was when his wife was out) very similar to story told a few pages back. A son saving me from his father :(

Not a person but a place.
Was visiting a reclamation yard looking for stone cobbles. Wandering around the old gnarled bits and pieces from schools, churches and properties long since gone, I felt hideously uncomfortable. Others were browsing without a care in the world but I felt decidedly uneasy, as though some of those old items had a bad history or witnessed unsavoury things, and we left without finishing our search. DH felt fine but I've often thought about it since and wondered why my spider senses were tingling.

My late neighbours were devout catholics and often received a visit from the local monsignor. This guy had vivid blue eyes and a very unsettling gaze which disturbed me far more than it should have; I convinced myself he was just judging me and felt especially bad when it was given out that he'd returned to Ireland to die of cancer

Except he didn't have cancer at all ... it turned out he was another priestly abuser and had skipped to Eire (supported by his superiors) just ahead of the police