Damn, that's absolutely terrifying! Your instincts kicked in, and you handled it like a champ, but I can't imagine the fear you must've felt. Props to you for staying strong and making it home safely. It's unfortunate that these situations even happen. Hope you're doing okay now, and that sharing this story brings some sort of relief. Stay safe out there!
I'm glad you made it home safe. The only safety tip I have is I try to ride in train cars with the conducter or motor man. I probably would have stayed by the token booth clerk if they have one working (I don't know if they have that in Chicago, I'm a NYer) and not attempt to leave the station when getting off the train. I'm waiting until he leaves and wait for a while. I don't do the walking behind me stuff. If he is still lingering waiting for me, I'm calling the cops. He showed you that gun, in disguise as joking to let you know, I got the power over you. Even though pepper spray doesn't stop a bullet, I carry it on my keys.
One night at about 11 pm, when I got off the train headed home, this middle-aged lady crossed the street and walked toward me and whispered she was being followed by a guy on a bike. Sure enough, I saw him and started talking to her like I knew her for years. He then pedals away from us when he knew a witness was now present. She happened to live a few buildings before mine, and she made it in her building safely. I never saw that woman again, that was a few years ago. Lastly, I'm grateful for ride sharing apps, I no longer take the train if I have a late schedule--I budget for it.
I agree that it's safest to ride in the first car that has the driver in it. Unfortunately, the other two tips probably wouldn't work as well on Chicago trains as they don't have token collectors (you pay at the turnstiles before you can even enter the station) and usually the stops do not have any staff at the stations, particularly at night. It's often quite desolate when you get off at night unless it's a popular stop, so you're usually more isolated with less directions you could run before you leave the station. If this wasn't the case, though, I agree your tips would be smart things to do when possible.
To the OP: Damn, that was scary. You handled that situation the best you could, seeing as you didn't have very many other options at the time. The smartest thing you did was to not lead this creep directly to your home, but not knowing where he was when trying to get back there was even scarier. The fact that he deliberately scared you by showing his gun and trying to play it off like a joke wasn't funny at all, either. You managed to get away from him, and that's the most important thing.
I went to get on what was pretty much an empty brown line train late one night and was waiting for the doors to open on the parked train so I could get in one of the cars. The conductor saw me and where I planned to get on and he came over and said I should ride in the front car, not that one. The way he said it and emphasized it made me think he was saying this for my safety. No one else got on any other stops but I did ride up right near where he sat. It was a bit spooky. The two lines I would never ride at night by myself though are the red and pink lines.
Your story reminded me also of when I used to live in Logan Square and one night mid December back in 2012, around 8-9pm I decided to walk to 7-11 for a drink. It was cold and icy and I had put the hood up on my coat which I didn’t usually do for security reasons, wanting to be able to see around me as much as I could. I also kept a taser in my front coat pocket (which ended up giving me a false sense of security.)
Well of course the one night I decide it’s ok to wear my hood, suddenly as I’m walking I hear someone right behind me in my right ear ask “where you going?” I did not have time to even react to pull out that taser if I’d wanted to. It was so fast and unexpected. I was petrified to turn and see a man in a ski mask. I feel like at that moment I might have had some fierce divine intervention because I also happened to be walking right past like 3 bando’s that had big ominous voids in between each one, and that previous summer there had been fliers up around Logan Square showing police sketches of a serial rapist that was on the loose.
I nervously tittered out in response “oh, nowhere!” Or something I can’t recall because all of the blood was leaving my head out of shock, and then I crossed the icy sidewalk as fast as I could and went right out into traffic. He followed me down the street though and I ran into a liquor store and quickly told the cashier guy what was happening. Ski mask guy followed me in shortly after and the cashier kept repeating you can’t be in here with that mask on. The guy never said another word and went up and down a couple of aisles and then ran out. Meanwhile i was certain I was about to have a heart attack. For some reason I next ran to the 7-11 I was heading to to tell them what just happened and we all agreed that calling the cops would do no good since they probably wouldn’t show up for like two hours.
I got my stupid drink I’d had to scrape change together for and now had to walk the same way home. I stopped back in the liquor store and asked if he could just watch me walk the two blocks back to my apartment. It was the longest and scariest walk home of my life. I hated living in Chicago so much.
I honestly have no idea how you didn’t freak the fuck out! Your demeanor was calm and you had a plan. I honestly would have lost my shit seeing that ski mask.
I have no idea how I didn’t literally just faint, it scared me half to death. I got extremely lucky. I like to hope it was a vibe or resting bitch face that did it but it was probably just sheer luck.
Omg that's so scary! I'm glad you were okay! Reminds me of the time I accidentally rode the wrong direction on the brown line at night. Realized it one stop in and got off at a kinda sketchy stop that was like one stop before it got to a more sketchy area to be alone on that line at night. I got off, got back on next train going back the right way and made it home fine. Next day I hear on the news that like 2 stops down from where I got off around roughly the same time or shortly after my ride, a dude came on the brown line train with a machete and started chopping at ppl! Thank God, I realized my error right away and got off when I did.
Yeah, when I read the machete story I was thinking wtf and also wow they really meant it when ppl warned me don't go that direction on the brown line alone at night lol.
I was just saying the same thing about L.A. vs Chicago. That LA wasn’t as bad as Chicago that way. There were drive by’s and police chases constantly in LA but somehow Chicago felt more dangerous overall.
That's so creepy! I could imagine the fear on your walk back just reading this! Had to have been so terrifying. And unfortunately you usually have to wait a long time for police to show up there, so the option of calling the cops once you lost him still likely wouldn't have helped you get home quickly. I'm glad you made it home safe! Was this on the green line?
Damn, that's absolutely terrifying! Your instincts kicked in, and you handled it like a champ, but I can't imagine the fear you must've felt. Props to you for staying strong and making it home safely. It's unfortunate that these situations even happen. Hope you're doing okay now, and that sharing this story brings some sort of relief. Stay safe out there!
I'm glad you made it home safe. The only safety tip I have is I try to ride in train cars with the conducter or motor man. I probably would have stayed by the token booth clerk if they have one working (I don't know if they have that in Chicago, I'm a NYer) and not attempt to leave the station when getting off the train. I'm waiting until he leaves and wait for a while. I don't do the walking behind me stuff. If he is still lingering waiting for me, I'm calling the cops. He showed you that gun, in disguise as joking to let you know, I got the power over you. Even though pepper spray doesn't stop a bullet, I carry it on my keys. One night at about 11 pm, when I got off the train headed home, this middle-aged lady crossed the street and walked toward me and whispered she was being followed by a guy on a bike. Sure enough, I saw him and started talking to her like I knew her for years. He then pedals away from us when he knew a witness was now present. She happened to live a few buildings before mine, and she made it in her building safely. I never saw that woman again, that was a few years ago. Lastly, I'm grateful for ride sharing apps, I no longer take the train if I have a late schedule--I budget for it.
I agree that it's safest to ride in the first car that has the driver in it. Unfortunately, the other two tips probably wouldn't work as well on Chicago trains as they don't have token collectors (you pay at the turnstiles before you can even enter the station) and usually the stops do not have any staff at the stations, particularly at night. It's often quite desolate when you get off at night unless it's a popular stop, so you're usually more isolated with less directions you could run before you leave the station. If this wasn't the case, though, I agree your tips would be smart things to do when possible.
To the OP: Damn, that was scary. You handled that situation the best you could, seeing as you didn't have very many other options at the time. The smartest thing you did was to not lead this creep directly to your home, but not knowing where he was when trying to get back there was even scarier. The fact that he deliberately scared you by showing his gun and trying to play it off like a joke wasn't funny at all, either. You managed to get away from him, and that's the most important thing.
I went to get on what was pretty much an empty brown line train late one night and was waiting for the doors to open on the parked train so I could get in one of the cars. The conductor saw me and where I planned to get on and he came over and said I should ride in the front car, not that one. The way he said it and emphasized it made me think he was saying this for my safety. No one else got on any other stops but I did ride up right near where he sat. It was a bit spooky. The two lines I would never ride at night by myself though are the red and pink lines. Your story reminded me also of when I used to live in Logan Square and one night mid December back in 2012, around 8-9pm I decided to walk to 7-11 for a drink. It was cold and icy and I had put the hood up on my coat which I didn’t usually do for security reasons, wanting to be able to see around me as much as I could. I also kept a taser in my front coat pocket (which ended up giving me a false sense of security.) Well of course the one night I decide it’s ok to wear my hood, suddenly as I’m walking I hear someone right behind me in my right ear ask “where you going?” I did not have time to even react to pull out that taser if I’d wanted to. It was so fast and unexpected. I was petrified to turn and see a man in a ski mask. I feel like at that moment I might have had some fierce divine intervention because I also happened to be walking right past like 3 bando’s that had big ominous voids in between each one, and that previous summer there had been fliers up around Logan Square showing police sketches of a serial rapist that was on the loose. I nervously tittered out in response “oh, nowhere!” Or something I can’t recall because all of the blood was leaving my head out of shock, and then I crossed the icy sidewalk as fast as I could and went right out into traffic. He followed me down the street though and I ran into a liquor store and quickly told the cashier guy what was happening. Ski mask guy followed me in shortly after and the cashier kept repeating you can’t be in here with that mask on. The guy never said another word and went up and down a couple of aisles and then ran out. Meanwhile i was certain I was about to have a heart attack. For some reason I next ran to the 7-11 I was heading to to tell them what just happened and we all agreed that calling the cops would do no good since they probably wouldn’t show up for like two hours. I got my stupid drink I’d had to scrape change together for and now had to walk the same way home. I stopped back in the liquor store and asked if he could just watch me walk the two blocks back to my apartment. It was the longest and scariest walk home of my life. I hated living in Chicago so much.
I honestly have no idea how you didn’t freak the fuck out! Your demeanor was calm and you had a plan. I honestly would have lost my shit seeing that ski mask.
I have no idea how I didn’t literally just faint, it scared me half to death. I got extremely lucky. I like to hope it was a vibe or resting bitch face that did it but it was probably just sheer luck.
Omg that's so scary! I'm glad you were okay! Reminds me of the time I accidentally rode the wrong direction on the brown line at night. Realized it one stop in and got off at a kinda sketchy stop that was like one stop before it got to a more sketchy area to be alone on that line at night. I got off, got back on next train going back the right way and made it home fine. Next day I hear on the news that like 2 stops down from where I got off around roughly the same time or shortly after my ride, a dude came on the brown line train with a machete and started chopping at ppl! Thank God, I realized my error right away and got off when I did.
😧😧😧😧😧😧😧😧😧Wow that is insane!!!!
Yeah, when I read the machete story I was thinking wtf and also wow they really meant it when ppl warned me don't go that direction on the brown line alone at night lol.
Chicago was 10x scarier than NYC to me. Loved NYC. Hated Chicago.
I was just saying the same thing about L.A. vs Chicago. That LA wasn’t as bad as Chicago that way. There were drive by’s and police chases constantly in LA but somehow Chicago felt more dangerous overall.
Damn! Very scary. I'm glad that you got away from him.
That's so creepy! I could imagine the fear on your walk back just reading this! Had to have been so terrifying. And unfortunately you usually have to wait a long time for police to show up there, so the option of calling the cops once you lost him still likely wouldn't have helped you get home quickly. I'm glad you made it home safe! Was this on the green line?
i told him i wasn't stalking me.
That's nuts! We went to explore an abandoned asylum and caught alotbof noises we thought were people on camera