I give people Teh Fear.
Not intentionally, mind you. And not in the ways one would expect.

I give people Teh Fear when I walk up behind them.

Honestly, I don't know what it is. I try to make noise as I walk, and don't creep up on them- I just walk up normally and say something in my normal, fairly soft conversational tone.

And they jump through the ceiling.

I've had people threaten to tie bells on my shoes so they know when I'm approaching...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:01, 31 replies)

That makes
Two of us!
We should start some kind of creeping-message-delivery service.

"Where's that letter? I need it, or bad things will happen to you."

"It's there already."

"My goodness, so it is!"
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:05, closed)

3 of us!
I'm constantly terrifying my girlfriend

being 6'2" and built on the large side doesn't stop me being able to move like a ninja, albeit only when I don't mean to
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:10, closed)

I'm also 6'2...
How strange!
Just need some input from TRL to see if it's due to that...
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:12, closed)

check
#4
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:13, closed)

Thank god!
I'm not alone in this!

Seriously, I've had people look right at me and not see me. I'll start to ask someone a question and have them walk away, not out of disrespect but because they truly didn't see or hear me.

What the fuck, people! I'm 5' 11" and over 200 lbs, so it's not like I'm incon-fucking-spicuous!

Argh!
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:15, closed)

The loon is 5'10 like me....
We have discussed this and I think he's just very unassuming and has had secret ninja training which he doesn't like to talk about.

And.....if he has bells on his toes, he shall have music wherever he goes......which will be nice.

Ok 5'11 - but what's an inch between friends.
( girlinthehole, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:17, closed)

maybe we should become butlers
for spooky families?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:17, closed)

Hmm...
I'm not sure of the explaination.

Maybe there's only so much awesome-ness the average human mind can take in, and we transcend that threshold?
If people were to truly see us, their brains would implode.

I don't work in lbs, but I'm not slightly built either :|
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:19, closed)

I honestly don't know what it is.
220 lbs is 100 kg, if that helps.

I'll grant you, as a child I learned to move very quietly through the woods so I could watch deer and birds, and I don't like having things on me that rattle or jingle when I walk... but still, people! Sheesh!

The best one was when I said good morning to a lab tech and she screamed, sending the sample of polymer pellets she was testing flying out in a cloud from her spastically clutching hands...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:23, closed)

^this
sounds about right

on a scale of one to awesome, I'm right up there, and I get the impression that you guys are as well
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:24, closed)

I do this as well
I also find that if I'm too close to somebody's back and they turn round, it scares them. My best result: at university, one of the cleaners was cleaning the shared corridor shower. I was patiently waiting at the door until she finished, she turned round to see my bath-towel clad person and screamed.

Now that I think about it, mentioning this on a Friday does seem a bit odd.

Length? 6 foot.
( mistaspakkaman and the inedible shifting caterpillars, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:25, closed)

Delusions of granduer methinks....
Vipros - I'm going to bring you back down to earth.


You aint nothing special, girlfriend!

*Flicks head back and tuts*
( girlinthehole, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:27, closed)

When I was in halls at Uni
There were rumours that one of the corridors was haunted.
My corridor.
I never found out if it was due to me wandering about in the early hours on the morning due to my insomnia or not.
I like to think so though :D
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:32, closed)

One way that I combat it
is to come in the door whistling something or singing so that they hear my approach.

Of course, singing "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" also gives them Teh Fear...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:33, closed)

BGB: harsh
and with no foundation in truth

Kaol: I suffer from insomnia too, have real difficulty dropping off to sleep, once I'm there I'm fine till morning, but I can lie for hours trying to sleep and not have it happen.

TRL: have you tried the music from Jaws to add to the effect? or perhaps the Imperial March from Star Wars?
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:34, closed)

^^ As does
screeching "E-E-E-E" (music from Psycho) in their ear, with stabbing motions.
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:35, closed)

Approx 6'0" and 215lbs for our Transatlantic Chums
It might be the fact that I occasionally creep through the woods after edible fluffy animals, but I can walk up behind the Mrs (wearing Cat boots on a wooden floor) without her noticing.

I've also managed to come in through the front door, dump my keys and walk into a living room containing Wife plus Sister and Brother in Law watching TV to have all of them miss me and then have a 'comedy moment' jump and eek.

And I don't like things rattling on my person such as loose change.

We have an obvious niche here for International Pro-Stalkers Ltd.
(osok Rebel without a clue, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:41, closed)

Vipros:
I hate insomnia.
I've been awake since Wednesday morning, so I'm expecting to crash out when I get to bed tonight.
Might even go crazy and sleep from 2am to 8am :O
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:42, closed)

I'm the same
6ft, 220lbs (100kg) or so, hardly the least slight of people.

I was briefly nicknamed the Stealth Elephant by people at uni due to my "amazing" (though increasingly common by the sounds of it) ability to sneak my large frame into rooms unseen. While wearing safety boots, which are hardly stealthy at the best of times.

Not had a particularly impressive "making someone jump" moment, though- just the usual standing in a room, someone turns round filling up the dishwasher, shocked, drops plates in shock, I scarper silently, she turns around again and I'm gone.

Any more of us, we'll be made to deliver Cheekbone magazine and fight pirates...
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:43, closed)

insomnia does suck
I get the feeling mine is self-inflicted though, too much weed and too many late nights/early mornings at uni...

I'm not keen on jingling stuff about my person either

although a set of spurs would like pretty sharp on my trainers

just had another thought: are any of you guys really good at slipping through crowds?

I've found a natural talent for almost effortlessly making my way through large throngs of people...
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:45, closed)

I never tried intensifying it
because I thought they might end up like that guy in "Scanners".

No, I'll either start whistling something obscure, like a Jay Ungar tune, or singing something odd like "Whusky, Cigareets and Wild Wild Wimmin". It generally freaks them out, but in a different way- at least nothing goes flying.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:46, closed)

I did use my
Powers for evil once...
I shouldn't, with hindsight, crept up on my ex and whispered "I'm in your brain" into her ear...

EDIT: @Vipros - Yes! People never seem to be in my way when I'm going through crowds, but whenever I'm standing still at a gig, I seem to be on some invisible "pathway" and always get people barging past me.
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:48, closed)

After the incident of the screaming tech
I made sure to only approach people when they were not holding anything delicate or messy.

One of the techs was a steely eyed granny who did private investigator work on the side, and claimed to have nerves of steel. One day as she was talking to one of the other techs (and had been for a good twenty minutes) I walked up behind her and poked my fingers into her ribs on either side while making a little "vvvip!" noise. She came dangerously close to losing bowel control, and vowed to get her revenge.

Unfortunately for her, I could see her approaching me in the reflection of my monitor, so I whipped around and roared, causing another brown moment...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:55, closed)

no way!
people always seem to go out of their way to walk past me at a gig!

I figure the two things are connected. it's easy for people to walk past me for the same reason it's easy for me to past them
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 15:56, closed)

Hmmm...
TRL, that was a fantastic story!

I'm going to a gig tonight, so I'll report back :D
Have a good weekend all!
K
( Cawl, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 16:00, closed)

You are not alone
I too am incredibly 'light on my feet' (which in itself is a lovely euphemism for being good with colours). Many's the time I've scared the bejesus out of someone by the simple act of walking into the same room as them when their back's turned.

Creeping jesus, my mum used to call me...
( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 16:24, closed)

You could all start your own ninja school for geeks!
You could call yourself Ginjas and stealthy creep into people's homes and fix their computers etc.
( girlinthehole, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 17:35, closed)

BGB
are you implying that we are all geeks?

I resent that as a surfing, guitar-playing rock god (and engineer)!

I'd rather enter a line of sneaking into people's houses and redecorating

breaking and decorating if you will
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 19:48, closed)

^^this
sounds like fun. Sneak into someone's house in the middle of the night and replace the horrid tacky stuff with elegant classy stuff, so in the morning they don't know if they're in the same house or not...

Mind you, I'd also have to break into Martha Stewart's house and redecorate with earth tones and lava lamps and shag carpets.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 11 Apr 2008, 19:59, closed)

Something else that The Resident Loon does that gives people Teh Fear...
Playing pool......he's so bad it's scary *laughs*
( girlinthehole, Fri 11 Apr 2008, 20:17, closed)

i get this.
im 6 foot 4, so people arent really looking at my face level. Im black, so for extra fun i'll stand inside a room next to the doorway and take off my glasses and turn the light off.
(papa bouba slap your face, Mon 14 Apr 2008, 20:15, closed)