Maybe he was retarded, autistic, or something like that. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but people like that creep the hell out of me.
The phrase “people like that” doesn’t really belong in a Message Board that purports to fight Ignorance, does it? 
Hey Greywolf,
When, where, and what was happening the other times it occured? Is there a common thread?
I wouldn’t put too much stock in gut feelings. If gut feelings tended to be accurate, we wouldn’t have had to invent the scientific method.
Jeez, I’m a 25 year old guy and I went and saw the first Harry Potter movie all by myself. Granted it was a weekday afternoon show and not many people were there, but I was alone at a Harry Potter movie. I don’t recall the color of my clothes or the degree to which I fidgeted. I’m sure it was normal.
I believe we can sense ‘strangeness’ in others around us. It’s a logical evolutionary advantage – being prepared to protect oneself from possible threats. What you detected was, IIRC, his ‘affect’ – external cues to state of mind and personality. From your description, I suspect it was a negative affect. His affect resulted in your ‘effect’: suspicion.
There are several possibilities for his lack of or altered affect. While one can deliberately display a negative affect, it’s difficult, and the motivation for such display leads to some question of ones overall mental health (sorry, Tristan). It’s more common to see this in cases of mental illness. Drug use is the most likely cause – they don’t call them mind-altering for nothing.
I’m glad that nothing untoward happened, but I think you and your husband were right to be alert to this person. The reason we can sense this is because of the danger posed by it – someone who has an altered mental state can become violent or otherwise anti-social. They can also be preternaturally peaceful and serene. Unpredictability is dangerous to society.
Trust your gut – it developed long before any scientific method. It’s not always accurate, but it’s cheap and fast, and always there.
Perhaps he was just an unsociable person? I’m very shy and quiet in public, and this sounds like something I’d do, in an attempt to not make a fool of myself somehow, if I thought people were staring at me or talking about me. Guess some people just can’t win, eh? :o
…just keeping the checklist current. Rule # 52:
Okay. Got it !
What else?
:rolleyes:
Cartooniverse, dude… I think you’re missing the point of the OP. You’re reacting as if someone’s saying “This guy went to a movie by himself! How fucked up is that?” Or “I saw this guy, and he was facing forward! What a fucking freak!”
If you’ll notice, the OP is about being weirded out by someone for no obvious reason, having that feeling confirmed by someone else, and trying to figure out what accounts for this feeling.
Why you seem determined to be offended by it is totally beyond me. What the hell?
I don’t know why, but this phrase made me laugh out loud. Perhaps the sheer lunacy of it being true…?
Oh crap, I forgot that I wanted to say that if you want to freak people out surreptitiously, just look them right beside the eyes - it is one of those things that people find “off” without knowing why.
Because the Op’er stated
I read the O.P., waiting to see what this sicko did.
And…??? This persons instincts told her that he was creepy. That’s offensive to me. I’m that guy. I pay my ticket, sit there, do not engage anyone, do not talk to or stare down anyone. And yet somehow, it’s offensive simply to BE a male alone in a movie theatre.
Sorry you don’t agree, that is just fine. We can agree to disagree, respectfully. 
And, Larry? Read what featherlou just said…
:rolleyes:
As a recently divorced 34 yr old not-very-social male , the OP kind of bothered me too. I disagree somewhat with the trust your instincts crowd. Most people have horribly unreliable instincts.
If your personal experience has shown that your instincts are reliable a high percentage of the time then fine but in my observation, this is not true for almost everyone I know. Most people probably don’t remember how often their instincts are wrong.
I’m sensitive, shy, soft spoken and docile in a public setting and most people, including gay people, seem to think I’m gay. They’d be wrong (not that there’s anything wrong with that )but that’s what their “instinct” is telling them.
I like to go to movies alone but I’d hate to think I’m setting off somewhat’s creep-o-meter by sitting in my seat and trying not to pay attention to any distractions around me.
Although someone staying completely motionless sounds a bit weird I wouldn’t dwell on it. Since you didn’t interact with the person further, you’ll never know what kind of person he is and speculation is pointless.
The fact that he was alone, staring at the screen, wearing a long black coat, etc. did not creep me out. Those factors just added to his overall strangeness.
I already felt odd about him when I stood behind him in the ticket line. When he sat in front of us in the movie theater, his actions continued to reinforce that odd feeling I had about him, although there was nothing overly strange about those actions.
For the record, there were other males in the theater sitting alone. They did not set off my creep-o-meter. This guy did.
I trust my instincts. This type of experience is not a frequent occurance for me and when my inner alarms go off I tend to listen.
And I wasn’t speculating on the guy himself, I was speculating on my reaction to him. I know nothing about that man so it would do me no good to wonder about him. I am much more curious about my (and my husband’s) reaction to him.
No need to take it personally, 'Toon. I’m that guy too.
I prefer to see a movie on my own, especially if it’s a really good movie. It’s a pretty common thing. Who needs the distraction of someone sitting beside you who may feel inclined to talk to you? Even if I have a friend who wants to see a movie with me, If it’s something I’m looking forward to, I’ll generally go and see it myself, first. (I still haven’t seen the last half of Lars Von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark, because the woman I went to see it with didn’t like it and bitched throughout the first half, to the detriment of everyone in our general vicinity. Mortifying.)
There’s no sin in Greywolf wondering why someone might creep them out for some intangible reason. She’s made it abundantly clear that she couldn’t see any obvious reason for it, and was looking for some objective reason a stranger might just “seem creepy” to objective observers, when there’s nothing you can put your finger on.
Having been in the exact same situation as the fella she sat behind many times, mostly being confident that I wasn’t worrying anyone, but occasionally being preternaturally aware that I was probably striking people as somehow “odd,” I supplied an answer.
I think that you’re making a mistake to get your back up over this, it has nothing to do with prejudice against single guys.
A little more anecdotal stuff to elaborate on why I can sympathize with Greywolf.
Many years ago, I used to hold reserved season’s tickets to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Like movie-going, the symphony is a solitary event for me. Also like movie-going, it’s something that I have considered to be enhanced by going in a slightly altered state of consciousness. The problem is, there was a young woman who also had reserved season tickets, and the first two concerts of the season I got the distinct impression that I was making her uncomfortable. Not that I was doing anything bizarre, but there are undoubtably myriad practically subliminal cues one expects to encounter from another person that may have been modified. Nothing one could put your finger on, mind you. At any rate, it was mildly distracting to me throughout the first and second concerts, and I was becoming somewhat anxious that I was making her anxious and detracting from her ability to enjoy the music. Of course, that detracted from my ability to enjoy it. So, for the third concert of the season, I went “unaugmented”, and I chatted her up a bit at the intermission. As delicately as I could, I mentioned that I got the feeling I was making her uncomfortable, explained to her why I thought it likely that I was, and offered to try to manage a different seating arrangement. As it happened, she did notice something up and was trying to figure out what it was. My explanation, oddly enough, was reassuring to her, and we both enjoyed the remainder of the season without shifting about, and in fact we made the usual polite chit-chat at each intermission and went so far as to go out to a pub together a couple of times afterwards. The point is, initially, I set off alarm bells for her, and she didn’t know why until we talked about it-- after which, there was no problem.
Please don’t get wigged out by my frankness about my use of psychotropics, or get the idea that I’m some freaky druggie. I don’t look or dress any more peculiar than Aldous Huxley, and my approach to mind-altering substances is about the same.
I’m nearly positive that the “creepy” feeling Greywolf got was just because the fella chose to step up the special effects in The Chamber of Secrets by ingesting some sort of psychedelic.
This would account for Greywolf’s reaction.
If you think I’m talking horse-hockey, observe what happens when a cat owner takes LSD. Nothing else has changed, but those kitties climb the walls. Well, mine tended to act pretty strangely, anyway. I’d think, “What’s up? I’m not doing anything strange, just reading/watching a movie/dicking around on the computer/sitting and listening to a record,” but they’d shy away, run in circles, all sorts of atypical behavior. (I know I’m opening myself of to value judgments here, but just tryin’ to help out with the OP)
Don’t get so focused on the “single man” thing and turn into something personal, there’s nothing to suggest anyone would find you alarming when you’re at a movie by yourself.
Sorry if that last post sounded pissy, by the way. Of course we can just agree to disagree, and you know you’ll always have my respect-- you’re a Right Guy.[sup]tm[/sup] I think it would be a shame to not come to an agreement, though, because I get the feeling that you’re taking offense where none is given, here.
That being said, what did you mean by “Read what featherlou just said…” About the looking-someone not-quite in-the-eye thing? I don’t get what you mean. Another example of how someone can make you feel uneasy without you knowing exactly why… don’t get how it applies to my post. 
Cheers.