# Stories where stalking actually works **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316 "2011-02-14T16:25:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/21 "2011-02-14T19:52:11Z")
> [@Number](#): > > _[Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101026/)_ goes beyond stalking and into outright kidnapping. Like **Holiday in Handcuffs**? Though to be fair, the guy she kidnapped was a complete stranger she forced to pretend to be the boyfriend who had dumped her minutes earlier. Months later, after she’s been arrested and released, they do make a go of it. It’s not a work of art, but one of my coworkers in college told me that her father stalked her mother “until she got tired of trying to fend him off and gave in,” and when I asked, she said, yes, literally stalking her by following her around and spying on her etc. So I guess stalking can work in real life. **Quimby** , as we’ve discussed in multiple threads, it doesn’t usually work that way because women tend to find likable guys more attractive and unlikable ones less attractive, so if he’s a creep to a woman **who is mentally stable** , she’ll find him a lot less attractive than before he started acting disturbingly. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/22 "2011-02-14T20:03:01Z")
**Big Fish**? Ewen McGregor sees Alison Lohman at a circus, works for free at the circus to find out information about her, travels to her college and asks her out. She replies that she’s already engaged. He starts to walk off, them screams that he loves her and he WILL marry her. Later, he shows up at her dorm, with a field full of her favorite flower. She sees it, and goes to talk to him. Her fiancée shows up and kicks Ewen’s ass. Alison dumps hubby-to-be, and gets together with Ewen. If that happened to ANY girl IRL, she’d have had his ass thrown in jail within the hour. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/23 "2011-02-14T20:03:59Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > RomCom isn’t my favorite genre, but wasn’t there one where the woman (Sandra Bullock) stalks a guy right into his hospital room? She ended up not liking him post-coma, but did hook up with his brother. If I remember right, the brother is the same actor who gets dumped on in the dreary and definitely creepy “Sleepless In Seattle”. > > Spared Meg Ryan, to end up with Sandra Bullock. Out of the frying pan … _While You Were Sleeping_? There is a real life example. Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA had a two year relationship with her stalker. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/24 "2011-02-14T20:08:42Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > If that happened to ANY girl IRL, she’d have had his ass thrown in jail within the hour. …with any man who _didn’t_ look like Ewan. Sorry, I’ve seen too many women put up with too much from attractive jerks to believe that is a hard and fast rule. Note: Due to circumstance beyond my control, I’m spending this Valentine’s day 550 miles from the woman I love. You can tell, can’t you? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/25 "2011-02-14T20:23:25Z")
> [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > RomCom isn’t my favorite genre, but wasn’t there one where the woman (Sandra Bullock) stalks a guy right into his hospital room? She ended up not liking him post-coma, but did hook up with his brother. If I remember right, the brother is the same actor who gets dumped on in the dreary and definitely creepy “Sleepless In Seattle”. That was _While You Were Sleeping_. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/26 "2011-02-14T20:25:36Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > **Quimby** , as we’ve discussed in multiple threads, it doesn’t usually work that way because women tend to find likable guys more attractive and unlikable ones less attractive, so if he’s a creep to a woman **who is mentally stable** , she’ll find him a lot less attractive than before he started acting disturbingly. It seems to me that it’s often the other way around. People (both male and female) find attractive people of the opposite sex to be more likable and unattractive ones, less likable. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/27 "2011-02-14T20:34:46Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > And Ben Stiller is one of SEVERAL guys stalking Cameron Diaz in “There’s Something ABout Mary.” That’s actually a subversion, though. She finally chooses Ben Stiller, because he’s the first guy to care about what would make her happy, even if it’s not being with him. He gets the girl, not by being persistent, but by giving up. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/28 "2011-02-14T20:46:38Z")
Taxi Driver? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/29 "2011-02-14T22:06:57Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > …with any man who _didn’t_ look like Ewan. > > Sorry, I’ve seen too many women put up with too much from attractive jerks to believe that is a hard and fast rule. > > Note: Due to circumstance beyond my control, I’m spending this Valentine’s day 550 miles from the woman I love. > > You can tell, can’t you? Due to circumstances beyond your control, the woman you love is spending Valentine’s Day alone and, presumably, surrounded by attractive jerks (they’re everywhere, you know). Happy V-Day! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/30 "2011-02-14T22:09:06Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Taxi Driver? Travis Bickle gets neither Betsy nor Iris in the end, though he does manage to impress both of them. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/31 "2011-02-15T04:10:52Z")
Back to the Future - stalking plus Nightingale syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/32 "2011-02-15T04:15:15Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > That’s actually a subversion, though. She finally chooses Ben Stiller, because he’s the first guy to care about what would make her happy, even if it’s not being with him. He gets the girl, not by being persistent, but by giving up. True enough, but he DID stalk her, after hiring a sleazy detective to stalk her FOR him, first. So, in Hollywood, the moral is… it’s okay to stalk someone, provided that you’re sorry for it and you really REALLY love that person after all. ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/33 "2011-02-15T04:20:59Z")
There was an ep of Law and Order where a woman married her stalker. Some of their plots are derived from real life, I don’t know about that one. (sorry with 24,559 episodes recorded, I don’t now what season that episode was aired) ---
**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/34 "2011-02-15T04:25:34Z")
Oh, just remembered this one: ever wonder if any creepy guy ever broke up with his girlfriend in order to stalk her? It has happened at least once. If you have a copy of Tomas Guillen’s book Toxic Love, you can read about Stephen Harper’s weird little life. (note: this case is also portrayed in the Forensic File’s episode “Without a Trace”, however, that show focuses on the forensics (duh) and glosses over Stephens weirdness) ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2011, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/35 "2011-02-15T06:36:15Z")
How about _Untamed Heart_? It’s been a while since I saw it but I remember it being supposedly sweet and romantic but creepy as heck, really. Christian Slater’s weird loner character saves Marisa Tomei’s waitress character from a couple of rapists - the only reason he’s there to save her is he’s been following her home from work. Later it’s revealed that he sneaks into her bedroom at night and watches her sleep. She takes him in 'cause basically he’s the nicest most caring guy she’s met, which doesn’t say much for the people who she usually hangs around with I guess. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/36 "2011-02-16T02:15:19Z")
I was watching A Single Man today, and it seemed to fit this a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/37 "2011-02-16T05:19:10Z")
Ooh! How about “Arthur?” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/38 "2011-02-16T05:44:57Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Ooh! How about “Arthur?” Actually, I just re-watched this. I’m not 100% sure that it qualifies. He didn’t really stalk Linda. He pursues her while rebelling against the notion of marrying Susan, but ultimately tells her the truth. He DOES end up going to her house at 3am, but the story seems more linear, and doesn’t really have him stalking her. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/39 "2011-02-16T07:58:11Z")
As has been mentioned, an awful lot of romantic comedies. I remember in the movie version of _Bus Stop_, the guy goes to the bus station and lassos Marilyn Monroe and drags her off, it was played as whacky fun. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316/40 "2011-02-16T08:26:35Z")
> [@Number](#): > > _[Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101026/)_ goes beyond stalking and into outright kidnapping. > > Heh, and now I see that Wikipedia [has this phenomenon covered](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bride_kidnapping#In_film). I think the ultra-creepy _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_ takes the crown on this one. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Travis Bickle gets neither Betsy nor Iris in the end, though he does manage to impress both of them. But only in his dying dream. In the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks romcoms, on the other hand, they switch off stalking each other and it’s all totally dreamy, because they’re so cute together. Or something. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stories-where-stalking-actually-works/571316.md?page=3)