A woman has shared how she received a note on her doorstep from a stalker who creepily signed it 'your secret admirer'.
When the 22-year-old, going only by the name as Cali, nipped out to the store one day, she returned to find a hair-raising message on her doorstep, which led to her locking herself inside her Sacramento home for two weeks - with the blinds down around the clock.
Taking to Reddit, she shared the note with the caption: "This is a note that was left on my doorstep 2 years ago. It sent me into a paranoid spiral for months thinking I was being watched by someone and not knowing who it was or when they were watching me."
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The message read: "Greeting beautiful lady. I just wanted to say that I think you're an extremely beautiful red hair woman.
"Yes you're absolutly beautiful, just wanted to share that... Please for [forgive] me for sharing my thoughts... your secret admirer."
The post garnered almost 200 comments in just 12 days, with the majority being equally as creeped out by the message as Cali was.
"The way it's worded sounds like an obsession, so it understandably freaked you out," one person wrote.
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"As an aside, I'm intrigued by their penmanship."
Speaking about how the note affected her in the weeks and months that followed, she explained: "I barricaded myself inside for at least 2 weeks after, got door jammer locks for every door and had my blinds drawn 24/7. It was awful.
"Once I finally brought myself to leaving my apartment again, I felt like Jesse from Breaking Bad when he was high and looking around his neighborhood all freaked out.
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"Every person became a suspect and I felt eyes on me constantly. To be constantly on guard like I could be accosted at any moment... it was a true nightmare.
"While I would have loved to believe I was overreacting and give said person the benefit of the doubt, I have been stalked and assaulted in the past by strange men so I felt like I couldn't leave it to chance."
Cali has since moved out of the property in the capital of California, she shared with Redditors, while also explaining that she now makes sure her home is properly secured, and her person too - admitting that she now owns pepper spray and a taser.
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She also gave a warning to others who may feel compelled to declare their unrequited love in such a creepy way.
"I would like others who feel called to approach people they find attractive to see what not to do", she explained.
"I have no issue with someone making the first move or complimenting others, but we live in a pretty scary time and there are many other, better ways to communicate those feelings."
Yeah, probably not the best way to ask out your crush.
Topics: California, Crime, Mental Health, Reddit, Life
Joe Yates