What To Do If You're Being Followed

This weekend, I finally started watching Law & Order: SVU.  Friends, I should have been listening to you all along.  It's great.  (The first episode I saw was a 2008 re-run guest starring Luke Perry and Julie Bowen as a married couple who are foster parents.  Turns out, Julie Bowen had been raped shortly before she met Luke Perry... but it turned out... Luke Perry was her rapist.  Aaaah!)

Shortly after my new addiction started, something semi-creepy (and ultra "lite" Law & Order: SVU) happened.  I went to go run some errands on foot in my neighborhood, and noticed a weird guy following me.  I took note of him right away, because he was strange looking, and wearing a black tank top and sunglasses (and it was fairly chilly out) and saw that he started walking my way.  Yucky, but it was a normal street, and lots of people walk.  I went into a store to run an errand, and a minute after I'd left, noticed the guy was right behind me again.  He'd waited while I was in there and was following me.  Gross.  I went into the next store and saw that he was dawdling outside.

:: cutest creepy image ever! ::

So.  I began to think about what to do...  I wasn't fearful for my safety, really -- it was broad daylight and there were people about, but I was about to walk back to my apartment, and I certainly didn't want this person following me.

I thought about calling a cab from the store, but that seemed kind of over the top, and my apartment was six blocks away.  I also thought about turning around and yelling: STOP FOLLOWING ME!, but that made me nervous, too.  Before I got much further, I noticed that the store had a back exit, so I left that way and, for good measure, made one more errand-stop before I went home.  It did the trick.

But I wondered: what should you do if you feel you are being followed?

I'm sure Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear would have some good advice, but I have tried to read that book four times and find the intro way, way, way, way, way too scary to keep reading the book.  Fortunately, the internet has lots of good advice.

So, here's what to do if you feel you're being followed on foot by someone who is also on foot:
1.  Trust your instinct.  We all have a safety-based sixth sense.  If you think someone is following you, someone probably is.
2.  Stay calm.  Try not to freak the f out.
3.  Check out your follower.  Looking back to see if you're being followed is totally allowed!  It's good to let the creepy person know you're onto them.
4.  Get around other people.  If you're in a public place, get around other people (and light, if it's dark out).  Walk with a crowd, go into a business or restaurant, etc.  Depending on how unsafe you feel, this would be a good time to call authorities/ask for help.  Usually, this will get your follower to leave you alone, but if you're still being followed...
5.  Make a scene.  Yell something!  Good ones are "LEAVE ME ALONE!" or "STOP FOLLOWING ME!" or "FIRE!"  (Apparently, it's much more effective to yell "FIRE!" than "HELP!")  If this doesn't fix it...
6.  Run.  Get distance between you and your follower.  If you're still being followed (sorry!), call the police and...
7.  Drop your purse.  But hang on to your keys (good weapon) and phone (for safety).  Hopefully this is all your follower wants.  If not (oh no!  This is terrible!), call the police and...
8.  Fight back.  Scratch, kick, scream, aim where it hurts.  If you get forced into a car, do whatever you can to force a car crash and try to escape in the confusion.
9.  Don't go straight home.  Try to go to someone else's home, if you know they'll be there, or stop elsewhere first.

There you have it!  What do you think of this list?  Anything seem crazy?  Anybody have any scary stores to share?