Just saw this bumped. Two stories I'd like to share, one not so happy of an ending.
In the early 90's, my mother, brother, and myself went to the grocery store one evening. My mother was a beautiful petite blonde and I witnessed men
approaching her all my life but this was so different. I was sitting in the front seat 'shotgun' while my brother was in the back. My mother was
finishing the last of the grocery loading into the trunk. This guy approached her to ask for directions or help with something.
IMMEDIATELY and without communicating with each other, my brother and I had a horrible vibe about this man. First of all, it was strange that this guy
would be coming up to her when there were others like a bag boy collecting carts or a what not he could ask. It was just 'off.' But OK- whatever.
Maybe she was just the closest to him.
Regardless, we were totally spooked as he kept creeping in on our mother and being persistent. I firmly remember my mother looking uncomfortable
whereas she is usually very friendly and open. My brother and I both opened our doors and stared him down and he seemed surprised like he hadn't been
aware we were there. This part will sound lame and silly but it was all we had- my brother got some cans to hold in his hand and I grabbed a mop/broom
that my mother had just bought. We were ready to rumble if this guy messed with our mom.

We were the scrawniest private school white kids in
existence but it wasn't the point. Predators who wish to do harm are total cowards at heart and are looking for the easy mark and no witnesses. This
guy backed off and wandered away.
The second my mother got in the car, she scolded our behinds up and down and said she wished we simply locked the doors and let him take her if it
came down to it. It was really strange how all three of us picked up on this super bad vibe without saying a word. My mother was furious with us for
not trying to stay safe but like we were just as protective of her. The thing I'm trying to point out is that all of us were in unspoken collusion
that this guy was dangerous and we needed to be defensive.
And he wasn't some thug- just a middle age, middle class looking white man.
On a more tragic note, as a teenager one of my best friends from high school and I wanted to go check out the famous haunted railroad tracks of San
Antonio. If any of you are familiar with the area, you'll know the area is pretty sparsely populated (at least it was at the time 15 years ago).
It's not a very largely active area like it is farther north in the city. It's on the lowest outskirts of San Antonio.
So she and I were driving in the area when we spotted a girl on a payphone late at night in a dimly lit parking lot. It felt so wrong and my friend
and I immediately agreed that she was in danger and that she should leave the area ASAP. We had the urgent feeling to warn her or tell her to get out
of there. We of course did not and minded our own business and kept driving on our way. What do you really do in a situation like that?
One or two days later my friend asked me if I remembered that girl we saw on the payphone. I did and then she told me that it was in the news a girl
was abducted and killed that night from that lot. I have no way of knowing if the victim was the same one we saw but it was a very haunting
experience.
So those 'bad vibes' we pick up may not be of our own harm but someone else's. I always wished I had done something but I'm not sure what. We
probably would have scared the poor girl, too, to have strangers drive up and tell her to get out of there and that she's in danger. It was a bad
situation but I feel horrible.