Who doesn't like a good horror story? As we approach Halloween, it seems like a good time to recount our favorite dating horror story. I hope this will inspire those who are wondering if the grass is greener in the single world to work on their relationships .

I meet most of my dates online. I like to email, text and talk to them on the phone and then eventually meet for a quick coffee date. You would think with all that screening you could figure out who's sane before you go out to dinner. <Sigh>, not always.

I had my first dine and dash last month. We were supposed to just meet for drink, but the conversation got really good and I really liked her company. It's actually a good sign when you can get lost in the conversation for so long, so I suggested we grab dinner.

One of the things she said that "getting her credit back after her ex's irresponsible money habits was important." As things would happen, my main debit card was still at the outside bar, and I used my other one to pay for dinner. Opps, forgot had an automatic payment post and the card was declined, not a problem, I just used the credit card. Bill paid.

I go out to outside bar to settle up, she was following, paid that, turned around and she was gone.

After a few minutes of wandering around looking like an idiot, I texted her to find out where she was so I could say good night.

She texted back, that "I told you credit was important to me, and your card was declined so I left." I told her, "well that took real balls to just take off like that" and then I sent her a bill for her half of the meal and drinks since she was so concerned about my financial condition.

Actually the $70 'she owed me' was probably a cheep price to keep that one out of my life.

Anyone else care to share?

@@OKCPirate

"laughing" Oh my friend. At least she was honest and you did not waste your time or energy on this woman. I doubt if you will get the $70 dollars back. Have a good laugh out of the crazy dates. Keep your options open. I hope you find someone that you can relax and enjoy companionship with.

Maybe her husband's credit would have been better if he wasn't paying her $70+ bar/restaurant tabs all the time....

Wow I've had A LOT of bad dates, but my worst of the worst was an online date back in the day(circa 1997 before I met my husband and got married). We were on our first date and this guy picked me up in a rust bucket car full of trash and I got my favorite skirt covered in car trash ooze of some sort. He had on a dirty looking shirt and jeans that look like they'd never been washed, but I thought maybe he planned to change so I decided to just roll with it. I had a old stale hamburger bun from some rotting meal on the floor board stuck in the high heels of my boots. He stopped for gas and bought himself a drink and didn't bother asking if I wanted anything. I just said "oh no thanks I'm not thirsty" when he got in and he tried to get me to share his and spilled it all down my new blouse and my fav already ruined by now skirt! I wanted to leave so bad, but he started telling me this hardship story and I felt bad so I kept trying to go with this even thought the sirens were going off "run! Run!!". He asked where I wanted to go and I guess it was not the right thing to say, because I said, "I could go just about anywhere. I'm pretty easy!" So he tried to take me to the pay by the hour motel on the highway where all the nasty people went to get it on. Right outside this God forsaken hellhole his car broke down. I was yelling at him because A) I didn't mean THAT easy and I'm from a small town and if anyone saw me, my reputation, and my life as I knew it were going to be over. Well, so the car is dead out in front of this place and he goes knocking on doors to hotel rooms trying to get a jump for the battery, but then tells me we need to move the car out of the street, but he couldn't push it because he had open heart surgery and he isn't suppose to even lift heavy things. He had already told me about this heart condition when we were talking online so ugh I knew if I didn't push it we weren't going anywhere. So here I am, high heeled boots covered in crap, a ruined skirt and blouse, way over dressed for how he showed up, pushing his piece of crap car into the motel de skank while he sat in the drivers seat steering. I was scared someone would see me out there as that was the only thing on that stretch of highway so if you were stopped there, they knew(or thought they knew)what you were doing! So eventually this guy got his piece of crap car started and I told him to take me home(not my home but thank god I didn't have him pick me up at my own house!). We got there and he actually had the audacity to ask for another date and I just looked blank at him and said "let's not" and walked away. It was one of the worst dates of my life and actually caused me to quit dating after that until I met my now husband(also online but because I forgot to take my profile down and his response to why I said I am no longer accepting dates online was adorable).

At Sajijoma -

Good heavens! That was a disastrous date!

I have had a few really bad disasters, especially early on in my dive into online stuff.

A particular favorite story was a guy who looked great, sounded great, email exchange - he just seemed like a good fit. Can't explain why, but i just had a good feeling that this was someone I was going to want to keep seeing....

I was smart enough to just committ to meeting for a drink in spite of my optimism... but here is what happened...

He asks me to pick a place and so I suggested a "Tap house" in my town that serves lots of cool local beers and food. Well, right off the bat, it becomes apparent that the photo he posted was at least 10 years old, his job wasn't quite what he said and he was just plain odd. Second, he was clueless about beer - apparently preferred Coorslight to the microbrews. Then - he had weird tics. So, we get to talking and I am being polite and trying to think how to get out of this. I was starving, hadn't eaten and was visualizing exiting as soon as possible and getting myself some food. So, while I am planning my excape he says "are you hungry" - mouth engages before brain and I say "I am starving".... so then, I can't really decline his dinner request. Well, I should have declined, but I was too polite....

so, he picks the restaurant and I order a small appetizer that was a trio of seafood items. Turns out, he is deathly allergic to shellfish so he was completely freaked out about my shrimp etc. I offered to send it back, but he was like "no, it's okay as long as you keep it over there" - so I eat away and then asks about what all is on my plate. One of the items was Ahi served quite rare (as it should be) - and he says to me in a horrifed tone "You EAT RAW FISH?"

It was like a lightswitch flipped. He got over being nervous and tongue tied because he had clearly put me in the "no way pile" over my barbarian culinary tastes. Thank goodness.

The conversation got alot better as he told me all about OCD, how his dad had it, his brother is so afflicted he is basically non functional etc. We actually had a decent time and I learned alot about OCD and exterminators! So, I offered to split the bill but he wanted to pay it saying he had really enjoyed the dinner and liked that he could relax with me (not to mention my food was pretty small/cheap!).

So, about 8 months later, I decided to try "speed dating" and guess who shows up in the rotation! I recognized him immediately and asked him how his daughter and grandkid were doing etc etc. We kinda get caught up and then right before the next rotation he says to me "You are so much better looking then I remember, it must be because the lighting in here is so dim."

I supposed I should have been insulted, but I thought it was funnier then anything - given that he had not aged well, had severe ocd and worked as an Exterminator that was a showstopper for lots of people (which he hadn't originally been honest about). My reply to him was "so glad to see you haven't changed!" I was of course referring to his social skills.

I don't know if it is good or bad but the weirdo/broken people I have met since then were much much much better at disguising their "issues" in the beginning so i haven't had that kind of genuinely odd date since those early days.

@@Sajijoma that is a horror story!

There is a radio show that people call in with horrible date stories. I have only heard a few, but the funniest one was where the guy let her pick the place for their first "meeting" and she picked Walmart. She proceeds to grocery shop as they are chatting. They get to the checkstand and she expects him to PAY because "don't guys always pay on the first date?". As he retold the story he said he was so embarrased at the checkout that he did actually buy her freaking groceries...

can you imagine???

@@OKCPirate ... lol! Bitches be crazy!

@@Sajijoma, so far, you win!

@@CowgirlJane ... I see why you're taking a break.

My worst bad dates range from one-night-stand STDs to attempted rape. Seriously, it's amazing some of us keep trying.

Spoiler: Twenty years ago I found the love of my life online. He is amazing and perfect for me. We are both so very, very lucky.

On another thread, @@Miss Mac said it right: "Love is a crap shoot."

But if you find true love, you win big.

Dear God, that is horrible beyond belief. A train wreck of epic proportions.

Wow I've had A LOT of bad dates, but my worst of the worst was an online date back in the day(circa 1997 before I met my husband and got married). We were on our first date and this guy picked me up in a rust bucket car full of trash and I got my favorite skirt covered in car trash ooze of some sort. He had on a dirty looking shirt and jeans that look like they'd never been washed, but I thought maybe he planned to change so I decided to just roll with it. I had a old stale hamburger bun from some rotting meal on the floor board stuck in the high heels of my boots. He stopped for gas and bought himself a drink and didn't bother asking if I wanted anything. I just said "oh no thanks I'm not thirsty" when he got in and he tried to get me to share his and spilled it all down my new blouse and my fav already ruined by now skirt! I wanted to leave so bad, but he started telling me this hardship story and I felt bad so I kept trying to go with this even thought the sirens were going off "run! Run!!". He asked where I wanted to go and I guess it was not the right thing to say, because I said, "I could go just about anywhere. I'm pretty easy!" So he tried to take me to the pay by the hour motel on the highway where all the nasty people went to get it on. Right outside this God forsaken hellhole his car broke down. I was yelling at him because A) I didn't mean THAT easy and I'm from a small town and if anyone saw me, my reputation, and my life as I knew it were going to be over. Well, so the car is dead out in front of this place and he goes knocking on doors to hotel rooms trying to get a jump for the battery, but then tells me we need to move the car out of the street, but he couldn't push it because he had open heart surgery and he isn't suppose to even lift heavy things. He had already told me about this heart condition when we were talking online so ugh I knew if I didn't push it we weren't going anywhere. So here I am, high heeled boots covered in crap, a ruined skirt and blouse, way over dressed for how he showed up, pushing his piece of crap car into the motel de skank while he sat in the drivers seat steering. I was scared someone would see me out there as that was the only thing on that stretch of highway so if you were stopped there, they knew(or thought they knew)what you were doing! So eventually this guy got his piece of crap car started and I told him to take me home(not my home but thank god I didn't have him pick me up at my own house!). We got there and he actually had the audacity to ask for another date and I just looked blank at him and said "let's not" and walked away. It was one of the worst dates of my life and actually caused me to quit dating after that until I met my now husband(also online but because I forgot to take my profile down and his response to why I said I am no longer accepting dates online was adorable).

@@CowgirlJane wow, I feel like I went on that bad date with you too! ????

This is really therapeutic and makes me so grateful that I am almost 17yrs married now and don't have to worry about dating anymore! ???? the trip down memory lane was pretty funny today! ????

Yikes, these stories make me feel super lucky with my online dating experiences. Granted, I think I on maybe 5-6 dates that started online. All except one of those went well enough to warrant second dates.

My husband and I met online. We only went on those first two dates, though. Then I ended up getting serious with another guy I had met through online dating around the same time. That guy and I were together a year and a half. Meanwhile, the man who is now my husband became my roommate for a year or so and we stayed good friends, even after I moved into a new apartment with the guy I got serious with. I eventually broke up with that guy, then dated/lived with another guy for two and half years. So something like 4+ years after I'd initially met my husband and gone on two dates with him, we once again found ourselves both single and in need of a roommate. It wasn't long after he moved in as my roommate that we got romantically involved and the rest is history!

@@Sajijoma I'm not even gonna lie that made me lol!!! I would have INSISTED he go ahead and push the car....do the next girl a favor!!!

Oh. My. God. I dont even know where to start ! Laughing, or crying at the hilariously sad stories !!!! Im sooooo sorry ! But I still cant stop laughing !! I dont have any horror stories of my own, but 20 some years ago out the Seattle Times newspaper put out a contest "Send in your worst dating story !", winner gets a prize ! Etc.....The winner ? A lady met a man through some dating group, they met for daytime coffee. He was much older, heavier etc than his picture, but seemed nice enough. He suggested after coffee to visit a nearby park, nice sunny day, ok ! Why not ? After they get settled on a park bench, he disappeared for a bit. When he came back, he was nude ! She noticed some others were too ! He had taken her to a clothing optional park !!! She kept trying to advert her eyes, finally made some excuse to leave, and made a hasty exit ! Eeeeekkkkk !!! You wonder WHY she won 1st prize !!!!! Im still laughing !!!

@@Elode I can laugh about it now! ???? back then I wondered what the heck was wrong with me that I only attracted guys like him and gay men who just wanted to make sure they were really gay. lol it only takes one good one though and when I found him I married him right away! ????

I don't think these are horror stories... but they are are all "real" things that happened to me.

1. Guy who lied about EVERYTHING except the color of his hair. He was actually better looking then his pictures, his career was at least as good etc - I can only guess he was married. He was shocked i didn't want a second date but I told him that I had no concept of who he was since nothing he told me before we met matched the story i heard (and saw) sitting across the table from him.

2. Guy who invited me to sit on his lap about 10 minutes into our cup of coffee. I was like "excuse me?" He decided I was fridgid or something - ha

3. I was getting ready to meet someone I had talked and texted with quite a bit ... when I get a text from him saying I had "been playing him". At first I thought the text was intended for someone else.... no... he was offended that I had logged into my online account while we were talking and texting because clearly the fact that I had agreed to meet him for coffee made me his property. Scary; blocked him and spent about a week looking over my shoulder - seriously

4. This might have been the most disappointing - this happened when I was looking for a "summer boyfriend" and activity partner vs a long term committed relationship. I really hit it off with this man, super fun, outgoing and all that. It was FREEZING cold out and so i accepted a ride in his car back to my car which was parked a few blocks a way. I kid you not, he stuck his hands in my pants in a most uninvited way. My reaction seemed to have scared him more than he scared me - apparently i can really holler when properly motivated.

5. This might have been the weirdest although it didn't happen while ON the date. I had gone out with this guy about 3 times and really liked him. We had not progressed to anything beyond a quick peck goodbye kiss, but i was really attracted to him. I went on a vacation with my kids so was gone for a couple of weeks and we were texting. well.... the texts started to gravitate toward sexual interests. To cut it short, he wanted to watch me have sex with a specific type of guy - say what???? At first I sorta thought it was a weird joke, but I started getting this sinking feeling that he was more of a voyeur type and probably not actually interested in a relationship.

6. okay, how could I forget about the guy who invited me to join him at a sex club for our second date? I declined (see above, I am apparently fridgid).

@@pink dahlia - well there are several possible reactions - recoil in horror, laugh or thank the stars you don't have to participate. We share so we are not bitter