As our Sex and Relationships editor, I asked Exeter Her Campus members to send in their spookiest dating horror stories to keep you up at night this Halloween! This is some of the best (and worst) of them!
Date 1
We matched on Tinder and chatted all summer, and I do mean from June till September… it was a proper talking stage; it almost felt covid style. We agreed to go on a date when we got back to Exeter in September. The day of the date rolls around. I go to Henry’s Bar, where we said we’d have our date (in hindsight, this was probably a mistake on my part, but at least the people who work there are lovely).
Red Flag number 1. He was 10 mins late. And didn’t text me to say he was going to be late. He does apologise on arrival, though. I bet you’re dying to know his excuse. He went to the beach with his housemates and forgot about our date… that we’d had planned for weeks… I felt great! We then got a drink (he bought the first round) and sat down. Conversation flowed, and we had a lot to talk about, which was nice. If you’re thinking, ‘this doesn’t sound like a horror story’, prepare yourself. He said he’d told his housemates about our date and then proceeded to open his group chat.
Red Flag number 2. They were all online, and he was texting them, LIVE, about how our date was going. In fairness to him, he was giving me a glowing report, but it was still so weird. His housemates were asking to see a picture of me… that was a bit strange. I obviously declined. He then proceeded, for the next hour, to show me their questions in the group chat to ask how the date was going and for his reviews. I bet you’re wondering, why did you stay so long. Well, naive me wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. I shouldn’t have done that.
After round 3 of a large white wine, I nipped to the loo, where I panic-texted my best friend to come and get me. The excuse – there was a pan-fire in our kitchen, and I needed to go home IMMEDIATELY. So I did, and I never saw him again… until a week later when I was at the Fresher’s Fair, and he came over to the desk opposite me and leaned on it, as I was trapped by a group of people (as is so often the case during the Fresher’s Fair) and he pushed his arse into the aisle. I don’t know if he did it on purpose or not, but RED FLAG ALERT. For all those concerned, I’m thrilled to announce I think he has graduated, and I don’t worry about seeing him anymore!
date 2
Picture the scene – I was in middle school, young and naive. One of the guys in my class came up to me and asked if I wanted to go and get ice cream so we could start preparing for the upcoming talent show with our friends. At this point, I just want to ask – does this sound like a date? Because I had absolutely no idea! So, the day of the “date” arrives, and I go to the ice cream parlour, unknowing of what is about to happen… When I get there, it’s just him, some time passes, and nobody else arrives then it hits me; I bet he thinks this is a DATE! Things are going (not going well but definitely going) until (and this is a plot twist of the century) someone spits on him from the floor above. I was mortified that someone would be capable of doing something like that until I looked up and saw a group of his friends laughing and rolling around. Had they been watching us this whole time? I guess I’ll never know…
Date 3
Way back when I was a fresher, during the peak of lockdown, all of my flatmates had either discovered flatcest or had decided to stay at home. Valentine’s day was fast approaching, and I was feeling particularly single and alone. One night I was scrolling through Instagram, avoiding an essay I had due when up on my screen popped up a post from Xpression society (Exeter’s student radio) advertising they were raising money for charity by hosting blind dates. Perfect timing! I almost instinctively signed myself up, and my flatmates filled out the application form that night. The day of the date arrived and I spent the vast majority of it pampering myself, spending hours straightening my mountain of hair and making sure I had just the right amount of makeup on. It was my very first date ever, after all! I clicked on the zoom link with bated breath wondering what this mystery person would look like, only to find out they were serious about the blind part… all cameras were off, and there was a third person in the meeting who was there to monitor us. The date only got worse from there! We introduced ourselves, and after a quick Instagram stalk, I found out I’d been paired with none other than the person who was in charge of organising the event – I wonder if this meant he had chosen me specifically.
The vibes were off from the beginning. They started off by telling me they were a third year – but not to worry as they were doing an integrated masters(!). Remember, at this time, I was only in my first year of uni and hadn’t even been to a lecture in person before. The entire time the conversation felt so forced, and the “moderator” had to keep sending questions into the chat! One of the questions which will haunt me for the rest of my life was, “What are you most looking forward to when lockdown ends?” There was an awkward pause, and I said about how much I was looking forward to meeting my course friends at the pub and experiencing clubbing for the first time. Pretty normal answer, right? Well, he then says about how he “just wants to hug his family again”. I feel like an absolute monster. We then go through 20 minutes of what I can only describe as the most … experience of my life! He would give barely a sentence for the answers, and every question meant the conversation fell dead, and we were left with an awkward silence waiting for it to be over. Another particularly embarrassing question was, “what’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?”. His answer – he had been on a date with a girl who went to the bathroom (I can only assume to escape) and ended up getting stuck in there and had to be rescued by the staff members. Eventually, the date came to an end, and I thought this meant that it was over, but he added me on Facebook (of all social media platforms?) and messaged me asking if I wanted to have another date! I bet you can guess what my answer was…
Date 4
In my second year, I went to Paris to go on a second date with a girl who was on her year abroad there. It had been nearly a year since our first date, and we’d talked on and off all that time (and for a good six months before the first date). So the tension had been built up, and let’s say it was very clear how the weekend was going to go. Even while I was in the airport, our messages were very suggestive. When I got to my hostel (she’d been very flaky with organising the trip, so I didn’t want to stay at hers), she met me at the hostel bar. The two of us and my hostel roommate were all chatting, and we were just giving each other life updates, and then suddenly, she mentioned a boyfriend. For a moment, I thought maybe they were non-monogamous, but no, she had a boyfriend who she was exclusive with and didn’t tell me until I arrived in Paris to see her. I ended up having a solo weekend in Paris and had the best time; I never saw her again.