A woman was shopping near the Christmas displays at Hobby Lobby when she decided she needed a quick break. As she sat down, she noticed a man “circling her” in the store, continuously following her every move and asking if she was “OK” countless times.
In a video with more than 31,000 views on TikTok, Lacey Farmer (@laceyglamco) recounted the strange and difficult situation to her audience. “That’s the first time I’ve ever been scared [that someone] might do something to me or like try to do something to me,” she said.
Farmer’s encounter at Hobby Lobby
Farmer went inside Hobby Lobby to shop for some items when she realized that the National Nutcracker was going on sale. She had wanted tickets for her family for a while, so she sat down in the Christmas tree aisle to get them.
That’s when she noticed a man, most likely in his late thirties to early forties, circling her and checking back with her inside the store. “We made our contact a couple times and I would immediately look away, like, I don’t have time for you,” she said.
Eventually, the man approached her in the store. “He’s standing and he’s like, ‘ma’am, are you OK’? And I ignored him. And he’s like, he says it again. He’s like, ‘Hey ma’am, are you OK?’ And I was honestly annoyed because I literally am like trying to get this discount for these tickets,” Farmer told her viewers. Eventually, she looked up and responded to him, letting him know she was fine and looking for tickets to a show online.
He told her to “have a good day,” and she walked off into another part of the store. That’s when she noticed that the man followed her to that section.
“Now I kind of started [to notice], like, ‘oh, OK, this is kind of weird.’ I’m gonna just go to the other side of Hobby Lobby and lose this guy. So I literally darted to the other side of a Hobby Lobby,” she said.
He continues following her across aisles
Somehow, the man found his way toward her section every time she moved in the store. Farmer went from slightly annoyed to frightened.
“He [had] nothing in his hands,” Farmer added. “He also… the vibes were just not good. You know what I mean? Like, you know how you can tell when someone’s just… something was not [right]… I knew something.”
At this point, Farmer called her husband to try and find someone safe. Her husband, though, was at work 45 minutes away. She called her father, who unfortunately did not answer his phone.
By that point, Farmer was feeling trapped. She had tried to beeline through aisles to avoid him, but he ended up approaching her again and asking a few questions.
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“And he says, ‘Hey, did you say you’re like going to a concert or something?’ And I said, ‘no.’ And he said… ‘why were you in such a hurry to get tickets?’” Farmer said. She tried to add that she had a husband and children in the conversation, but he started asking more questions about her family. She tried to lie about key details to throw him off and not share any personal information.
As he started to discuss his own family, Farmer took the opportunity to bolt. She abruptly ended the conversation and headed out.
Leaving Hobby Lobby
Farmer ran out of the Hobby Lobby as fast as she could. She noticed as she was leaving that the man was still glancing around for her.
“ As I was running out, I was like, he was freaking looking for me. He was looking for me and I literally jumped in my car,” she added.
Farmer regrets not getting an employee to walk her out, but she was incredibly anxious while walking around inside.
As a final message, she told her followers, “ You don’t need anything in [Hobby Lobby]. Let us get our Christmas ornaments in peace. So yeah, that’s on not being able to go anywhere alone. Love that for us.”
@laceyglamco Stay safe out there ladies ppl are weird. Hobby Lobby is my comfort place
♬ original sound – Lacey Farmer
Commenters share similar experiences
Many commenters were surprised by the man’s behavior, and while they thought he could have good intentions at first, they quickly realized how frightening it was for Farmer.
“Maybe I’m still a little too naive [because] in the beginning I was like maybe he truly is just checking in… It could be a weird situation [if] you [were] just sitting there, but the fact he continued to approach you… Your gut was definitely right I think,” said one viewer.
Others had incredibly similar encounters. Another commenter added, “That’s so scary. Thank you for sharing. I had a similar experience at Walmart—this guy followed me through the entire store. I thought I lost him, but he found me again at the register. I asked an employee if someone could walk me out, and all she said was, ‘We have cameras.’ I was so upset. I ran to my car. It really reminded me how important it is to stay aware of our surroundings.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Farmer and Hobby Lobby for comment.
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