Several students who live near Boston College have reported that some guy has walked into their homes and either tickled their feet or watched them sleep, but didn’t steal anything.
At least 10 people have gone to the police to report their experiences with the mystery man dubbed by locals as “the Tickler,” reports Boston.com.
Many people in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood, where the Tickler has struck, long believed the creeper to be a local urban legend.
“This is no myth,” Boston police sergeant Michael O’Hara told Boston.com. “It’s happening.”
The Tickler’s targets have described him as a 5’8″ black man who wears dark clothes including a hoodie. One guy said he saw the man sporting a ski mask.
Some victims say they didn’t see him inside their homes but they did see him standing outside their windows, masturbating.
Boston College junior Teddy Raddell described the Tickler’s visit to his shared house back in October.
“I thought my roommate had fallen down the steps,” Raddell told Boston.com, “but then he started yelling. I got up and he said that he had woken up to someone touching his feet.”
Raddell noted that the Tickler could have stolen any number of items including wallets and computers, but touched nothing — except feet.
Another junior, Daniel Marenzi, also claims to be a tickling victim.
“I thought my friend was just trying to annoy me, but I soon realized it wasn’t anyone I knew,” Marenzi told the website. “I freaked out and sat up but he was already on the way out.”
A third student, Jake Barrows, had a similar run-in with the Tickler in the wee hours of the morning on April 7.
“By the time I realized there was someone really there, he was booking it right out my door,” Barrows said.
At least two other residents reported a visit by the Tickler on April 7.
Sergeant O’Hara suggested that one precaution neighborhood residents could maybe take would be to lock their doors at night, which many students don’t bother to do in the largely crime-free area.
“You don’t know what this guy is going to do or if he has a weapon,” the cop told Boston.com. “You need to lock your doors. It’s not as safe as you think.”
O’Hara also noted that police have little in the way of hard evidence that would be useful in tracking the Tickler down.
Students have said they’d like to see more regular police patrols to thwart the Tickler.
In addition to the Boston College Tickler, America is also dealing with pee banditry. A couple months ago, a mini-epidemic of urination-themed vandalism broke out across the country. (RELATED: Pee bandits are now peeing on people and people’s stuff at schools across America)
Near the campus of the University of Florida, for example, police spent substantial time and energy actively searching for a man who was running around peeing on people. Gainesville’s pee bandit – nicknamed “The Urinator” – apparently remains at large. (RELATED: The University of Florida pee bandit strikes again)
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