The Super Villain: How Stories From 10 Women Who Had Real-Life Stalkers Allowed Me to Create the Ultimate Bad Guy

(Trigger warning: Stalking, Home Invasion)

When writing my latest psychological suspense novel, Dawn Before Darkness, I wanted my stalker to be as authentic and relentless as possible. I’d created a character who was clever and obsessed, but felt I was missing some of the subtleties and specific actions that would make him truly pop off the page. So, I interviewed 10 women who had real-life stalkers and combined their stories to create an ultimate bad guy. What I learned from these women was fascinating and their true tales, combined with my imagination, shaped the perfect villain.

(Writing Big Flat Characters in Fiction.)

To set the stage, Dawn Smith, a veterinary technician living in rural South Carolina, meets her dream guy. He’s the epitome of charm and gallantry. Not only does he woo her with fancy dates and thoughtful gifts, but he also wins over her widowed mother. Soon, however, strange things begin to happen—a break-in at her home, a missing necklace, and most alarming of all, a rapid decline in her mom’s health. The facade of Mr. Charming is cracking, and Dawn starts to suspect that he’s not the man she believed him to be. When she catches him in an undeniable lie, she ends the relationship. Rather than accepting the break-up, he begins to stalk and harass her, forcing Dawn to seek a restraining order. Then comes the twist, which I won’t spoil here.

I will, however, share the first lesson I learned from one of the 10 women. To file a restraining order, you must know the offender’s home address and birth date. Because she’d met her stalker at a public location for their initial date, a safe dating practice, and he’d always picked her up for the dates that followed, she never learned his address. And because they hadn’t seen each other for long, she didn’t know his birth date. During our conversation, I heard such guilt in her voice—she’d allowed herself to be intimate with a man before knowing this information. I knew I had to include that feeling in the book.  

Another lesson I learned from a different woman was that although her perpetrator sent harassing texts and left profane voice messages, no specific threats were made. Therefore, authorities didn’t consider his behavior to be an arrestable offense. She shared some of the text messages with me and I borrowed a few (making modifications for the book). I was shocked that his level of profanity wouldn’t spark any action from the police. All she could do was block his number, which she did. I also learned that when you block someone’s number, they can still send messages and leave voice mails. The technology allows for the send; it just blocks the receipt. So in my novel, Dawn texts a final message to her ex telling him that his number has been blocked. 

My next interview was a real shocker. The perpetrator, who was a delivery man, started coming by his target’s house, even when he didn’t have a package. He’d knock on the door and call out, “I know you’re home. I see your car out front.” She would hide in her closet until he left. He’d leave notes taped on her door with his phone number. She’d never call, of course. One day, the scenario repeated. He showed up with no package, knocked on the door and she hid. Instead of eventually leaving, he walked around the back of her home, jumped the fence and opened the sliding glass door. It had never occurred to her that he would enter her home, but he did. This was before everyone had cell phones, so she couldn’t call 911 from her closet. Terrified, she heard his footsteps as he searched each room. She told me, “I could hear my blood pulsing in my ears. I could hear my own breathing, which seemed so loud I was sure he could hear me, too.”

She tucked under a voluminous ballgown using the flared skirt as cover. He entered the closet but luckily didn’t see her. She waited there for hours because she never heard the engine of his truck, a signal that he’d left. When she finally emerged, she raced to lock the back door and called the police. To her dismay, the responding officer didn’t consider the incident to be a break-in because the door was unlocked and she hadn’t specifically told the delivery man not to enter her home. When asked if he’d threatened her, she explained that she’d hidden so there had been no interaction. When asked if he had damaged her property or stolen anything, she was forced to say no.

Here’s an excerpt from the novel with the reaction from the police officer: “Ma’am, what you’re reporting is that he came to your house looking for you, entered through an unsecured door, and you hid from him. This was called in as a break-in, which means a burglary, but none of the information you’ve given me meets that threshold. I can make a report to document the incident.”

As in the real case, the only consequence of this man’s actions was a police report of the event. Sadly, stalkers are often repeat offenders who know how to work the system, using legal loopholes to manipulate not only their victims but the legal system as well. As an aside, I fully support our men and women in uniform. One of my best friends is a detective. I’ve taken the citizens police academy course. And I can’t imagine a more difficult job than what our brave officers do every day. Because the stalker knew the limits of the law and was careful not to overstep, the police officer’s hands were tied as to what he could do.

After hiding in a closet fearing for her life, the next move for this woman was to file a restraining order, a recurring theme throughout my interviews. Another woman who filed a restraining order explained that they are of little help. Even worse, in response to her legal action, her stalker filed a restraining order against her! After enduring weeks of stalking and taunting from him, she lost her cool and in a public setting, a store, she screamed at him to leave her the (expletive deleted) alone.

When it came time for their court hearing, this guy brought a friend who’d been in the store and described her blow-up. For the judge, the solution was simple. He slapped mutual restraining orders on both of them. This infraction was now on her record. And when she decided to buy a firearm for self-protection, she was prohibited. Under Federal law, individuals subject to a court order restraining them from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms.

My last example went beyond mental abuse. The woman described a guy she had dated casually. Knowing that he wasn’t Mr. Right, she decided to break it off. He seemed to take the news in stride and wished her well. Months later, when her credit score kept dropping, she took a deeper look at her financials. He had taken out multiple credit cards in her name and a second mortgage on her home. During the time they’d dated, he’d gained enough information about her life to pull off these stunts, as this happened before credit locks had become commonplace.

Each story told by these women left me so grateful that they were willing to share and thankful they had all survived the trauma. With all of my books, I aim to educate while I entertain. By combining their harrowing experiences, I was able to create one of my best villains yet and teach a cautionary tale to the readers. My ultimate villain is not physically dangerous, but he’s cunning. He knows the law, how to use it to his advantage, and he’s relentless. So, if you hate him (and I hope you do) it’s in part thanks to the brave women who were willing to share their experiences with me.

For an excerpt of the ebook or audiobook of Dawn Before Darkness, please visit: www.lizlazarus.com.

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