top of page
Search

Episode 13: Stranger Danger and other Scary Stories

  • Writer: Our Stories and Our Selves
    Our Stories and Our Selves
  • Sep 16
  • 3 min read

As kids many of us learned to beware of strangers, but the truth is that stranger abduction in vanishingly rare. However the story still has a grip on our society. This episode explores the myth, the reality, some reasons it may persist, and other stories we tell ourselves about strangers. 


Support the show by buying a book from: https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/ourstoriesandourselves 

Cover image by Kirsty using an image by https://pixabay.com/users/thedigitalartist-202249/ 


References: 


Abate, C. (2017, January 19). History of 911: America’s Emergency Service, Before and After Kitty Genovese. Independent Lens. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/history-of-911-americas-emergency-service-before-and-after-kitty-genovese/


Age and Sex Composition in the United States: 2011. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 September 2025, from https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2011/demo/age-and-sex/2011-age-sex-composition.html


Benson, T. (1459620657). Here Are the Real Odds of Your Child Getting Kidnapped. ATTN: https://archive.attn.com/


Bystander Effect | Psychology Today. (n.d.). Retrieved 12 September 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bystander-effect


Dando, C. (n.d.). The Truth About Stranger Homicide, and Who’s Really at Risk | Psychology Today. Psychology Today. Retrieved 30 September 2024, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/forensic-insights/202112/the-truth-about-stranger-homicide-and-whos-really-at-risk


Fact Check, Reuters (2021, December 13). Fact Check: Tweet overstates number of children who went missing in the United States in 2020. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check/tweet-overstates-number-of-children-who-went-missing-in-the-united-states-in-202-idUSL1N2SY199/


Finkelhor, D., & Shattuck, A. (2012). Characteristics of Crimes against Juveniles. Crimes Against Children Research Center.


Frequently Asked Questions | AMBER Alert. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 September 2025, from https://amberalert.ojp.gov/about/faqs


Green, R., & Thomas, E. (2025, July 29). Police officers ‘also abused’ Rotherham grooming gang victims. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn9y0lvpyqvo


Harris, A. (2013, April 16). The History of Mister Rogers’ Powerful Message. Slate. https://slate.com/culture/2013/04/look-for-the-helpers-mister-rogers-quote-a-brief-history.html


Hobbes, M. (2022, April 13). Panic! On the Editorial Page [Substack newsletter]. Confirm My Choices. https://michaelhobbes.substack.com/p/panic-on-the-editorial-page


Hooper, S. (2025, July 2). Virginia Giuffre’s final words revealed in suicide note she left for her kids. Metro. https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/02/virginia-giuffres-final-words-revealed-suicide-note-left-kids-23559278/


Horowitz, R. M. and J. M. (2023, January 24). Parenting in America Today. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/01/24/parenting-in-america-today/


Jarrett, C. (2007, October 23). The truth behind the story of Kitty Genovese and the bystander effect. BPS. https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/truth-behind-story-kitty-genovese-and-bystander-effect


Jeglic, E. (2022, September 3). Fighting the ‘Stranger Danger’ Myth | Psychology Today. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/protecting-children-from-sexual-abuse/202209/fighting-the-stranger-danger-myth


Kuti, J. (n.d.). Fear of Flying | Applied Social Psychology (ASP)—Dr. Anthony Nelson, Ph.D. Retrieved 10 September 2025, from https://sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2022/10/20/fear-of-flying/



McHale, M. (2016, August 29). Stranger danger: What are the real risks of our daily interactions? The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/stranger-danger-what-are-the-real-risks-of-our-daily-interactions-1.2760673


Mattiessen, C. (n.d.). Top 5 parenting fears and what you can do about them. BabyCenter. Retrieved 10 September 2025, from https://www.babycenter.com/family/motherhood/top-5-parenting-fears-and-what-you-can-do-about-them_3656609



NSPCC. (n.d.). County lines and protecting children from exploitation. NSPCC. Retrieved 12 September 2025, from http://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/county-lines/


Opstelten, A. (2025). 2024 AMBER Alert report.


Ordway, D.-M. (2017, September 25). Mothers, female relatives are most likely to abduct children. The Journalist’s Resource. https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/child-abduction-kidnap-number-mothers-research/


Powers, J. (2016, June 16). ‘The Witness’ Exposes The Myths, Misconceptions Of Kitty Genovese’s Murder. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2016/06/16/482313144/the-witness-exposes-the-myths-misconceptions-of-kitty-genoveses-murder


Psychology Today. (n.d.). Bystander Effect | Psychology Today. Retrieved 12 September 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bystander-effect


Reuters. (2019, January 11). Kidnapped children make headlines, but abduction is rare in U.S. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us/kidnapped-children-make-headlines-but-abduction-is-rare-in-us-idUSKCN1P52BJ/


Sager, J. (2025). What Happened to Kitty Genovese? Revisiting Her Harrowing Murder 61 Years Later and Why It Helped Created the 911 System. People.Com. https://people.com/what-happened-to-kitty-genovese-11691742


Sedlak, A. J., Finkelhor, D., & Brick, J. M. (2017). National Estimates of Missing Children: Updated Findings From a Survey of Parents and Other Primary Caretakers. Juvenile Justice Bulletin.


Sedlak, A. J., Thomas, G., Ferg, R., & Green, J. L. (2016). Fourth National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children (NISMART‐4) Law Enforcement Survey – Stereotypical Kidnapping (LES-SK) Technical Report. Crimes Against Children Research Center.


Shiffman, K. (2017, October 27). New survey reveals parents’ biggest fears. Today’s Parent. https://www.todaysparent.com/blogs/trending/new-survey-reveals-parents-biggest-fears/


Simpson, K. (2010, November 27). Dispelled kidnap myths do little to allay parents’ fears. The Denver Post. https://www.denverpost.com/2010/11/27/dispelled-kidnap-myths-do-little-to-allay-parents-fears/



Thelwell, E. (2016, September 29). How common are child abductions in the UK? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37504781


Tricky People: A Better Way to Teach “Stranger Danger” to Kids. (n.d.). Nurture Therapy. Retrieved 10 September 2025, from https://www.nurture-therapy.com/blog/tricky-people-a-better-way-to-teach-stranger-danger-to-kids


Whitbourne, S. (2010). Why and How Do We Help? | Psychology Today. Psychology Today. Retrieved 12 September 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201009/why-and-how-do-we-help


Wolak, J., Finkelhor, D., & Sedlak, A. J. (n.d.). Child Victims of Stereotypical Kidnappings Known to Law Enforcement in 2011.



 
 
 

Recent Posts

See All
Episode 14: Oral Storytelling and Memory

Some oral cultures use their stories to recall all sorts of useful information about their area, plants and history among other things. This episode looks at how we can use stories to help our memorie

 
 
 
Episode 11: The Hero's Journey

Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, theorised that the Hero’s Journey was the one story at the root of all...

 
 
 

Comments


bottom of page