We've all heard it's better to take the high road, but sometimes, the low road is so much better.
People on Reddit share the times they took sweet, sweet revenge. Content has been edited for clarity.
They Had No Idea What It Was
“When I was in the 7th grade, my best friend was this girl who always got teased by the ‘popular kids.’
We went on a camping trip as a class, and my friend and I were assigned to the same room in a cabin as two of the popular girls. My friend and I were bunked together, and the other two girls were bunked together.
One day, after doing some fun camping activities like mountain repelling, we returned to the room and my friend saw that her bottle of shampoo had been squeezed all over the pillow and blanket on her bunk bed. She was in tears. She was seriously crying uncontrollably and couldn’t fathom who would do such a thing. We spent the rest of the day laundering her bedding while everyone else was finishing up with more camping activities.
That night, after she had fallen asleep, I pretended to be asleep too and I overheard the two popular girls whispering about the prank they’d pulled. They were quite pleased with themselves. One of them felt mildly bad about it, but they both still thought it was a great success.
Then they changed the subject and started talking about a bunch of other stupid things.
After a while, they started getting tired and their conversation slowed down. When it had been quiet for a while, I scratched my fingernail repeatedly and quickly against the wall, then stopped abruptly. I don’t remember what the wall was made of, but it made a unique sound and it wasn’t clear where it was coming from.
‘Did you hear that?!’ One of the girls asked, suddenly wide awake. The other did hear it.
‘What was it?’ the other girl said.
‘I don’t know!’ the first girl screamed.
After they calmed down a bit, I did it again. This went on and on for a good hour at least, possibly more.
I only scratched the wall briefly every time, but at the same exact pace, and then silently listened as they freaked the heck out. They pondered every possibility, a raccoon on the roof, a ghost, a murderer trying to get in. They told themselves it had to be a raccoon. That’s what they kept falling back on. They even got out of the bed to check the window for a raccoon, but saw nothing there. Then, when they were all cozy in their beds again, I did it again. They left the cabin to check the roof for a raccoon. Nothing.
Sometimes, I chose not to make the noise for a long period of time, to let them think it’d stopped. Then, I’d do it again. It was so awesome. They were tired, but terrified and couldn’t sleep.
They thought I was sleeping the whole time. My friend was asleep; she was snoring loudly, something they had been laughing about. They weren’t laughing anymore.
I did this until I myself was too tired to go on. Then, I fell asleep with them still wide-eyed and frightened.
It was very satisfying to get them back for what they’d done to my friend, making her cry on this trip she’d looked forward to for so long.
The next day, I did tell her I overheard them saying that they were the ones who had shampooed her bed, but I don’t think I told her that she was avenged. I didn’t think it was necessary.
I overheard the girls talking to each other the next day about how freaky last night had been, and I continued doing my camping thing, ignoring them completely.”
Those Brownies Held A Dark Secret
“When I was in Jr. high, I used to hang out with these dudes during PE class. Then, they turned into meatheads. They started bullying other kids, not participating in any of the activities, etc. I started getting in trouble just by hanging out with them, so I stopped.
Of course, I was now a ‘wimp.’ They would do things like try to push me while running track, gang up on me in sports, etc. Well, one day I opened my lunch to find my dessert missing.
This went on for days and I had no idea where it was going. I then saw one of the dudes eating it while laughing at the lunch table and shooting me ‘knowing’ glances.
I could have easily beat this idiot down, but I was never into physical violence. So I thought. And I thought. And I schemed. And it hit me.
The next week, I brought homemade brownies. Monday’s were fine. Tuesday’s were fine. Wednesday’s were fine. Thursday’s had a little surprise in them in the form of chocolate laxatives.
While he was eating the brownie during lunch, I approached him. I told him I knew he was stealing my desserts and he should stop.
‘What are you going to do about it?’ was his reply to the laughs of his little cronies.
I turned around and walked away.
We found ourselves in PE class a bit later that afternoon. It was time for calisthenics. Jumping jacks, sit-ups, stretching, and ‘Oh my god, what the heck?’ was the scream from a girl a few rows over from me.
This kid pooped so much, his entire gym shorts were soaked with brown liquid. It was going down his legs, it was filling his shoes. He tried to run out of the gym, but slipped in the brown water and got it all over his body and some on his face.
For two weeks he didn’t come to school. While he was gone, the rumors started. Some said he died. Some said he was pooping blood. None of those were true. He was so freaking embarrassed, and he knew what he was coming back to.
This happened in 7th grade. We parted ways after Jr. High when I went to private high school. However, I heard the gym incident followed him through high school. No one would hang out with him. He was a social pariah.”
An Interesting Way To “Catch-Up”
“My sister and I grew up in Kentucky, and after 20+ years of living here, she decided she was ready for something new in life, so she made plans to move to Washington state. She made all the arrangements to move, packed all her things, etc. The only things she didn’t want to take were her two cats (She was just going to be staying in someone’s house until she could get a little money saved after the move), so she left them with one of her co-workers, she had known/worked with for several years, until she could come back and get them.
Fast-forward six months, my sister is living happily on the west coast. A mutual friend of all of ours (mine, my sister, her co-worker) sees said co-worker where my sister worked with him. The friend asks how everything is going and asks how the cats are.
While refusing to make eye contact, he tells our friend, ‘One got out about a month ago, the other a week ago. Please don’t tell (insert my sister’s name here).’
So naturally, the first thing our friend does is call my sister to tell her (obviously her co-worker hadn’t said anything to my sister). My sister calls me, super upset, because she loves her cats, and begs me to try and find them. The only option was to try the Humane Society, so I called another friend of ours to take me. We go to the Humane Society, search the entire lost and found section, to no avail, so we search the adoption center. It seemed completely hopeless, but by some strange and awesome universal force, I approach THE LAST cage, to find one of her cats.
Curious as to how he found his way here, I ask the people working there, and they politely inform me he was an ‘owner give up.’ When I asked the date he was taken in, they tell me, and I figure out it was only one month after my sister had moved.
So, I re-adopt her cat, call her to tell her, she breaks down in tears of joy, and I ask if she wants me to ‘do anything about it’ (the kind of thing a brother does when someone messes with their sister), to which she tells me, ‘No. Everything will work itself out.’
Fast-forward another few months, and my sister has returned to Kentucky to pick up her cat. While in town, my sister, dad, and I all go out to eat a family breakfast. Half-way through our meal, I look over and see her old co-worker sitting in a booth across from an attractive young lady. I tell my sister, and she instantly becomes furious. My dad tells her not to do anything, but I tell her she has to. So, we give our dad a minute to leave, and as soon as he does, my sister grabs a plastic ketchup bottle, stands up, walks to his table, flips the cap open, and sprays him up and down his face and shirt, giving him only time for his voice to crack ‘OH MY GOD.’
The entire restaurant had stopped what they were doing to watch all this go down, and everyone was completely silent, except the one guy in the back that couldn’t stop laughing. My sister finishes spraying the ketchup, throws the bottle in his face, and just says, ‘Forget you. I know what you did.’
Now she is happily re-united with (one of) her cats.”
He Saw An Old Friend
“I was at the park with my girlfriend, it was a hot day so we decided to eat ice cream at a bench. Once we were done, we were holding hands and talking. Out of nowhere, this older couple in their mid-twenties appeared with their daughter, who looked like she was at least five years old.
They then proceeded to shout and yell at us for acting indecently in front of their daughter and shaming us for holding hands in the park. Mind you, they were cussing and yelling in front of their daughter. We told them were doing nothing wrong and they should be ashamed for using that kind of language in front of their daughter. Eventually, the mom gets into my girlfriend’s face and says she will mess her up and called her a rude name.
I was about to take matters into my own hands, but my girlfriend said ‘No, let’s just leave,’ so I did.
As we were walking away, they screamed at us and said they were going to call the cops, we said ok. We saw an elderly couple and they asked if everything’s ok. We told them what happened and they said they knew, they saw the whole thing happened. Turns out the elderly gentleman was an ex-cop and knew people who were on the force, so he said to just stay and sit with them and they will explain to the police. So were sitting, waiting for the police and the couple with the daughter were standing by us, recording us.
Finally, the police showed up and immediately one of the officers saw the elderly man. It was obvious they knew each other, as we watched them greet each other. They talked to the other couple first and then my girlfriend and me. He asked if we were doing anything inappropriately at the park and we said no, then off to the side we including the officer heard the mother start cussing at the elderly lady telling her to mind her own business.
The officer gave us one look and said, ‘Sorry for wasting your time, you’re free to go.'”
“Most Satisfying Revenge Of My Life”
“I was living in a Middle Eastern country a few years back. Nice place, but because 50% of the population in the region is under the age of 20, the roads are simply overrun by teenage and early-20s idiots.
So, after a rare rain shower, the highway was flooded up ahead. It was about 18 inches deep. Traffic was backed up for at least a mile, and it took us 15 minutes to get to the flooded patch. Everyone was so mad at the situation. Then I see two cars full of teenage brats passing people on the shoulder on the right from way behind me. I mean, are you serious? There’s just no excuse for that type of rude behavior.
Eventually, they got to where I was, and they passed me just as we’re reaching the 50-yard stretch where the flooding was crossing the road. And wouldn’t you know it? One of them crosses into the far left lane, and one stays in the right lane to avoid the deep water in the middle lane.
And wouldn’t you know it? Their windows were rolled down.
I was in a Toyota Land Cruiser – nice big 4WD. So while they’re crawling through a foot of water in their little action-boy Hondas, I knew just what to do. I put the pedal to the metal between them through the deep stuff in the middle lane.
The wave from my front wheels was about six feet high, and it had to have put 20 gallons of water through the windows of both cars. Completely. Freaking. Drenched. All of them. With nasty urban stormwater runoff.
Of course, they chased after me once they cleared the water, screaming and cursing, but I just pretended to be on my phone and ignored them. Eventually, they gave up and (I hope) figured I had just been as impatient and selfish as them and had hosed them by accident.
Most satisfying revenge of my life.”
He Had That Coming
“A repair shop in Moab, UT messed up our car which left us stranded in a nearby National Park. We called and demanded they tow the vehicle in, and while they said they’d come to get us, they never did. When we talked with park rangers, they were quite familiar with the shop: the biggest in town, and with a terrible reputation.
We were on our honeymoon and had more time on our hands than I imagine most travelers do. We went to the shop, demanded a full refund, and when they refused we sat out front on the curb in our camp chairs for two days with homemade protest signs. I was overwhelmed with the support we got from locals, who honked and waved, stopped and chatted with us, and shared their own stories of horror. The owner called the cops on us, but the joke was on him! We’d already notified the police we’d be protesting and were well within our rights in doing so.
In the end, the shop owner refunded all our money and left us visibly distressed when we told him that even with the refund, we weren’t sure we were ready to leave town. Eventually, we did, but not before filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau and every review site we could find. They’d already been booted from the Chamber of Commerce.
We ended up becoming friends with an awesome local mechanic and having a great story to tell. Justice was served! And without a tinge of guilt.”
Two Lessons Were Taught That Day
“When I was in the seventh grade, I sat behind a guy who hated me and enjoyed being annoying. Every single day, he would lean back in his chair and hit the front of my desk, over and ever again. If I was trying to write something, he would do it even harder. So one day I decided enough was enough, and in the middle of a lesson, he started again.
So I waited, and right as he was leaning his chair back fast, trying to knock my desk hard, I pulled it back. Without my desk behind him, his chair tipped over and he hit the ground hard. I can still clearly remember him whispering ‘you brat,’ beneath the laughter of the whole class and the teacher yelling at him to get up.
The look on his face was a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and pure rage as he looked up at me from the floor. The idiot never messed with me again.”
No One Felt Bad For Her
“I worked for a very small company(about 20 employees) right out of college. When the owners of the company went out of town, about two or three times a year, the managers would frequently throw all-day parties for the workers, we’d grill, drink, play games, etc. There was one older lady at the company that, I guess, for whatever reason, did not like me. I could be a bit outspoken about social issues being in my early 20’s, so that may have been it, but I really to this day don’t know why she disliked me so much. Anyway, she waited until about a week after one of these parties went straight to the owners of the company, and told them the week before, she was watching me and noticed I didn’t do any work all day(duh, none of us had, including her). She was banking on the fact the owner would only pull my logs for that day and no one else’s and she was right. My managers fought for me (truthfully, they were probably a bit worried I’d rat them and the whole office out) but it was to no avail. I got fired.
The revenge bit of the story is that since it was such a small company, everyone quickly got wind of what this woman did, and she was given the stone-cold silent treatment by everyone, including the managers. She even went to the owner and complained she was being treated unfairly, but there wasn’t really a lot he could do about people not wanting to socialize with her. She ended up quitting about three weeks after I got fired. Apparently, she had trouble finding a job and came back a few months later begging for her job back, but my managers were in charge of all hiring and basically laughed in her face. She went above them again to the owner, but at that point he was sick of her drama and told her he wasn’t interested in having her back.”
That’s One Way To Make An Entrance
“I went to a boarding school. There was another kid there who was horribly competitive and smug, especially, it seemed, towards me. He was always telling me how he was better than me, how he always got better grades than me, how he was going to get into a better university than me, and would then go on about how horrible I was and how academically inferior I was to him and how I would never really amount to anything. For some reason, I just took it and didn’t really react until, one night, when I saw an opportunity.
He was a member of a club created for the school’s ‘high achieving’ pupils. Needless to say, I wasn’t. This club met in a classroom one evening each week. I bumped into him on his way to one of these meets and, to wind him up, told him I thought I’d go along too. He just sneered at me, telling me it wasn’t appropriate for me to be there. I told him not only was I going along, but I was faster than him and I’d race him there. He couldn’t resist the competition, so we agreed I’d take the outside route (it was raining) and he’d go via the inside route, which involved cutting across an assembly hall. We set off as fast as we could, him sprinting towards the hall and me going the outside route.
Then it struck me; there was a classical music concert going on in the assembly hall he was approaching at high speed. Now, I could (should) have shouted to him to warn him but instead, I could only stop and watch and laugh as he exploded through a double swing-door right in the middle of a quiet violin solo that had to stop as the performer was so shocked by his sudden entry that had made over 400 parents and pupils gasp and stare at him. He then got hauled up in front of the teacher who was in charge of the concert and, being a grass, he brought me in too.
When he explained we were on our way to his elitist, stuck-up club meet and I’d suggested a race. I denied all knowledge and asked, ‘What would I want to go to one of those meetings for? It’s hardly appropriate for me is it?’
The teacher totally believed me and this other kid got punished. I don’t think he ever forgave me.”
Jake Learned A Lesson Today
“So, in high school, my group of friends consisted of myself, my cousin, Jake, and three other friends. This is about my cousin, though.
Jake became friends with a girl he went to school with named Emily. Emily, though, just happened to have a boyfriend, later fiancé, who had graduated a year earlier and joined the Army. Because of this, he obviously wasn’t around, meaning Jake had Emily all to himself. During this time, he had concocted a secret relationship he had with her, he constantly made up stories about it. It was pretty obviously fake because he talked about things we darn well knew didn’t or couldn’t happen. But we let him continue on for a while, and the stories got more and more outlandish. Eventually, I got fed up with this, and decided, true or not, if he wanted these stories to be real so bad, my friends and I would show him what would happen if they were.
So, my friends and I gained access to his social media accounts one night, and as him, sent a long, descriptive message about all the things that he had supposedly done with Emily, to her fiancé. We knew that it sucked for this guy. But seeing as how towards the end of all this, Jake had Emily playing along with his lies to us, like they were actually together, we thought he should be aware of what was happening, or at least supposedly happening, in his absence. Well, after writing this message out, we basically were telling this guy Emily was Jakes’s girl now, and he should just back off so they could be together.
We sent it and waited for the chaos to ensue. The next morning, we got a panicked phone call from Jake, about how three guys apparently related to the fiancé showed up at his house, threatening him to stay away from Emily. She also called, telling him she wanted nothing to do with him ever again. Afterward, she went on to graduate and moved to be with him, and they are married. I’m sure that both her and Jake know my three friends and I who orchestrated the whole thing, but they can never really tell anyone that it was us, without admitting they either A) Had a secret relationship or B) Made up a secret relationship to make Jake look cooler in front of us. So everyone played along, and no one outside the 5 of us knew what really happened. Since then, we don’t talk to Jake, and he steers clear of us, for a number of reasons.”
