Stalking is to follow or observe a person persistently and surreptitiously, sometimes done out of obsession or derangement. Stalking may involve the intent to acquire private information or objects. Common victims of stalking include celebrities, ex-husbands/wives and -boy/girlfriends, and teachers. In more extreme cases, stalking leads to threats or violence.

Examples are a fan stalking a celebrity, somebody stalking an ex-lover whom they want back, and other cases of non-reciprocal love.

The legality of the practice is defined differently under different jurisdictions; some define the act as it stands as illegal, while some only define stalking illegal once it becomes threatening or endangers the one being stalked.

Celebrities

Stalkers have been following celebrities around since the advent of yellow journalism. In some cases, the stalking behavior in question is harmless and does not go to extremes. In other cases, however, the celebrities being targeted have to leave their profession for many years while they build a new life (as was the case of Andrea Evans), or the celebrities being targeted by the stalker become the victim of violent attacks (some celebrities, like Theresa Saldana , have been able to live and tell the tale, while others, like Rebecca Schaeffer and John Lennon, did not).

See also

• Erotomania

External links and references

• Benschop, Albert: Cyberstalking - Menaced on the internet http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/sociosite/websoc/cyberstalking_en.html . In: Sociosite http://www.sociosite.net - Peculiarities of Cyberspace.
• The Australian Anti-stalking and threat website http://www.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/stalkmain.htm