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The original was posted on /r/highstrangeness by /u/3elldandy on 2025-06-15 19:25:54+00:00.

I was interviewing a candidate for a position and typically we come into the conference room and make introductions and then I start asking questions more or less. However, this time was remarkably different. I started asking questions and the candidate responded but then they started asking me questions right after their responses and at first I was fine with this because sometimes questions come up during interviews from candidates. But as we continued, this candidate started asking rather pointed questions about things like how to navigate the organization to get to what they really wanted, which wasn’t not the job they were interviewing for. And I recall thinking to myself something like “this is getting odd” and I attempted to tell them we needed to get back on the interview but then, they started looking at me, directly in the eyes and started smiling or smirking sorta and… that’s when I felt a kind of pressure like I was spellbound or mesmerized or enthralled and I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. Then they continued asking this line of questioning as if nothing was awry, like they had done this sort of thing dozens of times. When I stopped resisting answering and just told them what they wanted to know it felt like whatever vice grip was placed on my head disappeared. I wanted to tell my co-workers who were also interviewing but it sounds absolutely crazy to say in a professional work environment so I didn’t say anything. And even if I did, I feel like I would not be believed. This sort of thing has never happened to me again but I just wanted to share here in case anybody has any idea what that might have been and, more importantly perhaps, how to defend against it. I don’t consider myself a “weak minded” person, I was quite literally astonished whatever was happening was happening tbh. Would appreciate any kind of advice.