10 Black Friday Stories That Prove People Are The Worst — & The Best

Ah, Black Friday. It's a term that has been used to describe the day after Thanksgiving in a variety of contexts, but the phrase is now synonymous with the shopping rush that marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season — and all the madness that goes with it.

As it turns out, those low, low prices can make people do crazy things. And while we've all heard the horror stories on the news, this year we asked Refinery29 readers to share their own real-life experiences of Black Friday shopping (anonymously, of course). The responses ranged from hilarious to surreal to slightly terrifying. But we also discovered some heartwarming tales of holiday togetherness — and even one love story! Maybe it's not all about knocking out a stranger for the last flat-screen TV after all.

Click through to read our 10 favorite stories. But a warning — they might make you want to skip the stores and stay home altogether. Luckily, you can still take advantage of lots of deals without getting off the couch.