The Rise of "Creeper Romance" in YA Fiction (And Why it Needs to Stop)

A list of things that people find romantic: chocolate and flowers. Red wine and moonlight. Walks on the beach and diamond rings. Someone saying “I love you” and actually meaning it. Dancing. Creepy stalker people.
Wait, what?
You heard me. Creepy stalker people. What is my basis for the statement? Only the fact that “creeper romance” has become exceedingly popular in fiction, particularly YA fiction. And everybody seems to be okay with that. In fact, guys with creeper tendencies are considered swoon-worthy by many readers.
I have proof. I also have several reasons as to why this is an extremely unhealthy trend. While I’d like to think that most people are intelligent enough to have discovered this for themselves, I’ve begun to notice that perhaps I give mankind too much credit. My bad. 
Below are a list of characters with stalker/creeper tendencies, along with why they should not be praised as love interests. Please note that this post may rub you wrong, given that some of these characters have a large fanbase. So, before we get started, does anyone want to get out? No? Okay, you have been warned:
Edward Cullen. Stephanie Meyers’ gorgeous, sparkly vampire. I think we all know what I’m going to say about him, but, just in case you don’t, and because I never pass up a good chance to make fun of ridiculous characters, I will elaborate on why Edward Cullen is a creeper. But first, let me ask you a question: if you found out that somebody was following you around and watching you sleep, what would you do? If the same person was also always putting you down and making fun of you, sending dangerous glares in your direction, and then turning around and calling you their “own personal brand of heroin,” what would you do? My hope would be that you would call the police. I don’t care how good-looking the person is. I don’t care how strong or fast the person is. I don’t even care if the person happens to sparkle in the sunlight. Just because a person is gorgeous and in love with you doesn’t automatically make them romantic, harmless, or a good match.  Source: Crazy Art Ideas
Unfortunately, Bella Swan says otherwise. How on earth is that a good message to be sending? An adult wrote Twilight, and many adults praise it. And people turn around and wonder why so many teenagers are in unhealthy relationships. Yeah. I have no idea why teenagers are making bad dating calls. It’s like everything around them is telling them that it’s okay. Pfft. Absurd.
Evan Walker. For those of you who don’t know, this is the love interest from Ricky Yancey’s The 5th Wave . He’s perfect boyfriend material: he shoots her in the leg, sneaks around her camp while she’s asleep, tries to figure out whether or not he should kill her, reads her diary, stands around outside of her door, and is constantly lying to her. How adorable is that? It’s no wonder the main character falls for him. Sure, she had some misgivings over his creeperisms, but c’mon. His eyes are chocolate-colored, his hands are so soft, he’s saved her life, and he chose not to kill her when he was supposed to. That makes everything okay, right? Um, no. Here we see the idea that unrepentant stalkers should be given a chance if you find yourself a) thinking he’s handsome  b) considering yourself indebted to him or c) flattered that he’s so into you. Flawless logic.
I know I'm about to bring a thousand screaming fangirls down on my head, but....Peeta Mellark. Yep. Peeta has a little bit of creeper in him. Remember that scene that everyone thought was so romantic? The one where he tells Katniss how he fell in love with her after hearing her sing at school? This is how it should’ve gone down:
Peeta: After that, I watched you going home every day. Every day. Well, say something.Katniss: Uh, Peeta? That’s weird. I’m pretty sure that watching somebody walk home every day is considered stalker. Also, we’re in life-threatening position. I’m scared. I’m worried about my family. I’d really appreciate it if you would just support me in my endeavors to survive, rather than constantly pushing yourself on me. You think you can do that?Peeta: Your hair was in two braids…Katniss: Okay, that’s it! I’m leaving.
Sorry, did I just step on Peeta’s moment? Yeah, probably. But seriously, there is nothing cute about a person constantly trying to get your attention even after you’ve said you aren’t interested. And there is absolutely nothing cute about a person showing a rude amount of interest in you. Barry Allen/The Flash. Not technically a book, but I think it’s interesting that this “creeper romance” trend spans all areas of entertainment, so I wanted to point it out here. Barry never tells his crush (Iris) that he likes her. She is not interested in him, and thus he is never able to get any kind of special attention from her. So of course he visits her multiple times as the mysterious Flash, who she becomes slightly infatuated with. Do I even have to comment on how weird that is? The same situation is repeated in Arrow between Oliver Queen and Laurel, though it's not quite as weird because Laurel has skills that Arrow needs to get certain jobs done. But still. 
Parzival from Ready Player One. In a virtual reality, Parzival follows a blog written by Art3mis. He develops a crush on this girl, spending hours reading her blog, trying to find ways to meet with her, and attempting to discover who she really is outside of the virtual reality. Of course he is rewarded for his tenacity by ending up in some semblance of a relationship with Art3mis. Because people who take their crushes to the extreme deserve to be rewarded. Obviously. 
Ariel. The worst of them all. She secretly keeps a statue of her crush and then proceeds to infiltrate his home. Doesn't get much creepier than that.
In case you're wondering whether I'm being serious or not, I'll tell you: I don't know. Sometimes I can't even tell whether I'm being sarcastic or not. But I am a fan of The Little Mermaid, so I guess I'm kidding. Maybe. Okay, moving on...

Honorable Mentions. I asked my followers on Facebook to list some characters that fall into the "creeper romance" zone. They came up with a lot of great ones. You can check that out here.
What makes the "creeper romance" difficult is that sometimes it isn't extremely obvious. Sometimes the creepers aren't dangerous and are actually decent people (Peeta, Barry Allen....Ariel...?). But that should not make their behavior acceptable, nor should it keep the object of their affection from rebuking them. I'd love to see more girls (...and princes..?) in fiction who speak out against such actions instead of mindlessly accepting it as normal (and even desirable).

Have you noticed any "creeper romance" in any of your own writing? If so, I would urge you to consider rewriting. Why? Because it is very unhealthy to be sending a message that "creeperism" is okay, normal, and bound to turn out well. I've never heard of "creeper romance" working out in real life, so I can't imagine why we should be encouraging such behavior through the actions of our book characters.

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Feel free to point out any characters that I missed (Hint: there are dozens) and weigh in with your own analysis of the "rise of creeper romance."

Related articles:
Romance in YA Novels: The Good, The Bad, and The Stupid
Keeping it Classy: When is it OK to use Profanity in Your Fiction Writing?
Writing Awesome Male Characters: What You're Doing Wrong

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