After a two years or so of answering CL ads, I finally met a real person. A person that could play guitar and had similar interests in music (i.e., originals). He was obviously a far right winger, but I've played with people that had diametrically opposed political views before. No problem, just don't talk about politics.

Things were going well, he learned a bunch of my songs, I learned a bunch of his, we seemed to be in reasonably good sync, and then...

Guitar guy: Hey Rick, do you ever see lights in the sky? You know, unexplainable lights?

Oh boy. I though, "Great, he's a UFO nut, too." But I was not so lucky.

Not... even... close.

Me: No Guitar guy, I can't say I've seen any unexplainable lights. I saw an odd light over the vineyards a few months back, but I'm pretty sure it was a helicopter crop duster.
Guitar guy: No. I can tell you what is was though. Do you want to know?
Me (do I?): Ok, what was it?
Guitar guy: A pterodactyl.

I -almost- laughed, but I could see this slightly glazed, fervent look take over his face, eyes. The look that said BELIEVER!!! Also, it was the look I imagine rural cannibals have when they spot something (someone) they might want to eat, and need to justify murder in their minds. Hairs raised up on the back of my neck, and my brain's warning bells were clanging away. Visions of possibly being chopped up and put in the guys freezer flitted across my imagination. It occured to me, then, to be extremely worried that my phone didn't work on his property, for some unknown reason.

Me: Pterodactyls? No shit... Really?
Guitar guy: Yup. I've seen dozens. Big ones, little ones, and they are bioluminescent. They glow in the dark! A few months ago there was a big one, 20 feet across, hovering over my backyard. It was electric blue and lit up the whole area. Hey! Let me show you my gear!

He stood up abruptly, expecting me to follow.
I decided to play along as much as I could, say anything to get out alive. He led me past a 4'x4'x6' cage made of welded 5/8" rebar. It had a door on the front and a big hasp with a giant padlock. He caught me looking at it-

Guitar guy: That's my capture cage. They're smart, they need to be locked in.
Me: Looks pretty stout.

I noticed it was more "human size" than 20 foot pterodactyl size, but, of course, I said nothing about that.

Around the corner in his shop, and there is a wall of surveillance equipment. Trail cameras, night vision goggles (not the cheap kind, either), web cameras mounted on poles, etc. He reached under the work bench and pulled out his "net gun".

Guitar guy: Look at this! It's a NET GUN. I made it myself.

His net gun had once been a shotgun, at some point in the past. Now, it had four barrels radiating outward from the center and a net basket holding what looked like a man sized net. He explained the design, how far it would shoot effectively (about fifty feet), and that he hadn't had a chance yet to use it... I imagined it would be effective at netting and taking down a fleeing bass player.
He then showed me his net "cannon". It was a pair of mortars, joined on a plate, with a big net basket between them.

Guitar guy: This will shoot a huge 40'x40' net about 200 feet. I made this one, too.

I could do nothing but nod appreciatively. He eventually would down a bit, and I felt it might be a good time to try and escape.

Me: Well guitar guy, that's sure something to think about.

I clapped him on the shoulder, looking around, nodding like I was in on the whole deal.

Me: This is all cool stuff, but I gotta head out. I'll see you next week, right? Could you help me with some of my gear?

People, even nut-cases and killers, are somewhat bound by civility, even if it is a phony front, and are used to "conforming" to get by. It is often a default state of being. This would be the point where, if he had malice in mind, it would surface. A fleeting second of pause, and then he grabbed my guitar case. Diversion... successful (so far).
I got everything loaded up and was standing next to the truck with him, noticed he was starting to fidget...

Me: Hey, I really like how you are playing 'Heaven', let's work on that one for next time, ok?

Guitar guy (snapping back to a semblance of normalcy): Huh? Oh. Yeah, I like that one. Ok, see you next week.

As I pulled off of his property and reached a safe distance (out of net gun range), a huge feeling of relief came over me. Tension drained out my body and a profound feeling of exhaustion took over.
That was the last time I saw or spoke to him.