Lisa O
We’ve all experienced that unsettling moment when someone shows up uninvited—a party crasher, an unwelcome relative, or even a complete stranger. Sometimes, these situations are mildly awkward; other times, they escalate into stories you wouldn’t believe unless you lived them. Here are 15 jaw-dropping stories of uninvited guests from Redditors that will leave you clutching your keys and double-locking your doors tonight.
The Day My Dog Stopped a Potential Intruder
“I was home alone with my baby in the middle of the day. We are just watching TV, and my dog is on the couch with us. I was on the side of the couch closest to the front door. All of a sudden, our door opens, and some man tries to walk in. My dog jumped over me and the baby and silently but swiftly went for the man. She barely missed him as he closed the door in panic. I rushed up and locked the door over my hackled dog. The guy said he was sorry and he had the wrong house. I pretty much told him, “Okay, that’s fine, leave.” I always wondered if maybe he was trying to break into the house that a young woman was alone in, but the moment he realized there was a protective dog there, he tried to backtrack.”
— [deleted]
A Terrifying Encounter with a Stranger
“I was sitting in my house with my friend and her 2-year-old. I had then just moved out from my parents home and was living alone. Me and her were chilling with the wee one. The next minute, my door starts to open. I was new in the neighborhood at the time and didn’t know anyone well enough for them to just walk right into my house. Instantly, my heart began to race. I live in a rough part of town, and there’s a lot of drugs around here. Well, this guy walked straight into my flat, his pupils were massive, and he just stared at me and my friend and her kid for the longest time. I literally remember freezing and being so terrified. My friends kid was there. I just went, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ He started to mumble something inaudible and then went, ‘I’m in the wrong house.’ I told him to get out. I was so scared. The ironic thing is I ALWAYS lock my door. This was the one time I didn’t.”
— stargi_rl
The Stranger in the Green Suit
“In college, I lived in a shared house for a summer. One night, I thought I heard a party while I was sleeping. I woke to find a guy dressed in a green suit rummaging through my dresser. I recognized him from my college, so I didn’t think much of it. I sat up in bed and asked him how he was doing. He turned around, said he was doing good, and asked me how I was. I kindly asked him if he needed to use the restroom. He said he did. I told him it was just around the corner from my room. He said thanks and that I could go back to sleep. I laid in bed, then realized the encounter was kind of weird, so sat up again and told him to get out. He left without a word. A few minutes later, I heard some arguing out front, and then my roommates came in, asked me if I was okay, and explained that this random had walked into our house and tried to rob us.”
— -cooking-guy-
A Chilling Morning Alone in My Apartment
“Over this past summer, I was living alone in my apartment in a (relatively safe) college town. I was always paranoid and locked the door anytime I got home from somewhere, especially since I’m a female living somewhere alone. One morning, I woke up to go to the bathroom, and as I was in there, I heard the front door creak open. Obviously scared, I carefully leave the bathroom and look around the corner to see the front door open about 6 inches. I slowly checked the apartment for intruders, but I found nothing. Somehow, the door was unlocked while I was sleeping and opened by what I chose to call the wind. Needless to say, for the rest of the time, I was alone in the apartment, and I had my knife close by.”
— kattikat15
15 Black Cats
“I was looking after my mother’s house for a week while she was on holiday. She had two cats that come in and out the house via a cat flap, very nice animals. They were always cuddly and playful, even when they were old. So I get woken up in the middle of the night by loud meows from downstairs. I thought maybe the cat flap was stuck, and they wanted to get out. I go downstairs to check and open the hallway door, and there are at least 15 black cats sitting in the hallway staring back at me. Then I see my mother’s cats sat amongst them just chilling and meowing happily. I left them all to it, and they were gone in the morning. “
— aarontbarratt
Face-to-Face with a Stranger
“I was 15, and my parents and I just moved into a house in a brand-new development. My parents were at work, so I was doing what almost every teenager does when school is out: sleeping late. It was maybe 11 when I woke up. I was on my way to the bathroom when I came face-to-face with a guy. Surprised he ran out. A couple of minutes later, a knock on the door. It was the contractor apologizing for his guy. Apparently, he was using our restroom, and he didn’t know someone had moved in. (The furniture should have been a clue). My parents were furious, and they changed the locks.”
— sonia72quebec
“I Watch You”
“I spent six months living alone in a cabin near the end of a dirt road in central New Hampshire. The nearest neighbors were a quarter mile or so up or down the road. It’s an area where people definitely keep to themselves. Had all sorts of animal visitors: bears on the porch, you name it. But never random people around. One morning, I went out to my car to go to work. It was spring, and we’d had a late frost. On the rear window of my truck, someone had written, “I WATCH YOU” with their finger in the frost.
I never had an actual problem in the rest of my time there, but that freaked me out.”
— shatterly
A Weird Woman
“I was home with my sister, and I happened to look out the window and saw a woman skipping down the road singing. Ok, kinda weird, but she’s enjoying herself. Then, she slows down, stops, kneels down on the road, and sits dead still for like an hour. I told my sister not to go outside while she was there. I kept checking on her every once in a while. After a while, she stood up and started skipping and singing again like nothing happened.”
— [deleted]
The Stranger at the Door
“I’m like 14, off school because of a faculty retreat. I’m walking past my windowed front door to the kitchen for some 10:30 breakfast when I look through the glass door and see a male with a white shirt and jeans with a fire design on the butt walking up to the door. I guess he saw me, too, because he turned around and left. Never saw him again.”
— I_R_Teh_Taco
Halloween Intruder
“Not me but my aunt. She lives a little outside of town in the middle of orchards. Her husband owns a restaurant down the street and works late, so she’s usually home alone with their two kids. On Halloween, she heard someone come in and assumed it was her husband who had forgotten something; when she went to check, it was a stranger, and she had to shove him out the door and call the cops. He wouldn’t leave and kept trying to find a way in. When the cops arrested him, he said “God told him it’s his house now”.
— littlelady125
Three Loud Bangs On The Window
“When I first bought my house, I was in the smallest bedroom that I used as a media room. There is only one window in the room. It was about 9 at night and I was watching TV. I’m sitting in the recliner that is right next to the window, and suddenly, there are three LOUD bangs on the window. My curtains were closed, and I didn’t dare look out. Fight or flight kicked in, and I immediately grabbed my keys, locked my front door, ran to my car, and just started driving. I was scared. I called my dad eventually, and he met me back at the house and didn’t see anything outside. That was 5 years ago, and I really never use that room anymore because of it.”
— courtachino
The Open Door
“Last night, I was home alone with my one-year-old. We both got into my bed at around eight-thirty to snuggle up; before we did, I checked the front door. Closed, locked. My husband doesn’t get home till late most nights (around midnight), so it’s usually just me, and everyone in the building knows it. Last night, when my husband came in at eleven, the door was slightly open and unlocked. I have no idea who opened it or how they did it.”
— [deleted]
A Scary Late-Night Visit
“I had been living in my apartment for about 8 months. At about 11 at night, when I wasn’t expecting anyone, someone started buzzing my door. My thing didn’t work, so I couldn’t have let them in any way, so I thought it would work itself out. Someone let them into the building. Next thing, there are two full-grown men banging on my door asking me to return the money “I” had borrowed to pay for drugs. I freaked out and said nothing and nearly called the cops, until finally, they yelled, “, we know you’re in there!” I finally replied, “My name is 314159265358979326; you have the wrong place.” They didn’t say sorry, which is unusual in Canada, and left.”
— 314159265358979326
An Encounter with the Unknown
“This one time, I decided to grab some water, by the time I started to fill my cup, the door knob of the living room started to turn frantically. I instantly crouched and grabbed the sharpest knife I had. I never knew exactly what kind of thing happened outside; I didn’t want to find out either. It stopped after some seconds.”
— grovethrone
A Babysitting Nightmare I Can’t Explain
“A few years back, my niece, who was about 11 months old at the time, was lying in her crib. I was babysitting her. Anyway. I went to go to the toilet and, a few moments later, heard her crying like crazy, so I got out super quick. Went upstairs and was by the passage. I was quiet as I didn’t want to startle her. I looked, and there was an arm reaching over her. It was thin, greyed, like a twig, with a black torn sleeve that drooped from its arm. I ran into the room, and just like that, it was gone. Like…nothing. Picked my niece up and got outta there. I’m a sane person. I don’t really believe in the supernatural. But I know 100% my eyes did not lie.”
— DAKIRZAYA