3 Disturbing TRUE Airbnb Horror Stories — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:17I'm sharing this story because I'm still
2. 0:19in a state of disbelief that it actually
3. 0:21happened to me.
4. 0:23I'm only about 2 weeks removed from when
5. 0:25this took place, so it's all still very
6. 0:27fresh in my mind.
7. 0:28It just goes to show you that one bad
8. 0:30decision can sometimes lead to something
9. 0:32potentially catastrophic.
10. 0:35I'm 33 years old and I've had a terrible
11. 0:37time in my life dating.
12. 0:39I admit I have my own issues that I deal
13. 0:42with that have ended relationships in
14. 0:43the past, but I also have the absolute
15. 0:46worst taste in women.
16. 0:48That's not an opinion, it's a fact. When
17. 0:50my last relationship ended, it hit me
18. 0:52hard.
19. 0:53I thought I'd found myself a wonderful
20. 0:55woman, but it turned out she was just as
21. 0:57toxic as I was.
22. 0:59I I decided that I was going to take a
23. 1:01break from dating for a while.
24. 1:03I was going to focus on getting my
25. 1:04business and personal life running
26. 1:06properly, and then I could worry about
27. 1:08dating again.
28. 1:09Anybody who's spent prolonged time being
29. 1:11single knows that sometimes loneliness
30. 1:13can be a sharp knife in the stomach.
31. 1:16I filled the loneliness void by
32. 1:18scrolling on Instagram.
33. 1:20I would go down these long rabbit holes
34. 1:21of checking out people's profiles.
35. 1:24One night, about a year ago, I met a
36. 1:26woman on Instagram named Shannon.
37. 1:28She lives in Indiana.
38. 1:30The reason why I mention that is because
39. 1:31I don't live in Indiana. I live in North
40. 1:34Carolina.
41. 1:35In a fit of loneliness, I did what many
42. 1:37desperate men do and I just commented on
43. 1:40one of her videos.
44. 1:42A few hours later, she sent me a DM.
45. 1:44Right away, I thought she must be fake.
46. 1:47If this incredibly beautiful woman
47. 1:48[music] messaged me because of something
48. 1:50I said in the comment, there was most
49. 1:51likely a 100% chance that it was a fake
50. 1:53account and it's somebody trying to scam
51. 1:55me.
52. 1:56In the shock of the century, it turned
53. 1:58out that Shannon was a real woman who
54. 2:00really lived in Indiana.
55. 2:02We spent nearly 12 months messaging each
56. 2:04other after that.
57. 2:06We talked about meeting countless times,
58. 2:07but we both had busy lives and just
59. 2:09continued on with our own.
60. 2:11Until about 2 weeks ago, when we finally
61. 2:13came up with a dedicated plan for the
62. 2:15two of us to meet.
63. 2:17I had a business meeting in New York
64. 2:18City, so I suggested that Shannon meet
65. 2:20me in the city.
66. 2:22I even offered to pay for her plane
67. 2:23ticket.
68. 2:24To my absolute surprise, she agreed.
69. 2:27I found an Airbnb for us to stay in, and
70. 2:29then the plan was locked in.
71. 2:31I remember thinking all the way up until
72. 2:33the moment I physically laid eyes on her
73. 2:35that there may have been a chance that I
74. 2:36was getting catfished.
75. 2:38But this wasn't a scam.
76. 2:40As I was getting out of my business
77. 2:41meeting, Shannon was getting out of a
78. 2:43car with her suitcase.
79. 2:45It was a surreal moment.
80. 2:47I'd spent countless hours talking to
81. 2:48this woman, and now she was literally 2
82. 2:50ft away from me.
83. 2:52I was excited and nervous, but overall,
84. 2:54I felt hopeful for the first time in a
85. 2:56while.
86. 2:57We walked to the Airbnb, and as soon as
87. 2:59we got there,
88. 3:00I saw her smile vanish.
89. 3:03She was outraged by where we were
90. 3:04staying.
91. 3:05I thought the reaction was a little
92. 3:07overblown,
93. 3:08but I guess maybe the building did look
94. 3:09a little rough.
95. 3:11When we got inside, it wasn't much
96. 3:13better.
97. 3:14She spent 20 minutes screaming about how
98. 3:16terrible this Airbnb was, and that she
99. 3:18couldn't believe that I wouldn't spend
100. 3:19more money on a nicer place.
101. 3:21Full disclosure, that place was
102. 3:23expensive because it's New York City,
103. 3:24and everything's expensive there.
104. 3:27I tried to change the subject a couple
105. 3:28of times, but she just wouldn't let it
106. 3:30go.
107. 3:31Finally, I hit my breaking point, and I
108. 3:33raised my voice back.
109. 3:35That was apparently it for her.
110. 3:37She screamed at me like I had committed
111. 3:39the worst crime imaginable.
112. 3:41We screamed at each other for a bit, and
113. 3:42then she went into the bedroom and
114. 3:44slammed the door.
115. 3:45Eventually, I apologized and tried to
116. 3:47get her to come out of the room,
117. 3:49but she wouldn't answer me or even
118. 3:50acknowledge my existence anymore.
119. 3:53It was hard for me to believe that this
120. 3:54was the same woman I'd spent a year
121. 3:56talking to.
122. 3:57And just like that, we were done before
123. 3:59we even had a chance to begin.
124. 4:02It was hours later when she finally left
125. 4:04the bedroom.
126. 4:05I was sitting near the window watching
127. 4:07the city life.
128. 4:08She apologized to me for wasting my
129. 4:10time, and told me that she was leaving
130. 4:11to go stay at a friend's apartment who
131. 4:13lives in the city.
132. 4:14She also told me to delete her number,
133. 4:17which I thought was a bit of an
134. 4:18overreaction.
135. 4:20I offered to at least escort her to her
136. 4:21friend's apartment, but she said that
137. 4:23her friend was already downstairs
138. 4:24waiting for her.
139. 4:26I was crushed and hurt, and basically
140. 4:28told her to just get out.
141. 4:30She stormed out of the Airbnb and
142. 4:32slammed the door on her way out. Just
143. 4:34like the bedroom door from before.
144. 4:36I was so upset and hurt that I didn't
145. 4:38even bother to chase after her.
146. 4:40I spent the next few hours that night
147. 4:42drinking by myself and staring out the
148. 4:44window until I was feeling really bummed
149. 4:46out from all the time and money I'd
150. 4:47wasted on this trip.
151. 4:49When the drink started to hit me, that's
152. 4:51when I decided to go to bed.
153. 4:53It was around midnight. During the
154. 4:55night, I woke up to the sound of a loud
155. 4:57crash coming from outside the bedroom.
156. 5:00I jumped out of bed like the building
157. 5:02was on fire because it scared me so
158. 5:04badly.
159. 5:05I left the bedroom and turned on the
160. 5:06light.
161. 5:07You should also know that since it's a
162. 5:09New York City apartment, it's on the
163. 5:10smaller side.
164. 5:12The apartment had a bedroom, bathroom,
165. 5:14and then a small kitchen and living room
166. 5:16that were all in one room.
167. 5:18When I walked out of the bedroom, I was
168. 5:19essentially standing in the living room
169. 5:21and kitchen.
170. 5:22I took a step, and on the floor next to
171. 5:24the counter was a broken plate on the
172. 5:26ground.
173. 5:27My first thought was that Shannon had
174. 5:28come back.
175. 5:30But the apartment was small enough that
176. 5:31I was able to confirm quickly that she
177. 5:33did not.
178. 5:34What I did notice was that the apartment
179. 5:36had some plates on the strainer that was
180. 5:38on the counter.
181. 5:39And the plates weren't exactly in there
182. 5:41in the most sturdy way.
183. 5:43I came to the conclusion that when she
184. 5:44left and slammed the door, she must have
185. 5:46knocked one of the plates loose from the
186. 5:48strainer and it just happened to finally
187. 5:49fall on the ground.
188. 5:51I picked up the broken pieces and went
189. 5:53to throw them away in the trash can that
190. 5:55was next to the door.
191. 5:56When I was standing next to the trash, I
192. 5:58noticed that the door to the apartment
193. 6:00was open.
194. 6:01I don't just mean unlocked, either. I
195. 6:04mean the door was physically open
196. 6:05slightly.
197. 6:07I inspected the door and it was just a
198. 6:09normal door.
199. 6:10With how hard she slammed it, I couldn't
200. 6:12understand why it was slightly open.
201. 6:15It didn't make sense to me.
202. 6:17Then I had a horrifying realization.
203. 6:20When she left, I never bothered to get
204. 6:22up and lock the door behind her.
205. 6:24I knew the door [music] was slammed
206. 6:25shut, but I couldn't explain why it was
207. 6:27open now.
208. 6:29I tried calling and texting Shannon. I
209. 6:31wanted to see if maybe she'd call back,
210. 6:34and that's why the door was slightly
211. 6:35open.
212. 6:36But she didn't respond.
213. 6:38It was also the middle of the night, so
214. 6:40I didn't expect her to answer me.
215. 6:42I was feeling all types of ways around
216. 6:44this time.
217. 6:45I was feeling uneasy about the door
218. 6:47situation, still sad about Shannon, and
219. 6:49also still feeling a little tipsy from
220. 6:51before I went to bed.
221. 6:53I spent a few minutes pacing around the
222. 6:55small apartment trying to figure out
223. 6:56what to do, and eventually, I just
224. 6:58decided to lock the door and try to go
225. 7:00back to bed for a few hours.
226. 7:02I got into bed and I couldn't sleep
227. 7:04anymore.
228. 7:06I was staring at the ceiling trying to
229. 7:07think about whether there was anything
230. 7:09more I could do to save this trip or if
231. 7:11I should just cut my losses and head
232. 7:12back to Carolina in the morning.
233. 7:14A few minutes had passed since I'd
234. 7:16gotten into bed.
235. 7:17While I was lying there, I heard this
236. 7:19long and completely nerve-rattling sound
237. 7:22coming from the living room.
238. 7:24It was the creak of a door, but not the
239. 7:26door to the apartment.
240. 7:28I had just spent enough time looking at
241. 7:29that door that I knew it didn't creak
242. 7:31that loudly.
243. 7:32From where I was lying in the bed, I
244. 7:34could see out of the bedroom door and
245. 7:35into the living room.
246. 7:37Even though I turned the lights off,
247. 7:39there was enough light coming in from
248. 7:40the windows that I could see out in the
249. 7:42room.
250. 7:43Right next to the main door was a closet
251. 7:45door and appearing from the closet was a
252. 7:47tall man.
253. 7:49He was dressed in all black clothing.
254. 7:51With the faint light shining in through
255. 7:53the window, I could see his shadow
256. 7:55moving, but I couldn't make out any more
257. 7:57details about the man.
258. 7:59I felt like I was paralyzed.
259. 8:01I just sat there in bed watching this
260. 8:02man move out of the closet like a
261. 8:04nightmare coming to life.
262. 8:06He didn't close the closet door.
263. 8:08He went to take a step, but must have
264. 8:10known I was looking in his direction
265. 8:11because he stopped moving and just stood
266. 8:13there completely still.
267. 8:16Even though I couldn't see the features
268. 8:17of his face, I felt like he was staring
269. 8:19directly at me.
270. 8:21It was an uncomfortable amount of time
271. 8:23that we both just stayed still.
272. 8:25I don't know if he was trying to hide in
273. 8:26the shadows or just scare me.
274. 8:29Finally, he started to take a few steps
275. 8:31toward me.
276. 8:32They were slow and terrifying steps.
277. 8:35I was finally able to blurt out some
278. 8:37nonsense and the man stopped walking.
279. 8:40He was practically in the doorway of the
280. 8:41bedroom.
281. 8:42Without saying anything, the man turned
282. 8:44around, walked to the door, unlocked it,
283. 8:47and left the apartment without closing
284. 8:48the door.
285. 8:50Once he was gone for about a minute or
286. 8:51two, I sprang up, shut the door, and
287. 8:54locked it.
288. 8:55When I looked [music] through the
289. 8:56peephole of the door, I saw the man with
290. 8:58a dark hoodie on just pacing the dimly
291. 9:00lit hall.
292. 9:02He never got close enough to my door for
293. 9:03me to get a good look at his face.
294. 9:06I watched him for several minutes and
295. 9:07[music] during that time, he tried to
296. 9:09open a few different doors in the hall,
297. 9:11but they must have all been locked
298. 9:12because he didn't enter any other
299. 9:13apartments.
300. 9:15I called the police and they did send
301. 9:16over one cop.
302. 9:18By the time the cop arrived, the man was
303. 9:20gone.
304. 9:21When I told the officer the entire
305. 9:23story, he didn't seem too concerned.
306. 9:26He almost made it seem like this was a
307. 9:27normal occurrence where I was staying.
308. 9:29After I gave my statement, all he said
309. 9:31was, "That's why you have to lock your
310. 9:33door, buddy."
311. 9:35Obviously, I didn't sleep the rest of
312. 9:36that night and I left first thing in the
313. 9:38morning.
314. 9:39I finally got a hold of Shannon and told
315. 9:41her the story, but she seemed not to
316. 9:43care in the slightest.
317. 9:44She said, "Quote, that sucks." And that
318. 9:47it wasn't her problem.
319. 9:49I left the city and made my way back to
320. 9:50North Carolina.
321. 9:52It's almost been 2 weeks to the day, and
322. 9:54I still haven't spoken to Shannon since
323. 9:55that last message, and I probably never
324. 9:57will.
325. 9:59If I had never made that horrible
326. 10:00decision to meet a stranger for the
327. 10:01first time in one of the busiest cities
328. 10:03in the world, I think that all of this
329. 10:06could have been avoided.
330. 10:07There were a lot of lessons I learned
331. 10:09from this entire situation, but the
332. 10:11biggest takeaway for me is to always
333. 10:13lock your doors and check them.
334. 10:15If I didn't speak up that night, who
335. 10:17knows what that man would have done.
336. 10:19It kills me to even think about that.
337. 10:31I've never had a good relationship with
338. 10:32my parents. It's always been very
339. 10:34business as usual with them.
340. 10:37I moved far away after high school, and
341. 10:39I never moved home.
342. 10:40Now that I'm older and my parents are
343. 10:42retired, I try to come home at least
344. 10:44once a year to visit.
345. 10:45Since I still don't have the greatest
346. 10:47relationship with them, I refuse to stay
347. 10:49with them when I come to visit. I
348. 10:51usually just find an Airbnb for the
349. 10:52weekend and call it a day.
350. 10:552 years ago when I came home to take my
351. 10:56annual visit, I found out that my
352. 10:58parents had moved to a much quieter area
353. 11:00of town.
354. 11:01I found an Airbnb that was about 10
355. 11:03minutes from their new house.
356. 11:05When I got to the house I was renting, I
357. 11:07immediately had a weird feeling.
358. 11:09There were no neighbors nearby, which I
359. 11:11usually like, but for some reason, it
360. 11:14was giving me an anxious feeling that I
361. 11:16can't really explain.
362. 11:18The outside was fine, and I would even
363. 11:20say it looked like a normal house.
364. 11:22When I got inside, the normalcy of the
365. 11:24house started to vanish.
366. 11:26The house was creepy,
367. 11:28not because it was haunted or in bad
368. 11:30shape, but because of the specific
369. 11:31decorations all over the house.
370. 11:34There were these weird paintings
371. 11:35everywhere and all these small animal
372. 11:36statues throughout the house.
373. 11:38I know that seems like I'm being a
374. 11:40nitpick, but something about the
375. 11:41specific paintings and decorations made
376. 11:43me feel a certain way.
377. 11:45And I didn't like it.
378. 11:47When I booked the house through Airbnb,
379. 11:49it didn't look exactly like this.
380. 11:51Specifically, you couldn't see all the
381. 11:52weird decorations in the pictures.
382. 11:55After my initial feeling of weirdness
383. 11:57passed, I left my stuff at the house and
384. 11:59met up with my parents for dinner.
385. 12:01I spent a few hours with them and then
386. 12:03went back to the Airbnb for the night.
387. 12:05I had almost forgotten how weird it was
388. 12:07in there.
389. 12:08It somehow felt even stranger at night.
390. 12:11It had a bunch of those weird painted
391. 12:12portraits all throughout the house where
392. 12:14it looks like the eyes follow you when
393. 12:15you move.
394. 12:17Obviously, I know they don't, but it
395. 12:18still felt uncomfortable having all
396. 12:20those eyes on you.
397. 12:22I was sitting in the front room reading
398. 12:23for a couple of hours.
399. 12:25Once in a while, I would hear these
400. 12:27weird noises coming from the basement.
401. 12:29There was a vent in the front room that
402. 12:31I assumed went down to the basement, so
403. 12:33that's why I thought the noises were
404. 12:34coming from down there.
405. 12:36It sounded like something rustling or
406. 12:37shuffling down there.
407. 12:39On its own, that wasn't scary.
408. 12:41Just because of all the weird vibes I
409. 12:42had in this place, the noises from the
410. 12:44basement were making me feel a little
411. 12:45off.
412. 12:47The area surrounding the house was kind
413. 12:48of in a forested area, so I thought
414. 12:51maybe there was a rodent down there in
415. 12:52the basement.
416. 12:53That could explain the occasional
417. 12:54rustling sound I would hear.
418. 12:57When I was growing up, we had squirrels
419. 12:58getting into the attic and the basement,
420. 13:00so I wasn't a stranger to animals in the
421. 13:02house.
422. 13:03Sometimes hearing a squirrel running
423. 13:04around can sound like an entire
424. 13:06classroom of children stomping about. If
425. 13:08you've never heard that sound, it can be
426. 13:10alarming.
427. 13:11I tried accepting the noise as a rodent,
428. 13:13but it finally ended up getting to me.
429. 13:16I decided that I needed to go down into
430. 13:17the basement and check it out.
431. 13:19I realized that makes me seem like a
432. 13:21fool. Hearing a strange noise in an
433. 13:23unfamiliar place and my solution is
434. 13:25going to check it out.
435. 13:27Not exactly outstanding survival
436. 13:28instinct.
437. 13:30Well, it's easy on the outside when
438. 13:31you're looking in to say that you would
439. 13:32never do that, but honestly, I bet more
440. 13:35people out there would do that than you
441. 13:36would expect. So, I grabbed a flashlight
442. 13:39from my bag and opened the basement
443. 13:40door.
444. 13:42As soon as I took two steps down, I was
445. 13:44overwhelmed with a terrible smell.
446. 13:47A lot of these houses have chest
447. 13:48freezers in the basement. My first
448. 13:50thought was that there must be a freezer
449. 13:51in the basement that doesn't work
450. 13:53anymore and all the meat rotted.
451. 13:55As someone who used to work in a meat
452. 13:56department in a grocery store when I was
453. 13:5818, I can tell you that it smelled
454. 14:00exactly like spoiled meat.
455. 14:03Before I went downstairs, I grabbed a
456. 14:05shirt from my bag and wrapped it around
457. 14:06my face as a sort of way to shield
458. 14:08myself from the smell.
459. 14:10The basement was filled with junk. Boxes
460. 14:12as far as you could see.
461. 14:14I saw a light switch, but of course, it
462. 14:16didn't work. So, I continued to use my
463. 14:18flashlight.
464. 14:19I walked around for a few minutes trying
465. 14:21to find the source of the smell or the
466. 14:23noise,
467. 14:24but I didn't find anything.
468. 14:26With all the boxes down there, I figured
469. 14:28there was probably a dead animal rotting
470. 14:29in one of the boxes.
471. 14:31I started going back upstairs and I
472. 14:33noticed that the basement door was now
473. 14:35shut.
474. 14:36I thought I had left it open, but
475. 14:38clearly I didn't.
476. 14:39When I tried to open it, it wouldn't
477. 14:41budge.
478. 14:42It almost felt like it was locked.
479. 14:44I started to aggressively smash into the
480. 14:46door until it finally opened.
481. 14:48I was able to confirm that it wasn't
482. 14:50locked, even though for a second I
483. 14:51thought it was.
484. 14:53For some reason, the door just decided
485. 14:55to stick at that moment.
486. 14:57I closed the door and sat in the living
487. 14:58room for a few minutes.
488. 15:00Something just wasn't feeling right.
489. 15:03I decided to get ready to go upstairs
490. 15:04and go to bed, but I just had a bad
491. 15:06feeling that I couldn't shake.
492. 15:09I stood at the bottom of the stairs and
493. 15:10looked up at the dark hallway.
494. 15:12I felt a little bit of fear.
495. 15:14I can't explain why. I just did.
496. 15:17I went back to the living room and got
497. 15:18myself cozy on the couch.
498. 15:21I plugged my phone into the charger and
499. 15:22decided to watch Star Wars on my phone
500. 15:24until I fell asleep.
501. 15:26A few hours later, I woke up in the
502. 15:28middle [music] of the night freezing.
503. 15:30The blanket I was using on the couch was
504. 15:32now on the floor.
505. 15:33I sat up to grab the blanket, and I
506. 15:35noticed that the basement door was wide
507. 15:37open.
508. 15:38I know for a fact I closed it, so I
509. 15:40didn't know what to think.
510. 15:42I got up and closed the door. [music]
511. 15:44Before I walked back to the couch, I saw
512. 15:46a faint light from down the hall.
513. 15:49I slowly walked toward the light.
514. 15:51It was coming from the top of the
515. 15:52stairs.
516. 15:53Just like the basement door, I know for
517. 15:55a fact I didn't leave any lights on
518. 15:57upstairs because I never went upstairs.
519. 15:59I grabbed one of the weird animal
520. 16:01statues that was on the end of the table
521. 16:02next to the stairs for [music] defense,
522. 16:04and I quietly snuck up there to
523. 16:05investigate the light.
524. 16:07It was coming from the first room on the
525. 16:09left at the top of the stairs.
526. 16:11The light was one of those touch lights,
527. 16:13the kind where you touch the base and it
528. 16:15lights up brighter every time you touch
529. 16:16it.
530. 16:17The rest of the room looked untouched.
531. 16:20When I got closer to the light, I could
532. 16:22see that the base was extremely dusty.
533. 16:24As unlikely as it may seem, I assumed
534. 16:27that the dust must have somehow turned
535. 16:28the light on.
536. 16:30I couldn't think of another explanation
537. 16:31that made sense.
538. 16:33I turned the light off and went back
539. 16:34downstairs.
540. 16:36When I got down there, that smell from
541. 16:38the basement somehow leaked to the first
542. 16:39[music] level.
543. 16:41I was annoyed and grossed out.
544. 16:43As I walked back into the living room, I
545. 16:45saw that the basement door was open
546. 16:46again.
547. 16:47Wide open.
548. 16:49That was the final straw for me.
549. 16:51I tapped out after that.
550. 16:53I'm sure it's possible there was a
551. 16:55perfectly fine explanation for all the
552. 16:56weird occurrences that happened in the
553. 16:58house, but I wasn't going to sit around
554. 17:00and try to figure them all out.
555. 17:02I had a bad feeling from the moment I
556. 17:04got to the Airbnb.
557. 17:05I grabbed my stuff and left.
558. 17:08I drove around for the rest of the
559. 17:09night, and I stayed at a hotel the next
560. 17:11night.
561. 17:12I tried telling the person who listed
562. 17:13the house on Airbnb that there was a
563. 17:15horrible smell in the basement, but they
564. 17:17never responded.
565. 17:18A few weeks later, the house wasn't even
566. 17:20on Airbnb anymore.
567. 17:22I've given up trying to explain what
568. 17:24happened in that house that night.
569. 17:26For me, experiencing everything I did
570. 17:28that night was the most terrifying
571. 17:29feeling I'd ever felt.
572. 17:31After writing the story [music] and
573. 17:32reliving that experience, it got me
574. 17:35thinking about that house all over
575. 17:36again.
576. 17:37The next time I visit my parents, I
577. 17:39think I'm going to drive by that house,
578. 17:41just to see it one more time.
579. 17:53I'm 27 years old and I travel a lot for
580. 17:56work.
581. 17:57It can be a bit of a grind, but I'm
582. 17:59trying my best to save as much money as
583. 18:00I can before I turn 30.
584. 18:03The job takes me places all over the
585. 18:04country.
586. 18:06Sometimes I'm staying in busy cities and
587. 18:08other times I'm in a town so small that
588. 18:10I wonder how they even have Wi-Fi.
589. 18:12One night, when I was traveling to a
590. 18:14small town on the northwestern coast, I
591. 18:16had the scariest night of my life when I
592. 18:18was staying at the Airbnb.
593. 18:21I was only going to be there for two
594. 18:22nights.
595. 18:23I got there in the late afternoon, got
596. 18:25some food, and then made my way to the
597. 18:27Airbnb.
598. 18:28The house was small, but it was cute.
599. 18:31The small town was also kind of cute.
600. 18:33I sat outside for a few hours and then
601. 18:35went to bed at 10:00 that night.
602. 18:38The next day, I woke up, met my clients,
603. 18:40did what needed to be done, and then got
604. 18:42back to the house at 5:00 p.m.
605. 18:45I could have driven home, but I was
606. 18:46exhausted.
607. 18:48That's why I booked the house for two
608. 18:49nights, because I knew I was going to be
609. 18:50tired.
610. 18:52When I got back to the house, something
611. 18:54wasn't right.
612. 18:55When you walk in the front door, the
613. 18:57dining room is to the right.
614. 18:59What I noticed was that the chair at the
615. 19:01head of the table was pushed out and
616. 19:02moved to the side, like somebody had
617. 19:04been sitting there.
618. 19:06It's possible that the chair was like
619. 19:07that and I just didn't notice because I
620. 19:09didn't spend a lot of time in the dining
621. 19:10room.
622. 19:11However, I felt like it was pushed out
623. 19:14enough that I would have noticed it as
624. 19:15soon as I walked in the door the day
625. 19:17before.
626. 19:18I fixed the chair and walked around the
627. 19:20small house.
628. 19:21Because I was on edge now, I felt like
629. 19:23everything was wrong.
630. 19:25I felt like all the doors were in
631. 19:26different positions every time I walked
632. 19:28into a new room.
633. 19:30I thought the remote for the TV was in a
634. 19:31different spot.
635. 19:33I felt like somebody had gone through my
636. 19:35bag.
637. 19:36But the truth is, I think all that was
638. 19:39in my head.
639. 19:40I was overthinking every detail of the
640. 19:42house because that pushed out chair
641. 19:44freaked me out so badly.
642. 19:46It took me a little while to calm down,
643. 19:48but eventually I did.
644. 19:50Clearly nobody was in the house because
645. 19:51[music] if they were, they would have
646. 19:53made themselves known by now.
647. 19:55At least I assume they would have.
648. 19:57I ordered myself some pizza that night.
649. 20:00After I ate dinner, I just scrolled on
650. 20:02my phone [music] for a while.
651. 20:04After that, I went to bed somewhat
652. 20:05early.
653. 20:06I just wanted to go to sleep so I could
654. 20:08wake up early and go home.
655. 20:10I wasn't able to sleep throughout the
656. 20:12night.
657. 20:13I don't know exactly what time it was,
658. 20:15but I woke up to the sound of the
659. 20:16doorbell ringing.
660. 20:18If you've never had your doorbell ring
661. 20:20in the middle of the night, it's one of
662. 20:21the most startling experiences you can
663. 20:23have.
664. 20:24Basically, the reason is that it can't
665. 20:26be good news.
666. 20:28It was even more terrifying for me in
667. 20:30this instance because [music] the
668. 20:31doorbell was ringing in the middle of
669. 20:32the night at a house that wasn't mine in
670. 20:34a town that I'd never been in before.
671. 20:37I got out of bed and tiptoed to the
672. 20:38front door.
673. 20:40While I was slowly walking to the door,
674. 20:42the doorbell rang again.
675. 20:44Every time the doorbell rang, it made my
676. 20:46heart sink into my chest a little more.
677. 20:49When I got to the door, I stood on my
678. 20:50toes and looked out the window at the
679. 20:52top of the door.
680. 20:54From what I could tell, it was a woman
681. 20:56no older than me.
682. 20:57She easily looked like she was in her
683. 20:5920s.
684. 21:00Her hair was pushed down in front of her
685. 21:01face and she kept looking over her
686. 21:03shoulder.
687. 21:04While I was staring at her through the
688. 21:06window.
689. 21:07She rang the doorbell again.
690. 21:09Without unlocking or opening the door, I
691. 21:11asked what she wanted.
692. 21:13I tried to be assertive and dismissive
693. 21:15at the same time.
694. 21:16The woman sounded very monotone.
695. 21:19She said she was having car trouble and
696. 21:20she wanted to use my phone to call for
697. 21:22help because her phone was broken.
698. 21:24I didn't know what her game was,
699. 21:26but I'm sure that was not the truth.
700. 21:29I didn't see a car and because she kept
701. 21:31looking behind her, I knew she was
702. 21:32lying.
703. 21:34I continued to be dismissive to the
704. 21:35girl.
705. 21:36I told her I would call the police and
706. 21:38they could help her.
707. 21:39Then she started to pound on the door.
708. 21:42Her entire demeanor changed. Now she
709. 21:44said she was trying to hide from her
710. 21:45boyfriend.
711. 21:46She said she was scared and in trouble
712. 21:48and she started to beg me to let her in.
713. 21:51I still didn't believe her.
714. 21:53I told her again that I was going to
715. 21:54call the police and that they would help
716. 21:55her with whatever issue she had.
717. 21:58She stopped banging on the door and then
718. 22:00just ran [music] off into the darkness.
719. 22:02I couldn't see where she went.
720. 22:04I tried looking out some of the other
721. 22:06windows of the house to see if I could
722. 22:07see where she went, but she was gone.
723. 22:10Not surprisingly, there was no broken
724. 22:12down car anywhere in sight.
725. 22:14I sat down on the couch trying to
726. 22:16process what just happened.
727. 22:18My heart was still racing,
728. 22:20mainly because I couldn't believe what
729. 22:21just happened to me.
730. 22:23I didn't call the police for some
731. 22:24reason.
732. 22:25I don't remember my reasoning exactly,
733. 22:27but whatever it was, my reason was
734. 22:29strong enough not to call them.
735. 22:31A few minutes passed and the damn
736. 22:33doorbell rang again.
737. 22:35It scared me so much this time that I
738. 22:37almost screamed.
739. 22:39I went over to the door and looked out
740. 22:40the window expecting to see this woman
741. 22:42back again,
742. 22:43but it wasn't her.
743. 22:45At the door was a short, husky man.
744. 22:48He was wearing a light brown coat.
745. 22:51I didn't say anything this time, but I
746. 22:52saw him look up at the window and we
747. 22:54made eye contact.
748. 22:56I jumped back because I was freaking
749. 22:57out.
750. 22:59While I was sitting next to the door
751. 23:00trying to catch my breath, I heard the
752. 23:02man ask from the other side of the door
753. 23:04that his car broke down and that he
754. 23:05needed help.
755. 23:07I still didn't respond.
756. 23:08This was the same game that the other
757. 23:10woman had just pulled a few [music]
758. 23:11minutes ago.
759. 23:13The man repeated what he had just said
760. 23:14again.
761. 23:15It was almost robotic the way he said
762. 23:17it.
763. 23:18Finally, I was able to speak up.
764. 23:20I told the man that I was calling the
765. 23:22police and that he needed to get away
766. 23:23from my door.
767. 23:25He didn't say anything for a minute.
768. 23:27I thought maybe for a second he had
769. 23:28walked away.
770. 23:30When I got up and looked out the window,
771. 23:32I saw him grabbing the doorknob and
772. 23:33asking if he could just come in for a
773. 23:34minute.
774. 23:36I went to grab my phone out of my pocket
775. 23:37to call the police, but it must have
776. 23:39fallen out of my sweatshirt pocket on
777. 23:41the couch.
778. 23:42I looked at him again and he was still
779. 23:44trying to open the locked door.
780. 23:46He just kept jostling the doorknob.
781. 23:49I decided to pretend to call the police
782. 23:51since I didn't actually have my phone on
783. 23:52me and I was too scared [music] to leave
784. 23:54the door in case I needed to hold it
785. 23:55shut for some reason.
786. 23:57I literally pretended to have an entire
787. 23:59conversation with the dispatch and then
788. 24:01ended my fake call by saying, "Great,
789. 24:03I'll [music] see you in 2 minutes.
790. 24:05Please hurry."
791. 24:06After that, I looked out the window and
792. 24:08the man was not trying to get in
793. 24:10anymore.
794. 24:11Now, he was just standing there staring
795. 24:13at the door.
796. 24:14When a few more seconds passed, I
797. 24:16shouted to the man that the police were
798. 24:18on their way.
799. 24:19The man stood there for a few more
800. 24:20seconds and then turned to walk away.
801. 24:23When he was a few feet away from the
802. 24:25door, he said that he would remember my
803. 24:26face and then he walked away.
804. 24:29I saw him walk past my car, but then I
805. 24:31lost him in the darkness, just like the
806. 24:34woman before him.
807. 24:35Even though the door was locked, I moved
808. 24:37this desk that was near the door in
809. 24:39front of it as a barricade, just in
810. 24:41case.
811. 24:42Then I ran back over to the couch,
812. 24:43grabbed my phone, and then I actually
813. 24:45called the police.
814. 24:47While I was sitting there waiting, I was
815. 24:49still shaking.
816. 24:50Unfortunately, this nightmare just
817. 24:52[music] wouldn't end.
818. 24:53I heard a loud crash coming behind the
819. 24:55front door.
820. 24:56I got up and looked.
821. 24:58It was the guy from before and once
822. 25:00again, he was trying to open the door.
823. 25:02Except this time he was throwing his
824. 25:04shoulder into the door almost like he
825. 25:05was trying to break it down.
826. 25:07He only tried a few times and then he
827. 25:09left again.
828. 25:10Not long after that, the police finally
829. 25:12showed up.
830. 25:14Since it was an Airbnb, I didn't really
831. 25:16have that much information to give them.
832. 25:18I didn't know if these people were
833. 25:19someone the owner knew or if they were
834. 25:21just random strangers trying to break
835. 25:23into the house.
836. 25:24I gave them all the information I could
837. 25:26including the owner's information and
838. 25:28then I left.
839. 25:30After all of this was said and done, it
840. 25:31was now 4:00 in the morning.
841. 25:33I got in my car and I left.
842. 25:36I have no idea what they wanted that
843. 25:37night. Sometimes I think to myself,
844. 25:40maybe that poor girl was in trouble and
845. 25:41I just left her out there.
846. 25:43But in moments like that, you need to
847. 25:45trust your instincts.
848. 25:47And my instincts were screaming at me
849. 25:49that this was trouble.
850. 25:50I know I'm lucky that I was physically
851. 25:52unharmed but mentally and emotionally,
852. 25:55I'm not sure I'll ever fully get over
853. 25:57this experience.
854. 25:58To this day, I'm still terrified to stay
855. 26:00anywhere by myself.