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Imagine moving into a rental house with your kids. How would you react if the next door neighbor came over and offered to help you move some boxes and offered to pick things up for you the next time he goes to the store? Would you be happy for the help or a little creeped out?

In this story, one woman was in this situation, and she was kind of creeped out. However, the situation got much, much creepier when she realized he has to be spying on her.

Now, she’s freaking out and not sure what to do.

Honestly, I’d be scared if I were in this situation, and I’d probably go stay at a hotel.

Keep reading for all the details.

I am really scared. This is happening now. And I honestly don’t know what to do.

I’m sitting here, very freaking scared.

I think something is going on, and my carbon monoxide is fine.

I moved into a “new” (to me, early 1900s) home on Friday. With my two young, special needs kids (grandkids adopted, I’m GenX) late Friday evening.

I had a very very grueling move Friday, where I packed a 6×12 trailer myself in record breaking heat, all day, and I’m also a cancer patient. Then drove 2 hrs in violent thunderstorms to get to our new home, a somewhat isolated early 1900s farm-ish type house?

There were a lot of keys!

Landlord texted where she’d leave the keys, where the fuse boxes were, and that she’d leave the house unlocked for us. It was 1045 PM when we got here.

Kids were freaking a little. It was *very* dark. But I have a high powered flashlight and used it.

Found the keys.

And then strangely *kept* finding different sets of keys all through the house. It became like a game with the kids, oh, look! Another set! Like 4 sets, and then there was another set off the ring and arranged strangely on the counter, but only 3 keys. All the other sets had 4 keys.

This sounds weird.

One of the fuseboxes was supposed to be in the back of the house, near a “storage room.” I was not shown this storage room at the showing.

I discovered that meant going thru to the back of the house, go outside, stumble in the dark to the right a while, and there’s a door to a room, like 4×8, part of the original house. Has an original door and knob (which doesn’t lock, BTW), four paned, antique glass windows.

And inside, the walls and floor and ceiling are all plywood, and there’s a seemingly nailed shut door with no handle facing the house interior. And the plywood flooring has a … IDK, a U-shaped gaping open hole in the floor under the door.

It’s part of the original house, but sealed completely (?) off from the rest of the house.

A neighbor walked over the next day.

Found the fuse box elsewhere, got power on. Brought in basics and we were all nodding off, exhausted, over our delivered pizza. Everyone went to bed.

Next morning, I’m in the kitchen and see the guy in the trailer next door walking down his driveway with a bag in his hand. Said OMG hope he’s not coming here, coz I hate drop ins.

He was. He had some waters and cliff bars, introduced himself, offered to help me empty the trailer, said he was going to walmart, did I need anything?

I said yes to the help, he’d come back at 130 once kids were napping. No, for anything else. Offered money to pay for his help. He declined.

He left.

The neighbor kind of creeped her out.

I texted my family about this, as I felt he paid unusual attention to my son, 7, comments on his eyes, his beauty, his unusual name and so on. Ignored my daughter.

My DANGER WILL ROBINSON was dinging. He talked more to my son than to me really.

10 mins later I jokingly said to my son, ah, should have asked for a pallet of bottled water.

5 mins later, neighbor’s back. I open the door, and he’s doing this rapid fire speech thing, what do you need, whatcha want? Cmon, you need something, what is it?

This interaction creeped her out even more.

Totally different vibe than his intro. Speed talking, sly grin, bent at the waist, leaning towards me. Like a completely different guy.

I said we are fine, TYSM.

He continued to be insistent and I continued to politely decline.

I really do hate drop ins, BTW, so a second and weird one in a 20 minute span annoyed me. I decided to do the trailer myself and be “napping” at 130. After his unusual attn to my son, and then that super weird hard sell on getting me stuff, I was noping TF out.

She successfully avoided the neighbor.

The kitchen doesn’t have curtains or blinds on 4 of the 5 windows. My rental has an acre+ so we’re next door, but not close.

Put the kids down for a nap, dozed off. He was back at 130, 145. About 230, figured I was safe, got up, shoes, ice … and suddenly he was back, knocking. I stepped back into the living room, quietly.

He stood out on my porch a long time, staring at my car, hands on hips, before he left.

I did the trailer, and it was kicking my butt. Son woke up before daughter from nap, and after a couple hours, I sat down in the kitchen, said whoo, I am absolutely done in. And I was. But I had 4 food boxes still in the trailer, too heavy to lift, and 6 more on the porch to bring in.

The neighbor came back.

Our door was open. I had been bringing in boxes off the front porch.

5 mins later, neighbor shows up. Offers to bring in the boxes.

… what amazing timing.

I said thanks, please. And he did.

And offered to take them upstairs, I declined.

Maybe the neighbor means well, but he was there a lot.

He stayed a while, talking. I figure GenX. Shorter than I, bald, grey goatee. From the snacks and his original intro manner, I figured he was maybe a little crunchy and mild. Like a cleaner old hippie. No manic speech this time.

We chatted a bit. I apologized for having “fallen asleep” earlier. He left.

So he came by 5x yesterday. My first day here.

She admits to talking to herself out loud.

Yesterday, my son and I talked about the applesauce cups I buy, how he liked them, while I was going thru storage stuff and throwing out fruit cups and applesauce that had expired. Told him I’d have to order some.

He asked me for a PBJ sandwich, but I don’t have that stuff yet.

I found a roll of toilet paper in some of our stuff, said yay! We needed this! There is none in the upstairs bathroom.

Started putting away cabinet stuff, said to myself out loud, oh, I should line these with paper towels. Huh, half a roll. Gotta get more. (ADD, I do talk to myself.)

Is the neighbor spying on her?

And here’s the worst part.

I was doing laundry (which is in the kitchen). I have a bunch of bottles of our detergent, was using the smallest to use it up. I always add water after it empties, shake it, and can get another load out of it.

He never saw our detergent. It was next to the washer, but behind an opened door, with a big black trash bag in front of it, plus stuff to take upstairs. Here, you take trash to the landfill, so I don’t put trash outside, but I was also literally just moving in that day, so hardly any trash. I also said nothing out loud during this time. I was listening for screams of pain or rage from the kids playing in the living room.

So early this morning, I go outside for something from the car … and there is an 8 pack or whatever, jumbo, thing of paper towels, toilet paper, with a bag of applesauce cups and PBJ bars or something … and an extra-large sized bottle of our particular laundry detergent which is for sensitive skin and not all stores carry it.

She left it there.

He’d mentioned sometimes delivery drivers make deliveries to the wrong houses, this one and his.

I’m going on much too little sleep, physically exhausted, difficult night and morning with youngest, distracted by a thousand different worries.

I think, huh, I hope that’s a misdelivery, and I leave it. At this point, I didn’t look in the bag on top of the paper towels. It wasn’t mine, I hoped he’d come get it.

We get busy taking the last trailer boxes in, kids bickering, take the trailer back, come home, kids nap, unpacking, in and out, and this stuff is still there.

So I let it sit there all day.

But eventually, she brought in the delivery and noticed something…

I did a Walmart order for us, it arrives around 530. Driver did get confused and parked in neighbor’s driveway, had to walk my stuff over to us.

As I was bringing in our things, it started to rain. We’ve had a series of ferocious thunderstorms with 70+ mph winds this week.

I think, his stuff is gonna get ruined or blown away. Bring it in to put it to the side. So I lift the bag on top of the paper towels, and there’s a note. 3 post-it notes long. See for yourself.

I’ve read it 5 or 6x, and I do not understand. It doesn’t make sense to me, and I also get very off put by people quoting Bible stuff at me. It’s presumptuous, rude, and tells me everything I need to know about them.

The closer she looked, the more creeped out she felt.

And then I looked in the bag and saw the applesauce. The PBJ things.

And then slowly it hit me (remember, I am freaking exhausted).

Wait. How did he know our very specific, sensitive skin detergent? And who TF buys a person they just met yesterday, talked with briefly, *detergent*? And how would you … just *correctly guess* what we use? Or even think I needed it?

Unless … you saw me empty the small one, put the water in to stretch it, and assume something? I have a butt ton of laundry detergent and it was not visible to him. Ever. Nor did I move along the laundry while he was here.

This is distrubing.

He cannot see into our kitchen windows from his place.

And very slowly, this sick feeling hit me.

Every single thing left outside our door early this morning… *was something my family talked about and didn’t have yesterday.*

It was too much.

These PBJ bars are as close to PBJ as you can get without giving me an actual loaf of bread and jars of PBJ. Which would be freaking obvious. Or even more obvious, I guess

The applesauce cups my son wanted.

My joy in finding half a roll of toilet paper.

My intention to line the shelves with paper towels I needed to get.

… the detergent.

… the note.

And I’m freaking scared. He could not have overheard all that.

AI creeped her out even more.

To casually buy a new neighbor some random stuff, *and hit on every single thing we discussed (or maybe demonstrated, with the detergent) in private* … I even asked my phone, is this statistically possible?

It is not.

And my phone’s AI started freaking out and telling me all this stuff to do. Like call the landlord. The police. Barricade yourself. Go to a hotel if you can.

Like, validating, but not even remotely reassuring.

She realizes he probably knows she knows.

So look. I plan to put this stuff back on his porch tomorrow, like a misdelivery. Like, a note? (If he intercepts me.) What note? Must’ve blown off maybe? But no, TYSM. But we’re good and this is much too generous. *We cannot accept it.*

But if he heard (and saw?) all that yesterday, he heard me freak out and slowly put the pieces together today. He knows I know.

I’ve covered all the kitchen windows.

I checked all the house windows and clicked the slide locks on.

She’s really freaking out trying to figure this out.

As it got dark tonight, every light in his place is off. His car is there.

What TF is this?

I turned off all lights after kids dozed off. Used phone looking for a blinking light. A sign of how he did this. I’m not even halfway unpacked so stuff’s everywhere. Don’t see anything.

There is simply no way he overheard this. No way he freaking *guessed* at our detergent and, I guess from my filling it with tap water habit, made an assumption about my needing more.

That’s the part that makes me scared. He would have had to see me. And he couldn’t have from his trailer. Too far. Wrong angle. Even without curtains.

She’s worried about the fusebox too.

As I was checking windows and clicking out the slidelocks, I noticed our back fusebox was open.

NGL, I was scared. I thought, that would be one way to force me out, that’s the master switch. I’d have to go outside if I needed to flip it back. I’ll put a lock on it tomorrow.

Had the kids stand in the doorway, and stepped over to the “storage room,” and the door is 3 inches open, lights on. I go in, look around more. I didn’t have my phone coz I used a screwdriver on the windows and that was in my hand.

I’m so freaking body sore and tired, and it’s been mentally challenging because of the kids and my lack of sleep, pushing thru this move alone. Like herding cats, these kids, sometimes. And one is violently opposed to bedtime. And is dramatic. So it’s been a lot. I’m completely exhausted.

She’s made a list of everything that’s concerning.

I don’t know what this is.

But he’s somehow seeing and hearing us in here. And the house was left unlocked for us. Those keys everywhere. The one set, with a missing key, arranged on the counter. Not where the landlord said she’d leave them.

The statistically impossible “guess” of hitting freaking EVERYTHING we discussed. Privately.

The, in exhausted retrospect, impossible timing of appearances.

This is all very concerning.

That weird personality flip, coming back inappropriately insistent we needed something he could get us, right after I make the comment to my son.

That note.

Is this schizophrenia? Him, not me LOL

He must be able to see and hear us.

She plans to call the police.

I’m wondering about that missing key. Actually, *all* the keys. Because it was like an Easter egg hunt in here on Friday night, but with keys and in country-dark darkness.

I wonder about the last tenants. And now I’m wondering about the brand new carpet in here.

Tomorrow I will call the landlord and the sheriff and just flat out ask if anyone has had trouble with this dude before.

If he’s been listening, he knows this, and that I’ll press whatever charges I can. He’s seen me treat my son’s groin area for what I (as a former paramedic) thought was a chafing rash from his shorts, but turned out to be some weird dye transfer from new underwear.

She has good reason to be scared.

There’s not even a TV glow next door.

I … I am full on crashing out hard. I got my machete out of the car before dark, and I have a stun gun.

I’m honestly scared.

And I have a 2 year lease.

What do I do?

Yikes! I’d take AI’s suggestion to get a hotel and then call the police. Nothing about this is okay. He probably has a key, and there’s probably a camera hiding somewhere.

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

This person suggests calling the police right away.

Another person would go to the police department.

This person suggests doing a test to make sure the neighbor is really spying on her.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who stops helping his neighbors out with his snowplow after they complain about his farm.

Another person wonders if the landlord knew about the creepy neighbor.

I don’t think it’s necessary to do a test to see if the neighbor is spying on her. He’s clearly spying on her, and he probably has that missing key. It’s all very creepy.

I agree with the suggestion of putting the kids in the car and driving to the police department. At least they’d be safe there. Maybe she can get out of the lease due to the crazy neighbor.

This sounds like such a stressful and scary situation!