tldr: after three nights of feeling uneasy about my bedroom window, i caught someone reaching through the blinds and slammed it shut. my cousin and her husband told me to pray about it, but i called the police. they searched the area and found nothing. the next morning, i found a handprint on the window.
earlier this week, i decided to take an almost 8 hour road trip to visit my cousin and her fiancé in another state. i’ve been to the state before, but never this particular city, so everything was pretty unfamiliar to me. ironically enough, almost half of my drive consisted of listening to true crime podcasts and let’s not meet stories, which makes this whole experience even more unsettling.
when i got to their house, they showed me the guest bedroom, which also doubled as her fiancé’s home gym. it was on the ground floor, which wasn’t necessarily a problem, but the first thing i noticed was the window. the blinds were partially broken and falling apart, leaving little gaps where someone could easily look inside. even during the day, something about that window made me uncomfortable. their backyard was also pretty open, so technically anyone could walk right up to the house. for context, i’m a black woman, and growing up, my family always emphasized being cautious about our surroundings. i don’t care how safe your neighborhood is, we’re locking every door and window because we’re not trying to become a statistic lol.
my cousin assured me that their neighborhood was extremely safe. in fact, when we started discussing crime in the area, she joked that the worst thing she’d heard of happening nearby was someone stealing a piece of candy from a gas station. so i figured i was probably just being paranoid from listening to so much true crime, and i mistakenly let my guard down.
the first night was pretty uneventful, although i definitely struggled to fall asleep. i wear glasses because my vision is terrible, and as embarrassing as it sounds, i’m still somewhat uncomfortable the dark alone, especially in unfamiliar places. being in a new city, sleeping on the ground floor, and having a window with broken blinds was basically a triple threat for me lol. i kept glancing toward the window thinking, “what if someone walks by?” or “what if someone tries to look inside?” eventually, i fell asleep and everything was fine. the second night was fine too. both nights, i’d left the window slightly open because the house was pretty warm, and the cool evening breeze felt amazing.
by the third and final night, though, something just felt different. her husband and i spent part of the day watching and discussing true crime talking about crazy stories, and i remember thinking that i seriously needed to give myself a break from these stories because i was starting to freak myself out. earlier that day, before we left the house, i actually closed and locked the window, and i remember thinking to myself that if someone ever tried to climb through it, they’d probably knock something over in the cluttered home gym and i’d hear them. again, just random thoughts i was having because i was being hypervigilant.
when we got back that evening, the house was still pretty warm despite the ac running, so i decided to open the window again. i got ready for bed, turned the lights off, and tried to fall asleep, but for whatever reason, i just couldn’t. i tossed and turned for almost three hours, and i felt like i was being watched. i kept thinking about closing the window, but the room was so warm that i convinced myself to leave it alone. at one point, i even considered sleeping with my phone flashlight on because i was so uncomfortable, but then i remembered that with the broken blinds, having any light on would make it even easier for someone outside to see directly into the room.
eventually, i gave up trying to sleep and started doom scrolling. i was on tiktok for a little bit before switching over to amazon to look at halloween costumes. maybe five minutes into scrolling, i heard rustling coming from the bushes directly outside my window. initially, i didn’t think much of it. i figured it was probably the wind or a squirrel moving around. but then i heard it again, except this time it was louder.
i was lying with my back facing the window, and something in me told me to stop what i was doing and actually listen. i put my phone facedown to eliminate any light coming from the screen and just laid there quietly. the rustling continued, except now it sounded like something was moving closer to the window. my heart immediately started racing. i slowly turned around to face it, and although it was dark outside, there was just enough light for me to make out shadows.
that’s when i saw it. the silhouette of a person standing directly outside my bedroom window.
i cannot even begin to explain the feeling that came over me. my heart was literally in my throat. i kept trying to convince myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me, that maybe i was just seeing shadows from the bushes, and that all these scary stories were finally getting to my head. I continued to try to lay perfectly still, and just listen, trying to make out any sounds or movements. but then i heard something that made my stomach drop into my ass.
the blinds started moving.
not the bushes. the actual blinds on the window.
i immediately reached over to grab my glasses, which were sitting on a weight beside the bed. in the process, i was trying to do so very quietly so i could potentially catch this person in the act and get a look at their face. but of course, like in every horror movie ever, i accidentally knocked over my hydro flask, which made a ridiculously loud metallic bang when it hit the weight. at that point, i knew whoever was outside had probably heard me. i quickly threw my glasses on, looked toward the window, and there it was. a HUMAN HAND reaching through the blinds.
i didn’t scream. i didn’t even think. i immediately jumped out of bed and slammed the window shut in hopes to maybe catch their hand. i slammed the window so hard that i actually broke one of my nails off completely. as soon as it closed, i heard someone rustling out of the bushes to run away.
i ran upstairs and started banging on my cousin’s bedroom door, frantically trying to explain what had just happened. they were so deeply asleep that it took them almost five minutes to even answer the door. i was absolutely terrified and refused to go back into that bedroom. i ended up spending the rest of the night in the living room, falling in and out of sleep until around 3 am, just waiting for the sun to come up. part of me wanted to pack my things and leave immediately, but i knew driving several hours in the middle of the night while terrified and exhausted probably wasn’t the smartest idea.
the next morning, while packing up my things, i actually started questioning myself again. i kept thinking, “what if i really was just being paranoid? what if all those podcasts finally got to me and my mind was playing tricks on me?” so i decided to look at the window in daylight, specifically to see what someone standing outside would’ve been able to see if they were looking into the room.
and that’s when i noticed scratches through the dust on the window and a handprint. i genuinely felt sick.
i still have absolutely no idea whether this person was trying to break into the house or if they were some creep trying to watch me sleep. i don’t know how long they were standing there, whether they’d noticed me sleeping in that room the previous nights, or what their intentions were. and honestly, i don’t think i ever want to know.
what really gets me is how many times throughout those three days i had this weird feeling about that exact window. i kept telling myself i was being paranoid, that i needed to stop consuming so much true crime, and that nothing was going to happen because the neighborhood was supposedly so safe. but on the one night i genuinely could not fall asleep, something actually happened.
i’m a VERY deep sleeper. once i’m out, i’m out. had i fallen asleep that night, i genuinely don’t think i would’ve heard anything. and had i not been there at all, who knows what could’ve happened to my cousin and her fiancé? they were sleeping so deeply upstairs that they couldn’t even hear me frantically banging on their door for several minutes. the thought of someone potentially getting inside and moving around downstairs without anyone noticing absolutely terrifies me.
i know some people might think i’m being dramatic, but i genuinely feel like the universe was looking out for me that night. between not being able to sleep, constantly feeling uneasy, and deciding to put my phone down and actually listen to what was happening outside, i feel incredibly lucky. i don’t know whether it was intuition, hypervigilance, or just sheer coincidence, but i’m so grateful i was awake.
and something else i’ve been struggling with is this overwhelming feeling of being violated. it’s honestly such a strange feeling to explain because technically nobody touched me, and i don’t even know if this person actually saw me. but your bedroom is supposed to be the one place where you can completely let your guard down. it’s where you sleep, change your clothes, and exist in your most vulnerable state. the thought of some random person standing inches away from where i was lying, potentially watching me or trying to get inside, makes my skin crawl. i keep replaying the entire situation in my head, especially the moment i saw that hand, and wondering what would’ve happened if i hadn’t been awake to slam the window shut.
needless to say, this was probably one of the scariest things i’ve ever experienced on my own, and i don’t think i’ll ever feel comfortable sleeping with an open ground-floor window again.
and to whoever was standing outside my bedroom window that night, let’s please, PLEASE not meet again.