Writes our submitter in Virginia: “One of my (two) roommates is convinced that someone is sleeping in her bed when she is not here. Even though NO ONE has slept in her bed, angry text messages have been exchanged about these mystery sleepover guests, but (like everything else) she has never confronted us face to face. The other night, I stumbled across this gem on her pillows when I dared to enter her room to turn off the light she leaves on for days upon days.”
related: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Quarters
130 responses so far ↓
#1
WHAT!
Umm… stay out of her room?
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:21 pm rating: 90
#2
Siaci
How about a lock on her door and a therapist?
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm rating: 90
#3
Micah
stay out of her room long enough to find another roommate!
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:26 pm rating: 90
#4
kate
She took a picture of the arrangement of the stuffed animals, and she will compare it when she comes back. Also, at least one of the blankets is taped to the bed frame.
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:26 pm rating: 90
#5
David Long
How old is this person… there are a lot of stuffed animals….
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:28 pm rating: 90
#6
Andrew Price
Sounds like the beginning of an awesome horror story.
Ruffled bed sheets and hair on the pillow tell Janice that someone has been sleeping her bed. In a desperate attempt, she accuses her room mates but they deny it. Her fears grow as she finds more and more evidence of a mysterious presence in her room. She spirals into a mental break down. Her room mates move out, leaving her to face her biggest nightmare alone.
SPOILER ALERT: The unwelcome visitor is her imagination.
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:35 pm rating: 90
#7
ourania walker
Her roommates should kidnap all her stuffed animals and hold them for ransom …
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:46 pm rating: 90
#8
James
She has a Lambchop doll. This means you must do her bidding.
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:49 pm rating: 90
#9
Madrias
To solve the light problem, I’d just disconnect the wire from the switch.
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:50 pm rating: 90
#10
aaa
You know the roommate is just baiting Jordan and the other roomie. Leaving the light on for days on end is the perfect thing to draw somebody into the room. The continual stream of batshit paranoia is just to throw them off guard. It’s only a matter of time until she teaches them the true meaning of respect…
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:55 pm rating: 90
#11
joshua
The light is on because she cheapped out on her security camera and its not for night vision.
Apr 22, 2012 at 10:59 pm rating: 90
#12
Susan
In elder care, we call this “phantom boarder syndrome,” the conviction that people have been in the house even tho they’re never seen….
Apr 22, 2012 at 11:04 pm rating: 90
#13
Julia
The little smiley at the end gives it that perfect crazy touch
Apr 22, 2012 at 11:34 pm rating: 90
#14
chrys
I would move stuff around just a little.
Apr 23, 2012 at 12:01 am rating: 90
#15
deb katz
Actually, bulbs are cheap. The small amount of money it costs to run the light is worth the girl’s peace of mind. She may be looney-tunes, but obviously, she’s getting zero respect from her room mates repeatedly. Just stay out of her room and leave her alone. Quit messing with her. Look how far it’s gone-complete strangers are now poking fun at her. Sure it’s funny, but the reality is, you’re in her room. You’ve crossed a boundary, so no wonder she’s a little paranoid. Respect her space, when her lease is up, get a new room mate.
Apr 23, 2012 at 12:03 am rating: 90
#16
NYPB Blue?
What the hell is up with thoses sheets? Purple & green? Just seeing that I can guarantee that no one has slept there other than the note writer in a loooong time
Apr 23, 2012 at 12:23 am rating: 90
#17
lozerette
I would probably tuck all of the stuffed animals in, just to give an explanation for who was sleeping in the bed…
Apr 23, 2012 at 2:49 am rating: 90
#18
Voice of Rhizome
Unfortunately, it sounds like she is having schizophrenic paranoia episodes. I lived with a room mate with undiagnosed schizophrenia who would write long, accusatory notes that I had been wearing her new T-shirts.
Apr 23, 2012 at 4:13 am rating: 90
#19
Blah
The worst thing about the note for me is the “w/” instead of “with” at the end. I’m beginning to see a real link between PA notes and desperate attempts to abbreviate as many words as humanly possible for no reason whatsoever. (Poorly Worded Rant over and back to the snark)
Apr 23, 2012 at 7:43 am rating: 90
#20
Macaroon
If she really thinks someone is sleeping in her bed, she should leave an assortment of sex toys under the quilt to give them a good startle when they go to climb in
Apr 23, 2012 at 9:01 am rating: 90
#21
Harmy G
Turning off lights that others have left on is my favorite form of passive-aggressiveness.
Apr 23, 2012 at 10:30 am rating: 90
#22
Debbie Dodge
She just needs to purchase a lock with a key..but than again these roomates would probably use the credit card trick to get in anyways. My guess is her roomates are going in her room and now will do it even more…
Apr 23, 2012 at 11:07 am rating: 90
#23
KHandcock
I had a roommate in university who was like this…she famously left a nasty note on her door telling us not to go in her room when she went away for a long weekend. This was prompted by the fact that she used to leave for class for six to eight hours with her stereo on…on single track repeat…on things like the dance remix of “My Heart Will Go On”. You could hear it through the whole house. Strangely enough, we did feel that we had the right to go in and turn it off.
The funniest part of the note was that she put a strip of tape across the door frame at knee level–very visible, very obvious tape. We all joked that we should step over the tape to go in and throw stuff around, then feign ignorance when she found it–what? The tape is intact, so CLEARLY none of us were in there!
The thing is, these issues with her room were only the beginning. The blind in the kitchen had to be raised to an exact point. If you did it wrong, she would come out of her room immediately and change it. Another example? When we moved in together and split up chores, she had agreed to cook. She stopped when she broke up with her boyfriend three months in. I took over cooking, and used to ask whether she wanted any of what I was making (but stopped when I got tired of her swearing at me for asking). We also used to ask her whether she needed us to get her anything at the grocery store, but the answer was always no. We found out six months later that she had told the landlord that we were trying to starve her by not bringing her food.
So, I guess what I’m getting at is give the roommates who submitted this the benefit of the doubt. If they’re stuck in the same position we were, with a one-year lease that couldn’t be broken, they may have no choice but to try to see the humour in this until they can get the heck out of there.
Apr 23, 2012 at 11:12 am rating: 90
#24
ged
maybe the reason she thinks someone is using her bedroom is because her light keeps getting turned off…?
Apr 23, 2012 at 12:32 pm rating: 90
#25
Fozzy Bear
Not sure if someone else mentioned this, but I would move stuff around on the bed and move the pillow and stuff to REALLY freak her out!
Apr 23, 2012 at 12:47 pm rating: 90
#26
Matilda
Not that I would do this to anyone I suspected of having a legitimate mental problem but I would SO have fun with this roommate if she was just being a douche.
Apr 23, 2012 at 2:10 pm rating: 90
#27
DaveGI
“And please stop eating my porridge! I know it’s not too hot and not too cold, but it’s MINE!”
She doesn’t have three bears in among those stuffed animals, does she? They should alert the neighborhood watch to keep an eye out for a young blond female in the area.
Apr 23, 2012 at 2:13 pm rating: 90
#28
weaselby
Adult+extensive collection of stuffed animals=obvious social/emotional/mental issues.
Apr 23, 2012 at 2:37 pm rating: 90
#29
Mira
…That is the ugliest sheet set I have ever seen.
As for roommates– note writer needs to chill out or move out.
Apr 23, 2012 at 3:01 pm rating: 90
#30
Dr.Chalkwitheringlicktacklefeff
Went in there to turn off the light, you say? The submitter has thought of all the neccessary excuses, hasn’t she. She certainly managed to pre-emptively answer my query.
Apr 23, 2012 at 3:27 pm rating: 90
#31
deprogrammed
Once upon a time, I lived with my sister. Who had a teenage daughter who should have been named Miss Destructo. I did not let her use my computer and kept my door locked. Well, I would come home and KNOW someone had been in the room. Miss D would swear no one had, but how to prove it….Turns out she and her friends would take the screen off the window and come in through there, thus leaving the door locked. I moved sooner rather than later.
Apr 23, 2012 at 4:01 pm rating: 90
#32
Jolly
Yeah, these people both seem shitty. Girl one may be paranoid and dumb and worth getting out of a lease with if possible, but going into someone’s room and then taking a picture of their stuff to show off her paranoia on a popular website and get mocked? Sorry, but you’re just as shitty of a roommate, if not worse, than the notewriter. Sounds like you should both live alone, for the benefit of those around you.
Apr 23, 2012 at 6:25 pm rating: 90
#33
Rita
I can understand going into the room to turn the light off. I used to have to do that with my old housemate because she -never- turned off the light or the fans but would then bitch about the powerbill *rolls eyes* I even had to go in and clean her room once (the smell from her room was permiating the rest of the house and we were about to have a guest come stay). I asked her numerous times over a week to clean her room and she didn’t – sooo freaking gross (including used pads and condoms shoved under the bed). Glad I had gloves (was VERY annoying since all the furniture etc she was using belonged to me and she was not respecting my stuff at all -.-)
Apr 23, 2012 at 6:28 pm rating: 90
#34
kermit
Maybe the roomie would feel better if the others left a picture of George Clooney and a note scolding her for not turning off the light.
But other than having to turn off the light or close a window or put out a fire hazard, it’s mean and rude to go into someone else’s room without their permission. Chances are you wouldn’t be okay with someone snooping in your room either.
Apr 23, 2012 at 9:33 pm rating: 90
#35
goobler
Having had to deal with clients suffering from paranoia, delusions, dementia etc my advice would be to move out now. Like any other damaged environment, these people have tipping points — don’t want to be there if she decides to “protect” her room with boobytraps. Housemates do have the right to have electrical anythings turned off when not in use if they share the bill … if that room is a separate cicuit, the light can be shut off by unscrewing the fuse or flipping the breaker, without going in her room.
Apr 23, 2012 at 11:29 pm rating: 90
#36
Canthz_B
Goldilocks is busted again.
Wait until Roomie sees what’s been done to her porridge and her rocking chair.
Apr 24, 2012 at 3:01 am rating: 90
#37
Canthz_B
Blame the parents. When she lived at home mom and dad turned off her electricity wasting lights for her and said squat, causing this problem in the first place.
Can you imagine the post-its she left them!?
Apr 24, 2012 at 3:12 am rating: 90
#38
Grant
I think she’s monster baiting.
Apr 24, 2012 at 4:33 am rating: 90
#39
Steve
I had a roommate once who was an alcholic and would leave her lights on for DAYS. One month we got a Electric and gas bill of $560! Finally we left a note on her bed, either put your light on a timer, pay the electricity bill in full or move out. She angrily confronted us shouting ” This was NEVER a problem when I lived at home, you guys are heartless!” we totally busted up-we thought she was joking-lots of children like this, when they get out into the real world they fall down the dark dark hole having to be nice and considerate to others and they don’t like it one bit.
And sorry but leaving lights on all the time, particularly in old houses is not safe. if they are not properly grounded or there is a spark, the over head light or anything on that circuit can explode-showering a room in sparks and causing combustion. Unless she is assuming a far greater portion of the utilities, they have every right to turn the light off
Apr 24, 2012 at 7:09 am rating: 90
#40
Nahhh
I’d cut the breaker to her room, and only turn her power on when she’s home. After she’s had to go to the breaker-box to turn it back on a few times, she may learn to use the switch(es) in her room.
Apr 24, 2012 at 7:35 am rating: 90
#41
KJS
Maybe she knows that people have been sleeping in her bed because her stuffed animals told her so. (Considering the note, this is an entirely plausible theory.)
Apr 24, 2012 at 7:59 am rating: 90
#42
Adriana
I wonder how this all started. Did her roommates go into her room to turn off her light, bump into her bed, knock over a stuffed animal or ruffle the comforter, leading her to conclude that someone was sleeping in her bed? Is this paranoia grounded in anything real at all?
Stop going into her room for any reason. You are adding fuel to the fire. If you don’t like the lights being left on, tell her that you will have to start going in there, much to your chagrin, or that she’ll have to pay more than her share of the utility bill until she stops. Rather than letting yourself in, talk to her about why you’re going in there. I’m not saying she’s reasonable or that she’s a good person, but doing anything at all that lets her know you were in her room is only encouraging the strange behavior. Stop it. Have a talk about why you entered and why it’ll happen again if she doesn’t turn out the lights.
Apr 24, 2012 at 10:31 am rating: 90
#43
ffffffrabbbit
Nice stuffed animals … mature much?
Apr 24, 2012 at 10:34 am rating: 90
#44
Beatus Mongous
@OP, you need to take a picture of her stuff, short-sheet her bed, and then put everything back EXACTLY how it was.
Apr 24, 2012 at 11:35 am rating: 90
#45
Reepicheep-chan
Why is everyone hating on stuffed animals? Srsly, I do not understand why you have to throw out all your decorations when you turn 18 or else you are mentally deranged or something; that makes no sense!
Apr 24, 2012 at 12:15 pm rating: 90
#46
Bob_awbla
I had a roommate who would leave the AC on full blast all the time, even though he would be gone approx 16 hours of the day. Sometimes he even had the window open while the AC was running. I turned it off whenever he wasn’t home, but he would tape a note to the thermostat telling me not to turn it off. He was very passive aggressive. I then confronted him about it and told him (rightly so) that I shouldn’t have to pay for half the electric bill because he was using way more electricity by leaving the AC on all the time. He apparently doesn’t understand that air conditioning uses a lot more electricity than lights or a laptop, because he accused me of trying to get out of paying for electricity when he knows that I’m in my room every night using my laptop with my lights on. He even made the argument that he, at least, watches tv (which was every waking non-working moment for him) with the lights off. I didn’t bother arguing with him any more, but I got harassed with pages long text messages every other day until I moved out a few weeks later because, you know, passive aggressive.
Apr 24, 2012 at 5:00 pm rating: 90
#47
Redheadwglasses
I think roommate sounds mentally ill. But because she’s also being such a bitch about it, you have license to mess with her head.
Apr 26, 2012 at 12:46 pm rating: 90
#48
Me
It’s not ok for the roommate to go into her room. That would be like a landlord letting himself into your apartment while you were out of town to turn off the lights if he pays the bill. Besides, the cost of leaving a light on doesn’t really increase your bill at all, especially compared to the electricity you’re using to heat the water to shower and do your dishes and wash your clothes that she’s not using while she’s gone.
Apr 26, 2012 at 9:09 pm rating: 90
#49
Kathryn
I had a roommate who had some kind of psychotic break from using energy drinks to stay awake 24 hours a day for ? weeks or so. I was on campus most of the time, but he would work on the computer 24/7 for a while, then go out of town for a week or so, leaving his window open in the winter.
The wind would blow his papers around the room, and when he returned he insisted I had trashed his room. He kept leaving his window open, his stuff kept blowing around, and he started threatening violence. The police said my only option was to leave everything behind except one suitcase’s worth of necessities.
I’d lived there five years and had furnished all of the apartment except the roomie’s room, plus I had my hard drives with my research data. They insisted there was no way to protect me unless I walked out and left it all behind.
Eventually we reached a neutral party who talked to the roommate and convinced him that they would keep me out of his room if he would let them know when he was out of town, so I could get more of my stuff.
I also had to forfeit my security deposit because the landlord was mad at me for giving her complex a bad name by calling the police when my roommate threatened violence.
Apr 28, 2012 at 4:06 am rating: 90
#50
Anne
My roommate really did have random-ass people sleep in my bed when I left.. but we all did, so it was fine lol
Apr 30, 2012 at 2:11 pm rating: 90
#51
notolaf
Assuming the note was not, in fact, written to the stuffed animals who so rudely climb into her bed whenever she turns her back for just a second, this person is just begging for some practical jokery, a la “The Twits.” Someone should start channeling Roald Dahl immediately.
May 3, 2012 at 5:31 pm rating: 90
#52
Melba
I’m sorry, but the fact that she has a Lamb Chop plush automatically makes me take her side. ::stares at own Lamb Chop plush and puppet across room::
May 31, 2012 at 10:17 pm rating: 90
#53
asevondsolution
Hey I have that same stuffed dog from when I was a kid. Its called a Le Mutt. Mine is stored away somewhere though, in the basement I think.
Jun 1, 2012 at 1:08 am rating: 90
#54
Colorless
you know, I don’t blame her. I have a friend whose room mate obtained a key to her room somehow and entered when she was in the shower. (bedroom and connected bathroom)
Jun 19, 2012 at 6:07 pm rating: 90
#55
Raye
Why does she have so many ratty stuffed animals?
Sep 2, 2012 at 6:31 pm rating: 90
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