A Redditor Found Strange Notes And Thought They Had A Stalker, But The Real Reason Was Far Scarier
Is there anything scarier than being unsafe in your own personal space? What if a perceived danger is actually just a symptom of a larger threat? That was exactly the case for Redditor u/RBradbury1920, who went to r/legaladvice after discovering strange little post-its all over their apartment.
They immediately suspected their landlord, but the truth was actually much, much scarier.
Here's what happened.
(This story and its content have been edited for length and clarity. Please click here to read the full story and here for the update.)
It All Started When The Original Poster Discovered A Single Post-It On Their Desk
From OP u/RBradbury1920:
On the 15th of April, I found a yellow post-it note in a handwriting that wasn't mine on my desk reminding me of some errands I had to do but told literally nobody about.
While odd, I chalked it up to something I did in my sleep, thinking maybe in my half-awake state I scrawled it so it didn't appear to be my handwriting. I threw it out and thought little of it.
Then Another...
From OP u/RBradbury1920:
On the 19th, I found another post-it note on the back of my desk chair in the same handwriting as the previous note, [this one] telling me to make sure I "saved my documents."
I was freaked out, but there were no other signs of a break-in, so I set up a web-cam in my house aimed at my desk and used a security-cam app for it to record after detecting movement.
And Another...
From OP u/RBradbury1920:
On the 28th, I woke up to find another post-it note, this one saying, "Our landlord isn't letting me talk to you, but it's important we do."
I immediately checked the webcam's folder on my computer and found nothing from the night before, but my computer's recycling bin had been emptied, which I am certain I did not do recently, indicating someone had noticed the webcam and deleted the files. (They were just saved straight to a folder on my desktop called "Webcam."
Finally, The Concerned OP Asked Reddit What To Do
From OP u/RBradbury1920:
Today, on the 1st of May, I found another post-it note, this time on the outside of my door, with nothing written on it. And there also appeared to be post-its on many other doors in my apartment complex, all blank [and] in varying colors.
Do I have any legal recourse here? I have no proof except for the post-its, but those are written by my pen and on my post-it notes, so conceivably I could have faked them. Would contacting the police get me into any trouble if they can't determine an outside source for this? I just want to make sure I'm not wasting anyone's time.
Should I consult my landlord? Those also living in the complex?
Many Redditors Offered Suggestions And Voiced Their Concerns
From Redditor u/Fermats_Last_Account:
You're probably sleep-walking...
Are they showing up after you wake up? So they were there at night? Did you find the [post-its] coming home? Did you find the one behind your desk by chance or noticeably the same day?
From Redditor u/BanditoStrikesAgain:
Get one of the door locks that can only be unlocked from the inside. If it's the landlord and he is using his key, than he won't be able to get in, at least through the front door.
From Redditor u/HotrodCorvair:
Apartment maintenance professional here. There's not a lock made that I cannot get into with a handy specialized tool for whatever lock the resident has installed. Most landlords have them and can use them in a pinch. (Lock-outs, evictions, inspections, emergencies, etc.)
But a landlord should never, ever enter a unit without consent or without loudly knocking and announcing [their] entry, and they better have a very good reason for that violation of privacy.
Posted by a Redditor:
I feel like I'm reading a Philip K. Dick novel.
But Then u/Kakkerlak Suggested Something That Shed New Light On The Situation
From Redditor u/Kakkerlak:
You seem sincere, and this doesn't appear to be the plot of a Ray Bradbury short story.
It's possible that your landlord is leaving notes inside your apartment, but they don't make any sense in the context you're describing... It's likely that you are writing the notes yourself, but you are forgetting. Do you use post-it notes as reminders in any other parts of your life or job?
Yes, this might be a mental health issue. You might be experiencing some sort of dissociative disorder.
Or it might be a physical problem. You mentioned that you have a very unusual, narrow bedroom with no windows; is there a chance that you are not getting enough ventilation when you sleep, or that there is a carbon monoxide leak in the building? A cheap CO detector (which you should have anyway) is a fast way to find out. You'll also have really bad headaches.
You know your own medical and mental history and your other experiences. If you think these incidents might be you writing notes to yourself, there's no shame in getting somebody qualified to give you an opinion.