3x20: Alice, The Stalker Coworker

[00:00:05] My name is Andrew Tate and this is season 3 episode 20 of Let's Not Meet a true horror podcast I met this girl who will call Ellie in an online chat room and we hit it off She was literally everything I wanted in a woman except for one thing

[00:00:34] Ellie lived in Portugal over 3,500 miles away from where I lived in the US We got close though despite the distance and decided that we wanted to make a go of it So we entered into this long-distance relationship

[00:00:49] A few months later, I got a new job that had better pay So I planned to use the extra funds to save up for a meeting with Ellie in person one day Instead I met this girl who will call Alice at my new job

[00:01:04] We worked in a factory where you could work on two-person teams on a single machine The teams would vary so one day we would be working with person X on machine 4 and then the next with person Y on machine 2

[00:01:19] I'd been with the company for a couple of weeks and got assigned to work with her and For the most part we got along fine. We made idle mundane conversation as we worked as one does

[00:01:32] Talking about nothing serious went out of the blue. She asked me if I were single I Responded that I was not and that I had been dating this girl Ellie for a few months and just left it at that

[00:01:46] Thinking I'd put the kibosh on whatever she was thinking may happen between us The conversation went on as mundane as ever when she mentioned her boyfriend I thought maybe she didn't have any ideas about anything after that and was just being nosy

[00:02:05] Our shift ended and as such so did the conversation Over the next little while we worked together off and on and at one point She asked if she could add me on social media, and I said sure

[00:02:20] Not thinking much of it. That is until the next day at work when she mentioned Some post that she read on Ellie's wall that I hadn't seen or could find I Asked her where she had seen it and she said that it was an older post

[00:02:37] The post was from seven years previous. I Asked Alice if she had gone through Ellie's entire history, and she said yeah that she was bored and had nothing else to do So after going through mine she went through Ellie's as well

[00:02:52] That kind of set off alarm bells in my head because who goes through The entire post history of a complete stranger and one single night. I Guess my face Showed my thoughts because she quickly apologized and stated that she didn't mean to be so over-the-top about it

[00:03:11] But we post so rarely that she would go through just a few and suddenly she would find herself looking at years old posts This wasn't untrue and So it seemed reasonable, but still weird as she had no connection whatsoever to Ellie

[00:03:27] And so she had no business on her timeline. I mentioned it to Ellie later that day and Helped adjust her privacy settings so that it wouldn't happen again a bit later I was working with Alice again

[00:03:40] And the conversation was again fairly mundane when all of a sudden this guy walks over to our machine and just stood there glaring at us first for a while at her Then me then back at her etc

[00:03:58] After about 20 minutes there was a call over the intercom and he went off to answer it Alice looked like she was about to cry after that and it was fairly creepy, so I asked her what it was all about

[00:04:13] It turns out that was her boyfriend and they had just broken up I Made the mistake of asking if she was okay Just trying to be polite while secretly hoping she wouldn't go into details about it which of course she unfortunately did as

[00:04:31] It so happens he'd repeatedly told her from day one That after a bitter divorce, he wasn't interested in a monogamous relationship That he wanted something open no strings attached No commitments and no expectations

[00:04:50] she confided in me that she didn't want those things and just went along with them since she could see potential as a husband from day one and Just like she could me That's when the alarm bells went off again Anyways

[00:05:08] He was apparently serious about wanting an open relationship Because he had gone behind her back and signed them up for a swingers weekend a couple cities over When she'd found out she said no and that she wasn't ready for that yet

[00:05:23] But agreed to have sex with another guy Her boyfriend knew while he watched after he dropped into the conversation How he just helped a woman down the street move in and there was definitely a spark and

[00:05:38] When the day came for her show with the stranger she backed out the last minute and he got pissed I called the whole thing off then went and slept with the woman down the street

[00:05:50] They ended up getting into a huge fight and he broke things off with her for not being honest about what she wanted in the relationship She told me I just got so nervous thinking about a complete stranger having sex with me

[00:06:05] I'm just not that kind of person and There's very few that I would let sleep with me present company included, of course, I Cringed at that last remark. I reminded her that I was seeing someone for almost a year at that point a

[00:06:23] Comment she basically ignored I got the impression at this point that in her head Just because me and Ellie hadn't met in person that meant that our relationship was somehow less real She also told me how they slipped together a few times since then

[00:06:40] But she knew he was only coming around whenever the other girl was busy and didn't want sex She also told me that he had been doing that to her anytime. They worked the same shifts he would just show up and glare at her until someone called him and

[00:06:58] Had been doing this for almost a month I told her to report him to the supervisors and she decided that she couldn't so I told her to find a new job

[00:07:08] She told me that she couldn't because at her previous place of employment a popular national chain of sandwich shops She had stolen large amounts from the till and because of that and her criminal record No other place would hire her and Alarm bells went off again

[00:07:26] Over the next few months things got worse She would randomly walk up to me at work and start talking to me about How we'd be great together and how she always wanted a boyfriend like me who was kind thoughtful and a great listener

[00:07:38] tall handsome yada yada yada I Would always cut her off with a short but succinct Not to mention spoken for and she would storm off Alice would get very excited when we had to work together and post something along the lines of Working with so-and-so today

[00:07:59] How I love this man, and then would tag me in the post then delete it before I could see it But not before Ellie did who eventually saved a screenshot and then sent it to me

[00:08:11] When I confronted Alice with it, she basically blew it off saying that it wasn't that big of a deal I unfriended her and blocked her after this Still she would often walk up to me and tell me about sexual fantasies that she had that were very graphic

[00:08:26] Now I had been in the Navy prior to this So the content of these comments didn't bother me so much as I had heard much worse from the mouths of US Navy sailors

[00:08:36] What did bother me though was if someone heard these incredible one-sided conversations and said something to Ellie How much trouble I would be in with the woman that I'd grown to deeply care for Not that there was much threat of what actually was happening. I

[00:08:53] Always told Ellie whatever Alice would say to me, but still it needed to stop So I went to my direct supervisor and asked him not to put me to work with Alice anymore as there were Issues there. I

[00:09:07] Didn't go into detail as I didn't want her to lose her job, but I did say that I was uncomfortable with working with her That's when things got very creepy She started texting me and when I asked her how she got my number she ignored the question

[00:09:24] I changed my number and a few days later. She was texting me at my new number So I changed it again and again and within days she was sending me texts again, I Didn't keep the texts and to this day

[00:09:37] I have no idea how she was getting my numbers and her texts were responses to In-person conversations that I had had with other people At one point a friend and I were working 12-hour shifts 7 a.m. To 7 p.m

[00:09:54] And I had said something about how I was going to order pizza When I got home and grab a shower while I waited the 30 minutes for the delivery guy. I Got a text from her that night saying that she had overheard

[00:10:09] Red or eavesdropped that I was getting pizza and suggested that I bring the pizza to her place so that we could hang out and another Immediately after that saying that when I got to her place, I would have to be naked as she was a naturalist

[00:10:27] when she was home and expected the same from her guests I ignored all the texts and Blocked the number only to get another message from her the next day from a different number This one was a picture message of her and nothing but three slices of

[00:10:44] Pizza telling me to pick which topping I'd like to eat first in another instance I was texting a friend about heading to the mall that weekend to pick up a birthday present for a mutual friend and Sending up a pickup time and such

[00:11:01] Later that same day. I got texts from her saying that she could give me a lift to the mall as she was going to Victoria's Secret to get some pizza I Got an email later that weekend again, no idea how she got my email address

[00:11:25] It was a series of pictures of her in various states of undress as she modeled her new lingerie for the camera That week at work. I requested to be put on the weekend shifts permanently as she worked the morning weekday shifts

[00:11:40] and that would mean I would only have to see her once during the week and Not have to work with her Alice's response to seeing me less was to start showing up at places where I was I went to a small party store in town

[00:11:56] Where I could get a hard-to-find flavor and brand of soda that I liked and as I walked up to the register Alice was suddenly there just standing in the doorway. I paid for my sodas and Then just kind of stood there. I

[00:12:12] Didn't want to call the police and get myself tied up in legal issues Since I was planning to travel to Europe to spend some time with Ellie

[00:12:19] And I also didn't want to go home as I was afraid that she would follow me home and then know where I lived So I just stood there looking at her

[00:12:28] Not really sure what to do when she suddenly just turned around and left without a word or purchasing anything She showed up one night at my favorite burger place a little hole-in-the-wall bar and

[00:12:42] Sat down at my table right across from me and had the gall to ask me if I was going to buy her dinner. I Moved to the bar where I stayed until the bar closed at 3 a.m.

[00:12:55] And then some the barkeep was a friend who gave me a lift home I caught her following me around a major chain superstore late at night when I finally shook her and I was able to get home I got pictures sent to me of her in

[00:13:11] various states of undress in the pharmacy department How she got away with that one? I'll never know Unfortunately at this point Ellie's mother was diagnosed with final-stage colon cancer and She died less than two weeks later

[00:13:26] Feeling like I really needed to be there for Ellie. I got documentation in order bought a plane ticket and put in my two weeks notice. I

[00:13:34] Saw Alice twice more in my regular spots in the coming weeks as I prepared to depart for a three-month stay to help Ellie With anything that she may have needed once while I was shopping for socks and underwear

[00:13:49] For the trip, she walked up and recommended what she would like to see me and before slithering away A couple of weeks later. I was back in the States just in time for the 4th of July

[00:14:01] I didn't see Alice all summer nor did I give her much thought Ellie came to visit at the end of September and in November We got married after being together and traveling back and forth for three years

[00:14:14] Later that month my hometown was holding their annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony And Ellie had never been to one before and we wanted to go While standing there singing Christmas carols me rather off-key. I Felt these arms wrap around me from behind and clasp at my waist

[00:14:36] Initially thinking that it was Ellie. I put my hands on hers About the same time. I realized Ellie was standing next to me So she couldn't be the one wrapped around me nor were these hands wearing her engagement or wedding ring. I

[00:14:52] Pulled the person's hands away and twirled around coming face to face with who else but Alice She spotted me in the crowds and decided to say hi with some guy in tow Ellie turned around and Alice spotted her and I could see Arkham Asylum flash across her face

[00:15:13] Then I saw her take a cup of hot cocoa away from the guy that was with her and I pulled Ellie Slightly behind me as Alice lowered the cup as if to throw it all over Ellie

[00:15:25] I asked her who her date was and she froze and looked at him and then quickly said that he wasn't her date just a friend This seemed like news to him as he got angry and stormed away. I Watched him go and when I turned back to Alice

[00:15:39] She was sizing up Ellie so I asked Ellie if she could get me a cup of that hot cocoa Ellie left and Alice asked So still dating her, huh? I Responded no, we're married now Alice froze looked me dead in the eye and recited my address

[00:15:58] Described the layout of my bedroom in extensive detail and promised that she would show me what real American girls Did to Euro trash before she ran off into the night Ellie and I stayed

[00:16:14] At my parents house for the last few days we were there I called the cops but nothing ever came of it I also called my former landlord and told him he should be on the lookout for someone trying to break into that empty apartment

[00:16:28] At the end of November we got on a plane bound for Portugal and left Alice behind Ellie and I now have a baby named after Ellie's mother I feel bad for whoever Alice latches on to next but I'm glad that there's an entire ocean between us now and

[00:16:45] Alice if you're out there and you're reading this please for the love of God and all that is holy. Let's not meet again The final story of this week's episode does contain a bit of a gross-out moment while it's not very graphic

[00:17:01] There are some adult themes that are implied listener discretion is advised Hi, let's not meet. This is my first post here. So if it doesn't fit, I'll take it down as soon as possible But I was discussing this with a friend a few weeks ago

[00:17:25] And I was like, okay, I'm gonna go ahead and post it. I'm gonna post it right now But I was discussing this with a friend a few weeks ago and I realized it might be worth posting This happened in my first year of university in Australia

[00:17:41] I was moving out of home for the first time and I think this made me kind of naive to this situation I'm a 20 year old female. I Found a cheap place in the city near my workplace in University at the time

[00:17:57] $150 for a room in a shared house. That was only 20 minutes from the CBD It seemed like an awesome deal to me I messaged the landlord and told her that I was interested

[00:18:11] Before she gave me a time to come and inspect the place. She seemed overly interested in my ethnic background I'm half Ethiopian. So I definitely don't look white. But when I told her I'm Australian, she suddenly became withdrawn

[00:18:27] I thought it was strange. Maybe she thought I was lying because she had seen my profile picture on flatmates.com So I explained my background She seemed satisfied with my answer and we organized a time for me to come and see the room I'll call the landlord Denise

[00:18:45] Denise showed me around and we talked as if the place was already mine, which I thought was exciting There was a main house with five bedrooms a caravan on the side and a granny flat behind it with three bedrooms Which is where I would be moving in

[00:19:04] The main house and caravan were full seven people living in there But only one of the rooms in the granny flat was occupied It was nice enough considering and very clean a weekly cleaner was included in the rent price as well as weekly maintenance, I

[00:19:24] Didn't think to ask what that meant because I was pretty set on moving in already I met the people who would go on to be my housemates All of them were foreigners mostly Chinese or South Korean who had come to study. I

[00:19:41] Still didn't find this odd. I mean there are plenty of international students here The door to my room has a lock on it and I was told only myself and Denise have a key But Denise never really came to the house

[00:19:54] So there was a nice level of privacy a week after I moved in. I met the maintenance guy. I call him Patrick He seemed to be gardening and came over to introduce himself. He seemed nice enough. I

[00:20:10] Found out he's Denise's half-brother and he looked to be in his late 40s or so I found him to be a bit awkward, but I have been raised to be polite. I

[00:20:22] Guess to a fault so I ended up talking to him for a long time before going back to my room. I Don't remember what we talked about But I remember that he kept saying things like I was very beautiful and describing my skin as exotic and caramel

[00:20:39] more than once Which rubbed me the wrong way a few days later the cleaner comes She is super lovely and has known Denise and Patrick for a long time

[00:20:51] She and I had a nice chat and for some reason she brought up that Patrick was on the autism spectrum So to me that explained maybe some awkwardness and I realized he's probably harmless So I felt bad about my initial judgment of him

[00:21:07] The next time I saw him I came out into the kitchen and saw him standing there this struck me as odd One it was the morning and I was in my pajamas Having just woken up To he's the maintenance guy. I didn't understand why he would be inside

[00:21:28] But I still felt bad So I smiled and said hello He turned and seemed startled but explained to me that he was just taking out the trash I saw that he had replaced the bins in the kitchen. So I was just like, oh, okay

[00:21:45] He was trying to be nice I guess So I told him he didn't really have to do that He just kind of insisted and he said yeah. All right, whatever I Ended up talking to him again again

[00:21:59] He seemed to have a weird fixation about me being exotic even though I told him I was born in Australia but mostly he was just generally asking about how I was finding the place and

[00:22:13] He reiterated that everything was quote super safe. And for some reason brought up the keys to the bedrooms He said only me Denise and he had the keys I Didn't say anything out loud, but in my head I thought wait since when does he have a key?

[00:22:36] But I still kind of just brushed it off Cut to a few months later. I Work about four to six days a week casual as well as going to university four days a week

[00:22:48] So I'm rarely there during the day I locked my bedroom door before leaving every day. I don't remember exactly What time of the year this would have been? But I know it was colder and I hadn't used the ceiling fan in my room for a while. I

[00:23:06] Got home Unlocked my bedroom door and the ceiling fan was on This struck me as odd immediately. I Knew I hadn't turned it on in forever. I Was very confused and thought that I had turned it on while leaving and just maybe didn't remember. I

[00:23:27] Brought it up with my roommate and she kind of shrugged and said that that was odd But didn't seem weirded out by it. So I figured I was overthinking it Note, I kept to myself a lot

[00:23:40] I wasn't close to any of my roommates and only talked to this woman occasionally a Few weeks later. I'm leaving for work and I have a very strange feeling while walking to the front gate of the house

[00:23:55] For some reason I turn around and I see Patrick hiding behind some bushes staring at me As soon as he's caught he turns and pretends to be gardening in The moment my mind actually went blank I was like Surely he wasn't watching me, right?

[00:24:18] All I did was frown and wonder to myself why he would stare at me like that and then pretend that he hadn't been I Come back later in the day Unlock the door walk in and again. Something is off

[00:24:34] But this time I can't put my finger on it. I Stand in my room looking around staring at everything in the room, but I can't find anything when I realize that I don't know what I'm looking for I feel creeped out and leave my room and

[00:24:53] I tell my roommate again that I thought someone had been in my room This time she sat down with me and basically said that she thought someone went into her room recently as well

[00:25:05] We chatted and she said that she had left her bedroom window open when she went to work and when she came home It was shut. I Brought up the fan again, and my roommate said maybe we should let Denise know

[00:25:19] So I texted Denise and said something along the lines of I think someone's been going into my room because of X and X event and my roommate said the same thing I

[00:25:32] Exchanged a few messages with Denise, but the general response from her was just oh wow, that's so bizarre Again being super naive young and too polite for my own good. I assumed that I was overreacting But I didn't want to seem like a bad tenant

[00:25:52] Thankfully it turns out Denise was more sympathetic than I realized because she said she was going to have the locks changed the next day I said, thank you. I assumed that that would be it But in my head I was thinking

[00:26:09] Only three people have the keys me Denise and Patrick. So if someone had been coming in Wouldn't it be one of us three? Which is why I didn't feel good when Patrick showed up the next day to change the lock himself being the maintenance guy and all

[00:26:28] I ended up leaving while he did the change I got a text later saying that it was done and the new key was in the mailbox Fast forward. I had now been at this place for nearly a year by now

[00:26:41] I was aware that Patrick seemed to come over about twice a week and he always came inside the house to Take out the rubbish, but never seemed to really do any maintenance work

[00:26:54] I talked it up to Denise and giving him a job because maybe he couldn't find one elsewhere And I just tried to avoid him as far as I remember Nothing else seems strange until now. I Come home from work again and walk in to my bedroom

[00:27:11] While I'm getting my clothes to shower, I noticed something is very very strange It was definitely not there when I left And there was some whitish pale gunk kind of splattered upwards onto the wall and on the floor honestly, the first thought

[00:27:34] When looking at it after a while was that looks like donut glaze or something. I leaned closer But I didn't really register what exactly it was Only that I definitely hadn't spilled anything there at all So again, I got creeped out. I went to the kitchen

[00:27:57] To grab something to wipe it up with When I had the thought Wait, is that what I think it is? I really don't know what to look for But as soon as I had that thought nothing could convince me otherwise

[00:28:13] And again, my door had been locked and only myself Denise and Patrick had keys My roommate wasn't home, but I called Denise right away She didn't answer. So instead I messaged her and basically

[00:28:28] Said someone had been in my room and there was some weird stuff splattered on the wall I wanted to see if she came to the same conclusion as I did Her response this time was really off She messaged back hours later and was dismissive and said something like

[00:28:48] Very bizarre the lock had been changed though And I was like, yeah, obviously So who do you think this could have been? I felt so weird and grossed out that I went to a friend's place and messaged my stepdad about it

[00:29:05] I told him everything for the first time and I guess it sounds a lot worse When it's all at once because his response was hell no you're moving out of there. I

[00:29:16] Called Denise and told her that I was going to move out if the issue wasn't taken seriously This is when I realized That the leasing situation at this place was dodgy, which I didn't know beforehand due to lack of experience and no sense to ask Essentially

[00:29:34] There was no record of me actually being a tenant and I was kind of just sending my money to this lady's bank account But there wasn't any official paperwork. I

[00:29:45] Looked back over the stuff that I had signed when I initially moved in and it was typed up by Denise I assume I don't remember details, but it wasn't official at all very naive So I was able to move out as soon as possible

[00:30:01] Denise didn't put up a fuss about the short notice when I came back the next day and the stuff on the wall was gone so I didn't have any proof of what happened, but

[00:30:13] That just kind of confirmed to me that something weird was going on with Denise and Patrick My stepdad helped me take all my stuff. I didn't have much Denise left a message and said please leave the keys on the counter

[00:30:27] It took me a few weeks to process every creepy thing that happened to me throughout my stay and Put it all together in a massive creep fest My roommate left soon after

[00:30:41] Months later. She messaged me to say one of the old housemates told her police were called to the place But don't know what exactly happened. I Suspect it wasn't for the tenants Patrick Denise Let's not meet

[00:31:12] Thank you for listening to this week's episode of let's not meet a true horror podcast this week You have heard crazy co-worker who stalked me by reddit user Thor's hammer 0999 and finally maintenance guy by reddit user Uchi habanera

[00:31:28] If you find yourself in need of some social interaction to keep you sane during this quarantine while we're all stuck inside I've been streaming online for the past few evenings with my listeners and friends

[00:31:39] You can head over to twitch.tv forward slash. Let's not meet streams every evening around 6 or 7 p.m I'm going to be streaming classic horror movies from the public domain so far. We've done house on the haunted hill

[00:31:54] City of the dead and then last night we did horror Express As a double feature with city of the dead Again, this is going to be every evening around 6 or 7 p.m Pacific Standard Time

[00:32:06] You can start an account at twitch so you can join in on the chat or if you just like to view the videos The recordings will stay up on twitch.tv forward slash Let's not meet streams or you can click the link in the show notes

[00:32:19] If you want to gain access to all the bonus material, don't forget. You can always go to patreon.com forward slash Let's not meet podcast. We're doing bonus episodes all-time radio episodes and single shot episodes every single week

[00:32:33] Don't forget to send in your stories to let's not meet stories at gmail.com I'll see you guys next week for a brand new episode of let's not meet