Wednesday One-Shot: The Creepy Neighbor

[00:00:01] Welcome to another Wednesday One-Shot where we share an additional story with you to help you get through that midweek slump, here on Lets Not Meet. This week we have a story titled My Creepy Neighbor by a listener that asked to remain anonymous. I'm a 28 year old female.

[00:00:30] I live in an apartment in North Carolina with my boyfriend of 3 years and our almost 2 year old puppy. Last July our rent increased and a bunch of people moved out so several neighbors moved in.

[00:00:44] We saw two people moving into the apartment under ours as they brought their stuff in. I assumed that they were a couple and they looked to be around our age. The woman was bubbly and smiling every time that I saw her but the man was quiet and always

[00:01:00] looked at me with a strange expression that I just couldn't place. A few weeks after they moved in I was coming back from taking the dog out. He started a conversation with me and asked about my life. I never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings. It's a problem.

[00:01:18] As I politely answered his questions I slowly made my way to the stairs but my dog was barking and whining because she wanted to go up to the man and play. The man said, why don't you take her to your apartment and then you can come inside and

[00:01:32] talk to me a little bit more. I took that as my chance to get out of that situation. I laughed as if he were joking and I replied, I don't think my boyfriend would like that very much. Have a good day.

[00:01:46] And I ran up the stairs into my apartment without looking back. Over the next few months he would stand on his balcony and watch my every move. He watched me from the bottom of the stairs until I disappeared from his view when I was

[00:02:00] taking the dog to go to the bathroom. He made these intense noises like he was clearing his throat when he saw me to get me to look up. He did this every single time I was alone.

[00:02:12] Sometimes if we passed each other on the stairs he would try to ask me what I was doing later. Now I stopped being friendly by this point because I could finally place the strange expression he kept giving me.

[00:02:25] He looked at me like I was some kind of prey. Whenever I saw him he would never speak first and I started giving short answers and responses to him. I avoided looking at him at all costs if I had to walk by him, but I'd always see him

[00:02:41] out of my peripheral and he was always watching me. One morning I was taking the dog out and he was in his car. As I walked back from where I took her to the bathroom he pulled his car up next to me, rolled down his window and said,

[00:02:56] I'll see you later, right? I didn't look up at him. I walked around the back of his car towards my apartment and just didn't look back. We aren't friends. Why would he stop to tell me that he'd see me later?

[00:03:12] My boyfriend was about to travel for his job and he was borrowing my car for this longer trip as it's better on gas. I walked downstairs with him to grab some things that I needed from my car since he was about to leave.

[00:03:26] I noticed the man was watching us from his balcony. My boyfriend and I talked for a minute, then he kissed me goodbye and left. Later that night, around 8pm, I hear a knock at my door. I waited a few seconds because I wasn't expecting any company.

[00:03:44] I got up to look out of my peephole. I saw the man going down the stairs back to his apartment. Ten minutes later, there was another knock at the door. I didn't get up at all this time.

[00:03:55] I knew who it was and he had no reason to knock on my door especially knowing that my boyfriend was not home. Another 15 minutes went by and he knocked again. I still didn't answer. If it was that important, he would just leave a note or something.

[00:04:12] The next day, he didn't say anything while watching me from his balcony as usual and I still don't know why he was knocking. When my boyfriend came home from his work trip, he confronted the man and told him to leave me alone.

[00:04:27] I thought that it would finally be over after that. A few weeks went by and it was much better. He wasn't watching me as often and if we were trying to use the stairs at the same

[00:04:38] time, he'd wait at the bottom of the stairs and then proceed after I cleared the stairs completely without looking at me or engaging in conversation at all. One night, I went out downtown with friends. I was standing at the bar and I looked up. It was the man.

[00:04:54] He was standing right next to me, staring. I smiled politely and said, you're my neighbor. I mentally kicked myself so hard for that one. I know this was not my brightest moment but I had drank a few drinks and I didn't know

[00:05:11] what to do in that kind of uncomfortable situation. He said, let me get a dance with you. I told him no and respectfully power walked into the crowd, zigzagging through and trying to escape. I turned around to look and he was on my heels.

[00:05:28] Let me get a dance, he requested again. I lost it at that point. I'm not confrontational. I hated it but I was scared and I didn't care about making him feel stupid. I screamed, no, I have a boyfriend and I'm not interested in you.

[00:05:45] A friend that was with me slightly resembled my boyfriend so I had him put his arms around me and walk me outside. I think it worked because he dipped out super quick after that. That happened two months ago and it's been quiet since then.

[00:06:01] I rarely see this creepy neighbor around lately but the other night, I was taking the dog out and I heard his signature dramatic throat clearing noise coming from above as I went down the stairs and into his view. I don't really know what to do.

[00:06:16] I'm uncomfortable leaving on my own. I hope I got the point across that I wasn't interested. I honestly don't even know his name. So to that creepy neighbor, keep leaving me the fuck alone and let's not meet any more than we already have.

[00:06:34] Considering that this is probably an ongoing situation with this author that asked to remain anonymous, rightfully so, I think I speak for everybody here at Let's Not Meet and all of the listeners when we wish you luck and safety during this time.

[00:06:49] I hope that things get cleared up soon and feel free to send in any updates to the show. Thank you for submitting that story and thank you all for listening. Don't forget if you have a story you can send it in to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com.

[00:07:03] I'll see you all next week for a full brand new episode of Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast. Stay safe.