We don’t ever really know what people get up to in their own homes. On one hand, that’s a good thing — privacy should be a two-way street. On the other hand, we might get all sorts of surprises when we enter somebody else’s house.

The strangest things people hide away are usually something like boxes full of ashes, Voodoo dolls, jewelry boxes filled with fingernails, and a chicken carcass under a pile of magazines. At least that’s what professional cleaners say they’ve spotted in their clients’ houses, according to one poll.

But none of those can beat the bizarre and cursed stories from one recent online thread where one netizen asked, “What is the weirdest thing you’ve seen inside someone’s house that instantly made you realize, ‘I need to get out of here right now?’” In fact, some of these are so creepy they sound like the beginning of the next indie horror darling.

#1

Cat decorations EVERYWHERE. like everything was cat themed… cat shaped clock on the wall, cat salt and pepper shakers, cat shaped rug, curtains with cats on it.. and of course 4 cats to go with it.

#2

Went to a work colleagues place (unannounced) to drop off some docs. They lived in your standard 3 bedroom suburban houses with a very tidy Front garden. I rang the doorbell and she immediately invited me in for tea and some cookies. (she had just baked them. And the smell wafted out the front door. They have 3 kids under the age of 7 and both parent's Work full time. House was immaculate. You could perform surgery in the toilet. Kitchen/ living room looked like a display Home, no kids Toys in sight and I thought the dog was about to Offer me slippers and a pipe wearing his little bow tie. Kids were sitting in front of a turned off tv, oldest was reading a book to her younger siblings with a gentle classical music playing in the background. Kids stopped what they were doing to say hello to me (hello Sir) then went back to their book. I Was served tea on the back veranda which was surrounded by an immaculate country style little garden. She apologised for the mess as she didn't know I was coming.
I immediately came to the conclusion these people were some kind of freaks, aliens or worse and quickly got out of there back to my messy out of control trash hole.

#3

I was maybe 8 when I went to a friend’s house and their Dad was just hanging out with no clothes in the living room.

#4

Weird transcendentalist Kung fury dude in my freshman college year invited my buddy and I to his place to hang or something. Inside, he showed us first his gi collection, then magic stones, then knives... and then he started talking about his telepathic powers.

Now, shockingly, his place was pristine and modern. Not rich, necessarily, but extremely fastidious and tastefully presented. But it was a collection of crazy.

Anyway we ducked out after he tried to levitate a stone for about 26 mins.

#5

My grandma was babysitting this girl's family at our house. I did not consider myself friends with the girl my age, but she thought me being nice meant we were friends and was all clingy and demanding. She asked me to go to her best friend's house across the street from my house. She begged my grandmother and my grandma even said I didn't have to go if I didn't want to but I went because I felt like it was rude.

This other girl was in a different class than me so I didn't know much going in- she was excited to show me her parrot. I was horrified when we stepped in. There was bird feces everywhere. The curtains, wood parts of the wall and furniture were all torn up. There was piles of stuff everywhere with chewed up plastic toys and papers.

This girl has us sit down and they start yapping while this cockatoo comes running up to the couch and climbs up to her shoulder and the girl just opens her mouth and lets this parrot pick at her teeth. She just sat there like it was just a regular occurrence for this parrot to scrape her nasty teeth with heavy plaque.

And that's when I completely distanced myself from the other girl. I quit being what I always considered nice. I started just telling her I wasn't interested in doing stuff she was doing. Now I realize that's just regular safe boundaries.

#6

I met a guy at his condo for our first date. He very proudly gave me a tour of his home, which included a collection of full size coffins. The most ornate one was at the foot of his bed. I flew out of there as if my hair was on fire.

I failed to mention that I already knew him and his brother for about a year, although I had never been inside his home before. We had close mutual friends and several of us lived in the same condo complex. He was not a stranger to me at all, but an acquaintance and it was our official first date. I was surprised that I never heard anyone in our group discussing his unique decorating tastes.

#7

My brother’s ex-wife’s aunt’s house. I have no idea what their religion was. They were all INSANELY Christian-y though (as in, jaw on the floor when I cussed every other word). ALL of the women had the same haircut and long blonde hair (including former SIL).

I used the guest bathroom and there was a collection of small books (like pocket Bibles?) with all titles like “Cremation: Are You Going to Hell Anyway?”.

I told my mom I needed to leave soon for another bridal shower so we better get going.

#8

Met a chef online, went back to his place…. I found it weird he had 2/3 dozen locks on his door. Walked in to find boxes of frozen mice, eggs in incubators, and snakes in sterilite boxes stacked up to the ceiling. That’s when he told me he’s also a snake breeder.
I didn’t stay.

#9

Was once on a service call at an older apt complex, to fix a landline issue. Guy invited me in, first thing I noticed was that it was dim and humid in the room. I sat down on the sofa for a minute while I called dispatch. All of a sudden I had the feeling someone was flinging tiny bits of meat at me. I brushed my bare arms and these moist little bugs were crawling. Bedbugs, and I was covered. I got up, told the guy I’d be right back. At my truck I called the boss and said I’m going home for the day, and why. He was good with it. I stopped by the apt office, told the ladies about my experience at ‘apt x’ and they screamed. I swung by the dumpster, threw my clothes in and headed home.

#10

Went fishing to a lake about an hours drive from where I live. Set up my pitch and tent and started casting. Wasn’t catching anything and a guy walks over to see how I’m doing. Starts chatting and he says that the fish go crazy for dried earthworms. Said he had a bucketful in a cabin about a 10 minute walk up the hill and had a case of beers as well. Asked if I’d give him a hand carrying the beers down to the lake and he’d share them and give me some bait for the fish as well. Walked to the cabin and went in, kitchen was at the back so walked down a hallway to get to it. Glanced through an open door and saw one of those big wooden chairs with leather restraints on the armrest, chair legs and where your head would be.

Sprinted out of that cabin down to my car, threw my rods in the back and left everything else by the water as I burned rubber away from there.

#11

A guy I went on one date with told me he collected “weird” objects. On FaceTime he showed me some of the objects: a bob Ross bobblehead, a screaming goat pillow….. nothing really “weird” per se. (Keep in mind I knew this guy prior to this for years.)

So I decided to meet him at his house before dinner because again I knew this guy and was never creeped out by him.

I step into his house so he can grab his keys and wallet and there on his “weird” shelf I see a jar with something in it that looks like a long squiggly tube. He notices I see this and he gets excited. He proceeds to grab the jar off the shelf, run to me and says “this is the BEST item in my collection! It’s a human belly button! I knew a friend of a friend who was having it removed and begged them for weeks for it. They finally got tired of hearing it and just GAVE it to me!”

That night ended very early.

#12

Was installing an adjustable bed in the home of this...individual...that lived about 2 miles down a private road not far from the city. The house and yard looked alright, albeit cluttered with macabre yard art. The house was decorated like an old cottage. The bedroom was filled with scale appropriate Papier-mâché figures of cryptids, all facing the bed. There was no tv, and the only light was from a small table lamp in the opposite corner of the room.

#13

Stale garbage, enemas, and adult toys left out in plain sight. Sounds funny lol but it was genuinely creepy in real life.

He was a colleague of mine. I'm a developer, and we all work remotely from different countries. When I flew to the head office, there were a few colleagues I wanted to meet in person. He was one of them, and we'd actually talked quite a lot before.

Something felt off when, instead of meeting somewhere downtown like everyone else, he said he couldn't make it into the city and invited me over to his place. I asked if I could bring another colleague because I wouldn't feel comfortable going alone, and he said sure.

So we went.

The house was absolutely massive, unheated, and filthy. Takeout boxes, frying pans, piles and piles of dirty dishes everywhere. And on the shelves there were, um... things you would normally put away before having guests over, especially guests you're meeting in person for the first time.

Honestly, we should have left immediately. But OF COURSE I felt too awkward to just turn around and leave, so we went inside. He then did everything he could to get my colleague to leave us alone. He'd started talking about politics, religion, and how everyone else was a worm compared to him (especially my friend).

Eventually, we apologized and both got out of there as quickly as we could.

#14

A friend in Highschools young sister passed away. We went to see our friend and bring her some flowers. Her little sisters body was still in the house - they offered to let us hold her. Seriously. This really happened. We got out of there as soon as possible.

#15

I do real estate photography so I'm in a lot of houses. You would be shocked at how many people have what I call "Creepy Doll Rooms", which are usually spare bedrooms filled with dozens and dozens of dolls. I have taken enough photos of these rooms I've considered making a coffee table book.

#16

A guy I visited. I needed to open a package asked for a knife or scissors. By court order he wasn't allowed to have these in the house.

#17

I did a stint delivering for B&Q (like UK home depo).

One customer was a lady on her own, mid 50s. A fairly affluent neighbourhood, house looked tidy from the outside, well kept front lawn etc.

Me and my offsider smelled something distressingly foul walking up the path. On her opening of the door, there was barking sounds and a smell of dog feces so vile i swear it had a physical presence and literally pushed us off the doorstep.

As we passed her whatever it was she had ordered (can't remember) we got a glimpse into the front room which was, no exaggeration, coated entirely in a wall to wall compacted layer of trodden in dog feces with freshies dotted about and dog eggs in various states of decomposition.

She asked if the company still had carpet cleaning machines for hire! We mumbled that it had to be arranged in store and got the hell out of there. I think we didn't even say thanks and goodbye. Too stunned and wretching.

We didn't even go IN the house yet we paused that days run, went straight back to our store and showered and changed uniform. The boss was understanding.

Carpet cleaning machine? It needed burning to the ground!!

#18

Stick with me on this one:

I was a missionary in Hong Kong. My partner and I knocked on a door of a small house on a remote island. A long haired man opened the door and beckoned us to come in. He offered us a seat at his coffee table, and prepared a drink for us.

He turned some music on that was…REALLY weird, but really cool. It was like a mix of rock and roll and animal/forest sounds. Only, it was on some kind of incredible sound system…the music seemed to be all around us. What I mean is, when a bird would caw, it sounded like the bird was on the post of my own chair. It sounded like the music was live and the band was all around us. It wasn’t loud at all…it was just very present.

We had a few sips of our drinks out of politeness, and prepared to talk to him about our message. Before we could, he said something like: you have come with a message, but I am the one who will share a message: I am the spider, and this (gesturing around him) is the web you are now in.

Just then, the music, not the drink, felt…not intoxicating, but altering.

We got out of there as fast as we could. But to this day, I want to go back and listen to that music in that house.

#19

I went to a couple’s house who had three children. The husband showed me a paddle they had hanging on the wall with one of the child’s name on it. He said he uses it to beat his child with it and that he is the bad child out of the three. Then he tried telling me about why I should beat my own child. NOPE.

#20

My BF at the time and I were house hunting. In my city it is customary to have show houses on a Sunday, so I had planned a whole lot in an area I was interested in.

In one, the agent told us she had a new one down the street; so new it wasn’t listed yet. Her husband was there now if we wanted to have a look.

We had a look round and the husband asked if we’d seen the wine cellar under the dining room. (He was too old to risk the stairs). We go down:
It’s a dark room with a flickering lightbulb. There is a bare concrete bench along the walls. There is an old TV in the corner. In the middle, is something that might be a table covered with a cloth. I lift up the cloth and it’s a leather-covered massage bed. I look up. At the four corners of the massage bed, hanging from the ceiling, are chains.

Next thing I’m at the gate. I feel like I flew out of there. Afterwards we let the agent know that it wasn’t a wine cellar, and she should check it out before showing it again.

#21

Recording devices. Like spy looking kind.

#22

I was in a church youth group that primarily did community service work for the elderly. We mostly did service work at nursing homes but one year we set up Christmas trees in home bound and hospice patients homes. It was my favorite thing we did in that group, really rewarding and opened my eyes at 12 to taking care of people. We had done 2 houses already and when we get to third house we were told it was for a German immigrant. We set the Christmas tree and then we went to the dinning area to decorate and there was a shrine to her late husband. An SS officer that had pictures in front of what appeared to be a concentration camp. I went to the front room to the priest who was in charge of our group asked him to come back and see and he was mortified at what he saw. Immediately he had us go back out to the bus.

#23

I was with friends who were caretaking a home for their friends who were out of town. The entire home was crammed with Disney memorabilia, posters, figurines, dolls, etc. I mean there was no surface, crevice, wall, or shelf that didn't have every possible space taken up with Disney. Their friends were adults, no kids at home. Creepy.

#24

I worked as a housekeeper for a company. People would call and schedule with them and they would quote over the phone and send a cleaner out. Independent contractor type thing. I had some regulars but also would go to random places. I have seen some things. Disgusting places, so many bodily fluids from multiple species. One house I refused to ever go back to. I was sent to an actual mansion in a wealthy gated community, based on the extensive law library in the guy’s office I assume he was some type of lawyer. The living room ceiling had to have been three stories tall and from top to bottom was COVERED with taxidermied exotic animal heads. There were hundreds. Along with other trophies presented around the house. I guess it was his family’s hobby to fly around the world hunting things and having them stuffed. He spent most of the time I was there passively following me around and asking about dusting techniques and equipment and other idle conversation. There were three other cleaners at this job. This guy genuinely gave me the creeps so bad. Afterward he explicitly requested me to be his regular cleaner. It felt like a scene out of The Pest or The Most Dangerous Game.

#25

This happened like 30 years ago when I was still a young thing but I was driving up to a friend's house and decided to take a back road. Driving up over a small hill and there is a cat in middle of the road. Slam on breaks, stop hard, convinced I hit the cat. Get out and cat is...spinning circles in road. Don't touch it because wth. Do get towel and sort of shush it off road to grassy shoulder. Look around, only nearby house is old bungalow nearby. Drive up there to see if it's their cat. No car in driveway and most windows of house are covered with cardboard and tinfoil. What. A three legged dog comes out to greet me. Go around to front of house and most of porch is rotted through. Still, like an idiot, climb onto porch to knock on door. Not only is door unlocked but partly open. It swings inwards and the entire living room is decorated in old Christmas decor. Like from the 80s. It's late summer. Decide to get the hell outta there. Dog was cute tho. Sorry, kitty. Hope you got help.

#26

A massive atrium turned vivarium with opened doors. “They got out but usually come back on their own.” “They” were 6” pythons.

#27

Made a new friend in sixth grade and went to his house for the first time in the early 80s. His basement was completely bare except for a giant pile of broken toys. He showed me a collection of penthouse magazine his parents bought him. His older sister walked around in her underwear and wanted me to hang out in her room with the door closed.

#28

A melted ice cream cone next to the toilet. Idk what it was about it, but it got me.

#29

Went to a guys house in another country. Asked to use the bathroom, he told me where it was but I guess I opened the wrong door. It was a literal armory, dozens upon dozens of ak's and stacks of ammo boxes.

#30

I've been inside approx 7000 homes in my working life. (I estimate I've been to 30000 properties including factories, offices, farms, caravans and houses where I never needed to go inside) The creepiest one had no lighbulbs and plenty of mould. I also visited a house owned by a psychiatrist couple and there were bars on every window and door.

#31

I sold and delivered pianos for a while, and someone bought a digital upright for their kid. They're lightweight, and usually we'd take the big box to the customer's home and assemble it there.

One family bought one for their kid, and they smelled horrendous, clearly having terrible hygiene and being indoor chain smokers. I insisted we assemble the piano at the store then deliver it, knowing their house would be disgusting.

It was so foul, so disgusting, so full of vermin and varmints that I wouldn't be surprised if an old relative was rotting under the heaps of trash and junk. "Hoarder" didn't apply - this was a domestic landfill. And there were kids living there, amongst all the filth and rotted food. We delivered it with a speed short of throwing the piano inside and running back to the van.

It was pretty obvious whoever ran the house was severely mentally ill. I told my manager about it, and he called someone he knew whose wife worked at social services.

I sure hope someone got those kids out.

#32

7’x4’ graphic portrait of the crucifixion in the living room. I’m a Christian myself but it was… a lot.

#33

I went to a friend’s house years ago, and he didn’t own a single bowl or cup. He used old takeout containers instead, and every single one was stained.

#34

Went to a girl's apartment after a date. She had a really cute dog that kept following me around.

I asked her what his name was.

She said, Kevin.

I laughed and said, That's a funny name for a dog.

She looked confused.

That's my ex-boyfriend's name. He passed away last year.

Then she looked at the dog and whispered, "He came back to me."

I didn't even finish my drink.

#35

In junior high I was friends with a pair of sisters who lived in a hoarder house, but both their bedrooms were fine. I decided to ignore what the house looked like (and the fact that I wasn't allowed in other people's homes at all, which at my age seemed increasingly dumb) and hung out with them there anyway because I felt like they were more hurt that nobody ever wanted to do anything with them than embarrassed about their home.

Anyway, this ended the day their parents' friend "Cleeve" stopped by and let himself in. Cleeve was in his 30s or 40s and lived in a school bus with trash bags over the windows and scared me. He was always trying to get kids to come onto his bus, and had been parking it on that street. We were sort of trapped in a room by him, and I know my friend got rid of him so I could get out.

Sadly I didn't feel comfortable there anymore, it was too hard to get out if he showed up.:(.

#36

There were cameras in the daughter's bedrooms and he was a single father. No privacy.

#37

Roaches. Lots of roaches.

#38

Huge Confederate flag hanging over the mantle…I’m a black female btw.

#39

Carpeted bathroom including the toilet seat and tank lid. Add to that, their cat's litter box was in that bathroom.

#40

Toilet in the living room and only a toilet in the living room. High school party a friend of a friend was throwing. The girl was taking care or her mom who was in a wheelchair. So the mom could get around, they removed all the furniture but as this was the local high school party house, a toilet had been put in the living room and no one knew how or why. We got to the kitchen and the mom was half-falling out of her wheelchair drunk and just starts spinning in circles then crashes into the fridge, fridge door falls off and a regular puts it back on and says it happens a lot. Yep, time to go.

#41

Nothing. Like, he said he'd live in his apt for a year. Yet, nothing on the walls. No indication that he had a personality at all. Everything was black, white or grey. 3 pairs of shoes lined up perfectly. ¼ of the closet being used(everything folded precisely). Nothing on the bathroom or kitchen counters. I told him it looked like a serial killer lived there. He just looked me in the eye and said nothing. I left within 5 mins.

#42

A man had too many doors and locks on the inside of his single dwelling home. Like parts of the hallways would have a door and a lock. It was beyond weird and felt as I were being fortified past a point of no return as we kept walking. I honestly didnt care about my life but grew highly uncomfortable when I walked in his room to see toys and dolls scattered about. I left then due to the internal alarms not being able to ignore the blocking of exits in a solo residence and the excessive amount of toys. He was arrested some point later for exactly like you think he would have been arrested for.

#43

A raw turkey in the sink atop dirty dishes..

#44

Ashland, WI in 1991 I was in college and a friend took me home for Thanksgiving. They took me out bow hunting but it started snowing hard enough to make visibility a problem.

They suggested we shelter at the neighbors hunting shack nearby. It was filled with hunting trophies but they were all small animals like squirrels and mounted on every wall.

#45

I deliver groceries for work. Years ago there was a guy I usually delivered to once a week, was nice enough and tipped ok. One day he opened the door while I was still putting his bags on the porch and I saw a full size confederate flag on the wall above his couch. It's not acceptable ANYWHERE, but we're in MICHIGAN. Never took his order again.

#46

I once walked to a guys house to hook up with him, upon entry he walked by a pile of eggshells stacked easily 100 tall on his stove. He didn’t even mention it, he then goes to walk to the bathroom and I’ve never run out of a house so fast in my life.

On the way there he said “my roommate is nice but doesn’t talk much” and I will always wonder what he meant, but am so glad I didn’t find out.

#47

Steak knives stuck into the wall, and a whole wall of the room lined with gallon sized bottles of bleach.

#48

in 6th or 7th grade, my friend had an all-girls sleepover to celebrate her birthday. when every one of us walked through the front door, her father, who i don't think any of us met beforehand, insisted on us all giving him hugs.

her mother left during dinner, i think because she worked overnights, so it was like a dozen young girls alone with the dad. i faked a stomach ache and called my mom to come pick me up, while the dad kept saying that i was okay and didn't need to leave. i never went back to her house.

48 People Share The Moment They Walked Into Someone’s Home And Instantly Started Planning Their Exit

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