A woman in the UK has shared a chilling account of how her repeated warnings about a stranger living in her home were dismissed as delusions — until police discovered she had been telling the truth all along.
A UK woman found a strange man living insider her home (Representational image)
Chloe, a 31-year-old mother from Gravesend in Kent, said she began noticing something unusual while living in a top-floor flat in her 20s. One day, she spotted that the loft hatch in her ceiling had been left open.
Although she initially brushed it off as odd, her unease quickly grew. Later that evening, she recalled thinking: “There’s someone there, they’re looking at me.”
Months of fear dismissed as paranoia
Concerned, Chloe called a friend who lived downstairs, insisting someone might be inside her flat. However, her fears were dismissed. That night, as she lay in bed, she said she heard footsteps coming from above.
“I’m laying in bed that evening, I’m hearing footsteps and someone up there,” she said in a TikTok video.
Despite repeatedly reaching out to friends and neighbours, Chloe said no one took her seriously. “No one would believe me,” she told the news outlet LBC, adding that people told her it was “all the voices in your head” and that she was “crazy”.
(Also read: Neighbourhood kids write letter to woman after seeing ‘strange man’ enter her home. Story has a sweet twist)
Diagnosed and medicated
At the time, Chloe said she was already dealing with mental health challenges, including anxiety and PTSD, and had previously been in contact with mental health services. As her claims continued, those around her grew increasingly concerned.
“It got to the point where they thought I was hallucinating or having a psychotic episode,” she said.
Eventually, her friends encouraged her to seek medical help. Chloe agreed, beginning to question her own experiences. “I started thinking in my head, maybe it’s not true, maybe I do need to see a doctor.”
Put on anti-psychotic medicines
After consulting a doctor, she was prescribed quetiapine, an anti-psychotic medication. Chloe described the effects as overwhelming.
“It was like I was not a real person. I didn’t care about anything. I’d sit on my sofa and if my friend rang me I’d just stare at the phone,” she said.
She added that the medication left her extremely drowsy and disengaged from daily life, much like a “zombie”.
Fears confirmed
After nearly two months on medication, Chloe said her fears were dramatically confirmed. One night, she saw the loft hatch open in front of her—and a man staring down.
“This person is opening the latch blatantly in front of my eyes one night and staring at me,” she said.
Terrified, she ran out of the flat and sought help. “He was staring at me and I ran downstairs to my friend screaming for help.”
Chloe called the police, who responded and searched the loft space. What they found stunned everyone.
“There was someone there,” she said. “He was living there and he had loads of bags and backpacks, and he came down.”
The man was taken away in handcuffs, confirming Chloe’s long-dismissed claims. Witnesses from other flats, who had doubted her, were left shocked. “The others were like ‘It’s actually true’,” she said.