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Secret Squatters / Hidden Housemates

Yithian

Parish Watch
Staff member
Joined
Oct 29, 2002
Messages
36,371
Location
East of Suez
Perhaps OT but this sounds like a mystery waiting to be unravelled:

Cinema was homeless man's hideout

Police investigating a break-in at a cinema in Cheltenham have found evidence that someone had been living unnoticed behind one of the screens.

Officers discovered a bike, clothes, a mattress, a satchel, some food wrappers and some documents at the Odeon.

They could not confirm reports that some of the items pointed to the man being a Polish asylum seeker.

Spokeswoman Katy Roberts said: "We're looking at the papers to see if we can establish his identity."

The man was discovered after a burglar alarm was set off in the early hours of Friday.

'Mysterious investigation'

Ms Roberts said: "Someone had forced the wood off a boarded-up side window and smashed the glass.

"We do believe he could've been living there for a month."

A statement from Odeon Cinemas said: "[We] can confirm that a man appeared to have been temporarily residing in a disused part of the building which was formerly a backstage area, but is now no longer used by staff or customers.

"Staff were alerted to his presence on Friday 23 September, after he had attempted to enter the main body of the cinema and triggered the alarm system.

"We have reported the incident to the police and are co-operating with them in any way we can in this very mysterious investigation."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/glou ... 293172.stm
 
This "Cheltenham", is it in the U.S., or the U.K.?
 
Gloucestershire, England, I think.
 
Ah well. There's a Cheltenham not too far from me and my mom actually forbid me to go the movie theatre there once. :D
 
How come?
There's loads of English and Scottish place names in America, it always confuses me, looking at the atlas.
 
You are joking?

Because we used to rule the colonies, and settlers couldn't think of new names as fast as our army/government acquired new territories.
 
When in doubt stick 'new' in front of it. :D
 
Japan woman lived in man's closet

A woman has been arrested in Japan for sneaking into a man's house and living in his closet without him knowing.

Police found 58-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa living in a small storage space in the house in the southern city of Fukuoka.

The house belonged to a 57-year-old man, who had become suspicious after food disappeared from his fridge.

So he installed a surveillance system, which filmed the woman as she walked around in his absence.

On Wednesday afternoon police searched the house and found the woman in her cubby hole.

She had brought a mattress into the tiny space in the closet, police said.

"She told police that she had nowhere to live," the French news agency AFP quoted a local police spokesman as saying.

"She seems to have lived there for about a year, but not all the time."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 426950.stm
 
Strange - but sad:

Tokyo homeless woman lived in stranger's cupboard for a year
A homeless woman has been arrested after living undetected for almost a year in a tiny cupboard in a man's house in Japan.
By Julian Ryall in Tokyo
1:46PM BST 30 May 2008

The woman, identified as 58-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa, was found by police searching the home of the man, who believed he lived alone in Fukuoka.
The resident of the house, who has not been named, became suspicious that he was the victim of repeat burglaries after he noticed food was going missing from his refrigerator.

The man decided to install security cameras linked to his mobile phone and on Wednesday caught images of a woman walking around the house while he was out.
Believing he had detected the burglar, the man contacted police and, after an exhaustive search of the property, officers found the woman hiding in the top of a built-in cupboard designed to store bedding and mattresses.

Behind the sliding door, she had laid out a thin futon and had several plastic drinks bottles, police said. There was just enough room for her to lay down, they added.
"We searched the house, checking everywhere that someone could possibly hide," said Hiroki Itakura, a police spokesman. "When we slid open the closet door, there she was, curled up nervously on her side."

Horikawa told police that she had nowhere to live and had first taken up residence in the cupboard, in a room that the man rarely used, about one year previously when the owner of the house had gone out and not locked the door.
Police believe she may have moved between different addresses in the neighbourhood during her stowaway year.

The woman did not apparently steal any money or other items from the house, but did make use of the shower and toilet.
The police described Horikawa as looking neat and clean. She was charged with trespassing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... loset.html
 
Not just strange and sad, it's also old. Check the date Rynner.
 
Yeah, I thought I'd heard that story before.
 
It was cooked on a sort of griddle plate, and yes that was still in the oven and still greasy.

There’s a you tube channel out there called top 5’s. Check it out - It’s run by a young British guy and the video’s he uploads mainly concentrate on fortean theme’s.

I was watching one last week where a guy kept noticing food going missing from his fridge and cupboard.

He lives alone but his girlfriend stay’s with him frequently, so he assumes it was her and asks her about it, but she strenuously denies taking anything, so he sets up a CCTV and focus’s the camera to film directly on the fridge.

Above the kitchen dining table is a larder, and in the early hours of the morning the camera shows the larder door open slowly outwards, and a girl very carefully climb out and into the kitchen, once in the kitchen she raids the fridge and even takes a leak in the kitchen sink.

Basically he has a squatter living in his larder, but how long she has been there is anyone’s guess. I personally don’t think the footage is a wind up, as it seems so genuine, but even if it is phony, how scary is that thought.

He watched the footage the next day and immediately called the police who promptly turn up and arrest her.

So scribbles….you aint got a squatter living somewhere in that town house of yours have you..? :)

Top fives.png
 
There’s a you tube channel out there called top 5’s. Check it out - It’s run by a young British guy and the video’s he uploads mainly concentrate on fortean theme’s.

I was watching one last week where a guy kept noticing food going missing from his fridge and cupboard.

He lives alone but his girlfriend stay’s with him frequently, so he assumes it was her and asks her about it, but she strenuously denies taking anything, so he sets up a CCTV and focus’s the camera to film directly on the fridge.

Above the kitchen dining table is a larder, and in the early hours of the morning the camera shows the larder door open slowly outwards, and a girl very carefully climb out and into the kitchen, once in the kitchen she raids the fridge and even takes a leak in the kitchen sink.

Basically he has a squatter living in his larder, but how long she has been there is anyone’s guess. I personally don’t think the footage is a wind up, as it seems so genuine, but even if it is phony, how scary is that thought.

He watched the footage the next day and immediately called the police who promptly turn up and arrest her.

So scribbles….you aint got a squatter living somewhere in that town house of yours have you..? :)

Oh yes, I remember this one! I came across the original video some years ago by accident - it really spooked me! At that time there was no further information about it, so I don't know if it's been verified since.
 
There’s a you tube channel out there called top 5’s. Check it out - It’s run by a young British guy and the video’s he uploads mainly concentrate on fortean theme’s.

I was watching one last week where a guy kept noticing food going missing from his fridge and cupboard.

He lives alone but his girlfriend stay’s with him frequently, so he assumes it was her and asks her about it, but she strenuously denies taking anything, so he sets up a CCTV and focus’s the camera to film directly on the fridge.

Above the kitchen dining table is a larder, and in the early hours of the morning the camera shows the larder door open slowly outwards, and a girl very carefully climb out and into the kitchen, once in the kitchen she raids the fridge and even takes a leak in the kitchen sink.

Basically he has a squatter living in his larder, but how long she has been there is anyone’s guess. I personally don’t think the footage is a wind up, as it seems so genuine, but even if it is phony, how scary is that thought.

He watched the footage the next day and immediately called the police who promptly turn up and arrest her.

So scribbles….you aint got a squatter living somewhere in that town house of yours have you..? :)

View attachment 19177

I find it strange indeed that one can have someone living in your kitchen cupboard and not know about it.
 
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There’s a you tube channel out there called top 5’s. Check it out - It’s run by a young British guy and the video’s he uploads mainly concentrate on fortean theme’s.

I was watching one last week where a guy kept noticing food going missing from his fridge and cupboard.

He lives alone but his girlfriend stay’s with him frequently, so he assumes it was her and asks her about it, but she strenuously denies taking anything, so he sets up a CCTV and focus’s the camera to film directly on the fridge.

Above the kitchen dining table is a larder, and in the early hours of the morning the camera shows the larder door open slowly outwards, and a girl very carefully climb out and into the kitchen, once in the kitchen she raids the fridge and even takes a leak in the kitchen sink.

Basically he has a squatter living in his larder, but how long she has been there is anyone’s guess. I personally don’t think the footage is a wind up, as it seems so genuine, but even if it is phony, how scary is that thought.

He watched the footage the next day and immediately called the police who promptly turn up and arrest her.

So scribbles….you aint got a squatter living somewhere in that town house of yours have you..? :)

View attachment 19177
OMG

That has seriously creeped me out. This house has plenty of cupboards I never go in :oops:

I really shouldn't go and watch that video so late at night, but I am....
 
As for the squatter in the cupboard, that would be horrible for both the householder and the squatter! Imagine being so desperate you sneak into a house and hide in a cupboard barely large enough for your body, and stay silent in there the whole time the resident is there! I wonder what her background is. Discarded divorcee? Abused wife? Mentally ill outcast? Where's her family? Imagine being alone like that!
 
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I once read a novel about a bloke that was doing just that, living in peoples houses without them knowing. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called so this post isn't being a lot of help is it? Anyway it was creepy and also sounded plausable ... perhaps the author had experiece? Maybe it's more common that we'd like to think?

Just off to check the far reaches of the cupboard under the stairs .... I maybe gone some time ;)

Sollywos x
 
We've had mention of this subject before. I can remember posting about a friend who lived in a terraced house where the attics were only separated by a low wall, so that her boyfriend could sneak into her neighbours' houses and snoop around. Theft may have been involved, I can't remember but it seems likely.
 
Ahem. Some of the American posters have been too busy the last couple of days to check Forteana Forums thoroughly. :fish:

As for the squatter in the cupboard, that would be horrible for both the householder and the squatter! Imagine being so desperate you sneak into a house and hide in a cupboard barely large enough for your body, and stay silent in there the whole time the resident is there! I wonder what her background is. Discarded divorcee? Abused wife? Mentally ill outcast? Where's her family? Imagine being alone like that!
I saw that video and it appeared pretty dodgy. Then I learned the person who made it had quite an active YT channel or something like that. I don't recall the details, but it seemed pretty obvious to me it was a, well, commercial product. As I recall, the thief was supposed to be a neighbor who gained access by way of the cupboard. It has been a while, and I wasn't much impressed so I didn't pay too much attention. You Tube is, of course, full of nonsense. Things like The History Guy are the exceptions that make it worthwhile.
 
This 2017 Queensland Times story describes a woman's growing certainty someone was living in her attic. Whether that certainty was warranted is a different matter (insofar as the presumed stranger wasn't captured). Either way, it's a nicely creepy story.

Woman finds stranger living in her attic, hiding in her closet

FOR the first time since she'd moved into her new apartment, Amber Dawn fell ill.
She was sick, and so she called in and took the day off. It was the first time she hadn't stuck to her usual routine.

Much of the day went by without fanfare, until around 7pm, when she heard a loud thump in the bedroom while she was watching TV.

"I just dismissed it because I have animals and they make noise," she recounted to the Criminal podcast.

Later that night, around 11pm, Amber turned off all the lights and drew herself a bath. She lit a candle, undressed and climbed in.

Naked, in the bath tub, in the dark, she looked towards the ceiling.

"Everything just slowed way down. I must have sat in that bathtub for ten-fifteen seconds but it felt like five minutes and I put it all together."

Someone had been watching her every move from above in the attic. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.qt.com.au/news/woman-finds-stranger-living-her-attic-hiding-her-c/3206542/
 
This 2019 story concerns a persistent boyfriend arrested twice for secretly living in the attic above his teenage girlfriend's bedroom.
A Man Was Arrested For Living In The Attic Crawlspace Above His 14-Year-Old Girlfriend's Room

Police in Tennessee have arrested a man who, for the second time in less than two weeks, was allegedly caught secretly living in the attic crawlspace above his 14-year-old girlfriend's bedroom.

On Wednesday, officers in Mount Juliet responded to a report about a suspicious person after a resident spotted a man going into a home on the 200 block of Karen Drive, police said in a news release. When they arrived, they heard noises inside the house and waited for the woman who lived there to let them in.

They had a pretty good idea who the suspect might be.

After searching the residence, police said they found Matthew Castro hiding under Christmas decorations in the attic of the girl's home, a little more than a week after the 18-year-old had been pulled from the same spot and charged with trespassing ...
FULL STORY: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/briannasacks/man-arrested-living-attic-above-teen-girl
 
Sometimes the guy living in the attic is an "ex" trying to circumvent a legal injunction or distancing order ... :nails:
‘I had an intuition’: An abusive ex secretly lived in a woman’s attic for weeks, police say

For weeks, the woman noticed that strange and inexplicable things kept happening in her skinny, chimney-topped house on the north side of Pittsburgh.

A toilet seat was left up, even though she lived alone with her two daughters and hadn’t had any male visitors. A blanket that she owned, gray with satin trim, turned up in a dark corner of her unfinished basement, where no one ever went.

“I knew that blanket had not been there before,” the 37-year-old told WPXI. “I knew it.”

Then, she heard the noise.

It was just before noon on Saturday, and she was downstairs cleaning her kitchen. Her kids weren’t home, and, at first, she thought the sound had come from her cat bumping around upstairs. But when she went to check what was going on, she discovered that her worst fears had come true.

According to authorities, Cary Cocuzzi, the woman’s ex-boyfriend, was waiting in her bedroom. Almost a month earlier, she had gotten a protection-from-abuse order that barred him from having any contact with her, and she hadn’t heard or seen from him since. But as it turned out, Cocuzzi, 31, hadn’t gone away. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...secretly-lived-womans-attic-weeks-police-say/
 
This Kentucky mayor recently discovered a secret squatter living in the basement of a house he was renovating.
Kentucky mayor finds woman hiding in his home’s cellar

A Kentucky mayor said he found a woman hiding in his cellar.

Bowling Green Mayor Bruce Wilkerson said he found the woman Wednesday morning after he heard noises and smelled cigarette smoke outside a home he was renovating, WNKY-TV reported.

When he checked the cellar, he told Bowling Green police he found traces of blood on the cellar’s doors and a bag with women’s leggings.

Wilkerson saw the woman when he went back to the cellar a second time after the electricity in his house went out, the Bowling Green Daily News reported. He said a young woman with dark hair told him she was “hiding from someone” before she ran away into the street.

The mayor said he doesn’t know when the woman started living in his cellar, but noted she did not steal anything from the house. Wilkerson said he wanted to let people know about about the report before “a story would come out that I had a lady locked up in my cellar.”

Bowling Green Police have not identified a suspect.
SOURCE: https://apnews.com/adcec42d83551969b1d4e2138f55e9ae
 
I have close second-hand knowledge of such a case: Years ago, a mate of mine who was a Special Constable (now a PC) knew a local lass with an arsehole boyfriend. She kicked him into touch, but he kept a key.

One night, some time later, he terrified the poor girl by descending from her attic. Nothing more nasty than that occurred, and he left, but you can imagine how she felt. Especially as he made it clear that he was going to do it again.

For reasons that elude me, she didn’t make an official complaint to the police but poured her heart out to my pal (No sexual motive: he’s on the other bus).

My buddy arranged to be the one in the house the next time ****-for-brains was going to play his little trick, and convinced him of the error of his ways.

These things do happen.

maximus otter
 
That isn't creepy at all. What a catch. This relates to the boyfriend living in tbe attic of his girlfriend.
 
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