This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/darkly_dream on 2026-05-23 00:28:35+00:00.

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I love being alone.

Traveling alone, sleeping alone, living alone, I value the silence and the space it grants me.

So I felt like I’d hit the jackpot when I found this apartment. I’ve been living here for a few weeks now, and at first it was perfect. Small but cozy, clean, even came with a parking spot. I barely see my neighbors, and the rent is borderline unbelievable. Like, I genuinely thought it was a typo on the listing.

It was everything I wanted, and a total bargain. I was so lucky, I thought.

Then I heard it for the first time.

My second night here, I had just unpacked a box of books and grabbed one to read before bed. But as soon as I got under the covers, I heard it.

Krsssshh.

A soft, hissing sound. Faint at first, but it cut through the silence like a knife. Like a sudden breeze through an open window.

Krsssshh..

And yet every window was shut, every door too.

Krsssshh.

I got out of bed and crept around the room, trying to find the source of the noise, but just as suddenly as it started, it was gone.

I got back in bed and stared at the ceiling. At this point I’m thinking it has to be some faulty plumbing or wiring, which would mean calling the super and suffering a cavalcade of repairs and small talk. Honestly, I’d rather die.. So I tried to forget about it and went to sleep.

Then the next night, it was back..

And the night after that.

And after that.

After a week, I’d finally had enough. I pressed a glass up to the wall and held my ear against it, trying to amplify the sound, find the source. I checked every inch of my bedroom walls until I finally found it. And I could hear the sound for exactly what it was.

Krsssshh.

Krsssshh.

Inhale.

Exhale.

It was  coming from inside the wall.

It moved a little every evening. It became almost routine, I’d turn the lights off, get into bed, and my apartment would start breathing.

Unmistakably. The sound was organic. Not mechanical.

And it. Was. Inside.

Obviously my next assumption was that there was an animal in there. I told myself it was fine, probably just a rat. Maybe a possum. I’d honestly rather cohabitate quietly than deal with anyone putting a hammer through the wall of my bedroom to find it.

That was until last night.

The sound hadn’t started yet. I was falling asleep on the sofa watching Netflix. Then I heard it: a click, then a clatter, at my front door.

The handle moved. Just slightly. I was fully awake at this point.

Then it jiggled violently.

I bolted upright. The soft hissing started again, louder now, a rasping krsssshh, krsssshh but this time it was coming from the other side of the door.

I crossed the room as quietly as I could, heart pounding the whole way. I approached the door, held my breath, and looked through the peephole.

I’m not even sure what I saw. The peephole must have distorted it. I think. The shape of its head seemed wrong. But someone, something was clearly there.

I snapped a photo, but I can barely look at it again. https://imgur.com/a/mUmipQz

I don’t know what to do. I can’t move again, not right now, after putting that deposit down and just starting a new job. I have to try and stick it out.

But something is here.

It’s watching me. It breathes.

I’m changing my locks.