Spooky season is upon us! To get in the spirit, we asked Brook employees to share some of their scariest stories from haunted houses gone by… and they did not disappoint. So grab the caramel corn and settle in for some thrills and chills—we won’t judge if you need to keep the light on.
Nightmare Neighbors
In graduate school, I lived on the first floor of an on-campus family housing building. If you’ve lived in an apartment building, you know the joys of neighbors living above you—especially those with children. My upstairs neighbor, a woman working on her PhD, suddenly began stomping on the floor throughout her apartment sporadically from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. This went on for a few days.
When I addressed her, she told me that she was only doing it because either myself, or someone in my family, was blasting music and banging on the ceiling, keeping her up at night. I have no idea what she was hearing, nor what caused the frustration, but the dean of housing and police had to get involved.
— Tah, Customer Success Coordinator
Critter Creeps
After my father passed away, we closed up his condo in Florida for the season. When we returned a few months later and opened the door, we were greeted by hundreds—if not thousands—of dead flies all over the house!
Little did we know that in Florida, they have a problem with rats coming up the sewers. We were lucky enough to have one die in the master bathroom toilet and rot there! Needless to say, when we close up now, we pour a cup of bleach in the bowl and wrap the lid down with half a roll of cling wrap every time.
— Lorii, Merchandising Specialist
I live in the forest amongst all types of critters, large and small. I am reminded every day that this is their home. We’ve had squirrels store acorns in our boots, bats dive bomb us when we clean pine needles from the gutters, and bears rip the door off our shed. My husband even had a mouse jump on his back. Our motto? “Turkeys and Lions and Bears… oh my!”
— Sheri, Graphic Designer
Home Invasion
In college, I lived in the basement of an off-campus house, and miraculously, we had a bathroom down there. After a few days of heavy rains in the area, we found a dead rat in our toilet because the sewers had backed up. My scream could be heard down the block.
— Jaclyn, Content Marketing Specialist
In college, I was living in an apartment with my roommate. We noticed a few bugs had been getting in somehow, but we didn’t think much of it—until one night when I woke up from an earache with my head hurting a bit. I got up and walked to the bathroom.
When I turned on the light, a cockroach came crawling out of my ear! I slapped it away and screamed so loud I woke up my roommate, who thought I was being murdered, and our next door neighbors. I didn’t sleep until I made sure my entire room was thoroughly cleaned. It still makes me shiver to this day.
— Kaitlyn, Concierge Service Specialist
Paranormal Activities
Growing up, my dad had a house that was relocated to a plot of land where the previous house had burned down. After moving in, we noticed some eerie things happening. One night while my sister and I were home alone, the back door would randomly open and, about 10 minutes later, close again. As kids, we were pretty creeped out. We made sure to lock the door and went back to watching our movie. About 5 minutes later, the door opened and closed again. At this point, we called our parents to come home and save us!
The house also had rough, wood flooring throughout the upstairs—we always had to keep house shoes on to avoid splinters. My stepmom was sweeping one evening and noticed a bare human footprint in the pile of dust. She and I were the only ones home… and our house shoes were on!
— Stacie, Territory Manager
When I was 12, we moved into a home where my parents’ bedroom was separate from the kids’ rooms. One night, the motion-activated night light stayed on the entire night. When I asked my mom if she or my dad were having trouble sleeping, she said they both slept like logs the entire night. We moved again after only 27 days in that house, and my parents refuse to talk about why two decades later.
— Jenn, Concierge Services Specialist
Bottom Line
Whether you’ve experienced a reno project mishap, unwanted pests, strange neighbors, or unexplained phenomena, there’s one thing about home that should never give you a fright—and that’s your furniture. Brook has fast and flexible furniture rental solutions, with delivery in as little as 2 business days. Plus, we offer free exchanges and returns within the first 7 days of your rental. With Brook, you can rest easy (and nightmare-free).
