The Haunted Apartment

When they share about adulting, they emphasize being independent, getting a job, and taking up responsibilities. They failed to mention that adulting also requires you to handle weird situations all by yourself.

In mid of 2016, I received a job offer from my dream company. However, the location was far from my home, so I decided to move in with my friend. The apartment she was living in wasn't far from my parent's home, but it has better access to public transport as there is one bus stop right below the block. The apartment wasn't huge; it had a living room that could hold six people, a semi-open kitchen, and three bedrooms. The best thing about this place is the balcony; I get to see sunrise and hues of sunset. The downside is I also get to see the closest graveyard.

The room assigned to me was the smallest; it has a window facing the corridor outside and shares a wall with the staircase. It was an end unit, and my room was definitely at the end. When I moved in, I wasn't feeling good about it.

Although I still had bad feelings about this place, nothing happened for almost a month until one night, where it all started. I had this haunting dream. I saw a lady wearing this long off-white dress, and it had stains on it. She had straight, long hair, the front portion covering her face; hence it was not visible. The eerie part is that everything seemed so real, yet I realized that it was only a dream. I tried to wake up, hoping it would go away, but I couldn't open my eyes. I kept trying and trying and trying until I finally woke up, drenched in my sweat. I was scared, but I switched on the light and went to bed again.

The following day I woke up to the sound of someone shutting the cabinets in the kitchen. It was so loud that I thought my friend was pissed. So I went out of the room to see what was happening. However, when I approached the kitchen area, THERE WAS NO ONE AT ALL! But I stayed positive and texted my friend. She replied that she was working the morning shift at 8 am, so clearly, it wasn't her. It made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. As the day passed by, the disturbance became worst. Sometimes I hear the shower running when no one is in the shared bathroom. I was sure about this because only two of us live in that house. 

That is during the day. At night, I would wake up to banging sounds on the wall separating my room and the staircase. It goes "thud, thud, thud", then it stops. The timing is always between 2 am to 3 am. I usually brush it off as one of my neighbors to make myself feel better. Of course, the sound of furniture being moved and marbles being played at the unit above us is a common occurrence at wee hours of the night. One evening, I was at home alone because 1) I worked the morning shift on that day, 2) My friend was out for a date. So, I didn't think much of it and just went on with my routine. I was carrying the clothes I had just folded into my room when I saw my friend's cat walking into the third room, but when I was keeping my clothes in the cupboard, I remembered the cat was at the veterinary clinic for the night! I swear, I saw it as clear as day, so I know it wasn't delusion or illusion or that sort of thing. 

However, the following incident that happened was the final straw. It was early in the morning, around 1 am, and I was preparing for a trip the next day. My fault is I forgot to draw the curtains. As I was keeping my things, I felt a gaze. Like someone was watching me, but I ignored it. And I thought it amplified with every second passed. The voice inside my head kept asking me to look up; eventually, I caved in. That's when I saw a person or something, clothed in black from head to waist, standing in the corridor facing my window. The face wasn't visible as they or it was looking down. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I immediately turn my head away. When I looked again, it was no longer there. 

I didn't hear any footsteps running or walking away. And my instinct knew that it wasn't human. I had goosebumps all over my body. Not kidding, but that night I played "Hanuman Chalisa" till morning. Once I returned from my trip, I started looking for a new place and moved out within a week. I never shared this with my friend, and somehow, we had a falling out after that. We no longer talk. 

Ps: I have many more stories to share; I will write them gradually.