A man was left petrified after discovering a chilling truth about his flatmate – but people believe he should forgive him as he’s “sensitive”.
The 24-year-old has been sharing a flat with Karl, also 24, for two years. They’re not friends, just roommates by chance. Over the past year, Karl has started asking him some personal questions which have made him feel “uncomfortable”.
He once asked if he’d ever “thought about ‘experimenting’ with other men”, to which he responded “no” and then stressed he “didn’t feel comfortable with Karl asking such a personal question” because they’re not “close friends“. Each time he gives this response, Karl tells him “we’ll see”.
The unsettled man turned to Reddit’s popular Am I The A**hole (AITAH) forum to seek neutral, unfiltered opinions of internet strangers after things took a “horrifying” turn with Karl. He explained: “Last night, I had a horrifying experience. I heard a noise under my bed. It was movement. At first I thought I was imagining things.
“But then I heard it again. I thought, oh God, is it a mouse or a rat or some s**t? My God. This was like 3am. So I got out of bed and looked under with my phone flashlight.
“Now this here was the most startling moment of my life. I guess I am lucky because I have never before this moment felt true terror and fear as a physical sensation, but I was completely jolted. There under my bed was my roommate staring wide eyed at me, and he screeched when I looked under the bed.”
The man recounted how he “literally thought [he] was having a heart attack” when Karl began crying and apologising as he emerged from beneath his bed. Terrified, the man fled their flat in his pyjamas, seeking refuge in a 24/7 Dunkin’ Donuts. While there, Karl inundated him with texts pleading for a conversation.
He added: “In the texts, he found a way to horrify me even further. He confessed he had been sleeping under my bed a few nights a week for ‘three or four months’ and that he was doing it to get closer to me and ‘psychically saturate each other’. The f**k???”
After waiting for Karl to leave for work, the man swiftly returned to their flat, grabbed his essentials, and left for good. With the lease ending in a month, he has no plans to renew and is currently staying with a friend. Despite this, Karl keeps sending messages.
Now, mutual friends are intervening, suggesting he should forgive Karl. He explained: “He is going around telling people I shamed him and that I am rejecting his apologies. Some people are saying I am overreacting and invalidating his feelings.
“Most agree what he did was wrong but believe I should reconcile with him and offer a second chance because he’s ‘sensitive’.”
The man was left feeling as if he’s “losing his mind” or “experiencing a long lucid dream of some sort” due to the bizarre nature of the situation. He turned to Reddit for advice on his reaction to Karl’s behaviour, and his post quickly went viral, amassing more than 21,000 upvotes and thousands of comments from users eager to weigh in.
One commenter warned: “Dude is not mentally stable and you need to get out of there. Sounds like he’d end up wearing your skin or some shit to ‘physically saturate’ with you.”
Also noting the chilling vibes of the classic 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs, another user said: “Oh God, reading that I started hearing that line about ‘It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again’. Ugh. Officially up the rest of the night lol.”
A third person urged: “What is wrong with that man? You need to involve the authorities. He sounds dangerous. Gather any evidence, go to the hospital, and don’t let this slide. Take care of yourself, and stay safe.”
Another commented: “I would have died if I looked under my bed and saw a person. My heart would give up. This is not okay and that dude is not okay.”