Weirdo at my door

[wannaduacentury]

Last night after I got home from work(late) and I fed my kitties, someone knocked on my door at the un-godly hour of 12:00. Nobody ever knocks at my house at that hour. grrr! I went and woke up dh to his dismay but he didn't mind. Fortunately the man left after appx 10min when no one answered( saw him thru peephole in door(it was locked). I did call the sheriff's dept this afternoon and requested that they drop in the next few days to make sure no one is here that shouldn't be(they're good about that where I live). Also since Ms. Blondie(my golden/collie) died in Jan, I had no woof warning system, so I think it's time for another doggie perhaps-although I hadn't planned on getting another for awhile. I had both phones(cell & landline) by the bed last night ready to use, in case he(they?) came back. Who knows what they want at that hour of the night. What are your thoughts on this? I hate having my peace disturbed like that. Jenn

[SadieKate]

Um, why didn't you call the sherriff last night in case the guy was wandering the neighborhood and could cause harm to himself or someone else last night?

[wannaduacentury]

Um, why didn't you call the sherriff last night in case the guy was wandering the neighborhood and could cause harm to himself or someone else last night?

I agree w/you, I don't know why I didn't call sheriffs dept(I guess b/c he left) which odd for me b/c I'd call he FD at the drop of the hat when there's a fire, accident or whatever. I do regret not calling, but I will from now on. Hopefully they won't come back.

[nicole309]

Maybe I want to believe the best in people, but I am a female who lives alone...
I would not have opened my door, but I would have called the sheriff right away as well. Not only for my own safety and those in my neighborhood, but also the person knocking could have been in some kind of trouble and need assistance. Maybe his car broke down, didn't have a phone, etc...

[Velobambina]

I'm glad you're OK. I never answer the door when I'm home alone.

My goldens are "mean barkers" and people who come to the house are terrified of them. A dog or two (or three, in my case ) in the house will let you know when something is amiss.

[TsPoet]

Related question for you all - you say "call the sheriff" do you mean 911, or the non-emergency number?
I think I would have done what Jenn did - nothing.

[wannaduacentury]

Related question for you all - you say "call the sheriff" do you mean 911, or the non-emergency number?
I think I would have done what Jenn did - nothing.

Yes 911 covers everything, Police, fire etc. Each one has a seperate phone line to the office though and that is what I called to request patrol to make sure they don't come back and to create a presence that I don't put up w/ that kind of behavior. As some of the others said, I try to look at the good in people and not everyone has a cell and can't call on their own and I understand that, but after last week when a peer colleage(sp?) that works where I do- son gets murdered at VT just doing his job, well I err on the side of caution. I didn't answer the door at all, just stayed quiet and they left. J

[wannaduacentury]

I'm glad you're OK. I never answer the door when I'm home alone.

My goldens are "mean barkers" and people who come to the house are terrified of them. A dog or two (or three, in my case ) in the house will let you know when something is amiss.

My parents have 3 scotties and Nothing gets past them.

[Running Mommy]

Yes, call right away. Don't be afraid to call because you feel like it may not be a "real" emergency.
Being in the snowbird capital of the southwest, we have alot of part time residents. Of course they don't take their electronics and such back north with them when they leave, and the crooks have caught on to this.
Out here we have our electrical panels on the outside of the house.
It has become common to knock at the door late at night. If no lights go on, or it appears no one is home, they trip the breaker switches. They then come back the next night, and if the breakers have not been reset they know they have free reign to take what they please.
So one night I got a knock on the door. I of course didn't answer it. Well the next thing you know all of my electricity went out. I was SERIOUSLY freaked out! I stumbled through the dark and called 911 on my cell phone. I didn't want to go out and reset the breakers as I was afraid that they would still be out there. This was VERY unnerving!! So much so that I made the officer shine his lights on the car so that I knew he was an officer. I wasn't opening my door for ANYONE! So I told the 911 operator to have the officer turn on his lights when he got outside my house. Kind of overkill, but what can I say. I was FREAKED!
I don't know where you are in GA, but I know there are a lot of rural areas. Please stay safe!

[SJCzar]

A number of years ago I was visiting my mom. She lived in a small town about 1 1/2 hours north of me. We were watching TV on a Saturday night and there was a knock on her door. It was after midnight. I got up to check who it could possibly be. There was a guy standing at the bottom of her front steps. He said that he had waited down there so as not to scare anyone. He had been attending a family get together at the park across the street and when he went to start his car the battery was dead. Our's was the only house that had any lights on so that's why he came to her door.

He used a line that we have since kiddingly used many times, "Lady, please for once in your life take a chance on a stranger". I went out and jump-started his car, while my mom watched from the doorway. He kept a noticeable distance from me at all times and was very courteous and grateful. Even though in this instance everything was fine, I still recognize that in other cases there could be a worse outcome.

[indysteel]

My parents have 3 scotties and Nothing gets past them.

Having grown up with a male Scottie, I know just what you mean. Their bark (and bite) is FIERCE.

I've had random people show up at my door at all hours of the night (I live in an urban neighborhood). One woman was so persistent that someone down the street finally opened their door to her. It was a prostitute whose customer dropped her off in the middle of nowhere.

I don't answer the door at night to anybody but the police (yes, they've shown up too). One time, someone knocked at my door and wouldn't go away. I yelled something at the door with a voice that sounded like Reagan from the Exorcist. I don't know where that came from, but he quickly fled. It's the most unnerving thing, however, to be woken up by someone ringing or knocking on my door. My heart just about jumps out of my chest.

[Duck on Wheels]

Sigh. I see again why I stayed in Norway after my "year" abroad, nearly 38 years ago. In not insignificant part it was to escape the anxieties of the US. Here, we would answer the door. We might peek out the kitchen window first, or keep the door on the chain, but we would definitely respond. Not that all is good and happy when we answer the door after midnight. Once it was DH's niece, come with the message that his father had just died. And sometimes it's been some drunken kid asking "is this where the party is?" But it's never been dangerous. Not so far. So to me, the US approach seems paranoid, but also maybe paranoid for a reason.

[mary9761]

I yelled something at the door with a voice that sounded like Reagan from the Exorcist. I don't know where that came from, but he quickly fled. It's the most unnerving thing, however, to be woken up by someone ringing or knocking on my door. My heart just about jumps out of my chest.

A few years ago something like that came out of my mouth when doors open, lights on, etc I heard some breaking glass, it was one of the first nights I DIDN'T have my light on over my garage door. There had been break ins recently and I had been keeping a light on. I sprung to the back window, flipped the light on over the garage and something guteral came out of my mouth that had been meant to be "get the <@*& away from my garage!" just as I saw some juvies in hoodies flee into the dark alley over the fence. My next door neighbor had also been broken into and luckily I guess I scared them away from his garage as well. They had cut several padlocks to get to and into his garage. I called the police immediately. That night while we were waiting for and right after the police left we heard whistling signals from the gang of punks and then the next day, we looked in the alley and recovered some items that belonged to someone else who'd been burglarized.

[stacie]

Yesterday, my neighbor told me that a man came to his door at 130 in the morning asking for money. He said that he was a new neighbor, (house next to me is available with sign out) and that his wife broke down on the interstate. When I told my husband the story, he remembered our doorbell ringing in the middle of the night as well. It occurred to me that if I had asked who it was through the door, it would have been an indication that I was a woman alone. If a man is there, generally that is who would address someone knocking in the middle of the night. My neighbor answered his door with a gun in his hand. But, he does realize now that wasn't the best thing to do either.