Weirdo at my door

[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.