The phrase “10 people who” sneak into someone else’s house conjures scenes straight out of a thriller, but these bizarre cases really happened. From attic apartments to subterranean hideaways, each tale shows why a quick glance at your locks might save you from an unwanted roommate.
10 Tatsuko Horikawa
In 2008 a 57‑year‑old Japanese homeowner finally uncovered a covert co‑tenant after noticing food mysteriously vanishing from his refrigerator. Assuming a burglar, he installed a security camera that streamed live footage straight to his phone. One day the feed captured a woman opening his fridge, prompting an urgent call to police.
The officers arrived, found every door and window locked and intact—no sign of forced entry. Still, they entered, expecting to catch a thief in the act. After a thorough search yielded nothing, they inspected the shelf just above a closet. There, perched like a startled pigeon, was 58‑year‑old Tatsuko Horikawa.
Investigations revealed Horikawa had been a serial squatter, slipping into multiple homes in the neighborhood before settling in this man’s house. She managed to stay hidden for a full year before the camera exposed her secret residency.
10 people who discovered an attic intruder
9 Unnamed Man
In 2012, Tracy of South Carolina believed her home was occupied only by her and her five children—until an ex‑boyfriend, whom she’d broken up with twelve years earlier, turned up in the attic. The night before the discovery, Tracy heard odd noises overhead. She and two sons investigated but found nothing.
The rattling persisted through the night, accompanied by plaster and nails raining down onto her bed. The next day, Tracy’s nephew climbed into the attic, searching deeper until he stumbled upon her former flame asleep among the rafters. He fled the scene, grinning, while Tracy learned he could peer into her bedroom through an air vent.
How he entered remained a mystery. He had previously helped install new doors in the house and had just completed a 90‑day sentence for stealing Tracy’s vehicle. In the attic he left behind an unsettling collection: personal photos, toys, cassette tapes, and several cups of feces and urine.
8 Anthony Jones
In 2017, a woman renting an apartment in Arlington, Virginia, heard footsteps overhead one night. She asked the landlord, who denied any presence in the attic. The landlord promptly summoned police, who began a systematic search of the space.
When officers ordered anyone inside to emerge, 60‑year‑old Anthony Jones stepped forward, surrendering without resistance. The attic held his clothing, bedding, and a few personal items, but no clear timeline of his stay. Police suspected he slipped in through an unlocked door, taking advantage of the building’s neglect.
The incident left the tenant shaken, highlighting how easily an unguarded access point can become a clandestine bedroom.
7 Unidentified Person
When Amber Dawn moved into a new apartment in Enumclaw, Washington, in 1997, she heard footsteps emanating from the attic. The trap door above her ceiling looked as though something—or someone—had been tugged from inside, yet her landlady dismissed the sounds as a squirrel.
Over the following months, oddities multiplied: belongings vanished, items were rearranged, and her nine‑week‑old puppy mysteriously surfaced in a bathroom sink during a flood, despite being unable to climb there. Dawn initially blamed her brother, who also possessed a key.
Six months after moving in, while soaking in a bathtub, she glanced up to see the attic trap door ajar. Grabbing a hammer and her dog, she fled the house, calling her sister‑in‑law for help. Police later searched the attic, finding no person but discovering food, a book, and a sleeping bag left behind.
6 Unidentified Woman
In 2016, Seattle resident Davis Wahlman heard strange noises emanating from his attic. Upon investigation, he noticed a light still glowing in a room he’d turned off, only to find the door locked from the inside. Knocking, a woman answered, asking, “Is this Jimmy?”
Wahlman clarified he wasn’t Jimmy and demanded an explanation. The woman, who refused to answer his questions, claimed she’d been living there for three days because someone named Jimmy had permitted her stay. She vanished before police arrived, leaving behind her belongings in the attic.
That same night, Wahlman observed other bizarre events: lights he’d switched off re‑illuminated, his bathroom flyscreen vanished, and a fire‑escape ladder was deployed. He promptly re‑keyed every door in his home, determined never to be caught off‑guard again.
5 Jeremy
In 2013, a group of Ohio State University students discovered a secret roommate lurking in their basement. Prior to the reveal, they’d noticed cupboards and microwaves left ajar and heard unexplained noises emanating from below.
Initially attributing the disturbances to a ghost, the students were stunned when maintenance staff forced open the basement doors, revealing a fellow student identified only as Jeremy. He was allowed to gather his belongings before being escorted out.
The origin of Jeremy’s covert tenancy remained unclear. The students speculated he’d moved in before they arrived, exploiting the landlord’s failure to change the locks. One roommate recalled a prior encounter with Jeremy, mistakenly assuming he was merely a visitor.
4 Jose Rafael Leyva‑Caraveo And Veronica Fernandez‑Beleta
From 2012 to early 2013, Troy and Dayna Donovan of Littleton, Colorado, found their family home occupied by squatters Jose Rafael Leyva‑Caraveo and Veronica Fernandez‑Beleta. The Donovans had temporarily relocated to Indiana for work, leaving the house locked but unattended.
Jose and Veronica claimed ownership through an affidavit of adverse possession, asserting they’d paid $5,000 for the property—despite Colorado law requiring a minimum of 18 years (or seven under specific conditions) of continuous possession before a claim could be valid. Their occupancy lasted only a few months.
Police deemed the case civil rather than criminal, refusing to intervene as there was no evidence of forced entry. The squatters even secured a restraining order preventing the Donovans from approaching the house. Eventually, a court ordered the squatters to vacate within 48 hours. Complications arose when Veronica filed for bankruptcy, a status that shields occupants from immediate eviction under Colorado law. The Donovans were forced to stay with relatives while legal battles continued, culminating in felony charges against the squatters and their eventual removal.
3 Unidentified Person
In 2013, 73‑year‑old Velma Kellen of Yelm, Washington, noticed an unusual chill in the front portion of her home. Assuming a furnace malfunction, she purchased a replacement, yet the cold persisted.
A repair technician discovered the true culprit: a hidden individual living beneath her house, having rerouted heating ducts to channel warmth away from her living spaces. Although Kellen never saw the intruder, she’d observed other oddities—an inexplicably open gate and a pervasive odor she described as “worse than cigarettes.” The technician found a discarded beer can but no drugs.
The mystery remained unresolved, leaving Kellen to wonder how long the covert tenant had been residing under her floorboards.
2 Tyggra Shepherd
In 2018, South Carolina resident Katherine Lang returned from vacation to discover strangers occupying her newly purchased home. While inspecting the property’s plumbing, she spotted a dog and cat outside, an odd sight for a house she’d never yet lived in.
Upon entering, Lang found two women inside. One, Tyggra Shepherd, had moved in after responding to a fraudulent Facebook advertisement. She’d paid $1,150 to scammers posing as the property’s owners, who instructed her to use a back door, claiming the person with the keys was detained by police. In reality, Lang herself had never taken residence; she was still living in her previous home while attempting to sell it.
The deception highlighted the dangers of online scams and the lengths fraudsters will go to secure unwitting victims.
1 Zeng
In 2014, a Chinese homeowner known only as “Wang” uncovered a secret attic dweller named Zeng in his Kunshan residence. Zeng had locked himself inside, forcing Wang to call police, who discovered a hole in the kitchen ceiling that led directly to the attic.
Before the revelation, Wang noticed food and money disappearing. Police determined Zeng had stolen roughly 2,000 yuan and prepared meals in the attic while Wang was away. Zeng admitted to entering the attic from outside and confessed to alternating his hideout between Wang’s home and a neighbor’s.
The case serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly secure homes can harbor hidden occupants.