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When that bump isn't a poltergeist

This month's theme is a tough one for me. Whenever I hear things going bump in the night, I never think of ghosts or witches or werewolves. I'm more nervous about things like thunderstorms, tornadoes, and earthquakes--things that can cause actual damage and injury. Real, live human beings are often pretty scary, too, and they don't have to be axe murders or serial killers to make me shiver.

I recently had an experience that unnerved me quite a bit. It involved some items that came up missing  from my home when nothing else seemed to have been disturbed. What bothered me wasn't so much the loss of those items as that someone had quite obviously searched the house for them. And I knew who that someone was. It was a violation not only of privacy, but of trust.

For me, the disruption of my peace of mind is far more scary than any ghostly visits, zombie attacks, or bloody vampires. The idea that even in your own home, nothing is truly safe or private creates a feeling of unease that is difficult to ignore. What other things were seen or examined that weren't taken? Should I go through the house and check to see if anything else is missing? Should I confront this person, or turn a blind eye and pretend it never happened?

Truthfully, I have enough things to worry about as it is. I don't need anything else.What about you? What sort of things make your anxiety level go through the roof?

Comments

  1. You do need to check to make sure nothing else is missing or obviously disturbed, especially anything that relates to your finances or identification, including missing checks or statements. Unfortunately with the economy, some people are past desperate. You can't afford to risk identity theft. And, yes, you do confront the person and let them know that you are missing items and there is evidence of searching. At the least, you have an excuse to keep this person out of your house. If you're lucky, you might discourage them from doing something worse to you or someone else.
    If there is evidence that your personal records were disturbed, contact your banks and credit accounts and get a watch put on the accounts.Oh, and while you're at it, change your locks, just in case that spare key has gone walk about, too.

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  2. Ugh, such a tough situation. I hope you work it all out. Something like this can weigh so heavily on one's mind. Good luck.

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  3. I came home to find a back door open and while I was calling my daughter to see if she'd left it open, my neighbor came over and said all our homes had been broken into. The police were on their way. So yeah, even if it's someone you know, it's a violation and it's not just your home, but your person that feels that way. Sorry to hear this has happened to you, Cheryl. Hope you get it resolved.

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  4. Hurricanes definitely make me scared. I have been through a few, and they are no fun. Any kind of flooding also worries me. I used to live across the street from a bayou, and I can remember waking up many rainy nights to gauge the water level across the street.

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  5. Oh Cheryl, that is just soo horrible. I agree with Virginia, you need to take precautions to protect yourself from further theft...

    Terry--I'm so sorry that happened to you too. I hope the police catch the robbers.

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  6. Cheryl, assuming your suspicions are true, you are the victim of a crime. You're entitled to know you're safe, so do what it takes to make that happen. You also probably want badly to know why this person behaved as they did, but confronting them may not yield you any answers and it could jeopardize your safety further. Consider making a police report if insurance reimbursement is an issue.

    That you haven't remained silent is a good thing, though. Your trust have been betrayed. If nothing else we can assure you of that.

    And as for me, I'm spooked in a lot of ways, and like you, Alfred Hitchcock's creations have nothing to answer for compared to the dastardly machinations of old homo sapiens sapiens.

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  7. There's only one problem with this situation, and that's the total absence of proof. But yes, I have checked out other things since then. Nothing else is missing. I hope it stays that way.

    I've never been through a hurricane, Shana, but the one tropical storm I experienced was quite enough for me!

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  8. How horrible, Cheryl! That kind of betrayal would make a person reevalute things that go bump for sure. Trust is a fragile thing and once broken, I'm not sure it's ever fixed without a scar.

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  9. Cheryl! I understand how you feel. It happened to us too. I felt repulsed, invaded, unclean, because mine was my intimate, personal clothing that had been stolen. Nothing else. I looked at strangers closely hoping to see some cross dresser wearing one of my Bali's.

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  10. Yep, that would be kinda freaky, Donna. The items stolen from me were some prescription drugs. Not much, and not anything anyone was using, but still....

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  11. I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you. I agree with Virginia that you should have your locks changed.

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  12. What a horrible experience, Cheryl! That person should no longer be living in your home. Home should be a place of refuge.

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