Don’t Answer When They Knock

Let me tell you something that happened to me this year—May 2025, to be exact.
It’s one of those stories people might not believe, but I swear on everything:
If you hear a knock late at night, and no one is supposed to be there—do not answer.

Especially if they knock three times.

1. Moving Into the Wrong House
I moved into a new place earlier this year. It was a small rental house, just outside town. Cheap, quiet, and old, but cozy. I was excited to have a space of my own.

The landlord seemed nice but a little nervous when he gave me the keys.

He said, “You’ll like it here—just ignore anything weird. Houses make sounds.”

I thought it was a joke.

It wasn’t.

2. The First Knock
The first time it happened, I had just finished unpacking. It was around 12:30 a.m., and I was watching Netflix on the couch when I heard a knock at the front door.

Just three knocks.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I paused the TV. Opened the curtain.

No one.

I figured it was some prank—maybe a kid playing ding-dong ditch.

But then it happened again the next night.

Same time. Same number of knocks.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I opened the door immediately.

No one.

But this time, I felt… watched. The air felt cold, like something was just there, outside the edge of the porch light.

3. My Friend Didn’t Believe Me
I told my best friend Mia about it. She laughed and said maybe I was just jumpy.

“Old houses creak,” she said. “You’re just getting used to the sounds.”

So, we stayed up together one night on FaceTime.

Right around 12:30 a.m., it happened again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

I looked at my screen. Mia was frozen, staring wide-eyed.

“You heard that too, right?” I whispered.

She nodded slowly. “Don’t open it.”

I didn’t.

That night, I pushed a chair under the doorknob and tried to sleep.

4. They Started Saying My Name
On the third night, the knocking didn’t stop at three.

It happened at 12:30, again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

But then came a voice.

A low, raspy whisper from the other side of the door.

“Let me in… please…”

I couldn’t move. My entire body froze.

Then it said my name.

“Trevor… let me in.”

I didn’t tell anyone that part. It sounded too crazy.

But I know what I heard.

5. The Voice in the Window
The house has this tiny window next to the door—just a narrow strip of glass.

I covered it with cardboard the next day. But that night, I couldn’t sleep. I lay in bed, staring at the hallway.

Then I heard the knock.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

And the voice again.

“Let me in, Trevor…”

I stayed frozen.

Then the whisper came from inside the house.

“Please.”

I jumped out of bed and turned on every light. Nothing was there. The door was still locked. The cardboard was still on the window.

But the voice didn’t come from the door that time.

It came from my bedroom vent.

6. The Landlord’s Warning
I finally called the landlord the next morning.

When I told him everything, there was a long pause.

Then he said, “I thought… maybe it was over. You heard the knocks?”

I said yes.

He sighed. “They come in threes. Always threes. You didn’t open the door, did you?”

“No.”

“Good. Never open it. Never talk back. Never answer.”

I asked what it was.

He just said, “No one knows. It started with the first family who lived there. Only one survived.”

I wanted to move out. He told me I’d be safe as long as I followed the rules.

7. I Broke the Rule
I was doing okay. For about a week, there were no knocks.

I thought maybe it was gone.

Then one night, I heard it again.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

But this time, the voice sounded… sad.

“I’m cold. I’m lost. Please…”

And like an idiot, I said, “Go away.”

That was enough.

8. Something Got In
I didn’t open the door. I didn’t unlock it.

But the next night, the knocking came from inside the house.

First the front door. Then the bedroom closet. Then under the kitchen sink.

Each time—three knocks.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

And the whisper grew clearer.

“You talked to me. That’s enough.”

9. The Mirror
The final night, I saw it.

I was brushing my teeth, trying not to look in the mirror.

But I did.

Behind me, just over my shoulder, was a figure—tall, thin, all shadow. No face. Just a mouth full of teeth that didn’t move when it spoke.

“Now I’m in.”

I dropped everything and ran.

10. I Don’t Live There Anymore
I don’t know how I escaped, but I left that house within the hour.

The landlord didn’t even ask for the keys back.

I live in a new place now. Nothing strange has happened since.

But every now and then, around 12:30 a.m., I get chills.

And sometimes… I swear I hear three knocks in the distance.

Don’t Answer When They Knock
If something knocks at your door past midnight, don’t answer. Don’t speak. Don’t even listen. Because once you do—there’s no going back.