Imagine being scared to live in your own home…
Well, this is an all-consuming reality for a family who made a bizarre discovery recently.
The Forderville family of three, who declined to be named for fear of further victimization, say they started noticing and hearing strange things in their home since about a month back. It started with sounds in the ceiling and quickly progressed to missing food; additional dishes in the sink; and even as far as their bedrooms, bathroom and toilet being used when they were not around.
When the mother of the home started to notice these unusual occurrences and voiced them, she at first suspected that her son may be stealing food and then turned her suspicions on her husband and accused him of having an affair after she noticed rumpled sheets in the bedroom.
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Denying these accusations, the father and son at this stage had no idea what the coming weeks would reveal.
“I started to hear whispers and movement coming from the ceiling, and when I told people about this, some thought I was mad,” said the mother.
Little did she know that a more terrifying incident was about to prove that she was indeed of sound mind. She explains that about three weeks ago, she saw someone in the passage in the house.
“At first I thought I was hallucinating. I then thought it was my husband, but he was sleeping. When the person saw me, they reached for the latches on the front door and I started screaming for my husband, who pulled me into the room and kicked the door shut. When my husband came out of the room to find the person, we saw him being pulled up into the trap door to the ceiling by what we suspect may be two other people,” said the mother.
The family contacted the police, as well as a neighbourhood watch group, and decided to look inside the ceiling.
“When I went into the ceiling, I saw that the plastic near the geyser had been removed. The rafters were neatly sawed off and this was fresh, and the roof tiles had been picked up to allow access to our home through the roof. I also found a red candle and a full brick. This told me that someone was gaining entry to our home through the ceiling,” said the father of the house.
As the pieces of the puzzle began to fit into place, the family came to the conclusion that multiple people were creeping in and out of their house through the ceiling, leaving them fearful but at the same time angry.
“They are basically freeloading off us; eating our food, using up our gas, and we even suspect that they may have been watching us while we were in our bedrooms and bathroom. The ceilings in these rooms had large gaps,” said the mother.
The days following the discovery of the ‘ceiling squatters’ has been a trying time for the family.
“We don’t sleep. I sit up in my bed each night, listening for any sounds or movement. We sometimes go to bed at about 05:00 when we can hear that our neighbour is awake. We’ve also had to install an alarm system in the house,” said the father.
Even more distressing is that the family confined themselves to living in a single room.
“During the day, when my husband is at work, my son and I lock ourselves inside the bedroom. We don’t even come out to clean up the house until my husband returns from work. But slowly, I am venturing out into the house,” said the mother.
The family has since reported the matter to the Estcourt SAPS and a case of attempted house break-in has been opened.
“We would like to warn other community members to be vigilant. We often hear the sound of a rooster crowing; I once counted 13 times; as well as whistling during the night. We think this is being used as a signal by these people, so residents must be aware of this. Keep all your doors and window latches closed, and check your ceiling regularly,” advises the family.
They are hopeful that the people who are disturbing their peace will be caught soon and life will return to normal.
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