# Weird issue with Stalker Neighbor, please HELP
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 17, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600 "2015-09-17T22:11:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jbubby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbubby)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/1 "2015-09-17T22:11:49Z")
I am at my wit’s end here and I can’t live like this anymore. ☹ So what’s happening is, I am living in the bottom floor of a two level apartment building, I have been here for over 4 years now and never had any problems until the current neighbor above me moved in. One day after this neighbor moved in they were playing their stereo so loud that things were falling off my walls, this was at 3AM and I was getting up early for work at the time. I went up introduced myself and asked nicely if he could keep it down. He appeared to be on some kind of drugs, slammed the door in my face and cranked it even louder. :smack: Ever since then this guy has been obsessed with me. He stalks me in my apartment. Everywhere I go in the place I can hear his footsteps following me, from room to room, from one end of the place to another. I can run really fast across the room and stop on a dime and hear him _immediately_ stopping, waiting for my next move.
I’m pretty sure he moved his furniture around to match the setup of my apartment so he could be sitting right above me when I watch TV. His bed is directly above mine and he generally goes to bed within minutes of the time I do, after he’s been walking through the bathroom “with me”, and so on. Right now I can tell he is right above me because he’s tapping something on the ceiling, I think he can hear my typing and is maybe annoyed by it?? 😕 He just LOVES when I get a phone call and will roll his office chair to where I’m on the phone and sit there for the entire phone call knocking on the ceiling, if I get loud enough on the call he will start repeating words back to me or even interject himself into my conversation. :mad:
This is really starting to make me upset, he does all this on top of continuing to blare his stereo at inappropriate hours, play his TV too loud, leave his garbage in the hall to the point it stinks up the whole unit, basically whatever he wants. Oh by the way I am stuck, 5 months through a 2 year lease and this freak doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, he never even leaves his apartment! :mad:
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/2 "2015-09-17T22:30:30Z")
I swear we’ve done this before.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/3 "2015-09-17T22:53:04Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> I swear we’ve done this before.
[Yep.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573426)
Is this a common thing? Is this type of paranoia common? Or is it just a quirk of the building construction that makes it SEEM like the neighbor is following you?
[Another example](http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/miscellaneous-topics/24219-harassed-upstairs-neighbor.html)
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/4 "2015-09-17T22:55:50Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> [Yep.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573426)
Thank you! I’ve been searching but couldn’t find it.
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/5 "2015-09-17T23:27:15Z")
I myself am stricken with a bizarre condition that makes me think every new poster is the same person.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/6 "2015-09-17T23:33:04Z")
Man, I’ve been reading the thread I linked. It’s amazing! Either there are a ton of like-minded stalkers out there, or this delusion is much more common that I would have thought. The whole thread alternates between “OMG this is happening to me, too” and earnest “something should be done” posts.
I especially love this one:
These types of stories always sadden me. They sadden be that we have “evolved” into such a careless society that mentally disturbed people are left to their own devices when they need intensive, round the clock professional care.
I assume the person was referring to the “stalkers”, but it is ambiguous enough that I’m not sure…
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### Author:  [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/7 "2015-09-18T00:12:18Z")
This seems very closely related to the Gang Stalking syndrome. Read as much of [this](http://www.psychforums.com/schizophrenia/topic76482.html) as you can stomach – the writer believes she is being gang stalked, including upstairs neighbors tormenting her in much the same way as the posters here describe.
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### Author:  [@jbubby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jbubby)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/8 "2015-09-18T00:19:59Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> Man, I’ve been reading the thread I linked. It’s amazing! Either there are a ton of like-minded stalkers out there, or this delusion is much more common that I would have thought. The whole thread alternates between “OMG this is happening to me, too” and earnest “something should be done” posts.
😕
Is it possible that this isn’t a delusion or paranoia, but simply something that you personally have not experienced? (And if so lucky you. )
It’s kind of hard to mistake or imagine the sound of someone right above me knocking, banging, tapping, etc. This is a miserable way to live. I have tried confronting the neighbor, just FYI, but he pretends to have no idea what I’m talking about. :rolleyes: When he thinks I am out of earshot I hear him burst into this horrible cackling laughter. So I know and he knows he’s guilty.
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### Author:  [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/9 "2015-09-18T00:28:23Z")
Playing music too loud at inappropriate hours I can believe. The rest of it… yeah, I think you need to seek psychological counseling. There is just no reality-based set of circumstances where that would actually be occurring the way you describe it.
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### Author:  [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/10 "2015-09-18T00:34:57Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#):
>
> I myself am stricken with a bizarre condition that makes me think every new poster is the same person.
_Cue “I wanna Punish Mah Neighbor & Make Them Move Cause Mah Sh-t Don’t Stink” Thread_
_Cue Weight Thread_
_Cue Stupid Dater Thread_
_Cue “I’m having trouble with my Devotee, but I’m using a different library IP now” Thread_
_Cue “What’s up with Old people?” Thread_
_Cue “Whaaa… Liberal Media! Whaaaa…!” BS thread_
_Cue “Whats amatta You wanting Abortions & to be Gay-Married?” thread_
_Cue “What technology do you Old F-cks Miss?” thread_
_Cue “Whaaa… I’m so old I need diapers; wish I was a stupid jack-off Frat Boy from Mom’s Basement and driving Dad’s Car.” thread_
_Cue “When will we get Opie & Shithead back on the radio?” thread_
_Cue “Do women have too many rights? When can Us Neckbeards start knocking them around & take what we want?” thread_
_Cue “Why are you such a Nazi Anti-Semite for believing in XXX” thread_
_Cue “Whaaa! I like Reddit! Why can’t I B-tch here like I can on Geoffrey’s Board?” thread_
_Cue Weight Loss_ thread\*
_Cue “But I’m gettng in shape” thread_
_Cue “Its not Fat Shaming if the Mods let me get away with it” thread_
_Cue “Whaaaa! Mommy! That person has 10 extra pounds! Ima So Scared I Chipped My Little Possum Tooth!” thread_
_Cue “Ima So Stupid, I Don’t Get It! Im from Phwillydelphia. Won’t Someone Help Me…? Pah-WEEEZE??? Whaaaa…” Thread_
_Cue “I’m hacking a Regular Board Posters Modem / PC. I can only get some screen-shots & make their cooling fan go off. Can I get some help getting past their firewalls? Pah-Weeze?” Thread_
_Cue ZOMBIE THREAD from 2003_
_Cue “Why is Jamie Kennedy a Talentless Hack who couldn’t find work at a Taco Bell?” Thread_
(OK, I made that last one up. Doesn’t mean its not true.)
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### Author:  [@Nikki\_Tikki\_Tavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nikki_Tikki_Tavi)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/11 "2015-09-18T00:50:51Z")
The obvious answer is: call your landlord. That is one of the bennies of renting; you have someone in authority to appeal to.
This does sound a lot like the sort of things my former brother-in-law used to say, however, and he is a schizophrenic.
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### Author:  [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/12 "2015-09-18T01:22:28Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> I swear we’ve done this before.
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> [Yep.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573426)
> Is this a common thing? Is this type of paranoia common? Or is it just a quirk of the building construction that makes it SEEM like the neighbor is following you?
>
> [Another example](http://www.worldlawdirect.com/forum/miscellaneous-topics/24219-harassed-upstairs-neighbor.html)
[And here’s another one here on the Dope that I remembered seeing before.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=680023)
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### Author:  [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/13 "2015-09-18T01:41:10Z")
> [@jbubby](#):
>
> 😕
> Is it possible that this isn’t a delusion or paranoia, but simply something that you personally have not experienced? (And if so lucky you. )
>
> It’s kind of hard to mistake or imagine the sound of someone right above me knocking, banging, tapping, etc. This is a miserable way to live. I have tried confronting the neighbor, just FYI, but he pretends to have no idea what I’m talking about. :rolleyes: When he thinks I am out of earshot I hear him burst into this horrible cackling laughter. So I know and he knows he’s guilty.
Maybe he’s just watching a funny TV show.
If you want a legal remedy, you’re going to have to hire a private detective to come and live with you for a month, to accumulate enough evidence to persuade a judge.
How much money do you want to sink into this project?
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### Author:  [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/14 "2015-09-18T01:51:19Z")
But, how could he know your every movement? Sure, you can hear him when he walks above you. But it’s different for him. He would only hear the people/squirrels/rain **above** him, not below.
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### Author:  [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/15 "2015-09-18T01:51:51Z")
I confess I am fascinating/suspect of the similar breathless, Edgar Allen Poe THE BELLS! THE BELLS! tone in all of these OPs, appearing a pretty far distance apart.
But anyway, the most likely reason here is that something about the acoustics of your apartment is causing the sound of your own movement to echo back at you, seemingly from above.
Have you had a friend over to see if another person experiences the same thing? What if you and the friend are both moving in different places in the apartment – is your neighbor able to be in two places at once? (hint: doubtful) When the neighbor leaves the apartment, do the noises continue or do they stop?
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### Author:  [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/16 "2015-09-18T08:59:08Z")
There was a thread on Reddit where a guy was absolutely convinced he was being stalked in his own apartment. From his account, either there was some hardcore (and basically impossible) stalking going on, or he was suffering from a mental illness.
Turned out he had carbon monoxide poisoning. He could’ve died if someone on the thread hadn’t suggested the possibility. If you haven’t got a carbon monoxide detector, get one.
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### Author:  [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/17 "2015-09-18T12:41:30Z")
> [@jbubby](#):
>
> 😕
> Is it possible that this isn’t a delusion or paranoia, but simply something that you personally have not experienced? (And if so lucky you. )
>
> It’s kind of hard to mistake or imagine the sound of someone right above me knocking, banging, tapping, etc.
Schizophrenics absolutely believe the noises/voices they hear are 100% real. Maybe your neighbor really is a perfect mimic of your movements, but the activities you ascribe to him sound so much like a time-delayed “echo” of your own activities that it seems more likely they might actually be entirely within your mind. [Eric Raymond offers a little bit of perspective for the sane:](http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=5069)
> [@Eric Raymond](#):
>
> The simple, constant thing is that delusional schizophrenics lose the capability to identify all the thoughts in their head as belonging to themselves. In an effort to make sense of their experience, they invent elaborate theories which attribute their disconnected thoughts to external agencies. Gods, demons, orbital mind-control lasers – the content of such delusions varies wildly, but the function is always the same – to restore a sense of causal order to the schizophrenic’s universe, to impose a narrative on the eruptions that he or she can no longer recognize as “self”.
Advice: Go see a doctor - a primary-care physician will do for now - and tell him some friends of yours are concerned about your mental health, and then tell him all about your issues with your neighbor, everything you’ve said in your OP. The doctor will either say “yeah, your neighbor sounds like an asshole,” or “I’d like you to see a specialist.” Either way you’ll come out ahead: you’ll be assured of your sanity, or you’ll be offered help in regaining it.
Question: what is your age?
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/18 "2015-09-18T13:35:42Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#):
>
> Turned out he had carbon monoxide poisoning. He could’ve died if someone on the thread hadn’t suggested the possibility. If you haven’t got a carbon monoxide detector, get one.
> [@Machine\_Elf](#):
>
> Advice: Go see a doctor - a primary-care physician will do for now - and tell him some friends of yours are concerned about your mental health, and then tell him all about your issues with your neighbor, everything you’ve said in your OP. The doctor will either say “yeah, your neighbor sounds like an asshole,” or “I’d like you to see a specialist.” Either way you’ll come out ahead: you’ll be assured of your sanity, or you’ll be offered help in regaining it.
I want to second what others have said, it’s extremely unlikely that a neighbor above you could hear you and stalk your movements. Playing music too loud is something that should be reported to your landlord or the police if necessary, but the other noises of him stalking you seem unlikely.
Please go see a doctor, and maybe get a carbon monoxide detector as well.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/19 "2015-09-18T14:27:32Z")
Could be your being stalked by a Giraffe.
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### Author:  [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-issue-with-stalker-neighbor-please-help/731600/20 "2015-09-18T14:32:56Z")
I think I’m not following…how can someone mimic the movements of a person they live above?
I get that other posters are saying this sounds psychiatric in nature…but I’m still stuck on “is this even possible?”
I’ve had some really horrible neighbors, but no one who stalked me from above.
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