My buddy is a cop. One night his wife awakened him; there was a very loud THUMP THUMP noise coming from the main level (their bedroom was upstairs). He grabbed his gun while she grabbed her cell phone and went into their young son’s room. She dialed a 9 and then a 1, and had her finger poised to dial the second 1 while husband descended the stairs in his boxers, gun at the ready.
Turns out it was a helium-filled mylar balloon, leftover from a birthday celebration, that was caught in a ceiling fan.
If. That’s an if. There’s a bigger chance of me winning the lottery than a bloodthirsty marauder (is that a Judas Priest song?) creeping in my house.
But hey, not all the world lives in fear and stashes weaponry in their bedrooms, forever reinforcing the idea in one’s head that you might need to fight for your life in your home.
As an atheist household, there’s no wishing to god around these parts, either.
I live in a gated condo complex, so it would not be that expected. I know there have been no break-ins like this in our complex – only daytime catalytic converter thieves. Any home invasions would have had the NextDoor nitwits agog for years.
Since I’m on the second floor, I’d lock my bedroom door (solid Doug fir) and take refuge on my balcony. If they broke down my door anyway, I’d yell (maybe I’d yell before they broke it down) and try to get down to the ground. I’m not terribly agile any more, so it’d be almost scarier than facing the invader.
I should start keeping my phone upstairs at night, though.
Oh, and I accidentally called 911 twice until I figured out how I’d done it. Both times, LAPD was there in five minutes. Yeah, I’m in L.A. Never been robbed or mugged. My childhood home was burgled once when I was in high school by the creepy son of our next door neighbors. We got all out stuff back. Yay, us! I was happy because I got back the Bix Beiderbecke lp that I’d searched for for a while.
I’m really not sure. I think I’d be inclined to call out, maybe just a “HELLO?!!” to see if I hear them leave or not. My phone is by the bed so I’d probably start dialing 911.
I don’t have a weapon, I’m not a strong person, so basically " stay downstairs, I don’t want trouble, get out!"
They can take what they want, I don’t want anyone hurt, not even a thief. It’s awful and I don’t know how safe I’d feel in the home again, but I’d feel worse for someone getting hurt over a PlayStation or whatever. I have insurance.
My info might be out of date, but I seem to recall reading that home invasions around here (Montreal) are rarely with a weapon, at least not a gun. Different cultures.
My dog is 65 pounds and although he is normally very affable, I’ve also seen him chase bears out of our yard, sounding very serious indeed. I would not mess with a dog with a bark like that.
Actually woulr wait at the top of the stairs on the right side if facing up. not that i ever want to try it, but odds are in my favor to gut the prep even if he has a hand gun and the lights are on or off. lights off, odds go up in my favor.
My area is like that too. I do live in a ‘subdivision’ ~ 1 acre lots. It’s about 1/5 developed.
I haven’t taken any surveys, but I would bet, living in the remote mountains as we do, every homeowner is armed. And most of them have dogs. A home invasion would be suicidal.
I would be concerned, and investigate cautiously. I have nothing that would really make an effective weapon (well, I have knives, but if I can get to the kitchen unnoticed then there isn’t anyone in the house), so it would just have to be either a verbal confrontation or hiding.
There is no chance that anyone friendly is in our house at night (absent a time when we have guests staying over). If we heard someone, they’re not supposed to be there.
Mostly, I don’t worry about a nighttime intruder. As many have noted, the odds are very remote. We generally don’t even arm our alarm at night. However, if we had one, it would be very bad. Police are probably at least 15 minutes away, and we have no neighbors to hear us scream. Our dog is friendly to everyone, and sleeps more soundly than we do. I’m considering getting a handgun and a small safe for our bedside. In the interim, I’d put on some pants, grab my phone and leave by the back door with my wife. Then call 911 and wait.
Two young men broke into my house at around 1 AM in the morning many years ago. They pushed open the side door to my kitchen.
I was in my kitchen ironing at the time. I have insomnia and back then I used to just dive into necessary tasks when I couldn’t sleep.
As they entered I took the hot iron and threatened to burn them if they didn’t turn around and leave. They were shocked and at a loss and tried to make some excuse that they just entered the wrong house.
At 1 Am in the morning?
Haven’t had any recurrence. I sleep in my living room right by the front door so I would likely just call 911 if someone tried to break in now.
I quit ironing a long time ago.
When I’ve heard sounds that made me think someone was in the house I’ve grabbed the closest thing to a weapon (a screwdriver) and went towards the sound.
Probably not smart, but that was the instinct.
I have four middlin’ to large dogs, all barky, some bitey. They roam loose in the house at night. In the bedroom, there are phones, loaded guns, and an exit door. We’ll figure something out.
And maybe your dog was desperately trying to report that he was out of kibble and you had disappeared into the basement, not paying attention to his basic needs.
This is in no way derogatory, but I used to think that too. Until I got a brutal dose of reality regarding violent intruders. My not-even-remotely-humble opinion is that most of us are delusional about our ability to fight off a determined and strong attacker, especially at night and groggy from sleep.
As to the OP’s question: An intruder in our house at night is extremely unlikely, given the hardened doors/windows, electronic dewline, dog, and other obstacles that must be breached. Non-destructive entry at night is impossible, therefore anyone inside is automatically a threat (no possibility of a relative “letting themselves in” unexpectedly). So should the impossible happen, we’d arm ourselves behind the locked bedroom door and prepare. I can’t say exactly what we’d do next, but remaining barricaded and calling the police is the most desirable option. Option two is fleeing via another door. Option three is obvious and we’re well prepared, but a last resort.
A kindred spirit I guess. Differing circumstances but quite similar for me. One day I might get drunk enough to tell the story.
Happens all the time at my house.
Well, no, what I mean is that it used to happen. Miss Roomie is a night person/day sleeper. Mr Roomie is also something of a night person, but someone has to bring in the income.
If there was an actual intruder, I’d feel sorry for them. Miss Roomie is thoroughly versed and experience with both the 308 rifle and collection of functional swords (as opposed to wall hanger decorations) of Mr Roomie, Mr Roomie with his 308 rifle and collection of swords, Vaderling is a hormonal teenager with delusions of grandeur and a baseball bat, and me, angry, naked and fully convinced of the “look big and sound scary” strategy of avoiding a fight, also armed with an axe handle. My guns would take too much to unlock and load.
I got to SO’s house very late the other night; I was literally bleary-eyed & probably should have pulled over somewhere to take a nap. I am both ashamed of my actions & thankful that nothing bad happened - no alcohol was involved, just lack of sleep.
I have a key to her house, & like usual, unlocked & opened the door & made the standard two trips in with my stuff. Adult kid’s bedroom is downstairs & her dog (1½ yo pittie never makes a sound for me at night though he does bark for any noise outside during the day). However, unlike normal I just crashed downstairs; I just couldn’t deal anymore &, very unlike me, couldn’t deal with my 4-legged baby gurl who was upstairs & would be very happy to see me & would demand skritches & kisses; I just needed sleep. However, she heard me, got up off the bed & stood/sat by the door, wagging her tail, waiting patiently for me to come up. SO woke up, too, & took some phone pics/video of her. SO, knowing I was getting there late, hearing noises that coincided with that & seeing the dog’s reaction promptly put her head back down & fell asleep again. My baby gurl was laying by the door thee hours later when SO got up for the bathroom.
I am a horrible, horrible person & really should have pitted myself for disappointing her.
