Hi, I'm no electronics expert but I could really use some help from one.
I’ve been struggling with writing this email for a long time, mostly because I'm afraid of coming off like a nut. But the situation in unbearable, and I really could use some help. I apologize for the length of this email, but I thought it was necessary to get all the facts down.
In short: I'm being harassed by my downstairs neighbor. I believe some of that harassment has been through electronic means. This includes physical harassment, but the nature is so bizarre, I don’t know how he’s doing it, let alone how to obtain proof.
Background
I moved into my apartment in April 2021. It is garden apartment complex arranged around a quad. Each building has only 2 apartments, 1 downstairs and 1 upstairs. The day I moved in, I could hear the guy downstairs banging on the wall as we were moving in. This went on while the movers were bringing my stuff upstairs and even when they were outside getting stuff from the truck, and I was sitting perfectly still cutting the tape on some boxes. Didn’t think much of it at the time I just thought maybe the guy downstairs was also moving in (he’s actually been here for some years).
After my stuff was all moved in, I went downstairs to introduce myself, was very friendly and said that if he never needed anything when I was on my way to the store to let me know. My neighbor - I’ll call him Larry - was a man in his 60s. He responded by telling me the lady who lived upstirs before me had never knocked on his door. I promised that I was just saying hello but would not be regularly knocking on his door. I left on friendly terms and said goodbye.
Soon after that I began to be woken up repeatedly between 2-4am in the morning. I was exhausted and couldn’t figure out why. One night when I woke, I was still between sleep and waking and I heard what sounded like hands drumming on a table. This was around 4:30am on a Sunday morning. I woke up and listened. Sure enough, the drumming sound was repeated several times along with random slams and bangs.
I waited until 8:30am, then went and knocked on Larry’s door. I told him what I heard and asked him what was going on. He flat out denied everything. I said that I knew I snored sometimes, and I hoped I hadn’t bothered him, adding that I kept a white noise machine by my bed to block out any noise I might make. He said he hadn’t heard me, and then referring to the drumming and other noises, he giggled and said “maybe it was me”. Which erased any doubts I had in my mind up to then.
The next time this happened I again went to knock on his door. But he refused to open it, despite the fact that I could hear him moving around in his apartment.
Other things he has done include slamming stuff when I am trying to work from home, or when I go into the bathroom, or try to wash my dishes at the sink.
And as weird as that sounds, it gets weirder. Many times, I come home, climb the stairs, open my apartment door, and immediately smell bug spray. Like someone sprayed a whole can of it. I have neither sprayed nor seen a bug since I moved in. When I'm in the shower, it sometimes feels like the floor is shaking under my feet. Same thing happens sometimes when I'm doing dishes at the sink, sitting and watching YouTube, or just walking from room to room. I’ve also felt weird electric shocks (much sharper and more painful that when you touch a doorknob) when I'm standing at the sink or cooking by the stove (wooden floor under both) or sometimes just sitting or lying in bed.
I’ve tried again to knock on his door and talk to him, but he wouldn’t open it. I’ve reported some of this stuff to the rental office who have been very kind. They went to speak to Larry, but he denied everything and said that if I smelled something it might be his automatic air freshener (it was not air freshener I smelled). Management suggested I slip a note under Larry’s door, asking him if we could talk about it. I did but got no response.
After that Larry continued what he was doing, but also upped the ante. I used to sit at a desk when I worked from home and I noticed that the floor under my chair would get very hot, even though I was sitting about a foot away from an air conditioner on full blast. Also, at times I would feel about an intense concentrated spot of heat, sometimes on my leg or my shoulder, or between my shoulder blades. It felt like when someone holds a magnifying glass over a patch of grass. The heat was enough to be painful. I would try to move my seat, and after a while the heat sources would move, too. Also, sometimes the floor would shake under my feet, and I would hear random bangs and slams.
What I need help with
The weirdest and most troubling is yet to come. I used to sit at a desk to work from home. Because of the constant harassment above. I took to working from my bed with my laptop by my side. My bed and box spring are on the floor. Soon after I started to work this way, I started feeling heat coming up from beneath my mattress. Let me mention here that I am long past the change, and I do not sleep hot. i have also woken up feeling dizzy and sick with the pillow I'm laying on being very hot. I have an object thermometer and at times the heat in the spot I'm lying in has registered anywhere from 92-95 degrees. I have been woken by sensations of heat that were physically painful coming up from beneath my head and shoulders, and any icepacks I use melt very quickly. Moving around brings a few moments relief, and then the heat moves too. It feels like the heat from a heater (but I don’t hear any heater fan).
And even that’s not the worst. In addition, sometimes it feels like something is moving underneath me and traveling the length of my back. It is a very weird and unpleasant sensation. I also sometimes experience something like a flicking sensation – I’ve felt this at my side, on my legs, and sometimes at the top of my head. Sometimes I even hear a noise like someone flicking something. This alternates with the type of electric shock I mentioned earlier, or sometimes with something that feels like a sharp stabbing pain, usually under my back or shoulders, but sometimes under my arms or legs. I’ve tried to lessen these effects by sleeping on a wooden board. And that’s the weirdest part. This had some effect but after a while it would feel like either the board was pushed up into my back or that it was being pulled down, which would cause my lower back to hurt.
Look - I know all this sounds nuts. It probably would to me too if someone told it to me. But I'm not imagining it. I know the guy is sneaky and underhanded. My other neighbors in the complex (all the others I’ve met are very nice) have also told me that Larry never goes out except for very late at night to buy beer and that when he come s back, he always parks all crazy. So, it also seems like he has a lot of time on his hands and a drinking problem. I don’t know what his beef with me is, maybe he just doesn’t want anyone living above him. In any case I'm sick of being harassed. I would move but my rent is the cheapest I could find in the area, and I can barely afford that. It’s been a living hell, and nearly impossible to work from home or work on any personal goals.
Just to cover all bases, I have also been to my doctor to rule out any medical issues that could mimic types of things like feeling the heat, vibrations, and back pain. According to my doctor I have no current health issues that would cause any symptoms like these.
I think some of the things Larry is doing must have some electronic basis. As far as the floor shaking thing, I found one gadget that can do that here:
https://wonderfulengineering.com/man-gets-back-noisy-upstairs-neighbors-building-shaker-bought-online/ I'm sure the electric shocks might be some kind of joy buzzer or something. The most distressing stuff is what happens when I'm just trying to relax (or work from home) in bed.
By now you may have guessed that the harassment has constant. Larry will occasionally take a break for about 10-15 minutes, but it’s never longer than that and then he’s pulling something. He’s been running through his bag of tricks as I lie here in bed writing this. At night, I usually fall into an exhausted sleep while he’s still doing stuff and I'm usually wakened by him doing stuff. I have tried everything I could think of to mitigate his harassment and to peacefully get him to stop. Nothing has worked.
Again, I know this sounds nuts. I have never had a hallucination and I don’t think this is the work of ghosts, aliens, magic or anything supernatural. This is the work of a nasty, troubled man. .I'm sick of his nonsense and I want to go to the cops. But I know without proof it’s just going to sound nuts.
Please, I really need some help from experts on this stuff. Can you suggest how he might be doing these things? If I could at least tell the cops what to look for that might be some form of proof. At least enough to get him investigated.
Thank you for listening and any advice you might have.
Blakeneydp
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