When ten roommates started hearing strange noises from their basement, they initially thought their house might be haunted. However, the truth turned out to be even more unsettling.
In addition to the mysterious sounds and alarms, the students noticed open drawers in the kitchen and bathroom, as well as lights on in rooms they hadn’t visited. Intrigued and frightened, they traced the noises to the basement, where they encountered a locked door.
One of the housemates, Mark Hartman, recounted to ABC News that his roommate Brett had heard noises in the basement multiple times. Whenever Brett attempted to open a certain locked door in the basement, he was unsuccessful.
During a subsequent investigation in the basement, Brett was startled to discover an unknown man. Mark shared that Brett, understandably alarmed, questioned the man, who identified himself as Jeremy but refused to provide further information before leaving the house.
With the assistance of the police, the group of eight men and two women managed to force open the locked door, revealing a fully furnished bedroom with photographs, books, a television, and clothing. It dawned on the Ohio State University students that Jeremy had been residing in their basement without their knowledge, entering through a side door to avoid detection.
It was later revealed that Jeremy’s cousin had lived in the house the previous year, granting him initial access to the property. This unsettling revelation occurred in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013.
The leasing company, NorthSteppe Reality, promptly changed the locks upon Jeremy’s discovery. However, the students expressed concerns that the company had failed to notice an unauthorized occupant in their residence.
The landlord left a note at the property requesting Jeremy to contact them, which he did later that evening before vacating the room. Jeremy had been utilizing a bathroom and sink in the basement for his needs, with no evidence suggesting he had consumed their food or entered their rooms.
Mark informed The Lantern.com that the locks had not been changed since the previous year, and the keys were not marked as non-duplicable. This raised the possibility of numerous individuals having access to the house keys. The students hoped for discounted rent for a period and had sought advice from student legal services.
Subsequently, Jeremy was described as a “decent person” by another housemate, Jimmy Alderman. Despite the unsettling situation, Alderman acknowledged that it could have been much worse.
