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The New Apartment- Part 1

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posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 09:25 PM
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The New Apartment

I want to call this the new apartment as it is a new apartment. I had lived in my own home for over 14 years. I lived in several apartments before that.

Oddly, I most remember my first apartment. Before I was married, before I was a mother. I had 2 different roommates in the 'old apartment' before my future ex-husband moved in. It was a fair neighborhood when I moved in. I lived above a Chinese grocery. My landlord owned the pizza place on the ground level on the corner of the building. I worked a lot, was in college, was rarely home. I seemed to not notice the crime increasing in the area. There was a big bolt on the ground level on the street for the door that led to steep stairs to 2 apartments. My apartment on the right. A couple lived on the left that I rarely saw, they were quiet, happy and were remodeling their apartment almost without a sound.


I had a sketchy, half boarded up back door leading to a VERY rickety porch that I never used. I think the stairs leading to it outside were so unstable, it kept me from being robbed.

It was cute though. The front room had an unused 1910s fireplace and mantle. Some wainscoting. A small closet. Blue carpet. There was a hall closet, but I only put the most useless things in there, the ceiling was coming down and the attic ran the length of the street. Yes, all the buildings connected. Best not to let anything in from there. However, there was an opening into the small convenience store below, a simple long grabber tool was useful there, maybe for a pepsi or a pack of cigarettes, but maybe I should leave that part out.

There was a middle bedroom. No closet. So odd. Drop ceiling with florescent lighting. Baby blue carpeting. Press board faux wood walls, like a garage or a laundry room.

The kitchen was GREAT. Lots of glass door cabinets. Lots of lower cupboards. A large sink and plenty of counter space. Enough room for a good sized dining table, a fridge, a large stove and lots of walking room left over. The hot water tank, was in in the kitchen. I found that odd, but just ignored it. It took me about 6 months to remove the grease on the stove from the previous tenants.

The bathroom was cute. Clawfoot tub. I don't remember much about it other than that and it's entrance was in the back room that could be a bedroom or a living room. I used the attached room as a bedroom or a living room at various times, depending on who lived there with me, or my mood if I was living there alone.

There WERE cockroaches.

I would only see them at night if I got up and turned the kitchen light on. The landlord fumigated about 6 times. There was no way to fix that. No matter how clean. Too many restaurants and connected attics and basements. I also learned, later, that the sticky shelf paper I used to cover the tiniest cracks...attracted cockroaches, they eat the glue.

The rent was $250 a month. At times I struggled a bit on my own, and then with a roommate that seemed to never have money and then with a roommate that broke his ankle at work at some point. But it appeared I was usually able to pay the rent and the small utility bills. There came a time the money ran out, but that is another story all together.

The next apartments are pretty much a blur. Why, I don't know. At least one upper apartment was interesting, when I was pregnant and married. The second bedroom was oversized, ran the length of the apartment. But it had no closet, lol. Another apartment with a bedroom with no closet.

Another upper apartment had a storage space that had a door in the bathroom and ran the length of most of the apartment. That was interesting and was filled with interesting things. I cleaned it out, had not seen a broom in probably 30 years and hoped to make an office out of it. I never quite got that far. I also built a half-door to the kitchen to keep my daughter out at night, she was a toddler that tended to wander the house in the middle of the night.



Another upper apartment had a very small basement with access from outside. There were washer and dryer hookups in it. I asked the landlord for permission to install a washer and dryer in there, and if he covered the water and power I would let the other tenants use the machines. The electric line was attached to the landlord's line. He said yes. The girl in the back apartment used them.

I don't think the man downstairs ever did. But the man downstairs, who was a drunk with a pet parrot he let loose in the apartment and pooped all over the place, was found dead by a relative at some point. His gas had been shut off and he may have froze to death. Believe it or not, since his apartment was much larger, I requested it, and asked that the landlord steam clean the carpets. We did move in.

That ended me nailing garden trellis to the windows, afraid my daughter would fall out. At least until the next apartment, which was on the 2nd floor. And I also ceased putting a screen door on her room to keep the cats out. My ex husband was probably very happy by both of those changes.



Any weird things, other than that? Maybe in 'The Old Apartment'. Odd sounds. I once asked THAT landlord, the owner of the pizza place, for a look at the basement. I said I wanted to see if there were washer and dryer hookups. He says, "You don't want to go down there." I said, I do. He said there were hookups, but said again, that I didn't want to go down there. I insisted. The entrance was in the back of the pizza place.


We both came running back up the stairs. I don't remember why.



Now, Those were old apartments. I lived a long time after in a big house on a suburban street. With my daughter and on occasion a boarder. And then just a boarder after my daughter went off to college. Now I am in an apartment again. This is the NEW apartment. And it's ways and means are strange. That will be part II of this. With different parts. I moved in in November of 2016.

1) the building and landlord, maybe a 1a, my roommate, who was a tenant in the home I sold. 2) The Beautiful Immigrant 3) The Possible Methheads 4) The American Girl

5) Whatever occurs after and during in regard to this strange place- that almost burnt to the ground in April of 2016.

There is something wrong with the basement.








edit on 20-2-2017 by reldra because: (no reason given)

edit on 20-2-2017 by reldra because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 09:48 PM
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That was a very interesting and entertaining read . Reminded me of some apartments I had, that I loved ,with the old claw foot tubs 🙂

I wish you many happy memories in the new apartment... and thank you for sharing some of your life with us .. I really did enjoy reading that💞



posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 09:55 PM
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a reply to: Sheye

You're welcome. I am working on the next part. The weirdness is only partially embellished.



posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 09:57 PM
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a reply to: reldra

That last photo is spooky.

I enjoyed reading this, I hope we can be friendly outside of the mud-pit



posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 09:59 PM
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originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
a reply to: reldra

That last photo is spooky.

I enjoyed reading this, I hope we can be friendly outside of the mud-pit


You already PM me, I thought we were lol. It is creepy. I have to remember why.

That basement has a connection with this basement.

eta: oops, it is someone with a very similar name to yours..I just checked.
edit on 20-2-2017 by reldra because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 10:10 PM
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a reply to: reldra

Yah I was just about to say lol. It's OK we can still be friends without the PM. There's a lot more to me than the mean mud slinger :p



posted on Feb, 20 2017 @ 11:36 PM
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Part II (1) The Landlord

I will have to backtrack a bit, but not too much for this part.

I had looked at about 7 different apartments. Many were lacking in location or they hadn't been remodeled in decades. I do like vintage features, but 25 year old caulk in the tub and destroyed linoleum in the kitchen will not cut it. Some apartments that were in terrible shape required first, last and security. That is not common here, first and security is the most common. I wasn't going to hand over in excess of $2400 for a crappy place.

I saw the ad for this apartment and was to show up on an Open House day and time. I had been to one of those in the 'old apartment' time. I expected a lot of people to be there. Nice neighborhood, reasonable rent. Heat included.

I arrived and there was 1 other person looking and a property manager, Jonah.




The entire building was empty. The 2 upper apartments. One lower. The other lower lower apartment had a padlock on it.

I looked at all three. I saw the girl looking upstairs, but I can't say that she is the 'American Girl' I will describe later. I am just not sure.



The landlord wanted 1st and security. We walked around and looked at the apartment making notes of any repairs to be done or existing damage. My housemate showed up a little late and looked around.

There are 3 entrances to the apartment. The main door, sliding doors in the dining room and yet another going outside from the back bedroom.

A large coat closet. A large, shelved linen closet.

Small closets in the bedrooms, but very tall. Thoughtful hooks or storage systems would make them great.
I was given a choice of storage rooms in the basement, I chose the largest one...about as big as my living room. It had built in shelves, a light fixture and a place to put a lock on the outside. So big, I could have rented it out as storage space to someone else and had room left over.



The kitchen had a cool door that once sent wood to the boiler.


There was a very long patio in the back.

Beautiful french doors in the living room.


Everything had been newly painted. Textured paint on the living room ceiling.

It seemed TOO good to be true. It felt that way, that day. But my housemate is disabled and the 2 steps off the back patio lead to a sidewalk to the street. He wouldn't have to walk down the steep stairs from the main entrance.

I wanted to say goodbye to the gas company that had been draining me dry since I was 19. The wood floors were just put in. They welcomed cats, no extra charge.

I was running out of time. There seemed to be no reason to say no.

Not one reference was ever called. My employer and 3 friends were waiting for calls that never came. There was no inquiry on my credit report. Same for my housemate who who was a joint signer.

I would learn later, just why there was a reason.

ecfw




edit on 20-2-2017 by reldra because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 12:32 AM
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Part II (1a) The Housemate

This will be a very short part, at least for now.

He, nor I could have ever have seen what was to happen. He was usually in his room, on the net, doing Twitch or whatever it is he does. We were once a little more than friends, but at that time it was called WII and chill, when WII was new.


I met him on the net. I would go over to his place, we would play WII and than mess around. Or he would come to my place. Once he set up cameras to catch orbs on my stairs while we went to the store. I want that video, oddly, there was an incredible amount of orbs on it. It's always the videos you can't find that prove supernatural activity.

After his father passed, he rented a room in my house. Since then, we have been just friends. I worry, sometimes, that his condition is getting worse. I don't ask. But I assume it is.

When the bad things started happening, in the building, he was the most vocal about it. The strongest. I only thought it would make it worse. Neither of us knew what to do, really, he did what he thought best. He complained and he went down to the basement.

I think that is really when things started to focus a little more on this apartment, when it had been left out, for the most part. I don't blame him, it would have happened anyway and eventually.






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posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 01:01 AM
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Part II (2) The Beautiful Immigrant

I first heard her when she was in the hallway with Jonah. She was going to look at one of the upstairs apartments. This might be slightly out of order, as I think the Possible Methheads moved back in, at some point. I say back in as I believe they resided there before the padlock on the other downstairs apartment and were able to somehow return.

She was loud. A Jamaican or Dominican accent, pardon me if I can't exactly tell. I heard her and Jonah walking back and forth across the apartment. I heard him call her Penny. Their conversations and walking went on for about an hour. I heard them both leave.

Within a few days, she moved in with, what sounded like, at least 2 children. The day was noisy. Not a problem. Moving is noisy.

A couple days later, I was coming home from work, walking home from the bus stop and coming toward me on the street was a striking woman, in tight braids, and some type of bright nursing scrubs visible under her coat.

As she passed me, she said something about how cold it was. I said, "Are you Penny?", She turned around looking stunned. I said, "I think I live below you." She says , "Yes, I just moved in." In a thick accent. I told her I recognized her voice from the hallway and introduced myself. We chatted a bit and I went home, she went towards the main road.

I would become extremely irritated at her habit of walking back and forth across the entire length of her apartment over and over late at night and early in the morning. Moving furniture around, constantly. Dropping things every 5 minutes. Then, running a massage chair above my bedroom at 1am. That actually sounds like a thousand drills coming through the ceiling.

I twice went up top talk to her about it and both times she seemed ok about it.

What I didn't realize is that I might be just feeding something I didn't understand. Really, no one did, then.




posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 01:48 AM
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Part II (3) The Possible Methheads

I actually think it's more than possible. They are the first people I met in the building. A couple. Julie and Mark. After talking to them for more than two minutes, you know.

Might not be meth, but it's something. And then I notice lots of cabs showing up, the cab drivers actually coming into the building (which is not normal here) and then leaving...without passengers.
So I see where the drugs come from. Never had a clue there was a cab driver drug trade. Learn something new every day.

If they aren't manufacturing drugs in the building, I don't care. It just became obvious. They are almost never loud. They have a random argument here and there, but most people would pray for neighbors that make so little noise.

Mark is barely understandable when he talks. Julie sounds fine, if not a little too UP. I have seen inside their apartment and the decor shames mine.

The first bad thing happened when the fire alarm tripped, for like the 20th time since I moved in.

They are sensitive, loud computerized and wired into the building. A computer voice will say "FIRE' or 'CARBON MONOXIDE' when there is none. The fire department has been here and the conclusion is that the electrical wiring drops in voltage and sets them off.

So, the fire alarm goes off,all of them, one night.



All twelve of the alarm's computer voices screeching 'FIRE'. I grab my phone and my cat and out into the hallway and call out, "is anyone cooking?" That is my habit. These are set off by cooking or shower steam.

I stand there and call out again. The American Girl calls down from the upper landing and says, 'All OK here. I wasn't even using my hair dryer." Penny opens her door and yells, "Nothing here." And shuts her door.

I knock on Julie's door. No answer. Though I know I heard their TV only 15 minutes before.

One damn day there will be a real fire. The landlord has asked me to look in the basement before...when I have called him about the alarm. So I decide to go and look at the boiler. His stupid azz is never coming. So, I decide to go look. He really needs to handle this alarm problem. It has gone off at 4am for no reason.

I put my cat back in the apartment. I grab the flashlight I keep by the door.

I am going to go look for the non fire yet again, but would feel dumb if something was really on fire.

Then, I open the basement door and start down the stairs. I turn the corner on the landing and



No. Noo noo no...

I turn around, like my shoes are in mud, but I use all of my strength to go back up the stairs. Every single one is like glue.
The fkn doorknob doesn't want to turn. laying just a foot from my

It's just like a pull latch, it moves up and down. The screws have always been loose in it and as I pull up and down on it the screws fly out. I push myself against the door and it opens.

Not much, it is weighted at the top hinge. I crawl out on to the front hall carpet.

I still feel like I am being pulled back, but I pull my knees up and kick the basement door shut.

I roll over to push my sneakers against the door and look up. The American Girl is looking down at me. Smiling. The strangest smile. I am
laying just a foot from my apartment door and I reach to pound on kit and yell out, "Elijah!". I next feel myself dragged back into my apartment by my hands.



And I go black.











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posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 03:02 AM
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Part II (4) The American Girl

Sandie had always been the quiet one. She moved in last. Alone. There was no extra noise the day she moved in. As if she had moved in with herself and a purse. And a large hair dryer she attributed to a couple of times the smoke alarm went off.

She had never been noisy and was always polite and chatted enough but not too much in the hall. She at times seemed about 23 and at times about 43. Her look changed so often. The few times she was seen. She talked quickly and with a high trill that caused immediate trust. Anyone so bouncy and light must be harmless, right?

That was up until the moment I awoke to her beating on my door with her bare hands and ......hissing. I opened my eyes to look up at my door shaking, being hit from the other side and a loud HISSING sound. Like a snake. I pushed against the wood floor to get myself farther away from the door.

I sat up and looked for Elijah. He was standing near the door to the bathroom. I asked him what he was doing, he said, "I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. I have no idea how I pulled you out of the hall, let alone whaI I am doing now."

I get up and push a small loveseat against the door. Elijah looks at me with his hands out and says, "Really?"

I sit on the loveseat. "This is all I got." I say. He says, "Aren't you Wiccan, don't you have any spells?" I say, "You want love or your crops to grow or to find water or a better skin cream, I am your girl."

The door bounces off of the loveseat I am sitting on. The hissing continues.

I hear a noise from my bedroom, Elijah turns and looks there. "It's Julie, she is coming in the fkn window." He says.

He goes to help her and she comes into the living room. She pulls a gun from the waistband of her jeans.

"Fck this btch." Julie yells, runs toward the door and shoots. She shoots 3 times through the door. The hissing gets louder and louder and stops.

"Well, the basement is fkd.", Julie says. "We can't use the washer and dryer anymore. I think we should all move."


___________________________________________________________________________________________

I wish that is how it ended. But I will probably have to rewind as things actually happen in real life. Most of the end did not seem plausible, did it? I will pick up again at about Part II (3)

edit on 21-2-2017 by reldra because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 06:37 AM
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Wow, so far so good I cant wait for the rest. S&F



posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 08:59 PM
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I didn't realize at first post this was fiction ? or is it ? This is getting creepier by each post😕

My prayers of protection for you Reldra if this is non fictatious 😳



posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 10:29 PM
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a reply to: reldra

I'd guess, for the places with no closet, that the buildings were very old? Older places, people were as likely to have a wardrobe, or chifforobe, as we called them, so no closet needed. The house where my grandparents lived had no bedroom closets, either.

Basements can be creepy!!



posted on Feb, 21 2017 @ 11:29 PM
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S/F for creepiness!Snake/neighbor hissing at door!?



posted on Feb, 22 2017 @ 08:50 PM
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originally posted by: Sheye
I didn't realize at first post this was fiction ? or is it ? This is getting creepier by each post😕

My prayers of protection for you Reldra if this is non fictatious 😳


I will say it is partially fiction. About halfway Part II (3) it changes to fiction.

I wanted to finish a story. But the constant fire alarms and the description of the people is correct. The fact that something is wrong is more than correct. I think I picked the wrong villain,or maybe not.
edit on 22-2-2017 by reldra because: (no reason given)



posted on Feb, 22 2017 @ 09:33 PM
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Part III The American GirlI don;t think I ever gave her a name. Her name is Valerie. I may have called her something else, she is usually so quiet, but her name is Valerie.



Valerie knocked on my door just a little bit ago. Her kitchen sink was backed up and she needed a plunger. I went and got mine, I sprayed bleach cleaner all over it into the toilet, wiped it with paper towels and gave it to her.

We got to talking at my door.

She had an incident in the last couple days.

She lives, if I didn't say before, upstairs and across the hall.

There is an attic door with a small latch on it in the hallway ceiling of her apartment. I never noticed it when I saw that apartment. She said she never paid any attention to it.

The lock looks like thhis:


She came home from work yesterday and the latch was broken, ripped from the screws. There were hammer marks on the attic side of the door.

She ha a male friend come over. He got on a ladder and, with a flashlight, could see some items stored on the other side, the side that would be above the apartment on the other side. Penny's side.

She called the landlord, who promises a handyman to come by tomorrow to seal the door up. She says she has a makeshift board against it, for the moment.

She tells me that she asked Penny if she knew about the attic space. Penny said yes, but also seemed to feign surprise at the break in. Penny asked if someone could have broken in form the roof. I find that impossible. It is a tile roof, looks like this:


Valerie did go on about how she smells weed from time to time from Penny's apartment. Valerie had asked why Penny opens the window wide in the common hallway and Penny said it was for 'her daughter's asthma'. Valerie found that odd. I said I hadn't smelled it, but my roommate did. He mentioned it several times. We both agreed that the smell of weed wasn't a big deal, using the excuse of a child's asthma to open the common area window wide in 22 degrees might be.

I told Valerie that Penny, who controls the heat in my apartment always has it cranked. Even during the 60+ degree weather we have been enjoying in Buffalo.

I got a lot of information from Valerie. These neighbors seem to talk a lot more together and Valerie had harsh words for Penny, who apparently, talks about church constantly, but has the weed smell and is definitely using the free washer in the basement to charge to take laundry in. I knew that a long time ago, as Penny was running the machines 9 hours a day at times.

This is again, all background. There are some noises, especially in the basement...that are unexplainable. I am an insurance analyst and have some good knowledge of electrical and plumbing. Violations, yes. Things that cause the noises, no.

In regard to the attic, would Penny be dumb enough to try to break into Valerie's house and then not pull the door up again? I doubt that.

There is much more than meets the eye here. Even when I go out on the porch, my phone is in a dead zone, no bars.
I never see ANY neighbors come outside. I know the house across the street is empty, though pristine.

When I walk the block or so to the bus on the main road, I see no one. No cars in driveways. I am not kidding. Other than having seen Penny the one day, walking from the bus.

There are at least 5 empty, yet perfect houses in the block. I assume the others aren't empty only due to nice curtains.

Of course, friends or family that come here get here. The mailman gets here.

On the CURB Taxi app, even though 'location' on my phone is on and drivers that accept the call, should see it on GPS,
About half the time I get this message: "Ride cancelled. The driver can't find you."

My zip code is the same village I have always lived in, but maps show it as unincorporated. They show it as Kenmore NW. The garbage pickup is handled by another town.

My mail shows up as half this village and half the nearest larger city. It is a well-off, EMPTY neighborhood, yet full of beautiful houses.



i did go to about 9 different schools between kindergarten and graduating high school. A couple of nice private schools. As I look back, I find that is a lot.








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posted on Feb, 28 2017 @ 03:50 PM
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This cinches it.

Reldra, you are officially awesome despite your authoritarian leanings.

Thank you for the insanely good read on this dreary, dead Tuesday in my restaurant.

I'm guessing you live in a city, but in a rural state. Lots of old, strange architecture in places like that.



posted on Feb, 28 2017 @ 03:52 PM
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Oh, and this thread deserves far more attention than it's getting.



posted on Mar, 1 2017 @ 05:30 PM
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originally posted by: TomLawless
This cinches it.

Reldra, you are officially awesome despite your authoritarian leanings.

Thank you for the insanely good read on this dreary, dead Tuesday in my restaurant.

I'm guessing you live in a city, but in a rural state. Lots of old, strange architecture in places like that.


You're welcome. I definitely do not have authoritarian leanings. That is why Trump scares me. But we both see through a glass darkly.




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