Monday, June 2, 2008

I Think It's Time to Check Your Closets





A friend of mine used to make fun of me because I check behind the clothes in my closet before I go to bed each night. After reading this post, she may not find my little quirk so amusing after all.

Not long ago, a Tokyo man noticed that the food in his refrigerator was mysteriously disappearing. So he set up surveillance cameras around his apartment and sent the video feeds to his cell phone.

One day, the cameras captured a dark figure slinking through his house. He called the police, who found the doors and windows locked from the inside--and no sign of a burglar. Still, they decided to search the house. When they got to the closet, they made an unexpected discovery. Inside, they found a woman curled up on her side. But she wasn't a burglar. She had been LIVING in the man's closet for almost an entire year.

How could this happen? Well, people in Japan sleep on futons. During the day, they often roll-up the futons and put them inside a closet. For this reason, Japanese closets tend to be particularly dark and deep. The woman claimed she'd snuck into the man's apartment one day when he accidentally left his door unlocked. During the day when he was at work, she would come out to shower and eat.

Read more here!

(Below: A typical Japanese closet.)


20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooooh...creepy!!! My cousin once told me this scary story about a clown living in one the the house's her friend babysat in. She still won't tell me if it was true or not...

~Skyla

*first comment dance*

Invisible Turtle said...

Thanks! Now when I'm told to clean out my closet, I'll have an excuse to explain why I shouldn't (besides the obvious not wanting to.)

Patsee said...

Wow. This is probably only the... *tallies up on fingers* third or fourth time I've heard of somthing you've posted before you posted it. How... unusual.

Michele said...

That's really creepy...

KonaKona said...

"I'll go ahead and clean out my locker I 'spooooooooose. Old papers... old pencils... old person..."
"I left a check for last month's rent on the table!"

- Teen Girl Squad Issue 14, Homestarrunner

That just came to me when I read this. But if I ever entered my closet and saw someone. I would probably just, slowly slide the door back... then probably call the polize...

liltomboyblue11;) said...

that's awesome!!!! i looooove japan... now i REALLY wanna go there!!! i know, i'm weird... :)

Thumb Biter said...

BTW, anyone know where I can read more about the story? xD This is one of the best I've heard in a long time...my mom nearly fainted when I told her about it!

Kiel the ninja said...

woah, I always check my closet before i go to bed too! its weird, i cant sleep unless its completely closed...and now i know why. Seriously, that would be kinda freaky to find out someone is living in ur closet. She was arrested right??????????

Carry No Seal said...

OMG not as creepy as when I was little. There used to be this 101 Dalmation costume in my closet when I was four and when the lights went out you could still see it. And it looked like a cow costume--scared me so much. Not kidding.
I also used to think witches lived under my bed but that's a different story.

Anonymous said...

uuuum, can you say creepy?
that's weird how casually that woman seemed to just come right out and say..." oh. yeah, I've been living in your house for about a year without you knowing. However, no biggie!" :Dthings must be different in Japan

Kitty said...

That reminds me of Doreamon. Doreamon sleeps in Nobita's closet. I don't think anyony would like to stay in my closet ('cuz when my mom tells me to clean my room, I stuff everything in my closet XD).l

Anonymous said...

That is soooooooooooooooooooooooo creepy & weird !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm surprised i didn't find anyone in my locker when i cleaned it out!
it was a disater !!!!!!!!!!!!
jk my friend' swas worse
mk

Raph said...

Fantastic! I almost wish that was me...
You keep convincing me over and over again I need to go to Japan, regardless of the price. -.-

Haha. I commented so late on this because I thought it was part of the post before. Odd.

Anonymous said...

But what happened to the woman? Did the guy ask her to give him the rent for a year? Did she get arrested for breaking and entering? (Well, it wasn't tecnically breaking, but you get the idea.)

Cupcakedoll said...

I wonder what it was like for her. I wonder if she was scared, or if she felt safe since nobody knew she was there. Maybe she watched TV and read books during the day too. =) maybe she should've done the guy's dishes for him so he'd think he had a brownie instead of a burglar...

Kirsten Miller said...

Rie: Wow, that sounds pretty cool. I've never heard of that school.

Anonymous: I'm not sure what happened to her. I can't seem to find an update!

Cupcake doll: I love that idea. In fact, if anyone wants to live in my closet . . .

Random Irregular said...

I saw this in the nespaper the other day!

Anonymous said...

That's so weird! But wouldn't you notice a little difference if someone's been living in your home for a year?

Anonymous said...

Thats pretty creepy...i don't think I'm ever gonna sleep soundly again unless I check my closet. There's definately space to hide!

Ashely said...

That's pretty creepy...There's definately space to hide in my closet.