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People Share Their Absolute Worst Houseguest Horror Stories

People Share Their Absolute Worst Houseguest Horror Stories
Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

When someone asks to crash at your place, it's admittedly difficult to say no. And honestly, usually it feels nice to be hospitable.


But as we know, no good deed goes unpunished.

Sometimes people just display a startling lack of conscientiousness. They waltz in, put their feet up (literally and figuratively), and proceed to treat the place as if it were an armpit or the orangutan cage at a zoo.

The host is left standing their slack-jawed--and concocting new internal policies about who is allowed to stay at their place in the future.

Redditor asked Valkyrie_to_Odin:

"What's the worst houseguest experience you've had?"

Many bad guests stories involve someone who stayed WAY too long. They just couldn't take a hint.

Help Packing

"My ex-wife's friend had her car break down, and our apartment was right on a bus route to her job. She was supposed to stay over for a week while she got her car fixed."

"After 2 months and a lot of warning, we packed her bags for her and put them by the door."

-- rawbface

The Formative Months

"My mom's cousin and her husband went for a short visit to our house. She was five months pregnant then."

"She and her husband didn't leave until the baby was two months old."

-- MinutesTaker

Planing to be Here Awhile

"My aunt came to visit for what was supposed to be a week or two and didn't leave for almost a year when I was a kid. She redecorated my room and even put up pictures of herself."

"Now the running joke in my family is to randomly leave pictures of yourself around the house when we visit people."

-- slams-head-on-desk

Taking All There Was

"One of my best buddies from high school called me up and begged for me to come get him from a town about three hours away. The idea was he would stay with us for a couple weeks while he looked for work and then get his own place. Six months later I ended up renting him a room for one month and dropping him off with his junk and wishing him well."

"His father had warned me he would 'drain me dry' and he wasn't kidding. All those months he was supposedly using my vehicle to look for work he was instead going out to a local bar. Every bottle in our liquor cabinet was drained down to the last finger."

-- squidazz

Some people were cartoonishly disrespectful. They trashed the place with no remorse whatsoever.

Cleaned Out and Left Cleaning

"She stole all of my booze, pissed on my couch, tore up the flower bed to the side of my driveway, and destroyed my guest bathroom."

"This all happened after I'd fallen asleep, she was a guest of a tenant/room mate and that room mate was told either her friend wasn't allowed over ever again or she'd have to find a new place to live."

-- amalgamas

Things That Are Normal Where You Live But Crazy Anywhere Else | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Within Reach

"Instead of asking where the toilet paper is, they let their kid wipe his a** with our guest towels."

"They were overnight guests; there were definitely more rolls... they just didn't look around ¯\_o_/¯"

-- __Dawn__Amber__

Taking Advantage of the Tech

"Wife's cousin stayed a couple days with us. After he left, I discovered he purchased about $60 worth of porn on directv."

-- TheGentlemanLoser

Train Wreck

"Husband of friend came for Xmas since she was out of town. He brought the dog. Who had diarrhea."

"Dog humped our dog for hours til our dog was covered in s**t."

"Husband spouted racist crap and my kids laughed at him."

"Had to wash our dog in the kitchen after he left."

"Friend divorced now."

-- Ibenthinkin2much

Zero Effort Whatsoever

"We had a house-sitter once who wanted to bring their own dog for the week. They assured us the dog was well behaved and housetrained. This was a pretty close friend, and their house is nice and clean so we believed them."

"Came home to find every rug in our house destroyed. The house smelled funky when we walked in, and I immediately found wet spots on our living room rug. Lifted it up and it had more stained areas than not. Same with the kitchen, hallway, bedroom, and guestroom rugs. I'm guessing this dog didn't pee outside a single time it was there."

"This was someone we paid to watch our house."

-- SpicyWonderBread

And some discussed the strange an obnoxious behaviors that they just could not ignore.

False Alarm

"That would be the girl visiting my sister-in-law who decided it would be funny to repeatedly prank call 911. I got a very angry call from the local police station saying we either stopped or they'd be sending a squad car over."

"Apologised profusely to the officer and thanked him for calling us first. She was not invited back to her house, she was 17 and definitely old enough to know better."

-- zerbev

Rehearsing

"My old roommate told me she had a friend who had fallen on rough times and needed a spot to crash for a while. No worries, I told her."

"Oooh, big worries. He was a professional beatboxer, but more that that he was a professional smoker. Like, I'm fine with weed generally, but this dude was on 12-15 blunts a day, and would roll one as soon as he rolled his tighty whitey clad @ss off of our couch."

"So for like 4 months, as soon as I woke up, it was nothing but clouds of white owl and 'BRRRRMMMCHKCHK-FRKAFRKACHCKABRRRRMMM.' "

"He didn't fall on rough times. He WAS a rough time."

-- whitebabyjesus

Just Too Stoked About the Sound System

"He cranked my dad's speakers up to the max and blew them (they were from the 70's so impossible to replace or repair). Then he clogged our toilet, grabbed a bunch of grandma's quilts to sop up the water. He then tried to stop the water by violently shaking the tank, cracking the bowl and dislodging it from its base."

"In a panic he tried to bolt from the house, his wet feet slipped on the wood floor and he crashed into a wall leaving a nice body-sized impression."

"That's how my brother's friends was barred from the house."

-- F0000r

Territorial About Eggs

"A guest took a dozen eggs from my pantry and cooked it and served it to her kid after refusing to allow the kid to eat a dish I cooked for them."

-- rednryt

Bait and Switch

"Nothing compared to the other stories, but a mutual friend came to my place, and brought his roughly used PS4 controllers so we all could play together. When he left, he left his shitty controllers and took my good ones. He is a lawyer now. Go figure eh?"

-- akara1001

High Expectations

"Not me but my brother's partner requires that he go buy the ingredients for breakfast fresh every morning before he wakes up. As in if he wants bacon and eggs, my brother needs to go buy fresh bacon and eggs from the store before he wakes up, then come home and cook them (again, preferably before he wakes up)."

-- banquoinchains

So if you have any plans to crash at a friend's this summer--don't do any of these things, please.

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Signs Someone's Gotten Way Too Deep Into Conspiracy Theories

Reddit user sheerduckinghubris asked: 'what is a sign someone is way too deep into conspiracy theories?'

white and gray round plastic decor
Photo by Agent J on Unsplash

About 10 or so years ago, my brother got really into the Illuminati. He spent hours reading and researching and knew everything about the Illuminati. He could recite lectures when asked. I used to tease him about being a conspiracy theorist.

Then, I met a new friend of his. My brother and his friend bonded over their obsession with the Illuminati, but I never teased my brother again. That's because, after meeting his friend, I realized I had it easy.

My brother's friend constantly talked about the Illuminati. He'd find a way to bring every conversation back to the Illuminati or relate every action or word of the Illuminati. My brother only talked about this when asked. His friend didn't even need the slightest prompting.

That was when I first learned that people who are really deep into conspiracy theories show signs that they're deep into it. I'm not the only one who knows this. Redditors know that there are signs people show when they're deep into conspiracy theories and are eager to share what those signs are.

It all started when Redditor sheerduckinghubris asked:

"What is a sign someone is way too deep into conspiracy theories?"

No Tech Please

"An extended family-member-in-law keeps the Wifi router and all other TVs and communication devices, aside from their cell phones, in their house unplugged. If you want to use them while visiting, you have to ask permission, plug them in, then unplug them when you are done. They’re legit afraid of 5G and other radio waves on their physical and mental health, and seriously believe that” the government” is listening and tracking everything they do."

"I always remind them that “the government” is literally other humans that you can interact with, possibly your neighbors that sit on elected and voluntary boards and councils, and not some arbitrary anonymous “the government” entity."

"Them: But but “they’re” poisoning our water!"

"Me: Who? You mean Bill, the director of public works? Let’s call and ask him."

"Them: You can’t just call “them.”"

"Me: Actually, you can, let’s call Bill and ask him if he’s poisoning your water, and while we’re at it, let’s call Tom the major and ask if he’s trying to mind control you."

– jklolffgg

Social Media Signs

"I have a friend from college who has gone down this route. My only reference at this point is the rants he posts on Facebook. But everyone starts out the same: "Facebook keeps taking this down and flagging it because they don't want you to know the truth........""

– CoolHandRK1

"I'm sure this friend has no problem with the cognitive dissonance of "private businesses should be able to do whatever they want" and "I'm being CENSORED by SOCIAL MEDIA.""

– HaveAWillieNiceDay

Too Far Gone

"I think when they start fearing 5G or saying the earth is flat/stop brushing their teeth...I'm good."

– unmistakably

"Wait what stop brushing their teeth?"

– notaveryuniqueuser

"I could be wrong but I think they are scared of fluoride."

– ConnerennoC

"yep. that AND they think their diet makes it so they don't have to brush their teeth. YOU'RE WRONG. I CAN SMELL YOU."

– unmistakably

"This reminds me of how Steve Jobs insisted that he didn't need to bath or wear deodorant because his fruitarian diet flushed his body of mucus so he couldn't smell bad, but everyone around him could smell how utterly wrong he was."

– lesbowski

Signs Of A Shot

"I have a buddy from college who lost his mind during COVID. Now he posts all sorts of weird things on FB. Any time anyone of note dies it’s, “I bet they got the jab! No one just DIES for no reason!”"

– Prsop2000

"I’m a funeral director and embalmer and I had a guy call me one day and ask if I had seen white threads in the blood of people who had died and gotten the Covid shot. MFer how the hell am I going to know if they got vaxxed or not? I had another dude tell me conspiratorially that he knew I was seeing the white threads in blood because other funeral directors had told him that. Uh no they didn’t."

– PsychoticMessiah

Check Out My Ride

"Stickers all over the car."

– harajukukei

"I’ll do you one better. Saw a white beater car with conspiracy theories written all over it in sharpie."

– Ct-5736-Bladez

"My neighborhood has one...I always give it a wide berth..."

– breakermw

Eels, Energize!

"They have conspiracy theories that you’re not ready for."

– Telrom_1

"Like throwing your used car batteries into the ocean so the electric eels can charge."

– One-Permission-1811

"Where do you think the electric eels get their energy from?"

– unsmartkid

Free Thinkers

"They wear a "Warning: Free Thinker" tee shirt to Costco."

– flibbidygibbit

"Ironically mass produced and bought by "free thinkers.""

– mr_remy

"They need a Costco card to shop at Costco. Doesn't that concern them? Why does Costco need to know their names and addresses and keep records of their purchases?"

– CoralSkinRot

Cheeto Hands

"When professionals like doctors and historians are lying but some rando on YouTube in his basement with LED lights in the background and Hot Cheeto cheese on his fingers is telling them the REAL truth about (insert topic here)."

– Late_Comedian_5269

Medical Quacks

"What I find even worse are the (very few, but loud) doctors and other professionals who fall down the rabbit hole and give a bunch of false information. They become a beacon to other nut jobs.

Which is crazy because these nut jobs have 0 trust in doctors but once they find a crazy doctor who shares their opinions, they suddenly trust that one specific doctor."

"The regulatory boards need to remove these doctors who spread harmful messages."

– DantesEdmond

"This happened with the "autism is caused by vaccinations" doctor. He was stripped of his medical license for the insane amount of damage he did with that campaign."

– agolec

"They often do strip them of licenses or whatever the equivalent is in what field they're in. The problem is that for many conspiracy theorists, that's simply proof that the "expert" is right and "they" are trying to hide it by attempting to destroy the person's credibility. Unfortunately, people can delude themselves into believing almost anything."

– CityofOrphans

It's Always Them

"They say something like "It's all a distraction. You see, they don't want you to know what's really going on.""

"Then when you ask them what they think is "really going on", they laugh and call you a "sheeple".

– BubbhaJebus

The Flat-Earthers

"When they install satellite dishes but don't understand how the satellites stay in space because the earth is flat."

"True story when I had satellite internet installed."

– Dijiwolf1975

Chicken Little

"They all have a look in their eye's that screams "the sky is falling". Hyper aware, anxious, paranoid, easily triggered."

– buffslens

Talk Talk Talk

"Don't worry, they'll tell you."

– FishAndRiceKeks

"Yes. And every video they post is from a dude sitting in a car. Just endless dudes in trucks and cars, that's who they get their news from."

– PreferredSelection

"I have a few friends who fell down the rabbit hole."

"The most tell tale sign is that it's literally all they will talk about. At all. Every convo you have? Back to conspiracies, Illuminati, QAnon, pizzagate, the elite, the NWO (not the wrestling kind...)... heavy fixation on Covid.... etc.. Every single one.

"Most of them sound VERY uneducated, but think they solved some master life puzzle. Some may be sovereign citizens."

"Another obvious one... I had one friend who ghosted me. I finally got a hold of him and asked him what's up and he said "well it's because you're a deep state spy.""

– BlackIsTheSoul

"There is this tour provided by this lady in Seattle visiting 90s Seattle music landmarks. It's typically small groups. Around 6 people when I did the tour."

"Most of them sound VERY uneducated, but think they solved some master life puzzle. Some may be sovereign citizens."

"In the middle of the tour, we stopped by a pub for a drink and just to talk. One of them was this US Army dude who tagged along with his wife. 3 minutes after talking about the places we just visited he started telling me his opinion on how certain events like 9-11 were actually perpetrated by the government."

– muthaflicka

"I nodded, and immediately got up and told him I wanted to check out the album covers being displayed on this wall."

"He was around 30-ish, fit, looked sharp and smart, and spoke eloquently about other things. Caught me off-guard."

– muthaflicka

"This is the answer."

"Most of these people have zero self awareness and will reveal themselves pretty early lol."

– nsfwtttt

Yup, that's the biggest sign (and the one my brother's friend gave me)!

Close up, mid-section shot of a bride and groom at the altar, his hands clasped, her's holding her bouquet
Photo by Luis Tosta

It's nerve-wracking to trust love quickly.

Some people wait years to marry and it still doesn't work out.

So who is to say what is the perfect time from "Hello" to "I Do?"

Nobody. That's who.

Maybe the heart really does know what it wants right away.

We'll never know until we try.

Courtship can be slow or rapid.

It's all a matter of the heart.

Redditor kiralynnkk wanted to hear from the couples who couldn't wait any longer to get married, so they asked:

"If you got married after less than six months of dating, what’s your story?"

I'm still single.

I waited for a while.

And I've jumped quickly.

So I'm at a loss.

You Know?

Winter Solstice Christmas GIF by Chippy the DogGiphy

"My friends met on Halloween, engaged on Thanksgiving, and married on New Year’s Day. They lived 900 miles from each other. Still married 30+ years later."

"Explanation: 'When you know, you know, y’know?'"

Smokey_Katt

Couldn't Wait

"We got engaged and moved into an apartment together after about 3 1/2 months of dating, but we didn't get married for another 6 1/2 months after that because of the time it took to make the wedding arrangements. So maybe that doesn't count, but it's close."

"As to why it was so quick, I guess we just knew we wanted to be together and didn't want to wait. We've been married 33 years."

catsaway9

When in Vegas

"My wife is from Eastern EU and was on vacation visiting family in my US city. We met on Tinder and met at a restaurant for drinks. I still remember exactly what she looked like walking through the door. She was even prettier than her pictures (stunning) and I loved that she was well-traveled and super intelligent. On the first day we met, I told her that she would be telling our grandkids the story."

"We ended up engaged at 3 months and got married in Vegas at 5 months. We're now just over six years married with two kids, and we dropped our oldest off on his first day of preschool today."

RepeatUntilTheEnd

The Click

"When I met my wife, we just clicked. we met in December, flew out of the country to meet her family in February, and moved in together in March. We will be celebrating our 6th anniversary next month."

HumorTumorous

"This is kind of how it was for my husband and I. Met early summer of 2016. Engaged by the end of summer. Married Feb of 2017 (visa process kind of had us rush that marriage bit since we had to marry within 3 months of me entering the country)."

"Just kinda knew. We'll be married for 7 years this February. Hopefully, it continues... lol."

SweetContext

Confessions

Happy Birthday Reaction GIF by FriendsGiphy

"We were roommates. She confessed we had our first date, and it was just like we were supposed to be together. I always say that our first kiss felt like Chidi seeing the time knife - kind of terrifying because it was so wow, but an ultimately life-changing truth."

goatman1062

Ah... the roommate situation.

It's a gamble, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

At least you know each other first.

Decades Later

just married love GIFGiphy

"Started dating in October, found out she was pregnant in December, married in March. 37 years, two children, and two grandchildren later we're still together and happy."

RandomGrotnik

The Next Day

"Went to Ukraine to visit Chornobyl 7 years ago. The next day, sent out a bunch of messages on Tinder to everyone asking if they'd be up to give me and my mate a tour of Kyiv (which we always did, and never, ever hooked up - I'm too much of a prude for that)."

"This one lady agreed, we met in a bar for tea, hired a limo, drove around for 5 hours, and at the end of the night I told her I loved her, we met the following morning before my flight home (I ditched my mate and said I'd meet him at the airport)."

"I flew back to Kyiv 2 weeks later for the weekend, we officially became a couple. I quit my job, sold everything I owned, and emigrated 8 weeks later and we married a month after that. We've been married 7 years, have 1 child, and a second on the way."

DruzhbyNarodiv

Here We Are...

"I knew him for 10 years before we started dating and finally when we got together we said we are never breaking up no matter what. We were engaged for 6 months and got married. 16 years later here we are."

swisscoffeeknife

"I met my husband in middle school. We never dated, but were always friends. Drifted apart, he had a kid with a crazy lady, and I watched from afar. Ended a long-term relationship and a month later I ran into him at the gym. Went on a date, moved in a month later, pregnant 4 months later, and married 2 months after that. 2 kids (plus my step), and we celebrate our 10 years next Feb."

jace191

Decades Later

Happy Anniversary GIFGiphy

"My parents got married on the six-month anniversary of their first date. They had their 65-year wedding anniversary in August."

SnooPickles7989

Happy Anniversary to all!!

Sounds like there are no time constraints on love.

Person fanning out wad of $100 bills
Alexander Mils/Unsplash

Working a first job is an important part of growing up.

Whether it's working a paper route (do kids even do this anymore?) or working at a video rental store (do those even exist anymore?) first-ever part-time jobs establish important life values and lessons to the youth.

Also, there's nothing that validates accomplishment at a young age more than being able to buy something with their hard-earned money.

Curious to hear examples of this, Redditor MisterChiTown92 asked:

"What did you buy with your first ever work paycheck?"

These generous Redditors found value in paying it forward.

Dinner's On Me

"It was 1976, I was making a whopping $2.50/hour at age 16 (20 cents higher than minimum wage, and it was an office job so I wasn't on my feet all day)....my family didn't have a lot of money (which is why I started working while in the 11th grade), so with my first paycheck I took my Mom and brothers out to dinner at Big Boy. I remember being all proud to say 'Get whatever you want, even the combo meal and a milkshake, it's on me."'

– Ouisch

Dinner Miscalculation

"I took my mom out to a fancy French restaurant. I had no idea how much it was going to cost, then plus tip, I didn’t even have enough! So she had to help me pay the rest. My mom still joke about that from time to time when we go out with the family."

"That was almost 25 yrs ago, damn time flew by."

– jonwtc

Gift For Mom

"I bought my mother a beautiful shawl. I never saw her wear it but it was in with her things when she died nearly 50 years later."

– WakingOwl1

These Redditors got to reward themselves with the things they enjoy most.

Creating Memories

"About twenty bucks of my first paper route earnings, for the pizza buffet and soft drinks, and some arcade games, with my best friend."

"While the shape I've been in has varied over the years, I've kept that stamina I built up hauling around damn near my weight in newsprint. For long endurance rides, hikes with a loaded-up pack, and running."

– ArmsForPeace84

Brand New Kicks

"I was 14 and got a job as a bus boy at a local BBQ joint. With my first check, I went and bought myself a pair of blue/brown Airwalk shoes. I remember how cool it felt to be able to buy something for myself and not have to ask my parents."

– johnnybmagic

Scoring Big Time

"A Playstation 2. Excellent buy, kept it for a over decade before buying an Xbox One."

– Birdo-the-Besto

"It was an Xbox 360 for me. Loved that console."

– HabeLinkin

"Still have a modded PS2. Had a hard drive with games on it too. It still turns on last I checked, I wonder if the hard drive still works..."

–DubaU

A Timeless Treasure

"My family owned a construction business, and my father had me on site for as long as I could remember. I don't remember the first thing I ever bought with what he paid me, but I remember the first thing I set out to buy and had to work for weeks to get the money for. It was a Lego castle set. $49. I'm almost 50 now, and I still have it."

– Spodson

Naughty Pleasures

"lol I bought a candy g-string so I could eat it off of my girlfriend while she was wearing it, and a black cowboy hat with spikes on it from Hot Topic hahaha"

dirtydickmf

Some recalled having to prioritize taking care of business over indulgences.

The Necessities

"gasoline and insurance to continue to be able to go to work."

– TurpitudeSnuggery

"I remember getting my first paycheck being so proud of it and my stepfather goes wow you don't have enough for gas. How are you getting to work for the next two weeks? Made me realize I needed to work more."

"I should also put in here that this was my first on the books paycheck. Made it feel a little different."

– truelydorky

Saving Up For Wheels

"Used to mow lawns and do odd jobs for cash when I was a kid. When I got my first 'real' paycheck that I had to cash at a bank, I saved every penny for several months until I bought my first car at age 16."

"Had zero expenses back then, which made it easy to save money. Fun memory."

– YupHio

Building A Wardrobe

"Clothes."

"I had to start working at the age of 12 because my parents could no longer afford to buy clothes for me."

– Opposite-Purpose365

I worked at a video game store in the mall when I was 15.

I was miserable being stuck behind a counter in a tiny corner store with hardly any adequate air circulation. Working with a personality-clashing co-worker didn't help things either.

But when I got my first paycheck, I remember thinking it was a major milestone and reward for enduring the unpleasant work conditions.

I used my first-ever earnings on a denim jacket from the Gap at the mall where I worked. I wore that stone-washed jacket with pride at school for years.

What was your most prized purchase from your first paycheck?

man and woman at wedding with balloons
Álvaro CvG on Unsplash

Weddings are built up to be magical events heralding a happily ever after for the newly minted spouses.

But like any major life event, a lot can go wrong.

Weather, illness, natural disasters, relationship drama, family squabbles... you name it and someone, somewhere has seen it at a wedding.

Keep reading...Show less