Bit baffled - knocking on front door

[CatHeartViolet]

This is only a mini rant as I have no clue and nobody here can tell me either.

I'm sleeping downstairs on the sofa at present due to illness, it's warmer and near the kettle for hot drinks. I live with male friend who is upstairs.

Sofa is next to front door so if I have the side lights on I might be partially visible from outside.

There was a couple of knocks last night 3.40am which I thought I had imagined and was semi conscious. But tonight I was up writing and it happened again 2.22am. I know it's a man now as tonight I heard a male cough. I don't have any exes locally or friends who would do this, they'd phone.

It might not be anything to do with me anyway.

Well, that's it! Just wanted to 'talk' about it. Nothing I can do about it as I'm not opening the front door.

If your front door is with glass and can be see through it’s better to cover it with something. You can use wrapping paper for temporary solution fold it in two with colourful side inside and then stick it to the door with cello tape. Even Xmas paper will do as you are putting it inside out anyway but if you don’t have any ask your mate to buy some black of dark blue birthday one, the darker the better.
I don’t think it’s a good person wanting to chat it’s more likely a bad person chancing their luck.

Electric blanket, thermos flasks and your own bed.

I think it sounds pretty unsafe to be sleeping on the sofa and visible from outside.

You need to cover those windows. PP suggested tissue paper which is great because you can stick it up, kight comes in but no-one can see in.
Or just pin a sheet over the window.
Honestly, sleeping where people can see you from the street does not sound safe.

Yes it is terraced, opens straight from pavement into sitting room.

I'll just conceal window so no-one can look in, I'm not viewable from front door. Can't imagine anyone was concerned about me otherwise they'd tap on window or leave a note through at a normal time not early hours of the morning. It's not serious enough to involve anyone unless it continues. No concerned citizen would be knocking at front door after 2am and 3am because they "cared".

And it's my house and I'll sleep on the sofa if I want to.

And it's my house and I'll sleep on the sofa if I want to.

absolutely, but cover the windows

Off topic but I don’t know why having a kettle in your bedroom isn’t more of a thing at times like this!

Last year the local police were visiting all the houses near me to warn about scammers knocking/ringing in he very early hours of the morning and, apparently, asking for help for a non-existent emergency and then either assaulting or robbing the householder. The police advised getting a camera doorbell was good automated approach lighting and audio.

Your incidences may not be the same, but just a heads up. 🌹

Aren't you pleasant?

Oh that would unnerve me too! Have you spoken to your lodger yet?
I got freaked out recently when our outside tap had been turned on. Have no idea who or what did that but it certainly unsettled me!

Yes it is terraced, opens straight from pavement into sitting room.

Where I live they are mostly in cheaper and less safer areas,
sorry 😞.
A friend was renting for a bit and said that random knocking happened a lot at day and night : teenagers, drunks etc and obviously they would prefer to knock when house looked occupied not empty.

Hang a thermal curtain on a tension rod in front of that door at night. It will keep the place warmer and stop people from being able to see inside.

I've never known people be as suspicious about everyone as they are on mumsnet

My parents had someone knock on their door in the middle of the night a few years ago, and it was their neighbour letting them know that they'd just seen someone steal their car

Also had someone knock our door last year to wake us up and say that next doors house was on fire. Not everyone always has bad intentions all the time, sometimes people are just trying to be helpful!

Why would they come in the middle of the night and not during the day if that was the case? If they were concerned, OP hadn't moved surely would shout through the letter box or something. Not just think, oh, I'll come back tonight. If I thought someone was injured/ill/dead, I'd ring the police during the day to break in.

We had this recently although I wasn’t downstairs. First night was about 4am and I thought maybe I’d imagined it, looked out my bedroom window and couldn’t see anything as the street lights go out at 1am here. Didn’t answer as couldn’t see any high vis jackets to indicate it was police or anything, and assumed it was a drunk who’d got the wrong house and moved on. A couple nights later, same thing, only this time I was on edge. Woke my husband up (who is deaf, hence he didn’t wake to the knocks) and both came running downstairs to look out the bay window in the living room. He covered one direction and I covered the direction facing the door, both looking to see if we could spot anyone down the street as nobody was on out pathway in garden. A good 10 mins of this went on before a bloke wizzed past the window my side and out the garden. He had been pressed against the front door that whole time in our porch/step thing to remain out of sight, I guess hoping one of us would think the coast is clear and open the door?
I live in the middle of a long road of terraced houses, nothing makes my house look any more desirable than the rest apart from the fact I sleep with bedside light on as I don’t like the dark, so in a street with no lights on the glow probably came through the blinds making him think I was awake. Police said probably a chancer, but doesn’t ring true for why he’d come back if I didn’t answer the first time. He never came back after he was seen last time, but if I were you I would log it with police online just so they have it on record, and if it happens again go upstairs and wake housemate, then get him to talk through the door to ask who it is and tell them to go away…

I think the OP should sleep in her bedroom (especially in a house share - would drive me mad to have a housemate take over the sitting room).

It's not going to solve the issue of the person knocking on the door though is it?

Also, just because you think and feel one way, doesn't mean that everyone else in the world thinks and feels the same.

Mn seems to be overflowing with people who completely ignore the whole point of a thread and are unable to accept that not everyone thinks the same way as them 🙄

I am not bothered about opening the door at most times, but there is no way I would open a door in the middle of the night without calling out.

In both the situations you describe I would call out who is it and when they said - its Mr X your neighbour, then I would open.
I find it astonishing that ANYONE would open a door to knocking in the middle of the night.
I have no problem during the day, in the evening/after dark it would depend on who else is in the house, if just me I would call out first.

You are welcome Catheartviolet. I have also been sleeping on sofa as not been well and feel more comfy and my dog is in living room so feel more secure so get how you feel. Did anyone knock since. Horrible and scary but maybe they got the wrong house and they probably did not see you unless very nosy and looking in windows. Hope you are ok now xx