Impostor guests: our 3-night emergency guests weren't who they said they were

[Wineberrywine]

Sorry this is so long. DH and I, late 50s, moved a couple of years ago, once the children had flown, to a coastal area popular with holidaymakers.

Last week DH had a call from someone who used to work in the same company as him ages ago. He left that company in 2009. He'd barely known this man when they worked together but they were part of a work fantasy football league and they occasionally went with a few other guys from work to watch the football in RL. So they had each other's numbers but hadn't had any contact for years.

Out of the blue the ex-colleague called saying he and his wife and son and son's girlfriend had been staying in a holiday chalet in our area, but the roof had started leaking badly in torrential rain, the beds and carpets were damp and the owner had been unable to organise alternative accommodation. Could DH help them?

I wasn't around when this guy called. I came home from work to find four strangers in my living room and DH looking anxious — I assumed because he thought I'd be furious, which I was, it was the last thing I needed to have to deal with. DH was like 'What was I supposed to say?' and got defensive when I said that what he should have said was 'No.'

I suggested I find them an AirBnB and they said they hadn't budgeted for that. DH kept saying we could all manage for one night, surely, and so they ended up having dinner with us and then staying. We have a spare double room that the parents slept in, and a single room/office that the girl slept in and the son slept on the sofa. I was working an early next day. According to DH they got up late and sat around watching Netflix and scrolling all day. They hadn't brought food with them (odd as they were supposed to be self-catering) so he fed them and texted me to do a shop on my way home because we were practically out of everything and he didn't want to leave them in the house alone. They said they were negotiating with the owner of the chalet and they hoped they'd have alternative accommodation by the end of the day but when I got back with a full load of shopping they said they'd heard nothing and could they stay another night.

There was something weird about them: they weren't friendly or helpful and they avoided giving any info about themselves. The son and girlfriend were almost mute and spent a lot of time up in the room she was using unless they were eating or watching TV. The wife was silent and sullen, even when I took her aside on my own and tried to talk to her one-to-one, and her husband was edgy. I asked where they were living, for example, and he said they lived in the Rugby area but they hadn't lived there long and weren't planning to stay there — and that was it. It was all strained and odd. DH was reminiscing about things that had happened when they worked together and the ex-colleague couldn't seem to remember much at all.

DH and I were terse with each other but he was 'Well, they'll be gone tomorrow'. Next day they had things packed and ready to go when I went off at 11.30am for a later shift, but when I got back that evening they were still there, finishing dinner and DH looking very stressed. I said this was getting ridiculous, they needed to be out by 10am the following morning and surely they'd be happier at home than hanging out here. They all disappeared to their rooms. DH took me aside and said I was embarrassing him. We had a horrible night not speaking to each other and not able to discuss what was going on in case they heard us.

Next day I was off work and they left after breakfast. Barely made eye contact, thanked DH, got in their car and left. DH and I had a huge row. He said I was unreasonable and had been unwelcoming. He stormed off into town and left me to strip beds and sort stuff out.

Yesterday, five days after they left, DH said that he was beginning to wonder if the guy was who he said he was. He hadn't recognised him when he turned up on the doorstep with his family, but as they'd both gone grey and the other guy had lost a lot of hair and grown a beard, it was difficult to say for sure. They'd barely known each other when they worked together, maybe he'd muddled him up with another colleague. He'd grown suspicious when the man has said he worked for a different department to the one DH remembered he was in and couldn't remember one of the managers who had been very prominent during their time there and is now quite well-known.

Both DH and I have tried phoning the number they used to contact DH but the phone hasn't been answered. DH has tried contacting the old number he had for his colleague back in the noughties but it doesn't appear to be in use.

I have the registration number of their car and I took some sneaky photos of them when they were here because I'd felt something wasn't right. They're also on our doorcam.

There must be some connection somwhere. This guy knew DH's number and where he'd worked and the name of another colleague, but not much more than that. I can't make up my mind whether to follow this up and try and trace him and find out what was going on or whether to let it go. What would you do? DH is now thinking we need to replace the door locks.

Giving the benefit of the doubt- what documents could they have got their hands on?

Have you google lensed any of their faces to see if it brings up a profile ?

Maybe the old work colleague has been bumped off by the Imposter Family and they have now assumed their identities....

Serously, If this is true, it's up there with the weirdest thing I've ever read on here.

I think that CF Dad has shit on your DH. Maybe he knows that he was embezzling millions from the mutual company before you upped sticks and relocated to start a new life. He’s back and wants a piece of the pie, so he’s hatched this plan to make DH sweat and eventually hand over a chunk of his ill gotten gains.

Then in episode 6 we’ll discover that the entire CF family were killed in an RTA six months previously and you’ve been blackmailed by ghosts.

Sheridan Smith.

Glad to have provided so many people so much entertainment. No idea where to start answering all the questions and I'm working today.

My dad was a typesetter. Started on Fleet Street and had an old Linotype machine in the garage at home which he used sometimes to typeset novels for a couple of small publishers. I briefly contemplated following him into typesetting and learned to use en and em dashes from him. That would have been a short career. Fascinated to know than em dashes now 'proves' I'm using AI.

We had linotype typesetter in our garage. My dad used to fix those machines.

I imagined Suranne Jones as the OP.

Would love for this to turn out to be something bizarre but if I had to guess what had actually happened it would be…

Guy who worked very briefly at your DH’s old work (maybe not even at the same time!) posts on Facebook asking if anyone knows anyone in your area as they have accommodation problem and your DH’s name and number comes up from another colleague. He calls your DH and says they used to work together (maybe a white lie!) and your DH wrongly assumes he’s someone else.

Oh and they just happen to be weird CFs!

I feel your pain, OP. I have a background in typography and typesetting and do a fair bit of copyrighting in my current role, and can no longer use my beloved en and em dashes for this reason.

If you Google it you will find many designers and writers bemoaning the downfall of the em dash!

I’d be wondering why he had your dh’s number after all
these years
They certainly struck lucky there, but then I’ve had the same one forever too and they clearly had it stored.
So that was just pure luck.
Most normal people would be looking for a hotel or b and b or trying to badger the chalet owner to move them elsewhere , but they seemed to think this was a better bet although most people would have said no and not given them much alternative to doing this ( or just gone home and sorted out a refund on the chalet)

Ha ha, yes definitely!

OP you need to watch Six Degrees of Separation, a Will Smith movie from the early 90s where he turns up on the doorstep of a wealthy couple asking for help, claiming to know their son (who is away at college). It's pretty good but will probably creep you out given your recent experience!

To be fair I have lots of people's numbers stored on my phone and I have no idea who they are any more. I have just synced the contact list every time I've changed phones. And DH and I have had the same numbers since 2000 when we bought phones together in a special deal and got similar numbers - his is one digit different!

My dad was not a typesetter, I never thought of going into that game. I use em dash a lot, and I'm not Al. I'm just old! Now I'm afraid to in case I'm accused of something.
I also use ellipsis... 😱

Did Will Smith turn up with an ironing board, by any chance?

You lost me at a stranger sleeping on my sofa 🤢
It reminded me of the Two Tony’s episode of Friday Night Dinner.
Haven’t read all yet (will get a bar of Aldi chocolate for that later) but I’m with you on the em and en dashes at least.

I feel your pain, OP. I have a background in typography and typesetting and do a fair bit of copyrighting in my current role, and can no longer use my beloved en and em dashes for this reason.
If you Google it you will find many designers and writers bemoaning the downfall of the em dash!

I had no idea. After giving up on the idea of typesetting as a career I spent a few years as a secretary and worked for a solicitor who hated brackets and semi-colons and favoured dashes and colons, so that became my ingrained style. I don't intend to give it up.

Fight the good fight OP!
I feel this thread has changed direction (graphic designer trained in the early 80s).

It’s important to distinguish between the usage of colons and semicolons tho - they are not interchangeable.

I love an em dash too but can’t do them in my phone.

I asked Chat GTP to turn the OP into an outline script for three-part tv drama series of approximately 45minutes per episode. This is what it came up with.
Title: “The Guests"
Genre: Psychological Drama / Mystery
Format: 3 Episodes (45 minutes each)

Episode 1: "The Doorstep"
Act 1: The Arrival

• The story begins with Helen (late 50s, sharp, emotionally guarded) returning home from work to find four strangers in her living room.
• Her husband David (also late 50s, mild-mannered, people-pleaser) introduces the family: Graham (ex-colleague), his wife Rachel, their son Jamie, and Jamie’s girlfriend Maya.
• Helen is visibly alarmed. The tension is palpable between her and David. He pleads, “It’s just for one night.”

Act 2: Strangers in the House

• Dinner is awkward. The guests are evasive, giving vague responses about where they live and what they do.
• Helen begins to notice their strange behavior — the son and girlfriend barely speak, Graham misremembers key facts from David’s past, and Rachel is withdrawn.
• Flashbacks subtly show Graham and David at work in the early 2000s — but we start to suspect that David doesn't quite remember this man clearly either.

Act 3: Uneasy Shelter

• Next morning, Helen leaves early for work. David texts asking her to bring groceries.
• Helen starts feeling manipulated — her home is no longer her own.
• That evening, the guests are still there. David seems more anxious.
• Helen insists they leave tomorrow. Graham smiles weakly but offers no firm commitment.

Cliffhanger: That night, Helen checks the doorcam footage. She watches the footage from their arrival again — the way Graham looked around the house carefully. Not like an old friend. More like someone casing the place.

Was thinking that myself. Should be a 3 part mini series. Lol

Episode 2: "The Second Night"
Act 1: Cracks in the Story

• The guests are still in the house the next evening. Helen confronts David. He’s defensive, ashamed, unsure.
• They argue in whispers. "You don’t even know this man!" she hisses. "You think you do."
• David starts second-guessing himself. Graham's anecdotes don’t line up with his memories.

Act 2: Private Eyes

• Helen secretly snaps photos of the guests. She begins investigating.
• She searches old company records online, digs through David’s boxes in the attic for old staff photos. Graham is not in any of them.
• Flashback: a blurry memory — David at a bar with colleagues, Graham possibly there. Or not? The memory fades.

Act 3: Descent into Doubt

• Graham and family continue acting oddly — never volunteering information, always watching.
• Helen's sense of threat grows. She doesn’t sleep.
• David is unraveling. “What if he’s not who I thought he was?” he whispers to Helen.
• They try calling the number Graham used. No answer. David calls the old number from his phonebook — disconnected.
• That night, Graham lingers too long in the hallway looking at the family photos. Maya stares at Helen silently from the stairs.

Cliffhanger: Helen wakes to find their bedroom door slightly ajar. She’s certain she locked it. She hears the soft sound of someone stepping on the stairs.

Episode 3: "What They Took"

Act 1: Gone

• Morning. The guests are finally gone.
• Helen watches from the window as they drive away — no proper goodbye, no explanation, no closure.
• David and Helen have a furious argument. She accuses him of endangering them. He accuses her of being cold, paranoid.

Act 2: The Fallout

• Helen compiles everything: doorcam footage, car reg, the photos. She reports it to a local friend on the police force off the record.
• The car is unregistered — possibly stolen. No official booking in any chalet in town.
• Helen and David start piecing together the details. It becomes clear: Graham may have used publicly available info (LinkedIn, social media, electoral rolls) to find and manipulate David.

Act 3: The Truth?

• They change the locks. They feel watched. The sense of intrusion lingers.
• David gets a cryptic voicemail — a voice saying, “You won’t hear from us again.”
• Helen uncovers a forum post about a similar couple elsewhere in the country — people posing as old friends or relatives, gaining access to homes, leaving suddenly.

Final Scene:

• David and Helen sit in silence, the house too quiet. The doorbell rings. A delivery — but no one ordered anything.
• Helen opens the package: inside is a photo from 2003. A work event. David, smiling. Behind him, a man slightly out of focus... it might be Graham. Or not.

End credits roll as Helen slowly closes the front door, bolting every lock.

Yes, seems strange. If they were on holiday you would think they would have day time plans.

I'd watch that three-parter 😂