Woke up to..

[Hellohihola]

A loud noise on my stairs! Woke at 1am(Ish), jumped out of bed (I am a single parent) to see no one was on my stairs and both DC’s in bed. Have not been able to get back to sleep since so I am now in bed with a cup of tea watching Mafs..

Weirdly, I woke up at 4am several nights ago and I swear someone was knocking on my front door. I genuinely heard it! Went down and checked, no one is there.

I think I’m a little paranoid as there is a small window in the kitchen that does not lock (I’m sure a grown man would not fit through it). Maybe it’s my subconscious?!

i would fix the window asap

Yep, fix the window ASAP.
Do you have a window on the stairs? Is it maybe against an exterior wall that sometbing has fallen against with the high winds from storm Dave?

The window is in the kitchen so no where near the stairs.

i will absolutely fix the window asap. I’m sure i just need a universal key to lock it if such thing exists

Im asking about a window on your stairs because if something hit a window that could have been the noise. I had it happen once. A flying bin was what we worked out to be the culprit but id have sworn it was coming from higher up on the stairs and from inside at the time.

Oh I see, yes no window on my stairs :)

Could it be outside ie. Not sure if you got a storm near you.

Do you have a loft hatch? We've got one on our upstairs landing and the wind has blown it up and it's banged down before - it once fell onto the landing, scared the crap out of me!!

Stress? Dreaming? I’ve also been up since around your time. Not from a noise but a horrible dream. I was out in a section of a city in the middle of the night. Almost pitch black but there were dodgy random men everywhere on the prowl waiting to attack people so I had to keep dodging them as I waited for a bus. Didn’t make it to the bus as I woke up but then couldn’t get back to sleep due to replaying it in my head. Here I am 2 cups of tea later and a bit of a sore head!

The storm was next to us yes, however the noise was definitely inside. I recognised the sound of the stairs creaking like someone was on them

I do! Does not seem to do that in my house though. It is very scary though when that happens - core childhood memory 😂

We heard a sound which was just like someone knocking on a window last night. No one in sight, can only assume it was something to do with the wind. I have a cat so often attribute weird noises to him to make myself feel better and less scared of burglars.

That sounds awful? Sorry you had a bad night also!

I am under a lot of stress with no real end in sight. I have had nightmares recently also, so i can relate.

i hope your cups of tea went down well! I fell back to sleep for roughly 3 hours after mine and woke up to my youngest DC whispering in my face “the Easter bunny is here”

That is scary though! Hate it when that happens

I was woken by the wind, it was really loud and we're not in the storm area. We also have badgers that crash about outside at night, can scare the life out of you, two fighting badgers right outside the French doors a few weeks ago. I would imagine you were dreaming and noises outside added in to make it into someone on the stairs, worry about the window not being locked probably prompted the dream.

I think stairs creaking at night can be a common one, something to do with wood expanding and contracting with temperature changes (creating the movement you would otherwise have with someone bearing their weight on it)

If in doubt...always blame the cat!🐱

Sounds like sleep paralysis auditory hallucination. I’d definitely be getting that window fixed though.

Have never heard of this!

Immediately googles

I often get this too.

A couple of times a week I'll be asleep and jump up in fright because someone's knocking on the door like a not very nice knock really loud and aggressive.... my dh is usually awake and hasn't heard it and theres nobody at the door or been near the door.

Sometimes I hear glass smashing which wakes me up like ive just had my windows put through ( never had my windows put through but I feel like this is how it would sound)

Sometimes I hear doors shut or the noise of someone walking on our stairs or landing with specific creaks that you know in your own house. It never scares me any less as much as it happens and I have no idea what causes it or why it happens to me.

We recently lost the key and then broke the handle for a window so ordered a replacement barrel off amazon easy enough to do and for extra security we've recently put these these on exterior doors and all windows and I feel so much better.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sandiy-Pack-Sash-Jammer-Blocker/dp/B08ML9N52S/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._ZkE2pTB1PCIWF2Jqf2_ODEfhS8zTjLkBRjG96wh04q4TvEW-8ObgAvGHWyVjaNOa_LLiSD8aVe27Nc7zqgciNM3VmZJSdVT2DBoqmqg5EYnMzS7mlf1tgZ0kodFQAygqhvw23cMV9-6iGLK8zrYuLL-oYm0qxtSU-3jZGSfAf3kEfk592KLZQBauk4fWQumsAD51LuX8TvF_Q7MfsqQXg.0wkpNKY--jCLik0CU_ZK0ocIo5RhHx8tQa3NMJzlpkA&dib_tag=se&keywords=window+security+locks&qid=1775375108&sr=8-7

Hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations

Or the cat.

If you take a photo of the window handle and the lock and send it to these lovely people they identify the window lock and tell you which key it is you need. I lost a key and the replacement is the right one. I wish I had done it sooner.

https://www.replacementkeys.co.uk/key-identification-help/

Scroll down a bit for the window section.

I also woke up about this time last night I dreamt my long dead cat had come back and she bit me quite hard. She used to do this when she was alive. She was feral and would give me a good old bite if I snored too loudly 😂I definitely felt a painful bite so I turned the light on but my current two cats were sleeping together downstairs. I couldnt get back to sleep after that.

Maybe the wind caused us all a lot of problems last night! I just re awoke right now. Exhausted 😆. Enjoy your chocolate op!

This is so helpful thank you so much!

I sometimes wake thinking I’ve heard loud knocking or similar. We have 2 dogs though so if they’re calm I know it hasn’t happened.
As a PP said a loft hatch can make a loud noise in strong winds.
Could you get a Ring doorbell or similar for peace of mind.
Hope you have a better night.