To think these were burglars?

[MissMarple21]

Name changed as have told everyone about this IRL.

Doorbell rang at 2am. I was half asleep/confused and thought it might be an emergency so darted into the hallway and turned on the light before stopping and thinking, "wtf I'm not opening the front door at 2am to strangers".

So then I sort of hovered in the hallway waiting to see if the person would knock or shout "I need help" or something but instead I heard a man say "the light's working" and then nothing. By the time I got to the window they were gone.

AIBU to think they were probably burglars trying to see if the place was empty?

I can't imagine what else it would be about. It didn't sound like teens.

Yes

Yep. I check my car is locked before I go to bed too.

Thanks. I'm so angry about it. I've had really bad delayed anxiety recently (possibly PTSD) over waking up to find a burglar in my flat 10 years ago (which I didn't deal with at the time because I was dealing with other life changing things) and have done a lot of work over the last few months to feel better about going to sleep at night.

Fucking fuckers.

Does anyone think they're likely to come back and try again?

Get yourself some CCTV.

I doubt it because they know someone's there, they possibly thought it was empty. Could you invest in a ring doorbell to give you some extra security?

Report it to the police - there’s a chance they were in the area and stopped at more than just your home. Might help them pinpoint a timeline. So sorry, it’s an awful feeling 💐

Thanks. I think I probably will invest in a Ring camera. I'd thought about it a while ago and then thought it might feed my anxiety but if I'd had one then a) maybe they wouldn't have tried it and b) I'd have been able to see what they look like.

I suppose I should be grateful they at least knocked rather than just rammed the door/windows.

Why not leave the hall light on at night? Then the place looks occupied.