“If you’re easily frightened, do not watch this,” warned TikTok user LadyMarine11 in what would become one of the year’s most viral horror stories so far.
A woman in Chicago believed her home had become infested with raccoons—until she made a horrifying discovery: the sounds she and her husband had heard coming from the attic weren’t from animals but from a man living in their attic for a year.
Highlights
- Woman discovers man living in her attic for a year, mistaking noises for raccoons.
- Photo of the encounter went viral with over 14.3 million views on TikTok.
- Intruder had been using the couple's food and facilities without detection.
Believing the sounds to be from a rodent infestation, the couple tried to contact their landlord multiple times but were repeatedly brushed off.
Tired of the scratching and shuffling, the woman—a friend of LadyMarine11—decided to take matters into her own hands and headed towards the attic, eventually coming face-to-face with their unwelcome guest.
Woman goes viral after recounting friend's encounter with a man living in her attic for a year
Image credits: Mika Baumeister / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The video went massively viral, clocking over 14.3 million views after it was shared on March 29, 2025. In the clip, the user recounted the traumatic experience of a friend who experienced a phenomenon known on the internet as “Phrogging.”
The term has been used to describe someone secretly living in another person’s home without their knowledge, often moving stealthily to avoid detection. It’s distinct from squatting in that phroggers typically hide in attics, basements, or closets, living silently alongside their unknowing hosts.
Image credits: ladymarine11
The strange noises came and went with varying intensity, allowing the couple to convince themselves that they were nothing but the product of raccoons shuffling about in the attic.
Image credits: ladymarine11
However, things escalated when the woman’s husband left town. His absence coincided with the noises increasing in both frequency and loudness, which prompted the scared wife to investigate.
Too frightened to fully climb into the attic, she pulled down the access stairs, crawled up just enough to raise her arm, and snapped a picture with her phone.
What she saw made her blood run cold.
The woman's photo led to the phrogger's arrest and the discovery that he had been living in the attic for a year
“He was seven feet away from her,” the user said, explaining that her friend saw not a raccoon staring back at her but the pale, wide-eyed face of a man—a stranger.
“He had been going into their house while they were out and taking things. Personal effects, articles of clothing, toiletry items,” the TikToker continued. “He had been there for a while. I would’ve passed away.”
Image credits: ladymarine11
Shaking, the woman fled her home, screaming desperately. She called the police and banged on her neighbor’s door, too terrified to even wait alone outside. When authorities arrived, they found not only the man but also a disturbing stash of her husband’s clothes and dr*g paraphernalia.
The items allowed investigators to roughly construct the timeline of events leading to the startling realization that the man had been “phrogging” in the attic for at least a year.
The man was able to survive by eating the couple's food and using their shower without them noticing
As the video increased in popularity, viewers started asking questions, which prompted LadyMarine11 to release a series of follow-up videos to clarify details.
“He had been sneaking down to their house, using their restroom, their shower, eating their food,” she explained.
The user then confirmed that the landlord had no idea of what was happening inside his property and that the intruder—who had a prior record of similar behavior—used a small rooftop trapdoor connecting the building to an adjacent brownstone to gain access.
“It was like one of his little spots,” she explained.
Image credits: Antique_Biscuit
While “phrogging” may sound like something out of an urban legend or movies such as 2019’s Parasite, it’s a rare but very real occurrence.
For instance, in a disturbing case that shocked 1920s America, a woman known as Dolly Oesterreich kept her secret lover, Otto Sanhuber, hidden in the attic of her Los Angeles home—completely undetected by her husband—for close to ten years.
The case ended in the murder of Dolly’s husband in 1922 at the hands of Sanhuber.
Viewers questioned the veracity of the TikToker's story, accusing her of using AI to create the photo
Image credits: ladymarine11
Despite LadyMarine11’s story going viral, not all of her viewers bought into her story, with many accusing her of using AI to produce a fake photo.
“This is not a made-up story. This is not AI. This is very real,” she responded, four days after the initial video was posted.
Claiming to have “receipts,” she showed text exchanges with coworkers of the original victim, including one who managed to find the original photograph after it had circulated on Reddit years earlier.
She then shared the police photo taken when they apprehended the man—a bald, gaunt figure lying face down with hands behind his back, which she described as “maybe more horrifying than the original.”
Image credits: ladymarine11
According to criminal lawyer Rodrigo Danyau, the fact that the intruder had a history of similar conduct before and was trespassing on an occupied residence means he was likely charged with a Class 4 felony.
“Trespassing on private property can lead to varying charges in Chicago depending on two factors: intent and circumstances,” he explained to Bored Panda.
“The severity of the crime in this case means he was likely convicted of a Class 4, which means up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine.”
"Terrifying," Netizens were scared by the story, with many imagining what they would do if it happened to them
