'Check your crawlspace': Single man living alone comes home to paper towel draped over his webcam 2 times, has no idea how it could have gotten there

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jan 10, 2026 10:00 AM EST

There's nothing more unsettling than something in your house being slightly different.

There are lots of scary things about living alone. When you live with other people, lots of weird things can be chalked up to them. A weird food item appears in the fridge? Oh, that's just Jerry. He likes to try new sauces. Someone left laundry on the floor again? Oh, that's just Annie. She's kind of a mess sometimes. You come home to your furniture rearranged? Must have been Beth, who is constantly reading about feng-shui. But when you live alone, if things aren't exactly as you left them, then you have reason to be concerned. This can make you weirdly paranoid about every little thing that you encounter. But rarely do you genuinely have reason to be scared. Rarely is there a true unsolved mystery in your real life. This is why we come to the internet.

Who doesn't love a good puzzle? There's a reason that true crime is one of the most popular genres. We like to look at clues so we can put the pieces together ourselves. We like to comb through evidence and come to our own conclusions. It makes us feel like Nancy Drew. But there are so few opportunities to do that in real life that we often have to turn to fiction. And there are well-worn tropes that make certain kinds of stories too easy to figure out. We need a bit of a challenge. This story is a challenge. 

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  • When a man returned home one day, he found something out of the ordinary. He lived alone, so he couldn't blame it on roommates or family, so he was left with more questions than answers. And when it happened a second time, he got a chill down his spine. He also wasn't sure what could explain this strange phenomenon. Was there an intruder in his home, or was there something wrong with his memory? So he reached out to the internet, where everyone put on their detective hats. Scroll on to read the story and see what sleuths had to say. 

  • Came home to a paper towel over my webcam twice now. I live alone.

    SANSUI SON
    via u/Dromaeoraptor
  • General General No one is currently in voice Join Voice a Search 244 SANSUI O SONY
    via u/Dromaeoraptor
  • Twice now ive come home from work to a paper towel over my webcam in my bedroom upstairs. Only thing unlocked was my window (my fault), which is on the 2nd floor.
    via u/Dromaeoraptor
  • First time was about two weeks ago, it was just layed overtop (2nd pic), tonight was the 2nd time, all crinkled up over the camera. Nothing is missing, nothing else is moved or messed with that I noticed. Nobody else that im aware of has the keys to my apartment. Its like someone's trying to pull a "harmless" prank and is just trying to do something super small but super obvious that id notice. I have two cats and they're totally unharmed and acting like nothing happened.
    via u/Dromaeoraptor

  • Commenters gave their best guesses about what was going on here.

    Bendyman10 someone trying to avoid being recorded as they sneak onto your computer?
    via u/Bendyman10
  • OP Dromaeoraptor I cant imagine so, its got a little cover that slides over the camera and I keep it slid over it whenever im not using it
    via u/Ghostinthewater
  • llamadogmama Someone is in the house when you are gone. They are concerned that you use the webcam for security and cover it. This is only the times they forgot to remove it... Just guessing
    via u/llamadogmama
  • OP Dromaeoraptor This is the 2nd time ive seen that last suggestion and its freaking me out pretty bad I cant lie Buying both a security camera and a CO detector tomorrow
    via u/Ghostinthewater
  • Westsaide PLOT TWIST: OP sets up a hidden camera, but because of gas poisoning they forget they did and a couple weeks from now we get a new reddit past 'i live alone but someones been filming me in my apartment. I thought my cats were just putting towels on my computer, but I found a hidden camera'
    via u/Westsaide
  • OP Dromaeoraptor Buying a CO detector tomorrow to prevent this
    via u/Ghostinthewater
  • Physical-Reward-9148 The way you talk about this like you're not freaked out has me concerned.
    via u/Physical-Reward-9148
  • OP Dromaeoraptor I have so much other stuff going on in life im too drained, I dont think I have the mental capacity to be as scared as I should be. Genuinely it doesn't feel real and I have myself half convinced its nothing and I managed to get half of reddit more freaked out than I am
    via u/Ghostinthewater
  • Alternative-Dare5878 HOLY SHIT GUYS IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN!!! OP, do you by any chance have a carbon monoxide detector that works in your house?
    via u/Alternative-Dare5878
  • OP Dromaeoraptor I do not, im buying one tomorrow to rule that out
    via u/Ghostinthewater
  • Chopped Goat Only three options. A) You're doing it and dont remember. Which raises concern about a gas leak or a health issue. B) Someone else is doing it. Change the locks and get a hidden camera asap. Get a couple of people to come over and check out all crawl spaces in case there's someone hiding on your property. C) This whole post is a troll Hopefully it's C
    via u/ChoppedGoat
  • NOTEXETON Check your crawlspace
    via u/NOTExETON
  • HourInternational467 Looks like you don't actually live alone
    via u/HourInternational467
  • Sarinnana Time for a hidden camera...
    via u/Sarinnana
  • QaddafiDuck01 Get a motion activated webcam app. I caught a roommate doing meth in our living room with ours.
    via u/QaddafiDuck01

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odd strange living alone mystery story Unsolved Mystery weird
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