Tenant finally confronts noisy upstairs neighbors, joking that they sound like they’re bowling, only to discover they were literally bowling in their apartment: ‘It was a literal bowling set with a ball and pins’

Author image for Celeste Mello
Celeste Mello • Writer and Editor
Jun 8, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

Have you ever wondered what your upstairs neighbors are actually doing when you hear really loud noises? Anyone who lives in an apartment knows what I'm talking about. Sometimes the noises are so absurd that they make you wonder: are they throwing coins at the floor? Rearranging their furniture every time they are bored? Practicing tap dancing? 

Just like anyone who has ever lived in an apartment, this tenant asked herself, 'What are they doing up there, bowling?' Well, the answer sometimes can be yes. Her neighbors were literally bowling.

These neighbors were not dropping objects or moving furniture, nor were they dancing. The kids were having so much fun bowling that the tenant couldn't even find the courage to complain. 

After peeking through her upstairs neighbor's door peephole, she found out that they had a real bowling set with a ball and pins. She posted this frustrating situation on the Reddit AITA subreddit, commenting that it was so annoying yet so ridiculous that she couldn't even tell them to 'stop bowling'. What kind of lease agreement or noise ordinance mentions bowling in an apartment? Who bowls inside an apartment, anyway? Were these neighbors secretly training for the Olympics?

It's funny that I can relate to this. A few months ago, I went through something similar with my upstairs neighbors, who, by the way, have now moved. For weeks, I kept hearing this strange metallic banging sound coming from above. It sounded like someone was dropping metal pipes on the floor just for fun in the middle of the afternoon. Then one day, I ran into a little girl in the hallway carrying a hollow metal tube, and it all made sense. It was a pretty unusual toy for a kid, actually, but at least the mystery was finally solved.

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  • 01
    A tenant looking through a door peephole before confronting upstairs neighbor about the loud noise.
    via Unsplash+ (Josue Sanchez)

    A tenant looking through a door peephole before confronting upstairs neighbor about the loud noise.

  • 02

    AITA for telling my upstairs neighbors to stop bowling?

    You know when you're in someone's apartment and the upstairs neighbors are making a lot of noise, and someone cracks the joke "what're they doing up there- bowling?" Well this time it wasn't a joke.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 03
    This happened a while ago but I tell this story all the time so I figured i'd post it here to start a conversation or get some laughs.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 04
    I live in a brownstone, my family owns it and we rent out the upstairs apartment. The family who lived upstairs was super sweet- but loud. We heard them fighting a lot, running around, dropping things, etc. We would also hear their alarms going off, phones ringing, the tv sometimes too.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 05
    We never really said anything because my family was quite loud too. Someone was always playing an instrument, singing, or we had quite a few guests over, so we assumed the feeling was mutual and we were both just noisy families.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 06
    One day I was really sick- like the flu and stomach bug... was awful- and was trying to sleep in the living room. I literally couldn't because the upstairs neighbors were being so loud. It sounded like they were genuinely bowling. I had someone else in my
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 07
    family text them and ask if It was possible for them to keep it down a bit because the noise was quite extreme. They never responded to text and the noise continued. Someone else in my family eventually went up there to tell them they needed to be quiet.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 08
    Kids playing at home, making loud noise with a bowling set and upsetting downstairs neighbor.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    This model represents kids playing at home, making loud noise with a bowling set and upsetting their downstairs neighbor.

  • 09
    When my family member went up there, she peeked in and sure enough it was a literal bowling set with a ball and pins. Apparently they had given her some snarky reason as to why they didn't want to stop, but she finally told them I was sick with the flu and they ended up agreeing grudgingly.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 10
    Later on their kids had slid me a "get well soon" card under the door, but the fact they still were reluctant to stop the literal bowling at first sometimes baffles me. Am I the ah_le for asking them to stop bowling?
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 11
    I think I am the a hle because I asked my upstairs neighbors to be quiet while they were bowling. I thought maybe because it's their apartment they were in the right.
    via Dancing-Cow67
  • 12
    A representation of a home bowling set inside an apartment, with a ball and pins prepared for a bowling game.
    via Unsplash+ (Pix Tresa)

    A representation of a home bowling set inside an apartment, with a ball and pins prepared for a bowling game.

  • 13
    Shoddy_Many3783 NTA. the kids sending a get well card after their parents got caught apartment bowling might be the most wholesome resolution to a noise complaint ever.
    via Shoddy_Many3783
  • 14
    Naive-Seesaw9593 the fact that they had a whole a bowling set up there is sending me. like who hears "thin walls" and thinks "perfect for bowling" instead of literally anything else. nta obviously, the grudging response is what kills me though, like sorry my flu interrupted your olympic training
    via Naive-Seesaw9593
  • 15
    iwant2takeanap If they rent from you consider adding in a clause for excessive noise or add bowling into the lease agreement idk im so sorry def NTA
    via iwant2takeanap

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neighbors loud noise neighborhood-stories neighbor drama
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