I’m not the kind to be spooked easily. I have been known to laugh a bit too much during horror films, been a bit dismissive of ghost stories and stories of spirits. I’m a self-proclaimed unsympathetic rational.

Of late, though, I have had this feeling of being watched. I’m not usually a paranoid person, and maybe it had to do with the head to floor windows in our bedroom and kitchen … but I just couldn’t shake the feeling.

With the lovely view out our window, I often look outside. A few times over the last few weeks, I’ve had to shut the curtain because of an irrational fear that someone was watching.

Then this weekend, the mister called me over all excited. He had spotted something in the next apartment complex that tickled him to no end. Tune in next week to find ….

Just kidding.

He saw that the guy (presumably) living opposite us on the floor above had a mannequin by his window! (WHO EVEN DOES THAT!). The mannequin, when his owner leaves the curtain open, stares straight into our house. It was not a malevolent spirit, and the shameless voyeur had impeccable taste in t-shirts. Sigh.

On the plus side, I found something else to keep me on edge. An elderly neighbour whose idea of fun is to sit on his balcony in his tighty whiteys while watching movies on his laptop. Fun!