Your home can reveal a lot about you. The way you decorate it, the colors you choose, how neat or dirty it is, and the contents you keep hidden between the walls all tell a story…
That’s why it can be so fascinating to set foot in another person’s house. You’re entering their private world . A place where they are their true and authentic selves, surrounded by the things they hold dear or just hoard. Often, you’ll encounter the usual things. Photographs of family and friends, mementos from their travels , maybe some heirlooms, or art.
But sometimes you’ll come across something so strange and unexpected, that stops you in your tracks and has you wondering, “What in the secret life of Satan is going on here?”
Someone once asked , “What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen at someone’s house that they thought was completely normal?” and the internet went wild. Thousands of responses came pouring in. From the funny , to the bizarre, to the downright creepy, people didn’t hold back in spilling the tea about the private lives of others.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best answers for you to scroll through before your next houseguest arrives. Some might prompt you to do a Swedish death clean or at the very least, a quick declutter.
Casually spitting directly into their carpeting. Anon: I went over to a college friend’s house and watched him do that right in the middle of talking with his mother. I was completely shocked and decided right then and there that I wasn’t going to sit down or touch anything until we left. JabberJauw: In a lot of countries this is normal. When I was in high school I was talking to a teacher after class and there was an exchange student with the teacher and I and he just spit on the ground like it was nothing. The teachers jaw just dropped and said are you gonna clean that up. The exchange student was oblivious to the fact that it wasn’t normal in america to spit on the ground inside.
Colossus_of_Loads , teakidz / reddit Report
My friend and her family have a doggy door, but no dog. What do they use it for? They allow raccoons to come in and they feed them frequently. They are all so nonchalant about it. Thereal_me: Raccoons have a parasite in their feces, this parasite settles in the human brain. brassmonkeyyy: My dog door has a cover that we put on at night so the cat doesn’t use it. Well, I was on the computer a week or so ago which is adjacent to the dog door. It was about midnight and I hear a scratching coming from the door. I thought it was someone trying to break in so I grab a knife and go check outside. As I open the door a raccoon sprints away from the dog door and over the fence. Freaked me out, would’ve been disastrous if we didn’t close it at night.
Bojinglejangle , Prestigious_Ad_8775 / reddit Report
Jars filled with giant bloated tics “swimming” in rubbing alcohol. They picked them out of the ears of their dog and thought it was totally normal to display them on the kitchen counter! SecChf_RocIngersol: This is actually a very encouraged practice (minus the weird displaying) in my family. If your dog gets sick after a tick bite, it helps the vet if you have the tick preserved for them to look at. Any time we pull a tick off our dog we keep it at least a few days to make sure it didn’t get him sick. Krebs__cycle: I wasn’t sure what my nightmare was going to be about tonight. Thanks for clearing that up for me…
zipzap21 , Earthgirl07 / reddit Report
Chickens and roosters strutting around the house like they owned the place. horseface312: Ugh, the way my chickens s**t all over the yard, I would NOT want them in my house.
anon , GrassNearby6588 / reddit Report
I went over to a friend’s house after school, and other than a door for the bathroom there wasn’t a single door hung in the house. His mother told me that if you’re behind a closed door you’re doing something secret and there there were no secrets in her house. She would also randomly search his room for ‘secrets’. It wasn’t uncommon for him to come home and find all his clothes turned inside out and thrown into the hallway, and all his stuff also searched, examined, and thrown into the hallway. When he got home from school he was expected to have it all put away in an hour. What wasn’t put away when the timer went off was thrown away. Anon: My mom did somethign similar, only she thought I was stealing her things (which, really, she either never had or had simply misplaced). The last time, it was so bad that most of my furniture was broken and my bed was overturned. I ran away after that, ended up living with dad and grandma for a while until she left the house. When I moved back, it took me about 6 months to clean it all up and make it livable. Of course, a few months later, she broke her agreement (to let us live in the house until I graduated highschool) and threw a fit, so we moved out and said fk it, you can have it. That was about four years ago. She’s still stalking me. St’s crazy.
wetwater , anon / reddit Report
A friend of mine told me that when she was younger, she went to someone’s house where there were no partitions or walls - just a huge open space. The toilet was sitting right in the middle of the room. Anon: Was your friend playing The Sims? metallink11: If I don’t put in any walls, I only have to decorate one room.
anon , ola0513 / reddit Report
I saw someone thawing a Thanksgiving turkey in a sink full (I mean full) of dirty dishes and skanky water.
anon , Butcher & the Burger / X Report
In grade 6 (age 11 or 12) I went for a sleepover at my new friends house. He and his family had just immigrated to Western Canada from Manchester or Bolton England; they were what you might call ‘working class’. As soon as I get there his toothy mother comes into his room with a pen and a notepad and casually asks us what we will have from the liquor store. We must have ordered about $50 worth of alcohol between us. That night we just got absolutely trashed on rum & cokes playing Super Nintendo in his basement like it was completely normal. I remember jumping on the trampoline at probably 2 or 3 in the morning while his father BBQ’d sausages for us to eat. His parents otherwise sat in their living room smoking and watching TV all night without a care in the world for the stumbling pre-teens downstairs. At regular intervals his mother would come down with snacks and treats. skratakh: Brit here, personally we were generally allowed alcohol in small amounts at family gatherings, BBQ’s etc, maybe a few beers or an alcopop or glass of wine, nothing in great quantity. I personally don’t drink very often though and the same for the rest of my family. I think once you demystify it you kinda lose the allure. I can’t remember friends families being strict with alcohol either to be fair.
ImAVibration , Schopenhauer1025 / reddit Report
People who keep their Christmas decorations (including the tree) up all year round, or much longer than the Christmas season (like starting in October and not taking them down until several weeks after the New Year). We also had neighbors who replaced all their floors (even upstairs) with tile because their dogs peed everywhere and they were tired of replacing the carpeting every other year. Why they couldn’t housetrain the dogs or get rid of them, I have no idea. lordandrosss: One year my cousins mom left the tree up till new years. And my cousin started to complain. So the mother left it up all year and just changed the ornaments for whatever holiday was next. Hearts for valentines, eggs for easter, etc.
whileromeburns88 , msveedubbin / reddit Report
Exes family smoked cigarettes in their home, I smoke too, but never inside - but alright, their house, they can smoke in it if they want… But the weird part was they used their carpeted floor as a giant ashtray. Hessalam: Smoking inside is okay, my family does it. But holy s**t, a dirty floor like that would cause my feet to shrivel into my legs, my legs into my body, and so on until I cease to exist.
vintageflow , BEEPBOOPBOPPINGPOW / Reddit Report
I had an aunt who was so terrified of nudity she made her whole family change clothes alone in a locked bathroom, even uncle. She also made everyone sleep fully clothed in underpants, old fashion full coverage pajamas, and a house coat. She said no one in her family was going to have to be outside where people could see their night clothes if the house burned down. When she found out I was sleeping in my underwear I got a twenty minute lecture on acting like a w***e. This was in 1982.
chalkchick0 , C. Shi Report
Watched my friends mother pour the babies potty into the kitchen sink over the dishes that were in there before asking me if I’d like a drink. ‘No way!’ Was my only possible response.
Ponkers , Josue Michel Report
Placenta from all the home births (7 kid family) in the freezer. In the spring, they plant it as fertilizer in their veggie garden. tezoatlipoca: Yes, f**ked up, but common. My wife kept our son’s placenta (a home birth) in the freezer for a while. Also, my sister-in-law gave birth in our home as well (its complicated)…. and kept the placenta in the freezer. Something about if they need it for stem cells or to research some future disease or something. Guaranteed, once a month I’d be rummaging around in the freezer looking for something to put on the BBQ, I’d be unwrapping the plastic bag thinking “hrmm, whats this, its a nice sized steak or maybe a chicken bre-OMFWUGGHAD KAREN DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR GODDANMED PLACENTA!!”
flightofthecondor , afantail / reddit Report
Couple of things: At one house, a microwave on top of a toilet. You couldn’t enter the kitchen due to the amount of hoarding, so if they were hungry they would plug the microwave in, place it on the toilet and microwave some food. At another house - lots and lots of empty boxes. Stacked in every corner of the house, in case they ever had to return items. I can somewhat understand that mentality but when you’ve used that item for years, return policies don’t apply anymore.
impossible_planet Report
A pet rabbit that just roamed around the backyard. It also would get in the pool with us and swim. Pretty bada*s.
nikizzard , Glenda / Rumble Report
My grandmother reuses her floss. Flosses, rinses it off, hangs it up to dry, repeats for 2 weeks. Seeing her hanging floss scarred me as a child. Anon: I do that. Not for two weeks, but a few days.
fluteitup , reddit Report
This was back in high school. My friend’s older brother had slippers made from his beloved dead dog’s hide with the fur still attached. I thought she was joking at first but she was perfectly serious and I realized that’s exactly what they looked like - they were definitely not fake fur slippers. Anon: Native American style: let no part of the animal go to waste.
ravegreen , Silvergargoyle88 / reddit Report
At a friends house when I was younger, went to use the restroom. Four women in the house… All of them were in the habit of leaving their bloody lady products lying messy side up in the lidless garbage can. Growing up with a mum and two sisters, we all got through shark week as discreetly and invisibly as possible. I had never considered that other women didn’t worry as much about hiding bloody pads/ tampons from visitors. cankerouswench: The worst I’ve seen was when I was stopping by a friend’s house and she had unwrapped used tampons and pads by the side of the toilet on the floor… The fking floor where the trashcan usually was. I was astonished. But honestly, sometimes she would go through phases of not giving a fk about her apartment at all for about a week or so.
periodboobs , goblue3_ / Reddit Report
Growing up, I was at my friend Cori’s house all the time. Every Friday, her family would order pizza. They would leave the leftovers on the counter, in the box, all weekend and would just snack from the box. No refrigeration. Seemed strange then, and now. rhozberry: Doing that with pizza would be normal to me now, at least more normal than my boyfriend’s roommate’s habits. Last week I was at my boyfriend’s new place and his roommate cooked a bunch of fish and left it out in the pot on the counter for at least three days. It was just sitting in the water it was boiled in (I think?), and admittedly, it did have a lid on it. BUT THREE DAYS? FISH? Even cooked, that freaked me the fuck out. Then she comes in and says, “Oh, I’m going to make something for all of you with that!” When she left, I made my boyfriend promise me he wouldn’t eat it. The next morning, the fish was gone, and a (sealed, but… still!) packet of raw chicken was on the counter in its place. I can’t handle his house.
IncreaseMather , reddit Report
Giant standing stuffed bear in the bathroom. Pretty funny, but the first time I saw it I screamed.
anon , peaceIiIy / reddit Report
I couple I knew moved into a place where a real pack rat (hoarder) had been living. They got the place cheap but they had to clean up on their own. They were pretty big stoners so they only cleaned up as much as was completely necessary. In the backyard there was a huge pallet of boxes marked “Wendy’s Bacon.” I was a little incredulous so I opened one of the boxes with a stick and it actually was full of these sweaty pouches of ancient grey bacon. There must have been two hundred pounds of rotten bacon. I’m still so curious about where the bacon came from, was it a bacon heist?
teeejer Report
This one old lady I took care of had all of her dead pets as taxidermy statues in her living room. Also had all her late husbands teeth in a cup on her coffee table. Anon: This is actually very sad…
ImFawnedOfYou , xmastreee / Reddit Report
I visited Family and they showed me arround, apparently my Niece does her makeup sitting on the floor with a mirror hanging low on the wall… she wipes the mascara brush clean on the carpet, there are black streaks everywhere on the carpet arround the area she sits when doing this. Blew my mind.
savage1ma , reddit Report
Several stuffed pillows shaped and colored like life-sized naked women in the family room. This was in a house I only visited when I was in 1st and 2nd grade, and the pillows were visible through windows to the street.
2greenlimes Report
At my friends house they all use the toilet with the door wide open, even while taking a shower. I always close & lock the door when I’m using their bathroom because I’m not at all used to that. and she has 3 brothers so I definitely don’t want them seeing me on the toilet.
kinokoai Report
I had a friend in middle/high school who lived in a country house that smelled like puppy s**t. One time I stopped over, and there was legit blood spatter on their kitchen walls. No one seemed concerned or eager to clean it up. When I asked about it my friend’s mom just said “Nip (friend’s dad) got shot.” Never went back. IKinectWithUrGF: I have a friend who invited me to his cabin one time. I get in there, start getting situated, and I notice some splatters on the old wooden floor. You could trace them from a bunch of blood around the floor of the sink to across the floor, to the steps, up each step (containing at least 2 drops of blood), and all the way to the top sleeping area with a bunch of dried blood pooled and soaked in at the top. I asked what the heck happened. My friend shrugged and said “Eh. Someone got stabbed a couple of years ago when we were renting it out.” Now to flip things around. That’s the story they tell to people who come over, and then act like it’s normal (which it sort of is, but for different reasons). I ended up landing on an open knife in my bag when I visited there, stabbing through my hand and cutting a major artery (or something important I don’t remember). I stood for a couple seconds with blood draining out my hand, sprinted down the steps, and ran to the kitchen where his mom acted like a medical ninja. I went to the ER a little bit later. We laugh about it every time we think about it.
stackyjo , Euphoric_Month_1347 / Reddit Report
Went over to this kid’s house down the street from me when I was young. We ended up watching the cartoon, “The Proud Family” on Disney Channel. His mom comes in and tells us she doesn’t want us watching it because there were too many black people in it. He was just like, “Oh yeah I forgot.” o_o. ShiraCheshire: My grandparents were like that. I went over there a lot because free babysitting, and I’m surprised I didn’t turn out horribly racist from it.
NiftyShadesOfBeige , disneychannel Report
My friend said he was going to go to the toilet to do a st. The toilet is near the room we were in so I could see the door. Dad walks in to his son having a st. They proceed to have a chat. Both of them walk out together.
luco27 , Curated Lifestyle / Unsplash Report
Just a pile of trash in the corner of the kitchen. It’s like there was an imaginary trash can that everyone in their family pretended was there. I felt bad throwing anything away.
anon , reddit Report
They had found a pet kitten that they kept in a cage. It was a raccoon. derajydac: They kept their pet kitten in a raccoon. What a World.
IranianGenius , gayasswater / reddit Report
At one point, butter that was stored outside of the refrigerator. I’ve since learned that this is perfectly OK, but growing up in a family that strictly kept the butter in the fridge had me believing there was no other way. Now I know.
mouth_in_slow_motion Report
They had a room that was off limits to touch. It was made up like a living room but you weren’t allowed in there.
jnt81101 , reddit Report
Little baby angels. Everywhere. I knew that if I looked away I would be stuck in another dimension.
vidur12 Report
I was spending the night a friend’s house and we had soup for dinner, and me, being sane, took a spoon for eating soup, and he asked why I had a spoon for soup. He had a fork.
anon , Rough-Letterhead-650 / reddit Report
Rats. Dozens of them. In and out of cages.
Canuckleball , puppyboy7979 / Reddit Report
I once dated a guy… until I found out he had a tattoo on his back of his face and his dead cat’s face morphing together. He got the artist to mix some of his late cat’s ashes into the ink so they’d “always be together,” and kept the left-over ashes in a trinket box on his night stand.
luckytwentytwo Report
Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!
Follow Bored Panda on Google News!
Not your original work? Add source
Unlock an Enhanced Experience with Bored Panda Premium
Go ad-free, access unlimited content, and enjoy our sleek dark mode. Your favorite stories, uninterrupted.
No fees, cancel anytime
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/james-van-der-beek-melissa-joan-hart-clarissa-explains-it-all-01-021126-2fc520a096c546d78a9ae1173c5c4a29.jpg)
Olympian Makes Stunning Admission After Judge’s Conspicuous Scores Ignite Cheating Accusations
