The Neighbor Upstairs

Hannah Miles moves into Apartment 3B and is warned by her landlord not to “bother the man in 4B.” But every night at exactly 2 a.m., she hears heavy, rhythmic footsteps pacing back and forth in the apartment above her. Soon the pacing turns into dragging sounds… and low, wet breathing directly above her bed. When Hannah knocks on the door of 4B the next morning, no one answers. Dust covers the doorframe. The mat is untouched. The landlord later reveals the truth: the man in 4B died nearly a year ago, and the apartment has been empty ever since. But the nightly footsteps continue. Taps echo back when she speaks. And by 2 a.m., something begins kneeling, knocking, and pressing against the ceiling directly above where she sleeps. When the landlord finally unlocks 4B, the room is untouched except for a long smear across the floor—like something heavy was dragged back and forth for months. In the dust, Hannah sees a fresh handprint. She moves out immediately, but sometimes at night she still hears pacing above her new home—slow, heavy, searching footsteps that never truly went silent. A story of an empty apartment that isn’t empty, footsteps that never stop, and a neighbor who never left the floor above.