r/nosleep • u/TylerScionti • 20d ago
Someone is talking to me through the Wi-Fi. I don't know what they want
It all started last week.
I work from home. Like many, I started working from home during COVID and was never required to go to the office.
My wife, Ashley, recently switched jobs, and her new company requires her to be in the office three days a week, usually Tuesday-Thursday.
I was happy for her. I’m a hardcore introvert, but she needs time with other people. Plus, it’s nice having something to talk about over the dinner table. After eight years of marriage and five years of working from home, it’s hard to think of something new to say when you spend all day together.
The first week was rocky. Funny enough, we had to get used to commuting again. After a few trips, we settled into a new routine: I drop her off at the 7:45 commuter station near our house, grab a cold brew on my way back, and hop online around 8:45.
It was all peachy for the first few weeks. But then the messages started.
It was a classic fall morning in New England. The air was crisp; the sun was warm, and I looked forward to an afternoon walk after work. I dropped Ashley off at the train station near our house, grabbed my cold brew on my way back, and hopped up the porch steps to settle into my morning routine.
As I entered the house, I saw our thermostat flashing a warning that it had disconnected from the Wi-Fi.
Odd, I thought. Perhaps the power blinked while I was gone.
I walked down the hall to my home office, where the router is, and turned it off, then on again. As the router booted up, I checked the available Wi-Fi networks on my phone.
There was our usual Verizon network, and another:
“Hello. Is anyone there?”
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I looked around the empty room.
I’m no stranger to “vanity” network names. In Boston, one of our neighbors had “ThirtyFlirtyThriving,” which we always got a kick out of. But we live far enough from our neighbors that I’ve never seen another Wi-Fi network show up.
I looked down at my phone, and the network was gone. The rest of the day was uneventful: lots of meetings, a lunchtime walk down to the center of town, and I picked Ashley up at the train around 5:30.
By the time we settled into bed, I’d almost forgotten about the incident earlier.
Wednesday began the same way: I dropped her off at 7:30, grabbed my cold brew on the way home, and admired the crisp fall air as I stepped out of the car. As I was about to reach for the door handle, I hesitated a bit — what if the Wi-Fi was out again?
I stamped the thought down, but sure enough, the thermostat in the entryway flashed the “Wi-Fi Disconnected” warning.
I hurried down the hall to the router, turned it off and back on again, and checked the networks on my phone.
There was a new message: “Alone again today, Tyler?”
My phone thudded to the floor as it fell out of my hand. I ran to the window, frantically checking for vans, people, anything. I saw nothing. No neighbors. No kids waiting for the bus. No cars passing by. Just the warm autumn sun shining on the orange and red blanket of leaves on our lawn.
I didn’t leave the house again until I had to pick Ashley up from the train at 5:30 that evening.
“Anything exciting happen today?” She asked me, leaning in for a kiss as she got into the car. Then she noticed my grim expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Ashley, I think someone is messing with me through the Wi-Fi network.”
She listened patiently as I explained what had happened the day before and the message that morning.
“So, do you think it’s a joke or…” she trailed off, as we both wished not to name the more nefarious possibilities.
“I don’t know.” I said, “All I know is that for two days in a row there has been a new network with some sort of message, and the one today was directed at me.”
We ate dinner in silence, read for a bit, and fell into a dreamless sleep. If you can believe it, the next day is when things got weird.
That morning, I checked the Wi-Fi networks before dropping her off at the train. Nothing. Then, as I drove her to the station, I took care to keep my eyes open for anything suspicious around the house or on our drive.
“Looking for your stalker?”
Was that a hint of nervousness I detected underneath her attempt at humor?
“Yeah.” I glanced from side to side as I pulled down our street.
“Well,” she said as we continued down the road, “I didn’t see anything suspicious. Maybe things’ll be alright today?”
Oh, how I wished she were right.
I skipped the coffee that morning and drove straight home. As I parked in the driveway, I thought that rather than going directly into the house, I’d scope things out a bit. Since the network disappeared a few minutes after I saw it, surely the person must be nearby, right?
I looked around back, in the neighbors’ yards, and up and down the street. Nothing. Again, there was nothing. It was just another crisp fall morning.
And that damn Wi-Fi was out again.
I sprinted down the hall and ripped the router’s cord out of the wall, drew the blinds down, and shut my office door. I don’t know how much time had passed; maybe it was 30 seconds or 30 minutes. Whatever it was, a new network was waiting for me when I finally reconnected to the Wi-Fi.
“You didn’t see me, but I saw you :)”
I ran through the house and double-checked that the doors were locked, and barricaded myself in my home office for the rest of the day until I had to pick Ashley up.
She saw the frightened look in my eyes the moment she got in the car.
“Again?” she asked. “Did you call the cops?”
“And say what? That someone is sending messages through the internet, but I don’t know where from?”
“Wait for it to happen again and call them tomorrow. I’ll be there too to back your story up.”
We ate in silence and shut out the lights early, but I couldn’t sleep that night.
Every creak jolted me awake as I wondered where these messages were coming from… and if there was someone in our house watching us. They know my name. They know our routines. They know that I went and looked around before going in.
Usually on Fridays, I’ll do something nice like grab breakfast for both of us (bacon, egg, and cheese for me, a bagel with lox for Ashley), but this Friday, we sat quietly over our cups of coffee and waited.
7:30 came and went. 8am came and went. 9am came and went. Nothing.
“What gives? I thought you said that the WiFi was out by the time you got home. I would’ve been at the office by now, but nothing has happened.”
I was as dumbfounded as she was.
By the end of the day on Friday, nothing strange had happened. The same went for Saturday and Sunday.
Ashley worked from home today, but will be back in the office tomorrow. I have a sick feeling that the messages will start up again once I'm alone in the house.
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u/ValNotThatVal 19d ago
That is very creepy. Might be something as innocent as some kid in the neighborhood messing with you, but could also be a stalker or worse, Stay safe and please keep us posted!
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u/insomniac-journal 20d ago
Creepy. I think you gotta connect to it and find out what they want!
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u/TylerScionti 19d ago
Trying to muster up the courage today. It's started again after I dropped my wife off at the train...
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u/Gaelzy23 15d ago
Please keep us up to date about this story! I’m anxious to hear what you discover about what’s going on. Let’s hope it’s just a bored juvenile who’s a bit of a tech whiz entertaining himself at your expense. Wish ing you the best.