I found a list of rules in my new apartment. I should have taken them seriously.

When I moved into my apartment, the leasing agency told me the previous tenant had left “in a hurry.”

That didn’t seem unusual. I live in Geneva—people move all the time, sometimes fast.

The place was clean. Empty. Ready to go.

A small one-bedroom on the third floor. Nothing special.

Except for one thing.

There was a single sheet of paper on the living room table.

Not an official document.
Not a note addressed to anyone.

Just a printed page.

At the top, in bold:

“Rules to follow – Apartment 3B”

I honestly thought it was a joke.

I sat down and read it.

1. Do not open the door if someone knocks after 10 PM.

2. If you hear your name in the hallway, do not go out.

3. Never leave your bedroom door open at night.

4. If you wake up and the door is open, do not look into the hallway. Close it immediately.

5. Between 2 AM and 3 AM, do not use the bathroom mirror.

6. If a light turns on by itself, do not turn it off.

7. Do not move the chair in the living room.

8. If the chair has been moved, leave the apartment immediately for the night.

9. Never sleep with your phone uncharged.

10. If you hear someone breathing near you while you are alone… pretend to be asleep.

I remember smiling.

It felt like something the previous tenant left behind as a joke.
Or maybe to mess with whoever moved in next.

I left the paper on the table and started unpacking.

The first week was completely normal.

I barely even thought about it.

Then one night, around 11 PM, someone knocked on my door.

Three times.

Not aggressive.
Just… deliberate.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.

I got up to open it.

Then I remembered the paper.

“Do not open the door if someone knocks after 10 PM.”

I stopped right in front of the door.

Looked through the peephole.

No one.

The hallway was empty.

I waited.

Nothing.

I went back to the couch.

The next day, the building manager asked me:

“Were you home last night?”

I said yes.

She frowned slightly.

“That’s strange… someone said they heard you open your door.”

I didn’t think too much about it.

A few days later, around midnight, I was in bed.

Half asleep.

And I heard something in the hallway.

Not footsteps.

Not movement.

Just… a voice.

Low.

Calm.

Saying my name.

Once.

Clearly.

I froze.

My heart started racing immediately.

I thought about the list.

“If you hear your name in the hallway, do not go out.”

I didn’t move.

I didn’t answer.

After a few seconds… silence.

That’s when it stopped being funny.

Days went by.

And without really deciding to… I started following the rules.

Not consciously.

Just… automatically.

Then one night, I made a mistake.

I came home exhausted.

Collapsed into bed.

And forgot to close my bedroom door.

I woke up in the middle of the night.

No idea why.

I was lying on my back, staring straight ahead.

And I saw it immediately.

The door.

Wide open.

Facing the hallway.

Dark.

I remembered the rule.

“If you wake up and the door is open, do not look into the hallway.”

But I already had.

At first, I didn’t see anything.

Then I realized something was wrong.

The hallway looked… darker than usual.

Like the light wasn’t reaching all the way to the end.

And at the far end—

there was something.

Not a clear shape.

Not a person.

Just… something darker than the darkness around it.

Standing there.

Not moving.

I don’t know how long I looked.

A second.

Maybe more.

Then I slammed the door shut.

I stayed sitting in my bed for several minutes.

Not moving.

Not breathing properly.

The next morning, the paper was still on the table.

But something had changed.

There was a new line.

I am 100% sure it wasn’t there before.

1. If you look into the hallway when the door is open, it will know you can see it.

I live alone.

I never told anyone about that list.

And yet, it changed.

Since then, I follow every rule.

Exactly.

But last night…

when I got home…

the chair in the living room was not in its place.

I’m still standing in the doorway as I write this.

I haven’t moved.

Because for the first time…

I don’t know if I still have time to leave 💀