I recently started university. I had to move to a dorm because campus is far away from home. I moved into a standalone dorm house with 5 rooms. Me and one of my friends both ended up in the same house. I haven’t really talked with the other 3 people living here, they’re barely here anyways. The dorm owner, Carl, is a friendly guy, he’s always smiling and making jokes, sometimes he can be corny but it’s better than having a creepy dorm owner. Our contract states that every weekend they come to collect the trash, Carl made additional mention to this when handing me the key. What i didn't notice back then, but probably should have, is how he worded it… “And remember, every weekend they come to collect the trash.”.

The first week was a bit eerie, but I find that’s normal when living somewhere new, you’ll notice all the smaller details, the little sounds, every creak. It’s something you get used to after a while, but it made the first couple of nights a sleepless hell. It doesn't matter that I could hear the neighbors arguing every single night. I finally got some rest the third night, after that i stopped locking my door at night, i know rationally speaking i didn’t have to lock it. The rest of the week went by relatively smoothly, i had to adapt to university and living alone, i am lucky i have my parents to support me, and pay for my bills. When the first weekend came around, I was woken up at 10am by the sound of the front door opening and closing. I figured it was Carl collecting the trash like he said would happen. Now that I was awake, I really had to pee, but to avoid social interaction I waited until he left. After about 30 minutes the door opened and closed again, so I went downstairs to use the toilet. Out of curiosity I checked the trash cans, as expected they were emptied.

The second week went by and I decided to head home over the weekend. When I came back on sunday, the bins were once again empty, i was the first one back home it seems. Everyone leaves over the weekend. I have decided I would stay at my dorm whenever I want to work for school. I knew that if I went home I would get distracted easily anyways.

On week 3 i stayed at the dorm again, on saturday i heard the door at 9am and decided to get up and work for school. At around noon I was about to head downstairs to get a glass when I heard the front door again. I waited a couple seconds, but didn’t hear anything. At first I assumed it was Carl leaving, but then realized it had been 3 hours since he supposedly entered. Maybe it was one of my dorm mates who forgot to mention he was still home. It was weird but I didn't think too much about it.

I wasn't home again for week 4. For week 5 however, because of the slightly off putting experience from week 3, I wanted to see what Carl was up to when he came to collect the trash.

I know it sounds a bit rash but I suffer from GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) so I decided to do this to calm myself. I fully expected nothing to really come from it… On saturday i decided to head downstairs at 9am, that way i would surely see Carl. I waited downstairs for hours, until 1pm. I figured he might be coming tomorrow instead. He did say they would come on the weekend, not specifically on Saturday. I went back upstairs and the second I closed my door, I heard the front door open. To say I was freaked out would be an understatement. But I gathered some courage and decided to go back downstairs, only to find nobody there. The front door hadn't opened a second time, so whoever came in should still be there. I checked the trash, and to my surprise it was empty.

When things get weird and scary, your mind does 2 things. It tries to rationalize the situation and it comes up with the most illogical explanations at the same time. But with this, there was no rational explanation. Even if i just didn't hear the door the second time, no way he was able to empty 2 full trash cans in just 10 seconds and disappear afterwards.

I went back to my room and locked my door again. I texted my friend about it, but he didn't respond. He could very well just be busy. Only then did I realize, whoever opened the door, is still in the house. But who the hell do you call in these situations? I mean, cops won't believe you, and my parents will just think I imagined things. So I did what any logical person would do, I locked myself in my room until monday, when my dorm mates return.

After about an hour i get a text back from my friend, he responds thinking i'm just setting up some sort of joke, i mean i don't blame him for thinking that, but i also know he won't believe me, i have been very dedicated when making jokes before, it’s like the boy who cried wolf.

Throughout the rest of the weekend I heard nothing, except the ambient sound of my neighbors fighting. When I finally hear people arrive on monday i leave my room, first course of action is going to the electronics store next door. I’m not staying here this weekend, I'm not crazy. But I am going to install a camera. Friday rolls around and I place the camera somewhere hidden, looking at the trash cans.

During the weekend I can't stop thinking about what I'll see when I return. I decided to take the train on Monday extra early instead of on Sunday evening, just to be safe. When I arrived back at the dorm, the trash was empty. I take the camera, head to my room and lock the door behind me. I spent hours looking over the footage, trying to find something. But there’s nothing. Not a single person entered the frame, nothing interacted with the trash cans. I frantically look through the video, trying to find something, maybe a splice, a time skip. But there’s nothing. Absolutely nothing. As scary as this is, now I have proof.

I wait for my friend to arrive and practically drag him into my room, I drag my mouse through the preview slider to show him nobody was here all weekend. He just gives me a dead stare and says “You’re not fooling me, just because you’re moving fast over the preview bar doesn't mean i dont see him.”.

That sentence sent chills down my spine. I asked him who he saw and he took my mouse and dragged it to saturday 10am.

“I’m not blind, i can clearly see him…” he sighed and he turned around to leave the room, but i stopped him, i asked him to trust me, i don’t see anyone on the camera.

He told me if I was really worried I should just call Carl and ask him about it. I could tell he was worried about me, but just didn’t believe me.

However i hadn't considered calling Carl, he probably has an explanation.

At Least i hope he does. This is all becoming a bit too much for me, I can handle change, I've trained myself to control my fear. But this isn’t something irrational, this is real.

I called Carl, hoping to finally have an explanation. When he picked up I started ranting, I told him everything that had happened, only to be met with bone chilling silence. After what felt like an eternity he simply said “Don’t leave your room when they arrive.” and hung up.

I tried calling back but he didn’t answer. I couldn’t go home, regardless of what had happened I couldn't miss class. Believe it or not, being haunted is not a valid reason to skip class, and because of the study point system, I couldn't really afford to fail, literally.

I would avoid leaving my room whenever I can, I'd use the bathroom in school, I'd skip showering all together and would keep all my food in my room. I only left to go to class, otherwise I would be sitting safely behind my locked door. Sleeping was hard but I managed. It wasn't until Thursday when the reality of my new situation kicked in. I cried a lot that night… I really wanted to go home, but I knew nobody would believe me. I had a lot of projects due and at home, well I wouldn't be able to get them done. So I decided to try and ignore everything, and just focus on my school work.

Saturday morning i get woken up by the sound of the front door at 10am, i double check to make sure my door is locked and wait behind it until i hear them leave. It only took them 15 minutes to clear out the trash today. I sighed with relief when I heard the front door a second time. I still wasn't going to leave my room though. I opened my curtains, put on my headphones and started modeling. At around 3pm I heard a faint knock, I removed my headphones to make sure I was hearing it right. After about a minute I heard it again, it was louder. I looked at my door and heard 3 more knocks, they were coming from the window. Now I know something is wrong, because my room is on the second floor. The knocking becomes more frequent, but I don't dare turn around. Instead I walked backwards to the window and closed the curtains behind my back, just then I saw a shadow of a tall silhouette on the wall, whatever was knocking, was very much real. I closed the curtains and the knocking stopped for a minute. But i still didnt turn around, i was unsure of what to do next, maybe it’s gone? Or is that the ‘they’ Carl was talking about? Before I could really find a cohesive trail of thought, the knocking on my window started again, only this time louder and even more frequent. And then I heard 3 knocks on my door, this is it. I'm dead, no way I'm making it out. I started crying, what else could I do?

“It’s me, Carl!”

Carl shouted from the other side of the door, I could barely hear it with the knocking.

I had no way to know if it was really Carl or not, but what choice did I have?

I opened the door and was greeted by a big smile. Carl told me to wait outside my room with my eyes closed, hands covering them and everything. So i did.

He gave me a pat on my back and entered my room. I could hear him open my window and the knocking stopped, 2 loud thuds followed and I could feel the air move behind me as Carl guided whatever was outside my window downstairs. I could hear heavy footsteps going all throughout the house until the front door opened and closed again.

But I didn't move, I didn't speak, I didn't open my eyes. I stood still for what felt like an eternity, until I heard Carl shout at me that it’s all clear. I slowly turned around and opened my eyes. I saw Carl walk up the stairs with a smile like always. I tried talking, and asking him what just happened, but I tripped over my words, I was in too much shock to form a full sentence.

“I call them collectors. I’m not sure where they came from, and I also don't know why you are able to see what you see. Normally their existence stays unknown, they are able to mask themselves. That’s why your friend was able to see someone take out the trash. But that never happened in reality.”

As Carl started explaining, he pointed to my chair.

“Sit down, you’re coming back from a panic attack. We don’t want you to faint.”

Once again I tried to speak, but I found myself only able to speak gibberish, but that didn’t matter, Carl knew what I was going to ask.

“It was able to sense you were in the house, either through heightened senses or maybe it recognized a change in patterns. I’m not sure myself. These things, they show up to keep things the same. Every week they show up and clear out the trash, because they want to keep the trash cans the same as how they first saw them. Empty. It may seem helpful, and most times it is. But sometimes, well let’s not get into details.”

I finally started to calm down, and just then I noticed all my trash was gone, but I know for certain that creature didn’t have any time to take it. Just like on the camera the creatures never showed up, maybe they can clean it from a range? Whatever it is, I'm glad it’s gone now.

“Well kid, I should leave, and don’t worry too much, this window incident was a one time thing.” Carl stood up, smiled at me and left the room.

I made sure to lock the door behind him however, just to be sure.

The rest of the night I kept thinking about what to do, i mean, i have to get out of here right?

I can't stay here, now that they know I'm ‘special’ somehow. But maybe Carl is right, what if this was a one time thing.

I couldn't eat anything that evening and decided to head to bed early.

I could hear the neighbors arguing again, and I took notice of what they said. I never realized it before, but they keep repeating the same things at the same time every day.

I felt a cold chill as I realized that this is probably what Carl meant with the sometimes where they aren't as helpful. It makes me happy he showed up, because maybe I would have ended up like my neighbors.

I was freaked out for the rest of the night, you can’t really blame me, can you?

Sunday morning rolls around and I hear the front door open at 10am. It was weird but I assumed when Carl led the creature outside, he managed to change their schedule somehow? Either way I wasn't leaving my room, nor was I going to open my curtains again.

At 10 past 3pm I heard 3 knocks on my door. “It’s me, Carl!”

Carl shouted from the other side of the door, it was odd he was here but i opened the door anyways. When I opened the door I was greeted by a big smile. Carl told me to wait outside my room with my eyes closed, hands covering them and everything. So I did.

He gave me a pat on my back and entered my room, I could hear him open my window and stop. There was no knocking, no thuds, just silence.

Only then did I realize, I never heard the front door a second time.

I ran to the bathroom, locked the door and decided the only place where people would believe my story is here. So please, please listen to me.

Don't investigate them, don't wonder about them, don't let them know you are aware they exist. But most importantly:

Don’t leave your room when they arrive.