Joe Cummings / Youtube
He had set up a hidden camera in his kitchen, and now he settled in to watch the video. He simply couldn’t believe how long the food had been going missing for. He had questioned his girlfriend and thought that she must be the one who was taking everything. Sitting down, he was ready to catch her in the act, so he pressed "Play". But while he watched the video, his skin started to crawl. He knew right there and then -- that woman in the video was not his girlfriend.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
New York, Manhattan resident and actor Joe Cummings had lived in his apartment for a few years. Then, one day, something had made him want to get out of there as quickly as possible. It began when he noticed that food was just vanishing. At first, he didn’t think too much of it, but then one day, after he had re-stocked the pantry and fridge he couldn’t help but notice that half of everything had gone. He knew that he had to approach her.
Joe Cummings / Facebook
Cummings and his girlfriend, in a stable relationship, had been living together. They lived the life of a young couple in the city where all their dreams had come true. They had it all at that moment in time. Until one day, the sound of a squealing door had woken him up. He heard thumps on the floor and even what sounded like footsteps in the kitchen. And then he awoke to see that most of his food was gone. Enough was enough.
Joe Cummings / Facebook
Approaching his girlfriend, he asked her if she was the one who had been taking all the food. He even went as far as insinuating that she had been “stealing” -- and this didn’t sit very well with his girlfriend. Was this the end of their fairytale relationship? Things between them had become tense. She kept on denying everything, so he was left with no other option. He had to catch her in the act. But what he didn’t know was that what he saw would be a lot worse than what he had ever expected.
The New York Times
He couldn’t continue to live like this. He knew he had to something. His girlfriend denied that she was taking the food at night, and it was driving him crazy. Was it all in his imagination? Was the house haunted? He wondered if an animal kept getting in, but then Cummings remembered that he was always careful to close all the doors and windows before he went to bed. So It had to be something that was inside the house already.
Joe Cummings / Facebook
Cummings finally decided to set a camera up at an angle where he would have a clear shot of the kitchen and part of the living space. He knew that this might end his loving relationship with his girlfriend, so he needed to answers. He didn't tell anyone about the camera -- not even his girlfriend. He couldn't fathom why she would do such a thing, but he was certain that it was her who was munching away on snacks in the middle of the night. But Cummings was not prepared for the truth.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
Desperate to find out the truth of his girlfriend’s midnight secret, he had set everything up. He even purchased night vision for his camera so that he wouldn't miss any juicy details. The camera recorded Cummings leaving his kitchen, and there is nobody there. Then, a few hours later, his own home became his worst nightmare.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
A woman comes into view, dropping down from the ceiling or upper-level storage unit above the kitchen. His girlfriend had been stealing food all along -- He knew it! But why hadn’t she told him? Why had she kept it a secret? Was this some kind of prank? -- he continued to watch so he could finally reveal the truth, but the next thing he saw shook him to his core.,
Joe Cummings / Youtube
The woman, crawling out onto a nearby table, moves a booth and places it at the right level so she can leap down and steady herself. She looked as though she had done this many times before as she knew exactly how to place herself. The woman then turns towards the camera, and when he saw her face, Cummings knew that this woman was not who he thought she was.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
Cummings' heart thudded louder and louder as he realized that this woman was a complete stranger. His scalp prickled, and his breath caught in his throat. Unable to take his eyes off the mysterious intruder, he continued to watch the video. The stealthy stranger roamed around the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and looking inside. Finding a carton of juice, she drank straight out of it. Then, she urinated in the kitchen and continued with her search for food in the pantry. Cummings, his stomach in knots, wondered who this woman was.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
He had been unintentionally sharing his food with this woman who had been hiding out in his apartment! Now he finally knew why his food had been disappearing. She even had the cheek to sit down and make herself comfortable on his couch while she gobbled something from his pantry. But then, the floorboards creaked. Cummings can then be seen making his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. The strange woman was startled and dashed to find a hiding spot. She only resurfaced later when the coast was clear.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
The woman continued to drink and snack on whatever she could find, and then suddenly retreated back to her hiding spot. The camera still rolls, and we can see Cummings getting ready to go out for a run early the next morning. He opened the fridge and drank from the juice carton, unaware that the intruder had done the same just a few hours earlier. He was still blissfully unaware that he was not alone in the kitchen.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
Cummings could not believe his eyes as he watched the tape to the end. His hunch had been correct, but it hadn't been his girlfriend who had been stealing the food. Joe Cummings explained in the YouTube video: “So, I kept on finding food missing in my apartment that I knew I wasn’t eating. I confronted my girlfriend who lives with me about it, and she claims she wasn’t eating it...” – After viewing the tape, Cummings immediately called the police.
André Gustavo Stumpf / Flickr
After Cummings watched the entire video, chills chased up his spine and a ball of terror formed in his stomach. He had to get leave and get out of there, now. Gasping for air and completely terrified, he rushed out the door and immediately called the police. But the next piece of information that they reveal rattled him even more.
Joe Cummings / Youtube
"I have no idea how she got in there. The only way in is through the window as I am on the top floor and there is a fire escape," Cummings wrote on YouTube. "The police think she was probably coming in to rob me when I was gone and decided to stay in the crawl space. Supposedly this isn't the first time the cops had come across something like this." It was discovered that woman had been there for over two weeks, and she was arrested. When Cummings heard how long she had been there, his pulse ramped up. This information made the experience even more disturbing. When he published the video, it went viral immediately. Some people are skeptical about it all, but after seeing the footage many have investigated every corner of their homes thoroughly.