At one time or another, we've all lived in a home with some interesting, er, quirks, especially when we were younger. We were just so happy to be on our own that we were willing to overlook a few things. Well... at least for a little while.
So we asked some of the editors here at the Huffington Post for their worst apartment horror stories. And although they've all lived to tell their tales, thinking of the creepy crawlers, odors and extreme situations they were once subjected to had us in stitches, while remembering that it could always be worse.
Click through the slideshow to read their stories, and let us know about your own horrible apartment story in the comments below.
Our Worst Apartment Stories
I Was Ferociously Attacked(01 of10)
"Last year, living in Bushwick, I was ferociously attacked by bedbugs. Somebody in the complex scratched a list of apartments affected by bedbugs into the elevator — including mine — and the landlord didn't try to fix the problem for two weeks, so I told him I wanted out. He didn't give me back my security deposit, and while he was showing the apartment, he apparently gave the prospective tenants my keys because they stole everything of monetary value. Computers, CDs (my ORIGINAL Third Eye Blind one, too!), hard drives, a camera, you name it. After throwing away my bedbugged bed and clothes, I had nothing." - Andy Campbell, Associate Editor, Weird News and Crime (credit:Flickr: Steve Snodgrass)
Mold And Bugs(02 of10)
"I lived in an apartment in Vancouver for a year. It was below-ground, so it was sort of damp and dank to begin with. After I moved in, I discovered that I not only had mold taking growing under the walls in my bathroom (it started to seep out between the tiles), but I also had a potato bug infestation and later a spider infestation. And my landlords refused to do ANYTHING about any of the problems." - Stephanie Hallett, Associate Editor, Huffington Post Weddings (credit:Shutterstock)
A Surprise Under The Oven (03 of10)
After coming back to my apartment post-wisdom-teeth-surgery-stay at my grandmother's, I smelled something rotting. Then, I proceeded to see 5 mice before I fell asleep. First thing in the morning, I called my landlord to get an exterminator, but I couldn't figure out what was smelling so terribly. My roommate, who was also away for the long weekend (hence, something was able to rot), and I decided we had to figure out what the smell was, so we looked under the stove and saw THREE MOUSE CARCASSES. I don't even want to go into what we had to do to get them out. Needless to say, there were rubber gloves and a lot of screaming involved. The smell is gone and the exterminator came. If I see another mouse after today, I'm leaving New York. -- Rebecca Adams, Associate News Editor, HuffPost Style (credit:Flickr: Robert Couse-Baker)
A Windowless Box (04 of10)
"My first apartment was an 8x8 windowless box. This is my brother -- with nowhere to hide -- on move-in day." - Kate Bratskeir, Associate Editor (credit:Kate Bratskeir)
Clowns Can Be Unsettling (05 of10)
"When I first moved to New York, I rented a sublet from Craigslist. I had a friend check it out for me before I got to the city and they said it was fine. I guess it was "fine," but this apartment was also one of the creepiest places I've ever set foot into -- let alone had to cook, sleep and shower in for 30 days. It was really dirty (think used towels and sticky floors) and terribly decorated. The giant and nightmarish black and white portrait of a man that made up the headboard had me sleeping with one eye open. The worst though were definitely the busts of clowns decorating the living room walls. Something about clowns in a grown persons apartment is very unsettling." - Julie Thomson, Associate Editor, Taste (credit:Flickr: wwwesb )
The Ceiling Collapsed (06 of10)
"In 2009, my roommate and I both moved to New York from our respective homes. We were starting graduate school at Columbia University, and had just found an apartment -- our first in New York City -- nearby to campus. Because we had been apartment-searching from out of state, we were relying on the broker to tell us everything we needed to know about the landlord, supers, state of the apartment, etc. We were paying a decent amount -- especially as students -- so we figured that for what we were paying, the conditions would be good. We were so incredibly wrong. We had mice (weeks before we finally moved out, my roommate swore she saw several mice take up residence in our tiny living room) as well as little roach-like bugs that would pop up in our kitchen cabinets. The elevator that took us up to our seventh-floor apartment was the size of a closet, and required manually closing a sketchy metal gate that could've easily snapped our fingers off. Our tub, before we moved in, was brown. We asked the supers to please do something about it before we moved in. Their solution? Painting the tub with white paint. (So of course, we shouldn't have been surprised when just weeks after using the tub, it started disintegrating beneath our very feet). And the best part: we experienced several leaks in different parts of the ceiling throughout the winter (New Yorkers will recall that the winter of '09-'10 was a VERY snowy one). We called the super each time the ceiling leaked, asking them to please patch the roof (we were on the top floor of the building), and they always said that they did, but that they must not have gotten the crack in the roof. They told us to just put buckets under the leaks to catch the water. Finally, it all came to a head when, on one rainy night, the ceiling actually collapsed. Onto my bed. While I was in it. (The landlord finally hired a professional to patch up the roof after that incident.)" - Amanda Chan, Editor, Health News (credit:Amanda Chan)
Above A Fish Store (07 of10)
"I used to live above a fish store and on a hot summer day, the smell would take over the apartment -- not to mention, attract little critters to the house." - Michelle Manetti, Associate Edior, HuffPost Home (credit:Flickr: BozDoz)
I Saw A Furry Streaker (08 of10)
"From age 24 to 30, I lived in an amazing duplex apartment in a Brooklyn brownstone with two friends. Because the brownstone was old and in some disrepair (how else do you think us struggling twenty-somethings could afford it?), it came with some unwanted...furry...roommates. The first time I met one of our mice, I was lying on the couch, probably watching "The Real World." Suddenly I saw a flash of fur bolt from our butcher block in the kitchen and disappear behind the television console in our living room. I screamed, contemplated moving out, and went to bed.Then came the mouse droppings on the stove, followed by more on the counter. The infestation got so bad that any time I sat still in the kitchen for longer than five minutes, I saw that little furry streaker...and proceeded to lose my mind." - Anya Strzemien, Executive Editor (credit:Flickr: twoshortplanks)
Railroaded Rooms (09 of10)
"I lived in my first apartment after college with a high school friend, who happened to be a guy. The apartment was railroad-style, so he had to walk clear through my bedroom to get to his own. Needless to say, there were some embarrassing moments when he forgot to knock." -Shana Ecker, Editor, HuffPost Home (credit:Flickr: 851Condo17)
Phantom Window (10 of10)
"In my first apartment's bedroom, the lone window frame refused to stay up. It would be thirty degrees out, and the window would come crashing down. We had to remedy it with plastic sheeting, and eventually the landlord had to nail it permanently closed." - Brie Dyas, Senior Editor (credit:Flickr: essers)
Have something to say? Check out HuffPost Home on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.
**
Do you have a home story idea or tip? Email us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.