Woman describes 'traumatising' moment she discovered man hiding in wall at rental property

A woman and her family have been left “traumatised” after a night away at a rental property turned into what she described as a “Netflix documentary”.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Liveline earlier this week, Therese told host Kieran Cuddihy of the terrifying experience she had along with her husband and two kids, when they had rented a property for the night in Wexford to celebrate a family members birthday party in the area.

READ NEXT: Hosepipe ban extended for entire country - here's what you can't do under new rules

Upon arrival at the property, Therese met with the landlord to get the key which was secured in a lockbox. The landlord showed them around the property and Therese immediately saw that there was clothes drying in the dryer.

Therese asked the landlord if he would be at the property when they returned from the party later that night but he assured her he wouldn’t.

“When we booked the property, it was advertised that guests would have the entire home by themselves,” said Therese, “I wouldn’t have minded if he was there as it’s quite common for hosts to be staying on the property.”

Therese continued to say that she found it “strange” that there were two single beds downstairs while the main bedroom was upstairs.

“The landlord showed me the double bedroom where I would be staying in and there was a bedroom that was locked, we were never shown inside.

“I was a bit iffy about leaving the 2 kids downstairs,” admitted Therese.

When the family arrived back form the party later that evening, there was no sign of the landlord, however, Therese said the washing machine was on which made her think he was there. She turned off the washing machine as the kids were going to bed and their beds were right beside it.

The key for the property was chained on to the wall on the outside inside the lockbox, but Therese said she started to get a bit “freaked” so told her partner she would lock the door from the inside.

“We couldn’t bring the key into the house because it was stuck on the front wall on a chain in the lockbox, so I asked my partner to see if he could come in through the front door after I locked it which was fine, he couldn’t.”

Therese said she was worried the landlord could come in as he pleased, as he would obviously know the code for the lock box which “didn’t sit right” with Therese.

“I asked my partner to go upstairs and check all the rooms...he went up and came back down and he was feeling a little bit weird.

”I didn’t notice at first a partition looking wall...a really thin piece of plasterboard with a nail in the sitting room. My partner asked what was behind it as it looked like it could move.

READ NEXT: 'Bring on season 3!'-RTE confirm the return of iconic crime drama series

“He went to move it and it came off, and there was just darkness behind it,” Therese continued, “and I heard ‘Hey, Hey’, so we obviously died, and I said is there somebody behind the wall and my partner said yes.

“The man didn’t come out near us but straight away I said ‘get the kids’ and just leave right now.

“At that moment in time, I realised that all the windows had a film on it that make it look mirrored, so people can’t see through,” Therese said, “It was on the windows but the opposite way around...so when you’re in the house, all the windows look like mirrors, and you can’t see out.

Therese then again heard “hey, hey”, and left straight away with the kids.

“You’re not expecting to hear somebody say that from behind a wall,” continued Therese, “We brought the kids outside and in the end I did end up meeting him at the front of the house and he said that he didn’t meet me before, and I said you’re the landlord, I got the code of the house for.

“Why have you done this,” Therese asked the landlord, “You have traumatised myself and my kids when you easily could have just said ‘yes I will be here later on’ and I said it was absolutely crazy and he said ‘Well my google reviews don’t say that’.”

Therese said it was the washing machine that set her off as she told host Kieran it was perhaps “mothers gut” as to why she didn’t feel at ease in the property.

“He is behind a wall, he is advertising the home as the entire place as yours, he will lie to tenants and say that he’s not gonna be there, he is gonna be there and if you have small kids, you best believe they will be sleeping in the single beds,” Therese added.

“I don’t think it’s great that someone is in the home without your knowledge especially with parents upstairs and the kids downstairs, so freaky, sitting there in the dark not expecting to hear a man shout ‘hey’.

“It’s horrifying, it was so scary...I felt like i was on a Netflix documentary,” she added. “I wouldn’t believe this, if someone told me this story I would say she is lying...the blood drained from my face.

“The kids were frozen in one spot, we had to physically move them. They heard the ‘hey’ and all they could see was this black hole.

“We didn’t know what size it was, whether it was a small space or a big space, and we knew there was a man behind that. it was the most terrifying feeling ever.

“It would genuinely put me off booking any sort of holiday home in the future...I think it will be hotels from here on out,” she added.

“I don’t think the kids would want to stay, you just don’t feel safe. Even in my own home now, it’s crazy, I know I am safe, but I am still psychologically affected by it.”