The Mysterious Upstairs Neighbors

Since the dawn of time (well, at least since the dawn of multiple story residences), we humans have been haunted by a mysterious presence on the floor above us.

No matter where you go, if you live on any other floor other than the top, they are present without fail. You hear loud and unrecognizable noises come from above. They come to life at the oddest and most inconvenient hours. They have pets, or perhaps children (it is often hard to tell which), that howl when you least expect it. Strange smells often waft down below to your floor.

Who could they possibly be? How did they get there? And most mysterious of all, what the HELL are they doing up there?!

You can't identify the noises because of how obscure they are. Some days, it seems like they must be on a competitive bowling team that requires daily practice, while on alternate days, it sounds as if they're competing along with the Olympic gymnasts they see live on their television. Still other days, there must be no other answer than that they feel the urge to take every item of furniture for a walk before the day is out.

Sometimes you aren't sure what's worse: having the outbursts of unknown commotions happen consistently at the same time of day, or having them pop up out of nowhere. The predictability means you can account for the disturbances and plan according; however, when they come at 1 o'clock in the morning, they fill your mind with dread beforehand and prevent you from getting to sleep before they begin. The arbitrary eruptions allow for the occasionally night of uninterrupted sleep, but then will make an appearance when you're watching your favorite show, having a friend visit or, my personal favorite, in the middle of studying for an exam.

The smells are the most baffling of all. It wouldn't make any sense for them to be putting a roast chicken in the washing machine, yet that is the only explanation for the scent they are producing. Are they brewing a groundbreaking drinkable form of beef jerky? Frying up some sunscreen for dinner? You can only guess.

Intelligent minds have dedicated their lives for centuries to understanding the species of the upstairs neighbor, but the unfortunate truth is we may never truly understand who they are and why they do what they do. We shall continue to live in the limbo between coexistence and losing our minds with frustration and accept that, for some mysteries, the world may never find they answers we seek.

And to make you feel like you're not alone in your struggle, check out this up close documentation of the lives of this baffling species: