Like any other day, it began with the coffee making, emails loading, and sunlight peeking through the blinds. Everything changed, though, when I looked up towards the ceiling’s corner. There was something… strange sticking out just a little from where the plaster and wall met. thin. Textured. Are you moving? Possibly. Not necessarily. But clearly out of place.
I initially tried to justify it. It might be a cable, I thought. It can be an outdated antenna or a piece of a fixture from a prior remodelling project. I was chilled, though, by the way it just sat there, limp but purposeful. It had an almost organic appearance rather than one of plastic or metal. Like a snake, actually. At that point, the warning signs began to sound.
I took a picture and uploaded it on the internet, as anyone would do in the twenty-first century when confronted with a potentially fatal house finding.
The comments poured in just minutes. A few are beneficial. Others… less so. There were also several that were so humorous that I briefly forgot I might be living beneath a real dinosaur.
It appears that you have activated Hard Mode for adulthood. Well done!
Have you attempted to poke it with a broom? That is always effective in movies.
Either a wire or a basilisk, bro. Either way, good luck.
Make an electrician’s appointment. An exorcist as well. Simply to be safe.
The house comes with a free snake, which is a plot twist. Look at the listing!
There were also the practical people who gave advice:
“Shine it with a torch; if it retracts, it is alive.”
“Check the attic and turn off the power.”
“Don’t approach it by yourself, please!”
Curiosity, fear, and Reddit-fueled bravery all came together to make me grab a torch and carefully make my way to the attic. With a racing heart, every floorboard creak sounded like a drum roll. Bracing myself, I pointed my light towards the space above the ceiling corner.
There it was.
It’s not a snake, thank goodness, but it’s still not something you want to hide over your house. Through a tiny fracture in the plasterboard, a loose, worn insulation wrap from an ancient HVAC pipe was hanging just low enough to show through. It was greyish and textured, and it had done a poor job of simulating the appearance of reptilian skin.
It took some time for the adrenaline to wear off, but the crisis was avoided. A strand of old insulation can entirely disrupt your sense of normalcy, which is amusing. It began as a quiet morning but quickly became a full-fledged mystery that made me think I was living with a snake.
I cannot, however, claim that I regret the encounter. It served as a reminder to me, if nothing else, of the strength of curiosity and the internet. The jokes were constant, yes. However, they were strangely consoling as well. No matter how strange your day gets, remember that there is always someone out there who has either experienced it himself or knows how to make you laugh about it.
I finally secured the pipe, patched the ceiling, and inhaled deeply. It’s just another day in the life of a modern homeowner. One thing, though, is that I now always take a closer look whenever I pass that corner.
Considering that you never know what might be looking down from the ceiling. 👀
