The Man Who Knocked on My Door Every Night at 3:17 AM – A Full Horror Story

The Man Who Knocked on My Door Every Night at 3:17 AM – A Full Horror Story

Author: Abdullah
Category: Horror Stories and Mystery

Introduction

Every night at exactly 3:17 AM, someone knocked on my apartment door.

Three slow knocks.

Then silence.

At first, I thought it was a drunk neighbor or someone playing a stupid prank. But after the seventh night, I discovered something terrifying.

The person knocking wasn't standing outside my apartment.

He was already inside.

Chapter 1: The First Knock

I moved into apartment 406 three weeks ago.

It was cheap, quiet, and located in an old building at the edge of the city. The landlord seemed nervous when I asked why the previous tenant had left.

"He moved away," he answered quickly.

I didn't ask any more questions.

My first strange experience happened on a Tuesday night.

I was sleeping when three loud knocks woke me up.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

I checked my phone.

3:17 AM.

I walked toward the front door and looked through the peephole.

Nobody was there.

I opened the door slightly, but the hallway was completely empty.

I assumed someone had made a mistake and went back to bed.

The following night, it happened again.

Exactly 3:17 AM.

Three knocks.

Nobody outside.

Chapter 2: The Voice Behind the Door

After five nights, I decided to install a small security camera facing my front door.

I wanted proof that someone was playing tricks on me.

That night, I stayed awake waiting.

At 3:17 AM, the knocking started.

I immediately checked the camera on my phone.

The hallway was empty.

But something strange happened.

The camera microphone recorded a whisper.

A man's voice said:

"Open the door. It's cold outside."

I froze.

The voice sounded exactly like mine.

I replayed the recording several times.

There was no doubt.

It was my voice.

The next morning, I contacted the landlord and told him everything.

His face turned pale.

He remained silent for several seconds before saying:

"Whatever happens tonight, don't open the door."

Then he walked away without explaining anything.

Chapter 3: The Apartment Has Another Secret

That evening, I decided to search the apartment.

Behind an old wardrobe in the bedroom, I discovered a narrow wooden door hidden inside the wall.

It was locked.

I called the landlord, but he didn't answer.

I tried pushing it, but it wouldn't move.

Then I noticed something scratched into the wood:

"HE COMES BACK AT 3:17."

My hands began shaking.

I stepped away and decided to leave the apartment.

But before I could reach the front door, I heard three knocks.

Not from outside.

From behind the hidden wooden door.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Then a familiar voice whispered:

"Please let me out. I'm tired of pretending to be you."

I ran out of the apartment and spent the night at a hotel.

Chapter 4: The Security Camera Footage

The next morning, I returned with a friend.

We checked the security camera footage together.

At 3:17 AM, the camera showed something impossible.

A man was standing inside my apartment, directly in front of the entrance door.

He was wearing my clothes.

He had my hairstyle.

And he had my face.

My friend stared at the screen and whispered:

"Who is that?"

I couldn't answer.

Then the man in the recording slowly turned toward the camera.

He smiled.

And raised one finger to his lips.

As if telling us to remain silent.

My friend immediately called the police.

But when they arrived, they found nothing unusual.

The hidden door had disappeared.

There was no scratch on the wall.

And the security footage had somehow been deleted.

The landlord refused to answer his phone.

I decided to leave the apartment permanently.

I packed my belongings and checked into another hotel.

I thought it was finally over.

I was wrong.

Chapter 5: The Last Knock

Three nights later, I woke up in my hotel room.

Someone was knocking on the door.

Three slow knocks.

I checked my phone.

3:17 AM.

My heart began beating violently.

I approached the door and looked through the peephole.

The hallway was empty.

Then my phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

I answered without speaking.

A familiar voice came through the speaker.

My own voice.

It whispered:

"You shouldn't have left the apartment."

I dropped the phone.

Then I heard another sound.

Three knocks.

But this time, they weren't coming from the hotel door.

They were coming from inside the wardrobe.

I slowly turned around.

The wardrobe door was slightly open.

And standing in the darkness was a man wearing my clothes.

He looked exactly like me.

He smiled and whispered:

"Thank you for finding me a new home."

The lights went out.

The Final Mystery

The next morning, hotel staff entered the room after receiving no response to their calls.

The room was empty.

The bed was neatly arranged.

The phone was on the floor.

And the wardrobe was closed.

The police searched the hotel and contacted the apartment's landlord.

But nobody could explain what had happened.

Three days later, a new tenant moved into apartment 406.

On his first night, at exactly 3:17 AM, he heard three knocks on his front door.

He looked through the peephole.

Nobody was there.

Then a familiar voice whispered from the other side:

"Please don't open the door. Something is already inside."

And this time, the voice belonged to the new tenant himself.