We’ve heard an endless list of crazy ex stories but no one ever imagines that it could strike close to home. It happens so often that there's even a TV show about it; the Netflix series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend vividly showed us what some people face when dealing with a former flame.

Most crazy ex antics are often harmless and temporary. It typically involves things like receiving an endless number of calls or messages from someone you once dated. However, it can take a creepy turn when your former flame starts stalking you and hanging around your house. For a North Carolina woman, it ended with her attic as the backdrop of the horrific surprise.

Rocky New Beginnings

Divorce is never easy and the process of splitting up all your things only makes it worse. That’s the reality that Tracy and her ex-husband had to come to terms with when they parted ways. While working through the emotional setback, they both had to adjust to living life separately in every sense.

The South Carolina natives suddenly realized that their split came with financial implications. Settling their expenses and bills, now that they had separate accommodations, became a massive burden. They both also had a difficult time finding meaningful employment, and they really had to figure out how to smoothen the transition. That’s when they decided to move away.

Distant Yet Close

Tracy and her ex-husband might have divorced but they couldn’t exactly walk away from each other’s lives completely. They had shared custody of their children, and every decision they made after their split directly affected their kids.

They had a meeting of the minds and figured that it was in their collective interest to move. It was their best shot at lowering their individual expenses while still living close to one another for the sake of their children.

Starting Afresh Together

Tracy and her ex-husband’s situation was undoubtedly different because they were a separated couple embarking on a new journey together. They decided on Charlotte, North Carolina, and they even found houses near one another.

They both also started looking for work as they settled into their new lives. The thing that wasn’t apparent to them at the time was the fact that despite moving to an entirely different city, they had lugged along some excess baggage.

Secrets Of The Past

Tracy had a past, like everyone else, and she had been involved in a serious relationship with someone else before meeting her ex-husband. Her former relationship wasn’t built to last but fortunately, Tracy moved on when she relocated to South Carolina.

Tracy eventually met her current ex-husband and she felt that they were right for each other. Beyond anything, Tracy could rely on him and she knew that she wanted to start a family with him.

Things Don’t Always Work

Tracy and he settled into married life, and soon, their family included five children. Things were good for a while but sadly, it doesn’t always last. The cracks in their relationship were irreparable and that’s when they decided to end things.

Theirs was an amicable split and they were able to retain their friendship. It was the element that helped them co-parent harmoniously and even decide to up and move to a new city together even though they were separated.

Comfortable Settling In

Things were smooth at first after they made the move to North Carolina. Tracy had found the perfect house that was big enough for her and her five children. Money might have been tight but everyone seemed comfortable and happy.

Some of her kids even kept living with her after finishing school, and they helped out with the bills. On the surface, it looked like Tracy and her ex-husband’s split had been the best decision for their situation.

Some Things Don’t Belong ...

Peculiar things started happening around Tracy’s house. Objects started moving around mysteriously, in the sense that they wouldn’t be where they usually belong. It started with things that were easy to dismiss like a towel left lying around when it wasn’t there a few minutes ago.

Then the jackets would be moved around from their hangers but Tracy still didn’t give it much thought. At the time, she figured it might have just been the kids misplacing their possessions.

Running A Tight Ship

Tracy just figured that she had to start running a tight ship around the house because the kids were starting to run wild. She thought that they had forgotten about the house rules and they had started leaving things lying everywhere.

Tracy confronted her kids about it and they were naturally defensive because they knew that they had been following the rules. They were adamant that they tidied up after themselves and always placed things where they belong.

Haunted By The Unknown

Spooky things started happening around the house and it only made the situation worse. Besides the unexplained movements of objects, they began hearing unexplained sounds. Each of them would report hearing odd sounds in different parts of the house and at different times.

It wasn’t exactly your typical haunted house type of strange noises but things like scuffles and bumps. The source of these strange sounds was untraceable and that’s what concerned Tracy the most.

The Undocumented Attic

The odd occurrences around the house had become disturbing, and Tracy was determined to get to the bottom of it all. She asked her children whether they had been messing around in the attic since they started hearing the noises.

No one had been to the attic because it was incredibly dusty and dark. They also feared getting injured up there and they steered clear of the attic. Their explanation left Tracy even more worried than before.

The Prime Suspect Likes Food ...

The kitchen was the place where Tracy started noticing the most peculiar happenings. Food was going missing and she knew it wasn’t her kids. Tracy always had a watchful eye on them and she would have noticed them chowing down the extra food.

Tracy soon believed that she knew the root of all the strange noises and other oddities. It must have been raccoons! They had to do something about the infestation to restore things to normalcy!

Pest Control To The Rescue

The thought of raccoons running wild around the house was unsettling enough but Tracy also knew that it was unsanitary. She imagined that they had gotten into everything around the house and if they weren’t stopped, the sneaky mammals would wreak more havoc.

Tracy called pest control but they weren’t able to drop by immediately because it was the weekend. They had no choice but to tolerate the pesky raccoons for a few more days.

A Creepy Realization

That evening the problem escalated and the noise was much amplified. Perhaps Tracy had a heightened sense of awareness after realizing that they were not alone in the house. That’s why the noises from the attic kept her up.

She no longer heard scuffles and slight bumps but she could hear distinct footsteps. Tracy was more than sure that what they were dealing with was not merely a raccoon invasion but rather, they had an intruder in their attic.

Ruling Out The Suspects

Tracy had to calm down and the first thought that came to her mind was to check on her kids. She figured that one of them could have been behind the noises but after a sweep through their rooms, Tracy ruled them out as the source of the phantom footsteps in the attic.

Tracy wasn’t about poking around the attic in the dead of the night alone. She decided to go back to her room and call for reinforcement. Tracy sent her ex-husband a text asking him to drop by in the morning.

Exploring The Attic

When morning came, Tracy knew that she had to get to the bottom of the strange sounds and footsteps coming from the attic. Her ex-husband arrived as she had requested and her eldest daughter left the house with the other kids to go for a walk.

Her eldest son stayed behind to help confront whatever was hiding in the attic. They scaled the stairs leading up to the attic and to their surprise, they could make out a figure sleeping there. They startled the mysterious squatter who quickly got up and dashed past them for the stairs.

The Escape

Tracy was patiently waiting as the two men explored the attic, and she was shocked when the mystery man darted in her direction. She was too shocked to do anything but let him run by. Her son and ex-husband were following closely behind but the man had already exited the house.

Tracy’s son went after the intruder while her ex-husband stayed behind to comfort her. Tracy eventually got back to her wits and went to the front door to witness the spectacle.

A Blast From The Past

There was something oddly familiar about the intruder who had dashed past her. She could recognize him as someone she had dated in the past. It was unsettling to think that he had been sleeping in her attic!

Tracy had broken up with him years ago, long before relocating to South Carolina and meeting her ex-husband. She was still trying to wrap her head around the realization that her former flame had invaded the sanctuary of her home.

Vanished Into The Air

Tracy’s son was panting in the street; he had given chase the best he could. He wasn’t able to catch up with the intruder who Tracy was now sure she knew from her past. She tried looking around but he was nowhere to be seen.

She couldn’t help thinking of what might have happened if they hadn't made the discovery. Tracy wondered how he got away with sneaking into her attic and setting camp there without her knowledge.

Getting Help From The Authorities

The next thing Tracy did was calling the authorities who got to her residence in no time. It hadn’t occurred to Tracy how she would explain the bizarre situation but her family helped provide the details.

They told the police everything that had been going on around the house leading up to that moment. Tracy held back disclosing one crucial detail. She hadn’t told the police and her family that she had recognized the intruder as an ex.

More Revelations

When the police looked around the attic they concluded that Tracy’s ex had been squatting up there for a considerable time. They found their missing coats, blankets, food, and other items that the family had constantly “misplaced.”

The more they unveiled details about the situation, it became even more unsettling to think about what Tracy’s ex-boyfriend was really up to. They discovered that he had been spying on her through the air vents above her room.

A Messy Relationship

Tracy couldn’t hold back the secret anymore and she revealed that she knew the attic intruder. Cary Cocuzzi was the man Tracy dated more than a decade before. They met when Cocuzzi was hired to do some work on the old house Tracy’s parents owned.

They hit it off and they were soon dating. Tracy would later find out that Cocuzzi had a criminal history and she broke things off. Cocuzzi never took the breakup well.

Dragging The Past With Her

Cocuzzi soon turned into a crazy ex and started stalking her without her knowledge. He even stole her truck and had made several threats that terrified her. Tracy informed the police about his actions and Cocuzzi was arrested.

Cocuzzi tried to mend things with Tracy soon after but she wasn’t having it. She cut all ties with him and it was even easier after she moved to South Carolina. Little did she know that she had dragged the past along with her.

True Freedom

While Cocuzzi had escaped on that fateful day back in 2012 when he was discovered in Tracy’s attic, the police eventually apprehended him. He was charged with unlawful restraint and burglary.

They still had to come to terms that they had been harboring an intruder who was secretly living in their attic for what must have been years. Hopefully, Tracy and her family could now enjoy true freedom in the comfort of their own home.