Every family has its own guidelines for parenting. This is why the saying “My house, my rules” is so common. Parents typically enforce essential rules, such as preventing children from putting their fingers in electrical outlets, encouraging them to brush their teeth regularly, and allowing their siblings to play with their toys. These fundamental rules relate to the health, safety, and social development of children. However, some parents go beyond these basics, creating additional rules that can become quite ridiculous.
The most bizarre house rule that I’ve encountered was at my friend’s place, where they had a strict policy of ’no talking’ during dinner, not because of any traditional reason, but because their elderly grandmother believed that a mischievous spirit living in the dining room would learn secrets and cause chaos. © MemeTownMayor / Reddit Growing up at my grandma’s, we weren’t allowed to sit on her couch—only on the floor, and only on a towel. My grandpa had a designated chair with a towel on it so he could sit down. We couldn’t go near the walls or touch anything. Small children were only allowed to play while sitting on a towel.
This mindset passed on to my mom. We had our own area for playing or watching TV, and we weren’t allowed in the adults’ lounge room. Even Dad couldn’t sit on the couch until he had showered.
Thankfully, I haven’t kept these rules, because it always made me feel unwanted. © lolas_gr8 / Reddit My aunt had a rule that nobody was allowed to use the bed comforters to actually sleep under. Comforters were just for looks, and had to be removed and folded up before going to bed. © YardSard1021 / Reddit
In school, I had a friend whose dad was in the military. Not only did he make us do house chores—like dusting, vacuuming, and doing dishes—when we visited or slept over, but he also woke us up at 6 a.m. by banging pots and pans to make us run around the neighborhood. He called it ‘morning boot camp.’
Needless to say, I only slept over a few times. I felt so bad for her. © tootles23 / Reddit I once stayed at a relative’s place where they had a strict ‘No Radio Waves After Dark’ rule. After sunset, the Wi-Fi was shut down, phones were powered off, and even the microwave was off-limits. They believed radio waves interfered with sweet dreams. That first night, I felt like I had time-traveled to the pre-internet era. © professional_Stop_45 / Reddit I was 14 and visiting my friend. I had my period, so I went to the bathroom to change my pad. I wrapped my used pad in some toilet paper and threw it away. The next day, my friend said
her mom had gone through the trash and found my wrapped-up pad. She got in trouble for it because her mom thought it was hers!
This was 15 years ago, and I’m still so freaking confused by it. © Unknown Author / Reddit
When I was younger, I stayed at a friend’s house. Nobody told me the entire family had breakfast at 7 a.m., so I slept in (and nobody woke me up, by the way). I woke up around 9 a.m. and noticed my friend was gone. When I wandered into the kitchen, I saw the whole family sitting around the table, laughing and enjoying a big breakfast—pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, fruit, and more.
My friend’s mom looked at me and said, ‘Hey, look who’s finally awake! The kitchen is closed, but there’s cereal in the pantry if you want to serve yourself!’ So, I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table. The second I sat down, they all got up and left the kitchen—even my friend.
To this day, I still don’t understand why they did that to me. © Ar**laCherryCola / Reddit I went over to a classmate’s house, and the children weren’t allowed on the furniture. She wasn’t even allowed to sit on her own bed; all the children had to sit on the floor. My poor classmate could hardly touch anything in her own room without ‘permission.’ It was bizarre and uncomfortable, so I never went back. © ShanHu / Reddit
The grandparents of my childhood friend had a rule that we weren’t allowed to step on the doorsteps or thresholds. We always had to step over them, never directly on them. I still don’t know why. © nothereforit_ / Reddit This happened when I was about six years old. I needed to use the bathroom at a friend’s house, and he led me to his parents’ bathroom. The place was filled with all sorts of junk: boxes, magazines, an inflatable pool, and lots of other stuff. You could barely get in there.
He pulled out a drawer from the cabinet by the entryway and told me to pee in it. I thought he was joking until he went ahead and did it himself. I couldn’t argue with that, so I peed right in there, too. Then he shut the drawer, and we went back to playing Ninja Turtles.
I have no idea what became of that drawer, the house, or the family. © DoritoOnRepeatTho / Reddit I met a girl at a new school, and she invited me to spend the night. Then she asked me, ‘Do you smell bad, though? We had a girl over once, and she smelled so bad that my parents want to know if you smell bad.’ I never went to her house after that.
One day, I went home, and my mom told me we were moving back to our old neighborhood, so I never went back to that school again. © tornteddie / Reddit
When I was a child, my mom had a friend who would watch me for an entire weekend, or sometimes a week during the summer. She had a daughter who was a year younger than me. She was an absolute clean freak. I liked her because she would take me places, but she had a lot of rules.
You couldn’t wear shoes in her house—okay, not that weird—but she would actually take your shoes to the basement utility sink and scrub the bottoms. You couldn’t have pants that were too long because they might drag on her floor and leave dirt, so I had to roll mine up. Touching the walls was a no-go, too, because the dirt from your fingers might get on her white walls. If it was nice outside, you ate outside, because crumbs on the floor were unacceptable.
She was also an English teacher. Even at six years old, I couldn’t say ‘yeah’—it had to be ‘yes’ because, according to her, only ignorant people say ‘yeah.’ I also couldn’t say I was going to ‘take off’ my shoes. ‘Only rockets take off,’ she’d say. ‘You REMOVE your shoes.’ And when I said, ‘I’m done,’ she’d correct me with, ‘Only turkeys are done. You are FINISHED.’ @ ichonne_impossible / Reddit
In this article, 14 more people experienced genuinely spooky moments at a friend’s house, and they were courageous enough to recount them to the world.
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