Encounter with a Creepy Man in a Poncho.

I've been debating about whether to post this or not, but I've finally decided that it's been long enough for me to talk about this.

This happened to me and my mom a few months ago, back in October. It happened in a very rural part of New Hampshire, like a side road on a side road type of neighborhood.

It was pouring out, as it had been raining for pretty much the whole day. My mom had just gotten back from down the street in my sister's car, and I was on the couch in the living room when suddenly I heard the doorbell ring.

Our front door has a big glass pane in the front, so we can look out from the inside, and someone can look in from the outside. Through this window pane, I see a man. I didn't get a great look at him, as I didn't have my long-distance glasses on. The man noticed that I had seen him, and waved as if trying to be friendly. For the rest of this post, I'll refer to him as Poncho man.

I got up, and thought about opening the door for Poncho man, but relented. As I couldn't properly see who it was, I didn't want to let a stranger into the house. Instead, I went down the hall to my parent's bedroom, where my mom was getting ready for work.

She asked what was up, and I explained to her that a man in a poncho was outside our door, and wanted to talk to us. She went as white as a ghost. Immediately, she stopped getting ready, closed and locked the bedroom door, and started checking the windows to make sure they were locked. I asked her what was going on.

My mom explained that as she was driving home, she had seen the Poncho man. He had been standing, motionless, on the side of the main street. As soon as my mom turned down our road, he started to walk, presumably to follow her. She said the encounter was weird but thought nothing more of it. Why would someone be out in the pouring rain, down a back road in the afternoon? It was like he was waiting for something.

I started to panic as well. My mom called my aunt (the two are like best friends) and asked what she should do. My aunt told her to call the police immediately. And so we did. We proceeded to pace around the bedroom, frantically looking out the windows to see if we could see Poncho man. From where the bedroom was angled, it was impossible to look at the front porch and see if he was still there, but we were desperate for anything.

After what felt like hours, we finally saw a police cat pull up. We carefully unlocked the door and went down to let the officer in. We explained what we saw, and he agreed to do a scan around the neighborhood. As he left, I noticed there was something on the doorknob. I took it off, and it was a political ad for a candidate that was running for office.

It's possible Poncho man was just campaigning for the candidate, but there are a lot of holes in that story. It was pouring out, so why would you go door to door? And why would you go that route in such a rural neighborhood? The houses are so far apart, you'd barely make a dent on foot. The time doesn't make sense either. Sure, I and my mom were home, but it was about 4 in the afternoon. Most people would still be at work, so you'd probably get no response from knocking anyway.

Eventually, the officer returned. He had found the guy down the road, and had questioned him. Poncho man was able to ID himself, and he claimed that he was a political campaigner and was just knocking on doors for that reason. When probed further, conveniently enough, Poncho man couldn't provide any other door signs, as the one he had left on our house was the last one. That makes the campaign story even more absurd. Our house is in the middle of the street. It's not like we were the last by any means, so why wouldn't you bring enough for the whole street? Even the officer pointed this out to us and said that it was unusual behavior.

Although the officer was suspicious of him, there wasn't anything he could do about it, as there was no way to prove intent. He told us to be alert and do not hesitate to call if Poncho man returns.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I start noticing that a police car seems to be permanently stationed down the road from us (about a 3-minute drive). I got curious and asked my mom about it, and she said that there were multiple break-ins into the houses down the road, and the police were doing a sort of sting operation. The Poncho man encounter and the break-ins may be unrelated, but considering how Poncho man acted, I have a sinking feeling that they are connected.

Thankfully, for the past few months, we've heard and seen nothing of Poncho man. We got a new doorbell system with a camera, and the police left the area where they were doing the sting. I hope that this whole situation is over and done with and that I never have to meet Poncho Man.