If you Remember the “Dear David” Twitter phenomenon that started back in 2017, then you’ve likely been haunted by dent-headed ghosts ever since. Well, get ready to secure your air vents, because this #ScaryStories Halloween Twitter thread features a mystery man apparently taking up residence in the duct work of an old house. Beware, because this childhood ghost story might even have you second-guessing tiptoeing downstairs for a midnight snack.

In “Dear David” fashion, Twitter user and author Grady Hendrix, @grady_hendrix, decided to share a scary story that is supposedly a real experience. Of course, it’s not clear whether this is 100% accurate (or real at all), but real or fake, it’s here to scare you this Halloween. It may not be the creepy play-by-play story “Dear David” author Adam Ellis apparently encountered a couple years ago, but you may want to stay away from any air vents while you read this one.

Hendrix shared the tale on Tuesday, Oct. 29, and it starts with something totally relatable: a kid trying to scarf down some leftovers while their parents are asleep. Then, it takes a spooky turn that might make all your midnight snacks a thing of the past. For whatever reason, I was expecting some outlandish supernatural tale. Unfortunately, it’s a totally normal scene, so get ready to stay spooked long after reading.

His intro tweet reads: “Everyone’s telling scary stories for Halloween so I’ll talk about something that happened to me when I was a kid because hey, trauma never gets old.”

Sounds promising. It gets better, though. He begins to explain how he always wanted to sneak downstairs for a midnight bite.

Hendrix credits his stealthy moves down the stairs as the reason he was never caught whipping up delicacies like peanut butter, Cheez Whiz, and mayo sandwiches. No, that terrifying combo isn’t the scariest part of this story.

Hendrix then brings up a memory from May 1981. During the night in question, his family ordered dinner from Fish & Shrimp House, and hours after they were finished, he snuck downstairs to nab the leftover sweet and sour pork (#relatable). But when he got to the kitchen, he was met with something unexpected.

According to Hendrix, the light from the microwave clock apparently illuminated the silhouette of a man who was “a skinny guy, eating our leftovers, and drinking our milk from the carton,” and somehow the little boy went unseen. The 9-year-old boy woke up his mom and dad to try to get them to come check, but by the time they made it to the room, the man was apparently gone. Of course, he was told nothing was wrong, and he just conjured this up because he liked reading too many horror comics.

Despite his parents telling him he was imagining the uninvited guest, he started to keep track of the items in the kitchen to make sure he wasn’t just “seeing things.” When he began noticing things were appearing in places in the morning where he didn’t see them the previous night, he knew something was not right.

And one night, he apparently encountered a pair of eyes staring back at him from his bedroom’s vent. Oh, yeah, eyes peering at you from an air conditioning vent are totally normal — In the movie, that’s probably when you’d wake your parents and try to get them to leave the house ASAP. Hendrix wake his parents up so they could search the attic, but they didn’t find anything, so, again, they thought their little boy was imagining it.

Then, in August of the same year, Hendrix reports noticing a strange smell in his bedroom. And, yes, it’s even more terrifying from there. Hendrix claims that some “rice” fell onto his bed from his A/C vent. But, this a scary story, remember, so no, that wasn’t rice; it was apparently maggots from “something [that] had probably crawled into [Hendrix’s] vents and died,” according to the totally not reassuring A/C technician.

Now, you know where this is going: Turns out that “something” was apparently the unwelcome midnight snacker who’d supposedly been living in the ducts of the family house for three months. Hendrix even claims the police had told him the man had apparently “made lots of ‘drawings'” and placed a foam pad by Hendrix’s vent to be more comfortable while he watched the young boy. Then, the author goes on to say the police apparently denied having said that shortly thereafter. So, it happened but it didn’t (but it did?!?). Ah, a non-resolution to a super creepy story. Perfect.

OK, so we don’t know for sure if this really happened, especially since Hendrix dabbles in both fiction and non-fiction, but just like the “Dear David” saga is suspect, that doesn’t mean it’s not the perfect way to creep you out this Halloween. To stay on the safe side, I’d stay away from any air vents at bedtime.