How One Fed-Up Tenant Flipped the Switch on Their Nightmare Neighbor (Literally)
Apartment living: it’s a shared wall away from either lifelong friendships or a daily test of your sanity. For u/CJN1269 and their husband, their St. Louis apartment was mostly filled with friendly faces—except for the couple next door. The boyfriend? Seemed harmless, if a bit reserved. The girlfriend? Imagine a banshee crossed with a toddler, and you’re getting close.
After years of door-slamming, wall-shaking, and high-decibel fights that could rouse the dead (and definitely the neighbors), CJN1269 decided enough was enough. When polite conversation, landlord complaints, and even the police proved useless, it was time for a little… electricity-fueled justice.
When “Quiet Hours” Become a Full-Blown Battle
Anyone who’s lived with thin walls knows the pain. At first, the OP tried all the reasonable steps: talking to the couple (and getting cursed out), documenting the chaos (even sending a Ring video to the landlord), and calling the police. But as CJN1269 lamented, “the police take hours to actually show up and by then the fighting has stopped and they just don't answer the door.” The landlord? Nowhere to be found—"We have corporate landlords so there's really no way to call them after hours," the OP explained.
Reddit quickly sympathized. As u/CandylandCanada pointed out, many leases guarantee “quiet enjoyment,” and landlords are often legally obligated to address persistent disturbances. Yet in practice, enforcement can be glacial—especially for lower-priority noise complaints.
The sheer volume and frequency of the girlfriend’s outbursts became legendary in the thread. “It's high pitched screaming and loud bangs that go on for hours at a time,” CJN1269 wrote. “It's not something you can just ignore and it's like negative energy destroying my peace.”
The Art of Petty Revenge: Flipping the Breaker
When the latest 1:30 am tantrum shattered the night, OP went nuclear—well, actually, just electrical. They crept down to the shared basement and flipped the breaker to the couple’s apartment. It wasn’t permanent, and as they noted, “Most people know the first thing you check is the breaker box when your power goes out. I did it once before in the summer and they went without power for a few days.” Sometimes, a little darkness is the best teacher—or at least the coldest.
Reddit’s reaction? Standing ovation. “Damn! You are evil. Love it,” cheered u/team_ti. Others jumped in with their own tales of electrical justice, like u/CoderJoe1, who admitted to using the breaker trick on noisy neighbors—but made sure to padlock their own box afterward, just in case of retaliation.
Of course, not everyone thought flipping switches was the only way. The suggestions for creative revenge were as endless as they were hilarious. u/PissantPrairiePunk proposed, “Record her screaming and yelling and play it back on a loud speaker. Bonus points if you put it on a loop and then leave for a while, lol.” The OP confessed they’d already tried “crying like a baby as loud as I could,” which “definitely pissed her off.” Another popular idea: blast “Cry Me a River” on repeat whenever the tantrums start, a tip that sparked enthusiastic support from the peanut gallery.
The Ethics (and Entertainment) of Neighborly Warfare
But not everyone was just in it for the laughs. Several commenters expressed genuine concern for the boyfriend, who seemed to be the target of ongoing verbal abuse. “Poor guy needs help D=,” wrote u/Sunnywatch08, igniting a discussion about the difficulties abuse victims face leaving toxic relationships. As u/HaplessReader1988 noted, “Statistics say that it takes an abuse victim an average of 7 times leaving before success.” OP offered more context, revealing that the girlfriend had moved out once before but was eventually let back in. “He probably thinks he can't do better than her,” they speculated, touching on the complex emotional traps of abuse.
Reddit's empathy extended to the OP too. Living with relentless noise and hostility isn’t just annoying—it’s emotionally exhausting. “Temporarily turning off their power is nothing compared to what I could be doing,” OP admitted, hinting at just how close such situations can push people to their limits.
And then there were the master strategists: the “audio warfare” faction. Suggestions ranged from using delayed playback to create sonic chaos, to broadcasting low-frequency rumbles, to hiding annoy-o-trons in the offending apartment. “Set it to a catchy beat,” joked u/Senator_Bink, while others dreamed of deploying “Baby Shark” as psychological warfare.
When All Else Fails: Document, Escalate, or… Move?
Amid the sea of solidarity and schadenfreude, some Redditors advocated for a more formal approach. “Your landlord is breaking the lease by not addressing this,” argued u/Professional-Pie-344, advising OP to document every incident and press the issue. If things don’t improve, such documentation could justify breaking the lease without penalty—or at least motivate the landlord to finally act.
Others noted the limitations of these tactics depending on location. Some regions have stronger tenant protections (or more responsive police) than others. As u/OldManJeepin recounted, “Cops get called 3 times within a certain time period and verify the complaint: Instant eviction! Landlord gets fined, all kinds of shit…”
But perhaps the best takeaway came from the laughter and camaraderie of the comments themselves. Whether you’re the vengeful breaker-flipper, the would-be social media exposer, or just the neighbor stuck with a “dying weasel” for a vocalist, there’s comfort in knowing you’re not alone.
Conclusion: The Shared Walls of War
Noisy neighbors are a universal experience, but how we handle them says a lot about us—and about the thin line between justice and pettiness. Whether your revenge is as simple as a flipped breaker or as elaborate as a Beethoven-blasting speaker system, remember: sometimes the best solution is solidarity, humor, or a well-documented complaint.
Have you ever waged war (petty or otherwise) on a neighbor? What worked—or hilariously backfired? Share your stories, tips, or wildest ideas below. And if you’re reading this in the middle of a midnight tantrum… solidarity, friend. May your breakers be ever at the ready.
Original Reddit Post: Loud neighbor