High Stories: Our Echo Park Airbnb Turned Into a Horror Movie

Thought we booked a chill Echo Park Airbnb—ended up starring in a low-budget horror film with real screams and no script.

Photo by Anthony Celenie

So my friends and I booked this cute little Airbnb in Echo Park—super vibey, plants everywhere, string lights, the whole “we’re in LA now” aesthetic. We were there for a few days, and by night three, we were deep into vacation mode. Like, deep. We had just finished a massive sesh—bong rips, joints, snacks, the works. All of us high as hell, curled into our beds, ready to fade into a beautiful weed coma.

Around 3AM, everything changes.

Out of nowhere, we hear someone yelling outside our window. Not just yelling—screaming. Saying he’s gonna burn the house down. That he’s gonna kill us.

And he won’t stop.

We all go into full panic mode. We're high, paranoid, and now apparently starring in a low-budget horror film. I grab my phone, call 911, still whispering because I’m convinced this guy can hear my thoughts.

The dispatcher asks me a few questions… and then goes,

“Can you identify the color of his skin before we dispatch anyone?”

Ma’am. I’m hiding in a closet. In the dark. High as shit. The only color I can identify right now is fear.

So I say no. And she says they can’t send anyone without a full description.

So yeah. The cops didn’t come.

Instead, this guy keeps pacing outside for hours. Screaming. Laughing. Making threats. At one point, he yells,

“I’m thirsty. I’m going to 7-Eleven, but I’ll be BACK.”

HE CAME BACK. Like it was a movie intermission or something. Grabbed a Gatorade and returned to his scheduled chaos.

It took six different people on the street to also call 911 before the cops finally showed up—around 8AM. The sun was rising. Birds were chirping. We were fried, exhausted, and emotionally destroyed.

Turns out the guy’s name is Eddy. He’s a drunk, unhoused neighbor who does this sometimes. Everyone around the area apparently knows him.

He didn’t have any weapons. Didn’t actually try to get inside. Just liked to yell his nightmares at 3AM.

They said he was “harmless.”

Cool. So anyway, I haven’t booked an Airbnb in Echo Park since.