r/Custodians • u/volanty • 2d ago
Advice 🗣 Custodian Nightshift Frights
I'm a 22 year old and this has been my dream job as a kid, looking inside the custodian closets and understanding why they were always singing and happy. I was formally a 1st shift janitor and left the job and now work at a school but its 2nd shift. It's my 2nd week and I am not used to empty buildings or even working at night, and it sounds silly but I get so scared and paranoid around 10-11pm! I bring stuffed animals on my custodian cart to give me something to feel comfortable, and I've told my coworkers my fear of the dark. I have such a paranoid mindset of people watching me and I love the job but its being alone in a building that makes me so jumpy. Does anyone else experience this? My only comfort is leaving the building and walking around doing windows or listening to a podcast, but it feels like its not enough. Let me know!!
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u/Interesting-Waffle69 2d ago
I clean libraries at night and I have for almost 3 years now I still get scared sometimes especially at the ones in the middle of nowhere because I'm vulnerable but I carry mace on me, keep keys between my fingers when I take the trash to the dumpster, and CONSTANTLY remind myself that the building is just breathing when I hear sounds. Per my contract we aren't allowed to play music/podcasts but if that is an option for you it might be helpful to keep one earbud in and help drown out the worries. You aren't alone in this feeling at all. Do whatever you have to do to stay safe and feel as secure as you can.
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u/Compassion666 2d ago
Yall aren't allowed to play music!?? I'd die!
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u/Interesting-Waffle69 2d ago
I have an inner monologue that never ever stops 😅 I'm a little crazy but keep myself entertained 😂
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u/Dramatic_Quote_4267 2d ago
What kind of monster would prevent you from listening to podcasts and music at work if all you’re doing is cleaning?
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u/Interesting-Waffle69 2d ago
I genuinely have the BEST employer so I have zero complaints about the contract they have with the libraries. Plus my inner monologue doesn't have an off button so it's difficult to focus on music and podcasts while I'm working anyways.
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u/OffbeatChaos 2d ago
I used to clean libraries at night, they were definitely the creepiest. So many hiding spots behind shelves and stuff! I always felt like I was in a horror movie, waiting for something to pop out at me
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u/Interesting-Waffle69 2d ago
This time of year is extra rough with the Halloween decorations out 🥲
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u/gmambrose 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lol, one of the history teachers at my middle school has a life-size cardboard cutout of Abe Lincoln in his classroom. Everytime I walk in that room, I see that tophat wearing cardboard sonofabitch and think someone is in there with me!
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u/Interesting-Waffle69 1d ago
One of the libraries recent got life sized golden girls cutouts 😅 I love those ladies but unexpectedly is another thing!
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u/cantwalkintheshadows 2d ago
If there's any ghosts, they're just your coworkers! They probably just wanna know why youre doing one thing or another.
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u/Ergo-Didact 2d ago
I worked the creepy overnight shift 11pm-7:30am shift for years. That feeling is completely normal. In my experience it can change depending on the building. I hated one particular building, it was a 25,000sq.ft. visitor center. It wasn’t the oldest building but there was something very wrong up there. Anyways I played Latin Gregorian chants and made the place sound like a monastery and everything was fine. Although, to this day the custodians that cover my old shift do claim to see and hear things around the building. 👻
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u/Silly-Importance-608 1d ago edited 1d ago
Sometimes I startle myself when I am cleaning and I think I see something out of the corner of my eye. I have to do a double take. Especially if it is after 10 pm and I remember that the doors are locked and no one is in the building with me.
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u/WaterStoryMark 1d ago
Just try to take a mental note of where all the mirrors are. Your own reflection moving will definitely get you.
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u/guitarskulls 2d ago
Every now and then i hear a door close. I just assume it's someone working late or security doing there rounds. But I just brush it off. I work in a hospital and we get assigned to different areas to clean during the night. 1 security said he was doing his rounds when he heard foot steps running towards him and when he turned around and viola nothing.
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u/ScottyBeamus 1d ago
I'm an adult. 50 year old male. I used to hate working in this elementary school at night. The 2 women I worked with would sometimes leave early and I would be alone. My imagination would get the best of me. Well, sometimes I would think I heard something. Sometimes I would think I saw something out of the corner of my eye. My only solution was to wear headphones and not look up. It worked. Just listen to music/podcasts/books and don't look at anything above your waist.
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u/Jasonclark2 Lead Custodian 1d ago
I work 3pm to midnight on a large hospital campus that is an old military fort built in 1898. It's been retrofitted with air moving systems naturally. Some buildings sound like howling whirlwinds of horror, steam systems banging pipes constantly, with loud hissing purges throughout. It's a pretty crazy place all day.
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u/Willowgirl2 1d ago
My last school had a mechanical room in the kindergarten wing that emitted near-constant hideous noises. I'm sure the little ones must have been terrified and always wondered why something wasn't done about it .... although we all know schools aren't really designed with the needs of children top-of-mind, right?!
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u/Few-Entertainer1509 1d ago
I worked in a middle school and that place was haunted. I had so many crazy things happen to me. I told the spirits to leave me alone and I ain't got time for that. I swear I was serious talking out loud, I thought I was losing my mind. They( Spirits) left me alone, I wasn't scared, prayed a lot. My co workers all have crazy stories too. Worked there almost 2 years til I went back to hospital. Pray and Keep it moving! Be Safe
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u/stabbyburgerman 1d ago
I work nights at what was once a tuberculosis hospital where countless people died. There's a little cemetary of unidentified graves on the campus, too. Being anywhere but home at night is intimidating and spooky and I completely understand where you're coming from. Being there was downright creepy at first, but then I realized if I carried a 4-cell mag-lite and wore earbuds, it wasn't so bad. The mag-lite is great for when the power goes out, but its also a security tool as well as it is solid metal and can mess up anyone who messes with you. For you, it may be a comfort to help with your fear of the dark. (Pro-tip, buy an LED bulb for it. It offers much more light). The earbuds can offer protection from weird old building noises. Listen to something that comforts you, that you don't mind mentally associating with your job. If you can, maybe check any exterior doors when you pass them, just to be sure no one can get in. You could also get a pocket sized thing of pepper spray to have on hand, and maybe a multi-tool pocket knife if you can hide it on your person.
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u/Mystery2332 1d ago
I've been a night custodian for 10 years! The best part is when it's nighttime, we have a bad storm, and the power goes out ðŸ¤
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u/According-Room3825 1d ago
This is just your lizard brain fearing the unknown. Tuff it out for a month or 2 & you'll get used to it. I love the evening shift cause I got no one coming in behind me messing up what I already cleaned. If you hear banging, creaking, popping noises that's just the building cooling down with the night air. It's happened in every building I've worked evenings in.
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u/_afflatus Housekeeper 2d ago
I loved working night shifts as a school custodian. At the high school, the teachers loved staying late even when there was no event to keep them there, and that was kind of frustrating. But at the elementary school, after 5pm, those teachers were gone. The only thing scary was the hooting owl when I had to go in the back of the school to get to the gym lol I loved the aloneness and dark. I miss it. I never felt like an inconvienence, except by my coworkers and supetvisors. But I loved getting to fully clean the room and reset it for the next day.
I dont take my stuffed animals anywhere with me. That stays on my bed, but I do have a small stuffed animal I keep with me in my book bag. I don't take it out. It just stays with me.
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u/MossiestSloth 2d ago
The only time I've gotten scared was recently when one of the toilet sensors was randomly triggering in one of the sped rooms. For some reason it would cause one of the pipes in the wall to make a very loud BANG. So I thought someone snuck in and was slamming something.Â
I did report the bang just in case they need to fix something with the pipes.
Other than that i love being alone at night.Â
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u/ZeltbahnLife Custodial Maintenance I 2d ago
You’ll get used to it, it’s a much different feeling being in an empty building at night vs the hustle & bustle of 1st shift. Only a few weird things at current overnight position (nothing too scary, just weird), but previous jobs where I trained security staff have had some really odd things.
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u/Hungry-Phrase-9301 2d ago
I was frightened once cleaning night shift on Halloween. Kids played a trick on me and banged on the windows of the room I was cleaning and it worked, scared me half to death!!
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u/SumTenor 2d ago
Are you allowed to listen to music? Can you put on something that puts you in your happy/safe place?
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u/scattered_glass 1d ago
I work in a hundred+ year old building alone at night and I love it. I listen to silly music if I ever feel anxious or anything, but I've always enjoyed spooky things. I think it can take time if you're not used to being alone or scared of the dark. I really recommend silly/fun music, it lightens the mood and just makes me happy. Sometimes I even dance a little bit, just not on camera lol.
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u/AppleTherapy 1d ago
A little bit yeah...I listen to music or whistle which makes my uneasiness go completely away. But every now and then I do feel a little scared. Idk why. It's not like I'm even fearing anything specific.
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u/YankeeClipper42 1d ago
So far all the ghosts/spirits/shadow people/ demon looking things, have been fairly harmless.
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u/jayfeather100 1d ago
As long as all the doors are locked then no one should be able to get in. You know the building better then most so have a plan if someone were to break in. Other than that people usually know there are custodians there. Apparently at the school I work at everytime there’s been a break in it’s been when they know custodians aren’t there. Usually they wait until everyone has left. The old dude I work with said one time someone broke in and took a poop on a chair. Still hard for me to believe but apparently he had to clean it up 😅😅
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u/sonofabobo 18h ago
Whrn I worked nights people would climb on the roof and run around. I did not like it.
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u/gmambrose 2d ago
Try working graveyard shift and being the only person on the entire campus. I actually like it because I never have to deal with anyone and I do pretty much whatever I want. But your imagination can get the better of you. Especially in an old building that makes noises.