Creepy 'Gingerbread Man' tries to walk into stranger's house in Virginia

May 2024 · 3 minute read

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Run, run as fast as you can!

A man dressed as a giant gingerbread man has a community in Virginia on edge after he was spotted trying to get into a home, according to a report.

An Arlington County resident told WUSA9 that he was sitting down for dinner with his family Wednesday night when the inflatable life-size cookie appeared at his front door, standing silently.

“My wife said ‘hey listen, there’s this guy, he didn’t ring the doorbell he’s just standing there and he’s in this gingerbread man costume’ and I’m like, ‘gingerbread man — what?'” the resident said.

He chose to withhold his family’s name because the “gingerbread man” is still on the loose and his motives are unclear.

Stunned, he and his wife watched the person on their security camera from inside the house.

A man in a gingerbread costume was caught on camera trying to open a family’s door in Arlington County, Virginia. WUSA 9
Several other residents in the neighborhood said they saw the costumed cookie creature on Wednesday night. WUSA 9

“We noticed the door was trying to be pushed. We look at the camera I’m looking at this guy in a costume,” the homeowner told WUSA9.

Unsure what to do next, he phoned the police department’s non-emergency line to report the bizarre encounter.

“I just told them: ‘listen, I just want to report this, it’s not an emergency. Some guy came with a gingerbread man costume.’” he said. “ and they [the operator] were like ‘a gingerbread man?’ I’m like, ‘yes a gingerbread man costume. I have the video,’” he said.

About an hour earlier, another resident of the neighborhood, Lindsey Churchill, said she saw the gingerbread man lurking outside her home.

“All of a sudden my dogs were going crazy barking out the window and I looked out, and there was a giant blow-up gingerbread man costume out on the sidewalk,” she told WUSA9.

Police said they spoke to a witness who told them it was a man looking for a friend’s house. WUSA 9

“We kind of locked eyes and the gingerbread man went on his way. So weird,” Churchill said.

“It was not holly jolly,” she added.

Several other neighbors also reported spotting the costumed creep.

One person described the situation as being “like a horror movie.” 

“In this costume this whole ordeal, what was the goal? Just to see if we’re home? Or to enter the house?” they said.

Arlington County police told the outlet that they received an online report about the man in gingerbread costume trying to open the door, but said he walked away after finding the door locked.

“A witness approached the subject outside and he reportedly stated he was looking for a friend’s house,” the department said.

Some neighbors told the outlet they were concerned that police never spoke with the gingerbread man.

No arrests have been made in connection to the incident.

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