They mostly come out at night...Mostly...

I've got Gremlins.

NO. Not those Gremlins.

THESE Gremlins:

At night I've started to notice strange noises coming from my kitchen. Mostly scratching and rattling around my oven/stove. I first heard it a couple of nights ago as I was trying to fall asleep. A rattle is a normal thing around here. A neighbor doing laundry can shake the whole building. But then I noticed the creaky, scratching noise. I let it slide - right up until last night. Last night was more than a washing machine or building shifting.

Now the thing is, each time I would go out into the kitchen to investigate, naturally the noise would stop. I repeated this process, sometimes running into the kitchen, only to have nothing. As you can imagine, this could drive one mad.

So last night I was on a mission. With my flashlight, I stood in the dark hallway and stalked my prey. Like a Navy Seal, I was invisible. Then the stove made the noise. I waited to be sure it wasn't a fluke. More scratching. Louder. The adrenaline rushed through my veins. I snapped the overhead light on and prepared to face the beast.

Nothing. Silence.

Being close to the noise I could pinpoint the general area now that it came from. It appeared to be under the stove top range, down in that area where you always spill stuff into the drip trays.

I removed the trays and peered down into the area with my flashlight. I encountered random bits of crap and dust that you would find in any old stove at a guys apartment. But there was not evidence of mice, or droppings, or anything. So, now with the stove apart I had direct access to the "noise area".

Out went the lights, and again I waited - in the dark. I stood about 3 feet away. In the dark I stood. Silent and motionless for 34 minutes waiting for another noise.

Nothing. It's now 1 a.m.

I decided to call it a night. I went back to bed and not FIVE minutes after laying down did the noise start back up.

Of course you realize, this means war...