the Terrifying Moment a Student Who Suspected a Ghost Found a Man Holed up in her closet

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The story has made national headlines: Maddie, a junior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, had noticed mysterious handprints on the bathroom walls of her apartment and that items of her clothing were missing.

At a loss for an explanation, she and her roommates began to think there was a ghost in the off-campus home — until she learned there was allegedly a man holed up inside her closet.

In an interview with local TV station Fox 8, Maddie described those terrifying moments the bizarre truth came into focus, beginning when she heard rattling in her closet that “sounded like a raccoon.”

“I’m like, ‘Who’s there?’ And somebody answers ‘Me,’ ” Maddie, who is identified in reports only by her first name, told the station. “He’s like ‘Oh, my name is Drew.'”

Police allege “Drew” is 30-year-old Andrew Clyde Swofford, who now faces multiple charges, according to a spokesman for the Greensboro Police Department, who confirms to PEOPLE Maddie’s allegations.

She tried making an emergency call on her Apple watch, but it didn’t work, she told WFMY.

As she placed her hand on the closet door, “I could feel him starting to push the door open so I was like I guess I have to open the door,” she told the station.

RELATED: College Student Who Thought She Had a Ghost in Her Home Allegedly Finds Man Holed Up in Closet

She opened the door, and sitting on the floor was a tall, lanky man with greasy hair, wearing her clothing, shoes, and socks. He also had stuffed a bag with her belongings.

She said he begged her not to call the police, and for about 10 minutes, the two talked.

“He was telling me everything about his life and basically how he got in my closet,” Maddie said.

All the while, Maddie was texting with her boyfriend, who was on his way to her apartment.

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