“SOS HELP ME” — What Woman Finds Under Her Couch will Keep you Up at Night

There's that thing people say about the amount of times spiders crawl into your mouth while you're sleeping — some obnoxiously high number that no one wants to consider (thanks a lot, Snapple facts). Unlike this dubious claim, however, this TikToker's horror story involving a creepy crawly appears to be entirely real.

Sarah (@barbellsandbooks), a fitness junkie, reader, and TikToker, took to the platform to share a story about something she found under her couch that would make Indiana Jones's skin crawl.

The video, which has 3 million views had a text overlay reading "SOS HELP ME," as she speaks directly to the camera, "I'm going to need somebody to talk me out of burning my house down," she says. She then flips the camera around and takes the viewer on a journey.

"I'm moving my furniture so I can put up my Christmas tree, and I'm sleeping behind the furniture, and this is what I find. Somebody send help. That's in my house somewhere. That's in my house right now somewhere," she says.

What she revealed was something out of an Eli Roth movie: a very long snake skin that a snake had shed, leading her to believe that the giant reptile was still slithering around the house.

The title was also quippy: "If you're my insurance company keep scrolling," indicating that her house might someday soon "burn down" on "accident."

Users seemed to commiserate with her experience and it isn't difficult to see why. She was effectively living in the movie Anaconda but without Jon Voight there to try and save her (on the plus side, at least she wouldn't be subjected to this creepy stare).

One user gave her a wink-wink about the insurance claim: "Hunny you were here visiting me when the fire happened." Another looked on the bright side, "Well, I bet you don't have a rodent problem." A third added insult to injury, "Not to freak you out even more but ... it's bigger now."

Encounters with uninvited reptiles are more common than one may believe. While comprehensive statistics are rare, global reporting indicates that such occurrences happen with a relatively high frequency.

In Australia, for example, it's not uncommon for folks to find snakes in toilets or other parts of the house, especially during the warmer months. In the United States, particularly in regions like the Southeast, homeowners have discovered snakes that snuck in, usually seeking shelter or food.

To make matters worse for Sarah, finding a shed snake skin indoors usually indicates that the serpent had been present in that area. Snakes shed their skin as they grow, a process known as ecdysis, which allows for removal of parasites and making way for more growth.

A shed skin is a sign that the snake has grown and that it was in an environment well-suited for shedding. The presence of a shed skin indoors means the snake may still be nearby, as they often remain in habitats where they find adequate food and shelter.

Here's hoping she made a call to animal control and they were able to rectify the situation. But if she doesn't want to wait for a professional to try and locate the animal, there is a way she could attempt to do it herself.

According to this Reddit post, it's not all that rare for snakes to hide themselves in people's homes. Users on the app suggested placing a source of heat along with live bait, such as a rodent, to try and lure the creature out of wherever it's nestled.

So Sarah could grab a heating dish and take a trip to the pet store and put a live mouse in a cage on the floor. If there is indeed a snake slithering about in her domicile, that may very well draw it out. Trapping the reptile is a different story entirely, but at least she'll know she won't wake up in the middle of the night to something that would probably traumatize her for life.

Or, she could just get a pet mongoose and call it a day.