By Alice Gibbs

Copyright newsweek

A Reddit user returning home after several months away has shared an unexpected discovery—tiny handprints pressed into the dust of their bookshelf.The photo, shared to the r/Weird community, shows two distinct sets of small prints, eerily human-like, with long fingers, smudged onto a black shelf beneath rows of art and history books. The caption read: “Left home for a couple months, came back to find tiny hand prints.”The unsettling image quickly gained attention online, with thousands of upvotes and comments speculating about the nature of the footprints.One commenter suggested the culprit might be wildlife: “Looks like raccoon to me,” to which the original poster replied, “That’s what I thought, but I don’t know how it would get in the house!”Others turned to the supernatural for answers. “That’s a tiny ghost, I’m not even scared,” one user joked.Several leaned toward rodents. “Could be a rat,” one wrote, while another pointed out: “Raccoons have five fingers on each hand. Rats have four. I’m seeing four-finger hand prints in the dust, unfortunately.”While one commenter bluntly said: “Babe, that’s a rat.”Some commenters even accused the poster of faking the picture for attention, but she explained: “Unfortunately I did not fake this lil handprint. I’m just hoping its not from a giant rat.”Newsweek reached out to poster YvngHag via Reddit for comment.Rat Infestations in the U.S.While the handprints might have sparked amusement and ghost stories online, rodent infestations are a very real issue across the United States. According to the American Housing Survey, about 11.9 percent of U.S. households, or 38.5 million people, report rodent problems annually.Rodent problems are more common in the Northeast and in occupied housing, while homes with structural problems like sagging roofs, leaning walls, leaks and broken windows make rodent problems more likely.The American Housing Survey also found that living within half a block of trash or abandoned buildings increases the likelihood of pests.Rodent Risks to Health and HomesRats aren’t just a nuisance; they carry serious risks. They can transmit diseases such as leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and rat-bite fever, contaminate food and surfaces with droppings, and aggravate allergies and asthma. On top of health concerns, they also cause property damage—chewing through wires, wood, and insulation, which can even pose a fire hazard.This isn’t the first time someone has found something unusual, and a little spooky, in their home. In 2023, a man was baffled when he discovered a large concrete container in his 170-year-old house. While another man sparked conversation online when he found a series of footprints leading to his house early in the morning with no explanation.