I'm curious, what would you have done?

[Benner]

I have two very large dogs and many weapons so I don't mind answering the door at pretty well any time.  I would suggest that you look into  a small camera to monitor the door from a safe spot in the house.  There are many wireless camera systems that can be monitored from your laptop.

Def

That is certainly something I have considered today.  Also a motion sensored light for the back garden.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

I was going to suggest a plaster statue of Mike...dressed as a garden Gnome...

[Benner]

What, so I could hear them laughing before they got to my front door? 

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

What, so I could hear them laughing before they got to my front door? 

Exactly!

[Anthony]

Installing a small camera helps in two ways;

1. you can see who's out there.

and

2. you get to use a multitool to install it!



Another question...were these deliberate human knocks, or could it be a knocking of an animal outside the door?  You said it only lasted about 5 minutes so it wasn't as if the wind was knocking something against the door, that would have lasted longer, but you also didn't see anyone walking away. 

You should also ask a neighbor if they heard anything at their place.  Police alerting people of something serious at that time would have a cruiser outside with flashing lights..

[Benner]

No doubt at all that it was a person.  These were deliberate, slow, evenly paced knocks, done, and then after no response was given, done again.

[Neil]

I'd have stuck my head out the window and asked them what the chuff they were doing knocking on my door at half two in the morning. 

I suspect I would have received a response along the lines of "ehh... is this Pete's house" (or the like) said in pissed out my brains drawl.  People casing a house are not likely to knock, those who've had a skin-full however

[appletree_man]

I think i'd have shouted out, something like "WHO THE F**K IS THAT AT THE TIME OF NIGHT ?", while banging stuff and making a lots of noise, make yourself sound big and very VERY angry. I doubt they would hang around 
I wouldn't keep quiet though, just in case they think no one is home and start trying to break in.

[jim guy]

I would of went to the door with my good old remington 870 riot gun with 00 buckshot.

[MultiMat]

Many moons ago, in my first failed attempt at Uni, I shared a cheap house near the uni & my house mate had gone out too the library. I heard a very large banging at the back door, saw through the frosted glass some one trying to jemmy open the door.I  shouted like a mad man at him & he did a runner. One more go & he would of had the door open. Not sure what would of happened , him with a crow bar & me adrenalined up  .
Happened in the middle of the afternoon  . 

[cgk]

I recently read of a non-lethal option that makes some sense to me...

A small Fire extinguisher...a face full of fire extinguishing chemicals would make it had to see and breathe and you have an impact weapon in hand should the need arise.

We use them on dogs when forcing entry into a house.  Works like a charm.

[Freudian Frog]

I'd knock back.

I don't know what that'd accomplish, but it'd surely confuse the heck out of 'em!

[WhichDawg]

peep hole in the door or a camera/viewing system if you can afford it, a good outside light to switch on
and attract attention and "light-up" the intruder (something high or securely mounted).

maybe a good chain on the door or slide-bar to open it without opening it so you can ask what they
want but still not open your door completely. your blades/bat/spray/whatever at the ready. your wife with the phone
in safer place.

with that I would ask "Who is it?" and go from there. you don't let in strangers for any reason but you tell them you
will or have called the police to come and help or take care of it.

the problem now is your worrying if they will be back and who was it and why? you didn't do wrong Ben but
knowing what it was all about would make you and your family feel better.

now you know what you have to do for any future "knocks" you need visibility and a little more security.

[AHB]

My wife would go nuts if I had a zombie chopper laying 'round, but I do have a 3 D-cell Maglite on the top of a shelf right next to my
front door, just in case...

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I'd would of grabbed my kukri (but concealed it) woke the missus up and give her a mobile, then seen wtf it was, probably by sticking my head out the window and preparing to unleash a full salvo of colourful language

But then I am slightly more aggressive than most people

[Grant Lamontagne]

You can also try to find some inexpensive strobe lights to put around your doorway.  If someone is there you can always flip them on- the effect can often be very disorienting on someone, which means that there's a better chance of them still being there when the police show up.  Either that, or if they were looking for an easy mark they will likely look elsewhere in the future.

Lastly, I know a dog isn't a feasible solution for you, but there are a number of sound/motion activated speaker systems that do a very good job of mimicking a barking, alert dog.  That alone is a significant deterrent to bad guys, as is a "BEWARE OF DOG" sign in the window.  Put the strobe and the speakers together and you will likely never see that guy in your neighborhood again, let alone your yard! 

Def

[ringzero]

I'm curious as this in fact happened to me last night and after telling people about it, many people have had different ideas about what they would have done.  So, what would you do given that scenario?

1. Grab up big bore revolver and flashlight.
2. Tuck revolver into waistband in back, so it won't be visible to the person outside when the door is opened.
3. Open the inner door, leaving the outer door closed and locked.
4. Ask the a**hole outside why he's knocking so late at night.

I had to do exactly this a year or so back at about 3 AM.

Turned out to be a drunk who was looking for a woman that lived a couple of houses further down the block.  Never occured to the guy there was a possible issue with pounding on someone's door at 3 AM.

I'd rather carry a revolver to the door than a 12 guage, because keeping the firearm out of sight gives you a chance to defuse the situation.

If everything goes well, then your visitor need not even be aware that you were armed.

.

[andrea.from.roma]

Just to be clear, the knocking was slow, and "calm" if that makes any sense.  It wasn't frantic-like like you would expect from a person in need.

Creepy, I see.

Option 1) It could have been a burglar (is that the right word? I hope so...) checking if you were home. In that case, a strong "Who the hell is it???" would have been enough. The fact that it went on for five minutes makes me think this is the most likely explanation. They probably wanted to be really sure before breaking in, just to avoid being cut to pieces by a screaming mad guy waving a kuhkri.

Option 2) Somebody who maybe saw the lights of your car still on (or maybe smoke apparently coming out of your house) and just wanted to let you know. Just to be sure, I'd have opened the door, yeah, but with a baseball bat in one hand and a 200 lumens flashlight in the other.

Option 3) Cops, maybe looking around for something or somebody in your neighborhood, who wanted to ask you a few questions.

Option 4) A psychosatanicserialkiller... Well, they don't knock at the door, they usually knock it down and start waving their chainsaw.

A.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Anyone legitimately knocking on a door at 3am really should expect to be confronted with a weapon when/if the door is opened.  I know if I had car trouble or something and needed to stop at someone's house at that time of the morning, I'd be perfectly okay with them answering the door with a firearm or a baseball bat.

I don;t know how popular baseball is on your side of the pond, but there are lots of kid sized bats available these days that make very handy weapons, and with a house full of kids, it shouldn't seem out of place.

Def

[John]

I would've opened the door with this bar in place allows me a good view with safety to boot  



oh and you can just see my knuchuks in the top left corner,should a breach occur 
 

[Benner]

I think i'd have shouted out, something like "WHO THE F**K IS THAT AT THE TIME OF NIGHT ?", while banging stuff and making a lots of noise, make yourself sound big and very VERY angry. I doubt they would hang around 
I wouldn't keep quiet though, just in case they think no one is home and start trying to break in.

Then you would have had 2 very awake and scared children to deal with as well.

[Benner]

peep hole in the door or a camera/viewing system if you can afford it, a good outside light to switch on
and attract attention and "light-up" the intruder (something high or securely mounted).

maybe a good chain on the door or slide-bar to open it without opening it so you can ask what they
want but still not open your door completely. your blades/bat/spray/whatever at the ready. your wife with the phone
in safer place.

with that I would ask "Who is it?" and go from there. you don't let in strangers for any reason but you tell them you
will or have called the police to come and help or take care of it.

the problem now is your worrying if they will be back and who was it and why? you didn't do wrong Ben but
knowing what it was all about would make you and your family feel better.

now you know what you have to do for any future "knocks" you need visibility and a little more security.

I'm not worried at all about the person coming back.

I find it interesting that many people here have said I did the right thing when I haven't exactly said what I did. 

[Benner]

Just to be clear, the knocking was slow, and "calm" if that makes any sense.  It wasn't frantic-like like you would expect from a person in need.

Creepy, I see.

Option 1) It could have been a burglar (is that the right word? I hope so...) checking if you were home. In that case, a strong "Who the hell is it???" would have been enough. The fact that it went on for five minutes makes me think this is the most likely explanation. They probably wanted to be really sure before breaking in, just to avoid being cut to pieces by a screaming mad guy waving a kuhkri.

Option 2) Somebody who maybe saw the lights of your car still on (or maybe smoke apparently coming out of your house) and just wanted to let you know. Just to be sure, I'd have opened the door, yeah, but with a baseball bat in one hand and a 200 lumens flashlight in the other.

Option 3) Cops, maybe looking around for something or somebody in your neighborhood, who wanted to ask you a few questions.

Option 4) A psychosatanicserialkiller... Well, they don't knock at the door, they usually knock it down and start waving their chainsaw.

A.

Option 2 and 3 could have been cases, but if it was something as serious as smoke for example, you would knock a bit frantically and would even shout out.  Also if it was a copper that needed to talk to me, they would have probably called through the letterbox as well rather than knocking on and off for over 5 mins.

[WhichDawg]

I'm not worried at all about the person coming back.
I find it interesting that many people here have said I did the right thing when I haven't exactly said what I did.  

as long as you didn't put the Def dress on and open the door and say; "hey sailor"
while he was laughing hysterically Sue clonked him with the end of the kuhkri!

[Whoey]

probably someone drunk dialing your front door

[AHB]

I find it interesting that many people here have said I did the right thing when I haven't exactly said what I did.  

You jumped under the bed and cried like a girl..?

What...?    

[Freudian Frog]

I find it interesting that many people here have said I did the right thing when I haven't exactly said what I did.  

You jumped under the bed and cried like a girl..? (Image removed from quote.)

What...?    

Sounds about right.

[AHB]

I find it interesting that many people here have said I did the right thing when I haven't exactly said what I did.  

You jumped under the bed and cried like a girl..? (Image removed from quote.)

What...?    

Sounds about right.

Answered the door and told your "mother in law" to sod off..? 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I find it interesting that many people here have said I did the right thing when I haven't exactly said what I did.  

You jumped under the bed and cried like a girl..? (Image removed from quote.)

What...?    

I'm guessing Sue handled it on account of her having the weight advantage over everyone else

[Benner]

One glimpse of Sue's belly would send anyone running!!