Mom Makes Terrifying Discovery After Daughter Hears 'Monsters' in Walls

Kids tend to let their imaginations run wild, but one mom made a surprising discovery after her daughter spent eight months complaining about "monsters" in her room.

When her daughter was terrified to be in her own bedroom, Ashley Massis Class assured her that there were no "monsters in the wall." The 3-year-old loved the Disney movie Monsters, Inc., so Class assumed she was copying what she had seen on-screen, especially as she kept pointing at the closet.

Though Class knew Sulley and Mike were not hiding in her daughter's bedroom, she noticed bees moving in and out of the attic, so she called a pest-control company to investigate.

Class said she "never expected" the company to uncover a hive of honeybees in her Charlotte, North Carolina, home—a discovery that led to costs of more than $20,000.

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She told Newsweek: "It took us three weeks and several beekeepers to fully understand the extent of the problem and to figure out where they all were. The beekeeper figured out that the bees were in her bedroom wall, so we opened it up to find thousands of them."

Bees hidden behind wall
A heat-thermometer reading that shows an inordinate amount of heat coming from behind a wall in Ashley Massis Class' home. After peeling back the walls, Class discovered 50,000 bees swarming inside. @classashley / TikTok

"We've had three extractions so far to remove over 50,000 bees and 100 pounds of honeycomb and honey. Now, we have to wait two weeks until we can look again before we can seal the hole," she continued.

Class has been documenting the experience on TikTok, posting under the handle @classashley. Her first post on the subject shows the heat-thermometer reading for the closet, which prompted the discovery. The clip, which Class captioned "What nightmares are made of," has received 9.4 million views and more than 470,000 likes so far.

Honeybees are crucial for pollinating about 90 percent of crops worldwide. While their hives are usually found inside tree cavities, shrubs and abandoned spaces, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources suggests they can make a home for themselves inside the walls of a house. If they choose to swarm inside a person's home, the process may take only a few hours or a day.

In 2023, Statista reported that honeybees had experienced their second-deadliest season on record, with beekeepers losing an estimated 48 percent of their colonies between 2022 and 2023.

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Class said that while the discovery shocked her, she was relieved to see the bees being removed. As for her daughter, she's happy they "found the monsters," and she can't wait to have her room back to normal.

Now, Class is inspecting every area of her home to ensure there are no additional hives inside the property. She also implores others to do the same, after learning that her insurance does not cover this issue, meaning she must pay for the bee removal herself.

"It's costing over $20,000 in expenses, so my recommendation is to walk around your home and check all the holes. And if you find anything, make sure you seal it up straight away," she said.

Class, who continues to share videos of the removal process, has answered questions on social media in the hopes of helping others avoid this problem.

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Her video of a swarm of bees coming out of a wall has received more than 1,400 comments, with many TikTok users expressing their horror.

One commenter wrote, "I would honestly rather have monsters in the wall than to have 50K bees."

"This is literally my worst nightmare," another added.

A user joked, "Single-handedly saving the bee population with your walls."

Do you have any viral videos or pictures that you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@newsweek.com and they could appear on our site.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Alyce Collins is a Newsweek Life and Trends reporter based in Birmingham, U.K. with a focus on trending topics that ... Read more

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