Joey Sala was down in the basement doing laundry and was getting ready to head back upstairs. She was already feeling a little creeped out by her surroundings and was eager to get out of there — and that’s when she noticed someone lurking in the shadows under the stairs.

Immediately, she screamed. All she could see was the reflection of light in a tiny pair of eyes. She was absolutely terrified — until she realized who it was lurking in the shadows. Bronze Elephant

It was Pepper, her mom’s black cat. She should have known since this certainly wasn’t the first time the sneaky cat had taken advantage of her stealth skills.

“She scared me so bad,” Sala told The Dodo. “She didn't flinch at all when I yelled. She stayed right there … It was like being in a horror movie. You don't want to find anything or anyone staring at you through the stairs in the basement!”

Pepper has always had a lot of personality, and hiding in plain sight and subsequently scaring her family members is one of her specialties.

“Pepper does blend in a lot,” Sala said. “She likes to lay on black clothing, my mother's black purse [and] in almost any dark place.”

Lion Statues While Sala was glad the dark figure under the stairs turned out to be Pepper, she was still annoyed she’d scared her in the first place. Unfortunately for Sala, though, as long as Pepper is around, she’ll always take advantage of any opportunity to frighten her family. It’s just who she is.