Using the chain on the door, I'd answer it only opening the door enough to talk. Perhaps this is a woman fleeing someone who attacked her, or a neighbor whose child is having a medical emergency and they need help.
Do your doors not have, like peepholes or something, because we do and that's what I'd use first before opening the door.
I've been trained to disarm people and restrain them quickly at a past job with a mental hospital. I'd put my cell in my pocket and answer the door casually, chances are if they were malicious they'd try other methods of entering. The only thing of value I own is my desktop computer, so they're welcome to it I'll just make an insurance claim anyways. Everyone around me knows I also have heart problems so if I disappear for more than a couple hours without telling anyone I get a report put out, the phone might potentially aid in finding me.
I'd bring my baseball bat or switchblade/pocket knife with me to the front door just in case. ---------- Post added 15th Nov 2016 at 05:47 AM ---------- I live in the middle of nowhere lol so if someone shows up at 3 AM I am freaking the H$** out. I'm more likely to get a raccoon at 3 AM at my front door than a human being.
At 3 in the morning, I'm already awake so I would see the guy. I would call the police first and, while they are on their way, I would get a weapon but not use it unless I feel threated. Hopefully the police will arrive in time.
I'm a highly anxious person, so if that were to ever happen, I'd get out of bed as fast as I could and hide in the closet. Oh wait, I am in the closet.
Okay, so my response would be mixed, although I put "casually answer". So, on initial hearing, I would send myself into a state of paranoia thinking about all of the possibilities it could be. The thing is, it most likely wouldn't be someone I know, because people who we know don't knock--they just walk in. That's just how it works here. Anyway, after I panicked, I'd wait for another knock. If there is, I'd get up and nervously open the door. If there isn't, I'd try and repress it as my imagination and ignore. (in my house I'm not usually the one to answer the door if there is a knock because I'm upstairs in my room almost all of the time, but this is an imaginary circumstance so I'm giving it some leeway)
Seems a little hasty. There's a much better chance it's someone non-threatening than someone trying to hurt you. Then you'll have wasted police time at the very least, or maybe gotten someone innocent arrested. Would you at least talk to them through the door first? But for those saying "burglars don't knock" there have been plenty of instances where they knock to see if anyone's home. If someone answers, they'll ask to use the phone, directions to somewhere, or another innocuous question and abort their plan quickly. It's not impossible that it's a strong person or group though, and as soon as the door is cracked open, they can force their way in. So yeah. Speak softly and carry a big stick.
Whenever the doorbell rings and I'm still asleep, I just ignore it. And the next day I think it was in my dream. I have a very deep sleep, so I might not wake up at all anyway. However, if the person happened to knock very aggressively, I'd look through the peephole. Since the house I live in consists of several flats, only a person living here as well could directly knock on my door. So I would probably just open it for them because it's quite unlikely that someone within the house is trying to harm me. (I am aware that it could be a criminal who got inside, but I'd take that chance, life isn't that important to me.) Besides, I have a flatmate, I could wake her. Depends on the state of the person though, if they carry a weapon or look like they're about to kill someone, I'd be a bit more wary and start talking through the door/maybe call the police. If someone constantly rang the doorbell, I would look out of the window and see what kind of person was standing outside. Then I'd decide what to do depending on the state of the person and maybe talk to them from my window. If they looked like they were being pursued or injured, I'd call the police and then take my flatmate with me to help them. But who knows, at 3 am you are probably too tired to think and might do something stupid because you are still half asleep.
Ignore it. To be honest I ignore the door a lot.... The majority of the time it's nobody I want to talk to...
Just open the door. Invite them in for some coffee and timbits. Maybe apologize for being in my pj's.
I'd keep quiet and not answer the door. If they tried to get inside anyway, I'd call the cops and hide.