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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey, welcome to Scary Stories and Rain.
I really hope you enjoyed this episode.
And don't forget you can subscribe to this podcast for
just 299 a month. You can get rid of all of the
irritating ads and be automatically entered to win a
Nintendo Switch to Mario Kart bundle.
Only 299 a month, no more ads. I have all the info you need in

(00:21):
the description to this episode.And one last thing, thank you so
much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
I worked at domestic violence shelters and I've seen a lot of
disturbing things, some paranormal and some just the
truest chills of human nature. One of these instances was when

(00:46):
a woman came to the rather largeshelter I was working at after
leaving her partner. Pretty typical, except her
partner was an ex military sniper.
Naturally, she came in during the weeks our regular night
shift worker was off on vacation, so I had been
voluntold to take off my regularday shifts and work alone.

(01:07):
I started my shift and nothing much happened at first.
I helped the residents get theirmedications, did some chores
while watching Netflix. Usually I'm a horror junkie, but
I never watch it at work becauseit would make me extra jumpy and
I was certain the place was haunted.
There were women who had passed in the building, but most of the

(01:30):
spirits were chill and I'm certain they were messing with
me at times. Our office had windows that
showed our tall pine trees in the backyard, designed to give
us privacy for our residents sakes, but at night all you
could see was darkness leering at you, with no shielding from
curtains. Naturally our backs were turned

(01:51):
to the window too so we were just vulnerable.
The windows had tints but it didn't matter because we could
still see outside regardless if something could see us.
By this point in my job I had seen multiple residents, ex
partners trying to peek in or break in, but nothing like this
Dark Knight with not even a glimmer of moonlight.

(02:15):
I went to complete my assigned chores as I could finish them
and then chill until everyone got up.
This morning I took my time in the basement where most of my
chores were. The basement is the floor below
my office where the residents stay.
When I returned I started getting cozy for my shift
blanket on some goofy ROM com playing and I'm just chilling.

(02:38):
That is until I felt like I was being watched.
I had a habit of always feeling like something was watching me
as I grew up in a house with a similar window situation and was
a very anxious kid. I initially brushed it off as me
being super paranoid. Not a bad thing, but I checked
the many cameras that we had anddidn't notice anything out of

(03:01):
place, inside or out. I continued snacking and
watching my movie. Around 2:00 AM, when most
residents were asleep, one of them knocked on the office door.
This always spooked me at night,but when I went to answer it, it
was one of the residents lookingvery panicked.
She explained that she believed she heard someone out in the

(03:24):
backyard while she was in her room and was worried that it was
one of the many women's ex partners.
The women all have windows that can open to the backyard, too
small for anyone but a small child to fit through, but they
are still there. So I double checked with this
residence that hers were closed.We had a policy that all windows

(03:46):
had to be closed at night especially, which we enforced at
curfew at midnight. She said hers were closed, but
that it sounded like someone wasin the backyard.
I suggested she go to a room, close the blinds, and I would
look into it again. I peered outside into the
darkness, both on the cameras and with my eyes.

(04:10):
I saw nothing out of place, but I felt an absolute pit in my
stomach as the darkness stared back at me.
I let this woman know I didn't see anything but would check
regularly. She thanked me and said that
maybe she was just paranoid. I reassured her the building was
secure, but I understood her fear.

(04:32):
One thing about working at a shelter is that even if you are
scared, you cannot show it to the residents or they will
panic, Rightfully so. Tenfold.
Despite my stomach being in knots, I kept a calm and cool
demeanor. At about 3:30 AM, feeling a
little better, I went to sit down and noticed something dash

(04:57):
into the pine trees. Absolutely petrified and going
against my human nature, which said to bolt like a madman, I
went to investigate near the window.
At this point I was cautiously crawling because I didn't want
to be seen by some Wildman. I couldn't see anyone, but I

(05:17):
again felt that gaze and noticedone of the Pines move.
When I say that I have never called the police quicker, I
mean it. Luckily, because my workplace
was well known by the police, they arrived pretty quickly.
I met them at the front door, explained the situation and

(05:37):
mentioned the woman with an ex military partner.
The police fanned out and lookedaround the Pines.
No one was found, but they did find something that disturbed
the Pines and one of those fake leaves from a camouflage suit.
They might as well have commanded me to crap my pants.
They suggested that it was possible someone with a military

(06:00):
background was in the Pines thatnight.
Trying to scope out the shelter.I felt as if I had lived 3 lives
in one night. The police said it appeared that
the person had left, likely after seeing the flashing red
and blue lights. The police then left and said to
call back if I felt unsafe again.

(06:21):
The rest of the night was uneasyuntil my manager and other Co
workers came in. Luckily I have never seen
curtains put up so quickly and security guards hired this woman
and another resident with an X in Hells Angels were no longer
with us. I have no certainty it was the

(06:41):
ex military partner but just based on how I felt I was being
stalked like prey and how she described her ex partner, I do
believe that it was him. I no longer work at that job,
but that night, that one night haunts me.

(07:13):
My Uncle Dave is super awesome in a really goofy sort of way.
He's always playing pranks on me.
He once convinced me that a hot pepper was a pickle and got me
to eat the whole thing at Chili's, which prompted me to
wash my mouth out with soap in the restroom.
He lived in Connecticut and whenmy family moved down South to
this neighborhood, we didn't seemuch of him.

(07:36):
One weekend, after several encounters with a creepy guy,
Uncle Dave announced he was coming for a visit and would be
staying in our guest room. My mom let me stay up late to
wait for his flight to arrive. However, after seeing me fall
asleep on the couch several times, she ordered me to bed and
said I could see Uncle Dave. When I woke up in the middle of

(07:59):
the night, I woke up with this eerie feeling.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up and goosebumps covered
my body. I had this uneasy feeling that
someone was watching me, stiff as a board and trying not to
move my head lest I announced tothe watcher that I was awake and
aware of their existence. I moved my eyes around the room

(08:22):
to look for anything out of the ordinary.
My night light was on in the corner of my room, which created
a pretty decent glow. It was easy to make out the
details of my Beanie Baby collection, my desk, my dresser,
and the man crouched next to thedresser.
I could see this guy with dark hair sitting with his back

(08:44):
against the wall and his right side leaning up against the
dresser. His knees were pulled close to
his body and I could see his teeth and the whites of his eyes
gleaming. He was facing me.
I stared at him for a long time and he didn't move.
At first I was terrified. Then I remembered Uncle Dave.

(09:07):
Of course. He always pranks me.
It's his life mission. He's probably trying to trick me
again right now. If I cry or scream, he'll jump
up laughing and shout Gotcha. I can't let Uncle Dave win.
I stared at him for a while and he didn't move a muscle.

(09:28):
He never gave up the game. After what felt like hours, I
felt this sense of dread fill me.
As much as Uncle Dave loves pranking me, I couldn't picture
him staying up all night long todo this weird, creepy prank.
A small voice in my head tried to convince me it was someone
else, not Uncle Dave. I closed my eyes and pretended

(09:53):
to be asleep. I peeked and saw the man was
still there. He was not a figment to my
imagination. I closed my eyes again and
imagined myself shouting for my mom and how she would dash in
and rescue me. Even if this was Uncle Dave, I
wanted no part in the prank. At some point, after hours of

(10:16):
adrenaline, I crashed and fell asleep.
When I woke in the morning, I immediately checked by the
dresser and saw no one. Feeling relief wash over me, I
felt firmly convinced that was Uncle Dave being dumb again.
Leaping out of bed and rushing out of my room, I ran into the
living room gleefully shouting Uncle Dave, you got me again.

(10:42):
That was the dumbest prank ever.My mom turned to me with this
weird look on her face and told me that Uncle Dave was still in
Connecticut because his flight was delayed.
I figured my mom was in on the prank too and told her what
happened, insisting that Uncle Dave was there in my room.

(11:02):
When she shook her head no, I felt a wave of horror wash over
me as I tried to figure out who was that in my room.
My mom told me I was just imagining things and she
wouldn't entertain it. Fast forward a bit later and I
am again in my bed. My night light is on.

(11:24):
I had somewhat forgotten about the creepy man and was more
focused on stuff like Captain Planets and Game Boy.
I woke up in the middle of the night to that same eerie
feeling. I checked by the dresser but
didn't see anything. Feeling relieved, I settled back
into bed and tried counting sheep.

(11:44):
While lying there, I saw a slender hand creep up the side
of my comforter from under the bed.
It felt around looking for something to grab onto.
At that second, every alarm system in my body was screaming,
except for of course, my mouth. I tried so many times to open my

(12:06):
mouth and shout but nothing would come out.
I felt paralyzed. The hand was on my bed for
probably only 5 minutes, but it felt like the longest 5 minutes
of my life. I lay there petrified and
fantasizing about running out ofthe room or calling for my mom,
but I could not get my mouth or legs to work.

(12:29):
Instead I lay there frozen. I eventually was able to call
for my mom, but in the middle ofshouting mom, my night light
turned off. I don't remember what happened
after that, but I think I must have fainted from pure fright.
When I woke up, I stood up on mybed and took a flying leap, then

(12:50):
ran out of the room and into theliving room to tell my mom what
had happened. My dad checked under my bed and
again told me it was all my imagination.
Despite my mom trying to convince me that I was crazy, I
was firmly convinced that a man had been in my room not once,
but twice. One night my good friend and I

(13:24):
were hanging out having some beers at our favorite bar
located in my neighborhood. We had decided to call it early
since it was a week night and wehad work and school in the
morning, so we left around midnight.
My friend offered to walk me home but I refused since I knew
that night he didn't have his car and had to walk 20 or 30

(13:45):
minutes in the cold to get home and I felt bad.
Plus we were in my neighborhood anyway so my place was pretty
close. We hugged goodbye and I started
walking home. It was pretty dark out and there
was no one around at first. A little bit into my walk I
noticed that someone was walkingfar behind me, but I of course

(14:09):
didn't think much of it. I'm pretty used to walking alone
at night and I don't get scared easily, so I just kept walking.
After a minute or two, I turned around again and I noticed that
the person who was walking very far behind me has now somehow
gotten very close. Like much closer than they

(14:30):
should have been if they were walking at my pace.
And I was walking pretty fast since I was tired and cold and
just wanted to get home as soon as possible.
I was trying not to be paranoid,but at this point I had a really
bad feeling. I can't exactly explain what it
was. It was just like all of my alarm

(14:50):
bells started going off. So I grabbed my phone in my
hand, opened my recent calls andjust continued walking.
At this point, the person who just a few minutes ago was so
far behind me that they were basically a shadow, was so close
that I could hear their footsteps.
The good thing was I was almost home, I just had to get through

(15:11):
the parking lot in front of my building complex.
However, just as we get to the parking lot, I turn around one
last time and I can see clearly this older man carrying a lot of
bags in his hands right behind me.
We make eye contact and just as that happened he started running

(15:32):
towards me. I know that every normal human
beings reaction in this situation would be to start
running, but for some reason my instinctive reaction was to
pretend I didn't notice or care and just picked up the phone and
called my mom. My mom answered in a sleepy
voice since I had clearly woken her up and asked me what was

(15:52):
wrong. I just said something like hey
mom, I'm in front of the building and I forgot my keys,
can you please unlock the door and wait for me?
Also, I have to note that while I was speaking on the phone, I
noticed that there were three guys sitting on the benches in
front of the building hanging out.
This is pretty common however, even late at night in my city.

(16:16):
Now I don't know if it was the phone call or the fact that he
noticed these guys who he surelydidn't expect to be there, but
the man ran right past me and into the first building closest
to us. At the moment I was still very
shaken up and I noticed that I stopped talking to my mom on the
phone who was mad at me for forgetting my keys and waking

(16:38):
her up. But when the man went away, I
told her exactly what happened and she freaked out and ran
outside in her pajamas. I still don't know for certain
what that man's intentions were,but they definitely weren't
good. And of course I'm glad I never
found out. My dog and I love to hike.

(17:13):
She's a blue heeler mix I found in 2019 and we have been
inseparable since. We were living in Florence, AL
at the time and decided to go tothe TVA Nature Trails, which is
home to about 30 trails and over180 miles and is beside a river.
I was familiar with the area so I knew where a lot of the trails

(17:35):
LED, crossed over, et cetera. It was either late fall or early
spring when this happened. We got to the parking lot and my
gut told me to back my car into the parking lot.
I never do that, but I didn't think anything of it at the
time. I was still in my car getting my
Fanny pack ready when I looked forward and noticed a man in his

(17:58):
late 40s or early 50s who lookedvery out of place.
He was wearing jeans, a brown blazer, and leather dress shoes.
In any other context I might have just assumed he was heading
to a job interview or something like that, but this was a Sunday
afternoon and we were in the middle of the woods.

(18:21):
I had a really bad feeling abouthim and kept my eye on him while
I laced up my boots and got my dog out of the car.
He never looked over at us as far as I know.
I watched him start down a path and decided to go on a trail
that did not run into his trail.Here's where it goes down.
Let me paint the scene for you. The river is to my left and my

(18:44):
dog is playing in the water. The trails make a backwards
lowercase Y shape to my right. Two of the three trails come
down a pretty large hill, probably a 50 foot drop in
elevation on each trail alone, so the Little River coast was
almost tucked under a Cliff. You wouldn't know I was there
unless you were trying to see down onto the beach area.

(19:07):
While my dog was playing, I got the most intense.
You need to get out of there. Feeling in my guts that I've
ever had. I listened to that feeling,
leashed up my dog immediately, and started walking back towards
the trails. I got back to the Y and had to
choose which path to go when I heard the parking lot man shout

(19:28):
something at me from the highestof the trails.
Based on the trail he went down from the parking lot, he should
not have been there. He must have turned around after
I started down my trail and wentdown that trail or something.
The paths don't cross and it's literally from the opposite side
of the park. As I was processing that this

(19:49):
man was not where he should be, I realized this could be the
beginning of a true Crime Story.I didn't understand what he said
when he yelled, so I asked him to repeat it.
I'll never unhear it for the rest of my life.
He said I can see what the military was talking about when

(20:11):
they said you can see everythingfrom up high.
Then he made a hand gesture pointing to the area where my
dog and I were playing in the water.
I decided to Nope it out of there and started heading back
to the trail we came down. There's an important part of the
terrain that I didn't mention yet leading down to the river.
There's a large ditch between a couple of the trails, probably a

(20:34):
20 foot steep drop from trail tothe bottom with a bridge that
goes over it. I was fairly close to the bridge
when I heard him, so I went thatdirection.
The man proceeded to run down the hill of the trail, meanwhile
asking all kinds of questions about my dog.
I couldn't go that fast because my dog was thoroughly confused

(20:56):
and was trying to protect me. The man then said I was watching
you 2 in the parking lot. I saw you get out of the car.
Chills. He caught up behind us on the
bridge and asked to pet my dog. I said no.
He then asked if I had a husbandso I lied and said yes.

(21:18):
He asked what my husband does for work and I said he's in the
army and he's going to be reallymad when he hears that you won't
leave his wife and dog alone. At this point the man was still
jogging behind us to stay as close as possible.
I was trying to decide how to lose this guy.
Do I scream at the top of my lungs?

(21:38):
Do I push him? Do I just deal with it and hope
it doesn't get worse? Now we were walking on the flat
part along the top of the steep ditch.
I noticed gloves in his blazer pocket and he had a little
bottle in his hand. It was a clear plastic juice
bottle like Vitamin Water or Snapple, and had a dark liquid

(22:00):
in it that looked like sweet tea.
Not the right color for the bottle.
At first I thought it was probably a spit bottle for
chewing tobacco, or at least that's what I hoped it was.
Then he firmly said, I'm going to pet your dog and reached down
at her. She's not big, but she jumped on

(22:20):
him with force and knocked the bottle down the ditch.
The man very unexpectedly went down into the ditch after his
bottle. It was so steep that he had to
slide down the bank or he would have broken some bones.
My dog and I took off in a different direction, avoiding
human trails to hopefully lose him.
We ran for about two miles through the woods until we were

(22:43):
about 1/2 mile from the car in adifferent populated area.
I asked a man to walk me to my car and told him that someone
was following me. He did and then he was being
silly to make me laugh and feel better.
I'm so grateful to him. I made it safely back home and
was livid that this guy cast a stain on one of our favorite

(23:07):
hiking spots. But obviously I was grateful
that my dog and I were alive. For a while.
I tried to believe that it was just some socially inept guy
that really wanted to pet my dog.
Deep down I know that man didn'thave good intentions though.
I trust my gut and she was not OK in that moment.

(23:29):
So I'm just left with one question.
What the heck was in that bottle, and why was it so
important that he had to risk seriously injuring himself to go
get it? I was 10 years old and it was

(23:53):
the late 90s. I was a fat kid and the other
kids certainly let me know it. I remember when the movie Free
Willy came out and that became my name for the better part of a
year or so. Needless to say, I didn't have
many friends, and as those who don't have friends do, I
gravitated more toward my console and computer games

(24:16):
rather than basketball or boxingor whatever the kids did
outside. I did make one friend, however,
who lived a few blocks away. Steve was older than me, a nerd,
and cool as hell. I won't get into particulars of
our friendship, but he introduced me to all sorts of
great games. Diablo, Dungeon Keeper, Duke

(24:39):
Nukem, games that weren't alwaysage appropriate.
He would even loan them to me sometimes.
One Saturday I called up Steve to ask if he wanted to hang out.
He said he would ask his parents, but they declined due
to some travel plans they had. So I asked him if I could borrow
one of his games and he agreed to loan me a little gem called

(25:02):
StarCraft. Now, anyone who knows StarCraft
would not be too surprised to hear that I about jumped off the
couch and hustled my fat butt across the neighborhood to
Steve's house. I was so psyched I would have
skipped home if I were the skipping type.
And though I didn't do that, someone did see me.

(25:23):
I was walking back down the block about halfway home when I
heard a man call out. Hey, hey, kid.
I paused, turned, and looked. There, across the street was a
pizza delivery car. One of those big chains, not a
small one. The guy had a uniform on I

(25:43):
think, but I wasn't close enoughto see a name tag or anything
and the car hood was popped up. He was looking at me and called
out again. Hey kid, can I get a hand?
I had never worked on cars before.
My dad did that sort of thing, and I think even he would agree
that I'd only get in the way andprobably hurt myself if I helped

(26:05):
him with anything at that age, so I wasn't really sure what I
could do. What's wrong?
I asked from across the road. I just need your help with
something real quick. He said, looking back down at
the engine. Can you come over here real
quick? I could use some help.
When he dodged the question likethat, I felt something I can

(26:27):
only describe as a tingling sensation in the back of my
neck. Not like goosebumps, but
something instinctual. In that moment, stranger danger
kicked in and I could almost feel a tug pulling me back in
the direction of my home. Sorry I I got to get home now.

(26:48):
The man could have been in his 30s, though I'll say that kids
aren't the best approximators ofage.
It did seem odd to me that he would ask a child for help when
there were any number of houses and doors that he could have
knocked on to ask an adult. Furthermore, I remembered it
being about 11:00 AM at the time, and I remember this

(27:09):
because of how badly this encounter confused me.
But that just goes to make things stranger because all I
could really do to help in that situation was maybe hold a
flashlight. But this was in the middle of
the day in suburban Southern California.
Nothing felt right. So I just turned and started

(27:29):
walking faster and I really did feel the hairs prickle at the
back of my neck now. I glanced back at the guy to
make sure I wasn't being chased,and thankfully I wasn't.
Instead he just looked at me andwatched me walk away.
It was as if he had the same realizations that I did.

(27:51):
It was Saturday, it was early, people were home, no one was out
mowing their lawns or walking their dogs.
I remembered looking looking foran adult, looking for help, and
finding no one but people would hear a kid screaming for help.
Maybe this is one of my bullies talking, but this guy definitely

(28:12):
would have struggled to pick me up and carry me any distance
now. I made it home in one piece,
obviously, and some years later I recounted the tale to my
mother. She went silent for a good
moment, then told me that one ofthe parents in the neighborhood
reported a man in a pizza car one time.
He was talking to her son. When confronted, he complained

(28:36):
of car trouble, but when he was pressed on the matter,
miraculously, wouldn't you know it, the man's car started right
up and he drove away very fast. Nothing came of it that I know
of, but my mom had always told me that she was grateful that I
was the type to play inside, even if it made me a little

(28:58):
heavier and I would just about ruin my eyes staying up late
gaming. At least I was safe at my
friend's house or at home. I am an only child and when I

(29:21):
was around 5:00 my dad married awoman who had four children from
previous relationships. They have since divorced, but
during their marriage we had quite a few horrifying
experiences. The first happened at the house
where my dad and now ex stepmother got married.
It was a beautiful old Victorianstyle home with four bedrooms, 3

(29:42):
bathrooms and a lovely backyard.They had their wedding ceremony
in our living room in front of the fireplace.
The pastor from our church officiated and I think that's
what stirred up the evil that lurked in our home.
This is my dad's story and I don't remember it because I was
too little, but I will tell it exactly as he told me.

(30:04):
He and my brothers, who he will call Matt and JJ, planned on
going fishing for the day. My dad asked Matt to go to the
garage and get the fishing poles.
While retrieving them, Matt noticed a light coming from the
wall. He went and got my dad and they
found what appeared to be a hidden room in our garage that
we did not know existed. My dad called the landlord

(30:28):
reasonably annoyed that we were paying to light a room that we
did not even know was there. On the phone the landlord became
very defensive and said you are not to go in that room, it is
locked and sealed off for a reason and wouldn't elaborate
any further. My dad decided it wasn't worth
the fight and did what the landlord said.

(30:50):
Matt however, being a rebelliousand curious teenager decided to
investigate further. He broke the lock and opened the
door to find a very large black duffel bags like the ones
coroners used to transport bodies, along with odd tools
like a chainsaw and some large rusty knives and men's clothing.

(31:12):
My dad caught him lurking and scolded him, telling him to stay
out of there. After he opened the door, we
were no longer alone in that house, and Matt was no longer
Matt. One night, my dad awoke to what
sounded like footsteps coming from the hallway outside the
master bedroom. They were pacing back and forth,

(31:33):
back and forth. Dad crept to the door, opened
it, and saw that Matt was pacingup and down the hallway.
He told him to go back to bed, and Matt just turned and stared
at him, expressionless. This continued night after
night, and it really started to freak my dad out.
One morning he woke to find Mattleaned over his bed, not inches

(31:57):
from his face, just staring at him, emotionless.
He yelled and told him to get out, and Matt just calmly stood
up straight and walked out of the room.
My dad locked the bedroom door that night, and Matt stood
outside of it and rattled the doorknob all night long.
His weird behavior did not stop there.

(32:19):
A few days later, my dad and stepmom were in the kitchen just
talking, and Matt came in out ofnowhere and attacked my dad.
He went insane, hitting and thrashing and my dad had to put
him in a chokehold to get him tostop.
My dad said that there was no white in his eyes, they were
pure black. Another experience happened to

(32:42):
my brother JJ. At the top of the stairs there
was a railing that extended leftand right and from there you
could see the entire living room.
My dad walked out of his room tosee JJ standing and staring into
the corner of the living room. He tried to get his attention
and upon further inspection, sawthat he looked absolutely

(33:03):
terrified. JJ pointed into the corner of
the living room and said. Dad, I'm in the living room,
what are you talking about? My dad asked him, confused.
I'm in the living room. We believe that what JJ saw was
his doppelganger. My parents decided to move us

(33:26):
out of that house. The last thing that happened to
us there was when my dad was theonly one in the house grabbing
the last few things left behind.It was a scorching summer day,
so dad decided to take a shower.He swears he saw something walk
past the shower curtain in the bathroom.
He quickly got out and was sitting on the toilet to put his

(33:48):
socks on when he heard a sort oflow growling noise coming from
the vent below him. He bent down and a low guttural
voice said get out, blowing hot air onto him.
He ran out of the bathroom, out of the house and never went
back. Since then, every time we pass

(34:11):
the house or hear from old neighbors, the house is always
for sale or for rent. My brother lived a very troubled
adolescence but has since straightened up, found comfort
in religion and now has a familyof his own.
He tells my dad he does not remember anything that happened
in that house or attacking my dad.

(34:33):
I think we really pissed off whatever was in that house by
inviting a pastor in and my brother was just unlucky enough
to be the one who let it out. For some quick context, this

(34:57):
happened last year around Christmas.
My girlfriend and I were on our way from college to visit my
family and spend Christmas with them.
This is important as it is my first time ever speaking about
this story publicly because every time I try to talk about
it with my girlfriend she alwayslaughs and shuts it down saying
the place was just creepy but nothing else.

(35:19):
During our trip late into the night my girlfriend and I
decided to pull over as it was already really dark and we were
both tired and needed to rest. We pulled over to this really
odd looking motel on the road. You know those sort of cliche
horror movie motels, like the ones where you can tell a cheap
snuff film was recorded? Yeah, we parked the car there

(35:43):
and I vaguely remember looking over at my girlfriend and making
a comment about the presentationof the motel.
Although I don't remember much about my comment, I vividly
remember my girlfriend whispering to me about this
eerie feeling she got. Like when you have that feeling
you're being watched but can't really describe it.
Yeah, that feeling. We decided to ignore it as both

(36:06):
of us were really tired and not in the mood to argue about
finding a new place to stay overnight.
The weather seemed to be gettingworse over time, so we were
definitely not in the mood to bedriving late into the night.
When we got to the reception desk, we were caught off guard
by the sight of an old woman, maybe in her mid 70s.
She appeared to be sleeping and both my girlfriend and I did not

(36:30):
want to wake her. Fortunately, as we were about to
give her a light tap on her shoulder, she snapped out of her
days, greeted us warmly and apologized for falling asleep.
This lady appeared to be in her 70s like I mentioned, so my
girlfriend and I understood and didn't give her a hard time.
The warm welcome made us feel a little bit more comfortable and

(36:52):
helped us settle down for the night.
After this incident, the lady escorted us to our room and we
thanked her for everything, the usual motel booking stuff.
We started to settle down for the night and although we were
tired, things started to get hotand steamy.
While we were finishing up, I looked through the window and I

(37:12):
could have sworn I saw a figure disappear.
Although I couldn't be sure whatI saw, I could have sworn it was
the old lady's figure just out of view.
I didn't want to weird my girlfriend out so I decided to
keep it to myself and just act like everything was normal.
After we had finished and my girlfriend fell asleep, I

(37:34):
decided to go out for a quick smoke break to help me sleep as
I suffer from insomnia and didn't want to disturb my
girlfriend by playing videos outloud which are the only things
that can help put me to bed. Just as I was about to head back
into our room, the sound of loudcrashing followed by a woman
screams pierced my ears. That feeling when you just know

(37:57):
something is very wrong. The primal fear that makes you
just want to hide under your blankets and close your eyes.
To this day, of all of the things I've ever experienced, it
is the one thing I truly never want to experience again.
Just as I caught myself zoning out thinking about what could
have happened, I saw a woman, maybe in her 20s, running in the

(38:20):
opposite direction from where all the rooms were.
To my shock and horror a man came running out of the same
room chasing her. Without thinking I quickly ran
in their direction and I think this was enough to scare him off
as he quickly backed away and left the woman alone.
I took her back to the receptionwhere I asked the same lady who

(38:42):
booked us in to call 911. She refused and told me to do it
myself, which at the time I thought was really odd, but in
hindsight now it makes complete sense.
Although I was taken aback by the old woman's sudden rude
demeanor, I realized there was no time to waste as the man had
more time to run away. As I began to call the cops, the

(39:07):
old lady suddenly began to throwa fit, telling me to hang up the
call and that she would pepper spray me if I didn't.
Realizing that something was really off and that my
girlfriend was still alone in our room, I decided to go get
her and our stuff and take the woman who was chased by the man
to the nearest police station and just get out of here.

(39:28):
As we got into the car, the woman started breaking down and
began telling us how earlier that night she too first saw the
old lady peeking into her windowand decided to brush it off,
thinking she was seeing things. When she had finally decided to
get some rest later into the night, she woke up to the sounds
of heavy breathing by her door. Looking up she saw the same man

(39:52):
that I saw chasing her. She panicked throwing the closet
thing next to her at the door made a frosted glass, hence the
breaking sound that I heard. Quickly grabbing the things
closest to her she ran out leading up to what I had seen.
After we had dropped the woman off at the police station and
although exhausted to death, I drove us to my parents house and

(40:16):
blacked out. I asked my girlfriend about it
and she just brushed me off so Idecided to put it aside as it
was Christmas time and I didn't want to ruin the mood now that
it's around that time again, I remembered what happened and
decided to follow up with the police report as I was a witness
for the case last year. Apparently this wasn't a random

(40:40):
man, it was the old lady's son, which makes sense why she didn't
want us to call the cops. And this was not their first run
in with the law either. I didn't ask further than that,
but I did ask about the woman who fell victim to this act.
If anyone is wondering. Yes, she's doing OK and we still

(41:03):
keep in very frequent contact. I have never been a person who's
kept many close relationships. It's never been my nature to let
people into my life. I've always taken stock in being

(41:27):
an observer, getting to know people from a distance.
This trait is what led me to become so enmeshed in Monica's
life. Monica Stevens and her husband
Dylan were my neighbors and my landlords at my new apt.
I had just moved to the city from my small town, mostly to
find work, but it didn't hurt that there were many more people

(41:49):
watching opportunities here thanat my previous residence.
My apartment was not lavish by any stretch, but it was perfect
for me. I lived on the top floor, a view
of the rooftop garden from my kitchen, and my bedroom window
is directly across from the Stevens kitchen window as they
lived just two doors down. Although I had tried, I could

(42:13):
never get a view of their bedroom as their thick blackout
curtains were shut tightly all hours.
For the first time after I movedin, I learned this Stevens
routine. Each morning.
Monica would already be at the kitchen table by the time I woke
up at six. She would sit, her chin propped
up against her palm, head buriedinto her book, the long blonde

(42:36):
curls falling in front of her face.
It was so cute when Dylan got upI could tell she stiffened at
his presence. Immediately he begin to berate
her. I could see the spittle fly from
his mouth as he slammed her bookshut, grabbed his keys and walk
out the door. This was almost a daily

(42:57):
occurrence if he was not screaming in her face.
He would sit across from her silently eating a bowl of cereal
and then disappear out the door.When he left.
He would not come back again until dinner time.
I don't know what he would do during the day, but I never
cared to find out. He was probably cheating on

(43:17):
Monica, that pig. Plus, if I followed him, it
would be less time I could spendwith my beautiful girl.
Hour after hour Monica would sitat that table unmoving.
The poor thing was paralyzed with fear.
I hadn't known her that long, but I knew I could never let her

(43:38):
stay with this jerk. When Dylan got home, he walked
in and picked her up from her chair and took her to the
bedroom. I could hear his insincere
apologies, just saying sorry in hopes that he would get laid.
They come out an hour later and placing her back into the
wheelchair, I would watch Monicasit with her back at my window

(44:01):
while her doting husband cooked dinner.
He looked in seeming silence, not speaking to her or even
acknowledging her presence. It baffled me how that troll
could treat a woman of that caliber with such carelessness.
Although I could never get a clearview of her face, I could
tell she was beautiful, shy, andthat he didn't love her like I

(44:23):
did. He was so controlling.
His wife never left the apartment complex, let alone
feel safe enough to even move from the kitchen table during
the day. The only time she could come out
was Saturday morning when I would see her at the rooftop
garden. I knew she wanted me to save her
after observing the routine for about two weeks.

(44:45):
At that point, I could pinpoint exactly when I could corner
Dylan. The morning I planned to
confront him, there was a changein the usual routine.
While Dylan was in the middle ofhis screaming session, he struck
the back of Monica's head. This sent her forehead slamming
down onto their wooden kitchen table.

(45:06):
And let me tell you, this set meoff.
The rest of the routine remainedunchanged as at 7:00 AM exactly,
he would leave their apartment and head for the elevator.
Following him. I left at seven O 1 so I could
catch the elevator right before the door closed.
Wanting to seem nonchalant, I smiled when I walked into the

(45:30):
elevator and introduced myself, stating that I was sorry for not
formally introducing myself since moving in.
I hadn't interacted with him directly when I had signed the
lease, just his property manager.
He gave me the side eye, so I confidently stuck out my hand to
shake his. He grabbed it finally, his

(45:51):
tarnished silver wedding ring cold on my hand, and said yeah,
I'm the landlord, Dylan. I told him I had noticed his
wife's affinity for gardening and asked if she would like some
company next time. I know a little early to get to
talking about Monica, but I couldn't stop thinking about
her. I couldn't spend any more time

(46:13):
exchanging pleasantries with this jerk, either.
That's when something strange happened.
He turned to me and grabbed my forearm, squeezing so tight that
it was painful. He shoved me forcibly against
the elevator wall and said, Listen, I know you've been
stalking her. She wants you to leave her
alone. Do you understand me?

(46:35):
The elevator door dinged and opened.
He let go of my arm and walked straight out without another
word, straight through the complex doors to his car and
drove off. I stood, shocked.
What was that? But I've gotten what I came for,
and that was all that mattered. That whole leave her alone was

(46:55):
such an obvious lie. It confirmed to me that she
needed my help. Dylan was becoming more unhinged
by the day, and this episode in the elevator was proof.
I went straight back up to my apartment, already thinking of
what I was going to do on Saturday morning when she got to
that garden. It was already Friday evening by

(47:16):
the time Dylan got back from hisdaily escapades.
I dreamt of her that night, about finally turning her
around, seeing that gorgeous face that was no longer hiding
from Dylan, professing my love and running away.
Together we would get a cottage so she could garden, but live
near the city so we could peoplewatch together.

(47:39):
We would both be free and happy.Saturday morning came and I woke
up early to prepare my things. When Dylan woke up, he went
immediately to find Monica in the kitchen.
He lit into her first thing. It was too muffled to hear
exactly what he was saying, but loud enough that I could hear
through their closed window. I could see her distress, she

(48:03):
couldn't even lift her head to defend herself.
This poor beaten down woman was counting on me.
But it wasn't too much longer now.
Dylan forcefully grabbed her wheelchair and wheeled her out
of the apartment, heading for the roof.
I watched as he dumped her there, screaming a final time
saying you can just rot out here, I don't even care anymore.

(48:27):
Dylan disgusted me. I wished I could run up there
and take her away right then. However, I knew I had to wait
for Dylan to depart if I wanted to avoid a confrontation.
Half an hour later, I approachedthe elevator so that I could
reach the rooftop garden. As the elevator rose, I took a
deep breath. Was I going to do this, confess

(48:51):
my love to this married woman and proposed that we run away
from her abusive husband together?
I guessed so because a moment later I was stepping out from
the elevator and into the small hallway that ended with the
final obstacle between me and mylove.
As I approached the door that led on top of the roof, I felt

(49:12):
the hot summer air begins seeping in.
I turned the knob and stepped onto the bright roof.
There she was, Monica. That silky blonde hair was
instantly recognizable, it had fallen and covered her face
slightly so that she couldn't quite see me approach.

(49:32):
I walked over slowly as I didn'twant to startle her, but then my
emotions took over. I grabbed her shoulder, spun her
around and closed my eyes right before I professed my love.
But I got no response. I mean nothing, not a screw you,
not an I love you too. Silence.

(49:57):
I opened my eyes, expecting to meet the eyes of a beautiful
woman. Instead I gagged.
She had no eyes. They were gone.
No eyebrows either. They were replaced with thick
black stitches that held her eyelids together.
Her eyes were completely sewn shut.
My eyes travelled down to her nose.

(50:19):
She had a maggot hanging out of her right nostril and it turned
to crawl into her left one. She was a repulsing pale color
with burst veins littering her skin.
Then down to her mouth. It was sewn shut as well, and
her lips were gone, ripped off her face.
Her mouth was sewn into a line. No smile, no frown, completely

(50:45):
straight and emotionless. Beyond that, her legs were
completely gone. I was expecting her to have been
intact. I mean, I knew she was in a
wheelchair, but her legs looked like they had been sawed off.
They were jaggedly rotting, not being cauterized.
If anything, I couldn't look anymore.

(51:06):
I ran to the hallway leading back to the elevator, vomiting.
Once I got in, the door shut behind me.
I ran to my apartment, where I deadbolted the door behind me
and sunk down into a fetal position, sobbing.
I felt indescribable loss and anger.
What have you done to my beautiful future wife?

(51:27):
He mutilated her and he thought I was going to let him get away
with this. I had no weapons beside a
massive hammer from an old toolbox I had under my sink.
I stalked my way to the Stevens apartment and broke the doorknob
off with a hammer, kicking the door in.
I wanted to avenge my love. The apartment had an atmosphere

(51:50):
so grotesque, so depraved, so much more disturbing that I
could have ever imagined. I walked into the door and smelt
rotting flesh seeping from the walls.
The only light came from the singular kitchen window, the one
I had stared into so many times,the one I never imagined would

(52:12):
hold this horror lurking in the spots I couldn't see.
Right by the window, just out ofthe view I could see from my
apartment, was a meat hook. And there in the dim apartment
hung Monica's left leg. He was going to eat her leg.
I nearly puked on the kitchen table.

(52:33):
I couldn't bring myself to leavethough.
No matter how much my brain saidto run, my feet kept taking me
further into the apartment. I entered their bedroom.
Dried blood splatter stained thewalls and floors.
It looked fairly faded. How long ago had he killed her?
I knew it hadn't been long, but I believe that the whole time I

(52:56):
had been living in this apartment, she had been dead.
I gazed into my apartment windowas I re entered the kitchen,
imagining how untainted my mind had been just hours ago.
I began to panic. I wanted to call the police.
I had impenetrable evidence against Dylan.

(53:17):
Not only was Monica slumped overon the roof, but his apartment
was a striking and completely incriminating crime scene.
Before I attempted to get help, I knew I had to get Monica
somewhere safe. I started my way out of the
kitchen, making my way back to the front door.
But then a voice rang out from just outside the front door.

(53:40):
What the hell? Dylan yelled.
He broke the routine. I had no chance of running.
I ducked back into the bedroom and slid quietly into the
attached bathroom. I could hear his thudding
footsteps grow closer and closeras he threatened.
I have a weapon. Whatever creep is in here, I

(54:00):
have a weapon. It was time for me to avenge
Monica. I heard him enter the bedroom.
I gripped the hammer in my hand,charged out of the bathroom and
swung. I hit him directly in the left
temple. He screamed, contorting with
pain. I dropped the hammer and fled
back to my apartment, adrenalinecarrying me the whole way there.

(54:24):
All I could focus on was gettinghis blood off me.
When the police searched the apartment, they were in shock at
the scene. It wasn't me that called them,
but another tenants down the hall.
By the time I was finished washing myself and disposing of
my bloodied clothes, Monica had been found by the police.

(54:45):
Coroner's came and wrapped up her frail body.
They lifted her up and she was gone.
I didn't even get to say goodbye.
Two days later I went to her closed casket funeral.
It was a fairly publicized affair being how brutally
tortured she had been. I stood in the back and after

(55:06):
the burial I left my car packed with everything I owned.
I left the city. I still dream of her dancing in
the kitchen, how our lives couldhave been, of her beautiful sewn
face. Monica, you're going to love my
new place. It's the cottage we've always

(55:29):
wanted. I can't wait to pick you up
soon. See you then.

(56:52):
Yeah. Yeah.

(58:57):
Yeah. Yeah.

(01:17:27):
Yeah. Yeah.

(01:18:28):
Yeah.
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