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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
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(00:21):
the description to this episode.And one last thing, thank you so
much for being here. I really hope you enjoy.
This happened during the summer of 2021.
My wife and I were sitting in our living room together.
She was playing Minecraft onlinewith our mutual friend while I
(00:44):
was watching something on YouTube.
It was a very typical weeknight for us, and we were both well
within our comfort zones at the time.
It was probably around 9:00 PM when there was a knock at the
door. Now I should probably explain,
we had been living in our house for several years by this point,
long enough for us to know that someone at the door at that time
(01:05):
of night was very unusual. So right away this put us on
edge. We live in a very quiet
neighborhood in a quiet town. Nothing threatening really ever
happens here. So my wife peeks out the window
to try and see who is there. She tells me that she sees a man
at the door between our screen door and close enough to our
(01:27):
main door that she can't see hisface.
Now. Right away I didn't want to
answer the door, but a little time passes and this guy doesn't
leave and knocks again. So against part of my better
judgement, I decided to answer the door, but I put the chain
lock on 1st just in case whoeverthis was tried to immediately
(01:48):
force their way in. To my initial relief, when I
opened the door, there wasn't a mad attempt to get inside.
Instead, I am met with a dishevelled, shirtless man
standing in the doorway. The man was probably in his 30s,
but he was in such a worn state it was honestly a little hard to
(02:08):
tell. He was maybe half a head taller
than me, but much thinner, and Iseemed to remember him having a
lot of tattoos. I definitely remember his body
language and the vibe he gave off though.
There was something very off about him.
His eyes kept darting around, hands were restless and he kept
(02:29):
shifting back and forth from 1 foot to the other.
I say to him, can I help you? He responds, yeah, can can I?
Can I use your phone? No eye contact during any of
this. I very quickly said no, sorry,
closed the door and locked it. I was not letting this guy into
(02:53):
my house. I looked over towards my wife,
but my eyes landed on our cat first.
She was standing on the arm of the couch, eyes locked on the
door, and all of her fur was standing on end.
She was absolutely freaked out. I had never seen her react like
that to a person before and haven't seen it happen again
(03:13):
since. My wife is still talking to our
friend over the phone, their Minecraft world still up in the
background. During this, our friend was
freaking out listening to all this happened.
I moved over to look out the window myself and my wife and I
both see this guy still standingat our door, jamming himself as
closely to it as he could and letting the screen door just
(03:36):
press up against his back. It almost felt like he was
hiding in our doorway. With him not leaving and no idea
what else we could do, I handed my phone to my wife for her to
call the police, keeping our friend on the other phone just
in case something happened. And during the time my wife was
speaking with the police dispatcher, something did
(03:57):
happen. The man eventually turns around
but doesn't leave our doorway. Instead he looks out towards our
front yard into the darkness. I should mention right now that
despite living in a typical neighborhood, our end of the
street has no St. lights, so it is always particularly dark
around our house at night. In the porch light we could see
(04:19):
the man talking. We couldn't tell what he was
saying, but he kept speaking andmaking gestures towards the
darkness like he was speaking with someone that we couldn't
see. Even the thought that there
actually could be someone else waiting in the dark was bone
chilling, but I just knew by theway the man was acting that he
(04:40):
was speaking to someone that existed only in his head.
So he was either on something orhe was in the middle of a
psychotic episode at our front door.
Refusing to leave, we kept the police dispatcher and our friend
both on their respective phones while we watched this unnerving
display continue on, trying to stay hidden behind our blinds
(05:03):
the whole time. I didn't really want to take my
eyes off him just in case he tried to move to a window or
something similar. I don't know how long we waited
there watching this man talk to nothing, but he eventually
stared off towards the end of our block.
For a long period the talking stopped and then suddenly he ran
off towards the street. We watched him disappear into
(05:26):
the darkness and of course just a minute or two later, that is
when the police arrived. We both gave the police our
statements and they said they would have patrol cars search
the neighborhood. After the cop we spoke with
left, we closed the door and tried to make sense of what
happened. I don't remember everything we
(05:47):
discussed, but I do remember that we both realized that the
police never went into our backyard to check around our
addition. We have a small studio apartment
sized guest house in our backyard that we would rarely
use ourselves, but it would be the perfect place for someone to
hide out if they broke into it. I don't remember which of us put
(06:08):
that together, but I do rememberthat it was me who decided to go
check the guest house. I do realize now how dumb this
was and that I should have waited to hear back from the
police 1st. Instead I grabbed a flashlight
and this thick Irish blackthorn wood walking stick I own called
the Shillelagh and I set about my foolish nerve wracking task.
(06:32):
I checked the outside of the guest house 1st and didn't see
any broken windows or other signs that someone tried to
enter. So then I went inside and
checked every closet and anywhere I could think of for
someone to hide. My mind and heart were both
racing the whole time but fortunately the house was empty.
(06:53):
I headed back into the main house, which I feel like I
should mention is a small house.Despite us having the detached
addition, we aren't rich by any definition.
That guest house has a whole separate story of its own.
My wife and I both just sort of stayed huddled in our living
room for a while, all previous thoughts of YouTube and
(07:14):
Minecraft gone. It was a short time later that
the police arrived again. They told us that they actually
did catch the guy. He was found trying to enter
someone's house through a window.
That someone also happened to bean off duty police officer.
They did mention that they have had incidents with the man
(07:34):
before and that this night his symptoms seemed pretty bad.
Looking back at it now, I hope that man was able to get some
help. He very clearly wasn't having a
good night that night, but that didn't change the danger.
He could have been to himself orsomeone else, and it doesn't
change the fact that the whole experience to this day is the
(07:58):
most frightening thing to ever happen to me.
For context, I grew up in a small S Brazilian town.
(08:18):
It's a very nice but very cold place up in the mountains.
I have had an amazing childhood and still remember most of it
fondly being now a 27 year old woman.
However, something happened to me in my friends one night that
will forever haunt me. When I was in high school, the
teachers used to organize an annual gymkhana.
(08:39):
It's a very common thing over here, a three or four day event
full of competitive tasks, riddles, puzzles, and scavenging
with teams competing for the final award.
It used to involve the whole school and pretty much the whole
town. So in one of those events there
was one particular task called something like Look for your
(09:01):
teacher where 1 teacher would hide somewhere in the town and
we as teams had to decipher the riddles and go look for them.
This was the absolute favorite activity between me and my
friends. Looking back, I don't really
know how the teachers thought that having a bunch of kids out
in the night would be a good idea, but our town was and still
(09:24):
is pretty safe with an incredibly low crime rate.
So when I was about 12 or 13 I was right in the middle of a
gymkhana when something terrifying happened.
It was a freezing cold night andmy team it solved the look for
your teacher Riddle. Me and my best friend Junior and
a few other kids hopped into some older kids car and followed
(09:48):
the clue until we reached a verydark residential neighborhood
surrounded by woods. It was in the suburbs to the
streets were dead quiet and the only light came from the
overhead poles. It was probably around 10:00 or
11:00 PM and our small squad wasvery excited to be out in the
night this late. We found some other kids from
(10:10):
another team so we figured we were in the right place.
Junior and I got our flashlightsand anxiously started to look
for our science teacher. Since we are best friends since
preschool, our feelings and interests are very much In Sync.
I've always felt safer with him by my side.
We were walking and discussing where we thought the teacher
(10:31):
would be hidden, maybe behind a tree or up in one, or perhaps
even buried in some leaves. So we decide to head into the
woods. It was very dark, but there were
so many kids with flashlights that it didn't feel creepy at
first. I was feeling that bubbly,
childish enthusiasm kids feel when they are having a lot of
(10:56):
fun. We were a few minutes into the
search when I suddenly flashed my light to the side and
illuminated a man standing by a tree looking at us.
I didn't recognize the man, but I also didn't pay much attention
since it could have been a parent or someone from another
team. So Junior and I kept walking and
(11:16):
laughing when suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around and saw the man again.
I remember that he was tall, middle-aged, bald and had big
green or blue eyes. He didn't seem familiar and now
I suddenly felt my stomach tighten a little by the sudden
contact with a stranger. The man smiled and asked us if
(11:40):
we knew where the teacher was. He spoke to us, but only looked
at me, trying to seem amicable. Being a shy and careful kid, I
didn't feel good about this at all, so I said no and turned
around. Junior and I kept walking fast,
both pretty apprehensive. Junior never really liked
(12:03):
physical contact very much, but he actually grabbed my hand and
helped me go through the dark trees further away from the man.
I remember we kind of tried to run from him, getting closer to
other kids and adults. We turned around many times but
thankfully didn't see him again.The search went on and we kind
(12:24):
of forgot about this guy. We had a blast and someone from
another team found our science teacher hidden in a tree,
literally sitting on a high branch.
It was all pretty fun until we emerged from the woods and
started making our way to the cars.
It was then that we heard some commotion behind us.
(12:44):
We didn't really understand whatwas being said, but some older
kids and teachers were discussing something and their
faces were pretty serious. Junior and I went closer to the
adults and understood that a little girl from another team
was missing. There were some people still in
the woods, but they were supposed to be coming back since
(13:05):
the activity was over. This was before everyone had
cell phones, so I'm pretty sure most kids didn't have a way of
communicating like we do now. Even so, we all heard our
teachers speaking loudly that the search was over.
After some adults went looking for the girl, we got a little
bit more info and I actually realized that I knew her.
(13:27):
She was a tiny blonde little thing, probably around 7 years
old. I don't remember her name
though. Before we could do anything to
help, the adults and older kids told us to quickly go back to
the team's building. We went back, then home.
The gymkhana went on normally like nothing ever happened.
(13:48):
I guess my team made it to 2nd place.
I kind of thought it was all very weird about the girl, but
didn't really connect the dots until a few days later back in
school, our class was talking about the missing girl who was
actually found hours later that same night.
As it turns out, she was brieflykidnapped by that older man that
(14:10):
we saw in the woods. Somehow the guy had lured her
away from the group and managed to basically walk her to another
neighborhood. As they were making their way to
the man's car, some parents and older kids from my school found
them and called the police. I discussed this with my
frightened parents later, but I don't remember seeing it on the
(14:30):
news or anything. Not only that, but me and Junior
were not the only kids who saw the man.
Pretty much my whole class had seen him or talked to him in
those dark woods. I can't help but wonder what
would have happened to the little girl if they hadn't found
her, or even what would have happened to me if I were a
(14:52):
little less careful. Back in 2018, I had just
graduated and found a job in another city, and after
(15:13):
searching for a long time, I finally moved into a shared
house with four other roommates.The house was in the city center
area, 10 minutes away from my work, but it was very old and
creaky. It was impossible to walk from
one room to another without waking up the whole house, and I
found it really hard to get usedto the noises.
(15:34):
But what made my life easier is that I got along really well
with all of my roommates, as I knew a few of them from high
school. We hung out together to play
games and watch TV or just have dinner and talk about random
things. A few months later around
Christmas time, all of my roommates were going back home
(15:55):
to spend the holidays with theirfamilies, but I had to stay for
a couple of days as I was new atwork and too shy to ask my Co
workers to swap shifts with me so I can spend some time with my
family one day before Christmas.My roommate Emily was the last
one to leave that morning. It was a really busy day,
(16:15):
everyone was rushing to do last minute shopping.
It all seemed magical and peaceful and full of life.
I finished my shift around 4:00 in the morning and headed home.
As I was walking, I felt a wholedifferent vibe in the air.
The streets were empty and calm in an eerie way.
(16:37):
I have always finished around this time, but it was never this
empty in this area. Suddenly I had this feeling in
my stomach. The kind of feeling you have
when you know something bad is about to happen and you regret
every decision you made that ledto this place and this moment in
time. I kept checking behind my back
(16:58):
to see if there was anyone around.
I pretended to talk on the phoneat some point just to try and
calm myself down, as if this would stop anything from
happening. As I'm holding my phone and
still pretending to talk to someone, I hear footsteps.
I stopped talking just to hear abit clearer, hoping that I was
(17:18):
just imagining this, but I couldstill hear the footsteps behind
me getting closer and closer. I suddenly realized that I
haven't said anything in a whileand continued to talk and try to
make it sound as if someone is waiting for me.
I was only a minute or two away from my house, but I decided to
cross the road just so I could check behind me without looking
(17:42):
suspicious. So I started crossing and
scanning the area around me. I didn't see anyone.
I couldn't hear the footsteps either.
I started doubting myself. I held my keys tied in my fist,
one to use them as a weapon if needed, and two to open the door
as fast as possible. Which is exactly what I did.
(18:05):
I checked to make sure no one isaround and I crossed the road,
running to my house, where I opened the door and locked it
behind me. I wish the story ended here, but
it doesn't. Before I even had a chance to
catch my breath, I walked aroundthe house and turned on the
lights. I also turned on the TV thinking
(18:26):
whoever is out there would thinkthere are more people in here
and would leave me alone. I grabbed a knife and went
upstairs to look from my bedroomwindow for a better view to the
street, trying to see if anyone is around.
I kept looking in all directionsfor an hour but didn't see
anyone or anything unusual. I felt silly for doing all this
(18:48):
for nothing, thinking it must have been a lost cat or
something. Then I went downstairs to eat
before I headed off to sleep. I finished the meal and decided
to take out the trash, which is right in front of the door.
It would only take a few secondsand nothing can happen in this
very short period of time, right?
(19:10):
I grabbed the trash and looked around from the small window
next to the door. I couldn't see anything, so I
decided to go ahead and open thedoor.
I threw the bag in the bin and went back in, but as I was
closing the door, a man sprintedacross the street towards me.
I don't know how I managed to close the door and lock it, but
I did. The man started pounding on the
(19:33):
door and shouting. Let me in, let me in.
I was terrified. I felt I couldn't move just
standing there looking at the door.
Then I pulled myself together and ran to the kitchen to grab
the knife again and call 911. After waiting behind the kitchen
door, shaking and crying in despair, the police finally
(19:55):
arrived and arrested the man. They said he had a pocket knife
and a screwdriver hidden in his jacket.
Apparently it was not his first time to break into someone's
house and attacking the residence.
I try not to think of what couldhave happened that day.
If I had moved just a little bitslower.
(20:31):
On a rainy Valentine's Day evening in February of 1971,
nineteen year old Jesse McBain drove over to meet his
girlfriend, Patricia Mann at hercollege dormitory in Durham, NC.
They had arranged to celebrate the most romantic day of the
year by attending a Valentine's dance at the nearby Watts
Hospital. Patricia was studying nursing
(20:54):
and her practical lessons took place at Watts, so as a
potential future member of the nursing staff there, she had
managed to land an invitation tothe dance.
At approximately 11:30 PM, Jesseand Patricia had one last dance,
said their goodbyes, then began to walk back to Jesse's car.
They then drove over to a deserted housing development
(21:15):
area that would later become theneighborhood of Crowsdale.
No house had been constructed yet, but a few sections of Rd.
had been laid out in an area that was shrouded by 1/4 miles
worth of greenery. Those that ventured down there
were likely to find collections of beer bottles and cigarette
butts strewn among the trees. It was a place people went to
(21:38):
screw around, exactly the kind of private, out of the way place
that two young lovebirds might need to get a little alone time.
Patricia's 1:00 AM curfew came and went, and her friends back
in the girls dorm assumed she would sneak back in at some
point on her tip toes. Yet little did they know they
would never see her or her boyfriend ever again.
(22:02):
The following morning, Patricia still hadn't returned from her
date with Jesse. This was the first time the
young woman had ever broken her dormitory curfew, and those
close to her were quickly beginning to worry.
They knew Patricia to be a deeply mature and responsible
young woman who always played bythe rules and took authority
seriously. And to their knowledge, Jesse
(22:24):
was an affectionate, respectful boyfriend, one that Patricia
seemed very much in love with. But not even youthful romance
would be able to make the young nursing student break curfew.
Slowly but surely. As the day progressed, the
concern of Patricia's roommates went from mild to grave.
What started with a few questions turned to them calling
(22:46):
around local hospitals in case they had been in a car accident.
They then filed a missing persons report with the Durham
County Sheriff's Department, butwere still so anxious that they
began to physically search for their missing roommate on foot.
They roamed the surrounding area, canvassing her usual
hangout spots around town and oncampus, until someone had the
(23:09):
idea to go search the lover's lane over at the housing
development. It was here that the searchers
would find Jesse's empty car parked in one of the quieter
spots on the development. The car was locked, and on the
back seats were two warm coats, presumably belonging to Jesse
and Patricia. There was no damage to the car.
(23:30):
Everything about the scene seemed perfectly in order,
except, of course, for the fact that the last two people to
travel in it seemed to have vanished from the face of the
earth. By this point, local police have
informed both Jesse and Patricia's parents that their
children are missing. At first, all involved had
entertained the idea that the couple's disappearance was
(23:52):
nothing more than a misguided but romantic attempt to elope,
to skip town, get hitched, and settle down somewhere new.
But investigating police quicklybegan to realize that there was
something distinctly sinister about the case.
There had apparently been no attempt by either Jesse or
Patricia to inform anyone of their plans, not even close
(24:15):
friends, and the idea that neither would at least leave a
note or letter to a relative seemed highly unlikely.
Over time, those closest to Patricia began to assume the
worst. I just got the sickest feeling
in my stomach, said a cousin of Patricia's.
(24:35):
I just knew something terrible had happened.
For two weeks after they were declared missing, a team of
police officers and local volunteers mounted an intensive
search of the surrounding area, combing through the wooded areas
around Lovers Lane for any traceof the missing couple.
They followed up lead after leadand tip after tip, but no one
(24:57):
could find hide nor hair of Jesse or Patricia.
With frustration mounting, police decided to widen the
range of the search area and enlist the help of helicopter
support and specially trained forensic divers.
But in the end, it was the misfortune of a surveyor in
nearby Orange County that provided the police with their
(25:18):
most important lead. On February 25th, 1971, a full
12 days after Jesse and Patriciawent missing, Robert Kirby is
walking along a dirt Rd. in the backwoods of Orange County,
North Carolina, when something catches his eye among the trees.
Maybe 50 meters or so off the trail, the surveyor thinks he
(25:41):
sees what appears to be the limbof a mannequin laying among the
fallen leaves. Curious, he wanders over to
check it out, but the distinct shape of a human leg he sees is
not that of a plastic mannequin.It is real human flesh.
He rushes to a nearby roadside diner to have someone call the
(26:02):
police, and by the end of that, forensic investigators
discovered not one but two humancorpses up in the woods of
Orange County, and they turned out to belong to none other than
Jesse McBain and Patricia Mann. Finding the young couple and
that they were decomposing was bad enough for the searchers,
(26:22):
but the manner in which they hadobviously been dispatched was
massively disturbing to them. The couple had their hands tied
and they were made to stand backagainst a tree so another,
larger rope could be wrapped around them.
Once their killer had secured them in place, he began to
torture them. Jesse's ear and mouth were both
(26:44):
found to have blood in them, anda variety of large and small
abrasions to his lips and forehead suggested he was beaten
senseless before he was killed. At some point, Jesse and
Patricia's killer had ripped their eyelashes off before
continuing to savagely beat them.
Then, when whoever had tied themup had grown tired of beating
(27:06):
them, they wrapped the rope collars around their necks using
a kind of knot that could be repeatedly tightened over and
over again. We can only assume that the
killer used these rope collars to slowly choke the life out of
Jesse and Patricia, gradually tightening the rope collars over
a drawn out period of time untilneither was able to breathe.
(27:28):
Each of the couple's bodies had all of their valuables intact.
Jesse was still wearing an expensive wristwatch and a class
ring when his body was found. Patricia was also wearing
jewelry and her purse was left back in the abandoned car.
Their deaths were not part of some robbery.
Their killer had absolutely no monetary gain in mind when he
(27:51):
had taken them. Neither were there any signs of
indecent assault on Patricia. She had a great deal of bruising
around her face and neck, but nothing below the waistline.
There was no ulterior motive. All their killer wanted to do
was torture and kill them. The investigation that followed
(28:11):
was severely Hanford by different agencies.
Complete lack of collaboration. For example, the FBI seemed to
consider the local sheriffs as frankly beneath them, and a
feeling of contempt quickly grewbetween the two groups.
Everyone worked on the case as individuals.
As Detective Tom Horn once put it, not a lot of information was
(28:33):
being shared by the various agencies, and the rivalry was
tremendous. A lot of work was done, but it
was individual, so there was definitely some missed
opportunities. Yet even with the appalling
level of disorganization that pervaded, a number of likely
suspects emerged as a result of some tip top police work.
Some had to be ruled out after taking polygraph tests which
(28:56):
proved their innocence. But one of the men who failed
was actually a doctor at Watts Hospital who had previously
worked with Patricia Mann. When the police sought to
question him again, he completely refused to cooperate
and would only release a statement through a defense
attorney he began to keep on retainer.
(29:17):
This made him the number one suspect in the entire case, and
to this day, there's never really been anyone else who had
garnered such legitimate scrutiny.
But without the proper evidence to charge him, very little
action was taken against any of the supposed killers.
No one ever really zeroed in on anyone, Detective Horn stated,
(29:38):
and as a result, the case quickly went cold. 43 years
later, in 2014, Detective Tim Horn was still working for the
Orange County Sheriff's Department when a cousin of
Patricia's, Carolyn Spivey, contacted him with some fresh
information regarding her cousin's murder.
Along with his partner at the time, Detective Horn opened up
(30:02):
the previously closed case file.Poring over old statements and
boxes of evidence, they reanalyzed the possibilities of
former suspects, considered new ones, and began to condense as
much of the multi agency information as possible into the
pursuit of one solid suspect. And they succeeded.
(30:23):
Detective Horn then contacted almost every single one of the
detectives who worked the case back in 1971 and gathered them
together for a presentation. It was one which would show them
how he had pieced together multiple pieces of a decades
long puzzle only to come to one solid conclusion.
That it was the Watch Doctor, a man Patricia had actually known,
(30:47):
that had murdered her and her boyfriend Jesse.
When the presentation was finished, what followed was a
prolonged silence to all in attendance.
Tim Horn's hard work had presented them the best
opportunity yet to end a mysterythat had persisted for almost
half a century. They had their suspect.
(31:09):
They had evidence. Now it was time to make their
move. Using what's known as an M Vac,
Detective Horn was able to extract adna sample from the
knotted ropes used to tie up andstrangle Jesse and Patricia.
An M vac is basically a wet vacuum DNA collection system
that is designed to extract strands of DNA from difficult to
(31:31):
reach places. Places just like the fibrous
folds in a length of rope. What came back was ADNA Sample
that didn't match either Jesse or Patricia, so in all
likelihood it belonged to the killer detective.
Horn then requested Adna Sample from their number one suspect,
the watch doctor that Patricia had worked with.
(31:54):
Horn's argument was that after all this time, the doctor would
finally be able to clear his name and prove that it wasn't
him that executed the young couple.
But the doctor refused having his defense attorney contact law
enforcement to release a statement in legalis.
And that just might be the most suspicious thing about our
(32:16):
doctor because it really does raise the question of what does
he have to hide? Yet despite such obvious
suspicion, this doctor has neverbeen charged and whatever new
evidence led to him being asked to provide ADNA sample hasn't
been shared with the public. We can only assume that the
Durham County Sheriff's Department are in the process of
(32:38):
putting a serious case against aman and are trying to find some
way of forcing him to give a sample of his DNA.
And with that DNA sample, law enforcement might just be able
to end the 40 year old mystery of who could be cold and cruel
enough to wrench a loved up young couple away from one of
the happiest nights of their lives, only to torture and
(33:02):
eventually execute them in a secluded wooded area, turning a
romantic Valentine's Day night into the very last that each of
them would ever spend on Earth. I was travelling through Europe
(33:28):
from mid August all the way through January.
While I was in Greece I met thisreally cute sweet couple named
Maggie and David. They were from the UK and lived
along the border of England and Scotland and they invited me to
come and stay with them from October to mid November.
Their youngest child was attending university and they
felt like they wanted another young man around their cottage
(33:52):
house since they found they didn't enjoy the empty nest as
much as they thought they would.So I agreed that when I was
finished exploring Thessaloniki,I would come and stay with them
and maybe help her on the House and see some of the countryside.
I don't know why Maggie called it a cottage house.
It was much larger than a cottage, old, definitely very
(34:14):
fancy, but old. It was very long and narrow.
I suppose she called it a cottage because it was out in
the country. I don't know if there was any
houses for kilometers in any direction.
Maggie was just about the sweetest person I had ever met,
still is, and her and I talk allthe time to this day.
(34:36):
I don't really talk to David, but that's because David is just
not much of A talker. Whereas Maggie was bubbly and
warm and love to tell the stories and jokes, David was
more stoic and stern. That isn't to say that he was
mean or anything, he was quite friendly, but he just didn't
talk very much and certainly didn't joke around and wasn't
(34:58):
much of a storyteller. Most of the time Maggie would be
singing in the garden or talkingon the phone with somebody while
David would just sit in his armchair and read a history
book. I spent a lot of time helping
them out by chopping a lot of firewood for the fireplace due
to the house being drafted in cold quite often.
Maggie was really friendly and she introduced me to all of her
(35:21):
son's friends and today in turn introduced me to some really
cute girls and we would leave the countryside and go to the
nearest town and get a few pintsat the pub.
Halloween was soon approaching and we made plans to have some
sort of celebration, maybe by going out to one of the old
cemeteries and playing with the Ouija board or something.
(35:42):
No plans were yet solidified, but we were in the midst of
making something. So that's basically the back
story. Onward with what leads up to the
event. The cottage was a long, narrow
one story house and I got to stay in the guest bedroom that
was located sort of in the middle of the establishment and
(36:02):
it was placed closest to the kitchen.
It was my second or third night there when I woke up in the
middle of the night to hear somebody walking up stairs.
Now as I've already established,this was a one story house, so I
was confused. How could somebody be walking up
and down stairs when there were no stairs?
(36:26):
The first time I heard this, I figured maybe I was in the
middle of a dream perhaps, or maybe there was just something
outside that was hitting againstthe walls, or maybe I was just
tripping. I shrugged it off and went back
to sleep. The day after I had completely
forgotten about it as the excitement of being in the UK
was overpowering any anticipation I might have felt.
(36:49):
I went out with the other folks that Maggie had introduced me to
and went out for more pints at the pub and played darts and
other things. I got home late and crawled into
bed. It was near midnight now and
there it was again. Unmistakably it was something.
Walking up and down a set of stairs.
I knew I hadn't gone off to sleep at this point because I
(37:12):
was still scrolling through my phone for sights to see.
The next day. Curiosity got the better of me
and I got out of bed and opened the door and peered into the
kitchen and down the hallway, One Direction and then to the
other. But there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Being a bit spooked and feeling
(37:34):
a chill, I approached the fireplace, put a log on it, sat
in David's armchair for a momentand watched the log get eaten by
flame when I heard a creaky doorclose.
It wasn't a slam, but it was loud, almost as if the door was
heavy. OK, I said to myself, this is
(37:55):
too weird. The morning after, at the
breakfast table, I casually brought up the stair stepping.
You folks got an invisible staircase or something?
I joked. Oh.
Maggie's face brightened up witha mischievous smile.
You hear the steps, don't you? Yeah, I admitted.
(38:17):
Don't you worry about him, love.He's just the Butler.
I was confused at this point. The Butler?
I asked. You guys have a Butler?
No, no, silly, Maggie laughed. Here, I'll show you.
Maggie gets up from the kitchen table, takes a few steps and
(38:38):
removes a corner of a rug. And there's this small sort of
hole. It turns out there was a handle
there. Because the next thing I know,
Maggie lifts up the floor with this arduous, freaky creaking
sound that revealed the doorway in the middle of the floor.
See, she said, we have a wine cellar.
(39:00):
Oh. I gasped, surprised.
Back in the middle of the 19th century, this house belonged to
some high class people, royalty and all.
This is where the Butler slept down here.
So you mean. That's right, mate, David said.
(39:20):
Our house is haunted. Oh, don't scare him, Davy.
Maggie slapped at David's shoulder, continuing to say.
Listen, love, most people never even hear the footsteps.
Just ignore it. The Butler's harmless.
The phone rang and Maggie answered it and went into the
next room. Aye, the Butler's harmless.
(39:42):
David said then, whispering almost to himself it seemed.
He continued. It's the other one you got to
worry about. I asked.
The other one? I.
He leaned forward a bit as he spoke.
The lady of the house. You're trying to scare me,
(40:04):
aren't you? It's almost Halloween and all,
and you're poking at a bit of fun with the foreigner, right?
I'm afraid not, mate. David was all seriousness.
Like I said, he really wasn't a jokester.
This was the most I'd ever heardhim even speak.
Listen, a long time ago, the lady of this house lost her
(40:25):
child after a few weeks of the infant being born, and she
became stricken with grief. Naturally, not long after she
went completely mental, or so the story goes.
The husband tried to get her help, her family tried to get
her help, but nothing was to be done of it.
The husband left, many of the servants left, and the only one
(40:48):
who stayed was the lady of the house and the loyal Butler.
Losing a child made her start tobecome a bit touched, but her
husband leaving had made her go completely nutty.
The family was concerned of course, but more so they were
embarrassed. It didn't look good for a family
of that stature. They wanted to quietly whisk her
(41:11):
away and have the lady put into an asylum.
The lady of the house found out about this news from the Butler
herself. Well, after losing her husband
and her baby, the last thing shewould ever want to lose is her
home. She swore that nobody would ever
remove her from her house. She swore it, and hearing this
(41:32):
information coming not from her closest family but from her
servant, well, that sent her into a rage and paranoia and a
sense of betrayal. Rumor has it she poisoned the
Butler and he died down there inthe cellar.
When her family came to have hertaken away in a straitjacket and
placed into an asylum is when they stumbled upon a horrific
(41:55):
stench of a decomposing body down below.
She denied nothing, being dragged out of her house by her
own family and by policemen. She swore she would never leave
the house, not completely. She vowed one day, one day that
she would return and when she returned, she'd be at home for
(42:18):
good and forever. Or so the story goes.
I was in shock. I was mortified.
I couldn't finish eating my breakfast, and the lady?
I asked. Well, lad, David said.
(42:39):
She's the lady of the house, of course, and she's still here,
lingering in the walls, and she's a part of the window panes
and the floorboards. She's in the lamplight and in
the dark corners. As long as we never forget that,
and as long as we are respectful, no worries are
needed. I only hear the footsteps,
(43:00):
though, I concluded. I'll give it time.
David was riding from his chair at the kitchen table.
She makes her presence known when she wants you to know.
Is she an angry, scary sort of spirit?
Well, she doesn't much care for people living in her house, lad.
(43:22):
But she's not of this world anymore, so she's not in charge
anymore, as much as she would like to be.
Davy. Maggie entered the room,
yelling. What are you telling the boy?
David grimaced at her. Saying the truth, Margaret, I
was telling him the truth. And with that, David sauntered
(43:43):
away and sat at his armchair by the fireplace and began to read
the newspaper like nothing. Bone tingling was just dumped on
my lap. The next few nights were rough.
I had trouble sleeping. As soon as the footsteps up and
down the stairs started, my hairwould stand on the back of my
neck and I became paralyzed, tooscared to open my eyes and
(44:05):
search the room. I couldn't help but shake the
feelings. Someone was in the room with me,
standing in the dark corner behind the shadows, just glaring
at me with disapproval. This could have all been in my
mind. I understand.
I heard a scary story and the next thing I knew I was
convincing myself I was not imagining things.
(44:27):
It happens to everyone, right? For three nights in a row I lay
in bed, too scared to move untilthe break of dawn, and if I had
to use the bathroom, I just heldit.
On the fourth night after the story, I lay in bed shivering.
The footsteps began and then there was a knock at my bedroom
(44:49):
door. Maggie, is, is that you?
No answer. David, Hello.
No answer. Then there was a scratch,
scratch, scratch on the other side of the door.
It had been holding up until that point, but shortly after I
(45:12):
relieved myself unknowingly and lay in a wet puddle, still too
horrified to move. The morning after was Halloween.
I did my laundry because, well, yeah, because of my little
accident. After it was all done, I didn't
spend much more time in the house.
I hung out with some friends that I had made in the village
(45:35):
and we lounged about basically before it got dark.
Everybody had to go home and meet up with their families and
we decided we would all reconvene later that night.
I was dropped off at the cottageand I hesitantly went inside.
Maggie and David were by the fireplace watching television.
I didn't want to be alone, so I sat on the sofa and watched some
(45:56):
sitcom with them. I couldn't understand a word of
it, though the dialect and the slang were all still very
foreign to me. It didn't matter though.
It's not like I was able to focus anyway.
It was near and dark, and I found myself constantly peering
out the window, hoping to see the headlights of one of my
friend's cars approaching. No such luck.
(46:21):
Boom. A door slammed.
The lights all went out. The television turned off pitch
black. Silence.
Bloody hell, Maggie said. She's here.
The lights flickered back on quickly.
The television turned back onto a blue screen.
(46:43):
Boom. Another door slammed across the
hallway. David yelled.
Get out of here, lady. I cowered in fear, falling up in
the corner of the sofa. Another door across the hall
opened so violently it's doorknob hit the wall.
Then there was total silence. Suddenly, faintly, a crying
(47:06):
sound was heard. Oh, she's at it again.
Maggie said, seeing me absolutely petrified on the
sofa. She came and sat down next to me
and held me. The crying turned into a woeful
sobbing. Louder and louder it grew,
travelling about the house, through the hallway, in and out
of bedrooms. Boom, another door slammed.
(47:31):
The lights went out pitch black.The violent sobbing turned into
screaming. A lamp by the TV flickered on,
then off, then on, then off. The kitchen light turned on.
Boom, another door slammed. Then it violently was thrust
open. Then it slammed again.
(47:54):
Then the screaming turned into some sort of shrieking.
Maggie was holding me tighter, which only scared me more.
I didn't know if she was scared too or if she was just trying to
comfort me. Then I had a disturbing thought.
What if this isn't Maggie clutching me in the dark?
It was too dark to see, so how could I know?
(48:18):
Next thing I knew, all the doorsin the house violently opened
and were stopped by the walls. A terrible woman's voice wailed.
Get out. The lights came on and I ran out
the open front door like a little kid who just saw a
monster. For all I knew, I did just
experience a monster, and it hadturned me into every bit as
(48:39):
vulnerable as a little girl. I got to the road and stood
there, crouched, panting heavily, until one of my friends
pulled up. I got in the car and began
crying, sobbing, shaking. What's with you, man?
My friend asked, her hand worriedly resting upon my
shoulder. I tried to explain many times.
(49:05):
I don't think she ever knew whatto make of it.
I don't know if she believed me.Obviously she knew I was upset.
I was a bummer for everyone to be around that night, and we
didn't do much Halloween celebrating.
I kind of killed the mood. I spent the night at one of my
friend's houses and the next daythey came with me to help me go
(49:26):
inside and grab my stuff from the guest bedroom and then they
took me to a hotel where I stayed for my duration in the
Uki still speak with Maggie and David and Maggie especially
feels awful. I know she wasn't trying to
deceive me as she said people rarely heard the footsteps and
(49:47):
she explained the lady of the house never attacked when there
were guests. The incident was such a rare
occurrence that even Maggie and David themselves were surprised.
I don't know how anybody could ever live in such a house.
Every Halloween I think about this event and it has stuck with
me and some of my nightmares andmy daydreams.
(50:11):
I certainly believe now that AllHallows Eve is a paper thin
portal for spirits to easily enter our realm and make their
intentions known, good or bad. Many spirits I can feel sorry
for, some I don't. But never again do I want to be
anywhere near the lady of the house.
(55:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
(01:00:08):
Yeah.
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.
This happened during the summer of 2021.
My wife and I were sitting in our living room together.
She was playing Minecraft onlinewith our mutual friend while I
(00:44):
was watching something on YouTube.
It was a very typical weeknight for us, and we were both well
within our comfort zones at the time.
It was probably around 9:00 PM when there was a knock at the
door. Now I should probably explain,
we had been living in our house for several years by this point,
long enough for us to know that someone at the door at that time
(01:05):
of night was very unusual. So right away this put us on
edge. We live in a very quiet
neighborhood in a quiet town. Nothing threatening really ever
happens here. So my wife peeks out the window
to try and see who is there. She tells me that she sees a man
at the door between our screen door and close enough to our
(01:27):
main door that she can't see hisface.
Now. Right away I didn't want to
answer the door, but a little time passes and this guy doesn't
leave and knocks again. So against part of my better
judgement, I decided to answer the door, but I put the chain
lock on 1st just in case whoeverthis was tried to immediately
(01:48):
force their way in. To my initial relief, when I
opened the door, there wasn't a mad attempt to get inside.
Instead, I am met with a dishevelled, shirtless man
standing in the doorway. The man was probably in his 30s,
but he was in such a worn state it was honestly a little hard to
(02:08):
tell. He was maybe half a head taller
than me, but much thinner, and Iseemed to remember him having a
lot of tattoos. I definitely remember his body
language and the vibe he gave off though.
There was something very off about him.
His eyes kept darting around, hands were restless and he kept
(02:29):
shifting back and forth from 1 foot to the other.
I say to him, can I help you? He responds, yeah, can can I?
Can I use your phone? No eye contact during any of
this. I very quickly said no, sorry,
closed the door and locked it. I was not letting this guy into
(02:53):
my house. I looked over towards my wife,
but my eyes landed on our cat first.
She was standing on the arm of the couch, eyes locked on the
door, and all of her fur was standing on end.
She was absolutely freaked out. I had never seen her react like
that to a person before and haven't seen it happen again
(03:13):
since. My wife is still talking to our
friend over the phone, their Minecraft world still up in the
background. During this, our friend was
freaking out listening to all this happened.
I moved over to look out the window myself and my wife and I
both see this guy still standingat our door, jamming himself as
closely to it as he could and letting the screen door just
(03:36):
press up against his back. It almost felt like he was
hiding in our doorway. With him not leaving and no idea
what else we could do, I handed my phone to my wife for her to
call the police, keeping our friend on the other phone just
in case something happened. And during the time my wife was
speaking with the police dispatcher, something did
(03:57):
happen. The man eventually turns around
but doesn't leave our doorway. Instead he looks out towards our
front yard into the darkness. I should mention right now that
despite living in a typical neighborhood, our end of the
street has no St. lights, so it is always particularly dark
around our house at night. In the porch light we could see
(04:19):
the man talking. We couldn't tell what he was
saying, but he kept speaking andmaking gestures towards the
darkness like he was speaking with someone that we couldn't
see. Even the thought that there
actually could be someone else waiting in the dark was bone
chilling, but I just knew by theway the man was acting that he
(04:40):
was speaking to someone that existed only in his head.
So he was either on something orhe was in the middle of a
psychotic episode at our front door.
Refusing to leave, we kept the police dispatcher and our friend
both on their respective phones while we watched this unnerving
display continue on, trying to stay hidden behind our blinds
(05:03):
the whole time. I didn't really want to take my
eyes off him just in case he tried to move to a window or
something similar. I don't know how long we waited
there watching this man talk to nothing, but he eventually
stared off towards the end of our block.
For a long period the talking stopped and then suddenly he ran
off towards the street. We watched him disappear into
(05:26):
the darkness and of course just a minute or two later, that is
when the police arrived. We both gave the police our
statements and they said they would have patrol cars search
the neighborhood. After the cop we spoke with
left, we closed the door and tried to make sense of what
happened. I don't remember everything we
(05:47):
discussed, but I do remember that we both realized that the
police never went into our backyard to check around our
addition. We have a small studio apartment
sized guest house in our backyard that we would rarely
use ourselves, but it would be the perfect place for someone to
hide out if they broke into it. I don't remember which of us put
(06:08):
that together, but I do rememberthat it was me who decided to go
check the guest house. I do realize now how dumb this
was and that I should have waited to hear back from the
police 1st. Instead I grabbed a flashlight
and this thick Irish blackthorn wood walking stick I own called
the Shillelagh and I set about my foolish nerve wracking task.
(06:32):
I checked the outside of the guest house 1st and didn't see
any broken windows or other signs that someone tried to
enter. So then I went inside and
checked every closet and anywhere I could think of for
someone to hide. My mind and heart were both
racing the whole time but fortunately the house was empty.
(06:53):
I headed back into the main house, which I feel like I
should mention is a small house.Despite us having the detached
addition, we aren't rich by any definition.
That guest house has a whole separate story of its own.
My wife and I both just sort of stayed huddled in our living
room for a while, all previous thoughts of YouTube and
(07:14):
Minecraft gone. It was a short time later that
the police arrived again. They told us that they actually
did catch the guy. He was found trying to enter
someone's house through a window.
That someone also happened to bean off duty police officer.
They did mention that they have had incidents with the man
(07:34):
before and that this night his symptoms seemed pretty bad.
Looking back at it now, I hope that man was able to get some
help. He very clearly wasn't having a
good night that night, but that didn't change the danger.
He could have been to himself orsomeone else, and it doesn't
change the fact that the whole experience to this day is the
(07:58):
most frightening thing to ever happen to me.
For context, I grew up in a small S Brazilian town.
(08:18):
It's a very nice but very cold place up in the mountains.
I have had an amazing childhood and still remember most of it
fondly being now a 27 year old woman.
However, something happened to me in my friends one night that
will forever haunt me. When I was in high school, the
teachers used to organize an annual gymkhana.
(08:39):
It's a very common thing over here, a three or four day event
full of competitive tasks, riddles, puzzles, and scavenging
with teams competing for the final award.
It used to involve the whole school and pretty much the whole
town. So in one of those events there
was one particular task called something like Look for your
(09:01):
teacher where 1 teacher would hide somewhere in the town and
we as teams had to decipher the riddles and go look for them.
This was the absolute favorite activity between me and my
friends. Looking back, I don't really
know how the teachers thought that having a bunch of kids out
in the night would be a good idea, but our town was and still
(09:24):
is pretty safe with an incredibly low crime rate.
So when I was about 12 or 13 I was right in the middle of a
gymkhana when something terrifying happened.
It was a freezing cold night andmy team it solved the look for
your teacher Riddle. Me and my best friend Junior and
a few other kids hopped into some older kids car and followed
(09:48):
the clue until we reached a verydark residential neighborhood
surrounded by woods. It was in the suburbs to the
streets were dead quiet and the only light came from the
overhead poles. It was probably around 10:00 or
11:00 PM and our small squad wasvery excited to be out in the
night this late. We found some other kids from
(10:10):
another team so we figured we were in the right place.
Junior and I got our flashlightsand anxiously started to look
for our science teacher. Since we are best friends since
preschool, our feelings and interests are very much In Sync.
I've always felt safer with him by my side.
We were walking and discussing where we thought the teacher
(10:31):
would be hidden, maybe behind a tree or up in one, or perhaps
even buried in some leaves. So we decide to head into the
woods. It was very dark, but there were
so many kids with flashlights that it didn't feel creepy at
first. I was feeling that bubbly,
childish enthusiasm kids feel when they are having a lot of
(10:56):
fun. We were a few minutes into the
search when I suddenly flashed my light to the side and
illuminated a man standing by a tree looking at us.
I didn't recognize the man, but I also didn't pay much attention
since it could have been a parent or someone from another
team. So Junior and I kept walking and
(11:16):
laughing when suddenly I feel a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around and saw the man again.
I remember that he was tall, middle-aged, bald and had big
green or blue eyes. He didn't seem familiar and now
I suddenly felt my stomach tighten a little by the sudden
contact with a stranger. The man smiled and asked us if
(11:40):
we knew where the teacher was. He spoke to us, but only looked
at me, trying to seem amicable. Being a shy and careful kid, I
didn't feel good about this at all, so I said no and turned
around. Junior and I kept walking fast,
both pretty apprehensive. Junior never really liked
(12:03):
physical contact very much, but he actually grabbed my hand and
helped me go through the dark trees further away from the man.
I remember we kind of tried to run from him, getting closer to
other kids and adults. We turned around many times but
thankfully didn't see him again.The search went on and we kind
(12:24):
of forgot about this guy. We had a blast and someone from
another team found our science teacher hidden in a tree,
literally sitting on a high branch.
It was all pretty fun until we emerged from the woods and
started making our way to the cars.
It was then that we heard some commotion behind us.
(12:44):
We didn't really understand whatwas being said, but some older
kids and teachers were discussing something and their
faces were pretty serious. Junior and I went closer to the
adults and understood that a little girl from another team
was missing. There were some people still in
the woods, but they were supposed to be coming back since
(13:05):
the activity was over. This was before everyone had
cell phones, so I'm pretty sure most kids didn't have a way of
communicating like we do now. Even so, we all heard our
teachers speaking loudly that the search was over.
After some adults went looking for the girl, we got a little
bit more info and I actually realized that I knew her.
(13:27):
She was a tiny blonde little thing, probably around 7 years
old. I don't remember her name
though. Before we could do anything to
help, the adults and older kids told us to quickly go back to
the team's building. We went back, then home.
The gymkhana went on normally like nothing ever happened.
(13:48):
I guess my team made it to 2nd place.
I kind of thought it was all very weird about the girl, but
didn't really connect the dots until a few days later back in
school, our class was talking about the missing girl who was
actually found hours later that same night.
As it turns out, she was brieflykidnapped by that older man that
(14:10):
we saw in the woods. Somehow the guy had lured her
away from the group and managed to basically walk her to another
neighborhood. As they were making their way to
the man's car, some parents and older kids from my school found
them and called the police. I discussed this with my
frightened parents later, but I don't remember seeing it on the
(14:30):
news or anything. Not only that, but me and Junior
were not the only kids who saw the man.
Pretty much my whole class had seen him or talked to him in
those dark woods. I can't help but wonder what
would have happened to the little girl if they hadn't found
her, or even what would have happened to me if I were a
(14:52):
little less careful. Back in 2018, I had just
graduated and found a job in another city, and after
(15:13):
searching for a long time, I finally moved into a shared
house with four other roommates.The house was in the city center
area, 10 minutes away from my work, but it was very old and
creaky. It was impossible to walk from
one room to another without waking up the whole house, and I
found it really hard to get usedto the noises.
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But what made my life easier is that I got along really well
with all of my roommates, as I knew a few of them from high
school. We hung out together to play
games and watch TV or just have dinner and talk about random
things. A few months later around
Christmas time, all of my roommates were going back home
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to spend the holidays with theirfamilies, but I had to stay for
a couple of days as I was new atwork and too shy to ask my Co
workers to swap shifts with me so I can spend some time with my
family one day before Christmas.My roommate Emily was the last
one to leave that morning. It was a really busy day,
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everyone was rushing to do last minute shopping.
It all seemed magical and peaceful and full of life.
I finished my shift around 4:00 in the morning and headed home.
As I was walking, I felt a wholedifferent vibe in the air.
The streets were empty and calm in an eerie way.
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I have always finished around this time, but it was never this
empty in this area. Suddenly I had this feeling in
my stomach. The kind of feeling you have
when you know something bad is about to happen and you regret
every decision you made that ledto this place and this moment in
time. I kept checking behind my back
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to see if there was anyone around.
I pretended to talk on the phoneat some point just to try and
calm myself down, as if this would stop anything from
happening. As I'm holding my phone and
still pretending to talk to someone, I hear footsteps.
I stopped talking just to hear abit clearer, hoping that I was
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just imagining this, but I couldstill hear the footsteps behind
me getting closer and closer. I suddenly realized that I
haven't said anything in a whileand continued to talk and try to
make it sound as if someone is waiting for me.
I was only a minute or two away from my house, but I decided to
cross the road just so I could check behind me without looking
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suspicious. So I started crossing and
scanning the area around me. I didn't see anyone.
I couldn't hear the footsteps either.
I started doubting myself. I held my keys tied in my fist,
one to use them as a weapon if needed, and two to open the door
as fast as possible. Which is exactly what I did.
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I checked to make sure no one isaround and I crossed the road,
running to my house, where I opened the door and locked it
behind me. I wish the story ended here, but
it doesn't. Before I even had a chance to
catch my breath, I walked aroundthe house and turned on the
lights. I also turned on the TV thinking
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whoever is out there would thinkthere are more people in here
and would leave me alone. I grabbed a knife and went
upstairs to look from my bedroomwindow for a better view to the
street, trying to see if anyone is around.
I kept looking in all directionsfor an hour but didn't see
anyone or anything unusual. I felt silly for doing all this
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for nothing, thinking it must have been a lost cat or
something. Then I went downstairs to eat
before I headed off to sleep. I finished the meal and decided
to take out the trash, which is right in front of the door.
It would only take a few secondsand nothing can happen in this
very short period of time, right?
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I grabbed the trash and looked around from the small window
next to the door. I couldn't see anything, so I
decided to go ahead and open thedoor.
I threw the bag in the bin and went back in, but as I was
closing the door, a man sprintedacross the street towards me.
I don't know how I managed to close the door and lock it, but
I did. The man started pounding on the
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door and shouting. Let me in, let me in.
I was terrified. I felt I couldn't move just
standing there looking at the door.
Then I pulled myself together and ran to the kitchen to grab
the knife again and call 911. After waiting behind the kitchen
door, shaking and crying in despair, the police finally
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arrived and arrested the man. They said he had a pocket knife
and a screwdriver hidden in his jacket.
Apparently it was not his first time to break into someone's
house and attacking the residence.
I try not to think of what couldhave happened that day.
If I had moved just a little bitslower.
(20:31):
On a rainy Valentine's Day evening in February of 1971,
nineteen year old Jesse McBain drove over to meet his
girlfriend, Patricia Mann at hercollege dormitory in Durham, NC.
They had arranged to celebrate the most romantic day of the
year by attending a Valentine's dance at the nearby Watts
Hospital. Patricia was studying nursing
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and her practical lessons took place at Watts, so as a
potential future member of the nursing staff there, she had
managed to land an invitation tothe dance.
At approximately 11:30 PM, Jesseand Patricia had one last dance,
said their goodbyes, then began to walk back to Jesse's car.
They then drove over to a deserted housing development
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area that would later become theneighborhood of Crowsdale.
No house had been constructed yet, but a few sections of Rd.
had been laid out in an area that was shrouded by 1/4 miles
worth of greenery. Those that ventured down there
were likely to find collections of beer bottles and cigarette
butts strewn among the trees. It was a place people went to
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screw around, exactly the kind of private, out of the way place
that two young lovebirds might need to get a little alone time.
Patricia's 1:00 AM curfew came and went, and her friends back
in the girls dorm assumed she would sneak back in at some
point on her tip toes. Yet little did they know they
would never see her or her boyfriend ever again.
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The following morning, Patricia still hadn't returned from her
date with Jesse. This was the first time the
young woman had ever broken her dormitory curfew, and those
close to her were quickly beginning to worry.
They knew Patricia to be a deeply mature and responsible
young woman who always played bythe rules and took authority
seriously. And to their knowledge, Jesse
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was an affectionate, respectful boyfriend, one that Patricia
seemed very much in love with. But not even youthful romance
would be able to make the young nursing student break curfew.
Slowly but surely. As the day progressed, the
concern of Patricia's roommates went from mild to grave.
What started with a few questions turned to them calling
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around local hospitals in case they had been in a car accident.
They then filed a missing persons report with the Durham
County Sheriff's Department, butwere still so anxious that they
began to physically search for their missing roommate on foot.
They roamed the surrounding area, canvassing her usual
hangout spots around town and oncampus, until someone had the
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idea to go search the lover's lane over at the housing
development. It was here that the searchers
would find Jesse's empty car parked in one of the quieter
spots on the development. The car was locked, and on the
back seats were two warm coats, presumably belonging to Jesse
and Patricia. There was no damage to the car.
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Everything about the scene seemed perfectly in order,
except, of course, for the fact that the last two people to
travel in it seemed to have vanished from the face of the
earth. By this point, local police have
informed both Jesse and Patricia's parents that their
children are missing. At first, all involved had
entertained the idea that the couple's disappearance was
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nothing more than a misguided but romantic attempt to elope,
to skip town, get hitched, and settle down somewhere new.
But investigating police quicklybegan to realize that there was
something distinctly sinister about the case.
There had apparently been no attempt by either Jesse or
Patricia to inform anyone of their plans, not even close
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friends, and the idea that neither would at least leave a
note or letter to a relative seemed highly unlikely.
Over time, those closest to Patricia began to assume the
worst. I just got the sickest feeling
in my stomach, said a cousin of Patricia's.
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I just knew something terrible had happened.
For two weeks after they were declared missing, a team of
police officers and local volunteers mounted an intensive
search of the surrounding area, combing through the wooded areas
around Lovers Lane for any traceof the missing couple.
They followed up lead after leadand tip after tip, but no one
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could find hide nor hair of Jesse or Patricia.
With frustration mounting, police decided to widen the
range of the search area and enlist the help of helicopter
support and specially trained forensic divers.
But in the end, it was the misfortune of a surveyor in
nearby Orange County that provided the police with their
(25:18):
most important lead. On February 25th, 1971, a full
12 days after Jesse and Patriciawent missing, Robert Kirby is
walking along a dirt Rd. in the backwoods of Orange County,
North Carolina, when something catches his eye among the trees.
Maybe 50 meters or so off the trail, the surveyor thinks he
(25:41):
sees what appears to be the limbof a mannequin laying among the
fallen leaves. Curious, he wanders over to
check it out, but the distinct shape of a human leg he sees is
not that of a plastic mannequin.It is real human flesh.
He rushes to a nearby roadside diner to have someone call the
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police, and by the end of that, forensic investigators
discovered not one but two humancorpses up in the woods of
Orange County, and they turned out to belong to none other than
Jesse McBain and Patricia Mann. Finding the young couple and
that they were decomposing was bad enough for the searchers,
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but the manner in which they hadobviously been dispatched was
massively disturbing to them. The couple had their hands tied
and they were made to stand backagainst a tree so another,
larger rope could be wrapped around them.
Once their killer had secured them in place, he began to
torture them. Jesse's ear and mouth were both
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found to have blood in them, anda variety of large and small
abrasions to his lips and forehead suggested he was beaten
senseless before he was killed. At some point, Jesse and
Patricia's killer had ripped their eyelashes off before
continuing to savagely beat them.
Then, when whoever had tied themup had grown tired of beating
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them, they wrapped the rope collars around their necks using
a kind of knot that could be repeatedly tightened over and
over again. We can only assume that the
killer used these rope collars to slowly choke the life out of
Jesse and Patricia, gradually tightening the rope collars over
a drawn out period of time untilneither was able to breathe.
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Each of the couple's bodies had all of their valuables intact.
Jesse was still wearing an expensive wristwatch and a class
ring when his body was found. Patricia was also wearing
jewelry and her purse was left back in the abandoned car.
Their deaths were not part of some robbery.
Their killer had absolutely no monetary gain in mind when he
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had taken them. Neither were there any signs of
indecent assault on Patricia. She had a great deal of bruising
around her face and neck, but nothing below the waistline.
There was no ulterior motive. All their killer wanted to do
was torture and kill them. The investigation that followed
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was severely Hanford by different agencies.
Complete lack of collaboration. For example, the FBI seemed to
consider the local sheriffs as frankly beneath them, and a
feeling of contempt quickly grewbetween the two groups.
Everyone worked on the case as individuals.
As Detective Tom Horn once put it, not a lot of information was
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being shared by the various agencies, and the rivalry was
tremendous. A lot of work was done, but it
was individual, so there was definitely some missed
opportunities. Yet even with the appalling
level of disorganization that pervaded, a number of likely
suspects emerged as a result of some tip top police work.
Some had to be ruled out after taking polygraph tests which
(28:56):
proved their innocence. But one of the men who failed
was actually a doctor at Watts Hospital who had previously
worked with Patricia Mann. When the police sought to
question him again, he completely refused to cooperate
and would only release a statement through a defense
attorney he began to keep on retainer.
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This made him the number one suspect in the entire case, and
to this day, there's never really been anyone else who had
garnered such legitimate scrutiny.
But without the proper evidence to charge him, very little
action was taken against any of the supposed killers.
No one ever really zeroed in on anyone, Detective Horn stated,
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and as a result, the case quickly went cold. 43 years
later, in 2014, Detective Tim Horn was still working for the
Orange County Sheriff's Department when a cousin of
Patricia's, Carolyn Spivey, contacted him with some fresh
information regarding her cousin's murder.
Along with his partner at the time, Detective Horn opened up
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the previously closed case file.Poring over old statements and
boxes of evidence, they reanalyzed the possibilities of
former suspects, considered new ones, and began to condense as
much of the multi agency information as possible into the
pursuit of one solid suspect. And they succeeded.
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Detective Horn then contacted almost every single one of the
detectives who worked the case back in 1971 and gathered them
together for a presentation. It was one which would show them
how he had pieced together multiple pieces of a decades
long puzzle only to come to one solid conclusion.
That it was the Watch Doctor, a man Patricia had actually known,
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that had murdered her and her boyfriend Jesse.
When the presentation was finished, what followed was a
prolonged silence to all in attendance.
Tim Horn's hard work had presented them the best
opportunity yet to end a mysterythat had persisted for almost
half a century. They had their suspect.
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They had evidence. Now it was time to make their
move. Using what's known as an M Vac,
Detective Horn was able to extract adna sample from the
knotted ropes used to tie up andstrangle Jesse and Patricia.
An M vac is basically a wet vacuum DNA collection system
that is designed to extract strands of DNA from difficult to
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reach places. Places just like the fibrous
folds in a length of rope. What came back was ADNA Sample
that didn't match either Jesse or Patricia, so in all
likelihood it belonged to the killer detective.
Horn then requested Adna Sample from their number one suspect,
the watch doctor that Patricia had worked with.
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Horn's argument was that after all this time, the doctor would
finally be able to clear his name and prove that it wasn't
him that executed the young couple.
But the doctor refused having his defense attorney contact law
enforcement to release a statement in legalis.
And that just might be the most suspicious thing about our
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doctor because it really does raise the question of what does
he have to hide? Yet despite such obvious
suspicion, this doctor has neverbeen charged and whatever new
evidence led to him being asked to provide ADNA sample hasn't
been shared with the public. We can only assume that the
Durham County Sheriff's Department are in the process of
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putting a serious case against aman and are trying to find some
way of forcing him to give a sample of his DNA.
And with that DNA sample, law enforcement might just be able
to end the 40 year old mystery of who could be cold and cruel
enough to wrench a loved up young couple away from one of
the happiest nights of their lives, only to torture and
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eventually execute them in a secluded wooded area, turning a
romantic Valentine's Day night into the very last that each of
them would ever spend on Earth. I was travelling through Europe
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from mid August all the way through January.
While I was in Greece I met thisreally cute sweet couple named
Maggie and David. They were from the UK and lived
along the border of England and Scotland and they invited me to
come and stay with them from October to mid November.
Their youngest child was attending university and they
felt like they wanted another young man around their cottage
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house since they found they didn't enjoy the empty nest as
much as they thought they would.So I agreed that when I was
finished exploring Thessaloniki,I would come and stay with them
and maybe help her on the House and see some of the countryside.
I don't know why Maggie called it a cottage house.
It was much larger than a cottage, old, definitely very
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fancy, but old. It was very long and narrow.
I suppose she called it a cottage because it was out in
the country. I don't know if there was any
houses for kilometers in any direction.
Maggie was just about the sweetest person I had ever met,
still is, and her and I talk allthe time to this day.
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I don't really talk to David, but that's because David is just
not much of A talker. Whereas Maggie was bubbly and
warm and love to tell the stories and jokes, David was
more stoic and stern. That isn't to say that he was
mean or anything, he was quite friendly, but he just didn't
talk very much and certainly didn't joke around and wasn't
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much of a storyteller. Most of the time Maggie would be
singing in the garden or talkingon the phone with somebody while
David would just sit in his armchair and read a history
book. I spent a lot of time helping
them out by chopping a lot of firewood for the fireplace due
to the house being drafted in cold quite often.
Maggie was really friendly and she introduced me to all of her
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son's friends and today in turn introduced me to some really
cute girls and we would leave the countryside and go to the
nearest town and get a few pintsat the pub.
Halloween was soon approaching and we made plans to have some
sort of celebration, maybe by going out to one of the old
cemeteries and playing with the Ouija board or something.
(35:42):
No plans were yet solidified, but we were in the midst of
making something. So that's basically the back
story. Onward with what leads up to the
event. The cottage was a long, narrow
one story house and I got to stay in the guest bedroom that
was located sort of in the middle of the establishment and
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it was placed closest to the kitchen.
It was my second or third night there when I woke up in the
middle of the night to hear somebody walking up stairs.
Now as I've already established,this was a one story house, so I
was confused. How could somebody be walking up
and down stairs when there were no stairs?
(36:26):
The first time I heard this, I figured maybe I was in the
middle of a dream perhaps, or maybe there was just something
outside that was hitting againstthe walls, or maybe I was just
tripping. I shrugged it off and went back
to sleep. The day after I had completely
forgotten about it as the excitement of being in the UK
was overpowering any anticipation I might have felt.
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I went out with the other folks that Maggie had introduced me to
and went out for more pints at the pub and played darts and
other things. I got home late and crawled into
bed. It was near midnight now and
there it was again. Unmistakably it was something.
Walking up and down a set of stairs.
I knew I hadn't gone off to sleep at this point because I
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was still scrolling through my phone for sights to see.
The next day. Curiosity got the better of me
and I got out of bed and opened the door and peered into the
kitchen and down the hallway, One Direction and then to the
other. But there was nothing.
Absolutely nothing. Being a bit spooked and feeling
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a chill, I approached the fireplace, put a log on it, sat
in David's armchair for a momentand watched the log get eaten by
flame when I heard a creaky doorclose.
It wasn't a slam, but it was loud, almost as if the door was
heavy. OK, I said to myself, this is
(37:55):
too weird. The morning after, at the
breakfast table, I casually brought up the stair stepping.
You folks got an invisible staircase or something?
I joked. Oh.
Maggie's face brightened up witha mischievous smile.
You hear the steps, don't you? Yeah, I admitted.
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Don't you worry about him, love.He's just the Butler.
I was confused at this point. The Butler?
I asked. You guys have a Butler?
No, no, silly, Maggie laughed. Here, I'll show you.
Maggie gets up from the kitchen table, takes a few steps and
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removes a corner of a rug. And there's this small sort of
hole. It turns out there was a handle
there. Because the next thing I know,
Maggie lifts up the floor with this arduous, freaky creaking
sound that revealed the doorway in the middle of the floor.
See, she said, we have a wine cellar.
(39:00):
Oh. I gasped, surprised.
Back in the middle of the 19th century, this house belonged to
some high class people, royalty and all.
This is where the Butler slept down here.
So you mean. That's right, mate, David said.
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Our house is haunted. Oh, don't scare him, Davy.
Maggie slapped at David's shoulder, continuing to say.
Listen, love, most people never even hear the footsteps.
Just ignore it. The Butler's harmless.
The phone rang and Maggie answered it and went into the
next room. Aye, the Butler's harmless.
(39:42):
David said then, whispering almost to himself it seemed.
He continued. It's the other one you got to
worry about. I asked.
The other one? I.
He leaned forward a bit as he spoke.
The lady of the house. You're trying to scare me,
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aren't you? It's almost Halloween and all,
and you're poking at a bit of fun with the foreigner, right?
I'm afraid not, mate. David was all seriousness.
Like I said, he really wasn't a jokester.
This was the most I'd ever heardhim even speak.
Listen, a long time ago, the lady of this house lost her
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child after a few weeks of the infant being born, and she
became stricken with grief. Naturally, not long after she
went completely mental, or so the story goes.
The husband tried to get her help, her family tried to get
her help, but nothing was to be done of it.
The husband left, many of the servants left, and the only one
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who stayed was the lady of the house and the loyal Butler.
Losing a child made her start tobecome a bit touched, but her
husband leaving had made her go completely nutty.
The family was concerned of course, but more so they were
embarrassed. It didn't look good for a family
of that stature. They wanted to quietly whisk her
(41:11):
away and have the lady put into an asylum.
The lady of the house found out about this news from the Butler
herself. Well, after losing her husband
and her baby, the last thing shewould ever want to lose is her
home. She swore that nobody would ever
remove her from her house. She swore it, and hearing this
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information coming not from her closest family but from her
servant, well, that sent her into a rage and paranoia and a
sense of betrayal. Rumor has it she poisoned the
Butler and he died down there inthe cellar.
When her family came to have hertaken away in a straitjacket and
placed into an asylum is when they stumbled upon a horrific
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stench of a decomposing body down below.
She denied nothing, being dragged out of her house by her
own family and by policemen. She swore she would never leave
the house, not completely. She vowed one day, one day that
she would return and when she returned, she'd be at home for
(42:18):
good and forever. Or so the story goes.
I was in shock. I was mortified.
I couldn't finish eating my breakfast, and the lady?
I asked. Well, lad, David said.
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She's the lady of the house, of course, and she's still here,
lingering in the walls, and she's a part of the window panes
and the floorboards. She's in the lamplight and in
the dark corners. As long as we never forget that,
and as long as we are respectful, no worries are
needed. I only hear the footsteps,
(43:00):
though, I concluded. I'll give it time.
David was riding from his chair at the kitchen table.
She makes her presence known when she wants you to know.
Is she an angry, scary sort of spirit?
Well, she doesn't much care for people living in her house, lad.
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But she's not of this world anymore, so she's not in charge
anymore, as much as she would like to be.
Davy. Maggie entered the room,
yelling. What are you telling the boy?
David grimaced at her. Saying the truth, Margaret, I
was telling him the truth. And with that, David sauntered
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away and sat at his armchair by the fireplace and began to read
the newspaper like nothing. Bone tingling was just dumped on
my lap. The next few nights were rough.
I had trouble sleeping. As soon as the footsteps up and
down the stairs started, my hairwould stand on the back of my
neck and I became paralyzed, tooscared to open my eyes and
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search the room. I couldn't help but shake the
feelings. Someone was in the room with me,
standing in the dark corner behind the shadows, just glaring
at me with disapproval. This could have all been in my
mind. I understand.
I heard a scary story and the next thing I knew I was
convincing myself I was not imagining things.
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It happens to everyone, right? For three nights in a row I lay
in bed, too scared to move untilthe break of dawn, and if I had
to use the bathroom, I just heldit.
On the fourth night after the story, I lay in bed shivering.
The footsteps began and then there was a knock at my bedroom
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door. Maggie, is, is that you?
No answer. David, Hello.
No answer. Then there was a scratch,
scratch, scratch on the other side of the door.
It had been holding up until that point, but shortly after I
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relieved myself unknowingly and lay in a wet puddle, still too
horrified to move. The morning after was Halloween.
I did my laundry because, well, yeah, because of my little
accident. After it was all done, I didn't
spend much more time in the house.
I hung out with some friends that I had made in the village
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and we lounged about basically before it got dark.
Everybody had to go home and meet up with their families and
we decided we would all reconvene later that night.
I was dropped off at the cottageand I hesitantly went inside.
Maggie and David were by the fireplace watching television.
I didn't want to be alone, so I sat on the sofa and watched some
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sitcom with them. I couldn't understand a word of
it, though the dialect and the slang were all still very
foreign to me. It didn't matter though.
It's not like I was able to focus anyway.
It was near and dark, and I found myself constantly peering
out the window, hoping to see the headlights of one of my
friend's cars approaching. No such luck.
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Boom. A door slammed.
The lights all went out. The television turned off pitch
black. Silence.
Bloody hell, Maggie said. She's here.
The lights flickered back on quickly.
The television turned back onto a blue screen.
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Boom. Another door slammed across the
hallway. David yelled.
Get out of here, lady. I cowered in fear, falling up in
the corner of the sofa. Another door across the hall
opened so violently it's doorknob hit the wall.
Then there was total silence. Suddenly, faintly, a crying
(47:06):
sound was heard. Oh, she's at it again.
Maggie said, seeing me absolutely petrified on the
sofa. She came and sat down next to me
and held me. The crying turned into a woeful
sobbing. Louder and louder it grew,
travelling about the house, through the hallway, in and out
of bedrooms. Boom, another door slammed.
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The lights went out pitch black.The violent sobbing turned into
screaming. A lamp by the TV flickered on,
then off, then on, then off. The kitchen light turned on.
Boom, another door slammed. Then it violently was thrust
open. Then it slammed again.
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Then the screaming turned into some sort of shrieking.
Maggie was holding me tighter, which only scared me more.
I didn't know if she was scared too or if she was just trying to
comfort me. Then I had a disturbing thought.
What if this isn't Maggie clutching me in the dark?
It was too dark to see, so how could I know?
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Next thing I knew, all the doorsin the house violently opened
and were stopped by the walls. A terrible woman's voice wailed.
Get out. The lights came on and I ran out
the open front door like a little kid who just saw a
monster. For all I knew, I did just
experience a monster, and it hadturned me into every bit as
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vulnerable as a little girl. I got to the road and stood
there, crouched, panting heavily, until one of my friends
pulled up. I got in the car and began
crying, sobbing, shaking. What's with you, man?
My friend asked, her hand worriedly resting upon my
shoulder. I tried to explain many times.
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I don't think she ever knew whatto make of it.
I don't know if she believed me.Obviously she knew I was upset.
I was a bummer for everyone to be around that night, and we
didn't do much Halloween celebrating.
I kind of killed the mood. I spent the night at one of my
friend's houses and the next daythey came with me to help me go
(49:26):
inside and grab my stuff from the guest bedroom and then they
took me to a hotel where I stayed for my duration in the
Uki still speak with Maggie and David and Maggie especially
feels awful. I know she wasn't trying to
deceive me as she said people rarely heard the footsteps and
(49:47):
she explained the lady of the house never attacked when there
were guests. The incident was such a rare
occurrence that even Maggie and David themselves were surprised.
I don't know how anybody could ever live in such a house.
Every Halloween I think about this event and it has stuck with
me and some of my nightmares andmy daydreams.
(50:11):
I certainly believe now that AllHallows Eve is a paper thin
portal for spirits to easily enter our realm and make their
intentions known, good or bad. Many spirits I can feel sorry
for, some I don't. But never again do I want to be
anywhere near the lady of the house.
(55:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
(01:00:08):
Yeah.
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