1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:06,839 My father was not an open book. Those that knew him would call him 2 00:00:06,839 --> 00:00:12,080 a reserved man or a man of few words. But to me, he 3 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:17,399 was like a man who had retreated into his own universe, a world that 4 00:00:17,559 --> 00:00:24,120 seemed filled with shadows in every corner, a waking nightmare. I would catch 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,600 him sometimes at night, just staring out the window, gripping the arms of 6 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:34,200 his chair so tight I thought his hands would start bleeding. He would lean 7 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:39,520 forward, almost falling out of his chair, as if expecting something terrible and 8 00:00:39,679 --> 00:00:45,880 incomprehensible to show up at our door at any moment. My father was a 9 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:51,920 man clothed in dread. It's only something I came to realize as I got 10 00:00:51,920 --> 00:01:00,560 older. He hid it well, especially from my mother, not nearly well 11 00:01:00,679 --> 00:01:08,519 enough. Nothing terrified my father more than piano music, whether it was heard 12 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:14,079 in an elevator or on the TV, or being played in a shopping mall 13 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:19,319 by a hobby pianist who wanted to impress onlookers, whether it was classical or 14 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:26,000 jazz, whether it was happy or sad, simple or complex. When he 15 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,319 heard the sound of a piano, his eyes would bulge out of their sockets, 16 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:34,959 his skin would go pale, white. He would look around wildly, 17 00:01:36,359 --> 00:01:41,359 whipping his head back and forth like a dog wrangling with a bone. I 18 00:01:41,439 --> 00:01:44,480 never had the courage to ask him why he was so afraid of it. 19 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:51,079 Why didn't I just ask him? But it wasn't the thing to be acknowledged 20 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:56,799 in our home. Fear is contagious, and the easiest way to come down 21 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:01,959 with it is to talk about it. So my father's fear lingered throughout our 22 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:08,000 lives, untouched. Like a piano that was never sold, it just hung 23 00:02:08,159 --> 00:02:16,080 in the air, playing its own silent music for years. My father passed 24 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:23,080 away a year ago due to heart complications. I thought his secret died with 25 00:02:23,199 --> 00:02:29,000 him. But two weeks ago I was visiting my mom and decided to go 26 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:36,319 through my father's old belongings. I guess I was feeling nostalgic. After some 27 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:42,000 time, I was about to head out when I saw it, at the 28 00:02:42,039 --> 00:02:46,319 bottom of a cardboard box that had been hidden in the corner of the attic. 29 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:53,280 It was an unmarked envelope. Inside was a letter comprised of several sheets 30 00:02:53,280 --> 00:03:00,240 of paper. The writing and the letter was rushed and scratchy, but it 31 00:03:00,319 --> 00:03:07,000 was my father's handwriting. There was no mistaking it. What I read in 32 00:03:07,039 --> 00:03:12,879 that letter has haunted me for the past fourteen days. I've decided to share 33 00:03:12,879 --> 00:03:17,800 that letter right here and now because I feel that in some way it may 34 00:03:17,879 --> 00:03:23,719 help me better understand it. Or maybe the truth is I just want someone 35 00:03:23,759 --> 00:03:29,240 to share my father's dread with. My mother would not listen to me when 36 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:32,199 I told her about the letter. She told me to burn it and to 37 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:37,919 forget whatever it said. She scolded me like I was still a child. 38 00:03:38,919 --> 00:03:44,199 What you're about to hear from this point on are my father's words exactly. 39 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:50,479 I have not changed nor altered any of it. I am transcribing it word 40 00:03:50,520 --> 00:04:01,199 for word. This is my father's story in his own words. I wonder 41 00:04:01,319 --> 00:04:05,719 how many times I've attempted to write this letter, how many pieces of paper 42 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,479 I have torn up throughout the years, how many pens have gone dry, 43 00:04:11,319 --> 00:04:17,360 how many pencils snapped? Too many, far too many. If I do 44 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,079 have the courage to finish it, I wonder who will even read it. 45 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:28,680 Maybe it'll be my dear Elizabeth, maybe you're even reading it right now. 46 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,120 I'm sorry for keeping this from you. I haven't been a good husband. 47 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:39,959 You don't know all of me, not nearly all of me. That's a 48 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:44,319 horrible thing to do to your wife. I hope you can forgive me, 49 00:04:44,439 --> 00:04:50,120 Liz. Or maybe it'll be you, Jack, my boy, you saw 50 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,600 me better than I saw myself. How many times did you catch me staring? 51 00:04:56,759 --> 00:05:00,319 I used to tell you I was daydreaming. If you are reading this 52 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:06,759 now, you'll know what I really saw those nights, what I heard. 53 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:15,279 Or maybe it's neither Elizabeth or Jack. Maybe it's you, Jonathan or your 54 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:19,399 mother. God help me. If it is, have you finally found me. 55 00:05:20,399 --> 00:05:24,439 I've seen you out of the corner of my eyes for the last forty 56 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:30,680 years. Or maybe if you're reading this, you're a complete stranger to me. 57 00:05:30,879 --> 00:05:35,759 Regardless, it's time I told this story once and for all, even 58 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:40,639 if the pen and paper I'm writing with end up being the only ones who 59 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:46,480 ever know it. In December of nineteen seventy six, I was on my 60 00:05:46,519 --> 00:05:53,040 way home for the holidays. I was attending the University of Wisconsin Madison. 61 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:58,160 My parents lived in Lacrosse. It's only about a two and a half hour 62 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,879 drive. I got caught in a snowstorm, a storm that came out of 63 00:06:03,879 --> 00:06:11,920 nowhere, I mean really came out of nowhere. Somehow I got turned around. 64 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,040 I've never been good at driving in snow. If you're reading this this, 65 00:06:16,759 --> 00:06:23,000 you know how true there is. Remember the station wagon. God, 66 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:29,639 I nearly crashed it a hundred times. Those were good days. And days 67 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,319 like those, I barely ever heard the piano, or at least convinced myself 68 00:06:33,439 --> 00:06:41,600 I couldn't hear it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. This was not 69 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:46,839 a bad storm. It was one hell of a bad storm. I've rolled 70 00:06:46,879 --> 00:06:49,800 back the clock in my head numerous times, wondering if there was anything I 71 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:56,759 could have done differently, what if I'd driven slower or turned into the slide. 72 00:06:56,879 --> 00:07:00,160 But I think in some ways, no matter what I did, that 73 00:07:00,399 --> 00:07:08,120 car was destined to crash that day. And crash it I did straight into 74 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,879 a ditch. All my attempts to get the car out of the ditch were 75 00:07:11,879 --> 00:07:17,079 futile. Snow was coming down hard. This was no soft powder but a 76 00:07:17,079 --> 00:07:23,160 cocoff and your flakes and harsh sleet. Through the white storm. I saw 77 00:07:23,199 --> 00:07:27,839 a house in the distance. It was the only building nearby, and I 78 00:07:27,879 --> 00:07:31,839 hadn't seen any cars on the road in what felt like forever. I got 79 00:07:31,879 --> 00:07:36,439 out of my car and walked towards the home. I was shocked by how 80 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:43,279 deep the snow had become already, how unrecognizable the landscape seemed. I took 81 00:07:43,319 --> 00:07:47,000 one last look of my car, already being devoured by the snow, turning 82 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:53,959 it into a sad, frozen white monolith in the middle of nowhere. I 83 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:59,199 drew closer and closer to the home. Each step I took more tiresome than 84 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:05,800 the last. Then I heard something that stopped me right in my tracks. 85 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,959 It was the sound of music coming from the home. It was the delicate 86 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:16,079 sound of a piano. The music cut right through the harsh, cold winds 87 00:08:16,079 --> 00:08:22,439 of the storm and went straight to my ears. The music was coming from 88 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,079 the upper part of the house. There was a window to a room on 89 00:08:26,079 --> 00:08:31,480 the upper floor, but a curtain obstructed the view. Still, there was 90 00:08:31,519 --> 00:08:37,720 no question that the piano music was coming from their room. My eyes went 91 00:08:37,759 --> 00:08:41,279 from the top window to a window on the first floor. There was a 92 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:46,039 woman standing in the window. She was staring right at me, with a 93 00:08:46,039 --> 00:08:52,840 bemused expression on her face. I waved to her nervously, and then pointed 94 00:08:52,919 --> 00:08:58,320 back at my car. When I looked back, the woman was gone from 95 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,840 the window. Moments later, the front door to the house opened, and 96 00:09:03,919 --> 00:09:09,320 I made my way up the porch steps. Can I help you, the 97 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,480 woman asked, standing in the doorway. She still had that amused look on 98 00:09:13,519 --> 00:09:20,440 her face. It's a little embarrassing, I said, but I crashed my 99 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:24,080 car into that ditch down the road and I can't get out. Oh my, 100 00:09:24,399 --> 00:09:30,480 how awful, the woman said, Please come in and get yourself warm. 101 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:37,320 I stepped inside and the woman shut the door behind me. All at 102 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:41,440 once, the noise from outside was cut off. The only noise now was 103 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:50,440 the piano music coming from upstairs. That and my chill breathing that music, 104 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:56,799 I said, rubbing my arms to get warm. It's really lovely. Oh 105 00:09:56,919 --> 00:10:01,720 that's my son, Jonathan. He's a wonderful pian, honest. Please do 106 00:10:01,879 --> 00:10:07,360 make yourself comfortable. I'll fix you some tea. And absolutely dreadful weather. 107 00:10:07,759 --> 00:10:13,639 It simply dreadful. I sat down in the living room. It was a 108 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:18,600 warm and cozy house, but there was something underneath that made me uncomfortable. 109 00:10:20,039 --> 00:10:24,120 I did not understand it fully at the time. We're looking back on it, 110 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:28,519 I believe some part of me noticed all the little things that were off 111 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:33,919 about the home. For one, there was no family photos anywhere to be 112 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:39,120 seen, and despite the warmth of the home, it had a bizarre sterile 113 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,480 smell, like that of an appliant store. The house looked lived in, 114 00:10:45,279 --> 00:10:50,600 but didn't feel lived in. Could I use your phone? I asked? 115 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:56,200 The phones are out, the woman said, bringing back two cups of tea. 116 00:10:56,039 --> 00:11:01,159 They won't be back up until morning, most likely soon as they are. 117 00:11:01,639 --> 00:11:05,240 I'll phone Harvey, my neighbor. He lives the closest. I'll have 118 00:11:05,279 --> 00:11:09,840 him bring his tractor and we'll get your car out of the ditch. Is 119 00:11:09,879 --> 00:11:13,840 there any way to get hold of him? Now? I hate to be 120 00:11:13,879 --> 00:11:16,840 a bother, but how's on my way to La Cross to see my folks 121 00:11:16,879 --> 00:11:22,759 for the holidays. I was hoping to get there by to night. Upstairs, 122 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:26,480 the piano music stopped. The woman took a large sip of a tea, 123 00:11:28,279 --> 00:11:33,159 looking at me over the cop with her faded green eyes. Then putting 124 00:11:33,159 --> 00:11:37,720 the cop down gently, she said, Lacrosse. Goodness, gracious, how 125 00:11:37,759 --> 00:11:43,720 on earth did you end up here in Dutchville County? I got turned round 126 00:11:43,399 --> 00:11:50,559 Dutchville County. I've never been through her before. Well, there's no helping 127 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,960 it now. Harvey lives a spell away Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until 128 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:03,480 morning. Dear, I'm terribly sorry your son Jonathan. How old is he? 129 00:12:03,799 --> 00:12:07,879 Twenty? Next month? She said? Finally, Oh, well, 130 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,240 could he then again? I hate to be a bother. Could he help 131 00:12:13,279 --> 00:12:18,480 me try to push my car out? No, she said flatly, and 132 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:22,879 there was no kind of amusement in a voice. Now. Her eyes narrowed. 133 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,080 Jonathan cannot move all that well, even if he could, and even 134 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:31,960 if you did get your car out, the roads are terrible. You'll just 135 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,039 be in another ditch in no time. You're perfectly fine to sleep on the 136 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:41,360 couch to night. Come to morrow, Harvey will have you out, and 137 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:46,960 you'll be on your way to see your parents. I realized, I guess 138 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,600 it has to be that way. Then I realized I'd not taken a drink 139 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,960 of my tea, But looking at the cop I lost all thirst. The 140 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:03,080 tea looked like gross mud water that had been pulled from a gutter. For 141 00:13:03,159 --> 00:13:07,440 some time, we just sat there in the quiet living room with no music. 142 00:13:07,039 --> 00:13:11,679 A dreary silence took over the home. Where are you coming from, 143 00:13:11,759 --> 00:13:18,120 anyhow, the woman said, putting down an empty teacup. It felt as 144 00:13:18,159 --> 00:13:24,200 if an eternity had just passed. I go to school in Madison. Oh, 145 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:31,759 how lovely. What are you studying engineering? How wonderful? You know. 146 00:13:31,879 --> 00:13:35,840 Jonathan used to love engineering as a boy, even more than playing the 147 00:13:35,879 --> 00:13:41,720 piano. He would always build things, little trinkets and gadgets and gizmos. 148 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:46,399 But his condition made it impossible for him to pursue a higher education. He's 149 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:52,200 been a homebody for years now. All he does is play piano day and 150 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:56,799 night. He's really great at it. Oh, where are my manners? 151 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:03,720 I should introduce you both. At that, she led me out of the 152 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:09,159 living room. We began to climb the stairs. As we did, a 153 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:13,799 horrible feeling came over me, the one you might have when you're walking by 154 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,519 a dark alley at night, the kind of primitive instinct that screams in the 155 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:26,639 back of your head, screams, run, you idiot. Run. We 156 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:31,200 reached the top of the stairs. The hallway was dark and lit only by 157 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:35,200 a small lamp. We passed several rooms until we reached the door at the 158 00:14:35,279 --> 00:14:41,960 end of the hallway. The woman, and I realized at this point I 159 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:48,080 didn't even know her name, gently pushed the door open and said Jonathan there's 160 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:54,240 someone here i'd like you to meet. The first thing I noticed when stepping 161 00:14:54,360 --> 00:15:00,720 into the room was a large piano that sat in the corner. It was 162 00:15:00,759 --> 00:15:05,039 a beautiful looking piano, and it looked out of place in the small room. 163 00:15:05,159 --> 00:15:09,879 A piano like that should have been front and center at a concert hall. 164 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:15,720 The fading light outside filtered to the bedroom curtain, giving the room a 165 00:15:15,759 --> 00:15:20,960 soft, ethereal look. I felt I was stepping into some kind of dream 166 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:30,399 world. And then I saw Jonathan sitting on his bed. I froze. 167 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:35,039 I wouldn't call Jonathan a doll exactly. He was too big to be a 168 00:15:35,039 --> 00:15:41,559 doll, but he was like a rag doll in a way, a human 169 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:46,879 sized rag doll. Jonathan was not a living, breathing person. He was 170 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:54,159 just an inanimate object dressed up to look human. He wore sky blue pajamas 171 00:15:54,519 --> 00:15:58,279 and had a mop of red hair. His cloth skin looked like it had 172 00:15:58,279 --> 00:16:03,919 been white once but now faded to a sickly beige color. He had two 173 00:16:03,039 --> 00:16:08,840 black buttons for eyes, though there were different sizes, the right eye being 174 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:14,960 much smaller than the left. It gave him the appearance that he was always 175 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:21,919 winking. I did what I could only do in that moment. I laughed. 176 00:16:22,279 --> 00:16:27,279 It was a hoarse, nervous laugh. Don't you dare laugh, the 177 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:33,559 woman said sharply. She wasn't looking at me now. She was staring out 178 00:16:33,559 --> 00:16:40,120 the window, one hand rubbing Jonathan's inanimate leg in a soothing gesture. Oh, 179 00:16:40,159 --> 00:16:44,519 how they loved to laugh. Once Jonathan was sitting on the porch, 180 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,480 just minding his own business when these horrible boys from town came in and began 181 00:16:48,519 --> 00:16:52,320 to harass him. I'll never forget the sound of their laughter as I chased 182 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:57,399 them off on their bikes. Oh but I call the last laugh. There 183 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:02,600 was boys loved to bike around a certain part of town, and one day 184 00:17:02,879 --> 00:17:07,000 one of them went over some nasty gravel and hit his head. He's still 185 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:15,319 in the hospital. Oh yes, I got the last laugh. I'm sorry, 186 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:22,519 I said in a dry, panicked voice. Apology accepted, the woman 187 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:26,559 said, Turning to me, she had a shocked look on her face. 188 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:32,559 Then she gave me a shark's grin. I thought. Then hit me like 189 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:37,119 an arrow striking the center of a target. So chilling was the thought that 190 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:41,880 I felt I might faint at any moment. My body felt ten times heavier 191 00:17:44,559 --> 00:17:48,680 when the woman and I had been downstairs, someone had been playing piano music. 192 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:56,640 Someone else had to be up here. Obviously, Jonathan playing was out 193 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,400 of the question. Had to be out of the question. The thought of 194 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:07,039 this grotesque rag doll being alive went against everything I believed in. I looked 195 00:18:07,079 --> 00:18:11,920 around the room for a radio or record player, anything that might have been 196 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:18,880 playing the music earlier, but there was nothing of the sort. There was 197 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:26,000 only the piano. Is there any one else in the house, I asked. 198 00:18:26,759 --> 00:18:32,039 The woman gave me a knowing smile and said, of course not, 199 00:18:32,799 --> 00:18:38,759 It's just Jonathan and I. Jonathan continued to stare into the distance with his 200 00:18:38,839 --> 00:18:45,200 misshapen button eyes. For a split second, maybe even less than that, 201 00:18:45,319 --> 00:18:51,519 I thought I saw his head move ever slightly. I blinked and rubbed my 202 00:18:51,559 --> 00:18:56,359 eyes. When I opened Jonathan was as still as he had been, and 203 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:02,920 the woman was walking past me. I'll go fix your bed downstairs, she 204 00:19:03,039 --> 00:19:07,000 said, walking out of the room. You'll need your rest for to morrow. 205 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:14,440 Then she was gone. Only Jonathan and I were left in the room 206 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:19,319 that began to fill with an awful silence. So pervasive and relentless was the 207 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:25,000 silence that it felt as if it seeped into every pore of my body. 208 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,400 None of this could be real, I told myself. The woman was playing 209 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,799 a trick on me, had to be playing a nasty trick on me. 210 00:19:34,319 --> 00:19:40,319 I once again looked over the room, hoping, merely begging God to show 211 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:47,240 me a radio or a record player, but there was nothing. I thought 212 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:52,720 about approaching Jonathan give him a real look over. For one look at that 213 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:59,319 horrible, winking eye was enough to convince me otherwise. I quickly turned and 214 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,839 began to walk out of the room. Then I heard what sounded like something 215 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:11,319 shifting in the bed behind me, and I ran. Within seconds, I 216 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,839 was down the stairs and out the front door. I knew it was suicide 217 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,880 running out into that storm, but I couldn't stay in that house a second 218 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:25,319 longer. The snow was so deep it slowed my running, and for a 219 00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:30,799 horrible moment, I imagine Jonathan chasing after me, gaining on me with terrible 220 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:37,519 inhuman speed, his ragged old limbs moving in strange, unnatural motions. I 221 00:20:37,559 --> 00:20:42,000 heard the woman yelling after me, yelling for me to come back. Then 222 00:20:42,319 --> 00:20:51,119 I heard two horrible sounds. The first was that the woman was laughing, 223 00:20:52,160 --> 00:21:00,240 even in the roar of the winds. Her laugh was unmistakable, piercing even 224 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:03,400 and saw her on the front porch. She did, in fact have a 225 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,920 horrible grin on her face, which now looked so much longer and paler than 226 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:14,640 it had before. Her laugh was an awful cackle, like thin eyes breaking. 227 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:22,319 The second horrible thing I heard was the sound of a piano being plagued. 228 00:21:22,839 --> 00:21:27,880 It was coming from Jonathan's room. My car was nowhere in sight, 229 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,839 but it was no use to me now anyway. I ran down the road, 230 00:21:33,319 --> 00:21:41,240 and eventually the woman's laugh faded, but not the piano music. No 231 00:21:41,319 --> 00:21:45,279 matter how far I went, I could still hear it. It followed me 232 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:49,759 the way a bad memory follows you. I don't know how long I waded 233 00:21:49,799 --> 00:21:55,319 through the snow, but at some point I collapsed and thought for sure I 234 00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:00,359 was going to die. Then I saw a light coming to wark to me. 235 00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:06,319 That light eventually turned into a tractor with a plow. There was a 236 00:22:06,319 --> 00:22:10,839 man driving it. He got out and began to say something, but I 237 00:22:10,839 --> 00:22:15,799 couldn't hear him. I was fading in and out of consciousness. The last 238 00:22:15,799 --> 00:22:21,240 thing I saw before I blacked out was the man standing over me, a 239 00:22:21,279 --> 00:22:26,920 horrible, concerned look on his face. The last thing I heard was piano 240 00:22:27,039 --> 00:22:37,200 music. I woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed. For a 241 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,160 horrifying second, I thought I was back in that woman's house, maybe sleeping 242 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:48,799 in the very same bed as Jonathan. But that wasn't the case. I 243 00:22:48,839 --> 00:22:53,880 was in an unfamiliar room alone. Sunlight was shining through the window, and 244 00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:59,839 I could see that the storm had stopped. I heard the floorboards creaking outside 245 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:04,000 the room, and again, for a horrifying second, I thought the woman 246 00:23:04,039 --> 00:23:12,680 would appear in the doorway, smiling, cackling. Instead, he was the 247 00:23:12,759 --> 00:23:19,119 man I had seen driving the tractor. Good you're awake, the man said, 248 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:25,680 warmly. How are you feeling? Where am I? I asked, 249 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,880 ignoring his question. You're in my house. I found you running down the 250 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:37,279 road last night. What were you thinking? My car broke down? Aren't 251 00:23:37,279 --> 00:23:41,519 you with that woman? What woman? That one that lives down the road 252 00:23:41,559 --> 00:23:48,279 from where you've found me? The man said nothing. At first, he 253 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:53,960 just stared at me. Then he said, in a pensive voice, the 254 00:23:55,039 --> 00:23:59,200 woman that lives down the road from where I found you? Are you with 255 00:23:59,319 --> 00:24:03,160 her? I said? I gripped the bed sheets as if my life depended 256 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,799 on it. No, I'm not with any one, the man said, 257 00:24:07,839 --> 00:24:15,000 putting up his hands. I live here on my own. I relaxed my 258 00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:18,000 hands. I need to call my parents. I was on my way to 259 00:24:18,079 --> 00:24:22,880 visit them when my car broke down. Phones in the kitchen, you're welcome 260 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,480 to use it. When you were out, I was plowing the roads. 261 00:24:27,039 --> 00:24:30,799 I saw a car, your car, I gather. We can go there 262 00:24:30,799 --> 00:24:34,079 when you're ready and get it out. I have already got most of it 263 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:38,680 plowed out. Truthfully, if you saw my car, then you must have 264 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,519 seen the house near by. That's the house where the woman lives with a 265 00:24:42,599 --> 00:24:48,400 son, Jonathan. He's not a house where the woman lives. The man 266 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:53,079 said again, in that deep pensive voice. Yeah, you must have seen 267 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:57,039 it. If you saw my car, why don't you call your parents, 268 00:24:57,559 --> 00:25:03,599 and if you're up for it, I'll take you to your car. He 269 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:08,480 gave me a reassuring smile. Then god up to leave. Is your name 270 00:25:08,599 --> 00:25:15,519 Harvey? I asked him. He turned around and the smile on his face 271 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:22,519 dipped into a questioning frow is it it is? He said? How do 272 00:25:22,559 --> 00:25:30,160 you know that the woman she told me about you and your tractor. Is 273 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:37,640 that right? For a moment, Harvey said nothing, his frown deepened. 274 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:45,359 Call your parents and then we'll get going. He left me in the room 275 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:51,160 with the sunlight as my only company. My parents were relieved to hear my 276 00:25:51,279 --> 00:25:56,799 voice. I didn't tell them about what I saw in the woman's house that 277 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,680 already was starting to feel like a bad nightmare. I told them that my 278 00:26:00,759 --> 00:26:04,160 car went into a ditch, and that I spent that night at a kind 279 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:08,440 stranger's house, and that I had been Madison. Later that day, hopefully, 280 00:26:11,039 --> 00:26:14,519 I got into the tractor with Harvey, and as we drove down the 281 00:26:14,599 --> 00:26:18,279 road, I was shocked to see how much of the road had already been 282 00:26:18,319 --> 00:26:22,240 cleared. The storm had been so awful the night before, and the snow 283 00:26:22,279 --> 00:26:26,960 had been so deep. Now I barely looked as if it had snowed. 284 00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:36,240 Eventually we came upon my car. Harvey had told the truth, he had 285 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,359 gotten most of it out of the snow already. He killed the engine to 286 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:45,400 his tractor, and both her eyes went in the same direction. We were 287 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:53,400 looking at where the house was, or where it should have been. There 288 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,359 was no house there now, at least not what I had seen last night. 289 00:26:59,799 --> 00:27:03,799 Instead, there were the remains of a house. The roof was gone 290 00:27:04,119 --> 00:27:08,759 and part of the floor was completely carved in. Bits and pieces of the 291 00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:15,440 home jotted out like the jagged teeth of some ancient monster. Is this the 292 00:27:15,519 --> 00:27:22,440 house you were speaking of, Harvey asked. His voice was soft and empathetic. 293 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:29,319 I don't understand, I said, I was here last night. I 294 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:34,200 was in there. It wasn't like this son. That house has been abandoned 295 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:38,440 for years now. There was a woman who lived there, but that was 296 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:45,559 a long time ago. What happened to her, It was a long time 297 00:27:45,559 --> 00:27:52,480 ago. You couldn't have met what happened. She took her own life, 298 00:27:52,519 --> 00:27:59,119 Harvey said. As he spoke, we both stared at the wreckage of the 299 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,920 home after a son died. It was a terrible accident involving some of the 300 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:08,640 boys are in town. I don't know too much about the details. I 301 00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:14,000 was young myself back then. I just know that it was ugly business, 302 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,400 and that she blamed one of the boys for a son's death. The boy 303 00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,480 ended up in the hospital some time later. I don't know much else. 304 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:27,559 Like I said, it was ugly business, but that house has been abandoned 305 00:28:27,599 --> 00:28:33,119 for years. No one lives there. No one could live there. Just 306 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:36,240 look at the state of it. So you were just pulling my leg. 307 00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:40,559 Right, you couldn't have been in there last night. Tell me you were 308 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:45,920 just pulling my leg. I stared into Harvey's eyes, which were now threatening 309 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:51,680 to spill over with tears, and saw that the old man was in fact 310 00:28:52,519 --> 00:28:59,759 terrified. Yeah, I was just pulling your leg, I said flatly. 311 00:29:00,759 --> 00:29:06,400 Someone from town told you my name, his voice thin, pleading. Someone 312 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:11,000 from town put you up to it. Someone in town told me your name. 313 00:29:11,759 --> 00:29:18,400 Someone from town put me up to it. Harvey led out a sigh. 314 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:23,359 Well you got me, good son, Oh boy, yeah you did. 315 00:29:25,039 --> 00:29:30,000 Now let's get your car out. It did not take long for Harvey 316 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:34,240 and I to get my car out and running. We shook hands and I 317 00:29:34,319 --> 00:29:40,279 thanked him for his help. As I was getting in my car and Harvey 318 00:29:40,359 --> 00:29:47,400 was getting in his tractor, we both stopped at the sound of something horrifying. 319 00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:56,480 It was coming from the abandoned home. It was piano music, delicate, 320 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:04,000 melancholic piano music. He stood there and just listened. Neither of us 321 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:11,359 acknowledged it. Then, after a moment, we got in our vehicles and 322 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:18,440 went our separate ways. I never saw or spoke with Harvey again, but 323 00:30:18,519 --> 00:30:25,279 I've heard the piano music every night since. I'm hearing it now as I 324 00:30:25,319 --> 00:30:36,680 write this letter. God help me, I'm hearing it now. That's the 325 00:30:36,839 --> 00:30:41,519 end of my father's letter. I still can't quite believe what I've read that 326 00:30:41,640 --> 00:30:48,319 my father really wrote these words. At least now I understand why my father 327 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,480 spent his life looking over his shoulder, what he saw in the shadows. 328 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:59,599 Since reading his letter, I've had this idea in my head of driving up 329 00:30:59,599 --> 00:31:03,240 to dutch Field County and tried to find the house that haunted my father every 330 00:31:03,319 --> 00:31:14,079 step of his life. But I'm terrified for what I'll see and what I'll hear.