This episode may contain content that is not suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion
is advised, especially for those under the age of thirteen. Welcome to ind
To the Night. I'm Nari, your guide on to day's excursion down a
twisted path. Be careful not to get lost. Be it dark or light,
It's easy to lose your way. Are you ready? Then let's begin
Spring Peepers Part three. That evening, Cassandra arrived at the cafe a few
minutes early. She chose a booth and sat facing the door. At exactly
six o'clock, the door chimed and a slender man with brown hair walked in.
His eyes swept the room, and he spotted Cassandra. I'm guessing your
misscar Michael call me, Cassandra. Please have a seat Tony for the next
hour. Tony Atwell told her of one incident after another that occurred at the
Carmichael farm. Strange noises, his dogs aggressively barking into the darkness, his
cattle spooking for no apparent reason, and times when there was no mistaking someone
or something watched his every move. I got to where I put up blinds
on every window because even inside. I felt like I was being watched.
I know I must sound crazy. Hell, I thought I was going crazy
until I made that recording. I knew then that I hadn't just imagined what
was going on. I believe you can. We listen to the recording.
Yeah, of course, I only saved it to prove to myself it happened.
He pulled up the recording on his phone. Yes, the frogs called
into the night. But then she heard it. Cassandra recoiled from the sound
and pressed her back against the bench seat. A look of horror passed over
her. I'm sorry, Cassandra. I'm not trying to scare you, but
you need to know there is something out there. During their conversation, Cassandra
told him about the experiences she and her cousins had, as well as what
happened the night before. Ike, bless his heart, wanted to protect me,
even at his young age. Sadie was terrified. I was too.
I don't feel right about you living out there, ma'am. I put all
my eggs in this basket. I need to figure out what to do now.
He took one last bite of his meal and looked at the clock hanging
on the wall, ma'am. If you don't mind, I need to get
going. I've got to get home and feed my cattle. Feel free to
call me anytime. I'll do that. Tony, thank you for talking with
me. It's better to be aware than blindsided. And I appreciate that you
took the time to tell me what you've been through. Tony atwell, tipped
the of his ball cap at her. I'll help anyway, I can have
a good night. After he left, Cassandra paid their bill and left.
Darkness was already falling, and an involuntary shiver went through her, thinking of
walking from her car to the house. Once she arrived home tonight, however,
the darkness held no sinister feel to it. Ike and Sadie asked to
go outside, and the two puppies frolicked in the backyard as Cassandra stood on
the porch and watched. After they'd tired themselves out, they'd stuggled next to
her as she sat on the porch steps. Everything seems right with the world
tonight. The following night also passed peacefully, but two nights later, the
darkness hung heavily in the night. The puppies didn't want to go outside and
would only step out for a potty break. If Cassandra stood next to them.
I clut out a low growl as he turned. Once they reached the
porch, Come on, ikeers, let's get inside. Cassandra closed and locked
the back door once they made it inside. It's a little foolish thinking that
I can lock out the boogeyman, but knowing the doors locked somehow makes me
feel safer. She went around the house and lowered the blinds. Situating herself
on the couch with a bag of popcorn, she settled in to watch a
movie with her puppies sitting next to her. Occasionally I could stiffen and stare
at a window, but after reassurance, he'd calm down once more. Not
every night was frightening, and because of that, Cassandra sometimes questioned whether she'd
lost her good sense. Then, however, a night filled with dread and
unexplainable events would happen, and she was convinced that whatever lurked in the night
was real. I don't know what it could be, a ghost, evil
spirits. The sounds on Tony's recording sure sounded evil. If it had ill
intentions, I'd think it would have done more than lurk by now. Then
again, it could enjoy toying with people. How long has stopped this land?
She wasn't sure. She wanted the answer, but the unknown caused her
anxiety to climb. She had trouble sleeping and quiet hours lying awake in the
dark did nothing to calm her fears. Occasionally, knocks on the window woke
her, or awoke Ike, and then he woke her. Sadie hid under
the blankets at those times, but as Ike grew bigger, the more protective
he became of his frightened owner. Night after night, terror overtook her.
She regretted moving back to the homestead. Why didn't I remember that this thing
follows my every move? What was I thinking? Moving back here? Did
I throw away years of hard work to be driven insane? She remembered her
mother once having a conversation with a neighbor, Esther Jenkins, when Cassandra was
a young girl. The scene came back to her, wiping away the cobwebs
of time until she pictured the two women vividly in her mind. Her mother
and grandmother sat showing peas from the garden, and Esther joined them. Mounds
of peapods from bushel baskets were heaped into their aprons as the women snapped and
shelled the vegetables as they talked. Esther was no young woman at the time,
years older than Cassandra's grandmother. She and her husband, Henry, had
lived on the adjoining farms since they'd married at the ages of fourteen and sixteen.
Cassandra sat on the floor listening to the women visit and gossip. She
remembered little of the conversation, except for a comment esther maid, Henry is
a good man and a hard worker, but he does have a wild idea
here and there, such as Cassandra's mother asked, if anything needs to be
put up after dark, I've got to do it because Henry won't go out
after dark. He says something spookeshame. Well, I'll be Cassandra's grandmother chimed
in, I never imagined Henry Jenkins faring any one or anything. The women
laughed, but two thoughts struck young Cassandra at the time. The first was
that she never before had known grown ups to fear anything. The second was
that she understood why Henry Jenkins feared the dark. She was never afraid at
home, but at her grandparent's farm, she knew the dark sometimes felt sinister
and threatening. Lately, Cassandra remembered that day. Often she had lost sleep
and jumped at the slightest sounds. After a month, Cassandra reached her breaking
point. Standing on her porch one evening, she stepped into the back yard
to retrieve Sadie, who whined at the fence. Come here, sweet girl.
The dog trembled, and Cassandra picked her up and held her close.
A breeze swirled around her, and she had the sudden sensation that she was
surrounded by an unseen force. Once again, she rushed to the porch,
where Ike barked from inside the back door. She put Sadie inside, and
the screen door slammed out of her hands. The wind, or something in
it howled. Cassandra was afraid, yes, but anger flashed in her eyes.
Stop playing games. If you're out there, show yourself, she shouted
into the night. You have lurked in the dark long enough. Tell me
what you are and what you want. The wind stopped glowing, and a
voice spoke to her through the black of the night. We need someone to
see us, We need someone to say that we are real. It's been
so long, and we've been trapped in this hellish state for so long.
Please overcome your fear and let us be seen by you. Cassandra closed her
eyes, then opened them. Okay, show yourselves to me. Not knowing
what she'd unleashed, her heart pounded out of the darkness. Forms took shape.
At first they were ethereal, but as they moved closer to her,
she found herself face to face with ghastly pale men in uniforms, some blue,
some gray, holes made by lead balls shot from rifles. As they
tore through the tattered uniforms, some men missed arms or legs, and others
were disfigured by wounds to their heads and faces. Cassandra gasped and stepped back
in horror. We don't mean to scare you, ma'am. We truly don't.
These fellers and I we've been trapped here under the burden of hate for
so long. You're the first person who's asked us to show ourselves. I
know we look aside. It was eighteen sixty three the last time we walked
this ground as men. We killed each other, Cassandra, and we died
in agony on these hills, just feet from each other as enemies. Why
are you here? Why didn't you go on? A young man, a
boy really in a mutilated gray uniform answered her. We couldn't. The hate
held us back, and the only way to free ourselves from here was to
be seen. We tried for over a hundred years to get someone's attention so
we could be seen. No one would do it, They kept telling themselves.
We weren't real. No one can live or die without being noticed.
Don't you see? How do I know this isn't some trick. The voices
on Tony's recording sounded evil. How do I know you aren't evil? The
Union soldier who'd first spoken to her shook his head. We aren't evil,
ma'am. My name is Billy. For what he recorded was agony. We
all died here in agony, moaning as we died, horrible deaths for no
reason, For no damn reason, we died. I was just seventeen.
Pete was just eighteen, pointed to the Confederate boy next to him. You
could have appeared to other people in the past my grandparents were carrying. Instead,
you terrified everyone who lived here through the years children had nightmares because you
looked just out of sight, always watching us. I'm sorry, ma'am.
Pete looked at her with pleading eyes. That hatred wrought at our souls,
and we were angry. I admit that we wanted to scare people. We
wanted people to be even a little bit as uncomfortable as we've been for nearly
two hundred years. We wanted to end though. Tonight, a murmuring broke
out in the crowd of ghostly beans that stood in front of Cassandra. Billy
said something to the crowd, then nodded. He turned back to Cassandra.
It's not just Yankees and Ribs here, ma'am. This land has trapped others
here, Settlers, Indians, anyone who's died in a violent way has been
stuck here, fueled by the hatred that killed them. We all agree,
however, that the time has come to end the spell. We need you
to do that for us. We need you to see us for our humanity
and not just our violence. Please, ma'am, please, what do I
need to do? Acknowledge us, give us peace, Say it out loud
that we are real and that we are forgiven. Cassandra shook in fear,
and her voice wavered. Do you do you promise not to frighten anyone else?
We promise, We just want to be released. She looked over the
dozens of ghastly figures in front of her and struggled to control her fear.
I see you, You are real, You are forgiven, you are free.
As they faded, she saw tears flow down their cheeks and heard sighs
of relief. A warm spring wind blew their milky shapes away towards the sky
in a swirling mass that spiraled out of sight. In the quiet of the
night, she heard the song of the spring Peepers, and she knew in
its chorus was the understanding that all was now right on this land. Thank
you for joining me for this episode of the Into the Night Anthology podcast.
Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nauri Quok, Theme music by Nico Rodriguez,
all other original music, sound design and editing by Omenhawk Studios. You
can find our links in the show notes. Into the Night is on your
favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe, and leave a five
star review to help other excursionists to join us. I'll see you next time,
and remember where the shadows or in the daylight, all twisted paths lead
you into the night. Into the Night. Anthology is a creative typo entertainment production