1 00:00:10,199 --> 00:00:14,240 I grew up in northeast Iowa, where my older sister and I spent most 2 00:00:14,279 --> 00:00:19,359 of our childhood playing in the meadows and woods around our property. She was 3 00:00:19,399 --> 00:00:23,079 two years older than me, and we had a neighbor friend who was between 4 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,920 us in age. Most of our days were filled with fishing and catching frogs, 5 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:33,000 and playing make believe and conquering the world. There was a pond down 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,679 the hill from our house where a lot of this took place. North of 7 00:00:36,719 --> 00:00:41,600 it was twenty acres of timber that provided an excellent spot to hunt for mushrooms 8 00:00:41,719 --> 00:00:45,759 in the spring or to cool down in the shade during the hot summer months, 9 00:00:46,119 --> 00:00:51,359 and to us it was paradise. West of that timber was a green, 10 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,759 inviting pasture full of long grass that made the perfect bed to lie in 11 00:00:56,079 --> 00:00:59,840 when we wanted to watch the clouds. And the land was owned by Miss 12 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,920 Lyndall, who had fenced it off, but he was a neighbor of ours 13 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,000 who lived down the road, and he had given us permission to play wherever 14 00:01:07,079 --> 00:01:12,359 we wanted. The meadow included its own pond that was roughly an acre in 15 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:17,359 size, and we spent as much time fishing and playing around it as we 16 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,719 did our own pond, and that was where we were headed. The day 17 00:01:19,719 --> 00:01:25,200 that we had our first encounter. My sister, who was ten at the 18 00:01:25,239 --> 00:01:29,640 time, decided it would be a great place to play that day. Our 19 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,879 neighbor friend and I weren't going to argue, so off we set, and, 20 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,239 pretending to be on a safari, we hacked our way through the timber 21 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,319 that had become a fearsome jungle full of venomous snakes and giant spiders and man 22 00:01:42,359 --> 00:01:48,439 eating tigers and howler monkeys screaming overhead, and sunlight broke through the edge of 23 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,040 the woods, and we paused to stare out across the white savannah, where 24 00:01:52,079 --> 00:01:57,959 the neighbor's dairy cattle became zebras and giraffes and elephants and rhinos. I checked 25 00:01:57,959 --> 00:02:01,879 the BB gun that I converted to a buffalo rifle to make sure I had 26 00:02:01,959 --> 00:02:07,920 enough AMMO, and then I advised my fellow adventurers to do the same. 27 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:14,560 We were headed into uncharted territory. Now there was a watering hole up ahead, 28 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:17,159 but first we would have to make it to the thorny umbrella tree, 29 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:22,439 and once there we would edge our way across the reeds of the pond and 30 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,919 carefully pick our way past the giant crocodiles waiting there to eat us whole. 31 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:30,680 And then there would be a hippopotamus that might come charging out of the water 32 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:35,759 to run us down on the land and grab us with their huge, gaping 33 00:02:35,879 --> 00:02:39,599 jaws. But we were ready for them. After all, we were carrying 34 00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:46,199 the same rifles that had killed tarannosauruses the day before. My sister lifted her 35 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:52,159 finger to her mouth to indicate absolute silence as we quietly worked our way around 36 00:02:52,199 --> 00:02:54,960 the far side of the pond, where we were sure that we would capture 37 00:02:55,080 --> 00:03:00,840 the giant anaconda that had been eating all the villagers, and then we would 38 00:03:00,879 --> 00:03:05,919 take part in a big celebration and be treated as he rose. But imagine 39 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,000 our surprise when as we rounded the far side of the pond we noticed a 40 00:03:09,039 --> 00:03:14,719 man with a red beard sitting there fishing. He wasn't there when we were 41 00:03:14,759 --> 00:03:17,960 battling the crocodiles, at least, we had not seen him, and we 42 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,800 didn't notice him during the great Hippo uprising. He wasn't there then. He 43 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:30,560 was What are you kids doing here? He growled at us. We're playing, 44 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,919 My sister said, defiantly, after all, we had permission to be 45 00:03:35,039 --> 00:03:38,840 there. Well, you need to leave, he demanded. The owner of 46 00:03:38,879 --> 00:03:43,639 this land doesn't like people out here. Mister Lindall, lets us play out 47 00:03:43,639 --> 00:03:47,560 here whenever we want. My sister argued, well, I'm the caretaker here, 48 00:03:47,719 --> 00:03:53,400 the man said, and I say get back. Then. Kids didn't 49 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:55,719 argue with adults, and we had already done more of that than we were 50 00:03:55,759 --> 00:04:00,639 comfortable with. The old man had frightened us. We did what any kids 51 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:05,439 would have done. We took tail and ran, and at home we called 52 00:04:05,479 --> 00:04:11,879 mister Lindall and told him what happened. I'm the only caretaker on my land, 53 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,240 he assured us. I don't know who that man is, but I 54 00:04:15,319 --> 00:04:18,120 promise you, anytime you kids want, you can play in that meadow. 55 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:24,639 It was an odd incident, but we were children, and children are resilient. 56 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,800 Life went on as it always did, and we never gave another thought 57 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,959 to the strange man by the pond. Several years later, when I was 58 00:04:33,079 --> 00:04:38,800 seventeen, I was dating a guy named Tony who liked to hunt, and 59 00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:42,519 my dad gave him permission to hunt that twenty acre patch of woods where my 60 00:04:42,639 --> 00:04:46,680 sister and I played as kids. One morning he came back from squirrel hunting, 61 00:04:46,759 --> 00:04:51,199 and he shared a strange story with us. It was the weirdest thing, 62 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,959 he said. I hadn't been out there long, and I know I 63 00:04:56,079 --> 00:05:00,759 was all alone. I had to move slowly because every step I told crunched 64 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,079 in the leaves. No matter how careful I was, it was impossible to 65 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:09,120 be completely quiet. And that's why I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked 66 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:13,079 up and I saw that man just standing there. It was like he appeared 67 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,519 out of thin air. He described the man as having a red beard, 68 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,279 and right away Tony asked him what he was doing there on private land, 69 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:27,160 and the man answered that he was a caretaker of the land. A cold 70 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,480 chill ran down my spine as I immediately was taken back to that day by 71 00:05:30,519 --> 00:05:38,040 the pond. Our man had a red beard. Our man proclaimed himself caretaker 72 00:05:38,079 --> 00:05:43,360 of the land. Was he the same guy? I told Tony my story, 73 00:05:43,399 --> 00:05:46,639 and we both marveled at the coincidence. We didn't speak about it much 74 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,720 after that, but over the years I thought often of that strange man. 75 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:57,600 Ten years later, Tony and I were married and we purchased the pond from 76 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:03,040 my dad. Dad had a The land had become neglected and overrun with multifloral 77 00:06:03,199 --> 00:06:09,079 roses and saplings. The dam that kept the water in the pond had long 78 00:06:09,199 --> 00:06:13,879 since washed away, leaving the water level very low. The land was no 79 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,720 longer in its prime. For the next twenty years, we set out to 80 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:24,040 repair the dam and make the property a showplace. Tony put his whole heart 81 00:06:24,079 --> 00:06:27,439 and soul into it, and he cleared away the brush in the trees, 82 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,879 and he planted several gardens, and he built rock walls and installed well groomed 83 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:39,160 paths. Eventually we built a house overlooking the pond. But Tony never stopped 84 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:44,160 working on the land. And then one Saturday morning, he was out working 85 00:06:44,199 --> 00:06:47,360 in the gardens when movement caught his eye. He looked up and saw a 86 00:06:47,399 --> 00:06:53,240 man with a white beard standing on the hill. They locked eyes for a 87 00:06:53,319 --> 00:06:57,639 moment, and then he lifted his hand and gave Tony a thumbs up sign. 88 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,519 It was as if he was passing the mantle. We've been married for 89 00:07:02,519 --> 00:07:08,439 forty six years now, and since that Saturday morning, we've never seen the 90 00:07:08,519 --> 00:07:12,720 man again. I don't know where he came from or where he went. 91 00:07:13,279 --> 00:07:16,680 I don't expect that we'll ever see him again. He knows that Tony will 92 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:25,319 take care of things, and the land has a new caretaker now. When 93 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,360 I was a young child living in Bountiful, Utah, I remember driving up 94 00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:33,360 the street toward our house wants to see emergency lights lighting up the whole area. 95 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:38,959 Since it was a long straight street, we could see the red and 96 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:43,639 blue flashing lights from a long way off. The closer we got home, 97 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,839 the more concern my parents became, and it looked like those fire trucks and 98 00:07:46,839 --> 00:07:51,720 police cars were parked in front of our house. The relief they felt when 99 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:58,120 they realized that the emergency wasn't happening at our house was quickly replaced with fears 100 00:07:58,279 --> 00:08:03,120 for our neighbors. It was their house that had burned. The fire was 101 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,959 out by the time we got there, and burned furnishings were being thrown out 102 00:08:07,079 --> 00:08:13,240 of the upper story window into the yard, and I remember particularly seeing a 103 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:18,800 huge, singed teddy bear that I wished was mine. When we pulled up, 104 00:08:18,839 --> 00:08:22,040 the police environment asked my dad if he would come with them, apparently 105 00:08:22,079 --> 00:08:26,759 to identify a victim. I don't know why no one saw me following my 106 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:31,039 dad, but I remember seeing a fireman pulled back a blanket to reveal the 107 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:37,120 lady with a dirty face, and she was sleeping under it. That was 108 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:41,840 how my young mind processed it, and years later my mother was mortified when 109 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,679 I mentioned that I had followed dad across the yard and I had seen her. 110 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:50,919 I also remember seeing a man run across the yard to the officers in 111 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,159 front of his house. He was the husband of one of the two victims. 112 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,799 My dad only viewed one of the victims because the other one was apparently 113 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,960 beyond recognition. The woman I saw was found a few feet from the door, 114 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,279 as though she was trying to escape. She died of smoke inhalation, 115 00:09:09,759 --> 00:09:13,840 and her mother was found on the upper floor. She had fallen asleep while 116 00:09:13,879 --> 00:09:18,639 smoking in bed. For days after this, every time my siblings and I 117 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,840 went outside to play in our backyard, my mother would call us back into 118 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:28,519 the house. No amount of whining or arguing would change her mind. Even 119 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:35,360 got scolded once for sneaking back outside. Now this was unusual because Mom had 120 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,279 always pushed us out the door to go play and it kept us out of 121 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:43,159 her hair when she was doing housework. Back then, every week or so, 122 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:48,120 Grandma would come over and watch us so that mom and dad could have 123 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,159 a night out. A couple of days after the fire was one of those 124 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,600 nights. Suddenly, my grandmother got very upset and sent us to our rooms, 125 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,799 and we didn't know what we had done, but we were worried that 126 00:10:00,879 --> 00:10:05,679 we were going to be punished for upsetting grandma. When Mom and Dad got 127 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:11,360 home, we listened from our rooms as Grandma told her story through loud sobs. 128 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:15,600 We weren't clear on what she said, and Mom and Dad did not 129 00:10:15,799 --> 00:10:20,759 punish us, so we were left in the dark. The strange days following 130 00:10:20,799 --> 00:10:26,759 the fire remained a mystery to my siblings and I for years. Eventually, 131 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:31,440 when we were much older, it all came out in a conversation. Only 132 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:35,200 then did we learn why my mother acted so strangely and why my grandmother was 133 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:41,200 so upset. My mother had a gift. It came to her after an 134 00:10:41,279 --> 00:10:46,080 incident when she was eighteen. It isn't my place to share her story. 135 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:50,480 That experience scared her, However, it lifted the veil for her and she 136 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:56,759 was able to see those around us that others can't. The reason my mother 137 00:10:56,879 --> 00:11:01,000 kept calling us kids back inside when we were in the back yard was because 138 00:11:01,039 --> 00:11:05,720 the lady who fell asleep smoking was coming into our backyard and my mother could 139 00:11:05,759 --> 00:11:11,159 see her. She would call us inside because she was worried that the lady 140 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:15,639 would upset us, but we could not see her, though only my mother 141 00:11:15,759 --> 00:11:20,399 could. The situation with my grandmother was a bit different. What she had 142 00:11:20,399 --> 00:11:26,080 said to my parents through her tears was don't ask me to babysit your kids 143 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:30,919 as long as that dead woman is walking around. Your Dad and I immediately 144 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:35,879 looked at each other in surprise. Mom told us the only person I had 145 00:11:35,919 --> 00:11:39,679 said anything about the woman too, was our dad. Grandma had no way 146 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:45,480 of knowing what was going on, and this was confirmation to our dad that 147 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:50,440 our mom was telling the truth. The next day, Mom was in the 148 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:54,720 bedroom folding laundry when she started feeling like she was being watched. She looked 149 00:11:54,799 --> 00:12:00,200 up, expecting one of us kids to be standing there, but instead she 150 00:12:00,279 --> 00:12:05,320 came face to face with that woman. She said this was the only time 151 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,600 she had ever seen her inside our home, and she was surprised by the 152 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:16,039 unexpected trespass, and Mom got angry. She was a no nonsense kind of 153 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,440 person, and she could be a bit aggressive and in her anger. She 154 00:12:20,519 --> 00:12:24,399 confronted the ghostly entity by saying, what the hell are you doing in my 155 00:12:24,639 --> 00:12:30,279 house? And when the spirit didn't answer but gave her a confused look, 156 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,759 she added, don't you know that you're dead? You died in a fire 157 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:39,879 three days ago. You're not welcome here, so leave. It was the 158 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:46,200 last time my mom ever saw the woman's spirit. The man next door remarried. 159 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,679 Not long after that, his new wife and my mom became well acquainted. 160 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:56,480 She often confided in my mom that strange things often happened in her home, 161 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:01,080 things that she could not explain. One thing that bothered her a lot 162 00:13:01,279 --> 00:13:05,120 was the fact that she could never get the door to the upstairs bedroom to 163 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:09,080 open. No matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't open for her. 164 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,440 But when her husband tried it, it opened up without any trouble at all. 165 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:20,799 Reluctantly, and after a lot of internal debate, Mom eventually told a 166 00:13:20,879 --> 00:13:24,120 new wife about the ghost she had seen and in that room where she had 167 00:13:24,159 --> 00:13:30,720 died. Needless to say, the neighbors immediately moved away, most likely at 168 00:13:30,759 --> 00:13:35,039 the new wife's insistence. Mom did a little research after that, and she 169 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:39,399 didn't mention to anyone that the dead neighbor's ghost was hanging out in our backyard. 170 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,679 But she asked some other other neighbors a few questions and learned that the 171 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:48,559 woman who died but wouldn't leave had made herself such a nuisance to the people 172 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:52,639 who lived in our house before us that they moved to get away from her. 173 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,679 Well, Mom thought maybe that lady was coming to our house looking for 174 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:03,720 her friend who had moved. Years later, I was visiting my optometrist, 175 00:14:03,919 --> 00:14:09,399 whose office now sits directly across from where those two houses are. I struck 176 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:11,919 up a conversation with the ladies in the front office, and I told them 177 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:18,039 about the fire and the ghosts that kept visiting us. Afterwards, the next 178 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,240 time I came in for an appointment, my optometrist said, oh, by 179 00:14:22,279 --> 00:14:26,200 the way, thanks for telling my staff about that home across the street. 180 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:30,840 They won't go into the basement now, they say they're afraid because of your 181 00:14:30,919 --> 00:14:33,559 story. Now I'm the one who has to go down to the basement to 182 00:14:33,559 --> 00:14:41,159 get everything. Thanks. Recently, the entire block where these houses were located 183 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,679 was leveled to make room for new houses. I have an appointment with my 184 00:14:45,799 --> 00:14:50,320 optometrists soon. I know it isn't nice. But I'm tempted to ask them, 185 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:52,879 now that the old houses have been demolished, where do you think the 186 00:14:52,919 --> 00:14:58,840 ghosts have gone? Maybe they've moved over here. What can I say? 187 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:05,960 Everyone has to have a hobby. In nineteen eighty five, a friend and 188 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,679 I were tent camping in the Sierras at a place called Meadow Lake. We 189 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,919 set up along the shoreline and we spent our days four wheeling around the area. 190 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,159 At night, we would sit around the campfire and drink cold beer while 191 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:24,360 reliving the joys of the day's explorations. It was a great time that for 192 00:15:24,399 --> 00:15:28,720 the most part I remember with great fondness. It would have been a perfect 193 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:33,840 trip if not for one thing. On the last night, as we were 194 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,279 enjoying our beers around the fire, we began to hear some strange sounds from 195 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:43,000 across the lake. We were both fairly well versed in the sounds of nature 196 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,120 in that area, and neither of us was what you'd call a rookie, 197 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:52,840 but even so we could not rightly identify what was making these sounds. We 198 00:15:52,919 --> 00:15:56,759 each took turns speculating at what it could be, and then listened as the 199 00:15:56,799 --> 00:16:02,720 other one gave arguments as to why it could not be that. It was 200 00:16:02,759 --> 00:16:07,320 a strange whooping sound, definitely too loud to be any small creature like an 201 00:16:07,399 --> 00:16:11,440 owl or a fox. Even wolves seemed too small to make a sound like 202 00:16:11,519 --> 00:16:15,000 that, and I could see them making a sound similar to it, but 203 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:21,519 this was deeper and it sounded louder. Well. After a while we gave 204 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,840 up on trying to figure out what it was. Anyway, it was all 205 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,279 the way across the lake and we were tired, and it seemed to have 206 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:33,360 died down. Maybe whatever was out there had moved on. It was late, 207 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:38,240 and so we decided to turn in for the night. Sometime between one 208 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,080 and two a m. I woke up to the call of nature, and 209 00:16:42,159 --> 00:16:45,759 as I climbed out of my tent, I realized that my bladder wasn't the 210 00:16:45,799 --> 00:16:52,039 only thing calling. Something out there was making a weird woofing sound, and 211 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,159 it was closer now, and for the life of me, I still couldn't 212 00:16:55,159 --> 00:16:57,879 figure out what it was. I had to study for a minute whether I 213 00:16:57,919 --> 00:17:03,440 wanted to step into the tree line to relieve myself or not. My imagination 214 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:08,079 was taking over and I could picture multiple things out there whooping and growling, 215 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,599 and my mind was telling me it was big enough to eat me, and 216 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,960 hungry enough to do so while I was still breathing. But on the other 217 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,799 hand, my bladder was telling me to walk myself into the woods or explain 218 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:25,519 to my camping buddy why my sleeping bag was soaked and smelled of urine. 219 00:17:26,039 --> 00:17:30,559 So I went into the woods. I stood there in the dark, and 220 00:17:30,599 --> 00:17:34,039 I was aware that the sounds were coming from multiple directions. There was more 221 00:17:34,079 --> 00:17:38,839 than one, and that feeling of being watched crawled up my spine and blossomed 222 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:44,400 into goose bumps all over my body. My heart was beating a little too 223 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:48,440 fast, and my breath was coming a little too hard, and I hurried 224 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,839 back to the tent and nearly jumped out of my skin when a disembodied voice 225 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,319 asked, do you hear that? Well? It was my buddy, and 226 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,519 he too had been awakened and was feeling about as concerned as I was. 227 00:18:02,839 --> 00:18:07,000 We spent a few minutes trying to locate the calls determine how many of them 228 00:18:07,039 --> 00:18:10,200 there might be out there, and then we built up the fire that we 229 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:15,119 had let die down earlier. I loaded my rifle and took it into the 230 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:18,400 tent with me, and my buddy did the same with a large caliber handgun. 231 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,279 We didn't sleep much that night, and as we laid there listening, 232 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:30,119 something walked around the camp inside the tree line. Occasional grunting sounds followed. 233 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:36,200 The crunching of the leaves and twigs, and those whooping howls continued until nearly 234 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:41,640 sunrise, and then it all stopped. Once the sun had cleared the horizon, 235 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,720 we climbed out of the tent. We swallowed down some hastily made coffee, 236 00:18:45,759 --> 00:18:51,839 and we packed up and we left. It's forty years later and I 237 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,759 still don't have an answer for what we heard that night. I suspect that 238 00:18:55,839 --> 00:18:59,640 I know, but how can I prove it. Most people wouldn't believe me. 239 00:19:00,079 --> 00:19:02,680 Those who do, half of them would tell me my life was in 240 00:19:02,759 --> 00:19:06,079 deep danger that night, while the other half would tell me I was a 241 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,599 fool not to load up a peace pipe and pow wow with the damn thing. 242 00:19:10,799 --> 00:19:14,839 That's the problem. When something has never been identified, recognized, and 243 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:22,759 classified, you could never know for sure. All right, A couple of 244 00:19:22,839 --> 00:19:26,880 videos, I'm sorry, a couple of videos. Back. I did a 245 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,759 story and at the end of the story, I said, sounds like a 246 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,839 ghost dog man and just I don't know. Off the hip, I said, 247 00:19:36,519 --> 00:19:40,400 somebody write me a story about a ghost dog man or a dog man 248 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:44,279 ghost, and believe it or not, someone did. Now, this person 249 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:49,119 has sent a story before, and I didn't do it because in the introduction 250 00:19:49,279 --> 00:19:55,200 of their email they said they had sent it to me and another channel that 251 00:19:55,319 --> 00:20:00,559 does this. Whenever I get those, I just delete those emails to the 252 00:20:00,599 --> 00:20:03,920 other channel and let them have it because I have so many to do. 253 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,680 I have over two thousand now. I have write out two thousand emails in 254 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:15,559 my inbox. Probably fifteen hundred of them I have not even opened, but 255 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,839 I know they have stories in them, and I'm guessing out of that two 256 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:23,319 thousand, there's probably about twelve hundred stories. The rest of the emails are 257 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:27,839 just emails that I haven't been able to get to. It's hard to keep 258 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:32,559 up with all these emails, but I save them in my inbox and they're 259 00:20:32,599 --> 00:20:36,519 there. Anyway. I'm getting off on a tangent, but this person wrote 260 00:20:36,599 --> 00:20:41,319 a story about a ghost dog man and I haven't read it all. I'm 261 00:20:41,359 --> 00:20:45,119 just going to read it cold. It's fiction. Obviously, I've read a 262 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:48,000 couple of paragraphs of it, and it's really good. So you guys, 263 00:20:48,039 --> 00:20:51,599 hang on to the old weaves. It's going to be a good He watched 264 00:20:51,599 --> 00:20:55,039 from the shadow of the woods. It's all he could do now, just 265 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:59,759 watch and wait and plan. He once had a body. He didn't know 266 00:20:59,799 --> 00:21:03,880 how long ago it had been. Even when he had a solid form, 267 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,960 he barely noticed the passing of time. Now time had no meaning at all. 268 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:12,519 When he slept, it wasn't really sleep, as he had no body 269 00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:17,920 to lie down nor eyes to close. But during the day he sometimes would 270 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,960 drift in his mind into the memories of when he was solid and strong. 271 00:21:22,039 --> 00:21:26,839 He would escape into the past, when his muscles were bulging and his teeth 272 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:32,039 were razors sharp and his claws could tear through metal. He remembered when he 273 00:21:32,079 --> 00:21:34,720 would chase down elk or moose, and the taste of their blood in the 274 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:40,000 back of his throat. He thought it would last forever, and he feared 275 00:21:40,039 --> 00:21:44,200 nothing and no one. Beasts and man were nothing to him but food and 276 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:48,680 entertainment, and when his stomach was full, he would feed on their fear. 277 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:53,759 His appetites were insatiable. Back then, the villagers knew that he was 278 00:21:53,759 --> 00:21:59,079 in the woods, stalking them, taking them at will to feed on or 279 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,119 to toy with it as he pleased. Their paranoia and uneased was a constant 280 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:08,240 supply, filling the emptiness in his soul. He had laughed at the night 281 00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:14,119 they came for him with their pitchforks and muskets. The whole village poured into 282 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,480 the forest. Oh what fun, he thought, What a fantastic game. 283 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:22,920 He would let some of them live so he could savor their fear and despair. 284 00:22:25,319 --> 00:22:29,839 He hadn't seen the old woman they protected in their midst Even if he 285 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,160 had seen her, he would have discarded the ancient, tiny human, so 286 00:22:33,359 --> 00:22:37,079 bent over with age, she looked like nothing more than an old, twisted 287 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,480 root. But if he had paid any attention to her, he would have 288 00:22:41,559 --> 00:22:48,279 felt the ancient power coming off her in waves. As it was, he 289 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:52,039 was reveling in the delight of the chase, and he would let the men 290 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:56,160 corner him, and then, just as they descended on him in triumph, 291 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,720 he would surge forward, slashing with his claws and biting with his teeth, 292 00:23:00,039 --> 00:23:04,799 and he would bathe in the spray of their blood. If he hadn't been 293 00:23:04,839 --> 00:23:08,359 so arrogant, he might have noticed the old woman in the sun. She 294 00:23:08,519 --> 00:23:12,480 was making in the air. The traces of light would follow her hands as 295 00:23:12,519 --> 00:23:18,599 she made intricate designs, enchanted words so old only the rocks remembered their origin. 296 00:23:19,839 --> 00:23:23,279 He had not been reveling in the gore of his fallen victims, he 297 00:23:23,319 --> 00:23:29,240 would have seen her draw an old blade from under her cloak. Even if 298 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,319 he had seen it, he would have laughed at the antique blade. It 299 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:37,640 was old and dull, notched with a simple wooden handle, and it seemed 300 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:42,000 to hold no threat to him at all. The men had started to cower 301 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,279 and run, and he was in his glory, and they clumped together in 302 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:51,279 their last stand, so he didn't notice when the men parted and the ancient 303 00:23:51,319 --> 00:23:56,599 woman stepped out with an old secret word and plunged the knife into his heart. 304 00:23:57,319 --> 00:24:00,640 He wouldn't have fought. The old friendl woman had enough strength to kill 305 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,799 a puppy, But the blade bit into him and sank through his thick skin, 306 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:11,640 piercing his life's source. For the first and last time. He felt 307 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,480 real pain, and he felt real fear for the first time, but it 308 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:22,119 would not be his last. He couldn't remember what happened next, He just 309 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,119 remembered coming too much later. He was confused and afraid, and he had 310 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:30,920 never felt these things before, and he hated it, and he wanted revenge, 311 00:24:32,519 --> 00:24:36,519 and he saw red as he raced through the woods toward the village. 312 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,839 He would tear down that old crone limb from limb, But first he would 313 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,880 find her many children and eviscerate them in front of her, and then he 314 00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:48,200 would take his time with that old woman who dared to bring fear and pain 315 00:24:48,519 --> 00:24:53,359 upon him. Upon arriving at the village, he didn't even try to hide 316 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,200 himself, so he was very surprised when the people did not react to his 317 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:03,200 presence. Then would look at him, but it was like they were looking 318 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,160 through him. He could tell some of them since his presence their eyes would 319 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:11,000 dart about, looking for the source of their unease. But it wasn't until 320 00:25:11,039 --> 00:25:17,440 he came upon the offspring of the old woman that he was seen. The 321 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,279 old woman, summoned by her children, came out of her hut and spoken 322 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:26,400 to the darkness, you are vanished from this place. You have no power 323 00:25:26,519 --> 00:25:30,240 over us, and I command you to go back into the darkness. From 324 00:25:30,319 --> 00:25:34,079 whence you came. I took your body from you, and you know you 325 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:38,599 were doomed to roam the earth and able to hurt humans any longer. Go 326 00:25:38,759 --> 00:25:45,519 now to your eternal damnation and leave the living bee. You are not welcome 327 00:25:45,559 --> 00:25:49,319 here. And with that, the old woman turned her back on him and 328 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:56,160 went inside her hut. He had never been so insulted and angry, and 329 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:00,200 he raged and screamed and howled. He was soaked ground with their blood. 330 00:26:00,559 --> 00:26:03,799 But when he tried to grab the old woman's son and tear his head from 331 00:26:03,839 --> 00:26:08,160 his body, his hands went right through the man. It was then that 332 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:14,079 he realized he no longer had form. They had taken his body somehow, 333 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:17,920 and all that was left was his thoughts and his shadow where his bone and 334 00:26:18,039 --> 00:26:22,519 muscle once were. For years, he sat in the forest and stewed in 335 00:26:22,599 --> 00:26:27,079 his anger. His hatred grew as he watched the old woman grow even older, 336 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:32,680 until she finally passed away. And it was an empty victory when she 337 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:37,079 passed. There was no triumph for him in the neutral way of things, 338 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:41,240 only in fear and chaos. He stayed at the far edges of the village, 339 00:26:41,559 --> 00:26:45,400 and her children could see him, and if he tried to infiltrate their 340 00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:49,640 homes to use what little power he had left, which was fear. They 341 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,880 would make the same symbol in the air and speak the ancient words, and 342 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:59,160 he was forced deeper back into the woods. So he watched, and he 343 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:03,200 waited in his hunger, and his anger grew by the day, and by 344 00:27:03,240 --> 00:27:08,640 the decade. He satisfied himself by singling out those who wandered too far into 345 00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:15,440 the forest. He used his only power left, fear. No one could 346 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,079 see him anymore, not since the old Woman had passed out of the memory 347 00:27:18,079 --> 00:27:22,079 of the living. A few could sense him, and he delighted in these 348 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:26,920 few. He would stalk them through the forest and feed on their uncertainty and 349 00:27:27,039 --> 00:27:32,759 u knees. But then came a time that even the old woman's descendants could 350 00:27:32,759 --> 00:27:37,319 not even sense him, and they walked through the woods freely. They cut 351 00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:40,240 down the trees, and they built homes, and he could do nothing but 352 00:27:40,319 --> 00:27:45,680 watch from the shadows and curse his impotence. Every now and then a child 353 00:27:45,759 --> 00:27:49,799 would be born that could sense him, and he would have to satisfy himself 354 00:27:49,839 --> 00:27:55,359 with tormenting their minds. But that's all he could do. He no longer 355 00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:00,359 had the power to physically affect them, until one day a boy was born 356 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,119 that could see him. Oh, what a glorious day that was. He 357 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:07,920 watched the young boy grow, and he watched the boy's love for the forest 358 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,559 also grow. And when he was a small boy, he was always accompanied 359 00:28:12,559 --> 00:28:17,279 by his father or his uncles as they taught him the ways of the woods. 360 00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,519 He waited patiently, as he did not want the boy to be forbidden 361 00:28:21,519 --> 00:28:26,319 to enter into the deep forest. And finally the day came when the boy 362 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:30,680 was grown enough and the men allowed him to enter the woods alone. And 363 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:33,519 looking back, he wished he had been more patient, But he had waited 364 00:28:33,559 --> 00:28:38,119 for so very long that he attacked immediately, forgetting that his claws and teeth 365 00:28:38,319 --> 00:28:45,680 had no more force than smoking fog. The boy fled in terror back to 366 00:28:45,759 --> 00:28:48,759 a safe house, and he never entered the forest again, and he grew 367 00:28:48,839 --> 00:28:52,839 to be a man. And then he left for many, many years, 368 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,400 And when the man's father died, he came back with a wife and a 369 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:00,480 small baby girl to live in the family home. Now he had been so 370 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,960 alone for so many years, having this new family to watch as his delight, 371 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:10,519 and in this family he could find a way to exact his revenge and 372 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:17,160 satisfy the never ending hunger inside of him. He soon learned that the baby 373 00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:21,960 girl could not only see him, but she could sense him nearby. Oh. 374 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,279 He had not felt this alive since the old Crone took his body. 375 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:30,640 He had been the Apex predator for millennia. The mere mention of him sent 376 00:29:30,759 --> 00:29:34,240 humans fleeing in panic. But he had long been forgotten and was lost from 377 00:29:34,319 --> 00:29:38,920 the minds of men, and being seen again was a powerful thing, and 378 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:45,160 he started to feel some of his strength return. The man would leave in 379 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,160 the morning in his big, shiny car, and the wife would bring the 380 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:52,559 baby into the backyard to play on most days, and he would watch for 381 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,680 hours long after they went inside, and he would stand and look in the 382 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,680 windows, And when they played outside, the mother would some time look up 383 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:03,559 and scan the trees, and then she would hurry the little girl inside, 384 00:30:04,279 --> 00:30:07,799 and he could smell the ancient blood in the mother, but it was weak, 385 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:12,359 it was a deluded trace, but still it was just enough for her 386 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:17,799 to fill goose bumps if he got too close, and he loved every minute 387 00:30:17,799 --> 00:30:22,920 of it. When that would happen, the little girl had usually already been 388 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:27,079 watching him she could see him clearly. It excited him, but she was 389 00:30:27,119 --> 00:30:33,359 not afraid, not yet. He thought he would soon change that, and 390 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,359 as the girl grew, the mother started taking her into the woods on walks. 391 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,720 They wouldn't go far at first, but that was okay. He had 392 00:30:41,759 --> 00:30:45,839 plenty of time. He had nothing but time. They discovered a pond not 393 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,759 far into the forest, and they would come almost every day during the warm 394 00:30:49,799 --> 00:30:55,039 season, and the mother would let the little girl splash in the sandy shallows 395 00:30:55,079 --> 00:30:59,599 as she sat on her rock nearby. He got bolder, and he would 396 00:30:59,599 --> 00:31:03,960 get close and closer to the pair, and the mother would start to sense 397 00:31:03,039 --> 00:31:07,359 him, and he would feel her fear. Oh, the feelings that awoke 398 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:12,039 feelings of strength, and he missed that power to make humans heart race with 399 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:17,359 terror and their blood run cold. But he had to be careful. He 400 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:22,559 didn't want to stop them coming like the man did years ago. One day, 401 00:31:22,559 --> 00:31:26,640 he heard the footsteps in the woods, and he felt his nonexistent pulse 402 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,559 quicken. He hadn't felt this real in so long, and today was going 403 00:31:30,599 --> 00:31:36,759 to be the day. Even the unease and feelings of paranoia had been enough 404 00:31:36,759 --> 00:31:41,359 to start returning his strength to him, but to his surprise. It wasn't 405 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,440 just the mother and the little girl, but the father was with them, 406 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,240 and the man's face was filled with uncertainty. Even all these years later, 407 00:31:49,279 --> 00:31:53,039 he was so used to being unseen that he had not tried to hide himself 408 00:31:53,079 --> 00:31:56,799 in a long time. So he stood in the open next to the pond. 409 00:31:56,799 --> 00:32:02,799 As the small family emerged from the trees. The little girl smiled at 410 00:32:02,839 --> 00:32:07,440 him and started to run in his direction, but her mother, sensing something 411 00:32:07,519 --> 00:32:13,000 wrong, held her child back. The father looked to see what his family 412 00:32:13,119 --> 00:32:16,200 was reacting to, and the blood drained from his face, and the man 413 00:32:16,319 --> 00:32:22,240 grabbed his wife and daughter and he fled back to the house. The beast's 414 00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:28,759 rage was immeasurable. His prize had been taken from him, his moment of 415 00:32:28,839 --> 00:32:34,000 triumph had been destroyed. His hatred was renewed. When he slept, and 416 00:32:34,079 --> 00:32:37,839 he dreapt about the night the old woman had taken his body from him, 417 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,799 but he could do nothing but rage and howl from the woods, unable to 418 00:32:40,839 --> 00:32:45,519 affect the physical world. None of the family returned to the woods, and 419 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:51,680 soon after workmen came and they dug a hole in their backyard. They made 420 00:32:51,759 --> 00:32:54,759 walls of cement and tile and filled it with water. And after that the 421 00:32:54,799 --> 00:33:00,519 mother and the little girl swam in the backyard and no longer returned to the 422 00:33:00,559 --> 00:33:05,920 little pond. This made him angry. It had been so long just watching 423 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,240 the world, unable to interact with it, and this man had taken away 424 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:15,960 what little pleasure he had. That night, he stormed into the backyard and 425 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,680 he slashed and bit at the contraption that was attached to the pond they had 426 00:33:20,759 --> 00:33:25,359 made. He ripped with his teeth as he growled and raged into surprise and 427 00:33:25,440 --> 00:33:30,119 delight when a gash appeared in the hose that fed the water to the pool. 428 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,839 He had never before been able to do this. A sense of satisfaction 429 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,079 crept over him. The next day, when the mother and the girl went 430 00:33:39,119 --> 00:33:43,559 to swim in their backyard, they saw the damage, and the mother was 431 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,200 angry. And when the man came home he could feel the rage from where 432 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:51,720 he was far in the trees. This was exciting to the beast, and 433 00:33:51,759 --> 00:33:55,000 he found a way to cause more fear and panic, and he could feel 434 00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:00,000 his strength returning, and he could almost feel the blood pumping through his horse. 435 00:34:00,559 --> 00:34:04,119 But to his disappointment, the workmen came and repaired the damage that he 436 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:08,360 had done, and life went on for the family. He was furious, 437 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:13,480 and he tried to destroy the contraption again, but he could not manage the 438 00:34:13,519 --> 00:34:17,079 destruction that he did the first night, and he raged and hailed through the 439 00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:21,760 night, and the neighbor's dogs took up the call, and his own cries 440 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:25,000 were drowned out by the apping of the lesser canines, which only made him 441 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:31,079 more furious. For years he watched this family, and his fury and his 442 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:37,599 hatred grew day by day and year by year. The little girl was now 443 00:34:37,679 --> 00:34:40,079 almost an adult, and it seemed she had many friends, and they would 444 00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:45,559 visit often. He was often successful at scaring the friends, not that they 445 00:34:45,599 --> 00:34:49,519 could see him, of course, but once in a while they could sense 446 00:34:49,599 --> 00:34:52,440 him, and the hair on the back of their necks would rise and they 447 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,360 would become fearful. But the girl, who he knew could sense him, 448 00:34:55,760 --> 00:35:00,280 never seemed afreed. He would contend him so off with a small triumph. 449 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:06,280 As he waited eternally in the darkness. Many nights, he would go to 450 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,840 the window of the girl and scratch on the glass, and she would look 451 00:35:08,920 --> 00:35:13,199 up from her book and give a glance at the window, but he never 452 00:35:13,199 --> 00:35:17,079 felt the rising fear in her like he did in the others. This frustrated 453 00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:22,760 and intrigued him, and by now the girl only came to the house during 454 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:25,599 the summer, and in the fall she would leave with bags packed full of 455 00:35:25,599 --> 00:35:30,760 her stuff. She would not return to stay until the spring had come, 456 00:35:30,159 --> 00:35:34,880 and he would spend these long winters alone in the darkness of the deep woods, 457 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,159 stewing in his hatred. One summer, he was in the backyard watching 458 00:35:39,159 --> 00:35:44,360 the house as the girl had just returned home. He had been doing nothing 459 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:47,960 but watch. He hadn't even tried to scare her. He was just glad 460 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:52,719 to have something to fill his empty thoughts. And the moon had set and 461 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:57,920 the world was inky black, but he did not need light to see. 462 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:01,519 And suddenly he sensed another presence. It was not the man, not the 463 00:36:01,559 --> 00:36:07,039 wife, but it was something else. It was human. It was barely 464 00:36:07,079 --> 00:36:09,519 a thought, and it was creeping toward the house from the far side of 465 00:36:09,519 --> 00:36:14,199 the garage. And he could sense the man strongly, and he could hear 466 00:36:14,239 --> 00:36:17,679 the man's thoughts. And the man had come for the girl. He was 467 00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:22,000 a child of darkness and understood all that that held, and this man. 468 00:36:22,119 --> 00:36:27,400 Although he was of the darkness, he was not the same. The man 469 00:36:27,519 --> 00:36:30,840 was of decay and rot and perversion. And the twisted mind of the man 470 00:36:30,920 --> 00:36:35,360 and the joy he took and hurting others was not the same as his own 471 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:42,280 lust for fear and pain, And this man disgusted him. Where he longed 472 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,519 for the taste of blood in the back of his throat and the feel of 473 00:36:45,559 --> 00:36:51,159 his claws slicing through organs and flesh. This man wanted their pain, and 474 00:36:51,239 --> 00:36:55,000 he wanted to satisfy his own mortal urges. And the man was coming for 475 00:36:55,119 --> 00:37:00,800 the girl. The girl's parents had left for the night, and the man 476 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:04,679 had known this, and she was in the house alone. And the man 477 00:37:04,760 --> 00:37:07,480 crept silently to the back door, and after a moment, he broke the 478 00:37:07,519 --> 00:37:13,000 lock, and then slid opened the door and silently snuck into the house. 479 00:37:14,679 --> 00:37:17,840 At first, he was excited. This man would surely strike fear into the 480 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:22,800 girl, and he would feast for a week. He could watch as the 481 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:24,800 blood flowed, but he would not be able to taste it himself, he 482 00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:30,199 thought, and suddenly he was more angry than he had ever imagined. This 483 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:35,960 man, this human, would not offer the girl death, not anytime soon. 484 00:37:36,079 --> 00:37:39,119 Anyway, he went into the man's thoughts, and he did not like 485 00:37:39,199 --> 00:37:44,079 it in the man's head. He did not like the feeling of sickness, 486 00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:47,239 the decay of a mind. And the man might be a predator, but 487 00:37:47,280 --> 00:37:52,239 he was not a predator. He was a coward. The man was weak. 488 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,920 His only power was to hide in the shadows and strike when no one 489 00:37:55,960 --> 00:38:00,679 knows around to stop him. And he could not bear that the girl's life 490 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:06,199 would be taken by such a disgusting being. She belonged to him, She 491 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:09,519 was of the ancient blood, and she was his. She deserved better than 492 00:38:09,559 --> 00:38:15,079 to be taken by a creature so weak and undeserving. He raced into the 493 00:38:15,119 --> 00:38:19,840 house. He had not been constrained by walls in a very long time, 494 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:22,679 but he had not wanted to acknowledge his lack of true form, so he 495 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:27,960 had seldom walked through the walls into the house. But he did so tonight 496 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,320 without a second thought. And the man stood now over the girl's bed as 497 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:36,760 she slept, And the man was just watching her with growing excitement, thinking 498 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:39,039 about all the things that he would do once he got her into his hidden 499 00:38:39,159 --> 00:38:45,039 layer. And his hatred of the man was palpable, and his rage made 500 00:38:45,079 --> 00:38:51,400 him feel solid again. Several things happened all at once. It wasn't sure 501 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:54,880 which happened first. Perhaps it was his howl, perhaps it was the sharp 502 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:59,920 intake of the breath from the man, or perhaps the girl's instincts knew to 503 00:39:00,199 --> 00:39:02,760 Waker, but she sat up in bed just as he launched at the man. 504 00:39:05,039 --> 00:39:07,639 The girl did not scream, but clutched at her covers and drew back 505 00:39:07,679 --> 00:39:12,159 to the corner of the bed. And he grabbed the man by the throat, 506 00:39:12,199 --> 00:39:15,599 and his claws raked against the man's ribs as his teeth found purchase in 507 00:39:15,679 --> 00:39:21,039 his throat, and it felt so real to him, like when he had 508 00:39:21,079 --> 00:39:23,280 a solid form, that he could taste the blood in the back of his 509 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:28,239 throat, the hot, tangy, with the taste of copper, and with 510 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:32,719 the man's terror. It wasn't until he spared a glance to the girl that 511 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:37,880 he realized the man's blood really was flowing out of his body. Some of 512 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:42,400 it had sprayed onto the girl, and he thought she had never looked so 513 00:39:42,559 --> 00:39:46,039 beautiful. And she sat there, terror in her eyes, covered in a 514 00:39:46,079 --> 00:39:51,519 spray of blood, and in his shock, he stopped the attack, and 515 00:39:51,559 --> 00:39:54,480 looked down in his own body, and he could see his long arms and 516 00:39:54,599 --> 00:39:59,960 huge hands, and his sharp claws, now bright red with the man's life 517 00:40:00,159 --> 00:40:04,480 blood. And he could even see his own shadow on the wall, and 518 00:40:04,519 --> 00:40:08,159 his pointed ears, and his long snout and a sharp profile. And he 519 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:14,639 was so stunned that he froze. The man now lay on the ground next 520 00:40:14,639 --> 00:40:17,840 to the girl's bed, no longer breathing. His throat ripped open and his 521 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:23,400 ribs exposed, and the backpack he carried spilled open, and its contents littered 522 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:29,239 the floor. There was duct tape, blindfold, There were zipties and other 523 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:35,159 such things that were scattered about. The girl's eyes opened wide with understanding, 524 00:40:35,199 --> 00:40:37,840 and then she lifted her head to look at him, and to his surprise, 525 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:43,079 the fear in her eyes was gone, and it was replaced with something 526 00:40:43,119 --> 00:40:49,039 else, something he did not recognize. He thought he should feel rage and 527 00:40:49,159 --> 00:40:53,119 anger at the fact that she was not afraid. Now she should be afraid. 528 00:40:53,159 --> 00:40:59,039 He thought he was so fearsome to the whole village that they would cower 529 00:40:59,119 --> 00:41:01,880 at a mere glint of him. Yet here she was looking at him with 530 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:07,280 no fear, no panic, no terror. But he didn't feel angry. 531 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:13,559 He felt seen. In his confusion, all he could think was that he 532 00:41:13,639 --> 00:41:15,960 wanted to be back into the forest, deep out into the woods again. 533 00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:22,400 He should be celebrating, he should be savoring his kill, his victory. 534 00:41:22,239 --> 00:41:25,599 He had longed for the moment like this since the ninth the villagers came for 535 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:30,679 him. Yet he didn't feel any of that. He did not understand what 536 00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:35,079 was happening, and he turned to flee through the door because he did not 537 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:37,719 want to walk through the wall. He did not want this girl to see 538 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:43,320 the humiliation and the proof of his weakness. And as he was turning to 539 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:47,000 go, the girl called out to him, thank you. I always knew 540 00:41:47,039 --> 00:41:52,039 you were there. I knew you were my guardian angels, sent to protect 541 00:41:52,079 --> 00:41:55,679 me no matter what anyone said. And with that he fled back into the 542 00:41:55,719 --> 00:42:02,559 depths of the forest. Okay, that was kind of a dramatic story. 543 00:42:02,719 --> 00:42:07,199 It was a really good fictional horror story. And this woman came up with 544 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,760 this like within a couple of days after I said, Hey, somebody write 545 00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:15,440 me a dog man ghost story, and she took it to heart. I 546 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:19,599 appreciate this so much. I just got it yesterday and I thought I have 547 00:42:19,719 --> 00:42:22,039 got to read this. Thank you so much for writing this. To the 548 00:42:22,079 --> 00:42:25,679 writer, she said, there's no I think it's a woman. I think 549 00:42:25,719 --> 00:42:30,159 from her email name, I think it's a woman. So I'm just if 550 00:42:30,199 --> 00:42:34,960 I've got that wrong. I'm sorry to the writer. But what a great 551 00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,960 story. Thank you so much for doing this. For writing this, I 552 00:42:38,079 --> 00:42:40,239 just loved it. I loved it, and I was kind of long, 553 00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:44,280 but I hope you guys enjoyed it. This was kind of a spur of 554 00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:46,400 the moment thing, she wrote. I don't know what else to say about 555 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:51,679 it. I really loved it, so thanks. I hope you all enjoyed 556 00:42:51,719 --> 00:42:55,679 that podcast. I appreciate you clicking on the video or the podcast, and 557 00:42:55,719 --> 00:43:00,039 there weren't many comments by me, which some people will appreciate. I'll do 558 00:43:00,079 --> 00:43:05,320 a few of those like that and just read the story because there are people 559 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:08,000 who don't like to hear me run my mouth, which is perfectly fine, 560 00:43:08,079 --> 00:43:13,360 perfectly fine. Don't hurt my feelings a bit. But there's one without the 561 00:43:13,559 --> 00:43:15,280 commentary. Hope you enjoyed it, and we'll see you guys on the next 562 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:15,960 one. Thank you.