WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:05.559 The lonely swing set out in the field was moving 2 00:00:05.559 --> 00:00:08.519 in the darkness, and all I could do was stare 3 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:18.160 through the kitchen window. It was another January at home, 4 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:20.600 but what used to be my home and then turned 5 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:24.440 into it again, this time though there was no family around, 6 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:28.760 no parents, and almost no neighbors. My parents refused to 7 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:31.600 sell it, despite it being worth almost a million dollars 8 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:35.359 by the time they were older. Instead, they died in it, 9 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:38.799 and now it was mine to sell, well half of it, 10 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:44.359 at least. It was large, too big for me and 11 00:00:44.479 --> 00:00:48.560 unnecessary for them. They stopped cleaning the upstairs area, where 12 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.679 the dust and cobwebs made it unlivable for me, so 13 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:55.520 I too started avoiding it. They had a room by 14 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:58.479 the kitchen, a guest bedroom that I stayed in. It 15 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:02.200 had its own bathroom, its own entrance, even and at 16 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:05.280 times I would forget how long I had lived there. 17 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:10.280 It was every January when I would think that this year, really, 18 00:01:10.359 --> 00:01:13.079 this time I was going to sell it. 19 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:16.480 Now. 20 00:01:16.519 --> 00:01:19.439 This is the story of an inner haunting, whether inside 21 00:01:19.480 --> 00:01:22.079 of your own body or as an extension of it, 22 00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:28.000 a thing we can escape. My name is Edwin, and 23 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:35.760 here it's a scary story. The house had a large 24 00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:38.879 field out front a swing set too old for anyone 25 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:41.760 to use, but I remembered all those times out there 26 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:45.239 a barbecue grille filling up the air with white smoke, 27 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:48.120 only to disappear by the edge of the trees. My 28 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:50.319 cousins used to love coming over to the house to 29 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:52.719 play on that swing set, and as we got older, 30 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.239 we started adventuring into the wooded area right behind the house. 31 00:01:57.239 --> 00:01:59.400 The place where we would play hide and seek eventually 32 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:01.959 turn into play where we would only go and talk 33 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.519 about girls in high school drama. But like how things go, 34 00:02:06.680 --> 00:02:09.960 usually the successful ones left and soon it was only 35 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:13.919 me in town with my dreams of leaving two. I 36 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:17.400 guess that's what I'm working on now. It was a 37 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:21.680 twelfth or thirteenth January. Now the heater had stopped working, 38 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:24.520 so I was using a small electric heater thing that 39 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.560 would make the room smell like burnt plastic, one that 40 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:29.719 I had to watch out that it wouldn't set itself 41 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.400 to the highest wattage because it would trip the breaker, 42 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:38.159 and the breaker was upstairs. But aside from that, I 43 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.199 had little to take care of out in that house. 44 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.800 The guest bedroom, the kitchen, and that was that, though 45 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:47.319 I must admit I could never bring anyone to the 46 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:51.080 house very often. Some of my coworkers eventually found out 47 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:53.240 where I lived, and they would ask to host a 48 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:56.840 cookout or something out there. A few houses down in 49 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.919 the valley had fields like mine, maybe only a patty 50 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:02.599 and neighbors I would complain about not being able to 51 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:05.360 open up their windows, or that the music was too loud, 52 00:03:06.199 --> 00:03:10.400 that their baby was sleeping, or some other annoyingness. Not here, 53 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:13.599 I would come home, minding my own business. As I 54 00:03:13.639 --> 00:03:16.360 closed the gate, drove up as closed to the side 55 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:20.280 door as I could, and parked. I could yell as 56 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.719 loud as possible from my front door and no one 57 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:26.840 would hear me. But I came to find out that 58 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:32.000 maybe that wasn't such a good thing. An appraiser, right, 59 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.000 that was the thing I would need in order to 60 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.159 sell the house. But before getting that done, I would 61 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.879 have to clean up everything, remodel, get rid of my 62 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.719 parents nick knacks and the furniture I grew up with, 63 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:47.680 the one in all the photographs. But before getting rid 64 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:50.759 of things, I'd have to talk to my brother. He 65 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:52.719 was up to no good and would call me when 66 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:54.560 he remembered that we were sitting on some money with 67 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.280 that house. He would demand to sell. Then he would 68 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:00.639 forget about it. And remember again near the end of 69 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:04.639 the year, three children from two different women, balancing from 70 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:09.599 job to job, state to state, girlfriend to girlfriend. But 71 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:12.520 I would tell him this place needs work, no one's 72 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:13.759 gonna want to buy it, just like that. 73 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:17.480 But he didn't care, and I meant it. 74 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:19.639 He would forget about it and go back to his 75 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:23.120 own things while I dealt with the house, and as 76 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:25.959 you can imagine, it was quiet. I would arrive to 77 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.639 turn on the TV, open a can of coke, and 78 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:32.360 sit until I got hungry. Boy, I hated going to 79 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:35.240 that kitchen, even to this day. I think back on 80 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:37.199 it and wonder what the heck I was doing there. 81 00:04:38.199 --> 00:04:40.120 Not saying I would have done this, but it did 82 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:42.240 cross my mind to break open a hole in the 83 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:45.079 wall to go straight behind the refrigerator and get to 84 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:47.680 the kitchen that way, because what I had to do 85 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:50.360 was open up my door, get a clear view of 86 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:54.120 that living room. Old couches, portraits on the walls, mom's 87 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:59.040 old piano in the corner, dusty carpets and chairs, and 88 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:03.000 if it was dark, it would be even worse that 89 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:05.519 couldn't take it. I would have to turn on the 90 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:08.360 lights to that old area of the house. Lights would 91 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:10.519 slowly fade as you looked up the stairs and to 92 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.639 the second floor, the next level of darkness, where my 93 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:16.879 imagination would reach the barrier of what could never be. 94 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:20.759 Then I would walk to the kitchen and flick on 95 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:24.319 the lights to see the familiar sight the toaster, the 96 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.360 pitcher to heat water in the two plates, and a 97 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.360 mug neatly stacked on the drying rack. Everything would go 98 00:05:31.399 --> 00:05:35.040 back to normal then, though by knew somehow behind me, 99 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:37.800 in that dark living room and in that even darker 100 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:44.759 upstairs area, there was something an unfamiliar sight. Though it's 101 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.199 strange to think that of a house you grew up in. 102 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:53.560 Had me toasted bread and eggs that night for dinner. 103 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:56.560 It had been a long day at work, and our 104 00:05:56.600 --> 00:05:59.240 holiday events had been delayed in exchange for having the 105 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.240 time for peak sales at the end of the year. 106 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:05.040 Sure it was a weird time to have winter dinner 107 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:08.360 event in January, but with our commissioned paychecks coming in, 108 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:12.480 nobody seemed to mind it. I guess the day just 109 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.240 felt longer to me because of the higher ups trying 110 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:18.879 to cheap out on the venue, an outdoor event at 111 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:22.319 a regional park which was all dirt and probably frozen 112 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:24.000 in some areas. 113 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:25.040 I don't know. 114 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.399 The previous year, they had held it at a bar 115 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:29.879 and grill, one of those chain ones that all felt 116 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.519 the same. It was all right, food and drink. 117 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:34.360 Something to do. 118 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.600 During one of the meetings, one guy, Robert said, let's 119 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.519 go to Jose's place, right, better than that park. 120 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:44.199 Everyone knows. 121 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:46.360 Pause in the meeting and they kind of looked at me. 122 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:50.800 I smiled, trying to play it off. I swear that 123 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:52.439 at the time I didn't think it would be a 124 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:55.759 bad idea. They could honestly use some friends, and the 125 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:58.240 co workers had finally started having me join them for 126 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:01.279 lunch and for their gossip talk. No matter how much 127 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:05.079 I hated them, they knew about where I lived, the 128 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.920 large red gates off Road seventeen. I thought of a 129 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:11.560 lot of things once I got home, that this could 130 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:15.199 be my chance to finally tidy up the place, starting 131 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:18.279 with the yard, at least the path to the bathroom 132 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:20.279 and what a guest would see on their way there. 133 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:22.839 Maybe part of the stairs, maybe open up some of 134 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:26.560 the windows. Imagine myself taking the things out to the 135 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:31.519 street for trash day, maybe waxing those old floors. If 136 00:07:31.560 --> 00:07:33.680 I could take the Saturday before to stay at the 137 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.040 house and maybe go upstairs for once, the place might 138 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:40.839 start changing, because sometimes I would have to spend time 139 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.160 sitting in the truck at the parking lot of a Walmart, 140 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:45.879 or going to a drive through somewhere to pass a time. 141 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:50.000 And yet I could never put my finger on exactly 142 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:56.160 why I didn't want to be in that house. All 143 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:57.600 of this I thought about as I sat on the 144 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:00.680 tiny table in the kitchen a chef's take, like my. 145 00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:01.439 Father used to call. 146 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:04.360 It had gotten dark while I was thinking of all 147 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:08.720 of this, Only the kitchen was illuminated. The egg yolks 148 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:12.199 looked green from the fluorescent lights in the ceiling, the 149 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:15.279 wet bites filling the room along with an electric hum 150 00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:18.720 above me. I looked at myself in the reflection of 151 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.720 that kitchen window, the one that led to the dark 152 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:25.199 and empty field with an old swing set just beyond it. 153 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:33.879 Somewhere in the dark air, something squeaked. I stopped chewing, 154 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.600 holding my mouth half open, and I tried not to move. 155 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:38.960 I squeaked again. 156 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:44.159 It was definitely coming from outside, but chill ran down 157 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:46.879 my back as my legs automatically pulled me up and 158 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:51.840 toward the window. The thing about feeling safe at night 159 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:56.360 is that the light blocks out the darkness outside. It 160 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:01.039 can't see you, but you can't see it. And the 161 00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:05.279 sound was coming from the swing set, a deep, hard squeak. 162 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:08.320 I was thinking back on how it was when my 163 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:10.559 cousins and I would play on it, the high pitched 164 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:13.240 squeaks we made, and a pattern that wouldn't change no 165 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.879 matter how high we swung on it. We know because 166 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:18.919 we would try and use it to count the number 167 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.080 of swings before it was someone else's turn. Counting to 168 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:25.039 thirty always took the same amount of time, and it 169 00:09:25.120 --> 00:09:30.919 always sounded the same. But this one was different. Could 170 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:33.639 it have been of how old it was? Does rust 171 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:36.840 have that effect on a squeaky chain? Because the only 172 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:41.120 other explanation I could think of was of someone an adult, 173 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:46.000 sitting on the old set, maybe not swinging, but just 174 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:52.080 sitting there moving unintentionally. There was another line of cold 175 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:56.000 air down my spine, cold sweat, it felt like as 176 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.440 I stood there, letting whatever was out there look at 177 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.000 me as I looked into my own eyes, eyes completely 178 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:03.480 unaware if I was looking straight into the eyes of 179 00:10:03.519 --> 00:10:09.480 someone or something else. But no matter what, the thought 180 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:11.600 of shutting off the lights to get a clear view 181 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:15.159 never crossed my mind, and instead I did something no 182 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.159 one should ever do when you're out there, surrounded by 183 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:20.799 trees that had gone to sleep for winter, in the 184 00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:23.200 stillness of a house in the middle of a dark field. 185 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:26.840 I reached for the window and slid it open to 186 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:30.320 the right. Now, the light from the inside was doing 187 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.039 its job, and I could see an angled stripe making 188 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:35.360 its mark, my own shadow at the end of the 189 00:10:35.399 --> 00:10:38.600 bluish white crooked rectangle on the ground. And at the 190 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:41.879 end at the end of this light strip, I could 191 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:45.679 see my silhouette. It was the old red swing set, 192 00:10:45.879 --> 00:10:49.279 moving very slowly from side to side, likely in the 193 00:10:49.279 --> 00:10:53.320 direction of the wind. I thought, I cannot do much 194 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:55.759 more than to stare out the slowly fading darkness of 195 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:59.320 that night just beyond the swing set, slowly focusing my 196 00:10:59.399 --> 00:11:05.159 eyes into that swing slowly moving left to right, right 197 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:09.879 to left, I shut the window and my head automatically turned, 198 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:13.080 as if by instinct, behind me, toward the darkness of 199 00:11:13.080 --> 00:11:16.039 the living room, just beyond the kitchen tile on the floor. 200 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.879 It was as if someone was there. I couldn't tell directly. 201 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.000 The lights right above me would make a type of 202 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:27.320 curtain in my eyes. The only other times I felt 203 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:30.159 that was while driving downhill with high beings. 204 00:11:29.759 --> 00:11:30.399 Coming up to me. 205 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.360 But the night was still, and there was nothing but 206 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:37.399 the wind in the outside and the hum from that 207 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:41.679 light above me on the inside. If I paid close attention, 208 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:45.679 I might hear my heart beat. But that was it, 209 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:55.120 Or was it? There was footsteps. I heard them, little 210 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:57.879 by little, the sound of a squeaky step on the staircase. 211 00:11:58.840 --> 00:11:59.679 It was a third step. 212 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:02.879 That's the loudest I had done so all my life. 213 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.720 But this one was deeper, a heavy footstep, or slow 214 00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:10.519 enough to try to keep it from making noise, somehow, 215 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:13.960 making it sound like a grunt echoing through the darkness 216 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:18.200 of the house. I slowly walked to the edge of 217 00:12:18.240 --> 00:12:21.840 the white tile. That pitch black living room sent me 218 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:25.200 right back. It must have been two or three steps 219 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:27.600 away from the light switch, and yet all I did 220 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:31.360 was stand there. Perhaps if I showed off the kitchen light, 221 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:34.320 I might be able to see something. There was no 222 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:38.000 way I was gonna do that. I told myself that 223 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:40.200 I was stressing out about the event for my job, 224 00:12:40.440 --> 00:12:42.679 the one that they were talking about making at my house. 225 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:45.639 I thought of the pros and cons in my head. 226 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.480 It was a small team that would be there, maybe 227 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:50.279 twenty five people tops. 228 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:51.720 They would bring. 229 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:54.559 Along the catering and everything. They would come with their 230 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:59.200 own cleanup crew. That's right, the cleaning, and if they 231 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:01.360 were gonna come, I would have to clean up beforehand. 232 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:03.519 And it wasn't like they were to go upstairs. But 233 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:06.279 if I tried, if I really tried, I might be 234 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:09.440 able to clean everything the whole house before they get there. 235 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:12.279 What was I saying? 236 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.000 The thing was huge, plus the whole going upstairs thing, 237 00:13:16.600 --> 00:13:18.120 I don't know. The last time I went up there 238 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:20.200 was to flick the breaker back on in the house 239 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:23.399 during winter January too. 240 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:24.320 I remember that. 241 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:28.200 With those thoughts in mind, I was able to drown 242 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:30.279 out the squeak that came from inside of the house, 243 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.039 somehow less terrifying that the one that came from the 244 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:37.600 outside from the swing set. The eggs and toes had 245 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:39.679 gotten cold by the time I started eating it again, 246 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.279 the yolk turning into plastic from the outside. I took 247 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:47.159 the plate and washed it right away, food still in 248 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:50.080 my mouth, making noise with the water and humming to 249 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:52.759 myself so that if another sound came from that house 250 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:57.000 I would be sure to miss it. I took a 251 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.919 gulp of the carton of orange juice that was in 252 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.039 the fridge and washed it. Everything down. The plate's now 253 00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:05.919 stacked again, no drinking glass to wash. 254 00:14:06.039 --> 00:14:06.919 With a deep breath. 255 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.519 I flicked off the light to the kitchen and felt 256 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:11.519 my way down to the switch of the living room, 257 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:15.159 but I didn't turn it on. No, I kept going 258 00:14:15.159 --> 00:14:18.080 straight to the door of my room. I snuck inside, 259 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.480 and that's when I flicked on the light. You see, 260 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.159 even though I was in the same house, something felt 261 00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:28.600 different about being in that room. I hardly thought about 262 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:31.840 my parents' final days in there, with my mom going first, 263 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.960 two weeks later Dad followed, and once a grief died down, 264 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:38.799 I started fixing up the place. I turned it into 265 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:42.200 something special. The window faced the field, and if you 266 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:43.919 stood on the left side of the window, you could 267 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:46.720 see that swing set out there. It was in that 268 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.120 room that I could be in complete darkness or near 269 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:51.919 complete darkness with the TV on at night and feel 270 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.919 all right. The lock always latched on the door that 271 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.399 led to the living room, but the one that led 272 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:00.879 to the outside, well, I never. 273 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.120 Really checked it. 274 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:04.759 Something about that house made my mind run crazy with 275 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:06.919 thoughts of being a little kid and running down the 276 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:11.559 stairs after getting scared and what happened. Often I used 277 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:14.720 to have these dark dreams, and sometimes I would see 278 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.960 things that I couldn't explain that would scare me enough 279 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:20.440 to run. But as I grew older, I stopped seeing 280 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:22.639 those things and consider them. What my parents used to 281 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:28.679 repeat over and over, You're a crazy imagination boy. But 282 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:31.720 at that moment in the bedroom, I wanted to prove 283 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:35.840 something to myself that I wasn't scared, that there was 284 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:38.519 nothing I should worry about, and that what I had 285 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.080 heard was nothing but the sounds of my own brain 286 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:45.480 making things up in the dark. So I flicked off 287 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.519 the light and walked to the window, and in plain view, 288 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:51.200 now maybe because of the light of the moon finally 289 00:15:51.240 --> 00:15:54.919 coming out from the trees, I could see that swing set. 290 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:57.519 It was no longer moving, and. 291 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.000 Quite frankly, I started doubting if it had even more 292 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:04.080 moved in the first place. Those chains were heavy replaced 293 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:06.480 when we were kids from the ones they originally came from, 294 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:09.039 because Mom would complain about the sounds it would make 295 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:14.080 that replaced them and the noises stopped. I was thinking 296 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:16.399 back on that and making up theories as to what 297 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.320 could have gotten the swings to move when I heard it, 298 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:25.559 a subtle, insignificant step coming from above. I knew what 299 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:29.600 they sounded like, so I froze by that window, holding 300 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.759 my breath for whatever had made that noise to take 301 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:37.480 another step, And then it did. It was moving right 302 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:40.279 above me toward the hallway that led to the staircase 303 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:45.240 in the middle of the second floor, slowly at first step, 304 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:50.559 step step, and then rushed to the other end of 305 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:53.840 the house. Another chill ran through my body, and I 306 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:57.080 didn't know if I was scared or actually cold. I 307 00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.480 felt around the floor for the space heater and plugged 308 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:02.279 it in. I watched as the glowing orange light of 309 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.240 the grille of it turned on, and quickly it popped 310 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.799 and then blended back into the darkness. This time, I 311 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:12.519 ran to over the light switch and flicked it. 312 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:13.799 Nothing. 313 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:17.720 I flicked it again, and then two more times. I 314 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:21.680 was in complete darkness. Now I prayed for the flashlight 315 00:17:21.720 --> 00:17:23.799 to have batteries in it. The thing I kept under 316 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.039 the bathroom sink. Carefully, I made my way there until 317 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.960 I felt the toilet against my knees. I bent down 318 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:33.680 and felt around under the sink until I got it. Eagerly, 319 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:36.480 I pressed a button. I nearly jumped when I saw 320 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:37.400 my face in the mirror. 321 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:39.039 I led her a chuckle. 322 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:42.039 In that moment, I thought of how weird this had been, 323 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:44.680 and if it was even anything at all. 324 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:47.000 But then it hit me. 325 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:50.920 Now, with the flashlight against the ceiling in the bathroom, 326 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:54.880 I could see my breath in the air, and I 327 00:17:54.880 --> 00:17:58.559 felt dread. Right then and there, I knew I was 328 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:02.279 gonna have to go upstairs and flick the breaker. I 329 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:04.279 made my way back to the room. Standing by the 330 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:06.519 locked door that led to the rest of the house, 331 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:11.599 I took another deep breath, unlocked it quietly, as if 332 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:13.599 whatever was up there on the second floor was going 333 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:16.599 to hear me, as if I weren't alone. 334 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:16.799 In the place. 335 00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:21.480 I tried not to breathe as I listened for something, anything, 336 00:18:21.559 --> 00:18:25.319 up there, but all I got was silence. It was 337 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:27.200 then that I got the courage to open the door. 338 00:18:28.920 --> 00:18:31.559 As expected, I was met with the darkness from that 339 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:35.319 living room. My flashlight lit up the opposite wall, and 340 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:39.119 I could finally see those portraits at night. I looked 341 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:41.519 down to where the old rug had started, and I 342 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:44.799 watched my foot finally step over it. After what must 343 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:49.079 have been years. It wasn't long before I was at 344 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.839 the base of the stairs. I was shining the light 345 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:54.759 directly on the next step, avoiding looking up as I 346 00:18:54.799 --> 00:19:00.720 slowly climbed one step, two, and then the third, a 347 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:05.119 deep squeak, and I kept going until there was nothing else. 348 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:09.799 It was noticeably colder up there. I looked down to 349 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:13.079 the living room, now a soft light from the outside, 350 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:16.000 now illuminating the floors with that dead blue light that 351 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:20.319 comes on certain nights. That's when I heard another footstep. 352 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:23.440 I'm in front of me, now down the hallway where 353 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:27.359 my old room used to be. I couldn't do anything 354 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:29.720 but wait, and I had nowhere else to turn but 355 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:32.880 to that darkness. So I thought of closing my eyes, 356 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:37.799 but I knew it wouldn't help, not anymore. I couldn't 357 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:40.440 stop my mind from creating figures of the silhouettes that 358 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.839 came from the dim moonlight in the deep end of 359 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:47.240 the hallway. And then I watched as something seemed to 360 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:51.119 hide between the lamp tables by the walls, playfully trying 361 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:55.920 to avoid being seen. My heart was beating faster now, 362 00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:58.599 and I worked my way toward the storage closet by 363 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:02.039 the water heater. I walked fast enough not to run. 364 00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:05.079 I swung the door open, the loose hinges, almost giving 365 00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:08.400 up on it. I aimed the flashlight toward the breaker box, 366 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:11.480 opened it and flicked the last one. I could see 367 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:14.519 some light down by the living room. Now I ran, 368 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:18.279 this time rushing toward the stairs, basically hopping every other step, 369 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:21.720 questioning absolutely everything I had known up until that point. 370 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:25.079 I shut and locked the door to my room, flicked 371 00:20:25.079 --> 00:20:28.240 on the TV, and stood there for a moment until 372 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.119 I finally plopped onto my bed and waited for what. 373 00:20:32.079 --> 00:20:36.240 I don't know, but that night seemed alive with taps 374 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.119 and scratches and everything would make me meet the TV 375 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:46.359 and wait again. I was tired the next day at work, 376 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:48.960 but everything seemed to be back to normal by the 377 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.720 next week. It was a Monday when my supervisor walked 378 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:54.559 up to me in the break room and asked what 379 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:57.000 I thought about having the winter dinner at my property, 380 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:01.000 and I lied. I told him I was going to 381 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.519 have extended family over and that they would be staying 382 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.839 for a couple of weeks. Easily, the light came out 383 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:09.680 and he believed it. He said not to worry about it, 384 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:11.440 that they were going to bite the bullet and pay 385 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:14.160 for a real venue instead of the park space like 386 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:19.240 they had planned. Too many complainers, he said. I chuckled 387 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:21.960 and nodded for the rest of the conversation until he left. 388 00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:25.759 But really the truth was that I had been planning 389 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:28.839 to agree to the event taking place there. I had 390 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:31.519 bought trash bags and I found the brooms out in 391 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:36.039 the shed. I started cleaning the porch in the living room, 392 00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:39.920 but I kept stopping myself. There was something about that 393 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.720 house that made me think twice. So I was about 394 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:47.480 to head upstairs that Saturday, broom in hand, but just 395 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:51.359 as I passed the third step, I felt it a 396 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:54.759 sudden drop in temperature, the ambient of the house just 397 00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:59.119 a little bit darker. There was something out there waiting. 398 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:03.200 I turned around right away and went back to my room. 399 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:08.039 I thought of my parents and their time there. Rooms 400 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.680 I hadn't been stepped in for years before they even 401 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:14.519