WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a god fearing man who doesn't believe in ghosts.

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<v Speaker 1>But having said that, I do believe there are things

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<v Speaker 1>out there that we can't fully explain. Call it paranormal

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever you'd like. I also believe that some people

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<v Speaker 1>are more sensitive to the great mysteries than others. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>forty three years old, and in nineteen eighty four when

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<v Speaker 1>this happened, I was just under six years old, living

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<v Speaker 1>in the state of West Virginia, as full of dreams

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<v Speaker 1>and mischief as any boy my age. When I was born,

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<v Speaker 1>my parents lived in out of the way place and

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<v Speaker 1>the boonies called Webb, West Virginia and Wayne County. I

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<v Speaker 1>was six when we made the move to a small

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<v Speaker 1>town called Fort Gay. The house was owned by an

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<v Speaker 1>old man named Frank Aliff, who also rented a large

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<v Speaker 1>majority of the property within Fort Gay, and as we

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<v Speaker 1>were moving in, we had heard rumors that that place

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<v Speaker 1>was haunt and that no one chose to live in

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<v Speaker 1>it very long, but we passed all that off as gossip.

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<v Speaker 1>Old man Aliff favored this particular house that we were

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<v Speaker 1>renting because he and the other men in town used

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<v Speaker 1>to hang out there and gamble and get drunk, they

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<v Speaker 1>would do all the kind of stuff that would be

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<v Speaker 1>frowned upon in an upstanding Christian community. If you've ever

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<v Speaker 1>lived there there's a church on every corner, then you

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<v Speaker 1>know how people will whisper and judge behind your back. Apparently,

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<v Speaker 1>one night, during a poker game, a man in a

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<v Speaker 1>drunken rage accused another man of cheating at cards, and

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<v Speaker 1>one of the men ended up with his brains being

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<v Speaker 1>blown out right there in the living room. The family

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<v Speaker 1>thought this was a piece of hope and meat to

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<v Speaker 1>scare people, even though later on down the road we

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<v Speaker 1>would come to believe that the story was true. For

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<v Speaker 1>several days before the move, my parents were already doing

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<v Speaker 1>some light work inside the place, like painting and fixing

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<v Speaker 1>door hinges and changing out light switches. There was a

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<v Speaker 1>second bedroom that my sister and I would be sharing.

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<v Speaker 1>Interior pain in those days gave off a powerful and

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous fume. While we allowed the toxic paint time to dry,

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<v Speaker 1>my sister slept on the couch in the living room,

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<v Speaker 1>and I had to crawl in bed with my parents,

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<v Speaker 1>which I hated with a passion. I always got too

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<v Speaker 1>hot or I felt pinned down in between them. By

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<v Speaker 1>the covers. I was always afraid of moving too much

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<v Speaker 1>and waking them up. My parents had been sleeping for

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<v Speaker 1>the better part of an hour when suddenly I had

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<v Speaker 1>to go to the bathroom. Well, that meant I had

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<v Speaker 1>to crawl over one of them to extricate myself, so

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<v Speaker 1>I chose my even tempered mother. I had one arm

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<v Speaker 1>on the bed and the other arm holding onto the

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<v Speaker 1>headboard post, straddling my mother with my toes searching for

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<v Speaker 1>the floor and trying not to wake her up. The

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<v Speaker 1>most god awful sense of something watching me went through

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<v Speaker 1>my body. Every fiber of my being was sending warning sirens.

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<v Speaker 1>There was someone behind me. Well, maybe it was my

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<v Speaker 1>sister standing there awake like I was scared to be

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<v Speaker 1>in a strange house and on her way to climb

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<v Speaker 1>into bed with the rest of us. So I slowly

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<v Speaker 1>turned my head and I saw something peeking around the

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<v Speaker 1>doorway from the partially lit hallway. This thing had the

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<v Speaker 1>shape of a human being, but it was completely faceless

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<v Speaker 1>and featureless. It was like a shadow, and it reminded

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<v Speaker 1>me of the clips that you would see in documentaries

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<v Speaker 1>about black holes. It felt as though you could stick

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<v Speaker 1>your arms straight through its body and enter into another dimension.

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<v Speaker 1>It had no eyes or facial features, and I knew

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<v Speaker 1>that it was looking right at me. And the fear

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<v Speaker 1>that was surging through my body that night was almost undescribable.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sure I was facing something demonic. I believe it

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<v Speaker 1>was casting a different kind of terror through me, like

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<v Speaker 1>a spell. I wanted to scream bloody murder and wake

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<v Speaker 1>up my parents, but I couldn't yell, I couldn't move,

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't do anything. I was paralyzed. Once the feeling

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<v Speaker 1>of being powerless left my body, I returned to my

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<v Speaker 1>parents' bed, very deliberately, climbing over my mother and wedging

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<v Speaker 1>myself between her and my father. I pulled the covers

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<v Speaker 1>completely over my head and I closed my eyes. I

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<v Speaker 1>still had the urge to go to the bathroom, but

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<v Speaker 1>for my own sake that night, I held it. I

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<v Speaker 1>woke up the next morning alone and I could hear

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<v Speaker 1>my mother down the hallway in the kitchen, clinging pots

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<v Speaker 1>and pans and making breakfast. I jumped out of bed

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<v Speaker 1>and ran to the bathroom. After assuring myself there was

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<v Speaker 1>no demonic creature loitering between the bedrooms, I made another

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<v Speaker 1>mad dash to the kitchen, and I told my parents

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<v Speaker 1>everything that happened in the middle of the night while

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<v Speaker 1>they were sleeping. Well, they chalked it up to either

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<v Speaker 1>a bad dream or a young boy's wild imagination. The

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<v Speaker 1>fear during this bad dream compared to the fear of

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<v Speaker 1>something experienced in real life, and their feelings as different

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<v Speaker 1>as night and day. Over the four years we lived

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<v Speaker 1>in that house, everyone in my family would encounter something

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<v Speaker 1>just as strange and unexplainable. Throughout my life, I have

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<v Speaker 1>been faced with different levels of the unusual. I've seen

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<v Speaker 1>small black figures dashing across the floor in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of the night. I've heard voices in conversation when there's

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<v Speaker 1>no one there in bizarre languages where I can't make

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<v Speaker 1>out the words. I have felt my bed vibrate like

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<v Speaker 1>it's lifting up off the floor. And I've had sleep

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<v Speaker 1>paralysis where I've witnessed presences in my room as I

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<v Speaker 1>did the night as a six year old boy, too

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<v Speaker 1>scared to leave the safety of my parents' bed for

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<v Speaker 1>an urgent midnight trip to the bathroom. I can't fully

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<v Speaker 1>explain any of this. I believe there are things in

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<v Speaker 1>this world that will never be fully understood. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know if it's a blessing or a curse that I've

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<v Speaker 1>come to view these things as just a normal part

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<v Speaker 1>of my existence. I guess I've grown unafraid of the dark.

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<v Speaker 1>In the summer of nineteen ninety four, my husband and

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<v Speaker 1>I bought a brand new home and one of the

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<v Speaker 1>many housing subdivisions being built in the Sacramento Valley during

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen nineties housing boom. The area had originally been

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<v Speaker 1>mostly farmland and floodplains, and there were dozens of subdivisions

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<v Speaker 1>being built, and each subdivision displayed beautifully decorated home plans.

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<v Speaker 1>The homes were much more affordable then, so we applied

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<v Speaker 1>for a first time buyer loan and crossed our fingers.

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<v Speaker 1>The loan process seemed to take forever, but when we

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<v Speaker 1>were approved, we got to pick out our very own

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<v Speaker 1>flooring style and upgraded the kitchen appliances, which was so

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<v Speaker 1>nice since the apartment we lived in had no dishwasher

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<v Speaker 1>or self cleaning oven. We moved our family, which consisted

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<v Speaker 1>of the two of us, our four year old son,

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<v Speaker 1>and our future baby girl, who was due in mid August,

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<v Speaker 1>and we were happy to have accomplished so much in

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<v Speaker 1>a relatively short amount of time. The house was on

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<v Speaker 1>a dead end street since the owner of the property

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<v Speaker 1>behind the subdivision did not want to sell any of

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<v Speaker 1>his property, which would have allowed for the street to

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<v Speaker 1>go through and join up with other subdivisions. There was

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<v Speaker 1>still a lot of open land and homes in various

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<v Speaker 1>stages of construction, and our neighbors had kids about the

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<v Speaker 1>same age as our son, and he made new friends

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<v Speaker 1>and all the kids played on the street since there

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<v Speaker 1>was no traffic during the day while most people were

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<v Speaker 1>at work. Unfortunately, my husband was not able to find

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<v Speaker 1>a job in Sacramento right away, so he would stay

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<v Speaker 1>with his mom back in the Bay Area during the

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<v Speaker 1>work week, and then he would drive back to the

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<v Speaker 1>valley to check in on us so we could do

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<v Speaker 1>shopping and other errands. At that time, we only had

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<v Speaker 1>one car, and I was left stranded until he was

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<v Speaker 1>back from the Bay Area. It was a long commute,

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<v Speaker 1>but my husband was so happy to buy us the

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<v Speaker 1>house that he was willing to commute with the hope

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<v Speaker 1>that he would find a job in the valley soon

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<v Speaker 1>enough and stop commuting. It was a whole year before

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<v Speaker 1>he was hired at one of the local auto body shops.

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<v Speaker 1>When our daughter was born, my husband was able to

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<v Speaker 1>take a week off from work to be with us

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<v Speaker 1>and enjoy our new baby girl, and then he went

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<v Speaker 1>back to work and to his commute. He would get

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<v Speaker 1>up at three am and make his coffee in get

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<v Speaker 1>his overnight bag, and leave at three thirty am so

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<v Speaker 1>he could be at work by six thirty am. Back then,

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<v Speaker 1>he was the bread winner, so we really needed him

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<v Speaker 1>to keep that job, even if it was one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>miles away. I would normally get up with him and

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<v Speaker 1>spend a few minutes with him before he would be off.

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<v Speaker 1>I would go back to bed and try to sleep

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<v Speaker 1>before the baby would wake up to nurse around five

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<v Speaker 1>thirty am. I would feed her in bed and lay

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<v Speaker 1>her between me and our four year old son, and

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<v Speaker 1>the three of us would snuggle in sleep until around

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<v Speaker 1>eight thirty before we started our day. We were so spoiled.

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<v Speaker 1>On this Monday, after he left for his commute, I

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<v Speaker 1>felt uneasy and I felt scared, but I didn't know why.

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<v Speaker 1>I decided to go back to our bedroom and lay down,

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<v Speaker 1>thinking that the baby would be up soon enough to nurse,

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<v Speaker 1>so maybe it would be better just to lay back down.

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<v Speaker 1>I fell asleep, and I had a horrible nightmare. I

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<v Speaker 1>dreamt that our son was missing, and that we were

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<v Speaker 1>running to different streets looking for him and calling his name.

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<v Speaker 1>I woke up suddenly, and I was relieved that it

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<v Speaker 1>was just a horrible dream, and my boy was fast

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<v Speaker 1>asleep next to me, and the baby was still in

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<v Speaker 1>her bacinet next to the bed. I turned over on

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<v Speaker 1>my side facing the bacinet, and I saw a bright

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<v Speaker 1>light coming in between the window blinds, and thinking out loud,

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<v Speaker 1>I said, is it morning already? The light was coming

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<v Speaker 1>in between the blinds, and it was so bright, but

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the room looked dark. There was a

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<v Speaker 1>bright light on the wall next to the window, and

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<v Speaker 1>I looked up to see where the light was coming from,

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<v Speaker 1>and to my horror, just above the bacinet was an

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<v Speaker 1>alien gray's face. It was just the head, no upper body, legs,

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<v Speaker 1>or arms. The head was dark in color, very round,

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<v Speaker 1>ending in a pointed chin, and there were small slits

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<v Speaker 1>for his mouth and nostrils. But the eyes, the eyes

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<v Speaker 1>were large and almond shape and very shiny black, and

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<v Speaker 1>it had some sort of glass lamp on the top

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<v Speaker 1>of its head. The light on the wall was coming

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<v Speaker 1>from the lamp. The being was looking down at the

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<v Speaker 1>baby in the bacinet. Oh my god, I couldn't speak.

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<v Speaker 1>My heart started pounding so hard that I started trembling uncontrollably.

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<v Speaker 1>It saw me, and it scowled at me when it

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<v Speaker 1>realized I was looking at it, and it moved towards me,

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<v Speaker 1>and I started screaming and swinging my arms and kicking,

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<v Speaker 1>and I remember that I sat out loud. Oh my god,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to lose my mind. I felt that I

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<v Speaker 1>could not take the fact that this creature was there,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was just there in the room above my

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<v Speaker 1>baby's basinet in the house. It floated from its original

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<v Speaker 1>position above the basinette to just above my face, and

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<v Speaker 1>I remember seeing this light blue fog build up in

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<v Speaker 1>front of my face. And then, in a dreamlike manner,

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<v Speaker 1>I remember a sound like pigeons mate, like a cooing sound.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember feeling that whoever was talking to me was

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<v Speaker 1>stern and was telling me that it was for our

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<v Speaker 1>own good. When I woke up again, it was still

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<v Speaker 1>dark out, but it was around six am, and the

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<v Speaker 1>blankets were perfectly made around the bed, like nothing had happened,

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<v Speaker 1>and everything felt still. My son was asleep next to me,

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<v Speaker 1>and the baby was in her bascinet. And I got

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<v Speaker 1>out of bed and turned all the lights on in

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<v Speaker 1>the room and the rest of the house, and I

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<v Speaker 1>checked all the rooms in the house, and I checked

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<v Speaker 1>the locks on the front door and the lock in

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<v Speaker 1>the backyard sliding glass door, and everything was just like

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<v Speaker 1>I had left it. After my husband had left for work,

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<v Speaker 1>I decided to stay up and just start my day.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, I got in the shower, even though that

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<v Speaker 1>was not my usual time to shower. When I was

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<v Speaker 1>washing my hair, there was a sore spot on the

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<v Speaker 1>top of my head. There was no blood, no bump,

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<v Speaker 1>just very sore. I got dressed, and I went to

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<v Speaker 1>the kitchen and I had some coffee. While having my coffee,

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<v Speaker 1>I was trying to make sense of all those events. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember the nightmare that I had woken up from,

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<v Speaker 1>and how relieved I had felt that it had just

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<v Speaker 1>been a bad dream. But then that thing was there,

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<v Speaker 1>and I couldn't decide if it had been another bad

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<v Speaker 1>dream or if that second part was real. It didn't

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<v Speaker 1>make sense. But how can a bad dream as scary

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<v Speaker 1>as that could be was still making me afraid. My

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<v Speaker 1>son was up at nine am, and I kept checking

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<v Speaker 1>in on the baby and she kept sleeping. She should

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<v Speaker 1>have been up once to nurse, but no, she wasn't.

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<v Speaker 1>And I called my sister and I told her about

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<v Speaker 1>my weird dream and I started crying because it seemed

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<v Speaker 1>like it had been real, but I kept thinking that

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<v Speaker 1>it couldn't be real. I checked on the baby and

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<v Speaker 1>she had no fever, no rash, but she did not

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<v Speaker 1>wake up to nurse until two pm that afternoon, and

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<v Speaker 1>by then I was sore and engorged with milk. As

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<v Speaker 1>the day progressed, I became anxious, and before it was evening,

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<v Speaker 1>I called my sister, asking if she could come over

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<v Speaker 1>and pick us up. I didn't want to be there

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<v Speaker 1>alone with the kids when it was night again. She

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<v Speaker 1>came over and took us to her apartment. My sister

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't sure what to make of this whole thing. I

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<v Speaker 1>was just grateful that I didn't have to be alone

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<v Speaker 1>in the house. We stayed in her kids room that night,

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<v Speaker 1>and I remember feeling very scared because I didn't know

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<v Speaker 1>if it would happen again. But I put both kids

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<v Speaker 1>and me under the twin bed we were supposed to

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<v Speaker 1>sleep on, but we slept under the bed. I called

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<v Speaker 1>my husband and told him about my bad dream, but

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<v Speaker 1>he thought it was just stress from being left alone

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<v Speaker 1>so many nights and taking care of the kids in

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<v Speaker 1>the house. My husband picked us up from my sister's

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<v Speaker 1>place and drove us back to our house. That evening,

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<v Speaker 1>I tried to go about my normal routine, making dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>bathing the kids before bed, and watching a movie. And

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<v Speaker 1>then it was time for me and my husband to

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<v Speaker 1>go to bed. I put both kids in the bed

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<v Speaker 1>between us, and I put a large toy sword next

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<v Speaker 1>to me in the bed. I was terrified that it

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<v Speaker 1>would come back, that I would wake up, and that

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<v Speaker 1>face would be there looking back at me when I

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<v Speaker 1>opened my eyes. I knew there was nothing I could

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<v Speaker 1>do to protect us, and that made me more frightened

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<v Speaker 1>than anything. My husband continued to commute for another six months,

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<v Speaker 1>so I was still alone in the evening, and that

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<v Speaker 1>was the worst part. For weeks, every night, I would

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<v Speaker 1>stay up just until I could see daylight before I

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<v Speaker 1>felt safe to fall asleep. I would leave the TV

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<v Speaker 1>on in the bedroom, lights on, and fight sleep until

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<v Speaker 1>I would see the early sunlight peek through the windows.

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't feel safe until around early spring, when the

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<v Speaker 1>morning light starts just a bit earlier each morning. I

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<v Speaker 1>went on like this for three years every winter, and

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<v Speaker 1>for years I was terrified to look out any window

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<v Speaker 1>in the evenings. I would close all the blinds in

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<v Speaker 1>the house at night and leave some lights on before

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<v Speaker 1>going to bed. My husband would just tell me that

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<v Speaker 1>it had been a bad dream. After a few months,

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't like me to talk about it. My daughter

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<v Speaker 1>was only three months old when this happened. She doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>have any strange scars or ill effects from the experience.

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<v Speaker 1>I no longer fear the winter nights, but I know

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<v Speaker 1>that it was not a dream. Regarding the description of

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<v Speaker 1>the creature I saw, in the book titled Operation Trojan Horse,

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<v Speaker 1>there is a description of an et that has been

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<v Speaker 1>described wearing some type of light attached to or on

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<v Speaker 1>the top of his head,