WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>When I was six years old, I was lying in

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<v Speaker 1>bed and I was unable to go to sleep. I

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<v Speaker 1>lay there for probably an hour, though it felt like forever.

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<v Speaker 1>My window was at the foot of my bed, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was close enough for me to crawl to and

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<v Speaker 1>look out, which I often did. That night, when I

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<v Speaker 1>looked out, I saw something that scared the living crud

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<v Speaker 1>out of me. At first, everything was fine until something

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<v Speaker 1>stepped in the way and bent down and looked at me.

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<v Speaker 1>The window was six feet off the ground, yet here

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<v Speaker 1>was this creature so big that it had to crouch

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<v Speaker 1>over to look at me. Well, I crawled as fast

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<v Speaker 1>as my little legs would go. I threw the pillow

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<v Speaker 1>over my face, and I hid under my blanket. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>when I was fourteen, I was in the woods, playing

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<v Speaker 1>around like i'd a thousand times before. I knew that

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<v Speaker 1>place better than the back of my hand. I was

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<v Speaker 1>down on a sandbar playing Tarzan. When up on the bank,

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<v Speaker 1>I heard a branch snap. My head whipped in the

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<v Speaker 1>direction of the sound, but I didn't see anything, and

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<v Speaker 1>I decided to climb up and get a better look

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<v Speaker 1>at it. When I got to the top of the bank,

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<v Speaker 1>I heard a crash, like a locomotive plowing through the brush.

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<v Speaker 1>I still didn't see anything, but a knot in the

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<v Speaker 1>pit of my stomach told me it was another one

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<v Speaker 1>of those things that was looking through my window and

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<v Speaker 1>it was time for me to get out of there.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm nineteen years old now and I still go through

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<v Speaker 1>those woods looking for signs of them. Every single time

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<v Speaker 1>I go, I hear something pacing me. I can't see them,

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<v Speaker 1>but I know they're out there watching me. Years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>I used to be a milkman and I worked from

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<v Speaker 1>twelve am to seven am. One night. While at the

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<v Speaker 1>dairy depot, two cops dropped by to buy some chocolate milk.

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<v Speaker 1>We were chatting when a scream echoed through the air,

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<v Speaker 1>making my hair stand up on end and making all

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<v Speaker 1>the dogs nearby start barking and howling. I asked the

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<v Speaker 1>cops if they were going to have a look, but

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<v Speaker 1>they shook their heads and they told me I was nuts.

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<v Speaker 1>I ended up going out by myself to check it out,

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<v Speaker 1>but I didn't see anything. Weeks later, I was driving

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<v Speaker 1>the main road back to the dairy to load up

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<v Speaker 1>again when I saw a purple pulsing light keeping tag

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<v Speaker 1>with me I pulled over to watch it, and I

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<v Speaker 1>saw it descend to the ground and stop pulsing. I

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<v Speaker 1>got out of the car and stared at it for

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<v Speaker 1>a few minutes, waiting for it to move, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>when I heard the sound of cattle running and mooing.

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<v Speaker 1>Not long after that, I heard heavy footsteps by this thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Stra I knew it was big. I did the heroic

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<v Speaker 1>thing and went back into my truck and left as

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<v Speaker 1>fast as I could. I didn't get an explanation for

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<v Speaker 1>the purple light, and I wasn't going to stick around

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<v Speaker 1>to find out what it was. When I was a child,

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<v Speaker 1>I remember being shaken awake by a thick, hairy hand

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<v Speaker 1>at night. It even happened to me as an adult

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<v Speaker 1>when I was camping with friends, though I never told them,

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<v Speaker 1>knowing they think I was crazy. When I grabbed the hand,

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<v Speaker 1>it would pull away and disappear. It shook me up

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<v Speaker 1>pretty bad, as you can imagine. My son in law

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<v Speaker 1>was living with us until he and my daughter could

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<v Speaker 1>get a house. One morning he told us that something

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<v Speaker 1>big and harry had grabbed him during the night. I

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<v Speaker 1>could tell he was rattled, and after telling him of

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<v Speaker 1>my experiences and that nothing ever happens. He began to relax.

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<v Speaker 1>That was about eighteen years ago, and since then all

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<v Speaker 1>has been quiet. Other times I see a tall black

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<v Speaker 1>figures standing at the end of the dairy driveway a

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<v Speaker 1>few times. To my horror, it even whispered my name.

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<v Speaker 1>One night, I was training a guy to do the

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<v Speaker 1>delivery run since I was going away on holiday. It

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<v Speaker 1>was three in the morning and we were delivering to

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<v Speaker 1>a coffee shop. While we were unloading the truck, we

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<v Speaker 1>heard my name whispered. We both looked up and on

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<v Speaker 1>the corner was the black figure again. It was eight

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<v Speaker 1>feet tall, just standing there. The guy I was training

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<v Speaker 1>asked what the heck that was. I tried to stay calm,

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<v Speaker 1>telling him not to worry. It happens a lot to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Needless to say, he quit that night. That's kind of funny.

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<v Speaker 1>I had many other strange experiences working at night as

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<v Speaker 1>a milkman. Though I'm retired now. My wife and kids

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<v Speaker 1>know all about the things that I've encountered, though we

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<v Speaker 1>don't talk about it anymore. My seven year old son

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<v Speaker 1>and I love listening to your stories while we sit

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<v Speaker 1>and draw together. We're both big fans of cryptids. And

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted me to share the story with you. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a story without an answer, and it makes a great

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<v Speaker 1>campfire tale for my nieces and nephews. In the summer

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<v Speaker 1>of nineteen ninety nine, my someday to be husband and

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<v Speaker 1>I both got jobs cleaning up campgrounds in Central Oregon.

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<v Speaker 1>We had bought a trailer and were excited to pull

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<v Speaker 1>it out into the woods and spend the summer living

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<v Speaker 1>on the Forest Service land. We had both just finished

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<v Speaker 1>college and living in the middle of the woods felt

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<v Speaker 1>like a dream come true. We found a great spot

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<v Speaker 1>that had previously been used by other campers, complete with

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<v Speaker 1>the decent road, a nice flat area for the trailer,

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<v Speaker 1>and a pretty little stream that ran right next to

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<v Speaker 1>the camp. Both of us had grown up in Oregon's

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<v Speaker 1>outdoors and we felt comfortable being in the woods. With

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<v Speaker 1>that said, we both had an uncomfortable feeling in this place.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, we had a conversation about it the very

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<v Speaker 1>first night we were there. I always felt a general

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<v Speaker 1>unease at this spot. It was almost like I was

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<v Speaker 1>being watched. Central Oregon is not the typical ecology for

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<v Speaker 1>the western part of the state. It's an arid high

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<v Speaker 1>desert with sparsely growing ponderosa pines and sage brush growing

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<v Speaker 1>in clumps, so visibility is pretty good, and therefore that

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<v Speaker 1>sensation of being watched seemed strange to me. The night

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<v Speaker 1>of the incident, we sat at the table in the

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<v Speaker 1>camper eating our dinner when we heard something hit the

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<v Speaker 1>side of the trailer. It startled us and our cat. Somehow,

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<v Speaker 1>the catch reaction gave us confirmation that we weren't just

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<v Speaker 1>hearing things. A bump on the side of the trailer

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<v Speaker 1>might not sound like much, but the location of our

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<v Speaker 1>trailer was in an empty space with no surrounding trees

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<v Speaker 1>closer than twenty feet for something to make. That noise

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<v Speaker 1>spooked us a little, and wild animals tend not to

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<v Speaker 1>run into people's trailers, especially when the trailer is sticking

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<v Speaker 1>out in the open, like it was. We went about

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<v Speaker 1>our business the rest of that evening, not giving it

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<v Speaker 1>another thought. My cat, who lived in the trailer lived

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<v Speaker 1>there exclusively. She embodied the definition of a scaredy cat

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<v Speaker 1>and had never shown any desire to leave the trailer,

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<v Speaker 1>and that is why I was shocked when I opened

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<v Speaker 1>the door to go outside to retrieve something, and she

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<v Speaker 1>shot out of the trailer into the darkness. What was

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<v Speaker 1>she doing? She hated to be outside. We grabbed a

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<v Speaker 1>flashlight and headed outside to find her. But when we

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<v Speaker 1>stepped out, we were immediately hit with frigid air. We

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<v Speaker 1>can have cold nights in this climate, but this was

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<v Speaker 1>unusually icy for a summer night. We wandered out into

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<v Speaker 1>the darkness and noticed a low hanging fog creeping along

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<v Speaker 1>the ground, just like a horror movie. I've never seen

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<v Speaker 1>a fog like that before or since this incident. And

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<v Speaker 1>then we were overcome by a stench of human theces

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<v Speaker 1>It's an unmistakable smell, and we both were seriously disturbed.

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<v Speaker 1>We didn't use the trailer's toilet for number two's we

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<v Speaker 1>were young and too dumb to know how to empty

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<v Speaker 1>the poop tank. We always used the bathroom at work,

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<v Speaker 1>or we'd dig a hole in the woods far away

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<v Speaker 1>from the trailer if necessary. Well, the smell put us

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<v Speaker 1>over the top, and I remember thinking, good luck, caat

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<v Speaker 1>your on your own. We opened a small panel on

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<v Speaker 1>the outside of the trailer that would allow her entrance

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<v Speaker 1>back inside. I was a little concerned that she might

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<v Speaker 1>get eaten by an owl or a coyote, but I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't going back out there to look for her. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>we settled into bed and we were curled up and

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<v Speaker 1>slowly drifting off, and there was a huge stud on

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<v Speaker 1>the roof. It hit so hard and it rocked the

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<v Speaker 1>trailer back and forth. We froze. We held on to

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<v Speaker 1>each other tightly, and we weren't able to speak, and

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<v Speaker 1>then a dragging sound made its way from above us

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<v Speaker 1>all the way up the length of the trailer. Within seconds,

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<v Speaker 1>there was another large stud over us, again shaking the trailer,

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<v Speaker 1>and the same loud, dragging noise up the entire length

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<v Speaker 1>of the trailer. We were paralyzed, waiting for what would

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<v Speaker 1>happen next. The noise stopped and everything went quiet, and

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<v Speaker 1>after a while we were able to speak again and

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<v Speaker 1>whispering to one another what the heck that was and

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<v Speaker 1>what we should do. My husband suggested going out with

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<v Speaker 1>a flashlight and checking it out, but we decided not to,

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<v Speaker 1>and to this day I'm really grateful we didn't do that.

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<v Speaker 1>We lay there trying to unravel what had just happened

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<v Speaker 1>and what it could have been. We went through the

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<v Speaker 1>list of wild animals in the area, and nothing seemed

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<v Speaker 1>to make sense. The trailer was too far away from

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<v Speaker 1>any tree to allow an animal to jump across to it,

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<v Speaker 1>and the dragging sound was not like anything we'd ever heard.

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<v Speaker 1>I grew up in a house with lots of critters

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<v Speaker 1>on the roof, and they all make the sound a footstep, skurring,

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<v Speaker 1>not dragging sounds. We thought it might be an owl,

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<v Speaker 1>but there was no sounds of footsteps or talons on

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<v Speaker 1>the metal roof. And although some owls can be big,

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<v Speaker 1>this was much heavier and much bigger. It was big

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<v Speaker 1>enough to shake the trailer. Eventually, we were able to

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<v Speaker 1>fall asleep, and the cat did return in one piece.

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<v Speaker 1>As soon as we woke up, we went to inspect

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<v Speaker 1>the area around the trailer. Nothing was out of place,

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<v Speaker 1>and there was not a single animal track in the

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<v Speaker 1>powdery dust. We pulled out of that spot within two

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<v Speaker 1>days and we moved into a trailer part. I've never

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<v Speaker 1>had another experience like that, and I've continued to enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>the woods to this day, but it still gives me

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<v Speaker 1>goosebumps to think about that night. Thanks for all the

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<v Speaker 1>good listening, and the writer signs off, Oh, that was

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<v Speaker 1>a great story. That's a You never saw her, You

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<v Speaker 1>never saw anything you don't know what it was, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know something's out there. It's just like that. It's

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<v Speaker 1>not even a gut instinct. You heard it, You felt it,

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<v Speaker 1>You felt whatever it was rocking the trailer, and you

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<v Speaker 1>know there's nothing out there that would do that. There's

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<v Speaker 1>no animal that would do that unless it was a person.

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<v Speaker 1>It could have been a person just messing with you.

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<v Speaker 1>But why would anybody do that? And doesn't make any

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<v Speaker 1>sense anyway. It's a great story. I really appreciate it.

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<v Speaker 1>When I first became a deputy, I spent a month

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<v Speaker 1>riding with a field training officer before I was finally

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to patrol alone. It was a New Year's Day,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty. I had only been with the department for

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of months, but since most calls happened on

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<v Speaker 1>New Year's Eve, they let me go solo that night,

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<v Speaker 1>knowing it would be a quiet The day started off

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<v Speaker 1>peacefully enough. There had only been one call all morning

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<v Speaker 1>about a dog running loose. It wasn't until later that

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<v Speaker 1>things got interesting. It all began with a call from

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<v Speaker 1>the County Emergency Operations Center alerting me about an emergency

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<v Speaker 1>situation two children possibly breaking through the ice in Morgan

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<v Speaker 1>Creek south of Jacksonburg Road bridge. I turned on my

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<v Speaker 1>light bar and headed straight to the bridge, where I

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<v Speaker 1>saw a woman frantically waving her arms. She told me

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<v Speaker 1>her children had gone for a walk along the creek

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<v Speaker 1>hours earlier and never returned. She had tracked their footprints

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<v Speaker 1>in the snow along the creek to a spot where

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<v Speaker 1>they stepped onto the ice, where a large hole revealed

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<v Speaker 1>the freezing water beneath. I followed her to the water's edge,

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<v Speaker 1>where two sets of child sized footprints led right to

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<v Speaker 1>the break in the ice, clearly visible in the snow.

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<v Speaker 1>Back up was already on its way. I called the

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<v Speaker 1>nearest volunteer fire department and a water rescue team with

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<v Speaker 1>my radio. I tried to calm her down, but it

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<v Speaker 1>didn't help. She was nearly hysterical when we heard the

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<v Speaker 1>distant well of sirens. The fire department sent a diver

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<v Speaker 1>under the ice, and he located the two children. They

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<v Speaker 1>had both drowned, a girl and a boy, age eleven

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<v Speaker 1>and nine years later in two thousand, on a snowy

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<v Speaker 1>New Year's night, I was home listening to dispatch over

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<v Speaker 1>my radio. A call came in requesting any unit near

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<v Speaker 1>the Jacksonburg Road bridge south of Morgan Creek. Another officer

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<v Speaker 1>responded quickly and dispatch briefed him. Two children had been

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<v Speaker 1>seen walking south along the road and they were both wet.

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<v Speaker 1>When the caller stopped to ask if they were okay,

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<v Speaker 1>they kept walking and they didn't acknowledge her. The caller

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<v Speaker 1>was frightened and she stopped at a nearby gas station

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<v Speaker 1>and she called it in. She was worried about the kids.

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<v Speaker 1>The deputy told dispatch he was en route, and about

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen minutes later I heard him on the radio again.

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<v Speaker 1>Negative contact on the children. He told the dispatch. I

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<v Speaker 1>saw footprints in the snow walking south, but they disappeared

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<v Speaker 1>about a quarter mile south of the bridge at the

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<v Speaker 1>old vacant farmhouse. Maybe they were picked up by somebody.

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<v Speaker 1>I will continue to patrol the area. I knew this

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<v Speaker 1>farmhouse well. It used to belong to the family whose

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<v Speaker 1>children drowned twenty years earlier. After that tragedy, the parents

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<v Speaker 1>moved away and it hadn't been bought or lived in since.

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<v Speaker 1>The deputy and the dispatcher were both relatively new hires

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<v Speaker 1>and likely unaware of the drownings. I firmly believed that

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<v Speaker 1>the caller had seen the ghosts of those children who

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<v Speaker 1>died that day twenty years earlier. The fact that the

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<v Speaker 1>footprints vanished at the old house is pretty hard to explain. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>the farmhouse is gone, it was torn down, and a

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<v Speaker 1>new bridge has replaced the old one. Other than that,

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<v Speaker 1>the area remains the same. It's beautiful, but it's burdened.

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<v Speaker 1>Was that a creepy That's a creepy story, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>a sad I wasn't gonna talk between these stories. I

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<v Speaker 1>know some people want me to talk. I don't know why.

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<v Speaker 1>But the reason I don't talk is because I really

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<v Speaker 1>don't have much to say. I just love reading these

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<v Speaker 1>and recording them and putting on them out for you

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<v Speaker 1>guys to hear. But I'll talk about this one. This

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<v Speaker 1>is so sad. Can you imagine, oh, oh, the morning

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<v Speaker 1>and the sorrow and the memory of their both children

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<v Speaker 1>drowning in an icy creek. I just cannot imagine. I

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<v Speaker 1>cannot imagine, you know. And when we hear stories like this,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what, the first thing we all think is

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<v Speaker 1>we silently and the recesses of our minds try to

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<v Speaker 1>give comfort to people like that. But the first thing

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<v Speaker 1>we think is man, I'm so glad that didn't happen

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<v Speaker 1>to me. And you go home and you hug your

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<v Speaker 1>children and you look at them and you stroke their hair,

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<v Speaker 1>and you think, I'm so glad. I'm not dealing with that.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's a natural I know that's what. That's what.

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<v Speaker 1>The first thing. I'm always self assessing myself. I'm always

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about who I am, I am, my character, you know?

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<v Speaker 1>Am I a good person? Am I doing people right?

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<v Speaker 1>Have I made the right choices. I'm always self assessing

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<v Speaker 1>and I always feel a little bit guilty for that.

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<v Speaker 1>But I can't be dishonest with you and not say

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<v Speaker 1>every time I hear about something like that, just read

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<v Speaker 1>this story, I'm thinking, oh my god, I'm glad that

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<v Speaker 1>didn't happen to me or anybody in my family or

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<v Speaker 1>any of my kids families. You know. It's just I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know why I'm harping on it. It's just the

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<v Speaker 1>story just struck me as so sad because I have children,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know how that is. Anyway, that's a sad story,

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<v Speaker 1>but it is a very intriguing story that this woman

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<v Speaker 1>ran up on these kids walking wet down a road

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<v Speaker 1>on a winter night, twenty years after two children had

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<v Speaker 1>drowned in that Greek very odd, very very good story

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<v Speaker 1>from the writer