1 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: Sometime last year, I was hold up in my house 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,960 for a whole day and night. My city had a 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:16,239 huge storm come through that put everyone on lockdown inside 4 00:00:16,399 --> 00:00:21,320 for almost an entire twenty four hours. Houses and roads 5 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,920 were flooding, and on the news there were even reports 6 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:29,320 of wind damaging windows and ripping roof panels off of homes. 7 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,280 I was alone at the time, spending the day on 8 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:36,079 my phone, keeping up with the news and just listening 9 00:00:36,159 --> 00:00:40,960 to the chaos going on outside. Around five or six, 10 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:45,119 the power started flickering, turning off for just a few moments, 11 00:00:45,439 --> 00:00:49,439 then turning back on. Then, maybe just an hour after 12 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:56,960 this had started, the power fully shut off. I waited 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,719 for a few minutes, expecting it to come back on, 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,479 but after a while I realized it probably wasn't going 15 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,000 to come back until after the storm was over. I 16 00:01:08,079 --> 00:01:10,519 sat on the couch and started scrolling through the news 17 00:01:10,519 --> 00:01:13,920 again on my phone for any updates, until there was 18 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:19,200 a heavy knock on the front door. It scared me 19 00:01:19,599 --> 00:01:23,439 being so loud in the midst of such a crazy storm, 20 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,200 but also because I was not expecting anyone to be 21 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,200 outside in this weather. I stayed where I was for 22 00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:33,200 a minute, debating whether to even see who it was. 23 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,480 But then the thought rolled through my mind that maybe 24 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,159 it was just a neighbor needing help or wanting to 25 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,599 ask if my power was out too. It was still 26 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,480 absurd for anyone to be outside, but I went up 27 00:01:45,519 --> 00:01:49,959 to the door and looked out the people. Nobody was there. 28 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:54,439 Perhaps I had waited too long to check, but looking out, 29 00:01:54,799 --> 00:01:59,280 a really unnerving feeling came over me. I went back 30 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,120 to the living room and opened a window, letting the 31 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:06,079 minimal amount of light in from outside. I didn't have 32 00:02:06,159 --> 00:02:08,560 any way to charge my phone, and I didn't have 33 00:02:08,599 --> 00:02:11,439 a flashlight, so I kind of just sat there and 34 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:16,240 stared out the window. Then, out of the blue, I 35 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,680 swear I heard a voice outside. I swung my head 36 00:02:20,719 --> 00:02:23,639 around behind me, looking toward where I thought i'd heard 37 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,120 it from, but of course I couldn't hear it anymore. 38 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,199 I waited again, but figured it had to have just 39 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:35,319 been the wind making strange noises, so I turned back around. 40 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,520 Almost right on cue, though I heard it again, just 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,039 a quick few words, like someone was talking to someone else. 42 00:02:45,759 --> 00:02:49,199 I got up and went to a nearby window, looking out. 43 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,719 It was so dark and rainy, there was nothing really 44 00:02:52,719 --> 00:02:56,759 for me to see. Still, I stared out into the rain, 45 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,479 and a sudden flicker of lightning lit up the area 46 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:04,439 for a second, and in that second I made out 47 00:03:04,439 --> 00:03:10,240 a figure not far from my house. I had no 48 00:03:10,319 --> 00:03:13,000 way to know what he was doing, or really anything 49 00:03:13,039 --> 00:03:16,560 at all. I just saw a figure for a split second, 50 00:03:17,039 --> 00:03:20,039 and now that it was dark again, I couldn't see anything. 51 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,120 Getting more unnerved, I closed up the windows and decided 52 00:03:25,159 --> 00:03:29,360 to go upstairs to the bedroom. Despite this, I was 53 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,560 still nervous about the knocking and the guy I saw 54 00:03:32,759 --> 00:03:37,080 standing out in the middle of such a brutal storm. 55 00:03:37,439 --> 00:03:39,719 It was hard not to wonder what they were doing 56 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:46,879 or who they were talking to. Hours went by with 57 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,879 nothing more happening, just the sounds of the storm outside 58 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,479 as I sat in the room. Then, just when I 59 00:03:55,479 --> 00:03:58,919 had started to forget about it all, a sudden sound 60 00:03:59,159 --> 00:04:07,840 faintly echoed from downstairs. It was a door opening. I 61 00:04:07,879 --> 00:04:11,000 could feel my face go pale as I tried to listen, 62 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,599 but it almost felt like the storm had grown louder, 63 00:04:15,039 --> 00:04:17,240 and I knew there would be no way I could 64 00:04:17,319 --> 00:04:20,959 hear any footsteps at all. I just had to sit 65 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,759 there in my own thoughts and wait, horrified in the small, 66 00:04:25,959 --> 00:04:32,000 barely lit bedroom. A minute passed, and then another, and 67 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,199 eventually I got the courage to call nine one one, 68 00:04:35,759 --> 00:04:38,079 though I knew it'd be a long time for them 69 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:42,319 to arrive. From the time I heard the door open 70 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,160 to the time the police showed up, it had been 71 00:04:45,399 --> 00:04:49,360 over thirty minutes, and yet there were no other sounds, 72 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,439 and nobody ever came up to the room I was in. 73 00:04:53,959 --> 00:04:57,680 All the cops found was an open front door in 74 00:04:57,759 --> 00:05:02,399 wet shoe prints inside the house. There were no indications 75 00:05:02,399 --> 00:05:06,759 of any intent after entering my home. It almost seemed 76 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:10,240 like they broke in, looked around for a minute, then 77 00:05:10,439 --> 00:05:15,560 just left. To this day, there's been no answers to 78 00:05:15,639 --> 00:05:32,319 the events of that night. This was almost five years 79 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:35,680 ago from today. At the time, I was living in 80 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,959 a small, one bedroom apartment when my parents bought a 81 00:05:38,959 --> 00:05:41,560 new house about an hour from the city I lived in. 82 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:46,120 It was a really nice, way too big, countryside home 83 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,319 with a ton of land, but due to their work 84 00:05:49,319 --> 00:05:53,680 schedules and just how complicated moving long distance was, they 85 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:56,319 had to ship all of their stuff and have movers 86 00:05:56,399 --> 00:05:59,199 drop it off about a week before they would get there. 87 00:06:00,399 --> 00:06:03,519 To help out, I offered to houseit during that in 88 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,879 between time and make sure the move was all good. 89 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,959 I got to the house on Saturday morning, greeting the 90 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,800 movers and letting them haul everything inside, and they finished 91 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,519 by sundown. All the stuff was piled in the corner 92 00:06:18,519 --> 00:06:21,240 of the rooms, with really just the couch set up 93 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,360 for me to chill on. Seeing the house with everything inside, though, 94 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:30,040 really put into perspective how large the place was. I mean, 95 00:06:30,079 --> 00:06:33,759 to me, at least, it felt like a mansion, huge wide, 96 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:39,360 open rooms with long empty hallways without anything else set up. 97 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:44,199 It was kind of unsettling. After eating some left over 98 00:06:44,319 --> 00:06:47,160 dinner that I brought with, I decided to check out 99 00:06:47,199 --> 00:06:50,680 the back yard. It had a large patio with a 100 00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,399 fire pit built in, and had a bunch of random 101 00:06:53,439 --> 00:06:57,879 outdoor furniture scattered along the side of the house. I 102 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:00,040 grabbed a small lawn chair and put it by the 103 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:04,759 fire pit, then sat back and relaxed. The night was 104 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,360 a little breezy, especially way out in the middle of 105 00:07:07,399 --> 00:07:10,879 the open fields, but it was really quiet and peaceful. 106 00:07:11,839 --> 00:07:14,680 It was probably around eleven and I was out there 107 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,720 for at least an hour or so, when just out 108 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,319 of nowhere, a man appeared in the distance. He was 109 00:07:22,399 --> 00:07:26,360 walking way out in the field. I looked to where 110 00:07:26,399 --> 00:07:30,000 he came from and saw nothing but open land. Then 111 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:32,560 I looked toward where he was heading and saw the 112 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:37,040 same thing. I watched this man walk all the way 113 00:07:37,079 --> 00:07:41,079 down until the fog covered him up, but the whole 114 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,199 time I had no clue what he was doing out there. 115 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,800 Several minutes went by as I looked out into the fog, 116 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:53,240 still just thinking about this man, when again he emerged 117 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,199 from the dark, this time walking the way he had 118 00:07:56,199 --> 00:08:01,240 come before. He was slightly closer this time, well enough 119 00:08:01,279 --> 00:08:05,279 to where it was a little uncomforting. I ended up 120 00:08:05,319 --> 00:08:09,879 going back inside, not wanting to be seen. I stayed 121 00:08:09,879 --> 00:08:12,959 in for an hour, mostly scrolling on my phone, but 122 00:08:13,079 --> 00:08:16,120 also checking the windows a couple of times and not 123 00:08:16,199 --> 00:08:21,560 seeing anything of concern. Around twelve thirty, I grabbed a 124 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,040 blanket from one of the boxes and passed it on 125 00:08:24,079 --> 00:08:27,639 the couch, laying down and falling asleep in the middle 126 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:33,879 of the living room. When I woke up, something immediately 127 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:38,600 felt off. I was confused and uneasy, opening my eyes 128 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,360 and trying to figure out why I'd woken up and 129 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,759 why I felt like this. The whole house was dark, 130 00:08:45,799 --> 00:08:49,200 and silent, and the shadows of the random stacked up 131 00:08:49,240 --> 00:08:54,200 boxes made it difficult to see. But only a moment 132 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:58,679 after looking around, a bright glare shined into the room. 133 00:09:00,039 --> 00:09:03,799 Squinted from the brightness as the light moved around the room, 134 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:09,440 then suddenly shifted away. Opening my eyes again, I saw 135 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:14,320 another small glare moving outside the front window. Then it 136 00:09:14,399 --> 00:09:18,120 suddenly shifted again, coming through the window, lighting up the 137 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:23,679 whole living room and directly shining into my eyes. By 138 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,080 the time my eyes adjusted, the light was gone and 139 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:31,759 the window had nothing behind it. I got up and 140 00:09:31,799 --> 00:09:33,919 picked up my phone as I went up to the 141 00:09:33,919 --> 00:09:36,720 window and tried to see who was out there, but 142 00:09:36,919 --> 00:09:40,200 they were long gone, having turned their light off and 143 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,279 faded out into the foggy night. I don't know who 144 00:09:45,399 --> 00:09:48,600 was out there or what they wanted. What I'd say 145 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:51,320 my best guess is that they had seen the movers 146 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:55,120 and were trying to rob the place, whatever it was. 147 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,559 Though I think I got lucky because if I hadn't 148 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,320 woken up from the light, it's likely I would have 149 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:16,360 had to find out their intentions the hard way. It 150 00:10:16,399 --> 00:10:19,240 was just a regular Friday night after getting out of 151 00:10:19,279 --> 00:10:22,399 a long closing shift at work, I made a quick 152 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:25,559 microwave meal, then hopped online with some of my buddies 153 00:10:25,639 --> 00:10:28,960 and started gaming. I had an energy drink and some 154 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:31,679 snacks and was ready to stay up late and enjoy 155 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,639 the night. We gamed for a while. I never even 156 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,840 checked the time, but at some point there was a knock. 157 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,000 At first, I just told my friends to hold on 158 00:10:42,399 --> 00:10:45,159 as I took my headset off and stood up. But 159 00:10:45,279 --> 00:10:48,240 when I turned around from my desk, I realized how 160 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:52,200 dark it was inside and outside, seeing only the light 161 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:57,559 from my computer. I stood there, understanding now how completely 162 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:59,559 out of the norm it was for someone to be 163 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:03,279 at my this late into the night. And that's when 164 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,039 I saw a man looking at me through the window. 165 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,840 I froze when I saw him, feeling my stomach drop 166 00:11:11,039 --> 00:11:15,320 out of the eeriness of him staring at me. Then 167 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,639 the man yelled through the glass, asking me a question, 168 00:11:19,159 --> 00:11:22,039 but I was too out of it to understand him 169 00:11:22,639 --> 00:11:27,559 what I said. Walking closer to the window, the man 170 00:11:27,639 --> 00:11:30,759 repeated himself, asking me if I was someone he knew 171 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,600 named Jake or Jack or something. I didn't catch the name, 172 00:11:35,879 --> 00:11:39,440 but it definitely wasn't me. I shook my head no, 173 00:11:39,919 --> 00:11:42,360 and the man said nothing as he walked away from 174 00:11:42,399 --> 00:11:47,399 the window and disappeared past my front yard. Being a 175 00:11:47,399 --> 00:11:51,120 bit shaken, I immediately shut the blinds, then went back 176 00:11:51,159 --> 00:11:54,120 to the computer and told my friends about what just happened. 177 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,480 They all didn't even believe me at first, but I 178 00:11:57,519 --> 00:11:59,919 think they heard the shakiness of my voice as they 179 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,159 I started asking a lot of questions, which only made 180 00:12:03,159 --> 00:12:07,480 me even more creeped out. I took their advice, going 181 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,279 around and making sure all the doors were locked, then 182 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,600 also locking the windows, which I'd never even bothered to 183 00:12:13,639 --> 00:12:17,600 do before. Then they assured me everything was okay, and 184 00:12:17,639 --> 00:12:23,480 we got back what we were doing. A couple hours passed, 185 00:12:23,759 --> 00:12:27,799 and honestly, I'd completely forgotten about what had happened. I 186 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,240 think I assumed that if they were to do something, 187 00:12:30,519 --> 00:12:33,799 it would have been right after he'd shown up. But 188 00:12:33,960 --> 00:12:37,080 then a loud knock from behind me almost shook me 189 00:12:37,159 --> 00:12:42,360 off my chair. This time it was definitely from the 190 00:12:42,399 --> 00:12:47,240 front door. I told my friends, whispering into the headset. 191 00:12:48,159 --> 00:12:50,399 They said to see who it was and just call 192 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:55,279 the cops. Doing as they said, I quietly walked over 193 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:59,799 to the door and looked out onto the porch. It 194 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,799 was him again. Standing there and waiting for me to answer. 195 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,600 I watched for a minute, and oddly he kept looking 196 00:13:08,639 --> 00:13:11,480 to his right, as if he were looking at something 197 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,879 or someone. I backed away and got my phone, calling 198 00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:19,159 the cops and whispering to them what was going on. 199 00:13:20,639 --> 00:13:23,360 Another knock came as I made my way back to 200 00:13:23,399 --> 00:13:26,600 the door and looked out, seeing the man looking off 201 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,919 to the side again. Then he made a small gesture 202 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,960 with his hand before knocking one more time. But the 203 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,360 night was quiet enough for me to hear someone else's 204 00:13:37,399 --> 00:13:42,600 footsteps moving around to the side of the house. I 205 00:13:42,759 --> 00:13:46,600 followed the sound with my eyes until it stopped right 206 00:13:46,679 --> 00:13:50,960 under one of the windows. I saw the glass shift 207 00:13:51,039 --> 00:13:54,600 up slightly before getting stuck on the lock and falling 208 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:59,440 back down. They tried again, but the window didn't give in. 209 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:03,840 After this, there was probably a whole minute that went 210 00:14:03,919 --> 00:14:08,840 by where I didn't hear anything. I just stood there 211 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,879 and listened to the operator, updating me on the arrival 212 00:14:11,919 --> 00:14:17,519 of the officer. As I stared at the window, a loud, 213 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:21,879 dull sound came from outside the window, like something being 214 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,720 wedged into the wood. I could see the entire frame 215 00:14:25,799 --> 00:14:29,279 around the glass moving As I backed away and tried 216 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,360 to think of what to do, but suddenly a set 217 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,799 of footsteps ran from the front door to the side window, 218 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:41,799 followed by both of them running away. Only a moment 219 00:14:41,919 --> 00:14:45,480 later I saw the flashing red and blue lights coming 220 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:51,279 through the windows. As for what happened afterwards, there wasn't much. 221 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:55,440 Police had nothing to really go off of. I gave 222 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:58,120 them a detailed description of one of the men, but 223 00:14:58,399 --> 00:15:02,960 that just wasn't enough. However, it's been over a year 224 00:15:03,159 --> 00:15:06,519 since that night and there's been no signs of them 225 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:07,840 having ever come back.