WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:10.519 I dated a girl who lived in a haunted trailer 2 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:13.839 in the middle of nowhere. She had one bedroom that 3 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:17.679 was inexplicably dark, even with all the lights on and 4 00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:21.359 the shades open. No matter how hard she tried, she 5 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:24.760 couldn't keep a roommate. Everyone who tried to stay in 6 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:28.120 that room couldn't last the night. They'd ended up sleeping 7 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:31.280 on the couch and leaving the next morning. The only 8 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:34.200 guy who actually did manage to stay for a while, 9 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:37.679 he started going crazy and she had to ask him 10 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.920 to move out after a couple of months. Well, maybe 11 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:45.320 she's a nut living in the middle of nowhere in 12 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.719 a trailer. I don't know. Maybe she just couldn't afford 13 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:51.880 anywhere else. But a lot of times, when these girls 14 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:54.920 are crazy and people can't last even one day with them, 15 00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:57.880 it's not the ghost that we're about to read about. 16 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:00.759 It's because the girl's a nut and you shouldn't be 17 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:03.640 shacking up. You shouldn't be doing that. You should marry 18 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.120 the girl Mary. The girls quit shacking up with these 19 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:11.280 women guys. Okay, enough of my social commentary for the day. 20 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.519 Move on with the story. One night I was staying 21 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:17.799 over at her place and I got up to get 22 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:20.560 something to drink. As soon as I walked out of 23 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.400 the bedroom, I heard whispering from a whole bunch of people. 24 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.280 It was all around me. I looked into the kitchen 25 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:31.359 and saw what appeared to be twenty silvery ghosts having 26 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:35.879 a party. Some were holding plates and some were holding drinks. 27 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:39.159 I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I slammed my 28 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:43.120 hand on the light switch and they disappeared. Another time, 29 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.400 I saw something shadowy standing at the edge of the woods. 30 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:49.359 It was only as tall as a large dog, but 31 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:53.319 there was something off about this thing. I told my girlfriend, 32 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.079 who knew all about it, and she told me that 33 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:59.040 it didn't like me. She said that many nights it 34 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:01.599 would come right up to her trailer, but when I 35 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:04.079 was around, it would retreat into the woods and wait 36 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:08.120 for me to leave. The final straw for me happened 37 00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:10.159 in the middle of the day when we heard a 38 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:13.520 little girl singing at the top of her lungs. There 39 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:16.719 were no other trailers or neighbors in sight, so I 40 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:19.439 went outside to check it out, thinking she might have 41 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:22.199 been lost, But as hard as I looked, I couldn't 42 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:25.520 find her anywhere. I heard her singing but I couldn't 43 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:29.280 see her. I circled the entire trailer, and when I 44 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:31.960 got back to the front door, it went quiet again. 45 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:36.759 After that, I stopped spending time there. Now. When I 46 00:02:36.840 --> 00:02:39.240 was a little kid, we had a burn pit about 47 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:42.479 one hundred yards from the house. One night, my dad 48 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:45.199 was carrying the trash down there and I went with him. 49 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:47.960 When we got there, we saw something that scared the 50 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:50.680 hell out of both of us. It was the color 51 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:54.039 of blue gray smoke, and it looked like a genie 52 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:57.159 out of a lamp. It was skinny at the bottom, 53 00:02:57.159 --> 00:03:00.479 but toward the top it widened, forming a human torso 54 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.599 with the arms and a head. My dad was not 55 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.199 particularly a fit man, but he dropped the trash can, 56 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:10.800 grabbed me like a football under his arm, and sprinted 57 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.520 up the hill to the house. Not long after that, 58 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:18.080 my grandmother died. While we were going through her things, 59 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:22.560 we found out she had been practicing witchcraft. We found 60 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:26.280 letters where she had been channeling her dead. She would 61 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:28.759 write out a bunch of questions and then channel a 62 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:32.879 spirit who would answer them for her. The creepiest part 63 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:35.319 of all was that the questions were written out in 64 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:39.639 my grandmother's nice flowing handwriting, but the responses were in 65 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:43.639 a man's rough handwriting. He gave me goosebumps reading it. 66 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:47.879 When my friends and I were fifteen, we were heading 67 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:50.759 up a hill to a bluff, and as we were walking, 68 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:52.960 something hitting me across the back of my head with 69 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.960 a stick, breaking it in two. We turned around, ready 70 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:59.960 to fight, and I saw a young bigfoot standing there, 71 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:03.879 six feet tall, broad at the shoulders, with hair hanging 72 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:07.439 off his arms and legs. He took off running and 73 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:11.240 we went after him, though it was useless because he 74 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:14.240 had disappeared up the hill in a matter of seconds, 75 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:17.720 out of sight. Late one night, my friend and I 76 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:21.120 were walking home. We were nearly at the last street 77 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.160 light before my house when something walked into the road 78 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.480 in front of us. It looked like a demonic grimlin. 79 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.439 It was almost black with white stripes and had kind 80 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:35.000 of an egg shaped head. Its knee bent backwards over 81 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:39.639 long feet, and its back had an unnatural arch. As 82 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:41.959 soon as it appeared, it vanished again on the other 83 00:04:42.040 --> 00:04:44.959 side of the road. My friend took off running like 84 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.000 a scared little girl. It took me a minute to 85 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:51.199 catch up with him. Later, I described it to a 86 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:54.000 friend of mine who informed me that I had seen 87 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:58.000 a schup of cabra. Where I live, you'll meet more 88 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:02.519 people who have had strange encounter. Every other person out 89 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.759 here has had their own personal experience, whether with a bigfoot, 90 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.600 a white thing, a chupacabra, or something else that'll make 91 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:13.360 you lose sleep. It's comforting on the one hand knowing 92 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:15.920 that I'm not the only one seeing these things, but 93 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.920 it is disturbing too, knowing I live in a hotspot. 94 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:23.040 I love your show. I think you do a fantastic job, 95 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:26.000 and I've probably heard every one of your episodes. I 96 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:28.639 heard you say once that you don't like your accent, 97 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:30.720 but I don't think the show would be the same 98 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:34.480 if some Yankee was reading it. Have a good day 99 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.959 of peace, be with you. Well, thanks for the story. 100 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:41.879 This is I get these every once in a while, 101 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:44.160 and there are some people in this world that just 102 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:49.519 have event after event after event in their lives with 103 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:53.800 things that nobody else believes. I don't make a call 104 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.279 on this story one way or another, but I just 105 00:05:57.480 --> 00:05:59.759 sometimes I'm going to just be candid with you. Sometimes 106 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.800 it's kind of odd. I'm not saying it didn't happen. 107 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:05.759 This guy knows whether it happened or not. But if 108 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:10.000 you think this story is not believable or believable, let 109 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:13.040 me know in the comments. Hey ya got everybody, just 110 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:15.759 feel free to say whatever you want to say. It 111 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:17.959 was a good story at any rate, and that's why 112 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:23.279 I read it, so I appreciate the writer sending it. Hello. Hello, 113 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:25.920 welcome to the podcast. My name's Cam Buckner. This is 114 00:06:25.959 --> 00:06:30.439 a Dixie Cryptid YouTube podcast. We also have a podcast 115 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:34.240 on your podcast app called the what If It's True? Podcast. 116 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.279 You can look it up and search anywhere. Probably a 117 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:42.000 lot less ads, a lot less data usage, and it's easy, easy, 118 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.839 easy on your phone battery if you use a phone 119 00:06:44.839 --> 00:06:48.279 to listen to the podcast. Hey, what is it about 120 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:52.560 YouTube videos that just drives you crazy? What do you 121 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:57.560 hate about YouTube videos? I'm curious what everybody will say. Now, 122 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:00.680 you can't say ads, because ads this is just a 123 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:04.839 natural part of all of these platforms. You cannot go 124 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:12.560 on a single platform Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Rumble, Twitter, 125 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:16.120 any of them and not encounter ads. Now, I know 126 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.759 the ads are annoying in the YouTube videos because you 127 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.839 are into a story or into a video and an 128 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:24.879 ad pops up. But there's a way to solve that. 129 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:27.720 You can just get the YouTube premium for seven ninety 130 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:29.759 nine a month and you don't have to ever deal 131 00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:31.879 with ads, and I can't live without it. But other 132 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:35.399 than that, what drives you crazy about a YouTube video? 133 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:38.040 I'm gonna tell you my biggest pet peeve is when 134 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.680 I click on something that I want to see and 135 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.920 it takes the creator in a ten minute video seven 136 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.759 minutes to get to the effing point. It drives me insane. 137 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:52.920 Now I used to do that on this channel. I'm 138 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:55.480 kind of doing it right now. And that is the 139 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.480 main reason I quit talking so much in these videos, 140 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.639 is because it drives me nuts when other people do it. 141 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.399 I'd rather them just get to the point. I clicked 142 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.439 on the video to listen to a story, to watch 143 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:09.920 something on a particular topic. I don't need to know 144 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.439 everything about their life. I don't need to know. I 145 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.199 don't need all the apologies that the sound is bad. 146 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:18.399 I don't need. I don't need them to tell me 147 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:21.519 to subscribe, because I know how to subscribe to a channel. 148 00:08:21.560 --> 00:08:24.959 If you put out good content, I'll subscribe. That is 149 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.040 what drives me nuts about YouTube videos, and I've seen 150 00:08:29.079 --> 00:08:32.720 them on TikTok, seen them on YouTube shorts. You can 151 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:34.840 just go down the line and people just blab or 152 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:37.159 blab or brib or until they get to the point. 153 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:40.600 So I'm gonna stop blabbering, but I'm gonna look forward 154 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:44.559 to hearing what your pet peeves are on YouTube videos 155 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.240 that you watch. So let me know. Let me know 156 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:49.399 in the comment section. All right, we got a couple 157 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:52.039 one or two more stories in this podcast. Hope you 158 00:08:52.120 --> 00:09:01.879 enjoy it. All right, here we go. The first flash 159 00:09:02.200 --> 00:09:05.600 pulled me from a drunk slumber. I lay there in 160 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:08.360 the tent next to my wife wondering what I had 161 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:13.320 heard till the second splash woke her up. What was that, 162 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:18.320 she asked. I quietly shushed her, and I listened intently 163 00:09:18.399 --> 00:09:21.360 to something shuffling and mumbling on the other side of 164 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:25.159 the river. I chose our camping spot because it was 165 00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:28.799 an island in the river. If something were to approach 166 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:31.159 our tent, it would have to wade through the channel 167 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:34.559 on either side of us. My fault was I'd hear 168 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:38.320 it and wake up if something crossed. I take these 169 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:41.679 precautions after growing up and spending my spare time in 170 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:47.240 grizzly country. The third splash sounded as I unholstered my 171 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:51.559 big Boar revolver and found my flashlight. My wife asked 172 00:09:51.559 --> 00:09:54.200 me again what it was. I could tell by her 173 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:58.360 voice that she was shaken. Earlier that evening, we had 174 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.799 fished and swam next to the camp. I didn't recall 175 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:04.919 seeing any evidence of a beaver. The size of the 176 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:08.399 splash was not just from an average sized rock. It 177 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:10.679 would have been a very large rock thrown high in 178 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:15.080 the air hitting the water. It sounded like shuffling and mumbling. 179 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:18.519 I heard rocks rolling down the slope and what sounded 180 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:22.600 like footsteps. The mumbling was low and mixed with a grunting, 181 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:27.080 and I couldn't make out any specific words. In the distance, 182 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:30.360 I heard a train approaching, and soon the train was 183 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.159 all we could hear. After it passed, we lay in 184 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:36.480 the tent listening. I realized right then that if something 185 00:10:36.519 --> 00:10:39.240 had crossed one of the channels while the train was close, 186 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:41.480 I wouldn't have been able to hear it in the water. 187 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:45.000 I told my wife everything was fine and I was 188 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:47.240 just going to have a look around, and I un 189 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:50.399 zipup the tent and I stepped out the flashlight was 190 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:54.159 on and my pistol was raised. I scanned three hundred 191 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:57.639 and sixty degrees and didn't see anything. We were alone 192 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:01.320 on that island. I head back into the tent to 193 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:03.879 tell my wife everything was all right. When I heard 194 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:07.360 something crashing off through the brush up the slope. I 195 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:09.360 tried to get the flashlight on it, but it was 196 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:12.639 far enough away that I couldn't see anything now. I 197 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:15.600 spent the rest of the night feeding the campfire, sitting 198 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:17.960 in a long chair with my back to the flames, 199 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.120 with a pistol and the flashlight in my lap, while 200 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:25.320 my wife slept. The following morning, we tore the camp 201 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:29.200 down and quickly loaded everything into the raft. Before leaving, 202 00:11:29.480 --> 00:11:32.360 I walked up and down our side of the river channel, 203 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:36.039 once again looking for evidence of beavers, but nothing I 204 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:38.240 saw led me to believe that there was any in 205 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:43.159 the area. We floated out of there before even cooking breakfast, 206 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:46.120 and a few miles down stream, my wife asked me 207 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:48.720 what I thought it had been. I told her it 208 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:52.440 was probably a bear or a moose. She said, bears 209 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:56.440 and moose don't throw rocks, and she was right. I 210 00:11:56.440 --> 00:11:59.679 felt my eyes wander toward either bank on alert, hoping 211 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.279 I would and catch a glimpse of something tracking us. 212 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:07.000 We finally determined that someone was walking along the train tracks, 213 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.200 a vagrant maybe, who happened to see our campfire and 214 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.279 thought it would be funny to throw rocks in the 215 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:16.519 water close to us. This would be extremely foolish to 216 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:19.559 do to anyone camping in Bear country, but it was 217 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:23.720 the only logical conclusion we could come up with. This 218 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:26.879 happened a few years ago, and since then I've had 219 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:30.799 more encounters, including an experience I had bow hunting in 220 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:38.519 northwestern Montana. I have never been one to go to 221 00:12:38.679 --> 00:12:41.919 church or really give God much thought. Throughout the last 222 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:45.120 forty one years of my life. Although I had a 223 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:48.759 strong belief in God, I generally had the mindset that 224 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:51.440 if I kept out of his business, he would keep 225 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:54.759 out of mind. This was all about to change, however, 226 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:57.799 and I feel compelled to share my story in the 227 00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:00.679 hopes that maybe it will be of some used to 228 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:03.799 others who were struggling or sitting on the fence. When 229 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:07.759 it comes to handing the reins over to Jesus, my 230 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:11.440 introduction to truly believing in God did not start with him. 231 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.320 It started with something else, something that still makes my 232 00:13:15.399 --> 00:13:19.480 blood run cold just thinking about it. In July of 233 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:23.120 last year, my family moved from Calgary, Alberta, to my 234 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:27.320 parents' home near Edmonton. We wanted to assist my mother 235 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.840 and father since they lived on a large piece of 236 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:33.960 property by themselves. My father was ill and dealing with 237 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:38.799 that much land was exceedingly difficult for them to manage. 238 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:42.039 My dad had smoked for sixty years, and the result 239 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:46.480 of that decision was unfortunately drawing to its inevitable conclusion. 240 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.200 Dad was an old school stored of fella and refused 241 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:54.399 oxygen or any other help from its doctors. As we 242 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:57.399 were settling in for our recent move, I noticed that 243 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:59.960 over several nights, my mother was sleeping with the loan 244 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:03.519 lights on in her bedroom. She and my father had 245 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:07.440 slept in separate bedrooms due to his coffee. I thought 246 00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.000 her keeping the lights on was a little odd, and 247 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:12.960 I inquired about it. I was surprised by what she 248 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:16.879 told me. Now, my mother is an eternal optimist, and 249 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:21.480 I can barely recall when unbridled fear ever touched her face. 250 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:25.080 She told me one evening prior to our arrival that 251 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:28.759 she entered her room to use the washroom. She turned 252 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:31.240 around to grab a book, and there in the corner 253 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.799 of the room, just behind the partially open door, stood 254 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:39.200 a black figure. She described it as being so tall 255 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:42.480 that it hunched forward to fit in the room. It 256 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:46.039 had big hands and long fingers, and no facial features 257 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:49.200 except for two deep black bits where the eyes should 258 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:53.039 have been. Although its body was bent forward, she could 259 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.360 tell it was looking at her, and she quickly ran 260 00:14:55.480 --> 00:15:00.200 into the bathroom slammed the door. She didn't stay in 261 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.919 the bathroom long because she was worried about whatever that 262 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.080 bloody thing was getting at my dad, and when she 263 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:10.519 re entered her bedroom, the figure was gone. And after 264 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:13.840 checking on my father, she tried to reason out what 265 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.759 she had just witnessed. From that moment on. If she 266 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:20.440 slept at all, she slept with her lights on, and 267 00:15:20.480 --> 00:15:23.200 she wouldn't go into that room without a dog with her. 268 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:28.399 I attributed this story to the deterioration of her mind 269 00:15:28.879 --> 00:15:32.120 from what we thought was Parkinson's at the time, and 270 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:35.120 although I tried to comfort her, I simply dismissed the 271 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.840 whole thing as a trick of light, and I got 272 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:42.200 one with the evening. A few weeks passed without anything 273 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:46.159 notable happening. I was responsible for my father's care and 274 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:49.559 that took up most of my time. Watching someone else 275 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.840 die from lung cancer is an ugly business, and I 276 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.840 feel for anyone who has experienced a loved one dying 277 00:15:55.879 --> 00:16:00.480 from that cancer. But one night everything changed, and it 278 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.840 started with bugs. I would lie in bed with my 279 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:06.720 wife and it would feel like bugs were crawling all 280 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:09.879 over me. I could feel them on my back and chest, 281 00:16:09.960 --> 00:16:13.519 and arms and legs. I could feel them everywhere. I 282 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:17.080 did find a spiderbar bed the third night that started, 283 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:20.360 and I merely pounded it into oblivion with my hand, 284 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:24.120 thinking this was the cause of my problems. But the 285 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.399 next night, the same thing happened. I asked my wife 286 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:30.360 about it, but she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. 287 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.759 It became a nightly routine to check my bed for 288 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:38.399 non existent bugs, only to feel them crawl across my 289 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.879 face shortly after I turned in. The only reprieve seemed 290 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:45.320 to be moving to the couch, and when I went 291 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:48.600 to the couch, the crawling would cease, but another issue 292 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:52.679 would soon start. I would fall asleep and my dreams 293 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:55.919 would be awful, and I'd often wake up sweating and 294 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.799 in a panic. Other times the nightmares would leave me 295 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:03.519 feeling angry or depressed. So that's how it went for 296 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:09.599 a while, Bugs the couch, nightmares, and repeat. This went 297 00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:13.759 on for weeks, and then the next regular occurrence started, 298 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.279 a bad feeling followed by little pokes all over my body. 299 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.960 This happened whether my eyes were open or closed, and 300 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.480 as the days progressed, things got worse. The light poking 301 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:30.119 became more aggressive and turned into jabbing and grabbing and 302 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:34.319 squeezing and pulling and pushing. I was getting less sleep, 303 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:39.359 and tending to my daily duties became increasingly difficult. I 304 00:17:39.400 --> 00:17:43.160 occasionally asked my wife and mother if they noticed anything strange, 305 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.279 but they never experienced anything. I never told my nine 306 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:49.880 year old son about what was happening, except that if 307 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:52.599 he noticed anything out of the ordinary, he was to 308 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.400 let me know. I shared everything with my wife that 309 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:58.880 was happening at the time, and I can't thank her 310 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.400 enough for not calling the men in the white coats. 311 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.839 But I told my father nothing because I figured he 312 00:18:04.920 --> 00:18:08.440 had had enough to worry about. While this was happening, 313 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:12.200 I contemplated my own sanity, and I attributed most of 314 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:15.559 the issue to the stress of watching my father slowly 315 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:21.079 deteriorate and my lack of sleep. One event, however, got 316 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:24.759 my full attention and charged my mindset from that day forward. 317 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:28.759 Once again, I ended up on the couch one night 318 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:32.119 trying to sleep. I was on my right side when 319 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:36.680 that old, familiar feeling crept in. However, this night was 320 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:41.200 very different from the previous nights. Instead of the usual routine, 321 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:43.839 I felt a hand grabbed the side of my face 322 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:48.000 and pushed my head down into the pillow. The hand 323 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:52.599 felt large and cold and rough, with extremely long fingers. 324 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:55.640 The palm of it covered the side of my face 325 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:58.039 from my chin to the top of my head, with 326 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.599 the fingers wrapping around my head and running down my jaw. 327 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:05.599 We always leave a light on for my sun at 328 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:08.400 night in case he needs to use the bathroom. So 329 00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:11.799 when my eyes snapped open and I could see but 330 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:15.519 there was no one there, the force came straight down 331 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:18.640 and there was pressure from what I can only describe 332 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:23.640 as a gigantic hand squeezing my head tightly. This time 333 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.440 there was pain both from my neck and head being 334 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:30.279 pushed down hard. From the pressure around my face, I 335 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.079 could feel my hair and skin moving in response to 336 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:36.880 the hand moving and pushing and squeezing, but I still 337 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:42.240 saw nothing. I let out a muffled, startled cry instinctively 338 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:46.680 threw my arms up over my head. Surprisingly, this seemed 339 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:49.160 to stop whatever was happening, and I rolled on my 340 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:52.279 back and I looked around wildly, and I could feel 341 00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:55.559 something walk down the link of the couch toward my feet, 342 00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:58.200 kind of like when someone walks by you when your 343 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:02.759 eyes are closed. There wasn't any sound either, no footsteps 344 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:06.079 or anything. I turned my head to look at my feet, 345 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:09.240 which were now placed on the arm set opposite my head, 346 00:20:09.480 --> 00:20:14.119 when I felt something grab both of my ankles. This time, 347 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.319 I did see something. As I was watching my feet, 348 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:20.039 I saw the material of the sweatpants that I was 349 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:24.039 wearing move, as if someone was painfully squeezing my ankles. 350 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:28.799 I began kicking my legs and uttering a series of curses, 351 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:32.240 and then it stopped. I sat up and rubbed my 352 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:34.720 neck and my jaw on my ankles because they hurt 353 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:37.920 like hell. There wasn't any bruising that I could see, 354 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:40.279 but my head and ankles felt that they had been 355 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:43.720 placed in a vice. I didn't sleep at all after that. 356 00:20:45.440 --> 00:20:48.599 My routine changed, and I stayed up every night after 357 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:51.440 that for as long as possible, checking in on my 358 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:55.920 family constantly and making sure they were okay. Now, this 359 00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:58.400 happened to no one else in the family at the time. 360 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.880 Other than that, I did nothing else. I didn't seek 361 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.559 out any help from the outside sources, and I kept 362 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:09.000 what happened to me relatively quiet, even though I was 363 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:12.920 pretty scared. After that, thing seemed to die down a 364 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.079 bit and reverted to bugs and poking again in the 365 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:19.880 wee hours of the morning. I was running on months 366 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:22.359 of no sleep while trying to care for my father, 367 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.440 and now I knew that there was something seriously wrong 368 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:28.799 going on. Early in the morning a few weeks later, 369 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:32.400 I was having a cigarette in the garage. Our garage 370 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:34.519 has a work bench in front of a big window. 371 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:37.519 When I was watching YouTube and drinking coffee with my 372 00:21:37.640 --> 00:21:40.079 leg on top of the bench to stretch my back 373 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:44.359 while I was looking at my phone, the bad feeling return. 374 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:49.599 This time, however, it was much worse than before. What 375 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:53.720 I felt was pure malevolence. I wanted to run, but 376 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:57.039 I was afraid to move. I could feel it coming closer, 377 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.559 and I suddenly noticed that I was cold. I couldn't 378 00:22:00.599 --> 00:22:03.039 see my breath, but I was shaking from the drop 379 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:06.279 in the temperature. I felt it come up behind me 380 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:08.920 and managed to turn my head and look, and there 381 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:13.039 was nothing there. Then I felt it grabbed my upper thigh, 382 00:22:13.440 --> 00:22:16.079 and I panicked, and I spun around and I swung 383 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:19.000 my fist through the air, and then I ran to 384 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:22.319 the garage door and entered the house. I made my 385 00:22:22.359 --> 00:22:24.599 way through the house and I could feel that bloody 386 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:28.400 thing behind me the whole time. Again. I saw nothing 387 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:31.480 and heard nothing from whatever this was, but I could 388 00:22:31.559 --> 00:22:34.319 feel it. So I just sat in my chair and 389 00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:37.799 I waited, knowing that something more was likely to happen. 390 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:43.960 My breathing was labored and sporadic, as I was beyond terrified. Again, 391 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:46.880 it grabbed me, this time around the back of my neck. 392 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:50.599 It squeezed hard, and that was when I started to pray. 393 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:54.319 First in my mind, I started to say our Father, 394 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:59.359 and then I started whispering it aloud. The pressure and 395 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:02.799 the grip looted and then let go all together, and 396 00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:07.640 that awful feeling dissipated warmth returned to me. While I 397 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:11.119 sat there whispering that prayer for quite some time, not 398 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:14.680 wanting to move. I was done in every way I 399 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:18.880 can think of, and I had had enough. Like so 400 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:22.079 many times before, I did not sleep that night, and 401 00:23:22.079 --> 00:23:24.400