บทถอดความฉบับเต็มของ 3 Scary True Stories That Happened on the Job(

00:02:01.269 said it would be. I unlocked the front door and 36 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:05.640 stepped inside. After setting my backpack down, I turned around 37 00:02:05.780 --> 00:02:07.599 and waved goodbye to my mom as she backed out 38 00:02:07.620 --> 00:02:11.020 of the driveway. Then I was alone. The house was 39 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.719 dead quiet. I figured Rose was already asleep, just like 40 00:02:14.750 --> 00:02:18.229 her mom said. Inside was a pretty standard house at 41 00:02:18.270 --> 00:02:21.270 first glance. There were family photos on the walls, and 42 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:23.810 a few toys sat near the living room couch. I 43 00:02:23.849 --> 00:02:26.610 saw a pink backpack leaning against a chair. There were 44 00:02:26.650 --> 00:02:31.960 kids' drawings attached to the fridge with magnets. Everything seemed ordinary. Still, 45 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:34.159 I wanted to know the layout of the house, so 46 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:37.550 I walked through the first floor. The kitchen connected to 47 00:02:37.590 --> 00:02:41.229 a hallway leading towards several bedrooms. As I stepped into 48 00:02:41.270 --> 00:02:44.069 that hallway, I glanced through an open doorway on my right. 49 00:02:44.830 --> 00:02:47.219 What I was not expecting to see was a man 50 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:51.599 standing inside the room. He was facing the window looking 51 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:54.360 out it, but that fact quickly made the sight more 52 00:02:54.419 --> 00:02:57.879 unsettling because it was pitch black outside. There was nothing 53 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.969 to look at. I stared for several seconds before finally speaking. 54 00:03:02.930 --> 00:03:06.629 The second I made a sound, he turned around. The 55 00:03:06.669 --> 00:03:09.550 first thing I noticed was a smile. The second thing 56 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:11.949 I noticed was that one of his front teeth were missing. 57 00:03:13.069 --> 00:03:15.810 I asked who he was, and his smile never changed. 58 00:03:16.409 --> 00:03:19.449 He didn't answer. I backed out of the doorway and 59 00:03:19.490 --> 00:03:23.889 pulled out my phone and called the woman. She answered 60 00:03:23.949 --> 00:03:25.810 after a few rings, and I explained that there was 61 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:28.699 a man in one of the bedrooms. She sounded confused 62 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:32.039 for a second before acting like she suddenly remembered, that 63 00:03:32.099 --> 00:03:34.930 part of it really still sticks with me. Then she 64 00:03:34.990 --> 00:03:37.189 explained that it was her brother who had dementia and 65 00:03:37.270 --> 00:03:40.270 sometimes wandered around at night. She told me not to 66 00:03:40.330 --> 00:03:44.250 worry because he's harmless. That explanation didn't make me feel 67 00:03:44.289 --> 00:03:47.490 any better. If her brother was living there, he should 68 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:49.729 have been mentioned in the ad or on our phone call. 69 00:03:50.789 --> 00:03:53.169 Before hanging up, she told me to help myself to 70 00:03:53.250 --> 00:03:54.909 anything in the fridge and I could sleep in the 71 00:03:54.949 --> 00:03:57.819 guest room at the end of the hallway. After the 72 00:03:57.860 --> 00:04:00.900 call ended, I stood there for another minute just contemplating 73 00:04:00.939 --> 00:04:04.960 my situation. Eventually, I decided to check out the rest 74 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:07.560 of the hallway. The room where the man had been 75 00:04:07.620 --> 00:04:10.469 standing remained open, but he was no longer visible from 76 00:04:10.490 --> 00:04:14.669 the doorway. That made me nervous. I continued farther down 77 00:04:14.710 --> 00:04:17.689 the hall. There were four doors besides the guest room. 78 00:04:18.649 --> 00:04:24.269 I tried the first one. Locked. I tried the second one. Locked. 79 00:04:24.930 --> 00:04:28.149 The third one. Locked. The fourth one opened about three 80 00:04:28.209 --> 00:04:32.209 inches before stopping. I looked through the crack. The room 81 00:04:32.250 --> 00:04:35.439 appeared empty. I couldn't see much because the lights were off. 82 00:04:36.060 --> 00:04:39.019 I pushed the door a little farther. It was just 83 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:42.899 an empty room. Feeling stupid for being scared, I continued 84 00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.750 toward the guest room. As I passed the fridge again, 85 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.069 I noticed something strange. The drawings attached to it looked old, 86 00:04:50.550 --> 00:04:53.779 really old. The paper had yellowed around the edges. One 87 00:04:53.819 --> 00:04:55.759 of the drawings had dust sitting on top of the 88 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.800 magnet holding it in place. The backpack I'd seen earlier 89 00:04:58.860 --> 00:05:02.279 looked faded too. I started wondering when the last time 90 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.279 a child had actually been in that house was. The 91 00:05:05.300 --> 00:05:08.920 thought made me uncomfortable. I realized that despite being there 92 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:11.480 for almost half an hour, I still hadn't seen a 93 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:15.339 single sign that Rose currently lived there. I hadn't heard her, 94 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:18.199 and I hadn't seen her room. I hadn't even seen 95 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:21.189 any recent toys. I reached the guest room at the 96 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.930 end of the hallway. It was a small room, I 97 00:05:23.970 --> 00:05:26.810 set my backpack on the floor. Then I noticed something. 98 00:05:27.430 --> 00:05:29.680 There was no lock on the door. As I turned 99 00:05:29.689 --> 00:05:32.079 around to look back into the hallway, there was the 100 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:34.879 man again, standing at the opposite end of the hallway. 101 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:37.959 He was looking at me again, and his smile came 102 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:41.339 back on his face. I hadn't heard him approach. It 103 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.000 was

like he just teleported there. I honestly don't know 104 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:47.790 how long he had been standing there. The missing tooth 105 00:05:47.829 --> 00:05:51.290 was visible even from where I stood. For several seconds, 106 00:05:51.529 --> 00:05:54.269 we stared each other down, me looking at him like 107 00:05:54.329 --> 00:05:57.250 he was some confused animal and not even an actual person. 108 00:05:57.269 --> 00:06:00.290 Then I quickly stepped inside the room and shut the door. 109 00:06:01.230 --> 00:06:02.709 I sat on the edge of the bed trying to 110 00:06:02.750 --> 00:06:06.019 calm myself down. I knew well of dementia from a 111 00:06:06.060 --> 00:06:09.420 young age as my great-grandmother passed away with dementia. This 112 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:12.759 allowed me to justify this man's actions. But deep down, 113 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:16.259 I knew something felt wrong. I called my mom three 114 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:19.089 times until she finally picked up. I told her of 115 00:06:19.129 --> 00:06:22.199 the situation I was in. from the unannounced brother with 116 00:06:22.259 --> 00:06:24.459 dementia to the fact that I couldn't even find the 117 00:06:24.500 --> 00:06:28.160 child in the house. For a few moments, she was silent. 118 00:06:28.579 --> 00:06:30.920 Then she told me she was coming to get me immediately. 119 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:34.209 Hearing that made me feel relieved and scared at the 120 00:06:34.250 --> 00:06:37.550 same time. Scared because even my mom thought something was 121 00:06:37.649 --> 00:06:40.269 up here. She hung up after she said she'd be 122 00:06:40.310 --> 00:06:43.810 there as fast as possible. A few minutes passed before 123 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:46.379 I heard footsteps coming down the hallway toward my room. 124 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:51.329 I sat completely still. The footsteps got closer until they 125 00:06:51.389 --> 00:06:55.250 stopped directly outside the door. Everything went silent, and I 126 00:06:55.329 --> 00:06:58.569 stared at the doorknob. I checked my phone, and the 127 00:06:58.610 --> 00:07:01.310 woman still hadn't called back to see if everything was okay. 128 00:07:02.250 --> 00:07:05.430 I decided to call her myself, but after three attempts, 129 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:09.269 she never picked up. While I was waiting, the bedroom 130 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:12.740 door opened a few inches. I couldn't see who was 131 00:07:12.769 --> 00:07:16.620 standing outside. The opening wasn't wide enough. I sat there 132 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:20.660 staring at it. The door remained cracked open but whoever 133 00:07:20.699 --> 00:07:23.579 was on the other side didn't enter. I knew it 134 00:07:23.620 --> 00:07:27.160 had to be the brother. It was those final tense 135 00:07:27.279 --> 00:07:29.480 seconds where I decided I was getting out of there 136 00:07:29.860 --> 00:07:31.899 and I got off the bed, moved to the window 137 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.300 and

forced it open. I climbed out and dropped into 138 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:38.240 the backyard. Then I didn't stop running until I reached 139 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:41.600 the street. I crossed to the other side and kept going. 140 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:45.259 I ended up nearly a block away before finally slowing down. 141 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:48.000 I pulled out my phone to call my mom again. 142 00:07:48.990 --> 00:07:52.250 Before I could dial, a text message appeared. It was 143 00:07:52.290 --> 00:07:55.540 from the woman's number. The message simply asked where I 144 00:07:55.579 --> 00:07:59.639 was going. I immediately looked back toward the house. I 145 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:02.939 didn't see anyone outside or at the windows. I didn't 146 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.860 see any cameras when I entered the house, yet somehow 147 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:09.120 she knew I had left. That was when I became 148 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:12.920 convinced something was seriously wrong. I called my mom and 149 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:15.300 told her not to come directly to the house. I 150 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:17.079 told her to pick me up further down the street. 151 00:08:18.089 --> 00:08:21.569 About ten minutes later, she pulled up. I jumped inside 152 00:08:21.589 --> 00:08:25.230 and locked the door, and we left immediately. Neither of 153 00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:28.649 us ever contacted the woman again. I never figured out 154 00:08:28.689 --> 00:08:31.379 who the man really was. I never figured out if 155 00:08:31.509 --> 00:08:34.649 Rose actually existed. I never figured out why all the 156 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:38.360 bedroom doors were locked. There's a slight possibility that it 157 00:08:38.440 --> 00:08:40.980 was all real and that I was just extremely paranoid 158 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.600 and dipped out, but the chances of that are slim 159 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.580 to none. Something weird was going on in that house. 160 00:08:57.259 --> 00:09:00.110 When I was 15 or 16, I got a summer 161 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:04.190 job cleaning units in a low-income housing condo complex. I 162 00:09:04.210 --> 00:09:06.490 got the job through the property manager, who I used 163 00:09:06.509 --> 00:09:09.269 to babysit for, and for a high school student, it 164 00:09:09.309 --> 00:09:13.070 paid surprisingly well. The job was simple. Whenever a tenant 165 00:09:13.090 --> 00:09:15.389 moved out, we would go in and clean the unit 166 00:09:15.409 --> 00:09:17.960 to prepare it for the next family. Many of the 167 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.980 units had been abandoned in a hurry. Belongings were often 168 00:09:21.019 --> 00:09:23.399 left behind, and some places looked as if people had 169 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:26.899 simply gotten up and left one day. I worked alongside 170 00:09:26.940 --> 00:09:30.230 a university student I'll call Jen. She was about 20 171 00:09:30.230 --> 00:09:33.190 or 21 and naturally took the lead while I followed 172 00:09:33.210 --> 00:09:36.169 her direction. One day, we were assigned a unit on 173 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:39.090 the end of a row. The layout becomes important, so 174 00:09:39.149 --> 00:09:42.450 I'll explain it briefly. When you entered through the front door, 175 00:09:42.730 --> 00:09:45.389 you walked into the living room. On the right side 176 00:09:45.429 --> 00:09:47.820 were two sets of stairs, one leading up to the 177 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:50.360 second floor and one behind a door leading down to 178 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:54.259 the basement. The basement stairs turned twice, meaning you couldn't 179 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:57.350 see into the basement from the main floor. The basement 180 00:09:57.389 --> 00:10:00.169 itself was just one large unfinished concrete room with a 181 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:04.360 washer dryer furnace and a single hanging light bulb there 182 00:10:04.379 --> 00:10:07.600 were no closets side rooms alcoves or places to hide 183 00:10:08.440 --> 00:10:10.639 when we entered the unit it was obvious the previous 184 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.600 tenants had left in a hurry the kitchen was filthy 185 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:16.509 and most of their belongings were still there We spent 186 00:10:16.529 --> 00:10:19.210 the first part of the afternoon packing everything into garbage 187 00:10:19.250 --> 00:10:22.340 bags and sorting items that could be donated. Once that 188 00:10:22.379 --> 00:10:25.820 was finished, we started cleaning. Part of the kitchen cleanup 189 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:28.480 involved pulling the oven and fridge away from the walls 190 00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:32.139 and cleaning them thoroughly. We also removed the drawer underneath 191 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:34.860 the oven. When it came time to put it back, 192 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:37.840 we discovered the rails were damaged and it wouldn't slide 193 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:41.120 in properly. For reasons that made sense at the time, 194 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:43.769 Jen and I stood on opposite sides and kicked it 195 00:10:43.850 --> 00:10:47.210 until it wedged itself back underneath the oven. When we 196 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:50.690 tried pulling it out again, it wouldn't budge. We both 197 00:10:50.730 --> 00:10:54.169 immediately regretted doing that, but we figured the property manager 198 00:10:54.210 --> 00:10:57.029 could deal with it later. After that, we split up. 199 00:10:57.830 --> 00:11:00.509 Jen headed upstairs to clean the bedrooms while I stayed 200 00:11:00.549 --> 00:11:03.529 downstairs removing the glass light fixtures so I could wash them. 201 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:06.570 I was standing on a ladder in the living room 202 00:11:06.750 --> 00:11:09.600 when I heard Jen call my name from upstairs. I 203 00:11:09.629 --> 00:11:13.799 called back to no response. I climbed down and went upstairs. 204 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:16.980 When I found Jen, She was cleaning a bedroom with 205 00:11:17.019 -->

00:11:21.919 headphones on. I asked what she wanted. She looked confused. What, 206 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:24.799 did you call me? I said. She laughed and shook 207 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.879 her head. No. I shrugged it off and went back downstairs. 208 00:11:29.750 --> 00:11:31.889 One thing that always bothered me about that unit was 209 00:11:31.929 --> 00:11:35.129 the attic access above the staircase. It was just a 210 00:11:35.210 --> 00:11:38.090 square opening in the ceiling leading into a dark crawlspace. 211 00:11:39.009 --> 00:11:41.710 The cover was missing, so every time I walked underneath it, 212 00:11:41.950 --> 00:11:44.950 I found myself looking up into a square of complete darkness. 213 00:11:45.940 --> 00:11:49.139 A few minutes later, I heard my name again. This 214 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.960 time when I called back, Jen immediately yelled from upstairs, saying, 215 00:11:53.139 --> 00:11:56.580 I didn't call you, you're hearing things. At the time, 216 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:00.480 I agreed with her. It was strange, but I wasn't frightened. 217 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:04.320 Not yet. A little while later, I was standing at 218 00:12:04.340 --> 00:12:08.059 the kitchen sink cleaning the light fixtures. I turned around 219 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:11.480 to grab a fresh sponge and nearly tripped. The oven 220 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:14.940 drawer was sitting halfway out on the floor. Immediately, I 221 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:17.980 thought it was odd. Jen and I had practically kicked 222 00:12:18.039 --> 00:12:21.159 the thing into place. We'd also confirmed afterward that it 223 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.840 was completely stuck. Still, I had just kicked it back in. 224 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:28.440 It took several hard kicks before it wedged itself under 225 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:31.539 the oven again. To make sure, I grabbed the handle 226 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:35.840 and pulled. Nothing. It was stuck. Satisfied, I went back 227 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:39.450 to cleaning. A few minutes later, I turned around again 228 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:43.769 and almost tripped. The drawer was back out. I hadn't 229 00:12:43.830 --> 00:12:48.570 heard anything. Nobody else was downstairs. This time, I felt 230 00:12:48.649 --> 00:12:53.000 genuinely unsettled. The drawer hadn't simply slid out. It had 231 00:12:53.009 --> 00:12:56.019 been jammed into place. I left it where it was 232 00:12:56.220 --> 00:12:59.600 and decided it was the property manager's problem. When I 233 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:02.679 checked on Jen, she was still upstairs cleaning, so I 234 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:06.730 returned to my own work. Eventually, I started reinstalling the 235 00:13:06.769 --> 00:13:10.289 clean light fixtures. Since it was a bright summer afternoon, 236 00:13:10.649 --> 00:13:12.899 I turned the lights off while I worked. I was 237 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:15.179 standing on a small ladder trying to secure one of 238 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:18.950 the fixtures when the light suddenly switched on. The sudden 239 00:13:18.990 --> 00:13:21.639 brightness startled me and I fell backward on the ladder. 240 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:25.309 A second later, the fixture slipped from my hands and 241 00:13:25.350 --> 00:13:28.649 came crashing down. It narrowly missed hitting me in the head. 242 00:13:29.669 --> 00:13:32.169 For a few seconds, I just sat there on the floor. 243 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:35.330 I could see the light switch from where I had fallen. 244 00:13:35.889 --> 00:13:38.889 Nobody was near it. At the same time, I could 245 00:13:38.970 --> 00:13:42.759 clearly hear Jen moving around upstairs. Only a few seconds 246 00:13:42.799 --> 00:13:45.480 had passed. There was no possible way she could have 247 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:49.019 run downstairs, turned on the light, and gotten back upstairs. 248 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:53.039 The switch had somehow turned on by itself. At least 249 00:13:53.110 --> 00:13:56.350 that's what it looked like. I still wasn't thinking about 250 00:13:56.409 --> 00:14:01.250 ghosts or anything supernatural. I was just uncomfortable. At that point, 251 00:14:01.490 --> 00:14:03.929 I decided I was done working alone and went upstairs 252 00:14:03.970 --> 00:14:07.340 to find Jen. When I told her what happened, she 253 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:10.820 looked uneasy. Then she told me something I hadn't expected. 254 00:14:11.850 --> 00:14:14.490 A few minutes earlier, she thought she'd heard someone call 255 00:14:14.529 --> 00:14:18.500 her name too. It didn't sound like me. We were 256 00:14:18.539 --> 00:14:22.259 both officially creeped out. The only task left was sweeping 257 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:25.340 the basement. Neither of us wanted to go down there alone, 258 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:29.200 so we went together. The basement was exactly as I 259 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:33.340 described earlier, one large open concrete room with nowhere to hide. 260 00:14:34.259 --> 00:14:36.940 While Jen swept, I sat on the dryer and talked 261 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.399 with her. A few minutes later, we finished and headed 262 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:44.590 back upstairs. We were relieved to be almost done. We 263 00:14:44.649 --> 00:14:47.669 started gathering our supplies in the living room. I was 264 00:14:47.730 --> 00:14:50.669 standing maybe two feet from the open basement door when 265 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:54.620 it happened. From below us came the unmistakable sound of 266 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:59.019 heavy footsteps. Both of us froze. The footsteps were loud 267 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:01.320 enough that neither of us questioned what we were hearing. 268 00:15:01.340 --> 00:15:05.720 Then came something far worse. The footsteps suddenly broke into 269 00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:09.210 a run. They were charging up the stairs, fast and loud, 270 00:15:09.570 --> 00:15:14.159 coming directly toward us. footsteps got louder. I looked at Jen, 271

00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.360 and her face had gone completely white. Neither of us 272 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:20.259 said a word. Running on pure instinct, I grabbed the 273 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.659 basement door and slammed it shut as hard as I could. 274 00:15:23.500 --> 00:15:26.570 Then Jen and I ran. We flew out the front 275 00:15:26.590 --> 00:15:29.370 door and across the lawn. At one point, I heard 276 00:15:29.450 --> 00:15:32.850 Jen yell behind me, the key. I yelled back, leave it. 277 00:15:33.690 --> 00:15:35.529 Neither of us stopped until we were on the other 278 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:40.690 side of the complex. I barely remember what happened afterward. Eventually, 279 00:15:40.970 --> 00:15:43.289 we returned to the property manager and told her someone 280 00:15:43.309 --> 00:15:46.200 had been inside the unit. We left our cleaning supplies 281 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:49.200 behind and never went back. As far as I know, 282 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:53.200 she contacted the police before anyone entered the condo. We 283 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.840 never told her what we had actually experienced. What could 284 00:15:56.860 --> 00:15:59.860 we say? That something invisible had spent the entire afternoon 285 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:03.700 calling our names? Moving objects around? Turning lights on and 286 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:08.840 finally charging up the basement stairs? It sounded ridiculous. Even now, 287 00:16:08.909 --> 00:16:11.740 I'm not someone who believes every strange story is paranormal. 288 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:14.679 I've had other experiences in my life that could probably 289 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.759 be explained one way or another. This one is different, though. 290 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:21.659 Maybe we imagined hearing our names. Maybe there was some 291 00:16:21.750 --> 00:16:25.990 mechanical explanation for the oven drawer. Maybe the light switch malfunctioned. 292 00:16:26.610 --> 00:16:30.029 But that basement was empty. There was nowhere for anybody 293 00:16:30.049 --> 00:16:34.289 to hide. And those footsteps weren't distant or ambiguous. They 294 00:16:34.350 --> 00:16:37.720 sounded exactly like someone running up a staircase directly toward us. 295 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:41.759 Even now, more than 20 years later, hearing someone run 296 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:43.929 up a set of stairs sends me right back to 297 00:16:43.990 --> 00:16:47.870 that summer afternoon. I'm still a skeptic, but I never 298 00:16:47.909 --> 00:16:50.210 have been able to explain what happened in that condo. 299 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.149 When I was younger... I was a hustler and a go-getter, 300 00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:05.650 always looking for the next way to make a quick buck, 301 00:17:05.950 --> 00:17:07.859 and my mom knew an older couple from a church 302 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.160 group who needed help around their property for a couple 303 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:13.720 of weeks. Their names were Richard and Elaine, and they 304 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:17.299 were both in their late 60s. Old, but not super old. 305 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:20.720 They lived in a pretty rural area about 40 minutes 306 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.079 away from my house. They were in one of those 307 00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.740 older farmhouses with a long gravel driveway and woods behind 308 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.059 the property. The deal was simple, that I would stay 309 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:32.319 there for a little over a week help Richard with 310 00:17:32.380 --> 00:17:36.200 yard work, cleaning out the garage, moving furniture, painting a fence, 311 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:38.740 things like that, and they would pay me at the end. 312 00:17:39.660 --> 00:17:42.329 My mom trusted them because she knew Richard from years back, 313 00:17:42.549 --> 00:17:44.910 and Elaine seemed really sweet the first time I met her. 314 00:17:45.609 --> 00:17:47.869 She was quiet, but she smiled a lot and kept 315 00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:51.390 asking if I was hungry. The house itself was fine. 316 00:17:51.869 --> 00:17:54.029 It was what you'd expect an elderly couple to live 317 00:17:54.089 --> 00:17:57.029 in in a quiet area. Upstairs at the end of 318 00:17:57.049 --> 00:17:59.990 the hall was the room I'd be sleeping. On my 319 00:18:00.049 --> 00:18:02.869 first day there, Richard showed me around the property and 320 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:05.069 then gave me a verbal list of things we'd work on, 321 00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:08.549 and Elaine made dinner. I noticed early on that Elaine 322 00:18:08.569 --> 00:18:11.890 didn't talk much, but she always had a neutral-to-half smile 323 00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:15.109 on her face. She asked my name three different times, 324 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:19.019 to which Richard just said she forgets things sometimes. I 325 00:18:19.079 --> 00:18:22.599 figured he meant normal old-person forgetfulness, so I didn't think 326 00:18:22.660 --> 00:18:26.259 much of it. That night, I went upstairs around eleven 327 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:30.200 and tried to sleep. Sometime around probably three in the morning, 328 00:18:30.829 --> 00:18:33.970 I woke up and heard footsteps in the hallway. Someone 329 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:36.769 was walking back and forth outside my room. I knew it. 330 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:41.259 The floorboards creaked every few seconds. Maybe Richard was going 331 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:44.759 to the bathroom. But the footsteps didn't go anywhere. They 332 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:47.650 just passed my door, went down the hall, turned around, 333 00:18:47.769 --> 00:18:50.690 and came back. I laid there in the dark listening 334 00:18:50.730 --> 00:18:53.450 to it for maybe ten minutes, and it got increasingly 335 00:18:53.509 --> 00:18:56.210 uncomfortable until they seemed to stop right outside the door. 336 00:18:57.269 --> 00:18:59.390 I stared at the big, dark gap under the door. 337 00:18:59.809 -->

00:19:01.440 and I felt like I could see the outline of 338 00:19:01.509 --> 00:19:05.569 two feet. After a while, the footsteps moved away again, 339 00:19:05.890 --> 00:19:08.029 which confirmed that what I was seeing was in fact 340 00:19:08.130 --> 00:19:11.650 two outlines of feet. The next morning, I mentioned it 341 00:19:11.690 --> 00:19:15.430 to Richard while we were outside working. He didn't look surprised. 342 00:19:15.970 --> 00:19:18.349 He just said Elaine sometimes wandered at night because she 343 00:19:18.390 --> 00:19:21.009 had bad dreams and got confused, and that I shouldn't 344 00:19:21.029 --> 00:19:23.609 worry about it. When I asked if I should lock 345 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:25.950 my door at night, he kind of laughed and said 346 00:19:25.970 --> 00:19:27.990 the guest room didn't have a lock because the house 347 00:19:28.029 --> 00:19:31.390 was old. so I let it go. But the second 348 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:34.450 night was worse. I woke up again to the same 349 00:19:34.549 --> 00:19:38.549 footstep sounds, except this time they were faster. I could 350 00:19:38.589 --> 00:19:41.910 hear Elaine muttering to herself in the hallway. I couldn't 351 00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:44.289 make out most of it, but I heard my name once, 352 00:19:44.470 --> 00:19:47.990 which gave me goosebumps. Her shadow passed under my door 353 00:19:48.109 --> 00:19:50.900 three or four times. I was starting to hate that 354 00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:55.440 large gap under the door. The doorknob twisted, stopped, and 355 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:58.589 the door opened about an inch. It stayed open to 356 00:19:58.650 --> 00:20:01.230 crack for just a moment, and I heard a whispering 357 00:20:01.269 --> 00:20:03.589 voice through the crack, but I couldn't make out what 358 00:20:03.630 --> 00:20:07.559 was said. Then the door shut again. After that I 359 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:10.420 had trouble sleeping like I think anyone would in my shoes. 360 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:15.160 In the morning I told Richard exactly what happened. Once 361 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:19.220 again he explained it away. His explanation was she probably 362 00:20:19.279 --> 00:20:21.299 thought the room was empty and that she had been 363 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:24.250 doing things like that more lately. He said it was 364 00:20:24.289 --> 00:20:26.390 embarrassing for her and asked me not to bring it 365 00:20:26.450 --> 00:20:30.130 up around Elaine. During the day she seemed mostly normal 366 00:20:30.329 --> 00:20:33.990 doing things like making lunch, folding towels and watering plants 367 00:20:34.369 --> 00:20:37.170 which made the whole thing harder to process. but every 368 00:20:37.230 --> 00:20:39.660 now and then, I would catch her staring at me 369 00:20:39.700 --> 00:20:43.319 from across the room with this flat, suspicious look. It 370 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:45.920 was like she didn't recognize me, but also didn't like 371 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:48.980 that I was there. On the fourth day, Richard and 372 00:20:49.019 --> 00:20:51.819 I were cleaning out a shed behind the house. I 373 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:55.369 noticed a dented metal walker shoved behind some boxes, and 374 00:20:55.400 --> 00:20:57.789 next to it was a broken picture frame with dried 375 00:20:57.849 --> 00:21:01.210 brown stains on the glass. This is kind of important 376 00:21:01.230 --> 00:21:04.289 for later. Later on that same day, when I went 377 00:21:04.329 --> 00:21:07.230 inside to use the bathroom, noticed a long scratch on 378 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:10.420 the hallway wall, about chest height, like something had been 379 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:13.660 dragged across it. There were also small holes in one 380 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:16.559 of the doors downstairs, like someone had hit it with something. 381 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:21.460 These all seemed like signs of struggle. That night, I 382 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:24.299 put my suitcase in front of my bedroom door. It 383 00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:26.819 wasn't heavy enough to stop anyone, but I figured it 384 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:31.319 would at least make noise if the door opened. Around 2.30, 385 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:33.400 I woke up to the sound of the suitcase scraping 386 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:36.769 across the floors. I looked and saw my bedroom door 387 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:40.230 was halfway open. Elaine was standing in the doorway in 388 00:21:40.250 --> 00:21:43.390 her nightgown. I saw her mouth hung open as she 389 00:21:43.430 --> 00:21:47.410 was heavily mouth-breathing. I said her name, trying not to 390 00:21:47.450 --> 00:21:51.210 sound scared, even though the sight was horrifying. When she 391 00:21:51.269 --> 00:21:53.480 stepped into the room, that was when I saw she 392 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.460 was holding a kitchen knife at her side. She walked 393 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.460 closer to the bed and started whispering something, which I 394 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:02.720 quickly was able to understand as, You don't belong here. 395 00:22:03.869 --> 00:22:06.910 She said it like five times. You don't belong here. 396 00:22:07.250 --> 00:22:09.890 You don't belong here. She came all the way to 397 00:22:09.930 --> 00:22:11.869 the side of the bed and stood over me with 398 00:22:11.950 --> 00:22:14.750 a knife hanging in her hand. I yelled for Richard 399 00:22:14.829 --> 00:22:18.049 as loud as I could. Elaine flinched like the sound 400 00:22:18.109 --> 00:22:20.730 scared her. Then she turned and marched out of the room. 401 00:22:21.630 --> 00:22:23.450 Even the stiff way she marched out of the room 402 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:28.119 was terrifying. She slammed the door and marched away. Richard 403 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:31.779 came upstairs maybe 30 seconds later, acting annoyed like I 404 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:34.769 had woken him up for no reason. I told him 405 00:22:34.809 --> 00:22:37.130 she had been in my room with a knife. He

406 00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:39.410 kept saying she wouldn't hurt anyone and that she wasn't 407 00:22:39.450 --> 00:22:43.130 herself at night. This was officially when him downplaying her 408 00:22:43.170 --> 00:22:46.319 behavior began to piss me off. I said I wanted 409 00:22:46.339 --> 00:22:48.410 to go home and he replied it was three in 410 00:22:48.450 --> 00:22:51.180 the morning and my mom was probably asleep. He said 411 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:53.920 we'll talk about it in the morning. I should have 412 00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:55.940 called my mom right there but I didn't want to 413 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:59.319 make the situation bigger. I pushed the dresser in front 414 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:02.039 of the door after he left and stayed awake until sunrise. 415 00:23:02.980 --> 00:23:06.599 The next morning Elaine acted like nothing happened. She made 416 00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:11.299 pancakes and was smiling again, giving normal grandmother vibes. Richard 417 00:23:11.339 --> 00:23:14.180 pulled me aside and apologized, but it didn't feel like 418 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:17.759 a real apology. He said Elaine's memory had been getting worse, 419 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.339 which sounded like an understatement. When I asked him if 420 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:23.980 she had ever attacked anyone before, he took a pause 421 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:26.740 that he said she had gotten upset with the caregiver once, 422 00:23:27.109 --> 00:23:29.910 but that it was handled. That was the first time 423 00:23:29.970 --> 00:23:32.549 I realized he had definitely been hiding things from me. 424 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:35.650 I told him a second time that I wanted to leave. 425 00:23:36.430 --> 00:23:38.710 He said he understood, but my mom was at work 426 00:23:38.750 --> 00:23:40.650 until late and he would drive me home the next 427 00:23:40.730 --> 00:23:43.230 morning after we finished one last job and they paid me. 428 00:23:44.509 --> 00:23:47.630 That afternoon, while Richard was outside on the phone, I 429 00:23:47.670 --> 00:23:50.440 went looking for my backpack because I wanted to pack early. 430 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:53.720 For some reason, I found it in the laundry room. 431 00:23:54.380 --> 00:23:57.279 On my backpack, there was a blood stain clear as day, 432 00:23:57.740 --> 00:24:00.799 right on the outer pocket. I called Richard into the 433 00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:03.750 room and showed him the blood. He grabbed the backpack, 434 00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:06.250 looking a little more angry than I'd seen yet, and 435 00:24:06.269 --> 00:24:09.009 he told me he accidentally cut himself earlier and moved 436 00:24:09.049 --> 00:24:11.009 my backpack in there while he cleaned up the blood. 437 00:24:11.890 --> 00:24:14.819 He finished it off with a stop worrying. I told 438 00:24:14.859 --> 00:24:16.900 him I was calling my mom, and he once again 439 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:19.500 tried to get me to calm down. I went upstairs, 440 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:24.039 packed my bag, and tried calling anyway. The call failed twice, 441 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:26.359 so I texted her to come get me, but it 442 00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:30.069 didn't send. Richard also refused to give me the Wi-Fi password. 443 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:33.680 That was when I really started to feel trapped. I 444 00:24:33.700 --> 00:24:35.920 had to tank through until she came the next morning. 445 00:24:35.940 --> 00:24:39.400 The final night, I didn't even get in bed. I 446 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:41.640 sat fully dressed on the top of the blanket with 447 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:44.460 my shoes on and my bag next to me. I 448 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:46.680 moved the dresser in front of the door again, but 449 00:24:46.700 --> 00:24:49.569 around midnight, Richard came upstairs and told me to move 450 00:24:49.609 --> 00:24:51.630 it because it was dangerous in case of a fire. 451 00:24:52.450 --> 00:24:55.250 I refused at first, and for the first time, I 452 00:24:55.289 --> 00:24:58.109 heard him yell. He told me to move the dresser now. 453 00:24:58.900 --> 00:25:01.119 I complied and moved it just enough so the door 454 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:04.420 could open. After he left, I waited in the dark 455 00:25:04.460 --> 00:25:07.410 with my phone in hand. Around two in the morning, 456 00:25:07.809 --> 00:25:10.849 I heard a lane downstairs. She was yelling this time. 457 00:25:11.190 --> 00:25:14.009 It sounded like she was yelling at Richard. Then I 458 00:25:14.049 --> 00:25:17.369 heard glass break. Richard said her name, trying to calm 459 00:25:17.390 --> 00:25:19.990 her down. And then there was a loud thud, followed 460 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:22.759 by him shouting in pain. It sounded like she just 461 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:26.059 attacked him. I got up and cracked my door open. 462 00:25:26.880 --> 00:25:29.140 The hallway was dark. but I could see light coming 463 00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:32.710 from the staircase from downstairs. Footsteps started coming up the 464 00:25:32.769 --> 00:25:36.130 stairs fast. I shut my door and pushed the dresser 465 00:25:36.170 --> 00:25:39.029 back as hard as I could. A few seconds later, 466 00:25:39.390 --> 00:25:42.069 Elaine hit the door from the other side. The doorknob 467 00:25:42.109 --> 00:25:45.140 rattled violently, and she started saying again and again that 468 00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:49.599 I didn't belong here. She sounded furious. The door shook 469 00:25:49.660 --> 00:25:51.740 as she hit it again and again, and I heard 470 00:25:51.779 --> 00:25:54.039 something metal strike the wood, and a piece of the 471 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:57.650 door splintered inward. My sights landed on the window, my 472 00:25:57.730 --> 00:26:00.279 only exit, and I decided I was jumping out. I 473 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:04.559 could hear Richard downstairs groaning and calling for her. Whatever 474 00:26:04.599 --> 00:26:06.420 she did to him, she was about to do to me, 475 00:26:06.839 --> 00:26:10.099 maybe worse. I got the window up and kicked out 476 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:13.039 the screen. There was a small roof over the porch 477 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:15.579 below the window, so I climbed out onto it with 478 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:18.599 my backpack. The lane was still banging on the door 479 00:26:18.619 --> 00:26:21.660 when I jumped out. I dropped from the porch roof 480 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:25.200 into the bushes below. I ran down the gravel driveway 481 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:28.240 without looking back. I could hear the front door open 482 00:26:28.279 --> 00:26:31.160 behind me, and Elaine was yelling from the porch. She 483 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:33.440 was holding what I could only guess was a fireplace 484 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:36.660 poker in one hand. I kept running until I reached 485 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:39.150 the road, where I finally was able to call 911 486 00:26:39.150 --> 00:26:42.930 with service. The police and an ambulance showed up maybe 487 00:26:42.930 --> 00:26:46.269 15 minutes later. Richard had a cut on his head 488 00:26:46.369 --> 00:26:49.430 and a broken wrist from trying to stop her. Elaine 489 00:26:49.450 --> 00:26:52.799 was taken away by paramedics. The police got a hold 490 00:26:52.839 --> 00:26:54.819 of my mom and she arrived as soon as she could. 491 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:58.240 Richard later told my mom that Elaine had been getting 492 00:26:58.329 --> 00:27:00.549 worse for months, but he didn't want to put her 493 00:27:00.569 --> 00:27:03.349 in a facility because he felt guilty. He thought he 494 00:27:03.369 --> 00:27:06.869 could manage it himself. He also admitted she attacked two 495 00:27:06.950 --> 00:27:10.730 caregivers before me. If he wasn't an old man, my 496 00:27:10.769 --> 00:27:12.890 mom likely would have slapped him in the face after 497 00:27:12.930 --> 00:27:15.490 she heard all that. I still think about how many 498 00:27:15.549 --> 00:27:17.730 chances I had to leave and how many times I 499 00:27:17.789 --> 00:27:22.220 ignored the obvious signs because I didn't want to seem dramatic. Honestly, 500 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:24.460 I feel like we as humans try to hold out 501 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:26.579 our hope that things are still normal for as long 502 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:29.940 as possible, that we really don't see the actual danger 503 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:32.160 we can be in until it's almost too late.