WEBVTT - Chapter 9 - 1993 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:06.279 Lighthouse is a production of I Heart Radio and Bamford Productions. 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:18.639 Oh it's cold up here tonight. I guess it usually is, 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:21.160 being this high up off the ground overlooking the ocean, 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:27.000 especially in the dead of winter. Tonight is just especially cold. 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:32.040 Maybe that's just because I don't feel anything anymore, and 0:00:32.120 --> 0:00:35.720 the biting wind up here is just biting enough for 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:42.240 me to actually feel something for once. Would that be something? 0:00:43.240 --> 0:00:46.120 I spent the last years of my life just going 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:49.920 through the motions, pretending to be normal, staying away from 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:53.160 this place, when all I ever needed to feel again 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:57.520 was to come back up here. That's not how life works, though, 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.640 does it. We just try to do the best we can, 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:04.039 you know, I've tried to, but no matter what, something 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.160 can come along and ruin it for you. Just one 0:01:07.360 --> 0:01:10.280 swipe and it's all taken away in an instant, your 0:01:10.319 --> 0:01:15.679 life's path completely changed, for better or for worse, mostly 0:01:15.720 --> 0:01:19.679 worse in this case. I've always tried to look on 0:01:19.680 --> 0:01:22.080 the bright side of things, you know, try to find 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:24.200 the good in the bad and the okay in the 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:28.039 even worse. I've done that my entire life, sometimes to 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:31.640 my own detriment, but it helped for the most part. 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:35.440 I know what they say about me, I know what 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:40.960 they feel. I just I don't care. I know it's 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.960 an unconscious reaction past trauma. But every once in a while, 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:49.240 when the moments of pure clarity shine through, like now, 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.320 I can look back and reflect and say the hell 0:01:54.440 --> 0:01:57.920 with it. It seems to work for me, so why not. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.200 But it's not working for me anymore, is it. That's 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:06.080 why we're here, Why I'm up here saying this to 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:09.120 you right now on a cold winter's night, sitting at 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:11.680 the top of a goddamn lighthouse that's been abandoned for decades, 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:15.560 but still somehow lights it's beacon to signal that something 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:21.560 bad is going to happen, Like right now, even as 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.840 I am sitting up here alone, it's phantom beam is 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:29.720 rotating out over the ocean, over the house, the grounds, 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:35.440 through the snow, and back again, over and over. It 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:38.519 sure does look beautiful from up here, though. Oh that 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:43.440 snow stretching as far as the eye can see, falling 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:47.880 into the water, disappearing into the abyss, blanketing the house 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:51.639 as it floats to the ground. I just walked from 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:53.640 there less than an hour ago, and it's like you'd 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:57.799 never even know. It's coming down so hard it looks untouched. Now, 0:02:59.840 --> 0:03:05.400 I guess it'll stay that way. Sorry, getting off topic, 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:08.480 getting ahead of myself. I do that when I'm nervous. 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:13.119 But you know that already, don't you. Let me try 0:03:13.120 --> 0:03:20.480 and start this over again from the beginning. Hi, Tara, 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:27.240 this is your sister Leany, and this this is my 0:03:27.280 --> 0:04:13.160 goodbye Lighthouse. Chapter nine. So much has happened over the 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:14.920 years that I am not even sure where to begin. 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.400 Looking back. There are major beats of the story that 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:20.520 you were present for, things that you did for me 0:04:20.560 --> 0:04:24.560 that I am forever grateful for. But then there are 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.640 the other aspects that are hazy details that I confused 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:31.719 with other instances, and I'm not even sure what was 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:35.240 real and what wasn't. I guess I should start with this, 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.680 It's not your fault, Terra. I know that after I 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:40.640 do this, you are going to beat yourself up over it, 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:43.720 but I just need you to know this isn't your fault. 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:46.400 You did the best you could and helped me as 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:50.360 much as I could be. I guess it could be 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.080 argued that it was my own stubborn refusal that did this. 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:57.800 I should have left, I should have visited you in 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.200 your family. I should have gotten far far away from here, 0:05:02.560 --> 0:05:05.680 but despite how much she has retreated into herself, I 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:08.600 could never leave our mother here alone. At the end 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:12.560 of the day, there's only one thing to blame for 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:17.840 all this. The house lighthouse ruined our lives. And even 0:05:17.839 --> 0:05:21.080 though you're hundreds of miles away, I know you still 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:23.640 can feel it calling out to you. It's got a 0:05:23.720 --> 0:05:26.719 siren's call, doesn't it. Over the years, I've come to 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:30.120 realize that this old lighthouse, despite not having been used 0:05:30.160 --> 0:05:34.880 in years, still does exactly what it's job entailed. Except 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.320 it's not calling out to those who are lost in 0:05:37.360 --> 0:05:39.520 the fog at sea, guiding their way so they can 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:45.039 find their way home. No, Instead, the lighthouse is a 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:49.000 beacon for darkness, calling it in from the far corners 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.600 of the earth, letting it know. That lighthouse was a 0:05:51.600 --> 0:05:54.240 feeding ground on which they could stuff themselves full of 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:57.960 unsuspecting souls. Even before the house was built, and long 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.400 before the lighthouse, this land, the grounds on which it 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:06.160 currently stands, was considered cursed. I found a book in 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:10.080 our library, once hidden among the stacks and thousands of others, 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:14.440 that detailed stories and lore from New Jersey stuff that 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.239 was passed down from generation a generation, As these types 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:23.480 of stories often are, there was one in particular, marked 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:27.000 by dog eared pages and an ancient pencils circling it, 0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:31.480 that was of interest. It told of a parcel of 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:35.640 land located on a bluff overlooking the ocean. The land 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:39.080 sat barren for years as ancient tribes refused to settle 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:42.880 on it. Despite its advantages, early colonizers to the area 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:47.279 saw it as an opportunity established a camp there. Not 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.080 only was it the perfect vantage point, but there were 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.000 also resources to be had and rumors of fresh water 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:57.240 running through the cliffs grounds. These settlers dug a well 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:01.760 on the bluff. Deeper and deeper they went, until miraculously 0:07:01.880 --> 0:07:06.320 they did strike a vein of underground water. But despite 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:09.720 their good fortune, apparently they found something else in the 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:15.520 well too. A black cloud escaped from it, bursting into 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:18.720 the air, scaring them all. Bad luck befell them then, 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:22.360 and eventually the camp was abandoned and the well was 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:26.080 covered up. Does any of that sound familiar, Terra, because 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:28.960 it should. I mean, it's right there in stained glass 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.520 on our front door, the well, the black cloud, and 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:36.960 the lighthouse. I did some digging of my own, not physically, 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:40.320 of course, but at the library, the land that the 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:46.160 story spoke of. It's here, right where I'm standing, And 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:50.760 the well, after years spent covered up, was destroyed. But 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:53.240 what was built on that very same spot because of 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:57.880 its natural vantage point the lighthouse, And soon after the 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:02.080 lighthouse came a small home for the housekeeper, and then 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:11.080 eventually the Hollis family home, our home lighthouse. I wish 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:12.880 I had saved that book and put it aside for 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.640 you to see, because after that day I read that 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:17.800 the one time I saw it, I never saw the 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:21.360 book again. I searched that library top to bottom, each 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:25.119 in every shelf, but to no avail. Was it even real? 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:29.320 Did I just imagine the whole thing? Or was it 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.440 just the house playing tricks on me? Once I started 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:35.600 to learn its secrets. I believe that book had more 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:37.800 in there, maybe even something I could have used to 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:42.000 stop the darkness, But now that it's gone, we'll never 0:08:42.000 --> 0:08:46.800 know for sure. I have some ideas, but nothing concrete. 0:08:48.200 --> 0:08:50.559 I sure would have come in handy though, especially now 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:55.760 now that I have no choice. But I'm getting ahead 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:59.480 of myself again. Sorry, Tara, I should probably tell you 0:08:59.520 --> 0:09:03.160 about the other stuff first, Like Abigail. Now, look before 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:05.120 you roll your eyes, because I know that is exactly 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:07.000 what you are doing right now. I need you to 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:10.600 understand something about her. I know you think she's been 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:12.920 a bad influence on me, and sure, in some ways 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:18.360 she was, but she's not all bad. She's actually kind 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.800 of well, I don't know if if nice is the 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:26.320 word for it, but helpful. You already know who she 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:31.800 really is. Madeleine hollis Dad's younger sister. What you don't 0:09:31.840 --> 0:09:34.880 know is that she loved our father very much, so 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.760 when she started to talk to me, she thought calling 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:42.200 herself Abigail would endear herself to him. I guess she 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:46.160 was wrong, But as scary as she may have been 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:49.520 to you, sometimes she really was trying to help. She's 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.440 just a little girl forever stuck in that mindset because 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:56.360 her life was taken from her far too early. Maybe 0:09:56.360 --> 0:09:59.880 that's the reason I sometimes act like a child. She 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.080 she and I both went through something tragic when we 0:10:02.080 --> 0:10:07.160 were young, so we can relate on that level. Now. Granted, 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.839 she died and I didn't, so she had a little worse, 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:14.800 but you know what I mean, and she helped us 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:18.000 a lot, even without you realizing it. She's on our side, 0:10:18.360 --> 0:10:26.079 I promise you. She just wasn't enough. Nothing is ever enough. 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:31.440 I saw that little boy on my way here, the 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:35.079 one with the chattering teeth. We didn't see him a 0:10:35.080 --> 0:10:37.839 lot as kids, but I see him more now now 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.600 that I'm spending more time up here and not in 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:44.400 the dark room. I guess he's confined to the grounds 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:48.520 and not the house itself. That's weird, right, Like how 0:10:48.559 --> 0:10:51.480 come some of them can go wherever they want, like Abigail, 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:55.680 and others are stuck to the one place. It doesn't 0:10:55.679 --> 0:10:58.240 make any sense, but there has to be a reason 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:03.880 for it. Anyway I saw him, This weather is perfect 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.200 for him, his teeth just gnashing away in the cold. 0:11:07.360 --> 0:11:11.120 I assume he died out here somewhere, froze to death 0:11:11.120 --> 0:11:13.800 on the property, and is forever doomed to repeat that fate. 0:11:14.960 --> 0:11:17.679 He followed me all the way out here, and the 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:21.640 way his body moves freaks me out. It's not natural. 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:26.520 It's all jerky and slow. But no matter how fast 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:31.240 I moved, he was still right behind me. Maybe he 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:35.520 just wants a friend. They don't all have to be bad, 0:11:35.640 --> 0:11:39.760 do they? Some of them can be good, right, Like Abigail, 0:11:41.320 --> 0:11:43.480 I keep avoiding saying what I really need to say, 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:46.160 and I'm sure that it is frustrating for you hearing 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.240 me babil on about nothing without getting to the reason 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:52.679 I'm here. I think I know how to stop all this, Terra, 0:11:53.480 --> 0:11:56.800 and I mean really, stop it once and for all. 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:00.360 And I'm going to try. I really am. But m h, 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.559 if you're listening to this right now, if you're hearing this, 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:11.080 that means something went wrong. It means that I'm I'm gone. 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:27.720 Lighthouse will return after these messages and now back to Lighthouse. 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:37.240 Before I tell you my plan, I need to tell 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:40.360 you what I am thinking. How I got here, about 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:43.439 the time the shadowy thing came for me and failed, 0:12:44.240 --> 0:12:46.720 not by much, but thankfully enough that I was able 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:50.559 to escape. The seed was planted. I remember, just before 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:53.240 you left for college. It was on a night I 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:56.880 couldn't sleep well almost nights, yes, but on this one 0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.640 I was especially restless. I was thirsty and I went 0:13:00.720 --> 0:13:03.600 to get a drink of water. It was late and 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:06.520 I didn't want to wake anyone, so I took a 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:10.600 candle instead of turning on any lights. It was dark 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:14.439 and the candle only illuminated so little of the world 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:18.560 around me, but it was enough to light my way. 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:23.000 It was quiet at first, but then I heard a 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:26.960 rumbling behind me. I turned to see, but of course 0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:30.680 nothing was there. We were no strangers to the ghosts 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:32.640 of the house, and my hope was that it was 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:36.600 just Abigail checking up on me, making sure I was safe. 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:40.559 I was wrong, though, because the more I walked, the 0:13:40.600 --> 0:13:44.760 more the rumbling echoed behind me. The hallway, for some reason, 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:49.959 started to feel impossibly long. I kept walking and walking, 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:54.120 and it kept stretching on forever. I wasn't making any progress, 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:57.480 it seemed. I began to run, afraid of what might 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.920 be coming next. When an unearthly sound caused me to 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:03.840 turn around. The shadowy thing was in the walls, bulging 0:14:03.880 --> 0:14:06.400 its body outward as it came for me, stretching the 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:10.679 wood and plaster in unnatural proportions. It got closer and closer, 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:12.160 and I kept running, but it was like I was 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:15.440 running in place. I couldn't get away from it. It 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:17.880 jumped out of the wall and into the carpet, hot 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.120 on my heels, like a shark stucking through the water, 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:23.720 and then it was on me. I turned and it 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:25.840 came right at me, Tara. I turned to see, and 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:28.040 I stumbled backward, thinking that it was the end for me, 0:14:28.400 --> 0:14:30.920 that the darkness was finally going to get me. I 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:32.880 held my hands in front of my face to block it, 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:37.320 a fruitless effort, of course, but it stopped. One second 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:40.080 it was there, and then the next it roared away, 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:42.600 running like a dog with its tail between its legs. 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:46.720 I had no idea what had happened. I thought maybe 0:14:46.800 --> 0:14:49.280 it was just trying to scare me, toy with me. 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:52.800 But then I felt it. A bit of hot wax 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.680 dripped off the candle still in my hand onto my stomach. 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.000 It hurt only for a second, but it gave me 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:03.840 an idea. What if it was the candle, the one 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:05.560 that I held in my hand, holding it up in 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:09.600 a defensive measure. What if it was afraid of the flame? Silly, 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.480 I know, but that was the only thing I could 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:15.600 think of. I thought about that moment a lot over 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:18.400 the years. I should have told you about it. I 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.520 should have tested that theory out sooner. I should have 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:23.880 thought about it when the darkness took Dad before I 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:30.120 had well, you know, it was later on, after you 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.080 had left for good that I was able to actually 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.640 try it out. It was a little dangerous, I know 0:15:34.720 --> 0:15:36.840 that now, but it had been gnawing away at me 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:41.000 for years, and I had to see. It wasn't even planned, honestly. 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:43.520 I was in the dining room and I saw that 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:47.040 made you know, the one, the woman with the bleeding eyes. 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.440 She was setting the table again before she noticed me, 0:15:50.920 --> 0:15:54.280 a ghostly action that was never ending, since her phantom's 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:57.840 silverware never stayed in sight for long. I watched her 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:00.920 for a bit before she noticed me. When she did, 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:05.480 she stopped and stared. I stared right back. A flickering 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:07.640 caught my eye, and I saw that there were a 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.600 few candles lit on the table. I don't know why 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:12.640 it popped into my head then, but I grabbed the 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:16.120 candle labra that often sat in the center, armed with 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:19.360 not one, but three candles. I took a step toward her. 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:24.280 She didn't move. I took another, and still she stood there. 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.920 But on the third step, when I was within a 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:33.600 foot or so from her, she grimaced and took step back. Surprised, 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.600 I walked toward her again, and again she kept moving 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:39.920 away from me. I continued trying to back her up 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:42.960 to the wall, but she eventually just vanished before she 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:46.360 got there. That was it all I needed to know. 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:49.560 It might have just been a fluke, but it looked 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:52.600 like the ghosts of lighthouse did not like an open flame. 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:55.440 There wasn't much I could do with that information at 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:57.240 the time, but I was going to use it as 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:00.240 a precaution. I began to light candles a night in 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:02.480 my room before I went to bed. I tried to 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:04.920 carry one around as much as possible, just in case. 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.119 It acted like a deterrent for a bit, like a 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:14.080 mosquito and citronella, but not forever. Unfortunately, perhaps they got 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:16.640 wise to my plan, but the candles began to go out. 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:18.760 They'd be out when I would wake up in the morning, 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:21.119 or a gust of wind would snuff one out as 0:17:21.119 --> 0:17:23.720 I carried it. I still did it, though, even if 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:27.320 it wasn't a perfect method. It gave me a little 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.680 bit of hope, which is more than I had before. 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:34.440 But over the last few years, I can feel the 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:39.960 darkness closing in on me. It consumes people, Terra. But 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:42.800 I think you know that already. I think you had 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:44.719 some idea after we watched what it did to our 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.480 father eats them up from the inside out and turns 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:51.119 them into a hollow shell of a person. It drives 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.840 them mad, and once they are so weak that they 0:17:53.840 --> 0:17:56.560 can no longer help themselves, it takes over in their 0:17:56.560 --> 0:18:01.680 final moments and takes them. We were good at keeping 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:04.320 it out away from us, but that night I killed Dad. 0:18:04.359 --> 0:18:06.960 I think I unintentionally opened a door for it to 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.720 come in. I committed an act of violence, and it 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:13.040 was drawn to me. The darkness got into my heart. 0:18:14.400 --> 0:18:17.159 I've been fighting it off for so many years, but Tara, 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:25.840 I'm just so tired. I'm tired of constantly keeping my 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:28.720 guard up. I'm tired of the sleepless nights, and I'm 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:31.640 tired of wondering when the moment will come, when its 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.960 final strike will take me away and I'll be stuck 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:39.560 within it forever. I can see it watching me, Tara, 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.520 late at night, just outside the circle of candle light, 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.600 in shadows of its own making, in the corners of 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:49.680 the house as I go about my day, and even 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:54.359 here in the lighthouse itself. It moves freely in the house, 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.080 using those it has consumed in the past as vessels 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:00.200 to do its bidding. But I don't think it lives there. 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:03.879 It was trapped in the dark room when we found it. 0:19:03.920 --> 0:19:07.680 But that's not where it's originally from. It's from somewhere else, 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:11.280 from somewhere deep within the earth. And if that book 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:16.080 is right, then the lighthouse is ground zero. I've been 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.040 coming here for years, watching and waiting myself, trying to 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.720 study it, trying to find a pattern or a clue 0:19:21.800 --> 0:19:26.040 or just something to help. And I think I finally 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:29.240 have it figured out. I think this is the way 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:32.840 to stop it. I'm going to lure it here to 0:19:32.960 --> 0:19:36.280 the lighthouse. I'm going to try to trap it inside, 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:39.280 and then when it's backed into a corner with nowhere 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.240 else to go, I'm going to burn it to the ground. 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:45.920 This lighthouse is old and falling apart anyway, right, I mean, 0:19:45.960 --> 0:19:48.919 it's been deteriorating for years, long before we even moved in, 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:52.399 and it's one step away from being condemned. I piled 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:54.639 a bunch of old wooden boxes on the ground floor 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:57.359 to help ignite it, and I even sprinkled some gasoline 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:00.959 on everything to spread the flame from the bottom floor 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:05.040 up the stairs to right here near the beacon. If 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:07.679 I can time it right, and luck is on my side, 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:12.720 I think there may be a chance. It's not a 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:15.280 perfect plan. I know there are so many ways it 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:19.000 can go wrong, and honestly I'm not very optimistic about it, 0:20:19.040 --> 0:20:22.159 but it's all I have tera I have to do 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.160 something because, like I said, I can feel it watching 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:29.280 me now more so than ever. I feel like it's 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.040 getting ready to strike, so my time is growing short. 0:20:33.119 --> 0:20:37.679 It's now or never. If this goes south, then my 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:41.200 only recourse to escape the darkness is to jump off 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.800 the lighthouse into the ocean. It's a long drop, you 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:49.160 can see that, and I won't survive it. To everyone else, 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:52.280 that will probably look like suicide, a poor, lonely woman 0:20:52.280 --> 0:20:54.639 whose life was filled with tragedy taking her life so 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.800 she doesn't have to endure it anymore. Despite how it 0:20:57.880 --> 0:20:59.640 may look to everyone else, I want you to know 0:20:59.720 --> 0:21:04.600 that it wasn't. It's just my last desperate attempt to 0:21:04.800 --> 0:21:07.000 escape and make sure the darkness does not get me. 0:21:09.200 --> 0:21:13.439 But it has to be done. I'm sorry for not 0:21:13.560 --> 0:21:16.879 telling you this in person or sooner. I'm sorry for 0:21:17.000 --> 0:21:20.119 not involving you. You'd want to help, but I can't 0:21:20.240 --> 0:21:23.159 risk you getting hurt too. This is something I have 0:21:23.240 --> 0:21:25.960 to do. Alone to give you and Mom a chance 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.880 at getting better. It's time for me to kill the darkness. 0:21:36.200 --> 0:21:44.439 Lighthouse were returned after a word from our sponsors, and 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:56.280 now Lighthouse continues. There's just one last thing before I go, 0:21:57.080 --> 0:21:58.920 something I need to ask of you, Terra, and it's 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:02.959 something I'm not sure you will be comfortable with if 0:22:03.000 --> 0:22:05.760 I don't make it out of this. If I fail, 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:08.919 I need you to take care of Abigail for me. 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:11.399 She's an innocent in all of this, Terra. I know 0:22:11.600 --> 0:22:14.159 she is. She may have been frightening to you, but 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:17.160 she was always a comfort for me. She was always 0:22:17.160 --> 0:22:20.959 there for me, especially after you were gone. And and 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:23.160 don't take that as me blaming you for leaving, because 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:25.680 I am not. I know why you did, and I 0:22:25.760 --> 0:22:28.960 wish I had the same strength you did that. Abigail 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:31.399 truly was a bright spot in all this darkness for me. 0:22:32.080 --> 0:22:35.639 She helped me get through some tough times. Yes, she 0:22:35.760 --> 0:22:40.000 sometimes does bad things, but I think that's only because 0:22:40.040 --> 0:22:43.520 the darkness is in her. She's like me. She tries 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.000 to do good, but sometimes she can't fight against it either. 0:22:47.280 --> 0:22:49.560 I think at first she was priming me to be 0:22:49.720 --> 0:22:52.960 like her, a vessel for the darkness to corrupt, but 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:56.080 she fought against it, and she's been getting better at 0:22:56.080 --> 0:23:00.520 controlling it. She can be herself with me. I left 0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:03.359 some things for you in your room. There is a 0:23:03.440 --> 0:23:06.480 box on your bed. The teddy Bear is in there. 0:23:07.520 --> 0:23:10.119 I believe she is tied to it, and if it 0:23:10.200 --> 0:23:14.800 goes she will too, and I hope no. I know 0:23:15.280 --> 0:23:17.080 that if you take it far away from here, the 0:23:17.160 --> 0:23:19.880 darkness won't be able to get to her anymore. Whether 0:23:19.960 --> 0:23:23.560 or not I succeed, it shouldn't matter. She'll be free, 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:28.320 and that's what we all want, right to be free. 0:23:30.320 --> 0:23:35.119 Hopefully after tonight we will be all of us, Me, you, Mom, Abigail, 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:41.399 everyone else that it is consumed, and if not, at 0:23:41.480 --> 0:23:46.520 least I tried. Right. If this recording does fall into 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:49.920 your hands and I'm gone, please tell Mom I love 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:53.359 her too, that I don't blame her either, and that 0:23:53.480 --> 0:23:57.480 I'm sorry. And I'm sorry to you too. I love you, 0:23:57.680 --> 0:24:01.280 tera You're the best sister anyone could asked for. And 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:11.600 I'll miss you. Okay, it's now or never. I said, 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:14.480 I have to lure it here, and while I'm not sure, 0:24:14.640 --> 0:24:18.760 I I think this part will work too. I haven't 0:24:18.800 --> 0:24:22.160 touched it in years, but it always seemed to attract it, right, 0:24:24.080 --> 0:24:28.480 m such a pretty song. I used to love it, 0:24:28.520 --> 0:24:32.359 but I grew to hate it over the years. You know. 0:24:33.440 --> 0:24:36.240 As strange as it sounds, one of my fondest memories 0:24:36.240 --> 0:24:38.679 of childhood was going on that adventure with you to 0:24:38.720 --> 0:24:43.200 find it. Granted, we accidentally unleashed some kind of ancient 0:24:43.200 --> 0:24:47.080 evil from its hiding place, sure, but everything before that 0:24:47.320 --> 0:24:52.560 it was fun. We sure did have fun, didn't we. 0:24:52.560 --> 0:24:56.240 We always made the most of our situation. Looking back, 0:24:56.359 --> 0:24:59.720 I know we were poor, but we were kids. We 0:24:59.800 --> 0:25:04.000 did know any better. We had each other and our 0:25:04.080 --> 0:25:10.720 family and that was enough. Right. Well, now that's it, then, 0:25:11.359 --> 0:25:17.440 I just I just wait. I don't know how long 0:25:17.480 --> 0:25:21.320 it will take or if it will even work, but 0:25:21.520 --> 0:25:25.440 that's all there is left to do. This. The view 0:25:25.600 --> 0:25:29.359 is nice. It's a shame we couldn't even get up 0:25:29.359 --> 0:25:32.120 here to enjoy it, and we were kids. I thought 0:25:32.160 --> 0:25:35.679 we would have loved it in another life, without all 0:25:35.720 --> 0:25:39.960 the ghosts and spooky stuff of Lighthouse. I think I 0:25:39.960 --> 0:25:43.399 think we would have been happy here. We would have 0:25:43.400 --> 0:25:47.960 grown up happy and moved out, had happy lives, and 0:25:48.000 --> 0:25:51.160 then one day one of us would have inherited the house. 0:25:52.560 --> 0:25:56.440 I could have raised our own kids here, maybe even together, 0:25:57.960 --> 0:26:02.199 and told them about how wonderful life was here. We 0:26:02.280 --> 0:26:05.120 could have shown them the gorgeous view from up top here, 0:26:05.200 --> 0:26:10.800