WEBVTT - Chapter 3 - 1970 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:05.920 Warning. This episode contains descriptions of domestic violence. Listener discretion 0:00:06.040 --> 0:00:10.240 is advised. Lighthouse is a production of I Heart Radio 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:17.000 and Bamfor Productions. For six long years after the night 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:20.160 of my twelfth birthday, I lived in a constant state 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:23.320 of fear. After we opened the dark room, the man 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:26.680 in the hat made more frequent appearances. He didn't visit 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:29.840 every night, but I was always afraid he would. I 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:33.040 tossed and turned in my bed, restless, afraid that every 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:36.040 creak of the settling house, every banging of the pipes, 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:38.760 every gust of wind outside was him coming for me. 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.320 On the nights he did come, the ritual was always 0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.560 the same, his shadow blocking the tiny bit of light 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:48.560 spilling into my room from under my door. He would 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.680 turn the knob, jiggling the handle, trying to open it. 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.040 When the lock prevented him from doing so, he tried 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.920 to force his way in, banging against it with such 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.840 force that I was sure he would tear from its frame. 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:04.800 I cried myself to sleep those nights, often curled up 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:09.039 with my sister by my side, eyes closed tight, slowly 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:14.720 counting to five over and over again, wishing him away. However, 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.480 the man in the Hat was only the beginning. Though 0:01:18.520 --> 0:01:21.560 his presence was often seen. He was nothing more than 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:24.880 a malevolent spirit that used us as ponds to unleash 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:27.959 something else upon our house that had long since been 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.240 sealed away. We did not realize it at the time, 0:01:31.720 --> 0:01:34.679 but when we opened the dark room, we freed something 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.800 from a prison that should not have been unlocked, something 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:40.720 that was set loose upon the halls of Lighthouse once again, 0:01:41.440 --> 0:01:46.120 and we my family or its prey, pray that it 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:53.360 toyed with and tormented endlessly. For six long years. Lighthouse 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:57.240 became my prison. The darkness that lived within its walls 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.320 had us in its grasp, and it wouldn't let us 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:40.000 go until it tore my family apart. Lighthouse Chapter three. 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:49.400 Conditions in the house steadily declined over those six years, 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:53.640 not only mentally but also physically. The first time I 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:56.280 truly realized how bad things were getting was when I 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:59.880 was thirteen. Yes, the nightly torment from the man in 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:02.560 Hat was gnawing away at my nerves, and things we 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:05.000 set loose from the dark room were slowly beginning to 0:03:05.000 --> 0:03:07.960 make their presence known. But things took a turn for 0:03:08.000 --> 0:03:11.080 the worse the first time my father hit my mother. 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:15.560 Since moving into Lighthouse, my father began to transform into 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.639 someone else. Though his initial hesitation about moving in went 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.720 unheard by my mother, it was beginning to become apparent 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:25.360 that it was for a good reason. He never shared 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:27.799 much about his childhood and his family home with us, 0:03:27.800 --> 0:03:29.960 but it was clear that his time in the Lighthouse 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:33.120 was not a pleasant one. Being surrounded by his past 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:36.280 memories of a place he once escaped but was now 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:39.320 trapped in again took a toll on him. Once we 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.320 settled into Lighthouse, he took a job at a local 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:46.560 factory that manufactured plastic products. With most of the inheritance 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:49.520 from my grandmother's passing now gone, used to pay off 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:53.120 their outstanding debts and for living expenses over the past years, 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:56.560 we desperately needed money to survive again. How they had 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:59.160 dwindled away so much so quickly was lost to me 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:02.440 at the time, but my mother's lavish spending habits were 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.280 likely part of the problem. She only wanted the best 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:08.280 for our family, though, and now that she was finally 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.040 able to provide that, who can fault her for some 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:14.840 extravagant spending. It fell on my father, though, to pick 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.280 up the slack, hence his job. A naturally thin man, 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:20.640 the job demanded a lot of physical labor that he 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:23.839 was just not suited for. But a job was a job, 0:04:24.279 --> 0:04:27.240 and he took it in stride. Every day, he left 0:04:27.240 --> 0:04:30.400 early in the morning before we awoke, and didn't come 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:34.240 home until after nightfall. All evenings and week ends used 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.960 to be reserved for family time. He now spent his 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:39.960 free moments sitting in his study, staring at his old 0:04:40.000 --> 0:04:45.720 family portrait hanging above the fireplace, drinking. He started to deteriorate, 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.039 and all the time alone in his study was not helping. 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:52.560 One evening, when dinner was ready, my mother called out 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.160 to him from the dining room. Leaney and I were 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:58.279 already seated, awaiting the oka to begin eating, but my 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.159 mother insisted we wait for him. When he still didn't 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.720 respond after the second and third time, she stood up 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:10.560 to fetch him. Leny and I waited and waited and waited, 0:05:11.320 --> 0:05:13.960 But then they're raised. Voices began to float down the 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.640 hall toward us. We couldn't quite make out what they 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.400 were saying, but as curiosity got the better of us, 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:22.240 we both got out of our seats to see The 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:25.040 study door was cracked ajar, but we stayed out of sight. 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.039 We used the tiny crack between the door and the 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.600 wall so we could peek into the room without risk 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:34.119 of being spotted. What we saw was my father, still 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:37.039 slumped over in his chair, drink in hand, while my 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:40.799 mother stood over him. It was obvious from their body 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.840 language and their voices that their conversation was heated and 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:47.560 my mother was upset. The exact specifics of what they 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.520 were saying have long been lost in my memory, but 0:05:50.600 --> 0:05:53.560 what is forever etched there was the moment when my mother, 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:57.279 in an impassioned flash, knocked the drink out of my 0:05:57.320 --> 0:06:01.240 father's hand. The sound of shattering last stunned both my 0:06:01.320 --> 0:06:04.200 sister and I as we froze as still as statues. 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:08.719 We watched intensely to see what would happen next. We 0:06:08.760 --> 0:06:11.640 could see my father finally rise from his chair. As 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.880 my mother began to apologize, she was caught off mid 0:06:14.920 --> 0:06:20.000 sentence by the unmistakable sound of flesh striking flesh. He 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:23.440 hit her so hard, the back of his hand connecting 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.680 with her face, that she fell to the ground. The 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.640 sound echoed within the house, Hanging in the air for 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.680 what seemed like an eternity. The silence was only broken 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.279 by the gasp that escaped her lips. My father didn't 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.400 say anything else after that. He merely stared hard at her, 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.840 rubbing his old scar before sitting back down in his chair. 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.359 My mother, stunned, slowly got back to her feet and 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.680 walked out, holding her face, where a red mark began 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.960 to form on her cheek. She didn't register our presence 0:06:56.040 --> 0:06:59.440 as she stormed away towards her bedroom. Leaney took off 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:02.240 a few secon games later in the opposite direction, sobbing. 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.160 That night, I saw the dim glow from atop the 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:09.440 lighthouse again, the first time since the night we had 0:07:09.480 --> 0:07:12.760 moved in. I watched it from my bed and fell 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:17.240 asleep while wondering what it was. While the opening of 0:07:17.240 --> 0:07:20.000 the dark room may have set the darkness loose upon 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.320 the house, what my father did to my mother emboldened it. 0:07:24.000 --> 0:07:27.559 The man in the hat had friends, and they wanted 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:31.080 to make themselves known. The first did so in a 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:36.360 most unexpected way. During one of my many many sleepless nights, 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:40.400 I laid in bed staring at the ceiling. Thankfully, the 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:42.840 man in the hat did not pay a visit that evening, 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:47.240 but something far worse did. As I tossed and turned, 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:50.240 I heard the music box in Lini's room begin to play. 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:52.920 What was once a comforting sound for me had since 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.160 turned into a waking nightmare. I found that the haunting 0:07:56.160 --> 0:07:58.920 melody was often a precursor to a visit from the 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.800 man in the Hat. With the music wafting from my 0:08:01.840 --> 0:08:04.560 sister's room into mine, I decided I was in no 0:08:04.680 --> 0:08:08.760 mood to listen to his assault of my doorstep that night. Instead, 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.400 I opted to do something I started a few weeks prior. 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:15.480 I gathered my blanket and pillow, opened my balcony doors, 0:08:15.560 --> 0:08:18.280 and created a makeshift bed out there. My hope was 0:08:18.360 --> 0:08:21.640 always that the night air would drown out the cacophony 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.000 of noise caused by the man in the Hat, and 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.880 while that theory didn't always work, being out there did 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:29.520 calm my nerves a bit. As I stepped out on 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:32.400 to the balcony, I felt an immediate chill run through 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:35.640 me as wind from the ocean blew in my direction. 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:38.760 I didn't mind, just held my night gown around me 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:41.600 closer to fight some of it off. The dark shape 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.520 of the lighthouse loomed in the distance. The glow not 0:08:44.720 --> 0:08:48.760 making an appearance. That night, clouds blanketed the sky, allowing 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:52.160 only small slivers of light to touch the ground. In 0:08:52.200 --> 0:08:55.120 these small patches of moonlight, I could see our vast 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:59.360 yard stretching out in all directions. I leaned against the 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.960 railing and I breathed in the cold air, stinging my lungs. 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:07.120 For a moment, it was quiet outside, more so than usual. 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.760 Crickets usually saying their symphony by this time, helping me 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.640 to block out other noise, But this night was devoid 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:17.040 of life. I thought nothing of it, though, just glad 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:19.640 to be out of the house for a few brief moments. 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:22.840 As my eyes adjusted to the dark, they fell upon 0:09:22.880 --> 0:09:26.640 the red oak tree. I wondered how long it had 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:30.640 been there. It's massive and gnarled branches sprung off in 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:35.160 many directions, creating its own labyrinth maze of limbs. As 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.840 another soft gust of wind blew, I noticed an odd shape, 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:42.720 something I had never seen before, swaying among the shadows 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.319 of the tree. I assumed it was a dead branch, 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:48.760 hanging on its last vestiges of life, soon to become 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:53.040 another stick in the yard. The clouds above shifted, allowing 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.520 more moonlight to shine through, and the shadowy thing came 0:09:56.559 --> 0:10:00.600 into a clearer view. It was a body hanging from 0:10:00.640 --> 0:10:05.080 the trees limbs. I stumbled backwards, shocked by the sight. 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:07.440 I tried to turn away, but my eyes would not 0:10:07.559 --> 0:10:10.280 listen to my brain. Instead, they continued to stare as 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:14.559 every gruesome detail came into focus. An old knotted noose 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:17.480 was wrapped around its neck. The body swayed in the 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:19.880 light breeze as I could see that the clothing was 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:23.440 nearly unrecognizable, rotted away, as if he had been hanging 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:26.880 there for some time. The flesh peeking out from behind 0:10:27.000 --> 0:10:31.160 it hung loosely, giving it a sickly appearance. Thankfully, I 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.080 burn up bag covered the face, saving me from seeing 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:38.920 anything worse. I could only imagine the face decomposed over time, 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:42.920 the empty eye sockets burning in whatever direction they faced. 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:45.880 I saw the head begin to turn in my direction. 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:48.560 It was too much for me to bear. I quickly 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.040 ran back into my bedroom and closed the balcony doors 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:53.400 as fast as I could. I jumped into my bed, 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:55.920 and I pulled the covers over me. When I did 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:59.680 finally sleep, I had a nightmare about its dead lifeless 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:02.320 eye is trying to see through the gaps in the 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:05.560 burlap to catch a glimpse of me, before somehow cutting 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:08.000 itself loose and hurrying down the tree to get me. 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:15.760 I never used that balcony at night again. Lighthouse will 0:11:15.800 --> 0:11:31.960 return after these messages, and now back to lighthouse. As 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:34.680 my father began to drink more and more over the years, 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.920 the beatings he laid upon my mother got worse. What 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:40.120 started as a slap across the face here and they 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.040 are soon turned into a black eye or a broken limb. 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:45.400 Though these things were never done. When Leaney and I 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:49.719 were present, we often saw the immediate aftermath. Sometimes one 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.000 of us would come across her, laying at his feet, 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:55.679 victim to a recent strike. Other Times it would be 0:11:55.679 --> 0:11:58.360 her hiding her injury as best as she could, though 0:11:58.400 --> 0:12:01.320 we could always see right through her reception. He never 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:03.800 struck us like he did her, but we felt his 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:07.240 wrath in other ways, mostly when he yelled. His temper 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.320 became short, and his tolerance for his family grew thinner 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:13.800 by the day. The smallest thing would irritate him, sending 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:16.200 him into a tailspin of anger that resulted in us 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:20.880 running off to cry. As these instances increased, my sister 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:24.440 began to change, not in the prepubescent sense that everyone 0:12:24.520 --> 0:12:27.760 goes through, but in mannerism send the way she held herself. 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.480 She used to run into my father's arms when he 0:12:30.520 --> 0:12:33.400 came home from work, anxious to tell him about her day. 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.200 Now she ran in the opposite direction, often hiding somewhere 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:39.800 in the house for hours before making an appearance again. 0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:44.240 It was months before I discovered her secret hideaway, and 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:47.000 I was shocked when I realized where it was. It 0:12:47.120 --> 0:12:49.800 was late one summer afternoon and I was hungry, so 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:53.120 I went to check the pantry for snack. To my surprise, 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:56.240 I found the basement door open. A bit worried, I 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.439 started to close it when I heard a voice make 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:03.120 its way up from its depths. It sounded suspiciously like Lini. 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.000 I hadn't been down there since we discovered the dark room, 0:13:06.120 --> 0:13:08.960 but I was a bit worried that if it was Lini, 0:13:09.240 --> 0:13:12.600 she could be in trouble. Against my better judgment, I 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:14.920 crept down a few steps and looked into the basement. 0:13:15.679 --> 0:13:17.640 The light was on down there, so I assumed that 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:19.760 one of my parents had replaced the burnt out bulb 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:23.760 At some point. I listened intently again, and there was 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:27.880 no mistake. Leoni was down there somewhere. I made my 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:31.360 way through the basement carefully, even though the light was 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.760 shining bright. My previous experience was not one I wanted 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.920 to relive. I followed the sound of her voice as 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:40.520 I continued to get closer. It sounded as if she 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:44.199 was talking to someone. What did you use it for? 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:48.079 I heard her ask. I stopped and tried to listen 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:52.120 for a response. Instead, she started giggling. A few seconds later, 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:55.600 my heart dropped as I turned a corner and realized 0:13:55.800 --> 0:14:00.560 where her voice was coming from the dark room. I 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:03.480 hurriedly walked to the small doorway to find Lini sitting 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:06.080 cross legged on the floor, facing the back wall under 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:10.000 the glowing red light. Lini, I called out, startling her 0:14:10.040 --> 0:14:12.760 and immediately feeling bad about it. She turned toward me 0:14:12.800 --> 0:14:17.599 and smiled. Dara. She squealed, did you come to play too? 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:21.280 What are you doing down here? I asked her. It's dangerous. No, 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:24.760 it's not, she told me matter of factly. I always 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.560 come down here now, it's my secret spot. I was 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.240 surprised by this, of course, because I had avoided the 0:14:30.320 --> 0:14:32.760 dark room and the entire basement since the day we 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:35.400 found it. I was under the assumption that she did 0:14:35.440 --> 0:14:38.760 as well. I pushed the memory of my first and 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:40.960 only visit out of my head for now, though, for 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:43.840 fear of conjuring any unwanted attention. While I was down 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:48.080 there still, Who are you talking to, Lini? Oh, it's 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.960 my friend, Abigail, she said. My heart dropped and my 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.600 blood ran cold. There was no one else with her 0:14:55.720 --> 0:14:58.320 but an old, dirty, teddy bear. When she held out 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.760 to me in greeting, I immediately recognized it as the 0:15:01.800 --> 0:15:03.840 one that once sat on the top shelf in this 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.080 very room when we first opened the door. It was 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.120 too far out of reach for either of us to grab. 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:14.200 Then I silently wondered how Leni got her hands on it, 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:18.520 and also wondered if that is who she meant as Abigail. 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:21.760 The implications of her making a new friend down in 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:24.280 the dark room were too much for me to comprehend 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:28.640 in that small, darkened space at the moment. Very nice 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:32.760 to meet you, I stammered, starting to feel a bit dizzy. 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:36.800 A familiar feeling of unease washed over me. And look 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.760 what she found, Lenie exclaimed, as she showed me something else. 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:43.640 It took a moment for it to register in my brain, 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:46.640 but she held an old hunting knife in her hand. 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.200 My eyes grew wide, and I quickly snatched it away 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:53.200 from her. Lee that's dangerous. It's not a toy. You 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:57.400 shouldn't be playing with that. Sorry, she said, looking sheepishly 0:15:57.440 --> 0:16:01.760 at the floor. Abigail said it was okay. The dizziness 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:05.080 was getting worse, and this Abigail was making me nervous. 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.520 Who was she and why was LINI treating the teddy 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.640 bear like a person? Regardless, this was not the place 0:16:11.680 --> 0:16:14.880 to discuss it. Come back upstairs, please, I told her, 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.360 we have chores. That was a lie, but I had 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.400 to get out of there, and the thought of leaving 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:22.200 her alone in the dark room was not one I 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:26.200 was going to entertain. Reluctantly, she got up, brushed the 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.560 dirt off her dress, and grabbed the teddy Bear. Come along, Abigail, 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.720 she said, moving past me into the basement. Before I followed, 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.400 I took the knife I had taken from her and 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:39.160 looked for a good hiding spot for it. Taking a 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:41.800 quick glance under the bench, I saw a small alcove 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:44.440 in there, one that someone wouldn't normally see unless they 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:47.640 were looking for it. I placed the knife there, hopeful 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:49.000 that it would be enough to keep it out of 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:52.240 Linie's hands. I took one last look inside the dark 0:16:52.280 --> 0:16:54.360 room before reaching for the chain and turning off the 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.720 red light. I couldn't get out of the basement fast enough. 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:05.920 H Lighthouse were returned after a word from our sponsors, 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:23.760 and now Lighthouse continues. Despite my protests, Lenie began to 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:26.440 spend more and more time in the dark room. Her 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:29.159 own bedroom was often neglected in favor of it, and, 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:31.800 much like my father with the study, she would disappear 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:35.159 for hours at a time down there. Her continued insistence 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.639 on playing with this Abigail was worrisome for me, but 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.320 my mother didn't seem to mind. In fact, if Lenie 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:46.000 was occupied elsewhere, that meant less work my mother had 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.439 to do. It also meant more time for her to 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.159 be alone with her thoughts, which in turn left me 0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:54.359 alone with my own. The man in the hat, the 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:58.320 person hanging from the tree, Abigail, all of them were 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:00.720 just a small portion of the things I saw lurking 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:04.240 in Lighthouse. There were so many more things I saw 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.040 once or twice, things I only caught the briefest of 0:18:07.040 --> 0:18:10.200 glimpses of things that were almost as common as the 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:13.119 man in the hat. One of those things was the 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:16.399 maid in the kitchen. I often saw her hurrying herself 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.919 in there, perhaps preparing phantom meals. Dressed in a simple 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:23.879 black dress with a small ornamental apron. She only registered 0:18:23.920 --> 0:18:26.919 my presence once, when I bumped the table and knocked 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.000 a fork from its place setting. She turned to me 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:34.720 as I saw tears of blood staining her porcelain cheeks. 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:37.639 There was also the servant in one of the spare 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:42.119 bedrooms upstairs, wearing dark gray trousers a high buttoned black 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:45.359 coat with a dark tie. He busied himself with keeping 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:49.080 the room tidy, awaiting orders from the master of the house. 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:51.960 There was a rust colored stain that spread on the 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:55.080 back of his coat as he worked. An old sailor, 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:58.439 likely a pirate from the early days of sailing along 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:03.000 the bluff, occasionally made appearances on the grounds. That gaping 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.159 hole where his right eye socket used to be dominated 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:10.000 by his face. In the attic, there was an old 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:13.879 woman who sat in a darkened corner, rocking back and 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.679 forth in her chair, her face covered in a shawl. 0:19:17.480 --> 0:19:19.679 She didn't do anything else but sit there day in 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:23.280 day out. Whenever I saw her, there was a man 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:26.320 with some sort of file, maybe a doctor, paying attention 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:30.200 to her comings and goings, writing down notes about what 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:34.120 he was observing. There's a little boy often seen outside 0:19:34.119 --> 0:19:36.720 on the grounds, who moved with an unnatural gait and 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:40.360 whose teeth never stopped chattering. Not all of the entities 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.679 made their physical presence known. Some of them were content 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:48.399 to open doors and cabinets, move valuable objects to different places, 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:52.560 and just generally cause unseen havoc. And Lighthouse one waited 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:56.160 until the dark early hours of the night to whisper 0:19:56.320 --> 0:20:00.080 indiscernible words to me in a chorus of gentle saying 0:20:00.160 --> 0:20:06.040 song voices from the events. There were many things slowly 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:09.120 tormenting us in Lighthouse, but none of them were as 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:12.439 terrifying as the shadowy thing. Whatever it was, I had 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.639 never actually seen its full form. I named it for 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:19.720 its black, shadowy shape that kept its form nebulous, often 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.439 appearing just out of the corner of my eyesight, but 0:20:22.560 --> 0:20:25.280 making it known that it was present. I was certain 0:20:25.320 --> 0:20:27.399 it was the very same thing that chased us from 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.119 the dark room on the day we opened it, less 0:20:30.200 --> 0:20:33.760 person and more thing. I came to think of it 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:36.760 as the very darkness living in the heart of lighthouse. 0:20:37.720 --> 0:20:39.879 I mean it quite literally when I say it was 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.560 living within the walls of the house. I sometimes saw 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:48.480 it slithering behind the wallpaper, a bulging shape protruding from 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.840 the hallway, giving the appearance that the house itself was alive. 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:56.000 I tried to avoid it at all costs, especially after 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:58.919 the night I saw it with my father. Unlike the 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:01.600 rest of my family, I didn't try to avoid him 0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:05.120 like they did. Despite his temper, I made a concentrated 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:07.760 effort to try to keep connected, to make sure he 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:09.600 knew that I was there for him and that he 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:13.359 was loved. One relatively calm evening, where I had gone 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:16.000 an entire day without seeing or hearing from one of 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:19.480 the many inhabitants of the house, I had an uneasy 0:21:19.600 --> 0:21:22.919 feeling that I was overdue for a visit. As my 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:26.560 bedside clock struck three am, I realized how right I 0:21:26.720 --> 0:21:29.840 was when the whispering voices began to call out from 0:21:29.840 --> 0:21:34.600 my vend again. I tried not to listen to their 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:37.560 hushed words, But sometimes the more you try to block 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:41.200 something out the more your brain allows it. In this time, 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:44.880 instead of just words, I could not make out, there 0:21:44.960 --> 0:21:48.520 was something else coming through the cacophony. They were calling 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:56.280 out my name. I was immobilized because this was the 0:21:56.280 --> 0:21:59.040 first time that anything had addressed me by my name. 0:21:59.520 --> 0:22:10.280 It knew who I was. My fear overtook me, and 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:12.720 every rational part of my brain told me to stay 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:14.840 where I was, But my body was not my own. 0:22:14.920 --> 0:22:19.040 Then it was in some sort of trance against my will. 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:21.159 I found my legs swinging over the edge of my 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:24.320 bed and then walking along the floor outside my bedroom. 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:27.480 I supposed, despite all my terror, the lizard part of 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:29.919 my brain could not resist the call of whatever it 0:22:30.080 --> 0:22:36.520 was out in the hall. It continued, much like the 0:22:36.600 --> 0:22:39.120 music box. I followed it down the stairs and onto 0:22:39.160 --> 0:22:45.119 the first floor of the house. It beckoned me, the 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:48.720 voice drawing me towards my father's study. As I got closer, 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:51.880 I found the door jar again, the light spilling into 0:22:51.880 --> 0:22:57.360 the hallway like a beacon night. The closer I got 0:22:57.400 --> 0:23:01.000 to the door, the more my anxiety grew. My footsteps 0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:04.119 slowed as another part of my brain was fighting against 0:23:04.200 --> 0:23:06.760 whatever was calling out to me in that room. But 0:23:06.840 --> 0:23:09.400 it was too late. I was too close to the doorway, 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:11.199 and I had no choice but to give into my 0:23:11.280 --> 0:23:14.280 instincts and look inside. Was a scene I had laid 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:17.840 eyes on many times before. My father sat in his 0:23:17.920 --> 0:23:20.680 favorite chair in front of the fireplace and family portrait, 0:23:20.920 --> 0:23:23.199 with his back towards me. In his hand was a 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:26.240 glass of whiskey, with a nearly empty bottle sitting on 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:29.399 a table nearby. But as my eyes grew accustomed to 0:23:29.480 --> 0:23:31.640 the bright light of the room, there was a dark 0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:34.320 spot in my vision that refused to go away, a 0:23:34.400 --> 0:23:37.400 shadow that was cast in the room by an unseen object. 0:23:37.960 --> 0:23:40.000 My brain tried to make sense of it, but there 0:23:40.040 --> 0:23:41.919 was no sense to be had, because this was not 0:23:42.160 --> 0:23:44.800 something that human eyes were meant to see. It wasn't 0:23:44.800 --> 0:23:47.119 a trick of the light. It was a piece of 0:23:47.200 --> 0:23:49.800