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Speaker 1: Lighthouse is a production of I Heart Radio and Bamford Productions.

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Speaker 1: The date is August fifteen. Time is three pm. This

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Speaker 1: is Dr Albright interviewing patient to file zero three two

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Speaker 1: one to seven, Madeleine, Madeleine, Do you know who I am? No,

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Speaker 1: I'm Dr Albright, but you can call me Malcolm. Malcolm

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Speaker 1: is a funny name. It is. It was my grandfather's name, Madeleine.

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Speaker 1: Do you know why I'm here to play with? From where?

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Speaker 1: Tell me about what you're doing this? I can see that.

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Speaker 1: Does your doll have a name? What a pretty name?

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Speaker 1: And it starts with the letter M, just like your name, Mary, Madeleine.

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Speaker 1: Sounds silly like that. They certainly do, Madeline. Your parents

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Speaker 1: are very worried about you, Madeline. Did you hear me?

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Speaker 1: They're worried about you. How come well because of some

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Speaker 1: of the things you've been saying and the things you've

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Speaker 1: been doing. And I'm here to help make sure that

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Speaker 1: you're being safe and that you're not really a danger

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Speaker 1: to yourself. I'm safe. He keeps me safe? Who keeps

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Speaker 1: you safe? Madeleine? Your your daddy? You're funny? Will you

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Speaker 1: tell me who keeps you safe? Did you see it.

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Speaker 1: See what the right? Yes I did. You can't miss

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Speaker 1: it when you come out here. I'm sure it was

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Speaker 1: quite beautiful back in its day when it was still operational.

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Speaker 1: Did you see it? The light inside it goes for

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Speaker 1: me sometimes? Who keeps you safe? Will you tell me? Nope? No, no, no, no, nope?

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Speaker 1: Why not? It's a secret. Well will you tell me

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Speaker 1: about the people you see? What people in the house?

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Speaker 1: You're my friends? Your friends? Well? What are their names? Um,

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Speaker 1: I'm not supposed to tell you. And why is that?

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Speaker 1: He doesn't walk rim? Person? Who keeps you safe? Well?

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Speaker 1: What can you tell me? I don't know? What else?

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Speaker 1: Did they tell you? All sorts of things? What kind

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Speaker 1: of things? Some things? And what kind of games do

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Speaker 1: you play with them? Hi didn't seek I'm really good.

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Speaker 1: That is a very fun game. Do they say anything else?

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Speaker 1: I'm not supposed to say because it's a secret. You

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Speaker 1: can trust me, Madeline. I'm a doctor, Remember, I don't know.

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Speaker 1: I am very good at keeping secret. You promise not

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Speaker 1: to tell I promise. Well, they tell me they want

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Speaker 1: to bring me somewhere. Where is that away in the dark?

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Speaker 1: What's in the dark? That's where they live? He wants

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Speaker 1: to show me. But he can't. How come? Because he said,

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Speaker 1: I have to do something for them first. The man

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Speaker 1: who keeps you safe said this, What does he want

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Speaker 1: you to do? Well? I think they are bad things?

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Speaker 1: Does he want you to hurt people? Know? Just to

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Speaker 1: make sure they're sleeping? He tells me to put them

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Speaker 1: to sleep. How does he want you to do that?

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Speaker 1: He said, Mommy and Daddy only pretend to sleep at night,

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Speaker 1: that they lay down and close their eyes. But they're

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Speaker 1: just pretending. He said, he should go in the kitchen

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Speaker 1: and take a knife from the jar, one of the

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Speaker 1: sharp ones. That's very dangerous if we want you to

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Speaker 1: do with the knife. He told me to go into

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Speaker 1: their room and play the up and down game with them,

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Speaker 1: to put them asleep. The up and down game? What's that?

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Speaker 1: You know? Will you take something in your hand? And

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Speaker 1: you will? And Madeline, you know that will hurt your parents? Right? No,

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Speaker 1: it won't. It will just make sure they're sleeping. Silly, No, Madeline,

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Speaker 1: that will hurt them, maybe even kill them, and they

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Speaker 1: will sleep forever. Oh, what's wrong, Madeline? He says he

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Speaker 1: doesn't like you. Dr Albright, who doesn't The man who

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Speaker 1: keeps you safe is he here now. He says it's

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Speaker 1: time for you to go away. Tell him that I will,

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Speaker 1: but only when I finish helping you. He says, I

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Speaker 1: should make you go away myself. Does he know? Did

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Speaker 1: he tell you how he did? And what did he say?

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Speaker 1: He said, I should take your pen and shove it

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Speaker 1: in your eye into a public a balloon. Isn't he funny?

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Speaker 1: Dr all right? Lighthouse Chapter one. Your home is a

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Speaker 1: safe haven. It's more than just a warm bed and

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Speaker 1: a comfy couch. It's love, it's security, it's connection. It's

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Speaker 1: familiar place to retreat to when things get too rough,

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Speaker 1: for when you're feeling lonely. It's a place you go

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Speaker 1: to be with those closest to you, where they can

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Speaker 1: wrap you in a blanket of their love. Home isn't

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Speaker 1: a place as much as it is a feeling homes

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Speaker 1: where this story begins. I do not have a home. Instead,

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Speaker 1: I only have pain, heartbreak, and a piece of myself

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Speaker 1: missing that I can never get back. There's a darkness

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Speaker 1: that dwells in the center of the world, that seeps

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Speaker 1: its way up through the ground and forces itself into

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Speaker 1: our lives. It hides in any place that can crawl into,

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Speaker 1: hiding away as it grows and thrives, surrounding itself in gloom.

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Speaker 1: This darkness isn't the kind that comes from the absence

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Speaker 1: of light. It's the kind where malevolent forces flourish. It's

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Speaker 1: the kind that make up the nightmares that keep you

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Speaker 1: awake as a child, clutching your blanket as you cry

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Speaker 1: for your parents. It's the kind that infects everything it touches.

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Speaker 1: It's vile, icy fingers tightening around your throat, stifling your screams.

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Speaker 1: It's the kind you cannot escape, no matter how hard

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Speaker 1: you try. The unlucky few that discover the darkness hiding

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Speaker 1: place get caught in its everlasting grip. It works its

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Speaker 1: way into their soul, slowly corrupting them from the inside out,

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Speaker 1: until it ultimately consumes them, leaving nothing but an empty,

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Speaker 1: hollow shell in its wake. Lighthouse is one of those

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Speaker 1: hiding places. It's a place where good people are forced

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Speaker 1: to do bad things, and we're bad people do even worse.

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Speaker 1: Lighthouse is my home. For years, I've hidden myself away

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Speaker 1: from the outside world, afraid of allowing the darkness that

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Speaker 1: dwells here and inside me to escape. Despite my best efforts.

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Speaker 1: I've become the very thing I swore not to hermited

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Speaker 1: away from everything and everyone I ever loved, or at

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Speaker 1: the very least the ones I had not yet managed

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Speaker 1: to destroy. This house, my family, and even myself have

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Speaker 1: become the subject of rumor. There are whispered secrets and

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Speaker 1: gossip running wild in the town, with each repeating of

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Speaker 1: the story compounded by another embellishment, another exaggeration, another lie.

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Speaker 1: I admit, yes, some of what has been said is

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Speaker 1: the truth. But it's the story of me, the story

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Speaker 1: of why, the story of Lighthouse. My name is Tara

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Speaker 1: Marie Hollis. I was born in Hayworth, New Jersey. My sister,

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Speaker 1: Eileen or Leni for short, was born four years later.

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Speaker 1: I don't remember much about my early years, just what

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Speaker 1: was told to me. Life was difficult for us. My

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Speaker 1: father was a salesman who worked hard to provide for

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Speaker 1: his family. While he wasn't the best at his job,

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Speaker 1: he did the best he could. It was rough, particularly

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Speaker 1: because through a series of failed investment opportunities and jobs

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Speaker 1: that didn't quite work out, our family was constantly on

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Speaker 1: the move, traveling from place to place. While my parents

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Speaker 1: tried to make ends meet. The other part was my fault.

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Speaker 1: Before my sister was born, I was ill for most

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Speaker 1: of my childhood. I don't remember much about it, but

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Speaker 1: what I do remember was painful. A series of tests,

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Speaker 1: long stretches in and out of the hospital, and lots

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Speaker 1: of doctors, not just medical ones, but plenty of psychiatrists

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Speaker 1: and psychologists too. I was too young to understand it

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Speaker 1: at the time, but they were concerned that something was

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Speaker 1: wrong with my brain. It was too complicated for me

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Speaker 1: to understand, but it boiled down to the fact that

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Speaker 1: I saw things. There was some brief talk of being hereditary,

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Speaker 1: coming from my father's side. There was also talk of

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Speaker 1: a tumor pressing up against my brain causing them function.

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Speaker 1: There were even long stretches of me not remembering anything

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Speaker 1: at all, a sort of blackout. However, I do know

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Speaker 1: by the time I was six, all seemed to be

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Speaker 1: better because I no longer saw the doctors or the psychiatrists,

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Speaker 1: or even the inside of a hospital again. These medical

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Speaker 1: issues they strained my parents finances. We didn't have much,

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Speaker 1: but we had each other and that's what mattered. The

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Speaker 1: memories I do have of my early years are happy ones.

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Speaker 1: My sister and I kept each other occupied while my

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Speaker 1: parents did what they could to make sure we were surviving.

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Speaker 1: They didn't have any family that they could ask for help,

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Speaker 1: as my mother's side disowned her for marrying my father,

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Speaker 1: and my father's family was mostly deceased. His only living

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Speaker 1: relative was his grandmother, an eccentric, elderly recluse that he

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Speaker 1: rarely spoke of and that I'd never met. I wasn't

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Speaker 1: aware of it at the time, but things started to

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Speaker 1: get dire for our family. Money was stretched thin and

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Speaker 1: my parents had too many outstanding debts to keep us

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Speaker 1: all afloat. We weren't quite at rock bottom yet, but

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Speaker 1: we were mere inches away from it. However, just before

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Speaker 1: all was lost, something serendipitous happened. My father's grandmother passed away.

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Speaker 1: Not that her passing was something to celebrate, but it

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Speaker 1: was a blessing in disguise. Not only did she leave

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Speaker 1: a sizeable amount of money to my father, she also

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Speaker 1: left him their ancestral family home. I was eleven years

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Speaker 1: old when I first laid my eyes on Lighthouse. My

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Speaker 1: parents had argued for weeks leading up to it, as

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Speaker 1: the decision to move there wasn't an easy one to make.

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Speaker 1: My father was vehemently against it, and an argument about

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Speaker 1: it was the first time I truly remember him losing

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Speaker 1: his temper. He wanted nothing to do with the house,

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Speaker 1: offering to sell it to the bank at an incredibly

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Speaker 1: low price just to get rid of it and use

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Speaker 1: the rest of the inheritance to buy us a more

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Speaker 1: modest home elsewhere. My mother wanted him to be more

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Speaker 1: sensible about it. Why waste money on a new home

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Speaker 1: when there was a perfectly good one waiting for us

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Speaker 1: that we could use. My father thought about it for

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Speaker 1: a long time, rubbing an old scar he had on

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Speaker 1: his right palm. Eventually he yielded to her and we

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Speaker 1: began the journey to our new home. It was a

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Speaker 1: warm winter day in nineteen sixty three when we finally arrived.

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Speaker 1: As our car pulled through the massive entry gates, I

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Speaker 1: caught my first glimpse of Lighthouse. My mind couldn't fully

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Speaker 1: comprehend it. It It was like something out of a fairy

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Speaker 1: tale or an old story, even at such a distance.

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Speaker 1: It was the biggest house I had ever laid eyes on,

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Speaker 1: and my breath caught in my throat as I craned

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Speaker 1: my neck to see it. All we drove closer, but

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Speaker 1: the driveway seemed to stretch on forever, giving the house

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Speaker 1: a sense of isolation. The front of the house was

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Speaker 1: mostly barren from years of neglect, with a sea of

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Speaker 1: dead grass surrounding it. The only other thing visible from

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Speaker 1: the front was an ancient red oak tree, as if

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Speaker 1: it was standing guard over the house. The house itself

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Speaker 1: had three stories that loomed over the grounds, with its

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Speaker 1: unique Torrean style being nothing like I'd ever seen before.

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Speaker 1: It seemed more like a castle than a house, with

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Speaker 1: a tower that reached for the sky on the left

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Speaker 1: side of the house, with steep gabled roofs surrounding it.

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Speaker 1: My eyes were pulled up further as the complex roofline

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Speaker 1: seemed more for visual effect than practical design. The windows

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Speaker 1: all seemed to be their own distinct shape and size

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Speaker 1: as you went up. The first floors were larger, with

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Speaker 1: bay windows and a large hilarium making up most of them.

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Speaker 1: The second floor had more eyebrow windows with curve shapes

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Speaker 1: about the traditional windows, while the third floor got a

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Speaker 1: bit smaller. I could see a hint of stained glass

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Speaker 1: on the right side and was thrilled to finally see

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Speaker 1: something so wonderfully beautiful in person. Directly over the entry, though,

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Speaker 1: were two large windows that gave the impression that the

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Speaker 1: house was looking back at me. Below those windows was

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Speaker 1: a set of stairs which led up to the front door,

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Speaker 1: which itself was an ornate affair made of solid wood.

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Speaker 1: It surrounded a stained glass fixture with the letter L

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Speaker 1: at its center, giving it a more regal appearance. The

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Speaker 1: wraparound porch stretched to both ends of the house and

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Speaker 1: around the back as well. Beyond the house was the

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Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean, miles and miles of it, spreading out as

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Speaker 1: far as the eye could see. Lighthouse was so named

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Speaker 1: because it sat on Lighthouse Point. The entire grounds was

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Speaker 1: located on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Years before

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Speaker 1: the house was built, the sole occupant of the bluff

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Speaker 1: was an actual lighthouse built in the eighteen hundreds. It

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Speaker 1: was a beacon of hope for ships on those dark

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Speaker 1: New Jersey nights long before my father was born. His

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Speaker 1: family served as its keeper for years, diligently keeping watch

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Speaker 1: to make sure those out at sea did not meet

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Speaker 1: the same fate as their predecessors. Though it was still

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Speaker 1: standing not too far from our house itself, the lighthouse

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Speaker 1: set unused. Years of neglect reduced it to an unsafe,

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Speaker 1: crumbling mess. Lighthouse was originally a more modest home, merely

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Speaker 1: a dwelling for a lighthousekeeper and his family to live.

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Speaker 1: But over the years, when my great great and father

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Speaker 1: had an investment payoff handsomely, the modest home was torn

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Speaker 1: down and lighthouse was built, a grand structure for a

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Speaker 1: proud man, and now it was ours. Before we came here, though,

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Speaker 1: my father made it very clear to us that while

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Speaker 1: we were welcome to roam free and explore the grounds

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Speaker 1: as we pleased, the lighthouse itself was strictly off limits.

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Speaker 1: But that didn't matter, because the house lighthouse view it

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Speaker 1: was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. As we

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Speaker 1: drove down the driveway getting closer, I remember feeling the

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Speaker 1: pit in the bottom of my stomach began to rise,

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Speaker 1: my head began to swim as a slight wave of

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Speaker 1: nausea overtook me for a few moments. Whether I was

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Speaker 1: just nervous about the new chapter in our lives or

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Speaker 1: it was a subconscious warning as to what awaited us,

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Speaker 1: I'll never know. However, I wasn't the only one to

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Speaker 1: feel uneasy as we pulled in front of the stairs.

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Speaker 1: My father stopped the car. I got out and went

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Speaker 1: around to lean eyside to help her. But I noticed

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00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,640
Speaker 1: she looked a bit green as well. What's wrong, I

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Speaker 1: asked her, hoping she was not carsick from her long journey.

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Speaker 1: Her eyes were locked upward, as if she was an

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Speaker 1: intense staring contest with someone or something. There's a man

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Speaker 1: in the window up there, she said, a man wearing

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Speaker 1: a hat. Don't be silly. The house has been empty

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Speaker 1: for months. No one lives here but us. Now it's

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Speaker 1: not empty. Look she pointed upward, and I looked in

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Speaker 1: that direction, toward the window on the third story that

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00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:34,000
Speaker 1: looked like eyes. I couldn't see anything. My sister, whether

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00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:37,320
Speaker 1: from an overactive imagination or not, was often prone to

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Speaker 1: seeing things. A few years ago, I taught her a

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Speaker 1: trick to try to help with this, to distinguish reality

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Speaker 1: from otherwise. What did I teach you about when you

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Speaker 1: see things that might not really be there, I asked her,

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00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:52,640
Speaker 1: reminding her of a technique a psychiatrist taught me years ago.

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Speaker 1: To close my eyes and count to five, she said,

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00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:00,760
Speaker 1: and then I pushed further and then open him again.

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Speaker 1: And it will be gone. I smiled at her, Glad

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Speaker 1: she remembered trying now, I suggested Leny squeeze her eyes

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Speaker 1: shut and began to count to five, one, two, three,

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Speaker 1: four five. A moment after she finished, she opened her

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00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,440
Speaker 1: eyes again, looking back toward the window. It didn't work, Tara, look.

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00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:33,800
Speaker 1: I took another look, but this time it was different.

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00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:36,879
Speaker 1: Hiding behind the sheer curtains, I could make out a

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Speaker 1: shape standing there. At first I thought it was just

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Speaker 1: a coat rack or a piece of furniture, but then

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Speaker 1: I watched as it pulled the curtains back. There was

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Speaker 1: a man wearing a hat standing at the window, and

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Speaker 1: with a ghastly smile, he was staring directly at us.

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Speaker 1: Lighthouse will return after these messages, and now back to lighthouse.

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Speaker 1: The man stared down at us, a terribly creepy smile

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Speaker 1: across his lips, and I screamed. My sister, startled by

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Speaker 1: my screaming, began to do so herself. My parents, so

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Speaker 1: halfway up the stairs, already dropped everything and ran back

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Speaker 1: to us. My mother consoled me, wrapping me in a

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Speaker 1: tight hug. As she held me, my father frantically asked

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Speaker 1: what was wrong? There's someone in the house, I told him.

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Speaker 1: He looked at me bewildered as my sister and I

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00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,440
Speaker 1: pointed toward the window. However, the man wasn't there. Now.

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Speaker 1: What did he look like? My father asked, my sister explained,

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Speaker 1: and he went white as a ghost. My mother, concerned

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Speaker 1: for everyone's safety, told my father to go inside and check.

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Speaker 1: He was caught off guard at first and seemed uneasy

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Speaker 1: with the idea, but he relented, as he often did

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Speaker 1: with her, and carefully made his way to the front door.

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Speaker 1: Before he went inside, he looked to us nervously, with

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Speaker 1: a slight nod of his head, disappeared into the house.

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Speaker 1: The minutes that followed were tense, as we saw nor

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Speaker 1: heard anything from inside the house. It only took a

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Speaker 1: minute or two before my mother thought better of sending

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Speaker 1: him in there and called out to him to return. Unfortunately,

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Speaker 1: there was no response. Henry. She called again, Henry, come back,

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00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,760
Speaker 1: Still there was nothing. A sense of dread fell over

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Speaker 1: us all like a blanket. Did we unwittingly send my

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00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,800
Speaker 1: father to face off against an intruder? Was he okay?

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00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,520
Speaker 1: Why wasn't he? Answering us? She called out one final time,

303
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Speaker 1: Please Henry. We waited. The seconds turned into a minute,

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Speaker 1: then two. It was unbearable for us. My mother was anxious,

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Speaker 1: ready to run in herself. And then he appeared at

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00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,359
Speaker 1: the window where we spotted the man in a hat earlier.

307
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,080
Speaker 1: My father looked down at us. He under the latch,

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00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,280
Speaker 1: opened the window and called down to us. All clear,

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00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,399
Speaker 1: he said, with only a slight hint of unease in

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Speaker 1: his voice. Moments later he rejoined us outside. As it

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00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:23,239
Speaker 1: turns out, my first instinct was correct. There was a

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Speaker 1: coat rack near the window, a trick of the light.

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Speaker 1: He told us, your mind fooled you. Despite his saying that,

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00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,440
Speaker 1: I couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling building within me. However,

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00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,240
Speaker 1: he was quiet on the matter after that, instead asking

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Speaker 1: for my help and bringing the bags in. I did

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00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,919
Speaker 1: as I was told. But my sister, however, sat outside,

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Speaker 1: her gaze never wavering from the window. Lifting one of

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00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,800
Speaker 1: my bags, I made my way up the steps toward

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Speaker 1: the house, my sense of foreboding slowly dissipating by the

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Speaker 1: sheer size of what lay before me, only seeing it

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00:20:56,960 --> 00:20:59,720
Speaker 1: from the distance earlier. The front door was more decorative

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00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:03,040
Speaker 1: than I originally thought. The letter l in the center

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00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,439
Speaker 1: of the stained glass obviously stood for light, but it

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00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:11,440
Speaker 1: also contained smaller imagery lighthouses standing on guard on both

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00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:15,160
Speaker 1: sides of the letter itself, a black cloud escaping from

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Speaker 1: what looked to be a well, a sea of blue

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00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,200
Speaker 1: along the bottom, with a full moon lording over it all.

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00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:24,760
Speaker 1: I pushed the door open further and took my first

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00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:28,879
Speaker 1: steps in. The inside of lighthouse was just as impressive

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00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:33,160
Speaker 1: as out, albeit a bit dustier. The vestibule made way

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00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:35,919
Speaker 1: into the main hall, with a grand staircase being the

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00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:38,959
Speaker 1: focal point of the room. It stretched upward to the

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00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,240
Speaker 1: second floor before branching off towards the third. Above my head,

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00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,720
Speaker 1: Leany came up behind me, silent in her approach, and

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00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:49,880
Speaker 1: startled me out of my awestruck daydream. Is all this hours?

337
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,520
Speaker 1: She asked me. I looked at her and smiled, It

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00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,560
Speaker 1: is now. She grabbed my hand and took off down

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Speaker 1: the hall, the need to discover the house and all

340
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,760
Speaker 1: its glory overtaking her fear from a few short minutes ago.

341
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,159
Speaker 1: I dropped my bags somewhere during our expedition as the

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00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:13,840
Speaker 1: ground floor opened before us, two young girls exploring uncharted territory.

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00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,959
Speaker 1: Since the first floor was meant as a living space

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00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,720
Speaker 1: of the home. It had more wide open spaces than most.

345
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,320
Speaker 1: A formal dining room was next to the kitchen, while

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00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:28,320
Speaker 1: a parlor was just beyond that. It's high vaulted ceilings

347
00:22:28,359 --> 00:22:32,600
Speaker 1: and tasseled draperies giving it a sense of grandeur. The

348
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,600
Speaker 1: silarium gave way to the side yard, its glass windows

349
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,640
Speaker 1: allowing the sun to shine in brightly on the various

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00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,679
Speaker 1: plant life, with seating areas all around to enjoy the

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00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,520
Speaker 1: ocean view it afforded. On the other end of the

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00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:50,159
Speaker 1: house was the library, It's two sprawling floors of dark wood,

353
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:53,800
Speaker 1: allowing for a vast selection of books, complete with an

354
00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:58,080
Speaker 1: ornate fireplace to cozy up next to. A metal spiral

355
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,560
Speaker 1: staircase in the center allowed for easy access to all.

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00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,240
Speaker 1: It was a place I imagined I would spend a

357
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,160
Speaker 1: lot of time in. I took a moment to take

358
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:10,639
Speaker 1: it all in, the musty smell of old books, the

359
00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:16,440
Speaker 1: vast collection of them before me, and also a melody

360
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:21,560
Speaker 1: wafting in from somewhere beyond. And my parents decided to

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00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 1: play a record elsewhere in the house. We had only

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00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 1: just arrived, and I was sure that even if they

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00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,920
Speaker 1: had come across a record player. Unpacking would be their

364
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:34,240
Speaker 1: first order of business. I strained my ears trying to

365
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,400
Speaker 1: place the song, or even just its point of origin.

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00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,240
Speaker 1: It felt like it was coming from everywhere at once,

367
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,920
Speaker 1: while also nowhere at all. It had a haunting quality

368
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,919
Speaker 1: about it, and I could feel myself getting lost in

369
00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:52,040
Speaker 1: its music. Seeing my state of distraction, Lenie sees the

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00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,240
Speaker 1: opportunity for a game. Catch me if you can, she

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00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,960
Speaker 1: yelled as she wasted no time in running up the

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00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,600
Speaker 1: spiral staircase, excited, running from shelf to shelf for a

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00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,840
Speaker 1: quick glance at all the dusty volumes that sat untouched

374
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,760
Speaker 1: for years. It wasn't long before she threw open a

375
00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,720
Speaker 1: door and ran off to explore the rest of the

376
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,919
Speaker 1: second story. By the time I reached the door she

377
00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: disappeared behind, she was long out of sight. I found

378
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:21,920
Speaker 1: myself staring down a long hallway. The walls here were

379
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:25,960
Speaker 1: decorated with dark wood panels with detailed interior trim that

380
00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: went from the floor till about halfway up, where old

381
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:33,359
Speaker 1: and curling wallpaper took over before reaching the ceiling. The

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00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:37,600
Speaker 1: hallway itself seemed impossibly long, with a multitude of doors

383
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,680
Speaker 1: on either side until splitting off in both directions at

384
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,600
Speaker 1: the end. For a moment, it almost seemed to sense

385
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:48,840
Speaker 1: my disorientation and stretched itself even further. However, a quick

386
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,879
Speaker 1: shake of my head with close eyes jostled that vision away,

387
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,000
Speaker 1: and I began to search for my sister. While I

388
00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,680
Speaker 1: did not find her, what I did find were more

389
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,560
Speaker 1: rooms that I could grasp. Multiple rooms, some even with

390
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: balconies overlooking the grounds, were among my discoveries. I also

391
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,879
Speaker 1: found double doors leading to common rooms and plenty of

392
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,919
Speaker 1: hidden nooks for someone to hide away in. I was

393
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,359
Speaker 1: overwhelmed by the house is almost rambling complexity, and felt

394
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:17,960
Speaker 1: more as if in the Minotaurs maze than my new

395
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,000
Speaker 1: family home. Most rooms were already furnished, with furniture still

396
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,800
Speaker 1: covered in thin white sheets from days long before us

397
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,840
Speaker 1: occupying the rooms. When I did finally discover Leni's hiding place,

398
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:31,560
Speaker 1: it was amongst a horride of dolls in one of

399
00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,920
Speaker 1: the bedrooms, her face barely sticking out from behind them

400
00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 1: as she pretended to be one of them. It played

401
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,359
Speaker 1: along at first declaring loudly that I wondered where she

402
00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 1: could be, causing her to fall into a fit of giggles.

403
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,840
Speaker 1: If she knew what awaited us that night, she wouldn't

404
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:57,800
Speaker 1: have laughed. Lighthouse were returned after a word from our sponsors,

405
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:12,400
Speaker 1: and now lighthouse continues. Leni later declared to our parents

406
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:14,840
Speaker 1: that the very room she was hiding in was to

407
00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,520
Speaker 1: be her bedroom. Receiving no opposition from them, she moved

408
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:22,040
Speaker 1: her things into it immediately. Wanting to be a good sister,

409
00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,320
Speaker 1: I chose the room across the hall, which was well

410
00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:28,879
Speaker 1: suited for me, complete with a reading nook and balcony

411
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,240
Speaker 1: overlooking the front yard. It received plenty of natural light.

412
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,080
Speaker 1: Not to mention, it was twice as big as my

413
00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:38,480
Speaker 1: sister's I wish I could say that that first night

414
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:42,800
Speaker 1: in our new home was uneventful. After hours of unpacking

415
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 1: and settling in, we were all thoroughly exhausted from our

416
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,840
Speaker 1: long day. I fell asleep almost instantly, my body sinking

417
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:53,280
Speaker 1: into the bed with ease. I don't recall the exact

418
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,360
Speaker 1: time it happened, but I awoke to Leni climbing into

419
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,879
Speaker 1: bed with me. I assumed she was a bit nervous

420
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,399
Speaker 1: about sleeping alone in a new house, but when I

421
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,680
Speaker 1: heard a soft sob, I knew it was something else.

422
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,960
Speaker 1: What's wrong, I said to her, and she buried her

423
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:14,160
Speaker 1: head in my pillow. I saw him again, she replied,

424
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,880
Speaker 1: fighting back tears. So I asked, not fully comprehending what

425
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:24,280
Speaker 1: she meant, the man in the hat. As soon as

426
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,480
Speaker 1: the words escaped from her lips, I felt a chill

427
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,480
Speaker 1: run down my spine. He was standing in my doorway,

428
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:36,800
Speaker 1: watching me sleep. When I asked my hackles raising, concerned

429
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:39,640
Speaker 1: that there was an intruder in her home just now,

430
00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,439
Speaker 1: I closed my eyes and counted to five until he

431
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,440
Speaker 1: was gone, And when he was I ran here. Even

432
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:47,960
Speaker 1: in the darkness, I could feel her eyes welling with

433
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,439
Speaker 1: tears as she stared at me. Despite the fact that

434
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:53,879
Speaker 1: our father did not find anyone earlier, I felt the

435
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,280
Speaker 1: need to check for myself. At the very least, I

436
00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:00,919
Speaker 1: needed to tell my parents. After I reassured her that

437
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,359
Speaker 1: everything was going to be okay and crept to the door,

438
00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:10,000
Speaker 1: the hallway was empty, the shadows my only companion. Looking

439
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,720
Speaker 1: toward my right was a bit easier, as my mother

440
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,840
Speaker 1: had enough foresight to plug in a nightlight earlier. This

441
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,040
Speaker 1: turned out to be both a blessing and a curse,

442
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,920
Speaker 1: because as my eyes adjusted, I made out a dark

443
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 1: shape toward the end of the hall. At first I

444
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,480
Speaker 1: thought it was a trick of the light, but movement

445
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:31,560
Speaker 1: caused me to realize otherwise. Coming out of the darkness

446
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,080
Speaker 1: was exactly what my sister exclaimed it to be, a

447
00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:40,120
Speaker 1: man wearing a hat. Though down the hall, I could

448
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:44,840
Speaker 1: tell that he was dressed almost in Edwardian fashion, with

449
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,600
Speaker 1: a bowler hat atop his head, and his feet didn't

450
00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:53,200
Speaker 1: seem to touch the floor. Instead, he gently floated a

451
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 1: few inches above it. I instinctively leaned back, startled at

452
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:01,000
Speaker 1: the sight before me. This couldn't be real, This couldn't

453
00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:05,320
Speaker 1: be happening. Using my own advice, closed my eyes and

454
00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:24,440
Speaker 1: I counted five, one, two, three, four five. I hesitated

455
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,680
Speaker 1: only a moment before taking another look, and I regretted

456
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,080
Speaker 1: it as soon as I did. The man in the

457
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,440
Speaker 1: hat was still there. He was now standing before my

458
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,400
Speaker 1: parents bedroom, and I watched in horror as he reached

459
00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:38,880
Speaker 1: out to open it. Startled by this, I fell back

460
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:41,880
Speaker 1: against the door frame. I tried to be silent, but lighthouse,

461
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,600
Speaker 1: being as old as it was, wasn't conducive to being quiet.

462
00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,080
Speaker 1: My foot landed on an old floorboard and it creaked.

463
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,080
Speaker 1: A panic set over me as I saw the man

464
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,520
Speaker 1: in the hat's head began to turn in my direction.

465
00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:56,760
Speaker 1: Without wasting any time, I slammed my door shut and

466
00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 1: shoved the bolt into lock position. I ran to my bed,

467
00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:02,200
Speaker 1: jumped in next to my sister, and pulled the covers

468
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,280
Speaker 1: up over my head. Lenny could tell I was terrified,

469
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:09,280
Speaker 1: and she responded in kind. Tera what's wrong, she asked,

470
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,960
Speaker 1: in a panic. Be quiet, I hissed, and she was.

471
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,680
Speaker 1: Both of us sat there, holding each other in the

472
00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,200
Speaker 1: darkness beneath the sheets, hoping against all hope that whatever

473
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: that thing was would pass us by. Every second we

474
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,760
Speaker 1: waited seemed to stretch on for an hour. Every slight

475
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 1: rustle of the sheets was like a deafening roar. After

476
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:32,760
Speaker 1: what felt like days, I poked my head out. I

477
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:37,280
Speaker 1: was greeted only by silence. Stealing a quick glance, I

478
00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 1: could see the night light from the hall spilling in

479
00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:42,960
Speaker 1: from beneath my door, a small triangle of hope and

480
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 1: the darkness of night. My sister took a peek as well.

481
00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:51,400
Speaker 1: We were safe. We relaxed A tiny bit coming out

482
00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,560
Speaker 1: from beneath the blanket, the threat of the man in

483
00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,640
Speaker 1: the hat came from the door. My eyes were drawn

484
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,400
Speaker 1: to the night outside my win nose. Beyond the balcony

485
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,760
Speaker 1: stood the lighthouse. It stood silently in the darkness, a

486
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 1: long dormant guardian until it wasn't. A dim glow appeared

487
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,560
Speaker 1: in the night atop the lighthouse, as if someone had

488
00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:19,880
Speaker 1: lit a candle up there. I gasped silently, confused, much

489
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,680
Speaker 1: like the house, it was to be empty, not just

490
00:31:22,760 --> 00:31:25,760
Speaker 1: because my grandmother's death, but because it was no longer

491
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:28,520
Speaker 1: in use. I was about to get up and take

492
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,880
Speaker 1: a closer look, and then I heard the floorboard creak.

493
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,280
Speaker 1: My eyes grew wide as I watched the light outside

494
00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:37,800
Speaker 1: my door disappear as a long shadow cut into it.

495
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 1: I could almost see the feet that belonged to the

496
00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,200
Speaker 1: man in the hat in the gap between my door

497
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:45,680
Speaker 1: frame and the floor, as they floated just above it.

498
00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,920
Speaker 1: The feeling of dread I felt earlier as we drove

499
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:53,040
Speaker 1: up to lighthouse returned weighing heavy on my chest. I

500
00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,160
Speaker 1: held my breath in terror. So my door knob began

501
00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 1: to turn slowly first, but with more force it made

502
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,719
Speaker 1: a full rotation. Something pushing against it trying to get in.

503
00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,960
Speaker 1: As my sister let under yelp. I covered my mouth

504
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,920
Speaker 1: with my hand, eyes never leaving the door's handle, thankful

505
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,400
Speaker 1: thought to lock it earlier, but the locked door did

506
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:20,040
Speaker 1: not stop that thing outside. Instead, it doubled its efforts,

507
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:23,600
Speaker 1: jiggling the knob harder and faster, trying as best as

508
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 1: it could to force its way in. We threw the

509
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 1: covers back overhead, both of us crying out for our parents,

510
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 1: hugging each other closer, waiting for the assault to end.

511
00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:37,920
Speaker 1: The door rattled and its frame beneath it's might, shuddering

512
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,200
Speaker 1: with every jolt as we both waited for the one

513
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:42,880
Speaker 1: that would eventually take it off its hinges and into

514
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,040
Speaker 1: my room. That went on and on and on, never

515
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:48,240
Speaker 1: ending in our minds, driving us to the edge of

516
00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:55,720
Speaker 1: our sanity, until eventually subsided. Neither of us moved a

517
00:32:55,800 --> 00:33:00,360
Speaker 1: muscle even well after it ended. We were both too

518
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:04,320
Speaker 1: scared and too tired to even consider it. At some point,

519
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,240
Speaker 1: I'm not sure when we both drifted off to sleep,

520
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:11,600
Speaker 1: still holding each other close beneath the covers. It should

521
00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,040
Speaker 1: come of no surprise that I didn't sleep well, tossing

522
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:17,920
Speaker 1: and turning until the sun made its first appearance on

523
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 1: the horizon. Its first rays of warm light, or a

524
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,920
Speaker 1: welcome respite from the night. In the clarity of the morning,

525
00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,480
Speaker 1: it almost seemed like the terror from the night before

526
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,600
Speaker 1: wasn't as bad as we remembered it to be. Perhaps

527
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:35,880
Speaker 1: it was nothing more than an incredibly vivid dream. Deep inside,

528
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:40,920
Speaker 1: I knew that wasn't the truth. Even after my sister awoke,

529
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:45,240
Speaker 1: her face still streaked with tears of terror, I knew

530
00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:49,360
Speaker 1: what we had experienced was real. I should have savored

531
00:33:49,400 --> 00:33:52,600
Speaker 1: that night. I should have enjoyed what little sleep we

532
00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:55,240
Speaker 1: did manage to get. I should have told my parents

533
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 1: as soon as it happened, and not waited until the

534
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:02,920
Speaker 1: next day. But I didn't any of those things, which,

535
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,080
Speaker 1: despite my youth, made me complicit. And what was to come,

536
00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:11,440
Speaker 1: because now that Lighthouse had us in its grasp, it

537
00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:37,680
Speaker 1: wasn't going to let us go. Lighthouse is a production

538
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:42,520
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio and Bamford Productions. Chapter one featured

539
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:47,680
Speaker 1: the voices of Ali Trasher, John McCormick, and Paulina Logan.

540
00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:52,960
Speaker 1: Written and directed by Jeff Himbuck, Audio engineering and original

541
00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:58,000
Speaker 1: musical score by Corey Celeste. Production assistants by Alex Gona.

542
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:04,319
Speaker 1: Executive produced by Holly fry, questions, comments, You can reach

543
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:06,680
Speaker 1: us at the Man in the Hat is Watching at

544
00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. Thank you for listening. M.