WEBVTT - Chapter 10 - 2019 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:06.640 Lighthouse is a production of I Heart Radio and Bamford Productions. 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:16.440 The light from the beacon is blinding tonight. It's been 0:00:16.440 --> 0:00:22.120 glowing for hours, steadily getting brighter, and I know that 0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:26.319 means my time is finally come. The darkness means to 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:29.920 finish this. For most of my life, I've been plagued 0:00:29.960 --> 0:00:33.120 by the darkness that lives here. It could be argued 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.680 that I was a victim of circumstance, doomed to face 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:39.640 the horrors within because of my family's history with the house, 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:43.960 born and built of their money, their sweat, their blood. 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:47.440 Has sometimes occurred to me that perhaps the house had 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:50.720 trapped the holliest family in a cycle, one that allowed 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:54.240 them moments of hope of getting away until they were 0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:57.320 forced back into its grasp, so it could continue to 0:00:57.400 --> 0:01:00.600 feed on their suffering until it stripped them defenseless before 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:04.600 ending them. Certainly felt that way for us, But truth 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:06.880 be told, I felt that it didn't care who it 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.160 fed on, just as long as it continued to feed, 0:01:10.600 --> 0:01:15.040 sustaining itself over and over again, presumably until the end 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.040 of time. Did a toy with us to make its 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:21.880 meal taste better? Did it enjoy our suffering? Or was 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.560 it more mindless than that, just eating away until it 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:28.600 was ready to burst, lying and wait until it's hunger 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.959 reared its ugly head again at the end of the day. 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.800 Whatever its reasons, it didn't matter. It just needed to stop. 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:39.640 It tortured me while I lived here, and then followed 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.679 me beyond. No matter what I did or how far 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:45.680 away I ran, it always managed to catch up to me. 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:48.720 Over the years, it managed to take everything from me, 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:52.760 my father, my mother, my sister, and now my own family. 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:56.400 But I've had enough. I'm going to finish what my 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.520 sister started and do what no one else has managed 0:01:59.520 --> 0:02:03.160 to do. And all the houses long storied past, It's 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:06.440 time to fight back. It's time for this to end. 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:52.359 It's time for Lighthouse to die. Lighthouse, Chapter ten. When 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:54.919 my mother died and I left the house to rot, 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.000 everything went according to plan for a long time. I 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:02.480 went home, I hugged my husband and my son, and 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.360 life went on. As much as I wanted to, I 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:08.799 couldn't bring myself to listen to Lini's goodbye. Hearing her 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.680 suicide note in her own words felt like too much, 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.160 And with the house locked up and abandoned, I didn't 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:19.360 think I needed to, so the canister containing her final manifesto, 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:21.800 along with the box of things she left me, like 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:27.480 her teddy bear, sat in my closet unheard. If I 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.640 had been braver listened to it, sooner, one of what 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:34.720 happened after would have come to pass. I was too stubborn, 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:40.280 too afraid to listen. Instead, much like the house, I 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:44.520 let it sit and rock until I lost My son. 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.200 Kevin had grown up and made us proud. He was 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.320 a wonderful young man and even went off to start 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:55.840 a family of his own. His wife, Meredith was lovely, 0:03:56.120 --> 0:04:02.080 and my grandson Ben was our I'd enjoy. We didn't 0:04:02.080 --> 0:04:03.960 get to see them much as they moved to the 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:07.040 West Coast, but when we did, my husband Chris and 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:10.400 I spoiled Ben and gave him the world. They came 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:13.160 to visit us last year, their first visit in a 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:16.560 few months. Ben had just turned three, and we went 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.960 out to dinner for his birthday. The meal was delightful. 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:23.479 After we all piled into the car for the drive home, 0:04:23.960 --> 0:04:27.120 Chris drove and Kevin sat in the front up with him, 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:31.760 while myself, Meredith and Ben sat in the back. We laughed, 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:37.080 sang songs, together, and we're having a wonderful time until 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:40.680 we were wrapped around a telephone pole. It happened too 0:04:40.720 --> 0:04:44.480 quickly at the time, but looking back later on, I 0:04:44.520 --> 0:04:49.039 can see every single detail in slow motion. Chris didn't 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:51.600 see the man in the intersection until it was too late. 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.919 He came out of nowhere, and Chris swerved at the 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.159 last moment, avoiding a collision with the man, but not 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:02.400 with the pole. We hit it going far too fast, 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:07.640 and my world changed in a second by some small miracle. 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:12.200 Ben was bruised and scared, but otherwise all right. Meredith 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:14.760 wasn't as lucky. She spent two weeks in the I 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.520 c U, where it was touch and go for a while. 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:21.360 Chris's airbag sustained most of his damage, but his back 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:26.080 would never be the same. But Kevin. They found Kevin 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:29.440 a few yards from the car. He was thrown through 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:32.800 the windshield. No one seemed to question the fact that 0:05:32.880 --> 0:05:37.080 his seatbelt was on and secure. They just told us 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:41.080 that these things happened sometimes. As for the man in 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:44.680 the intersection, he was gone. The police thought maybe he 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:47.240 got scared and took off, not wanting to stick around 0:05:47.240 --> 0:05:51.919 for the aftermath of his wrongdoing. He was walking through 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:56.400 an intersection illegally after all, but playing it all back 0:05:56.440 --> 0:06:00.680 in my mind over and over again, I knew the truth. 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:04.800 I saw the man in the intersection before we swerved 0:06:04.839 --> 0:06:07.719 to avoid hitting him. I saw the way he looked 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:11.440 right at me and smiled. I saw him tip his 0:06:11.520 --> 0:06:17.719 hat as he watched us crash. I saw him, and 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:22.520 he saw me. The man in the intersection was Alexander 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.640 blythe a man in the hat. I had not seen 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:29.320 him since that night in the lighthouse where I saw 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:32.640 a vision of his death all those years ago. I thought, 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:36.359 perhaps now that I knew his secret, his death, he 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:41.160 would be gone forever. I was wrong. I didn't know 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:44.920 why he appeared now after so long. In the intervening 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:47.880 years after my mother's death, I finally broke down and 0:06:47.920 --> 0:06:50.960 told Chris about the house and all I had been through. 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.600 He didn't know how to take it, but promised to 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.680 be there for me if I ever needed him. That 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:01.120 was a lie, though. Days after the accident, I told 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.320 Chris who the man in the intersection was, and he 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.960 thought I was being irrational, mad with grief. He called 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.560 it feeling guilty over the death of our son and 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.880 looking for an explanation, and where there was none to 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:18.040 be had, my brain just connected the dots. He brought 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:21.720 up my past, when I was taken to all those doctors, 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.480 when I saw things that weren't there. He was sure 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.360 that was it my mind trying to make sense of 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:32.640 a senseless situation. He didn't have to say it out loud, 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.520 but I know what he was thinking. My husband thought 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:40.240 I was crazy, but I knew the truth why the 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:43.040 man in the hat had come back. Because no matter 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:46.000 how far you run, or how over you think things, 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:50.040 maybe Lighthouse will never let you go, not until it 0:07:50.040 --> 0:07:54.040 gets what it wants. And after all this time, all 0:07:54.080 --> 0:08:00.360 these years, it still wanted one thing me. The way 0:08:00.400 --> 0:08:02.360 I saw it, it wasn't going to stop until it 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.520 got me. I'm sure the darkness could have easily picked 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:07.760 me off anywhere in the world if it really wanted to. 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:11.040 But that wouldn't do, would it. It needed me home, 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:15.280 back at Lighthouse, and it would do everything it could 0:08:15.280 --> 0:08:19.320 to get me to return, everything including destroying my family. 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:22.160 It had already killed the family I was born into, 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:24.160 and now it was coming for the one I had made. 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:29.440 This car accident, the loss of Kevin. It was a message, 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:33.200 and it wouldn't stop until I obeyed. The crash drove 0:08:33.240 --> 0:08:36.400 me to break down and finally listened to Leni's message. 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.880 I clutched the Teddy Bear as it played. The recording 0:08:40.400 --> 0:08:44.760 warped and bent, but I heard her. After all these years, 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:47.760 I heard what she had to say. On the night 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.960 of her death. Learning that she did not kill herself 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.160 as everyone thought showed me that this was not over, 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.240 that it would never be over until I stopped it. 0:08:58.520 --> 0:09:02.280 I left Chris a week to Kevin's funeral. It broke 0:09:02.360 --> 0:09:05.080 my heart to push him away, but I had no choice. 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:09.319 I didn't want to lose him, or Ben or even Meredith. 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.200 If I had stayed, I would have lost them all. 0:09:13.000 --> 0:09:16.400 Lighthouse would see to that. I couldn't stand to let 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.520 anyone else get hurt, so I left. I left a 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:21.880 note telling them not to look for me, that this 0:09:21.960 --> 0:09:23.800 was something I had to deal with on my own. 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:27.080 I told Chris. I knew he didn't understand, that he 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:30.840 couldn't I didn't expect him to, but this needed to 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:33.839 be done, and that one day I hoped to come 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.360 back to him. I knew that was a lie. There 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.760 was no coming back, not with what I had planned. 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:44.120 It took me two days to make it back to lighthouse. 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:48.000 I traveled by buses and taxis, using only cash, not 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.400 wanting Chris to find out where I had gone. Three 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:53.960 times on my journey I came across the man in 0:09:54.000 --> 0:09:57.560 the hat. He looked sad, but still smiled at me, 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.640 nodding as if please with my decision to return home. 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.840 I hated him for that. I hitchhiked on the final 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.360 leg and had the driver dropped me off a mile 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:12.160 away from the house so to not arouse suspicion. I 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.160 didn't mind walking the rest of the way. It helped 0:10:15.200 --> 0:10:18.520 clear my head and mentally prepare myself further to be back. 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:22.840 The entry gates were locked tight when I arrived, decorated 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:25.520 by an old keep out sign that had been placed 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:29.320 there under my direction years ago. Despite the sign and 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:33.120 the locked entry, I was sure that intrepid explorers of 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:36.840 abandoned places had been here over the years. I could 0:10:36.920 --> 0:10:40.160 see the house as I walked down the driveway. It 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.640 was the same as it had always been, large and foreboding, 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:51.920 but now with more rot and deterioration, it still stood, unfortunately, 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:57.680 but it was clearly neglected. It was falling apart, deserted 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:02.000 for years. Paint per old windows were broken, and there 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:06.080 was even graffiti strewn across one side. It made me 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:09.599 happy to see it in such a state. The inside 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:14.040 was just as bad as out. Wayward teenagers had obviously 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:17.880 been here amongst other transients, partying hard and leaving their mark, 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:22.840 and the house was in shambles. Colorful drawings and language 0:11:22.920 --> 0:11:27.320 decorated the walls, Furniture was broken, and an awful smell 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:32.920 permeated from somewhere deep within. I smiled. Despite this one 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:36.480 a year history of neglect and abuse that Lighthouse had suffered, 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:41.520 I still felt that it wasn't enough. I still wanted 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.920 it to suffer. My plan originally was to arrive, do 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:48.240 what needed to be done, and be finished with it. 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:53.640 But now I wanted more. I wanted to extend that 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:57.160 pain it went through. I wanted it to feel what 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.880 I had felt. My plan of all in my head. 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:04.040 What if I stayed for a bit, What if I 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.640 made it think it had finally gotten to me, driven 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:10.280 me mad, and I had returned to Lighthouse to live 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:14.360 out my final days. What if I let it think 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:19.920 it had won, had finally broken me? That way when 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:31.319 I struck back, it would not suspect a thing dangerous. Yes, stupid, absolutely, 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.280 but with what I planned on doing anyway, there was 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:39.240 no other option. And when the darkness thought it had 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:43.000 me right where it wanted me, I would burn it 0:12:43.040 --> 0:13:01.800 to the ground. Lighthouse will return. After these messages, and 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:14.880 now back to Lighthouse. I have been back at Lighthouse 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:18.640 for six months now. I've been living with no power, 0:13:18.760 --> 0:13:22.080 no water, no means of communication with the outside world. 0:13:22.840 --> 0:13:25.720 I've got nothing but my own wits and the ghosts 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:31.800 to keep me company, and books, plenty of books. Despite 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.120 the years of neglect to the house, the library was 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:38.880 in surprisingly good condition. I spend my days in other worlds, 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:45.360 fictional ones, and rediscovered old favorites along with some new classics. 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:49.040 I made use of the reading nooks throughout the house, 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:53.000 hiding away to immerse myself in the books. If not 0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:57.520 for being in Lighthouse, it would have been perfect. As expected. 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:01.360 Rumors began to spread throughout the town. How could they not, 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.280 The once long abandoned house was showing signs of life again. 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:10.200 Candles were seen to be lit at night, Shadowy figures 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:14.559 roam the halls, sightings of an eccentric old woman were reported. 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.920 The house was already the source of urban legends, but 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:22.880 my sporadic appearances only added fuel to that fire. I 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:28.080 didn't mind let them talk. Rumors only helped my case, 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:33.000 especially after a few enterprising teenagers paid me a visit 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:36.560 to see if the stories were drew. A few rattling 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.680 chains and scary noises later, I became a ghost of 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:43.720 sorts myself. I didn't get any more visitors after that, 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:48.880 ones that were alive anyway. The ghosts of Lighthouse were 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:52.440 always around, keeping an eye on me, and it was 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:58.040 already perfectly clear what they wanted. But like a greedy child, 0:14:58.480 --> 0:15:01.360 they wanted to see me suffer to ripen their meal 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:05.720 until the darkness was ready to strike. I played my part. 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:08.960 When the thing in the tree appeared, its neck straining 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:12.120 against the ropes and its eyes bulging from beneath the sack, 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:16.160 I screamed. When the servants stalked from room to roam, 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:20.120 the rust colored stain forming on his back, I ran 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:24.080 from him. When the maid's eyes ran red as she 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.240 approached me, I covered my own eyes and counted to five. 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.000 Despite the show I made of it inside, I was 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:34.080 no longer afraid of them. What was the point of 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.680 being afraid. If I had nothing left to lose, if 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.280 I didn't even fear the end of my own life, 0:15:40.200 --> 0:15:43.280 I could never know that though, where all would be 0:15:43.360 --> 0:15:47.640 for not. During these six long months, I wandered the house. 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.800 I visited rooms I hadn't seen years. I spent time 0:15:51.960 --> 0:15:55.960 reacquainting myself with its nooks and crannies, and most of all, 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:59.560 made mental notes of every square inch of it, including 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:04.000 the lighthouse. The sea air did not help its already 0:16:04.040 --> 0:16:08.240 crumbling state, but that was to be expected, considering how 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:11.520 close to the edge of the bluff it was. The walls, 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:16.280 once strong and sturdy, were now falling to pieces. The 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:19.720 windows along the sides were now joined by large gaping 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:23.440 holes where the stone had fallen away. It's a wonder 0:16:23.440 --> 0:16:26.480 it was still standing to begin with, but somehow, perhaps 0:16:26.520 --> 0:16:31.240 through sheer stubbornness, it did it's time. When I made 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.160 the trek to its top, there were no visions of 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:39.760 the past, no big revelations or hidden recordings, just a 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:43.760 spectacular view of the Atlantic, marred only by the presence 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:48.080 of the house itself. I often found myself in a 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:50.880 room I never spent much time, and as a kid 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:56.560 my father's old study. The once vibrant room was in 0:16:56.680 --> 0:17:01.560 shambles these days. However, the fire place still worked just fine, 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:05.320 and his old easy chair was quite comfortable, so it 0:17:05.440 --> 0:17:08.520 made for the perfect area to sit unbothered for a bit. 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:13.119 I read there a lot, mostly the fictional tales that 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.119 stock the library, but I also read up on local 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:19.679 history of the area. The library had plenty of books 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.160 of this nature, and I learned quite a bit about 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:26.200 the town and its surrounding areas, including my family history. 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:30.239 Tuck deep within the stacks was a handwritten tone by 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:33.960 a distant relative, one that tracked the Hollest family and 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:38.560 its fortunes. Reading it, the question that still lingered in 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:42.399 my mind was about the construction of the house itself. 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:46.360 It made sense for the lighthouse to be on the bluff, 0:17:46.480 --> 0:17:49.080 as it was a perfect vantage point for the ocean. 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.640 But as for the house, why why did the Hollest 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:57.520 family choose here? Why did my family think that this 0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:01.399 was the perfect location for their stately manner? What attracted 0:18:01.440 --> 0:18:05.000 them to it? The Hollies family was already rich before 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:08.040 lighthouse was built, and they used their vast fortune to 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:13.040 buy the land. My great great grandfather James Hollis, while 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.399 a brilliant business man, apparently had a bit of a 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:21.000 mean streak within him. He was a miserable bastard. It 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.720 was heavily implied that he was somewhat of a sadist. 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:27.359 The Hollis family was engrossed with scandal since coming to 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:32.360 the area. It seemed. News clippings told of affairs, money launderings, 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:35.040 and servant girls that had gone missing over the years 0:18:35.040 --> 0:18:39.639 while working at lighthouse. While James Hollis was never directly 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:45.040 connected to any of them, the timing was suspicious. My 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:49.280 great great grandfather was no saint, but he clearly did 0:18:49.280 --> 0:18:53.680 not bring the darkness with him. Perhaps it called out 0:18:53.720 --> 0:18:57.119 to him. It sendsed him out in the world and 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.800 beckoned him like a beacon in the night, much like 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:03.680 the lighthouse itself. And once he set foot on the land, 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:08.159 the seed was planted, and the darkness would have him. 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:12.280 It was pure conjecture, of course, but in its own 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:17.320 way made sense. It was while I was engrossed with 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.080 these thoughts one evening that I received a visitor I 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.280 did not expect. I was standing in front of the fireplace, 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:28.080 looking into my father's painted eyes, lost in thought, When 0:19:28.080 --> 0:19:31.200 I heard a noise behind me, I assumed I was 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:33.080 about to come face to face with one of the 0:19:33.119 --> 0:19:35.640 many ghosts of the house I've encountered over the years. 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:38.800 But when I turned, I found someone else entirely sitting 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:45.080 in the easy chair. My father. Hello, Terra, he said, 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:48.840 causing me to scream, my first legitimate scream since returning home. 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:51.760 Not only had I not seen my father since the 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:54.920 night he died, but this was also the first time 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.560 one of the ghosts of Lighthouse spoke. It caught me 0:19:58.720 --> 0:20:01.679 so off guard that I stump mold backward into the fireplace, 0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:05.840 catching myself only at the last second before I fell. Thankfully, 0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:08.679 he appeared before me, as he had in life and 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:12.360 not in his final moments. The thought of seeing him 0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:14.520 with a knife plunged into the back of his head 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:16.960 made me sick to my stomach, and it was not 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:20.239 something I could handle. I thought I was prepared for 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:22.879 everything the darkness could throw at me, but the appearance 0:20:22.920 --> 0:20:26.400 of my father was an unexpected wrinkle, one that bent 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:31.720 my resolve. However, I steeled myself against the mantel, ready 0:20:31.760 --> 0:20:36.080 to face it. I've missed you, he said, a drink 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.840 suddenly appearing in his hand. He took a sip, licking 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:42.520 his ghostly lips before setting it down on the table 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:47.040 next to him. Well what do you want, I asked, 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:51.160 trying to hide the tremble in my voice. This house, 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:56.200 it really gets to you. That's why after my sister died, 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:58.920 I knew I had to leave as soon as I could. 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:02.840 But it has ways of bringing us back, doesn't it. 0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:06.600 He smiled, one that was not unlike the man in 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:11.080 the hat. What do you want? I asked again, more forcefully, 0:21:11.200 --> 0:21:15.080 this time not hiding the anger in my voice. It's 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:20.040 not what I want. It's what it wants, what it 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:24.920 always wanted. He stood from his chair and I fell backwards, startled. 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.080 He stood over me, looking down at his little girl, 0:21:28.160 --> 0:21:30.679 now a grown woman that he had never got to 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:34.560 see grow up. I'm a lost cause, he said, as 0:21:34.600 --> 0:21:38.399 he rubbed the scar on his ghostly palm. No hope 0:21:38.480 --> 0:21:42.359 from me. It took me long before we even came back. 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:48.360 Please don't, I muttered, as he leaned down, getting closer. 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:53.200 Please just go away. I know what you're trying to do. 0:21:53.520 --> 0:21:57.560 Tera I froze, thinking that my plan was found out, 0:21:58.000 --> 0:22:01.760 my chances for survival over. But then he smiled at me. 0:22:02.720 --> 0:22:07.160 This one was kinder, warmer than before. His hand caressed 0:22:07.200 --> 0:22:09.800 my cheek, and though I couldn't feel it, a shiver 0:22:10.040 --> 0:22:14.920 ran through me. I won't stop you, he said. You're 0:22:14.960 --> 0:22:19.199 a brave girl, much stronger than I ever was. He stood, 0:22:19.200 --> 0:22:21.800 walking back to his easy chair before he sank down 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:26.160 into it again. Do what I couldn't save your mother 0:22:26.240 --> 0:22:30.480 and sister for me, he continued, taking one final drink 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:35.679 from the glass. I'm sorry, he whispered as he faded away. 0:22:37.119 --> 0:22:40.840 I cried myself to sleep that night. The Darkness hadn't 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:43.760 sent my father, but instead he came of his own 0:22:43.760 --> 0:22:46.960 accord and an act of redemption, not for himself but 0:22:47.080 --> 0:22:50.200 for me. After that night, I knew it was all 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:53.159 coming to a head. He must have sensed it and 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:55.760 appeared to give me the final push I needed to 0:22:55.760 --> 0:22:59.600 ready myself. But he wasn't the only one herd at work. 0:23:00.440 --> 0:23:03.280 The Darkness was ever present during these last few days. 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:07.920 It stalked me from a distance, its form bulging from 0:23:07.920 --> 0:23:11.960 the walls, floors, and ceilings as it followed my every move. 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:16.919 At night, it stood over me, its shimmering blackness, unmoving 0:23:16.960 --> 0:23:21.960 as it savored every moment of my suffering. Its suffering 0:23:22.200 --> 0:23:34.400 would be worse. Lighthouse will return after a word from 0:23:34.400 --> 0:23:52.240 our sponsors, And now lighthouse continues. So now here I am, 0:23:52.280 --> 0:23:57.480 after all these years recording my story. Will I think 0:23:57.520 --> 0:24:03.200 anyone will ever hear this? No, not likely. I'll perish 0:24:03.400 --> 0:24:06.800 like everything else in the end. I'm surprised this old 0:24:06.840 --> 0:24:10.520 reel to reel even lasted this long, considering all it's 0:24:10.560 --> 0:24:14.320 been through. But getting it off my chest, hearing it 0:24:14.359 --> 0:24:17.760 in my own words for the first time, just getting 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:21.080 it out there in the world makes me feel better, 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:25.639 especially about what I'm about to do. You see, I 0:24:25.800 --> 0:24:29.600 learned something from Leny, especially from her goodbye. She wasn't 0:24:29.640 --> 0:24:31.879 wrong about what needed to be done, but she was 0:24:31.920 --> 0:24:35.480 wrong with how she went about it. It's not just 0:24:35.640 --> 0:24:41.879 the lighthouse that needs to burn, it's everything. In order 0:24:41.920 --> 0:24:44.919 for the fire to cleanse, to burn out the evil 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:49.240 that lives here, the house needs to go too. Hell, 0:24:49.320 --> 0:24:51.760 the whole damn property needs to be raised. And with 0:24:51.800 --> 0:24:57.440 any luck, when it's all gone, we'll be free. Every 0:24:57.480 --> 0:25:01.080 spirit trapped in that house, every entity walking the grounds, 0:25:01.080 --> 0:25:06.480 and every bit of family I lost, all free, like 0:25:06.520 --> 0:25:10.000 a phoenix rising from the ashes. Hopefully a new story 0:25:10.080 --> 0:25:14.320 can be told here, one filled with good and light 0:25:14.480 --> 0:25:18.119 instead of darkness. But in order for that to happen, 0:25:18.920 --> 0:25:22.400 to give it a chance, it all needs to go. 0:25:24.520 --> 0:25:27.400 That's why I set fire to lighthouse a few minutes ago. 0:25:28.560 --> 0:25:30.920 What did you think I was just going to talk 0:25:30.960 --> 0:25:35.159 about it without doing it. I know how the darkness operates, 0:25:35.760 --> 0:25:38.040 and even the slightest hint of my plan it would 0:25:38.080 --> 0:25:42.000 have tried to stop me. So I told my story 0:25:42.400 --> 0:25:45.000 and let it listen, and before I wrapped it up, 0:25:45.680 --> 0:25:50.120 I snuck into the house and did it. It wasn't easy. 0:25:50.359 --> 0:25:53.160 I've spent the last day or so dousing the house 0:25:53.160 --> 0:25:58.560 in gasoline, slowly but deliberately, every single room, wall to 0:25:58.680 --> 0:26:02.000 wall to make sure it would all go. I didn't 0:26:02.040 --> 0:26:05.720 stop there either. The red oak out front, the porch, 0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:11.000 everything covered in gasoline. I know it doesn't last long. 0:26:11.119 --> 0:26:13.960 It would eventually dry out and become useless, but the 0:26:14.040 --> 0:26:16.760 cold winter weather kept it long enough for my plan 0:26:16.880 --> 0:26:21.280 to work. And just now, before coming back here, I 0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:25.000 set it a fire right where it started for us, 0:26:25.040 --> 0:26:28.199 to right where I thought it would hurt it the most. 0:26:29.520 --> 0:26:34.840 In the dark room here I stand on the balcony 0:26:34.880 --> 0:26:38.160 at the top of the lighthouse. Watching my old home burn, 0:26:39.480 --> 0:26:44.119 seeing it engulfed in flames is very emotionally satisfying for me. 0:26:44.200 --> 0:26:46.960 I can tell you that it's almost out of a dream, 0:26:47.880 --> 0:26:52.359 very happy, strange dream. But I know my job isn't done. 0:26:53.160 --> 0:26:55.880 There's still one thing left to burn, left to destroy 0:26:55.960 --> 0:26:59.639 before the darkness gets to me. Below me, those old 0:26:59.680 --> 0:27:03.320 wooden boxes that Leoni dragged into the lighthouse are still there, 0:27:04.359 --> 0:27:08.520 but this time covered in gasoline too, So is the 0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:12.760 apartment below. Even the beacon itself, its phantom light is 0:27:12.800 --> 0:27:15.680 shining bright, like a cry for help, as if it 0:27:15.760 --> 0:27:19.200 knows the fate that it's about to befall. The smell 0:27:19.240 --> 0:27:22.280