1992.
My wife, Andrea, and I had just moved our family into a newer house in Sacramento, California. Originally we were all from Toledo, Ohio so naturally we were very excited about living out west. An older house that stood for a good hundred years or so had been torn down to accommodate for urban advancements- and they built our home in its place. Since we were new in town, we were unaware of what had lived in this house before us.
Our three kids: Grady, Heather, and Julianne were very excited for the move. Well, Grady and Heather were. At first, Julianne was extremely confused as to why we were leaving our home and sitting in our car for thirty six hours just to end up at a new house. Then she started to complain about the house being stuffy, or cold in her room. Julianne was only four- Heather was eleven and Grady was nearly seventeen- but she seemed to have the most to say about this move.
“Daddy?” I heard her call to me from the backseat.
I looked up in my rear view mirror- she was sitting behind me in her car seat- her hair was pulled into a pony tail at the back of her head and in her lap was a lumpy pink bunny with a brown sewn on mouth and yellow tummy. It didn’t matter what she was doing, she brought that thing everywhere, unless someone forced her to leave it home.
“Yes Jules?” I asked her, waiting for a reply.
She was quiet for a few moments before she sighed, “Are we going to be alone in our new house? Or are people going to be there with us like Makayla?”
Andrea turned around in her seat, “Makayla? Honey I think you mean MacKenzie,” She turned to me, “MacKenzie lives in a duplex, John.”
“No, when I was at Makayla’s house someone was talking to us that I didn’t know and Makayla said she didn’t know him either.” Julianne persisted.
“Honey maybe you’re imagining things.” I told her and she grunted in annoyance.
“I’m not! He was really tall and white. He had crazy hair and super dark eyes. He gave us water but it tasted funny. Like bath water.” She described to us and I looked beside her. Grady was sleeping and behind her, Heather was listening to music while reading a book.
“Well, we’re going to be alone. I promise.” Andrea told her before looking back to me with a very concerned expression, I shrugged and kept on at the road.
When we reached our new house, Julianne seemed to believe Andrea because she told us that the man from Makayla’s wasn’t here- which looked as if it worried Andrea because of how often Julianne would bring him up. A week or two passed by without mention of the man- and we were settled into our home in late July. But one night, just after we’d put Julianne to bed, she was standing downstairs, rabbit in hand.
“He’s here.” She stated.
Andrea whipped around and walked over to her, “Who?” She asked.
“The man. His name is Gregory.” Julianne replied, and in a swift motion Andrea swept Julianne up and hurried up the stairs- me following behind her. A drawer in Julianne’s dresser was open and the window too. The screen was physically ripped from the metal that holds it in place, yet there was no finger prints on the glass of the window.
Andrea called the police immediately and they, unsurprisingly, did nothing.
Similar occurrences happened over the course of three weeks. But one night, was evidently worse than others.
It was late- around eleven, Andrea and I were in pajamas. She was wearing a camisole and yoga pants while I was sporting shorts and a sweatshirt. Then there was a crash and Julianne’s scream. Andrea and I had rushed upstairs, and I swung the door to her room open. The dresser was turned over and glass from the mirror was all on the floor. The window was open again- wind blowing in and making her curtains flail around the room. I grabbed her, then I saw him. A tall, extremely thin man. His skin was almost as white as snow, but with some grey hues. His eyes were perfect circles and completely black. He had a wide smile with perfectly straight and white teeth. His nose was wide and flat and where his genitals would be, there was nothing. Looking at him, I could see his ribs through his skin and his hair was undeniably scruffy and wild. For a second I froze before grabbing Andrea by the hand and having her yank Grady and Heather out of their rooms. We ran downstairs, and into our finished basement, attempting to get as far away from him as possible. Hiding in a small bedroom- Heather called the police.
“911, what is your location?” A calm woman said on the line and Heather recited our address.
“What is your emergency?” She asked, and I heard faint stomping from upstairs.
“There’s someone in my house.” She practically sobbed out.
“And are you alone, sweetheart?” The operator asked.
“Uhh no, me and my family are in our basement hiding from them.” She replied and the stomping ended.
“The basement? Are you in a secure room?” The woman asked.
“Yes, we’re in a bedroom.” Heather replied and the stomping began again and grew louder. Grady launched himself at the door and pressed his body against it just before it began to shake vigorously.
“Open the door. That could be the authorities.” The woman said- sounding extremely fake.
Heather’s breath caught in her throat, “How did you know someone was at our door?” She barely whispered.
The shaking stopped and it was silent for a while. Then, it began to laugh. A very fake robotic laugh that sounded as if there were multiple beings out there waiting. It went black, the line hung up, and the door swung open, shoving Grady to the wall. Andrea and Julianna let out a God-awful scream, and the door slammed shut again. When the lights returned there was large scratches on the wall, and Julianna was gone. Following the scratches, we walked up to our main floor where Heather called the police again, and they sent officers to our residence immediately. We continued up the stairs where they stopped at Julianna’s room. Hesitantly, I opened the door and the entire room was trashed. All on the walls was the word Gregory wrote in a child like handwriting, and drawings of him on the floor. But the most terrifying thing was Julianna’s neatly made bed with her rabbit on top, an ear was missing and its seams torn as if someone had tried to pull her apart.
Now, almost thirty years later on the dot, I’d decided to sleep in my daughter’s room tonight. When I woke to a child like giggle and the rabbit at the foot of my bed I knew it was back. But I was shocked to my core when I heard the voice of little Julianna whisper,
“Gregory.”