4 Horrific TRUE Christmas Horror Stories — Transcript

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1. 0:09My name is Gregory and this happened
2. 0:12last December when I was home alone in
3. 0:14my house for a whole week. My girlfriend
4. 0:16had gone to stay with her parents for
5. 0:18the holidays and I stayed behind because
6. 0:19of work. I live in a quiet neighborhood
7. 0:22in a small town in upstate New York. The
8. 0:25houses are pretty spaced out and most of
9. 0:27the people on my block go away for
10. 0:29Christmas. So, I basically had the whole
11. 0:31street to myself. At first, I like the
12. 0:34idea of the peace and quiet. I thought I
13. 0:36would get a lot of rest and maybe catch
14. 0:38up on some shows and just enjoy the
15. 0:40coziness of the holidays for a bit. But
16. 0:42what happened that week [music] still
17. 0:43lives rentree in my head. It was on my
18. 0:47second night alone. It was around
19. 0:49[music] 6:30 and already completely dark
20. 0:51outside. It had been snowing lightly all
21. 0:53day and there was a white [music] layer
22. 0:55on my yard and driveway. I was in the
23. 0:58kitchen making a simple dinner, just
24. 0:59pasta and chicken. Usually my girlfriend
25. 1:02is the one to [music] cook our meals.
26. 1:03I'm not much of a chef. I turned on the
27. 1:06TV in the background to make the house
28. 1:08feel less empty because as happy as I
29. 1:10was to have the place to myself for a
30. 1:12bit, I wasn't used to it being so empty
31. 1:13and quiet in here.
32. 1:16While I was eating at the table, I heard
33. 1:18something unusual.
34. 1:20It really took me a second to figure out
35. 1:22what it was. It sounded like singing. I
36. 1:25muted the TV [music] and listened. The
37. 1:28sound was definitely coming from
38. 1:29outside. The singing got a little
39. 1:32clearer and I realized the person was
40. 1:33singing Jingle Bells. At first, I
41. 1:36thought maybe some neighborhood kids
42. 1:37were playing around outside, but the
43. 1:39voice didn't sound like a kid. It
44. 1:41sounded like a grown man. I got up and
45. 1:44walked toward the front door because
46. 1:46that seemed like the direction it was
47. 1:47coming from. The closer I got, the
48. 1:50louder it got. By the time I reached the
49. 1:53door, it sounded like the singing was
50. 1:54coming from right on my front stoop. I
51. 1:57felt a weird feeling in my stomach, but
52. 1:59at that moment, I still thought maybe it
53. 2:01was just a caroler. I opened the door
54. 2:04and standing in the glow of my porch
55. 2:06light was a man around 35 years old. He
56. 2:09wore no hat and his coat looked too thin
57. 2:11for the weather. But the strangest thing
58. 2:13was that he was completely focused on
59. 2:15singing jingle bells, staring down at my
60. 2:17welcome mat like he wasn't even aware I
61. 2:18opened the door. [music]
62. 2:20I remember forcing a little smile
63. 2:22because I didn't really know what else
64. 2:23to do. I'd never gotten Christmas
65. 2:25carolers before. But even still, I never
66. 2:28heard of a grown man doing it solo. It's
67. 2:31supposed to be a group thing from what I
68. 2:32know. He didn't look dangerous. He
69. 2:35actually just looked sort of confused or
70. 2:37maybe slow. I even wondered if he was
71. 2:39special needs or something because he
72. 2:41didn't react to me being there. He just
73. 2:43kept singing.
74. 2:45When he finished the song, I expected
75. 2:47him to say something or at least leave.
76. 2:50But he just took a breath and started
77. 2:52singing Jingle Bells all over again from
78. 2:54the beginning in the same slow offkey
79. 2:56tone. But now he was looking up at me,
80. 2:59making direct eye contact.
81. 3:02I felt my smile drop because it was just
82. 3:04weird. Now [music]
83. 3:06I stood there another minute pretending
84. 3:08to listen even though it felt
85. 3:09uncomfortable.
86. 3:11I kept thinking he would stop after the
87. 3:13second run, but he didn't. He just
88. 3:15looped the song. I checked my phone and
89. 3:18realized almost 4 minutes had passed
90. 3:20while he sang Jingle Bells over and
91. 3:22over. Finally, I decided it was enough.
92. 3:25I told him thank you in a polite tone,
93. 3:27and I slowly closed the door. I thought
94. 3:30that would send him on his way, but once
95. 3:32the door was closed, I still heard the
96. 3:35singing. It continued without even
97. 3:37slowing down. I walked back to the table
98. 3:40and sat down trying to ignore it, but
99. 3:42the longer it went on, the harder it was
100. 3:44to ignore. The man didn't seem normal,
101. 3:47and it bothered me that he was still
102. 3:49right outside my door singing the same
103. 3:51song. I wondered if maybe he was special
104. 3:54needs and someone was out there with
105. 3:55him, like by the street or something,
106. 3:57but I didn't see anyone else out there.
107. 4:00It made the whole house feel
108. 4:01uncomfortable, like someone weird was
109. 4:04standing too close to my personal space.
110. 4:06I kept eating, but I couldn't focus on
111. 4:08the food. It went on for my entire
112. 4:11dinner. Finally, after about 10 minutes
113. 4:14straight, the singing stopped. The
114. 4:17sudden silence actually made me jump
115. 4:19because I had gotten used to the
116. 4:20singing. I got up slowly and walked back
117. 4:23to the front door window. When I looked
118. 4:26outside, I expected to see the man gone,
119. 4:29but he was still there. He had moved.
120. 4:32Now he was standing at the end of my
121. 4:34driveway. He was just facing my house,
122. 4:37completely still. He was no longer
123. 4:39singing. At least I couldn't hear
124. 4:41anything from here. He was just standing
125. 4:44there in the snow, staring at the door.
126. 4:46Something about that felt worse than the
127. 4:48singing. He looked like he was waiting.
128. 4:51I opened the door a crack and told him
129. 4:53he couldn't be here, that this was
130. 4:55private property and he needed to leave.
131. 4:57He didn't move at all. The whole thing
132. 5:00was so unnatural. I finally told him
133. 5:02that if he didn't leave, I would call
134. 5:04the police. Then I shut the door again.
135. 5:07I watched him for another minute from
136. 5:09the window, but he didn't budge. I
137. 5:11didn't want to actually call the cops
138. 5:12because I thought maybe there was
139. 5:13something mentally wrong with him, and I
140. 5:15didn't want to make things worse. So
141. 5:17instead, I decided to just go upstairs,
142. 5:19lock my bedroom door, and try to relax.
143. 5:23I checked out the window upstairs before
144. 5:25changing into bed clothes. The man was
145. 5:28gone from the driveway. Thank God.
146. 5:31I figured the threat worked. I got into
147. 5:34bed, turned on a lamp, and started
148. 5:36reading my book to wind down.
149. 5:39Maybe 20 minutes went by when I heard
150. 5:41something from behind the house. I knew
151. 5:44instantly what it was. Unfortunately,
152. 5:46it was the same man singing Jingle Bells
153. 5:48again, except now it was coming from my
154. 5:51backyard.
155. 5:53I jumped out of bed and went to the back
156. 5:54window. When I looked down, not only was
157. 5:58he directly inside of my backyard, he
158. 6:00was already looking up at my window. The
159. 6:03man was in my backyard standing in the
160. 6:05snow directly below my bedroom window.
161. 6:08He was looking straight up at me while
162. 6:09he sang. I slid open the window and
163. 6:12yelled at him that I was calling the
164. 6:13police. The singing stopped instantly.
165. 6:17He stood there in total silence for
166. 6:18about 3 seconds. Then he suddenly burst
167. 6:22into a full [music] sprint toward the
168. 6:23back door on the lower level. The second
169. 6:25he was out of my view, I heard the most
170. 6:27insane sound I've ever heard in my life.
171. 6:30He started screaming at the top of his
172. 6:32lungs. Not like a normal scream. It
173. 6:35sounded like a death metal singer, but
174. 6:36even more insane and deranged. It echoed
175. 6:39across the yard and through the entire
176. 6:41house. Then came the banging. The back
177. 6:44door shook violently as he kicked it,
178. 6:46slammed into it, and probably tried
179. 6:48ripping the doororknob off. I felt the
180. 6:50vibrations from the impacts in my
181. 6:52upstairs bedroom. I realized this guy
182. 6:54wasn't just weird. He was trying to get
183. 6:57inside.
184. 6:58I grabbed my phone and called 911 right
185. 7:00away. I begged them to hurry, telling
186. 7:03them a man was trying to break in. I
187. 7:06stayed on the line while holding a
188. 7:07baseball bat with my other hand. I
189. 7:09backed into my bedroom closet and shut
190. 7:11myself in. The operator told me to stay
191. 7:14hidden. I could still hear the screams
192. 7:17and bangs from downstairs, and every
193. 7:19second felt like he was going to break
194. 7:20through. Then, just as suddenly as they
195. 7:23started, the bangs stopped. Everything
196. 7:26went silent except for my breathing. I
197. 7:28didn't know if he left or if he got
198. 7:30inside.
199. 7:31I stayed completely still in the closet
200. 7:33until the police arrived. They checked
201. 7:36the entire outside of the house and
202. 7:37confirmed the back door was still
203. 7:38locked. The operator said I could come
204. 7:41out and meet them.
205. 7:42When I stepped outside to greet them, I
206. 7:44finally felt like I could breathe again.
207. 7:47We walked around the backyard and saw
208. 7:49deep footprints in the snow showing
209. 7:51exactly where he had stood while singing
210. 7:53to me through the window and where he
211. 7:55had run up to the back door. The
212. 7:57footprints then led off into the woods
213. 7:58behind my property. The cops went to
214. 8:01follow the trail a little bit, but came
215. 8:02back because it apparently wasn't worth
216. 8:04going deep into the woods at night. They
217. 8:06acted like it wasn't a big deal. They
218. 8:08told me people act strange all the time
219. 8:10and that as long as I kept my doors
220. 8:12locked, I should be fine. They didn't
221. 8:14seem very interested in finding him, and
222. 8:16that bothered me a lot, but I was too
223. 8:18shaken up to argue.
224. 8:20After they left, the house felt horribly
225. 8:22empty and cold. I kept every door and
226. 8:25window locked and double checked them
227. 8:27over and over. At that point, I was over
228. 8:30the alone time and just wanted my
229. 8:31girlfriend back home. I went down to my
230. 8:34parents place for Christmas Eve and
231. 8:35Christmas, thankfully. As far as that
232. 8:38man, he never returned. At least not
233. 8:40that I know of.
234. 8:52This story is about my Christmas
235. 8:53experience from about 10 years ago. I
236. 8:56was 6 years old since my birthday was in
237. 8:58November and I had just finished
238. 9:00celebrating. Now, we were getting ready
239. 9:02for the holiday. My birthday celebration
240. 9:05happened on the [music] same day as the
241. 9:07famous Odell Beckham Jr. catch. I lived
242. 9:10with Cowboys fans, but I was a Giants
243. 9:12fan. I remember it being talked about
244. 9:15for the rest of the night and even
245. 9:16during my birthday celebration. It was
246. 9:19an eventful birthday week. And I'm
247. 9:21surprised I remember all of this since I
248. 9:23was only six. I didn't understand
249. 9:25football, but I understood that the
250. 9:27catch was crazy. So, I was just living
251. 9:29in the moment and happy it was my
252. 9:31birthday like any other kid.
253. 9:34For my birthday, I got tickets to the
254. 9:36Mavs Wizards NBA game on December 30th.
255. 9:39I was a Cavaliers fan, but since we
256. 9:42lived in DFU [music] outside of Dallas,
257. 9:44I knew a lot of Mavs fans, and I was a
258. 9:46small fan myself, so I was grateful. It
259. 9:50was going to be my first NBA game.
260. 9:52Christmas Day was 5 days before, and I
261. 9:54got a brand new Odell Beckham Jr. jersey
262. 9:56and a Maverick shirt and sweatshirt as I
263. 9:59was becoming a sports fan. I had a great
264. 10:01Christmas, but one of my Christmas gifts
265. 10:04was another Mavs game, which was on
266. 10:05December 27th against the Oklahoma City
267. 10:08Thunder. I was so excited to go to both
268. 10:11games.
269. 10:12The day came and we went to the game.
270. 10:15The Mavs won a close one, something like
271. 10:18112 to 105.
272. 10:20It was crazy to see an event like that
273. 10:22in an NBA arena for the first time. We
274. 10:25left the game and drove home, which was
275. 10:27[music] maybe 45 minutes away from the
276. 10:29American Airlines Center. The next
277. 10:31couple of days were normal, but I was
278. 10:33excited to go back to that amazing
279. 10:35stadium and atmosphere.
280. 10:37This time, we went again. I didn't know
281. 10:40it would be the last time I went for
282. 10:41years. At the last game, we had nice
283. 10:44seats, like seven rows from the court
284. 10:46and in the middle, but this time we were
285. 10:48maybe row 20 and in a corner area, so
286. 10:51the experience was different. The game
287. 10:54was going well and I was enjoying it.
288. 10:56The Mavs were killing them by like 20 to
289. 10:5830 points at halftime. Since I was a
290. 11:01child, I wanted to roam around and get
291. 11:03food and go to the bathroom by myself,
292. 11:05but I was with my parents and only 6
293. 11:07years old. So, my parents and I walked
294. 11:09to get some food. We waited in line for
295. 11:12maybe 20 minutes. My dad went to another
296. 11:15restaurant inside the arena to get
297. 11:17different food, and I stayed with my
298. 11:19brother who was waiting in line to pay.
299. 11:21As we talked to the worker, I walked
300. 11:23away to throw out some of the candy they
301. 11:25bought me before the game. I walked to a
302. 11:27trash can maybe 30 ft away. As I got
303. 11:30there, this tall white man came up to me
304. 11:33and asked, "Hey, are you lost?" I shook
305. 11:36my head and didn't say anything. He said
306. 11:38he didn't see my parents around and told
307. 11:40me, "Let's go look." As he grabbed my
308. 11:42hand and walked with me, I was just a
309. 11:45kid, so I walked with him. He took me
310. 11:47toward the nosebleleeds and said we were
311. 11:49going to the intercom so they could
312. 11:50announce my name and find my parents. I
313. 11:53said okay and kept walking.
314. 11:55We got to the top and we waited for
315. 11:57about 10 minutes. He waited until the
316. 12:00coast was clear and then tried pushing
317. 12:02me towards the emergency stairs or
318. 12:04elevator. I don't remember exactly but I
319. 12:06do remember there was no one around.
320. 12:09Then I remembered stranger danger and
321. 12:11the guilt and fear started sinking
322. 12:12[music] in. I realized I shouldn't go
323. 12:15with this man. He didn't have any
324. 12:17credentials. When he let go of my hand
325. 12:19to go check his phone, I ran all the way
326. 12:21back to the stands. As I ran, I saw him
327. 12:24standing there with a small grin on his
328. 12:26face. I couldn't find my parents, but I
329. 12:29didn't care. I just wanted to be
330. 12:31somewhere safe. I found my brother, who
331. 12:34hadn't told my parents he lost me
332. 12:35because he didn't want to get in
333. 12:36trouble. He asked if I was okay, and I
334. 12:39said yes, choosing not to say anything.
335. 12:42The game ended, and the Mavs won, but I
336. 12:44didn't care. I just wanted to go home.
337. 12:48As we exited, I was quiet. When we got
338. 12:51in the car, I was also quiet. My parents
339. 12:54seemed confused that I didn't seem
340. 12:56energetic, but I told them I was tired.
341. 12:59As we drove home, I almost fell asleep,
342. 13:02but then a loud honk screech behind us.
343. 13:05It was so loud I almost screamed.
344. 13:08I turned around and there he was, the
345. 13:11same man driving a truck with maybe
346. 13:13three other men inside. I couldn't tell
347. 13:16who they were, just silhouettes.
348. 13:19My parents yelled at them from our car
349. 13:20when they pulled up next to us, but the
350. 13:22men just stared. I wanted to say
351. 13:25something so badly, but for some reason,
352. 13:27I didn't. When we got home, I went right
353. 13:30to sleep and passed out fast. In the
354. 13:33middle of the night, I woke up with
355. 13:35chills. I noticed a light flashing at my
356. 13:38window. I looked out, expecting
357. 13:40something innocent, Santa Claus or
358. 13:42something, but instead saw that man
359. 13:45standing out there shining a flashlight
360. 13:48into my bedroom window. I screamed and
361. 13:51ran to my parents' room, telling them
362. 13:53someone was at my window as if it were a
363. 13:55first story window. They rushed outside
364. 13:57and searched for maybe 20 minutes. They
365. 14:00didn't find anything, and since I was a
366. 14:02kid, they didn't believe me. They said
367. 14:04it must have been a shadow from a car,
368. 14:06but I know what I saw.
369. 14:09On New Year's Eve, a couple days later,
370. 14:11we were staying up until midnight to
371. 14:13watch the ball drop. We were about 5 or
372. 14:166 minutes away from midnight when the
373. 14:18doorbell rang. My parents answered it. I
374. 14:21didn't pay attention until I heard the
375. 14:23man's voice, and I was 100% sure it was
376. 14:26him. I told my parents, but they didn't
377. 14:29believe me. I told them at the game he
378. 14:31brought me to the high level, and I ran
379. 14:33away and escaped, but they still didn't
380. 14:35believe me. They said it was just a man
381. 14:38handing out lost dog flyers for his
382. 14:40cousin's dog. The night went on and I
383. 14:43was fine. But then a year later on New
384. 14:45Year's Eve, there was a knock at my
385. 14:47bedroom window. Keep in mind, I had
386. 14:50forgotten about the situation.
387. 14:52I got up and looked and there was a
388. 14:54piece of paper on the window that said,
389. 14:56"This new year, you'll meet me again." I
390. 15:00gave my parents the note and they filed
391. 15:02a report, but they never heard anything
392. 15:04back. Every couple of years, I get
393. 15:06terrified of New Year's Eve, thinking
394. 15:08that man will come back. I told my
395. 15:11parents I never want to go back to
396. 15:12[music] an NBA game, saying it wasn't my
397. 15:14thing. But now I'm 16, and it scares me
398. 15:17that the man knows where I live. I'm
399. 15:20considering going to the Cavs vers Mavs
400. 15:22game on January 2nd or 3rd, which would
401. 15:24be my first game since then, but I'm not
402. 15:26sure. This experience scared me away
403. 15:29from basketball and made me always close
404. 15:31my curtains.
405. 15:43I remember this night way too clearly.
406. 15:46And even now, I think about how close my
407. 15:48family [music] came to something really
408. 15:49terrible.
409. 15:51It was early December, and we decided to
410. 15:53drive up north into the mountains
411. 15:55[music] to cut down a real Christmas
412. 15:56tree. It was something my wife Maryanne
413. 15:59and I always wanted to do. [music] And
414. 16:00our seven-year-old son Andrew was
415. 16:02excited about it, too. The weather was
416. 16:05cold and cloudy, and the sky had that
417. 16:07heavy look where it feels like snow is
418. 16:09always about to fall again. To us, that
419. 16:11added to the Christmas vibe. The whole
420. 16:14ride up the winding roads made me feel
421. 16:16like a kid again. It was a while since
422. 16:18I'd done something this unique and in
423. 16:20the Christmas spirit, and having Andrew
424. 16:22so excited about it just brought me back
425. 16:24to my youth. [music] When we finally
426. 16:26reached the remote area Maryanne found
427. 16:28online, there were no other cars around
428. 16:30in the parking area. There were a bunch
429. 16:33of light posts scattered around, so we
430. 16:35weren't in pitch black darkness if you
431. 16:36were wondering. [music] That's why we
432. 16:38picked the place. Still, we did bring
433. 16:41flashlights.
434. 16:42We parked by a small unmarked path that
435. 16:44[music] led deeper into the trees. There
436. 16:47was a lot of snow on the ground still
437. 16:48from the snowfall we got a few days
438. 16:50earlier. And up this high, the snow took
439. 16:52even longer to melt.
440. 16:54Andrew jumped out of the car right away
441. 16:56and started throwing snowballs at us.
442. 16:58[music] So, I started throwing them
443. 17:00back. We were here to have fun, so of
444. 17:02course I was going to try to make it as
445. 17:04memorable as possible for Andrew.
446. 17:07I grabbed our flashlights and the axe
447. 17:09that I planned to use to chop down a
448. 17:10tree. We walked up the narrow path with
449. 17:13snow crunching under our boots. Andrew
450. 17:16kept running ahead, stopping to point at
451. 17:18trees he thought might be perfect. The
452. 17:20deeper we went, the more the road behind
453. 17:22us disappeared, and the only light came
454. 17:24from the faint moon glowing behind the
455. 17:26thick clouds. It was so quiet that I
456. 17:29even asked Marianne and Andrew to stop
457. 17:31for a second just to really take it in.
458. 17:34There was not a single sound, maybe a
459. 17:37light breeze, that was it. To be honest,
460. 17:40if I had been there alone, I'd have been
461. 17:42slightly creeped out just off the
462. 17:43silence and darkness alone. As we walked
463. 17:46deeper onto the trail, we had to utilize
464. 17:49the flashlights we brought, all three of
465. 17:51us. Andrew was having a lot of fun with
466. 17:54the flashlight until the light from the
467. 17:56parking lot was no longer visible and it
468. 17:58was now basically total darkness outside
469. 18:00of the flashlights. He started to get a
470. 18:03little nervous evidently because he
471. 18:04asked how far we were going to go and he
472. 18:06made a comment on the darkness. I kept
473. 18:09feeling like someone was watching us or
474. 18:11like something was walking behind us.
475. 18:13But every time I turned around, there
476. 18:15was nothing but the empty snow path.
477. 18:18About 10 minutes in, we finally found a
478. 18:20spot where the trees were tall and full.
479. 18:23Andrew ran around them in circles,
480. 18:25looking for the best one. Maryanne
481. 18:27stayed closer to me and whispered that
482. 18:29she wanted to pick a tree fast because
483. 18:30she had a weird feeling, too. I got
484. 18:33exactly what she meant. This was a lot
485. 18:35creepier than I had imagined.
486. 18:38Right then, I heard soft crunching
487. 18:40behind us. It wasn't any of us, nor was
488. 18:43it an animal. It sounded like boots
489. 18:45crunching the snow, but very slowly
490. 18:48sneaking like. When I turned around, I
491. 18:51saw a man in dark clothes standing about
492. 18:5420 ft back on the path. He wasn't
493. 18:57dressed for the weather. His hands were
494. 18:59bare and red from the cold. His jacket
495. 19:01looked more like a windbreaker. His face
496. 19:04looked pale and stiff, like he'd been
497. 19:05out in the cold for way too long.
498. 19:08Maryanne grabbed Andrew's arm to pull
499. 19:10him closer. When the man noticed we were
500. 19:12looking at him, he suddenly smiled in an
501. 19:14off-putting way and stepped closer. He
502. 19:17asked if we were looking for a Christmas
503. 19:19tree. His voice, breaking the already
504. 19:21unsettling silence, was uncomfortable.
505. 19:24His voice was deep and kind of soft.
506. 19:27Before I could say anything, Andrew
507. 19:29answered yes, excited again. and I felt
508. 19:32a jolt of panic because I didn't want
509. 19:33this man knowing anything about us.
510. 19:36Maryanne quickly told him no, that we
511. 19:38were just walking. The man stepped
512. 19:40closer again and the way he moved made
513. 19:42every hair on my arm stand up. He told
514. 19:45us not to worry because he wasn't a park
515. 19:47ranger. He said it like he could tell
516. 19:50exactly why we lied because admittedly
517. 19:52what we were doing was super illegal. I
518. 19:55didn't want to talk to him at all.
519. 19:57Something was wrong with him. He looked
520. 19:59hungry or desperate or like he hadn't
521. 20:01slept in days. I guess for lack of a
522. 20:04better word, he looked homeless. I told
523. 20:07Maryanne we should head back to the car
524. 20:08and she nodded, gripping Andrew's
525. 20:10jacket. When we started walking past the
526. 20:13man, he stood by smiling and watching,
527. 20:16giving slight nods as if to say goodbye
528. 20:18as we walked. Andrew kept turning around
529. 20:21asking if the man was following, and we
530. 20:23told him to stay facing forward. Every
531. 20:26time I looked back, the man was a little
532. 20:28bit closer than before, even though I
533. 20:30didn't hear him speed up. I whispered to
534. 20:33Maryanne that when we reached the main
535. 20:34road, we had to run to the car. She held
536. 20:37Andrew's hand tighter and nodded without
537. 20:39looking back. The man's step stayed
538. 20:42behind us the whole time, dragging a
539. 20:44little like his boots were too big or
540. 20:46too heavy. Once we got close enough to
541. 20:49see the gap in the trees where the car
542. 20:51was parked, I told them to go. Maryanne
543. 20:54lifted Andrew and ran as fast as she
544. 20:56could. The only reason I felt even
545. 20:58remotely safe was because of the axe in
546. 21:00my hand, but I'm not a violent person,
547. 21:02and I've never had to resort to violence
548. 21:04in my entire life. I turned around to
549. 21:06block the path behind us for even just a
550. 21:08second. The man had stopped walking and
551. 21:11was just staring at me, and he put his
552. 21:13hands up halfway, still smiling. And
553. 21:16then he said, "I mean no harm. Why don't
554. 21:19you get back to your truck now?" I felt
555. 21:21my heart skip a beat as he said this. He
556. 21:24said truck like he knew we came in a
557. 21:26pickup truck. I replied back simply that
558. 21:29we don't want any trouble. Then I turned
559. 21:32and started hurrying back down to the
560. 21:34lot. But halfway there, Maryanne
561. 21:37screamed my name, sounding panicked. "Oh
562. 21:40no," I thought.
563. 21:42When I got to the truck, she showed me
564. 21:44that both right side tires were
565. 21:46punctured. I didn't have time to examine
566. 21:48it for long to realize it was him. I
567. 21:51told Maryanne to call 911 immediately,
568. 21:54but she struggled to find service at
569. 21:55first. She walked around the snowy lot
570. 21:58for a bit until there was reception. She
571. 22:00never strayed too far away. I had Andrew
572. 22:03wait in the truck who was now clearly
573. 22:05concerned as he watched Maryanne and I
574. 22:07freaking out. He was old enough to know
575. 22:09something bad was happening. Maryanne
576. 22:12seemed to be having a hard time on the
577. 22:13phone, so I took it and explained our
578. 22:15location and that we felt threatened by
579. 22:17a random man in the woods who may have
580. 22:19potentially been responsible for the
581. 22:20tires. Given the potentially unstable
582. 22:23individual in the vicinity and the fact
583. 22:25that we had a child with us, police were
584. 22:28taking this very seriously and told me
585. 22:30to keep my family locked in the truck
586. 22:31until police arrive and that a tow truck
587. 22:33will be sent as well. I was instructed
588. 22:36to keep the operator on the line while
589. 22:38we waited, but eventually the line
590. 22:40started getting choppy, cutting out at
591. 22:42moments because of the poor reception.
592. 22:45Then Maryanne suddenly screamed in my
593. 22:47ear to look and pointed towards the tree
594. 22:49line by the path we were on. There were
595. 22:52multiple people standing just beyond the
596. 22:54treeine. I counted at least three. They
597. 22:57looked like shadows from where we were,
598. 22:59which made the site even more
599. 23:00terrifying. It was like we were being
600. 23:03stalked and hunted. Then two of the
601. 23:06people started walking closer.
602. 23:08I told the operator and she said
603. 23:11something that really made me
604. 23:12uncomfortable.
605. 23:13She asked if I had any kinds of weapons.
606. 23:15And when I said I had the axe, she
607. 23:17implied that if it came down to it to
608. 23:19use it to defend my family. By this
609. 23:22point, Andrew was crying and Maryanne
610. 23:24tried to calm him down. I told the
611. 23:26operator that two of the figures were
612. 23:28still walking toward the truck. They
613. 23:30weren't running or yelling or anything.
614. 23:33They just walked very slowly like they
615. 23:34knew we weren't going anywhere. The
616. 23:37third figure strangely disappeared,
617. 23:39likely back deeper into the woods away
618. 23:41from the light. The operator told me the
619. 23:43police were close, but I had no idea if
620. 23:45that meant 2 minutes or 10. I kept
621. 23:48looking back and forth between the
622. 23:50treeine and the road in the distance,
623. 23:52praying to see flashing lights.
624. 23:55I tried to talk to the operator again,
625. 23:56but the call dropped. The second it cut
626. 23:59off, everything felt a hundred times
627. 24:01worse. I locked the doors again, even
628. 24:04though they were already locked. I kept
629. 24:07my hand on the axe, gripping it so hard
630. 24:09my knuckles hurt. As the two people were
631. 24:12now within range of hearing them speak,
632. 24:14we could hear them saying, "We're here
633. 24:15to help." as they waved their hands in
634. 24:17the air. We didn't recognize either of
635. 24:20them to be that guy from earlier. "Do
636. 24:22you think they're park rangers?"
637. 24:24Maryanne asked, and I said firmly, "Not
638. 24:27a chance." But perhaps I said it too
639. 24:29loud because [music] Andrew just started
640. 24:30crying even more, which Maryanne had to
641. 24:33try extra hard to console him. These two
642. 24:36people approaching were dressed
643. 24:37similarly to that first guy, aka way
644. 24:40underdressed, and their clothes looked
645. 24:41worn out, almost dirty, and they didn't
646. 24:44seem bothered by the cold at all. But
647. 24:46then, seemingly randomly, the two of
648. 24:49them turned around and started running
649. 24:50back in the direction they had come
650. 24:52from. We didn't know why just yet, but
651. 24:55it was soon clear. Never have we been so
652. 24:58ecstatic to hear the sound of police
653. 24:59sirens. It was getting louder fast and
654. 25:02eventually we saw the flashing lights
655. 25:04coming from down the road. Coming pretty
656. 25:06fast, actually. The police SUV entered
657. 25:09the lot with its spotlight on [music]
658. 25:11and it instantly shined in our
659. 25:12direction. I flashed my lights to try to
660. 25:15get the cop in the car to see the men
661. 25:16running back into the woods. At this
662. 25:19point though, they were already nearly
663. 25:21gone, but their footprints weren't. Once
664. 25:24the SUV was next to us, two officers
665. 25:27jumped out immediately with flashlights
666. 25:29drawn and I got out to basically get on
667. 25:31my knees thanking them. I pointed in the
668. 25:34direction the men ran. I said they
669. 25:35disappeared into the trees like they had
670. 25:37rehearsed where to go. The police told
671. 25:39[music] us to stay inside the truck
672. 25:41while they searched and more units
673. 25:43showed up within minutes. One officer
674. 25:45stayed with us. Andrew was no longer
675. 25:48scared, but rather once again excited at
676. 25:50the commotion and the sight of police
677. 25:52officers.
678. 25:53After a long search, the police came
679. 25:56back and told us what I already knew
680. 25:57they were going to say. They didn't find
681. 26:00anyone, just tracks in the snow that
682. 26:02went deep into the woods and eventually
683. 26:04spread out in different directions. They
684. 26:06didn't know if the people lived
685. 26:07somewhere out there or if they were part
686. 26:09of some kind of camp deeper in the
687. 26:10mountains. They said sometimes drifters
688. 26:13or squatters stay hidden in remote areas
689. 26:15during the winter. The tow truck
690. 26:18eventually arrived and the police stayed
691. 26:19around us the entire time until our
692. 26:21truck was loaded up. We had to sit in
693. 26:23the back of a patrol car to stay warm
694. 26:25while they finished everything. No one
695. 26:27really said much. Maryanne held Andrew
696. 26:30in her lap and I just stared out the
697. 26:31window, watching the dark tree lines,
698. 26:34half expecting to see someone standing
699. 26:36there again. On the ride back home, none
700. 26:38of us talked. It was like all of us were
701. 26:41afraid that saying anything out loud
702. 26:42would make it real again. We didn't try
703. 26:45to cut down a Christmas tree ever again.
704. 26:47We didn't even go back to that mountain
705. 26:48area. Even now, 10 years later, I refuse
706. 26:52to go anywhere near it. To this day,
707. 26:54what scares me the most is the thought
708. 26:56that they had been watching us long
709. 26:58before we even noticed them. They saw us
710. 27:01arrive in that parking lot because they
711. 27:03knew to strand us by slashing my tires,
712. 27:05and they were waiting for us to go deep
713. 27:07enough into the trees so we wouldn't
714. 27:08make it back to the truck. We were lucky
715. 27:11we trusted our instincts enough and
716. 27:12decided to leave for the truck almost
717. 27:14right away. We were also lucky I was
718. 27:16holding an axe, which may have dissuaded
719. 27:18them from doing something crazy. I don't
720. 27:21like thinking about how close we came to
721. 27:23potentially never going home.
722. 27:35I still think about this one night
723. 27:37[music] from when I was 9 years old. It
724. 27:39was a few days before Christmas. My
725. 27:42parents both had things to do that
726. 27:43night, and since I was almost 9, they
727. 27:46felt okay leaving me home for a little
728. 27:47bit. My mom had to run to the grocery
729. 27:50store to get some stuff for Christmas
730. 27:51dinner, and my dad was working late like
731. 27:53he usually did in December. I was
732. 27:56sitting on the couch watching a
733. 27:57Christmas movie probably and eating
734. 27:59cookies by the fireplace and tree.
735. 28:02Outside, it was already dark, even
736. 28:03though it was still relatively early.
737. 28:05And I remember the Christmas lights
738. 28:07flashing on the houses across the
739. 28:08street. It was normal until the doorbell
740. 28:12rang. [music] The only reason this made
741. 28:14me stop and look was because it was
742. 28:16rather late and random for someone to
743. 28:17ring the bell. And my mom always told me
744. 28:19never to answer the door when I was
745. 28:21alone. My parents never ring the bell,
746. 28:23obviously, since they have keys.
747. 28:26I got up and walked to the door anyway
748. 28:28because I wanted to look through the
749. 28:29peepphole.
750. 28:30When I put my eye up to it, I saw there
751. 28:33was a man standing on the porch wearing
752. 28:34a Santa Claus suit. It was the full
753. 28:37thing, too. the red coat, the hat, the
754. 28:39beard, everything. [music]
755. 28:41But he didn't look like a normal
756. 28:43friendly Santa. He wasn't holding
757. 28:45anything besides what looked like a
758. 28:46clipboard. [music] And he was standing
759. 28:48way too close to the door like he was
760. 28:50waiting for me to unlock it. I didn't
761. 28:52know what to say at first, so I just
762. 28:54kind of whispered, "Who is it?" The man
763. 28:57moved his head a little closer to the
764. 28:58door, like he was trying to see through
765. 29:00the peepphole or hear me better. And in
766. 29:02that moment, he figured out right away
767. 29:04that I was a kid. He did, I guess, what
768. 29:07was his best Santa impression as he said
769. 29:09he was Santa and that he had gifts for
770. 29:11me and that I should open the door. At 9
771. 29:14years old, I wasn't stupid and I didn't
772. 29:16believe in Santa anymore. My parents
773. 29:18taught me about strangers. I told him to
774. 29:21go away and that I didn't need anything
775. 29:23and I tried to sound brave, but my voice
776. 29:25cracked. The man went silent for a
777. 29:28second and then he asked me if I was
778. 29:30home alone. As soon as he said that, I
779. 29:33knew to walk away. I instantly felt
780. 29:36stupid for even letting him know I was
781. 29:38home. I didn't answer him. I stepped
782. 29:41back from the door and walked fast to
783. 29:43the living room because I suddenly felt
784. 29:44too scared to stand near it. I sat on
785. 29:47the couch and grabbed a pillow and
786. 29:49stared at the TV like acting normal
787. 29:51would make the fear go away. But then I
788. 29:53heard the door knob twist. He was
789. 29:55testing if the door was locked. I wanted
790. 29:58to scream for help, but nobody was home.
791. 30:01I waited and hoped he would leave. But a
792. 30:04moment later, I heard another sound from
793. 30:06the back of the house. It was the back
794. 30:08door not twisting. It happened so fast
795. 30:11after the front door that I bet he ran
796. 30:13around the house to the back. That door
797. 30:15was even weaker than the front one, and
798. 30:17we almost never used it. I felt frozen
799. 30:20in place, and all I could think about
800. 30:22was that my house only had two doors,
801. 30:24and this man was trying both. I ran to
802. 30:27the kitchen and grabbed the phone and
803. 30:29dialed my mom's number. When she
804. 30:31answered, I started talking really fast,
805. 30:33trying not to cry. I told her someone
806. 30:36was trying to get into the house and he
807. 30:37was dressed like Santa. My mom got
808. 30:40serious right away and told me she was
809. 30:42coming home right now and that I should
810. 30:43not open any doors no matter what. She
811. 30:46told me to stay in the living room and
812. 30:47keep the curtains closed. I sat on the
813. 30:50floor behind the couch where I couldn't
814. 30:51be seen from any windows, and I stayed
815. 30:54completely still. I kept hearing small
816. 30:56noises outside like footsteps or light
817. 30:59taps, just some forms of sounds
818. 31:01indicating that someone was still there.
819. 31:04Eventually, they stopped and not long
820. 31:06after I heard a car pulling into our
821. 31:08driveway, and I knew it was my mom
822. 31:10because I recognized her squeaking
823. 31:12brakes. I stayed where I was until I
824. 31:15heard the front door unlock and slam
825. 31:16open. My mom came in breathing hard and
826. 31:19holding two grocery bags. She locked the
827. 31:22door behind her and yelled out for me
828. 31:24and I ran to her right away. She hugged
829. 31:26me and then told me she had just seen a
830. 31:28man dressed as Santa walking down our
831. 31:30street. She said she slowed her car down
832. 31:32when she saw him and she yelled at him
833. 31:34out the window asking what he was doing.
834. 31:37The man told her he was going door to
835. 31:38door asking for donations, but she
836. 31:40didn't believe him for a second. She
837. 31:43said he looked nervous and that he
838. 31:45walked away fast when she started
839. 31:46yelling.
840. 31:48My mom told me she was proud of me for
841. 31:49not opening the door and for calling her
842. 31:51right away. She called the police and
843. 31:54reported the man, and I'm sure police at
844. 31:56the very least surveyed the area. We
845. 31:58never found out if he was arrested or if
846. 32:00he just disappeared into the
847. 32:01neighborhood. Two neighbors did say
848. 32:04though that the man knocked on their
849. 32:05doors asking for donations, though they
850. 32:07said it seemed like a scam. Regardless,
851. 32:10that doesn't change the fact that he
852. 32:11tried to get into our house where he
853. 32:13knew a little boy was home alone.
854. 32:16I still think about that night every
855. 32:18year around Christmas when I see Santa
856. 32:20decorations. [music]
857. 32:21I just remember being 9 years old and
858. 32:23knowing that man on our porch was not
859. 32:25Santa and that [music] he wanted
860. 32:27something else. I guess I was lucky the
861. 32:30doors were locked and my mom got home
862. 32:31when she did. What would have happened
863. 32:34if that door was unlocked is terrifying
864. 32:36to think about.