-August 18, 2002. -December 12, 2011.
-August 29, 1982. -December 1st.
June 15, 1991.
-...was the scariest night... -...was the scariest night...
...was the scariest night of my life.
I was awoken to the sound of growling.
It was heading straight for my bedroom.
I felt that there was a threatening presence.
I kept hearing this -- this breathing.
Suddenly, we saw this very bright,
bright flash.
I was hoping that it would all be over.
This thing is standing right beside me.
When I was 25 years old, I moved into a new apartment
with my 2-year-old daughter, Amelia.
Want to unpack this one for me?
I had finally found the only two-bedroom apartment
that I could afford.
Can you grab this for me?
Yeah, we're gonna go put him in your room, okay?
It was just me and Amelia,
getting ready to start our life together
in our new apartment.
The only thing missing was my cat, Kevin.
He had died six months previously.
Kevin was a wonderful cat.
He came to me at a point in my life
where I was going through tremendous loss.
Sweetie, can you come here?
I loved him so much.
You remember him?
He was so totally affectionate
and adored Amelia, too.
She spent the first year of her life playing with him.
Amelia loved that cat.
Kevin was 4 years old when he passed away.
And when I went to say goodbye to him
at the veterinarian's,
I held him,
and I asked for him to wait for me.
It was just the three of us,
and then it was only two.
The apartment felt a little empty
without Kevin's meows.
I had spent the entire day organizing my apartment.
I had finally finished unpacking,
and I joined Amelia in the living room.
Okay, let's take a seat.
Want some of that?
Okay.
Yum.
Amelia and I were watching TV
when I had the sensation of being watched.
I saw something just flicker
out of the corner of my eye.
I saw a shadow, like a dark figure,
standing in the doorway of the nursery.
I did a double take, and there was nothing there.
After moving all day,
I didn't have an ounce of energy.
My eyes could have been playing tricks on me.
All I wanted to do was relax
and watch the show with Amelia before I put her down for bed.
In here.
I still felt a little bit uneasy.
A nagging thought kept creeping across my mind.
-Right there? -Yeah, perfect.
What if it was something?
I couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion that...
we weren't alone in our house.
Mommy's gonna be right back, okay?
I peeked into the nursery.
I saw nothing, just her crib, toys,
and an empty cat bed.
My daughter called from the living room
and said that her show was over.
I said, "Little love, it's time for bed."
I took her to the nursery door.
But I hesitated.
I didn't feel like it was a good idea
to have her sleep in there by herself.
You know what, honey? Why don't you come with me this way?
Why don't you come stay in my room with me?
Yeah! You can play on the bed.
Okay. Mommy, you, too!
Amelia was happily playing on my bed.
Purple face man.
Purple face man, purple face man.
She said, "Purple face man, purple face man,
purple face man."
Purple face man.
She pointed towards the bedroom closet.
I thought it was weird,
but I also thought that my daughter
may have watched too much TV
while I had been unpacking.
I'll look.
The door was open, but nothing was there.
Honey, there's nothing here.
-No. -No.
Can you get ready for bed?
I'm going up here.
Can I tuck you underneath, huh?
I kissed her on top of her head and tucked her in...
-Good night. -Good night, sweetheart.
...then realized I had put Amelia to bed
without a Pull-Up on.
I went to her nursery.
I love you, Amelia.
I heard a noise coming from inside Amelia's room.
It sounded like something inside was moving
or talking.
I love you, Amelia.
I had to fight back every ounce of fear
inside me to enter the room.
My daughter's bedroom, it was a mess.
Her toys were all over the floor.
All of her electronic toys were going off at once.
I love you, Amelia.
Her teddy bear said, "I love you, Amelia."
It startled me.
I love you, Amelia.
I was worried that somebody had been in her room.
I checked the windows, and I checked her closet.
No one had been in there.
Even though the room was empty,
I had a feeling like there was something
in the house with us.
-Happy, happy. -Happy!
It was just me and Amelia in our new apartment.
It felt a little empty without Kevin's meows.
I had the sensation of being watched.
Purple face man, purple face man.
She said, "Purple face man, purple face man,
purple face man."
Purple face man.
The door was open, but nothing was there.
My daughter's bedroom, it was a mess.
Her toys were all over the floor.
Even though the room was empty,
I had a feeling like there was something
in the house with us.
It wanted for us to know that it was there.
I was worried that my daughter was in danger.
I quickly left the room, and I closed the door behind me,
and I went back to my bedroom.
I checked on Amelia, and she was fine.
As I was lying there in bed unable to sleep,
I felt a familiar weight.
It was a wonderful feeling.
It was the feeling of my cat, Kevin,
coming into bed and cuddling with me
like he had every day of his life.
Although I knew he was gone,
it could have been my imagination,
but I needed that comfort that night.
I began to doze off.
I was awoken to the sound of growling.
I heard it coming from my closet
where my daughter had pointed earlier.
I felt a sense of dread overtake me.
I checked on Amelia, and she was fine.
Everything was in place.
The closet made me uneasy, and so I closed the door.
I felt a sense of dread.
It was too much.
I left the room.
I needed water.
I splashed my face with cold water.
Feeling better, I headed back to the bedroom.
I saw the enormous shadow of a dog.
It looked scary.
It was heading straight for my bedroom.
I was worried that my daughter was in danger.
I looked around, but there was nothing.
Everything was where it was supposed to be.
But the closet door was open again.
I just pushed it shut.
And I laid down in bed.
I felt like I was losing my mind.
I was a grown woman
finally living in my own place,
and I was worried
that every little bump in the night
was gonna send me into a panic attack.
I was tired.
I had spent all day moving and unpacking.
I lay down one more time
for a final attempt at sleeping that night.
And there was the weight
again on my legs.
I felt like my cat, Kevin,
was once more there with me.
Having Kevin there made me feel safe enough
to finally go back to sleep.
Once more, I was awoken.
The growling was back.
This time, it was getting louder
and more threatening and terrifying.
I was so scared.
All of her electronic toys were going off at once.
I was worried somebody had been in her room.
I was awoken to the sound of growling.
I felt a sense of dread.
The growling was back.
This time, it was getting louder
and more threatening and terrifying.
I grabbed my daughter,
and I tucked her in with me under the blankets.
As it got louder and louder,
I just pulled the covers over me and my daughter's heads,
and I held her.
The growling was so loud and so intense.
It felt like the dog was right there.
Somewhere near the foot of my bed,
something was moving.
I felt the weight on my feet move.
There wasn't just growling anymore.
It was the sound of a cat hissing and yowling.
It became louder and more intense,
and the mattress was shaking.
I was holding my little girl
and hoping that it would all be over.
I heard the sounds of my cat
fighting with whatever it was
that had come out of my closet.
There was one final scary growl.
It became quiet.
It had been so loud,
that silence actually felt like a punch.
Then the crunching began,
wet and cracking,
like bones snapping.
I could hear the dog's spirit
eating Kevin.
The sounds I heard were so horrible.
I don't know if Kevin's spirit still exists.
I stayed there under the covers the entire night.
I kept just praying
for daylight to come in through the window,
so I could just pick up my kid
and get out of that place.
And that was the scariest night of my life.
Kevin sacrificed his spirit
to protect us from whatever it was in that house.
I moved not two months later.
My neighbor told me that
if any of the apartments
would be haunted, though,
it would probably be mine
because a man had hanged himself
in my bedroom closet.
On this particular night, I was with my mom and my dad.
My brother had gone out.
I was doing homework.
I had stuff that I had to do for school,
sort of a typical routine, you know?
You do homework. Mom looks at it.
Normal. Normal activities.
And it's time to go to sleep, yeah?
-You finish your homework? -Yeah.
-Yeah, I finished it. -Yeah?
Uh-huh. Stand up.
It was time to go to bed.
I had a night light beside me.
So I started reading a book.
The house was quiet.
And then I started to feel like I was falling asleep.
Not long after, I was cozy and comfy in my bed
and starting to dream.
No! No! Stop!
And then I heard a noise
coming from the kitchen.
I listened to it for a few minutes.
Mom? Dad?
There was no answer.
At first, I couldn't figure out what it was.
The sound was like a clicking of --
or clanking of a spoon
to stir something in a glass.
"Click, click, click, click.
Click, click, click, click, click."
Ugh.
I got scared,
and for a minute, I thought it was my brother.
I forgot he was out.
I walked into the hallway,
and I'm still hearing this noise
like somebody stirring juice.
And I start walking towards the kitchen.
I could still hear the sound.
Mom? Dad?
The minute I walked into the kitchen, the sound stopped.
There was nothing.
And there was no one there.
I started to get goosebumps and a chill.
I had butterflies in my stomach.
I walked back into the hallway.
I looked back to see if there was somebody behind me.
I decided to just go back into my bedroom
and just cover myself up.
I was trying to calm myself down.
I wanted to fall asleep, but I was just terrified,
and I was just holding onto my sheets.
I was lying there, trying to make sense
of what I had just heard.
I had almost convinced myself that I was hearing things.
And then I see this silhouette, like a dark silhouette.
There was something definitely there.
Mom, is that you?
Mom?
When I sat up and I looked...
...this shadow was peeking,
like, sideways from the door.
It was just this creepy,
dark silhouette standing there.
I was terrified.
I could not tell if it was a man or if it was a woman.
It was a human shape.
I was scared.
I knew that I couldn't leave my room
because whatever it was, it was blocking my path.
I just covered myself with the blankets,
just, like, you know, if by magic,
this thing was going to disappear.
I was so terrified.
I could hear my own heart pounding in my chest.
I was 15 years old.
I was just a girl. I had no idea what that was,
and it was scary.
I muster the courage to just peek,
and when I lower the blanket, and I peek out...
...this thing is standing right beside me,
and it is bending over.
Its face is so close to me,
getting closer and closer.
I was completely terror-stricken.
I couldn't breathe.
I thought I was gonna die.
It was the scariest thing ever.
But that was nothing compared to coming face-to-face
with this thing.
I was terrified.
It came closer and closer to me,
and while its face
was practically pressing against mine,
it did something worse, far worse
than in my wildest nightmares.
It felt like a hand was pressing on my chest,
like there was something heavy on my chest,
and I was trying to breathe, and I couldn't.
I couldn't move.
It was like it had placed a spell on me.
I was literally paralyzed.
It felt like I was going to suffocate.
I-I was trying to say, "No, please, no."
I was so scared.
Its silhouette was dark.
It was not see-through.
But I could not define features.
Just imagine seeing somebody from the chest up,
bending over you,
in, like, a menacing way,
and just putting this pressure,
the hand on your chest and getting closer and closer.
I screamed, "No, no, no!"
No, no!
I was on the verge of passing out.
And then it just stopped.
This was the worst thing that I ever felt in my life.
Mom, Dad!
Mom, Dad, Mom, Dad!
Mom, Dad!
I didn't look back. I just ran to my mom's room.
They were both asleep, but I came in screaming,
so I woke them up.
There was a shadow in my room, and it attacked me.
No, it wasn't a nightmare. I wasn't dreaming.
My mom tried to calm me down, and she thought
I was having another nightmare or something.
-It was just a nightmare. -No, it wasn't a nightmare.
She didn't believe me.
And I said, "No, I'm going to stay here.
I'm going to sleep here."
I got this big blanket, and I folded it,
and I made a bed on the floor
right beside where Dad was sleeping.
And I lied down on the floor to sleep.
And Dad reaches out and gives me his hand,
so I hold onto his hand,
because I just felt more protected that way.
I was completely and utterly petrified.
My heart was pounding.
I started to shake again,
hoping it wasn't going to come back and find me again.
Eventually, I was exhausted, so I started to fall asleep.
I must have been asleep for a few minutes.
And all of a sudden, I woke up,
and that feeling came back again.
There's this cold in the room.
Something is there.
And I can feel it again -- the same thing, the same sensation.
And I looked at the door, and there it was.
It's staring at me.
I thought, "Oh, my God. It's back."
I was terrified.
My parents were asleep,
and I was trying to tell myself to calm down.
I even thought, you know, am I crazy?
You know, you start thinking
that there is something wrong with you
'cause nobody else had seen it.
I was really, really scared.
But I just didn't want to believe that it was there.
I force myself to relax.
Take a deep breath.
And then I focused on my mom's breathing...
...my dad's breathing.
And then, I could hear my own breathing,
trying to really relax.
But then I notice a fourth breath in the room
that I have never forgotten to this very day.
Mom, Dad!
Something is there.
I just didn't feel safe.
I thought I was going to die that night.
I heard a fourth breathing,
heavy breathing like...
I felt that there was a threatening presence.
I don't feel safe anymore, even though I was there.
You know, I knew I was in my parent's room.
It's supposed to be a safe place for me.
I just didn't feel safe.
I tried to keep my eyes closed.
But I kept hearing this -- this breathing.
I thought it was an evil spirit.
I really thought it was something really bad.
It was just terrifying for me, and I kept praying,
and I kept praying.
"God, please," you know? "It's not here.
Take this away, please. Take this away.
What have I done to deserve this?
Please take it away."
And it was still there.
Mom, help! Mom.
Mom, it's back.
I just couldn't contain myself anymore.
It was just too scary, so I woke Mom up.
I woke my dad up.
It was just too scary.
No, it came back.
We look up, and there's nothing there.
Let's go check, okay?
She goes into the hallway with me.
There's nothing there.
And she says, "You're imagining. You're dreaming."
I so needed her to believe me.
I was so scared.
You know, when something like that happens to you,
you want your parents to believe you.
I'll go get the cot, okay?
And I'll -- I'll just sleep here tonight, okay?
Will that make you feel better?
Okay?
So that's what we did.
She made a cot for herself.
And she lied beside me.
My mom fell asleep right away.
I started to sort of feel like I was falling asleep again.
And then something else happened.
I felt a poke, like someone nudging you.
Imagine you're lying down,
and somebody just pokes you,
like, to wake you up.
So I woke up, and I said, "What? What is it, Mom?"
She's sound asleep.
Oh, my God.
I think the blood just ran out of my body.
And I just went all over in goosebumps.
Mom, Mom!
That silhouette was there again.
Mom, Mom!
So I shook my mom up.
And when she looked, she saw it.
So this time, my mom saw it,
both of us.
We were terrified, looking, and it was standing
right in the middle of the frame of the door.
My mother was paralyzed. She was just looking.
Her mouth was open.
And I couldn't say a word.
We were just looking.
Suddenly, we saw this very bright, bright flash.
The whole hell broke loose.
It was just the scariest thing.
We get up, and we get out of the bedroom,
and we just go toward the living room.
I was crying, and I was -- I said to Mom,
"You see? You see? I told you.
I told you. Believe me now?"
And she said, "I believe you. I believe you."
And I needed so much to hear that.
And I sat there in my mom's arms,
and she held me for the rest of the night.
And that was the scariest night of my life.
I was so relieved that my mom finally believed me.
I thought this was an evil spirit
that had attached itself to me.
I felt that this entity
was particularly interested in me.
I felt threatened.
I felt afraid for my life.
I'm an intelligent person.
I never found out why that happened.
Sometimes we don't want to tell people about these experiences,
because people will look at you in funny ways.
I mean, I never really described this
to people openly like this, you know?
Nowadays, you know, I'm older, I'm wiser,
and I'm not ashamed of telling the experience that I had.
But it was scary.
And to this day, when I think about that night,
it was the scariest night of my life.