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Lighthouse is a production of I Heart

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Radio and Bamford Productions. The

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date is August fifteen. Time

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is three pm. This

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is Dr Albright interviewing patient to

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file zero three two one to seven,

0:25

Madeleine, Madeleine,

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Do you know who I am? No, I'm

0:32

Dr Albright, but you can call me

0:34

Malcolm. Malcolm is a funny name.

0:37

It is. It was my grandfather's

0:39

name, Madeleine. Do you know why

0:41

I'm here to play

0:44

with? From where? Tell

0:52

me about what you're doing this? I

0:55

can see that. Does your doll have

0:57

a name? What

1:00

a pretty name? And it starts with the letter

1:02

M, just like your name, Mary,

1:06

Madeleine. Sounds

1:09

silly like that. They

1:11

certainly do, Madeline. Your

1:13

parents are very worried about you,

1:17

Madeline. Did you hear me? They're

1:19

worried about you. How come well

1:22

because of some of the things you've been saying and

1:24

the things you've been doing. And I'm

1:26

here to help make sure that you're being safe

1:29

and that you're not really a danger to yourself.

1:31

I'm safe. He keeps me safe?

1:34

Who keeps you safe? Madeleine? Your your

1:36

daddy? You're funny?

1:39

Will you tell me who keeps you safe? Did

1:41

you see it. See what the

1:44

right? Yes I did. You

1:46

can't miss it when you come out here. I'm sure

1:48

it was quite beautiful back in its day when it was still

1:50

operational. Did you see

1:52

it? The light inside

1:55

it goes for me sometimes? Who

1:58

keeps you safe? Will you tell me? Nope?

2:01

No, no, no, no, nope? Why not? It's

2:04

a secret. Well will you

2:06

tell me about the people you see? What

2:09

people in the house? You're

2:11

my friends? Your friends? Well?

2:14

What are their names? Um,

2:17

I'm not supposed to tell you. And why

2:20

is that? He doesn't walk

2:25

rim? Person? Who keeps you safe? Well?

2:29

What can you tell me? I don't

2:31

know? What else? Did they tell you?

2:34

All sorts of things? What kind of

2:36

things? Some things?

2:38

And what kind of games do you

2:40

play with them? Hi didn't seek I'm

2:43

really good. That is a very fun

2:45

game. Do they say anything else? I'm

2:49

not supposed to say because it's

2:51

a secret. You

2:53

can trust me, Madeline. I'm a doctor,

2:55

Remember, I don't know. I

2:58

am very good at keeping secret. You

3:01

promise not to tell I promise.

3:03

Well, they tell

3:06

me they want to bring me somewhere. Where

3:08

is that away

3:11

in the dark? What's in the dark?

3:13

That's where they live? He wants

3:15

to show me. But he can't. How

3:18

come? Because he said, I have to

3:20

do something for them first. The

3:22

man who keeps you safe said this, What

3:25

does he want you to do? Well?

3:29

I think they are bad things?

3:31

Does he want you to hurt people? Know? Just

3:34

to make sure they're sleeping? He

3:37

tells me to put them to sleep. How

3:39

does he want you to do that? He said,

3:41

Mommy and Daddy only pretend to

3:44

sleep at night, that they lay down

3:46

and close their eyes. But they're just pretending.

3:49

He said, he should go in the kitchen and take a

3:51

knife from the jar, one of the sharp

3:53

ones. That's very dangerous if

4:00

we want you to do with the knife. He told

4:02

me to go into their room

4:04

and play the up and down game with them, to put them

4:07

asleep. The up and down game?

4:10

What's that? You know? Will

4:12

you take something in your hand? And you will? And

4:17

Madeline, you know that will hurt your parents?

4:19

Right? No, it won't. It will

4:21

just make sure they're sleeping. Silly,

4:26

No, Madeline, that will hurt them, maybe

4:28

even kill them, and they will sleep

4:30

forever. Oh,

4:33

what's wrong, Madeline? He says

4:35

he doesn't like you. Dr Albright, who

4:38

doesn't The man who keeps

4:40

you safe is he here now. He

4:42

says it's time for you to go away.

4:45

Tell him that I will, but only when I finish

4:47

helping you. He says, I should make you go

4:49

away myself. Does he know? Did

4:52

he tell you how he did? And

4:55

what did he say? He said, I

4:57

should take your pen and shove it in your

4:59

eye into a public a balloon. Isn't

5:04

he funny? Dr all right? Lighthouse

5:28

Chapter one.

5:50

Your home is a safe haven. It's

5:52

more than just a warm bed and a comfy couch.

5:56

It's love, it's security, it's

5:58

connection. It's familiar place

6:00

to retreat to when things get too rough,

6:02

for when you're feeling lonely. It's

6:05

a place you go to be with those closest

6:07

to you, where they can wrap you in a blanket of

6:09

their love. Home isn't

6:11

a place as much as it is a feeling

6:14

homes where this story begins. I

6:18

do not have a home. Instead,

6:21

I only have pain, heartbreak, and

6:23

a piece of myself missing that I can never get

6:25

back. There's a darkness

6:27

that dwells in the center of the world, that

6:30

seeps its way up through the ground and forces

6:33

itself into our lives. It

6:35

hides in any place that can crawl into,

6:37

hiding away as it grows and thrives,

6:40

surrounding itself in gloom.

6:43

This darkness isn't the kind that comes from

6:45

the absence of light. It's

6:47

the kind where malevolent forces flourish.

6:50

It's the kind that make up the nightmares

6:53

that keep you awake as a child, clutching

6:55

your blanket as you cry for your parents.

6:58

It's the kind that infects everything

7:00

it touches. It's vile, icy

7:03

fingers tightening around your throat, stifling

7:06

your screams. It's the kind

7:08

you cannot escape, no

7:11

matter how hard you try. The

7:14

unlucky few that discover the darkness

7:16

hiding place get caught

7:19

in its everlasting grip. It

7:22

works its way into their soul,

7:24

slowly corrupting them from the inside

7:26

out, until it ultimately consumes

7:28

them, leaving nothing but an

7:31

empty, hollow shell in its wake. Lighthouse

7:35

is one of those hiding places. It's

7:38

a place where good people are forced to do

7:40

bad things, and we're bad

7:42

people do even worse. Lighthouse

7:47

is my home. For

7:50

years, I've hidden myself away from the outside

7:52

world, afraid of allowing the darkness

7:54

that dwells here and inside me to escape.

7:58

Despite my best efforts. I've become the very

8:00

thing I swore not to hermited away

8:02

from everything and everyone I ever loved,

8:05

or at the very least the

8:08

ones I had not yet managed to destroy.

8:10

This house, my family,

8:13

and even myself have become the

8:15

subject of rumor. There are

8:17

whispered secrets and gossip running

8:19

wild in the town, with each repeating

8:21

of the story compounded by another embellishment,

8:24

another exaggeration, another

8:26

lie. I admit, yes, some

8:29

of what has been said is the truth. But it's

8:31

the story of me, the story

8:34

of why, the story

8:36

of Lighthouse. My

8:39

name is Tara Marie Hollis. I

8:42

was born in Hayworth, New Jersey.

8:46

My sister, Eileen or Leni for short,

8:48

was born four years later. I don't

8:50

remember much about my early years,

8:53

just what was told to me. Life

8:55

was difficult for us. My father

8:58

was a salesman who worked hard to provide for

9:00

his family. While he wasn't the best at

9:02

his job, he did the best he could. It

9:05

was rough, particularly because through

9:07

a series of failed investment opportunities

9:09

and jobs that didn't quite work out, our

9:11

family was constantly on the move,

9:14

traveling from place to place. While my parents

9:16

tried to make ends meet. The other

9:18

part was my fault. Before my sister

9:20

was born, I was ill for most

9:22

of my childhood. I don't remember

9:25

much about it, but what I do remember was

9:27

painful. A series of tests,

9:29

long stretches in and out of the hospital,

9:32

and lots of doctors, not just

9:34

medical ones, but plenty

9:36

of psychiatrists and psychologists

9:38

too. I was too young to understand

9:40

it at the time, but they were concerned that something was

9:43

wrong with my brain. It was too

9:45

complicated for me to understand, but it

9:47

boiled down to the fact that I

9:50

saw things. There was some brief

9:52

talk of being hereditary, coming

9:54

from my father's side. There was also

9:56

talk of a tumor pressing up against

9:58

my brain causing them function. There

10:01

were even long stretches of me not remembering

10:03

anything at all, a sort of blackout.

10:06

However, I do know by the time I was

10:08

six, all seemed to be better because

10:11

I no longer saw the doctors or the psychiatrists,

10:14

or even the inside of a hospital again.

10:16

These medical issues they strained

10:19

my parents finances. We didn't

10:21

have much, but we had each other and that's

10:23

what mattered. The memories I do

10:26

have of my early years are happy ones. My

10:28

sister and I kept each other occupied while

10:30

my parents did what they could to make sure

10:32

we were surviving. They didn't have any

10:34

family that they could ask for help, as my mother's

10:37

side disowned her for marrying my father,

10:39

and my father's family was mostly deceased.

10:42

His only living relative was his grandmother,

10:44

an eccentric, elderly recluse

10:47

that he rarely spoke of and that

10:49

I'd never met. I wasn't aware

10:51

of it at the time, but things started to get

10:53

dire for our family. Money was stretched

10:55

thin and my parents had too many outstanding

10:58

debts to keep us all afloat. We weren't

11:00

quite at rock bottom yet, but we

11:02

were mere inches away from it. However,

11:05

just before all was lost, something

11:07

serendipitous happened. My father's

11:09

grandmother passed away. Not that her

11:11

passing was something to celebrate, but it was

11:14

a blessing in disguise. Not only

11:16

did she leave a sizeable amount of money to

11:18

my father, she also left him their ancestral

11:21

family home. I

11:23

was eleven years old when I first

11:25

laid my eyes on Lighthouse. My

11:28

parents had argued for weeks leading

11:30

up to it, as the decision to move there

11:32

wasn't an easy one to make. My father

11:35

was vehemently against it, and an argument

11:37

about it was the first time I truly

11:39

remember him losing his temper. He

11:41

wanted nothing to do with the house, offering

11:44

to sell it to the bank at an incredibly low

11:46

price just to get rid of it and use the rest of

11:48

the inheritance to buy us a more modest home

11:50

elsewhere. My mother wanted him

11:52

to be more sensible about it. Why

11:55

waste money on a new home when there was a

11:57

perfectly good one waiting for us that we could

11:59

use. My father thought about

12:01

it for a long time, rubbing an old

12:03

scar he had on his right palm.

12:06

Eventually he yielded to her and

12:08

we began the journey to our new home.

12:11

It was a warm winter day in nineteen

12:13

sixty three when we finally arrived.

12:16

As our car pulled through the massive

12:18

entry gates, I caught my first

12:20

glimpse of Lighthouse. My

12:23

mind couldn't fully comprehend it. It It was

12:25

like something out of a fairy tale or an

12:27

old story, even at such a distance.

12:29

It was the biggest house I had ever laid

12:32

eyes on, and my breath caught in

12:34

my throat as I craned my neck to see

12:36

it. All we drove closer,

12:38

but the driveway seemed to stretch

12:40

on forever, giving the house a sense of

12:42

isolation. The front of the house

12:44

was mostly barren from years of neglect,

12:46

with a sea of dead grass surrounding it. The

12:49

only other thing visible from the front was an ancient

12:51

red oak tree, as if it was standing

12:54

guard over the house. The house itself

12:56

had three stories that loomed over the grounds,

12:58

with its unique Torrean style being

13:01

nothing like I'd ever seen before. It

13:03

seemed more like a castle than a house,

13:06

with a tower that reached for the sky

13:08

on the left side of the house, with steep

13:11

gabled roofs surrounding it. My eyes

13:13

were pulled up further as the complex

13:15

roofline seemed more for visual

13:18

effect than practical design. The

13:20

windows all seemed to be their own distinct

13:22

shape and size as you went up. The

13:24

first floors were larger, with bay windows

13:26

and a large hilarium making up most

13:29

of them. The second floor had more eyebrow

13:31

windows with curve shapes about the traditional

13:33

windows, while the third floor got

13:35

a bit smaller. I could see a hint of

13:37

stained glass on the right side and was thrilled

13:40

to finally see something so wonderfully beautiful

13:42

in person. Directly over the entry,

13:44

though, were two large windows that

13:46

gave the impression that the house was looking

13:48

back at me. Below those windows

13:51

was a set of stairs which led up

13:53

to the front door, which itself was an ornate

13:55

affair made of solid wood. It surrounded

13:57

a stained glass fixture with the letter L

14:00

at its center, giving it a more regal appearance.

14:03

The wraparound porch stretched to both ends

14:05

of the house and around the back as well. Beyond

14:07

the house was the Atlantic Ocean, miles

14:10

and miles of it, spreading out as far as the

14:12

eye could see. Lighthouse was so named

14:14

because it sat on Lighthouse Point. The

14:17

entire grounds was located on a bluff overlooking

14:19

the Atlantic Ocean. Years before

14:21

the house was built, the sole occupant of the bluff

14:24

was an actual lighthouse built

14:26

in the eighteen hundreds. It was a beacon of hope

14:28

for ships on those dark New Jersey nights

14:31

long before my father was born. His family

14:33

served as its keeper for years, diligently

14:36

keeping watch to make sure those out at

14:38

sea did not meet the same fate as their predecessors.

14:41

Though it was still standing not too far

14:43

from our house itself, the lighthouse

14:45

set unused. Years of

14:47

neglect reduced it to an unsafe,

14:50

crumbling mess. Lighthouse was

14:52

originally a more modest home, merely

14:54

a dwelling for a lighthousekeeper and his

14:56

family to live. But over the years, when

14:58

my great great and father had an

15:01

investment payoff handsomely, the

15:03

modest home was torn down and lighthouse

15:05

was built, a grand structure

15:08

for a proud man, and now it

15:10

was ours. Before we came here, though,

15:13

my father made it very clear to us

15:15

that while we were welcome to roam free

15:17

and explore the grounds as we pleased,

15:19

the lighthouse itself was strictly off

15:21

limits. But that didn't

15:23

matter, because the house lighthouse

15:26

view it was the most beautiful

15:29

thing I'd ever seen. As we

15:31

drove down the driveway getting closer, I remember

15:33

feeling the pit in the bottom of my stomach

15:35

began to rise, my head

15:38

began to swim as a slight wave of nausea

15:40

overtook me for a few moments. Whether

15:42

I was just nervous about the new chapter

15:44

in our lives or it was a subconscious

15:47

warning as to what awaited us, I'll

15:50

never know. However, I wasn't

15:52

the only one to feel uneasy as

15:54

we pulled in front of the stairs. My father stopped

15:56

the car. I got out and went around to lean

15:58

eyside to help her. But I noticed

16:00

she looked a bit green as well. What's

16:03

wrong, I asked her, hoping she was

16:05

not carsick from her long journey. Her

16:07

eyes were locked upward, as if she was an

16:09

intense staring contest with someone

16:11

or something. There's a man in

16:13

the window up there, she said, a man

16:16

wearing a hat. Don't be silly.

16:18

The house has been empty for months. No one

16:21

lives here but us. Now it's

16:23

not empty. Look she

16:25

pointed upward, and I looked in that

16:27

direction, toward the window on the third story

16:30

that looked like eyes. I couldn't see anything.

16:33

My sister, whether from an overactive imagination

16:35

or not, was often prone to seeing things.

16:38

A few years ago, I taught her a trick to

16:40

try to help with this, to distinguish

16:43

reality from otherwise. What

16:45

did I teach you about when you see things that might

16:47

not really be there, I asked her, reminding

16:50

her of a technique a psychiatrist taught me years

16:52

ago. To close my eyes and count

16:54

to five, she said, and

16:57

then I pushed further and

16:59

then open him again. And

17:01

it will be gone. I smiled at

17:03

her, Glad she remembered trying

17:05

now, I suggested Leny

17:08

squeeze her eyes shut and began to count

17:10

to five, one, two,

17:15

three, four

17:19

five. A moment after she

17:21

finished, she opened her eyes again, looking back toward

17:24

the window. It didn't work, Tara,

17:27

look. I took

17:29

another look, but this

17:31

time it was different.

17:34

Hiding behind the sheer curtains, I could

17:36

make out a shape standing there. At

17:38

first I thought it was just a coat rack

17:41

or a piece of furniture, but

17:43

then I watched as it pulled

17:45

the curtains back. There was a man

17:48

wearing a hat standing at the window, and

17:50

with a ghastly smile, he

17:54

was staring directly at us. Lighthouse

17:58

will return after these messages,

18:06

and now back to lighthouse.

18:13

The man stared down at us, a

18:16

terribly creepy smile across

18:18

his lips, and I screamed. My

18:20

sister, startled by my screaming, began to do

18:23

so herself. My parents, so halfway

18:25

up the stairs, already dropped everything and ran back

18:27

to us. My mother consoled me, wrapping

18:29

me in a tight hug. As she held me,

18:32

my father frantically asked what

18:34

was wrong? There's someone in the house,

18:36

I told him. He looked at me bewildered

18:39

as my sister and I pointed toward the window.

18:41

However, the man wasn't there. Now. What

18:44

did he look like? My father asked,

18:46

my sister explained, and he went

18:49

white as a ghost. My mother,

18:51

concerned for everyone's safety, told my father

18:53

to go inside and check. He was caught off

18:55

guard at first and seemed uneasy with the idea,

18:58

but he relented, as he often

19:00

did with her, and carefully made

19:02

his way to the front door. Before he

19:04

went inside, he looked to us nervously,

19:07

with a slight nod of his head, disappeared

19:09

into the house. The minutes that followed

19:12

were tense, as we saw

19:14

nor heard anything from inside the house.

19:17

It only took a minute or two before my mother

19:19

thought better of sending him in there and called

19:21

out to him to return. Unfortunately,

19:23

there was no response. Henry.

19:27

She called again, Henry,

19:29

come back, Still there was

19:31

nothing. A sense

19:33

of dread fell over us all like a blanket.

19:36

Did we unwittingly send my father to face

19:39

off against an intruder? Was he okay?

19:41

Why wasn't he? Answering us?

19:44

She called out one final time, Please

19:46

Henry. We waited.

19:50

The seconds turned into a minute, then

19:53

two. It was unbearable

19:56

for us. My mother was anxious,

19:58

ready to run in herself. And then

20:00

he appeared at

20:02

the window where we spotted the man in a hat

20:05

earlier. My father looked down at us. He

20:07

under the latch, opened the window and called

20:09

down to us. All clear, he

20:12

said, with only a slight

20:14

hint of unease in his voice. Moments

20:17

later he rejoined us outside. As

20:19

it turns out, my first instinct

20:21

was correct. There was a coat rack

20:23

near the window, a trick

20:26

of the light. He told us, your

20:29

mind fooled you. Despite his saying

20:31

that, I couldn't shake the uncomfortable

20:33

feeling building within me. However,

20:36

he was quiet on the matter after that, instead

20:38

asking for my help and bringing the bags in. I

20:41

did as I was told. But my sister, however,

20:44

sat outside, her gaze never wavering

20:46

from the window. Lifting one

20:48

of my bags, I made my way up the steps toward

20:50

the house, my sense of foreboding slowly

20:53

dissipating by the sheer size of what lay

20:55

before me, only seeing it from the distance

20:57

earlier. The front door was more decorative

20:59

than I originally thought. The letter

21:02

l in the center of the stained glass

21:04

obviously stood for light, but

21:06

it also contained smaller imagery

21:09

lighthouses standing on guard on

21:11

both sides of the letter itself, a

21:13

black cloud escaping from what looked

21:15

to be a well, a sea of blue

21:18

along the bottom, with a full moon lording

21:20

over it all. I pushed

21:22

the door open further and took my first

21:24

steps in. The inside of

21:26

lighthouse was just as impressive as

21:29

out, albeit a bit dustier.

21:31

The vestibule made way into the main

21:33

hall, with a grand staircase being the

21:35

focal point of the room. It stretched

21:38

upward to the second floor before branching

21:40

off towards the third. Above my head, Leany

21:43

came up behind me, silent in her approach,

21:45

and startled me out of my awestruck daydream.

21:48

Is all this hours? She asked

21:51

me. I looked at her and smiled,

21:54

It is now. She grabbed

21:56

my hand and took off down the hall, the need

21:58

to discover the house and all its glory

22:00

overtaking her fear from a few short

22:02

minutes ago. I dropped my bags

22:05

somewhere during our expedition as the

22:07

ground floor opened before us, two

22:09

young girls exploring uncharted

22:12

territory. Since the

22:14

first floor was meant as a living space

22:17

of the home. It had more wide

22:19

open spaces than most. A

22:21

formal dining room was next to the kitchen,

22:24

while a parlor was just beyond

22:26

that. It's high vaulted ceilings

22:28

and tasseled draperies giving

22:30

it a sense of grandeur. The

22:32

silarium gave way to the side

22:34

yard, its glass windows allowing

22:37

the sun to shine in brightly on the

22:39

various plant life, with seating areas

22:41

all around to enjoy the ocean view it afforded.

22:44

On the other end of the house was the library,

22:47

It's two sprawling floors of dark

22:49

wood, allowing for a vast selection of

22:52

books, complete with an ornate

22:54

fireplace to cozy up next to.

22:57

A metal spiral staircase in the center

22:59

allowed for easy access to all.

23:02

It was a place I imagined I would spend

23:04

a lot of time in. I

23:06

took a moment to take it all in, the

23:08

musty smell of old books, the vast

23:11

collection of them before me, and

23:13

also a melody

23:16

wafting in from somewhere beyond. And

23:20

my parents decided to play a record elsewhere

23:22

in the house. We had only just arrived,

23:24

and I was sure that even if they had come

23:27

across a record player. Unpacking

23:29

would be their first order of business.

23:31

I strained my ears trying

23:34

to place the song, or even

23:36

just its point of origin. It

23:38

felt like it was coming from everywhere

23:40

at once, while also nowhere at all.

23:43

It had a haunting quality about it, and

23:46

I could feel myself getting lost in its music.

23:49

Seeing my state of distraction, Lenie sees

23:51

the opportunity for a game. Catch

23:54

me if you can, she yelled as

23:56

she wasted no time in running up the spiral

23:58

staircase, excited, running

24:00

from shelf to shelf for a quick glance at all

24:02

the dusty volumes that sat untouched

24:04

for years. It wasn't long before

24:07

she threw open a door and ran off to explore

24:09

the rest of the second story. By the time

24:11

I reached the door she disappeared

24:13

behind, she was long out

24:15

of sight. I found myself staring

24:18

down a long hallway. The

24:21

walls here were decorated with dark

24:23

wood panels with detailed interior

24:25

trim that went from the floor till about

24:27

halfway up, where old and curling

24:30

wallpaper took over before reaching

24:32

the ceiling. The hallway itself

24:34

seemed impossibly long, with

24:36

a multitude of doors on either side

24:38

until splitting off in both directions at

24:40

the end. For a moment, it almost

24:43

seemed to sense my disorientation

24:45

and stretched itself even further. However,

24:48

a quick shake of my head with close eyes

24:50

jostled that vision away, and I began

24:52

to search for my sister. While

24:54

I did not find her, what I did find

24:57

were more rooms that I could grasp.

25:00

Multiple rooms, some even with balconies

25:02

overlooking the grounds, were among my discoveries.

25:05

I also found double doors leading to

25:07

common rooms and plenty of hidden nooks

25:09

for someone to hide away in. I

25:11

was overwhelmed by the house is almost rambling

25:14

complexity, and felt more as if in

25:16

the Minotaurs maze than my new family

25:18

home. Most rooms were already furnished,

25:21

with furniture still covered in thin white sheets

25:23

from days long before us occupying the

25:25

rooms. When I did finally discover

25:27

Leni's hiding place, it was amongst

25:30

a horride of dolls in one of the bedrooms,

25:32

her face barely sticking out from behind

25:34

them as she pretended to be one of them.

25:36

It played along at first declaring loudly

25:39

that I wondered where she could be,

25:41

causing her to fall into a fit of giggles.

25:45

If she knew what awaited us that night, she

25:48

wouldn't have laughed. Lighthouse

25:55

were returned after a word from our sponsors,

26:03

and now lighthouse continues.

26:10

Leni later declared to our parents

26:12

that the very room she was hiding in was

26:14

to be her bedroom. Receiving

26:16

no opposition from them, she moved her things

26:18

into it immediately. Wanting

26:21

to be a good sister, I chose the room across

26:23

the hall, which was well suited

26:25

for me, complete with a reading nook

26:28

and balcony overlooking the front yard.

26:30

It received plenty of natural light. Not

26:33

to mention, it was twice as big as my

26:35

sister's I wish I could

26:37

say that that first night in our new home

26:39

was uneventful. After

26:41

hours of unpacking and settling in,

26:44

we were all thoroughly exhausted from our long

26:46

day. I fell asleep almost instantly,

26:48

my body sinking into the bed with ease.

26:51

I don't recall the exact time it happened,

26:54

but I awoke to Leni climbing into bed with me.

26:57

I assumed she was a bit nervous about

27:00

sleeping alone in a new house, but when

27:02

I heard a soft sob, I

27:04

knew it was something else. What's

27:06

wrong, I said to her, and

27:09

she buried her head in my pillow. I

27:12

saw him again, she replied,

27:14

fighting back tears. So

27:17

I asked, not fully comprehending

27:19

what she meant, the man

27:22

in the hat. As soon

27:24

as the words escaped from her lips, I felt

27:26

a chill run down my spine. He

27:29

was standing in my doorway, watching

27:32

me sleep. When I

27:34

asked my hackles raising, concerned

27:36

that there was an intruder in her home just

27:39

now, I closed my eyes and counted

27:41

to five until he was gone, And when he was

27:43

I ran here. Even in the darkness,

27:46

I could feel her eyes welling with tears

27:48

as she stared at me. Despite

27:51

the fact that our father did not find anyone

27:53

earlier, I felt the need to check for myself.

27:56

At the very least, I needed to tell

27:58

my parents. After I

28:00

reassured her that everything was going to be okay

28:03

and crept to the door, the

28:05

hallway was empty, the shadows my

28:07

only companion. Looking

28:10

toward my right was a bit easier, as

28:12

my mother had enough foresight to plug in

28:14

a nightlight earlier. This turned out to

28:16

be both a blessing and a curse, because

28:18

as my eyes adjusted, I made out a dark

28:21

shape toward the end of the hall. At

28:24

first I thought it was a trick of the light, but

28:27

movement caused me to realize otherwise.

28:30

Coming out of the darkness was exactly

28:32

what my sister exclaimed it to be,

28:36

a man wearing a hat. Though

28:38

down the hall, I could tell that

28:40

he was dressed almost in

28:43

Edwardian fashion, with a bowler

28:45

hat atop his head, and his feet didn't

28:47

seem to touch the floor. Instead,

28:51

he gently floated a few

28:53

inches above it. I

28:55

instinctively leaned back, startled at the sight

28:58

before me. This couldn't be

29:00

real, This couldn't be happening. Using

29:02

my own advice, closed

29:04

my eyes and I counted five, one,

29:10

two, three,

29:17

four five.

29:23

I hesitated only a moment before taking

29:25

another look, and I regretted it as

29:27

soon as I did. The man in

29:30

the hat was still there. He

29:32

was now standing before my parents bedroom, and

29:34

I watched in horror as he reached out to

29:36

open it. Startled by this, I fell back

29:38

against the door frame. I tried to be silent,

29:41

but lighthouse, being as old as it was, wasn't

29:43

conducive to being quiet. My foot

29:45

landed on an old floorboard and it creaked.

29:48

A panic set over me as I saw the

29:50

man in the hat's head began to turn in my

29:53

direction. Without wasting

29:55

any time, I slammed my door shut and shoved

29:57

the bolt into lock position. I ran

29:59

to my bed, jumped in next to my sister, and

30:01

pulled the covers up over my head. Lenny

30:03

could tell I was terrified, and she responded

30:06

in kind. Tera what's wrong,

30:08

she asked, in a panic. Be quiet, I

30:11

hissed, and she was. Both

30:14

of us sat there, holding each other in the darkness

30:16

beneath the sheets, hoping against all hope

30:18

that whatever that thing was would pass us

30:20

by. Every second we waited

30:23

seemed to stretch on for an hour. Every

30:25

slight rustle of the sheets was like a

30:27

deafening roar. After

30:29

what felt like days, I poked my head

30:31

out. I was greeted only

30:34

by silence. Stealing

30:36

a quick glance, I could see the night light

30:38

from the hall spilling in from beneath

30:40

my door, a small triangle of

30:42

hope and the darkness of night. My

30:44

sister took a peek as well. We

30:47

were safe. We relaxed

30:49

A tiny bit coming out from beneath

30:52

the blanket, the threat of

30:54

the man in the hat came from the door. My

30:56

eyes were drawn to the night outside

30:59

my win nose. Beyond the balcony stood

31:01

the lighthouse. It stood silently

31:04

in the darkness, a long

31:06

dormant guardian until

31:08

it wasn't. A dim

31:10

glow appeared in the night atop the lighthouse,

31:13

as if someone had lit a candle up

31:15

there. I gasped

31:17

silently, confused, much

31:19

like the house, it was to be empty,

31:22

not just because my grandmother's death,

31:24

but because it was no longer in use. I

31:27

was about to get up and take a closer look,

31:29

and then I heard the floorboard

31:31

creak. My eyes grew wide

31:33

as I watched the light outside my door disappear

31:36

as a long shadow cut into it. I

31:38

could almost see the feet that belonged to

31:40

the man in the hat in the gap between

31:42

my door frame and the floor, as they floated

31:45

just above it. The feeling of

31:47

dread I felt earlier as we drove up

31:49

to lighthouse returned weighing heavy

31:51

on my chest. I held

31:53

my breath in terror. So my door

31:55

knob began to turn slowly

31:58

first, but

32:00

with more force it made a

32:02

full rotation. Something pushing against

32:04

it trying to get in. As my sister let under

32:07

yelp. I covered my mouth with

32:09

my hand, eyes never leaving the door's handle,

32:11

thankful thought to lock it earlier, but

32:14

the locked door did not stop

32:16

that thing outside. Instead,

32:18

it doubled its efforts, jiggling the knob

32:21

harder and faster, trying as

32:23

best as it could to force its way in. We

32:27

threw the covers back overhead, both of us

32:30

crying out for our parents, hugging each other

32:32

closer, waiting for the assault to end.

32:34

The door rattled and its frame beneath

32:36

it's might, shuddering with every jolt as

32:38

we both waited for the one that would eventually

32:41

take it off its hinges and into my room.

32:43

That went on and on and on, never

32:46

ending in our minds, driving us to the edge

32:48

of our sanity, until eventually

32:52

subsided. Neither

32:55

of us moved a muscle even

32:57

well after it ended. We

32:59

were both too scared and too tired to even

33:01

consider it. At some

33:04

point, I'm not sure when we both drifted

33:06

off to sleep, still holding each other close

33:08

beneath the covers. It

33:11

should come of no surprise that I

33:13

didn't sleep well, tossing and turning

33:15

until the sun made its first appearance on

33:17

the horizon. Its first rays

33:20

of warm light, or a welcome respite from

33:22

the night. In the clarity of

33:24

the morning, it almost seemed like the terror

33:26

from the night before wasn't as bad as we remembered

33:29

it to be. Perhaps it was nothing

33:31

more than an incredibly vivid dream.

33:35

Deep inside, I knew

33:37

that wasn't the truth. Even

33:39

after my sister awoke, her

33:41

face still streaked with tears of terror,

33:44

I knew what we had experienced was real. I

33:48

should have savored that night. I

33:50

should have enjoyed what little sleep we did

33:52

manage to get. I should have told my parents

33:55

as soon as it happened, and not waited until

33:57

the next day. But I

33:59

didn't any of those things, which,

34:02

despite my youth, made me complicit.

34:05

And what was to come, because

34:07

now that Lighthouse had us in its grasp,

34:11

it wasn't going to let us go. Lighthouse

34:37

is a production of I Heart Radio and

34:39

Bamford Productions. Chapter

34:41

one featured the voices of Ali

34:44

Trasher, John McCormick,

34:46

and Paulina Logan. Written

34:48

and directed by Jeff Himbuck, Audio

34:51

engineering and original musical score

34:54

by Corey Celeste. Production

34:56

assistants by Alex Gona. Executive

34:59

produced by Holly fry, questions,

35:02

comments, You can reach us at

35:04

the Man in the Hat is Watching at gmail

35:07

dot com. Thank you for listening.

35:09

M.