She stood up and wrapped her arms around herself and begged me to turn off the recorder.
I complied and watched her leave.
I was just as shaken as she was.
Max Muselmann
That was the plan anyway.
But after conducting interviews with the family involved, I decided to let their words stand on their own.
They are far more powerful and chilling than anything I could fictionalize.
And to be perfectly honest, I just want to be done with this.
I dont think I have the mental stamina to turn these horrific revelations into a novel.
What follows is a transcript of the interviews I recorded of the four members of the Tenner family.
This will be the first of four such releases.
Do what you will with this.
October 12th, 2016
(Audio recorder initiated)
ME:just state your name and age.
CLARE:My name is Clare…Im fourteen.
ME:Thank you Clare for agreeing to do this.
I know it must not be easy considering everything you went through.
ME:Are you ready to begin?
CLARE:I think so…yeah.
ME:Ok (papers shuffled).
Since youre the first one Im questioning, would you mind describing your family?
What was it like at home?
Did you get along with your younger brother and parents?
CLARE:Things were fine before it all started.
We all got along as much as the next family.
We had fights and stuff, but who doesnt?
Dad and Mom loved each other and worked hard to check that my brother and I had good lives.
I dont know…there isnt really anything special to say about us.
We were just a normal family.
ME:Ok, thats fine.
I just wanted to clarify what the foundation of your home life was like before continuing.
You lived on a farm, correct?
ME:Care to elaborate a little?
CLARE:Sorry…yeah, we lived there my whole life.
Dad had a couple cows and pigs and grew corn in the fields out back.
We werent too far from town so we usually ended up selling most of our stock to locals.
Thats how Dad and Mom liked it.
ME:Was it lonely living out there?
CLARE:(clears throat) I wouldnt say so.
I had friends at school and stuff.
I think Ross would get lonely though.
ME:Your brother?
ME:What makes you say that?
He kinda always stuck to himself.
He doesnt talk much.
Hes a sweet boy.
ME:You love your brother?
CLARE:Of course I do.
ME:And your parents?
ME:Can we talk about what happened?
CLARE:Im assuming thats why Im here.
ME:When did you notice things starting to change?
CLARE:I guess it was early that summer.
I remember being hot the first time it happened.
ME:The first time what happened?
CLARE:That I knew something was wrong.
ME:Before we go on I just want to clarify something.
CLARE:Ok.
ME:You never saw this…this thing did you?
CLARE:(long pause) No.
ME:Only your father and brother did, correct?
Clare:Yeah…
ME:But you could hear it?
CLARE:Yes…
ME:Could you explain what that was like?
CLARE:(long pause) Like I said, it was hot the first time I noticed it.
I was in bed and it was dark out.
I was lying above the covers.
And thats when I felt…something.
ME:Something physical?
CLARE:No…it was just this feeling.
This awful, heavy feeling.
Like something had just walked into the room.
I remember my heart started to race and I didnt know why.
ME:What happened then?
CLARE:I turned over on my side, facing the closet.
When I did that, I was suddenly struck with this terrible, horrible fear.
ME:What did you do?
I couldnt explain it and so I tried to just shake it off.
Thats when I got this…this image or thought.
It was like something had shoved it inside my head and it was all I could think about.
ME:What were you thinking?
CLARE:(her face pales) That something was in the closet.
ME:Did you hear anything coming from the closet?
Like something wanted me to know that.
ME:Did you investigate?
CLARE:I was too scared.
I just lay there, staring at it, at the closet door.
God I was so scared (long pause).
But after a couple minutes, I did hear something.
ME:From the closet?
CLARE:No…from the hallway.
Like I said, my bedroom door was open.
ME:What did you hear?
CLARE:A voice.
Something was saying my name very quietly over and over again.
It was like someone was standing just outside the door, out of eyesight.
ME:Did it say anything else to you?
CLARE:It told me to come with it.
ME:Could you describe the voice?
CLARE:It was a calm male voice…very calm.
Almost soothing if it hadnt been so terrifying.
ME:Did you go to investigate?
CLARE:No, I stayed put, shaking in my bed.
After a couple seconds the voice stopped.
When it stopped, the feeling went away.
And so did the fear of the closet.
I cant really explain it.
It just…evaporated.
ME:Did you tell your parents about it?
CLARE:I didnt bother.
I knew theyd just tell me I was dreaming.
In fact, once morning came I wondered if I had been.
ME:How long was it before you experienced the phenomenon again?
CLARE:A couple days.
It was at night again when everyone was asleep.
I woke up because I thought I heard the front door open downstairs.
I crawled out of bed and went out into the hallway.
As soon as I did I felt that horrible energy again.
It was so…heavy.
Like something was watching me.
ME:Did you see anything?
CLARE:Yeah, the front door was wide open.
ME:Where was he going?
CLARE:To the barn.
I slipped downstairs and followed him.
I watched from the corner of the house as he went inside.
He was…acting strange.
ME:What do you mean?
CLARE:Well…it was the way he walked.
You know how you could identify someone by their walk?
CLARE:Well his was different now.
If I hadnt been familiar with his wardrobe, I would have thought it was someone else.
ME:What did your father do in the barn?
CLARE:I dont know.
He was only in there a couple minutes.
ME:His eyes?
CLARE:Yeah…they were covered with something.
ME:Like a rag?
CLARE:No, like…its hard to describe.
ME:Take your time.
CLARE:(pause) It was like he had molded clay over his eyes.
ME:Did you follow him?
I know what youre going to say, but it wasnt the wind.
Because a second after I felt that, I heard that voice whisper something in my ear.
ME:What did it say?
CLARE:It told me to go back to bed.
ME:And did you?
CLARE:Yeah, I ran as fast as I could back upstairs.
But when I reached the top of the stairs, I stopped.
Ross was sitting cross legged in front of his bedroom door, crying.
I went to him and knelt down at his side.
He was really upset.
ME:Did he say anything?
He looked up at me, his little face twisted with grief, and told me he was sorry.
ME:Sorry for what?
CLARE:I asked him.
He just shook his head and buried his face in his hands.
Thats when I felt the energy again, that awful, heavy heat.
I could feel it down the hall by the stairs, like it was coming toward us.
Panicking, I picked Ross up and ran into his room.
I slammed the door behind us and locked it.
ME:What was Ross doing during this?
CLARE:He just kept saying he was sorry and continued to weep.
I pressed my back against the door and waited.
My heart was racing.
I didnt know what the hell was going on.
Just that something was in the hall and it terrified me.
ME:Did anything else happen?
I closed my eyes and right as I did, I heard that voice again.
It was muffled and so calm…so horribly calm.
ME:What did it say to you?
CLARE:(long pause)
(Sidenote: At this point, Clare seemed to grow incredibly uncomfortable.
She bit her lip and her eyes dropped to the table.
She seemed reluctant to go on)
ME:Do we need to take a break?
CLARE:(stammering) Y-yes…yes I dont think I can talk about this anymore today.
ME:Can you tell me what it said?
And then well be done for the day.
CLARE:(Long pause) Ok.
It…it told me…it told me to let Ross go.
ME:Let him go?
(Clare nodded and was growing sickly pale)
ME:Did Ross hear the voice?
CLARE:Y-yes…he started crying even harder.
He said something to me.
