In the beginning, we were so happy.
The house was everything we needed.
I also need you to hear me out, without rolling your eyes or interrupting me.
Alex Iby
There are some things that have happened that your father and I never told you about.
When I saw you last weekend, you looked so tired.
They looked far too familiar, like the ones I had carried undermyeyes during that spring of 2019.
Im going to go with my instincts and trust that they mark the presence of something far more sinister.
You see, Lilly, It all started that spring when you were still growing in my belly.
Your father and I had rented this house on the west side of Detroit.
In the beginning, we were so happy.
The house was everything we needed.
Your brother, almost three years old at that time, finally got his own bedroom.
We were so relieved to have a place to call our own again.
It was nice to not have to answer to anybody.
The first two months of living there are kind of a blur now.
Strangely enough, nothing really happened during that time.
All of the activity started that April.
The first strange occurrence that I can remember, happened when I was trying to take a nap upstairs.
Our bedroom was finally completely unpacked, and I was exhausted.
I had been having difficulty sleeping lately.
With my pregnant belly, finding a comfortable position to sleep in had become a challenge.
Initially, I had thought that it was your father, coming home early from work.
After we both confirmed to each other what we had been hearing, it got worse.
Lilly, I swear, there were nights where the scratching in the walls turned in to thumping.
But I swear to you, that is what we heard.
Except it sounded more human than animal; Boney knees and elbows scurrying clumsily across our bedroom ceiling.
I hated sleeping in that room without your father.
However, it wasnt long before strange things started happening inthere, too.
As well as everyone else in the house.
When I got there, she looked at me in confusion.
Well, what do you want?
I asked, impatient with the way she was just staring at me.
Then why the hell did you just call me and make me come all the way in here?
Megan, she said, sitting up from her bed, I never called you.
I was laying in here looking at my phone.
I wasnt the only one hearing voices.
Your father looked at her and said I didnt say anything.
Benny, I just heard you call my name.
He looked at her and laughed nervously, Tammy, I didnt call you.
Then, they both heard me call Hey you guys, come here for a second!
They both started yelling my name, thinking I might have gone down stairs.
I asked, walking into the kitchen behind them, Why are you yelling?
I just got Brayden to lay down for a nap.
They both turned around and stared at me in horror.
You were in Braydens room thiswhole time?
Then who thehelljust called us in to the kitchen?
Your father asked, locking the door to the basement.
Who called me in to the living room right before that?
Grandma asked, terrified.
I asked Grandma, goosebumps consuming every inch of my body.
A few nights later, I was awoken by my phone at 4 in the morning.
It was your grandmother, calling me from her room downstairs.
When I answered, she was sobbing.
Megan can you come down here like?
Mom, whats wrong?
What time is it?
yo hurry, She whispered, terrified, And dont hang up until you get here.
Mom, I gotta pee-
No!She started sobbing again,Come down here right now!
So, I waddled as quickly as my swollen ankles would allow, and rushed in to her room.
I turned the light on, and found her hiding under her blankets in bed.
Mom, what the hell?
I turned the light on and hurried over to her bed.
She pulled the covers off of her and looked at me in complete fear.
There was someone, orsomethinghere, She choked, I felt it sit on the edge of my bed!
I thought it was Brayden crawling into bed with me, but it didnt move.
I couldnt pull the blankets out from under its weight or anything!
If it was Brayden, he would have moved.
He would have struggled to climb into bed with me.
Mom, hold on, I handed her the box of tissues off of her night stand.
Are you sure it wasnt-
It wasnt a dream, Megan!
I felt it sitting here with me!
I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and hid under what blankets I could and called you.
It was still sitting there as I was on the phone with you!
When I heard your footsteps coming down the stairs, I felt it move.
It got up, but I dont think it left.
Its still in here, I can feel it-
Mom, its okay.
weird stuff has been happening around here lately.
She blew her nose and nodded in agreement.
I know youre scared, but Im gonna go check on Brayden real quick.
I gotta check that hes okay.
Thankfully, when I checked on your brother that night, he was fine.
He was sound asleep in his bed.
We always kept it on the dresser, where he couldnt reach it.
It was like something had to havegrabbed itandflung itto the other side of his bedroom.
What else could it do?
All of these occurrences had happened inside of the first two weeks of April.
On April 15th, 2019, I had one of the scariest nightmares of my life.
They were little again, and they had been sleeping on our bedroom floor.
In my dream, one of them had awoken and was crying.
She pointed down the hallway toward the stairs and said, Theres something there!
I tried to soothe her, but she wouldnt calm down.
Something is over there!
Just then, in the dream, I heard a noise coming from the hallway.
It was a rapid thudding, accompanied by quick, raspy breathing.
The only way to describe it is that it sounded like something was crawling quickly toward us.
Okay you two, get up here!
A grotesque hand reached around the corner of my dream and grabbed the edge of the wall.
Before I could scream, I saw a face peek around the corner and glare at me.
It was the most disgusting, horrific face that I have ever seen.
It makes me feelphysically illto even write about it now.
It was the face of what can only be described as a hag.
Then it turned away, shape shifting in to a dark shadow, and flew into the bathroom.
Running on pure rage and adrenaline, I jumped off of the bed and chased after it.
I awoke from that dream in a cold sweat.
I got up, ran to the bathroom, and threw up.
The second half of that April was pretty stagnant, as far as any paranormal activity goes.
I mean, your father and I continued hearing the scratching and thumping in the walls and ceiling.
Then, on April 30th, 2019, everything came to a head.
We wanted to get things done quickly, and it would just be easier to leave your brother home.
Of course, we were all tired and snapping at each other on this day.
At the last minute, Grandma changed her mind and agreed to watch him for us.
I still thank God that she did.
Lilly, I dont even remember where we were headed on that day.
Then, our car lurched forward, then sideways.
There was an explosion of glass all around us.
In that moment, all I could think of wasyouas my head whipped involuntarily this way and that.
When the car finally fell silent again, the only heartbeat I was desperate to hear was your own.
As it turns out, some asshole had run a red light.
If we werent so exhausted that morning, we would have taken your brother with us.
Brayden would have been in that car seat during the collision of that other vehicle.
Brayden would not have come home with us.
He would not have survived.
What Im saying, Lilly, is that you might not be here, reading this letter.
Maybe, in some way, she had been protecting us, from the sinister intentions of something else.
All I know is, after that car accident, everything stopped.
Grandma began to sleep normally again, because she felt as though the presence had finally left.
Nothing ever visited her bedside again.
Nothing moved in Braydens room without explanation after that.
Even the scratching and thumping in our bedroom walls and ceiling stopped after that car crash.
At the time, we had thought that she simply came with the house.
We thought maybe, she was a spirit residing within the walls who we had awoken after moving in.
However, that never made sense, because the activity didnt start untiltwo monthsafter we had already been there.
There was something about that April, like it had been cursed.
I know something is happening.
Tell me, have you been having nightmares?
Are you hearing voices calling to you from another room, only to find that nobody is there?
Has there been scratching or any other noises coming from within your bedroom walls?
Lilly, I felt a presence sit on my bed last night.
I believe it is her.
I think this woman, thisBanshee, has returned to warn us once again.
Only this time, I believe she has come for you.
