The Rake by Bryan Somerville

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

During the summer of 2003, events in the northeastern United States involving a strange, human-like creature sparked brief local media interest before an apparent blackout was enacted. Little or no information was left intact as most online and written accounts of the creature had been mysteriously destroyed.

Primarily focused on rural New York states, once found in Ohio, self-proclaimed witnesses told stories of their encounters with a creature of unknown origin. Emotions ranged from extremely traumatic levels of fright and discomfort to an almost childlike sense of playfulness and curiosity. While their published versions are no longer on record, the memories remained powerful. Several of the involved parties began looking for answers that year. In 2006, the collaboration had accumulated nearly two dozen documents dating between the 12th century and present day, spanning four continents. In almost all cases, the stories were identical. I've been in contact with a member of this group, and I was able to get some excerpts from the upcoming book. A Mariner's Log, 1691 He came to me in my sleep. From the foot of my bed, I felt a sensation. He took everything. We must return to England. We shall not come here again at the request of the Rake. Journal entry, translated from Spanish, 1880 I have experienced the greatest terror. I have seen his eyes when I closed mine. They are hollow, black. They saw me and pierced me. His wet hand that I will not sleep. His voice. A suicide note from 1964 As I prepare to take my life, I feel it necessary to assuage any guilt or pain I have introduced through this act. It is not by the fault of anyone other than him. For once I awoke and felt his presence, and once I awoke and saw his form, and once again I awoke and I heard his voice and looked into his eyes. I cannot sleep without fear of what I might next awake to experience.

So I cannot ever wake.

Goodbye.

I found in the same wooden box were two empty envelopes addressed to William and Rose, and one loose personal letter with no envelope. Dearest Linnie, I've prayed for you. You spoke your name.

From a witness in 2006

Three years ago, I had just returned from a trip to Niagara Falls with my family for the 4th of July. We were all very exhausted after a long day of driving, so my husband and I put the kids straight to bed and called it a night. At around 4 a.m., I woke up thinking my husband had gotten up to use the restroom. I used the moment to steal back the sheets only to wake him in the process. I apologized. I told him I thought that he was out of bed. And when he turned to face me, he gasped and pulled his feet up from the end of the bed so quickly. His knee almost knocked me out of the bed. And he then grabbed me and he said nothing.

After adjusting to the dark for a half second, I was able to see what caused the strange reaction. At the foot of our bed, sitting and facing away from us, was what appeared to be a naked man or a large hairless dog of some kind. Its body position was disturbing and unnatural, as if it had been hit by a car or something. For some reason, I was not instantly frightened by it, but more concerned as to its condition. At this point, I was somewhat under the assumption that we were supposed to help him. My husband was peering over his arm and knee, tucked into the fetal position, occasionally glancing at me before returning to the creature. In a flurry of motion, it scrambled around the side of the bed and then crawled quickly in a flailing sort of way right along the covers until it was less than a foot from my husband's face. It was completely silent for about 30 seconds, probably closer to five, but it seemed like a while. Just looking at my husband, it placed its hand on his knee and ran into the hallway leading to the kids' room. I screamed that I ran for the light switch planning to stop this thing before I could hurt my child. When I got to the hallway, the light from the bedroom was enough to see it crouching and hunched over about 20 feet away. It turned around and it looked directly at me, covered in blood. I flipped the switch on the wall and saw my daughter, Clara. The creature ran down the stairs as my husband and I rushed to help our daughter. She was very badly injured and spoke only once more. In her short life, it said, he is The Rake. My husband drove his car into a lake that night while rushing our daughter to the hospital.