This episode may contain content that is not suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised, especially for those under the age of thirteen. Welcome to ind To the Night. I'm Nari, your guide on to day's excursion down a twisted path. Be careful not to get lost. Be it dark or light, It's easy to lose your way. Are you ready? Then let's begin Spring Peepers Part three. That evening, Cassandra arrived at the cafe a few
minutes early. She chose a booth and sat facing the door. At exactly six o'clock, the door chimed and a slender man with brown hair walked in. His eyes swept the room, and he spotted Cassandra. I'm guessing your misscar Michael call me, Cassandra. Please have a seat Tony for the next hour. Tony Atwell told her of one incident after another that occurred at the
Carmichael farm. Strange noises, his dogs aggressively barking into the darkness, his cattle spooking for no apparent reason, and times when there was no mistaking someone or something watched his every move. I got to where I put up blinds on every window because even inside. I felt like I was being watched. I know I must sound crazy. Hell, I thought I was going crazy until I made that recording. I knew then that I hadn't just imagined what
was going on. I believe you can. We listen to the recording. Yeah, of course, I only saved it to prove to myself it happened. He pulled up the recording on his phone. Yes, the frogs called into the night. But then she heard it. Cassandra recoiled from the sound and pressed her back against the bench seat. A look of horror passed over her. I'm sorry, Cassandra. I'm not trying to scare you, but
you need to know there is something out there. During their conversation, Cassandra told him about the experiences she and her cousins had, as well as what happened the night before. Ike, bless his heart, wanted to protect me, even at his young age. Sadie was terrified. I was too. I don't feel right about you living out there, ma'am. I put all my eggs in this basket. I need to figure out what to do now. He took one last bite of his meal and looked at the clock hanging
on the wall, ma'am. If you don't mind, I need to get going. I've got to get home and feed my cattle. Feel free to call me anytime. I'll do that. Tony, thank you for talking with me. It's better to be aware than blindsided. And I appreciate that you took the time to tell me what you've been through. Tony atwell, tipped the of his ball cap at her. I'll help anyway, I can have a good night. After he left, Cassandra paid their bill and left.
Darkness was already falling, and an involuntary shiver went through her, thinking of walking from her car to the house. Once she arrived home tonight, however, the darkness held no sinister feel to it. Ike and Sadie asked to go outside, and the two puppies frolicked in the backyard as Cassandra stood on the porch and watched. After they'd tired themselves out, they'd stuggled next to her as she sat on the porch steps. Everything seems right with the world
tonight. The following night also passed peacefully, but two nights later, the darkness hung heavily in the night. The puppies didn't want to go outside and would only step out for a potty break. If Cassandra stood next to them. I clut out a low growl as he turned. Once they reached the porch, Come on, ikeers, let's get inside. Cassandra closed and locked
the back door once they made it inside. It's a little foolish thinking that I can lock out the boogeyman, but knowing the doors locked somehow makes me feel safer. She went around the house and lowered the blinds. Situating herself on the couch with a bag of popcorn, she settled in to watch a movie with her puppies sitting next to her. Occasionally I could stiffen and stare
at a window, but after reassurance, he'd calm down once more. Not every night was frightening, and because of that, Cassandra sometimes questioned whether she'd lost her good sense. Then, however, a night filled with dread and unexplainable events would happen, and she was convinced that whatever lurked in the night was real. I don't know what it could be, a ghost, evil spirits. The sounds on Tony's recording sure sounded evil. If it had ill
intentions, I'd think it would have done more than lurk by now. Then again, it could enjoy toying with people. How long has stopped this land? She wasn't sure. She wanted the answer, but the unknown caused her anxiety to climb. She had trouble sleeping and quiet hours lying awake in the dark did nothing to calm her fears. Occasionally, knocks on the window woke her, or awoke Ike, and then he woke her. Sadie hid under the blankets at those times, but as Ike grew bigger, the more protective
he became of his frightened owner. Night after night, terror overtook her. She regretted moving back to the homestead. Why didn't I remember that this thing follows my every move? What was I thinking? Moving back here? Did I throw away years of hard work to be driven insane? She remembered her mother once having a conversation with a neighbor, Esther Jenkins, when Cassandra was a young girl. The scene came back to her, wiping away the cobwebs
of time until she pictured the two women vividly in her mind. Her mother and grandmother sat showing peas from the garden, and Esther joined them. Mounds of peapods from bushel baskets were heaped into their aprons as the women snapped and shelled the vegetables as they talked. Esther was no young woman at the time, years older than Cassandra's grandmother. She and her husband, Henry, had lived on the adjoining farms since they'd married at the ages of fourteen and sixteen.
Cassandra sat on the floor listening to the women visit and gossip. She remembered little of the conversation, except for a comment esther maid, Henry is a good man and a hard worker, but he does have a wild idea here and there, such as Cassandra's mother asked, if anything needs to be put up after dark, I've got to do it because Henry won't go out after dark. He says something spookeshame. Well, I'll be Cassandra's grandmother chimed
in, I never imagined Henry Jenkins faring any one or anything. The women laughed, but two thoughts struck young Cassandra at the time. The first was that she never before had known grown ups to fear anything. The second was that she understood why Henry Jenkins feared the dark. She was never afraid at home, but at her grandparent's farm, she knew the dark sometimes felt sinister and threatening. Lately, Cassandra remembered that day. Often she had lost sleep
and jumped at the slightest sounds. After a month, Cassandra reached her breaking point. Standing on her porch one evening, she stepped into the back yard to retrieve Sadie, who whined at the fence. Come here, sweet girl. The dog trembled, and Cassandra picked her up and held her close. A breeze swirled around her, and she had the sudden sensation that she was surrounded by an unseen force. Once again, she rushed to the porch, where Ike barked from inside the back door. She put Sadie inside, and
the screen door slammed out of her hands. The wind, or something in it howled. Cassandra was afraid, yes, but anger flashed in her eyes. Stop playing games. If you're out there, show yourself, she shouted into the night. You have lurked in the dark long enough. Tell me what you are and what you want. The wind stopped glowing, and a voice spoke to her through the black of the night. We need someone to
see us, We need someone to say that we are real. It's been so long, and we've been trapped in this hellish state for so long. Please overcome your fear and let us be seen by you. Cassandra closed her eyes, then opened them. Okay, show yourselves to me. Not knowing what she'd unleashed, her heart pounded out of the darkness. Forms took shape. At first they were ethereal, but as they moved closer to her, she found herself face to face with ghastly pale men in uniforms, some blue,
some gray, holes made by lead balls shot from rifles. As they tore through the tattered uniforms, some men missed arms or legs, and others were disfigured by wounds to their heads and faces. Cassandra gasped and stepped back in horror. We don't mean to scare you, ma'am. We truly don't. These fellers and I we've been trapped here under the burden of hate for so long. You're the first person who's asked us to show ourselves. I know we look aside. It was eighteen sixty three the last time we walked
this ground as men. We killed each other, Cassandra, and we died in agony on these hills, just feet from each other as enemies. Why are you here? Why didn't you go on? A young man, a boy really in a mutilated gray uniform answered her. We couldn't. The hate held us back, and the only way to free ourselves from here was to be seen. We tried for over a hundred years to get someone's attention so we could be seen. No one would do it, They kept telling themselves.
We weren't real. No one can live or die without being noticed. Don't you see? How do I know this isn't some trick. The voices on Tony's recording sounded evil. How do I know you aren't evil? The Union soldier who'd first spoken to her shook his head. We aren't evil, ma'am. My name is Billy. For what he recorded was agony. We all died here in agony, moaning as we died, horrible deaths for no reason, For no damn reason, we died. I was just seventeen.
Pete was just eighteen, pointed to the Confederate boy next to him. You could have appeared to other people in the past my grandparents were carrying. Instead, you terrified everyone who lived here through the years children had nightmares because you looked just out of sight, always watching us. I'm sorry, ma'am. Pete looked at her with pleading eyes. That hatred wrought at our souls,
and we were angry. I admit that we wanted to scare people. We wanted people to be even a little bit as uncomfortable as we've been for nearly two hundred years. We wanted to end though. Tonight, a murmuring broke out in the crowd of ghostly beans that stood in front of Cassandra. Billy said something to the crowd, then nodded. He turned back to Cassandra. It's not just Yankees and Ribs here, ma'am. This land has trapped others here, Settlers, Indians, anyone who's died in a violent way has been
stuck here, fueled by the hatred that killed them. We all agree, however, that the time has come to end the spell. We need you to do that for us. We need you to see us for our humanity and not just our violence. Please, ma'am, please, what do I need to do? Acknowledge us, give us peace, Say it out loud that we are real and that we are forgiven. Cassandra shook in fear, and her voice wavered. Do you do you promise not to frighten anyone else?
We promise, We just want to be released. She looked over the dozens of ghastly figures in front of her and struggled to control her fear. I see you, You are real, You are forgiven, you are free. As they faded, she saw tears flow down their cheeks and heard sighs of relief. A warm spring wind blew their milky shapes away towards the sky in a swirling mass that spiraled out of sight. In the quiet of the night, she heard the song of the spring Peepers, and she knew in
its chorus was the understanding that all was now right on this land. Thank you for joining me for this episode of the Into the Night Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nauri Quok, Theme music by Nico Rodriguez, all other original music, sound design and editing by Omenhawk Studios. You can find our links in the show notes. Into the Night is on your favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe, and leave a five
star review to help other excursionists to join us. I'll see you next time, and remember where the shadows or in the daylight, all twisted paths lead you into the night. Into the Night. Anthology is a creative typo entertainment production