Comments for The Traveller: Page 1

Biblio - good sleuthing!
The links provided with the different writings in the story offer yet another mystery. Why does the house change directions and coloring? The original picture has been cropped in both, and then flipped and colored for this rendition. The original is on a blog http://rungloriarun.blogspot.com/2011/08/summerside.html Why the deception? Why not just NOT add the link at all?
The Mom's pic... Something just doesn't seem right there. She seems rather 'plopped' into the picture due to the intensity of the shadow surrounding her. But that could just be me...
Where did we leave that BS blankie?

Could be wrong about this but the photograph of the mother looks to me like a screen grab. The blending of pixels, colours and the dispersion of light flare all consistent with motion frame rate rendering and compression rates. The woman in the photo looks mildly familiar, however I don't know where from as I don't watch a lot of TV. In particular I never watch reality programs, from which it appears this image has been lifted.

I'd like to also call attention to both images of the house. In the original link supplied by the OP the house is red. In the link to the photo from the Reddit submission the photo of the house is obviously beige/light brown. The plantation of the similar large tree to the front of the property and the tall pencil pine type tree to the back of the property. In both images these trees switch sides, from this I assumed the photos were taken of opposite sides of the house. But on closer inspection it appears one image has been reversed/flipped. As this door has the same smaller tree/large plant outside it in both images. Also of note is the continuity of the fence in both images.

Stevelegend98:

Like Det. Columbo, "there's just one more thing." When DolorousSpud re-posted the story from the 'creepy' subreddit to the reddit board 6 days ago, but re-titled it "The Wanderer," it was much more similar to the YGS version. Are you sure you want to keep tinkering with the ending to your story like a failed screenwriter who can't decide which ending makes more sense? It's here, if anyone's interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/Paranormal/comments/3f5ugk/the_wanderer/
-Biblio

Stevelegend98, I have one or two questions about chronology and details.

First, this narrative was posted here on YGS on July 30th. The day before, July 29th, DolorousSpud posted ALMOST the same story, with the same title, and a few key alterations, on the website Reddit.com (https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/3f0suo/the_traveller/). But where you claim, "tried to bring her around from what we assumed was a random fainting spell. Thankfully she revived quite quickly and within the hour was ready to hit the road. Her friends were more than happy to let us stay for the day but she was keen to get home and I was keen not to spend another night there..." the alternate version reads "...from what we assumed was a random fainting spell. I still clearly remember the younger son calling for his Father as he ran into the house holding up what he had found in the backseat of our car; a strange smelling cleaning cloth and a large serated (or, spelled correctly 'serrated') knife.
Mum at the house: http://i.imgur.com/000Lb7v.jpg
The Next Morning: http://i.imgur.com/F3Rlz7P.jpg " I would imagine the omission of this detail is that it would undermine any claims to this story having a paranormal connection for YGS readers to discuss. My question is "which version of the story was written first?"

My second chronological question is about the duration if the experience. In the comments on Reddit, DolorousSpud observes that, "Police were called but no trace of anyone was found. I felt bad for the family who lives there, we all stayed at a hotel that night but the next morning they had to go back to their house not knowing if he was still lurking up in the hills.
Mom (an American spelling!) got over it reasonably quickly, she remembers a hand grabbing her and putting the cloth over her nose and mouth and then nothing until she came to in the house. I think what freaked her out most was we have no idea who this person was or what he wanted but he had kept close by throughout the night and that morning." But in the YGS version, you drove home an hour later, with your mother who had blacked out for no apparent reason (the chloroform is in the Reddit version, after all) operating the vehicle. This strikes me as being grossly irresponsible behavior by your mother and by her friends. People who experience random blackouts should consult with a medical professional to rule out epilepsy, stroke, brain tumors, cardiac arrhythmia, concussion, narcolepsy, bovine spongiform encephalitis, and spinal meningitis (and those are just the few which occur to me, an English teacher; I'm sure that medical professionals would be able to adjust the list appropriately). My question is, "given the 24-hour discrepancy in the duration of the events in these stories, which urban legend adaptation is the more credible one?"

My next time-related question is about monitoring the time. You include the details "My Mother loves big, expensive steel wristwatches and she was wearing her Brietling Chronomat when all this happened. As were leaving she noticed the time on her watch had frozen at what must have been very close to the same time she fell unconscious.
She didn't remember passing out or even getting in the car and said little about it, appearing to be more concerned over her watch stopping." So why is the discussion of expensive jewelry omitted from the story in which robbery could be a credible motive, yet included in a description which would get more attention if such a mundane detail were omitted?

My final question is a simple one. When you state, "It was only on the way home the question finally occurred to me for the first time; why had the passenger door been open?" Does it usually take hours for you to notice the obvious? You checked your mother's pulse with commendable alacrity, but didn't wonder why one of the rear doors was open WHILE YOU APPROACHED THE CAR?

I do apologize if my questions seem ill-tempered; I'm easily riled by plagiarism.

Curious to read your reply,
-Biblio

Wow, quite a lot of responses, more than I was expecting:) I'll try to answer the questions I've seen but if I missed anything please let me know.

Ladydarke:

The idea that it was a burglar has been put forward before but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me personally; even if it was one of the workmen he'd have known there was seven people staying in the house that night. A big risk to take to grab something presumably close to where mum would be sleeping.

As for the watch dying: It's possible she could have hit it off something to stop it temporarily but remember, this is the UK, our steering wheels are on the right hand side of the car and my mum wears her watch on left wrist so there would have been less things to hit it off.

As for electronics stopping we have a few computers in the house and my Mum's office PC and my laptop have a habit of turning themselves off unexpectedly. Not sure what the issue with Mum's is but I'm always careful about what I download.

Lynev:
This is something I thought had happened; someone in the back seat hit mum in the back of the head and knocked her out cold but as someone has mentioned this doesn't really occour in real life without the danger of serious damage and mum was more or less fine afterward, certainly no signs of concussion.

Jederae:
At the time I thought it was looking at me once the lightning had hit, or at least where I was but I admit that could the atmosphere and my own bias in the situation. When I initially woke up and saw the figure I don't think it was looking at me or mum directly but I still felt like I was watched.

Rookdygin:
Probably less than half a minute if I had to guess the time between saying my final goodbyes and noticing mum in the car.

My mum has fainted a couple of times since, including another time where I thought paranormal activity might have been involved but this was my first experience of it. I remember being quite calm at the start but that faded quite quicky and I admit I was comforted by the fact two other adults were present with me.

As for the watch type I'm honestly not sure, I'd have to ask mum but the watch was working again by the time we got home.

Stevelegend,

A few questions...

You state this..."By now the severity of the storm had increased and thunder and lightning was striking frequently. As if on cue, a lightning strike hit and seemed to illuminate the inside of the living room."

So its a big, strong storm, your quite clear on the matter but you go on to say that when investigated...

"There was nothing. There had been no sound of a car leaving the driveway or any physical evidence of anyone being outside."

In a storm of the intensity you describe would there have been any 'physical eveidence' of someone being outside... Not hearing a car driving off... I can believe that... But me thinks the storm would have erased any tracks a would be burgerler would ahve left... (just my thoughts on the matter)

The fact that this figure moved from one window to the next in a predictable manner ("The figure leaves his vantage point and started walking towards the right hand side of the house where there is another window offering a better view of the living room.

Without saying anything I waited until the figure was out of sight and slid off the couch scuttling into the doorway just off the living room and out of the second windows line of sight. I peek from behind the wall and can see the figure at the second window. By this stage I was freaked and unsure what to do. Lightning hit again and the figure snapped his head right to where I was hiding. I remember being almost frozen, feeling his eyes were locked onto me. He left the second window and headed back toward the first.")

To me this sounds as if the individual at the window saw you, realized there were people in the house and took off, back towards the front of the house.

Then there is the way some of your details are mentioned, here are three examples...

1) "Our car horn sounded and the husband remarked Mum was getting impatient which is not like her. I shrugged it off at first but the car horn kept sounding with two long continuous beeps and a third and final one which was a good bit shorter."

How much time elasped between the last horn beep and you going outside and finding your mother? I ask becasue it seems quite a distance for anyone to get away and hide before being seen...

2) "It was as I got close to the car that I saw Mum, slumped over the steering wheel.

Frantically I pulled open the door and tried to shake her awake. I found the pulse on her neck which seemed strong but she seemed to be completely unconscious. I pulled her out of the car and shouted for help as I carried her into the house.

I set her on the same couch I slept on the night before and with the help of her friend tried to bring her around from what we assumed was a random fainting spell."

Your reactions seem very calm and collected... Does you Mother have a history of Fainting Spells?

3) "My Mother loves big, expensive steel wristwatches and she was wearing her Brietling Chronomat when all this happened. As were leaving she noticed the time on her watch had frozen at what must have been very close to the same time she fell unconscious."

You are very detailed when you mention what type of watches your Mother likes to wear AND in the picture you provided it is very prominatly displayed... Do you know if that particular watch is Battery Operated, Kenetic or Wind Up? It makes a difference...Oh...did it have to be serviced after this 'event' or did it just start working again?

Well those are my main questions... Thank you for sharing, I am now walking out to the Fence Line of the Back 40 and shall sit there awaiting a REPLY from the O/P that hopfully answers my questions.

Respectfully,

Rook

Stevelegend98,

Great story, had me at the edge of my chair when you described that night. You are brave to have gotten up and followed the intruder's movements, and I'm glad you alerted your hosts. It does sound to me like it could burglar. The movement of his head towards you at the second window could have been because he felt as if he was being watched... And was, by you. Did your aunt ever have other experiences with trespassers or burglary on the property?

If it was supernatural, how creepy! Did you get the feeling it was looking for you or your mom specifically, or that it didn't have a target other than to scan the room? The watch part of the story is spooky to me, in my mom's family we have a habit of stopping a clock in the home when a person passes away. When my grandmother (mom's mother) died, the clock she had in her hallway stopped on its own, so this part of your story really resonates with me as supernatural. I'm glad your mom recovered and everyone is safe. If your mom or aunt ever remember anything else, please update us, I would love to hear it!

Knocking someone unconscious doesn't work like it does in the movies. You fall unconscious because your brain has received trauma. A concussion is pretty much getting off lucky and there is a host of other potential problems. It's unlikely she could be hit in the head hard enough to lose consciousness and not even have a tender spot on her skull.

Snycopal episodes, or fainting, can be entirely psychological. The brain processes trauma in a myriad of ways, including shutting down and blocking it out. The anterograde memory loss also seems much more likely to be psychological in origin; a repressed or dissociated memory.

I believe there are a number of registered nurses posting here fairly regularly. Perhaps one of them, or someone else with medical training, will weigh in.

Hello:

Oh my goodness! Ditto on your mom resembling Angelina. She (your mother) is quite lovely.
In regard to the hooded being; it really does sound more like the behavior of a physical person to me. I am a confirmed believer in the unseen, but this sounds like nefarious human behavior.
Do you think perhaps the person struck your mom on the head? It may have been enough to render her unconscious, but not hard enough to leave a painful site on the head. This would also explain the lack of memory, as many knocked unconscious do not recall events immediately prior. If that occurred, maybe the thief was too frightened (thinking he had killed her as well as the horn blowing) to stick around. If something violent occurred, it might also explain the stopped watch. The pin may have been pulled out, or the watch may have been struck just hard enough to stop it.
But, it may very well have been something paranormal. I guess we will never really know. There is still a whole lot in this world that science cannot yet explain. The setting certainly seems ripe enough for either scenario.

Kind Regards,
Lynev

Secretstar: I know right! She's a lucky lady and Stevelegend98 is lucky to have good genes!

[at] ladydarke even I thought his mother looks like Angelina Jolie

Stevelegend98,

This is a really creepy story. This is the second time I've read it. I'm commenting because I'm surprised so few others have. To be honest, this story is scariest because it sounds like the figure you saw may have been a real person. Here's why I think that.

The house was full of workmen. My understanding is that many contractors will pick up unskilled day labor and pay on a cash basis as necessary to speed a job along. This opens the possibility that among the workers in the house that day may have been some with no steady employment who weren't picky about what sort of 'side job' they find.

There could have somebody like that, somebody with a history of theft who could recognize the watch your mother wore as being expensive. I did a google shopping search on the brand of watch you mentioned. That thing is a chunk of change and even the low-end ones could conceivably fence for enough to pay rent that month. It might have made your mom a target, should such a person have been among the workers that day. He may well have overheard conversation and known your mom would be staying the night.

Theoretically, the day worker could have come back that night, or never left, and been masked or hooded because the people in the house had been looking at his face all day and might recognize him.

You said you woke because you felt watched. Truth to tell, the spidey sense works with living people too. I've had that happen several times and I'll give you a personal example: I was parked at a 24 hour gas station/convenience store at 11:00pm the night before Thanksgiving, very busy, very well-lit. I was just outside the line of light from the pumps, sitting in my running car phoning my husband to tell him what time to expect me, when this white car with several guys in it pulled in beside me and I just immediately knew I was being hunted. I had an all-lock button and pressed it. Sure enough, one man got out and came around to my passenger door with forced casualness, going way wide around to avoid detection. He stood right outside flexing his hands and looking for witnesses, about to try the door handle. I drove off right before he could and kicked myself for not taking his picture when I had my phone right there in my hand. It would have helped the police report. There was no way I could have known I was in danger at the point I did, yet I knew and also knew the nature of the danger. I thought I was paranoid and even made a joke about it over the phone even as I locked the doors. So I fully understand you waking because your spider sense tingled, and even believe you woke knowing to look at that window.

The are three details about your encounter that I can see might have made you think paranormal. 1) the hood is a staple of horror movies, but honestly anyone can wear one. Maybe it was a hoodie or a raincoat. 2) The figure looked right at you. With this one, I wonder how well you could see where the actual head within the dark maw of the hood turned? Could it have been fear that made you feel discovered? Perhaps also you were more visible than you thought, or some small movement of yours drew his eye. 3) The storm is very atmospheric, again evokes horror movies. It would be unpleasant to go midnight marauding in a fierce storm, but if that was the night the watch was there for the taking, he'd have had to do it.

The husband and son armed themselves and ran outside. This means the intruder would see two big guys - he's immediately outnumbered. They're armed and ready, the house is now alerted and police have possibly been called. No reason to engage. Looking at your photo, it seems the house is surrounded by empty field. There's nowhere to hide... Except maybe in a vehicle. Did the husband check in your mom's back seat while he was searching? The intruder could have got in your mom's car and decided plan B was to wait there and let her drive off with him in the morning. Even if the car was locked, it's supposed to take only sixty seconds to break in if you know what you're doing.

Maybe when your mom got out to the car, he was there waiting for her. Is it possible your mom could have blocked out the trauma of a confrontation? It sounds like she wasn't hurt, thankfully! But if the man popped up in her back seat and said, "Give me your watch," or "Start driving," or something, she may have responded by hitting the horn to call help. That would make her one smart, brave lady. Maybe he bailed the car when she did that, running off and leaving the door open in his haste, and she just fainted in the aftermath?

It's odd she doesn't even remember getting into the car, let alone anything that happened in it. That could be a traumatic block, her brain protecting her from something too difficult to process. It's just good she wasn't hurt. Has she remembered anything in the few years since that happened? Did she have nightmares or panic attacks she couldn't explain, maybe start always checking the back seat before she got in the car; anything that might have seemed symptomatic of repressed memory?

As for the watch dying... I would hope such a costly watch can survive most anything. Two theories about that one: possibly, your mom could have whacked it against some part of the car in a fast adrenaline-fueled movement toward the horn or door handle. The other theory, and maybe the only thing actually paranormal about this, is that your mom in her fear gave off so much energy that it affected the watch? Sort of like the Street Light Interference phenomenon where people report consistently affecting electronics in their vicinity? You can google that one for more info. It would be interesting to hear whether your mother has a history with causing electronics to fail; streetlights that blink out, computers that crash around her, lights that blow when she hits the switch. That type of thing. The term for people who put out that sort of interference is SLIders.

I assume she took a watch that expensive to be repaired. Was the shop able to say what had caused it to stop? Ie) consistent with an impact?

This story has a sort of urban legend feel to it, I guess just because it touches on the "man in the back seat" crossed with "isolated country farmhouse" themes. Thank you for including the pictures. They make it much more personal.

Regardless of what happened, I'm glad everyone is all right and your mother wasn't harmed. Your mom is very pretty. She reminds me of a young Angelina Jolie.

Cheers.

Its a creepy story though. You said that the house is middle of nowhere, I guess for this there must be some negative energies roaming around the place.