It’s no surprise that attics are full of, well… surprises. Be it a wild animal, an important family heirloom, or just some creepy cobwebs and old books and records.
A woman in South Carolina, however, had the surprise of her life when she found the most shocking thing in her attic after believing it to be gone for 12 years…
Strange Noises
As identified by local news stations “Tracy,” a South Carolina resident and mother of two, had begun to hear strange noises coming from her attic for a while.
Small Creature
Initially, though, she wrote it off as possibly a bird or other small creature and figured that because her house was pretty old, it was just bound to happen at some point. She wasn’t too worried until other strange signs started to present themselves, too…
Wild Imagination
Tracy also thought that perhaps the sounds she was hearing was just a result of her creative imagination. She was a big believer in the supernatural, after all…
The Spirit World
Ever since she was a young girl, she felt that she was in touch with the spirit world. She had experienced many encounters that made her feel connected to the dead.
Odd Feeling
When she was younger, she specifically recalled a time, after her paternal grandmother had passed away, that she woke in the middle of the night to an odd feeling.
Across Her Cheek
There was a cool wave of air that tickled across her cheek, and when she woke, she swore she heard her Grandmother’s voice… singing…
Friendly Spirit
So when she heard the sounds in her attic all these years later, she had this odd feeling that it could be another visit from a close spirit. It didn’t scare her as much as it piqued her curiosity…
Viewing Party
Most recently, she watched a film, though, that she felt really sparked her imagination and got her thinking twice about whether whatever in her attic truly came in peace…
Sleepless Nights
Tracy wasn’t sure if it was a lack of sleep, her fears from the film, or a real ghostly encounter that had her hearing sounds coming from the attic, but it seemed like there was only one way to find out at this point…
From the Attic
Strange creaks and squeaks began to come from the attic more often at this point, and Tracy had to get it checked out. It began to increase in volume throughout the night, and when she noticed nails beginning to pop out of the ceiling…
Investigation
She was filled with dread about the ordeal, so she talked to her sons who had also heard the strange sounds, and they decided that they had to investigate to get to the bottom of it…
Loose Floorboards
When her teenage sons entered the attic, they found that nails had been pried loose in the floorboards…
The Repairman
This alone left Tracy scared. Years before this, she had met a man who she had hired to do repairs in her home. Shortly after, though, they began dating…
Unsafe Situation
They were together for a while when he had begun to exhibit abusive behaviors that left her always feeling unsafe and insecure in her surroundings. This man ended up in jail, though…
Imprisoned
He had tortured her for years. She had been physically and emotionally abused by him and he even once stole her truck. Luckily, though, he ended up in prison…
The Letters
But in prison, he continued to communicate with her by sending her letters. She wanted nothing to do with him and made it clear that they were totally over. She thought because he was in prison now, she was finally safe…
Tracked Her Down
Shortly after his release from prison, and unbeknownst to Tracy, he had tracked her down. And that wasn’t all…
Found
Shortly after his release from prison, and unbeknownst to Tracy, he had found her. And that wasn’t all…
Sneaking In
When she was at work one day, months before hearing the sounds in her attic, he had snuck into her home and crept up into the attic…
A Foul Smell
When her sons climbed up into the attic, they were struck with a foul smell. They thought perhaps they would discover that an animal had died up there…
The Heating Unit
But the loose floorboards made them cautious, and that was just the beginning. Inside the attic’s heating unit, the young men found a middle-aged man sleeping…
Him
He had lined the interior of the heating unit with jackets as a makeshift bed. When they realized who it was, they immediately tensed up—it was none other than their mother’s abusive ex-boyfriend…
Fleeing the Scene
The man awoke and realized he had been caught and immediately took off, forcing himself past Tracy and her son’s and fleeing the attic and the home. Tracy was shaken and called the police right away…
Watching
Her one son chased after the man, while the other found a seriously disturbing secret in the attic. The man had modified the ceiling air vents so that he would be able to see directly into Tracy’s bedroom to watch her while she slept at night…
For A While
Police arrived on the scene and further investigated the intricacies of the attic that her ex had created for himself. To the police, it appeared that he had clearly been using the space for quite some time…
Through the Hall
The weirdest part, however, was that it appeared that the only access point to the attic was through the common hallway that connected all of the bedrooms. So if he was getting in and out each day through that hallway, how had they not once seen him?
Police Search
Other officers set off in their squad cars and on foot to patrol the neighborhood in hopes of locating the suspect. With his prior convictions and time served, it was very likely that when they found him he would head back to prison, and this time, for much longer…
48-Hour Search
But there was one little problem: he was nowhere to be found. They conducted a 48-hour search to find the 44-year-old man, but unfortunately, their search turned up empty…
At Large
Tracy and her sons moved out of the home shortly after and have been placed under protection and surveillance. A warrant is still outstanding for the man’s arrest, and he currently remains at large.