Weird Things Happening
They had never seen anything quite this strange. Weird things had started to happen in their Ohio home and they wanted to find out why. But not before something unbelievable happened.
Darren misunderstood and put the blame on his girlfriend for being set up. But after she told him she hadn't they knew they needed a new plan. So they set up CCTV cameras.
Bruises
Darren set up a hidden camera in their daughter’s room. He had seen bruises all over 15-year-old Natalie’s legs and just could not believe that she was doing it to herself. Since only the three of them lived there, his natural reaction was to ask his partner Pam about it, but she denied having any idea where the bruises came from.
Frustrated, he thought the CCTV footage would settle the issue once and for all. He sat down in front of the TV to view the recording, but what he saw made his skin crawl.
Dad's Instincts
Darren and Pam had been living in Darren’s mother’s guesthouse for over a year now. But one day, they suddenly wanted to run far away from it.
It all began when Natalie came down for breakfast one morning. At first, Darren didn’t take too much notice of her exposed legs. However, a few days after the first set of bruises had healed and new ones appeared, he knew he had to confront her.
The Apple Of His Eye
Every parent will tell you that it’s normal to worry about your children, and Darren was no different. He wanted nothing but the best for his only daughter.
Natalie had a tough time when her parents had separated -- she had only been five at the time -- and it was something that Darren had always felt guilty about. When he met Pam, he made it clear to her that his daughter would always come first.
Teenage Angst
Darren and Natalie had always been very close -- they had a father-daughter relationship that any parent would envy. But since Pam had come into the picture and they had all moved into a new house, Natalie's behavior began to change.
Darren knew that Natalie could talk to him about anything that was on her mind. But over the course of a year, she had become increasingly withdrawn. Darren chalked it up to hormones and tried not to let it bother him too much, but it only got worse.
Changing
As the days turned into weeks and then months, Darren watched as all the excitement and happiness seemed to slowly drain out of his daughter. He worried that she was spending too much time alone in her room.
Darren had heard horror stories about teens spending too much time on social media. But, as it turned out, Natalie's Facebook account was the last thing he should have been worrying about.
Warning Bells
When Darren asked Natalie why she hardly left her bedroom, she had simply told him that she felt "strange" in all the other rooms in the "creepy" new house.
Thinking that it was just a phase his daughter was going through, he left her to her own devices. But it was a decision that he'd regret. And soon enough, he happened to notice something about Natalie that set off all the warning bells.
A Nagging Feeling
It was the first week of Natalie’s summer vacation. The temperature had climbed above 90 degrees and the girl was wearing shorts again -- trying to be comfortable in the heat.
Darren couldn’t help but notice that Natalie’s legs were covered in marks again. He asked his daughter about them, but she just shrugged and said she didn’t know... she’d woken up like that. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of Darren’s mind that he just couldn’t shake...
On The Surface
For many who knew the couple, it seemed as if they were living the dream. They had a stable relationship, lived in a nice home, and they had Darren’s wonderful daughter, Natalie.
One day, everything changed. While Darren was half-asleep, he could have sworn that he heard weird noises from his daughter’s room. And it was Natalie who would eventually be the proof that, yes, something strange was happening.
Suspicions
Darren asked Pam if she was the one who had been getting up at night, even going as far as asking her if she had been in Natalie’s room. Did she know about the marks on his daughter’s legs? And did she have anything to do with them?
Pam couldn’t believe that she was hearing such a thing from her partner. When she continued to deny everything, Darren found himself without any other option. What he didn’t know was that this decision would reveal something so much worse.
A Mystery
This was not the life Darren signed up for when he chose to be with Pam. He knew that she and her step-daughter had never really seen eye-to-eye... but why wasn’t she as concerned as he was? Or was he just being paranoid?
Natalie was a model student and never went out to party like the other kids her age. She wasn’t interested in sports and preferred to curl up with a book and read her summer vacations away. And, she wasn’t dating. So, where did the bruises keep coming from?
Confrontation
As the weeks went by, every morning Darren would see more marks appear on Natalie’s legs. What was she doing in the night to receive these bruises? And Natalie kept denying that she knew how she’d gotten them.
What exactly was happening to his little girl? The worried dad had hundreds of questions running through his mind. But one thing was for sure: Darren knew something just wasn’t right.
Unpredictable
And the marks weren't the only odd thing about Natalie: now, she never seemed to get enough sleep. She'd go to bed at 8 PM, exhausted, and only reemerge from her bedroom at lunchtime the following day.
She would pick at her food and hardly eat anything at dinnertime, and snap at Darren's most innocent questions when he showed concern. It was like Natalie was a different person.
Finding The Cause
Darren was beginning to worry about Natalie’s health. Perhaps she had some sort of medical condition? Now Pam, who just shrugged everything off, also began to appear concerned.
Armed with determination and driven by worry, Darren took Natalie to the doctor in hopes of finding out the truth. But what the doctor told him only left him with more questions.
A Check-Up
You see, Natalie didn’t appear to have anything wrong with her. There was nothing strange or worrying about her results. The doctor checked her blood levels but couldn’t find any deficiencies.
Although Darren was relieved to hear that his daughter was healthy, this news meant that the cause of his daughter’s marks could be something far worse. And just when he was reaching his wits’ end, there was a knock on the door.
From Bad To Worse
Darren opened the door, only to see a woman with a stern look on her face standing on his doorstep. She tersely introduced herself and informed him that she was from social services.
When Darren managed to wrap his head around what the woman was there for, he was in complete shock. This couldn't have something to do with Pam, could it?
An Investigation
The woman, who introduced herself as Mrs. Wood, said that she was there to investigate a possible "situation" involving young Natalie and her parents -- she had been made aware of Natalie's inexplicable marks by their family doctor.
Darren's mind began to race... he hadn't done anything! He'd never, ever, lay a hand on his child! But, unfortunately for him, there was no way he could prove otherwise. Mrs. Wood would simply have to speak to Natalie herself...
From The Horse's Mouth
Mrs. Wood introduced herself to Pam and Natalie, and then entered the girl's bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind her. Pam shot Darren a look. "What's the meaning of this?!" she asked furiously. But before Darren could explain, she'd already stormed off.
Darren paced nervously in the hallway while the social worker spoke with Natalie in private, wondering what would happen next. Surely she wouldn't get much more out of his daughter than he had? Would Natalie finally tell the truth?
Her Answer
After what seemed like hours, Mrs. Wood finally emerged from the bedroom with Natalie by her side... and she was in tears. With a mixture of anger, sadness, and frustration, Darren gritted his teeth and politely asked the social worker if there was anything else he could do for her.
He was furious by the insinuations this woman was throwing around, and now she'd made his daughter cry. But the burning question on his mind was: what exactly had Natalie told her?
Desperation
Mrs. Wood told Darren that she'd "be in touch" and showed herself out while Darren tried to comfort Natalie. "I told her what I told you, dad," she sobbed. "Every morning I wake up with these marks and I don't know how they got there!"
He'd taken her to the doctor and they'd run blood tests. He'd asked her what was going on directly. He had even accused his girlfriend. Darren was at a loss and becoming more desperate by the minute. Something just wasn't adding up here. He vowed that he'd find out what it was. But did he really want to know the answer?
Spying
Things had become tense between Darren and Pam since the accusations were hurled, and he was determined to get to the bottom of everything... for Natalie and his relationship with Pam's sake
So they all decided to set up a camera in Natalie’s room to find out what had been happening, once and for all. The CCTV revealed the truth — but neither of them was ready for the discovery.
Getting To The Bottom Of It
Darren set up the CCTV with a mission: to find out who was responsible for the bruises on his daughter. Darren could finally see what the real culprit for the marks was.
He made sure that whoever had been doing this would be exposed, even going as far as purchasing a night vision camera. He was hell-bent on putting a stop to everything. When he finally saw the truth on the video, he never thought that their life would soon become a nightmare.
Watching The Footage
Darren could feel his heartbeat in his throat. At first, it was just Natalie lying peacefully in her bed, her hands still cradling the book she’d been reading when she had fallen asleep
30 minutes passed and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Then suddenly, Darren saw something on the footage and his jaw came unhinged. This had to be some kind of joke?
Not Herself
Suddenly, Natalie seemed to wake up but she didn’t look like herself at all. He continued watching the rest of the footage to find out more. But what he saw next challenged his theories and shook his beliefs.
You see, in the footage, it showed a peaceful Natalie sleeping in her bed. But 30 minutes in, and she appeared to be thrashing.
This Was Real
Darren suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He blinked, thinking he was seeing things on the footage, but he wasn’t. This was real.
Natalie was flailing around in her bed -- the movements she made were something new to Darren. What was going on? As soon as Darren saw this, he knew something was very wrong.
What Happened?
Darren frantically yelled for Pam and showed her the footage, and she was equally astonished and horrified. They had no idea that this had been going on. What had happened to their little girl?
They finally had the answers as to where her daughter's bruises were coming from, but after watching the footage they were left with even more questions.
She Had No Recollection
Darren ran to Natalie’s room, but everything was normal again. She didn’t remember what had happened last night at all. The worried parents rushed bewildered Natalie back to the doctor. They showed him the footage and he was dumbfounded -- he’d never seen anything like it before.
Darren’s mind immediately flew to horror movies about demonic possession that he’d seen… it was crazy, but what else was he supposed to think? What was wrong with his daughter?
More Tests
Their GP referred Natalie to a specialist, who ran a battery of tests on her. He conducted a thorough neurological exam and ordered a full polysomnogram with an EEG to measure the electrical activity in her brain.
He ruled out a tumor and head trauma. So, what was causing Natalie’s strange nighttime behavior?
A Reasonable Diagnosis
The specialist found some abnormal brain activity on the EEG that seemed to be coming from Natalie’s temporal lobe, which indicated that Natalie could be suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy.
It was reasonable to assume that this was causing her to have nocturnal “episodes,” or seizures. According to the research, there are many different types of seizures.
A Logical Explanation?
But most nocturnal seizures are tonic-clonic. Doctors used to call tonic-clonic seizures grand mal seizures. They typically last less than 5 minutes. During this type of seizure, muscles stiffen and twitch -- which explains what Darren had seen on the footage.
Natalie was prescribed anti-seizure medication and has made a full recovery. But Darren still had the house cleansed by a priest… just in case.