It starts the same way.

Can I tell you a secret?

I was terrified.

I still sleep with clubs next to my bed.

People seldom show their true selves online, but one man, he's taking it much further.

From The Guardian, I'm Shearing Kaleh, and this is, can I tell you a secret?

A story about obsession, fear and the lives we lead online.

Listen to all episodes now, wherever you get your podcasts. November. November 29, 2004 was a wet and cold night in West Paducah, Kentucky. The rain had been relentless

for days and the creek beds were straining to contain the amount of water flowing from the nearby Ohio River.

Flash flooding wasn't unusual in the area. It was a kind of night you would want to stay home.

And this is exactly what the Wallace's did. Harold and Peggy Wallace were long-term residents of the area.

They had planned to stay indoors and ride out the bad weather, enjoying each other's company.

That was until just after midnight when there was a knock on their door.

Unusual given it was a Monday night, but the persistent knocking was impossible to ignore.

Opening the door they were surprised to see their friends, 37-year-old Johnny Gray and his wife, 32-year-old Sandy.

They were damp and muddy.

Not only shivering from the cold, but Sandy looked distressed and looked

like she had been crying. The Wallace's ushered the couple inside to warm up and dry off.

Johnny explained their car had broken down, and they needed a ride home. What struck the

Wallace's estranged, though, was that the Grey's 10-month-old

baby Katie was not with them. Johnny explained this away, that Katie was at home with a babysitter,

that they had an argument after the car broke down, and this is why Sandy was crying.

...