My God, get ready, because this story scared even me.

It almost made me regret living in the Ozarks.

This story is titled Boxfan, and was sent to me by a viewer named simply Jeb.

In it, he recalls a series of bizarre childhood rules and events at his grandparents' mountain home in the Ozarks,

which ultimately led to the most traumatic moment in his life, the moment he realized, monsters are real.

This is the Unexplained Encounters podcast.

I sleep with the fan on every single night, regardless of the reason, no matter the temperature. A box fan runs on the floor next to my bed at full speed. My wife thinks it's a white noise thing, something to help me sleep.

She's gotten used to it over the years. She bought me one of those sound machines for Christmas a couple years

back. It plays ocean waves and rain and all that stuff. And I thanked her, but I put it in the

closet and kept on easing the fan. She never asked why, but I'm sure she wondered. I think she could

tell by my face that I didn't want to explain. I'm sure she wondered. I think she could tell by my face that I didn't want to explain.

I'm 34 years old. I've slept with a box fan on since I was 11, and I'll probably sleep with one

on until the day I die. This is not a comfort thing. At least, not in the way you expect. I've never told anyone the full

version of what I'm about to write down. Not even my wife. I've explained parts, yeah,

like during a particularly bad night terror that had me standing in the hallway at 3 a.m. with my

hands against the wall, like I was

bracing for something to hit the house, and my wife found me there, asking what I'd been

dreaming about. I didn't remember, I said, but that was a lie. Not too long ago, my grandfather

passed away. He was 91 years old, lived a full life,

and had been in a wheelchair for the last 12 years. A stroke had taken most of his left side.

At the funeral, I was standing by the coffee and those little crustless sandwiches that

only exist at church receptions when my cousin Parker walked up.

...