I'm writing this because I need to see the words on a page.

I need to make it real in a way that my brain can't keep shoving into the

corner and calling it a nightmare. I know how this is going to sound. I know what the rake is

supposed to be. Some internet monster, a creepypasta thing teenagers whisper about its sleepovers.

Before this, I had heard the name a few times on YouTube and read it,

same as anybody. I don't care what you think it is. I know what I saw. I live in Erie,

Pennsylvania. If you've never been here, it's a lake town. Snowy winters, gray water, tourists

in the summer, Presque Isle beaches, a lot of quiet neighborhoods

and old houses. My place is on the edge of town, near some woods that run behind a couple

of streets, and then stretch out toward I-90. I'm not a hunter. I'm not some seasoned outdoorsman.

I like hiking, sure. I like going up to Allegheny National Forest with friends

sometimes, camping by the Allegheny Reservoir, doing the Rimrock Overlook Trail, that kind of thing.

But I wouldn't call myself Wilderness Tough or anything like that. I'm just a regular guy. I'm 30.

I work in IT for a logistics company. I play games at night, and I walk my

dog Max around the block after dinner. This started as a normal week. It was late September,

the kind of week when the air starts getting sharp at night, and you can smell the leaves

starting to go. I remember the exact day, a Thursday.

I worked from home.

We had some server update that went way too long,

and I didn't shut my laptop until almost nine at night.

I almost skipped Max's walk that night.

I wish I had.

...