In the early hours of Thursday, February 21st, 2008, a six-year-old girl suddenly woke up to the sound of a creaking noise coming from the hallway just outside her bedroom door.

It was a blustery night in rural Nevada, so she figured, you know, the sound must just be the wind outside.

But then she heard another noise that sounded more like footsteps, and this time it was even closer to her bedroom.

Terrified, she pulled the covers up tight around her chin and looked straight down towards

the crack in the door, out into the hallway. A moment later, she saw the outline of a person

standing right outside her room. She squinted, trying to make out a face, wondering if maybe

it was one of her parents checking in on her.

But, as quick as the shadow appeared, it vanished into thin air.

And then a moment later, the little girl heard a loud bang.

But before we get into that story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious, delivered in story format,

then you come to the right podcast because that's all we do

and we upload twice a week, once on Monday and once on Thursday. So, if that's of interest to you,

please replace the Follow Button's hairspray with bear repellent. Okay, let's get into today's story.

Okay. The The On the evening of February 7, 2008,

36-year-old Ben Oxley pulled his truck into the parking lot at the Douglas County

Fairgrounds, located near the town of Minden, Nevada, a half an hour east of Lake Tahoe.

He killed the engine and then zipped up his jacket, racing for the windy cold weather outside.

Ben glanced in his rearview mirror, and he saw his six-year-old daughter, Alyssa, sitting in the

back seat. She was bundled up in her winter jacket, and she was grinning ear to ear.

Alyssa had been looking forward to this night for weeks.

It was the annual pre-valentine's Day father-daughter dance, where dads brought their daughters to the

local fairgrounds for a night of dancing and candy. Ever since Ben and his wife Melissa took Alice

...