I'm Laura Norton, and this is one strange thing, the show where we search the nation's news archives for stories that can't quite be explained.

This episode, we have a few stories for you,

ones that tie together in one way or another.

And we think that by the end, you might have difficulty deciding who had a worse time.

Is it us, humanity in 2021, with the modern conveniences that allow us

to watch our surroundings 24-7? Or is it our past selves decades ago who either had to wonder what

was watching at the window, or found out only when what

was watching came too close for comfort. We all want to feel safe in our homes, whatever that

means for each of us. There are still far-flung towns where folks insist they don't have to lock their doors at

night, and if you're rural enough, maybe up on a mountain or down a very long country road,

that might be true. But most of us, we take precautions. A latch on a screen porch, a deadbolt, something to shore up those sliding

glass doors, alarm systems, triple thick security doors, even those doorbells with the cameras

installed that can pick up every movement and record it. They come with their own little app,

where users can share information about packages stolen,

or coyotes that may or may not have been sighted,

or the midday gunfire that was definitely your neighbor popping some bubble wrap.

And then there are the sightings of strangers. Oh, the strangers,

the more sedate the neighborhood, the more active. Suspicious persons, usually delivering

packages or dropping off restaurant menus, are endlessly discussed. And when there is an actual crime, everyone is

asked to check their footage on their doorbell and their security cameras. But the interesting

thing is this. Sometimes it's that protection itself that gives us new things to be afraid of. After all, there are

events that we never would have known about or would never have occurred at all if we didn't have

...