Caroline Brown

Natalie Goggin, Illinois, 16

Wednesday, March 7th, 1984

        Today, I heard a thump. It was very strange, because even though I found a package by our front door, it didn’t sound like a knock. I couldn’t tell where it came from either. I searched all over the house, even the basement, but I found nothing. Maybe it was an animal on the roof? My mother didn’t believe me when she got home from her job at the hospital. My father will be home next week from his business trip. No need to bother him now, I guess. After all, it was just a thump.

Thursday, March 15th, 1984

        I heard a weird thump again today. My father went to look for a cause, but all he found was a dead bird in the yard. It must have hit the window—poor thing. School was fine today, but I’m worried about my math test tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll do fine.

Thursday, March 22nd, 1984

        I heard a thump at school today. Nobody else heard it, but they noticed the smell. We left the classroom because it was so awful, so we did our reading in the hall. My best friend’s brother says that when they went looking for the smell, they found a dead rat in the ceiling. The teachers won’t say anything, though. I guess rats aren’t a good look for the school.

Wednesday, March 28th, 1984

        I’m starting to feel paranoid. I heard another thump today. I was too scared to find out where it came from. Still, when he came home, my father noticed something very wrong. There was a turtle on our roof. Dead. The only rational explanation is that a hawk left it there. It seemed like an omen—a bad one.

Monday, April 2nd, 1984

        My parents don’t believe me anymore. I told them about the thump I heard today. They were more concerned about my sanity than the strange sound that seems to follow me. I have to find someone who will listen. My grandma vaguely remembers a friend from her childhood who was haunted by strange sounds, like I am. Maybe I can find her?

Friday, April 6th, 1984

        I’m starting to believe that I really am losing my mind. I heard another thump today. Found a dead cat on my porch. I guess it ate some rat poison. I searched for my grandma’s friend. All I know is that she is dead. Has been dead for a long time. Didn’t live past twenty. Everyone I ask says she was never in good health, but nobody knows how she died. They say the sickness started in her brain. Was it the noises?

Monday, April 9th, 1984

I can’t sleep anymore. I heard another thump today. Louder. Closer. My grades are awful. My parents are furious. Maybe I’ll drop out, but I’m so close to graduating—just a few more months. There was a dead raccoon near our trash bins today. I can’t explain what happened to it. But somehow, even it had a peace that has eluded me for weeks. For a moment, I envied it.

Wednesday, April 11th, 1984

        As I woke up today, I heard another thump. I have to escape this. I can’t stay any longer. I can’t take it. We found a dead dog in our garage today. We keep the doors closed. We don’t have a dog. My parents are threatening to send me away to a boarding school. To fix me. I hope they do. I feel a shadow following me, drawing closer. Maybe it’s inside of me.

Thursday, April 12th, 1984

        I need to leave right now. It happened again today—a thump. I could have sworn I heard a scream. But nobody else hears it. It’s all in my head. But they saw the deer. Dead, mere feet from our back door. They’re sending me away in two days. They call me cursed. My friends call me crazy. Is there anything I can do but wait? But I know that the darkness has found me already. It had its chase, and now it has clung to me and seeped through my skin into my brain and my soul. It’s too late.

Friday, April 13th, 1984

        I’ve accepted my fate. I only hope I can help those who are next to be haunted. I don’t know who will be next, and I don’t know why. But now I know how to survive, if you can escape in time. You have to c

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Wednesday, March 15th, 2029, Elizabeth Parks

         I have collected the released journal entries of Caroline Brown. Over the past week, while researching this topic for an article, I have gathered additional information about Caroline’s life. Born January 27, 1967, Caroline was found dead on April 13th, 1984, at the age of 17. Her parents reportedly discovered her body slumped over her desk, pen in hand. They found these journal entries and shared them, along with their view of Caroline’s final weeks, with the authorities. According to their testimony, Caroline began hearing strange noises that nobody else could hear. Dead animals started appearing after nearly every time she mentioned this, but everyone believed it to be coincidental. Only in the final days did they start to really worry, and they planned to send her away to a boarding school to hopefully break the dark curse clinging to her. But it was too little, too late. My grandmother, who was friends with Caroline, shared the horror she felt when she found out about her death and the torture she had been through.

        The last line of Caroline’s journal entry from the day of her death is tragically incomplete. I try to guess what Caroline was trying to say. But there are too many possibilities. Still, I must try them all. Because today, I heard a phantom scratching for the second time. And I know that as I step outside, I will find a dead bird.