I found a box of cassette tapes in the attic of my house. The contents on the tapes are unsettling.

When I was twelve, my family moved into a new neighborhood. The year was 1998 and my dad had just lost his job. The cost of living in California was just too much after that and my family was forced to pack up everything and move to what literally felt like the middle of nowhere to a twelve year old. In reality, it was only about an hour outside of Portland, Oregon. A family friend had owned a small remote cabin near Grifford Pinchot National Forest and offered to sell it to my family at a price far below the market to cut our family a break.
A couple weeks later, I was pouting in the back of our caravan as my mom, sister and I took off to our new home, following the path of the large moving van my dad and oldest brother were driving.
If you didn?t know the whereabouts of the cabin, it would be nearly impossible to find. The turn-off for it was masked by dark, thick trees and it was clear my dad?s friend hadn?t been up to the cabin in a long, long time. In the weeks it took to get the cabin in shape for us to live there, well, that?s when I found the tapes.
I was taking a break from my unboxing when I discovered the string that would pull the staircase to the attic down. Too short to reach it, I called my dad over for help.
?Well, would you look at that!? He exclaimed, ?John never mentioned anything about an attic when he showed me the blueprints to this place.?
My dad reached for the string and pulled it down, revealing the unwinding staircase.
?Let me go up first.? He said, looking down at me, ?Just in case the staircase needs repair or the floorboards up there are loose.?
I watched him climb up the stairs and when he made it safely to the top, followed after him. The attic we had back at our old house was so small, it was impossible to stand up fully in. This one felt gigantic compared to that. Not only was I able to stand and walk around, so was my 6?2 father.
There were all sorts of things in the attic that captured my attention. A stained, fabric mannequin with a torn antique dress still on it, a pretty lavish mirror with a gold frame, boxes packed into corners that looked filled with toys and other personal belongings, a rocking chair, and well, those are just the things I remember from all this time.
I found the tapes up there, in a small shoebox, buried in a pile of larger boxes in a corner.
?Hey Dad, look what I found!? I said, holding up the small shoebox full of cassette tapes, ?What do you think is on these??
They were blank, just all black.
My Dad barely glanced up from the boxes he was picking through, ?Oh, probably just music. You know, I think I still have my old walkman somewhere that would be able to play those. Your mom probably knows where it is.?
I never got around to listening to those tapes back then. They must?ve gotten displaced by the time we had cleaned out the house and moved our stuff in. For the longest time, I forgot they even existed.
Today, I am 33 years old and the reason I am writing this is: I am currently moving out of the house I?ve been renting for four years and I just found the old shoebox full of cassette tapes in my attic while packing up my things.
Before you might ask, no, I have no clue how they ended up here. I don?t ever remember packing them when I moved out of my parents house or even unpacking them and putting them in the attic, which was empty when I moved in. I?m sure there is a reasonable explanation. My parents and siblings helped a lot with the move and it is possible they somehow found the tapes, thought they were mine, and brought them here. That?s the only explanation I have to offer. But then again, it?s also been years since we lived in that cabin. My dad found a good paying job only a year after living there and we moved to a more populated town soon after.
Anyways, I?m just talking in circles. I?ve listened to the first tape and will transcribe it below because frankly, it?s freaking me out and I need to tell someone about it.
There are only two voices on the tape.
Here it is:
Dr. Shepherd: Hello, Caleb. It?s nice to see you again, how have you been doing since I last saw you?
Caleb: I?ve been okay.
Dr. Shepherd: Good, good. Do you know why your mother brought you in to see me today?
Caleb: No. I?ve been good, I promise! My grades are getting better and I?ve only been written up once since school started!
Dr. Shepherd: Yes I know, Caleb. That?s fantastic! You?ve made a lot of progress and your parents are very proud of you.
Caleb (his voice gets a little deeper here): Ok, then why am I here? Why did I have to come see you, Dr. Shepherd?
Dr. Shepherd: Well your mother has been telling me that you?ve been having some trouble sleeping. Is that true?
Caleb: I guess so.
Dr. Shepherd: Okay, is there any reason why you haven?t been able to sleep at night?
Caleb: I?m just restless, that?s all.
Dr. Shepherd: Restless, huh? Is there something causing you to feel restless?
Caleb: I?m just stressed about school, that?s all.
Dr. Shepherd: But you?re doing so much better now and staying out of trouble, aren?t you relieved?
Caleb: Well school is stressful sometimes.
Dr. Shepherd: I understand that. But are you sure that?s the only reason you?re feeling restless?
Caleb: Yes.
Dr. Shepherd: It has nothing to do with what you saw in the forest that night?
Caleb can be heard taking a sharp breath in.
Caleb: What?
Dr. Shepherd: You saw something in the forest last month, didn?t you? On July 29th, right after the county fair was over.
Caleb: How did you-?
Dr. Shepherd: Your mom told me about it.
Caleb: I didn?t tell my mom about anything.
Dr. Shepherd: Are you sure you didn?t tell her anything?
Caleb (his tone is indignant): Yes I am sure.
There is silence for a moment.
Dr. Shepherd: Do you want to talk about what you saw?
Caleb: I didn?t see anything! I don?t know what you?re talking about.
Dr. Shepherd: Caleb, please, spare me the dramatics. You should know by now the eyes I have around this town.
There is silence again.
Dr. Shepherd: Now, I believe I asked nicely the first time. I might not again. Do you want to talk about what you saw?
Caleb: I-I didn?t see much. It was dark. It was hard to see anything. I barely saw anything, I?m being honest.
Dr. Shepherd: Well, what were you able to see?
Caleb: I?m being honest, I swear. I didn?t see much. It was dark, I just wanted to go home. You have to believe me.
Dr. Shepherd: I believe you, Caleb. But I need to know what you saw or we?re never going to find a solution to you?re sleep issues.
One of them sighs, I believe it is Caleb.
Caleb: I saw...figures in the woods.
Dr. Shepherd: Figures.
Caleb: Yes, like people but I couldn?t make out any faces or anything. They were wearing cloaks.
Dr. Shepherd: Were they speaking?
Caleb: It sounded like they were chanting or something, I don?t know. Maybe singing? They were far away, I couldn?t make out the words.
Dr. Shepherd: Hmm, and what else did you see?
Caleb: Nothing for awhile. I was almost about to get back on my bike and leave when I saw him...or rather IT.
Dr. Shepherd: It?
Caleb: Look, I don?t know what I saw, okay? Are we done now? Can I leave, please?
Dr. Shepherd: There?s no need to be so scared, Caleb. If you please just tell me what you saw, I?m sure I could help you. Just like I helped you with your problems at school, with your issues with your dad, and with...well, you know.
Caleb (his tone is hard): Yes I know.
Dr. Shepherd: Okay, so just tell me what you saw.
Another pause.
Caleb: Something...big...was climbing out of the trees. It was hard to make out, I just know it was large, at least the size of the old library building on Old Oak Street. It was like it was compelled by the chanting or something.
Dr. Shepherd: And did this thing do anything?
Caleb: It grabbed one of the chanters and took off back into the forest.
Dr. Shepherd: Huh...well, alright. Can you describe the thing you saw more?
Caleb: It had two big red eyes...and a large mouth. It was smiling...grinning. It?s teeth were sharp like knives. It made me feel dizzy so I looked away.
Dr. Shepherd: Okay, and what happened after this thing took somebody into the woods?
Caleb: I don?t know. I was scared at that point so I got back on my bike and rode the rest of the way home.
Dr. Shepherd: And have you gone back to that spot?
Caleb: What? No-
Dr. Shepherd: Have you gone looking for him, Caleb?
Caleb: No!
Dr. Shepherd: Have you heard the chanting since, Caleb? Is that what?s keeping you up at night?
Caleb: No! I haven?t gone back and I don?t want to! I?ll just forget about it. That?s it, I?ll just forget whatever I saw. It was probably just Josh and his friends pulling some dumb prank.
Dr. Shepherd: That?s all the time we have for today, Caleb, but I?ll be seeing you next week. Same time. It?s already been sorted with your mother, okay.
Caleb: What, no! I don?t need to come back. I don?t need to talk to you. I?ve been good, I?ll be good! I won?t say anything, I promise. I?ll forget! I was probably dreaming. It was nothing!
Dr. Shepherd: You?re going to have a hard time sleeping, Caleb. We?re going to need to work on that, so I?ll see you next week, okay?
The tape cuts off at this point.
There are nine tapes left in the box, but I?m hesitant to continue listening to them. I listened to that tape last night and I woke up this morning at 3 am to hear some sort of voices coming from my window. It sounded like chanting. I?m scared and I?m honestly considering just burning them or something.
But I?m also curious...so maybe I need to finish listening to them.


Source.