A Danville, California boy and his friends are digging in a local bog when the witness strikes a huge toad. After that incident, the boy suffers a bizarre ordeal that will haunt him forever.
“It was October, the end of a very warm Indian Summer, a bunch of us kids sat milling around in a field behind a neighbor's house trying to decide what to do on such a boring lackluster day. As I was watching the sky, I noticed a bunch of buzzards which wasn't unusual, but what seemed weird was that they were circling around, attacking another very large bird. The buzzards were relentless dive-bombing this strange white-colored bird, which had to have had a wingspan of about 20 feet. Never have I ever seen such a large bird that never flapped its wings.
Anyway, there were about six of us. We decided to go digging. Everyone scattered, running home to gather shovels, hoes, and even a pick axe. This was California in 1964 in the small town of Danville. Population of just 6000 people. To the west of us is Mount Tamalpais, a low-level, hilly ridge with a massive oak tree at the very top in the shape of a grizzly which we called the bear tree. Below, on the valley floor, meandered a small creek, Walnut Creek. It was a child's paradise filled with pollywogs, small fish, and handmade rafts. Directly to the east lies the most distinctive geological feature of the East Bay called Mount Diablo, a single mount rising nearly a mile high and filled with sandstone caves. It was the source of many legends of Native American inhabitants on the mountain performing Pagan rituals.
Well, we all rejoined in the field and commenced digging at an agreed-upon spot. Shovels, picks, and hoes flailing, dirt flying in all directions and it was a wonder that no one was gouged to death. Then it happened. While I was using the shovel, jumping on the top of the blade, I hit something quite large and soft. The blade sank into this thing and blood started oozing out, covering the soil, forming a wet messy bog. We all jumped out of the hole we were digging in and tried to see what the object was. It was a toad but no ordinary toad. No sir, this toad had to be as large as the blade of my shovel. I was so upset and without saying goodbye, I turned around and headed home. It was that night that the idle life of this boy would take a very sinister turn.
I shared a room with my younger brother. He had the upper bunk and I was on the lower of the wooden bunk. We turned in and I fell into a restless sleep when suddenly, startled, I awoke to see that in the dim light, what I can only describe as a very large hand, with three long fingers, right in my face. I quickly covered my head under the blanket when a swampy, sickly smell of blood assailed my senses. I let out a scream, jumped up, and started running. The house we lived in had three bedrooms, very long, with three bedrooms at one end, followed by a long hallway to the living room and kitchen. As I ran out of my room, I could see a light at the end of the hall where the door was located in the living room. I made for the light running as fast as I could but the faster I ran, the walls of the hall began extending forward. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally could not run anymore and as I collapsed I felt this giant hand around my legs start dragging me back to my room. It was very big. I was so terrified, I was paralyzed. Then this thing pushed me under the bed where my last memory was me peering out from the recess of the floor under the bed to see two large red slits looking back at me.
For three straight nights, I endured this, what I assumed was a nightmare. After the third night, no more of the night terrors. But the funny thing was that after the third night, I awoke to find my entire body covered in warts. The doctor said he had never seen a case of warts as severe as mine. This is my true story.”
Transcribed Source: Beyond The Darkness – June 2, 2018
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