Strangers

No one knows how many Strangers there are; there may be only one. But they take things - some things worse than others. They are humanoid but naked and featureless, save for a mouth full of jagged and misaligned teeth. Their fingers are slender and boney, sharpened to a point. Like all things, they must feed. Thankfully their appetite is not particularly voracious.

Sightings have been reported all across the world and across generations. They follow the same patterns and contain the same description of a six to seven-foot tall creature with pale skin. Some scientists believe them to be responsible for myths from the Toothfairy, to the Chupacabra. This cryptic creature is a cryptid all its own, however. Modern sightings are more well-documented and shed greater light on the Strangers and their behaviors.

One such instance is the Parker family.

On a particularly dark and moonless night out in the country, the Parkers were asleep in their beds. The house was warm, contrasting the cold and bitter wind that carried in frozen flurries outside. Robert and Joanna were bundled sufficiently with layers of covers, and little baby Jocelyn was swaddled well in her crib and displayed proudly on the baby monitor, the glow from the screen the only light in the house. Everyone was warm and comfortable, and the night was peaceful and quiet.

The silence was broken by a creaking and a shuffle. On the monitor, all that could be seen was a birds-eye view of Jocelyn’s crib. Jocelyn began to stir, bothered by the noise and a sudden cold. Slowly, sinisterly, long and spindly fingers crept into the crib. The boney claws wrapped around the helpless child, and she cried out as she was lifted from her crib.

Her cries woke Robert, who groggily looked over to see a crib devoid of life. Yet he could still hear her screaming. He bolted upright, scrambling to remove the multiple covers. His frenzy awoke his wife, who heard the cries and asked what was going on.

Suddenly they both heard a sickening squelch, and the cries stopped. Robert reached into his nightstand and grabbed his revolver, nearly discharging it into the drawer in his haste. Clambering from the bed, he rushed to the bedroom door and down the short hallway to the nursery. When he threw open the door, he nearly vomited.

Inside was a Stranger, hunched over and holding his precious Jocelyn; holding what was left of her. It had eaten away her head, unwrapped her swaddle, and was chewing on her torso. Its head swiveled toward him, and its bloody maw opened to let out a scream. Robert responded in kind, and through tears, took aim and fired. He hit the Stranger center mass with two shots before it could even react, and it was knocked to the floor.

Robert lowered his gun, but the Stranger came to life and scrambled toward the window, screeching. He raised his gun again and emptied it into the creature's back. The bullets tore open the Stranger's flesh, and it collided bloodily and bodily with the wall under the window. Robert watched it for a moment and saw no signs of life. He then turned to his sweet baby, and he wept. He fell to his knees and crawled to what was left of her.

By this point, Joanna was in the doorway. She saw the blood, the body, and the baby. She collapsed at the sight, crying out in anguish at their loss. Robert cradled Jocelyn’s body in his arms, her blood staining his nightshirt. The tragedy that had befallen the Parkers was one of immeasurable sadness, and the pain in their tears would stain their faces much as her blood soaked into his clothes. They would be forever haunted by the scars this event would leave in its wake, and nothing would ever take their suffering away.

Without warning their two cries turned to three, and the Stranger staggered to its feet. Robert fell silent and Joanna screamed with fear and rage. It howled in agony as it dragged itself through the window and into the cold night. The Parkers simply sat there for a moment, dumbstruck by the seemingly immortal monstrosity they had just witnessed. Before long Robert collected his wits and with a trembling voice told his wife to go get the shotgun and call 911.

When the police arrived the Parkers were still shaken up badly, and when Robert told the officers what had happened they asked him if he was sure it wasn't an animal. While Robert and the police argued, a black and unmarked SUV pulled up outside along with several similarly liveried vans. Four dark-suited men got out of the SUV and flashed some badges identifying themselves as government officials before heading into the house.

They heard Roberts' story and one of them made a call, presumably to some superior, while another spoke into an earpiece. Within seconds armed men began pouring out of the back of the vans and setting up a perimeter. They found the trail of blood leading away into the fields and followed it, but though they searched until daylight they found nothing.

This is one of the best-recorded interactions with a Stranger. Typically they are not caught in the act, much less on camera. Scientists are hopeful that one day we will be able to capture one.

To communicate with it, of course.