Ok I'm not crazy, but for a while i felt like i was being watched constantly. 

There is nothing unique about my house or my neighborhood. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 story plantation style home with big pillars and shutters out front. A beautiful massive magnolia taller than the house sits in the front yard. The rest of the homes on the street are the classic fan faire of a suburban neighborhood built in the 70’s. We’ve lived here since I was about 12 and honestly I've always kind of felt off walking through it.

When you have a big family it's honestly not often you are home alone. Especially with younger siblings, but eventually time moves, and people move. Yet somehow I'm the oldest and the last one to leave. It's not like my dad needs me but I've never felt the itch to fly the coop and he hasn't pushed me out yet.

When my final brother left you could feel the emptiness. No arguments, no loud music. Well besides my music but otherwise it's just the noise of the TV as dad watches the news or street outlaws. He loves racing. 

It didn't take long for things to feel off. Not like the times are changing off, but eerie off. As if the house itself had grown restless with its new state. Creaks and knocks seemed louder over the past few weeks. Shadows seemed deeper and the second floor began to feel like unhallowed ground. As if remnants of my siblings lingered in an uncomfortable presence. 

I found myself waking at night to knocking, but to no avail I couldn't find the source. It clearly was not coming from the front door or even the back door. Nearly sounded as if someone were trying to see if anyone was in my siblings' bedrooms. Respectful if they were here and if someone were actually there. Yet sure enough after I open the door nothing is there and the knocking is over. I was terrified at this point. Sleep was slowly shifting to day time naps.

“Son, you gotta stop walking around all night long.” irritation evident in my dads voice.

“Dad, I'm telling you something weird is going on upstairs. I keep hearing knocking from the boys rooms and obviously those uglies aren't here anymore.

“Did you think to check the attic genius? I bet there's a critter hiding out there at night.” you can always expect something smart from my dad. At the time I thought it was a great point. 

I scoured the attic for anything that might look as if there was an animal up there. No holes or obvious points of entry. The crappy insulation looked undisturbed for the most part. Doubtful anything could live in that ancient glass.

Yet the noises continued. 

Finally I decided to sleep in each room till I figured out where the noise was coming from. Well sleep is a significant understatement. More of sitting in their rooms with my phone and hoping nothing weird happens. Only 3 bedrooms occupied the second floor and the noise clearly never came from my room. The other two sat at the end of the hall directly across from each other. 50/50 on which one it would be. 

Sure enough that night i heard the knocking but it came from the other room. Shooting across to inspect i could see nothing in the room. Nothing sat in the windows staring at me swinging at an invisible intruder. Better to swing first and ask questions later when you hear something in your home. Again the knocking was gone as quick as it had come. Nothing in the closet hiding and nothing in the bathroom. See the two bedrooms shared a toilet but both had their own sinks so I thought maybe something could be in the bathroom. Yet again nothing to be found. Windows were all locked and no other noises seemed to plague me after the knocking.

Fear had long since left me at that point and I was getting frustrated. I had one more night till I figured out what it was. There was only one room left to sleep in. sleep was the last thing on my mind after that. I spent the rest of the day searching the room to ensure nothing was out of the ordinary. Some hidden contraband my brother left but no signs of something more devious than his magazines. 

I put a late pot of coffee on and prepared my snacks. Made sure my phone was charged and grabbed my favorite pocket knife. This had to be it. I went up early to get ready for the long night. My dad had given up on my antics and having moved to the other side of the house was quieter for him anyways.

I couldn't focus on anything, simply stared at the walls, the windows, the ceiling and the door. Nothing would escape my notice. Seconds felt like hours and my pot of coffee was draining at a rapid rate. I'm a nervous drinker even if I wasn't that tired. Yet the constant anxiety lulled me into sleep. Without realizing i woke to the knocking. Disoriented i thought it came from the window but as i got up i continued to hear the knocking from my side. Quickly shining the light on the small cross through, assuming it came from the bathroom. Just enough of my flashlight caught the mirror and I froze. There it was.