The writer shares three disturbing experiences from their childhood involving babysitting jobs.
In the first story, the writer was an 18-year-old babysitter for three boys. The youngest, 5-year-old Bobby, claimed to have seen a monster in his closet. Initially dismissive, the writer eventually heard strange noises in the closet and discovered that someone had been in the house. The police were called, and it was suspected that the intruder might have been the children's father, who had a history of violence.
In the second story, the writer was a 14-year-old babysitter for two boys, Alexander and Danny. Danny, 5, claimed to have heard tapping noises on his window at night, which the writer initially dismissed as imagination. However, when the writer heard the tapping noise themselves, they called the police, who revealed that there had been similar reports in the area of a stranger tapping on windows.
In the third story, the writer was an 8-year-old child who was left in the care of a 16-year-old babysitter named Nathan. Nathan seemed normal at first, but the writer began to feel uneasy when Nathan would enter their room at night. One night, the writer woke up to find Nathan standing in their room, and another night, they caught Nathan approaching their sister's bed. The writer yelled at Nathan to get away, and he left the room. The next morning, the writer's parents returned home, and Nathan was gone. The writer never told their parents about the incident, fearing embarrassment and awkwardness.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The narrator was 18 years old and working as a babysitter for a family with three young boys.
2. The boys' mother, Lucy, worked nights and the narrator would babysit until around midnight on weekdays.
3. One night, the 5-year-old boy, Bobby, woke up and told the narrator that there was a monster in his closet.
4. The narrator initially didn't believe Bobby, but when she heard a noise coming from the closet, she became concerned.
5. The narrator called Lucy and told her about the noise, and Lucy suspected that it might be her ex-partner, who had a history of instability.
6. The narrator and the boys went to another room and locked the door, and the narrator called 911.
7. The police arrived and searched the house, but found no one.
8. The narrator stopped working as a babysitter for the family after the incident.
9. The narrator had another experience as a 14-year-old babysitter for a family with two boys, Alexander and Danny.
10. The 5-year-old boy, Danny, told the narrator that he heard tapping noises on his window at night, but his parents didn't believe him.
11. One night, the narrator heard the tapping noise and saw someone lurking outside the window.
12. The narrator called the police, and they arrived to find no one, but told the narrator that they had received similar reports in the area.
13. The narrator had another experience as an 8-year-old child, when their parents hired a 16-year-old babysitter named Nathan.
14. Nathan seemed normal at first, but the narrator began to feel uncomfortable around him.
15. One night, the narrator woke up to find Nathan standing in their bedroom, and Nathan tried to get into bed with the narrator.
16. The narrator screamed and Nathan froze, then left the room.
17. The next day, the narrator avoided Nathan and stayed in their room.
18. That night, the narrator saw Nathan lurking outside their sister's bedroom door, and the narrator yelled at him to get away.
19. The next morning, the narrator's parents returned home, and the narrator told them that they had slept on their sister's floor, but didn't tell them about the incidents with Nathan.