(set: $name1 to (prompt: "Enter a name for your son:")) You had always wanted kids but there(click-replace: "You had always wanted kids but there")[You weren’t sure if you wanted kids because there] (click-replace: "You weren’t sure if you wanted kids because there")[You had always wanted kids but there] (click-replace: "You had always wanted kids but there")[You weren’t sure if you wanted kids because there] were so many things to consider, so many challenges. Money, time, responsibility. You had many sleepless nights in the lead up to the birth but on that day the worries disappeared. He was perfect. You and your partner felt only love and happiness in that moment.
[[2]]
There were many more sleepless nights after that. This time because of crying and feeding, not stress and anxiety, but on the whole things went relatively smoothly. You went back to work, and your partner, (set: $name2 to (prompt: "Enter a name for your partner:")) $name2, did as well. $name1 met all the early milestones – he learned to sit, to stand, to walk, to talk. He was a bubbly, happy baby. But as he became older, the trouble signs began. He had constant nightmares.
[[3]]
<audio src="http://mrclan.com/fastdl/tfc/sound/misc/whiner2.wav" autoplay>
(link: "What is wrong darling?")[<span class="SonClass"> Monsters</span>]
[[4]]
He was always being chased by monsters in his dreams. And the waking hours were not much better. The monsters had different names at first but then there was one that kept recurring.
[[5]]
(link: "What is wrong darling?")[<span class="SonClass">It's the Boogie Man</span>]
[[6]]
**The Boogie Man**. The Boogie Man was everywhere.
The Boogie Man was in the backyard. (click-replace: "The Boogie Man was in the backyard.")[The Boogie Man was in his bedroom.](click-replace: "The Boogie Man was in his bedroom.")[The Boogie Man was at Kindergarten.] (click-replace: "The Boogie Man was at Kindergarten.")[The Boogie Man was at Grandma and Granpa's house.]
[[7]]
You and $name2 did your best to console $name1. You bought him a dog to protect him and keep him company.
[[Buy a dog]]
$name3 was dutiful in spending time with $name1 but was just as highly strung - always barking and making a fuss. You considered getting rid of the dog as it might just be making things worse but $name1 was too attached to $name3.
[[9]]
<audio src="http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/miscellaneous_sounds/dog-barking-2.wav" autoplay>
At first you dismissed $name1’s behaviour. Surely this was just a phase, it’s normal for a kid to have an imagination. But the paranoia never stopped. There was always someone following him, trying to hurt him.
[[10]]
You took him to numerous doctors who dismissed these concerns time and again.
(link:"It’s just a normal child’s imagination")[It’s just a phase – he’ll grow out of it]
[[11]]
But finally at age 10 it could no longer be ignored by anyone and a psychiatrist finally diagnosed $name1 with very early onset Paediatric Schizophrenia. The diagnosis was upsetting of course but on the other hand at least you finally had answers; at least there was now a treatment.
[[12]]
But the treatment was also heartbreaking.
(link: "$name1 used to be an anxious and paranoid but lively child")[Now he was docile.]
His delusions were dulled but so was everything else.
[[13]]
You are having trouble sleeping again tonight, thinking back over $name1’s life. Both $name1 and $name3 have been quiet but something’s bothering you. You get up and go to $name1's bedroom.
[[Open the door]]
$name1 is sleeping with $name3 on the bed beside him. You go to close the door but notice a shadow in the room. <span class="YouClass">That’s strange</span> you think to yourself. You turn on the light.
[[15]]
<audio src="http://www.pachd.com/sfx/door_creak1.wav" autoplay>
*There is a man standing in the corner of the room!*
He meets your eyes for a moment and then he turns to dart out the window. You move equally quickly and grab his leg before he can escape. You struggle with him for a few minutes but your adrenaline kicks in and you manage to subdue him and pin him to the ground with an arm hold.
$name1 wakes up and $name3 is barking. $name2 enters the room – <span class="PartnerClass">What is going on?</span>
[[16]]
<audio src="http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/miscellaneous_sounds/dog-barking-2.wav" autoplay>
<span class="YouClass">Just what I would like to know.</span> You reply. <span class="YouClass">Grab our gun and some rope.</span>
$name2 looks worried. <span class="PartnerClass">Honey are you sure that’s-</span>
<span class="YouClass">**Just do it!**</span> You yell.
You feel anger welling inside you like you have never known.
[[17]]
$name2 returns with the gun and rope. You tie the man’s hands behind his back.
<span class="PartnerClass">Come on, darling.</span> $name2 says to $name1. <span class="PartnerClass">Let’s get out of here.</span>
You let them go.
Once you are satisfied that the man is not going anywhere, you grab the gun and you start the questioning.
[[Interrogate the man]]
<span class="YouClass">What are you doing here?!</span>
<span class="ManClass">Research. </span> The man responds calmly.
<span class="YouClass">Research? What do you mean?</span>
<span class="ManClass">Oh various things.</span>
You move the gun closer to his face.
<span class="YouClass">Like What?</span>
[[19]]
<span class="ManClass">Well the primary experiment was regarding inducing paranoia. There is some debate you see, particularly around childhood schizophrenia. Many think it is just biological, chemical. I wanted to see if it could be induced by pure physical stimuli.</span>
<span class="YouClass">How?</span> You ask.
<span class="ManClass">I followed him, appeared in all of his natural environments but avoided being seen by others so that they might think it’s all in his head. Only he knew I was there. Well him and the dog but no one’s going to question a dog. I had to embody the fear, be the bump in the night so to speak. I couldn’t just be an imaginary friend – I had to be a feared object. So I had to frighten him, to terrorise him, to hurt him.</span>
[[20]]
Your fingers grip the gun tightly.
<span class="YouClass">How did you hurt him?</span>
<span class="ManClass">Various ways. I was careful not to leave any marks of course. Others would notice. Soap in a sock, that kind of thing. I had to really traumatise him in order for the experiment to be fully realised. Sexual interference as well, but nothing that would cause long lasting physical damage.</span>
[[21]]
<span class="YouClass">**You monster! Why?! Why would you do this?**</span>
<span class="ManClass">It’s purely scientific. Just science, nothing more.</span>
<span class="YouClass">**You're insane!** This is over now. You are not going to hurt $name1 anymore.</span>
<span class="ManClass">Yes I suppose the experiment is ruined now. You know what’s happening. It’s no longer a blind study.</span>
[[22]]
You have heard enough. You see the choice before you now. You
[[Pull the trigger]]
[[Call the police]]
(background:red)[You pull the trigger and the bullet goes through his brain and spatters onto the wall.] You are glad that $name1 didn’t have to see this. You take the body to your car and then bury it in the woods and come back to clean up the house. You worry about cops coming to your door to take you away but no one ever comes. It’s such an unlikely story – who would believe it? You realise that you still don’t have the full story. Who was that man really? What did he do with the rest of his life? Were there other people that he hurt? At least he won’t hurt anyone else now.
It takes a long time for $name1 and the whole family to calm down. The whole ordeal has left its mark. Eventually $name1 does become less fearful. He still has social anxiety and many other difficulties but the paranoia improves dramatically. You take him off the medication of course but it’s difficult to explain this to his psychiatrist. You run into all sorts of trouble because you are accused of not providing adequate care for your son. But what are you supposed to do? Tell the truth? That you shot a man. You’ll be sent to jail and how will that help $name1? Eventually the psychiatrist concedes that the delusions seem to have died down but the diagnosis never goes away – he’s just in remission. Things never go back to what you would call normal, the trauma and the fear are still there, but with the man dead and gone there is some sense of closure.
**THE END**
<audio src="http://ricostardeluxe.free.fr/garand_shoot_fire.wav" autoplay>
<span class="YouClass">$name2, call 911.</span>
The police arrive quickly. It’s such a strange story that you worry they won’t believe you but the man confesses to everything. He’s not a monster in his own eyes; he’s just a scientist. It turned out he had been a researcher at a university but was dismissed due to unethical conduct. He never stopped experimenting though. $name1 was not the only child he had conducted this experiment on - there were many others. Not to mention all the sick experiments on animals the police found at his home.
The court process takes years and it’s traumatic for the whole family every time you have to testify. Eventually the man is sent to prison. You take $name1 to individual and family counselling and he makes good progress. He no longer has to take the medication of course and the diagnosis of schizophrenia is removed and he starts to become more like your idea of normal. You can never quite shake the fear that the Boogie Man really is out there but now he is the one who is being watched and $name1 is out of his reach.
**THE END**
<audio src="http://wolo-usa.com/siren3.wav" autoplay>
<span class="ManClass">**THE BOOGIE MAN** </span>
By MrRadagast
[[Click to Start]]
You still remember the day your son was born.
[[1]]
A cute little pug (click-replace: "A cute little pug")[A protective German Shepard] (click-replace: "A protective German Shepard")[A cute little pug](click-replace: "A cute little pug")[A protective German Shepard] named (set: $name3 to (prompt: "Enter a name for your dog:")) $name3
[[8]]