Author’s note: This is the first part of a two-part follow-up to October 2009’s “Night of the Harlequin” (http://from-the-shadows.blogspot.com/2009/10/night-of-harlequin.html). Dan Mitchell’s childhood waking nightmare still haunts him.
The entity would visit five-year-old Dan Mitchell’s bedroom at night. The thin, androgynous creature that called itself “the tooth fairy” would appear and tell him stories. Large, wide-open eyes – too large to be human eyes – stared at Mitchell as words spilled through its always open, round mouth.
Angel, demon or extraterrestrial?
It’s been more than 28 years since he first saw the entity he grew to call “the Harlequin,” but, although he goes years without feeling its presence, it’s always been with him, walking like cheap animation along the side of the road, or staring at him from the dark.
Mitchell and his family lived with his mother-in-law in a Milwaukee suburb briefly in 2009, just a few blocks from the house where he grew up – the house where he first experienced the Harlequin. It was waiting for him.
“A couple weeks ago I was helping my mother-in-law clean out her basement and organize a few things,” he said. “I woke up fairly early to get a head start on it before everybody started to wake up.”
Mitchell started working in the basement about 6:30 a.m. when he heard a noise from the top of the stairs.
“Within the first 10 minutes of going downstairs to organize, I keep hearing a tapping noise coming from upstairs by the back door,” Mitchell said. “It sounds like someone was gently tapping the window of the back door.”
At first he thought wind caused the sound, until it grew louder.
“Almost instantly it goes from a tapping to some quick thuds on the door that just stop abruptly,” Mitchell said. “It sounded like someone was knocking rather desperately. I was actually pretty startled by it.”
Mitchell grabbed a piece of pipe and slowly ascended the steps.
“I get to the top of the stairs and notice that whoever was knocking on the door was walking away toward the alley,” he said. “I can only see this person from the back and my heart utterly sank. I knew immediately what I was looking at.”
It was the Harlequin.
The entity walked away from the door like a bad theater actor. It wore a blonde wig, black winter cap and reddish-pink pants pulled up to the knees revealing unnaturally pale skin. It also wore penny-loafers with no socks and a winter coat with ruffles sewn onto it.
“For a brief second I thought maybe it was a homeless person, but there is just no way,” he said. “These things communicate they aren’t human just by their presence. I can’t describe this; you just can’t mistake it once you see it.”
The thin, sexless thing walked to the end of the sidewalk that cut through the back yard and disappeared behind the garage.
“I felt like I went instantly pale,” Mitchell said. “As it turned the corner to go behind our garage I caught a very quick glimpse of the eyes, the orbits were gigantic and the face was expressionless, almost mask-like. The thin mouth almost too small for the face.”
The thumps on the door woke Mitchell’s wife and she rushed downstairs worried her husband had tripped on the stairs. She found her husband staring out the window of the back door. Mitchell’s voice quivered as he told her what he’d seen.
“They don’t understand the dress at all or how to fit in,” Mitchell said. “I could have left this event as being a homeless person for the sake of my own comfort, but then we had another strange thing happen.”
Part two: The Harlequin speaks.
Copyright 2010 by Jason Offutt
Got a scary story? Ever played with a Ouija board, heard voices, seen a ghost, UFO or a creature you couldn’t identify? Let Jason know about it: Jason Offutt, P.O. Box 501, Maryville, Mo., 64468, or jasonoffutt@hotmail.com. Your story might make an upcoming installment of “From the Shadows.”
Jason’s books on the paranormal, “Darkness Walks: The Shadow People Among Us,” and “Haunted Missouri: A Ghostly Guide to Missouri’s Most Spirited Spots,” at Jason’s blog, from-the-shadows.blogspot.com.
I still haven't heard HOW this entity has injured the man. Alright, it has a specific interest in HIM. I have never heard of another such encounter. So, there must be something specific about HIM, that this thing is hanging around for. Alright, he is scared. Understandable. But obviously, if this thing WANTED to hurt him, it could do so. And has NOT. Why?
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like it could be one of those alien grays. Perhaps it was assigned to observe him from time to time as part of an ongoing study.
ReplyDeleteJason, over the last decade, as I've more and more come 'out' to those around me as a - as I sometimes jokingly put it - 'theosexual', (instead of merely burbling about it online), those around me've been more and more forthcoming about episodes of their own.
ReplyDeleteI, for instance, am prone to this peculiar 'little' one where a sort of buzzsaw of white light whirls out from somewhere just by my left ear, whizzes out directly in front of me about a foot and a half, spins around for a few seconds, then retreats, spinning in exactly the opposite direction.
My sister recently disclosed to me, without being aware of my own version of this 'special effect', she experiences exactly the same thing - on her right side.
But an experience of hers - more germane to your 'Harlequin' topic - is something which she recently very briefly and slightly reluctantly disclosed to me (after having gone into it with our brother in much greater detail a while back).
When I was kid, I was prone to peculiar experiences involving interactions with 'walls', and it turns out she was too.
One day, she was astonished - and entranced - to see Jack and Jill appear on her bedroom wall. It was like as if the wall was a window onto another world, and as she watched, the pair of them skipped up the hill only for Jack to suddenly turn on Jill, murder her, and throw her down the well.
But then, suddenly seeming to become aware my sister'd witnessed the whole thing - Jack started coming back down the hill, all the time beckoning her to join him.
And, she admitted, he'd seemed so nice and friendly and magical, and the world he lived in'd seemed so inviting, she'd almost been on the point of accepting - until she suddenly remembered what he'd done to Jill - at which point she'd done a runner from her room and refused to return to it for several hours until bedtime, when she'd spent the night shaking like a leaf with her blankets pulled firmly over her head.
The thing is, this sort of thing not only seems to be still going on, but - as a recent Loren Coleman Copycat Effect piece about kids hanging themselves made me suspect - it might be getting worse.
alanborky
Can we please have some kind of picture of this entity?
ReplyDeleteAlan,
ReplyDeleteI'd really like to hear more. Please e-mail me at jasonoffutt(at)hotmail.com.
Thanks.
Jason
As hard as it may be to obtain, a picture would certainly be a bonus! There's just too many Stephen King wanna be's using forums such as these. Not that I think this is the case at all with this specific story...however, one never knows.
ReplyDeleteNo question about it. This is a demon, or rather, a fallen angel in disguise. It knows what scares you and it is haunting you. They used to call these things 'familiar spirits'. Perhaps,someone in your ancestry was involved in the occult. That opens up a door to this kind of thing and continues on down through the generations of spiritually unsaved people. In other words, if you are not a Christian, this type of thing could happen to you. You should pray to Jesus the Christ, and in His name that He would drive this thing away. Then, you should get baptized, become a believer in Jesus the Christ and attend a good bible believing church, possibly Eastern Orthodox. Next time you see this thing,if you then see it again, tell it to leave forever, in the name of Jesus the Christ, son of the Living God. It will flee from you, if you do this.
ReplyDelete@ Christian Anon
ReplyDeleteGTFO, some of this stuff ain't religously related, from the sound of it it sounds like a stereotypical grey alien.
Please lay off the LSD folks. It's bad for your mental health.
ReplyDeletePlease, lay off the LSD folks. It is bad for your mental health.
ReplyDeletesounds like michael jackson to me
ReplyDeletelunaticcringeradio
B.S.
ReplyDeleteSo then Jason, are you going to keep us all waiting? Or can we have part two of this curious tale soon?
ReplyDeleteReading about this entity before I went to bed last night made me deliciously scared and I can't wait to be even more spooked out after reading more "Harlequin" stuff!
By the way, whoever thinks this thing could be a demon hasn't read any John A.Keel.
In fact,I have read all of John Keel's books. And, he would agree this is probably a demon.
ReplyDeleteI need part II ASAP!
ReplyDeleteThis story has haunted me since the first post.
I was hoping for part 2 today. :(
ReplyDeletethis is the creepiest story i have ever read.
ReplyDeleteJohn A Keel wouldn't agree with anything. He's dead.
ReplyDeleteUltraterrestrials are scarier than demons, so my money is on our "harlequin" being an ultraterrestrial, or a schizophrenic time lord!
Tell us how you arrived at that conclusion. I would be interested in knowing what studies you have conducted to evidence these 'ultraterrestrials' you believe in and how you determined that they are somehow different than demons.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe in either ultraterrestrials or demons. The entire "Harlequin" tale is merely a scarey story to me. The surreal elements of the tale sound more like something from Keel's books than the Bible.
ReplyDeleteNow if you'll demonstrate that you've read a Keel book so that you don't end up looking like some Bible pushing hell fire merchant, and that you know what you're talking about.
Indrid Frost.
Mr. Cold
ReplyDeleteMany who read the Mothman Prophecies were wondering where you went following the Silver bridge collapse in 1967 and the prognastications, most of which were wrong. Now we know: you like to hang out on the net trolling paranmormal websites spreading your venom.
Mr. Keel wondered who Mr. Cold was. The answer is simple: A fallen angel. Who knows: Mr. Cold may have also been one of the other identities, personas or materializations of the entity known as the the Mothman. A shapeshifter. Either way, his true identity was and is an evil spirit.
As for your insult of Christians and the Word of God, I will take that as par for the course from a demonic entity.
You have a lake without a beach front awaiting you in your future.
This is nothing other than demon activity.
ReplyDeleteAs for your insult of Christians and the Word of God, I will take that as par for the course from a demonic entity.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lake without a beach front awaiting you in your future.
Given what Christians are likely to think of my own morality, I of course wouldn't know; but for some reason I find myself wondering...is it really a positive thing, in moral terms, to go around randomly telling people that they're going to Hell?
Again, I'm not exactly sure, but that just strikes me as not being a particularly virtuous thing to do, for some reason.
M
ReplyDeleteIf you are feeling judged, that is your own conscience speaking to you.
As for telling the world about the danger of hell and warning them about it, that is a most virtuous thing.
If your home was on fire, as you sat unknowingly in your living room and your neighbor, who saw the flames lapping at the roof, chose not to tell you because it might offend you, would that be a virtuous thing?
Jason
ReplyDeleteMy wife has a gift. I'm not sure what you call it other than very strong faith. We are Orthodox Christians and our priest calls it prophesy. It took me a long time to accept and understand it, but I now know that she protects us from something that haunts our house. We live in an isolated part of the south. Our house is old, and I'm told was built on an indian site of some sort. The man who built it had a vast collection of artifacts from the homesite which is on top of a point on a high mountain. This "thing" lurks around and in the house. The dog sees it, but will not approach it. My wife confronts it with prayer and commands to get out. She is fearless. I am afraid of no man or animal, but I truely fear this thing. I feel helpless when it is there. My kids see it without ever being told about it, and know when it is gone.....after "Mom sends it away". It has no decernable appearance, except a dark shape or shadow. My skin crawls when it is there.....no doubt whatsoever that it is a real thing. Have you heard of this before?
What kind of Orthodox Christian are you?
ReplyDeleteAs the man of the home, you should be the one who commands the evil spirit to leave, in the name of Jesus the Christ. Do not put this burden on your wife. You are the spiritual head of the family. Start acting like it. God has annointed you to that position. Take command. Engage your family in Bible study at home. Pray as a family. Have your Priest conduct an exorcism.
Have you confessed your sins to God? Do you regularly take communion? There is no such thing as ghosts. The fact that you are possibly on an Indian burial ground is irrelevant. Their spirits are not here. It is demonic spirits who probably once were worshipped as or treated likes gods by the pagan indians who occupied this ground that are still milling around.
If you are a Christian, then He who is within you is greater than he who is in the world.
Practice your asserted faith. Be a Man.
If you are feeling judged, that is your own conscience speaking to you.
ReplyDeleteNo, it isn't.
I was initially silly enough to allow myself to actually be offended by what you said, but on further analysis, (and with the assistance of some other comments here) realised that as Dan himself has said, you've made a lot of entirely unfounded assumptions, and not just about me, either.
In dealing with the Internet, I really need to develop thicker skin.
Have you confessed your sins to God? Do you regularly take communion? There is no such thing as ghosts. The fact that you are possibly on an Indian burial ground is irrelevant. Their spirits are not here. It is demonic spirits who probably once were worshipped as or treated likes gods by the pagan indians who occupied this ground that are still milling around.
ReplyDeleteSo, let's see.
You're an adherent of a religion, many of whose other adherents condoned (and enthusiastically engaged in) the rape, trophy hunting, and general genocide of more than 90% of America's native population, (around 12 million people, by some estimates) and then capped it off with the presumed celebration of the glory of Jesus Christ that was Wounded Knee, all while using Israel's earlier genocidal orgies from the Old Testament as precedent.
Then you're saying that if people have built their houses over the top of Indian burial grounds, (after good Christians presumably helped put said Indians there) it's entirely irrelevant.
Then, to really sink the boots in and put icing on the cake, for a grand finale you're claiming that the foci of the Native American religion are demons.
And yet apparently, Dan and I are the ones whose behaviour has obviously caused us to end up being in league with demons.
Yeah, that makes sense.
No true Christians ever murdered anyone. To the extent the people who were living in America were killed by Europeans, and not in self defense, then such killings will be judged by God as murder. That day is coming. The Word of God is clear.
ReplyDeleteLet me state for the record that the Word of God is clear: there are no ghosts of the deceased still around after death. Ask yourself, what is death, if the disembodied spirits of deceased humans can still physically manifest and interact with the physical world and living humans. How can the dead open doors, move things around and talk without bodies?
The indians in America, like the Europeans before the introduction of Christianity, were all pagans. They worshipped demons who to them looked like gods. And, why wouldnt they look like gods? They have preternatural powers that to us mere mortals make them appear godlike.
I need to be a man? Who are you to say I'm not? I've been to war and seen things there you can't even imagine. I said that I fear nothing of this world, including you and your pseudo-intellectual religious rant. Being of the oldest Christian faith, I have always been the spiritual leader of my family....and still am. The fact that my wife has the weapon in this case does not mean I am impotent to deal with it. It just so happens that in this situation.....I am. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit in the corner cowering. God has given her the inner strength to defeat this thing for a reason, and I don't feel that my masculinity is threatened by it. I doubt you have ever faced true fear. I mean frozen in your place, pissing your pants fear, or you wouldn't speak down on those who have. Face something like this, then talk to me. I think you would wind up a pathetic, cringing little milk-sop. You have the understanding of a small soap dish. Next time, I'll say what I really think......I wasn't talking to you anyway.
ReplyDeleteIf by Orthodox Christian you mean you are Greek Orthodox, wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI am Eastern Orthodox. If my telling of the truth has inspired you and others, then thank God.
Try not to threaten and lecture or become emotional about the topic. Those are not the traits of a man who claims to be a follower of Jesus the Christ.
The fact that you have risen up in anger and emotion, only reveals how much you need Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Truth has a way of making people angry.
ReplyDeleteTo the Man living on the indian burial ground
ReplyDeletePlease explain to us what kind of power it is that your wife has that the entity or whatever it is keeps coming back after she has 'driven it off'.
Also, does she pray in the name of Jesus the Christ for whatever it is to flee and never come back?
Why doesn't your 'orthodox' priest tell you that you need to have an exorcism? Has he conducted one? What does he think this thing is? Does he believe in the existence of ghosts? Does he believe in the existence of demons? Has he ever come to your house? Does he believe the Bible is the literal word of God?
There are billions of people now imprisoned in hell and hundreds of millions currently alive on earth who have personal knowledge that you are as wrong as you can be about the existence of the devil as well as his character and reality.
ReplyDeletewhy........you're as nutty as a fruitcake.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading the story of Mitchell's encounter with this Harlequin Entity and have 2questions for Mitchell:
ReplyDelete1) In this particular post it was mentioned that a man named Hicks in England saw one of these entities. He later had a sketch made of this entity. Mitchell saw it and indicated that it looked like the entity that he has seen. Is there a website address that has a picture of this sketch?
2) If you encounter this entity again, will you ask it what it wants and what it is.
Thank you in advance for your response.