Haunter of the Blackest Depths

July 14th

Father died today. Doctors say it was a heart attack. I’m not surprised. His health had been declining for over a decade now. The hard part will be telling Julie. She was close to him when she was younger. Kevin’s probably going to be hurt, too. He’s too young to remember his grandfather’s better years but they still had a few happy moments. I remember them all sitting together while their grandfather told them stories of his undersea expeditions. He made it sound like it was something out of a movie or book. I’m personally grateful he’s dead. Ever since Mom died, life has been hell for him. He was suffering from all kinds of mental health issues. I’m taking some comfort that he’s gone now.

July 15th

I went to Dad’s house today. Journey and I both agreed that we need to sell it which means I need to clean it out. I talked to Derek and he said I could use some vacation time to get a few days off. 

I decided to work top down so I went to the attic. I found Dad’s old scuba gear. It broke my heart to think about how he used to be such a respected underwater photographer only to spend the last few years in assisted living. I even found a photo album of his work. The pictures were old but they were beautiful. A perfect advertisement for scuba divers.

As I was cleaning it out, I found an envelope with the words don't open. I shined it through some light and was able to see that it was another photo. I began to imagine what it could be hiding. Maybe it was a military submarine that the government wanted to keep secret. Maybe it was a crashed ship. The possibilities tore at my curiosity so I opened it. It was disappointing, as all the picture showed was a hole in the ocean floor. I suppose Dad was planning to pull a prank on someone.

Once the attic was clean, I moved it all to my truck. I took it to a storage unit we are renting. Journey says we should probably have a garage sale. 

July 18th

The funeral is tomorrow. 

We finally got everything out of the house. Journey got her brother to help us and Derek even came out to aid the final move. After everything was in the storage units we went out for drinks and had a jolly time. 

I did find myself wondering more and more about the peculiar photo in the envelope. It just seems so strange to treat a simple picture as something so secretive.

July 19th

It’s done. Dad’s been laid to rest. Julie couldn’t stop crying throughout the entire service. Even seeing all our cousins and meeting new family members didn’t help her. Kevin seemed to enjoy spending time with his uncle Josh again. It was nice to see my brother but Josh didn’t seem to be taking it too well either. 

I couldn’t help but continue to think about the photo. Something about it just doesn’t seem right to me. It won’t leave me alone. 

July 20th

After work, I went back to the storage unit and looked for the picture. It had been bothering me all day and I just needed to find out what was going on with it. It took some digging but I found it and took it home. I swear I stared at it for hours. I changed the lighting of my room, used lamps, and multiple other strategies but I couldn’t—for the life of me—see anything strange about it. It’s just a hole in the ocean floor leading to a black, bottomless pit!

July 21st

I was thinking about it a lot and maybe the photo itself didn’t have something odd in it. Maybe it was whatever Dad saw down there himself when he went into the hole that made him put the photo in the envelope. 

July 22nd

Journey found a buyer for the house. She wanted me to go with her to talk to the family but I couldn’t go with her. I had to figure out what the deal was with this stupid photo. I went to the library today hoping to find answers. I figured wherever the photo was taken could give me some answers. I must have looked through over a hundred maps and atlases but nothing. I can not find the location. I found a few places similar in appearance but nothing that matches the photo. 

July 23rd

I had enough of that goddamn picture. I was tempted to just burn it and the entire photo album. I just couldn’t take it anymore. But when I seized one final glimpse at it, I finally saw something. It looked like an outline of some kind of animal, but it was too murky to see what it was at first. After staring at it, I took some paper and a pencil, before sketching the outline as best I could. The more I drew, the more clearly I could see the creature’s shape, adding more detail. I kept at it for an hour before I had to go to bed. I have an early shift tomorrow. 

July 24th

After getting home I immediately went to finish the drawing of the creature. I have never been an artist of any kind, but the picture I was creating was incredibly detailed and honestly, I’m surprised that I was even able to create such a picture. 

However, I dare not share this drawing with anyone in my family as it is nothing short of creepy. The beast that has been presented to me appears to be some kind of monster. Its head is shaped like that of a hammerhead shark, its body was elongated and appeared like it had exposed bones while being covered in sharp spikes—or perhaps jellyfish stingers. Even then the description doesn’t seem to describe it. What kind of creatures is this? And why did it take me so long to see it? I just don’t understand it. 

July 25th

It’s been a day since I drew that picture of the creature and I have been able to focus on things other than the picture. It’s like a massive weight has been lifted from me and I can finally concentrate on my life again. I’ve hidden the photo and the drawing, as I don’t want anyone to see them. 

Journey has already begun to plan the garage sale to get rid of some of Dad’s stuff and we’ll be able to finally clear the storage unit.

August 27th

I haven’t written in a while. The past few days have been focused on getting the kids ready for the new school year which has been consuming my time and focus. Those two are growing up too fast for Journey and me. 

August 29th 

It was the kids’ first day of the school year today. Julie is now in middle school and Kevin is in first grade. I don’t know how the time is flying so fast. 

Derek and I went out for a drink after work. He told me that he was feeling the same way about his kids. I guess all parents think alike. He even told me that his wife and he were planning on having another child perhaps in the near future. When I told Journey she said that we need to beg him to be the godparents. I laughed. 

September 2rd

We finally closed the deal on the house and it’s been sold. It took longer than we expected but the family just needed more time to get the money together. I hope the children have similar memories as I did growing up. I’m going to miss that place, but I feel like it’s for the best. Journey said we should try something special for dinner, so I tried cooking a new kind of spaghetti sauce. It was amazing. I’m going to have to cook it again. Funny thing, I had one hell of a scare today. While I was boiling the water I thought I saw the creature from that old picture. I guess that’s what happens when you make spaghetti for dinner when you draw a spaghetti monster. 

September 5th

Derek told me he wants to promote me to assistant manager at the welding company today. He told me that I’ve more than earned it and that he’s hoping I can help keep the business running, especially since he’s going on vacation in November. I told him I would be interested and honored but I confessed my intimidation. He reassured me that he would provide much training before it became official. I think I’m going to take him on that offer. It comes with a raise and Derek deserves some time off from running the business. 

September 7th

Despite how good things are looking in my life right now, something feels very off. I shouldn’t have anything to complain about. My marriage is going strong, my work is great, and my kids are doing well in school. 

But something seems to be happening. The past couple of days I feel like I keep seeing something. Two days ago I thought I saw a pair of eyes looking at me through a glass of water I was drinking. Then yesterday I thought I saw the spaghetti monster in my shower. I nearly slipped and fell over when I did. 

I haven’t told Journey yet but I may have to see a therapist. 

September 14th

I am writing this hoping that it will help me think. It’s been a week and I keep seeing the monster. It’s everywhere. When I pour my morning coffee I see it in the inky blackness. When I ran Kevin a bath I saw it appear in water like a portal to another world. I haven’t been able to bathe in a week now. And yesterday it was raining and I saw it staring at me in the downpour. 

This can’t be real. That thing can’t be real. Am I going insane? I can’t go anywhere without seeing it. It's almost like it’s haunting me. But it can’t be. It just can’t. 

September 15th

I found something I can’t believe. I went back to the photo and the drawing and in the hiding place, I found dozens of more drawings and even some notes, all in my handwriting. But I don’t remember creating a single one. But I must have. There is no other explanation. One of the notes I wrote seems to have given it a name. The Haunter of the Blackest Depths. After I found it all I had to burn them including the photo. I can’t let anyone see them. 

September 26th

I was right. That thing, the Haunter, is coming for me. I see it everywhere. In black mirrors, in puddles on the street. Even in the liquor, I must consume to tolerate this nightmare-made flesh. But it’s not just the sight of the Haunter. I hear it. Its inhuman growls are like metal rubbing against stone. It speaks words in a language I can’t understand. But I can hear the malice and hatred in its voice. It’s angry. It didn’t want to be found. 

This was what my father was talking about when he started to plummet. He wasn’t suffering from dementia. He discovered the Haunter and it tormented him for it. I fear now that such torment will soon befall me.  

October 20th

Journey, Derek, and a few others had an intervention today. They told me about how I needed to go see a therapist and that my drinking habits had gotten out of hand. I wanted to tell them about the Haunter, but I’m afraid if they know anything about it it may have consequences. They have seen my health crumple. But they haven’t seen the devil that I have. Even while they spoke to me, I could see it in the windows. 

It was hard to accept but I guess that’s just going to be my life now. I must learn to deal with it. My family needs me. 

I have a meeting with Dr. Cloudheart tomorrow afternoon. I hope he can help.

November 1st

Derek is dead and I know why. He was driving home in the rain before he crashed. That’s what the officials have told me. What they didn’t tell us was what caused him to crash. They said the roads were slippery. But I know Derek. He was a far greater driver to even suggest that a slippery road killed him. No. It was the Haunter. I know it was. It’s too much of a coincidence. It was raining and he could have seen it in the water pouring onto his windshield. 

That Haunter killed my best friend! And now his wife, daughter, and unborn child are going to go the rest of their lives without him! 

November 18th

It is all finally clear to me. And I have made the hardest decision of my life. 

I recently recalled something my father told me that I previously disregarded as grief and mental decline. A year after Mother passed away, Dad would rant about how the accident wasn’t an accident. He said that something had taken her from us. Not only that but how he had lost other friends and family to the same “entity,” as he called it. 

I now understand that the entity was the Haunter. And now it’s coming for my family and friends. I know this because of how Derek died. I can not let that thing kill my wife and children or any friend. So I must leave and hope that it follows me far away from them. 

I will be faking my death so that they won’t come looking for me. Perhaps if I am lucky, the Haunter will kill me sooner than it did my father. I only wish I could tell Journey and the kids how much they mean to me and how it pains me that I must do this. 

As for where I am going, I am taking my father’s old scuba gear and research. I must find where the photo was taken. I must find the location. Only then will I maybe be able to prevent others from finding the Haunter of the Blackest Depts. 

I must find it. I MUST.