A Dread Of The Coming Dark, and of 'The Knocker'

Charlotte Observer ^ | March 14, 2010 | Elizabeth Leland

[FreeManWhoCan]

Five elderly women in rural Rutherfordton sleep uneasily, waiting for mysterious taps.

One woman has written on a calendar each time she heard knocking at night. Sheriff's officers have found nothing.

RUTHERFORDTON On a dirt road, between two pastures in a picturesque corner of the county, five widows say they are being terrorized by a man they know only as "The Knocker...................."

[lovecraft]

There’s not too many knocker’s that I’ve dreaded...except for maybe Grandma’s.

[Ciexyz]

Attention, Stephen King - plot point.

[ClearCase_guy]

In many a time, in many a land,
With many a gun in many a hand,
They came by the night, they came by the day,
Came with their guns to take us away

---

With a knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,
One more.

---

Back in the days of the roman empire,
They died by the cross and they died by the fire.
In the stone coliseum, the crowd gave a roar,
And it all began with that knock on the door

---

Just a knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,
One more.

— Phil Ochs

[Little Ray]

Have your grandson stay with you a few night. Tell him to bring a shotgun.
Some motion-activated outside lights would help fix the problem, too.

[tgusa]

So would a well-trained Rottweiler.

[bgill]

14 years and they haven’t eliminated the problem? Only one says she has a pistol. Turn the bathroom light on and run the shower. Hide outside with a bead on the bathroom window. Eventually, the sheriff can mark it off the caseload.

[caveat emptor]

Early this morning I heard something tapping on an aluminum ladder leaning against the house beside an upstairs window. Turns out it was one of these:

[ReneeLynn]

Hahaha. Yes, ladies. Big dogs and motion sensor lights are your friends. The knocker. Pfft. Don’t ask ‘who’s there?’ just shoot through the door and ask questions later.

[Fantasywriter]

“Attention, Stephen King - plot point.”

My first thought too.

[married21]

We used to hear footsteps on our roof. Turned out to be crows walking around. When I am an old lady, I sincerely hope I will still be able to reason problems through and not give up and just worry. But if not, I hope I have friends and family who can help.

[Fast Moving Angel]

He was pecking on an aluminum ladder? Man, that must have given him a headache!

[massgopguy]

The Walkin’ Dude?

[wxgesr]

Knockers, redheaded woodpeckers, guns, big dogs, laying in wiat to pop a cap in some perverts head, it has everything!

[Nepeta]

Raccoons sometimes run around my porch roof and look into second-floor windows. I discourage them by using a spray bottle of water through the window screens.

That said, people other than the elderly women have seen someone on their properties. This makes the sheriff's dismissive comments suspect--if one of these women turn up dead, his re-election chances are gone. The fact that no one has been arrested for so long strongly implies someone with a connection to law enforcement, someone with a means of knowing when it is safe to act.

If one elderly woman, with no other witnesses was making such claim, one could wonder. But there are several of them, and they have other witnesses. Motion-sensing lights and some aggressive dogs would make this interesting.

[Little Ray]

Actually, I think he knocks on the house walls, not the door.

I wouldn’t shoot through the door, in any case (unless a bullet had already come in...). In any case, this is a looney prankster, not an attacker. I’d sit up with a shotgun so I’d have a forceful argument for a behavior change when I came out to discuss his activities. A shotgun gives you more options - you can shoot him if he’s dangerous, or butt-stroke him if he just needs something to focus his attention.

Come to think of it, I might be more scared of a mean dog than a guy with a gun... The guy with the gun might show some restraint. The dog won’t...

[Fantasywriter]

Lol. The possibilities are fascinating. Btw, I used to live in MA. I’m listening to Howie Carr now, and it sounds like you folks are underwater. Prayers for some dry, sunny days in Beantown!

[andy58-in-nh]

[OB1kNOb]

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“ ‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door;
Only this, and nothing more.”

[ReneeLynn]

One big dog would take care of The Knocker. Yes. My sis has this huge dog, I don’t remember the breed, but when he barks it’s like The Hound of the Baskervilles! This guy would go from being ‘The Knocker’ to being ‘The Runner’.