In Townsend, Massachusetts, nine-year-old Tina and her 15-year-old sister Karen Bowen experienced strange occurrences in their home, such as missing items and the TV turning on by itself. They believed the house might be haunted or perhaps their deceased mother was reaching out to them.
Their father, Frank, dismissed their concerns, often being away due to work. Determined to uncover the truth, Tina and Karen used a Ouija board to investigate.
As they investigated, they began hearing strange tapping sounds throughout the house. Their father, Frank, heard them talking about these incidents but attributed it to their grieving process.
Podcaster Mr Ballen shared the story, saying, “Over the next few days, the tapping sounds in the house would continue, and they were no longer just coming from the basement. They were also coming from the kitchen. They were coming sometimes from the second floor. They were coming from all over the house. But the girls were the only ones who could hear the sounds.”
The girls, initially intrigued, became frightened and decided to check the basement armed with a kitchen knife. However, fear drove them back upstairs where they discovered the eerie ketchup message.
Frank initially thought it was a plea for help from his daughters, leading him to seek counseling for them.
This strange saga came to a climax in December 1986. After Frank and his daughters returned from dinner, they found their house’s lights and TV on, and the furniture rearranged. The ominous message “marry me?” was also found on a wall.
Mr Ballen narrated the event: “He hears movement in the closet, in the room that he’s in. Frank turns and he looks at this closet. The doors are open to this closet, but it’s a dark closet. And out of the closet, walks a man who is wearing a dress, Frank’s dead wife’s dress. This person had clown makeup on their face, and they were wielding a hatchet.”
The terrified girls fled upstairs, and Tina escaped through a window to seek help from neighbors who called the police.
When authorities arrived, the intruder had disappeared, leaving behind a hatchet. The family was forced to leave their home. However, when Frank returned for clothes days later, he suspected activity and called the police.
Upon entering, police found coins glued to the ceiling and threatening messages on the walls. Above pictures of Tina and Karen, there were menacing notes with knives stabbed into their photos.
A police officer then stumbled upon a horrifying sight.
Mr Ballen described, “Looking back at this officer is Danny LaPlante. He’s crouched down, he’s got a hatchet over his shoulder, he’s wearing a dress, and he’s staring back at this officer.”
Daniel LaPlante, aged 16, had been secretly living in the walls of the Bowen home for six months. His actions reportedly stemmed from a rejected school date with Tina.
After his arrest, LaPlante served just 10 months in a juvenile detention center. Upon release, he committed heinous crimes, including the rape and murder of 33-year-old Priscilla Gustafson, and drowning her two children, five-year-old William and seven-year-old Abigail.
In 1988, Daniel LaPlante received three consecutive life sentences for these atrocious acts.
If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org