Daddy Longlegs

Kate scribbled through her paperwork like she was trying to fail a test. She anxiously tapped her foot on the hardwood floor and flipped through page after page, jotting down all of the required of initials.

Claire admired Kate's headshot on her driver's license. Her full name was Katherine Ann Thompson and she was a petite blonde with a light smattering of freckles on her cheeks. Kate didn't look a day over eighteen in the photo, but according to her date of birth she would be turning twenty in a few weeks.

"All done! Sorry again for being so late."

Kate hopped up from her chair to hand in her forms.

"No worries, you are my last appointment of the day," Claire replied. "You can follow me upstairs to the study and we will get started."

They scaled a creaky staircase up to the second floor. Kate ran her hand across the vintage oak handrail and admired a classic art print that was hanging on the wall. It was a painting of woman sprawled out in a flowing nightgown with a demon sitting on her chest.

"This house is fucking awesome," Kate blurted. "Sorry. I mean it's really awesome. I like old houses."

"No need to apologize. I like to think that it is fucking awesome," Claire replied.

Claire ran her private practice out of a restored Victorian house in Davenport, Iowa. It was built on a steep hill alongside similar properties, most of which were still boarded up and abandoned.

Purchasing a charming historical home was a romantic fantasy come to life for Claire and her husband. Her business benefited as well. The home office provided a comfortable setting for Claire's clients, who were embarking on their journey for inner peace.

Claire showed Kate to a leather couch and sat in a chair across from her. The room had a dim orange glow from the lamp light and the patter of rain could be heard against the window pane.

"Have you ever been hypnotized before?" Claire asked. She smiled at Kate to establish a warm and inviting tone for the impending line of personal questions.

Kate was instantly enamored with the older woman who sat across from her. Claire was so cool and sophisticated with all of her kitschy antiques and old books and creepy paintings on the walls. She was a classic brunette beauty dressed in ruffled blouse, a skirt that showed off her patterned tights, and mid-calf leather boots.

"I've never been hypnotized, this is my first time. Do you think it will work on me?" Kate asked.

"I've had great success at eliminating recurring nightmares for my clients. The number of sessions needed can vary by the extent of problem and how open the client is to suggestion."

Kate was fidgeting her fingers in her lap. She was wearing tight black yoga pants and kept re-crossing her legs. Claire noticed how ansty Kate was and considered the possibility of a drug problem. Claire had no shortage of clients in the surrounding Iowa and Illinois communities who were struggling with addiction.

"I'm open to suggestion. I'm open to anything. I just want to be able to sleep through the night," Kate said.

"And that will be our mission," Claire assured her. "What I normally do with my clients is guide them through their dream while they are in a hypnotic trance. Once I get comfortable communicating with their subconscious, I can help them visualize a different ending to their dream. I help them break the pattern and end the nightmares for good."

"Do you think that Daddy Longlegs will find me here? While I'm in a trance?"

"Daddy Longlegs?" Claire asked, reaching for her notepad and a pen. "Is this a character from your dreams?"

"Yes. He comes into my bedroom when I'm sleeping. The dreams are so bad that I had to take a night job. I feel safer sleeping during the day, but it doesn't stop him from finding me. Every time I fall asleep, day or night, he is waiting."

"When is the first time you saw him?"

"About a month ago, when I moved into my house."

"Sometimes big life changes can trigger our dreams, such as moving into a new house," Claire explained. "I'm curious as to why you call him Daddy Longlegs? Did he tell you his name or did you make it up?"

"I made it up. I call him that because he's really tall. Almost as tall as my bedroom ceiling. He wears an old black suit and he doesn't have a face."

"Interesting," Claire said, noting the details in her notepad. She wrote down slender man? and proceeded with her questions.

"Does Daddy Longlegs try to hurt you?"

"Not really. He likes to scare me. He just stands at the edge of the bed. I can't move at all. It's like I'm paralyzed. Unless—" Kate looked away in hesitation and started biting a fingernail.

"Unless what?"

"Unless he wants me to move. Unless he wants me to touch myself."

"Touch yourself sexually?"

"Yes."

Claire made some notes: - sleep paralysis - nocturnal arousal - sexual shame or abuse?

"Kate, sometimes dreams can be an expression of past trauma. I know how difficult it can be to talk about this, but I have to ask. Do you have a history of sexual abuse?"

"No, definitely not," Kate assured her.

"Was your family religious?"

"Oh god yes, but I don't go to church anymore. I don't believe in any of that shi—ah, stuff."

"How is your relationship with your parents?"

"I've never met my dad and my mom died when I was four. I was raised by my aunt and uncle."

"I am so sorry to hear that," Claire consoled.

"My Aunt Teresa is real Jesus freak and not in a good way. Uncle Bill is a mean drunk, but he never touched me. I swear that I'm not confusing Daddy Longlegs with my uncle or anyone else. You have to believe me."

"I believe you," Claire assured her. She wrote Uncle Bill in her notebook and underlined it twice.

"Kate, I am going to be honest with you. I don't think it is a good idea to guide you through a reoccurring nightmare at this stage. I am a licensed hypnotherapist and I like to think that I am great at what I do, but with your family history and the sexual nature of the nightmare I think it would be best if you see a doctor for a psychiatric assessment. I am going to give you a referral and then we can revisit—"

"Please don't turn me away!" Kate interrupted. "I don't like doctors. I drove all the way here from Possum Prairie and I have the money." Kate dug into her purse to pull out the wad of cash that she had been saving up.

Possum Prairie jumped out at Claire and gave her an eerie sense of deja vu. She wondered when and why she would have ever been to a town called Possum Prairie.

"You can help me. I just know you can," Kate pleaded. "The doctor is just going to load me up with drugs. You have to understand, Daddy Longlegs isn't just a bad dream. He is real. I swear he is real. Put me under and I can prove it."

"Okay, Kate, I believe you," Claire said in a calming tone. "I understand how important it is for you to give this a try. We can go ahead and attempt hypnosis today. You can keep your money."

"Really?"

"I'll give you an initial session for free and then we can decide how to move forward after I learn more. I need you to promise that you'll take my referral and go in for an evaluation."

"Okay, I promise! Thank you so much!" Kate shoved the cash back into her purse and laid back onto the couch.

"You don't need to lay down right now. In fact, I'll need you to sit up straight and face me."

"Right." Kate hopped back up into a sitting position.

Claire couldn't help but be amused by Kate's youthful enthusiasm as she prepared to face her nighttime tormentor.

"I recommend taking off your shoes. I want you to be comfortable, just like you are about to go to bed."

Kate kicked off her shoes and then unzipped and removed her hoodie to reveal a light blue tank top.

"I always sleep naked. Should I take my clothes off?" Kate asked.

"That isn't necessary," Claire said with a hand out to stop her. "Let's start slow and hold off on the nudity for today, okay?"

"Okay," Kate said with a giggle. "I'm not shy."

"I can see that."

"What's next?" Kate asked.

"I am going to hypnotize you using progressive relaxation and then I am going to walk you through your dream. If everything goes well, I can provide some guidance to help you intervene and change the course of your nightmare. I am only going to attempt partial somnambulism, which means that you will remember everything that takes place. I won't wake you up unless I think you are in serious danger. Do you still want to continue?

"Yes," Kate insisted.

Claire proceeded with her standard approach to induction. She walked Kate through some much needed breathing exercises to help keep her calm. After a few minutes of breathing meditation, Claire had Kate hold out her arms and asked her to maintain focus on the space in front of her. Claire explained that Kate's hands would start to feel magnetically charged and they would slowly pull together on their own. Her eyelids would become heavier. She would relax so completely that her subconscious mind would take over. Claire began her induction in a low, calming voice.

"I am going to access to your subconscious. It knows everything about you. It knows you're all of your thoughts and all of your desires. It gives you goosebumps when you're scared. It controls every inch of your body while you are asleep."

Claire continued her induction mantra in a steady rhythm. She went on for several minutes, allowing Kate to slip into deep relaxation. Kate's hands started to gravitate towards each other and her eyes began to close.

"Your subconscious mind knows how to excite you. It knows how to calm you. It knows all of your dreams. All of your fantasies. All of your deepest secrets."

Kate's hands were out in front of her body and nearly touching. She closed her eyelids.

"I am going to walk you through your dream. I will be with you every step of the way to make sure that you are safe. You will go to sleep when your hands come together and then you will be transported to your bedroom in the middle of the night."

Kate's hands came together and then fell into her into her lap.

"Sleep," Claire commanded.

Kate's body went limp and Claire could see a slight flutter of activity under her eyelids. She helped Kate lay back on the couch and lifted her legs up onto the cushion.

"Kate, you are in your bedroom. It is the middle of the night and you are all alone in your house. You can't tell for sure if you are asleep or awake. You become aware of the fact that you are that you are lying in your bed and you can see the familiar details of your bedroom all around you. Can you describe your bedroom for me?"

"It's dark and it's cold."

"Do you have any sheets or covers to keep you warm?" Claire asked, hoping that Kate could confirm some details about the room and thus confirm that she was in a hypnotic state.

"The covers are at my knees. I want to grab them but I can't," Kate said in a frightened whimper.

The lamp light in the office flickered out, causing Claire jump in surprise. She figured it was the bulb until she heard the sounds of appliances going quiet all around her house, indicating a power outage. Claire kept her focus on Kate who seemed to be entering a state of struggle.

"Kate, can you move your arms or your fingers for me?"

"No. I can't move at all. There is someone walking down the hallway. He is whispering to me. He told me that he is coming in."

Claire watched with alarm as a tear fell down the side of Kate's cheek. She hadn't even introduced Daddy Longlegs yet. The guided visualization was just getting started and Claire had somehow lost control. Claire considered intervening and ending the trance but decided it might be more beneficial to see where Kate would take it next.

"Are you still alone in your bedroom, Kate?"

"No. He's at the edge of my bed now. He's watching me."

"How does he make you feel when you see him?"

"He makes me feel scared. Embarrassed. Dirty."

"Have you ever seen this person before or does he resemble anyone that you know?"

"No. I don't know who he is. He's so tall. He doesn't look like anyone. He doesn't have a face."

"What is he wearing?"

"It's so dark, I can barely tell. I think it is a suit. A long black suit. The sheets are coming off the bed! I don't have any sheets!"

"Kate, I am sitting at your side. You are not alone. You are safe with me. Do you understand?"

A few moments of silence passed.

"Kate is he still whispering to you?"

"Yes. He told me to touch myself."

Kate worked a hand under the elastic band of her pants and Claire dropped her pen in surprise and scrambled to pick it up. In all of her years in hypnotherapy she had never seen anyone attempt to touch themselves.

"Can you tell me what is happening, Kate? What is Daddy Longlegs doing now? Claire asked.

Kate was rubbing herself under her pants and moaning in pleasure. Claire instinctively looked over to make sure the office door was shut even though it was just the two of them in the house.

"He told me to take off my pants."

Kate put her thumbs under her waistband and pulled her pants up to the bends of her knees. Before Claire could intervene Kate was already peeling tiny black panties away from her crotch and they dangled between her thighs like a clothesline. Claire couldn't help but notice Kate's pubic area was completely bare.

"Has he tried to touch you?" Claire asked.

"His hands are folded behind his back. He hasn't moved. He told me to spread my pussy."

Kate let out a soft moan and spread her pussy wide before Claire's captivated eyes. Kate's fingers were wet and trembling as she held her folds in place.

"He wants me to rub it now," Kate said. She slid a finger up her labia and stroked her herself with increasing intensity. Her hand was shaking as it massaged her clit and her body warmed over in an intense buzz of pleasure.

Claire could see that Kate was enjoying the pleasure and that the fear seemed to have washed away. Kate was moaning in ecstasy as she massaged her protruding clit. Claire allowed Kate to continue without any intervention until she climaxed and her body went limp on the couch.

Claire was startled by the lamp as it flickered back on. She heard the beep from the microwave in the first floor kitchen, indicating that power was restored throughout the house.

"Is Daddy Longlegs still in the room with you?" Claire asked.

"No," Kate said, in between heavy breaths. "He's gone."

"Okay, Kate. I want you to pull up your pants and sit up on the couch. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Kate said. She pulled up her pants and sat upright in front of Claire with her eyes still closed.

Claire spent a few minutes talking Claire through the process of waking up in order to gently break her out of her trance. She explained that Kate's eyes would open and her consciousness would be restored. When Kate was ready, Claire explained the cue to her.

"You are going to wake up by the time I count to three and you are going to remember everything that just happened. You will remember your encounter with Daddy Longlegs and you will remember that you were touching yourself on the couch. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Kate said.

"One. Two. Three. Wake up."

Kate's eyes opened and she looked around in confusion. Her surprise quickly turned to embarrassment. Claire sat next to her on the couch with a hand on her forearm.

"Everything is okay. You are here with me. Do you remember what just happened?"

"Yes. Oh my god. Did I just?"

"You were masturbating and you had an orgasm. You're my first client to do that, I guess I should have a prize ready for this sort of thing."

"Wow," Kate said with a nervous laugh. "It was fucking amazing. I don't know how to thank you. Can we do it again next week?"

Claire looked at Kate with suspicion. She couldn't help but consider the possibility that Kate was using her for some bizarre exhibition fantasy.

"How did it feel to masturbate in front of Daddy Longlegs?" Claire asked.

"I've always been scared shitless of him. This is the first time I felt safe. Because I'm with you." Kate looked at Claire with infatuation. "Thank you. Thank you."

"No need to thank me, you did all the work. I'm glad to hear that you've made progress after one session. Do you notice the power outage when you were under?"

"The power goes out in my house all the time and it's been driving me crazy. I thought it was because I lived out in the sticks but I think it's because of him. I told you he was real."

"I don't want to jump to conclusions," Claire countered. "I get power outages when it rains, but I will admit that that the timing was strange."

"When can I come back? I'll come two or three times a week!" Kate insisted.

"We can set another appointment after you receive your evaluation. Until then, I'm going to give you some tools to help you manage your nightmares and your sleep paralysis."

Claire reached for her notebook and turned to a fresh page to write down a list of items for Kate to take with her as homework.

"First, I want you to keep a journal by your bed so that you can write down your dreams in the morning. Second, when you feel paralyzed, try to wiggle your toes. Take inventory of all of your body parts and whether or not you can move them. It will distract you from your fear and help you gain control of your body."

"Wiggle the toes, got it."

"Third, I want you to start doing reality checks every day when you are awake. Look at your hands and count your fingers. Look away and then count them again. When it becomes routine, you will do this in your dreams as well. Dreams are not consistent when it comes to logic and numbers. If you can't count your fingers or your fingers look abnormal, you'll become aware that you are in a dream. Awareness is a powerful first step towards conquering your nightmares."

Claire pulled the page out of her notebook and handed it over to Kate.

"Count my fingers. Got it," Kate agreed. She looked at her hand in surprise to see that her fingers were still wet from her masturbation session. "Ah, can I use your bathroom? I have to clean up and get to Woody's. Wait...can you just forget you heard that last part?"

"Woody's?" Claire asked.

"You haven't heard of Woody's?"

"I guess not. Is it a barbeque place?"

"No, it's not a barbeque place," Kate said with a giggle, folding up the piece of paper that Claire gave her.

Kate stood up from the couch and pulled down her pants to reveal the waistband of her g-string. She slipped the paper under the waistband and snapped it in place, looking over her shoulder at Claire with a flirty smile.

"I told you. I have a night job."

Claire looked at the clock in her office and gasped at the time that had passed since Kate's appointment. She had been lost in research for hours. Sexsomnia, sleep paralysis, PTSD...she didn't even know where to start. Kate had symptoms for a number of troubling conditions. When Claire factored in the spontaneous masturbation and the power outage, she decided it was hands down the weirdest appointment of her career.

Claire spent some time burying herself in article after article about the infamous Slender Man. There were some striking similarities between that modern myth and Daddy Longlegs. Kate seemed to be grappling with her very own, more sexualized version of him.

Claire managed to recall why she knew of Possum Prairie, Illinois and took a sidetrack to do some research on the town. Founded in the late nineteenth century, it is an unincorporated township of cornfield-lined back roads and isolated houses on the other side of the Mississippi River. Claire managed to find some creepy old photos of the town online, mostly of cornfields and barns and scarecrows and solemn little children in forced poses. Why would a nineteen-year-old girl be living all the way out there alone? she wondered.