Episode 56
The House That SCRATCHES Back
Up nextBack to the full archiveThe documented facts
- In 1993 Tony and Debra Pickman rented the Sallie House at 508 N. Second Street, Atchison, Kansas. Within weeks Tony woke with deep scratches across his back and chest, marks no hand could reach. He also suffered bites, a choking sensation, and small fires broke out in the home.
- A 1990s 'Sightings' TV crew filmed at the house and captured scratches forming live on Tony Pickman's skin, in at least four 'The Heartland Ghost' segments.
- The legend says a six year old girl named Sallie died in the house in the early 1900s, when a doctor operated on her before the ether took hold. Her historical existence is unverified; the episode frames it as legend.
- Two theories stand. Theory one: a frightened child, still waiting in the house where she died. Theory two: a malevolent force wearing a child's face. Tony Pickman himself came to believe it was a demon, not a little girl, and the family left in October 1994.
The Draugr does not invent. He documents.
Episode 56 case file
The facts
- In 1993 Tony and Debra Pickman rented the Sallie House at 508 N. Second Street, Atchison, Kansas. Within weeks Tony woke with deep scratches across his back and chest, marks no hand could reach. He also suffered bites, a choking sensation, and small fires broke out in the home.
- A 1990s 'Sightings' TV crew filmed at the house and captured scratches forming live on Tony Pickman's skin, in at least four 'The Heartland Ghost' segments.
- The legend says a six year old girl named Sallie died in the house in the early 1900s, when a doctor operated on her before the ether took hold. Her historical existence is unverified; the episode frames it as legend.
- Two theories stand. Theory one: a frightened child, still waiting in the house where she died. Theory two: a malevolent force wearing a child's face. Tony Pickman himself came to believe it was a demon, not a little girl, and the family left in October 1994.
The evidence
- A 1990s 'Sightings' TV crew filmed at the house and captured scratches forming live on Tony Pickman's skin, in at least four 'The Heartland Ghost' segments.
- The legend says a six year old girl named Sallie died in the house in the early 1900s, when a doctor operated on her before the ether took hold. Her historical existence is unverified; the episode frames it as legend.
- Two theories stand. Theory one: a frightened child, still waiting in the house where she died. Theory two: a malevolent force wearing a child's face. Tony Pickman himself came to believe it was a demon, not a little girl, and the family left in October 1994.
Sources
- Sources are being gathered for this file. The facts above are documented.
The words, as I spoke them.
Transcript
EP56: The House That SCRATCHES Back (morning, 2026-10-20) TELLER third-person check: no my/me/I claims about events. No em/en dashes. Years word-form.
In Atchison, Kansas, a little house scratches people in their sleep. It leaves the marks where no hand could reach.
The early nineteen hundreds. A doctor worked there. Legend says a mother carried her daughter in. He cut before the ether took hold. She never woke up.
They say her name was Sallie. In nineteen ninety three, the Pickmans rented the house. The scratches started within weeks. Deep, bloody, across Tony's back.
It bit him. It choked him. It set small fires. A psychic said it was the little girl, still lost.
Meaner. Like something feeding.
Which is it? Theory one: a frightened child. Theory two: a demon wearing a child's face.
Comment one or two. The winning theory gets its own episode. Follow for a new nightmare every day. Sleep with the lights on, if you can.
Word count: 135.
Dramatized for the telling. The facts above are documented; the narration is the Draugr’s retelling of them.
Wear the nightmare
The Dreaded wear the mark.
Enter the shop
