The Mystery of the Dog's Howl at Night

The atmosphere was quiet as night fell, with a thick fog covering a remote village. Amidst the vast expanse of grasslands, the village appeared picturesque, with towering trees standing like natural fences on the hills and mountains.

A man named Antonius had spent decades living in the city, never once returning to his hometown. Many stories, memories, and experiences were left behind. However, due to his frail health and frequent illnesses, he was forced to move and settle in the city for the sake of his well-being.

In 2019, Antonius finally returned to the remote village, this time as a contracted teacher. He aspired to settle there with his family, though it required adjustment and learning to adapt to the local conditions. Day by day, he found himself enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of his hometown. Having spent so many years in the city, returning to his roots was a profound joy that words could not fully capture.

As Antonius and his children adjusted, they encountered a severe health challenge— a new type of malaria mix, combining tropical malaria and tertian malaria. The illness took a toll on them, and with limited access to healthcare and scarce malaria medication, they had to rely on herbal remedies from their surroundings. The situation persisted, making it impossible for his children to continue living under such conditions.

Eventually, their grandmother came to take them back to the city, as they could only endure village life for three years. Antonius's wife was stationed in another city for work, only reuniting with them during holidays. Every night, as he read religious texts or articles, a chilling sound would pierce the silence— a long, eerie howl from a dog. The sound would start from the main road, continue through the village, and end right beneath his bedroom window.

A growing sense of unease gripped Antonius. Fear began to creep in as he wondered—was there something lurking in the shadows? Almost every night, the same unsettling howls echoed through the deserted streets, sending shivers down his spine. Was it a wandering spirit? A supernatural presence?

Strange occurrences became more frequent, especially at midnight on Fridays. Creeping creatures would find their way into the house. A snake once appeared near the front door, and even more bizarre, a massive centipede was discovered nesting inside a woven bag (noken).

The climax came on the night of July 21, 2021. As usual, before going to bed, Antonius read a few verses from the Bible, prayed, and then lay down. That night, however, he felt compelled to read an article he had published in a local newspaper. As he read, the strong wind from the fan blew the paper away. Reaching out to grab it, he was suddenly struck with terror— a large tail smacked the newspaper away.

Startled, he leaped up, struggling to process what he had just seen. For a brief moment, the creature resembled a crocodile, a giant lizard, or what the locals called a “soa-soa,” a reptile similar to an iguana. However, upon closer inspection, it was something far more terrifying— a four-legged snake, known to be highly venomous, responsible for numerous fatal bites.

The most unsettling part was how such a massive snake had managed to enter his bedroom and remain hidden for so long. Without realizing it, Antonius had been sharing his sleeping space with a dangerous predator.

After the incident, his health rapidly declined. He became gravely ill, prompting immediate medical examinations, including a full blood test. Strangely, the results showed nothing abnormal. Yet his complexion grew paler, and mysterious bruises began appearing all over his body, resembling bite marks.

Despite undergoing regular medical treatment, his condition worsened. He later suffered a severe accident, injuring his left leg, leaving it swollen and unable to walk. Desperate for relief, he turned to alternative medicine, undergoing therapy to remove the venom and toxins that had accumulated in his body.

It was then that he finally understood the meaning behind the dogs’ nightly howls. They had been trying to warn him. Their eerie cries along the road, stopping right outside his window, were signals that something was amiss. The house had been uninhabited before they moved in—was it possible that a supernatural entity had claimed the space before them?

Or had the venomous snake only recently taken up residence there? The true origin of these events remained a mystery, one that Antonius might never fully uncover.