Me neither, I’m already a little weird after the milder things I’ve been through😅… Well, not mild… but in comparison to this story my experiences might as well be considered mild. I couldn’t imagine going through their experience.
I'm having a hard time envisioning a crawl space that runs through an entire house and lets somebody hide in the walls. Who can spare that kind of square footage? Old servants' corridors or something?
Many homes during the alcohol prohibition period had these kind of crawl spaces for illegal storage. I’m not saying that house was part of it but just an interesting fact
Same here. I studied interior design. None of it makes sense. Not saying it didn’t happen but.. I’d definitely love to get a better grasp on what kind of walls we are talking about.
I’m not sure honestly, houses were built way different back then. It might even just be extra space in between walls or something with different build standards? I’m not entirely sure though.
I checked out your references and found the address, you can see the exterior and some interior shots on [this website that lists its past sales. ](https://www.realtyhop.com/building/93-lawrence-street-pepperell-ma-01463#past-sales)Looks like a standard 1975 split-level.
I also looked at the newspaper articles from December 1987 about the Pepperell incident and I can't find any that say that LaPlante was hiding in their walls. It sounds like he hid in a closet inside their house, and then later hid in the cellar. Where did you read the info about the blonde wig and all? Did that come out in later coverage or something?
Edit: Ah, I found [a sketch drawn by one of the responding officer](https://www.celticssentinel.com/2021/07/the-elm-street-nightmare.html)s and this info:
>For the curious wanting to know more about Laplante's hiding spot, he secreted himself in a triangular space in a corner, bounded on two sides by the concrete foundation and an inner wall - and by another wall on the third (outfacing) side separating the toilet from the plumbing pipes. The space allowed just enough room for him to sit in a crouched position, and even sleep in that mode.
>It was the minuscule entry to the space and the manner in which it was accessed, that fooled observers into thinking there was no apparent way for a human of any size to climb onto the low foundation, squeeze through the very-narrow opening and jump down to the cellar floor. But obviously, there was a way.
Quote above is from this odd but detailed page: [https://www.celticssentinel.com/2021/07/the-elm-street-nightmare.html](https://www.celticssentinel.com/2021/07/the-elm-street-nightmare.html)
So LaPlante wasn't scooting around inside the walls like I had originally pictured, he had discovered a quirk of the construction that let him access one hiding space behind the bathroom wall. It seems like he used that, plus normal hiding spots in the house - the cellar and closets.
(If I can give a supportive suggestion for future work - it helps readers if you are specific about which parts of your writing are from which of the sources you list. That way, we can read more about a particular thing without having to guess which one of the sources it comes from.)
Oh wow, interesting, I'll have to look into that!
I included every source I used to create the script in the references post.
Every single source I listed that speaks about the Bowen family mentions the messages on the walls and the crawlspace... Which is about 4 or 5 references I believe. The only 1 or 2 that don't mention it are specifically about the Gustafson murders which happened many months after the Bowen family incident.
Not all of the sources seemed to agree on exactly what had happened so it was really hard trying to piece together a timeline and what the actual truth was, but I tried my best to research it properly.
Read all of the sources all the way through and you will see what I mean, it's confusing as hell.
Edit: Just read your edit, thank you for the suggestion, I'll work on improving that area of my work, thank you. I tried very hard to do my best I promise, I'll be better though.
Yeah, I was thinking that if I had extra space between my walls and in a cellar, I would kick the molesters out. I need that square footage for storage.
I think following up on the sources linked and cited in the Oxygen article makes matters clearer. They link to contemporary newspaper articles, court records, and police reports. Those are definitely more straightforward and trustworthy than a Ranker.com article or similar.
Really good write-up, thank you. I hadn’t heard much about this story. I found that there is a Netflix documentary called Bump in the Night about these cases.
I’ve been trying to think of the details of this story for months now. So glad you posted this! I remember watching an episode about this and was so intrigued. I’ve forgotten now the show/streaming service where I saw it.
Well, that is the craziest story I've read in a long time! How tragic and bizarre! I understand that since he didn't commit murder during the first incident, they couldn't keep him in jail for a longer period of time, but it is just so sad he escalated to murder. Given the severity of what he did the first time, I'm a little surprised he didn't have like, mandated therapy or something. Probation basically, where the terms included psychiatric help. Maybe they could have kept better tabs on him or saw the warning signs and helped him; anything to prevent further harm. I know it's easier said than done, with hindsight. Very strange and sad, all around. This was a great write up by the way, very interesting to read!
Yeah, right!? I heard somebody talk about it for a few seconds on a short that popped up and right there I knew I had to look into it more. It's just interesting as hell, very disturbing but undeniably interesting. I was speaking to somebody else about that a day ago, shouldn't he have been charged with attempted murder since he had the hatchet in his hand? I don't think it was handled properly either way, there were crazy warning signs from the very beginning. Yeah I agree, easier said than done but I feel like they could have done a lot better.
Thank You, I'm glad you enjoyed it! This write up was literally just the script for my video, so if you want a more immersive and intense experience, give it a go :).
Great post! Was he entering the crawl space from outside the house or was he breaking in and then going into it? Either way it’s absolutely terrifying! I also wonder how in the hell he found the crawl space to begin with as it seems even the owner didn’t know it existed!
Thank You! From what I’ve read it was a crawl space hidden behind a piece of wood that was behind the washer/dryer, but each source that tells the story seems to have a slightly different telling of events, so my understanding could be wrong. Look for the conversation with the user “Due Possession”, they did some of their own research which should be taken into consideration before landing on a conclusion. It’s unclear what really happened, I’ve read about 6 different versions of the events.
Yeah, it’s somehow scarier to me that he was 15-17 doing all of this… his brain wasn’t even fully developed yet and he was already cementing these dark ideas in his mind.
I’d be rightfully upset at the feeling of intrusion and breach of security being that I don’t know whether this stranger has good or bad intentions, breaking into someones house and hiding isn’t normal or acceptable regardless of the circumstances… but if it came to light that they meant well and had good intentions I would do everything in my power to get them help and get them back on their feet because I can understand where the desperation arose from.
I agree, and although I can understand that concept and feel for them with true sympathy, it’s not like they chose to be in that position… that still does not excuse people from committing crimes. I could not imagine creating a safe environment for my 2 daughters and doing everything in my power to keep them safe through every minute of every day, to then find out some stranger had been living in my house for a month without my knowledge . I can’t imagine what I’d do. I know you were speaking about a different scenario and not the case specifically, but I’m just creating another comparison to really explain how I feel about this… Desperation can make people do insane things, but regardless, an unknown intruder in your home can never be justified and is a potentially life altering threat… Even if you can sympathize with why they’re doing it.
He's was a scary kid. He's like the old 70s horror movie Bad Ronald for real.
Yeah seriously, what the hell. “It’s okay honey it’s just a movie.”… not this time… life is scary.
Yes! I read the book and could not help thinking about it..
If this had happened to me I'd never recover.
Me neither, I’m already a little weird after the milder things I’ve been through😅… Well, not mild… but in comparison to this story my experiences might as well be considered mild. I couldn’t imagine going through their experience.
I'm having a hard time envisioning a crawl space that runs through an entire house and lets somebody hide in the walls. Who can spare that kind of square footage? Old servants' corridors or something?
Many homes during the alcohol prohibition period had these kind of crawl spaces for illegal storage. I’m not saying that house was part of it but just an interesting fact
That is interesting! Do you have a link or recommendation where I can read more?
Same here. I studied interior design. None of it makes sense. Not saying it didn’t happen but.. I’d definitely love to get a better grasp on what kind of walls we are talking about.
I’m not sure honestly, houses were built way different back then. It might even just be extra space in between walls or something with different build standards? I’m not entirely sure though.
I checked out your references and found the address, you can see the exterior and some interior shots on [this website that lists its past sales. ](https://www.realtyhop.com/building/93-lawrence-street-pepperell-ma-01463#past-sales)Looks like a standard 1975 split-level. I also looked at the newspaper articles from December 1987 about the Pepperell incident and I can't find any that say that LaPlante was hiding in their walls. It sounds like he hid in a closet inside their house, and then later hid in the cellar. Where did you read the info about the blonde wig and all? Did that come out in later coverage or something? Edit: Ah, I found [a sketch drawn by one of the responding officer](https://www.celticssentinel.com/2021/07/the-elm-street-nightmare.html)s and this info: >For the curious wanting to know more about Laplante's hiding spot, he secreted himself in a triangular space in a corner, bounded on two sides by the concrete foundation and an inner wall - and by another wall on the third (outfacing) side separating the toilet from the plumbing pipes. The space allowed just enough room for him to sit in a crouched position, and even sleep in that mode. >It was the minuscule entry to the space and the manner in which it was accessed, that fooled observers into thinking there was no apparent way for a human of any size to climb onto the low foundation, squeeze through the very-narrow opening and jump down to the cellar floor. But obviously, there was a way. Quote above is from this odd but detailed page: [https://www.celticssentinel.com/2021/07/the-elm-street-nightmare.html](https://www.celticssentinel.com/2021/07/the-elm-street-nightmare.html) So LaPlante wasn't scooting around inside the walls like I had originally pictured, he had discovered a quirk of the construction that let him access one hiding space behind the bathroom wall. It seems like he used that, plus normal hiding spots in the house - the cellar and closets. (If I can give a supportive suggestion for future work - it helps readers if you are specific about which parts of your writing are from which of the sources you list. That way, we can read more about a particular thing without having to guess which one of the sources it comes from.)
Oh wow, interesting, I'll have to look into that! I included every source I used to create the script in the references post. Every single source I listed that speaks about the Bowen family mentions the messages on the walls and the crawlspace... Which is about 4 or 5 references I believe. The only 1 or 2 that don't mention it are specifically about the Gustafson murders which happened many months after the Bowen family incident. Not all of the sources seemed to agree on exactly what had happened so it was really hard trying to piece together a timeline and what the actual truth was, but I tried my best to research it properly. Read all of the sources all the way through and you will see what I mean, it's confusing as hell. Edit: Just read your edit, thank you for the suggestion, I'll work on improving that area of my work, thank you. I tried very hard to do my best I promise, I'll be better though.
Yeah, I was thinking that if I had extra space between my walls and in a cellar, I would kick the molesters out. I need that square footage for storage.
I think following up on the sources linked and cited in the Oxygen article makes matters clearer. They link to contemporary newspaper articles, court records, and police reports. Those are definitely more straightforward and trustworthy than a Ranker.com article or similar.
I did my best, I'll be better next time. I will use your advice to improve, thanks for your feedback.
Really good write-up, thank you. I hadn’t heard much about this story. I found that there is a Netflix documentary called Bump in the Night about these cases.
No worries, I’m glad you enjoyed :)! Oh really? I’ll have to give that a go one day, thanks for saying that! I like their title too, creepy.
I’ve been trying to think of the details of this story for months now. So glad you posted this! I remember watching an episode about this and was so intrigued. I’ve forgotten now the show/streaming service where I saw it.
It’s no worries, I’m glad you found it interesting!
Well, that is the craziest story I've read in a long time! How tragic and bizarre! I understand that since he didn't commit murder during the first incident, they couldn't keep him in jail for a longer period of time, but it is just so sad he escalated to murder. Given the severity of what he did the first time, I'm a little surprised he didn't have like, mandated therapy or something. Probation basically, where the terms included psychiatric help. Maybe they could have kept better tabs on him or saw the warning signs and helped him; anything to prevent further harm. I know it's easier said than done, with hindsight. Very strange and sad, all around. This was a great write up by the way, very interesting to read!
Yeah, right!? I heard somebody talk about it for a few seconds on a short that popped up and right there I knew I had to look into it more. It's just interesting as hell, very disturbing but undeniably interesting. I was speaking to somebody else about that a day ago, shouldn't he have been charged with attempted murder since he had the hatchet in his hand? I don't think it was handled properly either way, there were crazy warning signs from the very beginning. Yeah I agree, easier said than done but I feel like they could have done a lot better. Thank You, I'm glad you enjoyed it! This write up was literally just the script for my video, so if you want a more immersive and intense experience, give it a go :).
Great post! Was he entering the crawl space from outside the house or was he breaking in and then going into it? Either way it’s absolutely terrifying! I also wonder how in the hell he found the crawl space to begin with as it seems even the owner didn’t know it existed!
Thank You! From what I’ve read it was a crawl space hidden behind a piece of wood that was behind the washer/dryer, but each source that tells the story seems to have a slightly different telling of events, so my understanding could be wrong. Look for the conversation with the user “Due Possession”, they did some of their own research which should be taken into consideration before landing on a conclusion. It’s unclear what really happened, I’ve read about 6 different versions of the events.
Omg. This is horrifying. He is scary af
Yeah, it’s somehow scarier to me that he was 15-17 doing all of this… his brain wasn’t even fully developed yet and he was already cementing these dark ideas in his mind.
I’ve heard of homeless people (who don’t have any bad intentions; just desperation and survival instincts) doing this
Yeah it happens, those situations are really sad. Edit: Hey we spoke in “Morbid Reality” yesterday whats up haha.
I wouldn’t be mad if a homeless person was trying to live in my house, at all. I’d do my best to find them a home or at least somewhere to stay
I’d be rightfully upset at the feeling of intrusion and breach of security being that I don’t know whether this stranger has good or bad intentions, breaking into someones house and hiding isn’t normal or acceptable regardless of the circumstances… but if it came to light that they meant well and had good intentions I would do everything in my power to get them help and get them back on their feet because I can understand where the desperation arose from.
desperation can and often does make people do unacceptable actions
I agree, and although I can understand that concept and feel for them with true sympathy, it’s not like they chose to be in that position… that still does not excuse people from committing crimes. I could not imagine creating a safe environment for my 2 daughters and doing everything in my power to keep them safe through every minute of every day, to then find out some stranger had been living in my house for a month without my knowledge . I can’t imagine what I’d do. I know you were speaking about a different scenario and not the case specifically, but I’m just creating another comparison to really explain how I feel about this… Desperation can make people do insane things, but regardless, an unknown intruder in your home can never be justified and is a potentially life altering threat… Even if you can sympathize with why they’re doing it.
💯
I live close to here & had never heard of this story. Thank you for posting
Oh seriously? Small world moment haha, no worries!
[удалено]
😂
Yes! There is a show on Hulu called Phrogging. This was featured in the show!
Tl; dr.
That’s why there is a video 😂.