The noises had started around two in the morning, and while the house tended to make noises during such frightful snowstorms as this current one, these noises didn’t sound normal for a shifting house. I lay awake in bed, not daring to move. The sounds were not scaring me, let me get that straight. I am not scared by much. No, the sounds were confusing me, that was all. I wasn’t sure what to make of them. They seemed to be getting closer, so I silently got out of bed and picked up a knife I keep close to me for use in cases such as this, taking off my nightcap as I did so. I was ready for anything.…