When the police arrived, the scene was both familiar and strange. The house was a typical family home, its windows aglow with the soft light of a child’s night lamp. They were greeted by the parents, dragging robes over their pajamas, apologizing profusely for the trouble.

But their daughter, clinging to a well-worn teddy bear, had eyes wide with something beyond mere childish fancy. She pointed a tiny, trembling finger toward the closet across the room.