The Oilman.

A short story by Hillside. Some heating horror stories are unbelievable.

Last Spring, my wife Stacy and I decided that buying a home would be wise for our family. We had always watched the show Fixer Upper on HGTV. So we thought it would be a great idea to buy a charming older yet distressed home and return it to its previous glory. But, truth be told, we couldn’t afford to buy our Dream Home. Our kids, Nelly and Emmy, were turning 4 and 5. We wanted to provide them with a place to call home filled with warm memories.

We started our search in Middletown, DE, but a recent boom in development steered us away. We’re not anti-social but like our privacy. In the Summer of 2018, we settled on a home in a great rural community in Cecil County, Maryland, with its fair share of fixer-upper homes. As first-time homeowners, there was much to learn about this new home. For one, pushing a lawnmower with two acres of land was out of the question. I gave Emmy and Nelly free joyrides on my new riding mower that summer. I could still hear their giggles when they got the turn to steer.

Secondly, our home was heated by an oil furnace in the basement with an external oil tank. While exploring the mechanical items in the basement, we encountered a disturbing engraving better described as scratches on the concrete walls. “Never let the heat run out. He will come.” This message freaked my wife out. I played it cool and tried to act tough, but it was chilling. I told her it was nothing, and we forgot about it over time.

On our first Halloween night, the temperature was a comfortable 69°F. It was an unusually warm October. Emmy dressed as Princess Elsa from Frozen, and Nelly was Ryder from Paw Patrol. Our plastic pumpkins overflowed with Peanut Chews, Nerds, lollipops, candy corn, and my favorite, Reese Peanut Butter cups after trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. When we got home, we let the kids dump their candy on the table so they could take inventory of their spoils. They started trading candy like Wall Street veterans. We allowed them to have one sweet, but kids have a way of eating more when they’re distracted. 

Stacy mentioned it seemed a little chilly inside, but I shrugged it off. “She is always cold,” I thought. Finally, she told me about heating and a plan, but I was too busy goofing around with the kids. I am their personal comedian.

After putting pajamas on and brushing their teeth a little extra time, we put the kids to bed. They each smiled as we turned off the lights and kissed them goodnight. Next, my wife and I snuck downstairs to partake in the candy buffet but ensured no apparent disappearance. 

Stacy again mentioned to me she was cold. I suggested we get snuggly and watch a scary movie. She agreed but first said she had to make that call. I didn’t know exactly what that call was because I was on Facebook. I uploaded some of the cuter photos of the night. My mom loves to see pictures of the kids, especially in their costumes.

About 15 minutes later, we were off to bed, watching some horror movie she wanted to see. I’m not sure why she loves them because she always shakes during most of it. She said she had to keep her phone on during the movie because she was expecting a callback. 

Around 9:45 PM, I was forcibly awakened by a shivering wife. She anxiously told me, “Wake up. We have no heat.”  

I immediately thought she was scared of the movie. I didn’t realize I had dozed off. 

After about a minute or two, I got my bearings. I immediately felt the cold on my feet when I stepped on the hardwood floors. I could even see my breath every time I exhaled. I rubbed my stiff hands together and asked myself, “How could this be?” 

I first checked the thermostat. It read 32 °F. I thought, ‘A cold front must have come overnight.” The thermostat was not set to heat. “That must be it,” I believed. 

I changed the setting to heat and expected the heater to fire up. No luck. Just then, a screeching, hallowing sound echoed through the house. 

Stacy whispered from the bed, “Did you hear that?” 

“Yes. It’s nothing.” I replied.

“I am calling 911,” Stacy said in a panic. 

“Are you kidding me?” I snapped with annoyance. “I will go check it out.” 

I could hear the screeches coming from the basement. Then, when I went to the heater, I heard and saw a young boy in the corner near the engraved message.

“You’re in danger,” he whispered, “you don’t have much time.”

I could barely make the young boy out. From what I could see, he had dull-white smooth skin. Too dull for a youthful boy. He was frail and looked malnourished. His lips were ice blue, and his clothes looked from the 1920s.

“Ed isl lih, Ed isl lih,” he kept repeating with the sweetest voice I’d ever heard. 

“What did you say?” I said, caringly yet puzzled.

“Don’t let the oilman in. Ed isl lih.” replied my friend with apparent urgency. “He’s almost at your house right now. Don’t let the oilman in. Ed isl lih.”

“What do you mean Ed isl lih? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“And, who is the oilman?” I asked.

“The oilman,” he replied. “He comes to homes on cold nights. Once he knows you have no heat, he will come. But, then, it’s too late.” 

“What does he do once you let him in?” I asked.

The little boy looked down. “You don’t want to find out. So don’t let him in. Ed isl lih,” he cautioned. 

“I don’t understand,” I pleaded. “How can we stop the oilman from coming in?”

The little boy was getting very nervous. “Take my hand, and I will show you,” he replied urgently. “Look, we’re almost out of time.” 

“Out of time?” I repeated his words. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. 

“My time is almost up,” said my little friend. “Whatever you do, don’t let him in. Don’t answer it. Please, please, take my hand.” The way he said it made me want to help him. 

I started reaching toward him when I heard voices and footsteps on our main floor. 

“Please, take my hand.” He said with a kind yet nervous voice. “This is our last chance. I will show you if you, please take my hand.” His little hands seemed like they needed my help. I felt so compelled to take his hand.

Now the voices and footsteps were near the basement stairs. 

As I reached for his hands, I heard my wife gasp. I looked at her on the staircase; her eyes were wide open, and she quickly covered her mouth in fright. 

When I looked back at the boy, his hands were now wrinkled and marred. His nails were long, sharp, and dirty. His face went from a boy to a wrinkled older man with deep black eyes.

“Take my hand now!” This time, his voice was deep and crackly. 

I looked back at my wife and saw a man wearing a blue shirt with a Hillside logo. I wasn’t sure who he was. I felt like I was in a trance. I seemed to have snapped out of the basement’s concrete floor when he stepped on it. 

Before I could say anything, the little boy-turned-old man was enveloped by the shadows as if something had pulled him back into the darkness. Then, there was one final exhale, and he was gone. 

“Hi, I am Joe, the Hillside emergency technician here to look at your furnace. Are you ok, sir? You seem startled.” 

“Yes. I think I am now,” as I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. “How did you know to come?”

 

“Your wife called our office this evening and said you had no heat. So when KC told me you were a heating maintenance plan member, I came as fast as possible.” 

“You called the oilman,” I said with relief to Stacy.

“The oilman? That’s a weird way to put it.”

“Yes, in June, I googled heating and cooling company in Cecil County, MD, and Hillside kept showing up. So, I visited their website. I trusted they could be our heating and cooling company because they had over 2,000 5-star reviews. So they tuned our AC, and I signed us up for their heating maintenance plan. Remember?”

I didn’t recall that conversation. Instead, I wondered if she had told me during the NBA Finals.

“I knew it was too cold in here. Didn’t you hear me when I said I would call Hillside? I talked with KC, and she said our emergency HVAC technician would be here soon.” 

“I am sorry. I don’t remember that at all.”

I wasn’t surprised, and neither was she. I pretend to hear her when she tells me stuff. She’s always organized and, thankfully, always on top of things.

“Sir, let me turn this furnace on for you and your family. You’ll be warm in just a few minutes.” 

After Joe left, the house was warm and cozy, just as he said. A fuze blew to the furnace, and we were low on heating oil. 

I told Stacy what happened with the little boy in the basement. She said she saw me reaching toward the wall with a glazed look in my eyes and that it frightened her.

The one thing I couldn’t figure out was what “Ed isl lih” meant. So I wrote it down on a piece of paper. I pondered and pondered about it. It was getting late, and we both had to get up in the morning. Stacy said we should go back to bed. I told her I couldn’t sleep unless I figured it out. 

Stacy looked at my scrap paper with the words “Ed isl lih.” Then suddenly, she gasped. “Write that in reverse!”

“In reverse? OK”. 

H-I-L-L-S-I-D-E. 

I dropped my pen on the floor. “The little boy didn’t want me to let it in Hillside,” I said with fear and amazement.

I signed up for Hillside’s automatic oil delivery the next day. So that, plus our heating maintenance plan, we’ll never let the house run out of heat… or he will return.

Never let your heat run out with our Oil Heating Services and Special Offers

• Automatic Oil Delivery: Hillside Oil Heating & Cooling offers automatic home heating oil delivery services in New Castle County, DE, Cecil County, MD and Southern Chester County, PA. Enjoy peace of mind with our worry-free service that will keep you warm all winter long. You’ll be fueled during the coldest days and nights. You can stop monitoring your heating oil tank and permanently avoid emergency deliveries when extreme weather hits and the world is scrambling for heating fuel.
• Call-in Oil Delivery: Call-in delivery allows the customer to monitor and decide when to purchase fuel oil. This is helpful for customers that want to be in full control of when they have expenses for fuel oil. A simple phone call to our office is all it takes to schedule a delivery. Orders are scheduled based on our availability in your area. Our normal delivery days are Monday – Friday from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. Prices are based on market price and subject to change.
• Heating Tune-Up: A tune-up of your furnace or boiler can pay for itself over time. Regular furnace cleaning and maintenance helps prevent frequent failures, inefficient performance, and poor indoor air quality. Hillside Heating & Cooling is the leading furnace cleaning and maintenance specialists in New Castle County, DE, Cecil County, MD, and Southern Chester County, PA. Schedule our  30-point Furnace Tune-Up designed to prevent heating problems this season.
• Tank-Guard: Hillside offers a tank protection program by TANK-GUARD®. This service is a corrosion and protection warranty giving “Peace of Mind” knowing the expense of replacing your heating oil tank will be covered if replacement becomes necessary due to leaks.
• Heating Maintenance Plan: Regular furnace cleaning and maintenance helps prevent frequent failures, inefficient performance, and poor indoor air quality. Hillside Heating & Cooling is the leading furnace cleaning and maintenance specialists in New Castle County, DE, Cecil County, MD, and Southern Chester County, PA. Schedule our  30-point Furnace Tune-Up designed to prevent heating problems this season.
• Budget Billing: Hillside offers a convenient monthly budget payment plan. There is nothing complicated about Hillside’s plan, we estimate your total annual expenditures with our company and divide that among 12 monthly payments. We start our budget year in the summer so that money paid during the summer allows you to build up credit that will be used when deliveries are made in the fall and winter. Your budget amount is based on the average number of gallons you use per year multiplied by an estimated average fuel price for the upcoming season. If you have any of our maintenance plans, we factor those into your monthly payment amount.
• Worry-Free Winter Plans (limited availablity): Hillside Oil Heating & Cooling has created our Worry-Free Winter Packages. We’ll take care of your heating system, your fuel deliveries, and help spread out the cost of heating oil.