SILENT, UNNERVING VISITS IN THE NIGHT

Most of the women were awakened by a light tug or a tickle on their feet — nothing painful, but certainly unexpected in the middle of the night.

Groggy, they opened their eyes to see a stranger kneeling at the end of their beds, touching or tickling their feet.

As the women’s screams pierced the night silence, the tall, slender intruder ran out of their bedrooms, through their homes and outside into the darkness.

It may sound like a bad movie, but such nighttime visits have been occurring in Glastonbury every spring since 1994.

None has taken place this year, but “The Tickler” has become one of the town’s most persistent criminals.

Since 1994, 11 cases have been confirmed and several more are under investigation. Police believe that there have been other Tickler episodes, but that the sleepy victims only vaguely heard the footsteps or thought they dreamed it.

“We’re pretty sure there are a lot more out there that haven’t been reported,” said Glastonbury police Sgt. Howard Charbonneau. “My opinion is that he’s not really interested in their feet, just finding ways to wake them up so he can have the challenge of getting away.”

The encounters have centered on the neighborhood that includes Overlook, Tall Timbers, Peach Tree and Coleman roads, as well as Brookfield Drive and Evergreen Lane.

None of the women has been physically injured and nothing has been taken from the homes. The most recent cases were reported last spring.

In each case, the intruder was dressed in black and entered the home through unlocked doors or basement hatchways. The person is believed to be a man, but none of the victims has gotten a clear enough view for a good description. The intruder has never spoken.

“I’d heard bits and pieces about a Tickler out there, but when it happened to me, it wasn’t so funny any more,” said one woman, who asked that her name be withheld.

The woman lives in the midst of the intruder’s favorite territory. She awoke around 3 a.m. one day in March 1997 when she heard a floorboard creak next to her bed.

“It takes awhile to come to when you’ve been asleep, but then I saw this figure at the end of my bed,” said the woman, who screamed and grabbed her phone to call 911 while the person ran out.

Because her blankets were tucked firmly into the end of her bed, the Tickler never got to her feet. But he ran the length of her house, through a basement and out through the unlocked hatchway where he had entered.

“What was most disturbing to me was that he must have been watching me, identifying me as a good potential person to visit,” she said. “The idea that he’d been following my actions was very traumatizing.”

The Glastonbury Police Department and the FBI drew up a profile of the suspect based on the incidents, and believe he is a white and in his 20s or 30s.

He has never broken into a home by force, but has tried several doors before finding unlocked houses. In one case, police found fresh tracks in the snow indicating that the Tickler had tried to enter two homes before getting into a third.

The victims, all women, have ranged in age from early 20s to mid-70s. Most have been alone, although occasionally other people have been in the homes when the Tickler has gotten inside.

“We believe he knows the neighborhoods very well and is either doing some kind of surveillance or has gotten very, very lucky,” said Charbonneau, describing how the Tickler has run through congested areas to get away, guided apparently only by a penlight.

The police department set up a special investigations unit — the “Tickler Task Force” — and has interviewed two suspects extensively. Officers also used sophisticated infrared night vision surveillance equipment a few weeks ago to stake out an area they suspected he might hit.

He did not show up on those nights. If caught, he would face several charges of burglary and also might be charged with minor assault offenses.

There has been no evidence that the Tickler is getting sexual gratification from his activities, and none of the victims has reported any physical contact beyond the initial tickling or toe-tugging.

Meanwhile, police say there is at least one immediate, easy way for residents to protect themselves: Lock up.

“Ironically, since the interviews with the suspects, there haven’t been any additional instances,” Charbonneau said, “but we do want to bring this person in.”