Fleshgaits are creatures that mimic humans (and other animals).

They can mimic voices; a woman calling for help deep in the forest attracts a male hunter - preying on male chivalry (or less noble desires) as he comes to her aid - only to find a creature well able to rend and tear. Or the sound of a baby crying in the back field of a farm late at night, preying on a woman's maternal instinct. As the get older and more skilled, they are able to take on the appearance of humans - at first only vaguely human, fine at a distance, but easily recognizable as inhuman up close. Over time, they can easily pass as a random person that you'd not look at twice, but possibly seem weird looking of you happen to pay closer attention, until eventually they could mimic a close friend and get away with it for a time.

I have a hypothesis/theory regarding them; I believe that they were originally...for lack of a better term, 'created', to be humanity's Natural Predator. To keep us culled to a reasonable number. And for most of our past, they did an admirable job. However, sometime around the Industrial Revolution, our numbers simply exploded beyond their abilities to effectively hunt us.

Over the millennia, they have become our stories. Werewolves, Doppelgangers, Vampires...the creatures of darkness that appear human some of the time. We actually know very little about them because they were so effective that few victims survived.

However, in the past 150 years or so, as our numbers rose so rapidly, they simply lost this unseen war. Too many people with too many guns, and too many stories started spreading.

I suspect we've managed to push THEM to the edge of extinction and the few left aren't as skilled at their craft - younger less well-trained. That, and the internet letting us in almost real time tell of Encounters, gives us tales like OP's story of situations that, just a generation or two ago, would have been an almost assured killing of an entire family - and maybe even many of her Dad's migrant employees. A smorgasbord for the Fleshgaits involved.

Anyway, as I said, just my theory. No hard evidence, just Encounters I've researched and some wild hypotheses and conjecture to round thins out. 😇