Episode 406: Your Urban Legends XCVI - A Haunted Gin & Tonic
/This is a very grandparent-focused episode. Grandparents haunting churches, haunting plants, all different hauntings. PLUS a ghost child named…. Semler? Who knows what’s up with that.
Content Warning: This episode contains conversations about or mentions of family members death, cancer, motorcycle accidents, sex, blasphemy, and fire.
Housekeeping
- Recommendation: This week, Julia recommends Witch King by Martha Wells
- Books: Check out our previous book recommendations, guests’ books, and more at https://spiritspodcast.com/books
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Sponsors
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Cast & Crew
- Co-Hosts: Julia Schifini and Amanda McLoughlin
- Editor: Bren Frederick
- Music: Brandon Grugle, based on "Danger Storm" by Kevin MacLeod
- Artwork: Allyson Wakeman
- Multitude: https://multitude.productions
About Us
Spirits is a boozy podcast about mythology, legends, and folklore. Every episode, co-hosts Julia and Amanda mix a drink and discuss a new story or character from a wide range of places, eras, and cultures. Learn brand-new stories and enjoy retellings of your favorite myths, served over ice every week, on Spirits.
Transcript
AMANDA: Have you ever wanted to be an engine that powers a great, roaring train, ripping across the digital lands? Well, you can, because— hi, this is Amanda, CEO of Multitude, and it is the MultiCrew Drive. This is when we are making it especially tasty for you to join the MultiCrew, which, going back to my metaphor, lets you be the engine that powers Multitude. It's a membership program that lets you fund new work from us and get exclusive stuff. Now, it's great time to join all year round, but in these two weeks, it is especially great because we have set a goal of reaching 100 new and upgrading members. And to make it worth your while, we're doing a bunch of special stuff. We're having several hours of a telethon on Twitch, where we play trivia and games that anybody can attend. We also have six brand-new podcast episodes featuring Multitude hosts. Mischa is teaching Moiya all about the ocean. Me and Corinne and Eric are talking all about reality TV. There is so much more. Isabel and Amanda Silberling are here with me to debate and make a competition of emails. It's incredibly good. Julia wrote a whole RPG about Helios being hungover. Okay? You can only listen to these episodes if you join the MultiCrew. And if you join by September 27th, you also get a free enamel pin, and you get your name inscribed on a literal plaque on our literal wall here in the Multitude studio, if you're on an annual plan. So learn all about the MultiCrew, why you should join, and why it is worth your while to be the engine that powers us all at multicrew.club. That's multicrew.club.
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AMANDA: Welcome to Spirits Podcast, a boozy dive into mythology, legends and folklore. Every week, we pour a drink and learn about a new story from around the world. I'm Amanda.
JULIA: And I'm Julia. And Amanda, Amanda, it's time for hometown urban legends.
AMANDA: Yay.
JULIA: Yay. It's back.
AMANDA: Anytime we sit down to record, and the schedule tells me it's time for a hometown urban legends, Julia, it's just— it's an extra little surprise. It's like going to your favorite bakery, and they're like, "Ooh, we have an extra croissant," or like, "Oh, I broke the little corner of banana bread. Can I give you an extra one?" I don't know why my shoulders are doing this, but this is like— that's, like, the best part of my day. And hopefully—
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: —this is the best part of your week, ConSpiriters.
JULIA: You're like a little cat getting ready to pounce.
AMANDA: Ooh. Oh, yeah.
JULIA: We have a schedule, you know? Like we— we do, like, a solo episode, a guest episode, a hometowns episode, a trope episode. That's how we break them down in the schedule.
AMANDA: That's true. And if folks have never noticed, now is a great time. Go ahead and notice.
JULIA: Here it is, but it's just funny to me because you're like, "Oh, I'm so surprised." I'm like, "It's every four weeks, baby. It's every four weeks."
AMANDA: It's more like I sit down and I'm like, "Oh, yay. That's right." It's like, I get to the bakery and it's like, "Oh, yeah, this is like s'mores cupcake Wednesday." And it's every Wednesday, that's true, but it's still like, "Yes."
JULIA: I agree. I want s'mores cupcakes now. Why would you do this to me?
AMANDA: They were the cupcake of the month near the studio last month.
JULIA: That sounds so good.
AMANDA: All right. In the future, I'll update you on— on the first of the month, each monthly cupcake, and then you can plan your coworking days based around that.
JULIA: Thank you. That's all I ask as— as a coworker. Amanda, would you like to start with a wholesome hello?
AMANDA: That sounds great.
JULIA: Well, that is the title of the email sent in by Anna.
AMANDA: Aw.
JULIA: And she says, "Hello, I have been listening to Spirits for a while, and I love the way you present information in a clear and concise way. Thank you for all the research and work that you both do."
AMANDA: Gulia, that's you and Bren.
JULIA: But you do a lot of work too, Amanda.
AMANDA: And lastly, me.
JULIA: "I have thought about writing to you, but I was unsure of what to tell. Do I tell you the stories of my mother being stalked and harassed by strange shadow creatures?"
AMANDA: Oh, no.
JULIA: "Or perhaps the man that secretly watches me in my dreams?"
AMANDA: Uh—
JULIA: "But I would much rather tell you this sweet, little story. Though, if you do want to hear about some of the scarier ones I mentioned, I could tell you those as well."
AMANDA: Always.
JULIA: "I have been waking houses since before I knew exactly what I was doing."
AMANDA: "Waking houses?"
JULIA: She will go on to explain, don't worry. "And every time I moved out of a house, I would put the house back to sleep by going room to room, wall to wall, thanking the house for everything it did for me and my family. I would tell the house goodbye and good night. I have been very close with a few houses, and sometimes when things in the house are not quite right, the house will let me know one way or another, mostly in dreams."
AMANDA: Julia, this is so trippy, because for the first time in my life, I saw a mouse in my apartment. Exterminator came, we thought we had trapped it, and let it outside, but there was another one. And so I— I feel like at war with my home in a way that I don't think I ever have before. And I— I desperately need to know, and now I'm gonna, like, walk around my kitchen being like, "Shh, shh, shh. Stay in the walls, please."
JULIA: Well, Amanda, Anna explains, "If you don't know what it is to wake your house, you should look it up. It is a very lovely experience. It makes life easier and more friendly. I've never had a bad experience, and have never heard of a bad experience in waking houses."
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: So Anna continues, "I have just recently moved in with my boyfriend. His house is older. I want to say it was built sometime in the mid-1930s, not sure, though. The previous owners remodeled and got rid of all historical indicators and character for a more, quote-unquote, 'empty canvas' look."
AMANDA: No.
JULIA: "The only thing in the house that is still old are the wooden bedroom and bathroom doors." First off, fuck those old owners.
AMANDA: The true haunting, Julia.
JULIA: True haunting is what we call the contractor special or—
AMANDA: Yes.
JULIA: —millennial gray.
AMANDA: Hate it.
JULIA: No.
AMANDA: I hate it.
JULIA: Hate it.
AMANDA: It's the gray of ectoplasm. It's millennial gray.
JULIA: So Anna says, "I've tried to wake the house, but they feel tired, and they will not stay awake long before going back to sleep. It is a sad, empty feeling living in a sleeping house. I never bothered to learn a lot of wardings or house protections, because my houses have always taken care of that for me."
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: "But with this house, not having the energy to do those things, I have had to learn very quickly. The house had ever-changing energies, almost like a wandering spirit hotel. Spirits would come in and make themselves at home for a few days before moving out. Sometimes they were strong, sometimes they were weak, but they were always present in the evenings. You could feel things looking at you while in bed or trying to siphon off your energy." Spooky. Hate that. Not a fan.
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: "That was not something that I was going to have continue, so I made house rules. One, no going into the bedrooms or bathroom. Number two, no loud noises. Number three, no leaving anything behind. Things like that."
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: For the ghosts. I want to— I want to clarify, because Anna— this is not like— if you come into my house, here are the rules, you can't go in the bedroom or the bathroom. That would be wild house culture.
AMANDA: No, I— I figured. Yeah, that's— that's very cute, though. The idea of a house meeting where it's like, "All right, me and the ghosts, we're gonna sit down and we're gonna figure this out and find a compromise we can all live."
JULIA: It's very BBC ghosts or CBS ghosts of them, and I appreciate it.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: So Anna continues, "One of the stronger energies was in the house for, I want to say, a few weeks. They were around even when the sun would rise and the others would move on or lay low. This particular one would wander around the living room and watch me dance in the kitchen." Anna, I love your whole energy. Your whole vibe is great.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "They were endlessly fascinated by my technology. They would watch from over my shoulders as I worked on my computer and played on my phone. One day, I was FaceTiming my best friend and I went from my bedroom to my living room and sat down in a chair. She stopped mid-sentence. I could see her eyes shift from looking at me to looking up over my right shoulder, and her face grew a blend of confusion, concern, and annoyance. And she said, 'There is something in your house.'"
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Anna says, "I could not help but laugh. My friendly visitor was so strong that my friend could feel them even over the phone, and apparently see them."
AMANDA: I love how Ann— how Anna's friend— like Julia, let's imagine this right now, right? I'm sitting here chatting with you. You look behind me into that open door, and you're like, "Someone's here." And I go, "You're so right." Like, in what world do I not spin around and scream?
JULIA: It's literally a horror movie trope, but you said, "Hahahaha."
AMANDA: Yes.
JULIA: Oh, God.
AMANDA: I— I don't know what to say. Good for you, Anna.
JULIA: So she says, "I told her that I was aware of the energy and that they were harmless. Her face quickly turned to full annoyed and bluntly replied, "They are looking at me."
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: Again, your friend being just annoyed about this and not horrified, extremely funny.
AMANDA: Your friend has gone with the flow in a way I highly respect, and I'm just— I'm wondering at— at your whole vibe.
JULIA: Anna continues, "She says that, like, the spirit was an unruly child, that it was my responsibility to correct."
AMANDA: Like, Anna, the dog is barking a lot, and it's kind of annoying.
JULIA: Yeah. "Like, it— it's looking at me right now, and that's annoying."
AMANDA: Uh-huh.
JULIA: "The spirit watched for a little while longer before going to wander around the rest of the house. They moved on a few days after that. I hope that they're doing well on their ghostly adventures, and giving little scares to unsuspecting humans. Thank you for reading my story. It was very fun to remember and write out, Anna. " I gotta say, I want to hear the other stories.
AMANDA: Yeah.
Juila: Because if that was the fun, little lighthearted one, I definitely want to hear about the man who watches you secretly in your dreams, and also the spooky shit happening to your mom.
AMANDA: Yep, I need to hear it as well, and I wait in just wonder until that day arrives.
JULIA: Consider. It's spooky. I'm excited. Consider. Send them in soon so that we can maybe read them for Halloween season. I don't know.
AMANDA: Well, Julia, I also have a story involving a— A creepy house, and it's a mix of an older house and a newer one. So—
JULIA: Ooh.
AMANDA: —I love this unintentional theme we have going.
JULIA: I'm excited.
AMANDA: So this comes from Johnathan, no pronouns.
JULIA: Just Johnathan?
AMANDA: I don't know if that was a, you know, mistake of the email, or if Johnathan is like, "Fuck the pronouns."
JULIA: No, some people just don't want pronouns.
AMANDA: Love to hear it. So—
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: —Johnathan writes, "The subject here is Possible Heck Pupper, Definite Creepy Child."
JULIA: Great. Love it. Excited. Bring it on, Johnathan.
AMANDA: "Hey, Spirits people, not to be confused with spirit people, which I assume you're not."
JULIA: Well, I can't prove it."
AMANDA: "I've been marathoning your podcasts and Join the Party and Exolore for a while now, and I'm about halfway through the current Spirits catalog. I love the show, and thank you for sharing these stories with us. So a little introduction to me to set the scene. I've always been connected to the mystical. I've never been sure if it's just my desire for the capital Magic I've read about to be real or from actually tapping into something otherworldly. For instance, I would always have small visions whenever handling a pendulum, which is why I never actually got one of my own."
JULIA: Hmm.
AMANDA: "Now, the visions and sensations were never pleasant. I've sensed auras, read minds, which honestly, I can chalk up to being an amateur mentalist, but, you know, it could still be something. I'm also the type to follow a random bird or squirrel in hopes it leads me to a secret, magical passage, but I'm not sure how relevant that is to today's story."
JULIA: I think that's more just your whole vibe, Johnathan.
AMANDA: Which I'm very into. "My mom and I have both had ghostly experiences in all of our homes, and she's had prophetic dreams her whole life." No big deal.
JULIA: Makes sense. I— Amanda, I will say a lot of times when I have Deja vu, it's because I was like, "Pretty sure I dreamed about this."
AMANDA: Well, you— you have an intense number of very— you're like an old school Hollywood factory, like studio movie system—
JULIA: It's true.
AMANDA: —but for dreams, where your brain is just like, "Crank it out. Crank it out, boys. We got another one. Crank it out. Crank it out."
JULIA: Listen, if I could actually sit down and write out a lot of the dreams that I have, I would be a millionaire. I would be selling scripts to Hollywood. I would be writing novels. I don't know.
AMANDA: Well, instead, you're here, which, frankly, is— is better for me. "So the story at hand takes place in our small community of townhouses in Wellington, Florida."
JULIA: Hmm.
AMANDA: "Across the cul de sac from my home was the only two-story house in the entire neighborhood. Now, in hindsight, I should have at some point asked her nearest neighbor, who claimed that her husband built the neighborhood, why there was only one two-story house? And if they made the neighborhood, why they weren't the ones living in it?"
JULIA: Hmm. Interesting. I mean, I think that there are plenty of people who construct neighborhoods, or like commission to do that, who then don't actually end up living in that.
AMANDA: But she was a neighbor. She lived on the cul de sac, but not in that house.
JULIA: That is weird. Maybe— maybe they were like, "That one's gonna sell for more, so we won't— we won't live in it," I guess. Profit.
AMANDA: I don't know.
JULIA: I'm also just think— I'm thinking about Poltergeist and the fact that that family, like, lives in the neighborhood that is super fucking haunted.
AMANDA: Yeah. Something about, like, a subdivision, about a cul de sac, feels inherently haunt-y to me. A cul de sac, I feel like just traps energies, you know, in like a way—
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: —that I don't want to fuck with.
JULIA: Yeah, because there's no way of going through.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
JULIA: There's no outlet, Amanda—
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: —as the signs usually say.
AMANDA: I think that's simply feng shui. "So this house also stood out from the rest of its neighbors because it was the only one made out of a significant amount of wood, rather than being primarily concrete like the rest of the neighborhood. It had a long driveway with a sort of lean-to instead of the garages of the other homes."
JULIA: Sorry, Amanda, I have to very quickly say dead end, and then we can move on.
AMANDA: Oh, it's very good, Julia. It's very good. I'm— I'm also getting the vibe that maybe this house, like, pre-existed the neighborhood, or some kind of carved out. Or, you know, they were like, "Oh, okay. Well, this one exists, so we'll build around it." Something about it stands out. So it makes sense how Johnathan continues the story. "All the kids in the neighborhood swore they could see shadows looming in the textbook creepy octagonal window on the second floor."
JULIA: Aah, I love it.
AMANDA: "I had heard stories of weird sounds and sightings from nearly every resident of the community. And for the first year or so that we lived across from this home, it was empty. When a family finally moved in, it was like they had done it overnight. We never saw moving trucks or people carrying myriad boxes and furnishings in. There were just suddenly cars in the driveway and people in the house."
JULIA: Maybe they moved in, like, during the school day, and so the kids of the neighborhood didn't notice?
AMANDA: Just, like, In what world— okay, so a school day, you know, maximum a kid's gonna be gone for, what, like, eight hours or so?
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: In what world can you move an entire family's worth of possessions into a house in fewer than eight hours?
JULIA: Maybe a very efficient moving team, I don't know.
AMANDA: Maybe it's the mob. Maybe it's witness protection. We don't know what's going on here.
JULIA: Who can say?
AMANDA: "The only person any of us ever saw coming out of the home was a frail, little blonde girl."
JULIA: No. Bad. Bad.
AMANDA: "She introduced herself to us as Semler."
JULIA: Had— spell that for me.
AMANDA: Now, in retrospect, S-E-M-L-E-R. So Johnathan has a parenthetical here. "Maybe her name was actually summer, and because she was a little kid, she was having trouble saying it. But I thought Semler was a cool name anyway, and so I'm calling her Semler."
JULIA: I love that for you, Johnathan. You go.
AMANDA: "She spoke at a tone that was light and breathy, as if she was just able to speak above a whisper. So once again, rumors and stories spread around the neighborhood. People talked about her being unsettling, and there was a rumor that no one had ever seen her blink.
JULIA: That's a great rumor to spread.
AMANDA: Isn't that incredible?
JULIA: That's really good.
AMANDA: "Yeah, this is Julia. She never blinks."
JULIA: You're not gonna see me blink for the rest of this episode.
AMANDA: All right, Bren, just— go ahead. Just real quick, Bren, just edit out every blink from every clip we [16:51] of Julia.
JULIA: All my eyes. Did not last long. Didn't last long at all. What a good rumor. All right, go on. I gotta get the bleariness out of my eyes now.
AMANDA: "Other people said that she was a ghost and lived in the house all by herself." But then, Julia, why would there be cars in the driveway?
JULIA: Did the— did the ghost own a car dealership?
AMANDA: "Nonetheless, I don't recall ever seeing her parents or any other residents of the home. So when she got a German Shepherd, we wondered where the dog came from, too."
JULIA: Man, this is real Florida. Real Florida energy happening here.
AMANDA: "The dog was super well-behaved, followed Semler around diligently, and also seemed to grow larger than it rightfully should. After what seems like less than a reasonable amount of time, the pup was almost equal height to the girl. And by the way, I never once heard them bark, which was strange for me, as my dogs barked at literally everything. Now, naturally, one must assume that Semler is a ghost child and this is her Heck Pupper."
JULIA: Naturally, naturally. One would assume that, yes.
AMANDA: I just— I also loved, like, Silent Guardian dog, you know, like larger than life, keeping, you know, the— the silent or just whispering little girl company. It's the stuff that spooky nightmares are made of.
JULIA: Well, listen, Amanda, the— the man with the trench coat and the hat, had a dog, and it was definitely—
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: —a German Shepherd from my memory, at least.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. "So one day, I come outside into the cul de sac, and Semler is outside playing with her dog. She waved to me and called for my attention. I waved back and walked over. Now, I'd like to take a moment to add that I never really agreed with the rumor mill. Not that I didn't think she could be a ghost. I just didn't think it mattered. She was friendly, wasn't hurting anyone. Why would I care? She was Semler, she lived across the street."
JULIA: Who cares if it's a ghost?
AMANDA: I also just love the inherent, like, acceptability of children, right? Where they're like, "Yeah, why not?"
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: And makes me really, like, hopeful about humanity.
JULIA: Before they learn fear, you know?
AMANDA: Well, Julia, maybe Johnathan should have learned fear, because the next line of this email is, "She asked me if I could help her with something inside her house, and of course, being trusting and nice, I agree without hesitation."
JULIA: Stranger danger, Johnathan. Stranger danger.
AMANDA: "We walked up the driveway, and she unlocked the door to her home and went in first." So first, Julia, we see Semler using objects, which I feel like is one of the ghost tests that I want to see her pass.
JULIA: Okay.
AMANDA: Either if she— if she is not—
JULIA: Fair.
AMANDA: —a ghost, that's a good sign, or if she is a ghost, she's very powerful.
JULIA: Could be a ghost key, we don't know.
AMANDA: "I entered behind her and noticed that much like the outside of the home, the inside also seemed a lot older than all the other houses in the neighborhood."
JULIA: Okay.
AMANDA: "The room that was behind the octagonal window was the only room at the tip of a staircase directly to the right of the entrance."
JULIA: Spooky as fuck.
AMANDA: "But that's all I remember. I don't remember what happened next inside the house or what Semler wanted me to do."
JULIA: Johnathan, no. Johnathan, no.
AMANDA: "I wasn't gonna share this story, but when I asked my mother about this the other day to see if she remembered any other details about my story, she replied with something that I didn't expect, but probably should have, given our history. She had the same experience. She too was called over by Semler to assist with something in the house."
JULIA: No!
AMANDA: "Only difference is my mom being a bit more reactive to vibes than I am, when she got to the door, felt a chill, realized she shouldn't enter, and went back home."
JULIA: What did she tell Semler?
AMANDA: Don't know.
JULIA: What'd she say to that child?
AMANDA: Johnathan finishes the email with saying, "Hope you all enjoyed the slightly spooky story. I have quite a few other experiences to share, but those are for another time. Thanks, and may all be very well."
JULIA: Everyone so far in this episode needs to send us more emails. That is unsurprising, given how good our listeners are, but everyone needs to.
AMANDA: Our bouches are amused and Julia, frankly, mine could use another drink.
JULIA: Okay, let's go grab one, then.
AMANDA: Let's get a refill.
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JULIA: Hey, this is Julia, and welcome to the refill. Thank you, of course, to our newest patron, Meghan. You join the ranks of our supporting producer-level patrons Uhleeseeuh, Anne, Arianna, Hannah, Jane, Jeremiah, Kneazlekins, Lily, Matthew, Captain Jonathan MAL-uh-kye Cosmos, Sarah, and Scott. And of course, our legend-level patrons, Audra, Bex, Chibi Yokai, Michael, Morgan H., Sarah, and Bea Me Up Scotty. And you too can join our Patreon and get cool rewards, like ad-free episodes, recipe cards for every single gosh darn episode, and so much more. Go to patreon.com/spiritspodcast today to check those out. My recommendation for you this week is going to be a book that I am very much enjoying. It's a book by an author who I really like her other work. It's the Murderbot Diaries, if you've heard me recommend those on the show before. But I'm reading a new book, a fantasy book by her called Witch King. And it is very interesting. It's very cool. I immediately loved the main character right away, and it throws you right into the action. And I think if you're a fan of Spirits, you're gonna be a fan of this as well. I'm like 30% of the way through it, but I'm really, really enjoying it. So check that out. That's Witch King by Martha Wells, I highly recommend. And something else that I highly recommend is joining the MultiCrew because it is the start of fall, and that means it is the MultiCrew Drive. This is where we make it extra worth your while to join the MultiCrew, the membership program that empowers Multitude to make new work while sharing that process with you. Our goal this year is to add 100 new and upgrading members to the MultiCrew by September 27th. And to thank everyone who has already joined or will join this month. We're dropping even more bonus audio to the MultiCrew than usual. We are dropping six brand-new exclusive podcast episodes. Have you ever wanted to hear Dr. Moiya McTier learn about the ocean from our editor extraordinaire, Mischa? Would you like to cheer for Isabel and our very own Amanda in a head-to-head business email competition? Maybe you want to get hooked on a reality show podcast from Eric and Corinne, or maybe you want to play along to a mythology-infused one shot that I wrote for Jenna, Brandon, and Mischa, and even more episodes if you want to hear those join the MultiCrew today. And that's not even all of the cool stuff that we're going to be coming up with. Go to multicrew.club to learn about the extra freebies you'll get by joining like an exclusive enamel pin and your name on a plaque. That is multicrew.club, where we're running special giveaways for MultiCrew members through September 27th. Check it out. And finally, this episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. And listen, I am a lifelong learner, and you know, as an adult, it's kind of hard to make time to learn new things as often as you'd like. I feel like a lot of people lose that love of learning when they transition from childhood to adulthood. But I constantly love learning new skills and new things and fun facts. Like I love learning about gardening. I love learning new games that I can play with my friends. And I think there's a sense of wonder in learning. And therapy can help you reconnect with that sense of wonder, because your, quote-unquote, "back to school era" can come at any age. I know, for me, I am constantly learning new things from my therapist. She'll say stuff like, "Oh, if you heard about this person, they talk a lot about self-empowerment." And I'm like, "Tell me more about that, Emily. That's a great idea." And I just think that anyone can really benefit from learning new skills about dealing with their own mental health and the day-to-day struggles of being a human being. Therapy is a great way of doing that, and if you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapist at any time for no additional charge. Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/spirits today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P, .com/spirits. And now, let's get back to the show.
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JULIA: Amanda, we are back. And what has been your drink of choice lately?
AMANDA: Well, Julia, as of this recording, I've just gotten home about 12 hours ago from Ireland, where I went for a family vacation and my dad's 60th birthday. And it was so much fun because I had lots and lots of Guinnesses, as you would expect.
JULIA: Naturally.
AMANDA: But also one of my siblings who doesn't drink, had a bunch of Guinness Zeros. Guinness has an NA beer—
JULIA: Ooh.
AMANDA: —and Austin loved how it tasted, and was totally satisfied with the experience of having a Guinness right alongside us. It was on tap in a lot of pubs in Ireland, and comes in cans as well. So I loved to see it and we could have our matching little drinks at the same time.
JULIA: Incredible. I— I've also heard Corona does a couple of different non-alcoholics as well.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: And I've heard that the— their selection is very good for folks who are not partaking in alcohol right now.
AMANDA: There has never been a better time to be in the no and the low alcohol drink game, and we love to see it.
JULIA: Amanda, I— I've been really enjoying— I made a specific cocktail for Jake the other day, because sometimes I just like— I feel inspired, or I see something online, and I want to, like, make him a fun cocktail that I know he will like, that I'm not necessarily super into.
AMANDA: Cute.
JULIA: For example, not a huge bourbon whiskey drinker, as— as we've discussed here on this podcast.
AMANDA: A brown liquor, yeah.
JULIA: Yes. But I made him this cocktail that I think is originally from a bar in Charleston. It's called the Red Wedding. We are also currently— we just finished our rewatch of Game of Thrones, and we're going through House of the Dragon for the first time.
AMANDA: Nice.
JULIA: And so it is a bourbon and averna, which is a Sicilian Amaro aperitif style drink.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: Muddled orange rind. And then I made these very specific blend of ice cubes that are mostly like hibiscus tea and Earl Grey.
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: And then a little bit of ginger ale in there, so that it actually melts faster.
AMANDA: Whoa.
JULIA: And they— like as you drink it, it slowly transforms into, like, a more complex and the hibiscus comes out, and the tea flavors come out, and everything. So it's— it's a very cool cocktail. I'm— I'm honestly very impressed with myself.
AMANDA: That sounds amazing, and I feel like a really good addition to, like, sparkling water, anything else you might want. Like, those ice cubes are just a great addition.
JULIA: Yes, yes. And they're non-alcoholics, so you can always make the ice cubes and add them to a variety of different things. I think fancy ice cubes should be more of a thing for people in general, hot take.
AMANDA: Highly underrated, yeah. Anytime you have, like, a juice where, like— I don't know if you ever do this, Julia, but I'll get, like, you know, a quart of grapefruit juice and, like, use some for something, and then be like, "What am I gonna— I'm not gonna just, like, drink a cup of grapefruit juice."
JULIA: Freeze them. Add them to cocktails and mocktails.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. So good.
JULIA: You're right. You're so right.
AMANDA: Little extra tea left after you blend it, just, like, pop it in a little silicone ice cube tray and see what happens.
JULIA: There you go. I— I love my little silicone ice cube tray.
AMANDA: So cute.
JULIA: All right. Amanda. Are you ready for another creepy kid story?
AMANDA: Yes, let's do it.
JULIA: All right. This is from Leti, she/her, and the title is Creepy Kid, so—
AMANDA: Love it.
JULIA: Leti says, "Hi, I'm Leti. I'm a patron as of this year." Thank you, Leti.
AMANDA: Thank you.
JULIA: "I have been listening to Spirits for years."
AMANDA: Yay.
JULIA: "I want to say since the beginning," which honestly, impressive.
AMANDA: Leti, so cute.
JULIA: "My favorite episodes are the urban legends episodes. And while my stories aren't based in any urban legends, they are still pretty spooky." Also, for a little bit of a content warning, this story deals with family member's death and also cancer. So if that is not your cup of tea, I'd say like five minutes or so, skip forward.
AMANDA: Thank you.
JULIA: "I was a spooky/creepy kid. I was always seeing ghosts, talking to things in the corner of rooms, and doing some inexplicably spooky shit. When I was four years old, my uncle got into a really bad motorcycle accident and was killed. It was, predictably, a really sad time for my family, but it was also my creepy kid origin story."
AMANDA: I'm sorry, Leti.
JULIA: "Now, his accident happened in the middle of the night. I was at home, asleep, and being looked after by my neighbor. My grandparents and my father had all went to the hospital to see my uncle."
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "The next morning, over my bowl of cereal, having been told nothing about my uncle, I told them the story of his accident, from the accident scene to the specific hospital they took him to. I told them what the waiting room looked like, what his emergency bay looked like, what he was wearing, that his helmet was cracked, and that I stood at the side of the road and held his hand when they left the hospital and walked him, quote-unquote, 'home.'
AMANDA: I think I'm speechless. Oh, my God.
JULIA: That's wild. Truly wild. Sometimes little kids say stuff and they, like, accidentally hit on knowledge, you know? But that's so specific that it's really hard to be like, "Oh, little kid imagination stuff, you know?"
AMANDA: Yeah. Or you hit on the vibe that, you know, something is different. Someone different is picking me up, or, you know, taking care of me. People seem somber and, you know, something bad happens, but that is, like, inexplicable.
JULIA: Yeah. It's— and this is not the only time that Leti did that.
AMANDA: What else did she do?
JULIA: She— she also says, to finish that out, "My grandma cried. It was the first time I remember her doing so. But my father and my grandpa were scared, because there was no way I could know all of that, right? And it was no way it could be real."
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: Fast forward to 1998, after the death of my mother, she had been diagnosed with cancer and had been admitted to the hospital for the last few months of her life."
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: "My father thought it best not to let us see her towards the end, hoping that we could save the memories of her. But the night she died, while I was at home asleep, I was there in the hospital with her. There was a great white light that came through the window, and I watched her leave this plane of existence. And then the morning after, I told my family members that my mom had died before they could tell me."
AMANDA: Holy shit.
JULIA: That's a lot.
AMANDA: And hopefully, as comforting as it can be, you know, to be able to accompany her in that moment. Wow.
JULIA: The story gets spookier now.
AMANDA: I don't know how, but—
JULIA: I wouldn't say, like, more lighthearted, but it does get spookier now.
AMANDA: You know, that was— Julia, that was, like, somber, and now, I think I'm ready for some— a spooky chaser. You know what I mean?
JULIA: "At this point, we were living in a new build house in an urban town. It wasn't stated that it was built on top of anything, but it was in the desert, so who knows what they had disturbed?"
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "If I remember correctly, I was eight years old and was lucky enough to have my own small TV in my room." Wow, the luxury, incredible.
AMANDA: Oh, yeah.
JULIA: "I sat on the floor, watching Nickelodeon, and at a break in the scene, I saw something in the reflection of the television."
AMANDA: Stop. My least favorite trope. Oh, no. Oh, no.
JULIA: It was leaning against the frame of my bunk bed, had pitch-black skin, white pointy teeth, red eyes, horns, and a tail."
AMANDA: I thought you were gonna say it was her dead mother!
JULIA: I said it got spookier, bitch.
AMANDA: Yep.
JULIA: "For a minute, I was too scared to look again." Understandable. You're eight years old. "Surely it was a trick of the light, or I was imagining it, right? Well, I turned around, and there he was, standing right behind me, smiling at me, like he caught me doing something bad. I immediately fled my room, but I didn't scream for some reason. I tell myself that I was so afraid that I lost my voice, but maybe part of me knew it had to be kept a secret." I also— like, I— I feel like a lot of times in dreams and stuff like that, you try to scream and you're unable to.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: And that feels very similar of a vibe to me here. Not that it was a dream, but rather like you're so afraid, you can't scream.
AMANDA: Totally. And I also think it's probably good survival instincts to just, like, get the hell away in a way that, you know, you're not also leaving an auditory trail behind you.
JULIA: It gets spookier, Amanda, but here we go.
AMANDA: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
JULIA: "A few nights later, while I was in bed and I would sleep with my door open, on the top bunk, I watched as a headless man walked by my bedroom door and seemingly into the room next to mine. He was so white that he glowed. He only had pants on, and I distinctly remember the lack of head. I started sleeping with my door closed after that."
AMANDA: Yep. Nope. That'll do it.
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: And I hate that that was the inverse of the other spirit.
JULIA: Yeah, no. Extremely spooky. I don't like that. Here's the chef's kiss ending here. All right?
AMANDA: I don't know if I want this kiss, but okay.
JULIA: "When I was a bit younger, at the age where you'd still acceptably crawl into bed with your grandparents, I would routinely do just that. They lived in a room downstairs, so I'd brave the dark hallway, the staircase which led to the living room, wander through the kitchen and the den, and finally reach their room. Countless times when I'd open their door, I'd see a little girl in a long, white dress sitting on the end of their bed."
AMANDA: Countless times?
JULIA: Countless times. "I'd always wait for her to fade away before crawling into bed with them as she scared me. But one night, instead of just fading away, she turned her head and looked at me."
AMANDA: Oh, no. Oh, Julia. I hate when a pattern is set up and then the pattern is subverted.
JULIA: "Her eyes were just holes in her head, deep, black, and unending. She opened her mouth unnaturally wide, as if she were screaming, but no sound came out." Kind of like what happened to you earlier, Leti.
AMANDA: Oh, no.
JULIA: "That night, I ran back to the safety of my bed, as she clearly was not going anywhere that night. I told my grandparents about her at some point, and my grandpa said, "Oh, I always thought that was just you. So those are some of my stories from my creepy kid era. Thanks for sharing them, and thanks for giving us Spirits. It's the best podcast out there, and I'm always excited for each episode. Best, Leti."
AMANDA: Leti, I'm sitting here fairly speechless. I think, pound for pound like spookiness to word count, this is up there, Julia, in the— in the hundreds of urban legends we read on the show.
JULIA: It's pretty good.
AMANDA: Holy shit. Respectfully, what the fuck did you watch when you were a kid that these images were in your mind? Oh, my God. The— the final story really got me in particular, because Leti describing that scene reminded me of some really nice memories of my next younger sibling and I would sleep over at our grandparents' house. And in the morning, we'd like— you know, very excited, like, go into their room and, like, crawl in bed with them, and hang out. Their pillows were so soft. Anyway, and I was just like, "Oh, that's right. That's a nice memory." And then the, you know, eyeless, gaping maw, Victorian child really— really snuck up on me there.
JULIA: Really ruined that for you, huh?
AMANDA: Well, you know, that is the show I'm on, so—
JULIA: That is, that is. True facts. We— we did this to ourselves.
AMANDA: Leti, we better hear more. Like, respectfully, you better send us more.
JULIA: I— everyone so far has sent unbelievable bangers.
AMANDA: I happily, Julia, have a— another sweet and spooky grandparent-related story.
JULIA: And I also have a grandparent-related story after this.
AMANDA: Whoa.
JULIA: So I think—
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: —this might be a little bit of a longer episode, but we gotta— we gotta do all the grandparents this time.
AMANDA: In respect for all the grandparents in our lives, we— we have to extend this episode. It's true.
JULIA: Shout out.
AMANDA: So this comes from Angel, he/him, and it's titled My ex-priest and Ex-Nun grandparents beat my satanic ass from beyond the grave.
JULIA: Sweet. I love it.
AMANDA: Hey, Spirits crew. Very new listener, been marathoning your show for the last two months, and I have to say, I am almost caught up.
JULIA: Shout out.
AMANDA: Angel, that's— that's bananas. Good job. "Little backstory, my maternal grandfather, Tito, was a Catholic priest from Spain, where he met my grandma, Tita, when she was a fairly new nun from Mexico. They met"— and Julia, this is Angel's words—
JULIA: They fucked, yeah.
AMANDA: "—and the rest is history."
JULIA: Yep. You're alive because those two people fucked.
AMANDA: Yep. "Even though they stopped being priest and nun, they were still very into their faith. And two generations later, my satanic ass was born."
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: "So let's get to what happened just a few weeks ago."
JULIA: Ooh.
AMANDA: This is a fresh one, Julia.
JULIA: Hot fresh off the presses.
AMANDA: "Now, unfortunately, my Tito died 20 years ago, and now my Tita has just passed away a few weeks back."
JULIA: Sorry to hear that.
AMANDA: I'm sorry, darling. "Now, I may have left the church years ago, but I decided to pay my respects to her by going to church, because it is what she would have wanted. So I'm sitting there, trying to keep it together, when the priest just starts rambling. He was talking, but the words meant nothing and didn't have any meaning. I looked at my wife, and she also looked confused. It wasn't just me. So while he's rambling, I found my mind wandering." And now content warning for an extremely blasphemous daydream ahead.
JULIA: All right. I'm into it.
AMANDA: "So I started thinking to myself, 'I bet I could burn this church,' and my imagination goes wild, sort of picturing how I would do it."
JULIA: Oh, word?
AMANDA: "Now, I know this sounds bad. What am I? A Norwegian black metal band from the '90s? Now, in my defense, we all mourn in our own ways. And all of a sudden, as I was sort of doing this daydream, I felt a sharp pain in my back reaching all the way to my heart. We sat all the way in the back. We didn't have anyone behind us, so I'm like, "Holy fucking shit, am I literally gonna get smited? Hell yeah, that's metal as fuck."
JULIA: Hell yeah, dawg.
AMANDA: So the pain got fairly bad, so mentally, I'm like, okay, chill, God, chill. I wasn't actually gonna do it. I was just thinking about it. I wouldn't want a firefighter to get hurt."
JULIA: That's the reason I wouldn't want to do it. That makes sense.
AMANDA: "And then the priest's words start making sense again to me. He starts talking about how sins are forgivable, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, until he says, 'Unless you blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.' And I'm like, 'Whoa, what's that? I want to do that one.' So I just started feeling my arm getting pinched, and I look over and my wife is just staring ahead. There was no one on my side. And then it hit me, growing up, whenever I would misbehave during church, my Tita would pinch my arms to tell me to quit it."
JULIA: Tita.
AMANDA: "And I was like, 'Holy shit. Sorry, Tita. I'll behave, I promise.' So I left church with two things on my mind. First, I need to figure out what blaspheme against the holy spirit looks like. And two, I gotta tell my mom about this. She is going to get a kick out of it."
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: "So I waited until Monday after work to call my mom and tell her what had happened. She started laughing her ass off and said that my Tito paid her a visit right before my Tita died. My mom was at home, and all of a sudden, a dumbbell dropped from a dresser in a room that nobody was in."
JULIA: What?
AMANDA: Unusual.
JULIA: Unusual.
AMANDA: "Now, a few minutes later, she got the call that my Tita had passed. Now, here's where things get weird. In the days leading to my Tita's passing, she kept her eyes closed because she said, 'When I opened them, my husband is waving me to him.'
JULIA: Uh-oh.
AMANDA: "So the day she passed, she actually had opened her eyes after the nurse gave her a bath. And when the nurse asked what she wanted to snack on, she said she wanted an apple. The nurse responded, 'So you don't have your dentures in, so I can't get you an apple. Would some pudding be okay?' And my Tita replied with, 'Oh, it's not for me. It's for my love. He loves apples.'"
JULIA: Oh, no, that's very cute and sweet.
AMANDA: "The nurse was confused, but figured it was one of the symptoms of my Tita's dementia. So the nurse went to the kitchen to get her an apple and put it on her nightstand. She went to go clean up in the bathroom, and when she came back, Tita had passed. So my mom and I are sort of nicely smiling and finding humor in the whole thing. And then my mom was like, 'I don't think God tried to smite you, Angel. Your Tito and your dad used to greet each other by hitting each other on the back as hard as they could.' And we fucking lose it laughing. So we hang up, and as soon as I do, I look in my rearview mirror and see two fucking wheels following me on the highway like a fucking ghost car."
JULIA: Hey, what the fuck?
AMANDA: "The semi, I had just passed on the freeway, had lost two of its wheels."
JULIA: Uh-huh.
AMANDA: "Now, the wheels followed me for about a mile before they finally veered off, lost momentum, and ended up in a ditch. I immediately called my mom back and said, 'What the hell this just happened?' She cackled again, and I told her to tell my Tita to chill and go to heaven already.'"
JULIA: Yeah, Tita, go relax somewhere. It's all good.
AMANDA: "Now, I wasn't able to make it to her funeral because it was in Mexico, and I live in the US, but I decided I had to go be with my mom and make sure she was okay and say goodbye to my Tita and ask her to chill."
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: "So I did go to visit. We made sure no more weird things had happened. And sure enough, it's been pretty calm ever since. Thanks for reading. Huge fan. Stay creepy, stay cool from your satanic Hispanic, Angel."
JULIA: Love that. Wow. What a— what a wild twist and turns that was happening there. I love it.
AMANDA: That was also a word count to fuckery ratio of, like, pretty good. That's pretty good.
JULIA: That's— that's a spicy meatball. I love that.
AMANDA: Incredible. Well, I hope your Tita and Tito are having incredible shenannies beyond the grave, because it sounds like that's exactly what they are up to.
JULIA: I thought you're gonna say having incredible sex in heaven, and that's what God wants.
AMANDA: Well, Julia, probably that. Probably that. And Angel, I love your vibe. Please keep writing in.
JULIA: Yes, please. All right, Amanda, I have one more haunted grandparent story.
AMANDA: Yes. Let's do it. Is the second line, "They fucked, and here I am?"
JULIA: No.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: It's not.
AMANDA: All right. Well, I'll get over it.
JULIA: All right. This is from A, she/her, and the— the title of this email is My Grandpa haunts a plant and other tales of growing up in a haunted house.
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: "Hello, Amanda and Julia. Welcome from Perth, West Australia."
AMANDA: Ooh.
JULIA: "Just wanted to start by saying I've listened to all your episodes, and thanks for hours and hours of entertainment. You kept me company through many a long drive. My favorites are definitely the hometown urban legends. Some of them are so decidedly creepy that I no longer let myself listen to these episodes before bed. I do like to be able to sleep, you know." Fair. "I've been meaning to write in with my own spooky stories for a long time, and after listening to your call out, I think now is that time. For years, my family were all having freaky occurrences and keeping them to themselves." This is why I say talk about the spooky things that happened to you.
AMANDA: Yep, unpack the trauma, Julia. Unpack the suitcases. Change the culture, talk about your hauntings.
JULIA: Well, A was the one that kind of changed the culture, because she says, "Until one evening when I had a particularly scary visitation, and they all kind of came out."
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: "I'll put them all in here, and you can pick and choose how many, if any, you want to share. I'm sharing them all."
AMANDA: Yay.
JULIA: "But let's not freak you out too early. Let's start with plant Grandpa."
AMANDA: I love this. Let's go.
JULIA: "So our grandparents had a farm a couple of hours outside of the city. On that farm, there was a prolific ground cover plant. It had kind of heart-shaped leaves and little purple flowers all over it, and my mom loved it. So when they sold the farm, she took a cutting and attempted to grow it in the side garden. It did not want to participate in the relocation, and didn't die, but stayed pretty small."
AMANDA: Uh-hmm. Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "When we lost grandpa a few years later, it took off and covered that side garden, but without any flowers."
AMANDA: Aw.
JULIA: "Oh, to this day, almost 20 years later, we only get flowers three times a year, grandpa's birthday, Father's Day, and the anniversary of his death."
AMANDA: Oh, my goodness.
JULIA: "All of which are spread out throughout the year." So, like, it's not like, "Oh, yeah, it's just like, you know that time of year is when it flowers." Nope. "It's kind of nice to see the flowers and say, "Hey, Pop, what's up?"
Amada: Stop.
JULIA: "My dad has, at least twice, had dreams about people on the night that they died." Again, another through line here.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "Both times he has woken up groggy but insistent on calling 'insert person here,' and it's been in the middle of the night, so my mom tells him, 'Go back to sleep.' And they've woken to the news of that person passing in the night."
AMANDA: Oh, my God.
JULIA: I— I really like that as— I don't want to call it a trope, because it does happen to people very often. But as an experience, I think—
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: —that's— it's one of those moments where it's like, "Oh, I'm being thought of. I'm being remembered. I'm being visited."
AMANDA: Yeah. Very much so.
JULIA: "My mom came home one day to a really strong smell of flowers in the house." Each of these is a different story and a different, like, family member who experienced something, by the way. "She knew she recognized the smell, but she couldn't recall the name of the flower. As someone who is pretty sensitive to smell, she decided to hunt through the house and figure out what was making the smell so she could remove it. She went methodically room by room, and couldn't find anything that would be making that smell. Eventually, she made it back to the kitchen, and it hit her that the smell was that of the flower stocks." I'm glad that A specified, because if you just said stocks, I was like, "Like— like, a beef stock or a chicken stock in the— the kitchen? That makes sense."
AMANDA: Ooh. Little fish. What kind of stock we got going on?
JULIA: Stocks were her grandmother's favorite flower. In the kitchen was the calendar where mom noticed in that moment that it would have been her grandmother's birthday that day."
AMANDA: Aw.
JULIA: "She swears she felt a presence leave the house along with the smell instantaneously, the moment she realized that."
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: Pretty cool, pretty good.
AMANDA: That's nuts. I— my siblings and I all had a gin and tonic, or tonic in Austin's case, for our grandfather's birthday back in June, which is just near Father's Day as well. So it's, you know, it's— you know, it's always kind of around the same time, and he's only been gone, like, two years, so I'm— I'm believing that he's sort of gathering his, you know, energies to haunt me with unexpected gin and tonics in the future. I'm just putting out there, pop. That's what I really like to see. So, like, you know, we're carrying on the tradition, but if you just want to remind me with, like, a whiff of gin when I don't expect it—
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: —that it is June 17th, I'm here for you.
JULIA: I like that. I'm into it. I think maybe also, like, you go to a bar and the bartender's like, "Oh, I accidentally made an extra gin and tonic.
AMANDA: Right.
JULIA: "Do you want it?"
AMANDA: Yeah. Or— or order, like, a Corona, then they come back with gin and tonic. They're like," Oh, weird.: And I'm like, "No, no, you're right. I'm wrong."
JULIA: "You're right. That was my grandpa." I like that.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: I like that a lot.
AMANDA: Right.
JULIA: All right. "J, my oldest sibling, had a strange visit in the night. He says he was in some sort of half-asleep, half-awake state, and was drawn to the front door. An old lady was trying to get inside."
AMANDA: Oh.
JULIA: Hate that. Hate that.
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: Not a fan.
AMANDA: No.
JULIA: "He was confused, but not alarmed, even when he saw her feet weren't touching the floor."
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: "He told her she couldn't come in."
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: "She frowned and moved along to try the window. He told her again she couldn't come in, so she just drifted off down the street."
AMANDA: I mean, well played, but damn.
JULIA: "Now, J may have gone back to sleep after this, that is unclear. However, he also has an apprenticeship and would leave before everyone else in the house. He goes to work thinking he just had a particularly weird dream. When he gets home, our neighbor is over telling my mom how the old lady next door had passed away the night before. She lived in the direction J says she drifted off after trying to get into our house."
AMANDA: Wow. That's astonishing. I'm a— I— I think I'm a fairly rational person. We've— we've been over this so much on the show, but like—
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: —there's— you know, there's stuff I can't explain. There's— I— I want to live in a world where— where that kind of, you know, sort of like wonder and an inexplicable, like, connection is present. And I think, you know, the— the moving on of energies, like, has unexpected consequences, but, like, holy shit, that's spooky. Wow.
JULIA: Yeah. That's extremely spooky, and I don't like that.
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: All right. "So S, another sibling, got up one night and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water." As one does.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "My bedroom door was right next to the kitchen, so when he saw a small girl shape in the doorway in the dark, his first thought was it was me."
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "He told her she should go back to bed. When she didn't respond, he turned her way and realized it wasn't me. She was, in fact, see through and floating."
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: "Being half-awake, he swung his arm through her."
AMANDA: Okay.
JULIA: I love that as a— as a, like, "Wait a second."
AMANDA: I thought— if it were like me or my siblings, I'd be like, "Okay, butt-face. Like, go back to sleep."
JULIA: "He said it felt like putting his arm into ice water, and it woke him up immediately. He edged away and backed up to his bedroom and was somehow able to get back to sleep."
AMANDA: Wow.
JULIA: I don't understand how, but okay. "He also reported on several occasions waking up braced on his bed as though someone had just been bouncing on the end of his bed. Something I used to do—"
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: "—when I wanted to wake up my big brothers."
AMANDA: Hmm.
JULIA: "But there was no one there.
AMANDA: Nice.
JULIA: "And now on to my stories. The first one, I was about 15 years old and home alone while my parents were at dinner and my older brothers were out. I decided to make a sandwich for dinner. As I'm in the kitchen, the fluorescent light starts to flicker." Nothing spookier than a fluorescent light flickering, just saying.
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "I think nothing of it. They do that sometimes. But I go to turn the dining room light on, instead, as I hit the switch, the CD player in the lounge turns on and starts whirring as though it's reading discs. I think, 'Hmm, power surge.' And go down to turn it off. As I hit the switch, the radio in my parents' bedroom turns on."
AMANDA: Nope.
JULIA: "At this point, I'm getting a little freaked out."
AMANDA: Yep. Nope. Those are different places in the house. It's not like you turned off the, you know, living room circuit, and the TV also went off, because it's on the circuit, no, no, no.
JULIA: Yeah. No, no. "I go in to turn it off and it won't turn off. I'm flicking the power switch and nothing is happening. No way in hell I'm going under the bed to unplug it, though." Smart. Good call.
AMANDA: Uh-uh.
JULIA: "Instead, I turn the volume all the way down. "Again, very smart. "I decide I'm going to call my best friend. As I'm walking up to the landline phone, because, hello, early 2000s. I walk past my bedroom door and inside my bedside lamp turns on. I call my friend and I tell her what's happening, and she's all, 'Why the heck are you still in the house?' And she goes, 'Fair.' At this point, a moth flies into the window next to me and scares the crap out of me, so I hang up, and I run out the front door. My mom and dad come home and ask me why I'm outside."
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: "I explain, and they laugh, thinking I'm just freaking out over a power surge."
AMANDA: Uh-uh. Nope.
JULIA: "It's pretty late, so we all go back to bed. My mom forgets to adjust her radio. A couple of hours later, it turns on, blasting at full volume."
AMANDA: Nope. That knob was down. Nope, nope, nope.
JULIA: "Once again, the power switch doesn't work, and this time, neither does the volume, so she has to unplug it. She believes me after that."
AMANDA: And, you know, Julia, that this— that a radio in the early 2000s, it's not gonna have, like, a purely digital volume knob. It's gonna have a knob.
JULIA: Yeah. It had a knob that requires physical movement. All right, Amanda, this is the last story. This is the story that all of the other stories came out after this, right?
AMANDA: Ooh.
JULIA: "I was about 17, and experienced sleep paralysis for the first and only time in my life, I awoke to a black hooded figure leaning over my bed. I couldn't move, couldn't talk—" sorry, Jake just came home as I was reading that, and like, all of a sudden, I heard a door move, and my stomach left. I was like, "Ugh." All right.
AMANDA: Oh, you mean the— the worst thing that happened during the worst possible story? Yep.
JULIA: "I couldn't move, I couldn't talk, and was the most scared I had ever been in my life. I genuinely felt that if I didn't do anything in that moment, I would die. I remember glancing back at my bed post and noticing my rosary beads had been moved. 12 years of Catholic school, you start to collect those kind of things."
AMANDA: Yeah.
JULIA: "And the cross was now behind the post."
AMANDA: Uh-uh. Uh-uh.
JULIA: "I start praying in my head like I've never prayed before. The hooded figure jolted and backed up to the wall, but was still watching me. I suddenly got pins and needles in my entire body, and was able to talk and move. So I told it to go away and reach for the light."
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: "When I turned the light on, it was gone. I went through the house, turning lights on, and checking on everyone. When I got to my parents' room, I woke my mom up and I told her what had happened. I was shaking and probably crying. I don't really remember. My mom stiffened and told me almost the exact same thing had happened to her a week before."
AMANDA: No.
JULIA: "After this, we got our local priest to come over and bless the house."
AMANDA: Can't hurt, Julia. Can't hurt.
JULIA: Ever since then, we've had no freaky, spooky visitors, except grandpa, because the priest never blessed the garden, but we're okay with that. Hope this was entertaining. Keep up the good work. Thanks again, A."
AMANDA: A, excellent work. That's so cute, and I'm so glad the priest did not mistakenly banish grandpa and the flowering of those plants.
JULIA: Yeah.
AMANDA: I— I can't get over that. That's amazing.
JULIA: It's so cool. I love it so much.
AMANDA: And it goes without saying, but if any of these urban legends sparked an idea in you, beloved ConSpiriter listening to this right now, send them on in, spiritspodcast.com or you can email us directly, if you have photos of your pets or plants or anything else you want to attach—
JULIA: Uh-hmm.
AMANDA: —spiritspodcast@gmail.com, both go at the same place. And I am especially interested in plant hauntings.
JULIA: Yes.
AMANDA: Didn't know that was a possibility, would love to hear more.
JULIA: Send Amanda more plant hauntings.
AMANDA: Thank you.
JULIA: And every single one of you, who we read emails—
AMANDA: Uh-hmm.
JULIA: —from today, send us more emails.
AMANDA: Johnathan, that's you.
JULIA: That's— that's Leti, that's Johnathan, that's other people. That's A.
AMANDA: Angel, I want to hear about you and your satanic panics, okay?
JULIA: Well, the next time your whole family reveals that they're all being haunted simultaneously at the same time, remember, stay creepy.
AMANDA: Stay cool.
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