Podcast Summary: And That's Why We Drink

Listener Stories: Vol. 108 (ft. Amanda from Live, Laugh, Larceny)

Hosts: Em Schulz (C), Special Guest Amanda (B, Live Laugh Larceny)
Date: October 1, 2025

Overview

This episode of And That’s Why We Drink is a special "Peroween" listener stories edition, featuring Amanda from Live, Laugh, Larceny as co-host. The episode is part of ParaPods’ Halloween "Invasion of the Host Snatchers" event, where hosts swap shows. True to the show's theme, Em and Amanda dive into hilarious, unsettling, and sometimes spooky listener-submitted stories and news headlines, focusing on Halloween pranks, petty crimes, and chilling paranormal encounters. The tone is candid, playful, and at times, gleefully skeptical.

Episode Structure & Main Segments

1. ParaPods Peroween Introduction & Host Swap (02:01–05:46)
2. Discussion: Halloween Pranks & True Crime Headlines (05:47–11:49)
3. Listener Story: “The Time My Dead Dad Haunted Me for Fun” (11:53–26:37)
4. Supernatural Debate: Do Haunted Objects Move or Teleport? (17:14–29:31)
5. Amanda’s Haunted House Stories (26:42–29:14)
6. True Crime Headline: Karate Master vs. Ghost in a Haunted House (31:27–41:33)
7. Listener Story: Haunted Sorority House (42:27–54:41)
8. True Crime Headline: School Prank Goes Wrong with Chainsaw (54:55–60:51)
9. Listener Story: Slenderman Prank at Theater (61:00–67:46)
10. News Oddity: New Jersey Bushmen Prank (67:55–75:14)
11. Halloween Traditions, Plans, and Outro (76:26–79:53)

Key Discussion Points, Stories, and Insights

1. ParaPods & Peroween Event (02:01–05:46)

• Em introduces the spooky season and celebrates ParaPods, a new podcast network.
• They reveal the “Invasion of the Host Snatchers” collaboration, where hosts swap partners and bring unique stories to each show.
• Amanda, from Live Laugh Larceny, joins as guest co-host, bringing her own blend of weird true crime headlines.

2. Hilarious Halloween Pranks – Real and Reported (05:47–11:49)

a. News Headline: "Graphic Halloween Decoration Spurs 911 Call" (05:46–11:49)

• Amanda shares a news story from North Carolina: someone decorated their lawn with a fake body under a running lawnmower, doused in fake blood, prompting an emergency call from a distressed driver.
• Em jokes about it being “dad energy.”

  “This feels like something any dad would at least conjure up in his brain before physically doing it.” (07:32, Em)

• The prank, though harmless in intent, caused real concern in the community.
• Local reaction:

  “It’s something to talk about around town...I think it’s harmless. I think it’s fun Halloween.” (09:59, Amanda quoting Winda Bethia, clerk)

3. Listener Story: “The Time My Dead Dad Haunted Me for Fun” (11:53–26:37)

• Submitted by Rebecca: After her father’s passing, she grows up in a haunted family home. She and a friend try to communicate with her dad’s spirit during a birthday sleepover.
• At first, nothing happens, but later furniture moves—including a chair found hanging on a nail, and a prized David Bowie poster ends up in the middle of the room.
• The hosts debate what’s spookier: spirits moving objects or teleporting them (18:07–19:26).
• When asked to stop, the ghostly phenomena cease. Rebecca later learns the room they used belonged to her dad, and the Bowie poster was his.
• Touching outcome:

  “Dying definitely didn’t stop him [from pranking us]. I love that. Love that he likes a challenge.” (15:47, Em)

4. Supernatural & Paranormal Debate

(around 17:14–29:31)

• Do ghosts move objects physically or teleport them? Amanda and Em discuss personal theories.
• Amanda mentions her own haunted house: unexplained voices, moving furniture, and a sleepover where the basement lights dimmed and brightened by themselves.

  “I've never had anything like that happen so far in my life, luckily...but we would come home and like the couch would be shifted.” (26:42, Amanda)

5. True Crime Headline: Karate Master vs. Ghost—And 13 Years in Court (31:27–41:33)

• News Headline: “Boozed Up Karate Master beats up Worker dressed as a Ghost. Then sues Haunted House and loses.”
• Amanda describes the 13-year legal saga where a drunken karate expert in Japan kicked a costumed worker (thinking it was a “real” ghost), then sued the haunted house for not warning visitors.

• “He claimed the park was responsible…because it failed to train staff to prevent attacks by scared visitors.” (36:59, Amanda)

• Em and Amanda marvel at the absurdity, noting that none of the haunted attractions ever explain that the ghosts aren’t real, and call out the obvious victim-blaming.

• “You can’t punch someone and say it’s their fault for not stopping you!” (38:43, Em)

• Ends with speculation about the defendant’s stubbornness: “He has to have thought at least once, I’m probably gonna lose this case.” (41:17, Em)

6. Listener Story: Haunted Sorority House (42:27–54:41)

• Submitted by Rebecca (#2): The house is famously haunted by a former house mom, Ms. Elias, but a more mysterious curly-haired girl is spotted.
• After the appearance, multiple sisters report seeing the figure or dreaming about her standing at the foot of their beds.
• A priest is brought in for a blessing; intensity of his prayers matches the “energy” of each room.

  “He would pray softly...and only pray out loud when he felt more tension. So the louder he got, oh, the creepier the room was.” (49:27, Em)

• Creepiness peaks with unexplained grandfather clock sounds in a house with no grandfather clock.
• Rebecca later pranks the house by recreating a ghost sighting, causing mass panic—but admits no one will ever believe her if a real sighting occurs again.

  “You’re the girl that cried ghost at this point.” (53:13, Amanda)

7. True Crime Headline: “Chainsaw Prank Mishap at School” (54:55–60:51)

• News Headline: A high school teacher asks a student to answer a classroom door; student is met by a costumed individual with a (fake but working) chainsaw. The student trips and fractures a kneecap, leading the family to sue the school.
• Both hosts express disbelief at the thought process behind the prank, highlighting how out-of-bounds and dangerous it was, even before the current climate of school safety concerns.

• “You cannot be a grown man just walking into a school…to scare children with a weapon…This is literally—go time travel to another era.” (56:03, Em)

8. Listener Story: Slenderman High School Prank (61:00–67:46)

• Submitted by Amelia: Inspired by the internet Slenderman game, she creates chilling “Slenderman” notes with ominous messages and hides them in the theater—costumes, cars, windshields.
• The prank escalates: a locked car is “haunted” with a note, and attempts to burn the notes fail (causing more panic). Eventually she confesses, learning the value of ending a prank on a high note.

• “I’ve now learned to stop while I’m ahead. But it started a love of good-natured pranks…” (66:50, Amelia’s letter)

• Amanda notes the “Phantom of the Opera” backstage-meddling vibes.

9. True Crime Headline: “Rahway Bushmen Prank” (67:55–75:14)

• News Headline: Teens dress as bushes in a NJ park and say “hi” to passersby—facing possible charges because authorities worry about potential injury lawsuits.
• At first, Em is wary (“primed for true crime” scenarios), but is won over when it’s revealed the prank is harmless.

• “Now I’m on board. I like it. And now I’m mad they were ever threatened with a charge. Like, they’re just saying hello.” (73:07, Em)

• The hosts muse about the practicalities of a bush costume and the deeper human urge, in all pranksters, to make new friends.

  “Where do you find a bush costume?...Maybe this is a rural community—I don’t know.” (73:54, Amanda)

10. Halloween Traditions & Closing (76:26–79:53)

• Amanda shares her Halloween plans (11th annual party, trick-or-treating with her kids as K-pop demon hunters), and Em recounts their tradition of Universal Studios Horror Nights, this year relocated to Orlando for a family birthday.
• Amanda’s parting words:

  “Thank you for inviting me. I’ll be a snatched host anytime.” (79:49, Amanda)

• Em wraps up, reminding listeners about ParaPods’ ongoing host swaps for Peroween.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (w/ Timestamps)

• On Dad Energy and Halloween Pranks

  “This feels like something any dad would at least conjure up in his brain before physically doing it.” (07:32, Em)

• On Supernatural Furniture

  “On the playroom...the chair hanging off a nail on the closet door. And just like that, it’s a demon. Immediately I go from dad to demon.” (20:20, Em)

• On Haunted Attractions Lawsuits

  “He claimed the park was responsible…because it failed to train staff to prevent attacks by scared visitors.” (36:59, Amanda)

• On Paranormal Experiences

  “We would come home and like the couch would be shifted...there were a couple times...my dad would be like, Amanda are you okay? Because he’d hear...a weird high pitched voice.” (26:42, Amanda)

• On Outdated School Pranks

  “You cannot be a grown man just walking into a school…to scare children with a weapon…This is literally—go time travel to another era.” (56:03, Em)

• On Pranking for Friendship

  “We all just need a friend. That’s what the real life lesson is here.” (70:44, Amanda)

Tone & Style

The episode is characterized by warm, irreverent banter, plenty of laughter, and a blend of the spooky and silly. Both hosts are quick to poke fun at the petty criminals, pranksters, and supernatural entities at the center of each story—while being mindful of the real-life consequences of escalating pranks and the impact of the genuinely bizarre.

For New Listeners

This episode offers a great sampler of what And That’s Why We Drink does best: true crime, the paranormal, listener stories, snarky commentary, and moments of heart amid the hilarity. The host swap with Amanda from Live, Laugh, Larceny brings even more comedic storytelling and wild news headlines than usual, making for a memorable Peroween kickoff episode.