Chapter Two: A Jarring Discovery | Sagas of Sundry: Dread

Summary

Podcast Summary: Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry – Chapter Two: A Jarring Discovery | Sagas of Sundry: Dread

Introduction

In Chapter Two: A Jarring Discovery of the Sagas of Sundry: Dread series, hosted by Geek & Sundry, storytellers and players delve deeper into a chilling narrative of horror and mystery. This episode continues the harrowing journey of a group of adventurers who find themselves entangled in supernatural occurrences within an abandoned house. Guided by game master Ivan Van Norman, the players navigate through dark secrets, eerie environments, and intense emotional confrontations.

Setting the Scene

The episode opens with the players grappling with the aftermath of unsettling experiences during their camping trip. The atmosphere is thick with tension as the characters confront their fears and the ominous presence that lurks around them.

"When was the last time you remember having an honest conversation with someone? Was it sincere?" — Kayden [01:00]

Exploration of the Abandoned House

The adventurers decide to investigate an old, decaying house that holds dark secrets. As they approach the property, the oppressive silence and foreboding aura set the tone for the unfolding horror.

"After eight hours of hiking from your car, the crunching of gravel underneath your feet tells you that your destination is near Sat." — Kayden [02:28]

Upon entering, the players encounter a series of unsettling discoveries. They find moldy boxes, broken porcelain, and disturbing photographs that hint at a tragic history.

"Guys, it's open. But it's real gross in here. She let it breathe a little bit." — Tanner [05:54]

Uncovering Dark Histories

As the characters sift through old photographs and personal belongings, they uncover the lingering presence of past tragedies. The detailed descriptions of the artifacts create a vivid picture of the house's haunted past.

"When were these photos taken? What kind of clothes are they wearing?" — Tanner [09:01]

A significant moment occurs when a large portrait is revealed, depicting a woman shrouded in darkness holding three children. The engraving below the portrait foretells ominous dates and names, suggesting unresolved fates.

"So Simon doesn't have an end date." — Tanner [10:50]

Supernatural Encounters

The tension escalates as the players interact with the environment, encountering manifestations of the supernatural. The discovery of an infant child in a jar and the unsettling presence of animal bones deepen the mystery.

"You don't have a home to go to. This is your home. This is all you have." — Kayden [35:48]

The sudden appearance of bats and eerie noises intensify the sense of danger, pushing the characters to confront their deepest fears.

"As you open the curtains back slowly, you hear silence. And a large bat squeaks out and flies through the middle of the living room." — Kayden [18:43]

Emotional Confrontations

A pivotal moment arises when one of the characters, Simon, grapples with feelings of isolation and betrayal. This emotional depth adds a layer of vulnerability to the otherwise tense atmosphere.

"You think you know everything. I think I know a lot of. I'm going to not pull." — Tanner [40:25]

Climactic Discoveries

The players' relentless exploration leads them to a dark room filled with jars containing unsettling specimens. The revelation of an infant child preserved in formaldehyde marks a climax of horror and emotion.

"You wipe the dust away from the jar to reveal an infant child inside of it. Its cold, open eyes are staring back at you as its languid, scrunched up form fills every available space in that alcove." — Kayden [35:48]

Resolution and Teasers

As the episode draws to a close, the players face the culmination of their discoveries and the emotional toll it takes on them. The unresolved tensions and looming threats set the stage for future episodes, promising deeper explorations into the house's dark legacy.

"I want to go home. I want to just." — Tanner [39:03]

Notable Quotes

• "Guys, if it were real, why would we want it to talk to us?" — Tanner [03:11]
• "The only way out, but you don't is through." — Tanner [35:44]
• "You don't have a home to go to. This is your home. This is all you have." — Kayden [35:48]
• "It sounded like a western. And there are Indians slaughtering a family. Two kids and a mother." — Kayden [29:03]

Conclusion

Chapter Two: A Jarring Discovery masterfully weaves elements of horror, mystery, and emotional depth to create a compelling narrative. The players' interactions with the haunted house reveal layers of tragic history and supernatural intrigue, all while personal conflicts add depth to their characters. As the episode concludes, listeners are left anticipating the next chapter in this dark and gripping saga.

For more adventures and detailed episodes, visit Geek & Sundry.

Transcript

[Tanner]

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[Kayden]

This message is brought to you by Abercrombie and Fitch I've been ready for summer for a while and now it's finally time for summer outfits. With a trip coming up, the A and F Vacation Shop has me covered. Abercrombie really knows how to do a lightweight outfit. Their tees, sweater, polos and linen blend shorts never miss. I wear Abercrombie denim year round. Their shorts are no different and have the comfort I need for summer. Prep for your next trip with the A and F Vacation Shop, get their newest arrivals in store online and in the app. Welcome back my darlings. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you remember having an honest conversation with someone? Was it sincere? Did you care? Or was it mostly the arbitrary filler we so often stuff our lives with in order to find safety? Did you really care about Susie's nightmares and the man who visits her window at night with boxes of spiders, or did you just want to get another drink? Is Billy doing oak or is he really going to scoop out the demon in your eyes with that spoon he's holding? He certainly tied the bindings well enough, didn't he? Our campers certainly felt safe until they learned more than they really wanted to. And now they have more than just the dark woods around them to discuss. In this chapter, Ivan continues to sustain the delicate atmosphere that invokes the hand quivering emotion that lends its name to the game. Have our players found sanctuary? Will everything work out? Is that really the story you want? Is that what you really want?

[Tanner]

No.

[Kayden]

Let's have an honest conversation. You want to plunge forward into the darkness. These are the sagas of sun ray. I am Mr. Wren and this is Dread. After eight hours of hiking from your car, the crunching of gravel underneath your feet tells you that your destination is near Sat.

[Tanner]

We are going back to the house. Yeah, totally. I think that we should just like retrace our steps right?

[Kayden]

You See something. It wasn't there before. Would you like to come get it? No, I'd like to stare at it for a minute.

[Tanner]

Can I just put the cards on the table? That our spirit is speaking to us. Guys, if it were real, why would we want it to talk to us? The girl I love is losing her mind. This is going to prove that it's just a camping trip. And I'm going to help bring her back to Earth.

[Kayden]

Kayden. Yeah? Did you dose any of us last time we were here? There's drug. Real and real. Real. And that was not. I don't know what the fuck that was.

[Tanner]

I have a ritual that we could do that would protect us.

[Kayden]

Pick it up. Put it down.

[Tanner]

No doubts. Pick it up. Put it down.

[Kayden]

You hear a large crack as you grab your friends and you pull them all out. And you watch as the roof collapses down upon you.

[Tanner]

That was all my stuff. That was it. That's all I had left.

[Kayden]

As you get closer to the orange light, you actually come to the porch.

[Tanner]

Of a. I've spent so much time trying to act like this doesn't exist. The truth is that I wake up with nightmares about it all the time. See, Tanner, it is real. And I'm not insane. Like he wants something from us. But it's fine. I mean, there's no such thing as evil.

[Kayden]

I beg to differ.

[Tanner]

Sam.

[Kayden]

All right, everybody. Welcome back to Dread. When we last left you, Ms. Reina, you had just taken the skeleton key which you had pulled from the porch under the house in order to unlock the front door. So as you opened up that door and gazed into what was going to be your perfect salvation, you see piles and piles of moldy boxes. Old rotten carpet squishes underneath you as you grungily step a couple of feet inside. And you smell the most foul, tainted air that you can possibly imagine. As if someone was using this hallway as a meat locker. And while the doorway in front of you is open, you can see a large set of double doors ahead of you as it t sections off into an intersection.

[Tanner]

Guys, it's open. But it's real gross in here. She let it breathe a little bit.

[Kayden]

I think it's breathing just fine.

[Tanner]

Oh, yeah. Hey, guys, let's just. Maybe there's something in these boxes that we can find. I am specifically looking for valuables and silver items. And I just want to start, like, boot pocketing them.

[Kayden]

Got it. So you take one of the small boxes, and as you lift up the cardboard box and pick it up, you feel it just the bottom falls out from underneath. And you watch as various affections, small items. And you hear porcelain break as it just unloads right in front of you. And you stand holding an empty, sodden.

[Tanner]

Are you okay? The box isn't. Okay. Has something fallen out of it that looks substantial, Maybe like a rock or.

[Kayden]

Yeah, there seems to be a very sizable metal looking horse.

[Tanner]

Okay, I'd like to just toss the box and grab the horse and hold the door open with it so that this thing breathes.

[Kayden]

What's the date on one of these piles of newspapers? I don't even want to touch it. I just want to see what the top paper's date is. June 15, 1945.

[Tanner]

What'd you find?

[Kayden]

Check it.

[Tanner]

It's 20 years after the letter. Yeah, this is 24.

[Kayden]

I'm going to start looking around to see if there's any sort of a kerosene lantern or anything that can be used to give us some sort of mobile light source in here. Make a pull. Oh, boy. I knew you were going to say that.

[Tanner]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kayden]

As you continue to look around the various alcoves and musty pieces of this house, Tanner, you see some really old photography. Beautiful work that seems to be everywhere, but it all seems to have this sense of, I don't know, there's something odd about each one of the people that are in the subjects of these photos, but you can't seem to put your finger on it.

[Tanner]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kayden]

But on the side, you definitely see hanging on one of the. Next to a sconce of sorts. In the sconce is a small kerosene lamp. Anybody got a light? Yeah. You take the time to look into it, noticing that it's not kerosene, it's actually an oil lamp. And as you pull the wick out and light it, you notice that there's actually quite a bit of fluid inside of it. So there's gonna be a good burn in it for a while. As the oil lamp begins to brighten and illuminate, you can feel the darkness being pushed away around you. The light bathes across all of the various affections. And now truly, you see every bit of available wall that doesn't have something affixed to it is covered with a portrait of some kind. In fact, now that you can see the light around it, you can see there's actually various pieces of. Of camera gear.

[Tanner]

When were these photos taken? What kind of clothes are they wearing?

[Kayden]

Early western, British inspired garb. You can see a lot of it has frontier clothes. There is a wide array of cultural distinction, but everything is super clear. They're all in extremely formal attire, and they're all very strict portraiture with the subjects not doing much more than just sitting and looking at the camera. Reina, could you hold this for me?

[Tanner]

Yeah.

[Kayden]

Thanks. I'm just going to go ahead and start just getting a photo log of the displays here.

[Tanner]

I want to see if there's any faces that I recognize.

[Kayden]

You don't see a face that's familiar, but you do see something strikingly odd. It's the biggest portrait in the house. It has a giant oval frame. And you can see this beautiful floor that seems to be coming around. And it is probably the oldest one inside of the house. And this is the photo.

[Tanner]

Oh, my God, guys, look at this. There are three children held by a woman maybe, or a person just covered in a black shroud. I want to try to take that painting off the wall.

[Kayden]

It's firmly bolted to the actual wall itself. At the bottom, though, you can see there is a small engraving. And taking your hand, you can wipe away a little bit of the grime and the dust underneath it to hear it distinctly read. 5 hours, 28 minutes and 24 seconds. Agatha and the boys, left to right. Simon, 3, 13, 19. Charlie, 1, 23, 24 to 5, 23, 24. And Bernard, 11, 14, 22, 5, 23, 24.

[Tanner]

So Simon doesn't have an end date.

[Kayden]

Yes. So Simon's probably the one surviving. Probably wrote that note or he's still alive or was alive when this got engraved.

[Tanner]

Simon, do not listen to your father. The devil is in 540.

[Kayden]

Let's find a radio.

[Tanner]

Let's do it.

[Kayden]

Would you like to go through the double doors in front or would you like to go to the left to the right? The left appears to be a big open area that may appear to be a family room. The right is also a big open area that seems to be a multi couched sitting room. Also boxes as far as the eye can see.

[Tanner]

Let's go to the box room. I would like to go to the sitting room. Okay.

[Kayden]

All right. As you go into the sitting room, you begin to look around and you can see couches. You can see an old phonograph. This is a room that has two large bay windows inside of it that look out into the area behind the house, but they are barred with large drapery. And the one thing that I should probably point out is that this place does not look very lived in. It looks terribly untidy. You're looking around for things.

[Tanner]

I'm opening boxes, looking around.

[Kayden]

Is there a record on the phonogram? There is a record on the phonogram. Is it a crank phonogram? Do you just crank it up? It's a crank phonogram and as you crank it you are basically motivating it as much as you can. But it's like turning a rusty gear. And that's when you actually notice when it begins to spin. You can hear the soft tunes of an old operatic harmony before it clicks and skips and you look down and notice that the record has been cracked and broken in two.

[Tanner]

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[Kayden]

Sat. You're frantically going through boxes on piles and piles of photo paper, lots of discarded camera equipment and various other things. But you do see a key sits just in between two small porcelain horses that seem to be kissing each other on their snouts and it's dangling off of one of their ears.

[Tanner]

What is that?

[Kayden]

What the hell did you find that.

[Tanner]

It was over here on this horse?

[Kayden]

You Also see an interesting photograph that's sitting there as well. That one has something written on the back of it. November 14, 1926. Kimberly Rochester with her son. 9, 18 26, 11, 12, 26.

[Tanner]

That's two years later. That's a different child. This looks like it's a piece of a thing. Pick it up. Set it down. Put it. Pick it up. Put it down. Six times. Pick it up. Pick it up. Put it down. One. Pick it up. Put it down. Pick it up. Put it down. Pick it up. Put it down. Pick it up. Put it down. Pick it up. Put it down. Yeah. You did it. Okay, this baby's dead in the picture. Wait, what? It says it was taken maybe on November 14, 1926. But it says 91826 to 11, 12 26.

[Kayden]

So it had been dead for two days.

[Tanner]

When did they take the picture of Agatha and the boys? 5 hours, 28 minutes and 24 seconds. Simon's still alive. Charlie died five days before. Also, Bernardo died five days before. Maybe this isn't just a normal house. Maybe this is like one of those places they would bring people to take photos of their dead kids or something. Because that's what they used to do way back then.

[Kayden]

That's.

[Tanner]

But then why would they bring it all the way back here? Like, that is the creepiest thing.

[Kayden]

So most photographers tended to travel to the location of the actual photo, as opposed to being a repository for photography. So this may just be a record of whoever used to live here and a lot of the work that they did. So if this is the home of a hobbyist or a professional photographer, we may have stumbled upon exactly what I'm looking for. Somewhere in this house. Let's find a dark room.

[Tanner]

I just want to go in the other room real quick.

[Kayden]

Oh, Thad. I'll take the lantern and nudge everyone to follow.

[Tanner]

Okay, Zad.

[Kayden]

As you move over into the family room, you begin to look around. It's a similar story from the other one. There's a lot of coffee tables, various sitting. It looks like this was definitely a waiting room or sitting area. And you look around, you don't see much, but you do see this. And that also has something written on the back. June 14, 1953. Boy used my new metal stands to achieve this posture.

[Tanner]

Look what I found, guys. Five, six or nine.

[Kayden]

I think it's six.

[Tanner]

Did you. I know you've been doing some stuff. Do you recognize this? No.

[Kayden]

Honestly, metals stand to achieve the posture.

[Tanner]

I mean, symbols and totems are all a part of everything. That is occult and numbers too. But this doesn't mean anything yet. But I do think he's speaking to us. Let's just keep looking around. I think it's separate. I think maybe goat and weird photographer might be separate.

[Kayden]

One thing that you notice as you get into the sitting room a bit more is that the soft kitchen sponge like texture of the carpet below you seems to be leveled off a bit. As if this part of the area isn't as wet and is more dry than other parts of the house.

[Tanner]

Do we even know what it's.

[Kayden]

Has that stick ammonia smell to it.

[Tanner]

Soaked in ammonia. Do they do that with photography? Is that like a thing in one of those chemicals?

[Kayden]

It's one of a number of chemicals used in many processes, yes.

[Tanner]

Well, it's all over this carpet. Maybe this stuff spilled.

[Kayden]

Well, we shouldn't stay in here, I can definitely tell you that. So you have some choices. This is another large room with two bay windows.

[Tanner]

Can we open the bay windows or open the curtains?

[Kayden]

Make a pull, please.

[Tanner]

Oh, no.

[Kayden]

As you continue to walk through this dark, damp, messy place, Darby. You have to crawl over various boxes and you have to move long, sweaty pieces of newspaper as you get closer to the moldy curtains that are in front of you and you realize they are caked with dust. They have so much age on them that it looks like that they haven't been opened in decades. And as you pull the curtains back slowly, you hear silence. And a large bat squeaks out and flies through the middle of the living room. As you see this bat, a whole nest full of bats just scatter through the entire room. And you watch as they eek and squeak as they carve through the midst of the main area and then bolt out through the front door.

[Tanner]

I spin around and smack into whatever's behind me.

[Kayden]

You hit a bat as it I drop and gets up and flies off, gets away. And you open these bay windows and see an overgrown, gorgeous looking garden out in the back with a gazebo that seems to have a ground well that is sitting right there in an old brick style dunk and lift manor.

[Tanner]

Is there a radio cabinet in this room?

[Kayden]

As you recovered from your squeaky fit, you turned around and actually bumped into a large side table that is swinging, swinging from side to side as you grab ahold of it and hold onto it in time. And lo and behold, there is my radio there.

[Tanner]

Ta da. Wow.

[Kayden]

If you click to turn it on, you hear, I'm going to set it to 540. You begin to go from one side into the other. And you're looking to see if you can find something on the long way wave radio. It's almost all static, but as you get closer to 540, you start to hear this.

[Tanner]

Yes. Oh, turn it off.

[Kayden]

It doesn't turn off.

[Tanner]

Oh my God.

[Kayden]

It keeps turning up.

[Tanner]

It hit him.

[Kayden]

You're punching it.

[Tanner]

Yes. Number one.

[Kayden]

You pop it over and it falls down and it crashes and it breaks everywhere.

[Tanner]

Falling across. No. Why would you do that? They were talking to us. He really was thinking to us. They were yelling. It was a bunch of people.

[Kayden]

It wasn't yelling. I was fighting. Yeah, they weren't talking to us. We were listening to them. Well, as you continue to talk this through and think about it, you go through the rest of the house and you discover that there are four locked doors of which, sadly, the key fits none of them. But the good news is this is an old house and these doors are weathered and they are thin. You could, if need be, probably force your way through any one of them except for one. One is a very solid looking wooden door. And carved on the inset of that front of the door is this. And inside each one of these small singular alcoves, there seems to be a dial and four symbols that are represented on each one of the signs. Bottom left hand corner.

[Tanner]

This one right here? Yeah.

[Kayden]

Second to the left, top.

[Tanner]

We need more information. Probably need to look at more photos.

[Kayden]

I'm gonna give this to you as you can. Use it as a reference.

[Tanner]

We turn this one to. Well, I'll do it. I'll just walk up and twist. Twist it so that this is facing the way it seems to want to face.

[Kayden]

It twists with a loud awesome.

[Tanner]

Then I turn numbers. Do you think the order matters?

[Kayden]

I do. Each time you turn it, it makes a loud, satisfying. That was a satisfying click.

[Tanner]

Sure was. We need to find more. I start checking the other photos to see if anything comes loose.

[Kayden]

No other photos that you can see in this area. You turn them over, you flip them, you look around and you dive through all the various old and moldy papers. And you can see no other photos that have that unique backing on them. Go ahead and take the lantern up and see. Look at which one of the various handles to any of the doors looks the most dilapidated. The one right across from the actual door that you are in actually seems to be the one that is the most deteriorated. In fact, there is no dust on the handle, unlike some of the other doors that are inside of this house. Now, if you would like to Break down this door. I will absolutely allow you. You have two options. You can pull or. Oh, you can break this. Who wants to break down the door? All right, Kaden, it's here for you. However you would like to prepare yourself. Whether you. Oh, I see. Look at that. It's like the man came prepared or something. Some plans, Kevolt.

[Tanner]

Yeah.

[Kayden]

Well done. Caden breaks down the door as it slams open and wood splinters everywhere. As he puts his hand through the old broken door and reaches in and very casually unlocks the door. Ladies first.

[Tanner]

Very nice. I missed you.

[Kayden]

Zach comes in with Tanner, Raina and Darby behind holding the lantern. And you come into a actually very dimly lit room.

[Tanner]

Light. What's the source of light?

[Kayden]

The source of light seems to be a small lamp on the side table next to a twin sized bed. In fact, as you look around more, you can see small children, children's toys and backpacks. And it is the most lived in room that you've seen thus far. And you see edged weapons, hatchets, machetes, knives, all of them laid out across the sideboard.

[Tanner]

I pick up the machete.

[Kayden]

Sat. You pick up the machete and it falls apart in your hands. And you see a chest with a satchel on top of it and a very strongly bolted lock.

[Tanner]

I got a key.

[Kayden]

Kaden, you want to grab that kit?

[Tanner]

You did it. Come on.

[Kayden]

Yeah, you can put it in there if you want.

[Tanner]

Oh, it's a heal. It's a healing block.

[Kayden]

This is fucking genius. All right, guys, I think we're all in agreement. I'm feeling right here.

[Tanner]

Maybe. Which side you think the other side. Which side is it leaning on? Yeah, we don't have any removed here is why.

[Kayden]

As you open up the first aid kit, you see there's actually water, small bit of food, and actually some pretty good looking acetaminophen, ibuprofen, various other low level painkillers that will help with the cold and the chill A little more. Sat. As you put this key, you realize that that actually opens the lock pretty easily. Ha ha. In spite everything else.

[Tanner]

What if just saying Simon's not dead, right? What if this old guy still lives here, but he's like super old now, right? And he's just like playing with toys like a little creeper.

[Kayden]

What if he's in the box?

[Tanner]

Maybe he's in the box.

[Kayden]

Maybe it's in the box. Oh, wow.

[Tanner]

What a treasure. There's like these stickers and papers. Catch. Oh, cool. Okay. Some terrible art. Really terrible art here.

[Kayden]

Oh, what though?

[Tanner]

I think Maybe I was wrong. I think maybe there's something about the goat and this situation.

[Kayden]

He's here.

[Tanner]

No. Oh, but also he's here. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Give me that. Oh, this is the creepiest thing. This says. Mommy says no animals in the house, but there are horses and there are bats and there are goats.

[Kayden]

Hey, guys, I just wanted to say anything. That radio, you know what it sounded like to me?

[Tanner]

What?

[Kayden]

It sounded like a western. And there are Indians slaughtering a family. Two kids and a mother. Oh, that's great. That's fantastic. That's wonderful.

[Tanner]

Yeah, I can have that.

[Kayden]

Each one of the items that you pull out seems to be in one way or another. Yeah. Small children's toys, personal effects, they all are well worn. Now you slowly hear the sound of creaking door in the room with you. Only for a brief second. And it stops. And you look to see that the door that you left behind you is wide open.

[Tanner]

Open.

[Kayden]

But there is a closet door as well. And it is creaked open ever so slowly.

[Tanner]

On WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat, we're trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast. Your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

[Kayden]

If you went on a road trip and you didn't stop for a Big Mac or drop a crispy fry between the car seats or use your McDonald's bag as a placemat, then that wasn't the road trip. It was just a really long drive. At participating McDonald's make a poll.

[Tanner]

Oh, Sat.

[Kayden]

Sat. As you are getting closer to this door, lifting your plastic hatchet, you smell something. Sat. You smell death. It fills your nostrils as your hand begins to shake. And as you pull the door open, you look in front of you and you see a small walk in closet with various clothes all on the top shelf of everything. And you look down to see a pile of bones.

[Tanner]

Um, human animal.

[Kayden]

You look closer and you realize that it's actually a small pile and every single one of them is an animal bone.

[Tanner]

Mommy says no animals in the house.

[Kayden]

I don't think that Simon's big on rules.

[Tanner]

What's that?

[Kayden]

Which one?

[Tanner]

That one. Is that this one? This one is. I mean, I've been looking at this. It looks. I mean, it looks like they went from a hospital or a funeral home or something. Drove, buried, went past the cemetery through the forest. It's thundering and lightning through the mountains. And then this. What is that? I don't know. It's like a hole. Is that a truck with a red cross? Yeah, it could be an ambulance.

[Kayden]

The ambulance taking them all the way through the forest to a. Eventually the hospital where they died. There are still three more doors. Okay, let's make our way to the next door then. Let's take a lantern over. You walk down through the main hall. And actually the first door to your right was another candidate that's locked. I kind of look over Kaiden, kind of a half cock staring grin. Hand the lantern off. I want to make a pull. So, Tanner, as you get closer to this door, you have this ominous sense of foreboding that has suddenly come upon you. This overwhelming sense of dread, as if this room could be either the answer to all of the questions you've ever asked yourself over the course of this room last year, or it could be your ultimate demise. Now, as you reflect upon the dangerous things that you've thought about over this year, you steel yourself with resolve as you grasp that door and fling it open and reveal the dark, luminous light of a dark room. I look back at Kayden. Ladies first. I walk in, you see several things. One of them, which is immediately apparent because the kerosene's so close to you, is a stack of small receipts that are laid out on the bottom of the side table. And you also see jars, giant jar mason jars, like the ones that you would put specimens of various scientific study. They are layered and caked with dust. But in the light of this red fluorescent light, and your lamp especially, it has a familiar yellow tint to it. Based on this, this is where he stored all his formaldehyde. However, what a photographer needs to do with a lot of formaldehyde, I guess we'll find out here in a moment. Is the dust obscuring the contents of these jars? Yes, it is. Raina, you're wiping. Make a pull.

[Tanner]

Oh, Reyna.

[Kayden]

Oh, boy. Reyna, as this last year has come down upon you, you have done a lot to shepherd your willpower to say that this didn't happen to you, that this is all just a dream. You built a perfect little fantasy world that protected you, Darby, and your friends from anything ever happening to them. And you've shown a surprising amount of willpower in the face of such terrors. But you have to ask yourself, do you really, I really want to see what's inside of this jar. Rainey, you could stop at any time. You could choose to fail and go home and leave your friends.

[Tanner]

The only way out, but you don't is through.

[Kayden]

You.

[Tanner]

Don't.

[Kayden]

You don't do that. You wipe the dust away from the jar to reveal an infant child inside of it. Its cold, open eyes are staring back at you as its languid, scrunched up form fills every available space in that alcove. Guys, that jar.

[Tanner]

Oh, my gosh. This isn't fun anymore.

[Kayden]

And as you look on the drying line, you see photos. So many photos.

[Tanner]

Oh, God. Oh, that's the worst. Oh, God, that's not. I don't even know. Oh, no. No.

[Kayden]

Zach, you're the one that wanted to come here. You're the one that wanted to see these things. Can you face what is right there in front of you?

[Tanner]

Mm. Mm.

[Kayden]

Let me tell you what they say. Which one would you like to hear first? Show it to me. The sister. That One is labeled. October 25, 1926. Ms. Martin's two girls, Cassia, 10, 22, 26. Survived by her younger sibling, the baby. The baby.

[Tanner]

I can't look at this one.

[Kayden]

There's a worse one. Six, 14, 1968. Little Martha Petersburg. She was very hard to keep still, but she eventually completed with Simon's help. 1 29, 31 6. 14 68. The Man. June 14, 1933. Tobias. Tobias, the letter.

[Tanner]

Tobias, the letter. Did that last one say Simon's help?

[Kayden]

Well, Tobias is the one that wrote the letter.

[Tanner]

Wait, it's Simon's dad. It's his dad.

[Kayden]

What year was Tobias?

[Tanner]

43.

[Kayden]

Okay, okay. So whoever took out the child with Simon's help is not the father. It's not Tobias?

[Tanner]

No. In fact, Simon. He was in the photograph with his dead brothers. I guess in 1924.

[Kayden]

Yeah. Simon survived the two.

[Tanner]

Yeah.

[Kayden]

So you want to know the little girl, the staring child. June 14, 1955. Girl, age 13. Such lovely skin.

[Tanner]

The last three have all been on June 14.

[Kayden]

There's one more.

[Tanner]

Wait. What day is it? We're the 12th.

[Kayden]

June 13th.

[Tanner]

June 13th.

[Kayden]

For a few more hours, the family. June 14th, 1946. Mandango family. Simon brought them up from the city. I laid them on the bed to better show them sleeping peacefully.

[Tanner]

What?

[Kayden]

I don't feel good. Well, in the particular family, they all appear to have quite a bit of head trauma across the board.

[Tanner]

I'm totally looking at the door.

[Kayden]

It doesn't matter. Sad as you're looking around, it is nighttime. Now. And it's the first time that you've realized. It's so quiet. It's so quiet. And you're looking at these pictures of these children. How are you feeling?

[Tanner]

I want to go home. I want to just.

[Kayden]

Let's just sat. You don't have a home to go to. This is your home. This is all you have, is all as far as home goes. Make a pull, SAP. You are staring into this blackened void that is your heart. And you may be in over your head to too much on this one. The fear and the set around you is just. It's bearing down on you set. But this is an opportunity for you to get everything that you've ever wanted. Your friends, the people who you care about, are here for you. So are you there for them, or are you going to run away? Oh, my gosh, Satine. You can opt not to pull and automatically fail, but something bad is gonna happen.

[Tanner]

Sat. Sat. You should know I've been thinking. And I thought I was alone this whole year in my head, making all of these decisions and. And diving really deep into all of this, which I definitely believe it. But when you broke down and told us everything, I realized that I was being selfish. You think you know everything. You think you know everything. I think I know a lot of. I'm going to not pull.

[Kayden]

She's not gonna pull.

[Tanner]

But let me tell you what you think. You know what I'm telling you. That I don't realize that I was in the hospital for months, that I OD'd and nobody came looking for me at all. No, that's what I'm trying to tell you. That I realized that I'm. I called you guys, and nothing. Nothing. You guys didn't care. What? No, it's not that I didn't care. I was alone. I was right there in that same situation. I reached out. You did not reach out. I did not to you. I'd been broken a million times. I don't. You. You're my best friend.

[Kayden]

You hear a loud th. Boom. As something lands on the porch outside of the front door. And you hear a sound, a voice, as you hear more walking inside. And you hear from the area inside this squishy, thick sound of someone stepping on the weapon carpet. Mom. Mom. Someone's in the house. You might think you know fairy tales, and you might think that they are cute and sweet and boring, but the real Grimm fairy tales were not cute at all. They were very dark, and they were often very grim. On Grim Grimmer, Grimmest, we tell a grim fairy tale to a bunch of kids. Perfect for car rides or screen free entertainment, Grim, Grimmer Grimmest activates kids imaginations and instigates fun conversations because fairy tales speak to all of us at a very deep, primal level and they raise interesting topics and questions that are worth chewing over together as a family. Every episode is rated Grim, Grimmer or Grimmest so you, your kids, your whole family can choose what is the right level of Grim for you. Though, if you're listening with Grandma, she's just gonna go for Grimmest. Trust me on this one. Tune in to Grim, Grimmer, Grimmest and our new season available now. Greetings adventurers.

[Tanner]

Today we're excited to introduce you to.

[Kayden]

A new story, Dark Dice, a horror podcast that blurs the line between actual place and audio drama, where the story is determined by the roll of the dice. Six adventurers embark on a journey into the ruinous domain of the Nameless God. They will never be the same again. One of the players is not what they seem after a doppelganger, a creature that can assume the form and voice.

[Tanner]

Of whatever it kills, infiltrates the team.

[Kayden]

As the players are picked off and replaced one at a time. Can they figure out who the monster.

[Tanner]

Is before it's too late?

[Kayden]

Can you? Here's a quick example of what our show sounds like. The shambler with the jar of liquid inside of him, Soren Arkwright, let loose an arrow that cracked the glass, passing through the spine of the creature. The shambler still managed to maintain its forward momentum, but stumbled as it eagerly tried to bite and swipe at Soren, landing near his feet as Jeff Goldblum has now joined our cast. Dark Dice is available however you listen to podcasts. The Old west is an iconic period of American history and full of legendary figures whose names still resonate today, like Jesse James, Billy the Kid and Butch and Sundance, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Geronimo, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Bass Reeves, Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, the Texas Rangers, and many more. Hear all their stories on the Legends of the Old west podcast. We'll take you to Tombstone, Deadwood and Dodge City, to the plains, mountains and deserts for battles between the U.S. army and native American warriors to dark corners for the disaster of the Donner Party and shining Summits for achievements like the Transcontinental Railroad. We'll go back to the earliest days of explorers and mountain men and head up through notorious Pinkerton agents and gunmen like Tom Horn. Every episode features narrative writing and cinematic music, and there are hundreds of episodes available to binge. I'm Chris Wimmer. Find Legends of the Old west wherever you're listening now.