Podcast Summary: Heart Starts Pounding - Ep. 157

Episode Title: "Something Is Mimicking My Sister" and Other Terrifying True Stories From Listeners
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Kaylan Moore

Overview

This holiday special of Heart Starts Pounding gathers eerie, true listener-submitted tales of hauntings, mysterious entities, and brushes with the supernatural—perfectly in the spirit of the Victorian ghost story tradition. Host Kaylan Moore curates and reacts to stories ranging from haunted houses and doppelgängers to bizarre encounters with impossible places. The episode tantalizes with questions of reality, familial bonds, and what might be lurking just outside our perception.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Victorian Ghost Story Tradition & Listener Submissions (01:42)

• Kaylan opens with the tradition of telling ghost stories around the holidays.
• Recognizes the diversity and “darkly curious” nature of the podcast community, many of whom work in spooky environments or have an affinity for the paranormal.

2. Story 1: The Haunted House and Paranormal Attraction (Listener: Sky) (03:42)

• Setting: A family home with odd architecture and a history of unexplained noises.
• Phenomena:
  • Mother's reports of footsteps at night (above the dining room).
  • Brother witnesses a mysterious “red figure” rummaging under the Christmas tree (“probably Santa Claus”).
  • After Sky begins binging the Heart Starts Pounding podcast, tapping sounds on their bedroom doorknob begin to occur, regardless of time. The sounds stop when Sky quits listening, but return upon resuming.
• Chilling Reflection: Podcast itself may be acting as a paranormal trigger.
• Notable Quote:

  “I think your podcast might be a ghost magnet. Up to you if that's good or bad.”
  — Sky ([06:53])

• Kaylan Reacts: She asks listeners if they’ve experienced similar paranormal increases while listening, joking about listener stories coming via raven.

3. Story 2: Haunted Texas Home & The Dark Figure (Listener: Abe) (09:42)

• House’s history: Built with intriguing architecture, especially a spiral staircase; located in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Supernatural Events:
  • “Tall, dark figure” glimpsed in upstairs window—first assumed to be a reflection.
  • Renters later photograph the same figure reflected in a powered-off TV behind them.
  • Renter's experience of seeing her husband walk to the bathroom while he was still in bed.
  • Abe’s dog barks persistently at the second-floor window, refuses to re-enter the house.
  • Scratching “human fingers” on the roof (no attic), footsteps in the ceiling.
  • Church-led blessing only escalates haunting—footsteps continue, become more menacing.
  • Final straw: Abe moves away; no further incidents after leaving the property.
• Notable Quotes:

  “They contacted me to ask if anyone had died in the house.”
  — Abe rereading renter’s message ([10:58])
  “... behind her is what I can only describe as a tall, dark figure. It seemed to lean in behind her a bit.”
  — Abe ([12:26])

• Kaylan Commentary: Offers legal trivia about the “Ghostbusters ruling” on haunted house disclosures and expresses sympathy for Abe’s ordeal:

  “Whatever was in that house was not a friend. I can tell you that much.”
  ([25:00])

4. Story 3: The Disappearing Road & The Wheatfield Entity (Listener: Cinny) (19:15)

• Premise:
  • Cinny and her young daughter take a wrong turn and end up in a surreal, summerlike landscape despite it being spring.
  • Tire blows out; no help in sight, but suddenly an unnaturally tall, blue-eyed man appears and, despite her discomfort, quickly changes the tire.
  • His appearance and manners shift; he invites her to “stay here forever.”
  • Overcome by a trance-like sensation, she nearly accepts, but a voice she identifies as her deceased grandmother urges her to leave.
  • When asked later, her daughter indicates the man "went up."
• Notable Quotes:

  “He said that I could stay here forever. Wouldn't that be nice?”
  — Cinny ([22:39]) “I swore his eyes were hazel...like the features of his face had been slightly changed since he first appeared...”
  — Cinny ([22:12])

• Kaylan’s Reflection: Connects this story to “backrooms” liminal spaces, highlighting the theme of entities trying to keep you in other realities.

  “Cindy, it almost sounds like you found yourself in a liminal space with its own evil entity.”
  ([27:10])

5. Story 4: Hidden Tunnels and Murderous Past (Listener: CJ) (26:42)

• Location: Old house in Niagara, Canada, reputedly haunted region near Paul Bernardo’s former territory.
• Events:
  • Unusual basement construction, clawed bathroom doors with external locks, false attic passages, and strange architectural choices.
  • Hidden tunnel behind a cabinet; inside: sheets covered in baking soda and "rubble" (possibly cremated remains).
  • Ongoing poltergeist activity: Doors opening, banging from the basement, feelings of being watched.
  • Discovery of children's clothing buried in the yard.
  • Neighbor cryptically remarks: “He was a bad, bad man...some men are just evil.”
  • Years later, TV true crime reveal matches the baking soda and “weird rubble” CJ found with criminal remains disposal.
• Notable Quotes:

  “I think the man that lived there before me was a serial killer.”
  — CJ ([33:31]) "Oh, I did not like that man. He was a bad, bad man."
  — Neighbor ([32:16])

• Host’s Reflection:

  “CJ I regret to inform you that I do agree with your assessment. I also think something really dark happened in that house.”
  ([36:09])

6. Story 5: The Doppelganger That Mimicked My Sister (Anonymous Listener) (37:00)

• Backdrop: Girls’ offsite event in a dormitory next to a church outside Mumbai, India.
• Events:
  • K (friend) relates a childhood memory: Sister asks for a blanket, but K spots a figure in the hallway, identical to her sister, that later crouches under the dining table but vanishes when searched for.
  • Later, narrator witnesses K leave her room at night—but K swears she’d been in another room all evening, never near her bedroom.
  • Both instances involve a double silently wandering the home, wearing identical clothes and physical features.
• Notable Quotes:

  “The figure of a young girl who looked exactly like her little sister...same dress, even the same two pigtails…”
  — Narrator ([36:51]) “Was there really something in that apartment that could take their shape?”
  — Narrator ([42:05])

• Kaylan’s Reflection:
  • Highlights the unsettling possibility of doppelgängers and questions the reliability of our senses:

    “Even when you're looking at someone with your own eyes, can you trust that it's actually them?"
    ([36:17])

  • Invites audience engagement for other doppelgänger stories.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sky on haunted podcast effects:

  “I think your podcast might be a ghost magnet. Up to you if that's good or bad.” ([06:53])

• Abe on photographic evidence:

  “...behind her is what I can only describe as a tall, dark figure. It seemed to lean in behind her a bit.” ([12:26])

• Cinny’s unsettling savior:

  “He said that I could stay here forever. Wouldn't that be nice?” ([22:39])

• CJ’s chilling suspicion:

  “I think the man that lived there before me was a serial killer.” ([33:31])

• Kaylan’s closing prompt:

  “Was there really something in that apartment that could take the shape of another person?” ([42:05])

Important Timestamps

• Victorian ghost story intro & community context: 01:42
• Story 1: Sky’s haunted house & podcast effects: 03:42–08:45
• Story 2: Abe’s haunted Texas home & "the figure": 09:42–18:45
• Story 3: Cinny’s ‘road that only appeared once’: 19:15–25:52
• Story 4: CJ’s Canadian murder house & tunnels: 26:42–33:31
• Story 5: Indian doppelganger tale: 36:09–42:05

Episode Tone and Style

Kaylan maintains an engaging, respectful tone—balancing eerie, unsettling moments with empathy and curiosity. Personal interjections (“Ooh, what do you guys think about that one?”) and community shoutouts create an intimate fireside feel, amplifying both suspense and connection.

Summary

This episode delivers a rich tapestry of real-life creepy tales, each offering unique interpretations of haunting, liminality, and identity. As a listener, you’re left unsettled in the best way, pondering the reliability of your senses, the lingering traits of places, and the possibility that the act of storytelling itself might stir up things we cannot see.

If these stories left you looking over your shoulder, you’re not alone—and the Heart Starts Pounding community invites you to share your own spine-tinglers.