I Actually Cried Telling This Story...

Summary

Podcast Summary: "I Actually Cried Telling This Story..."

Podcast: Katching Up With Katie
Host: Katie Van Slyke
Date: October 16, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Katie Van Slyke sits down with friends and family at Running Springs for a candid conversation about personal grooming mishaps, ranch life, and—most notably—the creepy and paranormal stories floating around the farm and beyond. The group shares their own eerie anecdotes, ranging from unexplained animal mutilations to personal ghost stories, feeding into the season’s spooky vibes. The tone is rooted in Katie’s trademark authenticity, blending humor and heartfelt moments as the group bonds over their fears and beliefs.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Opening Banter: Facial Hair Fiascos

[00:00–04:06]

• The episode opens with playful teasing about a stripped-down mustache (the “stash is gone” [01:06]), personal grooming, and why certain facial hair styles matter to Katie.
• Katie shares, “I would cry if a man without facial hair tried to, like, hold me. I guess it just, like, correlates to, like, manliness to me” ([01:44], Katie).
• Conversation briefly shifts to how facial hair impacts baby interactions and partners.

Transition to Thematic Deep Dive: The Spooky Season

[04:06–05:05]

• With everyone about to be out of town, Katie suggests they delve into “fall season with maybe some creepy stories,” setting the episode’s main theme.

Eerie Trail Ride & Mutilation Gorge Story

[05:05–14:19]

• Katie recounts a chilling story from a Colorado trail ride at “Mutilation Gorge.”
• A stallion left out to graze was later found “surgically castrated... healed perfectly” in the middle of nowhere ([06:42], Katie).
• Multiple healthy bull elk were later found dead and similarly, surgically castrated—meat untouched—sparking speculation about possible occult rituals, unexplained collectors, or strange medical interests.
• “That makes me immediately be like, great. I’m on a horse named Charles… there is no fleeing on this Perseron Lusitano mix” ([06:19], Katie).
• The group debates possible motives: witchcraft, folklore, harvesting for “reproductive health,” or simply an elaborate local legend.

Reflecting on Urban Legends & Haunted Locations

[14:19–16:02]

• Guest shares childhood fascination with “locally haunted places,” mentioning “Crybaby Bridge” and locally notorious haunted sites.
• Katie recalls her husband Jonathan’s belief in the supernatural after frightening Ouija board incidents.

The Ouija Board Incident

[16:02–20:40]

• Katie tells the story of Jonathan and friends sneaking into a historic plantation, using a Ouija board by a well (believed to be a “portal” [15:03]), and experiencing alarming phenomena:
  • “He said every lamppost, every window in the house, everything around them… lit up all at once” ([18:08], Katie, voice trembling).
  • Jonathan was so scared he went home and slept in his parents’ bed, later reporting footsteps and voices in his house ([20:03]).
• The group discusses whether such detail could be fabricated, marveling at the emotional impact: “That’s too much detail for that to be made up” ([20:40]).

More Paranormal Tales: The Top Hat Man and Haunted Farmhouses

[21:02–24:48]

• Katie details haunted experiences at an old farmhouse, including a “man in a top hat” apparition and unexplained physical events (recliners moving, doors slamming, deer skulls detaching).
• “He literally heard this thing pulling it out of the wall… it clipped the back of his head, and he had to have stitches” ([24:48], Katie).

Personal Creepy Encounters & Local Legends

[25:02–29:36]

• Others share regional ghost stories (e.g., the perpetually decaying cow head, the bridge where babies’ handprints reportedly appear) and classic haunted train tracks.
• Guest describes a bizarre childhood experience where a woman lay face down in a creek and seemed unfazed, even after being submerged for minutes ([27:00–28:41]).

Ghosts, Spirits, and Theories on the Afterlife

[29:36–33:45]

• The group discusses loved ones haunting places, with differing opinions on whether lingering presences are comforting or unsettling.
• “If they're still here…it’s not for a good reason” ([30:45], Abigail).
• The consensus trends toward spirits being spiritual or demonic manifestations, not literal “ghosts”—with the risk that benign-seeming entities (like children) could actually be something more sinister ([33:03], group).

Universal Paranormal Themes, Ancient History & Beliefs

[33:45–36:54]

• The group notes that stories about the paranormal, demons, and dragons appear throughout history and cultures, inviting speculation about the shared roots of such legends.
• Lively digression into childhood love for “dragonology” books and the enduring fascination with mythic creatures.

Mind-Blowing Perspective: Space, Scale, and Humanity’s Place

[37:28–38:55]

• The conversation pivots to the vastness of the universe, using a galaxy-size thought experiment to put earthly problems in perspective.
• “[If] the Milky Way was the size of the United States, the sun would fit in between the ridges in your finger” ([38:21], Alex).

Quick Farm and Travel Updates

[38:55–41:18]

• The group briefly runs through upcoming travel: Katie’s appearance at a Facebook event in NYC, logistics for the Congress horse show, and recent farm moments (like calving season and animal relocations).
• Katie closes by inviting listeners to share their own scary stories for future episodes: “Let us know your scary stories or spooky situations that you’ve been in in the comments” ([41:18], Katie).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the “Mutilation Gorge” story:
  “[The stallion] had been surgically castrated... healed perfectly... middle of nowhere.” ([06:42], Katie)
• Facial hair and childhood trauma:
  “I would cry if a man without facial hair tried to, like, hold me.” ([01:44], Katie)
• Ghosts and belief:
  “That’s too much detail for that to be made up.” ([20:40], Alex)
• Philosophy on lingering spirits:
  “If they're still here… it’s not for a good reason.” ([30:45], Abigail)
• Space and perspective:
  “If the Milky Way was the size of the United States, the sun would fit in between the ridges in your finger.” ([38:21], Alex)
• On comforting—or not—hauntings:
  “If it could be a nice ghost, and it’s my Nana… but they always tricky.” ([30:26], Katie)
• Closing invitation:
  “Let us know your scary stories or spooky situations that you’ve been in in the comments.” ([41:18], Katie)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [05:07] Katie begins the Mutilation Gorge/Colorado trail ride story
• [13:18] Emotional impact: “He told us that, like, it rocked me.”
• [16:02] Start of Jonathan’s Ouija board ghost story
• [18:08] Katie gets visibly emotional and watery-eyed retelling the story
• [24:08] Haunted farmhouse: deer skull incident and near injury
• [27:00] Alex’s “face-down woman in the creek” story
• [29:36] Real/fake comforting spirits (“If they're still here… it’s not for a good reason.”)
• [37:28] Discussion about the size of the universe vs. the sun
• [38:55] Katie’s farm and travel updates
• [41:18] Closing remarks and call for listener stories

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Conclusion

This episode of Katching Up With Katie leans into the autumn mood with entertaining and sometimes unnerving stories, blending the everyday rhythms of farm life with the mysteries that still haunt rural communities. It’s a session full of laughter, introspection, and real fear, amplified by Katie’s vulnerable storytelling and the camaraderie of her friends—perfect for listeners who enjoy heartfelt authenticity mixed with a spine-tingling twist.

Transcript

[A]

Action.

[B]

You have, like, a. Like, a stray hair on the right side.

[A]

So this is Nate's little brother.

[B]

There we go.

[C]

Yeah. So Nate didn't make it today to Catching it with Katie. Welcome to Catching it with Katie, everyone. We have a new. A new member. This is actually.

[A]

You look like an AJ I don't know what that would stand for.

[C]

Alexander. It's Alex. This is Alex.

[B]

This is Alex.

[D]

Hi.

[C]

He's Alexander. Nathan. Yeah. Instead of Nathan. Alexander.

[D]

Yeah. Uhhuh.

[C]

I don't know if you've noticed.

[D]

Stash is gone, and it's just minimal. It's still there.

[C]

I'm so sorry for what I said when you walked up, so. Okay, well, first of all. Well, first of all, I scolded him immediately for speeding on my driveway.

[D]

It was for dramatic effect. Not a normal occurrence.

[B]

It is, though.

[C]

I was like, moo was out. Many horses could have been on the loose, and he didn't know. What if you had hit Jack?

[D]

Well, there's no way that would have happened.

[C]

Okay, well.

[D]

And two.

[A]

Well, there's no way that would have happened.

[B]

Well. Well, there's no way that would have happened.

[C]

It just happened sometimes. But he walked up, and I saw immediately that the stash was gone, and I minimized.

[A]

That was strike two.

[C]

I. I was like, I love your stats.

[D]

No, that wasn't the first.

[C]

What did I say? I don't remember what I said.

[D]

You said you didn't like it, and. But then you said it was a compliment because you love. It was a compliment to the stash.

[C]

Okay. Okay. I was like, I don't. I don't like that you took the stash off.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Where'd it go? And then. Yeah, because it just. I just love a good stash, but.

[D]

Me too.

[C]

But then I told you that you were handsome.

[A]

You are worth it. You have value.

[C]

It just. I'm. I'm like. When I was a baby, even my mom said that I wouldn't. I would cry if a man without facial hair tried to, like, hold me. I guess it just, like, correlates to, like, manliness to me. I don't know.

[D]

Yeah, no, I. I'm back to ground zero. And we're back.

[C]

What made you. What. What made it happen, though?

[D]

I was just. I trimmed it a little bit, and then I had, like, a bit of an OCD thought, I guess, where I. I was like, I feel like I've. And when I wash my face, I wash the hair, and I started to have this feeling, like, how long has it been since I washed my Skin. And I. I realistically, like, you can get in there and wash it and it's fine. But I couldn't get the thought out of my head, so I had to trim it really short so I could make sure everything was clean.

[C]

I gotcha. Yeah, I gotcha. So it's actually like I'm sitting here. I'm getting used to it. I'm. Yeah, Like, I'm taking it in. It's a vibe with the long hair. Yeah, yeah, it for sure is.

[D]

I. I don't.

[A]

Especially if you put it up.

[D]

I. I liked it more than I thought it was gonna look super weird.

[C]

Like, because Matt was like, you look so young. I think. I think it doesn't make you look baby faced because the hair. Like, the hair brings in some maturity stuff.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

Like it. I don't know.

[A]

But still, definitely 25 and not 31.

[C]

Yeah. Not 35.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Did your baby like it?

[D]

Yeah, yeah, she likes it. She. She likes when it's smooth. She doesn't like the rough, which is why I stopped having a beard to begin with, because she would, like, put her cheek against mine, and she wouldn't do that if I had facial hair. So I was like, well, I'm never growing that again. Mustache for life.

[C]

Jonathan's beard. Because it. He leaves it so long, it gets so soft. And then sometimes, like, he'll condition it so it gets, like, super soft. But, yeah, I mean, it's. It's like sandpaper if you're.

[D]

And I can't. I can't grow it that long. It starts to, like.

[B]

You can't grow it to the soft point.

[D]

I have one time, and it was ferocious.

[C]

Has it been since we've all known each other?

[B]

No, it couldn't be.

[D]

Possibly.

[C]

Have you been bearded?

[D]

Had to have been.

[B]

No, hold on.

[D]

I can tell you when it was because I have photos. They were gross. Let me search beard and see what happens.

[C]

Okay, so this week we're all going to be out of town, so we're doing catching up with Candy kind of early in the week. We're filming it kind of early. So it's going to be a week from now that y' all see this video. And we were. We were just saying there's not really that much to catch up on before all these trips happen. So why don't we just kind of deep dive into the fall season with maybe some creepy stories? Not creepy. Like, I have a story in mind, and it's a story that was told to me about a place I was in so it wasn't something that happened to me per se. But does anybody else want to. Want to. To lead with this?

[B]

Well, I just want to go ahead and say that I don't have anything. So, yeah, I'm gonna be working on it.

[A]

Just be thinking.

[B]

But I just don't want anyone to have their expectations up. I want them to be really low.

[A]

And while Abigail is thinking, you guys can drop your scary store or just creepy stories in the comments.

[B]

For sure.

[C]

We would love to hear some creepy stories. Do we. Do either one of y' all want to lead?

[A]

Go ahead, Katie.

[C]

So it's been exactly or almost exactly a year since we went on a trail ride in Colorado. Me and my best friend Rebecca, and our husbands, we always tend to go on a trip every year. And so we went to Colorado. We found a place to go trail riding, and we had told them, hey, like, we want to go on, like, a really long one. You know, our husbands aren't horse people, but we are like, can we. Can we go? I don't know. It was kind of like a weird time of year where they weren't doing long trail rides, but we convinced them to take us. And so we had this really, really sweet guide. He was talking to us the whole time, telling us stories and, you know, just really good conversation. And so we got to this point. We're, like, out in the middle of. I think they said they had, like, 10,000 acres or something like that, um, that were available for this trail ride. And so we're going through this part of the trail ride where it's like a gorge. Like, there's just, like, these hills go on either side, and, like, you can cut through it. And they're like, yeah, we don't. Like, that's not a part of the trail ride, but there's kind of a creepy story aligned with this gorge. Excuse me. And we. And we were like, okay, well, tell us. He's like, so this is called Mutilation Gorge.

[A]

Nice.

[C]

That makes me immediately be like, great. I'm on a horse named Charles, who I can't get to go over a walk. Like, there. There is no fleeing on this Perse on Lusitano mix. Like, he was just a chunk. He was very fun. I would have taken Charles home, but not for fleeing, not for being in a dangerous situation. And so this is more of, like, a real life. Like, this is just weird.

[A]

Like, this is Indian burial ground.

[C]

This isn't paranormal. This isn't paranormal. Whatever. So he said, yeah. So, you know, in these places, out west in Colorado, whatever. If you have like a herd of horses, like a lot of these horses, if you just turn them out, like they just go be self sufficient. They're not in barns, they're not pampered like my horses. So he said there was a stallion that the place he was on owned and for whatever reason they turned him out just to be out. No clue why. I think they were turning him out for like a year. Yeah, again, I don't know the reason why they turned him out, but that wasn't uncommon. That wasn't something. They just like decided to do that for that one horse. Like a lot of times they turn out like herds of horses. And so they said about a year later they go to round him up and they bring him up and he had been surgically castrated. So like. Yeah, like surgically castrated and it was healed perfectly and but mind you, this isn't like near anywhere. This isn't on anyone's. Like no one can get into this. I mean I get. They can get in, but middle of nowhere. It's middle of nowhere. Like no cell service, no anything. Surgically cat. It gets better. Okay, so this, this stallion had been surgically castrated and they were like, who would have done this? Then they start finding all these dead elk. Like bull elk. Like they said they found multiple of them. They have not been like skinned. They had not been like, like the meat had not been taken. Like it, it wasn't something where like they were utilizing the animal or like whoever killed it was like taking everything. Yeah, these elk were surgically castrated and just left all in this gorge. Like there was just like a serial.

[B]

But they also don't know if like someone killed them and then did it or if that was another thing someone.

[D]

So it could have been a collector.

[C]

There was evidence of, of like a bullet wound or like whatever on these elk, but they look to be healthy bull elk.

[B]

Like they could have done it and then they just found the bodies.

[C]

They could have found the bodies and done it. But it was also like how many bulld elk are just dropping dead? Right.

[D]

How would it have healed?

[C]

Yeah, that's another thing.

[A]

They could have done it.

[B]

I'm saying, I'm saying what if they, they did it, they castrated it, released it and then it just naturally dies.

[C]

And they find the body and it's horns ever again. If they castrated them, that's another. When they found them, they didn't specify, but even if they have specified they.

[A]

Would have died like within like a month. Though, like, if they, even if they had.

[C]

If they got like infected or something.

[A]

Like that, there's no way like, like the horse maybe for whatever reason could have got lucky. But there's more than likely they castrated them and then they just died like a week later.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Infection or whatever.

[C]

I don't know. But I'm like, were they tranquing them?

[B]

Right. That's what I was wondering.

[A]

And then maybe they don't need to. Maybe it's some kind of. They just.

[C]

I don't know. And we were trying. Because I told her this story like a week ago.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And we were trying to figure out like, what. What could someone's motive be for doing that? Like, because we were like, okay, are the. Is it some type of like.

[A]

Where was this again?

[B]

Some type of like, like folklore thing?

[C]

Yeah. What'd you say?

[D]

What state were you in?

[C]

Colorado. But then we were also like. Because at first I was like, okay, it would make total sense if they were castrated and they had also had their meat. Meat taken. It's like someone, you know, utilizing the whole animal. Like that would have made sense to me. But like, this is for witchcraft, no.

[B]

Yeah, it's a very, like, if you take them for that specific purpose, you're doing it for like not, not necessarily weird reasons. Like I, we were googling it and it was, it was saying that like, it helps with like men's like, reproductive health. It's believed by some, if you eat it, it helps with like men's reproductive health. It has certain like, health benefits.

[C]

But that, but it's a very specific.

[B]

It's a very specific thing.

[A]

You can't. It is incur like even like killing a deer. Like, you know, to, you know, I've, I personally have. You know, you eat cow testicles, you.

[B]

Know, stuff like that just to not waste any.

[A]

But they wasted Oddity here is that it's in the middle of nowhere.

[D]

It.

[A]

For somebody to make that much of an effort to go get their testosterone boosted is a little, little out and.

[C]

Nothing else is amazing. Like.

[A]

No, this is, this is, this is straight up like deer antler school on the face. Like, like pagan, pagan folk witchcraft stuff.

[C]

I don't, I don't know because I like, I sometimes like on Tick Tock, I'll see some videos of like, like current time, like people that practice witchcraft or whatever. And so if there's anybody that follows.

[B]

Me, I would love to know if, you know.

[A]

Unfollow.

[C]

If anyone does and they know anything that could lead to an answer for This I would love to know.

[A]

Oh, I thought you meant, like, anybody that follows that note that does.

[B]

Or is this whole thing just, like, a thing to attract tourists? Is it like a.

[C]

That's what I was like, that's such.

[B]

Like, an urban legend type thing.

[C]

Like, maybe story.

[A]

But still, though, like, I'm just saying, like, did y' all ever see that movie? If you haven't such a great movie about, like, those four British dudes?

[C]

The ritual.

[A]

Yes. That's what it makes me think of.

[B]

Me too.

[A]

Stuff like that.

[B]

I freaking love. I love that type of stuff. Scariest to me because it's like.

[A]

And that still happens because it's so real and it's stuff that could happen.

[B]

It's not real.

[D]

No, I don't watch that stuff.

[C]

I don't know.

[B]

But, like, with the ritual, isn't that the creepy.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And you don't watch it because it's, like, actually.

[A]

Because it's real.

[B]

Because it's real and it's a breath.

[A]

Of fresh air from, like, ghosts and stuff.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

I don't, like.

[B]

I don't necessarily watch, like, watching paranormal, like, stuff, but stuff like that gets me.

[A]

And what the beauty of the ritual is, like, it's so real, and it's like. And it could happen. And even at the end when it gets a little not real. Oh, yeah, it's great because that's the payoff you wanted. Because stuff like that.

[B]

So just, like.

[A]

Right. Because you get to see, like, what actually happens and stuff. So but that's. That's what I think of, like, when.

[C]

He told us that, like, it rocked me.

[B]

I was like, I would. The rest of the ride, I would have been thinking about.

[A]

I'm just thinking of, like, that big creature in Middle Colorado taking all these elk testicles and, like, harvesting them.

[C]

And I've, like. I've thought about that. That's been a year ago. And it came back to me, and I was like, I have to tell this story. Because, like. Yes. Like, could this be just, like, a touristy, you know, something they say, but, like, they have so many other options to tell a story that would creep somebody out. Yeah. So specific Chronic testicle remover. Yeah.

[B]

Serial testicle remover. Serial castrator. Yeah.

[C]

But that was just. Anyway, can you.

[B]

So if you Google it, does anything come up?

[D]

Not of Mutilation Gorge.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

I haven't found anything related to.

[B]

Okay. Well, that kind of makes it, like, more real. It kind of makes it more believable.

[A]

To me that it's not, like, on a forum.

[B]

Yeah. That you can't just, like, let me Google it.

[A]

I've always been a fan of. In my younger years for sure, but going to not like, famously haunted places, but, like, locally haunted places.

[C]

Jonathan has, and he's like, I never will again. I. It scared him to his core. And his story is what's, like, made me believe in ghosts, and I've been terrified of ghosts my entire life.

[B]

He has a few.

[C]

He has a few paranormal instances. We've talked about this on, like, the very first episodes of the podcast. I remember. But he went to the Carton Plantation, the Carter House, and, like, they broke in. He and a bunch of kids. They were like, 15, 16 years old. And there was a well, which I guess wells are, like, known to be portals, you know, between worlds or whatever.

[D]

Whales.

[C]

Well. Well, like a water well.

[D]

What are they doing in a whale?

[B]

Okay. Whales are known to be portals between worlds.

[A]

Can you imagine?

[B]

As.

[D]

You know, learned that on Shark Week.

[A]

Anyway, go on the blue whale.

[C]

He said that he. They took a Ouija board. He was like, I will never. I will never touch a Ouija board as one does.

[B]

As. As you do.

[C]

They took a Ouija board. They. Again, it was a bunch of kids. And he said that he has never seen. And, like, I truly believe if my husband was telling this scary story over nine years of being together, he would have told me. Like, I'm just kidding.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I would hope.

[C]

I would hope that he'd be like, I'm just kidding. Like, that didn't actually happen.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, he went home and slept with his mom that night. Like, he went and got in bed with his parents and was like, I. I, like, you have to stay with me. And he says he brought one home anyway, so.

[B]

He brought one what home?

[C]

Okay. So they were on the well, and again, they broke into this degenerate. They broke into this place, and they were using the Ouija board and just asking some questions at first, like some yes, no stuff and whatever. So. But then he got to where they were asking them, like, specific stuff, like the spirits and the Ouija little thing started moving on its own over letters. Like, like, on its own.

[A]

And then Katie will, like, legit scare herself here in a minute.

[C]

I will.

[B]

She'll start crying. And that's happened before. An episode from telling us. I think it was from around this time last year. You'd like to go.

[C]

Like, I. And here's the thing. I. I'm a glutton for punishment because I genuinely love these stories. I want you to tell me But I also am terrified. And so like, he. He said that there were some spirits because again, this was an old plantation that they had open for tours and whatnot. There had been battles, you know, fought on this, like, big field and things. And so you could have, like. He said that there were things to read about the history of the spot right there. So they knew kind of like the types of spirits that might be there. And so there was a couple that he talked to that he was like, are you a bad spirit or a good spirit? And they were like, bad. And he was like. And one of the guys there was like taunting them. Like Jonathan said most of them were just like asking kind of like menial questions.

[D]

And.

[C]

And this other guy was like, taunting them.

[B]

It was Jonathan.

[C]

And he was like, you know, I can't say what he was.

[B]

Stupid ghost.

[C]

Yeah. But he was saying some like, crude stuff and being like, show me that you're. Oh, I'm like getting okay. He's like, show me that you're here. And he said every lamp post, every.

[B]

Why are your eyes watery?

[C]

He said every lamp post, every like window in the house, everything around them that could. Lit up all at once. Like, like, like my, like, I'm sorry. Like, it just.

[A]

I mean, like, I'd have been out.

[B]

Me too.

[C]

And then he was like, turn them off. And they all just turn off. Freaks me out, like. And I can't remember what it was. But they all went running. And they did. But they didn't shut the Ouija board because they all went running.

[A]

Rookies.

[B]

Rookie mistake.

[C]

And so because they didn't shut the Ouija board, he was like, I went home, I was terrified. We all went running. I can't remember. I cannot remember what the thing.

[A]

Gotta finish it.

[C]

That he said or like that they said to him. But oh, oh, they. They said that there was like at one point he asked how many of you are here? And there was. They said like five or something like that. And there were like five orbs, like in the. In the field in front of them, like floating like orbs. Anyway, so he said whatever it was that scared them, they all went running. They left the Ouija board open. He runs home, sleeps with his parents because he is so terrified. And then he told his mom everything he had done. And he was like, can you please like, like pray over me or something. I need some sort of like, comfort. I don't know. I'm scared more than I've ever been in my life. He's like this 16, 17 year old boy the next day he has to go to school or go to wherever she said she's home. And I again would hope that Lisa would tell me.

[A]

Oh, for sure.

[B]

Right.

[C]

If she was being for real or not. She said she was home alone. Their house. The. The staircase was right next to the kitchen that went upstairs. She was home completely alone and she heard footsteps and voices upstairs like all morning that morning. And so she had like someone come and like sage the house and like was like saying, you know, like did like a thing and like they said the Lord's prayer and saged it and like all this stuff and then they never had it like happen again. But. Yeah.

[A]

That sounds just. That's too much detail for that to be made up.

[C]

Yeah, there's more too. Like I'm, I'm giving y' all like what's.

[B]

The more I want to know, the.

[C]

More Jonathan would have to tell it. I don't know.

[D]

Oh, Colin.

[B]

Well, I mean I know he also like the stories of his like college experience as well.

[C]

No, no, no. When he was, when he lived at that house just down the road.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So there was a house down the road. I don't know who lived there prior, but it was a old house. Like so he and two of his buddies lived in a house when I first started dating him and he. It was just a small, a small like two three bedroom house. But it was like there was, there was like a living room in a kitchen. It was, it was on the road. It was on the farm that his buddy's family owned and it has since been remodeled and looks super cute. But back then it was nasty. I barely wanted to go over there because like it was just three 22 year old boys and I cannot quit burping. I'm so sorry. So he didn't tell me any of this stuff because he didn't want me to quit going to his house. But after he moved out, he told me all these stories about like they knew it was haunted and they just, they were fine with it. And so they like would have instances where they'd all be sitting there and then the recliner would just kick up. Like not shut down. Like lean back or one time his brother was sleeping on the couch and like saw a ghost. He saw a man in a top hat in the house. We've talked about this. Yeah, because it's the tap. The top.

[B]

We have.

[A]

Yeah, we've talked about the top.

[B]

We've talked about about the top hat man.

[C]

And then like he'll say his name.

[A]

Like that Many times, though.

[B]

Top hat man, Top hit man.

[C]

Like, one time, a dip can just went flying across the room. One time, Caleb went to, like, open the door, and he went to open, and he twisted it, and it twisted back, and then he fought and pushed it forward, and it slammed shut. Someone, like, pulled it shut, and there was no one home. And then. So they had this, like, spirit living with them. Whatever. Maybe someone who had died there. We don't know. I don't know.

[B]

Wasn't there, like, something about, like, the deer head thought?

[C]

No.

[B]

Like, the person that lived there before them, wasn't there, like, a. It rumored that she was, like, a witch or something?

[C]

Oh, my gosh. Yes.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So. So the girl that, like, lived in that house before, like, I totally forgot about that. Yeah. They think that she cursed it because she got kicked out or something.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

But anyway, so Jonathan started talking about, I'm moving out. I'm leaving on this date. I'm, you know, whatever. And he had a deer, like, skull that was above his bed. Probably not the best place to have hung this. This thing. Right. But it wasn't, like a full mount. It was, like, a European mount, and it was right above his bed. And, like, there was a few times prior to this where he knew that it had been in his bedroom because, like, you know, like, the sensation when someone sits on your bed and then when they get up, it goes back up. Like, that would happen with him in bed.

[A]

It just doesn't. It doesn't take much more than that for me to.

[B]

I'm never sleeping in that house again.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

But anyway, I'm like, you let me. I. That would have been. So the night before he was set to leave, he literally heard it unscrewing in his sleep. And he said right before it happened, I literally said, this deer head's about to fall on my head. And so he moved a bit, and if he hadn't moved, it would have, like, literally, like, gotten, like, the top of his head or forehead. But he moved, and so it clipped the back of his head, and he had to have stitches. Yeah. But he was, like. It was secure. Like, this was like a.

[B]

Like, it had been there the entire time.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

He had the spidey senses, but not the spidey speed.

[C]

Mm. And he was like. I literally heard this thing pulling it out of the wall. Yeah.

[B]

Well, no one else's stories matter at this point.

[A]

And we had stuff like that and growing. Like, we would go to places. Like, there was one place that you would go for whatever reason that would have this cow head mounted on this barn that nobody owned. And it was half decayed. And it had been half decayed for, like, 15 years. It just never finished. It would always just stay in, like, this constant state of decay. But there was one place that you could go that was called Crybaby Bridge. And it was where this mom had two babies or whatever, and couldn't take care of them or whatever, so she got out of the car, grabbed them both, and jumped off the bridge with both of them. And so you could drive on the bridge at a certain time. And depending on the situation, our car never shut off. But some people's cars would shut off. But the. The road would get really foggy. If your mirrors. You fog up your mirrors, you could see, like, little baby handprints. The only thing that happened to us was the road got really foggy, the AC quit working, and you could. You could hear for whatever reason. I got out of the car, and you could hear, like.

[C]

Is this.

[B]

Like, you can Google that this happened, that this. This event happened?

[A]

100.

[B]

See, I just don't have. I don't have any experiences like this.

[A]

But that was when we just. Like. I tried not to desire to go to do stuff like that.

[B]

I think about that to go. To seek it out.

[C]

There's train tracks near here where you can see a guy sometimes. I don't know the whole lore of, like, when you have to go to see him, but there's train tracks near here where you, like, he lost his head or something like that, and he's looking for his head.

[D]

I've seen that.

[B]

Yeah, you've seen it.

[D]

Not that train track, but there was one near our college.

[C]

Maybe that's what I. There's something about. About this train track. So I'm trying to remember the lore.

[D]

Of it, but I actually made a whole movie about it.

[A]

Oh.

[C]

Yep.

[D]

It's called the Light. It was about the Garden Light and Garden, Arkansas.

[B]

I remember you talking about this.

[C]

Tell them about your short. Your short film.

[D]

Well, I. I will.

[C]

Okay. We'll get.

[D]

I will.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Yeah. I don't have anything crazy. The creepiest thing I can think of is one time I can't remember how old I was. I was younger, and I was going to church with my grandparents, and very small church. And it was by a creek, and there's a little bridge, and under the bridge was a lady laying face down in the water. So my first thought is, we need to call the police. There's a dead lady in the water. And I'm just standing there staring, like. So then people start coming over. They're, like, calling out, hey, are you okay? It's probably been three minutes at this point of me just standing and staring at this body in the water. She lifts up, looks at us and says, I'm okay, and puts her face back in the water and lays face down. Probably stand for another 2, 3, 4, 5 minutes face down in the water, underwater. I'm like, what is happening? So then I think they. I think somebody had, like, called the police at this point. But we went into church, never saw the police show up, came back out, and she was gone. I'm like, how'd you have your face down in the water for that many minutes?

[B]

Interesting.

[D]

Just not moving.

[A]

That qualifies as a creepy story.

[B]

It does, for sure.

[D]

They creep me out.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

I was probably 9, 10.

[B]

I kind of wonder if we have, like, repressed, like, memories of.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Stuff.

[A]

I think that there's good things, though, like, yeah, Maddie's grandma died in the house that we live in right now. And, like, sometimes I feel like I'll hear Lily in her room and she's at daycare, but, like, I'll hear, like, her, like, make, like, little baby noises or something like that. And she's not. There was one time. I kid, I cannot believe that you don't want to talk about repressed. I really thought I dreamt this, but, like, I woke up in the middle of night because she was crying, and I woke up because she was crying, and I went. And I was, like, half awake, so I was waiting to hear if she was going to go back to sleep. And I heard like.

[D]

Stop.

[A]

I kid you not. And so naturally, I heard her fussing, you know, and I heard her going. I heard hum. And I went in there. She was dead asleep.

[B]

There are a lot of creepy sleep.

[A]

I feel like that may be there. There may be something there.

[C]

Maybe, like, okay, there's like my. My Nana, who is my favorite person in the world. Abigail stayed my nana's house for a couple weeks when we. While we've been trying to get, like, her house done. And I had a moment. I don't know if. Were you sitting with her or was it. I don't know. I don't know who was with you when. When this happened. But you were like, is your nana gonna haunt me in this house? And I was like, I hope so, because I want to talk to her. Like, it wasn't me like that. Like, if. If it could be a nice ghost, and it's my Nana.

[A]

But they always tricky. They always tricky, though. They always, like, appear as somebody.

[B]

Right. And I. And, like, I'm kind of under the. I'm kind of under the opinion, I guess, that, like, if they're still here.

[A]

It'S not for a good.

[B]

It's not there, then.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, I can agree with that, I think.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know. I'm just. That's just. Well, nobody, I guess, kind of my. My belief, I guess.

[D]

Yeah. I don't.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I wouldn't want my grandma to still be here. I'd want to think if she, you know, moved on.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

But self. Yeah, selfishly, for sure.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, I mean, I don't think being self. Selfishly wanting that is a bad thing. No, I. I think I selfishly wish my dog was still alive.

[D]

I don't. I don't think that. I don't think, like, ghosts are a thing. Personally, I think if you're. If you're encountering something, it's. It's spiritual. It's not a. It's all like, oh, a grandma died in this house, and now the grandma still lives.

[A]

I agree with that. It's pretty much kind of the same thing.

[D]

This is like a demon or something.

[A]

I don't. I don't necessarily. Like. It's hard for me to say, like, ghosts are real, but I have, like. It's just experienced stuff. And I've heard people, like, say things that you can. I know you cannot be making this up. That. I do believe that that happened, and I believe that maybe, like, what I saw happened. But like he said, I don't necessarily think that it was a ghost of somebody, but maybe a bad entity replicating that event.

[C]

Because you always, like, okay, for instance, one of my friends, like, it's like a. Kind of like a friend removed, you know, like, she was telling the story about the house that she and her husband bought that was a really old house, and they had found out that there was a. A child death in it at one point. Because this house was, like, from the 1920s.

[A]

You got to tell people that, too.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, and so she had found out, like, okay, there had been a child death in this home. Whatever. So, like, they've named her something. I can't remember what they named her. I think they named her Sally. And they hear Sally all the time. And it's very specifically a little girl. She'll turn the shower on upstairs.

[A]

Oh, God.

[C]

And be singing in the shower.

[A]

I can't live like that, dude.

[C]

No. Hear her little footsteps. Upstairs, like, it's very. I'm crying.

[A]

I would.

[C]

I.

[A]

Like, I'm about to. I can't do that every day of my life.

[D]

Just imagine the possibility. It's not little Sally. It's a demon.

[A]

The probability.

[D]

Welcomed into your home.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You're used to it.

[D]

Acting. I'll make little child noises. I'll do things a little child would do. And you're like, oh, cute. You can stay.

[B]

Yeah. And you don't do anything about it. And you also don't leave because you feel like you're safe.

[D]

You have evil spirit in your home. Posing as a child or meemaw all.

[B]

My memaws to make you feel, like, safe.

[D]

To make you feel, like, oh, well, it's just a little kid and.

[B]

And you believe it so easily because of the.

[D]

It's like, well, maybe not.

[C]

And that's the thing. So, like, at the plantation that Jonathan went to as a kid, they knew that those spirits had like. Like they weren't like. They straight up were like, no, we're bad.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Like, we're. No.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

And they were like, you know, they asked him, like, were you soldiers? And were you, you know, whatever. Things like that. And so that it's like, you expect. Okay, we should probably should leave. You know, whatever. But then, you know, like you said, a little girl.

[B]

Girl.

[C]

A little, you know, whatever.

[B]

Assuming your grandma.

[D]

That these evil spirits have been around for hundred.

[A]

Like, forever.

[D]

Anytime you're like, let's say you were talking to somebody who's gonna, like, tell you stuff about your past. Why wouldn't they know things about you? Like if. If you went to a medium and the medium's communicating, let's say, with a demon who's been around and has seen you.

[B]

Oh, okay, so you're saying if you went to, like, a psychic and was like, can I talk to my.

[D]

My mother is there?

[C]

And then you're wondering why they know mother's name Tammy.

[D]

How would they know that? Well, that maybe they're communicating with someone who's watch. Seen you.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And if there is anything that has been transcribed over the histories over and over and over is some sort of.

[C]

Paranormal activity, like, undeniably.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I don't know how someone could say, like, absolutely no.

[A]

Even down to, like, back in. Like, even if you wanted to get back into biblical eras, like, however that you want to interpret demon possessions, like, it's. There it is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it's like, you know, there's. It's all these different histories, all these different countries, different, like, forms in different forms and different. Somebody like demon possession and demons and stuff like that has always been a thing.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

And so what if it's like the same ones?

[C]

What. How do all these different cultures have their own depiction of a dragon? Dragons had to have been.

[A]

I won't tell you something right here and there. I was on. I'm so glad you broke.

[B]

I'm on that boat.

[A]

Do you remember the. Like the book fairs?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. So I was a huge ology guy. You remember the wizardology. Dragonology. But you would know that was before mine. Oh, my. Oh, you missed the good book fair. You missed the good.

[C]

I had drinkity ones.

[B]

Yeah, I had great book fairs.

[A]

The book fairs in my day, dude. Like, you went like. If you. If your parents loved you enough to send you with like. With like a hundred spot, Dude. Oh, my gosh.

[C]

You got 100.

[A]

I never got 100. I never got 100.

[C]

I always got like a 20.

[D]

Right?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But if you got 100 spot for that book fair, do you were cashing. And I could always only get one thing, but I would always get the ology books and dragon ology. Like obviously wizard ology and they give you a wand. And obviously I think it was real and I would put it together. But anyway, Dragonology was one that I was sold. There you go. Sold into. And I would do all these research and it would have, like, demographics of like, all these different dragons and all the regions of these dragons. And I would try to find the dragon that would possibly be in western Oklahoma. At me. I was like, if there's any, like, what would possibly be here. But, man, I was so. I was so determined for the longest time that I was going to be the guy to discover him.

[B]

Do you ever see. Sorry, go ahead.

[C]

My whole thing is just like, you know, you see artwork, you hear depictions, you hear all this stuff from thousands of years of different cultures on other sides of the world. Like, how can they all describe.

[A]

Do you think they're still real or do you think they just existed at one point?

[C]

There's so many things that I think used to exist.

[A]

I will say that it's probably easier to have a mythical sea creature still alive than a land.

[B]

Don't get me started on the ocean. But so it creeps me out more than anything else, actually.

[D]

You want to know some? I've been on a deep dive in space.

[A]

Yeah, Space. I'm out on space.

[D]

Like, just the magnitude of how large it is.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

Is insane. So there's reportedly hundreds of billions, if not trillions of galaxies. Okay. If you shrunk our galaxy down to the size of the United States, how big do you think the sun would be?

[B]

Wait, if you've shrunk. Yeah, our galaxy.

[D]

Our galaxy, which has our solar system in it. Okay, so the Milky Way.

[B]

Yes.

[D]

If the Milky Way was the size of the United States, the size of.

[C]

This crocodile right here.

[D]

Well, if the Milky Way is okay.

[C]

That'S how, that's how big I think the sun would be.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Like the size of like an ant.

[D]

Okay.

[A]

That's hard to put into perspective for me.

[B]

Or like a speck of dust. I don't even know.

[D]

It would fit in between the ridges in your finger. Really in your fingerprint. The sun would fit in between.

[A]

You were the closest one.

[D]

That's the scale of how big the Milky Way is. And there's hundreds of billions or trillions of the United States size things in the universe. Trillions.

[A]

And so if the sun is that big, imagine how big Earth is and.

[D]

Then how big you are on it.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So you think you're important.

[B]

So really I don't.

[C]

So really, you don't have to go to work tomorrow.

[A]

Just, just when you thought you meant something.

[B]

I know what, I know what I'm about to go by.

[C]

Why. So since we definitely got into this, this topic today and we've been filming for over 40 minutes already, we do need to do a smidge of a catch up of just like what's going on, of what's, what's to come, what's going on. And I think it's going to be kind of repetitive at this point, but we are going to New York this week for a Facebook event. Actually super excited about that. They had us come out last year and it was in Austin, Texas. And it's for a little bit of something different this year, but I'm speaking on a panel. I'm going to dinner with some people. Really excited, but also very scared of New York City. So never been there.

[A]

It's scary.

[C]

I don't know how to do the city, don't know how to do any of it. So we try to, we try to get a hotel close to the convention center. We tried to get like, we already arranged for someone to pick us up so we don't have to like, try to arrange transportation when we get there. And. Yeah, but you know, we're going to New York. That's going to be different and fun. But we're only going for like two and a half days and then we come back. You're Going home for a little bit. And we're. I'm just gonna try to, like, button things up here on the farm, and then we all go to Congress. Have y' all decided if you're both coming for the whole time or if you're splitting it?

[D]

Still. Still.

[C]

It's going to be in discussion until the day that they have to leave.

[B]

As I say, we're.

[C]

We're very close.

[B]

Leaving on part of it Sunday.

[D]

I can't remember if we're doing something the 12th or the 13th.

[B]

The 13th.

[C]

So he shows the 13th.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Okay. So we can.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Then more likely both of us.

[C]

Okay. Okay. He shows the 13th. And now take this out. Y' all will find out later that week. I haven't told you this. Just showing the Western.

[A]

We need to just review those dates. So I'll just get those last two days, and you can handle most of the rest.

[C]

But anyway, so, yeah, you know, we're about to leave for the Congress. We're about to be there for over a week. It's gonna be really, really fun. And other than that, we just have calving season and just taking care of little calves. And Ted and Huckleberry made it to their new home safely. And after, I mean, we just don't really have that much else going on right now. We're just kind of in that little lull point, and then after that, there's gonna be so much to talk about. So. So anything. Did I miss anything?

[B]

I don't think so.

[C]

I don't think I did. So. Hope you all enjoyed this episode. It was a little bit random, but we're in that spooky season of the year, so let us know your scary stories or spooky situations that you've been in in the comments, and then we will see you all in the next one.