Monsters Among Us – S20 Ep12: Cannibalism, Alien Abduction, and Mysterious Kids in a Bubble

Date: November 20, 2025
Host: Derek Hayes | Audioboom Studios

Episode Overview

This episode of Monsters Among Us brings listeners a tapestry of chilling and mysterious firsthand accounts, ranging from haunted couches and spectral farewells to eerie childhood encounters, military secrecy, prophetic dreams, stranger-than-fiction coincidences, and classic alien abduction motifs. Derek Hayes, as always, curates these stories with an approachable, nostalgia-laden, and slightly tongue-in-cheek tone, inviting listeners to keep things “spooky” while probing the nature and patterns behind the paranormal.

Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. The Haunted Couch in Indiana

Caller: Mac from Indiana
Timestamp: [02:18]

• Summary: Mac recounts a scary childhood incident where both family dogs reacted aggressively to “something” behind a couch while he was in the living room. Panicked, Mac fled, and the dogs followed, scaring his aunt.
• Memorable Moment: Mac humorously describes himself turning into “the blob” sliding into the kitchen.
• Host Commentary: Derek riffs on haunted furniture and recalls a prior story about a “haunted couch” that opened kitchen cabinets and came with a sulfur smell.
  • Quote: “Could it possibly have been the couch itself?” – Derek Hayes [03:46]
  • He mentions a now-notorious haunted sofa for sale in Texas, mixing levity with the spooky.
• Concepts Explored: Haunted objects, recurring themes of “possessed” furniture.

2. A Spirit’s Farewell in Minnesota

Caller: Vic from SW Minnesota
Timestamp: [05:56]

• Summary: After his sister’s passing, Vic experiences radio static in his car (unusual for a nearly-new vehicle) as he travels home. Upon arrival, he sees his sister in her favorite tie-dye shirt waving goodbye—then, she vanishes.
• Memorable Quote: “I truly believe that her spirit or her energy was in the car with me… And she came all the way home with me and waved goodbye to me on my porch.” – Vic [07:51]
• Host Commentary: Derek connects this to a prior account of a spirit “hitching a ride” post-accident.
  • Quote: “If it was your sister’s spirit in that car... it’s not the first time that detail was shared here on program.” – Derek Hayes [08:27]
• Concepts Explored: Spiritual visits, afterlife farewells, energy manifestation through electronics.

3. Laughter in the Basement – Was It a Ghost?

Caller: Ankay from Utah (event in Chicago suburbs)
Timestamp: [10:44]

• Summary: Teenage Ankay and friends hear an extra, unexplained laugh in a notoriously haunted basement during a sleepover. The memory remains vivid—and creepy—years later.
• Memorable Quote: “We heard another laugh in the corner of the room… We still talk about it and how creepy it was and how we, like, knew something else was there.” – Ankay [11:10]
• Host Commentary: Derek speculates whether it was a ghost or (creepier still) an intruder living in the basement.
  • Quote: “Best case scenario… it was a ghost… Worst case, the strange man you didn’t know was living in your basement also thought that joke was funny.” – Derek Hayes [11:52]

4. The Gliding Shadow – Generational Haunting or Alien Abduction?

Caller: Red from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Timestamp: [14:50]

• Summary: As a child, Red repeatedly experienced a “darker-than-dark” figure—void-like, gliding, no feet—entering through a window during episodes of sleep paralysis or waking dreams. Years later, his son, in the same room, reports seeing a similar entity described as “the Hat Man.”
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “It was tall, it was dark, and it didn’t seem like a shadow—it felt like it just was the absence of light.” – Red [15:22]
  • “What’s disturbing is, now 20 some years later, [my son] has had two encounters…” – Red [18:24]
• Host Commentary: Derek connects the account to classic shadow entity and “Hat Man” lore, and speculates on shadow people, hauntings, or possible alien abduction overtones.
  • Quote: “The mention of a darker than dark entity with a hat is sort of a dead giveaway.” – Derek Hayes [20:13]
• Concepts Explored: The Hat Man, sleep paralysis, shadow figures, intergenerational hauntings.

5. Premonition of Maritime Disaster & Creepy Coincidences

Caller: Giles from Nevada, Missouri
Timestamp: [23:51]

• Summary: Giles recounts dreaming of a cruise ship sinking—days later, news breaks of a strikingly similar real-world incident. Giles also shares other moments of apparent precognition and multiple childhood ghost encounters in a Missouri youth facility.
• Host Commentary: Derek dives into the famous Poe “Richard Parker” cannibalism story, and the “Titan/Titanic” novella, exploring the eerie overlap between fiction, premonition, and reality.
  • Quotes:
    • “So, is this a chilling coincidence or was Poe somehow connected to information that others were not?” – Derek Hayes [26:50]
    • “There you have three good reasons not to get on a cruise.” – Derek Hayes [30:12]
• Concepts Explored: Premonition, synchronicity, the overlap between historic horror fiction and real history, children’s paranormal experiences.

6. Sunglasses at Night – A Borrego Springs Oddity

Caller: Dark Apollo
Timestamp: [31:12]

• Summary: While with family in Borrego Springs, Apollo notices all patrons at an outdoor restaurant, wearing sunglasses at night, turn to stare at them—all appearing identical. Employees are nervous; only samosas being served. Apollo speculates an underground base connection.
• Memorable Quote: “They all stared at us, all of them, at the same time… all of them were wearing sunglasses. Derek, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” – Dark Apollo [31:37]
• Host Commentary: Derek references rumors of military bases and MIB (Men In Black) style encounters in the Borrego Triangle, mentioning his own documentary work in the area.
  • Quote: “Many of these encounters with the military are described as strange or unusual, almost Men in Black esque.” – Derek Hayes [34:00]
• Concepts Explored: High strangeness, underground bases, covert operations, doppelganger effect, Men in Black.

7. Children in a Bubble – The Deep South Mystery

Caller: Anonymous (Mother’s Account)
Timestamp: [35:25]

• Summary: In the caller’s mother’s childhood, five sisters observed a boy and girl descend from the sky, encased in a “bubble.” The children in the bubble chatted and told the sisters to look for them during “the next big snow.” Decades later, all sisters remembered the incident identically.
• Memorable Quote: “Out of the sky comes a boy and a girl in what they described as a bubble… started striking up a conversation with them.” – Anonymous [35:49]
• Host Commentary: Derek links this to a 1947 Swedish “bubble-man” UFO case and notes similar tales worldwide, hinting at a recurring, unexplained motif.
  • Quote: “There are many other stories floating around out there that are very similar…” – Derek Hayes [37:44]
• Concepts Explored: Bubble orbs, “flap” events, collective childhood memory, worldwide variants.

8. UFO Sightings – Metal Cigar & Orange Orb

Caller: Sarah from Florida
Timestamp: [41:09]

• Summary: Sarah witnesses a metallic, cigar-shaped craft in the sky as a child; years later sees a massive, orange orb (thought to be the moon, but it isn’t) zip away at supernatural speed during a family stargazing session. Nearby, a police officer reported a similar sighting.
• Memorable Quote: “It was going really fast and there wasn’t at that time a helicopter… plus I didn’t see any kind of propellant on it or wings or anything.” – Sarah [42:12]
• Host Commentary: Derek remarks on the importance of skywatching, noting that Sarah’s multiple sightings seem tied to her habit of looking up.
  • Quote: “Because the activity is going on up there. It’s just up to you to be in the right place at the right time…” – Derek Hayes [45:22]

9. Alien Abduction in the 80s – The Brown Man

Caller: Spencer (Location undisclosed)
Timestamp: [46:23]

• Summary: Spencer recounts a series of childhood experiences: his father’s panic during a supposed “invasion,” unexplained sensations at night, temporary leg paralysis, and a “doctor” referred to as “the Brown Man”—short, brown-haired, brown glasses—who examines him with his oddly calm parents present. Years later, family recounts the night a giant red UFO hovered over their house.
• Memorable Quotes:
  • “I could tell it wasn’t human right away. Right off the rip, I could tell…” – Spencer [47:31]
  • “Everyone seemed very short. Especially the doctor… he was my size and I was like 7 or 8.” – Spencer [48:29]
• Host Commentary: Derek draws parallels to abduction lore featuring the “doctor” or “Brown Man,” citing cases from Budd Hopkins’ research and French reports.
  • Quote: “This archetype is prevalent throughout the abduction timeline… Typically described as brown skinned, short in stature, playing a medical or supervisory role.” – Derek Hayes [53:57]
• Concepts Explored: Abductions, night terrors, family amnesia/secrecy, medical “examiners,” repeating lore.

10. The “Friendly Demon” – Sleep Paralysis with a Twist

Caller: Patrick from Connecticut (event in Utah)
Timestamp: [61:30] ("Secret Story" after main episode closes)

• Summary: After drinking, Patrick awakens to see a grinning, sharp-toothed demonic face inches from him. Instead of fear, he’s flooded with euphoria and warmth—comparable to a morphine high. He emphasizes that he could move but “chose not to.”
• Memorable Quote: “When it smiled and showed its teeth, all of a sudden my entire body felt warm… pure euphoria. Like I felt really good, which is the opposite feeling you would think…” – Patrick [62:08]
• Host Commentary: Derek relates the physical sensation to a possible fear-induced neurological response, reminiscent of stories he’s just covered (e.g., Spencer’s tingling leg).
  • Quote: “There is a chemical process that creates a similar sense of euphoria…” – Derek Hayes [65:02]
• Concepts Explored: Sleep paralysis variants, positive encounters, neurochemistry of fear.

Notable Quotes and Moments by Timestamp

• [03:46] “Could it possibly have been the couch itself?” – Derek Hayes
• [07:51] “I truly believe that her spirit or her energy was in the car with me…” – Vic
• [11:10] “We heard another laugh in the corner of the room…” – Ankay
• [15:22] “It was tall, it was dark… the absence of light.” – Red
• [20:13] “The mention of a darker than dark entity with a hat is sort of a dead giveaway.” – Derek Hayes
• [26:50] “So, is this a chilling coincidence or was Poe somehow connected to information that others were not?” – Derek Hayes
• [31:37] “They all stared at us… all wearing sunglasses. Derek, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.” – Dark Apollo
• [53:57] “This archetype is prevalent throughout the abduction timeline…” – Derek Hayes
• [62:08] “When it smiled and showed its teeth, all of a sudden… pure euphoria.” – Patrick

Episode Flow & Tone

• Language/Tone: Conversational, sometimes folksy, always respectful of callers, with Derek moving fluidly between humorous asides and empathetic support.
• Structure: Call-in stories are the backbone, with Derek adding context, connections to past episodes, and references to broader paranormal themes or lore.
• Atmosphere: Spooky, cozy, and curious. Each story gets a fair, open-minded airing, with Derek playing the role of fascinated guide through the unknown.

Thematic Threads

• Generational Haunting: How certain phenomena appear to track through families or over long periods.
• Physical Manifestations: From haunted objects to bodily sensations (paralysis, tingling, euphoria).
• Coincidences and Premonitions: Uncanny connections between fiction, dream, and reality.
• Classic Archetypes: The Hat Man, “doctor” figures, Men in Black analogues, UFOs and orbs.
• The Value of Story: Derek encourages listeners to gather oral histories from elders, emphasizing the power of firsthand accounts in preserving the odd and unexplained.

For New Listeners

You’ll get a broad taste of paranormal subgenres—from ghosts and precognition to classic 1980s abduction tropes and modern folklore oddities. Derek contextualizes each story within the larger tapestry of “high strangeness,” and his openness makes even the wildest tale feel worth considering. Expect not answers, but thoughtful exploration—and maybe, if you listen long enough, a story of your own to share.

Timestamp Index for Key Segments:

• Haunted Couch: [02:18]
• Spirit Farewell: [05:56]
• Laughter in the Basement: [10:44]
• Shadow Entity/Hat Man: [14:50]
• Premonition & Ghost Nuns: [23:51]
• Sunglasses at Night: [31:12]
• Kids in a Bubble: [35:25]
• UFO Sightings: [41:09]
• Abduction & Brown Man: [46:23]
• The Friendly Demon (Secret story): [61:30]

Keep it spooky!