Podcast Summary: Monsters Among Us

Episode: S20 Ep17 – Tarheel Terror: Creepy Calls from North Carolina
Host: Derek Hayes
Date: December 9, 2025

Episode Overview

In this all-North Carolina edition, Derek Hayes curates a spine-tingling collection of firsthand paranormal stories from across the Tar Heel State. Listeners share eerie encounters with ghosts, UFOs, cryptids, and unexplainable apparitions—each call bringing a piece of North Carolina’s supernatural landscape to life. Derek provides context, commentary, and chills, making this a memorable episode for fans of the mysterious and the macabre.

Key Discussion Points and Stories

1. The Ghost of Biltmore Estate

[04:44–09:19]

• Storyteller: Ryan from Asheville, NC
• Summary:
  • Ryan, a former Biltmore maintenance worker, tells of a midnight encounter during a concert event. He heard the sound of a crackling fire where none should be, and found a man in Victorian attire (later identified as George Vanderbilt) in the library.
  • Ryan’s coworkers confirmed the figure’s description matched George Vanderbilt, who loved the library in life.
• Notable Quote:
  • “He just real slowly turns his head and looks around at me and smiles real big and turns back around.” – Ryan [05:57]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • Derek supplies context on the historic Biltmore estate and its hauntings:
    “The most well known ghost is that of the original owner, George Vanderbilt II… witnesses have claimed to see George curled up on an oversized chair by the fireplace in his impressive two story library.” [10:12–10:48]

2. The Protective Great-Grandmother Ghost

[14:14–18:03]

• Storyteller: Ariana from Asheville, NC
• Summary:
  • As a child, Ariana wandered to a dangerous spring and was warned away by an “older lady” who matched her great-grandmother’s photo and attire—though her great-grandmother had passed.
• Notable Quote:
  • “She kind of looked at me and she said, baby, you don’t need to play around the spring. Those rocks are slippery and you can fall in the water, you can hit your head.” – Ariana [15:34]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “Scolded by a ghost. A great grandmother ghost to boot. And I love that the ghost was trying to warn you of the dangers of the spring.” [18:03–18:42]

3. North Carolina UFO Encounters

Brian’s Sightings [19:51–24:45]

• Storyteller: Brian from Greenville, NC
• Summary:
  • In 2018, Brian observed a mysterious “Venn diagram” formation of foggy circles, followed by a black, diamond-shaped craft with lights. He felt it was “saying, don’t do that” as he tried to photograph it. A year later, captured a lightning-illuminated photo of what he believes might be the same craft.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I felt like it was saying, don’t do that. I get freaked out...” – Brian [21:01]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • Shares NC’s prominence in US UFO sightings and posts Brian’s impressive photo in the show notes.

Jay’s Military Base Sighting [31:50–35:11]

• Storyteller: Jay from Fort Bragg (Fort Liberty), NC
• Summary:
  • Describes a light moving abnormally above the military base, which “faded in and out,” changed position, and responded to his attempts to record it.
• Notable Quote:
  • “It was like it just gently but swiftly went across the sky and it went off perfectly so I could frame it in my phone.” – Jay [33:23]

4. Guardian Angel on Watch

[26:10–28:12]

• Storyteller: Tony from Asheville, NC
• Summary:
  • Tony, diagnosed with epilepsy as a child, recounts his belief in a guardian angel after feeling a “firm pressure” on his shoulder during cancer treatment—a sign that he was not alone.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I just felt a firm pressure on my right shoulder and I don’t know, I just knew everything was going to be all right. And here I am, cancer free and ready to go.” – Tony [27:34]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “Whatever it was, it certainly seemed to intervene, Tony, and we’re sure glad that it did.” [28:12]

5. The Lake Norman Monster and Other Water Legends

[39:39–42:59]

• Storyteller: Dawson from Mooresville, NC
• Summary:
  • Witnessed strange, unexplained ripples while crossing Lake Norman—a body of water with legends of a resident monster, “Normie.”
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • Provides local context and expands into other North Carolina aquatic cryptids, including legends of Cape Fear River mermaids and Willie, the river monster. [41:52–42:59]

6. “Ghostly” Goodbye after Vietnam

[35:52–38:30]

• Storyteller: Leslie from NC (via mother’s experience)
• Summary:
  • Leslie’s mother saw her cousin Kenny, fishing pole in hand, walk through their house days before the family learned of his death in Vietnam.
• Notable Quote:
  • “She saw a tall, blondish young man in, like, overall with a fishing pole over his shoulder. She... sees this person literally walk all the way through the house. It was an old farmhouse... and walks out the front door and just disappears. Well, fast forward... the family receives a message that Kenny had been killed in battle.” – Leslie [36:02–37:30]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “The ghosts really know how to get sentimental over there in North Carolina... I’m hoping that... he was on his way to a nice, sunny stretch of beach somewhere to live out his afterlife.” [38:43–39:03]

7. Shadow Person Peering Around the Corner

[48:43–53:13]

• Storyteller: Laura from below the Triangle, NC
• Summary:
  • Laura and her mother both witnessed a short, bald-headed “shadow man” peeking around the living room wall late at night.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I see this black head of a shadow man peeping around the corner at me. It was so freaking scary. I sat there, and at first I was, like, more in shock than anything.” – Laura [49:21]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “A leaning shadow man. Not something you want to run into in your home or anywhere, really. And for it to be a smaller shadow entity...” [53:13–53:40]

8. Disappearing “Ghost Plane”

[46:04–47:42]

• Storyteller: John from Mooresville, NC
• Summary:
  • Spotted a low-flying passenger plane while driving, only for it to vanish without explanation.
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • Suggests conventional checks first, but leaves paranormal explanations open if no evidence of an accident exists. [48:00]

9. The Whispers in the Dark

[56:55–60:19]

• Storyteller: Elena from rural NC
• Summary:
  • As a child, during a storm-induced blackout, Elena heard a “deep whisper” say “boo” directly in her ear, feeling breath against her skin, despite being alone in the room.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I hear a voice in my left ear and it’s kind of a deep whisper, like an airy whisper in my ear. And it just says boo. And I could feel like the wind, like somebody’s breath...” – Elena [58:48]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “A voice right in your ear, which means that whatever that thing was, it was in close proximity to you and you didn’t even realize it. Now if that isn’t unsettling, I’ll allow you to tell me what is.” [60:19]

10. The Hazmat Suit Entity

[60:49–69:07]

• Storyteller: Jess from Raleigh, NC
• Summary:
  • Jess describes waking up paralyzed, with only head movement, feeling extreme terror as a “hazmat-suited” figure stood over her bed amid a blinding light; had the sense others were present outside.
  • Derek relates Jess’s story to a previous call about a hazmat-suited being (from Pennsylvania) and offers a listener’s theory about real-life Hazmat teams, though finds it an unsatisfying explanation for Jess’s in-home experience.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “I wake up and I’m immediately scared…standing over at my bed is all I can describe it as, is like somebody in a hazmat suit.” – Jess [61:36]
  • “I always think back to it. And like I said, I’ve never had a dream like that since. Like, I don’t sleepwalk. I don’t have sleep paralysis. This definitely did not feel like a dream.” – Jess [65:27]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • Considers sleep paralysis, alien abduction, and hallucination, saying, “So whatever you experience Jess...it sure made for a great story.” [69:07]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ryan’s realization in the Biltmore library:

  • “I actually just kind of froze for a second...He wasn’t dressed like, you know, traditional 2005 clothing. He was, like, real old Victorian clothing.” [05:27]

• Ariana’s sighting by the spring:

  • “But she was not translucent but very, like faded. She was just really dim. But you could make out, you know, her face and what she was wearing. And obviously she was a person standing there.” [17:17]

• Brian’s sense of warning from the UFO:

  • “I felt like it was saying, don’t do that.” [21:01]

• Tony's faith in his guardian angel:

  • “He’s always been with me.” [27:59]

• Laura’s unnerving shadow man:

  • “Blacker than black looking at me…it just looked like a bald head. I didn’t see any facial features.” [51:43]

• Elena's chilling whisper:

  • “I hear a voice in my left ear and it’s kind of a deep whisper…And it just says boo. And I could feel like the wind, like somebody’s breath.” [58:48]

• Jess’s terror during the hazmat-suited encounter:

  • “I didn’t become scared. It’s like I was feeling that way before I woke up, if that made sense. But I mean, I have never been scared like this in my life.” [62:49]

Additional Insights

• Derek frequently contextualizes local legends: From ghost stories at the Biltmore Estate to North Carolina’s place in national UFO sighting rankings and the legend of Normie in Lake Norman.
• Listener Participation: Derek encourages listeners to call in stories, notably plugging the “Monsters Among Us, Junior” spin-off and sharing contact details.
• Atmosphere: The episode maintains a spooky, nostalgic tone, bolstered by Derek’s warm yet unsettling commentary.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:44] – Biltmore Estate ghost (Ryan)
• [14:14] – Great-grandmother apparition at the spring (Ariana)
• [19:51] – UFO and fog circles in Greenville (Brian)
• [26:10] – Guardian angel during cancer (Tony)
• [31:50] – UFO over Fort Bragg (Jay)
• [35:52] – Soldier’s farewell (Leslie’s mother)
• [39:39] – Lake Norman Monster sighting (Dawson)
• [46:04] – Disappearing passenger plane (John)
• [48:43] – Shadow person in the living room (Laura)
• [56:55] – Whisper and “boo” in the dark (Elena)
• [60:49] – Hazmat suit entity/possible abduction (Jess)

Conclusion

Derek wraps the episode by thanking listeners and contributors, teasing the show’s ongoing release schedule, and urging everyone to “keep it spooky.”

For anyone eager for haunted libraries, ghostly ancestors, cryptids, shadowy figures, and lights in the North Carolina sky, this episode is a satisfying journey through the eerie and unexplainable—all straight from the voices of those who lived through them.