Monsters Among Us – S20 Ep19: Bizarre Arizona: Paranormal Tales from the Grand Canyon State (12/16/2025)

Episode Overview

Host Derek Hayes curates a chilling slate of first-hand paranormal stories, each told by the witnesses themselves, all connected to the mysterious state of Arizona. From haunted assisted living facilities to UFOs, out-of-body experiences, cryptid encounters, and haunted Wild West relics, this episode paints a vivid and spooky portrait of Arizona’s rich paranormal history. Derek guides listeners through each tale with his signature blend of awe, skepticism, and humor, offering historical context and playful speculation on the unexplained.

Key Stories & Insights

1. Haunted Assisted Living in Mesa, AZ (03:32)

Caller: Cyndal

• Setting: Former low-income housing turned assisted living facility in downtown Mesa, AZ.
• Phenomena: Repeated ghost sightings (e.g., "lady in a white gown"), orbs on security cameras, unexplainable door movements, static security screens.
• Core Story: An elderly resident with dementia reports "a little boy in my closet." Cyndal, the receptionist, checks and initially sees nothing. After comforting the resident, she unmistakably hears a little boy's giggle—twice—while alone.
• Revelation: A coworker reveals a little boy drowned in what is now the facility's koi pond (previously a pool), confirmed by Cyndal’s independent research.

Quote:

"I turn off the lights, I help her into bed, and she's like, can you leave the bathroom light on for me? Because I'm scared. I'm like, absolutely...And all of a sudden I hear a giggle, a little boy giggle."
—Cyndal (04:49)

2. Midnight Knocking & Poltergeist Activity in Tucson (08:30)

Caller: Chuck

• Setting: House near Saguaro National Monument (2016).
• Events: Five loud knocks on a locked bathroom door; both Chuck and his girlfriend hear them, but neither is the source. Days later, a Tupperware bowl inexplicably slides off a table as if pushed.
• Reflection: No rational explanation found; both events remain a shared mystery.

Quote:

"It was just one of the weirdest things that have ever happened to me."
—Chuck (09:15)

3. The Menacing “Lady” Haunting Lexi (12:03)

Caller: Lexi

• Lifelong Experiences:
  • From age 6, Lexi feels watched, sees a menacing woman by her bed; continues into teens and adulthood, even following her to San Diego.
  • The woman appears in dreams, sometimes shape-shifting into Lexi's great-grandmother but with evil, grinning eyes.
  • In one dream: the woman stabs Lexi's hand with a nail, and she awakens in real pain—a first for Lexi.
• Resolution: The presence is finally dispelled after Lexi uses a salt lamp, drawing upon metaphysical practices.
• Ongoing Caution: Lexi always keeps salt lamps and believes presence returns when they’re missing.

Quote:

"Even in my dream...her eyes were still menacing and piercing...she got a nail and stabbed it through my hand...I woke up sheer panic...my hand is in pain."
—Lexi (15:13)

4. Out-of-Body Experience as a Child (18:16)

Caller: Rochelle

• Age 5-6, Arizona: Rochelle becomes tangled in her bedsheets, then suddenly finds herself floating in the corner of her room, watching her physical body below.
• Presence: Senses a being, described as "light or energy," telepathically instructing her to "go back into your body." After resistance, the being gently pushes her back in.
• Physical Aftereffects: Rochelle describes the sensation of her body parts feeling "rubbery" and unsettling upon re-entry.
• Habit: Continues to have OBE experiences, but “knows” not to leave her bedroom.

Quote:

"I remember that very specific feeling of floating in that corner, looking at myself on the bed...This being was communicating to me, you have to go back into your body."
—Rochelle (19:22)

5. Neon Yellow Eyes on the Third Floor – A Cryptid Encounter? (24:05)

Caller: Stephen

• Setting: Northern Arizona, near the Navajo reservation, third-floor apartment.
• Phenomena: Eerie nighttime silence, followed by a whooshing noise, then a loud slopping sound outside.
• Climax: Stephen spots two neon yellow eyes peering into his third-story window. He quickly closes the curtains and prays.
• Context: Derek speculates about Arizona cryptids: The Mogollon Monster, the Red Ghost, Skinwalkers. Hopes for an owl, fears otherwise.

Quote:

"...these two kind of neon yellow colored eyes just peering in...not just because there was something peering into my window, but I also live on the third floor."
—Stephen (25:38)

6. A Brief, Uplifting Experience with the Sun (30:31)

Caller: Michelle

• Location: Phoenix, Arizona, in a car at sunrise.
• Experience: Overwhelmed by the sensation of a bright, warm, loving white light while sitting in the sun, feeling almost as if "ascending."
• Reflection: Feels peaceful, loved, and momentarily wonders, “Is this what it feels like to die?”
• Interpretation: Michelle associates the experience with loved ones who have passed.

Quote:

"This really warm and bright white light came onto me and I started to feel myself almost like ascend. And I honestly thought, is this what it feels like to die?"
—Michelle (30:43)

7. UFO Lights over Tucson (32:42)

Caller: Sarah

• Setting: Tucson, AZ, at night with cousin.
• Phenomena: Multiple lights appear, fade, then burst into 8–10 separate lights and disappear. Sarah notes others in the area have similar experiences, particularly referencing proximity to a large telescope.
• Validation: Both Sarah and her cousin witness the event, confirming another caller’s earlier sighting (not included in this episode).
• Host Commentary: Derek lists Arizona as a major UFO hotspot and shares stats and famous cases (e.g., Phoenix Lights, Travis Walton abduction).

Quote:

"All of a sudden they bursted into maybe eight to ten different lights and just disappeared altogether."
—Sarah (33:11)

8. An Upside-Down Cross & a Boundary Crossed (36:41)

Caller: Santos

• Setting: Glendale, AZ, family home (built 1963).
• Events: On the night of a family gaming party, Santos discovers a cherished cross on his shelf turned upside-down with a potent, putrid smell. All family members firmly deny being involved, respecting Santos' boundary about not messing with his faith.
• Interpretation: After ruling out pranks, Santos feels this was supernatural, perhaps a message given the house’s age and historical ties to Christianity and regional missions.

Quote:

"I look and I'm instantly just livid. What I see...the cross that I had was upside down...They knew this was my boundary."
—Santos (38:43)

9. Noises in the New House, East Mesa (42:45)

Caller: Anonymous

• Phenomena: Mysterious crackling and popping in the living room, only when alone and never when entering the room; dogs react with barking and growling at nothing.
• Context: House built in 1997; previous owner’s husband died (unknown if in-house). Family jokingly refers to the sounds as "Walter playing."
• Host’s Reasoning: Derek offers practical explanations (expansion/contraction, floor joists, rodents) but doesn’t discount the haunting.

Quote:

"The house seems to crack and pop when you're not in the front room all by itself. There is no plumbing in the area. It seems to happen when my husband is not here..."
—Anonymous (42:48)

10. The Ghostly Specter of Tombstone (47:05 & 50:09)

Callers: Abby & Kelly

• Abby:
  • Family trip to Tombstone’s Bird Cage Theater (inspired by ghost hunting shows). Another tourist family’s digital photo captures an "old timey woman ghost" on the banister.
  • Quote:

    "Sure as in the banister above us, there was like an old timey woman ghost in the picture behind them. We were so jealous." (48:39)

• Kelly:
  • During a Bird Cage Theater ghost tour, Kelly calls out to the rumored ghost dog, feels ice cold pressure at her hip—then at home, her living dog rests its head at the same spot, deepening her conviction of the encounter.
  • Quote:

    "My lower back gets ice cold...I feel this pressure...And then my dog came over to me and put his head right there in the exact same spot...It was the ghost dog that put its head on my lap." (51:16, 52:22)

11. Residual Hauntings at a Native Boarding School (53:47)

Caller: Ash

• Setting: Private Catholic school on reservation, originally a boarding school for Native children (built 1902).
• Experiences: Multiple independent reports of phantom children laughing, running, and playing (e.g., a ball rolling out of an empty room), slamming lockers. Staff member and daughter so frightened they flee the building and neglect to lock up.
• Host Context: Derek offers somber history of US policy on Native American boarding schools and the trauma associated, suggesting it’s no surprise haunting persists.

Quote:

"They said that one time a ball, like, just bounced out one of the room, and there was no kids up there...tourist group of adults. So they don't know what it was. But...I'm pretty sure it was one of the spirits of the children."
—Ash (54:24)

12. A Protective Spirit in Phoenix (58:23)

Caller: Christine

• Setting: Rented home with a palpable spiritual presence.
• Notable Incidents:
  • Ex-boyfriend (military, unafraid type) insists there’s "something in your room" and cannot sleep there.
  • Future husband tries to sleep with TV on; TV shuts off, radio quietly turns on to Christine’s preferred setting, both believing "the ghost" intervened on her behalf.
  • Spirit urges Christine to get rid of hidden drugs during a dark life phase; she feels guided and subsequently rids the house of them.
• Interpretation: The spirit provides protective, benevolent influence during tough times.

Quote:

"Pretty soon, TV went off, radio went on to the lowest setting possible, and we were in the dark. And Brian, my future husband, goes, 'Well, I guess we're going to sleep with her radio on.' The ghost was sticking up for me..."
—Christine (61:10)

13. Giant Owls or Something Stranger? (64:19)

Caller: Bailey (on behalf of her father)

• Setting: Ajo, AZ, desert wash, near the Mexican border (c. 1960s).
• Encounter: Father sees, through a scope, two "owls" standing almost 8–10ft tall inside a wash at night. Father insists to this day that "owls can get that big," despite no zoological evidence.
• Host’s Context: Derek discusses how owls are foundational to a range of supernatural lore: proxies in alien abduction narratives, cryptids (e.g., Owlman, Lechuza), and culturally loaded as omens.
• Speculation: The father may have witnessed something paranormal linked to border folklore.

Quote:

"He saw two giant owls...they were almost touching the top of [the ledge]...I'm like, no, they can't. That is not true."
—Bailey (65:06)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

Derek Hayes’ Signature Commentary:

• On the “channeling pain from dreams”:

  "I wonder if there wasn't some other cause to the pain, perhaps a cramp or some sort of nerve issue or even an insect bite. And sleeping, Lexie used a dream to rationalize the pain that she was feeling..." (16:37)

• On Stephen’s cryptid eyes:

  "I hope this was an owl perched somewhere outside the window peering inside. I hope that. Because the alternative would mean something large with glowing eyes that either has the ability to hover there, or dare I say, it's tall enough to peek into a window that's 25ft off the ground." (27:33)

• On Arizona as UFO magnet:

  "Arizona ranks seventh in the US for total UFO sightings with 5,291 reported accounts." (34:29)

• On the haunting of the boarding school:

  "So it doesn't surprise me one bit that some sort of energy is still hanging around there. Sad and creepy." (56:28)

• On cryptid owls:

  "Owls are freaky and there's no shortage of lore or stories about them being so." (66:44)

Notable Timestamps

• 03:32 – Cyndal’s haunted assisted living call
• 08:30 – Chuck’s midnight knocking
• 12:03 – Lexi’s recurring lady in the night
• 18:16 – Rochelle’s out-of-body childhood experience
• 24:05 – Stephen encounters neon eyes on the third floor
• 30:31 – Michelle’s peaceful light encounter
• 32:42 – Sarah’s UFO lights over Tucson
• 36:41 – Santos’s upside-down cross and faith boundary
• 42:45 – Anonymous: the popping house in Mesa
• 47:05 – Abby’s Tombstone ghost photo
• 50:09 – Kelly’s ghost dog encounter, Bird Cage Theater
• 53:47 – Ash’s reservation boarding school haunting
• 58:23 – Christine’s benevolent Phoenix ghost
• 64:19 – Bailey: Giant owl/Lechuza on the border

Tone & Language

The stories retain the intimate, conversational, and sometimes humorous tone set by both Derek Hayes and the callers. Derek's commentary walks the line between skeptical inquiry and open-minded engagement, always rooting the episode firmly in listener-driven content. The overall mood is spooky, sometimes nostalgic, and always respectful of the witnesses' experiences.

Final Thoughts

This episode showcases Arizona as a true crossroads of the bizarre—a place where western lore, indigenous history, and modern paranormal phenomena collide. From cryptids to ghosts to benevolent spirits, each story is woven with love of place and the uncanny, leaving listeners—Arizona locals and faraway fans alike—clinging a little tighter to the daylight.

Host’s Sign-off:

"Keep it spooky and of course, have a good night." (67:43)

This summary covers the full arc of listener stories and Derek’s reflections, excluding ad and non-content segments.