S20 Ep22: Moving toys, vampire beasts and an elvish attack (From the Archives) (Sn. 20 Ep. 22)

Summary

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Monsters Among Us – S20 Ep22: Moving Toys, Vampire Beasts, and an Elvish Attack (From the Archives)

Host: Derek Hayes | Date: December 25, 2025
Episode Theme:
This holiday special of "Monsters Among Us" is a re-release featuring chilling, true paranormal encounters told by the witnesses themselves. Listeners are treated to a cozy, atmospheric journey through stories of haunted toys, mysterious shadow figures, cryptid cats, UFOs, and even an encounter with an aggressive Christmas elf. Derek, as always, shepherds the audience through the darkness with his signature blend of warmth and spooky storytelling.

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Festive Fear: Holiday Night and Moving Toys

[03:28] Derek Hayes:
Derek sets the stage with a poetic monologue on the darkness of the winter solstice—a time when, as he puts it, "monsters of all sorts slink in the shadows." He invites listeners to settle in for tales of Christmas-season chills, starting with stories of toys that seem to come alive.

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1. KJ’s Haunted Furby

[06:10] KJ’s Call – Haunted Childhood Toy

• KJ describes moving out from a childhood home and taking an old Furby ("Domo") to a new place.
• While sleeping, KJ is awoken by the unmistakable mechanical whir of the Furby talking—despite believing it to be long-dead or without batteries.
• Investigating, KJ finds the toy silent, unresponsive, and with closed eyes. Even attempts to trigger its sensors fail.
• After that night, KJ removes the batteries and stashes the Furby in basement storage—too creeped out to keep it accessible.
  Quote – KJ [09:11]:
  "Could it be a haunted Furby? Who knows? Some folks might say that all Furbys are haunted or possessed.”
• Derek adds context with a 1998 Furby commercial and trivia: in 1999, Furbys were even banned from NSA buildings for fears of "learning government secrets."
  Quote – Derek [11:03]:
  "Terrifying. Well, thank the old gods that I was too old for this fad. Not only because they're creepy af, but…these things couldn't even be trusted."

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2. Dee’s Possessed Christmas Reindeer (Canada)

[14:41] Dee’s Call – Moving Decor

• Dee recounts a series of events where a thrifted golden reindeer decoration mysteriously turns itself around on a shelf—always while unattended.
• Multiple incidents over two weeks, with the heavy, jingle-belled reindeer inexplicably positioned backwards.
• Dee consults a local Indigenous elder, who cleanses both the house and Dee—revealing the presence of a "harmless female spirit" apparently drawn to their home.
• After moving the reindeer and the cleansing ritual, the incidents cease, though Dee still gets chills each year when unpacking it. Quote – Dee [18:00]:
  "Maybe she just didn’t like that spot. I speculate that I may have accidentally brought a spirit or energy home in the reindeer decoration.”
• Derek suggests Dee should have tried filming the event, but admits "I completely understand why you wouldn't want to see what was responsible."

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3. More Toy Terrors

[19:21] Stephen from New Jersey – Remote Control Message

• Stephen’s son tries to sneak in watching “Paranormal Caught on Camera” alone at bedtime.
• Out of nowhere, a toy remote in an adjacent room (buried in the toy chest) turns on, loudly repeating “please change the channel.”
• On checking, Stephen finds his son watching a Spanish-language documentary—on serial killers, with a creepy mugshot. Quote – Stephen [21:58]:
  "It was just really ironic...Was this a sign, like...it was just informing me to change the channel of what my son was watching?”

[22:59] James from Myrtle Beach – The Rocking Horse Clock

• Recounts a family tale of bringing home a Latin book and a rocking horse clock from a yard sale.
• Following their arrival, unsettling phenomena begin: ghostly voices, objects moving, and his brother sees the wooden horse’s eyes glowing red and its head moving.
• After repeated events, the family burns both objects (he recalls scorch marks remain).

Quote – James [25:00]:
“She’s not much of a tall tale type person, but I have a bunch of different stories...I just wanted to start with that.”

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Shadow People and The Cabin in the Woods

4. Jeanette’s Shadow Man (Arizona Cabin)

[29:04] Jeanette’s Call – The Dark Entity

• Jeanette’s family’s forest cabin was once a joyful gathering place; after her father’s unexpected death, visits dwindle and the place feels “heavy, dark.”
• On multiple visits, Jeanette senses a palpable dread—especially in her parents' bedroom.
• Finally, she and others see a tall, thin shadow figure; her sister's friend is woken by an entity looming above her at night.
• Incidents continue: unexplained urine-like smells, dampness, and Jeanette’s dog refusing to enter certain rooms. Ultimately, the shadow man is seen inside and later outside, even invading her "safe" space on the patio. Quote – Jeanette [36:27]:
  “I’m looking down that hallway and 1, 2, there he is. Tall, dark energy. Finally showed himself to me. At this point it’s not out of my peripheral view. It’s straight ahead, right in front of me...and then gone.”
• Derek suggests a squatter could be to blame, but admits, “...they’re usually not described as looking like a shadow person. Maybe that little detail eliminates them as a suspect.”
  Quote – Derek [41:54]:
  "That validation suggests you should probably trust those feelings going forward if you believe in that sort of thing at all."

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Winter Wonders: UFOs, Road Omens, and Cryptids

5. Mike’s Sledding UFO Encounter (Central Wisconsin)

[45:16] Mike – Flying Saucer Sighting

• 2009: Sledding at night, Mike and a friend see a brightly-lit, silent saucer-shaped craft hover about 100 yards away with vivid colored lights, “lit up like a Christmas tree.”
• They are awestruck. Years later, his friend affirms the sighting. Quote – Mike [48:31]:
  “It was a flying saucer and it was right there, you know...I don’t think it was from this planet.”
• Derek matches the sighting to a 2009 local CBS news clip, where a Wisconsin family caught a similar bright object on video, 90 miles away. Curiously, the footage is digitally corrupted.
  Quote – Derek [52:24]:
  "Telling you, that's some Men in Black stuff right there."

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6. Tony’s “Green Light” Omen (Tennessee / North Carolina)

[55:49] Tony’s Call – Travel and the Mystery Green Glow

• Tony describes a treacherous, snowy drive after a Christmas party. Desperate for a sign of what to do, he suddenly notices every light in the city’s ambiance—streetlights, parking lots—turn an eerie, uniform green.
• Takes it as a signal ("green means go") and proceeds safely to a stop for the night, thankful for the mysterious guidance. Quote – Tony [59:48]:
  "For the ambient light in a city to just turn green all of a sudden, really bizarre. I have no idea what could have caused that."
• Derek inserts a scientific explanation: certain storms with heavy rain or hail can create a green sky due to light scattering, but leaves the omen angle open.

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7. Rachel’s Mountain Lion Terror and the Vampire Beast of Bladenboro

[62:52] Rachel from NC – Mysterious Big Cat Sounds

• As Rachel and a friend winter-backpack in a remote North Carolina forest, they’re stalked after dark by a predator making unidentifiable calls—possibly a mountain lion, despite official claims that cougars are extinct in the region.
• Family members have also reported panther and big cat sightings. Quote – Rachel [65:19]:
  "It just reminds me of the large black panther sighting…you're finding evidence that it does (exist).”
• Derek segues into the 1954 Bladenboro “Vampire Beast” case—an infamous NC cryptid blamed for gruesome animal deaths and widespread panic. Locals felt the "bobcat" scapegoat did not match the true menace. Quote – Interviewee from documentary [68:05]:
  "For about two weeks, that was terror. Everybody was scared to death…"

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An Unexpected Gift: Globetrotting Elves

8. Alex’s Duende (Canada)

[76:01] Alex from Windsor, Ontario – The Christmas Elf Entity

• Alex, as a child, vividly recalls a strange, elf-like being ("not a dream situation") appearing in his room on Christmas Eve, behaving mischievously but not directly attacking.
• Decades later, chatting with a stranger from the Philippines, he mentions the encounter. She instantly identifies it as a "duende"—a folkloric elf-spirit known in Hispanic and Filipino cultures for trickery.
• The description (and Wikipedia image) matches Alex’s memory exactly, stunning him. Quote – Alex [77:23]:
  "I was flabbergasted. It was a crazy experience...it wasn’t a dream. I was completely awake."
• Derek ties this to cross-cultural legends about "little people," noting the motif appears across traditions (Santa’s elves, moon-eyed people, duende).

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Notable Quotes (With Timestamps)

• Derek Hayes, opening monologue [03:28]:
  “That darkness brings with it a menagerie of terrifying truths…monsters of all sorts slink in the shadows. But fear not, dear listener...those wintertime terrors are kept at bay this holiday season.”
• KJ [09:11]:
  “Could it be a haunted Furby? Who knows? Some folks might say that all Furbys are haunted or possessed.”
• Derek Hayes [11:03]:
  “Terrifying. Well, thank the old gods that I was too old for this fad...these things couldn't even be trusted.”
• Jeanette [36:27]:
  “It’s not out of my peripheral view. It’s straight ahead, right in front of me, two steps, and he disappeared right across the hallway.”
• Mike [48:31]:
  “It was a flying saucer and it was right there, you know...I don’t think it was from this planet.”
• Alex [77:23]:
  “...about 25 years later, this person that I don’t know, that I just met on a website, knew exactly what I was talking about. This weird elfish creature was messing with me.”

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [06:10] – KJ’s Haunted Furby
• [14:41] – Dee’s Moving Reindeer
• [19:21] – Stephen’s Warning Toy Remote & James’s Rocking Horse Clock
• [29:04] – Jeanette’s Cabin Shadow Man
• [45:16] – Mike’s UFO Sighting
• [55:49] – Tony’s Green Light Omen
• [62:52] – Rachel’s Big Cat Encounter & Vampire Beast of Bladenboro lore
• [76:01] – Alex’s Encounter with the Duende Elf

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Episode Tone & Atmosphere

Derek Hayes keeps a gently unsettling but cozy vibe throughout, blending the nostalgia of holiday traditions with the eeriness of strange phenomena. His narrative style mixes encouragement and caution, with a strong inclination toward letting witnesses' voices speak for themselves. As always, he weaves humor and skepticism through the stories ("Well, it's the part where I go home...home is where my stuff is. I always say that.") yet welcomes the unexplained with genuine curiosity.

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Concluding Thoughts

This holiday episode assembles a captivating anthology of first-hand accounts where Christmas cheer meets brushings with the uncanny. Whether rediscovering odd old toys, encountering shadowy presences, or coming across cryptids in snowy forests, "Monsters Among Us" delivers its signature blend of listener-submitted frights and community warmth. As Derek reminds us, sometimes the greatest gifts are truly unexpected—and often a little spooky.

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Transcript

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[Derek Hayes]

Hello gang. Just a quick word before we start tonight's episode. Tonight's broadcast is a re release of the 2022 holiday special season 14 episode 14 so if it sounds familiar, that's why now we're off tonight for obvious reasons, but we know that there are many people out there that rely on the show as an escape. And we know there are folks out there celebrating the holidays alone. So we wanted to be sure to release something this evening. We couldn't leave all those folks in the lurch, but this holiday special was a great episode. It's on theme and it came out years ago. So I bet a lot of tonight's material will sound brand new to you. So on behalf of the entire MAU family, we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a joyous new Year. Please enjoy the season 14 holiday special.

[Caller or Guest]

It's.

[Derek Hayes]

Good evening and welcome to Monsters Among Us. I'm your guide, Derek Hayes, Season's greetings and a festive winter solstice to you on this, our darkest night of the year. And as we all know, that darkness brings with it a menagerie of terrifying truths, harsh realities and the bitter, brutal cold. At this point in mankind's perpetual journey is often marked by strife, misery, lingering death, and the signs of harder days to come. And a constant reminder of all that we've survived. A prophecy of sorts warning us of sunless months that lay ahead where monsters of all sorts slink in the shadows. But fear not, dear listener, for those wintertime terrors are kept at bay this holiday season. Roaring fireplaces and busy hearths replace frigid and lonely evenings. Families and friends rejoice. Food and drink are plenty. And for a short while, we can forget that death waits just outside our thresholds. So drag up a chair, dim the lanterns and pour a fresh eggnog. Maybe grab a Christmas cookie or two because tonight we explore your Christmas stories beginning this evening on the subject of toys. The industry churns them out and parents gobble them up to the tune of some 300 billion a year. But what if this year's big item happens to have a mind of its own? Please join me in welcoming KJ to the program.

[KJ]

Hi, first time caller. You can just call me kj calling in with a weird one. Basically about an old, an old childhood toy that had turned on probably about 10 years ago. Had to have been one of my first years in college as I was still renting a bedroom in a house at the time. One of my parents was getting ready to move out of state. So moving out of a childhood home, out of the state. So I needed to get anything I wanted to keep out and transfer it over to my other parents home that was staying locally. So one day I had spent a good chunk of it moving, moving everything over to the house that I was renting a room in. And then the next day I was going to take everything over to the new house. Of course, one of the things in the box that I had, or actually it was a bag, I had just thrown it in a backpack, was a furby. Now I'm sure most of you know what a furby is. They were really popular, late 90s, early 2000s. But for those of you that don't know, think of like Gizmo's head from the Gremlins, big old ears, has like a little round beak for a mouth, a bunny tail and little footies on front. So kind of an interesting looking thing. They were really Popular, of course, as a kid, I thought it was adorable. One of my favorite things ever. And he was all white with black polka dots. Always called himself Domo. So that's what I called him. So when I found him at the old house, of course I was like, well, yeah, I'm gonna, you know, hang on to this and put it in storage. So he made it into the bag and was sitting in my room when I'd gone to bed that night. You know, everything was normal. But I woke up, and I hear talking. Now, the Furbies, whenever you wake them up, you have to, like, hold them upside down for a second. It kind of triggers their sensor to wake them up, and they'll start talking. So I hear this voice, and it sounds like Domo. And I'm like, what the. What the heck? And I could hear now again, this is like late 90s, early 2000s technology. And I could hear his ears moving. And it's like a very mechanical sound.

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It's like.

[KJ]

When they're moving them, and I could hear it, and I could hear it against the bag. And I'm like, I don't even think this dude has working batteries, if he has batteries in him at all. And so, of course, I get up and I'm like, this is. This is amazing. Like, how does this thing even still have batteries? And I open the bag, and his eyes are closed, and he's not moving, not talking. So I pick him up and I, you know, I hold him upside down, see if he wakes up, doesn't wake up. Kind of wave my hand in front of his. There's like a little gem or little paw mark on their forehead or something. It's essentially a little infrared trigger, a little sensor to be able to tell when something's in front of it, and that'll trigger it to turn on nothing. Wouldn't talk, nothing. Needless to say, I was a little weirded out. Just chalked it up to me coming out of a sleep and hearing something. Never happened again. Then again, I never gave it a chance to, because you bet that I took it. When I took it to the new house, I made sure there was no batteries in it, and I put it in basement storage, where it might be there today. I'm sure it is somewhere, but I have not found out. So since. Don't know what it could have been. I mean, could have been Domo talking or who knows? I know sometimes with old toys, you know, batteries can malfunction. You know, I listened to that story about the gentleman who. I believe it was him or his father that worked with, like, toys and they compared it a battery's end of lifetime to a person's end of lifetime. Or sometimes it'll give one last, like, oomph and have, you know, some kind of noise play. But it was weird. Could it be a haunted Furby? Who knows? Some folks might say that all Furbies are haunted or possessed. They're not particularly big fans of them. Who knows? Anyway, working my way through the podcast I'm on the end of season six. You guys are awesome. I got a friend hooked on the show too. Now keep up the awesome work and I look forward to hearing more stories. Thanks.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, kj. Okay, so you guys remember these Furbies, right? If you're too young or too old, here's the television commercial that ran all the way back in 1998.

[Caller or Guest]

What's that? It's my Furby. Furby loves love and time. Jiggle me. Furby the first giga pet who pet pet me. Teach to say her name. Me noodle Play games, Peek bab and love you Beb. You're Furby sneezed and gave mine a cold. Furby loves you. Love and touch me love you.

[Derek Hayes]

Terrifying. Well, thank the old gods that I was too old for this fat. Not only because they're creepy af, but according to some, these things couldn't even be trusted.

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Hey, guys, Retro Coyote here. And did you know that back in 1999, Furbies were banned from all government.

[Caller or Guest]

Buildings by the NSA? That's right.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

As odd as it may sound, its advanced technology was not well understood by most people and was often mistaken for.

[Caller or Guest]

For being artificially intelligent.

[Rocket Money Advertiser]

And so, for fear that it might learn government secrets, the National Security Agency of the United States banned all Furbies from any public buildings.

[Derek Hayes]

Now, that little tidbit of information courtesy of Retro coyote over on YouTube. And that's one of those strange facts that I love to drop on people. It's almost impossible to believe that it's true, but it is. And it's yet another reason to keep those little monsters out of your house. Thank you again, kj, for taking the time to kick us off. Now, folks, if you have a story you think is perfect for this program, give the hotline a call at 1-888-6089. That's 1-888-608. Nighd.

[Caller or Guest]

Run.

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[Derek Hayes]

Must be.

[Caller or Guest]

Present a certain state's visit for restrictions and details.

[Derek Hayes]

Now you know, it's one thing when electronic toys seemingly move on their own. They have batteries and motors and whatnot. But it's a whole nother deal when it happens to a piece of solid Christmas decor. For this next one, please join me in welcoming Dee, all the way from Canada.

[Caller or Guest]

Hi, my name is Dee and I'm from from Flintlon, Manitoba. Okay, so I want to tell you about some weird events that took place in my house about three years ago. It all started after I had decorated my house for Christmas. I found this cute little golden reindeer with jingle bells at a thrift store and I placed this on my wall unit at about a 45 degree angle facing forward. So my partner and I had just worked a day shift one day and we were both home after work when I looked over at the wall unit and I noticed that the reindeer decoration had been completely turned around. The butt end was facing inwards towards the front and the head was towards the wall. So I thought, what the hell? I stood and looked in shock, just trying to justify it. Maybe my big malamute turned it around while sniffing and you know, checking it out out of curiosity as she investigates all new items that we bring into the house. But then I thought this 85 pound dog would have definitely knocked it over and wouldn't have just carefully picked it up and placed it facing the other way. She would have knocked it over. So I asked my boyfriend if it was him and he said no. He said, how could I do that when I was at work? So I asked him again just to make sure. So this happened about four more times in a two week span. Each time I was just more and more puzzled. Each time I would come home after work and the reindeer decoration would be turned completely around on my wall units. So this freaked me out more and more. Who or what was touching my stuff? Very creepy. My coworker suggested I record it, but I didn't really want to see what was doing this. So I started to feel a little watched, maybe a little violated. You know, I didn't like being in my house alone too much, so I decided to call a local elder and come and do a cleansing ceremony on our house. So she cleansed me as well. She said the spirit was a harmless female spirit that apparently enjoys the energy of our house. So I did feel better after that. I mean, at least the spirit was kind and I felt flattered that it liked our home. I felt more peaceful being alone in the house. After this, the elder recommended I move the reindeer to different locations. Maybe she just didn't like that spot. So ever since nothing strange has happened, whenever I decorate for Christmas and bring out that reindeer, I do get an eerie feeling. I speculate that I may have accidentally brought a spirit or energy home in the reindeer decoration. Who knows? Anyway, I have more stories to share in the future. A callback soon. I love the podcast and keep up the great work.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you. D. Now I'll tell you what. I wish you would have followed your friend's advice and filmed the action. That said, I also completely understand why you wouldn't want to see what was responsible for moving the object. But I do want to know. I do want to see. I would love to to watch that video and not to scare you or anything here, D. But I don't know that I would just take any psychic's word for it. The story that was delivered to D about the protective little girl, that's all fine and dandy if it's true, but who knows what D is actually sharing that space with. All I'm saying here d is don't let your guard down, but don't let me scare you either. And in the spirit of this holiday, and in line with both KJ and Dee's entries, here's a pair of other moving toy stories that'll have you checking under the tree for more than one reason. Now, these stories were submitted by Stephen in New Jersey and James in South Carolina. Respectfully.

[Caller or Guest]

Hey, Derek, this is Stephen calling from Jersey again. I just had a weird experience. Nothing too alarming for me, is actually, like, kind of funny in a sense. Well, my family, we're really big into paranormal. You know, I let even my oldest son, who's gonna be seven, watch Paranormal caught on camera. So he knows about all this stuff. So my story is this happened on Sunday and putting the kids down so, you know, they're in the bed, whatever. I let my son watch TV for a little bit before, you know, he drifts off and goes to sleep. And then I turn the TV off for him. Long story short, he was trying to watch Paranormal caught on camera on his.

Own in the room.

And that's a family thing. We watch it in the living room. I'm like, no, you're not watching that right before you actually go to sleep. Not having that, no. So I end up changing the channel, but he turned the TV down. So I. I didn't really hear the tv. I had turned it down myself, but he turned it down even more so no one could really hear. So I'm in the living room sitting with my fiance. Now my. My kids toy box is in the hallway. No one's around in the hallway. Both my sons are in their room laying down in the bed. Toy box is in the hallway. Like I just said. All of a sudden, my youngest son's toy, which is a play remote control, goes off. And that's at the bottom of the toy chest. And it goes. Different settings. It goes, change the channel. And then it sings, oh, come gather round. Watch. But whatever, whatever. But the first thing that it said was, please change the channel. And then it did it again. And I'm like, why the hell is the toy going off? So I happen to go walk towards the toy chest. Not scared or anything. Walked towards Detroit chest. But I took it as a sign, like, let me go get my son's room and see what's going on. So I went to my son's room. As I'm passing the toy chest, I look down to see if any toys are on it. I Keep going. As it's going off I go in my son's room, and my son has a documentary of the serial killer on there. Now, we can't hear what's going on because the TV's real low, but it's also in Spanish, but I know how documentaries are. And the. The. The image of the guy that they were talking about, he just had that creepy serial killer look in his eye as a me. As a mug shot. So I changed the channel immediately. And I just started looking back at the toy, like, is this a sign that, you know, it was just informing me to tell me to change the channel of what my son was watching. Maybe it was a guardian angel or whatever the case may be. I don't know.

Part of me.

I'm sorry, I'm driving. I know you said you don't want callers calling while we're driving, but I pulled over to the sides, had to think about this, and it just. It was just really ironic. And then also before that, on Friday, my fiance came home, and she said the door was wide open. And she said she locked the door and she closed it. And she said she knows you closed it. But I chalked that up as, you know, a mistake, because our door, the hinge, is real weird. Like, if you close it all the way, you think you might have locked it, but if you don't pull it all the way, the door is not completely closed. And I've seen that, and I witnessed that myself, so I just chalked that up as a little mistake. So I'm not. I'm not playing too much into that, but it was just weird. It was just very weird. So maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe it was just someone looking out to actually tell me, you know, change the channel. So my son's not watching no weird stuff, even though we watch Paranormal Caught on Camera, which is funny, but, you know, watching actual murders, and everything is different. So, yeah, that's my story. I want to keep rambling on. I appreciate you. I appreciate the podcast. I'm a huge fan now. I'm already a fan of Paranormal Call on Camera, and I'm a bigger fan of your podcast, so I appreciate you. Keep up the good work, and thank you. Stay blessed. Hi, Derek, this is James from Myrtle Beach. I just want to, first of all, start off by thanking you for all your hard work and bringing all these stories together for us. Gives us an outlet to really, really vent about these things. Well, better start off. I was listening to season 10, episode 4, and Dave's story really resonated with me because I also grew up with Joe's witness. And my mom, when, back in the day before I was born, she told me this story about when she was first getting into the religion and she was experimenting with a bunch of different religions. She was Catholicism. You know, she was just starting to study with the Joe's witnesses. She was at a yard sale, and this lady had this really old book that my mom was interested in. And all of a sudden she had this clock. Now, this is back in the, I want to say early 80s, late 70s, because my older brothers, they're all in their late 40s, early 50s now, but they were in their teens. And my brother Rob, he was the one that got this clock. Now, this clock looked like a rocking horse with a, you know, clock in the middle of it. And I was told that, you know, he got this clock. And she got a book that just is a Latin book with a bunch of weird writing. But she said it looked really interesting, so she, you know, picked it up. So when they brought these things in the house, they said a bunch of weird stuff kept happening. You know, they'd hear weird voices and. And things would move by themselves in the house. And she got the idea that it was the book initially, but she wasn't sure. So, you know, she thought she could get around. But what I guess made things, you know, boil over was my brother. He was doing his homework one night, and he said he happened to look up at this. This horse clock, you know, this rocking horse that had the clock in the middle. And he just happened to glance up at it, and he said that the horse itself, his eyes were glowing red. And this is an inanimate object. It was a wooden horse. He said his eyes were glowing red and the horse was looking at him. This horse ankled its head to the side and was looking at him. And he said he blinked, and he blinked and looked at it again. And when he did, it was a regular horse, but, you know, he forgot about it. But then this happened again later on. Not that the horse had looked at him, but he looked up and the horse was moving by itself. But my mom figured this was some kind of demonic happenings going on here, so she, you know, she burned the book and the horse. And I later on moved to the room where this all happened, and I could still see the scorch marks in the tub. So I can. And she's not, you know, she's still a witness, so she's not really much of a tall tale type person, but I have a bunch of different stories. Maybe when I can put my words together a little bit better, I will call in with some of my other experiences because there's been quite a few things that have happened to me over the years, but I just wanted to start with that. Tyl and I appreciate everything you do. Alright, bye.

[Derek Hayes]

Thanks gentlemen. And come on dad, you can't blame the young one for trying to sneak a little extra paranormal content. You know, I did stuff exactly like that growing up and look how I turned out. And James, I suppose that's the risk you take when you go to a yard sale. You never know what you're gonna go home with. But I'll tell you what I wouldn't do for a little joshuki like that. It's certainly a shame that those items were destroyed.

[Caller or Guest]

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[Derek Hayes]

That's how quick that happens. Now this next one explores what can happen when these celebrations, vibrations Cease and you allow the darkness to seep in. Jeanette from Arizona, welcome to the show.

[Caller or Guest]

Hi, Derek, my name's Jeanette and I'm calling from Arizona. I'm calling in regards to a few occasions where I have come across a shadow man, a very dark entity. I'm going to go back to the 1990s when my parents bought a cabin that we call it up in Pine, Arizona, up by the rim. This was always a very happy place. We spent the holidays, Christmas, the whole family, friends always gathered there, enjoyed all of our time together. Very happy place together. In 2016, my dad passed away unexpectedly and it was difficult for anyone to go back to the cabin. My mom refused to go. We decided not to spend the holidays there anymore. My brother and his family, my sister and her family were probably the only ones that would continue to go up there and utilize the place. After a couple years of my dad passing away, my husband and I and some friends decided we were going to go up there for a weekend. We got up there and there were no lights on. My key wouldn't open the front door. So I said, let me try the side door, which went into the laundry room. So I went ahead and got the door open. And as soon as I opened the door, it was this feeling of something's wrong in here. It was heavy, dark. I didn't even want to walk in there, but I didn't want to say anything to anybody. They had small children with them. I didn't want anyone getting freaked out. Of course, everyone just thought I was crazy. So I carefully walked into the laundry room, looking straight ahead, holding my breath, because now I had to get across the laundry room to the light switch in the dark. It was one of those feelings where you think someone's going to jump out at you. So I got to the light switch, turned the light on. Then I had to look down the hallway to where is the next light switch, which is at the end of the hallway by the kitchen. Managed to get that light on, looked around quickly, ran to the front door, opened it up, turned all the lights on, got everybody in there, and our weekend went on. I felt uncomfortable. I felt as if something happened in there and there was a negative dark energy left behind. My parents room, the master bedroom was the most uncomfortable for me. But my husband and I always stay back there when we go. The closet, my dad's stuff was still in there, so it gave me an uneasy feeling. I wouldn't go to bed until my husband was in bed first. I spent most of my time Outside on the deck, the weather's beautiful up there. So we just sit on the deck and I just stayed outside as much as I could. Got through the weekend. I was glad to get out of there. I didn't go back for a couple years. And I thought over the, over this couple years my sister and brother were frequently going up there and kind of cleaning things out, starting to do some remodeling. So I thought I'm going to give it another shot. So I invited a friend of mine to just go up for a girls weekend. Still felt very uncomfortable in there. Like I'm looking around every corner, just uneasy. Like again something happened and there was just this dark energy left behind. Still hadn't said anything to anybody about it. That most of the time outside I was inside and standing in the kitchen. Daylight during the day. Now when you're in the kitchen, you look out, there's the dining room in front of you, there's the big living room and it's all windows so you can look out amongst the forest in the rim. And we have furniture out there on the deck where like I say, I spent most of my time. I'm in the kitchen and I turn and then down the hallway. There's a long hallway. At the end of it was my. What was my parents bedroom. There's also another bedroom in the hall and a bathroom, the laundry room. I'm looking down that hallway and 1, 2, there he is. Tall, dark energy. Finally showed himself to me. At this point it's not out of my peripheral view. It's straight ahead, right in front of me, two steps and he disappeared right across the hallway again. I'm not saying anything to anybody. Get through the weekend. Can't wait to get out of there. I don't say anything, but my other sister who lived out of the country had come back for a visit. Her and a friend were up there for a weekend. And when she came back she called me and said, what the hell's going on at the cabin? And I said, why? What did you see? What did you feel? Why are you asking me this? And she said there's something, there's an energy in there that is making me so uncomfortable. She said, and I can't stand being back in mom and dad's bedroom. She said, the closet's freaking me out. Her friend woke up screaming in the middle of the night yelling, what do you want? She woke up, opened her eyes and there was something floating above her. And she just yelled and screamed, what do you want? At that point I Knew it wasn't just me. Now my sister and her friends had experienced something in there as well. So I asked my brother and my other sister who go up there all the time, what's going on at the cabin. My brother said he just felt like the cabin had been compromised. Like somebody was getting in there that shouldn't have been. My sister said the same thing now. She kept insisting it was my dad that I was seeing. She said she would see my dad's spirit all the time. I said, this is not dad. This is a dark entity. It's a shadow man. Tall, black, skinny man. So a couple years go by, we made some changes up there. Changed locks, cleaned out some more. I go up there again. Another girl's weekend, same friend and her sister in law comes with. I'm still feeling uneasy. And we are sitting out on the patio. This time it's nighttime, it's dark. But as I'm sitting, I'm at the table facing the cabin. I can see through the glass door that is to the hall bedroom, which you can see into the hallway, the long hallway, the lights on in the hallway. The two of them are sitting opposite of me from the table. I'm looking through the glass door into the hallway and I see the shadow man walk down the hallway towards that master bedroom. The look on my face, I don't even know. But the two of them turned around as fast as possible and then turned back around to look at me and said, what? What did you see? And I said, did you see that? And they said, no. What? I said I didn't want to freak them out. So I just said there was this big bat that just flew by. They're like, oh my gosh, maybe we should go inside. So we went to bed again. Time goes on. I don't go up there. A couple years pass, go up there again with my. With same friend. And I don't think she has anything to do with this energy. I think it's just that when other people are up there, there's just a lot of people. So there's a lot of activity going on. But when I would go up there, I would just keep it a simple girls weekend with one or two other people where we can just relax, get away from things. And there's just not a lot of energy in the cabin happening because we're spending it outside on the patio. So this is when this shadow man is presenting himself to me. Went up again with her and her son had gone. And this time I said, I'm bringing the Dog, because the dog can sense things. So her and I went up. We each brought our dogs. We walked in, I'm standing in the kitchen. I looked down the hall, and my dog is standing there on point, staring at that back bedroom. Wouldn't move. She is afraid to even go in there. I decided, you know, at this point, I'm not sleeping back there anymore. I'm just going to sleep on the couch. And the other weird thing was, when we got there, the place reeked of urine. Now, my sister and family had been up there the weekend before, and they said there was an issue with the toilet in the hall bathroom, but they had shut the toilet off, but it reeked of urine. And then the next day, the hallway was wet, and I dabbed it. It wasn't urine. We thought maybe the dog went to the bathroom, but these dogs are adult dogs. They don't go to the bathroom in the house. The carpet was wet, it was clear. It didn't smell. And so then I thought, well, maybe there was a leak underneath because of the issue with the toilet. I called a plumber. They came out, they went underneath, they checked everything, said nuts, everything was fine. There was no issues, no leaks. So I have no idea how that got wet in there. I don't know what the smell of the urine was. And it was human urine, not animal. So I slept in the living room that weekend on the couch and decided I wasn't sleeping back there. And I hadn't seen the shadow man until the last day. I was cleaning everything up again in the kitchen. Standing in the kitchen. This is daylight looking outside because you can stand in the kitchen, look out at the forest in the rim. And all of a sudden, that shadow man walked across the patio. He was outside now on the patio. And I thought, oh, my God, now he's in my safe space, packed it up and left. 2018, my brother got remarried and had a small wedding up there at the cabin. Everybody was up there, was there for a few hours, stayed outside, haven't been back since. My mom passed away in 2019, and we decided to take all of her stuff and clear out all the old stuff from the cabin, bring her stuff up there and put it in there just because it was newer and lighter and brighter and from happier times. I haven't been up since. I keep telling myself I need to go up there. And it was kind of odd because this morning my sister's friend called me, who's still a very good friend of mine, and said, what's going on at the cabin. And I said, why? She goes, I don't know, it's just been on my mind a lot. And she said, you and I need to go up there and figure it out. And I said, you know what? I bought Sage a few years ago and I've been trying to get up there, but I'm not going by myself. And her and I are now planning a trip. We're gonna go up there and spend a night, bring the sage, and try and figure out what it is that her and my sister and I sensed and felt that nobody else is. But I'm just hoping that that dark energy is gone. And if not, I'm hoping I can figure out what it is and why it's there and why it presents himself to me. I've seen it at least three times up there. Not sure, but this all started after my dad passed away. So thank you, Derek, for letting me tell my story. Love your podcast. Listen to it all the time and hope you can use this.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Jeanette. You know, I don't know. I think my first thought would be to agree with the brother. Maybe a squatter of some sort had taken up residence in the cabin. You do hear of that sort of thing from time to time. And if that intruder is resourceful, you may never even know that they're there. But when those intruders are seen, and sometimes they are, they're usually not described as looking like a shadow person. So maybe that little detail eliminates them as a suspect. But I will hand it to you, Janine. You seem to immediately pick up on all this activity well in advance of the rest of your family. That validation suggests that you should probably trust those feelings going forward if you believe in that sort of thing at all. And do, be sure to let us know if you make a pack up to the cabin while you're there. Maybe put together some sort of mini investigation. Dig into the history of the place. But above all else, be sure to tell us what you've uncovered. And until then, thanks again, Jeanette, for the story.

[Caller or Guest]

You will read in Paul Implications that.

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[Caller or Guest]

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[Derek Hayes]

Now, what's another wintertime activity that one might indulge in this time of year? We could parlay into another story.

[Caller or Guest]

Who.

[Derek Hayes]

Who said sled riding? I heard sled riding in the back. Well, whoever said that, you're dead on because Mike is here with his epic sledding tail.

[Caller or Guest]

Hey, Derek and monsters among us, this is Mike from Wisconsin. I had a pretty insane UFO sighting in 2009. So it's wintertime and I was hanging out with some friends and we decided we're gonna go sledding. So we go to this local hill. It's a ski hill, so sledding's not allowed. And we go there. It's about 9:30 at night, so the hills close down because they don't have lights or anything. And there's eight of us and we get, you know, whatever we can find to slide down the hill because I was 23 at the time. It's 2009 and anyway, we get to the top of the hill and my friends are about to smoke some of the devil's lettuce. And I couldn't partake because of my job. So we get randoms. So I just dive down the hill. My friend, I'll call her Ashley, falls behind me and the other six people are up on top of the hill still smoking and they're kind of in the trees a little bit. We get to the bottom of the hill and there's a frozen lake and this place uses tow ropes to get you back to the top of the hill. So it's going to take a while to get back up there. So we figure we're just going to wait for everybody down there. And we look out over the lake and I see a vehicle, I think it's a helicopter, but this thing's not making any sound and there's just a bunch of lights going off. And I said, you know, what the is that? You know? And my friend Ashley, she's like, is this really happening? This vehicle gets closer because we see what it is, and it's saucer shaped. It's a flying saucer. There's lights on it, all sorts of lights, like different colors, spinning, spinning different directions, flashing. Not only was this thing not worried about being seen, it was quite the opposite. It was like it was trying to be seen underneath the aircraft or whatever the hell it was. There's like a wall, white, blue light, like a circle right underneath. I don't know if it was the exhaust or the propulsion, but it was this like bluish purple light. And it was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. Like, I don't know, it was like the brightest, one of the brightest things I've ever seen. On top of the craft. Yeah, just lights spinning around where the saucers meet. There was another light, like traveling around it maybe once, I don't know, or twice a second, it's hard to say. And as it did that, there was a track of lights switching with it. And then there's just other lights going off. And we saw this thing for, I don't know, like 30 seconds. But we were just dumbstruck. Awestruck. We were saying about 100 yards of it. I mean, we're close. There's no mistaking this thing like it was a flying saucer. I mean, I know people at sightings and it's just something far off. Blinking light. No, this thing flew right, right up on us. It didn't, it didn't nab us or anything. And I don't know. So, yeah, we're just freaking out. And eventually it's just above treetop height, this thing. It's just above the trees and it goes out of view. And we're like, we're talking about it. We're like, that really happened. Like, we both saw it, we're both saying what we saw. And it's, yeah, it was a flying saucer and it was right there, you know, and then we start talking like, well, are we gonna tell our friends we saw this thing because they were kind of up in the trees. The run we went down had a curve in it. Even though they're higher up, we're not sure they even had an angle on this thing because it was flying so low. And we're like. We just decided if they bring it up, of course we'll say we saw it, but we weren't gonna bring it up. You know, you didn't want to sound like a crazy person. They eventually come down the hill. They didn't say anything like, did you see that? Or. And I kept it to myself for a while, you know, I didn't want to sound nuts, like, so useful, you know? And. I don't know. Years later, I ran into Ashley, like we were more of acquaintances. And I asked her, you know, remember we saw the UFO and there was people around us, like it was mixed company. It wasn't like we knew everybody was there. It was at a bar and. Yeah. In front of other people. She's like, yeah, I remember seeing it. Like, we were real close to it. I don't know. Don't know what it was. I don't think it was from this planet, but, I mean, God knows what the government has. But just the way it moved, the way it didn't care that. I mean, it was lit up like a Christmas tree. Yeah, I don't think it would from here, from this planet. Just bizarre. I don't know if I mentioned it earlier because I'm kind of nervous, but where this took place, it's called Standing Rocks. It's a county park in central Wisconsin. If you're looking at Wisconsin from a map, it's pretty much dead center. Yeah, that's all I got. 2009, whatever the hell that was. If you here in Wisconsin and you saw something weird in the 2009 winter sky, love to hear about it. Anyways, love the show, love the new music. See you guys later.

[Derek Hayes]

Thanks, Mike. Now, Mike was detailed enough in his story that I was able to do some serious digging. And in that research, I was able to find another similar UFO sighting from central Wisconsin in the winter of 2009. And they actually caught it on tape. Now, the following news story was aired on March 7, 2009, courtesy of WKBT, CBS Channel 8 News.

[Caller or Guest]

Well, if you saw an unknown glowing object floating in the sky, you could assume it was a lot of things, including a ufo. And one local family says they still have no idea what it was. Was over their home this week, but they made sure they caught it on video. So someone could figure it out?

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I have no idea.

[Caller or Guest]

Could be a government thing. I don't know.

Maybe aliens. I don't know.

All Zach Ruckheim and his dad know is it was something weird. I always look in the sky kind of off this way, and all of a sudden I seen a light out there. And it was something that in all them years I've never seen like that before.

And I didn't believe him at first.

So I came out and looked at.

It for a little bit and then.

I came back in and got my camera and we filmed they spent nearly a half an hour last Saturday night watching the object floating not far from their farm outside of Sparta, changing colors between green and red. They can't explain what it was, but it wasn't just the object's size or color, but the fact that it seemed to appear and then disappear.

[Derek Hayes]

Tell you what, those two descriptions aren't all that dissimilar. Colorful flashing lights, prolonged contact, and of course, the timing and location of the pair of sightings, which for those of you unfamiliar with the state of Wisconsin is only about 90 miles apart. And here's something strange. A bit of a bonus to this story. The news clip I found and featured out of Sparta, Wisconsin, featuring the farmers that caught something strange on their video camera. Well, the video that's shared in that clip, the recording of the craft they saw that night, is all but unwatchable. In nearly every shot of the quote unquote ufo, there was some sort of digital interference obstructing our view of the object. Go to the Show Notes at monsters among us podcast.com click the show notes tab and take a look at this video yourself, telling you, that's some Men in Black stuff right there. And you best watch yourself, Mike. Don't let any strange individuals into your house. And thanks for risking it all to share that tale.

[Caller or Guest]

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[Caller or Guest]

The same goes for business.

[Derek Hayes]

Now, do you guys want to know my favorite part of a holiday party? Well, it's the part where I go home. Home is where my stuff is. I always say that. And I think Tony in Tennessee might be picking up what I'm putting down.

[Caller or Guest]

Hi Derek, this is Tony from Northeast Tennessee.

And Zinger told me to call and.

Leave this message for the transport episode.

In December 2019. I was traveling. I was coming back from Atlanta. I went down to see some friends, have a Christmas party. And that night somebody came out and said, hey everyone, parts of Atlanta are starting to freeze from the rain, so anybody that lives in this, in this.

Section of town should leave. And I said to them, well, if.

Atlanta's starting to have some bad weather, I should leave because there's sure to be some on my way back to Tennessee. So as I'm driving back, I did hit some really bad snowy weather. Like I'm on a US highway doing 25 miles an hour with the window down, trying to scrape the building snow up off my windshield because my wipers have frozen. Eventually, though, about Hendersonville, North Carolina was whenever I was able to flip, finally get back onto the interstates and the roads were clearer there and it had stopped snowing as bad, but the weather was still coming down. Said, you know, I'm just gonna pull off at a hotel here and get.

A bed to sleep.

It was 2am But I didn't care if I was not gonna get a full night's worth of value.

I was just ready to be off the road.

But I get to the hotel, a Holiday Inn.

I go Inside.

And I'm like, hi, I really need a room for the night. This weather's really terrible. And the woman said, yes, unfortunately, everyone else felt the same way and we're full and every hotel in town is full.

And I said, is that because they.

Were smart and didn't wait till 2 in the morning? And she just laughed and said, yes, sir. Said, all right. So I got back on the road road and I was starting to head back to my home in Tennessee.

Now, along the way is a place called Sam's Gap.

And it is a very steep decline and then incline and it can be rough on a car in the best of weather. I definitely didn't want to do this in snowy, freezy rain weather. And as I'm driving through Hendersonville, I remember thinking, I'm so. I'm praying, I'm a religious person. I said like, you know, hey, what should I do? Should I try to find a place to stop? Should I go for a while longer?

Should I at least get to Asheville?

What should I do? And at that time I noticed I looked around on the ground like, you know, there's ambient light from a city, but you know, the ambient light is generally at a certain level. And I look like the ambient light from the city seems incredibly bright. I wonder if that's light reflecting off the snow. And at that moment all the lights.

The ambient light of the city, which.

Is normally white, just turned green. Like when you're passing by a city and you look around and you see like the normal lights from street lights, you know, like parking lots from Walmart, that sort of thing, all of that ambient light just turned green.

And no, it wasn't like a stoplight.

Because this was a lot of lights. One stoplight would not have generated this amount of green. And I took that as a sign.

That says green means go.

And I proceeded to drive and relatively.

Safety, safety, you know, as long as.

You'Re smart about driving on snowy roads. Until I almost got to where Sam's Gap was, was a Weaverville, N.C. stopped and found a gas station that was open and lit and just slept in my car for a few hours and waited for the weather to calm down.

Sun to come up, roads to get a little clearer. And at that point I was able.

To drive home safely. But yeah, just for the ambient light in a city to just turn green.

All of a sudden, sudden.

Really bizarre.

I have no idea what could have caused that.

Anyway, that's my story. Thank you very much for all you do. Have a good night. Bye.

[Derek Hayes]

Well, Tony, you gotta watch out for that Zinger fella. He's of course, speaking of Justin Zinger, host of Zing this podcast and co host of Nights at the Round Table, our little movie movie review show found for free over at our Patreon page, patreon.com/forward/ monsters among Us podcast. But he's a good guy. Go check out his podcast. Now. As for the story, let me start off by saying I'm not here to burst any bubbles, but I am here to explore all the angles. So I started with the basics and I asked our old friend the Internet, why does the sky turn green During a storm? Nkare, NBC News 11 was quick with an answer.

[Caller or Guest]

The question comes in from Peter Zheng, why does the sky turn green when a thunderstorm is coming? But the answer to this question is kind of in three different parts. First of all, we have have light coming from the sun that goes through the thunderstorm.

And when the thunderstorm is very tall.

It'S very large and deep. It has a lot of rain in it. It also potentially has some hail inside of it, too. So when the light passes through that hail and that rain, those objects, those raindroplets or hailstones, absorb the red and the blue light. So what's left behind? Green light. So when you see a green thunderstorm or green clouds, it doesn't mean that there's a tornado coming, and it doesn't necessarily mean that there's hail coming, but.

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Is very strong, very large and also very tall and very deep, too, and will likely contain a lot of rainfall.

[Derek Hayes]

Now, that's the scientific approach. But of course, it could be, like Tony said, green means go. After all, he did make it all the way home unscathed. That's gotta count for something. Oh, and by the way, if you're ever in Tony's shoes and you can't get a room but you don't want to continue on, places like Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Cabela's, and most gyms allow you to stay overnight in their parking lot. I can tell you it's not ideal, but it works in a pinch and it sure beats the alternative. And folks, that brings us to our last gift of the evening, and this is a little something I think we can all enjoy. Rachel in North Carolina, please go ahead with your story.

[Caller or Guest]

Hi, Derek. My name is Rachel. I'm calling from western North Carolina. I wanted to share an experience that my friend and I had while we were backpacking in the Shining Rock Wilderness in North Carolina. It Was pretty frigid in the middle of the winter. And I don't really know why we decided to camp outside then. But anyway, we had gotten on the trail late and ended up making camp in the dark, which is just poor planning on our part and a little awkward to do. But we ended up setting up camp in a little glade off of the main trail. And it was separated from the trail by a sort of stretch of trees, so we couldn't see the trail. It was just surrounded by forest, of course. Anyway, so we had made a fire, and we were, you know, trying to eat and have a couple drinks before going to sleep. And we were sleeping in hammocks, actually, with insulation and stuff anyway. And we heard this noise in the trees around us, sort of. And it sounded somewhere between a cat and a bird. I can't physically make the noise, but it was bone chilling. And we heard it several times with some time passing in between, but it sounded like it moved slightly closer to us and maybe almost like it had started to circle the camp a little bit. And I had always heard that mountain lions, you know, made calls that were not like regular cats. And this was cat like enough to make me think of them. And my friend, who has more outdoor experience than I do, concurred. So we were both extremely afraid because we'd always been told that mountain lions were not still living in our region, that they were gone from this side of the Mississippi, and we were faced with evidence that that was not true, and we were in a vulnerable position. We were not going to be sleeping even in a tent. So I was more terrified then than I can remember being in my life, just because it's. It sounded like it was too interested in our camp and it was circling us. But we eventually were able to go to sleep. My friend had her dog with us, and that gave me a little bit of comfort. And we didn't have any other incident on that hike. But I say all this because it just reminds me of the large black panther sighting on this side of the country and in the Midwest. It's just the authorities telling you that something there, that it doesn't exist in your area, but you're finding evidence that it does. So for that reason, I wanted to share because I just have this overwhelming desire to share about it. And it does tie in a little bit to the black cat sightings because, well, I have other instances of family members reporting sightings of cats that resemble mountain lions or are mountain lions. And one, in the case of my father, was actually a Black Panther. So, anyway, they're down here, too, in the South. I hope you can use this. Thank you for the podcast. I really enjoy listening. Keep up the good work. Thanks. Bye.

[Derek Hayes]

Thanks, Rachel. Now, it's funny how history tends to repeat itself, even within these cryptid sightings. Because, you see, this isn't the first time a large feline had folks in the Tar Heel State spooked out of their mind. And if history has taught us anything, it's probably not the last time either. 70 years ago this week, the holidays were rocked by a series of animal mutilations in rural North Carolina. Killings residents blamed on a local beast. The vampire beast of Bladenborough.

[Caller or Guest]

1954.

And I was nine years old.

And beast came around, whatever it was.

And he slaughtered some dogs and different animals.

And it was known as the vampire beast because all the dogs that were killed were killed identical.

[Derek Hayes]

They had their nose eaten out and the blood drained.

[Caller or Guest]

And they were afraid that he might.

Be after children and all.

[Derek Hayes]

And so the mothers.

[Caller or Guest]

My mother would not let us get out in the yard and play.

We would always come to Ladenboro on Saturday and take in the movies and head home, and we'd walk home. There was a swampy area between town and my home. When we got to that swamp, it ran like the wind.

We had a curfew. We couldn't go out of the house because everybody thought a monster or beast would get us.

Nighttime. Everybody was indoors. Everybody. I was in school at that time, and I was a cheerleader on the basketball team. And some of the people would not let their kids come from other towns to play basketball while that was going on.

[Derek Hayes]

The town was gripped in fear as hounds, goats and other livestock were exaggerated right under their noses.

[Caller or Guest]

And so for about two weeks, that was terror.

And everybody was scared to death.

I was just scared.

[Derek Hayes]

That was the worst thing I can.

[Caller or Guest]

Still remember, that fear. It was just like you were in a tight box and it was just pressing hunters.

Big game hunters were here in Blayvor. They kind of overwhelmed the little town of Blayvor. And they came in here with their bows and arrows and their night lights and their hunting outfits and everything. And they would assemble on downtown and then they would go out in the swampy area to hunt the beast.

Seemed like there was one big cat, killed a bobcat.

Now, where that was the beast or.

Not, we doubt it.

But that wasn't a beast. That bobcat wanted a beast.

They hung him in front of the.

Old theater there in town.

But that won't hem. Not to me.

It won't. Not to me.

[Derek Hayes]

Now, if you've ever seen a bobcat up close, you'd also question these claims. They simply aren't large enough, they're not tall enough, they're not long enough, and they certainly don't weigh enough to take down a hound whose weight could easily double the wildcats. But if it wasn't a bobcat, then what was? The vampire beast of Bladenborough.

[Caller or Guest]

And there's lots of rumors of how it got started, whether it was actually a beast or some animal of some type. There were stories about it with some of the senior citizens in Blaineborough. People would see different tracks and all and they didn't pan out. The story was that they would take tin cans and run a string through it and make sound like a.

My dad surmised it was a bobcat. Some people thought it was a bobcat.

But that didn't go to reason with my father. I just cannot imagine a bobcat killing an adult coonhound sized dog unless it was a freak thing. And it certainly wouldn't have happened over and over again. Something that would have to be able to kill a dog. A full sized dog would probably be a cougar size or larger.

[Derek Hayes]

Now those interview segments are courtesy of the series Anytown USA episode 20, to be specific. And believe it or not, the beast still shows up from time to time. Most recently back in 2007 when several PIT bulls in the area were killed and mutilated, big cat style. Now, longtime fans of the History Channel series Monster Quest may remember an episode featuring this beast. Now, I've taken the liberty of linking to that episode in the show notes if you want to take a look. It's free, by the way, so the price is right. Now, who knows, Rachel, maybe it was the vampire beast you heard that night, or maybe you just let your imagination get the better of you. Either way, I'm sure the cold wasn't the only thing giving you shivers that evening. We thank you dearly for sharing them with us. Now, if you'd excuse me, I have a few gifts open Monsters Among Us Podcast is written and produced by me, Derek Hayes. Additional support is provided by Sarah Carter Hayes and Addie Lloyd. All media used in this production is done so under the protection of fair use. Be sure to follow us on our social media accounts. And while you're at it, join us over on YouTube if you don't mind. Leaving us a rate and review is a great way to help support the show. Now, finally this evening, tonight's score was provided by Mayu Co AG Music Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse and Carl K6 at White Bat Audio thank you so much for joining us this evening. Stay safe out there. Have a happy holiday season. I'll catch you guys next week.

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[Derek Hayes]

Well, as it turns out, there was one more package stuck behind the tree and had your name on it. And this one touches on a subject I never imagined we'd ever cover here on the show. An aggressive Christmas elf. Again from our neighbors to the north, please welcome Alex to the show.

[Caller or Guest]

Hi, my name is Alexander and I'm from Windsor, Ontario. So for a very long time I have this memory of me being a kid in some kind of crib or like young kids kind of like bedroom situation. It was like Christmas Eve and I remember lying down ready to go to sleep and there was this weird elf figure that appeared on my bed and was not like being aggressive or anything but was being like, pretty intimidating or like, weirdly. Just weirdly, like, trying to like, mess with me. I remember it being so vivid and so real. It wasn't like a dream situation because I, oh, I can still like, make sure that I know what dreams are like. And it wasn't a dream situation anyway, so that must have been when I was like 6 or 7 years old. Cut to now I'm 30 years old. I'm like on this website called Omegle, where you just like connect with random people throughout the world, world, just for fun, to talk to them and stuff. And I met this woman and for some reason we started talking about supernatural experiences and I asked her if she had any supernatural experiences that ever happened and she said no. She asked me, obviously, afterwards, and I said, yeah, actually I do. I was a really young kid and I had this weird elfish creature, very vivid in my memory, kind of like bugging me when I was a kid. And she was like, oh, yeah, that's something called a duende. Had no stop in her step while saying that. And she was from the Philippines. And she's like, yeah, it's a duende. They sometimes mess with kids. If you go on Wikipedia and look up the duende, the second picture on the Wikipedia account is exactly what I saw. There's no reason for me at that age that I saw this thing. For me to know what that thing looked like. Like, if it was like something that was put in my mind beforehand, I was flabbergasted. It was a crazy experience. Like I said, it was like, not a dream. I was completely awake. And then I want to say 15, 25 years later, actually, because I must have been around six or seven. So about 25 years later, this person that I don't know, that I just met on a website, knew exactly what I was talking about. This weird elfish creature was messing with me. And I still remember it to this day. Very good. Anyway, love you, Derek. Your podcast is amazing and keep up the good work.

[Derek Hayes]

Oh, well, we love you too, Alex. And I love this story. And I think it's one of those that tend to have different origins across different cultures, because to me it sounds like this is one of Santa's elves. To Alex's online friend, it was. Was obviously a duende. But if someone else were to be listening, maybe from the Cherokee Nation, they might immediately recognize it as a member of the moon eyed people. And who knows what other little humanoid origin stories this one might adopt down the line. But the fact that each culture seems to have some sort of lore surrounding little people. It's certainly an interesting piece of information. And regardless of who, what or why, Alex's little run in is perfect for this sort of a special episode, and we can't thank him enough for sharing it here with us. And now children, quickly rush to bed. You know the rule. Santa won't arrive unless you're asleep. And coincidentally, the Wendigos won't go away if you're awake. But for all of you late nighters that are willing to risk it, we're keeping the party going for just a little while longer over at the Beyond. I'm pouring a drink. We have a guest in the studio and I really think you'd like to join us. And to do so, just visit our patreon [e-mail] monsters among us podcast and join up to that five dollar level. That will give you instant access to this and much more additional spooky content. Oh, and if $5 is too steep, and trust me, I get it, I've been there most of my life, you can at least do ad free for only $1. And here's the thing. Pay for one month, binge the entire month, then cancel. Make it your little holiday treat. And I certainly don't mind at all. So anyway, that's patreon.com Monsters Among Us podcast.

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[Derek Hayes]

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