Monsters Among Us - S20 Ep3: Beaver State Horror: Tales from Oregon

Podcast Host: Derek Hayes
Release Date: October 21, 2025
Overview:
This episode, “Beaver State Horror: Tales from Oregon,” shines a paranormal spotlight on Oregon, sharing only first-hand, listener-submitted accounts of ghosts, psychic premonitions, cryptids (Bigfoot), other unexplained phenomena, and UFO sightings. Derek weaves Oregon’s unique geography, history, and oddities into a tapestry of chills—reminding us that the Beaver State is as eerie as it is beautiful.

Main Themes & Purpose

• Focus on Paranormal Activity in Oregon: The episode curates a diverse selection of chilling, true accounts from Oregonians from haunted houses, psychic phenomena, ghostly visitations, strange creatures, to rare UFO sightings.
• Highlighting Oregon’s Weirdness: Derek sprinkles in odd state trivia and cryptid lore, enhancing the spooky atmosphere and giving context to the strangeness found in the region.
• Firsthand Witness Testimony: All stories are told in the callers’ own voices, preserving authenticity and immediacy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Psychic Premonitions and Family Connections

• Vinnie’s Premonition ([04:34–06:59])

  • Story: While working, Vinnie suddenly receives a vivid mental montage: his aunt and her family, sad and crying—implying someone died. Two hours later, his sister confirms their aunt’s mother just passed.
  • Quote: “And in that moment, I snap out of it… What the heck? Why did I think of that stuff?” — Vinnie [06:37]
  • Derek muses on the nature of psychic vision: “Are they seen with the naked eye, the mind’s eye, or the experiencer’s imagination?” [07:16]
  • Tone: Matter-of-fact, curious, slightly awed.

• Eric’s Mother’s Near-Death Family Visitations ([36:04–42:02])

  • Eric describes his mother—while caring for her dying mother—witnessing her mother talk to her deceased husband and, on her deathbed, see beautiful children no one else saw.
  • Quote: “Look at all the kids. Look at the children. It’s so beautiful.” — Eric’s grandmother, via Eric [41:23]
  • Derek’s reflection: “As unnerving as these stories tend to be, in a weird way, they give me a bit of hope.” [42:02]

2. Ghosts, Hauntings & Supernatural Disturbances

• Kat & the Mysterious Rocking Chair ([08:29–09:24])

  • Kat notices a heavy massage rocking chair in her home mysteriously moves to block the hallway while she listens to Monsters Among Us—no pets or people could have done it.
  • Tone: Direct, slightly unnerved, relatable paranoia.

• Gavin’s ‘Stranger Things’ Light Show ([12:41–15:16])

  • Gavin recounts under-cabinet lights flickering in sequence towards his bedroom before the door creeps open. His aunt, a medium, believes it’s his deceased grandfather reaching out.
  • Quote: “Kind of like Stranger Things, the show… the lights would be like a trail.” — Gavin [13:36]
  • Derek: Notes “a lot of psychic ability up in the Beaver State.” [15:19]

• Anonymous in Tigard—Pounding Walls ([16:34–19:26])

  • Caller describes waking to relentless pounding noises and metal scraping in their apartment. The landlord confirms hauntings linked to a nearby pioneer cemetery. A camera dies mysteriously after snapping photos there.
  • Derek: “But was it ghosts... or did the cemetery somehow come into play?” [19:29]
  • Tone: Unsettled, skeptical, then confirmed as ‘something more.’

• Robin’s Disembodied Voice at the Event Center ([26:02–27:58])

  • Robin, alone setting up for a show, hears a male voice whisper her name inches from her ear—jumps, but no one is around.
  • Quote: “4 to 6 inches from my left ear, I hear, ‘Robin,’ in a man’s voice. Oh my god, I just got chills.” — Robin [27:04]
  • Derek: “To turn around and see nothing? That might possibly be worse.” [28:01]

• Workplace Hauntings: Domino’s Delivery Drivers

  • Truvy’s Late Night Encounter ([52:01–54:31])
    • 3am, lights fail in Domino’s dish pit. Truvy sees a shadow figure, objects fly off counters after her coworker calls out the presence, lights flicker after they leave.
    • Tone: Matter-of-fact with escalating concern.
  • Sammy & the Ghost Boy Named William ([55:33–59:42])
    • Truvy’s mother, Sammy, describes seeing a spectral little boy (with 70s bowl cut and striped shirt), matching Truvy’s description of an entity visiting her nightly. They conclude the hauntings follow their family, not the house.
    • Quote: “That’s William. He’s in my room every night. He stands at the foot of my bed.” — Truvy (via Sammy) [58:25]
    • Derek reflects on the concept of personal hauntings: “It’s not the home that’s… harboring the activity, but… the combined energies of both yourself and your daughter.” [59:49]

3. Cryptids, Bigfoot, and Unexplained Creatures

• Lumen’s Woodland Whistler ([43:17–46:12])

  • On a historic farm, Lumen hears an unknown woman whistling and calling from the tree line late at night; she believes herself a “magnet” for the paranormal.
  • Quote: “...A whistle... and a woman’s voice: ‘Come here, come over here.’ It did not sound like my mother.” — Lumen [44:45]
  • Derek connects the whistling to Bigfoot lore: “That is Bigfoot country, after all, and that is a trait those creatures are said to possess.” [46:12]

• Anonymous—Bigfoot-Like Noises by the Creek ([47:21–49:37])

  • 3:30am; faint whimpering evolves into strange, bipedal sloshing and snorting outside the window. The caller, a MAU fan, wonders if it’s Bigfoot, a wendigo, or cryptid not-deer.
  • Derek paints a scenario involving a dog fleeing a semi-aquatic, web-footed "Concert Lake Monster" (Oregon-centric Bigfoot legend).
  • Quote: “I could also hear slosh, slosh, slosh, like something bipedal was wading its way through the creek.” — Anonymous [48:33]
  • Derek: “There aren’t too many bipedal creatures running around the woods of Oregon. Certainly not of that size.” [49:37]

4. UFOs & Aerial Mysteries

• Lacey’s Dual UFO Encounters ([30:15–34:00])
  • (2010) From her bedroom, Lacey and her boyfriend see an expanding white light hovering above a well-known Portland bridge. Later that night, they see it again. The next year, in the Newberry caldera hot springs, they and two friends witness a low, slow, silent triangular craft with colored lights.
  • Quote: “This triangle ship was very low… traveling very slow, soundless. There was no sound.” — Lacey [33:18]
  • Derek shares NUFORC stats—Oregon is #12 in UFO sightings—and relates the triangular craft to numerous similar national reports. [34:00]

5. Living Fictional Monsters: Slenderman as a Thoughtform

• Nick’s Chalkboard Slenderman ([21:07–22:18])
  • As a child, Nick’s friend drew Slenderman on a chalkboard wall; later, Nick awakes paralyzed, seeing the outline blocking the reflective light switch. He speculates it might have been imagination or sleep paralysis.
  • Derek uses the story to discuss tulpas—mental constructs thought to come alive through focus and belief. [22:21]

6. Surreal, Otherworldly Experiences

• Anonymous—Dancing Figures in White ([61:13–63:59])
  • As a child in ‘90s rural Oregon, caller sees multiple white-clad figures performing a rhythmic, pagan-like dance in a forest clearing, making eye contact across a remote wetland. Grandpa partially confirms movement but has no explanation.
  • Quote: “They moved out of the clearing, another person took their place, and then another, all kind of doing this back-and-forth odd little—pagan-y—kind of dance.” — Anonymous [62:13]
  • Derek: “Why not strange, paganistic, floating, dancing people in the trees?” [63:59]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “I realized, oh man, their mom died. Like their mom just passed away.” — Vinnie [05:32]
• “There is no way either of our pets could have moved it, and I definitely didn’t move it.” — Kat [09:12]
• “The trail light kept going, kept going… then it got to the last cabinet before my door… and the door… cracked open.” — Gavin [13:50]
• “Robin... in a man’s voice. Oh my god, I just got chills.” — Robin [27:04]
• “We watched this triangle ship fly over — there were… red, white and green lights… It seemed like it came straight out of the mountain… and flew directly over us.” — Lacey [33:34]
• “Everywhere I go I experience things. But I love your podcast!” — Lumen [45:26]
• “He stands at the foot of my bed and he says, ‘Hi, Mom.’” — Truvy (via Sammy) [58:25]
• “Clear as day figure dressed all in white… doing some strange rhythmic dance… I felt their gaze.” — Anonymous [62:05]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Content | |-----------|-------------------------------------------| | 04:34 | Vinnie’s psychic premonition | | 08:29 | Kat’s rocking chair hijinks | | 12:41 | Gavin’s light show and ghostly presence | | 16:34 | Anonymous: pounding walls, ghostly maintenance man | | 21:07 | Nick’s Slenderman/tulpa story | | 26:02 | Robin’s disembodied voice | | 30:15 | Lacey’s UFO encounters | | 36:04 | Eric’s mother’s near-death visitations | | 43:17 | Lumen: woodland whistle and voice | | 47:21 | Anonymous: Bigfoot-like creek sounds | | 52:01 | Truvy’s Domino’s workplace haunting | | 55:33 | Sammy’s encounter with ghost boy | | 61:13 | Anonymous: dancing white figures |

Episode Tone and Style

• Language: Down-to-earth, evocative, and conversational. Derek’s narration is warm and witty, but turns solemn or awestruck when callers recount particularly unsettling or profound experiences.
• Atmosphere: Nostalgia-rich and spooky, balancing skepticism with earnestness.
• Pacing: Fast-moving, maximizing caller stories, with Derek’s context and commentary keeping the energy high and the content deeply engaging.

Conclusion

Monsters Among Us’ Oregon episode delivers a festival of the uncanny: psychic flashes, familial ghosts, inexplicable lights, cryptid calls, and reality-bending encounters — all flavored with the Beaver State’s quirky historical backdrop. Derek’s thoughtful curation and callers’ vivid testimonies ground their experiences in the everyday, turning Oregon’s forests, rivers, and living rooms into liminal spaces where the spooky is always close at hand.

Final Note from Derek:
“You keep it spooky, and of course, have yourselves a good night.” [End]

For first-time listeners:
This episode is quintessential MAU—immersing you in authentic, unpolished encounters with the unknown, made all the more chilling by their ordinariness and the “you won’t believe this, but…” sincerity of real people living with real mysteries.