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Good evening and welcome to Monsters Among Us. I am your guide, Derek Hayes. Hello, gang, and thanks for joining us on yet another installment. We're inching closer and closer to our 10 year anniversary that's coming up midway through next month. 10 whole years of sharing the spookiest and the scariest true paranormal stories available. Now, I don't have the numbers, but I imagine that's thousands of telephone calls, well over 1,000 hours of original content, and hundreds of thousands of listeners. Dozens of topics covered as well. We've also heard from people from all over the globe, people from all walks of life. There's one experience that seems to span that diverse group of people. One experience that they all seem to be aware of. A phenomenon that all believers respect equally. And that's the subject we'll be discussing here this evening. Ghosts, specters, phantoms, apparitions, whatever you want to call them. So tonight we lift the veil on the ghostly realm and shine some light on the phenomena that's endured for centuries. And here with tonight's first ghost story is a listener out of the state of California. Please join me in welcoming Brandon to the program.
E
Hi, Derek, my name is Brandon. I'm calling from Los Angeles, California. I've always loved ghost stories and this has been one of my favorites since I heard it. It's not mine, unfortunately, it's my godfather's. So we'll just have to take his word for it. He's not a tall tale guy is what I'll say. He's not somebody who has a lot of outlandish stories. I actually don't know that many stories from his youth. But he did tell this story to my sister and I when we were teenagers and it's always stuck with me. So he is from New Jersey, he grew up there. And this would have taken place probably in the early 70s, that's when he was a teenager and he was over at a friend's house one day. It was a two story house and he and his friend were hanging out downstairs, goofing off. And he had to use the bathroom, which was upstairs. So he went upstairs and, you know, used the bathroom.
B
And he came out.
E
And as he came out of the doorway, he saw movement at the other end of the hallway. And he looked and as he described it, there was a really hot girl walking sort of like into one of the doorways. But you know, he saw enough of her to say she had long blonde hair, she was wearing kind of like a white dress, you know, sort of thing. And he got real excited. His friend had an older brother and he thought maybe it was, you know, a new girlfriend for the older brother kind of thing. So he wanted the scoop. And so he went downstairs and he said to his friend like, hey, who's the chick? And his friend said, what chick? And he said upstairs. And he said his friend got real quiet and said, what did she look like? And my godfather described the girl he had just seen. And he said his friend completely freaked out and just ran outside, like went out the front door and he obviously followed him and you know, they're in the yard, he's like, what's your problem? What's going on? And his friend finally calmed down enough and he said to my godfather, that girl woke my brother up last night and we have no idea who she is. So that's the story. I got chills just now telling it. Make of it what you will. Like I said, it's secondhand story. Those are all the details I have. But thanks so much, Keep up the good work and I look forward to Listening to more. Take care.
D
Thank you, Brandon. You know, it sounds like the makings of an awesome 1980s horror comedy. My girlfriend is a ghost. They could call it hell, I'd probably tune in. But how wild that the entity was reoccurring and the second sighting came unprompted. That's the sort of validation you seldom get your hands on. But all in all, it's a great tale, Brandon. A classic ghost story, if you will. So a big thanks to you, sir, for taking the time to call in. And since we're kicking this thing off on a bit of a light hearted note, let's fire off one more before we take our first break. So from the Big Apple, please welcome our old friend Frank to the program.
F
Hey, Derek. This is Frank from Long island again. I have a story that happened to my uncle at a business that he worked at in Queens, New York. So I don't want to give the name of the type of business it is, you know, just to keep their privacy, but my uncle was working and this lady started telling him, oh, who's that person standing there in the corner? And my uncle was looking, he said, I don't see anybody there, ma'. Am. There's nobody. Like, no, there's somebody standing there staring at me. He's like, I don't know what to tell you. There's nobody there. About a few hours later, somebody reported that they felt somebody touch him in the back and turned around again, there was nobody there. Finally, his boss, she was cleaning up and she said that she felt that somebody put their finger in her ear. She jumped up screaming, she didn't know what it was. My uncle runs out screaming, you okay? Is everything okay? She's like, I don't know. I feel like somebody put their finger in my ear. So they go on the security camera and there's nothing dead. They didn't see anything. Uncle said it was the weirdest day that he's ever worked over there. But there is a cemetery across the street from this business, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Is quite a few celebrities in there. I know there's a lot of mob bosses, John Gotti, Lucky Luciano, a bunch of those guys. Don't know if that has anything to do with it. Love your podcast, man. Keep it up.
D
Thanks as always, Frank. No, a ghost finger in the ear. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't so damn unnerving. And could it have been one of those infamous men in the nearby cemetery? A little bleed over activity Perhaps. Well, whoever's at fault, great stuff per usual. Frank, any big thanks for calling in now, gang. Don't go anywhere. I have more ghost stories right after these messages.
F
Oh boy.
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I hope you've enjoyed the miles by.
A
And pointing to things both culturally.
D
Now if you would join me in Japan for this next one. Iris, welcome to the show.
G
Hey everyone, this is Iris from Japan. I'm a college student now, but this was back in my high school years and this was on election day. The four of us, including myself, we all ran for our positions in student council since we all wanted to work together and just make the school better. Anyway, this was during our lunchtime. They were going to announce like the winners who got their positions for student council. So we all held hands in a way, went up the stairs into the girls locker room and we were all nervous and excited and like one by one the current president of the school started to announce like the winners and one by one, like we got our own positions. Three out of four people in our group got our positions and we were screaming. We were like yes. Oh my God, we're so happy. You get the idea. But Emily, I'm gonna call her. She was gonna get revoted. The Next day, since it was such a close call, and she was really down, and she got upset. She was like, oh, you guys are gonna be the only ones getting your positions, and I'm not gonna get it. And she started crying, and she sat in the corner of the girl's locker room and started to cry, and she was upset, and we all stood by her and reassured her that everything's gonna be fine. I'm sure you're gonna get your position, you know, just being friends, just being there for someone who's upset. And since it was lunchtime when this all happened, everyone went back to their class. But I just didn't want to leave, you know, Emily by herself in the locker room. So I didn't go to class. I remained by her side, and I told her to go wash her face. And I went to go get ice because her face was swollen from the crying. So I went to my TP teacher and I told him I needed some ice, and he gave me some. And I went back into the girls locker room, and Emily, the girl that was, like, literally in the corner crying, is laughing in front of the mirror by herself. And in the corner of my eye, there's three curtains, But I see a lady with long black hair with white dress. I know that sounds like a typical lady that comes out of a horror movie. I get it. I see her jump into the third curtain in the corner of my eye, and I see Emily just laughing by herself. And she sees me, and she just immediately stops laughing. And I'm like, what the heck just. Just happened? Thinking about that day till this day still gives me the chills when I asked her, wait, are you alone? And she wouldn't look me in the eye or anything and doesn't even answer my question. And she just brushed the whole topic off till I was uncomfortable for me to even confront her. So I thought I should just, like, let it aside. I swear to you, I saw that lady. And I've always heard rumors amongst our school that there was a lady in the locker room. Like a spear or like a ghost? I don't know. Something, but I don't know what it was.
D
That's it.
G
But thank you.
D
Thank you, Iris. Well, folks, what do you make of this one? Was that locker room haunted, Inhabited by some unseen presence? Or is it possible that Emily herself attracted the spirit and perhaps getting upset intensified the spirit's need to interact? Or maybe she's had this attachment for some time, and it was only then that Iris was made aware. Then again, this could have been just some sort of miscommunication or misunderstanding. Eerie stuff, regardless of the cause, especially knowing that Emily wasn't willing to discuss it afterward. That's the sort of spookiness we're looking for here on the program. So thank you again, Iris, for giving us all the creeps. Now, folks, if you think you have a story you might want to share on the show, give our hotline a call at 888-608-night. That's 888608 N I G H T. Or you can send a voice memo to monsters among us podcastmail.com now, it's hard not to notice that this next one is an awful lot like the story Iris just shared with us. So with that in mind, please welcome the following anonymous scholar out of the state of Maine.
E
Hi Derek, I wanted to call and.
B
Tell you a story that my husband.
E
Actually said I should share. We're from Maine, and this story took place, I would say, almost 20 years ago in a town called Ripley. So I was spending the night at.
B
My aunt's house, and I had four cousins.
E
There were the three older boys, and then my youngest cousin was a baby at the time. And the three older boys had a bedroom off to the side of the house and they had bunk beds, and I was sleeping on the top bunk.
B
In their room that night.
E
And the house had always had these.
B
Like, stories that people would tell, like.
E
About ghosts and, like, strange happenings and things moving around or whatever. And I was a kid.
B
I was maybe like 10, 12 or.
E
So at this time. And I never really believed it. I just thought my cousins were trying to scare me and, like, make me be afraid of being in their house or whatever. But anyway, so we had a fun night.
B
Played video games, ate snacks, did whatever.
E
And then it was time for bed. And of course they tried to play tricks on me and scare me, but.
B
I wasn't buying into it.
E
The weird part about this night was I was waking up the next morning on the top bunk and I'm looking out the window and they had sort of like this tree that I could see out the window. And there was a swing that my uncle had put up and I was laying there and it was a clear morning, pretty early, probably around 6 or so, like in the summer. Just like the sun had just come up a little bit. And I swear I saw, like, another little girl. And she was standing there and she had the classic white dress on and was just like standing by the swing looking up towards the window at me. And I remember it freaked me out because my cousins were all boys, so there was no way that there was any other little girl besides me there that day. And why would someone be standing out by this swing in this, like, country town, like, where the closest neighbor was like, really, really far up the road and I just stared at her for a while and I eventually drifted back to sleep. I might have mentioned it to my.
B
Aunt in the morning.
E
I don't remember exactly, but it would have been followed up.
B
While the house is haunted, it's an old farmhouse and that sort of stuff.
E
But that's my biggest paranormal story.
B
I just wanted to share it because it was creepy. I don't have any history of like sleeping paralysis or any of that sort of stuff.
E
It was just a really strange event.
B
And I wanted to share.
E
Big fan of the podcast and keep going. We're listening here in Maine. Thanks.
B
Bye.
D
Thanks, caller. Now, I think if you're going to see a ghost, it's probably best to have that sighting somewhere other than your very own house. Someone else's home is the perfect location because you get to have the experience. You likely know the owners and can ask questions and maybe even get some answers. But most importantly, you'll be able to sleep soundly at night in your own home knowing that the sighting took place somewhere else. At least that's how my brain works. And speaking of how brains work, it's Tuesday, so let's look at some numbers on ghosts and the supernatural. According to a Gallup poll, ghosts are the subject most believed in by a group of self proclaimed believers. 45% believe in witches, 53 in reincarnation, 55 in astrology, 59 in clairvoyance, 61 in telepathy. 66 believe in communication with the dead, 79 believe in psychics or spiritual healing. And a whopping 89% of believers believe in the existence of ghosts. Now the flip side of that coin suggests a mere 13% of self proclaimed skeptics share that same belief. But truth be told, and all numbers aside, it all comes down to one question. Do you believe in ghosts? I think our next caller might be a believer. Please welcome Wesley to the program.
F
Hello, Derek, my name is Wesley. This happened six years ago from today, which is November 18th. My daughter used to get up in the middle of the night and come into bed every night with me and my wife. We were trying to break her as a habit. It just, you know, kind of a slow process. We put her in bed one night. We were, you know, hunkering down ourselves, getting ready to get some shuteye. And I woke up at about, I don't know, I think it was around 2:30 in the morning and my daughter was standing next to the bed and I told her, I said tim, lay down hut. And my wife says she's laying next to me and I look and there's somebody standing right in front of me and I freaked out and I got my phone and I turned my flashlight on right away and there was nobody there, which is really scary because I felt the weight of this person leaning on the bed like it was trying to get into the bed with me and it was just a really creepy thing that happened. Like I said, I turned my flashlight on, looked over, my daughter was laying in bed next to my wife and there was nothing in front of me. Anyway, thanks for listening to my story. Bye.
D
Thank you Wesley E Daughter doppelganger or the ghost of E Living or the ghost of a complete stranger Perhaps that just looked an awful lot like Wesley's daughter. Whatever it was, that's not the kind of thing you want to see as you wake up. Terrifying stuff. And we thank you again, Wesley for sharing the phone call.
E
We're out of time today.
A
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F
Good morning, Mike. Yes, so far this year.
D
Their maternity is being changed. Now, if you would, let's move on to tonight's next entry. Back to California we go. Ian. Welcome back to the program.
F
Hi, guys. My name is Ian. I'm calling from San Diego, California. I just finished listening to season 13, episode 18 and you had a caller named Alexis. Her call stuck with me because she said that she saw a lady sitting on the edge of her bed and she got up and walked away. So I live in an old apartment in San Diego, 805 and 52 Claremont Mesa area. And it used to be a motel built in the 50s. So God knows what's happened here. I would call it a landing pad for people who are like me, who got divorced and need to get out real quick and kind of crash for a year before we figure stuff out. Anyway, about a week ago, I was asleep. It was almost 4 in the morning. I'd say it was about 3:45, 3:50. And my dog, who has anxiety, anyway, literally came and sat on my face and started kind of whimpering a little bit. He's a pit bull, so he's not that small. And he woke me up with this big butt on my face. And as I woke up, there was a lady sitting on the edge of my bed. Her back was to me. She had long blonde or whiteish hair. She looked like she had some type of robe or smock on and her back was to me. I said, can I help you? Just like Alexis said, which when I heard the call, it kind of gave me chills. And she got up from my bed without acknowledging me, turning around without making a sound, and she walked right through my door and was gone. As soon as she was gone, my dog Manny seemed to chill out immediately and jumped off my bed onto his bed and went right to sleep. I didn't feel scared. It wasn't a bad presence. I think it was just somebody who maybe passed away here. I don't know. I've felt things here before and seen a guy here before. But thanks, Derek, really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to call. Peace out.
D
Thank you, Ian. Well, out of curiosity, I looked up the call that Ian referenced, an entry from Alexis that first aired all the way back on season 13, episode 18. And upon discovering that her entry was barely a minute long, I decided we can just play it again here Real quick. So please stand by for this entry from Alexis in Texas.
B
Hi, Derek, my name is Alexis and I am from Fort Worth, Texas. I'm calling in just to tell a quick story of an experience that I did have. My husband and I bought a house about two years ago. So this was in 2018. Within the first few months, months of buying the house, I had a strange experience at night. I woke up in the middle of the night and sat up and I noticed that there was a woman sitting on the end of my bed. And I remember asking, can I help you? And then I just remember her getting up and walking out of the room. And then I immediately woke my husband up and asked him if he saw anything. And then we went and looked around the house and of course there was nothing there. And so it was just a really strange experience. But I do remember feeling not scared, but more comforted by the spirit or whatever it was. I know it wasn't sleep paralysis because it did sit up. So it's just a really interesting experience. After doing some research into our house, we did find out that there was a woman who did pass away in our house.
E
It was a grandmother of the family.
B
That owned the house before us. So that was just kind of an interesting coincidence. But other than that, we haven't experienced anything in our house. So I did just want to call in and tell that quick story. Thank you so much for everything that you're doing. I love the podcast and I hope you have a wonderful day. Bye bye.
D
Thank you again, Alexis. Now, there are parallels between these two stories, no doubt. For example, a little old lady at the end of the bed. I guess if you're gonna see a ghost, a grandma ghost might be the easiest pill to swallow because I imagine it can get much worse. Just ask Carrie from the state of California.
E
Hi, it's Carrie again. Just calling from a little rural area of Humboldt County. I used to live in a really small town. Super small, like 250 to 300 people. Me and my sister were the 64th and the 65th. Kids join the elementary school there, so that tells you how small it is. This is back, I want to say, like mid-90s to early 2000s. For a while we lived up on this hill. It was quarter miles a hill. Nothing really crazy went on over there except for we had horse pasture around us. And more than once, even though there was no horses in there, me and my sister thought something was following us. You know, being out in the middle of nowhere and having a logger father, it was just Brushed off as being another animal or whatever. And then we had to move to another part of the town which is two miles out of town. I ended up having to ride a bike to and from the bus stop to school every day. So I had to be up at like 5:30 in the morning and pedal out just so I could catch the bus at 6:30. And it was a nice little 15 minute bike ride. Well, one day I started hearing something running behind me and I looked back and there's nothing. And I swear I could hear like nails, like something's claws are like running behind me. And I look back again and there's still nothing. And so I just take off pedaling as fast as I can. I just go, go, go, make it to my bus stop and go to school and you know, kind of forgot about it. And then that was like beginning of the school year, like August, later in the year, like around Christmas time. The house that we moved in was a six bedroom, but there was one bedroom that we didn't use.
B
It was just storage.
E
And to be honest, I really didn't like it. There was something weird about it that just didn't make me comfortable. So nobody really stayed in there and we just kept it as storage. Well, I went in there to get something for my mom one day I was going through some boxes and all of a sudden I hear the door slam behind me. And I turn around and there's no one in the room with me. And I try the door handle on. The door handle locked. I can only lock the door from the inside. There's no way of locking the door from the outside. So I have no idea how the door is locked. The door handle itself, like nobody's holding the door. It's the door handle itself that's locked.
B
And so I'm starting to panic, starting.
E
To panic and I just. Shaking the handle, shaking the handle. And I finally just take a deep breath and I said, I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to get something, please let me out. And like the door just instantly unlocked and I was able to open it and I ran downstairs and never ever went back into that room again. In fact, I told my mom that.
F
I never wanted to go into the room.
E
And I slept on the furthest side of the house from that room so that I wouldn't even get anywhere close to it. My sister didn't even like being in the room. But that's kind of my California sporadic tales for you. Keep up the good work and talk to you later.
D
Thank you. Carrie, that sounds like a very active home. And the room that's only used as storage, I find that so interesting. I've heard of that sort of thing before at hotels, dorm rooms and B and Bs. A room that was blocked off due to the many complaints making it impossible to rent out. But I can't recall too many stories that involve a room like that in someone's home, which makes that a chilling notion. Now, we've heard from California quite a bit here so far tonight. That was an accident on my part, but it might not be accidental overall. Because if you break down the list of most haunted states in the country, you'll see why we hear from the Golden State so often. Now, the following list is according to Ghosts of America and it features the top 10 most haunted states in the US. Number 10 is Virginia. Number nine is New York. Number eight is Oklahoma. Number seven is Pennsylvania. Number six is Indiana. Number five is Illinois. Number four is that state up north. Number three is Ohio. Number two is California. And believe it or not, number one is the lone Star state itself, Texas. So essentially, if you find yourself in Texas, California or Big Ten country, you best keep your wits about you because there may be spirits afoot. Now let's bring in another ghostly tale. Please welcome Margaret. She's calling in from New Hampshire.
E
Hello, this is Margaret from New Hampshire. A story that my aunt told me a couple years ago popped into my head. So she also lives in New Hampshire. She lived in this house in New London. And years before she lived there, there was another house that was right where the house they lived in was built on top of. And there was a woman that had lived there. And she had lost a child in its infancy. And my aunt had multiple experiences with what she believes to be this woman's ghost. One night she was lying in bed and she woke up. She didn't like startle awake, it wasn't urgent. She just kind of like slowly opened her eyes and there was a full body apparition of a woman in like period style dress just floating vertically above her. And she wasn't scared of it. It made her feel calm. She felt a warmth kind of go over her body and she felt safe by it. And she ended up just falling back asleep. And then I'm not sure if this was before or after that sighting, but her son, he was talking to a group of people that were sitting on the couch, her being one of the people on a couch. And behind the couch was a window. And while he was talking, he thought he saw someone walk by outside, and it was pitch black outside. So he was really confused. Why would someone be outside? He didn't really think anything of it, though. So he kind of continued his story. And a few minutes later, he kind of realized that it wasn't something he had seen outside the window. It was the reflection of someone walking by him, behind him. Right when he realized that, he turned around, because the only people that were in the house were sitting on a couch in front of him. So he turned around and walked to where what he saw would have walked from the office to the bathroom. And as soon as he turned around and walked in there, his mom followed him and was like, you saw her, too. You saw her like, I'm not crazy. And then the last experience that she had, that same son, his picture, I'm not sure if it was a school portrait or if it was just a random photograph of. But she noticed it was missing out of its frame. And she looked all over the house. She checked inside that frame. She pulled every single picture in the house out of its frame and piled them on her kitchen table. And she couldn't find that photograph of him anywhere. And she came to the conclusion that it must have been the ghost. So she said right there out loud, standing next to her kitchen table, that is my favorite picture of my son. That is my son. Give me my picture back and leave me alone, because I don't want to deal with this anymore. Give me my picture back and leave. And that night, she went to bed. She woke up in the morning, and that photograph she had been missing was sitting on the very top of the pile of photographs on her kitchen table. And those stories just blew my mind. So I thought that I would share them with you and the listeners of the podcast. Thank you.
D
The ghost giveth and the ghost taketh away. Thank you, Margaret, for ringing in. As for the story, I'm glad to hear that the photograph resurfaced. It's also good to hear that whatever these things are, they seem to have a conscience or at the very least, are capable of reason. At least that's something we can hang our hat on. Thank you again, Margaret, for taking the time to share in Scripture.
F
And he posted about it on that day.
A
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A
And these things are all taking part.
F
And going in different directions.
D
I'll tell you. It was difficult to pull calls for this episode. There were simply too many to choose from. Like I said earlier in the program, ghosts are very popular these days. And here with our next ghost story is Chris out of the Bluegrass state of Kentucky.
F
Hey Derek, this is Chris. I'm from Western Kentucky. I'm the Illinois Boyer. Full disclosure, I don't believe my experience is paranormal. I'll say why it was, I guess, but anytime I told anyone about it, they always think it's really creepy or whatever. So just over six years ago I was living in a mobile home, a trailer, just me and my dog living there. Sometimes at night instead of going to my bedroom, I would just sleep on the couch or recline in the living room. Pretty often really, I would just be watching TV and then shut it off and go to sleep wherever I was sitting basically. So this night I was sleeping in my recliner, which sat in the corner with the wall to the left ending at the opening of a hallway. So around 3am I woke up. And like sometimes happens, you wake up and maybe you think in the dark you see someone sitting in a chair, and then your eyes kind of adjust, and it's just like a jacket with a hat sitting awkwardly on the back of the chair or something. So it's kind of like that. I wake up and I see a figure standing in the hallway, kind of halfway into the living room. And the longer I look, the more it takes shape. And it's clearly a woman standing there. But in my head, I'm thinking, this is silly. There's nothing really there, whatever. And I start to kind of get angry with myself for being so unsettled, even though the image isn't going away. So I said, maybe 10 to 15 seconds. I just decided, hey, there's no one there. Just get up, you know, confront your fury or whatever. Which I did. I hopped out of the recliner in a big flourish and kind of defiantly took a step forward toward the hallway and stared down the figure. It's a small living room, so one step brought me less than, you know, three feet from the figure. And I'm staring there, this divine stance, staring it down. And now there's even more definition. I can see it's an old woman, probably in her 70s or older. She's wearing, like, a house dress, something an old lady would sleep in at this point, I can even make out facial features. I continue to stare her down, kind of in disbelief that she's still really there. I don't recognize her at all. But I'm staring her down, and she reacts to me. Her expression on her face changes from just like a stare to a sort of like, sweetly balking at me, like maybe a grandmother, kind of exasperated with a precocious grandchild or something. Sort of an isn't that cute? Reaction, like, teasing me that I'm trying to be brave. And then she just fades away as I stare at her. Someone's standing there alone in my living room with my dog, who had no reaction to any of it. And that's pretty much it. The whole thing was about 20 seconds. I don't think it was a ghost or anything like that. I'm pretty sure I just sort of was still half asleep. And it was like a waking dream type of thing. I feel like if it had been supernatural and paranormal, I would have been a little bit more freaked out, maybe. But I was pretty calm after it was over. I even tweeted about it, so I know exactly when it happened. It was July 31, 2014, at 3:18am I tweeted out, woke up to see a ghost in my house, and tried to scare it away. So If I died at night, he was the old woman in the house dressed as far as if it was a ghost. Like I said, I didn't recognize her. And the trailer itself, it was my parents. They bought it when it was new and when I was a baby. All my earliest families are from living there over the years. No one ever died in there. After our family moved out initially, they kind of changed hands. My grandmother lived there and aunts and family friends, various family friends at different times lived there before I eventually moved back in there. I don't know anything about the land it sat on aside from the 20 years it sat there. And no other weird stuff ever happened.
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That I know of.
F
But that's it. That's the weirdest thing that's ever happened to me. Thanks again for the show. I love it.
D
Well, that's pretty weird. Thank you, Chris, for calling in. Now, it's impossible not to notice the story features another female ghost showing herself to a waking witness, this time outside of the bedroom. Now, Chris said he wasn't sure that this was a paranormal experience, and I can see why he'd say that. There's a very fine line between a classic sleep paralysis episode and one of these ghostly woman sightings. So perhaps the old lady trope is slowly taking over the sleep paralysis realm. Or maybe there's somehow a ghost at Chris's place. Either way, we thank him for his honesty and for taking the time to share the tale. Now folks, don't forget about our merchandise shop. Visit monsters among us podcast.com and click the Shop tab to get your hands on on all kinds of official Monsters Among US gear. Shirts, hats, pins, patches, posters and stickers and a whole lot more. Again, visit monsters among us podcast.com and click the Shop tab to get your order started. And let's go ahead and get this next call started as well. Joining us from Canada, please welcome Amy to the show Foreign.
E
Hi Derek, this is Amy calling from Alberta, Canada. So a little bit of history for friends and family and things like that. I do do house cleansing if there is some kind of a reason that they think their house might be haunted or spirits or things like that. And my sister in law had called me saying that there was some sort of a spirit or an entity that had been bothering my nephew. So I go to contact her and kind of check it out, but what I did not know is that she had that day seen a dead body that was discovered by her and the young boy wasn't with her at the time or anything like that. But she had been walking her oldest child to school and found a man who had died in his front yard or something along that kind of on the street. And so she was obviously quite shooken up, but went home and didn't think much past, you know, calling the police, of course, to go and find his body. And then the next couple nights, her youngest, who's four I think at the time, started seeing, in his words, a man who was mad at him. And the man was in his room every night being mad at him. Now, kids have an imagination, so I figured that probably it was that, but that I would go to the house and, you know, stage the place just in case that would make everybody feel better. And so I go. And we didn't tell the young boy what we were doing, really, because I didn't want to scare him or plant more ideas in his head. But as we were going through the house, he goes, oh, this is like Ghostbusters. This is going to get rid of the ghost. Which was weird because we hadn't said anything like that. We go through the house, we finish up and, you know, everybody felt a lot better about it. And I figured that was kind of bad. It was more maybe of a placebo effect or something like that, that everyone would feel better. And I then go home that night and I felt quite unsettled, which, considering this is something that I do periodically, I was kind of surprised or taken a little back that I felt so off or I kept on feeling like there was something wrong or like there was someone in my house. I kept checking my locks. I kept, you know, checking my windows and things like that, making sure that wasn't possible. And then that night I woke up and there was in my room a shadow that I couldn't explain. And I saw two big kind of red, glowing. I don't want to say eyes, but it definitely looked like red glowing eyes. And I turned on my lights. I'm not going to be afraid of whatever this is because there must be some sort of a regular cause for it. When I turned on the lights, nothing was there. I went back to sleep, didn't think much of it. This then continued to happen increasingly for the next three or four days. But as it did, I could start making out more of a figure that wanted to be seen. And that seemed very much angry with me. And it got to the point where I was almost expecting it at night because I hadn't done anything in my own home to, you know, cleanse since I had done that. And I really feel like something had followed me home, something that was very mad that I had, you know, ruined its fun and kicked it out of the young boys room. That was obviously much more terrified than me. And the last night, night before I did finally, you know, decide that I needed to cleanse my own home. I woke up in the night and clear as day there was what looked like a man in my room. And I just said, you know, get out, I don't want you here. I will get rid of you. You know this is not going to happen. And so I got up and I crushed a series of herbs other than just I also added, you know, some frankincense and myrrh and things like that. And then I never saw him again. And when I told my sister in law that that had happened and I described the man, it matched the description of the man that she had seen.
D
Thank you Amy. I always feel like I need to mention this, but Amy's call cut off there at the end. That wasn't a choice I or my team made, but I think we got a majority of the tale. And based on what we heard, Amy doesn't take any flack from these ghosts. They'll fall in line or she will smoke them into submission. No, I think we could all take a little inspiration from Amy and I think we can all thank her for sharing her harrowing tale as well.
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D
Now next up on the platform is Jimmy out of the sunshine state of Florida.
F
Hi Derek, this is Jimmy from Jacksonville, Florida. About two years ago me and my girlfriend were living in a studio apartment that was attached to a larger residence. And up until this point I've had small experiences but nothing really kind of concrete I guess you could say. Well, there was one morning, it was around 4am I had woken up from a dead sleep with the feeling of somebody being close. You know that feeling you get that you just feel somebody else very close to you or around you? Well it woke me up and my girlfriend who was dead asleep beside me, spoke in her sleep saying well if you stand too close to him, you're gonna creep him out. Needless to say, it did creep me out. Not only the experience, but her response to it. I immediately woke her up and asked her what she said and why she had said it. And she said she had had a dream that a tall male presence was standing next to me while I was asleep. And we did a little bit of research and talked to our landlord and turns out that our landlord's partner had died of a heart attack in the house a few years previous. This is one of the small experiences I had. So thank you have go ahead.
D
Thank you Jimmy. Coincidentally, my most impactful ghostly encounter also occurred in Jacksonville, Florida. I saw the ghost of a Native American man dancing in my grandparents guest room. I think I was 11 or maybe 12 at the time. I still think about that sighting constantly and it boggles my mind how something could be there one second, then completely gone the next. But that's exactly what I saw. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the same kind of validation that Jimmy was able to get. But based on what I know about that part of Florida, the activity he experienced didn't surprise me at all. So thank you again Jimmy for sharing your encounter. Now gang, before we move on to our next entry, a little bit of housekeeping regarding the latest episode. In said episode, I accidentally shared a call I'd shared just a few weeks prior to your classic repeat story. And that was my goof. As you can imagine, there are a lot of moving parts to this program and I simply misplaced that one twice. We had a lot of people reach out and I'm here to say that you're not losing it. I simply made a mistake. But I promise we'll do what we can to be better going forward. But for now, let's share another call from the state of Tennessee. Please welcome Megan to tonight's program.
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Hi Derek. My name is Megan. So the house that my grandparents lived in for most of my life, like all my childhood, was built by my great great great grandfather in 1909 on a 60ish acre chunk of what is still mostly woodland about half an hour outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee. My great great great grandparents lived in it. My great great grandparents lived in it. I think my great grandmother grew up there, although my great grandparents lived on another house on the property. And then I think my grandparents moved in after my great great grandparents died. But there have absolutely been people in my family that died in that house. It's been remodeled at least once since it was built, probably in the 70s judging by the wood paneling in like every room. But my entire family is still like, yeah, but this house is definitely haunted. It's important to understand just how isolated this house is. The acreage is off the interstate and there are a handful of houses closer to the road. My grandparents house is on like a 1 acre clearing surrounded on two sides by thick woods. There's a super thick tree line separating them from their closest neighbors on one side and the other side is this giant raised gravel hill with a railroad on top of like FedEx. Can't find them. You wouldn't know it was there if you didn't already know it was there. So this isn't a house that anyone would like randomly wander into or you know, randomly pick to mess with or break into or anything. I really don't know how to rationally explain the things that have happened there. My grandmother said that she and my grandfather would often hear murmuring or whispers, like people talking quietly but indistinctly in another room. Even though they were the only ones home and no TVs or radios were on, they would hear footsteps in parts of the house where no one was. The thing is about this house, even in rooms with thick shag carpet, the floorboards underneath creaked when you walked and it was a very distinct sound. It would be hard to mistake any other noise for that sound. My grandmother said that there was more than one occasion where she would be on the computer or reading a book in the next room while my grandfather Was asleep in the bedroom, and she'd hear footsteps, like someone walking towards and then into the room from the opposite direction and then crossing the room towards the old door onto the back porch. And if she looked up, she would catch like the shadow of a person in the corner of her eye. And she knew it couldn't have been my grandfather because he would literally have to walk right in front of her to leave the bedroom. I spent a lot of time there growing up, spent a lot of nights there. I hated having to get up to go to the bathroom at night there because sort of the kids bedroom was on one end of the house. And I would have to pass through so many dark rooms to get to the bathroom. And I was scared of the dark. Oddly though, it wasn't the pitch black kitchen or the almost pitch black hallway or the pitch black bathroom that I hated the most out of that journey, but this sort of hallway room that connected the kitchen to that smaller dark hallway. Even though this room was generally lit either by like an outlet nightlight or by the light from this big telephone pole that was out in the yard. But there was always something that made me uneasy in that room. Going through it at night, even though it was lighter. I didn't like that I could sort of see what was in that room. I don't know if it was quite as obvious as that feeling that you're being watched so much as this feeling that like, there was something that I couldn't see. It was in that same sort of hallway room that my younger cousin, I think she was around 9 or 10 at the time, was like, on her way to the bathroom, passed by a figure she assumed was my grandmother. Middle of the night one night, only to discover the next morning that it hadn't been. I guess she like, mentioned something and my grandmother was like, I didn't get up last night. Neither of my grandparents have ever sleepwalked.
E
My cousin's old enough to be able.
B
To tell the difference between dream and reality. Her most terrifying experience happened around the same time. But this was in broad daylight. She'd gone into the kitchen to pour a glass of Coke for my grandfather. And when she turned around from the fridge, she saw a young woman wearing a red dress standing in the kitchen. She just dropped the cup and the.
E
Coke and ran out of the room.
B
I had heard this story back when it happened, which, you know, was like 10 or so years ago. And I asked her about it again over this past Christmas. She said that that was still the freakiest thing that had ever Happened to her, and she'd never forget it. This cousin was never the kind of kid who would, like, make up stories for attention, and she was still kind of freaked out by it all these years later. But what my grandmother always told all.
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Of us was, was everyone who ever.
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Died in this house was related to you. They aren't going to hurt you. And, I mean, that certainly seems to be the case. There were never any of the signs that you'd associate with a malicious haunting. Just, it seems, our dead relatives checking up on us. And when I was asking my grandmother and my grandfather about it, she's just, like, so casual. Just like, oh, yeah, no fear. Just talking like it was no big deal.
E
Like, yeah, that house was super haunted, but no biggie.
B
It was just great grandma. So that kind of makes our friendly family haunting kind of cool to me. They don't live in that house anymore. It's been abandoned since. And as much as I kind of like to go into that old house and see if anything happened, it hasn't been maintained. So I'm not sure if it would even be safe to go in. But I kind of can't help but wonder, because Even into my mid-20s, my grandparents and aunt and everybody loved to tell this story of when I was, like, three years old and we were over for Christmas, and all the adults heard, like, a crash in the next room, and they run in to see little bitty me standing next to the fallen Christmas tree, and I announce that it just fell over. It was very interesting. And for years they've joked like, sure, it just fell over, But I bet you reaching for an ornament or something helped it along. But now, after talking to them about all of this paranormal stuff that happened into that house, I'm feeling kind of indignant because I'm like, you knew that house was haunted, and you still blamed me for knocking the Christmas tree over. I mean, hey, if there were ghosts.
E
In that house, maybe the Christmas tree.
B
Really did just fall over. But anyway, that's my family ghost story.
E
I love the show. Keep up the great work. Thanks.
B
Bye.
D
Thank you, Megan. One of the good things about having property that's passed down within the family Is knowing exactly who the ghosts are that you might find there. Or at the very least, you know, they're likely kinfolk. Not that that makes it any easier when you run into one of these apparitions in a darkened corner, but maybe on a small level, that fact can help make a difference. So we appreciate your time, Megan. Thank you again for ringing in now folks, that brings us to tonight's final entry. And before I push play, there's talk of suicide in the following call. For those of you looking to avoid the subject otherwise, please welcome Jacqueline out of the state of Oklahoma.
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Hey Derek, my name is Jacqueline and I'm in Oklahoma. I'm actually calling to share a story that took place in Cincinnati, Ohio when I was a baby. I was about 12 months old and this is about the time that my parents. I don't remember this, but obviously the story has been told to me by multiple family members. My parents figured out that I was either sensitive or just young enough to see some things. But there was a house that had some weird occurrences happening in it. My dad did odd and inn work and so did my grandfather, his, his dad. And sometimes they would do like handyman gigs together. So this younger woman had purchased a house and she was paying them to fix a few things, one of which she was having an issue with the doorbell. The doorbell would ring intermittently and randomly and they were trying to fix it. So my dad had taped down the doorbell and it was ringing repeatedly. They were working on, he was making sure that the wires weren't crossed so it would connect and ring non stop and then it wouldn't be ringing at all and then it would randomly half ring because while I was working on it, so the house was empty, she was at work. She had had some friends stay over the weekend, weekends with her. And my, my dad and my grandfather had been in the house working at that point as well. But at this point they had all left. It was confirmed, the house was very empty and they heard a voice from upstairs, yell, what? And my dad froze and my grandfather, who was actually a skeptic, my dad and my mom a little more open minded, but they aren't necessarily like, yeah, ghost. They're just open minded about it. And he did not believe in any of it anyway. He said, huh, I thought all the guys left. And my dad said they did, dad. And they were silent. And then my dad said, you heard that too then? And my grandfather said, heard what? So he denied it. Anyway, so that's one occurrence. But then one day they brought me and they'd had several occurrences, had some things where things moved, hammers had been knocked, knocked over. They had a really hard time with one hammer in particular, would keep getting thrown in the floor somehow it would like they would set it on something and land in the floor. So I was there with my mom, she brought lunch, they were hanging out and my mom's sitting on the bottom step. And she says that they all at the same time hear footsteps at the top of the step. And the way that the staircase was set up again, I. I don't remember, but this is what I was told, is that it was at one straight shot of stairs and then it did at one fluid curve. So not like a landing and then a turn, but one fluid curve around and then it stopped at the end. So you can see the top of the stairs very easily. And it had a landing. It had like a overlook where you look down on the entrance, the foyer area. So anyway, they could see up there. There was nobody there. My mom said she could actually feel it was hardwood floor. She could feel like vibration of footsteps on her tuckus where she was sitting and that I was over her shoulder and she was holding me. And so basically I'm looking up at the top of the stairs and she's facing forward. Away from her back is to the top of the stairs. So I start to climb over her shoulder, shoulder again. I'm about a year old and I start reaching and cooing and talking and interacting. And they said they heard the sound of the steps coming all the way down and it stopped about several steps behind them, but not too far. And I just continued to coo and carry on. So that's that story. Then they started to see shadows. My dad specifically started seeing shadows that would just travel up and down the staircase. So if you're not familiar with the houses in Cincinnati, like the city houses, they almost look like what you would see on, like Full House, kind of like the San Francisco concept, but not exactly. These houses are tall, they're narrow, and they're very close together. So it's going to be really hard to just cast shadows. And a lot of them, only this one was no exception. According to my father. They only have. They only have windows, like on the fronts and the sides. They don't. Or backs. They don't necessarily have a lot of windows on the sides because of the fact that the houses are so close together. So there would be no way to just cast random shadows in the areas that he saw. But he saw shadows frequently, so there's that. And he's not the only one that saw it. Eventually my dad decided there was one room that she wanted him to work on. There were some shelves built into a wall, and she wanted him to pull them out, make it a regular wall, and then just make shelves. So he's in this room working on that. And he said he always felt Watched. And then finally one day, he was working in the room alone, but his father was still with, like, in the building with him in the house. And the door shuts while he's in the room. So nobody. His dad. He came down, found his dad's dad's outside on the back patio, working on the patio. He asked him, did you shut the door? He checks to see if there's anybody else in the house. Nobody's in there. So now he's thoroughly spooked, and he reaches out to the owner, the person who had hired them, and says, listen, there's. Here's these things. And he explains all of that. And she goes, oh, yeah, yeah. The previous owner committed suicide in that office. So. And she said. And he wasn't known to be a very nice guy. And then she goes on to explain her encounter. So, yes, the house was, she said, made no bones about it. House is clearly haunted. But the worst part, she said, is, like, when she takes a shower, he did walls in the room. He bangs on the walls the whole time she's taking a shower. So anyway, that is the entire version of that encounter. He did commit suicide. I don't know exactly where the house is, but it is in Cincinnati, and that's where I'm from. And so I just. I hadn't heard a lot of things just right from that area. I thought I'd share. Have a really good day, and thank you so much for letting me share and creating a platform where we can share these fun little stories.
D
Creepy, creepy, creepy. Thank you for the phone call. Now, I think you have a point there. Jacqueline settled in 1788. Cincy has all sorts of history and a lot of opportunity for paranormal activity. If you ever get the chance to visit the Queen City, I highly recommend you do so and take one of its many ghost tours while you're there. And if you're brave, get yourself a bowl of Cincinnati chili. That's quite the tale you have there, Jackie. The disembodied shout from the far end of the house would have especially got my attention. And we're thankful that you shared those details here with us. And, folks, that's all I have for tonight, but I'll be back on Thursday with even more firsthand accounts, just like tonight's offering. But until then, Monsters Among Us podcast is written and produced by me, Derek Hayes. Copyright Red Crow Media. Additional support is provided by Sarah Carter Hayes, Delaney Bowers, and Connor Ryan. All media used in this production is done so under the protection of fair use. Be sure to give us a like and follow on our social media accounts, give us a Like and follow on YouTube, give us a rate and review wherever that sort of thing is possible. And join us on our Discord server. Don't forget, you can catch the show every Saturday evening at 10pm Eastern on the annexed digital network. Just visit on xnetwork.com to tune in now. Tonight's score was provided by Iron Cthulhu, Apocalypse co agmusic and Carl Casey at White Bat Audio. Now watch our film. Borregotriangle.com will get you the info. Tune in to Monsters Among Us Junior new episodes drop every other Wednesday fun for all ages and the hotline number over there is 833-MAU-KIDS. And lastly, join us in the beyond where you can get days worth of back content. Content that is currently behind the paywall. All you have to do is pledge five bucks a month and it's all yours. Visit monsters among us podcast.com and click the Patreon tab. Or join us directly on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. All right gang, until next time, you keep it spooky and have yourselves a good night.
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Sa.
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This is the story of the One as an H Vac technician, he and his digital multimeter are in high demand. So when a noisy officer H Vac turns out to be a failing blower motor, he doesn't break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product information, he selects the product he needs to keep everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. If you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. This is the story of the One as an H Vac technician, he and his digital multimeter are in high demand. So when a noisy office H Vac turns out to be a failing blower motor, he doesn't break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product information, he selects the product he needs to keep everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
Host: Derek Hayes
Date: February 17, 2026
This chilling episode, guided by Derek Hayes, delves into the timeless and universal phenomenon of ghostly encounters. Featuring firsthand accounts submitted by listeners, Derek curates a tapestry of spectral tales from across the globe, blending classic hauntings, familial spirits, haunted homes, and unexplained visitations. With stories told in the witnesses’ own voices, the episode lifts the veil on the enduring mystery of apparitions and their place in our lives—balancing chills, validation, humor, and thoughtful speculation.
"There's one experience that seems to span that diverse group of people... A phenomenon that all believers respect equally." — Derek (02:22)
Brandon, Los Angeles, CA
“That girl woke my brother up last night and we have no idea who she is.” — Brandon’s godfather, recounted by Brandon (06:30)
"That's the sort of validation you seldom get your hands on." — Derek (06:44)
Frank, Long Island, NY
“No, a ghost finger in the ear. It’d be hilarious if it wasn’t so damn unnerving.” — Derek (09:18)
Iris, Japan
"I swear to you, I saw that lady. And I've always heard rumors amongst our school that there was a lady in the locker room." — Iris (13:57)
“Or is it possible Emily herself attracted the spirit…” — Derek (14:52)
Caller, Maine (Anonymous Scholar)
Wesley, No State Mentioned
“That’s not the kind of thing you want to see as you wake up.” — Derek (22:38)
Ian, San Diego, CA, & Alexis, Fort Worth, TX
"I didn't feel scared. It wasn't a bad presence." — Ian (26:53)
“Can I help you?... I remember her getting up and walking out of the room...” — Alexis (27:45)
"If you're gonna see a ghost, a grandma ghost might be the easiest pill to swallow." — Derek (28:53)
Carrie, Humboldt County, CA
“I never ever went back into that room again.” — Carrie (32:32)
Margaret, New Hampshire
“That is my favorite picture of my son... Give me my picture back and leave me alone...” — Margaret, quoting her aunt (38:07)
"It's also good to hear that whatever these things are, they seem to have a conscience..." — Derek (38:14)
Chris, Western Kentucky
“Her expression on her face changes from just like a stare to a sort of like, sweetly balking at me, like maybe a grandmother, kind of exasperated with a precocious grandchild...” — Chris (41:40)
Amy, Alberta, Canada
“I really feel like something had followed me home, something that was very mad that I had, you know, ruined its fun and kicked it out of the young boys room.” — Amy (48:32)
Jimmy, Jacksonville, FL
“Not only the experience, but her response to it. I immediately woke her up and asked her what she said and why she had said it. And she said... a tall male presence was standing next to me while I was asleep.” — Jimmy (53:24)
Megan, Tennessee
“That house was super haunted, but no biggie. It was just great grandma.” — Megan’s grandmother, paraphrased (61:58)
Jacqueline, Oklahoma (story set in Cincinnati, OH)
“Eventually my dad decided...he always felt Watched. And then finally one day, he was working in the room alone...the door shuts while he's in the room.” — Jacqueline (66:16)
Many stories involve a woman in a white dress with long hair, often described as comforting or maternal. The “woman at the end of the bed” trope recurs, suggesting a universal motif in ghostly encounters.
Children feature prominently as witnesses, supporting common beliefs about kids’ heightened sensitivity to the supernatural.
Several callers express skepticism or rational explanations, yet their stories defy easy dismissal—showcasing the tension between disbelief and direct experience.
A common thread emphasizes that many hauntings—especially those involving family homes—tend to be benign, even if occasionally unsettling.
Derek balances spooky with levity, referencing pop culture (“My Girlfriend is a Ghost”), and statistics about belief in ghosts, fostering a community that welcomes both believers and curious skeptics.
This episode masterfully weaves tales of apparitions ranging from classic hauntings to comfortingly familiar family ghosts. Derek’s thoughtful curation and warm engagement encourage listeners—whether skeptical or convinced—to consider the enduring place of ghost stories in culture and personal experience. As Derek sums up:
"Truth be told, and all numbers aside, it all comes down to one question. Do you believe in ghosts?" — Derek (20:49)
Keep it spooky!