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The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time, scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. The Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow $267 million gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague. In partnership with Level Up Expo.
Derek Hayes
Good evening and welcome to Monsters Among Us. I am your guide, Derek Hayes. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the program. I trust you had no trouble in tuning in this evening, and I'm real glad that you did because tomorrow would have been my grandfather's 96th birthday. He was stern on the outside, but when you understood how he worked, you could get some good laughs out of him. He taught me a lot about work ethic, and that's a virtue that is now imperative to this show's success. So I guess you can say I have grandparents on the mind tonight. So as I was digging through my call library, I noticed a lot of calls involving grandmas and grandpas. So I decided to assemble a bunch of them to share with you here tonight. And we're going to kick things off with a grandma story, or at least the ghost of one. Please welcome Jen out of New York.
Caller
Hi, Derek. My name is Jen. I'm calling from Long Island, New York, many, many years ago. My son was probably four at the time, so we had moved in with my father. It was a very tumultuous time in my life. Now, Judy was my mother. She passed away when I was 14. So Jimmy had never met her, but knew of her because I always spok of her to him and raising him. I wanted him to not be afraid of death and afterlife and all of that. And I wanted him to, you know, know that quote unquote, death doesn't really mean death. And it's a very natural part of our existence. And those that we love are still with us. They might not be inhabiting their physical self, but they are still with us. They are still surrounding us. They are still loving us and comforting us. We just have to tap in to feel it. So that's how I raised him. You know, I always spoke of her. And so anyway, each night, my son and myself had a nightly 10 routine. His name is Jimmy. So this one night, I went into his room, I'm tucking him in, I'm reading him a story, and I'm noticing that he is perched at the very, very, very end of his pillow. Like the whole pillow had all this space. And he could have moved over and had so much more room. So I said, jimmy, why don't you move over, babe? You have all of this room here. And he said without missing a beat, and in this, like, whisper voice David used so as not to wake somebody up, he said to me, no, that's where Grandma Judy sleeps. When that happened, I was so struck by that. And he said it, like, very matter of fact, like, this is what we do. This is how I sleep. She sleeps here, I sleep there. Didn't want to converse anymore. He was, you know, like, mom, go. I'm tired. I'm four. I had a very busy day of preschool. So I leave the bedroom and my dad, also named Jimmy, just happened to be standing in the kitchen. And I came out and I said, dad, you're not going to believe what Jimmy just said. And I told him and my dad, you know, old school Irish, you know, retired law enforcement. But even he was like, oh, my God. And as I stated in the beginning, it was a very tumultuous time in my life. So when my son said this to me, it validated for me that they are still around us and that they are still surrounding us in the white light and love and protection and comfort. And it really comforted me because I really needed it at that time in my life. So years after, my son drunks about her, too. Anyway, Derek, I thank you. Be well. Bye.
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Jen. Now, I too, had a Grandma Judy. She passed on 30 years ago this summer. It's crazy how fast time flies. Now she knew the value of a good gift. The first day of kindergarten. Boom. A stuffed Grover. First night in my own room. Boom. A lamp that she made out of seashells that she found. You get the point. She was a giver. And I was lucky enough to have 16 years with my grandmother. But it sounds like Jen's son didn't have that privilege. Or did he? That's the sort of thing we're looking for here tonight. Creepy but heartwarming at the same time. And I have another queued up here. So let's punch play on the following anonymously submitted story out of Texas.
Caller
Hello, I would like to say anonymous. I'm from Texas. My grandmother recently passed away. It's been about a month and since then I've been experiencing some odd things which I've tried to brush away. But here in the past couple of days it's gotten worse. So yesterday in the morning I was walking downstairs and the light above the stairs started flickering and it hasn't done that before. And then this morning, it was about maybe 10 minutes ago, I went to make a phone call and some white noise came online while I was making the phone call and it sounded like a disembodied male voice saying help me very faintly. But just wanted to call in. Thank you for all you doing for your show. I love it. Keep it Scooby. Thanks again.
Derek Hayes
Thanks caller. Now, is this a coincidence or could that have been Grandma reaching out from the other side? A huge thanks scholar for taking the time to share that tale. And I have a lot more just like these to share with you here tonight. But first, a quick word from our sponsors.
Caller
Because of the TV show next year,
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if they the Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. The Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We Do It Gaming team take on Gilly the king and wallow. 2, 6 $7 million gaming in an epic Global Gaming League video game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins in advances to the championship match right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo. This stretch of Westwood Boulevard.
Derek Hayes
Now up to Minnesota. We go for this next one. Please welcome Eric to the program.
Caller
Hey, Derek, my name is Eric. I am actually from Minnesota. And the story that I want to share with you and the listeners actually happened to my uncle. This happened probably about 43 years ago. And my uncle at the time, he lived in Menominee, Wisconsin. And he was having an issue with his throat. He had some kind of a lump there. So he went into the doctor's office. So the doctor had no idea what it was. So they had to take a sample to test the tissue to find out if it was cancer or not. So my uncle had to wait over a week or so to find out if the lump was cancer. He actually was a young adult. He actually had young children and he was very nervous that it was cancer. He had many nights where he had trouble sleeping. So he told me the night before he found out what the results were going to be. That was his worst night. He just had trouble sleeping. He was sitting up in his bed and he told me that he was looking towards his windows. The blinds were shut. But at the time he was a police officer. So he had this partner that would joke around, drive down the street and he would shine the spotlight through his windows. So that's what he thought it was at first. So this bright light started come through the window there and then it got brighter and brighter. But then it ended up in the corner of the room, up near the ceiling area. And he said that it got bright. But then he saw an image, he saw a face of his late father. My grandpa actually popped up out of nowhere. It was looking at my uncle. My grandpa was. And he started smiling at him and he said, there's nothing to worry about, Joe. Everything's gonna be just fine. And then the light went away, the image of my grandpa went away. Everything just went away. And he was so shooken up that he woke up my aunt that was sleeping next to him. He was just in shock. So basically he. All his fears went away completely. He actually went into the next day to the doctor's appointment not nervous at all and found out that that lump was a ruptured voice box or something. So they had to do surgery. So, yeah, it's just one of those stories that I love telling people. It always gives me goosebumps that it was just a sign from a loved one saying, you don't need to worry. I absolutely love your podcast. So, yeah, keep up the good work. Thanks. Bye.
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Eric. If only we were all this lucky to have a grandparent or in this case, a parent come back to share a message of good news. And who couldn't use a little good news these days? But a word of caution, let's not forget that on last Thursday's episode, B told a story about his deceased grandparents and how they returned to take his father to the other side. So it's a bit of a give and take, I'd say yin and yang, the large print giveth and the small print taketh away kind of deal. But what an incredible entry. Anyway, you slice it. Thank you again, Eric, for taking the time. And folks, if you have a story you would like to share here on the program, just give our hotline a call at 888-608-night. That's 888608 N I G H T. Or you can email a voice memo to monsters among us podcastmail.com now up next, we venture to Nevada. Please welcome Jay to the program.
Caller
Hey guys, this is Jay from Las Vegas, Nevada. So my grandma had passed in January of this year, so 2025, and it put me in a really, really bad depression. So in order to honor her, I started looking into ways to not really contact, but just to kind of honor her. So I built a little ancestral altar. And I've had it up for a couple months now. And every other day I basically give her dinner. I have her picture up, I light a candle, I light incense, and I just pray to her and have little LED lights on my altars. So a couple weeks ago, I believe my lights just stopped working. They're USB connected, but I have them plugged into the wall. But they would often change and I don't have it on a set pattern. So it'll just literally be different colors. Normally they're like purple white, or they'll be aquamarine. And I noticed that they stopped changing. So I kind of got sad and I prayed to grandma. I left her offerings and I prayed to her and I let her know that I missed her so much and I loved her. And it kind of made me sad not seeing my life change anymore. So after I prayed, I noticed that the lights changed colors again. I finally changed. I think that same day I made her chicken lob, which is like a authentic Thai Lao dish. And I said out loud, I'm like, I hope I made you proud. And I hope I made it the way that you made it for me. And the lights were aquamarine at the time. And after I said those words out loud, the lights paused and then they switched to A purple. And I immediately started crying and I just knew that she heard me and I made her proud. I just wanted to let you guys know the little happy story about that. And I love this podcast so much. I love everyone that submits their stories and I hope this brings you guys joy, that your ancestors, your spirits are out there. If you just ask for signs and you watch for them and send you guys all the blessings and the love that I have. And thank you guys again so much.
Derek Hayes
Thanks, Jay. Those little signs are seemingly everywhere if you look hard enough. And how fitting that food was the catalyst here. Now. My other grandmother passed away 14 years ago, and even still today, I'll smell a certain food or taste a particular ingredient, and her memory will come flooding back. The woman loved to cook and she loved to teach people how to cook. And she taught me early on that you can communicate through food, especially when you're the one preparing it. She loved us through her cooking and I tried to do the same. Still today, if you spend time at my house, I'll likely cook up something for you. So I get where you're coming from. J Take the signs anyway that you can get them, and I'm happy to hear that you got the message you were looking for. Thank you again for ringing in. We've heard a lot from the grandmas here so far tonight, but what about a tale or two about the grandpas out there? Please welcome Alex out of Illinois.
Caller
Hey again, this is Alex from Chicago. I had a quick story from my childhood. My grandfather on my mom's side was this hugely important figure in my life, a legendary guy in our family and just a guy that I revere so much. He taught me how to camp and start a fire, you know, how to observe nature, how to garden. He was a huge animal lover, which is important. An eccentric guy, but incredibly grounded. He was a radar engineer in his heyday and just an amazing, amazing man. Also loved to pull pranks. But towards the end of his life, he would sick with, I believe, lung cancer from before the time I was born in 85 and he died, I want to say in 94. So I was like 1112 years old when he died. And I, at that point in my life was going through that transitionary time that a 12 year old do. I had grown up in the Catholic church and particularly watching my grandfather wither away from cancer, especially during his hospice where we would go over once a week and cut the grass and have dinner. And just seeing him deteriorate so quickly certainly put a lot of Stress onto my faith and whatnot. And it was the beginning of me becoming an agnostic, atheist, however you want to term it. But he used to love spiders. It was his favorite insect, and he just adored them to the point where in the downstairs bathroom, he noticed a spider one day that was spinning a web in there. So he put a cardboard box there for him to live in and put a little sign and named him. And everyone knew his love for spiders. So when he finally passed away, I was at the wake and I was kneeling down and reverently praying, you know, doing the preteen, adolescent notion of give me a sign, God, just give me a one effing sign. And I, you know, blah, blah, blah. And in the midst of doing that, my aunt, who was kneeling in front of the casket saying her goodbyes to her father, just let out an alarming shriek at the top of her lungs. And what had happened was a large black spider descended from the ceiling right in front of her face as she was kneeling there. And the funeral director, I remember, ran up and started trying to swat it and was really embarrassed about this spider being there. And my aunts all surrounded and were like, no, you can't hurt the spider. It's grandpa. You know, my father and our grandpa. It lightened the mood and offered a lot of levity that I think we all needed at that time. But the timing of it, you know, and to this day, I'm as agnostic, if not atheistic, as they come, but I know as my 1112 year old self, that was a huge moment at the end of it. It's just I still revere the man and love the lessons he taught. All right, take care, Derek. Talk to you later.
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Alex. That's what I'm talking about. Like you said, the timing of it all, it's just perfect. Now, I'd love that your grandfather was a prankster, and I love that he loved spiders. And I love that this all culminated into one perfect moment. A moment that might have also contained a message. I'm not supposed to have favorites here on the program, but this is one of them. Thank you again, Alex, for sharing the entry.
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The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can Follow the teams I care about. Get real time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. The Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my How We do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow $267 million gaming and in an epic Global Gaming league video game showdown plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo and that's being renegotiated
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Derek Hayes
Now back to the action and onto Arkansas. Please welcome Lizzy to the show.
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Hey Derek, it's Lizzy from Arkansas. A little backstory. Me, my mom lived with her mom. So my grandma and my great grandma we lived in a probably about double white trailer I believe. I'm not sure. You know they didn't tell me all that. I was like four. Well it was a hot day, really hot. But my grandma and my granny had a doctor's appointment in Little Rock. Now we lived in Atkins so that's about a two hour drive. Especially since we did not have a car at the time. We relied on like people giving us rides and well so my mom was comin through my hair. I had had head lice at the time. Got it probably from someone from school. Me and her were sitting in our like door. I know that sounds weird but our front door was open and we were sitting in the doorway. So say we seen somebody pull up or walk down our driveway because we had a really long driveway. We would have seen them because we've seen the whole front yard. Now my mom has always had like a creepy feeling of my granny's room so she had to shut my granny's door and my grandma's door, my granny's room was at the very end of the trailer, far left. Well about an hour or so of my grandma and my granny being gone. Out of nowhere we hear three knocks from my granny's bedroom and it just kept repeating itself in threes here and it kept doing that and it just kept going and it progressively got louder to where it was banging on the door and shaking it. Now my family's very religious and three is sign of mocking the holy trinity. The father, son, the Holy spirit. All that. And so my mom basically kind of like threw me out of her lap and went into the room and was trying to bless the room and rebuke whatever was in there away. And for the rest of that time, until my grandma and my granny got home, which was hours later, we stayed outside. We did not go in unless we were like thirsty and absolutely had to use the bathroom. Like, we did not go back in the house at all until I got home. And even then we were still scared to go in there. We told my grandma about it and she didn't believe us. Think she was scared herself, but she was religious and she just didn't believe us. Well, that was one of my stories. Thank you, Derek. Keep it spooky.
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Lizzie. Now, I debated with myself for a good while trying to decide if I should mention the following or not. But given that this is a paranormal program, I almost feel that I have to. Now, as I was writing this episode, I get a text from my mom who is rushing her wiener dog to the emergency vat. And a couple of hours later, she let me know that her pup did not make it. She was getting up there in years and was suffering organ failure, so they had no choice but to put her down. And not one hour later, after I received the text that my mother's dog had passed away, I scrolled down my list of calls for this episode and land on Lizzie's entry. And the connection here is that my mom's dog that passed away not three hours ago, her name was Lizzie, spelled the exact same way. L, I, Z, Z Y. Now, I'm not a big believer that there's meaning behind every coincidence like this, but this one was a little too on the nose not to notice. Now, of course, our hearts go out to my mom and the rest of her household. Losing a pet is never an easy thing. Now, as for Lizzy's entry, who or what was knocking on Granny's door? And why did the mom have such a strange feeling about the space? Did Granny know more than she was letting on? Yuri? And for that, we thank you, Lizzy. Now, before we move on, a little info on grandparents. There are 80 million grandparents in the U.S. grandparents represent 1/3 of the population. With about 1.7 million new grandparents added each and every year. 43% became grandparents in their 50s, 37% in their 40s. And the average age of first time grandparents in this country is about 48 years old. And 72% of grandparents take care of their grandchildren on a regular basis. And finally, about 2 million households are multi generational, and 1 in 10 children live with a grandparent. Those facts courtesy of a website called grandmascookiejar.net now time for another grandpa story. Leslie from North Carolina, the airwaves are yours.
Caller
Hi, Derek. This is Leslie from North Carolina. I have a really sweet story about my grandparents. I spent a lot of time with them growing up, and my grandfather passed away probably when I was about 7 or 8. Fast forward to, you know, just growing up and hard times and things like that. Well, he and I used to always go riding in the car. We'd always listen to music and, you know, just hang out. And so as an adult, and this has been numerous times, whenever I'm going through a big ordeal or I have something really big going on, different cars, different years, different situations, I always smell his cologne. It's overwhelming. It's not something that you smell in the car any other time. Fast forward a little bit more. I went and I had a reading, and the lady that was doing the reading, she said, do you have a grandfather? And I was like, yeah, my papa. And she says to me, she said, do you ever smell cologne? And I was like, that's crazy that you say that, because I actually smell it quite a bit. And I kind of told her a little bit about the situation. She said, he's coming to see you. And he said to listen to the music. So, you know, I'll take it with a grain of salt. But it really does make me happy to know that possibly someone's coming to see me that I really miss quite a bit. Thank you so much for letting me to share. I love the podcast. Take care.
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Leslie. That's one of the ghostly grandparent tropes. Phantom cologne or perfume. And you don't hear about this a lot, but you do hear about it from time to time. In fact, my wife Sarah said that the scent of her grandfather's pipe could be detected at her mom's house, formerly her grandfather's house, a full decade after he passed on. It wasn't a lingering odor either. It would only fade in from time to time, just like Leslie described. Now, this isn't tonight's only call involving phantom fragrances. Please welcome John out of Georgia.
Caller
Hey, Derek. This is John in Georgia. My story takes place in October of 2020 and is actually several connected, unexplained events, one of which was comforting, the other terrifying. It started with the death of my grandmother who took ill. Suddenly, I was hanging out with my pandemic pod outdoors When I received a text from my dad saying grandma's ill, she doesn't have long. I asked if I could make it down to say goodbye to her, roughly a five hours drive. The next text I got from him was she's gone. I had excused myself from the group to handle the situation and was suddenly hit with the overwhelmingly familiar smell of my grandma's hand lotion. It's not something I would keep around me because I'm allergic to one of the ingredients. That smell was very out of place place, especially being outdoors. I believe it was my grandmother's spirit coming to say goodbye to me. And actually I get a little choked up telling that story because nothing like that had really ever happened to me like that before now. My father's relationship with his mom had always been strained. He's the kind of guy who always put his family first and would be there to take care of her even when nobody else would. She was never anything but ungrateful to him for it. Her death was particularly stressful on him. Now fast forward to the night of November 17th. I had just finished up some business around 11pm and gone to bed. Usually I set a few podcasts to help me sleep. My wife was pretty soon behind me to bed. She wanted to shower first and I must have been exhausted because I barely registered her getting into the bed. Sometime in the middle of the night I was awoken to the heavy sound of footfalls approaching our bed. It definitely sounded like a male's footsteps and I was terrified. We always make sure to lock the bedroom door before getting into bed and none of the windows were open. We sleep on the second floor. I was wondering how anybody could possibly get into our room. The footfalls came closer and closer, finally stopping right next to my side of the bed. I was facing my wife and just so paralyzed by fear I wanted to turn around, see what it was, or grab the firearm I keep on my nightstand or wake her up or something. But I just could not move. Eventually I after what seemed like ages, I heard whatever this thing was begin to move away from the bed with those same heavy footfalls. Clomp clomp clomp. And then they disappear. There were no podcasts playing at that time, so I can only guess it was sometime around 3am and I just laid there unable to get back to sleep. Eventually I grabbed my phone and that read about 5:45. Strangely, I had a text from my stepmom from about an hour earlier and I thought, well that's weird. What's she doing up so early? And that's when I learned that my father had had a massive heart attack and was on his way to the Jacksonville emergency room for surgery, roughly an hour away from where they lived. I couldn't get a hold of them. They were probably busy with the ambulance or something. Around 7am I woke up my wife and I told her what was going on about my visitation the night before and she actually went a little bit pale and informed me that after she had gotten out of the shower she had seen a dark, shadowy partial apparition in the corner of our room. Specifically, she said she could make out an arm, but not much else. She brushed it off. She's pretty sensitive, so this kind of thing isn't uncommon for her. I wondered if maybe she had encountered the same entity that I did later on that night. Not really sure what it was. Maybe the spirit of an ancestor or a harbinger or something that was trying to tell me what was going on with my father. I did ultimately end up taking that five hour drive later that day with my sister to go see dad in the hospital. I would be lying if I said that the apparition didn't influence my decision to go. I don't know, maybe a warning that he was going to die from a complication or something. Luckily that didn't happen and he's still with us. But anyway, thank you very much for letting me share. Have a good one. Bye.
Derek Hayes
We appreciate you calling in, John. I guess the message was received. Someone certainly wanted you down in Jacksonville, John. And the ghostly scent of your grandmother's lotion. It's right in line with what I was just talking about. Now, I'm glad to hear that your father survived this ordeal, John, and we thank you again for sharing. Now folks, time for another quick break, but I'll be right back with more Meemaws and Peepaws right after. This
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is to save face, not make waves for the rest of the season. The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about. Get real time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment. The Global Gaming League is presented by Atlas Earth, the fun cashback app. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I am inviting you to witness history as me and my Howie do it gaming team take on Gilly the King and Wallow267's million dollars gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Plus a halftime performance by multi platinum artist Travy McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match right now@globalgamingleague.com that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Level Up Expo. Her office secured funding for it.
Derek Hayes
Now here's a call that you probably won't see coming. Please welcome Jason out of England.
Caller
Hello Derek. My story is quite short. Now this happened in the mid-70s in north London in an apartment block I lived in as a child. I was about four or five years old. This must have been late 1974. It's opposite Stamford Hill train station in North London in a block of old flats there. Anyway, myo grandmother used to come and stay sometimes and sleep in my bedroom. This particular night I woke up and I was paralyzed with fear. Basically I've had sleep paralysis since. But at the time I had no idea what that was. But I couldn't move. Anyway, I'm staring at my grandmother. She was laying on a camp bed next to me on the floor. Her back was facing me. She was facing the other way and tiny hands were crawling all over her and coming out of her body and coming back in. If you can imagine, I wouldn't say they were child's hand. They're small, but they look like adult hands. I know that doesn't make sense, but these hands, and there was a lot of them, I can't remember, but there was a lot. 10, 20, 30, lots of them all coming in and out of her body and grasping for the air and going back in as if she was made of water or something and crawling all over her. You know, like how someone would look if you tipped a load of bugs over them or something. But hands about 2 or 3 inches long just crawling all over her, popping in and out of her head and body and going back in. And I was terrified. I tried to call out for my mum and dad, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I can't remember going to sleep. I can't remember what happened the next day, but I remember that vividly. And it wasn't a dream. And I know a lot of people will say you was a child, you imagined it. But you know, I used to play with toys and imagine I was on another planet. And it's a totally different thing. There's probably not a day I don't think about it was that disturbing. But, yeah, I've had three or four more paranormal, I don't know, accounts or whatever through my life, but that one was the most freaky, and the one that still pops in my head from time to time. Anyway, thank you very much for a great show and all the best from England. Take care.
Derek Hayes
Thank you. Jason, I told you that you wouldn't see it coming. Tiny hands, not crawling on grandma, but coming out of grandma. I, too, jumped to insects. The description almost made it sound like she was covered by some large beetle species. No, I'm afraid I'm at a loss here. In fact, I don't even have a guess here. But you know how to reach me. If this rings any bells, give me a call, shoot me an email. But in the meantime, thanks again, Jason, for creeping us out. Now, gang, let's venture back to New York, where we meet with Bubba for this next one.
Caller
Hey, Derek, it's Bubba from Buffalo, New York. So back in 2013, my grandmother had suddenly died. And I remember quite vividly a couple months after that, I had this dream.
And I remember in the dream, we
were at my grandmother's house, and she was dead. In the dream, I walk into the kitchen, and she is standing in the kitchen, just looking at me. I remember busting out in tears, just sobbing like crazy, Run over and hug her, and she's just sitting there, you know, saying, oh, it's okay. I'm fine. You're gonna be okay. I remember asking her, like, where are you? You know, why are you here? And she's still just saying, I'm okay, you're okay. I'm here now. Then I remember waking up thinking, like, oh, that was a weird dream. Must have been crying in my sleep or something like that because, you know, face is all wet, pillows all wet. And I didn't say anything for a while, and then it was just kind
of eating away at me.
I'm not very religious or anything like that. So I ended up texting one of my cousins, who is pretty religious, and I asked her about what it could mean. And she kind of stops and asked me when the dream was. I told her, oh, it was, you know, last Monday. She called me. She ended up getting quiet on the phone, and she goes, when did you say that dream was? I said, Monday, last week. She goes, are you sure? I said, I'm positive. Well, it turns out she had the exact same dream the exact same night down to the T. Grandma said the same thing to her. She said the same thing to Grandma, so that was kind of weird. All right, well, thanks for your time and have a good one.
Derek Hayes
Thanks, Bubba. Now, you have to pay attention to those dreams that you have right after you lose a loved one. Because if this show has taught us anything, it's that those lost loved ones sometimes come back briefly in a small window two weeks or so after their death in dream form, just as Bubba described here. So I'm glad you got the message, Bubba. And we thank you for calling it. Now, gang, the pre order for the brand new Dogman shirt is over. But don't you worry, that design will be stocked in the shop soon enough. Sarah tells me our printer, Nick over at Streetlight Printing got the files this week and the blank shirts are on the way and he's ready to hand print the most comfortable and durable shirts you'll find out there. For all the info, visit Monsters Among Us podcast and click the shop tab. And I'll be sure to announce once that new design by Jonathan Dodd is available to ship now. In the meantime, please enjoy this entry from Nick in Canada.
Caller
Hi there, my name is Nick, I'm from Canada. This story is actually about my grandmother. I lost her probably about five years ago now, and I remember the night that my mom texted me and let me know that she had unfortunately stopped breathing and she had a dnr. And it was likely that my grandmother was going to pass away pretty soon after I got the text. So I was home alone at the time my ex was out. And I just remember, you know, trying to pass the minutes and the hours, doing my best to stay busy. So at about 9:30, I decided to take the dog out for a walk. You know, got her ready, got me ready, and when I was leaving the front door, there was a fox on my front step. I had never before in my life seen a fox anywhere near my property. We lived in the city, we still do, and just had never seen one. I knew they existed. Been up plenty of times with my dog, never seen one. And I just remember having this feeling of knowing that, oh, she's gone. Sure enough, probably about an hour later, my mom texted me. So for about a year and a half, anytime I would kind of be thinking about my grandmother, you know, kind of feeling sad about her, a fox would show up. Driving alongside my car on the highway, crossing the street in front of me, just random, random occurrences. I went not long after to a bookstore and there was a Tarot reading happening from a vendor who, you know, was just stationed there for the day, said, do you want your reading done? I said, sure. She flipped the first card and she said, there's a very powerful woman in your life who's still watching over you. And I burst into tears. And probably in a few minutes after that, she said, oh, this woman's really showing up in your reading. And I said, yeah, I'm not surprised. My grandmother was big into tarot cards. Big into, you know, knowing that there are things bigger than us. Probably about a year and a half later, I went to a medium because I just thought, you know, why not? I'm pretty open minded. I was sitting there and the medium said, I keep getting a pain in my head. And I was like, oh. And she said, do you know who that could be? And I'm like, I'm sorry, I don't. As the conversation went on, she kept getting little snippets of things. And eventually she said, does this name mean anything to you? And it was my grandmother's name. Nothing I had divulged. And she said, can I ask what she had before she died? And I said, she had Alzheimer's. She said, that makes sense. The pain in her head was the loss of memory and all the ways that Alzheimer's messes with you. So, Jen, and on a happier note, if anyone is ever looking for confirmation that I loved ones, you're still around. I guess I miss. Thank you for all you do. Bye now.
Derek Hayes
Another sign from the other side. Thank you, Nick, for the entry. No. Fox sightings often carry powerful symbolic messages from nature, guiding you toward intuition, adaptability, and keen awareness. So maybe your grandmother knew this, Nick, and maybe that's why she chose a fox. Of course, this could have all been just one big coincidence. But where is the magic in that? Thank you again, Nick, for sharing the call.
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now. Next up, we hear from Brittany in the state of Colorado.
Caller
Hi, Derek. My name is Brittany, and I'm calling from Colorado. But this happened in Virginia. So in 2011, I went off to college, and one day I was sitting at my desk doing some chemistry homework on my laptop when out of nowhere, a weird, blobby shadow about the size of a football appeared on the left side of my desk and slowly moved across my laptop to the right side. It then disappeared when it hit the side near my bed. And at first I didn't know what it was. I thought maybe I had made the shadow. And I, like, was bobbing around at my desk trying to recreate the shadow. And then when I noticed it wasn't for me and I wasn't making the same effect, I looked up towards the light on the ceiling to see if maybe there was a huge bug. And, I mean, this would have been a really big bug to make the shadow. No bug. And then I looked to the window to see if maybe, like, a bird shadow or something. Except the shade was down, so it wasn't that either. Right then my stomach kind of, like, dropped to the floor, and I got extremely scared. And I just knew at that moment it was a ghost. I started to freak out. And I was worried that maybe there was going to be something in the mirror behind me, like, being all creepy. You know how they are in horror movies. So I turn around, and thankfully, there's nothing there. I just shut my laptop at that point, and I grabbed my phone and I left the room for a while. And then later that night when I went back, I was trying to fall asleep. I was still really freaked out. And, like, in my brain, I was like, please leave me alone. Just kind of begging to be left alone. And the name Nelly popped into my head out of nowhere. And I really don't know how to explain it, but I knew that that was the ghost's name. And when that name popped in my head, I also saw the spelling and it was spelled N, E L, L, I E. And I freaked out and somehow eventually fell asleep. But, yeah. So then a few weeks pass, and I'm sitting on my bed, and I notice a weird pillar of, like, smoky shadow in the corner of the room across from me next to the door. And I looked at it, and it basically was just there for a few moments and then disappeared. And somehow I knew, like, it was the same ghost Nelly again. And then eight years passed before Nellie came back and visited me again. And at this point, I was living 1600 miles away in Colorado. I was in an apartment. And nothing had ever happened in this apartment before. No creepy stuff. Nothing whatsoever. And it was about a month before I was getting married, and my grandma had sent me a box of, like, family heirlooms. And I did not grow up being very close to this side of the family due to divorce. But I'm going through this box, and there was, like, an old blanket for my great grandmother's wedding and some other older jewelry. And then there was this early 1900s beaded purse. And I pull out the card, and I'm reading what she wrote, and she said, and this old beaded purse belonged to your great great grandmother Nellie. Her name was Irene, but she went by Nellie. And it was spelled the exact same way. I got that same, like, stomach dropping to the floor feeling. And instantly I was like, it was Nelly. And she was just, I guess, checking in on me. I was still freaked out, though, so I put it away. And I was talking with my sisters a little bit after this, and I was like, guys, you will never believe, like, this purse. And, like, I explained the ghost story, which they had heard before, and they were like, oh, well, let's see. So I pull out the purse and I show it to them over Skype, and I put it away after the call. And then a few days later, I'm, like, walking around the apartment, and my cat jumps up on the counter like they do when they're being bad. And I yell at her to get down, and she doesn't. So then I stand up to try to, like, prompt her to jump down, and she still doesn't get down. So I walk over to her, and I'm like, hey, get down. And I try to move her off the counter, and she's, like, super tense, staring into the bedroom door. And I was like, hey, what are you doing? You need to get down. And she, like, would not move. And if you've ever owned a cat, you know, like, if they don't want to Move. They will not move. So I'm like, trying to get her to get off the counter for like, I don't know, maybe two or three minutes. And I'm even like waving my hand in front of her face and saying like, hey, can you please get down? And she would not budge. And so I started to freak out. I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's Nellie. I have her purse. She came to see me. So I managed to pick her up and somehow got the courage to walk into the bedroom. And as soon as I put her on the ground, she like, darted out of the bedroom. And I was like, you know what? I think she might know what's going on and I should follow her lead. So I left the room too, and I didn't go back in there until my fiance got home. I haven't seen Ellie since, but I'm assuming at this point it's kind of only a matter of time before she comes again. I really enjoyed the podcast and I think you're doing a job. Great, great job. So keep up the awesome work and I hope to keep listening for a really long time. Bye.
Derek Hayes
Thanks, Britney. Amazing Nelly and her infrequent visits. Now, I could sit here and say that this is some sort of coincidence. I've done that before here tonight, and this very well could have been. But seriously, what are the chances? And what are the chances that the name is spelled the exact same way? A variation that I wouldn't use to spell the name Nellie. Now I get why you would be afraid of this entry, Britney. And it's probably smart to have some boundaries in place. But if she is who you think she is, and if she's there for the reasons you think she's there, then maybe try communicating with her next time she swings by. And please, Britney, let us know how that all works out. Thanks again for sharing this incredible tale. And Brittany did send in a photo of the purse that she talked about in her story. You can find that image in tonight's show notes. Now for tonight's final entry, please join me in Texas where we meet with Virginia about a story that takes place in Michigan.
Caller
Hey, Derek. My name is Virginia. I live in Texas, but my story takes place in Michigan. So this story takes place in 2012. I was dating a guy whose family had a beach house that was on Lake Michigan. And the beach house was originally his grandparents home. And so his family would rent it out to people and they would stay there on the weekends and through the summers and things like this. But when the beach house wasn't booked. We would stay there on the weekend or in the off season just for fun. I did not really know any information about his grandparents. They had passed before we started dating. I'd never seen pictures of them, never met them, nothing like that. The only thing that I knew is that they lived in this beach house for most of my boyfriend's mom's childhood. And that the downstairs bedroom was Grandma Mary's room. This downstairs bedroom was painted blue. And so we called it the blue room. So one night we go to the beach house. We're there for the weekend, we go to sleep, and I wake up in the middle of the night and there is a wheelchair parked on the side of my bed. This freaked me out. The wheelchair was completely solid. It was not see through. It wasn't any particular color. It just looked like a regular wheelchair. And it was completely solid. And it was parked right there next to me. There was like a bay window on that side. So this is where the wheelchair was parked, kind of like right in front of the bay window. And I remember just staring at this wheelchair and telling myself, you're dreaming. This is not real. And I forced myself to sit straight up in bed. And I was actually slapping myself across the face because I was trying to prove to myself I wasn't awake. And after what seemed like a really long time, I would say at least two minutes, the wheelchair remained. And I just was staring at it like, how is this happening? Before my brain could still process this wheelchair in front of me, I watched it begin to dissipate. And it started in the corners by the handles. It became very smoky, and the entire wheelchair was gone. It looked like steam. It looked like it was in slow motion, just dissipating into smoke. And then the whole wheelchair was gone. I was freaking out. And then immediately I felt like someone was hugging me. And I heard them say, it's okay, you're safe, it's okay. And I felt comforted immediately. I really felt, like, peaceful so much that I was able to lay back down and go to bed. Now, the next day, it's like I almost had amnesia about it because it didn't get talked about until later. The next day, my boyfriend and I were shopping and he was actually trying on clothes in a dressing room. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I totally forgot to tell you something really weird that happened last night. And as I'm telling him this story, and then how comforted I felt and became so much that I was able to go back to sleep. I see that his eyes are completely, like, welled up with tears. And he was like, are you making this up? It's not funny. I said, I'm not making it up. I promise. Like, this is exactly what happened. And he said, my Grandma Mary was in a wheelchair at the end of her life, and that's exactly where she used to park her wheelchair. And I said, well, it felt loving. And I feel like maybe she's just trying to say hi. Maybe she just wanted to stop by. So that's my story. And I always wonder why she chose to show me the wheelchair. Like, I wonder why she used that as a way to communicate her presence. So I don't know. That's something that I've always been a little bit baffled by. But in all honesty, I think that if I was to see a person in front of me by the side of the bed, I probably would have lost everything.
So I don't know.
But thank you so much for your podcast. I love it.
Derek Hayes
Thank you, Virginia. Now, that's a very good question. Why did Grandma Mary decide to manifest as a wheelchair? Now, maybe it was a bit more complicated than that. Maybe the wheelchair somehow manifested on its own and Grandma Mary just swooped in to save the day. However the experience occurred, it once again leaves us with either a huge coincidence or a sign that our grandparents never truly leave us. Now, I lost my last grandparent a little over a year ago. My grandfather down in Florida. He moved down there when I was young, so I never saw him much. We grew apart over the years. But I did spend some time with him about 10 years ago, and it was then that I realized he was responsible for my interest in storytelling. He was quite the character with a story about everything, and oddly enough, most of them seemed to be true. So there you have it, folks. The grandparents episode all wrapped up. Now. 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. Now, be sure to like us on our social media accounts, give us a like and follow on YouTube, join our Discord server and leave us a rate and review wherever that sort of of thing as possible. Don't forget, you can catch the show every Saturday evening at 10pm Eastern on the Onax Digital Network. Just visit onxnetwork.com to tune in. Now, tonight's score was provided by Iron Cthulhu, Apocalypse Code at HE Music and Carl Casey at White bad audio. Now don't forget about our movie. Borregotriangle.com will get you there. Don't forget about Monsters Among Us Junior. New episodes drop every other Wednesday. And don't forget to join us in the beyond. Five bucks a month gives you days worth of exclusive content. Visit monsters among us podcast.com and click that Patreon tab. All right, gang, thanks for joining me here this evening. I'll catch you all back here on Thursday with a brand new installment. But until then, you keep it spooky and have a good night.
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Derek Hayes
Com.
This episode dives into eerie, heartwarming, and sometimes downright unsettling paranormal experiences involving grandparents. Inspired by the upcoming birthday of Derek Hayes’ own grandfather, the show features a collection of first-hand listener stories about ghostly encounters, comforting signs, and mysterious phenomena centered around grandmothers and grandfathers. As always, the stories are told in the witnesses’ own voices, curated with Derek’s signature warmth, nostalgia, and “keep it spooky” flavor.
Jen from Long Island, NY
Anonymous Caller from Texas
Eric from Minnesota
Jay from Las Vegas, NV
Alex from Chicago, IL
Lizzy from Arkansas
Leslie from North Carolina
John from Georgia
Jason from England
Bubba from Buffalo, NY
Nick from Canada
Brittany from Colorado (originally Virginia)
Virginia from Texas (story set in Michigan)
Derek’s tone is empathetic, reverent, and deeply nostalgic throughout, blending moments of genuine fear, heartfelt comfort, and even humor. He frequently interjects with his own stories or curiosities, validating callers’ experiences and underscoring the enduring power, mystery, and comfort of grandparental bonds, even from beyond.
The episode crafts a tapestry of listener-submitted accounts, highlighting patterns of paranormal phenomena—apparitions, messages in dreams, sensory clues, and animal omens—while leaving open the question: coincidence or continued connection?
Derek encourages specter-curious listeners to submit their own stories and announces upcoming episode content and merchandise, while always signing off with the signature:
"Keep it spooky!"
This summary skips all advertisements and promotional material and focuses on the rich, memorable core content of the episode.