Monsters Among Us – S20 Ep48: Midwest Fae Folk, Rectangle UFOs, and a Doppelgänger Down Under

Host: Derek Hayes
Date: April 9, 2026
Podcast Theme: Firsthand listener-submitted encounters with the paranormal, curated and commented on by Derek Hayes, exploring stories about fae folk, mysterious creatures, UFOs, doppelgängers, and haunted experiences.

Episode Overview

This episode is a nostalgia-rich, atmospheric journey into the unexplained, featuring tales of time slips, doppelgängers, Midwest fae folk, mysterious screams, Bigfoot encounters, UFO sightings, and both ghostly and peculiar protector figures. Derek Hayes connects the dots between cultural folklore and contemporary listener reports, always with empathy, a touch of humor, and genuine curiosity.

Key Stories and Discussion Points

1. Time Lost & Lights in Emory, TX

(02:22 – 04:55)

• Witness: Gage
• Story: In 2014, driving with friends in Emory, Texas, Gage experiences issues with electronics and notices strange lights in the sky. Despite leaving early, time seems to vanish—they lose several hours and arrive home very late, unsure what happened.
• Host Analysis: Derek notes Emory isn’t recognized as a UFO hotspot but suggests local reticence might keep these stories buried. He emphasizes the weirdness of time loss in UFO encounters.
• Quote:
  "Where did that missing chunk go?" – Derek (04:55)

2. A Doppelgänger in Western Australia

(05:51 – 07:38)

• Witness: John (Perth, WA)
• Story: As a young adult, John frequently was mistaken by strangers for "Anthony Maimes," often resulting in visible shock and fear from those who approached him, but he never met his double. The phenomena stopped entirely once he left the area.
• Host Reflection: Derek jokes about Anthony also possibly being confused for John; he underscores the oddness and emotional intensity of true doppelgänger moments.
• Quote:
  "Consistently they looked like they’d seen a ghost. They’d turn white and they’d say, ‘Oh my god, I’m so sorry, that is freaky. You look exactly like Anthony.’" – John (06:59)

3. Ghostly Footsteps and Restless Ashes in Missouri

(10:05 – 16:11)

• Witness: Steve (Missouri)
• Story: During a visit to his mother-in-law's historic home, Steve repeatedly hears barefoot footsteps and knocking at a bathroom door. No one is there. After some family investigation and conversation, it's revealed the deceased patriarch's ashes remain in the house—once they’re scattered as requested, the activity ceases.
• Host Commentary: Derek contextualizes this in cultural practices about cremains and the potential emotional significance when last wishes are unfulfilled. Includes a relevant, real-life news story about abandoned ashes in Nevada and Kansas City.
• Quote:
  "If you want this stuff to stop, go spread the old man's ashes and this stuff will stop. And she did. And the stuff all stops." – Steve (13:26)
  "Imagine if each one of those unfulfilled last wishes resulted in a heavy-footed ghost..." – Derek (14:07)

4. Fae Folk Voices near the Kansas/Missouri Border

(17:36 – 20:05)

• Witness: Andrea (reporting her mother's story)
• Story: Andrea’s mother in rural Lawson, Missouri, in the 1980s, hears rapid, unintelligible tiny voices outside her window—“like little fairies or elves.” She is baffled by the unidentifiable, persistent chatter.
• Host Analysis: Derek explores both European folklore lineage and Indigenous “wild people” traditions in the region, considering how such mythologies could intertwine.
• Quote:
  "Could it have been a wild person that Andrea's mother heard that night? Or could this be the activity of the ornery European Fae folk?" – Derek (20:05)

5. Terrifying Forest Scream in Rural Florida

(22:30 – 24:10)

• Witness: Curtis
• Story: Late in the evening, Curtis, alone on his boat, hears an inhuman scream from the woods—so loud and piercing he runs home in fear and records the sound (clip not played).
• Host Reflection: Derek speculates on possible animals but suggests the infamous Florida Skunk Ape could also be a suspect.

6. Multi-Generational Bigfoot Sighting, Santa Rosa County, FL

(26:31 – 31:59)

• Witness: Pam
• Story: Pam recounts a childhood memory where tough, seasoned relatives return night-hunting in terror after seeing a huge bipedal creature. The experience deeply shakes them, confirmed later by Pam’s sister to have been a Bigfoot sighting, and matches a pattern of local reports.
• Host Adds: Derek lists historical Skunk Ape sightings in Florida and underlines the state’s dense history with sightings of this cryptid.
• Quote:
  "These boys were not scared of anything...but yeah, these boys were just absolutely in tears, terrified of whatever it was that they saw." – Pam (29:40)

7. Red Rectangle UFO over Florida

(35:45 – 37:47)

• Witness: Brian (North Florida)
• Story: While letting his dogs out, Brian sees a bright, solid red rectangular object floating and rising silently in the night sky before blinking out. A possible “shooting star” appears immediately after. Strangely inspired, he sketches not only the UFO but additional images that suddenly fill his thoughts. He later discovers a similar report from 2023, 200 miles away.
• Host Commentary: Derek cross-references Brian’s encounter with another report, provides context, and uploads Brian’s sketches to the show notes.
• Quote:
  "It was brighter than Venus and it was solid. It wasn’t blinking at all...it was moving straight up." – Brian (36:13)

8. Blue Warthog Guardian Entity in Olympia, WA

(41:54 – 43:55)

• Witness: Angie
• Story: At age 6, Angie sees a short, blue-skinned, warthog-faced being with a spear and breastplate in her parents’ bedroom—its presence is comforting and protective during parental arguments. Nearly identical to another listener’s description, Angie is relieved she’s not alone.
• Host Analysis: Derek draws parallels to Star Wars’ Gamorrean guards, Whitley Strieber’s “little blue doctors,” and muses on the bizarrely “primitive” iconography of the being.
• Quote:
  "When I heard Julie’s story I almost started crying because I had never thought that someone else would see...a blue warthog person." – Angie (43:21)

9. The Impossibly Anchored Balloon – Seattle, WA

(46:23 – 48:18)

• Witness: Shane
• Story: While outside on a windy night, Shane watches a balloon stop moving and become pressed to the ground as if by invisible hands, despite all physical forces indicating otherwise. The unsettling, physics-defying incident moves him from skeptic to believer.
• Host Reflection: Derek remarks on the surprisingly high number of “creepy balloon” reports and jokes about a future “all balloon special.”
• Quote:
  "It got pressed against the ground like somebody was holding it. Something was holding it." – Shane (47:16)

10. Poltergeist and an Apparition: Haunted Rental in Greece

(49:07 – 57:09)

• Witness: Christine (recalling childhood in Greece, 1978)
• Story: Christine and her family repeatedly escape death and witness bizarre occurrences: flying roof tiles, stuck doors trapping her brother, apparitions in black robes, and a final face-to-face with a veiled, faceless figure in the night. After learning the landlord’s wife died in the house following a trauma involving destructive tenants’ children, Christine theorizes they’ve been haunted by her vengeful or protective ghost.
• Host Analysis: Derek praises the arc, tragedy, and tension of Christine’s story, reflecting on the plausible link between the ghost and the events.
• Quote:
  "A monk or somebody wearing a veil, completely black, in a black robe or black dress, and no face where the face should have been—it was just complete blackness." – Christine (55:27) "What a tragic way to go, the way she passed. I’ve had many adults tell me as a child that I would be the death of them. I guess I didn’t know it was actually possible." – Derek (57:09)

11. Secret Entry: Crawling Hand in Oklahoma Apartment

(61:02 – 64:17)

• Witness: Lily
• Story: In her first apartment, Lily wakes to see a hand reaching from under her tightly shut bathroom door, searching for the knob. The door would be impossible for anyone to lie behind. The next day, her sister confirms their family’s previous experiences of similar phenomena associated with her ex-boyfriend. Lily cleanses the apartment and the activity ceases.
• Host Analysis: Derek notes the prevalence of bathroom-originating paranormal calls, finding this story particularly "terrifying" for the details.
• Quote:
  "I see this hand reach from under the door of my bathroom that was shut and it slowly started feeling around as if it was looking for the doorknob." – Lily (62:09)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On UFO time slips:
  "That two hour drive took a lot longer than two hours." – Gage (04:14)
• On doppelgängers:
  "It was never somebody saying, you look a bit like my friend. It was somebody literally walking up to me and speaking to me like I was somebody else." – John (06:34)
• On ghosts and unfulfilled wishes:
  "Oftentimes people forget or they can’t make it to a specific location and the urn ends up collecting dust on the mantle. Now imagine if each one of those unfulfilled last wishes resulted in a heavy footed ghost..." – Derek (13:46)
• On weird animal howls:
  "Given his location, I can think of one other creature that might be capable of a blood curdling scream." – Derek (24:13)
• On black-robe apparitions:
  "I turned around and over in the corner, I saw what looked like either a monk or somebody wearing a veil. Completely black, in a black robe or black dress, and no face where the face should have been." – Christine (55:27)

Timestamps for Critical Stories

| Segment | Timestamp Start | Lead Speaker | |---------------------------------------------------|----------------|-------------------| | Time loss & lights in Emory, TX | 02:22 | Gage | | Doppelgänger Down Under | 05:51 | John | | Ghostly footsteps & ashes in Missouri | 10:05 | Steve | | Fae Folk voices near Kansas/Missouri border | 17:36 | Andrea | | Unnerving scream, rural Florida | 22:30 | Curtis | | Family Bigfoot sighting, FL | 26:31 | Pam | | Rectangle UFO, North Florida | 35:45 | Brian | | Blue warthog entity, Olympia, WA | 41:54 | Angie | | Balloon pressed-down by unseen force, Seattle, WA | 46:23 | Shane | | Haunted rental, Greece: poltergeist & entity | 49:07 | Christine | | Oklahoma: Creeping hand beneath the door | 61:02 | Lily |

Episode Tone & Style

Derek’s tone is warm, personable, sometimes dryly funny, sometimes deeply empathetic, always respectful of each caller’s story. He weaves folklore, history, and contemporary context into his commentary, tying personal stories to broader patterns in supernatural lore.

For Further Exploration

• Brian’s and Pam’s maps/sketches are available in the show notes.
• Reference episodes:
  • Season 12, Ep 6 (UFO/Emory, TX)
  • Season 19, Ep 46 (Kansas Fae folk)
  • Season 19, Ep 39 (Blue warthog entities)
• Listener submissions: Call 888-6089 or email voice memos to monstersamonguspodcastmail.com

Closing

This episode is a showcase of richly detailed, listener-driven stories blending cryptid lore, UFO phenomena, ghostly encounters, and folkloric echoes. Derek Hayes provides thoughtful, sometimes skeptical, but mostly open-hearted commentary, embracing the mysteries sent in from all over the world—and always reminding listeners: "Keep it spooky."