S21 Ep19: Haunted mirrors, UFO communication & a possessed child (Sn. 21 Ep. 19)

Summary

Monsters Among Us: S21 Ep19

Haunted Mirrors, UFO Communication & a Possessed Child

Host: Derek Hayes
Release Date: July 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

This special "Patreon unlock" episode of Monsters Among Us showcases a curated selection of paranormal stories submitted by listeners—ranging from haunted objects and ghostly encounters, to unsettling reports of UFOs and possible possession. Host Derek Hayes guides the audience through these true first-hand accounts, blending nostalgia, empathy, and speculation as he comments on the tales. Notably, the episode explores haunted mirrors, poltergeist activity, guardian spirits, possible demonic forces, shadow people, and experiences with UFO communication.

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Key Discussion Points & Notable Stories

1. Haunted Residuals and Ghostly Echoes: Rena in Oregon

[03:17–07:34]

• Story: Rena recalls her father passing in a trucking accident when she was three. Shortly after, both she and her grandmother experienced his lingering presence, especially the sounds of his nightly routines from his happier teenage years. Rena’s grandmother would hear these familiar sounds—showering, walking the halls—repeating for years after his death.
• Insight: Rena posits that spirits might linger in states and places where they felt most content during life.
• Memorable Quote:
  • "She would hear him get home from lighting those pots... make those sounds of just getting ready." – Rena, [06:00]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “How amazing is the idea that your father is still around somehow... For your sake, Rena, I certainly hope that's the case.” – Derek, [07:34]

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2. Poltergeist Activity and Recurring Dreams: Anonymous from Edmonton, Canada

[08:28–13:40]

• Story: The caller’s mother and aunt experienced unexplainable events in their Alberta childhood home: a cupboard door flew open, plates shot out “like a deck of cards,” and both sisters had recurring dreams about a mysterious man with black hair. Later historical research suggested the figure resembled children from a prominent family who once owned the land.
• Critical Analysis:
  • The caller methodically debunks rational explanations like earthquakes and foundation shifts, and questions the tricks of memory where local history and family stories collude.
  • Poltergeist and "teen girl telekinesis" theories mentioned, but doubted.
• Notable Quote:
  • “All of the plates flew out of the cupboard one by one, like a deck of cards being dealt out.” – Caller, [09:11]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “I can't get the image for those plates shooting out... like something straight out of a Looney Tune.” – Derek, [13:40]

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3. Animal Instincts and a Sinister “Little Girl”: Javier from San Diego

[16:37–20:02]

• Story: Javier recounts a chilling episode at his roommate’s house. Following a mysterious loud door slam, the cats responded in terror, hissing and ready to pounce at something unseen. His roommate cryptically insists it was "the little girl"—a presence Javier refuses to acknowledge further.
• Atmosphere: The animal response deepened the sense of dread.
• Notable Quote:
  • “The cat stood up and the hair stood up and they were hissing… the way they stood up and stared at the door like they were ready to attack something. That was the creepiest part.” – Javier, [17:45]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “Those kittens knew something was up. But who was the little girl? And why was what your roommate said so sinister?” – Derek, [20:02]

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4. Ghost in the Security Report: Fraser from the U.K.

[20:41–25:07]

• Story: Fraser relates a tale from his mobile security training. His mentor and another officer encountered a solid, red-haired woman on site—a figure who ignored them and then walked through a brick wall. Despite initial disbelief from management, they learn the client and staff see her nightly at the same time.
• Institutional Skepticism vs. Local Knowledge: The story touches on the difficulty of reporting the paranormal professionally.
• Notable Quote:
  • “What are we going to do—say we've seen a ghost? I don't think so.” – Fraser (quoting Trevor), [22:36]

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5. Demonic Oppression or Trauma? The Therapist’s Possessed Child Case

[27:13–33:43]

• Story: An anonymous therapist working with children in foster care details the dramatic overnight shift in a young client’s behavior after her first stay at her parents’ new house. The girl’s demeanor becomes sinister; her eyes are bloodshot, she draws disturbing images of black-winged creatures with red eyes. The family reports nighttime disturbances—scratching, growling, even the girl being violently shaken. Religious intervention ends the phenomena, and the girl's normal behavior returns.
• Professional Dilemma:
  • The therapist struggles with how to frame the incidents professionally, as advocating for a house blessing led to another provider’s removal from the case.
• Notable Quote:
  • “She turns only her head over her shoulder and sneers at me... she grimaces her teeth at me.” – Therapist, [29:42]
  • “How do you say [demonic possession] in a room full of professionals and attorneys?” – Therapist, [31:18]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “It's heartbreaking and unsettling, but it's good to hear that the little girl returned to normal.” – Derek, [33:43]

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6. Shadow People as Protectors: Ally from California

[36:28–40:53]

• Story: Ally describes recurring sightings of an enormous, muscular "shadow man" figure manifesting at the top of her stairs only when her father is staying with the family. The silhouette is imposing, but never feels malevolent—rather, it gives off a protective aura, much like a dark Captain America.
• Unique Interpretation:
  • Ally speculates the shadow figure could be a projection of her father's spirit, possibly astrally protecting the house. She also connects to her daughter’s childhood "dream walking."
• Notable Quote:
  • “The best way I can describe it is imagine a very dark Captain America... as if it was the spirit embodiment of my father.” – Ally, [37:25]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “A superhero shadow man—that's a new take. And linking the shadow people phenomenon with astral travel—that's also a new take, and an interesting one.” – Derek, [40:57]

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7. The Haunted Mirror and Family Secrets: Deb from Massachusetts/Ohio

[42:03–48:09]

• Story: Deb shares a lifelong fear of her grandparents’ century-old mirror and the house’s ominous upstairs bedroom—the site of her great-grandfather’s death. Family pets, too, avoided the house when it was empty. Decades later, her daughter—unfamiliar with any curses—immediately senses the mirror is haunted. Deb eventually sends it to Derek.
• Haunted Object Lore:
  • The mirror’s ominous vibe is confirmed across generations; Derek hangs it in his office with no overt incidents, though he notes a heavy feeling in the room.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I would slide down the stairs on my butt so I wouldn't have any chance of looking to see what was in that mirror. But it was really creepy because it hung on the wall at the bottom of their stairs.” – Deb, [45:00]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “The mirror is beautiful... But I was pleasantly surprised when I did open it because the mirror is beautiful. It's a tall rectangle shape... Like a fool I instantly hung it up right behind the desk in my study... While I love having it there... so far I haven't noticed any unusual activity.” – Derek, [48:15]

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8. A Son’s Presence and Meaningful Coincidences: Gary from Louisiana

[52:01–57:34]

• Story: Gary, during a harrowing cancer surgery and recovery, perceives comforting visions of his late son and passed dog. Then, in the hospital, his physical therapist, her husband, and her husband’s best friend all share the same name as his late son—Jordan—reinforcing a message of protection from beyond.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I really believe that my son was watching over me and that he had heard my prayers and he interceded for me and asked the father in heaven to heal his dad.” – Gary, [56:30]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “What are the chances that Jordan’s name would be brought up so many times right before the surgery?” – Derek, [57:34]

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9. Oppressive House, Footsteps and Shadow Figures: Jacob from Fresno, CA (Escondido)

[58:44–65:38]

• Story: Jacob details a years-long series of unexplainable phenomena in a house his family shared—heavy footsteps, objects moving in the garage, rapid running sounds, and a terrifying giant shadow seen outside his closed door. After moving out, tenants invariably moved out within a year, and his father later hears Jacob’s voice mimicked by an unseen presence.
• Notable Quote:
  • “Looking out the crack in my door... a large, like, from floor to ceiling shadow just completely covered, like, the crack in between it... there was something standing there, just, like, there was something there.” – Jacob, [62:20]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “That part of California’s not too far from the Borrego Triangle area, so it doesn’t surprise me one bit to hear your story, Jacob.” – Derek, [65:40]

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10. UFOs and Hypnotic Missing Time: Nathan in Mississippi

[67:34–76:33]

• Story: Influenced by a past meeting with abductee Betty Hill, Nathan’s 1997 experience at a hippie gathering includes sighting a brilliant orb above the woods. Attempting to “communicate” using a hand triangle and meditational focus, Nathan’s memory goes blank for a significant stretch of time. He awakes disoriented, confirming the lost time and questioning the source of the event—even decades later.
• Connection to UFO Lore:
  • The episode includes an audio primer on the Betty and Barney Hill abduction and its role in alien abduction mythology.
• Notable Quote:
  • “For whatever reason, I felt like this thing is communicative... I made an equilateral triangle viewfinder... and then... blank. There is just a big gaping chasm of a blank spot there.” – Nathan, [71:40]
• Derek’s Commentary:
  • “Was Nathan suffering from a cyboscillin inspired delusion? Or is it possible that his run in with Betty Hill somehow made him a target?” – Derek, [76:33]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Plate Poltergeist:
  • “All of the plates flew out of the cupboard one by one, like a deck of cards being dealt out.” – Anonymous from Canada, [09:11]
• Therapy and the Paranormal:
  • “I am trained to see human behavior through a medical lens... but I think we also need to be more open to the possibility that things outside the understanding of science may influence human behavior.” – Therapist, [33:08]

Suggested Listening Timestamps

• [03:17] Rena’s Ghostly Father and Family Residuals
• [08:28] Edmonton Poltergeist and Recurring Apparition
• [16:37] Javier’s Cats Sense “The Little Girl”
• [20:41] Suffolk Mobile Security Ghost
• [27:13] Therapist’s Account of a “Possessed” Child
• [36:28] Ally’s Astral Protector Shadow Man
• [42:03] Deb’s Haunted Mirror and Ancestral House
• [52:01] Gary’s Surgery, Synchronous Signs, and Loved Ones
• [58:44] Jacob's Haunting in Escondido
• [67:34] UFO Communication, Missing Time, & Betty Hill Connection (Nathan)

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Episode Tone & Style

• Host Derek Hayes maintains a respectful, thoughtful, and sometimes playfully skeptical tone—encouraging listeners to consider both mundane and supernatural explanations.
• Listener Callers vary from matter-of-fact and emotional, to analytical or bemused—enriching the show’s trademark “campfire storytelling” vibe.

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Summary

This episode is a varied, atmospheric journey through the uncanny: familial hauntings, ghosts observed by professionals, haunted artifacts, poltergeist disruption, spirit guardians, and mysterious phenomena ranging from shadow people to possible alien abductions. The thoughtful curation and Derek’s empathetic, open-minded commentary make it both chilling and thought-provoking—reminding us, as always: keep it spooky!

Transcript

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[Derek H]

Good evening and welcome to Monsters Among Us. I am your guide. Staircase. Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by. Now, the team and I are taking this week off, so to speak. But don't worry, the show must go on. So tonight we're posting a Patreon unlock. Well, two of them actually. So please enjoy the beyond portion of season 20 episode 32 and season 20 episode 36 and I'll catch you on the other side.

[Rena / Caller]

Foreign.

[Derek H]

It's time to go beyond the after show that we put on every Thursday evening right after the main episode. And to join us here tonight and to get access to days worth of back content, just visit monsters among us podcast.com and click the Patreon tab or join us directly on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Either way, five bucks a month gives you access to everything ad free. So what are you waiting for? It's on the beyond that you can hear stories like this one from Rena in the state of Oregon.

[Rena / Caller]

Hi, my name is Rena and I've grown up in Oregon all my life and I wanted to tell you a story about my dad. So when I was three, my dad was a trucker and he would go to the coast and come back and he had a trucking accident. A tire blew out. He was 31. I was three years old. So my mom was used to him calling when he got back from his run and he would kind of connect with her before he came home. Well, that call never came in and we had just moved so the officer that had came to our house to tell my mom that he had passed away went to our old house. So my mom was on the phone, and I asked my grandma today. I thought my grandma had just showed up because she had a feeling. But she said that they had called her and said there was that accident. And we live down in Southern Oregon. So he was at the Grants Pass Hospital, which would have been quite a ways away from where we lived because we lived in Medford. So it just would have been a far drive, I guess. Everybody kind of showed up at my house where we were currently living, where we had just moved. And my grandma and my mom were just, like, rolling around on the ground, crying, sobbing. And I remember sitting on the couch, kicking my feet, and I heard the doorbell ring. So I get up and I opened the door, and it was my dad's best friend. And I looked him straight in the eye and I said, my daddy's dead. So I knew he was dead. You know, like, even though I was three, I was pretty with it. And that always kind of was weird to my mom. She realized I knew he was gone, so I never asked about him or anything. After he died, my grandma, you know, was absolutely beside herself with sorrow. And my grandpa was as well. And none of the kids lived in the home. Everybody was married and had their own kids. The family house was just them living there. And she said that he would come home at night. And so I just asked her about this today, and she told me that my teenage dad had a job with Harry and David, which was where my grandma worked, to go start these smudge pots in the middle of the night to make heat for the pears, that is, the fruit. They didn't drop their buds. So I feel like it may have been because this was a time in his life where he was happy. Because I've heard that before that people will go back to their state where they were at after their death, like, where they're at their best self. But he had this routine in high school, and this was, you know, years before he had passed away, that he would get a call in the middle of the night, and it would say, like, hey, it's freezing. You need to go get these pots started. And then he would start getting ready, and he'd go to work and start these pots and let them burn. And then he would come home and he would be filthy dirty from this suit, so he would have to take a shower. So the sound of him doing this was really common to my grandma. She would hear him come in, she would hear him take a shower, and then he would, you know, go back to bed for a couple hours, and then he'd have to get up and go to school. Cut to 15 years later, when he was 31 and he passed away, my grandma said that she would hear him do his routine, and it happened over and over. And, you know, my grandpa would be cutting logs, like, you know, passed out. And my grandma would hear my dad getting home from lighting those pots, and, you know, he'd go make those sounds of just getting ready. And it freaked me out so bad when I was a high schooler because I'd go stay with them in that house. And, man, today, talking to my grandma, you know, we were kind of both tearing up, talking about my dad, even though it's been so long ago. It's just like, I miss this human. And I'm 36, so I'd love to know him. And she really chuckled about the whole experience of him walking the halls. And, you know, she just felt like he didn't know he was dead. He didn't know what to do. You know, my mom and I, we had moved as a family to a different house, and he knew where to go in his heart. And it was just, you know, walking the hallways at night was what my grandma would say. But nevertheless, I wanted to give you that story. Thank you for the time. Bye.

[Derek H]

Thanks, Reena. How tragic to lose a parent at such a young age. But how amazing is the idea that your father is still around somehow going through his daily routine. For your sake, Rena, I certainly hope that's the case. Thank you very much for taking the time to share, and hello, squad. It's great to have you on board with us here tonight. It's been a while since we've done a regular program here at the beyond, so let's hope I still know what I'm doing. And, you know, there's no better way to get back in the saddle than to just dive right in. So please welcome our next anonymous caller all the way from Canada.

[Caller from Canada]

Hey, Derek, listening in from Edmonton. Story didn't happen to me. It happened to my mom. My mom's got a lot of these stories, and most of them I would kind of explain away with things like hypnagogic hallucinations, the odd misidentified animal, sort of the usual suspects. But this story has always stood out as one that kind of defies a rational explanation. So the gist of it is she was sitting in the kitchen of this house. She lived in when she was a teenager with a friend. The house had these cupboards with these old arrowhead latches from the 1950s. And I've got these in my kitchen too. And this is what they sound like. They sound like this. When you open and close them. Sort of a substantial noise. And you have to actually pull on the cupboard to get it open. So she was sitting on the counter and one of those cupboards opened. She got down off the counter and all of the plates flew out of the cupboard one by one, like a deck of cards being dealt out. And her and her friend caught them in their arms and stood there in the middle of the room, kind of looking at each other like, you know, what just happened. Now, I always told her if she runs into this friend again, she's got to ask him what he remembers. And I was specific with her, you know, not to, like, retell the story to him and ask him to affirm or deny it, but just kind of leave it as an open ended question. And about a year ago, he came into her work, so she asked him, and he told the same story down to the gesture of the plates being dealt out like a deck of cards. Now, my mom and her sister had a lot of experiences in that house. They would have these recurring dreams. There's this guy with black hair. They both had dreams about this guy, and he would kind of follow them around stuff. Like they would get into a locked car to try to get away from him, and he would just smile at them and open the door. They said he never tried to, like, hurt them, but they didn't like him, obviously, and they were creeped out by him because of this guy had the same name for both sisters, and they both described him to each other the same way. And it was not a guy that they'd ever seen in real life or anything like that. There were other stories from that house that happened when they were renovating. I know that's a paranormal thing, so I should specify the cupboard story did not happen during renovations, but the renovation stuff, it was kind of like lights turning on and off on their own electronics turning off on their own stuff that maybe could be explained away by kind of like faulty electronics or maybe the renovations themselves. And my aunt also had a story about like somebody yelling her name into her ear. But she was in bed when that happened. So I'm gonna say maybe that one was some exploding head syndrome. Okay, so in terms of explanations for the cupboard story, I think the obvious one is like, earthquakes. I've lived here in Alberta on and off for 30 odd years. And I've never felt an earthquake here, never mind one so substantial that it would open up a fixture and send a bunch of plates flying out of it. I have been in earthquakes elsewhere, but again, like that explanation doesn't really fit for me because, you know, if it was an earthquake then why would it be localized to a single cupboard? You know, you'd expect that a bunch of other cupboards and that sort of thing would open up and that stuff would be moving elsewhere in the room. I also thought, you know, there used to be a lot of coal mining activity that happened in the river valley in Edmonton. I thought maybe the house would have been built on a coal mine because it was right on the edge of the river valley. Maybe there was like the foundation had shifted and by some chain of events that would cause a door to open and plates to come out of it. But I looked up some old maps of the area and I found out where the coal mines were and there were some kind of in the area, but they weren't close enough that I think that it would be a satisfying explanation. And it's already a bit of a stretch frankly, in terms of paranormal explanations. You know, I know the ones that people would lean towards would be something like poltergeist activity or, you know, there's the whole thing about teenage girls and telekinesis. I'm not sure about any of that. I can say about the history of the land. It used to be part of a state owned by kind of one of the city fathers, a man by the name of Malcolm Groat, until it was sold off and subdivided at the turn of the 20th century. And I know somebody who's a descendant of this family. And I also have dug up some pictures of this family to show my mom and they all have black hair, like the person that they had the recurring dreams about. And I showed my mom the picture and she thought that one of the kids of the family looked like a child version of the guy, that he had like more of an old style haircut than he did in the dreams. You know, I think these sorts of things, it's kind of tough because you gather that information and then present it. And I think people maybe kind of tend to fill in the gaps retroactively there. So I don't know how much stock I'd put into that. But anyway, that's my story and the information that I have about it. I love the podcast. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

[Derek H]

Thank you, caller. You know, I can't get the image for those plates shooting out of the cabinet like a deck of cards. Sounds like something straight out of a Looney Tune cartoon or something. Now, as for the renovation, it's been said so many times that construction or renovations can conjure up or stir up paranormal activity. No one really knows why, but many guess that it's because the resident spirits are unhappy with the changes, or that opening things up somehow gives them energy to manifest and manipulate objects. I don't know for sure that this theory is true, but I've heard plenty of stories that suggest that it is amazing stuff. Caller, and we thank you again for taking the time to call,

[Gary / Caller]

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[Lady Luck]

New York or to other parts of the country.

[Derek H]

Any other perk is additional stories like this one from Javier in the state of California.

[Jacob / Caller]

My name is Javier Flaminges from San Diego, California. This is what happened. The only story I got for my whole life. I'm 40 years old. So what happened? I was in my 20s, almost 20 years ago, roughly. So I was living with this girl, just a roommate. But I started feeling things. Experiencing weird. Like, I can't explain it, just feelings. And she had cats. She was like a cat lady. Her mom used to come in, open the door and just, you know, check on us, feed us, say, dinner's ready, lunch is ready. You know what I mean? She was cool. I paid rent. So what happened was it was me and her watching a movie, laughing. And all of a sudden the door opened. Like you could hear. Boom. You know, I paused it. It was a dvd. And we're like expecting her to walk in and say, hi, you guys, are you hungry? How was your day? It wasn't the mom. It was nothing. And we heard the door slam. That's how I know there's no way that it was her. What would she do? Just play with us and the cat. This is the creepiest part. The cat stood up and the hair stood up and they were hissing. It was like five of them. Some were kittens, some were adults. But the point is the way they stood up and stared at the door like they were ready to attack something. That was the creepiest part. We both paused and looked at each other. And I went out there, you know, I'm the man. Let me check. Nothing. Just the cat all cringed up. And she laughed. It creeped me out. I looked at her, I'm like, that wasn't your mom. And she laughs. And she goes, it was a little girl. I'm like, what do you mean it was a little girl? Don't talk like that. And she goes, it's the little girl. And I'm like, don't talk about that. Don't manifest. She backed out. She's like, okay. Like, I really thought she was saying the truth. There was something to watching. And it wasn't the mom. And so I said, okay, let's finish the movie. Your cats are all cringed up. A hissing at the door. Let's just forget about it. Let's pretend it didn't happen. And we put the movie back on. And that was it. She went back upstairs, asked the mom, did you come down? She said, nope, I didn't come down there. I don't know who it was. There was a dad too, but he was like handicapped. He couldn't get down. Alright, Derek, thank you for what you do. Bye bye.

[Derek H]

Thank you, Javier. Those kittens knew something was up. But who was the little girl? And why was what your roommate said so sinister? What happens when the little girl shows up? Then again, Maybe we don't want to know, but we do want to thank you, Javier, for making the call. Now, while we're on the subject of possible ghosts of the female variety, allow me to share Fraser's entry all the way from the uk.

[Fraser / Caller]

Hi, my name is Fraser. I'm from Suffolk in the uk. I got a secondhand ghost sighting, but I've been given permission to share it. So I was training as a night mobile security officer and it got into the early hours and I started chatting with the guy who was training me, a guy called Trev. I said, well, have you got any ghost stories? And Trev goes, yeah, I have, actually. It's not really a story goes, it's a actual sighting that happened to me. He said, well, when he was training, the guy was training him was a guy called John. And at any site, obviously, if you see anyone, you have to ask them who they are, what they're doing there, why they're there, and then you can obviously put that in your report. When you send that off to the client, after every site you attend, write down a report and that gets sent to the client. And so they pulled up to this site near Woodbridge, Melton, parked up, got out, and as they got out, they saw a woman just walking down the steps of a porter cabin. And he said that she was solid. So they obviously thought it was a real person. Says, solid form, as, you know, you or me. And he described her having red hair, wearing a red sweater, a tartan skirt, green tights and brown shoes, smoking a cigarette, carrying some paperwork. So they approached her and asked her a couple of times for identification, but she just carried on down the path. Obviously, they kept challenging her, but she was a few steps in front of them, and every time they tried to catch up, she would just walk a little bit faster and carry on. And as the path rounded the top of the site, it came to a brick wall. She carried on through the wall and disappeared. And John said, well, did you see that, Trev? Trev, did you see that? And Trevor said, well, of course I did, but he didn't worry about it. And John just couldn't get over the fact that what he'd just seen, he kept on the trap. Did you see it? It's like, well, of course I did, you know, but, you know, what do you want to do about it? We can't do anything about it, you know. Yes, all right, we've seen it yet. But as the night gone, John became more and more worried and said, you know, what should we do? About it, you know, we've got to report this. And Trevor said, what are we going to do? Say we've sent a ghost? I don't think so. So they carried on. But after the shift, John turned around and said, right, we've got a radio report because we've seen something and we've got to write it down. Because if I write a report, would you like to put your name to it and say, you know, this is what we've seen. So Trevor agreed. And the next night they got into work and they were called into the manager's office and asked to explain the report, to which the manager said, there's no way I'm going to be sending this to the client. Is this some kind of joke? And I said, well, no, of course, but you know, just what we saw. And the manager said, look, I'm not being funny, but I can't send this to a client. That's the end of it. So that was the end of it when it came to the following night, the third night, they arrived at the site again and the client at the site, the manager, I was waiting for them and said, so you've seen her as well, have you? And somehow the client had got a report. He explained, we don't know who she is or where she's from, but every night if you come at that exact time, she'll be here. And we've often seen her down here it goes, me and all the staff, every night, same time. She won't acknowledge you, she won't hurt you, but we've all seen her. And with that the manager said, well, at least I know you're doing your job well, thanks for that. And with that, he left. Shortly after that, Trevor had finished his training and carried on doing the job. But John couldn't get over what had seen that night and left the job shortly after. Anyway, great show, you've got a good work.

[Derek H]

Thanks, Fraser. Good to hear from you as always. Now, I pull the exact same thing. If I find myself spending time with someone that I don't know very well, I love to ask them the exact same questions. Have you ever seen a ghost or a ufo or maybe even a monster? If I'm honest, that practice might have been the catalyst for creating this program. Of course, not everyone has such an amazing story. You seemingly struck gold when you asked that question, Fraser, and boy, am I glad that you did. Thank you again as always for sharing the tale. Now gang, that takes us down to one last story, and this one is a bit of a blast from the past and a bit of a departure from what we usually do here on the program. Now, back in the day I had a difficulty in filling time on the show. This was well before I received dozens of calls a week. Well, back in those days I read written submissions and since I got tired of my own voice pretty quickly, I asked some folks that were associated with the show to read a few of the tales for me. I got a lot of help from folks like Warren Pon Abbott. My wife Sarah read a few, as did the crypto den mom herself, Addie Lloyd. Now, Addie might be retired, but she's still involved with the show. You can find her in the Facebook group, mostly making sure folks behave themselves. But a few weeks ago I restumbled upon one of those calls, a story that was read by Addy, and after touching base with her, we decided we should probably share it because frankly, the story is downright chilling. So without further ado, please welcome Anonymous to the platform.

[Anonymous Therapist Caller]

Hi Derek, I've really wanted to call this story in for a long time. I absolutely need to stay anonymous and all identifying information about my client and their family has been changed. For several years I worked as a therapist for Child Protective Services. I loved working with the many children and their families and helping them through their various stages of their involvement with the state. One family in particular that I was involved with, I was a therapist for their daughter. She and her siblings had been removed from their parents custody and been placed in foster care. She was about 4 years old when I started seeing her for about weekly therapy sessions. This little girl was absolutely adorable. She was bright and bubbly and very happy. Every week when she came to her session she would run up to me for a big hug and then run skip and prance ahead of me to the play therapy room. She was always smiling and happy to come for therapy. Play therapy is a lot of fun for kids and this is how most kids act when coming to play therapy. Well, at least in my experience. For nearly two years I worked with this energetic, bright and spunky child on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, when children are removed from their home, it can often take 18 to 24 months for children to be placed back with their family. The parents during this time were doing everything they could to get their children back. Their main obstacle seemed to be homelessness. Finally, the parents had precrued a home that they were all excited for the children to begin overnights. I was looking forward to my next session with the little girl as it would be following her very first overnight with her parents in almost two years. By this time my client was six and we had been meeting weekly for two years. I had really gotten to know this little kid quite well. When she arrived for a session with me after she'd stayed the night with her parents in their new home, I was really confused to find her sitting in the lobby with her back toward me, not acknowledging me. This was completely different from her usual reaction as I described earlier. I stood there for a moment waiting to see if she was going to realize I was there and do her normal hug, tackle and run ahead of me, but she didn't move. I called to her and instead of turning around, she turns only her head over her shoulder and sneers at me. It definitely was not a smile. She grimaces her teeth at me. I'm really worried if she's okay. So I took a closer look and I see that both her eyes are completely bloodshot. Anyone who works with children gets accustomed to watching for two major things, head lice and pink eye. And this was definitely not pink eye. I invited her to come back with me, even though I'm starting to feel a little creeped out at this point. And instead of her usual running, skipping, prancing ahead of me, she walked very slowly behind me again. Once in the play therapy room, her behavior continues to be very strange. She doesn't go to the shelves and baskets grabbing her favorite toys. Instead she just sits down on the table and I'm honestly beginning to get freaked out. And this was the first time I felt really uneasy around a kid. But I put aside my eerie feelings and began the activity. I needed to assess a baseline for the beginning transition for her movement back to her family. And I also needed to gauge her attachment with her foster family. So I start by having her draw a family portrait. In the two years we'd spent together, she had drawn countless pictures. Flowers, sunshine, rainbows, butterflies, plenty of self portraits and family portraits. All of her drawings were quite typical of what every 4 to 6 year old, bubbly, happy little kid draws. Nothing out of the ordinary. So I get out the paper and crayons and ask her to draw a family portrait. I tell her she can draw her family inside or out doing any activity of her choice. And I also say you get to choose who you include in this picture. She does not draw a family portrait. Or maybe she did. What she draws is a picture showing two black humanoid creatures with wings and red eyes flying over a castle. To say the least, I was glad when this session ended a few days after the session, we have a family meeting with her parents and case managers and other providers on the case. During the meeting, the parents complain that something is wrong with the house. At night. They said they hear growling and scratching on the walls. They describe what sounds like claws being drug across the walls and down the hallways. They say they found their daughter laying on her bed during the day looking to be asleep but being lifted and violently shaken by something unseen. I immediately went to the belief that the family was being terrorized by a demon. But how do you say that in a room full of professionals and attorneys? Another more brave provider spoke up and suggested that the family have a priest or someone from their church come and bless the house. The provider was promptly removed from the case because of their recommendation, but thank goodness they spoke up because the family listened to their advice and did have someone come to cleanse the house. And after the house was blessed or cleansed or whatever you want to call it, the family reported no more disturbances and my client returned to normal. As a licensed professional counselor, I am trained to see human behavior through a medical lens. I also have had my many different paranormal experiences and at times I wonder about the influence of spiritual spirits or demons on human behavior. I don't know if my client was possessed by a demon and I'm terrified if my suspicions were known within my professional community. But I think we also need to be more open to the possibility that things outside the understanding of science may influence human behavior. Thanks Derek.

[Derek H]

Thank you caller. Thank you Addie. I think you can see why I decided this call needed to be shared. It's heartbreaking and unsettling, but it's good to hear that the little girl returned to normal. The activity in the family's home seemingly waned. I find stories like this particularly interesting because they're often coming from a new angle. We don't hear from too many therapists here on the show, so yet another reason to say thank you caller for your bravery and sharing.

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[Derek H]

arrested and less punched. And folks, it's that time of the evening. It's time to go beyond the after show, where we continue the party for an additional four or five stories or 25 to 35 minutes covering some wild topics and some deeper dives. And to join us, just visit us on Patreon, click the Apple subscription button or visit More monsters among us podcast.com and click the Patreon tab. Either way, five bucks a month gives you instant access to all the material, completely ad free. And don't forget, you can get a full week for free using either platform's free trial offer. You have absolutely nothing to lose, and if you don't join, you'll be missing out on calls like alie's out of the State of California

[Ally / Caller]

I'm back. Eric and Monsters Among Us Crew and Family My name is Allie. I'm calling from Central Valley, California. I wanted to call and share a shadow person experience that I've had for years and years. It's unlike any other shadow entity experience I have ever heard heard until I was listening to season 18 episode 11 Uriel's story. Uriel talked about seeing a shadow person in his house that was very big and very muscular. That is exactly what I have seen for years and years in my house. The way that my house is laid out, it's a very large square footage house at the bottom story. It's very long narrow house and that's where the main living is. My father who stays with us, he lives upstairs and upstairs is very much like in law quarters, a very fairly large bedroom with almost like one of those dormer punch outs where he puts

[Deb / Caller]

his desk and he can work.

[Ally / Caller]

There's a full bathroom and then outside of that bedroom where the stairs lead up to is a very large loft. So you walk up the stairs and that's where you get into the loft area and then you would immediately turn right into the bedroom area. When my father stays with us, I always saw the shadow man at the top of the stairs. The best way I can describe it is imagine a Very dark Captain America. I know that sounds odd, but quite literally Captain America. Very tall, very defined muscles. And it was almost like he was a protector. This is so strange to say, but it's almost as if it was the spirit embodiment of my father. While my father was asleep and he was keeping an eye on the house and protecting all of us from upstairs. If it wasn't that, then it was almost like it was just a protector. And I'm not quite sure if he is protecting my dad and showing himself to me.

[Deb / Caller]

As if.

[Ally / Caller]

You don't have to worry about your dad. I'm here watching over him. I never ever, ever get a bad feeling. He doesn't have horns or anything odd like that. Just a very large entity, blacker than black, very defined outline. And he's always there at the top of the stairs at night when my dad's asleep and the whole rest of

[Jacob / Caller]

the house is asleep.

[Ally / Caller]

And I'm walking through the house checking lights and doors. But he's never here when my dad's not here. So for about eight months out of the year, my dad doesn't live here. I don't ever see him when my dad's not here. But we have been in this house for just over 11 years now. And I guess I started seeing him maybe six years ago. And yes, of course, the first handful of times I saw him, it startled me. It took my breath away. When the whole house is dark to see something huge. This thing absolutely is taller than my father and my husband. My husband is six two, this thing is six four, six six and very wide shoulder, very muscular, large barrel chested, but darker than dark. Derek, I cannot see through him. He's solid. There is no fuzzy outline. But he doesn't feel scary. But my daughter, when she was younger, she called it dream walking, which now I know, I guess is astral projection. I think when she was like two and a half, three years old, she started. I guess she would be asleep in her bed physically, but she'd be walking around the house and doing stuff. But I wonder if that's what this Shadow man is that I see at the top of the stairs. If that's my dad doing that, I don't know. Anyways, your show is amazing. Keep it spooky, you guys.

[Rena / Caller]

Bye.

[Derek H]

Thank you, Ally. A superhero. Shadow Man. That's a new take. And linking the Shadow People phenomenon with astral travel. That's also a new take and an interesting one. Could you imagine that's all that Shadow People really are, a visual representation of Those that are currently astral projecting. Talk about Far out. No A big Shadowman. Thanks to you Ally for sharing the entry. Whatever it was, given its size, I'm glad it was on your side. Thanks again for calling in and good evening Monster Squad. It's a real pleasure to have you back in the beyond with me here tonight. And I have one hell of a program lined up for you this evening. A little bit of everything beginning with this entry from Deb in the state of Massachusetts.

[Deb / Caller]

Hi Monsters among his family. My name is Deb and I live in Massachusetts. I grew up in Ohio though, and I have lots of stories from both places. This story is about a creepy mirror and other weird happenings. My grandparents house in Ohio. A little background on their house. Their house was built sometime in the 1800s and was moved from a neighboring town to where it is today. My great grandfather's business, aside from farming, was moving houses with horses, which is pretty amazing and pretty cool. So I grew up next door to my grandparents farm. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents. They would go down to Florida in the winter to an RV camp because my grandpa really liked to fish and relax after farming all during farming season. So their house was also empty in the winter.

[Rena / Caller]

Normally when my grandparents were home the

[Deb / Caller]

house wasn't too creepy, but in the winter when they were gone, it was super creepy. No one in the family liked to go over there and check on things. If we did go over, it always felt like someone was watching, almost like stalking us when we'd go over there. If we took one of our dogs. The dogs didn't like to go in the house either. If you got them in the house, they would whine at the door the whole time. And of course my grandparents were home. The dogs had no problem going over and going in the house when they were there. If for some reason my grandparents would leave their house during the summer and their house sat empty for a while, weird things would happen even then. One time my grandparents went away for a few days. When they returned there were like round rusty marks on their stairs. Kind of like cane marks going up the stairs every other stair. No one in my family had been using a cane at the time and no one was in the house while

[Lady Luck]

they were gone either.

[Deb / Caller]

And we had like no explanation for that. There were two super creepy things in the house even when my grandparents were home. One was this mirror that hung on the wall at the bottom of the stairs going up to their second floor. The other was a small upstairs bedroom. I always found that Bedroom just incredibly creepy. As a kid, once in a while, I'd have to stay overnight there, and that's usually the bedroom they would make me sleep in. And it was so creepy, I couldn't even sleep in that room. The door to their attic was in that room. And they had a full attic, like almost a full third story up there. And I always felt like there was someone on the other side of the door. You know, you have that feeling the door is going to open, something scary is going to come through. So it was just super, super creepy. And I had no idea. And I didn't find this out until I was in my 30s, but I found out that my great grandfather had actually died in that room. So I have no idea if that had any bearing on the creepiness or not, or if it's just the house,

[Lady Luck]

just old and creepy.

[Deb / Caller]

The other thing, the mirror in particular, it wasn't even just creepy. It was actually frightening. Like, I was afraid of this mirror as a kid. I can remember coming down their stairs from upstairs, knowing that if I went down kind of in the middle of the stairway, I would be able to look directly into that mirror. And I just knew something would be looking back at me. And whatever that thing was, it was not nice. It just had this super creepy vibe. So I always made sure that I either would go down the left side of the stairs or the right side of the stairs just so I wouldn't have to look in that mirror. I think even when I was really little, I would slide down the stairs stairs on my butt so I wouldn't have any chance of looking to see what was in that mirror. But it was really creepy because it hung on the wall at the bottom of their stairs. And there was a little landing down there. So as soon as I hit the landing, I would just take off running because I didn't even want to be close to that mirror. It was so creepy. So about 20 years ago, my grandfather died, and one of my brothers moved into. He renovated it. He didn't want any of the old things. So eventually my mom brought me some of the things from the house, including the creepy mirror. For a long time it was out in my garage, and I kept it face down. So last fall, my oldest daughter, who was in her 20s, she and I were cleaning out the basement. I heard her pick up something and drop it immediately. And she said very loudly, holy crap, why do we have a haunted mirror in the basement? Now, I'm pretty psychically sensitive person, and I'm a Reiki master. And I do other energy kind of work. However, my kid does not admit to being quite so woo woo as I am. So this made it like particularly funny for her to notice something that's going on with this mirror just by lifting it up a few inches. And it also definitely backed up all my feelings about this mirror. After discussing it with the family, I decided to send the mirror to Derek and I also checked in with my mom to see if she had any idea how old the mirror was, where it came from, or if she knew anything else about it. Unfortunately she didn't, but she did say it had hung up in my grandparents house the entire time she was growing up, so it had been there from at least the 1940s onward. So it probably thinking it's probably from about the 1920s or so. My mom also said she found the mirror very creepy and she also didn't like to look into it. So I have never hung the mirror in my own house. I'm really curious to see if anything happens if Derek does decide to display it. I am thinking no easy remedy. If it gets too creepy, take it

[Lady Luck]

off the wall, put it back face

[Deb / Caller]

down because we've never and any problem with it here. So I just want to say thanks to Derek for the podcast. Monsters Among Us is one of my very favorites and hope you enjoy the mirror whatever way that may take form

[Rena / Caller]

and keep it spooky.

[Jacob / Caller]

Bye.

[Derek H]

Thank you Deb and a big thanks for sending the mirror now. Time is a a blur for me these days, but I think I received this package last fall. It was a surprise to open it, frankly, because you never know what's gonna be in a large box that a listener sends you. No severed heads yet, thankfully, but I was pleasantly surprised when I did open it because the mirror is beautiful. It's a tall rectangle shape with tapered edges on the top and the bottom, almost the shape of a shield. The glass is in perfect shape, but there is plenty of age and plenty of patina on it. Like I said, frankly, it's beautiful. Like a fool I instantly hung it up right behind the desk in my study or my office or whatever you want to call it. And while I love having it there reflecting the light from my tiny window, so far I haven't noticed any unusual activity surrounding it. But it's not the only quote unquote haunted object here in my possession. Many of you have mailed me items over the years, and I can't say that any of them have elicited any sort of activity. At least not that I've noticed. They do, however, make the room feel a little more heavy, so maybe that's something in itself. I've included a photo of the mirror in the description of this episode, so go have a look and let me know if the sight of it invokes anything in you. Or maybe you have to physically touch it. Either way, I'll keep my ears and eyes on the mirror dab, and if I start getting the heebie jeebies, you'll certainly hear about it. So thank you again for the call and the mirror, and thanks for allowing me to preserve this possibly possessed piece. And folks, if you have an item you'd like to send me, there's info under the contact tab over on the website.

[Gary / Caller]

Let's switch gears.

[Fraser / Caller]

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[Gary / Caller]

And now there was a whole goal.

[Derek H]

From the swamps and bayous of Louisian, please welcome Gary back to the program.

[Gary / Caller]

Bonjour Derek. This is Gary. I'm calling from Lorville, Louisiana, deep in the heart of Cajun country. I called a couple of times about things that happened that was strange concerning my son who passed on back in 2015. He was killed by drunk driver. This story that I'm telling you, it happened in June of 2025 and what happened was I had to go three and a half hours away from where I live to Shreveport, Louisiana, to have surgery done for oral cancer. So what I thought was going to be outpatient procedure turned into a nearly two week stay in the hospital with four days in ICU before I got there. While saying my prayers, I'd include my son, Jordan. I'd ask him to watch out for his dad. So surgery happens. And while I was going through recovery, it was like I was looking through a brown paper bag when I closed my eyes, and when I opened them, I'd see this. And it freaked me out. So when I finally noticed, the eyes that I was seeing was two sets of eyes. One was higher than the other, and to me, it looked like the image of my son Jordan, and also my little German miniature schnauzer that had just passed on like six months before. I thought, you know, I'm gonna be okay. I felt really bad, really felt like I was dying. But on the second day after surgery, they had a lady come into my room. And at the time, my wife was in my room. I knew what this lady was coming for. She was dressed with scruff pants, a T shirt, and she had this belt that was laid across her shoulder and across her chest. So I knew it was physical therapy. So what I had in my mind was I was hurting at all these tubes and drains in my body. And I thought, oh, my God, I'm gonna have to go and walk. So when she comes in, she says, hey, Mr. Gary, my name is. And I didn't get the name. I didn't hear what she said. All I knew was I was going walk. But my wife grabbed my arm and she tells me, do you hear what she's saying? And I couldn't talk. I shook my head yes, like, yeah, I heard what she was saying. She said, no, you didn't hear her. He said, her name was Jordan. And when I looked at her again, I started to tear up. And my wife also. Well, the girl starts saying, hold on, hold on. She said, did I say anything wrong? And poor thing, she was trying to be extra nice. She was pregnant, you could tell. My wife had asked her, when are you expecting? When are you due? She said, in September. So it was a couple of months away. So my wife starts explaining to her about our son. Once the physical therapist heard the story about our son, he started to cry. And hold on, she says, I have something else to add to that. He said, my husband's name is Jordan. So me and my wife, we had started to cry, and he said, and that's not all he said. My husband's best friend, his name, Jordan. So with everything that happened, the surgery went well. They got all the cancer out. I went home cancer free, didn't have to do any more treatments or anything, any kind of radiation or chemotherapy. So that was a good thing. I really believe that my son was watching over me and that he had heard my prayers and he interceded for me and asked the father in heaven to heal his dad. And I just think that having three different people having the same name as my son wasn't just coincidental. I think he really had a message to give to me that he was watching over me. I wanted to share this with everyone. Little things happen, people that you love that have gone to the other side. We still watch out for you. Derek. Thanks for your podcast. I enjoy it so very much. Au revoir.

[Derek H]

Thank you, Gary, for calling Anne. And I'm glad to hear that your procedures were successful. Cancer is a real bastard. But what are the chances that Jordan's name would be brought up so many times right before the surgery? What are the chances that the wife, husband, and the best friend all shared the same name? I can see why you view this as more than a coincidence, Gary. And for your sake, and for the sake of anyone that's lost loved ones, which I guess is pretty much all of us, I hope you're right. And I hope it was a sign from Jordan, and I hope it was him that helped you get through a difficult time. Gary, a touching story and an inspirational one as well. Thank you again for sharing. Now I have one more ghost story to share with you here tonight, and now seems like a good time to do so. So please welcome Jacob out of California.

[Lady Luck]

Hi there. My name is Jacob from Fresno, California. But the story took place in a small town on the outskirts of San Diego called Escondido. So I moved there shortly after my parents split up in like 2010. And I moved there in the summertime. And then a couple months later, at the end of 2010, my mother met her girlfriend and we moved in with her about, like, early 2011 to mid-2011. And it was really cool because it was a really big house. It was the biggest house I had ever lived in. And we were kind of in like, hard times. So it was really cool to kind of live really nice. And it's kind of a confusing floor plan. But, like, you walk in, if you go to the left, you led to upstairs to, like, the master bedroom, which was a very large master bedroom. And directly below that was the kitchen and the living room. Area where we spent most of our time. About, like a year after my mom and her girlfriend got together, they started a hospice together. And a hospice is pretty much just when you have less than six months to live, or if you have like a terminal illness or something like that, you pretty much just call us and we bring the care to you. And it was like, still a small business, so they didn't have like an office or anything. So they stored all of the equipment, like the beds and stuff that the patients died on. They stored it in our garage. So in our kitchen one night, me and my mom were talking, and we hear directly above us in their room, we hear like heavy footsteps, like walking. And then me and her, our faces just kind of like turn white and we just start staring at each other like, what is going on? And our first instinct was it's got to be like an intruder or something like that. So I'm like a big heavy weapons person. So I go into my room and I get two knives and I give one to my mother and we go upstairs and there is literally no one there. There wasn't even a cat in there. But that sounded way too heavy for it to be one of our cats. And my mother's girlfriend, she was at least like 150 pounds, and she didn't even make that freaking sound like when she was walking upstairs. And we were the only ones in the house, so nothing really happened. Once we see that no one was there, we just kind of didn't really think too much of it. Just kind of went about our lives. And a few weeks later, I get home from school and it's maybe like four or five o', clock, and I start watching tv and I'm just sitting there. And keep in mind, directly above us is their bedroom. So I'm sitting there and then these footsteps, I hear them again, but they're a little bit quicker, just like a. I get freaking terrified. And I run into my room and like, again, I'm the only one home. My mom isn't home from work or anything yet. I call her and I tell her that I heard footsteps upstairs. And she was like, okay, well, I'm almost home from work now, so just go ahead and just stay in your room and stay on the phone with me. And the second she gets home, I get more knives and we go upstairs and again, no one's there. And so me and her at this point are just kind of like, what the hell is going on? So we just kind of go about our lives normally and stuff, like that. And then again, I get home from school one day, and then I'm just chilling there watching tv. And then this time, I heard the footsteps again. But they were, like, almost in, like, a full sprint. Like, they were, like, running, and it was just like. And then, like, a second went by, and I, like, my heart sank. Another second goes by, and then freaking. I hear them go back and then just back and forth. And it went like that for, like, a good, like, 30, 45 seconds. Like, running. Like, they were, like, heavy, constant footsteps. Those were the ones that really scared me. The number one scariest thing that happened to me in that house was it had to have been when I was in my room and I was playing Grand Theft Auto. And the way that my room was, it had double doors, like, in between. You could kind of see out a little bit. And underneath the door, there was about, like, an inch gap where you can, like, light would come in and stuff. So next to my room, like, the door literally right next to it, led to the laundry room, which led to another door that led into the garage. So I was sitting on my bed playing video games stuff, and then I hear something big fall over in the garage. I just tried accounting it for something. I was like, it's probably the house creaking, blah, blah, blah. And then, like, a minute or so later, I hear the door in the laundry room kind of, like, move a little bit. It kind of, like, creaked and chills. But I was looking out the crack in my door, like, in between, in this large, like, from floor to ceiling shadow just completely covered, like, the crack in between it. And, like, I could see, like, underneath where, like, the light was coming through that, like, there was something, like, standing there, just, like, there was something there. And I was the only one in the house. And that right there just sent me over the edge completely. Like, I just covered myself in the blankets. I was, like, pretty much crying. Like, that was freaking terrifying. Like, I called my mom, and she didn't really believe me at first. But then I think when she heard, like, that, I was genuinely terrified and freaking out. That's kind of when she started taking me seriously. And that was definitely, like, the scariest thing that happened to me there. So we moved out and everything in 2015, and we rented out the house to a couple different families, but, like, they all would move out within a year. And so, like, 2018 comes around, and we're just like, all right, let's just wipe our hands with the situation. We're just gonna sell it. So we finally Get a seller. And so me, my father and my mother, because my dad was gonna come

[Jacob / Caller]

to help us move some stuff.

[Lady Luck]

So we get to the house and my dad stays at the house to wait there for either like the movers or like the new people who are gonna move in or something like that. And me and my mom go to the store and we're gone maybe like 15, 20 minutes. So we get back to the house and we see my dad kind of walking around the house like looking all confused and stuff. And we're just like, hey, what's up? And he was like, did you guys like just get back right now? And I was like, yeah, we just walk through the door right now. That's the first time we got back. And then he was just like, well, I heard you like your voice call my name from the front doorway five minutes ago. And he said that it was exactly my voice. He was just like, hey dad, come here real quick. And he said that's right there. Freaking, like really, really scared him. I've never seen my dad look like uneasy and kind of like scared of that stuff before. Yeah, but that was probably about it. Keep up the good work and you make my life so much better with spooky stories. Thank you very much.

[Jacob / Caller]

Bye bye.

[Derek H]

Thank you, Jacob. I'm glad we could be of service. Now that part of California is not too far from the Borrego Triangle area, so it doesn't surprise me one bit to hear your story, Jacob. That's a very strange area. And it sounds like there was plenty of evidence there at that home to at least suggest that the area is, as I said, weird. And having spent a lot of time down there myself, I can concur. Thank you again, Jacob for sharing the phone call.

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[Nathan / Caller]

come alive and not be so reliant on the homer.

[Lady Luck]

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[Ally / Caller]

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[Gary / Caller]

That was his long way of saying.

[Derek H]

And folks, that brings us to the last entry of the evening. And for this one, you sort of need to know a little UFO history. Now, if you're not already familiar, allow me to introduce you to the very first alien abductees, Betty and Barney Hill.

[NewsCenter Maine Narrator]

As the story goes, on September 19, 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving home from their honeymoon in Montreal. As they drove through New Hampshire's White Mountains, they said they were followed by what felt like a spotlight. Eventually, they pulled over and said they spotted a ship floating above their car.

[Caller from Canada]

They were kind of enveloped by this light from the ship that they had seen and then kind of blacked out.

[NewsCenter Maine Narrator]

When they came to, they said they were in their car miles down the road and couldn't remember the last two hours.

[Caller from Canada]

There were mysterious marks on their car. The zipper on Betty's dress was torn and it was stained. The strap on Barney's binoculars were broken.

[NewsCenter Maine Narrator]

For the most part, they kept their story quiet. But after experiencing nightmares and anxiety, the couple turned to hypnosis to see whether there were suppressed memories of the event. It appears there were.

[Derek H]

Now that clip courtesy of NewsCenter Maine. And with that history in mind, please welcome Nathan, out of Parts announced.

[Nathan / Caller]

Hi, my name is Nathan and this is a story about the time I saw a UFO. So the year was 1997. It was late fall. I just turned 17. A few weeks earlier, I was in Desoto National Forest in Mississippi at this hippie gathering. I had left home early and I made my way down there to this ad hoc gathering. It was about 30 or 40 people, mostly street kids and former 60s hippies who were still on the road and train hobos. And we were all holed up in the woods for a few months. One night, after I'd been there for maybe a few weeks, I was heading back to one of the campfires and I was walking down. It was forest service road 319G. And I looked up to the sky. There was like the longleaf pines, the forest to the left of this little dirt road and maybe 50 to 100ft away from me and 100ft, maybe at most above the trees, which were 50 to 100ft. I saw what looked like a glowing orb and Then at first I was like, oh, okay, no, that's the moon. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I'd taken a very small amount of psilocybin mushrooms. So naturally I thought, oh, maybe I took more than I thought. I'm just tripping. And then it dawned on me that the moon was behind me and it wasn't full, it wasn't in that part of the sky. And so I thought, wow, this is crazy. What is that thing? You know, A few months prior to this, in my travels, I had had felicitous opportunity to meet with Betty Hill, the famous alleged UFO abductee, through a coincidence where I was staying with a kid who that turned out to be his aunt. And we ended up at her house one day looking for some sandwiches because we were hungry. And she told me this whole story about her experience. And so what I saw didn't seem to really match what she saw. So I was like, I don't know what it is then, it's not a UFO. UFOs are spaceships, or so I thought. And so I watched this thing for a minute or two, just kind of awestruck. And then I thought to myself, geez, I should really get some other people to kind of independently confirm and verify whether or not I'm seeing what I believe I'm seeing. So I ran back to the fire. It was probably about, you know, a 30 second run from where I stopped. Minute at most, there were people around the fire, 12 at the very most, just chilling, you know, hanging out. And not all of these people had taken mushrooms. In fact, most of the people around the fire hadn't. This was kind of a private thing that I'd weaseled in on, hence why I only got a little amount. So I was like, hey, get over here. There's like something in the sky. It's a ufo. And I believe people just thought I was having a joke because they were like, yeah, we're not moving. A few of the people that I was closer with were like, well, he doesn't really lie, so let's go see what this thing is. So we walked down a little further around the bend where you could see this thing above the trees. And yeah, we were like, what the hell? This thing's crazy. And we're pointing, we're hooting, hollering. I'm like, it's a ufo. Then someone was like, nah, it's some type of military aircraft. And someone else was like, maybe it's ball lightning. And as we're pointing at this thing, other People start walking down the trail from that fire because they're like, well, what did they go look at? And we are close enough that they could probably hear us. So they all came over and then they were like, what is it? And this is where things get really weird. For whatever reason, I felt like this thing is communicative. And I put my hands into the sky above my head and I made an equilateral triangle viewfinder by placing my thumbs and index fingers together. And then I looked at this thing through the viewfinder and I meditated. I just kind of breathed and focused on opening up to this thing. As I was doing that, I feel like I overheard the people behind me going, yeah, it's ball lightning. And then, as if they were saying, nothing to see here, let's go back to what we were doing. They all kind of just lost interest in it. Around this time I felt like, hey, I should separate myself from the group so that I can communicate with this thing. And the last thing I remember is stepping towards the forest on the side of the dirt road. Like I was heading that way. I don't know if I went into the forest or if I stopped. But I do know one thing for certain. I don't remember anything after that. Like there is just a big gaping chasm of a blank spot there. You know, over the years I've said to myself, well, maybe I was tripping, maybe I saw the moon. Maybe I was just a hardly 17 year old kid with a lot of trauma who'd been hitchhiking around the country and had an exaggerated sense of reality. Maybe it was just the moon. Well, here's the deal. No one ever, in this whole time we were trying to figure out what that thing was, suggested it was the moon.

[Jacob / Caller]

Moon.

[Nathan / Caller]

I never once thought it was that until like 20 years later when I started to kind of gaslight myself about this experience. Like, did this really happen? But here's the thing. Whether it was ball lightning or the moon or whatnot, how in the world do I explain that I have no memory of what happened? As soon as I decided this thing wants me to communicate with it, I'm gonna separate myself from the ground group. And then blank. And then my memory, where does it pick off? Like an hour or two later, I kind of come to and I'm on my back. I'm not even by the fire. I'm like maybe 15ft away from the fire pit where it's kind of dark. Everyone that I was with before is no longer there. The ones that are, are asleep around said fire pit, and it's clearly quiet time. What was just five minutes before supposedly everybody was wide awake? What happened? Where I go to look at this thing and then boom. I don't remember anything. And then when my memory picks up, everyone's in bed. I have no clue what is going on in that missing time, but I know it's there. And I'll be honest, I've been considering some type of regressive hypnotherapy, but I don't know if I'm gonna be okay with it if it turns out I'm, you know, on a spaceship somewhere getting prodded and whatnot. Not that necessarily. I think that's what it even was. For all I know, I wandered into the woods in a trance and just drooled for two hours, staring at the sky before I came to. Do you know what I mean? But I'm just afraid of the implications. I don't know. As much as I believe in aliens and interdimensional beings and the fact that this reality isn't all there is, I don't know if I'm ready to make it that real just yet. But I want to be ready. So that's the story about the time I saw a UFO in Mississippi.

[Derek H]

Thanks, Nathan. What do you think here, folks? Was this some sort of ball lightning? Maybe a distant helicopter? Or was Nathan suffering from a cyboscillin inspired delusion? In other words, the light was real, but the rest of his experience, not so much. Or is it possible that his run in with Betty Hill somehow made him a target? And whoever they are visited those woods in Mississippi specifically to meet with Nathan? That sounds like a wild experience, Nathan. And what a privilege to have spent time with a legend of UFO lore. Betty passed away back in 2004 at the age of 85. An incredible entry, Nathan. We thank you again for sharing it here with us. And folks that's gonna do it for this Beyond Unlock, remember, you can get access to tons more content just like this for only $5 a month. Visit Monsters Among Us podcast.com and click that Patreon tab. The Monsters Among Us podcast is written and produced by me, Derek H. Copyright Red Grow Media. Additional support is provided by Sarah Carter Hayes, Delaney Bowers and Connor Ryan. All media used in his production is done so under the protection of fair use. Give us a like and follow on our social media accounts. Join our Discord server, leave us a rate and review wherever you can do such a thing. And check us out on YouTube if you haven't already. Now don't forget, you can catch the show every Saturday evening at 10pm Eastern on the unax digital network. Just visit onxnetwork.com to tune in. Now. Tonight's score was provided by Iron Cthulhu, Apocalypse Code at Ag Music and Carl Casey at Whitebad Audio. Alright folks, it was a great hang per usual and I'll see you again on Thursday. Thursday for a best of. That's very fitting for summer, but until then you keep it spooky and have yourselves a great night.

[Jacob / Caller]

Sam.

[Lady Luck]

Hey everybody, lady luck here and we're celebrating America's 250th birthday. Now all summer long I'm going to be celebrating by playing on spinquest.com which is an American owned social casino. It obviously features over a thousand slot games and live blackjack, live craps, live bubble craps. Head on over to spinquest.com get yourself a 30 coin pack for just 10 bucks.

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