S21 Ep3: Bloodcurdling Tales from the Bedroom - Sn. 21 Ep. 3

Summary

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Monsters Among Us – S21 Ep3: Bloodcurdling Tales from the Bedroom

Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Derek Hayes
Produced by: Audioboom Studios

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Episode Overview

This episode of Monsters Among Us brings together a chilling collection of first-hand paranormal tales centered specifically around the bedroom—the place where we expect to feel most safe and secure. Host Derek Hayes guides listeners through a series of spine-tingling stories submitted by everyday people, each recounting the uncanny, the unexplained, and the downright terrifying experiences that occurred in bedrooms across the world. From doppelgangers to shadow figures, spectral visitors to out-of-body experiences, the episode explores why the bedroom—a space of such privacy—often seems vulnerable to the otherworldly.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Doppelgangers and Astral Projections

[02:32–06:08] – Becky, Livermore, CA

• Experience: Becky recounts a night where she awoke to a loud crash, believed she saw her husband investigating at the window, only to realize he was still in bed beside her. The window figure, an exact double—down to hair and tattoos—was suddenly yanked away as if by an unseen harness.
• Analysis: Derek floats two possibilities: a doppelganger, or an astral projection/out-of-body experience. Both are unsettling, especially in the bedroom context.
• Notable Quote:
  • “A doppelganger in the bedroom, a doppelganger of a significant other even. That’s all sorts of unsettling.” — Derek Hayes (06:12)

2. Shadow People and Haunted Homes

[07:00–09:08] – Archer, New Jersey

• Experience: Archer shares a family history of shadow figure sightings, including his parents sensing a presence in their doorway, and himself encountering a “shadow man” pulling him from bed (referenced in S19E19).
• Insight: Experiences of multiple family members in separate bedrooms suggest a house-wide phenomenon; possible link to a previous resident’s death.
• Notable Quote:
  • “...the fact that my parents were straight across the hall from me in their bedroom, and they had an experience with some shadowy figure in the middle of the night and I did as well, really makes me think that the experiences are somehow connected.” — Archer (08:35–08:54)

3. Audible Apparitions and Validating the Paranormal

[12:18–18:07] – Cliff, Michigan/Long Beach, CA

• Experience: After moving into a renovated Craftsman home, Cliff and his wife repeatedly hear heavy footsteps stopping at their bedroom door. Even his visiting parents hear the same—confirming it wasn’t just their imagination.
• Debunking Efforts: Cliff buys carbon monoxide detectors to rule out hallucinations, but nothing is found.
• Family Reactions: They name the entity “invitae” and come to an uneasy truce.
• Notable Quote:
  • “...they always walk down the hallway and they always stop outside of our bedroom door. This is why we sleep with the bedroom door closed.” — Cliff’s wife (16:56–17:12)

4. Apparition Confirmation and Known Household Ghosts

[19:55–22:39] – Alex, Overland Park, KS

• Experience: At a friend’s sleepover, Alex glimpses an older man in a guest room. When she mentions it, the friend is unsurprised—claiming “we see the man sometimes, too.”
• Discussion: Derek points out how unsettling it is when entities gain a casual nickname and are “known.”
• Notable Quote:
  • “We see the man sometimes, too.” — Alex’s friend (22:10–22:12)

5. Shared Sleep Disturbances and Shadow Figures

[23:32–25:41] – Ryan, Kyle, TX

• Experience: Ryan’s wife wakes to a shadow figure by her bed, which bolts into a closet—just as Ryan has a night terror about a paranormal presence. Their experiences seem intertwined.
• Afterthought: Spouses independently experiencing something—and only later realizing the overlap—turns coincidence into something more mysterious.

6. Survey: Where Do Ghosts Appear Most?

[26:13–29:29] – Derek (Sharing poll results)

• Bedroom’s Place: Only 19% of respondents in a UK survey saw a ghost in the bedroom or cellar, with under the stairs (44%) and hallways (40%) ranking higher—surprising given episode content.

7. Feeling Watched and Unseen Presences

[29:40–32:59] – Dylan, CA (in Mexico)

• Experience: While staying with his girlfriend’s family, Dylan repeatedly wakes at 3–4am with the intense feeling of being watched, only in that location. Not classic sleep paralysis; no malice, just unease.

8. Terrifying Sounds & Lost Time

[33:58–37:14] – Justin, OR/KY

• Experience 1: As a boy in rural Kentucky, Justin wakes to a bloodcurdling scream by his bedroom window, sounding “human” rather than animal.
• Experience 2: Another night, blinding lights and helicopter noise are followed by memory loss—tied to odd explanations about neighbors “growing pot.”
• Theme: Both audible and visual elements, alongside unexplained memory gaps.

9. Physical Paranormal Encounters

[38:04–41:12] – Kristof, Maryland

• Experience: In a new house with poltergeist-like activity, Kristof is grabbed on the foot by an icy hand at 3am, launching him into a panic attack. His father’s subsequent “exorcism” seems to end the disturbance.
• Effects: The event triggers years of nighttime fear.
• Notable Quote:
  • “It probably took me, I don’t know, 20 years before I was able to sleep with my feet out from the covers.” — Kristof (40:14)

10. Out-of-Body and Sleep Paralysis Horrors

[49:22–53:59] – Jesse, Calgary, Alberta

• Experiences:
  • Sees his own sleeping body while trying to leave the bedroom (possible OBE).
  • Recurring sleep paralysis episodes, including being pulled from bed by an old man and attacked by a cackling witch.
  • Wonders about the significance of an upside-down cross over his door.
• Connections: Derek notes thematic links with other callers: doppelgangers, old men, “night hag” archetypes.

11. Ouija Boards & Haunted Guest Rooms

[55:40–61:20] – Tanya, Brainerd Lakes, MN

• Experience: As a teen, after abruptly abandoning a Ouija board session at her aunt’s famously haunted farmhouse, Tanya awakens to see a shadow pacing outside the guest room door, which opens on its own. The computer screensaver is mysteriously changed to an alien motif that morning.
• Theme: Warning about rash Ouija board use and the persistence of invited entities.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I knew that that had to have been the person that I called in. That was my deep instinct.” — Tanya (58:08)

12. Nighttime Intruders: Not Just Human

[63:29–65:30] – Anonymous, Unknown

• Experience: As a young child, sees multiple shadowy figures, including one with a beak, webbed feet, and wearing his jacket, floating in the room for hours. Also sees a “brother” with no eyes and a strange smile.
• Context: Derek calls these “bedroom intruders,” likening them to friendly/creepy fantasy figures from childhood.

13. Sleep Paralysis, Aliens, and Missing Memories

[66:37–70:23] – Sabrina, Germany

• Experience: During what seems like normal wakefulness, Sabrina becomes paralyzed as a small, gray-skinned, black-eyed “alien” enters her room, communicates telepathically, and induces calm. Sabrina later realizes she’d never heard of “the Grays” before, but now wonders if she was abducted.
• Notable Quote:
  • “It said, ‘calm down. Everything’s going to be okay. Don’t be scared.’ But I was scared.” — Sabrina (67:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:32] Derek Hayes:
  “The detail that holds all these calls together is a place that almost all of you spend hours in each and every night. The bedroom. Your resting place. Your chambers. Your place of solitude.”

• [22:39] Derek Hayes:
  “Somehow calling the entity ‘the man’ makes the experience Alex had even more unsettling. I think the anonymity goes a long way here.”

• [40:14] Kristof:
  “It probably took me, I don’t know, 20 years before I was able to sleep with my feet out from the covers.”

• [53:59] Derek Hayes:
  “The very first thought I had after hearing that you removed the cross was that maybe it wasn’t there as a symbol or as a protection, but rather as a barricade.”

• [58:08] Tanya:
  “I knew that that had to have been the person that I called in. That was my deep instinct, was the person we were talking to is outside our door right now.”

• [70:23] Derek Hayes:
  “That’s my worst nightmare, Sabrina, and I think I have 90s TV and movies to thank for that. I don’t know that I’d ever sleep again if I were in your shoes.”

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Important Timestamps & Segment Guide

| Timestamp | Segment/Caller | Theme/Experience | |-----------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:32 | Host’s introduction | “Tales from the Bedroom” intro, narrative tone set | | 03:51 | Becky (CA) | Doppelganger/astral projection next to bed | | 07:00 | Archer (NJ/NY) | Families encountering shadow figures in adjacent bedrooms | | 12:18 | Cliff (MI/CA) | Heavy footsteps, entire family confirms haunting | | 19:55 | Alex (KS/OR) | Apparition of older man in friend’s bedroom | | 23:32 | Ryan (TX) | Wife and husband have parallel shadow person/night terror episode | | 29:40 | Dylan (CA/Mexico) | Waking sensation of being watched—only in girlfriend’s family home | | 33:58 | Justin (OR/KY) | Night screams, lights, and missing time in rural Kentucky | | 38:04 | Kristof (MD) | Physical contact—foot grabbed by icy “hand” in attic bedroom | | 49:22 | Jesse (Canada) | OBEs, sleep paralysis, being dragged by old man/witch entity | | 55:40 | Tanya (MN) | Ouija board session prompts shadow pacing, door opening | | 63:29 | Anonymous | Child sees webbed, beaked shadow wearing his own jacket | | 66:37 | Sabrina (Germany) | Alien/“Grays” paralysis, telepathy, missing memory |

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Tone & Style

• Derek Hayes’ narration is warm, slightly folksy, and steeped in spooky campfire storytelling traditions.
• Callers recount their experiences with a blend of awe, anxiety, and careful detail, maintaining an earnest, conversational tone throughout.

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Summary Flow

1. Derek introduces the night’s “bedroom” theme and immediately shifts into immersive narration, inviting Becky to share an eerily intimate doppelganger story.
2. Successive callers recount ever-more disquieting tales: shadow people, familial hauntings, and the sense of being watched.
3. Physical phenomena and confirmation stories (shared sounds, multiple witnesses) lend credibility and heighten the creepiness factor.
4. Paranormal phenomena escalate from mere presence to physical encounters—being grabbed, dragged, or even facing potential abduction.
5. Sleep paralysis and out-of-body experiences are explored in several contexts, raising questions about where the dream world ends and the paranormal begins.
6. Ouija-related incidents and family legends demonstrate how ritual and folklore intersect with direct experience.
7. Derek’s interludes draw connections between stories, reference historical archetypes (“night hag”), and provide comfort, validation, and occasional humor.
8. Closing stories plunge listeners deep into the psychological impact these experiences have had, ending with Sabrina’s ambiguous “alien” encounter.
9. The episode wraps with thanks, reminders to submit stories, and Derek’s signature sign-off: “Keep it spooky and have a good night.”

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For New Listeners

Whether you sleep with the light on or off, this episode delivers a tapestry of reasons to reconsider which is safer. It’s a deeply atmospheric, radio-theater-style journey that weaves personal narrative, folklore, and a little paranormal detective work, all framed by Derek Hayes’ comforting, “campfire host” presence. If you’ve ever felt eyes on you in the dark or wondered about the boundary between dream and visitation, “Bloodcurdling Tales from the Bedroom” will linger long after the lights go out.

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“Your resting place. Your chambers. Your place of solitude. The spot on earth where you are most relaxed—at least you should be.”
— Derek Hayes, [02:45]

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Transcript

[Derek Hayes]

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Sa.

[Derek Hayes]

Good evening and welcome to Monsters Among Us. I am your guide, Derek Hayes. Hello. Howdy and salutations. It's a real pleasure to have you with us here tonight. And on this night, I have for you a collection of calls that will not only make your blood run cold, but will also leave you lying awake tonight. Because the theme of tonight's installment will directly involve a large majority of listeners. Because the detail that holds all these calls together is a place that almost all of you spend hours in each and every night. The bedroom. Your resting place. Your chambers. Your place of solitude. The spot on earth where you are most relaxed. At least you should be. That's right, each and every call shared here tonight takes place in the bedroom. And as you're about to learn, that sacred space has the potential for all sorts of paranormalness. So let's get things started. Hailing from the state of California, please join me in welcoming Becky to the program.

[Tanya]

Hi Derek.

[Becky]

My name is Becky. I'm from Livermore, California. This story happened about a year and a half ago so just to backtrack. A couple of days before the event, my car was broken into, so my husband installed an additional ring camera to keep an eye on the vehicles. A couple of days later, I was woken up by a loud crash. And it was loud enough for me to hear.

[Alex]

I'm hard of hearing.

[Becky]

I woke up, I looked towards the window, but my eyes were closed. And I asked my husband, did you hear that? I felt him move, get up out of bed, and I felt him walk around the bed to the window facing the vehicles. I opened my eyes and I'm looking at him and I can see his silhouette, his long hair, the tattoo on his left arm. But his face was right in the blind of the window. I looked at him, perplexed, and I said, what are you looking at? Because obviously he had his face in the blind. He can't see outside. And at that moment, after I asked the what are you looking at? I felt movement next to me. I look to my right, I can see my husband's silhouette in bed with his CPAP mask on. I quickly look back. I felt him move again. And the figure that was at the window was pulled like if he had a harness in the back. And he was pulled back. And my husband stirred and kind of woke up a little bit. I didn't say anything. I was so frightened. I just turned over to my right side, hugged his arm and just held onto that until I fell asleep. As soon as he woke up the next morning, I had to tell him the story. It was the most interesting experience I have ever witnessed. I have experienced many paranormal things and UFOs and stuff, but this was by far one of the creepiest. I hope you enjoy the story.

[Derek Hayes]

Keep it spooky.

[Becky]

Thank you.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Becky. A doppelganger in the bedroom, a doppelganger of a significant other even. That's all sorts of unsettling. But this also could be astral travel. And Becky was somehow able to see her husband's out of body entity. Technically, I think either could be true. But regardless of the label that you slap on it, it's still the perfect way to kick off tonight's All Bedroom episode. And in the interest of keeping the tales flowing, let's go immediately to our next entry. Please welcome Archer from New Jersey. Back to the show.

[Archer]

Hey, Derek. This is Archer Cullen from New Jersey. I used to live in upstate New York. Our house was definitely haunted. Had an experience in my room with, you know, being pulled out of my bed by some shadow man. And I wanted to tell you about my parents experience in that house. Apparently there was an old woman who had lived there before them who died in the house. And you know, the first night they moved in, me and my siblings were staying at an aunt's house or something. So it was just my parents and the dog. At some point during the night, they wake up, Their room's pitch black. My mom wakes up actually, and she feels like there's a presence standing in the open door. But keep in mind the whole room is pitch black. The hallway is pitch black. But she's certain there's someone standing there staring at her. And she kind of elbows my dad and whispers like, frank, Frank, wake up. And he says, I'm awake. Is there someone standing there? And she says, yeah, that's what I was just gonna say. I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure there is. And whatever this entity is, they said it walked up to the foot of their bed and stood there for about a minute. And they're both just like completely stunned, completely like in shock. And then it turned around and walked right out the door. So, you know, looking back on this, they kind of joked. Must have been the old woman welcoming them to their new house, just checking on them. But you know, they couldn't really see anything. They just knew there was a figure and you know, there was that figure of the shadow man at the foot of my bed in my room on so many occasions. I have to think that these experiences are somehow connected. I don't know if the old woman's husband was, you know, abusive, or if he lived with her or if he died in the house too. I don't know. But the fact that, you know, my parents were straight across the hall from me in their bedroom, and they had an experience with some shadowy figure in the middle of the night and I did as well, really makes me think that the experiences are somehow connected. Love the show. Keep up the good work. Thanks.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Archer. Now you can go to season 19, episode 19 to hear that story about a young Archer getting yanked from his bed by an unseen force. It was a thriller from what I remember. Now as for Archer's latest entry, Given that the shadow entity was experienced in each of the home's bedrooms, I know one thing is for certain, I wouldn't want to find myself using one of their guest rooms. Oh, it's spooky as all get out. We thank you again, Archer, for making the call. No, gang, it's time for a quick break. But remember, you can get everything ad free for literally $1 a month. And if you sign up for a year, it's something like 10 bucks and some change. So even less than a dollar. Just sayin'. Visit monsters among us podcast.com and click the Shop tab. But for now, a word from tonight's sponsors. Now, I don't know about you, but I like keeping my money right where I can see it. Unfortunately, traditional big wireless carriers seem to like keeping my money too. After years of overpaying for wireless, I finally get fed up with crazy high bills, bogus fees and quote unquote free perks that actually cost more in the long run and switched to Mint Mobile. I went from paying $80 a month to just 15 bucks a month with Mint. Stop overpaying for wireless just because that's how it's always been. Mint exists. Purely to fix that. Mint Mobile premium wireless plans start at just 15 bucks a month. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Bring your own phone and number, activate your ESIM in minutes and start saving immediately. No long term contracts and no hassle. Even up here in the mountains, we have great coverage with Mint. When we first signed up, I was shocked by how great the quality really is. And you can't beat the price. So ditch overpriced wireless and get three months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop [e-mail] MAU that's mintmobile.com MAU upfront payment of $45 for 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to $15 a month. New customer offer for first 3 months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Before the 115 to 110 win. All right gang up. Next is a story from Cliff. Welcome to the show sir.

[Cliff]

Hey Derek, this is Cliff. I am coming to you from Bigfoot capital of Michigan. However, my story takes place in your neck of the woods in Long Beach, California. This was about 2008. I had purchased a Craftsman home and like with a lot of homes in the Long beach area, this required some tlc. So I went and had the whole house renovated top to bottom so the renovations get done. The woman that I'm dating at the time, her and I, we got married and moved into the house. And from the very moment that we were actually in the house it felt uneasy. And the best way that I could describe it is that it felt like I was A guest who had overstayed my welcome, like, we should leave. One night the wife and I were getting ready for bed and she says to me, we're going to sleep with the bedroom door closed. Well, you know, I really can't blame her because it always felt uneasy in the house. But also at the same point I'm thinking, well, you know, happy wife, happy life. So if she wants to sleep with the door closed, we can sleep with the door closed, right? It's not that big of a deal. A couple of weeks pass. I wake up, it's about 2, maybe 3 o' clock in the morning, and I hear footsteps in the hallway. They are heavy, they are solid, and they stop right outside of our bedroom door. Now I'm freaked out because somebody is in my house. I don't have a gun. Never had to worry about this kind of stuff before. Well, it strikes me as odd because the wife is sound asleep, she's not moving at all. So I decide to let her sleep. I'll just investigate this on my own. I get out of bed, I go to the door, I work up the courage to finally open it. Nobody's there. I went through the entire house, nobody's there. I checked every window, checked every door. Everything is locked. I thought to myself, well, maybe I dreamed it. So I go back into the bedroom, close the door, climb back into bed. Eventually, I fall back asleep. Over the next few weeks, I hear these same heavy footsteps walking down my hallway and stopping outside of our bedroom door. I get up to investigate. Nobody's there. Everything is locked. One day I decide, you know what? I need to check this out. I have dreams, but they're visual dreams. I've never had a pure auditory dream before in my life, so I need to know if I'm the only one that's experiencing this. So the wife and I were talking one day and I asked her, I said, by the way, did you hear anything last night? And she asked me, she said, oh, are you talking about the footsteps? And I said, actually, I am talking about the footsteps. And she says, yeah, they always walk down the hallway and they always stop outside of our bedroom door. This is why we sleep with the bedroom door closed. Anyways, time goes by and we decide to call our house guest invitae, which is the French word for guest. And we don't really have any problems with them just, you know, walking down the hallway. So we're like, you know, live and let live, not really thinking too much about it. Well, I can't help but to get this nagging feeling that maybe I'm missing something. So I go to the local hardware store, and I purchased three carbon monoxide detectors. Because I can't help but to get the feeling that maybe, just maybe when I had the house renovated. That you know, maybe a pipe didn't get plugged. Or something didn't get turned off. Or, you know, something's malfunctioning somewhere. And maybe we have carbon monoxide poisoning going on. And we're hallucinating this. And I go home, I install the carbon monoxide detectors properly. I put one in my office, one in the hallway, one in my bedroom. Without a surprise, they didn't register any carbon monoxide levels in the house. But at least I could rule that out. Not too long later, my mom calls and she says, hey, dad and I would like to come out for a visit. And I'm like, great. Come on out. We would love to have you. I was raised in a religious environment, and for my mom, a ghost is a demon. So I did not tell her about invitae being in the house because I didn't want her to freak out. I didn't want her to spend her time reading the Bible and chanting and whatever else that she does. I just kept all that to myself. They came out. I set them up in the office. I converted my office into a bedroom for them. They were there for maybe two or three days. And it was one morning I was in the kitchen fixing myself some breakfast. And she comes out there and she says, did you see who was messing around with your car last night? And I looked at her completely confused because I did not get out of bed the night before. I said, what do you mean? What are you talking about? And she goes, well, it was last night. It was maybe about two or three. And we heard a car horn outside. And we thought maybe somebody was messing around with your car. So dad got out of bed, and he looked out the window, but he didn't see anybody. Then we heard footsteps, and we figured it was you coming to check to see who was messing around with your car. And I said, really? What made you think it was me? She goes, well, the footsteps that we heard were heavy. And they came down the hallway, and they stopped right outside of our bedroom door. So dad went over to the bedroom door and opened it, but nobody was there. Anyways, Derek, that's my story. Love the show. Love what you're doing. Keep it up. Cheers.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Clef. Now, I've told this story before, so I'll keep this brief, But I had a similar experience, as did my dad and my brother for a few weeks when I was about 16 years old. Right after we went to bed, we would hear someone walking down the hallway toward the doors of each of our rooms. Soft footsteps, the floor creaking, the sounds of someone or something shuffling down the hall. And each night for weeks, at about the same time each night, we would all pop out of our respective rooms expecting to see someone standing there in the hallway. But over and over, nothing was there. A few weeks later, it all suddenly stopped, like it never even happened. And like Cliff here, we did our best to debunk those strange experiences, but we were unable to explain it away. So I get it, Cliff. That sort of thing can be very unsettling and downright creepy if you ask me. Thank you again for taking the time to call in. Now folks, if you have a tale to tell, give the hotline a call at 888-608-NIGHT. That's 888608 NIG HT. Or record your story as a voice memo and email it to me at monsters among us podcast gmail.com now this next bedroom experience takes us to Kansas. Alex, the mic is yours.

[Alex]

Hi there, my name is Alex and I'm from Overland Park, Kansas. On a recent episode you mentioned that some of your favorite haunting stories are the ones that feature a confirmation of some kind, which inspired me to reach out. I've had the good fortune of being able to say that in the two times in my life when I've seen a full bodied apparition, I've actually had my experience confirmed in some way. This was when I lived in Sandy, Oregon around 2005ish. I think I was about 12 years old and I was at a friend's birthday sleepover. Nothing happened overnight, but I do remember thinking that their house was slightly creepy. It was a ranch style home with one long hallway going down the middle and all of the rooms of the house branched off from that hallway for the sleepover. They actually had enough girls over that they ended up having to divvy us up among multiple bedrooms to sleep. The next morning parents started showing up to collect their kids and everyone was gathered in the kitchen dining area which was at one end of the house. I remember parents coming in through the garage into the kitchen and chatting with the birthday girl's parents while their daughter would run all the way down the hall to whichever bedroom and grab her stuff. Because of the layout of the house, I was generally aware of where everyone was at and that everyone was in the kitchen area, no one was really wandering around. So my parents showed up, and it was my turn to run down the hall and collect my things, which were in the last bedroom. When I walked past one of the other rooms, though, I saw a man standing in the middle of the floor. He had his back to me, and he looked a little bit older, like, maybe had gray hair. I don't quite remember at this point, But I do remember that he struck

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me as looking older.

[Alex]

I also remember that he was wearing pretty normal clothes, like jeans and a plaid shirt. And he was looking down at the bags and sleeping bags that were scattered around the floor like he was confused. I also remember that he looked more or less like a real person. It was just a split second, but it stuck out in my mind Because I hadn't seen any adults walk down the hall, and I didn't recognize him. I got my things, and I went back to the kitchen. And I don't remember whether I checked that room again on my way back, but if I did, I don't think it's still there. I only remember seeing him the one time. It was just strange enough to me that before I left, I kind of pulled the birthday girl aside, and I said, hey, this is kind of weird, but when I was back there, I think I saw someone, But I thought that everyone was over here. My friend's face dropped, and she looked immediately uncomfortable. And then she said, oh, we see the man sometimes, too. After that, we talked some more, and she actually confirmed some of the other details I noticed. Like him being older, it sounded like he was a known entity among her family, but that he wasn't necessarily malevolent. Anyway, it's really interesting to me that this friend was able to validate what I'd seen Before I even had a chance to describe it to her. It's also interesting to me that this ghost presented basically as a real person, which was not the case in my other experience. I'll call back in sometime with that story. Thank you for your time. Love the show.

[Derek Hayes]

We see the man sometimes, too. No, I'm all for confirmation, but what a creepy way to get it. Somehow calling the entity the man Makes the experience Alex had even more unsettling. I think the anonymity goes a long way here. As disconcerting as this experience was, Alex, you, can at least take solace in knowing that it took place in someone else's bedroom and not yours at the end of the night. You can at least be thankful for that. And we're thankful that you took the time to call. So thank you again, Alex, for reaching out. Now, folks, it's time to take our talents to Texas. It's Ryan's turn to terrorize.

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Hey, Derek, this is Ryan from Kyle, Texas. So this one was taken a few months ago. It was just at night. We're sleeping. Me, my wife. And my wife, I guess, had woken up because she had been, like, just kind of having crappy sleep. And she realized as she kind of woke up, she woke up to, like, a shadow standing next to her side of the bed. And she figured it was one of the kids because they're obviously always in and out having kids. And so she kind of was looking at it, this shadow and realized, like, oh, that's not one of the kids. And it suddenly just bolted off into our bathroom closet area. And so she kind of freaked out a little bit because as that happened, I started having a weird, like, night terror, kind of moaning and screaming in my sleep kind of dream. I woke up and started being all startled. This was, like, breathing hard and like, oh, crap. And she's like, you okay? I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'm good. I'm good. And I just had this crazy dream that there's, like, something paranormal was happening in the room in my dream. I just apparently must have been feeling something from that happening to her in my dream or something. I don't know what to say or explain it as, but I feel like it was connected. And, yeah, it was just really kind of a spooky thing. And she didn't tell me about this until maybe like, three months later that that's what happened. And I kind of like, like, what the heck? Why didn't you tell me? That's freaking terrifying. That was just a very odd coincidence that those two things kind of happened. And I have kind of dreams like that sometimes where I'll wake up and be pretty terrified and feel like something's in the room, but I never see anything. So to actually have her confirm that she actually saw something in the room as I had one of those dreams was, yeah, just pretty weird. So that's my story. Thanks for all you do, and we'll talk to you later.

[Derek Hayes]

We appreciate you taking the time, Ryan. Another shadowy figure in the bedroom. Not the sort of thing you want to see when you roll over and open your eyes, but it is the sort of thing that we want to hear about here on the program. So thank you again, Ryan, for sharing and scaring us to death. Have you noticed your sheets slipping off the corners lately? Or maybe your pillows just don't feel supportive anymore. Most people keep their bedding way longer than they should. It slowly wears down and you don't realize how much it's affecting your sleep until you finally replace it. We recently upgraded our bed with Bolen Branch and Man, what a difference. Bolen Branch's bedding was created to support good sleep. From their signature organic cotton sheets to plush pillows, breathable blankets and temperature regulating comforters, their bedding is incredibly soft and built to get better over time. Most people start with the signature sheets, then come back to upgrade the whole bed. Now I'm always hot when I sleep, but since we switched to Bullen Branch sheets, I can tell a huge difference in how breathable the 100% cotton sheets are compared to our old bedding. I used to wake up sweating almost every night and now I'm much more comfortable and getting a full night's rest. Plus these sheets are buttery soft and get even softer over time. And I must say, the waffle blanket is the perfect topper. That's not too hot and not too cold. It's time to stop tossing and turning. Get 20% off your first order plus free shipping during the Memorial Day sale at BullenBranch.com MAU with code MAU that's Bowl and Branch B O L L A N D Branch.com with code MAU to get 20% off. Exclusions apply. There's also a link in the show notes. Now, given that There are nearly 144 million bedrooms in the United States alone, it's no surprise that the occasional paranormal event occurs in one from time to time. That statistically makes a lot of sense. But is the bedroom the place in your home that you're most likely to see a ghost? Well, we no longer have to wonder what that answer might be because Delaney managed to find an interesting little survey out of the UK that tells us that 44% of those who have seen a ghost in their home have done so under the stairs. That's a big number for such a specific location. Now, the next highest is the hallway with 40%. 33% say they saw the ghost in the bathroom, and at 19% is combined the bedroom and the cellar. Now, I would have thought that number would have been a bit bigger, but then again, the math here is a bit wonky. We think maybe some of the witnesses saw a ghost in more than one place. The poll was conducted for a reality TV show called Help My House Is Haunted. And there's a link in tonight's show notes if you'd like to dissect it. But trust me when I say 19% is plenty. To inspire submissions to our hotline,

[Ad Break Announcer]

and

[Derek Hayes]

to prove it, here is a trio of calls from the bedroom, beginning with Dylan here in California.

[Dylan]

Hello, my name is Dylan, calling from California. So in 2018, I traveled with my girlfriend. We went to Mexico to visit family. And we're up in kind of the mountains. So when it's dark at night, it's dark. You can barely see the hand in front of your face. Even if you have, like a nightlight on, it's completely dark. Mind you, I sleep like a rock. California. I slept through earthquakes. I slept through, you know, fireworks, the big fires that were up here in Northern California. I slept through all the sirens. My girlfriend had to shake me awake sometimes. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. My grandma says I sleep like a rock. She says they've always been like that. It's hard to wake me up, so I don't really wake up for anything. And my girlfriend's a really light sleeper, so I'm laying on my side. I can't really pinpoint a time. My body said it was around, like three to four. I just wake up out of nowhere. And I knew it wasn't something that was loud or something like that because

[Archer]

my girlfriend would have woken up.

[Dylan]

But I just had this feeling that someone is staring at me. Mind you, this is completely dark and it feels like I can't move, but I can. I'm just trying to build up enough energy. I don't get any, like, malice or anything like that. I just get that someone is staring at me. And eventually I can build up enough energy to turn over and just get away from it, so to speak. So that happened a couple times, like I said in Mexico. Told my girlfriend and she was joking around, said, oh, it's probably my grandpa wondering who the heck you are. I was like, okay, you know, it's just a different place. Maybe I just, you know, woke up. It was a dream or something. Flash forward to this past December. We went back laying in bed. I think my body timer says three to four. I wake up again, same feeling. I feel like someone just staring at me. It's pitch black. I feel like I know where they are in the dark, but I can't pinpoint exactly where they are. And I just get this feeling, like I said, nothing like malice, just someone staring at me. And I roll over again. I'm just trying to, like, build enough energy to roll over. And I finally roll over And I just try to go back to sleep and goes away. This time it only happened twice. I was there for two weeks, happened twice, 2018, I was there for a week, happened about three, four times. I'm not too sure if it's sleep paralysis because it's only happened in that location to me. I've never had that happen to me before nor after. And I don't know if it's like a shadow person. It's kind of in between because how people say their experience with sleep paralysis. I don't have that trouble breathing or anything like that. I'm not too sure. Hopefully you guys can make sense of it over there. I'm not too sure. Just to wrap up the call, who day. Let's go Bengals.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Dylan and who day, buddy. Maybe this year is our year. What do you think your gang? Have you ever had this feeling, the feeling that you're being watched in a location where you should have complete privacy? If so, what do you think it was? Something ghostly, perhaps some sort of psychic activity maybe, or simply sleep paralysis? Inquiring minds do want to know. Thank you again, Dylan, for leaving us with the mystery. Now, the sense of being watched is one thing that could be all in your head. But what if you hear that presence as well? That seems to be what Justin experienced. He's calling in from the state of Oregon.

[Justin]

Hi, this is Justin. I live in Oregon. I grew up in Kentucky and I was like Western Kentucky, rural western Kentucky. And I lived in a single wide trailer in the middle of a field. Our closest neighbor was maybe like a half a mile away. And on this trailer we had built an attachment. It was from the middle of the trailer back, but behind my bedroom window there was a little spot like maybe like 4ft by like 12ft that was between the built on spot and the trailer. And it always creeped me out there. But, you know, one night I was sleeping, I was sound asleep. I was, you know, maybe, I don't know, 10 or so. And I just hear this scream, like a scream that just woke me up out of a dead sleep. And it sounded like it was like right by my window and it sounded like a woman screeching. And you know, I told my mother about it the next morning because I was too afraid to look out the window because it sounded like a woman was dying. And you know, she just told me, oh, it's the bobcats, you know, because Kentucky has some bobcats there. But I went on YouTube and tried to find the sounds of this bobcat. And I Was listening to a bunch of them and even, like, mountain lion screams. And none of them sound exactly like what I heard. It literally sounded like a woman out of a horror movie screaming. I don't know that I'll ever figure out what it was. I mean, maybe it was a bobcat, but it really didn't sound like that because there's a quality to the sound that sounded human. There was this other time around the same time that, you know, we live out in the middle of the field and our neighbors don't really come by. It's not like, you know, door to door or anything like that. But, you know, I wake up in the middle of the night because I heard like this loud sound outside. There was lights flooding into the windows. And, you know, I get up out of bed and I remember getting to the back door of the trailer. And we had like a porch on the back door. And, you know, my mom's bedroom was right by the back door. And as soon as I get to the door, she comes out because she's hearing the same thing. And she opens the door. And all I can remember is a really bright light and the sound of a helicopter. And, you know, somebody was coming up the porch. And then I don't remember anything else. I don't remember being told to go back to bed. I don't remember going back to bed. I just remember waking up the next morning. My mom later told me that one of our neighbors had been using their ATVs to go into the field behind our house, which was owned by my father, and to grow pot. But I don't. I don't know if that's what it is. It doesn't make sense about the lost time. But anyways, that's my story.

[Archer]

Thank you.

[Justin]

You're wonderful. I love the stories.

[Archer]

Thanks.

[Justin]

Bye.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Justin. Okay, it could have been a bobcat. It also could have been a coyote or a fox or even a human or even something else that we've yet to discover. Now, when you hear something strange and you never really get a look at what's making the sound, you never know for sure what it was. And vague memories of possible strangers on the porch do little to clear the mystery up. But when a mystery figure shows up and makes physical contact, well, that bumps things up a notch. Just ask Kristof from the old lying state of Maryland.

[Kristof]

Hello, Derek. This is Kristof calling back with another story. This is actually the very first paranormal thing that ever happened to me. So this took place in Baltimore, Maryland, and my parents had Gotten a good deal in the house, we moved in. The house had kind of a. Particularly the basement and the attic had kind of an eerie feeling to it. And my parents would notice things like the TV going on and off by itself sometimes. Sometimes the toaster would turn on by itself, doors would open and close, things like that. I didn't really notice it too much. I do remember being in the basement and watching the door close by itself once. But I was busy playing and having fun as a kid and it didn't really bother me too much until my dad, he redid the attic and he built a room for myself and my sister up there. We had previously shared a room downstairs. We moved up there and the very first night up there, my sister wanted me to sleep in her bed. And that had never happened before when we shared a room. She was very insistent and I fell asleep in her bed and then I went over to my bed and night after night this kept happening. She didn't want to sleep alone. I would sleep in her bed until she fell asleep and go to my own bed. And then I would notice I would wake up around three in the morning, like every night, and I would feel like I was being watched. And so this happened frequently. And then one night I woke up at three in the morning again. And I'm just sitting there kind of blinking and just getting a real eerie feeling. And then all of a sudden I feel something grab my top of my foot just below my ankle. It felt like a hand, it was cold feeling, it was like a cold dead hand. But it grabbed my foot and I freaked out. I yelled, I screamed, I ran downstairs, I started hyperventilating. My parents, my dad rushed me to the hospital because he thought I was having an asthma attack. Even though I had no history with asthma. Only for the hospital to tell my dad that they thought I had had some kind of panic attack. So I told my dad what happened after I calmed down and could talk. And my dad, and still is to this day, is a Christian believer. So the next day he went around the house with a bible quoting scripture, casting demons out in the name of Jesus. And we never really had any problem again. I really wish he had done it before something grabbed my foot. But that was my very first paranormal experience ever and I've had lots of them. And that by far is probably the most frightening. It probably took me, I don't know, 20 years before I was able to sleep with my feet out from the covers. Yeah, it was definitely traumatizing to say the least. Alright, Derek. Well, hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you.

[Derek Hayes]

Now I think we know why little sister was afraid to sleep alone. I'd love to hear her version of this story. Thank you, Kristoff. Now, I did enjoy the tale. As traumatizing as it seems to have been for you, at the very least it makes for a great story. And we thank you, Kristoff, for taking the time to share with us.

[Jesse]

Hey, that guy's got something to him, man.

[Derek Hayes]

Monsters Among Us is brought to you by Progressive. In general, do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you can save some cash? Well, Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money. When you bundle your home and auto policies, the process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you can save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

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[Dylan]

Yeah, I like this game too.

[Derek Hayes]

Now if you would join me in Colorado where we meet with Mike for this next one.

[Mike]

Hey Derek, this is Mike from Colorado. This story takes place about 30 plus years ago. I was in high school. My best friend and I who his name is Mike too. Coincidentally, we were talking with one of our high school teachers that we were good friends with and he was a big believer in conspiracies and illuminati and things like that. And keep in mind, this is at the time when, at least around here, there had been several reports of black helicopter encounters and theories about the UN and the new world order and things of that nature. But anyway, our teacher told us that on the highway that runs through town that me and my friend lived off of, on the back of the road signs there were stickers or markings that were coded for like FEMA camps to indicate to the powers that be where the camps were, what their exact purpose was, how many people they could hold, etc. Etc. Etc. So one night me and my friend were bored and decided to go out and check this out. And so we went out with a camera. Now keep in mind, this is the 90s. This is long before digital cameras. This is a film camera. And so we drive up and down the highway in the area where he said that they were located and whatnot that these signs were. And we took a bunch of pictures of the back of these road signs, you know, speed limit signs, landmark signs and things of that nature. And then we went home. And so we got home, it was probably about 11:30. Now, him and I both lived out in the country outside of the town. I lived about three miles out, and he lived about a mile and a half past me. And like I said, we got home kind of late, and I went into my bedroom, I was getting ready for bed, and something slapped hit really hard on my bedroom window, which had never happened before, that I can recall before or after, and made me jump and, you know, confused me. And I looked out the window, didn't see anything, and really didn't think anything about, well, maybe it's a bird or.

[Jesse]

Or a bat.

[Mike]

Maybe we have bats around here. And went to bed and kind of forgot about it. Then the next day at school, I saw Mike, and we were talking about it, and I said, yeah, you know, when I got home, you know, it's kind of funny, something ran into my bedroom window and slapped it really hard and scared me. And Mike gets real quiet, and he looks at me and he goes, you too? That happened to you? And I said, yeah, he says, the same thing happened to me. And we were never able to explain it or find out what was going on or anything of that nature. But then the other funny part of the story is, like I said, it was a film camera that we had out that's. We had to take the film in and get it developed and whatnot, because we wasn't digital. And so when we used up the rest of the roll, we took it in, dropped it off, and then a couple days later went back and got the pictures. The funny part is none of the pictures that we took of the back of those road signs, and there were stickers on there that were markings and other decals, I guess, on the back of these road signs. And I don't know what they meant or anything, but we did take pictures of them. And we took probably 20 pictures somewhere around there of these road sign backs. Not one of those pictures turned out. They were fuzzy, they were blurry. You could see something. You could see the back of the sign, which was silver, than a blue or a yellow sticker or something like that, but you couldn't make out anything that it said or any image that was on the sticker or anything like that. But all of the other pictures on that roll of other things we've taken pictures of, you know, whatever it was, those turned out, strangely enough, but none of those pictures did. So I don't know what that means. If anything, I don't know if there's a connection between that and the black helicopter and the slaps on our bedroom windows, but I've always wondered about that.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Mike. Now this is up in the show notes, but FEMA's official stance is that this conspiracy theory is false. And that's exactly what you'd expect them to say, whether it's true or not. No, I'm not a big conspiracy guy, so this one wasn't on my radar. But conspiracies aside, something real slapped both of Mike's windows that night. At the very least, it's a wild coincidence. And add in the strange photographs and you have yourself a full fledged mystery. So congrats Mike, and thank you again for calling in. Now folks, don't forget, you can help support the show and look good doing it by patronizing our merchandise shop. Just visit monsters among us podcast.com and click the Shop tab to get your hands on all sorts of fun items. And we've noticed some pirated products out there with the MAU logo slapped on it. So if you didn't go to monsters among us podcast.com and click the Shop tab, then you're likely not getting it from us. I guess that's how you know you've made it when they start bootlegging your merch. Thanks, I guess. Anyway, a sincere thanks to anyone and everyone that gives the shop a visit. Again, that's monsters among us podcast.com and click the Shop tab. And speaking of visiting, it's time we visited our friends up north. Please welcome Jesse out of Canada.

[Jesse]

Hey man, my name is Jesse. I'm from Calgary, Alberta. I wanted to tell you the story about the new house that my grandmother had purchased and it wasn't a brand new house. She bought it off the previous owners and I grew up living with my grandparents and I had my own bedroom at my grandparents house and I was like 19, 20 years old and I noticed right away that my bedroom was the only bedroom that had an upside down cross nailed above the door and I remember thinking it was really weird and the first thing I did when I moved into the bedroom was take the cross down and discarded of it because I thought it was kind of creepy that my room was only one that had this cross and I didn't really know the significance of it. Anyways, within the first week of living in this new house and sleeping in this bedroom, I had weird things start happening. The very first thing that happened was I got up in the middle of the night and I thought I had to go to the washroom, but I felt like super weird. Like I felt like really lightheaded and almost like dizzy. And as I went to, you know, get up and go to the door, I reach the door and it was shut. And I go to open up the door and it won't open. And I keep trying to open the door and it won't open. And I remember kind of panicking, like, why won't the door open? And then I looked back at my bed to go back to the bed, and I saw myself sleeping in the bed. Like I was fully out of my body trying to open my door. And I can remember looking back at myself sleeping on the bed and I thought that was obviously so bizarre. And that was just the beginning of these kind of events. A couple days later I'm in that room and I'm sleeping again in the middle of the night. I start to feel weird again, like the same kind of sensation. And I opened up my eyes and I started levitating from my bed and I was pressed to my ceiling. And I don't know if my actual physical body had risen to the roof or if it was like my spirit or whatever it was. But I can remember looking around my room and my point of view was from the ceiling and I again saw myself laying in the bed. It was the strangest thing that only happened two separate times, the out of body experience. But then again, in the same bedroom I started having like non stop sleep paralysis I think it's called. I remember one night I woke up and I looked at the bedroom door and there was an old man in the doorway. And I lived with my grandfather like I said, and my grandmother. I thought maybe it was my grandpa, but it wasn't. And I tried to like get up and like scream or make noise and I was stuck to my bed. And this old man just like walked as slowly as he could to my bed and I was locked eyes with him the entire time. And he grabbed me by my ankle and pulled me out of my bed. And I remember being face down on the floor in my bedroom and I was looking at my closet and I could see all the different clothes that I had in my closet as this old man was pushing my back into the floor. Like it felt like he was trying to push me through the floor into some other dimension. And I remember like screaming, but I couldn't make any noise. And finally I like kicked out of it or snapped out of whatever was going on. And I was on the ground in Florida, front of my closet, right where this old man had dragged me. It was a very strange experience. I had so many of those sleep paralysis stories. The only other one I wanted to share right here was like within the same kind of like time span as these out of body experiences, I had this witch like in the middle of the night again, sleep paralysis. I'm frozen in my bed and she started like cackling and going all around my room. And then she jumped on my chest and was like pushing me into my bed and trying to cut off my breathing. Like she had like her hands around my throat. And I remember her just like cackling and the cackling was at like a volume 10 in my head. And I just remember fighting it as hard as I could until finally I just had like snapped out of it and then woke up. I could tell you sleep paralysis stories from that one bedroom for the next couple hours, but I'll leave you with those couple quick story.

[Derek Hayes]

You know, Jesse, the very first thought I had after hearing that you removed the cross was that maybe it wasn't there as a symbol or as a protection, but rather as a barricade. Perhaps it was holding something in or keeping something out. I'm not sure how the out of body experiences would play into all this. Very similar to Becky's entry to kick off the show. And it was also reminiscent of Alex's entry, an old man in the bedroom. And come to think of it, it reminded me a lot of Kristoff's story as well that we just heard. And I must say, the cackling witch on the chest, that's a classic sleep paralysis archetype. There are even paintings depicting that exact same thing. Paintings that are over 200 years old. If you Google Night Hag by Henry Fusilli, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. There's also a link in tonight's show notes. So I guess for your sake, Jesse, we should all hope this was sleep paralysis, the lesser of two evils for sure. We thank you for taking the time to share the phone call and hopefully whatever it is, it's all behind you now. Now, sometimes partaking in a Ouija board session can later catch up to you in bed. At least that's the claim that Tanya's making. Please welcome her out of Minnesota.

[Tanya]

Hi, this is Tanya from North central Minnesota, the Brainerd Lakes area. So I wanted to share with you a story of my aunt and her haunted farm. When I was a teenager, I would always spend time in the summers at my aunt's farm. Actually, I'd been dropped off at my aunt's farm in northern Minnesota, the Park Rapids area, since I was maybe five or six years old. And I would spend the summers with her as I grew up. I would drive there once I had my license and I'd bring my friends because it was always kind of an experience. My aunt was an herbalist. She was kind of a hippie. She was amateur geologist. She was everything and she was everything to me. So when I say haunted, this was an old farmhouse that actually still had its original one room log cabins on it. The home she was living in was maybe built in the teens or the twenties. And she would regularly use her Ouija board and communicate with people on the Ouija board and actually kept a large journal. She had a man that she would speak with that she said was a black man. And he would share beer and bread recipes with her and had all these recipes written out. I remember asking her if she ever came across negative or mean entities, anything scary. And she said, sometimes they come across, but I tell them to get out of here. I have no interest in it. She always had stories of people that she'd see standing by her fireplace and think it was someone she knew just for the person to disappear. Or a large white light coming from her barn, the hayloft of the barn, right straight up to the outside of her window. So needless to say, lots and lots of activity at my aunt's house. So I brought my friend up and my aunt brought out the Ouija board. We thought this would be a lot of fun at first, but I was already a little skeptical and a little scared because I knew my aunt was contacting people already. And I wasn't sure that was something I wanted to mess with. But my friend was convinced that that's what she wanted to mess with. My aunt said, here's the thing, if you do it and it starts to move, you can't quit. You have to follow through with the communication. We agreed with it, whatever. And we began asking questions. And that it so long ago, I don't remember. But we sat at this large oak table that was in the dining room of this old farmhouse. And sure thing, it started to move. I think the fact that when the questions were Being answered actually happened without our hands. The shock made me lift my hands, and I remember immediately saying, no, no, no, no, don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. My aunt said, you have to follow through. I absolutely refused. I did not want to do that. So my aunt protested. My friend protested, but I said, no, I'm done. So that night we went to sleep. We went upstairs up in the old farmhouse, and my friend and I were trying to fall asleep. My friend had no problem falling asleep in the guest room. I'd always been spooked out in this room. And actually, until my late teens, I would actually sleep with my aunt in her bedroom in this farmhouse because of how spooked I was already from this guest room. But anyways, I'm lying there and I'm trying to fall asleep. And that's when I notice there is a maybe 1 inch opening from the floor to the bottom of the door. I could see in the hallway, which was illuminated by my aunt's computer screen, a shadow, perfectly clear. Couldn't hear a footstep, but it looked exactly like a person pacing back and forth in front of that door, totally distinct. At this point, I shook my friend awake. We both sat there and watched the shadow paced. Then the door opened. It wasn't this large swing. It didn't swing open, but it clearly opened, I'd say six inches, just right open. That, of course, made us jump. I got up, I said a little prayer, and I shut the door. And I knew, I knew that that had to have been the person that I called in. That was my deep instinct, was the person we were talking to is outside our door right now. I don't remember being able to fall asleep very well after that, but I apparently did. And the next morning when we woke up, I remember stepping outside of the bedroom and there to the left was a small office and computer room. This is, you know, early 2000s. She always had on her screen, like a dancing abstract shape screensaver. I mean, it was crystal clear there for years. Never changed. She didn't know how to change. It was just a default screensaver. That screensaver was making a noise, and so it caught my attention. I looked to the left and here was a little alien bouncing from corner to corner on the screensaver. And that really stood out because I knew it was not that the night before. It never had been that. And here it's been changed. So I feel like there's a total correlation between the Ouija board, somebody pacing outside the door, opening the door and inevitably changing that screen size saver. So that's my story for today. Thank you so much for everything you do. Bye.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you, Tanya. Your aunt sounds like an amazing person and spooky or not, it sounds like she knew exactly how to have a good time. And what an amazing way to spend each summer. Very fun. And thank you again, Tanya for sharing the awesome tale. All right gang, it's time for one last ad break. Then I have a couple of stories of bedroom intruders that'll keep you awake tonight. So don't move a muscle. Monsters Among Us is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you can save some cash? Well, Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you can save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

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[Derek Hayes]

All I'm gonna say is this.

[Mike]

Do you also have

[Derek Hayes]

now, as promised, a pair of stories that'll have you sleeping with one eye open this evening? Beginning with anonymous out of parts unknown.

[Anonymous Caller]

Hello there, Derek. I just wanted to tell you that a long time ago when I was like five or six years old, it was just something paranormal that happened in the corner of my room. So basically there was this figure. It was like, kind of like a shadow. But the thing is, it was wearing my jacket and it had a beak and webbed feet. It wasn't touching the floor. It was floating and it would walk around, pace around my room. Now, it wasn't sleep paralysis because I was able to move around, like move my fingers. I didn't want to move and alert it, so I just stood still and watched. Thing is, there was more figures around my room. One appeared next to me and I flicked it away and when I looked up at the corner, the figure with the beak was looking at me. After that, it was like five in the morning. We stared at each other for an hour. My mom came in and grabbed the jacket. The apparatus immediately disappeared when she grabbed it. But after that I saw like a figure that was resembling my brother. Part is, is that my brother and I at the time were sleeping together. We were sleeping in one room in the same bed. We were both five years old and he had no eyes, but he was smiling. He was at the corner of the room crouching, looking at me. When I called out to him, he just walked away behind the couch. And when I followed, there was nothing there. When I went back, my brother was in bed sleeping. So I just went back to sleep right next to my brother, held him close because I was the old, I'm the oldest brother. Hopefully anybody could tell me what that figure was. Thank you very much for everything you do.

[Derek Hayes]

Thank you caller. Is anyone else having Billy Madison flashbacks right now? All jokes aside, we have ourselves what I like to call a bedroom intruder. An apparition or a visitor that shows up in children's bedrooms under the guise of a cartoon character, a fantasy figure or a friendly animal. A human sized penguin is the perfect example and we've had many strange ones over the years. A velociraptor, a monkey in overalls, a giant toadman thing. But our caller's penguin might be the strangest yet. Now we appreciate the story collar and I'll definitely keep my ears open for any similar experiences. And folks, that takes us to tonight's final story. A different type of bedroom room visitor all the way from Germany. Please welcome Sabrina to the show.

[Sabrina]

Hello, my name is Sabrina, I'm from Germany. I wanted to share a story with you guys that kept me thinking for the past couple of years. It's probably about sleep paralysis, but I think there is more to it so I'll let you decide. So 10 years ago I lived with my husband at that time in an apartment. We usually got up early and me being an early bird would always get up around 6:30 or so. It was in the summer and it was already bright outside. The alarm went off and my then husband got up and I was awake and we would say good morning to each other and I watched him getting new clothes out of the closet and get ready for for the day. And I could hear how he started to shower and everything. I know that I was very much awake at that time and at least five minutes passed so I think we even had a little conversation. So suddenly something changed my surroundings. The whole bedroom looked kind of blurry. I remember the very vividly how. And I know this sounds weird, but okay. I remember how small, maybe the size of a 10 year old creature looking like an alien entered the room. It had gray skin and big black eyes. And in this moment, I realized that I could not move. I could not use my voice. I was completely paralyzed. I was in shock and I panicked. And then I heard the creature say something, but it was like its voice was inside my head, like some, you know, telepathic communication, I don't know. And it said, calm down. Everything's going to be okay. Don't be scared. But I was scared. And somehow the, you know, scared feeling was pushed away. But it didn't feel like it was in my control, more as if it was that thing that did something to let me forget it. But it was very weird. Like I knew something wasn't right and I should be concerned, but I couldn't feel accordingly. And suddenly. And that's the. Was still very interesting to me, I thought, oh, my God, the grays are coming. And while I was thinking that, I remember I was surprised by it because I didn't know what the grays were. It came closer to me and it stopped at my bed, right where my feet were. And then everything stopped. Everything went back to normal. I could move again, and everything was like nothing happened. I got up, but I was very scared. And I know about sleep paralysis, but I have never experienced anything like this before or after. I did some research after that incident, and I found out that many people refer to aliens as the grays because of the skin color. And I'm honest here, I never heard that before. And it's still surprising to me, so since I haven't been into aliens and stuff like that at that time, but after. And I just want to thank you for this wonderful podcast for all the work that you guys are doing. It really helps people to share and feel like they belong. And it's good that we stick together. So thank you so much for this podcast.

[Derek Hayes]

Thanks, Sabrina. And yeah, that's what they always say. Just last week, I shared a recording of abductee Barney Hill under hypnosis. And in that video, he too claimed that the entity told him not to be frightened and to stay where he is. In fact, this is a common detail in many of these abduction reports, and so is the description of the communication between the creature and human. It's often described like the entity's voice is playing in the victim's head. I hear that detail all too often now. I sure don't want to induce any sort of panic here, Sabrina, because I'm far from an expert on any of this, but given the details that you provided, you just might have had an abduction experience. Now if you find a strange object embedded under your skin, well then you'll know for sure. But as to what to do about it, I'm not entirely sure. I imagine there are support groups out there somewhere. Maybe the National UFO Reporting center can help. Maybe a few listeners out there have some suggestions. You can find the replies on Patreon, Spotify social media. Join them all to stay abreast and to hear all the suggestions given. That's my worst nightmare, Sabrina, and I think I have 90s TV and movies to thank for that. I don't know that I'd ever sleep again if I were in your shoes. But a huge thanks for the bravery here tonight. We certainly do appreciate you sharing the story and folks that's gonna do it for this one. I want to thank you all for swinging by and I hope you come back on Thursday when we run it all back and do it again. I've got a swell little episode lined up for you all, but until then, Monsters Among Us Podcast is written and produced by me, Derek Hayes. Copyright Rent Grow Media. Additional Support Support is provided by Sarah Carter Hayes, Delaney Bowers and Connor Ryan. All media used in this production is done so under the protection of fair use. Be sure to give us a like and follow on our social media accounts. Join us on YouTube, join our Discord server and leave us a rate and review wherever you can do such a thing. And while you're at it, why not share the show with friends and family? We can use all the growth we can get. Now don't forget, you can catch the show every Saturday evening at 10pm Eastern on the NX Digital Network. Just visit on xnetwork.com to tune in. And lastly, tonight's score was provided by Iron Cthulhu, Apocalypse Co AG Music and Carl Gazy and whitepad Audio. Now watch the movie Shadows in the desert. Visit borregotriangle.com to learn more. Join us in the beyond monsters among us podcast.com and click the Patreon tab. And don't forget to check out Monsters Among Us junior The Season two finale drops just a few short hours from now and trust me when I say you won't want to miss it. But until then, I'm Derek Hayes signing off. You keep it spooky and have a good night.

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