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Ash
Wondery plus subscribers can listen to Morbid early and ad free. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast hey everyone, let's talk about protein for a second. There's this rumor that getting plant based protein is tough, but listen, there are some amazing options out there even if you're not vegan. Adding more plant based protein to your diet is a fantastic way to nourish your body and support the planet. My go to for Tasty Protein and Superfood Pack shake is Cachava. Every serving of Cachava offers 25 grams of 100% plant based protein. But that's not all this all in one shake has fiber, quality, fats, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and so much more. I love that I can tick so many boxes with just one delicious shake. If you know me, you know that vanilla and chai are my favorite flavors and I like to combine them. But they also have chocolate, they've got matcha, and they've got coconut acai. I'm a big fan of the coconut acai as well. After drinking Kachava first thing in the morning because that's when I always drink it, I feel satiated for hours. I feel focused, calm and ready to take on my day. Something that I really love to do if I even want like a little bit more protein is just add a scoop of peanut butter to the vanilla and chai concoction that I make. And that oh is just scrum diddly umpious honey. Kachava is offering our listeners 10% off on their subscription for a limited time. Just go to kachava.commorbid spelled k a C H A V a and get 10% off your first order. That's K A C H A V A dot com morbid what's it like to get the new iPhone 16 Pro with at and T Next up Anytime? It's like when you first light up the grill and think of all the mouthwatering possibilities. Learn how to get the new iPhone 16 Pro with Apple Intelligence on AT and T and the latest iPhone every year with AT and T next up anytime ATT connecting changes everything. Apple Intelligence coming fall 2024 with Siri and device language set to US English. Some features and languages will be coming over the next year. $0 offer may not be available on future iPhones. Next up Anytime features may be discontinued at any time, subject to change additional fees. Terms and restrictions apply. See att.com iPhone for details.
Elena
Hey Weirdos. I'm Elena.
Ash
I'm Ash.
Elena
And this is morbid.
Ash
And it's Listener Tales, which means that it's brought to you by, you, for you, from you and all about yoo baby.
Elena
Whoa. I don't know. I don't know.
Ash
I don't know.
Elena
Large shrug.
Ash
I don't know. Shrug, shrug, shruggy shrug.
Elena
We love a Listener Tales moment. You know this, we know this.
Ash
Everybody knows.
Elena
Everybody knows this.
Ash
Listener tales 5 ever.
Elena
It always feels like we have not done a Listener Tales episode in 46 years. I know. Every time.
Ash
It's so weird.
Elena
Yeah. And it's like, nah, it's only been a couple weeks. Few weeks. Couple weeks. Few weeks.
Ash
Yeah. Like a few.
Elena
Yeah.
Ash
Because a few is like three or more.
Elena
Like in case you didn't know. Yeah. So it really hasn't been that long. But every time I'm like, we haven't done this in three years.
Ash
Isn't that weird?
Elena
And it's weird.
Ash
I think that's the only thing I've said in response to I'm sorry. How weird is it?
Elena
She was just like picking at her nails, being like, that's so weird.
Ash
But no, I was weird. That was just my genuine response. I was like, I did have a little bit of pizza sauce under my nail, which is really gross.
Elena
Which you did not need to share. But you did.
Ash
Yeah. I'm an open book.
Elena
We are appreciative. And also horrifying.
Ash
Also, I just ate pizza for lunch. Like, that's not old. Yeah.
Elena
Like last night, she just had pizza for lunch.
Ash
It's right there. I can still see it. It's not old, I swear.
Elena
No, I wash my hands.
Ash
That's crossing. I know. I actually did wash my hands. Damn.
Elena
That's even worse.
Ash
I know. Yikes.
Elena
Didn't do a good job.
Ash
Well, guys, less about me, more about you.
Elena
Less about my hygiene, more about your tail.
Ash
I'm going to kick you. I'm going to kick you in the shin. Would you like to go first?
Elena
Sure, I'll go first. Why don't I start this out with a bang? Oh, listener tale. The time I babysat for a cold blooded killer.
Ash
That'll do it.
Elena
That will do it. Let's see. Oh, we have a pinafore. Hi, Ash and Elena. This is Allie, which is my real name. Use it all you want. Ally, Ally, Ally, Ally, Ally, Ally, Ally, Ally.
Ash
Just makes me think of James Kennedy going alley ballet.
Elena
There you go. And this is a listener tale for you. Good.
Ash
Because it's a listener tale episode.
Elena
There you go. Like most things in my life, I'm going into this email with no preparations beforehand. So I apologize. I'm kind of just typing things up as they come to me, but I'll try to keep it as straightforward as I can. First of all, can I just say that I love you ladies? You can, because I love you too, Ally.
Ash
I also love you too, Allie Bali.
Elena
I'm just going to fangirl for a minute, if you don't mind. To be honest, I've never been much of a podcast person, but I came across Morbid when I was on maternity leave at the beginning of last year. I had a baby girl on December 28th of 2021. She shares your birthday. Elena. No big deal. No big deal. She's a cappy. We love it.
Ash
Real talk.
Elena
We named her Fiona. I love that name.
Ash
And that was also on your list.
Elena
That was on my list. I love that name.
Ash
That's like, really?
Elena
That's weird. Yeah, she was actually born one day after my own birthday. Oh, my gosh. We're all cappies together. So you and I almost share a birthday. No big deal. No big deal. Capricorn's forever.
Ash
Hell, yeah.
Elena
I got it.
Ash
Imagine being in labor on your birthday, though. I hope you weren't if you were. What if she was in labor on her birthday? That's not a great birthday.
Elena
But, like, you're getting, like, a baby out of it.
Ash
That's the greatest part.
Elena
That's good.
Ash
Yeah.
Elena
You know, you got a birthday present after your birthday.
Ash
There you go.
Elena
Look at it that way. Anyway, while on maternity leave, I spent the first month or so of sleepless nights binging a lot of television. Eventually, I started to go a little stir crazy sitting on the couch all the time, and decided to try to find a podcast I could carry around with me. As I did House George took the baby on walks, et cetera. I had just finished rewatching a ton of old X Files episodes. Love that so much. My favorite television show in all of history ever. And was still feeling that spooky vibe. I had never heard of Morbid or you guys. Tragic. I know. So when I searched true crime podcasts and saw Morbid pop up, I randomly clicked on a recent episode. Where is Brandon Swanson?
Ash
Oh, that's.
Elena
You know what's really weird? Why do these things happen? I was just looking through our suggested cases.
Ash
Yeah.
Elena
To, like, just kind of, like, compile a few of what you guys want to hear. And I just opened an email where someone said they just listened to the Brandon Swanson episode.
Ash
That's weird.
Elena
And that they wanted, like, a different one covered. And I was like, whoa, that was a random episode. And then you just mentioned it again, like, what a random fucking episode.
Ash
Also, I was looking for cases last weekend and I was just like, reading a bunch of different, like, countdown things online, and Brandon Swanson was one of the ones featured.
Elena
What's going on with that? Like, that's weird. Of all the cases we've done, I mean, we've done almost how many episodes we're in 500 and something at this point.
Ash
Yeah, I think we're close to 600.
Elena
Yeah. That many episodes. And you mentioned the one episode I just opened a random suggestion that also mentioned that episode.
Ash
That's bizarre.
Elena
Sorry. That's weird.
Ash
Sorry.
Elena
I hope something comes out of that. I don't know.
Ash
No, maybe it will.
Elena
It's very strange.
Ash
Stranger things have happened.
Elena
It's true. So, well, you clicked on where is Brandon Swanson? And you never looked back, so that's amazing. And now I just hang out with you all week, every week. And because my daughter was the equivalent of a sack of beans back then. The sack of beans. Time goes by really fast.
Ash
Aw.
Elena
She couldn't understand a word either of you were saying. I was free to listen to as many tales of ghosts and decapitations and murdering assholes as I wanted without fear of traumatizing her. My daughter had a lot of issues eating and sleeping during her first few months. We later found out she had some undiagnosed food allergies.
Ash
Aw.
Elena
So postpartum was rough on all of us. Your podcast became a space for me to just escape a little bit. Thank you so much for hanging out with me then and now. You betcha. I love that. Okay, so my tale kind of forgot. That's why I started this whole thing. Here we go. I'm going to change the names of the people involved because you can actually look up the case I'm going to talk about. And I want to maintain a little privacy for one person in particular. I'll put a footnote at the end with the real names in case you two want to look it up. This is the story about how I babysat for a cold blooded killer. When I was in middle school, a family moved into the house next door to ours. A married couple and their young son. I'll call the married couple John and Tracy Carter. And I'll call their son Ben. Tracy was actually a radio personality at the time and was fairly well known in the area. John was incredibly outgoing Charming guy. I don't remember what he did for a living. It's not important. They were actually kind of an odd couple, at least from an outsider's perspective. We lived on a very small and isolated street. Seven houses with a cul de sac at the end. Our little street had a lot of block parties at the time, so everyone knew each other very well. John and Tracy were at a lot of these get togethers. To be fair, I was about 13 during this time, so I was more interested in teenage girl drama than anything adults were ever talking about. I do remember Tracy was pretty being pretty reserved, a little standoffish maybe. John, on the other hand, was always boisterous, cracking jokes and talking to anyone and everyone with ease. Now that I'm an adult myself, I recognize that I am the Tracy in this situation. I hate mingling and forcing small talk at block parties. It's literally the worst.
Ash
Said a Capricorn.
Elena
Yeah, I was gonna say that's your Capricorn in there.
Ash
Said like a true cappy.
Elena
John and Tracy's son Ben was about 4ish years old when we first met the Carters. He was the most adorable kid with a mop of blonde hair and a whip smart personality.
Ash
Aw.
Elena
A couple years passed and the Carters had become friends with my parents. To be more specific, John Carter had become friends with my parents. Tracy was a rare sighting in the neighborhood at that point. She worked a lot and also attended various functions and events outside of her job. I want to say John was unemployed for stretches of time, but I could be making that up. Like I said, my memory of what he did for a living is hazy. In any case, John would come over to sit on the back deck and chitchat while Ben showed off a new toy or ran around in the backyard. Eventually, in the summer of 2002, I started babysitting for John and Tracy. I would watch Ben a handful of nights a month. It was an easy gig because Ben was an easy kid. I would see and speak with Tracy occasionally. Mostly business dinner's in the fridge. Ben's bedtime is this could you feed the hamster? Kind of stuff. Mostly it was John that would greet me when I arrive, ask questions about how school was going, and walk me the 10 steps home at the end of the night. I always felt very comfortable around John. He was very. A very harmless, fatherly vibe. He wasn't scary at all. False. Untrue. Incorrect.
Ash
Oh.
Elena
Ooh. One night in early 2003, I was babysitting Ben. We had fallen into a Routine. We were in the middle of looking through his dinosaur trading cards when John came home early. He seemed a little off, I guess. Kind of hurried and frazzled, like he was surprised to find himself at home as well. My 15 year old self didn't make much of it, but I remembered I was supposed to be there a couple more hours. He didn't say much, which was unusual, and he didn't walk me home. Before I left, he asked if I could babysit. The next night, it was a school night and I had something going on. A test to study for, a project I had to finish. I can't remember. So I said I couldn't. That was the end of our conversation and the last conversation I ever had with him. It was also the last time I ever stepped foot into that house.
Ash
Oh, that's chilling.
Elena
The next night I was at home with my family. It was about 7ish. I remembered American Idol was on that night. At some point, our dog started barking hysterically. Our dog was a Maltese terrier named Dart, and his piercing squawk was not my favorite sound. So I was yelling at him, shut up. Sorry, Dart. I was also not studying or working on a project. Sorry, John, but actually not, because fuck you for what's about to happen. No one bothered to investigate why Dart was barking because like most dogs, he barked at innocuous shit all the time. About an hour later, American Idol was coming to an end and Dart was barking again. Ugh. However, when I glanced out the front windows, I saw a massive amount of flashing lights outside. There were police cars and emergency vehicles packing the street and parking in the grass. This was not common on our street, so a lot of gawking ensued by the surrounding neighbors. A police officer knocked on our door and asked if we had seen or heard anything unusual that evening. We had not. We later learned that John had shot Tracy in their master bedroom multiple times while Ben sat at the table downstairs wearing headphones and playing video games.
Ash
Oh my God.
Elena
According to rumors we heard later, Ben heard the shots and asked what had happened. John told him they had dropped something upstairs. He told Ben that Tracy was going to stay home to clean up the mess while he and Ben visited relatives. John took Ben to his relatives, left, and called the police to turn himself in. Not a super thrilling end to the whole thing, but I'm glad he didn't try to flee with Ben or do something else horrible. Here's the thing. Whenever I think about that story, I can't help zooming in on the fact that I was Alone in that house with that man. He asked me to babysit Ben the night of the murder. And I'm always torn on what could that could have meant for his story. Would I have been there when he killed Tracy? Would he have asked if Ben could stay at our house so he wasn't home during the event? Would he have not killed Tracy because I was there watching Ben? Or did he honestly just think he needed a babysitter and this whole thing transpired after that conversation?
Ash
I don't blame you for having so many fucking questions. Questions.
Elena
What a horrible. Yeah you did. I hope you have no guilt over this because that's just mindful you were a 15 year old kid and you couldn't babysit like that's. But holy shit. I don't blame you for thinking through every single outcome that could have happened.
Ash
That's crazy.
Elena
I also wonder if Dart heard those gunshots because according to the loose timeline they put together, John would have shot Tracy near the time Dart started going off like an ill tuned bugle. Dogs know, man.
Ash
Yeah, they do.
Elena
It breaks my heart that Ben was home when his mother was taken from him. I'm so glad he didn't witness the killing. And I'm so glad it didn't turn into some crazier murder the whole family than commit suicide type of thing.
Ash
I was so worried for that.
Elena
Me too.
Ash
Where this was going.
Elena
I was too. I changed their names in the story for Ben's sake. He's out there somewhere trying to live his life after losing both of his parents to this horrible tragedy. He'd be in his mid-20s by now, which is bonkers to me. I don't know why John killed Tracy. Articles about the case say that the two had marital problems and that John was struggling with suicidal ideation and mental illness. Either way, he's still a murdering asshole and I'm not going to try and throw logic at any of his actions. So that's the story of how I babysat for a cold blooded killer. As you can imagine, I didn't take a lot of babysitting gigs after that. My parents still live in the house I grew up in and the Carter's house has gained a reputation for being cursed. To add to the weirdness, about a month after Tracy's murder, an older woman showed up on our street. She was standing in the road staring up at the Carter's house. I had just gotten home from school and was taking Dart out to pee. The woman called out to me and asked if I knew the woman who had been killed. I figured she was just a nosy broad and told her that, yes, I knew Tracy. She told me she was gathering flowers from Tracy's yard to add to the memorial wreath her church group was making. It was February and there were definitely no flowers growing at the time, so. Okay. She stared quietly at me and Dart for an uncomfortable amount of time before asking if I wanted to pray with her. I told her, no, thank you. And she said in a deadpan voice, she said, you wouldn't want to. Bye.
Ash
What the fuck?
Elena
And she says, bye. I dragged Dart back inside and watched as she wandered around our street for a few more minutes before getting in her car sans flowers and driving off. And that officially concludes the weird.
Ash
That is fucking.
Elena
She said you wouldn't want to. I'd be like, get the fuck out of here.
Ash
Yeah, you gotta go, girl.
Elena
That's weird. I hope you ladies have a spookalicious day. And of course, I hope you keep keeping it weird. But not so weird that you socialize all easy breezy at block parties. Who does that? Okay, actually, plenty of people. Just not me.
Ash
Not us either.
Elena
That was Allie. I mean, that was wild. Wild tale.
Ash
Seriously.
Elena
And I truly cannot believe that you have to think of the fact that you were babysitting at this house with that man alone. I know that he would walk you home.
Ash
That is just to like, to have memories of him, like at block parties, just shooting the shit, coming to your house and sitting on your back deck.
Elena
Yeah.
Ash
Like to know somebody that intimately, that's. And to know what they did is so scary. And especially to have seen him the.
Elena
Night before, like such a different human.
Ash
And like, for Ally to see the state that he was in the night before, like, clearly something was way off.
Elena
I wonder what the hell was going on there. Like, that's a lot.
Ash
Yeah.
Elena
Jeez. Wow. That was quite a tale, Allie. So thank you for sharing that with us. And I'm glad that you're okay.
Ash
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Elena
Peloton has a ton of training programs such as Pilates, boxing, marathon prep, strength training, boot camps. There's so many ways to challenge yourself and personally I am always trying to do just that. I'm trying to do just a little bit more each week to build on my best. And Peloton helps because you can see your actual progress right there on the screen. It's honestly something that's so motivating to me. I love it. And whether it's trying to get a new PR or working towards shaving time off your mile, the instructors, classes and programs make you want to dig deep and get after it. My personal favorites are of course my Bradley Rose. He is always making me laugh and always making me feel so motivated. But I also have found some new instructors that I love like Robin Arzone. She is so motivating. She makes me feel like I can push a mountain. She's amazing. So they pushed me hard enough to feel like I can beat my best. Find your push, Find your power with peloton@onepeleton.com.
Ash
All right, my next one is Listener, the ghost of Very much Alive me, A growl, broken mirrors, etc. Hello you fantastic weirdos. My name is not Ralph, but that's the name we'll go with. I also changed the names of everybody in this story for their privacy. It's nice to finally be sending this Listener tale to my best friends. But I must say, for being my best friends, you sure never respond to my awesome commentary as I'm driving, cleaning, cooking, etc. And you usually Interrupt my astute observations. What's that about?
Elena
I'm so sorry.
Ash
I feel bad like every other listener. I must say, you two bring me so much joy in entertainment. The latter of which is not easy to do as I'm a psychologist in a prison. Hence the fake name. So I hear some wild shit on a daily basis, I bet. I'd love to regale you with more stories, but we haven't have the. We haven't the time right now. I'm not going to apologize for the length nor encourage you to edit as you see fit because you've made it abundantly clear time and time again you will do no such thing. And apologies are not needed.
Elena
Hell no.
Ash
Never. And let's be real. This story is perfection just the way it is. However, I will say there are a lot of commas in here as I am not really sure how to use commas. Versus semicolons. Really? Who understands grammar?
Elena
Here's. Here's a little, little secret. No one.
Ash
No one?
Elena
No one.
Ash
I thought you were going to like, really like, no. Drop some hot grammar news.
Elena
No one understands grammar.
Ash
The only thing that I remember about a semicolon is you use it if.
Elena
You'Re gonna list a list.
Ash
It's the only thing I remember.
Elena
But other than that, I'm just really glad that I have an editor.
Ash
Yeah, there you go. I put a lot of commas everywhere whenever I write something.
Elena
I also love the confidence here. Like the. You know, that they feel like they're like, this is perfection.
Ash
So don't change it so they know you won't.
Elena
Like I know you won't and that's okay because this is perfection. Good for you.
Ash
I love that.
Elena
I like that.
Ash
I am a man of science. Like a nerd who loves to hit up journal repositories.
Elena
Yeah.
Ash
And go down the research rabbit hole.
Elena
Same.
Ash
With that said, I have so much weird shit happen to me over most of my life that I am here to say with certainty there might be ghosts.
Elena
I love this already.
Ash
I love the way this person writes. I have no idea what's going on out there.
Elena
Awesome.
Ash
This story involved my boyfriend and I. We will call him Bob and two roommates who we will call Karen and Frank. Bob and I moved into Karen and Frank's hundred plus year old home in a semi rough neighborhood of a large city. Rough as in I heard gunshots all the time. And some literal drug users well under the influence walked into our yard past a fence, picked apples off a tree more than once.
Elena
I mean, I'm Glad that's all they did.
Ash
I mean. Yeah.
Elena
Let there be a day.
Ash
At the time, I worked in an inpatient psychiatry unit at the Safety Net hospital for the metro area. Basically, I worked with the most mentally ill patients possible. Like other hospitals could not handle them, so they sent the patients to us.
Elena
Oh, wow.
Ash
One patient painted their children purple. Not sure why, but she did.
Elena
Oh, man, that's sad. That's really sad.
Ash
I know. And as I said, I currently work in a prison, so I have seen enough shit literally, to know what is and is not bonkers. And my haunted ghosty house was bonkers. Side note, while walking through the partially lit supply closet on an overnight shift at the hospital, I felt a full hand, fingers and all, press up against my upper back and shoulder area as if to sing signal. Hey, wait. My first thought was, what the fuck is a patient doing in here? I'm not in the mood. It's 4am I'm tired, but I turn around and no one was there. I'm pretty sure humans cannot fly, but I flew out of that closet and never went back during a shift again.
Elena
I believe you.
Ash
Oh my God. I never went back in during a night shift. I don't know why.
Elena
He's like, I quit. I don't work there anymore.
Ash
Back to the house. In the attic, there was this wooden box that was affixed randomly to the floor at the place where the floor and steeped ceiling met. I bet there's a much better way to describe that or some architectural term, but the latter probably would not help many. It opened on the front as if it were to be a little playhouse. Some might say a dollhouse. What was inside this random box, you ask? A doll?
Elena
Why?
Ash
Why did the previous owner, a single man, leave nothing in the entire house except a dollar in the attic box from hell?
Elena
My question exactly.
Ash
No one knows.
Elena
Oh, no.
Ash
Also in the attic, a small portion was walled off with a door. Inside the room, slash coffin were claw marks, deep claw mark marks near the door jamb again. Okay, why not? Sure, maybe they were dog claw marks as some suggested. But if there was a dog locked in the attic in that small room, that's extra fucked up.
Elena
Okay, thank you. I was like, even someone suggest you're like, that makes it worse.
Ash
What do you mean?
Elena
That's a dog just locked in a room in an attic.
Ash
That's also bad.
Elena
Yeah. It's so hot in attics.
Ash
I hate this.
Elena
I hate it.
Ash
I wondered if in the early 1900s there could have been a mentally ill family member locked up there, hidden away from the world. Because at the time, it was unfortunately a thing.
Elena
That's the thing that I was thinking of, to be honest.
Ash
Makes you think of.
Elena
It's very much a thing.
Ash
American Horror Story.
Elena
Yeah, it's very much a thing. Oh, that's so sad that they would, like. You'll find those kind of rooms in a lot of old houses and those. That was what purpose was a lot of the time.
Ash
I did not know that.
Elena
It's really sad.
Ash
Oh, that's horrific.
Elena
There was a. Which one? Which one of those ghost shows was it? The Atlantic Paranormal Society. I think it is.
Ash
They Ghost Hunters.
Elena
Yeah, Ghost Hunters. I love that show.
Ash
That's a great show.
Elena
And those guys are awesome. And I love that they're from Rhode Island. I'm like, new England. Let's go. But they had a couple of episodes where they went into these old houses and they found rooms like that, and they, like, were talking and they would find, like, scratch marks and shit.
Ash
The fuck?
Elena
Yeah. I remember it, like, vividly, because I immediately started looking it up.
Ash
Oh, my God. That makes my heart very sad.
Elena
I know. It's horrible. Yeah. Yeah.
Ash
Well, every time I was up there, I felt like I was being watched. Karen's friend was known to be a psychic, and one day she came over and she felt the presence of a man in overalls. Fun fact. As she walked up these. She walked up the stairs to the attic. I love that. That's a fun fact.
Elena
It's a fun fact.
Ash
Overall.
Elena
Well, I just love, like, imagine being, like, so in tune with the other side that you're like, I sense a man. And you're like, oh, you can sense that it's a man. And you're like, he's wearing overalls. Like, it's just like, how do you feel the overalls? Like, how is that part of the sensation? I love that.
Ash
Like, do you feel it or do you see it?
Elena
Yeah, like, do you. I hope she feels the overalls.
Ash
It does say she felt the presence of a man in overalls.
Elena
Exactly. She's feeling the overalls.
Ash
Maybe she feels the rough denim.
Elena
What are overalls feel? Overalls feel like rough? Yeah.
Ash
Scratchy?
Elena
Rustic.
Ash
Rustic. Is rustic a feeling? Yeah, yeah, sure.
Elena
Why not? Feel rustic, right?
Ash
Sometimes. I don't know. The overalls made me laugh. Now, strangely, when I felt like I was being watched, I always joked it was a man. Well, not a funny joke after the psychic said that. But in fairness, it's a 50. 50 chance. Well, in the US it's more like a 4951 chance favoring women.
Elena
Yeah, pretty much. So close.
Ash
One day, Bob was playing piano on the main level. It's a large open space. A living room to his right, the dining room behind him, and windows along the entire wall. Through the windows we could see a neighbor's house. No one else was home. And it was mid afternoon, so not a scary time of day.
Elena
Wrong.
Ash
He heard a crystal clear aloud. Wait for it. Growl right next to his ear. We don't have a dog, nor a lion, nor a cougar, nor anything else that could make that sound.
Elena
I was going to ask.
Ash
I love that you were like, we don't have a dog. And before you ask, we also don't have a lion and nope, don't even. We don't have a cougar, but do.
Elena
You have a panther? You didn't answer that.
Ash
No. Nothing else that could make that sound. He looked outside to see if there was a dog near the window, despite hearing it directly next to his ear. And he saw nothing. The windows were also not open.
Elena
Feels like a diamond.
Ash
Yeah, that's a daemon. Speaking of piano, sometime later, my sister slept over and in the middle of the night she heard the piano playing downstairs, but everyone was asleep upstairs. Who was playing the piano? Crying, distressed face. I love how this is written.
Elena
That's like Hell House llc, the little.
Ash
Do do do do. That movie fucked me up for like two weeks.
Elena
I'll forever sing the praises of Hell House llc.
Ash
As you should.
Elena
And never will. I stop.
Ash
It's a great movie.
Elena
It.
Ash
And it's horrifying. Yeah, it's scary watching.
Elena
Spooky season is upon us, everybody.
Ash
It scared Drew too. Yeah, and he thinks movies like that are kind of dumb.
Elena
John got Vertigo from All the Movement.
Ash
But which is also scary. Vertigo is a scary thing to deal with.
Elena
It made him sick. That's how scary it was.
Ash
Boo. Well, a few weeks or even months later, Bob and I were home alone watching tv One night from the living room. No one can see the dining room as the two are attached. And off the. Wait, no. I said no one can see the dining room. But one can see the dining room. One can.
Elena
You're like, it's attached but no one can see it.
Ash
It's kind of like a figment of your imagination kind of thing.
Elena
We don't let anyone see the dining room.
Ash
No, it's okay. You can see the dining room as the two are attached. And off the dining room is a large archway into the office. This would be to the right of the Piano for my position on the couch. I could not see the office as Bob could. As we innocently watched tv, he suddenly jolted his body back into the couch while he gasped and looked directly at the archway with wide, unblinking looking eyes. Remember, we live in a roughish neighborhood. So I immediately thought that somebody came in one of the windows and I needed to get a knife and stab, stab, stab away. But you cannot knife a ghost.
Elena
You can, though.
Ash
Ash says you can catch one in a jar.
Elena
Have I said that?
Ash
I probably have said some like that. Wait, when was I gonna catch a ghost in a jar?
Elena
I'm positive you said that.
Ash
Oh, I'm positive too. There was only. There was minimal doubt. When did I want to catch a jar? A ghost. I love it.
Elena
He's like, you can't knife a ghost. But Ash did say, you can catch one.
Ash
I'm trying to think about when I wanted to do. Sure.
Elena
It was one of our spooky episodes. You were like, did you know, Fun fact.
Ash
You probably.
Elena
Or you were probably like, I wonder. Yeah, you probably stated it as fact.
Ash
I just bought a bunch. A bunch of Mason jars the other day.
Elena
So maybe you're saying because there are. Isn't there like a place where you can buy a ghost or adopt a ghost in like, London or something? It's like in Europe.
Ash
That's really like gambling.
Elena
I think there's like a place where you can. I'm gonna look it up because every. I'm sure people over there are like, you dumbass. This is what it's called.
Ash
How do you, like, pay for that?
Elena
Hold? Here they are. It's the. Let's see. Matlock Ghost Emporium.
Ash
Yeah. What does a ghost cost you?
Elena
Let's. Let's look at a boat. Because I think it's supposed to be that, like, each ghost is. Has like a real ghost. Oh, my God. They're so cute. I want them.
Ash
Don't. Don't.
Elena
I think we have one. I don't know if they're the same.
Ash
That's what these are behind you, too.
Elena
I don't know if they're those also.
Ash
Is that what the. Is happening in this room?
Elena
Nah, those have been a while. We got those a while ago.
Ash
Yeah, and we've been haunted for a while. And one time the TV fell on my head. Elena, you never told. Is that what that is?
Elena
I think I wrote. I read the thing, and this person.
Ash
Elena.
Elena
Ur.
Ash
I'm gonna call your mom. I'm gonna call her. Are you joking me? I. Is there one behind Me? Yes. I don't.
Elena
With that. I don't. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe that's not what it is.
Ash
I'll backtrack now. You allowed spirits into this room that we don't even know.
Elena
Look at this little mechanical maiden one.
Ash
No, no. This is everything I stand against. Inviting unknown spirits into your space. No. No wonder the sage goes out around you. You allowed it.
Elena
Yeah, I think it's. I. I think. I'm pretty sure it's like a. A thing, you know?
Ash
Well, Elena just informed me that you can buy ghosts and that we actually might have some in this room. So that's good. Really excited about that. Can you hear how thrilled I am in my voice, you son of a bitch.
Elena
These might just be different ones.
Ash
How are we to know?
Elena
I don't know. Mine's cute, though. I like him.
Ash
I'm not saying I dislike them.
Elena
I like him. You're a friend.
Ash
Oh, God. I'm gonna sage this place after this. Anyway, Let me find my place again now that I've been demonically possessed. So I said one time that you can catch a ghost in a jar. What he actually saw was not an intruder, thankfully, but the upper half of a man floating across the archway. Oh, yeah, just that. Oh, okay. If he had legs, Bob would have been able to see them. I will never forget the fear in his eyes that night. I should also note he was super uber, ultra adamant. Ghosts did not exist prior to moving into that house. To make matters even more fucked up, on two other occasions, Karen and Frank separately saw the same thing. The upper half of a man float past the same archway. This might be messed up to say, but you two, especially Elena, will get it. I was pissed. I was the only one who did not see anything.
Elena
Yes. I would be so upset.
Ash
I would be upset too. A growling diamond and a fucking legless floating ghost. Time to eat, right? Wrong. I was working nearly full time and I was in grad school, so I likely did not have the will to care. So we stayed like, fuck it. Sometime later, Bob, who's getting the brunt of this ghostly shit. Likely because they were pissed that he did not believe they were real. Awoke in the middle of the night to see me standing in the window, rocking back and forth. He was confused why the fuck I was doing that creepy weirdness. But twasn't me.
Elena
Twasn't me.
Ash
Twasn't me. He looked over and I was laying in bed next to him, sound asleep. He then panicked, thinking I was dead and he was seeing my ghost. So he slapped my back and I groaned and rolled over. I'm alive. When he looked to the window, my question mark ghost was gone. I To be fair, this could have been a hypnopompic hallucination, which is blurring of dreams and reality, or straight up hallucination in the weird time of waking but still being a bit asleep. They're not uncommon, but not as common as hypno. Hypnagogic hallucinations.
Elena
I was just going to ask if he meant hypnagogic gogic.
Ash
I think it's hypnagogic.
Elena
Hypnagogic. I don't remember how you say it, but it's like gog instead of pop, you know?
Ash
Yes, Yes.
Elena
I was gonna ask if that's what he meant, but I think he must be talking about something different.
Ash
Oh well, he says those occur when you're falling asleep. Think hypno.
Elena
Go yeah.
Ash
Gick or jick.
Elena
Yeah.
Ash
Going to bed. You're welcome. Is this the last creepy story? Nope. We know you love a good mystery or true crime story, but what if you could bring the story to life, honey? Well, organizing your very own murder mystery party is a piece of cake thanks to the Story Pop app. Choose a story or theme, invite friends and plan your party with the easy to use app. No need to print dozens of pages or memorize character sheets. The Story Pop app will assign roles and guide you through the mystery, handling all the gory details so everyone, including the host, can enjoy all the twists and turns. Immerse your friends in a world of mystery and make your next gathering or holiday party unforgettable. You know, this is right up me and Elena's alley, so we are planning our very own party with Story Pop. I am literally so excited. Download Story Pop in the App Store or Play Store and use Code Morbid to get your first game for free. Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, and new ways of thinking. Find the genres you love and discover new ones along the way. Explore bestsellers, new releases, plus thousands of included audiobooks and originals that members can listen to all they want with more added all the time. Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as part of your daily routine without even needing to set aside any extra time. There's more to imagine when you listen. And let me tell you, if you're listening to a fantasy book on Audible, you're just going to get in the zone. Honey, I've been listening to Slew Foot and the narrator has I say this a lot, but I really, really mean it here. She has a voice like butter and you are just absolutely transported back in time. It's incredible. And I 10 out of 10 recommend as an audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog, including the latest bestsellers and new releases. New members can try audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.commorbid or text morbid to 500500 that's audible.commorbid or Text morbid to 500500 to try audible free for 30 days. Audible.commorbid good one drunk night a bunch of friends were over and we were playing games in the living room upstairs. The friend's children were sleeping. As we innocently play games, laugh, and have some of this world fun, some ghost twat was like nah, no more fun. I assume this is what they said because we heard a very loud shatter upstairs as there were literal children up there. We all ran upstairs up the stairs to check on them. Their door was closed and upon opening it they were undisturbed. Odd because that shatter was very loud though. Children can sleep through a tornado. Lucky.
Elena
Yeah, it's true.
Ash
Down the hall in another room was a shattered mirror. Haters be like oh, it just fell off the wall. But guess what? It fucking did not just fall off the wall.
Elena
I love haters be like one that I love.
Ash
It fucking did not. The mirror was hanging by a wire on a screw. The screw was unmoved, nor was it slanted downward so the mirror did not and could not slide off. The wire was also unbroken, so the mirror needed to be lifted off the screw. It's fucked up that twat ghost lifted the mirror off the the screw and threw it on the floor.
Elena
That's bitchy.
Ash
Karen put a new mirror in the same place, a full body mirror which was leaned up against the wall. What happened to that mirror? I'm glad you asked. It too broke mere days later. But did it simply slide down the wall and break when landing on its back?
Elena
No.
Ash
Nope.
Elena
Nope.
Ash
It fell forward.
Elena
I knew it.
Ash
And shattered. So there's no way it slid down the wall?
Elena
No.
Ash
Now if a mirror is leaning against a wall, it takes effort slash force to flip it forward. So that twatty ghost clearly had a problem with mirrors. As I type this I feel bad because what if the ghost has body image issues?
Elena
I was thinking that too.
Ash
If you're listening ghost, I'm sorry. I love you so much.
Elena
I'm sorry.
Ash
Finally, one last story. Karen was home alone in the upstairs bathroom alone when she alone when she heard footsteps slowly come up the stairs while home alone alone. The house is over 100 years old so you can hear someone come up those stairs. They creaked like my knees after a mid afternoon nap. Jk I can't nap.
Elena
I can't either.
Ash
I'm not so great at napping anymore either. Once it ascended that final stair, she heard footsteps slowly come down the hall and stop directly outside the bathroom door. No noise, no breath, no voiced, just silent pants pooping panic.
Elena
Pants pooping panic.
Ash
She finally gathered the badass bitch courage to open the door and no one was there. Did she then promptly burn that bitch to the ground? Nope. She is tough and no ghost will ever scare her out. Bob and I finally moved out due to ghost panic. Question mark. Nope. Twas simply time for a new home due to other circumstances. Not ghostly related. But don't worry, there is some other weirdness occurring in our new home as well. Like hearing whispers when we dropped in with Alexa twice. Or loud bangs on the wall with absolutely no apparent cause. Like loud ass bangs. I thought a tree branch hit the house. It has happened at least three times now. Another time I was in my happy place vacuuming and suddenly I felt something slash someone forcibly stop my vacuum as I as I was minding my own GD business. It was as if I backed the vacuum into a wall. Real unnerving. I hope you enjoyed this banana story, which actually was quite long, I have to say. Or I have a lot to say. I kept my prison potty mouth at bay. Kudos to me. I also. I also.
Elena
Kudos to me.
Ash
You're hilarious. I also saw ghost Jesus in the middle of the woods overlooking a lake from a small hill. My sober friend saw it slash him too. So no to the skeptics out there, I did not see things because I was drunk. How many times have you hallucinated due to alcohol? Don't bother answering. I know the answer. 0times.ps imagination is an active process. So when people say it was just your imagination, that's crap. How many times have you imagined a ghost? If that I'm just like crying. I love how you are just like roasting everyone.
Elena
It's awesome.
Ash
If that was the power of if that was the power of my imagination, I would be imagining Zac Efron all the time. P.S. again, I cannot stop myself. I wonder if I'm more attuned to the otherworldly things because I'm A psychologist and you know, listen pretty well. You can throw some empathy in there too. I sweat being gay.
Elena
I sweat being gay.
Ash
I think it's supposed to say I swear. I swear. Being gay plays a role. Also it makes me less threatening to when and when. And women to men and women dead to alive. Women do not need to worry I will creep on them or worse. And men don't have to worry about me getting into some Neanderthal dick swinging contest. That sounds like I said that bit sounds like fun.
Elena
That bit sounds like fun.
Ash
Fighting over a female mate to bop over the head and drag to a cave. Note. I do not believe all straight men are like that. I should be done now. P.S. again, I'm the worst. On my drive home, I noticed on a small. On a small silver box on the edge of a bridge overhanging the highway, Morbid spray painted in green letters my immediate thought. My soon to be ax murderer knows I take this highway and knows I listen to morbid. They are sending me a message. I saw that message like a year ago. Still hearing kicking. I cannot go. I cannot go on. I am certain anyone who knows me and is listening knows this is my tale. There is literally no one like me, whispers gay prison psychologist who worked in an inpatient psych and has a ghost tailor to keep it weird. But not so weird that you live in a house with a doll in an attic, hell box, claw marks, a torso ghost, a growl, the ghost of when you are actually alive, broken mirrors and creepy footsteps by.
Elena
I am literally obsessed with.
Ash
Oh my God. This is absolutely the best. That was everything.
Elena
That was really funny.
Ash
I love you so much, Ralph.
Elena
Ralph.
Ash
You rule Ralph forever.
Elena
Let's be friends, Ralph.
Ash
We already are.
Elena
Truly, we already are.
Ash
We need to start answering Ralph's mid commentary.
Elena
I realized, by the way, that these are from the Yorkshire ghost merchants and they're like a very renowned merchant of ghosts. They do not specifically say that there are ghosts trapped in there. It's heavily implied, but it's not.
Ash
I can't even express my overwhelming urge to throw my Stanley at you. Just they're.
Elena
They're just like specifically, they're like a very renowned place to get ghosts. This one says listener tale. This is a good one, I swear.
Ash
Sorry, I just bonked my Stanley on my computer instead of throwing it across the room.
Elena
I immediately got attached to this one. So I'm glad. I'm old and I don't know if this, if I did this correctly, but here's my listener tale.
Ash
I thought you were still Talking.
Elena
I mean, me too. Me too. They wanted Ghost Whisper and I gave Courage the Cowardly Dog. It's about my ex who was dating me when, but was involved with four other people at the same time, except they were dead. So.
Ash
Wow.
Elena
Wow. All right.
Ash
Both of us just go. Wow.
Elena
Wow. Let's go. So Listener Tale. They want to Ghost Whisper, but got Courage the Cowardly Dog instead.
Ash
Yeet. That show used to scare the shit out of me when I was little.
Elena
Yeah, Ghost Whisperer or Courage.
Ash
Actually, I used to love Ghost Whisperer.
Elena
Oh, damn.
Ash
Used to be on at like, 6:00 after all my other programs.
Elena
I never watched it. Oh, that's Jennifer Love Hewitt, right?
Ash
It is.
Elena
Yeah. It's a girl.
Ash
It was like. It was like a drama because there was always, like, a sad reason why they couldn't cross over.
Elena
Oh, yeah, of course.
Ash
There's one specific episode that I will never forget where this guy died. It was like, a football player, and he died because, like, another football player collided in just the right spot of his chest. And it's called a certain thing, and it's real, and it's one of my biggest fears.
Elena
Yeah, I mean, don't play football.
Ash
I mean, you never have to tell do that. Even when I played in high school on the powder puff thing, I just walked the sidelines.
Elena
Really.
Ash
No one wanted me to be there.
Elena
It's fine. Well, this says, hi, you ghoulish gals. I am Kaylin. You can wholeheartedly use my name because anyone who knows me knows that I am a creepy freak. And I'm more than okay with that. I love your vibe.
Ash
That's great.
Elena
I wanted to start off with you. With. You two are amazing. Insanely amazing. And what you do not only brightens many people's days, but opens a lot of hearts and horrible and morbid cases that need to be spoken of more. Thanks. I would spend more time loving on you, but sadly, I have some trauma and that stops me from being all mushy gushy, and instead I show my love by being a total smart ass with sarcastic comments. Are you from New England? I was going to say.
Ash
That's great.
Elena
I spend my days listening to you. I'm a mail carrier, so all I do is hand out bills and gruesome facts all day long. You're welcome, folks who have come in contact with me. I would listen to you guys when I am home. Home. But my husband says I watch and listen to too many. Quote, how to kill your husband and get away with it. Podcasts and Shows I like to keep him on his toes. Also, I frequently say fresh air is for dead people because it makes it a good reason as to why my hermit ass stays inside every chance I can. But I digress. Anywho, this tale is about how I dated ass juice. How I dated an ass juice of a human who brought more people into our relationship than just us. And all of them were dead. Yep. Hold on to all your cheeks. It gets creepy, chaotic. And it's just an all around horror story from beginning to end. Okay, I will state that I am very, very in touch with the spiritual side. Since I was young, I was able to speak to and see people who are not alive anymore. I also knew things about people without realizing I should not. I told my uncle that his girlfriend was going to try and kill him. I was five. And yes, she in fact did try to kill him. So he thought maybe that was a good time to call it quits.
Ash
Probably.
Elena
I guess having a shit picker. Having a shit picker runs in our family or something. I told my mom things about her. Her past I shouldn't have never known. And I told my dad about the woman who was going to die by suicide below his apartment. And she did as well, five days after I left for Christmas break. So, yeah, Damn. The thing is, the older I got, the more I cut myself off from it because I am a total and utter wuss. You're not a wuss. That's just like very overwhelming and very intense. Like, I don't even like talking to people who are alive. Why would I want to socialize with dead ones? You know, the thing is, when I drink, there's no cutting it off. And that is a huge part of this story.
Ash
Oh, that makes sense, right?
Elena
Because you're just like uninhibited.
Ash
Yeah.
Elena
So I started dating this dumpster fire of a man when my life was at an all time low. Because that's what you do when you have abandonment issues, parent issues. Surprise. I have mommy and daddy issues. So you can call me an all around winner because I got the 2 for 1 deal on shitty sperm and egg girl.
Ash
I got the same one, except my dad's half already.
Elena
I'm so sorry about those deals, but. And you know what? You are a winner because that was not your fault that you got dealt some shit cards.
Ash
You just had to be here.
Elena
Yeah, you're the winner here. Okay?
Ash
Winner, winner, chicken. Chicken dinner.
Elena
Motherfucking dinner. We will call this guy X. It's funny because it goes off of his name and he's my ex. Ha ha ha ha ha.
Ash
Yeah. Lollol.
Elena
We saw each other twice before. He asked me to move States away with him. Of course, because I do everything I shouldn't. I have to do it just to make sure I shouldn't. I told you. Drama. So I gather a suitcase of my things and move across States with this guy. Things seemed off from the very beginning. He was in the military and lived off base. The day we got to his house, he left to go in the field. The house was nice, but I just couldn't shake the feeling of it having a really dark presence to it. At night, lights would go on and off. The TV would blare at 3 o'clock almost every single night. He had this huge mirror that sat across from the bed and it gave me the chills every time I looked at it. I hated being alone there.
Ash
Not supposed to have a mirror at the foot of your bed.
Elena
Oh yeah, you always tell me that.
Ash
Actually there's a mirror at the foot of your bed, isn't there?
Elena
It's off to the side.
Ash
It's still at the foot of your bed. You should actually move that.
Elena
Why? What is the.
Ash
It's like a whole portal.
Elena
But isn't it a portal? No matter where it is in the room, if it's.
Ash
There's some reason why, if it's at the end, it's like.
Elena
Like.
Ash
I don't know if it's like a feng shui thing or something like that.
Elena
I think it's feng shui more than a.
Ash
But that's like spiritual too.
Elena
Is it?
Ash
Yeah. All I know is I don't like it.
Elena
I don't know where else to put it.
Ash
I mean, it looks good where it.
Elena
Is, but I'm like, I don't know. It looks good.
Ash
Maybe that's why there's a. A second. You bitch.
Elena
Maybe I've created a portal with my.
Ash
Put it back where it was before. It looked fine there.
Elena
But that's also right to the side of the end of the bed.
Ash
Way less close, though.
Elena
I don't know. This. This feels nitpicky of the. Of the spiritual realm. They're like.
Ash
If I. I bet they would be nitpicky though.
Elena
5Cm to the right. Then it's okay. But if I'm facing it.
Ash
Laugh now. Look.
Elena
I don't know.
Ash
I won't be laughing when you get dragged off to a weird portal in the middle of nowhere.
Elena
Damn.
Ash
Do you see? I said I wouldn't be laughing, but.
Elena
But damn, I didn't know that was supposed to happen.
Ash
I don't know what happened.
Elena
I'll move it slightly to the side. You should, to make you feel better.
Ash
Thanks.
Elena
I'll do that for you.
Ash
You should put it like. We can talk about your mirror later.
Elena
No, let's talk about it now.
Ash
No, this is in my mirror. Guys.
Elena
Where do I put my mirror?
Ash
She'll take Instagram votes later.
Elena
Yeah, tell me. Send me dms. Where do I put my mirror? Comment on this on this episode post.
Ash
Yeah, there you go.
Elena
My dogs are speaking about it right now.
Ash
I think you should get rid of it and move treats there. I don't know.
Elena
I like looking at myself, so I hated being alone there. But I also know he would be home soon, so yay. He comes back home three days later and surprises me with a bottle of tequila. I was like, oh, sir, don't tempt me with a good time. We started taking that bottle down like it was the last bottle of water we had. And dying in the desert. I mean, it's unhealthy, but your girl could throw it back. Then. Now I just throw up. I got drunk, and then I started to sense there was more to this apartment than just being dark. He was. He was dark. He had this horrible thing that was attached to him. And I could feel it. I could feel her. That night, I felt and saw a gray, thin woman watching us from the hallway. A gray thin woman watching you from the hallway, you say?
Ash
That sounds like it follows.
Elena
I hate that. That's exactly what that sounds. I hate that. Watching us from the ceiling.
Ash
So watching the hallway, watching him. Mostly, I.
Elena
My, my, like, from the shade would be up. I'd be like, you get your eye somewhere else, bitch.
Ash
I would say, you could have him. Goodbye, I'm leaving. True.
Elena
She doesn't mean it.
Ash
No, not. No. This man's is dark. Throw this man's to the curb. If it was Drew, I would. Oh, I'd square up with old gr.
Elena
I'm like, if that was me, I'd be like, yeah, let's go.
Ash
I was thinking of, like, past, like, shitty people. Oh, yeah, take them.
Elena
You can take my ex. Go right ahead, take them. Take him into the shadow realm with you. I don't give a.
Ash
Spark. Something uncommon this holiday with just the right gift from Uncommon Goods. The busy holiday season is here, and Uncommon Goods makes it way less stressful. With incredible handpicked gifts for everyone on your list, all in one spot. Gifts that spark, joy, wonder, delight. And that. It's exactly what I wanted. Feeling they scour the globe for original, handmade, absolutely remarkable things. Somehow they know exactly the perfect gift for every single person. You know, last year, I was really struggling with what to get John for Christmas, Elena's husband. And I said, what's something that would be meaningful to him? And I know he loves sports, and I know he loves hanging out with the girls. So I got him this home team baseball game so that he could, you know, have fun playing this game, but also teach the girls about baseball. And I just thought that was very thoughtful. And I don't think I would have found it anywhere else but Uncommon Goods. When you shop at Uncommon Goods, you're supporting artists and small independent businesses. To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com morbid that's UncommonGoods.com morbid For 15% off, don't miss out on this limited time offer. Uncommon Common Goods. We're all out of the ordinary.
Elena
All right, so, yeah, Thin, gray woman watching from the hallway, watching from the ceiling, watching him mostly. But she knew I could feel her around us.
Ash
Why do you. How do you know what she knows this?
Elena
The best visual I can give is if the Grudge girl was in all black and white.
Ash
Oh, my God.
Elena
I hate it when you said the best visual.
Ash
That's a. That's the worst visual, actually.
Elena
I told him what I was feeling and that she had made her presence known to me. And he stopped and just stared at me. I thought he thought I was crazy, but instead he told me since he was a little boy, he had an attachment. His family, who practices Santeria, tried to do everything they could to protect him from it, but this succubus wouldn't let him go. Everyone go Google what a succubus is.
Ash
That's the ghost that Foxy read. Googles the way you just.
Elena
It's a sex. She looks so serious. That means she was like, I'm correct, right?
Ash
Leave it in. Oh, man. That's. That kind of ghost.
Elena
That kind of ghost. And now that I was there, she was angrier than ever again.
Ash
I would. You could have.
Elena
I gotta go. We went to bed that night, and I was awoken to death. Curdling screams in my ears. It was as if my brain was screaming, whoa. When I shot up out of bed, he was sitting up, just looking at me. I asked him, x, did you hear that? Nothing. I asked again. He just kept staring at me and didn't even blink once. I had chills all over my body. I looked at him and realized it was as if he had turned a stone. No movement. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing. So I started shaking him, pleading with him to wake up and acknowledge what the fuck just happened. He never did. He sat there for two hours and never moved.
Ash
Plenty of time for you to book a plane ticket and get the fuck out of there.
Elena
I am not making this up. I wish I was, but that will live with me till I die. It was the first time I ever felt truly helpless and fearful of what the paranormal world could do. Yeah, I bet. I stayed there with him till he laid down and went back to his normal sleep. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't even put together what the actual fuck was happening. Did I dream this? Was I that drunk? No, it just got worse. When we he would leave for the field, I would be awoken to the same scream. I hate the scream.
Ash
I hate a scream.
Elena
And one night while I laid there, I saw in that stupid, hauntingly creepy, but beautiful mirror, a shadow crossed behind me. Mind you, the bed was against the wall. There was nowhere for someone to cross behind me. I jumped out of bed and told whoever was there to leave. They were not welcome. I cried. I straight up cried for hours. Trying to turn on the TV never helped. They would just turn it back off. That would piss me off. Yeah, I love the office. It's like what calms me.
Ash
I have to have the TV on.
Elena
I'd be really irritated if I was trying to get in my cozy mood. And they were like. No, silence it is.
Ash
That sounds like. Like the. The. Wait. I'll let you read the rest of this because it sounds like poltergeist. Like.
Elena
Yeah, because it says they would just turn it back off. They would blast the volume. They would shake the bed, shake the sofa. Every time he came back home, he was different. More angry at me for things I wasn't allowed to use. Certain cups or plates. He told me that I what I could and couldn't eat. He told me how to wear my hair and how to dress. It became a nightmare all around me. I'm so sorry.
Ash
I know he'd leave.
Elena
And though it sucked to be alone, I almost felt like I had some time to breathe. Till the ghost stepped back into play. And yes, multiple, the more sad I became, the more I would drink. I know, I know. I'm a healthy. I'm a healthy copper. 0 out of 10 would recommend, I think coper, probably. But sometimes you do what you think you gotta do. Well, one night of drinking myself to sleep, I got a text from Mr. Wasted Space and he tells me I need to be out the next day. That his leader found out he was dating someone and living with them while he was still married. Your girl. Your girl lost it. After going on a full blown hunt to find his said wife, I messaged her. I told her I had no idea and that I was heartbroken for her more than anyone. After us girls banding together. Because that's what the fuck you do.
Ash
Hell yeah.
Elena
Good for you. I kept drinking that night because that's not what you do. And I let every single wall down. I started writing everything I felt and everyone who came to me. The succubus stayed back, but let herself be known. Then an older woman came forward. Long black hair and definitely not a fan of mine. She told me she was his grandmother and did not approve of me being with him.
Ash
Oh.
Elena
Another stepped forward. A soldier. He was young and extremely protective over me. He told me I was safe, but I needed to leave immediately. And then another man, mid-40s maybe, and had drowned. Drowned in a lake nearby. He told me he had two children and a wife not even five miles away from where I was. I was writing scribbles everywhere, trying to coherently take in all their stories. 10 pages of stuff. Definitely looks like a doctor wrote it because it was my loosey goosey writing stage of half cursive and half. Who knows what the fuck it is. These spirits came to me looking for the ghost whisperer. And I straight up gave them drunken courage. The cowardly dog. Not my best moment, but definitely not my worst. The next day, I gathered my things and left the hell house. I will say while moving my things out, I took every fork but one. And also took the microwave plate.
Ash
The microwave plate. That's fucking Jesus. Genius.
Elena
That is amazing.
Ash
To take the microwave plate as a power move. I have never known the power moves.
Elena
Of power moves like that is.
Ash
Wow.
Elena
The microwave plate. Because that's gonna hit. That's gonna. And that's gonna hit in a moment.
Ash
Which is like, oh, I wanted those ramen noodles open.
Elena
The worst moment. I'm not a petty person usually, but I was horrifically hungover and feeling a little spicy that day.
Ash
Good for you.
Elena
Also the dick shit deserved it. And those for belonged to his wife to begin with. So whatever. Fuck that. I left my chicken scratch notes right on top of the kitchen counter that I took down the night before. And without skipping a beat, he called me that night when he came back to the house. He said. What was his name? The soldier. What was his name. I told him it was John. The man started to cry. I mean, could barely speak. I soon figured out a lot that night. The succubus that had followed him around was due to him playing with a Ouija board when he was very young. He had become possessed. His family members had cast spells of protection on him and it seemed to help until his grandmother had passed away. His grandmother was the older woman I spoke to that night. When she passed, he said the succubus clung to him and never let go of him after that. The soldier I spoke to was a guy he was in the military with. One day they had switched places on a Humvee and it sadly hit an ied. The side my ex was supposed to be on got hit the hardest and ended up with John losing his life that day. X always blamed himself with that feeding at him. It only ever fueled his succubus more. He told me he never had dreams, only nightmares and always felt like his body, his mind and body were at two different places at night. He was happy to hear John was still there and making sure everyone was safe. That's all he ever did for X when they were serving together.
Ash
Wow.
Elena
Now the mid-40s man he had no idea about. Didn't know him, but did hear about an accidental drowning the year he moved there. The wife and two children were begging to help find him. They did shortly after when his body was recovered two miles away from our house. With all that being said, I did get my shit together and ended up marrying my best friend. Three years later we have two beautiful children and I couldn't ask for a better husband and father. Oh, that makes me really happy.
Ash
That's incredible.
Elena
I sometimes wish I never had to go through that. But man, am I glad to be married to a preacher's son who never once been possessed. Yay for me to add. To add. My 3 year old son is just like I am. Poor guy. He tells me about the man in our house. He has woken me up to point at the wall and asks who's that? I debated on selling him on Etsy because you know, he's homemade and you'll never get more money that way. And you'll get more money that way. But he also started talking about my grandmother too. I debated selling him on Etsy because, you know, he's homemade.
Ash
That's incredible.
Elena
You'll get more money that way. But he also started talking about my grandmother a day after she passed. He tells me how she sits on the sofa with us and watches tv. So I guess I'll just keep my little Ghostbusters. Thank you, ladies, and congratulations on all you two have done and will continue to accomplish. Keep it weird, but don't keep it this weird. Take it away, Ash.
Ash
Keep it so weird, but not so weird that you sell your son on Etsy. Even if he is homemade.
Elena
Even if he is homemade. Wow.
Ash
I love wow. Oh, my God. That was great.
Elena
Amazing.
Ash
All right, we have one last listen. A tale for you today. It's listener tales regarding episode 424, Ancaster Nannies and Kids who Talk to Ghosts. Hi. Screams. Canada. Like France.
Elena
Like France.
Ash
Like France. My name is. Let me see. Caitlin, I think. Right? Yeah. Caitlin. You can say it. But you already did, so you're welcome.
Elena
I love that. But you already did.
Ash
All right, let me go to the pitiful.
Elena
The puddle.
Ash
Oh, it's the same thing and it says but you already did, so you're welcome. For a weird and brief period of my life, I lived in Hamilton, the waterfall capital of the world, and went to college with Tim Bosma's niece a few years after the evil onion events took place. Damn safe to say the community will never recover. I was driving when I heard this episode. And it was 10:58 when I stopped it to listen when I had computer access. You pronounced Kijiji and Etobicoke, I think it is correctly.
Elena
Hell yeah.
Ash
Something about a Truck is a country song by Kip Moore. And you were so close on the words. But it's farmers field, not tan close. Oh, so close. Fill in many various compliments. I love yous and I'm grateful for use here.
Elena
I love you and I'm grateful for you.
Ash
I love you and I'm grateful for you too. Onto the story. When I was 8, my nanny, my maternal grandmother, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. She was so funny. She taught me how to craft and sew. She played a mean game of cards and made a magical root beer float. I want a root beer float so badly now.
Elena
Oh, they're so good.
Ash
Oh, she loved angels, apples, and having her face tickled to sleep by her granddaughters.
Elena
What a grandma.
Ash
I know. At Christmas time, she filled 5 foot tall stockings for the grandkids. That's amazing. And would let us stay up late long as she got a foot massage.
Elena
Out of the deal right there.
Ash
Yeah, it is. Losing her was tough for all of us. Sorry. 23 years later, my mom still thinks about picking up the phone to call her. And I never take for granted being able to call my mama. Oh, I had the odd spooky dream about her when I was young, but never encountered her spirit until after she passed. My nephew H, who was born 11 years after she was already gone, however, got to meet his great nan through ghost tea parties.
Elena
Oh my God.
Ash
For a few days. I know this is great. For a few days, he was sitting or standing near a corner of my sister's living room and babbling away. My sister asked who he was speaking to and he would always say, nanny Buckley. Nobody in our family ever really called her that because she was just nanny to us. But had she been with us to see great grandchildren come into the world, that's what she would have been called. My mom was very excited to be nanny to her own grandkids. It freaked my sister out, but she let it go because it didn't make any sense. My Poppy Roy was having some health issues and my sister was spending extra time with him. On a particularly hard day, H said to my sister, nanny Buckley says hi back. Here's where my sister started to pay attention because she. She talks aloud to my nanny when she's in her car alone. So hearing her 3 year old say, your dead grandma says hi back was slightly alarming.
Elena
A little bit.
Ash
He continued to have tea parties with her and would occasionally pass on a hello. H and I hung out one day while my sister took my Poppy to the hospital for test results. The diagnosis was cancer and the prognosis was not good. They returned home and my sister happily chatted away with my nephew, pretending her world hadn't just been shattered by a guy with a clipboard. Our badass mom was a single hard working mom to four kids. Our nanny and Poppy helped raise us and lived with us for most of our lives. So he was a best friend, a rock, and the glue to all of us. She asked H if he had tea with his nanny and very knowingly, without knowing anything at all because my sister was holding it so together and I didn't even know the news yet, said no, she was with Poppy today. He really needed her.
Elena
Oh my God, stop.
Ash
He had the odd encounter with her after that, but it didn't last too long. The bond he had with my Poppy was unbreakable. In the few short years they had together, they created a true lifetime of memories of going for quote, unquote, coffee.
Elena
Oh my God, stop.
Ash
Coffee for pop, watered down hot chocolate and a Timbit for the kid. A Timbit is a tiny donut hole, but way better from Tim Hortons. Fishing in every season, watching old western movies and playing with the tickle monster. Poppy's hand. Of course. This was a favorite of ours when.
Elena
We were little too. Oh, my God. I love your nanny and Poppy.
Ash
I know. Eight months after his diagnosis, H came to visit him at my mom's house where he was being taken care of. They had their mostly silent visit and left. A minute later, H busted back through my parents door, threw his his little arms around Poppy and told him he loved him. Within a few hours, my nanny and Poppy were finally reunited after too many years of him being so lost without her. Oh, our world will never feel like home without them, But I hope they're happy. Wherever they are. They deserve it. My nephew is 12 now, doesn't see ghosts and doesn't think I'm cool anymore. Damn kids. Anyways, keep it weird, but not so weird that you let your nephew have tea parties with ghosts. Or maybe do.
Elena
Definitely.
Ash
Caitlin from screams Canada.
Elena
From Canada.
Ash
Attached her photos of my poppy and my nephew. My poppy and I, my nanny with my siblings and I. I had to crop it because it was the 90s and nobody was wearing a shirt. My now husband just like a bunch of pictures.
Elena
I love that. Oh my God.
Ash
Let me see.
Elena
Your Poppy is exactly what I thought he would be.
Ash
Oh, I see them now. I couldn't see them at first. Oh, my God, he's so sweet.
Elena
What a cutie patootie.
Ash
Oh. Oh, I love these pictures.
Elena
Oh, my God, I love them.
Ash
Aw.
Elena
Oh, your puppy is just so. Such a grandpa.
Ash
Such a poppy.
Elena
Like he's such a poppy. I just love it.
Ash
Wow. That was a great story. That was a perfect one to end on.
Elena
Oh, man. Thank you for that, Caitlin.
Ash
You guys are the best. You guys rule better than the rest.
Elena
That was a great batch.
Ash
I liked that one.
Elena
What a. What a fascinating batch.
Ash
I know.
Elena
What was the common teas we had. So there really wasn't.
Ash
There wasn't. I kind of like that when that happens.
Elena
Yeah.
Ash
Well, we hope you keep listening.
Elena
And we hope you keep it weird.
Ash
But not so weird that somebody sees a ghost version of you in your house because you're still alive. And that would be so scary. Definitely don't keep it so weird that you babysit for a cold butted killer, even if you don't know, because oh my God. Scary, scary, scary. Do keep it so weird that you have a kid who has ghost tea parties, because I love that one. And honestly, maybe keep it so weird that you steal somebody's microwave plate, because I love that.
Elena
That's the best kind of petty. Bye.
Ash
Bye. It. If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey@wondery.com survey.
C
In a quiet suburb, a community is shattered by the death of a beloved wife and mother. But this tragic loss of life quickly turns into something even darker. Her husband had tried to hire a hitman on the dark web to kill her, and she wasn't the only target. Because buried in the depths of the Internet is the Kill List, a cache of chilling documents containing names, photos, addresses and specific instructions for people's murders. This podcast is the true story of how I ended up in a race against time to warn those who lives were in danger. And it turns out convincing a total stranger someone wants them dead is not easy. Follow Kill List on the Wandri app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Kill List and more. Exhibit C True crime shows like Morbid early and ad free right now by joining Wandery Plus. Check out Exhibit C in the Wandery app for all your true Chrome listening.
Morbid Podcast Episode Summary
Episode: Episode 595: Listener Tales 89
Release Date: August 29, 2024
Hosts: Ash and Elena
Podcast Network: Morbid Network | Wondery
In this episode of Morbid, Ash and Elena delve into Listener Tales 89, featuring chilling true crime stories and eerie ghostly encounters shared by their listeners. As always, the hosts blend in-depth research with their unique comedic flair, creating an engaging and spine-tingling experience for both seasoned fans and newcomers alike.
Submitted by: Allie (Timestamp: [04:34])
Allie recounts a harrowing experience from her adolescence when she began babysitting for the Carter family next door. The family consisted of John and Tracy Carter and their young son, Ben. Initially, John appeared charming and outgoing, often socializing during neighborhood block parties, while Tracy was more reserved and seldom seen.
Over time, Allie grew comfortable babysitting Ben, often interacting only with John. However, in early 2003, during one of her babysitting nights, John returned home unexpectedly and appeared unsettled. He abruptly ended their conversation, never looking back, and subsequently requested Allie babysit again. The following night, after declining due to school commitments, tragedy struck: John fatally shot Tracy in their master bedroom, leaving Ben unharmed but traumatized.
Allie reflects on the unsettling possibility that her presence might have influenced the events, pondering whether John altered his actions because of her refusal or if he had other motives entirely. The incident left lasting scars on Allie, leading her to avoid further babysitting gigs and contributing to the neighborhood's ominous reputation surrounding the Carter household.
Ash and Elena express profound empathy for Allie's experience, emphasizing the difficulty of processing such traumatic events. They discuss the lingering "what ifs" that often haunt survivors of violent crimes, highlighting the psychological impact of being indirectly connected to tragedy.
Submitted by: Ralph (Timestamp: [20:12])
Ralph shares his experiences living in a century-old home with his boyfriend and two roommates, Karen and Frank. The house, nestled in a rough neighborhood, quickly revealed its unsettling nature. Ralph, working as a psychologist in a prison, brings a scientific perspective to his paranormal encounters.
He describes eerie occurrences, including:
Despite their attempts to rationalize the events, the persistent hauntings led Ralph and his boyfriend to eventually move out, seeking peace from the house's malevolent history.
Ash and Elena engage in a lively discussion about the plausibility of Ralph's experiences, delving into topics like psychic abilities, the psychological effects of living in a haunted environment, and the challenges of distinguishing reality from supernatural phenomena. They emphasize the importance of mental resilience when confronting unexplainable events.
Submitted by: Kaylin (Timestamp: [62:00])
Kaylin narrates her deep-seated connection with the spiritual world, recounting experiences from her childhood and adulthood. From a young age, she exhibited the ability to communicate with spirits, foreseeing events like her uncle's near-fatal incident and her father's girlfriend's attempted suicide.
Her most profound experience involves dating a man referred to as "X," who was plagued by a succubus due to his family's Santeria practices. Kaylin describes moving across states with X, only to encounter increasing paranormal disturbances in his home:
Kaylin concludes by reflecting on the enduring bonds with her deceased grandmother and the subtle presence of spirits in her life, suggesting a balance between embracing the spiritual and maintaining everyday normalcy.
Ash and Elena commend Kaylin for her vulnerability and the depth of her story. They explore themes of spiritual sensitivity, the impact of paranormal experiences on personal relationships, and the journey toward healing and happiness despite past horrors. The hosts also touch upon the cultural aspects of spiritual practices like Santeria and their influences on individuals’ lives.
In Listener Tales 89, Ash and Elena expertly weave together stories of true crime and the supernatural, offering listeners a captivating blend of suspense and heartfelt discussion. Through Allie's traumatic encounter with a murdering neighbor, Ralph's eerie experiences in a haunted house, and Kaylin's profound spiritual interactions, the episode underscores the diverse ways humans grapple with fear, loss, and the unknown.
Key Takeaways:
Notable Quotes Recap:
Morbid continues to deliver compelling and spine-chilling content, inviting listeners to explore the darkest corners of human experience and the enigmatic realms beyond. Whether you're a true crime aficionado or a fan of ghostly tales, Morbid offers a rich tapestry of stories that educate, entertain, and provoke thought.