Listener Tales 91: HALLOWEEN Edition!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Morbid Episode 614: Listener Tales 91: HALLOWEEN Edition!

Release Date: October 31, 2024

Hosts: Ash and Elena from Morbid Network | Wondery

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Introduction to Halloween Edition

Timestamp: [02:28] – [05:19]

Ash and Elena kick off the episode immersed in the Halloween spirit, discussing their festive costumes and the fun dynamics of recording in full costume. Ash dons a sad clown ensemble, while Elena embraces her role as "Mama Meredith," complete with a high ponytail. Their playful banter sets a lighthearted yet spooky tone for the episode.

Notable Quote:

• Ash: "I can't move too much because then my hat teeters and I can't move my face. And also, I can't laugh. Really well. So this is going to be an adventure." ([03:18])

---

Listener Tale 1: Kara’s Ghostly Encounter with a Shadow Man

Timestamp: [05:38] – [14:08]

Kara narrates her eerie experiences in her 101-year-old family home, particularly around Halloween during her senior year of high school. She describes strange occurrences like doors closing on their own and indistinct shadows passing through. The most unsettling event unfolds when she encounters a shadowy figure attempting to "twerk" on her staircase.

Key Points:

• Recurring Paranormal Activity: Karа recounts intermittent ghostly events throughout her childhood and teenage years.
• The Shadow Man Incident: One night, Kara sees a tall shadow figure in a twerking pose, which terrifies her. Despite her fear, the figure vanishes before she can confront it.
• Family Experiences: After Kara leaves for college, her younger sister also experiences paranormal disturbances, further reinforcing the haunted nature of their home.
• Resolution: Over time, the ghostly activity ceases, leading Kara to believe that her persistent ignoring may have caused the spirit to move on.

Notable Quotes:

• Kara: "This all began four years ago during my senior year of high school, right around Halloween." ([06:23])
• Kara: "He was in full twerking position, ready to shake some ass like a teen at a prom." ([10:53])
• Elena: "Shit. Post me a pic. I can't laugh on it. Go." ([10:55])

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Listener Tale 2: Chelsea’s Spiritual Closure with a Ghostly Ex-Boyfriend

Timestamp: [15:10] – [32:13]

Chelsea shares a heartfelt story about her relationship with Teddy, her ex-boyfriend who battled seizures due to a benign brain tumor. After their breakup and Teddy’s passing, Chelsea experiences various spiritual signs that lead her to seek closure through a psychic medium.

Key Points:

• Tragic Love Story: Chelsea and Teddy share a loving relationship, but Teddy's health complications lead to their eventual breakup.
• Spiritual Signs: After Teddy's death, Chelsea notices unusual occurrences in her home, such as flickering lights and books being dog-eared.
• Psychic Session: During a bachelorette party, Chelsea consults a psychic medium who accurately conveys messages from Teddy, providing her with the closure she desperately needed.
• Positive Outcome: The psychic’s insights help Chelsea move forward, leading to a supportive relationship with her current husband, David, and a growing family.

Notable Quotes:

• Chelsea: "He wants you to know that you are the love of his life, and he's so grateful for that." ([29:10])
• Elena: "This story had to be extracted from the inside of my head and put to paper." ([31:16])
• Ash: "I think this is the most beautiful thing, literally the most beautiful thing we've ever received." ([30:27])

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Listener Tale 3: Megan’s Terrifying Halloween with Masked Aggressors

Timestamp: [32:19] – [45:28]

Megan recounts a horrifying Halloween night from 2014 when she and her friends encounter a group of masked individuals armed with bats and golf clubs in their neighborhood, transforming a fun night of trick-or-treating into a scene of fear and confusion.

Key Points:

• Vibrant Halloween Neighborhood: Megan describes their neighborhood as a hotspot for Halloween festivities, with extensive decorations and enthusiastic trick-or-treaters.
• Encounter with Masked Individuals: While turning back onto their street, Megan and her friends spot a lone trick-or-treater in a clown mask wielding a baseball bat, soon followed by more masked individuals carrying golf clubs.
• Surrounding Terror: The group multiplies rapidly, surrounding Megan and her friends in an empty street, heightening the sense of danger.
• Hosts' Intervention: As tension peaks, Megan's mother and David (her boyfriend) arrive to confront the masked aggressors, revealing that the incidents were misinterpretations rather than actual threats.
• Emotional Aftermath: The encounter leaves Megan and her friends traumatized, leading to the cessation of their trick-or-treating activities.

Notable Quotes:

• Megan: "They were dragging their clubs and banging their bats on the concrete. Ew." ([39:38])
• Ash: "I will cut you." ([41:42])
• Elena: "Halloween's supposed to be fun and people need to consent in being scared. Don't be a dick." ([45:10])

---

Listener Tale 4: Bee’s Encounter with a Paper Mache Demon in Japan

Timestamp: [45:28] – [67:08]

Bee shares a spooky tale set in Goldfish Town, Japan, where she and her friend Elena experience a chilling visit from a figure in a paper mache mask. The story unfolds during a quiet evening disrupted by mysterious doorbell rings and culminates in a surprising revelation about the masked visitor.

Key Points:

• Cultural Context: Bee explains the differences in Halloween celebrations in Japan compared to the U.S., noting the adult-focused festivities.
• Mysterious Visitor: While alone at home, Bee receives unsettling doorbell rings from a figure wearing a paper mache mask with exaggerated features.
• Immediate Fear: The presence of the masked individual causes Bee to panic, prompting her to seek help from her friend Elena and supervisor K.
• Resolution: It is revealed that the masked individual was actually Elena's husband, H, who donned the terrifying mask as part of a diversionary ploy to distribute Halloween goodie bags, mending the prior Halloween incident and turning the fear into laughter.

Notable Quotes:

• Bee: "I can't tell the gender as their clothes are baggy and the fact that they are wearing a large paper mache mask with painted on wide staring blue eyes." ([50:15])
• Elena: "I will never forget them coming up the stairs. If I hadn't been so scared at the time, I would have laughed." ([53:53])
• Ash: "They attached a picture, but you know." ([57:34])

---

Listener Tale 5: Ash’s Childhood Halloween Prank by Her Parents

Timestamp: [67:08] – [68:54]

Ash concludes the episode with a nostalgic and humorous story about her family's elaborate Halloween pranks. Growing up with horror-loving parents, Ash and her friends faced a memorable prank involving her father disguising himself as a masked figure wielding a chainsaw, which left a lasting impression on her and her peers.

Key Points:

• Family Halloween Traditions: Ash credits her grandmother Marge for instilling a love of Halloween and spooky traditions in her family.
• The Prank Setup: During a movie night with friends watching "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," Ash hears suspicious noises outside, leading her and her friends to investigate.
• The Prank Reveal: As tension peaks, Ash's father reveals himself as the masked figure with a chainsaw, causing a mix of fear and laughter among the group.
• Legacy and Humor: The prank becomes a legendary story among Ash’s friends, embodying her family's penchant for blending horror with humor during Halloween celebrations.

Notable Quotes:

• Ash: "What happened on Halloween five nights ago?" ([60:12])
• Elena: "My dad is awesome." ([61:32])
• Ash: "Big Wave. Big Wave. Big Wave." ([67:06])

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Closing Remarks

Timestamp: [68:54] – [69:22]

Ash and Elena wrap up the episode by expressing their enjoyment of sharing and listening to spooky Halloween tales. They encourage listeners to keep embracing the weird and spooky aspects of life while maintaining a sense of fun and safety.

Notable Quote:

• Elena: "We hope you keep it weird, but not so weird that you surround children and try to scare them by banging baseball bats and golf clubs, because that's just not cool." ([67:40])

---

Conclusion

Morbid's Halloween Edition Episode 614 delivers a captivating blend of true crime, spooky stories, and heartfelt moments. Through the diverse listener tales, Ash and Elena explore themes of paranormal encounters, spiritual closure, terrifying confrontations, and heartwarming family traditions. The episode not only provides chills and thrills but also emphasizes the importance of community, support, and the enduring spirit of Halloween.

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Enjoy listening to more spine-tingling stories on Morbid through the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Keep it spooky, weirdos!

Transcript

[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 good 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 AT and T 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. Hey, weirdos. I'm Ash.

[Elena]

And I'm Elena.

[Ash]

And this is morbid. Just kidding. It's special. I'm just a sad clown. So I'm being sad.

[Elena]

A sad clown.

[Ash]

Sad, sad girl clown.

[Elena]

And a lot of you probably know who I am, but if you don't, who are you? I'm the lead singer. I'm a mama emeritus.

[Ash]

Oh, honey, I love it.

[Elena]

Yeah, I'm Mama. I decided to keep the. The high pony.

[Ash]

The high pony Mama Meredith. Oh, I did keep the. You.

[Elena]

It's Halloween, y'all.

[Ash]

I can't move too much because then my hat teeters and I can't move my face. And also, I can't laugh. Really well. So this is going to be an adventure.

[Elena]

It was kind of awesome because Ash laughed earlier and she went. Sounded like a scary clown.

[Ash]

Well, so there you go.

[Elena]

Well, it's also. We're getting used to being like. We don't film a lot.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

So this is an experience.

[Ash]

Maybe we should start maybe, like, once a week we should just get into a wild ass costume and just, like, start.

[Elena]

I think for listener tales, we should just be in costume.

[Ash]

I kind of love that idea.

[Elena]

And just film our listener tales, because we can be silly goofy with those. Yeah. You know, I think that would be really fun. What do you guys think?

[Ash]

I'm into it.

[Elena]

I heard you say you're into it, so maybe we should do that.

[Ash]

I'm trying to think of something to clown meme. Like, what do you guys think? I don't think you're supposed to talk while you mime, but I don't think so either.

[Elena]

But that's. That might be the whole purpose of miming.

[Ash]

Well, I'm not a mimer. I'm a freaking clown.

[Elena]

It's true. But you know what? It's listener tales today. It's Halloween. We're excited. Halloween. A few of you guessed right, too, because I posted a photo with my, like, freaky eye.

[Ash]

Oh, I didn't.

[Elena]

Hopefully you can see.

[Ash]

Well, I didn't even post a teaser. Yeah.

[Elena]

And a lot of people guess mine. I love that somebody thought I was David Bowie and I was, like, valid.

[Ash]

Well, next. Listener tales.

[Elena]

Maybe you should be.

[Ash]

You were him from Labyrinth before.

[Elena]

Yeah. Now, I needed to be another era Ziggy.

[Ash]

Yeah. So you start out.

[Elena]

That'd be a good one.

[Ash]

And then I could be, like, a famous rocker. Oh, the gears are turning.

[Elena]

I'm just. I have a theme of famous rockers going. Yeah, I like that.

[Ash]

I like that also.

[Elena]

Happy Halloween.

[Ash]

Because it's legit Halloween right now.

[Elena]

It's Halloween. It's not Halloween when we recorded this. No, but we're in the Halloween spirit. You better believe.

[Ash]

Oh, we stay in the Halloween spirit.

[Elena]

So it's Halloween now.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Where you are.

[Ash]

It's Halloween where you are in the future and in the past. It's not Halloween yet, but it's Halloween every day in our hearts.

[Elena]

So it's true.

[Ash]

Here we are.

[Elena]

It is. And that's why we're going to do this more often. But it's Listener Tales. We're going to do some Halloween themed Listener Tales. And of course, this is why we decided to make this a fun, spooky event that I think we're going to do all the time now.

[Ash]

I think it's going to be great, but. So let's get to the tales. It's Listener Tales. It's brought to you by you, for you, from you, and all about you.

[Elena]

Let's go.

[Ash]

All right, well, the first one was written specifically for me. You didn't say that, but I decided it was. And this is from Kara, and it's fine to use their name. And it says, a shadow man shook some ass on my stairs.

[Elena]

As soon as we saw this one, I was like, that's for us.

[Ash]

I said, thank you.

[Elena]

That is for Ash.

[Ash]

All right, so let's start off by saying I'm not sure if my house, 101 years old, built during prohibition, is actually haunted or just something. Something that things pass through. I have distinct memories during my childhood of blind shooting, closed on their own, and then periods of time where things were normal. The biggest and spookiest set of ghostly happenings happened about four years ago during my senior year of high school, right around Halloween.

[Elena]

Halloween.

[Ash]

Throughout October, things ramped up over time. It started one night when I was up late working on a class project. My twin brother came in and told me he was going to go to bed and walked out of the kitchen where I was. A few minutes later, I heard the distinct sound of the footrest of our recliner being snapped down. So I assumed, it's my bro. And he sat back down for a sec and I wait. Nothing. No one. Just me and panic. Shit that suddenly spawned. And due to my fear, I go and check. Yep, he'd gone to bed 10 minutes prior when he told me, cool, cool, cool. I was totally fine having a ghost to chill in my living room and return to my project. If I don't address it, it'll stop. Right?

[Elena]

That's how all problems in Life, work.

[Ash]

Wrong.

[Elena]

You don't address it, it'll just go away.

[Ash]

Wrong. The next week, I'm at our side door, about to walk out to the car where my brother to go meet our parents for dinner. And as I open the door, I hear something sprinting through the kitchen toward me.

[Elena]

No.

[Ash]

I make terrified eye contact.

[Elena]

Nope.

[Ash]

With my brother. That clearly conveyed my inner monologue of, holy shit, I'm about to shuffle off this mortal coil without my consent because some invisible boogeyman is going to run me down right now. Before I finally came to my senses and slammed the house door, somehow this still didn't spookify me too badly. I'll just keep ignoring it and it'll go away.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

Nope. Wrong again. Some time passes. It's now the very end of October, if my memory serves correct. Buckle up, my spooky. This is where got real.

[Elena]

I thought already got real.

[Ash]

I kind of felt, too. Yeah, well, when I told my roommates this story, we slept with the lights on for two days. I just. I need to describe the way my family's house is laid out for you to clearly visualize what comes next. I was about to laugh my hat off at you.

[Elena]

I'm a laugh my hat off.

[Ash]

Or maybe I'm so scared that my hat just popped off.

[Elena]

She's not going to laugh her ass off. She's going to laugh her hat, and.

[Ash]

I'll laugh my hat off. Well, our kitchen had a back staircase that links up to the main staircase. It's super steep and runs right up to the dishwasher, so we don't use it. It's just storage space for kitchen appliances and beverages.

[Elena]

Some beverages.

[Ash]

I love a beverage.

[Elena]

We love a beverage.

[Ash]

Can I side note really quick? When me and Drew first got, like, a home of our own, what the main thing he said to me that he wanted to do? He said, our house has to be a beverage house. And I was like, what's a beverage house? And he said, I always want to have, like, a bunch of different beverages. And you do, and we do. We are a beverage house. Yeah. It was very important to him.

[Elena]

Dream realized. I opened your refrigerator the other day, and I said, dan, I said, oh, my God, the beverages.

[Ash]

Homer Grid.

[Elena]

The variety.

[Ash]

If anybody wants to sponsor us, we have a Lonnie. We have Polly Pop. We have poppies. We don't. We don't discriminate between the good for your tummy sodas. We have Gatorade for Drew. We have orange juice most of the time. We have seltzer for The Mikey. We have Lacqua's. We have.

[Elena]

Sorry.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's Lacroix.

[Elena]

I thought it was Lacroix.

[Ash]

I think it's a debate on my face.

[Elena]

Do this.

[Ash]

Oh, I want to, like, smack it, but that doesn't work either. I'm just gonna lightly tap it. It's really not helping. It's not helping. No, I'm just kidding. No, it's on this side. Oh, okay.

[Elena]

That works.

[Ash]

Thank you. Please leave that in. Anyway, this took a. This took a hard turn. So our kitchen has a backstair.

[Elena]

Oh, nobody said that.

[Ash]

Beverages. So the base of. Oh, yes.

[Elena]

Excuse me. Beverages.

[Ash]

The base of those stairs is directly adjacent to the countertop that has the dishwasher, the oven, and the sink. So I'm at the sink washing some pans from dinner late at night. I'm the last one awake. Out of my peripheral vision to the left, I can clearly see that staircase. It's dark, obviously, as everyone's asleep. I. You not. My heart cease to beat as I see a figure at the top of that back staircase. I freeze, sudsy hands up and all, and hold my breath for a second. Out of the corner of my eye, I clearly see a very tall shadow figure. She spied with her little eye bent down with his. No, this cannot be real. I know it is, but with his hands on his knees, ass stuck out, head cocked all the way to the side to stare at me, he is in full twerking position, ready to shake some ass like a teen at a prom in front of all their teachers and chaperones. But he has his spooky head tilt like. Like head turned to the side and cocked so he could get a good look at little old hands on the knees.

[Elena]

But like a.

[Ash]

He said hands on my knee, shaking, ass on my thumb. Shit. Post me a pic. I can't laugh on it. Go.

[Elena]

You saw it. It was good. At first.

[Ash]

Well, I was not cool with being perceived by this spooky shadow bastard, and definitely I did not want to be perceived. And definitely not cool with his spooky ass shaking stance. Side note, I know I sounded like some cool, brave badass who totally wasn't afraid, but homies, I was about three seconds away from melting into a puddle of fear and evicting myself from property immediately.

[Elena]

I don't blame you.

[Ash]

I turn to confirm what I'm seeing, and it's gone. I love that somebody just came to shake ass with you in the afterlife.

[Elena]

That's my favorite. He was. And he didn't even shake ass. He Just got in the position.

[Ash]

He got ready to shake ass, I.

[Elena]

Think then he knew he was trying to see if you were ready. He was doing what the Ghosties were doing in the Amityville Horror. They were like, are you ready for a dance off? Like the marching band, I think they were literally like, are you ready for it? And you said, oh. And he was like, you're not ready for it. And he just got out.

[Ash]

He knew you weren't ready for his twerking.

[Elena]

He would have gotten off.

[Ash]

It was about to.

[Elena]

If you. Let's go. He would have been like, okay, let's go.

[Ash]

I'm not. You should have shook ass with him.

[Elena]

I don't know how it works, but.

[Ash]

Like, you could have figured it out in the moment.

[Elena]

I would believe in you.

[Ash]

I would have. You know, I've literally watched TikTok videos to learn how to twerk.

[Elena]

Yes, I do know that.

[Ash]

And I can't do it. So if anybody wants to help me out, call me. Don't call me, but, like, DM me. DM me and teach me how to twerk.

[Elena]

Call me Bebe, if you want to.

[Ash]

Teach me how to twerk.

[Elena]

If you want to teach me how to twerk.

[Ash]

Because I love Meg Thee Stallion and she has so many great songs to shake ass too.

[Elena]

But doesn't she do that, like, eh. Thing?

[Ash]

Yep, exactly.

[Elena]

I don't want to put my tongue.

[Ash]

Out and getting black all over it. You gotta just, like, stick it to the front.

[Elena]

Okay. Oh, I have to do it.

[Ash]

Yeah, of course.

[Elena]

Wait, I don't want to hold on because I have sparkles on my lips.

[Ash]

One, two, three. Yeah.

[Elena]

I love it.

[Ash]

All right, so I know for a fact this wasn't so. It's Halloween, guys. Have fun. I know for a fact this wasn't some trick of the light or my imagination. This was a solid figure. Enough so that I was 100% positive one of my siblings was playing a prank on me and just standing there to scare me. But now there was nothing there. So I finished washing dishes and went to my bed, forcing myself not to run when I hit the landing on the stairs, where he had been very cool, casual, mindful of me.

[Elena]

Very demure.

[Ash]

Very demure. Very cutesy. Cutesy of you. Weirdly enough, after all that, things stopped for a while. My younger sister started to experience things, though, like her foot being yanked while sleeping at night after I went away to college. No, no. I try not to think of that when I visit home for our in our shared room. But that's the Tale. Now, most of my friends refuse to come to my family home. Oh, I'd come.

[Elena]

You're like, I'm there, girl.

[Ash]

I'm there. I'll go shake ass with that ghost once I learn how to twerk. Yeah, and your friends are scared to come due to a fear that this spooky twerking tool is still on my stairs. I try hard not to think of him when I'm the last one up at night, but he hasn't bothered me since. Maybe I ignored him for long enough that he skedaddled off to haunt someone else. Keep it weird, but not so weird that I have to call you out, Kara. Not so weird that you don't shake ass with the ghost on your stairs.

[Elena]

Kara. I understand that that was a scary situation because, like, yeah, totally. If a ghost or a daemon is trying to have a dance off with.

[Ash]

You, you gotta show him what your mom. You gotta shake what your mama gave you.

[Elena]

You do.

[Ash]

You have to shake it like a Polaroid picture.

[Elena]

Precisely.

[Ash]

So you really need to. But you know what? I probably would have been scared, too, and ran out of my house.

[Elena]

So I would have been.

[Ash]

That's. That's my real me talking.

[Elena]

So tough.

[Ash]

Me is like, I don't know. I would have thrown ass.

[Elena]

I would throw nails at that time.

[Ash]

Wow, Cara.

[Elena]

I love that.

[Ash]

See, that was my spooky clown laugh again.

[Elena]

I didn't even mean to do it.

[Ash]

Oh, I don't like that. I like it.

[Elena]

Don't show this to Drew. I think he would leave John. I sent a picture to him because he was picking up the girls from school, and he just said, my God.

[Ash]

And then she said, when you sent the picture of you, I sent a picture of this.

[Elena]

And I said, twins? And he said, totes McGoats.

[Ash]

Totes McCoats.

[Elena]

And I was like, you're gonna be scared when I come downstairs.

[Ash]

Drew said, aw, you a cute little sad clown. But I think if he heard me laugh like that, he would not laugh.

[Elena]

He would say, you're a scary little sad clown.

[Ash]

He would say, get out of my presence.

[Elena]

So my next listener tale is called Halloween Listener. My Ghostly Ex Boyfriend and a New Orleans Psychic.

[Ash]

Oh, no. Debbie said, this is a beautiful tale, but it might make you cry.

[Elena]

Oh, shit.

[Ash]

I can't cry. I'm already crying.

[Elena]

No, Deb. This is from Chelsea.

[Ash]

Hi, Chelsea.

[Elena]

Hi, Chelsea.

[Ash]

Hi, Chelsea.

[Elena]

I've been watching old episodes of Southern Charm, and there's a Chelsea.

[Ash]

Oh, I loved Chelsea.

[Elena]

Yeah. And the really terrible Ashley girl was like, Chelsea. When she Was trying. When she was trying to explain why she was a dick.

[Ash]

Ashley.

[Elena]

Chelsea.

[Ash]

All right.

[Elena]

My name is Chelsea.

[Ash]

Who did Ashley.

[Elena]

Oh, she blocked you on Twitter. She blocked me on Twitter? Yeah. That's hardcore.

[Ash]

I know.

[Elena]

So this says my name is Chelsea, and as I mentioned above, I'm a Louisiana girl. Hey, Chelsea.

[Ash]

Hi.

[Elena]

Born in and raised just north of New Orleans, I was raised Catholic. And while I no longer identify as religious, I would say I am still quite spiritual. My Catholic upbringing has left a few imprints on who I am as a person and namely, a deep seated belief in a higher power. Whatever you want to call him or her. Something greater than ourselves. A strong conviction that there is more to this world and the next than we see and. Or an understanding and an openness to signs and messages from the other side. Yeah, I agree.

[Ash]

I actually love that.

[Elena]

I think that's a. That's a beautiful belief system.

[Ash]

That's pretty much exactly what I believe.

[Elena]

Yeah. I don't believe that I'm psychic or clairvoyant in any way, but I've always felt a closeness or openness to messages from loved ones who have passed on. And I could write another two or three listener tales just with stories of interactions with my grandma, Mama, Mama, after her passing. Okay.

[Ash]

So please write those stories.

[Elena]

Yeah, I gotta hear about mama, Mama, mama. More than 10 years ago, I moved to Houston, Texas, after grad school to take a job and start building my career. While living in Houston, I met and started dating a nice Greek boy named Teddy. Oh, we love Teddy. Teddy was, and still to this day is the kindest person I have ever met. Good, because I was like, we love Teddy. And then I was like, do we love Teddy?

[Ash]

I know I got a little nervous.

[Elena]

Ne orves, do I have to fight Teddy? But I'm glad I don't have to fight Teddy.

[Ash]

We would have squared up for you, Chelsea.

[Elena]

We would have. But you know what, Teddy? Good job.

[Ash]

Hey, Teddy.

[Elena]

Once upon introducing Teddy to a group of my friends, one of my friends asked me how it felt to be the worst person in the relationship.

[Ash]

Oh, you know, we're all out there. We're all out there somewhere. I'm the worst person in the relationship. Are you the worst person in the relationship? Probably. Yeah, you are.

[Elena]

Yeah, you are.

[Ash]

It's like, yeah. Don't lie.

[Elena]

I think you write we're the worst. You know what? So here we are. Here we are. That's awesome. He was joking, but he was 100% right. Whatever traits I imagine God uses to judge the goodness of a person, selflessness, loyalty, patience, et cetera. Teddy was off the charts and all of that.

[Ash]

That's Teddy for life. That's Teddy.

[Elena]

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[Ash]

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[Elena]

After dating for about a year, I woke up one morning to find Teddy having a full blown seizure beside me. Holy. The turn.

[Ash]

Yeah, that took a quick left.

[Elena]

After months of testing, doctors visits, and additional seizures, always at night and always in his sleep, we would find a brain tumor lodged in his right temporal lobe. We quickly scheduled surgery and the tumor was removed successfully and identified as benign.

[Ash]

Oh, good.

[Elena]

But unfortunately, the seizures continued. And when they did, I was always the only person there, since they only happened at night while we were sleeping. Oh, that's. So he lived with them. I can't imagine that. I really can't.

[Ash]

No, you're an angel.

[Elena]

He lived with them and managed his condition with medication as best as he could. I'm a strong believer that just because something isn't forever doesn't mean it wasn't real. My relationship with Teddy is an example of this. After almost 3.5 years together, life was pulling the two of us in different directions. We broke up and went our separate ways. Both sad, but with nothing but love and respect in our hearts for one another. I moved back to Louisiana and he stayed in Texas. The fact that you still say he's like one of the most kind people you've ever met is like such a mature relationship.

[Ash]

It really is.

[Elena]

Fast forward a year and a half and I was dating the man who, spoiler alert. Is now my husband, David.

[Ash]

Who? Who?

[Elena]

Hey, David.

[Ash]

Day. Day.

[Elena]

Day. Day.

[Ash]

Day. Day. We were. I just nicknamed your husband for you.

[Elena]

We were on our first big trip as a couple in Mexico when I received a phone call from my best friend back in Houston. Oh no. My heart is about to sing.

[Ash]

Oh no.

[Elena]

When I answered, she asked to speak to my boyfriend. It struck me as weird, but I handed over the phone. When David hung up, I knew exactly that something was wrong. David then had the devastating task of telling me that Teddy was gone. He had passed in his sleep as a result of a seizure. He had been alone.

[Ash]

Oh. Oh, that's awful.

[Elena]

I'll tell you one thing, ladies. It takes a strong man to watch the woman he loves grieve openly and savagely over another man. But he did.

[Ash]

That's another life. Good one, David.

[Elena]

For life.

[Ash]

Another great one.

[Elena]

He held me while I sobbed and screamed and blamed myself. If I had only been there, if we hadn't broken up, I could have saved him. When I told him I didn't know what to do with myself or my thoughts he asked me to tell him about Teddy.

[Ash]

What a. I just got.

[Elena]

I got a full body, like, what an amazing man. We spent that entire night talking about my ex boyfriend with David, giving me all the space and support I needed to not crumble into oblivion. I knew after that night that I would marry David.

[Ash]

Hell yeah, you did.

[Elena]

That's awesome. Whoo. Okay, you're probably like, bitch, get to the spooky part. Which is exactly what I'm doing now. But you needed the background context. You did. And I appreciate you telling us.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

The months following Teddy's death were weird. Heavy. It sounds insane, but I could feel him. That doesn't sound insane at all. Strange things were happening in my house. Never threatening or scary, but I could feel his presence. Lights would flicker. An untouched book on my bookshelf became mysteriously dog eared to a particularly meaningful passage.

[Ash]

That's beautiful.

[Elena]

Damn.

[Ash]

Elena would be so mad.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

She literally won't let me borrow her books because I dog ear the pages.

[Elena]

It's true. I don't dog ear pages. I can't handle it.

[Ash]

You're insane.

[Elena]

I'm a bookmark early.

[Ash]

She is.

[Elena]

I like my books to be in the right condition.

[Ash]

I think they look well loved if they've been dog eared a lot.

[Elena]

No, not.

[Ash]

It's a. It's a great debate.

[Elena]

I was going to say it's a great personal debate.

[Ash]

We'll do a poll.

[Elena]

Yeah, we will. Except I'll pro. I might lose that one.

[Ash]

I don't know.

[Elena]

I don't know. One time when I had a fever and chills, my AC broke, making my house a toasty 83 degrees so I would die. Oh, that's horrible. Once my fever broke and the chills went away, the AC turned back on like nothing had happened. It's just like Teddy to be taking care of someone from the afterlife.

[Ash]

Wow.

[Elena]

Halloween night of that year.

[Ash]

Halloween.

[Elena]

Halloween. I happened to be back in Houston on a business trip. I was invited to celebrate with some of my and Teddy's mutual friends and headed over to their house for dinner. That night, a wicked thunderstorm came rolling through Houston, knocking out the power at their house and generally upping the spook factor. Since we were now dining by candlelight. All through the evening, our host had music playing in the background via her phone. At some point, her phone stopped working, and try as she might, the music would not come back on. We chalked it up to the storm messing with service and continued our conversation in silence for another 30 minutes or so. Eventually, as we knew it, would. The conversation turned to Teddy. As the storm continued to rage, we discussed how much we all missed him and agreed on the general tragedy of the situation. I confess the guilt I was carrying around how if we hadn't broken up, I would have likely been there to intervene. I told them about the weird experiences I was having in my house, and that's when our host's phone started playing music again on its own. Stop it. A completely different song and genre than it had been earlier. The song was a newer one I had heard in passing, but never really listened to the lyrics until that moment. We all sat in silence while the song played, each listening to the words and listening at each other with W and looking at each other with wide eyes. It was happier by Bastille I love Bastille.

[Ash]

Oh my God, I have goosebumps.

[Elena]

If you're unfamiliar, the lyrics are to paraphrase Lately I've been thinking I want you to be happier. Even though I might not like this, I want you to be happier and so that means I'll have to leave.

[Ash]

Oh my God. My goosebumps have goosebumps.

[Elena]

I was just. I felt that.

[Ash]

Holy shit.

[Elena]

The song is about a couple who is breaking up because they know what's best for them even though they are heartbroken with the guy acknowledging that he's going to walk away so that she can be happier. Everyone in the I'm like about to cry. Literally everyone in the room was looking at me, some with goosebumps on their arms, some with tears in their eyes, and it was clear that they were all interpreting the same message as I was. Teddi was telling me that it was okay, that he heard me, that he didn't blame me, and that he was going to back off with the ghosty shit since it was freaking me out a bit.

[Ash]

Lol.

[Elena]

I immediately felt a weight lift off my shoulders. After that night, I did not feel his presence around me anymore. I felt that he had moved on to wherever he was supposed to be. I didn't hear from him again until two years later in October 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, David and I were engaged and tentatively planning our wedding. Thanks Covid. My spooky witchy bachelorette extravaganza which was originally planned in Salem, Massachusetts. Oh, it had to be canceled due to travel restrictions.

[Ash]

Oh.

[Elena]

So plan B was a bachelorette hallow weekend here in Louisiana. Which is still.

[Ash]

I think that might even be better.

[Elena]

Yeah. Complete with outdoor social distancing friendly activities for a small group of my closest friends. One of these activities was hiring a real life French quarter psychic medium to come read tarot cards for us as part of our glamp out at our farm north of Nola. Oh, my God.

[Ash]

This is cool.

[Elena]

Why didn't you invite me?

[Ash]

Why didn't you invite us?

[Elena]

The open air was a good setting for group activities, and the sweeping live oaks were an excellent backdrop for some witchery.

[Ash]

I'm obsessed.

[Elena]

I feel so cozy just thinking about that.

[Ash]

It feels like a book.

[Elena]

The psychic began by reading tarot for everyone in attendance. And this lady was the real deal. As in, I sat down and was crying with the first three sentences out of her mouth. First thing she said to me before even touching the cards was, your people on the other side are very loud. They're telling me that you're worried you won't be able to have children. And they're telling me that that's not going to be a problem. It will happen almost immediately.

[Ash]

Oh, my God.

[Elena]

This woman did not know me. She had no way of know that I've known since I was 16 that I have a condition that could impact my fertility. And that knowledge had hung over me like a dark cloud every day of my life. Spoiler alert. She was correct.

[Ash]

You didn't have any issue. That's amazing.

[Elena]

What's wild, too. That's weird that you had that, like, feeling that you were worried about it. I also had that feeling from a very young age.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

And it's like, I knew it and I did have trouble.

[Ash]

I know it's wild.

[Elena]

But then I got my bed babies now. After reading tarot, she transitioned into a mediumship session where she opened herself up to messages from the other side. After a few messages for some of my friends, all of which were scarily accurate, she suddenly said, I'm feeling the presence of a young man, and he's showing me a teddy bear with a T on it. Oh. I immediately went cold. Teddy's last name started with a t, and one of his nicknames was Teddy T. She proceeded to tell me that he sees everything happening in your life and he's so happy for you. He supported my marriage.

[Ash]

He likes David.

[Elena]

She also added, he wants you to know that there's nothing you could have done to present, prevent what happened to him. Even if you had been there, it was over so quickly, and he wasn't scared or in pain.

[Ash]

Oh, she must have been, like, such a weight off your shoulders again.

[Elena]

Seriously. She finally said, he wants you to know that you are the love of his life, and he's so grateful for that.

[Ash]

I'm gonna sob right now. Literally. I had to close my eyes so that they wouldn't start forming tears. Like actual tears.

[Elena]

Tears.

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

Let me tell you, the sobs that left my body. It truly felt like the most beautiful gift of closure. Knowing that he was okay, knowing that he was happy and happy for me. It's an experience that has stuck with me and will be with me forever. I now see Teddy as one of my guardian angels up there, conspiring with my mama and Pawpaw watching over me and my beautiful growing family. David and I did indeed get pregnant almost immediately after our wedding. Our son was born two days after our first anniversary and we are currently expecting our second son. David continues to be an amazingly supportive partner and father to our children. We still talk about Teddy, remember his birthday every year and we travel up to New England together to attend Teddy's sister's wedding a few years ago where we bonded. Where he bonded with Teddy's dad and stayed up until 4am drinking with Teddy's best friend.

[Ash]

That's amazing.

[Elena]

David's my favorite person ever.

[Ash]

David rocks.

[Elena]

David now loves Teddy's family as much as I do and we try to see them regularly. His family will be a part of our children's lives and I plan to share his story with my sons when they are old enough to understand.

[Ash]

I think this is the most beautiful thing, literally the most beautiful thing we've ever received.

[Elena]

Truly. I hope they see it as an example of finding a beautiful silver lining around life's darkest clouds. Proof that people come into our lives for a reason and that not all love stories end with forever. Some love stories end in this world, but go on into the next. And I hope they see their father as an incredible an example of an incredible emotional maturity, a paragon of non toxic masculinity and an illustration of the kind of supportive partner they should strive to be one day. Wow. Yes. Amazing.

[Ash]

Amazing.

[Elena]

Thank you. If you've made it this far into reading this rather lengthy novella. We can't all be best selling novelists. Selena, I love you but I felt this story had to be extracted from the inside of my head and put to paper. I have attached some pictures to this email so you can put some faces with names and add some color to the story.

[Ash]

Oh, why are you all so beautiful?

[Elena]

You and Teddy are the cutest things I've ever seen.

[Ash]

And so are you and David and.

[Elena]

You and David and your baby.

[Ash]

Wow.

[Elena]

Oh and they made it to Salem last year and you got to go to the ropes Mansion. You got to go to Allison's house.

[Ash]

Stop it.

[Elena]

I love it.

[Ash]

Oh, my God. These are great angels.

[Elena]

Winona and Reba.

[Ash]

Winona and Reba.

[Elena]

Winona and Reba.

[Ash]

Not sad, just sleepy.

[Elena]

Oh, my God.

[Ash]

I love it.

[Elena]

Honestly, Chelsea, that's story was one of the most beautiful stories we have had in listening tales. So thank you for that.

[Ash]

Gorge, gorge, gorge.

[Elena]

You and David forever, Teddy forever.

[Ash]

I'm gonna remember that story forever.

[Elena]

That was an amazing story. Thank you for sending that.

[Ash]

It was beautiful. All right, my next one is listener tale. Trick or treat or clowns.

[Elena]

I love it.

[Ash]

Hey, O. This is from Megan. Megan Meagan. I don't know why I said it like that.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

Oh, she did it. Now we'll work on the head tilt next. Yeah, that just made me really happy. All right, to properly tell this story, I got so Boston there. To properly tell this story rubbing off on me. What were you saying today that you, like, couldn't unpause? Poltergeist. She couldn't stop. Poltergeist. All right, to properly tell this story, I need to start with the setting. This happened in 2014 on the spookiest day of the year. 1, 2, 3.

[Elena]

Halloween.

[Ash]

My family had moved about an hour away from our old house. In 2013, the new neighborhood we moved to was known for Halloween so much that people drove to trick or treat there. We're even more known for Christmas, which leads to a lot of traffic during the holidays. But everybody passed out candy and loads of people decorated. To give some perspective, we would buy a bag of candy every single time we went shopping in September and October just to have enough to pass out before the night ended. And sometimes that wasn't even enough.

[Elena]

Wow.

[Ash]

I want to go to there.

[Elena]

I do, too.

[Ash]

At the time of this particular Halloween, I was about 11, and my older sister Erin was around 12. So we were still at the age where trick or treating was something we looked forward to. We invited my sister's best friend, who lived an hour away, to spend the night trick or treating with us. Since the neighborhood was so known for being the spot to go, naturally we had to coordinate costumes, or what was the point? Aaron and her best friend were tweedledee and Tweedledum, but instead of fat suits, they wore tutus and suspenders.

[Elena]

I love that.

[Ash]

I love that. That's great. I was Alice and wore a little blue dress with a white apron and had a black bow tied in my hair. Adorable. We all looked very cute and unassuming, which is very cutesy. Cutesy, very demure, very mindful. Which is probably why we looked like easy targets that night. Oh, I'm scared now. To understand what happened, I'm going to give you a quick and simple layout of the neighborhood. We lived near the end of a long street that connected to two major streets in the neighborhood. Keep in mind that we had moved there recently and weren't super familiar with the area. However, it was very safe, and my mom, who always supervised us outside, thought it was fine for the three of us to go alone. While she stayed and passed out candy, she helped us pick an easy route of three streets that formed a triangle. We would walk on the main street close to our house and then take a turn onto a street parallel to ours. From there, we would turn onto the other main street that connected to the one we lived on, just to make our way back. Even though this was a safe neighborhood and the route was was simple, I was pretty terrified to go alone. We had never done that, never done that before, let alone in a new neighborhood. I was always the child who could hardly bear to be out of sight of an adult. That's literally your middle. Yeah. My sister, on the other hand, relished in the opportunity to have no supervision, and she and her friend were excited.

[Elena]

Your oldest? Yep.

[Ash]

The night started off pretty normal. It was still light out when we left, but by the time we had gotten to the second main road, it was dark. We amassed a good amount of candy by that point, and we're about to turn back onto our street. However, this is when things got a little strange. When it comes to bras, we're done compromising. You can have it all. Beauty and comfort, support and breathability, all with Bali Breathe. At last, honey, Bali Breathe has arrived. A breathable and breathtaking collection of bras, underwear, and shapewear that feel as good as they look. Breathe is the new collection from Bali, the leading national bra brand. Made with soft cotton, modal, and beautifully soft lace with styles that offer comfort, smoothing and support. They also come in so many gorgeous colors. There are wireless and underwire styles. You know, I'm going to be getting the wireless ones. And the good thing, though, is that they all have the same light as air feel. They've got matching sets for when you want to feel put together with no added effort. And guess what? Bali Breathe revolves around you as the whole world should. But we'll deal with them later. I actually just ordered the T shirt bra. I ordered it in black and I ordered it in white because I'm a simple girly. And I'm so excited for them to come. I can't wait to tell you all about it. Visit balibras.com and use code morbid for 20% off your purchase. That's B A L I bras.com with code morbid for 20% off your first order.

[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 [e-mail].

[Ash]

As we were about to turn back onto the street, from the corner of my eye I saw a lone trick or treater across the street. He was dressed in all black clothing and wore a Halloween clown mask that covered his whole face. Scary.

[Elena]

I don't like that.

[Ash]

This by itself wasn't unusual, but what was strange is that he didn't have a bag to hold candy. Oh yeah, no, instead he had a baseball bat.

[Elena]

Nope.

[Ash]

I thought to myself, huh, that's odd.

[Elena]

Huh?

[Ash]

Huh? But he was on the other side of the road, so it wasn't a problem. Well, actually it was a problem because pretty soon after noticing this person, I realized he wasn't alone. Trailing behind us was another person in all black and wearing that same clown Halloween mask. Obscure and it obscured his whole face. This person didn't have a bat, but instead was simply dragging a golf club along the sidewalk behind him.

[Elena]

What the fuck?

[Ash]

Where are. Where is any help?

[Elena]

What's happening?

[Ash]

I'm scared.

[Elena]

I. Mom, pick me up. I'm scared.

[Ash]

The rest all happened very quickly. It was dark and I don't know where they came from, but in the blink of an eye, the two people turned into three then four, then five, then suddenly 10. People were dispersed around the street. What?

[Elena]

The.

[Ash]

All wore the same clown masks and had bats or golf clubs. The ones on the other side of the street crossed the road and came towards us. At the same time, the ones on the street got closer to us and started forming a circle. No, we were surrounded. There were at least three on each side to the left and right of us, a few behind us and one in front. They were dragging their clubs and banging their bats on the concrete. Ew.

[Elena]

What assholes.

[Ash]

Like, truly like you. Get a life. What is particularly strange, and something I do not understand to this day, is that the street was empty. I was thinking that this whole time. Yeah.

[Elena]

I'm like, where is everybody?

[Ash]

Is there an adult to help you? This was the most popular neighborhood to trick or treat in. However, besides these strange boys and the looming darkness, we were the only ones on that street.

[Elena]

Was this some, like, weird, elaborate hazing ritual that your neighborhood had?

[Ash]

Oh, my God. Maybe that'd be that they were like.

[Elena]

Welcome to the neighborhood.

[Ash]

We're gonna scare the.

[Elena]

Want to see if you can hang?

[Ash]

Were they just waiting for someone to walk by when the street was clear? Were they hiding? Did they have some sort of signal?

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

However, the answers to these questions were irrelevant because the reality was they were getting closer by the second. If I reached out, I could touch one before my arm was even fully straightened.

[Elena]

Oh, no. Oh, that's too much in my personal space.

[Ash]

Yeah, of course it is.

[Elena]

Get out of my bubble.

[Ash]

No, get out of my bubble.

[Elena]

Like, get out.

[Ash]

I remember how I said that I was scared to go and my sister wasn't.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

This is where that shifts. Aaron and her friend, who were in front of me, slowed down and came closer to me. We were all frazzled with a look, silently asked each other, what do we do? For some reason that eludes me to this day, the dominant emotion that I was feeling wasn't fear, but anger. Looking back, I should have approached the situation with more caution, but I was pretty pissed.

[Elena]

I would be, too.

[Ash]

I kind of love that you were pissed.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

In my mind, these had to be neighborhood boys picking on the little girls wearing tutus and dresses.

[Elena]

Exactly.

[Ash]

And just trying to scare them.

[Elena]

So them.

[Ash]

So I immediately decided that if they were going to try to get a rise out of us, the best thing we could do was not give them one.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

I whispered to my sister and her friend, keep walking.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And we did. Good. What they didn't know was that we were on the street. We lived on so we just had to outlast them. Unfortunately for us, they kept walking too.

[Elena]

What? I want to. I want to junk punch every single.

[Ash]

One of these little box so hard. Hit them with their golf clubs.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Like it almost looked like a security detail for a celebrity. Except, you know, the fact that they were threatening us.

[Elena]

Except a very weird one.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's kind of like paparazzi, actually. In a situation like that, logic is the first thing we abandon. We certainly had cell phones and could have called for help, but we just kept walking. Besides, even if we got our phones out, they were close enough to just grab them. After what felt like several minutes, but I'm sure was only a moment, I switched tactics. I must have heard this from some television show, but I turned to the closest one on my left and said in the most intimidating voice at 11 year.

[Elena]

Sorry.

[Ash]

I said in the most intimidating voice an 11 year old girl dressed as Alice in Wonderland could muster. I will cut you.

[Elena]

Oh my God, I'm obsessed.

[Ash]

I will cut you. Honestly, I would have ran.

[Elena]

Honestly, I would get the out of them.

[Ash]

I'd be like, I believe it.

[Elena]

I believe it.

[Ash]

Because anybody dressed as Alice in Wonderland.

[Elena]

Saying, I'm saying I'm right in their face, that's scary. Yeah, you did the right thing.

[Ash]

I will cut you.

[Elena]

That's right.

[Ash]

She said, this is embarrassing, but I hope it makes you laugh. It's not embarrassing. You should not be embarrassed.

[Elena]

Be tonic.

[Ash]

I needed them to know that we were not scared and what they were doing wasn't working, so they should just give up. It didn't deter these boys, but it served to lend confidence. Get a life. Get a life. It didn't deter these boys, but it served to lend confidence to my sister and her friend. They continued to walk and when they got close to the masked person in the front, they just pushed him out of the way with our heads up but not making eye contact. We continued because what else was there to do, really?

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

We could start to see other trick or treaters in the distance. Our luck changed then. And just as quickly as they came, these masked boys were gone without a trace. What?

[Elena]

They just left.

[Ash]

They just like poofed into the air.

[Elena]

So they just menaced you and then left. And then left them.

[Ash]

That don't ruin somebody's Halloween like that.

[Elena]

I'll find them.

[Ash]

I will. And we'll junk punch every single one of them.

[Elena]

Dressed like this.

[Ash]

Dressed like this. How scary would that be? Yeah, that would show.

[Elena]

Clown me clown.

[Ash]

Clown me clown. Are you ready? I love it. The dread was replaced by a flood of relief, and we were safe again. After that, I don't think we resumed trick or treating and just went home for the night.

[Elena]

Oh, that's a bummer.

[Ash]

I know.

[Elena]

I'm sorry. I understand it. But that's a bummer.

[Ash]

We did tell my mom what happened while we were treating Candy in the kitchen. She wasn't thrilled that we engaged with them, but wasn't too worried. It did sink in later that night, to me, at least. How that situation could have gone so different. Yeah, I can't say I was particularly traumatized, but that was the last year I went trick or treating. Oh, that makes me Sad.

[Elena]

You were 11. Yeah. Oh, that makes me really sad.

[Ash]

Dude. I was, like, 15 when I stopped trick or treating.

[Elena]

Oh.

[Ash]

I got to the point where people were like, we're not giving you.

[Elena]

We're not. You're like, you're too old for this.

[Ash]

Yeah. However, Halloween remains my favorite holiday, and I celebrate it every year.

[Elena]

Good.

[Ash]

Thank you for reading this, and I hope everyone keeps it weird. But not so weird that you surround children and try to scare them by banging baseball bats and golf clubs, because that's just not cool.

[Elena]

P.S.

[Ash]

I retold the story to my mom as I was writing this, and she seemed confused and said, was it really that bad? Didn't some boys just follow you? I suppose that when we told her at the time, we left out a lot of details, I guess. And when I recounted it like this, she was appalled. She somehow didn't know about the weapons or the clown masks and said that if she did know that, she would have been on the hunt for these boys. Parents.

[Elena]

Okay.

[Ash]

Oops.

[Elena]

I'm. I knew that had to be a missing link there.

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

Because I was like, if my kids come home and tell me that a bunch of boys with weapons and clown masks. Can I interrupt you?

[Ash]

I know exactly what you would do. She would do.

[Elena]

Yep.

[Ash]

She. Whenever Elena's mad, she always crunches ready, and it's always so good.

[Elena]

And that would be.

[Ash]

I'd be like, we're.

[Elena]

We're off. I'd be like, you. We're going, ladies, stay at home. And I'd be like, mama and Dada are gonna go call Titi.

[Ash]

I'm going.

[Elena]

We're gonna go make some friends out in the neighborhood.

[Ash]

Oh, I would.

[Elena]

And then we would never see those boys again. Like, when I tell you, like, the rage I had for you. Yeah. In that moment, I wanted to strangle these boys.

[Ash]

That's just so necessary.

[Elena]

Don't ruin someone's Halloween. Halloween's supposed to be fun and people need to consent in being scared. Don't be a dick.

[Ash]

Be cool. Don't be all like, uncool.

[Elena]

Don't do that. And definitely don't fucking scare kids. Like, what the hell?

[Ash]

Get a life.

[Elena]

Let them live like we stresses Alice in Wonderland Thailand.

[Ash]

I know.

[Elena]

Like, let her live. Go.

[Ash]

They. They did their costumes together for this?

[Elena]

Yeah. I'm not. I'm not impressed by them.

[Ash]

That don't impress of me much.

[Elena]

If you're listening, boys who did that, I'm not impressed.

[Ash]

Oh, they're not listening. Okay. They are not this cool.

[Elena]

No, they're not.

[Ash]

They are.

[Elena]

They're not. They're not this cool.

[Ash]

They're not this cool.

[Elena]

They do not.

[Ash]

This is so cool.

[Elena]

They are not on this level.

[Ash]

Cosplay equals cool.

[Elena]

Are you on the level? No.

[Ash]

No, you're not.

[Elena]

The answer is no.

[Ash]

You could never be.

[Elena]

All right. Mine is entitled How I Thought I Was going to be killed by a paper mache mask wearing psycho. Whoa. And it's by Bee.

[Ash]

Bee. I love that name.

[Elena]

Like, and it says, like, the Bumble. Like the Bumble says, hello, lovely ladies of all that is all that. Tis dark, weird and spoopy. My name is Bee, like the Bumble. A family nickname which you are more than welcome to use as I consider you and all other weirdos listening as family.

[Ash]

Love that you are our family.

[Elena]

I discovered your absolute gift of a podcast at the beginning of 2022, and it has kept me laughing through many a commute and hard times. Seriously, you guys remind me so much of me and my sister, which is a huge comfort since we live on opposite sides of the Pacific. Damn.

[Ash]

Aw. I could never.

[Elena]

I know.

[Ash]

I could never move to New York. And we just couldn't even handle it.

[Elena]

Couldn't do it.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Couldn't do it. Thank you for all you do. You two are delights. Never change your badass bitching ways. I love it.

[Ash]

We won't.

[Elena]

Total side note, Ash. I'm a library. So is Mikey. Mikey's a Libra, which makes us air sign besties. I can't really decide how to segue from that to my story, but here we go. I'm not a writer like Elena. Q. Ash sharing the link to the Butcher in the rent.

[Ash]

Tinyurl.com/the butcher in the ren. I don't know if that still exists. Don't go there.

[Elena]

But it's there. Congrats, Elena. Can't wait to read it. Update. I Got it all downloaded on my Kindle. I'm ready to go, so I hope this is not too convoluted. Thank you so much. Much Be for life the tale begins five years ago on Halloween.

[Ash]

Halloween.

[Elena]

I know I'm writing and sending you this in July, but the spirit store that lives in my heart can no longer be contained in this withered summer husk of a body any longer.

[Ash]

I'm obsessed with you.

[Elena]

I've never related to a sentence more truly. In a small town on Japan's southernmost and largest island. I hope I say this right.

[Ash]

Kiyushi, Kyushu.

[Elena]

I believe it's Kyushu. Yeah. I will leave out the prefecture in town as I still live here and don't want to cause any potential embarrassment for parties involved. I will call it Goldfish Town because as the nickname may suggest, it is famous for breeding around 30 different varieties of goldfish.

[Ash]

Woot Woot.

[Elena]

Goldfish Town represents.

[Ash]

That's really cool and random. That's the funnest fact.

[Elena]

So a bit of background. The first time I came to live in Japan, I was working as an ALT assistant language teacher. I worked at two elementary schools and one middle school helping teach English in the classroom. Classroom.

[Ash]

In the classroom.

[Elena]

In the classroom. It was a wonderful experience and such a privilege working with the students and teachers. Goldfish Town always had two alts and we split the schools as there was a total of two middle schools and four elementary schools. There was some quick maths for you ladies, which I will not be doing again. The alt departments were literally right next to each other, so me and the other alt code name E were super besties. We always hung out, shared meals, had many laughs and a cries in each other's apartment. She is still a bestie to this day. I ride or die. A ride or die bitch. Which you'll definitely see in this story. A final person to mention is our supervisor, nom de plume. Spelling French. I loved it.

[Ash]

Nom de plume.

[Elena]

Okay, the sweetest woman alive and who we literally referred to as our Japanese mother. She's super kind and friendly and always made sure we were looked after. Nom de plume Mama. Okay, so let's get into the dirty deets. What happened on Halloween five nights ago? Five years ago?

[Ash]

What happened on Halloween five nights ago?

[Elena]

That makes no sense. I just got white on my finger.

[Ash]

Oh no.

[Elena]

Halloween in Japan is more of an adult holiday. Going out, drinking, going to costume parties, which is fun, but we don't get little ghoulies and goblins running up to our doors screaming for the sweets or else threatening tricks.

[Ash]

I kind of love that actually.

[Elena]

See, I want. I need the trick or treaters.

[Ash]

No, I love the trick or treaters but I hate driving on Halloween night because I get so nervous.

[Elena]

Yeah, I just won't.

[Ash]

Well, I have to.

[Elena]

Yeah, yeah. Just won't.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

Our apartments were on the second floor in buildings facing each other. A literal minute walk and a lot of huffing upstairs. This Halloween we had both planned quiet evenings. Me at home reading cozy mysteries for my October mystery readathon, drinking cocoa, the nectar of fall and E at the gym being a ripped goddess. So I love how different both of your amazing. We didn't have any plans to meet up the night that night and other than E anyone else coming to my door is a big it's going to be a no for me dog moment. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Our apartments were around 20 years old but thankfully had a modern doorbell system camera where there was some. When someone rang the doorbell I could see who it was on the screen in my kitchen foreshadowing.

[Ash]

Well that's cool.

[Elena]

Quite handy for dodging the Jehovah's Witnesses. Yes, they are out here. No shade. Just as I said, I'm a millennial hermit crab who wants to chill in her shell in peace.

[Ash]

Oh, I feel that.

[Elena]

I feel that. So I'm home alone at my kitchen table drinking cocoa, enjoying my book, feeling the holy Halloween spirit when the doorbell rings. No knowing it's not E. I think maybe I was getting some trick or treaters panicking that I would have to share some of my time of the month, all the month stash canned chocolate with them. But what I see freezes my blood on the screen is a person. I can't tell the gender as their clothes are baggy and the fact that they are wearing a large paper mache. Spelling French again. You did great head. The head has painted on wide staring blue eyes. No. A small neutral mouth slightly open.

[Ash]

No.

[Elena]

And dark brown hair parted to the side. Very serial killer style.

[Ash]

I hate it.

[Elena]

Very not cutesy cutesy.

[Ash]

Very not demanding.

[Elena]

I stop breathing because I'm afraid whatever is on the other side of the door will hear me. The doorbell rings again and I can see the head move closer to the door cam like it's looking through the peephole.

[Ash]

Get the off my property.

[Elena]

I slowly slide over to the table where I left my phone. After grabbing it, I wait until my little door cam goes dark and I hear footsteps or see down the stairs outside. I think I stood there for a good five minutes, my ears straining to hear anything but feeling like the whole world is silent and only I exist.

[Ash]

Oh, that's beautiful.

[Elena]

That is beautiful. You are a writer.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Elena]

I run back to the screen to take a picture of the figure to send to E, telling her not to worry, I'm alive, but this thing was at my doorstep and if she could come back from the gym, I would love her forever. Like the true queen she is. She immediately called me saying there she'd be there in 15 minutes and to stay put with a knife in hand. Next, I messaged our supervisor. K. The photo. Now I know, I know at this point you guys are all screaming to call the police.

[Ash]

I was kind of thinking it in my head a little bit. I was, I was. But I wasn't judging you yet.

[Elena]

I wasn't. But honestly, I didn't know what constituted an emergency in Japan.

[Ash]

Fair enough, fair enough.

[Elena]

And where my Japanese is conversational. How do I explain that a soul sucking paper mached demon stood outside my door? Valid, hard things. Yeah.

[Ash]

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.

[Elena]

K also called immediately and said she and her husband were on their way over. Thankfully they live five minutes away, so I didn't wait long to get a message saying they were coming up and I will never forget them coming up the stairs. If I hadn't been so scared at the time, I would have laughed. K, my five foot tall supervisor is running up the stairs calling for me, followed by her 6 foot 3 husband, cigarette tingling cavalierly out of one side of his mouth and a golf club slung casually over his shoulder.

[Ash]

Fucking icon. That's what you use a golf club for? Not to scare little kids.

[Elena]

To save people.

[Ash]

To protect a girl. Yeah.

[Elena]

Does anyone else smell a potential ghost Hunting demon slaying show pitch here.

[Ash]

Yes, I kind of do. Oh my God, yes I do. That would make a great show. And he should do that.

[Elena]

He's always gotta have a cigarette or like a toothpick hanging out of his mouth.

[Ash]

Yes.

[Elena]

Anyway, back to the paper machade waking nightmare. I told them that I had no idea who this person was and showed them the picture, which they agreed was really fucked up. By that time, E had returned home and also came roaring up the stairs ready to slap this kindergarten craft project gone wrong. I assured her I was okay and said she should check the door cam to see if they came to her door too. They hadn't. Since she hadn't been visited by crafty killer tm, I spent. I spent the night at her place. Over the next few weeks, I was on high alert. I was always waiting to hear the doorbell ring and see that face again. But whoever it had been never came back and I eventually settled down a bit.

[Ash]

That's when they strike.

[Elena]

Fast forward to before Christmas. E and I were having a small Christmas party with our Goldfish Town alt. Senpai. A term of respect used for a person who is usually older, more experienced than you at life, job, etc. Etc.

[Ash]

Senpai.

[Elena]

V. V and her husband H. Where? That's who they were. There was a period. V was the predecessor at my school, but she still lived in Goldfish Town and had met and married her husband there too. We had decided on doing a potluck dinner at our apartment and everyone arrived with plenty of yummies in toe.

[Ash]

Oh, love that.

[Elena]

Exactly. As long as you know the people.

[Ash]

If I know your kitchen, I'll eat it. If I haven't seen your kitchen, I'm eating it.

[Elena]

As we got to prepping, we were just chatting and catching up when E brings up the Halloween incident about how creepy it was and how scared we had all been after that. Dinner was almost ready and we were about to sit down when V's husband started whispering to her in Japanese.

[Ash]

I'm nervous.

[Elena]

I couldn't really hear what they were saying, but she then said louder in English, I'm sorry. Just say I'm sorry. By this point, E and I were blatantly dropping those eaves and asking if everything was okay when V's husband said, I'm sorry on Halloween. That was me in the mask.

[Ash]

Shut up. I love that it came up at a Christmas dinner and that.

[Elena]

He was like, I don't know.

[Ash]

And the wife was like, say sorry. She was like, you just sorry.

[Elena]

I was Fucking dumbstruck, gobsmacked, flabbergasted and other big shocked words. I couldn't fucking believe it. It was you.

[Ash]

Why?

[Elena]

Why did you come here? On how Halloween wearing that mask, H went on to tell me that he and V had made Halloween goodie bags and wanted to give one to me.

[Ash]

And E. I love that. It was like a good. And you were scared for months.

[Elena]

It was so pure. The reason he didn't show up to E's place was because he didn't know which apartment she lived in. My apartment actually used to be V's old place in her alt days. So he was hoping that I would tell him when I answered the door for my treatment. But why that terrifying DIY serial killer face when a witch's hat or Dracula teeth would have gotten his trick or treat intentions across just fine?

[Ash]

Honestly.

[Elena]

Apparently the mask is from one of his favorite movies, a movie called Frank starring Michael Fassbender, who plays our lead singer in a band. And he wears the mask because he gives him the confidence to perform due to his mental health issues.

[Ash]

Oh, that sounds like a piece of. I love, love that.

[Elena]

This is so pictures.

[Ash]

This is iconic, but so scary. This is hilarious.

[Elena]

I don't think I have ever I can ever see that movie because of how much the mask scares the living shit out of it is scary.

[Ash]

They attached a picture, but you know.

[Elena]

What H said it's very moving.

[Ash]

It sounds like it would be.

[Elena]

I attached a picture of the mask from the movie, but H's was handmade which somehow made it more terrifying.

[Ash]

Yeah, that usually does happen.

[Elena]

Apparently H really wanted to participate in Halloween revelation revelry. And now there was were enough Americans to do it. We all had a good laugh about it and honestly, I'm glad we could solve the Halloween mystery. Sorry to pull the spoopy rug from under you ladies, but I hope it gave you some good goosebumps and laughs. Thanks for reading my story and I hope you keep it weird, but not so weird that you make your own paper mache head from an obscure Michael Fassbender film and try to drop off Halloween treats in a country that doesn't really celebrate Halloween, thus scaring the living shit out of you.

[Ash]

Weird.

[Elena]

Oh my God.

[Ash]

Love you. Bye. Also, I don't know if we can zoom, but this is the is the.

[Elena]

Mask and that would fuck me up.

[Ash]

Like, that's so scary.

[Elena]

That would fuck me right up.

[Ash]

Yeah, but I love that.

[Elena]

The fuck up.

[Ash]

Right the fuck up, B.

[Elena]

That was so good.

[Ash]

And picture that homemade.

[Elena]

No B, I would have been shitting.

[Ash]

My pants along with you.

[Elena]

B. I would have died.

[Ash]

I love that. That's like a rock stars mask.

[Elena]

I love it.

[Ash]

He's got to figure out the band ghost. Oh, my God. All right, last one, you guys.

[Elena]

Last one.

[Ash]

Last Listener tale is Listener Tale Halloween, the time my dad attacked my friends and I with a chainsaw.

[Elena]

Oh, yay.

[Ash]

Oh, that's coming. All right. Hey, spooky bachachos. I love. I used to say that all the time. Yes. I gotta bring that back. I've been obsessed with you girls for years, and I have yet to find another podcast and podcasters I love as much as you. Thank you. We have a lot of great network shows. I go back and re listen to multiple episodes. Some because you cover them so well. Some because they are hilarious. Carl. And most because I just love the sound of your voices. My toddler calls you the ghost girls because he hears you talking in the car, but he can't see you. That's adorable.

[Elena]

I love that.

[Ash]

When I discovered your podcast, I came home and told my husband, I have found my spirit besties.

[Elena]

Oh, I love that.

[Ash]

Thank you.

[Elena]

We are so happy.

[Ash]

And I made him listen to multiple episodes. He looked at me and said, well, when are we moving? Because he's supportive like that.

[Elena]

I love him.

[Ash]

I'm very much a mix of the two of you. Ash, Stevie Nicks is also my fairy witchy godmother. And Elena, I too, hate the heat, love all things spooky and haunting and suffer from migraines. Hell, yeah. Hell, yeah. I truly feel like I'm hanging out with you girls when I'm listening to your show, and it fills my social. Social cup. I love that. Thank you, man.

[Elena]

You really are meant to be our bestie.

[Ash]

You are. Because we don't really love. We don't have, like.

[Elena]

My social cup is like a shock.

[Ash]

It's, like, so easy. Yeah. All right, so on to my story. This is a story so many of my friends know or friends of my friends know, and they still talk about it to this day in our old age, as we reminisce about our youthful shenanigans from early high school and even middle school elder Millennial. What?

[Elena]

What?

[Ash]

Younger Millennial. Not Gen Z. No offense, Gen Z. No, still Millennial.

[Elena]

Zillennial. No, like, isn't that what you're technically.

[Ash]

No, it's just Millennial. It's just the younger years. Millennial is made up. That's not a real generation.

[Elena]

Yeah, there you go.

[Ash]

I'm gonna fight You. Before we get into the details, I must give you some backstory on where the morbid scary movie loving terror chasing Halloween devotion comes from in my family. My grandma Marge. Love that Marge. My dad's mom was a huge horror fan and collected pretty much everything she could horror themed. From stickers she'd put in sticker books to cups, and even a Chucky doll that moved on its own.

[Elena]

Okay. Marge is awesome.

[Ash]

Marge forever.

[Elena]

Marge forever.

[Ash]

Yes. I you not. And I have cousins to back me up on this, but that's for another time.

[Elena]

That's awesome.

[Ash]

I saw some horror movies way too young, as did a lot of my family members on my dad's side. He was one of five kids. So it's gotten pretty large with the kids having kids and then those kids having kids. And it has started many traditions. Even though my grandma Marge passed away when I was still pretty young. I'm sorry. My family attributes our love of the spooky spooky to her as it's trickled down our family line. This is what you have to look forward to.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

Side note, after she passed away, I for some reason wanted the Chucky doll. And my dad's response was, well, don't come crying to me if it comes after you in the middle of the night.

[Elena]

Your dad sounds awesome.

[Ash]

Needless to say, that five year old did not take the doll and now sits in my aunt's basement in Atlanta. Now this spooky devotion hasn't stuck with every family member, but most of us share the love of Halloween and all the things that encompass that. Now, to the meat and potatoes and yams. Wink, wink, hush. We're on the yam. Growing up an only child, my dad was like that multiple sibling. My parents always allowed me to have friends over, mainly because it kept me interested, entertained and out of their hair. But I digress. My parents house became a spot that all of my friends knew they could come to over the years. Show up unannounced and just chat. Have spur of the moment play date or sleepover, or even a large gathering of friends.

[Elena]

Oh, your parents are great.

[Ash]

I know. That's awesome. Halloween was always hosted at my house and my parents went all out.

[Elena]

Yes.

[Ash]

Decorations, treats, so many pizzas, snacks, scary movies, hello, blockbuster galore. It was always a blast. We would do haunted hay rides, spooky cave walks, trail of terror, haunted houses. You name it, they took me. And truckloads of my friends too. Oh, I love them. Best parents ever. I can't wait to be a parent like that.

[Elena]

Oh, I Can't wait.

[Ash]

One of these particular Halloween weekends was when I was a freshman in high school. A large group of my friends and I went to see the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre in theaters, followed by multiple movies at my house with all the fixings. We rented, yes, rented the original Texas Chainsaw movies, amongst others, and hunkered down in my parents basement, lights off of course, and got cozy. Now picture it. One of those huge comfy couches and giant chairs that could fit like four people on it and even more people on the floor. And I'm sitting on the end of the couch closest to the wall and tiny window that peeks outside. After a while I thought I heard something outside and asked, did anybody else hear that? Of course they all said no, it was probably just the movie since we were watching a chainsaw movie and I thought I heard a chainsaw.

[Elena]

Duh, that'll do it.

[Ash]

I just shook my head, thought I was hearing things, and kept watching the movie. A few more minutes later, I heard the noise again, but it was very clearly not the movie. And my head snapped to the tiny window above my head, where I could tell it was now pitch black outside, so I couldn't see anything. So I said, seriously, you guys didn't hear that? And they said, no, Adrien, you're dumb and you're trying to scare us. There's nothing there. Third time's the charm. A few more minutes later, I heard this whirring noise again, and this time my best De Elise also heard it. At this point, we paused the movie and all anxiously awaited to hear the sound again. Nothing came. Quick side note, earlier in the evening, my friends and I were talking about the that always happens in scary movies like let's split up or let's hook up or let's go investigate. All the classics, right?

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So my buddy Alex jokingly said, let's go investigate. And we all ran up the stairs that led right out the back door to our driveway and backyard. Keep in mind, there are at least 10 of us, if not more, and Elise and I are the last ones out the door. It's pitch black and incredibly quiet, and we immediately regretted this decision. As they do in the movies, of course. Our backyard was wide open to the other yards, snow fences and the driveway wrapped around the house with lights on the side that were currently off. As Alex and a couple other brave dudes walked slowly around to look down the driveway, slam goes the back door behind me and click goes the lock. Moments later, the lights on the side of the house switch on and in the driveway is a giant 6 foot 4 man with a mask and a chainsaw, slowly hobbling towards us, ready to tear us all apart in the calmest manner.

[Elena]

I'm obsessed with this.

[Ash]

It was as if a small drip of water landed among ants as we all went in different directions. Some screamed and ran through other backyards, some frozen terror. And some of us, like Elise and I, tried to frantically get back in the house, but it was locked.

[Elena]

I love that you discovered in that moment who everyone was in a horror movie. Like, you can now. The debate is done. You know who, like, it's no longer like, oh, you would be the person who does this in the horror movie. Like, nope, you would be the person who runs in the next yard.

[Ash]

I would run into the next yard. That's your best bet. As we were all trying not to pee our pants and vomit the insane amount of junk food we consumed and many of us had dispersed, the man takes the mask off and a giant. And with a giant grin, my dad starts laughing hysterically.

[Elena]

Your dad forever. Your dad.

[Ash]

I'm obsessed.

[Elena]

I love him.

[Ash]

My heart starts to slow a smidge as my mother unlocks the back door and is also laughing hysterically. Both very, very proud that their plan was so successful.

[Elena]

As they should be.

[Ash]

Your parents forever elite, that is couple.

[Elena]

Goals, that is top notch marriage, top notch parenting, as far as I'm concerned.

[Ash]

So obsessed with that.

[Elena]

Wow. My brother did this to your ex boyfriend's boyfriend after watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre, actually.

[Ash]

Incredible.

[Elena]

Yeah.

[Ash]

It took a bit for all my friends to gather back up at my house. As you can imagine, one of the guys lived on the block behind me, so he literally just went home. He ran home to resume our evening. But it was safe to say my dad set a precedent that night. And it was one that none of us have ever forgotten. My dad known as Big. My dad known as Big Wave. Around town, it's always someone people remember and recognize. And this just solidified his legacy. Now that I have kids of my own, I have some goals to reach. And at some point, I have to top this.

[Elena]

You got to.

[Ash]

I'm still friends with several of the people from that night, and we all like to talk about it and tell the story to relive the trauma of my dad scaring us shitless. To this day, even those that weren't there know this story and now know who Big Wave is.

[Elena]

Big Wave for Wave. Big fucking life.

[Ash]

Big Wave. Big Wave. Big Wave. Anyways, that's my tale. I hope you enjoyed it. We did.

[Elena]

We did.

[Ash]

And I hope Big Wave gave you something new to aspire to. Love you, witches.

[Elena]

Big Wave, oh my God, is my new goalpost.

[Ash]

Big Wave. Big Wave, honey. Five ever.

[Elena]

Big Wave for life.

[Ash]

Big Wave, guys, those were awesome. Oh, my God. That was so much fun.

[Elena]

What a beautiful mix of terrifying, hilarious, and so touching. I'm so glad that we got to get all dressed up up and hang out with you guys and we're definitely gonna do this again because this is just too fun. It's too fun to read these tales.

[Ash]

I love this. As other people, I'm already thinking about what I'm gonna.

[Elena]

Me too. I'm already thinking about it. So hopefully this is the beginning of something fun. And we hope you guys liked it.

[Ash]

And we hope you keep listening and.

[Elena]

We hope you keep it weird, but.

[Ash]

Not so weird that you don't throw ass with the shadow man, because why wouldn't you throw ass with the shadow man? Not so weird that actually do keep it so weird that you have a ghostly ex boyfriend who like talks to you through a New Orleans psychic because that was the most beautiful thing I think I've ever heard in my life. Don't keep it so weird that you show up to somebody's door with a paper mache mask on to give the. Keep it so weird. They're gonna give them a treat. But like, don't keep it so weird that you don't tell them who you are because that was so scary. Keep it so weird. Don't ever keep it so weird that you're following little girls on on Halloween night and trying to scare them that I'll kill you. And always keep it so weird that you're on Big Wave's level. Never ever sink below Big Wave's level.

[Elena]

Big Wave. Big Wave. Big Wave.

[Ash]

Big Wave.

[Elena]

Happy Halloween. We love you.

[Ash]

I hope, I hope that was caught on film. We gotta start the episode like that. Did you just hear her stomach? It literally. Yes. Sounded like a lava lamp. The fuck? 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 [e-mail] survey.

[C]

Hotshot Australian Attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty, her specialty representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals. However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own.

[Ash]

She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all.

[C]

I'm Marcia Clark, host of the new podcast Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list.

[Elena]

She was addicted to the game she had created.

[Ash]

She just didn't know how to stop.

[C]

Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informants Lawyer X exclusively on Wondry. Join Wondry in the Wondry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and listen to more. Exhibit C True Crime Shows early and ad free right now.