Listener Tales 94

Summary

Morbid Podcast Episode 641: Listener Tales 94 – Detailed Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Morbid
• Host/Author: Morbid Network | Wondery
• Description: A true crime, creepy history, and all things spooky podcast hosted by an autopsy technician and a hairstylist. Expect a heavy dose of research infused with comedic elements.
• Episode: Episode 641: Listener Tales 94
• Release Date: January 30, 2025

---

1. Introduction and Lighthearted Banter

The episode kicks off with hosts Ash and Alaina engaging in their signature humorous and quirky banter. They discuss various light topics, reflecting their unique chemistry and setting a relaxed tone for the episode.

• Ash (01:00): "We are ourselves again, honey."
• Alaina (01:24): "I don't know why we went there, but it felt right."

2. Reflections on TikTok and Creator Concerns

Ash and Alaina delve into the transient nature of platforms like TikTok, pondering its potential decline and the impact on creators who rely on it for their livelihood.

• Alaina (01:38): "There's this comedian on there, her name is Carissa... her whole act is she's like this something Darling is her name."
• Ash (02:37): "I feel bad for creators who have made a living on there."

They express empathy towards creators who might be adversely affected if TikTok were to disappear, highlighting the emotional and financial reliance on such platforms.

3. Introduction to Upcoming Segment: UFO Encounters

Hosts briefly promote an upcoming segment featuring a new podcast, "Encounters," which explores unresolved UFO mysteries.

• Ash (20:18): "Encounters takes a deep dive into one of the most famous and still unresolved UFO encounters..."
• Alaina (21:03): "Are we alone?"

This teaser builds anticipation for listeners interested in extraterrestrial phenomena and mysterious encounters.

4. Listener Tale: "Was My Dog Possessed?" by Natalie

a. Background and Personal Anecdotes

Galloping into the main content, Ash reads a submission from a listener named Natalie, recounting her eerie experiences that suggest her dog might have been possessed.

• Ash (24:37): "This is a terrifying yet interesting experience... Was my dog possessed?"
• Alaina (24:11): "The theme is fur babies."

Natalie shares multiple instances where her dog exhibited unnatural behaviors, leading her to question if supernatural forces were at play.

b. Detailed Storytelling

Natalie narrates her time in New Orleans, the haunted French Quarter, and a harrowing night where her dog behaved aggressively, seemingly influenced by unseen forces.

• Ash (35:18): "She was howling like I've never seen a dog howl before... I feared that she would hit the glass with such force..."
• Alaina (36:09): "Was my dog possessed? Could she see the dead or is she just a nutty Dalmatian?"

The tale crescendos with the dog’s extreme agitation and the emotional turmoil it caused Natalie, leaving lingering questions about the true nature of her pet's behavior.

5. Listener Tale: "Creepy Doll Listener Tale" by Angelica

a. Discovery of Haunted Dolls

Angelica recounts her father's unsettling discovery of creepy dolls hidden within the walls of a demolished house, setting the stage for a spine-chilling narrative.

• Alaina (50:05): "I don't like these at all. Holy."
• Ash (52:35): "I think it's practical joke. That's a pretty intense practice."

The dolls, meticulously crafted and zip-tied within a plexiglass case, evoke a sense of dread and mystery about their origins and purpose.

b. Supernatural Implications

Angelica speculates on the possibility of the dolls being haunted or possessing malevolent intentions, exacerbating the eerie atmosphere surrounding their discovery.

• Alaina (52:21): "James and the giant peach is a real doll."
• Ash (53:27): "Putting something in a wall is tough, though."

She ponders whether the original owner tried to contain supernatural entities or if the dolls possess an inherent malevolence, leaving their true nature ambiguous.

6. Listener Tale: "Predicting Death is My Sixth Sense" by Millie

a. Premonitions and Tragic Events

Millie shares a deeply personal and haunting story of her ability to predict deaths, recounting multiple instances where her intuitions preceded tragic outcomes.

• Ash (61:00): "This is about a few yet far too many times that I have predicted death."
• Alaina (61:24): "She shout, oh, my God, I love him."

From foreseeing the death of her uncle to the mysterious demise of her friend Fred during a cliff-jumping incident, Millie grapples with the burden of her prophetic abilities.

b. Emotional Aftermath and Seeking Answers

Millie discusses the emotional impact of these experiences, including feelings of guilt, helplessness, and the quest for understanding her supernatural gift.

• Ash (72:03): "These first three death predictions would soon prove themselves to be the easiest that I would have to encounter."
• Alaina (75:47): "That's awful."

She eventually seeks validation from a medium, which offers some solace, yet the scars of her predictions linger, casting a shadow over her life.

7. Hosts’ Personal Reflections and Interactions

Throughout the episode, Ash and Alaina interject personal stories and reflections, weaving their own experiences with the listener tales to create a rich narrative tapestry.

• Alaina (28:46): "Ruby, I love him."
• Ash (37:00): "I'm adding a better pick of Dita von Fleas and some more of my dogs..."

Their camaraderie and mutual support shine through, offering listeners a glimpse into their lives and the bond they share.

8. Promotion of New Shows and Future Content

As the episode nears its end, the hosts promote upcoming shows and projects, inviting listeners to continue their spooky journey with them.

• Alaina (41:34): "We're going to keep it like this."
• Ash (42:06): "We'll be diving headfirst into the lives of the world's kings, queens, and all the wannabes in their orbit throughout history."

These promotions underscore the podcast’s dedication to exploring macabre and mysterious subjects, promising more enthralling content in future episodes.

9. Conclusion and Final Remarks

The episode wraps up with heartfelt thanks to listeners, encouragement to keep embracing the weird, and a humorous nod to the ongoing adventures of Ash and Alaina.

• Alaina (80:18): "This was amazing."
• Ash (81:18): "Keep it weird, but maybe not this weird..."

Their closing remarks reinforce the podcast's balance of horror, history, and humor, leaving listeners eagerly anticipating the next installment.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Ash (35:18): "She was howling like I've never seen a dog howl before... I feared that she would hit the glass with such force..."
• Alaina (50:05): "I don't like these at all. Holy."
• Ash (24:37): "Was my dog possessed?"
• Alaina (36:09): "Was my dog possessed? Could she see the dead or is she just a nutty Dalmatian?"

---

Key Takeaways:

• Engaging Storytelling: The episode masterfully blends listener tales with the hosts' personal anecdotes, creating an immersive and relatable experience.
• Emotional Depth: Listener submissions like Natalie's and Millie's stories delve into profound emotional and supernatural themes, resonating deeply with the audience.
• Humor Amidst Horror: Ash and Alaina adeptly infuse humor into even the darkest stories, maintaining a lighthearted atmosphere without diminishing the gravity of the tales.
• Community Connection: The inclusion of listener stories fosters a sense of community and shared experience, encouraging audience engagement and loyalty.
• Future Prospects: Promotions of new shows hint at the expansive content horizon of the podcast, ensuring continued listener interest.

---

Conclusion:

Episode 641 of "Morbid" successfully encapsulates the essence of true crime and spooky storytelling, enhanced by the hosts' unique personalities and the compelling listener submissions. Through a balanced mix of horror, history, and humor, Ash and Alaina continue to captivate their audience, promising more intriguing and chilling narratives in the episodes to come.

Transcript

[Ash]

Hey, weirdos, it's Ash. Before we dive into today's twisted tale, let me tell you about the spooky perks of Wondery. It's like having a skeleton key that unlocks ad free listening and early access to new episodes. So don't wait. Try Wondery today. You can join Wondery plus in the Wondery app or in Apple podcasts or Spotify. You're listening to a morbid network podcast. There's a lot in life that feels like it should be guaranteed, but it just isn't. Things like your friends being on their way when they text you omw. Or getting out the same number of socks from the dryer that you put in. AT&T is introducing a new guarantee, the AT&T guarantee. Because there's a lot in life that's not guaranteed. The AT&T guarantee means connectivity you can depend on, deals you want and service you deserve, or they'll make it right. Visit att.com guaranty to learn more. AT&T connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.comguarantee for details.

[Alaina]

Hey, weirdos. I'm Alaina. I'm Ash and this is Marvin.

[Ash]

It's Marvin. We're ourselves again, honey.

[Alaina]

I don't know why we went there.

[Ash]

But it felt right.

[Alaina]

We tried a transatlantic thing. I think almost it's like when we.

[Ash]

Did the Bob Haired Bandit and I tried so hard to be transatlanticism and I just wasn't transatlanticism, you know, Death Cab for Cutie. We did a whole thing.

[Alaina]

Yeah. You know what? There's a before TikTok goes away. We might as well start with just nonsense. Insert a before TikTok goes away. There's this comedian on there, her name is Carissa. And I want to find her real. Her full name Carissa. She. She. Her whole act is she's like this something Darling is her name. And she does this like she does crowd work in a transatlantic accent in full, like, gown. And she's just like, what's your name, darling? Like, it's just like that was really. That's. And she does the whole act like that.

[Ash]

That was.

[Alaina]

And she's hilarious. So. So, Chris, go find her.

[Ash]

Go find her and find out where she goes.

[Alaina]

I'm gonna find her on there while we continue because. So I can shout her out.

[Ash]

I'm convinced that Tick Tock's going anywhere. I don't think anybody really is, but. And if it is, like, I'll be like a little bit sad for probably like two days and then I'll be Like, wow, look at all this stuff I completed in my free time. Yeah, right. It eats up a lot of my time.

[Alaina]

It's true. So I don't think it's that bad of a thing in that ca. In that scenario, but.

[Ash]

No, but I do feel bad for, like, creators who have made, like a living on there.

[Alaina]

Well, that's the thing. It's been around for how many years? And it's like, when you've made a living off of this, it's like your actual job. Yeah.

[Ash]

Like our girl Isabelle.

[Alaina]

Oh, our girl Isabelle.

[Ash]

Well, I don't know what I'm gonna do without Isabelle.

[Alaina]

Isabelle. Annel. Annelie Tyler. Michaela.

[Ash]

What am I going to do when I can't go to Pato?

[Alaina]

We got the.

[Ash]

I'm going to be so sad when I can't go to Pateau.

[Alaina]

It's Carissa Hendricks, by the way. Karissa Hendrick.

[Ash]

Let me see.

[Alaina]

Go find her.

[Ash]

And she just.

[Alaina]

She just like, roasts people, like in the. But. But in like the most classy way.

[Ash]

That's my dream job.

[Alaina]

I love her.

[Ash]

We kind of do that, actually.

[Alaina]

She's really funny. So just go find her anywhere. I don't know.

[Ash]

Find that girl.

[Alaina]

Find that girl. Karissa Hendricks. But yeah, I don't know. We just went with a twenties theme today.

[Ash]

Yeah. It just kind of. I don't even know whose idea this was. Maybe it was Mike. Mikey, was this your idea? You mentioned it during. Boom. There it is.

[Alaina]

There it is.

[Ash]

Speaking of, like actual regular episodes. This is an actual episode, but it's Listener Tales. So we are going to put out Rodney Part 2, Rodney Alcala Part 2 on Monday. If you're watching this, it's probably like Thursday or like this came out on a Thursday. So we just wanted to have like a little breather after part one.

[Alaina]

Quick little palate cleanser.

[Ash]

Yeah. We're gonna get into some gnarly in parts two and three. So this is like your little send off into that, which is nice. Yeah. Yeah, we love it. Yeah. I picked the tales today. They are. There's like sort of a theme, I guess.

[Alaina]

I feel like there's a theme, but without a theme.

[Ash]

Yeah. I do think I looked for, like, I. I searched the word Gatsby, I searched the creepy doll and speakeasy.

[Alaina]

I like that.

[Ash]

Yeah. All things that, you know, felt like.

[Alaina]

They all make the time and even if they're not, it makes sense.

[Ash]

Yeah. Also, I want to wear these gloves every day.

[Alaina]

As you should. Also, I had something really cool happen before this and I'm having trouble concentrating and I can't say what it is yet. But it's awesome.

[Ash]

It is. It's really cool.

[Alaina]

I just had the same app.

[Ash]

We can't say too much because I feel I give things away so easily, like, with my face. And like, even like one. I'll say one thing and people are like, I know exactly what you're saying. And I'm like, I was really trying to be. Just trying to be undercover there.

[Alaina]

Try to be coy.

[Ash]

I could never be a narc.

[Alaina]

No.

[Ash]

Or, well, I guess maybe. Maybe I'd be a good narc.

[Alaina]

You just wouldn't be a good undercover. Like, you couldn't be like an informant.

[Ash]

No, no. Oh, my God.

[Alaina]

No. I think about that all.

[Ash]

Like we. No, I think about that a lot. I think about that a lot. When we do, like, cases where somebody wears a W. I'm like, I could never. First of all, like, my IBS can. I would just shit myself instantly.

[Alaina]

My IBS could never.

[Ash]

My IBS could not handle that. And neither could my delicate psyche because we're. We're one step away from a full break.

[Alaina]

I just laugh anytime I'm feeling any type of way, I start laughing or smiling. So I'd be so shitty.

[Ash]

Remember the time that I was. I won't say who it is, but remember the time we had to go to a few funeral together and we.

[Alaina]

Couldn'T stop laughing because I just can't handle emotions.

[Ash]

No, nothing was funny. Actually. Very sad. But we were sat together in a church pew, if you can picture that. And we just couldn't stop laughing.

[Alaina]

We couldn't.

[Ash]

And my grandpa gave a eulogy and it was so Boston true. It was super boss, great guy, you know?

[Alaina]

Great guy.

[Ash]

We were like, oh, God, the greatest again, you know, I freaking loved that guy.

[Alaina]

But yeah, I can't anytime to process an emotion, I laugh or smile.

[Ash]

Yeah, I do that.

[Alaina]

It's really. And I. I often have to say, I'm not finding this funny. I'm. I am upset. Like, I have to tell people.

[Ash]

Like, I'm.

[Alaina]

I'm upset. I promise.

[Ash]

Yeah, that's your tism too.

[Alaina]

It is. It's very much. It's part of that. And so I don't. It's just. So this is the only way I know how to process anything. So I'm just gonna like maniacally laugh for.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alaina]

Which. This is a good thing.

[Ash]

Yeah, it makes sense. Do you want to go first? Do you think that will be helpful or do you want to go first? Okay, that sounds good.

[Alaina]

Dive in, because I'm so happy.

[Ash]

Oh, gee. Morbid. She's about to dive in, everybody.

[Alaina]

There it is. Oh, that was really good, Alicia. That was good. Is she here? Alert. This is a good. We need, like, a little, like, seance table in front of us, which I feel like we're dressed for.

[Ash]

Oh, yeah, you're.

[Alaina]

You're table tipping.

[Ash]

I feel like something about the green is giving. Very Madame Leota.

[Alaina]

Oh, I love that.

[Ash]

Is it Leona or Leota?

[Alaina]

It's whatever you wanted it to be.

[Ash]

Thank you.

[Alaina]

This is your show. It can be what you want.

[Ash]

Trixie and Katya say, and not yours.

[Alaina]

Exactly. So you can make it whatever you want.

[Ash]

I wish we took that tagline.

[Alaina]

I know.

[Ash]

Like, I wish we thought of it.

[Alaina]

That's a great tag. Like, I wish we stole that.

[Ash]

I wish we could steal it. No, I love them.

[Alaina]

So should I do the time a ghost shoved peaches up my nose?

[Ash]

Yeah, that one's really funny, actually.

[Alaina]

Just nose. I said nosed. I'm not really sure.

[Ash]

I didn't even hear that you said nose. You say whatever you want to say.

[Alaina]

I will, because it's my show, not worse.

[Ash]

Just kidding.

[Alaina]

All right, so let's. Let's get to this. All right. Hi there, spooky gals. Hi, my name is Jesse. Okay. I was making sure I could use it. I can use it. I don't mind if you use it. I appreciate you ladies and whatnot. I would say all the mushy stuff, but I'm not good at that.

[Ash]

Neither is this one.

[Alaina]

Me neither.

[Ash]

I'm the mushiest, bushiest, so I'll just say you love us. You love us, we love you.

[Alaina]

In fact, I had to say something really mushy to John the other night.

[Ash]

You did.

[Alaina]

I had, like, a moment. You know how you get that moment.

[Ash]

Of feeling, like, overwhelmingly appreciative?

[Alaina]

Yeah. Like, you're just like, wow, you're so lovely.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

And I get to hang with you forever.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

And so I had all these, like, weird, like, emotions about it, and he happened to be upstairs doing something, so I texted him, and I literally said, I don't know how to do this in person, so deal with it. And he was like. That first part of the text had me dumb.

[Ash]

So 18 years into marriage, I don't really know how to tell you how much I love you.

[Alaina]

So deal with it. So deal with it. I'm gonna text it to you. But he was like. He literally was like, I'm dying.

[Ash]

You're unreal. Sorry. I had a piece of hair and like just like one piece of hair.

[Alaina]

Oh, that happens to me a lot.

[Ash]

There it is. I got it. So I just didn't want you to yell at me for touching my face.

[Alaina]

No, don't worry, it's cool. So it says insert bunches of mush here. Lol. Honestly, that's essentially what I did to John.

[Ash]

I love that you.

[Alaina]

You guys are the best and get what I mean. I do. I love you. I appreciate you. I respect you. I previously sent this tale in, but after rereading it due to my bff Alyssa. You can use her name. Thank you. Because I used it. Loves morbid, by the way. Thank you, Alyssa. Alyssa told me I severely spelled ottoman wrong.

[Ash]

I mean, that happens.

[Alaina]

I would have done that too.

[Ash]

I don't spell things correct.

[Alaina]

I realized that in an effort to stay on topic and not get distracted a million times. Like I tend to do that. My tail was pretty. Was actually pretty short and needed more zest.

[Ash]

Oh, I love zest.

[Alaina]

We love zest dabbling. We're going for the zest Zeste Zest. However, if you want a quick one, then feel free to use the original version. I'm not picky. I want this one.

[Ash]

Yeehaw.

[Alaina]

Let's get into it. I'm from Florida, hence my yee haw. I was wondering.

[Ash]

Yee haw.

[Alaina]

Anywho, I'm a full time dog nanny. That's awesome.

[Ash]

Another dream job that I could great.

[Alaina]

That I could handle. Yeah, I could do that.

[Ash]

My IBS could definitely take that.

[Alaina]

And they said yes. You could call it a pet sitter, but dog nanny sounds way cooler.

[Ash]

I like dog nanny.

[Alaina]

I agree. Dog nanny.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

A nanny for dogs.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

For context, back in the day I used to groom dogs full time and give them snazzy haircuts. Shout out to ash. I know it's not the same, but still, we were both some sort of hairstylist.

[Ash]

It's also probably better because dogs can't talk. Yeah.

[Alaina]

And you got to make those dogs look fresh so it makes sense.

[Ash]

One thing I'm going to miss about Tik Tok is watching dog grooming videos. Yes. When they make them look like little teddy bears. Little teddy bears, little teddy bears. And they put the little bows on. I love that.

[Alaina]

Back then I didn't dog nanny much since I was focused on being a dog barber. But there was a dogs that I have always made time to nanny for. And I have claimed the dogs as my own since then.

[Ash]

I would do that too.

[Alaina]

I Visit them three to five times a week. I'd like to think if the doggies were to become parentless for whatever reason, that they would come live with me over anyone else in the family. I love how dark that thought is.

[Ash]

If their entire family died, I feel like I would get custody of them.

[Alaina]

I feel like if for some reason their parents just weren't here anymore, that I would get those dogs if they.

[Ash]

Just like vanished off the entire earth.

[Alaina]

I love your mind.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's good.

[Alaina]

I've had dogs written to me in people's wills.

[Ash]

That's like high praise.

[Alaina]

That's the highest of praise.

[Ash]

Like, truly, are you leaving me your dogs?

[Alaina]

Damn.

[Ash]

You gotta.

[Alaina]

I mean, I trust you with them for sure, but I wouldn't want to disrupt your cats because I care about those cats.

[Ash]

Yeah. Thank you. I care about those dogs. We'll figure it out.

[Alaina]

We'll figure it out off camera.

[Ash]

Cool. She's not going anywhere. Yeah.

[Alaina]

You know, let's hope they stay alive because while I want all the dogs in the world, I already have two amazing fur babies of my own. And if I end up with more, I may need to get a bigger house.

[Ash]

Yeah. Well.

[Alaina]

Alrighty. For the first few years, the family mentioned above lived in a beautiful, safe, feeling house. Well, not anymore. Last year they moved. The pet parent, as I like to call it, had mentioned that her mother, who previously owned the home, left behind some antique items such as vintage mirrors, figurines, and the scariest dolls you have ever seen all throughout the house. Plus, the house is covered in old timey wallpaper, which isn't super relevant other than the spooky ooky vibes I love.

[Ash]

Which isn't super relevant, but spooky ooky. I love like vintage Y wallpaper.

[Alaina]

In fact, me too.

[Ash]

There's a wallpaper man at my house right now. Figuring out how much wallpaper I need.

[Alaina]

To order, which is really badass.

[Ash]

I'm so excited.

[Alaina]

It makes me want to watch.

[Ash]

I'm ordering so much wallpaper.

[Alaina]

I love that. Flash forward to the first time I had a slumber party with the dogs there. There was a double closet in the room I was staying in. I was hearing sounds from one side of the closet throughout the night. Kind of like a tapping or soft banging noise. No, I'm a scaredy cat in general, so this was a huge nope for me. I opened that side of the closet only to find creepy dolls in rocking chairs. Specifically doll sized rocking chairs.

[Ash]

You said in rocking chairs or and rocking chairs.

[Alaina]

In rocking chairs.

[Ash]

I Just pictured, like, dolls on one side, multiple rocking chairs on the other.

[Alaina]

And these are dolls in the rock in their doll sized rocking chairs. Just tiny rocking chairs.

[Ash]

Ready? I'm gonna look at every camera and say, no, no, no, no. That's not even my camera. But I'm gonna look at it and say, no.

[Alaina]

Not up in here.

[Ash]

No. It reminds me of Ma. I love that. I love that. But at home in one of our hallways, Ma had. I'm not your dicks, guys. She had three, like, big, like, three. Three story cases.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Of dolls. Yeah. And let me tell you, when you're, like, sneaking home at night after, like, a little. The dolls, you sneak home at night fully. So you walk up the stairs in the daytime at that house, fully sober, they're gonna eat you.

[Alaina]

The dolls.

[Ash]

They're coming at you. They're staring at you. Oh. And I had to walk past every case to get to my room.

[Alaina]

Room. I think that's why. So obviously I grew up in that house and I grew up with those dolls.

[Ash]

Yeah, that's your mom.

[Alaina]

I am not freaked out by dolls. And I think it's because I spent my entire formative years being exposed to those dolls. Being in my life at all times.

[Ash]

I spent a lot of time being exposed to those dolls, too. And I, I don't know, hate them.

[Alaina]

I mean, I don't know what it is because I think I'm just so used to them. I was used to her getting dolls for different, like, holidays. I think there's a puppy crying.

[Ash]

There is a puppy crying.

[Alaina]

She wants to say hello.

[Ash]

She said, you're talking about doggies and I'm a dog. Hello.

[Alaina]

That's definitely a Blanche.

[Ash]

That's definitely. She said, I like the 1920s.

[Alaina]

My name's Blanche.

[Ash]

Can I wear a dress?

[Alaina]

But yeah, I know. I'm not freaked out by dolls. Like, dolls don't freak me out. In general. Like, obviously a scary doll, like a Annabelle or something like that is going to give me, like, the willies. But, like, yeah, dolls in general. I'm just kind of like, okay, the.

[Ash]

Word doll is losing all meaning. Doll. Doll. Now I'm just thinking rural doll.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

But, yeah, I don't like dolls.

[Alaina]

What a journey that went on.

[Ash]

That's the inside of my brain for you.

[Alaina]

Now I'm thinking, roll doll. And you know what? James and the giant peach. Peaches.

[Ash]

Peaches.

[Alaina]

But the giant peaches. Roald.

[Ash]

All right.

[Alaina]

Is.

[Ash]

Yeah. Oh, I thought you said James and the giant peach is a real doll. Right. And I said, no, did you see? Did you see the math going on? Yeah, it's real doll.

[Alaina]

Yeah, we're here.

[Ash]

Yeah, it is. We're here.

[Alaina]

We're here with you.

[Ash]

We're here.

[Alaina]

We're getting back into the story. Yeah, it connects. It connects with Peaches here.

[Ash]

At first, though, again, I misunderstood you. We're not getting back into it. I thought you said roll call.

[Alaina]

Roll call.

[Ash]

Mikey.

[Alaina]

Present. Still Big Red.

[Ash]

Yes. All right, here we are.

[Alaina]

After that, the closet kept opening by itself overnight. I would go to sleep, only to wake up with it being open and seeing the creepy dolls staring into my mother freaking soul. My sister, who doesn't believe in ghosts, told me to compliment the dolls and ask them to chill, which I think.

[Ash]

She believes in ghosts.

[Alaina]

Then she does, because she's like, you better make friends with them, she said.

[Ash]

Be nice to them so they don't.

[Alaina]

Eat your soul, she said, which I did. I told them they were very pretty but were freaking me out. Not sure if it helped, though, or if you're supposed to talk to spooky dolls in general.

[Ash]

Oops.

[Alaina]

After this, it went on for days, to the point that I needed my boyfriend, a complete skeptic, to come stay with me out of fear. He didn't believe any of it. The closet had those accordion type doors that scrunch open. He put an ottoman. Or ottoman.

[Ash]

I like that.

[Alaina]

Whatever one.

[Ash]

However you spell it.

[Alaina]

Foot rest thingy. I sure don't know how to spell it and still can't figure it out. Alyssa thought I was trying to spell abdomen optimum.

[Ash]

That's what I thought when I first read this tale. I think it's Ottoman. That's what I thought because I think it's Ottoman.

[Alaina]

Or is that like Ottoman Empire?

[Ash]

Who's that? That's like, the fuck is whose empire?

[Alaina]

It's a time period.

[Ash]

Oh, which one?

[Alaina]

The Ottoman Empire.

[Ash]

When was that?

[Alaina]

I can't tell you. I will. I will claim ignorance. I don't know what time period it was. There's also a Vampire Weekend song that played at our wedding called Ottoman.

[Ash]

I like that song.

[Alaina]

It was our cake cutting song.

[Ash]

It was. Mine was.

[Alaina]

Oh, finish.

[Ash]

Sorry, I.

[Alaina]

No, you go ahead.

[Ash]

Mine was, I want to be loved by you. Just you and nobody else. Up to you. I feel like we're unhinged today.

[Alaina]

We are. I am feeling like I am in orbit right now.

[Ash]

Technically, I think. Aren't we all in orb?

[Alaina]

We are. Sober as a judge, as always. And I am in orbit. Orbit.

[Ash]

Yeah, yeah. Orbit or beat?

[Alaina]

I'm in space.

[Ash]

Oh, the Auto.

[Alaina]

Ottoman Empire.

[Ash]

Oh, I thought you said. No, no, I did think you said Empire.

[Alaina]

It.

[Ash]

Yeah, I did, actually. It was insane. Oh. The Ottoman Empire was an absolute and constitutional monarchy that ruled over a large area of. Oh, I remember.

[Alaina]

It's in like the very low numbers.

[Ash]

Yeah, the 14. Well, the 14th century to the early 20th century, though I don't know a lot about it.

[Alaina]

I will not claim to.

[Ash]

It's also known as the Turkish Empire. I've heard of that.

[Alaina]

There you go. Okay. You know. All right. So he put an Ottoman, not the empire, but the footrest thingy, in front of the closet so I would feel safe and would know that the closet wouldn't be able to open.

[Ash]

Well, there you go.

[Alaina]

Joke's on him. Because the next morning, the other side of the closet was open. He asked if I had done it, to which I said, no, no, no, no boyfriend. No, sir. I told you this place was spooky.

[Ash]

It's spooky.

[Alaina]

My goodness. Honestly, I'm glad he got spooked out because now he believes me. After that, I hadn't stayed in the house until a month ago. This time, I was offered to stay in a different bedroom, to which I gladly accepted.

[Ash]

Yes, please.

[Alaina]

There were no creepy dolls, but a few odd things. There was an exterior house light right outside the window that would turn on and off throughout the night. I figured it was a sensor issue, or at least that's what I tried to convince myself. The bathroom would randomly make weird noises. Like weird gurgle noises that sounded like they were coming from the ceiling.

[Ash]

That's the ghost of me just gurgling.

[Alaina]

Up in the ceiling. Yes, that was me a second ago.

[Ash]

Yeah. Did you guys hear that? My stomach was like, we gotta, like. I don't even know if we'll need to. But we need to see if we can like, amplify because I'm hungry.

[Alaina]

Me too. Maybe just another house issue. The flipping wall made weird banging noises off and on too. But I had to pretend it was all just a coincidence anyways because, duh, it's better to avoid problems.

[Ash]

It really is.

[Alaina]

But then throughout the. And only at nighttime, I would get an aggressive smell of peach in my nose.

[Ash]

That's nice.

[Alaina]

That is really nice.

[Ash]

At first I. When I was reading it, I thought you were going to say pee.

[Alaina]

Just. Yeah, pee wouldn't be great. Like urine.

[Ash]

Urine.

[Alaina]

Urine. But peaches.

[Ash]

Peaches.

[Alaina]

I'll to it. Yeah, not like an aroma in the room, but like all the way up my nose. How rude.

[Ash]

That is a little bit rude.

[Alaina]

It was as if somebody actually shoved an entire ripe peach up my nostril. No thanks Ghosty.

[Ash]

Maybe the dogs were farting and whoever in the afterlife felt bad and they were like, you shouldn't smell bad because you're so sweet and you take care of these dogs.

[Alaina]

They said, here's some peaches.

[Ash]

Take some peaches.

[Alaina]

Millions of peaches. Peaches for free.

[Ash]

Up in your nose UFO lands in Suffolk and that's official, said the News of the World.

[Alaina]

But what really happened across two nights in December 19, 1980 when US servicemen saw mysterious lights in the forest near.

[Ash]

RAF Woodbridge and claimed to have had.

[Alaina]

A close encounter with an actual craft?

[Ash]

Encounters, a new podcast available exclusively on Wondery plus, takes a deep dive into.

[Alaina]

One of the most famous and still.

[Ash]

Unresolved UFO encounters to ever take place in the uk.

[Alaina]

Featuring shocking testimony from first hand witnesses.

[Ash]

Hosts journalist, podcaster and UFO researcher Andy McVillan that's me, and producer L. Scott.

[Alaina]

Take us back to the nights in.

[Ash]

Question and examine all of the evidence and conflicting theories about what was encountered in the middle of a Snowy Suffolk Forest 40 years ago. Are we alone?

[Alaina]

Encounters is a podcast which is going to find out.

[Ash]

Listen to Encounters exclusively and ad free on Wondry plus. Join Wondry plus in the Wondry app or in Apple Podcasts A few miles.

[Alaina]

From the glass spires of midtown Atlanta lies the south river forest. In 2021 and 2022, the woods became a home to activists from all over the country who gathered to stop the nearby construction of a massive new police training facility nicknamed Cop city. At approximately 9:00 this morning, as law enforcement was moving through various sectors of the property, an individual, without warning shot a Georgia State Patrol trooper. This is We Came to the Forest, a story about resistance. The abolitionist mission isn't done until every prison is empty and shut down. Love and fellowship. It was probably the happiest I've ever been in my life and the lengths will go to protect the things we hold closest to our hearts. Follow We Came to the Forest on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts, you can binge all episodes of we can Came to the Forest early and ad free right now by joining Wondery. I searched for outlets with air fresheners and didn't find anything. It kept occurring the whole stay, only at random, creepy times at night. At this point, I decided there was only one logical option. I had to accept that the ghost really wanted me to know that they smelt good. Because what else am I going to do? Yeah I'm stuck here for two weeks. Yeah, I told the ghosty that I was just there to take care of the pups and asked it to chillax a little so that we could be, you know, buddies.

[Ash]

Fair.

[Alaina]

Not sure that helped either. Since those occurrences kept happening over the two weeks, it's safe to say that I was a little bit sleep deprived, but Peach Ghosty never harmed me. So we're on good terms now.

[Ash]

Yeah, I would say so.

[Alaina]

Anyways, I've avoided the creepy dolls at all costs since, like I said, I befriended my Peachy ghost friend. Maybe I'm spending another week at the house now, so maybe I'll have more ghostly encounters. Keep it weird, but not so weird that ghosts shove very fragrant peaches up your nose, attaching pictures of the cute puppies just for fun below, as well as scary dolls. Also, going to add my personal fur babies, because I love them so, so, so much. I could just melt. Thanks for everything. You guys really are the best.

[Ash]

So are you.

[Alaina]

I love you.

[Ash]

Ugh.

[Alaina]

Those are scary.

[Ash]

The dolls.

[Alaina]

Also, that scary ship captain doll is a little, little much. Oh, you're Pupperton.

[Ash]

Wait, I need to look at this.

[Alaina]

Look at them.

[Ash]

Oh, the one of them is literally smiling. Shut up.

[Alaina]

Them. Oh, God, I love Pepperton.

[Ash]

Wait, I want to see the cat. What the.

[Alaina]

I love Puppertons. Oh, yeah. I don't like the captain. It's like a ship captain statue.

[Ash]

Yeah, I don't know about that.

[Alaina]

Jesse, I love it. I love you. I love Alyssa. I love ottomans.

[Ash]

I love it all. Look at this.

[Alaina]

We're in orbit.

[Ash]

All right, we're in orbit. She's not okay.

[Alaina]

I'm not okay.

[Ash]

I'm gonna read Listener Tale. Was my dog possessed?

[Alaina]

Yes.

[Ash]

Maybe the theme is dogs.

[Alaina]

The answer is yes. The theme is fur babies.

[Ash]

I literally picked this listener tale because you are so gorge, and so is your partner, and so are your dogs. I showed it to you already.

[Alaina]

Oh, that picture. Yeah. That's literally.

[Ash]

I was like, wow.

[Alaina]

And I was like, pick that.

[Ash]

And then I said, I want to look like you in my next life.

[Alaina]

It's true. She did.

[Ash]

All right, so this listener tale, I think I can say your name. It says it's Hot Mess Pooches, and it says, hey, ladies. I love y'all.

[Alaina]

I love you.

[Ash]

This is long as some of it's ADHD ramble, but. Oh, well.

[Alaina]

Cool.

[Ash]

We just did that for about 42 minutes.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Tale number one.

[Alaina]

And you're still here.

[Ash]

I did the double space, large font puttafa because I'm old and did not wear my glasses. While typing this because that would have been the smart thing to do, I've attached a story about the time I think my dog was possessed with a side story about how my uncle was not the Circleville letter writer and how I almost got married in the Rampart Street Murder House. My life is weird. Feel free to use my first name. My last name may sound familiar, and the first name is Natalie. Oh, there it is.

[Alaina]

I was like. I literally went like this. Waiting. I was like, do it.

[Ash]

I like. What's the. Oh, is it Sue Ann?

[Alaina]

Joanne.

[Ash]

Joanne. That's my favorite one. She did.

[Alaina]

Joanne. Hold on now.

[Ash]

I need water. Joanne.

[Alaina]

I can't do it because I'll start coughing forever.

[Ash]

I know it hurts a little bit. All right. My name is Natalie. Feel free to use my name and any other names in my story.

[Alaina]

Will do, Natalie.

[Ash]

Will do, Natalie. Hold on. Oh, man. I don't remember exactly when I started listening to you because what the fuck is time anymore? But I will say agreed. You two have kept me company as I transported rescue rescue dogs all over the country for the last few years.

[Alaina]

Oh, my goodness.

[Ash]

Your podcast has helped me keep my eyes peeled as I travel thousands of miles, often only accompanied by dogs. You two have taught me a ton of lessons that have probably saved my. My ass. Fresh airs for dead people.

[Alaina]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

And have helped validate my true disdain for humans.

[Alaina]

I love that.

[Ash]

That's what we're here for.

[Alaina]

That is what we're here for.

[Ash]

I've been meaning people are going to.

[Alaina]

People and you should know that.

[Ash]

Yeah. Sometimes they people goods. Most of the time they people bad.

[Alaina]

They people good. So they people bad.

[Ash]

And that's why we disdain them.

[Alaina]

Exactly.

[Ash]

I like using. Using disdain as a. I like it.

[Alaina]

All right.

[Ash]

I've been meaning to write for a while, but as the director of a non profit dog rescue, can you get any cooler? I hope you mentioned what it is, because I'll say it. Yeah. Anytime I would sit down and start typing, I would give into exhaustion and find myself falling asleep at my keyboard. I understand that a recent car accident. I'm sorry. Finally forced me to slow down and gave me the time to write. To tell you how long I've been trying to get a listener tale into you. The case I was going to write to you about originally was actually covered in 2022, episode 328.

[Alaina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

The Circleville Letter Writer. Oh, that was one of my favorite episodes to do.

[Alaina]

Wild one.

[Ash]

That's a really interesting case. This case is what sparked my interest in true crime. Why? You may ask why? All right, I looked it up and it's. I think it's Fresh Hour. So Paul Fresh Hour was my uncle. Some of my very first memories include visiting him in prison when I was just a young.

[Alaina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

When the Unsolved Mysteries episode about the case came out, my dad sat me down and we watched together. My family didn't talk about the case very often, but none of us believed that my Uncle Paul was capable of attempted murder. You remember that?

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

He ended up getting put away in prison for like 10 years.

[Alaina]

Damn. And that's your uncle.

[Ash]

And I wasn't so sure about that either. Yeah, he was actually the person. This man would have given you the shirt off his back and was the first to ask how many dog. How my dogs were at my family gatherings. When he was found unresponsive in his car after the heart attack that eventually took his life, his trusty toy poodle, Tommy, was by his side.

[Alaina]

Oh, Tommy.

[Ash]

Tommy the toy poodle. I love that. I want a poodle. My dad. What?

[Alaina]

That was just like. Felt like an intrusive thought. You were like, I want a poodle. Kind of wants my dad. So it was like, must have poodle.

[Ash]

I need a poodle.

[Alaina]

Nick.

[Ash]

Tommy. Oh, my God. My dad was one of seven children and my uncle Paul was my favorite. After my dad, I truly believe Karen sue, his ex wife, set him up up. Paul served 10 years in prison to protect his son who was roped into the setup by his mom. Yes. Paul was absolutely the kind of person who would give up his own freedom for those he loved. Unfortunately, Karen sue passed away last month and has taken her secret to the grave. But that's not what this listener tale is about. So I'm going to give you a short backstory without rambling, but I'm not going to make any promises because adhd, I feel that I grew up going to my dad's house in Columbus, Ohio, and my mom's house just outside of Houston, Texas. For those of you who do not know, New Orleans is a mere spot. Is a mere five hours from Houston. If your mom drives like a bat out of hell.

[Alaina]

That's crazy.

[Ash]

I know. I didn't realize that.

[Alaina]

Yeah, Geography.

[Ash]

I was gonna say go graphy.

[Alaina]

Gography.

[Ash]

Back in 2002. Back in 2002, I was a pretty angsty teen. Spoiler alert. I am now a full fledged misanthropic elder goth.

[Alaina]

Oh, I feel everything you're saying. I'm just like, yep, yeah.

[Ash]

As soon as I read this, I said, you speak to, like, me in a certain way, but you really speak to it later.

[Alaina]

When you just said 2002, you were just an angsty teen.

[Ash]

I'm like, yep, yeah, I was five. Yeah, you're. It sounds like a thunderstorm. Yeah, you're.

[Alaina]

You can hear it. Cool. Guys, I'm hungry.

[Ash]

She hungry.

[Alaina]

I'm hungry for your tails.

[Ash]

All right, so miss, Miss Anthropic Elder Goth and learned that my favorite musician lived close enough to talk my alcoholic mother into weekend trips into the Crescent City. She would drink and gamble while I would roam the streets with friends, hoping to run into the dark lord of industrial music himself. Do you know who that is?

[Alaina]

The Trent Reznor.

[Ash]

Is that. He's Nin, right?

[Alaina]

Yeah, I just. I don't know. I'm just the dark lord of industrial music. Just makes me think of Trent Reisner.

[Ash]

Yeah, I could see that.

[Alaina]

But. Well, am I right?

[Ash]

I don't think it ends up saying, oh, the city immediately owned a piece of my soul. If. If you have never been to Nolan's, it's not like any other city you will ever visit. I could go on and on about the food, the jazz, the drinks, the art, the history, the best bar down the alleyway. You'll miss if you blink, the tarot card readers in Jackson Square or the speakeasy that the vampire sent you to above the unassuming Bourbon street bar. That sounds awesome.

[Alaina]

Yeah, it does.

[Ash]

It's almost like an alternate universe. And if you are sensitive, the energy will keep you coming back. It's like a drug. If you're a weirdo who has never felt like you have had and had a home anywhere else.

[Alaina]

I love that.

[Ash]

Beautifully said, but made me sad. That really is really.

[Alaina]

But you know what? You got Nolan's. Now you got Nollins.

[Ash]

As an adult, I make any excuse to visit and will often wrap up. Wrap up my dog transport trips with a stop in my favorite city to decompress. That is one of the strangest sites I have ever seen was the French Quarter. Yes. Yeah. One of the strangest sites I have ever seen was the French quarter, late spring, 2020. My boyfriend at the time had never been to New Orleans, and so I thought we would stop on our way back to Texas from the Midwest. It was a literal ghost town. Plenty of souls, but very few were living.

[Alaina]

Ooh, I like that. You're, like, very poetic.

[Ash]

You are very poetic. We were able to walk through the middle of the street with Our dogs as I gave him a tour of the quarter, passing by maybe three or four humans along the way. It was surreal. But the energy of the city I love just wasn't there. A few months later, the city had started to open back up. So we decided to visit again. I wanted to show my now boyfriend the city I have obsessed over since I was a teen. We will call my ex Jeff. Mostly because that's his name and he will probably shit his pants if he hears y'all tell this story.

[Alaina]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

Jeff I love. Mostly because that's his name.

[Alaina]

That's a great reason to call him that.

[Ash]

It is. It's the perfect reason. We found an amazing deal on a dog friendly historic hotel right in the French Quarter. So we decided to treat ourselves after another 2000 mile trip moving dogs to homes and partner rescues. Midwest. That's amazing. I know. I always travel with a few of my own personal dogs because I have separation anxiety.

[Alaina]

Same.

[Ash]

So a long walk around the French Quarter was the first thing we'd did. This is where I mentioned that I'm also a professional dog trainer and behavior specialist.

[Alaina]

Damn.

[Ash]

My dogs have traveled with me all over the country and are used to staying in hotels. After a long walk around the French Quarter, we checked out. We checked into our hotel, unloaded our bags and set up dog crates in our room. We made plans to have dinner and join a haunted history walking tour. I want to do that so bad.

[Alaina]

That sounds. I want to do that right now.

[Ash]

Let's book a trip.

[Alaina]

Let's go.

[Ash]

Jeff and I. Jeff. His real name.

[Alaina]

Jeff.

[Ash]

Got the dog settled and walked out the hotel room to head to dinner. I always wait outside the hotel room door to listen for my dogs to settle. But this evening that didn't happen. Atticus.

[Alaina]

I love that. Atticus. Atticus.

[Ash]

Wait until you hear the next name. My most behaved deaf boy was scratching at the door and his deaf adopted sister, Dita Von Fleas. Atticus, are you serious? Dita Von Fleas is the best dog name in the history of dog names.

[Alaina]

Hand stacked down like nobody else.

[Ash]

Name your dog again.

[Alaina]

That beats Kevin way better than Kevin. But that beats Kevin.

[Ash]

Valentina. Kevin.

[Alaina]

The best.

[Ash]

But Dita Von Fleas was crying in her crate.

[Alaina]

Oh no.

[Ash]

We figured they just hadn't had enough time out after a long trip and decided to take them to dinner and on the walking tour with us. I'm attaching a photo of myself with the three dogs who were with us on the trip. Lilith, Dita and Atticus.

[Alaina]

And Lilith.

[Ash]

My tattoo's name is Lilith.

[Alaina]

I love it.

[Ash]

Now, an evening of perusing the French Quarter in August may seem like a lot for most dogs, but these are young Dalmatians and they're adorable.

[Alaina]

Oh, my God, they're stupid cute.

[Ash]

They were literally bred for running miles upon miles. We had dinner outside next to Jackson Square, which is now full of artists, street performers, and psychics, but was once where the city held their executions. Oh. I scanned the square for my favorite tarot card reader, but I didn't see her. I'd been drawn to her several years prior because of the wolves on her altar cloths. Oh, that's cool. My readings would often end with a discussion about our dogs and something she said. Something she had said has stuck with me. Dogs with. I think it's heterochromia.

[Alaina]

I think it's the. The eye thing.

[Ash]

Two different colored eyes can see the living and the dead.

[Alaina]

Oh, I love that.

[Ash]

It. For some reason, it gives me, like, Game of Thrones White Walkers vibes.

[Alaina]

Oh, my.

[Ash]

Like direwolves, like.

[Alaina]

Oh, I love that idea.

[Ash]

Yeah. Specific. They can see the living with their dark eye and the dead with their light eye, which I think is.

[Alaina]

So I'm obsessed with that idea.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

Oh, I love that.

[Ash]

Well, on this trip, we didn't have any dogs with heterochromia, but Dita's eyes are both ice blue, and I wanted to see what she would say about that, which I. That's probably, like, rare for a Dalmatian.

[Alaina]

Yeah, I would think.

[Ash]

Usually they have dark eyes, right? I think so, yeah. We finished our dinner and spent the rest of our evenings on a haunted history tour through the French Quarter. There were locations where the dog seemed to be bothered by something, and they definitely tried pulling us across the street upon approaching the Lalori mansion, but otherwise it was a normal long walk. We went back to the hotel and settled for the night as we were all finally exhausted. Then at 3am, Jeff woke me up, telling me he thinks Deet is having a seizure. I come launch myself out of bed and see her crate rocking back and forth. He throws open the door and tries to grab her, and she sinks her teeth into his hand before shooting out of her crate and under the bedside table across the room.

[Alaina]

Holy.

[Ash]

She was howling like I've never seen a dog howl before. I reached for her and her teeth sank into my hand as she urinated. At this point, I'm sure everyone in the hotel has heard her howls. Despite trying to calm her, her ice blue eyes locked in on the window curtains. That went from the ceiling to the floor. She launched herself across the room one more time and. And attempted to climb up the curtains. She was in such a friend frenzy, I feared that she would hit the glass with such force that she would yeet herself out the window and down three stories to, I think, Decouder street.

[Alaina]

Holy.

[Ash]

After what seemed like a half hour, Dita finally exhausted herself and retreated back into her crate. Jeff and I thought for sure we. We would be asked to leave the hotel. But no knock came or call. The next morning when we checked out, no one mentioned a thing. Dita had never had an episode like this before, and four years later, she has not had another one like it.

[Alaina]

It.

[Ash]

Nor have I seen anything like it with any other dog. Was my dog possessed? Could she see the dead or is she just a nutty dalmatian?

[Alaina]

I. I can go with possessed.

[Ash]

I think possessed.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Especially the fact that they were kind of like, acting strange while you were on the walking tour, like, out of character. I tried doing research on the hotel we stayed at, but I didn't find anything particularly damning. The whole French quarter is haunted, if you ask me. And if you don't believe in that sort of thing, there are plenty of vampires, witches, and voodoo practitioners who may tickle your fancy there instead.

[Alaina]

So cool.

[Ash]

Side note, Many years ago, I was engaged. Like any good. Like any good goth, I plan to get married in New Orleans.

[Alaina]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

I found a little museum on Rampart street where we could have a small ceremony in celebration. My ex fiance's mom was outraged when she found out that I had put the deposit down on the Rampart street murder house. The Zach and Addie story.

[Alaina]

Oh, my goodness.

[Ash]

Yeah, I didn't realize I would have been getting dressed for my wedding in the same space where Zach had dismembered his girlfriend Addie before jumping to his death. I didn't make the connection. God, I didn't make the connection until after enduring her outrage. Two weeks prior to the wedding, on Friday, October 13th, my father had a massive stroke, causing us to call off the wedding. Long story short, had I gone through my wedding, I don't think I would be here today. I have absolute chills. I had. I hadn't read that part earlier. I just read the dog part. Wow.

[Alaina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

Wow.

[Alaina]

Holy.

[Ash]

Some kind of an intervention happened.

[Alaina]

Yeah. I don't know what happened there, but damn, that's crazy.

[Ash]

I'm glad that you're here.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And I'm sorry that you had to happen. Glad that that didn't happen. And I'M sorry that you had to.

[Alaina]

Endure what you did. Yeah. Holy.

[Ash]

I'm adding a better pick of Dita von Fleas and some more of my dogs, as well as a pick of the love of my life, Salem. That's who that is in the picture. And you guys have. You guys together are absolutely, literally a work of art. I picked the tail because I said I literally want to look like this woman in my next life.

[Alaina]

She literally did.

[Ash]

Like, yes, like, she did. And to hand to whoever me honor.

[Alaina]

I'm not a scout, so I thought.

[Ash]

You were talking about, like, a judge or something. And I was like, I think it's your honor. You're like, excuse me. I was like, did you break what happened? I'd understand it because you're all excited and stuff. I thought you guys would appreciate that my future husband named himself after a sassy black cat, not brown or the witch trial. I'm obsessed.

[Alaina]

I'm obsessed.

[Ash]

Anywho, keep it weird. We will, and we know that you will.

[Alaina]

That's fucking awesome.

[Ash]

Even, like, on an off day, she looks like this.

[Alaina]

You're absurdly beautiful and just, like, radiate nice, good energy. You're a work of art.

[Ash]

And you and Salem are just like the cutest couple I've ever seen in my life.

[Alaina]

Oh, my God. You guys are just stupid, gorgeous dogs.

[Ash]

Wait, I gotta show you the picture of Dita. Look at.

[Alaina]

Oh, Dita. Look at her eyes. She does have beautiful ice blue eyes.

[Ash]

They're, like, almost white. Yeah, they're so blue.

[Alaina]

They're gorgeous. Crazy. All right, let's see. Should I do Creepy Doll Listener Tale. Another one.

[Ash]

That's a good one.

[Alaina]

So this one's called Creepy Creepy Doll Listeners Tale.

[Ash]

This one's so good.

[Alaina]

Hi, weirdos. My name is Angelica. Yes, like the Rugrats you can use. If you decide to pick this tale to read on the podcast, I will simply pass away.

[Ash]

Rip. Wow. That's like a normal thing to say to that. But, like, I feel like we did the same inflection.

[Alaina]

We do.

[Ash]

Get out of my head.

[Alaina]

Damn. I've been a fan of for about a year, and the first episodes I listened to were your Albert Fish ones.

[Ash]

What a way to start, babe.

[Alaina]

You stuck around after that.

[Ash]

Damn. For real?

[Alaina]

Damn. I almost left after that.

[Ash]

I. I tried and they said, you're confident.

[Alaina]

We both said, okay. That was it. I listened to it at the gym and was cackling at all your jokes so hard that my husband stopped his workout and wanted to know what I was listening to when I told him this podcast about Albert Fish. He looked horrified. He said qual when I reassured him it was funny. Not because of what he did, but because of your guys absolute roast of this man. We do be good at that. He understood and became interested in the podcast. Side note, I'm not a huge true crime junkie since I already know how horrendous people can be and it makes me sad. Same same. Shout out to my fellow social workers. Oh yeah, you definitely know how horrible people can be. But I did take a serial killers course in Creek Community College and learned a lot about them. It was interesting to say the least. However, I'm more impressed with Yalls interpretations and retellings. I've learned so much that I think I may have to scrub my brain clean and start fresh. But like in a good way because I love you.

[Ash]

Yeah, I try to do that a lot too.

[Alaina]

Yeah, I'll shut the up now. But please know I absolutely adore you both. And thank you for always making me laugh and for keeping it weird. This year has been rough. A rough one. And I'm only 25. And what year was this?

[Ash]

25 was one of my worst years.

[Alaina]

Oh, it's 2024. So yeah, it was a shitty year.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

And I'm only 25. Seriously, if things keep on this trajectory, I'm not sure I'll make it very far. You will. Yeah. This is gonna be a better year.

[Ash]

Being an actual royal is never about.

[Alaina]

Finding your happy ending.

[Ash]

But the worst part is if they step out of line or fall in love with the wrong person, it changes the course of history. I'm Arisha Skidmore Williams. And I'm Brooke Zifrin. We've been telling the stories of the.

[Alaina]

Rich and famous on the hit Wondery.

[Ash]

Show, Even the Rich.

[Alaina]

And talking about the latest celebrity news on Rich and Daily, we're going all.

[Ash]

Over the world on our new show.

[Alaina]

Even the Rich and the Royals.

[Ash]

We'll be diving headfirst into the lives of the world's kings, queens and all the wannabes in their orbit throughout history. Think succession meets the crown meets real life.

[Alaina]

We're going to pull back the gilded.

[Ash]

Curtain and show how royal status might be bright and shiny, but it comes at the expense of, well, everything else, like your freedom, your privacy, and sometimes even your head. Follow even the royals on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcast. You can listen to Even the royals early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus. Behind the closed doors of government offices and military compounds, there are hidden stories and buried secrets from the darkest corners of history. From COVID experiments pushing the boundaries of science to operations so secretive they were barely whispered about. Each week on Redacted Declassified Mysteries, we pull back the curse curtain on these hidden histories. 100% true and verifiable stories that expose the shadowy underbelly of power. Consider Operation Paperclip, where former Nazi scientists were brought to America after World War II not as prisoners, but as assets to advance US intelligence during the Cold War. These aren't just old conspiracy theories. They're thoroughly investigated accounts that reveal the uncomfortable truths still shaping our world today. The stories are real. The secrets are shocking. Follow Redacted Declassified Mysteries with me, Luke Lamanna, on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts to listen ad free. Join Wondery plus in the Wondery App.

[Alaina]

Do things typically get better or worse? But for reals, listening to you guys helps distract me from the that is life. Life. I am currently unemployed. Shout out to having a menti bee. And writing this story has filled me. Filled up a lot of my time. And for that, I am grateful for the opportunity, even if it is not selected. Wow.

[Ash]

Oh, girl selected. And Elena broke.

[Alaina]

I literally broke while saying it.

[Ash]

She said, so elected.

[Alaina]

Sorry for any type of.

[Ash]

I laugh like that. Did you hear that?

[Alaina]

Neither of you reacted.

[Ash]

Yeah, like, am I da von Fleece?

[Alaina]

What the.

[Ash]

Mom? Not her. Never mind.

[Alaina]

She's like an old man Muppet. I feel like an old man Muppet.

[Ash]

Just like Marley and Marley. Marley and Marley.

[Alaina]

Ooh, that's a banger.

[Ash]

Yeah. I didn't like the Muppets for a long time. Come at me, bro.

[Alaina]

Confession time.

[Ash]

I know my mother in law was really pissed about it, but we watched.

[Alaina]

The Muppet Christmas Carol.

[Ash]

I was so against watching it for a long time, but it's Drew's favorite movie, so I was like, I have to. It slaps. It slaps.

[Alaina]

Michael Caine had no business going as hard as he goes in that.

[Ash]

He didn't.

[Alaina]

He is. He's top notch.

[Ash]

Yeah. No, that's a good movie. Yeah.

[Alaina]

I would.

[Ash]

I feel remiss. This.

[Alaina]

Yeah. Right. As you should.

[Ash]

Yeah. Anyway, though, back to your story. 25 sucked balls. Yeah, 24 and 25 were.

[Alaina]

It's tough.

[Ash]

26 got better because I got engaged. And then 27 and 28 have been fun. So I think the closer that. I think 25 is like a hard point in life because you're like in the middle and I think friends get weird at that point in time.

[Alaina]

Yeah. And I Think the closer you get to 30.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

That when you get into your 30s, I feel like it starts. Starts being awesome.

[Ash]

Coasting.

[Alaina]

Yeah. Like, I feel like I. The closer I got to 30, you.

[Ash]

Figure it out more.

[Alaina]

And then I had my, my twins at 30.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

So it was like the beginning of like, awesomeness.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

I think.

[Ash]

Yeah. I think the. The closer you get to like making your own family or like even like, you know, getting married or anything like that and like choosing your own space.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

It's. You get happier.

[Alaina]

To me, my 20s are overrated.

[Ash]

Yeah, I think they are too.

[Alaina]

To me, in my opinion, maybe your 20s are awesome. And like, like for that.

[Ash]

I mean, good for you. I haven't heard anyone ever say that.

[Alaina]

No, I've heard everybody be like, my 20s.

[Ash]

I think your 20s are just like a redo of your teens, but like, with a little more information.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

And then your 30s are like, wow, we gotta, we gotta reel it in.

[Alaina]

We gotta like overhaul this whole thing.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

So it's gonna be good.

[Alaina]

Yeah. So attached is a double space puttifa and Word document in times new Roman size 14 font documenting the time my dad found old dolls hid inside of a wall wall. Damn. As in to the windows, to the walls. I have attached photos as well for viewing. Viewing pleasure. I'm breaking again. Sorry in advance if they give you the creeps they see. They seem to have that effect on people. I hope it's not too long and not too boring. Keep it weird and maybe don't look at these photos after dark. Much love, Angelica.

[Ash]

Yeah, no, it brings viewing displeasure, but like, in a fun way.

[Alaina]

Yeah, yeah. Also, the name of this list is Topnotch. To the walls, to the sweat drip down my dolls. Ah, it is. To the windows, to the walls, to the sweat drip down my dolls.

[Ash]

Love it.

[Alaina]

You're an icon. A little background may be helpful. Before we get into the story, my father does home improvement and often has to demo houses he gets to tear down walls, break, and have a good time doing it.

[Ash]

That would also be a fun job.

[Alaina]

I literally paid to do that once.

[Ash]

Yeah. It's called the rage room.

[Alaina]

Hell yeah. And I want to do it again. We should. During this process, sometimes he gets lucky and finds treasures. Let me tell you, rich people love to throw away perfectly good all the time. We got a $3000, like new stove for our home because said rich people wanted to throw it in a dumpster.

[Ash]

Damn.

[Alaina]

Why the are you throwing out a perfectly good stove?

[Ash]

Yeah, donate that it.

[Alaina]

Anyway, my dad has found Some great things along the way and usually passes these things to me. He's given me books, CDs, records, antiques and housewares. On one occasion he brought home 10 trash bags full of vintage clothing, including one deceased woman's wedding dress and her mother's wedding dress from the 1920s.

[Ash]

Huh. That's why I picked this.

[Alaina]

Was it mine? It wasn't. I'm not from the 1920s. It's like thrifting, but I don't need to do any work or spend any money. While my dad has many interesting stories and has one of the most chaotic lives I know this story is not really about him. Although he would love it if it were. He would fill up an entire episode of Listener Tales just telling you about the past few years of his life. But alas, this is a story about the time my dad found a case of dolls inside of a wall. Yeah. My dad was demoing a house somewhere in Baltimore. It had already been vacated. We know nothing of the previous owners. And the new owners had asked my dad to break down a few walls for a new project. Piece of cake. My dad does this all the time as he's doing his thing. Probably while listening to Bruce Springsteen. He could see something hidden hiding inside the wall. My dad has seen a lot of in his day, but nothing like this. He starts to rip away the wall and what he found shook him. It's a handmade case with a plexiglass front with some tiny creepy ass looking dolls inside. Each doll was zip tied to a wooden board with holes in it. Why of attached photos? Why she has attached.

[Ash]

Isn't that the scariest you've ever seen? Why are they. They're zip tied like.

[Alaina]

Like by the neck.

[Ash]

Yeah. Yeah. Another weirdest you ever.

[Alaina]

I don't like it.

[Ash]

I don't love it.

[Alaina]

And they're all different little creepy dolls. Like some of them are baby dolls. Yeah.

[Ash]

Wait till you find out what they are.

[Alaina]

I don't like these at all. Holy. He just found that a wall?

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

There's a lot going on there. I mean they're kind of cute in a creepy way, right? No, no. Wrong.

[Ash]

Wrong.

[Alaina]

Obviously when my dad found these little. He thought what the. My weird ass daughter will love this.

[Ash]

That would be papa's real.

[Alaina]

He would run this 100. I sat in the living room with him as he recounted his tale. He was sure that they were haunted because why else were they buried in someone's wall? I thought they were a little creepy, but overall endearing. And I was more so curious of the origins of the dolls. Me too.

[Ash]

I'm curious of the origins. I don't find them endearing, Though I.

[Alaina]

Also found it interesting they were zip tied by their necks to the board. Same to keep them for there for viewing or to contain them from committing dull acts of evil. We will never know.

[Ash]

I think the latter.

[Alaina]

Yeah. They've been zip tied and secured behind the plexiglass for as long as I have had them. And I would be lying if I said I was not at least a little bit scared of the idea of releasing them from their habitat in fear that they may be. Maybe the case has been blessed or whatever. And opening it would unleash some little doll demons just like in the movies. And I'm not about to be the dumb from her mistake. Good for you, man. See if they smart, right? If they do decide to one day become haunted, I like that they, like, they'll just be like, dormant and then they'll just become haunted someday.

[Ash]

They reserve that right.

[Alaina]

Yeah. Oh, thank you. Y'all will absolutely be the first to know if I am still alive to tell the tale.

[Ash]

Hell yeah, brother.

[Alaina]

Thank you.

[Ash]

Hell yeah.

[Alaina]

That's an honor, Rosier. That's an honor.

[Ash]

It is.

[Alaina]

I also want to share that we moved recently and the movers refused to move them to our new home. They were a little creeped out by them.

[Ash]

That's actually hilarious. I. I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation.

[Alaina]

Like, they just go in the other room. They're like, no, dude, I'm not moving.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

The other one's like, I'm not touching it either. Keeping that this is kind of part of my job. Like, what are we supposed to tell them?

[Ash]

They just go to you.

[Alaina]

We're supposed to be grown adults. Why are we touching the dolls? I'm not touching the dolls. Like, I can hear it in my head, I guess. Like, I can hear it.

[Ash]

I liked your bit.

[Alaina]

I'm gonna write a whole script up.

[Ash]

Elena's next book is just the conversation.

[Alaina]

Now. On my search to understand more, I came across a group on Facebook that is specifically for dolls and doll collecting. Oh, I just want to say that those guys are on it and very good at what they do. As soon as I put shout out to that group, hey, group as hey, group. As soon as I posted the dolls, people went crazy and I had multiple offers in my inbox. Apparently these things are worth worth something besides just nightmares. From what I could gather, the dolls inside are considered penny dolls. During World War II, soldiers would buy them for their children and bring them home to the U.S. they are rare and very sought after by doll lovers and collectors. The dolls likely have real human hair. Nothing. I don't want to know where they got the hair and hope to never find out. Given what was going on in the world during that time. That's exactly what I was thinking. Yeah.

[Ash]

No, thank you.

[Alaina]

You can tell by looking at them that someone took great care to make the dolls as detailed as possible. Maybe the person who, I don't know, hid them in the walls still very sus. Knew they were valuable and wanted to preserve them and keep them away from the sunlight.

[Ash]

Or maybe they were fucking terrified of them. Yeah, but I don't. If I was so scared of something, I don't think I'd put it in my wall.

[Alaina]

No. So it can just, like, breed contempt for me in there. I don't want that.

[Ash]

Breed contempt.

[Alaina]

I don't want that. You are a writer. I do not want that. Maybe the original owner tried to get rid of them, but each time they threw them away, they reappeared on the person's doorstep. Like that creepy Ouija board in that one Listener's Tale.

[Ash]

I hate that.

[Alaina]

I think that's what happened. So they put them in the wall. I'm not sure what the doll's origin story is, but I think we can all agree that hiding them in your wall is a bit strange.

[Ash]

I think it's funny.

[Alaina]

I think it's kind of funny.

[Ash]

I think it's a practical joke.

[Alaina]

I think they were blessed because they were haunted and probably ruining the original owner's life. And they were told to put it in the wall so that they would never be found, probably and disturbed. And now they've been disturbed.

[Ash]

I feel like you. If you didn't want them to be disturbed, though, you'd, like, bury them in the backyard.

[Alaina]

But that's hard because there's a lot of them and it's big. Putting them in a wall is just like.

[Ash]

Putting something in a wall is, like, tough, though. You gotta, like, cut the wall.

[Alaina]

Well, that's the other thing. That's a lot. That's why a practical joke is. That's a pretty intense practice.

[Ash]

Oh, I will commit to a practical joke.

[Alaina]

I mean, samesies. But how many people will do that? Pull, you know? Yeah, let's see. Would you. Would you open your wall as a practical joke?

[Ash]

I just thought of Jasper on Tick Tock when she's like.

[Alaina]

Like.

[Ash]

Who wants buffalo chicken wings? Raise your hand.

[Alaina]

What was the first one? If you want. Was it Mozzarella sticks or something.

[Ash]

I think it was. You want mozzarella sticks?

[Alaina]

Raise your hand.

[Ash]

Buffalo chitchen fingers.

[Alaina]

My dad gave these dolls to me when I was around 18 and I'm 25 now. I live with my husband, cat and dog, Luna. Pictures attached. I heard you guys were into that kind of thing. We love it.

[Ash]

We love animals.

[Alaina]

The dolls hang out in my basement because my husband is thoroughly freaked out by them, despite my attempts to reassure him. I would love to display them somewhere as a conversation piece, but that's unlikely to ever happen. Here's what I want you to do. I want you to put. Make them into a coffee table with the plexiglass being the top of it. That's a conversation.

[Ash]

That is such a good idea.

[Alaina]

Do it.

[Ash]

That's.

[Alaina]

Tell your husband we sent you.

[Ash]

It's two things. It's such a good idea. And it's also something that, like, a weird couple would propose to do on flea market flip.

[Alaina]

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Side note, I used to be super afraid of dolls when I was younger. I blame this on my aunt who decided to place her super realistic toddler doll in her hallway with a knife in its hand when I was a child. Yeah, that's her fault. That's her fault.

[Ash]

We'll fight her if you don't.

[Alaina]

That's her fault.

[Ash]

We can fight her. Yeah.

[Alaina]

A real knife from her kitchen. She got a kick out of that. Thankfully, I'm now a huge horror fan and love everything spooky and scary and funny. Enough, I love dolls now, really, the only thing that can truly terrify me are giants. And I am betting and pray whoever will listen to whoever will listen that they are not real. I also don't like giant things.

[Ash]

You don't?

[Alaina]

You.

[Ash]

She doesn't like giants.

[Alaina]

You don't like giant things or giants? Like, I don't want. Like. Like. I mean, like, you know those ogre sort of. Yeah, yeah. Like the Earth giants from Frozen. Frozen. That would scare the out of me.

[Ash]

Yeah, that would be up.

[Alaina]

I don't like that at all.

[Ash]

Well, they could just, like, squish you.

[Alaina]

Yeah, I don't like it. I can pretty much handle anything scary, but when it comes to giants, a line is crossed. And if they ever do turn out to be real, I will exit this life before things get too spicy. Just kidding. Just kidding. Just kidding.

[Ash]

I like how niche that is.

[Alaina]

Anyway, I will keep these dolls probably forever. All jokes aside, the history and craftsmanship are incredible. I know I sound like a huge weirdo, but hey, we all have our things. You're not weird. Now that I've given you some spookies, I need to give you some giggles. I also included a photo of my Princess Diana RIP Doll that my mother got me for a few years ago. I was convinced for years that I was related to her, that she would rescue me to be a princess with her. I love that for you.

[Ash]

I do, too.

[Alaina]

Then I found out that she was very dead and that I was not a princess. Anyways, my husband has convinced me that this is not.

[Ash]

It's not Princess Diana. It's Owen Wilson wearing a dress. He's not wrong.

[Alaina]

You might be right. He might be right. Can I get a wow.

[Ash]

In your.

[Alaina]

Best Owen Wilson voice?

[Ash]

I don't know.

[Alaina]

Wow.

[Ash]

Is that good? Randomly. The other night, we were at a hotel, and I Woke up at 3am to Owen Wilson on the TV. And I was like, what the is this? And then I saw JLo and I was like, am I what?

[Alaina]

Hello?

[Ash]

They were in like, a weird movie together recently.

[Alaina]

Really?

[Ash]

Yeah. She's like a pop star and she's, like, dating some. I think she's dating Bad Bunny.

[Alaina]

I think I saw clips of this and it looked insane.

[Ash]

I Woke up at 3am and I.

[Alaina]

Was just like, that's a fever dream.

[Ash]

I watch.

[Alaina]

That is.

[Ash]

I watched like 15 minutes of it.

[Alaina]

Oh, my God. You showed me little Luna, AKA Luna Tuna.

[Ash]

Luna Tuna.

[Alaina]

I'm obsessed with Luna Tuna.

[Ash]

You guys are cute.

[Alaina]

You guys are adorable. Give me Luna Tuna. Yeah, immediately.

[Ash]

We also. You have to put those in your wall when you're. When, like, the time is nigh.

[Alaina]

Luna Tuna.

[Ash]

No, I'm just kidding.

[Alaina]

No, the dolls.

[Ash]

Yes, but the dolls in your wall. Like, if you know you're gonna make an exit from the coil. I hit my microphone. Not anytime soon, but like, when you know you're gonna. When you're like, 98. Yeah.

[Alaina]

Like when you feel like you're about to shuffle off this mortal coil, just shove them in your walls.

[Ash]

Just do a quick home project.

[Alaina]

Yeah, just call a quick contractor, but do it early.

[Ash]

Just call them up and say, I got a job for you.

[Alaina]

I need you to hide these dolls in my walls.

[Ash]

I found these dolls in the wall. What my dad did when I was a girl.

[Alaina]

And develop an accent.

[Ash]

Okay.

[Alaina]

Before you do this, workshop it. Okay. Yeah, You'll. You'll get there.

[Ash]

You got it.

[Alaina]

You have time. Okay. Luna Tuna for life.

[Ash]

Luna Tuna.

[Alaina]

Luna Tuna.

[Ash]

I don't know why I sang it, but I did.

[Alaina]

You sing lots of things I like It.

[Ash]

It's true. I do.

[Alaina]

It's true. I do.

[Ash]

It's true.

[Alaina]

That sounds like a Nana Bob song. The Re Watcher.

[Ash]

Go listen to the Re Watcher.

[Alaina]

Let me take a water.

[Ash]

I think we could probably finish on this. This one is Listen to Tales. Predicting death is my sixth sense.

[Alaina]

Oh, yeah.

[Ash]

Let's go. Yeah. It says, hi, Deb. Deb. Oh, you too, Ash and Elena.

[Alaina]

Oh, hey.

[Ash]

I love you weirdos and hope you read this on the pod. Well, here we are. It is a terrifying yet interesting experience and I haven't heard a listener tell like it, so I hope it stands out to sweeten the deal. There's a picture of a puppy and a baby.

[Alaina]

You guys know. You guys just know.

[Ash]

Included is a 14 point double spaced Potiphar. And this is actually my second time submitting because I sent it to the wrong email. I really want to tell you who got that email.

[Alaina]

I also want to know that reading.

[Ash]

Time is approximately 15 minutes and 15 seconds. But not unlike two weirdos I know I stumble on words a lot.

[Alaina]

Damn.

[Ash]

Yeah, it do be us. And this is from Millie. Millie, the biggest and most vivacious hello to Ash, Elena and Deb. Deb.

[Alaina]

My name.

[Ash]

My name is Millie. Use it.

[Alaina]

I will.

[Ash]

Millie. See attached a photo of moi simply. Because when I read, I love. I always love a face for context. She's gorgeous. Oh, Millie, so pretty.

[Alaina]

You that. That face card girl.

[Ash]

It up. It up. Damn. The mug never declines. Millie, I know what you're thinking. Are you a 511 thick indigenous woman with a bodacious booty?

[Alaina]

That's literally what I was thinking.

[Ash]

Yes, I am.

[Alaina]

Thank you for answering that.

[Ash]

It's giving. It's giving everything.

[Alaina]

It's giving all the things I need.

[Ash]

I love it.

[Alaina]

It.

[Ash]

I'm a relatively new listener. My mouth just made a gross noise. So I'm going to say that again. I am a relatively new listener who started her morbid journey in August of 2022. However, I'm quickly catching up to all of the episodes. I started at the most recent and I'm working my way backwards, which is apparently not what the normal is. But you know what it is? It's what we suggest. And we actually suggest that you stop at a certain point and never listen to the early ones.

[Alaina]

Yes. In fact, that we were talking about this the other day. That's actually really funny that we were like, whenever. When somebody says they're new to the pod, we're like, like, are you starting from the beginning? Are you still here? Like, go Go from newest to oldest so you can appreciate us later.

[Ash]

I still go off on a tangent, obviously, but the tangents that my ass would go off on. It was a different time. I think I was like. Was I like, 22 when we started?

[Alaina]

You were young.

[Ash]

Yeah. I was so annoying.

[Alaina]

You were young.

[Ash]

And I'm still pretty annoying, but I own it.

[Alaina]

I was annoying then, too, and I'm. Yeah, still annoying.

[Ash]

Let's be annoying together forever. Forever.

[Alaina]

Oh, that was a good one.

[Ash]

It was. We didn't. Cheers. Never mind. I was going to say, did we make icon?

[Alaina]

But we did.

[Ash]

But we did. We went. Why did I forget instantly? Are you a witch? Are you a witch?

[Alaina]

Are you a witch?

[Ash]

Are you a wizard? How are you? Oh, God. All right.

[Alaina]

Oh, God. We don't go on tangents anymore.

[Ash]

We never go on tangents. Everyone's like, this has been six hours long. All right, back to Millie's tail.

[Alaina]

Millie.

[Ash]

Millie. We're kind of hungry.

[Alaina]

I think we are. I have tacos waiting for me.

[Ash]

I have, like, a slaw that I made. Slaw with some rotischik. Ooh. So work your way backwards and stop at a certain point. However, I'm the far farest.

[Alaina]

I'm the fian in the fjord. I'm in the fjord. Far.

[Ash]

Don't start with the fjord, because then I'll go on a tangent to Conan. Oh, he has a song. However, I'm the farthest thing away from normal, so it's incredibly fitting. I'm an English major, so if there are any grammatical errors, feel free to call my ass out.

[Alaina]

I'll call the police. Peace.

[Ash]

Whoa. It escalated. Before we get into the gushing, I want to give a well deserved shout out to the divine individual who started my unhealthy obsession. Your now second biggest fan, Ashley. Little Ashley Little. She's like me, but little. I know you two love the art of making others defecate themselves, so please use her full name because she will take a monstrous, giddy dump in her jeans.

[Alaina]

Ashley.

[Ash]

Little Ashley just took a dump. This is her photo.

[Alaina]

This is her photo.

[Ash]

Oh, Ashley, you're adorable. She's gorge. She's big. Gorge.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Okay, gushing time. I absolutely adore you two. And I hate people, so that says a lot.

[Alaina]

You are my people.

[Ash]

And we hate people, too.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

You've made your way into being a daily part of my life. And when I'm driving to and from work and listen to you on my hour long commute, it feels like I have the two coolest bitches behind me. In the backseat.

[Alaina]

Thank you.

[Ash]

Who are constantly, almost responsible for my untimely demise as I find myself repeatedly swerving after a laughing fit. Or no, one time you made me laugh so hard when talking about dick cheese that I snotted all over myself and almost died running off the road trying to find a Kleenex. Don't do that, you two say, but if my end includes snot running down my face and tears in my eyes from hysterical laughter about dick cheese, that sounds like a good way to go.

[Alaina]

Who are we, crazy? Who are we?

[Ash]

We're just literally talk about. We're literally so random segueing tale with death. This is about a few yet far too many times that I have predicted death.

[Alaina]

Death.

[Ash]

This is cray, by the way. I'm already sporting doo doo drawers and I don't even know if you read this on the pod yet. So if I hear you reading this, then my pants are already off and on fire. I love it. I live in a very rural town in New Brunswick, Canada. I'm talking. I graduated with 12 people.

[Alaina]

Rural? Holy.

[Ash]

I thought other people's schools were small. Damn. However, to begin this story, we set the scene in the big city of Brampton, Ontario. Brampton is about a half hour from Toronto and is way too big for my liking. I grace the lives of my parents by making my glorious entrance into this hellhole we call the world on April 4th, 2000. That's right, Ash. I'm an Aries sun and moon and my rising is Capricorn. I see you, Elena. Oh, hell yeah. Double Aries. You are fiery as. I married an Aries and Capricorn. Even though Capricorn is an earth sign, I feel like they're like, like pretty. Pretty scrappy. Yeah, you're probably scrappy.

[Alaina]

Yeah, you're scrappy as.

[Ash]

And I love that about you. I get along really well with Aries and Capricorn.

[Alaina]

Same.

[Ash]

Yeah. Mom and dad, John and Elena. Yeah, so. So make your own most likely accurate assumptions. I did.

[Alaina]

We did.

[Ash]

My parents divorced a few years after my birth, just in 2004. But don't be sorry. It was for the best. This is hilarious. My dad found himself in the awkward situation of accidentally falling into women's vahenas, and my mother was tired of his quote unquote slip ups. Fast forward to 2000.

[Alaina]

That's a great way to describe it.

[Ash]

I love that.

[Alaina]

That's somebody who has healed.

[Ash]

Yeah, you've healed. Fast forward to 2006. I'm 6 years old and my dad's living in Brampton with another woman who I'm glad to say he's no longer with. She was a very angry Italian woman who was a bit hard on the noggin. Or maybe she wasn't angry and she just spoke in a perpetual scream. I'm not really sure.

[Alaina]

That's a lot.

[Ash]

I was playing with Polly Pockets alone in my room. Ash gets it. When I had a feeling, it made me stop and pause with every strand on my of hair on my little body standing straight in the air as if I were hanging upside down. This feeling in the facial expression I would have worn is comparable. I don't know why I said it like that. Comparable to someone who is who horrifically realized that their fart had not in fact been a fart. I can't quite describe the feeling, but it was as if a thousand dementors had entered the room, surrounded me me, and then simultaneously began sucking my soul out of my body. They are the worst part of prison, you know. Michael Scott, did you get that?

[Alaina]

They are. That's prison. Mic.

[Ash]

I don't watch the office. Don't yell at me.

[Alaina]

I don't watch it, man.

[Ash]

Maybe prison.

[Alaina]

Mike.

[Ash]

I didn't have a vision. More like an awareness that my great grandfather who was in perfect health was going to die.

[Alaina]

Oh.

[Ash]

I walked around with this weight for the entire day.

[Alaina]

Six year old.

[Ash]

Yeah. Oh, that's like one of your babes. Oh. Asking my dad if he had been talking to grandpa. He said no, that he hadn't that day. But he just spoke with him the week before and he asked why I was wondering. No reason, I replied, kicking my feet together and avoiding eye contact. I was just wondering. This feeling I remember was not one I wanted to share and kept and it kept me up most of the night. I laid in bed until sleep found me in the early hours of the morning and I arose to my dad standing on standing at my door, looking forlorn and also suspicious. Grandpa passed away last night, he said hesitantly. His tone was a mix of grief and suspicion. Did this man think my small, fragile and incapable body could walk a two hour drive in the middle of the night and somehow unalive my grandfather?

[Alaina]

Like, come on.

[Ash]

I remember being heartbroken not only because I had lost someone important to me, my first encounter with death as well, but because I also felt responsible. I knew it was going to happen, but I said nothing because as a child my thoughts, feelings and intuitions were typically dismissed. Oh, relatable.

[Alaina]

That makes me sad for you.

[Ash]

I know. The memory stuck with me for A while until it began to fade. As the years went on, I had forgotten about the feeling and what it felt like. I resumed my life and paid it no mind. Until I was 14. I had my laptop going with karaoke songs as I was home alone and aspired to be a famous singer at the time.

[Alaina]

Hell yeah.

[Ash]

Typically speaking though, in order to be famous you have to be like good at singing. Which I was. Not. Not think, I mean, do you? It's subjective.

[Alaina]

It's 2025 now.

[Ash]

Yeah, you don't really have to be good much anymore. Think the demon cat from Pet Sematary being shook around and then thrown at a wall.

[Alaina]

Love that.

[Ash]

That's the most accurate description of my singing voice even to this day. Right in the middle of the ear piercing belt of the chorus to Rolling in the Deep. It stopped. I stopped.

[Alaina]

God.

[Ash]

Wait. I took a vocal class once and it was Rolling in the deep and I thought I slayed that. And then I got home and I recorded myself and I never was. Went back to voice acting and voice lessons again.

[Alaina]

I love. I said, teacher Jamie, you said I did not roll.

[Ash]

I'm sorry. I said auto tune would never help this. So I stopped. It reminded me of Raven from that's so Raven when she'd get a vision. The same feeling I had ejected for my homunculus. Yeah, homunculus, yeah. I'd returned with a vengeance with one major difference. The person it surrounded. This time it was my grandmother on my mom's side, Ruby, who I would later name my daughter after. And this is Ruby. And she's so cute. The pigtails.

[Alaina]

Get the out of here with that kid.

[Ash]

I can't.

[Alaina]

That's a cute ass kid.

[Ash]

I can't. Ruby, I can't. She's so cute. I know. And look, she's kind of like judging whoever she's looking at.

[Alaina]

She's like, she's got like that eyebrow.

[Ash]

Action, like her mom is a double Aries.

[Alaina]

I'm impressed.

[Ash]

Well, for her grandmother, Ruby was the. And I, I. This reminds me of this lady Judy I used to live with who I loved so much.

[Alaina]

My mother, Ruby.

[Ash]

Yeah, she was a kind woman who would always be found drinking Diet Pepsi from a vintage floral glass and watching Judge Judy. Well, she'd have it on the tv, but she'd be talking so much through it that you could not understand what was happening.

[Alaina]

Love that.

[Ash]

And then she'd look at anyone with her and go, what's happening? I regret not spending much time with her in my teen years as I was Caught up. Caught up in school, sports, boys and video games. Games. But it unfortunately did not classify seeing my grandparents as fun. So when I had this feeling, I panicked. I wanted to call my mom and tell her. But then how would she see me if. If Ruby did die, would she see me as in a different light? A freak possessed by the devil? Damn overly religious white women. I decided to let it go and hope that I wasn't right. But that night at 3am My grandmother was taken by ambulance and passed in the hospital.

[Alaina]

Oh, Ruby.

[Ash]

I know. I'm sorry. I went home and looked in the mirror like someone in a movie, not even sure of who I was seeing. I screamed what the. Which was a big deal because I didn't say a single swear word until I was 17.

[Alaina]

Whoa.

[Ash]

And I've progressed so much now that I'm convinced my child will think her name is I love how you feel.

[Alaina]

That's so hard.

[Ash]

The feeling of confusion, dread and fear enveloped my body like a spicy a spiky blanket.

[Alaina]

I like a spicy belly. Good.

[Ash]

I like them both. Personally, I still refuse to share my curse with anyone. And again, it went dormant for years to come. 2018 is when it returned yet again. My ex boyfriend. We ended on good terms, don't worry.

[Alaina]

Oh good.

[Ash]

I love that. Because we never hear that.

[Alaina]

I know rarely.

[Ash]

My ex boyfriend and I were living in my in our first apartment. I was in my first year of university and I was sat at my makeup station one morning putting on some semblance of a falsified excited face for the day. Being in university, I needed all the help I could get with the bags under my eyes and permanent look of depression that encapsulated my face. Face encapsulated my face. Then spoiler alert it hit the feeling. Though this time would be slightly different from the previous two. This time it wasn't someone that was directly related to me. It was my boyfriend's grandfather.

[Alaina]

Huh?

[Ash]

The other difference was how quickly it happened. The other two times were at least a 12 hour span between the feeling and death. This time I had the feeling cooked in it for about five minutes. And then my boyfriend called me. My heart sank. He said Papa didn't wake up from his sleep this morning. I had to force myself to pretend to act shocked. Though it was earlier than expected, I still knew it was coming. Is he dead? I asked with a fake surprise. No, I think it's just diabetic coma. He'll probably be fine, he answered. First of all, who the calls someone and says so so. And so didn't wake up from their sleep just being like, casually. They're fine, though.

[Alaina]

He'll probably be fine.

[Ash]

Like, what?

[Alaina]

That's probably fine.

[Ash]

That's not how you tell someone that.

[Alaina]

Also, like, probably just a diabetic coma. It's like, oh, just that little thing o.

[Ash]

You know.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Anyways, I didn't dare tell him what I knew, and I was also hoping that I was going to be wrong this time. His grandfather was a pure and kind soul. He was in his late 80s, still chopping wood, cooking, dancing, and living his life. We'd go over all the time and play skip, bow. And he'd get so. He'd get so zoned out, we'd have to yell his name 30 times to snap him out of it. Oh, my turn.

[Alaina]

He shout, oh, my God, I love him.

[Ash]

That's so sweet. I drove to the hospital to meet with them and we went to the room he was in. Once the family was rounded up, the doctor came over and broke the. The new. Broke the news he had a brain bleed. He said more forcefully than I would.

[Alaina]

Have liked, well, that happens a lot.

[Ash]

Yeah, it's very clinical.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

He's being kept alive by the machines. But once we unhook him, I don't expect him to live long after. I felt helpless. So many loved ones I knew would die and I could do nothing but sit back and wait.

[Alaina]

Nothing so hard.

[Ash]

Yeah, that's tough.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

Nothing I could have done could have prevented these deaths, yet I was burdened with the knowledge of the inevitable.

[Alaina]

That's exactly what it is. That's a burden.

[Ash]

Yeah, it is a burden.

[Alaina]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Ash]

The. These first three death predictions would soon prove themselves to be the easiest that I would have to encounter. I had eventually split from my ex and was living the single life we were together since I was 14 and I was now 20 and lost no sense of an identity. An introvert with one friend. And my time was mostly taken up by school and work. I felt confused as to the next steps to take. Then a guy messaged me on Facebook to protect his identity since his name is incredibly unique. We'll call him Fred.

[Alaina]

Fred.

[Ash]

Fred. It reminds me of. Hey, it's Fraud. Remember that guy? Yeah. Fred started chatting with me and flirting, but in a kind, genuine and respectful way. I learned he was from India and he was here for school. He was incredibly gifted with humor, intelligence, perseverance, and sheer willpower. He went to the same university as I did, and we hit it off right away. However, just as friends as I was not ready for another relationship. We spent time together and I learned how fascinating of a human he was. Was? He was in boarding school in India and was in a gang in his teen years. He survived being stabbed and got out of that place in his life. His family also owned a tiger. A tiger? His name was Timothy.

[Alaina]

Like a whole ass tiger.

[Ash]

A tiger named Timothy? Yeah.

[Alaina]

Holy.

[Ash]

They rescued and rehabilitated him. How much cooler can he get?

[Alaina]

Not much.

[Ash]

He was always very kind and I enjoyed the time we spent together. We were inseparable friends for a few months. When he moved here, he turned his life around, got heavy into the gym and then excelled even more at academics. He got a mocha, a mochor cycle.

[Alaina]

He got a smoker cycle.

[Ash]

He got a motorcycle.

[Alaina]

I love those.

[Ash]

A little bit different than you ever.

[Alaina]

Been on a motorcycle, you know, for a ride of your life.

[Ash]

It's crazy. He got a motorcycle and would venture around on it all the time. He was also an incredibly talented painter. He cracked jokes that would make me laugh so hard I cried. He said, all the strange Indian men that have probably messaged you before, and yet I. I had the charm to get your attention. However, his tale would end like the rest. One day I was sitting in my room alone, thoughts to myself. When it came, the feeling, the dread.

[Alaina]

No.

[Ash]

I screamed to whatever it was, not him. It horrified me. I was so scared and helpless. And that's when Fred messaged me and told me he was going cliff jumping with his friend. Oh, this will eat me alive forever. But I said, okay, be safe. I thought once again fate would change. He was going with someone, which meant that he would be safe. Safe, I thought. I was just in my head about this one. He's 23. There's no way anything could happen to him. You're indestructible when you're 23, right? Wrong. The next day I woke up and I realized I hadn't heard from him. No texts, no calls since 3pm the previous day. I called, no answer. I texted, I called again. That's when I messaged the friends that he was with. Can you meet me? She asked. I agreed and she broke the news. His death was classified as a drowning. She said he hit the water and started flailing. She ran down to the bottom and tried to bring him in, but he was panicking and was bringing her down into the water. She got back up on land and turned to grab him once more, but there was no sight of him. He was gone. My prediction is the force he picked up on his Way down. Threw him deeper into the water than he had the breath for. And he started inhaling before he reached the surface and never made it out. That's brutal.

[Alaina]

That's awful. Awful.

[Ash]

I didn't sleep or eat for weeks. Months even. I lost a concerning amount of weight. I could have stopped him, but I didn't believe my gut. I blamed his death on myself ever since. No, it's not your fault. And you don't want to mess with fate, you know?

[Alaina]

Yeah. And you're. It's hard to believe that you know when these things are happening. So you're probably second guessing it.

[Ash]

Exactly. I would stay up at night crying and apologizing to him. Someone with so much light, so much potential and purpose gone. That is, until I went to a medium and she assured me that my gift. Gift was not just in my head. And even if I begged him not to go, he still would have went. That helped a little bit.

[Alaina]

Yeah.

[Ash]

The last prediction was the strangest and most haunting of them all. TRIGGER WARNING for suicide Here I was at work. I'm a waitress and I work in a small chain restaurant just in Atlantic, Canada. The place was dead and I was wandering around searching for things to do when I got the feeling. But it wasn't just a feeling this time. It was a vision too. I got this overwhelming, all encompassing sense of sorrow, depression and hopelessness. Business. I was in a first person perspective and went into my room. Though similar to how dreams work, it wasn't actually my room in reality. But in this vision it was mine. And I locked the door. I then grabbed gasoline, poured it on myself and lit myself on fire.

[Alaina]

Holy.

[Ash]

But I wasn't anyone I knew. Which was the strangest thing. I had thought it was weird and definitely concerning, but it wasn't anyone. I was familiar with each one of my previous walls feelings. I knew the person I was referring to. I shook it off. The next day I was on social media and read something on the news. At the exact same time I had a vision. A young guy a few towns over went into his room, locked the door, poured gas on himself and set himself on fire. He did not survive. I have chills all over my arm. I was in shock. I didn't know him. And this was also completely different from my other experiences. I felt so afraid for those. I felt so afraid for so long these would keep happening. But that was a few years ago and they seem to have stopped. I'd like to think that they're gone forever, but I refuse to let my guard down. Because that's when death will sneak up on me like a fox with an unsuspecting squirrel. So until then, death. But I'll be waiting for you. Thank you ladies for reading my tale. If you did, and if this is on the podcast, I will never shut up about it. I hope you ladies enjoy the rest of your day, week, month, life, year, etc. And I can't wait to continue to keep up with your journeys and see where life takes you. Thanks.

[Alaina]

Aw.

[Ash]

Alayna, I read your book and I absolutely adored it.

[Alaina]

Thank you.

[Ash]

I took a hiatus from casual reading after life got incredibly busy. This is the best compliment. And your book brought me back to the book where I used to be.

[Alaina]

Oh, that's literally my favorite compliment ever.

[Ash]

So thank you for that. And I cannot wait for the second one. Hell yeah, Ash, that's me. I'm anxiously waiting for the pictures of your and Drew's wedding day. And I'm so happy you have such a beautiful human in to love and to love you. Because you both deserve that and more.

[Alaina]

Drew is a beautiful human. Thank you.

[Ash]

He's the most beautiful human I know.

[Alaina]

He's so lovely.

[Ash]

It's ridiculous. I don't know how I got.

[Alaina]

We love a Drew here.

[Ash]

I love him so much. I just want to punch him just.

[Alaina]

With love, right in the kisser.

[Ash]

Until then, keep it weird. But maybe not this weird, Millie. But here's a picture of my dog, Stanley. Cuz why not Stanley? He's just like, oh, my God, I'm obsessed with Stanley. I love him so much.

[Alaina]

He's doing like the Meg, the stallion.

[Ash]

Yeah.

[Alaina]

Good job.

[Ash]

I'm so proud of you.

[Alaina]

Look at me, I'm learning things.

[Ash]

Oh, my goodness, Millie.

[Alaina]

That was a fucking harrowing tale.

[Ash]

Haunting, like, harrowing. But you wrote it so well that it was. I just. It was fascinating.

[Alaina]

These were so good.

[Ash]

They were so good.

[Alaina]

I have tacos.

[Ash]

I have slaw and chick and Chichen.

[Alaina]

And Chichen, Chichen. This was amazing.

[Ash]

This was so much fun. I feel like this is the most fun I've had on.

[Alaina]

Yeah, this was a lot of fun.

[Ash]

Yeah. I think we're getting more comfortable being on camera. Definitely. I'm not going to do it that much more, but.

[Alaina]

No, we're going to keep it like this.

[Ash]

Yeah. I said don't get your hopes up.

[Alaina]

Don't get your hopes up. Don't.

[Ash]

But we'll. We'll do list.

[Alaina]

Yes, for sure.

[Ash]

We'll do list.

[Alaina]

We'll keep doing that.

[Ash]

We'll do it.

[Alaina]

And until then, we hope you keep.

[Ash]

Listening and we hope you keep it weird, but not so weird that you predict death. Definitely keep it. I mean keep it that weird. It's kind of interesting. Definitely keep it so weird that you keep cut a hole in your wall and you had some creepy ass dolls in there. Oh yeah. I have to open the rest because I don't have a memory due to 15 years of my life. Oh, keep it so weird that as a ghost you shove peaches up people's noses. Don't keep it so weird that your dog gets possessed. But that wasn't your fault, obviously. Keep it so weird that you run a non profit for dogs though. That's absolutely incredible.

[Alaina]

Yes.

[Ash]

And I think I got all of them.

[Alaina]

Yeah, just keep it weird.

[Ash]

Keep it the weirdest.

[Alaina]

So weird.

[Ash]

See you next Monday, you buttheads.

[Alaina]

Sa.

[Ash]

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.