MFM Minisode 454

Summary

My Favorite Murder Minisode 454 – September 22, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of My Favorite Murder Minisode features beloved hosts Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark reading listener-submitted "hometown" stories – true (and sometimes bizarre) crime-adjacent tales from fans' own lives. The stories range from absurd family misadventures to chilling stalker accounts and urban legend reveals. As always, Karen and Georgia weave comedy, empathy, and genuine thrills into their reactions, inviting listeners to laugh, gasp, and connect over the weirdness of real life.

---

Key Stories & Insights

1. Rural Wisconsin Shenanigans, Alcoholism, and a Fire

(Starts at 02:07)

• Set-Up: A listener recounts a wild family hunting trip in rural Wisconsin, marked by heavy drinking from dawn (Jägermeister shots) and the gifting of beer to a 13-year-old.
• Chaos Ensues: The 13-year-old finishes twelve beers, then drunkenly answers the door to a frantic neighbor whose house is on fire. He closes the door on him.
• Heroics & Comedy: The adults, also drunk, eventually notice the commotion. Two uncles storm the burning house to save pets and turn off the gas.
• Musical Moment: The narrator’s grandfather tries to calm the panicked neighbor by serenading him with “This Little Light of Mine” as flames rage.
• Climax: The fire truck's arrival is blocked—by the passed-out 13-year-old, who has collapsed in the road.
• Resolution: Everyone survives without legal trouble, and the family looks back on the incident as a wild (if reckless) memory.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "Sorry, they were doing Jaeger shots before they go hunting?" – Karen, 03:05
  • "It's like swallowing your toothpaste spit and then going to kill animals." – Karen, 03:12
  • "Stay sexy and don't give your 13 year old a couple of six packs." – Georgia, 06:02

---

2. Sorority Stalker

(06:20)

• Set-Up: A listener shares a terrifying college experience involving an anonymous stalker targeting a group of sorority women with ominous texts and threats in upstate New York.
• Details: The texts escalate (“I'm in the house.” “Hope you don't wear anything that can stain.”) and the stalker seems to know the sorority's private plans.
• Harassment Escalates: He posts the women's phone numbers online, leading to sexual solicitations, and one woman receives drugs in the mail with the intention of getting her in trouble with authorities.
• Investigation: Despite university involvement and police tracing the number to an online generator, the harassment continues until the FBI gets involved.
• Resolution: The stalker is revealed to be one victim's ex-boyfriend from Long Island; he is caught with an AR-15 when arrested.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "At one point, he even texted one of the girls saying, 'I'm in the house.'" – Karen, 07:33
  • "To do it to an entire sorority is so Ted Bundy coded, if I may use that language." – Karen, 11:26
  • "Say sexy and don't terrorize an entire group of people just because you can't handle rejection." – Karen, 11:00

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3. Trash Mom

(12:39)

• Set-Up: Listener recalls being sent home with a “courtesy driver” from Safeway at age 7 or 8, after their mother locked the keys in the car.
• Discussion: The hosts, baffled, try to unpack what a courtesy driver is and whether sending a child with a stranger for keys is preferable to risking car theft.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "What is a courtesy driver?...A weird stranger in a car who's like, I'll be the courtesy driver at the grocery store." – Georgia & Karen, 13:44
  • "Stay sexy and don't send your daughter with a strange man. Basic parenting. 101." – Georgia, 14:36

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4. My Grandma Faked Her Death

(15:35)

• Set-Up: A listener shares how her abuelita Frances, bullied in rural Colorado circa 1941, faked her own death by laying in a ditch, mussing herself up, and smearing blood from scabbed shins.
• Execution: The mean girls, thinking she was dead, panicked, and the grandmother resurrected herself mid-prank.
• Aftermath: They never bullied her again. The grandma is celebrated as “feisty but kind.”
• Notable Quotes:
  • "She was feisty but kind. My favorite person. Thanks for the best podcast ever..." – Listener, read by Karen, 16:49
  • "Stay sexy and don't pick your scabs. You might need them to fake your own death." – Georgia, 17:20

---

5. Unhinged Team Building Questions

(18:50)

• Set-Up: A softball coach hosts “unhinged” daily questions to bond her team. Questions escalate from innocent to darkly funny, including “If you became a serial killer, what childhood behavior would family blame?”
• Reveals: Answers include wire-stripping a cat’s tail (cat survived), collecting Roly Polys, being terrified of bowling alley pressure, and the horror of never-ending Zoom calls.
• Hosts’ Reflections: Karen and Georgia swap own childhood animal stories—washing a cat (Karen) and covering a cat in barrettes (Georgia).
• Notable Quotes:
  • "My answer. When I was five years old, I stripped my cat's tail with wire strippers. What the actual fuck?" – Listener, read by Georgia, 21:10
  • "But that's how you learn to treat animals nicely—as you see the results of what you do." – Karen, 22:42

---

6. I Married an Urban Legend

(23:01)

• Set-Up: A Connecticut listener reveals her mom told a warning story of a boy who punctured his lung jumping onto scissors as a child. Fifteen years later, in Oregon, she becomes friends with this boy’s sister and eventually marries him.
• Revelation: Only after dating does she realize her husband is the urban legend from her childhood.
• Resolution: They’ve been together 25 years and just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "You're dating an urban legend." – Listener's brother, relayed by Karen, 25:39
  • "I love you, Billy Brown, and I'm so glad you survived your injuries 40 something years ago." – Listener, read by Karen, 26:08
  • "Tell us your urban legend town stories." – Georgia, 26:32

---

Discussion & Memorable Moments

Hosts' Signature Banter

• Karen and Georgia keep the energy light and comedic, even when the stories touch on serious themes.
• "Do you know that the first time I went bowling, I was very stoned?" – Karen, 19:50
• "There's so many layers. It's so many layers of questions." – Karen, 14:45

Interactive Prompts to Listeners

• Listeners are invited to submit their own stories about "the one thing you did as a kid that would be used as a warning sign in a documentary," embarrassing or regretful childhood moments, and urban legend tales.

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• [02:07] Wild Wisconsin hunting, family drinking, and fire story
• [06:20] Chilling college stalker saga
• [12:39] Courtesy driver parenting fail ("Trash Mom")
• [15:35] Grandma faked death to prank bullies
• [18:50] Softball bonding with dark questions
• [23:01] Urban legend husband reveal

---

Quotes & Attributions

• "It's like swallowing your toothpaste spit and then going to kill animals."
  Karen Kilgariff, 03:12

• "To do it to an entire sorority is so Ted Bundy coded, if I may use that language."
  Karen Kilgariff, 11:26

• "Stay sexy and don't send your daughter with a strange man. Basic parenting. 101."
  Georgia Hardstark, 14:36

• "Stay sexy and don’t pick your scabs. You might need them to fake your own death."
  Georgia Hardstark, 17:20

• "You're dating an urban legend."
  Listener's brother, 25:39

---

Overall Tone & Takeaways

Karen and Georgia maintain their distinctive mix of comedy, warmth, and genuine interest in the bizarre and darkly funny. The episode’s stories blend nostalgia, absurdity, true-crime terror, and heartfelt shoutouts, all delivered with the hosts’ trademark banter and listener community spirit. Listeners are left both entertained and eager to send in their own wild stories.

Closing Prompt:
"Tell us your urban legend town stories... or the thing you did as a kid that would be the first sign something was wrong." (26:32–27:01)

Classic Sign-Off:
"Stay sexy and don't get murdered." (27:19)

---

This episode perfectly embodies the quintessential My Favorite Murder minisode: funny, unsettling, surprising, and endearingly human.

Transcript

[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

My savior. Hello and welcome to my favorite murder, the Minisode.

[Georgia Hardstark]

We read you your stories.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Are you ready?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Begin. Should I go first?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Sure.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This is called Rural Wisconsin. Shenanigans, alcoholism and a fire. Perfect pleasantries, pleasantries. I love MFM and listening to your banter. Thank you for being a part of my life for the past eight years. Let's dive in because it's long but worth it. My family is very Wisconsin. Like very Wisconsin, where beer runs in our veins, our favorite hobby is fishing and our kids grow up next to hunting rifles. I heard the story after a couple of heavily poured margaritas at a family gathering. My grandfather, who I nicknamed Bapa when I was little, began the story by explaining the morning ritual. A shot of Jagermeister.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh wow, what a start.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The harsh shots were taken at dawn in a forgotten cabin on a rough road before Bapa, his 13 year old son, aka my uncle Gary, my great uncle Bobby Charlie and my cousin Parker set off with loaded rifles into the forest. What they were hunting has been lost to history.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Sorry. They were doing Jaeger shots before they go hunting.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Uh huh.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's serious.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Ugh.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I mean what a start.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's like swallowing your toothpaste spit and then going to kill animals.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Look, no judgments. A lot of people like it, but.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That'S what we're here for.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's not for me.

[Georgia Hardstark]

At this point in telling the story, my papa needed a margarita refill, so my now adult uncle Gary took over. Uncle Gary explained that the day ended with the adults handing his 13 year old self a six pack of beer and telling him to entertain himself and his cousin on the porch. A six pack to a 13 year old with an anchor?

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's a good way to babysit kids.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, right. Like go be drunk on the porch. With an incredulous laugh, my adult uncle Gary continued to say that they finished the six pack, but the sun hadn't set yet, so he stumbled into the wooden structure to ask what to do next. Like an old 80s cliche, he was handed another six pack and told to return when he finished it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh shit.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's unclear the amount of the next pack that he drank, but he remembers suddenly being inside the cabin and hearing a dreamy knock on the front door.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Neighbors.

[Georgia Hardstark]

My uncle Gary boozily opened the door to find a middle aged man sweating and frantically waving his hands. The man at the door stated that his house was across the street and on fire. With no thoughts in his brain, my uncle blinked and then closed the door on the poor panicked man. The shit faced 13 year old answers the door. No.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Take care of it yourself.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Can't. The man continued to knock intensely on the door until one of the now plastered adults finally noticed the disturbance. Uncle Bobby and Charlie heard that the house across the street was on fire and fueled by alcohol ran into the burning building to check for animals and turn off the gas line.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I'm sorry, check for animals on the weekend where they go to kill animals?

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah. Pets are different. Don't you know vicious. I know vicious. True. We don't want any animals to die. Wait, what have you been doing all day? In real time at the margarita bar? My uncle Gary turns to my Bopa who sheepishly returned to the conversation. Refill, drink in hand, my Boppa sighs but continues telling the increasingly ridiculous story. My theater inclined Bapa grabbed the neighbor by the shoulders and began to sing the first song that popped into his head at the Time this little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine. So shit faced. I mean, imagine a strong tenor voice carrying across the street staring at a burning house while praising the light. A roaring siren interrupts the poorly chosen ballad as the fire truck appears down the road, but stops short. That's when everyone realizes something is blocking the road. My 13 year old uncle Gary was lying drunkenly passed out in front of the fire truck.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Jesus Christ.

[Georgia Hardstark]

He doesn't know how he got there or anything else about that night. But he was moved, the house was put out and no one got tickets.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Or killed or CPS called on them.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Right. Somehow all family members involved turn out to be okay human beings and productive members of society. Hey, hey. Love them all to death and will never trade their recklessness for anything. Wisconsin may be rough and tough, but the beauty of Wisconsin's nature is unparalleled. Bring a gun into it. I mean, stay sexy and don't give your 13 year old a couple of six packs.

[Karen Kilgariff]

See, I mean, it is true that like if you're going away for a hunting weekend and that's what you're doing.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And you're in nature, there's a safety to it. You're just kind of out and about, but intense. Yeah. Well, this is a bit of a left turn because this is more serious. The subject line of this email is sorority stalker. It says, hi Karen in Georgia and pets. I spent my freshman and sophomore years of college at a state university in upstate New York. I thought my whole life I was already living in upstate New York. Apparently living two hours north of NYC does not count as upstate. I would have thought it that it would, but then I found myself an hour away from the Canadian border in a small college town that perpetually smelled of cow shit.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh dear.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's how I grew up. Anyway, Greek life was a huge part of the culture there, so practically everyone was either in a frat or a sorority or knew someone who was being such a small school. Word started to travel fast my sophomore year that there was an anonymous stalker on campus who was terrorizing one group of sorority girls in particular. About a dozen girls in the Sigma Kappa sorority had been receiving ominous warnings and threatening text messages from an unknown number saying things like, it's not safe out there tonight and I'm not the threat, but harm is coming. At one point, he even texted one of the girls saying, I'm in the house.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah. At the time, no one could figure out who this person was or how they found the girls. Numbers. But it was pretty apparent that the anonymous texter somehow knew the sorority's social calendar as well. At one point, Sigma Kappa had planned a wedding with their brother frat, which as far as I can remember was just a party where the girls were all white and got fake married to a guy from the brother frat. Before the wedding, one of the girls got a message from the anonymous number saying, I'm excited for the wedding. Hope you don't wear anything that can stain. Please don't cancel again. I want to have fun this time.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Creepy.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So creepy. Later he went on to say that he wanted to cause as much harm as possible, even if that resulted in death, and that he was willing to die by the police. Needless to say, everyone on campus was pretty freaked out by this point. Parties were canceled, vague emails from the university administration were sent to students to alert them that to a possible threat and the university police got involved. They tried to trace the number, but found it was actually registered to a fake number generator online. Some students tried calling it and eventually one person got through, but whoever picked up on the other line was using a voice changing app so they couldn't tell if the voice was someone they knew or not. From what a news article says the conversation was pretty bizarre with the anonymous creep saying that he knew he was unstable, his parents were divorced, and that he was also on Xanax. I remember some of my roommates, sorority sisters, trying to add the number on Snapchat to see if the person had their snap location on. I don't remember if that worked, but my guess was it didn't because the harassment stayed anonymous and it also got worse.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Jesus.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Pretty soon after the text started, some of the girls started receiving random phone calls from around five dozen men who are trying to solicit them for sex.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh no.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Turns out the anonymous texter had posted their phone numbers to a website advertising for sex workers. After a while, the harassment started to narrowed down to one sorority girl in particular. She received an anonymous package in the mail containing a book entitled I'm watching you. And she even started to receive drugs like cocaine and meth in the mail, which the anonymous stalker notified the school about in an email in an attempt to get her arrested.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

The crazy part is at that time I was working in the university mail room and I didn't even know that. I vaguely remember the other student workers around that time talking about the police coming in to confiscate someone's package because it had drugs in it, but just assumed some dumb ass had mailed themselves weed or something like that. Our boss, who was not a student, had a habit of smelling suspicious packages and then calling the police if it smelled even vaguely like weed. She was lame as hell. Long story short, the FBI got involved and tracked the creep to Long Island. He ended up being one of the girls controlling ex boyfriends who just could not get over the breakup and obviously had some serious mental health issues when they arrested him. They also found an AR15 semioun automatic rifle, which he owned legally, of course. It actually was really terrifying to think about what this guy might have been capable of if he wasn't caught in time. And all I can say is I'm glad I transferred. Shortly after that. Not only because that school was the target of a crazy stalker potential murderer, but as it turns out, it was also absolutely chock full of asbestos too.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Say sexy. And don't terrorize an entire group of people just because you can't handle rejection.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And then Abby left a note. The story got picked up by page 6. It was so bad.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That is before it got like really kind of personal. I thought it was just gonna be one of the other girls in the sorority, you know what I mean? Just like sending threatening texts.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Just like being an asshole to somebody.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, but that is fucking scary.

[Karen Kilgariff]

It's also like to do it to an entire sorority is so Ted Bundy coded, if I may use that language.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, it's like if I'm against one woman, I'm against all women. Ye kind of a thing.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, it's fucked up. So fucked up. This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye. This one's called Trash Mom. Hi, all. Can't think of anything witty, so I'll just jump in. Back when I was 7 or 8. So 94 or 95. I had been out all day with my mom and on the way home we stopped at the Safeway to grab me a lunchable and snacks. I had a field trip the next day and we had to bring our own bag lunch. Fuck yeah, Lunchables.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Lunchables were banned at my sister's school because there's not one ounce of protein or vitamins or anything in them. They're like. It's literally like just eating something bad.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, I love it. On a road trip, we shopped and checked out. But on our return to the car, my mother realized that she had locked the keys inside in the ignition. Oh, remember when you used to. I did that before for sure. This was before cell phones were a big thing. So she summoned help from people in the parking lot. Hey, everyone, gather round.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Gather round. I really need you help me.

[Georgia Hardstark]

They tried to jimmy the door but were unsuccessful. So what did my mom do? Send me with the courtesy driver that was outside of the store asking people if they needed rides. Is that a thing?

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, I guess that sounds like.

[Georgia Hardstark]

A stranger offering people rides.

[Karen Kilgariff]

A weird stranger in a car who's like, I'll be the courtesy driver at the grocery store.

[Georgia Hardstark]

What is a courtesy driver?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Is that like a small town thing? Maybe? It must be like older people that might need if they can't drive.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, says that's right. She sent me with a stranger to go home and get her spare keys from my grandmother, Peggy.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Thank you, Peggy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Luckily, I'm able to tell this story so I didn't get kidnapped or murdered. But how crazy is that? I don't understand why we both didn't ride with him. Yes, since I had to bring the key back, maybe she thought someone would break in and steal the car since the keys were in there. But better your daughter than the car.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I mean, I don't know how you deal with that.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The thinking. And this person's seven or eight years old, by the way. This isn't a teenager. It's a second grader.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow. Who knows? Stay sexy and don't send your daughter with a strange man. Basic parenting. 101 J. She. Her.

[Karen Kilgariff]

There's so many layers. It's so many layers of questions.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, but most importantly, what the hell is a courtesy driver? And do you have stories about that as Well, I think the older person thing sounds right.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Or like people who got drunk at the Safeway and need like a designated driver.

[Karen Kilgariff]

There's all these people who just go to the liquor aisle and just start cracking beer.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Glaggin.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Also, you know, there's that like thought puzzle of there's a guy and he's got a fox and a chicken and a bag of grain and he has to get them all across the river on his raft. And how do you do it so that the fox doesn't eat the chicken and the chicken doesn't eat the grain? Combinations. That's like that with a seven year old and a courtesy driver and a mom and some keys and the keys in the ignition. Don't eat those keys. The subject line of this email is My grandma faked her death. Hometown.

[Georgia Hardstark]

What?

[Karen Kilgariff]

And then it starts, okay, so maybe she didn't create some elaborate scheme for insurance fraud, but she definitely faked her death. And it's my favorite story. My abuelita Frances was born in 1929 and grew up in rural northern Colorado. When she was about 12 years old, she used to get picked on by a group of older girls while walking home from school. These girls would call her names, kick her shins, pull her hair, push her, tease her, et cetera. They were always really mean to her. One day, my abuelita decided she'd had enough. After school one afternoon, she ran ahead of everyone and laid down in a ditch and waited. She took her braids out and messed up her hair. She even went as far as to pick the scabs on her shins and smeared the blood all over her arms and legs. Gross, but smart for a 12 year old.

[Georgia Hardstark]

What?

[Karen Kilgariff]

She closed her eyes and lay in wait as she waited for the mean girls to walk past the shallow ditch, knowing that she would be within eyesight of the girls. Sure enough, the group of girls walked by and saw her quote unquote lifeless body. They screamed and panicked until my abuelita sat up laughing at them hysterically. Those girls never bothered her again.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, my God, she's capable of anything.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Mayabuelita always said. They probably thought she was crazy after that, but she didn't care because they stopped picking on her. Yeah, I have plenty of other grandma stories from her, but this one is my favorite. She was my best friend and I miss her dearly. She was never afraid to speak what was on her mind, and she was definitely down for a prank or two. She was feisty but kind. My favorite person. Thanks for the best podcast ever and for being wonderful humans. Stay sexy and don't pick your scabs. You might need them to fake your own death. Rachel oh my God.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I can like feel that for some reason. Like the scab. Picky things.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So yes, this episode is brought to you by Uber Eats.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

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[Georgia Hardstark]

That's squarespace.com murder code murder goodbye Unhinged team building Questions hey, hello and hi. Like the good lesbian I am, I've spent most of my life playing and coaching softball.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Nice.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yep, getting a group of 18 year old girls to work on and off the field has always been a challenge. But post Covid rough, it felt like they had completely forgotten how to connect with each other, even on a surface level. So I started doing a question of the day during stretch circles in practice. It began innocently enough. What's your dream vacation spot? If you could have any superpower, what would it be? You're on a road trip and stop at a gas station. What are you grabbing? But after a month of this, my inner Murderino slash unhinged self took the wheel and that's when things got fun. Some favorites. What's your personal version of hell? Top answers included having to turn around and high five people after bowling. Like new fear unlock. I get it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Do you know that the first time I went bowling, I was very stoned? I went to walk.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Did you bowl as a kid?

[Karen Kilgariff]

No.

[Georgia Hardstark]

The first time you went bowling, you were old enough to be stoned?

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, it was in college.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I don't know why. I'm like floored by that.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, we never did it. And we had a wonderful bowling alley, but we just never did it.

[Georgia Hardstark]

There's a lot of activities I did a lot of as a kid because my parents were divorced, so my dad had to find things to do with us on the. So bowling was one of bowling and miniature golf. I did a lot of. Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Point being just that when I went to stand up to go bowl, it looked like there was like a spotlight because you know how it's like all dark here and then there's light up there.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh, God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And then. And I didn't know how to do it, so I was like, I can't do it. My friends were like, shut up, Karen. It was like, like center stage. You clearly have no problem with showing off and being in the spotlight. But it like all became too much pressure and like so crazy. Was hilariously weird.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I just. I'm.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's delayed bowling experience.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And then. And being stuck on a never ending zoom call where no one hangs up and you're forced to small talk until the end of time.

[Karen Kilgariff]

God.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Agreed. Absolutely chilling.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So true.

[Georgia Hardstark]

But my all time favorite was this question. Hypothetically, if you became a serial killer and ended up with a documentary about your life, what's the one thing you did as a kid that your family would say was the first sign? My answer. When I was five years old, I stripped my cat's tail with wire strippers. What the actual fuck? My dad worked for Kenwood at the time and these were very common around the house. I swear I'm okay. And so is the cat.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yeah, okay.

[Georgia Hardstark]

One of my players said she used to collect roly polys, build them little families and keep them as friends. She would bring them to bed, name them, feed them the whole nine yards. The first sign that something is not right. These daily questions became something we all looked forward to. And it helped those girls bond in the weirdest, most beautiful way. Some of them are still close friends to this day. My wife and I are beyond excited to see you in Seattle for both shows.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Hey, thank you.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Thank you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's nice.

[Georgia Hardstark]

That is nice. They're gonna be different stories. I swear, if you hadn't had one already. You have to try a Seattle dog while you visit. A delicious blend of cream cheese, onions, and hot dogs. Don't knock it until you try it. Blend.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So are they saying the hot dog itself is blended up in bun?

[Georgia Hardstark]

No, it can't be. No, no. Like chopped chop. Chopped, chopped hot dogs.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Like creamed with cream cheese. So it's like cream cheese.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's like a hot dog salad. Like a ham salad.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I need a picture of this.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Ssdgm. Amanda.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Amanda. Amazing job. And also, I think when you're little, sometimes you like. I remember I got a kitten and I washed it because I, like, gave it a bath, washed it, and it freaked out, hated it. And then the next day it ran away and it was really little, and I felt guilty about it for years and years, and then it was just like, yeah, you were just trying to get. It had fleas on it. Like you were just trying to. Yeah, but that's how you learn to treat animals nicely as you see the results of what you do.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Whiskers. I covered whiskers in barrettes once. My childhood cat. My mom, she remembers standing in the kitchen and seeing whiskers run by covered in barrettes.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This is how we know.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Okay. My last email is I married an urban legend. So it says, hello, my favorite ladies. I was a kid growing up in the 80s in Connecticut. My three siblings and I had the kind of childhood that was of 80s legend. Riding bikes until dark. Roller skating around the cul de sac, catching snapping turtles in the local pond.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And running around past sunset with no supervision. You know, classic 80s chaos. As a kid, I always remembered my mom telling us a story of her high school friend's son who was my age. One day, he was jumping from bed to bed and he fell and landed on a pair of scissors, which punctured his lung and nicked his heart. This accident nearly killed him, but thankfully he recovered after months in the hospital. My mom used this tale as a constant warning. Don't jump on the bed. Don't leave scissors out. Even our babysitter told the same story to other kids. It was practically a local folk tale. Cut to 15 years later. I had moved from Connecticut to Oregon, and I was working as a barista while attending college and generally trying to figure my life out. That's literally what figging your life out in the 20s looks like.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah, I've seen it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I started Working with an amazing woman. And we instantly connected. We became fast friends and she introduced me to her family who made me feel like I was back home. They were warm and loud and wonderful. We quickly found out why we were so connected. My mom and her mom grew up together in Connecticut.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Holy shit.

[Karen Kilgariff]

They even double dated at senior prom when my mom was dating my dad.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Wow.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Crazy.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

After high school, her mom moved to California and eventually Oregon. Which brings us to when I met them. After about a year of meeting her and her family, I met her brother. He had recently moved home after serving as a Marine. At first we were both dating other people, but there was something between us. Our paths kept crossing and eventually we started seeing each other. There was something about this guy. He was kind, generous and funny as hell. One day we were lying around swapping childhood stories and he started telling me about this accident he had when he was a kid. He and his sisters were playing carnival and were cutting up tickets. They had left a pair of those huge steel scissors on his bed. Later, he was jumping from bed to bed and he fell. And then this is written as him talking. They punctured my lung and nicked my heart. He said casually, wait, what? He lifted his shirt and showed me the two scars. After the accident, he somehow managed to walk into the kitchen, looked at his mom and said, hey, Mom. Before collapsing. His mom threw him and his sisters into the station. Wago hauled ass to the hospital. He arrived near death and spent six months in the icu.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God.

[Karen Kilgariff]

We were dating for a little over a year before I brought him back home to Connecticut to meet my family. I told my siblings the story of the scissors and my brother exclaimed, you're dating an urban legend. We've been together 25 years. Oh my God. Have two amazing daughters. And we're celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this month. Says I love you, Billy Brown. Oh, no. That's why she wrote it in.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's their 20th anniversary.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I love you, Billy Brown, and I'm so glad you survived your injuries 40 something years ago. Stay sexy and don't let your kids play with scissors. LB and it says, PS I grew up going to Action park every summer and definitely have a few more near death experiences to share. Stay tuned.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Oh my God. That's so cute.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Oh, I love you, Billy Brown.

[Georgia Hardstark]

I love you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's the cutest thing of all time.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Tell us your urban legend town stories. But also, I think it's really important. My favorite, murder at Gmail. Tell us your the one thing that you did as a kid that they would say is the first sign something is wrong with you.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Yes. And also it should probably be something you still feel bad about to this day, which is the proof that you're not a serial killer.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Feel bad about or embarrassed about? I like embarrassed. Or like, wow, who was that? Or hey, tell us the story about your kid and what they do too. Yeah, my favorite murder at G Man Narco.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And your children here on this podcast can be anonymous.

[Georgia Hardstark]

It's fine.

[Karen Kilgariff]

That's true. Was that it?

[Georgia Hardstark]

That's it.

[Karen Kilgariff]

I think that was fast.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yeah.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, you know, we've got all kinds of categories for you to write in and tell us your personal stories.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Yes, please do. We appreciate it so much.

[Karen Kilgariff]

And you know, if you just love Billy Brown and you want to write in about it, we'd love to hear about that too.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Sure, why not? Stay sexy and don't get murdered. Goodbye, Elvis. Do you want a cookie?

[Karen Kilgariff]

This has been an exactly Right production.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Our senior producers are Alejandra Keck and Molly Smith.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Our editor is Aristotle Acevedo.

[Georgia Hardstark]

This episode was mixed by Liana Squillace.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Email your hometowns to my favorite murdermail.com.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And follow the show on Instagram at my favorite murder.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Listen to my favorite murder on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Georgia Hardstark]

And now you can watch us on exactly right's YouTube page. And while you're there, please like and subscribe.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Goodbye.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye.

[Karen Kilgariff]

This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

Well, don't panic. Sephora is now available for delivery on Uber Eats.

[Georgia Hardstark]

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[Karen Kilgariff]

Plus, treat yourself to $10 off when you spend $50 or more on your first Sephora order on the Uber Eats app.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Order Sephora on Uber eats today.

[Karen Kilgariff]

Offer October 30th. One order per customer. Additional terms apply. Seat for availability. Delivery fees may apply.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Goodbye. The hit TV drama High Potential is back. Season two stars Kaitlyn Olson as Morgan, a crime solving single mom with an IQ of 160. Every week, Morgan uses her unconventional style and exceptional mind to crack LAPD's most perplexing cases. This show is the perfect blend of humor and mystery. Watch as Morgan breaks the mold without breaking a sweet sweat. New episodes of High potential Tuesdays at 10, 9 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu. Goodbye. Your pet is your best friend, your therapist and your unpaid intern.

[Karen Kilgariff]

So don't just feed them fuel them with Hill's Pet Nutrition.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Hills is backed by science to support whole body health in dogs and cats.

[Karen Kilgariff]

As a leader in science led nutrition, Hills supports lean muscles which are essential for everything your pet does, whether that's the Zoomies, Squirrel Patrol or occasionally knocking something over. Hill's Science Led Nutrition helps you give more love than humanly possible because you're only human. There's Hills.

[Georgia Hardstark]

Science does more. Find the right [e-mail] iheart goodbye.