National Park After Dark – Trail Tales 88 (feat. Creeps and Crimes)

Episode 357 | February 26, 2026

Episode Overview

In this special Trail Tales edition, Danielle and Cassie from National Park After Dark team up with Taylor and Morgan from the Creeps and Crimes podcast. Together, they swap listener-submitted stories ranging from hilarious prank encounters and paranormal brushes to experiences that blur the line between the real and the surreal. The episode is a lively blend of camaraderie, creepy storytelling, and heartfelt moments about personal loss, signs from loved ones, and the healing power of nature — all in the hosts’ distinctive, candid style.

Meet the Hosts and Guests

(00:24–06:51)

• Danielle & Cassie bring their signature balance of dark fascination and deep respect for public lands.
• Taylor & Morgan of Creeps and Crimes deliver banter-heavy energy and a love of weird, true, and supernatural tales.
• The group dives into their show formats, origins, and playful self-deprecation.
  • Quote: “We are a very big banter heavy girl Chatter podcast. So if that's not what you're into over here, we won’t force that upon you…” — Taylor (03:49)
• Fun conspiracy chat: Hollow Earth, South Dakota Isn’t Real, and the lore of moose sightings.
  • Quote: “Our conspiracy theory is… half the state [South Dakota] is used as government laboratories. The real Area 51 is in South Dakota…” — Taylor (22:24)

Notable Banter & Icebreakers

Podcast Origin & Style

(02:14–05:52)

• Taylor and Morgan forged their podcast from a desire to keep their friendship fueled, evolving from one episode a week to a full-fledged banter- and story-driven show—sometimes centered on conspiracies or paranormal phenomena, sometimes spilling tea about podcast production itself.

Adventures & Misadventures

(07:24–13:14)

• The hosts swap stories about wild trips: an Antarctica voyage gone awry (30-foot swells on the Drake Passage), moose conspiracies, and scary travel mishaps.
  • Quote: “At night you had to push yourself into the corner of a bed and hold on underneath… so you wouldn’t be thrown off the side.” — Cassie (10:01)

Trail Tales: Listener Stories

(A mix of funny, spooky, and unexplainable reads. Each tale includes analysis, jokes, and tangents.)

1. Close Call on the Cog Railway

(13:15–21:35)

• Summary: A hiker recounts a spring hike in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and faces down… a “moose” on the cog railway, only to realize (after much yelling and gesturing) it’s a target-practice decoy.
• Memorable Moment:
  • “I started yelling at the moose and clacking my poles overhead… for the longest 30 seconds of my life.” — Listener (17:39)
• Panel Reaction:
  • Hysterics over the prank, shared love of moose conspiracies, and regional inside jokes about hiking hierarchies and "cars that climb Mt. Washington.”

2. I Saw an S-dub…

(26:38–35:35)

• Story: A group of Iowa teens spot a strange, shambling woman late at night, her features unsettling and her behavior bizarre—possibly a cryptid known as a “skinwalker” (often called S-dub or “flesh pedestrian”).
• Quote:
  • “She crept to the truck, wobbling… sweat on her wrinkly forehead, her eyes gray with a glowing red… it smelled like she was rotting…” — Listener (31:46)
• Host Response:
  • Lively debate over whether it was supernatural, a mimicking creature, or simply a very unfortunate (and possibly unwell) local.
  • “Just so we’re clear, thick thighs save lives.” — Morgan (32:16)

3. Polter-Mom (Heartfelt Paranormal)

(37:53–47:49)

• Story: Listener Carrie shares her journey through grief after her mother’s death from cancer. Her family’s sign is the dragonfly, and a serendipitous apartment hunt leads her to a unit where the previous owner had also hung a dragonfly on the wall. The family now affectionately refers to unexplained phenomena as “polter-mom.”
• Notable Quotes:
  • “[The owner said,] ‘Oh, I used to hang a dragonfly there when I lived here 20 years ago.’ I immediately froze…” — Carrie (41:22)
  • “My family calls it a poulter mom… it makes us laugh and reminds us she's still with us.” — Carrie (41:37)
• Episode Tone: Sincere, connecting shared experiences about signs, spirituality, and mediumship.

4. The Cabin in the Smokies (Classic Haunted Cabin)

(50:41–67:16)

• Written In: By Caitlyn (2021)
• Story: Caitlyn and her husband book a Smoky Mountains cabin after a cryptic and unnerving phone call from a “booking agent” who warns them there are no refunds. The night is full of chilling vibes, cold drafts, and an overwhelming sense of being unwelcome. The climax is the door unlocking itself with a beep, then slamming open — and a full refund with the company denying any such agent exists.
• Memorable Moments:
  • “We heard the deadbolt click… the squeak of the door as it swung open… my husband immediately racked the shotgun…” — Caitlyn (59:44)
  • “But that's not the end. Here comes the kicker… The company said they don’t have phone agents. Every aspect is handled online and through email.” — Caitlyn (65:50)
• Panel Analysis:
  • “I think it was someone else that had dealt with the spirit in the past… not the menacing old man.” — Morgan (66:04)
  • “It could have been mimicking a worker to try and get you not to come…” — Taylor (66:21)

5. Was I Abducted or Just Delusional?

(68:56–84:24)

• Story: "Ellen" recounts—decades after the fact—a night in 1992 where she apparently underwent a medical procedure during sleep paralysis, watching through a third-person perspective as an implant was put into her eye. Years later, a new doctor finds an unexplained scar in the precise place described in the “dream.”
• Quotes:
  • “I saw, but thankfully did not feel, the round margin of my left cornea being cut… depositing what looked like a dark gray lentil-sized pellet within.” — Ellen (73:48)
  • “It wasn't until I was driving home that it hit me like a ton of bricks… did I just get confirmation that there really is, or was, something in my left eye?” — Ellen (80:15)
• Host Reaction:
  • “That’s the proof, you know… She had the receipts from the eye doctor.” — Morgan (92:31)
  • “I will never forget this for the rest of my life.” — Taylor (84:24)

6. Statue Man & A Thirsty Campsite Ghost

(84:24–91:49)

• Story #1: Couple encounters a motionless “statue man” deep off-trail—who never responds or moves.
• Story #2: At an isolated, cash-strapped lakeside campsite, a water pump inexplicably cranks on by itself at night, showering a nearby site with water.
• Host Reaction:
  • “Something about having really normal things happen to you in those types of situations are almost even scarier than something crazy.” — Danielle (89:50)
  • Humor around Tennessee’s haunted woods and the terror of ordinary events in the wrong context.

Noteworthy Quotes & Moments

• “Ellen's story… goes in the hall of fame.” — Cassie (92:02)
• “Plot twist: ophthalmologists are really the Men in Black...” — Taylor (81:02)
• “If you guys want to hear more… we're going on Creeps and Crimes next week and you can hear a lot more from us together.” — Cassie (93:00)

Timestamps for Major Segments

| Time | Segment | |--------------|-----------------------------------------------| | 00:24–13:14 | Introductions, Banter, Podcast Origins | | 13:15–21:35 | Cog Railway Prank Moose Story | | 26:38–35:35 | Iowa “Skinwalker” (S-dub) Sighting | | 37:53–47:49 | Polter-Mom and Spiritual Signs | | 50:41–67:16 | Haunted Cabin in the Smokies | | 68:56–84:24 | Alien Abduction with Eyeball Evidence | | 84:24–91:49 | Statue Man & Haunted Water Pump | | 91:49–93:59 | Wrap-up, Promos for Next Collaboration |

Overall Tone & Takeaways

• The episode masterfully balances warmth, gallows humor, and a spirit of shared vulnerability—hosts and guests bond with listeners over their creepier, stranger, and more heartfelt experiences in America’s wild places.
• The featured stories showcase the diversity of listener encounters: outright terrifying, weirdly funny, and deeply meaningful.
• Special attention is paid to personal signs from lost loved ones and how both podcasts have community spaces for processing grief, sharing scares, and asking big questions.
• The episode is peppered with memorable one-liners, regional quirks, and the joy (and fright) of things that go bump—or beep, or pour, or just stand too still—in the night.

For more stories, catch the hosts’ cross-podcast episodes on Creeps and Crimes, and unlock bonus tales via Patreon or Apple Subscriptions.

Signature Signoff:
“In the meantime, enjoy the view, but watch your back."