Episode 96: Lessons Learned

Summary

---

Old Gods of Appalachia

Episode 96: Lessons Learned

Date: March 26, 2026
Summary by: Old Gods Podcast Summarizer

---

Overview:

Episode 96, "Lessons Learned," is a harrowing, atmospheric conclusion to the first story arc of Season Six ("Long Shadows") in Old Gods of Appalachia. Deep in the haunted hollers, as blood and darkness spill, Daughter Dooley is tested by old powers, tested alliances, and the consequences of her choices. This episode weaves together the collapse of Woodhaven Sanatorium, the onslaught of corrupted spirits, Daughter Dooley’s struggle with her own hunger for power, and a fateful encounter with the beast that stalks the cursed dead. Central themes include the weight of past actions, the cost of power, choice versus fate, and the enduring hunger of the old gods.

---

Key Discussion Points and Story Beats:

1. Opening Scene: Regina Fletcher’s Restless Ghost

• Regina’s Experience (05:14–12:29)

  • Regina awakens confused in her own grave.
  • She faces the black door—a metaphysical threshold rather than the expected pearly gates (06:10).
  • Encounter with a monstrous, hellhound-like beast that preys on ghosts—including Marcellus Moss and eventually herself.
  • Regina’s fate: attacked by the black beast, she’s left corrupted, unable to escape the cycle of violence haunting Woodhaven.

  "The Good Book had never mentioned all the rules and protocols that govern the afterlife..."
  —Steve Shell as Narrator (05:55)

2. Daughter Dooley’s Dream and the Gathering of Dark Teachers

• Dream Journey (13:51–18:30)

  • In her dream, Daughter Dooley is escorted by the Widower, his undead wives, and Bad Shirley to meet a new, ominous teacher.
  • They cross unnatural thresholds using the Widower’s powers, making reference to eldritch magics and blood offerings.
  • Arrival at a protected, heavily warded homestead (16:22–21:20), where they encounter the White brothers and Granny White herself (the "Hungry Mother").

  “The Widower could summon up whatever the working required ... Each claw was capable of secreting ink, blood, tears, or venom.”
  —Narrator (15:14)

  “What's in yon buggy could gobble the lot of us up if it so chose. So listen close and do as you're told, girl.”
  —Bad Shirley (22:56)

• Meeting Granny White (26:05–31:52)

  • Granny White is revealed as an ancient, unsated entity, physically frail but radiating immense power and unspeakable hunger.
  • She offers to teach Daughter Dooley how to consume and repurpose warded power—but at a cost.
  • The lesson is a warning: to serve the old powers requires not just skill, but a willingness to be remade by hunger and pain.

  “You may call me Granny White, child ... Power is all that there’s worth having in this world. And we do what we must to take it. If you don’t have the stomach for this business, you will get eaten alive. Literally. I personally will eat you alive. You hear me?”
  —Granny White (31:32–33:53)

3. The Binding of Regina Fletcher’s Spirit

• Back in Room 16 (35:07–40:25)
  • Daughter Dooley wakes from her nightmare to a visitation from an agonized and now corrupted Regina Fletcher, her hip torn and leaking ectoplasm.
  • A violent poltergeist episode follows, with the spirit lashing out and nearly killing Dooley.
  • Using blood magic and her dwindling powers, Daughter Dooley binds Regina’s spirit to the shadows of the sanatorium:

  “By my own blood I bind you. By my mother’s names I give you whatever peace ye might know. Here are you bound, and here you will stay. Rest now, spirit, and be still.”
  —Daughter Dooley (39:54)

4. The Fall of Woodhaven Sanatorium

• Phyllis and the Staff (40:47–49:45)

  • Phyllis Moore, a nurse, returns to find Woodhaven on the verge of abandonment and plagued by ghostly violence.
  • She witnesses the staff beset by the corrupted dead and discovers Dr. Robinson’s body—the ultimate sign that the living are no longer protected.
  • Woodhaven and its remaining staff are systematically destroyed by the Blackmouth Dog and its horde.

  “Where exactly are you trying to send us, Ms. Phyllis? We’re already home—and I think you’re about to be too.”
  —Corrupted Spirit (49:22)

5. Daughter Dooley’s Temptation—and Refusal—of Power

• The Pact at the Cemetery (51:07–63:54)

  • Daughter Dooley ventures out into the empty, haunted halls—witnessing the aftermath of carnage and ghosts left behind.
  • She’s confronted by the great, monstrous Blackmouth Dog, who telepathically presses her to “take” the assembled ghosts’ power for herself (53:03–59:10).
    • The temptation is strong: with one act she could be empowered beyond reckoning, repeating the old, dark patterns she was taught.
  • Instead, Dooley instead builds a beacon bonfire (lighting the way for spirits to pass on) using borrowed ward magic, refusing to become a vessel of monstrous hunger.
  • The ghosts—along with the hound—are sent through a spectral door to the other side.

  “She could do it. She could consume all these poor souls and fill herself to the bloody brain with dark and terrible power. Just like the dawn. ... Something inside her ached, and her face flushed with shame when she realized it felt like hunger.”
  —Narrator (59:02)

  "She called out to the dog as that power blazed bright around her. Oi. Oi. Here, boy. Fetch."
  —Daughter Dooley (63:01)

6. Bartholomew’s Judgment and Daughter Dooley’s Defiance

• Aftermath: Choosing Humanity (64:53–67:20)

  • Bartholomew, a Green-Touched shapeshifter (bear) and enforcer of the old pacts, reveals he and the Green watched Dooley’s ordeal as a test—to see if she would fall again.
  • Dooley angrily confronts him, asserting her right to live as a person, not a weapon or scapegoat for the gods’ conflicts.
  • She demands the freedom promised her for fulfilling her part of the pact, and Bartholomew reluctantly gives her leave.

  “I'm not an enchanted sword or a charmed amulet. I'm a person. ... I'm more than just the thing you bury in the ground to stop that abomination from bringing about the end of everything.”
  —Daughter Dooley (65:50)

  "You agreed to the pact to make amends for the harm your foolish choices caused when you were a child."
  —Bartholomew (66:08)

  "...It’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain and let me have the years of this cycle to live free. Go on. Leave me be."
  —Daughter Dooley (67:05)

7. Closing Reflections

• Epilogue (68:04–68:38)

  • The episode closes on Dooley at peace under the warming light of the Green, alone and free, for now.

  “When she looked around, she was as she had requested. Alone.”
  —Narrator (67:33)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Granny White’s Threat:

  "If you don’t have the stomach for this business, you will get eaten alive. Literally. I personally will eat you alive. You hear me?"
  (33:53)

• The Blackmouth Dog’s Silent Parley:

  "Come with me, daughter."
  (53:03)
  The terror in a wordless, telepathic command as it invokes the ancient ‘Elder Covenant.’

• Daughter Dooley Refuses the Old Ways:

  "I could consume all these poor souls ... Something inside her ached, and her face flushed with shame when she realized it felt like hunger."
  (59:02)

• Redemptive Power of the Green:

  "She called out to the dog as that power blazed bright around her. Oi. Oi. Here, boy. Fetch."
  (63:01)

• Bartholomew and Daughter Dooley Spar:

  "You agreed to the pact to make amends for the harm your foolish choices caused when you were a child." —Bartholomew (66:08)

  “I need to live my life. ... It’s time for you to hold up your end of the bargain and let me have the years of this cycle to live free.”
  —Daughter Dooley (67:05)

---

Timestamps of Key Segments

• Regina Fletcher’s spectral episode: 05:14–12:29
• Dooley’s dream/lesson with Granny White: 13:51–34:51
• The haunting of Room 16 & binding of Regina: 35:07–40:25
• Collapse of Woodhaven—Phyllis, staff, and the dead: 40:47–49:45
• Dooley’s temptation and confrontation with the Blackmouth Dog: 51:07–63:54
• Epilogue—Bartholomew’s test and Dooley’s defiance: 64:53–67:33
• Closing/Reflections: 68:04–68:38

---

Overall Tone and Language

True to Old Gods’ signature style, the episode drips dread and Appalachian folklore, with poetic narration and a reverence for the uncanny. Characters speak with hard-lived wisdom, regional inflection, and a mix of bluntness and lyricism. The horror is existential and bloody, but also deeply human—rooted in grief, hunger, and the difficult path of choosing mercy over monstrous power.

---

Conclusion

“Lessons Learned” is a transformative chapter for Daughter Dooley and the world of Old Gods of Appalachia. Faced with the seduction of terrible power and relentless hunger, Daughter Dooley instead claims her humanity, resisting the cycles of violence and domination imposed by darker, older forces. Yet the scars remain, and in the shadows of these mountains, unfinished business lingers. As the episode closes, the show signals both a pause and a new beginning, leaving listeners haunted and hungry for what’s next.

---

Transcript

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Well, hey there family. If you love old gods of Appalachia, I want to help us keep the home fires burning, but maybe aren't comfortable with the monthly commitment.

[Steve Shell]

Well, you can still support us via

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

the ACAST supporter feature. No gift too large, no gift too small.

[Steve Shell]

Just click on the link in the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

show description and you too can toss

[Steve Shell]

your tithe in the collection plate.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Feel free to go ahead and do that right about now.

[Pablo Torre]

Hi, this is Pablo Torre from Pablo Torre Finds out and today I want to talk to you about Boost Mobile because we spend a lot of time analyzing inefficiencies in sports, overvalued contracts, money tied up in the wrong places, and so on. But those inefficiencies aren't just on a roster. Sometimes they're in your own monthly expenses. Boost Mobile says switching to their $25 Unlimited Forever plan can unlock up to $600 in savings a year. That's $25 a month for unlimited data, talk and text when you bring your own phone. If that money is trapped in a pricey phone bill, it might be worth a second look. Visit boostmobile.com to learn more. After 30 gigabytes, customers may experience slower speeds. Customers pay $25 per month as long as they remain active on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan Savings claim, based on a January 2026 Boost Mobile survey of 1,000Americans with single line unlimited plans, comparing average annual payments of major carriers to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Plan. For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com hi.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

Who here loves when their nails are perfectly done? Me. I'm Sarah Gibson Tuttle and I started Olive in June because, let's be real, we all deserve to have gorgeous nails. But who wants to spend a fortune or half their day at the salon? And that's why I created the Mani System. So you can have that salon perfect manicure right at home. And guess what? The best part? Each mani only costs $2. Yep, you. You heard me. $2.

[Steve Shell]

No more.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

30, 40, $50. Salon trips that eat up your day. Now you can paint your nails whenever you want, wherever you want. And trust me, you're gonna be obsessed with your nails and everyone is gonna ask you, where did you get your nails done? And here's a little something extra. Head over to olivenjune.com and get 20% off your first mani system with code [e-mail] perfectmanny20 that's code perfectmanny20 for 20% off at oliveandjeune.com perfectmanny20. You're all set for a nail glow up. Let's get those nails looking fabulous, shall we?

[Hayden]

Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan. Fellas, I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.

[Steven]

And I'm Stephen, your bookish Internet goofball. But you can call me the Smash Daddy.

[Hayden]

And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.

[Steven]

That's right.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Hey.

[Steve Shell]

Hey.

[Steven]

So each week you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.

[Hayden]

And along the way we'll do character, deep div, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.

[Steven]

News flash. I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday and you can find Fantasy fanfellas wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lowe's Announcer]

Introducing Home Care Plus, a new subscription service from Lowe's that helps make life easier by giving members a hand with home maintenance. Let Lowe's tackle the tasks you keep meaning to do, like electric dryer, vent cleaning, replacing hard to reach light bulbs, and more. Subscribe to Home Care plus for just $99 a year and consider your to do done. Members get more at Lowe's. Available in select zip codes only. Cancel anytime. Non refundable fee. Product purchase required. Terms and service restrictions apply. Details@lowe's.com Terms subject to change Hi, I'm

[Darina]

Darina, co founder of Quo. If you run a business, you know the team that responds first wins the customer. You've probably opened your phone to a bunch of missed calls and no voicemails. Those are missed opportunities and exactly why we built Quo. Cuo is the business phone system that helps your team handle every call and text right away. Join over 90,000 businesses that win more customers with Quo. Try Quo for [e-mail] business. That's Quo.com business.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

You're on a path in the woods. At the end of that path is a cabin and in the basement of that cabin is a princess. You're here to slay her. If you don't, it'll be the end of the world. Hey everybody.

[Steve Shell]

Steve Schell from Old Gods of Appalachia and I'm here to talk to you about the award winning smash hit visual novel Slay the Princess by Black Tabby Games. This cosmic horror visual novel will take you down winding branching pathways with thousands of hand penciled illustrations by award winning graphic novelist Abby Howard and voice acting from our own Jonathan Sims of the Magnus archives. Slay the princess is currently 45% off on Steam, so there's no better time to discover why. This game has sold over a million copies with a 97% positive user rating, so why not join over 1 million players? Buy the game for 45% off today at www.ruddyquill.com Princess that's rustyquill.com P R I N C-E S S. Old Gods

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

of Appalachia is a horror anthology podcast and therefore may contain material not suitable for all audiences. So listener discretion is advised. Regina Fletcher woke in her own cold grave. She wasn't sure how she got back here. She hadn't gotten used to being dead yet. It certainly wasn't what she expected.

[Steve Shell]

The Good Book had never mentioned all

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

the rules and protocols that govern the afterlife.

[Steve Shell]

Regina had been a lifelong churchgoer at North Liberty Presbyterian, and when she finally found herself on the other side of the veil, she'd expected pearly gates, not

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

an old black door like a vast black hulled ship emerging from a dense fog. That dread portal had appeared, and she'd been afraid. There were no angels, no welcoming saints,

[Steve Shell]

just a heavy slab of black wood that stood between her and whatever come next.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

And at first she was distraught, thinking

[Steve Shell]

that this must surely be the gate to hell, and all of her clean living, praying, and tithing had all been for nothing.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Then she realized she didn't smell sulfur,

[Steve Shell]

nor did she feel the flames of damnation looking at her feet.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Perhaps this was a waystation of sorts,

[Steve Shell]

and if she crossed that grim threshold, she'd be reunited with all her loved ones and finally meet the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. As she reached for the iron ring that hung in place of a proper

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

knob, a flash of orange light had

[Steve Shell]

raced around the edges of the door like summer lightning, and she'd snatched her hand back.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Was that a hellfire?

[Steve Shell]

Oh, maybe this door led to damnation after all.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Before Regina could reconsider, the door had flickered and disappeared. She called for her mother, her father,

[Steve Shell]

her husband Homer, for all the folks who were supposed to greet her on that heavenly shore.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

But none of them answered. She found herself in the cemetery, all alone. Then that thing had come. She thought it was a demon, all

[Steve Shell]

burning eyes and monstrous teeth, like something that rose from the sea. In St. John's Revelation, she'd seen it rip a little boy limb from limb, gobbling the child up in just a few bites. She wanted to help. Truly she had. But fear had consumed her and she just ran and Then suddenly, before she

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

knew what was happening, she'd found herself

[Steve Shell]

back in her old room inside the tall house with the kind nurses and the handsome orderlies. She'd watched as they boxed up all her things to be hauled away.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Since then she had simply been here,

[Steve Shell]

one of dozens of spirits who walked the grounds of Woodhaven Sanatorium. She had met some of the others. Mr. Havish, Mr. Moss, Ms. Bernstein, and Ms. Helton had all been very nice and welcoming. None of them had any more idea than she did how to get to whatever come next.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

But at least they weren't demons sent to torment her.

[Steve Shell]

Regina hadn't thought the living could even see them until the lady in room 16 and nurse Phyllis had proved her wrong, and she wasn't sure what the elder nurse had done to cast her out of the house and but she

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

didn't think it was right.

[Steve Shell]

They weren't bothering anybody, they just wanted help. Why did they deserve to get eaten up by some monstrous dog in the boneyard just because they couldn't move on from this world? Oh God, the dog.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She thought in sudden terror. She was in danger.

[Steve Shell]

She had to get away from here, back to the house where it was safe.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Regina willed herself to head toward the main building, hoping she would simply appear

[Steve Shell]

in her room like she had before.

[Widower]

But it was not to be.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Instead, she found herself drifting in that

[Steve Shell]

general direction, her feet floating a good six inches over the soil below. Her progress toward the cemetery gate was slow but steady, and she'd begun to feel a spark of hope when she

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

heard it, the panting of some heavy

[Widower]

beast plodding through the gravestones.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She did not turn around.

[Steve Shell]

She kept her eyes fixed resolutely on

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

the path before her, staying the course,

[Steve Shell]

she could see the shape of Woodhaven in the distance, growing closer with every moment. She passed the lovely marble angel where Mr. Moss was laid to rest and started in surprise as the man himself rose from beneath it.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Marcellus Moss smiled and tipped an imaginary

[Steve Shell]

hat in her direction. Before he could wish her good evening, there was a roaring bark and the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

monstrous dog was upon him.

[Steve Shell]

The patriarch of the Mosses of Greenbrier county screamed in terror. Regina tried to block out the sounds of rending FL and the choking sobs as the friendly man with the stylish sideburns met his second death in the jaws of the beast.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Keep moving, she told herself.

[Steve Shell]

She had to keep moving.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

As she reached the cemetery's iron gate,

[Steve Shell]

she saw Dr. David Robinson making his way towards her, carrying a bag of some kind. She waved and called out to him, trying to alert him to the danger. Panic finally gave her the speed she'd been unable to find. She flew at the man, arms waving, spectral voice shrieking, and passed right through his flesh without even causing the big man to shiver. She slowed and floated back towards him, watching as he dumped a load of kindling on the ground.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Then he raised his head, eyes narrowing with curiosity as the snarling of the dog reached his ears from deeper within the cemetery. Regina Fletcher watched in horror as Doc Robinson, the man with the gentle hands

[Steve Shell]

and the kind voice, strode into the cemetery to investigate. She drifted ahead of him, screaming for all she was worth. Anything to make him hear her, see her, to stop what was coming. She watched helplessly as he froze at the side of the beast that had stalked her kind from the moment she had risen from her grave.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The monstrous dog's eyes burned. Its hellish maw trembled with anticipation. And then it lunged.

[Steve Shell]

The bulk of its shadowy body collided with the healer, knocking him aside. Regina heard a sick smack as the soft flesh of his temple collided with the corner of a nearby headstone.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

And just like that, one of the

[Steve Shell]

kindest men she'd ever known left the mortal world behind, his soul fleeing before his body even hit the ground.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

For a moment she could not tear her eyes away from the dead man. Then she heard a low, rising growl and realized with cold dread that the good doctor had not been the beast's target at all.

[Steve Shell]

As she turned back toward the gate to resume her flight, she felt massive jaws close around her left hip and

[Widower]

a plague of blood and madness flooded into her soul.

[Poet / Narrator]

When the fire dies down and the woods go quiet and you think you told every tale you know and old flame blooms to reshape the darkness so you lock your eyes on the trembling glow. The faces you find are so familiar they could almost speak. Their stories fall where the light won't

[Steve Shell]

reach

[Poet / Narrator]

and you can feed the fire to curse the darkness when the voices call. But in the end, long shadows

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

fall. In the cozy bed in room 16, daughter Dooley dreamed the night was crisp and cold as Daughter Dooley followed the tall figure leading her down a darkened

[Steve Shell]

trail that ran along the quiet burble

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

of the Guest river, somewhere in the untamed woods of Esau County, Virginia, behind her, Bad Shirley trudged along, her precious orange monstrosity perched on her shoulder, the rest of her foul litters scattered through

[Steve Shell]

the trees or twined about the feet of their small band as they made

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

their way along the banks of the tiny tributary of the mighty Clinch River. They were Led by the being who had begun tutoring her in the ways of warding and sigil making. He was called the Widower, and he was at least seven and a half feet tall, spindly as a young tree

[Widower]

and silent as the grave.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

He was ever dressed in a black shroud of mourning over a pitch black suit. His enormous hands were the only part

[Widower]

of his body that were visible, each

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

finger long and unnervingly mobile, like the legs of some nightmarish creature sired in the depths of the darkest sea. There were too many joints in those alabaster digits, and the middle and ring finger on each hand were tipped in a needle like claw that jutted out of the tip of the creature's finger rather than from the nail bed. He used these protrusions for drawing out the runes and sigils that he taught her. Each claw was capable of secreting ink, blood, tears, or venom. The Widower could summon up whatever the working required. Ahead of him prowled two of his wives. One might wonder how a widower still had wives, but Daughter Dooley had learned better than to ask such questions when dealing with the denizens of the dark. Through careful observation and a bit of outright eavesdropping, if she were honest, she

[Steve Shell]

had come to understand that the wives

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

were the undead husks of women who had once been the Widower's prize pupil. Dry things in funeral black dresses that rattled like wind chimes made a bone with their every step. The pair were tethered to their dread husband with rusty chains. Their eyes were bound with stained, rotting silk blindfolds, one blue and one red. Bad Shirley had gossiped that this was so their husband might tell them apart, adding that the one in red was called Dorcas with damaris in blue. Each of the skeletal thralls carried a small wooden box like acolytes bringing tribute to some dark altar. The comparison, Daughter Dooley mused to herself,

[Steve Shell]

wasn't that far off. When she had turned up at Bad

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Shirley's shack that night, she'd found the Widower waiting on the doorstep as if

[Steve Shell]

he too had an appointment with the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

old crone and her beasts.

[Steve Shell]

Bad Shirley had emerged from her lair

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

wearing a wool winter coat and a thick shawl, leaning heavily on a thicker cane. Her foulest familiar growled at them from her shoulder. Daughter Dooley couldn't remember a time when Bad Shirley had left her hut, and the surprise must have shown on her face.

[Widower]

Wipe that gomless puss off your face, girl. I know it must water your bowels to see two of your teachers in one place. But tonight is a special occasion. The master himself has arranged for you to meet with a new instructor and asks that I make introductions. Not that you deserve such a boon, you rotten, ungrateful thang. But it is a rare opportunity to be a guest of one such as this, even at the Master's behest. So I asked the widower gentleman that he is, if he'd like to come with us to offer proper tribute.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The widower inclined his head slightly and his wives followed suit, the bones of their spines clacking, a dry whisper as they moved.

[Steve Shell]

So, are we waiting here to greet them, then?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Bat Shirley grated out a rasping death rattle laugh.

[Widower]

No, child. The one you'll meet on this night will not venture far from its safe place. We must go to ain't close, though.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Shoot.

[Widower]

No, it ain't. We'll walk aways on our side of things till we find ourselves a little short cut. You know where I mean, don't you, handsome?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The man draped in mourning rags nodded again, and his beloved bride set off into the trees, leaving Daughter Dooley and Bad Shirley to follow. They'd walked for what felt like an eternity, though Daughter Dooley knew that time couldn't be measured reliably on the paths they walked.

[Steve Shell]

Eventually they had come to a bend

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

in a stagnant creek bed, the air thick with the stench of brackish water and things left to rot. Bad Shirley stepped to the edge of the murky water, and the entirety of her ill tempered brood suddenly surrounded her. The slender tortie with the black foreleg

[Steve Shell]

gave the water a tentative smack, a

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

worried expression etched onto her goblin face.

[Widower]

Oh, my little, my, my. You ain't gonna get wet. Just wait. Mama'll show you. You won't do the honors, big fella?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The widower pushed the sleeve of his coat back from his left hand, allowing a single drop of something dark and rancid to slip from the spiked tip of his left ring finger and splash into the fitted little stream. A sudden st began to blow. It smelled of sulfur and rotted meat and carried a stinging grit that caused

[Steve Shell]

Daughter Dooley to squeeze her eyes shut again for a long moment, and when she opened them again, they stood on

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

the banks of another river miles away, this one flowing strong and sure. Bad Shirley glanced around approvingly.

[Granny White]

Ah,

[Widower]

there we go.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Shirley knelt, dipped her index finger into the running water, and tasted it.

[Widower]

North another three miles.

[Steve Shell]

Lay down, ladies. The widower's wives took up the charge, following the gentle flow of the river into the dark heart of Esau County.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

After a while, the skeletal women led

[Steve Shell]

them away from the river and down

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

into a holler, a small squat house set all by its lonesome, like a ticket nestled into the flesh of some great sleeping dog. A subtle hum of power surrounded the

[Steve Shell]

place, a polite warning that promised pain

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

and worse, if not heeded wards. Someone gifted had wrapped this place in the power of the green and the blood of their own people. It hadn't been lightly done, either.

[Steve Shell]

Behind the house, the surrounding brush had been cleared for a solid 30ft to the tree line.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Around the edge of that clearing, at

[Steve Shell]

regular intervals stood trees that had been

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

carved with sigils that seemed to pulse with power. There were strands of dried peppers and

[Steve Shell]

flowers hung from the rafters of the porch, whose interior roof and floorboards had been painted a distinct shade she recognized as Hank Blue.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

There was no fence nor other visible

[Steve Shell]

barrier between the place where they stood

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

in the house, but if she listened closely, she could make out a heartbeat of power, its quiet pulse running around the edge of the yard. This was a place that had been

[Steve Shell]

warded and maintained by Green Touched workers

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

who knew what they were doing. Daughter Dooley noticed that both Bad Shirley and the widower kept their respective pets well behind them as they came to a stop at the edge of the property. She was wondering what torturous lessons she'd learn here when the regular clump of

[Steve Shell]

horses hooves and the creak of wagon

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

wheels reached her ears. She looked to her two monstrous companions to see if they were concerned, but neither seemed surprised by the sound. The glow of the lantern crested the hill and Bad Shirley pulled her close, the old woman's grip like iron around her forearm.

[Widower]

You listen to me, you the mongrel. Mind your tongue. Do not speak unless spoken to. What's in yon buggy could gobble the lot of us up if it so chose. So listen close and do as you're told, girl. Reflect poorly on us and you won't even have to worry about punishment at our hands. It will bring you more hurt than we ever could. If you know what's good for you, you'll behave as if the master himself has come to call.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

A long white painted wagon with high sides rolled to a stop a few yards from them. Two men climbed from the bench seat in near perfect unison. They were dressed in clean homespun pants and shirts the color of perfect, unstained ivory. Their skin was as pale as the moon and completely hairless. The lack of eyebrows and eyelashes gave them an otherworldly look as they nodded politely to the travelers and set about their business. The taller of the two moved to the rear of the wagon and hung back, his beady eyes scowling out at them resentfully. The driver strode forward, his mouth lifting into what he must have thought was an approximation of a smile. Will met Granny Stewart Scrivener Daughter.

[Widower]

Dooley blinked.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

It had never occurred to her that

[Steve Shell]

Bad Shirley might have a surname.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She was just Bad Shirley.

[Steve Shell]

She had similarly never heard the epithet

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

used to address the widower.

[Steve Shell]

The formal tone the man used gave

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

it the feel of a title rather than a name. She filed these facts away for future examination, knowing she would be punished if either of the two thought she wasn't paying attention. Bad Shirley spoke first, her voice taking on an uncharacteristically deferential tone.

[Steve Shell]

Bryson?

[Widower]

Or is it Byron? It's been so long since I seen y', all, I can't recall which of you is the taller one.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The bald man chuckled to himself. I'm Bryson. That's my brother Byron. You'll have to excuse his lack of manners. He doesn't usually leave the property and has become a unused to observing the proprieties. But since this request came from your master, it was appropriate for the elder of us to give this personal attention. The man's cold eyes appraised otter duly, and she had the distinct impression he was unimpressed. His voice was skeptical when he spoke again. This is the vessel, then?

[Widower]

Oh, yes, this is Ms. Dooley. The master has requested this lesson specifically for her, and he sends his thanks to your granny for making this possible. As her teachers, we also appreciate her taking the time to instruct the girl, and we've come bearing gifts to demonstrate our gratitude properly. Yes, we have.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The blindfolded, skeletal women scuttled forward, offering the small wooden chests with formal little

[Steve Shell]

boughs as Bad Shirley and the widower nodded sycophantically.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The man called Bryson accepted them with a chuff of laughter and retreated to the wagon. Byron stepped up and into the shadowy recesses of the conveyance. A moment later he emerged, carefully pushing a figure in a wheelchair. He stepped down next to his brother, and each of them took one side of the chair, lowering it carefully to the ground between them. The hunched figure in the chair wore the shape of an ancient woman, skinny and gnarled as a crab apple tree and just as milk, pale as the men who had ferried her here. The two men were careful to keep

[Steve Shell]

her long trailing white hair from tangling

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

in the wheels of the chair as it draped onto the ground behind her. She wore a simple white house dress that stretched taut across a swollen belly that appeared unnaturally, horrifically ripe with pregnancy. She wore tiny glasses with ruby colored lenses through which she surveyed the three of them sourly. The man called Bryson spoke to her in reverent tones. Granny. This is Granny Stewart.

[Granny White]

And I know who they are, boy. What kind of fool do you take me for? Do you think I don't know Bad Shirley when I smell her? O, good Lord, child. Now, I know you don't care about that body, but do the rest of us a favor and wash it. You smell like somebody made a pot of coffee out of cat piss and cabbage. It is truly unpleasant. Who else is over there? Oh, the widower, is it? Yes, I know you. Well, I know you work, anyway. Blood wards, bone binding and the like. Yes, you get out of the house about as much as I do, don't you? You do fine work, sir. Fine. My work.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The widower placed a hand over his heart and inclined his head at this acknowledgment. Dorcas and Damaris rattled their chains in excitement. The widower snapped them to stillness with a sudden jerk on the links that bound them.

[Granny White]

I can't say much about your taste in winning, but who am I to judge? We all do what we must to get by. Yes, yes, yes, we do. We do what we have to do to put food on the table and keep our families fed, don't we? Can't let them babies go hungry, now, can we?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Babies go hungry.

[Granny White]

Babies

[Widower]

go hungry.

[Granny White]

No, no, no.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The thing pretending to be an old blind woman rested her fingers on the uncanny mound of her belly and turned

[Widower]

her gaze on daughter Dooley.

[Granny White]

Which brings us to this sweet little morsel here. Yes, indeed. I've heard a lot about you, Chat. Yeah, old patron. Can't say enough about the things you're gonna do for our family. I mean, I trust that musty old buck about as far as I can throw it, which could be pretty far, all things considered. But I digress. Let's just say I'll expect you to prove your worth before I give two twists to your dead mama's titties about you. Are we clear?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Any witty replies dried up on daughter Dooley's tongue?

[Steve Shell]

The gravity of the old woman's presence bespoke a level of power she'd only

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

felt in the company of the Black Stag. The world seemed to bend in towards

[Steve Shell]

the withered old thing in the wheelchair,

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

as though her very existence was a burden. It struggled to bear. She nodded in mute reply.

[Granny White]

Aw, looky here. Are you getting all shy on us, darling? Cat got your tongue? All I hear from old Horn is what a smart mouthed little brat you are. He seems to think you're worth the trouble, though. Me? I'm not so sure. Do you know who I am, girl?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

It took daughter Dooley a long moment to find her voice.

[Steve Shell]

You. You're. You're the hungry mother. The pale daughter. The unsated mouth. The very hunger of those who sleep beneath.

[Granny White]

Yes, yes. Enough with the flattery. You may call me Granny White, child. I appreciate the aggrandizing and brown nosing, but it ain't necessary. You hear me?

[Steve Shell]

Yes.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Yes, Granny.

[Widower]

Good.

[Granny White]

Bryson, turn me around so I can show little miss what we're working with tonight.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Bryson White turned the chair so that the pale woman faced the house in the clearing.

[Granny White]

Head on yonder is the Wells house. They's an old family around these parts. Ain't many left of the true line. Last if one trapes on through the old black door. Earlier this year or so we thought, these wards should be fading and breaking all over the place. But somebody somewhere is feeding them. There's goodies in that house that we want. A whole laundry list of books and trinkets and heirlooms just steeped in old workings. Yes, yes. Now, I could just have my children post up here and collect them when the time comes. But unlike your master, I don't care for waiting. Don't care for the bit now, when you're hungry, I'm hungry. Waiting just makes it so much worse. So. So in exchange for whatever we find in there, I'm to teach you the proper way to suck the juice out of a protective work and then use it for your own personal empowerment. Turning lemons into lemonade or some such. How does that sound, girly? Does that sound useful to you?

[Steve Shell]

Yes, ma'.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Am.

[Steve Shell]

I imagine it would.

[Granny White]

Don't bullshit me, girl. Ain't no imagining here. Power is all that there's worth having in this world. And we do what we must take it. If you don't have the stomach for this business, you will get eaten alive. Literally. I personally will eat you alive. You hear me? Now, come here. Let Granny show you how this works. Word of warning, though. It's gonna hurt. Now hold still,

[Steve Shell]

daughter. Dooley sat up with a gasp, her heart racing as she rejoined the waking

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

world in the hour before dawn. Her dreams hadn't been invaded by Granny White in longer than she could remember. The terrifying old thing had taught her a Useful skill or two, but she'd

[Steve Shell]

almost trade those back for never having had the displeasure of meeting the old

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

beast face to face.

[Steve Shell]

As she rolled her shoulders and shivered off the fading remnants of the dream,

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

she became aware that she was not alone. There was a flicker of ghost light at the foot of the bed. She sat up against the headboard and

[Steve Shell]

smoothed the hair from her face, expecting another visitation from William.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Please call me Billy. At instead, the amorphous glimmer resolved itself into the shape of a young woman

[Widower]

in a black funerary gown.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Her head was bowed and her hands hung limply at her sides. Her unkempt hair hung in a frizzy shroud about her face.

[Widower]

Something dripped from her gown onto the floor.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The lamp on the bedside table flickered and the air buzzed with a different

[Steve Shell]

energy from the last time the dead had come to call on her. When William Harrison Havis and company had appeared, the room was filled with a

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

sense of caution and courtesy, as if

[Steve Shell]

they didn't want to scare her off.

[Widower]

This apparition was warped in a cold shroud of fear.

[Steve Shell]

The air in the room grew taut as a bowstring with the sense of dread she carried.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The sound of liquid pattering to the

[Steve Shell]

floor drew her eyes and daughter Dooley saw the spirit was bleeding ectoplasm from a wound at her hip, though the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

specter didn't seem to notice it. She spoke to her gently, as if coaxing a wounded animal. Hail, spirit. What can I do for you this night?

[Widower]

The figure did not respond, but the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

temperature dropped by several degrees and a

[Steve Shell]

draft of cold air blew in from nowhere.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Badr Dooley dipped her head, trying for a peek at the ghostly woman's face.

[Steve Shell]

Ms. Fletcher, is that you? Are you alright, dear?

[Widower]

The apparition quivered and clenched her fists,

[Steve Shell]

her ghostly form beginning to shake more violently, the splattering from the wound at her hip increasing. The room's single lantern flickered again, threatening to cast them into darkness. Ms. Fletcher? Ms. Fletcher, can you hear me? Doc, what can I do to help?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

What was left of Regina Fletcher threw

[Steve Shell]

back her head and howled, revealing the shredded remnants of her face. Her right cheek had been torn away, revealing a garden of bone daggers where her teeth had once been. Her left eye gleamed with a sickly orange light and she leapt onto the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

foot of the bed, crunching and snarling,

[Steve Shell]

baring that misshapen mouthful of overgrown fangs,

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

and the room began to shake, the

[Steve Shell]

cold draft becoming an icy gale. Pictures fell from the wall and their frames shattered. The bed frame felt as though it might shake with the force of the tremors emanating from the ruined ghost, Daughter

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Dooley rolled out of the bed, tumbling

[Steve Shell]

to the floor as the specter lunged at her, clawed hands, tearing her feather pillow to shreds. The living woman bit her lip as her knees hit the floor and she tasted blood. She scrambled to her feet again and began inching toward the door. How had something like this gotten past the wards?

[Widower]

Regina Fletcher's head tilted towards her jaw,

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

working like some sort of demented marionette

[Steve Shell]

as she sprawled on the bed in the spot the witch had occupied not only moments before.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The ghost pushed herself to her hands

[Steve Shell]

and knees, and before daughter Dooley could reach the door, Regina swiped her arm in her direction. Everything that wasn't nailed down on the other side of the room came flying. The wardrobe doors blew open, and coat hangers, linens and other odds and ends tucked inside the cabinets pelted her like buckshot. The metal hook of a coat hanger nicked Daughter Dooley just above the eye and the small cup welled with blood.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

There was a wooden groaning, and she

[Steve Shell]

realized the heavy wardrobe itself was about to tear free from the wall.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

That was enough.

[Steve Shell]

The red headed witch wiped the blood from her forehead and rubbed it between her palms. Acting on instinct, she reached for a well of power that was drained nearly dry.

[Widower]

Nearly.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The spell came to her lips almost

[Steve Shell]

unbidden, and she raised her bloodied fingers in the air in a gesture that stilled the unnatural wind and silenced the roaring shade who threat to bring the roof down over her head.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Regina Fletcher froze, writhing against the binding to no avail.

[Steve Shell]

With a wave of her hand, Daughter Dooley sent the ghost whirling into the other corner of the room behind the dislodged wardrobe.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She felt exhaustion wash over her, and

[Steve Shell]

it was all she could do to lurch back over to the bed, her shaking knees giving way as she dropped back onto it and turned to face the writhing spirit to finish the binding. I do not know what's happened to you, ma', am, but I cannot have you in here thrashing about like this. By my own blood I bind you. By my mother's names I give you whatever peace ye might know. Here are you bound, and here you will stay. Rest now, spirit, and be still.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

With a final twist of her fingers, the tormented spirit faded into the shadows, and daughter Dooley collapsed into the ruins of her pillow before the tides of sleep carried her down once more. Becky Rogers was working the morning shift

[Steve Shell]

when Phyllis Moore, who normally didn't come until almost midnight, walked in the front

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

door carrying A sheet cake covered in foil.

[Steve Shell]

Well hey there. What are you doing here in the daylight hours?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Phyllis smiled and placed the pan on the counter.

[Steve Shell]

I took last night off to help the Ladies Auxiliary get ready for the bake sale this weekend. We made one chocolate cake too many so I brought it in. I'm covering for Laverna today. I'll have me a little nap and then work my usual.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Phyllis walked around the desk and picked up the overnight shift notes. Her brow furrowed in concern as she read what Bernd had written there. Saturday, May 7 the patient had some sort of episode during the night.

[Steve Shell]

The furnishings in room 16 were cast about as if a great wind had passed through the ward. The hat rack was broken to splinters, the wardrobe just launched from its corner. Clothing and other items strewn about the room. Peggy, what in the world happened last night? What? Oh that.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

I don't know what to tell you.

[Steve Shell]

We didn't have the bodies to keep somebody up there last night. Mr. Nelson is all worked up about the transfer down the mountain, but he kept wandering downstairs to pester us about it. He had me and Bert tied up for most of the night. Burt got to her whenever he could, checked on her after sunup and the room was just a wreck. She must have had some sort of fit, busted her lip and bumped her head a little. But she's alright. Soon enough she won't be our problem anymore anyway.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Phyllis's brow furrowed. What do you mean?

[Widower]

It looks like we're done, honey.

[Steve Shell]

Ms. Marjorie is down at the state hospital filling out the paperwork on the last of our patients right now. We ain't got enough staff to stay open and with the new hospital hiring every qualified nurse in a 50 mile radius, there's not really anyone to replace the folks we lost. I imagine she'll make provisions for that

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

little lady in 16, but I wouldn't worry about it.

[Steve Shell]

No, Surely Doc Robinson can work something out. Is he here? Let me talk to him. I can make him see since he's here. Got in around the same time I did. Said he had to do some maintenance or something over by the cemetery. You know how he is about that. I hadn't seen him come back yet, so might be he's still out there. Phyllis headed back out the front doors and began walking east across the grounds. They couldn't close Woodhaven. They just couldn't. Her work was all she had left. At least she was helping people here. She didn't want to sit around her empty old house all alone all the time. Phyllis Moore's house had the unusual distinction that it didn't host a single lost soul or wandering spirit. After working long shifts in a place that was chock full of the dead, one might be tempted to think that coming home to a quiet house would be a relief.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

But for Phyllis Moore, it was a misery.

[Steve Shell]

Her husband had passed away two years

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

ago this October, and her eldest son

[Steve Shell]

had died in an accident at the paper mill. Had either of them thought twice about what she might need before taking off to paradise, she'd have given anything for just a few minutes more with her husband or to say a proper goodbye to her Randall. Once she realized they really and truly weren't going to come and say goodbye, she'd have paid a fair amount for a few more minutes to give each of them a piece of her mind. Instead, all she got were the shades of entitled rich folks. She couldn't stand it. She felt like she'd had to deal with every ghost in the whole wide world, except for the two who actually matter.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Her pace slowed as she approached the cemetery. Feeling the presence of the dead all around her, she ignored them and called out for the doctor.

[Steve Shell]

Dr. Robinson? David? Are you out here?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

A familiar tingle raised the hair on the back of Phyllis's neck, and she flinched as a voice spoke behind her. He was here, ma', am, but I'm afraid most of us were indisposed when

[Steve Shell]

he came to call. Phyllis closed her eyes and shook her head, holding up a hand to stop the gentleman ghost from coming any closer. No, not right now. Please just leave me alone.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

A different voice boomed from her left

[Steve Shell]

and she startled again. Oh, horse feathers. Young William. You know as well as I do exactly where the good doctor is.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The ghost of William Harrison Havis chuckled.

[Steve Shell]

I guess you got me there, Marcellus.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

But you'll have to forgive me. I'm not really feeling like myself these days, if you know what I mean.

[Steve Shell]

I know exactly how you feel, my good fella. I feel like I'm half the man I used to be. Both Shades laughed heartily at the shared

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

jest, and Phyllis felt her temper flare.

[Steve Shell]

She opened her eyes and turned to face them. Will you two just the words shut

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

up died on Phyllis Moore's lips as she stared at the two ghosts. William Harrison Havoc was missing half of his throat and the upper left side of his chest. The ghostly flesh hung in tatters around gaping holes filled with darkness. If Young William was a horror, then

[Steve Shell]

the late Murray Marcellus Moss was something

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

straight from the darkest corners of hell. His right arm hung by a thin strand of gristle and his right leg was torn away at the knee. His belly had been split wide, and inside it a writhing, twisting void churned wetly in the early morning light. Phyllis screamed and turned to run.

[Steve Shell]

She tore blindly through the cemetery, heading deeper into the neat rows of graves. Her heart pounded in her chest, and the fleeting idea that this might just give her a heart attack racing across her thoughts. When she glanced over her shoulder to see if the ruined ghosts were pursuing her, her foot caught on something lying across the path between the stones and Phyllis went sprawling.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Her ankle gave way with a jolt

[Steve Shell]

of pain and she heard something snap in her wrist. When she put her hands out to catch herself, she landed on her belly in the grass with a cry of pain.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

As she struggled to get up, she saw what had tripped. Dr. David Robinson lay staring up at her, his eyes lifeless and cold.

[Steve Shell]

On instinct, she glanced around, searching for his shade, but there had been no

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

hesitation when this good man perished.

[Steve Shell]

His soul had left no confused shadow

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

on this mortal coil. Doc Robinson was gone. Phyllis felt tears well in her eyes

[Steve Shell]

when she heard the voice behind her. She turned a glare that might have curdled milk on the shade of Billy

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Havin's shame the old man didn't stick around. I bet he could see us now. I love to have a chat with the old boy about my treatment plan.

[Steve Shell]

Would have been nice to connect with

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

someone who actually listened to us. As he spoke, the boy in the bloody pajamas knelt down and reached out to stroke the side of Phyllis face.

[Steve Shell]

She flinched away as she felt his cold fingers on her skin, not the sensation she normally felt when she made contact with the spirit. Like walking into a spider web or a cold draft.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

This was solid, physical.

[Steve Shell]

Oh God help her. They could touch her somehow.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Billy Havis let out a belly laugh

[Steve Shell]

at the look of of shock on her face. Around her, the cackles of Marcellus Moss and at least a dozen others that had been ravaged and tainted by the monstrous dog rose around her. The mutilated ghosts began drifting towards her.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Phyllis gaped at them.

[Steve Shell]

In a panic. She lifted her good leg off the ground as best she could and smacked her foot down once, twice, three times. And in a quavering voice that sounded far too old to her own ears, she spoke the words that had served her so well for so long. Y' all stay away. Git. I said.

[Granny White]

Git.

[Steve Shell]

Git.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The laughing horde of the dead encircled her and did not disperse. Where exactly are you trying to send us, Ms. Phyllis? We're already home, and I think you're about to be too. With that, the tainted dead of Woodhaven descended on Phyllis Moore.

[Steve Shell]

None of the skeleton crew that remained to see the facility close its doors happened to be standing outside at the time.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

There was no one to hear her scream, and none of them had any

[Widower]

warning of what was coming.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

By the time the woman in room 16 woke and ventured from her bed, there were no living souls left in Woodhaven Sanatorium or on its grounds.

[Steve Shell]

The Great Hound and its horde of

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

corrupted dead had flushed out and slaughtered

[Steve Shell]

the remaining staff alongside the handful of patients that had yet to be transferred down the mountain.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Dr. Dooley examined the shadowy corner of the room room where she had bound the shade of Regina Fletcher and found the malevolent ghost was secure and, for the moment, quiet. That sort of blood magic made for potent bindings, and in her current state she doubted she could unwork it if she wanted to. Glancing around at the destruction the ghost

[Steve Shell]

had wrought, she expected someone would be coming to check on her soon.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She cocked her head to listen, but the old house stood silent around her, unusually so.

[Steve Shell]

Frowning, she opened the door and peered out into the hallway.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She could smell it before it turned the corner. She'd seen its kind before. With all the death and destruction she

[Steve Shell]

and the child had wrought in these past seasons, it would be a miracle if at least a few of these black mouth bastards hadn't followed in their

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

wake, feasting on the lost and wandering

[Steve Shell]

souls that type of violence often left behind.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

It was the shape and dimension of an unnaturally large dog. A mastiff, perhaps. She knew, of course, that it wasn't

[Widower]

a dog at all.

[Steve Shell]

The human mind can only comprehend so much before it fractures altogether, and thus when it encounters things it cannot physically fathom, it will often interpret them through the lens of familiar shapes so it can continue functioning rather than collapse under the strain. There are beasts and haints walking the world that folks could see just fine, and those were frightening enough, but most

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

of them were of this world. The things that came from elsewhere, from

[Steve Shell]

the screaming void that birthed the ravenous darkness beneath the mountains, were mostly beyond mortal kin, and thus the human mind would just do its best to keep from getting eaten by something it couldn't even see properly.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The black mouthed dog prowled down the hallway and sat down on its haunches across from her on the other side of the threshold. Even seated, it was taller than her. Hail Beast.

[Steve Shell]

The great black canine monstrosity did not

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

grow, growl, nor show any form of aggression.

[Steve Shell]

Its smoldering crimson eyes met hers and

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

she felt it push a thought into

[Steve Shell]

her head that felt like a blow

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

to the gut in its strangeness. Come with me, daughter. Dooley glanced up to the lintel and

[Steve Shell]

saw the warding sigils carved above the door of room 16. The power laid down long before and carefully maintained over the years by many gifted hands. A shimmering protective barrier constructed to give the weak and the wounded a safe place to heal. I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you? Save the juiciest piece of meat for last. Did you figure you can kill my mortal form and wait to gobble the rest of me down once I return? Do you?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The dog sighed and chuffed. Another thought pushed into her mind, bringing with it the taste of spoiled meat.

[Widower]

Drew. Send.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Parley. Old words come with that. The dog padded down the hall, turned the corner, and was gone. Daughter Dooley blinked.

[Steve Shell]

Had a dog, or at least a thing wearing the shape of a dog, just invoked the elder covenant between the green and the dark?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

In our experience, blackmouth dogs didn't truck with human beings.

[Steve Shell]

They killed them and ate their ghosts.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

But they. But they didn't communicate. They were much like the animals they manifested as.

[Steve Shell]

She certainly hadn't expected them to know

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

the ancient laws, and she had to admit she was curious.

[Steve Shell]

She knew better than to trust something

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

directly descended from the heart of the

[Steve Shell]

dark and doubted its grasp of the old packs besides.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

So she would have to take precautions. She knew it would hurt. It would hurt a lot.

[Steve Shell]

She placed her hands on the door

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

frame and reached for the power there, just as the ancient thing that clothed

[Steve Shell]

itself in the trappings of an old

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

woman had once taught her to. The pain was immediate and gut wrenching,

[Steve Shell]

and it dropped her to her knees for a long moment.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Once she had recovered, she rose to her feet and walked out of room 16 forever.

[Steve Shell]

At the end of the hall, she

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

found herself in what must be the laundry room.

[Steve Shell]

The door at its other end led out onto the main floor of the

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

second story of the sanatorium. Three bodies slumped back to back in the middle of the common area, their throats torn out, their white uniforms soaked with blood, and their mangled ghosts hovered nearby.

[Steve Shell]

Across the hall, a couple of shades and bloodied robes lingered uncertainly by the doors that must have led to their rooms.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The dog sat by this grisly tableau, waiting for her as she stepped into the common area. It rose to its feet, chuffed softly again, and headed for the stairs. One of the ghosts, a short, plump woman in a nurse's uniform with half her face torn away fallen, followed it. The dog glanced over its shoulder as if to make sure daughter Dooley was also following. And so she did, down the stairs and out the back door it led

[Steve Shell]

her, the gore stained ghost floating along beside it like a woman taking the family dog out for its morning constitutional.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She was thankful to be spared whatever carnage might fill the first floor, but

[Steve Shell]

knew that every drop of blood spilled, every soul mangled or devoured by this

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

thing, was likely her fault. The dogs sought out the dead and dying, yes, but they also sought power.

[Steve Shell]

Consuming the spirits of the gifted and

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

the green touched made them bigger and stronger. The sheer size of the thing that trotted ahead of her told her had been dining well. Her breath caught in her throat as they approached the cemetery. It was a precious little plot surrounded

[Steve Shell]

by a pretty wrought iron fence with lovely marble monuments and well kept landscaping.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

And a veritable army of the mangle and corrupted dead spilled out of its bounds, filling the eastern lawn of Woodhaven's handsome grounds. They couldn't have all come from here, surely, but she knew there must be

[Steve Shell]

plenty of old family burial plots and lonesome wandering spirits between here and the closest town.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The dog stopped and turned its smoldering eyes on her again.

[Steve Shell]

What? You brought me all the way out here to show me your kibble, did you? You want me to throw one of them? Maybe play a little fetch? What are you waiting for? It's either have at me and see how you do or let these folks move on. It's one or t'. Other.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The black beast growled low in its throat and another, sending wormed its way inside her mind that made her feel sick to her stomach.

[Granny White]

Take.

[Steve Shell]

Take? Take what?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Take them. The dog looked out over the legion of the dead and then back to the red headed witch.

[Steve Shell]

I don't understand.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Beast Daughter.

[Steve Shell]

Dooley held up her hands in a warding jest gesture. And don't go shoving your filthy paws in my head again. Show me.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She regretted the words instantly. The dog turned and tore into the

[Steve Shell]

ghost of the nurse that had followed it from the main house, swallowing down big chunks of her screaming spectral form until it had consumed her entirely.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Its eyes burned red and its swirling black coat shimmered with twisting darkness. It pressed into her mind once again.

[Widower]

Take all of them.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Be strong. Come back. The realization hit her harder than the stench of bad Shirley's shack. She could do it. She could consume all these poor souls and fill herself to the bloody brain with dark and terrible power. Just like the dawn. She had been trained to use the

[Steve Shell]

death and suffering of others so that she could become the vessel the old black stag and his masters had wished for.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Something inside her ached, and her face flushed with shame when she realized it felt like hunger. She had subsisted on the power of the dark for what felt like an age.

[Steve Shell]

She knew how it felt to be a lonely, wandering God wreaking vengeance on

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

all those who dared offend her.

[Steve Shell]

Without thinking, she shifted her arms as if to hoist a child who was

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

not there onto her hip. Daughter Dooley squeezed her eyes shut and pushed the ache away. She thought of her mothers, of all

[Steve Shell]

the people who'd come before that even traveled to this cursed place all those years ago. She thought of the countless good and kind people who had helped her, those who had fought alongside her for years to keep the dark at bay, and

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

she took a deep breath and strode

[Widower]

into the sea of the Dead.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The beast's jaws dropped open in a doggy grin of exultation.

[Steve Shell]

She walked toward the gate of the graveyard and looked into the faces of

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

those who had been taken and twisted

[Steve Shell]

into some perverse banquet, a welcome home supper held in her honor by those who sleep beneath.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She cast down her eyes in shame, and they came to rest on a burlap sack that had been discarded there, sticks of alder and ash spilling out on the ground.

[Steve Shell]

She knelt and rummaged around, finding several satchels of herbs, a box of matches, and a paper to light the kindling. These were the components of a spell.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Had someone tried to send the dead

[Steve Shell]

of Woodhaven on their way? Had Phyllis done this?

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

It didn't really matter.

[Steve Shell]

She could discern the working's purpose easily enough from its components.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

A bonfire with the appropriate materials would

[Steve Shell]

serve as beacon to lead lingering spirits

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

to the other side of the veil. It was a solid option if you had a middling gift and needed to

[Steve Shell]

get Papaw's ghost out of the attic. But this was more than somebody's lonesome forebear not wanting to leave their homestead.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Daughter Dooley had a bit more than a middling gift. She felt right spry now that she'd had some rest and a couple of

[Steve Shell]

good meals in her. It also helped considerably. She'd borrowed the power of into the wards on the private wing, a power

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

that willed inside her now.

[Steve Shell]

This energy poured into those workings for years by green gifted practitioners over the lifetime of a place of healing and kindness. This was power intended to protect and preserve, to stand against the darkness and send it packing.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She gathered up the wood and arranged

[Steve Shell]

it in the proper fashion for a small bonfire. Just as her mothers had taught her when she was still a child. The matches had gotten a bit dank lying outside on the ground, but eventually they caught and she lit the paper.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

In the back of her mind, she

[Widower]

felt the dog growl.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

She nearly fell to her knees with the force of it, sending no.

[Widower]

Take, not burn, Take.

[Steve Shell]

There was no time to perform the ritual as intended, adding the various herbs slowly as to draw the spirits gently. The dog would come for her or them if she wasted any time. Instead, she scattered the herbs over the flames at once and reached out with her gift, infusing the working with the power she had taken from the doors of the private wing. She heard the dog's paws racing over the grass and knew she had run out of time.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

And then she felt it as she

[Steve Shell]

poured out the borrowed magic from all those healed and helped by the Robinsons and their chosen family.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The green rose to meet her, calling her by name by her true name.

[Steve Shell]

It filled her heart and her body with emerald fire. The same fire that allowed her to walk away from a bloody clearing in eastern Kentucky with a fistful of busted antler and a curse she would never escape. She called out to the dog as that power blazed bright around her. Oi. Oi. Here, boy. Fetch.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

The massive dog emerged from the horde of specters, jaws open, eyes burning, as

[Steve Shell]

the shape of an old, worn black door materialized in the air just beyond the bonfire she had built. As she watched, the door swung inward and the flames blazed into a tower of white hot light, sending purifying energy out in radiating waves. Waves sweeping the dead, the dog, and all things that belonged on the other side of the veil through the open door.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

After a few moments, it swung shut and faded away. The flames died down. Just a normal bonfire now, if one made particularly aromatic by the herbs used in the work. She sat by that fire until it settled into a low smolder, staring into the dying flames and pondering what to do next. In the cemetery, a great shadow moved, but she was unafraid. She knew the difference between an oversized dark touched mongrel and an oversized green touched bear. There was a shuffling as four feet became two, and a handsome dark skinned man with a dark beard wearing an even darker suit emerged from the cemetery gate, pausing for a moment to close it behind him.

[Bartholomew]

Hail, sister.

[Steve Shell]

I save it, you furry faced old fool. Why did you bring me here, Bartholomew?

[Bartholomew]

You needed rest, daughter of Catherine and Eve. Edith. Your walk with the child was long and the cost to bring you home was great. You needed a place where you would be safe and we could observe.

[Steve Shell]

Oh, observed it. Ya watch from afar as these good people, living and dead, got chewed up by that bloody dog. Waited to see if I'd take its offer and go running back to my old masters, did you?

[Bartholomew]

We had to be sure that I was.

[Steve Shell]

What? Still in me right mind? Still on the right side?

[Bartholomew]

Its power seductive system. It can lure the best of you into doing its foul work. You were wielded as a weapon against the whole of the world. And it took the might of the green and the dark together to stop you. We would not have you stolen away again.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Stolen away?

[Steve Shell]

I'm not an enchanted sword or a charmed amulet. I'm a person. A person with thoughts and dreams and wonder, wants and needs. I'm. I'm more than just the thing you bury in the ground to stop that abomination from bringing about the end of everything.

[Bartholomew]

You agreed to the pact to make amends for the harm your foolish choices caused when you were a child.

[Steve Shell]

That's just it. I was a child. A clever child, but a child all the same. And a child mourning the deaths of her mothers. Besides, I was angry and sad. And I wanted bloody vengeance for what had been taken from me. Where was the grain then, eh? Hell, where was the grain just now? People died here, Bartholomew. Good people. They took me in and they died for it. The dead asked for my help and they suffered for it. Most of them didn't even know my name. And they died for what? So that you could test my loyalty?

[Bartholomew]

It was necessary.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

So say you. And I'll tell you what's necessary.

[Steve Shell]

I need to live my life. I need to be alone for a while. I passed your little examination. It's time for you to hold up your end of the bargain and let me have the years of this cycle to live free. Go on. Leave me be.

[Bartholomew]

If I go, you'll return when it's time to bind the child once more.

[Steve Shell]

You'd better hope I do, sister. I'll be there, you dotty old beast. Now give me some space. Be gone.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

I've a lot to think about. The sun chose that moment to emerge from behind a cloud, and daughter Dooley shaded her eyes against it, the warmth of the green washing over her body and warming her bones, like the embrace of a long absent friend. When she looked around, she was as she had requested. Alone.

[Poet / Narrator]

There is a curse upon my every awakened breathing.

[Steve Shell]

Well, hey there, family.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

There you go.

[Steve Shell]

We come to the end of the first story arc in season six of Old Gods of Appalachia.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Long Shadows we got more stories to

[Steve Shell]

tell and more miles to go. But I hope you enjoyed your time with good daughter Dooley and that dotty old bear.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

I truly hope you did.

[Steve Shell]

And hey, if daughter Dooley, AKA the Witch Queen just happens to be your favorite character, you should know that we have a handful of designs that feature her, including one with Bartholomew as well over on our classic merch store. You can pick those up on a T shirt, a hoodie, maybe a mug. Whatever floats your particular [e-mail] if this was your first time crossing paths with a certain albino horror and the blackmouth dogs and for some reason you ain't scared enough, well, you can find whole storylines featuring them over in the holler. Head on over to oldgodsofappalachia.com theholler today hit up Build Mama a coffin for more of that hungry mother. Or listen to the full saga of them Mean Mouth critters and Black Mouth Dog. This is your Granny White is loose on the main feed terrorizing everybody so none of y' all are safe. Reminder that Old Gods of Appalachia is a production of Deep Nerd Meat and is distributed by Rusty Quill. Today's story was written and edited by Steve Shell and Cam Collins. Our intro music is by brother Landon Blood and our outro music today is

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

by those poor bastards.

[Steve Shell]

The voice of Granny White was Betsy Puckett and the voice of brother Bartholomew is Dr. Ray Christian.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

Talk to you soon family. Talk to you real soon. It's time my grail, to go and find another.

[Steve Shell]

I love my home.

[Granny White]

Now just.

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

You're on a path in the woods. At the end of that path is a cabin and in the basement of that cabin is a princess. You're here to slay her. If you don't, it'll be the end of the world. Hey everybody.

[Steve Shell]

Steve Shell from Old Gods of Appalachia and I'm here to talk to you about the the award winning smash hit visual novel Slay the Princess by Black Tabby Games. This cosmic horror visual novel will take you down winding branching pathways with thousands of hand penciled illustrations by award winning graphic novelist Abby Howard and voice acting from our own Jonathan Sims of the Magnus archives. Slay the princess is currently 45% off on Steam so there's no better time to discover why. This game has sold over a million copies. Fees with a 97 positive user rating. So why not join over 1 million players buy the game for 45 off today at www.rustedquill.com princess. That's rustyquill.com P R I N C-E

[Narrator / Daughter Dooley]

S S

[Hayden]

Howdy, howdy ho, and welcome to Fantasy Fan Fellas. I'm Hayden, producer of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast and your resident lover of all things Sanderson.

[Steven]

And I'm Steven, your bookish Internet goofball. But you can call me the Smash Daddy.

[Hayden]

And we are currently deep diving Brandon Sanderson's fantasy epic Mistborn. But here's the catch. Steven here has not read Mistborn before.

[Steven]

That's right.

[Widower]

Hey.

[Steven]

Hey. So each week you'll get my unfiltered raw reactions to every single chapter.

[Hayden]

And along the way we'll do character deep dives, magic explainers, and Steven will even try to guess what's next. Spoiler alert. He'll be wrong.

[Steven]

Newsflash. I'm never wrong. Episodes come out every Wednesday, and you can find Fantasy Fan Fellows wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lowe's Announcer]

Spring Fest means more sun, more fun, and more free at Lowes. Keep your yard in line with an additional free EGO 56 volt battery when you buy a select EGO mower trimmer or blower. Plus, keep landscaping fresh with Stay Green 1 cubic foot garden space soil 5 bags for $10. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's, valid through 4 a while supplies last selection varies by location. Soil offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii.

[Adam Grant]

Hey, this is Adam Grant, host of Ted's podcast, Rethinking with Adam Grant. Let me share with you why smart finance leaders turn to Bill. They know that clarity isn't just helpful, it's strategic. As the intelligent finance platform, Bill uses AI to automate the busy work for nearly half a million business businesses so they can focus on intentional growth, eliminate the friction and start scaling with the proven choice. Visit bill.compenven to talk with an expert about automating your business finances and get a $250 gift card as a thank you. That's bill.com proven terms and conditions apply. See offer page for details.

[Bleacher Report Announcer]

The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports Right now. The NBA is heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment. You've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time, scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.

[Steve Shell]

Lunch was great, but this traffic is awful.

[Darina]

Can we stop at a bathroom?

[Steve Shell]

Are you alright?

[Darina]

And keep having stomach issues after eating like diarrhea, gas and bloating, abdominal pa, sometimes oily stools.

[Sarah Gibson Tuttle]

Sound familiar? Those stomach issues may actually be a pancreas issue called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency or epi. Creon may help manage epi. Creon is a prescription medicine used to treat people who can't digest food normally because their pancreas doesn't make enough enzymes.

[Creon Advertisement]

Creon may increase your chance of fibrosing colonopathy, a rare bowel disorder. Tell your doctor if you have a history of intestinal blockage or scarring or thickening of your bowel wall, if you are allergic to pork or if you have gout, kidney problems or worsening of painful swollen joints. Call your doctor if you have any unusual or severe gastrointestinal symptoms or allergic reactions. Reactions Take Creon as directed by your doctor and always with food. Do not chew capsules as this may cause mouth irritation. Other side effects may include blood sugar changes, gas, dizziness in a sore throat and cough. These are not all the side effects of Creon. Call 863-9110 or visit creoninfo.com to learn more. That's C R E O N info.

[Granny White]

Com.

[Darina]

I'm asking my doctor about EPI and if Creon could help.