OTHERWORLD – EPISODE 158: HEIRLOOM
March 2, 2026 | Host: Jack Wagner

Overview

This episode centers on the real-life account of Connor and his wife Lacey, who experienced a chilling and intense haunting seemingly connected to a family heirloom: a glass doll. Having recently left Mormonism and adopting a hardline atheistic worldview, Connor describes a series of inexplicable events challenging his skepticism, ultimately impacting both his beliefs and his relationship. Through an open, honest discussion, the couple shares how the haunted doll affected their lives, the psychological and emotional fallout, and their eventual decision to rid themselves of the heirloom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background and Faith Crisis

• Connor’s Background: Raised in a strict, devout Mormon household in Mesa, Arizona; served a Mormon mission before leaving the faith due to a crisis triggered by both personal experiences and disillusionment with church authority.
  • “When your entire worldview and just everything, your whole outlook was based on this very structured belief system, ...you gotta figure it all out for yourself.” (04:42, Connor)
• Shift to Skepticism: After leaving Mormonism, Connor swung dramatically to skepticism, describing himself as a “‘cringe Reddit atheist,’” dismissing anything unprovable as false.
  • “If we cannot prove it in a laboratory setting, it doesn't exist anymore.” (05:50, Connor)
• Paranormal topics were taboo in his upbringing; ghosts and unexplained stories were shut down as “inviting bad things”.

2. Introduction of the Heirloom Doll

• Lacey’s Account: Grew up collecting glass dolls; kept one particular doll with curly red hair and a blue dress because it was a keepsake from her late grandmother.
• The doll, boxed in a closet, became a background object in their home—until things started going wrong.

3. First Paranormal Experiences

A. Connor’s Dream

• Connor dreams of a woman with features matching the doll: “deep red, ringlet tight, curly hair... white complexion.” (08:09, Connor)
• Lacey recognizes the connection, realizing the dream figure matches the heirloom doll.
• Connor initially rationalizes it as subconscious recognition, remaining skeptical.

B. Auditory Phenomena

• After moving the doll to their bedroom closet, Connor hears a woman’s voice “chattering” almost every night through white noise—mundane gossip, later escalating to personal attacks and paranoia-inducing comments about his wife.
  • “She would just chatter about things that were going on in my life... a little bit really mundane, little gossipy stuff at first.” (09:31, Connor)
  • “It started to get a little bit more... targeted... actively trying to tell me that my wife was lying to me about certain stuff...” (11:25, Connor)
• Connor still suspects he is hallucinating—until Lacey hears the same voice.

4. Shared Paranormal Events

A. Direct Communication

• Lacey, frustrated, addresses the spirit aloud, telling it not to disturb them (14:23, Lacey).
• That night, both clearly hear a woman’s voice whisper, “Are you sleeping?”—confirming to Connor that the phenomenon might be real.
  • “I heard in a woman's voice, like, a question, ‘sleeping.’” (15:06, Lacey)
• Both freeze, unwilling to engage, but can’t deny the shared experience.

B. Escalating Dreams and Nightmares

• Connor’s sleep is plagued with nightmares; in dreams he’s terrorized, captured, and sometimes physically attacked by a shape-changing entity—often with features (height, curly hair) reminiscent of the doll.
  • “The thing that was getting me in the dreams is also the same... That was a theme I was very... conscious of.” (16:18, Connor)
• The scenario gets so dire he trains himself to scream in his dreams as an “eject button”.

C. Daytime Manifestations

• The entity becomes more brazen: Both hear a woman’s voice aloud in their house during the day say, “Hey,” when discussing the haunting.
• Lacey is directly taunted when alone, experiencing a rushing face with a white complexion as she scrolls her phone at night.
  • “It passed through my phone and came at my face... it wanted to get a reaction out of me. It wanted me to jump.” (24:04, Lacey)

5. The Doll and Attempts to Cope

• The situation worsens—auditory harassment, nightmares, both experiencing the hostile presence.
• Notably, Connor details the voice being able to “read his mind” and hone in on his insecurities, sometimes asking, “Do you love me?... Tell me you love me.” (27:25, Connor)
• Smudging/cleansing rituals only provide temporary relief.
• The doll becomes the obvious suspect, but the couple grapples with what to do, torn between responsibility, familial attachment, and fear.

6. Climax: Removing the Doll

• The decision is made: they will not bring the doll to their new house.
• Lacey describes acute emotional/psychic blowback while physically bringing the doll to Goodwill; she feels the entity’s rage and disappointment sharply as she parts with it.
  • “I was getting yelled at in my head. It was like this doll was yelling at me and was mad...” (31:19, Lacey)
  • “I could just feel that she was like, ‘Screw you. How dare you drop me off at Goodwill. Like, I have been with you since you were 8, and you're just leaving me here?’” (31:52, Lacey)
• Immediate, dramatic improvement: “As we drove away... it was like all of her anger and stuff just felt more distant and was gone. And the house felt lighter. There’s a noticeable difference with her being gone.” (32:22, Lacey)
• The phenomenon ceases entirely once the doll is gone and after moving, confirming for them the source of the disturbance.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Connor on the crisis of faith:
  “What do I believe about anything? What happens when I die? What is the point of this?” (04:25)

• Connor confronting skepticism:
  “It’s wild that I was in that headspace when this experience happened.” (06:33)

• Shared experience confirmation:
  “Me and my wife heard the same thing talk last night. I can't... We did hear something — and then the nightmare started.” (15:50)

• On the entity’s possessiveness and manipulation:
  “It started leaning into that and trying to, like, make me doubt myself. And I think it wanted to separate me and my wife...” (11:54, Connor)

• On letting go of the doll:
  “I'm like, yup, yes, I am... I kind of, like, snickered at her as I put her down in the bin. Was like, bye, have fun.” (32:00, Lacey)

• Connor’s reflection:
  “I just had to…live with this huge shape that doesn't fit. Like, it was just like, oh, there's this giant puzzle piece of an experience I had that does not...fit.” (33:23, Connor)
  “Now I don't know what happens [when we die], but, like, I think it's a lot more reasonable to believe that there's a question mark there than that there's nothing.” (36:52, Connor)

• Host Jack Wagner on haunted dolls:
  “I really did not expect [haunted dolls] to be a thing people actually experienced... But we have had so many stories written into the show about situations like this...” (37:46)

Timeline of Events (Key Timestamps)

| Timestamp | Event | |-------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:11–02:20 | Introduction, Connor’s background and faith crisis | | 06:52 | Lacey describes receiving the doll from her grandmother | | 07:58 | Connor’s vivid dream of the red-haired woman in the closet | | 09:31 | First experiences with whispering, chattering “woman’s voice” at night | | 14:23 | Lacey confronts the entity aloud; both hear “Are you sleeping?” whispered at night | | 15:50 | Both confirm hearing the same voice, leading to greater credence in the phenomenon | | 16:18+ | Escalating nightmares, entity appears in various threatening forms | | 23:07 | Both hear disembodied “Hey” voice during the day | | 24:04 | Lacey taunted alone in bed; entity “rushes” at her through her phone | | 25:04 | Dog chews box, doll damaged; nightmares intensify, especially after moving the doll | | 27:25 | Entity seemingly attempts to manipulate/gain Connor’s affection (“Do you love me?”) | | 31:19–32:22 | The couple finally brings the doll to Goodwill—hostility and subsequent relief | | 32:42+ | Connor reflects on the paranormal events’ impact on his perspective and beliefs | | 37:46–39:07 | Host’s reflection on haunted doll stories and their cultural resonance |

Tone and Style

• The conversation blends introspective self-deprecation (Connor’s “cringe Reddit atheist” identity), with open vulnerability and a sense of bewildered awe.
• Lacey brings a practical, grounded, yet emotionally sensitive approach, especially regarding her attachment to the doll and her more spiritual instincts.
• Both reflect on the unnerving, sometimes absurd, but distinctly frightening nature of their ordeal.

Concluding Insights

• Removing the doll led to an immediate and permanent cessation of all paranormal activity.
• Connor’s beliefs are left profoundly changed: while not fully embracing belief in the supernatural, he is no longer rigidly closed off. There is “more going on” than science can currently explain.
• The experience, aided by listening to Otherworld, helps him reframe and accept that some mysteries remain—describing life as “strange, whimsical,” and now open to possibility.

For Listeners:
This episode offers a deeply personal, narratively rich journey through faith, skepticism, and the uncanny—perfect for those interested in the psychological impact and real-world consequences of living with the unexplained. The story is both a haunting in the traditional sense and an exploration of how such phenomena collide with our belief systems and relationships.