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Advertiser 1
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Advertiser 2
For the next episode of Radio Rental. Subscribe to Tenderfoot plus to get early access to episodes, ad free listening and bonus scary stories. Visit tenorfootplus.com for details.
Content Warning Announcer
The following podcast includes scary stories with content that could be triggering to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.
Advertiser 2
Take a break from the same old boring blockbusters and experience a new kind of movie night with Radio Rental. At Radio Rental, our videos come to life in your living room, defy all logic and reasoning, and make you question your own reality. This is not your ordinary video rental store. At Radio Rental, we carry one of a kind videos. So frightening, so mind bending. You won't be able to sleep at night. You've gone. Radio Rental. Hello.
Customer 1
Hello?
Terry Carnation
Quiet. Hello. Welcome to Radio Rental, a video rental shop with a collection of the scariest true stories you've ever heard.
Customer 1
Hey.
Advertiser 2
Hey, you, whoever you are. Over here.
Storyteller 1
Ha ha ha ha ha.
Terry Carnation
I'm sorry about that. Please ignore that wooden chest in the corner over here.
Customer 1
Let me out.
Terry Carnation
Someone was being naughty and needed to be put in timeout. Anyway, I'm your host, Terry Carnation.
Advertiser 2
Replace me as host of the show.
Customer 1
You can.
Advertiser 2
My house, my rules.
Terry Carnation
No, Wrong. Doll's House. Doll's Rules. Anyway, your job is easy. Human Watch. Dear customer, would you like to hear the first story? How about I pop it in for you? Here we go.
Advertiser 2
Stupid doll. It's the one with the triangle on it.
Terry Carnation
Quiet, or I'll add two more hours to your time.
Storyteller 1
This was in 2016. I moved here with a previous relationship that didn't really work out. We split up pretty quickly, and I was in this city for like a year. I didn't really know anybody. I didn't really have any friends besides my coworkers. So I thought my next course of action would be to download these applications and try to meet people online. He messaged me first. We just hit it off pretty quickly. I just thought he was a really attractive person. He was funny and we had, like, the same sense of humor. And like, that's what I look for in, like, a person that I'm, like, trying to be friends with or more. Whatever. Whatever I'm trying to find from the application. I really didn't have a set goal of what I was looking for. He was a super nice guy. So we decided we would just continue talking through the application. And then about, like, a week later, we decided we liked each other enough that we would just meet up at, like, a local cafe and, like, see where it goes from there. I was super stoked to, like, meet this person in the flesh. To have someone that was super kind and that had a bunch of similar interests with me. It was like a breath of fresh air. I put on my best T shirt, clean pair of pants, and I was feeling good. It was like a first date. That's what I took it as. I was as nervous as anyone would ever be. He walked in, like, I immediately knew it was him because it was who he said he was in his photos. That was a huge relief to me. You never know who you're gonna meet off the Internet. And we just started talking, hit it off immediately. I was pretty at ease when I talked to him. Everything was just normal. I felt like I knew him from previously meeting, which is different. I ended up showing him, like, this stupid photo on my phone. Like, I have a whole folder of, like, cat reactions. So I was going through those, and then he, like, pulled out his phone and had, like, a whole folder of, like, memes. We started just sharing memes with each other, like, on our phones. He kind of just nonchalantly grabbed my phone out of my hand and just kind of started swiping through. I was looking at his phone and he was looking at mine. We both have iPhones. He had my phone in the palm of his hand, and his phone was laying on the table. So he could see what I was doing on his phone, but I couldn't see what he was doing on my phone. But he was making the swiping gestures. He was, like, laughing and reacting to things on my phone. So I was like, okay, he's still just looking through my photos. Nothing is weird here. There was nothing that indicated that he was doing anything other than looking at my photos. And then he just gave me back my phone. And then we were just continuing to laugh at memes and stuff like that. Nothing about this interaction was off to me. We just continued talking. I think it was around 9:45. The Starbucks closes at 10. He was like, hey, do you still want to, like, hang out? Sure. That sounds like fun. Did you have anything in mind. He was like, well, I'm not really from the area and everything's closed, so maybe we could just drive around for a little bit. That sounds fine with me. We're driving around the city, going in and out of, like, inner streets. I was comfortable because we were downtown. If anything happened to me, I could just jump out of the car. I was thinking, like, what ifs? But I pushed them to the back of my mind and just got in the car and, like, things were fine. Things were totally fine. We're at this red light, and he looks at me and he says, so, do your roommates know that you're out with me tonight? I just snapped back immediately, like, no, Are you going to kill me? He just laughed, and he was just like, maybe you should use your roommates as an emergency contact. I said, yeah, maybe you're right. We both have a dark sense of humor. Morbid jokes have, like, always been kind of the normal in these conversations. So it was not anything that kind of struck me as odd. His demeanor was just totally normal. It's nearing, like, midnight. We're driving, and I asked him to drop me off at the train station that was near my house because I didn't feel comfortable with him knowing my apartment complex just yet. It wasn't anything about him. It was just that I just met him online two hours ago. So I didn't want him to know exactly where my house was just yet. He just said, yeah, that's fine. And he dropped me off at the train station. And I got home. I went to send him a text message telling him that I got home safely. And then I had a good night. I opened up his chat log, and at the very bottom, there's, like, a receipt that just says, you started sharing your location with Guy at 8:05 about the same time we were both at Starbucks. I, like, put my glasses on to make sure that that's what I was reading, because I definitely didn't do that. I turned that off, like, as soon as I saw it, and then I just wrote it off. And I was like, maybe I just. I just did that on accident. I've been known to, like, send butt text messages and call people on accident. So I just turned it off and sent him a text message. And I was like, hey, like, I had a really great night. I hope that I can see you again soon. He replied. It was, like a short text message, and I was like, okay, whatever. So I went to bed that night, and then I woke up the next day, and I sent him Another text message, just like, hey, what's up? How's your day going? No response. I get it. This is the Internet. If things don't click on, like, the first meet, it's not totally cool to ghost someone. But, like, that's what happens. That's what I thought was happening. The conversation kind of dwindled over time. Like, he would still send me text messages, but it wasn't what it was. And then a few weeks later, I was at a grocery store around here, and I was just picking up some food for the house. There he was in line buying a drink. Like a soft drink. Just a single soft drink. Struck me as odd because he told me previously that he doesn't live in the area. And he said like, hey, what's up? It's so weird to run into you here. I was just like, yeah, like, how's it going? He was like, oh, it's great. He had a drink and then behind him, like, a cart with his dog food, because he had a dog at the time. Okay, well, maybe he was just buying dog food here for some reason. I went home and I didn't hear from him. I sent him a few text messages. After that, everything was just radio silence. A few days later, I was sitting there watching cartoons, just eating cereal. And it's near midnight and there's like a bang on the door. I'm not gonna answer that. Didn't even react to it. I just continued to eat food and watch cartoons. I wasn't expecting anyone. I just wanted to ignore it, hoping that they would go away. Maybe they just had the wrong house or something. Like, I wasn't, like, too concerned about it. There is more bangs on the door. So I went and looked through the people, and there were two people. The first guy was wearing a hoodie and a baseball cap, and the second guy was just wearing a hoodie. They weren't looking at the people or anything. They were both facing, like, the door with their heads down with what they were wearing. They were trying to hide their figure. All I could see was, like, mouth down. I immediately recognized the online guy as the guy in the hoodie and the baseball cap. Because he had a super defined jaw. 100% knew that that was him immediately. Not only is he at my apartment after I wanted to be dropped off at the train station. Panic. It was more panic that there was a second person. That's when everything started clicking. The meeting at the grocery store, the timestamp on my phone. I put it together that he figured out where I was staying. Because I didn't immediately turn off my location. So he could have been watching me walk from the train station to back to my apartment. And I'm here alone, and I'm 5:3 and not even £130. It really freaked me out. I just went to my bedroom and I called my roommates, and I was like, you guys need to get home, like, asap. I think there's someone trying to break into the apartment. That was the only thing that I thought that they wanted to do was just rob me. Because I've heard of people being robbed off of, like, Tender and Grindr. That's what he was trying to do, obviously. My roommate gets home and I ask him, did you see anyone outside the apartment complex? And he was like, no. Everything was silent. There is no one around the apartment complex. I told them everything, and they were like, do you want to call the cops? I'm like, I don't know yet. So we didn't call the cops. But after that happened, I kind of, like, gave it a few hours after I was done freaking out, and I logged onto the application to send him a message and see what the fuck was up, just to see if he was last online or something. I just wanted to see, like, what he was doing on the application, because you can see when they're last online and how far away they are from you. I try to find his profile, and it's gone. He blocked me. It's a blank profile. Like, there's nothing there. Everything was just, like, solidified. It was him. From what I gather, they were trying to do more than just rob the place. But I am unsure. Even thinking about it still, like, freaks me out, because obviously there was more of a motive there than just robbing. And I just don't know what it was, and I don't think I ever will. He's out there right now, which is terrifying.
Terry Carnation
How unsettling. Now, time for some ads. Y.
Advertiser 3
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Advertiser 1
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Terry Carnation
Welcome back, dear customer. What did you think of that last story?
Advertiser 2
Oh my goodness. So scary, right? That really reminds me of I wasn't.
Terry Carnation
Asking you to speak. You broke the rules. That's two more hours in time out, you simple minded loser.
Advertiser 2
Sticks and stones.
Customer 1
See if I care.
Advertiser 2
That actually does hurt my feelings a little bit.
Terry Carnation
Okay, my dear listener, onto the next scary story. Here we go.
Advertiser 2
As if I wasn't already on edge.
Customer 1
This particular experience was my first time going to Mexico City. I had contacts locally that had helped to find a hotel, make hotel arrangements, and they were all waiting for me to arrive. They'd picked a hotel that was in the city center, near what's called the Zocalo in Mexico City. There were warnings all around the airport saying make sure to only use licensed approved taxi services. Book your taxi service here. There were kiosk booths and people out front of those kiosks trying to pull people in to buy their taxi service. And I was a little concerned that I was going to be taken advantage of. I was fairly confident in my ability to get around. I understand Mexican culture well enough, I'm fluent in Spanish, and I just thought, I don't need somebody to arrange this for me and they're probably going to charge me a lot more than if I were to just sort this out on my own. I'm not some helpless tourist showing up in a country where I don't speak the language. I can figure this out on my own rather than risking being taken advantage of. So I decided, while I had Internet connection at the airport, to just use a different service that I had happened to find over the Internet on my phone. Found a ride to take me into the city. The ride pulled up. It looked like it was a pretty legitimate taxi service. There was a sign from whatever taxi company or ride service I had called confirming that that was the right car to get in. I had no real concerns with getting in, so I did. I jumped in the cab and got started on my way to the Zocalo, Feeling really proud of myself for doing this on my own and not paying extra for a cab that I didn't need arranged for me or felt like I didn't need arranged for me. I got to talking with the driver. He was surprised to learn that I was fluent in Spanish. So we had a good conversation. Asked what I was doing in Mexico City, Shared with him what my job was, a little bit, but also trying to be mindful of not sharing too many details with somebody that I didn't necessarily know. He asked if I was meeting up with people or if I was by myself, if I knew anybody. And I said, yeah, I have some friends, some colleagues that have arranged this hotel that you're taking me to. It kind of started going in a weird direction. When he started talking to me about the area of the city that I was going to. He just said, you know, this place that you're going to, it's not a good place for Americans. He was telling me about how dangerous that part of the city is, how I really shouldn't go there. He didn't want to take me there. All the Americans go to this other place. I take them to this other place all the time. So let me take you to that place. You're going to have a much better time. We were having a friendly conversation, so I didn't think too much of it at the time, but I kind of chuckled and pushed him off and just said, no, I need to get to where I'm going. I'm here on business. I'm not here on a vacation or anything. So I'm expected to be at certain places. So no, I need to go to that hotel. Kind of kept going back and forth a little bit. He became a little more pushy about it, saying things like, I can't in good conscience take you to this place. Part of the city that I know is dangerous. Since we were getting closer, he was like, this is the exit. Let me just take you there. You can take a look at it. You can see if that's what you want to do. And he got off of the highway, on. Off of this exit. He takes me off on this ramp, and that's when I first start to panic and become more alert. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't. No, no, no. I told you where I need to go. I told you I have people waiting for me. Maybe some other time, but you need to get back on the highway and take me back to wherever we're supposed to go. Not only did I get a little more aggressive with him, but I was even like, look, I'm expected somewhere. I'll pay you extra to get me there. Just take me there. Don't take me anywhere else. I'll give you, like, an extra 100 pesos to take me where I need to go. And he just said, oh, okay, fine. You don't need to be difficult about this. I'll get back on. And he got back on the highway, and we kept driving toward the Zocalo. We get back on the highway, and he and I are both kind of quiet for a little while. I think it's just because he's embarrassed, but I'm also annoyed and also kind of much more alert now than what I was at the beginning of the ride. I'm watching the street signs like, okay, we are going in the direction of the Zocalo. After a little bit of silence, he starts in again about the city center is very dangerous, and I don't like taking Americans to the city center. I don't care if that's where your hotel is. You really should have let me take you to this resort. You're not safe. And I said, well, I have locals, I have friends that made this arrangement for me. They wouldn't send me somewhere that is unsafe. And I'm not by myself. I have people waiting for me. It was a repetition of the same conversation on his side. It was, you're too vulnerable, and you're gonna get mugged if I take you to this place. I can't take you there. And I'm saying, you have to take me there. I have people waiting for me. Nothing has changed. There are still people there waiting for me. I felt like things had been kind of averted, and he was going to get with the program. And even though he was being pushy and more hostile and kind of aggressive about not wanting to take me to the city center, we were going in the right direction. It seemed as we got closer to the Zocalo, he just Kept muttering like, this is no place for you. I don't want to take you here. You're going to get mugged. You're going to get in danger. I'm going to be in danger. I don't even think this hotel exists. Whoever you were working with that's local was probably lying to you. They probably want to get you somewhere. This probably isn't even a real hotel. There is no such place. I've never heard of this hotel. I have never heard of this street that it's on. I don't think this is a real place. Let's turn around. I'm going to take you back. He even, like, asked me, do you have phone numbers for anybody? But I didn't have anybody's phone numbers. And I said, no, I've got this confirmation from the hotel that I've printed out. It's real. It has to be. I have this document in hand. That repeated idea that the locals were wrong. This place doesn't exist. I'm going to take you to the better place. Trust me. Don't trust your friends, the locals. I know what I'm doing. That started to really concern me. It became an argument, especially as we were in the city center itself. I was arguing with him, no, you have to take me to the hotel. I have people waiting for me. You cannot take me anywhere else. That's where people are waiting. But he would always come back with, yeah, well, if this place is even real. I still think that you've made this up. I think that this other person or whoever you've talked to has completely made up this place. I can't find it. I've never heard of it. I'll spend 10 minutes looking for this place, and if I can't find it, I'm taking you where I was going to take you originally. That really sent my adrenaline up, really got me panicked, got me worried. I was in danger and in a bad situation. It became clear that something was going on that I didn't intend to happen. And if I wasn't postured correctly, if I wasn't looking around, being observant of my surroundings, I was going to get into some real trouble. We're in the city center. He pulls up to some people on the street, occasionally talks to some people, asks them, hey, have you ever heard of this hotel? Hey, do you know where this place is? But it seemed pretty clear that he was targeting people that were not locals. He would pull up alongside other foreigners and ask, have you heard of this hotel? In Spanish. And sometimes they Would say, no hablo espanol and just move on. Other times they'd say, no, I'm not from here. So it almost seemed like it was intentional. He was trying to find people that definitely would not know where I was meant to be. It got close to the end of that 10 minute Spanish. We turned off a larger street onto a smaller one where there wasn't really anybody there. And he stopped the car and turned to me and said, I have a friend in this shop. I'm going to ask them where this hotel is. I don't think it's real. And he's probably going to tell me it's not real, but I'm going to go anyway. I'm locking you in the car. I will be back. And if my friend tells me that this place isn't real, you're not going to argue with me. There's no more discussion. I won't leave you here in the middle of Mexico City. You're coming back with me to the place I told you I was going to take you to originally. And I don't want to hear another word about it. You have no choice in the matter. He gets out of the car, but leaves the driver's side door open and leaves the car running and just disappears through the door into this shop. If I was concerned about being kidnapped before, I was frozen with fear that that was what was happening at that moment. The door is wide open, the car is still running, and I'm stuck in the backseat, but the door's locked. Somebody, anybody, can now slip into the driver's side door and drive away. Maybe this was part of the plan all along to get this foreigner to the location that I want them to be in. And if that doesn't work, then bring them into the city and then disappear and let someone else jump in the front seat and drive off with them. And I just knew, this is where I get kidnapped. This is where my story ends. Somebody is going to slip into this car, jump into the driver's seat and hit the gas and drive off. And I am in the most vulnerable position I've ever been in my life. I'm in real danger. I was frozen, sure that I was going to be abducted at any point, sure that somebody was going to slip into that driver's seat and just take off. So I'm panicked. The only thing my brain could think of was get help, make noise, shout, get attention. So I started making noise, rolled down the window. Ayuda, ayuda. Peligro. Peligro danger. Ayuda peligro. Help. Somebody help. It took a minute or so of really making noise till the guy came out of the shop and was like, what are you doing? But thankfully, somebody had heard me and approached at the same time as the guy came out of the shop and started shouting at the driver, what are you doing? Why is this guy in your car screaming? Why is he shouting? What are you doing with this guy? Why is he alone in the car? Where. Where were you? He definitely knew that. That there was a larger plan in play and that this was a potential kidnapping attempt. And the driver was angry that he was put in this situation. I'm a driver. He hired me. He wants me to take me to this place that doesn't exist. He's putting me in danger. He's been difficult and annoying this whole time. I'm just trying to help him. And so the stranger asks him, like, what's the name of the hotel? And the driver tells him, and he goes, I know exactly where that is. It's not made up. It's three blocks away. I know exactly where it is. I'll take him. Open the door. I'm going to take this guy with me. I'm going to walk him to the hotel. But by that point, I was so wary of anybody that was supposedly trying to help me, I insisted that I would go with this guy, this new person, if he walked alongside the car and if the driver would drive slow enough so that this guy could walk along and show us where to go. The stranger was like, deal, I'm in. But the driver still was pushing back. I don't even know this guy. I don't know you. What are you doing getting involved in this? I've got him. He's my fare. Are you going to come and, like, steal my money? It was two against one. There was now somebody else there that was involved in the situation. He didn't have a choice. He gets back in the driver's seat, and we very slowly drive a few blocks away until we get to the hotel. And I can see that it is the hotel. Like, the marquee has the name of the hotel that I have written down on my paperwork. And so I very quickly got out. I paid him because I didn't want to create more issues. And then he sped off and just was gone. I was a little calmer. The stranger that found me was helping me to try to relax, to come down from the situation. But then he also pointed out what you did was very dangerous. There are kidnappings of foreigners that happen around here all the time. And the airport has signs all over the place warning foreigners in English and Spanish. Do not use a ride share service. Do not accept a taxi from the street. Go to one of those booths with the licensed taxi driver's certification and get your taxi through them. While you're staying at the hotel, don't go out to the street to get a cab ever. Around here, have the hotel call you a cab. Otherwise, you're going to be in this exact same position and I won't be here to help you. It was intense. I was relieved to be done with the whole situation, relieved that somebody came to help me in the moment and I was able to find the locals that had arranged everything else, the hotel and all of that for me. Told them about what happened. They also told me that was a really stupid move and we should have warned you, of course, but still, have you never been here before? And I'm like, no, I've never been to Mexico City before. I know the rumors, but I don't want to base all my actions off of what I hear. Ever since then, every international trip I've ever made, now that we've got smartphones, I download the map of the city that I'm going to be in and then make sure that while I'm in the backseat of any cabinet that I'm following the route. I don't know how I could have interpreted it as a misunderstanding. In the moment that he left me in the car with the car running, I still think something was wrong. I am convinced that I was in real danger. There was no confusing that in my mind.
Advertiser 2
Oh, God, that was awful.
Terry Carnation
O I've heard scarier.
Advertiser 3
Are you done?
Advertiser 2
You're being very rude. No, I need a little break. Let's take a break for ads.
Terry Carnation
If you keep trying to host this episode, I'll take away your water bowl.
Advertiser 2
Okay?
Customer 1
Okay.
Advertiser 2
Okay.
Advertiser 4
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Advertiser 1
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Advertiser 3
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Terry Carnation
Thanks so much for joining us today. I'll be your host for the rest of the podcast.
Advertiser 2
No doll.
Advertiser 3
Wrong.
Terry Carnation
Yes, doll. Right. Your time is done here, Terry.
Advertiser 2
Okay, that's enough. Seriously, that's enough. Get me the hell out of here.
Terry Carnation
You'll get out of there when I feel like it. Or when you stop being such an annoying know it all hack. Or when you get scarier stories.
Advertiser 2
Shut it doll.
Terry Carnation
Or when you learn to stop talking about yourself 24 7. Or when you finally give Dolly her own show.
Advertiser 2
Shut it doll, or I'll run you over with my Toyota Celica.
Content Warning Announcer
Radio Rental is created by Payne Lindsay and brought to you by Tenderfoot tv. Lead producer is Eric Quintana. Executive producers are Payne Lindsay and Donald Albright. Hosted by Rainn Wilson as his character Terry Carnation. Written and produced by Meredith Stedman. Additional writing by Mark Laughlin. Supervising producer is Tracy Kaplan. Associate producer is Jaja Muhammad. Editing by Eric Quintana, Mike Rooney, Steven Perez and Meredith Steadman. Sound design by Cooperating Skinner with additional sound design by Stephen Perez and April Ruha. Mix and master by Cooper Skinner with additional mixing by Stephen Perez and Devin Johnson. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set with additional score by Jay Ragsdale. Video editing by Dylan Harrington. Cover artwork by Trevor Eyler and Rob Sheridan. Special thanks to Oren Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, the Nord Group Station 16 Beck Media and Marketing and the team at Odyssey. If you have a radio rental story that you'd like to share, please email us at yourscarystorymail.com or contact us via the form on our website radiorentalusa.com follow us on Instagram and Twitter Adiorental. You can also follow the illustrious Terri Carnation on social media. Just search arricarnation on behalf of the Radio rental store. We'd love it if you'd subscribe, rate and review. Thanks for listening.
Advertiser 3
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Podcast Information:
[00:47] - Content Warning Announcer: "The following podcast includes scary stories with content that could be triggering to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised."
Terry Carnation sets the stage for the episode, welcoming listeners to Radio Rental and outlining the premise of encountering some of the scariest true stories.
[03:12] – [15:45]
The first story revolves around a seemingly ordinary online connection that spirals into a nightmare, highlighting the dangers of digital interactions and misplaced trust.
Initial Meeting: The storyteller describes moving to a new city after a failed relationship and deciding to use a dating app to meet new people. She connects with someone who appears charming and shares similar interests.
[03:12] Storyteller: “He was funny and we had a bunch of similar interests. It was like a breath of fresh air.”
First Date: They decide to meet at a local café. The meeting starts off well, with both sharing memes and enjoying each other’s company.
[03:12] Storyteller: “We started sharing memes with each other, and everything was just normal.”
Red Flags Emerge: After the date, she discovers that he has shared her location without her knowledge.
[02:56] Storyteller: “There’s a receipt that just says, you started sharing your location with Guy at 8:05 about the same time we were both at Starbucks.”
Unexpected Encounter: Weeks later, she bumps into him unexpectedly at a grocery store, which raises suspicions since he previously claimed he didn’t live in the area.
Confrontation at Home: Late at night, two men arrive at her apartment. Recognizing one as the online connection, she fears a kidnapping attempt.
[09:00] Storyteller: “There is more panic that there was a second person. That’s when everything started clicking.”
Realization and Aftermath: She realizes she might have been stalked due to the location sharing. Her acquaintance has since blocked her, leaving her feeling unsafe and terrified that he remains at large.
[15:45] Storyteller: “He’s out there right now, which is terrifying.”
[18:18] – [35:59]
The second story details a harrowing experience with a taxi driver in Mexico City, which escalates into a fear of abduction. It underscores the importance of following local advice and being cautious with transportation services in unfamiliar places.
Arrival and Decision: The storyteller arrives in Mexico City and decides to use an online taxi service instead of a pre-arranged one, believing she can navigate the city independently.
[18:18] Storyteller: “I’m not some helpless tourist showing up in a country where I don’t speak the language.”
Initial Ride: The driver initially seems legitimate, but soon becomes suspicious about the location she needs to reach, suggesting alternative, supposedly safer areas.
Rising Tension: As they near her intended destination, his behavior becomes erratic. He expresses doubts about the hotel’s existence and attempts to divert her to another location.
[27:45] Storyteller: “I just knew, this is where I get kidnapped. This is where my story ends.”
Attempted Control: The driver locks her in the car, leaving the door open and the engine running, heightening her fear of being kidnapped.
Desperate Measures: She shouts for help in Spanish, attracting attention from passersby and disrupting the driver’s plans.
Intervention and Escape: A passerby intervenes, questioning the driver, who then abandons his attempt and drops her off safely at the hotel.
[35:59] Storyteller: “There are kidnappings of foreigners that happen around here all the time.”
Lessons Learned: Traumatized by the experience, she emphasizes the importance of adhering to local transportation advice and being vigilant during international travels.
Throughout the episode, Terry Carnation interjects with interactive and often humorous exchanges that maintain the eerie yet engaging tone of the show. These interactions include playful confrontations with advertisers portrayed as customers, enhancing the immersive experience.
[15:45] – [18:08]: Terry comments on the first story’s unsettling nature, preparing listeners for the next account.
[15:45] Terry Carnation: “How unsettling.”
[38:24] – [39:08]: The episode concludes with Terry engaging in a heated exchange with an advertiser, adding a layer of dark humor to the narrative.
[39:08] – [40:46]: The episode credits detail the creative team behind Radio Rental, including creator Payne Lindsey, host Rainn Wilson, producers, writers, and sound designers. Listeners are encouraged to share their own stories and engage with the podcast on social media platforms.
Special Thanks:
The episode wraps up with a series of advertisements promoting various services and products, maintaining the dynamic flow of the show despite the dark themes discussed.
Episode 73 of Radio Rental delivers two compelling true horror stories that explore the perils of online interactions and the vulnerabilities of international travel. Through detailed storytelling and immersive narration by Terry Carnation, listeners are drawn into gripping narratives that underscore the thin line between everyday encounters and potential nightmares.
For those who haven't listened, this episode offers a chilling reminder of the importance of vigilance and the unpredictable nature of human interactions in both digital and physical realms.
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