Radio Rental – Episode 97 (November 21, 2025)

Episode Overview

In this chilling installment of Radio Rental, listeners are dropped into the heart of two first-hand horror stories—one a terrifying brush with a mysterious man beneath a railroad bridge, the other a supernatural encounter in a mountain tunnel. Woven with the show’s trademark blend of nostalgia and nervous laughter, this episode explores the thin boundary between rational explanation and the inexplicable, all from within the quirky confines of the fictional Radio Rental video store.

Featured Tales & Key Points

1. Under the Bridge – The Night Stalker

[04:24-12:32]

• Setting: Small rural town; friends searching for harmless thrills via nighttime trespassing.
• Incident: Exploring under a bridge at night, the storyteller describes finding graffiti—anarchy signs, pentagrams, and a devil face with "666".
• Supernatural Interlude: Amidst the silence, the pair hears loud, clear radio static, unexplained and disorienting. Suddenly, the static morphs into deep, unsettling laughter—“a really deep breathy laugh. I compare it to like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget.” (Anonymous Storyteller, 06:22)
• Danger Emerges: The friends turn to leave, but both instinctively spin around as a man appears—tall, featureless, in a gray prison jumpsuit, skulking out from the edge of light.
• Pursuit: Locking eyes, the figure sidesteps onto the tracks and sprints directly at them. The sheer terror sends both friends running for their lives to the safety of their car—“The most scared I’ve ever been in my life.” (Anonymous Storyteller, 08:44)
• Lingering Dread: The pair remains silent for the drive home, not discussing the event for weeks, until, on a call, they confirm every detail: the static, the laughter, and the man’s inhuman chase. This shared experience forces a shattering certainty of its reality.
• Reflection: The storyteller ponders if the laughter and static came from the man, but is left unnerved by the sheer oddity of such a rig. “Whatever was playing the static also was playing laughter... it just seems like such an odd thing for someone to have.” (Anonymous Storyteller, 11:52)

Notable Quote

• “You feel like you might have imagined things, you might be going crazy or something. But having someone else agree on every single aspect of what happened kind of made me feel better and made me feel worse at the same time.” (Anonymous Storyteller, 10:40)

2. The Tunnel Demon

[15:13-26:41]

• Setting: Appalachian State University, North Carolina; a tunnel beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge.
• The Excursion: Three (of four) friends shimmy past a corroded gate into the pitch-black tunnel, filled with ominous graffiti (pentagrams, upside-down crosses). Candles in a circle suggest ritual use.
• Ominous Warning: Deep in the tunnel, a spray-painted message halts them—“‘He’s in there’ with some arrows pointing to the crawl space.” (Storyteller, 18:44)
• Apparition: The group pushes forward until, lighting up the space, they spot a “2 to 3 ft tall, dark gray” being, “hind legs like a deer but shorter arms up front, green glowing eyes... it was fuzzy... it just blended in. In the five seconds I was aiming my flashlight at it, it jumped diagonally across the tunnel, wall to wall, faster than any animal I’ve ever seen.” (Storyteller, 20:05-20:48)
• Panic and Escape: Horror grips the group—they retrace their steps while the creature bounces toward them, never uttering a sound.
• The Physical Aftermath: The next morning, the narrator spits out a red, dime-sized, gelatinous clot; later, both friends report similar bloody clots, suggesting a supernatural connection.
• Desperate Research: Haunted, the trio scour demonology books, finally identifying a demon supposedly summoned to guard a place—fitting the visuals and their experience.
• End Note: Attempts by others to find the entity fail, leaving the storyteller with a tale they rarely share: “I figured what’s the point in telling the story if no one believes me? And when I tell it, I’m terrified.” (Storyteller, 26:35)

Notable Quotes

• “You live your whole life knowing what certain animals are, even if you haven’t seen them... But this was. This was not something that anyone had ever seen or heard of or just encountered.” (Storyteller, 22:44)
• “It was fuzzy. It just blended in.” (Storyteller, 20:38)
• “We all agreed that we would never go back. However, the story didn’t keep quiet...” (Storyteller, 25:57)

Store Clerk Vince’s Commentary

Throughout the episode, Vince, the awkward and macabrely-comedic junior associate clerk, provides levity and running commentary:

• After the first story:
  “The way he ran at those kids full force out of nowhere. Kind of gave me like Michael Myers vibes. What a cool dude. I mean also, that was really bad what he did. Terrible stuff shouldn’t scare people like that. It’s mean, not cool.” (Vince, 12:32)
• After the tunnel demon:
  “God, I was really hoping that thing would have popped out and eaten them. ... That would have been so sick and gross and twisted and bad. Bad, bad, bad. Ugh. Maybe next time.” (Vince, 26:41)
• In closing:
  “Hey, thanks for stopping by Radio Rental. Maybe I’ll see you next week, hopefully. Because honestly, I really like this. I mean, a normal amount. I like this a normal amount. I’m kind of indifferent, honestly. All right, see you next time.” (Vince, 29:09)

Notable Moments & Quotes With Timestamps

• [06:22] “Through the radio static, we heard a really deep breathy laugh. I compare it to like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget.” – Storyteller (Under the Bridge)
• [10:40] “Having someone else agree on every single aspect of what happened kind of made me feel better and made me feel worse at the same time.” – Storyteller
• [12:32] “The way he ran at those kids full force out of nowhere. Kind of gave me like Michael Myers vibes…” – Vince
• [18:44] “Ahead of us was a graffiti tag in all caps that read, he’s in there with some arrows pointing to the crawl space.” – Tunnel Demon Storyteller
• [20:38] “It was fuzzy. It just blended in.” – Tunnel Demon Storyteller
• [22:44] “This was not something that anyone had ever seen or heard of...” – Tunnel Demon Storyteller
• [26:35] “I figured what’s the point in telling the story if no one believes me? And when I tell it, I I’m terrified.” – Tunnel Demon Storyteller
• [26:41] “What if it had eaten them? That would have been so sick and gross and twisted...” – Vince

Important Story Segments (w/ Timestamps)

• [04:24-12:32] — Under the Bridge: Night stalker, static, laughter, chase, aftermath
• [15:13-26:41] — Tunnel Demon: Creepy tunnel exploration, sighting, supernatural aftermath, blood clots

Tone and Experience

Radio Rental continues its tradition of blending unnerving, slow-burn horror with quirky store character banter, providing both authentic chills and uncomfortable chuckles. The true tales’ authenticity, paired with Vince’s off-kilter commentary, makes for an absorbing and unsettling listen—perfect for fans of uncanny, “it happened to me” nightmare fuel.