Radio Rental – Episode 98 (November 28, 2025)

Podcast: Radio Rental
Host: Tenderfoot TV & Audacy
Guest Host: Tony Cavallaro as Vince, Junior Associate Clerk

Overview

Episode 98 of Radio Rental blends true-life uncanny encounters with the show’s signature mix of horror, humor, and 80s nostalgia. Listeners are transported into Radio Rental’s fictional video shop, guided by Vince, the eccentric junior clerk, for two chilling stories: one about an abandoned Australian resort and another about a possible doppelgänger sighting. The episode features immersive storytelling, eerie atmospheres, and playful banter that softens the edge of the real-life horror tales.

Key Stories and Discussion Points

1. The Vanished Resort (03:40–15:50)

Storyteller: Anonymous (Australian man looking back on a childhood vacation in 1993)

• Premise:
  An Australian family stops at a new remote resort on their way home. Upon arrival, the resort is eerily deserted, belongings and meals left as if staff and guests vanished in the middle of daily activities.

• Key Details:

  • The resort is hard to find, hidden off a barely marked dirt road deep in the wilderness.
  • Upon arrival, parents find the reception deserted: “There’s no one there.” (04:55)
  • Personal items, cups of coffee, half-eaten meals, and even valuables are left out in the open, suggesting a sudden mass departure.
  • Guest rooms have open doors, half-packed luggage, and beds left mid-making — “As though the maid had dropped [the sheets] in a heap on the floor and left.” (09:46)
  • The children feel increasing dread as night approaches; power is off throughout the building.
  • The family contacts police, who react with initial amusement, then concern after hearing about the power outage and open doors.
  • They flee and for months scan the news for an explanation, finding none.

• Notable Moments & Quotes:

  • Comparing the scene to the ghost ship Mary Celeste: “It’s like the Mary Celeste.” (11:30)
  • Building tension with the night approaching: “It was now past 6pm and it was starting to get dark. … The creeping accelerated into a palpable sense of dread.” (12:34)
  • Lingering mystery: “I’ve never been able to find that long road with the left turn or the clearing or the resort.” (15:36)

• Tone:
  Atmospheric, methodical, and unnervingly matter-of-fact; a creeping mystery that feels unresolved.

2. Doppelgänger at Noon (18:22–26:27)

Storyteller: Anonymous (Man describing a recent perplexing experience with his girlfriend's "double")

• Premise:
  After receiving a message that his girlfriend is working a double shift, the narrator is startled by what he’s sure is his girlfriend arriving home. However, after a fleeting encounter, she vanishes, and it’s later confirmed she was never there.

• Key Details:

  • Narrator’s girlfriend unexpectedly appears at home, makes her characteristic playful scare, and goes to the bedroom.
  • When the narrator investigates, she’s nowhere to be found and her car isn’t in the driveway.
  • Messaging his girlfriend, she insists she never came home.
  • The narrator is confident in what he saw: her clothes, her recently dyed hair, her mannerisms — all perfectly accurate.
  • Attempts to rationalize: spirit, doppelgänger, or a “bleeding over from a parallel universe.”
  • “I even tried…calling out around the house saying, hey, if there’s any spirits or any doppelgangers in the house, just know that you’re welcome here. … As long as you don’t cause me any trouble, I won’t cause you any trouble.” (24:31)
  • The girlfriend is “dead confused” and a little concerned when she learns what happened.
  • They drop the topic, but the narrator (and listeners) are left with unresolved unease.

• Notable Moments & Quotes:

  • Describing the double’s entrance:
    “She made this little noise, like an ‘ah’ sort of noise, like she was trying to pretend to scare me. And I mean, this was on brand for her.” (19:38)
  • Rationalization attempts:
    “Another rationalization is it’s a bleeding over from a parallel universe into ours. That seems a little more plausible to me because I’m more logic based.” (25:30)
  • Supernatural peace offering:
    “If there’s any spirits or any doppelgangers in the house, just know that you’re welcome here…” (24:31)

• Tone:
  Initially casual and logical, then increasingly unsettled, culminating in a philosophical resignation.

3. Vince’s Commentary and Comic Relief

Vince, Junior Associate Clerk, appears between stories to bring sardonic humor and meta-commentary.

• Comments on the Resort Story:
  “Damn. Where’d they all go? What if it was a plague?... Or maybe they were abducted by aliens. Aliens who wanted to study people from Florida. That was a Florida accent, right?” (15:50)

• Doppelgänger Banter:
  “Two girlfriends, one an evil doppelganger, one real man. I mean, maybe it’s just me, but I’d pick that evil doppelganger. … Evil doppelgangers need love, too.” (26:28)

• Comic Meta-riffs:
  Playful guesses about accents and references to celebrities with “doppelgänger” looks: “Just like picking ham instead of Will Ferrell or Jeffrey Dean Morgan instead of Javier Bardem. I’m just a really good guy, is all I’m saying. I promise.” (26:52)

• Tone:
  Deadpan, tongue-in-cheek; provides lightness after intense storytelling.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “There’s no one there.” — Mother, recounting the resort’s emptiness (04:55)
• “It’s like the Mary Celeste.” — Father, referencing the legendary ghost ship (11:30)
• “It was 100% like you. It had your uniform on.” — Narrator, describing the doppelgänger (24:12)
• “If there’s any spirits or any doppelgangers in the house, just know that you’re welcome here…” — Narrator’s peace offering (24:31)
• “Two girlfriends, one an evil doppelganger, one real man. … Evil doppelgangers need love, too.” — Vince, comic relief (26:28)

Episode Structure & Important Timestamps

• [03:40] — Start of “The Vanished Resort” story
• [15:50] — Vince’s reaction, comic speculation
• [18:22] — Start of “Doppelgänger at Noon” story
• [26:28] — Vince’s playful commentary and banter
• [28:46] — Closing bits, check-out at Radio Rental

Final Takeaway

This episode excels at immersing listeners in inexplicable situations — places and moments where rationality shatters and dread takes over. The show's playful framing, with Vince’s comedic asides and 80s-horror flair, enhances the chilling narratives rather than diffusing their impact. Each story lingers long after the tape stops, offering no answers, only speculation — in classic Radio Rental style.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• Expect true stories narrated with cinematic detail.
• Each tale is punctuated with comic relief and meta-commentary.
• The experience is unsettling, mysterious, and very entertaining — Radio Rental at its best.