Scary Stories and Rain

Episode 217: "Scary Stories For A Rainy Night – The Water's Edge"

Host: Being Scared
Date: September 3, 2025

Overview

This episode delivers a collection of true, eerie, and unsettling tales designed for late-night listening, all told in the host’s calm, distinct narration with the show’s signature rain ambiance. Episode 217, titled "The Water’s Edge," features several drawn-from-life horror stories ranging from medical anomalies to supernatural hauntings, brushes with predators, and the ghosts of past trauma. Each story provides its own blend of dread, vulnerability, and chilling resolution, making it perfect for listeners seeking both relaxation and a shiver before sleep.

Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. The Talking Tumor

(Starts ~01:31)

• Premise:
  Dr. Strand, a surgeon specializing in bizarre cases, receives Hannah, a patient with a brain tumor who insists it shouldn’t be removed.
• Key Points:
  • Hannah pleads with Dr. Strand not to perform the surgery, saying "I'm not a tumor. Please don't cut me out. Anna needs me." (03:00)
  • During surgery, the "tumor" speaks, claims to be Hannah, and pleads for its life.
  • After removal, Dr. Strand and his nurse Tanning realize the "tumor" was a parasitic twin, and disturbing implications surface—it might have been the real Anna, with Hannah merely its host.
• Notable Quote:
  “Hannah will die without me. Anna needs me.” — “tumor” (05:45)
• Memorable Moment:
  The recurring, unnerving presence of George, the preserved medical specimen from Dr. Strand’s grandfather, adds to the atmosphere and foreshadows the story’s conclusion.

2. The Water’s Edge

(Personal haunting, starts ~08:38)

• Premise:
  Eden, the narrator, recalls their lifelong fear of water following a childhood tragedy when their little brother Cody drowned during an unsupervised picnic.
• Key Points:
  • Vivid recounting of close sibling relationship, Cody’s death, and enduring trauma.
  • Years later, Eden, haunted by dreams and visions of Cody, tries to move on with the help of Priya, a friend turned love interest.
  • The story climaxes during a return to the reservoir—Priya falls in, Eden desperately tries to save her, and glimpses Cody’s ghost.
  • Priya survives, suggesting, perhaps, that Cody’s spirit helped.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "There is nothing in the world that can ever prepare you for the sight of your loved one's mangled body..." — Eden (13:52)
  • "Thank you, Cody. I miss you." — Eden (25:50)
• Memorable Moment:
  The haunting rescue sequence at the water’s edge, with Cody’s specter watching.

3. The Diet Pill Horror

(Begins ~28:12)

• Premise:
  The narrator’s mom becomes involved with a too-good-to-be-true weight loss program run by a mysterious, gaunt salesman.
• Key Points:
  • The pills work, but the mother becomes obsessed, consuming more food but remaining thin.
  • Strange slime trails appear in the house; soon, the mother withers away as fat-slug creatures appear and feed on her.
  • The salesman reveals himself as “the hunger in all beasts”—a supernatural embodiment of famine.
  • The mother and her support group are left hospitalized, eternally hungry.
• Notable Quote:
  “Desperation. There’s nothing sweeter, is there?” — Salesman (31:40)
• Memorable Moment:
  The horrifying reveal of the leech-like creatures extracting fat and the salesman swallowing them whole.

4. The Man in the White BMW

(Classic stranger danger, begins ~38:38)

• Premise:
  Two children in a small English village are stalked by a suspicious man in a white BMW.
• Key Points:
  • The man repeatedly drives past; as the girls evade, the man gives chase on foot and fires a gun.
  • A year later, a chance encounter with the same man in another town reignites their fears.
• Notable Quote:
  “We had been told to be careful of anyone you don’t know approaching you if our parents weren’t around…” (38:56)
• Memorable Moment:
  Their hair-raising flight to safety, followed by the later, unnerving run-in.

5. The Stranger at the Mountain House

(Home invasion anxiety, starts ~41:25)

• Premise:
  In a remote mountain home, a family encounters a late-night stranger claiming to have been robbed and asking for help.
• Key Points:
  • The man’s story is inconsistent; he requests not to involve police versus his predicament.
  • The family’s defensive strategy includes arming themselves (comically, with machetes and children’s silence).
  • The stranger leaves with an old tricycle—only to vanish.
• Notable Quote:
  “Our horror night turns a bit comical. I mean, imagine this: you go rob a house. Turns out the people inside speak calmly… and there’s children’s laughter, then absolute silence.” (46:28)
• Memorable Moment:
  The eerie silence after the tricycle’s wheels echo into the night.

6. The Creepy Restaurant Coworker

(Stalking and workplace dread, begins ~47:42)

• Premise:
  A young woman working at a Greek restaurant realizes she’s being stalked by a much older male coworker.
• Key Points:
  • The man watches her, leaves notes, lurks in storerooms, and escalates to waiting for her after work.
  • Climax at a deserted bus stop, where he commands her to get in his car—she narrowly escapes when her bus arrives.
  • Police are unable to do much due to lack of explicit threat; she never returns to work.
• Notable Quote:
  “He smiles eerily. ‘Don’t you see who it is? You know me. Get in.’” (58:05)
• Memorable Moment:
  The breathless, paralyzing terror as his car door unlocks—relief only as the bus arrives in time.

7. The Sirens and the Creep

(Averted disaster during a school lockdown, starts ~62:47)

• Premise:
  At a near-abandoned school during a civil defense siren test, a teenage girl is cornered by a disturbed older student, Paul.
• Key Points:
  • Paul forcibly grabs and restrains her, masked by the sound of the siren.
  • A friend intervenes at the crucial moment, preventing escalation.
  • Only later does the narrator realize how narrowly she escaped disaster.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “He literally held his hands in front of my mouth as he suddenly pushed me…” (63:22)
  • “I’m so thankful that my old friend walked in before he had the chance. Without her, the story may have been very different.” (67:15)
• Memorable Moment:
  The realization, years later, of what almost happened and the importance of friends who act.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There is nothing in the world that can ever prepare you for the sight of your loved one's mangled body…”
  — Eden, recounting Cody’s death (13:52)

• “Desperation. There’s nothing sweeter, is there?”
  — Supernatural salesman, after devouring the fat leech (31:40)

• “Don’t you see who it is? You know me. Get in.”
  — Restaurant stalker at the bus stop (58:05)

• “Our horror night turns a bit comical. … I think we were lucky but probably out creeped this creep that night.” (46:28)

• “He literally held his hands in front of my mouth as he suddenly pushed me…”
  — Siren story survivor (63:22)

Episode Structure & Highlights

• [01:31] — First story: The Talking Tumor
• [08:38] — Second story: The Water’s Edge (drowning and trauma)
• [28:12] — Third story: Supernatural Diet Pill Horror
• [38:38] — Fourth story: Man in the White BMW
• [41:25] — Fifth story: Stranger at the Mountain House
• [47:42] — Sixth story: Restaurant Stalker
• [62:47] — Seventh story: Civil Defense Siren and School Creep

(Note: Timestamps approximate, skipping non-story/advertisement content.)

Overall Tone

The narration is calm and contemplative, contrasting with the disturbing and tense content of the stories. The persistent rain ambiance deepens the immersive atmosphere, offering both comfort and a sense of unease. The host maintains a gentle delivery, even as each tale builds tension or crescendos into horror.

Closing Thoughts

This episode is an excellent showcase of what the "Scary Stories and Rain" podcast does best: blend personal, true horror stories—ranging from the slightly uncanny to outright terrifying—with a gentle delivery and atmospheric soundscape. Each tale lingers, offering both catharsis through shared fears and a suggestion: sometimes, the most unsettling things lurk just beneath normalcy.