Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 333 - Coffee & Graves

Podcast: Scary Stories and Rain
Host: Being Scared
Date: March 10, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Scary Stories and Rain brings a medley of eerie, true accounts designed to chill listeners as rain softly patters in the background. Host Being Scared narrates stories spanning sleep paralysis nightmares, infamous Appalachian Trail murders, unsolved abductions, close encounters during a crime spree, and a terrifying randonautica exploration. Each tale probes the blurry boundary between the supernatural and human evil, often revealing real-life events scarier than fiction.

Key Stories & Discussion Points

1. Sleep Paralysis or Nightmare?

[00:40 – 04:50]

• Account: The host opens with a personal story, pondering whether an experience was just a bad dream or true sleep paralysis.
• Setting: Alone in his room; hears brother in the hallway; sees a terrifying drenched, gray-skinned woman in his mirror.
• Paralysis: Unable to move, "All I could do was hope that my brother would walk out the bathroom and this dream or sleep paralysis episode would end." (A, 02:00)
• Terror escalates: Crawling sounds, bones cracking, a chilling whisper:

  "Open your eyes." (A, 03:50)

• Wake-up: Small scream brings brother to switch on the lights—host stays awake, haunted by fear.

2. The Appalachian Trail Murders: Randall Smith

[04:55 – 27:10]

• Background: Randall Lee Smith, a troubled loner from Pearisburg, VA, known among peers as "Lying Randall."
• Details:
  • Smith would roam the Appalachian Trail, later the site of his infamous crimes.
  • In 1981, two hikers (Susan Ramsay, Robert Mountford) went missing; eventually, Smith was linked to their gruesome murders near the Wapiti shelter via fingerprints and possession of the victims’ belongings.

    "They cut it open and discovered it was the corpse of Susan Ramsay..." (A, 10:20)

  • Investigation finds disturbing items in Smith's home, including bloody clothes, adult materials, and a fake ransom note in his handwriting.
• Capture: Smith caught after days on the run, ultimately giving himself away when tricked into writing his name to receive medical help.

  "Randall Lee Smith, he wrote. The police had found their man." (A, 14:50)

• Justice & Outrage: Accepts a plea deal, sentenced to 30 years but served only 15. Released in 1996.
  • Locals and hikers react with outrage at the light sentence.
• Second Attack (2008):
  • After years of living as a recluse, Smith befriends two fishermen, Scott Johnston and Sean Farmer, under a false name—then suddenly attempts to murder them in cold blood near the original crime scene.

    "Just as he began to walk away... he pulled a .22 weapon from his pocket and pulled the trigger four times." (A, 21:10)

  • Both victims survive after a harrowing escape and are rescued by a nearby family.
  • Smith is captured after a car chase but dies suddenly in his jail cell—likely of natural causes.
• Reflection:

  "Perhaps the most terrifying thing about Randall Lee Smith is that it seems there were absolutely no motives to his murders... Real monsters walk among us, looking and sounding just like our friends, neighbors and family..." (A, 27:05)

3. The Disappearance of Kelly Berg Dove

[27:15 – 37:55]

• Victim: 20-year-old mother and gas station clerk in Bridgewater, Virginia, covering a night shift for her sister.
• Events:
  • Receives a series of harassing calls and is visited by an "improperly dressed" man, whom she reports to police multiple times.
  • Final 911 call – Kelly's voice is "dripping with fear" as the suspect approaches.

    "The last thing the 911 dispatcher heard was Kelly screaming that the man had just gotten out of the vehicle and was heading toward the main building." (A, 32:15)

  • Police arrive minutes later to find nothing but her purse—no evidence of struggle or theft.
• Suspects:
  • Kelly’s family suspects a local man with a history of indecent exposure and harassing calls, but there's never enough evidence for charges.
• Haunting Outcome:

  "For all intents and purposes, the person who showed up at the Imperial gas station that night is a ghost. Someone who... bundled Kelly into a vehicle, and then seemingly vanished themselves." (A, 36:40)

4. Home Alone During the Gainesville Ripper Panic

[38:00 – 47:45]

• Setting: Rural Florida farm, no streetlights, with the Gainesville Ripper (a real serial killer) at large an hour away.
• Story:
  • The narrator, at age 10, is left with elderly, confused grandmother in an old, insecure farmhouse.
  • Observes strange man trying to force his way in during a night haunted by crime fears.

    "She told me Granddaddy was at the door. She sometimes thought Granddaddy was still alive. There was no convincing her it wasn’t him." (A, 44:25)

  • Armed only with a family weapon and courage; the encounter ends with the intruder disappearing.
  • Trauma lingers:

    "To this day I don’t know who was at the door that night, but I still panic looking out of windows into the darkness." (A, 47:40)

5. Randonautica Gone Wrong

[47:50 – 57:06]

• Setting: Hotel staff in remote British countryside use the "Randonautica" app, seeking "something scary" late at night.
• Events:
  • App leads them through muddy fields and forest in pitch darkness.
  • Discover a spray-painted clown on a deserted storage container; fear mounts as they near a foreboding treeline.
  • Spot a strange moving light and then a "tall black figure" between oaks.

    "Something stopped me in my tracks. My blood ran cold... through the trees I saw a little light. Someone or something else was there." (A, 55:10)

  • Flee in panic; later learn other users have found dead bodies or stumbled into dangerous situations with the app.
• Warning:

  "Never download Randonautica, and if you ever do, only use it in the day... What makes this story more scary? ...I don’t think it was paranormal. I think it was a human lurking in the trees, waiting for us." (A, 57:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Open your eyes." (A, 03:50) — Whispered by the entity in the sleep paralysis tale, setting the episode's eerie tone.
• "Randall Lee Smith, he wrote. The police had found their man." (A, 14:50) — The chilling moment when police identify the hiker murderer.
• "Real monsters walk among us, looking and sounding just like our friends, neighbors and family..." (A, 27:05) — The host’s true horror thesis.
• "The last thing the 911 dispatcher heard was Kelly screaming..." (A, 32:15) — The terrifying realism of an abduction in progress.
• "My blood ran cold... through the trees I saw a little light. Someone or something else was there." (A, 55:10) — The pivotal moment in the Randonautica story.

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Start | End | |--------------------------------------------|---------|---------| | Sleep Paralysis Experience | 00:40 | 04:50 | | Randall Smith & Appalachian Murders | 04:55 | 27:10 | | Disappearance of Kelly Berg Dove | 27:15 | 37:55 | | Gainesville Ripper – Home Invasion Panic | 38:00 | 47:45 | | Randonautica in the Woods | 47:50 | 57:06 |

Tone and Delivery

The narrations are calm and deliberate, accentuated by the soothing sound of rain, which contrasts hauntingly with the chilling themes. The host’s tone is personal and reflective, flipping between measured detachment during true crime retellings and a sense of immediacy and vulnerability during firsthand and listener-submitted accounts.

Final Reflection

Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 333 is a curated descent into both supernatural and all-too-human horror. The blend of deeply personal accounts, infamous true crime, and urban legend dares listeners to consider: which is more frightening—the monsters of our imagination or those living among us?