Podcast Summary: Sightings – "Under Cover of Night"

Host: Brian Sigley and McLeod Andrews
Date: February 16, 2026
Episode Theme:
This episode of Sightings is dedicated to eerie listener stories from around the world, all united by the mysteries and fears that emerge after dark. Brian and McLeod share and discuss five supernatural tales submitted by listeners, exploring haunted basements, unexplained entities, paranormal folklore from Mexico and India, and a chilling, inexplicable encounter in rural Canada. The episode delivers both hair-raising narratives and thoughtful commentary about the power of darkness and the universal experience of feeling unsettled by the unknown.

Main Episode Structure

1. Introduction & Episode Purpose (01:06–03:24)

• Hosts Brian and McLeod welcome listeners to a new Listener Stories episode, excited to read more tales than ever before (five total this episode).
• Theme: “All things that go bump in the night.” Set the mood for chilling, personal accounts of supernatural or unexplained phenomena.

Listener Stories & Key Discussions

2. Story 1: The Basement (Terry from Michigan) (04:18–15:21)

• Summary:
  Terry recounts a childhood sleepover at friend Derek's house in the 1990s. The basement, strictly off-limits by unexplained family rule, becomes the focal point of Terry’s terror when, wired on snacks and horror movies, he hears deliberate noises below. He eventually descends with a flashlight, witnessing unblinking inhuman eyes and experiencing cold, foul air, strange breathing, and an invisible presence that physically touches him. Terry flees, slamming and locking the basement door just as something repeatedly crashes against it.

  • Memorable Quote:
    “I could see the gap at the bottom of the door... And then, I swear to God, I saw something move back there.”
    —Terry’s narration via Brian (08:09)

• Hosts’ Analysis (15:22–17:38):

  • Brian and McLeod discuss how powerful basements are as horror settings, the "fear of the unknown," and how childhood imagination and real danger blend during such experiences.
  • McLeod relates to the universal feeling: “It's like the quintessential, like, Fear of the Unknown story. Like, basic, simple, and, like, so effective.” (17:13)

3. Story 2: Bedroom Visitor & Silent Triangle (Mike from Massachusetts) (19:39–28:23)

• Summary:
  Mike describes a Massachusetts childhood in a crowded house, sharing a room with his twin. One night, the boys witness a silent, massive, triangle-shaped craft gliding over their home. A week later, Mike awakens to a tall, thin, featureless figure beside his bed, terrifying in its silent stillness.

  • Notable Moment:
    “It was tall and thin, and while it had the shape of a human, it wasn’t one... In the faint red light... It just stood there, unmoving, staring at me.” (22:41)

• Hosts’ Analysis (25:55–28:23):

  • The hosts debate alien vs. paranormal explanations, tie it to prior alien entity themes, and acknowledge the baffling illogic of many alien encounter stories.
  • “The two of them together, I mean, certainly seems to be more than a coincidence.” —Brian (28:21)

4. Story 3: The Bulletproof Owl & the Witch (Fernando from Mexico) (28:36–33:33)

• Summary:
  Fernando shares a family story from rural Mexico involving brujas (witches). When his mother was pregnant, an unsettling owl began staking out the house—an omen, locally, of supernatural danger. One night, his mother finds a disheveled woman inside and the owl at the window, neither affected by gunshots, both fleeing afterward. The owl later appears with human, red eyes.

  • Memorable Quote:
    “This time the owl had human eyes and they were red, staring right at her. My mom arrived in the dead of night and... put a cup of water at the front door and salted the doorways.” (32:14)

• Hosts’ Analysis (33:04–33:30):

  • McLeod: “Whenever an animal has human eyes, what a freaky visual.”
  • Discussion of recurring creepy eye motifs and the fear induced by animal–human uncanny details.

5. Story 4: Churels in the Indian Forest (Priya from India) (35:34–44:32)

• Summary:
  Priya, a US-born medical intern in rural India, relates a terrifying night: someone persistently knocks and then pounds at her door. Remembering local rules, she doesn’t open it. Footprints leading from the nearby dense forest hint at something inhuman. The midwife explains legends of “churels,” vengeful female spirits with backward feet who prey on men—Priya was likely spared because she’s a woman.

  • Notable Quote:
    “Sometimes things come out of the forest in her village during the night. Things called churels that have their feet on backwards.” (39:52)

• Hosts’ Analysis (42:28–44:32):

  • Brian and McLeod are fascinated by new folklore, discussing the universality and unique details (like backward feet) of such supernatural legends.
  • Priya’s story sparks comparisons with Balkan and Eastern European “woman-wronged” folklore.

6. Story 5: The Moving Darkness (Matt from Canada) (45:46–52:49)

• Summary:
  Matt, a scientist and skeptic, describes witnessing an indescribable, animate darkness floating near a rural Ontario road while driving with his wife. The “thing” absorbs light, has no visible three-dimensional form, and its presence instills a primal, unexplainable sense of wrongness and fear in both witnesses.

  • Memorable Quote:
    “It was as if it were a moving, mutating piece of utter darkness. No reflections, no indication of a three-dimensional shape... Just darkness in a form I could not comprehend.” (48:35)

    “It's not so much what you see, it's what you feel. And what we felt was unnatural. It was like getting a glimpse behind the curtain at a magic show.” (51:54)

• Hosts’ Analysis (52:49–55:58):

  • The hosts reflect on the emotional power of encounters that feel simply wrong, and how rationalizing such moments is often futile and unsatisfying.
  • McLeod: “I almost like the more obtuse stories more, like the ones that are... more this kind of, like, general abstract sense of foreboding and terror.” (54:58)

Closing Thoughts & Episode Sign-Off (55:10–56:07)

• Brian: Invites listeners to keep submitting their weird, scary, and mysterious stories, emphasizing how universal and resonant these experiences are, even when seemingly small or ambiguous.
• McLeod: “These were awesome. I really enjoyed this.” (55:58)
• Both hosts promise more listener tales from around the world in the next episode, closing with their signature encouragement: “Stay spooky.”

Notable Themes & Takeaways

• Universality of Paranormal Fear: Whether in an American basement, rural India, Mexico, or a Canadian road, the sense of fear and wrongness speaks to shared human experience.
• Role of Darkness: Each story explores how the cover of night transforms the familiar into the uncanny.
• Folklore and Localization: Listeners’ tales are rooted in local customs—brujas, churels, and classic alien archetypes—showing the diversity and consistency of supernatural beliefs globally.
• Ambiguity Over Certainty: The hosts and stories alike stress the power of what’s felt rather than only what’s seen—abstract terror, doubt, and the enduring itch of the unexplained.

Key Timestamps

• Introduction & Episode Outline: 01:06–03:24
• Story 1 – Terry’s Basement: 04:18–15:21
• Discussion: 15:22–17:38
• Story 2 – Mike’s Bedroom Visitor/UFO: 19:39–25:55
• Discussion: 25:55–28:23
• Story 3 – Fernando’s Bruja & Owl: 28:36–33:33
• Discussion: 33:04–33:30
• Story 4 – Priya’s Churel Encounter: 35:34–42:28
• Discussion: 42:28–44:32
• Story 5 – Matt’s Animate Darkness: 45:46–52:49
• Discussion & Reflection: 52:49–55:58
• Sign-off: 55:58–56:07

This episode is a globe-trotting, goosebump-inducing trek through the world’s haunted corners, with both hosts offering insightful and often humorous commentary that stays true to the eerie, engaging spirit of Sightings.