Cedar Hills

Summary

Podcast Summary: Spooked – "Cedar Hills"

Introduction

In the "Cedar Hills" episode of Spooked, hosted by Glynn Washington from Snap Judgment Studios, listeners are taken on a chilling journey through a true-life supernatural experience shared by Sequ Nicosi. This detailed narrative explores themes of family trauma, haunted spaces, and the lingering presence of the past.

Background and Setting

Glynn Washington begins the episode by reminiscing about his grandmama's house in Detroit, Michigan, painting a vivid picture of a place rich with family history but now shrouded in decay and mystery. He describes the emotional connection he feels towards the house and the unsettling changes it has undergone over the years.

“[Glynn] told me that our sacred tract of land, our hallowed ground, after my grandfather passed it was traded away to a drug dealer in order to clear debt, to save a life.” ([02:46])

The Family's Move to Cedar Hill

Sequ Nicosi, a 15-year-old from Grand Prairie, Texas, shares her family's decision to relocate to Cedar Hill in search of a fresh start following the tragic loss of her brother. Her mother hoped that a new environment, good schools, and a close-knit community would help the family heal.

“My mother wanted us all a fresh start. She found a town called Cedar Hill, Texas. It was a nice community. The school was good.” ([08:10])

First Night in the New Home

The family's first week in Cedar Hill begins with an unsettling incident. While Sequ and her baby sister, Nita, are sharing a bedroom, Nita senses a malevolent presence—a man dressed in black—entering their room. The encounter leaves both sisters terrified, but they choose not to inform their parents, hoping to maintain normalcy.

“I felt something grab me. I realized it was my sister. She's shaking and just whimper, crying into my ears and holding onto me.” ([08:10])

Escalating Paranormal Activity

As the nights progress, the supernatural disturbances intensify. Sequ recounts how her sister continues to see the mysterious figure, leading them to barricade their room with furniture. Despite their efforts, the presence remains persistent, culminating in a terrifying confrontation.

“He came out of the darkness of the house and it was my dad. His eyes were huge, just looking at all of us.” ([25:30])

The Family's Confrontation and Resolution

The climax of the story occurs when Sequ's father, Henry, senses something amiss and returns home abruptly after hearing a plea from his deceased grandmother. Confronting the inexplicable events, he gathers the family to flee their haunted residence, driving them away from the source of their fears.

“We’re going to go to Aunt Louise. We are leaving.” ([25:30])

Host’s Reflection

Glynn Washington closes the episode by reflecting on the nature of haunted objects and locations. He muses on the power of objects to influence lives, whether for good or ill, and invites listeners to share their own spooked stories.

“Stories are ghosts. And this spot will be forever haunted for us, with us.” ([02:46])

Conclusion

"Cedar Hills" is a gripping tale of how past horrors can follow a family into their new beginnings. Sequ Nicosi's firsthand account delivers a powerful narrative of fear, resilience, and the unbreakable bonds of family facing the supernatural. This episode not only captivates with its eerie storytelling but also resonates with listeners who understand the weight of history and memory on personal spaces.

Notable Quotes

• Sequ Nicosi:

  • “He came out of the darkness of the house and it was my dad. His eyes were huge, just looking at all of us.” ([25:30])
  • “I felt like it wanted to scare us.” ([25:30])

• Glynn Washington:

  • “Stories are ghosts. And this spot will be forever haunted for us, with us.” ([02:46])

Final Thoughts

This episode underscores the profound impact that places imbued with family history can have, especially when shadowed by unresolved tragedies. Spooked continues to deliver spine-tingling stories that explore the thin veil between our reality and the supernatural, making "Cedar Hills" a standout installment that lingers in the mind long after listening.

Transcript

[Glen Washington]

I stole her lucky charm which made it cursed Cause that's just the way it works that all I touch goes bad inside. I've tried but some things you must abide that day I vowed I'd see her end So I placed the cursed charm right back again. Listen to Spooked. Stay tuned. This episode is brought to you by Progressive. Most of you aren't just listening right now. You're driving, cleaning, even exercising. But what if you could be saving money by switching to Progressive? Drivers who save by switching save nearly $750 on average and auto customers qualify for an average of 77 discounts. Multitask right now quote [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates national averaged 12 month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved the Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

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[Glen Washington]

My grandmama's house near the corner of Crutch and Fisher Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. Every single one of us. Her dozens of grandkids. We still call it Grandmama's House, but my grandfather lived there too long after she passed. But it's still Grandmama's house. And I told you about this place before because it loomed so large in my mind. My first memory was there I still would call. The gunfire, the screaming. My first hiding place, hoping no one would find me under the stairs. The first time I saw a house burn. The Perry's place right across the street that night, watching the entire Perry family standing bewildered in just their underclothes. Orange flames consuming the little bit they still had. And I was in Detroit recently to visit some cousins. And together we decided to drive by the spa, the spot where everything happened. Grandma's house. So tiny now to my adult eyes, so raggedy, so pitiful. Just one of two houses still standing on the block. The rest the entire neighborhood, long ago condemned and torn down by the city as part of the blight abatement program. My grandmama's house has someone's car in front of it. Someone that is not us. There are lights on, somebody in the kitchen. And at first it makes me wonder, but it makes me angry. Who is that inside my grandmama's house? How dare they? This is the closest thing we have to sacred land. So many stories inside this a frame. This belongs to us, to me. And I know we owned it once. Why don't we own it now? And then from my cousins the story spells out, they tell me for the first time that our sacred tract of land, our hallowed ground, after my grandfather passed it was traded away to a drug dealer in order to clear debt, to save a life. And whose life is a story for another day. But we transacted it away so that we now have to stand outside looking in on tiptoes, just trying to get a peek inside. And I wonder if the house somehow knows we've returned. Because stories are ghosts. And this spot will be forever haunted for us, with us. And then instead of anger, I feel pity for whoever lives there now. And I wonder if we should tell them, if we should warn them to leave while you still can. Run away. Because this place takes her offerings in blood instead. We snap pictures to remind us that it happened. Then we get back into the car and we drive away. 15 year old Quida Nicosi and her parents and her seven siblings, they're looking to make a move away from their home in Grand Prairie, Texas. They think perhaps this next rental house might just be the spot. It's got four bedrooms, it's got a huge patio, a field for the youngsters to play in. But you know, this is spooked.

[Sequ Nicosi]

There was an incident that happened in our family. My brother passed away we had a lot of emotions in the house. So my mother wanted to get us all a fresh start. She found a town called Cedar Hill, Texas. It was a nice community. The school was good. She wanted my twin brothers to continue sports and band and to graduate from the high school there. My siblings were very close. We were the kind of kids that went outside 8:00 in the morning and then come back home until five because we were out playing. There were kids all over the place. In fact, I knew everybody in that whole little section of neighborhoods. We played football, we run around in the neighborhood. We have a good time together. But I am very close to my baby sister, Nita. Nita and I are the only girls out of all boys. We were living in a house for a whole week. Then my dad had to take a run. My dad was a full time truck driver. My dad had to pick up glass in Canada. He was going to be gone for five days, which is perfectly fine because my mom took care of us even if my dad was not there. My mother kept us together, you know, kept the structure going on for us. We ate breakfast, went to school, come back home. She'd come in, cook supper, we'd eat, everybody get ready for bed. It was the first night that my dad had left on his truck driving. My sister and I were in her bedroom. We're the only ones that shared a room. We had two twin beds. I slept near the window and she slept near the door. I was sleeping and I felt something grab me. I'm trying to figure out to myself what's going on. I realized it was my sister. She's shaking and just whimper, crying into my ears and holding onto me. I'm like, what's wrong? She said there was a man in our room. The moon is shining in. And I'm looking around the room like, what man? Who was he? And she said, he's on black, I can't tell. She said he went to the window and was looking out the window. And then it started coming towards our bed. So she went undercovers, pretend she's snoring really loud. She peeked out and didn't see him anymore. And that's when she jumped in bed with me. I'm looking at the window, I don't see anything. There's nothing. And she's like, he's gone. She was sweating. Seeing the fear in my sister, I was terrified. I was scared. But I had to keep her calm. So I just held her tight. She talked about telling my mom. So I said, well, just stay in bed with me. I told my sister not to tell my mom because my mom has a lot going on. I drifted off, but I kept waking up, looking around, coaxing the room with my eyes. We got up the next morning. The way my sister looked, the fear in her face was still there that day. She stayed with me the whole time. I didn't go to nobody's house. We just sit outside on the patio together and I just held her hand all day. We didn't talk about it. We didn't tell my mom. We told nobody what happened.

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[Sequ Nicosi]

Tuesday night, it's getting dark. We go to our bedroom and I said, you're sleeping with me tonight. We're keeping the light on. You know, everything's going to be okay. And she says, okay, I'm holding my arms and I go off to sleep. I woke up because of her. She's practically scratching my neck. She said, quita, wake up, wake up, wake up. I looked at her face and she's crying and I'm like, what? He came back. Why didn't you wake up? And I said, what? I was like, I didn't see it, I didn't hear it. She said, he came back into our room, walked up across in front of our beds, went to the window and looked out the window. And then he walked right back out again. She goes, hold me, hold me, hold me. You know, I'm holding her tighter. Seeing the fear in my sister, I was terrified. We just sat there in bed crying, holding on to each other, but the whole time telling her, it's going to be okay. The sun's going to come out soon. It's going to be okay. I had to be the strong one for her. It was the third day and I knew I got to do something. All day I kept thinking, why is this person or shadow looking out the window? If you look out the window, you will see a house across the street and you would see an open field. My plan was that night I was going to get the dresser and put it in front of the door so whatever was going to come into our bedroom couldn't come in. Right when it gets dark, like at 9:00, we started taking out drawers and we only got maybe about a couple of drawers out and we're going to move it. And that's when we heard my brother Marvin scream. We looked at each other and I opened my bedroom door, I looked down the hall and there's my brother running. My mom comes out of her room, grabbed him around the shoulders and said, what's wrong? Marvin said, mom, somebody's in our house. Somebody's in our house. I just tense my whole body up and I hold my breath. Tears start coming to my eyes because I'm so scared. Marvin's pointed in the little den by the front door. He said that there was a man standing there all in black. Marvin said he was looking out the window. Then he ran straight out to the back patio. My sister and I just froze and stared at each other because, you know, she said the same thing. He was looking out the window. My mom turned around, looked at my sister and I, and she said, you two are going to sleep with me tonight. I said, mom, Nita's seen it too. She looks at Nita and She said, you seen it? Nita's not in a really good position to talk because she's crying. So I told her about the two nights. And my mom just like in shocked, she goes, well, y'all just get in bed with me then. Get in bed. Get in bed. Marvin and Mare, the twins, came into the room and slept on the floor. My two brothers, they're about to turn 17. They're really protected over as little ones. To see them being older than us, wanting to sleep with my mom, that is something that's out of character. But they came in with bedding and slept on the floor. We've never ever slept in our parents room, so being all in there was different. But it's also comforting having us all together. I feel a little relieved that everybody knows, but I don't understand what it is. The next morning we got up, my mother was in the kitchen and didn't talk about it. Didn't talk about it at all the whole day. We just kind of like all stayed together, though. My brothers, they're usually off with their friends bicycle riding or somewhere. They stayed home too. We all stayed in the living room that whole day and just watched tv. My mom comes in with the food she made tacos, and she puts it on the coffee table. She tells us, I think somebody has a key to this house. I think a neighbor or somebody is breaking our house. I want to blame my mom, but I could tell she was worried. I think she was just trying to tell us something to make us feel comfortable. Because we were only native kids in the neighborhood. My mother had a lot of running with the police, and a lot of it came with the color of their skin and stuff like that. So I'm sure that's one where my mom never called the police. We don't say anything. We just listen to her and we're all like, we're going to be okay. Because mom knows it's getting late. Mom goes, let's all go to bed. We're gonna put the dresser in front of the door and we're all gonna stay in the room together. We all went down the hall. My brother turned the hall light on as a group. We all went into the bedroom. She closed the door and the boys all get that dresser. It's a big heavy dresser, and they shove it in front of the door. We have the bedroom light on. My mom's just sitting on the bed. My little sister's in bed. My mother and I decided I was going to sleep on the floor. I was just laying There, collecting my thoughts about everything and thinking, everything's going to be okay now. Because the dresser's in front of the door. No one's talking. My younger brother, Neshoba, was singing some songs. And then someone banged on that bedroom door. It was a loud bang, like, ping, bang. The door shook a little. My little sister was crying. She was on my brother's back, and I'm on the floor. The doorknob turned, and I turned to look at my mom, and my mom's got her mouth open, and she screamed. To see her that vulnerable scared me. My mother's head, she realized it wasn't a neighbor like she thought it was. We're all crying and shaking. My mom, she gets up and she said, help me with a dresser. I didn't know why she was doing it. My brothers were all, like, reluctant to get up to help her to move it, but they get up. I was scared of what was behind that door. I was scared that she was going to let whatever it was in the room. My mom moves the dresser, and she slowly opens the door. She's got one hand on the wall, and she's turning the knob really slow, and she barely opens it. The hall light is off. That's what really scared me. She peeks her head out, trying to look, and so she has to open it a little bit wider and wider. And then she looks down the hall and she said, run, run. We all just jump up. I grab my sister's hand and we run. We're all just taking off, running down a hole. I'm looking down the ground. We took a right in front of the living room, and my oldest brother, Beaver, led us out the back door. As soon as we got out of the house, we all ran to get as far from the house we can in the backyard. Beaver turned to mom and said, when I went around that corner, he was standing there, mom, he's back in there. He's at the window again. He was in the living room. I thought to myself, I'm glad I was looking at my feet. We're all standing there. Mom's like, so tell me. Tell me exactly what y'all seen. What have y'all seen? Bieber said, like, he had no face. That sent me, like, oh, crap, what is this? It's not a man. No face. Did he have a mask on? All this is going through my head. Half of us sat on the ground, and half of us were sitting around a station wagon that we had in the backyard, but we were facing the house. Even though the patio light was on. The house seemed dark. While we were sitting there, I heard footsteps coming, something walking, coming around the house. We all froze and looked up.

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Serious allergic reactions may occur. Trimphia may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of infection, including fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs. Tell your doctor if you had a vaccine or plan to emerge.

As you learn more about Tremfya, including important safety information, at tremfya.com or call 1-877-578-3527. See our ad in Food and Wine magazine for patients prescribed Tremfya. Cost support may be available.

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[Sequ Nicosi]

We all froze and looked up. He came out of the darkness of the house and it was my dad. His eyes were huge, just looking at all of us. He's trying to understand what's going on and looking at my mom. We're all grabbing my dad, I was really crying. Couldn't even get off the ground crying. Seeing him made us feel like, okay, it's gonna be all right now. Dad's here. Dad's gonna make it better. Dad's stronger. He'll take care of everything. But I was still scared. He said, bernice, what's going on? She says, henry, somebody's in our house. Somebody's been in our house this whole week. Dad goes, y'all stay here. Stay over here. I'm gonna go in there. My dad went back in by himself. We're sitting there holding on to each other, and my dad comes out and he said, I don't see anybody. And he looks at my mom. My mom is crying. She is shaking so bad. So he reaches over and he holds my mom, he said, we're leaving. Everybody get in the car. We're going to Ada. We're going to go to Aunt Louise. I was thinking, yes, we're leaving. So we get in the car and my dad pulls out. My dad being there, I felt so safe. I fell asleep. I slept hard until we got into Ada. I think that whatever it was is in that house and us being there attracted it to us. And it wanted us knowing it was there. But to me, I felt like it wanted to scare us. My mother was very superstitious. Like, don't talk about what happened because it might come back. My mother was really strong. She hardly showed any emotions. But that fear in her scared all of us. My siblings will not discuss it. After my mother had passed, I asked my dad, did mom ever talk to you about that house? He goes, yeah. But after she told me what happened, she didn't want to talk about it ever again. So you know how your mom was. And I said, how did you come home so fast that night? He said, I was driving home and I was going to drop off that diesel, my rig first and then get my car and come home. I was coming in and my mom came in my ear. My grandmother had passed in 1958. He said, it wasn't a whisper. It was her voice and said, henry, you need to get home. They need you. I drove that rig straight on to Cedar Hill. And I got there, and that's when I saw all of y'all outside. I told them, you know, that was the best thing that ever happened to us was to see you.

[Glen Washington]

Thank you so much, Sequ nicosi, for sharing your story with the Spooked. That story was scored by Nicholas Marks. It was produced by Chris Hambrick. We often hold that there is a magic in objects. Charms, tokens, amulets, things that can bring us power, money, the love of our lives, perhaps. Everything I know tells me that it's never that simple. But I know nothing. Perhaps you have knowledge. Perhaps you have the experience with an object of power, the ability to use it for your own benefit. Or perhaps the ability to wield it to someone else's detriment. Do you have it? Can I see you? If so, please let me know. If you allow me to pick it up, I promise I'll be ever so careful. What I'd really like more than anything else is the story. Because, you know, there is nothing better than a spooked story from a Spooked listener. Spookednapjudgment.org Please tell me about it [e-mail] and if you would like stories devoid of the creepy crawlies told in the bright light of day, our sister podcast is the Amazing the Stupendous Snap Judgment. Available everywhere, forever and ever into all the world. It's storytelling with eight Beef Spooks is brought to you by the team where each and every member has a photographic memory. Except, of course, for Mark Ristich. You're gonna want to write him a note. There's Davey Kim, Chris Hambrick, Leon Morimoto, Teo Dakot, Marissa Dodge, Zoe Fergno, Ann Ford, Miles Lassie, Yari Bundy, Eric Yanez, Cody Harjo, Lola Abrera, Doug Stewart. The spook theme song is by Pat Mesini Miller. My name is Glen Washington, and someone told me the other day, someone I've known for a long time. They told me that instead of encouraging children to explore their histories in order to avoid the horrors of the past, instead she's working to simply ban the books that mention the histories, or alternatively, forbid the teaching of certain words in educational settings. Under theory that if you say certain words, like, for instance, if you utter the term slavery, someone somewhere might be encouraged to explore what that word actually means, what slavery entails, what role it's played in our country. And as such, they may in fact feel something less than pride in our shared story. That forcing someone to feel this discomfort, this revulsion, this shame about a history, this cannot be tolerated. No. She told me that stories unchecked, that histories unbound, are matches on the tinder of young minds that can tear whole communities apart. Happy lies are far better than unhappy. I listened, silent, because I wanted to understand. And when she asked me finally if I could imagine anything more sinister than presenting people with their own histories, it took me a moment before saying, I hear that you are afraid. And let me just say that I'm afraid, too. Not just of you, but the same things you're afraid of. The hatreds, the divisions, the societal collapse. More than ever, it can feel like we're fighting darkness, and darkness is winning. But I know that stories are candles. And the more candles you have, the more you can see, the brighter the world becomes. And when presented with the alternative, the very best advice that I know to give is to never, ever, never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever turn out lights.

[Unknown Advertiser]

I won't let my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis symptoms define me emerge as you. In two clinical studies, Trimphia guselkumab taken by injection provided 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks in 7 out of 10 adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. In a study, nearly 7 out of 10 patients with 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks were still clearer at 5 years. At 1 year and thereafter, patients and healthcare providers knew that trimphia was being used. This may have increased results. Results may vary.

Serious allergic reactions may occur. Trimphia may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms of infection, including fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Tell your doctor if you had a vaccine or plan to emerge.

As you learn more about Tremfya, including important safety [e-mail] or call 1-877-578-3527. See our ad in Food and Wine magazine for patients prescribed Tremfya. Cost support may be available.

Want to shop Walmart Black Friday Deals First Walmart plus members get early access to our hottest deals. Join now and get 50% off a one year annual membership. Shop Black Friday deals first with Walmart plus see [e-mail].