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- [00:02]
A
We imagine that we're in control of things, but we never see our puppet strings. You're listening to Spooked. Stay tuned. Recently, sitting in the park, my best friend, she said, do you remember that character you invented? Roosevelt Franklin or something? And it's vaguely familiar. It's way back in the day, before kids, before responsibilities, footloose, fancy free. I wrote this character description about someone very different from myself. The adventures of Roosevelt Franklin, a militant black vegan. I'm thinking that is a blast from the past. Haven't thought about him for a couple decades. Yeah, well, guess what? Look over there. I glance over and I see my boy, my child. That's Roosevelt. And it hits me like a bolt of lightning from the clear blue sky. No way, no way, no way. My son, who at the tender age of 10, 11 years old one day learned what meat production really was. And he decided right then and right there he would never have anything to do with it ever again. He's been trying to convince me to become a vegan every day since. And now he's a full on teenager. No way. I run back home, scrambled through old papers, through broken computers, looking for this piece of writing, Roosevelt. And I can't find it, no matter where I look. Where did I put it? And I remember I had an old Yahoo email account. And so I sit in front of my laptop, forehead resting on the table for two hours, trying to recall the password, locked out. Finally, I take a deep breath, close my eyes, put my hands on the keys and just let my fingers type something on the keyboard. Voila. I'm in. Hit the search bar and enter the word Roosevelt. And what comes up is not just a character description. Nah, it's a full on screenplay. 110 pages, beginning, middle and end, right there. A full on screenplay that I have zero recollection writing. So I read. I read it like I've never seen it before, because it's like I've never seen it before. I can't recall anything. I don't know what's going to happen next. I just, I just feel this character, this Roosevelt, I know this person, like a slightly older version of my boy. Uses the same vocal tics, same clarity of mind, of purpose. Things are either good or bad, black or white. Roosevelt demands that people clean your diet. Only then will you clean your mind. And I howl in recognition. This guy. I take this guy to basketball practice and holler at him about his homework. And when I finish the final page, I sit astonished, wondering who what really wrote this story of my Son years before I knew I would have one. And when my boy asked me again that very night, when will I forego the eating of animals? I. I don't want to laugh because it's a serious topic. It is. But still I have to wonder, where did this child come from? And who really wrote his history before he had one? Spook starts
- [04:17]
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now.
- [05:07]
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Mysteries, mysteries everywhere you turn. Flora. She's just 16 years old. She lives in Montreal. But this summer she sent it back to Macau to spend some time with her family, to reconnect. I'm gonna let Flora take it from here. Spooked.
- [05:59]
B
So summer is the best time. But instead I'm in Asia. It's like 100 degrees outside and it's sweaty and humid. And my mom tells me my uncle from Indonesia and his son is coming to visit us for a week. So, you know, I was like, okay, cool. And I'm just at home doing my own thing, watching TV or reading a magazine. And then the door opens and my uncle walks in. And you know, my uncle is this lovely, warm, tiny, tiny man, like five, four, really short man. He walks in, he smiles, give me a hug, and always a really, really sweet guy. And then behind him is this little scrawny little kid. And he has this bowl cut, but he like was hunched over. Just imagine like a wilted person. I just remember him, like, it's almost like he had cement in his shoes. He was just dragging his legs. So I just thought that was really strange for a seven or eight year old because you have my brother, who's not that much older, bouncing up and down. I just said, hi, how are you? I tried to do small talk and he didn't really want to engage. So I was like, okay, fine. But he just followed me around. But he wouldn't really talk to me, and he just kind of followed me in a way that was like he was hiding. And then I turned around and there he was. Yeah, it was very strange. I felt like someone was stalking me in my own house. And it was like an eight year old boy. We live next to this like kids park. All the kids would be playing, running back and forth. And this kid was just like, nope. So he's sitting watching TV in the living room, and I'm just reading a magazine in the dining room, you know, just doing my thing. And I'm sitting in front of this giant mirror in front of my dining table, and I slowly look up just with my eyes, and I notice my little cousin just kind of spying and standing behind the sofa. I just felt super uncomfortable that I stopped reading. And I turned around and just looked at him, and I said, yeah, what do you want? And, you know, he just came over and he said, what are you reading? Can I see your bra? And I was like, what? What are you talking about? Go watch tv. And he's just like, I really want to see your bra. I'm like, no, don't just go away. And I just kept reading my magazine and moved upstairs. As I told my mom, I'm like, why is he speaking like that? And, you know, and I said, can you tell him to stop? And my parents are just like, oh, he's just being a kid. Like, you know, he's just being silly. It's harmless. So I was like, okay, he's just a. This is a phase boys go through. And I just accepted that. Then all through the day, he just kind of followed me around. And he didn't just do it to me, he did it to all the women as well. And he, like, tried to hit my mom, walked by, and he just, like, slapped my mom's butt. And my mom's like, ayo, you know, don't do that, and walked away. But, you know, they just think, oh, a little kid being silly. But I was like, get him the. Out of here. You're in the. Go away. You're freaking me out. So my auntie and my mom tried to just brush it off as child's play. But I was going walking by their room one day when my aunties and my mommy was just gossiping and they're just chatting, and I overhear them say, it's not normal. He's so young. Why is he saying stuff like that? It's not. It makes me really uncomfortable. It makes my skin crawl. And they're like, yeah, it's not normal. And I overhear that he has behavioral problem even standing back from Indonesia. And that's why his father brought him to Macau to bring him to the healer we go to. But even when my mother and my auntie is saying it, I just have this pit in my stomach. What I was experiencing is real. It wasn't just some child's play that I can just brush off, because even my mom and my aunties, they were scared. It never stopped. He just kept saying creepy things all week long. And I didn't totally feel threatened because I could take him, but just the thought of it really creeped me out. But it's weird for me to say it because he's a child and he's my family. You know, but it just. There was something that felt unsafe when I was with him. It just didn't feel comfortable. So it. It's super hot. I didn't want to go outside. It's like 100 degrees again. And I'm just sitting by the breakfast nook because it's my favorite spot. That's where all the snacks are and faces the ac. So I get, like, pure breeze. And, you know, I'm just hanging out by myself, reading a magazine. And the kid comes over to me again. And by this point, this is midweek. He's been here for a few days. I'm just rolling my eyes and just look at him and going, what? And he comes up to me, and once again, he does his thing. You're so pretty, but can you not sit there? I was like, why? What are you talking about? He's like, you're sitting under that thing. And then I realized next to my breakfast nook is a shelf of all these porcelain. And on top of it, my family's Buddhist. So on the top of the shelf is Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. It's a statue that we have there. And my dad, you know, give it incense every morning. And I'm like, you mean Guanyin? I asked the kid, it's like, what do you mean? And he's like, turn her around. I don't want to look at her. She's a killer. Turn her around. I'm like, what are you talking about? She's the Goddess of Mercy. It's the complete opposite of being a killer. He goes, I don't want to look at it. And then he walked away. And I noticed if I ever sit there, he never comes to bother me. So guess what? I spent a lot of time sitting on that bar stool and that breakfast nook, and. And he just wouldn't come. And he's like, why are you even close to that? Turn it around. Get rid of it. And I was like, no, no. End of the week, my family, we usually once a week, go see this healer. It's kind of funny. The joke is, you give Canadian Chinese, like, free Canadian health care. They just go to the doctor. We're just always going to the doctor for no reason. Like, my mom's like, it's preventative. I'm like, why am I going to the doctor today? There's nothing wrong with me. They're like, well, when there's something finally wrong with you, you regret it. And I was like, this is crazy. So we were going, and my dad said, oh, Your uncle wants to come to. His back hurts. And also he decided to bring his son to come along because apparently he has really bad tantrum. He has behavioral problems. Maybe the energy sess would like, calm his nerves. I was like, okay. So it was just another regular summer day. Blue sky, really nice in Macau. And my father, my uncle, my cousin, we all decided to go to the Healer. We cross the border into China. And the healer's home, there's just two rooms. The living room where you wait, and then the healing room. And it's all just connected. And you can see inside. And she leaves the door open. The Healer is just this jovial, lovely, like, happy, chubby lady. She just exudes warmth. And she sees me, she gives me a hug, and you know my father, she says hi. She looks at my cousin and she just looks at him. And she said, I'm going to start with him first. And usually there's an order. And she was like, no, I'm going to start with him first. She spoke in Mandarin and she's like. Like means come here, sit down and lay on the. She has like those masseuse bed. And my cousin wouldn't walk into the door. He was like, why are we here? I don't want to come in here. She just said, come in. And he's like, no, no, I'm not going in. You're not doing that to me. I'm not coming in. And she put him the bed. There's like little chairs on the side of the wall. And we just sat there and just watched him. In this room, there's nothing but just this bed, her chair where she sits by your head. And when you lay down, you look. The opposite wall is a huge poster of the Goddess of Mercy. And she put him the bed. I just remember her smiling, really calm. She looks at him and she goes, who are you? What's your name? My cousin started sniffing, going. And his hand just became like claw, like. And he started clawing a little bit, like rapid move movement, kind of like a squirrel. And she, the doctor said, told the father, put your hands on his stomach, don't let him move. And then she put her hand on his forehead. He's like moving his head really rapidly. It looked like an animal trapped. And it was like his. His nose and his mouth just started squishing together. And he was going. My cousin started speaking this dialect I didn't understand. But my father also looked a bit confused. And my uncle started translating and saying what he's saying to my father. That's When I realized my dad doesn't know what he's saying either. And my uncle was kind of shaking his head a little bit, and I think he was a bit shocked. And he just said he doesn't know this dialect because it was not taught. It's a very old dialect in his region, but he was not taught that Indonesian dialect in school. It's not something you teach, it's something you learn. And no one really speaks it anymore. But my uncle understood it. My uncle was translating the whole time, and he started sniffing around. And in that dialogue, he. He said, who's this? Who's this person? He smells like a killer. He smells like a killer. Who's this person? And the doctor was super calm and just kept saying, what is your name? Who are you? Get out of this child. My cousin's going sniffing the whole time and trying to paw at the healer, asking, who's this person? And he's like, get this candle away from me. The room started to smell like wet animal. And it got really intense when he started spitting like, my cousin's not there anymore. It was an animal just clawing and just kept saying, get this. This is a killer. Why you trying to. To kill me, Daddy? Why are you trying to kill me? Who is this killer? Get her away from me. Who are you? What is your name? What is your name? And the healer is like, you don't need to know my name. You just need to get out of the child right now. You don't belong in him. He's like, I'm staying in him. And then he turned to his dad and goes, daddy, this person's killing you. And she said, I'm gonna ask the goddess of mercy to come help me. You see, she's there. My knees just started buckling as, you know, like, you're about to get into really bad trouble. It just. The energy just was so heavy. You know when people talk about the thickness in the air, that's how just you. It started to feel difficult to breathe, and it just smelled like an animal is here. He started coughing, coughing. And he's like, please stop killing me. You're killing me. And he does this. Daddy, Daddy, help me, Daddy. This person's hurting me. And. And the doctor was like, no, that's not your dad. Daddy. Daddy, she's killing me. She's killing me. She smells like a killer. Why are you killing me? I'm not getting out. I'm not getting out, Daddy. The healer just kept saying, no, you're hurting this child. Please come out. Get out. Now you're not the son. And she's still smiling, really calm, as if, like, know you would think that she's gonna be like, you want a cookie next? But she was like, nope. She was super. Get out of the kid. Get out of him. Please get out of him. He does not belong to you. And he started coughing, but it's these white mucus, like, clear mucuses. And at this point, it was too much for me to handle, so I just walked out of the room. Room. But the actual whole apartment is just two rooms. I have perfectly good view of what is happening. I'm just not in the actual room. And it was just my uncle, the healer, and my cousin in the room left. But we can all see exactly what's happening. And my uncle's wiping mucosa. He's coughing into just a piece of, you know, tissue. So he would come out, show us, like, you know, when the tissue gets all dirty, he'll come out. But he said it is the most putrid, disgusting smell. It just smells like dead carcasses that's been left at your house for, like, days. Coming out of his son when he's wiping the mucus, when it's full. He went to the bathroom to just flush it. And I thought, you have to burn it or something. But the healer no, just. Just flush it. And my uncle just kept wiping this mucus off of him. And he's coughing and coughing and coughing. She's like, a little bit more. Get out of him. Get out. You don't belong here. And then she finally say, hu Li Zhou. Hu Li Chu Lai. Hu Li is fox. And two Lai's come out. I just want to shut down and close my eyes and fall asleep in the corner because I was really scared. So I was looking out the window, and it was blue sky. But all of a sudden, I noticed out of the blue, there was no cloud in the sky. The sky was blue. I couldn't believe it was even happening. The sky turned black and it just started pouring thunder. Pouring super hard like torrential rainstorm. I'm just looking around, wondering what is happening. The forecast said it was clear sky all day, so it's thundering. And in the back of me, I can just hear the healer saying a Buddhist prayer and asking Guanyin to come and help cast this spirit away. And my cousin is just coughing and crying and saying, no, don't kill me. Please stop. Please stop. Please don't kill me. He kept saying that. The healer spoke in Mandarin and she just said, you just need to get out of the kid. I have to get you out of the kit. I'm asking Guanyin to come help. And we're not killing you, but you don't belong in here. This is not where you're supposed to live. So I understood kind of what's happening. And you know, it got more violent, the coughing. And then boom, it stopped and cleared. It just felt like the last of it came out and washed everything away. And then blue sky came and the whole air just lifted. It almost like everything exploded and released itself. And then a different kid came out of the room. It was insane. A kid came out of the room. His back was straight, it was open. And he's bouncing up and down, he's smiling, he's talking. The energy was completely. He bounced, he skipped. He was skipping like, you know, he came out and talked to me like a normal kid. He was like, hey, I feel better. I'm like, do you feel better? He's like, yeah. So the kid was fine. And I just remember going out to dim sum after my mom joined us and my brother and we were all just like, look at him, he's playing with the other children. I remember him playing cars and like the trucks and stuff they had. He was playing with other kids, laughing, jumping up and down and like if just that, that brightness that children have even when they're being like the biggest asshole, like, am I allowed to say that? Like, there's just that lightness of like this, like the beauty of being a child like that, you know, that grown up are too dead inside to replicate, but, you know, that life. And then I started to think about, oh, the legend of the. Of course the Wu Lei Jing, like the fox folklore. But you know, I didn't think it would take over a child. But apparently his house was in Indonesia, was built on the fox. Quote, air quote, foxhole. And that's why the spirit entered him, because he's the weakest of the family because he's a child. He's the only kid in the neighborhood. But to me, because of. I guess because of the things my cousin was saying, it was so sexualized that, you know, I just equate it to a creepy old man, you know. But I think if anything, the spirit is trying to corrupt my cousin by being creepy. He's distancing him from other good energy that could protect him. Because, like, if we all have like good qi and good, my father said magnetism, we can help protect the child. But if you don't want to be around the kid, then he's easier to be prey. So after this all happened, you know, they were about to leave, and once again, I'm just, you know, hanging out by my favorite spot in the house, the breakfast nook. You know, reading a magazine and having a cup of coffee. I notice my cousin, you know, who's a different being completely since his visit to the Healer. He, like, skips came over to the breakfast nook. Underneath the breakfast nook is a cupboard where all the, like, good snacks are, like, and like the chips and everything. And he just came over and grabbed himself a snack and climbed up onto these, like, bar stool and just sat next to me and asked me what I was doing. And Guanyin, the statue is right there. He didn't care. He just. As if he didn't even notice. So that was definitely like, whoa. And there's almost like an amnesia about anything before the healer, about him. So it was just amazing. It was. I can't even describe it. Like, it was like a different person was at the house. A child was back.
- [30:16]
A
Big thanks to Flora for sharing her story with the spooked Flora. She is a listener and she sent her story to us. We love hearing from listeners. Tell us your terrifying tale. Drop us a line. Spookednapjudgment.org the original score for that story was by Doug Stewart. It was produced by Annie Nguyen. Let the record reflect real people telling you their real truth. Spooked. And do you have a story where you lived with, experienced, talked to, ate with, fought with, comforted, A power that was not of our experience? A story you're afraid to tell anyone else? Well, tell me spooked@snapjudgment.org because there is nothing better than a spooked story from a spooked listener. And if you need that spooked gear, the T shirt of your dreams is available right now. Snap Judgment. Little rg. Remember that if you like your storytelling under the bright light of day, get the amazing stupendous sister podcast, Snap Judgment. Storytelling with the beat. It might just change your life. It's changed mine. Spooks was created by the team that knows instantly if someone is being manipulated by outside forces. Except, of course, for Mark Ristich. He's usually being manipulated by outside forces. There's Anna Sussman. Our chief spookster is Eliza Smith, Chris Hambrick, Annie Nguyen, Lauren Newsom, Leon Morimoto, Renzo Goriot, Teo Da Cott, Davey Kim, Marissa Dodge, Zoe Ferrigno, Tiffany Deliza, Ann Ford, and Doug Stewart. The Spook theme song is by Pat Mesiti Miller. My name is Lynn Washington. In darkness, the line, the wall between here and there, between us and them, grows more faint, more permeable. That once solid barrier fades to shadow. And this is why I advise you not to tempt fate. Remember, always recall to never ever. Turn out the lots
- [33:09]
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of.