Spooked – “Lunger’s Row”

Podcast: Spooked by KQED and Snap Studios
Host: Glynn Washington
Storyteller: Caroline Liu
Release Date: February 27, 2026

Episode Overview

In this chilling episode of Spooked, Caroline Liu shares her firsthand account of supernatural happenings after moving into a seemingly ordinary home in Albuquerque, New Mexico—a city with hidden, haunted history. From dead birds as omens to unexplainable events inside and outside the house, Caroline’s story unravels mysteries connected to the land’s past as a tuberculosis “lunger’s row.” Listeners are taken on a journey through omens, ghostly encounters, and the quest to reclaim peace from restless spirits.

Key Discussion Points & Story Highlights

1. The Ominous Arrival

• Recurring Premonitions:
  • Caroline describes a strange dream and an eerie sequence with a falling feather:

    “Write this down. I wake up 3:47am... Something about floating, this dream so crystal clear... remember the feather.” (00:03)

  • Later, a feather drops outside her window, and she senses an impending call—one she predicts with unsettling certainty.

2. The Dead Birds – Bad Omens

• First Encounters:
  • Upon moving in, Caroline finds a “perfectly dead bird” on her front porch and another on the back patio. Both birds appeared unharmed, raising her anxiety:

    “...how are these perfectly intact birds dying and being left unharmed?... That was the scary part.” (02:50)

• Research and Dread:
  • Online searches confirm her fears—a dead bird near the home is a well-known omen of evil or bad luck.

3. The House across the Street & Neighborhood Tensions

• Observing her new neighborhood, Caroline is unsettled by the demolition of a house across the street.
• She senses a shift in energy, especially after the land is leveled:

  “There was this kind of, like, uneasiness in the air... they had completely changed the energy field of the neighborhood.” (06:40)

4. Escalating Supernatural Activity

• Bird in the Studio:
  • Caroline discovers a third dead bird in her private art studio, intensifying her belief that something targets her directly.

    “...now this third bird is lying directly in the one space that is truly mine, my studio space.” (09:45)

• Pets Sensing the Unknown:
  • Her cats habitually fixate on the studio closet door, as if seeing something she cannot.

5. Unexplained Physical Changes and Disturbances

• Studio Disarray:
  • Studio furniture is inexplicably moved; doors she kept closed are found ajar.
  • Will, her boyfriend, denies touching anything, increasing her paranoia.

6. Public Manifestations – The Party Incident

• During a barbecue, the baby is seen screaming at the window.
• Simultaneously, a garage light (not hooked to power) inexplicably turns on. As soon as Caroline closes the baby’s curtains—blocking her view—the light immediately turns off, stunning the guests:

  “That’s not a battery powered light bulb... There is no possible way that light bulb could be turned on right now.” (16:00)

7. Local Lore & Lunger’s Row

• Friends reveal the area’s grim history as a “lunger’s row”—a tuberculosis hot spot riddled with unmarked graves from former hospitals:

  “That area of Albuquerque is one of the most haunted areas in the whole city... This one- to two-mile stretch really became a dumping ground for unmarked graves.” (20:20)

• Multiple friends recount seeing a woman in white—a recurring local ghost legend.

8. Other Hauntings and Shared Experiences

• Caroline’s friends corroborate the presence of a womanly ghost, described in detail:

  “She had long black hair. She was wearing a dress... She just jumped off... and ran off into the night at an alarmingly fast speed.” (23:40)

9. Tangible Disturbances Intensify

• Electronics Malfunction & Physical Attacks:
  • Her paused movie repeatedly starts itself.
  • Footsteps thunder across the roof despite a flat, inaccessible adobe surface.
  • The impossible-to-open dryer door suddenly flies open with force and hits her in the face:

    “The dryer stops, and the door flings open and hits me in the face... Like they just hit me in the face with this door that doesn’t open.” (28:55)

• Isolation:
  • Her calls and texts to Will repeatedly fail; her phone appears jammed.

10. Confrontation & Attempted Clearing

• Will shares advice from a customer on banishing spirits. Together, they walk through the house, yelling:

  “We have a lease. They’re not on the lease. They need to get out. They are not welcome here.” (31:10)

• House regains a moment of peace—until Will, outside on the porch, hears:

  “It just sounded like these shrill screams were just rushing from the house. I thought you were being murdered... Like, these screams were so loud, and they sounded like woman screams coming from the house.” (31:55)

• Caroline wonders if this is “the ghost leaving—were the ghosts leaving the house, screaming at him because he's the one that really forcibly removed them.”

11. The Haunting Lingers

• Even after confronting the spirits, Caroline isn’t convinced they are gone for good. She reflects on the restless souls still crowding the area:

  “I can only assume that whatever remains that they found across the street, those spirits floated towards our house... I think they just moved on to probably my neighbor’s house.” (32:05)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Omens:

  “A dead bird near your home is something bad. It’s something evil. It’s something you should watch out for.” – Caroline (04:50)

• On Local History:

  “This one- to two-mile stretch really became a dumping ground for unmarked graves all across this part of town.” – Caroline’s friend (20:45)

• On the Ghost:

  “She had long black hair. She was wearing a dress... She just jumped off… and ran off into the night at an alarmingly fast speed. She knew it wasn’t human.” – Jackie, Caroline’s friend (23:45)

• On Confrontation:

  “We have a lease. They’re not on the lease. They need to get out.” – Will (31:12)

• On the Aftermath:

  “All the spirits… still crowd the neighborhood. I can only assume… those spirits floated towards our house… they just moved on to probably my neighbor's house.” – Caroline (32:05)

Key Timestamps

• 00:03 – Caroline’s dream, the feather, and the feeling of premonition
• 02:40 – First discovery of dead birds, signal of a bad omen
• 06:40 – House across the street demolished; neighborhood unease begins
• 09:45 – Bird found in studio; paranormal focus intensifies
• 16:00 – Party incident: inexplicable light and baby’s reaction
• 20:20 – Friends explain the haunted history of the land (Lunger’s Row)
• 23:40 – Jackie’s sighting of the woman ghost
• 28:55 – The violent dryer-door incident
• 31:10 – Will & Caroline attempt to cleanse the house; shrill screams erupt
• 32:05 – Aftermath and reflection on hauntings continuing in the area

Tone & Language

Throughout, Caroline’s narration is honest, conversational, and tinged with anxiety and dry humor, making the supernatural events both vivid and deeply personal. The pacing is intimate, oscillating between moments of mounting dread and attempts at rationalization.

Takeaways

“Lunger’s Row” is a haunting account of how past tragedies can linger in place and in spirit. With dead birds as omens, unexplained phenomena, and a cast of ghosts tied to unmarked graves, Caroline’s story encapsulates the essence of Spooked: true-life supernatural encounters where the line between past and present blurs, and the ghosts are closer than you think.