Spooked Podcast: "Mrs. Hagstrom - Classic"

Hosts: Glynn Washington (narration), Storyteller: Curtis Meyer
Release Date: September 5, 2025

Overview

This classic episode of Spooked delves into the chilling true-life haunting endured by Curtis Meyer and his family in a home plagued by the presence of Mrs. Hagstrom, a tormented spirit from the past. Through Curtis’s recollections, the narrative captures the terror, confusion, and eventual confrontation that defined his childhood. At its core, the episode is a story of a mother’s fierce love colliding with the unexplainable—and what it takes to fight for one’s family even in the face of the supernatural.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Encounter with Mrs. Hagstrom

[04:44]

• Curtis recalls sitting on his doorstep eating a popsicle when a strange, unsettling woman, overdressed in summer, approaches. This is his introduction to their neighbor, Lucinda Hagstrom—the namesake and spirit haunting their home.
• Curtis’s mother connects the neighbor’s story with an old photograph found in their house, realizing it’s a young Mrs. Hagstrom, "a photo of a young woman, probably on her wedding day, with an unhappy look" (Curtis Meyer, [04:44]).

2. First Signs: The Haunting Begins

[05:40 – 09:10]

• Curtis experiences the first supernatural assault:
  • "I can feel what feels like a bony hand touch my back ... it gave me a firm shove and pushed me down the stairs” (Curtis Meyer, [06:55]).
  • The event is dismissed as an accident by his mother, but it repeats—this time more forcefully, and again involving a bony hand and a foul smell.
• Soon, the entire Meyer family experiences oddities: voices, hair-pulling, footsteps, doors slamming, and "the face of Mrs. Hagstrom in his bedroom window" ([08:07]).

3. Family Meeting & Coping with the Haunting

[09:50]

• The parents gather the children and acknowledge the spiritual disturbances:
  • “Yes, there are spirits living in this house, but as long as you don’t bother them, they are not going to bother you” (Curtis Meyer, [10:03]).
• The family prays together, hoping for peace, but young Curtis is unconvinced.

4. Mother’s First Major Encounter

[10:30]

• Curtis’s mother, alone in the house, hears what she thinks is a kitten, then a baby crying, in the basement.
  • “She felt a tingle like an electrical current pass through her body and there, standing before her, was Mrs. Hagstrom in the middle of the room ... her skin looked like ash ... hair in filthy strands ... eyes were the most horrible” (Curtis Meyer, [11:43]).

5. Father’s Encounter & Normalization of the Supernatural

[14:48]

• Curtis’s father experiences pounding at the basement door, sees Mrs. Hagstrom’s gaunt face in the window, feels an icy finger, and watches a lantern crash to the floor.
• The family adapts: "As strange as this sounds, it eventually became normal to us” (Curtis Meyer, [15:55]).

6. Intensifying Attacks on Curtis

[17:44]

• Curtis is targeted by the spirit, suffering terrifying sleep paralysis:
  • “I feel like the spirit was trying to either enter me or kill me. I was screaming, ‘Get off me! Get off of me!’ I felt like a car was pressing down on me” ([18:08]).
• His cries are unheard by his family, further escalating the family’s fear.

7. Mother’s Illness and Spiritual Warfare

[19:50]

• Curtis’s mother is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, leaving her weakened and bedridden.
• The haunting intensifies, particularly when Curtis is alone in the powerless house with his ill mother:
  • “She was pretty ruthless. Any opportunity she had to try to intimidate us, she would” (Curtis Meyer, [22:35]).

8. The Final Confrontation

[25:26]

• Despite her illness, Curtis’s mother confronts Mrs. Hagstrom in the storage room’s darkness:
  • “‘Come out you cowardly—’ ... her body straightened, her pain was replaced with what I would call divine determination” (Curtis Meyer, [25:30]).
• She is struck by a flying object—the wedding photo of Mrs. Hagstrom—drawing blood, but she stands her ground:
  • “‘I’m not afraid of you. I want you out of my house and I want you out of my house now.’ ... The room was silent. Then Mrs. Hagstrom materialized ... pure evil. ... My mother just confronted her. ... A yellow blaze filled the room ... Mrs. Hagstrom’s spirit was wailing, writhing, fighting against my mother, but it eventually faded” ([28:00]–[29:20]).
• In the last moment, Mrs. Hagstrom’s face reverts to the young, sad woman in the photo before vanishing.

9. Aftermath

[29:40]

• Although the haunting doesn’t entirely end, Mrs. Hagstrom ceases to torment the family:
  • “She was still definitely there, but she no longer bothered us. Don’t get between a mother and her family, because you won’t win” (Curtis Meyer, [30:01]).
• Curtis reflects on the power of a parent’s love in the face of evil.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Curtis Meyer, on the first shove:

  "I can feel what feels like a bony hand touch my back ... it gave me a firm shove and pushed me down the stairs." ([06:55])

• On parental guidance:

  "Do not interact [with the spirits] and they will leave you alone. Which didn’t sit very well with me ... I had been pushed down the stairs twice at this point." ([10:15])

• On his mother’s resolve:

  "Never underestimate the strength of a mother when she’s protecting her family, because at that point, she’s done ... She just walked into the room like she owned it, with strong strides ..." ([24:00 & 25:30])

• On the final confrontation:

  “I'm not afraid of you. I want you out of my house and I want you out of my house now.” ([28:05])

• Aftermath and reflection:

  "Don’t get between a mother and her family, because you won’t win." ([30:01])

Important Segment Timestamps

• [04:44] – Curtis meets Mrs. Hagstrom; mother finds photo
• [06:55] – Curtis’s first physical encounter on the stairs
• [10:03] – Family addresses haunting and prays together
• [11:43] – Mother’s first major ghost sighting in the basement
• [14:48] – Father’s encounter with spirit and flying lantern
• [17:44] – Curtis physically attacked while sleeping
• [19:50] – Mother’s illness, Curtis left alone
• [25:26]–[29:20] – Mother’s confrontation and exorcism of Mrs. Hagstrom
• [30:01] – Reflections & resolution

Tone and Style

The episode mixes chilling, matter-of-fact retelling with empathy for the family’s plight, using Curtis’s grounded, unembellished recollections. Glynn Washington’s narrative interludes provide both atmospheric commentary and reinforcement of the story’s deeper themes—the primal protectiveness of a parent, and the ways people face fear together.

Conclusion

"Mrs. Hagstrom - Classic" is a classic Spooked tale, equal parts ghost story and family drama. Through Curtis’s harrowing memories and the vivid personality of his mother, the episode powerfully illustrates that while some terrors may be supernatural, the strength to face them can be all-too-human.

Further Information

• Curtis Meyer’s full story appears in his book, Shadow of Fear.
• Listeners are invited to share their own supernatural stories at spookednapjudgment.org.

Be afraid. And as Glynn Washington warns: “Never ever turn out the lights.”