Spooked Podcast: "Soul Cycle" (January 30, 2026)

Host: Glynn Washington
Produced by: KQED & Snap Studios

Episode Overview

This chilling episode of Spooked explores true-life supernatural encounters that blend the ordinary with the uncanny. Hosted by Glynn Washington, the episode features two firsthand stories: one from Lee, a spin instructor in Los Gatos, CA, who unexpectedly finds herself communicating with a ghost through a stationary bike gauge; and one from Jessie, who is haunted by family spirits (and possibly a spectral cat) while staying alone in a familiar house near Chicago. Both stories grapple with the interplay between familiar spaces—gyms and homes—and the presence of something inexplicable lurking just out of sight.

Key Discussion Points & Story Summaries

1. Glynn Washington’s Opening: Rituals, Initiations, and the Supernatural

Timestamps: 00:07–05:48

• Atmospheric Introduction: Glynn opens with a playful, rhyming, and macabre tale about a stew, segueing into the ritual of welcoming new Spooked staffers with a spicy, communal "Gangsta Casserole Murder style" lunch in Oakland Chinatown.
• Themes Set: This intro sets up motifs of community, ritual, memory, and the blurred line between comfort (home, food) and fear (the unknown, hazing).
  • "Is it hazing? Initiation? Maybe it's an imitation as well. Truly. Because make no mistake, I love this dish. I love it. It is home. It's Oakland. It's family. It's warmth. It's memory. It smiles. It's awe. It is magic." (A, 04:35)
• Transition: Glynn primes listeners to "imagine that the mystery doesn’t have a sense of humor" before sending us into Lee’s story.

2. Story 1: “Soul Cycle” with Lee

Timestamps: 05:48–21:01

Setting the Scene

• Lee’s Class: Lee is a lively spin instructor in Los Gatos, California—her classes are described as “energetic, challenging, sweaty.” (B, 05:50)
• Atmosphere: Vivid details about the spin room—neon lights, music, and rainbow-colored tracking screens—convey Lee’s passion and the immersive environment she creates.

The Encounter

• Initial Incident (Wednesday, ~06:45 AM):

  • Lee notices a cycling gauge for Bike 23 moving (blue zone) without anyone on it.
  • Phil, a regular attendee, witnesses it too.
    • "'Phil, do you see that, Phil?' And he's like, hmm, Bike 23." (B, ~10:15)
  • Lee tries pedaling it herself; gets the gauge to move, then resets to zero. She rationalizes it as a tech glitch.

• Second Incident (Saturday):

  • After class, Lee sees Bike 23’s gauge move again—with no one on it.
  • She “plays along,” instructing the unseen presence:
    • "Okay, can you work a little harder?" —The needle jumps into yellow.
    • "Wow, that's pretty good. Can you work as hard as you can?" —The needle maxes into purple, the hardest possible.
    • "Wow, you're working really, really hard. Can you reduce the work? But not all the way." —The pin obeys, settling back in blue. (B, 13:50–15:30)
  • Lee describes feeling an “adrenaline bolt,” real fear and awe.

Seeking Answers

• In the Cafe: Lee tells the general manager, whose shocked response reveals more:
  • During renovations, workers experienced unexplainable phenomena—moved items, doors flying open, especially in the women’s locker room.
    • "She just started saying, I don't want to know... When they were remodeling... every single time they'd come to work in the morning, things had been moved... All of the doors blew open... everyone was like, oh, my Gosh, what is happening here?" (B, 17:50)
  • No logical way a different bike could be causing the readout.

Aftermath

• Lee is left feeling “honored” by the contact, wishing she'd asked more questions, pondering who this spirit could have been.
  • "I was always kind of feeling like that's never going to happen. And so I did feel honored. And I really wish I would have asked so many more questions." (B, 19:00)
• Reflects on the oddity: If she were a returning spirit, she’d choose something "a little easier" than spin class.

Memorable Quotes

• "No frickin way. No way is this actually happening right now." (B, 14:55)
• "Have I got a story for you." —Lee to her daughter, after picking her up. (B, 20:40)

3. Story 2: Jessie and the Grandfather’s Cat

Timestamps: 22:27–36:34

Setting the Scene

• Jessie, in college, is living with her friend Nita’s family in a house she’s known since childhood.
• She feels at home—until she’s alone for the first time during a stormy weekend.

The Haunting

• Stormy Night: Lights flicker on and off, doors creak open and closed, as if by an unseen hand. Jessie grows terrified.
  • "Then things just start spiraling out of control. There's lights coming on and off. I can hear the doors opening and closing." (C, 25:40)
• Supernatural Cat: Amidst the chaos, Jessie notices a distinctive gray, orange-eyed cat staring from various vantage points—soaking in the rain, on the skylight—always watching.
  • "Now I see the cat on the side sliding door... The cat's on the skylight looking down. There's lightning behind it. And so there's this electric outline of this cat. And I'm scared because I don't understand how I got there." (C, 27:00)
• Photographic Evidence: A photo of Nita’s grandfather falls off the mantle—reminding Jessie of family tales that “Grandpa’s spirit lives there.”

Calling for Help

• In desperation, Jessie calls Nita’s mom (“Mom”), telling her:
  • "I think it's Grandpa. I think he's trying to get me out... I need you to tell him I live here." (C, 30:40)
• Mom, unfazed, addresses her father’s spirit over the phone:
  • "'Dad, she lives there. Stop it. She lives there, okay? We'll be back soon.'" (C, 31:05)
• The disturbances slow and eventually cease.

Aftermath and Revelation

• Jessie verifies the experience by checking her phone logs.
• When the family returns, “Mom” reveals that Grandpa’s last cat matches Jessie’s description. She finds a photo of Grandpa with the same-looking cat—now long dead.
  • "This heart drop to my stomach moment, because at that point, Grandpa had been dead for over 15 years... I didn't want it to be a ghost cat." (C, 34:45)
• Jessie never sees the cat again but is left wondering if Grandpa’s spirit was watching over her, testing her, or trying to drive her out.

Memorable Quotes

• "I live here, Grandpa. I live here. But there's lights going on and off. There's doors opening and closing. There's this storm. I needed something to just stop." (C, 30:15)
• "I don't know if it was Grandpa spirit cat. I don't know if it was Grandpa as a cat, but I believe that Grandpa had the cat there to keep an eye on me while I was home alone." (C, 35:05)

Host Reflections & Cultural Context

Timestamps: 36:34–End

• On Small Gods: Glynn muses on gods of places and objects, rituals, and the unseen threads that bind us to memory and the supernatural.
  • "Often when we think of the gods, we think of the Creator, the one that made the sun, the moon, the stars... For most of human history, the gods were smaller, more accessible. The God of the valley, the God of the river... The gods would walk with you, talk to you, sometimes in human form and in other forms as well. Some say even today, that they still do." (A, 36:34)
• Invitation: Listeners are invited to submit their own stories.

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |---|---|---| | 04:35 | "It is home. It's Oakland. It's family. It's warmth. It's memory. It smiles. It's awe. It is magic." | Glynn (A) | | 10:15 | "'Phil, do you see that, Phil?' And he's like, hmm, Bike 23." | Lee (B) | | 14:55 | "No frickin way. No way is this actually happening right now." | Lee (B) | | 17:50 | "She just started saying, I don't want to know... When they were remodeling... all of the doors blew open… everyone was like, oh, my Gosh, what is happening here?" | Lee (B), recounting general manager | | 19:00 | "...I did feel honored. And I really wish I would have asked so many more questions." | Lee (B) | | 27:00 | "The cat's on the skylight looking down. There's lightning behind it. And so there's this electric outline of this cat." | Jessie (C) | | 30:15 | "I live here, Grandpa. I live here. But there's lights going on and off. There's doors opening and closing. There's this storm." | Jessie (C) | | 31:05 | "'Dad, she lives there. Stop it. She lives there, okay? We'll be back soon.'" | Mom (C) | | 35:05 | "I don't know if it was Grandpa spirit cat. I don't know if it was Grandpa as a cat, but I believe that Grandpa had the cat there to keep an eye on me while I was home alone." | Jessie (C) |

Final Thoughts & Episode Tone

• Atmosphere: The episode cleverly balances humor, warmth, and genuine suspense—reflecting Glynn’s own style and the authenticity of the storytellers.
• Themes: Initiation, belonging, the mysteries of home, and the persistence of spirits—or the past—within familiar places.

This episode of Spooked invites listeners to reflect on the liminal spaces between the mundane and the mysterious, and reminds us: sometimes, the things we can’t explain are closest to home.