Encounters x331 - Visits from the Grim Reaper

Summary

Two Girls One Ghost - Encounters x331: Visits from the Grim Reaper
Release Date: May 14, 2026
Hosts: Corinne Vien & Sabrina Deana-Roga

---

Episode Overview

In this chilling episode of "Encounters," Corinne and Sabrina explore listeners' firsthand experiences with the Grim Reaper. The pair discuss cultural lore shifting their own views, read listener-submitted stories featuring death omens, near-death experiences, and shadowy figures, and question the meaning and purpose of these encounters. Both insightful and unsettling, the episode oscillates between dark humor, empathy, and existential musings.

---

Key Themes & Insights

• Varied Interpretations of the Grim Reaper: The hosts and listeners reflect on whether the Grim Reaper is a malevolent entity, a gentle guide, or simply a witness to the end of life.
• Recurrence in Listener Experiences: Many listeners describe repeated, sometimes multi-generational encounters suggesting deeper familial or personal connections to death omens.
• Paranormal as a Mirror of Trauma: Several stories intertwine grief, unresolved family history, and supernatural manifestations, blurring the line between psychic trauma and spiritual phenomena.
• Death & Fate: The episode raises questions about fate, near-misses, and why some escape while others do not, musing over the mechanisms of supernatural warnings.
• Lighthearted Coping: Sabrina and Corinne infuse humor and personal anecdotes to balance the heavy themes, reaffirming the humanity behind the hauntings.

---

Notable Segments & Listener Stories

Grim Reaper’s Presence: A Shift in Perspective

• The hosts open by noting how their perception of the Grim Reaper has softened over the years, due in part to stories from listeners who see the entity as more of a guide than a killer.
  • Corinne: “I don’t think the Grim Reaper is bad. I think, yes, seeing the Grim Reaper is a scary…image. But maybe he’s there to fend off negative entities.” (13:10)
  • Sabrina: “[He] helps you cross gently into your astral state.” (13:35)
  • [02:13]-[14:41]

Story #1: Jasmine & Her Husband’s Reaper Encounters

• [04:16]-[12:14]
• Jasmine recounts chilling visits from a tall, smoky black figure—identified by her husband as the Grim Reaper—who has announced impending deaths in dreams and waking moments, then appeared in her own dream with a cryptic date warning.
  • Jasmine (read by Corinne): “Do not open your eyes. There is a dark figure next to me.” (05:21)
  • “The Grim Reaper visited last night. He stood next to him by the bed, staring at him without saying a word.” (06:13)
  • Sabrina: “It’s so scary to think he was awake enough to alert his wife.” (07:14)
  • The hosts muse about fate: “What if, in 45 years, it is her husband’s time, and the Grim Reaper is showing him his life’s moments?” (12:14)

Story #2: Adri—Evil Grandma & Fatal Omens

• [15:38]-[32:18]
• Adri shares multiple family hauntings, including a mother plagued by an abusive mother’s (grandma’s) dying curse: “I’m taking one of your girls.” The death of Adri’s sister occurs years later, eerily on their grandmother’s birthday, after being visited by her ghost.
  • Sabrina: “That grandma—grandma Grim. Grima. Terrible.” (41:31)
  • Adri: “For years, my mom…thought my grandma would find a way to take me, because I was the one who had communicated with her.” (30:53)
  • Sabrina: “I am so sorry for your loss.” (31:44)
• The family also encounters the Grim Reaper and possibly a skinwalker during a harrowing episode.
  • “It makes me wonder if talking about them calls them to you.” (23:35)

Story #3: Emily—A Life of Near-Death Experiences

• [34:59]-[40:59]
• Emily from Australia describes a recurring shadow in her childhood, identified as the Grim Reaper, and a series of near-fatal accidents and medical emergencies, each seemingly preceded by a paranormal warning.
  • Emily: “I don’t know how, but I feel like I was supposed to have died all three of those times. Maybe I have a guardian angel.” (37:56)
  • Sabrina: “Are you like the Harry Potter of the Grim Reaper’s world?” (39:25)
  • Corinne: “It almost feels like the Grim Reaper is only supposed to show up when death is actually about to happen, but she keeps cheating death.” (39:49)

Story #4: Amber—ICU Nurse & Death’s Door

• [41:41]-[48:01]
• An ICU nurse recalls a dying patient, Emma, who consistently saw a man in a black hood approach her bedside. Despite Amber’s attempts to “remove” the entity, Emma passes away as predicted.
  • Amber: “Who was that outside my door?” (42:11)
  • “Sir, you need to leave now. Emma does not want you here.” (44:02)
  • Sabrina: “Thank you, Amber. You're an amazing nurse and your patients are lucky to have you. Not your fault!” (47:59)

Story #5: Lex—A Party Game Turns Grim

• [51:08]-[53:18]
• During a childhood Halloween party, Lex sees the Grim Reaper appear during a spooky game, but only Lex notices the entity.
  • Lex: “He didn’t do anything or say anything, he just stood there. My second-grade self was stuck, super scared.”
  • Sabrina: “Do we all have our own Grim Reaper, like we have guardian angels?” (53:19)

Story #6: Maria & Husband—Historical Hauntings and Funeral Visions

• [55:36]-[62:50]
• Maria deals with mischievous household and workplace ghosts, while her husband recalls seeing his great-uncle in a pew at his funeral accompanied by a classic skeletal, hooded Reaper no one else could see.
  • “The hooded figure raised his skeletal finger…and made the motion that you would in shushing someone. Then grabbed the arm of the great uncle and they both disappeared.” (61:19)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Reaper’s Intent:
  • Corinne: “The Grim Reaper just wants friends and wants to, like, be your friend, but then the butterfly dies when it gets too close.” (13:57)
• On Fate:
  • Sabrina: “What is fate? Maybe there’s an energy shift that the Grim Reaper reads, but that doesn’t guarantee the death.” (40:08)
• On Evil Family Spirits:
  • Sabrina: “That one's still like, I really hope everything’s okay.” (63:32)
  • Corinne: “We are on Team PR for Grim Reaper. He ain’t so bad, but death is scary.” (65:01)
• On Patients & Powerlessness:
  • Amber: “I had been threatening death all day long, and I had no idea.” (47:55)
• On Coping with Death:
  • Corinne: “...I’m not terrified of the act of dying, I’m terrified of everything I leave behind.” (63:46)

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening banter and setup: [02:04]–[04:16]
• Jasmine’s Grim Reaper account: [04:16]–[14:41]
• Adri’s generational curse and tragedies: [15:38]–[32:18]
• Emily’s near-death experiences: [34:59]–[40:59]
• The existential Grim Reaper debate: [40:59]–[41:41]
• Amber’s ICU encounter: [41:41]–[48:01]
• Lex’s party Grim Reaper: [51:08]–[53:18]
• Maria’s stories (and husband’s funeral vision): [55:36]–[62:50]
• Hosts reflect on fear, death, and the unknown: [63:07]–[65:33]

---

Tone & Style

• The language is conversational, blending irreverent humor (“Doctorates in delusionology!”), warmth, concern, and openness to the unknown. Heavy stories are treated with care and empathy, leavened by lighthearted asides and pop-culture references (e.g. “Tim Allen’s Santa Claus—It’s his time to become a Grim Reaper.”)

---

Summary Takeaways

"Visits from the Grim Reaper" is an exploration of death’s specter—literal and figurative—infused with personal stories of uncanny experiences, loss, and resilience. Corinne and Sabrina offer a safe (if spooky) space, revealing that while the Grim Reaper’s presence may portend the end, it also stirs conversations about fate, guardians, and the great unknown.

---

For Listeners Who Haven't Tuned In

You’ll learn how people interpret ominous supernatural encounters, hear unnerving (but oddly life-affirming) tales from all walks of life, and get the comfort of two friends laughing in the dark, searching for answers together. If you like your existential dread woven with empathy, insight, and a dash of gallows humor, this episode is for you.

Transcript

[A]

If you love paranormal romance, Demons, long suppressed feelings, contemporary romance. Do we have the book for you.

[B]

We love giving book recommendations. I love it.

[A]

This book is called Legacy of Desire. And let me just read you a little, little brief synopsis.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Scotland, daughter of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, known as War, and a formidable warrior in her own right, has dedicated her life to fighting evil with her two demon best friends, Mace and Blade.

[B]

Is this book about us? Right?

[A]

I demon besties. Their extraordinary bond and uncanny ability to operate in perfect unison has made them legends as special operators with the demonic activity response team. Damn. When a routine assignment goes wrong, landing one teammate in the hospital and the other in Scotty's arms, what will they do?

[B]

I don't know. But what I do know is that lately I have been an audiobook listener. And let me tell you, this is available on ebook, it's available in print, and it's available on audiobook. So whatever form of reading or listening you want to do, you'll get to dive into this book.

[A]

Demons, long suppressed feelings.

[B]

Legacy of Desire by Larissa Loan.

[A]

Legacy of Desire is a why choose paranormal romance and is available in print, ebook, and audiobook.

[B]

What they did to your family.

[A]

You're lucky to make it out alive. Streaming on Peacock. These men are going to come after me. Taking them out. It's my only chance. Put a bullet in her head. From the co Creator of Ozark.

[B]

Looks like a family was running drugs execution style.

[A]

Killing.

[B]

It's rare for the Keys.

[A]

Any leads on who they might have been running for? The cartel killed my family.

[B]

I'm going to kill them. All of them.

[A]

MIA Streaming now.

[B]

Only on Peacock.

[A]

Very spooky.

[B]

Hello.

[A]

Don't look in your closet. Don't look at the end of your bed.

[B]

Oh, no. What's there?

[A]

You don't know who's coming?

[B]

It's us.

[A]

The Grim Reaper Be creeping. I love the Grim Reaper.

[B]

The Grim Reaper has. My perspective on the Grim Reaper has changed over the years of the podcast,

[A]

especially when we did the episode of the Grim Reaper. But I feel like this. This encounters episode might make us go back to, like, the scary version of the Grim Reaper.

[B]

True. Because today's episode of Two Girls, One Ghost, Two Girls, One Ghost is all about the Grim Reaper and your encounters

[A]

with the Grim Reaper, of which there are many.

[B]

Of which there are many.

[A]

Like, the Grim Reaper is supposed to be something you don't see unless you're, like, about to die, according to lore and legend. And so I'm concerned about some of you, actually. There was a Listener. Did I put it in here?

[B]

Are you going to read it?

[A]

I can't remember because I was nervous to read it. Oh, it is in here. Okay. Well, I was nervous to read it because it, like, left on, like, a really big cliffhanger. Should I just read it?

[B]

Yeah. I was like, wait, can we start with that one?

[A]

There's no reason, because it's from 2019, the original email. And so I sent a follow up email being like, hey, are you okay? And they responded, oh, it's not about them specifically, but like. Okay, well, you know what I think.

[B]

Okay. Sorry to interrupt before you're about to go into this.

[A]

I wasn't meaning to start.

[B]

I was more like, I think about the one listener's story. Maybe it was when we did the Grim Reaper episode a while back. I think about that one listener who would see the Grim Reaper and know when, like, a neighbor or someone was going to die because they would watch the Grim Reaper go into these people's houses.

[A]

They gave me the chills.

[B]

And then within a couple days, that person would have passed.

[A]

Well, that's kind of like the story.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. How are y' all doing? I feel like we just jumped into it because you and I haven't recorded in two weeks either.

[B]

Well, and also it's in Encounters. I feel like we jumped into Encounters.

[A]

We do, we do. But it felt like I felt like we didn't get to catch up and then we didn't check in on all of you.

[B]

How are you guys doing? Do you. Have you switched over to your iced coffee yet?

[A]

Do you see what I see?

[B]

Hopefully not if it's the Grim reaper.

[A]

Okay, this is from our listener. They gave a fake name for privacy. Jasmine. Hello, Corinne and Sabrina and cute Leia. I'm from California. I just wanted to start off by saying how much I enjoy your podcast, even though I get scared about everything and anything. I started listening about three months back because a good friend of mine suggested it to me and I'm almost done with the episodes, but I only listen at work because I'm too scared to listen at my home. I wanted to share a few things that have been going on. Some of my stories are mine, but most of them are my husband's and they make me terrified. This first story happened the past weekend, which was back in May of 2019, and it has been the most frightful of them all. My husband and I were asleep, and since a lot of things have been going on, we're no longer heavy sleepers like we used to be. All of a sudden, we are both woken up. My husband and I are shaking. Like, terrified shaking.

[B]

Jeez.

[A]

My husband starts saying, don't open your eyes. Me, terrified, shaking, said, why? What's going on? He said, do not open your eyes. There is a dark figure next to me.

[B]

Oh, my God. I'd be freaking the fuck out.

[A]

So I don't open my eyes because I knew, yes, I was gonna freak the fuck out.

[B]

And also, everything we know, I'd be like, is it even my husband talking to me? I know. Is this something I would.

[A]

But also, when someone tells me not

[B]

to look, I just have to look.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And also, we'd be more. We'd feel more prepared than any partner.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

To deal with said shadow.

[A]

Agreed. But still very scary when this was happening. I felt my shoulder get cold, and I tried to, like, pull the blankets up to get covered up, but I could not. No matter what, it was just my shoulder being freezing cold. I could not warm it up. I had no idea what was happening until the next morning when we really woke up and I asked my husband, what the hell happened last night? Is everything okay? He looked at me with a serious face and said, the Grim Reaper visited last night. He stood next to him by the bed, staring at him without saying a word.

[B]

I mean, I already have questions because it's like, how many paranormal experiences has this guy had? Did he see a dark figure and be like, oh, that has to be the Grim Reaper? Okay. I'm like, shit. Did he actually see the Grim Reaper?

[A]

The Grim Reaper introduced himself. Hello. Hello. My name is Grim comma Reaper John.

[B]

You've never met me before, but my name is Grim.

[A]

Nice to meet you.

[B]

Actually, I like the name Grim.

[A]

It's very black. Doggy wolf.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. This figure was standing almost 8 to 9ft tall with black smoke coming out of its face. After he saw the figure, we both tried to fall asleep. And it took a while because keep in mind, I was not opening my eyes, but we were also terrified. After this, my husband had a dream. And in his dream, he was in a gray room, and it was just him and the Grim Reaper. And all he heard was this. It is your time, but in Spanish. The Grim Reaper basically was telling my husband he was going to die. And then she attached a photo of what they saw, and it's just. It's a photo of the Grim Reaper, like, with the scythe.

[B]

Holy shit. It's so scary to think, too, that he was awake during it and awake enough to be able to alert his wife.

[A]

Well, they both were shaking like they were physically having a paranormal experience while the Grim Reaper was just in their space.

[B]

Yeah, because I. I almost think of it as, like, people are so far close to death that they're almost like in a delusion. And no one else will know that they're seeing anything or it's like in their sleep they'll have a dream about it. But this is there. There's basically a witness.

[A]

So my husband told me that this is not the only time he has seen the Grim Reaper, which is also why he knew the last time he saw him was a few days or a week before his uncle passed away. Again, the Grim Reaper showed up and that time told him what was going to happen to his uncle. But this time the Grim Reaper showed up and said, it's your time. Like last time it was very specific saying, it's your uncle who's going to die. And, like, said how he was gonna die.

[B]

Why? In my mind, I know that it would still involve him dying, but for some. Or like a version of that. But for some reason, my mind immediately went to Tim Allen's Santa Claus. It's his time to become a grand reaper. It's his turn.

[A]

I would watch that in a. Should we.

[B]

Should this be our passion project?

[A]

It's ours, the spin off. And I want to play the Grim reaper, the dead one. I want to be the grim reaper who dies. I've always wanted to play a dead body on a TV show.

[B]

Oh, well, here's your moment.

[A]

Let's write it.

[B]

I'm going to be the dead body and Alfred Hitchcock.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

You get to do that.

[A]

M. Night Shyamalan does it too.

[B]

He does?

[A]

Yeah. He's in every single one of his films.

[B]

Oh, shit. Now I got to rewatch them and look for him.

[A]

Okay. It's been three days now since this dream and nothing has happened. But last night I had a dream and I saw the Grim Reaper. And he told me it was meant for my dad. And he gave me the date of 1026. I have no idea what that means. Is that the day? Is that the month and the year? I've been so uneasy and worried and I'm not sure what to do. What do you ghouls think? It's terrifying. My second story.

[B]

What do we think? We think you should follow up to Sabrina's inquiry. Well, I'm sorry whether you're. Okay. Yeah.

[A]

So we haven't heard back. I sent this email like 3 days ago asking, but. Okay, that's the Grim Reaper part. And then there's a second story. This happened last year in 2018. My husband and I stay in my parents basement. I know you guys don't like basements and it can be creepy sometimes. Even though the house was built new and they moved in before it was

[B]

just land, that literally means nothing. My parents built the house that I constantly talk about.

[A]

My most haunted house was a brand new build.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah. We were watching TV and we were dozing off, falling asleep. I was trying to get comfortable when all of a sudden I saw a tall black figure in the wall as if someone was walking past and their shadow had reflected on the wall.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

My husband and I were both laying down, we both saw it shot up, looked at each other and said, you saw that, right? And we both said yes. In order for there to be a shadow on the wall, someone had to walk by the tv which was right in front of us. And there was no one there but the two of us. The windows were shut, it was completely dark except for the TV being on. And I still do not know what this was, but I just wish things would stop happening. I have more stories that include black magic and a witch and more dark figures. Please let me know if you want to hear them. Keep up the great work. See you on the other side. Scaredy cat Jasmine.

[B]

Scaredy cat Jasmine.

[A]

Isn't that very like. I'm very concerned.

[B]

Yeah. Because I keep looking for something else. Like it's your time. Your time for what? But I'm like, okay, well what other context with the grim reaper say that? And I'm like desperately searching for.

[A]

I know.

[B]

It's your time to do a little dance, right? Yeah.

[A]

Your time to shine. It's your time to. Grim reaper is a perfect up a new hobby. The grim reaper is a sourdough starter.

[B]

Is waiting for you on your counter when you wake up.

[A]

Is that your new hobby that you want to pursue?

[B]

I can't. I can't even eat it a gluten free one, can I? Yeah, I've always been too nervous to try.

[A]

You could totally.

[B]

All right, well, maybe I'll try.

[A]

You could do that if you believe in it.

[B]

Including conquer your allergens. I have no idea. But it also sounds like it just everything in their life has like the paranormal experiences are all kind of like dark and shadowy.

[A]

So. Well, okay, here's about Jasmine's dream. I don't know what to say about her husband experiencing the grim reaper saying it's your time. I hope it's for sourdough or to Become the Grim Reaper. Because that's fun. But maybe Jasmine had that dream the next night about the Grim Reaper, saying it's about your dad because she was so scared.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And, like, we don't understand dreams, but, like, I do think when you have a really big fear, sometimes, like, your dreams manifest that and share. You, like, share a message. They don't all mean something paranormal.

[B]

Okay, well, okay, let's go off of this idea. What if, in 45 years from now, it is her husband's time and he is getting visited by the Grim Reaper, but he is, like, revisiting all of the moments in his life that really stood out at this time, and for some reason, something about, like, that day or just, like, being in bed with his wife, it's like he goes back in time and his memory is so intense that the Grim Reaper is with him, showing him all these moments of his life. Yeah, it was life reflection. 45 years in the future. It's not about today.

[A]

Yeah, no. And I. Okay. I have no answer to that. But I also want to make it clear I don't think the Grim Reaper is bad. I think, yes, seeing the Grim Reaper is a scary. It's a very scary visage. Visage. Visage. Image. Image. Is she okay?

[B]

No. Well, because. Yeah. Before we started the podcast and heard things about, like, actual experiences with the Grim Reaper. You think of an entity coming to, like, literally murder you.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Which is not what the Grim Reaper is.

[A]

It's more of, like, he's your. He's ushering you to the other side. And, yes, carrying a scythe is very scary, but I almost view that as he's gonna fend off any, like, negative entities that are trying to take your soul. Yes, he's your. He's your guy.

[B]

Along the way, you're gonna have a gentle, easy step forward into your astral state.

[A]

He just has to blend into the shadows. Actually, black is slimming. It makes him look better, and it's what he's comfortable in.

[B]

Oh, have you seen. There's an artist who does, like, images and also animations of this, like, really cute little grim reaper.

[A]

Oh, I have seen it. Yes.

[B]

It breaks my heart every time because it's like the Grim Reaper just wants friends and wants to, like, be your friend, but then the butterfly dies when it gets too close.

[A]

I like to think that there's multiple grim reapers, that it's not just one, because that's a lot of work to do for one person.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I like to think that when you're in the afterlife, it's a little bit more leisurely, and it's like a hobby. That's their hobby to help people cross the other side. And there's like a whole group. Oh, and they have meeting.

[B]

That's why they have cloaks, because it's

[A]

like they have to hide their identity.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

It's a uniform.

[B]

Because people would be confused if there's like A thousand of 17,000 different Grim Reaper faces out there.

[A]

So I also like that idea because then that means I can be a grim reaper when I.

[B]

You know, you said it in the beginning. You can do whatever you want as

[A]

long as you believe in it.

[B]

As long as you believe in it.

[A]

Wait, this is my new girl math ideology. Okay. So you can get, like a doctorate in, like, many different topics and things. That doesn't mean, like, you're an official, like, doctor. Right. We've been doing this podcast for almost nine years, which makes me think we are qualified to say we have doctorates. That's my girl math.

[B]

Wait, someone had just either commented or, like, DM'd saying that we should be on. Why can't I remember Alie Ward's ologies? They were like, you should be on ologies. And I was like. To talk about what?

[A]

Like, what are we an expert in delusionology?

[B]

Fake it till you make it? Like, what? But it was. It was a nice compliment.

[A]

Yeah, that was a nice compliment.

[B]

I did like that. Yeah. You can call us Dr. Sabrina. Dr. Corinne.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

Next story.

[B]

Next story. Okay, this is an interesting subject line. It is called my dead grandma unalived my sister. Concerning. Concerning. Do we like grandma? Was Grandma chill or was she.

[A]

Or was she, like, mean? She became a grim reaper and helped Usher.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know. We'll find out. Let's hear.

[B]

We will find out. Okay. This is from Adri, I think is how you pronounce the nickname.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And there are some content warnings for death of a kid and domestic violence. And typically when people send in stories like this, if things get a little too intense, we do try to take

[A]

out some of the details. Yeah.

[B]

On the fly. So we'll give you another warning when it comes up. Okay. I came across Yalls podcast on YouTube a couple weeks ago, and I love it. I work graveyard shifts, 10 plus hours a night, and your podcast always plays all night long.

[A]

What's your graveyard shift? I'm so curious.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Like nursing.

[B]

Yeah. What do you do?

[A]

Security.

[B]

I'm throwing a few encounters that my family and myself have had with the supernatural. I've always had a connection to spirits and the supernatural. I'm almost 24, but for as long as I can remember, I have always been able to see and communicate with spirits only when they want to be seen or communicated with.

[A]

Like a cat.

[B]

Yeah. So it's interesting because it's not like it almost is. Like, you lack control over when you get to experience things. Like, you can't be like a psychic medium and just be like, okay, I'm

[A]

ready to open the channel or whatever.

[B]

I'm calling upon these people now.

[A]

You have to wait for them to

[B]

suddenly run to the coffee. Hello? Yeah. Oh, God. Is this thing on? My sister was 11 months older than me, and my doctor said that my mom was allergic to my sister. Some weird blood type stuff. It's the Rainus oh my gosh thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Whoa. That you have to get tested for some weird blood type stuff. I still don't really understand. But my sister was also a micro preemie baby. My sister was born at 24 weeks on the dot, weighing 1 pound and 3 ounces.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

She was in the NICU for months. And while she was still in the nicu, my mom got pregnant again with me. At the time, we lived in Port Lavaca, Texas. My parents ran this bar on a beach, so they were friends with everyone in town.

[A]

That is very cool.

[B]

That's so cool.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's also like, I know Texas has a huge coastline, but I literally never

[A]

think of Texas beaches.

[B]

Like, you go to the ocean. What? When news got out that my sister had finally come home from the hospital, which was three months after she was born, she had a lot of visitors, but my parents didn't want any unnecessary germs, so my mom would basically just show my sister through a window and visitors would look at her from the outside. My dad was outside chatting with our neighbor when one of the game wardens, who was also a family friend, came by to see my sister and to see how we were all doing. My mom was inside with my sister and my dad, and my neighbor was outside with my dad and the game warden. When my mom noticed that there was a shadow behind the game warden. And the shadow was a little bit darker than both my dad and the neighbor's shadows. So my mom takes a closer look at his shadow, and she swears that the shadow is not his shadow. It looks like the Grim Reaper.

[A]

Oh, no.

[B]

Both of my parents were raised Catholic, so my mom stepped away from the window with my sister and started praying.

[A]

Oh, my God, I can't even imagine the panic she probably had.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. This child who spent so many months in the nicu.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's a miracle that.

[B]

Oh, I just missed that she's able

[A]

to bring her home.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

After the neighbor and the game warden left, my dad came inside and said, did you see that? Which was shocking because my father did not believe in the supernatural. Four days later, they found the obituary for the game warden printed in the newspaper.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Okay, on to some of the other stories. When I was about 1, my sister was 2, and a hurricane came through the Gulf. At this time, my dad was working for an oil company, and he was about an hour and a half away from where we lived, and he didn't have time to make it home for us to evacuate.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

The roads were already closed, but the city officials told my dad that he was allowed to go home. But once he made it home, his only option was to hunker down. He could not evacuate. We rode out the hurricane together, and after it had passed, our house and only a few other structures on the beach weren't flooded or damaged.

[A]

That is so lucky.

[B]

My mom thinks that there was a guardian angel watching over the house during the hurricane.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Both of my parents are from the desert of West Texas and realized that that hurricane was too much water. So they sold the house, picked up, and we moved north back to the dry desert area of Texas. When I was five, my dad's work had transferred him to Farmington, New Mexico, so we picked up and moved there. At this time, my mom was a nurse, and she basically could just go wherever she was needed. So moving with the family wasn't a huge issue. In Farmington, there was a very diverse population which consisted of a lot of native people. And my family became friends with this Navajo family because our moms worked together and they had daughters around the same age as us. So by default, our dads also had to become friends, of course, which is how men work. Our parents were outside barbecuing while us kids were inside playing. And that is when my parents were told about flush pedestrians. My father's a skeptic, but my mother believed every single word of it.

[A]

My mom had overheard, especially in New Mexico.

[B]

Yeah. Also, like, you're new to the area. Believe whatever someone's telling you. My mom had overheard some of her native co workers talking about it a few times and also learned that it was disrespectful to ask them about it. So she never did until this Night when her friends brought it up first, my mom had a billion questions, and of course, her friend was happy to answer any question. That same night, after everyone had gone to bed, my sister and I both overheard my mom and dad talking. So we both kind of learned also what flesh pedestrians were that night as well. Months had gone by. We had not experienced anything in that nature until one night, we were on a trip back from Albuquerque to Farmington. I was asleep in the backseat of our car, and my sister was half asleep. Our dog was with us. He was in the trunk of our suv. My parents were cautious about leaving us in the car because it was the end of fall and beginning of winter, and my dad and my mom had both been needing to use the restroom, so they didn't think they'd be out of the car for any longer than maybe two minutes. But my dad, who was a retired firefighter and emt, took the keys out of the ignition, locked the car so both him and my mom could run to the gas station really, really quick, used the restroom. And where we were parked was at a gas pump underneath a light right next to the window of the convenience store, so anyone in the store could see our car. So this made them feel like they could dash in and dash out. I had woken up to our dog in the trunk throwing a fit. Trust your pets. He's barking. He's growling like I'd never seen him do before. And I heard my quote, unquote dad knocking, calling both my sister and my name from the back of the car.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

I was about to turn and look when my sister grabbed my hand and said, don't. Don't look. Close your eyes. Jack will keep us safe, which is their dog. So I did what my big sister said, holding her hand, crying, but keeping my eyes shut. A Native American man from inside the convenience store came out screaming, with my dad and my mom following right behind him. The man.

[A]

So they all saw it?

[B]

Yeah. The man scared away what they believe to be a flash pedestrian. My mom, to this day, will not speak about what happened. She can't even describe what she saw behind our car that night. She said it kind of looked like a normal person, but it wasn't. And it was more of, like, an energy. And for a split second, she was questioning if she had even seen what she had seen.

[A]

They all saw it, all of them. I mean, how brazen of this entity.

[B]

And it only takes a minute.

[A]

It makes me think it was watching, like it was. It was following them for a while.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Waiting for an opportunity to have the girls alone.

[B]

It makes me wonder, too, because, like, one of the reputations of flash pedestrians is that when you speak about them, it's almost like turning on the light and calling them to you.

[A]

Right.

[B]

And it makes me wonder if there was any sort of reference or conversation

[A]

or just, like, constant thought I was just gonna say.

[B]

Yeah. Because sometimes if I think about it too hard, I'm like, oh, my gosh, don't think about it for more than a minute. Because something might come, but then when

[A]

you tell yourself to not think about it, you think about it more.

[B]

Yeah, luckily. And not to say that they aren't up here, but, like, we're definitely not in a hot spot for. Yeah, it felt like an eternity, but honestly, it was probably more like 15 seconds from the time that I woke up to the time that that man came running, yelling from the store. Okay, so now onto the main story, which is so crazy because these were scenes.

[A]

There's so many. Yeah.

[B]

And the reason for the title, that probably caught your eye, because there is a backstory. So stay with me. I promise it will all make sense. My mom is latina, and she's one of 12 kids.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

My mom has nine brothers and two sisters, and she's one of the middle children.

[A]

There's so many middle children.

[B]

Really. The only, like, thing is the first in law.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You're the oldest or the youngest.

[A]

Otherwise you're a middle.

[B]

Otherwise you're just in the middle. The age gap between her and her older sisters was about 15 years.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So by the time my mom was a teenager, she was the only sister in the house. Her older sisters and some older brothers were already moved out of the house and starting families of their own. And so doing all of the household duties fell on my mom while her brothers went out and worked. If my mom made even the slightest mistake doing anything, my grandma would discipline my mom. And this really did borderline on domestic violence. Multiple occasions.

[A]

I'm sorry, it's so sad.

[B]

My mom wouldn't be working fast enough or she wouldn't cook fast enough for the family. And I'm going to skip over some of this stuff, but for, like, a blanket explanation of what is going on. There were times when, like, attempted drownings and, oh, my gosh, I bet you it was the punishment and cutting hair and just, like, really terrible, terrible things happening.

[A]

Yeah, that's awful.

[B]

Okay. My mom couldn't take it anymore. She hated how my grandma treated her. So my mom left when she was 16. She ran away from the house and got married to her first husband. My dad was her second husband in 1994, or maybe it was 1995. And then my mom got a call from her brother saying that their mom was in the hospital and wouldn't make it through the night. After everything that my grandma had put my mom through, my mom still drove two hours away to say goodbye to her mom. When my mom got to the hospital, only two of her brothers and her mom were in the hospital room. My mom kneeled down to give her mom a hug and kiss on the forehead. And when my mom was about to stand back up, her mom pulled her back down and told my mom word for word, I'm taking one of your girls. Just loud enough for my mom and one of the brothers to hear. Evil. Evil. Not long after, my grandma passed away peacefully in her sleep. The crazy thing is, my mom only had two daughters. My sister born in June of 2000, and myself born in May of 2001 when I was three, my sister was four. And my mom and sister were standing in the hallway by my room when my mom heard me having a full on conversation. She had never heard me talking to myself like this. So she asked my sister who was next to her, who I was talking to and she said, oh, is she talking to her imaginary friend? And my sister goes, no, she's talking to grandma. Insert grandma's name here. And she writes, I don't speak my grandma's name out loud because I do not want to bring that energy around.

[A]

Yeah, fair.

[B]

So we don't know grandma's name. And we don't need to.

[A]

And we don't need to. Yeah.

[B]

My mom told me that to this day she didn't know where she had gotten the strength, but she managed to pick myself and my sister up, each in one hand and run us out to the car. She drove to her brother's house a few blocks away and told her sister in law and brother what had just happened. This was the same brother that had been in the room when my grandma had said those last words.

[A]

Oh, he heard it. Oh my gosh.

[B]

Both my aunt and uncle went and cleansed our house of any negative spirits and energy. My mom did not take my sister and I back home until my dad had gone back home from work later that night. And when she told my dad what happened, my grandma had passed away years before my sister and I were born. And my mom had never told us anything about her mom. She barely even spoke to her mom. And when she told my dad everything that she'd been through and what had happened that day. There was no doubt that this really was my grandma's ghost who I was talking to. There's no other explanation for who else it could possibly be. My mom also knows that this was not the first time I had spoken to her. And she knew this because how would my sister, who was not in the room with me, know that I was talking to grandma when my mom asked?

[A]

Which also makes me think that her sister had been talking to grandma too.

[B]

And now this is where content warning for child loss comes in. It was the first day of spring break in 2008, and my mom had a few days off and decided that night that she would take a little trip to Carlsbad, New Mexico for the weekend. We lived in Midland, Texas at the time, so it was going to be a fun two hour trip. Since it was the first day of spring break, my mom let my sister and I sleep in a little bit. And I remember waking up to my mom shaking me, saying call 91 1, something is wrong with sister and then running back to her room. I grabbed my phone, I went to my sister's room. I won't go into great detail about what happened, but after an hour of EMTs and another two hours of trauma, doctors, nurses, med students, and so many other people trying, they finally had a call time for death for my sister. Everyone did everything that they could, even down to putting a pacemaker in my sister, thinking that maybe she was having a heart problem. My parents were divorced at the time, so I had to call my dad and we were following the ambulance to the hospital. When they finally called it, my mom and I were so distraught, so upset, I couldn't pry my mom off of my sister's body. My dad had called my uncle and not long after our families came filing in. Five aunts, six uncles, lots and lots of cousins. My sister was only 17 at the time, and after about 30 minutes, I know after about only 30 minutes, a couple of nurses that my mom had worked with in the past came to settle my mom down and help her leave the room so that they could take my sister away for an autopsy and toxicology. My mom and I actually weren't allowed to go home for a while because my sister was only 17 and she was relatively healthy. The police department actually opened up a case and had a search warrant for our house to investigate if there was any likely cause of death, like drugs or something in the house. Of course, they could only find the basics, like my Doll. My family and I were sitting in what looked like a conference room in the hospital, waiting for detectives to tell us that we could go home. And we were silently crying, praying to ourselves, and holding each other's hands when my uncle said, do you know what today is? And we all looked up at him and he said, no, sister, it's March 10th.

[A]

Is that the anniversary?

[B]

I didn't understand what he meant by that. But my mom's brother's eyes got wide. They all looked at my mom. March 10th was my grandma's birthday. The grandma that told my mom she was going to take one of her girls. For years, my mom had thought in the back of her head that my grandma would have found a way to take me because I was the one who had communicated with her when I was young. But it turns out it was my sister.

[A]

I hate grandma. Hate her.

[B]

Right? She's evil. Evil person.

[A]

That's evil.

[B]

Later that day, we were cleared to go home. My sister's autopsy results came back the same day we were planning her funeral arrangements. She had passed away from a pulmonary embolism. Her passing was basically just completely out of the blue. Everything else on the report came back perfectly normal.

[A]

So terrifying, so sad.

[B]

And that's pretty much it for this email. I was 16 when my sister passed away. And I'm now 24 with a 4 year old son. I've had a few dreams about my sister, and there have been a few times when my son was a baby where I'd catch him looking over my shoulder, laughing and smiling at someone behind me. And I think it was my sister. Not a day goes by where I don't miss her. She was my best friend and she would have been such a great aunt to my son. But I know that she's in a better place. Thank you for the amazing podcast, Adri.

[A]

I am so sorry for your loss.

[B]

I. Terrifying. Terrible.

[A]

Yeah. It's so devastating.

[B]

And how evil. How? I know. Just, it's like. It's almost like you let your guard down. Like you have that warning and you. So you, like, think that it would happen when the kids are really young.

[A]

Hate that so much.

[B]

Yeah. Grandma is evil. And also, Adri's family is just, like, super in tune with the paranormal. Like an encounter with a flush pedestrian. Seeing a grim reaper.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So many different things.

[A]

Geez.

[B]

All right, well, we never said it would be an uplifting episode.

[A]

No, definitely not. I feel like you and I have spent a lot of time talking about our closets and being way more intentional about what we bring into our closets. Yes, which is why we love shopping at Quint's.

[B]

It goes beyond the closet, but we'll get there.

[A]

Their fabrics feel elevated, the fits are flattering, and everything works without overthinking it. And everything at Quint is priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands.

[B]

I mean, it started with our obsession with their clothing, and then they've expanded their offerings. They have furniture, they have amazing homeware. And now I've been finding that anytime I need anything where I'm like, oh, I need a chair, I need curtains, I need new bed sheets, I need towels, I need. I first go to Quinte's. This is my one stop shop now.

[A]

And they use premium materials like 100% European linen, organic cotton, ultra soft denim, and their lightweight linen pants, pants, dresses and tops start at $30. So, hey, if you're looking for linen for the summer, Quince is your go

[B]

to refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com TGOG for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-I-N-C-E.com TGOG for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com TGOG God. Well, feeding children can be so intimidating, which is why we just went straight to Little Spoon. So right now he's in the toddler stage of Little sp.

[A]

Spoon has stages to support your kids through all of the phases. So the baby stage, the toddler stage, and the big kid stage, they also have snacks. And you can have peace of mind at all stages because with 100 plus ingredients banned across the board, you don't have to overthink labels or second guess what you're serving.

[B]

And what I love about I mean, this is all the different stages, but like specifically the toddler stage that Noah's in right now, the biteables are cut to size, so he's these like pinchable meals. And it's not just like a lunch or a dinner.

[A]

Right.

[B]

They have breakfast options too. You can have a little e making pancakes.

[A]

It helps him expand his palette and get real nutrition at the same time.

[B]

Feeding the kids does not have to be complicated. Little Spoon makes it easy with real nutritionally balanced meals and snacks designed for every stage. It shows up ready to go, takes the pressure off, and somehow it still gets devoured, veggies and all. No artificial dyes, flavors, or sweeteners either. And that is definitely a win I will take every time. Get 30% off your first order at littlespoon.com TGOG with code TGOG that's L-I-T T L-E-S-P-O-O-N.com TGOG with CO TGOG for 30% off your first order.

[A]

Okay, well, this one's a little bit more uplifting, kinda.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

In the sense that it's not. There's no death necessarily. There's near death. Okay. This is from my listener Emily, and it's called Seeing the Grim Reaper. Hi, Corinne. Hi, Sabrina. I recently found your podcast and I cannot stop watching and listening to your podcast all the way over in Australia. I am absolutely hooked. So when I was little and I didn't begin to start experiencing this shadow until I was five. But when I was little, I lived in this house, which I absolutely loved. But one thing set me back from sleeping in my own room. I had sliding doors for a bedroom door, and in this doorway, I would always see this shadow. It looked like the Grim reaper. And no matter where I moved my bed, it would stand at either side of the doors just watching me to the point where I was scared to go to bed. And I would always run to my mom and dad's and sleep in their bed.

[B]

I.

[A]

Or I would scream for my mom to sleep in my bed, but I would never see this entity until I went to bed.

[B]

That's so creepy.

[A]

Now, we moved out two years later when I was seven, and once we moved into this new house, all was normal until I started experiencing near death experiences every once in a while.

[B]

Like, there's a bunch that is absolutely terrifying.

[A]

No wonder the Grim Reaper is, like, standing there waiting, like he has nothing

[B]

to do with it. He's just like, man, this is a risky life. Yeah, I'm just gonna, like, be near you.

[A]

Right? So the first one, When I was 8 years old in the year of 2007, my best friend came over to stay the night. And I recently found out that I could do backflips off of my pink bunk bed. I slept on the top bunk. Well, boy, did I learn for the last time. I did a backflip off of the top bunk. It tremendously failed. I did it wrong. And I landed on the crown of my head, hearing a crack in my neck. I was lucky to actually have survived that because it could have ended up so much worse.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

The second one, when I was 10 years old, later turning 11 that year in 2009. Long story short, I was hit with a long Heavy wooden pick handle, like the handle of a pickaxe. And I went into shock and lost a liter of blood. I woke up in the hospital having survived with only a couple of stitches in my forehead. The third one was when I was 11, turning 12 in 2010. So for weeks I had been suffering from a really bad head cold that led to a bad chest infection in our winter. So late July to mid August, I was put on antibiotics, but they weren't working. My last trip to the doctors, I had literally passed out on the reception floor because I couldn't breathe and my nails were turning purple, like ready to fall off. I was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with severe microplasma pneumonia.

[B]

And.

[A]

And if I hadn't come in, I would have died within the next hour or two.

[B]

Jesus. I had like a punch card, like fifth visit free. Because these are really extreme.

[A]

So extreme. I had to undergo a lot of physio in and out of the hospital for a while. I was in the hospital for three weeks and finally came out on the week of my 12th birthday.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

I don't know how, but I feel like I was supposed to have died all three of those times. But maybe I have a guardian angel watching over me.

[B]

Oh, I hate this.

[A]

I know.

[B]

Final destination.

[A]

After that, I never had a near death experience until 2020, which was a week after I turned 22.

[B]

Okay, so a full decade, right?

[A]

I had a full tonsillectomy, removal of both tonsils and the soft pellet in my nose. I later got told after the surgery that during surgery I had a mini stroke and nearly died. Like that's a freak accident or like a freak experience. Yeah, my grandson.

[B]

So terrifying because you're like literally having a medical emergency during surgery. Like that's what people pass during surgery.

[A]

I know.

[B]

She, like, that's. You have the whole team of medical professionals, like there how I know?

[A]

I definitely believe my grandparents were watching over me. And now after that, I have a numb left side. Now, a month before that experience, I was sleeping peacefully, entered a deep sleep. But later that night, I woke up with sleep paralysis. And there it was. The Grim Reaper, who I had not seen after so many years, was just floating at the end of my bed watching me. And then this happened. I have not seen the Grim Reaper again. I hope to never see it again because I feel like it only ever warns me of my future or, I don't know, curses me. I don't know. But I'd like to hear what you think. Love you girls. Have a great day. See you on the other side. Much love, Emily.

[B]

Are you like the Harry Potter of the Grim Reaper's world maybe, where it's like, he's just coming because he can't believe that you're surviving so much. I know. I gotta see this girl for myself, right?

[A]

Like, I don't think the Grim Reaper. Yes, it's scary to see that entity, but I don't really think that the Grim reaper is, like, causing these. I think it's. It's there.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In case the near death experience turns into.

[B]

It almost feels like the Grim reaper is only supposed to show up when death is actually about to happen. But somehow she keeps cheating death.

[A]

Right.

[B]

So he's just like, I have to stay here all the time again, like, what?

[A]

Right?

[B]

What? Like, good for you.

[A]

Well, then this also brings up a conversation that I hate. I love hate to talk about. And I feel like, yeah, fate.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

What is fate? And clearly it's not the most predictable. Like, maybe there's like an energy shift that happens that the Grim Reaper reads and is like, okay, this person is near death and they show up, but that doesn't guarantee the death.

[B]

It's hard because we only have the perspective of what we've been told. Of our other little human pea brains. Yes, with our human pea brains. Because it's like in one part, I'm like, okay, well, let's think about all the stories where people were, you know, like, the cat suddenly attacked the ankle and they had to go back inside and get a band aid. And that stopped them from being in a massive pileup and, like, dying. But it's like, did the Grim reaper know that the cat was going to do that already?

[A]

Or like, well, we don't know.

[B]

The guardian angels already know the things were supposed to happen. And like, seven days prior, we're like, I'm going to interfere. And the Grim reaper's like, great. I don't even have to show up because they're gonna like, what?

[A]

Right? What?

[B]

Feels like we had a miracle but was actually planned.

[A]

But then that's what it makes it feel, like, unfair. Was it planned? Or like, why can some guardians step in at certain moments and that others don't? Or are people missing messages? Yeah, it's like, what's the rhyme or reason? We don't know.

[B]

No, my God.

[A]

But so far with these three stories, Grim reaper isn't bad. But grandma is. But that grandma. Grandmas not grandmas. Just that one grandma.

[B]

Yeah, that one grandma. Terrible, terrible.

[A]

And maybe other grandmas. But specifically, yeah, that call her grandma Grim.

[B]

Grima.

[A]

Grima.

[B]

All right, I have a grim reaper story from our listener, Amber. Amber says, I have worked in Hospital since 2005. I started out as a PCT, which is a nurse's aide, and then eventually became an rn. When I worked at the bedside doing direct patient care, I was in the icu. I now work in nursing professional development, which is nursing education at the same hospital that I started out in. Early in my career, I had a patient that was elderly and we're going to call her Emma, which is definitely not her name, but I don't want HIPAA accusations over here.

[A]

Fair.

[B]

She was doing well and even was going to transfer out of ICU soon. I went in her room to get some vital signs and it was still dark outside her window. To keep patients on a sleep wake cycle, we had these lights in the hallway and the room was very low. When I walked in, Emma said to me, who was that outside my door? And I turned around quickly. But then I saw no one was in the hallway yet. I did get the feeling we were being watched. I told Emma, there's no one there, but she was persistent and so I even went and I moved the curtain so that she could see, and then I turned on some of the lights. She asked me to shut the door because the man is outside of the door. Oh, I slammed the door. And this is probably important to share that I am a scaredy cat, so it really doesn't take much to scare me. I can listen to scary stories, I can read them, but I cannot watch scary movies. And I certainly don't want to find myself with a ghost. So yeah, sure, I slam that door in the invisible person's face outside of the hallway. I have zero time for any of these shenanigans. Emma continued to talk to me about what the man looked like. Of course, he was dressed in all black with a hood. Nope, I'm not doing this today. I remind myself that Emma has had some dementia. I give myself a pep talk. I will not be the victim of a shadow in this person's room. So I go back to Emma later and she's very upset because the man in black is now standing by the door inside of her room.

[A]

Oh, I'm just getting closer and closer.

[B]

Even though I just walked in the room, I turned around expecting to see him, and I can just feel that there is something there. I have chills. Of course, the lights are on, the curtain is pulled back, and there's nothing, not even a shadow that I can blame this On. Since Emma is now increasingly agitated, I look at the same spot that she's pointing to and I say, sir, you need to leave now. Emma does not want you here.

[A]

I love that this is her approach. Yeah, like, that's the best.

[B]

And it's also respectful. It's not like, be gone.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

It's like, not.

[A]

But it's also making Emma not feel crazy and, like, helping help her feel safe. Yeah.

[B]

Emma settled down and I went about my day. So the day keeps moving, and Emma continues to have these moments of agitation. As I check on her, the man in the black hood is making his way closer and closer to her bed,

[A]

which I understand is super scary, but I feel like as a grim reaper, it, like, must be part of their job to show up days before and be there. Be a presence that they see so that when they do cross over and it's just the two of them, it's not as terrifying.

[B]

Yeah, hopefully. So he's making his way closer and closer to the end of the bed. Eventually, he's sitting on the couch. Like, visiting hours didn't end at noon or something. She's adamant that he is here, and she is becoming more and more scared. And I can see the fear on her face. Yeah, she points to him. She literally can't take her eyes off of this man. This man that I cannot see. By this point, I'm very freaked out. Most patients will go in and out of these spells, but hers are consistent, and I am certain that we have a presence in the room with us. So I decide I'm going to be stern. I'm going to kick this demon out of the room with threats. Now, I'm 100% sure demons respond to threats, right? So I look at the invisible man and I say, sir, I have asked you several times to leave. Visiting hours are over, and Emma does not want you here. Leave or I will get security. Yeah, you heard me. I told that demon, obey. Visiting hours don't just walk through the walls. Secondly, I threatened them with security. Can you imagine that? Call to security. Yes, security, I have a demon here. Can you please make them leave the premises? Emma thanks me and calms down. Like maybe Mr. Demon did leave the room. I realize my shift is almost done, and after I check on my other patients, I decide to let Emma know that I am leaving for the day. From the door, I can tell that she's terrified and looking out towards the window in her room. I gently ask her what's wrong, and she starts whispering. She's shaking she's so scared. She whispers that the man is standing right beside her now, looking at her. Oh, I have never wanted to run so fast in my life, but that would be very unprofessional. So I decide to ask Mr. Demon to leave one more time. Seeing the fear on Emma's face, I know that we are dealing with some sort of maybe evil presence. I don't know. I cannot say. But I also cannot stand to just see her so upset. So I get all up in what I assume is Mr. Demon's face. And for the record, I must have assumed that he was somewhat taller than me, because I was looking up and shoving my finger forward, like, right up into where I thought his face would be. And I talk to him so sternly, and I tell him his time is up. He needs to leave Emma alone. He has zero business here. I tell Emma goodbye, and I storm out of that room so fast that I hope the demon would not be able to catch me. I clock out, feeling great about how sassy I was. And that is when I hear it. A code blue for the icu.

[A]

Literally, as she's clocking out, I throw my bag down.

[B]

I run to the unit. I stop at the end of the hall. It was Emma. She went into cardiac arrest.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And Emma ended up dying. There was absolutely nothing we could do to save her. The gravity of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been threatening death all day long, and I had no idea. I now truly believe that death had been with us all day. And despite my best attempts, he would not leave. I carried some guilt for a while. Over the years, despite how many death experiences I have had, I have not had another experience as strong as this one. I'm sure he was there, and I've talked to him again since. Sometimes he would listen and leave. Other times, he did not.

[A]

Damn.

[B]

That's from Amber. I have chills. I know.

[A]

And, Amber, thank you for, like, not your fault.

[B]

For your patience, too, like, begging the grim reaper.

[A]

What an emerging.

[B]

Please, please, not them, not now.

[A]

But also, like, it's not your fault. Like, you can't. You're not God.

[B]

No. Also, I'm thinking of the grim reaper's perspective now, too.

[A]

I know.

[B]

He comes and he's like, oh, gosh, this is her again.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So on a bad day, he's like, I can't do it. Fine, I'll leave.

[A]

Yeah. It's like I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I don't have the energy.

[B]

Freaking Amber again.

[A]

Oh, man.

[B]

She's always all up in my face.

[A]

That's. I mean, Amber, you're an amazing nurse, and your patients are lucky to have you. There's a version of me that sleeps through the night, you know, thinks clearly and actually feels like myself again. And I thought I hadn't lost her. I thought I had. But I found her again because of Biologica.

[B]

Biologica is a drinkable daily supplement that goes well beyond a multivitamin. They brought together a comprehensive vitamin and mineral foundation, probiotics, electrolytes, and clinically researched botanicals. So this is all in just one drink.

[A]

No more juggling, asking for an all in one drink solution for years. And finally, Biologica has it.

[B]

And they have three formulas designed for different hormonal life stages.

[A]

But we both take the primary essentials, which is for women roughly 18 to 45 in their reproductive years. It's supports mood, skin energy, and cycle comfort. But then they have the midlife essentials, and then they have the post menopause essentials.

[B]

And there's also clean ingredients, no added sugar. And it's developed alongside women's health experts who actually understand our nutritional needs and how they change over time.

[A]

The greatest benefit of it all is that it actually has positive changes in my sleep and my mental health, like my mood, my energy.

[B]

So head to biologica.com forward/tgog to get started. Take their quick hormonal Life stage quiz to find the formula that's right for you. And right now, subscribers can receive up to 32% off their purchase. Again, make sure to go to biologica.com TGOG and get 32% off your first subscription order today. I feel like with makeup, especially when you start to age and your old makeup routine doesn't work anymore and suddenly you have, like, wrinkles and creases, it's hard to find perfection in your makeup routine and to find something that works for you.

[A]

Well, we have a solution. Jones Road Beauty, which we've been using for now. And I feel like anytime I go out with my Jones Road beauty, because when I hit the streets, I get compliments from strangers being like, oh, my gosh, your makeup looks, like, so beautiful and radiant.

[B]

It makes you look dewy in the best way. Like, your skin is moisturized and alive. It's so natural, almost looks like skincare, where you're like, oh, what's your routine? And you're like, oh, it's Jones Road.

[A]

Well, I love their miracle balm because it's like one of those Things that you can very easily throw into your purse and take it on the go and use it on so many different, different places. Like, I have the, like, rosy one. So I use it as blush, but then I'll use it as eyeshadow lips. Yeah.

[B]

If you want makeup that brings out your natural glow instead of hiding it, Jones Road is the way to go. For a limited time, our listeners are getting a free gift on their first purchase when they use Code Ghost at checkout. Just head to Jonesroadbeauty.com and use code Ghost at checkout. And after you purchase, they will ask where you heard about them. So please support our show and let them know that we sent you.

[A]

I have one more from our listener Lex, and it's called Grim Reaper Story. Hiya, ghostesses. My name is Lex and I have many spooky stories, but I'm going to share one of my very first encounters. And of course it has to do with the Grim Reaper. When I was younger, I lived in a small town, one of those you blink and you miss it. Towns in Minnesota called Breckenridge. If anyone listens from there, hey, this is where the story begins. So in my small town, kids of all ages would hang out together. And I was having a Halloween party at my mom's house in second grade. I had a friend who we'll call KC who was in fifth grade and she had invited a few of her friends over to the party along with a few of my other friends. Man, I felt so cool. And I had a bunk bed. It was one of those with a twin bed on top and a full size futon bottom. We put up blankets and made it super dark. And the older girls wanted to play Bloody Mary, the Candyman, the Green Guys, which I've never heard of the Green Guys, have you?

[B]

No.

[A]

I have to look that up. Maybe that will be another episode. You can do that.

[B]

The Green Guys things to play at your Halloween party.

[A]

Yeah, actually that's a good one. I'm saving that. Okay. We would all take turns on getting out, turning the lights on. And it was fun until during one of the chants, I looked over to the opposite side of the bed I was on. And right there standing was the Grim Reaper. He didn't do anything or say anything. He just stood there. My second grade self was stuck, like super scared. I swear my heart was about to fall out of my chest. I thought everyone could see him and I didn't understand why nobody was saying anything. And it was my turn to turn on the light and they Kept telling me to go turn on the light. And I screamed and pointed. You don't see him. Everyone stared at me, was like, what? No. And I even blinked, and he was still there. Like, why was I the only one who could see him? I was done playing the games after that, and I've always felt like someone watching or with me since then. I've also had many close death encounters, and part of me wonders if he's the reason. The odd thing, though, is the stories that I usually find of the Grim reaper are horrifying, but mine wasn't. It was more of me screaming. He didn't do anything but just literally stand there. I was the one who freaked myself out.

[B]

Yeah, it's a terrible image.

[A]

It's a terrifying image. So, yeah, don't know what that was about. Thanks for reading. Thanks for being you. I'll see you on the other side, Lex. It's like, was this entity. Do we all have our own grim reaper in the same way that we have, like, guardian angels? And this entity was, like, always there, but showed up in that moment to, like, warn her, like, stop messing with this maybe. I don't know.

[B]

Or was it, like, just weirdly timed and there was a death, but she didn't realize it because maybe it was like, the goldfish died five days later at this house. It's like something that you wouldn't necessarily, like, hear reported.

[A]

Oh, man. If every goldfish that I ever had

[B]

had a grim reaper, My sad fact is that I didn't know that hermit crabs molted. And so I think I threw out. Threw out a few molting hermit crabs,

[A]

but maybe they found Rip.

[B]

Duck. Rip. Jonas. Rip.

[A]

Maybe they made a shell out of something in the trash.

[B]

I mean, maybe. Maybe, maybe.

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

I don't know. Pets are. Pets are hard. Yeah. Rip. To all the sea monkeys I ever had.

[A]

I never had sea monkeys.

[B]

Don't.

[A]

Yeah, don't.

[B]

It sounds so fun, but when you have to clean the tank, there was, like, no way for me to not murder a few.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I'm not a fish person. Like, I don't think when I have kids, I don't think I'll get them pet fish. It's so stinky.

[B]

It is stinky. Mine was kind of like, my parents didn't want me to have a pet fish. But in the third grade, there was, like, raffles every year, and I won an aquarium in the third grade. And then my parents were like, well, you can't have a fish. So the aquarium sat in my closet for years. And then when I was in middle school, I was at the town, like the country town fair or whatever.

[A]

That's where I always got my fish.

[B]

Well, I have the tank.

[A]

Yeah. Town fairs were my fish facility. And then when I was in high school, shout out Owen, who asked me to prom when I was a sophomore by putting two fish in my locker. Then a note that said, of all the fish in the sea, I chose you. Will you go to prom with me? And then my cat literally fished one of the fish out of the bowl and ate it.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

I don't know what happened to the other one. I'm sure we tried to keep it alive, but.

[B]

Yep. Damn. Yeah, Cats and fish don't really mesh. No, but anyway.

[A]

But humans and grim reapers do. Do you have one more?

[B]

I do. This is from Maria. My husband and myself have had our own spooky encounters, but at different times in our lives. My husband grew up in Maryland and I grew up in Missouri. And here are just a few of our encounters. When I was a young teenager, I moved in with my dad and stepfamily. The area we lived in was along the Missouri river and it used to be a thriving township. We even have a Civil War era cemetery and an old timey schoolhouse near us.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

My friend Sam, who passed away when we were. He was a freshman and I was in eighth grade. His family lives in an old school house. It was so cool. And we would climb up and go into the bell tower. Yeah. Only like one or two people were allowed in the bell tower at a time because it was like a little bit precarious and we shouldn't have really been up there. But they are very cool.

[A]

My old theater was a little schoolhouse.

[B]

Really?

[A]

A little red schoolhouse that was so spooky.

[B]

I feel like that place had to have been super.

[A]

Oh, I'm sure. Yeah.

[B]

The area where we live sits on the land where the area hotel had been located. My stepmom told me that the hotel burned down after the owner, in a fit of depression over the dying town, ended up dying by suicide and set the hotel on fire.

[A]

Jeez. Oh, my gosh.

[B]

All of this to preface the experience that we've had. So now the actual stories. One night I was home alone. I was watching tv and suddenly I felt someone near me. I thought it was my dog until a strand of hair was lifted above my head and yanked.

[A]

Ow.

[B]

I yelped. And then I heard a man laughing in a playful way. I screamed, hello. Stupid me. And then I hear laughter again. I was so freaked out, I ended up hiding underneath the covers until my dad and my stepmom got home. And then I told them what happened. And my stepmom simply said, oh, yeah, that's Frank. He's mostly harmless. Okay, well, after that encounter, I did have a few more pranks played on me, but nothing major. Adding on to that, my stepmom once told me that one time she was dreaming and she dreamt of this woman in Civil War era clothing sitting at the edge of her bed crying. She begged my stepmother to help her cross the road and to be reunited with her husband and child. She said that a witch was holding her captive. It wouldn't let her cross. My stepmom woke up crying and noticed that the edge of the bed did have an indentation on it, like someone had been sitting on her memory foam mattress.

[A]

Whoa.

[B]

Oh, that's so sad.

[A]

That's so sad.

[B]

Years later, I was driving down my road around 10 at night, and there's part of the road that diverges off into another road and forms a sort of crossroads. And I saw a young blond haired boy in nice clothes playing in the crossroads. I made a note to call the family down the road and tell them that their youngest son was playing outside in the road. And I drove past. And then as I looked back after I had just passed, the boy was not there. He had vanished. I assumed that maybe he was the little boy that was the crying woman from my stepmom's stories. Child. Maybe he was hanging out outside near our house in the road. Anyway, I used to work at a subway and I was the regular opener, which meant that I was often there in the very early morning hours by myself. One morning I was getting ready to bake bread and I heard a thud. This wasn't overly unusual because we did have a lot of product that was stacked in bins and these bins were often overflowing with bags full of pickles and vinegar and all that. So yummy. I went about my task and then I made my way to the back. Surely enough, there was a bag of pickles on the ground. The creepy part was that the pickle bin had not been overflowing. In fact, the bag that fell would have had to have been picked up and tossed to even get where it had landed.

[A]

Ghost just wants their pickle.

[B]

I know, it's delicious. In addition to the pickle bag on the floor, the very heavy freezer door was open. Dummy timidly said, hello.

[A]

Why do I feel like that's her response to everything. Hello.

[B]

And I heard a deep voice respond, hi there. And then laughter.

[A]

Give me pickles.

[B]

Give me pickle. Pickle, Pickle, Pickle. I was so freaked out, to say the least. I almost left. But I also needed the job. So I told the ghost, be chill, be chow. I'm just trying to do my job. And I hear a cheerful okay. And then a sudden absence.

[A]

That's amazing.

[B]

I told my boss about this later, and they were like, oh, yeah, that's probably the previous owner of the building. She said that he'd been around for a while. He never hurt anyone. It's called Pickle Peter Pickle, Peter Pickle Pete. And luckily, I had encountered him.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

But I never encountered him again after that.

[A]

Be chill, be chill, be chill, be chill.

[B]

I need this job. Just be chill. Okay? Okay. So that's it for my stories. But my husband has some stories, and they are way creepier. When my husband was young, about four or five years old, he was made to attend the funeral of a great uncle. Being younger, he wasn't overly interested in funeral services. So he looked around in the back, in what should have been an empty pew, he saw his great uncle sitting next to a hooded figure with a scythe in his bony hands. The hooded figure raised his skeletal finger to where his mouth would have been and made the motion that you would in shushing someone. He told his mother and pointed towards the back, and his mom couldn't see the figure. The figure did the shushing motion again to my husband, and then the figure grabbed the arm of the great uncle and they both disappeared. He is fairly certain he saw the Grim Reaper that day.

[A]

That reminds me so much of a book I just read. I made sure. I was just looking at the title. It's called under the whispering door by T.J. klune. It reminds me so much like that moment. Specifically, the concept of the book is like someone dies and then is living in this in between afterworld and being ushered and seeing moments from their life like that.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

Yeah, it's really cool.

[B]

Have you read the book if I Stay?

[A]

I have not.

[B]

Is it like that?

[A]

This feels more.

[B]

If I Stay is more like ya.

[A]

Yeah, this is more.

[B]

Well, it's. It's pretty sad.

[A]

But still, they made a movie out of that, right?

[B]

Yeah, I never saw the movie, so I don't know how it. How accurate it was to the book,

[A]

but I do think they're different. But it's similar concept. There's a lot more like characters in the like in between world and it's exploring that. Like, it's like exploring what the in between world is.

[B]

Oh, I like that.

[A]

Yeah, it's really good.

[B]

Okay. When my husband was about 6 or 7, he was up later than he should have been and he was playing on his PlayStation in his room. He got an overwhelming sense of dread come over him. And out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a shadowy figure. He turned and looked into the hallway and saw that there was a shadow with red eyes. He immediately threw the COVID over himself and stayed there until he felt this feeling of dread pass. And that same figure did visit him again when he was a young teen and he had moved to a different state at this point. This time he asked it to leave and he has not seen it since.

[A]

I love a ghost that respects boundaries.

[B]

Yeah. Keep up the spooky storytelling. Sincerely, Maria.

[A]

Wow. Damn. We had a lot this episode.

[B]

Yes. And that's just what we plucked from the inbox.

[A]

So Pickle Pete and. Lots of Grim Reaper.

[B]

Lots of Grim Reaper. But again, like, none of them. The Grim Reaper is a scary sight because death can be.

[A]

Death is scary.

[B]

Scary. Yeah. Like just knowing that there's.

[A]

Because we don't know what's on the other side.

[B]

And also I guess, like not knowing how you. How someone will die.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Like in certain situations it might be clear.

[A]

Right.

[B]

But if you're just like with your uncle or something or like in your bedroom playing games. Yeah.

[A]

Or having so many near death experiences,

[B]

being told it's your time.

[A]

That one's still like, I.

[B]

That one's really scary.

[A]

I really hope everything's okay.

[B]

Yeah. I think the uncertainties, but scary. I don't know if death itself is scary.

[A]

I think.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

To a lot of people.

[B]

Many times it's very scary. If you believe in reincarnation.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But yeah, no, like, I'm terrified to die, but I'm. I'm not terrified, I guess of the act of dying. I'm terrified of every thing that I leave behind.

[A]

Yeah. Because you're a kid especially.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Me, I'm like.

[B]

Yeah, it's, it's.

[A]

It's interesting. I was driving in Iceland. Like, I drove a lot of the trip and it's like. Like this scary road. There's like one road and the weather was so unpredictable. There were parts of the road that were just like. They don't plow them. Like, it's literally. It was like snow on the road.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But I was driving and having my sister in the back of the car. Who is a mother of two kids. Like, the entire time I was like, this isn't even about me. Like, I need to make like, I have precious cargo in my car. Like, I don't care if I do, but, like, she has to live.

[B]

That's so funny, because I was literally just talking with Litha about this, and I was saying how, like, I've always been a more, like, cautious and nervous traveler.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And, like, you kind of are like, well, I don't care if I die today. Whatever. And then I was like, but now, like, I am not even just keeping myself safe. I'm keeping Noah's mom safe.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So it's like I become, like, way worse of, like, a traveler.

[A]

Yeah. Which is why you don't travel.

[B]

So I don't. I stay in my house anyway. I don't travel without him. We go. We go together.

[A]

Yeah. We are on team PR for Grim Reaper. He ain't so bad, but death is scary. So if you have any emails about the Grim Reaper or about anything paranormal whatsoever, please email them to [e-mail] and if you want episodes one week early and ad free, you can join us over on Patreon. There's bonus episodes and we have campfire stories every Tuesday where you can join us live to share your ghost story with us. And we just. We just chat and have lunch and, you know, like, just hanging out with your spooky friends.

[B]

Yes. And there's other things, but I'm gonna pee my pants. So. Thank you to Jamie Ryan for editing and producing this podcast, and thank you to all of you. We love you and we will see you on the other side.

[A]

Very spooky.