Episode Summary: Two Hot Takes — "In Our Spooky Era.." (Ep. 236)

Date: October 4, 2025
Host: Morgan Absher
Guest: Kaylin Moore (Heart Starts Pounding)

Overview

Morgan Absher and guest co-host Kaylin Moore ring in “spooky season” with the show’s first October episode devoted to eerie stories drawn from Reddit, listener submissions, and their own lives. The theme: all things supernatural, haunted, and the unexplainable, with a healthy dose of hot takes and laughter amid the goosebumps. From Ouija boards and haunted dolls to ghostly apparitions and chilling photos, the duo investigates what lingers in the shadows—and what happens when you bring something home you maybe shouldn’t have.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

Haunted Objects & Paranormal Careers (00:00–07:00)

• Annabelle and Gordy:

  • Morgan talks about bringing a replica Annabelle doll into the studio, sparking playful fear. Kaylin brings up her own haunted doll, Gordy.
  • The hosts recount their history with haunted props. Kaylin shares that she worked on several films in the Conjuring universe, discussing personal eerie experiences, especially involving Gordy moving inexplicably in her home (“...whatever's inside him is, like, pretty rowdy.” — Kaylin, 04:18).

• Listener Gifts & Community:

  • The joy and warmth of listener gifts and fan-made crafts; swapping stories about the challenges of acquiring popular (spooky-ish) collectibles like Labubu toys.

"Haunted House & Ouija Board Dilemma" (08:28–23:42)

Listener Story Segment 1

• Story Recap:

  • Three friends perform a Ouija board session in the home of Margaret’s late grandfather "John" to contact his spirit.
  • The spirit proves responsive, answering verification questions accurately.
  • An emotional moment as John spells out his granddaughter's childhood nickname, then requests help ("bedroom envelope sorry”).
  • They discover a secret envelope: a lingerie photo of another woman—implying infidelity and a plea for forgiveness from beyond.

• Hot Takes & Ethics:

  • Kaylin and Morgan debate: Should Margaret tell her grandmother about the secret or respect her privacy?
    • Kaylin: “You're putting her in a really tough spot being like, the only way I can move on in the afterlife is if... you have to forgive me for this now... but you’re putting her in a really tough spot.” [16:21]
    • Morgan: “What if you then were the reason your grandmother died... from a broken heart? It happens.” [17:16]
  • The story transitions into whether old family secrets—love letters, diaries—should be unearthed posthumously.

• Notable Quote:

  • “Literally, I have, like, the full-blown goosebump chills.” — Morgan [15:00]

Signs From the Dead & Visitation (24:09–34:59)

• Listener Story Segment 2 (Brandon & the Dolphins):

  • A listener’s brother dies. The night after, their TV mysteriously turns on to a Dolphins football game.
  • Later, a medium’s only message from the deceased: “Dolphins.”
  • Emotional stories from both hosts and listeners about receiving 'signs'—animals, dreams, coincidences—after a loved one's passing.

• Notable Quote (Kaylin):

  • “I'll have some listeners reach out... My mom passed away, I’ve never gotten a sign from her... At some point you will... they have a long list of people they have to get through. I promise you're on the list!” [31:02]

• Guardian Spirits/Third Man Syndrome:

  • Kaylin introduces "Third Man" phenomenon—accounts of supernatural intervention during life-or-death moments.
  • Morgan relates Coast Guard legends: “There’s always like, someone that's like a guide to like, be the bridge or whatever.”

Time Slips & Creepy Mining Town Visit (36:39–56:53)

Listener Story Segment 3 ("The Night I Started Believing in the Paranormal")

• Summary:

  • A group of friends drives through the night and enters a seemingly pristine, 1930s-style mining town, Copperton, Utah.
  • Eerie, empty, perfect, with an uncanny “portal-like” feeling after passing under a bridge.
  • They see a blurry, glowing white hooded figure kneeling (“like it was praying”) in a park before fleeing in terror.
  • After leaving, reality snaps back; they all describe identical details, changing the previously skeptical OP’s worldview.

• Liminal Spaces & ‘Backrooms’ Theory:

  • Kaylin compares the vibe to "backrooms" internet lore—endless, empty-feeling places where reality thins.
  • Morgan: "That would really bother me. I have a really hard time on planes.” [48:37]

• Notable Quote:

  • “When I looked at that figure, a cold fear I'd never experienced before washed over me completely…” — Listener story, read by Morgan

Ghosts in Funeral Homes & Dark History (57:44–71:13)

• Listener Story Segment 4 ("Weird Funeral Home Experience"):

  • Cleaning staff in a funeral home encounters an unfamiliar man, vanishes; others experience coat racks moving and pervasive unease.
  • Discuss why ghost stories in funeral homes are rare—spirits may linger where they died, not where they're memorialized.
  • Kaylin’s story of a woman perhaps cremated alive due to a religiously motivated rush, never claimed by family ("That would haunt me." — Morgan, 63:49).

• Victorian Fears & Premature Burial Terrors:

  • Cautionary tales: requests to be buried with bells in case of mistaken death; infamous La Recoleta Cemetery tragedy (scratches in a coffin).

True Crime Tangents—Murder, Poison, & Autopsy Laws (66:34–71:13)

• Domestic violence, lack of mandated autopsies, and poisonings (Colorado, Australia, Brazil) discussed in relation to suspicious deaths and changing laws.

Rapid-Fire Paranormal & Unsolved Mysteries (72:46–104:30)

• Reddit Compilation: "What made you a believer?"

  • Doorbells ringing with no source, scratching following you in the walls—Morgan and Kaylin agree: that’s when you start to believe, or at least be freaked out!

• Waverly Hills Sanatorium (Kentucky):

  • Kaylin teases it as the “most guaranteed” place to get a ghostly encounter: "There's apparently on like the third floor, there's a hallway... that's the spot where everyone has experiences." [78:46]

• Haunted Houses... or Stalkers?

  • In-depth about Kentucky's notorious uninvited house guests and “The Mole Man,” exploring the horror of real people living secretly among unwitting residents—sometimes confused for ghosts.
  • Kaylin: "I even had a listener write in that... she was dog sitting for someone... The police come back... find that there was a guy in her attic. [...] He was called the Mole man or something." [95:39]

Haunting and Unexplainable Photos (97:27–110:12)

• Ghostly Apparitions in Photographs:

  • A listener posts a window reflection containing the unmistakable image of her murdered uncle—confirmed by live photo video to move its head (“He fucking moves his head to look at the camera…”).
  • Kaylin: “You can even see the painting on the wall. You can see the couch... you can see his hand. He has the facial hair and the glasses." [109:46]

• Blood Footprints on Ceilings:

  • A Reddit user documents mysterious, recurring, single-shoe bootprints—blood red, confirmed by hydrogen peroxide test, after learning the property has a history of murder.
  • Morgan: "I'm not going there without someone." [102:26]

• Physical Paranormal Encounters:

  • Photo evidence of unexplained scratches, or handprints after cleaning out the home of a deceased stranger.
  • Morgan: "The pale pattern of a hand stayed blanched on me for days."

Notable Quotes & Chilling Moments

• On Ouija Boards and Spirits:
  “Please... do not attempt to use a Ouija board without someone experienced in spiritual ways.” — Morgan, quoting a listener [15:09]

• On Death & Family Secrets:
  “If that’s your dying wish, it doesn’t expire." — Kaylin (on whether to open old family letters) [21:20]

• On Signs from the Dead (Animals):
  "No, because I'm gonna see your sister. And then the cat runs in, runs out. They never see the cat ever again. And the grandma died, like, three days later..." — Kaylin [28:40]

• On Photographic Ghosts:
  “He fucking moves his head to look at the camera.” — Listener via Morgan [112:03]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment / Topic | |------|-----------------| | 00:00–07:00 | Haunted dolls (Annabelle, Gordy), horror movies, fan gifts | | 08:28–23:42 | Ouija board, family secrets, ethics of revealing the dead's confessions | | 24:09–34:59 | Signs from dead loved ones, “Dolphins” story, animals as omens | | 36:39–56:53 | Time-slip in mining town, liminal spaces, "Backrooms" lore | | 57:44–71:13 | Funeral home hauntings, true crime and burial fears | | 72:46–104:30 | Rapid-fire Reddit tales: doorbells, Waverly Hills, home intruders, haunted photos, blood footprints | | 104:30–110:12 | Physical encounters—ghost scratches, handprints, haunted estate sales | | 109:23–112:28 | Chilling photo evidence: murdered uncle ghost reflection |

Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Atmosphere:
  The episode is a spooky, playful, and sometimes intense romp through the supernatural that mixes chills with the hosts’ warmth, out-loud laughs, and skepticism. Morgan’s frankness and Kaylin’s research-minded curiosity pair well—inviting listeners to respect the unknown while enjoying the thrill of a good ghost story.

• Community:
  Listeners are invited to send stories, interact via Instagram, and be part of the ongoing Two Hot Takes spooky season.

• Final Thought:
  The line between ghosts and reality blurs—and whether it’s blood on the ceiling, a spectral photo, or a doll named Gordy up to no good, the only thing to do is talk about it, share your stories, and maybe sleep with the light on!