As The Raven Dreams Podcast - ATRD Ep. 076 - Creepy Night Drive and Gardening/Landscaping Stories - 8 True Scary Stories

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

Hello and Welcome to the 76th episode of The ATRD Podcast! Today we have some intriguing and terrifying stories submitted by everyday people. In Today's Episode we will have stories about the horrors ...that come along with enjoying a late night drive, as well as some terrifying events that involve gardening/landscaping. Have a Story To Submit? ➤ https://www.astheravendreams.com Or Post to the Subreddit ➤ https://reddit.com/r/TheRavensDream Support the channel for Early Access AND more! Patreon ➤ https://patreon.com/AsTheRavenDreams Join ➤ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkW0ihdMHfBUjQrMKjRto6g/join Or Check out the Merch Store! ➤ https://teechip.com/stores/astheravendreams Thank you to all of the authors that have stories in today's Video... GrumpyOldMan87, NaturalFriendliness, Grandma Anita, VibingParsley, SoftDeer, suburbanslugger3, OneTimeCoconut, S. Estes 'As The Raven Dreams' is a community where we explore the darker parts of human existence through true and harrowing stories. From sinister encounters with strangers and stalkers, to terrifying experiences that defy explanation and unsettling mysteries that linger in the shadows, I am here to tell you the most haunting narratives ever whispered. Much Love, and Sleep Well... ----- #TrueScaryStories #AsTheRavenDreams #RedditStories ➤ Stories include a content warning for language and sensitive/disturbing content. Viewer discretion is always advised. ➤ ALL Audio of this Podcast are copyright of AS THE RAVEN DREAMS / RAVEN ADAMS and may not be duplicated, in any format, without explicit permission ➤ If you like any of the following stories, consider subscribing! - Dark Web horror stories, creepy lets not meet stories, stalker stories, Glitch In The Matrix Stories, Unexplained Horror stories, Paranormal stories, cryptid encounter stories, Crazy ex lover stories, creepy neighbor stories, quantum immortality, true scary stories from reddit, or any other True horror Stories! ➤ And Remember; You are loved, you are important, and you are valid. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/astheravendreams/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/astheravendreams/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Lazang sur-gillet, Puisance-Moyerned 15 minutes. We're like it's the hour dojo. Prere to play. Vive the pleasure with Leo Jo.
Starting point is 00:00:08 The casino in-line that proposes the most recent machine-as-a-sue to play in-d-d-d-d-dose. Profite of 50 tours gratu-s, on Big Bas-Banza.
Starting point is 00:00:15 Without exigance without any questions. Hey, I've gained. Woo-hoo! Sentire the pleasure. Play-O-Jo. 18-10 and plus,
Starting point is 00:00:23 1-Depos only depose in Ontario. 50-tour-Tour-B-B-B-B-Bus bonanza. Depos minimum of $10. Debt of $10. Veil to be in a fashion responsible. The conditions apply. We'll say, in the phone, that, all the money can't be a good guy of the finance. You know it with your instinct of negotiation.
Starting point is 00:00:48 With a support 24-hour-per-hour-a-job, no amount of minimum, nor fraymentu. You're made for negotiate. If you have a true scary story, you would like to hear featured on this podcast. Please, go to as the ravendreams.com and click the button to send it my way. Also, consider rating this podcast on whatever platform you're listening to, as it does help. And of course, thank you. I have always been an avid gardener, or at least I think that's the word for it.
Starting point is 00:01:37 I'm not one that actually does things like fruits or vegetables, but I've always had a green thumb when it comes to flowers and bushes and such. I've always found joy and peace in cultivating plants and spending time outside during the early days of spring. When I lived in the apartment complex that I lived at, my mother was actually a property manager for the location, and I worked with them to create a flower bed for the main office. I used my own money and took two weeks to actually get everything built and planted, and in the end, the landscaping could only be described as award-winning. Yes, I'm talking myself up, but also it was that damn good. When I bought my first home, I couldn't wait to personalize my front yard and create this beautiful and welcoming atmosphere for everyone who passed by. My house was quite small.
Starting point is 00:02:35 I was the only one living there, and it was perfect for me. The yard was big and open, and there was a huge spot open on both sides of the porch that I knew I could make look really good. Little did I know that my green-thumb dream would lead to a nightmarish encounter with a neighbor that I can only describe as an absolute nutcase. I will say that the day that I moved in, I had encountered a few neighbors that were great, and one neighbor that was a bit off. The first encounter I had with that neighbor, I was moving my boxes and furniture into my house,
Starting point is 00:03:14 my brother helping, and it was around noon, and we were dutifully moving stuff in. She came over to the yard and just stood there watching us. After a few moments, I waved and went to introduce us, myself, and instead of shaking my hand, she asked if we were almost done, because we were making too much noise. At this point, I knew for a fact that she was going to be just another Karen that I'd seen
Starting point is 00:03:41 on the internet. This may not seem important, but it helps to demonstrate who this neighbor was. Back to the house and the gardening, I decided that I wanted to plant some bushes in front of the windows on both sides of the porch, like I mentioned. I decided that they could add charm and character. After a bit of thinking on it, I opted to plant a beautiful mix of azaleas and hydrangeas, opting to mix the warm colors of the azaleas
Starting point is 00:04:09 and the cools and white tones from the hydrangeas. These bushes were, in my opinion, eye-catching, and they would look gorgeous as they bloomed. Of course, what I thought would be gorgeous were a blight to my local Karen. One weekend, I had spent most of the morning planting the bushes and had gotten through about half of them, when Karen walked over to my yard and again just stood there staring at me. I noticed her, looked back and waved, and then went right back to it,
Starting point is 00:04:42 assuming that not engaging would be enough to get rid of her. Of course, it wasn't, though. She walked right up into my yard and asked, Why are you planting those hideous bushes? I paused, looking at these cute little unassuming plants, thinking, how are they hideous? I mentioned that I liked them and that when they were grown and bloomed, they would have a ton of really pretty colors. She told me that they were ugly, and I asked her why she would judge them before she saw what they looked like when they were fully grown. She stared at me angrily for a few silent seconds and then said,
Starting point is 00:05:24 You need to get rid of them. I laughed. Like, literally laughed at this suggestion. I asked her if she knew how much money I had spent on these bushes, sarcastically, of course, and then went immediately back to pushing dirt around the bush. She scoffed at me, and then said, If you don't get rid of them, I'll get rid of them for you. I stopped, stood up, and looked her face to face.
Starting point is 00:05:53 At this point, I was pretty upset and I was done dealing with this woman. I looked her square in the eyes and said, You know what, I'd like to see you try. Now, get off of my property, before I call the police and have you trespassed. And I really don't want to do that my first week living here. Apparently, this was the worst thing that I could have said to her because try and, well, succeed, she did. It was about a week after the incident. with the Karen in the front yard,
Starting point is 00:06:25 and would have been within the first three weeks of me living in the house. I was lying in bed completely passed out when I was tugged out of my slumber slightly by a beeping noise. I instinctively reached over to smack my alarm clock, but after hitting it, probably a dozen times, I noticed that the beeping was not stopping. It was then that I realized it wasn't my alarm clock that was waking me up. It was my upstairs smoke alarm.
Starting point is 00:06:55 As this clicked, the smell of burning wood crept its way into my nose, and it all came together. Panic set in as I stumbled out of bed, fumbling with my phone to call 911. Disoriented, confused, and slightly choking on the smoke, I ran out the back door just in time to see that the smoke was on the front of the house. I ran through the gate of the front yard, and sure enough, the front of my house was burning. As I was explaining this to the 911 operator that my house was on fire, I glanced over across the street and who should I see, but Karen, sitting on her front porch and sipping on a cup of coffee while smiling and waving at me.
Starting point is 00:07:41 My heart dropped when the realization hit me. She had deliberately set my house on her. fire, all because of a few bushes. Thankfully, the fire department arrived in time to put the fire out, and the damage wasn't as extensive as it could have been. But my sense of security was gone. Replaced by this deep-rooted fear that someone so close to my home could harbor such malice, over something as simple as not liking the bushes that I was planting.
Starting point is 00:08:14 As I was standing there talking to the firefighters about the whole thing, I was approached by another neighbor, specifically the neighbor that lived directly next to me. He asked me if I was okay, and I told him that I was, and then explained that the damage wasn't too bad. And he followed that up with, I called the police to come out already, but I wanted to show you something. I was a bit confused at first, but why he approached me became very clear, very quickly. He showed me his phone and mentioned that he had a security camera that faced out the front window and that it actually picked everything up.
Starting point is 00:08:56 Right there, on his screen, I could clearly see Karen walking across the road with a gas can towards my house. You couldn't see her actually pouring the gas or starting the fire, but you could see her approach and then could see the fire start lighting up the street and see her running back towards her house and standing there watching it burn. The look on her face was horrifying,
Starting point is 00:09:23 even in the slightly pixelated footage. You could tell that she was laughing and see that she was actually clapping and jumping up and down as she celebrated her victory. She then ran back to her house and came back out a few moments later with her coffee and just sat there, watching her handiwork. Thankfully, the footage was pretty clear,
Starting point is 00:09:45 and she was wearing the same clothes as she was sitting on the porch. The cops arrived and asked a few questions, and we showed them the footage. The whole situation was pretty straightforward. She committed arson. When the police went over to talk to her about things, she tried to claim that she had been home all morning and that she had never left. And when she was questioned about why she smelled like gasoline, she literally told them that she liked the smell in the smell.
Starting point is 00:10:15 and that that wasn't a crime. They arrested her for what she had done, determining that there was enough evidence to actually take her in for arson. The repairs were costly and took a while, and I had to move back in with my mom for a bit until it was all done. I couldn't live in a house that was partially charred like that. Obviously, my bushes were lost to the flames, as they were the main target, but I took solace in knowing that Karen wasn't going to,
Starting point is 00:10:45 to be a threat to myself or anyone else. When I was able to move back into the house, I did install a ring camera, and I actually went ahead and planted new bushes in the same spots. And now, when they bloom, I'm reminded of that image of seeing Karen cuffed and shoved into the back of a police car. About a decade ago, I had an honestly chilling experience while I was out driving at night. I used to work a really weird shift, and I got off the clock at 2 a.m., so my drive home was incredibly boring and empty. For the most part, the highways were completely dead, and I was typically able to get from point A to point B pretty easily.
Starting point is 00:11:44 It's one of those stories that kind of shook me. As mentioned, I was driving home that night just taking my usual route, and, enjoying the summer breeze as it blew through the windows. It was a really nice night. There was no one else on the highway, and I was just cruising out a bit above the speed limits with some chill tunes playing way too loud through the car speakers. About halfway through the drive,
Starting point is 00:12:12 I was rounding one of the curves and started on a downhill portion of the highway. My eyes sort of landed randomly on what looked like a person a bit down the road, I slowed down, thinking that there was no way that this person was walking on the shoulder of a highway with the speed limit of 65. But sure enough, it was. Thankfully, with it being as late as it was, and the highway being completely open like this, I was able to slow down to see if the person was okay, or if they needed help. As I slowed down, I noticed that this person kind of looked disoriented.
Starting point is 00:12:53 and stumbling, like they were either drunk or he didn't know where the hell he was. I had a point of being concerned for this person's well-being, and I immediately hit my flashers and stopped next to him. I approached the man cautiously, and as I got closer, I could see that he was a much older gentleman. He looked disheveled with unkempt hair, wearing what looked like a dark red bathrobe and house slippers. What bothered me was the fact that his stare was empty, like his eyes were completely vacant. I rolled down the window and I asked him if he needed help. He paused for a moment, looked at me and started saying a few things that honestly did not make sense.
Starting point is 00:13:43 I remember two things that he specifically said. He was looking for his house because it kept disappearing, and that he couldn't ignore the voices in the same. the shadows. I was starting to get pretty worried about him at this point. I knew that I couldn't just leave him there or ignore this, as it was pretty clear that something was wrong with this man. After a bit of back and forth, I was able to convince him that I could help him find what
Starting point is 00:14:12 he was looking for, and he actually did get into my back seat. I figured, if nothing else, him being in my car was safer than him walking on the shoulder of the road. And I could probably just get him to a nearby police station so that he could get help. As we drove, his ramblings kept going, and it was making me feel a bit anxious. I didn't think that he would do anything to me, but part of me was kind of getting this weird feeling that he could do something, and he wouldn't be fully aware of what he was doing. After a bit of driving, though, I was able to get to a police station, and I told him to stay in the car while I went in to explain to them what was going on.
Starting point is 00:15:00 Thankfully, they didn't ask too many questions about why I had let him in my car or who I was to him. I think my panicked demeanor helped them to realize that I wasn't doing anything malicious. The officer came out and tried to speak to the man, but he kept saying the same things, about the house disappearing in the shadows talking. The officer glanced at me, and I shrugged like, I don't know, man, I'm just trying to help. The officer helped the man out of the car and asked me if I could stick around the station
Starting point is 00:15:33 to fill out some paperwork and maybe answer some other questions if they have them. I agreed, and I sat there on the bench for something close to an hour. I was actually starting to doze off when the original officer finally came back out and asked me to go over my story again. I told him that I was heading home for my shift,
Starting point is 00:15:55 saw the man on the shoulder of the highway, and explained that I stopped because he seemed like something was wrong, and I explained that he was saying a lot that didn't make sense. The officer nodded and wrote down what I had said, and then mentioned that he had found some information in the wallet that the man was carrying. So, to explain what exactly had happened, This man was in danger. Apparently, he had actually lived at a retirement home almost three miles down the highway.
Starting point is 00:16:31 The officer confirmed that he had gotten a hold of the retirement home and spoke to the employees, and they confirmed that this man lived there. At some point, after everyone had gone to bed, this man had managed to get out of his room and through one of the exits, and he walked the full three miles down the road. Unfortunately, he did have dementia. So why he got out and where he was going and what he was thinking and walking down the highway like that,
Starting point is 00:17:04 it's anyone's guess. He was adamant about the disappearing house and those voices in the shadows, so maybe that had something to do with it. I don't know, honestly. The officer told me that they had someone from, the facility coming to get him, and then mentioned that the facility was likely going to be doing an investigation into how he got out. So, at least that made me feel a bit better about him being
Starting point is 00:17:30 safer from then on. They let me go, and the whole time I was driving home, I was seriously staring at the shoulder of the highway and making sure that there wasn't anyone else out there. I knew that there wouldn't be, but I was feeling anxious about it, for some reason. reason. About a week or so later, I actually got a card in the mail from the retirement home. I'm guessing they got my information from the officer when they picked the man up. It was a card with the photo of the man and a few of the nurses. He was smiling and wearing a little birthday hat, and it mentioned that he was celebrating his 89th birthday. There was a short note on it, thanking me too, so that was nice.
Starting point is 00:18:17 and I was glad that he was back with people that could help him. Now, this was a long time ago, so it is likely that he's no longer with us, but I do hope that he was able to live out the rest of his time comfortably, and I hope that they were able to keep him secured in their facility after that night. Look, Air Canada, does a sold world. Super, an offer for the Assort, Station Thermal, Volcan, You've seen the
Starting point is 00:18:49 price for the Japan? Hmm, Eparne and sushi. Wow, the sold are good for Mayork also. We could go to the
Starting point is 00:18:56 beach and do you know, it would be a long march on the bar of the sea-syl. Hmm, I adore
Starting point is 00:19:01 the canolies. Attend, there's another decision, limited, reserved to air-Canada com or to your agent
Starting point is 00:19:08 of voyage. The conditions can't apply. This was something that I witnessed a few years back while
Starting point is 00:19:23 working at a landscaping company. We received an order or job to almost completely redo someone's front yard. It was kind of sloped, so he wanted it to be leveled out. He wanted a rock bed around the house and a garden of some sort surrounding a tree in his yard that has bricked off, as well as a couple of other small details here and there.
Starting point is 00:19:48 I was actually assigned to go out to the property with one of our leads to get an idea of what he wanted. to plan it out and make sure that it was achievable. I remember the guy being very polite at the time. He explained things well, like he had some experience in landscaping, too, judging by some of the verbiage that he used. Once we got it all plotted, we showed him the details of the, basically the blueprint of his yard,
Starting point is 00:20:19 and our plans asking if it was good. This is a good time to correct anything that he felt, was wrong, not quite what he wanted, etc. However, he said it all looked good and thanked us for our time. We scheduled the actual job, and we were out there about a week later. There was a decent-sized group of guys out there, including myself and the manager, or lead, that was with me when we did the draft. We were all updated as to what to expect and what the job was,
Starting point is 00:20:51 not to mention the lead was always there to direct us, with what we had. to do. So we definitely were not going into it blind. As we started the work, we did some basic outlines and still tried to involve the owner to have him check off the work along the way. He greeted us when we got there and began, but then was in his home for the most part, which was fine. Most of the time, if they were home, they stayed inside, but occasionally looked out the window, or came out to see how it was going. He did not. He only got to be. He only got to came out if we requested him to. So when we did, he would check off the outlines and say that it all looked good, so we would
Starting point is 00:21:35 continue the work. The yard wasn't huge, so we were able to get most of it complete in a single day, other than a few things to top off the yard the next day. As we were picking up our supplies and equipment, the customer, let's call him rich, came out of his house as the lead requested to check the work and get his thoughts. He looked...pissed. He walked around the side of his house, picked up a rock, and threw it back down. He walked over to the flower bed and ripped up one of the flowers.
Starting point is 00:22:10 He then proceeded to yell at us about how it was all wrong. He said we got the wrong rocks. The flowers were supposed to be a very specific color. Like he wanted bright red tulips and we... had gotten him red-orange. He even claimed that he could tell by standing on the ground that it was still at an angle. We dug a line as to where to level it and had him check it off, and he agreed that it was good. However, the customer is always right, so we apologized and told him that we would get it all corrected tomorrow.
Starting point is 00:22:45 We even had him write down the very specific rocks that he wanted, so we knew to bring the correct ones. Later that day, we had a quick meeting with the owner of the landscape company that turned into a bit of a lecture. He talked about how he was disappointed in us due to the job that day, and that Rich had called him personally to complain. That's when he shared with us that Rich was a good friend of his and that this friend had a lot of money. That's why it was so important to get this job right tomorrow. because if we didn't, then we would all be reprimanded, or potentially fired. A little annoyed that this guy was getting special treatment. We all just agreed to do better the next day and headed home.
Starting point is 00:23:32 So now the same team of us are out there the next day, redoing and completing the work. We clarified with him when we started that we had the right rocks. He agreed. We confirmed the flowers were the right color. He agreed. We got it almost all the way done when Rich came outside, looked at the flower bed, and immediately complained that it was wrong. Arlead questioned him about it because he said the flowers were good, to which he snapped back
Starting point is 00:24:01 saying that it was the shape. He was angry because the garden was supposed to be in a bricked circle, but he claimed that the circle was more oval and lopsided. There was one very small part that went out a little further than the rest because of a raised tree root. He said that it looked trashy and half-assed. So our lead again apologized and explained how we could correct it, and he finally agreed. Rich went back in, and while a few people finished up the rock bed and picking up,
Starting point is 00:24:35 I helped our lead and a couple other guys on the bed. It was probably only about 20 minutes or so. We had leveled out the area with the root, causing us to also raise the bed a little when Rich came back outside. but he looked much calmer this time. He wasn't smiling and he didn't look happy, but he at least didn't look like he was going to scream at any moment. He started walking down into the yard when he asked,
Starting point is 00:25:02 Who's in charge of this job? Arlead, Ed, raised his hand, and started walking out from the other side of the tree. He started explaining, saying that he was in charge in a completely friendly manner, apologizing for all the issues, but was then quickly cut off when Rich pulled out a gun and shot Ed. I know it's cliche to say, but it seriously happened so fast. I was still standing by the tree, but was watching at the time. He pulled his arm up, aimed right at Ed and pulled the trigger.
Starting point is 00:25:38 Ed fell backwards on the ground, and I immediately ducked. After a few seconds of no follow-up firing, I looked. I looked up to see Rich calmly walking back into his house. I shouted for Ed and quickly ran over to him to see if he was still alive. He was, thankfully, but there was a lot of blood. I was terrified, worried that he could have hit something major, but I at least knew that he didn't hit his heart as the guy shot him around his right shoulder. I was also worried that he could come back out and start firing on the rest of us,
Starting point is 00:26:13 so I told them all to leave as quickly as they could, leaving anything that we still had out. One of the other guys called 911 as I held a shirt, a towel, and whatever else we had on us on the wound. EMTs and the cops showed up pretty quickly, and to my surprise, the guy still had not come back out. Not even with the police in his driveway. They took Ed to the hospital, but I stayed behind to explain every last damn deep. detail on what happened to him. Two other guys were there and explained what they saw, too. They then approached the house with their hands on their guns as well, knocking on the door.
Starting point is 00:26:54 I felt like I was holding my breath as I watched them enter. I tried to remain calm, but seeing how unaffected Rich was as he walked out the door with the cops infuriated me. I yelled something at him, and one of the officers told me that I could go ahead and leave and that they would contact me if they needed anything. I immediately went to the hospital to see about Ed's condition, and hopefully to be able to keep his wife calm, as I'm sure that she was probably told by now. As for the update, Ed did live.
Starting point is 00:27:28 It messed up his shoulder pretty bad, and being that he's right-handed, he definitely has difficulties doing things like he used to, but he doesn't let it bother him. He retired early, and is having a great life now. I've never seen a more optimistic man. Rich was cooperative with authorities,
Starting point is 00:27:48 admitted that he shot him because he was upset with how we kept getting the work wrong, and was ultimately charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. And, of course, the owner was mad at us for messing stuff up. And while we weren't fired at the time, a few of the guys there that day were conveniently fired, for other reasons shortly after. I, as well as Ed, and a few others, also decided to walk out on the bastard, since he didn't back any of us up. He could have pressed charges on him for doing this to us, but he didn't, and instead blamed us. Screw that.
Starting point is 00:28:28 I know that this is one of those freak experiences that I would hope no one else has ever gone through, but I didn't like the thought of it happening again, so... I didn't do any more landscaping jobs, unless it was my own stuff or for family. It's still something that always sticks to me, though, and I wonder when I see someone get irrationally angry if they could do something so extreme. So there's my story, and I hope that Rich lives a very lonely rest of his life, so that he doesn't do this to anyone else, and, most importantly, I hope that we never meet again.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Hi, Raven. I wanted to share an event that happened to me and my granddaughter at the last place that I lived. My husband died in a car accident when my daughter was pregnant, so he never got to meet her, but also being an empty nester, I didn't feel right living in our big four-bedroom home alone. And I decided that it was time to downsize. I found a cute little condominium that was only about 20 minutes from my daughter and son-in-law, and it was a good price, so I moved right in.
Starting point is 00:29:57 The only thing about it, however, was that it definitely needed a more homely and, me touch to it. So, while I made some changes inside with the help of my kids, I also wanted to start up another garden like I had at my old home. My kids helped me put it together when they were younger, which made it all the more special to me. And now, my first granddaughter was at the age that they were, and I wanted to have her help with it, if she wanted to, of course. Maggie is, like my little mini-mee. I helped my daughter and son-in-law take care of her when she was born.
Starting point is 00:30:39 I watched her a lot so they could sleep or even just to get out for a bit alone. and she loved staying over with me too. So when I brought up the garden, she was more than willing to help. And my daughter loved the idea. At the time of this event, I was 49 and my granddaughter was 8. She came over with some stuff that they had bought, including a small gardening kit, a sun hat, a mat, all the stuff that she needed.
Starting point is 00:31:11 My son-in-law helped me with lining and digging the top part, part of the dirt since it was pretty hard, and then we went and did most of the rest. On the day that Maggie and I were out back deciding what we wanted to plant and where, my neighbor Howard had come out back and greeted us. The fences weren't very tall, it came up to about my chest, and seemed to more so just to be to separate the properties, rather than for privacy. But I didn't mind Howard. I think he was quite, close to my age, maybe a year or two younger, but he seemed like a nice guy. He introduced himself when I moved in, and he even helped my son-in-law fix one of my windows.
Starting point is 00:31:56 He stopped and asked what we were up to, and then we started talking about the garden for a bit. I noticed that he kept looking down at Maggie, and I realized that he hadn't met her yet, so I introduced them, explaining that she was my granddaughter. So we talked about her for a while, and then we continued on with our plans for the day. Now, Howard also has a small dog. I think he's a corgi, and there were a few kids in the neighborhood that liked to go over to his place to play with the dog, or I've even seen some kids walking the dog. So he was definitely not unknown to the community, and he never gave off any weird feelings.
Starting point is 00:32:39 In fact, the way he talked to me was very kind and playful in a way, and when he asked if I was single, I honestly thought that he may have even been flirting with me. It had been some time since my husband passed, so I didn't dislike the attention either. I started catching Howard outside on multiple occasions when Maggie and I were out there and we would start chatting for a while while we worked. The conversations were always friendly and innocent, and we all had a good time. Maggie even offered him some lemonade when we were taking a break. I didn't start to notice something was off until a little further into our gardening work. Howard was starting to show up every time we were out there, and it was fine at first, but he would start talking to Maggie,
Starting point is 00:33:31 distracting her, which caused her to knock some things over before as well. There were also a few times where Maggie wasn't with me, and I had gone out back to Mo or Dee Weed, and he would show up again. The conversation at that point, though, would be brief. It was a quick, hey, how's it going? And then he would ask me about Maggie. And when I would mention that she wasn't with me, the conversation would pretty much end right there and he would leave. I started catching on to this, and I wasn't really a fan of it. I felt bad because I started limiting how much Maggie would do.
Starting point is 00:34:09 We didn't have much left, but we were planting the last of the seeds when he came over. That's when I instructed Maggie to go inside and clean up. I could see his attention shift to her as she walked in, and our conversation became pretty dull, and he eventually walked off. This happened a few times, and I don't know if he caught on to what I was doing, or if he just gave up but he started coming around less and less. There was one weekend that Maggie was going to be staying with me, and she was enjoying the sprinkler that I had set up to water the garden,
Starting point is 00:34:46 so I bought something similar to set up for her to play in. While she was changing into her swimsuit, I went out front to get the mail. On my way, I saw my neighbor across the way was out there, and we had begun talking about random things. At one point, I turned back to look at my condo when I saw Howard walking back from his driveway and into his house. My first thought was, great, he's going to ruin something that I had planned for Maggie.
Starting point is 00:35:18 I knew that she was still inside waiting for me, though, so I finished my conversation with my neighbor and then started walking back towards my door. I don't know what it was or how to explain it, but I felt the need to walk over towards Howard's side and to see if he was outside. While we had the wall like fences out back, they went as far as the condo. The front of them either had a small half-bricked wall
Starting point is 00:35:45 or nothing separating them, so I could easily walk over on his side of the property. I could hear him laughing, so I knew that he was out back. This immediately made me feel uncomfortable because I had a feeling that Maggie was probably already out back as well. Even though I told her to wait for me, kids are still kids, and she was excited.
Starting point is 00:36:10 So, even though I shouldn't have, I went to open his gates, and, to my disgust, I saw him standing at the fence, looking into my yard, with his pants down. I immediately yelled at him, none of which were nice words or words that Maggie probably should have ever heard me say.
Starting point is 00:36:31 but it was enough to make him stumble and trip as he tried to pick his pants up and go inside. I immediately ran into my home to find Maggie out back, looking around confused. I asked her what she was doing and she explained that she was trying to bring the sprinkler outside for me to help when Howard showed up. While she was grabbing the hose, he told her how to hold it up in the air to make it look like it was raining, to which she did. I was disgusted and was trying to keep calm in front of Maggie, but she could already tell that something was wrong by the way that she was talking to me. Unfortunately, I had to lie to her and tell her that we just couldn't play in the sprinkler because it was going to storm,
Starting point is 00:37:17 and instead suggested that we make homemade popsicles inside, which seemed to cheer her up. While she was getting started, I called the police in the leasing office, to tell them what I had just witnessed. The police came over and took down the information. However, they said they couldn't do much, since he was on his own property,
Starting point is 00:37:40 and I had opened the gate. But they said that if it happened again and anyone else witnessed it, to call them back so they could try to get him for indecent exposure. The leasing office apologized and said that they would talk to him, but they said they couldn't keep him from being in his backyard. It was like they missed the entire point. He was invading my space by looking over and doing what he was doing.
Starting point is 00:38:06 So I asked them if I could put up a taller privacy fence and they refused. They said that it had to stay uniform and that there would be too many steps to try and get the people or businesses that actually owned the place to pay for the changes. They told me that they weren't even willing to try. I had just moved into this place a few months ago, and now no longer felt safe there. Or, at least, I didn't feel safe having my granddaughter there. I told my daughter and my son-in-law about the incidents, too.
Starting point is 00:38:40 They were torn. None of us wanted this guy anywhere near Maggie. It broke my heart, and I know that Maggie was upset about it, but when she came over, she wasn't allowed to go out back, and she could only go out front if someone was with her. I didn't even like her staying the night, so if anything, I stayed the night with them when they needed a babysitter. Howard didn't even try to show his face around after that, and it wasn't even just around me. People saw the cops at my house that day, and I wasn't going to keep that information to myself.
Starting point is 00:39:18 I told anyone and everyone. And just from word of mouth, he was shunned pretty hard. The other kids were not allowed to be around him, and when he went out front, you could see other parents or grandparents pulling their kids to the other side of them. It must have eventually gotten to him, because within that same year, he moved out. I saw the moving trucks, and I couldn't have been more relieved. Once he was gone, I let Maggie stay the night, have friends over, and even play out back and enjoy the hard work that she put into that garden. I lived there for a few years, but over time, I learned the leasing people were not as nice as they appeared to be
Starting point is 00:40:05 when I moved in, and they weren't giving me any reason to make me reconsider. But now I live in a small house with my own yard and a big privacy fence, and I will never let something like that happen again. Because, next time, Grandma might have to use something other than her words. Back when I was fresh out of high school, I used to be a pizza delivery driver for a certain pizza place that is open really late.
Starting point is 00:40:47 Like, way later than it needs to be. I admit that delivering pizzas at like one in the morning is a genius way to get business from drunks and stoners, but I also have to say that the pace sucked, and I was never more tired than the nine months that I was. worked at that place. This experience was a few months back, but thinking about it and how it could have gone, it seriously makes me feel like I want to get sick.
Starting point is 00:41:16 I won't. I'll push through getting the story written out, but it really does cause a bit of panic in me. It was a pretty typical Friday night. I was nearing the end of my shift and was actually on my last delivery from a triple that was thrown on me by my jerk of a manager who knew that I was about to leave. This being my last delivery, it was the furthest out of the three, and it was definitely in a more spread out and remote part of our town. I don't live in a big city, but it's fairly concentrated with houses that circle the epicenter, and then there are the neighborhoods
Starting point is 00:41:58 that are spread out in every direction. This delivery was in one of those out on the edge neighborhoods. I pulled up to the house after circling the neighborhood a couple of times trying to find the numbers, which, tangent, if you order pizza delivery, please turn on your lights so that we can see your house numbers. Anyways, I circled a couple of times, found the house, and grabbed the pizza to walk it up to the front door. The house looked decent. It wasn't run down or anything. It was just really dark.
Starting point is 00:42:35 Like maybe the occupant was in bed, or not home. Which, yes, did make me feel a bit uneasy about this delivery, though it wouldn't have been the first time that I had taken a delivery to a drunk person that had passed out after putting it in. I knocked a few times, but no answer. I pulled out my cell phone, and I called the number on the order, but it was disconnected. At this point, I assumed that the delivery was either a prank or the aforementioned drunk person.
Starting point is 00:43:10 I sent my boss a text message saying, knocked, no answer, phone disconnected, heading back, and walked back to my car. I tossed the pizza bag into the back seat on the passenger side and started to walk to the other side of my car to get in. When I started hearing footsteps, come up from the side. My dumb self
Starting point is 00:43:33 thought that maybe it was the customer coming out to say, Hey, sorry, I fell asleep, can I get my pizza? But of course, it wasn't. No. Instead, it was a man wearing a pink hoodie, dark jogging pants and walking straight towards me, with a gun pointed in my direction.
Starting point is 00:43:52 I put my hands up and immediately braced for him to rob me, but after a moment, and he finally spoke up and said, Keys, now. I nodded, reached into my pocket, and handed the guy my keys. And after a few moments of my heart racing
Starting point is 00:44:10 and my face being drenched in sweat, he motions towards the car and says, Get in the passenger's seat. At first I was thinking I was about to die. And then I was thinking that I could try to run as I got around the car, but again, where were, was I going to go. I was in the middle of a mostly empty cul-de-sac, nowhere to go but open fields, and he
Starting point is 00:44:36 could easily put a round in my back if I ran. At this point, I realized I had no choice but to follow what he wanted me to do. I quickly complied with his demands, and I got in the passenger seat of the car, thinking that this was seriously going to be my final few moments. He got in the driver's seat, started the car, and started driving down the side roads. I just sat there helplessly, silently staring at the streetlights as we passed them, thinking about what I could say to plead for my life. My hands were seriously shaking, and my mind was racing as it occurred to me that, this man, he wasn't wearing a mask, which meant that he didn't care if I saw his face.
Starting point is 00:45:26 To me, this meant that he didn't plan to leave anyone to identify him, so I was definitely going to die. As we drove in silence, the carjacker seemed to become more and more agitated, glancing around nervously, muttering things to himself and staring at the clock and the road randomly back and forth. It felt like several hours were passing, though it was honestly only a few minutes. I actually started thinking about whether anyone would notice that I wasn't back after a while. I assumed that my manager would notice after a while since I had cash that belonged to the store and had text him, but that was about it. A lot of strange things go through your mind when you're in this kind of situation. Because really the only thing that I could think about was how I was going to get fired if I got killed.
Starting point is 00:46:23 Again, not logical, but it was all I could think about. After another few moments, the carjacker pulled over to the side of the road and started breathing really fast. I didn't look at him. I didn't turn my head. I just shut my eyes thinking, well, this is where he cracks. After a few moments, he screams, This wasn't what I effing planned! And then punches the steering wheel.
Starting point is 00:46:52 I jumped and I couldn't help but look in his direction and he was seriously crying like sobbing his eyes were filled with a strange mix of anger desperation and regret and he turned to me and just said I'm sorry I'm sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances
Starting point is 00:47:13 his voice cracked as he said this and he just shook his head like he was seriously upset a couple more seconds pass of this awkward silence, and then he turns, reaches behind me, grabs the pizza bag, and exits the car, walking off into the woods on the side of the road. For a moment, I was too stunned to move. But as the feeling in my arms and feet slowly started to come back,
Starting point is 00:47:46 I realized that the danger had passed. I hopped over to the driver's seat and sped away, eager to get the hell away from that man in this place. The entire time I was driving, my lip was quivering, my teeth were chattering and I was shaking, thinking that it wasn't actually over, that someone else or something was going to jump out at me and attack me. Obviously nothing did, and I was able to make it back to the store. I got into the safety of the building and I broke down. I was bawling my eyes out trying to explain that I was carjacked by this man, trying to explain everything that I had just gone through.
Starting point is 00:48:31 Thankfully, my co-workers were able to get me settled down, but then after a few moments, my manager asked me why I hadn't called him or called the police. Honestly, at no point did it occur to, to me while I was driving away from the situation to grab my phone and call anyone. Stupid, I know, but panic makes it hard to think clearly. They did call the police, and they took my statement, but I couldn't tell them the exact location that he had gotten out of my car,
Starting point is 00:49:05 only where he had actually carjacked me. I doubt that he was ever caught, because all I could tell them was what he was wearing in a vague direction of where he could. have gone. I'm thankful that he didn't decide that I was a threat to him, or that he needed to do worse than he had, and I honestly think about that night's a lot. The fact that I got out unharmed, that he apologized and then stole the pizza, what kind of situation does one have to be in to do that?
Starting point is 00:49:38 I don't work there anymore, as mentioned, and I don't do anything related to driving my car. or working with the public. I work in a warehouse now, and I love it. Because there's literally no opportunity for anything like this to ever happen again while I'm at work. Welcome to V-Araille. Embarked and profite. Embarked and relax.
Starting point is 00:50:06 Ciroat, bookine. Oh, that also. And profite. Villaray, the voice that we love that we love. I have family members that live in the middle of nowhere, way outside of any major town or anything. And of course, they are the family that I tend to go see during the holidays. Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays for my family,
Starting point is 00:50:43 as it was my grandmother's favorite day. And we get all the extended family on her side together to have a lovely meal, and it's always been a good time. This story isn't about the get-together, though. It's about something that happened after the fact. Most years, I would stay at my aunt's house and leave early the next morning. But on the year that this happened, I was working for a company that was doing a merger with another organization,
Starting point is 00:51:13 so they pretty much had shut off all time-off requests, only the specific holidays. And because of this, I had to get home that night. night so that I could get up at 6 a.m. and get to the office early the next day. If nothing else, it was a pain in my ass, as I hate driving late at night, especially for the full hour that I have to drive to the north to get home, and the fact that they live out in the middle of nowhere means that there are literally no streetlights. I tried to leave at a good time, but it was hard to leave my family that night as they wanted to continue talking and spending
Starting point is 00:51:53 time together. So by the time I got out of there, it was around 10.30 at night. I get out of the driveway and out onto the really dark roads, trying to keep my eyes open, and my mind focused on the trip. I was definitely struggling, like, really, struggling, to keep myself awake. I think that digesting all that food and the hard spike in my blood sugar had really started to its toll on me. I could feel my eyelids starting to drop as I was going. The longer I went, the harder it was to keep myself going, so I figured that the best course of action for me was to put on some music.
Starting point is 00:52:39 Unfortunately, I do have an older car that doesn't have any sort of wireless connectivity, so when I listen to music, it has to be on a CD. The disc that I had in was not going to be enough to keep me awake. I needed something heavy and aggressive. So I ejected the CD and slowed down a bit so that I could reach down onto my floor to grab my CD folder, which is something that I will say was incredibly stupid. I was taking my eyes off the road and focusing on reaching down to grab my CD holder. Like I said, stupid.
Starting point is 00:53:15 But it's what I did. I reached down, grabbed my folder, and grabbed the disc for something. metal band, and when I looked back up at the road, I noticed a figure standing there in the middle of the road. I panicked, and I slammed my brakes to do my best to avoid hitting whatever or whoever this was. Thankfully, despite the car being old, it did have a good braking system, and I was able to stop pretty quickly without flipping my car or driving into the trees in the shoulder. When I came to the screeching halt, I was gripping the wheel and just trying to breathe through my excruciatingly painful heartbeat that was pulsing in my head. I honestly thought that
Starting point is 00:54:00 I was about to have a heart attack, considering how high my blood pressure was over those couple of seconds. After a few moments of taking deep breaths and just staring at my dashboard, I finally was able to get my mind back to reality, and then realized that I knew. I knew. I knew. I was able to be able to my mind. I needed to make sure that I actually didn't hit whatever that was. I looked up and out all of the windows and in the mirrors, trying to see if I could see anything. But there was nothing there. I was confused, panicked, and trying to not literally pass out. Where the hell had this thing gone?
Starting point is 00:54:42 And what the hell was it? I pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked it so that I could get out. and look around to see what was going on. I stepped out onto the road and walked a bit back, looking out into the shadows of the road that was lit only by my taillights. I stared at the darkness, squinted, trying to see if there was anything there, when I did finally see something. In the darkness, I could see what looked to be that same figure,
Starting point is 00:55:15 still mostly shapeless, but almost here. human shaped. Just standing in the darkness and looking in my direction. I lifted my hand and waved and shouted back to see if this was a person, and if they were okay. I shouted, hey, is everything all right? And as I did, this figure just stood there completely motionless. I was starting to get freaked out thinking that this wasn't a person, that it was something else. something supernatural. I started to walk backwards toward my car,
Starting point is 00:55:54 keeping my eyes on this figure, and as I got to my car and reached toward the handle, I heard what sounded like laughing, like a high-pitched giggling voice in the distance, out in the direction of whatever that thing was. That was all that I needed to hear. I threw my door open, jumped in, and I took back off down the road
Starting point is 00:56:17 to continue my trip. I drove the rest of the way in silence. My heart, keeping up at stupid fast rate, staring in my rear view mirror every ten seconds to see if this thing was following me somehow. Obviously, it wasn't. Whatever the hell that demonic thing was, it stayed there in the dark, a fact for which I was very thankful. I got home and I struggled to go to sleep that night.
Starting point is 00:56:47 just kind of staring at the ceiling with my heart pounding like hell. Honestly, I don't think my BPM dropped below 120 until the next morning. Like, my body was reacting intensely to this whole thing. Like my instincts knew that whatever this was, was truly dangerous. And it would have been much worse had I not taken off. To this day, I still can't explain what happened on that drive home. I've tried to rationalize it as my imagination, just running wild or some sort of prank, but deep down, I know that something truly terrifying was watching me.
Starting point is 00:57:30 I've since avoided that stretch of road. I actually found another way to get home from my aunt's house, and the memory of that night haunts me. For anyone that has any sort of name for this thing, or a better explanation, please do let me. me know. I really can't physically describe it, other than it seemed to just be a living shadow on the road that stared intently. It looked like a person, sort of, but it was mostly shapeless beyond that. It was just intensely dark and creepy. I know that this doesn't help much, but it's the best that I've got for it. Anyways, that's my story. And I have a story. And I have to And I hope that I never experience anything like this for the rest of my days.
Starting point is 00:58:24 I want to start this story off by saying that it isn't necessarily a horror story, though it was absolutely scary for me. Some people may come out of this story thinking that I'm preachy, and I don't really care if that's how you feel by the end of it. This story is one that is a necessary, cautionary tale. for anyone that may put themselves into these kind of situations. This happened when I was 21, and honestly it wasn't that long ago. I was in the early 2010s, actually.
Starting point is 00:59:10 Back then, I was the type of kid that thought that I was invincible. I ran on Red Bull more than sleep, and I know that there are a lot of people out there that seem to do the same. I hope that this story does get through to some of you. And, again, preachy, I know, but it's an important experience that needs to be put out there. I was driving home from college on a Friday night, trying to get out to my parents' place to spend a few days so that I could get away from campus. I'd made this drive numerous times, always late in the evening, and I had never had any issues with it. It was a long monotonous drive, one that was partially main roads and partially winding side roads.
Starting point is 00:59:59 On this night, I had been on the road for a couple of hours, and it was pitch blackout, and I thought that I was doing okay. I had just chugged a second Red Bull for the drive, and the caffeine was causing my heart to beat fast and my mind to race. I was getting jittery, my left leg bouncing on the floor and my right foot on the floor. and my right foot holding the gas pedal down. My eyes kept frantically wandering onto the dull glow of the headlights as they passed, and despite the fact that I was starting to feel a bit light-headed, I was determined to make this drive without stopping.
Starting point is 01:00:37 As the next hour wore on, I started feeling my eyelids grow a bit heavier, which was actually making me angry, as I was running on the caffeine of the energy drinks, yet I was starting to feel, tired? My brain was focusing way too hard on how I was feeling, how tired I was starting to get. I started to think that I should pull over and take a minute to take a breath, that me getting lightheaded was something serious, but the stubborn guy that I was, I was telling myself that I
Starting point is 01:01:11 only had about half an hour left to go. It was probably the rush of adrenaline that was kicking my ass at the same time that my brain was begging me to sleep. But I was arguing with myself inside about stopping. In the end, my stubborn sighed won, and I slapped my face telling myself that I wasn't going to give up that easily. And that is where things went completely wrong, and my life would be changed permanently. It must have only been for. for a couple of seconds, but in the brief moment that my eyes fell shut,
Starting point is 01:01:54 my car veered slightly to the side. The sudden jolt of the tires hitting the gravel on the shoulder snapped me awake, only for me to see that I was heading off the road. Panicking, I over-corrected,
Starting point is 01:02:10 and I quickly went from correcting to trying to maintain to completely losing control of the situation. My car skidded across the road, and I slammed into a guardrail, causing my car to flip multiple times before finally coming to a hard stop just before hitting a large tree. The force of the impact is beyond description. The glass all shattered, and the only sound alongside the metal crunching was me screaming my lungs out as the whole thing happened. time completely seemed to slow down as I felt myself being violently tossed around the interior of my car.
Starting point is 01:02:56 When it finally came to a rest, I was nothing shy of disoriented and in shock. I could feel my breathing slow down. The world was spinning and I could feel blood dripping down on my face as the pain of the situation slowly settled in. Despite my injuries, I was able to crawl through the distillery. destroyed door and pull myself close to the shoulder of the road. I don't know how I got as far as I did, but I had managed to get close enough to be seen. As I lay there trembling, crying, screaming as loud as I could while an excruciating pain. After what was probably a couple of seconds, a car drove by and they saw me.
Starting point is 01:03:41 I will say that after I heard him say, Oh my God, call 911. I completely blacked out. There is a huge chunk of time that is completely gone. My memory goes from hearing that to seeing doctors trying to keep me alive, and then waking up when everything was done. The aftermath of all this was a nightmare. I spent a couple of months under medical care,
Starting point is 01:04:09 undergoing surgeries and physical therapy. My body was broken in ways that I can't imagine. and the worst of it was my left leg, which was so damaged that they had to amputate it above the knee. From what I was told, it was completely destroyed, and the fact that I didn't bleed out while crawling up was nothing shy of a miracle. At the age of 21, I was permanently scarred and handicapped to the point that I now spend a lot of my time in a wheelchair. I've had to adapt to having a prosthetic, and everything has been completely different. I have so many scars from that night, and I often find myself jumping up in the middle of the night,
Starting point is 01:04:57 screaming, as the memories of the crash keep playing in my head. I have adapted, thankfully, but it hurts so much to know that had I made a better decision that night, Had I just pulled over and maybe taken a quick nap, I would have been okay. I would have been none the worse for where, and I would have made it to my parents' house, and life could have just been normal. But I didn't. I didn't make good decisions, and I have to live with the consequences. Again, this isn't for pity, but a warning for you.
Starting point is 01:05:41 for anyone that thinks it's smart to push themselves to the end of their rope, that thinks it's okay to keep going when they're tired. The consequences of falling asleep at the wheel can be devastating and life-altering, of which I am a prime example. It's not worth it. Take care of yourself and listen to your body, and don't end up with a story like mine. This was something that my dad and I,
Starting point is 01:06:20 witnessed many, many years ago. I was a kid, so some of the more business-related details are provided, thanks to my dad. My dad used to partially own a lawn and landscaping company with a friend of his. They went in on it 50-50. I knew a lot of people that worked there because I often went with my dad and hung out in the back office, or I would go there with my mom to drop off lunch for my dad. My mom was a 911 dispatcher and often worked odd and long hours, so instead of leaving me home, my dad usually took me to work with him and let me hang out in his office.
Starting point is 01:07:04 He had a TV in there, and he had bought a VCR so that I could watch movies, and then I had a small chest in there with random toys and craft stuff to keep me occupied. However, as I got older, I became more curious about what he did. and I started following him around as he worked. Sometimes I even helped him when he was in the shop. He didn't let me go to customers' homes, though, because they can use some pretty dangerous equipment and even some harsh chemicals,
Starting point is 01:07:36 so he felt that it wasn't safe. But the shop could have its own danger lurking. I was at least smart enough to avoid things and to not touch anything that I wasn't given explicit permission to. Yet, even with all those precautions, some of the adults were a little more careless. There was a guy named Mickey that was a little newer to the company. I was young, but I think my dad said that he had been working there for around six to eight months.
Starting point is 01:08:07 He was also a younger guy, compared to my dad, and some of the other people that worked there. I don't know if it's related or not, but he was also a bit more carefree. He never seemed to devote his attention to one project that he may be working on. He may have been watching TV that was in the shop. He may have been shouting to someone else, like they were talking or joking around, not out of anger. And this stuff had also gotten the attention of my dad and others, calling out to Mickey to pay attention and to be more careful. He, again, would always brush it off like he wasn't doing anything wrong.
Starting point is 01:08:48 However, there was one time that I was up there when my dad seemed upset as he talked to somebody else. I learned that this was because Mickey was supposed to be working, but hadn't arrived yet. He was late. About an hour or so after this, he finally walked in the door and I remember him looking a little rough. They all had matching shirts and some had vests, and then they wore whatever pants or shorts they wanted. wanted. He didn't have on either the shirt nor the vest, and when he came over to greet us and give me a high five, I could smell something sour, what I would later learn to be alcohol. He was drunk, or at least still reeked of the previous night's activities.
Starting point is 01:09:38 Now, as mentioned, I didn't really know what that meant at the time. I was about ten or eleven at this point, and my parents were far. from alcoholics. My mom didn't drink and my dad would occasionally have a beer when he had some friends over, but it was literally one or two, and he never acted differently. If I was older and understood more of what was going on and the risk that it was, I definitely would have said something. Anyways, he seemed to try to avoid my dad being the boss on duty that day and just tried to
Starting point is 01:10:17 immediately get back to work. This was also a Tuesday, and for some reason, it was their least busy or job-demanding days. So there were a lot more people in the shop side of things. This is where they might schedule jobs, fix equipment, and tools for customers, or even the stuff for the business. So Mickey had grabbed one of the store mowers because either the blades needed to be sharpened or repaired, or they could have even been stuck. So he was working on that. I remember walking over towards him at one point to see what he was doing, and he did tell me that I shouldn't be too close,
Starting point is 01:10:57 because he was working with some pretty sharp parts. I started asking him a few questions and what he was doing, so he began answering them, I think causing him to forget about telling me to walk away. That was about the time that my dad walked over, to tell me the same thing, while also getting on to Mickey about being late and then being drunk after he noticed the smell.
Starting point is 01:11:22 My dad seemed pretty upset, and told him that after he finished what he was doing on that mower, he wanted him to go home. He tried to assure my dad that he wasn't drunk and that he would be okay, but my dad would not hear it. After that, I walked away to kill time, doing something else. It couldn't tell him. have been too long after this, that I decided to go back into the office to play a game on my dad's
Starting point is 01:11:49 computer. The office was right next to the entrance to the back area, where they do a lot of testing on mowers or weed whackers. I saw Mickey had pushed the mower out there and was using it. I remember hearing it, seeing him adjust his hat, and then I walked into the office. The door was still open so I could hear when the mower was turned off, and not maybe a minute or two later, I then heard a blood-curdling scream. It made me jump up and run out of the office, worried that something bad had just happened. I followed the screams to the back and saw Mickey holding one hand with another, and it was covered in blood.
Starting point is 01:12:33 He was just screaming, and from what I could tell and piece together from what he was saying, the blades had cut his fingers off. I stood there frozen in fear and watched as other people ran past me trying to help him. What was even more terrifying to see and think about was that there were people walking around, looking in the grass, for his fingers. I was then yelled at to go into the office and not leave, which is where I stayed until my grandma came to get me. I heard that scream for months in my head. in my dreams, or more so nightmares.
Starting point is 01:13:13 All I could see was the terror in Mickey's eyes and the bloody stumps on his hands. It took me a while to get past that, but even to this day, I still get queasy thinking about blood like that. Now, obviously, Mickey lived. He lost three fingers and part of his pinky. They were able to save two of them and even reattach the nerves or whatever so that they were usable. but the strength isn't 100% back. The last one was too mangled to be saved. I got to see him when he came back into the shop a month or so later.
Starting point is 01:13:51 The scars at least looked pretty cool and he stayed optimistic about it, at least towards me joking how it looked like he was pieced back together with other parts. My dad later explained to me that the mower he was working on was pretty old, and it didn't have a working safety thing on it, so when he thought it was actually off, there was still a kill switch thing he had to flip before you did anything with the blades. He apparently did not toggle that switch.
Starting point is 01:14:20 And when he went back down to check them out, because they had stopped moving or something, it all kicked on. And, well, you know the rest. He said it was a pretty big eye-opener for a lot of things for them. They replaced any outdated mowers so that they all used the same ones with all the new bells and whistles. They went through a lot more safety measures to prevent other accidents,
Starting point is 01:14:47 and to this day, that was still the worst event they've ever had. I always knew that my dad worked with some pretty sharp and dangerous things, but that event really drove it home for me. And now, even as an adult with my own kids, I don't even like them being in the yard when I'm mowing. You just can't ever be too careful. Hey there, friends. That was today's episode of the As the Raven Dreams podcast,
Starting point is 01:15:29 and I really hope that you all enjoyed this collection of scary stories. If you did, please do consider checking out my YouTube channel where I do these same stories, but a little bit earlier than I do them here on the podcast form, and also in slightly different collections. If you really enjoy the podcast, please do consider giving it a rating of any sort if the platform you're listening on has ratings. Any honest rating is appreciated by me, be it five star, one star, however you want to do it. Just know that rating the podcast helps tremendously. And if you would like to support further, I do have a Patreon and channel memberships if you'd like to do things on the YouTube side,
Starting point is 01:16:12 where for as little as a dollar a month, they get early access to my content. Never ever expected, but always appreciated. That said, friends, I hope that I do see you on the next episode of this podcast. And of course, until then, sleep well. Fan of soccer, you could assist at a moment historic. You could gain these biers for the final of the Cup of the World of the FIFA 2006 with Visa. It's just to have a card of credit visa BMO for participate. subscribe to beheve you at bhaveno.com bar obliq concourse.
Starting point is 01:16:47 The reglements of the concourse is applicable.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.