CreepCast - Tommy Taffy | Creep Cast

Episode Date: June 15, 2024

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is the cold habitual And it is the frode The froy at his summit Cozlight
Starting point is 00:00:08 T'envee in front of a responsible you have to have the age legal for consuming alcohol
Starting point is 00:00:12 This episode is brought to you by Adidas When the frustration grows and the doubts start
Starting point is 00:00:19 to creep in we all need someone who has our back to tell us we'll be okay
Starting point is 00:00:23 to remind us of our ability to believe because their belief in us transfers to self-belief
Starting point is 00:00:29 and reminds us of all that we're capable of. We all need someone to make us believe. Hashtag, you got this. Welcome back to Creepcast. Today we are doing a list of our submission. I've been seeing this pop-up a lot. It's called Tommy Taffy. And here's the funny thing about that.
Starting point is 00:01:03 We've never read this one before. I've never heard of it. I had to go through about three 18 and up prompts to even see text for this story. So I just want to say, you know, that's your warning, I guess. I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I told you I've never heard this story before. I could be a line. And the number of 18 plus warnings would indicate something I would lie about.
Starting point is 00:01:28 So keep that in mind as we get into it. Also, hi, everyone. All I see here is it's just on our slash no sleep, it just says, his name was Tommy Taffy. I don't even want to do any little preamble. I just kind of want to dive in. I have no idea what it says. At the beginning, there's a link to another story.
Starting point is 00:01:45 That when I click on it also gives me an 18 up warning. So good. It says some of you may read my son's account. So maybe the son's account is like the same story from their perspective or something. I don't know. I also will say that the audience has been batting zero for zero so far. That's true.
Starting point is 00:02:06 They've all sucked. So we'll see if you all keep up that. I also want to mention that in the last episode, upon watching the upload, a lot of my impeccable Jeff Goldblum impression was cut from the final level. And I equate that to the burning of the Library of Alexandria. I think that is perfect art that should not be tampered with so this is your warning
Starting point is 00:02:32 I am going to insert it into any location I can through this story and make it impossible for the editor to catch all of them okay because I'm mad and will continue to be mad yeah I people will talk of the
Starting point is 00:02:47 deletion of the Jeff Goldblum impression much like Greeks wearing like robes talked about the burn of Alexandria. It will, it'll have that infamy. I think there were literally like 20 minutes of me sitting here talking in a Jeff Goldblum voice that never made it. Just just just be going could be a dead child. Can be a dead child. Me and my son, Benjaro. Well, I say without further ado, let's hop into his name was Tommy Taffy. Tommy Taffy, Tommy Taffy. I'm just glad that you can't do that
Starting point is 00:03:25 Cleverbot points this time. I wanted to punch the monitor. I was getting so mad. Cleverbot was the low point for sure. That whole story just became you and I like reading lines and then you like making me upset with your line
Starting point is 00:03:41 reading. I felt violent there for a while. It was it was pulling teeth. It was pulling teeth is what it was. And here's the thing. A lot of people like I said have suggested this story. It's been probably out of the last couple, I'd say the last couple weeks
Starting point is 00:03:56 I've seen it more so than others we've we have a list of stuff like stolen tongues and my wife is peeking around me from corners but I do think Tommy Taffy has been more requested so far and I just want to say that people's nostalgia do a crazy crazy thing
Starting point is 00:04:12 with you know stories they like so don't take these you know these bad stories personally it's just it is what it is also these are all random user like internet users a lot of them not professional writers or anything. And we understand that. We're just here to have fun.
Starting point is 00:04:29 And I just wanted to say, once again, before we get into this, I had to click through four active firewalls, verify my age seven different times. I don't know what the hell happens in the story, but I feel like something bad's going to happen. So that's your warning as well. I know people want us to put some kind of warnings up as well. That's the only warning I can give. Other than that, I have no idea.
Starting point is 00:04:53 Yeah, this is going to, this is going to hurt. Some work, but our audience either recommended it because it's bad and they know it'll be bad, or it has some kind of sexual exploitation, which they can't get enough of, apparently. So, I, I, I, all I know is my faith in our audience is beginning to dwindle. Yeah, beginning to. It is. Yeah. It has, it's complete depleted. Yeah, that's more like that.
Starting point is 00:05:16 They're on a razor's edge with me right now. All right. It is that thin. Okay. Let's say, let's dive in. Let's get into it. So, oh, and also. Also, before we get into it, everyone who is liking us and watching us on audio platforms, please continue to do so.
Starting point is 00:05:31 It helps, I think. So we have a bunch of people who show up now in the comments who are like, who are you people? Why is this am I recommended? So I think that's what's causing it. So keep it up. Appreciate it. If you're driving to work, feel free to throw this up on Spotify, Apple Podcast, all that kind of stuff. It really does go a long way.
Starting point is 00:05:48 And also wanted to throw this in before we get too deep into all this. And before I forget, within the next coming weeks, we should have some, our first merch drop. So be on the lookout for that. I'm hoping within the next episode or so. Yeah, if you all enjoyed the hat I was wearing last time and forgot to mention that I was wearing the hat that was promo. So I just had it on and never said anything about it.
Starting point is 00:06:11 That hat might potentially be part of it. So stay tuned for that. Yes. All right. Let's get into it. His name was Tommy Taffy. Tommy Taffy. Okay.
Starting point is 00:06:23 So after beginning to read, his name was Tommy Taffy, it turns out that that is a prequel, which you all did not tell us about and is entirely your fault. So we're going to read the original story. And if it's not stupid, we will then read his name was Tommy Taffy. You guys would give us a sequel first
Starting point is 00:06:42 to be like, oh, this is great. This is awesome. So now, forget that his name was Tommy Taffy in a sudden change on the field. We're moving into the third parent. The third parent, A.k.a. it's also known as the smiling man is what I'm seeing here as well. Oh, apparently that made a movie about this too.
Starting point is 00:06:59 I and D.B. 2024. It just came out this year. What did you guys recommend us do? Okay, we're going to read the third parent. We're going to read the third parent. Well, fuck it. I don't even know anymore. Third parent. Third parent. Let's go. Okay, here we go. Third parent. This is your, it's already off to a traumatic start. And it's the audience's fault this time. I can't be blamed for it. Okay. Yes.
Starting point is 00:07:18 All right. My name is Matt and my childhood wasn't normal. Not by any stretch. of the word. Something happened to my family that is almost impossible to understand, but I'm going to try my best to explain those five years. Five years of my life, I spend in terror. Five years, we all lived in fear. Five years, we'll never get back. My father, Spence, wasn't a very strong man, both physically and mentally. He was the type of dad who often let our mothers speak for both of them. Now, he wasn't a complete pushover, but he often was content to just go with the flow, rather than alter it. He worked hard and dedicated his free time to us, his family. He made sure
Starting point is 00:07:59 our needs were taken care of, soft assurances, the unseen foundation of our family. My mother, Megan, was the head of our house. She was outspoken, independent, and extremely loyal to all of us. She loved my father's quiet ways, and even from a young age, I could see the chemistry flowing strong between them. my little sister Stephanie was a year younger than I she looked up to me and my father always told me it was my responsibility to look after her we got along as best we could and even though I gave her all kinds of brotherly hardship I did love her we lived in a suburban middle class community a complete stock photo of the American dream my father worked a respectable nine to five job while my mother taught yoga classes
Starting point is 00:08:46 out of the house it was a neat life organized and structured. Everything was discussed, considered, and acted upon as a family. It was a good home to grow up in. But that was before he showed up.
Starting point is 00:08:59 That was before the third parent. Ooh, kind of like that little intro, huh? Yeah, that feels good. I like it. What is this whole story is just the parents
Starting point is 00:09:07 just are in a cuck relationship? I do. All the 18 up warnings are kind of scary. I'm wondering. I don't know. I'm a little afraid. There's a lot of different elements here,
Starting point is 00:09:18 right? there's a lot of red flags let me just say that one my little sister Stephanie was a year younger than I you're setting up yeah I don't like that characters you never know right you even have the mom well there's also thing too did you ever have a friend whose parents ran any kind of business out of their house uh yeah my my parents said that my dad I had a buddy whose mom did hair dressing in her basement it was like a nice studio area and there was like a staircase that went down from the outside of the house down to their basement so you didn't have to actually go through their home is what I mean yeah but what was crazy was one of the sons of that person's mom
Starting point is 00:09:56 broke into their house one night and like actually rummaged to the house while everyone was sleeping oh and I'm wondering it's just that like just uh the narrator saying oh my mom ran a yoga class I was like oh shit like it just it made me immediately go to that you're saying yeah yeah so I don't know I that that send that sent a little shiver up my spine and also just the line too that was before the third parent is just that that line goes pretty hard the third parent's an ominous enough like title you know that it kind of gives you a direction of like you know a kid adult doesn't really understand it but yeah that's a good it's kind of like the uh you know the thing the unknown kind of concept oh like yeah that's a
Starting point is 00:10:37 good intro i dig it is a little it's a little you know um methodical in being like well this is my dad this is my mom, this is my sister. But I think that's fine, you know. The biggest thing is, I just want to say, I'm a little nervous is all I got to say. I'm a little nervous. The amount of times I had to verify my age to want to read this story. Oh, I'm scared.
Starting point is 00:11:00 It has made me nervous. All right. I am nervous. I am afraid. Okay, so we're, this is like, this is an older one. It's July 1989 is the next text heading. July 1989. Oh, sitting at the dinner table.
Starting point is 00:11:14 waiting for my father to finish cooking. It was his turn tonight, and my stomach roared for his rosemary chicken. My sister, Stephanie, lay on her stomach in the living room coloring. Her golden blonde hair fell across her shoulders and waves, and she looked up at me, smiling. She extended what she had been working on, and I nodded, completely unimpressed. She was a terrible artist. Yeah, that's such a brother thing, though. Yeah, exactly. Stephanie was always terrible at drawing bears, but she was.
Starting point is 00:11:44 She always insisted on doing so. She sniffed at me and continued her sketch. What? Like, you know, kids like... Oh, like a scoff. Yeah, yeah, like... Okay, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:11:57 And I didn't know if she was, like, what the fuck is going on with this family, dude? Everything's normal so far. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So far. My mother walked in the kitchen, pulling her hair back from her freshly showered face. Everyone gone?
Starting point is 00:12:12 My father asked from the stove. My mother knocked. it. Yes, Spence. The house is ours again. It's so much better at teaching yoga in the basement. So much cooler. I'm glad we finished the basement over the winter. My clients are relieved as well. It's a scorcher out there today. Dude, it's another basement thing. What did I say? Creepy. Don't like that. Mom, can you sit down so we can eat? I begged for my spot at the table. A mother turned to me and laughed. Matt, the hungriest six-year-old this side of the Mississippi. Why don't you ask your dad, to hurry up. He's the one cooking. I will say, uh, I'm not saying this is a hater. I've not activated hater mode. I like it so far.
Starting point is 00:12:52 But the dialogue is kind of funny of like, wow, I sure am glad we installed that baseman. Sure is hot outside. Oh, my little six-year-old son. Why don't you ask, you know, my six-year-old boy, the hungriest little boy at this side of the Mississippi. Why don't you frolic over to your father? Well, he's the one who's cooking the pork shops. It's like how an alien thinks that like normal like family interactions go, you know? Yeah. No hate, no hate. It's all, it's all
Starting point is 00:13:22 well and good. This is perfectly fine. But it is, it just, that just made me laugh. Hungry is six year old this stuff. I place my forehead on the table's lip. Dad, I'm going to die. Stephanie looked up from her coloring book. Matt, don't be crazy.
Starting point is 00:13:41 You're crazy. I'm not looking. up. She said sticking her tongue out at me. All right, all right. My father said, turning from the stove. In his hands, he held a steaming platter of chicken. Come sit down, Steph. The food's ready. Ordered my sister. The sight of the seasoned meat causing me to salivate. I thought that was the dad's line for a second. So I did too. Yeah. I saw the idea of the boys. Let me read. No, no, no, no. You have to leave it. The dead. The boy being like, come set down, Steph. A six-year-old boy.
Starting point is 00:14:15 Coase it down, Steph. The food's ready. The chicken activated puberty. I just gained another ball. That's the fourth one this week. That's testicular torsion if I've ever seen it. That she pulled herself from the floor. My mother taking a place beside me.
Starting point is 00:14:35 We all froze as someone knocked on the front door. My mother and father exchanged puzzled looks. My dad placed the food down on the table and total saw the hold on a minute. groaning i watched him walk to the front door he peeked through the keyhole and i saw him visibly tense his whole body cementing like a statue he peeked through the keyhole of the door oh i didn't even catch that that is kind of i wonder if they just mean like the little hole in the middle of door but the keyhole it makes it seem like it's literally the keyhole yeah like it's the 1600s yeah spence who who is it my mother asked my father slowly turned back around to us
Starting point is 00:15:14 all blood draining from his face. His eyes were wide and I saw fear dilate his pupils. He licked his lips and shot Stephanie and I a look. Spence? My mom pressed, her face contort him with concern. No, this can't happen. Not again. I heard him whisper, staring off into the middle distance. The door shook as another series of knocks echoed through the house.
Starting point is 00:15:40 My mom stood, her voice cracking with contagious fear. Spence, who is it? What's going on? I'm so sorry. My father mumbled, clutching his stomach, his face a pale sheet. I have to let him in. Before any of us could say anything else, my dad turned and opened the door. Dine sunlight blinded me and I squinted to see who our unannounced visitor was. Hi! I'm Tommy Taffy. It's good to see you again, Spence.
Starting point is 00:16:09 I watched as my father slowly backed away from the open door. a man entered our house and shut the door behind him my young mind tried to make sense of what I was seeing but even at that young age I knew something wasn't right with this unexpected guest
Starting point is 00:16:22 he was about six feet and had a shock of golden hair cut tight along his scalp he wore khaki shorts and a white t-shirt that said hi in red cartoon font I'm picturing like a youth pastor
Starting point is 00:16:37 or something I don't know like a guy who's like a guy wearing khakis I imagine they didn't say this, but cackies, imagine birkenstocks with tube socks on and he has like, he has like blonde hair pulled
Starting point is 00:16:50 back super tight, probably into a ponytail. I also picture I'm wearing like the sunglasses that's like the glasses that also turn into sunglasses when you go outside. That. That wasn't what caught my eye. It was skin. It was completely devoid
Starting point is 00:17:08 of pores. A perfectly smooth, creamy texture that looked almost like soft plastic. His face was a pool of gentle pink, his mouth a cheerful cut along his cheeks, revealing a white strip of teeth. But they weren't teeth. It was just a smooth, edgeless row, like he had a mouth guard on. His nose was just a slight rise out of his face, like a doll, void of nostrils. And his eyes.
Starting point is 00:17:38 his eyes were twin puddles of sparkling blue shining out at us from his flawless, eerie face. They were wide like he was in a constant state of surprise and they shifted around the room to look at us in quick, jarring motion. Interesting. How do you feel about that description? So devoid of pores like it's uncharacteristically smooth, right?
Starting point is 00:18:02 I'm almost thinking like an action figure. Like a vinyl figure or something like that. I think because the way he said that he, had like a slicked back golden hair reminds me of like the way action figures are just are like painted blonde on the top of their head. Yeah. Yeah. It feels like he's like a mannequin almost. Yeah, almost like a dummy or like some kind of like ventriloquist puppet or something. It's like just kind of weird. You know those like videos you'll see of like I think you made a video about it, but like those extreme plastic surgery cases. Yeah. Of people who like remove any
Starting point is 00:18:35 semblance of like humanity or like lived experience from their body. It kind of reminds me of that yeah something very uncanny unnatural especially it's like you're able to see it almost immediately the deal too about you kind of makes you think of i can't remember it's robin williams who's this movie called bicentennial man but robin williams plays like a robot and in that movie the robot version of robin williams is uh very smooth it just looks like a like a weird toy it's odd it's making me think of that yeah yeah i see it does kind of remind me of that also how weird is that he's like not again. We have to let him in,
Starting point is 00:19:10 which obviously we're getting ready to dive in too as well, but that would freak me out. If my dad said that and then a funco pop man walked in, that would fuck me up. Yeah, if your dad's like, I'm so sorry. But I have to let him in. And then a giant funco box comes to the door.
Starting point is 00:19:29 Yeah, no thanks. Daddy, I thought you said you were done collecting funco pops. I was. I thought I was. His smile widened, and he raised a flawless hand to us at the table. Hi, I'm Tommy Taffy. It's good to meet you. I noticed he didn't have any fingernails or skin defects. No wrinkles or bruises. Nothing.
Starting point is 00:19:53 It was like he was a living, talking, human-sized doll. Okay, well, we beat the story to that punch. We were smarter. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. He was a living, talking human-sized fungopopopop. His head was insanely large, larger than his story. was very large. His eyes
Starting point is 00:20:09 were as black as space. Man, how scary would that be like a human who's like, that would be fucking horrifying. That would be pretty freaky, what did it? Yeah. That would be horrifying. Like him coming down the hallway screaming at you. Yeah, he's like breaking the walls because his
Starting point is 00:20:23 heads keep hitting each side of the hallway. My mom! Yeah, that kind of thing. Wait, today's episode is sponsored by ORA. You know, on this podcast, we cover a lot of things that are spooky, scary, I would even But there's really nothing more horrifying than getting your personal information stolen.
Starting point is 00:20:42 Oh my god! Lurking in the dark corners of the internet, there are people trying to access your name, your email, your home address, your health records, and even the names of your family and friends. My God. It might start off like a simple interaction, like, you know, somebody at a gas station trying to talk to you like you're from out of town. But data brokers are looking to sell your information to scammers all the time. And that's why you need ORA! ORA! me which data brokers are selling my information and kicks them to the curb.
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Starting point is 00:21:38 And go to ora.com slash creepcast or check the description to start your free two-week trial today. Thank you, ORA, for sponsoring this episode and back to the episode. Spence? My mother croaked,
Starting point is 00:21:51 recognition blew me in her eyes. It's going to be okay, Megan. Let's just be polite to our new guest, okay? The man, Tommy, cocked his head towards my father. My dad's, a step back, raising his hands. I mean, our new friend.
Starting point is 00:22:10 The frozen smile never left Tommy's molded face. There was no humor in a strange laugh. It sounded like he was clearing his throat or imitating a really bad chuckle. It was too pronounced, each syllable sounding too deliberate. My father forced a smile onto his face. I meant. He looked desperately. at my mother who offered him no help.
Starting point is 00:22:37 Her body frozen in absolute fear. I'm at meet your new parent, kids. Man, this is what the fuck? This is freaky. Oh gosh. This is kind of fucking me. I've actually. I'd say, Dad, you're a coward. Imagine being a six-year-old at that age, right? Yeah,
Starting point is 00:22:53 a six-year-old, well, hold on, Isaiah. Not only a six-year-old, but the hungry six-year-old this side of the Mississippi. That's true, yeah. And you're like, oh, now I have a new daddy who's hopefully he cooks me better fucking chicken than this Goon. Man, it'd be, it'd be funny if, like, it goes to the kid to speak.
Starting point is 00:23:08 And he's like, I just finished my chicken. Like, he's just eating this whole time. Yeah. But I finished my plate, and I was already putting it in the sink. Now I could recognize how awful. He's like, now I'm just imagining the main character. He's just like this morbidly obese child.
Starting point is 00:23:26 I'm hungry. Stephanie, who was standing by her mother, frowned. He's not our dad. You are. And why does he look so. funny. Stephanie. My mother hiss, gripping my sister's shoulder. Tommy laughed
Starting point is 00:23:40 and walked forward to crouch in front of Stephanie. It's not nice to make fun of people who look different, is it? My sister looked at her feet, blushing. Tommy tasseled her hair. It's okay. Look up, kiddo. We're going to get along just fine. I'm going to help your parents
Starting point is 00:23:58 raise you. It's a big job being a mommy and a daddy. Sometimes mommy and daddy's need help. I immediately don't like this. I'm immediately scared. I'm gonna let you know right now. I'm actually unsettled. And I'm like,
Starting point is 00:24:13 the war, the giant red flags before we started reading it of being like, turn back. You don't understand. Literally like five times. It was like,
Starting point is 00:24:24 are you 18? Not safe for work. Are you an adult? Please find something else to read. You know what's fucked up is even when I was like thinking about how we're joking about. this, I still pictured the main kid just like, he's like grabbing his mom's plate
Starting point is 00:24:38 now and he's eating that chicken too. Like he's over there like the Tasmanian devil like a tiny tornado going around the kitchen. Tommy turned to my parents. That ever present plastic smiles stretching his face.
Starting point is 00:24:55 I help their mommy and daddy's raise them. Isn't that right, Spence? Megan. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Starting point is 00:25:05 immediately like obviously it's uncanny with his visuals right I know it's uncanny with his visuals but now you're like Tommy's like I'm 685 years old
Starting point is 00:25:23 Can we reach up the killer Or something I'm scared Yeah no shit this is gonna get bad What a great line though I hope their mommy and daddy's raised them That's crazy Megan pulled
Starting point is 00:25:35 Stephanie away as my father nodded nervously. That's right, kids. He did. Tommy smiled and turned to me. I was still sitting at the table, taking the odd scene in. I didn't understand what was happening. Didn't know who this weird looking man was or what he wanted. What he was saying didn't make sense,
Starting point is 00:25:54 but my parents seemed to know him. So I kept my speculations to myself. Oh, that's terrible. The kid's like, well, mom and dad trust him, so, you know. well yeah i mean how fucking real is that though for a kid yeah i don't the gosh and you must be mad tommy said walking over to me i didn't look at him training my eyes to stare at my empty plate i suddenly wasn't hungry anymore i could feel the strange man beside me his presence filling my head i looked to my lips and felt my heart began to race i didn't like this intruder something about him
Starting point is 00:26:31 felt dangerous tommy walked behind me chuckling his hands sliding over my slender shoulders. No. It looks like we have a shy one. That's okay. I'll help him with that. Honor. I don't like it.
Starting point is 00:26:46 I don't like it either. He said to my parents, his fingers dug into my skin and I winced, but kept my mouth shut. Don't touch him. My mother hissed eyes going wide. Tommy looked up at her. Mouth stretched.
Starting point is 00:27:02 My dad outstretched his hand. alarmed. Uh, don't be so rude, Megan. Tommy continued to stare at my mother who nervously lowered her eyes. Are you, are you staying for dinner? Stephan suddenly asked,
Starting point is 00:27:16 breaking the tent silence. The eerie doll man let go of my shoulders, one of his hands sliding across my cheek and into my hair. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, yes. I'll be here for quite a while.
Starting point is 00:27:31 Did you all tell us to just... One of his hands. sliding across across my cheek and into my hair? My God, dude. Is this flat out about just like I think, a child predator? I think.
Starting point is 00:27:44 Why would you all give us this? If that's what this is going to. God damn it. We were doing good. We went like five episodes with no child predators. It was doing good. They're all sons of bitches.
Starting point is 00:27:58 1999. Okay, we did three. We did three without it happening. That was pretty good for us. Basically two months. Yeah, but you were doing great because it was Pimpel and then we had three and then it was 1999 and now we have three and now it's it's back. I don't like that. I don't like this.
Starting point is 00:28:16 Here's the thing, Isaiah, with that last sentence of one of his hands sliding across my cheek into my hair. Yeah, yeah. That's disgusting. That's the implication. That physically hurts. But I'm just going to pray that maybe, and I know this is fucked up to say, but maybe he just like breaks the kids' legs or something. I'm going to pray. He just breaks the kids' legs.
Starting point is 00:28:42 Just smash the kids' fingers and be done with it. Let's have it be one of those stories, please. That is an all-time creepcast quote. That's really good. Also, I just want to say, too, before we keep going, I just want to say, once again, you all have been warned. You cannot be mad at us with whatever has happened, okay? Whatever happens from here on out, I don't, we don't know.
Starting point is 00:29:02 But I would just assume abandon all hope ye who enter here is what I would say. Okay. And that was how Tommy Taffy entered our lives. At six years old, I didn't know any better than to seriously question what was happening. Even though my parents acted unsettled at his arrival, their constant assurances that he was a friend pushed away any lingering doubt I had. As the days turned into weeks, I began to grow accustomed to Tommy's presence in our house. My initial fear slowly receded to weary caution.
Starting point is 00:29:32 I soon learned that Tommy didn't like company. Whenever my mother had her yoga classes, Tommy would pull her off into a corner and whisper something to her. I would watch all this with silent eyes. I would see my mother's face grow pale and she would nod, whispering back unknown assurances. Then Tommy would turn that ever-present smile plastered on his face and walk upstairs until the class was over.
Starting point is 00:29:55 My parents told Stephanie and I that we weren't to talk about Tommy to our friends. outside of the house, Tommy wasn't a part of our lives. I don't know why, both my sister and I obeyed. I mean, not to keep stopping, but do you think this is like reading as the way that people, I guess, hold, like, traumatic experiences, right? Yes. Yeah, that's immediately what I thought of. Yeah. I mean, it seems just one of those things where it's like, don't tell anybody.
Starting point is 00:30:23 It's none of your business. And now it's just one of those things that becomes normalized. Don't mention it outside of the house now. Yeah. Yeah. Just like just a disgusting thing like that. It immediately makes me sad and I hate everyone who suggested such things. We're not even into the actual story really yet besides the intro and I'm like disgusted.
Starting point is 00:30:43 My stomach just turned. Yeah, I'm pretty upset already. So thanks everyone. I appreciate this. I should know better than to listen to you people. I'm not going to anymore. It's not going to anymore. We could be reading psychosis right now.
Starting point is 00:30:57 We could be reading psychosis or slender man or something goofy. But no, here. we are. Yeah. Here we are. Okay. Another thing I noticed was that Tommy never ate. He would sit at the table with us, but he never partook in the meal. Stephanie asked him once if he was ever hungry and Tommy just smiled at her silently and stroked her head. Oh gosh. Oh, damn, dude. Oh, that image, that image of a smiling plastic man being asked a question and just staring at her like these giant eyes and just reaching over to touch her. Like, yeah. I will say, that as far as like a horror piece
Starting point is 00:31:32 incredibly effective so far like from riding like a doll man yeah like an immortal doll man and then also the weird thing is it would be systematic or I guess generational trauma would be generational yeah yeah yeah yeah not generational trauma is
Starting point is 00:31:48 fucking crazy from this weird candle man okay during the evenings he would gather our family into the living room and give us a short lesson on how to be a good person My parents never spoke during these talks Just sat next to us, nodding
Starting point is 00:32:04 Tommy told us not to make fun of others To love our friends and enemies And always help those in need Told us that's why he was here with us To help my parents raise us That we could come talk to him If we had a problem at school Or didn't know how to handle certain situations
Starting point is 00:32:22 It went on like this for a month And that's when my mother lost it I feel ill I just want to say it's very unsettling like it's very effective. Oh, it's great. It's great from a horror perspective. Yeah, they're killing it for sure. Uh, but that being said, I don't like that they're killing it right now. Yeah, no shit. Because it makes me upset.
Starting point is 00:32:50 Because I am uncomfy. Because I was having a good day and I'm not all of a sudden all at once. And I thank the reason for that. This little story. August, 1989. My father had just arrived home from work and I was sitting at the kitchen table doing my homework. My mother was cooking dinner and Stephanie was practicing her dance
Starting point is 00:33:13 for an upcoming school play. She was going to be a ballerina and had three weeks to learn a few simple spins and twirls. She had been diligently practicing over the past few days but just couldn't get it right. She was young and her temper was getting the better of her. that's when Tommy decided to help her. He had been sitting on the couch watching her
Starting point is 00:33:32 when suddenly he rose and stood behind my sister. Honor. Placing his hands gently over her shoulders. Oh, God, dude. I have to be the fucking guy's voice. Yeah, I'm glad. Let me help, sweetie.
Starting point is 00:33:52 Yeah, I'm glad. I'm glad you have to be that voice. Good. Let me help, sweetie. cooed, his voice carrying a cheerful note. My mother spun around from the stove and I saw her visibly tense. She didn't like Tommy touching us.
Starting point is 00:34:05 I know where it's going. I know where it has to be going. The 18 content warnings, tell me where this is going. What I wouldn't give to just have them be like more of like a Looney Tunes character and just has like a cast iron skillet and he just beats the shit out of the children
Starting point is 00:34:19 with the cast iron skillet. That would be so much more digestible. Ping, peep! I would be thrilled if he dropped an anvil on one of the kids. Oh, God, absolutely. That would be, that would hit like a drug at the moment. It would be awesome.
Starting point is 00:34:42 But no, we don't get that. No, absolutely not. She gripped the wooden spoon in her hand until her knuckles went white, watching as Tommy crouched and cupped Stephanie's body with his. he took her hands in his from behind and guided her arms and waist his cheek pressing gently against my sisters fuck bum beat his ass i imagine though that like tommy's like a like a some monster right you can't kill him i'm assuming that he is wearing a costume or something i'm assuming that there is something inside i don't necessarily believe that he is actually just a doll i think it is some kind of entity that is
Starting point is 00:35:27 up as a man. Hensing that also, I'm thinking that as a predator standpoint from the story that I think it's trying to do is that monsters wear mass or whatever. Yeah, yeah. Predators wear masks and stuff, which is why I think. I think it's supposed to be uncanny, like that reason, but I do think, like, I don't know if it's going to be paranormal. I don't know if it's going to be, I don't know what, how, what, what avenue they're going,
Starting point is 00:35:51 but I do think it is like something that is not human. Tommy Let her learn on her own Mom said her voice shaking Tommy didn't even look at her Just kept guiding my sister I can hear my father coming down the stairs freshly changed from a day at the office
Starting point is 00:36:06 Tommy spun my sister And for the first time she knelt the twirl Her little feet twisting her body In a complete circle Tommy clapped his hands once And then leaned down and kiss Stephanie on the cheek Good girl Don't do that
Starting point is 00:36:21 My mother shrieked dropping the spoon her face draining of blood. I jumped in my seat at the table and swallowed hard. I didn't know why my mom was getting so upset. He was just helping her. Oh, you naive little son of a bitch. He's six. Yeah, that's the point.
Starting point is 00:36:36 They don't understand what's happening. Especially him six years old. What is with us reading stories that are representational of like childhood abuse? Why does that keep happening? There's a lot of horrifying things, whatever, but I just think, is there anything more horrifying than this? I mean, it's hard to pinpoint. I think I would transfer my paycheck to the author
Starting point is 00:36:59 if all of a sudden, Kyle from Barasca just walked in the door. I was like, yo, this chicken sucks. Yo, Mr. T's. Am I turn to dance with you yet? You've got sandwiches. It's on. I kissed a girl and I liked it by Katie Perry. He's like, damn, that, yo, that chicken smells sweet. In my mind, Kyle's there right now, making this better. Yeah, he's becoming my guardian angel.
Starting point is 00:37:22 He's my comfort character, yeah. He's the big safety blanket. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I also do deep down that it was a bad idea to yell at the new member of our family. It was the gut instinct of a child, a gentle warning that rumbled in my head. Tommy stood. One thing I do like about this story, though, is that he never blashes back out. He just laughs.
Starting point is 00:37:50 And that's how you know that he's like, that's the. wrong answer. Yep. Uh-oh, bad decision. Yeah, exactly. It's just like a little uncanny so menacing. So, so menacing. It's literally like a, uh, it's like a rattlesnake rattling their tail. Yes. It reminds me of that. Oh, man. My father was standing at the foot of the stairs now, frozen, unsure what to make of the confrontation. Megan, what's wrong? Yes. My mother's eyes never left Tommy. Spence, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending. Everything is all right. We know what the monster is We know what he did to our town
Starting point is 00:38:26 All those years ago I want him out of our house My father's eyes went wide Panic blooming in his face Megan He licked his lips Eyes darting back and forth at all of us Don't be rude
Starting point is 00:38:39 Tommy has been a big help My mom gritter teeth Stop that Stop pretending we want him here I can't watch this happen I want him out Very slowly Tommy walked into the kitchen
Starting point is 00:38:52 stood in front of my mother and he looked down at her his perfect blue eyes shining like crystal moons his voice was like frozen silk me would you come down to the basement with me i need to have a few words with you oh that's good my mother took a step back get away from me get away from my family you're not welcome here anymore she turned desperate eyes to my father Spence do something My dad raised his hands in a gesture of helplessness I could see he was terrified
Starting point is 00:39:30 What a pussy Fuck him dude Realistically Okay let's say that this thing is Some kind of monster demon I don't know what happened When Spence was a kid Maybe that maybe the prequel will lean into that
Starting point is 00:39:41 Right maybe like a whole town Like shot at him or something And it did nothing who knows right Sure But I would think You would be there just unloading into this thing Right? Sure.
Starting point is 00:39:54 I mean, the thing about it is that even if the, even if the action is futile, it's just the act of like you want these people, especially parents, especially the mom is actually being like, fuck this. I'm not doing this anymore. She's standing up for not only her family, but for, you know, or herself and her family. And now the dad is just like, oh, I don't know. You want him to like go up and be like, yeah, no, get the fuck out of here. And even if it's futile, they did the right thing. What if, hold on. What if, like, if someone does that?
Starting point is 00:40:25 If the family, if the family simultaneously, like, get out, what if he just kills the family? That begs the, well, here's the thing. It begs the question of, is it, is it worth figuring out? Like, is it worth dying over being in a perpetual tormented hell? Like, if you said it's only five years. He said it's five years. It's a long time. That is a long time.
Starting point is 00:40:45 But is that worth living for? I understand. You know? Well, that, I mean, that's just the thing, though, too. It just depends on how you, what kind of. If this is going down to the trauma that we're getting ready to go into, right, that five years could completely destroy a person's entire life, trust with other people. These kinds of things shape you entirely as who you are. I'm not advocating for, like, the death, obviously. I'm just saying that, like, it just depends.
Starting point is 00:41:10 Like, what kind of life have the mom and dad been living, right? This begs an interesting question I haven't really thought of. What level of pain would you allow? your family to go through if the alternative was they die. That's a... It's hard. That's a heavy... That is a heavy question, you know? Very subjective.
Starting point is 00:41:33 I mean, it just depends per person. You would like to think that if it's something that listen, if like, and so fucked up, if Tommy Taffy was a Looney Tunes character who's just like, I'm going to break your kids' legs, but they won't die. Yeah. And if it was just like
Starting point is 00:41:48 this torturous thing, I would probably be like, okay, I'm sorry. And like my kids would probably be like, you let that happen, but I'm like, well, it's better than you're alive, gone forever. You're alive. Versus, hey, this thing is going to fundamentally destroy your brain and like you'll never be able to trust any want to get. Like, it just depends. I don't know. I really don't know.
Starting point is 00:42:06 That's a loaded. That's like such a, yeah, heavy question for sure. It is an insanely uncomfortable question. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
Starting point is 00:42:14 Stephanie was watching from the living room. Her lip quivering. Eyes watering. I suddenly wanted to go comfort her, but I felt glued to my chair. come on now megan just a quick word fuck you my mother spat I gasped heart dropping into my stomach
Starting point is 00:42:31 I never heard my mother swear before and it scared me stiff man a kid in that situation that's what scares him oh man this is what I get for making fun of the dialogue being hammy at the beginning this is my fault well you what's funny is that they really only had that hammy dialogue for two lines yeah and then it's immediately it was just cheesy enough because This is, I like this back and forth.
Starting point is 00:42:53 Like, I think it's very suspenseful. Suddenly, Tommy grabbed my mother by the back of the neck. The smile never leaving his face and yanked her to the basement door. Spence! Stop him! Help me! My mother screamed, helplessly trying to remove Tommy's iron grip from her. Tommy shot my dad a look that froze him where he stood. I'm sorry, Megan. We need to do what he says.
Starting point is 00:43:20 He cried. What a fucking pussy. That's actually, that's so, ugh. I'm, I'm, like, depressed right now. This is, God. This, this was like a pound of bricks just thrown at me all at once. Stephanie was now openly crying, hands at her sides, tears running down her face.
Starting point is 00:43:41 I felt sick as I watched Tommy open the basement door and drag my mother down into the darkness. The door slammed close behind them. It was silent for a few minutes. And then the screams began. I never heard my mother scream before, and the sound of it shattered me. My father ran into the kitchen, scooped me up into his arms, and snatched up Stephanie and his other one. He marched us upstairs into his bedroom and dumped us onto the bed.
Starting point is 00:44:08 We sat huddled like that for hours. None of us speaking a word. My mother continued to scream. Finally, long after the sunset, we heard the basement door open. Mom's sleeping in the basement tonight. Tommy called out. Wow. Let me ask you,
Starting point is 00:44:25 are you as upset with the dad as I am? Yeah, yeah. I think that guy should be dead. Yeah, 100%. I think here's, okay, realistically, let's say this guy, let's say Tommy is like a demon or, you know, something adjacent, right?
Starting point is 00:44:37 You can't kill it. What you would do if he grabs your wife is you take the kids outside, tell them to run, tell them to go, you know, wherever, something like that. Yeah, and then you go down there and you help her. And you burn the house down. You go down there, like if that, if you can't kill this thing, well, guess what?
Starting point is 00:44:54 Good luck coming to a house that doesn't exist, right? Like, yeah, the most you have to do is save the children. Because even then, I think your wife, what your wife would be like, if we could try to get rid of this thing and it takes us out, at least they have a shot at doing, you know, I love living. I think so too. But I, my heart fell into my stomach when when she says, Spent, stop him, help me. And my mother screamed helplessly trying to remove. Tommy's iron grip from her.
Starting point is 00:45:22 Tommy shot my dad a look that froze him where he stood. It almost made, I read that and in my mind's eye, it made me think that he was walking right in front of him. Like they're not across the room. Yeah, he's standing next to him. Yeah. And he just does nothing. At what point, too, after a thing like that,
Starting point is 00:45:37 would you ever be able to trust your spouse again? You wouldn't be able to. I think she's dead. Or, well, the dad. Oh, no. The next line talks about the mom. No, I was saying I thought that the mom died there. She's sleeping in the basement tonight, but no, she's not.
Starting point is 00:45:52 I read it. I read it like he was just doing something, some kind of torturous act to her. And she's either blacked out or she's on the verge of death. But he's like, oh, she's sleeping in the basement tonight. Because I feel like if he would have killed her. I think he would have just been like, we're going to have to find you a new mom or something like that. What happens if you just leave, right? What happens if like, well, you just start driving?
Starting point is 00:46:13 Well, I think that I think the idea is at least what they pointed out with this being a generational thing. I don't think it really matters where you go. he's going to show up you're sure but if it's a five year gap why not just like i mean i would game it you know you stay in public spaces for five years if need be right right i don't i don't know man like it that some way other than putting your kids upstairs making them hear their mom scream you know yeah no i think it's it once again becomes a subjective thing where obviously i think it's easier like in a in a way of reading a story or like watching a movie it's easier to just be like just move but that's you know how hard that is also what kind of wife is that for your kids too but the alternative here is your wife gets brutalized in the basement while your kids listen well no no no I'm saying you should have done something like be homeless like go lay on a public street where there's witnesses or something right sure no I mean you're you're not wrong I think it's just one of those things where it's like I don't know he just showed up randomly one day so maybe from how I'm looking at it as well I'm wondering if they're just like oh we just need to let him
Starting point is 00:47:18 do what he wants and he'll leave again for who knows how long. So who knows? March 1991. Two years passed. After that night my mother never resisted or talked back to Tommy again. She came out of the basement the following morning. I expected
Starting point is 00:47:34 to see her covered in bruises and blood. But I could see no visible signs of violence. I was too young to understand what had happened. Why my mother now walked with a limp and would for the rest of her life. She didn't speak to my father for a month, and even then it was just enough to get by.
Starting point is 00:47:53 I noticed my father crying a lot during those two years. I didn't know what was happening to my family, but I kept my mouth shut and obeyed the rules. Listen to Tommy. Don't talk about Tommy to others. What do you think happens if you talk to Tommy to others? Do you think it's something where it's like... Maybe you pass it on. Yeah, does it pass on, you think? Could. Could be for sure. Or if you just find out about it, do you just get punished even more? etc.
Starting point is 00:48:19 Yeah. I think at the end of the day, if this is some kind of like what's the memetic parasite or whatever. Yeah. Then keeping it to yourself probably is the best move.
Starting point is 00:48:30 Maybe that's why you don't go into public with it, right? Like what I said like going to public, maybe then it infects everyone else, you know? Well, that's why I'm like,
Starting point is 00:48:40 I'm wondering if there's more than one. Because remember, she said, remember what it did to our town. Yeah. Yeah. So maybe it did. Maybe if you see it, it does infect you.
Starting point is 00:48:50 Maybe that's why the father won't leave the house. Multiplies. Yeah. Does what, I mean, who knows? Oh, man. Things went calm during those two years. Tommy continued to give us life lessons and be a part of our home. No one but my family knew he was living with us.
Starting point is 00:49:04 He was our secret. The dark star that hung above our heads. I learned to smile around Tommy, as did my sister. If he thought we were happy, he seemed more relaxed. That night, my mother challenged him. That changed. something. Every couple months, Tommy would assert his authority
Starting point is 00:49:22 over my parents. He would test them, stretch the limits of their patience and nerves. Most of the time, my father and mother would humbly submit to whatever mind game he played with him. Most of the time, he would do or say something to Stephanie or myself. It always made me uncomfortable.
Starting point is 00:49:41 Sometimes he would have us sit on his lap while he stroked our hair. Sometimes he'd sing strange songs to my sister about about love. Sometimes he would make us take a bath together while he watched. Well, okay. You key.
Starting point is 00:49:59 I blame you, Hunter. This was. I will take blame. Yeah. I've already jumped off the edge of the cliff. I'm, I've,
Starting point is 00:50:12 I, I offer myself. I always put on a brave face during these times. Stephanie was young still so she wasn't as bothered as I was it was uncomfortable and I would look to my parents for guidance with pale faces they nod silently and I continue whatever activity we were forced into doing it was in the early part of 1991
Starting point is 00:50:34 when the next awful thing happened to my family Tommy pushed the limits once again I'm like I'm sad I'm upset and I'm disappointed this is terrifying and this podcast is called creepcast you know what good good game there but well you what's crazy is i feel disgusted but i am still intrigued by the character it is it is a fascinating it is an insanely fascinating monster i agree so i rubbed sleep from my eyes and looked at my race car clock on the wall the glow in the dark hands read 2 a m i could hear
Starting point is 00:51:12 something in the hallway outside my room it sounded like someone crying Where was Tommy? I checked the dark corners of my room to make sure he wasn't there, watching me sleep. When I was assured he wasn't, I pulled the covers away and slipped to the floor. I crept to my door and looked out into the darkness.
Starting point is 00:51:30 I could see a figure setting on the floor by my sister's closed door, a person. I squinted in the black and realized it was my father with his hands over his face. He was sobbing, his back against the wall. Dad! I whispered.
Starting point is 00:51:44 My father looked up and immediately, Shoot me back into my room. I just stood there as my eyes adjusted to the night. My father's face was a mess of blood and bruises. Go back to bed, Matt, please. I took a hesitant step out into the hallway. Dad, what happened to your face? What's going on?
Starting point is 00:52:02 Did Tommy do that? My father's eyes went wide and he shushed me. No, no, of course not. Don't say just things. Tommy is a... He's here to help us be a better family. I walk closer to my dad and froze as I passed my sister's door. Oh, fuck you
Starting point is 00:52:19 I fucking This dad is officially my least Like I I'm not even joking Like the actual I'm actually fucking mad Like I do this dad I fucking hate them At least have the balls
Starting point is 00:52:32 To kill yourself I would say in the way of having the balls To kill yourself I would say by trying to stop Yeah yeah that's what I mean Like if it's a final resistance Or whatever right Strap C4 to yourself
Starting point is 00:52:44 Like go in there like that's yeah well seriously though like it's unfucking believable and now he's just sitting outside the door he's here to help us fuck you dude especially like it's the thing the worst thing that could happen is already happening so it's just like
Starting point is 00:53:01 it's like for I don't know brainwashed fucking loser yeah it's it says the story says that he hears cries coming from his sister's room and then the the boy whatever his name is whispers go ahead Dad, what's wrong with Steph?
Starting point is 00:53:19 My father wiped a trail of blood from his lips, eyes watering, anguish stretching his features. Come here, Matt. So wait, are they trying to insinuate, too, the blood that he tried to stop him, and that's what happened? Yeah, I think that's what he's saying, yeah. I see. I crawled into his outstretched arms as something loud, banged against the wall from my sister's room. Oh, my God. Okay.
Starting point is 00:53:38 Well, no, that, that means that, like, she got thrown, right? right right like he's like he's beating her right yes that's that's what it was he's picking her up and just throwing her again shelves and shit in the room that's when tommy taffy started making every room in the house a w wwee ring watch out watch out watch watch out watch out watch out hey step it's like dive straight into her it's funny if you imagine the dad is like uh randy savage Oh, yeah, that's the wrong answer, brother. The mom's screaming downstairs is her getting, like, thrown into the garage door.
Starting point is 00:54:23 Excuse me, Megan. Did I see you in the basement, me, queen? They've completely renovated it till it'll be like a fucking giant stadium down there. At the end of the story, the kid goes down there and it's like a rope ring, like. Vince McMahon is down there, and he's like,
Starting point is 00:54:39 you beat Tommy Taffey, You get a contract, kid. We're getting extremely ahead of ourselves. No, well, this is good, I think. It's the better. It makes me feel better. I would rather the kid be getting like Batista bomb to death than dealing with, yeah. Okay, so I crawled into his outstretched arms as something loud banged against the wall.
Starting point is 00:54:59 I jumped to my father, curled me up into his chest. I could feel tears drip onto my head as he fought back misery. Tommy's in there, isn't he? Yes, son. I looked up into his blood. bloody face. What did you do, Dad? He tried to smile.
Starting point is 00:55:14 His face wouldn't cooperate. He wanted to do something with your sister I didn't like, and I told him no. As he spoke, I realized I could hear my mother crying from the bedroom. Dad kept his hand under my chin. We can't say no to Tommy, okay? Remember that? Yeah, yeah, just like, just, um, try to punch it to death. Do some, let it kill you, like any scenario other than.
Starting point is 00:55:40 what how is this dad how does any self-respecting father still have the ability to walk like he hasn't had his spine snapped and he's setting outside crying yeah that's what that's what I'm saying is I'm so upset is that he's like sitting outside the door that's literally where it's happening yeah like the worst imaginable thing that could happen to your daughter is happening in the other room and you're just sitting there like a little bitch being like ooh hoo ooh I try to my god he hit me a couple times in my face It's like, fuck off, you see? Unfucking believable.
Starting point is 00:56:13 It would only be respectable if the dad, if every bone in his body was broken. Yeah, yeah, that's what I meant like his spine was snapped. Yeah, like he's paralyzed. He's a, he's a vegetable now or whatever. That would make sense. I'd be like, okay, well, you know, that's a good effort. Yeah. The dad, you gave it a good college try.
Starting point is 00:56:31 That's pretty good. That's respectable. He's a for effort. My sister screamed from her bedroom, a shrill piercing cry that took me to my soul. I grabbed to my father's arm. Why is he here? Why can he just go away? My father was silent a moment.
Starting point is 00:56:45 Then he lowered his mouth to my ear. Listen to me, Matt. This is very important. When you grow up, do not have children. He follows those with children. If you knew that, why would you have kids then?
Starting point is 00:56:56 I fucking hate this guy. Wait, hold on. Hold on. You knew it would come back specifically if you have children and you had kids. You had two kids. To know that too,
Starting point is 00:57:07 I'm going to declare it right now and I don't, I want to put it up for a I hate this guy. This is the worst character. This is the worst. This has to be the worst character we've ever had to sit through. Yeah,
Starting point is 00:57:17 as far as like the way it's written because it's so long. I don't know if this is more cowardice than evil. I would maybe consider the main character's father from Barasca maybe worse because he willingly sold his daughter into it, you know? True. But here it's just that here it's because we have to live with it, you know. It keeps coming up. I would say, okay, well, let me say they're on the same.
Starting point is 00:57:40 tier, is what I would say. Yeah, yeah, I would agree with that. Because the other guy is, he's cowardice and he sold in his daughter. And yeah, he felt bad about it, but still, fuck that guy from Barasca. But even this guy here is he's a coward. But he knew he could have prevented. I feel like it's more evil because I feel like I know he could have prevented it. Yeah, that line about don't have kids makes it.
Starting point is 00:58:01 Makes it worse. Yeah. It makes it. I'm fuming. I could see if like at the end of like his story, they thought they killed it or something like that. Yeah. Yeah, there's no redemption this guy can have, I don't think.
Starting point is 00:58:14 I don't see a scenario. I mean, even if it does result in the death of your family. Also, I just want to say, how fucking crazy is this, dude? That your brother is sitting in your dad's arms outside of a room where the worst thing ever is happening. And now he's, he's having this conversation here. Like, hello? I don't know. I shifted in my father's arms as something was dragged across the floor from the other side of the wall.
Starting point is 00:58:37 Maybe the child is just getting beat up. In my mind, I feel like I have, I have, once again, the Batista bombing, the cast iron skills. That is what I'm doing. The getting hit on the wall and dragged across the floor sounds like, like being thrown, beat up, stuff like that, right? So, yeah. Yeah. My father grid his teeth, more tears spilling. We don't know who he is or what he is.
Starting point is 00:59:00 He came to our town when we were little boys and girls. Just like you and Stephanie. Your mother and I lived two houses down from one another. Tommy infested our street. I don't know how. He was everywhere, always. He'd be at my house, but also across the street. And also at your mother's all at the same time.
Starting point is 00:59:25 I don't know what else he wants. What his purpose is. He just showed up one day. He just showed up. It won't go away. God knows my father tried. Is that how Grandpa died? I asked.
Starting point is 00:59:40 I'd never met my grandpa. Just knew he had died years before I was born. My father nodded. Yes, Matt. Tommy, Tommy had to teach him a lesson. He had to teach the entire street lesson. And after that, after that, why can't you just kill him?
Starting point is 00:59:59 I whispered ever so softly. My dad brought his mouth closer to my ear, his voice barely audible. We tried. We tried everything, we burned him, shot him, cut him to pieces. But it never worked. He always came back, knocking at our door, and someone had to pay. Someone always has to pay.
Starting point is 01:00:25 If we didn't follow his rules, someone had to pay, Tommy was our secret. He was our invisible monster, hidden from the outside world. deaths were covered up abuse was brushed under the rock but because we knew we knew if anyone said a word Tommy would make it bad for whoever had to face his punishment how does that paragraph make you feel I mean he's immortal I get it yeah use or whatever but I guess it's just the sheer fact of I still just think like so people are going to just let this thing happen because the power a B is just invincible. To me, I'm like, okay, well, I'm just not going to be a prisoner to this.
Starting point is 01:01:09 I'm not going to subject that. I also would not have children. If you can shoot it and it temporarily goes away, because it sounds like, you know, you cut it to pieces, there he is dead. And then a new incarnation of Tommy appears, right? Yeah, there's like different ones. And sure he makes it worse, right? So I think the best scenario is Tommy shows up and you blow his head off and you're like,
Starting point is 01:01:28 okay, go, go, go, go, go, right? Because if you make this public, yes, I think. I guess theoretically it would invest more people. But like, if Tommy is a supernatural being, then that means there must be someone out there who knows of him, right? Some ancient religion or something that can dispel him, right? And I think making it super public would cause a greater chance of that to happen. I mean, if nothing else, dude, go to the military.
Starting point is 01:01:54 Put yourself in like a 24, you know, if it becomes a public event, like go get in a situation where you have 24-hour like surveillance, watch, something like that, right? Any scenario other than crying in the floor while your daughter's in the next room. I just think I would rather be dead. Yeah, I think so, too. I feel like I would just, I do not want to have to live. Like, that is not a life that is a, it's a prison sentence. I mean, honestly, like, I know people have different definitions of like, you know,
Starting point is 01:02:21 morality, cause, purpose, stuff like that. But what are you that's close to human if that, if you just allow that to happen, you know? Well, yeah, yeah. I mean, what kind of actual human experience is that it's not? I mean, I mean, at that, yeah, you're, you're a dog. You're just, you're an animal that follows orders, sets when told to sit, stuff like that, yeah. I would not bring another life into this world, especially if I'm cursed or plagued with this thing. That is a luxury I do not get to have.
Starting point is 01:02:49 Sounds like he knew it would never go away and yet he had children. What a, what a monster. What a loser. That's, that's what I'm saying is it's a thing where it's like, oh, I loved your mother. You guys don't get to have that luxury. You don't. You could have someone in a companion who has been through the traumatic experience
Starting point is 01:03:07 that you have, right? But to procreate is the... Please kill yourself. Yeah, like... Literally. Actually, it's fucking... It's insane. Yeah, I'm...
Starting point is 01:03:17 I think I agree with you that at least emotionally, based on how it's portrayed, this has got to be the worst character. Now, that doesn't mean worst quality-wise because I think this is a very interesting story in written well. I mean, worst...
Starting point is 01:03:29 No, no, I'm just saying I am upset with this guy. Yeah, yeah. I think, like, morally bankrupt pieces of shit. And even to the mom's extent, too, like, I'm mad at the mom for even allowing that because now she, even as a kid, not that had, and like, if they knew that together, it's just one of those things where you're like, what the fuck? Even now with the case of her being like, oh, I'm going to stand up to it. You shouldn't have even done it in the first place.
Starting point is 01:03:49 Like, this should not even be a bridge you guys have to cross. Yeah, they're both wildly reckless. Yeah. I hate the father more just because I feel such frustration for him. But yeah, but you're right. if not the dad, the mom should have been like, no, duh. But at least the mother has done something heroic. She has had some level of like standing up to him, right?
Starting point is 01:04:12 And now this is the first time, technically we've read in the story where the dad is like beaten up a little bit. And he's just like, it's been years, years. And that's the first time. I don't know. Man, like, what's Tommy's respawn time? Like eight hours or something. All right.
Starting point is 01:04:28 Well, I'm in shifts now. I'm setting at the front door sniper rifle. Every time he walks up the driveway, I'm stacking bodies right there. It's kind of the end of Jeepers, creepers, too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They know when the monster's going to come back
Starting point is 01:04:41 and he's like, all right, I'm just going to be right here waiting for him. Whatever. It's normal. Just don't talk about it. Yeah, yeah. It's how this feels. Yep, I think so.
Starting point is 01:04:51 And I don't like it. I was sitting in my room with the door closed. It was almost dinner time and everyone was downstairs getting ready. I could hear time. Tommy laughing from the living room. I looked down to the magazine one of my friends at school had given me.
Starting point is 01:05:05 It was a playboy. Uh... Oh, no. You're a little too young to be reading that, brother. Oh, weird for it over the pages at school, giggling and ogling over the naked women scattered through the magazine. I'd never seen anything like it.
Starting point is 01:05:20 It was my first exposure to that world. It made my heart raise in ways I enjoyed, and I felt something weird, but pleasurable stirring inside of me. I'd ask my friend if I could borrow the magazine and he had let me. I adjusted myself on my bed and poured over the nude photos.
Starting point is 01:05:35 I couldn't believe women actually let people take pictures of them like this. I felt, I don't want to read that line. He felt the thing that you would feel. My heart was racing as I felt hot, my cheeks flush. I don't like where this is going,
Starting point is 01:05:51 man. If it gets too explicit, we'll, I'll read over it quietly and summarize. I was on the last page when I heard something from the doorway. What you got there, Matt? I whipped my head up, jumping, the magazine falling to the floor. Tommy's watching me from the door. I hadn't even heard him open it. Nothing.
Starting point is 01:06:11 I mumbled, snatching the playboy up and shoving it under my pillow. Tommy walked over to me. He he he he he he he he he he he he he. I didn't hear you come in. I mumbled, blushing. Tommy reached under my pillow and pulled out the magazine. It's not nice to lie. I've told you that. why were you lying to me mad i swallowed hard heart thundering against my rib cage i'm sorry i was him i trailed off miserably as tommy thumbed through the pages he glanced down at me do you like this i knew i couldn't lie to him again i nodded my skin
Starting point is 01:06:48 flush eyes on the floor tommy smiled and sat down next to me on the bed one okay one hand Yeah, one hand's touching his leg and Tommy says, do these pictures make you feel good? I didn't look at him as I nodded again. Suddenly, all right, yep, not reading that, not reading that, not, not, not, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The quote, no, oh, gosh, oh my gosh. Oh, no, no, no, do not go read this.
Starting point is 01:07:21 Do not go look this up. No, no. percent owner of Creepcast I am using my veto power of authority to say for I think the first time we're not going to read this section. I'm going to quietly read it as I continue to
Starting point is 01:07:36 react and then we'll summarize. Okay. I just got done reading it and I want to fucking throw up. Basically he was going to teach the kid how to have a loan time but he doesn't end up doing it and he kisses him with tongue in his mouth at the end. That's what a fucking
Starting point is 01:07:52 it just seems so unnecessary. This is like... Yeah, this is way too explicit. Yeah. I mean, that's bordering on snuff. I mean, like, you took a good thing and he used, we went too far. Just, let's just skip to the next part. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:08:06 So it actually doesn't go as far as it will. There is one part in there that I think is worth noting to what his existence is. His mouth tasted of rotting fruit and decaying meat. Weird. What a weirdest rotting fruit. It's almost like on the inside of this plastic. shell he's like a rotten corpse or he's like a uh and like a reanimated just like pile of flesh or yeah yeah yeah like he like he was some accursed like husk of meat given a shell right yeah yeah right
Starting point is 01:08:39 i think that's an interesting character but yeah this that whole segment is way too graphic no i'm not reading that yeah yeah i think if you're i'm gonna say if it's is there if you want to do it but i think for a public it just is unnecessary yeah i would it go read i mean the thing that you think what happened is implied. It doesn't go that far, but it's described in detail. Yeah, so. To the point where it's just like, I don't really know what that gets you. It's honestly, like, no exaggeration.
Starting point is 01:09:07 It's like porn dialogue, but in a very, like, a horrific, horrific scenario involving a 10-year-old, mind you. So, yeah. Yeah. No, thanks. So July 1994. As the day's march closer and closer towards July, my family developed a silent optimist. a desperate plea to make this all stop, to make it all go away.
Starting point is 01:09:30 My mother and father made sure there was no reason for another hard lesson. They've been over backwards for Tommy, begging through clamped teeth that we'd all make it to July without another incident. On July 3rd, we woke up to find Tommy Taffy was gone. Five years to the day. Woo!
Starting point is 01:09:46 He's gone. Yippee! We couldn't believe it. He had simply vanished overnight. We checked the entire house. My mother weeping tears of relieved joy that the nightmare was finally over. Overchecking every inch of the house
Starting point is 01:09:58 three times over. We met the living room bracing one another as a family. Tommy had moved on. The sentence was over. Like you said earlier, does it not almost be even more effective if you just stopped the part where I looked up or it's just like what you got there? And then it just cuts to that.
Starting point is 01:10:15 As the days march closer and closer towards July, infinitely works better. Let you imagine what happened. Let you imagine the tear. Yeah, I think so. You've completely cheapened everything that you were trying to do there by doing that. And like it's upsetting and it's gross, but I don't think it's effective. You went too far to get the shock value moment. Yeah,
Starting point is 01:10:32 I think so. Yeah, I don't think, I think this story becomes infinitely better if you, if you remove that. You know what I mean? You don't, it's just gratuitous to be. You don't need to describe it. It goes into snuff. I mean, it's unnecessary. Yeah, yeah. I agree. My father called out of work and we went
Starting point is 01:10:47 away for two weeks to the beach. During those two weeks, I kept expecting to wake up with Tommy standing over me. That her fix smile on his face, but he didn't. It was over. My parents did their best to rebuild our family, fill in the cracks that had been going during those long years, and loved them dearly for it, but some monsters just can't be forgotten. I don't know what Tommy Taffy was or where he came from. I don't think I'll ever know. What was his purpose? Why did he do those awful things to us? I pour over the possible answers until my head splits and I find myself crying. Memories too much to dig up.
Starting point is 01:11:23 Some things are just left dead in the past. But I've forgotten what my father told me in the hallway that awful night outside my sister's room. I'm 33 now and have remained unmarried and without children. I can't risk it. Good man. I mean, it sucks, but yeah, absolutely. I can't risk that monster coming back into my life.
Starting point is 01:11:41 I've never understood why my parents chose to have kids. Thank you. They both have been exposed to Tommy during their childhood. So I have Stephanie and I. Maybe they didn't believe he'd come back. But I believe it. and I'm terrified because you see
Starting point is 01:11:55 yesterday my sister gave birth to twins. Oh no! Oh! Oh, God. If you just would have removed the snuff part from that, this becomes a top tier one. That's a great ending.
Starting point is 01:12:11 That is the ending to this. I didn't even consider that. That is so... That she never heard. She never heard that message in the hallway. Exactly! She wouldn't know. She wouldn't know.
Starting point is 01:12:22 no, she'd think it was over. The dad's so fucking incompetent. Of course, he's not going to, hey, in the five years, I'm just not going to tell her. Why would you? Oh, man. And they tried to not bring it up, so they never told her. And then she had kids.
Starting point is 01:12:35 Oh, man. What a great ending. What a great ending. What a solid ending. Man, I got to say, for especially, it's a great length, too. Yeah, that's perfect. That's perfect. Really easy read.
Starting point is 01:12:49 If you get rid of the snuff thing, I dare I say, that's a top contender. It's top three, I think, without it. With it, I don't know. It drops more to the middle because it just, it just went too far. It took the biggest thing the story had going for it, the nuance around what was happening and then like spelled it out too much. You didn't need that. Yeah, it's like, it's just one of those things where it's like, dude, I get it.
Starting point is 01:13:10 Yeah, yeah. It's like, oh, really? That's what was happening? I didn't know. Yeah. I think if you read it the way you said with just skipping. I think it just flows better. Also, I want to say, too, if you read it that way, too,
Starting point is 01:13:23 Like, I don't know what Tommy was or where he came from. I don't think I'll ever know what was this purpose. I think if you do that and you keep it all ambiguous, I think that it makes this entire last preamble hit so much harder. Oh, as I pour over possible answers, I find myself crying. Yeah. Too much to pick up. That's what it was.
Starting point is 01:13:41 That's what it was. Because it's like, obviously something traumatic happened, right? I don't think as the reader, I need to have that all spelled out to me. I think that that allure of the imagination from reading this is you're opening up so many questions and doors that I think make it more impactful. But that last end part, you know, I don't want to keep harping on it because I know this. Like, we get it. It's bad. But what a great fucking ending.
Starting point is 01:14:04 Because you see yesterday, my sister gave birth to twins is crazy. I've reading the replies right now because, you know, there's Reddit comments. It's someone. So it's like, I don't know if I've ever hated something as much as I hate Tommy. And then quotes the part about the, the abuse to the daughter. and says, seriously, screw that guy. Yeah, yeah. Like, like, no shit.
Starting point is 01:14:25 Really? It's definitely some 10 year old who was like, who else that was kind of weird when he pinched your cheeks? Yeah. What a jerk. That guy is a meany. Also, we, I don't know if we,
Starting point is 01:14:38 so this is about eight years old, this first one, and it's by someone named Elias underscore Withrow. Withrow. Yeah. They link their, they link their Facebook at the bottom. Well,
Starting point is 01:14:49 well, obviously. leave that in the description stuff, but I got to say for a monster that is personified to be something about what I would say is generational trauma in that way, or especially how trauma like that can repeat itself, I think is extremely effective. I think it's like very, very creepy. It doesn't go too over the board with it, but I like the one little, if you could have gotten that, if you could have gotten that description of the rotting fruit and meat, put it somewhere else. In a different way, I think that would have been nice because I like that. I like that it was just like a little it was a little spice yeah yeah if each time you heard something different about him i think it
Starting point is 01:15:24 would personify him too much i think that like his outer appearance is already so uncanny i mean honestly even too picturing him as a giant funko pop character like fucked me up not having a lie put it somewhere where um like like he gets too close to his face and his breath smells like rotting made or something like that yeah exactly that makes sense yeah otherwise than that though at the same time i do i guess if there was criticisms about him, I do wish that there was more to his character besides just being this creep, which I think even if you're trying to do something
Starting point is 01:15:57 where you're trying to make a monster personified over that kind of subject matter, I kind of wish that there was just a bit more with him. Because the entire time, it was very kind of one-noddy of like caressing cheeks, like putting fingers through a hair. At one point, it was just one of those things where I'm like,
Starting point is 01:16:16 what exactly is this end goal? Like, what is the purpose of this guy? And I wish that there was maybe something that made a bit of sense in that regard. I think I'm okay with no purpose per se, because you can imagine it as like a curse. Maybe that befell people. You could imagine it as like maybe it's some kind of like, maybe it's a demon that just does this to like random victims or something like that. Sure. I don't think it needs a purpose per se.
Starting point is 01:16:43 I think maybe it needs, it needs a finale. Do you mean by that it just needs better closure than being like, oh, we woke up and he was gone? More so there needs to be a final step, I think, after the five years. Maybe even if it's something as simple as like there's a ruin carved on the door. I mean, maybe that makes it too expressly old world deity. Maybe like when the five of them leave, they all have like a branding. They wake up with a branding on their chest or something. It's something that implies like a finality to it.
Starting point is 01:17:18 Because otherwise it makes it seem like Tommy in the last week was like, well, I guess I'll just, you know, wait out my tenure and then I'm on to another house. You know, you've been marked. You know, by doing that too, it's something too where if you've been marked, you can never remove the mark. Like, it's permanently on you, which is also kind of another. Which leads back into the trauma thing. Exactly. It's something that it was forever staining you kind of thing. I think is interesting.
Starting point is 01:17:41 Yeah. Well, let me ask you this. Is there a way to where if you could do it, if it is a curse, right? Is there a way you could break the curse? See, that would be the, or like a thing of like you have to do some kind of ultimate sacrifice to do it. Like I forgot what show it is, but there's one where it's like you have to cut off your fingers. You have to cut off a finger and it like it counts as you paying a debt. So if you don't do it, you have to like endure all this stuff or you could just cut off one of your fingers, which, you know, in something that isn't, it would be hard to like just be like, I'm going to just cut off my finger because, you know, that would suck.
Starting point is 01:18:15 But for something like this, could there be something better or something? Maybe it is castration. Maybe you have to castrate yourself. Yeah, yeah. Something with actual weight where you're like, holy fuck, like that would be hard. Do you think that that would add to the story? Or do you think that like it just being a five-year curse
Starting point is 01:18:29 where there is no rhyme or reason to it? But you are just a marked one is more horrifying. I think it being a five-year curse you can't get out of is a terrifying thing. Again, I just think there needs to be some kind of like final swoop to it. Not that we have to understand it, but that it's something that Tommy understands. I just picture that his,
Starting point is 01:18:47 much like a cartoon character his teeth would be it's just like one large chunk kind of like an old cartoon network character or something. Yeah, most people depict him as a like a
Starting point is 01:19:03 kin doll basically. Oh, interesting. I wonder if the pictures I see are. I wonder if the blonde hair thing has to do anything with like if it's just if that's inspired all by like Jimmy Saville or whatever if you do remember him at all but he was like a notorious child Predator in England.
Starting point is 01:19:18 Yep. Yep. I know you're talking about. I feel like that. I'm honestly glad we read the third parent first. Because then when we were first starting this, we had, his name was Tommy Taffy, was the next one. And then that one starts off with some of you may have read my son's account, the third
Starting point is 01:19:33 parent. And now it's all from the perspective of the mom. And that's going to be a lot more interesting of a read, knowing that. Oh, oh, okay. All right. So hold on. Oh, my gosh. All right.
Starting point is 01:19:43 So I found Elias, the author. author, Elias Witherow, I found his Reddit, right? And he has a compilation of all his stories. He did a short story a while back that I remember reading called Feed the Pig, which is like A Feed the Pig. It's pretty widely regarded. I don't remember all the details of it, but I remember liking it. When I was a kid, it's about like a man walking through hell, if I remember right? And it was pretty freaky, I remember. So he did Feed the Pig. So I have read his work before. And it turns out, looking at his subreddit, there are four parts to the Tommy Taffy series with what we just read being part one and then part two being the prequel that we started on earlier.
Starting point is 01:20:28 A little intermission here. So we are now going into his name was Tommy Taffy. This is now the prequel to the third parent, which this is all from the perspective, like you were saying, from the father of the last story, who is the most hated character in creepcast history. I'm already calling it. Definitely the most hated. I mean, like equal level of evil. as some mentioned, but not nearly as annoying. I agree, yeah. Yeah. And I will say about the first story,
Starting point is 01:20:54 great writing from Elias Withrow. Just like I said, just like a tweak about some stuff at the ending. Other than that, just stellar, very good. Amazing ending. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:21:02 One of the most powerful last couple of lines from some of the stuff we've read. Because I didn't even think about that. I didn't even consider the concept. Yeah. That didn't even, like it didn't even cross my mind. All the chaotic stuff happening that whenever that came back in,
Starting point is 01:21:13 it was just like another huge blow to the chest. Yeah. It's just like a hard. pitch straight to the chest. It's insane. Yeah. So we're now on to the part two, which is a prequel of the story effectively called his name was Tommy Taffy. So some of you may have read my son's account, the third parent, about what happened regarding the monster Tommy Taffy. After reading it, after crying over it, I felt compelled to write this. I'm not here to defend my actions. I'm not here to make
Starting point is 01:21:41 excuses. Yes, you are. I did what I had to so that my family would survive. No, you didn't. I knew what Tommy was capable of. I knew what we'd have to endure. Fuck you. The first thing I say, I have to read on that, I'm like, fuck you, boom. Get him off the stage. So help me God, if he sways me to, I'm going to be so upset.
Starting point is 01:22:05 But I also knew that if we could make it five years without pissing off Tommy Taffy, we'd come out of the nightmare alive. How did I know that? Because I'd already lived it. I'd already been exposed to what that thing, was capable of. I had seen Tommy's temper, had seen what pushed his buttons.
Starting point is 01:22:23 I'd already done my five years. Like I said, I'm not here to defend myself. What happened to my family is unspeakable, but we are alive. No, instead I'm writing this so you can understand why I did what I did. That's what an explanation is. Why I chose to let Tommy do what he did to my wife and children.
Starting point is 01:22:44 After you hear my side, after you read what I went through, then you can judge me God knows I deserve it I can judge you already for your actions dude that struck as those like Facebook post
Starting point is 01:22:56 girls will do that'll be like only God can judge me you know like yeah and say whatever dude Tommy first arrived
Starting point is 01:23:03 on my street when I was seven I was an only child and lived with both my parents in a middle class neighborhood it was a mellow slice of the American dream like a cut of apple pie
Starting point is 01:23:13 under a smothering layer of vanilla ice cream fuck you also I want to say do you think he was more surprised too because our Matt in the original story was six so do you think that they were surprised because maybe they were like he shouldn't be coming for another year if he was seven
Starting point is 01:23:26 I understand how so the only way I fully think that Spence knew Tommy Taffy was coming for his kids is if something happens in this story where an adult tells him oh he comes every so so years whatever right if this was his only interaction
Starting point is 01:23:43 I would almost understand being like oh well I guess that just happened once right like you don't know it's generational I think there's going to be people on the street that are like oh well they're gonna I feel like the rules are going to be explained to others and it's passed on to him and that knowledge probably I think is going to happen I got to say this Tommy taffy's a pretty interesting like a horror movie creature right like you mentioned cheaper creepers earlier but it does remind me of that a lot like generations have to prepare for it and stuff yeah no I think so too I think I'm very curious I mean we saw in IMDB there is a third parent film I don't know if it's super indie or what, but I wouldn't mind checking it out.
Starting point is 01:24:17 Yeah, that'd be cool. I'd watch it. The concept has me sold. I think it's a terrifying idea. Like, he has to live in a visual is really fun too. Our street was in a secluded residential neighborhood in the far corner of our sprawling development. There were six houses in total, and we were a tight-knit bunch, both the parents and children. In the summers, we'd have cookouts, and in the winters, we'd have Christmas parties. It was almost like our block was one big family. everyone looked out for one another everyone was generous and considerate it was a different time when people trusted one another but our picture perfect life shattered when he arrived i'll never forget it we began july nineteen sixty nine i had just gone to bed my seven-year-old mind exploring my imagination turning thought into dream the moon was a warm slice of yellow in my window an expanse of stars winking down at me as i drifted off to sleep
Starting point is 01:25:12 imagine being this descriptive and this flavorful with your text explaining why you let your children and wife get raped by a monster hello what a fucking psychopath i know that my wife and daughter were horribly abused by this monster yeah my block was like an apple pie you'd say almost like the vanilla my seven-year-old mine exploring my imagination turning thought into dream the moon was a warm slice of yellow in my witness like shut the fuck up dude god I don't. I hate him so much. I could hear the TV in the living room, a comforting reminder that my parents were still awake and the monsters under my bed would stay away tonight. That's when I bolted awake by a knock at the front door downstairs. It was such a sharp contrast to the comforting murmur of the TV
Starting point is 01:25:58 that my mind went on full alert as the noise echoed in the house. Set up in bed, irritated, clutching growls, my teddy bear. I heard the heavy footsteps of my father walked to the door, probably expecting a neighbor. The familiar creak of the front door was followed by the muted murmur of conversation I hear my father's voice speaking interrupted on occasion by another male voice
Starting point is 01:26:19 I didn't recognize my mother joined the conversation and I could hear my father getting angry okay so it sounds like here his father does not know who Tommy is right yeah I don't think so and he's having an actual rational like response to it and we do know from the previous story
Starting point is 01:26:33 you can't come in my house what are you talking about yeah yeah and we know from the previous story that the dad died doing whatever So I'm hoping that's still remains a hero in this. Yeah. Yeah, I'm hoping. Minutes stretched on as the mysterious late night visitor continued to talk with my parents.
Starting point is 01:26:50 I slid out of bed and went to my bedroom door, peeking my head out to listen. I was still going to make out the words, but I could tell my father was getting furious. He started yelling and I heard him demand that the visitor leave our house or he was calling the police. It got very quiet then. So quiet, I could hear my heart beating in my chest. Then I heard my mother begin to cry. It was soft So soft
Starting point is 01:27:12 But it scared me The nighttime visitor was saying something to my parents His voice low My mother continued to sob After a moment My father said something I couldn't make out Immediately following I heard something slam on the wall downstairs
Starting point is 01:27:27 So hard the pictures in the hallway crashed to the floor I slept a hand over my mouth To stifle a scream, heart racing What was going on? My mother let out a pitiful noise and I could hear her pleading with someone. There was a scramble of feet
Starting point is 01:27:43 and then another loud bang against the wall. The intruder was saying something to my parents, his voice oozing with authority. I strained to make out the words, but it came to me in a jumble of soft noise. After another couple minutes of agonizing fear, I heard my father called down for me. My heart was a wild drum beat in my chest
Starting point is 01:28:02 and I bit my lip, hand shaking. Why did he want me? What was happening? My father called again, his voice trembling. slightly. It kind of reads like Tommy is mimicking his dad's voice. Oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see that.
Starting point is 01:28:17 Slowly, I pulled the door to my bedroom open and walked to the edge of the stairs. I realized I was clutching growls, my teddy bear. I could feel the soft of its fur growing damp. I looked down the stairs to the front door and I froze. Eyes going wide. The father was gripping his throat, wensing, tears in his eyes. Something I'd never seen before.
Starting point is 01:28:37 My mother had her arms wrapped around herself. moisture, staining her cheeks. But that wasn't what captured my attention. It was the stranger standing next to my parents, staring up at me. He was in his early 30s and wore a white t-shirt, which red and red font. Hi!
Starting point is 01:28:54 His hair was blonde and cut short, his two blue eyes, pools of glowing brilliance set in a sea of snow. And then I noticed the oddities of this intruder. His skin was impossibly smooth, clean, pink sheen of absolute perfection. His nose wasn't so much a nose as was a nub jutting out of his face.
Starting point is 01:29:11 His lips were twisted in a smile and revealing white strips where his teeth should have been. Hi, Spence! He called up to me, his voice cheerful. I'm Tommy Taffy. I'm going to be staying with you for a while. Clutch growls to my chest, quivering, begging my parents for guidance.
Starting point is 01:29:27 Instead, they cast their eyes to the floor, clearly shaken. I didn't know what was happening. It would have been said between them, but I could feel danger in the air, thick and malicious. Come on down here so I can get a good look at you. Tommy said, waving me forward.
Starting point is 01:29:44 My father's eyes suddenly met mine and I gulped. Even at that age, I could interpret the look he passed on to me. Be careful, son. Cautiously, I walked down the stairs, never letting go of my bear. When I reached the foot of the stairs, my mother reached out for me, but Tommy stepped in front of her, smiling down at me. He squat down and ruffled my hair, his immaculate skin, looking almost polished and waxed at this proximity. Cute little fella, aren't you?
Starting point is 01:30:11 Oh, who's that you got? Yeah,'s gesturing to my bear. His name's growls. Tommy grins. Of course he is. I'm going to help your parents for a while, so I'd like the three of us to be friends. Me?
Starting point is 01:30:27 You and growls? You think that'd be okay? Again, I looked to my parents for help, confused and shaken. I had no idea what was going on, who this was, why my parents look so scared. He seemed nice enough, but the way my father rubbed his throat told me otherwise.
Starting point is 01:30:45 Boop, boop. Tommy chuckled, knocking gently on my head. Hey, I asked you a question, Spence. What, wouldn't you do to my daddy? I whispered immediately wishing I hadn't. Tommy's mouth remained a frozen smile that his eyes darkened ever so slightly. my father reached out and grasped my shoulder Spence, son, it's okay
Starting point is 01:31:12 I'll talk you later about it for now Tom is going to he's going to he's going to stay with us and that was the start of a five-year stretch I can never forget. Okay so here's my theory the dad sees the guy at the door and is like what the heck, you know, get out and calling the police, whatever
Starting point is 01:31:31 and says the mom starts crying. I bet the mom experienced Tommy. Oh, and she had told him about him once before in the past. I wonder if he's like, oh, I know who this is from what your mom said. Exactly. I think that's why it said he shot a look at my mother because the dad had a normal reaction. He slammed the mom and the dad, right? Or did he just slam the dad twice?
Starting point is 01:31:52 I think it's just the dad. I think the dad was fighting and he just kept picking him up and throwing him into the wall. Yeah, like by his throat or whatever. Like maybe he tried pushing him. He just grabbed him and threw him into the wall. A few days passed and soon I learned through whispered inquiries Tommy Taffy had visited everyone on our street
Starting point is 01:32:09 he was in our home but also in theirs I learned this from my eventual wife Megan who lived across the street for me she told me that some strange guy was living in their house after she described him I deducted it was one in the same Tommy Taffy
Starting point is 01:32:25 I will say I know that this story was referenced in the first part but this is a cool sequel because it goes it's you know honestly reminds me of aliens and that it goes from like a singular instance to like several yeah yeah I mean this is something too where if the character depending on how one node he is it could be something to where it's just like he could be anywhere all the time generationally how does this thing just go about through the years yeah like it like it's um like a gen or something a malicious deal yeah yeah yeah
Starting point is 01:32:55 i didn't understand how it was possible but new to keep my mouth shut Tommy had sworn me to secrecy. He swore everyone to secrecy. This was enforced by my parents, who told me in hushed whispers to never tell anyone about Tommy. I could tell everyone feared him. I did too. There was something unsettling about his constant smile, his slightly off features, and the cool, enunciated way he spoke and laughed. I didn't know what he had told my parents to keep them from going to the police, why they were allowing him to live in our home, but it must have been terrible. Yeah, I do wonder what he would have said, right? I mean, yeah.
Starting point is 01:33:34 Because if this is like, if some of these people are like a patient zero of sorts, right? Or at least like they never knew about it as kids, then what could Tommy have said to them that made them just like live with it, right? Yeah. Yeah. You wouldn't expect every family to act the same too. Like there are probably some guy who's like, this is totally unacceptable and get killed right away.
Starting point is 01:33:54 Yeah. So I don't know. He has to say something to like lure them or like silence them, I guess. We were a hostage in our own house Of course, Tommy didn't keep us there But we knew he would be waiting Once we came back At night, Tommy would sit us down
Starting point is 01:34:10 And give us life lessons He would tell us how to be good people How to love one another I remember one time during the first week I looked out my front window Across the street into Megan's living room I saw Tommy there Speaking to her family on the couch
Starting point is 01:34:24 The Tommy in front of my family Stop speaking immediately And stared long and hard at me ooh then he went to the window and closed the curtains before continuing yo that's that's creepy that's pretty cool yeah like i love that visual it's just you and tommy and then when you perceive another tommy your tommy just like like big eyes stairs like drops it shuts the window yeah that's cool that's cool yeah okay this is a pretty good sequel so far because it's building off of concepts built in the first one without pulling away the punch right without like giving the monster away i'm waiting
Starting point is 01:34:58 You can just see what Tommy does and how that differs. Yeah. Because if it's the same thing over again, then I'm going to be, I think, disappointed. Uh, I think it'd be fine if it starts as the same thing, but I think the multiple Tommy's may lead into something interesting. Well, that's what I'm hoping. Yeah. During the evenings, as the fathers on our street came home from work, I'd see them meet
Starting point is 01:35:18 briefly in the road, muttering to each other and casting looks over their shoulders. There was a mutual terror shared between them, an unspoken knowledge that they had to keep Tommy secret. that getting the police involved would only lead to, well, nothing good. I imagine upon arrival that Tommy threatened our family and then showed some sign of physical dominance over the men. I remembered the banging against the walls and the way my father had gripped his throat.
Starting point is 01:35:43 But what the hell did he say to them? Why did they allow him to infest our homes? Well, a month later, I found out. They were plotting against Tommy. They were going to kill him. Cool. Base, base, cool, awesome dads. Yeah, that's more like it.
Starting point is 01:36:00 August, 1969. Again, I was awoken from slumber. I looked at my Spider-Man clock and saw it was after midnight. I scrubbed sleep from my eyes, grasping in the dark for growls. As I found my bear, I heard banging from downstairs along with several voices. I slipped out of bed and went to my door. The light downstairs were off,
Starting point is 01:36:20 but I saw beams of light cutting through the black. Flashlights? I called out from my parents, we saw their bedroom door was wide open. I knew they weren't in bed then More voices from downstairs followed Along with scraping against the hardwood floors I jumped as a bang shook the night
Starting point is 01:36:36 And then the voices faded Oh like a gunshot I imagine That's what I'm thinking Yeah There's people going into the basement I thought frightened Our basement was unfinished An expanse of empty cement
Starting point is 01:36:47 Why are they going into the basement I thought Silently assuming my parents were down there I crept to the first floor clutching growls to my chest sure enough the basement door was open and I saw light reflecting off the dusty floor I could hear my father's voice
Starting point is 01:37:02 and then the familiar voices of our neighbors they were speaking to someone they were angry my heart froze in my chest to someone laugh from the depths of the cellar making sure to not make a sound I slunk to the open door and descended the first two steps
Starting point is 01:37:20 to look out at the scene below me Tommy was bound to a metal chair in the middle of the room surrounded by the six pairs of parents that lived in our neighborhood. Their backs were to me, but I could see Tommy's flawless face gazing up at them. Megan's father was there, his face a mess of bruises and swollen flesh. His arm was in a sling, and it looked like his shoulder slumped like his back was in pain. I sucked in a breath as I realized one of the men was passing my father a pistol.
Starting point is 01:37:44 The women stood by their husbands with grim looks on their faces. There's no disagreement among the executioners. What a cool line. I love that. I'm just hype about the idea of like, you know, the women understand, but the men referred to as executioners. There were no, there's no disagreement among them. There's no doubt in their mind that they're all like, this motherfucker has to die. Yeah, kill it. Kill it right now. Yeah. That's so cool. It's time you leave our lives.
Starting point is 01:38:09 One of the men said, looming over Tommy. I recognized him as my friend Luke's father. We live two houses down. This is your last chance. Tommy didn't even struggle in his rope bindings. That ever present smile still on his face. He looked up at them. The overhead light illuminating his sparkling. blue eyes. I don't understand. I'm just trying to help all of you raise your children properly. I'm not going anywhere.
Starting point is 01:38:33 I look past between the parents and then my father put the gun to Tommy's head. You're not helping anyone. You're a monster. You can't come into our homes and threaten our children, threaten our lives. That's not how this works. All those threats you whispered to us while we were caught off guard. We'll look at you now.
Starting point is 01:38:52 My father spat on him. Pathetic. and now you'll get yours. My father shot him in the head. What a G! What a guy. Just bam, Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa.
Starting point is 01:39:03 Grandpa, grandpa. I love him. He's cool. The report was deafening and I almost screamed, slamming my head over my mouth at the last second. Tommy's head whipped back as the smell of gun smoke, spiked the air. It was silent for a moment.
Starting point is 01:39:17 And then, in horror, I watched his Tommy slowly raised his head to stare back up at my father. What the hell? One of the women breathed her voice shaking. There was no blood, no shatter of bone, nothing. Just a dark circle in Tommy's forehead where the bullet had passed. What the fuck are you?
Starting point is 01:39:36 Someone whispered. Tommy's eyes spun to the man who had spoken. I'm Tommy Taffy. And I'm not going anywhere. My mother suddenly pointed the corner of the room, her hand trembling. Gas. Get the gas. Megan's mother went to the far corner of the room and picked up a small round.
Starting point is 01:39:53 red can. I could hear the slosh of gasoline and I smelled it in the air. My father grabbed the can from her hand, his eyeed wide and never leaving Tommy. Without a word, he upended it over the bound man, soaking him. Tommy kept smiling. Another father passed my dad a box of matches. My father struck one, his hand hovering in the air. Go back to hell. Leave us all alone. Yeah. I don't care if it's over the top. I love the dialogue of the grandpa. That's awesome. Go back to hell. That's awesome. Tommy Grinned Wider.
Starting point is 01:40:29 Hell is going to seem like a fantasy when I come back for you. That's a sick rebuttal. I'm like, okay. Sorry, Tommy. The way he phrases it to when I come back. Yeah, like it's like, yeah. I'm not
Starting point is 01:40:45 fuck yeah. My father dropped the match and Tommy burst in the plane. He didn't scream. He didn't thrash. He simply burned. As his face began to melt, his eyes shifted, and suddenly he saw me. Woo, man. So he's just picturing his eyes and his, like, wax face just kind of like glancing over and seeing the kid. Yep, yeah.
Starting point is 01:41:07 He's like dissolving. And the laugh, like there, the laugh directed at him is like the kid shouldn't have seen this, right? Now he's made a mistake. Heart exploded in my throat. I fled back to my room, tears streaming down my face. from the safety of my bed I eventually heard the neighbors leaving relief in their voices
Starting point is 01:41:25 two weeks later Tommy came back oh shit so man okay for one I love this prequel this is great this is a great setup I love the direction I love the descriptions all that stuff
Starting point is 01:41:37 dialogue is sick dialogue sick it's fun it's cool it honestly does feel like aliens in the way so far it goes from like you know the horror to action almost but while still keeping a horrific tone I really like it
Starting point is 01:41:48 I like how Tommy is I don't know like he's like this is going to sound weird I guess he's a lot more manifested in this one like I like he's a lot more tangible yeah yeah they're doing more with him he isn't just like this omnipotent spirit like it's like he is but they are interacting with him
Starting point is 01:42:03 in a more fun way yeah yeah you can touch him more so yeah also um two weeks later that is a crazy long respawn time you can you can just kill him every two weeks yeah well let's see I'm curious to see what happens September 1969
Starting point is 01:42:19 we were eating supper, a sense of normalcy returning to our home. My parents never told me they had murdered Tommy, instead opting to inform me that his visit was over and he went back home. I still caught whiffs of gasoline about our house, but kept my mouth shut. I was just happy my family was okay. Some was setting and the dying orange light filtered in through the living room window, stretching out across the floor to cover the dinner table. My mother and father set at opposite ends of the table, chatting about their days. I could tell they were still shaken, but I admired the way they They were trying to return their lives to what it had been before Tommy showed up.
Starting point is 01:42:54 Also, that's so cool. The idea of like a husband and wife for like, yeah, we burnt this guy to death in our basement. Anyway, how was your day? How was work? Well, they're just strong parents too. I mean, like, that's the thing is like they understand the what's best for their child. Like if they told him, what good does it do to like it's not going to help burden him with that. You know what I mean?
Starting point is 01:43:12 Yeah, yeah, they're cool. I like, I love the grandparents. As I shoveled mashed potatoes in my mouth, the front door exploded open. I spun around jumping as the wood splinter. and the hinges creaked. I dropped my fork. I was growing wide. It was Tommy and he looked furious.
Starting point is 01:43:28 Ooh, what does that look like? What does he furious look like, you know? Yeah, I almost think that it's just like no smile. Oh, what if he is smiling still? I don't know.
Starting point is 01:43:37 Go ahead. I almost picture Tommy mouth can actually not physically close in a weird way. Yeah, like it's always a half open smile. I agree. Yeah, like he was like an action figure. There's no, like,
Starting point is 01:43:48 he just is like, I don't know. Yeah, yeah. My parents' mouse dropped in unison, but before they could speak, Tommy marched towards us with alarming speed and up into the kitchen table. Dishes filled with food shedded to the floor, my father half rose, fear paralyzing him.
Starting point is 01:44:03 Without a word, Tommy grabbed my father by the neck and dragged him to the wall where he plowed his face through the sheet rock. My mother screamed and ran to aid my dad, but Tommy spun on her and punched her in the teeth, sending her crash into the floor. Feeling my bladder go, panicked clawing at my throat,
Starting point is 01:44:19 I watched as Tommy pulled my father, father's bloody head from the wall. Sputtering, dazed, my father tried to release himself from Tommy's iron grip, but it did no good. His eyes dark and his mouth clamped into snarl. Tommy clamped a hand over my father's throat and dragged him into the living room. Without stopping, he threw him through the window and out into the front yard. I was a mess of tears and terror. It's not bubbling from my nose as Tommy turned back to my mother and I. Now he was smiling. He went to my My stunned mother and hauled her up. You're going to need this.
Starting point is 01:44:53 You're going to need to see this. He said darkly. His lips curled in a grin. He looked at me and jerked his head towards the door. Come on, Spence. You too. He pulled my mother to the front door and pushed her outside. I had it moved.
Starting point is 01:45:08 My face frozen in a silent scream. Tommy looked over his shoulder and winked at me. Don't make me ass again, sport. Oh, and bring that broom behind you. Pulled off my chair by fear. I got up and dutifully grabbed the kid. kitchen broom and walked it to Tommy. My pants reeking of urine. Tommy put a hand on my shoulder and guided me outside to stand by our mailbox. I saw my father rolling in the grass, a mess of blood
Starting point is 01:45:31 and glass, my mother kneeling before him, weeping. Our neighbors were coming out of their houses, eyes wide, shock looks of horror on their face as they saw Tommy. Gather around! He yelled, motioning for them to come closer. Look at what you've done. I saw Megan at her doorstep across the street, face a pale sheet of snow. She looked at me and I saw her begin to cry, burying her face in her hands. Shocked to two obedience, our neighbors came and
Starting point is 01:45:59 stood around our tiny front lawn by the street. All eyes on my father and mother. This is your fault, Tommy said, meeting every one of their terrified faces. Suddenly snatched the broom from my hands. In what quick motion? He snapped the head off, tossed the duster aside,
Starting point is 01:46:16 and advanced on my father, gripping the splintered pole. My mother screamed and covered her bleeding husband with her body, but Tommy booted her in the face, wrenching my heart in the process. Up you go! Tommy growled, pulling my father up by the hair onto his knees. Glass jutting from his face, my father looked up at Tommy,
Starting point is 01:46:36 agony burning in his eyes. Don't worry. I'll take good care of your son. He raised the broken broom over his head like a spear and slammed it into my father's mouth. Down his throat until it erupted from his seat. stomach and plunged into the earth. Blood shot like a geyser out of my father and splattered Tommy's perfect features. My mother howled, her bloodshot eyes rattling in their sockets as my father gasped and then died. His lips wrapping around the broom handle jutting from his mouth. The neighbors
Starting point is 01:47:07 watching were paralyzed. A few of the women crying out at the sudden display of brutal violence. The men's faces were pale and shocked into silence. Megan's father leaning over and emptying his stomach onto the road. Blood dripping from his face, Tommy turned to face them. Eyes alight. I want you to think about this moment the next time you want to have a bonfire. Do I make myself crystal clear? All eyes were trained to the impaled figure of my father pinned to the earth. I said, do I make myself clear? Tommy repeated the smile dropping from his face. Everyone slowly nodded. Every eye wet with tears and wide with horror. Tommy threw a thumb over his shoulder. Now get rid of him.
Starting point is 01:47:49 I need to put his son to bed. I took a step back, tears flowing freely from my eyes, shaking to the core. Unable to stop staring at my dead father. My world swam and rocked. My vision of streaking blur of color. I felt like I was going to throw up, pass out, scream until I couldn't breathe anymore. Tommy was suddenly looming over me, sweeping me up in his arms. He pressed my shocked face into his shoulder and stroked my hair.
Starting point is 01:48:14 As we went into the house and up to my bedroom, heard a rumble in Tommy's chest he he ha ha ha ha ha ha yo damn what a crazy scene
Starting point is 01:48:29 yeah a front yard execution with the pole next time you want to have a bonfire like man who
Starting point is 01:48:37 good God what was that what's that part about there was a rumble in Tommy's chest well I'm just wondering if it's supposed
Starting point is 01:48:44 to be like his laugh is coming Like, I'm wondering if it's supposed to be something kind of uncanny. Like, it's not coming out of his mouth. It's almost like it's this thing inside of him. I see what you're saying, yeah. Or it could just be that his, his ears to his chest and just like the vibrato from his, like he could just hear him giggling.
Starting point is 01:49:00 Like, he didn't see it. He just heard him laughing. Man, Tommy is a terrifying villain. It reminds me of, like, at its peak, like the way the boys did Homelander. And like, you know, like, he can just kill whoever he wants and no one can do anything about it. Or like, uh, again, at its peak Negan during the Walking Dead.
Starting point is 01:49:18 Like you have these characters who can do whatever they want whenever they want and everyone just has to stand there, you know? Yeah. Which I think makes incredibly imposing villains. It's very scary. Yeah. It's the false sense of security with the fake facade of happiness. Yeah. Yeah. And then just immediately you're like
Starting point is 01:49:34 hey, but don't forget. And then they always like, they peak, you're able to peek behind the curtain a bit every once in a while and it's like, hey, by the way, I'm a psychopath. What's that part? Do I make myself clear? You know, Like that whole thing. Yeah, do I make myself crystal clear?
Starting point is 01:49:48 It's like so demeaning. Yeah, yeah. It's like, oh, you must not have heard me the first time. Allow me to retort and like skewers his dad, you know? Oh, wow. Also here, too. The next one is in June, 1973. So this is a four-year time jump here.
Starting point is 01:50:02 How do I describe the following three and a half years? Words don't. Can't make you understand what life was like for my mother and I. My father's murder was covered up by the neighborhood. And my mother, despite the crippling pain it must have brought her. when the police eventually came to investigate on request from his job, the story had already been carefully collaborated by the families. They told the police that my father had been cheated on my mother
Starting point is 01:50:24 and she had found out and then kicked him out. Lies about arguments heard were told, along with a few scenarios where the neighbors, quote, saw my father sneaking out late at night. Man, that's sad. Yeah, that's horrible. That's also I was saying, do you think Tommy had anything to do with that fabrication of that story?
Starting point is 01:50:40 This is what you're going to do. No, because it's the most believable, I think, for a group of people to come up with. Because if you say, you know, it was some kind of murder, the police are going to investigate, they're going to keep looking. You need them out of the houses. The scenario of a wife saying he was cheating on me and everyone else saying, yeah, we saw signs of it. That makes sense of like, okay, I guess he just ran off somewhere. It was also the 1970s. So it was more feasible to do something like that. Yeah. They're going to hear that. And they're just making, okay. Yeah. Sounds good. He's left ditch town. It was enough to get the police off our street. They saw the pain in my mother's eyes, but misinterpreted the source. Everyone was petrified of Tommy Taffy. The lies told in order to assure safety of themselves and their families. An example I'd been given, a lesson learned. Listen to Tommy Taffy.
Starting point is 01:51:26 Do what he wants. Pray, and one day he'd go away and leave our broken community. My father wasn't the only one who had been punished. I noticed a couple of the neighbors sporting broken limbs or bruised faces. I can't even imagine the lies they told the outside world to cover up the truth. Tommy was a haunting nightmare in our life. and we could find no way to get rid of him. The nightly lessons resumed, just my mother and I now,
Starting point is 01:51:52 sitting on the couch listening to our capture explain how to be good people. I was 10 then, and it made me sick, aged slowly clarifying just how dismal our situation was. But I kept my mouth shut. I kept it shut for my mother. The memory of my father's execution burned bright in my skull every day. The years that followed my father's death, marked a change in Tommy's habits.
Starting point is 01:52:18 He now slept with my mother. Every night leading her to bed after I was tucked in and told one last lesson about life. I would lay awake for hours listening to her cry from her room. Man. Dad's dead now, so I'm going to sleep with your mom. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:52:36 Gosh. Sometimes it'd be for a few moments, other times hours. He didn't always stay with her through the night, though. I remember times I'd wake up and he'd be standing in the dark corner of my room watching me sleep his eyes like shining oceans
Starting point is 01:52:51 other times he'd be staring at me through the crack in my door he'd stand there for hours just watching sometimes I'd wake up and to him sliding into bed with me always placing a cool hand on my thigh oh ha ha ha ha ha
Starting point is 01:53:08 he ready heart thundering fear ripping apart my sides, I'd always turn away from him. Breaking out in cold sweats. I still had growls, a constant source of childlike comfort. I'd hug him to my chest, tears running down my face until either the sun came up or exhaustion shut my brain down. We endured this silently, begging for it to end. Okay, that's so much more effective than how it was in part one. The visual, too, of him just like standing at peak, like smiling, looking in, standing there for hours at a creek door, a crack door is just such a haunting visual.
Starting point is 01:53:43 Yeah, I think that works so much better he's watching in. And then just the mention that he would crawl into bed with him and touch him on the leg. That is way more menacing than like the Hey, don't even wrong. It's still disgusting. Yeah, still in a way where it's palatable. Yeah, yeah, it's palatable.
Starting point is 01:53:58 And honestly, it's more menacing, right? Yes, yes, yes, yes, it's. Just like I said, the the scenario played out in the first one, which honestly, I think shows improvement on the rider, right? I think it's probably criticism as well or people being like this was, so I think
Starting point is 01:54:15 which we don't, the story is not over. I don't jump the down. Oh my gosh. I am looking down at the next paragraph and I was so wrong. Okay. We have another paragraph we're about to skip. All right, so we'll start reading it and then we'll do what we did last time. Okay. July, 1974.
Starting point is 01:54:32 I was 11. It was the fifth year to the day since Tommy had entered our lives. I sat in the living room reading a book while my mother prepared supper for us. She was pale and gaunt, the long gears wearing her to the bone. Her eyes were lifeless these days and had sunk into her sockets. Her cheekbones pronounced, skin thinly stretching over them. Grows lay on my chest as I reclined, trying to focus on my book.
Starting point is 01:54:57 Tommy was sitting in the chair across from me, watching. I turned to page and jumped as Tommy spoke. You really love that thing, don't you? I turned to Tommy. My book? Tommy shook his head, smiling. No, son. That bear.
Starting point is 01:55:16 I looked at growls on my chest and shrugged uncomfortably. I guess so. Tommy leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. Put your book down, Spence. Licking my suddenly dry lips, I obeyed. I noticed my mother was watching from the kitchen, looking alarmed. Do you know what love means? Tommy asked.
Starting point is 01:55:38 Filled with growls, eyes downcast. it means you care for someone very much Tommy shook his head No, no Good try He suddenly came and sat next to me Placing a hand on my leg Cressing it
Starting point is 01:55:55 Yeah, go ahead, read this next quote No Now I just read it Oh my God I know right He says something explicit That says his mom drops something in the kitchen
Starting point is 01:56:07 And then Tommy basically points and says do you want to do that explicit thing to your bear and then basically he says like and then he the narrator's like he heard about people doing that thing at school but doesn't know what it is and it says i suddenly jerked my head away and threw growls across the room openly sobbing now i don't love him i hate him i hate him i covered my face ashamed hands shaking i pulled myself into a ball and lay there sobbing i felt tommy get up next to me and turned to my mother. It sounds like he's learned his last lesson. I'd be proud of him if I were you. He's a man now. I looked up at him through tears soaked eyes. His eyes sparkled. It took five years. He suddenly
Starting point is 01:56:49 leaned down and cupped his mouth over my ear. His voice was cold glass, his breath hot like fire. Your little ones will get five years as well, Spence. And with that, he looked at my mother one last time and then walked out the door. My mother rushed me and took me in her arms, comforting me as I cried. Tommy never returned to our home. Okay, yep, Father Spence has no excuse. Absolutely zero. If that's the case, though, too, that if it's his last day, right, it has been five years. It took five years for him to learn that lesson is what it said.
Starting point is 01:57:21 So then I said, your little ones will get five years as well. What lesson did he learn, you think? About he doesn't actually love something if he doesn't have sexual interactions with it, is the implication. Do you think that's what the author is wanting to? to say tours or something else there? I'm trying to... No, I don't think the author's saying that I think he's... Well, what the... What he
Starting point is 01:57:45 was doing is the same thing he did with the son in the first story. Tommy is making him experience some perverted sexual thing for the first time in his life. Because the kid's 11. It's the age when, you know, a young boy starts to fill those emotions. So Tommy
Starting point is 01:58:00 like forces the kid into that. And you were... Okay. Like the lesson, quote unquote, is you know, like puberty, birds and the bees, stuff like that. Right. He's doing that in a very perverted, messed up way.
Starting point is 01:58:14 And he's like, okay, well, um, yep, five years is up by. Yeah. But having Tommy directly say, your little ones will get five years as well.
Starting point is 01:58:21 And then you have kids. Well, I mean, it's fucked up. I mean, the thing too is it's, what sucks about this is his dad went through that horrible public death
Starting point is 01:58:29 only for his kid to be like, I think I too will have children. Yeah, what a loser. The thing here, but he says it took five years for him to, say that, right? So Tommy says his eye sparkled.
Starting point is 01:58:39 It took five years. He suddenly leaned down and kept his mouth over at my ear. Your little ones will get five years as well. It almost seems like if it would have taken him longer, it would have gotten longer. Oh, I think you're right. You might be right. Yeah. Maybe that's how it works.
Starting point is 01:58:54 Maybe it's not a set five years. It's just dependent on person to person. Probably. Yeah, you could be right. Time passed and I grew up. I grew up always expecting Tommy to show up again, compartment through our front door. but he never did. The years faded, and some of the horror and pain began to fade as well.
Starting point is 01:59:12 We were never the same, though. How could we be? My mother was a shell of the woman she used to be. The mental torture she had undergone had broken something inside of her. She never regained. God, she loved me and tried to heal the nightmares of those five years. A full year passed before my mother dared ask Megan's mom if Tommy was gone from their home as well. He was. The neighborhood was free, impossibly, unbelievably, from the monster that terrorized us for five awful years. I never understood what Tommy's final words
Starting point is 01:59:42 were to me, what they meant. Until it was too late. When I turned 25, I married Megan. Year later we were expecting. You've heard the rest for my poor son. God forgive me for having children. God forgive me. Yeah. Duh, idiot. What I don't understand
Starting point is 01:59:58 with that too is if you have something that traumatic, I feel like, especially with something, we'd have to hear the perspective of Megan as well of like, did something similar happen to her as well because if it's like if the exact same thing happened to Megan as well I just feel like something would you would just be like I don't feel comfortable having children or having that go through them if they both had that thing happen but him directly saying that I feel like especially at somebody at that pivotal of an age I think would do irreversible mental damage to
Starting point is 02:00:28 you to where I feel like you would be disgusted with the idea of having children is what I would think you would think one would hope you would think you would Oh, yeah. Here's the thing, though, too. I think the overly sexually explicit graphic stuff, I think, is the only thing holding this thing back from being, yeah. It's the only thing holding it back from being something crazy. I think that also you could have a horrifying monster and the whole idea is like, I'm going to help you raise your children. And you could do other things that basically also, if you did that in a way where it was just like, oh, I'm here to just help you be that other parent. there's something very uncanny about you yourself cannot trust your own parents you yourself
Starting point is 02:01:11 have no support system in that way no guidance and then now he is completely corrupting the idea of what that is i think that within itself is a pretty like i really enjoyed the parents being like this is fucking stupid we need to kill this guy yeah him coming out and publicly being like by the way i'm going to do this regardless if you you like regardless of not yeah here here's the public execution if you feel otherwise i think that there's just a lot i think it would make him less one note as well with his approach to stuff because they really gloss over the thing about him being like this is how he makes little meetings of how you can be a how you're supposed to be a good person i think that should have been explored a little more
Starting point is 02:01:49 like i wanted to hear more about these weird meetings and stuff and like instilling crazy shit right if you have if you're a mentally and um mentally manipulated as a child how does it affect you as you're older you know what i mean they just like there's irreversible damage that happens so I think like having him do certain things like oh you have to go over to your neighbor's house and fucking like I don't know like I guess not steal something there's not a lot of weight to that but I guess just like teaching them all the wrong things and then being and then like even though the people know it's wrong having to do it having to make all these hard decisions versus him just being this parasite who's just like oh I'm just going to do
Starting point is 02:02:32 this one thing that's horrible feels a bit one note and it's the only like really like really thing where I'm like, ah, it's like the one thing that's keeping it from being like this great, great character and creature. I'm okay even
Starting point is 02:02:45 if it's like some level of implied sexual stuff. Like what we talked about with the first one, if it just ended at what you got there, you know? Like that's fine. I think that can be useful.
Starting point is 02:02:55 It can be menacing. But the level of gratuity, I think doesn't serve the story. Because it's like he goes from like this unspeakable, unknowable beast that like just watches you and stuff to like kind of a pervert.
Starting point is 02:03:06 You know? which like diminishes it a bit. That's what I mean is like for the story's sake of it as if like your artistic choice is like yeah this is one of the things that it's like a realistic thing a realistic horrible thing that happens to people and it's unnerving and it's like breaks you. I get that but for it to be the only one thing
Starting point is 02:03:23 I'm just like I wish that you had something more to give besides that because now it just feels like oh he's just a perverted like I don't know snuff like a snuff monster kind of thing. Yeah, yeah I think so. I think it goes hard. I like it. Again, it has a few issues, but I think, I think it's still all in all, like, that's a really good story. I enjoy it. I like the monster. Yeah, that was fun. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it. I think I'm only upset just because of the idea of like it could have been in my eyes something so awesome. And it is good. I just when like, man, this is like right on the cusp of being something like pin pal level of creepy and weird and just strange, uncanny. And like uncanny in a way too where I'm like, this is what the Jeff, the killer thing was, supposed to be.
Starting point is 02:04:07 Yeah. It has all these elements of like this, this perfectly encapsulates all of like the weird things of like, you know, the realistic eyes, you know, like the body and stuff. It's very, it's not the most original thing, but it like does everything right and building those things up. I think it goes hard. I like it. Yeah.
Starting point is 02:04:27 No, I think it's good. I think too, um, the dad, I still think is, I think it's my least favorite character. I think, uh, I agree. Yeah. Not only the selfishness and negligence. to have children but like we said don't like die go out like your dad did like a man if you're going to be so selfish yeah you were given a gift from your father to you know for him to be like i'm going to not i mean basically the gift of life right and then to survive on and then you do that by just giving
Starting point is 02:04:54 the curse that you have onto someone else who's innocent is just so selfish yeah you all you all should live in the middle of the street take rotations of men with flame throwers at night you know that's how you love now. Tommy Taffey. There you go. That is the part one here. I'm curious to see the comments here if we get a lot of positive feedback. You know, with something like this, I'd be curious to see what the next two parts are.
Starting point is 02:05:18 But at the same time, there's also a lot of other stories out there too. It's kind of the thing where it's like Barasca part five. People want us to go back and do that. But to me, that story is just done. Like, I don't want any additional stuff to that. Maybe one day. I've heard people say the part five is really good. So maybe
Starting point is 02:05:34 potentially. But I will say I would really like to read the other half of the Tommy Taffy story. Sounds pretty good. Okay. Well, if anything, if we're stoked on it, we'll see what people say as well. I mean, maybe we can just keep rolling next time. Yeah, I think it's pretty good. I'll be down to read it. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it for sure. And also, again, check out the author of it, of who Elias with a row, who it turns out has a lot of books published too. He has one called
Starting point is 02:05:59 Gore Moon. He has one called Memories of Monsters. He has some pretty cool looking stuff. So check that guy out. He also has a print copy, it seems, of the Tommy Taffy story. Oh, and I wanted to also shout out Neon Tempo, the author of the left-right game, had a book
Starting point is 02:06:17 just published as well. We put the link on our Twitter if you ever want to check that out. I'll say, cool, cool. He has a new book out as well, so be sure to go check that out there. We'll probably leave a link as well in the description here. But if you enjoyed the left-right game, maybe check out his new novel.
Starting point is 02:06:33 A nice novel. All in all, also, once again, just to reiterate, if you're watching this on YouTube and you ever want to listen to us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, please do so. It helps us out a lot on the podcast chain of events and things like that. And all in all, post memes, we've been posting a lot of fan art at the end of the videos. We've been seeing it on our Reddit and our Twitter. So just tag us or do whatever. We love to see it. We appreciate the community so much.
Starting point is 02:07:02 you guys fucking rule um and yeah when until next time stay spooked you creeps there it is stay spooked you creeps that's great that's fantastic and i'm going to say something normal thank you all for watching i appreciate it

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