Heart Starts Pounding: Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries - 149. Skinwalkers, Stalked In The Backwoods, And Other Terrifying True Stories From Listeners (feat. Morgan Absher)
Episode Date: October 30, 2025A strange whistling in the desert. A suspicious man lurking for young hikers. A timeslip. A house whose inhabitant might not be living. And More. The spooky tales we received from listeners like you, ...with special guest Morgan Absher from Two Hot Takes! Listen to our other spooky collab! In Our Spooky Era.. || Two Hot Takes Podcast || Scary Reddit Stories https://youtu.be/3qKr1ms2FuM?si=lrh3tbYYKklk5_OY Find Morgan Here! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TwoHotTakes Subscribe on Patreon to become a member of our Rogue Detecting Society and enjoy ad-free listening, monthly bonus content, merch discounts and more. Members of our High Council on Patreon also have access to our weekly after-show, Footnotes, where I share my case file with our producer, Matt. You can also enjoy many of these same perks, including ad-free listening and bonus content when you subscribe on Apple Podcasts . Follow on Tik Tok and Instagram for a daily dose of horror. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Now streaming on Paramount Plus is the epic return of Mayor of Kingstown.
Warden? You know who I am.
Starring Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner.
I swear in these walls.
Emmy Award winner Edie Falco.
You're an ex-con who ran this place for years.
And now, now you can't do that.
And BAFTA award winner Lenny James.
You're about to have a plague of outsiders descend on your town.
Let me tell you this.
It's going to be consequences.
Mayor of Kingstown, new season now streaming on Paramount Plus.
You know, it's better than the one big thing?
Two big things.
Exactly.
The new iPhone 17 Pro on TELUS's five-year rate plan price lock.
Yep, it's the most powerful iPhone ever, plus more peace of mind with your bill over five years.
This is big.
Get the new iPhone 17 Pro at TELUS.com slash iPhone 17 Pro on select plans.
Conditions and exclusions apply.
Hi, guys.
I just wanted to give a quick reminder that this is your last chance to sign up
for a month free trial on Apple Podcasts. If you sign up before the end of the month, you'll get a full
30 days to listen to our whole back catalog ad-free, including our monthly bonus episodes.
This month, we did premonitions and prophecies that came true. We're talking Nostradamus,
Simpsons predictions, people who predicted their own deaths, and what year the world might
actually end. Sign up while you still can to listen to that episode and many more. Thanks,
guys. Hello and welcome back to Hard Sires Founding, a podcast of Horrors, Hauntings, and Mysteries. As always,
I'm your host, Kaila Moore. And normally on this show, we cover all sorts of terrifying stories.
But today, I'm turning the camera back on you guys. And I want to cover really scary stories that
were sent in by listeners. These are all true terrifying tales. And I felt like there was no one better
to join me than Miss Morgan Absher. Hello, guys. We just got done recording an episode for your show.
You read to me some scary stories.
Terrifying.
And now we're doubling up with this one.
I just don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight.
There's no chance.
There's absolutely no chance.
I mean, you showed me some photos that are truly haunting.
I'm going to have to sleep with the lights on.
That episode is available on the two hot takes feed right now.
As part of our spooky season programming.
Yeah, it seems like your listeners really love the scary stuff.
They do.
I'm so surprised because usually I'm like relationships and a lot of other.
drama but like spooky season we pop off they love the spooky people love a good true scary story
and i'm one of those people i totally understand it there's something about it that really like
scratches at my brain yeah especially when you hear i mean the stories that we were talking to on yours
it's like people like something weird was happening in my house and then i realized there was a whole
graveyard in my backyard that i didn't even know about i know and i'm i'm one of those people i am a
believer in this stuff. So, like, hearing real stories from, like, listeners, then you're like,
oh, no, this is definitely real. And you're kind of having your own experience in your own home.
Yeah. With some sort of spirit. I know. It's just like, I had, like, a famous Hollywood actress
dying my house. It was her house. And then, like, as I've been traveling, our cameras in our house
have been, like, spotting someone. And it'll track from the kitchen and, like, follow this, like,
invisible thing down the hallway and then stop. So it's not like a fleck of dust and there's no dust.
There's no like anything you can see. But it spots someone is what it says every time. And it's a
Ufi system. Like it does not falsely trigger like this. So it's like, what are you seeing? That's not
did that just kind of start recently. Oh yeah. Somewhat recently. A lot of stuff started happening
around the anniversary of her death actually. Because I was talking and I was like, I keep like having weird
stuff happen, like in the house. And it's like, it's all kind of popped up around the anniversary
of her death. Interesting. I know. I know. Maybe she's coming back to. I think, I think like she's
trying to do something. She doesn't like when we're gone for sure. And this is all kind of, I believe
it's the 20th anniversary of her death. Oh, really? Oh, I guess I didn't realize. She's like
an old Hollywood actress and director. So it's interesting. But I guess, yeah, maybe she died just 20 years
ago. Yeah, she died in 1995. Girl, that was 13.
30 years ago. We're old. Okay. If you listen to Hot Takes, you know I'm really bad at math. Wait. Oh my God. Yeah. I was born in 94. What the hell, Morgan. You're like, well, I'm 21. So that means she died 20 years ago. I went 2005 baby now. Wow. Okay. So 30 years. Yeah.
Do you think, I mean, we talked about it briefly in the episode that we just recorded for you. But do you think she maybe has unfinished business that she's trying to get across?
I mean, she got really sick, so I could see her feeling a little unresolved. But also at the same time, like, she was how old when she passed? I guess she was only 77.
Yeah, so maybe there is something. There could have been something.
Crazy. Well, we're going to dive into our stories that we have today because these, similar to you, Morgan, are also people that had very spooky stuff happened to them. And a lot of them can't make sense of what is happening.
So I want to start by reading a story that came from a listener called Amber, a listener named Amber.
And it's just titled, What Whistled at Me in the Arizona Desert?
Already now.
For the past nine days, I've been house-sitting for my dad and stepmom in semi-rural Southern Arizona.
I say semi-rural because we're about 40 minutes from the city near Saguaro National Park.
Not too far, but not too close either.
I grew up in the area and only moved away a few years ago, where I now live with my husband
in another state. My family is still here in Arizona, and I miss them deeply. So when my dad
asked if I would watch their place while they took a month-long trip to Alaska, I jumped at the
chance, as it meant that I could see my mom and my brother too. I agreed to cover the first two
weeks, and then my brother would take over. Their place sits on a few acres just outside of town,
the kind of property where the desert feels close. During the day, it's all
sun and quiet heat. But at night, the darkness presses in from every side. They've got these two
dogs, one who's basically a guard dog, plus two horses and a dozen chickens. The house is big. It's a
little bit maze-like, and it's a patchwork of old rooms and new additions. There are more exterior
doors than you would expect, hallways, that dead end into small rooms, and space is so deep and
shadowy, that the only light is from a single lamp or a small window. I've stayed here
before, but never alone. The first few nights, I barely slept. Lucky the guard dog would
erupt without warning. No. The sound tore me from my sleep, heart pounding, panic flooding my
body before my brain could rationalize why. Then he would bolt through the dog door at the back
of the house and be swallowed by the darkness outside. I would hear him tearing across the yard,
his bark echoing off the barn and the garden walls.
Before my dad left, he warned me that Lucky is sensitive to desert critters.
Think Havillina, coyotes, the occasional bobcat.
So I told myself that it was nothing.
And to be honest, night creatures are none of my business,
especially since Lucky seemed to have it handled.
But after a few nights of being startled awake,
I started shutting the dog door and leaving the living room TV on low
to give him something else to focus on.
And for a while, it worked.
but then came Friday night.
I was in the back bedroom, getting ready to go to sleep,
when both dogs suddenly snapped to attention.
They shot to their feet, nails skittering across the tile,
and bolted towards the back of the house.
A second later, I heard it too.
A person whistled.
Short, sharp, deliberate.
The kind of whistle you would use to get someone's attention.
Two or three rising notes almost as if to say,
Hey, over here. It seemed to come from outside, right by the back patio where the dog door is.
The dogs went wild, barking and racing into the night. I froze for a beat and then slowly slunk out
of the bed to grab my flashlight and scan the yard from the windows. The garden, the barn, the open
stretch beyond the arena, nothing to be seen. I called the dogs in, I shut the door, and told myself
it was probably someone walking down the dirt road, or maybe in the wash behind the house.
The next night, deciding to be extra careful, I walked the property, checked every lock and window I shut the door and made sure the place was secure.
That gave me enough peace to finally relax a little.
I was a few minutes into taking a shower and had a podcast playing quietly from my phone.
And that's when Lucky went off again, loud, urgent barks from the attached bedroom.
I called for him, trying to calm him down, but then I heard it, a man's voice.
And not only that, it was a man's voice coming from somewhere inside the house.
Nope.
I couldn't make out words, just the sound of someone calling out across rooms,
muffled by the walls and the noise of the shower.
But it was deep, human, and clear enough that my body reacted before my brain could.
Like, some primal part of me just knew.
Fear settled on top of me like a heavy blanket and my brain landed on one crystal clear thought.
There's a man inside the house.
Lucky kept barking as I quietly stepped out of the shower, leaving it running, as I didn't want this person to know that I had heard them.
I wrapped myself in a towel and grabbed my flashlight and phone.
Only a few lights were on, so most of the house was dark.
I crept towards where Lucky was, looking around as I went.
Nothing in the kitchen, nothing in the living room, everything exactly as I left it.
Lucky, though, was planted at the back patio door, staring at the dog door like he was waiting for something to come through it.
or maybe to be let out.
Phone in hand, I was seconds from calling 911,
or honestly my mom,
but there was nothing obvious.
There were no open doors or windows,
nothing out of place,
no sign anyone had been there at all,
except for a freaked out dog
and the sinking certainty
that despite the evidence I hadn't been alone.
Yet, in the back of my mind,
I had a ridiculous thought.
If the police come,
I'll have to walk across the property in the dark
to unlock the front gate
and a towel with one,
unshaved leg and a pink polka dot shower cap on my head making noise turning on lights any of that
suddenly felt wrong it felt like it could draw something towards me so i just stood there frozen my
ears restraining for any signs in the now silent night i couldn't bring myself to check the far hallways
or the closed-off bedrooms or the narrow stairs to the small second floor instead i simply locked
the bedroom door pulled the dogs inside and stayed put until morning the next night i gave up and
stayed at my mom's. When I started telling my brother what happened, he cut me off before I even
got to the details. He said that months ago, when he was alone in the house, he had heard a strange
whistle inside, too, the same kind of whistle that I had heard. He told me the place had always felt
spooky to him, too. Later, I spoke with my dad and stepmom, and they checked the cameras around
the property. Nothing showed up either night. That's when my stepmom admitted that she's heard a person
whistling there before too, but had always brushed it off as an echo or maybe a distant neighbor,
there was someone or something in the house with me that night. I know it as confidently as I know my
own name. And even now, sitting in the airport waiting to catch my flight home, I still can't seem
to shake it. Yeah. Yeah, no, that's, I don't know if that's a person or a ghost. It feels like
too clear to be a ghost.
Well, it kind of reminded me of someone like the Golden State Killer or someone who
scopes at the house knows that there's a victim inside that they want to attack, but
they're afraid of dogs.
So maybe they were trying to lure the dog out so that they wouldn't be there.
That, to me, is a really scary thought.
But also, on top of it, it does take place in Arizona.
And that's where all of the scariest stuff in the desert is.
There's a lot of desert legends.
There's a lot of desert legends there.
I mean, I could see it and also still trying to lure someone out, like, kind of like a, hey, I'm out here.
Like, that's how she kind of described that whistle.
Yeah.
Oh.
I would not be able to stay there.
It's so interesting how we'll all, like, pass off, like, this, oh, I'm just hearing things or, you know, it's just the wind or an echo.
But the stepmom heard it.
The brother heard it.
They heard it. And they're not telling each other too. No. That is such a common thing in so many stories, both paranormal and true crime. Someone hears something. They kind of talk themselves out of it. They're like, maybe I'm imagining things. And then finally you confess it to someone and it's like, no, the whole family has been experiencing this. They've all just been trying to tell themselves it wasn't really happening. Yeah, no, that's real. And I, it's so crazy how we will do this to ourselves too when we have these experiences. It's like, we're not going to call 911. I'm just going to shut the door and lock the room.
try to go to bed because like that's what I did and like clear as day heard voices and it's the
voices in the house like and it's mine were in the house too and I'm like it's it's fine like just
go to bed go to bed and it's fine I'm fine that's people do get into other people's houses though
like oh yeah of course of course I know I know do you follow Che Jim yes yeah I love following him
he is amazing I've had him um I did like a weird show first
Spotify a long time ago it was like down the rabbit hole and we'd evaluate like all like these
mysteries and stuff like that and kind of talk to him about some things and like you like cannot
say like their actual name you have to like use other ways to describe it but like flush pedestrians
are like such a big thing well I was going to say because he's they whistle don't they
Dene and lives in Arizona yeah and is always talking about the stuff they hear on the reservation
over there and a lot of it's with the whistling it's it's whistling it's whistling
It's making sounds that sound human, that maybe sound like someone you know.
And it tempts you to go outside and check it out.
It's a lot of animals showing up at your door looking like a deer, but not quite like a deer.
Like something's wrong with it.
What?
And it's trying to get you to come outside and you just have to close the doors and the windows and be like, none of my business.
I'm staying in tonight.
How do you know, though?
Like, how do you know?
It's just like it's slightly off.
I mean, the whistle, I wouldn't go near the whistle.
But, like, if it looks like a deer, and you're just like, it's a deer.
Yeah.
But it's not.
But it's not.
It, like, moves weird.
The idea is it's, like, there might be like a human, like, quality to it almost the way that, like, it's walking.
It's the idea that it is this ancient evil spirit that is pretending to be a deer, but it can't get it quite right.
So it just looks a little weird.
It sounds a little weird.
So, yeah, I don't know.
It scares me so much.
The desert.
I talk, we talk a lot about the woods on Hartstores Found.
and a lot about like Appalachia, but the desert is also, there's so many scary stories.
And there's something about the desert, like the vastness and just like how it's like so
empty but yet feels so scary and like it's pitch black and just like, oh, yeah.
I'm really scared of the dark. So hearing this property and like how big it is and vast it was
and like we go unlock the gate to even let the police in, like, and then you hear all these noises
and you're so alone, you're so removed from everyone.
else. Right, right. Oh, yeah, if anything happens. You don't even want to call the police because
you know it's probably going to take them forever to get there and then you have to go all the way to
the gate. If it was someone on the property, if it was really a man, you don't want to have to
like run all the way to the gate. You're just by yourself. No, it's horrible. I'd lose my mind.
Yeah, me too. Me too. Amber, I'm glad you made it to the airport and you're okay. Yeah,
seriously. This episode is brought to you by Bioma.
What is one thing about your healthy wish someone had told you years ago? For me, it was the fact that
the gut is the cornerstone of vitality and overall health, aka when my stomach feels good,
I feel good. Gut health is so much more than just digestion. The gut affects everything from
your energy levels to your mood to weight management, even longevity. Most gut supplements contain
probiotics or probiotics and prebiotics at best, but bioma contains all three essential
ingredients your gut needs. Prebiotics, probiotics, probiotics, postbiotics, and each ingredient is
science-backed and third-party tested. And not only that, but Bioma is very easy to take. Just two
capsules before breakfast. And now our listeners can go to Bioma.com and use code HSP to get Bioma
with an extra 15% discount. This is a limited time offer, so you definitely don't want to miss out.
Claim your extra 15% savings today. That's Bioma.
P-I-O-M-A-D-H-H-H-S-P to get Bioma with an extra 15% discount.
Do you want to read your next one?
Yeah.
Okay, this one, why I don't go into the woods alone.
Hi there, my name is Finn.
I'm 20 years old and I love the podcast.
Really helps to get through long days.
I'm going to get right into it.
The story happened when I was 14, growing up in Cork City, Ireland.
It was around July, 2019, so not very much.
very long ago. It lived in a suburban area right by a large forest. With its natural beauty
and its historical value, it was deemed a protected area in 2013. It grew up right by it. I spent
the majority of my childhood running around with my siblings in its vast wilderness. We'd roast
marshmallows, climb trees, play hide and seek, and do all the usual things you'd do as a kid
playing in the forest. On the day of this event, I was in the woods alone walking our dog.
Her name was Luna, and she wasn't exactly what one would call a big dog, so she was never
threatening anyone.
I'll bark, no bite.
I've walked my dog through the woods before, but never really alone.
I was always with my brother, but today he was away at a friend's house, and I was left to venture
into the woods alone.
The way the woods were laid out was like this.
A long stone path led you down a road that took you to a crossroad that split into
three individual paths.
One was the entrance into the woods.
The other two were separate paths that went to either the main road or a different neighborhood.
As I walked down the road to the entrance, I noticed something very strange.
There was a massive lack of people.
Normally, this forest is very crowded, as it's a very popular spot for hiking, cycling, walking dogs, etc.
But there was absolutely no one here.
It wasn't early.
It was around 3 p.m., and it was the height of summer.
the place should have been crowded, but instead all I could focus on was the almost disturbing
silence of it all. Despite the lack of a usual crowd, I just thought it was a quiet day and kept
walking. But then I reached the bottom of the road towards the entrance to the woods, and a man
came out from the second path that led to the main road. He was older, at least 60, and was wearing
a burgundy sweater and blue jeans, not what you would expect on the trail, and it gave off
weird vibes. He was behind me when he came up from his route and stopped as I was about to start
mine. He said quite loudly, hello. Hello, I said back to him, because I was always told to say
hello to people if they greet you. I turned around to continue my walk when he spoke again in the same
almost demanding tone. Are you walking your dog? I said yes, because why would I lie about it? He
seemed like a nice guy, right? That thought immediately changed.
As I heard the next question come out of his mouth, he just stood there for a minute,
staring at me, in a quieter, deeper voice, he said, are you alone?
I got a really bad feeling in my stomach.
I knew I could not let this man know I was a minor alone in the desolate woods.
Oh, no, I responded in my best, this is fine voice.
I'm in a group.
There are a couple of us ahead of me and a couple of us behind me.
I thought he'd back off once he knew that I was in a group.
that was at the main exit and at the path deeper in the woods. I was wrong. He stood there for
another maybe 10 seconds staring at me, but it felt like an eternity. I just wanted to get out.
Suddenly, in an even quieter, almost flirtatious voice, he said, are you lying to me? Other boys
like you lied to me before. My heart sank deeper into my chest. What other boys? This
guy was definitely a creep, and I needed to get out of this situation now. Instead of answering,
I opened my phone and lied, saying I got a text from the group ahead of me asking where I was.
I have to go. My friends need me, I said shakily. The old man just glared at me, and then
winks and walks away. I foolishly just kept walking. I just wanted to get away, and I saw that he
was walking in the opposite direction. I didn't go very far deep.
The woods went from a calm walk to a threatening cage that trapped me with a predator.
I turned back and walked back to the road once I thought that enough time had passed and the man was gone.
I slowly walked back up to the exit of the woods and I looked up from my path and what I saw I don't think I'll ever forget.
I saw the same creepy man who talked to me earlier crouching down, hidden behind a bunch of bushes.
and I knew it was him, I recognized the same burgundy sweater.
He looked like he was, out of dot, waiting for me.
Like he knew I'd walk back up the path, and when I did, there would be no one around to stop
him from grabbing me.
These thoughts were confirmed when I turned to my right and I saw taped onto a gate a note
that read, quote, when I first saw you, I couldn't believe my eyes.
You are perfect, innocent, and untouched.
You are perfect for me because of your innocence.
Only I deserve you, and only I will be with you.
This was terrifying.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the note and ran out the third path.
I ran and I ran as fast as I could,
and from the back of the other path where the man was hiding,
I heard, hey, get back here now.
I was fast, luckily, and he was old.
I've never ran faster in my entire life,
and I finally made it out of there.
out of those woods, and away from the man who would have done who knows what to me?
Without thinking twice, I reported it to the police, but here's the sad part.
They never took it seriously.
I don't know if they thought I was joking, or if they thought I was being overdramatic,
even though I showed them the note.
I think they also didn't take it seriously because, unfortunately, men who are victims of
these kinds of things sometimes get ignored.
Well, actually, almost all victims of these kinds of things get ignored.
I unfortunately had to drop the case too
as there was no evidence to prove any of the suspects guilty
but there is something I only realized the other day
the woods were a protected area
meaning there might be CCTV recording
everything that happened in the woods
but this pervert was smart
and he stopped me and tried to grab me
outside the entrance to the woods where the cameras weren't
he tried to grab me where the road to the entrance was
not the woods itself
Luckily, I never saw this man again.
And I've gone back down to the woods with at least two people or more.
I'm never going down to the woods by myself again.
Stay safe, guys.
Really?
Finn.
Finn.
Thank God.
Thank God you're okay, Finn.
Thank God Finn's okay, but that guy's still out there.
The little boys before.
Yeah.
Oh, other little boys have lied to me.
There's other people out there that have not.
been so lucky that guy's just hiding in those woods where did he say it was in cork city
ireland cork city island wow just if you're in that area watch out that is so scary it's the note
too the note leaving the note of someone who is what did you say in the episode we just recorded
like stop someone who is not participating in reality which is a very kind way to put it yeah yeah someone
who really like has a dark mind and well and like looking like I'm pretty sure like
Googling what popped up is like the Glenn Garif Woods nature reserve and if you look at
pictures like it is it is remote these are thick woods oh wait show me like a lot of like
really heavy trails very very naturey yeah yeah and if you're the only one out there
Ooh, yeah.
I mean, look at this path.
Like, they're so...
That's dense.
And if it's a protected place, like, how big is it?
How many miles?
How many acres?
Like, would anyone hear you?
Right, right.
An oddly quiet day.
Like, oh, it's so scary.
That is really, really, really scary.
And the, obviously, the heartbreaking part, going to the police and the police thinking you're being dramatic.
Even though you have this note.
from this person that you can show and be like, this person was trying to get me.
And the cops were just like, well.
And the fact he was like just waiting, like lying and wait, just like crouching in the bushes.
Mm-hmm.
No.
Yeah, no, he had sinister, sinister plans.
And wow.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, we do a couple of, we have a couple of like deep woods.
And you just run into people there that you really don't, don't ever want to come into contact with.
No.
Sometimes.
No.
I mean, we had that one story on the episode we did where, like, someone had been in the woods and, like, was singing and then, like, set up, like, that snare across the trees or something.
Yeah.
Like, they were trying to.
I think that story was called, like, he was making human traps.
And it seems like someone was trying to trap people or watch people get decapit.
You know, after we did that story, there were a bunch of people that reached out to me
saying that they either knew people who had run into those wires, because they're just
wires that run, they're almost invisible.
Yeah.
But they're high enough that if you're on a horse and you hit your head, yeah, a bunch of
people reached out saying, like, I know someone who that happened to.
It's insane.
And you can become, like, decapitated from those wires.
Yeah.
I mean, I think I talked about it on the episode, but, like, there's people that get annoyed with
snowmobilers going across their properties in the winter.
Yeah.
And so they'll set up those wires.
And they do it intentionally so people will get very hurt.
Sickos.
Like, I think someone did get decapitated and die.
Like, it's just.
Yeah.
Because you can't see them.
You can't see the wires.
Put up a fence.
Put up a fence.
I know.
Don't be a psychopath.
Don't be a psychopath.
Put up a fence.
That's just the slogan for the show.
Don't be a psychopath.
Don't be a psychopath.
Be normal about this.
Jeez.
Crazy.
Okay.
I am going to read you another one.
So this is a story from a.
listener named Andy, and it's titled, Noah always said this house was haunted. To start this
story, I want to say that everything you're going to hear is 100% true and accurate to my first-hand
account and my friends. To protect their identities, their names have been changed. Back in my high
school days, I used to hang out with a group of guys from my agriculture classes pretty much on a daily
basis. A lot of the time, we'd end up at my buddy Noah's house, which was tucked back down a dirt road
about 20 or 30 minutes outside of town.
We'd always find something to do
and new places to explore.
One day, we were going to cruise down this strip of dirt road
close to Noah's house.
It was me, Noah, Mason, and AJ in the truck.
We passed by an old abandoned house
that most of us hadn't noticed before,
just right down the road from Noah's.
It was tucked back off the road in thick woods,
so it was easy to miss.
But when you noticed it, you could tell it was clearly abandoned.
We all asked Noah about it, and he kind of nonchalantly said,
oh, yeah, that place is haunted.
Of course, we were curious about it, so we asked what makes it haunted.
And then he told us this story.
So Noah used to go on runs in the mornings before school or late evenings
and would frequently take a route that passed this house.
He said this happened on one of his evening runs a couple years prior.
He was on his run, and he passed by the house.
On the front porch, there was this old lady in a denim dress
standing there with a few cats that she was feeding.
As he ran by, she waved and smiled at him, and he waved back.
When he got home from his run, he thought about that interaction more, and he realized that
he hadn't seen anyone living in that house before.
So he asked his dad about it and mentioned everything he saw, and he said that his dad's
face went pale.
His dad said that many years before, there was a very nice old lady who lived in the house,
but she passed away, in her bedroom.
room. He confirmed that she did have a lot of cats, and Noah's description of how she looked
was accurate. Noah since then changed his running route and refused to spend much time
anywhere near the place. Well, obviously, we were all intrigued and we wanted to explore the
house who doesn't love a good ghost story. After a little convincing, Noah gave into the idea
of going to the house, but he warned us that besides his personal encounter, there is something
off about that house. He mentioned animals like squirrels and birds seem to
not even go near it. We pulled up to the house and we parked the truck next to an old
broken down chicken house in the woods to the left of it about 100 years away. We got out
and we started walking towards it. And as we get closer, Noah's warning started to actually make
sense. I took note that I didn't hear any birds chirping. I didn't see any animals like you would
normally see in the area and the air seemed still. We got to the house and for this next part
of the story, it's important that you know the layout. So you walk in the front door and you're in
the living room. Most of the floor is gone and it's mainly dirt where the floor once was. Immediately to
the left as you walk in is a room that we later determined to be her bedroom. Straight back through
the living room is the kitchen with a room on both sides of it. Both of these rooms were hard to
tell what they used to be as the roof was starting to cave in on them. In the kitchen, we found old
trash and a calendar on the wall that was still dated August of 2001. There were a lot of remnants
of someone living there years ago, including an old wood burning stove in the living room.
Up until this point, not much had happened besides obviously there are not being animals around
the house. So we kept exploring, and that's when I entered the bedroom and found a pretty
chilling discovery. In the closet in the bedroom, where a few dresses still hanging up,
and one of them was a denim dress.
I showed my friends and made Noah swear up and down that he had never been in there before
to know that the old lady actually owned a denim dress like she was wearing when he saw her.
We were starting to get a little creeped out after seeing that and decided to just do a little bit more exploring and then leave.
A little side note, nothing came from this, but I thought it would be creepy to add in the story that in the closet there was a big hole that looked like it was cut out of the ceiling and it led up into the attic.
After the dress discovery, none of us were brave enough to try to climb up there.
We started to wrap things up and Noah walked outside the front door.
This next part, I don't even know how to describe what I saw, but I was standing in the living room and I could see into the bedroom.
From that angle, I could also see out of the bedroom window and saw what I thought was Noah walk across the window outside.
That direction would have been back towards the truck, so I got the other boys and told them Noah,
was about to leave us, we got out on the front porch, and Noah was sitting there, right on the
porch. I said to him, I thought you were going back to the truck, and he said, no, I just came out
here to wait for y'all. I asked him if he had gone by that window, and he looked at me, really
confused, and said, no, I just came out here and sat on the porch. My heart dropped. We started to
hurry back to the truck. When we got in, I explained to everyone that I saw someone walk across
that window outside and I assumed it was Noah. But looking back on it, I know I only saw
a black figure move across the window. I'm 100% certain that it was human shaped. It was not an
animal. I also completely believe Noah that he did not walk across that window because after
telling everyone that, he was just as freaked out as I was. Still to this day, I'd say that was
the scariest encounter I've had. We haven't been back to that house since and we still get
the chills just thinking about it. I know without a doubt, what I saw walk across that window was
a ghost, but I can't confirm if it was the ghost of the old lady or something more sinister.
Mm-hmm. Yeah, the later. Ladder. However you want to say that. Yeah. Uh-uh.
This reminded me of another story I heard of, um, there's like a another ghost story I read where
this guy was delivering newspapers. He like every single day would deliver newspapers to this
neighborhood. And he delivers to this old lady and he has a conversation with the woman that day.
He goes up to her door, delivers the paper. She comes out. They have a little conversation.
And then he never sees her again after that. And so he asks about her. And it turns out she passed away. But when he realizes the date she passed away, it was before his last conversation with her.
Wow. And there's been, and I remember a couple other people were like, the same thing happened to me too. Like I, I remember talking to this person and they had already passed away.
and oof.
That's so interesting.
I definitely think this was like a dark entity
that's like putting on the front of this little old lady
to try to like lure him in during his run.
Yeah.
Like his just not really like you thought it was Noah.
So like to me I'm getting more like masculine energy then.
Like I feel like you would have noticed like a little old lady
walking by the window again.
Yeah, that's true.
So it's like it was just a dark figure.
Yeah.
And you felt like it was your friend because it was moving like a guy in high school
college. Yeah. So I'm like, okay, maybe it's just like, and it was outside. It was inside. Exactly. And the fact that
there were no birds chirping, like nothing. I know. It's like a shark in the water. It's like completely
still everywhere because there's no other wildlife. Yeah. It's just like that entity, whatever it is, is just putting out
such a negative energy bubble that like nothing wants to come in. And like same with dogs. Like we
always talk about dogs can see things. Yeah. I feel like all animals.
are kind of more perceptive to energy.
Yes.
Like, you hear birds will go quiet.
It's like almost it's giving bird box, but like birds are known to like see things.
Oof.
Yeah.
So did I tell you about the scary thing that just happened at the dog park that I bring my dog to?
What?
No.
So we bring, I bring bits to this dog park that's like right next to this motel.
And like, it's just this plot that they've turned into a dog park.
And one of my friends that I always see there was like, all of the dogs go to this one
corner and bark. And like, you know, it's not unusual for dogs to bark at nothing, but it's
pretty wild how many of these dogs go to this one area that's like in the back and just stare
at nothing and bark. So we were talking to the one of the owner of the dog park one day she was
there. And she's like, oh yeah, someone was murdered there. Turns out where the dog park is
used to be a different hotel or hotel or motel, but they tore down. And the owners had some sort of
war with each other. Specifically, over the back alleyway, there was like a dispute over who had
rights to the alleyway. And that's where the dogs are always gathered. And one of them killed
the other one like in the alleyway. And then that motel was the one that was torn down and now
it's a dog park. But the dogs, they sense it. Sense it. And they all go crazy. There's something
there. 100%. I also wonder with like the newspaper story, why does it seem ghosts have an easier time
presenting themselves to strangers.
Like, I'm always curious about that where it's like, like, a lot of people are like,
I wish I would see my family member that's still hanging out.
But like, yeah, it's always like these strangers or like, you know, some of the stories
be read.
It's like this person working in the funeral home or, you know, this person that moves into
this house.
Who see the full apparition.
That's a good question.
I don't know.
I have a conversation.
Yeah.
Or like, she like full on waved at him.
Yeah.
Or like the woman talking to the.
guy just delivering the paper. Exactly. Like what was their conversation? It was normal enough. I guess
that he didn't think anything of it. No. But yeah, I don't know. It's very spooky. I've never
seen a full apparition. I'm curious if anyone listening has. Oh my gosh. That's like a whole other
level of ghostly encounter. That's a lot of energy. That is really intense. Maybe it's like you were
saying Morgan. Maybe there's something more sinister in the house. I know. That's what it's giving.
This episode is brought to you by Symbiotica.
Staying on top of your health journey can be really tricky.
I'm on the go a lot and it's becoming increasingly harder to make sure that I'm getting everything I need.
And that's where symbiotica comes in.
One of my favorite products of symbiotica's is their magnesium L3 and 8.
I personally am a migraine sufferer, so I love taking magnesium.
It also helps me with my leg cramps that I've been getting at night.
But magnesium can also help support stress management, restful sleep.
It also can enhance your focus.
Symbiotica's magnesium L3 and 8 comes in a delicious venerated.
cream flavor that I can take on its own or sometimes I mix it into my morning coffee.
Another favorite of everyone in my home is the liposomal vitamin C.
It comes in citrus vanilla and it's an immunity booster, but it also promotes collagen
production and glowing skin.
For listeners of heart starts pounding, you can go to symbiotica.com slash heart starts pounding
for 20% off plus free shipping.
That's symbiotica, C-Y-M-B-I-O-T-I-K-A.com slash heart starts pounding for 20% off
plus free shipping. All right. So the next story, we have you brought to me. So this is from one of
your listeners. This is from one of my listeners. So this listener is actually like a paranormal
investigator. I absolutely know this listener is real. I have like their first last name,
their email, their picture. And like, I actually know where they work. And so they're actually
having more experiences now at like the museum they work at.
but have to keep them anonymous, but this story, I believe it wholeheartedly, and it has
rocked me to the core. I read it for the first time four years ago. I got it June 18th,
2021. Wow. And so this story has like really stuck with me. So, without further ado. To start,
I think it is relevant that I provide a little background information. My name is Jake 28 male,
and I've been studying the occult and paranormal for the better of 13 years and almost 10 semi-professionally.
I have personally investigated over 150 alleged hauntings and have been a part of three teams.
I've been able to meet many interesting people doing this.
I was even able to meet and have a very personal conversation with Lorraine Warren,
the person whose case files, the conjuring movies are based off of.
Despite all the recent criticism from the paranormal community,
she was a wonderful woman to meet.
Why is this important?
I don't mean to sound arrogant.
It serves a purpose.
Most of my research is mundane and boring.
Many things that appear to be supernatural
can usually be explained away.
Sometimes complex, however, usually mundane
and normal scientific means can explain them.
I try to stay skeptical
and look for sound reasons in everything,
even when there is none.
In my 10 plus years of research,
I've only had a handful of things ever baffled me, and of those experiences, none of them
shook me to my core more than this one. In the summer of 2012, around a family get-together,
my uncle had mentioned that he had previously purchased a property that his workers have reported
weird happenings. My uncle is a businessman that makes his money by buying foreclosed
or derelict commercial properties in and around the Chicagoland area, and essentially flip
them by turning them back into either functional businesses or renovated commercial buildings.
As it is common knowledge amongst my family that I am heavily invested in paranormal research,
he brought the complaints to me mostly in jest at the time. After some prodding and convincing,
I was able to have his ear long enough to have him agree that me and my team would be allowed
to set up an investigation. He seemed to think little of the stories that his employees were telling him.
I took them differently, as many of them sounded like the employees were genuinely terrified.
One of the reasons I became a paranormal researcher was to help debunk fears when someone had nowhere to turn to.
My uncle was mostly a shrewd man when it came to money, so I offered my services free of charge in hopes that I may be able to bring some closure or peace to the employees.
After a month, my team and I were Chicago bound with all of our equipment.
I had with me my best friend Derek, 21 male at the time,
my other friend Eric, 22 male at the time.
Between us, we had several cameras, sensors,
and various instruments of the trade.
When we arrived, it was clear that renovations were in full swing
and mostly complete.
The building was a large three-story
and housed a hotel with a full restaurant and ballroom.
Despite my uncle's wealth,
my immediate family was lower middle class,
and it was very obvious to all of us in our bantees and rusty astrovan that we were gravely underdressed.
We made our way inside the front desk weaving in between the hustle and bustle of what was happening around us.
We were met by a receptionist, and he asked what we needed and asked if we were lost.
Obviously alluding to our shabby college appearances, we tried our best, L.O.L.
I explained that our uncle had told us that he was going to allow us to set up for the night
and do a lockdown-style investigation.
The receptionist seemed confused by this information,
stating that he did not doubt that my uncle gave us permission,
but that it would be difficult to achieve
as they would be having guests there that night,
and they had recently opened for business.
At this point, I was feeling quite disappointed,
and he saw that on my face.
He excused himself and stated that he would talk to his manager,
and if needed, contact my uncle to sort it out.
after a few moments he comes back he says that there was a slight misunderstanding with the schedule
and says that regardless we can have a room and stay the night as long as we would like
and that we are free to set up and investigate as long as it did not interfere with other guests
another nice-looking man walks up as our talk with the receptionist ends and he says that he will
provide a tour of the place so that we can become acquainted with the layout he took us through
the lobby, into the packed restaurant, and showed us the kitchen that was in a full production
of Dinner Fury. After that, he showed us to the ballroom that was empty and closed for further
renovation. However, showed us around backstage in case we wished to investigate there.
Finally, we were shown around the corridors and rooms. After the tour, we returned to our van to
retrieve our equipment. We were overly excited to be staying in such a nice place, and I called my
uncle to thank him and explain the schedule mix-up. When I asked him why he had us investigating
in the full swing of a business day, he responded with confusion. He asked us to verify the address
as we began to unpack our things. He explained that we must be in the wrong place, since he had
only just begun renovations, and the building was supposed to be empty. As he said that, a shiver ran down
my spine. My phone then died in my hand, and Derek's and Eric's phones began to rapidly ring
before also dying. We all turned around to look back across the street to see a building
in ruin. The same building we had just walked through somehow. We checked the chained door
and boarded up windows and even tried to retrace our steps on our tour and parts of the
building that we were supposedly just in, were even completely missing. At this point, we were
beyond scared, but tried to talk through it rationally as we climbed back into our van. We had nothing.
We couldn't have all hallucinated the same with the exact same details, even recalling such
details among each other, down to the color of the napkins the dining people were using. We debated staying,
But as we were deciding, we all checked our equipment, and all of the batteries, backup batteries, and backup batteries were completely drained.
At this point, we were really terrified and just wanted to leave.
Luckily, our van started, and we pulled away quickly, not once looking back.
To this day, this is the only investigation I have ever abandoned and hope that someday I get to return to finish.
since 2012 the building has been restored to its original hotel restaurant combo my uncle asked me to be vague about business details as he still owns and operates this property and has let me know that many guests and employees continue to see people walk into dead ends and then vanish and have other ghostly encounters as stated before most investigations turn out to be mundane or debunked hauntings are never like the most
movies. But in this circumstance, we were completely floored and it made me a believer
for life. After some background research on the building, it was clear that there was never
any tragedy or out of ordinary death on the premises. I like to believe that we simply
somehow walked into an echo or ripple in time, like a ghost of the atmosphere and happenings
and maybe even a snapshot of some people too. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my
story. Wow. Because I was going to, when you started reading it, I was like, do we think it was a building
full of ghosts or a time slip? This feels like a time slip. It does feel like a time slip. And one of your
other listeners said that they had a time slip too at a building, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Whoa. It's very like
shining-esque. I know. And it's like what's so interesting too is like they walked in, had this full grand tour.
But yet the gate and the doors were locked.
Some parts of the building they had just been in were gone.
So it truly did feel like they fell through a portal in time.
They knew the color of the napkins.
The napkins.
The details are so stark.
I mean, and to meet the receptionist and, like, kind of be met with, like, confusion,
like, he's going to be polite because he's working there,
but to be like, are you lost?
Like, you don't look right.
You're not fitting in, but yet to then be met with such, like,
okay, well, yeah, you can investigate as long as you don't disturb any other guests.
And it's like, was that a paranormal realm or like what?
So was that?
Other people have been working on this building and were scared of it.
But did he get any more information on what they had been experiencing?
Didn't clarify.
Okay.
Didn't clarify.
I'd be super freaked out.
I'd be so curious what they were seeing also.
I know.
I just emailed him last night because I'm like, do you have any other stories for me?
Because he said in another email, like, I have.
another story and I've got pretty convincing video evidence to corroborate it. So I'm getting
that. Like he just replied so I'm like getting that. But I'm going to have to ask him like what the
other stories from people were. But I mean, as the hotel guests now are even seeing people walk
into dead ends and disappear, other ghostly happening. So it's clear that the building has some
serious energy. Definitely. Definitely. I was at the Driscoll.
in Austin last year, which is like the most haunted hotel in all of Texas.
What's the background there?
It is just a really old. It was opened. I want to say in like the 1880s, 1890s, really old
hotel. I don't know specifically the tragedies that have happened there, but just a lot of people
have said they've had really strange experiences. Oh my gosh. At the Driscoll. And it's still, a lot of it
looks like it's original. They've kept a lot of the original architecture, like the bar that
area you go into now is pretty original to the that's cool it used to look like which is really
cool but when i was there just drinking at the bar there's like a elevator right next to it and it
just opened there was no one there but it opened and i got this calling to like go into it so i was
just sitting there with my drink i like get up i'd go on the elevator and it like you can't press
the buttons because it's a hotel if you don't have a key you can't go up to the rooms so i like press
a button i'm like oh it's not working and as i start going out the door just closes and it starts
going up. And so I'm like, oh, someone called it. Called it. This is going to be so awkward.
I'm going to have to be like, can you help me get back down? Uh, no, it takes me to a ballroom on the
first floor. It takes me up one floor opens. There's no one there. It's completely empty in this
entire ballroom. Did you get out? I was able to kind of walk back down and then, uh, I mean,
whatever, I shouldn't have been there. But a security guard was like, what are you doing up here?
I was like, I don't know, the elevator took me here. He's like, yeah, that happens sometimes.
Oh. Like, do you think it's a glitch with the elevator?
He's like, I don't know, a lot of weird stuff happens here.
And then he wouldn't say anything else, but I'm like, what have you seen?
I know.
Have you ever, like, looked into, like, Driscoll Hotel Ballroom?
Like, were there any, like, anything else?
Not that I could find, but it does feel like the place you would time slip.
Because it feels like there's the portraits on the walls of the people of old Austin politics.
And it just, it looks when you're in there, like you're in the 1800s.
Wait.
I think I've been in this hotel.
Probably. In downtown Austin?
Yeah, if you went to Southby or...
I did a live show.
Did you do a live show in the hotel that you never remember?
No, I wish. I'm like, wait, because now that you're saying like old portraits, yeah, I've been in this hotel. I had breakfast here.
It's beautiful. It's beautiful. But like, you do just like, it feels like, especially when you go into some of like the lounges with the art, it feels like you're just in the time.
Yes.
Like there's oil paintings and, like, you do just like.
there was an oil painting of like the first telephone call in Texas.
Yeah.
And like it gives such old vibes.
I'm like, wait a minute.
I've been here.
I just looked it up and one of the on Reddit, someone goes,
The Driscoll is indeed haunted and something will torment you no matter which room you stay in
if you taunt the ghosts there.
Me and a friend stayed there a few years back.
And after a night of drinking, we went ghost hunting on the fifth floor, giggling the entire
time, not taking it seriously.
Then we had separate experiences.
First was hers.
Scratching sounds woke her up one night and she thought I was just making them.
But when she looked over at my bed, I was completely still.
I wasn't moving.
It scared her and it took her a while to get back to sleep.
And then a few days later, I was taking a nap alone in the room and I woke up hearing sheets of paper falling over and over.
Totally freaked me out.
So yeah, don't taunt the ghosts there.
They will taunt you back.
Ooh.
So I feel like if that's maybe karma, like if I stay there now because I was kind of messing around with the elevator.
I would want to get back in it, though.
I would want to, like, the problem with a time slip that would scare me is if you slip through time and can't get back.
Because, like, if you would have gone in that elevator and then you go up to the ballroom and it opens and there's people dancing, like, how do you get back?
Like, does it just fade?
I know.
I don't know.
I wonder if there's people.
Well, I guess we maybe would have heard if there were people that have time slipped and got stuck and were in the wrong era.
There's, like, kind of stories like that.
But I don't know.
I guess these people just, like in your story, they.
turn a corner and all of a sudden they're back. They're back. In reality. Wow. Very spooky. I love a scary
hotel though. Scary like old. Yeah. Hotel. I know. I, um, there's one here in California. The,
what is it like the Riverside in? Or the mission in Riverside. Oh, okay. It's here in California. And we
recorded one of our paranormal episodes there one year. And I couldn't stay. I like had something the next day.
I had like an early 9 a.m. meeting. I was like, I can't stay. The drive will be too bad. But my
friend Lauren actually stayed the night in the hotel. Wow. Most timid thing too. I'm still shocked
she did it. Yeah. And she was awoken in the middle of the night by like the most insane crashing
sound above her. Oh my gosh. Except this room didn't have another room above it. It was the top floor.
Of course. And it was just like the most insane clanking. And she's like, I've never heard something so
loud and violent. And like she just couldn't sleep. Wow. That's really scary. I mean, my listeners know
that I did an episode with two girls on ghosts in Salem and we stayed. We were doing a little bit
of a ghost hunt in a haunted Airbnb and then those two girls. Did you break out the board?
That's when we found the Ouija board. We were like led to a Ouija board. I think it was a ghost
that wanted its business finished because it wanted us to throw out the Ouija board that was in the house.
Actually, really interesting episode. It was like very interesting doing that ghost hunt. But after we did
the ghost hunt, both of the girls were like, okay, bye, we're going back home. And I was like, well, I guess I'm going to stay here.
like you slept there yes I slept there my mom stayed and she asked us too because we did the
ghost hunt she's like did you hear it did you see anything did you talk to anything we're like no
we didn't see anything like we're fine we're going to stay here like don't worry about it mom
what did it feel like because like a lot of people when they're like talking about boards or like
feeling things it's like you kind of could feel another person moving it when you play with a board
it was that it was kind of like upsetting a little bit just how the whole time we were there you could
feel something was there, especially because there was like a third story, lots of cold spots.
Right when I first got to the house, I opened the door. It's just this dark stairwell that leads
straight up. I'm like, okay, whatever. I go up there. I do a little like, hey, I'm Kaylin. I'm going
to be staying here just in case. Come back down, close the door. And then Sabrina and Corinne from
two girls when go show up. And I'm like, oh, let me show you like the really scary part of the
house, the third floor. We get there. The doors open again back up to the attic. And I'm like, I don't
to freak you guys out, but I definitely closed it. I, like, latched it so that it wouldn't be,
wouldn't just, like, blow open. Yeah. And it was open. I wonder why they didn't want to stay there
with you. Yeah, obviously. I mean, that was smart, but. All right, I have one more story for you,
Morgan. Okay. This is from a listener named Cheyenne, and it's called My Nana's House is Haunted.
Hi, my name is Cheyenne, and this is the story of my Nana's Haunted House. I'm a new listener
and your podcast is my favorite. I thought you would find my experience with the paranormal
interesting. To start from the beginning, my grandparents, aunt, parents, and myself all moved into
a two-story house and four oaks, North Carolina, to take care of my great grandma who had dementia
back in 2013. When we moved in, it was amazing, and we were all together, and it was plenty of
space for us and our horses. However, it did not take long at all to start noticing something was
off. The house was not an old house. We were only the second family to live in it, and the old
owners only moved out because it was under foreclosure. So we moved in and we got to work on the
flower beds around the house right away. And that's when we noticed the first weird thing. We kept
finding rocks with names on them buried in the ground. So the top story of the house was an
afterthought when they were building it. It was added on so that it had access panels throughout the
top floor that led to the roof underneath. Me being nosy, one day I crawled in there and I didn't
think I would find anything. But there were these jars with what looked like herbs inside and also
paper with stuff written on it. And the jars were sealed with wax. At the time, I didn't have
a clue what it could be. So I just crawled back out thinking I didn't really find anything
interesting. But before I left, I opened one of those jars and I regret it every day. Fast forward
a few months. I'm the only one who notices that weird stuff has been happening around the house.
Think cold spots, hair standing up for no reason, feeling like I was being watched.
Everything escalated from here, but not all of it was constant, and some of it was daily, though.
Things like when you were in the bathroom upstairs with the door shut, you could hear the floor creaking right outside the door,
and sometimes you could even hear a single heavy breath.
It was so prominent.
I went to my mom about it, thinking that it was someone peeking through the door, never having it registered that maybe this wasn't human.
because mind you, my family is all Jehovah's Witness, and I was also raised Jehovah's Witness, so we don't believe in ghosts.
And as a result, I also don't know anything about ghosts.
And so, of course, my mom thought I was insane.
But fast forward, again, almost nightly when I would lay in bed in the early hours of the morning, I would wake up to the sound of plywood, rattling against other wood.
Then, finally one night, I saw it.
The plywood that closed up the access panel to the attic in my room.
was lifted out of the hole about two to three inches and then it dropped like something had pulled it up from inside the attic it scared me so bad i couldn't even scream there was always such a strong feeling of a presence in that room i hated sleeping in there one night i remember laying in my bed scrolling on my phone and i felt pressure at the foot of my bed at the same time my dog started growling like i had never heard before and i felt the pressure start to move
up the bed like it was crawling on top of me.
I could even feel the shifting weight.
I screamed and I felt it lift.
Again, nobody in the house believed me.
Whatever it was seemed to knock it off for a few years after this
and it just went back to the cold spots I would sometimes feel
and sometimes feeling a presence in the house.
But eventually I moved out when I was 18 years old.
But several years later in my 20s,
my life kind of goes sideways and I end up living back at home.
I moved back in and boom immediately. Before I was even fully moved back in, it started back
even stronger. Sounds upstairs, pressure on my bed, the feeling of constantly being watched.
I tried everything to make it stop, like sleeping with all the lights on, calling out God's name
loudly, nothing worked. I decided I was going to paint the walls to try to brighten things
upstairs. One day, I was painting the wall in the far left hallway that led to the upstairs living
room and I felt something grab my hair and pull. It yanked my head back hard and after that I felt
like someone was standing over me. By this time, I knew that there must be something upstairs. So I said
out loud, hey, I'm sorry I'm back. I'm sorry if me redecorating upsets you, but I'm just trying
to make it nice. And then everything went quiet and I was able to finish painting. Some time passed
and it was the same old stuff. Nothing new. Although this
time I was living in the master bedroom upstairs at the opposite end of the hall to the room
with the attic, and it was much calmer in that room. I still kept my door closed or I stayed downstairs
as much as I could. And around this time, my nana started asking me almost every morning if I was
rearranging furniture upstairs the night before because her room was directly below mine.
She said it sounded like I was up all night rearranging my room. I did. I didn't. I did. I
told her no, and I also reminded her that the whole upstairs is carpeted, so it didn't really make
sense the amount of dragging that she said she heard. She made it sound like she was hearing
big pieces of furniture be dragged across the hardwood floors, but that just wasn't possible.
Fast forward again, my then-boyfriend and now husband started staying with me upstairs from time
to time, and at that point things kicked into overdrive. We started seeing full-body apparitions
in the hallway at night periodically.
I remember one night he woke up out of nowhere
and let out a scream so strange,
like it took every bit of his strength and courage to make that sound.
And it woke me up, and I asked him what was wrong,
and he said, it was right there watching us.
Apparently, there was an apparition
standing over us on his side of the bed.
He said it was tall, skinny, jet black,
and it vanished just after he opened his eyes and screamed.
The next morning, we both had unexplainable,
deep, dark bruises. I also had the same experience of seeing it standing over us, but at the foot
of the bed. However, I couldn't scream. I was paralyzed and I opened my mouth, but no sound would
come out. This all came accompanied with random whispering that I couldn't understand, waking up with red
marks, scratches, and bruises regularly. It wasn't long after this that I finally moved out. I do,
however, still visit my nana, but I don't dare go upstairs. She still says,
that she hears the moving furniture upstairs at night, my grandparents and my aunt still live there
to this day, but they haven't experienced anything but the sound of moving furniture. I guess the lesson
here is that if you ever find a jar with a wax seal around it, leave it be. Don't open it. Thanks for
listening to my biggest life lesson. Oh my God, I've full blown chills. So one thing I looked up
afterwards after reading the story was the jars. What could have been in there? The jars and the rocks
in the garden.
Yeah.
And so what people were saying is that sometimes they'll do that for protection.
They'll leave rocks with their names on it in the garden for protection.
And so I wondered if the jars upstairs were also for protection.
Like the people who lived in the house before had been experiencing something.
And then she broke it.
And maybe left some protection spells.
And then this girl just then Cheyenne opened the jar or broke it, whatever.
And then just kind of allowed something in.
I mean, it's almost like making like a salt.
circle or like whatever people do, like they put salt across their doorways to block spirits
from coming in. And it's almost like if the jars were creating some sort of like, like seal.
Yeah. And then you opened it and like broke the seal. I mean, it makes sense. A rocks is really
interesting. Yeah. Yeah. The rocks. I mean, I did see a post that someone made where they had found
rocks with like runes drawn on them. They were like, what could this possibly be in people? That's when
people are like, oh, sometimes people do rocks for protection. Yeah. So not first names, but more
like runes. But even still, like that could have been what they were doing in the garden.
I know. One thing I've been really curious about is like paganism and like getting more into that
and just being like, I'm just curious what it is. Not that I don't necessarily want to practice.
Yeah. Just all the folklore behind it because like there's so much that descends from that.
Yeah. There's a lot of branches of it too. There's a lot of different types. And you can go,
I have a friend who goes on Etsy and orders spells from like Etsy witches.
Okay, the Etsy witches have been like on one lately.
I know.
I keep seeing them in the news.
I saw a girl who got married and she's like, it was supposed to rain on my wedding day.
And it was raining all morning.
So I got on Etsy and I got two witches and then it stopped.
Listen.
Becca Bloom.
She's like, oh, it was Becca Bloom?
Had Etsy witches prevent the rain at her wedding?
Yeah.
Because I did see when I was reading about the wedding, people were like, and the cloud, the sky
opened up for Rebecca Bloom on her wedding.
I didn't realize it was Etsy Witches.
Two.
No, my friend does protection spells and money spells and job hunt spells.
Does it work?
She haven't any luck?
Yeah, she had a, like a, I want to say she had someone cast like a moving spell because
she's trying to move out of her situation.
And her dad's best friend was like, oh, I'm leaving the country.
I'm going to keep my apartment in L.A.
If you want to just live there rent free for a little while.
And I'm like, maybe.
I've got to get on Etsy and see what some of these witches are up to.
I'm trying to get good weather on my wedding day.
Like, oh, yeah.
September.
You need to look into Becca, whoever she hired on Etsy.
Send her a message.
Some of them are like eight bucks too.
It's like not that expensive to get a good spell.
Oh my gosh.
If anyone has a preferred Etsy witch or if anyone has, yeah, reached out to an Etsy witch
and gotten a spellcast, I'm so curious by this as well.
Wow.
I haven't messed with it because I don't want to like accidentally tip the balance.
balance of something in my life. That's my fear. Like, oh, you get this great blessing, but it comes
with a price. Yeah, you have to sacrifice. All your hair is going to fall out or something. I don't know.
I know. The more simpler one for good weather on your wedding day is burying a hot dog the night before
or a wiener. Have you seen that one going around? No. Yeah, apparently if you bury a sausage,
I don't know if it has to be a hot dog or a sausage or what, but if you bury it the night before,
apparently it works. I'm going to ask my husband if he did that because on our
Our wedding, it was really gross. We got married December 16th in Texas. So not snowing, but like kind of gross, rainy, cold weather. It was 65 degrees in sunny on our wedding day. He definitely buried. It was the only day buried a sausage in like two weeks. So I wonder if he buried a sausage and tell me, Matt, did you, did you happen to put a hot dog in the ground? Did you learn a spell from an Etsy witch to do it? Can you imagine? I could see him like just wanting to give you a good day.
witch guy on the planet. I don't know. He could surprise you. He would do that for me.
Exactly. Yeah. I could see it. For you? I could see it. Do you think Justin would do that for you?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Just try anything to. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. He's, he's definitely an acts of service guy.
So he'd for sure get on Etsy and find some witches. Yeah. I'm so curious if anyone listening has
reached out to those Etsy witches. I'm, I swear. I'm like, we've already been looking at the forecast because it'll give us that
far out now. Yeah. And we've been looking. And right now it's like 65 and sunny. So I'm just like,
come on. Yeah. Keep it going. Yeah. Pull through. I want 75 and sunny. You know, but beggars can't be
choosers. In Minnesota and September. Hey, last year, it was 85 and sunny. I mean, it's only getting
hotter. So that kind of makes sense. Yeah, climate change. It's crazy. But these were terrifying. I'm
Yeah, whiff.
I'm definitely not going to be able to sleep, especially with this last one, like the pressure on the bed and like Justin having had something similar in our house with like something yanking him down by his legs.
And also saw something.
Yeah, he saw like a dark, like, figured.
He said it was like demonic looking.
I don't, he can't really describe it.
And he's never had a sleep paralysis thing.
And he remembers like sitting up and seeing it.
Yeah, you're not.
If you remember moving, it wasn't sleep paralysis.
No, because sleep paralysis is you're like locked in.
You're locked in.
Locked and loaded.
When I wake up and I hear Walter, my sleep paralysis demon come in the room, I'm not moving.
What does he look like?
He's like one of those things I can't see because I can't move, but I can feel his kind of like ancient eternal energy enter the room.
And usually he'll crawl into bed with me.
Are we sure that's not the monkey?
No, this was before I got Gordy.
This has been happening since college is when I had my first.
sleep paralysis episode. But yeah, I'll feel the comforter kind of move. Like someone's getting
into bed with me, but I can't turn and I can't see him. And he'll either like breathe in my face or
like wrap his arms around me and squeeze until all the air is out of my lungs. And then do you get out
of it? And then, so now what I do is I'm really good at counting. Because I had heard that sleep
paralysis episodes only last four seconds, which is absolutely false. Because I can count in my mind.
And I know I've gotten to at least 20 before, but I just start counting and breathing.
And I know that the more I try to relax, the less intense it gets.
And then I can kind of get out of it.
But that doesn't sound like sleep paralysis.
It sounds like you got a little some guy with you.
I know, especially because like other people, a lot of people experience the same thing with sleep paralysis.
So I'm like, who's visiting all of us?
Have you ever had like your energy read?
Like I have a friend who is working with like a medium because she felt like she.
felt like she had like another like entity with her and like from the time she was little
like her cousin was babysitting her and like went to check on her in the room and saw like a figure
hovering above her and so she always has felt like she'd had like this dark male entity like
attached to her wow did she get her energy red she has and she was like she was working with
this medium or psychic to like be able to put more of a block between her
and this energy. And I feel like she's definitely good now. And I haven't heard anything about it
since. That's interesting. I wonder if it's like blissful ignorance versus if I knew something was there,
if I would be freaked out. Yeah. I got one of those aura, aura photos done though, like the photos
I can read your aura and the energy was pretty good. So there wasn't like a, I didn't take the photo
and see like the hat man behind me. So I think I'm okay. Walter's just coming and going. Yeah,
Walter. Yeah, he wasn't there in the photos. Keeping things interesting for you. Thank you so much for
joining me on this one. Thanks for having me. I'm excited for us to both go to our respective homes
and have to decompress with some sort of show or something to kind of like not freak us out so much
so we can sleep tonight. I know. Seriously. I got to go watch like a care bear's or something.
I know. Something just like happy. More K-pop demon hunters. I'm going to go rewatch that when I get
that one. That one. Mm-hmm. Help me calm down. Exactly. All right, that's all I have for this episode
of Heart Starts Pounding. Thank you so much for joining me. This is really kind of the conclusion of our spooky season
and programming. Join us next week where we're going to be diving into a very scary urban
legend in New York and the true story behind it, because it's a lot worse than the urban
legend says it was. What? All right, we're getting into Cropsie. So we will see you then.
Bye guys. Bye.
Heart starts pounding is written and produced by me, Kayla Moore. Heart starts pounding is also
produced by Matt Brown. Our associate producer is Juno Hopps. Sound design and mix by Peach Tree Sound.
Special thanks to Travis Dunlop, Grayson, Jernigan, the team at WME, and
and Ben Jaffe. Have a heart pounding story or a case request? Check out heartsardsbounding.com.
