Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 8x26: Lost Stories 12 - Let's Not Meet

Starting point is 00:00:00 Don't let the summer heat bake in road grime any longer, hand to your nearby Zips Car Wash to clean up and cool off. And listen to this, now when you buy your next car wash online at zipscarwash.com, you pay even less. That's right, we save you money off our amazing washes, plus you also get to skip the line and use our express lane service. When you're ready to shine, skip the line and save time and money with your online wash code. Find your nearest location at zipscarwash.com, then drive and shine today. Ready to shine, skip the line and save time and money with your online washcode. Find your nearest location at zipscarwash.com then drive and shine today.

Starting point is 00:00:30 Hey everyone, tickets are still available for the live Let's Not Meet shows. If you go to Let's Not Meet podcast.com forward slash tour or just follow the links in the show notes. You can get your hands on some tickets for both shows, the first of which will be at the Neptune Theater in Seattle, Washington on August 25th. Followed by a second show at the Polaris Hall in Portland, Oregon on August 26th. Additionally, if you're from the area, you plan to attend one of these shows and you have a story that you'd like to share. By all means, send it to the Story Submission inbox at Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com

Starting point is 00:01:04 and we'll see about getting it on the lineup for the inbox at Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com and we'll see about getting it on the lineup for the live show. And remember, this podcast contains adult language and content. Listener discretion is advised. Enjoy the show. And this is season 8, episode 26 of Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast. We're going to dust off some of these old recordings from the early days of the show and finally let them see the light of day. I believe the majority of these were from some time in 2018 judging by the music and audio quality. They've been remastered and improved for your listening pleasure. So, whether you're a long time fan of the show, that remembers some of these tales, or you just started listening with us in season 1's relaunch of the show, I know you'll enjoy these

Starting point is 00:02:31 as much as it is now. I had met and gone on a few dates with local guys, but nothing had come of it. One evening I was searching and they happened to come upon someone who was my age and had almost identical taste in music and hobbies, as well as interests as I did. I messaged him, and we started chatting. He seemed interesting enough, and so we agreed to meet up for coffee downtown. I didn't notice anything off-putting as we ordered our coffee and hung out for a little while. We talked about mundane things, and I found out he was a medical student at a local university. He seemed like a normal guy until after we finished our coffee and he wanted to go for

Starting point is 00:03:38 a walk around the city. It was around this time that I noticed his demeanor started to change. He seemed to go tense, and he got this gleam in his eye. He kept rubbing his hands over his thighs as if trying to dry off sweaty palms. He got very quiet. I started to get nervous. I noticed that in our strolling, he was leading me further and further away from the populated downtown area. My attempts to continue conversation were met with half responses and mumbles from this low, heavy breathing, increasingly weird acting guy. I suggested that we needed to go

Starting point is 00:04:27 back towards downtown and I turned and started to go back the other direction. He reached out and grabbed my alarm. No, wait, he half breathes, half mumbled. We need to sit down. There's something important I need to tell you. Alarm bells were going off in my head like crazy. I knew I had to get away from this guy, but by this point we were far enough away from the downtown crowd that there would be no one to come to my immediate aid. I numbly allowed him to guide us over to the bench and sit down. He held fast to my arm. He turned and stared at me in a way I can only describe as a predator, eyeing prey, and

Starting point is 00:05:18 he menacingly and proudly disclosed that he had been watching me for a very, very long time. He began to rattle off all this information he had been gathering about me. He knew about which bars my friend and I hung out at, and liked to listen to me laugh and talk with others. That he would just hang in the back of the crowd and watch me. He knew where I lived, he knew where I worked, and when I worked. He knew where I went to school, when I had classes, he said he had been following me for quite some time, and then he said he found me on the dating site, he specifically tailored his profile to mirror mine so that he could finally get me.

Starting point is 00:06:09 Still clutching my arm, he slid his other hand over to squeeze my thigh, and now that he had me, he was never going to let me go. The whole time, the guy was rambling, I was acting nonchalant and nodding like none of this was a big deal while inside I was freaking out. I subtly pulled out my phone and was texting guy friends that I was in danger and I needed immediate help. One of them responded that he was in the area and raced over to where I was. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I saw my guy friend's truck come down the street. I waited until he was close enough for me to reach and I ripped myself away from the grip of this creepy guy beside me and started to run.

Starting point is 00:07:09 The creepy guy began to chase me, screaming of sinodies. I could feel him gaining on me as I threw myself into the bed of my friend's truck, and he sped away. The creepy guy is still on the sidewalk, shouting and swearing. This was the last time I fold with online dating. I have no idea what this creepy guy was intending, but I've never been more terrified in my life. This story is so weird that I almost pushed it out of my mind, but my friend reminded me of it last night and now I'm creeped out all over again.

Starting point is 00:08:06 I was around 15 or 16 and I was on vacation at Walt Disney World sometime during the summer. My family has the vacation club membership so we go a few times a year and we live close by. We were staying in the vacation club villas which is a separate building from the main hotel. I brought two of my friends, Savannah and Victoria, and we got bored around 2 a.m. so we went down to the gym. It's open 24 hours. We weren't even going to work out. Just take mirror selfies and mess around with the exercise balls. There's a desk for the spa portion of the gym.

Starting point is 00:08:47 Maybe it's a sauna, I don't really remember. But since it was so late and there were no employees, we were messing around behind the desk and found a notebook. I'm not sure why I was super annoying at the time, but I decided to write my Twitter and Instagram handles and so did Savannah. Looking back, I'm pretty sure we could get in trouble since guests aren't supposed to screw around with the desk, but I didn't think too much of it, and we left the gym. And the next morning, we checked out of the hotel. On the drive back home, I get a Twitter notification,

Starting point is 00:09:34 and it's from a diaper fetish account. The creepy thing is this count was active for a while and had disgusting pictures of grown men and diapers and other disturbing pictures of children. Savannah sees this and we both sit there looking at each other like, what the fuck? The account tweeted at us saying something like, I know who you are and what you've done and your vacation will end abruptly. They tweeted some more creepy stuff like telling us to watch our backs but I knew it was clearly because we left our names on that notepad. I didn't reply back. Then I noticed a new follower, and it was my name.

Starting point is 00:10:15 But the username was similar to the diaper account. The accounts started tweeting my address, phone number, and random pictures of me from deep in my social media. They do the same thing with Savannah's name, and at this point, we're both shitting bricks. I get a text from a random number. I'm assuming they used a texting app, saying that they were watching us, and knew more than we thought. They even started texting me about my boyfriend at the time, and asked me really fucked up questions about him. I told them to fuck off and blocked it. I didn't get any more texts, but the Twitter account continued to tweet about me, and random details that I know they had to

Starting point is 00:11:05 dig deep to find. I blocked them on that too, and put all my accounts on private. I never got any more messages, but the Twitter accounts are still up to this day. So to the Disney employee with a diaper fetish, please stay far away from me. This experience was legitimately one of the most frightening things that ever happened to me while walking my dog, and he's done some weird stuff. Let's say things like pulling used condoms out of a bush and whipping them around like helicopter blades, that sort of weird stuff.

Starting point is 00:12:02 So back in 2015, I had the choice of getting a dog or getting a smartphone. I had never had a dog in my life, nor did I ever have a decent phone come to think of it, and I'd been saving up for a phone anyhow, so naturally I picked the dog. My dad knew someone who had a couple of border callies that had recently had a litter so we drove out and the dude gave me the last pup. Inter Bailey. A couple weeks after he got his shots I started walking him. My parents figured I was going to be hanging out at the local park with my new pup so I could get him socialized. But no, I chose to take him around the perimeter of a nearby farm to keep the farm dog in him.

Starting point is 00:12:51 I'd been sneaking out to this farm for years. The farmer was an old family friend. My uncles had grown up working for him, so I knew if I was ever caught, I could just drop their name. On either side of the farm, there were thick woodlands, which no one had ever given me any reason to be wary of. They probably should have. It's a sunny afternoon. It had been pouring down all week, and Bailey was itching for a good walk. I take him to the farm at our usual time and we start making our way around to the woods on the east side of the farm. Everything

Starting point is 00:13:32 is quiet but Bailey keeps darting away from me to explore. He's a puppy, it's what they do, but of course I'd be calling his name all the way around the field. We're about halfway past the woods. I could see the roof of the farmhouse over the next hill. Bailey had been pulling crap out of the bushes all the way along, and I'd give him some trouble for rolling in a pile of fox crap. That's when I hear a man's voice calling my dog by his name. Someone I didn't even know was calling my dog by name. I knew it wasn't the farmer because I'd met him at family events like barbecues and

Starting point is 00:14:15 weddings, so I knew what his voice sounded like. I go completely silent, but the guy keeps calling for my dog. It sounds like he's deep into the woods and maybe moving. He's calling my dog with an excited tone in his voice which is what creeps me out the most. Bailey meanwhile is completely ignoring this guy and sniffing the now flat pile of poop. I'm a small 18 year old girl. The most combat experience I have is a month of learning Taekwondo when I was 11.

Starting point is 00:14:58 And I don't even have a mobile phone. If that guy works out where I am, I'm fucked. And if Bailey decides to go after him, I'm double fucked because I am not letting a possible psycho get his hands on my puppy. I can either run to the farm, which isn't too far away, or run back through the field towards home. I pick up my dog and sprint across the field. Behind me I hear someone emerge from the woods, but I'm already over the fence and sprinting back home with my puppy tucked under my arm.

Starting point is 00:15:35 I get home until my mom. She brushes it off as some weird drunk guy. The few weeks later, my my uncle's house and the farmer walks in. I told my uncle what had happened, so he brings it up. The farmer asks exactly which woods I'd been closest to, and that some of his clothes had gone missing from his washing line. He'd put it down to strong winds, but now he's not so sure. I take him and my uncle to the exact spot the next day, and all three of us go in and find a completely wrecked campsite.

Starting point is 00:16:15 There's no clothes or anything but the tent that had collapsed in on itself. There was no fire, but there were some empty gas canisters, like you'd use for a portable stove, and empty packets of food scattered everywhere. We reported it to the police, but nothing really came of it, except I got a phone not long after that, and I keep it on me whenever I go out. Don't let the summer heat bake in, road-grime any longer, hand to your nearby Zips Car Wash

Starting point is 00:17:04 to clean up and cool off. And listen to this, now when you buy your next car wash online at zipscarwash.com, you pay even less. That's right, we save you money off our amazing washes plus you also get to skip the line and use our Express Lane service. When you're ready to shine, skip the line and save time and money with your online wash code. Find your nearest location at zipscarwash.com then drive and shine today.

Starting point is 00:17:30 I like playing a game called CSGO which is short for Counter Strike Global Offensive. Usually my profile picture is a character from a movie or TV show and my name is very generic. You would never think that I was a girl based off of my picture in name because I just don't ask for that attention. I was playing Deathmatch with my internet best friend Derek at an ungodly time of night. Just talking about our thoughts and morals over voice chat and lobby. The server had about seven people in it, and everyone would throw in their two cents with our conversation. It was pleasant and much needed. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Everyone was kind and respectful, something you hardly see on this type of game. One person had no microphone and only talked to us via chat.

Starting point is 00:18:27 He told Derek and I, I've never wanted to be friends with someone over this game before so badly. Will you guys at me? I promise, I'll have a mic tomorrow. I was a lonely person back then so I accepted his friend request. His name was Corey. Derek and I played CSGO Death Match Nightly, just talking about all sorts of things. For four days straight, Corey would join us without invite. We found it odd he would just join us because he mentioned how strict he is with himself about being on a tight schedule and how dedicated he is for school. Because of this, we never invited him to our games. Which funnily enough, Cory got upset that we didn't invite him to the death matches.

Starting point is 00:19:20 Even though he told us, he was focused on school, and we only played at night. One way or another, Corey got the impression Derek and I were dating, despite Derek talking about his girlfriend at least once a day. I told Corey yes, we're obviously dating because a male and female can never just be friends. My voice was flat. As flat as I could make it sound and bland as I could try. Cory did not understand my sarcasm and ran with the thought of Derek and I dating. Immediately, Cory tried his best to win over Derek by buying him in-game valuables, case keys, over Derek by buying him in-game valuables, case keys, a few skins worth real money. Every time Cory would give Derek these things, Cory would tell him, you better be treating her right, otherwise you will pay for it. Derek is a nice guy, and has a hard time with

Starting point is 00:20:20 confrontation, so he never replied to those messages. He would only relay them back to me. After two days of getting these gifts, I told Corey while in deathmatch, you do realize I was sarcastic with you when you asked if Derek and I were dating, right? Derek has a girlfriend and she doesn't play video games. Cory's voice immediately goes into a much calmer voice during this game and he does not stop saying, oh thank god, thank you Lord Almighty, you have blessed my life, thank you. Random people would tell him to stop talking and that he's being creepy. I didn't say anything to Cory for a while after that because despite being over the internet, I

Starting point is 00:21:12 felt an awkward connection with him. The following day, day seven of Knowing Cory, he asks me to join him in a private game. I have immense anxiety with being alone with someone no matter the circumstances. I tell Cory, no thank you, but thanks for the offer. Cory tries to call me over voice, and they get a weird nervous feeling. I knew something was odd about this random voice call request. I check on his profile, and he edited the entire profile to fit a 2008 Emo My Space account. He changed his picture of Harambe to rain on a window, and his bio went from I inject memes for Harambe to my life is meaningless without her. That was one of the most bizarre things I ever saw unfold in front of me over a video game.

Starting point is 00:22:15 He explains to me that he wanted to play a private game with me, with just me, so he could plan to meet up with me and go get some coffee. He could tell where I lived because I told Derek and Corey about the Seattle superhero I ran into a while back. But that was only the beginning of the creepy things he would say to me. At one point, he said, your voice makes me trust you. That made my skin crawl. Another time in the middle of the match, he said, in front of everyone, as your body is smooth as your voice, you sound like a goddess on cake.

Starting point is 00:22:59 That made me almost vomit. A few more examples include things like, you make me just want to snuggle up in my bed and go to sleep. And a cutesy tone or saying, Teehee out loud instead of just laughing. But whenever he said something creepy, I would just ignore it or awkwardly say, thanks, dude. It felt as if he practiced for hours just to say these lines to me. Just unnatural. I knew this guy did not talk to any other females because he told me so. He said, girls in real life just find me creepy and whenever I approach them they ignore me Something I should have spotted as a red flag

Starting point is 00:23:54 One day he tries to send out a call request that I ended up hitting ignore on I Message him saying what's up everything okay? He only replies with Not even close I had no clue what to respond with so I just waited for a follow-up message. Ten minutes passed by, and he spans me with personal questions. What kind of mails are you into? Do you only date tall, skinny men? Do you care what other people think? I oddly felt guilty and obligated to reply with honest answers. I tell him I care to an extent of what people look like as long as they take care of themselves. I couldn't

Starting point is 00:24:33 care less what my friends look like. I don't really have a unique type. I just want a healthy looking guy regardless of height. Why do you ask? He describes to me what he looks like, followed by a total of 10 photos. I never asked for a picture of him. I never crossed my mind to ask him what he looks like. He asks me all sorts of questions related to, am I attractive enough?

Starting point is 00:25:03 Am I too skinny, too short? Do I have good hair? I tell him, you look nice. He was very skinny, average height, and looked like he took care of himself, a very normal looking human being. He replies with, thanks, you're so sweet, such a lovely girl.

Starting point is 00:25:23 I don't message him back. I just launched CSGO because Derek was playing. We play our game of deathmatch and talk about normal stuff. We make friendly talk with a complete stranger, and at the peak of it, Corey joins. Corey says nothing while we are all playing. I do not have notifications on when I play. So I have to check manually to see if there are any messages while I'm in the game. During map change, I realized I got flooded by Cory asking,

Starting point is 00:25:56 do you find this guy attractive? Does he sound hot to you? Is he funnier than me? I ignore his messages and you keep playing. I did not want to deal with that from him. I knew him for just about two weeks at this point. Corey notices I am ignoring his messages and he confronts me in front of this server of 20 people.

Starting point is 00:26:21 Why aren't you replying back to me and steam? I tell him. I don't have notifications on. I'm too busy playing the game to want to hold a conversation you know while playing the game. Corey goes on to rant about, I thought we were friends. Why would you ignore me? Friends don't ignore each other. And I don't respond to him. This is all of her voice, so everyone can hear him. I'm clearly uncomfortable in a random player, Telskori. You're being

Starting point is 00:26:50 kind of creepy, dude. She clearly doesn't want to respond to your weird messages. Kori screams at the top of his lungs at this guy. Go kill yourself. You useless human being. kill yourself, you useless human being, you don't know her like I do. Any promptly leaves. Derek and I keep playing our game, ignoring our messages. After an hour, we get off the game and I open my messages. From Cory, I get another rollercoaster of messages and feelings ranging from, I'm so sorry I screamed, you didn't need to hear that side of me, too. How dare you fucking ignore me?" I reply, with, you're taking this friendship pretty fast, I think you should just calm

Starting point is 00:27:37 down and take a break. The deepest thing I know about you is your name and your favorite meme. He replies with, you're right, goodnight. I was hoping that maybe for once that would be the end of it and he would actually listen. I couldn't be more wrong. The following day, I wake up to my steam app being spammed from Corey. I need you. I'm at the hospital.

Starting point is 00:28:06 A few things I noticed. He was on steam via web browser. Your name will have a web browser icon if you're logged in through your web browser and not steam phone. Another thing I noticed, he said he was on his phone. If this were actually true, it would have a mobile icon next to his name instead of the web browser.

Starting point is 00:28:29 I knew he did not have a phone because he told me, I broke my last month when I threw it against the wall. I remembered that because I think it's odd how people will destroy things in moments of anger. I don't mention either of these things, DeCory. I figured he was lying because he was in the heat of the moment and was too scared to tell me the truth. I ask him, why he's there and his response was, I don't know I was puking blood all night for eight hours and my mom and dad took me here. I'm so scared. Again, I was naive and let that slip. I found it odd that his parents would wait so many hours to take him to the hospital while he's puking blood. I didn't tell Corey of my suspicion though. I wanted to see where this was going.

Starting point is 00:29:21 I assured him. You'll be fine, I'm sure of it. He said without a minute passing, my parents are talking to the doctor right now and they're crying, I don't know what's going on. I asked, why aren't you in there with them? He tells me he's going into the room, but he was stopped by a security officer who told him, I'm sorry, I don't think you're ready for the news just yet, have a seat. I played dumb and don't question his bullshit story. I reply saying, it won't do you any good to be worried about something you can't control. He spams me with broken

Starting point is 00:29:58 sentences such as, I'm so scared right now, please help me. I understand when people are crying, it can be hard to see what you're typing, but he told me so many times before. I've been hurt so bad before. I can't even cry. I didn't even cry when my brother died. Also, he was typing perfectly clear and readable before and after this message. Again, I didn't question his story. He quickly tells me, oh my god, they just told me I have cancer. I respond with, didn't you just get to the hospital a few hours ago? He replies, yes, it's stage 4 skin cancer.

Starting point is 00:30:43 I didn't let him know that I thought he was lying, and I was currently laughing. I messaged Derek about the situation, and don't reply to Cory for roughly 10 minutes. The open Cory's messages back up to find him explaining to me how he got his skin cancer. Apparently he got it from a mole on his chest that he had cut off because it was in the way, and it got infected with cancer. I didn't think this lie could get any worse, so I confessed to him that I knew he was lying.

Starting point is 00:31:17 I expressed how disgusting it is to lie about having cancer, and that my adopted mother died of cancer herself. He rushes to respond and says, oh my God, I had no idea I'm so sorry. The reason I lied to you was because I'm actually sick with something else. I actually have type 1 diabetes. I lied because I didn't want you to think that I was fat. I ask him, if he remembers sending me pictures of himself, and he said he remembers, but he

Starting point is 00:31:45 was worried, I still thought he was fat. He probably weighed at most 120 pounds. So I cut off contact with this guy on everything the same day. Roughly six months after deleting Corey, I run into him and relive. I knew it was him because his voice was unique and distinct. Cory never saw what I looked like. I never sent him pictures or posted it on my Instagram and he selfies.

Starting point is 00:32:20 I knew it was Cory. And he looked the same as he did in those photos. This was during Seattle's street fare, but I never thought I would run into this guy. I'm glad he didn't recognize me. I have no idea what I would have done if he did. When you download the Croger app, you have easy access to savings every day. Shop weekly sales and get personalized coupons to get the most value out of every trip every time, whether you shop in-store or online. Download the Croger app now to save big.

Starting point is 00:33:07 Kroger, fresh for everyone, must have a digital account to redeem offers. Restrictions may apply, see site for details. Save big on your favorites with the Buy, Fiver more, save a dollar each sale. Simply buy Fiver more participating items and save a dollar each with your card. Kroger, fresh for everyone.

Starting point is 00:33:23 Back in 2011, I was within a circle of friends that made a tradition to go camping at a certain spot every May long weekend. The spot we chose was in a beautiful area right on the edge of a large lake and was located on government land. The lake itself had a dam on it. So during May long, the water levels were always low, if not completely empty, making it possible to walk across it. People were allowed to camp there as long as they weren't causing trouble or making a mess,

Starting point is 00:33:57 and it was generally a good time for everyone. The spots themselves were spaced out far enough that you had your own privacy, but not far enough that you couldn't meet other people. In this particular year, our spot was in the middle of a small hill, with one campsite below us and one above us. The first night of our trip happened without incident. During the second day, the people staying at the site below us had moved in. We didn't think much of it, and continued drinking throughout the day and into the night. At about around midnight, the people at the campsite below us were really out of control.

Starting point is 00:34:44 They were yelling and screaming, and their music had gotten even louder. So our friend Ben went down to ask them to turn it down. He was promptly punched in the face, and came back to inform us that he was 90% sure they were on drugs. After that, the vibe wasn't as relaxed, and we were all someone on edge. I was feeling really tired, so I just decided to go to bed. Some of my friends were still awake, including Ben and one couple, Lilian Derrick, that were visiting another campsite we had made friends with that day. I could hear that the campsite below

Starting point is 00:35:26 was still blasting their music and partying pretty hard, but I tried to ignore it and go to sleep. I don't know what time it was when I was jolted awake. Parts of this are somewhat of a blur. All I know is that I sat straight up as soon as I heard the screaming and yelling coming from outside my tent. I quickly ran outside to find our campsite in chaos.

Starting point is 00:35:54 One of my friends was clutching her chest. People were running around and screaming to call 911. I was quickly informed of what happened. Apparently not long after I'd gone to bed, the people camping at the site below us decided they weren't finished talking to Ben, and on their way up they had encountered Lily and Derek walking back. Now Derek and Ben are both about the same height and have the same color hair, so they thought and assumed that Derek was bin and bottled both him and Lily over the head with a full glass bottle. I don't know if it was the

Starting point is 00:36:33 same guys that showed up at our campsite, but I was told that everybody else was sitting around the fire when two or three huge guys appeared from the darkness and walked over to them. One had a pairing knife, and the other had a butcher's knife in their hands. Ben saw the knives and had gotten up to talk to them. Apparently, he had barely spoken a word when the guy with the pairing knife stabbed him once in the chest. At the same time, some people from the campsite above had seen the guys coming and came down to help.

Starting point is 00:37:10 One of the guys Tim was coming down the hill when the guy with the butcher's knife ran up and stabbed him in the stomach. From there, sheer panic ensued. People called 911, but the ambulance was over half an hour away. This is where I came out of the tent. Tim's wound was bleeding profusely, and he was losing blood way too quickly.

Starting point is 00:37:36 His friends ended up putting him back into his car and speeding off to meet the ambulance halfway. Ben was also bleeding, but his wound wasn't as deep as Tim's, and we were able to keep him calm until an ambulance arrived. The guys with the knives ran off into the darkness, backed down to their campsite, and took off in their land rover. My boyfriend at the time, and I had gotten into his car, and drove to the entrance to try and flag down the policemen on their way to the scene.

Starting point is 00:38:08 Once they arrived, we were informed to stay in the car, as they had released a canine search unit to hunt down the people who stabbed their friends. By the end of the night, they had arrested the men. They had tried to flee by driving their vehicle across the lake bed, where it got stuck in a muddy section of the lake. They were on a concoction of several drugs, as suspected. Luckily, both Tim and Ben survived, although Tim had lost a lot of blood and took a few weeks to recover from his wounds. Derek and Lily had huge goose eggs and possibly one person had a concussion, but I can't recall. It was definitely the scariest thing I have ever experienced,

Starting point is 00:38:54 and a few of us had to testify against them in court. I've attached an online article about it if you're interested in reading. About two years ago, I worked at a movie store inside of a mall. I've had tons of strange experiences with customers, but this one definitely tops them off. I was 20 at the time. This guy was over 6'8", late 40s, very hefty, and always had this weird zombified expression on his face. He came in about once a week. One of my co-workers had even warned me about him, how he was a little off, but I still treated him with as much respect as I did everyone else. One day he came in and we talked for a bit, but it got a little awkward and I kept trying to end the conversation and look busy by tagging items behind the counter. He stood there in silence watching me for about 20 minutes and

Starting point is 00:40:08 finally left. A few days later, he comes back and walks up to me, holding a large container. He says, I made four pounds of enchiladas at home today just for you. I remember do you like Mexican food. I don't remember at all telling him that I liked it, but I do know that I went to the Mexican restaurant across the way every lunch break. I just politely accepted it and put it in the back office. I was convinced that he used jizz for it. Another few days later, he came back in and had a drawing for me of a dragon. Now, I love dragons, but I never told him that. This drawing looked like it took hours to make, and at this point, I was a little freaked out. I had him leave it

Starting point is 00:41:01 on the counter, so I could throw it away later. Later on, I was given about a week vacation. During that week, I had cut my hair about 12 inches. The day I came back, I got a shift with my manager. It told her all about the guy and immediately she was weirded out for me. No shit. A few minutes later, I see the dude walking around in the mall. He was going towards the exit and didn't look at me once.

Starting point is 00:41:29 My manager tells me to go into the back office. I go and wait until she comes back to get me. And when she does, she tells me I need to make a report to the mall security immediately. Apparently, when I ran back there, he turned around to come in and walked all throughout the store. When she asked him if he needed help with something, he said, I can't believe she cut her hair and briskly walked out. I go to the mall security office to make a report, and we went through all of these videos from the cameras of when the guy came to visit me. and we went through all of these videos from the cameras of when the guy came to visit me.

Starting point is 00:42:10 But there was one video that really stood out. It still sends chills throughout my body when I think about it. The video shows him pull into the parking lot of the mall, and about three minutes later I arrive. This was early in the morning and no customers were here yet. But there were cars in the lot. I didn't notice him at all. It shows me walking towards the entrance and him following me. Right as I opened the entrance door, the man starts sprinting towards me. I walked inside just in time. It shows him stop and stand in front of the door, watching

Starting point is 00:42:48 me through the glass, walk a little further away. He begins walking normally inside the mall, and never noticed him behind me. The part that really fucked me up. It was like watching the last footage before a kidnapping or murder on date line or something. The video gave the security every reason to ban him from the mall and they did. They later told me when they gave him a background check he had four counts of having child pornography on his person and was on probation. [♪ Music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background through training and development solutions specifically designed for federal government professionals. From courses to help you attain or retain certification to individualized coaching services, to programs that hone your leadership skills and business acumen. Management concepts optimizes your professional development. Online in-person, individually, or groups. It's training that's measurably better.

Starting point is 00:44:02 Learn more at managementconcepts.com. That's managementconcepts.com. I've been listening to Let's Not Meet for a week or so now. I enjoy these creepy stories, and the more I listened, I realized I had a story to share as well. Hopefully this makes its way successfully is I only created this profile on Reddit for this purpose. This was back in early 2000s when I was living in South Philadelphia. I was 17 and stupid as you'll soon find out. I had worked at a Rita's Water Ice in the suburbs, every summer for the last four years or so, before moving to South Philly,

Starting point is 00:44:46 I was able to pick up a job at the new readers there and quickly made some friends. One friend in particular, Heather, was my dancing and singing partner on those rainy days when all we had was the radio and each other. We were listening to Q102 loudly and having a great time when we got a call. I turned down the music and answered. It was a guy named Joe, saying he was from Q102 and wanted to hear about the cute girls at Ridas. I put it on speaker and my friend and I engaged in the playful flirting with this random guy. He promised to give us a shout out on the radio. Within a few minutes of hanging up, we hear a strange interruption and that same voice say, Girls at Rita's and it jumps back to whatever

Starting point is 00:45:39 it was playing previously. That should have been enough to know that this was weird. Before we could even talk about it, the phone rang, and Joe asked if we heard it. We said yes, and said that it was fast. He said that they were having connectivity problems. We believed him, and he said he would love to meet us. Heather jumped on that opportunity and said, we can meet him together on Sunday. As weird as it seemed at the time, I figured it would be okay since we would be together. Sunday comes, and I'm waiting at the spot we said we would meet him. Minutes before our meetup time Heather calls me and says that she's not coming. I yelled at her that I was standing out here like an idiot and why wouldn't she tell me earlier?

Starting point is 00:46:33 She said sorry and to let her know how it goes. Needless to say, I was pissed and now very nervous. I was about to just turn and walk home when an old-ass car drives up. When does roll down? And this guy says, where's the other one? Joe was pale with small but thick glasses and red hair. Not at all what I expected. And I just figured maybe that's the whole radio voice thing people talk about having.

Starting point is 00:47:09 But I knew something was off. I tell him Heather's not coming and I should probably go. He said he would love to just chat and tells me to get in the car. Now I know what you're thinking. Why the fuck would you get into the car? But at that age, I was too scared to stand up for myself and what I knew was best for me. So I get in and I ask where we're going. He tells me he needs to run home quick. Then we can

Starting point is 00:47:39 grab lunch and talk. I try to ask him about working for the radio, but after all this time, I can't recall how he dodged my questions so easily, but he did. I never got my answer until we got to his house. Now, at this time, I didn't know Philly very well. I knew South Philly decently, but outside of that, I was very unfamiliar. We drove for about 20 minutes until we reached a dodgy looking neighborhood of tiny, squished together row homes. That is most a filly, but in my memory, these were exceptionally small and creepy looking. AT&T Fiber presents A Straight Forward Moment. You're wine.

Starting point is 00:48:23 Thanks. I'll pretend I know what I'm doing before saying it's good. And I'll pretend I don't know you're pretending. Are you a Gagillionaire? Yeah, I have AT&T Fiber. The straightforward pricing has inspired me to be more straightforward. Me too. Ugh, this wine.

Starting point is 00:48:38 I'll fetch you a better one. Straight forward is better. No equipment fees, no data caps, no price increase at 12 months. Live like a Gagillionaire with AT&T Fiber. Limited availability in select areas. Visit ATT.com slash hypergig for details. As my brain is telling me to do something I follow him in his house anyway. Me now is getting sick to my stomach just thinking about how stupid me then was. He opens the door and that's when it hits me. To this day, I know nothing about radio and how he did what he did. But his

Starting point is 00:49:15 entire living room was covered with wires. His walls were lined with at least a dozen tangled up wires with several phones on the coffee table and sofa. I looked around and horror, realizing just how stupid I was. What the hell was going to happen to me? Why did he bring me here? I knew I had to get out of there. He asked me to sit down and in my fear I did. Then his mother comes out from what I guess was the kitchen. Who the hell knows what their rooms functions are

Starting point is 00:49:55 for with all these wires around. She seemed so excited to see me as if she's been waiting for me to get there. She started asking me all sorts of questions like how Joe and I met and what I do for a living. I'm realizing that Joe is probably much older than I am because her questions were not geared towards someone who's still in high school working at the water ice stand. Does she even know why all these wires are here? Does she know what the hell he's up to? My brain is frantically running with all these questions.

Starting point is 00:50:32 How many teenagers has he lured here before? What the fuck is going on and why did he bring me here? After about 20 minutes of his mom trying to get me to eat something and tell her about my life. While Joe stared at me from the sofa, my brain jumps into the only action it's been able to conjure this far. I have to take this call. I'm so sorry to interrupt you.

Starting point is 00:50:57 And I run outside. I start yelling to the non-existent person on the phone, asking, what's going on? Where are you? I'll be right there." I walk back in and tell Joe, he has to take me home immediately because my dad is in the hospital. He squinted at me. Not sure if I was lying or not. And in the only other burst of bravery I had, that day, I yelled. Now!" He jumped up, grabbed his keys, and headed out the door. I followed without even a nod to his mother, who stared at me as I left.

Starting point is 00:51:39 Not a word was spoken on the drive. He asked me where I lived, and I instructed him to drop me exactly where he picked me up. As I got out of the car, he asked for my number. I slammed the door, and I ran. I told Heather all about what had happened and how angry I was with her for ditching me. She said she was sorry, but clearly it was all innocent, and I was fine. A few weeks went by, and I had mostly put it out of my mind. I go up to Rita's one day, and the paper was tossed at the pull-down gate. I picked it up. And guess who I saw, gracing the cover?

Starting point is 00:52:22 Good old innocent Joe was arrested for luring teenagers to his house by intercepting radio stations and sexually assaulting them. To this day, I don't know how I mustered up enough bravery to act the way I did to get myself out of there. Even now, I can't believe, even with his intention set that he drove me home with almost no question. I'm not sure, but I seriously regret not calling someone about it. I guess I didn't really know what to say since nothing actually happened to me. I was 17 and stupid. I'm glad he got caught, but I hate to think what those other girls went through after me.

Starting point is 00:53:05 So weirdo, Joe. The fuck with radio station frequencies to lure teenagers lets never meet again. Thanks everyone for listening to this week's Lost Stories episode of Let's Not Meet a True Horror Podcast. Don't forget to check out the new episodes of my other shows, odd trails, and the old time radio cast at cryptic county podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And if you're a patron, don't forget to stick around after the music for your ad-free extended version of this week's episode.

Starting point is 00:53:54 If you want to get access, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast to support the show today. This week you have heard. I fell into a stalker's trap by Biblical Unicorn. Disney employee with a diaper fetish by Shabbin777. Someone tried to lure me into the woods by Midnight Mode. I never met a female in CSGO by 90 dolphinsphins, Camping Hell by Wild Paw. My first and hopefully last stalker by Sadie Marie, and finally, Filled by Fake Radio Guy by Here For Let's Not Meet.

Starting point is 00:54:38 All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors. Let's not meet a true horror podcast is not associated with Reddit or any other message boards online. As always, if you have a story to share, send it to Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com and if you want to donate to help get our TV pilot filmed head over to Let'sNotMeetTV.com to support that project today and get access to a bunch of awesome perks just for donating today. Thanks everyone for listening, we'll see you next week, stay safe! I will preface this story by saying that I live in a country that is filled with paradoxes.

Starting point is 00:55:45 AT&T Fiber presents A Straight Forward Moment. You're wine? Thanks. I'll pretend I know what I'm doing before saying it's good. And I'll pretend I don't know you're pretending. Are you a gigillionaire? Yeah, I have AT&T Fiber. The straightforward pricing has inspired me to be more straightforward.

Starting point is 00:56:03 Me too. Ugh, this wine. I'll fetch you a better one. Straight forward is better. No equipment fees, no data caps, no price increase at 12 months. Live like a Gagillionaire with AT&T fiber. Limited availability in select areas. Visit AT&T.com slash Hypergate for details. AT&T fiber presents a straightforward moment.

Starting point is 00:56:18 Your wine? Thanks. I'll pretend I know what I'm doing before saying it's good. And I'll pretend I don't know you're pretending. Are you a Gigillionaire? Yeah, I have AT&T Fiber. The straightforward pricing has inspired me to be more straightforward. Me too.

Starting point is 00:56:33 Ugh, this one. I'll fetch you a better one. Straight forward is better. No equipment fees, no data caps, no price increase at 12 months. Live like a Gigillionaire with AT&T Fiber. Limited availability in select areas. Visit AT&T.com slash hypergig for details. Live like a Gigillionaire with AT&T Fiber.

Starting point is 00:56:43 Limited availability in select areas, visit atat.com slash Hypergig for details.

Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 8x26: Lost Stories 12 - Let's Not Meet

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