Otherworld - Episode 2: Uninvited Guest

Episode Date: October 6, 2022

Singer and Songwriter Bonnie McKee, who has written for artists including; Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera, just earned her first big paycheck in the music industry and decided to treat herself to a weekend at a luxury spa deep in the woods near San Diego. However, this vacation was not as relaxing as she hoped after a lymphatic drainage massage turned into a nightmare, as a dark figure loomed above her, paralyzing Bonnie and causing her masseuse to begin an impromptu Reiki session. Then, later that night, Bonnie receives a strange visitor at her door.  Please subscribe and help spread the word about Otherworld by telling your friends and leaving us a good review! Remember that the more people that know about Otherworld, the more stories you’ll get to hear. Subscribe to Otherworld on Patreon for exclusive content and bonus interviews Check out our Merch Follow us on: Instagram, TikTok, Twitter  If you have experienced something paranormal or unexplained, email us your full story at [e-mail] 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

All right, everybody, welcome back. Episode two of the season of Otherworld. I'm your host, Jack Wagner. This story comes from a person that I actually know in real life. Last year, I was on a camping trip. We were sitting around a campfire about as classic as you could get when it comes to hearing a story like this. But we are just kind of telling crazy stories from our life,

not even paranormal ones. and one of the people we are with named Bonnie started telling stories, some really wild ones. She's lived a very interesting life and has a lot of interesting stories. Most of the wildest ones aren't even paranormal, but of course she does have some paranormal ones. And I remember sitting there hearing these stories and I discreetly took out my phone and made a little note in there that said, interview Bonnie, exclamation point. And one year later, I finally did. Bonnie is a very successful songwriter.

She's written pop songs that all of you have heard before for people like Katie Perry and Britney Spears. And as a result of that, she's traveled a lot and had a lot of interesting experiences. She stayed a lot of hotels. I know everybody's probably heard a million stories about something paranormal happening at a hotel. I assure you, today's episode,

is nothing like you've ever heard before. I'm going to let Bonnie take it from here, but I'm very happy to have her stories on this podcast, and I hope you enjoy. This episode is called an uninvited guest, and you're listening to Otherworld. Hello? Is this Bobby?

Yes, it is. You so wrong? Yeah, let us know when you're ready. Okay, hey. I'm so feeling for you to ask him, but. Can you just tell me some more in the Pacific Islands? It would be superstitious. This is a story about,

It just like comes out like that. Bonnie McKee, and I live in Los Angeles, California. I grew up in the Seattle area, and I was in a choir, a community choir, called the Seattle Girls Choir. And we were a competitive choir. We kicked ass, actually. And so we toured all over the place.

We went to Europe. We sang the Vatican. We went all over America. And the first paranormal experience I ever had was when I was on tour with my choir. and we were playing some kind of choir festival or something in San Antonio, Texas. Of course, there were like 50 of us, so we stayed in like a shitty hotel. And I remember when we got to the hotel, it was like some of us were sleeping on fold-out

couches, and my friend unfolded the couch in there was like broken glass and supposedly like a syringe. Like it was like not a nice spot, right? So I thought I was cooler than everybody. Everybody wanted to go to like Jazz Fest. And I was like, I'm going to stay behind and just chill by myself. I've had enough of this choir geek shit, even though I secretly really loved being in choir. But everybody went off to the choir festival and I stayed behind so I could just watch TV in the hotel room by myself.

And I was in the hotel room. It was like kind of a, it was sort of a sweet because there were like four of us to a room. and the bedroom had French doors. So there's a bedroom with French doors that opened up into the living room. It's, I don't know, maybe 11 o'clock at night and by myself. There's no light but the TV flickering. And I see something out of the corner of my eye. And I looked over and what did I see, but what looked to be a young woman on all fours on the floor,

just staring up in me? And I looked at it and I was like, this can't be real, but I'm seeing it with my eyes. It's the weirdest thing. Anytime something paranormal has happened to me, it's felt like, you know, it's unbelievable, but you're seeing it with your eyes. So like you're either insane or there's something actually there. She was on all fours looking right at me. Like when you find it, when you come across a cat, when you surprise a cat and it's

looking at you. She was looking right at me. She looked to be, I don't know, maybe 20, maybe a teenager. She was pretty and looked young and looked frightened. And I remember feeling sad when I saw her. Like, of course, I was really scared and just confused, but I felt a feeling of sadness, a heavy feeling of sadness. She was sitting right in the doorway, in the French doorway. because they were open into the living room. And so she was there for a few seconds, and then she disappeared. And then I was like, holy shit, I got to get out of here, but like I have to go right through where she just was.

So when I went out of the room, I, like, jumped over the spot where I had seen her and went screaming down the hallway. There were some chaperuns down the hall, and I went screaming down the hall to tell them that I had seen a ghost. And of course, you know, I was like the bad choir girl. Like, nobody ever believed me. I was like always into trouble. always into trouble of some kind. And so they were like,

oh, Bonnie just wants attention, da, da, da, da. And they didn't believe me. And so everybody came back. I told my roommates, and they were spooked, of course. But I was the only person that's that. So I had no way to prove it, you know. So then in the middle of the night, and I don't know if this is related or not, but I'm like really freaked out, obviously. And so I'm like trying to go to sleep because we have a big competition the next day. And I hear a woman's voice. I don't. remember exactly what it said, but it was like, caution or something. And it was like, it was the fire alarm going off in the building. The voice was like a weird female voice. And so I was like

freaked out because I was like, what the hell is going out? You never expect a fire alarm to go off, you know? And I've never had one that talks. But so we all had to like go out single file outside of the hotel and wait for them to figure out what's going on. So there was not a fire. And the hotel reported that no one, they didn't have any video or anything of anyone pulling the fire alarm. So it was just like a weird thing. I don't know. So years later, when the internet is a more available thing, I'm like, what the hell was that place? And when I look it up, I find out that this place used to be an old whorehouse. And I was like, well, there you go. I'm sure there are many girls that met an unfortunate end in that building. So, you know, usually when I tell my

ghost stories, that's not the one I start with, even though that's like the one time that I saw like a ghost, like an actual like, you know, being that I was like, oh shit, that that's like a discernible person that I'm looking at. But it wasn't the scariest one is why. It was just, and I also was like, I was young. Everyone was telling me I was crazy. And I was like, maybe I imagined it. You know, Like, I was like, that's just so weird. Like, I had never had any experiences like that before, so it's hard to know what's real, you know. But so later on in life, I got into the music industry and I was in the middle of, or I had just finished recording and helping write the Katie Perry Teenage Dream album and Bernice Bres Fem Fetal. It was like a brutal work time for me.

I was working day and night. It was, I was completely working myself to death. And I had just gotten my first check. Like I went from being super broke and having nothing to suddenly having fun money. And so I was like, I'm going to go to a nice resort. I'm going to treat myself. I'm going to go for a nice resort. So I went down to San Diego.

And I don't really want to name the place because I don't want to like call them out or anything. And it's this place where you have your own bungalow. There's like special classes. every day. Also, I didn't know I had booked the only week I had free, and it was all women, like middle-aged women. It was like a whole, like, kind of conference thing for, for women in their second half of life or whatever, figuring themselves out. Yeah, so I get to this beautiful resort in San Diego, and it's private. There's, it's like kind of in the woods and a canyon, and you have to check in with a security guard when you go in. And, you know, and, you know,

whole thing and I check in and it's all very beautiful and they bring you tea and they bring you you, you know, little healthy snacks and I was there to really unwind. So every day I would get a treatment. You had a massage every day no matter what, just like a regular Swedish massage, whatever, and then you could go to yoga classes, you could go to, you know, meditation classes or art therapy, whatever it was. It was a myriad of different well-being classes you could attend and treatments you could do. So one of the things was a lymphatic drainage massage where they kind of like rub your lymph nodes and whatever. So we each had our own little bungalows and they were beautiful. It was all kind of like, you know, Eastern style with koi ponds and little bridges

and very, it was really beautiful and tranquil, and I was so happy to be there. So the treatments happen, like the massages and stuff happen in your room. So in my room, you walk in and there's a bed to the right, there's a little kitchen thing to the left with a dining room table, and then there's like a little seating area with a chair, a single chair, and a little table. And so the massage people bring in a massage table and that's where you get your massage. So I was the last treatment of the night and it was about 9 o'clock. I had to get up early the next day for a sunrise hike.

And I had her come in and I was just really relaxed and excited to have one more treatment after a lovely day of being at the spa and doing yoga. and she came in and set up the table and put down a little pretty blanket on it and everything. And I laid down and closed my eyes. And she started working on my lymph nodes like under my ears, like under my jawbone. And it was all fine and good. I mean, sometimes when you get massages, you can have triggers. You can feel emotional.

You can feel kind of sick. you can feel sad, like you can have weird memories come up. That happens to me all the time. I regularly cry during massages. I think it's important to do that because you have a good release, you know. You're holding on to something and your emotions can make you sick if you don't let them go, you know. So she came in. She's doing the massage.

And I start to feel kind of weird and I figure, you know, this happens in massages. And I had never had like a lymphatic drainage thing, whatever. But then I start feeling cold, like really cold, and I'm kind of shivering. And I'm sort of struggling to breathe. Like, I'm kind of like hyperventilating a little bit and like sort of struggling to take a deep breath. And I like open my eyes and I'm looking at her and she's, she just like kind of gives me a nod. And she's like, it's okay. Just like, I'm just doing my thing.

Like, it's all fine. And then I can't, I feel like I'm. sinking and I feel like I'm kind of pinned to the table. And I'm like, this is not something. This is not just me feeling kind of emotional. This is weird. And so I open my eyes to try and I want to like kind of sit up. I'm like feeling like I can't breathe and like kind of stiff and weird,

but I can't sit up. And so I start to panic and I start to cry. But I'm just laying there. tears streaming down the size of my eyes and I'm just like looking at her like scared and then she kind of gives me a look like something sort of shifted in her eyes and she went from doing lymphatic drainage to just like placing her hands like a couple of inches above my body above my heart and and my gut and everything and she's and so I guess she was doing Reiki um which I didn't know at the time what that was or why she was doing it and so I'm like closing

my eyes, I'm like, okay, she's going to help me. I don't know what this is, but whatever. And then I open my eyes and I see like a swooping shadow, like swirling above me, above the table. And I'm just stuck. I can't move. I can't talk. I'm just crying and terrified and cold. And I'm like giving her the eye, like, what the fuck is going on? And she's just kind of ignoring me and just like has her eyes closed and is doing this rakey stuff over me. So the massage was supposed to be an hour and she ended up staying for two hours because I was struggling so much and she couldn't exactly leave me paralyzed on the table. So she was just working through it with me.

And so after two hours, maybe a little more, I finally got my breath back and the shadow kind have dissipated. But it was a very long time of laying there, seeing this fucking shadow, and then, like, closing my eyes, trying to ignore it, trying to, like, tap into the girl and, like, let her heal me from whatever the hell was happening. And it just wouldn't stop. It just went on and on and on. And I felt like I was dying. I was like, am I dying? Like, what is happening? I was, like, out of my own body. I was, like, seeing this swooping shadow. And finally, I broke out of it. And I sat up and said, what the fuck? was that and she said you just have to ignore them and I said ignore what like she said the demons you just

have to ignore the demons and I was like what do you mean the demons and she said I forgot to mention I'm I'm a medium and she's like well I saw you struggling and I was like did you see the thing and she's like I don't pay any attention to it you can't give it any energy don't acknowledge it and I was like, okay, so you're, but you are acknowledging that I'm not crazy and that there was something here, you know? She's like, you just have to ignore it. Don't give it any, any more energy. And I was like, great, okay. So I'm hysterical. She's like, okay, bye, get night. And she leaves. I was pissed. I was pissed. That's not what I signed up for. I was paralyzed, laying on that table, unable to move, unable to speak, tears streaming down my face for probably an hour

and a half, I'd say. Okay, we have to take a quick break, but we will be right back. All right, I hate to interrupt, but I just have to say, no matter what you believe about this stuff, because I know we have a wide range of perspectives in the audience, no matter what you believe, she signed up for one thing and was given something completely different. She signed up for a massage, and this person was clearly doing something else to her. If you sign up for a massage that's supposed to be an hour long, and then two hours later, you find yourself paralyzed in tears, and not to mention that there's some kind of swooping black void above you,

I think anybody would be very upset. I didn't know too much about Reiki when I recorded this story, but I did meet a Reiki healer in the process of working on a different episode. So I asked them about it. And I told them the basics of what happened and their jaw hit the floor. So I'm going to let Bonnie take it from here, but I thought that was worth mentioning. After this whole thing happened with the swoopy demon, I was in my room hysterical. I'm livid and I'm terrified.

And I'm like, and then she's like, good night. And I was like, what the fuck? So I'm just really scared. I call my mom because my mom's into like meditation and woo-woo stuff. And I'm like, Mom, I don't know. Something really weird just happened. And she was like, just get your crystals and send it light. Send it light.

And so I'm sitting there like hysterically crying in my room. And this little seating area has a chair that was just facing me. And I felt like it was just sitting there watching me. And I was like, what? I was just terrified. So I'm like trying to send it light. Like I can't see it anymore. But I feel this thing.

I feel like I'm being watched and I feel heavy. I feel scared. So by this point it's like midnight. And it's pouring down rain. And I was supposed to get up at 5 in the morning for a sunrise hike, right? So I'm just like, I don't think that's going to happen anymore. And then I get a knock at the door. It's like midnight.

It's pouring down rain. This place in San Diego is wooded. There's a whole gate. You have to like come up and check in with security when you come in. And it's private. It's very private. So it's not a thing where people can walk in off the street or anything like that. And I'm like, what the fuck is this?

What now? I'm like, maybe the masseuse came back to give me some herbs or something to help me. I don't know. And I opened the door and there's this girl standing in the rain. This young girl, because all the other women there were older. And so I was like, I haven't seen this person here. And she's just soaking wet. standing in the rain outside of my door at midnight, crying.

And I'm like, are you okay? Like, what's going on? And she, but then I was like, something's weird with her. She said, I didn't know where else to go. I've never seen this girl before. Like, this is the youngest person I've seen in a week, you know? And I said, what do you mean? She's like, I knew that you were the only person that would understand.

And I like, the more I look at her, the more I see, like, her eyes. are like black. Her eyes are like super dilated and I'm like maybe she's on drug. Like this is just very strange timing and I didn't know she just stood there and in the rain and I was like well do you want to come inside like which was maybe a mistake but I didn't know what was I going to be like all right good night like leave someone crying in the rain so I was like okay come inside um you know I got to go to bed soon but come inside I'll make you a cup of tea or something so she'd come and I make her some tea, I give her a towel, and also, like, I don't know why she was soaking wet. Like, the bungalows are private, but you wouldn't have to walk that far in the right.

Like, she must have been standing out in the rain for a while. And I don't know why she was out there in the middle of night either. Anyway, so she comes in and she starts rambling. She just launches into this whole rant about how her husband is trying to kill her, and she's sure of it, and she's hired a price. an private investigator. And now she's thinking maybe she needs to hire a hitman because she needs to beat him to it. And I'm just like, what the fuck is this girl talking about? And then in the middle of her rambling, she gestures to the chair and says, when the devil's sitting right there, you just got to laugh. And then I was like, this girl knows something or is tapped into something or maybe this swoopy demon is inhabited her body. I don't know.

It was very strange because it's not like her conversation was really related to anything specifically paranormal or whatever, but she just kept saying shit like that and referencing things that felt like what I had just gone through. And I kept saying like, well, it's getting late, you know. She was there for like an hour. Like I could not get rid of her. And I was like, well, I got to get this sunset, this sunrise hike. I gotta go do so, you know.

And then I finally was like, good night and got her out. And she's like, thank you so much. Like she seemed to kind of calm down and seem normal again. And I was like, maybe the drugs were off, maybe the demon, I don't know. But she finally chilled out and left. And then the next morning I went on the sunrise hike with all of these older women and was like, have you guys seen this other girl? Like, there's a young blonde girl that came.

to my door in the middle of the night and was just talking crazy. And they're like, oh, yeah, she's weird. None of us have talked to her. If we haven't seen her in the cafeteria, she doesn't go to any of the classes. She just stays in her bungalow all day. And we don't know what's going on with her. We were talking about how she's weird. So I'm like telling these ladies about what happened. They're like, you should go back to the masseuse because it's like a staff. And I don't know if they live on site or whatever. But so I book another appointment with her and I'm like, look, you got to help me. I feel like this is something really weird happened and I feel very uneasy and I feel scared. And this chick came to my room and it seemed like she was possessed or something. Like something is

wrong and I need you to fix it. And she's like, okay, yeah, we'll do another session. So she does another like Reiki session. Nothing happens. I don't feel anything. I don't see anything. I just am still holding on to this feeling of dread and like I'm constantly being watched. And then so for the rest of the week, I'm like, I'm in like a rebirthing class and I'm in like the pool. And the whole time I just feel like I'm being watched like with like something menacing as of just watching me. I just felt uneasy and scared the whole time and like very distracted by this feeling. Like I was like, okay, I just need to shake it off. Like I did another session with her.

It should be gone. Everything should be fine. But I couldn't stop thinking. about it. And so for the rest of the trip, I just felt paranoid and, and like I was being watched and followed. And so I talked to her. Every day I went and checked in was like, can you tell me more about it? And she's like, don't think about it. Don't give it energy. The more fear you have, it feeds it. And I'm like, okay, great. That's like saying don't think about an elephant, you know? And I was like, this is fucking.

weird this place is weird i mean look this place is really expensive and it's it's nice and like i've thought about going back just because i was like it has all the checks all the boxes of like what kind of an experience i want to have but there was just some fucking weird energy at this place that i was like something is not adding it for me so anyway so then i i came back from my trip i still felt the sinking feeling when i got home like i took the train and back from San Diego and was like staring out the window just like, well, I'm glad I'm just going to be home and I don't have to like be around all this weirdness anymore. And then I got home and it, the feeling didn't go away. And I was like, maybe I'm just like PTSD. Maybe I'm just

scared. I mean, it's spooky, you know? It was a scary experience. I was like, am I going to die on this Reiki table? The fuck, you know? And then I went back in. I was working with, you know, Max Martin and whatever. And he was like, how was your vacation? Like, he knew it was like my first, like, fancy, fancy trip I had bought for myself. And I was like, um, he was like, do you feel relaxed? And I was like, I didn't want to sound ungrateful. And I was like, I just, it's really hard to explain.

But it was kind of weird. And I just didn't tell him because I was like embarrassed, you know. But so I came home and then like, continue. to have this weird watching me feeling, tried to shake it off, like got back into work, so I was distracted, so I wasn't noticing it as much. But at night, I felt that feeling again. I felt that cold feeling, that sinking feeling. And it felt like, it felt like it was almost like communicating with me. Like, because you can, you know, when you're just scared, you just feel scared. But then it felt like there was an awareness, like a consciousness around me.

and I felt like it was in the room and I was too scared to look and then I like literally was like a little kid like hiding under the covers and then I peeked and then I saw in the doorway shadowy figure and was just like go away and I remember I told I think I said go away and it just like stood there silently and I was like okay and so then next day I called my therapist, or I emailed him, I think. I'm sure I could find the email somewhere. And I was like, what do I do? And he was like, don't engage with it. And that's what everyone kept telling me, don't engage with it. And I was like, well, it seems kind of rude. I mean, he's like in my bedroom. Like, I'm supposed to just like not say anything. And it like, I was hoping to like, get rid of it and, you know, command it to leave or whatever. So I'm like saging my house, whatever. And like, I knew it wasn't my house that was haunted. I knew that I had like picked up a demon in San Diego. Like, because I had never felt anything in my house. Like my house is like full of

light and love and nothing weird ever happened here. So I know it's not my house. It's the same fucking thing. It followed me. And then for like almost like maybe eight months or something, I, I had bad luck. I just, kept having things fall through. I kept getting in fights with friends or misunderstandings or I just like had this like gloom about me that I couldn't shake. And so I went to like a witch doctor, if you will, that was recommended to me by a friend and was like, I got to get, I need help. Because I was in therapy. I was taking my meds. I was doing everything that I knew how to do. I was like praying and crystals and saging and I just wouldn't stop.

And so I went to a spiritual healer person. She was very eccentric, as you would imagine. And I sat down and she was like, tell me what's going on. And I was like, I was like, why don't you tell me? And she was like, well, it seems like you have an entity attached to you. You have several. Like, great, cool. So she laid me in on a table.

she covered me in a sheet and then she placed crystals all over my body everywhere and then like in my crotch area where like the you know the the the sheet was kind of dipping down uh she put like a bunch of little tiny crystals like almost like gravel of crystals um and she put some on my chest and on my forehead over my eyes and then she started doing singing bowls and like playing music and stuff. And then she started speaking in all of these different voices and almost like directing these spirits out of me like an air traffic controller. Or she was like, like I don't remember exactly what she said, but it was like, please exit kind of thing. Where it was like she was, she's talked in this weird little kind of baby voice and

and instructed them to leave. And then there was like a deeper voice that she used. It was like she used different voices for different entities, I guess. And then I felt her like moving the crystals on my chest. I'm like, I had crystals over my eyes so I couldn't see what was going on. But the crystals on my chest started moving around. But then I felt her hands on my feet. And I was like, who's moving these crystals on my chest if you're holding my feet?

What the hell? And I was like, that's weird. And then I felt the little, the ones, the gravel ones that were kind of on top of my crotch over the sheet start to move around, like popping, like pop rocks or like popcorn. And I was like, what is happening? And then the whole ceremony was over and she took the crystals off my eyes. And so I could see what was happening. And the crystals on my chest and in my crotch continued to move. And she's like, think of it like a, like a filter.

Like, they're still doing their work. I was like, okay. And then I felt really like I was on acid. Like, I felt like I was, like, everything was brighter, everything was lighter. Things were kind of psychedelic and wonky and a painter, and I went on my way. And I haven't seen it since. Oh, well, I had a picture of my ex-boyfriend on my phone at the time, like as my screen It was not a cute relationship. It was pretty traumatizing, to be honest. I remember she saw his picture and she gasped and said, who's that? I said, that's my boyfriend. And she said, he's going to suck all the light out of you. And you know what? She was totally fucking right. And that, like, stuck with me. Okay. Thank you, Bonnie McKee for telling us those stories. Wow. That second one, I don't know where to start.

I guess I'll start by saying, Bonnie, I think you were being too nice to that resort. You're being way too nice. If it were me, I would be marching down to that lobby very quickly and asking to speak to a manager. I know nobody wants to be doing that in 2022, but, you know, I think if a masseuse brings a demon into your suite and then possibly puts that demon inside of you, I think it's perfectly safe to go down there and. at least try to get a refund. Maybe, maybe some credit. Although I don't think you would want to go back and stay at that resort ever again. So, thank you so much to Bonnie for coming on this podcast.

And with that, it brings us to the end of the second episode of Otherworld. But stay tuned, folks. I have even crazier stories coming up. If you haven't yet, please subscribe to the podcast. Leave us a positive review. It really, really helps. And please tell your friends. It's an independent show and we could really use your support.

So please subscribe, leave a positive review, and tell your friends about Otherworld. Thank you so much for listening. I'm your host, Jack Wagner. Stay tuned for episode three. Otherworld is executive produced and hosted by myself, Jack Wagner. Our theme song is by Cobra Man. Our music today is by Trey or Trion, Julia Byrne, Kodak Graph, Chrome Sparks, and North Americans. Production Help and Editing by Theo Schaefer.

Our artwork is by Coltac Studios. If you or somebody you know has experienced something paranormal, supernatural, or unexplained, you could send us a story to stories at otherworldpod.com.