Radio Rental - Episode 16

Episode Date: October 8, 2021

On today’s tapes… >> The Tunnel > Intruder

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Got you, didn't I? Be honest. I got you. You know I got you. Oh, I would have loved to have seen the look on your podcast-listening faces. Well, where are my manners? Welcome back, everyone, to Radio Rental, the video store of your worst nightmares. I, Terry Carnation, possess a coveted collection of the creepiest, most spine-tingling and outright disturbing stories you've ever heard. And the scariest part is,

they're all real. Real stories from real people. My collection is housed right here at Radio Rental. Hold on, let me turn this down a little bit. Sorry, just getting in the mood for my favorite holiday. I bet you can guess which one it is. Hint, it's in October. That's right. October 6th, Random Acts of Poetry Day. In my opinion, Random Poetry Day doesn't get nearly enough attention. Just imagine approaching a total stranger with a whimsical haiku.

Or maybe leaving an untitled sonnet on your mother-in-law's dashboard. I don't know, just a couple of creative ideas. Anyways, while we're on the topic of holidays, I'll bet you've noticed we've been doing a little redecorating around here. Halloween is fast approaching, and that's the time of year Radio Rental really shines. We've got a couple of dynamite specials you'll want to take advantage of, like the Psycho Special.

30% off if you bring your mother. 50% off if you dress up as your mother. Anyway, let's just cut to the chase, shall we? Let's pop in the first tape from my extra special collection. Let me see here. Totally random. Closing my eyes and choosing. Oh, this one. Oh, this one's good. Oh, this one's good. Starting off strong. I think we're in for a good run, my friend. Enjoy.

I was in seventh grade and it was the one year my mom got transferred to Mobile, Alabama. I moved there, and I immediately got a weird vibe from that city. It was like backwards, but creepy. Very much a true detective kind of vibe in Mobile, Alabama. I was really little, and I guess now it's fashionable to be into Satan and occult stuff. But back then, that was a long time ago, and that wasn't really a thing. But it seemed like all these little kids were into it, but they're all also kind of rednecks. I don't know.

It was an unusual vibe for me. I had just, just started skateboarding. When you start skating, you interpret the whole world as like, is that skatable, is that skatable? Moving into our new place and passing over this overpass, and we saw this concrete ditch, me and my brothers, and we were like, we are going to skate that. We got to the house, got our boards, went over to this ditch. It was like half pipe size.

Kind of went down, you know, and had this big eight feet of flat and then it just kind of slanted up at maybe, you know, 45 degree angle on either side so you could just like skate down and go back up. I met a friend there whose name was Sam. Me and him would go back there and skate all the time. One day, we were skating there, and we thought, we should follow this ditch into the woods

and see where it leads to. The ditch just kind of went into the woods. We thought, I'll just follow it and see where it goes to. It's daytime, really pretty actually. We're kind of going further into the woods. After a while, we just get to a dead end. In front of us is just this vertical wall where it just stops. And then it continues from there into just like a circular tunnel. And in front of that tunnel are a couple of metal bars.

I was just thinking, I want to keep going, but also I'm a little nervous because this looks kind of scary. We're both thinking the same thing and then it was like right at that moment when we hear the voice. Come inside. Sounds like shuffling inside and then a second time come inside. I wanted to run but I could not respond. I was just like a deer in the headlights. I felt like my muscles were just locked in place. I couldn't do anything, I was just standing there. And then this electronic tone started playing.

A note that was kind of like... I composed music on synthesizers. I don't know how I could replicate that sound. At that point, it was like, went from like scared to super scared. It wasn't really happy or sad because there wasn't really a melody to it. Suddenly I see these eyes, they just all come on at once. A little ways into the tunnel. A bunch of sets of glowing eyes.

Multiple sets. At our height, higher than our height, lower than our height, multiple heights. The eyes were a whitish golden color. We're looking at them for a few seconds and then just blink. I had like a break in my memory. I don't remember what happened. The next thing I remember standing in front of us on the other side of the bars outside of the tunnel is a family of five. The dad and a mom and three kids. They're all blonde hair, blue-eyed,

and they all have bicycles. I'm standing there looking at them, scrambled for a minute, what just happened. There's no break. I don't remember falling asleep or anything. Just seamless from one thing to the next. There was no blackout. It was one thing,

then instantly another thing. It was definitely eerie. Why don't I remember them climbing over the bars? Why don't I remember them putting their bikes over the bars? I remember them actually coming out of the tunnel. They were just there. Instantly, we're looking at the people on the bikes. I mean, they looked like people.

I never actually touched them. They didn't look translucent or anything like that. They looked like people. But it was awfully odd that they had these features. Their eyes kind of looked, I don't know if it was sunken or what, but definitely unusual eyes. And I'm kind of like looking them up and down, and I see the littlest one, she's a little girl who's maybe like six years old,

and she has these dark circles under her eyes. So I said, great, I've never even tried drugs or anything, but my first thought when I saw her was, that kid looks like she's on drugs. Nothing is said between any of us for a few moments. The dad holds out his hand, and he had a box in his hand, a grayish box, I don't really know what material it was made out of.

And he said, the next time you hear this, you'll know that it's us. He could tell we were scared, and he thought it was kind of funny. He could tell that we were scared, and he was kind of amused by it. And then they all got on their bikes and pedaled away on their bikes. We waited for a while, I guess just until we felt like enough time had gone by that they rode away because we were scared of them. We both thought it was a really weird thing, but we didn't have any sort of theories about it. Your mind sort of instinctively wants to rationalize it away. So much of it doesn't make any sense. Maybe they're dead people and somehow under some circumstances

you can see dead people as though they're alive. They died under some circumstances that kept some part of their consciousness attached to the material plane or whatever you would want to call it. Maybe it was a family that was really into occult stuff and they were going in there to do some kind of ritual or something like that. It doesn't explain the eyes. It doesn't explain the time jump. But I thought maybe whatever they were doing, it involved being possessed or something

like that. Whatever they were doing in the tunnel involved them getting possessed by something. The glowing eyes, I've seen eyes in every different kind of circumstance at this point in my life. I've never seen anything like that. When they tell of, like, alien stories and they have, like, missing time, you know, they see a UFO, and then the next thing they know, they're parked on the side of the road and it's flying away or something like that,

that's kind of what it reminds me of. Something's happening, and then the next thing you know, something else is happening. When I've heard people tell those stories, that's what it kind of reminds me of. Some people think they were alien hybrids because they happened to all be blonde-haired and blue-eyed. And I think that in the sort of alien lore or whatever, there's blonde-haired, blue-eyed aliens. My feeling is that we're kind of building a little edifice of what we think we know.

And it's just a small sliver of what is actually there there's kind of like a cultural pressure to just stay within that edifice i don't know what that quality of your brain is that makes it without even you wanting to it wants to rationalize things away i haven't't met anyone who's had a similar experience. I am so dreading groceries this week. Why? You can skip it. Oh, what? Just like that? Just like that.

How about dinner with my third cousin? Skip it. Prince Fluffy's favorite treats? Skippable. Midnight snacks? Skip. My neighbor's nightly saxophone practices? Uh, nope.

You're on your own there. Could have skipped it. Should have skipped it. Skip to the good part and get groceries, meals, and more delivered right to your door on Skip. Get ready for Las Vegas-style action at BetMGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas-drift excitement MGM is famous for

when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette. Download the BetMGM casino app today. BetMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. BetMGM.com for T's and C's, 90 plus to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor So while you were listening to that strange little tale, I was doing a little holiday research on the old Bing,

and I found that October 23rd is National TV Talk Show Host Day. Can you believe that? What a bunch of bullcrappy. Where's the respect for radio talk show host personalities? Don't the TV show hosts get enough attention because they're so good looking with their pearly whites and they don't have chicken tikka masala stains on their turtlenecks? Oh, so they get their own holiday? Why am I so mad about this, gentle listener? Well, perhaps you've

forgotten who I am. I am also Terry Carnation, the illustrious host of the former late-night AM radio paranormal talk show sensation, Dark Air. We went off the airwaves due to some unforeseen events. A very force majeure type of situation. Okay, I lost my marbles for a while, but I am sure there will be lots of adventures in store for me and for us when I finally make my comeback on KSB radio. And also Apple, McPodcasts, and Spootify. All of them, you know. Well, you know the ones I mean. You know, talking about all these big companies makes me think of consumerism.

So let's go sell some stuff. How about an ad? Okay, what do we got here? Oh, here's a good one. Have you ever been to the gym and thought, I could really use a drink? Have you ever been to a restaurant and wished you were being served something a little stronger than tap water? Well, then I have the perfect product for you introducing wine bags. It's like a tea bag, but it's with wine in it. Just steep one in your glass of water and presto change-o, you're basically Jesus incarnate. Or at least a Christ-like figure at parties. Merlot? Here you go. Pinot Noir? Absolutely.

Chardonnay? Well, they're actually still working on that one. Fine by me. I hate Chardonnay. But these bags are so good, they'll have you saying Grape Scott. Seriously? That's their tagline? Ugh.

No wonder the sales are so abysmal. Well, if you would like to offend every sommelier in the world, get 10% off your next shipment using my very special discount code, Gary. Gary? They didn't even get my name right. Ah, fine. Well, um, I, Terry Carnation,

am contractually obliged to finish this so-called ad. So for 10% off your wine bags, use the code Gary, and I hope you choke to death on it. Not really. I love you. So for 10% off your wine bags, use the code Gary, and I hope you choke to death on it. Not really. I love you. It was 1998. I was a 10th grader. I had just woken up at my friend Lindsay's house.

It was after a sleepover. Wake up and I don't know, we didn't feel like hanging out anymore. I realized that I can just get up and go home since I have my license in my car. So I just leave. And I knew that my whole house would be empty. Everyone was going to be gone at church. It was Palm Sunday and my mom was hesitant to let me go even to my friend's house at that point. She's like, well tomorrow's Palm Sunday, you know, you gotta go.

And I convinced her somehow not to. So I knew they would be gone. I could have the house to myself for a nice long time. I could do whatever for a while. It's something I loved as a teenager. So I walk in, everything looks normal. So I decided to go upstairs to my room and it was a teenage girl's room. Clothes everywhere, magazines, dishes, CD cases, notes, pens, pencils, everything. It was

just a disaster. I was definitely the slob of the family. I knew that my parents at some point would ask me to come and pick it up anyways. So I kind of figured I'd get ahead of the curve and just do it myself. I remember going over to my pile of CDs that were just kind of out everywhere. I'll throw in some music and just like have a good time in my room. I had just bought the CD License to Ill by the Beastie Boys. So I throw it in and I crank it up super loud. No one's home. I'll just cut loose and have fun.

I'm in my drawers ripping things out of my drawers, just going, I don't need this anymore, putting it in a pile. And I hear something different, not a usual noise. A pounding or a slam. It was too early for my parents to be home, so I thought it might be unlikely for it to be a car door. It was weird, it just kind of raised my hair a little bit. I run downstairs, not really thinking,

but I'm coming down the stairs fast. I turn the corner, and all of a sudden, it's like running into an invisible wall. I see him. This stranger in my house. A police officer standing in the kitchen. The officer wasn't at my front door, he's just inside my house, standing in the kitchen. He's a middle-aged guy, he didn't look particularly athletic.

He's got his hand up like warning me not to move and his other hand is down near his gun. Before I could say anything he tells me to stop, freeze. I instantly felt like I was in danger. If somebody's here to tell you bad news, ask for your help, they're not going to tell you to stop and freeze in your own home. Before I can get any words out, the officer is like, what are you doing here? What's your name? Where do you live? He's drilling me with these questions.

He won't let me speak which feels insane. Did I drive to the wrong house? I didn't know it was just so bizarre. Made me question my own reality. He's either lying or I'm absolutely insane. Either I'm nuts or this guy's full of shit. He pulls a walkie-talkie and he's kind of talking into it. Saying things like, says she lives here, says she's alone. I'm like, are my parents

okay? What are you doing here? As he's talking back and forth, I can't really hear what's being said. He's like, your mom is upstairs. She's locked in the attic. We got a 911 call. There's an intruder in your house.

I'm looking around what I think is my house, wondering if I'm nuts or if this cop is just full of shit. I'm looking at his uniform. Is this fake? Does he have all the proper cop materials? He's telling me my mom's upstairs. I'm like, how did you get in here? I thought I locked the door.

We had a dog, where the hell was she? My dog wasn't around. What did he do with my dog? My instincts were telling me that something was wrong. I started to wonder if this man was really a cop. Why would she be in the attic? No one was at home. I couldn't hear anybody when I was there.

It was empty. I'm completely frightened. I don't trust this guy. I'm thinking about the places I can run in my house. There's no place I can go. I can't hide from this person. No one's around. It feels like the neighborhood is just empty.

He looked like an officer. He acted like one, but I couldn't be sure. Is he telling me the truth? Is he here to help me? Hurt me? As I'm running through all of these things in my head, he's kind of listening into his walkie-talkie. He kind of starts to smirk at me. This freaky little smile on his face. Didn't know what was going through his head. I wanted this guy to stay where he was away from me. This is it. I got to do something right now. I'm looking at my front door which was locked. Couldn't really go there. He would have gotten to me by then. I don't trust this guy. I had grown up in Minnesota

when Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped and it just rocked my childhood completely. Jacob Wetterling, he was kidnapped and everybody would always talk about him. He would be on milk cartons, papers. We were just so freaked out of any stranger. Still missing tonight, Jacob Wetterling, age 11. This was one more day of agony for St. Joseph, Minnesota, population 3,200. The kind of place where you don't expect a child to be kidnapped at gunpoint. It's the most feared type of abduction, won by a complete stranger.

No ransom note, no contact. Jacob, his little brother, and one other boy had gone to a convenience store to rent a videotape. When they reached this spot, they saw the man dressed in black holding the gun. He told us to put our bikes in the ditch and lay down. And then we did that. He asked them their ages. Jacob answered 11. And these two boys were then told to run away.

It was instant panic. I just, I couldn't, I can't fathom this. Then he says to me, go upstairs. Oh my God. He's going to, go upstairs. Oh my god. He's going to do something terrible. I don't move. I don't want to listen to him. It occurs to me to be like, hey, you said you were an officer.

Why don't you go up there? Shakes his head. He says, no. Go up there. I'm kind of trying to inch over to my stairway, away from him, but stay sideways so I can see where he is, see if he's coming at me. My heart is racing.

And then I see this head kind of slowly creep around the corner. It's not a scary face. It's a scared face, but I can't make out who it is. I look harder, and it's my sister. She screams my name like she hadn't seen me in years. What are you doing here? She faked being sick after she realized

that I didn't have to go to church and my parents let her stay at home. And she thought that I would be at my friend's house all morning, like I typically would be. So she was awoken by what she described to the 911 operator as hoodlum music. She thought that a pack of punks was in her house, destroying it on Palm Sunday morning to Beastie Boys music. It was so ridiculous. So she gets in the attic because she thinks the closet is too obvious.

Calls 911. This operator, for whatever reason, mistakes my sister for our mom and thinks there's a bunch of kids in our house, maybe with a gun, which I guess is why this officer is so weary of me. Her fear just paralyzed her. Fear can just really mess with your head. It can make you forget.

It can make you just be paralyzed in your body and in your mind. The operator must have told the officer, like, hey, it's the sister up there. There's nothing going on here. He might have been an asshole, but I realized he's smirking because it was probably really funny to him. You know, like this, this whole situation, you know, this older sister upstairs was just like, oh, my God, my house is being robbed.

And the cop was just like, all right, you guys are good. I'm out. He just left. It was a series of miscommunications and misunderstandings. We talk about what's on the charts and find those up-and-coming podcasts you'll be talking about. It's like a fun and smart book club discussing what makes good storytelling and teaching how to become a critical listener. Or not. And stick around for the Crime Writers Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down reviews. It's the original True Crime Review podcast.

Crime Writers On, wherever you get your podcasts. Like probably right here. I'm sorry that tale was so scary. But if you wanted something warm and fuzzy, you should have chosen... What's it called? Bend It Like... Ted? What's that, Malachi? Ted Lasso? How would you know from that title that it's about soccer?

It sounds like it should be about a rodeo. At least Radio Rental is a very clear title. I rent videos. I work on the radio. And it happens to be Cockney slang for crazy. Oh, Radio Rental. Right? Totally mental. Couldn't be clearer.

Straightforward. Catchy. Double meaning. Anyway, my friends, I've had a diabolically wonderful time with you today. And we've got a lot more in store for you this season on Radio Rental. The spooky, the chilling, and the downright... Oh, that story was so wrong. Why did I listen to that whole thing?

Believe me when I tell you it will be a door bolting, window locking, best friend calling good time. I'll see you for the next episode at Radio Rental. I love you. by Payne Lindsey, Mike Rooney, and Meredith Stedman, with additional production by Eric Quintana. Written by Meredith Stedman. Additional writing by Mark Laughlin. Sound design by Cooper Skinner. Original score by Makeup and Vanity Set. Cover art by Trevor Eiler and Rob Sheridan. If you have a Radio Rental story that you'd like to share, please email us at yourscarystory at gmail.com or contact us via the form on our website, RadioRentalUSA.com. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at Radio Rental. You can also follow the illustrious Terry Carnation on social media. Just search at Terry Carnation. To hear more from Terry, listen to his podcast, Dark Air. Special thanks to Grace Royer and Oren Rosenbaum at UTI,

The Nord Group, Station 16, Beck Media and Marketing, and the team at Cadence 13. On behalf of the Radio Rental Store, we'd love it if you'd subscribe, rate, and review. And don't forget to share our show with a friend of the genre. Thanks for listening. I'm Nadine Bailey. I've been a ghost tour guide for 20 years

and have taken people into haunted places to uncover macabre tales and dark secrets. On my podcast, Haunted Canada, I share bone chilling stories of the unexplained. Search for Haunted Canada on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you're listening right now. Then join me if you dare.