Radio Rental - Episode 87

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Welcome to Radio Rental, a mysterious video rental shop with a collection of VHS tapes containing TRUE scary stories, narrated by the people who experienced them... On today's tapes... >> Groundhog Day

You're listening to a Tenderfoot TV podcast. I'm Chris Hadfield, astronaut and citizen of planet Earth. Join me on a journey into the systems that power the world. No politics, just real conversations with real people shaping the future of energy. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer.

and my mom is a cousin, so, like, it's not, like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. Well, 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family.

And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Coming September 2nd. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hate waiting a week for the next episode of Radio Rental?

Subscribe to Tenderfoot Plus. to get early access to episodes, ad-free listening, and bonus scary stories. Visit tenorfootplus.com for details. The following podcast includes scary stories with content that could be triggering to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised. Take a break from the same old boring blockbusters

and experience a new kind of movie night with Radio Rental. At Radio Rental, our videos come to life in your living room, defy all logic and reasoning, and make you question your own reality. This is not your ordinary video rental store. At Radio Rental, we carry one-of-a-kind videos, so frightening, so mind-bending,

you won't be able to sleep at night. You've gone. Radio Rental. What is it? What do you want? I don't have a treat. Get away from my coffee. Oh, uh, hi.

Hi there. Can I... Oh, oh wait. Here we go. I'm supposed to read from this, I guess. Anyway, shop bell rings. Okay. When someone walks in, yada, yada, yada.

Here we go. Welcome to Radio Rental, a video rental shop with an exclusive collection of the scariest stories you've ever heard, all told by real people. Why is that underline? I don't understand that. God, what? I don't know what you want.

I'm just going to keep going. Hi, I'm Jared. I'm filling in for Terry Carnation today. I don't usually do this kind of thing. Usually I just come here like twice a year to fix the AC, upwards of ten times for the plumbing. And Terry had me seal up some hole in the floor a while ago. He said the hole was void or something.

Void of what? I have no idea. That guy's kind of, you know. Anyway, totally out of the blue. Terry left me a strange voicemail. Here, you can listen for yourself. Hey, Jared. How's it going? It's me, Terry Carnation from Radio Rental. Sorry, I know it's 3.35 in the morning, but I'm going to need you to come down here ASAP, like tomorrow, like today, and help me with something.

It's not the AC this time. It's kind of a, well, it's kind of a bigger ask. When you arrive, I won't actually be there. You can find instructions left in an envelope inside the Omni magazine December 19. 85 issue, the one on male pregnancy, and Isaac Asimov, you don't need to bring your tools. But bring an overnight bag and tell no one. Okay, bye. Yep. So not the usual house call. Pretty weird. And yet here I am. With my overnight bag, like a child. No fucking clue where Terry is. Just trying to fix stuff around the store while I wait. Fix the rolling chair.

Look, roll smoothly now. Isn't that nice? Just a little WD40, and I tighten the screws. But no more fixing things pro bono, Terry, no more until I get paid. Yeah. So I guess I'm just supposed to keep an eye on the store and some precious collection of tapes while he's gone. And speaking of, it says here, I'm supposed to play one of those tapes for you, if you ask, the ones with the scary stories. Is that what you want?

Hello. From an exclusive collection? Or an exclusive collection, you think you would have taken better care of these? This box has fallen apart. Not my problem. Not my problem. Anyway, is there any rhyme or reason to this? Clear.

Great. We'll play this one. Hope you haven't seen it. Don't really care if you have. Okay, here it goes. Oh wait, this one says Groundhog Day. I love Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. Oh, this is a classic.

You're gonna love it. Jeez, that does not sound good. Something's grinding in there. I could probably... Nope. Not fixing anything else still unpaid. So about 12, 13 years ago, I moved into a new area. I was excited because it was my first time moving out. I ended up getting a roommate three to four months into moving to that new area.

I really wanted to meet new people like around my age to hang out with and so forth. My roommate suggested that I download a meeting app or a dating app to meet new people around the area. So I came in and I downloaded the stating app. I met a few people on the app. Good conversation with majority of them. But eventually I met this guy who was pretty cool. He was down to earth. Conversation was great on the app.

So we decided to meet in person and just do a dinner-in-a-movie type thing. We went to dinner, had a great time there, conversation was great, but we ate a lot, and we was torn with the idea if we should go to the movies or not. But we ended up going, and we decided to go see Lincoln. I was excited because Abraham Lincoln is like one of my favorite presidents to read about. I was happy. him, not so much, but he agreed to go. During the duration of the movie, I saw him dozing off, but I was so engrossed with the movie. We got through the movie, and after the movies, we decided to go back to my place to continue

the night, just to go back, have a couple of drinks, chat, and we got into his car, and we kind of sat in the car for a few minutes talking. And maybe like five minutes later, I started to feel different. Everything around me was going at a normal pace, but it just felt like I was slow. But I looked over to him. He was just having a conversation,

you know, acting like nothing that's wrong. He was still talking, he was doing hand gestures and stuff like that. So it was no indication that he didn't see nothing wrong with me, what is going on. Like I was in like in a deep trance. That's when the cycle started. He started to drive to my place. Again, I was just slow in nature. waking up from a nap and it just everything just seems so like ugh he reached

towards the radio and asked me if I want to change the radio station I don't remember answering him whatever I did it must have let him know that yeah go for it so he changed the radio station a few moments after that he pointed out the window and ask me, is this my exit? Again, no indication from me to let them know that this is my exit or not, but we got off on the exit. The whole time, I'm still, feel sluggish. I feel weird. As we're getting off the exit, I looked down at my phone, which was in my lap, and it says 1029. He continued to have his comments. He looked at me and asked me if I want to change the radio.

And I looked at him, but I was like, wait, did he not just ask me this? Like, it kind of felt like deja vu. I was like, did he not just ask me this a while ago? And he reached for the radio and he changed the radio station. In a few moments after that, he pointed out the window and asked, Is this your exit? That's when I looked at him again. I was thinking, I was like, wait, we just got off on my exit.

Why are we, why are you asking for, if this is the exit again? If we are, we just got on. We got off on the exit. And I remember looking down at my phone and it says 1029 and darkness. I came to, I looked at him still having a conversation, I became scared because this is the second time this happened. What is going on? As I was processing everything, he looked at me again and asked, do you want me to change the radio station? I was just remember just looking at him

Just like, what? Why you keep asking me this? Why this is repeating? Like, why does it keep happening? You went to change the radio. A few moments later, he pointed out the window And he said, is this your exit? I looked down on my phone.

It says 1029. And darkness. I came to again. That's when I realized something was totally wrong with me because I was like, what is going on? While I keep seeing 1029, he's acting like nothing is going on. I'm freaking up because this is like the third time

that this repeating cycle has happened. It kept happening, maybe like three or four times. Do you want me to change the radio station? Is this your exit? Look down on my phone, 1029, darkness. After the fifth time, I have to do something to break this cycle. Thank you to myself, I said maybe when he asked

if I want to change the radio station, grab his arm, prevent him from changing the radio station, maybe they would break the cycle. Right when he was by, to reach for the radio, I grabbed his arm, but it felt like I had to push through this force to get to his arm. Like I was fighting some invisible barrier. I grabbed it and he looked at me and he asked, do you want me to change the radio station? That's when I felt actually defeated.

I knew something was seriously wrong because that didn't work. I didn't break the cycle. I felt really scared and afraid. And then it happened again. A few moments later, he pointed out the window. Is this your exit? I looked at my phone.

It says 10.29. and then darkness. I came to, but this time, I was at my apartment complex. I felt normal. I felt normal. I felt perfectly fine, like nothing had happened to me. I was just fine. I was like, whoa, what was that?

Like, what happened? And I looked down on my phone and it was like 10.40 something. And I was like, oh, wow, it's not 1029 anymore. And I was like, well, at least it's not 1029 anymore. And that's when I looked at him. He said, good night. I enjoy my time with you. I hope we can do it again.

Maybe we should hang out some other time. And I just remember saying good night. and I darted out of the car and I ran to my apartment. I thought I was really having a mental breakdown. I ended up sleeping in my roommate's room that night. The following morning, I went to work. I got to the office, just a normal, typical day.

I received a Facebook message from the guy I was hanging out the night before. I was curious to see what he had to say. With the message, it was a video attach, and at the bottom of the message, it said, you were epic last night. So I played a video. I saw me, the outfit that I had on the night before,

in the passenger seat of his car. It looked like I was having a seizure, I'm shaking, mumbling. It was just, it was just scary to see myself in that way. I do not remember any of that happening to me last night. It wasn't me, but it was me. The whole time in the video, it was like he was laughing. Not like a very like ha ha ha type of laugh, like you laughing at a comedy show.

No, it was like a sinister laugh. Like he knew what he was doing. I asked him what happened to me last night. He basically said that cigarette that you smoked last night wasn't a regular cigarette. In the midst of us talking, he offered me a cigarette. He took a pack of cigarette. and laced them with this synthetic drug called K2 or Spice. He told me what happened, and after that he blocked me, deleted the message, and I never heard

from him again. It looked just like a cigarette, but it was laced with that drug. Because of that, I had a powerful trip. It felt sinister, very sinister. He knew that this was going to happen. Like a sick entertainment for him. Hey, that was not good entertainment for him. Hey, that was not Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

Is that what's going on back here? Terry's got some kind of freaky collection he's been stashing? What's next? I'm going to pop in the breakfast club. It's actually a snuff film with cannibalism. I don't like that you responded to that. Where did all these come from anyway? I hope this is all above board.

That's none of your business, Jared. That's none of your business. All right. Anyway, I fixed the box while you were not watching a beloved 1993 romantic comedy. I just used a little duct tape. Couldn't help myself. Sorry. Jeez. Sorry. Well, now it says on the instructions that it's time for ads.

Time for ads. No clue what that means. Do I need to do anything or will the ads just happen? Join me and follow the podcast Conspiracy theories, where we explore what's really going on behind the official narrative. Like, what if the Loch Ness monster isn't a monster at all, but an elephant? What do the richest 1% know that we don't? Why are they building all those bunkers?

And really, what the heck is going on with the Denver airport? Join me every week to see just how high up this goes on the Spotify podcast, Conspiracy Theory. Listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, turns out the ads just happen. And we're back in the store now. So, are you going to check out a DVD or something by some goobers? There's only goobers here. Why does he only have goobers?

Do you want me to play you another one? of those tapes? I don't know why I'm expecting a response. You haven't said anything this entire time. You know, that's not really normal. Normally you answer people who are talking to you. Okay, whatever. Here's your tape. Oh, look, this one's called The Ticket. Oh, I think I've seen this movie. Yeah, I'm gonna fix that later. It was May of 2010, towards the end of the school year. I'm a schoolteacher. I was driving home from work.

All of a sudden, the lights came on. So I pulled over, and the officer got out of the car. I said, how, officer, are you doing? Let my window down. He said, how are you doing, sir? Can I get your license and registration? I reached my glove box, got my insurance, put out my driver's license, gave it to him. And he went back to his car, just routine.

He was an African-American male. He was rather tall. I remember maybe about 6-3 or 6-4, kind of muscular built, almost kind of like he may have played professional sports or something. 40s or maybe like early 50s, so like probably like middle age, but just like a normal. police officer did probably be on the police force for a long time. I do have the chance to drive fast, but I wasn't speeding. I really don't know. I was like, my stickers are up to date, and I really don't know if he's also on my tag, my license plate number.

I'm not sure. I wasn't really nervous. I, you know, not really been pulled over a whole lot before, so I wasn't really nervous about it, but I just was really curious because I really just didn't have a clue. we did the exchange and he went back to his car a few minutes later he came back back here you go here's your ticket just be careful and I was like well officer where did I get pulled out what's his ticket for him he just kind of gave him like a little smirk or a little smile and just said have a nice day then he left and I didn't really look at the ticket

until he got back into his car I looked at the ticket and the ticket and the The ticket was actually for not having a child in a safety restraint or a car seat. That's weird because I was the only person in the car. I was just stunned, I guess, to silence when I actually looked at the ticket and saw what the ticket was actually for. I was shot. I even looked in the back seat, even I knew no one was back there. I was like, there's nobody back here, so I don't know. why that's on the ticket?

Why would he even give the impression that I had someone back there? Because my back seat was completely empty. So I don't know how that could have been possible. I just kind of just sat there, let him kind of just drive off down the road, and then finally I just kind of just got myself and then just drove on home like I had planned on doing.

Later on that day, I had called my mom and told my mom about it, and she was like, yeah, just, you know, go fight it in court. Two weeks later, went to court. The person that I saw at the front desk or the clerk, she asked me a series of questions, but one question she asked me really kind of threw me off. She said, were you born in 1953? Mind you, at the time I was 24. I don't think I looked that old, do I?

That's kind of sarcasticly, just kind of said no and kind of laughed it off. She asked me a few more questions and then told me that I can go see the judge in a few minutes. Finally, got into the courtroom and when it was my time, the judge came up and he was like, I have good news for you. The officer that gave you the ticket didn't show up, so you're free to go. I said, okay, that's kind of cool. I didn't ask no questions. I just got my stuff and left. Later on that day, I went and visited with my mom and kind of told her what happened.

I told her, like, clerk asked me, you know, were you born in 1953 and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And she was like, hmm, that's weird. And I said, why you say that? She said because in 1988, your dad got a ticket for the exact same thing. And the child that was in question was you. I just had kind of a stunned look on my face, and I was like, me. She's like, yeah, she was like, yeah, you were the child in question. And I was like, that's weird.

So I get pulled over 22 years later for something that he did. The officer, I was just curious of, like, why he didn't show up. So I got on the phone, like I said, I don't know if it was the courthouse or the Dallas police or something. And I called to try to find out who this officer was that gave me this ticket. I said like hey this officer pulled me over at this time on this date I gave him his first and last name and they said well we don't have an officer by that name the only officer we had by that name

retired like some years ago that was even more bizarre and I even gave him description taller guy he's African American you know kind of musket built like he's like athlete or something. And they said, no, we don't have an officer. We have officers that probably look

like that. But we don't have one by that name that you gave us. It works here for, you know, the Dallas, you know, Dallas Police Department. It's like that strange. I just kind of just left it at that. Well, That was not the film I expected.

Should have known. Let's take another break for ads. Well, thanks for stopping by Radio Rental, I guess. Maybe I'll see you next week. Hopefully Terry comes back before then, though. I really don't want to sleep on the futon in the back office. Have you seen that thing? And there's a sealed door over there that gives me the creed.

Yeah. Never give your clients your personal phone number. That's my hot tip for the day. and Donald Albright. Our main host is Rain Wilson. Guest host is Josh Radner. Written by Meredith Stedman. Additional writing by Mark Lachlan. Original score by makeup and vanity set, with additional score by Jay Ragsdale.

Editing by Eric Kintana, Stephen Perez, Meredith Stedman, Tristan Bankston and Sean Nernie. Sound Design Mix and Master by Stephen Perez and Cooper Skinner. Additional editing by April Ruha and Dayton. Cole. Our production manager is Jordan Foxworthy. Our social media manager is Caroline Orah Gemma. Video editing by Dylan Harrington. Cover artwork by Trevor Eiler and Rob Sheridan.

Radio rental merchandise by Byron McCoy. To shop radio rental merch, visit shop.tenderfoot.tv. Special thanks to Orrin Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, as well as the Nord Group and the team at Odyssey. If you have a radio rental story that you'd like to share, please email email us at Your Scary Story at gmail.com or contact us via the form on our website, radior rental usa.com. Follow us on Instagram at

Radiorental. On behalf of the Radio Rental store, we'd love it if you'd subscribe, rate, and review. As always, thanks for listening.