RedHanded - RedHaunted #5 You See Those 2 Pillars? Look In Between Them...

Episode Date: December 24, 2020

2020 has been absolutely terrifying, so how better to wrap up this shit show than with a very special episode of RedHaunted! Hopefully these bizarre tales of a rattling doorknob, a haunted asylum and a creepy kennel, will help you get you through whatever nightmare awaits us next... (We're guessing we will all need more spooky tales, and more laughs, next year so send your ghostly encounter stories to: [e-mail]) Christmas Eve to Boxing Day flash sale - last chance to get your merch and get 20% off! www.redhandedshop.com   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Red Handed early and ad-free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. So, get this. The Ontario Liberals elected Bonnie Crombie as their new leader. Bonnie who? I just sent you her profile. Her first act as leader, asking donors for a million bucks for her salary. That's excessive. She's a big carbon tax supporter. Oh yeah. Check out her record as mayor. Oh, get out of here. She even increased taxes carbon tax supporter. Oh yeah, check out her record as mayor. Oh, get out of here.

She even increased taxes in this economy. Yeah, higher taxes, carbon taxes. She sounds expensive. Bonnie Crombie and the Ontario Liberals. They just don't get it. That'll cost you. A message from the Ontario PC Party. They say Hollywood is where dreams are made.

A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello. Very quickly, before we kick off with today's show, I have got a very quick announcement about merch. From Christmas Eve until Boxing Day, we are going to be having a 72-hour flash sale, 20% off. Go get your merch. All of the colors, all of the spooky bitch, all of the not in this economy and the face design, sweats, tees, hoodies, it's all up and it's all going to be going away after Boxing Day. So if you want to get your hands on some merch and get 20% off, go do it now. Don't worry, you don't even need a code the discount will be automatically applied at checkout and we've also released the much requested shut your dirty mouth face masks because yes we may be leaving 2020 but the face masks are going to be with us for a little while longer so go on over get yourself a sweat get yourself a hoodie and get yourself a face mask while you're at it.

Now, without further ado, I shall leave you to enjoy your very last episode of Red Handed for the year 2020. And we will be back in January next year with that Iceland case that we promised you. Bye, guys. i'm hannah i suppose still contrary to popular belief i'm sruti and welcome to a very special episode of red handed it's red haunted and it is going to be the last episode of Red Handed of the year 2020. How are you all feeling? Better? Worse? The same?

I think, considering that my New Year's resolution going into 2020 was stop doing things I don't want to do. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Look how that worked out. I don't think anyone's going into 2021 with any expectations. So surely it has to be up from here. That is very true I'm just like glad to be here having a job and doing things I don't know guys it's been a really fucking

shit year you don't need us to tell you that I'm sure many of you have seen it seen you guys talk about it on the Facebook group some of you mental health has been really challenged this year some of you have lost jobs this year some of you have no doubt lost loved ones this year. I actually lost my granddad to COVID a couple of months back. So yeah, I know it's just been a fucking shit year, hasn't it? But we have had some good stuff. We've had some victories. We've had some good things. And it was all down to you guys. So even during this blight of a year, when podcasting, interestingly, took a massive tumble in the podcasting world, like numbers were massively down for most podcasts and stuff,

you guys stuck by us. You've continued to support us on Patreon. You've continued to make it so that we're still able to do this for you and for ourselves. So huge claps for all you spooky bitches, I'll say. But no claps for 2020 because it can fuck off. No claps for 2020, although we did come second in the listener's choice

for the British Podcast Awards and we are the most popular true crime podcast in the UK, according to Spotify. So we'll take those wins. We've got some stuff in the pipeline for 2021 and hopefully we'll pull it off and it'll be really exciting. That's the hope. Fingers crossed.

And actually, speaking of all the stuff we've got in the pipeline for 2021, that is the reason that we're doing this Red Haunted really as the final episode of 2020. Because, guys, we did the three-parter on Fritzl. And behind the scenes, aside from that, Hannah and I have been working away on a massive fucking project that we've been secretly working on since March. It'll all become very apparent to you, hopefully early next year. I don't think that we're actually not allowed to share it with you at this point.

I think we're just scared to tell you about it. So we're going to wait until 2021. That can be the year of big projects coming to fruition. So that's the reason we just needed to have a little break from true crime i'm sure you guys are going to appreciate it too and so it's very haunted and also happy christmas oh yeah it is christmas eve it is the night before christmas and all through the house were ghosts and that's what we're going to be talking about this week. Bob Marley and chains. Yes exactly I got fucking crucified for that one. Thank you ever so much everybody. My self-esteem was doing

fantastically well. You deserved it and I deserved it because I didn't catch it so there we go. There we go but yes we are here in the realm of ghosts. If you don't know what we're talking about with Red Haunted, basically it is when we put out the call to all you spooky bitches to send us your scariest real-life ghostly experiences that you've had. Seb puts them all together so that we don't ruin the surprise when we read them out on the show. And then we read them out and we all get scared because Hannah and I are standing in creepy little boxes in our bedrooms.

I also don't know why, let us know if I'm wrong here, which has happened before, but is the only reason I associate Christmas with ghosts a Christmas carol? Are there any other Christmas ghost stories?

Are there? I don't know. Good question, but fucking Christmas carol, man. They won't let that thing die. Every Christmas, every time I turn on any form of anything,

it's a Christmas carol. Oh, shut up. I fucking hate Dickens and I hate Christmas carol. Can we just kill it? Let's not talk about it anymore. You must, must fuck with a Muppets Christmas carol. Everyone fucks with a Muppets Christmas carol. I've never seen it.

What? Never seen it. Oh my God. That's the only acceptable Christmas Carol in my opinion and even that gets a little bit boring in the middle. See this is why there are better things to watch. But anyway I don't know good question. Is Christmas a particularly ghostly time? I don't know. I would argue that Easter is creepier because that's when Jesus came back from the dead. Zombie Jesus. Zombie Jesus, yeah. What's scary about Christmas? Well, maybe it's because you're really drunk and you walk back from the pub in the dark and it's the middle of winter

and people fall over because it's slippery. Maybe that's something to do with it. Maybe it's back to like the pagan roots, you know. I'm sure back then everyone was just scared that the sun was never going to come back or whatever they were all scared about. Maybe that's why. Oh yeah, totally. The only reason we have festivals in the winter solstice is so we don't all fucking kill ourselves. Well, we have less reason to kill ourselves. That's basically it.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas, one and all. Oh man. Yeah. Shall we talk about some ghosts? Do you want to tell me a ghost story and then I'll tell you one and all. Oh, man. Yeah. Shall we talk about some ghosts? Do you want to tell me a ghost story and then I'll tell you one and then you can tell me another one and then I'll tell you one? Yes, I'd love to.

That's the format, guys. Keep up. It's top secret. It's an industry secret. Don't tell fucking off menu. Right. So I've got a Lego themed story. Oh, okay.

Yeah. Which I've got a lot of time for Lego. I was more of a Playmobil girl, though. I had a better time with Playmobil, yeah. It's not as fiddly. They're quite different age groups, aren't they? No. Did you just stick with Playmobil forever? Playmobils can get difficult.

Okay. Okay. I'll take your word for it. Yeah, yeah. My hand-eye coordination's not great. This one is from Elizabeth Pascoe, who I believe goes by the name of Liz. And back in 2013, Liz moved out of her parents' house,

get it, Liv, to go and live and work in a very remote outdoor centre deep in darkest middle of Wales. What's an outdoor centre? Did you ever go on a school trip where you're like, I'm going to go kayaking and orienteering? No, but I understand what you mean. Okay, got it. I believe it's like where kids go to do outside stuff. Okay, okay. I was taken places when I was

like, no, I didn't. It wasn't like I had, I was just like never allowed to go anywhere. I just didn't do that. But I know what you mean. Okay, makes sense. Got it. You must have done something in all of your guiding and your young leader-ing must have gone to an outdoor center I can sense the snark there but I did I was a brownie and then I was a guide and then I was a young leader because I was a big fucking dork and we did but we never really went to an outdoor center we just like went to the woods just stood in the woods for a bit got got a badge, went home. Started a fire, got another fire badge, got them all. Anyway, sorry. Thanks, Liz. Got it. You're living in an outdoor centre in Wales.

And at night, she was often alone in this isolated building. She didn't mind that very much. At the time, Liz wasn't superstitious at all and quite liked her own company, which is the sign of a sound mind, I think. If you have trouble with your own thoughts and your own company, you've got to do some work. After a while, Liz did begin to notice that things were going missing around her new flat and they always cropped up in places that she least expected. But she just chalked this up to

her own disorganisation. Liz also began to be woken up in the middle of the night by loud bangs and creaks. But again, she just pushed this away, assuming that it was just standard creepy building noises. I am sure we've got mice, by the way. I can hear them in the ceiling. Yeah, it's really not ideal. It's a really bad time. At least it's not bats. Maybe we'll get the plague. Maybe. Maybe that'll finally finish me off. Fast forward to 2015, so two years later, quick maths, well done me. Liz and her partner had decided to move in together in a flat close to where Liz was now studying for uni. So she's moved out of the outdoor centre. And one of the things that her partner brought with them was a giant Lego man with a

digital clock in the centre of its chest. Oh, into the flat you're now sharing. Yeah. I, look, I'm empty handed. So I'm not in this predicament where I'm having to tell any man what he can and can't have in the house. And I'm also not in the business of trying to change somebody. But we're going to have to have a conversation about that kind of decor, I think. So you're drawing the line at a Lego man? A giant Lego man clock that I assume would be in the bedroom on his bedside table near where I would see it.

Oh, I think it's bigger than bedside table. I don't think it's person size, but I think it's significant. Oh, does he have his own room? Does he person size, but I think it's significant. Oh. Does he have his own room? Does he have his own office? Because it can be in there. Like, you can do what you want in there.

But just out for people we know to see, that's weird. But, you know. Each to their own. Some people vibe with Lego. Yeah, man. Go for it. Almost immediately after this Lego man and her boyfriend showed up in this flat liz noticed every day the lego man would be posed differently as she assumed that

this was her partner's way of trying to be funny or playing a practical joke it just gets worse yeah i would find that funny for about a week and then it would get quite boring but he's trying he's trying maybe that's the ploy i could use if i'm ever in that scenario i can pretend the lego man is haunted by moving him around and then just kick up a massive fuss and then get rid of it that way oh yeah mate ah smart you sneaky woman genius at least liz at least he wasn't hiding in cupboards and jumping out at you my ex-boyfriend used to do that to me fucking awful once I nearly weed myself because I was so scared. Is that psychological torture? I think it might be. Yeah, that's not the man I'm looking for. Let's just say that.

I was young though. I think I was 24, something like that. Anyway. That's fine. Not excusing it. Moving on. So this moving of the Lego man carried on for a while with Liz assuming that it was just a joke until one day she got home and her partner said, can you please stop moving the clock? I came home today and it was on the floor. And of course, Liz knew that it wasn't her. And her partner was swearing blind that it wasn't him either. But Liz assumed that this was just another layer to the practical joke.

Which is again what I would have done. Yes, definitely. And that was until Liz's partner went away. And while he was away at 3am, the very first night he wasn't there, Liz was woken up by a tapping feeling on her leg. Nope. Like a tiny little Lego hand. Nope, nope, nope, nope.

Has she got the blanket over her legs? Because if she has and it's doing it, then that's fucking cheating. It's not allowed to touch you under the blanket. That's against the rules. That's against the rules. That's against the fucking rules. If you haven't seen the meme, go look it up. When Liz felt this little Lego hand, she shot up and turned the light on. And of course, there was nobody there, Lego or otherwise.

She searched the whole flat and yet again couldn't find anything. Just as she was giving up and had begun to assume it was all just a dream she looked at the clock and she was sure that the Lego man had moved. Liz took a picture on her phone and managed to convince herself to go back to sleep. Do you remember when we were in the cottage? Like we went away to work on this project and it was like 14th century old and the room that I was sleeping in was so old the room was built around the bed like the posters of the bed went into the roof and I woke up in the middle of the night

obviously convinced that I was surrounded by ghosts I should do and I was just lying there with my eyes shut because I felt like I could handle it knowing that they were all standing there if my eyes were shut but then I was like well I've got to know what time it is so managed to look at my phone really sneakily

and really fast without them seeing me. And then I realised that it was about 20 to 5 in the morning and I was like, well, if I get to 5 o'clock, they can't get me. So I just lay there for 20 minutes and then I open my eyes at 5 o'clock. That's the way you've got to deal with it though. And you might be laughing, but you're not ghosted. You didn't get ghost murdered. No.

So it works. No, I did not get ghost murdered. You just have to get to the morning and then they're powerless. Exactly. That's it. That's all you have to do. That's top tips, Anna. Just lie there until five o'clock and then you can open your eyes. Yeah. Okay.

So Liz managed to get herself back to sleep. And the next morning, because that's allowed, she was up like a flash and checking the Lego man. And again, he had moved. And Liz, because she had taken a picture in the night, could prove it. Oh my God. Oh my God, no. That evening, Liz went to the bar where she worked. And as soon as she got there, a colleague pulled her to one side and said that they needed to have a serious chat.

She wasn't getting fired. Don't panic. This guy just said that he was, quote, sort of psychic. Oh no. And that he always, quote, sort of psychic. Oh, no. And that he always sensed a male spirit following Liz. What? But up until now, the spirit had been fairly benign. But today was different. Oh, fucking hell, John. Shut up. Stop. I just got to work.

Shut up with your nonsense. The spirit was so close... Oh, no...it felt like it wanted to contact Liz. So understandably freaked out, Liz tried to get on with her job. However, less than an hour later, she received a phone call. Her dad had had a heart attack, which he had just about managed to survive. At this point, Liz was convinced that she was being haunted by a ghost. Maybe this ghost was trying to tell her about her death house attack. She doesn't know. Maybe it's a Lego man. Maybe it is. Maybe it's both. Yeah, maybe it's a Lego man messenger from beyond the grave. Liz's partner was not convinced of this until a few months later when they were

lying in bed dozing off to sleep when a huge crash came from the kitchen. They went down to investigate and an entire box of eggs had flown out of a high cupboard that had been left closed. The cupboard was now wide open and the eggs were smashed all over the floor. Since then the ghost has always been around. Sometimes when it's particularly noisy Liz and her partner try to speak to it to calm it down and and this has had a mix of success. It's just imagine this really angry Lego ghost being like, don't talk to me like that. I'll be angry if I want to be angry.

Stop stepping on me with your feet. And then saying I hurt you. Oh, fuck. That's terrible. I hate it. Why are you talking to it? Oh, my God. Liz has never managed to figure out who this ghost is or what it wants from her.

She doesn't have any dead male relatives that you know about, Liz. And she just assumed that she out who this ghost is or what it wants from her she doesn't have any dead male relatives that you know about liz and she just assumed that she picked up this ghost while she lived at the outdoor center oh liz also sent us a video of this ghost making some noise while her and her partner are in the kitchen i've watched it and it is quite clearly knocking coming from an outside wall it sounds like obviously it's a video so you can't really tell where the sound is coming from in the video but it definitely sounds like either above them or from an exterior wall like banging and they're just standing there like totally still and that's my story from Liz oh wow okay right we will share like I don't know how long this video is I'll watch it later and then we'll share. Because I think I tried clicking on the link and it's not really loading.

So I can't have a reaction to it. But we'll share it on the Instagram and the Facebooks or whatever. So you guys can watch it and judge for yourselves. Oh, thank you. That was a good one, actually. I enjoyed that. Particularly her creepy colleague who's just like, I'm a psychic, you're haunted. Don't say that to people. That's a weird thing to say.

Unless it's true. Of of course what do I know so anyway I've got one here would you like to hear it's from a lady called Shannon Bollig so we are now in the year 2015 I like how these are all very modern ghost stories guys thank you for sharing them and not like my grandma in the fucking civil war sora whatever so anyway we're in 2015 and shannon had just moved across the u.s to go and live nearer to her boyfriend who lived in boston so when shannon got there she and her boyfriend decided that the best thing to do would be at first for her to get her own place and live on her own near to where he lived because they'd been apart and been long distance for so long that they wanted to get used to being around each other before they moved in together,

even though she's moved across the country to come live in Boston. But you know what? That's your guys' decision. Maybe he had a big Lego clock. But also, going from long distance to immediately living together is a lot. So I think I would have done that. I would have at first got my own apartment. I'd be like, how dare you? Is it because of that ugly Lego clock I laughed at?

Still not gotten rid of it. But anyway, so they do this and everything was fine up until this point. But Shannon's selection of a new house was when things started to go a little bit wrong. So Shannon found this place on Craigslist and I assume that's like a pretty normal thing to do. I know Craigslist is a bit creepy but I think you do buy stuff on there and you do like probably find homes on there so like I guess it's fine. And also this house that she found was in a really nice neighborhood. The rent was super cheap. It just seemed like it was almost too good to be true. And then when Shannon Skyped with her soon-to-be roommates, who were all, again, three other young professional women,

who all seemed really nice, she thought, great, it looked perfect. So she bit the bullet and took the room. But from the moment that she moved into her new bedroom, one that was at the very top of this house, weird shit began to go down. From day one, the doorknob of her door would spin around in circles and just rattle from time to time, even when no one was touching it. So when this would happen, Shannon would go and open the door, expecting to find one of her new roommates on the other side,

but there was never anyone there. A few days after moving in Shannon was digging around looking for something when the doorknob and this is in quotes so I'm guessing Shannon wrote this started up again with its bullshit. By this point Shannon is getting pretty frustrated and she shouts at the door Jesus Christ fucking stop and the rattling did but this time because it had stopped so abruptly, Shannon got scared that maybe someone had actually been there, like one of her roommates, and she had just shouted at them. So she went and opened the door to see. But again, there was nobody there. But Shannon was still convinced that maybe it was one of her housemates. So she skulked around

the place, looking for the victim of her wrath, hoping that they hadn't already told the rest of the house what dick she'd been. But to her horror, Shannon found that she was completely alone in the house. Okay, I don't like that. No, dislike. I feel like banging on walls is one thing, but just like a doorknob rattling and shaking and spinning around on its own. No, thank you. So she actually stays though. Shannon stays in this place. I think I would have been gone, especially if there is

like a reasonable place that I can go live that isn't in this fucking creepy room, like at this boyfriend's house. But anyway, she stays. And over the next few months, the doorknob rattling just got worse and worse until eventually Shannon ended up leaving the door open during the day so that the rattling would stop. No. Yeah. I was like, no. Because now they can just come in. I hate it.

I don't know. But then at least the weird creepy rattling isn't happening. I don't know. And at night, the only way that she could even slightly stop it happening was if she would prop a bunch of boxes up against the door. And this would stop it shaking in its frame but it still didn't really stop the doorknob rattling so eventually shannon just had to start sleeping with the door open at night as well which i hate sleeping in a room with the door ajar with the other side of the door and the inside room dark is the fucking creepiest. That's where figures appear in the doorway. You don't want to sleep with your door open. I hate that. But there

was an extra bit of creepiness to all this because the house also had a cat and this cat absolutely refused to come into Shannon's bedroom. That's a big red flag. The animals, they know. They always know. If your pet is scared of something, you should be scared of it too. And sometimes she would even pick up the cat and carry it into her room. But when she did this, the cat's fur would stick up on end like a bottle brush and then it would just run out of the room as fast as it could the minute she set it down. That's not fun. I hate that.

No, thank you. But she still stays. She still stays despite all of this. And then one day, she was having drinks with her new housemates. And Shannon decided to bring up the strange things that were happening. And she asked if any of them had ever experienced anything similar. To this, they replied, Oh yeah, this place is totally haunted. Why do you think the rent is so cheap? And at this point, the housemates revealed that nobody had ever actually enjoyed staying in that

room that Shannon was currently living in. And that the people who had stayed in there before her had only stayed as long as they absolutely had to. And they told her the story of one particular previous housemate who had had a boyfriend who used to sleep around quite a lot. And he started seeing a dark figure standing over the bed during the night. Oh no. That's the worst fear of all of them. No, thank you very much. So get this.

The Ontario Liberals elected Bonnie Crombie as their new leader. Bonnie who? I just sent you her profile. Check out her place in the Hamptons. Huh, fancy. She's a big carbon tax supporter, yeah? Oh yeah. Check out her record as mayor.

Oh, get out of here. She even increased taxes in this economy. Yeah, higher taxes, carbon taxes. She sounds expensive. Bonnie Crombie and the Ontario Liberals. They just don't get it. That'll cost you. Aie and the Ontario Liberals. They just don't get it. That'll cost you. A message from the Ontario PC Party.

They say Hollywood is where dreams are made. A seductive city where many flock to get rich, be adored, and capture America's heart. But when the spotlight turns off, fame, fortune, and lives can disappear in an instant. When TV producer Roy Radin was found dead in a canyon near L.A. in 1983, there were many questions surrounding his death. The last person seen with him was Lainey Jacobs, a seductive cocaine dealer who desperately wanted to be part of the Hollywood elite. Together, they were trying to break into the movie industry. But things took a dark turn when a million dollars worth of cocaine and cash went missing.

From Wondery comes a new season of the hit show Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder. Follow Hollywood and Crime, The Cotton Club Murder on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of The Cotton Club Murder early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus. I'm Jake Warren, and in our first season of Finding, I set out on a very personal quest to find the woman who saved my mom's life. You can listen to Finding Natasha right now exclusively on Wondery Plus. In season two, I found myself caught up in a new journey To help someone I've never even met

But a couple of years ago, I came across a social media post By a person named Loti It read in part Three years ago today that I attempted to jump off this bridge But this wasn't my time to go A gentleman named Andy saved my life I still haven't found him This is a story that I came across purely by chance,

but it instantly moved me. And it's taken me to a place where I've had to consider some deeper issues around mental health. This is season two of Finding. And this time, if all goes to plan, we'll be finding Andy. You can listen to Finding Andy and Finding Natasha exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+.

Join Wondery in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And it eventually started happening to him every night he stayed there. And get this. One night, the boyfriend, who was a perfectly fit and healthy 25-year-old man, ended up having a heart attack. Oh my God. In that room. How have we had two heart attacks in just two stories? It's all the rage with these ghosts.

All the rage. Just like Liz's dad in the previous story, this boyfriend thankfully recovered from his heart attack. But he refused to ever come back to that house. Smart thinking. I'm on your team, mate, with that. So the next person to move into that room had then started seeing the same dark figure.

And according to her new housemates, apparently this person had only lasted a couple of months before moving out. How would you react, though, if you were told that? Would part of you be like, I should get the fuck out? Or would part of you be like, I should be the one that sort of, like, rides this out and doesn't get scared off by whatever's going on because it's just in everybody's head well I've kind of had a similar experience where I had the cat ghost I couldn't move out because my school paid for my apartment so like I had to live there for a year that's true

but I am a stubborn piece of work so I I think I would have, I think I would just ride it out. I think I would leave. I've watched too many horror movies. I would just be like, I don't want to look back on this in a year when I'm like fucking chained to a bed with a man throwing holy water at me thinking I should have just left. So I'm probably just gonna leave. And I'd be like, listen, boyfriend, if you're still like, no, I think we should live apart for a bit. I'd be like, we're fucking done. I'm moving back to wherever I came from I'm not living in that ghost house anymore so after all of this Shannon started keeping her eyes closed so she's doing your technique she starts basically keeping her eyes closed if she ever woke up in the night yeah fantastic it's the way to do it

the old ghost proof eyes closed technique she's all all over it. She's on it. She's using Hannah's technique. And as far as we know, she was still alive when she wrote us this message. So clearly it worked. Of course, Shannon also began spending more and more time staying with her boyfriend. And by the end, she was actually only staying at this house a few nights a month. And she would just like occasionally swing by to pick up some stuff and then go back to her boyfriend's and it was during one of these visits that she finally saw it which is just like ah so basically shannon came home she came up the stairs late one afternoon she turned the corner and she saw a tall dark figure lurking in the corner of the upstairs living room.

No! I actually just got goosebumps on my leg. And I'm reading it. I'm too scared to go out of the box. It's happened. We've reached too scared to go out of the box stage. Yep, good. Let's stay here.

And Shannon obviously did the reasonable thing. She ran out the house. She got in her car and she drove away so fast that apparently she left tire marks on the driveway because she was just like a big nope out of that. Shannon then just mailed the last few rent checks that she owed and then she just stayed at her boyfriend's house apart from returning to the house one last time to just pick up the rest of her things. I hate that. That's terrible. No, thank you. Oh, man. Oh, God.

Yeah, I suppose, like, if I was living in a haunted room and Sob had a boyfriend that I could go and stay with, I would just be like, why am I paying for a room that, A, is traumatising me and, B, I don't live in? No. No, no, no, no, no. Have it, ghost. You can stay there on your own.

Stop printing it out although what i just described is pretty similar to my current house that's true that's true traumatizing and i've been barely here oh mate it's all right it's almost all over hopefully well fingers fucking crossed eh absolutely i've got them crossed for you I'm moving on from Lego to dogs oh and we're going to North Carolina which I don't know how to picture that in my head I imagine quite mountainy but I don't actually know and I'm also only saying that because I watched three billboards outside Ebbing Missouri last night and I am not very good at geography, and I assume that North Carolina and Missouri are somewhere near each other, but they're probably not. Maybe. I think maybe. Probably.

I've got no idea. I've been to the airport at Charlotte, North Carolina. Okay. That's as close as I've been. Did a little two-hour layover there. How was that? All right. Thanks very much. Now I'm on my way to Cleveland. Goodbye, North Carolina. So that's the extent of my knowledge. Okay, so we're on the same page.

Yes. And everyone in America is screaming. Please keep your comments to yourselves. So Jay, who this story came in from, was pretty young when they moved to their new house in North Carolina. And even then, he knew that something was a bit off. Among many things there was a basement that the family didn't find for 10 years because it was behind an old bookshelf. Oh my god. That had been bolted to the wall. Apparently that bookshelf has its own story but it's not the story that we're telling this time. Oh I want to know that story as well. Yeah I know me too. Jay sort it out, write us in.

Tell us about North Carolina while you're at it. The previous occupants of this house clearly hadn't cared very much about the place itself or the acres of land at the back because it was all full of rubbish and beer cans and general stuff. And also included in this inventory of general stuff on the land, at the top of a very small hill, was an ancient rotting dog kennel. And Jay's written ancient here. We don't know how ancient it is.

Assume it's not like Mayan. No, just old. It's just old. It's got like fucking hand paintings from some old... I don't know where I'm going with this. You know what I mean. It's probably just a bit old. Yeah, exactly.

And this a bit old dog kennel was faded blue and had two enormous hooks bolted into the ground, which is presumably where the previous owner of the land had chained their dogs. The house itself wasn't exactly secluded. They had neighbours who lived directly opposite on the other side of the street. But the other three sides of the house, which is surrounded by dense woodland, meant that they were separated from anyone else. So they've literally just got a house opposite and then nothing for miles around. No, don't want that. No, thank you. And it was therefore a little bit of a surprise

when Jay's family started to hear the sound of howling coming from inside the woods. And it wasn't like the howling of a wolf. It was definitely the howling of a big dog. At first, they just assumed that it was coming from one of the neighbours. But after meeting the neighbours over the next few months, it became pretty clear that none of them owned anything bigger than a chihuahua. And yeah, chihuahuas are small and they are loud, but they don't really howl.

And if they do, it's like yapping. Yeah, right? Yeah, yeah. Even still, they weren't that bothered about it. They didn't hear the howling every night and it never caused any trouble. Being inquisitive young kids, Jay and his brothers kept an eye out during the night to see if there was ever a sign of the mystery dogs. One night, Jay's younger brother stayed up way past his bedtime looking out the window

in the direction of the howling and the old kennel. Suddenly, he screamed and jumped back from the window. Jay and his other brother came running to see what the problem was and there was nothing outside in the darkness. So they asked the youngest brother what he had seen and he had seen a big white dog, a huge one with a grey one following him. Be quiet, creepy kids. Yeah, yeah.

Shush, no. Jay and his brothers waited at the window in silence, looking out into the darkness for what felt like hours, but didn't see anything. Eventually, months passed and they began to think that their youngest brother was just making it all up. Until Jay and two of his other brothers were up late and bored over the summer. They began daring each other to do a loop of the woods alone in the dark. Eventually, it became clear that they were all too scared to go alone, so they decided that they would go together.

They made their way around the woods, jumping at every small noise or flapping bird. Just as they'd finished their small loop of the woods and they were getting back to the house, there was a loud crack of a twig behind them. And they all jumped and turned, pointing their flashlight in the direction of the noise. And there was nothing there. No, no, no, no, no, no.

We used to do like, I've talked about it before. We used to go to that old creepy church that was turned into a leper colony up in Clop Hill, near where I grew up. We used to go up in like somebody's car. We'd leave all the doors open so that if there was anything like happening when we went out into the graveyard bit we could run back we'd jump into the car and drive back or whatever is already there can just get in the car and wait for you i know there was also that it was a real conundrum we did talk about it a lot we tried both techniques but if you haven't seen clop hill don't know what i'm talking about google it it's a really creepy place basically it's a church with no roof people say that it's like built the wrong

way so it's like a satanic church then at some point they like moved the entire town away from it and then turned it into a leper colony it's really creepy basically like you just used to go up there as teenagers and like freak yourself out and one time we were up there we were wandering around in the graveyard and then I could see everyone I was with because it wasn't like a massive group of people and then we heard a twig snap and it was dark and it was like quite a bit away from us and we were like a twig doesn't snap on its own something is there that made that twig snap and then there was just lots of screaming running back to the car so I feel the boys pain I feel the fear it's real for sure once they got over the initial fear, all of the boys just laughed it off and kept walking until they got to the edge of the land surrounding the house. There were two paths back,

a short route that took them past the creepy kennel at the top of the hill, or a longer route that went along the edge of the forest. They chose the second option. They'd almost made it to the house when they heard it. A loud, deep, guttural howl that was way too close for comfort. They all ran, but not before turning to see two enormous dogs stood next to the kennel howling. They ran to the house, got upstairs and tried to get a better look out of the top window, but the dogs had vanished. Over the next months, Jay and his brothers often saw the grey and white dogs, always at dusk or dawn. They seemed to pass through the land without as much as a sniff or a stop, only ever pausing at the kennel to howl. Jay's parents just thought that the old owner had abandoned the dogs and that they were just coming back to find him.

But the boys weren't so sure. So Jay's dad decided to take Jay over to the neighbour across the road. He was an old man in his 60s who'd lived at the house for decades. So he must know something about these mystery dogs. And when Jay's dad asked if the previous occupants of their house had taken their dogs with them. A strange look passed over the old man's face. Uh-oh.

And he shuffled closer to Jay's dad in an effort to block Jay from their conversation. And this man says to Jay's dad, he said, they didn't tell you then. And Jay's dad says, tell me what? And the old man replied, I also say in in your 60s is not that old, whoever wrote this. I was going to say, I mean, this person, J has written it. We don't know how old J is. Seb has tweaked them to make them more readable for us. So either Seb or J have decided that being in your 60s is an old man.

This reasonably aged man replied, the family that lived here before, it was a man and his girlfriend and their five-year-old son. And with them, they brought a pair of Dobermans. And apparently, this is a direct quote. Vicious as the day is long, those dogs, snapping and snarling at everything. The entire neighbourhood told him to put them down, including myself, but he refused and said that they were guard dogs. I came home one day, and there's cops, ambulances, the lot. And I came to find out those mean old

dogs had got hold of their five-year-old kid, the family's kid, and killed him, like ripped him apart. Oh my God. Even still, the father of this family couldn't kill the dogs and in the end animal control turned up and put a bullet through the both of them and then the old man said you don't need to worry about those dogs no more no way oh except that they're now ghosts yeah apart from the fact that they're ghost dogs jay's dad obviously didn't maybe he felt a bit embarrassed and didn't feel like he could explain about the ghost dog. Yeah, that's true. He's like, oh no, old man. 60 year old old man.

We're really worried about the dogs because they're now ghosts. You understand this, you wizened old hag of a man. And he's like, sorry, it's been great to chat, but I've actually got to go to work now. Because I'm only 60. I'm actually not allowed to retire till 68 so. So Jay's dad didn't say anything about the howling dogs but Jay knew that both he and his dad understood what those dogs were because the next day Jay's dad took a sledgehammer and an axe and smashed the old kennel to pieces. And then he took every last bit of it with him to the dump

and they never heard the howling again. Oh, I don't know how to feel about that one. Part of me feels sad for the dogs, ghost dogs. They did kill a five-year-old. I feel a bit more sad for the five-year-old that got ripped to shreds by their own dog. Yeah, no, that's really sad. But the man's to blame.

The dad's to blame. Like, what are you doing? Yes, also true. That's it. You're to blame for this. Oh, well, that's really sad, but the man's to blame. The dad's to blame. Like, what are you doing? Yes, also true. That's it. You're to blame for this. So, oh, well, that's sad. But thanks for sending that in, Jade. Now also send us the thing about the fucking bookcase in the basement that took 10 years to find.

Yeah, need to know about the bolted bookcase. Yes, please. Very much so. Okay, I've got one that takes us to an old asylum. Are you ready? Yes, my favourite type of ones me too me too i'm excited like the asylum the queen locked her cousins in and if you don't know what hannah's talking about you should become a five dollar an art patron because we talked about the royal shame of the queen locking her cousins away in an insane asylum on Under the Duvet this week. Last week?

Last week. Yes, last week. So go check that out. Okay, right. So, asylum story. This story comes to us from a spooky bitch named Jennifer Carroll. Oh, how Christmassy. That's a good one to end on.

Oh, that is. Thank you, Miss Carroll. So, to clarify, Jen doesn't want to take credit for this story. Apparently it happened to her sister, Shelley, and to Shelley's husband, Adrian. But she felt that this story was so fucking creepy that she wanted to email it in any way. And Seb has put, to be honest, I agree with her. So let's see. Let's see if we agree.

So the story begins in Virginia, which, in Jen's humble opinion, is one of America's spookiest states. I can't vouch for that. I've never been to Virginia. What would you think is the creepiest state? I think when I think about like American ghosts, I do think about like plantations and the Civil War. So I feel like Virginia fits both of those things. Yeah. Or somewhere further down south, like where New Orleans is or something, maybe. Louisiana. Yeah. Or Boston, because it's like the oldest town or something in America. I don't know. Anyway, anyway, this isn't about our opinion. This is Jen's opinion. And Virginia is the one that's scaring her the most. So apparently, the entire state of Virginia, as Hannah said, is filled with civil

war battlegrounds and the mass graves of indigenous Americans. George Washington was from Mount Vernon, Virginia. Thank you, Hamilton. There you go. Another top fact. And alongside these pretty terrifying things were also other various spooktastic locations. So Shelley, who's Jen's sister, knew none of this. She had just graduated from college in Chicago and she'd got herself a new job, boyfriend, and life in Virginia, a.k.a. Spooksville. She was also getting back into her true passion,

which was photography, when she heard the words, abandoned asylum. I know, I know. And I'm guessing her reaction was something along the lines that Hannah just did. And then it was also apparently to not nope the fuck out, but instead to ask for directions so she could head there with her camera. And it was winter at the time. And I think I feel like winter in Virginia because it's more towards like that eastern side is probably pretty like

savage. And so when they arrive, there was a fresh layer of snow covering the entire place. And Shelley and her boyfriend Adrian pulled up outside the grounds of the Dijonette Sanitarium. Ah, love it. And apparently when they got there, there was no security whatsoever. So they just easily made their way up to the front of the building. When they did, they realized that the entire place was boarded up and knowing that if they went in, maybe they would be at risk of getting arrested and not particularly keen on doing this,

the couple at first were just happy to take a few pictures from the outside and then head off. This is literally the first episode of American Horror Story Asylum. I want to re-watch it. Maybe I'll do that over the Christmas break. I feel like I need something just creepy. Yeah. Not to take the edge off, to put the edge on.

To put the edge on. And I can't watch The Haunting of Hill House again. I've watched it six times now. No, I need something else. Maybe I'll watch American Horror Story or... I don't know. You know, I just want to... Have you watched Luther yet?

Yes, you have. You've watched Luther. Yes, yeah. Can somebody recommend... I want a nice gritty true crime show like luther or like line of duty or something like that i just can't find anything i tried hinterland on netflix and i was like it's just too slow like it's too slow and everyone getting murdered in the first two episodes is like really old and i'm not saying like

old people murders isn't fun but i was like I just I don't know I was just a bit like whatever that sounds terrible I couldn't help it it's just a bit like too olden olden-y yeah got it got it got it yeah I'm gonna stop talking please send me better recommendations okay so this pair Asia and Shelly they're at the sanatorium. They're like, okay, we're just going to take some pictures and then head off. But after a bit of exploring, Shelley found a smaller outbuilding with a tall chimney coming out of the top. There is actually a really good horror film on Netflix that is about a sanatorium. I can't remember what it's called.

It's like, fuck, I'll find a session nine, session six, something like that. It's session something. If you want a good like kind of shot in the early 2000s, but pretty decent horror film with that guy who used to be the ginger guy who used to be in CSI Miami. He's the lead in it. It's really painting a picture for us. It's worth a watch. Go check it out.

You won't be disappointed. But anyway, sorry, back to this. So they do a bit of exploring and they found this smaller outbuilding. And Adrian, who had actually grown up in the area, told Shelley that this was the old crematorium. That's the creepiest bit of the fucking entire insane asylum, apart from probably where they would have done, like, ECT, I reckon. Creepy, creepy, creepy.

So one of the windows of this room had not been boarded up and the glass had long been smashed away. So mistake number one, Adrian and Shelley decided to go inside. Inside the building, in a fucking old-timeyy asylum into the bit of the building where they cremated people that is some serious bad vibes i wouldn't do it i just wouldn't do it would you would you go in yes you would i wouldn't i don't want to i do it for the content if i was being filmed i'd do it i wouldn't do it on my own oh my god mate i was scared when we went away to that fucking cottage to do that project just walking up and down the drive when it was dark.

Yeah, that was pretty scary. I don't think we're cut out to climb into a fucking crematorium in an insane asylum. When I was doing it on my own, I was always okay. But if I was doing it with you, you just started to run, which just makes it more scary. Sorry, and you were like, you always make these situations worse. to run which just makes it more scary. Sorry. You were like, you always make these situations worse and I told you, I think you mean fun, not worse.

So the window that they climbed in led them to what was essentially a small walkway that acted as the first floor and they saw a rusted staircase that led down to the main floor slash basement. The whole building was filled with rusted staircase that led down to the main floor slash basement. The whole building was filled with rusted piping and all these knobs and gauges and all sorts of like weird old and timey

machinery. But they noticed that each one of these machines, so like these knobs and gauges etc, were all registered at zero. Obviously because they're not switched on or you know they don't work whatever and this is important to remember so mistake number two adrian and shelly decided to go downstairs along that rusted staircase and as they were walking down this rusted staircase they had to walk through all these like hanging plastic strips no what like a butcher's yeah it kind of sounds like there was maybe just like hanging plastic strips hanging No. What, like at a butcher's? Yeah, it kind of sounds like there was maybe just like hanging plastic strips hanging down and they were just like completely still because

obviously there's no like wind fluttering through this insane asylum. And as they passed through these plastic strips, Shelley and Adrian said that suddenly the temperature plummeted despite being dressed up for the cold. Because remember, it's like snowing outside. So they were dressed properly. But still, the pair shook and shivered. Inside the room, they saw all these drawers and desks that had long since been smashed and broken. Out of one of the drawers hung a limp shirt. Also inside the room were the ovens used to burn the bodies.

And all of them were wide open, like the door of these ovens was wide open except for one. Oh my God. And this one they saw had been rusted shut. So I don't know why they did this. Seb hasn't called it this, but I'm going to say this is mistake number three. So the pair basically went up to the one that's door was shut, the oven

that's door is shut, and tried to open it. Why? Why are you doing this, Shelley? What's going through your head? I don't know. But they realised that it was completely rusted over and they couldn't move it even an inch at this point though suddenly the pair began to feel sick and anxious they were filled with what they called a sinking feeling of dread like something terrible was about to happen i fucking hate this because i just feel like you've come into this like building you've walked down the stairs you're now in the basement you're so far from your car and you're trying to like you're touching all this weird shit like I'm fucking scared and Shelly said that suddenly just out of nowhere tears started to stream down her face and Adrian grabbed her and asked her if she was okay she said that she couldn't

speak and simply shook her head no Seb said this this is mistake number three, but I'm going to say this is mistake number four. Instead of leaving at this point, Shelley decided to take one more picture because, remember, she's there for the photography. She's been taking pictures the entire time. And this time, the moment the flash went off, a single shoe tumbled from one of the drawers. No!

And then an old purse fell out. can't go yeah i can't go fuck it fuck it get out run i'd be in the car by now while adrian was still realizing what was happening but it's also more than anything like it is much more than has ever happened on a single episode of ghost adventures so like shelly i really think you can take zach bagan's job i really really do yes absolutely absolutely so yeah they turned they decide to leave they turn to go up through the plastic strips that lead back up to the stairs i hate that because it's like again you can't even see the fucking staircase because these plastic strips are in the way like hanging down between you and the stairs oh my god God. Oh, fuck. And suddenly, as they decided to turn and walk through these strips,

apparently they started thrashing around as if they were in like a storm. But Shelley said there wasn't even a slight breeze down there. Shelley rightly was gripped by terror. But Adrian, who Seb has put in here as a firefighter, grabbed her and pushed her through the doorway. They sprinted up the stairs and as they ran, they noticed all of the gauges and the pipes and the knobs that had been up at the top of the staircase were spinning back and forth. Suddenly in the darkness, they heard the sound of metal screeching open oh my god it's the oven

the seized up oven below sounded like that's what they're saying they're saying the seized up oven below was screeching open on its own shelly was shaking so much she couldn't get through the window and adrian had to lift her through once they were out they ran to the car and jumped in shelly took one last glance back as they screeched away, and she said that she saw a shadow rising up from the broken window they had just escaped from. Fuck off! I fucking hate that, because like, yeah, they could have gone down there and just like been pulling the door of that oven, and that's what had dislodged the shoe and the purse to fall and then that's why it had swung open because they had loosened it up but like I can't explain the strip shaking

if there's no wind down there I can't explain the gauges like I think I would have just died I fear I just spontaneously died multiple organ failure yeah instantaneously. I can't imagine being that scared. That's fucking terrifying. And so because Shelley is a photographer and Jen is her sister, she's the one who wrote to us. She got Shelley to give her some of the photos that she took at the sanatorium and they have sent it to us. I'm going to post these on Instagram because they are fucking creepy as fuck. Oh my God, Hannah. So, okay, there are like one, two, three, four, five, six, like seven or eight pictures here.

That first one, apparently, Jen says that Shelley says that you can see a head in it. And Seb has put that he can't see it, but I can see it. Can you see it? Look at the first one. Oh my God, I hate it. No, because I'm on my fucking piece of shit Kindle and I can't it can you see it look at the first one oh my god I hate it no because I'm on my fucking piece of shit kindle and I can't zoom in oh no oh my god I don't I'll get it up on my phone hold on hold on hold on I don't want to look at it anymore it won't unzoom it won't unzoom

oh my god I hate it guys I'm gonna post this on Instagram and on the Facebook have a look at that one fuck I can see it oh Oh my god, and while you're looking, there's another picture of just like a wall with some graffiti on and someone has graffitied it told us to kill on it. And I'm like, obviously, I know it's just kids like fucking about, but fuck, this place is scary. Okay, where are you seeing this head? The first one. Are you looking at it? Yes. I don't want to zoom in again it scares me can you really not see it i can see it so clearly okay you see the yeah oh my god yeah i know don't look at it i'm scared i'm too scared to pick my phone up again shelly that has like properly fucking scared the fuck out of me i hate that oh my god it's like

one of those things it's like when you see it like yeah it's oh no can't stand it hate it hate it hate it okay well there you go maybe we'll beep out the bit of me explaining to hannah where it is so you guys can find it on your own and have the fun of that revelation. But yes, that is that. That is the last Red Haunted of the year. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, 2020. And I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your family and don't see any floating heads. Except the one in this picture.

Or big howly dogs. And I hope no one brings a giant Lego man clock to your house. No, don't do that. That's horrible. And if they do, I don't know, break break up with them don't take advice from us because even after 2020 hannah and i are still empty-handed but looking and excited for next year so patreon oh should we do patreon i don't know let's leave them nah it's be fine let's leave it Merry Christmas we'll figure it out we're already so far behind it doesn't matter anyway

so we will see you after Christmas if until then you're like I just need more red-handed content well you are lucky my friends because if you head on over

to patreon.com slash red-handed we have got so much content we've got under the duvet every single week for $5 and up patrons and

also in the news every month this month in the news is maybe i don't want to jinx it but could be our best one ever we have got some pretty fucking savage stories if you guys haven't seen these i don't know what you've been doing so have you guys heard of stas Refle, who is the YouTuber slash Twitch streamer who basically sounds like he killed his girlfriend during a live stream. It's really, it's all sorts of fucked up. He's in Russia. We're going to talk about that. We're also going to talk about the Swedish mother who kept her son locked in the flat, fritzled him, kept him in the flat for years. He's like an adult man now and he's been found. So we're going to to talk about that we're also going to talk about the Iranian teenager who did all those weird like face distortion images on social media and she's been arrested in Iran and put in jail because

of her social media activity if you want to find out more about that come listen to this month's in the news which is for again all five dollar and you know, you get a lot of bang for your buck. So come hang out with us there. Happy Christmas. Goodbye. Harvard is the oldest and richest university in America. But when a social media-fueled fight over Harvard and its new president broke out last fall, that was no protection. Claudine Gay is now gone. We've exposed the DEI regime, and there's much more to come.

This is The Harvard Plan, a special series from the Boston Globe and WNYC's On the Media. To listen, subscribe to On the Media wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, NASA embarks on an ambitious program to reinvent space exploration with the launch of its first reusable vehicle, the Space Shuttle. And in 1985, they announced they're sending teacher Krista McAuliffe into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, along with six other astronauts. But less than two

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