The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings - Lot 046 : I Met This Guy I’m Really Into, But I Think He Might Be Possessed

Episode Date: June 14, 2024

Dating is tough…Written by Quincy LeeStarring Addison Peacock as EmmaTrevor Shand as JackAlison Cossitt as The Woman In Redhttps://www.reddit.com/r/QuincyLee/comments/11ny0gk/story_catalogue/Featuring Stephen Knowles as The Antique DealerTheme music by The Newton BrothersAdditional music by CO.AG ([e-mail]) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Oh, my friend, I was wondering when you'd show up. Got something real interesting come in for you today. In fact, it unsettled me so much. I had to put it in the corner facing the wall. It is by far the most disturbing-looking doll I have ever laid eyes upon. That is, if one could really ever call it a doll in the first place. Seems such a pleasant and trivial word for something that exudes such evil. That burlap face, stained red, button eyes.

It manifests a presence so dark that I just can't even stand to be around it. I am unequivocally delighted you came by to pick it up. Let's just say that much. One such doll is at the center of a stitched up tail called. I met this guy I'm really into, but I think he might be possessed. Before we begin, I want to point out some of the customers whose names have been etched in brass on this beautiful black I had made above the front desk. These are some of the members of the inner circle of the antiquarium. We go by the Obsidian Covenant.

Recent initiates include Corey Jarrett, Samaya Archer, Katie Cresswell, Voice Del Monte, Michael Plowman, Harlow Crowell, Ron Robinson, Kip Pedigrew, and Shopkeepers Underling.

We are ever appreciative of your devotion to the order. Go to the obsidian covenant.com to receive the sacrament. Now, oh yes. Welcome to the antiquarium of sinister happenings and odd goings on. Just as a general rule, I have terrible luck with men. Maybe it's my habit of going for brooding bad boys. All my relationships start great, but as soon as that fluttery infatuation wears off, they always turn out to be raging assholes. Not this guy, though.

At least not yet. And I know I shouldn't give him my whole heart. He's a supposedly reformed scam artist who, when I ask if I can trust him, just laughs at me. but when you've always been that perfect good girl who always raises her hand and can recite every rule, there's something intoxicating about a rebel. He took me to this big bash after I admitted I finished college without ever really partying. Amidst the music and the babble and the bonfire, he asked me to dance, but I demurred. All I could think of was back when this boy I dated in high school told me I look like a duck when I dance.

And he was like... Are you fucking serious right now? Come on. Showed me photos of himself at my age. Okay, you want to see cringe? Check these out. See that bohawk? I laughed because it was terrible. And he was like...

Yeah, but you know what? I wore that thing like a fucking rooster. Just be you. Don't let other people ruin your night. Dance badly and with all your heart. That's the day. I think I saw that in the movie once. Come on, let's go.

And then he dragged me into the music and out of my shell. First college party. First time getting high. First kiss with a girl. Who knew goody two shoes, Emma had such a wild child in her? Though it turned out my kiss was pretty chaste in comparison to when I challenged him to do the same. I never knew how hot two guys making out could be. Oh my God, there was so much tongue.

And when I told him I didn't know he was by, he grinned and said, I'm not. Just exceptionally slutty. Right then, I knew I was in. for a roller coaster. But what really drew me to him wasn't the wildness. It was how underneath he had these soft, dark eyes that hid some deep pain. God, why do I always go for broken men who need fixing?

What I didn't expect was that his inner demons would turn out to be so literal. It happened later that night. After he'd made love to me multiple times and we lay tangled in. in the sheets. I fell asleep with him spooning me. But I woke up alone, the other side of the bed cold. I patted the mattress

and sat up, looking around, and then, and stood in the corner. Heart raced, then settled as I realized it was him. But something was wrong. He stood there, swaying slightly,

or whispering, giggling. I called his name and his head jerked. A fear stabbed into my spine. Goosepumps rose all along my arms. Then a moment later, the low, growling whispers stopped. Suddenly the bed shifted as he climbed back in and slid his arms around me. I was too scared to move.

But in moments, he was snoring. In the morning, he laughed it off as sleepwalking. The next time it happened, we were out hiking, passing this abandoned radio tower up on the hill surrounded by skeletal trees. As I gazed up, I mentioned how, as a kid, every time I saw one of these towers reaching up into the sky, I always dreamed of climbing.

Next thing I knew, he was tossing his bag over the fence, exclaiming. Let's do it. I sputtered objections. You don't have to be the teacher's pet out here, Emma. The only rules are in your head. Come on, live your life. But it was dangerous.

illegal. I paced back and forth outside the fence. Inside me, that little girl who used to tattle on anybody who cheated, screamed at the top of her lungs, that the sign said, do not enter. I was wired to obey, to behave. I wrung my hands while he grinned at me from behind the fence. And finally, I climbed over and joined him at the base of the tower, where he craned his neck and whistled.

What a long way. Well, ladies first. The rungs, they were biting cold. Neither of us had gloves, no proper climbing equipment. We hadn't told anybody we were out here. This was astronomically foolish, but he kept urging, and not wanting him to think me a total wet blanket, I finally forced myself to set my boots on the rungs.

My arms shook. The metal resounded hollowly against my grip. Those first two dozen rungs were the scariest. My heart pounding as I got higher and the wind whipped my hair. I looked back at the ground below us. Oh, wow. A rush of exhilaration filled me because if it felt like this now, what would it be like on top of the whole world?

I was about to find out. Distance. The distance itself was nothing once the adrenaline kicked in, powering me right up those rungs. Just me and the trees. I'd made it above the tree line. and the wind, tugging like it wanted to tear me right off. I whooped and laughed at my incredible height.

Oh my God, this is amazing. And I looked back down only to be surprised at how very far below me my guy was. Hey, Jack. You okay? I'm great with tights. What? Then why are we up here? Are you, babe? I realized I'd be climbing this tower by myself. The encouraging shouts from below soon became too distant to hear.

but I kept climbing, and then I'd made it to the platform. The vista of trees and hills spread out before me, the sky in the distance deepening to twilight as the first stars appeared above clouds, feathered pink and purple, almost close enough to touch. I took out my phone and snapped some picks, even knowing nothing could convey the splendor of that breathtaking panorama. I don't know how long I stayed there at the top of the world.

If nothing else, I'll always be grateful to him for teaching me to break out of the cage set by my own mind. When I finally descended, I was halfway down the ladder when motion below caught my eye and my heart leapt into my throat. Because my man, he was no longer on the ladder. No, he had climbed off of it and walked onto one of the support beams. No hand holds, nothing, just balancing, high. above the earth, lurching along the tower's edge on a metal support beam he could topple off if he lost balance, or if a strong gust of wind hit him. He was oddly swaying, and worry swept over me. Hey, what are you doing? No response. Was he suicidal? Planning to jump? Oh, Christ. I rapidly descended,

only to gasp when I climbed below the tree line and found myself face to face with him through the metal bars. He was on the opposite side of the ladder now, and he jerked me close and pressed his body against mine through the rungs and kissed me. Hot, but precarious. Maybe hot because it was so precarious. Then he said, I have got great picks of you.

That was amazing. Also, the police are here to arrest you. What? Yeah, dropped everything and drove out here as soon as they heard some girl was out in the middle of the woods, trespassing on this fucking abandoned tower. I smacked his arm. Ow, fuck. What are you doing climbing onto the beam?

Anyway, you could have fallen. He blinked dark eyes and cocked his head like a spaniel. Said he'd retreated before he'd made it even a third of the way and been down below taking pictures of me until just now when he climbed back up. But that didn't make any sense. I'd definitely seen him on the beam. But the most terrifying incident was at a restaurant. It was the first time a date had ever taken me to a vegan candlelit dinner.

Do you know how tough it is to be vegan when you're born? boyfriend goes on and on about how much he loves meat and will suffer through a veg-friendly restaurant only if you go with him to a steakhouse next time. My ex had me convinced that was fair. When I told my new guy how much I appreciated that he made sure every place we went had more for me than just salad, he grinned and said... What an asshole, babe, the bar is so low I could trip over it. Yeah, I guess I was pretty dumb in my dating choices in retrospect.

I looked down at my napkin. Hey. He squeezed my hand. Emma, you're not dumb for getting stuck in shitty dating dynamics. That's just social conditioning. He kissed my hand, and I blushed. Maybe it was the wine, but it felt like his eyes were just drinking in the sight of me. Like I was the sun, and he was the planet I shined on.

But every planet spins half in shadow, I wasn't at all ready for the terrifying darkness of his orbit. When I came back from a trip to the bathroom, our booth was empty. A tangle crept along the nape of my neck as I peered across the dim candlelit dining room, and a whisper drifted up from somewhere. I peered down under the table, and there he was, hunched with his back to me and his hands over his face. Ice poured down my spine. He came skittering out so fast I screamed.

Heads turned and people exclaimed as he burst out. vanishing back behind the bar. Nobody had time to react on gasps. Murmurs, hushed voices. Snatching up my phone, I approached the bar only for a shadow to dart up and over the counter like a roach and scuttle along the floor

to vanish down the stairwell to the restrooms on the lower level. I descend at the stairs, my hands shaking as I held my phone and hit record. I found him standing in the darkest corner. twitching. This time he did not run when I got close. Finally, I whispered the low, growling noise said, trembling, and showed him the video. How about you tell me what the fuck's going on? Ah, to be young and in love. Looks like Emma's new boyfriend might come with a little baggage. Now, I do apologize for the interruption, but another delivery, just...

arrive that I need to take care of. You know the routine. Make yourself at home and I'll be right back. The message. Good evening, darling. I reminded you that the item I left with you to be sold should only be planted in the winter. If you plant anything in that lovely, beautiful blue pie during the summer, uh, I am not no longer liable for anything that has. happen, so I do remind you when you tell your customer that they must plant in the winter only. Have a blessed day. First time, in a long time, I have been rendered quite speechless for what I, just speechless indeed. Take heed. It is not safe for you here, yet here.

Stay. I digress. Let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we? I found him standing in the darkest corner, twitching. This time he did not run when I got close. Finally, I whispered,

the low, growling, and he said, trembling, and showed him the video. How about you tell me what the fuck's going on? It was called the counting bogey. It had infected a nine-year-old boy who'd gotten it from another child at the playground, who'd gotten it from an imaginary friend. The count always started at a random number.

When it reached zero, the bogey would clip the connection between your body and your soul and wear you like a suit, running around in you and leaving your soul a wandering ghost. Supposedly it had once been a child, hence its affinity for, games. You can pass it, but someone else. Count continues until it gets to zero. Then after it sheds its victim's body,

it restarts with a new count and a new victim. He explained. How did you even find out about all this? I saw his mother's post online. So you went looking for paranormal activity? When he didn't deny it, I asked.

Why? Before he'd met me, his scams had heard enough people to attract the attentions of a paranormal entity. A demon, he said. A woman who always wore red. The demon tricked him into a deal, but he narrowly managed to escape her. She lurked in his shadow, hoping for a chance to catch him ever since. Doing good deeds makes me less enticing to her.

As soon as he saw the mother's post, he knew phoning experts would come crawling out of the woodwork, making bogus offers. So he contacted her. His plan was simple. After taking the bogey, transfer it to a doll, and then destroy the doll. We agreed he'd stay at a hotel that night so I wouldn't be creeped out by his sleepwalking. Still, I was worried. Prior to this, I'd encountered something similar to the bogey once before. During an incident with my grandmother, it was actually how I met Jack.

Granted, I'd never actually seen a ghost or spirit or bogey myself, but I'd done a lot of research back when my grandmother's behavior was similarly strange. I delved into that same sort of research now and learned that convincing the bogey to leave would be difficult. For the same reason, you wouldn't easily convince a dog to let go of a flesh and blood rabbit in favor of a toy. His flesh was simply more interesting than a doll. I eventually found a transubstantiation, transmigration, and transference specialist willing to remove the bogey. The ritual would require a sample of his skin and hair to be attached to Badal to make it more lifel. I set an appointment for 10 a.m. at a shop called Third Eye, Psychic, and Tarot.

The next day, I asked him to meet me at the little shop, with its eye design painted in the center of a palm. Since we both arrived early, we took a stroll along the waterfront, and he told me how overnight he'd shackled himself to the bed to deal with the Bogie's antics, only to be woken in the morning that the scandalized hotel maid who found him handcuffed in his boxers. Suddenly his hand ripped out of mine. He scrambled backwards until he couldn't retreat anymore, slamming against the metal railing.

An expression on his face I'd never seen before. Shear, feral, absolute terror. I began. He leapt over the railing. A dangerous plunge of at least two stories down to the waterfront. lower level. A woman stood up ahead, her crimson gown fluttering around her like ribbons of fire.

She gave me a sultry wink, and the hands on my arms prickled as she lunged over the edge after him. Her shadow moving first, a fraction of a second before her bronze legs swung over the side. I rushed to the railing, but didn't dare fling myself down to the concrete below. I had no idea how he'd made such an impossible drop. I quickly hurried to a staircase. and dashed down to the lower level, to the walkway at the water's edge. But by the time I caught up, he was on his knees, his mouth motoring. No, no, no, no, stop. We do not have a contract. Oh, but Jackie boy, I do have a contract.

Heard the woman in red. What contract? What the fuck are you? She tipped a finger under his chin to tilt his face toward me. Emma? And then his eyes widened, widened in horror, mirroring the horror dawning on my own face as I realized who I'd apparently hired to remove the bogey. And he was screaming at me. Emma, what the fuck did you do? I thought she was a paranormal specialist.

She said she just needs... Your skin, Jack. I agree. Let her feel the fucking deal, not mine. Take her! The lady in red tossed her head and burst into her. to delight at laughter. Now you see his true colors.

She stroked his cheek. Still nothing but a grovelling worm, eh, Jackie boy? Parasite to scrape all the world. He snarled, and then the sky suddenly darkened as if dusk had fallen. Shadows blotted out the sun. I couldn't see them anymore. Just the red of her dress like an inferno, and the shadows swirling like smoke and Jack was screaming.

Oh God, was she taking his skin right then, ripping it off him? Screaming and screaming and screaming and then the darkness and the screams and red were all gone. And I stood there by the water, shattered, alone. Lady Blood 2024. Contract fulfilled. Attached to the message was a blurry video. Gradually it zoomed out so that I could see the burlap face of a doll, a sort of scarecrow. stained red and shiny wet where it was stitched with skin,

light brown skin that I knew all too well from how often it had leaned close to mine and black hair hanging in curls over its button eyes. The mouth was only aghashed in the bogey doll's face and it leaned in close so I could see only the buttons as it counted. Its face swayed side to side in excitement. The screen went black. A child's scream rang out for,

the phone, thin and reedy, as the doll burst into crimson flames. In moments, it dwindled to ash. It seemed so foolish in retrospect, my believing all Jack's claims about being reformed. He told me he loved me. He told me he was trying to be better. But how could I have forgotten that he was a grifter, a liar, an accomplished catfisher? Of course he was always telling me what I wanted to hear. He hadn't fooled his demon, though.

She'd stripped away all his pretensions when she cornered him. I was still reeling from how quickly he'd betrayed me. I cried myself raw. But I also cried because I'd brought a terrible fate on him. When I arrived home, I found a photograph on my desk. It was me. On the top of the tower. On the back was a note.

Good luck getting into grad school. Never to let the rules stop you. I was such a discipline. My heart pounded when I read it. Had he written it before or after the bogey was destroyed? Was he alive? I tried calling, but no answer. Nor could I reach him on social media.

Finally, I got through on a burner phone. Thank God. Are you okay? Silence. Are you there? When he didn't answer, I said quickly. You owe it to me to talk face to face. We met the next day at the airport. where he flew in from wherever he'd disappeared.

He looked like absolute hell. Eyes red and lined with dark circles and clothes rumbled like he'd gone on a bender and was only now crawling toward consciousness. Nevertheless, he was alive and intact, and I flung my arms around him. He grunted in pain. I asked if we could talk somewhere private, and he walked with me to an empty part of the terminal, and we sat in the generic airport seats facing the large window,

looking out at the flat sky and tarmac. I spoke first. Why did you disappear? Your deal didn't give her more than a chunk of skin, but she'll come from the rest of me eventually. I left because that's the only way to keep you safe. Actually, I had a whole speech ready for you, but... He dropped his face in his hands.

A better speech would be after I go to a bait and tackle shop, get a can of worms, and pull one out to give to you. Tell you if you're going to save a groveling worm, save that one. Because at least it didn't sell you out. Jack. Now, Emma, you could waste your time, your whole life, trying to fix the broken men you date. Your life is worth so much more. Go and live it.

But when he got up, I caught his arm. Because what if I was reading this whole situation wrong? The lady had tricked me into our bargain, knowing he would panic. What if our current conversation? was her intention. Was she playing us both? After all, he and I were good together. How better than good?

By myself, I was always the anchor stuck in the mud. He was the guy who encouraged me to pull that anchor up and sail into storms, who believed in my ability to climb the tallest tower even when I didn't believe in myself. And I made him better, too. Being in my orbit drew him into alignment with my path as an upstanding citizen. Our story was like if the class clown and valedictorian met and fell in love. He taught me to cross lines. I taught him how to stay inside them.

I made plans aimed at the future while he reminded me that where we live is the present. And if I were the demon hunting him, wouldn't I want to arrange a fall from grace before he got too far in his redemption? Wait, I squeezed his arm. When his dark eyes met mine, it was like every other time he'd looked at me. Like I was the star that made his world bright. But he disengaged his wrist from my grip. I'm sorry for making that bargain with her.

I'm really sorry. Probably saved my life. I kind of wish you hadn't. The counting bogey didn't seem a bad way to go. He gave a small smile. You know it scares me, babe. It isn't death. It's pain.

He's scared of feeds on meeting for me. He paused. And a look of self-loathing crossed his face. I'm sorry that I... Sorry that when she cornered me. He shook his head. That's why I can't stay. Goodbye.

He disappeared into the terminal. It haunted me that sad smile of his. Should I have let him go? Should I have fought harder to make him stay? But I'm certain he wouldn't have. Because the next time I tried to contact him, his number had changed. Like any good grifter, he all... too easily disappeared, leaving no trace.

As long as the demon is after him, I'm certain he won't let me near. And that's fine. Just fine, because I'm going to destroy her. Maybe he's right that I need to stop trying to save my exes from their demons, but his being so literal means it's something I can defeat, especially since I have no sins for her to feed on. And as my flawless test scores and boxes of academic awards show, I am really, really good at problem-solving. If there is a way to take down a demon written in some obscure occult library

anywhere in the world, I will find it. So watch out, lady. One day soon, I'm coming for you. Thank you for your patronage. Hope you enjoyed your new relic as much as I've enjoyed passing along its sordid history. It does come with our usual warning, however. Absolutely no refunds, no exchanges,

and we won't be held liable for anything that may or may not occur while the object is in your possession. If you've got an artifact with mysterious properties, Perhaps it's accompanied by a history of bizarre and disturbing circumstances. Maybe you'd be interested in dropping it and its story by the shop to share with other customers. Please reach out to Antiquarium Shop at gmail.com. A member of our team will be in touch. Till next time, we'll be waiting for you whenever you close your eyes.

in the space between sleep and dream. During regular business hours, of course, or by appointment, only for you, our best customer. The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings, Lot 046. I met this guy I'm really into, but I think he might be possessed. Written by Quincy Lee, starring Addison Peacock as Emma, Trevor Shand as Jack Allison Cossett as the woman in red

featuring Stephen Knowles as the antique dealer Engineering production and sound design by Trevor Shand Theme music by the Newton Brothers Additional music by Coag The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings is created and curated by Trevor and Lauren Shand Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at Antiquarium Pod Call the Antiquarium at 646-481-7197

Thank you.