The Lets Read Podcast - 316: Introducing a chilling new podcast: TWISTED TALES WITH HEIDI WONG

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

Reality is the real horror. Every Monday, poet and paranormal obsessive Heidi Wong unearths the chilling true stories behind the world’s most terrifying legends. From haunted dolls to cursed houses, each episode of Twisted Tales reveals the disturbing real-life events that inspired horror’s biggest blockbusters and the ones too twisted to make it to screen. Some stories are stranger than fiction. These are darker. New episodes every Monday. Twisted Tales is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen here: https://link.podtrac.com/listentotwistedtales

Big color, bigger savings. It's Sherwin-William's biggest super sale. Get 40% off paints and stains October 17th through the 27th, with prices starting at 2939. Whether you're refreshing your interior or exterior, we've got the colors to bring your vision to life. And with delivery, getting everything to your door is easier than ever. Shop online to have it delivered or visit your neighborhood Sherwin-William's store. Click the banner to learn more. Retail sales only, some exclusions apply. See Store for details. Delivery available on qualifying orders. ask yourself what's scarier a nightmare or the truth that inspired it hey everyone it's joel with spooky season upon us i'm thrilled to introduce you to a new podcast you're going to love twisted tales hosted by artist poet creator and horror queen hidey wong every monday hidey takes you on a deep dive into the true stories behind horror's biggest legends. From haunted dolls to cursed houses, each episode of twisted tales is perfect for late-night scares and daytime frights. Revealing the disturbing real-life events that inspired the world's most terrifying blockbusters

and the ones too twisted to make it to screen. Some stories are stranger than fiction. These are darker. I'm excited to share a special preview with you now. If you like what you hear, follow Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen

so you can get even more. We'll also include a link to the show in the description of this episode. And remember, reality is the real horror. Follow Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong, a crime house original now. New episodes release every Monday. Again, that's Twisted Tales with Heidi Wong.

Click the link in this episode description to listen now or follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. This is Crime House. An old farmhouse with dark secrets, a doll that attacks you in your sleep. If you love horror movies, this might sound familiar. But behind the films, it's all too real. Welcome to Twisted Tales, a crimehouse original. I'm Heidi Wong. I'm an artist, poet, and creator, and if you've seen my TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, you'll know I'm obsessed with horror movies, watching them, writing about them, talking about them, the scarier, the better. Every week I'll take you deep

into the true stories behind horror's biggest legends. From vengeful ghosts to bloody slasher's to alien encounters and more, these real-life accounts are guaranteed to keep you up at night. But scary stories aren't any fun if you're telling them alone. If you've ever had a haunted moment or a twisted tale of your own, I want to hear about it. Drop it in the comments, the creepier the better. Today I'm going behind the scenes of one of my favorite horror franchises, the Conjuring Universe. Since 2013, these movies have captivated and terrified audiences around the world. And in this episode, I'll tell you about two of the chilling,

events that inspired them. After The Conjuring made millions at the box office, the franchise expanded in a major way by introducing one of Ed and Lorraine Warren's most notorious cases, Annabelle the doll. Ever since the movie was released in 2014, Annabelle has become a horror icon. In the Conjuring universe, she's possessed by a demon summoned in a satanic cult ritual by a woman named Annabelle Higgins. It all started in 1970 with two nursing students known as Donna and Angie.

They were about to graduate and Donna's 28th birthday was coming up too. To celebrate, her mom decided to buy her a present. And for some reason, she thought it would be fun to get Donna a raggedy and doll. That's right. In real life, Annabel wasn't the porcelain doll you see in the movie. This change was possibly due to trademark issues or the producers just thought their version was creepier. About a month into owning the doll,

the woman found a note in their apartment scribbled on parchment paper the kind you used for baking. That was disturbing on its own since neither of them kept any parchment paper around the home. But the worst part was what it said. In what looked like a child scribble, the note read, help me. And things only got scarier from there.

Shortly after that, Donna came home and found what looked like drops of blood on the tree, doll's hand and chest. I don't know about you, but that's when I be getting this thing out of my place asap. Donna had finally reached her breaking point too. She knew something was going on with her doll, something supernatural. But instead of putting the doll through an incinerator, Donna and Angie called a medium, who of course wanted to do a seance. According to the medium, a little girl's spirit had possessed the doll. Her name was Annabel Higgins.

She'd lived on the property way in the past before the apartment building was built. When she was seven, she died there, although it wasn't clear how, but something had kept her tethered to the mortal plane. And now, she wanted to stay with Donna and Angie. How could they say no? They gave Annabel permission to keep possessing the doll,

a decision they'd soon regret. Because even though Annabelle seemed to like Donna and Angie, the same couldn't be said for Angie's boyfriend, Lou. He thought Annabelle was a little creepy. Bit of an understatement, I'd say. He told Angie they should get rid of her, which Annabel did not appreciate. One night, Lou was over at the apartment

when he experienced what seemed like sleep paralysis. Lou couldn't move or speak and just felt this overwhelming sense of panic. If this has ever happened to you, it's terrifying, right? As Lou's eyes darted across the room, spotted something at his feet. It was Annabel. And then she started moving. The doll slid up Lou's legs onto his chest. Her arms shot out wrapping around his throat. Lou was powerless to fight back. His vision started to blur. The world around him faded away. All he saw

was Annabel. Can you imagine the fear, the horror? As Lou took his final breath, he shot awake, sunlight streaming through the window. It had all been a dream. Or was it? Lou was convinced that Annabelle had really attacked him. He knew that he had to get rid of her. It seemed like Annabelle sensed his intentions and decided to strike first.

Later that day, Lou and Angie were at the apartment alone, planning out a road trip. He hadn't told her about his encounter with Annabel yet. Maybe he was just waiting for everyone to be home. As they looked over some maps, they heard a rustling sound coming from Donna's bedroom. If this was happening in a movie, this is the part where I'd be shouting,

don't go in there. But Lou was a good guy. He wanted to make sure his girlfriend was safe, so he quietly opened the door and flipped on the light. The room was empty, except for Annabel, who was lying in the corner. All of a sudden, Lou was overcome with this terrible feeling like he was being watched.

He turned around, nobody was there. But a moment later, he doubled over in pain. Lou looked down and saw that his shirt was stained with blood. He ripped it open and found seven deep gashes in his chest, like something had slashed him with massive claws. And weirdly, or maybe conveniently, the wounds healed really fast, within a couple of days they were completely gone. But after what happened to him, Donna and Angie finally realized

Annabel was not the harmless spirit of a little girl. Thank you for listening to the start of my new show, Twisted Tales. If you want to hear what happens next, search Twisted Tales. And follow wherever you listen to podcasts or subscribe to Crimehouse Studios on YouTube.