Transcript

(UPDATED Version) Listener Tales 101: Sleep Over / Dream Edition! | Morbid | Podcast

From Morbid | Podcast · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 14 min · 15,040 words · 315 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "(UPDATED Version) Listener Tales 101: Sleep Over / Dream Edition! | Morbid | Podcast", an episode of Morbid | Podcast published August 30, 2025 (1 h 14 min, about 15,040 words). It mentions 42 people, works and ideas, including Ash Kelley, Elena Kelley, Sleep Paralysis, Astral Projection, Kip (listener).

What this episode is about

The main topic centers around a sleepover-themed discussion where Ash and Elena share personal experiences and reflections while navigating some challenging family situations. The conversation is lighthearted yet heartfelt, emphasizing the comfort of shared moments, dreamlike atmospheres, and the significance of support during tough times.

Key takeaways

  • Starlight: the ultimate cozy nightlight. It’s not just for kids; it’s for dreamers too!
  • Navigating family emergencies while podcasting? Kudos for keeping it real amidst the chaos!
  • From MapQuest to magic: digital nostalgia proves the past has its charm, just like a good ghost story.
  • Maternity leave: the secret weapon that turns podcast listeners into power bingers and loyal weirdos.
  • Sleepovers aren’t just for teens; they’re therapy sessions for adults wrapped in cozy blankets and spooky tales.

Who speaks in this episode?

  • Ash (Host) · 33 min speaking
  • Elena (Host) · 33 min speaking
  • Courtney (Guest) · 4 min speaking
  • Kip (Guest) · 4 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Glitch in the Matrix, The Matrix, MapQuest, Elena Kelley
  2. – 20:00: Time Travel, Haunted, The Matrix, Collingswood
  3. – 30:00: Sleep Paralysis, Mermaids, Astral Projection, Kip (listener)
  4. – 40:00: Sleep Paralysis, Paleontology, Whitney (listener), Haunted
  5. – 50:00: Haunted, Jesus Christ, Sleep Paralysis, Emo
  6. – 1:00:00: The 2020s, Ben (Cara's ex-boyfriend)
  7. – 1:10:00: Sleep Paralysis, Time Loop, Ben (Cara's ex-boyfriend)
  8. – 1:14:22: Ash Kelley, Sirius (new home)

Notable quotes from "(UPDATED Version) Listener Tales 101: Sleep Over / Dream Edition! | Morbid | Podcast"

  • Hey weirdos. I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is super duper dreamy. Morbid.
    about Elena Kelley · at
  • She made a whole thing about, dreams and astral projection and all that cool stuff. So this is going to be very dreamy, very spooky.
    about Astral Projection · at
  • A haunted looking movie theater.
    about Haunted · at
  • Yeah. All right. Well, thanks Courtney.
    about Ash Kelley · at
  • I've had sleep paralysis twice in my life. Once when I was a kid and once as an adult, the latter being an extraordinary experience that I want to share. I know this is a bit long-winded.
    about Sleep Paralysis · at
  • Betty. A Betty. I work alone quite a bit and you guys have kept me company through countless tasks. I'm a PhD student in paleontology and geocchemistry.
    about Whitney (listener) · at
  • The middle of the night, she awoke to a glowing blue light. It lit up her whole room, and emanating from it was Jesus Christ, superstar, the man himself, JCJC. He floated above…
    about Jesus Christ · at
  • Process what I was seeing, it spoke. In the most chilling, demonic ass voice, it said, I'm not Ben.
    about Ben (Cara's ex-boyfriend) · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Ash Kelley — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at
    Co-host of Morbid who introduces the sleepover-themed episode and reacts to listener tales about dreams, sleep paralysis, and paranormal experiences.
  • Elena Kelley — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at
    Co-host of Morbid who reads and comments on listener tales, especially those involving astral projection, time glitches, and sleep paralysis.
  • Kip (listener) — Person · Listener story submitter · 2 mentions · first at
    Submitted an account blending sleep paralysis sensations with a possible astral projection episode (roll-out method; inability to re-enter body).
    Of these prior experience contributes to my own understanding of what may have actually occurred on the night that I may have successfully astral projected.
  • Courtney (listener) — Person · Listener story submitter · 3 mentions · first at
    Submitted the 'Glitch in the Matrix' story about apparent lost time/time travel and an unfindable ghost-town-like street in South Jersey.
    Hey, weirdos. I'm Courtney. Feel free to use my name. Good. Because I did that. I just like trucked right through that. I didn't even take a Courtney.
  • Whitney (listener) — Person · Listener story submitter · 2 mentions · first at
    Submitted the story about her mother believing she was haunted for 10 years until learning about sleep paralysis; also shares her academic background.
  • Ben (Cara's ex-boyfriend) — Person · Referenced person in listener tale · 2 mentions · first at
    In Cara's recurring dream loop, Ben appears to transform into a demon-like figure; later revealed as likely sleep paralysis/lucid dream phenomena.
  • Tim (Courtney's husband) — Person · Referenced person in listener tale · 3 mentions · first at
    Courtney credits Tim for getting her into Morbid and jokes about surprising him by having her story read on-air.
    Shout out to my husband Tim PS. Who has no idea I sent this and is about to be real confused and extremely hyped if you read it on the pod. Surprise.
  • Debb (episode helper) — Person · Behind-the-scenes contributor · 1 mention · first at
    Credited with selecting/curating the dream/astral projection themed listener tales for the episode.
    No, the we have not read these. Debb picked these for us.

Books & papers

  • Paleontology — Book · Listener credential · 4 mentions · first at
    Whitney identifies as a PhD student in paleontology, adding personal background and credibility to her narrative.
    It's my motto. So, the dog and the cat really like stay at home with Grammy. A Well, I travel around in the search of fossils. You are way cool. Betty is a staple in the…
  • Geochemistry — Book · Listener credential · 1 mention · first at
    Whitney pairs geochemistry with paleontology as her PhD focus, part of her identity in the story.
    Museum where I work as part of my contract. Her natur her silly nature and kindness has turned her into the geology department mom.

Products & tech

  • Molecule (dog) — Product · Pet in listener tale · 2 mentions · first at
    Whitney's dog (nickname Molly) appears in photos used for fossil scale; part of the personal color of the story.
    She always comes to work with me. This is part of a weird thing I do where I take pictures of fossils with Molly for scale.
  • BB (cat) — Product · Pet in listener tale · 1 mention · first at
    Whitney's cat BB is mentioned as part of the household that enjoys staying home with 'Grammy' (Betty).
    Why didn't I think of that? That is genius. And a cat. BB, which greatly appreciate getting to stay home with Grammy. Well, you're from here.

Concepts & topics

  • Sleep Paralysis — Concept · Core topic · 12 mentions · first at
    Central explanatory frame for multiple listener tales (Kip's experience; Whitney's mother's decade-long 'haunting'; Cara's dream loop).
  • Astral Projection — Concept · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a possible explanation for Kip's experience (roll-out method; separation sensation) and as a theme curated by Debb for the episode.
  • Glitch in the Matrix — Concept · Core topic / framing device · 5 mentions · first at
    Used to interpret Courtney's missing-town/time-slip story and referenced as a broader fascination with simulation-like anomalies.
    So this one is called Glitch in the Matrix. I got lost time yeed into the past and live to tell the tale. I'm glad you lived to tell the tale.
  • Jesus Christ — Concept · Sleep paralysis vision (in story) · 3 mentions · first at
    Whitney's mother reports vivid, stereotypical visions of Jesus during nighttime episodes later interpreted as sleep paralysis.
  • Haunted — Concept · Theme label · 10 mentions · first at
    Frames multiple stories (haunted movie theater vibe; mother thinking she was haunted; haunted sites like Goatman's Bridge).
  • Time Loop — Concept · Phenomenology descriptor · 4 mentions · first at
    Kip describes sleep paralysis as feeling like a time loop; Cara describes a recurring false-awakening loop.
    I do, too. Almost like I was caught in a time loop. Oh, but it wasn't malevolent. It just was. I didn't see any demons. I heard nothing just but footsteps. And I felt no.
  • Time Travel — Concept · Interpretive concept · 3 mentions · first at
    A proposed explanation for Courtney's experience of a street seemingly frozen in the 1950s with antique cars and a vintage theater.
    It was like the world glitched and I ended up somewhere I definitely wasn't supposed to be. Imagine that. Must have felt so weird because you're like my logical brain is telling me that like something this is an explanation here.
  • The Matrix — Concept · Interpretive framework · 6 mentions · first at
    Referenced as the broader simulation idea behind 'glitches' and the episode's first listener tale framing.
    I like that a lot cuz I'm very interested in like glitches in the Matrix and the simulation kind of theory and all that.
  • MapQuest — Concept · Referenced technology (story detail) · 3 mentions · first at
    Key period detail in Courtney's story (pre-GPS navigation) and joked about as stressful/traumatizing directions.
    Who lived four or five towns over. This was preGPS, so I had printed out map quest directions a map quest direction sheet and a prayer. Sure, I had a cell phone, but I wasn't…
  • Ghost Town — Concept · Interpretive concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Courtney describes the mysterious town as empty, silent, and frozen in time; hosts discuss it as possibly a ghost town.
    Know you won't edit it. It's a creepy, funny, glitch in the Matrix moment from my teen years involving a weirdass ghost town.
  • Haunted Movie Theater — Concept · Key story image · 2 mentions · first at
    The old theater with vintage posters is the standout landmark in Courtney's time-slip story and anchors the eerie atmosphere.
    This super old movie theater caught my eye. Total 1950s vibes. The marquee displayed the title of some old film. I couldn't tell you what it was now.
  • The 2020s — Concept · Time period in story · 3 mentions · first at
    Cara's demon/dream-loop story is set in 2020; Whitney references retirement in 2022; hosts mention 2025 in banter.
    I'm locked and loaded. The story takes place back in 2020. I was 22 and dating a guy I met in college, Ben. We met over a little Sorry, we met a little over a year prior while attending a local.
  • Mermaids — Concept · Running joke · 3 mentions · first at
    Hosts jokingly attribute Kip's described rushing/ocean sound to 'mermaids,' adding levity to intense sleep-paralysis content.
    Noise almost like a rushing of water or the sound of your own blood when you put your ear to a shell. That's mermaids.
  • Maternity Leave — Concept · Listener context · 2 mentions · first at
    Courtney frames her discovery and binge-listening of Morbid around being on maternity leave starting in January.
    Die on. I'd call myself a newish listener, but I've been power binging since maternity leave started in January. So, when do I level up to be a seasoned weirdo status? You're there.
  • Emo — Concept · Humorous descriptor · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a joke about MapQuest being the 'original emotional trauma simulator' and later referenced in a definition of 'baddie'.
    You would have you would have hated them. aka the emo the original emotional trauma simulator. Hope you enjoy the ride. Okay. Love you. Mean it.
  • Emotional Trauma Simulator — Concept · Humorous metaphor · 1 mention · first at
    Used to joke about MapQuest-era navigation stress and linked to 'emo' culture humor.
    You would have you would have hated them. aka the emo the original emotional trauma simulator. Hope you enjoy the ride. Okay. Love you. Mean it.
  • The 2000s — Concept · Time period in anecdote · 1 mention · first at
    Whitney references 2005 as the year her mother entered the seagull-calling contest.
    Always up to something. It gets better with each side. And it's hilarious more often than not. For example, back in 2005, we lived in Western Washington State and the local…
  • The 1990s — Concept · Time period in story · 1 mention · first at
    Whitney dates the start of her mother's experiences to roughly 1999.
    Do we count? So, I guess watch for her on Nat Gio as the next adventuring paleontology dog grandma. This story starts roughly in 1999 in a house on a lake where I grew up.
  • Grammy — Concept · Cultural reference (music award) · 3 mentions · first at
    Used humorously to describe a children's Halloween song as 'Grammy nominated' and later as 'getting to stay home with Grammy' (grandma pun).
    Hell yeah, your three-year-old. full-blown spooky season ride or die. We bump spooky scary skeletons like it's a Grammy nominated banger, and it should be. And Monster Mash…
  • The Original Emotional Trauma Simulator — Concept · Humorous label · 1 mention · first at
    Courtney calls MapQuest the 'original emotional trauma simulator,' emphasizing the stress of pre-GPS navigation.
    You would have you would have hated them. aka the emo the original emotional trauma simulator. Hope you enjoy the ride. Okay. Love you. Mean it.
  • The 1970s — Concept · Time period in anecdote · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced via a photo caption of Whitney's mother dressed as an alien for Halloween in the 1970s.
    I'm Betty dressed as an alien for Halloween in the 1970s.

Places & events

  • Sirius (new home) — Place · Production/relocation reference · 2 mentions · first at
    Ash and Elena mention moving to a new home at 'Sirius' and later invite listeners to 'come to serious/Sirius' as part of a platform move.
    Same thing. We're just not going to be on Wondery Plus.
  • International Seagull Calling Contest — Event · Anecdote in listener tale · 2 mentions · first at
    Used to characterize Whitney's mother as eccentric and bold; she enters and wins, establishing credibility of her 'wild' personality.
    2005, we lived in Western Washington State and the local newspaper had an advertisement for the International Seagull Calling Contest. Naturally, Betty entered and spent the next week crafting a seagull costume to complete the vibe.
  • Goatman's Bridge — Place · Referenced haunted site · 1 mention · first at
    Kip references visiting Goatman's Bridge (Old Alton Bridge) and feeling nothing, underscoring their skepticism.
    Apartment were haunted and I felt nothing. I accidentally vid visited old Alton Bridge. Goatman's Bridge.
  • Hadenfield — Place · Referenced town (story search area) · 2 mentions · first at
    One of the South Jersey towns Courtney mentions while trying to locate the mysterious 'time-slip' street again.
    Okay. no, weirdly enough, I live even closer to where that friend used to live. I've driven all around the area for years. Hadenfield, Collingswood, Pitman, all those cute…
  • Collingswood — Place · Referenced town (story search area) · 2 mentions · first at
    Another South Jersey town named as similar in vibe but not matching the mysterious street Courtney remembers.
    Live. I've driven all around the area for years. Hadenfield, Collingswood, Pitman, all those cute little South Jersey towns that sort of match what I saw that night, but none of them are it.
  • Pitman — Place · Referenced town (story search area) · 2 mentions · first at
    Listed among towns Courtney searched around, reinforcing the 'unfindable location' aspect of the glitch story.
    Hell yeah. Collingswood, Pitman.
  • The Great Garden State — Place · Nickname for New Jersey · 1 mention · first at
    Used as a colorful descriptor for New Jersey in Courtney's story, reinforcing local identity and setting.
    I was 17, freshly licensed in the great garden state, New Jersey. And it was fall, aka spooky season, aka the best season, aka marching band season. If you know. Band kids unite.

Media & podcasts

  • Star Wars — Media · Comfort media reference · 1 mention · first at
    Kip watches Star Wars after a frightening episode, illustrating coping behavior after sleep-related fear.
    Body to the ceiling specifically. I fought it off, finally woke up and I spent the rest of the night on the couch watching Star Wars and then I discussed it with my witchy…
  • VPR — Media · Pop culture reference · 1 mention · first at
    Used in banter about a 'starlight' nightlight; sets the casual sleepover tone.
    Remember in VPR when they all made fun of I mean Raquel sucks, but remember when they made fun of her though for her starlight?

Full transcript with timestamps

Hey weirdos. I'm Ash. And I'm Elena. And this is super duper dreamy. Morbid. Woo.

We're dreaming. It feels nice. It does. I I'm going to go to sleep. Honestly, I'm I'm I'm sitting here being lulled.

Yeah. Very much lulled into sleep right now. Yeah. Me and Alina have had a very long few days.

Yeah, we've had some family stuff happening that's been a little rough, overwhelming, but here we are. We're here and this feels so calm and beautiful that it's like

I'm like just looking around at all the stars. We have one of those like nightlight things.

Yeah. I feel like this is my kids nightlight though. Remember in VPR when they all made fun of I mean Raquel sucks, but remember when they made fun of her though for her starlight?

And that's not If you're going to make fun of her for something, I mean, don't make fun of anybody ever.

Don't do that. That's not nice. Anyway, just ignore people you don't like. But don't make fun of somebody for a starlight.

Starlight are magnificent. Here's the thing. Starlights are gangster. They are gangster.

This feels good. I feel awesome. Yeah, I'm saying. So, we decided um in case you couldn't tell that this is going to be like sleepover themed because, you know, we're moving to a new house. Oh, also um we have our phone volumes on. We're going to do our best to kind of like cut the noises out, but we do have some stuff going on that our phone volumes need to be on.

Yeah. We just need to make sure we know if a call is coming through. Again, it's not like us just being like, I need I need a call to come through. Like um my mom's in the hospital, so we need to make sure that we have our

That's my grandma. So um so yeah. So hopefully that doesn't annoy you too much. And if it does, I kind of don't care.

If it does, you suck. Yeah, exactly. Um but yeah, so we wanted to have another sleepover. We haven't done a sleepover edition in a little while.

No. And I mean, we're going to a new home at Sirius. So, we figured in this old house, we might as well, you know, end it on a sleepover.

Yeah. End it on a sleepover note. We've been in this house a long time. Yeah. So, one last sleepover to Yeah. before we leave.

Yeah. Before Before you kick that door closed and and on to the next on to the next door, you know. So without further ado, I think Elena was going to read the first tale. And neither of us have read these, so we don't know what's going to happen.

No, the we have not read these. Debb picked these for us. Shout out to Debb. Uh she made a whole thing about, you know, dreams and astral projection and all that cool stuff. So this is going to be very dreamy, very spooky.

Be a good one. We like it. I'm excited. Um so this one is called Glitch in the Matrix. I got lost time yeed into the past and live to tell the tale. I'm glad you lived to tell the tale.

Damn. Hey, weirdos. I'm Courtney. Feel free to use my name. Good. Because I did that. I just like trucked right through that. I didn't even take a Courtney.

And yes, I absolutely said that in your intro voices in my head. I'm Hi, Elena. That's And this is Courtney. And this is also morbid.

I'm from South Jersey. And yes, it's very different from North Jersey. This is a hill we This is a hill we will all die on. I'd call myself a newish listener, but I've been power binging since maternity leave started in January. So, like, when do I level up to be a seasoned weirdo status? You're there.

You're there. Is there a pin, a sash, a secret handshake? I'm ready. It's a high five. Ready, Courtney?

Boom. You're in. Boom. Attached is my listener. Listener listener tail. Listener tail and a double spaced pifa because I love you both. Duh.

That's how you know you're you're vetted. That's right. You're in just for that insert. Sorry for the length here, but I know you won't edit it. It's a creepy, funny, glitch in the Matrix moment from my teen years involving a weirdass ghost town.

I love a ghost town. A haunted looking movie theater. I love haunted movie theaters

and map quest directions. I really never experienced those because I'm a youth.

This just rip map. I bet I would have loved them. You would have you would have hated them. Uh aka the emo the original emotional trauma simulator. Hope you enjoy the ride. Okay. Love you. Mean it. Say it back. Love you. Mean it.

Mean it. I actually do remember you driving with Map Quest directions. Like I remember being with you.

It's a real right of passage for a lot of people. Uh shout out to my husband Tim PS. Who has no idea I sent this and is about to be real confused and extremely hyped if you read it on the pod. Surprise.

Surprise, Tim. Here we are reading your wife's tail on the pod. Surprise. All right, let me open the tail because you did it in a pipo, which is a beautiful thing.

An iconic thing. Listener tale. Glitch in the matrix. Welcome to my listener tale. Like everyone says, because it's true, I absolutely love this podcast. It truly feels like you're my true crime besties. The only thing I changed is that I wish I had started listening sooner. I only jumped in this past January while on maternity leave. Shout out to my husband Tim who got me hooked. I thought you were going to say shout out to my husband Tim who got me knocked up.

He did both. That's what I thought you were going to say. He got you hooked and knocked you up.

It's true. And I've been binging like a maniac ever since. I'm on episode 280ish as I write this. It's June for context. Tim, if you're hearing this, I will catch up to you. I love this.

This is adorable. If you actually read this on the pod, I'll be shook. Like full-blown jaw on the floor, blow my brain apart, excitement level shocked.

Well, girl, and I won't even know it for a while since I'm still catching up. So, you won't know for a while, actually.

But one day, future me is going to absolutely love it. I kept telling myself I didn't have a listener story worthy of sending in. So many people do that and then they realize they do.

They dig deep. And then one day while driving home from my son's daycare, I randomly remembered this bizarre thing that happened and was like, "Wait, I just might." So here we go. I buckle up, hold on to your butts, and let me take you on a creepy what the actual hell just happened glitch in the Matrix tale from my teen years.

Let's go. I was 17, freshly licensed in the great garden state, New Jersey. And it was fall, aka spooky season, aka the best season, aka marching band season. If you know, you know. Band kids unite. I was not a band kid, but like

that makes sense cuz I It's like football season, too. Oh, yeah. Rock on, band kids.

Uh, small spooky season. Side note, my three-year-old is feral for Halloween. Hell yeah, your three-year-old. Like, full-blown spooky season ride or die. We bump spooky scary skeletons like it's a Grammy nominated banger, and it should be. And Monster Mash lives rentree on our family playlist year round. He's already a spooky little weirdo, and we are so proud. Oh, I'm proud. I'm so proud of him. and you. Anyway, back to the story. Being in marching band meant I had a weird web of friends from other schools that I'd only see at competitions. But now that I had a car, that opened up a whole new world. I could actually hang out with them. It's a deal.

One night, I drove to pick up a friend who lived four or five towns over. This was preGPS, so I had printed out map quest directions uh a map quest direction sheet and a prayer. Sure, I had a cell phone, but I wasn't about to call my dad and admit if I was lost. I had pride. Getting there was fine. I picked her up. We hung out. And eventually it was time to take her home. Probably after New Jersey's curfew for new drivers because let's be honest, I've always had main character energy and despite questionable time management.

Same. And deeply questionable time management. Excuse me. On the way back, driving through unfamiliar towns, I took a few wrong turns. No biggie. I always figured I'd recognize something eventually or just double back until it got spoopy.

I was going to say no biggie. There's a whole installment of movies called Wrong Turn that is pretty.

It's a big It turns out to be a a biggie. Yeah. The biggest E. A huge E. Capital E.

Yeah. Uh I ended up on what looked what did he say? Energy. Energy. I like that he kind of said it like Beyonce in that song. Well, she doesn't say it, but in her song Energy.

Energy. Nicholas is just jamming to Beyonce. I also think that Nicholas is being like, I'm trying to pull energy from you guys and you have none. He's like, "Where's your [ __ ] energy?"

Where'd your energy go? He said he's stuck. Did he say, "Let's talk." No, he said he's stuck.

Sorry, Nicholas. I thought we were having a moment. I thought you were like, "Let's talk."

A, you're stuck. I'm sorry. I wish I could give you more energy to get out. I think he says he's stuck like every time.

He's stuck. That actually hurts my heart. That hurts my heart as well. I hope you're okay, Nicholas.

If we can help you, we will. Yeah. Back to the story. All right, back to the story. I ended up on what looked like a typical South Jersey main street. You know the type. Cute little shops, old school lamp posts, cozy town vibes. Nothing unusual at first. Then I saw it.

This super old movie theater caught my eye. Total 1950s vibes. The marquee displayed the title of some old film. I couldn't tell you what it was now.

Um Nicholas just said he doesn't understand. And he I guess he's not from the 50s. Well, he's also like this is he's like how did he she stumble on a 1950s movie theater

current day current day. Like please elaborate and and I will Nicholas too. Um so the marquee displayed the title of some old film. I couldn't tell you what it was now but it wasn't just the movie it was the vibe. All the movie posters on the outside walls were old, too. Like black and white monster flicks and vintage dramas. This sounds awesome.

You know the kind. Overly dramatic titles and bold fonts. A woman screaming into the void. Probably a giant spider somewhere. It felt like I'd pulled up to a drive-in from another dimension. What was it? Drowned. Oh, and he said that like very spooky.

He said drowned. He said drowned. Is that why you're stuck? Are you stuck in a body of water, Nicholas?

Oh, yeah. Also, is this current setting reminding you of a body of water? Cuz it does feel waterlike. Are you saying it's all right as in we're not bothering you with our lighting display?

It's okay. Back soon. Okay. You let us know. Love you. Love you. Meet it. Um, so I slowed down. There was no one behind me. I leaned forward to get a better look. And that's when I realized the entire street looked like it was from another time. Not charming vintage. I'm talking fullon time travel. All the cars parked along the street, antique, like Model T level antique. No modern cars, no people, no dogs, no sounds, just this heavy, eerie stillness.

This is like Pleasantville, but like really shitty. I love that movie. That's a banger.

It is. I kept driving, totally freaked out, like I'd just been dropped into 1953, and me in my little car stuck out like a sore thumb. I started panicking. It was like the world glitched and I ended up somewhere I definitely wasn't supposed to be. Imagine that. Must have felt so weird because you're like my logical brain is telling me that like something this is an explanation here but then this can't be happening.

There's another part of your brain that's like what if we did time travel and now I'm just stuck in 1950.

How do I get home? What do I do here? I pulled into a random parking lot, turned my ass around and got the hell out of there fast. Like Scooby-Doo running from a haunted mansion fast. Eventually, I found my way home. didn't die. Amazing. But obviously I had to tell someone.

So I told my best friend at the time, another spooky loving weirdo, and she immediately said, "We have to go back." Duh. We tried multiple times. I retraced my steps. Actually, I had a freakishly good memory back then. RP to that, thanks to Mom Brain. And I was certain I knew where I had gone. I mean, how could I forget something like that? But we never found that town again. Not once. And it wasn't for lack of trying.

Now, weirdly enough, I live in even closer. I live even closer to where that friend used to live. I'd driven all around the area for years. Hadenfield. Hell yeah. Collingswood, Pitman.

Nicholas just said, "Beside you." And he also says that every single time. It is interesting that he says the same things because I feel like he's trying to like communicate.

Same thing in the same room. Is he right? Are you right in between us right now? That's That might be nice.

I hope you're enjoying yourself. I hope you feel as thin as we do. I don't know how tall you are. Sorry if I did you dirty there.

Rubbing your back necklace. I hope you feel okay. I hope you feel okay. I hope you feel okay. What if he's 10t tall?

Oh, like that. Like the guy follows. That freaks me out. Nicholas would be like a tall drink of water though, not like a man peeing on your roof but naked. That's not it. Nicholas's energy is not a man on your roof. Okay. Saying naked.

Nicholas is like, "Thank you, girl." He's like, "Neither is yours, Ash." Yeah, I think he's a tall drink of water for sure. Yeah. So, like, hey, Nicholas,

what's up? Hey. Uh, but yeah, let us know. Did he say timeless? He said I'm timeless.

You are a tall drink of water is also a timeless expression. It is. He He appreciated our expression. You are timeless, Nicholas.

Maybe he's Sorry. Maybe he was saying we're timeless. Like timeless beauties. I'm going to take it.

I'm going to take I'm taking it. I like that, Nicholas. It's like Nicholas knew we needed that. He's like, "You know what? You two timeless beauties. I'm going to sit between you." I said, "Come over here. Sit next to me." Not me. Oh, what if I just started sobbing? Thank you so much, Nicholas. Nicholas,

I really needed you to tell me that. I appreciate it, Nicholas. All right, you can keep saying things, Nicholas things.

Yeah, you're wonderful. What was that? Did he just GR? He said where I wish he could.

Where would um You can sit wherever do you'd like. You can you can sit next to us. You can sit wherever you'd like.

Yeah. Uh anywhere in the room. Yay. Okay. Uh, no, weirdly enough, I live even closer to where that friend used to live. I've driven all around the area for years. Hadenfield, Collingswood, Pitman, all those cute little South Jersey towns that sort of match what I saw that night, but none of them are it. And that's the weirdest part because to this day, I can still picture it perfectly.

That's wild. The old theater, the vintage posters, the cars, the way the street looked frozen in time. It's crystal clear in my brain. And yet, no matter how many times I've tried, I never have been able to find that street again. Not even close. Every now and then when I think about that town, that stillness, the way everything just stopped. And I wonder if I accidentally drove through a glitch in the matrix. Maybe it was a ghost town, maybe another dimension, maybe the past. I don't know where I went, but I know I wasn't supposed to be there. Thanks for reading, and thank you both for being hilarious, gory little beams of light just by being your authentic weirdness selves. You're the best. Keep it weird, but not so weird that you end up stuck in 1953 without a GPS. Courtney, PS, Tim, if you hear this tail read on the pod surprise.

Surprise, Tim. Surprise, Tim. She made it. That was like such a fun little like opener because that's such a fun spooky like

Yeah. Cuz I'm just like what did happen there? And like why did you end up there of all of places to end up?

That's the thing. Like what? And the fact that she couldn't find it ever again,

that's the that's the kicker because it's like you drive around your town, you know, areas in your town, you've been to all the places in your town.

Yeah. How are you not finding it? And even like the the surrounding towns, too, you know?

Yeah. Like it's very strange. Yeah. It's It is. I like that. I love it a lot. I like that a lot cuz I'm very interested in like glitches in the Matrix and the simulation kind of theory and all that.

It's fascinating. I'm at least very interested in it. I am too. Yeah. All right. Well, thanks Courtney. Yeah, thank you Courtney. Our next one is called Listener Tales. That time I astral projected, couldn't leave my bedroom, but also couldn't get back into my physical body. So, I just panicked and tried punching my stupid body until I woke up.

My stupid sleeping body until I woke up. Not just your stupid body. It's stupid and sleeping.

Stupid and sleeping. All right. It says, "Hey, you can call me Kip. A name which you may use." Kip.

Okay. Kip. I'm writing to y'all because I've been power cleaning my apartment while listening to y'all's podcast. two hard cers in. I love a cider.

I love this. And I just heard a string of listener tales about lucid dreaming and astral projection. I thought I'd try sharing my own experience. But of course, first off, the thank yous. This show has gotten me through so many boring office days doing the dishes, as we say, for a cleaning lab and sampling equipment and staring mind-numbingly at slides under the microscope hours on end. It's entertainment for sure, but it's also helped me become aware of these stories of real people and their friends and families that demand attention. Maybe I've become a bit paranoid, but it's helped me really take in my surroundings, memorize the face of the man I pass at the park, recognize the make and model of the only other car parked alongside mine at the trail head, lie to the man that asks me if I live alone, and check in with all my friends if I haven't heard from if I haven't heard from them in a while.

All smart, I know. It all just goes to say that I appreciate the work y'all do. I enjoy the dynamic, the entertainment, and the insight that comes out of these true crime stories and the lives of real people that surround them. Their stories are important and I'm glad your platform has grown large enough to share them.

Oh, thank you. I was like so thoughtfully written and kind. Thank you very much. I did that and you did too.

Damn. Yeah, it's so hard to type right now because my cat is petting my face begging for affection. Lol. I almost read that as my cat is peeing on my face and she's like, "Damn, it's so hard to write.

My cat's just peeing all over my face. So hard to write." It was a wild visual.

It would be hard to type. It would. That's so I got it. That's why I got it. Yeah. But on to my spooky dreams and strange happenings between sleep and wakefulness. When I was a kid, I would occasionally have these experiences when I was on the edge of sleep, most often in the middle of the night when I would wake up a bit, then be in this limbo, sort of awake, but still drifting off. I would feel the sensation of pulling like in my chest, like my soul, and I could sense this other being, this entity with me, and my vision, while still dark, would spiral and pixelate. I could very distinctly feel myself breathing. Mind you, I consider myself a skeptic. I have negative six sense. My roommate in college swore our dorm and first apartment were haunted and I felt nothing. I accidentally vid uh visited old Alton Bridge. You know, Goatman's Bridge.

Oh, yes. You remember that? From Scariest places on Earth. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Uh for a sampling trip and felt nothing. I've been to a supposedly haunted hotel. Nothing. Hell, even prayer to the Christian God or Jod if you're nasty. I added that. Nothing, meditation, nothing. My best friend can use a pendulum like a a professional and pull tarot cards like a witch, and she puts them in my hands, and the spirits seem to flee at my touch. I honestly hardly even believe in the soul, let alone that I have one. But in these moments between wakefulness and sleep, I could feel a presence and an entity of some kind, and it did not feel good. Maybe it was just because I was scared and it felt like I was losing control, but it felt evil.

Like there were no good intentions behind this action of pulling. Ooh. This happened a few times as a child, and every time it was the sequence of multiple episodes of quick succession of pulling, resisting, and fading, and then pulling again, until I truly woke up, sat up too scared to fall back asleep. Honestly, I had forgotten entirely about these experiences until it happened to me again, once as an adult. I have a friend, affformentioned, the talented spiritualist with the pendulum and tarot cards. Frighteningly so. She has been supposedly attempting to astral project all of her life. She frequently has lucid dreams and seems to have a deeper connection to whatever lies beyond our physical existences more than anyone I've ever met. But she's never successfully astral projected. I talk with her a lot on this subject. While I have great control over my dreams, I don't think I truly lucid dream. I never

control the setting, but I interact freely with the setting. I kind of understand that I can't really control the setting, but I can

I don't think I lucid dream, but I can I know that I'm dreaming. Yeah. And I am able to wake myself up, but I can't switch out the environment.

I've been able to switch out the environment before. That's cool. I would like to try that.

It was the time when You asked what time it was. I asked what time it was. Yeah.

And that didn't go well. No, it really didn't. That was very strange. Yeah. Very strange.

I don't do that in my sleep. I don't have any intention of doing that. I kind of want to do it again.

You would? Yeah, but it was weird. Well, Kip says, "I interact freely with the setting. I have realized that I'm dreaming, but I rarely acknowledge it because my dreams are often so much fun. I don't want to interrupt them. I want to continue the story. I want to fly and fight and swim to my heart's content. I think it just goes to say that I have extreme control over the things that happen in my dream. And for the most part, especially in these story-based dreams, I'm cognizant and freely move about in and I'm generally aware of when I'm dream of when I'm dreaming and when I'm awake.

Okay? And I can always bring myself out of it. If I cannot change a dream turn sorry

what did he say? What I'm going to need more information of like what what it is you would tend to do and then we can talk about if I'll let you or not. That just let you what?

It's 2025. What did he say? Nine. Let you nine. Let you nine. Huh? I got nothing. Walter. Are you going to start naming like nine friends that you got?

Sophie. Who's Who's Walter? Jill. Barbara. Anyway. All right, keep letting us know, Nicholas.

All right, so I'm generally aware of when I'm dreaming and when I'm awake, and I can always bring myself out of it. If I cannot change a dream turned sour into something pleasant, I can always wake myself up on command with just the thought of I don't want to be here anymore. It's worked every single time except twice.

I've had sleep paralysis twice in my life. Once when I was a kid and once as an adult, the latter being an extraordinary experience that I want to share. I know this is a bit long-winded getting there. apologies, but I think my explaining of these prior experiences of these prior experience contributes to my own understanding of what may have actually occurred on the night that I may have successfully astral projected.

Oh, I'm excited. The first time I experienced sleep paralysis, I was flat on my stomach, facing the pillow, and I couldn't wake up. I didn't see anything but a shadow passing my door over and over and over again.

Oh, I hate that. I do, too. Almost like I was caught in a time loop. Oh, but it wasn't malevolent. It just was. I didn't see any demons. I heard nothing just but footsteps. And I felt no presence, evil or otherwise. I was confused, but I wasn't scared. Maybe because I was already aware. What? Please leave. Why is it always what I'm reading? Do you want us to leave or Walter to leave?

Okay. Who's leaving? Maybe it's Walter you want to leave. Maybe. Let us know. I was going to say, but it made absolutely no sense. in Nicholas.

Nicholas. So, I didn't see any demons. I heard nothing but footsteps, and I felt no presence, evil or otherwise. I was confused, but I wasn't scared. Maybe because I was already aware of what sleep paralysis was. I was honestly kind of annoyed, but I was easily uh but I was able to easily come out of it by just letting go and falling back asleep and then waking myself up. Then, much later, as an adult, I experienced the chest pulling again. the feeling that an entity had a had its grip on my very soul and was trying to pull it from my body to the ceiling specifically. I fought it off, finally woke up and I spent the rest of the night on the couch watching Star Wars and then I discussed it with my witchy friend. I like that you were like, "I'm terrified. I'm going to go watch Star Wars on my couch." Just watch Star Wars and then chat about it with your witchy friend. I like that.

Sounds comforting. Yeah. She told me that it was actually a rather common phenomenon known most commonly as the ankle puller. I didn't feel it pulling up my ankle, but everything else matched. The presence of an entity, the sensation of pulling, the tingly and fuzzy feeling I had across my body like pins and needles. This white noise almost like a rushing of water or the sound of your own blood when you put your ear to a shell. That's mermaids. Actually Kip

I have a bone to pick with you, Kip. That's mermaids. Just saying. Just kidding. Like the ocean or mermaids.

Or mermaids. She said it was commonly a precursor to astral projection and that the next time I should just let go, let it pull me. Well, it did happen again and I let it take me. I literally had the distinct, completely lucid thought, she said I should let go, so I'm going to let go and I fully embraced it. I let go and it pulled me away. It pulled me awake. I heard what sounded like a storm starting, like sheets of rain falling on the roof and down onto the stone outside and strong winds. I opened my eyes and I was in my bedroom. It was dark, still very early in the morning, but I felt awake and I was in my room. Everything was exactly how it should have been, but everything was more dim and less saturated, like there was a cold filter on my vision. I moved my arms to rub my forehead or rest them above my head like I usually do when I wake up. And I felt my arms move, but I didn't see them

where they should where they would have moved across my vision to rest above my head. So, I waved them in front of my face. I very distinctly felt the action, but I couldn't see them. Huh. And then I realized that I couldn't sit up. And then I finally realized that I could really feel my arms moving about, but I also still could feel them lying by my sides. I could feel them in both places at once. What the [ __ ] I tried throwing my legs out of bed, and again, I felt my legs move, but I couldn't see them moving. And I actually couldn't get out of bed. I could still hear the winds or what sounded like the ocean outside again or mermaids. But again, I think it was really just my blood pressure in my ears. Kip. I It was mermaids.

It's mermaids in everywhere. Always mermaids. Yeah, I had that classic sleep paralysis pressure on my chest, but it wasn't strong. It was more like a cat. So, that was actually pretty pleasant. Still no sensation or of another presence in my room, let alone my chest on my chest. I saw nothing but the empty room around me. So, I laid there trying to wiggle my fingers, but nothing was happening. And honestly, I was growing kind of bored. So, I just got out of bed. I swung my body weight to one side and then onto the other to launch myself out of bed, which I later learned is called the roll out method. And it worked. I was standing upright. My body was still in bed, but I couldn't see it. And I couldn't see myself standing beside my bed. It was like I was in both places at once.

Wo. Physically, I could feel both places at once. Wa. That's That must have been gnarly. That's so weird.

Yeah. Like how Oh, that's really cuz like I think about it like cuz we were talking about this the other day actually that like you have those moments where you'll be somewhere and then sometimes like this is going to sound funny. It happened to me at the Rod Stewart concert halfway through it. I think I was like I was just like zoning out watching and then I was all of a sudden like I zone out. I was mesmerized is what I was. I was I think it was he was shaking his booty and I was like mesmerized. But I was like out of it and then all of a sudden I like clicked back in and I was looking around and I was like am I here right now? Like I looked around and I was like am I where? Like I kind of get that

like I knew where but I was like am I actually here right now? That used to am I just I feel like outside of myself. It's like a very weird feeling and it happens to me

pretty frequently a little. Yeah. when I'm like out somewhere. That used to happen to me when I was little a lot in the car.

Yeah. Like I would be like like I'd just kind of like zone out and then when I was back I I would be like am I really here? You're like am I like where where am I really? Yeah. All of a sudden it's almost like am I what? Like I'm here and it's like am I real?

Yeah. It's very weird. So I feel like that existential that idea of like being in two places at once is like similar I think but I can't fathom being feeling myself in bed and feeling myself standing.

Yeah. cuz like your experience is just like where am I? That experience is like oh I'm in two whole ass places.

Yeah, that's so weird. Yeah, it is. So I walked over to my bathroom mirror, but I couldn't really see myself. I could definitely feel myself moving though. I had my phone in my hand and I activated the screen and got really close to the mirror and then I could see my reflection in the mirror in the glow of my phone screen. It looked like me exactly. There was nothing scary at all about what happened here except that I couldn't wake up. But I couldn't move my head. It was like I was still paralyzed even as I was walking around. I could see my eyes moving in the mirror as I was glancing around. And I could see my mouth moving while I was talking myself through the whole experience.

Wo. I could hear my own voice out loud clear as day. And I could even see my phone screen, the ridiculous background image I'd chosen. I could see it exactly. But of note, I could not see at the time, which skeptic in me has latched on to to convince myself that this was a dream. Oh, sorry. I could not see the time.

Oh, so that's interesting. That is interesting. You can see your background but not the time which is very interesting because then think of all those people in Dreamland who do not want you to know what time it is for whatever reason.

Yeah. Or like what the date is. It's like an abyss. It's like there is no time.

Yeah. You know, I know. I want I love this [ __ ] I do too. It's very fascinating. So, I left the bathroom mirror, but I couldn't leave the bedroom. I was trapped in there. My curtains were cracked open enough that I could have left. It's a studio apartment, so there's no bedroom door. But something was keeping me in the room. I couldn't even see to my other side. It was just nothing. Not even dark. It was just nothing. I went back to my body, but I couldn't get back into it.

I was still both entities at the same time. Oh, I would panic. I was my body lying in the bed, and I was my body astral and I was my astral body trying to lie back down in bed, but my astral body couldn't lay back down. I just kind of hovered over my physical body. And it was at that point that my physical body, still laying in bed, started having trouble breathing.

Not because of the pressure on my chest, but I think my tongue was falling further back in my throat, maybe. I don't know. I'm not sure.

It felt like something was in my throat. So, I tried harder to snap out of it, which only caused me to start panicking.

Oh my god. Nothing was working. I started hitting my physical body with my astral body. I felt my astral arms move. I felt my astral fingers pinching myself, but on my physical body, they weren't moving. I wasn't actually feeling the blows or the pinches. Like, my astral body was having absolutely no effect on my physical body. What the?

So, I started calling out for help. I was praying. I have no idea to whom, but eventually it worked. And I finally managed to knob the head on my physical body. And then my body was awake and whole again. I never saw anything. No demons, no shadows, no presence other than my own. I never heard anything beside my own voice crystal clear when I was speaking to myself and the sound of the wind or the ocean or the mermaids or whatever else outside. It felt like it lasted an eternity though. Truly an eternity. And I started questioning if this was actually sleep paralysis because it lasted so much longer than my initial episode. But was it really a dream? It certainly didn't feel like one. The physical sensations, visuals, and audio were just so accurate, crisp, so present, so real, like nothing I ever dreamed before. The commands that would normally have woken me didn't work. The fact that I very intentionally entered

this state at the beginning of the episode. You say entered and then be quiet. That's weird cuz I just said entered.

Yeah. And who entered and why do we have to be quiet? Is Walter here? Who's Walter? I don't know. Something I don't I don't like that. Something's off. I also think it's very dark, so it's like a creepy setting.

Yeah, that's spooky. Give us more, Nicholas please. Yeah, the physical sensations, visuals, and audio were so accurate, crisp, so present, so real, like nothing I ever dreamed before. The commands that would normally have woken me did not work. And the fact that I very intentionally entered this state at the beginning of the episode of this episode was so strange. And the fact that I couldn't escape by any familiar means was very frightening. Maybe it was just a dream. Just sleep paralysis still heavily influenced by my sleepy brain. But in the moment, it felt like a lot more than that. Certainly different than any any dream I've ever had and much different than the first sleep paralysis episode that I was subjected to. Anyways, it hasn't happened since. Granted, it was rather unpleasant at the time, so maybe I just haven't tried hard enough.

Interesting. For sure. You say Matt. Mad. Is Walter mad? Mad. You can tell us and we can work through it.

What did he just say? I'm following you. Nicholas. This isn't Nicholas. Is this Nicholas? Or is this Walter?

I really dislike that. I got full. No, I do too. Like my whole body just chilled.

I think we should pause. Yeah, I think we should. We need to get some [ __ ] out of this.

I'd like to hear more though cuz I I want some more details here. Are is this Walter or is this Nicholas?

Who's following us? And are you following all of us or just one of us? And why? back soon. Sorry. I was like, "What the [ __ ] is that?" Okay, it hasn't happened since. Granted, it was rather unpleasant at the time, so maybe I just haven't tried hard enough. Lol. Interesting for sure. Lol.

We're all like, "Lol, lol." Interesting for sure, but who knows if interesting enough to share on the show. I do.

Pretty [ __ ] interesting. It is. Uh just just thought I'd write in since I haven't spoken about it much with other people. Maybe I'll try again someday. I'm in a new apartment with a door this time. Maybe all I needed was a door. Lol. Doors have lore, right?

Doors do have lore. Doors. Doors got lore. Yeah, lore with doors. Yeah, we shall see. Thanks again. And maybe next time you feel a weird pulling in your dreams. Just let it tug you along. You never know where you might end up. K.

Oo, that's spooky. It is spooky. Also, I love how you wrote that entire thing. Yeah, I think that I think that was 100% astral

astral projecting. I really do. And you were just new at it. And I think you went I think you may have gotten too hard too fast.

Yeah, I think you you uh astral projected too close too close to the sun. I think

also hey um who's following us? Yeah, ple please get back to us with that. TT I would really like that.

TT Yss talk to you so soon. I really had to work that out. Uh I think I need I'm I'm going to this one because it's haunted sleep paralysis listener tale. All right, you have questions. Hopefully, we have answers.

Um, this one is, "Hello, I would like to submit a listener tale. This is the story of the time my mom thought she was haunted for 10 years before she heard about sleep paralysis.

It features visions of Jesus and the devil, which for my adamantly non-religious mother is wild. I like that she thought she was haunted for 10 years." I'm like, "Oh, no." by Jesus and the devil. Thank you in advance for taking time to read it. 14 point point font double space podifa attached.

Amazing. Let me make sure. And your name is Whitney. I like that name. Whitner Houston.

Um, all right. Let's see. Haunted. Better not tell anyone. A listener tail. Use all names. We would be thrilled if this made it on. Yay, it did. Please let me start by saying that I love morbid. I frequently listen at work or in my car with my mom. In the car with my mom, Betty. A Betty. I work alone quite a bit and you guys have kept me company through countless tasks. I'm a PhD student in paleontology and geocchemistry.

Casual. The [ __ ] Whitney? [ __ ] you just dropped that. Whitney, you should you should always just drop that though.

Yeah, you should. Like it's hot. You should throw that like spike it like a football.

Oh, I like that. That's what footballs sound like in my mind. Uh, a little background on Betty. Thank you for that. Uh, she's wild. I hope my future child just says that background on my mom. She's wild. She's always up to something. It gets better with each side. And it's hilarious more often than not. For example, back in 2005, we lived in Western Washington State and the local newspaper had an advertisement for the International Seagull Calling Contest. Naturally, Betty entered and spent the next week crafting a seagull costume to complete the vibe.

What? I'm literally obsessed with Betty, her mom. That energy is pristine. That's the energy I'm looking for.

Yeah. Fact. Holy hell. Um, so then conveniently on her birthday, she strutdded out onto the beach dressed as a seagull and squawkked her heart out. What a queen.

To my horror as a 17-year-old by at the time, she won. Oh, yeah. I knew she won. Cut to the present day. She and I live together far far from our previous home on the West Coast. She opted to retire from her job in 2022 and moved several states away with me to help me out while I'm in the graduate school. A

she's a real one. I have a dog named Molecule aka Molly. Stop. That's so cute. Think of that.

I know. Why didn't I think of that? That is genius. And a cat. BB, which greatly appreciate getting to stay home with Grammy. Well,

you're from here. Nicholas is from here. Or whoever's following us is Is it Nichol? I don't know how to get you to answer.

It's funny that felt like Nicholas. Like I'm from here felt like Nicholas. But those last two things like I'm following

did not. I follow you. I'm following you. That feels like Nicholas. That felt like pin head before which like I know you wanted to follow you. I get it. But I don't want that for me. Well, no grassy. All right. Uh, let's see. Uh, do uh what I always say.

It's my motto. So, the dog and the cat really like stay at home with Grammy. A uh Well, I travel around in the search of fossils. You are way cool. Uh, Betty is a staple in the natural history museum where I work as part of my contract. Her natur her silly nature and kindness has turned her into the geology department mom.

Recently I took her with me to search for fossils and she found an exosaur a marine reptile. That's so cool. Your mom found that? That's badass. I love that was like I got something. I love this. Which is a decently common animal but she would like it to be known that she will only speak to news outlets about it. Do we count? So, I guess watch for her on Nat Gio as the next adventuring paleontology dog grandma. This story starts roughly in 1999 in a house on a lake where I grew up.

My parents were still together at this time but maintained separate bedrooms for my whole life. My dad practically shook the house with his snoring. So, frankly, it made sense.

It do be like that. For this story, it is important to point out that I was raised as adamantly non-religious. To this day, I have a notice on my door of my front door that reads, "No soliciting, no religion. We cannot be safe." What?

Burnt. Burnt. That one sounded more like Walter. I feel was a weird creek. So, someone died from burning maybe and someone or something. Okay, let us know. Uh, Colin. Uh, so hello.

To this day, I have a notice on my front door that reads, "No soliciting, no religion. We cannot be saved. We don't believe your stories. Don't make it weird."

Where do you buy that? I have one that says, "No soliciting. Don't make it weird."

I like that one though. Yeah, I like that one better. Tell us where you got that. I like that.

Betty and I collaborated on it. Oh, that that's a Betty and Whitney original. It is, honestly.

Betty and I collaborated on it after several visits from the local Christians. Okay. Sorry for the side quest, but it is important. I promise. Um, and it's No, I'm sure Whitney agrees. You can be whatever. If you're a Christian, just don't bother me about it.

Don't come to my door. No, don't come to my door with the religion, though. That's for sure.

Uh, so don't come to me with the religion. Yeah, don't do that. Don't come to any of it.

You do your the You do the religion. Exactly. It's It's all you. And I'll say, "Yeah,

Betty was stressed out at the time of this story. I don't know if that plays a role in what happened, but perhaps." In the middle of the night, she awoke to a glowing blue light. It lit up her whole room, and emanating from it was Jesus Christ, superstar, the man himself, JCJC. He floated above her near the foot of her bed in long white robes with long brown hair and arms that outstretched to his sides. Wait, this is like not Jesus Christ Superstar. This is like superstar. Remember when Jesus comes and visits Molly?

Molly? Molly? [ __ ] Well, he says he instructed her, "Believe in me. Believe in me." Betty fought it. She tried to tell stereotypical Jesus no and to go away. Betty said,

"What did he say?" Ugly. Nicholas just said that Jesus Christ is ugly. Whoa. I don't know what that was about.

Woo. Oh, so she tried to tell stereotypical Jesus no and to go away. She couldn't move. She couldn't get out of this situation. It was so vivid and real. There was no way to no way this was a normal dream. Once Jesus left, she was able to calm down once Jesus got the hell out. Well, that was [ __ ] crazy, she thought. But I can't tell anyone because everyone already thinks I'm crazy.

Betty proceeds to not tell a soul about her visit from Jesus. She just assumed she was now haunted and moved on with her life.

Jesus himself. Meanwhile, I had no idea Jesus was soliciting believers in my own home. He didn't give a [ __ ] about the sign. A couple of weeks late.

Give it back. Give what back? What do you need back? I'd love to help you. A couple of weeks later, with no Jesus follow-ups, Betty is awoken again, but this time to a red light. You guessed it, this time it was the devil. This sounds more fun.

He was there with a long red tail, pitch fork, and all. He hovered at the foot of the bed. Believe in me. Believe in me. He commands her.

No. Betty tries to tell the stereotypical devil. I hope this is the devil from like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Yes, the hot devil. Cuz I'd be like, "Sure." I'd be like, "Oh, honey, I've been believing.

I believe when the devil finally leaves, she think again thinks that was crazy. I really can't tell anyone about this." She stuck it out, took this as a sign that she was now definitely haunted and told no one. Now, personally, I cannot imagine thinking I'm being haunted and just keeping that fact private. No. Also, these experiences didn't change her opinions on religion. In fact, if anything, she doubled down.

10 years go by. 10 years of the of this happening. Yeah. A few other instances occur, but never vivid or religion inspired. Okay. So, never that again. At this point, I'm out of the house in college for the first time. I ended up dropping out, but hey, it's all good now.

I guess so. I guess so. Betty goes on a cruise to Alaska. This is not usually something either of us would enjoy, but her niece, my cousin, was the main singer/performer on said cruise, and Betty got a cheap deal to go watch her for a week. Also, apparently Alaska cruises are supposed to be like wild, like really like beautiful,

beautiful views. During one of their hangouts, my cousin starts talking about how she suddenly gets sleep paralysis and what she sees or what happens during an episode. Suddenly, it clicks. Betty had never heard of sleep paralysis before. Jesus and the devil were sleep paralysis visions. She isn't haunted after all. Hey, she was so relieved to hear that she wasn't being haunted or her perhaps becoming a prophet that she finally started telling people that a decade prior she had been personally visited by Jesus and the what lore

where he said quiet down Elena. I did do this. He do be flirting with you. I don't want to talk about it. We have a lot going on right now. Pat pat later. So, uh, okay. Yeah. Um, she was so relieved to hear that she wasn't being haunted or perhaps becoming a prophet that she finally started telling people that a decade prior she had been personally visited by Jesus and the devil and that they were as stereotypical looking as possible. Naturally, my response was, "How can you just keep that inside for 10 years?" She thought that everyone knew her for being funny and that if she stared her experience, people would write it off and think she was nuts. So, she just kept it secret and lived in fear.

Probably not the best coping mechanism, but probably our communicators now. So, no more thinking you're haunted for a decade. We talk that stuff out now.

True to form, I have a ton of other Betty stories, including the time she gave my phone number to a homicide detective to help them identify potential living bones.

That's [ __ ] bones. Human bones is what I meant. Her rationale was that I work in a museum and identify bones for a living. So, it makes sense. It's some It's always something with Betty around. I have included some photos. Oh my god, we got Molecule.

Molecule with a small whale tooth from the paleontology collection. Whoa. She always comes to work with me. This is part of a weird thing I do where I take pictures of fossils with Molly for scale.

Oh my god, I love it. Oh my god, Bettyy's adorable. Oh, I love Betty is exactly how I pictured her, actually.

Yeah, truly. She has a wonderful energy. It shines through. And that's where she found the the crazy dinosaur spine and we left it in a in place and took a GPS point so that the museum can get a permit to excavate it. Please direct all nature documentary requests and interviews to Betty.

I'm Betty dressed as an alien for Halloween in the 1970s. What a hot ticket, Betty. Okay, girl. She later saved a friend from drowning in the bathtub later that night when the friend had a seizure.

Can you imagine waking up naked in a bath after a seizure to an alien saving you?

That's just Betty's life. I'm obsessed with Betty and Whitney. I love you guys a lot.

Um, come hang. I do. Here's the thing. I still don't think that was sleep paralysis.

I don't either. I refuse to believe that. I get sleep paralysis. I've never had Jesus and the devil visit me stereotypically and yell believe in me at me. Um, I think I think that was something entirely else.

It was a fight. It was a duel between between the one above and the one below. Yeah. You know, and we don't know. We don't know what happened.

I don't know. Neither of them won. They both lost. You know, that's the thing. I like that one. That one's like a fun little

Betty side note. I liked it a lot. Um, let me see which one I want to do next. All right, we have Listener Tale. The Time My Boyfriend turned into a demon. Oh,

that happens to a lot of girls. Let's go. Yeah, we've had that happen. We've all had that happen, actually.

Hi, my morbid baddies. My name is Cara, and you can use my name and all others included in this story. And I got consent before sending this in because duh, consent is very important.

Consent. Oh, and baddies as a compliment by the way, despite bad of being part of the word. Oh,

totally. We know that. Thank you. I'm technically Gen Z, but just barely, as I'm still a '9s baby, and sometimes I adopt the lingo.

I love that. So, you are both the good kind of baddies. The kind Urban Dictionary defines as a female who can hold her own. She's confident, slaying the game, hot as fu, basically a bad [ __ ]

Oh, [ __ ] yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I know what the Gen Z's would say to that. I just learned this. Purr. Purr. Mhm. I got

purr like a cat. Well, not like but like purr. Purr purr is like Yeah, I heard that. Like that's t I think. I think Jenz's tell me if I'm wrong.

They will. They will. They will. But I like purr if I'm using it correctly. Anyway,

fun. According to one definition, I really did my research. Baddies can even be defined as an emo person who is badass. Anyway, you get the point. You're both absolute queens, and I'm obsessed with the podcast for a multitude of reasons, including the way you share cases with an in-depth and victim focused approach, as well as the banter you two share. I can definitely relate being the middle sibling and a sister trio. All of us two years apart in age and born with the gift of sarcasm. I love it.

A true gift. Also, I really loved both of your books, Elena. I literally This is such a good compliment. I literally never read unless forced, but you becoming an author actually provoked me to do so. So, I guess you can say you make me a better version of myself.

Oh, I love that. Elena loves specifically when people who are like, I don't even read read the book.

It like a high compliment. Yeah. The people who are like, "I'd never read and now I'm reading." Well, like I started reading because of those books. Like no better compliment. It's It's a thing for you.

Yeah. It's that or people saying, "I never listen to ghosts before you mention them."

Molina loves turning people into what are ghost fans called? Uh like ghoulets, right? Ghouls and ghoulets.

Yeah. She likes turning you into that. Yeah. All right. Well, we share the double Oh, me. Ash. Ash. We share the double-sided blessing/curse of empathy and also being silly goof mood spasms that you more than occasionally have on the pod. So twin, what's up? I'll take it. Well, [ __ ] I'm supposed to be writing my listener tale, but I ramble on the paper the same that I do when I tell stories in person. Let's go.

I can never stay on track without having to do without having to double back and explain a backstory and whatnot. So, I apologize in adv in advance if this is hard to follow or if my sentences run on too much. Here it goes. I talk fast, but the read should take anywhere uh from about 13 to 17 minutes minus commentary. Please read all parenthesis.

Yeah, the story Yeah, that's a long time, but I'm in I'm in for it. We're locked in. I'm locked and loaded. The story takes place back in 2020. I was 22 and dating a guy I met in college, Ben. We met over a little Sorry, we met a little over a year prior while attending a local community college in Knoxville before transferring to the university in our college town to finish out our education. there. I majored in advertising, which side note, I r I rarely use my ad degree today as I predominantly do architectural design work now. Damn, everyone's so [ __ ] impressive. That's cool. And Ben majored in computer engineering because Okay, Ben.

Because he's some whack ass brainiac. Some whack ass brainiac. And you wrote respectfully.

We both lived off campus, but I would routinely spend the night at his place and a majority of my free time there to avoid being at home. A backstory I'm not trying to divulge due to the ungodly amount of trigger warnings it would require. I'm sorry. Let's just say if college wasn't so damn expensive, I would have sought other living arrangements, but I had a tuition to pay and my cat, or rather the love of my life, Ali's mouth to feed. The mention of my strange relationship with my parents is semi-relevant to the story, but I'll get to that later. Anywh who, I spent a majority of nights over at Ben's place and never had any offsetting experiences there until the night he turned into a demon for the first time.

Yeah, that'll do it. Yeah, that'll that'll take the cake. Before I tell the mortifying experience of that night, let me give you a mental image of Ben.

Thank you. He could easily be the poster child for the golden retriever type personality. He's sensitive, well-rounded, boy nextdork type of guy.

I see him. I do too. He has this infuriating ability to pick up on just about uh pick up just about anything and excel at it. For instance, he was an amazing cook that had the ability to whip up concoctions in the kitchen. utilizing an inherent intuition of whatever flavors pair well together. And he even kept a garden in his backyard to grow fresh herbs for cooking. He also found a yo-yo one time at his job and just decided to pick up yo-yoing, watching YouTube videos to learn tricks and eventually became a bit of a yo-yo master simply because of the opportunity that aroused to learn something new. And he thought, why not? I guess

I love Ben. I love that he was like, I better master this. Guess I'm going to master this. You took it as a side from the universe. Honestly, nothing's better than mastering stuff.

I know. It's true. I like to master things. I love it. Me, I can't even get out of bed without injuring myself. I have zero spatial awareness. I'm also the only person I know who has managed to kill a succulent. Nope. I have too. I've I've done that. What did he say?

What year is it? Oh, it's 2025. Unfortunately, 2025. It's It's a It's too futuristic.

It's not great here. We hate it. It's not great. I can't get out of bed without injuring myself. I have zero spatial awareness and I'm the only person I know who's managed to kill a succulent. I have two.

Number two. Somehow I over care for them. Like how the actual [ __ ] I genuinely think I'm an alien or maybe I'm just a Maybe I'm just defective.

I also think I'm an alien. Yeah. Yeah. The good kind of aliens. Absolutely. You know, like not the aliens that are coming to like probe you.

Oh, just like just an alien. Meanwhile, Ben out here be flaunting his newfound yo-yo skills and cultivating whole ass gardens. So, I know what you're thinking. How does this dude become the demon of this story?

Yeah, I'm wondering. Well, one night after working a late shift on my bartending job, I came to Ben's house exhausted, and I almost immediately passed out. He went to sleep cuddled up next to me, and that was the last thing I remember before waking up in the middle of the night.

He died. Guide. Is Walter your guide? Yeah. Who's Who's the guide? And that's why someone's following someone. Look at you spinning that.

So, he went to sleep cuddled up next to me, and that was the last thing I remember before waking up in the middle of the night. This felt very random because I had no idea what would have woken me up out of my deep sleep so abruptly. There wasn't a loud noise. I didn't have the urge to pee, and no one had shaken me awake or called my name. In fact, Ben still appeared to be asleep right next to me. His body was turned away from me at this point as he had fallen out of cuddle formation. Rude, but nonetheless, he appeared to be sound asleep. So, me being the annoying ass girlfriend I was, I rolled over to Ben's back and whispered, "Ben! Ben!" grabbing him by the shoulder and lightly shaking him awake. To my surprise, he awoke rather quickly and immediately turned his body to face me, but looking back at me wasn't Ben. The body was Ben's. the room, his bed, his face, all but his eyes. Where Ben's hazel-coled eyes once

were were now replaced by these disturbing, searing black eyes. I instantly felt a heavy and imminent sense of danger. To this day, it still sent shivers down my spine just picturing those eyes. Before I could process what I was seeing, it spoke. In the most chilling, demonic ass voice, it said, "I'm not Ben." as its mouth crooked into a menacing smile that I can only describe as utterly demonic looking. Literally like the smile in the Smile movies, but somehow worse. The realization no later hit me that this wasn't Ben, merely someone or something pretending to be him masking itself in his skin. E.

As soon as I felt the panic of this realization, I abruptly woke up and was on the brink of tears. It was only a nightmare, I thought. Still the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. But at least it wasn't real.

Yeah. Relieved. At least that. At least that. Yeah. Relieved. I went to wake up Ben. But for real this time, I shook him awake. Awake, saying his name, the same as I had in my nightmare just before. But this time, Ben actually turned and looked to be himself.

Oh, good. I started telling him the scary dream that I just had, still freaking the [ __ ] out and attempting to catch my breath. And I don't even think I finished more than a sentence or two before yet again Ben started to [ __ ] shapeshift back into the same demon-esque boyfriend impersonator as before. I was mortified. Had I not woken up? Was this still the same dream? Or was I not dreaming at all? I don't wake up from the nightmare immediately as I did before. Instead, I continue to stare at this creepy ass thing in the eyes, frozen and pleading under my breath for it to go away. Go away. Leave me alone. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I woke up again. I'm in the same spot in Ben's bed. Still, everything is exactly the same as it would be in reality. And so, I scan the room, looking for something off in an attempt to determine whether I'm still in the dream or if I'm really

awake this time. But there's nothing. His room just looked like the room I slept in every single night, down to the coloring pages I ripped out to color and hung on his wall. That's adorable. That is

And my phone's still charging on the nightstand adjacent to me. I didn't turn to wake Ben up like I had before out of fear that it wouldn't be him once. Yeah, exactly. But instead his Mr. Hyde counterpart.

It's almost like the demon could read my mind though because this time it didn't wait for me to muster up what

you watching you. Following you watching you next to you. Damn. Maybe he's just adding to the story. He's like watching you cuz like Ben turned around to look at her. He's watching her.

Yeah, he's watching her. Let's go like that. It's almost like the demon could read my mind, though, because this time it didn't wait for me to muster up the courage to wake him up. It just turned to look at me with its dark fish eyes and its menacing smuggish smile and started speaking to me.

Did you say yikes? Did you say he hides? Hides. He hides. He hides. Watching you.

Nine. Nine again. Something creeped over there. Seven degree over there. He hides watching you.

Nine. Who hides? Nicholas, help me understand. Or Paul is on during later. Where does he hide?

Right back soon. This is the creepiest sleepover ever. I know. Damn. We didn't even do a Ouija board.

We never will. Not in this room. Liar. I'm not a liar. I have never done a Ouija board and I never will.

Have you done a Ouija board in this room? No. Not in this room. Not in this house.

What room? Like, no. Not in this house. You heard that? You heard that little like high-pitch squeak thing? Mhm. She just went, "You sure did."

Yep, I did. Okay, back to the story. Where am I? Where am I? Where Where are Where am I?

It turned to look at me with its dark fish eyes and its menacing smuggish smile. And it started to speak to me. Its voice would start as Benz, but slowly become more gruff and for booding, sort of like the ghost tube voice. It was almost like it was taunting me, even saying my name and trying to get me to look at him. But internally, I was screaming, "Fuck no." And I refused to even make eye contact, hoping that ignoring it would make it disappear. It didn't. It whispered in my ear, calling me by my name and telling me to look at him, reassuring me it really was just Ben. It was freakishly manipulative, trying to play tricks on my mind or convince me it was my boyfriend after all. I was paralyzed in fear and all. He said, "Next." Did he say axe?

Oh, I thought he said he said axe. I don't like he hides watching you in axe. I mean, I don't either. I don't like it. I don't like how that all goes together too perfectly in a narrative.

Yeah, it's You're not the only author in the room. I guess I don't like that. You gota keep going, Nicholas, because now I need more information.

In case you didn't hear that at home, he said, "Come over here." Hold on. What?

Okay. She went over there. What else? She just left me on this couch alone. Yeah. come back, please

and um you let you let me know if anything else comes up. Okay. Do you also feel like it's so cold in here? I'm not even being dramatic. Like it's genuinely very cold in here.

It is indeed. And it's also like never cold in here. The AC like never works properly.

I have too much going on right now. We both do. I guess we continue. Okay. Yeah. Um, it was freakishly manipulative trying to play tricks on my mind or convince me it was my boyfriend after all. I was paralyzed in fear. Same.

Yeah. And you're not. You're moving about. And all I could do was cry. Finally, I reawaken. You see where this is going. I immediately recognize I've only awoken back inside this neverending hell loop of sorts.

This sucks. I hate it for you. This time, the demon didn't waste time trying to convince me it was my boyfriend or that I'd woken up from the recurring nightmare. This time, there was a TV on in his room. Ben didn't have a TV in his room though.

He needed more. He said he needed more room for his yo-yo tricks, I guess. So, I immediately knew that I was dreaming and recognized his room was slightly morphed now from reality. Demon Ben was faced toward the TV watching something, but I could never tell what it was. He slowly creked his neck back to look at me as if he noticed that I entered the dream again, primed for his torment. He kept telling me to look at him the same as before, and he started walking toward me now. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of dread and knowledge that this thing, whatever it was, was pure evil. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to lean into my consciousness in an effort to escape my slumber while saying out loud, "You can't hurt me. This is just a dream. You can't hurt me. This is just a dream."

Over and over and over. Worth a shot. But somehow, without even saying it, I felt it was telling me that it could harm me, that it could end me right there and then if it wanted to.

I could feel it approaching, getting closer and closer and closer, leaning into whatever religion I had left. I just started to beg God to make it a nightmare stop and force me to wake up. Next thing I know, I wake up and I'm in tears. Still not trusting that I was actually awake, I didn't move for a while. I was waiting for the demon to make itself known again and continue its torment. But this time, nothing. I finally got the courage to turn over and wake up wake up Ben. But once again, no, I'm just playing.

Oh my god. It really did wake up for real. For real this time. I didn't believe it at first and I was still apprehensive when Ben first opened his eyes. I immediately asked him if he was a demon to which he responded very confused and still half asleep that he was in fact not a demon.

He said, "I want you to go." I mean, we are going to be leaving. Yeah, we're leaving shortly. I'm just wrapping up here. Yeah. Uh, I immediately asked him if he was a demon, to which he responded very confused and still half asleep that he was in fact not a demon. I remained hesitant, but I was petrified that the demon would reemerge as Ben and take me for good. Take me. Don't take me. Eventually, I reached over to grab my phone off the nightstand to check the time. And Ben reached his arm across me to make sure I didn't fall off the bed as I leaned. He was well aware of my absolute clumsiness. But instead of being thankful and grateful, I completely lost my [ __ ] and started scre and started screaming and kicking, thinking he was still the demon and that I was still asleep and he was grabbing me. Now he's pulling you into hell dimension now.

Yeah, it took a lot of convincing, but eventually I did accept that I was no longer stuck in a demonic dream loop. And Ben forgave me for accusing him of being a demon. Say, "Help me again. I want to. I need more information." It took a lot of convincing, but eventually I accepted that I was no longer stuck in the demonic dream loop, and Ben forgave me for accusing him of being a demon and going apeshit on him when he only only tried to prevent me from falling off our bed. I had been at least partly conscious the whole time, aware that I was trapped inside this dream loop and practically clawing to get out. I could think and talk if I wanted, and this was something I'd never experienced before. But after some research on the interwebs, I came to understand that I was experiencing some form of metacognition while caught in this dream loop. From what I gathered, sorry. From what I gathered, it appeared

I was either lucid dreaming or in sleep paralysis. I tend to lean more towards sleep paralysis because I didn't feel like I could move and I definitely was not in any control of my dream.

Yeah. I also read that sleep depravity, deprived of sleep I was, or even trauma, which I have plenty of too, could be potential causes of sleep paralysis. I'm no expert nonetheless, and I would be interested to hear your guys' take on it all. After recovering from whatever the [ __ ] it was, followed by many hours of lying awake, afraid to drift back to an inescapable dream loop again.

Can't say I blame you. I know. I eventually caved my exhaustion and fell asleep and did not wake up again until the following morning. Luckily, no more reawakenings occurred that night. However, I was low-key traumatized from those dreams. So badly, actually, that I spent the remaining nights that week at my own home instead of with Ben at his place. But my widow baby self couldn't even sleep in my own bed either. My 22-year-old ass crawled into mommy's bed and slept there for the first two nights following the nightmare. Luckily, my stepdad worked third shift, making it possible for me to take his place. This was wildly out of character for me because, as I mentioned earlier, I have a strange relationship with my mom and stepdad.

Not to mention, my mom isn't your typical nurturing, affectionate maternal figure. Sorry, I don't know what this is. It's just Snapchat. Andrew Christ and Aura being like, "Time to stretch your legs a bit."

Yeah, I guess it is. My mother isn't your typical nurturing, affectionate maternal figure. Her mom passed away when she was 11. I hope that gives perspective to how severely the sleep paralysis experience affected me, especially given that thing I feared in my dream was my boyfriend at the time. I even searched for deeper meaning in the fact that the demon in my dream masked itself as my boyfriend. Was it a warning that he was bad for me and to get out while I can? Did he dabble in dark magics and mess with the wrong spirit?

Nah, not Ben. He He preferred more docile hobbies like woodworking and, you know yo-yoing.

I was going to say yo-yoing. No, no tea, no shade, no lemonade. Also, haters hate and potatoes potatoate. But I ain't afraid of no haters hate and potatoes, but I ain't no hater. Just a regular old couch potato. Anyway, back to the story. I'm obsessed with you. That was iconic. I feel like we're soul sisters. I love it. At first, I feared Ben, even though I knew he wasn't an actual demon. And it did take me a while to shake the image of him with black eyes and a creepy ass smile out of my head. Maybe subconsciously I never did because about a month after I had the dream loop again, pretty much the same as before.

But this time I was not fooled by those false reawakenings. Instead, every time I reawakened within my dream, I would try to read things around me in the room. So

anticlockwise. I was just moving my foot like this anticlockwise. That's weird.

That's really weird. And we said we're going to cleanse the room. Yeah. And you do it anticlockwise.

Whoa. Now I'm going to move it clockwise. All right. Uh, I wasn't fooled by these false reawakenings. Instead, every time I reawakened within my dream, I would try to read things around me in the room and immediately knew that when I couldn't, I was still trapped. Spoiler. Ben and I broke up almost a year later. Oh no.

I thought we were holding each other back from growing as individuals and had become a little too codependent. But we remain friends today, just with a healthy distance. Now I'm dating another man now. Shout out Pooky. He listened to me read this over and over again to make sure it made sense throughout the writing process.

A Pooky forever. Pooky. I haven't laid what an egg. I haven't had any sleep paralysis or loopdreaming experience since my relationship with Ben ended. Now 4 and 1/2 years later, I still think about that sleep paralysis loopdreaming experience from time to time, sometimes before bed. And I even ask whatever being/God is out there to just protect my dreams. I was raised from the age of 13 on in a Southern Baptist household where my mom remarried my stepdad and got brainwashed into being an entirely new person and then forced his idio idiocracy and hypocrisy down mine and my sister's throats too. But those are not my ideals today.

And I find as I find comfort in the idea of a god existing to watch over us, but not in the let us condemn others or tell others how to live their life kind of way.

Good for you, man. I like that. My belief, which is only just my opinion, is that the universe is way too vast for anyone to comprehend and nobody really knows what or who is out there. Just let everybody live their life and shut the [ __ ] up, Karen.

Hell yeah. I agree. If you've read this listener tale on the pod, thank you. I'm a very private person and very rarely open up to even the people closest to me. So, writing this tale allowed me to challenge that side of myself and hopefully even grow a little. A

I don't really have a lot of friends because I'm extremely socially awkward and usually assume the worst of humanity. Us, too.

I mean, yeah, I get it. I know that's something I need to work on through therapy, but it's expensive. All right, Ash, Elena, thank you again for doing what you do and being the baddest of all baddies in the world of podcasts. A

I have decided to attach pictures of my ex, Ben, so you can put faces to the story as well as pictures of my fur babies. Ollie's the bigger white and black cat with green eyes. He is the air that keeps me breathing.

Samoa is the wiener. Samoa. Enough said. And Toby, a girl with a boy's name, is the kitten that looks and acts like Ollie's shadow. Carl's the tan dog. He's my Carl He's my boyfriend's dog, but we live together, so I adopted him. Carl is from the streets, but he's the sweetest, goodest boy there ever was. And I have also attached a picture of my current boyfriend because he deserves a little recognition, too. The [ __ ]

Oh, I got to see. And a picture of my sisters and I doing the awkward J C Penney photo shoot just for shits and giggles.

Oh my god, that's how I pictured Ben. That's actually exactly how I pictured him. Oh, and you guys were very cute together, but I haven't seen your new boyfriend yet. I hope you all found my listener's tail to be at minimum interesting. Oh, and shout out to my older sister, Kayla, for introducing me to Morbid years ago. With all the love, Cara vote is attached below with names. Uh, and also more separate attachments in the email.

Adorable. Look at these animals. Oh my god, Samoa and Toby and Olly and Carl. A

Oh, and Pooky. Oh, Pooky is adorable. I love you guys. And the J C Penney uh shoot is absolutely iconic.

That's phenomenal. Wow. You're all iconic. Thank you guys for your listener tales. They really shot us in the arm today.

They really did. It's what we needed. We needed this like dreamy, spooky, but also kind of uplifting at times.

Yeah, we needed Betty. We needed Betty. We certainly didn't need to find out that someone was following us, but I guess

we'll deal with that. I guess we'll deal with Walter. So, oh, and quickly, I meant to say this at the top. Somebody at your book event um complimented my lipstick, and I appreciate it. I'm wearing it, and I promised you I would tell you. It's Maybelline vinyl and it's the color royal.

I love it. This is not an ad. I love these vinyl lipsticks. They really stay on.

Yeah, I like that. And that book event was awesome. You guys were all awesome. Thank you for being so cool and I loved meeting all of you.

We went from a medical emergency in your mouth to a medical emergency at home. Exactly. So, it's been great.

My Saturn return is Saturn returning so hard. And actually, you're not Saturn returning, but you must be going through something.

Yeah. Something's going on. We always love to go through things together. Yeah. And but this was a nice little shot in the arm today recording this because it was a nice little escape. Yeah, you guys are the best.

Thanks, guys, for giving us that. And without further ado, we hope that you keep listening

and we hope you keep it weird. Bye. Not Not so weird. I was just like, I'm tired. Not so weird that you don't try to astral project. I guess because I'm I want to try it a little bit. I just don't want to ask what time it is.

And don't let your boyfriend become a demon. I mean, do your best not to let that happen.

Not to not to let that happen. Don't participate in it. Oh, yeah. And come, but be so weird

that you come over with us that you come to serious serious. You'll still get these um YouTube videos.

Same thing. Same thing. We're just not going to be on Wondery Plus. Yeah. Only place we won't be.

Yep. So, join us. Love you.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "(UPDATED Version) Listener Tales 101: Sleep Over / Dream Edition! | Morbid | Podcast"?

Ash (Host), Elena (Host), Courtney (Guest), Kip (Guest).

What is "(UPDATED Version) Listener Tales 101: Sleep Over / Dream Edition! | Morbid | Podcast" about?

The main topic centers around a sleepover-themed discussion where Ash and Elena share personal experiences and reflections while navigating some challenging family situations. The conversation is lighthearted yet heartfelt, emphasizing the comfort of shared moments, dreamlike atmospheres, and the significance of support during tough times.

What is mentioned in this Morbid | Podcast episode?

42 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Ash Kelley, Elena Kelley, Sleep Paralysis, Astral Projection, Kip (listener), Glitch in the Matrix. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "(UPDATED Version) Listener Tales 101: Sleep Over / Dream Edition! | Morbid | Podcast"?

The episode runs 1 h 14 min; the transcript is about 15,040 words in 315 timestamped sections.

More from Morbid | Podcast

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.