3x28: Crazy Charles

[00:00:05] My name is Andrew Tate and this is Season 3, Episode 28 of Lets Not Meet, A True Horror Podcast. A quick announcement before we get started. May 24th at 7pm Pacific Standard Time, I'm going to be doing a live stream, Season 3 finale of Lets Not Meet.

[00:00:33] You can check it out at twitch.tv forward slash lets not meet streams. I have three guests coming on, returning narrators, Sapphire Sandalo of Stories with Sapphire, Sora Narnia of Knife Point Horror, and Shelby Scott of Scare You to Sleep.

[00:00:47] Three of the most requested narrators to return to the show. I'm really excited. Don't forget to check it out May 24th at 7pm Pacific Standard Time at twitch.tv forward slash lets not meet streams.

[00:00:59] And if you're not able to make that live stream, I will be editing it down and putting it online as a regular podcast episode.

[00:01:06] But I do look forward to seeing you all there. Maybe we can do a Q&A at the end, maybe we can hang out, play some video games, just have some fun with it.

[00:01:14] It's going to be a really fun event and I look forward to seeing you all there. For now, enjoy the show. So I was a college student back in 2009-2010. I can't remember the exact year.

[00:01:42] Anyway, I was introduced to a friend of an acquaintance while in the cafeteria one day. The guy was skinny, dark skinned, wore glasses, and kind of looked like a nerd in a pretentious rich gangster kind of way.

[00:01:56] He usually wore button up short sleeve shirts tucked into his pants and a belt. You'd probably have to meet him to get the image. The first thing he does after introducing himself to me and chatting a bit about random things such as our goals for the future

[00:02:13] is try to inundate me with all kinds of information about the Jewish Torah and how all religion is basically fake. He told me about how the Bible and other religious books were bastardizations of this

[00:02:25] and how the definitions changed the meanings of everything, mostly about the different names for God or the Lord and how it pertained to different entities. I found him interesting but at the same time, I was in an atheistic phase and wasn't all that interested.

[00:02:42] But it rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I couldn't explain. Almost like cognitive dissonance. Also, I forgot to mention that the very first thing he did was introduce himself under a false name from a nation. Judea or something very similar. We exchanged numbers and talked.

[00:03:01] One of the first things I noticed about this guy was how controlling and kind of manipulative he was. He would say things like, If you want to be my friend, you gotta be this sort of way. Or, you can't eat certain foods because our life forbids it.

[00:03:19] He really wanted me on board with his religious thing for some reason. He would offer advice and to help with things as well, like romantic problems. He would end up being the first person I ever truly got drunk with, which was ironically a fun time.

[00:03:36] One of the things I learned very early on about this guy was that when he wasn't harping on about religious rules and stuff like that, he was one of the funniest people I knew.

[00:03:47] He knew how to party, how to socially connect to people, and some conversations that we had were pretty interesting. So we became the kind of friends that talk on the phone often.

[00:03:59] But one of the other things I noticed about him was he had a very creepy Jim Jones or Charles Manson kind of ability to make people listen to him and believe the things that he told them. It was very unsettling.

[00:04:12] I was well aware of his propensity towards manipulation quite early on, but for some reason I felt obligated to hang out with him until, of course, it became sort of a friendship. My strangest friendship ever.

[00:04:28] Another creepy thing about him is that he would show up when I at least expect him or want him to. I would turn my head and he would be there. I was always very careful not to talk about him very loudly because he would do this quite often.

[00:04:41] He did it once while I was walking with my mom, and I really didn't want to introduce them but I had to anyway. By then I already knew he was a sociopath and very narcissistic.

[00:04:52] He had no empathy for anyone at all and would stroke his own ego all day. He was incredibly vain too and took all kinds of useless supplements for no real apparent reason.

[00:05:03] When we were on the phone he would tell me things about how the different names for God aforementioned were actually about aliens. He said humans were designed to mine for gold because it would make the aliens immortal.

[00:05:18] The story he would try to sell me on would change many times over the course of our quote unquote friendship depending on what he was into at the time. It would go from Jewish to Jamaican then to Egyptian then to something else I can't remember.

[00:05:33] Sometimes it would have elements of spirituality in it and others he would just say that after we die, that's it. He talked about how beings lived in the sun and under the moon and how light was fake and only dark light existed.

[00:05:47] Then he'd talk about how I should put together all of my college loan money with his so that we could buy a house near the beach and we could live it up down there. Like, I'd actually fall for that.

[00:05:59] Anyway, we meet these girls and he wants to show me how easy college girls are. So he starts chatting it up with this girl and her friend who happens to be a lesbian.

[00:06:09] Their relationship is short lived and it's mostly because she said that he had a temper and was too controlling. She's the one who told me his real name because she saw his ID card.

[00:06:20] So this guy gets the idea that he wants to kill her and her friend for humiliating him. Apparently the ex's friend mocked him. He said, we don't let people do things like that to us and get away with it.

[00:06:35] So he started shopping around for poisons, a gun and a knife. Anything to try to get his revenge. He talked to other people and helping him get these things as well.

[00:06:47] So I see this getting out of hand and the girl is very nice so I do the only thing I can and I tell security.

[00:06:55] But I tell them to keep me anonymous because this guy is crazy and has said many things about wanting to be a gangster and wanting to kill people. Well, those idiots fuck that up and he ends up finding out all about it.

[00:07:11] I find out from a mutual friend at some point that this guy wanted to kill me. He had plans to do so but it seemed like some people either didn't come through for him or those friends weren't that into the idea.

[00:07:26] Anyway we kind of had this sort of pseudo bury the hatchet situation. Although he did tell me many times that he could kill me himself but he wouldn't do that because I'm his one and only true friend.

[00:07:41] Eye roll, but I don't doubt he would actually try to do it. I told him that I was manipulated into telling on him. The things he said kept getting crazier and crazier.

[00:07:54] And if you tried to disagree with him, he would just get argumentative with tons of false facts and continue on. Some people actually bought this stuff and were kind of like disciples to him. But I just couldn't get behind the blatant lies that this psychopath had made up.

[00:08:10] At a later point we decided to go to a beach town and hang out, get drunk, and we would have some fun. Yes, I was tempting fate but back then I didn't care so much about my life

[00:08:22] and I really needed to get out and break free from being a shut-in that never did anything. So me, him, and two other friends went to this awesome college beach party town. It's only important to mention this because of one of the friends that he invited along.

[00:08:39] It was a guy with social issues that he didn't actually know. The guy just had money and the other guy had a car. He used these guys as a means to an end. They weren't his friends, to my surprise.

[00:08:54] At one point, the guy with the car actually stranded us in the middle of the night when the whole town went dead. Our cell phones died and a drug dealer was the only hope for a ride that we could get.

[00:09:07] So the dealer requests we hold something for him in exchange for a ride while he goes to get his granny's car. Charles makes me put it in my pocket after a bit. Looking back, the guy was doing everything he could to make me look even more suspicious.

[00:09:23] He had me wait in an alley. I can't remember why exactly. He said it was out of sight but the dealer came back and said that what he was doing was fucked up and that I stuck out over there in that sort of shadowy area.

[00:09:38] Looking back, if a cop drove by, they'd have detained me on the spot and taken the drugs off my person and arrested me. Eventually, we leave and Charles decides that we should just keep the stuff that the dealer handed him because he, quote, never came back anyway.

[00:09:56] So we're waiting at a gas station and this guy literally goes up to a police officer and asks for a ride. By this time, he had taken the stuff back and forced the other guy to hold onto it.

[00:10:07] But he had assumed that the socially awkward guy gave it back to me by then. Anyway, after we made it back, things weren't how they usually go. If I haven't mentioned it, Charles was a womanizer. He didn't care who it was. He'd go for her.

[00:10:23] He'd get women that I thought would be impossible for anyone to get at all, like married teachers and devout churchgoers who were in committed relationships. But he also didn't seem to have standards. He just liked to ruin people's relationships and their lives.

[00:10:39] It kind of shattered my illusions of people at the time because it showed me that everyone could be manipulated into doing anything and that identity and personality didn't mean anything. I'm not sure, but I might have been depressed for a long time after that.

[00:10:54] Anyway, there was this girl who was a pastor's daughter. Very pretty. She kept to herself mostly. Charles decided to go out with her at some point and she entered this rebellious phase where she was sleeping around with everyone. But she also didn't bathe or take care of herself.

[00:11:13] Apparently, Charles was her first. When I asked her if it was true, she proceeded to tell me horror stories about how he was manipulative and abusive towards her. And one time during a fight, while they were walking back to campus, he tried to push her into traffic.

[00:11:31] This was told to me during a period of time he had left and gone somewhere for an internship. Thankfully, I thought, because I wasn't likely to see him again. At least not for a long time. But I was wrong. He came back when I least expected it.

[00:11:48] And he was just as fucked up as ever. I told him I thought a girl liked me once and expressed a desire to get with her. Just a random conversation that I didn't think would go anywhere. I just needed to work up the nerve to do it.

[00:12:02] Upon hearing this, he goes over to her, they talk, and the next thing I know, they're in a relationship. This relationship lasts a few weeks and for some reason, he told her and everyone else that I'm his cousin. Suddenly, they break up and she's avoiding him and me.

[00:12:20] I try to explain that I'm not like him and she doesn't need to be afraid of me but she absolutely refuses to be around me. If I sit at the table all of our friends except for Charles are at, she gets up and leaves.

[00:12:34] Someone asked her about it and she told them that it was because Charles was my cousin and that he did horrible things with her while they were together. This scumbag did that stuff just because I liked her and in a way, it was my fault.

[00:12:50] A few years later, circa 2012 maybe, I have a new circle of friends. A guy named Ricky and another guy named Mike as well as a girl named Karen. Ricky had a huge crush on Karen but we all got along just fine. One day, Charles shows up

[00:13:09] and tries to get Ricky to join us in our adventures or whatever. I'm really just trying to find an excuse to distance myself at this point but I guess at this junction in my life, I'm still way too shy to tell people off

[00:13:23] and I'm just afraid to speak up. Anyway, this idiot has some plan to form our own gang or something and one day, he's trying to three-way call us. I badly wanted to tell Ricky that giving him his number was a terrible idea

[00:13:40] but I didn't want to get shot or stabbed or anything. I didn't pick up the phone and apparently, they had a conversation. Later on, I find out that during their few weeks of friendship, Charles was trying to get Ricky

[00:13:55] in on a plan to lure me into a trap and kill me. He had sold Ricky a lie originally that I liked Karen and Ricky didn't seem to mind and said that he would step down so Charles started spinning other lies.

[00:14:10] Ricky didn't go in for any of it in the end and we talked and had a long healthy conversation about it. Ricky is still a good friend to this day. Eventually, Charles left and the last I heard of him was some voicemail in 2015.

[00:14:25] Hands down, the creepiest person I've ever met, befriended, made an enemy of and then had to play it cool with for years on end just to not get killed or worse. He never did admit his real name to me. He always introduced himself under false names to strangers.

[00:14:44] Charles, let's never meet again. As a child, think kindergarten age, I loved to talk. If anyone had a question for me I would gleefully give them way too much information. Most people found it endearing and would praise me for being so smart which encouraged me a lot.

[00:15:14] My mom and I normally shopped at the market just a few minutes away from our house. My mom had been shopping there for 20 some odd years at that point and she was friends with most of the workers so I was friendly with them as well

[00:15:30] and was happy to talk with them. Whenever my mom got distracted talking to someone I, with the attention span of a 6 year old would wander around the aisle. My mom would keep an eye on me to make sure that I didn't get too far

[00:15:43] but if she was distracted one of the employees would usually be around and gently guide me back over. One day though we went to a different market that I couldn't remember having been to before and we didn't go back to it for nearly a decade after.

[00:16:01] We were walking around the aisle when my mom ran into her friend. They started talking and I, not realizing that I no longer had a store full of adults keeping an eye on me started wandering around the aisle. My eyes caught some colorful display

[00:16:17] I think flowers or balloons or something and I went over to look. Once I was satisfied with my inspection I turned back to the aisle only to find that my mom was not there. That never happened before. I looked around a little and I saw her hand moving

[00:16:35] from my spot near the colorful displays. Since it was right near the registers there was a decent amount of people nearby which I'm thankful for now. As I was looking around an employee came up to me. He was older than my sister she was 12 or 13 at the time

[00:16:51] and younger than my dad in his mid 40s which was about the only way I could gauge age. Now, I would say he was probably in his 20s or as early to mid 20s if I remember right. Hi there he said sweetly

[00:17:11] in that tone you normally speak to kids I cheerfully said hello actually stepping a little closer are you with your mommy? I said yes happily explaining that I had last seen her talking to a friend and I could normally find her easily when I wandered away

[00:17:31] so I wasn't sure if she was with me not really my older sister was normally with me if my mom wasn't she was 12 or 13 and she was very mature so if my mom had to leave for a bit she knew I'd be okay

[00:17:49] and she never left me alone in public just at home if she needed to run somewhere never for very long just the length of time of maybe a Pokemon episode or something my dad was at work a lot well wouldn't you know it I just learned my address

[00:18:07] we just learned how to mail a letter in school even took a little class trip to the mailbox on our school corner to send them out I knew how to write my address now and I knew how to say it wanna hear? of course you do

[00:18:24] I know how kids are naive but I was downright dumb I was diagnosed with color blindness two years later and green color blindness makes sense as I was totally blind to all the red flags where do you go to school? who picks you up? he asked

[00:18:44] well I go to the local elementary school I don't know the address though, sorry but I know what street it's on because I wait on the sidewalk for my mom or daycare center depending on the day so I see the street sign a lot

[00:18:58] while I'm usually waiting for a while to be grabbed do you like animals? like puppies? dogs scare me cats scare me, pigeons scare me fish scare me, flies scare me you know what doesn't scare me? turtles I have five turtles no dogs that might bark or bite

[00:19:17] if someone drops by the house like our neighbor does those dogs are always behind a gate though so they don't scare me a lot it had only been a few minutes since I last saw my mom even with how much information I was dumping

[00:19:31] I was a very fast talker but I was starting to get a little antsy not because I was uncomfortable talking to a stranger but because I had skipped lunch that day specifically to con my mom into letting me get a bagel from the store next door

[00:19:43] which was why we were at that market in the first place my mom was holding onto the bagel to make sure that I didn't eat it too fast and choke which I had done several times in the past I wanted my bagel and while I took my time

[00:19:59] I talked to this grown man who made me feel smart and was oh so interested in my life I liked bagels more plus if I caught my mom when we were near the bakery section I might be able to use my charm and cuteness to get a cookie

[00:20:15] so I gotta find my mom now oh well I'll walk around with you and I'll help you find her ok yeah you wanna lead me through the market where you work at so you can easily bring me to a back room yeah sounds good

[00:20:31] I look around to see my mom the relieved look on her face slowly changing into something more anxious I smile happily and wave her over she immediately grabs my hand and I can tell that she's mad at me probably for leaving the aisle but she seems more occupied

[00:20:49] on the man in front of me before I can even open my mouth to introduce him or remember that I never actually got his name he quickly says that he's glad he's found my mom and he needs to get back to work

[00:21:03] and practically runs to the back of the store my mom puts her hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eye her expression a lot more worried now what was he talking to you about? she asked her voice more serious than I had ever heard it

[00:21:17] can I have my bagel? I asked my mom opens her mouth, pauses and goes into her purse to hand me the bagel between bites I happily tell her about the bagel and about the conversation and everything that I remembered my age and grade pick up schedule likes, dislikes

[00:21:39] my literal address my mom gradually became paler then became red with anger she brought me over to the manager and I don't remember much of the conversation I got a cookie I remember that pretty well it was shaped like a watermelon which was apparently

[00:21:57] far more important to me than paying attention to what was being said the police weren't called we went home and my mom told me I wasn't allowed to walk around the store anymore no more talking to strangers even if they worked at the store where we were at

[00:22:15] unless she was with me if I ever saw that man again I was to run away find someone that I know and ask for help if all else fails scream at the top of my lungs I agree pleasantly not really phased by anything she's saying

[00:22:34] I know that some people are bad and bad people look bad, right? they talk mean and look scary and try to grab you this guy didn't so he wasn't bad, was he? but if my mom was saying it I listened and I better enjoy that cookie

[00:22:55] because we weren't going back to that store ever again in exchange for a cookie from our usual store when I was around 12 our school had a safety assembly and we were talking about the shady things adults do to get close to kids

[00:23:11] and a very, very watered down version of what they most likely wanted and I'm sitting there listening and suddenly I realize if my mom hadn't found me something very bad would have happened if I'm not in the store then in front of my school

[00:23:27] and if not in front of my school then my house a little over a decade later I'm now 18 and I've never seen the guy let's keep it that way For some background I live in the UK and go to a school with a uniform

[00:23:47] I go to quite a large all girls school and I'm a girl and I'm a girl and I'm a girl with about 8 classes of 30 per year with 5 years and a 6th form attached so I have heard about creeps lingering outside of the school before but they are usually

[00:24:17] sorted out quite quickly by the school staff I guess at the time I was in year 9 so just about 13 I was 4'9 and I was at home I stayed late at school to do it in the ICT suite as it was the beginning of the school year

[00:24:41] it was relatively dark at 5pm which is when I got out of school and this event took place I had to get to the bus as both of my parents were working the bus stop outside my school was fairly busy there were just a couple of people

[00:25:03] I was away from but next to the road and opposite the fence I was leaning on I was aware of my surroundings as I have had previous experiences with old creeps and am just generally paranoid the man didn't strike me as particularly interesting but I did notice him

[00:25:27] glance over at me from the corner of my eye it was annoying as I was cold and didn't have a coat as I stepped back up against the fence I almost stood back into the man that was under the bus stop originally but he had moved

[00:25:50] to directly behind me he had his arm up against a pole next to the bus stop I felt a bit cornered it felt like forever as I could feel this man's breath on the top of my head as I watched the bus come and collect

[00:26:10] all of the people at the bus stop but it was probably only a minute and a half once the last person got on that bus I quickly moved out of this man's area and back against the fence he moved so that I didn't want to give away

[00:26:31] the fact that I was getting on this bus but I had to wave it down so I stood next to the road to signal it over as I got on my heart was really going as the man was back behind me I had already got my bus card

[00:26:49] out and scanned it very quickly and I only saw a few people downstairs normally there might be a few people upstairs but I didn't want to take I don't know to be honest I got up there and it was completely empty great well

[00:27:08] I couldn't really go back down at this point because I knew the man had already gotten on and would be coming up the stairs so I did the next best thing I sat on the outside seat directly in front of the bus's camera which I kept looking

[00:27:28] at the bus not before looking and smiling at me as he passed it was then that I had the idea that probably saved me I live on a quiet street and it was already dark now there was no way I was getting off this bus at my stop

[00:27:51] with this man I pulled out my phone and earbuds and I stood and along with some small talk I talked loudly about how my mom was so mad that I had stayed late at school and she had texted me saying that she was

[00:28:13] waiting at the door for me and I had told her that I was only 10 minutes away in reality I told my mom that I was staying late in the morning before I was at my stop to get off now and I took a deep breath

[00:28:32] as I stood up I looked back at the man and he was now looking at me as I walked down the stairs my friend was screen recording at this point just in case something went down thankfully he didn't follow me down

[00:28:48] as I was walking away from the bus I looked back up to see him against the back window hands and fists I took my school shoes off and sprinted to my house as the next bus stop was actually within eyesight there were two of them

[00:29:06] on the main road that led down my street once I was down my street and far enough away that you couldn't see the top of it anymore I told my friend about him up against the window and she understood I put my shoes back on

[00:29:26] and I told myself how I handled the situation and how I ran with no shoes on a heavy skirt and a big rucksack on my back I don't think they'll ever know because as much as I don't want to ever stay late at school again

[00:29:44] I know I probably will have to again at some point and I don't want my parents to feel guilty about not being able to help if something more serious than what personal space is or frankly doesn't care I hope we never meet again

[00:30:17] Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Let's Not Meet a true horror podcast This week you have heard My Friend Crazy Charles by Reddit user Angry Cartoon Rabbit Little Kids Love To Talk by Reddit user Oswald The Unlucky Bun And finally

[00:30:35] I Was Going Into An Empty House by Reddit user Roof Slater I hope to see you all next week for the season 3 finale with guests Sapphire Sendalo Sora Narnia and Shelby Scott I think it's going to be a really fun time Don't forget to send your stories

[00:30:55] into letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com You can write your story in the body of the email attach a document or like most submissions you can simply just leave a link to your Reddit post Don't forget to head over to the channel for access to all the bonus content

[00:31:14] There's an episode going out today as well as an old time radio and plenty more to look forward to I'll see you guys next week for the season 3 finale of Let's Not Meet