Episode 164: Possessed in My Sleep

[00:00:00] Really exciting, really diverse. This is your career at Kaufland. Whether a training program, direct-in-stieg, student-job or a practice, find the entry that fits you with us. Profite from an attractive service, exciting tasks and individual development opportunities. Be a part of our team. Now, join us at www.kaufland.de. Kaufland, here I am right. Odd Trails is a true paranormal podcast.

[00:00:29] If you have a story to share, send it to stories at oddtrails.com. Enjoy the show. Forget facts. Forget logic. Forget everything that seems real. Just trust. Believe.

[00:01:25] There was a reality shift and my team came with me by Man Chi Chi Salt. Recently, on a Thursday, my teenager and I were to go to a wedding. It's an unusual day so it stands out, at least for me. The RSVP was sent months ago and the invite has been on the fridge.

[00:01:49] The plan was to get ready once my teen got home from the half-day at school and off we would go. The bride and I are co-workers and have been talking about the upcoming date on a regular, near-daily basis for the last month. So when she wasn't logged in for work this morning, I was all smiles, thinking about getting her ready and how excited she and her fiancé were.

[00:02:13] The kid gets home and we grab the invite with the date and put the address for the venue into my phone's GPS. There was a massive traffic blockage with no way around. We knew that we were going to be late, but we still wanted to be there so we got ready to go anyway. As we were about to head out, my office messenger pinged on my phone. It was the bride.

[00:02:40] She was telling me how she just got done at a job site location and was calling it an early day as she had worked through lunch. She said that she had loads to tell me, but would catch me up the next morning. What the hell? Well, perplexed, I reached for the physical invite that was now on the table. The date had suddenly changed. It was now on a weekend.

[00:03:07] A subject that the bride and I talked about many times as to why they had chosen Thursday ultimately and why I had taken a half day to be there, which, looking in my time off requests in the HR portal, that time off is no longer listed. My teenager was wide-eyed. They read the date out loud when it first came in, read it again when they put it on their calendar reminders,

[00:03:33] and saw it on the paper invite when reading me the address for the venue. This date was populated in our shared work calendar this morning, for crying out loud. The wedding was 100% supposed to be on that Thursday at 3pm, until there was a massive car wreck blocking traffic. The next day, that Friday, after work, I talked to the bride first thing.

[00:04:00] Admittedly, I probably came at her a bit strong due to, I guess, my anxiety. She was confused, to say the least. The conversation we had in the past about how aggravating her stepmother was about the wedding falling on a weekday, well, she doesn't even remember it. She was still not a fan of her stepmother, but not over this. I told her I was so sure that the wedding was going to be on that specific date, and that we had discussed that date,

[00:04:28] because it was a special date for her and her fiancé, as well as both of their families. That detail is what truly kept me up the night when the wedding was supposed to be. After I said that, she was quiet at first. It took a little while for her to respond. It was very much like she had no memory of ever telling me about why that date was so special to her, her fiancé, and both of their families.

[00:04:53] I can even explain this further since I distinctly remember her telling me that both she and her fiancé have beloved family members who are in loving, long-lasting marriages that happened to share that same date. Being young and in love, she and her fiancé thought that that was a sign to get married on that date. There ended up being some drama over this between my coworker and her stepmom.

[00:05:21] On multiple occasions, there were discussions about this, as her dad was the one helping pay for the event, and her stepmother-to-be had a voice that commanded to be heard. A lot. Because of this woman, I, in turn, heard all about it. Her fiancé had her back, and they faced down these discussions. They said that they didn't care what the stepmonster said. They were going to get married on that date, even though it was a Thursday since the date held so much significance.

[00:05:51] And yet, suddenly, it was like none of it ever happened. There was nothing about it in our chat logs on our daily messenger either. I looked for it. I saw some back and forth that we had about what caterer she went with and things like that. But all of that silly drama about the wedding, being on a weekday, was gone. And she doesn't seem to even remember telling me about these matching wedding anniversaries.

[00:06:20] After a bit of chit-chat, she eventually brushed it off, and she said that she must have forgot about telling me about the matching anniversary date somehow, since how else would I even know something like that? From her perspective, her wedding has always been set for this future weekend date. If it weren't for my teenager, I would have convinced myself that I was just hallucinating the whole freaky thing as an intense dream by now and moved on.

[00:06:49] I also need to state that I rarely drink. It's just not something I partake in. Raising a teenager is plenty enough excitement and distraction for me at this point in my life. My teenager reported that nothing at school had changed that they could tell. Some people have asked about how no other coworkers were alerted. Well, we worked remotely. This is why the work messenger is on my phone as well as my laptop, for the times that I'm the one on job sites.

[00:07:19] And for those that are thinking, maybe I should check for gas leaks, and check my carbon monoxide detector batteries, I appreciate the concern. All three detectors are fine. We live in a temperate climate. My windows for just the other day when it happened, all the way up through today, have been wide open for fresh air. So I'm not terribly concerned about that factor.

[00:08:05] Possessed in my sleep by Kimberly I've always had a strong connection to the paranormal. When I was just three years old, I told my dad about the old man who watches me sleep. I described him as, looks like you, but with a big, big nose. That's when my dad realized I must have been talking about his father, who had passed away three months before I was born. When I was five,

[00:08:35] my dad took me to the beach. I made a little sand cake and started singing happy birthday. My dad was stunned when he realized it was my grandfather's birthday, and I was sitting in the exact spot where he had scattered his ashes. By the time I was eight, I had an out-of-body experience while I was asleep. I floated around the house, seeing everything as if I was awake. As I got older,

[00:09:04] ghosts would come to me, often. I could never figure out how to help them, so eventually I asked them to stop. And for a while, they did. But now for my main story. I've always been a vivid dreamer, which isn't as fun as it sounds. It means I rarely experience deep sleep. One night, I had one of those dreams where everything felt real.

[00:09:33] I was in a house I'd never seen before, standing in the living room and looking out through a sliding glass door. The backyard was beautiful. A lush, green lawn surrounded by tall trees that formed a half-moon shape. Beyond the trees, I couldn't see anything. A man I didn't recognize stepped out from the trees and started walking toward me. There was something about him

[00:10:02] that drew me outside to greet him. When we shook hands, everything shifted. Suddenly, I was wide awake in my bed, but I couldn't move. I tried to scream, but all that came out were these muffled, inaudible noises. My husband woke up and started shaking me, panicked, but when he saw my eyes open, his worry turned to shock. Through my mouth

[00:10:31] in a strained voice that didn't sound like mine came the words help will over and over help will. After a minute, it stopped, and I was able to move again. My husband and I just sat there in silence, completely stunned, trying to process what had just happened. The second time something similar happened was just a few months ago.

[00:11:00] I had recently found Jesus after being an atheist all my life. I truly believe this angered the spirits in my home. One night, I was sound asleep when I felt something wrap around my waist and start to pull me away. When I opened my eyes, I saw a dark figure looming over me, its shadowy presence wrapped tightly around my body. I tried with everything

[00:11:28] I had to move or scream, but I was completely paralyzed. That's when I realized, even though I couldn't speak, I could still think. So I started to pray. I prayed harder than I ever had in my life. As I did, I felt the grip around me loosen, bit by bit, until it finally just let go. The moment I could move again,

[00:11:58] I jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, and texted my sisters. After calming down, I woke my husband and begged him to hold on to me so the demons couldn't take me. He sleepily obliged. I pray this is the last experience I ever have with evil spirits.

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[00:14:12] Australian Yowie Encounter 1989 by Crypto Bruce 73 We lived in the hinterland of Sunshine Coast, Australia. I was 16 in 1989 and our house backed onto a wooded hill. Late one evening, I was struggling to sleep and listening to the drizzling rain. I heard the distinct thud of footfalls walking up the side of our house as if someone

[00:14:41] were following the awning trying to stay out of the rain. I also heard the distinct sound of footfalls hitting the puddles formed by the rain. These were heavy set, judging by the sound, and I instantly knew this was not a kangaroo based on the rhythm of the steps. I froze as the family was all asleep, not knowing who or what this could be. My hairs stood up like they are now as I recall this encounter.

[00:15:10] I listened intently as the sound of the steps walked right past my open window, loud and distinctly heavy. It was really only a matter of seconds before whatever this was had made its way up an eight-foot embankment toward the back of our house leading towards the wooded hill. Within just a few seconds and from the position on top of the embankment on the wood line, which was 20 meters from my window,

[00:15:39] this overwhelming guttural roar emanated across our valley. It reached all the way to the other side of the hill about two kilometers away. Our neighbors' dogs lit up as if their world was ending. I had never heard the neighbor's dog before then and I never heard them again after the encounter. The volume of the guttural growl or roar went through

[00:16:09] every part of my body as if the sound had physically hit me. The growl oscillated between high and low pitches all within just a few seconds and it was a sound I had never heard before. I didn't know of any animal that could make such a sound. I froze completely with fear. It was only 10 to 15 minutes later that I gained the courage to move when I noticed that my father was up and in the kitchen.

[00:16:38] We talked about what we heard but my father seemed skeptical and uncertain about what had walked past our house and made such a noise. After all of these years I have heard the same sound from numerous audio captures similar to the Sierra sounds and witnesses describing exactly what I heard and felt reverberate through my body. I have no doubt that a yaoi or for others Bigfoot

[00:17:07] was on our property that night. Spirit Attachments by Kirsten My parents built their house back in 1985 adding on to it in 2000.

[00:17:37] The land it's on has a bit of history. Before they bought it there was an old barn on the property but no house. The story goes that the barn's owner was struck by lightning and died right there. My parents house isn't built on the exact spot but I've always wondered if the land carries something from that event. When my mom was pregnant with me in the early 90s she often woke up in the middle of the night

[00:18:06] to see a man sitting in the rocking chair in her bedroom. She described him as wearing a coat and a fedora and although it startled her at first she never felt threatened. A few times she woke my dad but he never saw anything. She thought of him as a guardian angel especially since my parents had struggled for years to get pregnant before they had me. After I was

[00:18:36] born she never saw him again. We've always assumed he was the man who died on the property keeping an eye on her until I arrived. Fast forward to 2011. I was a junior in high school and it was spring break. One morning I woke up at around 9 or 10 ready to get out of bed when I noticed a pair of shorts lying on the floor by my feet. I hadn't taken them out

[00:19:05] and we didn't have any pets in the house. It was strange but I shrugged it off and put them back in my closet. Then later that day my mom told me she'd heard my bedroom door open and close while she was getting ready for work. She waited expected me to walk down the hall and I went out to dinner

[00:19:35] in a town about 30 minutes away. My dad called us in a panic saying a bad storm was coming and that we needed to get home immediately. By the time we got back the power was out. I grabbed a lighter from the porch to light some candles but as I stood in the kitchen doorway the air pressure in the room changed so suddenly it made my ears hurt. I yelled at my mom and sister to get to the bathroom now.

[00:20:06] If you're from the Midwest you know that air pressure drop means one thing a tornado. We huddled in the bathroom as the sound of a train roared through the house. My mom said she saw a black blob land in the backyard as we ran for cover. I saw leaves blowing through the locked door to the porch. When it was over we came out to find the porch completely ripped off. It was

[00:20:35] detached from the house completely and thrown into the yard. My bedroom window was pushed in and water was pouring inside. Later as we pieced everything together it hit us. All the odd activity that day happened in my room. my mom and I couldn't help but wonder if a door man was trying to warn us about what was coming. After I moved out the spirit activity in the house changed.

[00:21:05] My sister started seeing a woman in a white dress. Everyone saw her at some point and one of my sister's friends even refused to sleep over again after seeing her. When my sister stayed out overnight my mom would notice little things lights turning off by themselves rustling sounds in my sister's room or beads jingling on her door handle when no one was there. My dad even

[00:21:34] once heard a phantom crowd cheering in the house at the exact time my sister was announced as maid of honor for her high school homecoming court. It was like the woman in white was tied to my sister somehow. When she moved out for college the activity changed again. Now my parents see something entirely different. One evening my mom saw my dad walk down the hallway toward their bedroom.

[00:22:05] She called out to him but got no response. As she followed him she realized the hallway was whatever she saw wasn't him. My parents think this new spirit is a doppelganger and they're considering having the house blessed by a priest but my mom is

[00:23:26] I saw fairies and an angel when I was young by dragon enthusiast. When I was around four or five years old I was with my mom and godmother in a big park. It

[00:24:05] was sitting on a branch had a long robe and wings. It was smiling while looking at the flowers. I think that it looked at me before another gust of wind sort of made it fade away. I don't remember the facial features exactly, but I did draw the angel that same day when I got home and I remember it looking cartoonish

[00:24:34] probably because of that. Now when I was a bit older around five or six I went with my parents on a trip to a smaller mountain. We were on the main path going through the forest which leads up to some ruins and I was walking just admiring the scenery. Suddenly I noticed something around the lilac slash purple colored flowers. When I got closer I saw a few fairies. Their bodies

[00:25:04] kind of looked like lilac and they had transparent delicate wings. I remember that their clothes were made of lilac flower petals and they wore their hair in buns. They also carried small tiny wands. What amazed me the most were the two bumblebees carrying tight baskets of pollen or something on their backs. I greeted them but they acted as though I wasn't even there.

[00:25:34] I pointed them out to my parents and told them what I was seeing but they said that they couldn't see anything. Another weird thing that I saw was a tiny pegasus or unicorn I'm not sure which it was floating near them and it also had baskets on its back to be honest I may have imagined that part but definitely not the fairies. Anyway I told the fairies goodbye and left with my parents. When we came back later they were gone

[00:26:03] of course and the flowers seemed more dull as if before there had been some kind of special light around the whole scene. For a long time afterward I was very curious about fairies and wanted books about them but no matter where or how hard I looked I never saw anything like this again. I've been wondering whether it was real or not. I'm sure not many people will believe this but I do know what I saw.

[00:26:48] Dreamt of Boyfriend's Passing by Taylor. Please be advised that this story mentions suicide. Since I can remember I've had very vivid crazy dreams. Over the last ten years they've only gotten more intense. I've predicted a shooting at a friend's house. I've had loved ones visit me. I've predicted

[00:27:18] a shooting at a friend's house. I've had loved ones visit me. I've even had other people's loved ones visit me. And my dreams just keep getting stranger and stranger as I get older. In July of 2023, my boyfriend Kyle and I had been having issues. He relapsed after nearly ten years of sobriety and we decided it was best to part ways even though we still loved each other. Around

[00:27:48] September 25th, I was still struggling with the breakup and feeling lonely. I went to bed that night just like any other night and I had a dream that Kyle took his own life. It felt so real. When I woke up, I had this horrible feeling I couldn't shake. I confided in my good friend Gage about the dream, and he told me, Don't worry, buddy. Kyle would never do that.

[00:28:18] I tried to convince myself that it was just my subconscious, working through my feelings about the breakup, but the bad feelings stayed with me for days. On October 2nd, I was at my desk working when I got a call from my mom. She said, Taylor, someone posted on Kyle's Facebook that they'll miss him. What do you think that means?

[00:28:44] My heart started pounding, and I said, I don't know. Ten minutes later, I got a call from Kyle's mom. She said, Did you hear about Kyle? I replied, No, I haven't. Is everything okay? She responded, No, Kyle passed away. I broke. I already knew how it happened.

[00:29:13] I wasn't there, but I had seen it. At first, his family wouldn't tell me what happened, but I already knew. It was later confirmed by a sheriff's deputy who works in the county where it happened. One of the first people I called after hearing about Kyle was Gage. When I told him, he just went silent. Then he said, What? You're serious?

[00:29:42] Taylor, you freak me out. I'd forgotten about the dream at that point, but he was the one who reminded me. Maybe it was my subconscious picking up on things I didn't notice at the time. Maybe it was something else. I don't know why I sometimes see things before they happen. For a long time, I blamed myself.

[00:30:07] I felt like that dream was supposed to be a warning and that I should have done something. About a month after Kyle passed, he visited me in a dream. He didn't say anything. He just hugged me tightly. I like to think that was his way of letting me know that he's okay. I wanted to share this story because I think it's a reminder. Watch out for your people.

[00:30:34] And if you're the one struggling, please reach out to someone.

[00:31:01] The Case of the Mysterious Lipstick by Lauren O'Donnell F. For Thanksgiving, my husband and I went to my parents' house a few hours away and stayed for a few days. I had packed a bag of makeup for our stay, including my favorite lipstick. Specifically, Fenty Beauty Gloss Balm Stick by Fenty Glow. The lipstick had been purchased on September 14th.

[00:31:29] Plenty of time for me to use it and love it before Thanksgiving. When we came back from Thanksgiving, I unpacked my makeup bag as usual. A couple of days after getting back, I went to use this favorite lipstick of mine. And I couldn't find it anywhere. I do have a significant amount of makeup, so I figured it could be lost in all my lipstick. And maybe I had put it in a purse for an outing. Or maybe it fell out in my car.

[00:31:57] I just remembered I had packed it for our Thanksgiving trip. Well over a month passed. And I could never find it. My husband helped me look through my car and our house for it. I almost bought a replacement because I love it so much and was really missing wearing that particular shade. But I thought, as soon as I buy another one, I'm gonna find it. And sure enough, I made a purchase at Ulta but resisted the urge to replace it.

[00:32:25] And the very next day, I found my favorite lipstick. The lipstick was in the makeup bag I had packed for Thanksgiving. It was in the front pocket. I don't usually use this pocket. I pulled out the lipstick and opened it. And I was floored to find that it was unused. I know that it was unused because this type of lipstick has a brand logo stamped on the top of the lipstick. The lipstick formula is very thin.

[00:32:54] So once you use it, just once, the brand stamp disappears. Here was my favorite lipstick. The one that I had missed wearing. And it was brand new. Never used. I sat there trying to think about how this was even possible. There was no way, unless I never used that lipstick. But I have memories of using it and loving it. Loving it so much that I was wanting to spend 25 bucks to replace it.

[00:33:23] I went on to show my husband the stamp and everything. And he thought that it was very weird. I just don't understand how that happened. It feels very much like some kind of glitch in the matrix.

[00:33:34] Richtig spannend. Richtig vielfältig. Das ist deine Karriere bei Kaufland.

[00:34:04] Ob Trainee-Programm, Direkteinstieg, Studentenjob oder Praktikum. Finde bei uns den Einstieg, der zu dir passt. Profitiere von einer attraktiven Vergütung, spannenden Aufgaben und individuellen Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten. Werde jetzt Teil unseres Teams. Bewirb dich jetzt unter kaufland.de slash studenten. Kaufland. Hier bin ich richtig. So that story about Taylor's ex-boyfriend was definitely heavy. But I felt it was worth sharing.

[00:34:34] Yeah, absolutely. I hope that Kyle's at peace. Totally. I know it's uncomfortable for some people, but definitely worth touching on. So yeah, just look out for each other. Yeah, and don't be afraid to ask for help. Yeah. Well, I know that it's easy to pin everything on grief. You know, doing weird things to our brain. But I don't think that Kyle visiting Taylor was just some coping mechanism. Yeah, I don't think so either. Things like this become too real or

[00:35:04] carry some sense of purpose that goes beyond, I guess, what grief could explain. At least that's how I see it, if that even makes sense. No, yeah, it makes sense. I mean, if Kyle's visit brought her comfort and a sense of connection, that's exactly what was, I guess, meant to happen. Yeah, perfectly said. And that's just what the universe presented to her. And yeah, there's value in that. Something more than just the mind at work. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

[00:35:31] And that's not even taking her original premonition into consideration. I know. I can't even imagine how that must have felt. I would feel so powerless if I couldn't change the outcome, just having to spend all that time dreading what would be the inevitable, really. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I wonder if that initial dream served as a true warning. Oh. You know?

[00:35:56] Or if it was, I don't know, a peek into the future and it was just inevitable. Yeah, the not knowing, that's what would be so brutal. I'd assumed it was just predetermined, but yeah, I don't know. Who knows? Yeah, and I hope that it goes without saying that this wasn't your fault, Taylor. Not at all. So, moving on, Kimberly's sleep possession story. So, this was one of the better ones that we've received, I thought.

[00:36:25] Yeah, we haven't really shared many sleep paralysis stories lately, unless there's something more to them. Actually, like in Haley's story from our last episode. Oh, yeah. Having that red handprint on her face, that just made things interesting, you know. It makes me wonder if it was even sleep paralysis at all. I know exactly. That's what it did for me, too.

[00:36:50] For Kimberly's story, I liked how shaking hands with that strange man kind of acted like Thanos snapping his fingers with the power glove or whatever. Yeah, the power glove. That's the infinity gauntlet. Okay, yeah. I don't even know why that's the metaphor I went with. I'm very Marvel neutral. They're cool, but I don't really, yeah. I use car analogies, too. I don't really know anything about cars. But anyway, yeah, okay. I know what you mean, though.

[00:37:18] How the handshake in the dream was some kind of catalyst. Yes, yes. Yeah, I agree. The timing was too perfect. Mm-hmm. And even though it was in dreamland, coming into physical contact created some sort of conduit, I guess. I think it's pretty obvious that it caused the paralysis episode. Yeah. And it's cool because it's not super common for there to be a specific trigger point that, I guess, causes the sleep paralysis to happen to begin with.

[00:37:48] Yeah, exactly. They usually just kind of happen. It's a really cool detail. Yeah. I think that the part that struck me the most was when the phrase, help will, came out in a voice that wasn't even hers. Yeah. It makes you wonder, was it her subconscious or was something else trying to send a message I just want to know if her husband's name is Will. That could change a lot, context, you know, since she said it didn't sound anything like her.

[00:38:18] I thought the same thing. I mean, actually, regardless of who Will is, just saying the words help Will could mean two different things. When I read it, I interpreted it as crying out for her husband. Yeah, yeah, that's kind of what I figured too. But what if it was a warning to Will? You know, like she was shouting out some note to self from the spirit realm. Yeah, it could be. I guess now the real mystery is the English language. Yeah.

[00:38:48] The whole panda bear eat shoots and leaves thing. Yeah. The bear bear bared it. I haven't heard that one. Nice. Yeah. Going back to the warning for Will, the way it stops with help Will, it makes me think of Piglet's house and the many adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the original film from way, way back.

[00:39:13] He has a sign out front of his tree house that says, trespassers will, as in like trespassers will be prosecuted or will be shot. I remember it. But the signs, yeah, the signs cut off at trespassers will. And he says something like the guy who built the house or who used to live there was named trespassers will. Super cute. KB toys. Yeah. Yeah. Cartoons plural. Yeah.

[00:39:43] Yeah, I felt so claustrophobic when she was saying how the dark figure was wrapped around her. I just imagined being slowly constricted by some Python. Oh yeah, definitely. And quite literally, all you can do is pray in that situation or just hope it changes its mind. Yeah. And props to her for being able to formulate a prayer during all of that. I don't know if I'd be able to pull that off, but I know I'd definitely try. Yeah. Yeah. And it happened after she had already found faith.

[00:40:12] Mm hmm. So it's interesting to think about if she kicked the hornet's nest, you know, like if whatever was there didn't want her to change. Oh yeah, definitely. You look into the spiritual world, it looks back at you. I agree. But yeah, good on Kimberly. I hope you're still doing well. Yeah. She said that she'd keep us posted if anything changes. But when it's somebody's well-being at stake, we really don't hope for a part two. Yeah, right. Yeah.

[00:40:41] So what did you think of that reality shift story that I shared? Yeah, the wedding felt like some kind of Twilight Zone type of thing. Yeah. And what's crazy is that both she and her kid remember the original date perfectly. Yeah. And when you combine the shared memory with like the chat logs vanishing, it definitely seems like some sort of glitch in the matrix, I think. Yeah. There was kind of a lot going on, but it seemed like a lot more than just miscommunication or

[00:41:11] something. The different records and everything too. Right. And this theme definitely isn't new on the podcast, but this one is, I guess, extra weird considering that they both experienced the same thing, the same reality shift and so many changes took place. It's more of a Mandela effect than a glitch in the matrix. Yeah. I mean, I guess you could classify the Mandela effect as a special flavor of the glitch in the matrix. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:41:40] I was just thinking earlier today about what my most concrete Mandela effects were. And there are a lot, but I just mean the ones that like I feel really strongly about and that reality existed in my core. Yeah. And they were the Fruit of the Loom logo having the cornucopia or not. For the listeners, just picture it. Does it have the cornucopia or not? And then the car mirror text specifically saying objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.

[00:42:08] I remember being a little kid and thinking, well, like, are they or are they not? And like, you know, like on those long road trips. Yeah. But yeah, I was so certain that that's just what it was, but apparently not. Yeah. Those are both really big for me. The biggest one. And it's, you know, one of the most popular ones. So everyone should be familiar with it. But it's the Berenstain Bears, Berenstain Bears thing, which we've talked about before. But I swear, I just it really bothers me.

[00:42:38] It really bothers me. That's so funny. Yeah. The spelling ones, it's hard for me to really be like completely mind blown. And because I can rationalize those pretty easy. Like the like Chick-fil-A, I swore it was just chick without a K. Yeah. But I mean, whatever. There's, I guess, some explanations we had there. Yeah. It's still pretty crazy. Yeah. So it going back to the story, it totally feels like they shifted into another timeline. Almost like, I don't know, everyone is gaslighting them.

[00:43:07] It drove me crazy. Yeah. I actually thought the same thing when I was reading through it or something similar, at least how like everyone is playing a practical joke on them. It seems like. Yeah. It's such a specific and strange prank though. How would they get their HR involved? That seems exactly like the kind of shenanigans that an HR representative would get mad at someone for. Yeah. Yeah. If it were just a simple case of memory error, I'd imagine the half day off request

[00:43:37] would be somewhere in the system, you know? So. Yeah. I mean, either it was some kind of reality shift or I don't know, HR was in on it. Maybe the traffic blockage acted as a trigger. In what way exactly? Well, I guess a massive event like that could totally symbolize this bottleneck in time. Like, was the shift a way to prevent them from being in some kind of accident? We've talked about this before.

[00:44:07] Okay. Yeah. I see what you mean. How like the 30 seconds it took to run back inside to grab your wallet is what prevented you from getting T-boned at that intersection. Yes. Yes. A minor inconvenience unknowingly saves your life. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. So stories like this, I guess they just make me rethink how much control I really have over my own life. You bend over to tie your shoe and a cannonball flies over your head.

[00:44:36] That was a delayed example. Yeah. I just had to throw that out there. That's perfect. So I actually think we don't give ourselves enough credit for how much control we really do have. But I don't know, a little bit of predeterminism isn't something crazy to consider. Mm-hmm. Kind of like we're on rails but able to look around wherever we want. So maybe it just seems like we're in control. Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

[00:45:04] And if timelines can shift this easily, what else is changing around us without us noticing? You know what I mean? Mm-hmm. I don't know, how do we even begin to figure out what is real and what's rewritten? Yeah, pretty much why those specific Mandela effects I mentioned freak me out so much. I can rationalize, like I said, a lot of those, but those ones were just so embedded in my memory prior to even knowing what a Mandela effect was.

[00:45:33] There's got to be some slips in the matrix going on. It blows my mind how it's just a collective experience too. Right. Even for me, I found out about it because I overheard somebody say, did you know that the Fruit of the Loom logo doesn't have a cornucopia? And I just sat there in disbelief until I had to look it up on my phone. I freaked out too. I swore that it had one. Yeah, and I think if somebody instead were to have been like,

[00:46:02] draw the Fruit of the Loom logo from memory before the Mandela effect was ever even a topic of discussion, the cornucopia would probably be there for most people. No potential external influences. But I mean, also like a bunch of fruit bunched together. Where else is it going to be? You know? So who knows? There's a rational possibility everywhere you look. I'll leave that one on the table. Yeah. Literally. Without a doubt.

[00:46:31] Eat your fruits and veggies. Yeah. Anyways, thanks everybody so much for listening. I hope you guys enjoyed the episode. Send your stories into stories at oddtrails.com and join our Patreon at patreon.com forward slash oddtrails for ad-free versions of all of our episodes. And check out the new episodes of my other podcasts like Let's Not Meet, Cryptic Encounters, and The Old Time Radio Cast, wherever you get your podcasts. See you all next week, everyone. Stay safe.