Epsiode 73: My Abduction Story

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[00:00:30] Odd Trails contains adult language and content. 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] When I was 17, I joined my then girlfriend and her family for their Thanksgiving tradition of driving to the Washington State coastal town of Long Beach and spending the holiday in a cozy rented beach house. Long Beach is a very typical West Coast beach town with a minuscule population of mostly retired folks. It's dotted with cute antique shops, soda fountains, arcades, and other dinky little attractions.

[00:01:54] Then, of course, there is the beach itself. But as you might guess, late November in Washington isn't the most suitable time to frolic in the waves. It's close to freezing, windy, rainy, and overcast pretty much all the time at that time of the year. So, the holiday is more about hunkering down inside and enjoying the ambiance and each other's company. We played games, read stories, and ate really good food.

[00:02:23] The group was me, my girlfriend, her brother, his girlfriend, and their parents. The house they rented has two stories, and though I won't pretend to know the year of construction, I can say that it was very old and very lived in. I would guess at least 100 years old. Just about anywhere you stepped would creak, and the house carried on a continual conversation of moans with the wind.

[00:02:48] The house sat a few hundred meters from the beach, and naturally, the howling wind was much more pronounced in the quiet nighttime hours. The sleeping arrangements had the parents downstairs in one bedroom, then the other four of us upstairs. The upstairs room was once two bedrooms, separated by a door, but the door had been removed, so the rooms were connected with just the door jam.

[00:03:14] In the larger of the two sections were three single beds where my girlfriend, her brother, and his girlfriend slept. Since my girlfriend and I were the youngest, we were the ones who got separated, so I slept in the smaller section of the room on my own. In this smaller section was just one single bed for me and the entry to the bathroom. There was also a very large window, about parallel to and the same width as the bed.

[00:03:44] This window didn't have any curtains or blinds for some reason, and though in the daytime the view was quite beautiful, it was a bit eerie at night. There was a massive oak tree just outside, whose spiderweb branches streaked over the window frame. The raindrops on the pane and the occasional flash of lightning were beautiful, but also a bit unsettling. Like in a film, visual foreshadowing for something spooky would be clear.

[00:04:11] And keep in mind, now I'm in my 30s and I like those types of vibes, but at the time, I was quite susceptible to my imagination getting the better of me. It was a time in my life when I was very active as a dreamer. I was also a daydreamer. I had just become interested in stereotypical spooky and weird stuff. We stayed there for two nights.

[00:04:35] The first night, after we all had our fun and everyone went to relax in their rooms, I stayed up listening to music on my Zune. I'm sure somebody remembers the Zune, right? It was raining and thundering outside, and I was mesmerized by the occasional burst of blue lightning illuminating the chaotic drops hammering on the window.

[00:04:56] Each flash of lightning cast stark silhouettes of the great oak's branches, a clawed hand reaching out, an orgy of tentacles writhing, and 1,000 legs of a giant spider. I was scared, but also a bit excited, as I tend to feel with stormy weather. At some point, I removed my headphones and I got up to use the bathroom. When I came back to bed, I hesitated before putting my headphones back on.

[00:05:24] I heard the distinct sounds I had grown accustomed to of the floorboards creaking downstairs. The bed I had was against the wall, and on the other side of that wall was the staircase leading to the main part of the room where the other three were sleeping. I figured one of the parents had gotten up and was walking around the kitchen or bathroom. Until I heard the creaking making its way closer, coming to the base of the stairs and then ascending the stairs.

[00:05:55] Then I thought, I guess it was just one of the other three going back to bed? It was a slow and heavy footfall that sounded like someone who might be tired or maybe even sleepwalking. I waited, listening for the sound to end when whoever was walking reached their bed and got back to sleep. But something strange happened.

[00:06:19] The footsteps continued past all of the beds, coming toward the doorway into my sleeping area. I automatically turned over to face the wall, not wanting to have an awkward moment with somebody since it was so late. The footsteps continued, then simply stopped. They stopped right in the doorway and just stood there. I'm not exactly sure how much time passed, but it was at least a few solid minutes.

[00:06:47] Too long to just stay there, I thought to myself. But for some reason, I couldn't get myself to turn over and see who it was. I figured someone was sleepwalking, or that possibly one of my girlfriend's parents had come up to check and make sure that we weren't fooling around or something like that. After however long, the footsteps basically walked a reverse of the same pattern.

[00:07:13] They slowly paced through the room, walking down the stairs and eventually fading into the house. That night, I decided that it must have been one of the parents checking in. I got myself back to sleep. The next day, I didn't think too much about it. We carried on with the lazy celebrations and had a normal, fun, and relaxing day. Fast forward to the second night.

[00:07:40] There were no thunderous storms that night, but a fair bit of wind. Everyone had gone to sleep and typically for me, I was the one still awake. I was lying in bed listening to music with one headphone in and gazing out the window. I was watching the wind shake the naked branches of the giant tree outside. Just as the night before, I began to hear creaking from footballs downstairs.

[00:08:09] I immediately became very alert, adjusted my posture to better hear the sounds, and I removed my headphones completely. I could hear the creaking making its way throughout the house's ground floor and approaching the stairwell. I had become quite anxious by this point. I was not looking forward to a repeat of the last night. I wallowed silently in bed as I heard the sound on each stair on the other side of the wall.

[00:08:36] Whoever or whatever it was, it was coming for a second visit. The sound traveled slowly but steadily. I rolled over to face the wall and put one headphone back into my ear. I kept trying to tell myself, it's just somebody checking in. Just pretend to be asleep. It's just somebody walking. I won't make any sound to disturb them. These were the things I wanted to believe. However, it isn't what I actually felt deep down.

[00:09:06] It's worth noting at this point that I had an extremely religious upbringing. I was taught explicitly and implicitly that everything has an intrinsic spiritual element to it. Good and evil exist. That evil constantly seeking out vulnerability. While I have developed my own worldviews throughout my life, and by the time I was 17, I didn't actually believe in that spiritual dichotomy,

[00:09:33] that type of thinking can die hard and can resurface in times of intense fear. It's hard to explain if you didn't grow up that way, but those types of things can continue to influence you even after you've outgrown them. All this to say that when I was lying in bed facing the wall, trying to convince myself of a material explanation for what I was hearing, all I could think about were spooky thoughts.

[00:10:00] The sound made its way to the top of the staircase through the neighboring room where the others slept before stopping in the doorway to my room again. I clenched my eyes shut, and I squeezed a roll of the blanket into my hand. I tried to focus on the music and trick myself into thinking that I was falling asleep, which was the beginning of a dream. But then something happened that made it obvious I wasn't dreaming. And this was real.

[00:10:27] The sound of the footsteps entered the room and approached my bed. There was a pause, and then whatever or whoever it was sat down on the bed. I felt the clear sensation of body weight depressing the end of the bed right next to my feet. I was absolutely terrified. I was positive about what I was experiencing. I was wide awake. I couldn't bring myself to turn and look though.

[00:10:56] I was far too afraid of what I might see. I tried to come up with some answers without looking. Maybe it was one of the dogs, but that wouldn't explain the human football. Maybe a sleepwalker taking a seat. It could be that. Maybe even my girlfriend. Could she be awake and wanting to come into my bed? But my gut said no to all of these things. The only thing I could do was summon the courage to face it, so I did.

[00:11:24] I opened one eye, and as slowly as I could possibly manage, I craned my neck over to peek at nothing. I could see nothing. Nobody. For a split second, relief washed over me. And in that second, I felt braver. So I turned over more, and yes, definitely there was nothing there. But yet, I still felt the depression in the mattress. The feeling of relief vanished in an instant.

[00:11:54] There was something there, just not something that I could see. I'm unsure exactly how long the presence remained on the bed. My guess would be a few solid minutes, though naturally it felt like an eternity. I was frozen, completely shaken to my core. But eventually the presence rose up from the bed and stood for a few seconds. I heard one footstep close in towards me. Then, after a few beats, it retraced its steps back out the window.

[00:12:24] Back down the stairs, and slowly, the sounds of the footsteps were lost altogether in the recession of the house. Now, this incident happened when I was 17 and had little experience with the paranormal. I was completely terrified and unsure of what to make of it. However, now in my 30s, I have a much more comprehensive perspective on it, and I believe that this entity had no malicious intent.

[00:12:52] I would guess that it was simply a human spirit of a previous resident of the house, perhaps a parent who used to check on their loved ones in the night, or maybe a child. But I'm happy to have had this experience, because it taught me that not all things that go bump in the night are malevolent. Several other stories involve such things, but those are for a different time.

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[00:13:59] When I was 10 years old, my family moved into an old house built in the early 20th century. It's a beautiful place with high ceilings and intricate woodwork. But it's always been a little creepy. My brother was in his early teens at the time, and he wouldn't shut up about how the house was haunted.

[00:14:22] My parents would dismiss his claims, but I know now that was probably for our own sanity and sense of security. Shortly after moving in, I would hear footsteps in the hallway when no one was there, and doors would open and close on their own. At first I thought I was just imagining things. But then I saw them. Ghosts.

[00:14:50] I'll never forget the first time I saw one. I was sitting in the living room, playing Minecraft, when I saw a figure out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and there it was. A woman in a long white dress, with long hair, and a sad expression on her face. I was terrified. I told my family what I had seen, and they looked at me like I was crazy.

[00:15:21] Except for my brother. His face lit up, and he yelled, I told you guys, I've seen her too. He went on once again about how he saw a woman in a white dress walking down the hallway. I looked at my mom, who took a deep breath and stared at my dad, with an expression like she was eagerly wanting permission to tell us something.

[00:15:50] Finally, she just blurted it out. I've heard whispering in my ear when I'm doing laundry or lying down in bed. Holy shit. My dad didn't react much. But my mom spoke on his behalf, and revealed that he had seen a man in a suit walking down the stairs one time, which he did not deny. Eventually, my dad lightened up a bit,

[00:16:19] and admitted that he had reasons for not being so open about all of this. He didn't want to accept any of it was actually happening, and he didn't want to scare the rest of us living there by further acknowledging it into existence. My dad started to do some digging. He eventually found out through city records, newspaper archives, and the county clerk's office

[00:16:46] that the family who had built the house in 1932 had a daughter who died there. We think that the ghosts we saw were the daughter and her parents. Still trapped in the house all these years later. No hard feelings, but... We tried everything to get rid of their spirits. We burned sage, played calming music, and even had a priest come and bless the house, even though we weren't Catholic.

[00:17:16] But nothing worked. My mom then found out that the family had been buried in a cemetery nearby. We decided to go and visit their graves, hoping that it would somehow help them move on. We cleaned up the graves and left some flowers, and then we went back to the house. Over the next few weeks, the strange occurrences in the home became less and less frequent.

[00:17:45] We didn't see any more ghosts, and we felt like the house was finally at peace. I don't think the ghosts were ever trying to hurt us. They were just lost and looking for a way to move on. By acknowledging them and trying to help them, we were able to find a sense of closure for ourselves as well. The house still has a few creaks and moans,

[00:18:12] but it's not nearly as creepy as it used to be. We've come to accept that the ghosts are a part of the house's history, and as weird as it sounds, I'm grateful for the experience. I hope they're resting in peace.

[00:18:39] I know some stories on odd trails are related to dreams and sleep paralysis or having negative demonic entities in dreams. My story is related specifically to a demonic entity appearing in my dream, which happened last night. I'm unsure if it's legitimate or if my brain is just playing tricks on me from consuming a lot of paranormal-related media. My dream is a bit fuzzy, so some of the details may be missing,

[00:19:07] and my story may bounce around a bit, but here we go. It started off with me being around people that I was familiar with in a very old, gothic-looking house that I had never been to before. The house had wood framing, and it was very dark. Candles were lit everywhere, and family members and friends were surrounding me. My dream then moves into me taking a picture with my family and friends.

[00:19:35] Then I have an image pop up in my view. It's of the woods, and it's very grainy and black with gray fire in it, almost reminding me of a photo from one of the Salem Witch Trials books that I read in high school. Then my dream moves to my stepmom being in front of my face with my little brothers. She's not acting right and being very cold. She starts talking to me about how she had to sacrifice herself to Beelzebub,

[00:20:04] a demon with whose name is derived from the Philistine god and is depicted as the devil in Jewish culture, at least from what I've read. Then she tells me she sacrificed herself to him because she was either sick or didn't want to leave her kids and my dad. So, she made a deal with the devil to stay. But it wasn't her. It was Beelzebub himself just using her body to live in our world.

[00:20:33] In the dream, I could only repeat his name while remaining in shock. She then changes forms and shows me who she really is. He, Beelzebub, turns into multiple bees, shaping his face and body. His face has two empty sockets where his eyes should be, with his mouth wide open as if he were screaming. Then all of a sudden, it goes back to my stepmother. Now this is the part of the dream that gets fuzzy.

[00:21:03] I remember something about having to deal with a choice and then I wake up. Now I've never had a dream like this before and could never remember dreams this vividly. I've heard of this demonic entity before from paranormal investigations with Sam and Cody. These YouTube guys that go to haunted places. Where they went to the conjuring house. And on the spirit box, that name came through. The last time I watched that video was about a month or two ago. So why am I dreaming of this now?

[00:21:31] I'm not sure if there will be any answers to it. But it really did freak me out a bit. And I've felt uneasy ever since I've had that dream. All I can do is research why it may have occurred. But I haven't gotten many answers besides finding out that Beelzebub is a demon who is known as the flying demon and depicted as a very aggressive looking bee.

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[00:22:40] I was always a little bit skeptical about psychics. But my friend convinced me to give it a try. She had been to this particular psychic before and had nothing but good things to say. My therapist at the time wasn't doing much for me. And I just felt like I was missing something. So I decided to book a reading with her. As soon as I walked into the room, I was greeted by the psychic.

[00:23:10] Who had a warm smile and a calming presence. She asked me to sit down. And immediately began to shuffle her tarot cards. As she briefly explained what tarot was. And covered some other details about her line of work. She stopped shuffling. And asked if I was ready. I said I was. She began to tell me things about myself that she could have not possibly known.

[00:23:39] She spoke about my childhood. My relationships and my career. It was as if she had a direct line to my thoughts and emotions. I was blown away by how accurate she was. It was like she was reading my mind. But in a way that I had never experienced before. She then said something that gave me chills. She told me that there was a person who would re-enter my life.

[00:24:08] But that they were not who they appeared to be. She also warned me to be careful who I trust. And to not let others take advantage of my kindness. I said I had no idea who she could have been talking about. As I only have two close friends from college. Who would never betray me. I don't talk to anybody else. But still. She urged me to be cautious. And keep my guard up.

[00:24:37] I left the reading feeling both amazed and uneasy. I couldn't shake the feeling that the psychic knew something that I didn't. Two days later. I received a phone call out of the blue. From a guy who I had dated years ago. We left on good terms. But hadn't been in touch since the breakup. He had always been a bit of a wild card.

[00:25:03] But I never suspected that he would ever be involved in anything shady. He told me that he was in trouble. And needed a place to stay. I tried asking for more details. What kind of trouble. But his story wasn't lining up. And he was being rather vague for somebody asking for such a big favor. I was shocked and confused. But then I remembered what the psychic had told me.

[00:25:32] I apologetically said no. And hung up the phone. I just sat there. In disbelief. How did the psychic know that would happen? Was it just a coincidence? Or did she really have a gift? Like I said, I only have two close friends. Nobody ever reaches out to me. And I'm totally fine with that. Especially now. I decided to go back to the psychic for another reading.

[00:26:02] This time, I had a list of questions prepared. I wanted to know more about her gift and how it worked. As she shuffled her cards, I asked her how she was able to know certain things. She said that she was able to connect with the energies and vibrations of the universe. And that this allowed her to see things that were hidden from the physical world. I was fascinated by her explanation.

[00:26:30] But I still had some doubts. So, I decided to test her gift. I asked her to tell me something about myself that she could not possibly know. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and said, You have a scar on your left knee from a bicycle accident when you were eight years old. I was stunned.

[00:26:59] She was right. I know for a fact I had never mentioned that to anyone else before. It was something so uneventful I never felt the need to share it. From that moment on, I knew that she was the real deal. Her gift was something that could not be explained by science or logic. It was simply a part of who she was. I continue to visit her until this day.

[00:27:27] And she always provides me with guidance and insight that help me navigate the ups and downs of life. Through her gift, I learned to trust my intuition. Or as she calls it, listening to the whispers of the universe. There is so much more to life than what meets the eye. There is a whole world of energy and vibrations that are waiting to be explored.

[00:27:55] Just to be clear, I'm not saying that anybody should see a psychic. And I'm definitely aware that there are some phonies out there. But I will say, there are some who truly have a gift.

[00:28:21] It was the summer of 2019, when my eight-year-old daughter and I moved into our new apartment after my wife had passed. We really wanted to start a new chapter in our lives and make new memories. But little did we know, our new apartment was not going to be what we had hoped for. It all started a few weeks after we had moved in. I had just put my daughter to bed and was about to head to my room. I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

[00:28:48] At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but then I saw it again. It was this dark silhouette. It was like the shape of a person lurking in the shadow behind the TV in our living room. I tried to brush it off as my eyes playing tricks on me, but the feeling of unease just stayed with me. I couldn't shake off the feeling that we were not alone in our apartment. Over the next few days, I noticed the shadow person appearing more frequently.

[00:29:17] It was always lurking in the shadows though, never fully visible, but always there, day or night. My daughter also started to act a bit strange. She would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and crying and telling me that there was a monster in her room. I tried to rationalize her fears. I would tell her that there was nothing to be afraid of. But deep down, I knew that there was something very wrong with our apartment. One night, after watching a movie and putting my daughter to bed, I decided to confront the shadow.

[00:29:48] I grabbed a flashlight and I cautiously walked towards the living room. As I got closer, I saw the shadow person, and it seemed to grow larger and more menacing this time. I tried to shine my flashlight on it, but the light seemed to have no effect. It was as if this shadow person were immune to any type of light. Suddenly, the shadow person darted towards me, and I felt a wave of terror wash over me.

[00:30:15] I quickly ran back to my daughter's room, locked the door, and I sat there with her. I was shaking in fear. That was the moment I realized that we were not alone in that apartment. There was something else there with us. Something sinister and malevolent. My daughter and I were in danger, and I had to do something about it. The next day, I decided to seek the help of a paranormal investigator that I found online. They were able to come the next day.

[00:30:42] When they arrived, they immediately picked up on the presence of the shadow person. He told me that shadow people were common occurrences, and they were often associated with negative energies. The paranormal investigator performed this cleansing ritual, and for a few days, everything seemed to be back to normal. We were happy. But then, the shadow person just returned, as if the cleansing had only made it angrier. Over the next few weeks, it grew bolder.

[00:31:10] It started to appear more often during the day, and I could see it lurking in the shadows even when there was plenty of light in the room. My daughter's behavior also worsened. She became withdrawn and afraid, and I knew that I had to do something before it was too late. I decided to move out of the apartment, and thankfully, we found a new place that was free of any paranormal activity, though we were stuck with a fee for breaking our lease. It's been about a year since we moved out, and my daughter and I are finally starting to feel safe again.

[00:31:40] Looking back, I still don't know what this shadow person was or why it had attached itself to us, but what I do know is that it was one of the scariest experiences of my life, and I never want to go through something like that again, and I hope that no one else ever has to as well.

[00:32:16] First and foremost, I want to remain anonymous for this story. For one, I'm sure most people won't believe it, and I don't want to be labeled a liar. This brings me to my second reason. I had to move towns after sharing this experience with somebody who I thought was a trusted peer. I work as a school teacher, and my reputation became tarnished as a result.

[00:32:43] Thankfully, where I live now, nobody but my wife is aware of what happened. She's the only person who I know truly believes me, and for that, I am beyond grateful. She's actually the one who gave me your email and begged me to submit my experience to your podcast. Since it's important for me to remain anonymous, I'll just say this took place in a rural area

[00:33:10] on the east coast of the United States within the last decade. I'll just outright say it. I was abducted by aliens. It's still weird to say. I consider myself a very rational person, almost to a fault. I always thought that the idea of little green men from outer space was just a Hollywood invention,

[00:33:35] a way to sell movie tickets and TV shows, or even, no offense, something for people to sensationalize and talk about for clicks and views. But that was before I had my own experience. It happened one night when I was driving home from my uncle's funeral, six hours away. I was by myself, going through a mostly empty stretch of road.

[00:34:03] I remember seeing a bright light moving in the sky. I didn't think much at first, thinking it could have been a plane or a helicopter. But it was so bright, I kept looking at it. Then I noticed its movement. It darted from left to right as it was moving forward, as if it were abruptly changing directions. It moved too quickly to be a helicopter,

[00:34:32] and the light remained solid throughout, so it wasn't the blinking lights of an airplane's wings either, which are typically red and green, not white like what I was seeing. I followed it with my eyes for about a minute, until I decided to pull over. I should also note, there weren't any airports or military bases nearby, and it seemed to be flying too low,

[00:35:00] especially considering the hills and trees. I turned off the engine, and rolled down my passenger window, since it was to the right of me. I tried listening for an engine or something, but I heard nothing. At this point, it slowed down and appeared to be hovering. I got out of my car so I could walk around and take a picture or video.

[00:35:28] I still don't know if that was a mistake in a traditional sense, but for better or worse, that decision changed my life. I remember lifting up my phone, and then, everything went blank. The next thing I can recall is lying on a cold metal table, surrounded by strange beings.

[00:35:53] They were tall and thin, with gray skin and large black eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. I couldn't move or speak, and I felt like I was either partially sedated or in a dream, except this was much more vivid than any I have ever had before. I was in a state of full consciousness.

[00:36:20] The aliens seemed to be examining me, touching me with strange instruments, and making low humming noises that vibrated through my body. I don't know how long I was there, but it felt like hours. I didn't hear any talking. I only heard the humming noises and the occasional clinking of tools. At some point, I became very aware this wasn't a dream.

[00:36:50] I distinctly remember feeling the adrenaline dump of my fight-or-flight kicking in, and feeling helpless, as all I could move were my eyes. And the last thing I remember is making eye contact with one of those gray entities poking at my body. Then, it moved its expressionless face closer to mine, and I blacked out.

[00:37:17] I woke up by a creek, only about 100 feet away from where I had stepped out of my car. Luckily, my keys were still in the ignition. When I turned on my car, I saw that a little more than four hours had passed. I was exhausted and disoriented. I had strange marks on my arms and legs that didn't make sense.

[00:37:43] I was wearing a jacket and jeans, so it's not like I had gotten scraped up by walking through any heavy brush or something. I tried to dismiss it as a bad dream, but I know for a fact I stepped out of my car. I also no longer had my phone on me. There's no way I would not only forget about getting back inside my car and deciding to take a nap when I wasn't even tired,

[00:38:11] but also conveniently sleepwalk for the first time ever and have the most vivid dream of my life. There truly is no explanation. I couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to me that night. Over the next few days, I started to notice other strange things. I was having trouble sleeping, and when I did manage to drift off,

[00:38:40] I had vivid dreams about the aliens and their strange instruments. I felt like I was being watched all the time, and I was constantly looking over my shoulder. I wasn't very often exposed to or ever really thought about aliens up until that experience. So then why or how did it seep into my life so prominently, out of nowhere?

[00:39:07] As stated earlier, I confided in a work friend, but that was a bad idea. My wife initially thought I was lying about my late night and unanswered calls to cover up a lie. But after seeing me choke back tears as I told my story and showing her the marks, she eventually believed me.

[00:39:31] I saw multiple therapists, but they just dismissed it as stress and told me to get more sleep. It's been a few years since my abduction, and things have started to calm down. I'm sleeping better, but things aren't quite the same. Sometimes I'll catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye, or I'll hear a strange humming noise, and it will all come flooding back.

[00:40:00] I don't know if things will ever be completely normal, but I do know one thing. I'm no longer a skeptic when it comes to aliens.

[00:40:48] I'll see you next time. An alien abduction story in this episode. That's always a cause for celebration, if I do say so myself. 100% agree. I think it's convenient to dismiss mini abduction stories as just vivid dreams, but I really wanted to believe this one. I wish I could have recorded the conversation, but, and you don't know this, I actually ended up talking to the author on the phone to get a fuller understanding of what happened.

[00:41:18] Oh. Yeah, it was nice. I will say he came across as genuine and my bullshit detector didn't go off, which it does rather easily. And it's one thing to go to bed and wake up in that same bed after experiencing a dream that may have felt too vivid. Mm-hmm. I think some of these occurrences can be rationalized away, but as the author said in this story, he distinctly remembers getting out of bed. He wasn't tired. He didn't stop to take a nap or anything.

[00:41:47] Just the sudden loss of time accompanied by a memory that didn't result from a dream. Yeah, missing time is interesting because it's the one thing that we can kind of measure as far as evidence of these abductions goes. Because how do you reconcile so much time missing? There's no possible way to do that unless you assume that this person just blacked out, which, as they said, they would have had to sleepwalk and all that. Like, it doesn't make sense. It's super interesting. Exactly.

[00:42:15] And as already said, when it happens to be accompanied by some paranormal experience and that memory to go with it, it's a perfect storm, as I like saying. Thank you very much, Mr. Anonymous, for being kind enough to let me call you. Yeah, and I don't want anybody listening to assume that this is an invitation to have phone conversations about your stories. It's not. No, not at all. Not at all. I cannot believe you did that.

[00:42:40] It's usually not me, but I think it's because we rarely get the alien abduction stories. I really wanted to get to the bottom of it and kind of just get a feel for it. It seemed, as you said in the story, sensationalized, but he was. He came across as very genuine, rational, and he didn't seem excited to talk about it. He was willing. He was very cordial, but it was a very productive conversation and I enjoyed it.

[00:43:07] But I will say, if anybody wants to send in like a shorter story in the form of an audio clip, maybe we could do that. Feature those on the show. Yeah, definitely. I would actually enjoy that quite a bit. I find those to be super creepy. And you know what? I guess talking to an author isn't the weirdest thing. I definitely go back and forth through email and social media with certain authors and even some listeners that are long time listeners of both of these shows.

[00:43:32] But ever since my recent experience with a grade A stalker that I apparently have from Patreon. Oh, gosh. Yeah. My walls have gone up. I am only talking to the, I'm now officially only conversing with the veteran fans of the show that I've actually made friends with because initiating one little thing with the wrong person, they will latch on to you and they will try to tear you down. That's all I'm going to say about it.

[00:44:02] Yeah, no, I hear you. And plus, it's so socially draining. My battery is not very big, but I do like talking to people, but it quickly becomes, I guess, shallow after a while because you can only give so much energy. But that's not to say we don't like talking to you. Especially when they send threats to you, you know. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm going to shave your head and piss in your bed. I hate that. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

[00:44:27] So I am still laid up with this stupid ankle causing really bad leg pain. I don't know if anybody out there has had a high ankle sprain. It's the worst of the sprains. It takes way too long to heal and makes your whole leg hurt. It's just been a nightmare. But I'm nervous because I have vacation next month and we've been looking forward to it for a really long time. We don't go on vacation often. It's maybe once a year. And I'm scared I'm going to be in a wheelchair the whole time.

[00:44:53] But sitting here thinking about a trip to Disneyland got me thinking about the good old days of the internet when rumors and urban legends weren't all about politics and social issues. I know that's a weird stretch, but hang with me. I'm going to connect this. So you might remember and I say remember and was in parentheses. You might remember there was a website called Snopes.com. Yes, of course.

[00:45:21] Yeah, you could explore all kinds of fun urban legends and weird things. And they often had like a fact or fiction tag tied to them or sometimes it would just be unknown. But Snopes is still around. And I say was because this website basically just sucks now. They went from being a fun urban legends reference site to being a fact checking website. They have new owners. It's so like just sanitized and boring. All the old articles, most of them are gone.

[00:45:51] They have this really cringy track record too in the past of taking their fact checking too far and actually fact checking parody news outlets on their site. Yeah. And like I said, all those old articles from the golden age have been modernized or removed. Basically, all the fun's been sucked out of Snopes and it's now a shell of what it used to be. It's just focusing on political rumors and other boring garbage.

[00:46:16] But the way this connects to Disneyland, there used to be a really sweet section on the site covering Disney and Disney park urban legends that I used to hang out at all the time. And one of my favorite urban legends as a kid was about the haunted mansion. Sure, it's a dusty old attraction at a theme park and it does have a genuinely creepy atmosphere for a kid's ride.

[00:46:38] But what I think is creepier than all of the special effects and all of the fake ghosts are the actual, and this is true, human remains that are housed inside the mansion. Apparently, it's been a huge undertaking for Disney employees to keep guests from spreading the ashes of their dead loved ones from within the ride. I have heard of that and I wanted to do that, but I don't want to pause the ride for anybody else, which actually is kind of fun. I like being stuck on a ride once in a while on Disneyland.

[00:47:08] Yeah, my favorite was Space Mountain because when they shut it down and closed it, I was on the ride like it got stuck and they flipped on all the lights and you could see inside. And it just looked like a Costco with a cheap roller coaster built inside of it. Like it was it completely ruined the illusion. We got to walk down some stairs and out through the back of the park and stuff. But yeah, when the ride breaks down, it's cool. But for this one, they have a specific code name called HEPA cleanup.

[00:47:33] And it's any type of event requiring vacuuming up of something like ashes and they really shut it down. Like that ride is done for. They clean that shit up. And they are good about catching people doing stuff. Tell me about it. I don't want to admit what I was doing on a Haunted Mansion trip one time, but they saw the light at the end of the vape. And they actually on the intercom, they're like, we can see exactly what you're doing inside of the doom buggy, like loudly right in front of us. Wow.

[00:48:03] Their security is also really good, too. It rivals the TSA. I don't know what I think they have like thermal image scanners or something. Seriously? Yeah, that's what I think, because I know somebody who forgot he had his knife on him. And before he even went up to the detector or anything, an employee walked up to him and said, you can't bring a knife in the park. And he about shit a brick. Yeah. That is better than the TSA. Yep. Yep. Well, they definitely have a lot of undercover cops and stuff there.

[00:48:32] We've actually been able to pick a few of them out in the past. Yeah. Some CI double agents, as our friend says. Well, I actually learned recently that it's not just a haunted mansion. It's all over the park. Basically, since it's a park wide issue, different rides and stuff have been shut down. They've even like scattered ashes and flower pots and things like that.

[00:48:52] But the most recent one that I could find was like a couple of years ago, a woman scattered and I quote powdery substances into the waters of the pirates of the Caribbean. That's right. Want to go? Yeah. Same. In the world, too. Have you heard of the videos featuring the Serbian dancing lady? I don't think so. Look it up real quick and I'm going to give you a little rundown. Okay.

[00:49:19] So there's these videos of this lady in a dress outside late at night with nobody else around doing a really simple dance where she holds her arms out and twists her hips. It almost looks like a WWE taunt. There have been reports to the police and news coverings about her. And I'm not sure what to make of it. The urban legend stuff about it being a woman being possessed by a demon is interesting. But the videos in and of themselves legitimately scare me.

[00:49:50] Movies rarely fill me with that genuine sense of horror in the pit of my stomach. But for whatever reason, the Serbian dancing lady actually put me on edge. I've got goosebumps right now watching it. Yeah. I don't know what it is about it. It could just be the dance and that she's always facing the opposite direction. I think that the part where she turns around and chases the camera. She does this in some of the videos.

[00:50:15] It's creepy, but it's not nearly as creepy as the dance for some reason. Exactly. Just an innocent dance late at night. That I don't know what it is. It's so uncanny. Yeah. And this is reminding me of the beautiful age of the internet when a video would surface and everybody would come up with all of these urban legends and stories about it. And there wasn't something like the new Snopes that just fact checks things. And I guess they do too thorough of a job now. It's just not fun. You know what I mean? Yeah.

[00:50:44] They rain on our parade just a little too soon now. Yeah. Is it a truth or hoax? I don't know, but I'll say it's at least very creepy. And I taking your trash out at night, if you look down the road, the middle of the night, it's dark outside and you see this Serbian lady twisting in the street. It's creepy enough for me. It's going to scare the shit out of me, man. Yeah. Just imagine looking out your bedroom window and seeing that exact dance. Like it's innocent in and of itself, but something about it is so unsettling. Just in your backyard.

[00:51:15] Yeah. Super creepy. I love urban legends. We should do some more digging on that stuff for future episodes. I agree. Yeah. I just heard my garage door. Sounds like mom is home. The dogs are going to start going crazy. I guess we should wrap it up there. Yeah. If you guys have any recordings that you want to send to us, any like voice recordings, by all means, send them over. We'd love to listen to that stuff and feature it on the show. And thanks for listening, guys. Yeah. Send them over to either stories at oddtrails.com or find us on Instagram at oddtrailspodcast. Yeah.

[00:51:46] You can just tag us. That's a fun way as well. Anyways, thanks everyone for listening. This week you have heard an untitled story by PJT, My Haunted Family Home by Leia, Beelzebub Dream by a listener that asked to remain anonymous, Psychic Revelations by Bowie, The Apartment Shadow Man by Gary. And finally, my abduction story by another listener that asked to remain anonymous. All the stories you heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors.

[00:52:15] Again, if you have a story to share, make sure you just send it to us at stories at oddtrails.com. And don't forget to sign up for our Patreon if you'd like to get ad-free versions of all of our episodes at a higher bitrate for the best listening experience. You can do that at patreon.com forward slash oddtrails. And make sure you check out all of the new episodes of my other podcasts, Let's Not Meet a True Horror Podcast. Welcome to Paradise, It Sucks, and the Old Time Radio Cast at crypticcountypodcasts.com. We'll see y'all next week. Stay safe. Peace out.

[00:53:01] Don't let the ghosts and the ghouls disturb you, darling.