Morse Code | True Paranormal Stories from Reddit | Ep #33

0:01 Do you have a true strange story of the unexplained? Submit it now on madamstrangeways.com or e-mail madamstrangewaysgmail.com. I can't wait to read it. Welcome strangers, strangelings, and strange cetera to Madam Strange Ways, where I, Madam Strange Ways, narrate your true strange stories of the unexplained. And as always, solicited or not, usually not, I share my strange thoughts and even stranger observations and drag you down a slew of strange rabbit holes, kicking and screaming if needs must. Today I've got one new, true, strange story for you. But first, as always, a strange shout out to my Patreon patrons TJ Hotter, G Man Music, Ted, Keith and Tori. Thank you so much to my Feral, Fiendish, and occasionally possibly Freaky 5 for supporting the show. Do you want to hear your name at the beginning of every episode? Or how about an exclusive sticker or access to Madam Strange Notes, AKA voice notes of whatever strange stuff pops into my strange brain?

1:25 See, I did it that time. Join the Patreon today at madamstrangeways.com and while you're there, grab yourself some strange merch like AT Shirt or a mug that may or may not be cursed. There's only one way to find out. And now on to our true strange story here on Madam Strangeways. Morse code tapping in the closet by alarming Badger 8316 Hey everyone, this is something that's been racking mine and my husband's brains for months.

2:24 He's a skeptic, I'm a believer. We live in an old mining town. I've told my husband just because our house isn't old doesn't mean that the land we live on isn't. And weird things have happened in our house. I've heard my husband come home from work when he hasn't. Things have been moved. For example, he and I ripped the living room apart looking for the baby monitor and TV remote, which were nowhere to be found. Next morning they were both sitting perfectly side by side on the couch.

3:05 Our laundry dryer door opened and slammed shut on its own. Like I said, my husband is somewhat a skeptic but this one got him. A couple months ago we were laying in bed and heard tapping on the inside of our closet door. I mean full on tapping. It was 4 taps, then a pause and then two more. We both looked at each other, eyes wide the whole time and he mouthed what the fuck was that? We stayed up watching happy movies trying to forget it. Next morning we were playing with our boys and he finally admitted, OK, I can't explain that, what was that? And I was like, I don't know, I've never heard that. Then it clicked.

4:05 I come from a strong military background on my dad's side. So I said what would that be in Morse code? Grabbed my phone and looked it up and said four dots is H and two is I. Then my face dropped, eyes like saucers and I looked at my husband and said, Oh my God, that spells hi. Hi you guys. I mean, holy smokes. I don't feel threatened, I don't feel scared, but it's definitely a little bit eerie.

4:48 What do you think? Yeah, yeah. Alarming Badger. I think that it was definitely a little bit eerie. Maybe a lot a bit eerie, let's say, Let's say a lot. Very, very eerie. I I love, I love how why do we do this? Why do humans do this? Something scares us in our own bedroom and our reaction is to stay there in the room in which there might be danger and watch happy movies and just kind of La La la head in the sand. Let's not think about it.

5:37 I love picturing y'all like with every light on in the bedroom, huddled together in the very middle of the bed watching. OK, now you said happy movies. I was asking myself, I wonder what happy movie they were watching. How do we define happy movie? So I'm wondering is it, you know, like is it just a Hallmark Channel movie or is it like sister Act or like Mamma Mia? Is it one of those? If you're wondering, my favorite movie, which is my happy movie is the Silence of the Lambs. But it's not a happy movie.

6:18 It's not one I would recommend watching after you hear knocking in your bedroom. So all the other classical paranormal events happening aside, OK, not even talking about, not listen, not even talking about the Nordic flavor of doppelganger, which is known as the Vadoga, which is what you experienced hearing Alarming Badger, which is what you experienced hearing your partner come home, but he hadn't actually come home. That's one of the many different types of doppelgangers which I've talked about in previous episodes. Aside from that, aside from the remote and the baby monitor just appearing neatly side by side on the couch as if by an unseen hand.

7:07 Although, as I've mentioned before, when items move around, my first instinct is like someone is living in the house, someone is living in your walls, they are in your attic, etcetera. They're there. Call 911. Especially hearing a knocking no, like ghosts are really scary, but the more immediate danger of an unknown person living in your home. Otherwise known as frogging, spelled PHROG. If you want to stay up all night not watching a happy but well, OK. If you want to stay up all night and then need to watch a happy movie in order to forget what you read, go go Google frogging incidents.

7:54 Very, very, very scary. Not unexplained, but very scary. However, aside from all of the other classical paranormal activity, I am focused on the Morse code because Jesus Christ at no, absolutely not hearing a a Morse code message knocked on your bedroom wall from inside the closet door, I believe. I don't like it. I don't like it, you know, yet like I said, it could be a Frogger. It could have actually been a human being who knows? Morse code messing with you, I guess, and also messing you with with you with the items maybe. But we're going to just assume it's unexplained because that's less scary sometimes.

8:42 Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's more scary, OK, But you know me, I like to find comfort in these scary stories. So to me personally, it being an actual human doing these things is way scarier. So we're going to go for the paranormal angle. So you might think if you've listened to previous episodes, you might expect me to go on about Morse code for a really long time and give you a Morse primer and Morse history and go down a bunch of Morse rabbit holes. Well, no, we are not going to do that. But if you want to hear, if you want to hear more information about Morse code, send me an e-mail madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

9:25 I would be happy to give the people what they want. But what I think the people want right now is to talk about this story and the Morse code. That is so smart of you alarming Badger to have even thought of that especially. I mean, I'm sure you could. I'm sure you'll never forget the sound of those knocks. Let me tell you, the only Morse code that I know is SOS, which I guess is probably more Morse code than a lot of people now. But let me tell you, the only reason that I know it is because it was on an old commercial when I was a kid. They're like, the dishwasher was full of dirty dishes and The Dirty dishes were like, oh, we're we need help because we're so dirty.

10:09 We're so dirty. We need help. We need to be cleaned. And so the dishwasher, the dishes in the dishwasher were like banging. They were like sentient and they were like banging a Morse code SOS. So they were banging bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. And then there was like a song that was played along with the bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang. And I don't know at what point I learned that that meant SOS, but I think it was not at the time I didn't realize. Anyway, now that you've gone down that little rabbit hole, see, we're not going down 0 rabbit holes. We're just going down fewer, fewer.

10:50 That's how I know any Morse. So I certainly would not have immediately thought of hi. I just wouldn't have even occurred to me because I don't I don't know all those letters. So first of all, you thinking to even check Morse code and that what does that mean? Very scary. Hi, But hold on, because then I was like, OK, well, like when you're knocking, how do you like differentiate the the the dits and the dos? I've never heard it said out loud. I could have done that before this, but I didn't. You know why? Because I got excited and I wanted to record this. So dah is what it's like dits DIT&DAH.

11:31 Those are the, the little, the dots or the little dashes, which I think is also what you can call them, maybe we'll say dots and dashes. So the little dots it's like short. So like an SOSS is the the the dots. And then the O is 3 dashes. So do do do and then the S again. So high is just all dots. So it's but then how like when you're knocking, how do you differentiate? I mean, I guess, I guess the sentient dishes did figure that just sounds like now that I'm talking about, I've never, but I've never thought about like, Oh yeah, this actually kind of sounds like like a 2009 like creepypasta, you know, like, I don't know, it just sounds is it have you, is there is there a creepypasta that exists about dirty dishes trying to communicate with the outside world, praying for praying to be cleansed. Let me know madamstrangeways@gmail.com. So when you're knocking, though, how do you, I guess it's just you would just go like knock, knock, knock and then OK, hold on.

12:51 I'm going to let me see if you can hear it. So maybe if I did like for hi. Well, no, I'll do SOS so that you'll understand. Listen, the reason I'm saying this, this is the reason why I'm saying this is that there are dots and there's dashes. So like, how do we know that the knocking was just four dots and it wasn't, you know, dashes. So this is this is where I'm getting at. So if it's, if it's high, OK, so it's four dots and then two dots. That would be so scary. I just scared myself hearing that knock, like imagining it in the middle of the night. It's so scary, but if you're doing SOSI would I think guess this is how I would do it, which a reminder SOS is 3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots right.

13:35 So that would that I would pee my pants pants would be peed. If I heard that in my bedroom. I don't think I could stay in my bedroom. Even if I was watching sister act. I don't think I could do it. I am also assuming that because alarming Badger because you have that military background that you would be able to differentiate between the dots and the dashes. So I feel like, OK, especially because there are no letters that have 4 dashes. The most is 3. I tried to here's here's what I was trying to do. You know, like maybe if you can't tell the difference between the dots and the dashes, like are there any combinations of letters that it could have been?

14:21 And here's some examples. It could have been, it could have been J&L, it could have been JL. That doesn't really mean anything. LJ Live Journal. That's what it might have been trying to communicate. Live Journal. It could have also been P&Q because those both have 4 symbols. Basically, the letters have between one symbol and four symbols. So P&Q both have 4 symbols. Maybe it could have been that PQ, the messages like mind your PS and QS. Just a reminder, maybe it could also have been ZZ.

15:10 I could have been telling you have a good night, good night. Why is that the sleeping? Why do we why is it ZZZZZ? You mean that you're sleeping ZZZZ bees. Why is that? I'm curious, buzz. All right, so it's probably not ZZ. It's probably not LJ. It's probably not PQ. It is probably HI, all right, but I had to check. I had to check, you know, me, I got to do a check. So it's probably high. And I thought that's the end of it. But then me being me, I saw in the Wikipedia article that I was reading about Morse code.

15:52 I saw that it said that there were even some punctuation or something, Marks and Morse. And I was like, well, I want to know what's the punctuation? I want to know. Tell me more. Completely unrelated to the episode. Now I'm just invested, so I Click to read what I guess what are called pro signs. And then that leads me down a little Morse rabbit hole, which I did go down, but I'm not dragging you all down except these tiny little baby ones. So I found this list of like shorthand basically. So there's like there's like excellent, which is like FBI. Don't know why.

16:34 I don't know. I can't explain any of these. Some of them you can kind of figure out. Some of them. I'm like, great question. Good afternoon. Or go ahead. GA OK, so it's like early Internet lingo, you know, like I guess lol. But there were weird ones in the early Internet that just didn't stick around and for good reason. Or goodbye. GB. GB Good evening, GE These are all making sense. Good night, GN. OK GM Good morning. Hey, we still use that. Then there's also stuff like for like errors or like negative, which is just in this sort of stuff. We're like old boy. I don't know what that means, but OB not to be confused with the doctor.

17:19 Old chap, old man. Why do we need all these? I have questions. I'm going to have to go down this rabbit hole on my own to find out because it's not spooky. Oh, here's 10. Here's 1 loving kisses 88 I don't know why it's 88. I want to know why but I'm not going to look because I'm trying to talk about a scary story and not so think romantic like 88. There's also what is this? I have no more to send which is 30. You can just send 30. OK? They could just say love and kisses. I mean, isn't that the same thing? I have no more to say.

18:02 You're basically saying the same thing. Just just say 88 to everyone instead. I like it. All right. So as you can see, there's all these different kinds of, you know, shorthand abbreviations, if you will. Now, I did not. I did not think I was going to find this when I was looking at this again, I thought this was just for fun. This was just for me at this point. This wasn't even for you, but strangers, strangelings, strange cetera. Strange. Selenius, I present to you another potential meaning for the message that came through that night in Alarming Badger's bedroom.

18:50 Now we have H, and we have I. Right now, we think that spells high. Sure. Yeah, you would. You would think that. Except apparently, apparently Morse code abbreviation says that hi, HI is laughter in Morse code instead of hi. It's actually he as in he, he, he, he. So really, whatever knocked wasn't saying hi.

19:35 It was laughing, which is way scarier. Is that not so much scarier that it's laughing? I mean, maybe. I don't know. What were they alarming? Badger? What were you watching? Were you watching something funny? Like were you watching stand up? Were you watching, I don't know, Fleabag, Very funny. Were you watching Arrested Development perhaps? Or was it an evil sort of laugh? Was it like, is that the kind of laugh it was, or was it more like he, he, he, you know, we may never know. We may never know.

20:15 Also, it does sound like that it's not ever happened again. It sounds like this was a one time occurrence. An alarming badger. For your sanity sake, I hope that it stays that way. I hope it never happens again. But also, selfishly, if it does happen again, I want to know. Let me know so I can talk about it on the show and tell everyone what the new message is. I just imagine. Imagine being able to communicate beyond the veil with Morse code and what you choose to say is the shorthand for Telegraph laughter. I mean, honestly, it just sounds like it's trolling you. You know, hiding your stuff and then putting it back out in plain sight and then slamming the washer door, the clothes washer, the dryer, something like that. Appliance doors, as if it pays rent, which is rude. OK.

21:15 You know, like, you know how I like to do. I like to do some naturalistic explanations. Of course we can hit on, you know, pipes in the wall, sure, but it's not a common sound that they hear and they haven't heard it since. So probably not a pipe. But what I will say is apparently, apparently rats. I don't know about mice, but rats apparently can make really loud thumping noises in the wall, like with their little rat feet. No hate to people that love rats. I just a rat that's in my house, that's not supposed to be in my house is not my friend. Anyone that's in my house that's not supposed to be is not my friend, period. So rats with their little rat feet can make really loud, like surprisingly loud knocking noises on the wall, like when they're turning around or they're trying to let clear space.

22:05 Also, squirrels can also do the same because everybody loves squirrels. They think they're so cute. Well, they're also rodents, you know, just a reminder. They also carry fleas that have the plague, like the plague that plague. Yep, they sure do. So when they're in the walls, they can also do that. OK, you'll note that I did not. I did not put the plague on the rats, but I put it on the squirrels. Yeah, there's a reason for that, and that's because I may not be a fan of rats. But I will say in their defense that I did read an article that said that rats actually were not the reason that the Black Death spread as quickly as it did, because it couldn't have moved that quickly if it was just the rats and the fleas on the rats. If apparently humans are the reason. So infected humans infected other humans, what is it like, hurt people, hurt people infected humans infect humans. That's basically what happened with the Black Plague. So, you know, fleas were the problem, but rats, they didn't. They were not.

23:12 Even though they were vilified, they were not the main reason why the plague moved so quickly. However, even though rats are rodents, I do also have a vendetta against squirrels. So that's why I put it on squirrels to say that they carry fleas with the Black Plague. There, there's a rabbit hole for you, or a squirrel hole for you. There you go. You're welcome. And the reason that I keep saying that, and I'm trying so hard to keep myself on task is that I will never, ever, ever finish my deep dive episode on the Enfield Poltergeist if I keep doing these really long episodes, even though I have a lot of fun doing them. So I'm trying to rein it in. All right, so Speaking of reining it in, so let's talk about again, these are the things that it could have been. It could have been pipes in the walls. Unlikely though, since it hasn't happened that often. Could have been rats in the walls or squirrels in the walls, regardless of whether or not they carry the plague on them. Could have been a person.

24:09 I don't love it. I hate it. So I don't want that to be happy to be to. I don't want that to be the case. I don't know what I want to be the case, honestly. IA rat and then the rat left a rat came in knocked the exact amount of knocks to say hi or he he he he in Morse and then left OK, that's what I want. That's what I hope happened and I also hope for the sake of alarming Badger that this never happens again and that actually no paranormal activity happens again. Or as I always like to say, unless y'all are into that. If that's what you're into, then you're you're knock yourself out.

24:52 And then I hope you do have other paranormal happenings. But if you do have more paranormal activity or if anyone listening ever experiences some paranormal activity, feel free to share it with me. Send it to me at madamstrangeways@gmail.com or you can visit me at madamstrangeways.com. Thank you for joining me for more true strange stories of the unexplained. Remember that you can feel afraid and not be in danger.

25:34 You're safe here with me, probably. Please follow the podcast, leave a rating on Spotify or Apple, or tell your friends and foes about the show. It would mean the world to me. The underworld, obviously. I mean, come on. Madam Strange Ways is produced and narrated by me. Madam Strange Ways theme music is by marina.ryan@marinamakes.co. Cover art is by Andrea Chiselle, rolled on at Cult of Teddy on Instagram. You can submit your own true strange story at madamstrangeways.com or send in your thoughts or theories on stories on the show to madamstrangeways@gmail.com. See you soon, she said ominously.