Oct. 16, 2024

National Forest Gnome + The Crooked Cottage | True Strange Stories from Reddit | Ep #18

National Forest Gnome + The Crooked Cottage | True Strange Stories from Reddit | Ep #18

♥ Thank you to Erin and Anonymous for granting permission to read your strange stories. Do you want to hear your own true scary paranormal story narrated on the show? Email me at madamestrangewaysmail.com.


➽ Send Me Your Thoughts or Theories on the Stories in this Episode and I may share them on a future episode: madamestrangewaysmail.com

➽ Submit Your Own Strange Story: madamestrangeways.com or madamestrangewaysmail.com

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Produced by: Madame Strangeways

♫ Theme Music by: Marina Ryan at marinamakes.co

Cover artwork by: Andrea Giselle Roldán at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@cultofteddy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you have a true ghost story or paranormal story you’d like to hear narrated on the podcast, you can submit it on madamestrangeways.com or email it to madamestrangewaysmail.com. Anything unexplained or supernatural is welcome, or just odd stories you can’t explain with reason or logic.


Relax with some true spooky stories read to you by Madame Strangeways in a soothing, calm, female voice. Rain sounds accompany the stories for a bit of eerie atmosphere. And between the true scary stories, she shares her thoughts and commentary on each creepy story, but never in third person.


Step into the eerie world of Madame Strangeways, where true strange stories come to life in her latest spine-chilling podcast episode. This time, Madame Strangeways takes us on a journey through two haunting tales that will leave you questioning the thin line between reality and the supernatural.


Our first tale, "The Crooked Cottage," by Erin, takes us on a nostalgic Christmas tradition that turns into an unforgettable mystery. As Aaron and his family journey to their beloved tree farm, they encounter a peculiar house that seems to appear and vanish without a trace. With its whimsical architecture and vibrant colors, this house defies all logic and evades even the most seasoned urban planner. Madame Strangeways explores the possibilities of time slips, dimension shifts, and the mystical folklore that might explain such an elusive dwelling.


Next, we venture into the dense forests with a seasoned outdoorsman who stumbles upon a creature straight out of legend. In the next story, Anonymous shares a startling encounter with what appears to be a tiny forest man, defying all skepticism. As Madame Strangeways delves into indigenous folklore and the mysteries of the natural world, she ponders the existence of these elusive beings and the secrets they might hold. Could it be a gnome, a little person, or something entirely different?


Throughout the episode, Madame Strangeways shares her unique observations and invites listeners to submit their own strange stories. Her engaging narration and keen insights make this episode a must-listen for anyone fascinated by the paranormal. Whether you're a skeptic or a believer, these tales will captivate your imagination and leave you questioning the mysteries of the world around us.


Every true strange story narrated in this podcast was read with permission from the original author.


Follow the podcast and explore strange, spooky and true paranormal stories as narrated by Madame Strangeways.


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If you have a true strange story
you'd like to hear narrated on

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00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:09,360
the show, submit it now on
madamstrangeways.com or e-mail

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it to
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

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That's MAD.
AM E Well, hello, my little

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strange Ling.
It's me, Madam Strangeways, with

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two new true strange stories of
the unexplained paranormal.

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Or just kind of spooky.
And as always, solicited or not,

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usually not, I share my insights
and observations.

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After each spooky tale.
Now it's time to dim the lights

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and get cozy while I.
Read you these.

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True strange stories here on
Madam Strange Ways.

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The Crooked Cottage by Aaron
When I was a kid, my parents

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would take my sister and I to
this farm out in the country

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near where we lived to chop down
our Christmas trees.

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The farm was about a 40 minute
drive from the little town we

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lived in and it was a Christmas
tradition.

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That we loved.
We went to the same farm every

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year and one of those years we
had a strange experience

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together.
One year, I believe I was around

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13 or 14 at the time, on our way
to the farm, we came upon this

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house that we had never seen
before.

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It was bizarre looking, almost
like.

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The Weasleys.
House in Harry.

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Potter, but.
More colorful, It was tall and

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thin, like every floor was a
single room stacked on top.

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Of each other.
And it looked like it was built

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out of a mishmash of materials,
like some parts were made of

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wood and some parts were made of
metal.

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It had filigree on the trim and
everything was painted.

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Bright pastel colors.
Pinks, yellows, purples, mint

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cream.
My dad slowed the car down to

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get a good look at it.
I remember looking down at the

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house from the road.
It was in almost a bowl shaped

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patch of land surrounded by
trees.

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There was smoke coming from the
chimney and lights on inside and

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we just sat and looked at it for
a while, muttering.

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To each other.
We had driven this road every

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year.
For probably. 10 years at that

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point and had never.
Once.

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Seen this place?
It was so fantastical looking.

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It seemed like the kind of place
everyone would know and talk

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about.
In our small community.

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Eventually we continued to the
farm and went about the rest of

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our day, but later that night I
had a vivid dream that we had

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stopped and been invited inside
the house by a short, very sweet

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older woman.
The inside was as wacky as the

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outside.
We've never stopped talking

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about that day.
We all remember seeing the

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house, we all describe it the
same way and where it was on the

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road, but we've never been able
to find it again.

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It should be noticeable.
Since most.

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Of the houses.
Out in that.

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Area are log cabins, trailers,
or old farm houses.

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It looked nothing like any house
I've seen before aside from in

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picture books.
We've purposely gone looking for

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it, taking twisty back roads
through the woods to try and see

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it again.
My dad was an urban planner for

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one of the transportation
companies in the area, so he's

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obsessed with roads and maps and
he took us many times to try and

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find the house.
But we've.

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Never seen it.
Again, we've even asked people

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in the area if they've seen the
house but no one knows what

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we're talking about.
I'm semi convinced we entered

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some sort of time slip or
dimension slip.

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I'm the only one that thinks
that I'm the less logical one in

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the family.
The rest of my family thinks we

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just lost our minds for about an
hour one day.

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Just thought I'd share this
weird and mystical experience.

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Aaron, I think what you may have
encountered was actually Howl's

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Moving Castle.
Mystery solved.

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Thank you so much for submitting
your story.

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Wow, I wish it was Howl's Moving
Castle.

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And if you haven't read the
book, I'm going to try to not

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give any spoilers.
If you haven't read the book,

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it's not outside the realm of
possibility that that could

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actually have been Howl's Moving
Castle if he was real.

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The reason I like this story so
much is that a car full of

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people who are really familiar
with this route all saw this

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house and then never saw it
again.

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And you know the fact that your
dad is like a planner and knows

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not only the insurance and outs,
but like how to find where this

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house could have possibly come
from and it just isn't there.

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Oh, that's so spooky.
There's OK in folklore and

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mythology you've got some
instances of places that are

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disappearing, like, well, this
isn't really either of them.

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But Brigadoon is a Broadway
musical turned movie about a

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Scottish village that disappears
every and reappears.

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OK, it disappears.
Then every 100 years it

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reappears.
Now that's not actually based on

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folklore from what I could find
in my research, but then there

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actually is, you know, King
Arthur.

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King Arthur, the island of
Avalon can be hidden at will, so

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that can just appear to
disappear.

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It can appear.
To disappear to normies like you

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and your family.
No offense, but you know King

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Arthur legend.
They wouldn't want you to see

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it.
So generally when you've.

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Got villages that are
disappearing, and I mean

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villages like towns, not just
one house, but typically when

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you have villages or towns that
are disappearing in folklore,

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generally it's because they have
angered the gods or God.

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Some.
Deity is pissed and.

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The the the.
Town folk have pissed said deity

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off and so the deity either
snaps her fingers or causes a

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flood or something horrible
happens and that's why you see

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these towns disappear.
So probably it's not that I

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don't hate the idea of a wizard
or a witch being involved.

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She came down in a.
Bubble.

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Dog, I don't hate that idea of,
you know, like coming back to

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the to the Arthurian legend, you
know, maybe there's a wizard and

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he's hiding the house from you
because you're not supposed to

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see it.
You weren't supposed to see it

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the first time.
That was an oops, that was that

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was his bad.
Maybe maybe it's that, you know,

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you've also got glamour.
You know, I kind of mentioned

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the fae last episode.
You know, you could have some

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sort of fae glamour situation
and that does kind of jive with

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a with like a fairy house.
I mean, I don't think typically

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fairies do houses.
They have like rings and like

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mushrooms.
But if a fairy did make a house,

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it would be kind of like rooms
stacked on one one another and

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it wouldn't make any sense,
right?

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It just feels like again,
fairies, if you're listening,

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I'm such a big fan of yours.
Please leave me alone.

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Of course, then there's just
ghosts, ghosts, curses,

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etcetera.
Hauntings that it was some trap.

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That.
Has been laid for unsuspecting

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people driving by and you guys
passed.

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You didn't stop.
But if you had stopped and gone

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into the house like that dream
that you had, it probably

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wouldn't have been a nice little
old lady who gave you cookies.

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It probably would have been an
evil ghost lady who gave you

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poison cookies.
And then you would never wake

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up.
So good job not falling for that

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cursed trap.
I'm I applaud you.

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But I think.
It's totally fair that, barring

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any other logical explanation,
that you go to the fantastical

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and that you go.
The only other way that I can

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explain this is that somehow
time and space broke all of the

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rules that we as humans are
aware of and allowed us to shift

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into a different time.
I know that it's there's,

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there's, where is it?
Liverpool?

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In Liverpool, you've got, oh,
where is it?

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I'm going to have to look it up.
In Liverpool, there are time

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slips that are common in a
certain area of the town.

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I'm, I'm just this is memory.
This is memory.

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I have not read about this
recently, so please, if I'm

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00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,440
wrong, correct me.
But I do remember hearing lots

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of stories of time slips
happening in Liverpool where

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someone just walks out of a shop
and then suddenly they're in

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like 1960 and they're really
confused and disoriented.

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And then they turn a corner and
then suddenly everything is back

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to being the modern way.
And enough stories like that are

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happening that, OK, what's going
on here?

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So, you know, was it a time
slip?

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Was it a dimension slip?
And then you guys went back to

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the normal dimension or did you?
But then I guess there's also,

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there's also the possibility
that you did take a weird way

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and that maybe there was some
kind of weird installation, some

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kind of art installation,
perhaps that was taken down or

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00:11:03,560 --> 00:11:08,320
maybe one of you has
misremembered and then told the

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00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,280
story and then now all of you
remember the story.

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00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,160
I know that that sounds far
fetched, OK.

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00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,040
But like, OK, is it more far
fetched than a dimension

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hopping?
You know, I don't know you'd be

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00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:20,520
the judge.
But I do know I can tell you

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00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:24,360
this.
Every single time we access our

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00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:29,960
memories, they are overwritten.
And sometimes they're

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00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,440
overwritten with new different,
now incorrect information.

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So something that you think you
remember was such alarming

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clarity may not even be right
anymore.

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Which is honestly kind of more
terrifying than seeing a

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building that you can never see
again and that you can't find

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00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:50,680
again, and that you really can't
prove ever existed even though

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multiple people saw it.
To me, I feel like they're

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00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:58,160
equally if not if not more
terrifying to know that maybe

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none of my memories are accurate
in any way, but especially ones

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00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:03,840
that you re access over and
over.

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00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:09,480
Otherwise, my money's on a
wizard, my money's on a wizard

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00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,840
or a curse or both.
Wizards can do curses, so maybe

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a wizard cursed the house, tried
to trick you, you did not fall

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for it.
And then?

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00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,040
Someone else?
Fell for the curse and now

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00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,800
they're trapped in the wizard
cursed dimension, but not.

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00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:28,680
You.
Because you're too smart.

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00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:45,840
I don't even know how to say
this, but I think I saw a gnome

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00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:51,160
in a National Forest yesterday
by Anonymous.

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00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:57,720
I will be the first to admit I
thought these types of cryptids

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00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:02,200
were a joke and not real and
I've never been able to take

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00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:06,920
them seriously.
I am an outdoorsman and have

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00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:11,560
been for 35 years.
I grew up in the woods.

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00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:15,760
I memorize trees for mushroom
hunting for a living.

193
00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:22,800
I know every brook, stream,
Bush, Berry Grove, log, you name

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00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,000
it.
I'm on a Forest Rd. and I'm on

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00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:31,400
hour 9 of Not a Soul Insight.
I gather some.

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00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:36,360
Mushrooms and look up the road
and see a rock has fallen from

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00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,880
the loose steep side of the
mountain to the middle of the

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00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,640
road.
I make a mental note that I have

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00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,800
to move it and not drive over
it.

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00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,800
I gather my mushrooms and get
back to the car.

201
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:53,440
I look up.
And I see what appears to.

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00:13:53,440 --> 00:14:00,280
Be a 2 or 2 1/2 foot tall.
Little brown thing.

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00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,880
Walking from the side of the
road over to the rock, my first

204
00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,720
logical thought is that it is a
squirrel, but I see it is

205
00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:13,120
walking on 2.
Legs appears to be wearing brown

206
00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:18,080
cloth.
Or fur clothes and is shaped

207
00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:25,280
like a human but very tiny.
It's not scurrying either, it is

208
00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:28,520
ambling on 2 legs like a human
would.

209
00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:34,040
Just casually walking like this
is some normal regular ass

210
00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,320
thing.
Like monotonous work it does for

211
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:41,080
a living.
I don't believe my lying eyes,

212
00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:45,880
it has to be something else.
I get back in the car and head

213
00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:50,040
up the road and see that the
rock has been pushed back to the

214
00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:53,160
side of the road from whence it
came.

215
00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:57,640
It had fallen off the hill,
rolled to my left, then was

216
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:01,400
sitting back on the other side
of the road on the right.

217
00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,040
There are drag marks like
someone slid it back.

218
00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:11,120
I look, I smell, I sense, I
listen.

219
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,720
Nothing.
I don't know where gnomes live,

220
00:15:15,960 --> 00:15:18,760
but the old partially logged
section where I.

221
00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,600
Was looked pretty.
Perfect for a clan of these

222
00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:27,320
things.
Lots of places to hide secluded.

223
00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,560
Near water?
Plenty.

224
00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:34,200
Of routes of escape and would be
easy to dig little holes in the

225
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,840
mountain and be fortified
against invaders.

226
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,680
The side Rd. into it was flooded
and appears to do so regularly

227
00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:47,880
so these little guys even have
their own Moat.

228
00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:51,680
I'm positive I'm overthinking
this.

229
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:54,720
It was a.
Long drive back up the mountain,

230
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:59,680
then down the mountain the other
way and some time home and I

231
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:02,440
can't pick this apart into
anything else.

232
00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:10,400
But being a tiny little forest.
Man, I'm like 1000% positive

233
00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:14,400
that I saw what I saw.
It was.

234
00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:17,680
Near a military special
interest.

235
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,080
Zone.
Allegedly blocked off due to

236
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:24,520
some native butterflies, but I'm
starting to wonder.

237
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,680
If this research.
Area is really about butterflies

238
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:32,680
after all.
They send you to prison, ban you

239
00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:38,080
from parks, and give.
You a 5. $1000 fine if you take

240
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,040
a single Berry from inside that
boundary.

241
00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:02,240
Anonymous, thank you so much I.
Cannot even imagine how you must

242
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:09,800
have felt seeing a tiny human
wearing fur or clothes.

243
00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:14,200
You know, like I remember
playing.

244
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:21,040
I remember, I remember playing
Final Fantasy ages ago and there

245
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,640
would just be these crazy
monsters around and they'd be

246
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:27,520
wearing a bunch of belts and
they would.

247
00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,320
Have weapons and sometimes.
They wouldn't have arms.

248
00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:37,120
And I remember thinking who is
outfitting these creatures with

249
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,560
armor and clothes?
Who's doing this?

250
00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,000
So I would ask the same
question, who is outfitting

251
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:46,640
these?
Gnomes.

252
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,520
Out in the forest.
And I think you're right.

253
00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,480
You know how how you're like,
oh, apparently it's about some

254
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,760
kind of rare butterfly.
That's why it's illegal for you

255
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:02,440
to take berries from this part
in the forest, right.

256
00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:09,160
Well, maybe butterflies is the
government code word for gnomes

257
00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:14,680
or as we're about to get into
possibly little people

258
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,240
specifically from indigenous
American folklore.

259
00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:23,440
So you've got the Comanche,
you've got Iroquois, and you've

260
00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,760
got Cherokee.
So all of those tribes, at the

261
00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:32,720
very least from my research, all
had stories about little people,

262
00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:36,200
quote UN quote.
So OK, let me let me tell you

263
00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:38,080
why.
Let me tell you why I've pivoted

264
00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,760
here and away from gnomes.
So first of all, gnomes are

265
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:47,840
apparently two spans tall.
Now what is a span, you ask?

266
00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:53,520
Is this like, is this like
America trying to use literally

267
00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:57,000
any other form of measurement
other than the metric system?

268
00:18:57,600 --> 00:19:02,800
No, the A span, when you're
talking about measurement, is

269
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:08,600
the length of two hands from the
tip of the thumb to the pinky.

270
00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,640
It's a diagonal line.
If you spread your fingers fully

271
00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,200
out all the way, then you
measure from your tip of your

272
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,480
thumb to the tip of your pinky
finger.

273
00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:21,320
That is 1 span.
So your span is going to be

274
00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:22,600
different than mine.
But I.

275
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,400
Measured it.
And to me, a gnome is going to

276
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,320
be about 16 inches tall.
Maybe.

277
00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,240
That's on the small end.
So if you're talking about 16

278
00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:37,240
inches, that's not close enough
to 2 or 2 1/2 feet.

279
00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,640
To me, I don't think that's
close enough in measurement.

280
00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:44,760
I know you are really close, I
know you're just estimating, but

281
00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:49,280
to me a gnome is too small.
A gnome is too small for what

282
00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,000
you saw.
In my estimation.

283
00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:57,360
So, you know, what isn't too
small is the little people of

284
00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,280
the indigenous American
folklore.

285
00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,840
Those two to two to three feet.
I've read two.

286
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,240
I've read 3.
I think maybe that might be what

287
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:09,440
you saw.
I guess it depends on exactly

288
00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,600
where you were, which National
Park you were in.

289
00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,640
However, regardless of which
National Park you are in,

290
00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:19,840
regardless of what forest you
are ever in, if there are little

291
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:23,960
people in that forest, then you
need to be asking permission

292
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,640
before you go in.
You also should probably be

293
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,560
giving an offering.
I read I think it was Cherokee

294
00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,480
tradition that you should.
Give some tobacco.

295
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:38,320
Give him some tobacco, because
apparently little people haven't

296
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,000
got the memo that people use
vapes now.

297
00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:44,040
So maybe you could use a vape.
You could probably put a vape

298
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:45,800
down.
I don't know, maybe they're not

299
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:47,680
into that.
Maybe it would have to be a

300
00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,320
little vape, probably a big
vape.

301
00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,000
That might be why they want
tobacco is if you gave them like

302
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,440
a human sized vape that would
kill them.

303
00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:57,680
So probably, you know, I'm going
to go back.

304
00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,720
Don't give them any vapes.
Just do straight tobacco

305
00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:03,640
tobaccy.
Give them some of that before

306
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,240
you go into their forest.
Also, if you find something in

307
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,360
the forest, like a little
trinket, like you find a knife.

308
00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:14,360
You find a knife on the floor of
the forest, the forest floor and

309
00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,000
you think, wow, someone dropped
a knife.

310
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,480
This is a nice knife.
I think I want to take this

311
00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:23,000
knife home with me because
finders keepers maybe don't do

312
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,200
that until you ask permission of
the little people.

313
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:31,920
And if they don't tell you no,
then I guess then it's fine.

314
00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,760
But if you take it without
asking permission, they're going

315
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:36,560
to.
Throw rocks at you instead of

316
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,080
moving.
Rocks out of the road, out of

317
00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,520
your way, which was super nice
of that one creature.

318
00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,880
Whatever it is to have done,
instead of moving rocks out of

319
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,840
your way, they're going to be
throwing those rocks at you,

320
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:54,360
probably at your head, probably.
They have really good aim too.

321
00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:58,760
So just keep that in mind.
What I do love though, about

322
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,120
this creature, whether it was a
gnome or whether it was a little

323
00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:04,840
person, what I do love is that
like, it sounds like you both

324
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,560
were just out in the forest
doing your jobs.

325
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:12,520
Like their job is keeping rocks
out of the road.

326
00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,200
I don't know why that would be
their job.

327
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,600
I mean, I guess they're trying
to keep you safe, which is

328
00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:22,080
really nice of them, but maybe
they just like a tidy forest.

329
00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:27,480
Maybe they have.
Slight obsessive tendencies and

330
00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:29,520
and.
Rocks in the road really just

331
00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,000
kind of puts them in a bad mood
for the rest of the day.

332
00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,480
Whatever it was.
They were out there doing their

333
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,400
job and you were out there doing
your job and you both just kind

334
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:39,520
of happened to cross paths with
each other.

335
00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:43,400
I can respect that, that both of
you are just out there living

336
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,480
your life and I wonder.
If.

337
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,640
They went home to their partner
and they were like, Oh my gosh,

338
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,360
you're totally not going to
believe what I just saw out in

339
00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,160
the forest today.
You're going to think I'm crazy.

340
00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:03,840
It it was like us, but it was
like 6 feet tall and it had

341
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,800
these like weird blue pants on
and it had this.

342
00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,760
Rectangle in its.
Hand that glowed like the

343
00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:17,200
noonday sun.
And maybe that's what it went

344
00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:18,960
home.
That's what they went home to

345
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,280
and told their partner how
strange you looked and how now,

346
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:27,520
now they're a pariah in their
community because they were

347
00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:29,760
talking about the crazy thing
that they saw.

348
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:34,000
I don't think you're crazy.
You know, if we were talking

349
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,360
about what a logical explanation
is, even though you're 1000%

350
00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:41,480
sure that you saw what you saw.
Maybe, maybe if we were talking

351
00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:46,240
about a mundane explanation,
maybe there's dehydration

352
00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:51,640
involved, which can cause, you
know, confusion and possibly

353
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,920
hallucinations that, you know, I
love hallucinations.

354
00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:57,080
If you listen to the show, I
love talking about

355
00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,600
hallucinations.
But you did.

356
00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:04,640
See the the marks in the ground
where the rock had clearly been

357
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,760
dragged away.
So unless it's some sort of

358
00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:12,760
animal that you like, a furry
brown animal that just looked

359
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,400
like it was wearing clothes.
Maybe it was wearing clothes.

360
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:17,680
Maybe it was a trained monkey
that's been.

361
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,440
Released into the.
Wild and you just happen to see

362
00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:23,520
it.
Keep me updated if you ever.

363
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,520
See it again.
Oh, and there.

364
00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:31,720
Are several gnome themed
entertainment parks like

365
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,800
amusement parks?
There are gnome more than one in

366
00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:40,120
the world.
OK, there's the GNOME reserve in

367
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:45,120
North Devon, UK.
There's GNOME land in Barry

368
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:49,640
Narber also in the UK.
That's, I don't know that I said

369
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:50,360
that, right?
It's fine.

370
00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:51,920
We're going to move on.
You know where?

371
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:55,120
Else they have.
In the UK they have the Gnome

372
00:24:55,120 --> 00:25:00,360
Magic Garden at Colchester UK.
Then if you go on across the

373
00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:03,280
pond to the US of A, you've got
gnome town in.

374
00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:07,760
TAWSON, Minnesota.
You've got the Gnome village all

375
00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,680
the way over in the Netherlands,
then you've got the Zwergen Park

376
00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:17,240
Trust tool in Germany in
Trosatol.

377
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:18,960
I don't know how to pronounce
that in German.

378
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:25,200
And then finally in Poland there
is Gnomes Park, but it's spelled

379
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,320
Gnom without an e.g.
NOM so maybe it's Gnomes Park?

380
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,400
In Poland, so.
You can visit any one of those

381
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:38,880
places and see if any of the
depicted gnomes look like what

382
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:48,200
you saw.
Thank you SO.

383
00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:52,160
Much for joining me for such a
lovely spooky time.

384
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,720
Remember, you can feel afraid
and not.

385
00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:00,280
Be in danger.
If you've enjoyed yourself,

386
00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:03,480
please follow the.
Podcast so you can get alerts

387
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,200
when new episodes come out and
if you've really enjoyed.

388
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,960
Yourself, It would mean a lot to
me if you.

389
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:10,960
Would tell a.
Friend about.

390
00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,080
The podcast.
And follow.

391
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:17,600
Me on Instagram at Madam
Strangeways or leave me a rating

392
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:18,600
or review.
On.

393
00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:23,160
Spotify or Apple Podcasts?
Or I mean just send me an.

394
00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,720
E-mail at Madam Strangeways at.
Gmail.com to just say hello.

395
00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:32,400
I'd appreciate it.
Madam Strangeways is produced

396
00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:37,000
and narrated by me.
Madam Strangeways theme music is

397
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,560
by Marina Ryan.
At Marina makes.

398
00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:45,800
Dot Co You can submit your own
strange story at

399
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:50,440
madamstrangeways.com or send in
your thoughts or theories on the

400
00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:54,920
stories in this episode to
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

401
00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:59,080
Thank you for.
Listening until next time.

402
00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,320
Gnome Gnome on the range where
the deer.

403
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:32,040
And the antelope.
Lay and seldom misheard.

404
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,920
And the gnomes are not.
Cloudy all day meow meow meow.