Aug. 6, 2025

The Demon in the Woods | True Scary Paranormal Stories | Ep #37

The Demon in the Woods | True Scary Paranormal Stories | Ep #37

Is it a demon lurking in the woods behind Holly's home? Does it feed off the negative energy of her dad and her arguing? And actually, what even IS a demon, anyway? As always, stick around after the story for a spectral analysis from the Madame about this haunting and some spooky history about the origins of demons as we know them.

Thank you to Holly for granting permission to read their story. Remember, Strangers & Strangelings & Strangecetera: you can feel afraid and not be in danger.


❤ A huge, spooky thank you to my Patrons! TJ Hodder, Gmanmusic, Ted, Keith, & Tori! ❤


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Produced by: Madame Strangeways

♫ Theme Music by: Marina Ryan at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠marinamakes.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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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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And now on to our true strange

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story here on Madam Strange
Ways.

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Experience with my dad that I
still have nightmares about 25

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years later.
By Holly.

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This happened circa 1998.
I was about 13.

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We lived next to a fenced and
heavily wooded area behind one

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of our local YMCA's.
Being that we lived in a large

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city, there was a ton of crime
and a few bodies had been found

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in these woods over the years.
We had an extremely religious

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Christian neighbor that my dad
was close with as they were both

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single parents.
She told my dad that there was a

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demon that lived in these woods.
As a result of negative energy

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from all the violence those
woods had seen.

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I wasn't allowed to go back
there but I still would.

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Never at night though and the
few times I did I would hear

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footsteps behind me or feel
complete dread the whole way

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home as I only used them as a
shortcut to walk home sometimes

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from a friend's house.
I know this sounds silly, but

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even in a lit up city.
Those woods were.

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So dark.
I get that.

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Woods are supposed.
To be dark.

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And what a stupid thing to say,
but this was a different kind

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of.
Darkness.

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I don't.
Know how to describe it except

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for saying they just felt evil.
Anyhow, 1998, thirteen years

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old.
I didn't have the easiest

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upbringing.
My dad was in a constant state

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of anxiety.
We were poor.

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My dad always owed money to
somebody and my brother and I

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were pretty much neglected, as
all teens in the 90s seem to

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have been.
I love my dad very much, but

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there was always some kind of
negativity or hardship in his

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life, which in turn was
reflected onto my brother and me

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because we lived with him.
My mom moved out of state when I

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was 10.
There was literally no solace

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and I lived a stone's throw away
from these woods.

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It first started with the
reoccurring nightmares.

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A blackness would seep out of
the woods like fog.

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I could never get away fast
enough.

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It would envelope me and drag me
into the woods.

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I had this dream every night for
months.

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My dad was convinced we were
under attack whereas I thought

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it was just him and the neighbor
freaking me out with their

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theories.
One night we were sitting in the

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driveway and my dad's beat up
old Volvo.

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We were having an argument.
I don't even remember what it

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was about now, but we were going
back and forth just being nasty

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to one another and I'll never
forget it.

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My dad said every time we do
this we just feed this thing

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that lives out in the woods.
I laughed at him.

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I remember saying something to
belittle him, just can't

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remember word for word.
But it was something that pretty

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much made fun of him.
And the thing in the woods.

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At that very minute, something
started beating on the trunk of

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the car.
It felt like.

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Two fists coming down on the
trunk, over and over.

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We both screamed.
It got louder and harder at that

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moment.
I threw my.

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Arms around my dad and I said.
I love.

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You, I'm sorry.
And he said the same, almost

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like a chant it became.
And as we said the words to one

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another, the blows to the trunk
became softer and lesser until

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they disappeared all together
and we were both in tears.

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Later, when he inspected the
car, there were dents that

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looked.
Like fists.

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On the back of his trunk.
I know the car was already

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beaten up to hell, but those
were not there before.

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My dad has since passed away,
but even if he were alive he

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would never talk about this.
The few times I tried to bring

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it up over the years, he shut
the conversation down just as

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fast as it was mentioned.
We moved shortly after that.

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I still believe in my heart and
soul that those woods have

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something evil living in them
and I live 3 miles away from

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them now sometimes.
I feel curious.

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Enough to try to go back and
record to catch something, but

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then again, I'm so terrified to
even think about walking into

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those woods at night.
Holly, thank you so much for.

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Sharing.
Your horrifying story with me

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and allowing me to share it on
the show, although it was

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horrifying also, it kind of did
like bring your dad and you back

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together.
At least I don't know long term

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question mark, but at the time
at least it kind of helped you

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guys see eye to.
Eye.

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Because of the fear that you
had.

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Very, very scary, but also kind
of sweet.

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So was it a demon?
Do demons bring people together,

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you know, is or is the demon in
the forest like shaking their

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fists?
Like, damn you.

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No, The power of love, that's my
one weakness.

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You know, we'll never know.
So I have a lot of thoughts

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about demons, which I want to
get into in a second.

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But before I get there.
Something.

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That jumped out at me was the
the trunk of the car, how it had

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like fist indentation marks on
it.

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You know, that's really scary.
What does that especially what

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does that while you're arguing
in the car, like, come on, read

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the room, read the room.
We're busy.

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00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:12,880
So I don't know if anyone out
there has an idea of what could

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00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,200
have been pounding on the trunk
of the car while they were

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arguing inside of it.
Let me know.

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00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:19,840
Also, the timing.
That was really SUS.

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That was really SUS.
That's the timing.

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Anyway.
Let me know if you think, you

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know, what could have caused
that.

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What, like what?
What wildlife could have been

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banging on the trunk of the car
like that?

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Let me know Madam
strangeways@gmail.com Right?

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00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,039
So let's.
Get into demons.

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If you've OK, listen, if you've
listened to the show before,

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00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:41,799
which I hope you have.
If not, welcome.

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00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:43,120
Welcome.
To Madam.

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Strange ways.
If you've listened before, you

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may know that I feel a certain
way about demons and the people

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spreading demon propaganda and
demon mongering, if you will,

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00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,680
for lack of a better term.
So part of what I do this

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podcast for is to undo some of
that fear and anxiety for you in

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00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,040
the event that you do happen to
get really scared of the thought

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00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:11,080
of a demonic presence out to get
you.

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Or if demons really freak you
out and they keep you up at

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night after you've watched a
scary movie and there's demons

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and you're thinking, well, gosh,
demons are everywhere.

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They're invisible and they could
be anywhere at any time.

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Oh my God, like, and if that
stresses you out, I feel you.

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I get you because that used to
be me.

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That used to be me.
And I'm not going.

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To lie sometimes that is still
me.

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All right.
So it's it's I'm in remission.

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I am a recovering demon, scaredy
cat, all right.

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But what helped me and what I
hope also helps you is

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researching to really
understand, like, what is a

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demon though actually, like,
what is a demon?

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So like for me, OK, when I was a
kid, you know, and I believed in

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demons because I was told to
believe in demons.

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So for me as a kid, you know,
listen, I didn't really

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understand what demons were.
I just knew they were really

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scary.
So even though I, I knew quote

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UN quote that they were real and
I knew that they could even be

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in my bedroom at night and like
lurking and watching me sleep, I

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00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,720
understood that.
But what I kind of just accepted

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was that like, well, hell is
real.

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Obviously.
Satan's real, obviously.

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And Satan is the demon king, and
the demons do his bidding, and

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they're real.
And they're actively trying to

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harm me or my family or my loved
ones in the pursuit of, I don't

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know, demonic Glee.
Is this like Monsters, Inc?

167
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Is that the plot for Monsters
Inc?

168
00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,280
Except then the demons don't
eventually figure out that

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laughter gets them more demon
juice?

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I don't know.
But what I couldn't have told

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you as a child was what a demon
actually was.

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Like, maybe I maybe I would have
said that like, evil spirit,

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they were OK.
Maybe I would have said that

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like, demons were evil spirits
sent by Satan.

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But like, what does that mean?
You know, I, I think I just

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assumed that demons had been
around forever plaguing

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humanity.
I mean, honestly, I don't know,

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man.
Because looking back, I sure

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didn't ask myself any of these
questions.

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Not a single one of them.
And I bet that there's a lot of

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people who also haven't asked
themselves these questions

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either.
So let's do it.

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00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:35,680
Let's ask what are demons?
So when you hear the word.

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00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:39,720
Demon you could.
Be picturing Lucifer and

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00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,160
Asmodeus if you're a
Supernatural fan, for instance,

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00:11:43,320 --> 00:11:47,680
or Pizuzu if you've seen The
Exorcist, or Baphomet if you

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00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:52,680
follow the Satanic Temple, or
Mephistopheles if you're a fan

188
00:11:52,720 --> 00:12:00,880
of the musical Cats.
Oh no, that's, that's Mr.

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00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,440
Mustophiles.
That's not mephistophiles, you

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00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,800
see.
OK, anyway, there's Valic, if

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00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:09,320
you've seen The Conjuring,
though he wasn't a nun.

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00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,160
There's Lilith, the first wife
of Adam, who was painted as a

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00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,760
demon for wanting and achieving
agency over her own body

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00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,800
directly in defiance of God.
And she's actually in a ton of

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00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,360
modern media, from Supernatural
to Evangelion.

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00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,120
To True Blood.
And has been hotel so she's a

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00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,680
very popular demon.
Demons in general are very

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00:12:28,680 --> 00:12:30,320
popular in modern media.
Yeah.

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00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:34,600
So basically, you're probably
picturing A malevolent,

200
00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:40,000
intelligent agent of chaos who
is hell bent on causing human

201
00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,160
suffering.
Now, some of us may be picturing

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00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:48,040
A malevolent, intelligent agent
of chaos who is also very

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00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:52,560
attractive and charismatic.
Let's put that to the side.

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00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:54,520
Let's unpack that on another
day.

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All right, let's come back to
that later in another episode.

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00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,800
For now, Scary.
OK, scary bad.

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00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:05,320
Not scary good.
You're probably picturing that a

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00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:10,800
demon's soul motivation is
causing harm or even possibly

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00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,920
death if the demon ends up
possessing someone, which is a

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00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:18,200
thing that demons can do.
So, in a nutshell, when you

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00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,400
think of demons, you may find
yourself afraid of something.

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00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,440
You're just not sure exactly
what, only that it would be bad.

213
00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:32,360
For instance, going out into the
scary dark forest outside of

214
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,200
Holly's home.
Maybe you'll come back out

215
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,800
alive.
Maybe you'll be murdered.

216
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:44,600
The result of leaving the woods
is unknown, and that's what

217
00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,080
you're afraid of.
You're afraid of the unknown.

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00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,640
You don't know what's going to
happen when you go in there, but

219
00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:52,400
what might happen might be bad.
So you're just afraid of the

220
00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:56,440
unknown, right?
Well, as it turns out, modern

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00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,560
humans really aren't that far
removed from the ancient.

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00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:04,600
Humans of 6. 1000 years ago,
maybe even 12,000 years ago or

223
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,240
more, because it's suggested
that belief in demons started as

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00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:12,320
far back as the Paleolithic age,
which is very far.

225
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:17,200
It's very far away so they
didn't call them demons back

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00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,000
then though, and they believed
in a wide range of unexplained

227
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,320
spiritual phenomena, not all of
it bad, some of it even good.

228
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:30,920
And reminder Christianity was
not there yet, it would not be

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00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,520
showing up for quite some time,
so just keep that in mind.

230
00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:38,800
From an anthropological
perspective, demons result from

231
00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:45,800
human fear of the unknown.
That is straight up, I was going

232
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,720
to say a fact, but I don't know
that.

233
00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:51,920
I guess that anyway, whatever,
it's as close to a fact as we're

234
00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,560
going to get.
That is what anthropologists

235
00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,600
presume demons stem from, is a
fear of the unknown, which makes

236
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,920
a lot of sense in the context of
the scary dark woods.

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00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:04,480
Right.
Like I said, like if you go into

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00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,600
the woods, maybe you'll come
back, maybe you won't.

239
00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:11,600
You don't want to get murdered,
so it's best to just stay out of

240
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:14,400
there.
But also, there's a feeling that

241
00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:16,880
you're feeling when you're
looking at those woods and

242
00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,920
you're considering mortality and
what?

243
00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:22,720
How what do you, how what do you
call that feeling?

244
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:24,840
How do you do you assign
something to it?

245
00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:29,840
Yeah, maybe you do.
So in ancient Greek religion and

246
00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:34,280
mythology, specifically around
400 BC, they still didn't have

247
00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:36,960
demons in the way that we
understand them now, but they

248
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,840
did have something called
daimons spelled Dai.

249
00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,480
Mon.
S So daimons weren't evil by

250
00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,400
default.
They could be good or bad, but

251
00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:51,920
more specifically they were kind
of more akin to like like a

252
00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,080
guiding spirit or like a lesser
God.

253
00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:59,040
And diamonds were not servants
of the Christian Satan, which

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00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:03,280
still has not been written into
existence by the way, or still

255
00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:05,840
not there yet.
That would come with the New

256
00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:09,960
Testament around 100 AD ish.
Because even though the word

257
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:15,360
Satan shows up in the Old
Testament slash Hebrew Bible up,

258
00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:19,200
Satan actually wasn't a proper
noun in the Old Testament.

259
00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,680
It was more like a title
referring to an opponent.

260
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:27,560
So anyway, sometimes it does
seem that diamonds and Greek

261
00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,840
culture were actually.
Closer to ghosts.

262
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:32,360
Who might give spiritual
guidance?

263
00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:38,520
Think Obi Wan's ghost or Mufasa.
Sometimes though, OK.

264
00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,880
Sometimes though they could be
more like Hamlet's father.

265
00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:46,840
Hamlet's father's ghost, which
spoiler alert doesn't didn't

266
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,880
Well, diamonds could be good or
bad.

267
00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,840
They were not always bad, in
fact some even thought that

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00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:59,760
diamonds were randomly assigned
a human at birth to live inside.

269
00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:05,000
Like they cast lots to figure
out which diamond was going to

270
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,800
be assigned to which human.
Kind of sounds a little bit like

271
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:13,560
a soul to me, which is a whole
nother conversation and also

272
00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:18,400
involves the Roman views on what
their version of diamonds were,

273
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,640
which I am going to hold myself
back from doing because I think

274
00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:24,760
I'm going to have to do a deep
dive on demons.

275
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,319
Let me know, do you want to hear
more about demons?

276
00:17:27,319 --> 00:17:29,080
Let me know I'm out of strange.
Was at gmo.com.

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00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:33,520
Anyway, Fast forward, Fast
forward just a little bit to the

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00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,160
Hellenistic period of ancient
Greece, which was the space of

279
00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,920
time between the death of
Alexander the Great in 323 BC

280
00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,000
and the death of Cleopatra the
7th in 30 BC.

281
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:48,760
Yes, there were many
Cleopatra's, but the Cleopatra,

282
00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:53,120
our Cleopatra, who Cleopatra is
named after was number 7.

283
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,080
And just so you have your
bearings in time, just keep in

284
00:17:57,080 --> 00:18:01,080
mind that the Roman Empire came
right after Cleopatra's death

285
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:05,800
because Egypt was a Ptolemaic
Kingdom, akaa Greek Kingdom

286
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,960
ruled by Cleopatra, who was
Macedonian, and Macedonia was a

287
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,120
part of ancient Greece and by
the way, Alexander the Great

288
00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:16,640
also from Macedonia.
And so when the Roman Empire

289
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:20,320
defeated Cleopatra's naval fleet
and invaded Egypt and OK, you

290
00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:21,640
know what?
I really am just going to have

291
00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:26,520
to do another separate deep dive
on Cleopatra or like Ancient

292
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:27,800
Egypt, I don't know.
Let me know

293
00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,200
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.
Let me know so I can continue.

294
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:36,120
Anyway, moving on, Demons, we're
talking about demons, demons,

295
00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,720
demons, demons.
During the Hellenistic period of

296
00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:44,000
Ancient Greece, for the very
first time, diamonds were split

297
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,400
into good versus evil categories
and got their own names.

298
00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:52,680
So there were noble spirits.
Agathodimon.

299
00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:55,640
This is terrible, I'm sorry.
Please let me know.

300
00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,520
Let me know how I mispronounced
this Madam strangeways@gmail.com

301
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,760
Agathodimon versus malevolent
spirits.

302
00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:06,920
Caco diamond.
This was probably due to

303
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:11,280
influence from Zoroastrianism,
an ancient Iranian religion that

304
00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:14,600
leaned on good versus evil and
even had its own concept of

305
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,200
demons called Daiva.
I let me know Madam St.

306
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,000
truth@gmail.com.
So there's even something

307
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,720
similar to the Christian concept
of the devil in Zoroastrianism,

308
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:30,640
which is called the principle of
evil and not like the principle

309
00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:32,760
of your school because that's
Prince of pal.

310
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:39,480
This is Principal Prince E play
ple OK, the principle of evil,

311
00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,520
kind of like the devil who
creates and leads the Davos.

312
00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:49,240
And yes, I hear you shouting.
Of course, Iran is relevant in

313
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:53,760
this situation because they were
very easily able to influence

314
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,560
ancient Greece and Rome because
Iran was part, How did I say it

315
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,600
before?
We're just going to move on

316
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:05,120
because Iran was a part of
Alexander the Great's empire,

317
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,880
which ran from Greece all the
way to India.

318
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:13,120
And I've said before, I know Dan
Carlin, I'm no Tony Soprano.

319
00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,560
Also I'm no Bill Wertz.
OK, so please forgive me for

320
00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,840
oversimplifying history here and
possibly for getting small

321
00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,440
details wrong.
Hopefully the gist is correct.

322
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,240
So the concept of demons as
servants of the devil entered

323
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,400
the Christian tradition via
Judaism, which was also

324
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,440
influenced by Zoroastrianism as
I understand it.

325
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,960
So as Judaism spread through
Greece, the Greek translation of

326
00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:44,720
the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh
translated foreign gods as

327
00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:49,320
malevolent diamonds.
So the Greeks read this.

328
00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:54,240
They said, what do we, what word
do we use to translate foreign

329
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:58,160
gods from Hebrew?
I know we'll call them

330
00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:02,240
malevolent diamonds.
OK, that's a choice.

331
00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,920
So from there, Christianity took
this and.

332
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,640
Ran with it.
Looking around and calling any

333
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,320
Pagan gods and goddesses,
including Greek and Roman

334
00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,000
deities, diamonds.
The bad kind because of course.

335
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:22,520
So by around 800 ish AD Daimon
became demon.

336
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:27,360
And even now to this day we
still specifically use demon to

337
00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,640
mean evil spirits under Satan's
rule.

338
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,440
Specifically under Christian
dogma.

339
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,720
Speaking of Christianity and
medieval Christianity, demons

340
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,480
and spirits were generally
considered to be fallen angels.

341
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,400
So nature spirits like fairies
from Irish and Scandinavian

342
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,680
folklore were often explained as
angels who remained neutral

343
00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,680
during the War of Heaven.
Which seems like just like a

344
00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,000
really weird deal.
Really weird detail to include,

345
00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,080
but like, OK.
Later though, Protestants

346
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,000
changed their mind on that
stance and decided that actually

347
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,640
fairies are evil and also
demons.

348
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,640
So there you go.
Jumping from then to the late

349
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:14,680
1400s when Europeans started to
when Europeans, gosh, words are

350
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,680
hard, When Europeans started to
colonize North America, we see

351
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,440
those European colonizers
applying the same logic to any

352
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:28,480
indigenous spirits and deities
too, calling them demons, hence

353
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,360
demonizing the indigenous
peoples whose land they wanted.

354
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:38,640
So historically, the demons that
so-called demonologists like Ed

355
00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:42,720
Warren referred to could
apparently range from fairies to

356
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:46,360
Aphrodite.
Oh, Speaking of Aphrodite,

357
00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:51,480
remember the God Pan, often
depicted with the legs and horns

358
00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:56,040
of a goat, cloven hooves, a
beard, Mischievous.

359
00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:58,120
Yeah.
Sound familiar?

360
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:01,760
Uh huh.
Pan influenced art imagery of

361
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:07,480
the devil and he was in fact
called an evil diamond before it

362
00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,480
became demon.
Interesting.

363
00:23:10,120 --> 00:23:12,840
So if it seems strange to you
that we went from a sort of

364
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,120
laissez faire attitude towards
these diamond types of spirits

365
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,000
to the Satanic Panic in the
1980s where people were falsely

366
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,040
accused and then literally
jailed for unsubstantiated and

367
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,240
totally fictionalized instances
of satanic ritual abuse of

368
00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:28,400
children?
And don't even get me started on

369
00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,400
Pizzagate.
Yeah, it is strange and not

370
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,840
cool.
Strange, bad, strange, gross,

371
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:40,280
strange, scary, strange.
According to scholar Joseph

372
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,840
Laycock, who is one of the
co-authors of one of my favorite

373
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,960
books, The Exorcist Effect.
During the Satanic Panic,

374
00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,120
patients hypnotized by
therapists to recover memories

375
00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:54,200
of Satanic ritual abuse often
seemed to be recalling scenes

376
00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:58,840
from movies such as Rosemary's
Baby, The Exorcist, and The

377
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,920
Omen.
So they weren't even remembering

378
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:04,680
real things.
They were remembering things

379
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,120
that happened in movies and
mistaking them as actual

380
00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:11,440
memories.
So is is that kind of what we're

381
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:15,520
doing when we hear word that a
demon might be wreaking havoc on

382
00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,120
our lives or lurking in the
woods outside our house?

383
00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:20,440
Is that kind of what's happening
there?

384
00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:24,080
Is that we're picturing modern
and terrifying depictions of

385
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:28,880
demons, or maybe our bodies are
even recalling the way that we

386
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,400
felt fear and stress and anxiety
while watching a horror movie

387
00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,040
involving a demon.
I mean, just remembering

388
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,920
listening to the soundtrack that
is specifically meant to put you

389
00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:44,040
on edge and scare you so that
you are properly primed to be

390
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:45,960
terrified when the director
wants you to be.

391
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,560
Is that what's happening?
Is that our bodies are just

392
00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:50,920
remembering that whenever we
think of demons?

393
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,240
And is that why we're all so
scared of demons?

394
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:58,160
Or is it really just actually
fear of the unknown?

395
00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:01,880
It's some food for thought, but
as always, I want to remind you

396
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:08,440
that even when you are scared of
demons, you can feel afraid, but

397
00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,000
that doesn't mean you're in
danger.

398
00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:26,170
Thank you for joining me for
more true strange stories of the

399
00:25:26,170 --> 00:25:29,440
unexplained.
Remember that you can feel

400
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:33,000
afraid and not be in danger.
You're safe.

401
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,920
Here with me probably please.
Follow the podcast.

402
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,040
Leave a rating on Spotify or
Apple.

403
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,520
Or tell your.
Friends and foes about the show.

404
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,760
It would mean the world to me.
The underworld, obviously.

405
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:48,640
I mean, come on.
Was that not?

406
00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:52,200
Was that not clear, Madam?
Strangeways is produced and

407
00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,400
narrated by me, Madam
Strangeways.

408
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,800
Theme music.
Isbymarina.ryan@marinamakes.co

409
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,600
Cover art is by Andrea Chisel
Roldan at Cult of Teddy.

410
00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:08,440
On Instagram, you.
Can submit your own true strange

411
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:12,360
story at madamstrangeways.com or
e-mail it to

412
00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:17,800
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.
See you soon, she said

413
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:18,920
ominously.