April 23, 2025

The Girls | True Scary Ghost Stories | Ep #30

The Girls | True Scary Ghost Stories | Ep #30


Thank you to Tori for giving me permission to read her true scary paranormal story.


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


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Produced by: Madame Strangeways

♫ Theme Music by: Marina Ryan at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠marinamakes.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Cover artwork by: Andrea Giselle Roldán at @cultofteddy


Relax with some true spooky stories read to you by Madame Strangeways in a soothing, calm voice. Rain sounds accompany the stories for a bit of eerie atmosphere. And between the true scary paranormal stories, she shares her thoughts and commentary on each creepy story, but never in third person like she's doing now, because that would be weird.

So dim the lights, get cozy, and let Madame Strangeways guide you through these true strange stories. Who knows? You might just discover a new perspective on the supernatural or paranormal. Don't miss out on this thrilling episode—listen now and join the conversation about the unexplained!


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
of the unexplained you'd like to

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hear read on the show, e-mail me
madamstrangeways@gmail.com or

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visit madamstrangeways.com.
I can't wait to read it.

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Welcome, strangers and
strangelings and strange cetera

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to Madam Strangeways, where I,
Madam Strangeways, narrate your

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true strange stories of the
unexplained.

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And as always, solicited or not,
usually not, I share my thoughts

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and observations and drag you
down a slew of spooky rabbit

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holes kicking and screaming.
Today I've got one new true

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strange story for you.
But first, it's time to shine

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the strange spotlight on my
Patreon patrons TJ Hotter, G Man

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Music Ted, and now Keith.
Welcome Keith.

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Thank you so much to My Fiendish
4 for supporting the show.

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00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,720
Do you want to hear your name at
the beginning of every episode?

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Or how about an exclusive
sticker?

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Join the Patreon today at
madamstrangeways.com.

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We interrupt this intro with two
pieces of breaking strange news.

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Number one, you may have noticed
the beautiful new cover artwork

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by the talented Andrea Chiselle
Roldan or at Cult of Teddy on

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Instagram.
Let me know how you like it.

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And #2 there's merch.
Now treat yourself to some

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strange shirts and stranger mugs
at madamstrangeways.com.

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And now on to our true strange
story here on Madam Strange

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Ways.
The Girls by Tori.

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I remember growing up in the 90s
and there were times that my

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mom's sisters, who died in a
fire before she was born, would

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visit our house.
They had died in another house

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downtown, which is what caused
my grandparents to purchase the

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land we own and build a house on
it to start over.

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I want to give their back story,
although it does make it a bit

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spookier.
Their names were Darlene and

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Karen.
It was rare to hear anyone say

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their actual names because
everyone referred to them as the

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girls.
They died when they were very

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young.
One was about 3 1/2 and the

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other was almost two years old.
In November of 1946 my granny

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had gone outside to hang the
laundry on the clothesline after

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she had put the girls down for a
nap.

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She started smelling smoke and
when she was trying to get into

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the house to get the girls she
wasn't able to find them due to

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the thick smoke and passed out
herself.

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The town was small and a
neighbor had called for help and

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the fire station responded
quickly and put the fire out.

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They were able to get my granny
out but were not able to find

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the girls either until they got
the fire out.

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By the time they did find them
they had hidden in a closet

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where they had died of smoke
inhalation.

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When I was growing up my mum
would tell me that her sisters

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or the girls were at our house
and she would walk to the back

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part where our bedrooms were.
I would try to follow sometimes

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out of curiosity, but I couldn't
get more than a few feet inside

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the laundry room and never made
it to the back hall or bedrooms.

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I would get so cold that I
couldn't move until I decided to

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turn around and go back to the
front part of the house.

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I remember one time when I was
probably about 11 or 12, so it

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would have been early 90s, I was
going to my room in the back and

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took maybe two or three steps
into the laundry room and

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couldn't move.
I was so cold and so I turned to

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go back up front but something
felt different and I couldn't

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move.
I was home alone since my mom

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was next door at my uncle's
house and I got scared.

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I had always been able to walk
out before I knew something was

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wrong and asked out loud if I
needed to get Mama.

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Then I was able to walk away.
I tried calling my uncle's house

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phone and no one answered so I
figured they must be outside.

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So I ran over and told my mom
she needed to come home because

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the girls were there.
We went back to our house and I

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saw my mom walk all the way to
the back and could hear her

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talking.
She never saw or heard them, but

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she said they would give her
goosebumps if the answer was

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yes.
I remember her asking them if

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something was wrong, then she
asked if it was her Mama, and

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then she asked if she was hurt.
My granny was living in Taylor

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at the time, which was just over
an hour drive from our house.

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My mom tried to call my granny
and there was no answer.

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She told me to stay home and
keep calling my granny and then

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she went to her car, drove to my
uncle's house next door and I

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saw them drive away.
When my mom got home that

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evening, she told me that when
they got to my granny's house,

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they saw her on the floor in the
kitchen.

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They got inside and called 911
and had her taken to the

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hospital.
The doctor told them that she

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had a hernia and would have died
if they had waited much longer

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to get her to the hospital.
She had an emergency surgery and

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smooth recovery, thankfully.
I cannot explain how it worked,

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but any time there was something
going on the girls would show

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up.
My mom was the only one who

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talked to them.
I know several people who would

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feel the cold in the back of the
house, including myself, my

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friends, my uncles, and even my
granny, but none of us could go

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back there.
I don't know why they chose my

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mom since they would have been
the oldest of my grandparents

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children and my mom was the
youngest of a total of seven

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children and they never met.
My mom wasn't even born until

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1953.
All I can say is I never

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hesitated when I felt them
again.

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If my mom was at work, I called
her.

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We felt them several times over
the years, but that was the only

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time they warned us about
anything so serious.

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I was just thankful they did.
Tori, that was so scary and also

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touching and also sweet.
So Tori, thank you for allowing

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me to tell you and your family's
story.

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I appreciate you trusting me
with it.

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Tori has also kindly given us
more than one story.

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You may remember a previous Tori
story in an earlier episode, How

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00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:36,760
I Met Henry.
Very foreboding, just the title

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alone foreboding.
So go back and listen to that.

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I don't remember what number it
is, but you know, there's not

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that many.
So it's in the title, How I Met

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Henry.
It's one of the two stories.

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So those poor girls just, you
know, God huddled together in

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the closet.
Like that's so sad.

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You know, I mean, like, at least
they had each other.

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And then, you know, it sounds
like it sounds like obviously

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they're still together and that,
you know, this traumatic death,

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they're still together even in
the afterlife.

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But they're also looking out for
your family, looking out for

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your mom.
And, you know, I think you asked

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the question in the story, like,
why did they choose your mom?

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Like she was the youngest of
seven.

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She was born after they were,
you know, dead already.

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Like why?
Well, she's the baby of the

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family.
They got to look out for the

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baby of the family and they got
to look out for her.

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So I think that's sweet.
I think it's specifically sweet

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that that they talk to her.
It's it's stressful and it's

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scary, but it's also, you know,
really helpful, it seems because

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wow, what if you hadn't decided
to go to the laundry room when

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you did, you know, like, so are
they constantly?

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00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,680
How do they know?
Are they, Is this like a Santa

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Claus situation?
They see you when you're

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sleeping.
They know when you're awake.

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Like what?
It's kind of scary, but also

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very, again, it's scary, but
it's comforting.

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We'll say comforting.
It's both of those things.

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00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:10,680
Here's another thing that really
stood out to me when you

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specifically ask, like, do I
need to get my Mama?

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Like, Oh my God, that's so scary
because you just knew like,

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you're like, OK, you don't talk
to me, but something's wrong.

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Do I need to go get mom because
you won't speak to me.

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You'll just scare me.
Oh, it's so scary.

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But I'm so glad that your mom
was able to.

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First of all, I'm glad that your
mom was open to it and then that

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your mom was able to, to get to
your granny's house on time to

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help her out.
Because, you know, like you

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00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:49,280
said, if it had just been a
little bit longer, that would

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00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,160
have been a much different
story.

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00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:57,080
And so, so sad.
But I'm, I'm so glad that that

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turned out good for your, for
your granny in the end of that

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story.
So if you're curious, for the

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00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:06,920
listeners that are curious,
Smithville, TX is where this is

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set.
And it's, it's it's close to

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Austin, apparently Smithville.
How did I not mention this when

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00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,960
I told the story before, not
this story when I told a, a

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previous Tory story.
How did I not mention this?

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00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,640
Smithville apparently is where
Hope floats.

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00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:26,640
The movie Hope floats with
Sandra Bullock was filmed.

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00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:31,160
Love a good Sandy Bullock film.
You know, especially practical

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magic, but still very
interesting.

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00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,680
Fun fact about Smithville,
probably not related to the

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story, but just to I'm painting
a picture.

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And while we're on the subject
of things that are not

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technically related to the
story, but have come up in my

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research of the story, which
should really be the name of the

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podcast since we're talking
about those things, this came up

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in my Googling.
Here it is.

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Smithville also earned the
Guinness Book of World Records

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certification for.
And I want you to guess, why

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don't you just take a moment,
take a guess.

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What do you think Smithville, TX
might have won a Guinness Book

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of World Records record for?
OK, you got your guesses locked

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in.
All right, vote now on your

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phones, okay?
They won it for baking the

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world's largest gingerbread man.
I'm tickled.

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It says the cookie.
Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, this

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should be my news.
I'm sorry, let's start over.

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The cookie creation, baked over
hot coals during Smithville's

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annual Festival of Light
celebration in 2006 weighed

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13108 lbs, eight oz and was 20
feet tall.

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00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,920
Not my gumdrop buttons.
I don't think that was a very

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good.
Not my gumdrop buttons.

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00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,440
That might have been better.
I don't really do that voice

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00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,680
very often, but you're welcome.
I just had to laugh because this

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is such a morbid and truly
spooky story.

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And I'm sitting here, like
steeped in it.

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00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,200
And then as I'm Googling, it's
like, oh, Smithville baked the

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00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:24,640
world's largest gingerbread man.
And also it's 20 feet tall.

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00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:26,920
It's like, did it need to be
tall?

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00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:29,320
I mean, I guess that is more
impressive.

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00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:32,240
But like, to me, I feel like
they could have made it bigger

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if it didn't need to stand up.
Like if they did it flat, I feel

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like it would still count
anyway.

193
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:38,800
OK, we're getting, I'm sorry,
we're getting into the weeds.

194
00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:43,840
Probably also unrelated to the
story is the gingerbread largest

195
00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:47,080
gingerbread man in 2006.
Probably unrelated.

196
00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:49,840
OK, so we're going back to the
girls.

197
00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,680
To the girls, which I like how
it's just the girls.

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00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,440
Like it's so ominous, the girls,
which I think is fair because

199
00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:58,960
their names are Darlene and
Karen.

200
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:04,000
So I feel like the girls is
definitely it has more gravitas,

201
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,440
you might say.
So coming back to the girls, you

202
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:12,240
know, they were giving the
entire time they were giving me

203
00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:16,640
the the image of the twins and
the shining with their little

204
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,840
frilly light blue dresses and
holding hands and just staring

205
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,200
ahead.
So scary.

206
00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:25,400
So, so, OK, so I was like, you
know what?

207
00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,400
Let me go down this rabbit hole
because, you know, of course I

208
00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:29,800
did.
That's what I do.

209
00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,960
And if you're listening, then
you, you don't hate it.

210
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,920
So follow me down the rabbit
hole.

211
00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:41,720
So I'm looking into The Shining
and the twins and I thought, oh,

212
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:42,880
they're twins for sure.
They're twins.

213
00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,200
They look like twins.
But so I'm looking and

214
00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:51,440
apparently the book Stephen King
wrote, which because there's got

215
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,560
to be someone listening that
didn't realize it in the movie

216
00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:57,800
The Shining is based on the book
The Shining written by Stephen

217
00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,520
King.
So in the book, the girls were

218
00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:02,560
10 and 8.
So they're just sisters.

219
00:15:02,560 --> 00:15:05,240
They're not twins.
But in the movie, Stanley

220
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:09,400
Kubrick, the director changed
them to twins, which is

221
00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:12,600
obviously scarier than just
sisters.

222
00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:17,320
So on On that note, I will say I
hope that the girls, although

223
00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,520
they didn't appear to you, I
hope they never appeared to

224
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:25,480
anyone wearing scary matching
dresses.

225
00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:28,320
And I also hope that they didn't
conjure rivers of blood.

226
00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,160
So OK, sorry.
So the girls.

227
00:15:31,160 --> 00:15:34,160
No, the twins, not the girls,
the twins, the twins and The

228
00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:38,120
Shining.
OK, so yeah, I ended up watching

229
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,800
this really interesting analysis
of the twins in The Shining on

230
00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,960
YouTube in preparation for this
episode.

231
00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,560
I I can't help it.
So in the comments, though, in

232
00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:51,880
the comments, people were
arguing because of course they

233
00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:55,640
were, because is it ever really
a comment section of people

234
00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,400
aren't arguing?
So they were arguing and OK,

235
00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,200
pause people argue on in comment
sections, but people really

236
00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,960
argue about The Shining and film
analysis of The Shining.

237
00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:08,480
I know film analysis in general
people argue, but like The

238
00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,200
Shining people feel very
strongly about and they've had a

239
00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:13,160
really long time to talk about
it.

240
00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:18,720
And if you have not seen Room
237, the documentary about all

241
00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:21,240
of the explanations people have
for The Shining, Oh my God,

242
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,520
please go watch it.
Well, first watch The Shining,

243
00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:26,560
actually watch it in whatever
order you like.

244
00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:28,320
But the documentary is really
fascinating.

245
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:33,040
Anyway, I'm sorry, that was even
further off of topic than I

246
00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,280
already was.
So listen, listen, listen.

247
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:37,960
Trust me, this is going to come
back.

248
00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:42,320
So just trust the process.
So I'm in the comments section

249
00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,840
of this film analysis of the
twins in The Shining and people

250
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,080
are going back and forth because
they're saying like, were they

251
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,040
twins or were they sisters?
Because, you know, the in the

252
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,320
book, they were sisters, but in
the movie, they were played by

253
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,440
actresses that were twins.
And then someone is saying that

254
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,800
like, OK, in the movie, you can
clearly hear that this character

255
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:06,319
says that the girls were 8 and
10, quote, UN quote, when they

256
00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:09,319
were murdered.
But it's like, well, is that

257
00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,760
like a detail that Kubrick is
instilling, trying to use to

258
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:17,480
like instill feelings of
confusion and unease in in the

259
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,800
audience because that's
something that he does in the

260
00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:22,520
rest of the movie?
Or like, is it Kubrick playing

261
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,160
into the theme of mirror images
in the movie?

262
00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:29,160
Like hence?
And I'm going to be honest, I

263
00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:31,400
didn't realize this until I was
kind of watching the film

264
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,720
analysis.
I've seen this movie a lot and

265
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,640
I've seen a lot of theories
about the movie.

266
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:40,840
OK, maybe I'm just not that
smart, but apparently mirror

267
00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,640
images is a theme in the movie.
But that this is what made it

268
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:45,680
Click to me.
Is that like, oh, because Red

269
00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,200
Rum is murder backwards.
OK.

270
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,800
And there's like a mirror.
OK, All right.

271
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:52,400
I probably should have clocked
that sooner.

272
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,720
Anyway.
So I had to solve the issue,

273
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:56,520
though, because everyone is
saying 8:00 and 10:00.

274
00:17:56,520 --> 00:17:59,400
And then someone said, well,
maybe, maybe I just misheard.

275
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,960
And it wasn't 8 and 10, maybe it
was 8 or 10.

276
00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:05,680
So I go, I pull the script for
the film, and the dialogue

277
00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:11,520
clearly says 8 or 10, not 8 and
10.

278
00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:17,440
So would I have included that
little tangent if I was not

279
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:18,840
about to tell you what I'm about
to tell you?

280
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,080
Probably.
OK, if I'm being real, probably.

281
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:28,080
But listen to this when I was
going back through Tori's

282
00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:31,400
earlier emails to find the name
of the city.

283
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:36,320
Smithville, TX.
Her first story, like I said,

284
00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:45,200
How I Met Henry, literally has
the words 8 to 10 in it, like

285
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:50,760
quote, UN quote, the number 8 to
the number 10.

286
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:56,480
OK, it's not 8 or 10, it's not 8
and 10, but come on, that's

287
00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,120
weird.
That's weird.

288
00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,640
Like, right.
That's so weird.

289
00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,280
Like I've never gone down that
rabbit hole before with The

290
00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:07,360
Shining.
And I've gone down some before.

291
00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:11,240
I've gone down more than a
normal person has gone down in

292
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,800
terms of The Shining.
And I've never seen the

293
00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,320
discourse about 8:00 and 10:00,
eight or ten.

294
00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:22,960
And then I go back and I look at
Tori's first story, which Tori's

295
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:27,520
first story story, which
literally has the term 8 to 10.

296
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:30,760
She's talking about feet, not
the age of children.

297
00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:36,040
But how wild is that?
Come on, that was weird.

298
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,840
OK.
And that's also kind of like a

299
00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:43,680
really perfect segue to one of
the explanations that I have for

300
00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,040
this story.
So I've talked in a previous

301
00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,680
episode and damned if I can
remember which one.

302
00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,280
I was even trying to find it.
So if anyone knows which one I'm

303
00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,120
talking about, feel free e-mail
me mattstrangeways@gmail.com or

304
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:57,040
leave a comment on Spotify and
let me know.

305
00:19:57,800 --> 00:19:59,720
I talked about this in a
previous episode, but it's

306
00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,800
relevant here again.
It's this concept called

307
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:09,160
simulpathy, which is this term
that is coined by Doctor Bernard

308
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:14,880
D Beitman, a psychiatrist.
And so in a nutshell, simulpathy

309
00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:20,240
is it's it's combining the words
of like simultaneous and like

310
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,320
sympathy, meaning like suffering
together.

311
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,400
And you mash those words
together and basically what it

312
00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:32,160
means is like you are
experiencing something that is

313
00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,680
telling you that a loved one is
either in pain or has died.

314
00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:37,880
And there's no way that you
should know.

315
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:40,840
You know, one of the examples
that he shares is his own

316
00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,360
personal story, which I did
share in that previous episode.

317
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:45,520
So I won't read it exactly as he
said it.

318
00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:51,400
But basically he was in his
house and he was choking and he

319
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,040
couldn't stop choking and he
didn't understand what was

320
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,160
happening.
And then come to find he finds

321
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:02,400
out later that his dad had died
at that exact same moment.

322
00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,080
And it was due to, I don't
remember the reason, but he,

323
00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:10,200
his, his throat filled with
blood and he was choking.

324
00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,880
And then at the exact same time,
his son is experiencing this

325
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,120
unexplained choking experience
like halfway across the country

326
00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,840
or fully across the country.
Like how does that happen?

327
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:24,360
How does that happen?
Like that's so scary.

328
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,320
There's other anecdotes that are
also scary.

329
00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:30,800
Also scary where this lady said
she woke up 1 morning and was

330
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:35,160
just like Oh my mother died.
And then you know gets a call

331
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:38,280
later saying oh your mother's
died, your mother died.

332
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:42,400
Or you know this man who had a
dream one night and it was his

333
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,480
brother like in a velvet lined
coffin.

334
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:49,080
And like he wakes up from the
dream and like 5 minutes later

335
00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:53,160
his sibling calls to say passed
away just like he thought in the

336
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,320
dream.
You know, crazy, crazy stuff.

337
00:21:56,360 --> 00:22:00,080
And it's just anecdotal.
So like, you know, is it real?

338
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,560
Did those things happen?
You know, is some of this like,

339
00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,000
you know, down to memory and and
you're misremembering and, you

340
00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,520
know, because I've talked before
at length about how infallible

341
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:14,240
memory is.
But the story that Tori told, I

342
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:18,320
don't think has anything to do
with being confused and, you

343
00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,760
know, misremembering things
because that it's just like that

344
00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:25,480
feels like a story that is like
part of a family's lore.

345
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,120
You know, there's multiple
people that can corroborate the

346
00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:29,720
story.
Like there's the mom, there's

347
00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,120
the uncle, obviously grandma,
you know, so I mean, she wasn't,

348
00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:37,200
they weren't all there to
witness the girls, but obviously

349
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,520
the girls is a known phenomena
in the family.

350
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,640
So OK, so really what I'm, I'm
what I'm trying to get to is,

351
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:48,760
yes, those are just anecdotes.
But apparently Doctor Biteman

352
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:52,680
was involved in a study that was
called the Weird Coincidence

353
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:57,480
Survey, which, OK, I mean, it
is, it's true, I guess it does

354
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:02,560
exactly what it says on the 10.
And that was in 2009, and it had

355
00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:06,840
more than 2500 respondents.
And so the people in this survey

356
00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,960
reported that they occasionally
experienced the pain of a loved

357
00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:16,280
one at a distance, which is
basically exactly what happened

358
00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,760
to Tori, except that the girls
were the conduit there.

359
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,600
Like instead of Tori.
Well, I mean, I guess Tori, I

360
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:29,440
guess you did kind of have like
a physical reaction, like a

361
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,720
distress.
You felt distress and you didn't

362
00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,920
know why.
And then, you know, obviously in

363
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,320
that case it was, you know, you
did attribute it to the girls.

364
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,640
But like, you know, there's, I
mean, there's something there.

365
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:47,360
This does sound very similar to
what is it called semopathy.

366
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:50,200
I keep saying semopathy.
I had to re record a few times

367
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,840
because I keep saying it wrong.
So I'm sorry doctor Biteman, it

368
00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,400
just doesn't roll off the
tongue.

369
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,240
So this does kind of sound like
semopathy.

370
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,800
That's just so crazy.
Like even you know what?

371
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,840
Here's what it is.
Even if it was a coincidence,

372
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,640
like, what are the odds?
Like the coincidences that would

373
00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,080
need to be involved in like,
you, OK, you got yourself

374
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,240
scared.
You thought maybe it's the

375
00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:17,120
girls.
And then you go get your mom and

376
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,960
then your mom calls Granny, and
then Granny doesn't pick up.

377
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:24,080
And then coincidentally,
Granny's on the floor and she

378
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,040
needs to go to the hospital
immediately or she's not going

379
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,760
to make it.
Like, that's crazy.

380
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:33,760
That's wild.
I do not have a more

381
00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:38,200
naturalistic or mundane
explanation for it.

382
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:42,560
So I will land on this being
mysterious.

383
00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:45,800
It's mysterious.
And like I said in the

384
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,520
beginning, you know, it's scary
but also really comforting.

385
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:57,000
I do wonder, like, have the
girls, do the girls still give

386
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:03,320
messages and like, will they
ever talk to you?

387
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,680
It's kidding.
I don't want to get too morbid,

388
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,280
but you know, like, do they stay
with the family?

389
00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,800
Is this going to be a
generational situation?

390
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:12,920
You know, I don't know.
Let me know how you feel about

391
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,880
it.
Madam strangeways@gmail.com.

392
00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,200
I know you have my e-mail.
I don't need to give it to you,

393
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,680
but Tori, thank you again so
much for trusting me to tell

394
00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:23,800
your story and your family
story.

395
00:25:23,800 --> 00:25:27,720
So thank you very much.
You know, if you're back at that

396
00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:32,400
house anytime soon, tell the
girls I said hey, I feel like

397
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,720
they're earning their keep way
more than usual.

398
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:38,240
Ghosts.
So good for the girls and if

399
00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:42,200
anyone listening has a similar
story or they also have some

400
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:46,560
kind of family lore that
involves knowing when something

401
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:50,440
is wrong with someone else in
your family or a loved one, I

402
00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:54,240
want to hear about it. e-mail me
at madamstrangeways@gmail.com.

403
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:58,200
And remember, it doesn't have to
be a really long form story, it

404
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,920
can be a quick one.
So thanks in advance for sharing

405
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:14,600
with me.
Thank you for joining me for

406
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:19,360
more true strange stories of the
unexplained, remember that you

407
00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:22,360
can feel afraid and not be in
danger.

408
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,600
You're safe here in Strangeways
space.

409
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:30,400
Please follow the podcast, leave
a rating on Spotify or Apple, or

410
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:33,160
tell your friends and foes about
the show.

411
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:37,400
It would mean the world to me,
the underworld, obviously.

412
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,720
If that wasn't clear, Madam
Strangeways is produced and

413
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:49,280
narrated by me.
madamstrangewaysthememusicisbymarina.ryan@marinamakes.co.

414
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:55,200
Cover art is by Andrea Chiselle,
rolled on at Cult of Teddy on

415
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:58,360
Instagram.
You can submit your own true

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00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:02,280
strange story at
madamstrangeways.com or send in

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00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:05,080
your thoughts or theories on
stories on the show to

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00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:10,440
madamstrangeways@gmail.com.
See you soon, she said

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00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:11,600
ominously.