Illinois Spooky Roads/Listener Tales MASHUP | Morbid

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I have been listening to the Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club, which actually Elena recommended to me.

She did not listen to it, but she said, girl, this title sounds so you.

And let me tell you, it did. I've been listening to it while I walk and I am absolutely loving it.

I love all the different narrators. I love Audible.

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The sale ends 831. Don't miss it. Hey, weirdos, I'm Ash.

And I'm Elena. And this is MarBad. Thank you.

Bye. It's morbid on the holiday week. Yeah, because the holiday season is over.

It's over. I took my Christmas tree down last night.

I took every single decoration and put it in the Christmas box that went directly in my closet.

Christmas, you're out of here. You know what Christmas?

See you later. Goodbye. See you next year, Christmas.

Bye. But you know what? It was a really good Christmas.

Personally, I had one of the best Christmases.

I would just like to offer my condolences to all of you out there who are not related to Elena.

Because this bitch that's sitting across from me on my kisly couch.

Got me as if you follow me on any form of social media, you saw that my serotonin levels were boosted at an all time high. because she got me a cameo of Lindsay Lohan telling me that if I shaved my head, I would not look like a British man. and what else did she say that she said elena's not like a regular mom she's a cool mom And she thought that Elena was my mom.

She did think I was her mom, which was awesome.

You might as well be. Men. you what else did you also got me a fucking kitchen aid because you should have a kitchen aid thank you well I do now you're a baker A baker, a candlestick maker.

A baker extraordinaire. I love you. I cried.

And I also got some old Greg mugs. You did.

And then you got Annie, this bitch over here.

Again, if you follow me on social media.

So I posted that the Guess Who board that you made.

Oh, really? Yeah, because Elena made a Guess Who board. and made it into a drag race, guess who?

Drag race, guess who? She spray painted the board.

Pink made the cards for like different drag race contestants and then put all the tiny little pictures in the slots and everyone's like, where can I get this?

Where do I get one of these? I've seen these and I want one.

Where'd you get it? And I'm like, Alina made this.

And everyone's like, what doesn't that bitch do?

And I'm like, And oh no, you know what I'm like?

I'm like, she doesn't sleep. That's true.

I don't sleep. She does not catch disease.

That is the one thing I don't do. So yeah, that's me bragging about everything that I got from Alina.

Annie also got me a record player. Yeah, she did.

That's pretty rad. And what did you get for Christmas?

I got some really good stuff. You, Ash, got me. which I'm so excited to use because we had to have our bathroom fixed because we had a leak under our tub.

It was leaking into our kitchen, so that was fun.

But while we're having that fixed, I've been like, you know what? we're getting like kind of a deeper tub because our tub sucked anyways yeah And so I was like, I'm looking forward to like taking a bath for the first time in my house that we've been in like for like almost five years.

And I was like, you know what? I would love to have a towel warmer.

And then she was like, I think I'm going to get myself one.

I was like, I'm going to buy myself a towel.

And I didn't because I never do. like I never buy things that I'm like I should buy myself that thing that's more expensive than I normally buy things I'm like then I just don't do it right And of course, Ash got me a gosh darn towel warmer.

I did. And I'm so excited to take my first bath with my towel warmer.

Whenever I get to get a bath. Tell me about the game I got for...

It was a gift to Elena for both of us. It's like a murder mystery dinner game, and I'm so excited for COVID to be out of here so that we can have a dinner party and have a full-on murder mystery dinner party because I've always wanted to. it like sets it up for you like all the cards and shit are there yeah you get like an envelope with your character in it and oh We know I love to play a character.

I'm ready. I'm so excited. and then John got you John got me my exercise bike that I really really really really want So exciting.

I'm so excited because I didn't think I was gonna get it because our house is really cramped right now.

Yeah Because let me tell you, three kids is a lot of stuff.

Well, and what was really shitty is that I used to have my own room until like the youngest was born. until she went ahead and got born god dang it no I love her so much and I sacrificed my room so that she could have a room in her own home But now I'd like you to get a different house, please, so that I can have a room again.

Okay. Well, I didn't think I was going to get my exercise bike because we literally didn't know where we were going to put it.

But he got me one anyways and we're going to figure it out.

So now I can bike. just put it on the front porch we're gonna bike as a family because he got his shoes to go with it too so i'm excited hell i might even get some shoes so look at 2020

2021 we're we're off to a good start we're gonna yeah I'm not gonna say a word about it no it's coming I saw this thing on Instagram or some shit like that.

And it was like, nobody say 2021 is going to be your year.

Yeah, don't say it. just walk slowly into it and expect the worst keep your hands to yourselves yeah you know have your head on a swivel walk in there you know be alert be alert be alert everybody okay we all got to be careful here uh but that's why we figured you know this was the holiday week We were gonna fully take it off, but then we were like, no, we're not gonna do that.

It feels weird to do that. It's weird. Maybe next year though.

Cause you know, I think maybe next year we'll take the week off.

Just because, wow, it's really stressful.

But we just wanted to still give you... give you a couple episodes so uh we're gonna have this week an ash centric episode which i'm really excited about because it's a really good case yay But that's next.

Yeah. But this episode, we decided we were going to do a little mashup, a little remix.

What, what, what? Spooky Roads slash Listener Tales.

Because... It all started because I got an email and I got an email from a girl named Jenna.

Hi, Jenna. And Jenna wrote me an email about how she lives in Illinois.

And she told me all about these roads. She gave me like four of them and she was like, they're really creepy.

They had crazy ass names. And I was like, I got to do this.

Hell yeah. But then we also wanted to do a Listener Tales episode because they're really fun.

So we were like, why don't we just mix them together?

And here we are. And here we are. so here we are spooky roads listener tales mashup yeah we're ready for this so i'm gonna start out by doing my two spooky roads and then we're gonna go right into a couple listener tales And the listener tales that I picked, I tried to pick ones that were from Illinois.

Yeah. So hello, Illinois. Illinois, this one goes out to you, Illinois.

This one's for you. What do they say in a... Oh.

Hello, Illinois! And then at the end we'll say, Thank you, Illinois!

Yeah. All right. So let's start out with a little place, nice little place called Bloody Gulch Road.

Oh, I also... Wait, before we start, I need to keep bantering forever until I die.

Oh. So Elena was at work this morning in the autopsy place.

I think it's called a morgue. My brain's not working.

And I was like at home bebopping, getting ready for this shit.

And she texted me that she was on her way.

And then she like texted me again. And I had asked what the roads that she picked were. but we were having like two conversations at once.

So she answered, the question that I had asked of like what roads were you, what roads did you pick?

But I had also asked like a different question, like, oh, like, are you on your way yet?

And she was like, what'd you say? Like bloody.

I said bloody gulch. I said, I think I said like bloody gulch and devil's backbone.

But before that you were like, sorry, like I actually just left like bloody gulch and devil's backbone.

And I was like, yeah, those suck, huh? Like thinking that she was talking about body parts. that took a long time.

And then I was using bloody as like, ah, the bloody gulch. and the devil's backbone we're just British now I guess and then I was like yeah Oh, she was answering my other question.

I was like, no, those are just roads. Yeah, she was like, are you okay?

I was like, there's nothing in your body called the devil's backbone, I promise.

I don't know. I don't know where the devil, the autopsy or say, you know, the autopsy place.

I was just like can you bring coffee because I think this clearly shows that I need it it was really funny But let's, we'll start out with Bloody Gulch Road because it's an actual road.

It's still called, it's like the street sign says... bloody gulch road I wonder how many times a year people steal that so you right so you can live how cool would it be to be like oh where do I live Bloody Gulch Road.

I live on 7 Bloody Gulch Road. I would like to live on 666 Bloody Gulch Road.

You're like five. Well, funny you say that.

Oh. That plays into that there is a 666 Bloody Gulch Road. honey look at you it's where I'm gonna it's a plot of land I'm about to buy look at it so no it's a house oh my So I just keep thinking though, like what about like a four year old who's like learning their address?

And they live in bloody Gulch Road. I don't know, man.

And it's like, what? And what's funny is this comes, it's named after an incident that happened on that road.

Wow. You would think that you would maybe like not talk about a bloody.

They really memorialize this heinous murder that occurred on this road.

All right. So it's in Dixon. You know, good old Dixon.

I do. We know. We're going to get emails that's like, it's Dykeson.

I'm sure. God, please don't. Don't, don't Napperville me.

Don't do it. So Dixon, we know that Dixon won't do it.

Hello, Dixon. Don't do it. So Dixon, it's right off the exit for Interstate 88.

The road is actually named from a murder that occurred in 1885.

It's a little old school. Yes. You know I love an old school murder.

You certainly do. We love an 1800s murder.

They're always like... They're just so... They're jazzy.

They're gnarly. Yeah. They're just all... And they all feel like sepia-toned.

They do. They absolutely do. I don't know.

So this was in September of 1885. sepia toned murder yeah it's just sepia toned murders uh there was a farmer named james penrose all right you know All farmers are named like James, John.

Penrose Hill, baby. Penrose Hill. That line, though.

So James Penrose, this farmer, was walking his cattle down the dirt road because you do that.

And it was the road that is now Bloody Gulch Road.

All right. So he allows his cattle to stop to get some drink or something because there was little streams on the side of the road.

So he's letting them just hang out. And there was this little like culvert near a stream.

And he said that the cattle stopped, they began to drink, but then all of a sudden they got really, like, spooked and they wouldn't drink anymore.

Uh-oh. And they were kind of like alerting him to something going on.

So he was like, what the hell is going on?

So he walked over and he doesn't see anything.

He's like, this is weird. Yeah. So he just walked home with them to his farm and he didn't really think anything of it.

But... This happened again. This happened again to a couple of other farmers.

Apparently, ones with horses and other animals, they would stop to drink. get freaked out.

They wouldn't see anything when they'd go over there and they were like, what the hell is going on?

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So finally it was like a few, it was, this went on for days.

Yeah. And it was on September 18th that James Penrose, the first guy, happened to be walking by again. it's same thing happened and he's like okay what are they seeing yeah he was like enough is enough So he comes over.

It had recently rained. And so when he looked into the ditch this time, something was sticking out.

No, thank you. Because the rain had washed away some of the soil.

Right. What was sticking out was the bloody hand of a human being.

Ugh. So he contacts authorities right away.

It was 1885, so I don't think he pulled out his cell phone.

I think he was just like, Sheriff! And the sheriff was like, yeah, because he was probably like right over there.

Or maybe he like rode his cattle down the street.

He rode. Yeehaw. He's a literal cowboy.

He could be. It's so stupid that they're called cowboys.

They should be called horse boys. Horse boys, I'm saying.

So yeah, so he calls the authority sheriff and then they come.

And so the sheriff came and what they found was the badly mutilated body of a 17-year-old Bible salesman named Frank. teal i almost said feel but it's teal you know so you know frank teal 17 years old Bible study.

Just sell him Bible. Bible study salesman.

Yeah. I'm a Bible salesman. His throat had been slit open to the point of almost beheading him.

His head bore signs of a brutal beating with his skull actually crushed in. and several lacerations all over his head.

His arms and hands had clear and extensive defense wounds.

He had apparently only come to town a couple of weeks prior from Elgin.

And he was staying in like a boarding house and he was just trying to sell his Bibles and then this happens.

Yeah, make some money. So police immediately went searching for the killer.

They pretty quickly focused in on a 22-year-old man named Joseph Moss.

Why is that? He was a French Canadian. He barely spoke any English.

Okay. So... I do wonder if that had something to do with it.

They were like, you might be a good scapegoat.

Yeah, exactly. 1800s and they don't really have anything to go by.

But then there's some other things that you're like, okay, he might have been it.

They called him, they referred to him as Frenchie.

That's very rude. That's also what they call somebody on the Real Housewives of New York, though, and that's not his name.

There you go. And he's French. Well, he was actually a farmhand and he was working on a farm that was owned by farmer Julius Lloyd.

Julius Lloyd, what a name. And this farm was near the gravesite.

Sure. He was seen by witnesses near the site of the body carrying a shovel and acting strangely.

I tried to find out what acting strangely means.

No one can really tell me. I don't know if he was just like walking down the street being like, bap, bap.

Or if he was just walking with a shovel.

Maybe he was trying not to be seen and he would give you a weird look if you saw him.

Yeah, maybe. I mean, who knows? Maybe he was wearing a color that wasn't allowed.

Yeah. That wasn't allowed. Maybe he was not wearing overalls and that was strange.

Maybe. I don't know maybe he didn't have suspenders on he did not have a cap covering his head that could have been it I think that might have been it he didn't have a straw coming out of his mouth oh that was hey that was it they were like that's not a farmhand no he needs to have straw coming out of his mouth that ain't it that ain't it They also said they saw when they picked him up, they saw some stains on his coat.

And they just assumed it was human blood.

Well, they don't have DNA testing, so they obviously couldn't test it.

They didn't even really know if like it wasn't, it was like a dark coat.

So they were like, it's stains. They don't even know if they're red stains.

They're like, that's probably blood. Meanwhile, he just ate something greasy that night.

And it's like, he's a farmhand. Like that could be literally anything.

That could be cow dung, motherfucker. That could be anything.

Right. That could just be dirt. We don't know, but they're like, that's good enough for me.

I wonder if they even just like attempted to smell it.

Well, this is where it gets a little like shaky.

Okay, Joseph. So they went I went to the farm to pick him up and he was like, can I just quickly have a drink of water before I leave?

And they were like, okay. And so he walked to a nearby well because 1800s.

And they watched him because they were he was right there.

And as he walked to it. he tossed something into the bushes near the forest, like tried to be like sly about it.

Yeah, that's real shady. So of course they search.

And they found Teal's pocket watch. Okay, so I'm going to go ahead and say he did it.

He did it, I think. So his trial was January 1886.

It was a huge trial. It was like... The Casey Anthony trial.

It was like people would wait outside to get a seat. in this trial it was like the big ones of today the 1800s what the fuck else are you gonna do yeah let's go watch this dude get trials.

Get gone. Let's make it happen. It was a huge trial.

One of the biggest witnesses on the stand was actually a 12-year-old named Louie Dixon.

I guess he was the great grandson of one of like the founders of Dixon.

So of course he's reliable. Of course he is.

And he's 12. He and his friend who is 16 year old James Curran were actually playing baseball in a baseball game. very close to the site.

It was close to the roadway. And they both said that they saw Moss and Teal walking together on September 12th.

This was the day that they found out, determined he was murdered on.

And they said they heard Moss tell Teal that he knew where he could sell some of his Bibles.

And that's why they were walking together.

He was like, in heaven. So they said they thought Moss was holding a bat and it made sense because he was seen at the baseball game.

He could have just grabbed a bat. Right.

And it was later determined that the brutal beating Teal had experienced was from a baseball bat. oh my goodness now just now yeah that's like so personal yeah it's like Like he's just a 17 year old Bible salesman.

Like what are you trying to do here? Right.

So January 27th, 1886, Moss was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

While he was in prison, he actually saved a prison guard's life.

He was like 20 something years into his sentence.

Damn. saved a prison guard's life when he was attacked by another inmate.

Wow. Gard later said that Moss had never been a problem, had been a model prisoner, and he said he believed he was a truly good human being.

He didn't believe that he did. Wow. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It could have been. And who knows if that pocket watch thing, these are...

1800s you know cops saying they saw that happen no one else saw it happen yeah and also maybe that was just like his pocket watch that we just yeah he didn't want to get stolen or some shit i don't know And then you know what?

And he also could have done it. We just have no idea.

Yeah, I wasn't there. Because maybe he just was, maybe he did well in prison.

He was a shitbag who just did well in prison.

You just don't know. Yeah, we know people.

I mean, fucking Catherine Knight, they call her Nana.

Exactly. People get real good in prison, I don't know, because they want to get out of prison.

Well, because he saved a prison guard's life on December 18th, 1911, Governor Deneen commuted his sentence.

So he was released on Christmas Day in 1911.

Wow. Never returned to Dixon. never saw him again people think he just went back to Canada but nobody really knows no one ever saw him again It was never a tale.

He said, peace out. Here's the crazy thing too, though.

Apparently another Bible salesman who worked for the same company Teal did was murdered about two weeks after Teal, While Moss was already in custody.

Oh shit. And it was never spoken about in the trial.

Why though? Isn't that weird? So a lot of people think Moss was innocent and just kind of like a scapegoat.

Yeah. Because, again, he didn't speak a lot of English.

He was there. It was kind of easy. He's a farmhand.

Who's going to really argue this? He's got no family or anyone.

He doesn't have family here. So you never know because nobody ever looked into it.

Now, this is really funny. There's a ghost metal band in Dixon called Bloody Gulch named after this.

All right. I don't know if you're wondering what ghost metal is.

I was, and then I didn't know if I was the only one not in.

Nope, I didn't know either. I still don't really know, to be honest.

Go ahead and Google it for yourself. It's really hard to explain.

But it's kind of, I'm like, good for you guys.

Bailey created a new genre. Is it spooky metal?

I don't know how to explain it. All right.

You just got to listen, dude. So go listen to Bloody Gulch.

I'm gonna. It's a Dixon band. Good for them.

That's a great name. Bloody Gulch. Can I ask what a gulch is?

A gulch is like a culvert, kind of. Like a ditch.

Okay, so it's just another word for that.

Yeah, it's just a bloody gulch. Cool, cool, cool.

Now, apparently on dark and stormy evenings, you can see either a full body apparition of Frank Or you can just see his bloody hand sticking out of the dirt.

I don't want that. That would be gnarly.

Well, because then you are like, what if I wonder how many times people call in or like, I see a body.

I see a bloody hand. And there's nothing.

I know. I really wonder that. That's weird.

There's also this weird legend. I couldn't find anything else about it, but a couple of people being like, oh yeah, I saw a little girl or like a girl running down the road.

That there's this like young girl that roams down that road and apparently she was murdered in like an abandoned home. you know off the roadway i couldn't find anything to like substantiate this but People talk about it, so it is like a weird haunt.

Now, there is a 666. Bloody Gulch Road, that's an octagonal home.

Yes! And the owner said it's very haunted.

Yes! So much so that he felt compelled to become an ordained minister to keep himself safe. safe.

Wow. Yes. So that is a home. I looked it up on Google Maps.

I like I creeped hard on this person. If you're listening right now, I scooped right in on your home.

But I was like, oh my God, look at this.

So I just can't imagine being like, I live at 666. bloody gulch road i mean you must be hardcore as fuck you have to be so metal yeah And it's like an octagonal home.

Like that's crazy. An octagonal home would be really cool.

Is it octagonal or octagonal? Octagonal I think it is.

Octagonal sounds stupid. It does. Yeah. Octagonal.

Don't tell me how it's said. It's like hexagonal.

So maybe it is octagonal. I don't know.

It's an octagon shaped house. Bye. That's all we know.

I don't care. That's one of those words I don't care to know how to say it.

Yeah, whatever. Octagonal. So that is Bloody Gulch Road.

Wowza. And I just think the name alone is pretty rad.

I want to buy that house. yeah I really that house must be a trip I don't want to move out of my home though so no but it's a cool but it's cool yeah So the next one I want to talk about is the murder of Mary Jane Reed. on the devil's back, near the devil's backbone.

That sounds really familiar. It's now this case I'd never heard of.

Okay. It's like there's only so much information because it was in the 1940s, but it's like unsolved.

Huh. But I kind of want to look into it further.

If I find anything else about it, maybe we'll do like a Patreon episode about it or something, if I can find more.

I just found a really generalized overview of this.

It happened in 1948. 17-year-old Mary Jane Reed met 28-year-old Stanley Skridla.

Okay. Skridla. Skridla. So they met working together at the DeKalb Ogle... telephone company at the phone book at the phone book She was a switchboard operator, which is so 40s, I can't stand it.

I love that song. I can't handle it. Isn't that like when you ring the two numbers and you're like, Can you connect me to my friend Stacy down the road?

It's like you stick the little things in the slots.

Oh. Little switchboard. Okay. That was really informational.

Thank you. You know. You know it. Yeah.

They have the headset. They stick the things and the little things.

They connect you to the person you want to call yeah they're an operator but they sit there with that switchboard yeah yeah that's the important things into the slot they stick the things in the slots okay people are like what happened to you guys over Christmas.

It's been a holiday. It's the holiday season.

No, it's not. It's over. Yeah, Christmas is gone.

Shut up. So he, Stanley, was working as a lineman, which my dad was at one point.

So I was like, go lineman. I believe my dad was also a lineman.

Weird. And you know what's even weirder?

Telephones. This guy was a Navy veteran, which my dad was as well.

My dad. My dad was as well. So that's really weird.

But you know what? My dad is not a Stanley.

My father is not either. So it's not him.

But I thought that was weird. You got a Don.

I got a Thom. My dad's name is Thom. Shut up.

His name is Tom, T-H-O-M. But I love calling him Tom, much to his dismay.

Yeah, he does not love it, but I love it.

So they immediately dug each other. Now again, she was 17, he was 28, but you know, Age difference, whatever.

Different time, different shit. I'm not even gonna, whatever.

She had a thing for... I feel like in the 40s that happened all the time.

She needed a zaddy. There you go. So Mary Jane was known as very independent, kind, strong, like not one to take any shit.

Like she just seemed like a badass bitch.

She was. She was a switchboard operator.

She was. So she also had big dreams. And photos of her, you look at photos of her and you're like, oh, you are going to be a star.

Like she just has that like way about her.

Yeah. Very 40s like pinup-y look to her.

And it's just like, ugh. What I would give to live in that time.

Right? So her parents' names were Clifford and Ruth Reed.

Adorable. Adorable. So June 24th, 1948, Mary Jane and Stanley were set to go on their first date.

So their first date was in Stanley's Buick.

They were going to go have, so they went and had some dinner.

And then they just went to different like taverns and bars and just had some drinks and like danced and just had a nice time.

They were seen by many witnesses, so their whereabouts are confirmed in different places.

They stopped last for the night at this place called the Sten House, which is now the Roadhouse.

It still stands. It's just a different name.

The Texas Roadhouse. No, just a roadhouse.

The roadhouse. Then they were going to just do some driving and they were going to plan to park at a lover's Lane.

I was just going to ask you if this was going to be a lover's lane.

Because the 40s and that's what they did.

And this lover's lane, weirdly enough, is in that devil's backbone area. which is like what a place for a lover's lane yeah on a place called the devil's backbone it was trying to change its image Yeah, what is your image?

I wish I didn't have an image makeover. So...

Unfortunately, they were last seen at the Sten house and they never came home.

Now Mary Jane's mother was, of course, worried sick.

She called police. She told them that she would not just not come home without calling.

She never did that. Right. The next morning, early the next morning, a highway worker named John Eckerd was driving down Country Farm Road when he saw a random bloody shoe on the side of the road and he was like, what the fuck?

And of course, he's a highway employee, so he gets out and he's like, I have to do something about this because I'm a highway employee.

And he looks at it and then he happens to notice a body lying not too far off the road.

It was Stanley. Oh, Stan Lee. He was shot a ton of times with what I believe they said was a .32 caliber handgun.

Mm-hmm. They found shells at the scene.

He was on his stomach in the grass. A path of streaked blood had showed that he was dragged there.

So, of course, the highway worker called police.

They started a huge search. They soon found his Buick not far away.

And it was near the Lovers Lane, so they were basically parked there.

There was no blood in the car, but they did find a cigarette on the floor with a lipstick stain on it.

And they were like, that must have been Mary Janes.

Yeah, that's spooky. I know. Isn't that creepy?

So Mary Jane's parents were informed of Stanley's body being found, but they were told there was no sign of Mary Jane.

Right. Now, they're obviously a wreck, but now they're hoping, is she kidnapped?

Does someone have her? Is she alive? Right.

Holding out. Yeah. And some of her family members, I think it was her siblings because she had older siblings and younger ones.

They went to a psychic during the time that they were waiting.

It was only a few days. Mm hmm. But they went to a psychic and the psychic said that she was alive and being held in a shack by an older man.

Oh, okay. Now there was a huge multi-county search for her.

It was going nuts. So it wasn't until June 29th, a few days later. that Mary Jane's body was found.

Oh no. She was seen by a passing truck driver, like who was high up in the truck so he could see her.

She was in the weeds off the road on Silica Road, which is now the Devil's Backbone.

Uh-huh. She was shot once in the chest.

She was wearing brown loafers, a white blouse, and no pants. her pants were folded neatly and placed on her back spooky she was also wearing her mother's wedding ring Oh, because their mother had like given it to her for the night to wear.

Oh, yeah. That just like makes me sad. Rumors circulated about her head being missing.

And that will come back later, so hang on to that.

You know what? It's really bad luck to wear somebody else's wedding ring.

It is really bad luck. You're right. So...

But usually I feel like it's just bad luck in relationships, not like... Usually, but... But this is like really bad luck.

It is. Now, when her parents were told her brother, who was five at the time, his name was Warren.

And he's been instrumental in trying to get this case solved still.

He said at the time, even though he was five, he remembers it vividly.

He said, quote, I was holding my mom's hand and I could feel the energy just drain out of her.

No, it's not just like, oh, it's really sad.

Well, that's such a traumatic event, too.

It makes sense that he remembers. Oh, yeah, for sure.

Yeah. Because you always think like kids that age don't remember things at like really anything because they could forget what they had for breakfast the day before.

Yeah. Yeah, but they totally remember things like that.

But then certain events, like one of my twin who was in the hospital earlier this year, she remembers everything. freaking detail of that hospital stay.

Sometimes she remembers the doctor's names.

Oh, yeah. She will remember the littlest detail and she brings it up all the time.

And I'm like, I wish you would forget that because I'm like, I want to forget anything.

Let's forget. forget that but it's it's and she's four like it's crazy he's turning five though i know there's So the chief deputy Willard Jiggs Burright.

Getting jiggy with it. Getting jiggy with it.

He was the lead investigator on the case.

He immediately ruled out robbery. Because he said nothing was stolen.

The Buick was left there. She's wearing the ring. his wallet was still in his pocket with his paycheck and his money in it wow um yeah so they were like This definitely wasn't robbery, but they were like, it's very like vicious.

And there had to have been a reason for it.

So witnesses were interviewed, ex-boyfriends were looked into, Ex-girlfriends, witnesses did say they saw two strange, like really suspicious men outside of one of the bars that they were at that evening. and they kind of that theory like that theory kind of lives on the two strange men outside of a thing like people think those guys had something to do with it yeah The theory everyone held, though, was that this was kind of like a love triangle thing or some jealous lover of Mary Jane's.

I think people like to hold on to a love triangle thing because it's interesting.

Exactly. But they looked at it because Stanley had like been demolished with bullets.

I mean, he was really taken out and she was possibly held alive for a little bit.

And I feel like we talked about in like one of the I think it might have been the two hikers that went missing.

Yes. And they found folded pants. Yeah.

Doesn't folding the pants show some kind of aspect of like caring?

It does. Yeah, like some kind of personal thing.

It's a personal touch. a message of some sort.

So unfortunately, the case went cold because there just wasn't anything they could go with.

Because also they found shell casings at the scene where Mary Jane was found too, meaning she was shot in the chest in that field.

Right. so that's why that's why they i'm like yes that's why they think that she might have been held a couple of days and then they were like was that psychic right Like held in a shack by an older man.

Was that happening? The thought of being held in a shack.

By an older dude? Nope. Nope. No, thank you.

So the case went cold for a bit. They kept reopening it every now and then, like in the 50s they tried, but they couldn't get anything going.

Right. So it went cold, again, for a while.

And a lot of the original evidence, actually, like the photos, some of the reports and interviews... went missing.

I don't, how the fuck does that happen? I don't know.

Can someone tell me how an evidence goes missing?

Somebody tells me, tell me how you lose evidence it's somewhere I feel like it's like come on like listen up buddy boy so the guy who became the um Ogle County Sheriff in um In 1970, his name was Jerry Brooks.

He was like, I'm gonna go ham trying to solve this case.

Because he was like, I feel like it can be solved.

He noticed, you know, that most of the stuff was missing or it was like destroyed or whatever.

And he tried interviewing older old witnesses, but he said most of them were already dead.

Or some of them were so old or it was so long ago that they were like, I don't fucking remember.

And to think about it, you don't remember.

You could ask me something about last week and I'd be like, I have no idea.

It's too hard. I barely even know what today is.

Well, Jerry Brooks left his job in 1990.

But he had worked on it the entire time for decades.

Wow. And he still believes to this day it can be solved.

He was like, I know it will be solved. I want it to be.

Now, the five-year-old brother we mentioned, Warren, never stop trying to find his sister's killer.

In 2005, He requested that her body be exhumed because he was like, we have to find a clue.

And he was having trouble getting it done, but this guy named Mike Arians, who was the mayor... of the town from 1999.

He also owned a restaurant in town. He said, I'm going to help you.

Cause he was like, I believe this too. I believe we should zoom her.

We should find this out. And he believed that there was a cover-up happening.

And I mean, why did all that evidence? It's a weird scenario.

So he also said he owned a restaurant. called the Roadhouse.

Shut up. And he said it was the original Stenhouse.

He bought it. Yeah. And he was like, there he's like I know it sounds weird but like there's some weird paranormal stuff happening in that place and I believe it's connected to this and I think we have to solve this to make her be allowed to rest.

Right. And so... Ooh, I just got a whole...

Right. And again, remember, the Stenhouse was the last place that they were before they were killed.

Yeah. Stan Lee. and Mary Jane so maybe she goes back to try to like exactly so he said He thinks that it was definitely Mary Jane's ghost in there, and he thought it was possibly her mother's as well.

Aw. I know, like wouldn't let go. Like they found each other afterwards.

And he said, one of the things that will happen is on the jukebox randomly, like spontaneously, and it will repeat all the time.

My whole life. Suddenly the jukebox will just start playing Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66's After Sunrise.

Uh-huh. which I didn't listen to but I kind of want to now maybe we should pause and quickly just hear a part of it hold on I feel as though it's going to be haunting We just listened to it.

And let me tell you if that shit started playing on my jukebox I would burn everything I owned. to the ground that i i'm sure it's like a wonderful song if you're just listening to it but hearing it in that context is like oh no yeah go i don't know if we can play a part of it are you going to I don't think we can.

I don't know if we can, so I'm not going to, but it actually says Brazil 66 is, I think it's 77.

Sorry. Oh, But it's after sunrise. And it's fucked up.

It literally starts and it sounds like. like a scratch.

It sounds creepy. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard almost.

Yeah, and then there's a lot of like, lala.

It's almost Gilmore Girls-esque, but terrifying. scary yeah I don't like that at all my whole last body ever since you said that has been covered in chills and they won't go away yeah it's a lot Well, employees at the restaurant won't work certain shifts because they're like, no, fuck that.

I've seen too much shit. on these shifts, so I will not work at night.

Like they'll see full apparitions. They say she'll just stroll through the restaurant.

Like just, hey, here I am. I wish that she could talk to them.

I know. And tell them what happened. And they said they smell perfume and flowers ran Randomly.

That happens all the time at our childhood house.

I know. It does. And it'll get cold in random spots in the restaurant.

And weirdest of all... Oh, what? Yeah. A flower delivery addressed to Mary Jane. was sent to the roadhouse on Mary Jane's birthday, and they couldn't track who it came from.

Do you know when? Like what? I don't know what year it was, but they said they couldn't trace who it was from.

What? The fuck? And why was it sent there?

What the fuck? Yeah, and dishes will fly and shatter and stuff.

It's crazy. My whole last body is vibrating in chills.

And together, Warren and, you know, mayor guy there.

Hold him. Mike Arian. They were able to get the judge to agree to having her body exhumed.

And they wanted it to be examined by a forensic pathologist and like really do the damn thing.

So August 23rd, 2005, it happened. Wow. They exhumed her.

She was completely intact, including her head.

And there was even skin still on her bones.

Wow. Weirdly, there was a dress and a slip found inside wrapped in newspaper that had a story of her murder.

I don't know if I, what. Nobody goes into that.

They're like, yeah, that was found in there and it was weird.

I wonder if you know how like people will do weird shit when they bury people.

Yeah. I wonder if it's just I don't know somebody being like now.

Unfortunately, they did find some things I guess that would possibly lead to some leads in the case.

But then the investigators said that the handling of the original case was so poorly done and so poorly handled that they were like, basically tainted forever like we're it's gonna be hard to piece this all back together but do it But the two people of interest originally, you know, talked about that were like outside of the bar.

Yeah, they were brought up again after the exhumation because witnesses came forward again naming them, but they were dead. damn it and there wasn't enough to name them publicly because they still have families and they You can't destroy people's reputation.

You can't just say their names. So I think it was the county sheriff, Mel Messer, said...

They're not here to defend themselves. They do have families that are still alive and we can't definitely say they were the people who committed the crime.

Damn. So it's literally just like right there.

I want to solve this. But. What? December 2007, Lisa, what is it, Lisa Kleppinger, sorry Lisa, Lisa Kleppinger, She's a board-certified forensic anthropologist at the University of Illinois.

She was assisted by John Moore, who's a professor of anatomy, pathophysiology, and forensics at Parkland College in Champaign, they were asked to examine the bones.

They took a look at it and they said the bones in that casket are from two different bodies.

So her skull and her upper spine are from a different body. shut the fuck up.

So her head is still missing. So it indicates that the rumors about her being found without a head were presumably true.

And they just grabbed somebody else's head.

And they put a different head in this casket with her.

Warren says his older sister was the one who identified the body when it happened because her parents were just too upset.

Yeah. And so she said when they showed her Mary Jane, they did not show her full body.

She was able to identify her because of the ring. and so she said I didn't see a head I did not see her head And then also he said crime scene photos, which we don't have anymore, don't show her head.

That is so spooky and... Isn't that insane?

And so bizarre. And he said the theory of whoever killed her could have been jealous and obsessed.

Maybe they took her head to keep. Maybe.

Like it makes sense. People are fucked up.

Warren's like, it could be in a fucking box somewhere or on someone's shelf.

Like, someone could have this skull. Oh my god.

And then they said they think it might have been a local police officer. who had become obsessed with her, and that's why this cover-up happened, because it was a law enforcement officer.

What? the fuck I need I need to solve this case like I that is easily one of the more bizarre cases isn't it we've gone over.

I'm like a little bit, I'm like having a hard time talking.

Wow. They did exhume Stanley as well, his body.

And he was autopsied. He was all together.

And it was in 2015. They said nothing new really came of his.

The Roadhouse is still like a ghost hunting location.

It's a huge tourist attraction now. He has photos of Mary Jane up in the restaurant.

Oh, that's cool. And I like it's like. Yeah, it's kind of cool.

And then also Mike Arian started the Mary Jane Reed Foundation.

And on the website, it says the Mary Jane Reed Foundation has established as a tribute to her as a living memorial. assisting women and their families of any age, race, color, or creed who have been brutally assaulted and assist them in any positive way possible to ease their pain and stress. assuring that they have a network of support at no cost to them.

Wow. Which I was like, what a nice thing to do in her name.

That's awesome. And- Go ahead. Oh, no, don't worry.

But I was just going to say, I think it ends with the founders were so moved. by the brutal unsolved murder of Mary Jane Reed in 1948, that they set this course as a path of life and hope in her name for those who have suffered a similar fate.

Oh, I love that. And it's still unsolved.

It's also very interesting. I feel like whoever, like I said, with the genes and everything, it seemed personal.

And also, it seems like somebody who knew her knew where she was going to be that night. knew that she was going on a date yes and was like pissed off about it exactly was not happy about it interesting I know right wow I know.

And definitely the overkill of the man she was on the date with indicates...

Everything I read described him as riddled with bullets.

Right. And she was shot once. once in the chest but her head was obviously her head was missing taken off somehow it was missing What the fuck?

Isn't that bizarre? Yeah, that is real bizarre.

So I want to keep looking into this case because now I feel like I'm like, I want this solved.

I do too. I'm like connected to that now.

And also I don't need that. Thank you. Okay.

I just like took out my charger so I could move my laptop and Alina.

That's so sweet. She handed it to me. I'm so nice.

Wow. Wow. And also that song. oh yeah that guys you ha again say what's the song again um it's after sunrise it is so spooky it's It's so much.

And just listen to it and think of it turning on randomly.

Yeah. Like while you're cleaning up a restaurant at night after everybody's gone.

Oh, fuck that. Fuck that. Fuck that. Fuck that.

It's like this Christmas I ruined or I almost ruined.

I didn't actually do it. But I was like, the little drummer boy came on.

Yeah. And if you listen to our Myra Hindley and Ian Brady episode, you know that that song has been ruined forever for all of you and for us too and it came on in our kitchen and I looked at my mother-in-law and I was like you know, I could ruin this for you forever.

And she was like, don't do it. And I was like, okay.

And I didn't do it, but I was like, just know. just know I can ruin this for you.

And she was like, I don't want to know. And then she was like, I hate it.

Cause now I'm thinking of why it could be ruined.

And I was like, she's like the purest human alive.

And John hasn't listened to that episode.

And I was like, you know this song? And he was like, don't.

I'm surprised that you didn't change. Did you change it?

I walked out of the room. I was like, I'm not listening to this.

Yeah, I wouldn't be able to listen. of that I can't I literally can't like it gave me chills down my spine somebody actually commented on that Instagram randomly the other day while I was on our like morbid podcast Instagram and the picture of Leslie and Downey like the cute one came up but I can't look at her without seeing the crime scene it literally just popped in my head and I feel like I want to scream yep it's horrific It's like getting shot.

It's like a bullet. When it pops into your head, you literally feel like taking a bullet. mic just turned yeah it's fucked up guys that's a real real that case i'll never get over that one Well, let's go on to something lighter.

Exactly. Now we're going to end on a fun note, which is your freaking listener tales.

And I'd like to thank this person who wrote this.

I don't know if we're supposed to say their name.

It doesn't say not to. So I'm just going to say the first.

Oh, it says you can use my name. Hunter.

So this is from Hunter and the. Subject line is the time a Girl Scout demon attacked my 12 year old ass listener story.

I'm ready for this. And I also want to thank Hunter because they not only wrote a whole ass email, but also attached a Google Doc.

Where it's double spaced. I love that. That's really helpful.

Let me just tell you, you're the real MVP when you do that. that when you go the extra mile like that to save me from myself it's appreciated save me from myself to save me from reading All right.

So, hey, you two weirdos. To start, I want to say Morbid is my favorite podcast and I've gotten to the point where I'm already re-listening to episodes.

I love you weirdos and your amazing way of telling these gruesome stories while also shining lights on the victims and their family.

Thank you. Thank you. Before I tell my story, I just want to say that paranormal activity and true crime seems to follow me.

Before I was even born, a lady at my mom's work used to tell my mom that I was going to be a girl and I was going to be quote, be able to see beyond this world.

She pretty much predicted my gender and the fact that I'd have a sixth sense.

I'm not really sure what else to call it which my mom didn't truly believe until I was born.

Throughout my life, I've come into contact with numerous spirits.

I've survived a kidnapping. Bodies have been dumped by my house.

I've seen numerous UFOs or what I can only assume are UFOs. by my house.

I have spoken to my recently deceased relatives and I have a wicked ability to sense if something is going to happen. and pick up vibes from people, places, and things.

I know it sounds like a lot of BS, but I pinky promise I'm not a dingbat.

I believe you. I love that phrase. But without further ado, I'll start my tale of how a crazy demon Girl Scout planned on dragging my 12-year-old ass To hell.

So I just kicked my microphone away from me.

So excited. I'm so stoked. So, I would choose what activities I wanted to be a part of when I got there.

I would be assigned to a cabin and make friends, etc., etc., I would get to ride horses, make friendship bracelets, learn archery, go swimming in a fairly nice pool, and make a ton of friends.

I always brought a disposable camera with me as well to take pictures of the nature and the friends that I made.

I mean, it sounds super great, right? Wrong.

I was like, yes, it does. It does. I mean, there were never really any strange happenings at the camp until the summer of 2012. but ghost stories were told and I would sometimes get weird vibes, but brushed it off because nothing ever happened to me."

The campground I was staying on consisted of four cabins and a huge rec room for indoor activities.

Two out of the four cabins housed girls who were part of my activity groups for the week.

My cabin was peachy and the other seven girls I was bunking with were super chill.

The other cabin, however, was a nightmare.

There was one girl who was absolutely bonkers.

Let's call this girl Abby. Since the second we got to our cabins, Abby was already fighting with the girl she was bunking with.

There was one girl in particular she did not get along with.

But anyways, it was about three days into the weirdest week of camp I had experienced yet.

It was the middle of the day and all the girls were just hanging out in the cabins before we went to do our next activity.

Next thing you know we hear screaming coming from the cabin next to ours.

Uh oh. The cabin was about 30 feet away from us.

We peeked out of our screen windows of the cabin to try to see what was happening. when two girls from the other cabin rushed over to our cabin and flung open the screen door.

They were so pale they looked sick. Everyone asked what was wrong and if they were okay.

And then one of the girls just looked at us and stated, Abby stabbed her.

What? We were all silent and I went to lock the cabin doors like that would do anything because they were screen doors.

But you know what? You do what you do. You do what you do.

The other girl explained that Abby and the other girl had been fighting and Abby took scissors out of her friendship bracelet kit and stabbed the other girl through the hand With friendship bracelet scissors.

That is not what friendship is about. That's not craft.

Now, are you ready for this, Alina? I'm ready for this.

I already picked these ones. Abby got into trouble but stayed at the camp for whatever fucking reason and the other girl was taken to the infirmary to take care of her hand.

Okay, this is one, why I never went to summer camp.

I went to theater camp. Thank you very much.

And then two, why my kids are never going to summer camp.

Fuck summer camp. What the fuck is that about summer camp?

I'll barely go to stay like an Annie's cabin or not cabin.

Annie's like. uh what's campground campground yeah it's like glamping like they don't even use tents they have like a beautiful like RV.

Sure. It's not an RV, but... You're like, I don't know what any of it is.

They have a nice thing that you can shower in and there's bedrooms and it's really beautiful.

But everybody makes fun of me because I don't want to go camping.

No way. Anyways, the next day continued as usual and we all went to bed.

The next day, or excuse me, the day continued as usual and we all went to bed.

The next day was a normal day except we all kept our distance from Crazy Scissor Girl and tried not to get on her bad side.

Yeah. Good plan. That night, the girls in my cabin were supposed to be sleeping, but we were all talking about We were all up talking and making jokes.

Everything was fine until one girl stopped laughing and turned very pale."

I noticed she was staring out the left side of our cabin towards our neighboring cabin.

She slowly turned to us and whispered, Do you see that?

We looked at her super confused until she pointed out her window and we all went by.

And we all went to the left side of the cabin to see what she was talking about.

Slowly, each one of us saw it. Standing by a tree between our cabin and our neighbors, was a black figure staring into our cabin.

It was the shape of a human, but we could tell it was not human.

Nope. There was a long silence and then we all started whispering frantically back and forth to one another trying to figure out what we were all seeing.

Oh. Oh. 10 minutes? Fucking hell. I'm saging my house after this.

Fuck that. All at once. single one of us started to scream at the top of our lungs.

I climbed into a top bunk with one of my friends and we held each other While she peed her pants and I sobbed so hard I didn't even notice that I was covered with another 12-year-old girl's urine.

This is the saddest thing I've ever heard.

Just a bunch of little girls like literally sobbing and peeing their pants.

Like actually peeing their pants. This is awful.

We screamed our counselor's name at the top of our lungs.

I honestly thought my throat was going to start bleeding.

We watched as this thing crept up to our cabin.

Then when I thought it was all over, This figure creature demon got on all fours, ran back to the tree and climbed up this motherfucking tree. tree backwards no backwards no on all fours about like what Then our counselor ran into our cabin and we all shouted to her what had just happened.

We were so inconsolable she could barely understand any of us.

She ended up deciding to take us out of our cabins and walk across the campgrounds in pitch black dead of night to the rec center to our other three counselors who were staying there It took about five minutes but it honestly felt like a lifetime and a half to get to that fucking building.

We all explained to the counselors what we had seen and what happened.

One counselor sat with us while the other three went to go out and look around the grounds.

I was certain she was dead, but then she came back to explain she didn't find anything. but the weather was getting extremely bad and we needed to sleep in the rec room because there might be a tornado.

Oh, on top of a demon sighting. Cool. They say, which was my number one fear as a child, even over demons.

Good. Good. What the fuck? This is literal nightmare.

It is. I was not thrilled. Looking back, the weather turning on its head like that or like it did was extremely weird.

I ended up not sleeping that night because I was so sick thinking about how there was a literal demon making its way to my cabin to drag my child ass to the pits of hell like excuse me I was also nervous because Abby was sleeping right by me and she had actually stabbed someone so So I was not having the greatest time.

No. The next morning I walked to breakfast in silence and so did every other girl from my cabin.

At breakfast, two other girls from the other cabin started asking us about last night and what happened.

We were quiet and didn't explain much except for that we got scared of something in the woods.

One of the two casually said they saw something that night that freaked them out, too. and was wondering if we had seen the same thing I looked at her and asked what she had seen and she explained There was a weird figure lurking around their cabin last night and they started to hear screams from our cabin.

The other girl ended this short tale by stating that the figure climbed up the tree backwards by their cabin and disappeared.

I love that this girl was like, you know, weird.

I saw something that was like a little freaky last night, too.

It was this weird figure who walked up a tree backwards on Vol 4s.

Right. right like did you guys see something like that is that what you guys saw very casual i wonder if she like heard the rumor it was like very casual same thing so weird yeah Uh, the girls from my cabin leaned in and we all started to discuss what we had seen and everything matched up.

We walked back to our cabins in silence again, still processing what had happened.

Oh, my God. Green door. That's a really funny picture.

I'm sorry. This girl needs some help. She needs to talk to someone.

Immediately, the girl who first saw the figure screamed and burst into tears, pointing and yelling.

That's the face. That's the face I saw. What?

So the demon had Abby's face. We all turned to Abby.

What? who stood there menacingly until she silently walked away from our cabin without a word.

Guys, camp counselors, hear me. It's time to send Abby home.

Call Abby's parents. Call Abby's, like, you know, caregivers.

Her sires. I don't know what. Her, like, emperors or whatever she has as a demon.

No, you know what? They all knew that Abby had no contact information.

They were like, well, we can't send her home. can't call hell so we're just gonna have to keep her here the phone line to satan is busy right Send her home.

We all turned up. She stood there menacingly, and she walked away without saying a word. work she sure did we all started crying again and the counselors let all the girls call their moms oh that's nice of them what the fuck else are you Who are these counselors?

Well, they're probably like 16. Yeah, get it together.

I told my mom everything. She told me to stay the rest of the weekend and enjoy camp and I would see her soon.

But I explained I was afraid to die and lose my soul while sobbing on the line.

She convinced me to stay, but many girls ended up leaving for the week.

The rest of the week I was sick and on edge.

When I saw my mom at the end of the week I sobbed.

After that I never went back to camp. Yeah no shit.

A couple years later I heard the camp got shut down for...

Leaky pipes, but I don't believe that the property is currently up for sale, but I don't know who in their right mind would buy that land.

To this day, I have not developed the pictures from that summer and did not keep in contact with any of my friends from camp.

I also still have vivid nightmares due to this incident.

Thank you. Develop the photos immediately.

Don't even look at them. Just send them to us.

Do not pass go. Just send those. I need to see those.

That's crazy. Thank you for reading my long-ass demon camp story.

This was easily one of the scariest moments of my life.

And if you do not choose to read it, and if you do choose to read it, you can shorten it however you'd like.

Yeah. P.S. I wanted to let you guys know that I work right off Archer Ave in Illinois and I pass Resurrection Cemetery quite frequently.

It's extremely creepy and I know people who have seen Mary roaming around.

I've never seen her though. And then they corrected our Naperville pronunciation and also DuPage.

Thank you. Thank you. Wait, they pronounce they they corrected it.

Yeah, I know people who live in Naperville, and it's pronounced Naperville, like Paperville, also DuPage.

Naperville, Naperville, Naperville, Naperville.

Thank you for that. We also, when I looked up.

Naperville DuPage. Love you so much. DuPage, I guess.

When I looked up emails from Illinois, 90% of them were just other people.

No. 90% of them were other people from Illinois, like other parts of Illinois, saying that people from Naperville suck.

So we're not saying it, but... Sorry, Karen.

Your fellow Illinoisians are saying it. Illinoisians.

Anyway, so they said, thank you guys for bringing your wonderful podcast to the world.

And I hope you keep it. weird, but not so weird that you stab a girl with scissors from your friendship bracelet kit and also might be a demon and stare into my soul until I cry and climb up a tree backwards after scaring a cabin full of children.

Love, Hunter." Wow. And also, Hunter said, you You can use my name, and if you're interested in any of my other true crime, paranormal, or extraterrestrial sightings stories, I would be thrilled to share with you, weirdos.

I also, Hunter, would like to know about the time you survived a kidnapping.

And I would love to know about the bodies that were left along your home.

Yeah, Hunter. Come at us. You've got some spleen in you.

You've got to bring us more because this was great.

That was really good. Hunter, thank you.

I forgive you for correcting Napperville.

I do too. But this was wonderful. This was.

This was absolutely wonderful. You lived a nightmare.

Oh, Naperville. Hey yo, let's talk about Audible.

With an Audible membership, you can download titles and listen offline anytime, anywhere.

The Audible app is free and can be installed on all smartphones and tablets.

You can listen across devices. Without losing your spot and Audible members don't have to worry about using their credits right away, you can keep your credits for up to a year and use them to binge on a whole butt series if you'd like to.

And if you're not loving your selection, simply swap it out for another.

Elena, what have you been listening to slash reading in your mind on Audible?

Reading in my mind. That's what I like to call it.

Well, first of all, audible is awesome because I've never really had the opportunity to have my books read to me. as an adult, so that's kind of fun.

And I have been listening to my favorite book of all time which I've read a million times but I've never had read to me.

What? Death's Acre. Me too. One of my favorites.

It's by Dr. Bill Bass. Love you, Dr. Bill Bass.

I know you're like a zillion, so you're probably not listening to this podcast.

But if you are, what's up? Hello. And John Jefferson and it's narrated by George Grizzard and I downloaded it on Audible and I've been listening to it. it's amazing and I love that I can do it that makes me so happy for you and guys guess what if Audible, if audiobooks aren't your thing, don't worry because Audible also offers podcasts, guided wellness programs, theatrical performances,

A-list comedy and exclusive Audible originals you will not find anywhere else.

So that is really cool. You don't have to just listen to a book.

You can listen to an audio book. or a podcast or just do a workout program or laugh at some comedy.

Yeah, you don't have to just listen to a book.

You can listen to an audio book. It would be amazing and it would make you so happy.

And honestly, whenever I would drive into work, I used to work in Boston and I live outside of Boston about like 30 minutes.

But we all know that takes about an hour in traffic time.

Oh, easy. So I would just plug in an audio book and be like, boom.

But then I would get a little sick of that.

So then I'd be like, I want to laugh today.

Comedy. Boom. And it makes a short trip.

It makes a long trip feel super short. It does.

It does. I know, huh? Well, visit audible.com slash morbid or text morbid to 500-500.

Again, that's visit audible.com slash morbid or text morbid to 500-500.

Okay. Wow. That was a good one. Should we read one more? i think it's time for one more i think if i were you i would read lady and that's the one i was gonna read i knew it All right, so this listener tale is called Lady in Red.

Wow, that was beautiful. But you woke Franklin up.

Thank you. Sorry, Franklin. Hey. He just looked at you like he was like, okay, it's all right.

It was Auntie Lainey. He just winked and went back to sleep.

He's like, if it was mom, I would eat her alive.

Hey, weirdos. Love your show and love the listener tales.

Me too. Thank you so much. So I'd like to take a second to thank you and the listeners both for constantly giving us all new stories to enjoy.

I agree. Thank you, Alyssa. I know. I like that you thank the listeners.

Yeah, that was nice. All weirdos, please give yourselves a well-deserved pat on the back.

And because I'm the seg champion of the world, here's my tale.

I love that. Short and sweet. My name is Erin, but my friends call me Erin.

Because most of them start with my friend.

My name is this, but my friends call me this.

Nope, my friends call me Erin. I'm from Southeast Michigan, and my story takes place in a weird Bermuda Triangle of the murder mitten.

Yes, murder mitten. Our state is shaped like a mitten and we are home to two cities that are often on the top 10 most dangerous cities list.

Why? Because those areas in particular have a penchant for illegally making people a lot less alive.

Wow. What a way to say it. That's awesome.

Pure Michigan TM. I love TM. I like when people TM their things.

In this Bermuda Triangle of sorts, you can throw a stone in any direction and be in a different city.

Also in this area is a lot of strange activity.

It's made some of the most skeptic people I've ever known admit, even if only once, that there's plenty of unexplained... clearly paranormal fuckery going on in our backwoods hood.

The year is 2005. My dear friend Amy, names except mine have been changed out of courtesy. lived just down the street from me with her grandmother.

On this particular evening, Amy's family was in town visiting from Illinois and they were having a bonfire. friends were welcome which is why my ex nathan and i were present it was beautiful early fall oh So the air was crisp, the leaves were changing, and the cornfields were unharvested.

You know. Wait, can I make a side note? I read another listener tale that just like I couldn't put it in.

But they said when you live in Illinois, like on one part, you either are like... like a city slicker.

Or on the other part, they said, you are literally made of corn.

And then they put in parentheses, I am corn.

And I just want to shout that person out.

I love that. Well, these cornfields were unharvested.

The sky was clear and if memory serves, the moon was also full.

As it got later in the evening, the crowd around the fire dwindled until the only people left were Amy, her cousins Ross and TJ, Nathan, and myself.

We wasted absolutely no time in getting to the good stuff.

Ghost stories. Yeah. At this time I only had a handful of ghost stories and only one where I'd actually seen a ghost.

I would later found out it was much more than that, much more than one. but they often don't look much different than any of the live people I see.

Pro tip, there's always something off about their eyes or the way they move.

So I was content to listen to the group tell their stories.

When we were all good and on edge, the cousins dared Nathan to take us on a walk. to take a walk on a very specific path behind us.

In the backyard, there were some fruit trees and past those was a cornfield.

No, no, no. The field had a small path that sort of split that portion of the field so that you could walk out to the woods behind it if you needed.

I don't know why you'd need Yeah, no, I don't need that.

You could then take that path around and find yourself between the corn stalks and a fence that separated the old shutdown gravel pit from the property this is a literal horror movie yeah this is the beginning of it Either way, no matter where you were, you were surrounded by corn on both sides, woods and corn, or gravel pit and corn.

Children of the corn, not out of the realm of possibility.

Nathan wasn't particularly spooked by the idea of this dare.

After all, he and I met while working at a haunted attraction as monsters.

What a love story. I'm sorry you two aren't together.

I hope it was an amicable experience. split me too amy and i thought the dare was as scandalous as daring someone to high five the person next to them at a sleepover.

So, you know, big whoop. If Nathan completed his task, the cousins were going to give him $10, or as Nate referred to it, Hell yeah, that's a dime bag.

I see why you spoiled it. So off you went.

Tra-la-la. Ash is like, I get it. As he neared the beginning of the trail, Amy and I both jumped to our feet and yelled for him to stop. which startled she and I because neither of us knew why we'd done it, much less expected to do it in unison.

Nathan looked at us like we were insane, which was fair.

I even begged him to come back, but he was hot, but he was hot for his dime bag.

So I ended up jogging out to him, telling him if he was still going, then I would be accompanying him.

In that moment, I watched a look come over his face that echoed the experience Amy and I just had.

He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't walking that stupid trail.

Naturally, Ross and TJ gave him crap for not going, but not for long.

Our backs were turned to the fields and that feeling that I was being watched came over me.

So I turned around. In a matter of minutes, a thick fog had stretched from the woods over the top of the field stopping right where the trail began and nowhere else.

Not down by my parents' house, which could easily be seen from here, not across the street or the gravel pit, solely that area.

I'm aware that fog can do this, I guess, but this was the only time I'd ever witnessed it myself, and it seemed like awfully coincidental timing.

Everyone in our little group agreed and didn't feel it was reason enough to shut down the party.

Of course not. Never. Not a little paranormal fog rolling in.

That's just like the start of the party.

Yeah. We chatted some more and then heard a woman's voice calling out.

I love it. We chatted some more and then a woman called out to us.

Then a woman was like, hey, hey, hey. None of us could make out what she was saying much less see where exactly she had called out from.

Ooh, a disembodied voice, right? Wrong. It's not uncommon out there.

Sound travels around them. Sound travels around their parts.

Sorry, that was hard for me to say. Sound travels around them, their parts.

There you go. Sound travels around them, their parts.

I'm like that. TM. All right. TM. So unfazed, we go back to our conversations. still surrounded by our ominous fog, and we hear the woman again.

I'd be like, homie, can you leave? You got to calm down.

We're having a party. Could you go? Could you go talk somewhere else?

Because it's late, late, we assume that maybe it's a family member inside the house yelling from a darkened window.

All right. It's probably just... That's a big assumption of you to make.

It's probably just a family member in the house yelling from a darkened window.

We were probably being too loud and keeping them up.

So with that, we began putting out the fire and heading back towards the driveway.

That's when we all freeze. There's a woman in a red nightgown standing by the cars.

And since she's on the other side of the vehicles, we can only see her from the waist up.

She had black hair with awful bedhead, like homegirl really needed a brush, but hadn't seen her touched one in years.

Right away, Ross clicks on his flashlight and shines it on her face.

Her eyes reflect the light the same way an animal does.

Oh, I was thinking that. Remember how I told you their eyes give them away?

She's even acting like an animal cornered.

Her shoulders raised up, she brought her head down and rounded out her back.

No, no, no, no. I would liken it to a human doing an impression of a scared cat, but staying on two feet.

Boo! You know what's funny? I literally pictured my cats when they stretch from a nap.

I was thinking that too. Because they make a fucking U-shape with their backs.

I hate this. We are all staring at her spellbound, but her eyes remain fixed on Ross.

Then she opened her mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out.

That's fucked. No. Nope. Her jaw opened wider and dropped lower than I'd ever seen a human jaw do.

I don't like, I don't like this. How do you move on from this? not even the ones who can unhinge their freaky little joints stay together Ross shouts deciding he would chase her what the fuck Ross she's not running what the fuck she'll eat you look how big her jaw is like don't running at this cat woman.

God damn it, Ross. Let her just be. Please note Ross is over six feet tall and built like a brick shithouse and this woman is approximately five feet tall and looked to be in her 60s.

Ew I hate that she looks to be in her 60s.

I hate it. Old ghosts are terrifying. The moment he pursues her she takes off into the garage literally flying.

No. No. There were no feet? No. No head bobbing up and down to indicate running because she was too busy taking flight?

Just a red blur of her nightgown up much higher in the air than it had any business of being.

We watched her go through the door into the house.

Ross had to pause to open the door before continuing his pursuit.

Now he's screaming like a banshee, tearing through a house full of peacefully sleeping relatives. everyone was probably pissed they were probably like yeah how high did you guys get outside I'd be so pissed The four of us are still frozen, staring at the oldie two ways in and out of the house.

The only words spoken at that time were from yours truly. this is exactly what I would say this is so Ash this is exactly what I would say it's dead set ready silence that all happens Did you see that?

If I could say anything, I'd be like, y'all saw that, right?

Did you guys see that? Yeah. Did you see that?

Oh, shit. All right. Oh, all right. Because it's all that my Whittleburg brain cells could come up with while they tried to process the metric fuck ton of insanity that had just occurred.

I feel you. Ross came out soon after out of breath, declaring he'd lost her.

In the house? I don't think he'd fully processed what he'd seen at that time either because none of us expected him to catch whatever that thing had been.

And that inexplicable fog, it had completely disappeared as quickly as it had shown up.

But now all the relatives who are super stoked about waking, Super stoked about the abrupt wake up call.

We're outside half asleep and having none of it.

They tried to claim that Ross's mom had played a prank on us, but the five of us believe this was just an effort to keep from scaring Amy's grandmother and her younger cousins.

Wow, those are good adults. That is, yeah.

Because I'd be like, that was probably a demon.

I'd be like, we should burn the house down and get a hotel.

Let's go. Who has holy water? Throw a crucifix at someone.

Is anybody here an ordained minister? I feel like shit's going down.

Hell is happening. Now, Ross's mom was in a red nightgown, but it had white polka dots on it and her hair was in much better condition.

Also, her eyes didn't reflect light like a damn woodland predator, which I feel is important to mention.

The next day, Ross was having none of their denial.

He insisted his mom needed to run because this thing outran him and that's not an easy feat.

She immediately said, you know I can't run, but tried anyway.

At best, there was a hobble. Definitely no outrunning her son or sudden ability to fly.

To this day, none of us know what that thing was.

We just know we saw it. And it's not a fan of being chased by large Midwestern men wielding flashlights.

But then again, who is? And that's just how it ends.

You know what that reminded me of? I think it was your brother, my uncle JP, who came home like really late for curfew one night.

Oh, my God. Ma, so like my grandma, Elena's mom, as you all know Ma, decided to scare the shit out of him when he came home.

She stayed up all night and she has like very, her hair's beautiful, like silky white, but it's very thin.

Pure white. Literally snow white, but it's thin.

So when she goes to bed, it tangles all up and stands on top of her hair.

It goes crazy. And she went and made it crazier.

And when she heard, didn't she turn off the security lights?

Oh, yeah. She turned off all the lights because he was trying to be like a little punk coming home late. he was gonna sneak in like it was no big deal so he goes to open the door like quietly and she whipped opened the door because she was waiting on the other side and just put her arms up and just went scream And he said he legitimately thought it was like a mythical banshee that had come to warn him of his impending because straight up our house is haunted anyway.

And his room actually is like the most haunted room in the house.

So he probably thought that was it. He was like, it's come finally.

But really, it was just my. Just Ma and Anika.

Living her life. Just having fun. And she said she couldn't stop laughing.

She laughed forever. If you know Ma's laugh.

Oh, it's the most infectious, hilarious laugh.

It's great. So that does remind me of it.

Right. Oh, guys, those were great. Those were awesome.

Those were great spooky roads and those were great tales.

And I appreciate it. And I want to sell Mary Jane.

Mary Jane Reed. We gotta solve it. I want to solve that.

That is one of the, and hearing that song, man, that fucked me up.

We gotta solve it. We're on the case. We're on the 18... Or no, that one's 1948.

Yeah, we can do that. We can do that. Get your old detective jacket out from our first virtual live show.

I got my magnifying glass. Let's do it. I'll wear my flapper dress, I guess.

There you go. Why not? I need a reason to wear it again.

No shoes. I love it. All right. Well, guys, that's it.

And you can follow us on Instagram at Morbid Podcast.

Because I'm good at segues too. Yeah. To send us a Twitter.

Send us a Twitter at amorbidpodcast. Send us a Gmail. at morbidpodcasts at gmail.com and we hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it Weird, but not so weird that you go to summer camp and Abby stabs you in the hand with her friendship bracelet Scissors, it's not so weird that the lady in red tries to eat you but outruns you because of Ross.

Thanks, Ross. Love you. Ross. Also, shout out to BP.

Ma, we love you. If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.

Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music.

Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.

[A Spooky Mashup: Haunted Roads and Listener Tales from Illinois]-[Illinois Spooky Roads/Listener Tales MASHUP]

📋 Summary

The Holiday Recap and Festive Banter

The Dark History of Bloody Gulch Road

The Unsolved Mystery of Mary Jane Reed

Listener Tales: Demon Camps and Supernatural Encounters

🎯Key Sentences

📝Key Phrases

📖 Transcript