Ep 56: Mothman of Point Pleasant
Gina (00:10)
Hello! Welcome to I Scream, You Scream, your weekly scoop of the most chilling histories, mysteries, and paranormal perplexities. I'm Gina.
Kathryn (00:16)
I'm Kathryn
Gina (00:18)
And this month we're talking about small towns while we enjoy some tasty local ice cream. Real quick before we begin, super big shout outs to Brooke and Melissa who support us on Patreon. Thank you both so much. We're so happy to have you there with us. And just to note, if you would also like a shout out on the podcast and a bunch of fun additional goodies, feel free to join our Patreon. Link is in the show notes. We would love to see you there. But until then, grab a spoon.
Kathryn (00:29)
Yay!
Gina (00:47)
and let's dig in.
Kathryn (00:48)
Excellent.
Gina (00:49)
So what do you have in?
Kathryn (00:50)
Same deal, I'm still rolling through the cookie dough. There's so much cookie dough in this, I actually can't. It's so good.
Gina (00:55)
Mmm.
globs.
I'm back on the milk tea ice cream that I had at the beginning of the month. It's so good.
Kathryn (00:59)
Hmm, a lamb.
We've now been apart for a week at the time we are recording. For those who don't know, for those who do not follow us on social, you totally could and should. But for those who don't, we were together in the flesh last week. And we've not really spoken at all this week because we've been mildly depressed at the fact that we've not been together. But.
Gina (01:05)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Bye.
Yeah.
I miss you. You're right in front of me and I miss you.
Kathryn (01:28)
I know, I know, it's weird. We have to get used to recording virtually again. Spoiler alert, there are some coming up for your viewing pleasure. So make sure to tune into those. But other than that, I had a really good time with you last week.
Gina (01:36)
Yeah.
I think Tom is the one who said that ⁓ this is the saddest we've felt after leaving an America trip and that's 100 % true. It was so much fun which made leaving really really hard but I don't regret a second of it. It was the best fucking time and we did a lot of shit. We were so busy.
Kathryn (01:58)
It was fun.
Well, think we did do a lot
of shit. I was just going to say that. think part of why it was so weird because we went from not being together to like doing so much together and then not together again very quickly. And it was kind of a visit on overdrive because So Phil and I had a belated reception. It was very small.
Gina (02:21)
Yeah.
Kathryn (02:26)
to any of those who know me personally and were not invited, don't be sad or offended. It was very, very small, like...
Gina (02:30)
Haha
Kathryn (02:33)
the venue literally booked us as a rehearsal dinner because it was the equivalent of that. Yes, yeah. Which actually I had to correct the guy because when we first got there, he was like, to set up, he was like, are you here for the rehearsal dinner? I was like, yes, but you're gonna confuse my people. So say reception, because that's how it was booked. So yeah, it was just the equivalent of who would have been in like the wedding party and then a few aunts and uncles. So all of that is to say.
Gina (02:36)
Wow, really? I didn't know that.
⁓ huh.
Kathryn (03:02)
You also were helping me plan that and also you were meeting all of my people and all of my people were meeting each other and it was just like a hyper overdrive packed to the gills type of visit. So I think that's why we crashed so hard when it was done. It was fun though. I'm so happy you got to meet everyone.
Gina (03:16)
Yeah.
It was rough.
God, me too. My throat literally hurt the day I left from all the talking I had done throughout the week. I have not spoken to that many people in so many words in a long time. And all of them were absolutely lovely.
Kathryn (03:26)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I think my favorite compliment that I got was just that everyone loved everyone else so much and I literally just kept saying, Phil and I don't waste time with not fun people. Like, I'm sorry, but like, life is short. There's no time to hang out with duds, you know? I'm sorry.
Gina (03:52)
Unless it's a milk dud, I fucking love those things. They're the shit. Anything that sticks my teeth in. Any type of fucking dud, get out of here. Yeah, it was good. But I also, I'm so glad that the day that Tom and I left, the four of us, like me and Tom and you and Phil, we all still got to have a brunch, just the four of us, and hang out, which was nice.
Kathryn (03:56)
Phil loves Milk Duds. I don't love Milk Duds. I don't love any type of dud. Fuck a dud.
Gina (04:18)
Cause we had plenty of that during the week, but it was nice to end it on the note of like us being together, personally, for me. That was really nice.
Kathryn (04:24)
Yeah.
Yeah, I liked that too. I also liked the timing of that because I didn't need to get out of bed until 11:30 in order to do that. So I appreciate your flight time that day. But what else did we do? We had, we went on a ghost tour with all my girls. That was great. We all got tarot, our tarot read. We...
Gina (04:34)
Yeah, my god.
Dude.
We did, that was fucking great. Mm-hmm. Really creepy.
Went to the wine bar.
Kathryn (04:52)
I was just going to say that. was like, ooh, that's a good transition to our own tarot reading. Yeah, went to shout out to, ⁓ my gosh, wait, there's so much we have to talk about. Okay, real quick. First and foremost, not foremost, first thing on my mind, shout out to Caulfields. We went to this wine bar called Caulfields, hashtag not sponsored, but wannabe. We got a flight of wine.
Gina (04:57)
Mm-hmm.
you
Yeah.
Kathryn (05:14)
And a chicken pot pie flatbread. Hello? Delicious. So good. And then we did a little tarot reading, just the two of us. It was so good and so spot on. I loved that afternoon. And then, shout out to our men. I didn't even think to mention this, but we have to mention this. That was the sweetest thing ever. They had been.
Gina (05:17)
Yeah, delicious.
Yes!
Kathryn (05:35)
teasing us with like a surprise dinner and we thought the surprise was just... they wouldn't tell us the restaurant because they know that we struggle with secrets so we've spent the last like month and a half trying to figure out where they were going where we were going for dinner and then come to find out once we guessed the restaurant
Gina (05:47)
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (05:53)
I think it was just when it was Phil and me when I told him my official guess. don't think it was all four of us together. He just looks at me and goes, well, you guessed the restaurant.
But you have a guess as to the reason? I was like, there's a reason! I thought the reason was just you wanting us to scorn. Turns out they gave us a little surprise dinner to celebrate our one year podcasting. And they got us little cupcakes and was like a whole thing. Phil made our server feel weird because she asked what we were celebrating. And he was like, I can't tell you because I don't know. And she was like, god, are you OK? But then, I forget the server's name. Shout out to our server, who followed us once she was allowed to learn what we were celebrating. So if you're listening, tell us your name so we can give you a shout out. And thank you for the wonderful service. Yeah, that was fun. That was a good night.
Gina (06:36)
I know, I can't remember her name.
Yeah, because you rock.
That was really, really good. It was so sweet and so unexpected. And it was funny that, because when Phil said that to you, we were texting each other already trying to nail down our like, guess for the restaurant. And then we were just like, Mayday, Mayday, Code Red, there's a reason. We have to figure out why.
Kathryn (06:54)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm
I know I was like, no, phase two,
phase two.
Gina (07:09)
Because Kathryn and I, both love, we love surprises and part of that is because we love guessing what surprises are. It's the guessing game of yes.
Kathryn (07:15)
That's the thing. And they know that. Yeah.
Yeah. They know that about us. And they know it drives us insane. But in a good way, it's like a drug where it's like, this is so painful, but I love it.
Gina (07:23)
Yes. In a good way.
Yeah, and then as soon
as we solidified the final guess, we texted each other like, really hope we're wrong. I really hope we didn't figure it out, because it's more fun when you don't.
Kathryn (07:36)
Mm-hmm.
This is every birthday, every holiday, every everything this is what I go through. Phil has to make me promise on our relationship that I won't go snooping. Because I will go snooping. If no one makes me promise, I will go snooping and then I'll regret that I snooped. Yeah.
Gina (07:49)
⁓ I go snooping.
Mm-hmm.
we did that. What else did we do? ⁓
Kathryn (07:57)
Yeah, I love it. It was fun. Who else did we have dinner with
that you got to meet in person?
Gina (08:04)
Well, two members of the Twats, which was amazing. very fun. was so good to finally meet them in person. That dinner was such good vibes. I left there feeling like such a fulfilled person.
Kathryn (08:07)
Two members of the Twats? was so fun.
Mm-hmm.
Me too, that was a good dinner.
Gina (08:19)
I a lot, the whole first two days that I was there was just like pod stuff pretty much all day, which was great. It was really, really fun.
Kathryn (08:24)
Yeah.
Yeah, that was fun. And Tom got to see us record live, which was so weird. But like in the way that it wasn't that weird, I thought it'd be weirder. Poor Tom. He was like crawling around the floor so as not to mess up the camera. That was my favorite part. Honestly, that might have been my favorite part of the whole trip. He was like, he looked like, you know, in those shows where they're breaking in, like, jewel thieves are like moving around the laser beams. That's like what he was doing. That was great.
Gina (08:31)
He did get to see us record live. Yeah, he's, yeah, yeah. I know.
It was so sweet.
Yes, he's like a cat burglar. My
favorite part was, I can't remember which episode it was, but one of the episodes we referenced the fact that he was there and just from the corner he went, yoo-hoo. Just fucking killed me. I think it might have been, well, I won't say what it was because I want it to be a surprise, but I think it was the second one we recorded,
Kathryn (09:02)
Wait, I don't remember which one that was. That's so funny, I do remember that.
on that note, do we want to tell people the flavor for next month while we're talking about next month's episodes?
Gina (09:18)
I think we
should. I think we should. It's a great transition, Kathryn. Do you want to do the honors?
Kathryn (09:22)
Thank you.
my gosh, sure. Wow, wait, okay. I'm so scared. Okay, so our December topic is going to be ghost stories and the flavor is just cocktails, either ice cream or otherwise. so we're getting into the holiday spirit by telling some spooky ghost stories and... ⁓
Gina (09:25)
Hehehehehe
Kathryn (09:49)
getting drunk while we do it as the holidays are meant to be. ⁓ and we have to rate this month still. What am I doing? Hello? Do you want to go first? I feel like I went first last month.
Gina (09:51)
Hell yeah.
you
Yeah, okay. Yeah.
I'll go first. I am suspicious of this because, well, okay, it's a five. Five out of five. And the reason I'm suspicious of it is I have that feeling of when you were in school and you had that one teacher that was like, I never give 100 % because it doesn't exist. And it's like, well, if it doesn't exist, what's the point of fucking having it? It's just dumb. So this was a five out of five. All of the flavors that I had.
Kathryn (10:18)
Yeah.
Gina (10:22)
I really enjoyed, I thought they were delicious. The ice cream itself from all of them was so good. None of the grainy ice chippy type stuff, it was all super creamy. ⁓ And all of them were just great all around. Yeah, five out of five, 100 % gonna be eating from all of these delicious local eateries again.
Kathryn (10:30)
Nice. ⁓
Love That's good. mean, I'd give it a six out of five if I could. Extra credit. I'll give it extra credit. Like 100 % definitely five out of five at least. Pristine.
Gina (10:42)
What about you?
Kathryn (10:55)
exemplary cookie dough experience, which I did not think was possible. Huge shout out to Scratch Ice Cream, hashtag not sponsored, but genuinely want to be like actually want to reach out to you to sponsor us. Love it very much. I think I mentioned this in a previous episode. Not only are there globs of fresh made chocolate chip cookie dough, but there's also chocolate chips. So you literally it's it almost feels like
Gina (10:59)
Hell yeah.
You
Kathryn (11:25)
cookie dough topped with ice cream versus cookie dough ice cream. You know what I mean? Like, the ratio was just banana sandwiches. So absolutely, 100%, 4.0 GPA, 5 out of 5, will absolutely purchase again for the rest of my life. Absolutely. This was a good month. This was a good ice cream month.
Gina (11:30)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Fuck yes. ⁓ Okay.
This was a great month. I'm so glad that we did this. ⁓ We need to add scratch to the list of play because we didn't get to hit it up while I was in town. But next time I'm there, need we should go there.
Kathryn (11:49)
Yeah, me too.
I was gonna mention that because we were going to, remember? And then we genuinely just ran out of time. Like it's on the list for, everything that was on the list for this visit is just bumped for next visit because like it really was just a time thing. Yeah, yeah, we'll definitely go there for sure.
Gina (11:58)
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Hell yeah. Yeah, this was a great month. Both, I think, ice cream-wise and storytelling-wise, all of the topics have been really fascinating.
Kathryn (12:19)
Yeah.
Gina (12:26)
I am really
excited to hear about Mothman because it's another one that I know the word Mothman, know nothing about it.
Kathryn (12:32)
Mm-hmm.
OK. my god, are we transitioning? Look at us with our transitions today. We're doing so well. OK.
Gina (12:37)
I think we're transitioning. I know, I know.
Where does Mothman come from?
Kathryn (12:40)
Many people think that the legend of the Mothman prophecies are just a product of the 60s in Appalachia. People were like developing an interest in the occult. Everyone was high as hell. Things were just super weird. It was Appalachia. There was just like a lot of things contributing to the fact that this like strange bird moth-like guy was flapping around for about a year with no explanation.
Particularly in the Appalachian region. is something, he is like one of the, I don't wanna say one of the most prominent Appalachian legend because there's so many. I would feel weird saying that, cause I don't know. But we haven't done a deep dive into Appalachia yet. We will someday, in which case we will, we will dive into all of this. I absolutely wanna do an Appalachia, either episode or flavor. ⁓
Gina (13:30)
God, yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (13:39)
But for those who don't know, it is a very spooky region here in the United States. I think the overseas comparison would be the Scottish Highlands. Yeah, do you know about that? I don't want to go too deep into it, but it is said within Appalachian lore because Scotland and the eastern coasts of the United States would have matched up during Pangea.
Gina (13:48)
Ooh, great comparison.
Is that why?
Kathryn (14:03)
it is thought that they are actually the same. I don't even want to say they it is thought like they are the same mountain range. So that's why a lot of the lore. This has nothing to do with the episode, but to explain like Appalachia kind of, you know, briefly
Gina (14:12)
⁓
Kathryn (14:16)
If you compare local legends between the two regions, there are a lot of very similar stories just with different names, like the Fae and yeah, it's all very similar. Well, we'll, we have to do a flavor on this sometime. Yeah, this, that's a whole rabbit hole, but relevant to this because this all.
Gina (14:29)
Okay. Sweet.
Kathryn (14:36)
This is the mindset and the framework within which this story takes place. And a lot of people think it's just a matter of, you know, Appalachia combined with 1960s were like a weird flighty time, but...
How did the Mothman legend start?
The legend of Mothman itself wasn't necessarily just born when his sightings first occurred in the 60s, A lot of people attribute his sightings to a legend that happened much earlier than that.
So I do want to do a quick content warning. I'm actually remembering this time. So I specifically remembered this one because this one feels a little extra sensitive to me, I will say, because this is another story that starts with the horrible treatment of native people in the area, which a lot of the Appalachian legends are born from the native nations down there. And the legend that I will be telling is likely significantly whitewashed, so just want to give a quick message saying that the legend I will be sharing, I am not saying this is necessarily what happened, this is just the legend that is shared that has contributed to the thought process and framework within which Mothman kind of was born. So all that is to say also trigger warning for death in general and then the loss slash presumed death of a family pet. So I know that's a brief part but I just it's kind of sad so.
Gina (16:14)
Okay.
Hmm
Kathryn (16:20)
Just wanted to say it right up front. I'm proud of myself for remembering. ⁓
Chief Cornstalk legend
So we're going to start our story with the legend of the cornstalk curse. Back in the 1770s, America was brand new. Wasn't even America yet, technically. As far as the European settlers were concerned,
Gina (16:22)
I'll be ready. That was really good, yeah.
Kathryn (16:45)
They were the first ones there. It was brand new land. They could do with it whatever they wanted. We all know this not to be true.
But that didn't stop the settlers from moving further and further inland and kind of encroaching on the nations that already lived on the land, particularly in West Virginia, because that at the time was very far west, even though obviously we know now the country is so much bigger than that. To them, it was like, you know, the wild frontier or whatever. So as the settlers started to move west into what is now West Virginia, the indigenous people who lived there were like,
Okay, well, you're getting a little greedy. We need to protect ourselves. seven Native nations decided to kind of band together and form an alliance to prevent the settlers from basically taking over their homes and the nations involved were the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandotte, Mingo, Miami, Ottawa, and Illinois.
the leader of the Shawnee Nation at the time was a man named Chief Cornstalk.
So this guy was really popular among the group and he was a very powerful chief at the time. And so when all these nations banded together, they decided obviously they need a leader to lead all of them in this group that was going to protect their land. So Chief Cornstalk was like, okay, cool, I'll do In 1774, when the settlers were moving down into the Ohio...
into the Ohio River Valley. ⁓ This conglomerate of Native nations were getting nervous about basically how close they were getting and they were, it was very clear that they were going to start taking their land essentially. So they created this group of warriors. I think it was something like 1200 warriors within this group and they made a plan to ⁓
basically be prepared to attack the settlers if anything were to happen. And then, again, they were encroaching further and further on their land, so they decided to like, do an actual formal attack. Somehow, word got out to the colonial military that these warriors were making preparations to basically attack them. And they, in turn, decided to attack the native people as basically like, you know, I'm going to dump you before you dump me kind of situation. They like tried to get there first. Yeah. As is the case with most of these stories, the native people were no match for the colonial military's weapons and they were like horribly defeated. So Chief Cornstalk was like
Gina (19:22)
classic.
Kathryn (19:39)
Damn, okay, we are clearly no match for them. We need to figure something out because we are not going to win in battle against these guys. So as time went on and they were talking through, you know, what they should do, how they should protect themselves, he realized basically the value of just like getting on their good side. Like, here's an idea. Why don't we all just try being friggin' nice to each other and like not attacking each other and like be allies? How about that?
So he successfully quote unquote made peace with the colonies. His plan of attack was kill them with kindness basically. And at a certain point, know, things were going well. They were allies. There was peace amongst them. I don't know exactly what types of deals they were making that, you know, made the colonies treat them nicely, but things were good for a while until a certain point.
The colonial military was like, hey, new friends, we have some rogue settlers in the area. They're not doing what we want. Since we're buds, will you help us get rid of these guys? Chief Cornstalk and one of his fellow leaders, a Delaware chief named Chief Red Hawk, were like, mm, not the vibe. We really don't want to fight. That's like the whole reason we did this. So respectfully, no.
Gina (20:59)
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (21:07)
The colonists didn't like hearing the word no. Not the last time in history that will ever happen. ⁓ So they decide that they're just going to imprison Chief Cornstalk and Chief Red Hawk. Yes. Yep. know. This whole legend is like the trigger warning. I hate this story. I'm so sorry.
Gina (21:30)
⁓ no.
I wish I could say I was surprised.
Kathryn (21:35)
It does get worse. Just so you know. OK. So they're taken hostage. they... I didn't understand this. I looked in many places and a lot of the legends said the same thing. But the logic was if they had these chiefs...
Gina (21:36)
Great. Okay.
Kathryn (21:53)
that would basically protect them from getting attacked. I guess the logic makes sense. Like if we have them, you can't attack us because we'll do something with them. I guess that's the way hostages work. But I'm just like, that worse? Like, why do you have to steal people? I don't know. I understand that war is not logical. Anyway, OK. Focus, Kathryn. We're on page one of my notes. I just like, I love the vibe of everyone just being nice to each other. Anyway.
Gina (22:15)
I'm on your side, I agree.
Me too.
Kathryn (22:22)
So it is said another part that kind of pissed me off a little bit, but we're not going to go down this rabbit hole unless we do. I don't know. Even though they were taken hostage, it is said that they were, quote, treated very well, which made people think and start to like ⁓ allege that perhaps this was all part of Chief Cornstalk's plan and he did so voluntarily or whatever.
Gina (22:31)
you
Kathryn (22:49)
I don't know if that's true. That feels very like, we shared the first Thanksgiving and we all were very nice to each other and no one was hurt ever kind of vibes. But like, again, I don't know. So shortly thereafter, after the two chiefs were taken hostage,
Gina (22:52)
Hmm.
Yeah.
Kathryn (23:07)
Chief Cornstalk's son was also taken captive and the following day after his son was taken captive, the colonists were ambushed, leading to the death of one of the colonists' soldiers. And this basically enraged the colonial military. They were like, what the fuck? Like, this is not okay. So they like first kidnap all of these men and then get mad that they're attacked. So yeah.
Gina (23:32)
Right? Hey, don't be mean!
Kathryn (23:36)
Yeah. I'm like, okay, deep breaths. So they storm. So the fellow soldiers like storm into where these chiefs are being held captive and they have full intention of just slaughtering them right then and there. And it is said that Chief Cornstalk like rose to meet them and was standing like very proudly and would not back down to the point where all of these men were like,
kind of paused, you know, when people have like, that big, calm presence to the point where it's so much scarier than like a big bumbling idiot who won't shut up? That's the vibe I'm getting from this story. So despite the fact that he was standing tall and proud, they still attack him and they,
kill all of these men that were being held captive and it is said that Chief Cornstalk was shot eight times point blank before he fell to the ground. And in his dying moments, Chief Cornstalk would pronounce his last legendary curse that would taint the area for the rest of all time.
This is a direct quote based on what I got this from. I don't know if it is actually what he said, but this is as much of a direct quote as I could find.
I was the border man's friend. Many times I have saved him and his people from harm. I never warred with you, but only to protect our wigwams and lands. I refused to join your pale-faced enemies with the redcoats. I came to the fort as your friend and you murdered me. You have murdered by my side my young son.
For this, may the curse of the great spirit rest upon the land. May it be blighted by nature. May it even be blighted in its hopes. May the strength of its people be paralyzed by the stain of our blood.
Yeah, damn, right? Like, that's a good curse. I support, even if he didn't actually do it, kind of wish he did, because that's a good curse. And it's valid and warranted.
So over the next few centuries, which, like, brings us to today, because I'm...
Gina (25:39)
Great curse.
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Kathryn (25:56)
United States has not been around that many centuries. But over the next few centuries, there have been numerous tragedies that have affected the area. Most notably, there have been several devastating floods that occur just over and over and over again. One of the most prominent floods happened in 1937.
And the water rose to 22 and a half feet. Yeah, was said that home, yeah, homes and businesses were flooded into their second stories. And it was just, I mean, it was apocalyptic. Also, this was the 30s, like people didn't really have much at all to be good with. So it was, it was devastating for the area.
Gina (26:18)
my fucking god.
Kathryn (26:35)
And it happened so quickly that everything was just destroyed. And the year prior, in 1936, they had floods up to 11 feet high. And...
I will say that this area, it's not super astonishing that there would be so many floods. It's a river valley surrounded by mountains on like relatively close to a coast that does have hurricanes. So it's not like, my God, this is totally bizarre and weird, but.
you know, again, keep in mind these people are kind of operating with the lore of this curse and anytime something devastating happens, we've talked about this, we talked about it in Mass hysteria month, we talked about it curse month, like this is a thing that happens where even if you're super logical and there is an explanation and it can be explained away, there's always that kind of like what if, you know what I mean? Especially if you're the one being very directly affected by it, like, I don't know.
Gina (27:19)
Yeah.
Kathryn (27:37)
especially in the 30s when the world was a little bit smaller, that can be devastating. But there are a lot of instances like this where in that region, anytime there's any ⁓ tragedy, like if there's a socioeconomic crash that affects the area or...
Gina (27:42)
Yeah.
Kathryn (27:58)
Dude, I have a ringing in my ear that is like so aggres- this is like the most aggressive ear ringing I've ever had in my life. It literally felt like someone was like screaming in my ear for a second. That kind of freaks me out. I literally have goosebumps. That like actually freaked me out a little bit. That was like so weird. Did you see me react to that? That was like-
Gina (27:58)
You okay?
ghost?
I thought that like, cause it
looked, if you had said like, think Phil just broke something, I wouldn't have been surprised. That's the face, like it was like a scary, I heard something go wrong face.
Kathryn (28:27)
It literally...
I did! But not! Like, was like, in my ear. Ooh, that was weird. I don't like that. That scared me. No, it just like... I don't know how to explain that. That was weird. I like... It sounded like someone was screaming inside of my ear. Not like, in my ear, but like... And then it started ringing, like a normal ear ringing.
Gina (28:39)
Did it hurt or was it just really loud?
⁓
Kathryn (28:56)
like, is honestly, I got chills. That was weird. I didn't like that.
Gina (28:57)
Ghost? Yeah.
Kathryn (29:01)
Please leave me alone. I feel like I have to get my feet off of the ground. I'm sorry. Okay, wait. feel like I have to like set an intention or something. Chief Cornstock, that is you, I promise I'm telling this story with the utmost respect. That was scary. I'm like actually kind of scared right now.
Gina (29:08)
I just did the same thing, I just pulled my feet off the ground.
Kathryn (29:23)
Let's skip to Mothman. Okay. So this actually, I was just going to talk a little bit more about the fact that whenever a tragedy happened, this curse. I'm like scared to talk about this curse. Basically top of mind for people in the area, which brings us to arguably the most infamous.
Gina (29:25)
Okay.
What is the legend of Mothman?
Kathryn (29:44)
result or story that was born out of the curse, which is the legend of Mothman, which all started in the year 1966 on November 15th.
Gina (29:59)
Fuck me, that's today!
Kathryn (30:00)
That's the day we are recording this episode, which is so funny because we were supposed to record this before you came into town and we were so stressed. We were like, whatever, we'll just bump it to the week after. then we had to reschedule to today and I literally didn't know that was not purposeful at all. Yeah. So yeah, isn't that wild? Yeah.
Gina (30:07)
Yeah.
⁓ I like that. Okay. Okay. Okay.
All right. Just a little scared. Okay.
Kathryn (30:20)
Yeah, I know.
scary. Anyway, so I didn't plan this, but fun coincidence if that is what it is. So anyway.
November 15th, 1966, two young couples, Roger and Linda Scarberry and Stephen Mary Mallette, were driving down State Route 62 north of the town of Point Pleasant. And they noticed something strange near an abandoned National Guard armory and power plant.
What did Mothman look like?
They claimed that it looked like a man standing like six or seven, possibly taller, feet high.
so they see this very, very tall man-shaped thing hanging out near the bunker. the reason there was a bunker, let me explain, was this area.
was, and I think still is, I could be wrong though, referred to as the TNT area because it was an ammunition manufacturing facility and test site during World War II. So, so the, and that's the thing, they were, I imagine it was a place where like kids would go and like fuck around or whatever, which is like not safe. So, ⁓
Gina (31:26)
Aw, dude, come on, don't go anywhere near there.
Yeah.
Kathryn (31:38)
That's kind of the vibe that they had. They see this guy, they're like, that's weird, why are you in the TNT area? They're probably thinking what I just said, it's like kids being weird or whatever, until the car got closer to the area and they noticed that the figure they were seeing was gray in color and had these ginormous wings. And they were like,
what is that? What is this? We need to get the hell out of here. I'm paraphrasing, but probably not. That's what I would say. So, so they get the hell out of there. And when they do, the thing starts running, like in the same direction as their car, like kind of alongside their car. And they note, I thought this was interesting in part of their statement or whatever, they note that it was running very clumsily.
Gina (32:05)
Yeah.
Kathryn (32:33)
I don't totally know what that means, but almost like it was like not used to running or something. I don't know. Maybe that's why-
Gina (32:33)
⁓
Maybe it escaped from some government testing lab.
Kathryn (32:44)
my god, maybe. Yeah, I didn't even think of that. Ew. Maybe. Yeah, maybe. So they, so he's like running alongside the car and then eventually takes off flying. But it's not the way you're used to seeing like a bird or something take flight. It's said that he took off like a helicopter. So he's just like running and then just vertical launch.
Gina (32:48)
Yeah, poor thing.
so it's not like his wings were spinning in a circle. just, okay. I was like, ow. That's crazy. I mean, this is crazy, Okay, got it. Vertical launch.
Kathryn (33:12)
Do you know what mean? No. Oh my god. Wait, that'd be so funny. No. I saw your brain do the... So yeah,
vertical launch. So now he's flying and he's keeping up with the car. And they say that like they're speeding off in fear down a highway. So they're going quite fast. And he's keeping up with the car until eventually it goes away.
Reports start coming in
So they get back to Point Pleasant and immediately go to the police and recount all of this to officers, and it hits the press. Officers are like, y'all are fucking high. This is bananas. But also, they're like, OK, there's a weirdo near the armory that's notable. We have to take this seriously.
All these people were very clearly shaken and Roger, one of the men, even sketched out a picture of what they saw, which we'll add to the YouTube video.
Gina (34:19)
That's kinda cute.
Kathryn (34:20)
It kinda looks like a cute little fuzzy something or other, yeah.
Gina (34:23)
Yeah.
Aww.
Kathryn (34:26)
Yeah, so he sketches this out and it hits the press. People are like, there's something weird in Point Pleasant.
Once the story starts to circulate, over the course of the next three days, eight more sightings were reported to the newspapers. One account was from two volunteer firemen who claimed that they saw a quote large bird with red eyes, but in the way that it wasn't like they didn't think it was a bird, but that's the best way they could describe it. There was also
I don't know how to ever say this name. It's not like an uncommon name, but I don't ever know how to spell it. What? Say it. Nool? Nool-N-E-W-E-L-L? Nool? Is that?
Gina (35:12)
How do you?
Kathryn (35:18)
It's like an old Southern name, I think, scream you scream pod at gmail.com. If your name is Newell, N-E-W-E-L-L, please let me know how it's spelled. I think it's pronounced Newell because it's Southern. You know, it's the same way like Louisville is actually pronounced Louisville. Like there's not a lot of enunciation.
Gina (35:33)
It's easier to say in that accent. Yeah. Missouri.
Kathryn (35:39)
Yes, exactly. think that's
Gina (35:40)
Yeah.
Kathryn (35:41)
why I'm inclined to say Newell, but let me know what that name actually is. But I think it's Newell. Anyway, I literally only have it in here once, so I'm already spending too much time on this. But anyway, so he's a contractor and he told the sheriff that he was out in his field one night with a flashlight because he had been hearing strange noises.
Gina (35:53)
Hahaha!
Kathryn (36:09)
And when he was out looking around, he came upon this creature that was said to have, quote, eyes that glowed like bicycle reflectors.
Gina (36:20)
⁓
Kathryn (36:21)
Yeah, yeah. So, I have his name in here again. So, also claimed that in the days leading up to the strange noises he was hearing outside in this weird sighting, there had been really weird buzzing noises coming from his television set. So, it wasn't, I'm trying to remember exactly how he described it. It wasn't just a static or, you know,
Gina (36:28)
You
Kathryn (36:47)
Think of the type of television you would see in a home in the 60s. It was normal to be very staticky and the connection to be not great. But it was more of like a weird electronic kind of knocking situation. And in addition to this weird buzzing knocking thing, there were also weird images that would show up on the screen.
Gina (36:52)
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (37:12)
and the way I'm understanding it was not they they weren't like clear pictures it seemed like he was seeing weird static shapes if that makes sense do you know what I'm trying to say yeah
Gina (37:24)
Okay, I know
what you're saying. In my brain, I'm comparing it to like if you stare at a bonfire long enough, you'll see faces in there.
Kathryn (37:30)
Yes, which is actually a type of divination, which is fun. That's like fire magic. Yes, yeah. But also, yes, like that's the where it's like, am I seeing something or is my brain just finding something to see, you know? Then.
Gina (37:36)
⁓ you told me about this. Yes, yes, you told me about this.
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (37:48)
don't basically
That kept happening in the days before he found this creature. It's also said that he did have a German shepherd who was super loyal, never left his side, that just like up and vanished one day. Never to be seen again. No sign of anything happening to it. And he was adamant that this was not a dog that would ever run away. It's kind of a classic, like that can be explained away, but if you know your dog more than anyone,
Gina (38:19)
Yeah.
Kathryn (38:20)
You know your cat more than anyone, you know, like it's it's just one of those things that I am inclined to be like All of these things could have explanations especially out In the middle of nowhere in the 60s like yeah, there's probably gonna be a lot of electrical issues with the television There's probably gonna be weird creatures lurking around your yard. There's probably gonna be somewhere your dog can go but he was telling this story in such a
Gina (38:34)
Yeah.
Kathryn (38:48)
genuine and kind of emphatic way that it's like you can tell it was like no this would never this was weird to happen basically you know
Gina (38:56)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
I also, can I make a point real quick? Because I have an opinion. At first when you were saying the thing about the static, I was like, I don't really know if I buy that because like, know, your brain just finds patterns wherever it can. But all of those things compiled together is notable. Likewise, that's a bunch of really specific, besides the dog, that's a bunch of really specific shit to notice.
Kathryn (39:00)
Yes, please do. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Gina (39:22)
Like one of the things I think about a lot is if I ever have to give testimony to police officers and they ask, what were you doing that day? Had anything weird been happening? I would have no fucking idea. I do not notice the things that, especially when it's like a TV set, you watch that shit every day. If static was weird two days ago, I'm not gonna remember that. So it must have been bad enough where it's stuck in, like the mundane activities of his life stuck in his brain. That's very compelling.
Kathryn (39:23)
Mm-hmm.
Yes!
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
That's such a good comparison because you wouldn't remember certain things if there really wasn't anything. That's why I was this is such a tangent, but I always get I would struggle when people are like, their story changed. They said they did this at that time instead of that. And I'm like, if I was innocent, I wouldn't fucking get my story straight either, because I wouldn't remember what I was doing. It's like because I was innocent. So.
Gina (39:57)
Mm-mm.
I wouldn't,
Kathryn (40:19)
But yes, it's kind of the same vibe where it's like if you can remember very specifically what you saw and how it looks and what happened next and all of that, that's notable.
So people start getting nervous because, you know, there have been several sightings slash weird occurrences and people are starting to realize, ⁓ wait, I had a weird experience before too, but I didn't realize it was weird until I knew other people were having weird experiences, you know? So the community, I don't want to say they were panicking, but it was being talked about. It was being reported on in the newspapers, et cetera, et cetera.
Is Mothman real?
So the sheriff in town made an official statement statement saying that what people were likely seeing was a large heron, which is a bird, and it is known to get up to five feet, which is roughly my size, which is different from a seven foot man, much to my dismay. But it is said... We'll get there, don't worry. Because no, they do not. ⁓ But their wingspan...
Gina (41:16)
And they don't have red eyes.
Okay, sorry.
Kathryn (41:25)
can be large, you know, but they're not man shaped. Like they've got the very twiggy looking legs and like their stature is very small, but their wingspan is large. I mean, they're large birds, don't get me wrong, but they're not giant man size monsters. So people weren't really buying this for the reasons I just said.
Gina (41:30)
No.
Kathryn (41:48)
The thing they were seeing was much taller and that didn't explain the red glowing eyes. So a wildlife biologist from West Virginia University named Robert Smith told reporters his opinion was it could be a Sandhill crane, which very closely matches the description of a heron, but it does have red eyes. Sandhill cranes
Gina (42:14)
Okay.
Kathryn (42:18)
first and foremost are not native to the area. But this biologist guy, Robert Smith, said that it was possible that it got mixed up during one of its migration flight things and somehow ended up in West Virginia. And that could be why it was the thing people were seeing was stumbling and in weird areas and all that kind of stuff.
My expert opinion, I don't totally buy this because I was watching videos of Sandhill cranes and they do not look like helicopters at all. That's my expert opinion on the topic. Just looks like a bird. So also to that point, the average flight speed of a Sandhill crane is like 25, 30 miles per hour, which this one I did look up roughly 40.
Gina (42:59)
Ha
Hmm.
Kathryn (43:16)
kilometers per hour, and those initial witnesses claimed that whatever was keeping up with them was keeping up with them when they were speeding away in fear. If you're driving away from the sight of something spooky, you're going more than 25 miles per hour. That's like a casual residential speed, you know? So...
Gina (43:27)
Hey.
Yeah.
Kathryn (43:39)
I don't buy the Sandhill Crane situation personally. honestly, neither did a lot of the locals. It seemed very like, yes, this could be it. This is a logical, biological, scientific explanation. But there were too many gaps in what people were seeing and the behavior of it. And Sandhill Cranes, I don't know exactly where they're.
migration pattern takes him, but I know that Sandhill Cranes are out in California. So that's like a far way to go. But I don't know where else they migrate. So I could be like, maybe there are spots closer to West Virginia. But anyway, all of this is to say people weren't really buying it and they were continuing to look for an explanation. Like some people bought it, but it was still kind of a mystery.
Gina (44:14)
It's really far.
Why is Mothman called Mothman?
Kathryn (44:34)
One of the things that I was kind of interested in personally, and I didn't know prior to researching this episode, was why exactly he's called Mothman, because so many people were considering, or I'm sorry, were comparing him to a bird. He kept being compared to a bird. basically when reports first started, on him, people were describing him as like a birdman type creature because of a just what he was looking like, but also because of the comparison to the Sandhill Crane. But one of his like name progressions was because of the size and shape of his wings and kind of the way it was moving around, people started to compare him to kind of a giant bat. But
What's funny to me is the fact that the Batman TV series had just come out and was very popular, so newspapers couldn't refer to it as Batman because of Batman, you know? Yeah, so they were like, okay, he's more bat-like than bird-like, so we were inclined to describe him like Batman. So what they did was they compared him to one of the villains in Bat-
Gina (45:31)
that's so funny.
Kathryn (45:50)
Batman called the killer Moth, so they started referring to him as Mothman. And that was like the whole progression. Yeah, isn't that wild? Yeah.
Gina (45:57)
That's so fucking funny. ⁓ my god. ⁓
that was not on the list of things I expected to come up in this episode. Like 60s era Batman villains. That's fucking awesome.
Kathryn (46:07)
Mm hmm.
Yeah, I didn't realize I never knew that I knew that he had been compared to a bird. knew that some reports referred to him as like a bird like man because a lot a lot of the newspapers we can share some of the headlines and then in the video. But he wasn't really named for a little while. They were just the headlines were like, oh, something strange was spotted, you know? Like, there wasn't an official name for a little while.
More Mothman sightings
But eventually there was a name because over the course of the next year, there would be over 100 Mothman sightings.
Gina (46:37)
you
Kathryn (46:51)
Yeah, like.
Gina (46:51)
And none of them were like,
yeah, that looks like a actual bird.
Kathryn (46:55)
I feel I feel like if it actually was a wild animal, a crane, you would have captured it within that year. There were too many sightings for it not to get captured or identified or spotted.
Gina (47:02)
Yeah.
Yeah, and you know
that not all of those people were ready to believe that it was something paranormal. There had to have been at least a handful of them, if not way more, that are like, or were super big skeptics and wanted to think it was, you know what I mean? Like, and for none of them, well, and I don't know if none of them said this, but for none of them to be like, yeah, definitely a Sandhill Crane.
Kathryn (47:13)
Mm-hmm.
totally. Mm-hmm.
Yeah, and I'm sure they did, you know, it's one of those that was kind the sheriff and the biologist making those statements, you know, did kind of quote unquote put a fork in the situation. Like this is what it is. End of story. then the fact that there were still sightings and the bird was never found. That was the question mark that made people like. Is it? I don't know.
Gina (47:56)
Yeah.
Kathryn (47:57)
like we're on cursed land could it be something scary you know it was that kind of what if that was and i don't want to say again i don't want to say it was this mass hysteria thing where everyone thought it was some weird creature but enough people did for it to be talked about and reported on in the newspaper etc etc so yes so he had been cited
Gina (48:01)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Kathryn (48:23)
100 times roughly, I want to say like over 100 times. I couldn't find the exact number. It was like roughly 100 times until December 15th, the following year. So exactly one year and one month to the day, tragedy struck. It was rush hour in Point Pleasant and people were coming to and from work. In addition to everyone was kind of gearing up for the holidays. So there were a lot of people out and about.
Gina (48:36)
Cool, yeah.
Kathryn (48:53)
doing like holiday shopping and stuff too. So the roads were particularly congested. Congest-shush? Congested, like for the area. There was so much traffic that the Silver Bridge, which connected Point Pleasant to the town just across the river in Ohio, ⁓ was backed up quite a bit. And I actually have to address in our Circleville episode, ⁓
Gina (49:00)
Mm-hmm.
Kathryn (49:20)
which took place in Ohio, we mentioned that every episode this month has taken place in the Midwest. And I was like, mine doesn't. It takes place in West Virginia. But it literally takes place on the bridge on the way to Ohio. So we have kind of you know, upper Midwest type vibe going on this month. ⁓ Anyway, I just had to address that because I thought that was funny. the bridge was busy when all of a sudden
Gina (49:33)
Fuck Midwest.
You
Kathryn (49:50)
The bridge started to shake and then it started to crumble into the Ohio River. 37 cars plummeted into the river as the Silver Bridge collapsed, killing 46 people, two of which, named Kathy Beuse and Maxine Turner, still have never been found to this day.
Gina (49:58)
god.
Kathryn (50:15)
Yeah, yeah, and it was just like out of the blue as far as all of these people on the bridge and driving and the cars and stuff were concerned. It was like nothing happened. There wasn't an accident. No one ran into anything. It just all of sudden they were driving and the bridge just like into the water. ⁓ It was devastating. It was like in a town of I didn't mention this, but this was a
Gina (50:35)
terrifying.
Kathryn (50:44)
relatively small town. The Point Pleasant population at the time was ⁓ I think less than 5,000. ⁓ So 46 people in a small town like that is like a measurable percentage, especially for such a freak accident. Like that's a random ass thing to happen. Like bridges don't just crumble. That's like an irrational fear. You know what I mean? That's not a thing that like happens. ⁓ The accident report
Gina (51:07)
Yeah.
Kathryn (51:13)
detailing what exactly happened to the bridge took three years to complete because it required such a huge investigation and it was over 200 pages long. It was just like bananas. If you want to read through the accident report, we will link it. But in summary, what happened was
Gina (51:29)
Jesus.
Kathryn (51:39)
There was some corrosion in a ⁓ chain link type part of the bridge that led to a teeny tiny little crack that was 2.5 millimeters deep, which just compromised the entire structure. And it just crumbled. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Gina (52:03)
I didn't know that something that small could do something that big.
Kathryn (52:07)
it can, which is why as a result of this Silver Bridge tragedy, ⁓ there are now official national bridge inspection standards here in the US that are like, again, basically just a direct result of this. now it is required that every, depending on the design of the bridge and how often it gets used and all these things, it is required to inspect bridges every
so often so that's why you shouldn't be mad if there's construction on a bridge because if there's construction on a bridge it's probably the result of a bridge inspection that is to prevent something like this from happening again. ⁓ This is... I don't remember where it was but there was another bridge that followed that same design. I don't know how close by it was but it was in the same general region that immediately after the silver bridge
collapse happened, they closed that bridge down and then ultimately did demolish it and rebuild a whole other bridge. There was also a bridge in Brazil that followed the same design, it was built using, I'm paraphrasing, but basically it was built using better standards than the one in West Virginia was. So it was determined that they didn't need to remove it or anything like that. But this was like a worldwide thing. This was like architects.
all over the world were like, what the fuck happened and how do we prevent it from happening again? Like this changed bridge-like construction and maintenance forevermore. Because it was so unexpected and people weren't prepared for it, you know? So what does this have to do with Mothman? The day the bridge collapsed was the last time
anyone ever saw Mothman in the region, basically ever again. So there were up to 100 sightings over the course of the year, one year and one month to the day, and then he just simply vanished. This, of course, led to speculation and rumors and legends amongst locals and weirdos all over. Many people believed that the bridge collapse
was a result of the curse. ⁓ Yes, there is a physical explanation to why it happened, but it's just one of those things where it's like, what are the odds that it would happen uncursed land type of things. Again, we're looking for something to point to as to why this could happen to our community. And Mothman's presence is thought to have been a warning about what was to come.
For a while people thought that Mothman was the one to blame, like he's the one that collapsed the Silver Bridge, but in recent years people have kind of gone back to the idea that he was prophesizing this was gonna happen. So if you've ever heard of the Mothman prophecies,
This is what that means. There is a book called Mothman Prophecies that kind of details these events. And this is what it's referring to. It's the fact that he showed up to try to warn people this was going to happen.
So regardless of what, you believe he was doing, whether he was the one that caused it or whether he was just trying to warn people to try to help people, Mothman has kind of worked his way into people's psyches and anytime there is, you know, if we're in times of turmoil or there's tragedy, people will claim to see him.
Where are Mothman sightings?
He has been spotted across the country at various times.
One of the most notable regions that he has been cited is Pennsylvania. And another one is Chicago. He's been seen in Chicago as recently as 2023. And the first time he was allegedly spotted in Chicago was in 2017, which I think is notable because that's the year I left Chicago, which was a personal tragedy for me. So I believe those sightings. Yeah.
Gina (56:15)
That is a tragedy. Yeah.
Kathryn (56:19)
and yeah, all of this is to say Mothman does kind of get a bad rap for being associated with tragedy, but he is known as one of the most misunderstood cryptids. ⁓ you know, like I said, he sometimes gets blamed for being the one to cause the tragedies, but he's also like, if you see, like you don't want to see him because that means something bad is going to happen, but it's kind of like a don't shoot the messenger type of situation. Like, you know, it is.
Gina (56:46)
you
Kathryn (56:48)
thought that he is likely a very lonely cryptid because, you know, no one wants to see Mothman. But lot of people find it comforting knowing that perhaps there is this weird, creepy, bird-like, bat-like, bug guy, like, keeping watch and letting us know when something's going to happen so we can prepare. ⁓ Most people do choose to celebrate him and kind of think of him as a good guy. And...
If you wish to celebrate him, you can travel to Point Pleasant to visit the Mothman Museum or a statue or attend the Mothman Festival, which happens every fall. we absolutely have to go someday because like, hello, I will say next year is probably going to be bumping because that's going to be the 60th anniversary. So it's one of those like.
Gina (57:22)
What?
Yeah.
Aw man.
Kathryn (57:41)
I would love to go, but I'm also not emotionally prepared for that. imagine it's going to be crazy. ⁓ But yeah, I think that we should go someday. I really want to, we should do a trip to Appalachia, but in the way that I'm very scared of that region and all the lore that happens within it. So I'm like, if we can have a thing within the region to go to and zero in our energies, that could be good. Yeah, let's go.
Gina (57:47)
Yeah.
Yeah.
and do it.
Kathryn (58:09)
That's all I have for you. That's the Mothman story.
Gina (58:11)
God damn. I'm very happy that you said most people are like nice to Moth, or not nice to, but kind of celebrate him as a hero, because I was feeling kind of bad for Mothman there for a while. I do hope that he's found other Moth people.
Kathryn (58:22)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Maybe. I hope so. Yeah.
Gina (58:28)
little mothlings. That would be nice.
That's really interesting though. I had never heard of that before.
Kathryn (58:34)
Yeah, it's a wild story. is one of my, after Beast of Bray Road, it is one of my favorite story, like cryptid stories,
Gina (58:43)
Yes, I do. I have a conspiracy theory.
Kathryn (58:46)
tis the season, tis the place for conspiracy theory. Hit me with it.
Gina (58:52)
Sandhill
Crane guy, Robert Smith. Sounds like a fake name. He was paid off. None of that shit's real. I paid him to say that.
Kathryn (58:54)
Mm.
my god,
OK, yeah, that's it. That's the story. Sorry if you can hear cinnamon. Cinnamon agrees with that theory. Also, I just realized my light is off. I'm sorry. I don't know when my light turned off. Anyway.
Gina (59:04)
What?
Does it great?
Go!
I think?
Well, you have a halo that you- I don't think you did that when you
Kathryn (59:22)
my god, what is happening right now? I'm so scared. It's like a ring light. ⁓
Gina (59:24)
wow! It looks like an Instagram filter.
Kathryn (59:31)
Yeah, awesome. Well, that's Mothman. Do you perhaps have something for me?
Scary on Top
Gina (59:36)
I do have a story for you. It is a creepy pasta. Yes. Actually, I'm gonna do the same because this is creepy.
Kathryn (59:41)
OK, let me pick my feet up. Hold on. OK.
Did we ⁓ address the fact that we're in our Oodies today? OK. And we'll be the next few episodes. So stay tuned for comfy, cozy season.
Gina (59:50)
Nope, no we didn't. We're in our OOTYs today. It's real cozy. Yes, I love that. Hell yes. I
love when it gets cold enough to wear my OOTY. I spend 75%, maybe 80 % of the year waiting for it to be cold enough to wear my OOTY. And then I don't take it off for, well, I wash it. But other than that, months.
Kathryn (1:00:01)
Same.
Yes.
Gina (1:00:10)
So this creepypasta is called White with Red. It was originally published in April 2013 by an anonymous author. So we don't know who wrote it. It goes, man went to a hotel and walked up to the front desk to check in. The woman at the desk gave him his key and told him that on the way to his room, there was a door with no number that was locked and no one was allowed in there.
Kathryn (1:00:20)
Okay.
Gina (1:00:37)
She explained that it was a store room and that it was out of bounds. She reminded him of this several times before allowing him upstairs. So he followed the instructions of the woman at the front desk, going straight to his room and going to bed. However, the insistence of the woman had piqued his curiosity. So the next night he walked down the hall to the door and tried the handle. Sure enough, it was locked. He bent down and looked through the wide keyhole.
Cold air passed through it, chilling his eye. I don't like that. What? I love looking through a keyhole.
Kathryn (1:01:11)
I don't like looking through a keyhole or like
or like the Like in a hotel like the what is that called the peephole? Yeah, that freaks me out
Gina (1:01:22)
the people, yeah,
there was, okay, real quick tangent, when I was in college, there was this guy who would go switching around people's peep holes, because you can unscrew them and screw them back in so that you can look outwards into someone's room. It was fucked up, it was real fucked up. I did not stay at that college. I left that shit, and then we met. Anyway, so.
Kathryn (1:01:40)
That's fucked up. That's so scary.
my god.
Gina (1:01:50)
He's looking through this keyhole. What he saw was a hotel bedroom, like his, and in the corner was a woman whose skin was incredibly pale. She was leaning her head against the wall, facing away from the door. He stared in confusion for a while. Was this a celebrity? The owner's daughter? He almost knocked on the door out of curiosity, but decided not to. As he was still looking,
The woman turned sharply and he jumped back from the door, hoping she would not suspect he had been spying on her. He crept away from the door and walked back to his room. The next day, he returned to the door and looked through the wide keyhole. This time, all he saw was redness. He couldn't make anything out besides a distinct red color, unmoving.
Perhaps the inhabitants of this room knew he was spying the night before and had blocked the keyhole with something red. He felt embarrassed that he had made the woman so uncomfortable and hoped she had not made a complaint with the woman on the front desk. At this point, he decided to consult her for more information. I think the woman at the front desk. After some gentle quizzing and the promise that the explanation would go no further than him, she finally said,
Kathryn (1:03:03)
Okay, yeah.
Gina (1:03:11)
Well, I might as well tell you the story of what happened in that room. A long time ago, a man murdered his wife in there. And we find that even now, people get uncomfortable staying there. Because these people were not ordinary. They were white all over, except for their eyes, which were red.
Kathryn (1:03:30)
No!
Gina (1:03:33)
And that's the story. ⁓ isn't
that just like, ⁓ that's so creepy. Just like staring right back at him.
Kathryn (1:03:39)
why I don't
like looking through people's.
Gina (1:03:46)
If something like that happened
to me, I would not like looking through keyholes, but I do.
Anyway, that's my story.
Kathryn (1:03:51)
Fuck that. No, that's so scary.
It gives me the same thing, like feeling, as something we talked about recently, which is when, ⁓ like something gets closer. What am I trying to say? Do you know what I'm saying? We were just talking about it. And it's closer. That's the same feeling that looking through a peephole.
Gina (1:04:03)
⁓ And you look yes you so you see it and then you look away and you look back at it and it got closer. Yes
Kathryn (1:04:12)
gives me, because it's like you don't know what's going to be there.
Gina (1:04:12)
Because it's that, it's the idea.
Yes, like the surprise proximity is scary. Like when you're not expecting someone to be a distance from you that they suddenly are, especially like, yes, I was just about to say it like, their eyeballs are just fucking creepy anyway. Eyeballs, I'm generally okay with the human body. Like I wanted to be a doctor for about 10 minutes. I would watch videos of surgeries all over. The eyeball was the only thing that I could never, ⁓ my God.
Kathryn (1:04:20)
Yes.
like an eyeball staring back at you through a hole. Yeah.
So funny. I love
an eyeball. Eyeballs are so weird to me. I wanted to be, I never wanted to be an eye doctor, but I wanted to be one of the techs that like gave you like, you know, stare at the hot air balloon. Like I wanted to be one of those people for a while. Yeah.
Gina (1:04:42)
⁓ no.
Mmm.
Mad respect, because
I could not do that. I would just be dry heaving the whole time and I don't think that's good bedside manner.
Kathryn (1:05:01)
depends who you ask, I suppose.
Everything looked great!
Gina (1:05:05)
Your eyes are fine! my god.
Anyway.
I think that's all we have for you today. As a quick reminder, if you wanna join us on Patreon, link is in the show notes. Also, if you leave us a review and send us a screenshot of it to icecreamuscremepot at gmail.com, we'll send you a sticker. So, that's pretty sweet. But.
Anyway, until next time, little spoons, keep it cool.
Kathryn (1:05:34)
and keep it creepy.
