1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Twelve Ghosts is a production of I Heart three D 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: audio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Bankie Headphones. Recommended 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: listener discretion advised. I have heard the plaintive wailing through 4 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: the winter nights for as long as I've had memories. 5 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 1: As the days grow shorter and the nights creep in 6 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: with their bitter edge, my parents grow uneasy. Their eyes 7 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: become shadowed, and faces grow lean and hard. They eat 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: less than They only speak to one another when they 9 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: think I am not listening. I know, without being told 10 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 1: that it is starting again. Father carves fresh runs into 11 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: the doorway and around each of the window cells. As 12 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: the winter dies and spring comes, those runes are sanded 13 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: away as if they had never existed at all. Just 14 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,400 Speaker 1: this morning, my father was replacing the wood frame at 15 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: the door, and he did not answer me when I 16 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: asked why. As soon as I set about my chores, 17 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:26,760 Speaker 1: out came his boot knife, and I knew the ruins 18 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:31,839 Speaker 1: would be there again. Whatever they're intent, those ruins, those 19 00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: wards were not meant to be seen by the visitors. 20 00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: We have few and far between. When the weather is kinder. 21 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: Every year, my mother bakes little cakes of oat honey 22 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: goat's blood and acorn flour, and places a cup of 23 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: wine outside on the windows ledge as soon as the 24 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: first winter moon rises. This has always seemed like a 25 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: strange excess, for wine and honey in our house were 26 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: so very scarce and reserved only for the longest night 27 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: and name days. The meaning behind these traditions kept at 28 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: me enough that I asked about it once years ago 29 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: and received only a brisk backhand from my father for 30 00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 1: the effort. Had spent the rest of the day nursing 31 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: a bloodied lip and ringing ear, and had not asked 32 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:23,280 Speaker 1: again lest I received a similar answer. This night started 33 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: as if by rope we had ourselves tucked inside well 34 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,959 Speaker 1: before sunset, my father brusque and restless, my mother setting 35 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: about the stew simmering in the hearth as if it 36 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: were the only thing that mattered. My parents, however, did 37 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: not eat supper and did not seem to care at 38 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,800 Speaker 1: all that I only picked at mine. I knew that 39 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: at any other time I would be chided for wasting food, 40 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: but tonight it seemed to matter not. My mother ushered 41 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: me up into the loft for bed, gave me a 42 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 1: quick kiss on the cheek, her lips dry and nearly 43 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: feverish against my skin. Her good night was a soft 44 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: note murmured against my in They did not even feign 45 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: that they would be going to sleep. I heard their 46 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 1: quiet shuffling beneath the sleeping loft, caught the rich scent 47 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: to the father's pipe, and knew that they were in 48 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 1: their well worn chairs, staring at the door as they 49 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: always did. That first night, the whaling started, as I 50 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,120 Speaker 1: knew it would, an awful sound, like a baby that 51 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: would never tire, that had known a misery that was 52 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 1: so deep and wide it would fill the sea and 53 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: drown everything it touched. On and on it went, peaks 54 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 1: and valleys of an inhuman cry that buried itself down 55 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: into my marrow, leaving me shimmering, feeling ill at ease, 56 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: and afraid to close my eyes, though somehow eventually I did. 57 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: My dreams were filled with a twisted blue white face 58 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: and escaping toothless mouth, and a sound like trees crashing 59 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: me together. Through it all the whaling on and on, 60 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: I thought, in my restlessness that I heard my mother 61 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: sobbing quietly, but I could not be sure. There were 62 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: strange heavy footsteps outside, as if something larger than a 63 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: bare lumbered through the forest, paced alongside the house, but 64 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: did not deign to come any closer. I huddled beneath 65 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:24,679 Speaker 1: my furs and my mother's well woven quilts, and waited 66 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: for silence that never came. When I opened my eyes again, 67 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: the fire in the hearth had burned itself to embers, 68 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:34,960 Speaker 1: and I could hear the quiet snoring of my father. 69 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:40,039 Speaker 1: I crept from the loft on bare feet, imagining myself 70 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: to be the smallest of mice, nimble and invisible to 71 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: the rest of the house. I ignored the chill that 72 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:49,479 Speaker 1: had risen with the fires dying, tried my best to 73 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 1: keep my breathing even and my feet away from boards 74 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: I knew would creak under my weight. Father slept in 75 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: his chair, an arm around my mother, who had slid 76 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: it against him, nearly in his lap. It was not 77 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,560 Speaker 1: a common sight, the two of them so close. I 78 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: felt a surge of worry for them, and more than 79 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: a little pity, and set about pulling on my boots, 80 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:17,279 Speaker 1: my overship, my coat. I wanted them to awake, to 81 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: at least a handful of my chores finished, and perhaps 82 00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: even the table set for a small breakfast, anything to 83 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,760 Speaker 1: give relief, to get them to notice that I was 84 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:31,760 Speaker 1: an able child and willing to do my part. I 85 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: took the little oil lantern from the tabletop and pulled 86 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,280 Speaker 1: open the door, inching it slowly open as quiet as 87 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: I could, and slipped out into the snow. It was 88 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: still quite dark, though dawn would be breaking soon enough. 89 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: I paid little mind to my steps, and almost immediately 90 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: I heard a crack from beneath my boot. I staggered back, 91 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: reaching out for the dwarf ring with one hand and 92 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: holding the lantern out to get a better view. Mother 93 00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:58,800 Speaker 1: had left the wine in the window still last night, 94 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: as she always did. This was the first time I 95 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: had ever seen the cup upon the ground. Wine colored 96 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: the snow a deep crimson, and splashed across the door 97 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: as well as if some one had thrown the cup 98 00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: against the door in a rage. In the low flickering 99 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: light from my lantern, I could see that letters have 100 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: been carved into the door, letters not born of my 101 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:21,200 Speaker 1: father's hand. I cannot hold back the unbecoming whimper that 102 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: bubbles out of me as I traced them with my 103 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:28,560 Speaker 1: shaking fingers. Something terrible and angry had left its mark here. 104 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: My trance is shattered when father staggers out of the door, 105 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,839 Speaker 1: jerking it inward away from me. I stand there, wide 106 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: eyed and numb mouth, refusing to form any intelligent sentence. Child, 107 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: What on earth are you doing out this early? We've 108 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: told my name, I finally gasped, pointing at the door 109 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,560 Speaker 1: and nearly dropping my lantern. It has carved my name 110 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,359 Speaker 1: upon the door. Though I had no idea what it was, 111 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: over and over into the letters had screwed over themselves. 112 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,880 Speaker 1: I had never in my life seen so much obvious 113 00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: rage displayed in written words. It was as if the 114 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: thing had created something the very opposite of the warding 115 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 1: ruins my family had carved. I knew, without knowing why, 116 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: that whatever had done this was not a person. I 117 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: knew also that it was certainly what had been howling 118 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: in the night, and what our offerings and folk spells 119 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: had been trying to keep away. They had failed at 120 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: long last, and that meant something else entirely. My father 121 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:40,640 Speaker 1: grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house. He 122 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: slammed the door behind us both. My mother was still 123 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: blinking away sleep as my father lit into me, voice 124 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: like acid. This foolish child, This foolish, damn child was 125 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: nearly stolen away. How stupid are you risking everything for 126 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: some silly jaunt about in the dark. I was not, 127 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: I yelled back, shocking myself. I was not stolen, and 128 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: I was not going about on some dalliance. You were 129 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: both so upset. I thought I must make myself useful 130 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,720 Speaker 1: early as I could, to perhaps bring some levity into 131 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: this awful dark house. Every winter is the same. This 132 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: cloud fills your hearts, and you were miles away, and 133 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 1: I do my best to ignore the strangeness and the 134 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: awful nights. But no more I cannot. Your wards are 135 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: not working anymore. And whatever it is you've been trying 136 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: to scare away, it's leaving markings of its own. There 137 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: are tears running hot down my cheeks, and any other 138 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: time I would be shamed by them. Now I was 139 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: too afraid and too angry. It too much to care. 140 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: I winced as he stepped forward, expecting to be struck, 141 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: but instead he growled, you will not go out in 142 00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: the dark. Your mother cannot endure another loss. Another, I asked, 143 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: bring my eyes to my father's face. Both he and 144 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: my mother looked startled, and before he can tell me 145 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: to quiet, I ask again another another loss. This is 146 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: the end of it. You will mind be silent, and 147 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: when the sun rises, you will set about your work. 148 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 1: When it sets, you will keep yourself indoors, and that 149 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:27,280 Speaker 1: will be the way of it until the days are 150 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:30,720 Speaker 1: longer and the snow melts. We have done all we 151 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: can to make a refuge, and I will not have 152 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: your carelessness erasing the work. I stared at his angry, 153 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: twisted face and could see unacknowledged grief there. It was 154 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: not what I expected. I tried once more, but my 155 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: father gave an angry snarl and turned away. I avoided 156 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 1: him the rest of the day, the difficult task in 157 00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: a house so small. As soon as the sun broke 158 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:07,480 Speaker 1: through the trees, I busied myself out of doors, caring 159 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,840 Speaker 1: for the animals and the small stable, searching our modest 160 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: cellar for the roots and dried mushrooms my mother requested, 161 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: gathering firewood, and even doing my mother's washing. She was 162 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,079 Speaker 1: upset as well, but not so loud and violent as father. 163 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: She spent the day aimless, staring into nothing, and mending 164 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:35,079 Speaker 1: a shirt that did not need mending. It was late 165 00:10:35,120 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: in the afternoon, and I had just come from the cellar, 166 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: my arms full of the roots and mushrooms my mother 167 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 1: had requested when I heard my father's voice loud and violent, 168 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: too much to keep the damn thing away. If it 169 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:50,320 Speaker 1: weren't from me for these things I do, you would 170 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: be long dead. It will never give up all that 171 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: cursed wailing. This morning we wake to that stupid child out, 172 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: my home befouled, and the offer being scattered, And yet 173 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: you wanted named out loud. Shall we tempt it to enter? 174 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: Will you not be happy until you have lost your life? Truly, 175 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: you have done well enough. Husband. It was you who 176 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:18,120 Speaker 1: carried out the deed. It was you who insisted, told 177 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: me my little one was too frail to see the spring, 178 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: told me that my time and grief and love were 179 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: wasted a sickly child that would soon die anyway, As 180 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: if those hours of labor were nothing to me. Do 181 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,120 Speaker 1: remember that I did not want to cast my child 182 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 1: out into the snow. Yes, husband, it is your hands 183 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,480 Speaker 1: that carved those runs, But it was your hands that 184 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: did the burying as well. You stand here talking about 185 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: my life in jeopardy, as if these wards do not 186 00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: protect you as well. And by the gods, how are 187 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: you not more concerned that it's named our child? How 188 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,160 Speaker 1: everything I had thought possible, I had not dreamed of this, 189 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: or I never you would never have what? Instead, Let 190 00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: the damned babe die slow and muling at your teeth 191 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: all the pieces for months, and sit about unable to 192 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: work for twice as long, or you would never have 193 00:12:19,600 --> 00:12:22,840 Speaker 1: had any touch you again, lest you burn another useless 194 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: curd and take our food and keep us beggars. There 195 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:32,559 Speaker 1: was a cruelty in his tone that filled me with vicious, 196 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,319 Speaker 1: foolish bravery. I ran from my corner and threw open 197 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:40,319 Speaker 1: the door, arms still loaded with my satchel of dried 198 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 1: fungus and root vegetables. How dare you be so cruel 199 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: to her? I shouted, throwing myself between my father, who 200 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: was looming like an angry bear over mother, and she 201 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: had backed into a corner nearest our hearth, a wooden 202 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 1: spoon clutched in her white knuckled grip. I swung my 203 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 1: satchel at him, unable to comprehend in that moment just 204 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:06,280 Speaker 1: how stupid the action would have been in any normal circumstance. 205 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,439 Speaker 1: It caught him in the arm as he reached for 206 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:11,960 Speaker 1: my wrist, and he yelled, snatching the bag from my 207 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: grip and throwing it angrily to the wall overhead. Your stupid, 208 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: worthless child, I should have locked the door against you 209 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,520 Speaker 1: and let the damn creature take you. Perhaps then it 210 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: would be satisfied and we would know some peace out 211 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: my mother howled, pulling herself to her feet. You will 212 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: not take another child from me. What sort of man 213 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:37,840 Speaker 1: have you become? What a cowardly thing to say to 214 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: your only surviving child, A simpering dog and an oat bird. 215 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 1: Oh how proud my ancestors must be of my get 216 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:53,480 Speaker 1: he responded, his face ugly and reddened in anger. With 217 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,880 Speaker 1: those words and the gasp from my mother in response, 218 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:00,679 Speaker 1: he turned upon his heel and charged out of the house, 219 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,600 Speaker 1: the very walls shaking with the force of the door 220 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: slamming behind him. I watched him through the snow. I 221 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: saw him turn the corner, and knew from the sound 222 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: of the cellar door he was searching for his rifle, 223 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:18,839 Speaker 1: and would most likely go out into the wood to hunt, 224 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: as he had many times when his temper had gone 225 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: too high. Very well, I thought, still full of righteous anger, 226 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: Bring home a rabbit or two, and be useful. That 227 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: was a silly thing standing between us. You know your 228 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: father has a bear's temper, my mother finally said, Collecting 229 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 1: the turnips that had rolled from my satchel across the floor, 230 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: he said about cutting them and a few onions we 231 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,200 Speaker 1: had hanging by the hearth, and tossed them with snow melt, 232 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: mushrooms and a handful of dried herbs into the large 233 00:14:53,640 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: iron pot hanging above the harth fire. It was a 234 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: silly thing, him screaming at you about things you cannot control, 235 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: I replied darkly. A child, I finally asked, looking sideways 236 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 1: and feeling braver without my father there to reprimand me 237 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,880 Speaker 1: all the reasons for this awful traditional I hadn't thought 238 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: a baby would be would be? Why, oh, little one, 239 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,000 Speaker 1: if only your elder sister had stayed just that in 240 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:32,120 Speaker 1: her death. She did not, And whilst it was not 241 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: me that left her there in the forest, I could 242 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: have tried hard to prevent it. Not a day passes 243 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: that I do not wish I had been stronger. That 244 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 1: perhaps this terror is my own making, and I am 245 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: simply reaping the seeds of what I sowed, in my weakness. 246 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: What the same thing have happened to me had I 247 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: been born sickly? I asked softly, Would he have left 248 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: me out in the cold as well? I could not 249 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: bear to let that happen again. Do you truly think 250 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: you could have stopped him I before today? Perhaps? No. 251 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:16,240 Speaker 1: I do not want us to live this way. I 252 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: am so tired of the wailing of saving for months 253 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: for the luxuries, not for you nor I, but to 254 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: offer up to the undying the footsteps every winter it comes, 255 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: and it will do so forever until it is satisfied. 256 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:39,280 Speaker 1: Why does it? What does she want? I asked quietly. 257 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: The thing she has become. She wants rest, a proper 258 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,400 Speaker 1: burial and a proper grave. Only I do not know 259 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,480 Speaker 1: where she was left. And your father claims that upon 260 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:54,080 Speaker 1: his attempt in spring defined the body to give it 261 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: that rest, it was gone, carried off by animals. There 262 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: are no bones to bear rry. It is a restless 263 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,760 Speaker 1: thing now. That wood bird that would have been your sister. 264 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,959 Speaker 1: I had thought what it wanted was my life, and 265 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,679 Speaker 1: I had nearly come to peace with that. But it 266 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: has carved your name on the door, and I cannot 267 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: allow it to take you, my only surviving child. I 268 00:17:18,840 --> 00:17:22,840 Speaker 1: will not stand by again. She reached out for me, 269 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 1: and I stepped forward and into a near crushing embrace. 270 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: We both sobbed. She stroked my hair, the idea of 271 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 1: my mother gone, as distant as she often was, it 272 00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 1: was unbearable. I did not want to be left alone 273 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 1: with my father, the man who had called me worthless. 274 00:17:45,359 --> 00:17:49,119 Speaker 1: I was so upset I very nearly missed the faint 275 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: cry from outside. It came again and again, the scream 276 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:01,479 Speaker 1: followed by the crashing of trees falling in the forest. 277 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: Father once more, and a terrible crashing, too loud to 278 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,439 Speaker 1: be anything natural, that walked the forest, as though something 279 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: heavier than stone had rolled through the stand of trees 280 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: that bordered our homestead. An ominous sound. Don't my mother 281 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: rasped when I slipped from her and made for the door. 282 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: The gods above do not open that door. It is 283 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 1: nearly dark. Father needs help. He is of war and cruel, 284 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 1: but I am not, and I cannot just ignore him. 285 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: Angry as I was, he was still my father, and 286 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,439 Speaker 1: I was better than he. I did not leave my 287 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:53,159 Speaker 1: family alone in the snow. Nearly has come and gone, child, 288 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: and you cannot help him now the gods below and 289 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: above have left him. Another scream, and something heavy was 290 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: thrown against the door. I cried out, hands to my mouth, 291 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,440 Speaker 1: do not open that door, my mother screamed, reaching from 292 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,879 Speaker 1: my shoulders, pulling me back from the shuddering wood. We 293 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: stood pressed against the far wall, shivering for hours, too 294 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: afraid to move. Something large and dark lurked outside, and 295 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:33,960 Speaker 1: sometimes its shape could be seen through the window. It 296 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:36,239 Speaker 1: did not try to enter after that first rush at 297 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: the door, though it did wail and scratch. The noise 298 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: became like a storm, rising and falling through the night, 299 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: shaking the windows. I grew too afraid to look. When 300 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,399 Speaker 1: the sun lit the window, I struggled to my feet 301 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: and took a few halting steps to the door. Mother 302 00:19:57,119 --> 00:19:59,520 Speaker 1: made a sound as if to stop me, but she didn't, 303 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,479 Speaker 1: and so I kept on, pulling open the door and 304 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:07,679 Speaker 1: peering out into the early dawn. Father's head lay on 305 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: its right cheek, soaked him blood there in front of 306 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:17,639 Speaker 1: the door, the stump where his neck had been with 307 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 1: a jagged and wet but frozen A pool of frosted 308 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,960 Speaker 1: blood spread across the little walkway, I had myself dug 309 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: out that morning before, after the discovery of the wine 310 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:34,800 Speaker 1: and the cup. We're still. As I took a shaking 311 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 1: step around the terrible sight, I saw his body, or 312 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 1: rather the torn stump of his neck, as if something 313 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,719 Speaker 1: had planted him like a tree into the earth yards 314 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: from the house, and then plucked his head like a 315 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:55,679 Speaker 1: fruit and tossed it carelessly aside. I slumped to my knees, 316 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,879 Speaker 1: ignoring the immediate bite of freezing snow as it soaked 317 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:04,400 Speaker 1: through my pants and chilled my skin and ute bird. Indeed, 318 00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: and it had done precisely what those stories over fires 319 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: had said, forced my father into the earth with its 320 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:15,399 Speaker 1: awful weight, as it had not gotten what it wanted 321 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,440 Speaker 1: from him, and never could. I knew that his death 322 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: would not be enough. It was not my father's name 323 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:25,280 Speaker 1: that had been written, after all, and murder was no 324 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: end of this curse. There was nobody to bury, no 325 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:36,439 Speaker 1: sacred ground it wanted. Instead in exchange, Father had simply 326 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: made the foolish choice to get between the thing and 327 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: its quarry. I had never felt so small and so unprepared. 328 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: I stood there, paralyzed with a dread I had not known. 329 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,360 Speaker 1: I was capable of viewing, staring at the desecrated remnants 330 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 1: of my father. My mother's grip around my arm was 331 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,159 Speaker 1: like iron and pulled me from the snowy path, dragging 332 00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: me back towards shelter. Your foolish child, she murmured. I 333 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,400 Speaker 1: told you, I told you. Nothing left by the outward 334 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: is anything you need lay eyes on. It wants me, 335 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: I rasped, and I felt as though the cold could 336 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:26,400 Speaker 1: never be driven from my bones. And no, little one, 337 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 1: silly bird, my mother chastised, The thing does not want you. 338 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,360 Speaker 1: It's me. It seeks you are simply it was my name, 339 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: my name on the door. It seeks to harm us both, 340 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: my little one, But it's me who agreed to let 341 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:49,520 Speaker 1: her freeze, is it not. You must promise me to 342 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: stay inside this night, no matter what you hear, no 343 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:58,960 Speaker 1: matter what you may see, you must stay inside. I 344 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 1: cannot lose you. What are you going to do? I 345 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:07,960 Speaker 1: asked her. She did not answer, but instead busied herself 346 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: over the fire with breakfast. For the rest of the day, 347 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: my mother stayed silent, and she would not let me 348 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 1: tend to the animals that she did herself. I ceered 349 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: through the window curious and watched as she walked a 350 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,920 Speaker 1: wide circle around the torn stump of my father's neck. 351 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: I could not, for the life of me find his 352 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,640 Speaker 1: head through my narrow view, and I was not bold 353 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: enough to ask her about it. When she finally returned 354 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: to me, we sat in the early evening, drinking Valerian 355 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: root tea and picking out a stew I normally loved tonight, however, 356 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:52,120 Speaker 1: it was wood, pulp and soil on my tongue. I ate, steady, 357 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: silent as the sun slipped away. Betrayal I felt I 358 00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: could not forgive, as shadows grew long and a pit 359 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 1: opened wide and heavy within me. She's here, I whispered, breathless, 360 00:24:08,600 --> 00:24:12,680 Speaker 1: though I had not heard the cries no child, not yet. 361 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:17,120 Speaker 1: My mother paced by the door, but she will be. 362 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,640 Speaker 1: I need you to promise me, no matter what happens 363 00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: this night, no matter what you see, you do as 364 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,440 Speaker 1: I tell you to do. She shifted her gaze from 365 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: the door to me, and beneath the weight of that stare, 366 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 1: I could not help but gift a slow nod. Mother. 367 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: I have always thought that I obeyed you well enough, 368 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: no matter what Father thought. I started, and she shook 369 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: her head you must obey me exactly this night, little one, 370 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:49,880 Speaker 1: or you will not live to see another for me. 371 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:54,520 Speaker 1: You must promise that you will see dawn. I nodded 372 00:24:54,560 --> 00:25:02,160 Speaker 1: again and sat back in my chair. A piercing while 373 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 1: broke the quiet. The thing sounded hungry, ancient, and hollow. 374 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,600 Speaker 1: Worst of all, as the heavy footsteps brought it ever closer, 375 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: it sounded alluring. I wanted to go outside in a 376 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:26,399 Speaker 1: way that I had not before. It began howling my 377 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: name syllables, twisted, dragged through the soil and snow. I 378 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: found myself standing, walking towards the door, with a little 379 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:40,360 Speaker 1: anguish cry falling from my lips. No, my mother was there, 380 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: grabbing my shoulders and forcing me into a chair. Do 381 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:48,960 Speaker 1: not listen. But I could not help it. I could 382 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:53,639 Speaker 1: not resist. The very foundation of our little cottage was 383 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,119 Speaker 1: shaking with a wailing, and I could not tell my 384 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: mother's cries from those outside it. Before the door, arms outstretched, 385 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 1: taking one step and then another out into the snow, 386 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 1: the horrible thing stood there in the dark of the night, 387 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:19,280 Speaker 1: the trees blotted out for its monstrous size. I could 388 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:21,919 Speaker 1: not even glimpse its head. I could not see the 389 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: mouth that burst those cries. I took a step forward, 390 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:34,399 Speaker 1: ignoring my mother's scream, and then Dame brilliant, red and black, 391 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 1: and I felt to my knees, splintered wood from my 392 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,560 Speaker 1: favorite chair raining down around me. My mother had struck 393 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,240 Speaker 1: me down. Before I could protest. She was there, wrapped 394 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: in her shawl, loaming in her own way, sturdy and 395 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: warm and firm, You damned foul thing. My mother stood 396 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,640 Speaker 1: betweing us, a candle held high in her hand, glaring 397 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 1: up in the amorphous, angry face and its cold black eyes. 398 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,679 Speaker 1: I wish then that I had not looked, for the 399 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: weight of that gaze took residence somewhere in me forever. 400 00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,399 Speaker 1: You've hunted us for years. We've given everything we could. 401 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,120 Speaker 1: You've taken your father, but you will not take your sibling. 402 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: Have at me, beast, have at me, and no rest 403 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: at last. I am the mother who cast you out. 404 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: I am the one who bade you freeze in the 405 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:38,359 Speaker 1: winter me. She turned at me, and then his little 406 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:44,639 Speaker 1: one run and do not look back. I watched in horror. 407 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:50,680 Speaker 1: This hand came from the shadows, wrapping its thick, unearthly 408 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: pale spirit, blesh around my mother, lifting her up into 409 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:58,840 Speaker 1: the dark. She did not scream or struggle, and I 410 00:27:58,880 --> 00:28:02,919 Speaker 1: was torn between terror and wonder at her strength, summoned 411 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:07,560 Speaker 1: from its hiding place at last, I found my legs then, 412 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:12,000 Speaker 1: and I staggered to my feet, her words still ringing 413 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: in my ears, and taking nothing. I ran. I imagined 414 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,439 Speaker 1: myself a wolf cup to them, flinging myself through the 415 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:21,680 Speaker 1: trees I've grown up in my entire life. I imagined 416 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 1: I could run for ages, that I was nothing but wind, 417 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:27,959 Speaker 1: and I willed it so fiercely that I could not 418 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: say I had not shifted form. I was far enough 419 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: away than when the thing drove Mother into the earth, 420 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,280 Speaker 1: and I only felt the slightest tremor beneath my feet 421 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:49,400 Speaker 1: and heard merely a wisp of a cry. Gone. They 422 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: were both gone, and from the sounds that followed, my 423 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:58,720 Speaker 1: home was gone too. I did not stop. I could 424 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: not afford the seconds that would to allow grief to rise, 425 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: and so I pushed it down. I ran. I ran, 426 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: as though I could outrun a curse, outrun memory, and 427 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,920 Speaker 1: for a time, for many years, perhaps I believe I 428 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:17,040 Speaker 1: did it. Just went to her again. The longest night 429 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: I have spent years haunting cities, taking odd jobs, and 430 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,959 Speaker 1: never stopping from long. I have never settled, and very 431 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:28,480 Speaker 1: if you ever know my name, and the name I 432 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:30,480 Speaker 1: give them is not the name of the ute bird 433 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 1: carved upon the door, an ill omen to give anyone 434 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: a cursed name. I am older now, and I do 435 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:42,560 Speaker 1: not quite have it in me to run as I 436 00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:48,239 Speaker 1: once did. I hear her cries upon the wind, and 437 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: I wondered just what anyone near must think, or if 438 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 1: her horrible howls, or for my ears alone, whiling is 439 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: coming closer, and certainly it is not my donation. I 440 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: opened my door, taking a deep breath, and step outside 441 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:31,920 Speaker 1: to wait. And then you were here in this forest, 442 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:40,240 Speaker 1: running from her, and you saw the light and ran 443 00:30:40,320 --> 00:30:48,600 Speaker 1: towards it. And here you are so tired, so tired. 444 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:58,640 Speaker 1: It is time now, Annabelle, Finally your tormentor will not 445 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: follow you into leave anymore. Thank you. Twelve Ghosts starring 446 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 1: Malcolm McDowell as the Innkeeper and Gina Rikiki as Annabelle. 447 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: Episode of Leven the up Bird written by E. M. 448 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: Westover with additional writing by Nicholas Takowski, editing by Chris 449 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: Childs and Stephen Perez, directed by Nicholas Takowski. Original score 450 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:47,680 Speaker 1: and sound design by Chris Childs. Executive producers Aaron Manky, 451 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:53,840 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick, Alexander Williams and Nicholas Takowski. Supervising producer Josh Say. 452 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:59,240 Speaker 1: Producers Chris Child's and Stephen Perez. Casting by Sunday Bowling 453 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: cs A and Meg Mormon c s A. Production coordinator 454 00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 1: Wayna Calderon. Recorded at Lantern Audio in Atlanta, Georgia, engineered 455 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: by Chris Gardner Arrows Sound and Recording in Ojai, California, 456 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:17,720 Speaker 1: engineered by Ken Arrows. Twelve Ghosts was created by Nicholas Takowski. 457 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 1: That is a production of iHeart three D Audio and 458 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 1: Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Learn more about the 459 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:26,320 Speaker 1: show at Grim and Mild dot com and find more 460 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:28,680 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio by visiting the I Heart 461 00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:31,959 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 462 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 1: favorite shows.