1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,080 Speaker 1: Today's episode includes a graphic and horrific story about the 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: death of an individual. If this sort of thing upsets you, 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:12,239 Speaker 1: this is definitely not the episode for you. Well to 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: Mayhem the More with your host, Doctor Kinder Crowns. Today's 5 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: episode ghost Stories. Happy Halloween for Mayhem and the Morgue. 6 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,159 Speaker 1: People think that something special happens at the Morgue on 7 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 1: this day, but sadly, nothing really ever does. The dead 8 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: don't rise up from their body bags, portals to Hell 9 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: don't open up in the bathrooms, and there are no 10 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: ghostly voices crying out from the cooler. All in all, 11 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,160 Speaker 1: it's just like any other day. Nothing special. Maybe someone 12 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 1: dies in a costume, but beyond that, it's the same, 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: the same as it ever was. Today for Halloween, I'm 14 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: going to talk about a few ghostly encounters that I 15 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: have had and one gruesome Halloween story. I am not 16 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: one for ghosts. I do enjoy haunted houses, though, but 17 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:10,520 Speaker 1: that's different because it's not real and they can't touch 18 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 1: you actually find the paranormals something that I stay away from. 19 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: My brother used to scare me as a child with 20 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: stories about the Amityville Horror and the Exorcist shows like 21 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 1: Ghost Hunters and Destination Fear will keep me up at night, 22 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: so I avoid them. I try not to get involved 23 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: in the debate about ghosts, whether they're real or not real, 24 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: but sometimes, no matter what I do, you just can't 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,920 Speaker 1: skirt the issue. At the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office 26 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: in Chicago, Illinois, the topic would occasionally come up and 27 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: we would get into a debate about the office being haunted. 28 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: I would always say that people don't die here, so 29 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: why would they haunt a morgue. The very element of 30 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: ghost stories is the person haunts the place they died at. 31 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: I have stayed at haunted places like the Stanley Hotel 32 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: in Boulder, Colorado, but those places at least someone had 33 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: been murdered there or died and that's why they were haunted. 34 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: But no one dies at the more. My coworkers would 35 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: always argue back, oh, no, there's ghost here, this place 36 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: is haunted, but they never had any proof. There's no 37 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: blood coming from the walls, lights flickering for no reason, 38 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: and no small children saying they are here. And again, 39 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,320 Speaker 1: I never saw ghosts there, except this one time where 40 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:33,840 Speaker 1: I had a very eerie experience early in the morning 41 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: I used to have to take the train from the 42 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,920 Speaker 1: suburbs where I lived into the city, and then I 43 00:02:39,919 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: would walk from the train station to the L and 44 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: take the L to get close to where I worked. 45 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: My daily commute would start around four am. Sometimes when 46 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: I would get to the office, I would be exhausted, 47 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: especially in the wintertime, and I would take a nap 48 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: by rolling up my jacket and laying down on the 49 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:00,639 Speaker 1: floor and using the jacket as a pillow. One time, 50 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: when I was napping on the floor in this manner, 51 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: I started hearing this weird, echoey baby cry somewhere off 52 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: in the distance. I couldn't figure out where it was 53 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: coming from. My office was on the second floor of 54 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 1: the medical Examiner's office, and when I came down to 55 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: the morgue that day to start doing autopsies, I found 56 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: out there were three dead babies in the cooler waiting 57 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 1: to be autopsied. I told one of my coworkers, wow, 58 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: I heard a baby crying earlier when I was upstairs. 59 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,440 Speaker 1: And they said, see, this place is haunted, and now 60 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: you've experienced it. There's no denying it. Now it's just 61 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: like a graveyard. And I again argued, I didn't know 62 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,320 Speaker 1: exactly what I had heard, and I had been asleep, 63 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: so who knows. I thought it might be a baby crying, 64 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,040 Speaker 1: but again, the baby didn't die here. I thought it 65 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,400 Speaker 1: was ridiculous. I believe the story goes that ghosts haunt 66 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: graveyards because that's where their body is, and their spirit 67 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: stays close to their body, and so again, the medical 68 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: examiner's office is just the way station to the afterlife 69 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: because their body is only there temporarily before its shipped 70 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: to the next place. I did not think the crying 71 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: baby was a ghost. I've thought about this over the years, 72 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: trying to explain what I heard, and my best theory 73 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: is is I had an infant son at the house 74 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: at that time. He didn't like to sleep through the night. 75 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: My wife and I were constantly tired from always being awake, 76 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:30,360 Speaker 1: and maybe I was just so tired that I thought 77 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: I was hearing crying because that's all I ever heard 78 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: at night at home. And it wasn't anything at all. 79 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: It was just a dream because I was so sleepy. 80 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: Who knows, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't a ghost. 81 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: People say ghosts haunt places for a number of reasons. 82 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: It may have been a place that they frequented or 83 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: had meaning to them. It may have been a place 84 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:53,000 Speaker 1: where they spent most of their lives, or it might 85 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: have been a place where they died suddenly or unexpectedly. 86 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,480 Speaker 1: One thing is a hospital can be one of those places, 87 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: and one of the hospitals I worked at was believed 88 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:04,799 Speaker 1: to be haunted. When I began my third year medical school, 89 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:09,320 Speaker 1: my first rotation was in surgery. I spent two months 90 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,240 Speaker 1: being assigned patients that I would take care of, see 91 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 1: their surgeries and help them recover. The last patient I 92 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,240 Speaker 1: was assigned before I finished my rotation was a patient 93 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,799 Speaker 1: by the name of Linda Turner. She had been admitted 94 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:25,679 Speaker 1: to the hospital for abdominal swelling over a short period 95 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,839 Speaker 1: of time. When I came in to evaluate her, she 96 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: was a fifty four year old woman with short black 97 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:36,040 Speaker 1: hair and brown eyes. She was incredibly nice, smiling and pleasant. 98 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 1: Her abdomen was markedly swollen, and she said it made 99 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: her look like she was pregnant, and she told me 100 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: that ain't a possibility for me anymore. And when I 101 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,320 Speaker 1: looked at her abdomen, it was very swollen. She was 102 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: a thin woman, and it looked like she had swallowed 103 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: a small beach ball. The overlying skin was stretched tight 104 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: and when I palpated, her abdomen as hard as a rock, 105 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: which is a major red flag. I told the findings 106 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: to my surgery attending and he had me order some 107 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: tests and a CT scan, and he had missus Turner 108 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: admit it. It took a few days to get her 109 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: into the CT scanner, and every day I would come 110 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: by to see how she was doing. She would always 111 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: be awake in the morning and would want to talk 112 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,159 Speaker 1: a little while. She was kind and funny. We would 113 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 1: talk about her travels, her daughters, game shows, and just 114 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: how bad the hospital food was. I would also come 115 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: by in the afternoon to check on her before I 116 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: went home for the day. She would be tired and 117 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,159 Speaker 1: probably in pain, but she always had a smile and 118 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: always enjoyed talking. The abdominal swelling and pain that she 119 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: was experiencing was quite concerning because she had had pancreatic 120 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: cancer in the past, and they had taken out most 121 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,400 Speaker 1: of her pancreas some part of her intestines. She had 122 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 1: had chemotherapy and radiation, and they thought she was in remission. 123 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,240 Speaker 1: The celebration for having beaten the cancer, Linda decided to 124 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: do some traveling that she had always wanted to do, 125 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,400 Speaker 1: but after several months, she noticed that her abdomen was 126 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: beginning to swell. She figured it was bad spent a 127 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: few more months doing what she wanted to do before 128 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: she came into the hospital. When we finally got the 129 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: CT scan, it did show there was a return of 130 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: her cancer in the mesenteric fat, which is a fat 131 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 1: around the intestines, but this was the nineties, so it 132 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: wasn't definitive. It was decided by the surgeon to do 133 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: an exploratory surgery and see how bad the cancer was. 134 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,360 Speaker 1: By the time the surgery was scheduled, it had been 135 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: about a week in total since she had been admitted, 136 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:44,040 Speaker 1: and I had really gotten to know Linda and I 137 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: really liked her. On the day of her surgery, I 138 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: met with her beforehand, and as always, she was positive 139 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,000 Speaker 1: and upbeat. She said to me, I beat it once 140 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: and I'll beat it again, and I agreed. I got 141 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: to be part of the surgery, but as a medical student, 142 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: my job was to reach track the incision with a 143 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:05,960 Speaker 1: big curved blade retractor and stand there and watch. When 144 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 1: I walked into the operating room, Linda was draped and 145 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: had her eyes taped shut. She didn't actually look real 146 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,480 Speaker 1: to me at that moment. The surgeon began the surgery 147 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: and made an incision through her abdomen and told me 148 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: to retract it open. I dutifully put my retractor into 149 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,240 Speaker 1: the incision and pulled it open. And when I did that, 150 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: you could see it. The gray white nodules of cancer 151 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: were everywhere, infiltrating the soft tissue, the intestinal wall, the liver, 152 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 1: the limp notes. There was nothing that could be done. 153 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: The surgeon evaluated it and he said, there's nothing we 154 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: can do. It's too far. And they closed the incision 155 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: and she was sent to recovery. It was a little 156 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: late in the afternoon by this time, and I didn't 157 00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: stay around until she woke up, which I regret still 158 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: to this day. I was sad that Linda, my friend, 159 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:04,040 Speaker 1: could not be saved. The next morning, I came into 160 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: her hospital room to do my morning rounds. When Linda 161 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: saw me, she had a big smile on her face 162 00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: and she said, hey, hey, hey, doctor k what did 163 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: they find? And I looked at her and I said, 164 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: did no one discuss anything with you? And she said, nope. 165 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 1: By the time I woke up, everybody was gone except 166 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,559 Speaker 1: the nurses, and nobody had any information for me. Probably 167 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: the reality of this is the surgeon had talked to her, 168 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:32,320 Speaker 1: but she was probably still groggy and just didn't remember, 169 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: and her family members that were there were not in 170 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: the room at the present time. She continued on, saying, 171 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,720 Speaker 1: you're the first one i've seen, so what's going on? 172 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: And I said to her, it's probably best if the 173 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,640 Speaker 1: doctor or one of the residents talk it over with you. 174 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 1: And she said, now, come on, Kendall, we've known each 175 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:54,640 Speaker 1: other for a little while. Now tell me what's going on. 176 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:59,120 Speaker 1: It's bad, isn't it. At that moment, I started crying 177 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 1: because I didn't know what to say. I had never 178 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,679 Speaker 1: told anyone they were going to die. I said to her, 179 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:07,080 Speaker 1: I'm just a student and it's not my place to 180 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,559 Speaker 1: talk about it. And I just sat there crying, and 181 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:15,120 Speaker 1: she said, you know, if you're crying, it's obviously really bad. 182 00:10:16,080 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: And I finally was able to say, well it is. 183 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: They couldn't do anything for you. Your cancer's too far. 184 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: Linda pushed a box of tissues over to me that 185 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: was on her bedside, table and said, Okay, get yourself 186 00:10:31,280 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: cleaned up, and then she said, I guess that's just 187 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: how it goes. We sat there for a few minutes 188 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,000 Speaker 1: while I calmed down, and then Linda said to me, 189 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: very calmly and matter of factly, you know you're going 190 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,959 Speaker 1: to have to learn how to toughen up, because if 191 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,559 Speaker 1: you want to be a doctor, you can't get upset 192 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,920 Speaker 1: just because someone's dying. That's just part of your job, 193 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: and you have to be able to tell them straight 194 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,520 Speaker 1: without getting emotional about it. You have to figure out 195 00:10:57,559 --> 00:11:00,400 Speaker 1: how to lock it away. I always look back at 196 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 1: that moment and it's sad that this person with terminal 197 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: cancer was telling me to be tough. It should have 198 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: been the other way around. Linda never got to go home. 199 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 1: She continued to be my patient for the rest of 200 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: my surgery rotation and always continued to maintain her upbeat 201 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,600 Speaker 1: attitude even though the inevitable was looming near at hand. 202 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:25,679 Speaker 1: She was eventually moved to the fifth floor on the 203 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 1: east side of the hospital, to a corner room where 204 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:32,360 Speaker 1: they put cancer patients who were terminal but weren't problematic. 205 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: It had large windows that looked out into the parking 206 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: lot that I was very familiar with because a few 207 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:41,240 Speaker 1: years earlier I had pushed a dead body across it, 208 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: and I could see the morgue where I worked when 209 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: I was an autopsy technician before medical school. I would 210 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:50,200 Speaker 1: sit and talk to Linda, staring out this window and 211 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:53,559 Speaker 1: staring at that morgue, trying not to think about her dying. 212 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,400 Speaker 1: One morning, I walked into the room. It was my 213 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: last day of my surgery rotation, and I was not 214 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 1: dressed in scrub on that day, but I was dressed 215 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,280 Speaker 1: in dress clothes and a tie. When Linda saw me, 216 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: she said to me, my, mo, My, aren't you fancy 217 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: to day? Doctor? K what's the occasion? I know you 218 00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: didn't get dressed up just for little old me. I 219 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: told her that I had oral exams that afternoon and 220 00:12:17,400 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 1: today was my last day at my surgery rotation, and 221 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: she would no longer be my patient, but I would 222 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: still come by and see her. Her response to this was, well, 223 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: I hope you do well on your examinations, and I'm 224 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: glad you're going to still come back by and see me, 225 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 1: but I will miss you as being my doctor. And 226 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: then she said, but I've got something to tell you, Kendall. 227 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 1: It was this weird, fancy woman wearing a red silk bathrobe, 228 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: red shoes, and a red bow in her hair. She 229 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: walked through my room, stood at the foot of my 230 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:52,640 Speaker 1: bed and looked at me and said something. And then 231 00:12:53,120 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: she went into the bathroom and she never came out. 232 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: And she said while the woman in red was in 233 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 1: her room, the room got cold. I said to Linda, 234 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,320 Speaker 1: that's really strange. And then Linda said, yes, I think 235 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,520 Speaker 1: she's still in there. Can you check? And I thought 236 00:13:09,559 --> 00:13:12,680 Speaker 1: to myself, well, this is incredibly odd. I went into 237 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 1: the bathroom and I looked. There was no one in there. 238 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: And Linda said, did you check the shower. I bet 239 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: she's in the shower. And I looked in the shower 240 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: and again nobody was to be found. Linda said, that's 241 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: so strange. I never saw her leave. We talked a 242 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,040 Speaker 1: little bit longer, we said our usual goodbyes, and I 243 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: headed to the nurses station to do my charting. I 244 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,360 Speaker 1: said to the nurses, you know, it's bizarre. But Linda 245 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: saw some woman in red walked through her room, stopped 246 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:42,319 Speaker 1: at the foot of her bed, and went into the bathroom. 247 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: But there's no one there. Did she have visitors last night? 248 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 1: The nurses looked at each other and one of them said, oh, 249 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 1: she seen the lady in red. And I said, well, 250 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: who's the lady in red? And the other nurse said, 251 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: she's the harbinger of death. She haunts this floora hospital, 252 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:04,240 Speaker 1: and every patient who sees her will die shortly thereafter. 253 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: It's only a matter of time now for her. Wow. 254 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: I finished filling out my chart and found my attending. 255 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: I told him how Linda was doing, and then I said, oh, 256 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: and by the way, she said she saw some lady 257 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: in red last night. The surgery attending said, oh, she's 258 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: seen the lady in red. Well, we're not going to 259 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: have to worry about her much longer. And at that 260 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 1: point I tried to get information about who the lady 261 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 1: in red was and why she was a harbinger of 262 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: death for this floor of the hospital. I asked several people, nurses, doctors, janitors, librarians, 263 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: even the nuns, but no one really knew the origin 264 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: of her story. It's just she always was on that 265 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: floor as long as anyone could remember, haunting it, haunting 266 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: the patients that were near death. I found out that 267 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: the hospital had been built in eighteen eighty nine, and 268 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,920 Speaker 1: there was no deaths associated with the hospital's construction, nor 269 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: had there been any mysterious deaths or murders that occurred 270 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:11,360 Speaker 1: in the hospital. And in all the time that people 271 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: could remember, the story of the Lady in Red had 272 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: just been lost to time, and there was no explanation 273 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: of why she haunted that particular floor or chose the 274 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: patients that she would appear to. The next day, I 275 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 1: started my dreaded obstetric's rotation, and on my first day, 276 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:31,320 Speaker 1: I was put on twenty four hour call. I had 277 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:33,920 Speaker 1: to be part of a very eventful berth that I'll 278 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,480 Speaker 1: talk about in another episode. But later on in that day, 279 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:39,840 Speaker 1: I had a free moment and I wandered over to 280 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 1: the surgery floor to go see Linda and to check 281 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: up on her. She wasn't my patient anymore, but that 282 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: didn't matter. She was my friend and I wanted to 283 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,320 Speaker 1: see how she was doing. When I got to her room, 284 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: she was on a ventilator and unresponsive. This was incredibly 285 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: upsetting to me. I went to the nurses station and 286 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: I asked what had happened. Versus said that at around 287 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: midnight she had gone into a coma and had to 288 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: be intubated. When the doctors had reached out to family 289 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: to get a final opinion on what to do, but 290 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: the nurses said, no matter what happens, it's only a 291 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: matter of time now. The next day I went by 292 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: to check up on her, and when I was walking 293 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: by the nurses station, they stopped me and they told 294 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:26,000 Speaker 1: me that Linda had died the evening before. Once again, 295 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 1: the woman in red had claimed another victim. And that's 296 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: the end of that story. Except one thing was I 297 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: always kept my patient's information on little note cards that 298 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:38,960 Speaker 1: I kept in the breast pocket of my white coat. 299 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: I carried Linda's card with me throughout the rest of 300 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: medical school and then throughout all of residency. And when 301 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: I got done, I took that white coat off and 302 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: never put it on again. I packed it up and 303 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: it's somewhere in the attic still, probably with Linda's card 304 00:16:55,760 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 1: in it. I've never forgotten her. She was one of 305 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: my most favorite patients and still brings me great sadness 306 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: to think about her. But I took her advice to heart, 307 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: and I have always tried to keep my emotions out 308 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: of my work. But let's move on. This is Halloween, 309 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: after all, we need something less sad but far more creepy. 310 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 1: Every forensic pathologist has their favorite story to tell, and some, 311 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: like myself, have favorites from different categories, including holidays. So 312 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: with Halloween looming on the horizon, well in the show 313 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 1: with a far more Halloween centered creepy story. This story 314 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: is a mine, though it's from one of my long 315 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:40,159 Speaker 1: since dead mentors. He shared this story with me because 316 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 1: he was excited about a case that I had had. 317 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: He had had something very similar, almost exactly the same, 318 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: but his case had occurred on Halloween. My actual most 319 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: creepy story is far too upsetting for any media. It's 320 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: something that I'll probably never be able to share because 321 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: it's just too out there to be believed. Maybe one 322 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:03,879 Speaker 1: day I'll put it in a book or something, But 323 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,360 Speaker 1: for now, we're going to discuss this case, which occurred 324 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,359 Speaker 1: in a suburb of a large southern city. It was 325 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: Halloween and the neighborhood was in full spooky moat. Pumpkins, monsters, 326 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: and skeletons were on full display. This was in the eighties, 327 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: so there was less hyper realistic gore available to decorate 328 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:27,560 Speaker 1: with no zombie babies or glowing red eyed animatronics, but 329 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: some people still made an attempt to make it scary. 330 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 1: It was nighttime and the street lights had turned on. 331 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: Kids were out trigg or treating, dressed in costumes of monsters, 332 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: movie stars, and other assorted characters. Homes handing out candy 333 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,720 Speaker 1: were lit with porch lights and cheerful, glowing pumpkins sitting 334 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: on hay bales, And of course there is always one 335 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:51,400 Speaker 1: house with a take one candy bull that is emptied 336 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: by the first marauding trick or treat probably dressed as 337 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,320 Speaker 1: a pirate. Some of the homeowners sat on the porch 338 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: or in their driveway, hanging out with neighbors or sitting 339 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,400 Speaker 1: with their spouses greeting trick or treaters with a jovial, 340 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:08,080 Speaker 1: happy Halloween. The neighborhood was alive with festive Halloween spirit 341 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,919 Speaker 1: and fun. But there was one house at the end 342 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:13,879 Speaker 1: of the street that was a little different. It was 343 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: not as well maintained as the other homes in the neighborhood. 344 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: The flower beds had weeds, and the yard had patchy, 345 00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: dry areas of grass and dead spots with dirt. The 346 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 1: only porch light flickered in the darkness, creating a slight 347 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: strobing effect. The owner of the home was an elderly 348 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,199 Speaker 1: woman who had lived in the neighborhood for decades and 349 00:19:33,359 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: was well known and well liked by her neighbors. She 350 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,639 Speaker 1: was a widow, with her husband having died years ago. 351 00:19:40,119 --> 00:19:42,920 Speaker 1: Her middle aged son still lived with her. He had 352 00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: lived there his entire life. To anyone's recollection, he had 353 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: never left the area. He didn't drive. They knew he 354 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: worked somewhere around town, but they weren't sure. He was 355 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,879 Speaker 1: a little odd, but pleasant. There was never any trouble 356 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: with him. He always was benign and kept to himself. 357 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,640 Speaker 1: On this Halloween night, he sat in the strobing light 358 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 1: of the porch in his grandmother's old wood rocking chair. 359 00:20:07,359 --> 00:20:09,840 Speaker 1: He was a big guy. He was six foot two, 360 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:14,159 Speaker 1: about three hundred pounds, with a tight, flat top hair cut. 361 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: He stared out intensely into the night, rocking slowly back 362 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,640 Speaker 1: and forth, waiting for trick or treaters. He had two 363 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:24,159 Speaker 1: small tables on either side of him. One had a 364 00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: ceramic bowl full of Candy Reese's peanut butter cups, baby roosts, 365 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: and blow pops. The other table had a prominent Halloween 366 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: decoration on it. The star of the show, so to say. 367 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: Most kids were too spooked to go up to get candy, 368 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: but the braver kids would walk up. They would excitedly 369 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: say trick or treat and he would reach into the 370 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,200 Speaker 1: bowl and hand out candy, saying Happy Halloween. The kids 371 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: and adults would compliment him on his minimal list but 372 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: still creepy costume and decorations, and when they asked who 373 00:20:56,040 --> 00:21:00,199 Speaker 1: he was dressed ass, he would respond slightly confused and 374 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: say me. His costume consisted of a rumpled white T shirt, 375 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: blue denim pants, and black boots. The shirt had wide 376 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: bloodstains across the abdomen, and the pants and boots had 377 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 1: blood spatters all over them. He had blood on the 378 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: side of his face, extending from his forehead across the 379 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: side of his cheek. He also had blood on his 380 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:26,000 Speaker 1: forearms and kaking his hands. There were bloody footprints leading 381 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: from the house to where he sat. He really put 382 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: effort into making it look creepy and it was quite 383 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:36,040 Speaker 1: gory and very realistic. His white candy bowl had bloody 384 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 1: fingerprints on it, and the candy wrappers were also stained 385 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,400 Speaker 1: with droplets of blood. One adult said, you've really gone 386 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: all out with that fake blood. Don't leave it on 387 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: too long, though, because he might get a rash. His 388 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,960 Speaker 1: response was just a creepy smile. People also complimented him 389 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: on his very real looking decoration sitting on the other 390 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,959 Speaker 1: table next to him. When one child went to touch it, 391 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,359 Speaker 1: he blocked them and said, oh, don't do that. She 392 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: wouldn't like that. What was this decoration? The decoration was 393 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: that of a human head, long gray hair, the eyes 394 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: and mouth clothes, and there were still earrings in the ears. 395 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,639 Speaker 1: The head had a waxy look to it, but overall 396 00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: it looked incredibly realistic. It had a lot of fake 397 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: blood on it, in the hair and along the stump 398 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: of the neck, so much so that it was oozing 399 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,240 Speaker 1: down the side of the table. A couple of the 400 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 1: adults that had ventured up onto the patio asked what 401 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: he sculpted it, out, of which he calmly replied yes. 402 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: After a while, a group of neighborhood kids came to 403 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 1: retrieve their candy from him. They had a couple of 404 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,720 Speaker 1: moms keeping track of them. I don't know what the 405 00:22:47,760 --> 00:22:50,760 Speaker 1: kid's costumes were, but I always like to think they 406 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,560 Speaker 1: were dressed as smurfs, because it just makes it a 407 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: little bit more absurd. The moms followed the kids up 408 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,679 Speaker 1: on the porch, and when the kids were getting their candy, 409 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: one of the moms looked at the decoration in the 410 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:05,640 Speaker 1: stroping light and gasped. She turned to the other mom 411 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:10,879 Speaker 1: and said, oh my, that's Carol, which is not her 412 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:12,800 Speaker 1: actual name, because I don't really know what it was. 413 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,800 Speaker 1: The other mom quickly recognized the hat as Carol, the 414 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 1: woman of the house, the mom of the man handing 415 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: out the candy. The kids had gotten their candy and 416 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 1: were complaining about the sticky blood on the wrappers, but 417 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: they quickly took off to the next house to get 418 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: more candy. The two moms quickly followed after them, while 419 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 1: the man continued to sit in the rocking chair waiting 420 00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 1: for the next group of kids. The moms quickly hearded 421 00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,280 Speaker 1: the group of children to the area where several of 422 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,919 Speaker 1: the neighbors had set up a table to hand out candy. 423 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:47,320 Speaker 1: The kids were complaining because they wanted to continue on, 424 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,159 Speaker 1: but the moms told them to be quiet, and they 425 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,000 Speaker 1: gathered the group of neighbors and told them what they saw, 426 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: to which several people didn't believe it. They debated, should 427 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: others go check, should they make sure it was really 428 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:02,119 Speaker 1: a human head? Should they make sure it's Carol or 429 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 1: is it someone else? Because you know, they hadn't seen 430 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: Mike all evening. Should they just confront him in unlike 431 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,639 Speaker 1: a horror movie? One of the more reasonable neighbors said, 432 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: forget that, let's call the police, and that's what they did. 433 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,959 Speaker 1: And when the police arrived, they walked up to the 434 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: man still sitting in the rocker and they said to him, 435 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 1: good evening, sir, that's a nice Halloween decoration you have there, 436 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:26,879 Speaker 1: to which the man said, well, thank you. And then 437 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: one of the officers said where did you get it from? 438 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: And the man said, oh, that's my mom. The officers 439 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:38,760 Speaker 1: were taken aback by that, and one said, okay, what 440 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 1: happened to her? And the man said, I killed her 441 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: and then I cut off her head. The officers were 442 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: startled and paused and said, okay, are we going to 443 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,399 Speaker 1: have any trouble here? Where's the rest of her? And 444 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,120 Speaker 1: the man said, I won't be any trouble at all, sir. 445 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,840 Speaker 1: I don't want to be I don't want to create problems. Oh, 446 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,000 Speaker 1: and the rest of her, Well, it's in the house, 447 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,040 Speaker 1: laying on the floor. I can take you there and 448 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: show you if you'd like. The officers said, well, yes, 449 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,000 Speaker 1: let's go see her. And he stood up and the 450 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 1: officers stood on either side of him, and he led 451 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 1: them into the house, and sure enough, there was the 452 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: rest of the man's mom laying on the floor of 453 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: the foyer with about twenty to thirty stab wounds and 454 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: a large kitchen knife protruding from her back, and her 455 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:29,000 Speaker 1: head had been completely cut off. There was blood all 456 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,919 Speaker 1: over the floor around her and on the walls, and 457 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,400 Speaker 1: it had been obviously walked through at some point. When 458 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: they cuffed him and were putting him in the police car, 459 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,479 Speaker 1: they asked him why did he murder his mother, and 460 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 1: he said, well, you know, he needed to do that 461 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,960 Speaker 1: because he thought she was possessed by the devil, or 462 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: maybe aliens, or possibly the CIA. He wasn't sure, but 463 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:55,640 Speaker 1: she was definitely possessed. And they took him downtown where 464 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,439 Speaker 1: he was processed. He had fully admitted to what he 465 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: had done. He had obviously mental problems, and he was 466 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:03,880 Speaker 1: put away in a mental health facility for the rest 467 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 1: of his life to my knowledge, and when he was 468 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: asked why he put his mom's head on the table, 469 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:13,640 Speaker 1: he said, well, she would like to see all the costumes, 470 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,760 Speaker 1: because you know, she really loved Halloween and loved being 471 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,639 Speaker 1: part of the festivities, and he didn't want to deny 472 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:23,560 Speaker 1: her of that. I mean, of course, that makes complete sense. 473 00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,560 Speaker 1: There's one more thing about this case, and that is 474 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,840 Speaker 1: my oldest daughter used the story for her eighth grade 475 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: theater arts class. The assignment was to write a short 476 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:39,679 Speaker 1: scary play based on their own story for Halloween. She 477 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,879 Speaker 1: came home and asked if I had any good scary stories. 478 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,960 Speaker 1: I provided her was too this case. In another case 479 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: about a taco expedition that went horribly wrong, which I 480 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,199 Speaker 1: will talk about in a future episode. Of course, this 481 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,679 Speaker 1: story was by far the creepiest one, and she created 482 00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:00,359 Speaker 1: a play based on it. She was sick of fake 483 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: stories and wanted something real that people should be afraid of. 484 00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: When she presented it to her class, she did a 485 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,320 Speaker 1: one girl version of the story, acting out the parts, 486 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: using a ruler for a knife and re enacting the 487 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: decapitation using a ball falling to the floor. She closed 488 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:23,120 Speaker 1: the story with a chilling and it's true. The teacher 489 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: stood silent, blinking. None of the kids spoke. It was 490 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: dead silent. The teacher broke the silence and said, that's 491 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: a true story, to which my daughter said, yes, yes 492 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 1: it is. My dad told me this one. The kids 493 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,720 Speaker 1: in her class knew me because of my career day talks, 494 00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 1: so they knew it wasn't fake. And one of the 495 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: kids in the class said, I think I'm going to 496 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:50,399 Speaker 1: be sick. The teacher said to her, well, wow, that's 497 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,040 Speaker 1: just too intense for middle school, really high school, probably 498 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:57,480 Speaker 1: even college. I think we better go with something else. 499 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: And it ended up they decided to go with a 500 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 1: play based on the urban legend of the Licked Hand. 501 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 1: And if you don't know what that one is, it's 502 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: a story about a girl home alone for the first 503 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,040 Speaker 1: time with only her dog as company. She hears news 504 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 1: about some random serial killer being on the loose in 505 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,200 Speaker 1: the neighborhood and of course locks all the doors, but 506 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:20,879 Speaker 1: forgets to lock one window in the basement. She goes 507 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,760 Speaker 1: to bed with her trusted dog in the room, sleeping 508 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: underneath the bed. She of course wakes up in the 509 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: middle of the night because she keeps hearing this dripping 510 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:31,480 Speaker 1: sound coming from the bathroom, but she's too afraid to 511 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,520 Speaker 1: check on it, and she reaches down to pet the 512 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 1: dog and gets a reassuring lick from the dog on 513 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:41,120 Speaker 1: her hand. The next day, when she gets up, she 514 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,200 Speaker 1: walks into the bathroom and finds the dog dead and mutilated, 515 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: hanging in the shower, with a message written in the 516 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: dog's blood on the wall saying humans can look too 517 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,720 Speaker 1: and that's the end of the story. My daughter feels 518 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: still to this day that her story was far superior. 519 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:59,400 Speaker 1: I mean, seriously, a true story about a beheaded woman, 520 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,560 Speaker 1: bloody Halloween candy is far more creepy and chilling than 521 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: some fake serial killer and why would you lick your hand? 522 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,320 Speaker 1: My daughter also felt that story was pathetic because she 523 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 1: hates anything in which a dog gets hurt or dies. 524 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: People is one thing, but pets is just too far. 525 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 1: And that brings us to the end of the episode. 526 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,600 Speaker 1: I hope you learned something like you never trust your neighbors, 527 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: and I hope you were entertained, and finally, once again, 528 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: Happy Halloween from Mayhem and the Morgue Until the next time.