1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,800
Speaker 1: M twelve Ghosts is a production of I Heeart three

2
00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,039
Speaker 1: D audio and grimm and mild from Aaron Manky Headphones.

3
00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:24,040
Speaker 1: Recommended listener discretion advised. Blow blow thou winter wind. Thou

4
00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:29,240
Speaker 1: art not so unkind as man's ingratitude. Thy tooth is

5
00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:34,360
Speaker 1: not so keen, because thou art not seen, although thy

6
00:00:34,440 --> 00:01:03,480
Speaker 1: breath be rude. When I was a boy, my father

7
00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,920
Speaker 1: had a large velvet wingback chair in his study. I

8
00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:13,800
Speaker 1: would sneak in sometimes, specially in midwinter, when the darkness

9
00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,679
Speaker 1: and the cold crept in early, and I'd curl up

10
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:22,640
Speaker 1: in that chair. The warmth of it, the comfort a

11
00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,960
Speaker 1: cocoon holding a little boy waiting to transform. That is

12
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,800
Speaker 1: what we seek in the midwinter, a cozy spot to

13
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:39,360
Speaker 1: wait in while we transform ourselves. Did it work after

14
00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:45,119
Speaker 1: a fashion? It's not true. You know that people can't change,

15
00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:50,520
Speaker 1: They just do it very slowly. We change inch by

16
00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,240
Speaker 1: inch over the course of years. The wild passion of

17
00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:59,960
Speaker 1: youth mellows into a sort of patience. We don't notice

18
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,960
Speaker 1: the slow change in others because we travel at the

19
00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,400
Speaker 1: same speed, all of us, over the course of a life,

20
00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,280
Speaker 1: and so we just assumed that people are static, immovable,

21
00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:18,040
Speaker 1: when I picture myself as very young, I do not

22
00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:23,880
Speaker 1: recognize that boy. He's as far gone as anyone I've lost.

23
00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:28,839
Speaker 1: What of grief? Does that not change us? In one

24
00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:41,799
Speaker 1: great motion? Mm hmm, oh, mine the time, the time? Hello,

25
00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:47,839
Speaker 1: young man, we've been expecting you. Hi. I'm I'm not

26
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:53,200
Speaker 1: sure I'm in the right place. I think I'm lost. Oh,

27
00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,800
Speaker 1: I think you're right where you need to be. Come

28
00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:04,880
Speaker 1: have a saint with Annabelle. H What is it, Lad?

29
00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:10,440
Speaker 1: You look like you've seen a ghost. It's just I'm sorry.

30
00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,800
Speaker 1: I thought she was someone else for a moment. I'm

31
00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:22,799
Speaker 1: just me sit, have something to drink, warm up. I'm

32
00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:29,359
Speaker 1: sorry you look a lot like her who It's kind

33
00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,760
Speaker 1: of a long story. You seem to be in the

34
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:37,360
Speaker 1: right place. She's right, glad, we have nothing but time

35
00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:43,920
Speaker 1: tell us about her. I was ten when she first

36
00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,960
Speaker 1: came to me. She was just there when my mom

37
00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,760
Speaker 1: put out the lights one night, leaving my room after

38
00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,760
Speaker 1: tucking me in. I first I thought it was a

39
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,800
Speaker 1: trick of a light. You know, the neighbors next door

40
00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:01,760
Speaker 1: they had these Christmas lights and they'd blink. The stripes

41
00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:05,000
Speaker 1: of her dress were all black and white. I thought

42
00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,040
Speaker 1: it was just the shadow of the blinds flashing on

43
00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:12,200
Speaker 1: and then off, on and then off. But when the

44
00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:19,320
Speaker 1: lights disappeared, she didn't. She lingered watching me, and I

45
00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,520
Speaker 1: just stared at the shapes of her, the parts I

46
00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,640
Speaker 1: could make out. She wasn't fully there. It was like

47
00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,520
Speaker 1: a double exposure photograph or a bunch of slides that

48
00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:36,719
Speaker 1: get jammed in the carousel. Flash of light and I

49
00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,960
Speaker 1: made at her chest. Lights go off, She's still there,

50
00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:49,440
Speaker 1: gangly arms blink again. She has a frown. Those eyes

51
00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,479
Speaker 1: and their running mess care that didn't drip or move.

52
00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,839
Speaker 1: I'd look from the window to her. I wasn't scared

53
00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,159
Speaker 1: of her at first. I was just trying to make

54
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:06,159
Speaker 1: it all out magic eide view master. Her hair was

55
00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:10,760
Speaker 1: like Peter Pan or Dorothy Hamill. When Peter Pan comes

56
00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:14,000
Speaker 1: to your window. You're not in danger, you're not haunted,

57
00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:20,919
Speaker 1: you're not cursed, You're just special. Stories taught me that

58
00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,920
Speaker 1: the world just opens its magic to you at some point,

59
00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,839
Speaker 1: and I thought this was my turn. Looking back, I

60
00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:34,160
Speaker 1: guess it was. The stripes were kind of cool on her,

61
00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:40,160
Speaker 1: like these diagonals. I love diagonals. I was just frozen

62
00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:44,320
Speaker 1: in my bed watching her. I kept waiting for something

63
00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,960
Speaker 1: to start. I didn't want to talk first. I didn't

64
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,279
Speaker 1: want to be the one to interrupt what was happening.

65
00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:55,120
Speaker 1: I was scared she'd disappear and never come back, that

66
00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,320
Speaker 1: this was all I'd get. And I was also so eager.

67
00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:03,359
Speaker 1: I was shape a king. Her mouth opened just a

68
00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,960
Speaker 1: little bit, but instead of a whisper, there was this screech,

69
00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:14,960
Speaker 1: a metal on metal scraping, like like school bus breaks.

70
00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,359
Speaker 1: It rang in my ears. It shook my spine, and

71
00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:28,920
Speaker 1: I closed my eyes to shut it out. I opened

72
00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:34,200
Speaker 1: them again, and I was in a big, old department store.

73
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,160
Speaker 1: The lady was with me, smiling and holding my hand,

74
00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,200
Speaker 1: and we were rushing past all these toys, train sets

75
00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:45,880
Speaker 1: and stuffed bears and Christmas trees. She wouldn't let go

76
00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,040
Speaker 1: of my hand, and I couldn't keep up with her.

77
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,919
Speaker 1: For heels clicked fast on the tile, past the crowds,

78
00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,360
Speaker 1: other families sorting through red dresses, points set us ladies

79
00:06:57,360 --> 00:07:01,640
Speaker 1: spritzing passers by with perfume. I could smell it. It

80
00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,440
Speaker 1: hung in the air. I wanted to sit down, I

81
00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,120
Speaker 1: wanted to stay still. The lady and the stripes wouldn't

82
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,200
Speaker 1: stop for me, though she just kept tugging. I planted

83
00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:17,920
Speaker 1: my feet. She opened her mouth again. This time she

84
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,160
Speaker 1: had a voice, a normal voice. We're going to miss it,

85
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,480
Speaker 1: she said, you need to get in line. I didn't

86
00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,520
Speaker 1: feel like moving. The lady just picked me up like

87
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,560
Speaker 1: it was nothing. Click click, click, and everything in the

88
00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:38,080
Speaker 1: place moved past me. I closed my eyes again, hoping

89
00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,680
Speaker 1: to will myself awake. If I was dreaming, I wanted

90
00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,360
Speaker 1: it to stop. I just like I wanted to be

91
00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:49,280
Speaker 1: where I wanted to be, only that I wanted to rest.

92
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:56,960
Speaker 1: I didn't want to hurry. I opened my eyes and

93
00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:03,840
Speaker 1: I saw this pigs face. It had eyelashes, and it

94
00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,960
Speaker 1: was flying in the air above me. No, I swear

95
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:12,920
Speaker 1: a giant pig was smiling at me, and it squealed

96
00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:28,000
Speaker 1: and squealed that same metallic noise. It was morning then,

97
00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:31,000
Speaker 1: and I jumped out of bed. I ran to my

98
00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:34,240
Speaker 1: mom's room and I told her about my night. It

99
00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,320
Speaker 1: sounds like you had a really bad dream, she said

100
00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,640
Speaker 1: to me, rubbing my shoulders. Didn't you watch the Muppets

101
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,680
Speaker 1: last night? This wasn't a muppet, mommy. This was great,

102
00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,560
Speaker 1: big and it could fly. Miss Piggy can fly, she

103
00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:55,960
Speaker 1: said to me. Teasing. No, she doesn't. Miss Piggy doesn't fly. Yeah, huh,

104
00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,800
Speaker 1: she does, she said back to me. Miss Piggy flew

105
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,360
Speaker 1: and she was on that motorcycle and went through that

106
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:07,320
Speaker 1: stained glass window. It wasn't like that, I said, that

107
00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,480
Speaker 1: was just a movie, and she flies all the time

108
00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,880
Speaker 1: when she's in space. I just sighed and went to

109
00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,959
Speaker 1: the kitchen for some cereal. I hated when adults wouldn't listen.

110
00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,200
Speaker 1: The only thing she said about the Black and White

111
00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,160
Speaker 1: lady was that we should maybe start using my night

112
00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:30,240
Speaker 1: light again. My mom never took me on adventures. She

113
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:33,320
Speaker 1: never took me shopping much, not that I can remember.

114
00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,320
Speaker 1: She'd go for groceries while I was in school, or

115
00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,559
Speaker 1: she'd just leave me in the car. If she needed

116
00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,200
Speaker 1: to run inside to grab something, she just cracked a window.

117
00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,600
Speaker 1: You could do that back then. We lived in a

118
00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:51,080
Speaker 1: small town outside Birmingham. I'd only seen stores like the

119
00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,920
Speaker 1: ones from my dreams in the movies, but there was

120
00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,480
Speaker 1: never a flying pig. The next night, I was pretty

121
00:09:58,559 --> 00:10:01,959
Speaker 1: much home alone. The neighbor girl would occasionally come by

122
00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:04,839
Speaker 1: and check on me, make sure the house wasn't on fire.

123
00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:08,760
Speaker 1: Mom had arranged it. I think Mom was working. I

124
00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,360
Speaker 1: don't know. I was watching TV, and you know, I

125
00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,560
Speaker 1: was laying right in front of it, between it and

126
00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,240
Speaker 1: the Christmas tree. There was no one around to tell

127
00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:22,280
Speaker 1: me i'd go blind. Oh wait, Before I watched TV,

128
00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:24,839
Speaker 1: I did check my room to see if that lady

129
00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:29,400
Speaker 1: was standing there, but she wasn't there anyway. So the

130
00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:32,439
Speaker 1: only thing on was the Andy Griffith Show, so I

131
00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:34,800
Speaker 1: was only half watching it and doing a word search.

132
00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:38,560
Speaker 1: And then I wanted some coke, so I pushed myself

133
00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,560
Speaker 1: up by my elbows and I rolled like accidentally into

134
00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:46,840
Speaker 1: the Christmas tree. Like five ornaments just crashed down off

135
00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,400
Speaker 1: of it. Aluminum balls and glass stars just raining down

136
00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,480
Speaker 1: on me, and I flinched, bracing for the whole tree

137
00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,319
Speaker 1: to come down, but it didn't. I stood up more

138
00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,719
Speaker 1: carefully and I checked out the damage. Most of the

139
00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,240
Speaker 1: ornaments were fine, so I put them back on the

140
00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,680
Speaker 1: empty branches except one of them. One of the glass

141
00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,640
Speaker 1: stars had shattered into little red shards all over the

142
00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:13,480
Speaker 1: tile by the front door. I don't know how it

143
00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:17,000
Speaker 1: got that far from the tree. I went to the kitchen,

144
00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,120
Speaker 1: grabbed a dust pan and a broom tried to clean

145
00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,319
Speaker 1: up the mess. I even put it in the garbage outside.

146
00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,240
Speaker 1: That way, I left no trace for mom to find.

147
00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,880
Speaker 1: I was nervous, but the neighbor girl didn't see me

148
00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,600
Speaker 1: run out her back. She wasn't watching. Then I went

149
00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:37,319
Speaker 1: into the hall closet to get a replacement ornament from

150
00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:40,200
Speaker 1: out of the box of Christmas stuff, but there weren't

151
00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,320
Speaker 1: any more red glass stars in the box. As I

152
00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,360
Speaker 1: tugged through it, I reached down into it and I

153
00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,679
Speaker 1: felt something cold and a little heavier. Taking it out

154
00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:55,840
Speaker 1: of the box. It was a ceramic ornament. It was

155
00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:01,840
Speaker 1: that pink pig, its eyelashes painted on its ceramics, snout

156
00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:06,480
Speaker 1: and mouth molded into a smile. A name was painted

157
00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:12,840
Speaker 1: on a jingle bell collar around its neck, Priscilla. The

158
00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,280
Speaker 1: door to the closet shut behind me, and I was

159
00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:25,440
Speaker 1: in the dark. I heard that squeal again, and I

160
00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,600
Speaker 1: was back in that dream. The black and white lady

161
00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,400
Speaker 1: was watching me, smiling, but I was away from her

162
00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,640
Speaker 1: this time. I had a slip of paper in my hand.

163
00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:43,040
Speaker 1: Hi Jacob, she said, Wave Jacob, but that's not my name.

164
00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:47,280
Speaker 1: I was being crowled with a bunch of other little

165
00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:52,240
Speaker 1: kids into this. It was like a dangling cage someone

166
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,280
Speaker 1: took the paper from me and just shuffled me into

167
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:59,680
Speaker 1: this metal tube. Around me were all these toddlers wearing

168
00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,520
Speaker 1: red coats and bows, and there was this piped inversion

169
00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,880
Speaker 1: of jingle bells. All the grown ups were just watching us,

170
00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,400
Speaker 1: and the black and white lady waved at me, and

171
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,440
Speaker 1: they slid closed the doors to the cage, and I

172
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:17,760
Speaker 1: grabbed onto the grates on the windows. Everything was pink.

173
00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:20,200
Speaker 1: I looked in front of me and I saw the

174
00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:25,400
Speaker 1: side of that pink pig's face, those eyelashes. Me and

175
00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:29,760
Speaker 1: the other kids were just inside of her metal guts trapped.

176
00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:35,040
Speaker 1: And then we started moving. We were dangling, flying. I

177
00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,280
Speaker 1: looked out the window and we were flying over all

178
00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,880
Speaker 1: of these toys. At first, there were train sets. There

179
00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:46,240
Speaker 1: were painted clowns all along the walls. There were signs

180
00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,040
Speaker 1: with the pig's face on it, Priscilla, the pink pig.

181
00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:54,600
Speaker 1: Priscilla the pink Pig. All the other kids seemed fine.

182
00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:59,480
Speaker 1: As we flew around the room. I closed my eyes again.

183
00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:05,400
Speaker 1: I tried to make it stop. The squeal of metal

184
00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:10,079
Speaker 1: hit my ears, though, and I felt this chill. Either

185
00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,520
Speaker 1: it went down my spine or it was in the air.

186
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,480
Speaker 1: I opened my eyes and I put my hand on

187
00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,800
Speaker 1: the metal grate. We weren't flying over toys anymore. Some

188
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,720
Speaker 1: kids were yelling. We were outside in the chilly air,

189
00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:29,560
Speaker 1: flying around a giant Christmas tree. I looked all around me,

190
00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:33,800
Speaker 1: and I saw all these buildings and the sky. I'd

191
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:38,360
Speaker 1: never seen these buildings before. It wasn't burning him. Nothing

192
00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,920
Speaker 1: was familiar. As far as I could tell. We were

193
00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:46,560
Speaker 1: so high up, dangling inside this pig. I know it

194
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,760
Speaker 1: sounds crazy. I looked down and I could see city

195
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:56,520
Speaker 1: streets below. People looked smaller than ants. And then that

196
00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:04,280
Speaker 1: horrible squeal happened again. And then the door to the

197
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:07,480
Speaker 1: closet flew open, and my mom asked me what I

198
00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,040
Speaker 1: was doing there in the dark. Why would you sleep

199
00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:16,080
Speaker 1: in the closet, She asked me, come out here. I

200
00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,120
Speaker 1: let go of the pig ornament, leaving it on the floor,

201
00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:23,280
Speaker 1: and I crawled out of the closet. I'm sorry, I

202
00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:27,240
Speaker 1: don't know what happened. I said to her, when did

203
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,720
Speaker 1: you get back. I've been looking for you all over

204
00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:34,680
Speaker 1: the house for ten minutes. She said, I need your

205
00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:40,040
Speaker 1: help getting the groceries out of the car. The next morning,

206
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:43,560
Speaker 1: Mom told me to get dressed. She had library books

207
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,920
Speaker 1: to return. If I hurried, I could go with her

208
00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:50,760
Speaker 1: and get some chapter books. I liked Beverly Cleary, the

209
00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,800
Speaker 1: Henry Huggins stuff. I was looking through the kids department.

210
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:58,800
Speaker 1: The staff knew me there. Mom went to look at

211
00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,640
Speaker 1: the newspapers and the Mr. Books. I asked the librarian

212
00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,200
Speaker 1: if she had any books about Priscilla the pink pig.

213
00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:11,320
Speaker 1: You mean Petunia, she asked me, No, ma'am. I said,

214
00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:16,040
Speaker 1: Priscilla the pink pig. I think it can fly or something.

215
00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,720
Speaker 1: She looked at me, weird, you mean that Dumbo looking

216
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:26,000
Speaker 1: thing in Atlanta. I don't know. I guess that ain't

217
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,840
Speaker 1: a book, she said. Did you all go to Richards

218
00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:35,280
Speaker 1: or something to see Santa Riches? I asked her the

219
00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:39,800
Speaker 1: fancy department store over in Georgia. Librarian lady said, the

220
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 1: place with the coconut cake and the big tree and

221
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,840
Speaker 1: that kid's pig train that glides on a rail every Christmas.

222
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,280
Speaker 1: My husband took me to see the tree lighting last Thanksgiving.

223
00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,880
Speaker 1: It was crowded, but the choirs were good. I've never

224
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:58,400
Speaker 1: been to Atlanta, I told the lady. The train has

225
00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,440
Speaker 1: a face like Dumbo, except with a snout instead of

226
00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:06,439
Speaker 1: a trunk. She said, because we're Southern. I guess what

227
00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,840
Speaker 1: do you mean a rail? I started to ask her

228
00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:15,199
Speaker 1: does it chug or does it fly? That's when I

229
00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,560
Speaker 1: noticed Mom was standing over me. She told me it

230
00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,440
Speaker 1: was time to go. I told her I hadn't picked

231
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,600
Speaker 1: any books out yet, but she told me we had

232
00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,440
Speaker 1: to go and that I should make decisions faster. Mom

233
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,480
Speaker 1: didn't have any books either, but she headed to the car.

234
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,400
Speaker 1: Her whole mood had changed. She put me to bed

235
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,160
Speaker 1: early that night, but in the dark of my room

236
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,000
Speaker 1: I could still see the black and white lady watching

237
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,200
Speaker 1: me as the Christmas lights would flash through the blinds.

238
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:53,480
Speaker 1: My name isn't Jacob, I whispered to her, My name is.

239
00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,439
Speaker 1: Outside the door, I could hear my mother talking on

240
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:03,359
Speaker 1: the phone. Mom had that tone she gets, the one

241
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,280
Speaker 1: where she acts like nothing's bothering her when something is.

242
00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,040
Speaker 1: The black and white lady raised her arm. She pointed

243
00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:14,480
Speaker 1: her finger at my bedroom door. I got out of

244
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,840
Speaker 1: bed and put my ear to it. I listened to

245
00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,280
Speaker 1: what Mom was saying. She was talking to my aunt Carol,

246
00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:25,680
Speaker 1: but I could only hear my mom. Did you see

247
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,440
Speaker 1: that she killed herself this weekend. Oh but it was

248
00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:32,840
Speaker 1: in yesterday's paper. I ripped out the whole page. The

249
00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:37,359
Speaker 1: library gets it here. They declared Jacob legally dead last week,

250
00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:43,240
Speaker 1: seven years without a trace. I guess no, I don't

251
00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,640
Speaker 1: feel bad about it, Carol, He's mine. She wasn't even

252
00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:51,359
Speaker 1: watching him that day. She was shopping for purses. We

253
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:53,600
Speaker 1: walked out of there before she even noticed the train

254
00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:57,040
Speaker 1: was back. She did it to be with her sons,

255
00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:03,040
Speaker 1: supposedly reunited in heaven. I heard my mom laugh, like

256
00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:10,760
Speaker 1: actually laugh. Good luck finding him there. I turned away

257
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,040
Speaker 1: from the door. The black and white lady just stared

258
00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:20,400
Speaker 1: at me, and I stared back. Some nights, even now,

259
00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,960
Speaker 1: especially this time of year, I see the black and

260
00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:33,000
Speaker 1: white lady. She still tries to touch me, but I'm

261
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:47,120
Speaker 1: out of reach. Oh oh no, you've felt a pull

262
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:53,359
Speaker 1: towards her your whole life, haven't you. You've come a

263
00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:58,679
Speaker 1: very long way this night, lad. Perhaps you would like

264
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:06,159
Speaker 1: to rest, Yes, I think I would. Eight room on

265
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:10,600
Speaker 1: the left, just up the stairs there. Perhaps you'll see

266
00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:19,359
Speaker 1: her in your dreams, Yes, that would be nice. Good night, Annabelle,

267
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:31,040
Speaker 1: Good night, sir, good night. Sleep well. Has she passed

268
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:36,560
Speaker 1: through here? M hm, not that I've seen, but that

269
00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:43,040
Speaker 1: doesn't matter. They'll find each other. Love finds her way.

270
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:03,879
Speaker 1: Twelve Ghosts starring Malcolm McDowell as the Innkeeper and Gina

271
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:08,360
Speaker 1: Rikiki as Annabelle. Episode eight, The Pink Pig written by

272
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,959
Speaker 1: Benjamin Carr with additional writing by Nicholas Takowski, editing by

273
00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:17,280
Speaker 1: Chris Childs and Stephen Perez, featuring Pat Young as Jacob.

274
00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:22,040
Speaker 1: Directed by Nicolas Takowski. Original score and sound design by

275
00:21:22,160 --> 00:21:27,920
Speaker 1: Chris Childs. Executive producers Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alexander Williams

276
00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:33,879
Speaker 1: and Nicholas Takowski. Supervising producer Josh Staine. Producers Chris Childs

277
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,639
Speaker 1: and Stephen Perez. Casting by Sunday Bowling c s A

278
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:42,000
Speaker 1: and Meg Mormon c s A. Production coordinator Wayna Calderon.

279
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:46,920
Speaker 1: Recorded at Lantern Audio in Atlanta, Georgia, engineered by Chris Gardner,

280
00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:52,359
Speaker 1: Aeros Sound and Recording in Ojai, California, engineered by Ken Arros.

281
00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,000
Speaker 1: Twelve Ghosts was created by Nicholas Takowski and is a

282
00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,040
Speaker 1: production of iHeart three D Audio and Grim and Mild

283
00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:01,959
Speaker 1: from Aaron Manky. Learn more about the show at Grim

284
00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,720
Speaker 1: and mild dot com and find more podcasts from I

285
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:08,200
Speaker 1: heart Radio by visiting the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

286
00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:30,600
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H