1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,760 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 grim and mild from Aaron Banky Headphones 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: recommended listener discretion advised. Out of the bosom of the air, 4 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: out of the cloud, folds of her garments, shaken over 5 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: the woodland's brown and bear over the harvest fields forsaken, 6 00:00:34,200 --> 00:01:06,759 Speaker 1: silent and soft and slow, descends the snow. The night 7 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,400 Speaker 1: is growing old and a bell My dear, surely your 8 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: eyelids are heavy. Are you expecting anyone else tonight? I'm 9 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: always expecting someone. I expect the whole of the world 10 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: to cross my threshold eventually. I'm happy to have your company, 11 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: of course, But you've had a long journey. You wear 12 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,240 Speaker 1: the weight of it like a cowl over your shoulders. 13 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: You only need lay it down. But if you'll perhaps 14 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: indulge one more weary traveler before you go, yes, of course, Hello, dear, 15 00:01:52,360 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: come in, warm yourself. So something was out there in 16 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: the woods. I could see it in the trees, and 17 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: out there in the trees it will stay, unless, of course, 18 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: it wants a drink. I won't turn a thirsty soul away. 19 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: And speaking of would you like a seat drink to 20 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: warm yourself and settle the nerves. Yeah, okay, am I dead? 21 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: Are you surprised? Only surprised it so warm? I was 22 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: expecting the cold and the dark. We must come from 23 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,239 Speaker 1: similar backgrounds. What do you think was in the trees? 24 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: I'm sorry if that was too forward a question. No, No, 25 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: it's better to just it's better to get it out, 26 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: you know, I'm so tired of dealing with it. Well, 27 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:09,720 Speaker 1: dear a sip for courage. Then, my mother always told 28 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: me I would miss her when she was gone, which 29 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: made the arrival of the impossibly translucent apparition of the 30 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: woman I had not actually spoken to in years almost funny. 31 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:24,440 Speaker 1: I might have laughed, had I not been suddenly and 32 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: totally overcome with guilt for not even having any suspicion 33 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:32,600 Speaker 1: that this day was coming so soon. Had she been ill, 34 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: had she laid in a hospital bed for months praying 35 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: her only daughter would come and see her. Surely if 36 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: that were the case, someone would have called. Unless my 37 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: mother had wasted away in passive aggressive silence, proving herself 38 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: right about her ungrateful daughter to the end, at the 39 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: cost of any possible reconciliation, which did not. I realized 40 00:03:55,760 --> 00:04:01,440 Speaker 1: stray too far from the realm of the feasible. I felt, 41 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: then suddenly that I was being terribly uncharitable to a 42 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 1: dead woman who had, despite all her faults, chosen to 43 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: hover now a few inches above the floor at the 44 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: foot of my bed, on presumably the day of her death. 45 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: I was a little shaky on how ghosts worked, having 46 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: not really believed in them until this exact moment. But 47 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: the way I had always heard it was that a 48 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,600 Speaker 1: relative would sometimes appear around the time of their death 49 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,159 Speaker 1: when there was unfinished business, which would definitely apply in 50 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,119 Speaker 1: this case. Honestly, I was flattered my mother had chosen 51 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:38,360 Speaker 1: to come to me at all. The day of your 52 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,119 Speaker 1: death had to be the most important one since birth, 53 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,960 Speaker 1: which hardly counted because infants don't know one days are 54 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,039 Speaker 1: momentous and never have the foresight to file away the 55 00:04:48,080 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: memory Mom. The figure didn't move. I tried again, Hey, Mom, Silence, stillness, 56 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:09,360 Speaker 1: except for a faint shimmering. Maybe in our years of silence, 57 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: she had forgotten how to speak to me, I could relate. 58 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: Arose from my bed, feeling embarrassed in my bare feet 59 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: and ratty mismatched pajamas. My mother's ghost was dressed in 60 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: a sensible pantsuit, or at least most of one, as 61 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: she sort of seemed to fade out of existence around 62 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: mid calf. I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting visitors. I took 63 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,720 Speaker 1: in the clutter of my room shifted uncomfortably. My mother's 64 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:43,360 Speaker 1: ghost said nothing. Would you like a glass of water 65 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: or some tea? We could sit on the couch if 66 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:53,320 Speaker 1: you'd like. After too many moments of awkward silence, I 67 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: settled on dragging a chair from the kitchen into my 68 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: room and setting the blanket on it in case you 69 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: get cold. Old. My voice sounded strange to my own ears. 70 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,479 Speaker 1: I ah, I am going to go to bed now 71 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:19,680 Speaker 1: that okay, still nothing, okay, good night. I got into 72 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: bed and shut my eyes. I knew sleep wouldn't come, 73 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: but I didn't know what else to do. The hours 74 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: ticked slowly past, and I stayed perfectly still, eyes shut 75 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: and listening to the silence in my apartment and the 76 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,039 Speaker 1: muffled noises outside of it, until I could see the 77 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:43,520 Speaker 1: morning sunlight through my eyelids. When I finally opened my eyes, 78 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: I could not see my mother's ghost. The air still 79 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,800 Speaker 1: crackled with energy and smelled like her perfume, and I 80 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: expected her around every corner. I poured myself a bowl 81 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: of cereal and felt eyes boring into the back of 82 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:03,039 Speaker 1: my head. I lifted the spoon, chills rising on my neck. 83 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 1: I put the spoon in my mouth and crunched into 84 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: the cereal, and a bitter taste exploded over my tongue. 85 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: There was a disgusting, wet texture coating my mouth, and 86 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: I felt something moving and spit it out with a gasp. 87 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:24,640 Speaker 1: There was half of a leathery brown cockroach legs still 88 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: crawling in the air as it got sleeked onto the 89 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: table and dropped my spoon into the bowl, which I 90 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: realized Horror was now writhing with a wet mass of 91 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: giant roaches spilling out over the sides and swarming the spoon. 92 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: Pushed back from the table invulsion, and saw her, then 93 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: silent and hovering in the doorway. She smiled and her 94 00:07:52,240 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: teeth looked thin and sharp. I at my girlfriend Alice 95 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: for lunch at her apartment, as I usually did when 96 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: we both had the afternoon free. I sat across from 97 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: her with steaming bowls of rice and vegetables on the 98 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: table between us and her big sweater draped over my shoulders. 99 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 1: I am being haunted by my mother's ghost. Alice took 100 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: both my hands in hers and kissed them. Estrangement sucks, 101 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: she said, simply. No, I mean she's dead. I think 102 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: you think she's been in my apartment, only she doesn't 103 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: have feet and you can see straight through her. Baby, 104 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: She sounded wary. Have you been sleeping and taking all 105 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: your meds and everything? It's hard to sleep with your 106 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: mother's ghosts standing over you. And yes, I have been 107 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: taking all my meds. I took a breath and pulled 108 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:06,480 Speaker 1: my hands back from Alice's feeling defensive. They're just anxiety, 109 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 1: meds and ship. Anyway, I know what I saw, Alice frowned, 110 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: eyebrows knitting together. I just care about you, and I 111 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: am literally on antipsychotics. It wasn't a dick. Alice's shoulders 112 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: clenched up into her neck, and I instantly felt guilty. 113 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,480 Speaker 1: We never had fights, and she had never doubted me 114 00:09:29,559 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: before about anything. I told her my exhaustion and my 115 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: anxiety had me assuming the worst in my partner, and 116 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 1: it wasn't fair. I reached for her hands and she 117 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 1: let me take them back shoulders, relaxing as I kissed 118 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: each of her fingers. My situation did sound far fetched. 119 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't seen it 120 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: with my own eyes, And there was only one way 121 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: to get us back on the same page. Okay, would 122 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: you like to come meet my mother? I was very 123 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:09,640 Speaker 1: much out before my mother died, and she had to 124 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: have known I was a lesbian, but I had certainly 125 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: never come out to her. When she discovered what she 126 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,680 Speaker 1: called and inappropriate friendship I had as a child with 127 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: a girl my age, she took me to a doctor 128 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,160 Speaker 1: until I learned how to hide myself from her. I 129 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: remember her relief when I finally found a boyfriend in 130 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 1: high school, boy from the school play, who held my 131 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: hand and brought me flowers and never ever tried to 132 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: kiss me. When Alice and I walked into my apartment, 133 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 1: it was cold and smelled like smoke and damp earth. 134 00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: Mom I didn't see her anywhere. Alice shivered and squeezed 135 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,719 Speaker 1: my hand. I could see goose bumps rising on her 136 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: neck and her cheeks. There was a faint wrestling, and 137 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,360 Speaker 1: my curtains seemed to flutter a bit despite the windows 138 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:16,839 Speaker 1: being closed. Mom a soft skittering sound, and then nothing. 139 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,719 Speaker 1: Alice's hand felt cold and clammy, and I noticed her 140 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:27,760 Speaker 1: face was sweating a bit too. Are you okay? Alice 141 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:35,559 Speaker 1: took a deep breath and nodded. It's weird in here. Yeah, 142 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: it's making my head hurt. I think I need to 143 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: go home. Do Do you want to come stay the night? Yes? Please? Um, 144 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: Let me just pack a few things, or you get 145 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: to get home on your own. Yeah, no worries. I'll 146 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:59,040 Speaker 1: call you when I get there. Okay, I love you. 147 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: I love you too. When I stepped back into the apartment, 148 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: Mom was waiting near the sofa. Her fingers looked longer 149 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:18,920 Speaker 1: than before. Hey, Mom, I missed you. It was a lie. 150 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: She seemed to get closer to me without actually taking 151 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 1: a step, and I slid past her into the kitchen. 152 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:30,600 Speaker 1: I stood at the sink, watching my mother's ghost from 153 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: across the open countertop that served as the only barrier 154 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,359 Speaker 1: between my kitchen and the main room of the apartment. 155 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: I picked up a plate and a sponge and began 156 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:44,559 Speaker 1: to scrub nervously. My mother's ghost wore a dark expression 157 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: that was Alice, She's my I was interrupted by a 158 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: loud clattering sound from the coffee machine on the counter 159 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: behind me. My coffee pot flew across the room, felt 160 00:12:57,360 --> 00:13:01,800 Speaker 1: the air as it rushed past my face. Glass shattered 161 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: against the far wall, and stale coffee pooled on the floor. 162 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: I swept up the glass and mopped my floor until 163 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: it's shown, but I could not scrub the yellow brown 164 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: coffee stains out of the wall paper. I took the 165 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: phone from the wall and dialed Alice, Hey, I can't 166 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:35,120 Speaker 1: come over tonight. What why? Not? Is everything? Okay? I 167 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: think she's angry your mother? Yeah? Are you sure you 168 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:52,079 Speaker 1: don't want to Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll talk to you soon. Okay, Okay, 169 00:13:53,840 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: I love you, you too. Clip. When I went to 170 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: bed that night, I heard a soft, melodic humming in 171 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: a voice that was almost my mother's, and the figure 172 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: hovered closer than before. It made me happy. I couldn't 173 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: sleep that night or the night after. I had worked 174 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: the day after that, and I was so exhausted afterwards 175 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 1: that I nearly fell asleep on the train going home. 176 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: My mother's ghost stood in the kitchen when I finally arrived, 177 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: making a face of disgust at me and my apron 178 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: and dirty shoes, stinking of dish water. Her hair was 179 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: matted in some places, hanging loose in other skin stretched 180 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: and discolored. She stank too sweet and foul and musty. 181 00:14:56,920 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: I'm sure our faces must have mirrored each other, then 182 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:07,000 Speaker 1: masks of disgust. As I lay awake in bed that night, 183 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: I heard something high pitched and soft and disjointed, something 184 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: that was just far enough from humming to set my 185 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:20,600 Speaker 1: teeth on edge. I took to staying out as much 186 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: as I could after that. Alice was very accommodating about 187 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: all the extra nights I was spending at her apartment, 188 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 1: and my mother's ghost was anything but On the occasions 189 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,640 Speaker 1: I had to return to pick something up or check 190 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,080 Speaker 1: on the place, I always found it in chaos. Often 191 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: there were objects flying through the air, always the stink 192 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: of decay, and another hole in the wall. My mother's 193 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: ghost was looking less human, less familiar, every time I 194 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:53,840 Speaker 1: encountered her. Alice asked a few times if I wanted 195 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: to move in with her permanently, and I did, but 196 00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: of course I couldn't. My apartment smelled like old cigarettes 197 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 1: and wrought. The walls were full of holes in the 198 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: floor strewn with broken glass and shredded paper and torn fabric. 199 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 1: There was no way I was going to get my 200 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: deposit back on the place, and even in full it 201 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: certainly wasn't enough to cover the extent of the damage. Besides, 202 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: I couldn't very well move out, just leave my mother's 203 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: ghost there to haunt some stranger. On the first chili 204 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 1: afternoon that winter, I went to my apartment to fetch 205 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 1: my coat. When I got there, I was instantly overcome 206 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:39,880 Speaker 1: with nausea, dizziness, and exhaustion, and the room swam in 207 00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: front of my eyes, and my knees threatened to give 208 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: out underneath me. I dropped down on the couch and 209 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: sank back, my head resting against the torn fabric and 210 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:53,000 Speaker 1: exposed foam. My vision tunneled out into a black hole. 211 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: My head throbbed. I closed my eyes lying on the couch. 212 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: The nausea is settled, and a comforting warmth spread over 213 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: my body. I could hear my mother humming. Suddenly I 214 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:14,840 Speaker 1: was not in my apartment at all. I was surrounded 215 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:18,400 Speaker 1: by the humming and beeping of machines and the squeak 216 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: of new rubber shoes against an old tile floor. I 217 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: smelled chemicals and sick and sweat. I heard an authoritative 218 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: voice fading in and out, using words like treatment resistant 219 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:40,879 Speaker 1: and experimental in miners. Then I heard screaming and felt 220 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 1: a jolt of electricity through my body, and I drew 221 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: in a hard breath and opened my eyes. That was 222 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: back when my roomed apartment, and the sharp hands of 223 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: my mother's ghosts were pressed into my head, sending jolts 224 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 1: of what felt like electricity down through my spine. Took 225 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: all my strength to get to my feet and make 226 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,199 Speaker 1: it to the door. When I slammed it shut, my 227 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: mother's ghost stayed behind it, and the strange sensation baited. 228 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,720 Speaker 1: It wasn't until I was halfway to Alice's that I 229 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:16,879 Speaker 1: even remembered my coat. Screw the coat. I decided I 230 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: had to get out of there. When I asked Alice 231 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: if she was still open to me moving in with her, 232 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:30,120 Speaker 1: she gave me an emphatic and immediate yes. She met 233 00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:32,359 Speaker 1: me at my apartment as soon as she finished work. 234 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,359 Speaker 1: We spent the day packing up all my belongings, throwing 235 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: away everything my mother's ghost to destroyed, sweeping and mopping 236 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:43,680 Speaker 1: and scrubbing and painting, and patching all the holes in 237 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,520 Speaker 1: the walls, and trading SIPs of wine from a bottle 238 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: that had somehow remained untouched on the top of the 239 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:53,840 Speaker 1: fridge until now. By the time we had finished, it 240 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: was late and we were a little bit drunk, and 241 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: the bus was no longer running. The moving truck was 242 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,200 Speaker 1: coming in the morning to collect my things, so I'd 243 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: have to be there anyway. My mother's ghost wasn't around, 244 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: at least I couldn't see or hear her. I never 245 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:17,640 Speaker 1: did around Alice. Alice and I laid together on my 246 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,919 Speaker 1: stripped bear mattress in the living room, just for a moment, 247 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 1: to regroup and prepare ourselves for the cold walk back 248 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 1: to her place. My eyelids grew heavy, and I felt 249 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 1: my body melting into the warmth of hers. The next 250 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: thing I knew, I was jolting out of a deep sleep, 251 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: with Alice gently snoring beside me. The room was dark 252 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,639 Speaker 1: and cold. At first I thought I had awoken on 253 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:51,119 Speaker 1: my own accord, but then I saw her. The figure 254 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,280 Speaker 1: looked nothing like my mother anymore. She stood over us, 255 00:19:55,640 --> 00:20:02,160 Speaker 1: empty eyes in a hollow face. Mom I whispered, wrapping 256 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: an arm around Alice to try to protect her or 257 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:08,840 Speaker 1: wake her. The figure's eyes glowed red, and the silhouette 258 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: contorted into something long and sharp and inhuman. Mom and 259 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,440 Speaker 1: a flicker, she appeared directly in front of our faces, 260 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,480 Speaker 1: needle teeth hanging out of an empty skull, and long, 261 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:27,199 Speaker 1: long fingers. Alice, Baby, wake up. Alice blinked and started 262 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: to sit up, and then the figure was upon her, 263 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: pressing its long, long fingers into Alice's throat. I tried 264 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: to pry the hands away, but I slipped right through 265 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:38,840 Speaker 1: them like air. I grabbed Alice by the shoulders then 266 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,880 Speaker 1: and tried to pull her away. She was shaking, her 267 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:46,640 Speaker 1: face turning purple, body thrashing violently. Then she got paler 268 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,720 Speaker 1: and stiller, and her eyes grew on focused, and I screamed, 269 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:54,080 Speaker 1: kicking the air where the figure hovered and pulling desperately 270 00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:57,719 Speaker 1: on my girlfriend. I was sobbing and shaking, almost as 271 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:02,360 Speaker 1: violently as Alice. Alice is more family to me than 272 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,639 Speaker 1: you ever were, And if you still consider me a totter, 273 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: then she's your family too. I love her, I want 274 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 1: to marry her. I am a lesbian, and there is 275 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,520 Speaker 1: absolutely nothing you could ever do about it except make sure, 276 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: I die hating you. The air shimmered, and then suddenly 277 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:30,600 Speaker 1: the room was still, and it was empty, and Alice 278 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,199 Speaker 1: was lying silent and pale except for the bruises on 279 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:38,640 Speaker 1: her neck. Then I saw the faint flutter of movement 280 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,760 Speaker 1: as she drew in a shallow breath. I squeezed her hand, 281 00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: she squeezed back. We both exhaled. The rest of the 282 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,360 Speaker 1: night was a blur of ambulance lights and hospital smells 283 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: and beeping machines and Alice's raspy breathing. The doctor said 284 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,440 Speaker 1: that she would be fine, but they asked me to leave. 285 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 1: She promised to call me as soon as she was out. 286 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: Alice begged me not to return to the apartment alone, 287 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,119 Speaker 1: and even offered to go with me yourself, but I 288 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:17,399 Speaker 1: knew I had to do it. I braced myself before 289 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: walking inside, breath catching in my chest. As the key 290 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:27,040 Speaker 1: turned to the lock, click, I stepped inside. The air 291 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:32,560 Speaker 1: was warm and still. Sunlight streamed through the open blinds 292 00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: onto my still packed boxes, ready for the truck. I 293 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: didn't feel watched or threatened or trapped. My head didn't pound, 294 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:47,280 Speaker 1: I could see, I could breathe. My apartment was empty. 295 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: I sat down on the couch, buried my head in 296 00:22:51,840 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: my hands and wept. M it was her in the woods? 297 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: You thought it was her? Yes, I assure you, dear, 298 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,520 Speaker 1: she cannot harm you anymore. She will only ever cross 299 00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:26,240 Speaker 1: my threshold when she's ready to rest. Good that in mind, 300 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: Perhaps you'd like to rest yourself? Yeah, I would up 301 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 1: the stairs, tenth door on the left. Thank you. And now, 302 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:53,879 Speaker 1: my dearest aunt, Bill, the time is drawing, nigh. I 303 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: can see it in your eyes. They aren't as sharp 304 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: as they were when you first arrived. You know what 305 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: she saw out there in those woods? Now, what's been 306 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:29,480 Speaker 1: chasing you? Twelve Ghosts starring Malcolm McDowell as the Innkeeper 307 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,880 Speaker 1: and Gina Rikiki as Annabelle. Episode ten, Poor Mother, written 308 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:39,159 Speaker 1: by Kit Faye with additional writing by Nicholas Takowski, Editing 309 00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:43,879 Speaker 1: by Chris Childs and Stephen Perez, featuring Lauren Vogelbaum as Eloise. 310 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:48,800 Speaker 1: Directed by Nicholas Takowski. Original score and sound design by 311 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 1: Chris Childs. Executive producers Aaron Mankey, Matt Frederick, Alexander Williams 312 00:24:54,680 --> 00:25:00,439 Speaker 1: and Nicholas Takowski. Supervising producer Josh Thame. Producers Chris Childs 313 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:04,399 Speaker 1: and Stephen Perez. Casting by Sunday Bowling c s A 314 00:25:04,640 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: and Meg Mormon c s A. Production coordinator Wayna Calderon. 315 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: Recorded at Lantern Audio in Atlanta, Georgia, engineered by Chris 316 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:18,239 Speaker 1: Gardner Aeros Sound and Recording in Ojai, California, engineered by 317 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:22,720 Speaker 1: Ken Arrows. Twelve Ghosts was created by Nicholas Takoski. That 318 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,320 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heeart, three D Audio and 319 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: Grim and Mild from Aaron Manky. Learn more about the 320 00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 1: show at Grim and Mild dot com and find more 321 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,440 Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio by visiting the i Heart 322 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:36,720 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 323 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:37,439 Speaker 1: favorite shows.