WEBVTT - SYSK's 2017 Super Spooktacular! 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:18.880 Hello, and welcome to the podcast. We need to come 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:22.120 up with those spooky Simpsons names. You know what they 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:25.119 do for a Treehouse of Horror every year. We just 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.720 have never done that, but so I guess this year again. Still, 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.840 I'm just Josh Clark, and you're just Charles w Chuck Bryant, 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.839 and there's Jerry the murderous ghoul Roland. No, you're Josh 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:40.720 Spooky Clark and I'm Chuck. He's right behind you, Bryant. Nice. 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:45.559 That's good stuff, man, thanks for swooping in there. So 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:49.120 this is our Halloween Special, which we do every year 0:00:49.200 --> 0:00:52.720 these days for those of you who aren't familiar but 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:57.520 who like horror fiction prepared to be delighted. Yeah, what 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.360 we do is, uh, we get together at a year 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:02.840 and we should point out this is one of two 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:05.000 ad free episodes we do every year, along with the 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:10.679 Christmas Holiday Spectacular. Uh. And you know we fight for 0:01:10.720 --> 0:01:14.280 this every year because it would really ruin the vibe 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:17.720 of a good spooky story if we took a commercial break, 0:01:17.800 --> 0:01:21.880 right yep. But it's our gift to your right. So 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:23.520 what we do is we read it used to be 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:28.759 one story. Sometimes we've fan sourced stories which was. Yeah, 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:32.039 we had a whole horror fiction contest, which we will 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:33.920 never do again. No, it was a lot of work, 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:35.920 but it yielded some pretty great stuff. Yeah, and I 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:38.400 think last year we did the little uh two sentence 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:42.120 fans submitted things and that was kind of neat. But 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:44.680 this year we're going old school and just reading too 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:49.480 straight up horror fiction stories, one of which was written 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:53.200 expressly for us for this episode by our favorite writer 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:59.600 Ed Grabowski. Yes, and we have a little a little 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.320 update till last year's story. So Ed wrote us a 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:06.120 story last year called extrane of Use Invocot, which was 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:09.560 great and terrifying. It was so terrifying, in fact, chuck 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:14.080 that over in the UK, a producer of films got 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:17.680 in touch with Ed and said, hey, mate, um, I 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:19.840 want to turn that story into a movie. What do 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.680 you say? He said, I'm not your mate, but sure, Yeah, 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:27.160 and it's happening. That's I mean, how about that? Yeah. 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.480 They set up a website for it called The Between 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:33.560 dot Film. That's the name of the movie, is The 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:37.960 Between and Now in the post dot com bubble days, 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.560 you can call your website dot anything. So again it's 0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:45.240 the Between dot Film and it will give you some 0:02:45.320 --> 0:02:47.919 information on the story. There's even a link to last 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.000 year's Halloween episode, so if you want to go listen 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.080 to it, go to that site and find it. And 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:56.840 they set up a crowdfunding um uh project to help 0:02:56.960 --> 0:03:00.680 fund the project, and if you kick in you can 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:03.600 get things like obviously the movie when they complete it. Sure, 0:03:04.320 --> 0:03:08.760 you can get signed scripts, even a credit in the movie. 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:10.639 There's a lot of stuff you can get that they're offering. 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:14.400 And the movie slated to come out February fourteen, two 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:17.799 thousand and eighteen as it stands right now. Man, that's great, 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.880 Like that's it's really on track to go. So um 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.520 things are coming up for the Grabster, and he gave 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.480 us another great story that I'm I would be surprised 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:30.239 if it doesn't get turned into a movie untially as well. Yeah, 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:32.440 I guess that producer said, I love the story, but 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.520 that title's gotta go. Yeah, No one knows how to 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:38.360 say that. We're just gonna call it the Between. Cool title, 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:40.520 but the Between is definitely a little more marketable, and 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:45.000 I think in today's modern world than Latin. Yeah, we 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:49.280 ought to uh, we ought to get a kickback on that. Huh. 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:52.160 You know I didn't bring it up. I was hoping 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:55.480 he would, but he, uh, he hasn't so far. No, 0:03:55.600 --> 0:04:00.400 we're happy to be de facto executive producers. Yeah, we 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:02.720 could also be facto though if they give us, you know, 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.680 credits in the in the film, maybe a special thanks 0:04:05.680 --> 0:04:08.960 at the end. Yeah, playing money like I owe my 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:15.440 life to these guys. All right, yeah, all right, Well 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:19.080 you're ready to read his newest one, the Grabster's newest story. 0:04:19.240 --> 0:04:22.600 That's right. It is called Gifts, not g I F 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:27.840 F S G I F T S. Right. That was 0:04:27.880 --> 0:04:31.760 a good creepy t thank you. So we're gonna start, 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.920 and Jerry, as ever, is going to pull out all 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:37.240 the stops and add all the bells and whistles to 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.560 scare the Bejesus out of you while we're reading this. So, 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:50.960 without further ado, there's Gifts by the Grabster. I'm here 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:55.039 about the housekeeping job. I'm Marissa called earlier. I reached 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:57.000 out to shake the man's hand, but he kept his 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.760 face on the paperwork. He was shuffling, holding out an 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:03.039 up raised index finger in my direction. I returned my 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:06.159 hand to my side. Finally, he stacked the papers and 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:08.520 looked up at me. You'll want to speak to my wife. 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:11.760 Then she's handling those arrangements. She's gone to the market, 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:13.920 but should be back any moment. If you'd like to wait, 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.159 There's a sitting room at the top of the stairs. 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:19.000 He nodded briskly and moved on to some other towns. 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:22.680 A wide staircase of dark, varnished wood led to an 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:26.120 upstairs hallway running to my left and right. The ornate 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:29.800 wallpaper was striped by alternating shafts of shadow and sunlight 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.719 coming through open doors, except at one end of the hall. 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:35.840 There the doors were closed in the hallway and folded 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:38.960 in shadow. Directly ahead of me was an open archway 0:05:39.080 --> 0:05:42.279 leading to the sitting room, a sunlit chamber with a fireplace, 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.200 a number of well crafted but time worn leather chairs, 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:48.400 a row of bookshelves stacked with volumes, and a small 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.279 table set up for a game of chess. A young 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:53.960 boy roughly six years old was sitting in one of 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:56.320 the chairs, a large book spread out in his lap. 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.720 He looked up as I entered. Hello, he said, are 0:05:59.760 --> 0:06:03.200 you a guest? No? I told him I've come about 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:06.240 the housekeeping job. Do you mind a little company I've 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:10.119 got to wait for your mother. Okay, his smile brighton. 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:12.599 It'll be good to have someone to help again. Mom 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:14.719 gets stressed when she has to do it all herself, 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.599 along with the shopping and everything. My name is Robert, 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:21.039 but everyone calls me Bobby. My name is Marissa. What's 0:06:21.080 --> 0:06:23.880 that you're reading? Bobby? He tilted the book up so 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.320 I could see the title A sign on Rosie's door. 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.880 What's it about a girl who becomes someone else and 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.920 takes her friends on adventures? I had an adventure this week. 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:35.440 Do you want to see what I found? Without waiting 0:06:35.480 --> 0:06:37.480 for me to answer, he hopped off the chair, setting 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:39.760 the book down behind him, and ran past me through 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:42.120 the archway into the hall on his short legs. Don't 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:47.520 follow him, I turned to follow, seeing him head off 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:50.280 down the brighter half of the corridor. It's in my room, 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.279 he called out, then disappeared into one of the open doorways. 0:06:54.040 --> 0:06:56.200 By the time I got there, he was crawling underneath 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:59.320 the bed. It was clearly his room, decorated with racing 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.880 cars and car tune characters. He emerged clutching would appeared 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:05.400 to be a pillow. I had a dream the other 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:07.119 night that I was in the dark, and no matter 0:07:07.160 --> 0:07:09.320 where I crawled around, I couldn't get out of the dark. 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.239 It was cool inside wherever I was, but so dark, 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:15.200 so black, I couldn't see anything. When I woke up, 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:18.320 I was holding this. He held the pillow out to me. 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:21.600 It was oddly shaped, more narrow than the usual pillow, 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:23.720 and it was made of white satin, with a satin 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:26.520 ruffle around the edge. I took it and held it up, 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.800 humoring the child's tall tail. But I noticed the pillow 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:32.840 was stained in the center, a yellowish brown mark in 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:36.080 a rough oval shape. That's when I realized what it was. 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:41.200 It was a pillow from a burial casket. Bobby, where 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.239 did you get this? I tried to keep from sounding alarmed. 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:46.560 When I woke from my dream, I was lying on 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:48.840 top of it, holding it with both arms. He gave 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:51.680 it to me. I heard footsteps coming down the hall 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:53.720 behind me and turned to see a small framed woman 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:56.400 with graying black hair striding towards me. I handed the 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:59.840 pillow back to Bobby ms leventus. She said yes. I 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.400 stuck out my hand again, this time getting a soft 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:06.200 handshake in return. Bobby's been showing me around. I looked 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:07.960 back at the child who sat on the edge of 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:12.600 his bed smiling, the pillow nowhere to be seen. All right, 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.160 I don't like the sounds of Bobby. Uh No, not 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:20.320 with this little burial casket stained pillow or his short, 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:24.760 stubby legs, which is creepy all by itself. I got 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:29.360 the job, That's great. My husband didn't exactly sound joyful 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.600 at the news. To be honest, neither did I. Working 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.240 at Shipped in Grains Hotel for the summer was a 0:08:35.320 --> 0:08:38.600 necessity and something of a hardship. The hotel was two 0:08:38.720 --> 0:08:41.680 hundred miles away from our home, and I'd only be 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.480 able to afford the train back to visit once or 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:46.800 twice a week in the four months i'd be working there. 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:49.559 But times are hard for everyone, and most had it 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:53.000 harder than us. Still, knowing this meant I'd be apart 0:08:53.040 --> 0:08:56.360 from John for the entire summer tempered my enthusiasm, and 0:08:56.800 --> 0:08:59.720 I could hear in his voice, even over the phone line, 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:04.880 more relief and weariness than glee. We sure needed. It's 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:08.240 a nice place, old kind of fussy. Mrs Taggart is nice, 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:12.520 and the young boy Bobby is I paused about to say, 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.800 he's a bit odd, but it felt like gossiping about 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:19.920 a child, so I told John. He's very inquisitive, but 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:22.760 it wasn't what I meant. It's a lot for you 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:25.120 to do this, John said, that will help in the 0:09:25.160 --> 0:09:28.080 long run. It's hard to be a part though. I 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.240 love you Mayor, I smiled, looking out the window at 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:34.200 the tidy gardens in front of shipped and Grange, dissolving 0:09:34.240 --> 0:09:37.559 into shadows as twilight set in. I love you too, John. 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:46.800 I'm glad you got that sappy party. Don't worry about Bobby. 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:49.600 Mrs Tiggert was walking me through the hotel, showing me 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:52.360 what my duties would include, in which room I'd be 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:55.200 staying in on the ground floor near the kitchen. She 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:59.319 stopped awkwardly, placing a hand at my elbow. His imagination 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.560 is a new usual at times, but he's a kind boy, 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:06.400 he really is, which was true. I think he never 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.920 showed me the funeral pillow again. And Bobby would often 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:11.480 appear around a corner at the doorway of a room 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:15.000 I was cleaning, clutching something odd. He was so eager 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:17.559 to show me and didn't seem to have other friends, 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:20.920 so I let him linger around while I worked In truth, 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:23.160 he was more pleasant company than either of his parents, 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:26.000 whom I found stiff and formal. They rarely spoke to 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.800 me at all about anything not directly related to my job. 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:32.600 This was under my hat when I took it off 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:35.360 this morning, Bobby said. One afternoon, he held out a 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:39.200 small pile of coins, worn and blackened with age Latin 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:43.360 writing barely legible on the faces. Those must be terribly valuable. 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:46.080 I said, Oh, I can't sell them. His face was 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:55.920 very serious. Mr. Sorrow says their mind to keep children 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:59.480 have their flights of fancy and imaginary friends, especially child 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.640 free to rome in old the state, like shipped in Grange. 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:05.560 But when Bobby said that name, I felt something on 0:11:05.640 --> 0:11:08.120 the back of my neck, like a kiss that barely 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:13.840 grazes the skin. Mr Sorrow. My voice was just a whisper. Yes, 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.440 Bobby Grint, he's very tall. We were in room thirty three, 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.560 which was named the uttermost End, being the last room 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.440 at the end of the longest third floor corridor. The 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:25.880 light was always bad in that room. The whole section 0:11:25.880 --> 0:11:29.280 of corridor had a dim greenish quality to it. It 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:31.719 wasn't simply that the light was insufficient, but rather that 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:36.240 it felt incorrect. The shadows fell at the wrong angles, 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:39.000 and the sun, when seen reflecting on a window pane 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:42.800 or crystal decanter, appeared as a dull orange hole board 0:11:42.840 --> 0:11:46.640 into the sky. As we spoke, Bobby's shadow seemed to 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.600 stretch to reach across the room, as if to unfold me. 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:52.720 He closed a small fist around the coins and ran off. 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:57.240 The deep, disconcerting shadows remained. I remade the bed covers 0:11:57.320 --> 0:11:59.760 quickly and hurried to leave. No one had stayed in 0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:01.720 the the Most End in the time I've been working 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:05.160 at Shifting Grange. Maybe it's because they called it the 0:12:05.200 --> 0:12:09.439 uttermost End. It's not the best name for a room. 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:12.880 They're like, you'll like it. The lighting is incorrect. Even 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.320 Mary and Joseph would have been like, that's okay, we'll 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:19.960 go out into the manger. You just keep that. I 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:21.960 don't like the sounds of Mr Sorrow either. By the way, 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:26.480 I woke up with hands on my throat this morning. 0:12:26.640 --> 0:12:31.839 John said, ice cold. What did someone break in? There 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.640 was no one there. It must have been a nightmare. 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:37.720 My heart was racing, though, I'd imagine, so check the 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.480 windows around the house before bed tonight, then just to 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.400 humor me, I will. I think I'll sleep like a 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:46.199 stone tonight. We've fallen behind on orders at the plant, 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.560 and machine four went down again. I'm pulling my hair out. 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:52.320 John hung up the phone on his end, and I 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:54.360 listened to the silence on the line for a while, 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:57.280 the hum and whisper of currents and the echoes of 0:12:57.280 --> 0:13:02.120 a thousand voices. Later that week, I was cleaning the 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.280 main dining room, Bobby playing at the table behind me 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.560 with some wooden army men he'd found in the attic. 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.360 The clatter of his toys had fallen silent, but I 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:13.560 didn't notice until Missus Tagger walked in. She looked at me, 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:17.200 then her gaze moved behind me, her eyes widening Bobby. 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:21.120 She hissed quietly. I turned to see Bobby standing very 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:24.280 close behind me, clutching in his hand a gleaming steel blade. 0:13:25.000 --> 0:13:28.400 Is that from the kitchen, Mrs Taggart said. Bobby's face 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:31.800 turned sullen. No. He dropped the knife, climbing to the 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:35.040 floor and ran from the room. Mrs Taggert collected the blade, 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.600 turning it over in her hands. It appeared to be 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:41.080 finally made, though it for a dark stain she carried 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.360 it straight out to the trash bins in the rear yard. 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.240 That boy ain't right, you know. That's the that's the 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:52.640 turning point right there. In midsummer, the weather grew hot 0:13:52.679 --> 0:13:55.360 and close, but shade trees and thick walls kept the 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.360 oldest state quite cool. John and I still spoke on 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.640 the phone every night, and I plan to return home 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:03.319 for a weekend in just two weeks. It was nearly 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:05.600 all I could think about at night. I would lie 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:08.280 in bed, waiting for sleep, trying to slow my breathing, 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.280 taking in the sugar sweet smell from the elder shrubs 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.960 growing all around the open window. I'd often awakened hours later, 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:18.040 staring into the blind darkness of a strange room in 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:21.160 a strange town, and feel the weight of loneliness settle 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.280 on my chest like a stone. In those moments, soft 0:14:25.320 --> 0:14:28.720 fingers of shadow would trace my jawline and collar bone 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:31.920 with the familiarity of a lover, and I spoke to 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:36.560 voices I could barely hear. One evening, after completing my 0:14:36.600 --> 0:14:39.040 work for the day, I found Bobby rolling a small 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.880 rubber ball slowly up and down the upstairs hallway. Would 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:46.040 you like to play catch, I said. His face lit 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.080 up with delight, and he took up a position ten 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:52.680 meters down the hall from me. It's Canadian. We rolled 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:54.960 and bounced the ball back and forth for some time, 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:59.040 Bobby letting out the first really genuine laughter I'd heard 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:02.840 from him. My back was to the long, dim expanse 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.200 of the corridor leading to the uttermost end, but I 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.800 hadn't really thought about it until the door to one 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:12.080 of the other rooms just behind me slowly opened. I 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:14.280 saw it swing open from the corner of my eye 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:19.280 Room twenty seven, the Prince's chamber. I watched the gaping 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.000 doorway for a moment. When no one emerged, I called 0:15:22.040 --> 0:15:26.640 out missus Taggart. There was no reply, but Bobby giggled 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:30.360 behind me and the ball rolled slowly past me, coming 0:15:30.360 --> 0:15:33.760 to a stop in front of Room twenty seven. I 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:37.000 crept forward to retrieve it. Crouching to pick up the ball. 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:40.520 As I stooped in front of the empty, darkened room, 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:43.760 I was engulfed in a frigid chill. I stuffed my 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.280 hands into my pockets and returned to Bobby. With my 0:15:47.400 --> 0:15:50.320 right hand, I tossed the ball. When I pulled my 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.840 left hand from my pocket. I realized I was holding something. 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:57.800 It was a pair of scissors. The orange plastic candle 0:15:58.080 --> 0:16:02.080 had been melted and blackened by fire. The blades were 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:10.160 clean and sharp. I've never seen them before. Oh man. 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.120 The next day I was cleaning the dust from beneath 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.280 one of the guest beds. I like how Ed brings 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:19.400 us along on the cleaning. Oh yeah, just keep us 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:21.680 up to date. The next day, I was cleaning the 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:23.880 dust from beneath one of the guest beds, and as 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:26.280 I reached for the rag i'd set down, something else 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:29.760 materialized in my hand. I don't mean to say that 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.560 I reached out and grasped an object. I mean that 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:36.960 my empty hand suddenly and inexplicably had something in it. 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:40.640 It had a dry, papery feel, and drawing my hand 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:42.840 out from under the bed, I saw that it was 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:46.280 an old scrap of newspaper. There was no date on it, 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:48.640 as the top edge was torn and nothing on it 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:52.160 seemed to be of any significance. Advertisements for a furniture 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:55.160 shop in an article about a winter storm. In the 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:57.320 center of the paper, a hole had been torn through. 0:16:57.840 --> 0:16:59.920 Looking more closely, I could see that it was actually 0:16:59.880 --> 0:17:02.760 a bite mark. Someone had showed through the center of 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:06.800 a piece of old newspaper. Mr Sorrow is giving gifts 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:12.520 to you now, Miss Marissa. It was Bobby in the doorway, 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.000 dark circles under his eyes. He stood and watched me 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:19.800 for an uncomfortably long time. I threw the newspaper away. 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:25.600 Oh boy, I'm getting creeped out here. Just one more 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:28.480 week until I can see you again. I know, I 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:30.560 really can't wait. I've got a nice dinner plan and 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:32.719 we can walk down by the star set like we 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:35.320 used to. The water is so green this time of year. 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.119 There was the joy that had been missing from John's 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:41.400 voice earlier in the summer, and I'll confess it made 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:44.840 my heart swell to hear it. That sounds wonderful. Are 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:48.119 things getting better at the factory a bit? I'm not 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:51.080 sleeping well, though, John said. I guess it's just that 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:55.440 the house feels empty without you here. I'm consistently awakened 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:57.520 in the middle of the night by the feeling of 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:00.320 someone lying in the bed beside me. But of course 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.080 there's no one there. Someone will be there soon enough. 0:18:03.640 --> 0:18:06.320 I was trying to be reassuring, but it came out wrong. 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:12.160 Me I mean, John laughed, of course you uh yeah, 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:15.199 you better hope it's her, right, John, of course it's you. 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:20.840 All right, he sounds bully convinced. All right, let me 0:18:20.840 --> 0:18:26.560 bring it home. Mm hmm. I was awakened by a scream. 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.639 Mrs Taggart was wailing, and I ran toward the sound, 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:32.880 groggy from sleep and stumbling over furniture in the darkness. 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:36.199 She was in Bobby's room. The bed was empty, and 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.320 she was crouched halfway out the open window. Bobby, she 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.520 cried out into the night. I stood there, halfway through 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:45.720 the door, stunned. The window opened via a hand crank, 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.080 The handle detached for safety, and the socket was too 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.480 high for Bobby to reach in any case. Mr Taggart 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:55.320 ran past me down the corridor, and I followed him 0:18:55.359 --> 0:18:58.440 downstairs into the cool night air. Bobby was crumpled on 0:18:58.480 --> 0:19:02.480 the lawn, his right folded under him, his face bloody, 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:05.400 but he was alive. He'll be all right. Mr Taggart 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:07.520 called up to his wife, who was still sobbing in 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.920 the window. Call for the doctor. Then Mrs Taggart shrieked, 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:15.040 glaring at me across the wide lawn. At that moment, 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:18.040 I noticed something in my hand, the hand crank for 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:22.560 the window. I stammered and dropped it. I was sound asleep, 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:25.560 I swear. I ran back into the house for the phone, 0:19:25.600 --> 0:19:27.720 not thinking clearly, not knowing what to do. So I 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.280 rang John. I needed to hear his voice, mayor he 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:34.879 sounded sleepy. John. Something horrible happened. Bobby fell out the window, 0:19:34.960 --> 0:19:37.359 but I had the crank to open it in my hand. 0:19:37.840 --> 0:19:40.360 I don't know how it got there, but I was asleep, John, 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.280 I was asleep. Calmed down, Love, take a breath and 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:47.679 explain it again. I don't really under. John's voice was 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:50.639 cut off by a sharp hitch in his breath, a 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:54.800 sort of short cough, John, John, are you there? The 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:57.359 only sound over the phone line was a soft, wet 0:19:57.400 --> 0:20:02.200 whistling repeated in a slow rhythmic pattern. I felt something 0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:06.040 in my hand just then, something warm like my fingers 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:11.040 were wrapped in hair, heavy weight dangling below on the phone. 0:20:11.080 --> 0:20:14.640 The whistling sound faded to a low gurgle, and I screamed. 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:18.080 And I screamed while something hot and wet splashed onto 0:20:18.119 --> 0:20:21.160 my legs and ran down my feet. But I refused 0:20:21.160 --> 0:20:23.679 to look down. I refused to see what it was 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:26.040 in my hand, and the voice on the phone was 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:35.440 familiar and cold. It was not John, and I just screamed, Wow, boom, 0:20:35.600 --> 0:20:38.679 holy cow. That is how it's done. If you're a 0:20:38.720 --> 0:20:44.440 horror Somewhere in Canada, a microphone was just dropped. Where 0:20:44.440 --> 0:20:47.439 did you go, Grabster? That was good stuff. Oh daddy, 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:49.439 that's a good one. I think that could would make 0:20:49.480 --> 0:20:53.679 a at the very least of wonderful short film. Agreed. Uh, 0:20:54.119 --> 0:20:55.760 it's gonna be a tough one to follow. It's going 0:20:55.800 --> 0:20:58.960 to take a literal horror classic to follow that one. 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:02.119 And we'll get to that right after our eight minute 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:07.000 commercial break. Hey we're back. Yes, we should set this 0:21:07.040 --> 0:21:09.119 one up a little bit. It's called The Yellow Wallpaper 0:21:09.840 --> 0:21:13.240 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and it is one of our 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:16.439 classic old stories that we used to do some of 0:21:16.480 --> 0:21:21.840 these and published first in New England magazine. And this 0:21:22.240 --> 0:21:28.440 is um can only be considered early work of feminist literature. 0:21:29.440 --> 0:21:32.840 And what it really is clearly is a statement on 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:36.680 the treatment of women at the time. You know, Oh yeah, 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:40.959 for sure, clearly, um. And it must have been when 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:44.359 was it originally published? This is very brave to have 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:48.280 published this because super brave. The author Charlotte Perkins Perkins 0:21:48.320 --> 0:21:53.480 Gilman is definitely um almost poking fun at the status 0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:58.200 quo between men and women UM at the time by 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:01.879 by making your character just so fully bought into it 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:04.440 that she's not even really questioning it at first. While 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:06.960 she's questioning it, you know what I'm saying. Yeah, she's 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:10.280 questioning the details, but not the structure that is giving 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:13.040 rise to the details. Yeah, and she's clearly not too 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:15.159 shy about making her statement. It's not you don't have 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:17.679 to read between too many lines, you know. I like 0:22:17.760 --> 0:22:21.640 it to good story. And I believe this one's been 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:24.200 made into a movie on Netflix if I'm not miss 0:22:24.480 --> 0:22:27.280 Oh really, I'm pretty sure I saw the Yellow Wallpaper 0:22:27.280 --> 0:22:30.919 on Netflix. Yeah, alright, the yellow Wallpaper. Here we go. 0:22:37.000 --> 0:22:39.840 It is very seldom that mere ordinary people like John 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:44.560 and myself secure ancestral halls for the summer, a colonial mansion, 0:22:44.840 --> 0:22:48.359 hereditary estate. I would say, a haunted house, and reach 0:22:48.440 --> 0:22:51.600 the height of romantic felicity. That would be asking too 0:22:51.640 --> 0:22:54.560 much of fate. Still, I will proudly declare that there 0:22:54.640 --> 0:22:57.480 is something queer about it. Else why should it be 0:22:57.560 --> 0:23:01.320