1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,880 Speaker 1: Thirteen days of Halloween is a production of my heart, radio, 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: blumhouse television and grim and mild from Aaron Mankey. Headphones recommended. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: Listener discretion advised. HEAR ANYTHING OF INTEREST? Oh No, no judgment. 4 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: I've given you a taste of the mysteries here. It's 5 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 1: only natural that you should seek out your own little 6 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: thrill now and then. Today I will show you something 7 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: truly beautiful. Follow this is one of the most awe 8 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: inspiring spaces at Hawthorne manner and also, in a sense, 9 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: the most storied. Ah, here we are, behold the silarium. 10 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: It really must be seen to be believed. Non I 11 00:01:15,880 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: imagine even now you're thinking, praise the heavens that this 12 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: has been placed before my eyes. Just magnificent, several hundred 13 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: pains of intricately stained glass telling the long history of 14 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: Hawthorn manner, from inception all the way to the beginning 15 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:38,199 Speaker 1: of my time as caretaker, many, many years later. Seen 16 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 1: here the architects standing under a deep blue sky, at 17 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: the sight for the first time each star in that 18 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: sky above him, a precious gemstone mind, from the four 19 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:55,560 Speaker 1: corners of the earth. And here, tragically, the death of 20 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: his daughter who slipped from the Cupola atop the Manor House. 21 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: Some have said that she was merely climbing out to 22 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: be nearer to the stars, but will never know as 23 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: certain what caused the fall. You'll notice the strikingly realistic 24 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:15,600 Speaker 1: colors in each of these, the Greens of summer and 25 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: oranges of autumn distilled into their very essence. For instance, 26 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,040 Speaker 1: here the red of his daughter's blood. Normally a mixture 27 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,359 Speaker 1: of gold chloride would be used, but the hue was 28 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: not quite right, so the architect instructed the artisan to 29 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:36,520 Speaker 1: search ever further for new minerals. When these efforts failed, 30 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: the architect himself began delving into mind and pulling out 31 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: varying shades of ore. It is said to have taken 32 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: him twenty years to find a shade suitable for his 33 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: daughter's depiction, and by then his hands were twisted and gnarled. 34 00:02:54,280 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: The architect always got what he wanted, well, mostly for 35 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: there Ah Hester, of course. Well, it was only a 36 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: matter of time before we came upon our housekeeper, Hester. 37 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: This is my friend. I'm sure you've been aware of 38 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: his presence. I suppose you two may as well speak. 39 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: I Shall Return Hester. Tread lightly, I do the windows 40 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: every day around this time. Quite a job, but their breathtaking, 41 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: aren't they? The architect and all of his secrets. It's 42 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: all up there, but heaven forbid you see the arteries, 43 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: the little specks of star dust that make a living 44 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 1: organism like this function. Nobody really thinks to look for 45 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: the housekeepers. You scream at us to leave you alone. 46 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 1: When we dropped, I for turned down service in the mornings, 47 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: and then, as far as you're concerned, we simply cease 48 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: to exist, and that's fine. I prefer to be forgotten. 49 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: That's when I get to eat silent and out of sight, 50 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,680 Speaker 1: feeding on whatever you have to offer. I've had you 51 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: in my sight since you first walked through that threshold 52 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 1: into the caretaker's waiting arms. You know, Oh, with the 53 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:33,280 Speaker 1: things you'd like to know about the caretaker. He's got 54 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: secrets you wouldn't believe. His secrets tastes like thunderstorms and battery, 55 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 1: acid but savory, and always leaves me wanting more. Those 56 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: secrets bring me back to my days before the affliction 57 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: took hold. Do you know much about that? Afflictions? That's 58 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: one type of secret people often keep their ailments. nutritionally speaking, 59 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: afflictions are pretty good, not like murders or affairs. Those 60 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: kinds of secrets are off the charts. But afflictions aren't bad. 61 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: They have a peculiar flavor to them, but they go 62 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: down smooth. Mm Hmm, you do smell good, Bergamont, tanned leather, 63 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: freshly tilt dirt. Your secret is a certain delicacy, isn't it? 64 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: You're wondering what I'm talking about. The flavor of your secret. 65 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,599 Speaker 1: It's a gift, though I didn't think of it that 66 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 1: way at first. It struck me rather suddenly the affliction. 67 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,799 Speaker 1: I was fine, how me as you please, no secrets 68 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:08,359 Speaker 1: to be had, idyllic. And then one day and I 69 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:14,640 Speaker 1: did something terrible, morally abhorrent. And once I've done it, 70 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:21,080 Speaker 1: I wasn't idyllic anymore. The smell was the first thing 71 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: I noticed, the lingering air of paperback musk and over 72 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: ripe plums. Nausea was the second thing, like a gnawing 73 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: hunger deep within my gut. And so I ate, I 74 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: ate more and more. I'd have two or three dinners. 75 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: My friends would bake entire pies and bring them to 76 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,600 Speaker 1: me as gifts, and I'd eat until I felt fit 77 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: to burst. But the food was no good. Nothing was satiating, 78 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,320 Speaker 1: nothing was nourishing my body. You'd think I'd gain weight, 79 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: but it was quite the opposite. I used to spill 80 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: out of my clothes like fibers. Couldn't contain me. I 81 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: was meant to take up space in the world, to 82 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: be seen, impossible to ignore. But after my secret buried 83 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: its spurs into my lower intestine, it wouldn't let real 84 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: food take hold. Like a parasite, my secret eight and 85 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: eight and eight, and then, over time I became far 86 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:45,360 Speaker 1: less lovely. I no longer flowed and spilled. My flesh 87 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: became less buoyant and refused to fill space. Instead of 88 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: rising and pushing and demanding, it began hanging and sagging 89 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: and dripping, and there was less of it. Every day 90 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: I became gaunt, sallow, eaten. Before long I could no 91 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: longer stand. I was bed ridden, a husk of what 92 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: used to be a human girl, dry and withered, like 93 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:23,080 Speaker 1: something washed up and left to rot on the shore. 94 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: When my death became inevitable, they came to visit me, 95 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: my friends and family. They sat on a little wooden 96 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:39,320 Speaker 1: chair next to my old, sunken bed. They held my 97 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: skeletal hand and looked at me through glassy eyes, searching 98 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: for some sign of my former self and the tiny 99 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: sliver of a human thing hidden underneath a heaping pile 100 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:59,200 Speaker 1: of blankets. And they cried and they mourned and one 101 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:06,440 Speaker 1: by one, and they confessed. Do you know what happens 102 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: when you are dying, when there's no turning back for you, 103 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: when there's no hope left to glean, people unload their 104 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: secrets on you. You become a vessel to carry their 105 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: mornings into the next world. They tell you their grievances, 106 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: lighten their own load by freeing themselves of the burden 107 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: and sleep easily at night, knowing their secret to be 108 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: safely kept to the literal grave. You are bestowed with 109 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 1: the honor of becoming the master of secrets. The first 110 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: was my very best friend, Marabelle. She confessed her secret 111 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: to me through thick tears while clutching my hand, sweet 112 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: like sugarcane and honeysuckle. At that point, I was so 113 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: far gone that I was completely immobile, but she leaned 114 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: in close and sobbed her confession into my ear, and 115 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: I squeezed her hand, a small gesture, but that was 116 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 1: more strength than I had had in quite some time 117 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: at that point. And then the others came. My brother, 118 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,840 Speaker 1: after whom I was able to sit upright against my pillows. 119 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: His was tart and bitter like the skin of a peach. 120 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:50,440 Speaker 1: My father, whose secret was so vile that I could 121 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: walk clear across the room after learning it, salty and 122 00:10:55,280 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: herbaceous like Basil and sweat. After my mother's secret, I 123 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 1: gained twelve pounds. Hers was a full homemade Thanksgiving dinner 124 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: with all the fixings. Their secrets. They sit inside of me, 125 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:22,880 Speaker 1: supporting my organs, keeping my blood oxygenated and flowing right. 126 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: I need them. But like all good things, this period 127 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: came to an end, with me no longer knocking on 128 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: death's door. People stopped divulging, so I had to start 129 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:52,320 Speaker 1: seeking my meals out, hunting them. It's a finely honed skill, 130 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: secret stalking, learning to pick up on their particular vague sense. Jeeters, 131 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:05,679 Speaker 1: how of coin, sweetness that teeters on something else altogether. 132 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: Liars are like different varietals of wine, sadist acidic to 133 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: varying degrees, and politicians are fatty. Their secrets melt and 134 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 1: coat the insides of your cheeks and leave a film 135 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:32,079 Speaker 1: across your teeth. Everyone, and I mean just about everyone, 136 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: has some sort of secret wafting around them, secreting from 137 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: their pores, but most won't volunteer it, do you, and 138 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: those that do are rarely harboring anything nutritionally rich. The 139 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: types of secrets that get volunteered are usually trivial, not 140 00:12:55,400 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: like a really good deceit. Those secrets stink to high heaven, intoxicating, 141 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: magnetic smells, and that's how I ended up here. I 142 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:16,960 Speaker 1: could smell that caretaker from two thousand miles away and 143 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: I followed his scent. I found this place to be 144 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:27,439 Speaker 1: a gold mine, a Cornucopia of people weighed down by 145 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 1: their burdensome secrets and lies. A twenty four hours morgeseport 146 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: feast for me and my little ailment, and I've been 147 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: cleaning windows and feeding off the guests ever since. Do 148 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 1: you ever stop to think about the things the housekeepers 149 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:56,439 Speaker 1: must know about you? I know everything, from the mundane, 150 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,319 Speaker 1: the brand of toothpaste you use and whether you've lost 151 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: your teeth, to the obscure. I see the blood and 152 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:09,440 Speaker 1: vomit on bed sheets and the strange stains that form 153 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: on the mattresses beneath. But these little hints, I don't 154 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:19,120 Speaker 1: get much satiation from them. I need to know your 155 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: secret intimately in order to be nourished by it. When 156 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: you leave here, go to any room and take a 157 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: gander into the people. It should be all fish eyed 158 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: and distorted right not here. I've had all of the 159 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: People's inverted by the time I've called housekeeping. I've already 160 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: been studying them for quite some time. I know what 161 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,960 Speaker 1: they're up to in there, what they're hiding. I've been 162 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,640 Speaker 1: tasting their secrets since day one. And look at me now, 163 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: blump and healthy, skin deep and dark and absolutely glowing. 164 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: You look nervous. Well, don't worry, dear. Your secrets safe 165 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:27,000 Speaker 1: with me. You didn't think I'd sniff it out? I'm 166 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: afraid that's not how it works, Dear. I'm far too 167 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: seasoned of a hunter for that. It's been around, dear, 168 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: he doesn't much care for me interacting with his guests. 169 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 1: Afraid I might spill his beans, I'd imagine. But why 170 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,320 Speaker 1: would I do that? They keep me young. You go 171 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: on now, get back to your little hunt. Everything we 172 00:15:55,640 --> 00:16:23,080 Speaker 1: just talked about. It's our little secret. M Hm h Ester, 173 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,680 Speaker 1: you look like the cat who ate the canary. Well, friend, 174 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: I suppose the time has come for Hester to get 175 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: back to work. Come along, m I apologize for leaving 176 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: you in her presence. Of all the denizens of Hawthorn manner, 177 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: she is the only one who makes me uneasy. I 178 00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:50,560 Speaker 1: of course, know of her little people's scheme. I think 179 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 1: she's the only one who fully observes our guests, but 180 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 1: perhaps she'd divulged something to you which I could never extract. 181 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:09,119 Speaker 1: Then you never tell fantastic. Well, my friend, time is 182 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:14,400 Speaker 1: winding down and I must continue my rounds. Tomorrow. More 183 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: at you, my dearest friend. Thirteen days of Halloween was 184 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,160 Speaker 1: created by Matt Frederick and Alex Williams and executive produced 185 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,719 Speaker 1: by Aaron Manky, starring Keegan Michael Key as the caretaker. 186 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:36,480 Speaker 1: Today's story was written by Zoe Cooper, performed by Brittany 187 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: Wilkerson and directed by Matt Frederick, with editing and sound 188 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,520 Speaker 1: designed by Miranda Hawkins, additional writing and script supervision from 189 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:49,199 Speaker 1: Nicholas Dakowski casting by Jessica loser. Only three days remain. 190 00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 1: Tomorrow another story. I'd heard of colonies acting odd getting 191 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: gassy before, but this hurt. I felt my skin crawling 192 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:07,680 Speaker 1: and when I looked down there was a shape, shapes, 193 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:13,159 Speaker 1: pushing my shirt outward and pulling, puckering down. It felt 194 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,360 Speaker 1: like to the bone, snatching the fabric away. I watched 195 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: the flesh of my belly forming a moving image, ripples 196 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: like smoke. Thirteen days of Halloween is a production of 197 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: I heart radio, Blumhouse television and grim and mild from 198 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,640 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey. For more podcasts from my heart radio, visit 199 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,760 Speaker 1: the I heart radio APP, apple podcasts or wherever you 200 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,920 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. And learn more about thirteen 201 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: days of Halloween at grim and mild dot com.