1 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck, 2 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,800 Speaker 1: There's Josh, and this is short stuff. Like I said twice, 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 1: now I'm wasting time. Let's just go. So this is 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:21,799 Speaker 1: about finding your worst nightmare. Realized this is pretty universal 5 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: worst nightmare stuff. Yes, this is about the idea that 6 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:28,680 Speaker 1: if you go to a hotel and you're sleeping, and 7 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: you get up in the morning and you're like, what 8 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: is that weird smell? And you check out, you will 9 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: probably never know this. I doubt if they would follow 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: up and let you know, but there could be a 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: dead body under that bed. Yeah. And what's weird is 12 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 1: this as an urban legend, very widespread one. The you know, 13 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,199 Speaker 1: some friend of my cousin who he works with, went 14 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: to Vegas with his wife once and got on an 15 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: elevator with Eddie Murphy, right, and he had a dog 16 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: and Eddie Murphy said, sit lady, and the wife sat 17 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: down and Eddie Murphy said, no, I was talking to 18 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: my dog, and then gave them paid off their mortgage. 19 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: It's right, Uh, No different than that that, Like, you know, 20 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:11,240 Speaker 1: your cousin's friend coworker went to Vegas and this happened 21 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: to him what's weird about this, Chuck is Snopes is 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: on the case, and God bless Snopes for doing everything 23 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: they do. They said, not only has this happened, this 24 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: has happened many times over. This is one of those 25 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 1: rare urban legends that is actually true. That's right. Uh, 26 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: And a lot of hotels there are It's sort of 27 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: a platform me box spring situation where there is a 28 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: cavernous area under the box spring, but above that that 29 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: platform that turns out is just right for storing a body. Yeah, 30 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: every every criminal knows you want to store a body. 31 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: Every motel in America has you covered pretty much. Should 32 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,600 Speaker 1: we go through some of these? I think we should, 33 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: because again, like this has happened many times um. One 34 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: of the first one Snopes talks about happened in two 35 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: thousand three at the Capri Motel in downtown Kansas City. 36 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: And one of the recurring themes that I've seen, Chuck 37 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 1: is management sometimes won't do anything. They'll be like, sorry, nothing, 38 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:11,280 Speaker 1: you's gonna be done, And this is the only room 39 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: we have. You have to stay here, and people will 40 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: stay there despite the stench of what turns out to 41 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: be a decomposing body, like in this case, Yet a 42 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: dead thing is a very specific smell. I would not 43 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,679 Speaker 1: for one second even unpack my suitcase and give it 44 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: a shot. Right. Well, this guy in Kansas City not 45 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: only unpacked a suitcase after complaining about the room and 46 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: being told nothing could be done about it. Um, he's 47 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: stay there for three nights from July tenth to July 48 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: thirte and finally checked out because of the smell. And 49 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: I looked on those dates in two thousand three in 50 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: Kansas City, it got up to around ninety so I'll 51 00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 1: bet it was pretty smelling. And finally housekeeping was like, well, 52 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: let's figure out what this is, and they lift up 53 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: the mattress and there was a body in the state 54 00:02:54,080 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: of advanced decomposition. July I'm sorry, June, sixty four year 55 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 1: old named saw Hernandez was discovered inside and under her 56 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,799 Speaker 1: bed at the Burgundy Motor d I hate calling out 57 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: these hotels, but I guess it is what it is, 58 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: Room one twelve. Yeah, this gets really specific. Don't say 59 00:03:15,480 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: they're in Atlantic City. In fact, it's Atlantic City, so 60 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: it may not even be there at this point. Yeah, 61 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: I was wondering that myself, but a German couple, God 62 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:25,320 Speaker 1: bless him. They didn't know any better. They spent the 63 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,200 Speaker 1: night there sleeping over his body. They complained to the 64 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 1: manager about the smell. They said, mind galt do something 65 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: about it, and that's when they found the body. Yeah, 66 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: German tourists are recurring motif in this urban legend come 67 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,800 Speaker 1: to life, because in in Florida there were two cases 68 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: in Florida alone, and both of them were bodies that 69 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,120 Speaker 1: were discovered after complaints from German tourists. So they have 70 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: really bad luck with this kind of stuff. Lovely Pasadena, California, 71 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: the Wonderful Colorado Boulevard Travel Lodge. In July, a woman 72 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,680 Speaker 1: was found under a mattress. They discovered her ten days later, 73 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: after guests had complained for several days of a foul odor. 74 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: At this point, I would think if someone says there's 75 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: a bad smell, I would just immediately assume it's a 76 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: body and look. Yeah, you'd think it would be like 77 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:19,839 Speaker 1: a recurring kind of like column that pops up in 78 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: like the Hotel Times or you know, Motel Industry News 79 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: magazine or something like that, But I guess not, because 80 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: it still continues. Um there this The Snopes traced it 81 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 1: all the way back to I think two was there 82 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 1: the first report that they mentioned. I don't know if 83 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: it was the first time it's ever happened, but um, 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: between two and two thousand ten they found ten cases. 85 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 1: And this is not just a body being discovered in 86 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: a hotel room. Apparently that happens multiple times a day, 87 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,840 Speaker 1: every day everywhere in the world. I guess from what 88 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: this looks like. But what Snopes is saying is like, no, 89 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: we got to stick to the urban legend where somebody 90 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: the body was discovered because somebody slept above it overnight. 91 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,479 Speaker 1: And at least ten times between eighty two and two 92 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: and ten that happened. Yeah, and that's you know that 93 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: cut it off. Like you said in two thousand and ten, 94 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: if you just google a dead body hotel mattress, that 95 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: happens a lot. Still. Yeah, there was there was one 96 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: then Austin last year, one the year before, somewhere else 97 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: I can't remember, but they're kind of all over the place. 98 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: It seems like an annual event, like the Macy's Thanksgiving 99 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: Day parade or something. Yeah, one smells way worse than 100 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: the other. I'll let you guess. Yeah, So do you 101 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: want to take a break and come back a little bit. Yeah, 102 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: we'll come back in a second talk a little bit 103 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: about another way that bodies find their way to hotel rooms. 104 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: So what we talked about before was specifically, like you said, 105 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 1: the urban legend of bodies under a mattress under a 106 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: box spring. Uh. My thought was, like, how are they 107 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: getting there? The answer is they're they're all murder cases 108 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,560 Speaker 1: general pretty much murder or say like a couple of 109 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:28,680 Speaker 1: people are partying in a hotel and one of them 110 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: dies and the other one doesn't want to like get questions, 111 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: mattress man stashed the body. Yeah, Because I think there's 112 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,600 Speaker 1: two things about this, right, There's people like average people 113 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: who check into a hotel. People like you and me, 114 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: We stay in hotels. We stay in hotels, right, um, 115 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:49,719 Speaker 1: sleeping unknowingly above just inches above a decomposing body. That's 116 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,159 Speaker 1: part one that's horrible. But I think the second part 117 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 1: of it that makes it so horrible is like the 118 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: indignity of having your body just stuffed under a mattress 119 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: and a CD hotel, you know. Yeah, So I think 120 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: those two things combined and the fact that it's actually 121 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:07,720 Speaker 1: happens in real life is just it makes it horrific. Well, 122 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: one of the other ways a body very sadly can 123 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,320 Speaker 1: be found in a hotel and not under a mattress 124 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: is obviously, uh suicide. People apparently check into hotels to 125 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: do this a lot for obvious reasons. You wanna you 126 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: don't want your family to have a mess necessarily. Another 127 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: reason is to avert exposure, maybe to the media. And 128 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,560 Speaker 1: I think it's just sort of gets buried in the 129 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: news if it's just a random hotel suicide kind of thing. 130 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: Casinos apparently had the highest suicide rate, uh, and Las 131 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,200 Speaker 1: Vegas has the high suicide rate in the country. I 132 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: could see that if like you just lost a bunch 133 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: of money, that has something to do with it. They said, 134 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: this is not all of it, but a lot of 135 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: people show up in Vegas desperate and destitute, you know, 136 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: trying to gamble their way back to you know, not 137 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: necessarily even prosperity. Oh man, that's a sad scene you 138 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: just painted. Yeah, but you were joking in the thing 139 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,360 Speaker 1: about it being In the hotel industry, there was an 140 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: article called how to Properly respond to a guest death 141 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: in your Hotel published in a journal for hotel managers 142 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:14,000 Speaker 1: that I found, and they said a big thing in 143 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: Vegas is they don't and most big hotels now don't 144 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: let you just open the windows, but a lot of 145 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: them do have balcony. Still Vegas they don't even have 146 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: balconies because of the suicide problem. So they said that 147 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: leads some people to make a final leap, like in 148 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 1: an atrium style lobby. And he says in this article 149 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: that hotel managers should keep a very large, dark colored 150 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: tarp made of impermeable material on hand and available at 151 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: all times, just so you can run out there very 152 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,720 Speaker 1: quickly and covered that mess up. So, but not only 153 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 1: the mess it's really dangerous. I mean people walk through atrium. Yeah, 154 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:56,800 Speaker 1: that's really irresponsible. Yeah, you could land on someone obviously. Yeah, 155 00:08:57,120 --> 00:08:59,840 Speaker 1: and I'm imagine that would probably kill both people. Yes, 156 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: I would think so too. Uh. And you know, we 157 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: did an episode on crime scene clean up times times 158 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: out of a hundred. That's what's going on here. If 159 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: something happens in a hotel room. There's a guy in 160 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: a San Francisco based company called crime Scene Cleaners that 161 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: he said that hotel chains are as big as clients 162 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: and that suicide cleanups is most of his business. I mean, 163 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: it definitely makes sense in a very grizzly way, like 164 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: not wanting to put your family through that, but unfortunately 165 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: you're putting some housekeeper through it. Yeah. The good news 166 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,640 Speaker 1: is is that almost everything is is thrown away. That 167 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:37,960 Speaker 1: they're not just like pull the sheets and we'll you know, 168 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: watch them. They're like this killo because still mostly good. Yeah, 169 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:43,640 Speaker 1: they like they don't rip up the part of the 170 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:46,520 Speaker 1: carpet that's stayed. They kind of gut the place basically, 171 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,800 Speaker 1: sometimes even the dry wall. They get rid of all 172 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,760 Speaker 1: the clock, radio and everything. Because they were like, if 173 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: there's a little tiny piece of brain that you don't 174 00:09:55,559 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 1: notice on something that heats up like the electricity, that'll stink. 175 00:10:01,200 --> 00:10:04,400 Speaker 1: Plus plus it could be haunted. Now it's obviously haunted. 176 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,640 Speaker 1: But those are in like decent hotels that uh you know, 177 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: even like kind of cruddy hotel chains. I think still 178 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: do a good job. That. The scary part is if 179 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: it happens in a really not great place. Because there's 180 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,520 Speaker 1: a Reddit thread called tails from the front Desk. Oh, 181 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: I gotta get on that where No, don't do it, dude, 182 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 1: You'll never tour again. You'll never leave your house. Because 183 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: these are all insider stories. And this one guy was like, yeah, guy, 184 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: uh died by suicide on my shift. The owner found 185 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: out how much it costs for a professional cleanup, and 186 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: he said to flip the mattress. No, yes, no they 187 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 1: ever say where they worked. I don't know, anonymous. I 188 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: think it's probably this one was anonymous man. This is 189 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: just a hotel house cleaner. Um. And the other thing, too, 190 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:56,960 Speaker 1: is I guess we can close with is when people 191 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 1: decide to do this, oftentimes they pick like the best room, 192 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:05,720 Speaker 1: the nicest, sweet because you don't have to pay for it. Sure, yeah, yeah, 193 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,199 Speaker 1: that's that's so. Don't think if you're getting the high 194 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 1: Roller suite that that room is safe from ghosts. Right. Wow, 195 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,200 Speaker 1: that's something else, Chuck, you really brought it. Thank you. Well. 196 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 1: Since Chuck brought it and we're out of info, that's 197 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: it for short Stuff. So if short Stuff is out, 198 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,200 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of iHeart Radio's 199 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,920 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. For more podcasts for my heart Radio, 200 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:33,839 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 201 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.