Woman Live-Tweets Horror After Finding 'Cursed' Root On Doorstep
By Dave Basner
August 24, 2019
A curious woman in Indiana named Kelly learned a very hard lesson this week - even if you are curious about something, you are better off just leaving it alone. Kelly came home to find a strange looking object on her front doorstep. She described it as "shaped like an f-ed up turkey leg" and the length of her forearm. Unsure of what it or the pieces in it were, she brought it in and showed it off to friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to see if anyone could identify it. She called it a "cursed root "but no one was able to figure out what it was. Kelly wound up forgetting that she had it in a plastic bag in the backseat of her car. That's when her nightmare began, and she live-tweeted it for the world to enjoy:
I put it in a gallon freezer bag and took it to work. I asked my bosses, my coworkers, my patients. Nobody had any idea what it was. By the end of the day, though, we noticed that the bag was...sweating. The turkey leg was emitting heat and moisture
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
That night, as I left work, I threw it in the back of my car (a hatchback) and....I...forgot about it. Skip forward maybe a week. I was driving my kids to the library. My son was in the backseat and he told me there was a worm back there??
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
& I was like: of course there’s no goddamn worms back there it’s probably just food you spilled!!! ie: this is your fault anyway just let me drive to the library!! but then my daughter turned around to check the backseat and THAT is when the screaming started
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
We called my husband, the three of us hollering into speaker phone that we would NEVER get back into that car, we had NO idea what to do, and that it was his job to SAVE US. FROM THE WORMS.
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
and he did: he came to take my car to vacuum it out, and we drove his car home. he came home an hour later, all the worms safely locked inside the industrial vacuum at mikes car wash. but here’s the thing:
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
It’s getting warmer out. The sun is shining, trapping the heat inside my car, effectively creating a greenhouse for whatever.....might be....living. in my car.
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
So now, on the warm days, before I can get in my car I have to inspect the entire back seat (they’ve not come up to the front?) and trunk for tiny worms, which I then squish with the worm squishing rock I now keep in my car for this purpose
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
Today I have only had to squish three worms. It’s fine. Everything is fine
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
UPDATE I found a single solitary dead worm thing in the back of my car and I am. going to post a picture. I’m sorry pic.twitter.com/LsWfUVWfs0
— keply (@keplyq) May 1, 2018
Bug experts have chimed in to explain what the worms are:
Yes- read the whole hilarious thread this morning. Those are dermestid “carpet” beetle larvae. They are used in museums to clean hides and skeletons! Putting that gourd thing in the plastic bag in car likely sped up their life cycle. Good to get rid of them! Lil’nommers.
— The Bug Chicks (@TheBugChicks) May 2, 2018
As for what the worms came out of, no one really can say. A reverse image search on Google came back with questionable results:
Google says it is a sea lion. Dope! pic.twitter.com/uzGIZaOwKv
— Rosa Pasquarella (@whatrosasaid) May 1, 2018
There's also no word on who or what put the "cursed root" on Kelly's doorstep. And while many commenters suggested that Kelly set fire to her car, she's back to using it without too much anxiety.
Photo Credit: Getty