August 18, 2025 • 24 mins
In 2007, Maria and her family stopped at a Valdosta gas station that had been demolished years earlier. They used the bathroom, met the clerk, and left tire tracks... at a place that no longer existed. This time slip story has multiple witnesses and proof that will make you question reality itself.
Find our videos on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheInBetweenTales
Got a STORY? - InBetweenTales@gmail.com
Business Inquiries? - TheInBetween@ekhoinc.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Strange mysteries, unexplained phenomena.
And the shadows in between.
This is The InBetween Official Podcastwith your host,
Carol Ann!
You walk into a storewhere everything feels wrong.
The prices are too low.
(00:37):
The products look outdated.
But the clerk insists everything is fresh.
You leave confused, only to discoverthat place was demolished years ago.
If this has happened to you,you've just experienced a time slip.
I'm Carol Ann.
Welcome to The InBetween.
And look at the.
(01:02):
In August 2007,
Maria is on a somber road tripwith her two brothers,
who she refers to as T and R, her sisterand her sister in law.
They'd all gone to Floridafor the funeral of Maria's favorite uncle.
The group had traveled from Georgiato Florida on Friday, August 10th,
attended the wake on Saturdayand bury him on Sunday, August 12th.
(01:26):
After a great afternoon of spending timewith family and sharing memories
and a lot of healing laughter,they realize now they're running late.
So the group piles back into Maria's 2004
Buick Rendezvous to start the five hourdrive back home.
They all have to work the next day,so any unnecessary
(01:49):
breaks are tossed to the windand they just drive.
Gas and a bursting bladder are the onlytwo acceptable reasons to stop.
It's a good drive.
They don't get together too often anymore,so the forced rebonding
time is good for them.
Just after they cross the Florida/Georgialine,
Maria gets an intense need to pee.
(02:11):
Like right now.
“When you get a chanceto pull over, I gotta pee.”
She takesthe very next exit, stops at a stop sign,
looks in both directions for any placeshe can stop to use the bathroom.
Nothing in sight but a two lane roadlined with trees in either direction.
So Maria makes an executive decisionand turns right,
(02:33):
thinking that they can't be too farfrom something, right?
Bouncing in her seat, she drives for15-20 minutes until she sees lights ahead.
Oh, thank God.
She drives up and turns leftinto the parking lot of a small red brick
gas station, a grungy hole in the wallspot typical of rural Georgia.
(02:54):
She parks at the outdated pumps, jumpsout, and runs inside
without even looking around for anythingexcept the restroom sign.
She sees it, bolts inside,and does her business.
When she's done, she comes out and hersister quickly goes in to take her place.
Maria looks around and sees everyone elsestanding there, kind of clustered
(03:15):
by the bathroom door, their faces,the very definition of uncomfortable.
Her brother T quietly gestures for herto look behind the counter.
She doesand will never forget what she sees.
An elderly man, thinninggray hair, skinny with sunken cheeks,
(03:38):
a scraggly beard, and dark, deeplyset, emotionless eyes.
He's wearing a stained white T-shirtwith visible pit marks and grimy overalls.
He's just standing there, handsat his sides, staring straight ahead,
no facial expressions, no movement,no acknowledgment.
(03:58):
A sense of dread startsto grow in the pit of my stomach.
A feeling likesomething is profoundly wrong.
Okay, so she thinks, well, let's
just grab a couple of snacks and drinksand get the hell out of here.
The store only has three aisles.
And as she startslooking for something to eat,
she sees that everything on the shelveslooks outdated.
(04:21):
Candy wrappers with old faded labels.
And everything's dusty.
Even the air feels dirty and stagnant,with a musty, sweaty smell.
Okay. She thinks. Well.
Food's out.
I guess I'll just get something to drink.
And she walks over to the coolers.
The three coolers are just as dirtyand neglected
(04:42):
looking as everything elsewith dirty glass and flickering lights.
Overwhelmed by a roller coasterdrop sensation
in her stomach, Maria waits for hersister to finish in the bathroom.
Grabs her hand as soon as she steps out
and they all bolt to the carwithout buying anything.
They pile inand literally peel out of the parking lot,
(05:07):
taking a right to go back in the directionthey came from towards the highway.
They drive for 15-20 minutes, watchingfor the entrance to get back on highway 75
when the same lights appear on the left,
the exact same gas station.
This time the clerk is standingat the window, staring directly at them.
(05:30):
Panic erupts inside the car with everyoneyelling go, go, go!
Maria floors it straight ahead.
There is no wayshe is stopping at that place again.
But how could they be seeing this samegas station twice?
Maria thinks I must have misseda fork in the road or something.
So they drive on for another15-20 minutes, still looking
(05:54):
for the highway, with everyone in the carabout a hair trigger away
from a full on freak out,when they see a break in the trees ahead.
As they get closer,they see it is the same station.
But this time it's different.
It's completely abandoned.
The only light around is comingfrom a streetlight.
(06:15):
The windows and doors are boarded up.
Ivy is growing over the entire building.
Half the roof is caved inand the pumps are gone.
No one has beenin that building for years.
But as they all look on in shock,they all see them.
The fresh tire marks on the pavementwhere they had
(06:36):
peeled out less than an hour ago.
Everyone in the car starts freaking outand Maria just floors it.
Lo and behold,they hit the highway in just five minutes.
The remainder of the trip is quietbut uneventful, and they all make it back
home.
Life moves on,but Maria never forgets that trip.
(06:59):
Who would?
But she really couldn't let it go.
She even tried going backto find that building,
taking different exits and drivingfor 20 minutes or more in each direction.
But she never saw it again.
A decade of development in the areacertainly didn't help matters any.
She knew if it was ever there, it'sprobably a parking lot
(07:21):
or a strip mall by now,but she still couldn't let it go.
Fast forward to March of 2025
and Maria is still trying to get answers.
She emails her storyto Ashlee of AshleeInc on TikTok
and YouTube, who's a really goodteller of creepy stories.
(07:41):
You guys should check her out.
I'll put a link to herYouTube channel in the description.
Ashlee reads her story on her TikTokchannel, and it goes viral.
Now, as if that story isn't unbelievableenough, just wait.
So Ashlee sharesMaria's story and everything blows up,
and Ashlee is getting tons of emailsfrom people telling her about
(08:04):
their nearly identical experiencesin what sounds like the same place.
That, in and of itself, is mind blowing.
But then Ashlee gets a very special email.
This email is from a man who calls himselfJohn Doe, who tells Ashlee,
I think the old man at that gasstation was my dad.
(08:28):
What?
He goes on to tell her that backin the mid 80s, his dad, who was a Vietnam
vet with PTSD issues,had problems with drugs and alcohol.
John's mom gave his dadTHE ultimatum - stop or leave.
So he stopped.
But, one night in 1984,he came home from his late shift job
(08:49):
at the gas stationjust off SR 378, in Valdosta,
looking absolutely freaked out,and tells his family
that he just saw ghosts from the futurecome in to the gas station.
John's mom,not believing a word he's saying,
thinks he's fallen off the wagonand tells him to get out.
(09:13):
So he does.
He packs his bags and leaves.
And John does not see him againfor another 16 years.
As John gets older,
he decides to rekindle that relationshipand gets in contact with his dad.
As they get to know each other again,John can't help but ask him
the question that's been on his mindfor all of those years.
(09:34):
Why did you start drinking again?
His dad
doesn't even hesitate and tells JohnI didn't.
I saw what I saw.
And that one drop of alcoholwas ever involved.
John's dad has since passed away,
but John manages to find a pictureand email it to Ashlee.
(09:54):
And Maria says she's about 95%sure that the man in the picture
is the man she saw behind the gas stationcounter that night 18 years ago.
The man in the picturelooks pretty happy and healthy,
while the man Maria sawwas much more sickly looking.
But, it doesn't take a genius to knowwhat a substance addiction
(10:16):
can do to a person.
So taking that into account,Maria pretty much says, yeah,
that's him, and can't helpbut break down in tears
as the emotional floodthat washes over her.
After 18 years of wondering,she now has proof.
May not be proof for anyone else,but it's proof for her.
(10:37):
And not just for her.
Even though John's dad passed awayin 2001, he now has the comfort of knowing
that his dad really was telling the truththe entire time.
Although comfort, it'sprobably not the right word
because he also struggles to come to termswith the idea that he cut his own
dad out of his life for 16 years,when his dad was telling the truth,
(11:01):
and never brokehis promise never to drink again.
But if nothing else, he and Mariacan move forward from here, knowing
that God only knows how it happened,but that it did really happen.
But theirs is not the only time slip storywe have today.
(11:21):
It's not even the only gas stationtime slip story.
In the fall of 2018.
Reddit user Oilburner75,let's just call him
Joe, was on a road tripto Acworth, Georgia, which is also on
highway 75, but the complete oppositeend of Georgia from Valdosta.
He’s there to pick up some fendersfor a truck he's restoring.
(11:44):
He meets the parts seller in the parkinglot of the Publix in Acworth on Baker
Road, and gets his fenders as planned,but decides it might be a good idea
to stop at the gas station right next door
and fill upbefore getting back on the road.
Joe goes into the stationand sees that everything is off,
just slightly different.
(12:05):
He goes to the counterto pre-pay for his gas and notices
the tobacco productsdidn't have warning labels all over them,
and the logos and everythinglook different.
Maybe dated like he'd seen them before,but not for a long time.
Not to mention that there is no creditcard reader on the counter.
And most importantly, prices are abouta third of what he's used to paying.
(12:29):
He looks around a bitand sees that the pop and the drinks in
the store had expiration datesof around the year 2000.
He goes to the counterand asks for a can of chew.
And the woman hands him a canwith the expiration date of July of 2000.
So he asks her,why is everything in the store outdated?
(12:49):
The woman just looks at him,says it's not.
That's a fresh can.
Joe is so freaked out that he just
leaves and heads down the roadto go get gas someplace else.
It takes him some
time to process this whole thingbefore it hits
him, to go look it up on Google Maps,and when he does, he sees
the gas station is gone, replacedat some point by a sonic.
(13:14):
Fortunately for Joe,he just went back in time a few years
and was able to just stepright back into his own timeline.
No harm, no foul.
But not all time slip travelers come outunscathed.
In May of 1972,four students - Janna North
at the wheel of her father's 1971Chevrolet Nova,
(13:36):
Carol Abbott in the passenger seat,and Lisa Rochefort
and Bethany Gordon, sitting in the backseat, - are rushing
to get back to their campus dormat Southern Utah University
in Cedar City,after spending the evening at a rodeo.
They’re kind of in a hurrybecause their housemother, Mrs.
Mortensen locks the doors at 11 p.m.
(13:58):
and none of them relishes the thought ofbeing forced to sleep in the car.
It's after 10 p.m.
when the girls cross the Utah Nevadastate line nine miles
west of Modena on Utah Highway 56,a desolate stretch of sand
and sagebrush with red sandstone bluffson the northern horizon.
(14:19):
Once they get into Modena, Janna noticesanother road branching off the main
highway, heading off into canyoncountry further north.
Taking this off road is pretty tempting.
It just seems like a more direct routeback to Cedar City.
However, it's also going straighttoward Gadianton Canyon,
(14:39):
a place steeped in local Mormonlegends of bad,
evil spirits, strange disappearances,and other weird phenomena.
Despite the stories of the canyon,the girls all decide to take the shortcut.
They chat happily about the day's eventsas the car
winds its way deeper into the forebodingcanyon.
As they drive, the dark rock walls incheven closer
(15:02):
to the crumbling edgeof the thin ribbon of asphalt.
Janna,who's been chatting with her friends,
suddenly notices that the car's headlightsshine more brightly on the pavement.
Looking closer,she sees that the center line is gone,
and instead of black asphalt,they're driving on white cement.
Carol points ahead, givingJanna a heads up to something
(15:25):
it would be impossible for her not to see.
The roadsuddenly ends in a towering rock wall.
They're boxed in by the canyonand have no choice
but to turn around and go backthe way they came.
Dang it!
There's no waythey're making it back in time now.
But whatever.
(15:45):
What's done is done.
Despitewondering how somebody could build a road
and not include a dead end warning sign,Janna turns the car around
and starts heading back out of the canyon,telling the others not to worry.
They'll make better timewhen they get back to the highway.
And she's driving.
Janna begins to feel uneasy.
They're still rollingalong, hemmed in by Red Canyon walls.
(16:10):
They should have been back outin the open desert by this time.
The canyon gradually gives way to opencountry, but something's not right.
Instead of the moonless desertthey saw on the way in,
they now see grain fields on the right
and a line of Ponderosa pine on the left.
In the distance,the water of a large lake shimmers
(16:33):
silvery under the bright full moon.
At that moment, they feel likethey've driven into a different world.
The events that follow prove them right.
Carol looks around in awe.
This isn't Modena.
Janna's going back through her memory,trying to figure out
how they could have gotten off track,but they must have gotten turned around
(16:56):
because they suredidn't see any of this going in.
Now the girls are on edge.
They have no idea where they areand wherever it is,
it doesn't look like eitherUtah or Nevada.
But they keep driving, just hopingthey'll be able
to find someone to point them in the rightdirection, back to the highway.
And sure enough, as they keep driving,they see a light ahead of them
(17:20):
coming from a large building,some kind of roadhouse or restaurant.
The place sits in the middleof a large parking lot, and a blazing
neon sign on the roofspells out a message.
At least that's what they assume.
They don't really know for surebecause they can't read it.
What should be letters are brightly lit,squiggles and curlicues,
(17:41):
strangely twisted lines making the writinglook like a completely foreign language.
As they startto pull into the parking lot,
some very tall mencome out of the building.
The men see the car coming inand just stop, staring at the girls.
They wave their arms, shout,and point at the girls and the Chevy.
(18:04):
Bethany giggles and says, “Iwonder if they're cute.”
Lisa pulls out her lipstickfor a touch up and says, “Let's find out.
We can ask them for directions.”She rolls down the rear passenger window
and sticking her head out the window,Lisa starts to greet them,
but lets out a terrified scream.
(18:24):
Frantically rolling up the window,she tells Janna to punch it.
Janna still has her eyes on the road,but Bethany and Carol turn to see
what Lisa is seeing and also screamat Janna to get them out of there.
And Jenny's like,what the hell is going on?
And the girls tell her, “They're not
(18:46):
human!” Janna stomps on the gaspedal and sprays
sand as the car speeds awayfrom the building and back onto the road.
As they race down the road,passing the strange lake, having no clue
where they're going, intense lightslight up their car from behind.
They're being chased.
(19:07):
Bethany shouts in panic,pleading with Janna to go faster.
Janna glances in her rearview mirror,and what she sees turns her blood to ice.
They are being chased, but not by anyvehicle that's ever been built in Detroit.
Four weird lookingautomobiles are right on their tail.
(19:28):
They're egg shaped with three wheels,
two large wheels in the frontand a smaller wheel in the back.
A single bright white headlight shinesfrom the front of each car.
They make a strange whirring or buzzingsound like an angry hornet's nest
as they close in on the speeding nova.
(19:50):
nova's engine roars as its speedcreeps toward 80 miles an hour.
The girls yell at Janna, “Go faster!
They're gaining on us!” Ahead,the road leads
into another red rock canyon,but Janna doesn't hesitate
and heads right into it with narrowcanyon walls on either side.
The Chevy's tireskick up a billowing rooster tail of dust,
(20:14):
and whether it's because of the dust cloudor through sheer
attrition,they can't see anyone behind them anymore.
It only takes a few minutes before
they are through the canyonand flying out the other side.
But all at once, the road vanishes.
The headlights shownothing but sagebrush and ocotillo.
(20:35):
The Chevy is not made for off roadadventures, and starts bouncing around.
Janna hits the brakes, but too late.
The Nova skids out of controland starts fishtailing.
But Janna manages to regain control,bringing it to a stop in the sagebrush.
Just a short distancefrom where the road ended.
(20:56):
Then the engine dies.
Shaking uncontrollably,the girls emerge from the car.
Everybody's pretty freaked out,but at least nobody's hurt.
The car, however, is undriveable.
Three of its tires are flat,with numerous dents
and scratches on the front bumper,and a missing hubcap.
(21:16):
Janna takes one look and says,
dad's going to kill me.
Lisa, however, is near hysterical.
She sits on the ground,hugging the knees of her bellbottom
jeans, repeating over and over again,“They aren't human.” Okay,
so the car's a brick and they have no idea
(21:36):
where they are or if these thingsare still looking for them.
So the girls all climb back in, lockall the doors, and wait for daylight.
Once the sun is up, they start walking.
And They only have to walka couple of miles before they find
the familiar blacktop of highway 56.
An hour later, they flag downa cruiser of the Utah Highway Patrol
(21:59):
and tell their story.
Utah State Trooper Vic Lundquistdiligently takes their statements.
He takes the girls back to their carand looks around,
not sure if he's looking for evidencethat they're telling the truth
or that they’re crazy.
And right away,he sees that the tire marks begin
about 200 yardsfrom where the car came to a stop,
(22:22):
with no tiremarks at all leading from the main road,
as if the car just suddenly appearedin the middle of the desert.
There are no tire tracksshowing where the Chevy left Highway 56
and no one can explain how they got nearlytwo miles north of the highway
without leaving any physical tracethrough the rough desert terrain.
(22:46):
And no trace of the Chevy'smissing hubcap is ever found.
So the moral of all these stories?
If you're planning a road tripany time in the future,
make sure your phone is chargedat all times and your camera lens is clean
because you never know what strangeadventures could end up in your scrapbook.
(23:12):
Now I'm nervous.
The in between familymight be taking a road trip this fall.
I don't know if that's going to happen,but if it does,
I promise I will keep my phone chargedand at the ready,
just in case we make the slip into a time
and/or place that isn't ours.
If you’re as addicted to these timeslip adventures as I am,
(23:35):
and want to hear more, click right here.
I'll bet dollars to donuts, youwon't want to miss any of these stories.
Be careful out there.
And I will see you hereagain, on The InBetween.
Thanks for tuning into The InBetween Podcast.
Enjoy the full visual experiencewith me over on YouTube.
(23:58):
Just search for @TheInBetweenTales.
I'm Carol Ann.
And until next time, be careful out there!
You.
Strange mysteries, unexplained phenomena.
And the shadows in between.
This is The InBetween Official Podcastwith your host,
Carol Ann!
You walk into a storewhere everything feels wrong.
The prices are too low.
(00:37):
The products look outdated.
But the clerk insists everything is fresh.
You leave confused, only to discoverthat place was demolished years ago.
If this has happened to you,you've just experienced a time slip.
I'm Carol Ann.
Welcome to The InBetween.
And look at the.
(01:02):
In August 2007,
Maria is on a somber road tripwith her two brothers,
who she refers to as T and R, her sisterand her sister in law.
They'd all gone to Floridafor the funeral of Maria's favorite uncle.
The group had traveled from Georgiato Florida on Friday, August 10th,
attended the wake on Saturdayand bury him on Sunday, August 12th.
(01:26):
After a great afternoon of spending timewith family and sharing memories
and a lot of healing laughter,they realize now they're running late.
So the group piles back into Maria's 2004
Buick Rendezvous to start the five hourdrive back home.
They all have to work the next day,so any unnecessary
(01:49):
breaks are tossed to the windand they just drive.
Gas and a bursting bladder are the onlytwo acceptable reasons to stop.
It's a good drive.
They don't get together too often anymore,so the forced rebonding
time is good for them.
Just after they cross the Florida/Georgialine,
Maria gets an intense need to pee.
(02:11):
Like right now.
“When you get a chanceto pull over, I gotta pee.”
She takesthe very next exit, stops at a stop sign,
looks in both directions for any placeshe can stop to use the bathroom.
Nothing in sight but a two lane roadlined with trees in either direction.
So Maria makes an executive decisionand turns right,
(02:33):
thinking that they can't be too farfrom something, right?
Bouncing in her seat, she drives for15-20 minutes until she sees lights ahead.
Oh, thank God.
She drives up and turns leftinto the parking lot of a small red brick
gas station, a grungy hole in the wallspot typical of rural Georgia.
(02:54):
She parks at the outdated pumps, jumpsout, and runs inside
without even looking around for anythingexcept the restroom sign.
She sees it, bolts inside,and does her business.
When she's done, she comes out and hersister quickly goes in to take her place.
Maria looks around and sees everyone elsestanding there, kind of clustered
(03:15):
by the bathroom door, their faces,the very definition of uncomfortable.
Her brother T quietly gestures for herto look behind the counter.
She doesand will never forget what she sees.
An elderly man, thinninggray hair, skinny with sunken cheeks,
(03:38):
a scraggly beard, and dark, deeplyset, emotionless eyes.
He's wearing a stained white T-shirtwith visible pit marks and grimy overalls.
He's just standing there, handsat his sides, staring straight ahead,
no facial expressions, no movement,no acknowledgment.
(03:58):
A sense of dread startsto grow in the pit of my stomach.
A feeling likesomething is profoundly wrong.
Okay, so she thinks, well, let's
just grab a couple of snacks and drinksand get the hell out of here.
The store only has three aisles.
And as she startslooking for something to eat,
she sees that everything on the shelveslooks outdated.
(04:21):
Candy wrappers with old faded labels.
And everything's dusty.
Even the air feels dirty and stagnant,with a musty, sweaty smell.
Okay. She thinks. Well.
Food's out.
I guess I'll just get something to drink.
And she walks over to the coolers.
The three coolers are just as dirtyand neglected
(04:42):
looking as everything elsewith dirty glass and flickering lights.
Overwhelmed by a roller coasterdrop sensation
in her stomach, Maria waits for hersister to finish in the bathroom.
Grabs her hand as soon as she steps out
and they all bolt to the carwithout buying anything.
They pile inand literally peel out of the parking lot,
(05:07):
taking a right to go back in the directionthey came from towards the highway.
They drive for 15-20 minutes, watchingfor the entrance to get back on highway 75
when the same lights appear on the left,
the exact same gas station.
This time the clerk is standingat the window, staring directly at them.
(05:30):
Panic erupts inside the car with everyoneyelling go, go, go!
Maria floors it straight ahead.
There is no wayshe is stopping at that place again.
But how could they be seeing this samegas station twice?
Maria thinks I must have misseda fork in the road or something.
So they drive on for another15-20 minutes, still looking
(05:54):
for the highway, with everyone in the carabout a hair trigger away
from a full on freak out,when they see a break in the trees ahead.
As they get closer,they see it is the same station.
But this time it's different.
It's completely abandoned.
The only light around is comingfrom a streetlight.
(06:15):
The windows and doors are boarded up.
Ivy is growing over the entire building.
Half the roof is caved inand the pumps are gone.
No one has beenin that building for years.
But as they all look on in shock,they all see them.
The fresh tire marks on the pavementwhere they had
(06:36):
peeled out less than an hour ago.
Everyone in the car starts freaking outand Maria just floors it.
Lo and behold,they hit the highway in just five minutes.
The remainder of the trip is quietbut uneventful, and they all make it back
home.
Life moves on,but Maria never forgets that trip.
(06:59):
Who would?
But she really couldn't let it go.
She even tried going backto find that building,
taking different exits and drivingfor 20 minutes or more in each direction.
But she never saw it again.
A decade of development in the areacertainly didn't help matters any.
She knew if it was ever there, it'sprobably a parking lot
(07:21):
or a strip mall by now,but she still couldn't let it go.
Fast forward to March of 2025
and Maria is still trying to get answers.
She emails her storyto Ashlee of AshleeInc on TikTok
and YouTube, who's a really goodteller of creepy stories.
(07:41):
You guys should check her out.
I'll put a link to herYouTube channel in the description.
Ashlee reads her story on her TikTokchannel, and it goes viral.
Now, as if that story isn't unbelievableenough, just wait.
So Ashlee sharesMaria's story and everything blows up,
and Ashlee is getting tons of emailsfrom people telling her about
(08:04):
their nearly identical experiencesin what sounds like the same place.
That, in and of itself, is mind blowing.
But then Ashlee gets a very special email.
This email is from a man who calls himselfJohn Doe, who tells Ashlee,
I think the old man at that gasstation was my dad.
(08:28):
What?
He goes on to tell her that backin the mid 80s, his dad, who was a Vietnam
vet with PTSD issues,had problems with drugs and alcohol.
John's mom gave his dadTHE ultimatum - stop or leave.
So he stopped.
But, one night in 1984,he came home from his late shift job
(08:49):
at the gas stationjust off SR 378, in Valdosta,
looking absolutely freaked out,and tells his family
that he just saw ghosts from the futurecome in to the gas station.
John's mom,not believing a word he's saying,
thinks he's fallen off the wagonand tells him to get out.
(09:13):
So he does.
He packs his bags and leaves.
And John does not see him againfor another 16 years.
As John gets older,
he decides to rekindle that relationshipand gets in contact with his dad.
As they get to know each other again,John can't help but ask him
the question that's been on his mindfor all of those years.
(09:34):
Why did you start drinking again?
His dad
doesn't even hesitate and tells JohnI didn't.
I saw what I saw.
And that one drop of alcoholwas ever involved.
John's dad has since passed away,
but John manages to find a pictureand email it to Ashlee.
(09:54):
And Maria says she's about 95%sure that the man in the picture
is the man she saw behind the gas stationcounter that night 18 years ago.
The man in the picturelooks pretty happy and healthy,
while the man Maria sawwas much more sickly looking.
But, it doesn't take a genius to knowwhat a substance addiction
(10:16):
can do to a person.
So taking that into account,Maria pretty much says, yeah,
that's him, and can't helpbut break down in tears
as the emotional floodthat washes over her.
After 18 years of wondering,she now has proof.
May not be proof for anyone else,but it's proof for her.
(10:37):
And not just for her.
Even though John's dad passed awayin 2001, he now has the comfort of knowing
that his dad really was telling the truththe entire time.
Although comfort, it'sprobably not the right word
because he also struggles to come to termswith the idea that he cut his own
dad out of his life for 16 years,when his dad was telling the truth,
(11:01):
and never brokehis promise never to drink again.
But if nothing else, he and Mariacan move forward from here, knowing
that God only knows how it happened,but that it did really happen.
But theirs is not the only time slip storywe have today.
(11:21):
It's not even the only gas stationtime slip story.
In the fall of 2018.
Reddit user Oilburner75,let's just call him
Joe, was on a road tripto Acworth, Georgia, which is also on
highway 75, but the complete oppositeend of Georgia from Valdosta.
He’s there to pick up some fendersfor a truck he's restoring.
(11:44):
He meets the parts seller in the parkinglot of the Publix in Acworth on Baker
Road, and gets his fenders as planned,but decides it might be a good idea
to stop at the gas station right next door
and fill upbefore getting back on the road.
Joe goes into the stationand sees that everything is off,
just slightly different.
(12:05):
He goes to the counterto pre-pay for his gas and notices
the tobacco productsdidn't have warning labels all over them,
and the logos and everythinglook different.
Maybe dated like he'd seen them before,but not for a long time.
Not to mention that there is no creditcard reader on the counter.
And most importantly, prices are abouta third of what he's used to paying.
(12:29):
He looks around a bitand sees that the pop and the drinks in
the store had expiration datesof around the year 2000.
He goes to the counterand asks for a can of chew.
And the woman hands him a canwith the expiration date of July of 2000.
So he asks her,why is everything in the store outdated?
(12:49):
The woman just looks at him,says it's not.
That's a fresh can.
Joe is so freaked out that he just
leaves and heads down the roadto go get gas someplace else.
It takes him some
time to process this whole thingbefore it hits
him, to go look it up on Google Maps,and when he does, he sees
the gas station is gone, replacedat some point by a sonic.
(13:14):
Fortunately for Joe,he just went back in time a few years
and was able to just stepright back into his own timeline.
No harm, no foul.
But not all time slip travelers come outunscathed.
In May of 1972,four students - Janna North
at the wheel of her father's 1971Chevrolet Nova,
(13:36):
Carol Abbott in the passenger seat,and Lisa Rochefort
and Bethany Gordon, sitting in the backseat, - are rushing
to get back to their campus dormat Southern Utah University
in Cedar City,after spending the evening at a rodeo.
They’re kind of in a hurrybecause their housemother, Mrs.
Mortensen locks the doors at 11 p.m.
(13:58):
and none of them relishes the thought ofbeing forced to sleep in the car.
It's after 10 p.m.
when the girls cross the Utah Nevadastate line nine miles
west of Modena on Utah Highway 56,a desolate stretch of sand
and sagebrush with red sandstone bluffson the northern horizon.
(14:19):
Once they get into Modena, Janna noticesanother road branching off the main
highway, heading off into canyoncountry further north.
Taking this off road is pretty tempting.
It just seems like a more direct routeback to Cedar City.
However, it's also going straighttoward Gadianton Canyon,
(14:39):
a place steeped in local Mormonlegends of bad,
evil spirits, strange disappearances,and other weird phenomena.
Despite the stories of the canyon,the girls all decide to take the shortcut.
They chat happily about the day's eventsas the car
winds its way deeper into the forebodingcanyon.
As they drive, the dark rock walls incheven closer
(15:02):
to the crumbling edgeof the thin ribbon of asphalt.
Janna,who's been chatting with her friends,
suddenly notices that the car's headlightsshine more brightly on the pavement.
Looking closer,she sees that the center line is gone,
and instead of black asphalt,they're driving on white cement.
Carol points ahead, givingJanna a heads up to something
(15:25):
it would be impossible for her not to see.
The roadsuddenly ends in a towering rock wall.
They're boxed in by the canyonand have no choice
but to turn around and go backthe way they came.
Dang it!
There's no waythey're making it back in time now.
But whatever.
(15:45):
What's done is done.
Despitewondering how somebody could build a road
and not include a dead end warning sign,Janna turns the car around
and starts heading back out of the canyon,telling the others not to worry.
They'll make better timewhen they get back to the highway.
And she's driving.
Janna begins to feel uneasy.
They're still rollingalong, hemmed in by Red Canyon walls.
(16:10):
They should have been back outin the open desert by this time.
The canyon gradually gives way to opencountry, but something's not right.
Instead of the moonless desertthey saw on the way in,
they now see grain fields on the right
and a line of Ponderosa pine on the left.
In the distance,the water of a large lake shimmers
(16:33):
silvery under the bright full moon.
At that moment, they feel likethey've driven into a different world.
The events that follow prove them right.
Carol looks around in awe.
This isn't Modena.
Janna's going back through her memory,trying to figure out
how they could have gotten off track,but they must have gotten turned around
(16:56):
because they suredidn't see any of this going in.
Now the girls are on edge.
They have no idea where they areand wherever it is,
it doesn't look like eitherUtah or Nevada.
But they keep driving, just hopingthey'll be able
to find someone to point them in the rightdirection, back to the highway.
And sure enough, as they keep driving,they see a light ahead of them
(17:20):
coming from a large building,some kind of roadhouse or restaurant.
The place sits in the middleof a large parking lot, and a blazing
neon sign on the roofspells out a message.
At least that's what they assume.
They don't really know for surebecause they can't read it.
What should be letters are brightly lit,squiggles and curlicues,
(17:41):
strangely twisted lines making the writinglook like a completely foreign language.
As they startto pull into the parking lot,
some very tall mencome out of the building.
The men see the car coming inand just stop, staring at the girls.
They wave their arms, shout,and point at the girls and the Chevy.
(18:04):
Bethany giggles and says, “Iwonder if they're cute.”
Lisa pulls out her lipstickfor a touch up and says, “Let's find out.
We can ask them for directions.”She rolls down the rear passenger window
and sticking her head out the window,Lisa starts to greet them,
but lets out a terrified scream.
(18:24):
Frantically rolling up the window,she tells Janna to punch it.
Janna still has her eyes on the road,but Bethany and Carol turn to see
what Lisa is seeing and also screamat Janna to get them out of there.
And Jenny's like,what the hell is going on?
And the girls tell her, “They're not
(18:46):
human!” Janna stomps on the gaspedal and sprays
sand as the car speeds awayfrom the building and back onto the road.
As they race down the road,passing the strange lake, having no clue
where they're going, intense lightslight up their car from behind.
They're being chased.
(19:07):
Bethany shouts in panic,pleading with Janna to go faster.
Janna glances in her rearview mirror,and what she sees turns her blood to ice.
They are being chased, but not by anyvehicle that's ever been built in Detroit.
Four weird lookingautomobiles are right on their tail.
(19:28):
They're egg shaped with three wheels,
two large wheels in the frontand a smaller wheel in the back.
A single bright white headlight shinesfrom the front of each car.
They make a strange whirring or buzzingsound like an angry hornet's nest
as they close in on the speeding nova.
(19:50):
nova's engine roars as its speedcreeps toward 80 miles an hour.
The girls yell at Janna, “Go faster!
They're gaining on us!” Ahead,the road leads
into another red rock canyon,but Janna doesn't hesitate
and heads right into it with narrowcanyon walls on either side.
The Chevy's tireskick up a billowing rooster tail of dust,
(20:14):
and whether it's because of the dust cloudor through sheer
attrition,they can't see anyone behind them anymore.
It only takes a few minutes before
they are through the canyonand flying out the other side.
But all at once, the road vanishes.
The headlights shownothing but sagebrush and ocotillo.
(20:35):
The Chevy is not made for off roadadventures, and starts bouncing around.
Janna hits the brakes, but too late.
The Nova skids out of controland starts fishtailing.
But Janna manages to regain control,bringing it to a stop in the sagebrush.
Just a short distancefrom where the road ended.
(20:56):
Then the engine dies.
Shaking uncontrollably,the girls emerge from the car.
Everybody's pretty freaked out,but at least nobody's hurt.
The car, however, is undriveable.
Three of its tires are flat,with numerous dents
and scratches on the front bumper,and a missing hubcap.
(21:16):
Janna takes one look and says,
dad's going to kill me.
Lisa, however, is near hysterical.
She sits on the ground,hugging the knees of her bellbottom
jeans, repeating over and over again,“They aren't human.” Okay,
so the car's a brick and they have no idea
(21:36):
where they are or if these thingsare still looking for them.
So the girls all climb back in, lockall the doors, and wait for daylight.
Once the sun is up, they start walking.
And They only have to walka couple of miles before they find
the familiar blacktop of highway 56.
An hour later, they flag downa cruiser of the Utah Highway Patrol
(21:59):
and tell their story.
Utah State Trooper Vic Lundquistdiligently takes their statements.
He takes the girls back to their carand looks around,
not sure if he's looking for evidencethat they're telling the truth
or that they’re crazy.
And right away,he sees that the tire marks begin
about 200 yardsfrom where the car came to a stop,
(22:22):
with no tiremarks at all leading from the main road,
as if the car just suddenly appearedin the middle of the desert.
There are no tire tracksshowing where the Chevy left Highway 56
and no one can explain how they got nearlytwo miles north of the highway
without leaving any physical tracethrough the rough desert terrain.
(22:46):
And no trace of the Chevy'smissing hubcap is ever found.
So the moral of all these stories?
If you're planning a road tripany time in the future,
make sure your phone is chargedat all times and your camera lens is clean
because you never know what strangeadventures could end up in your scrapbook.
(23:12):
Now I'm nervous.
The in between familymight be taking a road trip this fall.
I don't know if that's going to happen,but if it does,
I promise I will keep my phone chargedand at the ready,
just in case we make the slip into a time
and/or place that isn't ours.
If you’re as addicted to these timeslip adventures as I am,
(23:35):
and want to hear more, click right here.
I'll bet dollars to donuts, youwon't want to miss any of these stories.
Be careful out there.
And I will see you hereagain, on The InBetween.
Thanks for tuning into The InBetween Podcast.
Enjoy the full visual experiencewith me over on YouTube.
(23:58):
Just search for @TheInBetweenTales.
I'm Carol Ann.
And until next time, be careful out there!
You.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.