Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
When I was in college, I picked up a weird
hobby scanning short wave radio at night. Most of it
was boring news, ham operators static, but sometimes you'd stumble
on strange broadcasts, morse code, odd signals, even something called
numbers stations. If you don't know, numbers stations are mysterious
(00:23):
radio channels that just read strings of numbers or words,
supposedly for spies. Most people think they're Cold War relics.
One night in twenty eighteen I found one. I was
spinning the dial around two am when I hit a faint,
scratchy voice, female, calm, emotionless. She said nine six three two,
(00:49):
repeat nine six three two, then static. I got excited.
I droad about these, but never caught one myself. I
stayed on the frequency. After a minute, the voice came back,
but this time it didn't say numbers. It said my name,
not my last name, my first name, clear as day, David.
(01:12):
Then static again. I froze in no way that was possible,
maybe coincidence, a real person messing around. I wrote it off.
The next night, I tuned back in at the same time.
Nothing for ten minutes, then the voice again, David up Stairs.
I nearly dropped the radio. I lived in a crappy
(01:34):
off campus apartment. My room was on the second floor.
I shut the thing off, heart racing. I told a
friend the next day. He laughed, said maybe someone nearby
was transmitting and pranking me. So that night he came
over with beers and we listened together. At two o
seven a m. Ride on schedule, the voice returned, same
(01:56):
flat tone, David, don't look at the window. We both froze.
My friend whispered what the hell and slowly turned his head.
The blinds were closed, but something was pressing against them
from outside, just enough to bow the slats like a hand.
(02:17):
We killed the radio, shut off the lights, and didn't sleep.
The next morning we checked no footprints in the dirt,
nothing on the glass, but I couldn't stop myself. Every
night I tuned back in. The messages got worse. Sometimes
there were strings of numbers again, but sometimes instructions checked
(02:40):
the closet, locked the door, don't answer the phone, And
when I followed them there was always something off, a
coat hanger swaying in the closet, my phone ringing with
an unknown number when I left it on the desk.
The last night I listened. Was the night I told
me to leave David, leave the house. Now. I didn't move.
(03:05):
My hands were shaking, then louder, almost angry. Leave Now.
I grabbed my keys, ran outside barefoot. My friend thought
I'd lost it, But when we came back the next morning,
the apartment upstairs directly above mine had been taped off
by police. The tenant was dead, stabbed. The time of
(03:27):
death around two fifteen a m. I sold the radio.
Sometimes late at night, I still hear faint static through
the walls of my new place, and every now and
then I wonder if I'd kept listening, would the voice
still be warning me or telling me things I don't
(03:47):
want to know
When I was in college, I picked up a weird
hobby scanning short wave radio at night. Most of it
was boring news, ham operators static, but sometimes you'd stumble
on strange broadcasts, morse code, odd signals, even something called
numbers stations. If you don't know, numbers stations are mysterious
(00:23):
radio channels that just read strings of numbers or words,
supposedly for spies. Most people think they're Cold War relics.
One night in twenty eighteen I found one. I was
spinning the dial around two am when I hit a faint,
scratchy voice, female, calm, emotionless. She said nine six three two,
(00:49):
repeat nine six three two, then static. I got excited.
I droad about these, but never caught one myself. I
stayed on the frequency. After a minute, the voice came back,
but this time it didn't say numbers. It said my name,
not my last name, my first name, clear as day, David.
(01:12):
Then static again. I froze in no way that was possible,
maybe coincidence, a real person messing around. I wrote it off.
The next night, I tuned back in at the same time.
Nothing for ten minutes, then the voice again, David up Stairs.
I nearly dropped the radio. I lived in a crappy
(01:34):
off campus apartment. My room was on the second floor.
I shut the thing off, heart racing. I told a
friend the next day. He laughed, said maybe someone nearby
was transmitting and pranking me. So that night he came
over with beers and we listened together. At two o
seven a m. Ride on schedule, the voice returned, same
(01:56):
flat tone, David, don't look at the window. We both froze.
My friend whispered what the hell and slowly turned his head.
The blinds were closed, but something was pressing against them
from outside, just enough to bow the slats like a hand.
(02:17):
We killed the radio, shut off the lights, and didn't sleep.
The next morning we checked no footprints in the dirt,
nothing on the glass, but I couldn't stop myself. Every
night I tuned back in. The messages got worse. Sometimes
there were strings of numbers again, but sometimes instructions checked
(02:40):
the closet, locked the door, don't answer the phone, And
when I followed them there was always something off, a
coat hanger swaying in the closet, my phone ringing with
an unknown number when I left it on the desk.
The last night I listened. Was the night I told
me to leave David, leave the house. Now. I didn't move.
(03:05):
My hands were shaking, then louder, almost angry. Leave Now.
I grabbed my keys, ran outside barefoot. My friend thought
I'd lost it, But when we came back the next morning,
the apartment upstairs directly above mine had been taped off
by police. The tenant was dead, stabbed. The time of
(03:27):
death around two fifteen a m. I sold the radio.
Sometimes late at night, I still hear faint static through
the walls of my new place, and every now and
then I wonder if I'd kept listening, would the voice
still be warning me or telling me things I don't
(03:47):
want to know
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
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.