Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 192 - Eyes in the Cornfield - Scary Stories and Rain

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey, welcome to Scary Stories and Rain.
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(00:23):
and one last thing. Thank you so much for being
here. I really hope you enjoy.
When I was in my early 20s, my grandparents lived in this
beautiful house on a lake in Michigan.
The house was surrounded by talltrees and I don't remember any

(00:43):
neighbors nearby. It was in the middle of nowhere
and I loved it. The water on that lake was so
calm and it looked like glass. It was the kind of place where
you could hear the breeze rustling through the trees and
the faint hum of insects in the distance.
It felt so peaceful. My favorite place in the world

(01:05):
by far. A perfect escape from the chaos
of this city life that my parents put me in.
One of my favorite things to do while visiting my grandparents
there was to take their little boat out onto the lake.
I would bring a book, sometimes some food, but more often than
not I would want to smoke out onthat boat since they didn't
approve. I would go out into the middle

(01:27):
of the lake where no one could see me, and I would smoke and
usually pass out. Sometimes I would lie there for
hours. A few times I woke up and it was
dark. Doesn't that sound incredibly
relaxing? I mean, it was heaven.
Well, it was, until one weird afternoon.

(01:48):
It was a warm day, one of those perfect Michigan summer
afternoons. The sky is bright blue, the
clouds look like marshmallows. I'd rode out to my usual spot.
I started smoking and just let myself drift away.
The gentle rocking of the boat was my favorite, the soft
lapping of the water against itssides.

(02:11):
It always put me to sleep quick.I had just closed my eyes and
drifted off into a nap. I'm not really sure how long I
was out, but I woke up suddenly.I don't think I heard anything.
I could just. Feel that something was
different. When I opened my eyes, I sat up
and there was another boat with an old woman sitting inside it

(02:35):
looking at me. I'm not sure what was scarier,
that I hadn't heard her approachor the fact that she came out of
nowhere and her boat was so close to mine she could reach
out and touch me. She looked like she had stepped
straight out of a vintage photo.Her dress was faded and worn, it

(02:55):
looked like it had been through way too many laundry cycles, and
her hair seemed like it was falling out.
Her face was very gaunt with sharp angles and wrinkles, but
it was her eyes and teeth that really got me.
She smiled, but it didn't seem friendly.
It was the kind of smile that you would give someone that

(03:16):
you're about to sell a cursed object to or something.
I can't explain it. Then she said something.
Hello girl. Such a beautiful day, isn't it?
Her voice was soft, but it had this weird quality that gave me
goosebumps. May I tell you a story?

(03:38):
I'm not proud of this, but instead of saying something
brave, I just nodded. I was so nervous and taken aback
that I didn't know what else to do, and so if I started rowing
away, it would be extremely obvious that I was uncomfortable
and I wanted to just play it cool as best as I could.
I nodded. OK.

(03:58):
She leaned forward, her boat creaking like it hadn't been
oiled since the Great Depression.
She began, her eyes locked on mine.
A pretty girl falls asleep on a boat.
She paused dramatically, which felt unnecessary but effective
because my pulse was already going crazy, she continued.

(04:23):
When she wakes up, she's stabbedin the face over and over again.
She raised a Bony finger and dragged it slowly down her
cheek, tracing a line from her temple to her jaw.
Now, I'm not saying that I'm tough or anything.
I thought I was, but I'm pretty sure my soul left my body.

(04:44):
For a second I wanted to laugh or scream or do something, but
nothing came out. All I did was stare at her.
Her smile widened, which was so weird.
It didn't look like it could getany wider.
She is stabbed in the face over and over and over again.

(05:07):
And that's when I decided I'd had enough.
Fight or flight kicked in. I had no idea if she was about
to pull out a knife. Let me tell you, Flight 1 by a
landslide. I grabbed the oars and started
rowing like my life depended on it.
My whole body was trembling, I was so scared.
Do. You like it?

(05:29):
Do you like my story? Where are you going?
She never left my sight as I rode away, smiling the whole
time. Don't you like it?
Eventually, when I got close to shore, I looked to make sure
that my boat wouldn't crash intothe dock.
When I looked back, her boat wasstill there, but she was gone.

(05:53):
Either she jumped into the wateror she very quickly ducked down
so I couldn't see her. Whatever she did, it was
terrifying and I had no idea where she was now.
I tied the rowboat to the dock and bolted back to the house,
trying to understand what just happened.
I told my grandparents and both of them believed me.

(06:14):
They were mortified, of course. They went outside to go try to
find her, but there was no sign of her or her boat.
I wish I could say I never went on that lake again, but I did.
It was my favorite thing after all, and I never saw that woman
again. God only knows where she came
from or what she would have doneif I hadn't rowed away.

(06:37):
I'll never forget that after telling my grandparents, my
grandpa joked that I must have smoked something stronger than
usual. My grandma thinks maybe I fell
asleep and just had a nightmare on that boat, but I can promise
you it was real. It really happened.
Years later now, I still see herface and I can still hear that

(06:59):
voice. Hello girl.
I just turned 21 a few weeks ago.
Exciting I know, but I still lived at home with my parents

(07:21):
unfortunately. Anyway, I was about to get off
work this one night. I was about 15 minutes away from
finishing my night shift when there was a sudden knock on the
door. It was so unexpected I almost
fell out of my chair. I work in the industrial
district and it was 9:00 at night.
No one is supposed to be around here.

(07:43):
Reluctantly, I got up and went to check who it was.
Standing on the other side of the glass door was this girl,
maybe around my age, with long tangled hair and clothes that
looked like they belong to a little girl.
Her eyes were hollow and unsettling, like she hadn't
slept in days. She waved awkwardly and motioned

(08:08):
for me to open the door. Hey.
She said when I cracked it open just a bit.
Can you give me a ride home please?
My car broke down a few streets over.
Something about her voice just didn't sit right with me.
It was flat, like she was going through the motions of talking,

(08:28):
like she wasn't used to it. My instinct screamed at me to
say hell no and I listened. Sorry I can't.
I said quickly. I'm just about to clock out and
I need to head home. She stared at me for a moment,
her eyes digging into mine. Then she shrugged and turned

(08:48):
away, walking off into the darkness.
I locked the door and watched her disappear before I headed
back to my desk. The encounter left me a bit
rattled because it was so random.
I did call security just to let them know that I saw a
suspicious character, and then Idecided to pack up a little bit

(09:09):
early and leave. As I left the building, the
eerie quiet outside made me feellike I was in a horror movie,
about to be ripped apart by somebeast or some person.
Every little noise was louder than it should be.
I hurried to my car. I unlocked it and jumped inside.

(09:31):
It was freezing. I locked the doors.
I didn't even care about turningthe heater on right now.
I just wanted to start moving and head home.
It was about a 10 minute drive. At first I thought I would be
fine once I was on the road, butas I drove my mind kept going
back to that girl. What was she doing there?

(09:54):
For some reason I knew she was lying.
She didn't have a car that brokedown.
The way she stared at me too, like she was sizing me up.
I told myself it was over, I wasdriving now, she was gone, and I
was safe. When I got home I pulled into
the driveway, killed the engine and went inside.

(10:17):
Warmth, sweet, sweet warmth. I locked the door behind me and
for a while I didn't know what to do.
I decided to call my friend Jay.He was out drinking at some bar
close by and told me to come join him.
I figured going to have a few drinks might make me feel a
little better about tonight, so I walked into the garage, opened

(10:40):
the door, grabbed my bike, and Iwas off.
The night was beautiful, honestly.
Just cold, the moon lighting up the road like a spotlight.
It was nice and peaceful at first, the rhythm of my bike
tires on the pavement put me at ease.
But then I heard it. The whir, the sound of another

(11:04):
bike behind me. I tried to play it cool, maybe
it was just someone else out fora late night ride, but as the
sound got closer I started to feel uneasy.
I moved to the side of the road,hoping that they would pass me,
and they did, but not like I expected them to.

(11:25):
The person slowed down as they came alongside me, and that's
when I saw her face. It was her, the girl from the
door. My stomach dropped and panic
shot through me like electricity.
I tried to process how she couldbe here, riding my mom's bike no
less, but my brain would not cooperate.

(11:49):
She turned her head and gave me this smile.
I lost control in that instant. My hand slipped on the
handlebars and the bike wobbled violently before tipping over.
I hit the pavement hard, scraping my hands and knees up.
Pain shot through my hands as I scrambled to get up, but then I

(12:11):
froze in place when I saw her again.
She had stopped just a few feet away from me and was just
looking back at me with that same smile.
She didn't say anything, her eyes unblinking.
Then, as if she hadn't just caused me to nearly break my
neck, she turned her bike aroundand pedaled away.

(12:35):
I sat there for what felt like forever, my chest heaving as I
tried to catch my breath. I didn't even want to think
about going to meet Jay anymore.I just wanted to get back home
and take care of my hands. When I finally reached my house
again, I threw the bike down in the driveway and went inside,
locking the door behind me. My heart was still racing as I

(12:58):
couldn't believe this just happened.
How the hell did this girl get to where I was?
After a few minutes I forced myself to go back outside to
check my car. Something about it felt wrong,
and when I went outside I saw it.
The back left door was open. I hadn't opened it.

(13:20):
My knees almost gave out as I approached inside.
On the back seat was a piece of paper.
I picked it up slowly. Scrawled and messy handwriting
were the words you should have said yes.

(13:49):
Back in 2004, I drove back to college after Christmas, but
before the winter break was over.
I was the first of my roommates to return to the house that we
were renting. The place was on the outskirts
of a small town in upstate New York, surrounded by dense woods
and miles away from any neighbors.
It was isolated quiet, the kind of quiet that made every Creek

(14:12):
of the old house sound like a gunshot.
I pulled into the snow covered driveway behind the house.
The snow was pristine, untouchedexcept for a few faint animal
tracks. My car's tires crunched loudly
as I parked by the back door. The cold air hit me like a train
when I stepped out. The kind of cold that stung your

(14:36):
face and froze your breath. I grabbed one of my bags from
the trunk and hurried inside. I've been on the road for over 5
hours and was dying to use the bathroom.
The house felt strange when I stepped in.
The air was heavy and the silence felt a bit unnatural,
but I chalked it up to just being alone in an old house.

(14:59):
I rushed to the bathroom, took care of my business, and
splashed some warm water on my face to wake myself up.
I was inside for maybe 5 minutes.
When I went back outside to grabthe rest of my stuff, I stopped
dead in my tracks. There were footprints in the
snow around my car. At first I thought I was seeing

(15:21):
things, but no, they were definitely there.
The only footprints that should have been there were mine from
where I'd gotten out, walked to the trunk, and then walked to
the back door. But now there was another set.
These footprints were larger, circling my car several times

(15:41):
before leading back into the woods.
My heart started pounding as I followed the tracks with my
eyes. They came from the woods, looped
around my car, and then disappeared back into the trees.
The trunk of my car was still open.
I left it like that because I thought I was alone.

(16:02):
Nothing was missing, but the idea that someone had been out
here watching me brought me dread.
They had to have seen me pull in.
They had come out of the woods, circled my car, and then
retreated, for whatever reason, back into the trees.
I grabbed the rest of my bags asfast as I could, my hands

(16:23):
trembling so bad I could barely lock the trunk.
Every sound, the crunch of my boots in the snow, the rustling
of the trees in the wind, it wasamplified, like someone was just
out of sight, waiting for the right moment.
I bolted into the house and locked the door behind me.

(16:43):
My heart was racing and I couldn't stop glancing out the
window, expecting to see someonestanding at the edge of the
woods. I couldn't sleep that night.
Every little noise made me jump,the creak of the house settling,
the wind rattling the windows, even the hum of the
refrigerator. Around midnight, I thought I

(17:07):
heard faint footsteps outside, crunching in the snow.
I forced myself to look out the window, but I didn't see
anything, just the empty yard and the dark line of trees.
The next morning, I went outsideto check.
The footprints were still there,frozen in the snow like some
eerie reminder they had not melted or blown away.

(17:31):
It was like they were taunting me.
I stood there staring at them and noticed something else that
made my blood run cold. The prints were not normal, they
were deep and uneven, like whoever made them was dragging 1
foot, and they didn't look like they were made by boots or
shoes. The edges were rough, almost

(17:55):
like claws, as if something withbare feet had been walking
around through the snow. I tried to convince myself that
it had to have been a prank or something, maybe some weird
neighbor messing with me, but the nearest house was over a
mile from here, and I hadn't seen another car or a person the
entire drive back. Besides, who would be out here

(18:18):
barefoot in the snow in the middle of nowhere just to play a
joke on me? None of it made sense.
That night, it got worse. I stayed up late watching TV.
Around midnight, I heard footsteps again, this time
louder, deliberate crunching right outside the living room

(18:40):
window. I turned off the TV and sat
there in the dark, terrified, holding my breath.
The footsteps stopped right outside the window.
I could feel whoever it was standing there, just on the
other side of the glass. I couldn't bring myself to look.

(19:00):
My hands were clenched so tightly my nails dug into my
palms. I just sat there, unable to
move, waiting for something to happen.
After what felt like an eternity.
I know people say that all the time, but that's what it felt
like. The footsteps started up again,

(19:21):
moving away this time. I listened as they crunched
through the snow and then faded away.
When the sound was finally gone,I let out a shaky breath that I
hadn't realized I was holding. The next morning, I checked
outside again. The new footprints were there,

(19:42):
right outside the living room window.
They had matched the ones from before, uneven and claw like.
I have never felt fear like that.
I don't know who or what was outthere, but I will never forget
that feeling of knowing something or someone was so

(20:03):
close and they didn't belong. I stayed in that house for the
rest of the break, but I never felt safe again there.
Every night I would hear some kind of noise, sometimes soft at
first, sometimes it would grow louder as the week went on.
By the time my roommates got back, I was a wreck.

(20:25):
I tried to tell them but they just laughed at me, said that I
was imagining things. One of my friends did believe
me. But it didn't.
Matter. Maybe it was real, maybe it
wasn't. But every time I'm alone now,
especially at night, I'll hear that sound in my head, that
slow, deliberate crunch of the snow outside.

(21:00):
I lived in one of the oldest apartments in my town.
It wasn't really fancy, just this old creaky building that
made weird noises at night. The walls were thin, the floors
were uneven. The whole place had this nasty
smell like damp wood, ancient dust, the like.

(21:20):
My friends would joke that it was probably haunted.
But I always shrugged it off because I didn't.
Believe in that kind of thing. At least until this one night.
It must have been about 2:00 AM and I just couldn't sleep.
I tried everything. I was listening to music, I
scrolled on my phone, nothing was working.

(21:41):
Finally I dozed off eventually, without realizing.
It's because the next thing I knew, I was dreaming.
Except it wasn't a normal dream.It felt like I was awake even
though it was a dream. I couldn't move.
I was just lying in my bed. My bedroom looked exactly the
same. My desk with the messy piles of

(22:03):
crap and homework, the worn out rug that I had for years, even
the little faint glow of the street lamp outside my window.
It was all there, every detail. But something was different.
My bedroom door slowly started to creak open.

(22:23):
And then I saw her. She was old.
Like really old. Her skin was pale, wrinkled, her
hair long and Gray. It hung in stringy clumps around
her face. She was wearing this old black
dress that looked like somethingout of a horror movie.

(22:44):
Her eyes, Oh my gosh, I'll neverforget them.
They just weren't right. They were Milky white, like she
was blind, but they still felt like they were staring straight
into me. She didn't say anything, She
didn't even make a sound. Her steps were completely quiet

(23:05):
as she started to walk toward me.
I couldn't move, totally frozen.I wanted to scream, but nothing
came out. I could do nothing.
Very slowly, she inched closer to me.
When she was right next to my bed, she leaned down.
Her face was so close I could feel her breath, which smelled

(23:29):
like rotten meat. Her lips moved like she was
about to whisper something, but before she could, I woke up.
I shot up, my heart pounding. It took me a second to realize
that I was actually awake now. The first thing I did was look
at the bedroom door and it was closed.

(23:49):
I always lock my door before I go to bed.
Always. But something about that dream
really freaked me out, so I got up to check if it was locked.
When I tried the handle, my stomach dropped.
It was unlocked. That alone was enough to send
chills down my spine, but I tried to convince myself that it

(24:12):
was just a dream. Maybe I dreamt the door was
locked when it really wasn't. I didn't want to think too hard
about this. I locked the door again, double
checked it, and climbed back into bed.
But I didn't sleep well for the rest of the night.
The next day, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was
off. I kept replaying that dream in

(24:34):
my head, trying to make sense ofit.
Why did I have a dream like thatwhen I never had before?
It was so. Real feeling too.
My friends just laughed when I told them about it.
They never really took anything seriously.
You're just paranoid, man, One of them said.
I wanted to believe them but I couldn't.

(24:56):
Something about that old lady haunted me.
For a few nights I was terrifiedto go to sleep, but nothing
happened again. I would lock my door, I would
check it, I would double check it and leave the light on in the
hallway. But I still felt uneasy, like
she would appear at any moment. About a week later, it happened

(25:21):
again. I was in bed, half asleep, when
I heard a noise, when before everything was silent.
It was soft, like someone shuffling their feet outside my
door. My heart started racing.
I told myself it was probably myupstairs neighbor or something,

(25:42):
maybe a cat. Then came the knock.
It was quiet at. 1st just a softtapping.
But then it got louder. Knock, knock, knock.
My throat went dry. I didn't move.
And then it stopped and for a second I thought maybe whoever

(26:04):
it was had left. But then the handle started to
jiggle like someone was trying to open the door.
I knew it was locked. I had checked it twice, maybe
even three times. But what if?
What if it wasn't Somehow? I didn't know what to do Should
I get up? Should I yell?

(26:25):
Should I call the police? My body was frozen.
Then, as suddenly as it started,the noise stopped.
I sat there for what felt like hours, listening, waiting, but
everything was quiet. The next morning, I checked the
peephole before opening the door.
The hallway was empty, but therewas something on the floor, a

(26:49):
single dirty footprint, like someone had been standing there
barefoot. I stared at it for a long time
before finally shutting the doorand locking it once again.
I didn't leave my apartment for the rest of the day.
Then a week later, it was Fridaynight and I was trying to relax,

(27:10):
watching TV in the living room. That's when I saw her.
Through the curtains, I could see the shadow of someone
standing on the porch. I didn't really want to go see
who it was, but something compelled me.
I walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back just a
little. It was her, the old lady from my

(27:35):
dream. She was standing there, just
staring at the door. Her Milky eyes looked dead, but
there was something about the way she stood that made it clear
she wasn't some just random person.
She didn't move, she didn't knock, and she didn't say
anything. She just stood there.

(27:57):
I backed away from the window, my hands shaking.
I thought about opening the door, asking her what she
wanted, but something deep inside me told me that that was
a very bad idea. Instead, I turned off all the
lights and sat in the dark, holding my breath.
I waited for hours, too scared to move, until finally I worked

(28:19):
up the courage to look out againand she was gone.
I never saw her again after thatin my dreams in real life, but I
still think about her sometimes,about her pale lifeless eyes and
the way she seemed to know things she shouldn't.

(28:39):
I don't know who it was or what she wanted.
Honestly, I don't want to know. All I know is I'll never forget
that feeling of terror, like I was trapped in some kind of
nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.
It must have been sleep paralysis from what I read.
Now every time I go to bed I check the door multiple times,

(29:04):
sometimes 3 or 4 times. I've moved out of that apartment
since then, but the fear stayed with me.
And sometimes late at night, I think I hear a faint knock in my
dreams and I'll wake up, my heart pounding, wondering if she

(29:24):
has come back. 20 year old Kelly Berg Dove
lived with her four year old daughter in Bridgewater, VA.
She was a popular young woman. Not a single soul in all of

(29:47):
Bridgewater seemed to have a badword to say about her, least of
all her loving husband who she'dbeen romantically involved with
since they were both high schoolsophomores.
She also made a point of keepingin touch with her mother and
sisters almost every single day.All in all, Kelly was about as
wholesome a person as you're ever likely to find, and even

(30:09):
found the time to work night shifts at a local gas station to
help support her family. They weren't exactly strapped
for cash, but Kelly valued the idea of making a contribution
that would allow them a taste ofthe finer things in life, as
well as squirreling a little of her paycheck away each month for
her daughter's college fund. But sometimes terrible things

(30:31):
happen to the most wonderful of people, and on the night of June
18th, 1982, something was about to happen in the sleepy town of
Bridgewater that would send shock waves through the close
knit community. On the night in question, Kelly
was working her usual night shift at Harrisonburg's Imperial
Gas station on South Main Street, Route 11.

(30:56):
Kelly had gotten the job becauseher three sisters had either
worked there in the past or werestill currently employed by
Imperial. The employer thought it would
make the girls more accountable for their work, and he was
right. Whenever one was sick or
couldn't come into work, anotherwould always take her place.
And on this night in particular,Kelly was covering for one of

(31:18):
her sisters for a little extra college money for her young
daughter. Kelly's mom, Rachel, was also a
very loving and attentive personand would often call the gas
station whenever one of her daughter's was working to check
if they needed any food or hot coffee brought over to help them
through their shift. When Rachel spoke to Kelly that
night, nothing seems to be amiss.

(31:42):
To her, it was just another average night at a mostly quiet
gas station in rural Virginia. But little did she know, this
would be the last time she wouldever talk to her daughter as the
evening's events we're about to take a rather dark and
terrifying turn. At around 2:30 in the morning,

(32:04):
long after Kelly's mom had retired to bed, Kelly apparently
called the Harrisonburg police. The call was to inform them that
she had been aggressively harassed by a guy she had
described as improperly dressed.It seems Kelly was far too
polite to describe what this male customer actually did in

(32:24):
any kind of detail, but it's safe to assume that the implied
meaning was that he had exposed himself to her.
Just a few minutes after this first call, Kelly called again,
this time pleading with the dispatcher for a patrol unit to
be sent to the gas station. The same man that had apparently
exposed himself was calling the station to make obscene threats,

(32:48):
and it seems that Kelly was growing anxious as she believed
he was willing to follow throughwith them.
The dispatcher promised to get aunit out to her as soon as
possible and that she should hang tight.
However, just moments after the second call ended, Kelly called
911 yet again, only this time she was in a complete panic.

(33:13):
With a voice that was dripping with fear, she demanded to know
how far away the responding police officers were, as the
same deranged customer had apparently returned and was
sitting in a silver or Gray Fordthat was parked in the gas
station's forecourt. The last thing the 911
dispatcher heard was Kelly screaming that the man had just

(33:35):
gotten out of the vehicle and was heading towards the gas
station's main building. She then slammed the phone down,
apparently preparing to defend herself.
The cops rushed over to the Imperial gas station, expecting
to arrive to a violent assault in progress.
But to their bemusement, when they arrived at the gas station,

(33:56):
the place was as quiet as the grave.
They searched the entire site, but Kelly was nowhere to be
found. All that remained was her purse.
There were no signs of any kind of violent struggle, no
indications the store had been robbed, but there were also no
clues as to where Kelly was. It was as if she simply vanished

(34:22):
into thin air. What's clear is that if the
suspect was armed, he could haveforced Kelly into his vehicle in
just a matter of seconds. Kelly's family believe this to
be the case, as they insist thatany attempt by an unarmed man to
grab her and shove her into their vehicle would have
resulted in Kelly fighting back vigorously.

(34:43):
The police investigation that followed LED officers to a
nearby convenience store where aclerk informed them that he had
been visited by a man driving a Gray vehicle about 1/2 an hour
before Kelly's disappearance. The clerk told them that the man
was aged between 20 to 25 years old and had blonde shoulder

(35:04):
length hair. This might seem like an obvious
lead, but the cops were unable to track down this man, so no
connection between him and Kelly's apparent abduction could
ever be made. The police then interviewed
Kelly's three sisters, who were also employed by the gas
station. They were shocked to hear that

(35:24):
the obscene kind of phone calls that Kelly had received that
night were commonplace, but thatno one had ever acted on them,
believing them to be from some harmless old pervert whose bark
was louder than his bite. They also didn't entirely
believe that the man that had harassed Kelly that night was
the same person making the phonecalls, as there didn't seem to

(35:47):
be anything overly threatening about the lewd calls.
While the driver of the silver or Gray Ford was obviously
aggressive enough to show up to the gas station in person.
Yet after news hit that one of the gas station girls had
apparently been abducted, the phone call seems to stop
entirely for a while, only resuming around six weeks later

(36:09):
when this apparently harmless old perv called and made lewd
comments to one of the gas stations new hires.
This could well be because whoever was making the calls
simply wasn't involved in the abduction and didn't want to
implicate themselves as a suspect in such a violent and
disturbing crime. But it could also be because the

(36:30):
same person who made the calls was satisfied with abducting
Kelly and didn't feel the need to make another call.
Not until the same hunger resurfaced in them around a
month and 1/2 after the fact. When local media outlets
contacted Kelly's parents regarding their daughter's
disappearance, they gave a rather shocking answer to some

(36:51):
very probing questions. When asked if they had any idea
who might have kidnapped or harmed their daughter and if
this person might be a member ofthe local community, Kelly's
parents unequivocally answered in the affirmative.
Although the police had asked them not to publicly speak the
man's name, they believed her abductor had been someone Kelly

(37:12):
had gone to high school with, someone who had a long history
of indecent exposure and making obscene telephone calls, and,
according to Kelly's sister, also drove a silvery Gray
forward. But surely if Kelly had known
the man personally, even just byassociation, she would have
named him in one of the three 911 calls she made leading up to

(37:35):
her abduction. But it's also very possible that
this person that either obscuredtheir face somehow or Kelly had
simply not recognized him, giventhat they had both graduated
some time ago. There's also the possibility
that Kelly was so terrified thatshe just failed to mention the
man by name during one of those calls.

(37:56):
Either way, the police obviouslyfound the possibility of this
man being the culprit so plausible that they asked
Kelly's parents not to use his name publicly.
Yet despite this, he was never charged with any crime, as there
was simply not enough evidence to attempt any kind of
conviction. There were several other

(38:18):
suspects in the case, and authorities were sure to
question all of them. But at a time when CCTV cameras
and DNA evidence were still justtechnological pipe dreams,
actually placing A suspect at the scene that night was all but
impossible. For all intents and purposes,
the person who showed up at the Imperial gas station that night

(38:40):
is a ghost. Someone who showed up, bundled
Kelly Berg, dove into a vehicle and then seemingly vanished
themselves. Barely a trace of either of them
was left behind, merely a purse and a vehicle description.
Far too little for the cops to go on to secure a suspect, Kelly

(39:03):
or her body. Almost 40 years later, what
happened that night remains almost a total mystery, with
Kelly being declared legally deceased by local authorities
despite her family pouring moneyinto private investigators to
try and find out exactly what happened, they are no closer to

(39:24):
getting any solid answers as they were almost 4 decades ago.
The only truth we have of that night is the terrifying reality
that Kelly went to work that night not suspecting a thing and
ended up encountering someone that caused her to vanish from
the face of the earth. And that, horrifyingly enough,

(39:47):
is something that could happen to each and every one of us.
I've lived in this town all my life.

(40:07):
I know all the weird traditions that come with living in a place
as remote as mine, but nothing explains what happens at our
deer. Park.
I used to come out here most evenings during the pandemic,
park up by the base of the hill overlooking the sanctuary, and
just immerse myself in nature. I was always mindful of the

(40:28):
distance I had to keep from the deer, particularly during mating
season. And it wasn't like the deer
didn't know what a car was. These were in their own reserve,
sure, but the trail cut right through their vast fields, and
they had grown accustomed to seeing cars all manner of times
in the day and evening, which iswhat makes the situation more

(40:49):
unsettling. Starting last week a sign was
put up on the entrance gate to the park.
Impossible to miss as the car slowed and the tires rolled over
the metal brakes. With it being the late hours and
very few cars on the road, I decided to stop and read it in
full. A polite notice to our valued

(41:10):
visitors entering the Oboro Nature Reserve.
Our deer are exhibiting unusual behaviors and we are politely
requesting you to observe the following guidelines in place as
to best protect yourself and thewell-being of our deer number
one. While the park is open 24 hours
a day, we are recommending visitors to not stop their cars

(41:32):
during observable grazing periods and on Midsummer nights.
You are welcome to drive throughand observe from a distance, but
please do not slow down or stop #2 Should you be slowed or
stopped at any other time and the deer be curious by your
vehicle, act calmly and do not speed up.

(41:53):
Let them inspect you and judge you as a safe passerby.
If they begin snorting, that is your cue to leave #3 There have
been reports of deer standing ontheir hind legs and remaining
idle in the fields. These rumors are a fallacy.
Please do not pay any attention to them #4 There is a black stag

(42:16):
that holds dominion over the western herd.
His antlers are sharp and his stride is impressive, but do not
attempt to approach him. Please pay him the respect you
would normally and do not stare at any of the females in his
harem. He will charge you.
Bucks are not friendly #5 deer remember faces.

(42:40):
They can recognize you from a distance and will verify your
smell as you get closer, listening intently the entire
time. There are many of them and only
one of you. You would do well to mind that
number six. Lastly, no matter what salacious
rumors have been propagating amongst the community, the deer

(43:02):
are not congregating in the deadof night.
Deer are social animals that sleep and graze together in a
herd. This is normal.
The deer are acting normally. Drive safely, keep your doors
locked, and have a lovely drive in the Oboro Nature Reserve.
Strange, right? The notice wasn't your usual

(43:25):
steel sign with the carefully embossed wording.
Rather, it had been hastily marked up and nailed to the wall
adjacent to the welcome sign, asif in a hurry.
I had not heard any sorts of rumors around town, and nobody
had complained about the Deer Park.
We're a population of maybe 2000, so it's not hard for words

(43:45):
to get about. Still, I had my routine and
intended to stick to it. Some of the info was valuable
for newcomers. There was indeed a large black
buck who paraded the western herd.
His name was JoJo, and I fully believe he would gore anyone who
outstayed their welcome or got too close.

(44:07):
A beautiful specimen of muscle and authority, he ensured his
harem never strayed too far and seemed to be borderline
obsessive about making sure thatthey never went across to the
eastern side where the large swaths of trees sat.
In fact, I've observed him on a couple of occasions actively
nudging or ramming younger malesaway from the split in the road

(44:31):
and back to safety. On the rare occasion that a
member of the herd crossed the line, he would refuse to
acknowledge them and actively keep them away from entering as
if they were banished. As I drove through the archway,
I realized I'd not seen many deer in the eastern section of
the park. Looking out my window and
staring at the makeshift forest to my right, and a burning

(44:54):
question coming to the forefrontof my mind that didn't leave as
I reached the hill overlooking both sides of the hill.
Where are the rest of the deer? It was unnerving to sit there
and try to enact my ritual of writing under the clear night
when there was a strict absence of the herd where they should

(45:14):
be. I tried to focus, but something
was pulling my eyes back to looking at that spot time and
time again. Eventually I decided that I
needed to get some fresh air andtake a better look, satiate my
curiosity and then with my mind at ease I could get back to
finishing my blog. The air was humid when I stepped

(45:36):
outside, no breeze and the starswere out on full display.
Thank goodness for no light pollution in the countryside.
I left the engine running and walked to the barrier my car was
parked in front of. Leaning over and taking a pair
of binoculars I bring for slowerdays when I want to see the deer
in better detail. As I directed my vision to the

(45:59):
eastern herd, I saw something darting in the tree line.
It's quick, hairy and seems to move the second my binoculars
motions towards it. Even a deer shouldn't be that
spooked, especially from this distance.
My joints seized up and I damn near dropped the binoculars when

(46:20):
I heard a familiar snorting frombehind me.
I turned and saw JoJo standing 15 feet from me just by the rear
of my car and his eyes were gleaming in the rear lights.
His head was low and his antlerswere thick, sharp and aimed at
me. At that moment I didn't know if

(46:41):
he was going to charge and whether I should be fighting for
my damn life. Instead, I did as I was
instructed and stayed still, notmaking sudden movements as he
snorted again, closing the gap between us slowly.
As he got within 5 feet of me, he reared his head up.
I saw the most baffling expression on his face.

(47:03):
For a fleeting moment, fear Something rippled through the
eastern forest and birds begin flying away in droves.
Some of the deer herd in the western area were circling
something, and JoJo immediately bound down and out of sight to
control the chaos. I wasted no time getting in my

(47:23):
car and driving down after them,keeping the doors locked.
The window opened a crack and myspeed at a decent crawl.
As I came along the embankment that connects to the road, I saw
JoJo running full Sprint towardsanother deer.
He knocked the rival over and contorted the body as it skidded
across the grass and fell into the trail just ahead of my car.

(47:46):
I knew I'm not supposed to, but I stopped the car and waited.
In a choice between breaking therules and breaking my car, I'll
choose the former any day. The Western herd deer under
Jojo's command were gathering behind him, making horrific
shrieks of terror. JoJo strode up and bowed his

(48:07):
head again in front of the stillcontorted deer antlers on full
display and dripping with black blood.
It was a clear threat. Do not come back here if you
value your life. I started wondering how I had
safely got this deer out of the way, or if I could mount the
grass on the other side and wentaround it when I saw something

(48:30):
horrific unfold in front of me. The body twisted itself around
and the limbs snapped to reset themselves.
The head still cracked at an ugly angle, bones sticking out
of the sides as it got onto shaking legs.
When it screamed, it sounded as if its lungs were filled with
blood. A horrible, muted cry of anguish

(48:52):
that backed up every other deer but JoJo.
I don't know what was keeping this thing standing, but it let
its head flop lazily around as it carefully backed away onto
the eastern side of the reserve before bounding into the tree
line as if nothing were wrong. My rational mind chalked it up
to adrenaline and the instinct to survive, but it was

(49:15):
impossible to shake the feeling that something was wrong.
I carried on driving as soon as the deer was out of sight, not
looking at JoJo or the others asI carried on down the trail.
For the remaining few minutes, Ifelt unseen eyes staring
intently at me until I crossed the threshold and back into
civilization. I had never been more grateful

(49:37):
to see other humans or my bed. Something about the whole
incident just took it out of me.As I slept that night, I had
dreamed I was a deer alongside JoJo, frolicking in the herd and
grazing peacefully. But as I cast my eyes upwards to
the sky, a bitter chill on the wind, I saw the moon bathed in

(50:01):
an almost purple plume, a strange light cast onto the land
and noises rustling from the woods opposite.
I don't know how I knew this, but something in me
instinctively knew we weren't supposed to go there.
I saw shapes begin to emerge from the trees and that same
horrible shriek rang out as I woke up in a sweat.

(50:24):
I leaned forward to catch my breath and grab a glass of
water. As I changed positions to reach
for my night stand, I swear I heard the sound of something
running up the trail to my house.
I was probably still half asleep, but that didn't make it
any more damn unnerving. I decided it would be best to
drive out the next night and confront my concerns head on.

(50:47):
If I'm not going to sleep soundly, then I should use my
time wisely and document what I'm seeing.
Maybe pass it to the Rangers in the morning, Right When I drove
back out there last night, the atmosphere was vastly different.
A mist was enshrouding the trailand the majority of the deer on
the western side huddled together, shaking and staring

(51:11):
intently at the other side of the nature reserve.
I couldn't see JoJo anywhere. Strange, I thought, alpha males
patrol their herds dutifully. Why wasn't he there?
I parked up at my usual spot andmaking sure he wasn't around, I
pulled out my binoculars again and stared at the eastern area,

(51:34):
the clouds beginning to part as the moon shone through.
There was movement all along thetree line as shapes began
emerging, 1 by 1 I think it tookmy mind a moment to process what
I was seeing. I had finally seen the deer on
the eastern side, but they were wrong, very, very wrong.

(51:56):
Standing on their hind legs and taking confidence awkward steps,
they marched out of the trees with their heads craned to the
sky, all of them emitting that horrible sound like their heads
were being held underwater as they screamed.
It reverberated in my ears and made my skin break out in

(52:16):
goosebumps. There were dozens of them, maybe
a couple of 100. Some were dragging a structure
out with them, others hauling A writhing shape I couldn't quite
see. They congregated in a small
huddle, the center of which was obscured from my vision.
I looked over to Jojo's herd andsaw the fear in their eyes, so

(52:39):
many of them shaking and their teeth bared.
A primal fear. We humans have largely lost in
the safety of being the dominantspecies, but this night showed
me that we are not as powerful as we think we are.
As the huddle broke away and began walking again towards the
edge of their field, I saw what they had been huddled around

(53:00):
JoJo. He was still alive, but barely
moving and breathing heavily, his eyes glazed over.
When he began to come, he started shrieking like a fawn.
It was unnerving. They dragged him to the
structure, a primitive set of steps with a hollowed out hole

(53:20):
in its center, coated in a thicksubstance on the sides, just
large enough for JoJo to be thrown into.
I watched these things, these not deer, use their front hooves
to hoist him up and into the hole.
His screaming was incessant the entire time they stood around

(53:40):
it. Their necks cracked as they
stared at the moon and shrieked.I looked up with them, wondering
if what they sought was up therein the skies, a kind of
primitive God for these creatures.
I should have known better, of course.
Whatever God these not deer prayed to, it didn't reside up

(54:02):
above. No, it lurked deep below.
A low groan called out in response.
It possessed the same blood filled lungs these monstrosities
had, and Jojo's deer huddled closer together.
At its roar, JoJo had stopped moving, his crying completely

(54:22):
gone as the knot deer too fell silent and formed a circle
around their altar. Snorting in unison, it grew to a
fever pitch before something began dragging JoJo from
beneath, ripping at his limbs and pulling until a horrific
squelch indicated the top had separated from the bottom.

(54:43):
The hole spurted out blood and chunks of deer as the knot deer
celebrated, danced in the rain, and feasted on the pieces.
One final roar rang out from theunseen creature.
It shook the ground and I felt my balance waver for just a
moment, steadying myself on the car.

(55:05):
I know I should have booked it out of there, but I was
desperate to understand what I was seeing, rationalizing that
perhaps this was a bizarre art piece, maybe a protest from an
animal rights group, or even a bunch of edgy satanic teens with
that rational voice in my head grew very, very quiet.

(55:25):
When I grabbed my binoculars to look again, every single one of
them was staring up at me, emotionless black eyes fixated
on my position. I didn't wait any longer.
I drove out of there at a breakneck pace, not looking at
either side of the park on my exit, and damn near coming off

(55:45):
the road with the lack of traction.
As I got to the archway, my tires smashing against the
great, I had inadvertently attracted the forest Ranger on
duty. He pulled me over and walked up
to my window, a friendly smile on his face.
You know there's a speed limit there for a reason, right, son?

(56:07):
Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry, I got a little spooked.
I smiled back. Nerves shot to hell.
He raised an eyebrow. You didn't break one of our
rules, now did you? Oh, no, I I kept to them.
It's just, well, JoJo got attacked by the eastern deer and

(56:27):
I don't think he's doing well. It was just a shock to take in.
I figured telling a half truth would be best.
Couldn't exactly say what I thought I had really seen, now
could I? That's so.
Well, They make their choices carefully.
We don't know much, but we do know not to interfere.

(56:49):
This is how it's always been. Animals have strange practices.
You get how it is, but so long as they didn't look at you,
you're fine, dear. Remember faces after all.
Thanks for visiting drive safely.
He smiled again and tipped his hat before walking off to his

(57:10):
station. My blood ran cold and I couldn't
get those words out of my head on the entire drive home.
But so long as they didn't look at you, you're fine.
I have not stepped outside my house since last night.
I live in a remote part of the village, and while I enjoy the
privacy, it's been a hotbed for strange noises and unsettling

(57:34):
emotions. Everywhere I go in my home, I
feel like I'm being watched by those same vacant eyes.
What happens now? What happens to those they look
at? I can't get their eyes out of my
head and I can't sleep worth a damn either.
This isn't going to end until I figure out what they want.

(57:56):
I wish I had more for you. I wish I could tell you what the
not deer were, what they prayed to, why they sacrificed, what
the Ranger knew. But there are so many
unknowables that it makes my head spin.
It's just like being deep in thewoods, so many twists and turns.

(58:16):
You never know which is the right path to take and what
danger lurks behind every tree. I don't know what the deer are
doing. I don't know what is going on at
that park, but if you value yourlife, you'll stay far, far away
from it and whatever monster they are praying to.

(58:51):
The highly publicized kidnappingof J Paul Getty, the third
grandson of the wealthy tycoon John Paul Getty, occurred on
July 10th, 1973. The 16 year old was snatched off
the streets of Rome by a group of unknown men who demanded a
ransom of $17 million for his safe return.

(59:12):
When the boy's father asked his own father, the patriarch of the
Getty family, for the money, themiserly John refused, arguing
that his other 13 grandchildren would be targeted if he were to
pay. By November 1973, the kidnapper
sent an envelope containing a lock of hair and a human ear to
a daily newspaper. The group threatened further

(59:35):
mutilations to the young man if their demand of $3.2 million was
not met, and when this was not forthcoming, they eventually
reduced the ransom further. Getty's grandfather agreed to
pay no more than 2.2 million, lending his son the other
800,000 on the condition that hepay 4% interest.

(59:56):
His grandson was later found alive in the province of Potenza
and eventually nine people were arrested.
The kidnappers were members of anotorious Mafia organized crime
group from Calabria and only twowould face prison over the
crime, while the young Getty would struggle over the trauma
of his ordeal, eventually turning to drink and drugs.

(01:00:20):
Which would forever ruin his life.
The Getty family are one of the wealthiest in America who made
their fortune from investing in the petroleum industry in the
early 20th century. George Franklin Getty was a
lawyer who became an independentoil man in the early 1900s along
with his son John Paul Getty. Together they incorporated the

(01:00:42):
Getty Oil Company. Upon the death of his father in
1930, John Paul Getty became patriarch of the Getty dynasty
and continued in his father's footsteps and became a wealthy
industrialist and the founder ofGetty Oil.
In 1957, Fortune magazine named him the richest living American,

(01:01:03):
while in 1966 he was named the world's richest private citizen
by the Guinness Book of World Records with an estimated
fortune of $1.2 billion. It was into this affluent family
that John Paul Getty the third was born on November 4th, 1956
and spent his formative years inRome while his father oversaw

(01:01:26):
the Italian interests of the Getty family oil business.
With the death of his stepmotherin July 1971 due to a heroin
overdose and his father's move to the United Kingdom to escape
drug possession charges in Italy, the young Getty was left
to his own devices in Rome, where he lived a bohemian
lifestyle while frequenting nightclubs and taking part in

(01:01:48):
left wing demonstrations. He lived with his then
girlfriend Martine Schmidt, who would later claim the couple was
struggling to make ends meet, and said that Getty had
previously toyed with the idea of getting himself kidnapped by
petty criminals to extort money from his miserly grandfather.
However, he had changed his mindtowards the middle of 1973, with

(01:02:11):
Martine telling the press Paul didn't want to be kidnapped
anymore, but the kidnappers werefollowing him.
The young couple began securing modeling work, and Paul had been
paid $1000 to appear naked in a spread on the cover of the
August 1973 issue of Italian adult magazine Playmen, which

(01:02:32):
would be released the month after his kidnapping. 16 year
old Getty was abducted at 3:00 AM in the Piazza Farnice in Rome
on July 10th, 1973. The young man was approached by
several men and was blindfolded,then transported and imprisoned
in a cave in the southern Italian region of Calabria.

(01:02:54):
A ransom demand was issued for $17 million in exchange for his
safe return. However, the Getty family
believed that the plot had been orchestrated by the rebellious
teenager to gain money from his grandfather, who refused to
accept the ransom notes as genuine.
The kidnapped teenager's father,John Paul Getty Junior, asked

(01:03:16):
his father for the money to secure his son's release, but
the elder Getty refused because he believed his other 13
grandchildren would be in dangerif he agreed to pay.
Due to an Italian postal strike,the arrival of the kidnapper
second demand was delayed and they came to believe his family
would never pay the ransom. His captors began to treat Paul

(01:03:37):
worse, and they took away a radio they provided him.
One of the men killed a bird he had taken as a pet.
He was threatened with death on numerous occasions, and the men
guarding him began playing Russian roulette with a pistol
pointed at his head. In November 1973, an envelope
was sent to a daily newspaper that contained a lock of hair

(01:04:00):
and a human ear, along with a threat from the kidnappers that
failure to pay the $3.2 million ransom would result in further
mutilations of their captive. The accompanying note read.
This is Paul's first ear. If within 10 days the family
still believes that this is a joke planned by him, then the

(01:04:20):
other ear will arrive. In other words, he will arrive
in little bits. Because of the increasingly
harsh treatments suffered from his captors, Paul's health began
to decline and his wound became infected.
He developed pneumonia due to the cold winter temperatures and
the kidnapper soon became concerned about his rapid

(01:04:41):
decline and gave him large dosesof penicillin to treat his
infection. As time went on, he developed an
allergy to the antibiotics whichaffected his health, making it
worse. In an attempt to keep him from
getting worse, he was plied withlarge amounts of Brandy to keep
him warm and numb his pain. With Paul's life threatened, his

(01:05:03):
grandfather reluctantly agreed to pay but acquiesced to no more
than $2.2 million, which was themaximum amount that was tax
deductible, and lent the rest tohis son who would repay him the
remainder at 4% interest. Shortly after the ransom was
paid, the young Getty was released on December 15th, 1973

(01:05:26):
at a Lauria patrol station in the province of Potenza.
Once reunited with his mother, she suggested he contact his
grandfather to thank him for paying the kidnappers ransom,
but the Getty patriarch refused to come to the phone and speak
with his grandson. During the subsequent police
investigation, it was highly suspected that the kidnappers

(01:05:48):
were members of an organized criminal group known as
Nedrankita, which operated in the Calabria region of southern
Italy. Detectives focused their
investigation on the Piramali Nidrina, a powerful plan of the
Nidrangada headed by Giralamo. Piramali known as Momo Piramali

(01:06:09):
was the capo baston and head of his own sub organization within
the Nidrangada. On March 23rd 1974, Italian
police raided the Goya Toro areaon the Tyrannian coast of
Calabria and made several arrests including Piramali and
Savario Mamaliti. Mamaliti, who is nicknamed

(01:06:33):
Sorrow and Playboy of Castellus for his good looks and taste in
women, was from Opito Mamertina and Castellus in Calabria and
was the Cabo bastone of the Mamaliti Nadrina.
In September 1974, Nidrangita boss Piramali absented from a
clinic in Rome where he had beentransferred to receive treatment

(01:06:55):
for an ulcer. He was apprehended again in
October 1975 in Rome during a lunch meeting with Pasquale
Condello and Paolo Di Stefano, 2high-ranking members of the
Nidrangita. It was discovered during his
arrest that Piera Molly was in possession of banknotes that
could be traced to the Getty kidnapping.

(01:07:18):
On January 19th, 1976, a fifth Italian member of Nidrangada was
charged with involvement in the Getty kidnap.
Plot A warrant was issued for 49year old Giuseppe Lamanna who
was charged with abduction, inflicting serious wounds and
criminal association. Nine members of the Nidrangeda

(01:07:40):
went to trial in May 1976 beforea three judge court in southern
Italy charged with abducting J Paul Getty.
The third known at the time as the Golden Hippie, grandson of
the American oil billionaire whodied during the course of the
trial from heart failure at the age of 83 on June 6th, 1976.

(01:08:03):
The then 20 year old Getty also testified at the 10 week trial
which culminated in July 1976 when seven of the defendants
were acquitted for lack of evidence, including the Nadrina
bosses Savario Mamaliti and Guerillamo Piramali, who the
prosecution contended with the mastermind behind the
kidnapping, while two other men were convicted and sent to

(01:08:26):
prison. Antonio Mancuso received an 8
year sentence and Giuseppe La Mana, who was accused of cutting
off Mr. Getty's right ear to be sent to his family to encourage
them to pay the ransom demand, was sentenced to 16 years in
prison. It was alleged during the trial
that the defendants wanted the money to finance a drug running

(01:08:47):
operation. Although five of the men were
absolved of kidnapping and mutilation charges, they
received jail sentences on drug and weapons charges.
With the mounting legal troublesand facing many years behind
bars, Mama Liti decided in May 2003 to collaborate with Italian
justice officials and became a Pentido, former members of

(01:09:10):
criminal organizations who turned on their former
associates. Mamaliti confessed his
involvement in the Getty kidnapping and explained that
the ransom money was used to invest in trucks with which the
Nidrangeda 1A monopoly on all the transportation and
construction contracts for the container port of Goya Toro.

(01:09:31):
Before the start of his kidnapping trial, J Paul Getty,
the third, married German Gisella Martin Zakhar, who is
five months pregnant with her son Balthazar.
After the trial, he acted in several European films, playing
supporting roles in the 1981 Portuguese philosophical horror
film The Territory, directed by Chilean filmmaker Raul Ruiz, and

(01:09:56):
Wim Wenders 1982 German languagefilm The State of Things.
Getty and his wife lived in New York City during the 1980s,
where they became acquainted with Andy Warhol's Art Crowd.
J Paul Getty, the third, was deeply affected by the ordeal of
his kidnapping, and as a result,he suffered from both alcohol

(01:10:17):
and drug addiction during the years that followed.
In 1981, he drank a cocktail consisting of Valium, methadone
and alcohol, which caused liver failure and a stroke, leaving
Getty quadriplegic, partially blind and unable to speak.
His mother, Abigail Harris, cared for him for the rest of

(01:10:38):
his life and sued his father for$28,000 a month to cover his
medical bills. Getty never fully recovered and
remained severely handicapped for the rest of his life.
By 1987, he was able to regain some measure of autonomy and was
even capable of skiing when strapped to a metal frame.

(01:10:59):
He and Zach are divorced in 1993and several years later he and
member of his family became citizens of the Republic of
Ireland in return for significant financial
investments. Owing to his poor health since
his 1981 overdose and after a long illness, Getty died at his
father's estate at Warmsley Park, Buckinghamshire on

(01:11:22):
February 5th, 2011. Severio Sorrow Mammaliti was
arrested numerous times for his involvement in organized crime
activities and was sentenced to 22 years for extortion and other
Mafia related charges in 1992. At the Mafia of Three Provinces
trial in 1995, he received a life sentence and another 20

(01:11:47):
year sentence in 2003. Despite his collusion with
Italian authorities, Girolamo Momo Piramali continued to be
the center of Nidrangada criminal enterprises in Calabria
and became involved in the Second Nidrangada War against
his rival Giorgio De Stefano, a cousin of the powerful De

(01:12:07):
Stefano Brothers, who was killedby a hit squad headed by
Piramali's brother Pepe. Arrested on charges stemming
from his criminal involvement, Momo Piramali died of cirrhosis
of the liver on February 11th, 1979 in a prison hospital in
Goya Toro. I am sure you have all heard of

(01:12:40):
the Wilhelm scream. You may not have heard of it,
but you almost definitely would have heard the scream itself.
It often rears its head in some of our most popular movies.
It makes an appearance in the Star Wars films and even appears
in The Lord of the Rings. The now famous Scream is now
deeply ingrained in our movies and our culture that a lot of

(01:13:03):
people know this sound, but theyprobably don't know how or when
it originated. Its first use was in the 1951
movie titled Distant Drums. But what if it didn't actually
originate from that film? What if the Scream actually had
a lot darker origin? Quite a number of years ago now,

(01:13:23):
I was a young actor and I actually managed to appear in a
few feature films. I was only around the age of 9
when my acting career was in itsprime.
I had been the supporting actor in three quite well known movies
and was on track to becoming a household name.
It was on the set of my fourth film that everything changed.

(01:13:43):
I lost my career because of whatI discovered, and worse, I lost
my innocence. I won't say the name of the film
that I was working on when I discovered this secret, but I
will say that it was one of those generic family comedies
that was filled with a couple ofbig name actors.
I was cast in the role of the youngest son in the quirky

(01:14:05):
family and this was the movie that was supposed to launch me
into stardom. I was already being recognized
and most people would probably know who I was if they saw me,
but no one really knew my name and this was the movie that was
supposed to change that and had only shot one complete scene
when it happened the day that I found the tape.

(01:14:27):
I can't remember exactly what Stan's job was on set, but I had
seen him running around the set each day that I was there.
He always had his hands full andwould be doing a quick little
half jog to deliver whatever he was holding to the right person.
I don't think I ever saw him without a script or a prop in
his hands, and I didn't ever seehim when he wasn't out of breath

(01:14:48):
from the endurance run he would have to do around the set.
The other thing I remember aboutStan was that he was notoriously
forgetful. You would often see him run
across the set, stop midway to his destination, turn around,
and then when he would reappear he would be holding something
extra that he had forgotten about.

(01:15:09):
I later found out that Stan had actually been fired from a
previous film for forgetting to take a movie script with him and
he left it sitting on a table ina busy coffee shop.
That's the sort of man he was, forgetful but also hard working.
I liked Stan and one thing I do recall is his warm smile and his

(01:15:31):
kind words that he would say to me whenever he would see me on
set. On the third day I was on set
just after filming had wrapped. I saw Stan jog through the set,
down a small corridor that was in the studio and enter a small
room that joined onto the corridor.
My parents were always on set with me, but I saw they were

(01:15:51):
busy with the producer, so I decided to follow Stan to this
small room. I don't really know why I
followed him, I didn't know him that well, but something about
him made me feel comfortable andso I decided that I would go and
say goodbye to him before I leftthe studio that day.
I walked down the small corridorand entered the room that I'd

(01:16:11):
seen him enter. He was no longer inside.
My immediate thought was that hehad forgotten something and so
had left to retrieve it and thathe would be back here soon.
I decided to wait in the room until his return.
I looked around the room and sawa large number of television
screens. The screens were stacked 4 high

(01:16:33):
and were also four across 16 screens in total.
There also appeared to be some sort of control desk located
just underneath a large collection of monitors.
Me being only nine years old at the time, became interested in
the amount of expensive equipment in front of me and so
walked over to the desk and sat down in the single chair that

(01:16:54):
was living in front of the desk.On the desk was a number of
video players and would appear to be some sort of editing
equipment. In front of them was the video.
Players, There was just one black tape.
I guess I assumed that maybe it was a tape from that day's
shooting, or maybe a tape from aprevious day.

(01:17:15):
I remember picking it up, looking at the front of it, and
seeing a small piece of masking tape stuck to the front.
Written on the white piece of masking tape in thin black
marker was the word Wilhelm. I didn't know what this meant.
And it didn't seem to relate to the movie that we were filming.
Curious, I decided to insert thetape into the video player, and

(01:17:39):
once I did, static appeared on the screen for a moment before
the video began to play. The video that started to play
was shot in black and white, andthe footage was quite grainy.
It looked like it had been filmed a number of years ago.
The video depicted A shirtless man that was tied to a chair,
his face filled with terror and pain.

(01:18:01):
It started by focusing on this bound man, but then a voice came
from the camera. OK Wilhelm, we are going to try
this one more time. The faceless voice said.
It was a higher pitched nasally voice that seemed excited about
something as he was speaking quite enthusiastically.
And action. The voice said, still from off

(01:18:24):
camera. Just as he said the word action,
there was a loud crack and the man tied to the chair let out a
loud howl of pain. I don't think my 9 year old self
knew exactly what had happened, but now when I think back to the
tape I realized the man bound inthe chair had been whipped.

(01:18:45):
The man screams will forever be ingrained into my mind.
It was a scream of intense pain and suffering.
It didn't last long, but the intensity of the scream is
something that I wish I never heard.
Obviously though, the scream wasn't intense enough for the
faceless voice, as once the man finished screaming, he said no,

(01:19:07):
no, no, that's not good enough Wilhelm.
I know it, you know it, and the audience is going to know it.
I want to scream of someone in real pain, in real terror, a
scream that will live on in infamy, and you are going to
give it to me Again another crack could be heard, and once

(01:19:29):
again the man in the chair, who it seemed was called Wilhelm,
let out another scream of pain, this time louder than the
previous one. It was still not good enough
though, as the man off camera soon explained.
That was better Wilhelm, it really was.
But still, it is just not quite good enough.

(01:19:50):
You need to dig deep and give mea proper scream.
Imagine you are in pain, you aresuffering, which in your case
should be quite easy to do. You need to turn your
animalistic instincts and give me a ferocious, Primal Scream.
I know you can do it, you just need to dig deep again.

(01:20:10):
The voice said, this time sounding slightly agitated but
still excited. This time, after the word again
was spoken, there wasn't anotherloud crack sound.
Instead, I saw something swiftlycrossed the screen and then
suddenly a large slash appeared across Wilhelm's chest.
Blood began to form along the large gash and then started to

(01:20:33):
run down his chest and towards his lap.
Wilhelm let out his loudest scream yet, a scream of pure
pain which could curdle the blood of anyone that heard it.
I know that it certainly sent shivers down my spine.
When Wilhelm finished his scream, he began to sob, but
still didn't say anything. Again, the only one speaking was

(01:20:56):
the enthusiastic voice from behind the camera.
You're almost there, Wilhelm. Almost.
You are so close, but there is something not quite right.
This scream is the conclusion tomy masterpiece, so it needs to
be haunting, confronting and memorable.
I can guarantee that if you manage to produce the scream

(01:21:18):
that I want, then you will be known, you will be famous.
And that's what you want, isn't it Wilhelm?
I heard the voice say. Wilhelm didn't answer the
question that had been asked of him, but instead he continued to
sob, possibly out of fear, but mainly in pain.
He sat in the chair, ropes tied around his wrists and ankles,

(01:21:42):
his head facing down towards hislap where his blood was
beginning to pool. The voice spoke again, this time
only saying one word. Action.
As soon as the word left his mouth, I saw something blur
across the screen. The blur turned out to be an
arrow that flew across the screen and found itself wedged

(01:22:05):
into Wilhelm's chest, right nearhis heart.
Wilhelm let out one final screambefore his lifeless body slumped
forward in the chair. He let out the familiar scream,
the sound of the now famous Wilhelm scream.
Once Wilhelm had finished his dying scream, the faceless voice
had just one more word to say. Perfect.

(01:22:31):
After the final word had been said, static once again returned
to the screen. The tape had finished and the
younger me was left staring at the screen, unsure of how to
process exactly what I had just seen.
You weren't supposed to see thatkid.
A voice from behind me said. I quickly spun myself around,

(01:22:53):
unsure of who was behind me, unsure of what they would do to
me because of what I had just discovered.
I turned around and saw the familiar sweaty face of Stan.
He was looking down at me, a look of worry spread across his
face. I'm really sorry that you had to
see that. I knew that I shouldn't have
just left the tape lying around.Stan said apologetically.

(01:23:17):
He seemed sincere and it seemed that he wasn't going to cause me
any harm from what I had just witnessed.
I didn't know what to say back to him and so I opted to remain
silent. Stan spoke again.
I guess another person now knowsthe true origin of the scream.
Not many know it and they are trying their best to keep it

(01:23:37):
that way. I didn't exactly know who they
was, but it seemed that some people were aware of the true
origin of the scream and they definitely didn't want the
secret getting out. Somehow though, a nine year old
had stumbled across this dark secret.
I stayed silent for a moment longer before I managed to ask

(01:23:58):
one question. If that was real, then why would
they keep using the sound in movies?
I asked Stan. Well, that's The funny thing
about the Wilhelm scream. No one actually includes it in
their movies. It just appears No one knows
that their movie is going to include that horrible sound

(01:24:18):
until the premiere of the film. It's just there in the middle of
the film. Some think that someone in the
editing department inserted it into the film, but not me.
I have my own theory. I think it is Wilhelm's final
call for help, his final plea tobe.
Heard. He devoted his life to a film

(01:24:39):
and so he wants to be recognizedfor it.
He is making himself heard and is making himself a star.
Of course, that's just my theory.
I don't think anyone really knows exactly why it appears in
so many movies, but that's just what I like to think.
After that, I was promptly firedfrom the movie.

(01:24:59):
I guess the word must have gotten out that I now knew the
truth behind the scream, and I guess they thought I knew too
much. I never recovered from that
firing and my career as an actorwas now a thing of the past.
I have lived with the truth for many years, but I believe that
it is now time to share what I know.
I want others to know. I want Wilhelm to receive the

(01:25:22):
acknowledgement he deserves. He did, after all, give his life
for the sound. Yeah.

(01:34:48):
Yeah.

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Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 192 - Eyes in the Cornfield

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Scary Stories For A Rainy Night - Ep. 192 - Eyes in the Cornfield