The Gentleman From Hell |S1| Ep. 24

Rusty Quill presents.

Good evening, gentlemen and gentle ladies of hell.

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Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

It was the new game day scratchers from the California Lottery.

Play is everything.

Those games sent the team's energy through the roof.

Are you saying it was the off-field play that made the difference on the field?

Hey, a little play makes your day, and today, it made the game.

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question.

Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams Scratchers from the California Lottery.

A little play can make your day.

Please play responsibly, must be 18 years or older to purchase play or claim.

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Roger.

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Good morning, and welcome back to T96 FM The Hawk.

We have a developing story this hour.

Police have confirmed that Frank Pilster, the host of the popular science podcast Scientifically Curious, was found shot in his home late last night.

Officials say evidence at the scene points to an apparent robbery, but are not ruling out other motives.

Paramedics pronounced Pilster dead at the scene, and neighbors report hearing a single gunshot shortly before authorities were called.

Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward.

We'll bring you updates as this story develops.

Phil, if this thing isn't a hyena, what else could it be?

I haven't the slightest.

I only know that it isn't some mindless apparition.

And that it's evil beyond words.

Did it look any different than before?

It was in the shadow, so I couldn't make it out entirely, thank God.

But it was more like a man walking on two legs.

Its head was...

enormous.

The jaws were somewhere between a muzzle and a human mouth.

But its voice...

hellish.

Did you get a sense of where it might be?

Its voice echoed like it was inside a large structure or another.

Could very well be in here with us.

I just don't know.

Could it be another one of the sparrow kids?

I mean, can't witches change shape?

All that sort of stuff?

If it was, it would have had to be one of the boys.

It had a deep, croaking voice.

The paranormal is rife with shapeshifters.

Werewolves, skinwalkers, djinn, and yes, witches are certainly known to assume different forms.

But a hyena isn't a local animal.

It would be odd for them to choose such a beast.

I think excluding it because it would be odd may not be the way to go.

Everything we've encountered here is odd.

What's one more thing?

True, but with all the connections between what's going on and Lefitican mythology, I'm thinking that whatever the hyena is, that's where we'll find the link.

Whatever happened to these two guys, they didn't leave the school the same way they came in.

No tracks lead back towards the door.

Footprints are far by.

Looks like they were running pretty good.

And then this pair stops right here, where the missed X matter seems located.

On the plus side, we know the resonator works on whatever's going on here.

So,

we only got this one set of prints that continue down the hall.

Well,

might as well see where they go.

I'll take a point.

So, why don't you take up the rear?

Make sure nothing sneaks up on us.

Sure.

Careful, everyone.

There's something up ahead.

Wait here and keep your lights up.

I'll check it out.

You see anything?

Looks like a dog was bashed in.

Out of the jam and surrounded walls went with.

What kinds of that funky mist in here, too?

Is there any kind of correlation between the amount of mist and the strength or time of a manifestation?

We have noticed that particularly vulgar manifestations can remain visible within the Resonator's field for several days, diminishing slowly.

But we've yet to get metrics on the specific rates of dissipation.

But offhand, I'd say something this large likely happened within the last 24 hours.

Assuming it was the hyena, and then it attacked like one.

Why no blood?

Well, without getting too technical, we find that the paranormal functions as sort of a selective reality.

When it happens, the laws of physics seem to only sporadically apply, as if they're being suspended due to some form of interference.

So, logical expectations, like blood from a brutal murder, may not appear.

Conversely, you might find pools of blood at a murder scene years after the killer.

Got a letter over here.

Streaks through the dust to make it recent.

Probably belongs to our guy.

Here, let me see it.

You sure you want to do that so soon?

After your last read?

I need to build up my tolerance if I'm to be of any use to anyone, sir.

The hell?

There's mist coming from our flashlights.

Shit, it's trying to shut them off.

Hold hold on, I'm gonna turn up the resonator's field strength.

See where the paranormal energy is coming from.

The other side of the hall's filling with that mist stuff.

That means the paranormal energy is strongest there.

Move away from the mission!

It's working.

Flashlights are going back to normal.

Just keep moving.

The mist isn't very fast, but it's still right behind us.

I can sense it receding.

We can become in the way.

Now.

That's best to turn the field down so you don't kill the battery.

Ah, yeah, good idea.

What the hell was that all about?

How to say?

Maybe it doesn't want us in here.

I've detected it before.

A kind of mindlessness to some of the manifestations.

How do you mean?

Some of the phenomena seems purposeful, intentional.

Take the hyena, for example.

It's clearly possessed of a will all its own.

Others, like the creature from last night.

Gil.

Precisely.

Gil.

It didn't feel entirely alive, or at the very least, it didn't seem like some of the other more willful manifestations.

Does that make sense to either of you?

Some experts call for a distinction between ghosts and poltergeists.

Ghosts being more like the echo of a living soul.

Something left behind, but not necessarily self-aware.

Right, and poltergeists are sometimes interpreted to be more volitional, capable of thinking and acting on their own.

Does that sound like anything you've been detecting?

I'm not quite sure.

But perhaps.

Anyway, we might want to wrap it up in here before something else happens.

No, wait, not quite yet.

I saw something before while we were running from the mist.

It was just the flash, but it seemed important.

The hyena?

No, something else.

Pat, would you mind coming a little closer with your machine?

It does seem to enhance my concentration.

Sure.

Well, you uh, you alright, fell

I'm fine.

I'm just sitting down.

I want to put my hands upon the floor.

Now, if I could just have a few moments of silence while I concentrate.

I can hear the school children taking their seats,

preparing for the day's lessons.

Ah, but there's something else going on.

Something unseen.

All around them.

There are others among them.

Wicked, wicked people.

I hear one of them walking down halls, down a long flight of stairs,

into the basement.

And...

Through a secret door.

A door marked with...

With...

Yes!

It's the crest of the fallen sparrows.

But the image is there.

Ah, they're fading.

They're gone.

Help an old lady up, won't you?

Sure thing.

Any idea what those people are doing down there?

I haven't a clue, but I can't imagine it was anything good.

Well,

wouldn't take long to find the basement, Thor.

Can't say the same about the hidden one that's down there, though.

I was afraid you were going to say that.

We're not going to get any closer to surfing this if we don't look.

Well, we've got the resonator.

Should give us a heads up if anything starts to happen.

All right, let's find that basement.

Yep, this is it.

Okay, the resonator's not showing us anything, so that's good.

Everyone ready?

I think so.

This is why Pat and me were sent after all.

Okay, let's go.

Place is pretty big, and with all that junk that's down here, could take a while.

Just keep an eye on one another while we're down here.

How's the resonator looking on juice?

Uh, she's hovering around 70%.

Should be more than enough to see us through.

Looks like there's more in the room behind what's left of this prehistoric furnace.

Yeah, I think you're right.

The stonework right here looks different.

Older.

I'll be able to see the symbol for myself, but I'm guessing it might look something like this.

That's it, alright.

When I noticed all the striations in the stonework, I thought it might be hidden within all the riches and grooves.

Nice catch.

Why, a compliment from a starried FBI agent?

I'll be sure to put that on my resume.

I'm just Macy's accomplice.

That's what he told the director, anyway.

You know, the FBI makes you take an old honesty when you join up.

What choice is that I have?

Now, the crest in the mausoleum just needed a little push.

And

Presto

Well, would ya look at that an honest to goodness secret passage At least this one doesn't lead underground

No, but just like the door to the mausoleum

I ain't taking any chances with this sliding stone slab Leon give me a hand taking this thing off the steel runner, will ya Sure Let's push this bar under that piece right there.

Pry the whole thing off.

I should bring it down

There we go!

Okay,

now that we've gone to worry about getting locked in,

let's take a look.

Something wicked was done here.

I'm sure of it.

There's a wooden door up ahead.

Let's see if it's open.

Looks like that's a piggy s.

You ready?

Okay,

let's go.

Nice and slow.

More crates, and just like, look at the ceiling!

Arms, hundreds of them, all sealed in plastic.

Why the fuck would someone hang on from the ceiling like that?

I'm going to guess they're all

left arms.

How many people had to die for this?

Actually, they look preserved.

I'm betting they were removed from embalmed corpses.

The discoloration of the tissues is consistent with exposure to embalming fluid.

Also looks like they were lacquered in some kind of wax or something to slow the decay.

Yeah,

and from the looks of the sleeves still on them, I'd say they were already in the ground.

See these arms here?

All of them are wearing soup coats.

So you're thinking these were taken taken from cemeteries?

Grave rubbing, yeah.

Pretty common with satanic cults.

And what do we have in here?

Let's see, we've got prehistoric bags of crisps, sweets.

This on so with shrugged lumps and

stuff,

but the crates labeled vegetables.

Looks like it's all food for school lunches.

But what the hell were they trying to do with it?

I'd say this whole operation was a part of some kind of ritual.

Left arms hung equidistant across the ceiling, food stacked directly beneath.

Yeah, I'm not getting it.

How does hanging severed arms off a crates of food count as a ritual?

Yes, I think I see what you mean.

The arms were placed as a sort of fetish.

Objects filled with evil power.

They were used to curse, for lack of a better word, the food.

Food that was meant for the school children.

What in God's name for?

This was likely only one step within a much larger ritual.

They were preparing these children for something awful.

In most occult ceremonies, materials touching the supernatural must be meticulously prepared to achieve the desired outcome.

Usually, this involves purifying the person or object.

But in this case, it seems they wanted the opposite.

Most of these crates have handwritten labels, the ones that weren't obviously delivered from outside the city, like bags of chips and whatnot.

And we know the city supplied a lot of its own food via the farm and greenhouses, which makes me think a a lot of this stuff is homegrown and could have been tampered with, or prepared at the source.

Could they have been doing this type of shit to the whole town?

I'd say there's a pretty goddamn good possibility.

So they, whoever the hell they are, might have been preparing the entire city for some kind of

satanic ritual?

More likely a Methodican ritual, but yes,

I think that's exactly what they were doing.

Have you ever heard of anything like this before?

They sought to corrupt these children, leaving them unclean.

Nothing.

Well, nothing at this scale, anyway.

But the basic method isn't too far from any number of sacrificial rituals.

Like I said, the ritual preparation of a subject being offered to the supernatural is pretty standard stuff.

Yet, if we plug in Mephitic and mythology, we can assume the ritual has something to do with the theme of damnation.

That's reassuring.

It's possible there could be something in Ben's personal library that might shed light on some of this.

There's a lot of threads here we could pull on, like what cemetery these arms came from, looking into the greenhouses, checking all the major structures in town for more of those crests.

Okay, looks like we've got some kind of activity.

Shit, they're coming down the stairs.

Close the damn door.

They're getting close.

There's mist coming in under the door.

Get back.

They're right outside.

Now children,

you get away from this door.

Those people are monsters.

They are?

Oh, yes, indeed.

They killed quite a few children only a few years ago.

Burned them alive, in fact.

And then they lied about it.

So they wouldn't get into trouble.

Isn't that right, Mr.

Rose?

You fucker.

Don't listen to Hermason.

You and that young friend of yours, Leon.

Both of you...

Just stood by while women and children roasted alive.

And then, not too long after, they had their friend, dear old Phyllis, lie for them.

Didn't you?

You drunk-up old bag!

I wonder if you three mentioned any of this to your new friends.

Well,

did you

did you tell them what

child-murdery motherfuckers you three are?

Nobody's fallen for your shit, asshole.

I'm afraid that...

If they want to be associated with the likes of filthy child murderers,

all right now, children.

Back to class.

Chop chop.

Off of you now.

Let's leave these wretched people with the robot and filth.

We found them.

Everyone okay?

Yes.

Yes, I believe so.

I think so.

I hope so.

Phil.

Help!

The Gentleman from Hell is a Maltopia production.

Today's episode was written by Mark Anzalone and performed by Stephen Zivick, Sam Stark, Aubrey Akers, Jesse Van Hove, Kelly Bear, and Mark Anzalone.

Sound editing was completed by Stephen Anzalone and script script editing was conducted by Walker Kornfeld.

Be sure to rate and review us on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

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Popsicles, sprinklers, a cool breeze.

Talk about refreshing.

You know what else is refreshing this summer?

A brand new phone with Verizon.

Yep, get a new phone on any plan with select phone trade-in and my plan.

And lock down a low price for three years on any plan with my plan.

This is a deal for everyone, whether you're a new or existing customer.

Swing by Verizon today for our best phone deals.

Three-year price guarantee applies to then-current base monthly rate only.

Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers.

Coach, the energy out there felt different.

What changed for the team today?

It was the new game day scratchers from the California Lottery.

Play is everything.

Those games sent the team's energy through the roof.

Are you saying it was the off-field play that made the difference on the field?

Hey, a little play makes your day, and today it made the game.

That's all for now.

Coach, one more question.

Play the new Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams Scratchers from the California Lottery.

A little play can make your day.

Please play responsibly, must be 18 years or older to purchase, play, or claim.