The Gentleman From Hell |S1| Ep. 8

Speaker 1 Rusty Quill presents

Speaker 3 Good evening, gentlemen and gentle ladies of hell. First and foremost, thank you for tuning in.
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Speaker 4 And embrace the darkness.

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Speaker 2 Say it, I feel dead.

Speaker 2 on the same side.

Speaker 2 Where the hell my head was at on this whole thing, I had no idea.

Speaker 4 I know I felt like a schmuck for trying to get everyone to stay on my account, but despite all I'd seen, there was still something holding me back from completely buying the whole thing.

Speaker 4 And being a paranormal witness, or whatever they might be called, wasn't something I was looking forward to.

Speaker 4 I could already hear the guys down at the bar and grill, chuckling behind my back, leaving napkin ghosts over the top of my beer whenever I got up to use the John.

Speaker 4 But the money, the house, was all I had left. Was it blinding me to real danger? Danger that had it out for all of us.

Speaker 4 Christ, we opened fire on them. Whatever the hell it was.
The holes in the artwork might have vanished, but the bullets were real enough.

Speaker 4 That's dangerous, if ever anything was.

Speaker 4 I think I was hoping Hughes would kick us off the project, and that way I wouldn't have to muster the willpower to pull the plug on the whole thing myself.

Speaker 4 Because honestly, I didn't think I had it in me.

Speaker 10 Hello, Mateson. It's good to hear from you.
Though I hadn't imagined it would be so soon.

Speaker 4 Yeah,

Speaker 4 I didn't think so either, but uh something sort of come up.

Speaker 10 I'm intrigued. Tell me all about it.

Speaker 4 Well, we uh

Speaker 4 we ran into some we weren't expecting

Speaker 4 and i don't exactly know how to say it other than just blurting it out

Speaker 4 we uh

Speaker 4 seem to have run into some uh

Speaker 10 ghosts did i hear that correctly mason did you say ghosts

Speaker 4 Yep, sir, I uh I did

Speaker 4 and I sure as hell wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.

Speaker 10 Well, I can't say that in the course of my own work, the notion of ghosts hasn't popped up from time to time. And do the others believe similarly? That the property is host to the supernatural?

Speaker 4 I was the last holdout. I see.

Speaker 10 And you're certain about all of this, are you?

Speaker 4 I wish to hell I wasn't, but I saw what I saw. And we're not talking about figures floating around on the sheets either.
Phil,

Speaker 4 Phyllis, says it's not even ghosts, but something

Speaker 4 demonic.

Speaker 4 And honestly, from where I was standing, I can't say I disagree.

Speaker 10 Well, I was confident this case would take some turns, but I confess that I didn't expect ghosts.

Speaker 10 So, just to be clear, are you saying these supernatural forces are somehow linked to the missing people?

Speaker 4 Or

Speaker 4 Phyllis says the stuff in the house is what took the people.

Speaker 4 That there was sorta.

Speaker 4 She says, it's hard for me to even say it.

Speaker 10 I can see this isn't easy for you, which makes me all the more inclined to believe you. What does Ms.
Chambers recommend? She is, after all, a psychic of considerable reputation.

Speaker 4 She...

Speaker 4 I mean, we all think it might be wise to bring in some more people. Like paranormal specialists.
Hmm.

Speaker 10 Mason,

Speaker 10 why don't you tell me more about all this from the beginning?

Speaker 10 Come on,

Speaker 4 come on, let's go, let's go.

Speaker 10 I don't know what just happened.

Speaker 10 I thought...

Speaker 10 I thought I saw a man.

Speaker 10 He was sort of staggering off in the distance.

Speaker 4 But then...

Speaker 10 But then it was like he saw me. His movements were...

Speaker 10 very strange.

Speaker 10 He just closed the distance so fast.

Speaker 10 I don't know what I saw.

Speaker 10 I have no idea. It was...

Speaker 10 It was dark.

Speaker 10 And then of course there's the fog, which has entirely cleared now.

Speaker 10 But I also know I heard someone call out for help.

Speaker 10 They seemed to be in pain.

Speaker 10 I'll have to go over it all in the morning, as I am completely exhausted.

Speaker 10 Though, I'm not looking forward to the dreams my little excursion is sure to conjure.

Speaker 4 Hmm, that seems to be the end of Side A.

Speaker 11 Hard to tell if that's just Ben getting spooked by some guy out for a walk or something else. I wish he'd caught the voice on tape.

Speaker 4 Given the circumstances, I can't say I wouldn't have made a break for it myself. But you're right, there's nothing telling about any of that.

Speaker 11 Eh, at least he didn't run into a hyena.

Speaker 4 Oh, you mentioned that

Speaker 4 thing so casually. I don't think I'll have a peaceful night's sleep ever again.

Speaker 11 Eh, it's the sunlight, I think. Makes all that stuff seem unreal.
Like it never happened.

Speaker 11 But I haven't been getting much sleep since I saw it either.

Speaker 11 So, you wanna listen to side B or wait till we've taken a peek at the farm? Because that's it, up ahead.

Speaker 4 Well then, why don't we hold off for a bit on the tape and enjoy the sun while we have it, shall we? Let's see this city-sustaining farm.

Speaker 11 Works for me.

Speaker 11 I think that's the entrance right there.

Speaker 4 Hmm, it's a fairly sizable place, but I suppose it should be feeding an entire town as it did.

Speaker 11 You getting any weird vibes from it?

Speaker 4 Not really, But then, I didn't sense a thing when what happened last night happened.

Speaker 11 Is that normal? Things sneaking past your gift, I mean?

Speaker 4 When I'm not on the lookout for them, sure.

Speaker 4 But something so extreme, I am a little surprised that I didn't feel something beforehand.

Speaker 11 So, um,

Speaker 11 how often have you been hearing these voices?

Speaker 4 Almost since the beginning. But you must remember, I'm not at all unaccustomed to hearing them, nor am I in the habits of believing everything they say.

Speaker 4 Are you upset I didn't say anything earlier?

Speaker 11 No, nothing like that. I guess I just want to get as much info as I can on all this.

Speaker 11 If this were an ordinary case, I'd want to bring you in for questioning, so I had all my facts straight.

Speaker 4 Well, Agent Oates, ask me whatever you'd like. I have nothing to hide.

Speaker 4 Alright.

Speaker 11 Uh, when was the last time you heard one of these voices? And what did it say?

Speaker 4 Ah, you would have to ask me that wouldn't you

Speaker 4 it was right before

Speaker 4 the thing

Speaker 4 hyena came into my room it seemed to be speaking to me through the radio it said

Speaker 4 if you want to see who i am

Speaker 4 just open the door you mean to tell me it was the hyena talking to you I don't know why that should surprise you. It spoke to you and Mace, too.

Speaker 11 Yeah, I guess it did, didn't it?

Speaker 4 And that, uh,

Speaker 11 moment you had when we showed you the archway, that another time you heard the voice?

Speaker 4 Yes, it's an Look out, Leon. There's something right in front of us.
Oh, shit.

Speaker 11 Oh, I was so busy looking at the house. I didn't even see it.
Looks like a tire.

Speaker 4 Huh? What's wrong?

Speaker 11 There's fresh car tracks next to it. Uh, sit tight for a sec.
I want to check something.

Speaker 4 Don't you go far?

Speaker 11 Not going any farther than right here.

Speaker 4 What do you see?

Speaker 11 Be right there. Just want to grab a few pigs.

Speaker 11 Looks like somebody had a flat and stopped there to change the tire. Car tracks came from that way.
Must be another road onto the property.

Speaker 4 Someone was here

Speaker 4 last night?

Speaker 11 Looks like.

Speaker 4 See?

Speaker 11 Tracks are in fresh mud. The tread's clear as day.
So are the footprints next to him. About a ten?

Speaker 4 Ten and a half boot. What do you make of it?

Speaker 11 I suppose not much.

Speaker 11 This place probably gets more than its share of thrill seekers. The tracks head that way, though, around the other side of the house.
I don't see any harm in following them, do you?

Speaker 4 I think that I can deal with a normal human being driving a normal, earthly vehicle.

Speaker 11 Alrighty, let's see what there is to see.

Speaker 4 Looks like they go right up to that bomb.

Speaker 11 Back door's open, too.

Speaker 4 All those must be their cigarette butts, right?

Speaker 11 Yep, and whoever was driving only started smoking once they got here. Burned through quite a few of them, too.

Speaker 10 Hmm.

Speaker 11 There's no decent cell service, so they weren't talking on the phone. I'm thinking maybe they were nervous about going up to the barn.

Speaker 11 Footprints leading to the door are real close together, so they weren't in any hurry to get in there.

Speaker 4 Or out of the rain for that matter.

Speaker 4 You're not thinking of going in there, are you? We agreed not to do anything unless we were all together.

Speaker 11 Just gonna peek through the door, that's all.

Speaker 4 Leon Sebastian Oates, you had best not take one step into that barn.

Speaker 11 No more than a peek, I promise.

Speaker 4 What's that you've got there?

Speaker 11 A sheet of paper from a notebook.

Speaker 4 Oh, is there anything written on it?

Speaker 11 Looks like someone was trying to write something, but screwed it up and threw it away.

Speaker 4 Says

Speaker 4 AJ

Speaker 11 E12.

Speaker 11 Then a bunch of stuff that's been crossed out. Given the condition, I'd say it likely belonged to a mysterious visitor.

Speaker 11 Other than that, nothing stands out in the barn, just piles of old junk scattered all over the place.

Speaker 4 Ah, alright, you've had your peek. Now get back here!

Speaker 11 Yes, ma'am, en route.

Speaker 4 Oh, now what are you looking at?

Speaker 11 Ben said that all the silos were crooked, but they look pretty straight to me, even after more than 20 years.

Speaker 4 I mean,

Speaker 11 things don't generally get more orderly with time.

Speaker 4 I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at.

Speaker 11 Oh, I'm not getting at anything, just an observation.

Speaker 4 Maybe the lighting created some kind of illusion. Could be.

Speaker 11 Anyway, let's see what else there is to see. Maybe find that other road in and then take a closer look at the town.

Speaker 4 That's fine with me, but let's find a place to park once we're in town. I could use a walk to straighten out my nerves.
Does that suit you, driver?

Speaker 11 Whatever the lady likes.

Speaker 4 Excellent.

Speaker 4 Hey, I'm back early. Anyone there? Over.

Speaker 4 Hello,

Speaker 4 Goddamn worthless thing.

Speaker 4 The hell could that be?

Speaker 4 Hey there, uh, can I help you? Hello. I'm from the County Historical Society and Porta Foy.

Speaker 4 My name is Samuel Whitlock.

Speaker 4 All right, you guys have been taking care of the mansion, right?

Speaker 4 Indeed, we have.

Speaker 4 May come in?

Speaker 4 Sure, come on in. I'm Mason Rhodes, Mace, but I'm sure Hughes already told you who we are.

Speaker 4 Indeed, Mr. Rhodes.
Mace,

Speaker 4 I know exactly who you are.

Speaker 4 I gotta say, you guys have been doing a great job keeping the mansion up. You can hardly tell the place has been abandoned for 20-some-odd years.

Speaker 4 Have a seat, Mr.

Speaker 4 Whitmock. Can I get you something to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee? Thank you, but no.
Nothing to drink.

Speaker 4 But as for the house, one such as this, built from the ancient trees of the pitch-pot woods, does a fine job of keeping itself.

Speaker 4 Uh, yeah, I guess.

Speaker 4 Hey, since you're the expert, where does the name come from? Pitch pot? From the stout black cauldron that was said to have been used by the witches of Isabel.

Speaker 4 Witches really use that sort of stuff, huh? Oh, it's not always just made up for Halloween, you know, like firing on broomsticks, turning people into toads.

Speaker 4 Oh, no.

Speaker 4 The Isabel witches were said to wheel round the big pot. Hands joined to form a circle.
Mouths full of hexes. Eyes flashing foxfire.

Speaker 4 Some of the tales suggest that the odor of their awful conjurations wafted for miles. You see, the brew of apostates is said to help them conjure the spirits.
I always hear people say that.

Speaker 4 Conjure the spirits, but nobody ever says what any of that means. Like,

Speaker 4 what kind of spirits?

Speaker 4 All sorts. Spirits can take many forms.

Speaker 4 Frogs, crows, snakes,

Speaker 4 hyenas.

Speaker 4 So, uh, how long have you been working for? Hyenas are especially prized, Mr. Rhodes.
They are said to be beloved of the devil, who sometimes even takes their shape.

Speaker 4 Especially when seeking a very particular soul. One marked for hell.

Speaker 4 What the fuck?

Speaker 4 How'd I fall asleep?

Speaker 4 Mace, you in there? God!

Speaker 4 Damn it!

Speaker 5 Come on, pick up. I see a truck out here.

Speaker 4 Yeah, yeah, I was there, John. What's up?

Speaker 11 Engine light came on while we were in town. I need your mechanical expertise.
Mind coming out and taking a look?

Speaker 4 Maybe you should have spent some time in a garage absorbing some proper life skills rather than learning Latin.

Speaker 11 And what, show you up at yet another thing? Even I'm not that cruel.

Speaker 12 Smart ass.

Speaker 4 I'm away over.

Speaker 3 The Gentleman from Hell is a Maltopia production. Today's episode was written by Mark Anzalone and performed by Steven Zivik, Sam Stark, Aubrey Akers, and Matt Van Hove.

Speaker 3 Sound editing was completed by Stephen Anzalone and script editing was conducted by Walker Kornfeld. Be sure to rate and review us on iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.

Speaker 3 And follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Meltopia. If you want unique art and animations of Meltopia's stories, visit our YouTube page or click on the link in the show notes.

Speaker 3 And for more exclusive content such as additional lore, stories, and art, be sure to check out our Patreon at www.patreon.com forward slash Meltopia.

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