S23 Ep12: NoSleep Podcast S23E12

Speaker 1 WNSP

Speaker 2 You're listening to The Darkness of the Night, WNSP's overnight programming.

Speaker 6 DC back with you.

Speaker 2 And as I mentioned before the last break, my efforts to reach out to the person most acquainted with Goat Valley Campgrounds have been successful.

Speaker 12 I believe I have her on the line with me now.

Speaker 13 Am I speaking with Bonnie Quinn?

Speaker 14 Uh, yes, you are.

Speaker 2 Excellent.

Speaker 13 Thanks for joining us live on the darkness of the night, Bonnie.

Speaker 2 Now, my friend tells me that you actually live in the Goat Valley area. Is that right?

Speaker 14 Well, I actually live in Columbus, Ohio, but I am the author of How to Survive Camping and the creator of Goat Valley Campgrounds.

Speaker 11 Oh, oh, the uh uh creator of Goat Valley Valley Campgrounds.

Speaker 16 Hmm.

Speaker 2 My friend told me he lives up.

Speaker 17 Never mind.

Speaker 2 Well, I've been led to believe that when it comes to experts on Goat Valley and the campgrounds they're in, no one knows more about them than you, right?

Speaker 14 Well, I would certainly hope so. It started as a series of posts on Reddit where I was sharing stories about Kate and the campgrounds.
And there's a lot of different stuff that went into it.

Speaker 11 There's a bunch of folklore, but also a a lot of original ideas that i came up with with all these different creatures that live on the campground hmm i'm starting to think my friend hasn't been completely honest with me i'm starting to wonder if there really is a goat valley campground um well uh bonnie since you wrote these stories about goat valley campgrounds I take it you have a lot of camping experience.

Speaker 14 Yeah, I kind of grew up camping. My parents started taking us at a very early age.
And for a while, I thought that was the only vacation that people went on was camping.

Speaker 14 Disney was just a great surprise to me.

Speaker 14 And of course, going camping so much, you start to see like all the different things that can go wrong. You start experiencing the things that can go wrong.

Speaker 14 And so when I started posting about Goat Valley Campgrounds, I wanted to kind of include some of that knowledge and this campground manager who has seen a bunch of mistakes and is just trying to keep people from having a terrible vacation.

Speaker 7 Yeah, that makes sense. You've done a lot of camping, seen a lot of creepy things, and started writing about them.

Speaker 7 So can I assume you've seen many of the strange entities in your stories?

Speaker 2 Surely you've encountered the man with the skull cup.

Speaker 14 No, I haven't. The man with the skull cup is, well, I like skulls.
It's kind of my aesthetic. I have a lot of skull cups, but he's also got some inspiration.

Speaker 14 I'm not going to be able to pronounce this correctly, but I'll try.

Speaker 14 From Irish mythology, this person called Kukalane, who had to basically, due to hospitality, partake in something that would lead to his demise.

Speaker 14 And so the man with the skull cup is kind of this idea of where, to be polite, you have to partake in something that you know will harm you in the end.

Speaker 18 Oh, damn.

Speaker 2 I was really hoping the man with the skull cup was real.

Speaker 2 He would be very welcome down here in Cryptid Valley.

Speaker 2 Anyway, so, uh, Bonnie, since you've written down so many of these tales about how to survive camping, where can our WNSP listeners learn more about your books so they can delve even deeper into the lore?

Speaker 14 Yeah, so there is a book in the form of a guidebook that's been released. It is How to Survive Camping, The Man with No Shadow, and that's out now in print and in audiobook.

Speaker 14 And then in April, we will be releasing The Lady in Chains.

Speaker 2 Well, Bonnie, we have to wrap up this call so we can can start our regular podcast segment on our show.

Speaker 23 I think you're familiar with the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 7 So thanks for joining us and sharing some insights into the mysterious world of Goat Valley Campgrounds.

Speaker 14 Yeah, and thank you for letting me talk about House Schweft Camping, and I hope your listeners really enjoy season two on the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 2 I sure hope they do too, Bonnie.

Speaker 7 Thanks again for joining us.

Speaker 2 Well, folks, I'm not sure there's any more I can say about Goat Valley Campgrounds. I think it's time for you to experience them yourself.

Speaker 10 So we'll be back to the darkness of the night right after this episode of the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 28 A rustle of the leaves, a fleeting movement at the edge of your vision.

Speaker 31 How often have you walked a forest trail at dusk, only to feel the unmistakable sensation that something unseen is watching you?

Speaker 6 For centuries, humans have populated the darkness with creatures of legend whose existence remains unproven, yet whose presence is undeniable in the whispered tales of those who dare venture too deep into the wild and wild.

Speaker 38 Brace yourself for the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 40 Welcome to the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 34 I'm your host, David Cummings.

Speaker 42 Have you ever considered the word off,

Speaker 43 as in the opposite of on?

Speaker 44 Oh, it's a very versatile word.

Speaker 45 You can back off, you can turn off, you can get laid off, you can break it off.

Speaker 46 Tay told us you can shake it off, you can mouth off, laugh it off, and of course, you can face off.

Speaker 27 There's an awful lot of ways the word off can be used in the English language. But in the world of horror, the word off can be quite powerful.

Speaker 48 Personally, I love horror stories where things are disturbing, not because of something huge and dramatic, like someone trying to lop off your head with a chainsaw or a demon trying to drag you to hell, but rather when normal, everyday things just seem slightly wrong, subtly different, just a little bit off.

Speaker 41 The word off can be used to describe the tales in this episode.

Speaker 44 Things seeming off, limbs coming off, whole cities and planets going off, and even places already being off, getting even

Speaker 11 offer.

Speaker 2 No,

Speaker 2 more off.

Speaker 34 An increase in offedness.

Speaker 11 Off, offer, offest.

Speaker 11 So let's kick off this episode with horror that's rather off.

Speaker 4 Now tune in, turn on, and brace yourself for our sleepless tales.

Speaker 45 In our first tale, we meet a daughter and her mom going about the regular routine.

Speaker 8 Despite the usual hassles, a regular routine is comfortable for them.

Speaker 45 But in this tale, shared with us by author Anna Gogia, When their routine becomes a little less routine, things start to feel less and less real.

Speaker 27 Performing this tale are Ash Millman and Erica Sanderson.

Speaker 11 So there's nothing routine when the daughter tells us about my mother and I.

Speaker 53 On school days, my mother normally woke me up at 7:30 in the morning.

Speaker 53 In late autumn, she would get up an hour earlier to turn on the heating, so the November chill that had settled into the walls of our house during the night would slowly fade away.

Speaker 53 She would place a fuzzy robe by my bedside, which I'd jump into as soon as I left the warmth of my sheets and blanket.

Speaker 53 As I zombied my way to the bathroom, spending far more time there than necessary to pee, wash up and brush my teeth, My mother would slice bread, spread butter and plum jam on top, and neatly arrange them on a platter at our small kitchen table.

Speaker 53 She would put on a kettle, and while I quickly dressed in my most predictable outfit, a black hoodie and one of the two pairs of jeans I alternated between, she would prepare black tea for both of us.

Speaker 53 She knew exactly how I liked mine, with three spoonfuls of sugar and half a lemon squeezed in.

Speaker 53 Mornings were my favourite.

Speaker 53 But only the part where I was already fully awake and dressed, ready to sit at the kitchen table in the dim light, darkness still lingering outside the windows, having breakfast and quiet conversation with my mother.

Speaker 53 The talking mostly consisted of her asking questions about school and me answering, but I preferred our quiet moments, as if we were fully immersing ourselves in the stillness of the morning, feeling like we had extra time compared to everyone else, so there was no need to rush or feel anxious.

Speaker 53 We could simply exist, and maybe daydream a little.

Speaker 54 But that day,

Speaker 53 the very last day of November, she woke me up earlier than usual. I don't remember checking the time, but my internal clock told me it must have been around five in the morning.

Speaker 53 Only in retrospect did I acknowledge that feeling of something being skewed.

Speaker 53 Now when I think of that moment, I remember the strong sense that something was odd, but I didn't pay attention to that demanding, yet unnameable, easily dismissable feeling and casually went about my morning routine.

Speaker 53 Everything was habitual. In the kitchen, nothing was different.
My mother was a comforting presence as always. The butter and jam sandwiches were delicious as ever.
The teacup warm and clutchable.

Speaker 53 The same darkness through the windows. Everything was the same, except it felt quieter.

Speaker 53 It wasn't that my mother or I were quieter than usual, but the neighbouring buildings, apartments, and the environment around seemed to have gone still for no reason at all.

Speaker 53 Once we finished breakfast, I put on my coat and headed to the door.

Speaker 53 I went through our typical daily argument with my mother, her insisting I wear a scarf or I'd freeze to death, and me insisting my huge, fluffy coat with a hood would be enough to keep me warm.

Speaker 53 I always refused to wear scarves. I never even wore turtlenecks because I hated the feeling of fabric against my neck and throat.

Speaker 53 But my mother, despite having to give up every day over these things, still found resilience and hope that this time would be different and I would submit.

Speaker 53 She wished me a good day and I stepped over the threshold with my right foot. I was never a superstitious person, but I couldn't help being cautious about such things.

Speaker 53 It wasn't that I consciously believed in them as a logical person, but the anxiety in me convinced the irrational part of myself that every single mundane step could determine the events of the day ahead.

Speaker 53 So I took that right step out and was immediately struck by the winter air.

Speaker 53 Though it was the last day of the month, in my mind it was still strictly autumn, so the air, filled with the smell of biting cold and chimney smoke typical of mid-winter, came as a surprise.

Speaker 53 I headed towards the bus stop, walking slowly, enjoying the fresh morning air.

Speaker 53 The dim lights of the lampposts always made me sleepy and put an irresistible weight on my eyelids, which I normally struggled to fight, but that day I gave in.

Speaker 53 I looked around to check there was no one to see me sleepwalking and close my eyes, continuing to walk in that state, hoping I wouldn't bump into anything or trip.

Speaker 53 It was a straight path to the bus stop, so I didn't need to open my eyes to make any turns.

Speaker 53 I wished it could be like this forever, so that I could just step into the infinity of darkness and walk without direction. But I knew I had to open my eyes soon.

Speaker 53 I was approaching the bus stop where there would be a few people as usual.

Speaker 53 There were always the same exact people. A mom seeing off her kindergartner to school.

Speaker 53 She would make sure to put him safely on the bus and then head home in her casual clothes to likely start her housewife chores.

Speaker 53 There were two lively kids who would rush to be the the first ones on the bus and take their favourite seats.

Speaker 53 I developed a habit of sitting near them to listen to their childish and random conversations. I found solace in their inhibited chatter, some kind of fun in it.

Speaker 53 Much to my surprise, there was no one at the bus stop that day except myself. It wasn't just the fact that no one was there that baffled me, but my strange premonition about it.

Speaker 53 I stood there at my usual spot and got a feeling that I wasn't meant to see a human face that day. I was convinced the bus wouldn't arrive.

Speaker 53 I was so used to the routine that I completely depended on my internal clock that day.

Speaker 53 So if in what felt like five to ten minutes, the usual time it took for the bus to arrive after I reached the stop, it didn't come, I would head back home.

Speaker 53 It would be a sufficient excuse to miss school. And what more did I want? But everything felt so creepily abnormal.
I wanted to get back to normal as soon as possible.

Speaker 53 The normalcy of the stuck bus, the normalcy of being surrounded by crazy school kids running around the corridors, screaming at each other, the loud buzz of quiet conversations.

Speaker 53 Luckily, I saw the bus approaching in the distance. If no one else, there would at least be a driver inside.
So I decided to look at their face, no matter what.

Speaker 53 I suppose that way I would break the spell of isolation that had consumed me.

Speaker 53 The moment before the bus reached my stop, I bent down to look at a crunchy brown leaf that had attracted my attention for no explicable reason.

Speaker 53 That's when the bus rushed past me and stopped abruptly, forcing me to run and jump through the side door.

Speaker 53 Breathing heavily, I made my way to the seat in the very back and completely forgot to look at the driver, although I could see their hand in the vehicle's side mirror.

Speaker 53 I was right.

Speaker 53 I was the only one on the bus, and nobody seemed to be around the streets in close view. I could see the silhouettes of people from afar, but that wasn't enough.

Speaker 53 It wasn't a long ride to school, so I convinced myself it was only normal that not many people would be found in such a small area so early in the morning.

Speaker 53 I was still determined to look at the driver. It seemed like an extremely simple yet unattainable task that had become a matter of principle for me to accomplish.

Speaker 53 Eventually, at the bus stop before my school stop, I got up, gripping either chairs or poles as I swayed my way to the front of the bus to look at the driver, who seemed annoyingly unnoticeable until the very last moment.

Speaker 53 And finally, I reached to look and gasped.

Speaker 54 Mother, what are you doing here?

Speaker 53 She looked away from the steering wheel to me.

Speaker 22 Oh, honey, I will find you everywhere.

Speaker 53 Do you want some sandwiches? No, I'm good.

Speaker 53 Though all of it was inexplicable to me, I didn't stress over it. I felt safe within Mother's presence, so I just sat in the front seat and let go.
She drove us home.

Speaker 53 I was so sleepy, I went straight to bed. In about two hours, the time she normally woke me up, she woke me again.

Speaker 53 It felt like the right time to wake up, but strangely enough, my bed was on the other side of the wall.

Speaker 53 I did my normal routine and went to the kitchen, where mother was already at the table, drinking her tea.

Speaker 54 Mom, did you rearrange my bed?

Speaker 53 She looked up at me from the cup she held to her mouth and spoke without a hint of surprise.

Speaker 49 No.

Speaker 53 It was always that way.

Speaker 53 I sat down without another word and took a sip of my tea.

Speaker 53 It was black, no sugar, no lemon.

Speaker 53 Just like she always made it.

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Speaker 2 Now back to WNSP's presentation of the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 41 They say necessity is the mother of invention.

Speaker 51 When something is vitally needed, someone will invent something for it.

Speaker 42 But what about inventors who create things that aren't so necessary?

Speaker 45 As we'll learn in this tale, shared with us by author Christian Riley, one brilliant inventor has a strange hobby, and he's manufactured something that really gives him a hand.

Speaker 30 Joining me in performing this tale are Jesse Cornette, Matthew Bradford, Nicole Goodnight, and Atticus Jackson. So try to avoid hand-to-hand contact when you meet the hand collector.

Speaker 30 Andrew Gallo collected hands.

Speaker 62 Hands to look at, to examine the soft wrinkles that folded over bony ridges and outlying tendons.

Speaker 35 Hands with fingernails, short or long, brightly painted trendy colors or soiled in earthy tones.

Speaker 30 Hands that held pens, phones, keychains, shopping lists, money, tits and cocks, little black books and guns and other hands, dead or alive, just like his.

Speaker 60 Andrew was a smart, toad of a man.

Speaker 35 He was a brilliant engineer in the middle of his life. He had no wife or kids to bog him down.

Speaker 11 No girlfriend or boyfriend to bother him with their needs.

Speaker 28 Andrew had plenty of free time, which allowed him to collect bloody hands, freshly severed from unsuspecting victims who moved throughout their day amongst a sea of other rushing bodies, pacing sidewalks, dancing under strobe lights, shivering under wet bus stops, that sort of thing.

Speaker 34 Theirs were premium hands, warm on the inside, never mind the outside.

Speaker 34 Hands with thoughts, hands with direction, Hands that waited for their next task, their next move, their next scratch, flick, brush, or rub.

Speaker 18 Andrew's hands.

Speaker 4 He kept his hands in the basement, where they were appreciated.

Speaker 64 A plump one there, Andy.

Speaker 15 It's going to take weeks to try.

Speaker 64 Yes, I know, mother.

Speaker 65 Truck driver, most likely, I think.

Speaker 65 Maybe a construction worker of some sort.

Speaker 15 Careful not to nick the flesh.

Speaker 35 Andrew turned on his rotary tool and nuzzled the grinding wheel into the wedding ring. Seconds later, he dropped the ring into a mason jar.

Speaker 31 He placed the jar on a shelf full of other mason jars that were full of other rings, gold and silver. A small fortune, indeed, yet simply a byproduct of his real treasure.

Speaker 15 Do I ever nick the flesh, mother?

Speaker 16 You

Speaker 16 are steady, my son.

Speaker 16 Is it time for church yet?

Speaker 34 The basement was also particularly special for the drying of hands.

Speaker 34 As much as Andrew loved a fresh hand to squeeze and hold, to ponder and toy with, to do sick things with in the privacy of his bedroom, he was always quick to hang such hands from the wooden support beams under the house, with all the others.

Speaker 45 Andrew was quick to get those hands up high, where they would dry and add more character to his collection.

Speaker 35 Because, shit, there were so many hands in the world, it made Andrew fester with excitement each time he hung another one up.

Speaker 15 Hang him

Speaker 15 over there,

Speaker 15 next

Speaker 40 to Melissa.

Speaker 31 The fresh, fat hand brushed against Melissa with her gaunt features, bumping her with its weight, making her sway slightly in the air.

Speaker 64 That's right.

Speaker 64 Not so lonely now, are you, girl?

Speaker 63 She's dead, mother.

Speaker 65 Been dead for three years.

Speaker 17 I know, son.

Speaker 64 It's just that, well, she's been up there in that corner by herself all this time.

Speaker 15 A young, pretty little thing.

Speaker 17 Living alone,

Speaker 64 so helpless, and.

Speaker 68 Listen to you

Speaker 65 You sound crazy

Speaker 64 I guess it's just comforting to know that Melissa's got somebody to keep her company now

Speaker 15 Mother's instinct

Speaker 15 you

Speaker 15 wouldn't understand

Speaker 21 Would you like me to make them embrace?

Speaker 17 I can squeeze them together with a clamp and it'd be like they were fucking

Speaker 15 Melissa's truck driver husband Malcolm on the road for weeks at a time

Speaker 15 home at last to give it to her good and hard

Speaker 15 Don't be smart Andy

Speaker 30 Malcolm and Melissa Betty Horace Lilith, Josephine, Francine, Paul, Michael, Larry, Bob, Stuart, Myron, Mabel, and Annie Mae.

Speaker 11 And so many more hanging from the beams by parachute cord.

Speaker 11 Hands.

Speaker 34 Andrew's brilliance as an engineer allowed him to work at home.

Speaker 2 They called him.

Speaker 60 NASA, the Department of Defense, even General Electric occasionally.

Speaker 25 And between the three-car garage and the basement, Andrew had every tool a guy could ever want.

Speaker 59 Tools such as metal lathes, bandsaws, jointers, shapers, everything.

Speaker 35 Because of this, the entirety of his house was an aromatic mixture of sweet oil and musty wood.

Speaker 34 burnt plastic and various chemicals.

Speaker 35 Only a hint of rotting flesh, easily explained as dead rats in the attic.

Speaker 63 And if Andrew was the type, had he thought about it, he might have concluded that all those tools and aromas came together to form the inspiration for his famous mechanical designs, perhaps even for his infamous one.

Speaker 4 Her name was Shelley.

Speaker 35 Made from titanium carbide with an aluminum casing, Teflon joints, operated and functioned solely by compressed air, Shelley was a miniature pneumatic guillotine.

Speaker 34 She was Andrew's pride and joy.

Speaker 27 She used to be a simple machete back in the days of hacking off kitty paws, but now Shelley sat comfortably in a glass case in his living room, openly naked for Andrew's few friends to scratch their heads at, wondering what the hell she was all about.

Speaker 34 Just another one of Andy's cool designs, they supposed. And during his free time, when Andrew pursued his hobby, Shelley sat comfortably in the large pocket of his trench coat, waiting.

Speaker 64 I still think you should forget about the library.

Speaker 64 Too quiet.

Speaker 64 Oh,

Speaker 16 but don't you see,

Speaker 65 that's exactly why it's perfect, Mother.

Speaker 16 People read

Speaker 68 in libraries. They browse.

Speaker 65 They wander the aisles of favorite books and magazines, captivated by their thoughts.

Speaker 16 They

Speaker 37 would never suspect

Speaker 17 Shelley.

Speaker 15 Still, it seems risky.

Speaker 17 There'll be cameras, you know.

Speaker 59 A disguise of face and body is the simplest of creations for someone who designs remote-controlled reaching tools harbored on the starboard side of the space shuttle.

Speaker 35 Andrew never worried about cameras.

Speaker 11 And he was correct.

Speaker 50 The library was perfect.

Speaker 34 When he brushed against mentally absorbed patrons, squeezing past through aisles carrying books, clumsily dropped books while said patrons dropped hands to offer assistance, Shelley reached out and snatched those hands right off.

Speaker 51 Plucked and dropped into her aluminum casing, they went, as as Andrew then swept away for the nearest exit.

Speaker 30 Always, he'd be halfway out the building before the scream came.

Speaker 64 I guess I shouldn't underestimate you, son.

Speaker 46 You've been doing this for quite some time.

Speaker 15 That's right, mother.

Speaker 34 Andrew hung another hand next to Melissa, opposite side.

Speaker 64 There now.

Speaker 11 Every girl's fantasy.

Speaker 65 A threesome.

Speaker 68 Two guys to plug her up from both ends like she was a shuttlemouth angel gallo.

Speaker 30 Do I need to get the bar of soap?

Speaker 35 Over the years, Andrew had grown much bolder and more creative with the places he collected his hands.

Speaker 62 For in the beginning, it was only sleeping hands.

Speaker 3 Hands cuddled in blankets, safe in bed, deep in the night.

Speaker 35 As another effortless task for someone as smart as Andrew was the breaking of an entry.

Speaker 2 Apartment complexes were always his favorite, since they offered so many suspects.

Speaker 34 A comical reflection for Andrew when he observed the many doors on his way out toward the streets or alleyway.

Speaker 30 Yet now, it was libraries, bus stops, and dance floors.

Speaker 60 Crowded walkways in the middle of downtown's bright and sunny day.

Speaker 2 A simple challenge of where to collect his next hand.

Speaker 30 I think you're just bored.

Speaker 75 That's what this is.

Speaker 62 Still doubting me, Mother.

Speaker 70 The library is one thing, but the county courthouse...

Speaker 17 They've been looking for you for years, Andy.

Speaker 65 Every person in that building knows about you.

Speaker 65 Every person in this

Speaker 15 county.

Speaker 38 And in Sedgwick, Homer and Fenton,

Speaker 66 Brisbane, and a few others, I suppose.

Speaker 63 But I'm heading for Tanner County, next state over Mother.

Speaker 21 Don't think I've collected any hands from that place.

Speaker 21 Have I?

Speaker 15 Doesn't ring a bell.

Speaker 35 Time and distance were an equation for complacency in the hordes of wandering hands of the world.

Speaker 34 Andrew Gallow understood this, of course, which was one reason for his indomitable spirit in capturing his victims unaware.

Speaker 76 Wait a few weeks, even months.

Speaker 11 Drive far from home.

Speaker 2 Enjoy the ride.

Speaker 60 Pay cash, park the car, car.

Speaker 30 Drink coffee. Chew gum.

Speaker 11 Read a book or two.

Speaker 35 Stare out from the windshield and observe.

Speaker 11 Simple as pie.

Speaker 31 And effective, too.

Speaker 68 Um, um, excuse me, sir.

Speaker 77 Uh, can you tell me where the restroom is?

Speaker 63 Right over there, down the hall.

Speaker 78 Second door to your left.

Speaker 15 Hey,

Speaker 38 you're that judge that put away that gang of bank robbers, aren't you?

Speaker 48 Who?

Speaker 28 Me?

Speaker 68 Uh, no, I'm just a.

Speaker 66 It's good to have guys like you around.

Speaker 34 Andrew reached out for a handshake.

Speaker 6 Man reciprocated.

Speaker 61 Natural response.

Speaker 35 They shook hands, nodded, and smiled.

Speaker 2 His teeth were pearly white with pink gums.

Speaker 35 Andrew's teeth were stained yellow, gums that bled wantonly from lack of care.

Speaker 38 And it's amazing, thought Andrew, how a person flattered from mistaken identity could become so defenseless with a false ego, so complacent, and so completely unaware.

Speaker 37 Where was that bathroom again?

Speaker 63 Just down there.

Speaker 35 Andrew stared down the hall.

Speaker 34 Man reciprocated stare.

Speaker 30 Natural response.

Speaker 37 Second door to the.

Speaker 11 Shelley swept forward and grasped the shaking hand.

Speaker 2 Titanium carbide teeth severed flesh, bone, and sinew.

Speaker 15 Job finished.

Speaker 38 The hand collector strikes again.

Speaker 35 That's how the papers printed it, actually.

Speaker 61 Finally.

Speaker 31 And it made Andrew laugh with joy.

Speaker 11 Pure, unadulterated validation.

Speaker 79 Oh, you should have seen his face, mother.

Speaker 17 And he wasn't a judge?

Speaker 15 No,

Speaker 80 not at all.

Speaker 79 Just some random guy.

Speaker 59 Had money, though.

Speaker 65 That's for sure.

Speaker 34 Andrew dropped a ring into a mason jar.

Speaker 74 Princeton alumni.

Speaker 65 First one of those.

Speaker 17 Perhaps you should

Speaker 17 start

Speaker 15 a new

Speaker 16 collection.

Speaker 2 A pause.

Speaker 74 What could be better than hands,

Speaker 15 mother?

Speaker 38 To his credit, Andrew wasn't a killer.

Speaker 8 He wasn't even a full-fledged mamer, in that others of his craft might have sought the greedy path of attempting to leave their victims with no hands at all.

Speaker 35 Andrew wasn't even that greedy back in the days when Shelly was a machete.

Speaker 35 The reason for this was that he enjoyed watching cats get around the neighborhood on three paws.

Speaker 2 Andrew appreciated his work.

Speaker 57 He took pride in it, studied it, and observed it.

Speaker 31 And so, every once in a while, Andrew took a vacation from his hobby to do just that.

Speaker 21 Let's go see Melissa again.

Speaker 65 See how she's doing.

Speaker 31 Every once in a while, Andrew observed his past victims doing ordinary things in ordinary places.

Speaker 64 I wonder if she has a boyfriend yet.

Speaker 15 The pretty little thing.

Speaker 46 Oh,

Speaker 64 I do feel sorry for her.

Speaker 59 And every once in a while, Andrew could be nothing but the nicest guy around.

Speaker 37 Let me give you a hand loading those bags, miss.

Speaker 22 Uh, excuse me?

Speaker 49 Oh,

Speaker 66 I'm terribly sorry.

Speaker 82 Um, poor choice of words.

Speaker 34 Andrew shook his head.

Speaker 4 I can be such an idiot sometimes.

Speaker 22 Oh, that's okay, and thank you.

Speaker 17 No,

Speaker 34 please don't mention it.

Speaker 68 My wife lost her feet to diabetes young and early.

Speaker 23 A real shame.

Speaker 49 It tore her up something awful, but we manage.

Speaker 59 We know how it is.

Speaker 67 I'm sorry to hear that.

Speaker 54 That's terrible.

Speaker 66 Ah, it's nothing, really.

Speaker 6 It is what it is, as they say.

Speaker 49 But I gotta ask you, how in the world do you drive this car?

Speaker 22 Um, well, I've got an attachment on the steering wheel.

Speaker 19 Huh, really?

Speaker 59 I wonder if they make something like that for people with no feet.

Speaker 59 Do you mind if I look?

Speaker 15 Uh, well, sure.

Speaker 54 Okay, I guess.

Speaker 46 How about

Speaker 46 that?

Speaker 23 And it's a handy little gadget, ain't it?

Speaker 5 Well,

Speaker 68 gotta be going now.

Speaker 66 You have yourself a nice day, miss.

Speaker 29 You too.

Speaker 22 And uh, thank you.

Speaker 18 Nothing but the nicest guy around.

Speaker 60 An explanation of criminal justice in a nutshell.

Speaker 30 Victims of predators are often the voters.

Speaker 60 When incidents of crime violate enough of these voters, they tend to speak out.

Speaker 31 Depending upon the political demographics of the assaulted region, statistics indicate liberals are often more passive to crime than their hard-nosed brothers.

Speaker 35 If their voices are loud enough, local politicians reliant upon such voters shake, rattle, and roll.

Speaker 59 The police chief might then receive a phone call from Jerry the Mayor. Get your goons out on the street to bust some balls.

Speaker 60 However, when the wave of violence bypasses the masses completely, ascending the hill to somebody like a state senator, that phone call goes something like this.

Speaker 15 Hello, Jerry, and this is Fred Walker, senator.

Speaker 86 Yeah, yeah, cut the crap.

Speaker 15 Listen. Last time my son got his hand cut off by that wacko of yours.

Speaker 86 I said cut the crap, Jerry. And don't even think to argue, cuz we all know this guy's from your jurisdiction.

Speaker 86 So here's the deal: I'm gonna keep things simple by saying, if you don't find the bastard who cut off my son's hand, you're gonna learn what it really means to have a dragon breathe down your neck.

Speaker 86 You think everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Think again, Jerry boy.

Speaker 17 Yeah,

Speaker 86 that's right.

Speaker 15 So make some calls and find this asshole.

Speaker 85 And of course, Jerry knows a lot of people, federal people, who also know people.

Speaker 59 And since Jerry also knows what happened in Vegas and that photographs never lie, he picks up the phone and calls these people.

Speaker 51 And before long, there are much more than local detectives sniffing the neighborhoods of Jerry's jurisdiction.

Speaker 35 Three weeks later, they busted Andrew's door down, and the first thing they found was Shelly sitting in her glass display case.

Speaker 59 She had been buffed to such brilliance, it seemed as if the tool smiled in mockery at the police officers, the detectives, and the forensic lab rats.

Speaker 10 They found everything in Andrew's house as it was, hands and all.

Speaker 11 20 years worth of baffling crimes closed in a single day.

Speaker 38 They even found the box of kitty paws up in the attic.

Speaker 27 They found everything they needed to solve the riddle of the hand collector, except, of course,

Speaker 38 for Andy himself.

Speaker 30 For Andrew Gallo really was one smart toad of a man.

Speaker 35 First sign of a federal agent knocking at his door.

Speaker 34 recorded and alerted by hidden cameras stashed in the eaves.

Speaker 34 And Andy turned into Larry, who was out the back door on his way to a motel room 50 miles away near his storage unit that kept a small stash of old personal belongings packed and ready to go.

Speaker 65 Oh, I sure miss the gang.

Speaker 67 Especially Melissa.

Speaker 11 Old personal belongings included an old identity.

Speaker 2 I miss Shelly.

Speaker 35 Old identity included a passport, foreign bank account, and open airline tickets.

Speaker 30 No, you would miss her, Andy.

Speaker 34 And in Greece, on the small island of Nisos Samothraki, commonly referred to as Nissos, was Larry's hundred-year-old villa, bought and paid for with cash.

Speaker 74 Call me Larry, Mother.

Speaker 17 I'm Larry now.

Speaker 46 Remember?

Speaker 46 Larry Christakos.

Speaker 19 Call me Larry.

Speaker 50 Oh, whatever, son.

Speaker 64 Could you put me up there near the window overlooking the sea?

Speaker 46 Those Aegean sunsets were always my favorite.

Speaker 37 Listen to you, mother.

Speaker 63 Sounding crazy again.

Speaker 50 Through that window, Larry observed an orange tabby gracefully walk along a brick wall.

Speaker 34 A smile crossed his face as he went downstairs into the basement, carrying a mason jar.

Speaker 2 Now, at a table that held a variety of old, rusty tools, Larry brought the mason jar to his lips.

Speaker 30 A jar filled not with rings, gold, and silver, but with pink liquid and one bright and juicy hand.

Speaker 49 Now

Speaker 15 that

Speaker 15 would be too risky.

Speaker 2 WNSP will return after a word from our sponsors.

Speaker 11 You want longer episodes, no ads, and lots of bonus content?

Speaker 2 Find out more at sleepless.thenosleeppodcast.com.

Speaker 2 Hey, sleepless.

Speaker 29 I know how many of you are into true crime podcasts, but I want to let you know about a podcast that doesn't just talk about the crimes.

Speaker 58 They seek to bring justice to the cases.

Speaker 31 The Undisclosed Toward Justice podcast aims to exonerate innocent defendants by investigating wrongful convictions and the U.S.

Speaker 58 criminal justice system. Attorneys Colin Miller and Robia Chaudhry investigate and report on wrongful conviction cases in an effort to exonerate innocent incarcerated defendants.

Speaker 37 Here's the trailer for their new season.

Speaker 22 Robia here.

Speaker 88 Colin and I are getting ready to launch the brand new season of Undisclosed Toward Justice, the state versus Amanda Lewis. The new season drops September 1st.

Speaker 88 Find us on your favorite podcast apps and check out the trailer for the season.

Speaker 1 911, I need an angle. What's wrong, ma'am? My daughter fell in the pool and she's not breathing.

Speaker 89 On August 8th, 2007, the small town of Esto, Florida was rocked by a 911 call. in which Amanda Lewis said her seven-year-old daughter had drowned in their above-ground pool.

Speaker 43 My assumption was she went over the side of the pool, went down, hid her head, and came back up.

Speaker 89 But the case soon took a sharp turn when Amanda's six-year-old son spoke to the police that night.

Speaker 22 Mama, don't forget.

Speaker 9 What does that mean?

Speaker 89 But is it possible that this is a case where there's more or less than meets the eye?

Speaker 26 The Undisclosed Toward Justice podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts or visit undisclosedpod.com for more information.

Speaker 4 Now back to WNSP's presentation of the No Sleep Podcast.

Speaker 43 When it comes to popular radio shows, there aren't many better than WNSP's overnight programming.

Speaker 8 But besides that, there's a great morning show in Seattle.

Speaker 43 Lots of callers and interactions with listeners.

Speaker 45 But in this tale, shared with us by author Christian Hart, it's not a normal day when the host, Steve, arrives at the station.

Speaker 44 Seems a lot of people are looking for answers, and that's only the start of the troubles.

Speaker 11 Performing this tale are Mike Delgadio, Dan Zapula, Lindsay Russo, Graham Rowett, Sarah Thomas, Nicole Goodnight, Matthew Bradford, Mary Murphy, Aaron Lillis, Ellie Hirschman, Peter Lewis, and Jesse Cornett.

Speaker 25 So if you're a first-time, long-time kind of person, just hold the line because you're the next caller.

Speaker 91 The drive to the station that morning was verging on freezing.

Speaker 93 The chilly weather had not blown through since the night before when thunderclouds rolled into town.

Speaker 63 Thunder still rolled in the early hours of this morning.

Speaker 91 The only good thing about my three o'clock journey to the station was the lack of traffic.

Speaker 78 See, I didn't have to sit behind a gridlock and freeze my ass off.

Speaker 95 Instead, I could freeze my ass off while driving at a steady 60 miles per hour.

Speaker 78 Even after 30 years of being the host of Good Morning Seattle, the winter months never seemed to get easier.

Speaker 28 Something about driving to work when it was dark and cold and then driving home when it was dark and cold was off-putting.

Speaker 56 Our station's parking lot stood empty, except for a brown 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass, my new producer's stylish ride.

Speaker 78 He'd probably gotten there an hour or so before I did, and that would probably last another month or so before the new hire's motivation would wear off from the daily grind.

Speaker 83 The unmanned front lobby had a pot of coffee already brewed.

Speaker 77 The man had just started and already he was gunning for a raise.

Speaker 56 With my coffee cup freshly topped off, my boot heels echoed on the tiled floor as I made my way to the studio.

Speaker 78 The on-air sign hanging near the studio door was unlit as I pushed my way inside the small room.

Speaker 91 I pulled the cracked black leather rolling chair underneath me and grunted the way all old men do as they sit.

Speaker 17 This would be my home for the next eight hours or so.

Speaker 70 I reviewed that morning's notes I took the day before, going through the predicted weather, traffic, upcoming events, and so on.

Speaker 93 Smooth jazz played faintly from the loose headphones around the microphone boom.

Speaker 56 We must have had at least a few more songs to go because Luke, our producer and new hire, was not in the production booth.

Speaker 47 While finishing up the last of my notes, Luke had slipped into the production booth unnoticed.

Speaker 94 When I looked up, he met my gaze and gave a sheepish wave, then motioned for me to put my headset on.

Speaker 56 I swigged the last of my coffee and put on the headset.

Speaker 81 We got a huge lineup of callers this morning, Steve.

Speaker 16 The phone is ringing off the hook.

Speaker 98 Something's got the morning risers in a stir.

Speaker 20 Well, they can wait.

Speaker 94 We got at least two more songs till bingo time.

Speaker 83 Don't you want to finish your coffee?

Speaker 78 Luke was still filling the shoes of the producer who had just retired, and conversation lately had been a little awkward

Speaker 78 he looked at me in a shy way not wanting to push too hard but something was clearly bothering him

Speaker 98 i'm serious steve there's a lot of people calling in today and not the usuals either maybe the shit weather has got everyone roused this morning or something

Speaker 98 either way i don't think it would be a bad idea to start early

Speaker 94 i had seen that before New hire comes in and thinks he knows how to fix everything.

Speaker 78 With temporary but powerful motivation for a new job, they're, you know, eager to prove themselves. Luke was probably still in his early to mid-20s, so I understood.

Speaker 47 He'd still got the youthful energy within him.

Speaker 99 You know, in some ways, I envied him.

Speaker 70 I let out a sigh of acceptance with just a twinge of annoyance.

Speaker 51 All right, fine.

Speaker 78 Let's do this thing.

Speaker 47 I swung the microphone in front of me as the last song faded out and my seriously dated intro began to play.

Speaker 16 Steve in the morning.

Speaker 16 Good morning, Seattle.

Speaker 16 Good morning,

Speaker 16 Seattle.

Speaker 39 Man, oh man, we needed to change that soon.

Speaker 56 As the last bit of music from the intro played, I then went through my daily morning briefing to the great city of Seattle.

Speaker 99 Our show had a decent number of listeners, mainly morning commuters or early risers, and played from 4 a.m.

Speaker 87 to around noon when the afternoon crew rolled in.

Speaker 83 And it looks like the thunder showers are here to stay this morning and potentially well into the afternoon.

Speaker 77 Now, what you've all been waiting for, let's get to those phones.

Speaker 77 Luke pointed over at me, and the small flashing red light on the desk indicated we had someone on the line.

Speaker 93 With one click of a button near the microphone boom, the first caller was on the air.

Speaker 48 Hey, neighbor, how are we all doing this morning? Steve, hi.

Speaker 81 What's going on? What's in the sky?

Speaker 100 I don't want to look.

Speaker 55 It wants me to, but I don't want to look.

Speaker 83 Taken a bit aback, confusion roused my tired mind before what was happening finally clicked.

Speaker 78 Uh-oh, folks, looks like we've got ourselves a prank collar.

Speaker 95 I guess we'll have anyone on these days.

Speaker 20 All right, pranker, I'll indulge you.

Speaker 92 What's your name?

Speaker 92 Mary.

Speaker 20 All right, Mary.

Speaker 77 What is in the sky this morning?

Speaker 37 It sure as hell isn't the sun.

Speaker 1 I'm not sure. I'll just take a glance.
I think

Speaker 1 it's beautiful.

Speaker 1 It's looking right at me.

Speaker 1 He is looking right at me.

Speaker 69 For a second, I really didn't know what to say back.

Speaker 94 The radio show Killer was dead air, and over the years I'd learned to improvise.

Speaker 69 Oh,

Speaker 69 Mary.

Speaker 94 All right, you got your kicks.

Speaker 92 Say goodbye to everyone.

Speaker 20 I hope you had fun.

Speaker 15 Steve, you need to look.

Speaker 56 The line clicked as we cut off the caller.

Speaker 94 A cuckoo bird played, and Luke and I smiled at one another coyly.

Speaker 78 It's too early for this shit.

Speaker 92 Plenty of prank callers make their attempts, but I admit this one made me a little uneasy.

Speaker 56 We occasionally have the typical drunk frat kids call in, still awake from the bars that would have closed just a few hours before.

Speaker 93 But this lady, well, she seemed right off her rocker.

Speaker 99 Something about her voice, she seemed genuinely frightened.

Speaker 92 We all love the prank callers, right?

Speaker 96 But come on, folks.

Speaker 77 Wasn't our Halloween special enough?

Speaker 50 All right, people.

Speaker 84 On to the next caller.

Speaker 83 I clicked on the next caller as the light flashed red.

Speaker 77 Hey there, Seattleite. How's the commute this breezy November morning?

Speaker 92 As we approach the 5 a.m. hour, I know it's probably...
Don't look in the clouds! Whatever you do, do not look into the clouds. My poor son, he's gone mad.

Speaker 92 Steve, you need to tell people not to look up.

Speaker 56 I shot the producer a confused look.

Speaker 83 How did he manage to get two loons back to back?

Speaker 78 Something on my face registered with him, but Luke just shrugged in an I told you so sort of way.

Speaker 20 Okay, very funny.

Speaker 92 I don't know how you managed, but you and your friend Mary are pretty clever.

Speaker 77 This will go down as one of our...

Speaker 77 Listen to me, you dumb fuck!

Speaker 78 I barely had time to flick my thumb over the button to remove the collar as the outburst happened.

Speaker 20 Sorry, folks.

Speaker 78 We obviously are having some hooligans on the air this morning. We apologize for the obscene language.

Speaker 70 I pointed to Luke.

Speaker 92 We'll take a quick break and be back with some of your fellow morning commuters right after Sister Goldenhair.

Speaker 56 As America started to strum their first few chords, I removed my headset and quickly got up. I stormed into the production booth with a few choice words on my mind.

Speaker 77 Luke, what the fuck was that? You know the FCC can fine us for that kind of language. I get it.

Speaker 77 We're told to boost our ratings, but I doubt the big man upstairs is going to be happy with what we got going on this morning, huh?

Speaker 20 Look, let's vet this morning crowd out a little bit more before going forward, yeah?

Speaker 101 Man, I don't know what to tell you. I have 10 callers on the line right now, and every one of them sounds about the same as the last two.

Speaker 16 Did he just say 10 more callers?

Speaker 94 We often only have three to four callers at most during the first hour of the show.

Speaker 83 Jesus, was was this some sort of coordinated effort?

Speaker 99 Was some pranking group trying to go viral?

Speaker 76 Or were these real callers?

Speaker 56 Some words flashed on the producer's screen.

Speaker 20 New caller waiting.

Speaker 93 Our phone line now had 11 callers.

Speaker 56 All right, look, hang up the other 10 callers and just let me take this new call off the air, huh?

Speaker 83 If the song ends, just, I don't know, throwing the Doobie Brothers or something.

Speaker 56 He flashed me a quick thumbs up, tapped on some buttons on the production panel, and handed me an extra headset.

Speaker 56 Tossing the headset on, I reached toward the screen with the one remaining caller and clicked through to the call.

Speaker 77 Hi, this is Steve from Good Morning Seattle.

Speaker 47 We just wanted to do a quick off-air check-in to see what you'd like to talk with us about today.

Speaker 78 A voice barely registered on the headset. A faint whisper was all that could be heard.
Look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up, look up.

Speaker 83 I clicked off the line.

Speaker 46 What the hell was going on?

Speaker 56 Bright flashes of lightning outside illuminated the shade-drawn window over the producer's shoulder.

Speaker 56 Stepping past Luke, I hesitated before pushing my fingers through a flap of the shades, spreading two of the blinds to get a good look outside.

Speaker 56 Peeking through, I looked looked down three stories to the street below.

Speaker 20 The storm was still raging, and the early morning light had not come over the horizon yet.

Speaker 83 The first signs of sun would not come for at least another hour or two. Storm water had flooded the empty street.

Speaker 77 Up the road, I spotted a car speeding, going at least 60, maybe 70 miles per hour.

Speaker 76 That driver was crazy for going that speed on these small side streets.

Speaker 82 Just a second after I noticed it, the car hydroplane and swerved into an adjacent building.

Speaker 69 A person was ejected from the vehicle and threw 30 feet from the wreckage.

Speaker 99 I looked up and down the road, but there were no other cars in sight.

Speaker 103 I might have been the only one who had seen this terrible crash.

Speaker 76 We had to call the police.

Speaker 50 Christ. Hey, Luke, call the...

Speaker 91 But as I looked up toward the producer, something else caught my eye.

Speaker 69 In the horizon, across the Puget Sound, above the Olympic mountain range, a shadow loomed in the dark clouds as lightning flashed.

Speaker 63 Impossibly large wings slowly flapped down, appearing to brush the tips of the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Speaker 56 The flash faded and I peered harder out across the narrow seawater.

Speaker 56 In my peripherals, Evergreen stood in the nearby park, whipping back and forth violently as the wind gusts picked up loose trash from the surrounding area.

Speaker 78 Another flash of lightning illuminated the stormy sky.

Speaker 103 This time, the midsection of the winged beast was clear.

Speaker 47 Large, red eyes gleamed in the dark sky from a swirling tendril-covered face.

Speaker 83 Even at this distance, I could tell it was looking right at me. I couldn't look away.

Speaker 63 My eyes began to water, but I couldn't blink.

Speaker 50 A low, guttural voice began speaking to me.

Speaker 83 It spoke so loudly that I felt my skull vibrate as it reverberated through my eardrums.

Speaker 60 My vision began to blur, the red eyes swallowing my own.

Speaker 2 A vast desert spread out in front of me.

Speaker 76 The bones of millions and millions of people lay stacked in a grand pile.

Speaker 33 Scanning my surroundings, I saw decaying corpses strewn all around me. Looking down at my arms and legs, they appeared...

Speaker 13 malnourished?

Speaker 76 Skinny to the bone.

Speaker 93 Rising panic began filling my chest, the horror around me culminating in an internal droning scream.

Speaker 63 In the distance, the giant beast filled the yellowish-orange horizon, making its way back to its fortress of bones.

Speaker 33 Wind began whipping the desert sand across my body, gashing away at my thin skin, ripping off all of what I had left on my wilting body.

Speaker 56 I fell to my knees, realizing I would succumb to the beast soon.

Speaker 90 Certain doom was inevitable.

Speaker 56 It would take everything, for it was hungry, and that hunger was not yet sated.

Speaker 56 I could feel its hunger. A bottomless pit never to be filled.

Speaker 7 A black hole sucking in the universe.

Speaker 33 A hand yanked hard on my shoulder.

Speaker 37 My own hand broke away from its fixed spot, opening the blinds.

Speaker 93 I jerked around, fumbling back, and finally fell on my ass.

Speaker 2 Shifting back to reality, I sat there, shaking.

Speaker 12 How long had I been looking through the blinds?

Speaker 93 How long had I been in that place?

Speaker 105 Hours?

Speaker 2 Days?

Speaker 52 Months?

Speaker 105 Years?

Speaker 11 My perception of time had completely warped.

Speaker 83 Reeling, I looked up at Luke, eyes stinging.

Speaker 56 The last few chords of Sister Golden Hair finished playing in the background from Luke's headset, which he now clutched in his

Speaker 97 I was back in the studio.

Speaker 56 I had never left the studio.

Speaker 70 What the fuck just happened?

Speaker 56 Luke crouched to my level.

Speaker 101 Steve, Jesus Christ, is everything okay?

Speaker 101 Why weren't you responding to me? Is

Speaker 96 that blood? Are

Speaker 25 you bleeding?

Speaker 99 I felt what I

Speaker 56 thought were teardrops from my dried eyes rolling down my cheeks.

Speaker 93 Wiping my hand at them,

Speaker 11 a dark red liquid covered my palms.

Speaker 20 My God, my eyes were bleeding.

Speaker 47 Clenching my eyes shut, I rubbed them to soothe the sting.

Speaker 47 Don't.

Speaker 39 Don't look outside.

Speaker 101 But, Steve, what happened to you? What's outside?

Speaker 103 He got up and took a step toward me and the window, hand outstretched.

Speaker 84 I said, don't look, goddammit.

Speaker 83 I smacked his hand away with force. Luke looked down at me, puzzled.

Speaker 99 The same sheepish look from earlier that morning.

Speaker 101 Fine, Steve, but you need to see a doctor.

Speaker 20 Your eyes, they don't.

Speaker 49 they don't look good.

Speaker 63 My eyes still burned like crazy.

Speaker 94 That being the least of my concerns.

Speaker 23 Luke, Luke, look, we need to get back on the air, all right?

Speaker 20 There's

Speaker 92 something.

Speaker 76 Something is out there, Luke.

Speaker 103 Something big is coming this way.

Speaker 99 And it's hungry. It wants us.

Speaker 48 It wants all of us.

Speaker 106 I'm not sure what it is, but...

Speaker 82 We need to tell the people.

Speaker 76 We need people to know. They need to run.

Speaker 23 What? Are we being attacked?

Speaker 49 Is it terrorists?

Speaker 29 Another country?

Speaker 50 No, it's...

Speaker 2 I lacked the words to explain what had just happened to me, to describe what I had saw, to describe describe the hunger, to describe the black hole that was the beast.

Speaker 20 Look, there's something out there that wants to kill us.

Speaker 106 If you look at it, it will kill you. Do you have family in the city?

Speaker 20 Look, if you do, you need to call them right now.

Speaker 106 Hell, you need to get them and get yourself out of town.

Speaker 102 Steve, you're scaring me.

Speaker 101 You know my family is from Philly. I moved out here for this gig.

Speaker 102 What the hell is going on?

Speaker 94 Look, you need to trust me, Luke. You need to leave town.

Speaker 2 Get in your car, drive away, and don't look back.

Speaker 94 But before you go, I need you to set me up to go live.

Speaker 103 I need to warn the others.

Speaker 56 Luke seemed to ponder this.

Speaker 94 In the momentary silence, the single-pane glass windows shook in their frames as the wind picked up, howling just outside the studio.

Speaker 83 The wind was getting stronger as it grew nearer.

Speaker 82 I could still feel the beast's gaze on me.

Speaker 63 It had seen me, and it would not forget me.

Speaker 48 It wanted me. It needed me.

Speaker 101 I am going to stay with you.

Speaker 29 I have nowhere to go.

Speaker 78 He looked away, troubled, questioning what he had just said.

Speaker 101 I'm not gonna lie, though, man.

Speaker 20 I'm scared.

Speaker 103 So just...

Speaker 101 Give it to me straight.

Speaker 77 Are we gonna be alright?

Speaker 72 Or

Speaker 77 are we about to die?

Speaker 76 I don't know, but we might be able to save the others.

Speaker 82 We both looked at each other for a moment, not sure what to say.

Speaker 63 Luke held out a hand and helped me up.

Speaker 56 I pulled him into a brief hug, trying to give what assurance I could to the young producer.

Speaker 70 I won't leave you.

Speaker 56 I walked out of the production booth and back into the studio. Sitting down on the cracked leather chair, I put the headset back on and swiveled the microphone close, preparing myself as best I could.

Speaker 56 Luke pointed in my direction. The music from the headset had been cut and we were live once again.

Speaker 106 Folks, there is no easy way to say this, but you must evacuate the city. Drive east, north, south, it doesn't matter, but you can't stay here.
I repeat, you must evacuate the city.

Speaker 76 This is not a joke or a hoax.

Speaker 63 It's real.

Speaker 12 I paused, thinking of what next to say.

Speaker 56 Look, this is going to sound crazy.

Speaker 102 There's a flying creature that.

Speaker 2 Well, it's coming to kill us all.

Speaker 102 You must pack up your family and leave now.

Speaker 106 Leave as fast as you can.

Speaker 94 Looking up, I saw Luke's expression had turned to that of a small, scared, confused child.

Speaker 47 He looked helpless.

Speaker 94 That's when Luke's words dawned on me.

Speaker 50 Nowhere to go.

Speaker 63 If anyone wants to call our studio, we are still here and will remain live for as long as possible.

Speaker 18 Please call in.

Speaker 92 Our lines are clear.

Speaker 96 Call 206-555-0206.

Speaker 96 Again, 206-555-0206.

Speaker 56 Almost immediately, Luke waved and pointed towards me. The red flashing light pinged on the desk in front of me.
I reached over and clicked in the first caller.

Speaker 79 Hello, this is Steve.

Speaker 77 Where are you and what are you doing?

Speaker 77 Hi, I need help.

Speaker 1 My parents are gone, and I just woke up.

Speaker 107 I heard your voice on the radio, and you told me to call you. Can you help me?

Speaker 78 The blood in my face drained. I was not expecting this.

Speaker 76 Hi, sweetie.

Speaker 77 Look, everything's gonna be okay, all right? Is there anyone else with you in the house? Do you have neighbors?

Speaker 107 My older brother is here, but he's still still sleeping. He told me to never wake him up.
Gets crumpy when I wake him up early, and will tick on me if I do.

Speaker 77 Sweetie, you need to wake him up and put him on the phone.

Speaker 99 It's important.

Speaker 99 Danny? Danny, you need to get up.

Speaker 1 There's someone on the phone for you. Danny, you need to talk to him.

Speaker 107 Wake up.

Speaker 98 Sadie, what's going on? What time is it?

Speaker 98 Sadie, it's still dark outside. You should be in bed.

Speaker 1 Where's mom?

Speaker 1 What is that?

Speaker 1 Oh, no.

Speaker 55 No, no, no, no. Oh, no.

Speaker 106 Sadie, Sadie, don't look out the window.

Speaker 96 Please, no, don't look outside. Oh, no.
No, no. No, no.
No, no. Oh, no.

Speaker 83 My mouth hung open and a lump swelled in my throat.

Speaker 20 What am I even doing?

Speaker 70 A thought came to me, but before I had time to process it, the red light started to flash.

Speaker 83 I clicked into the next caller.

Speaker 2 Hi, this is Steve.

Speaker 76 What's your name and where are you?

Speaker 76 Hey, Steve, I'm Ben, a longtime listener. First time caller.

Speaker 1 Hey, I thought Halloween was over. I loved your guys' special a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't know you would keep the immersion going this long.

Speaker 15 Great stuff, guys. Keep it up.

Speaker 101 No, wait, listen, this is real. You need to leave the city.

Speaker 50 Where are you at?

Speaker 1 Oh, I'm in Baffle. And hey, I am a huge fan.
Hell, my kids will love to listen to the playback of this. I'm actually listening in on my phone.

Speaker 16 About to head out the door for work.

Speaker 1 Oh, and this is seriously great stuff, guys.

Speaker 94 The headset picked up the door squeaking on his hinges.

Speaker 73 He was leaving the house.

Speaker 56 I cut him off in mid-sentence.

Speaker 93 Listen to me, motherfucker.

Speaker 84 Close your door and pack your things.

Speaker 102 You and your family need to get out of town.

Speaker 84 Look, this isn't a fucking bit.

Speaker 1 Whoa, whoa, hey, easy there, Steve. I know.
Um,

Speaker 1 oh,

Speaker 1 my neighbor is here. Hang on,

Speaker 1 Bill, Bill, it's too early for yard work. What are you doing, pal? Oh, guess what? I'm on the radio right now.

Speaker 1 What are you looking at, anyway?

Speaker 83 I slammed my desk in frustration. God damn it!

Speaker 15 No!

Speaker 46 The line cut out once again.

Speaker 78 Staring up at the booth, Luke gave me a solemn look before putting his head in his hands. I couldn't hear him, but I knew he was sobbing.

Speaker 56 The red light flashed, and I clicked into the next caller.

Speaker 56 With newfound determination, I thought to myself that I wouldn't...

Speaker 83 No, I couldn't let anyone else die.

Speaker 84 Hi, this is Steve. Look, you need to listen to me.

Speaker 96 Do not look in the sky outside.

Speaker 102 Pack what you can and leave town.

Speaker 83 A familiar voice came through.

Speaker 83 Steve, this is Bella.

Speaker 22 I can't reach your cell. What's going on?

Speaker 1 I've been listening all morning.

Speaker 107 I won't look outside.

Speaker 107 My mom and dad are awake, too. But I haven't seen them since they told me to pack my things.

Speaker 107 My door's closed, but I think I can hear them talking or chanting something out in the living room.

Speaker 107 I'm scared.

Speaker 76 My niece, sister, and brother-in-law lived only a few miles from the studio.

Speaker 56 My stomach sank at the thought of something happening to them.

Speaker 39 This was my chance.

Speaker 76 I might still be able to save them.

Speaker 82 Listen, Belle, I'm here.

Speaker 97 Look,

Speaker 56 just focus on my voice, okay?

Speaker 38 Deep breaths.

Speaker 16 Deep breaths.

Speaker 33 My niece let in and out three long breaths.

Speaker 56 The tenseness in my shoulders momentarily relaxed.

Speaker 76 I was relieved that my niece was all right, but I couldn't help but wonder if my sister and brother-in-law were okay, too.

Speaker 50 Okay, good.

Speaker 12 Good girl.

Speaker 55 Now,

Speaker 93 you're gonna have to help me out here, hun.

Speaker 56 Don't look outside any windows, but I need you to crack the door and see what's going on in the living room.

Speaker 9 Can you do that for me?

Speaker 9 Yes.

Speaker 107 Yes, I can do that.

Speaker 56 A twist of a doorknob could be heard as Bella cracked her bedroom door into the living room.

Speaker 97 The chanting she described was now clearly audible.

Speaker 97 Mom?

Speaker 97 Cat?

Speaker 76 I could feel the building shake, and I looked up from my stupor.

Speaker 33 Luke was looking nervously towards the windows. Flipping one side of my headset off, I heard the building crack and moan in its old frame.
I stared at the vibrating windows Luke's attention was on.

Speaker 33 The glass would surely shatter soon.

Speaker 33 The chant, now a shout, ripped my attention back to the headset.

Speaker 33 We will serve.

Speaker 33 We will serve.

Speaker 33 We will serve.

Speaker 90 Listen, Bella, hey, is that your mom and dad?

Speaker 90 Yes.

Speaker 55 They're looking at me, but they won't respond to anything I say.

Speaker 55 They just keep saying the same thing.

Speaker 55 They're walking right on me.

Speaker 55 Bella, close the door.

Speaker 33 Close the door.

Speaker 33 A bang of a door came through clearly, dampening the drone of my sister and brother-in-law's voices.

Speaker 56 The studio windows finally gave in.

Speaker 33 Glass shattered inward, and heavy winds began flinging loose items around the small room.

Speaker 33 A piece of glass gashed my already bloody cheek, and I shrank my face away from that side of the room as the blinds lifted from gusts of air. Shielding my eyes, I glanced back at the production booth.

Speaker 33 Luke stood dead straight, looking directly out the window. His pupils dilated as his eyes grew wide and instantly bloodshot.
Blood began to streak slowly from his tear ducts and ears.

Speaker 33 Luke then began mouthing something in the booth to himself.

Speaker 33 We

Speaker 65 will serve.

Speaker 33 The building groaned and began to dip, the old brick building and wooden floor starting to crumble around me.

Speaker 33 I held on to the fixed table bolted to the ground as the leather chair began to roll away on the shifting floor. With one firm grip on the table and another on my headset, I cried out to my niece.

Speaker 33 Bella, Bella, can you still hear me? Bella, you need to get out of the house and leave the city.

Speaker 100 Get in your car and leave. Yes, Uncle Steve, I know.
I just don't know how to leave.

Speaker 100 I can barely hear you. What's going on?

Speaker 100 Oh, Bob! I think they're at the door.

Speaker 100 They're trying to break the door down.

Speaker 9 Bella, listen to me.

Speaker 100 Climb out your window. Help.

Speaker 55 Break it open. Go now.
Go!

Speaker 55 Now!

Speaker 33 The building began tilting in an awkward direction as the earth below shook its foundations. I was losing my grip on the edge of the table.

Speaker 33 My chair swiveled up and was now facing the busted-out studio windows. My arm, fully outstretched, grasped the table as I hung on for dear life.

Speaker 33 As the window shades flapped up and down, the winged beast went in and out of sight.

Speaker 33 It had made its way past the Olympic mountain range, which lay burning in the distance, and was now directly over Puget Sound.

Speaker 33 The impossibly colossal body completely filled the horizon, as far as I could see in each direction. Massive cracks in the earth littered the surrounding area, swallowing whole city blocks.

Speaker 33 Tendrils trailed down from the beast, not only from its face, but from all over its body, rolling down to the writhing, brackish water below.

Speaker 33 The slow flap of its tremendous hooked wings surged down, causing tsunami-sized swells to form off the Seattle coastline. Water began surging into the city.

Speaker 33 Whole skyscrapers fell from the converging ocean and wind. It was here.

Speaker 17 I could no longer look away.

Speaker 33 Its red eyes beamed at me. Each time the eyes were revealed with the flap-up of the shade, I could feel my corneous flash cook from its leer.

Speaker 33 A loud crack and bang came over the headset. Bella screamed.
Glass shattered as a window was smashed on the other end of the line. Chance came over the headset.

Speaker 33 The headset slipped off my head and out of my grip. The tilt of the floor finally pulled the chair out from under me and I thrust my free arm up to the table, still managing to hold on.

Speaker 33 The blinds flew off the window frame and I could now fully see the beast's eyes, uninterrupted, emanating in the dark sky.

Speaker 33 Had my niece escaped? Was it too late?

Speaker 33 Bella?

Speaker 33 Bella?

Speaker 46 I could only manage to murmur as I felt the beast's hunger fill my very soul.

Speaker 33 The beast bellowed out as it crossed the coastline into the crumbling city.

Speaker 33 The booming noise burst my eardrums and I felt a trickle of blood run down the side of my face as the unnatural, guttural language came from the winged horror.

Speaker 33 My eyes set ablaze and engulfed in the red ire of the tendril-filled face, its eyes sank directly into my frontal cortex.

Speaker 70 I screamed out as I let go of the table.

Speaker 70 We

Speaker 15 will

Speaker 15 serve.

Speaker 11 Welcome to Goat Valley Campgrounds.

Speaker 4 Looking for a place to escape your busy life and reconnect with nature?

Speaker 2 Goat Valley Campgrounds features 300 acres of quiet forest and peaceful scenery for you to enjoy.

Speaker 24 Come meet Kate.

Speaker 3 She runs the place like her parents before her.

Speaker 31 We know you'll enjoy your stay as long as you behave yourself and follow the rules.

Speaker 2 Your survival depends on it.

Speaker 60 The No Sleep Podcast presents Goat Valley Campgrounds, Season 2, by Bonnie Quinn.

Speaker 5 Chapter 1.

Speaker 22 Okay, here we go, folks. It's very simple.
Hi, I'm the manager here at Goat Valley Campgrounds.

Speaker 22 We have a lovely campground for you to explore with a variety of terrain and lots of places to set up a tent, sit down for a bit, and relax and reconnect with nature.

Speaker 22 There's just one thing we need to cover first.

Speaker 22 The pamphlet, the one I give to every single person that makes a reservation. It's got all sorts of useful information in here.

Speaker 22 Practical advice on how to pitch a tent, more campground-oriented advice like, don't split the hose more than three times. The water pressure can't handle it.

Speaker 16 And then there's the other rules.

Speaker 22 I think you know some of them already. The dancers, the man with the skull cap, why my family doesn't keep horses around.

Speaker 22 These little scraps of information that were bought with blood, sometimes my own, in the futile attempt to arm people with just enough knowledge that if they were part of the very unlucky few that encountered the monsters out there in the darkness, perhaps they'd know what to do and how to survive.

Speaker 22 Yeah, that's not how it works. That's never how it works.
My name is Kate, and this is Goat Valley Campgrounds.

Speaker 22 I wish I didn't have to explain this over and over.

Speaker 54 I have a set of rules.

Speaker 22 If you read them and do what they say, you'll be fine. You'll be safe.

Speaker 22 I have tens of thousands of people that camp here every year and they all go home with nothing worse than a sunburn and mosquito bites.

Speaker 22 But every now and then, you get someone that doesn't stick to the rules and then mad things happen.

Speaker 22 I suppose I'm a little more to blame than I'd like to admit. Simply telling someone to do something isn't all that effective, after all.
I suppose there's more I could be doing.

Speaker 22 It's just for my whole life, I've heard that we don't fight these inhuman things, that we can't fight them, and that all we can do is hunker down and pray for the morning light.

Speaker 22 It's hard to change your mindset. Yet, that's what I did.
I went into the vanishing house, the house that swallowed up the old sheriff so many years ago.

Speaker 85 I went in there.

Speaker 22 I faced the house's master and killed him. I rescued the old sheriff.
I wonder if my parents would be proud of me. For a brief shining moment, it felt like everything was going to be okay.

Speaker 22 With the old sheriff back, I had an ally that could stand between me and the hostility of the town. I was flushed with my triumph.
Things would just go back to normal, surely.

Speaker 55 I

Speaker 49 suppose they did.

Speaker 22 But there's one rule in particular that gives me no end of grief. Initially, I didn't think I even needed to include this again because it's so obvious, but apparently, it isn't.

Speaker 55 Don't follow the lights.

Speaker 22 But here we are, talking about them again.

Speaker 22 Maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong because clearly people aren't capable of figuring this one out.

Speaker 22 But before we get into my own personal hell of dealing with the general public, there is one thing of interest that changed after my excursion into the vanishing house.

Speaker 22 Namely, my relationship with good old Sheriff Sabota. Last time I talked, I stabbed you in the neck.
Now we're sitting here having a civil conversation. Amazing.

Speaker 50 Yeah,

Speaker 50 real

Speaker 55 civil.

Speaker 22 Listen, I...

Speaker 34 So we need to do something about the last camper that died. You know, the one whose head ended up on your desk?

Speaker 22 I thought your people handled that with the family.

Speaker 50 We did.

Speaker 62 I'd like for there to not be another incident.

Speaker 60 Russell might be insisting we keep covering for you, but that doesn't mean he's okay with the campground's body count.

Speaker 22 Yeah, I know.

Speaker 22 The old sheriff, Sheriff Russell. My parents got along well with him, which meant that I got along well with him when I took over the campground.

Speaker 22 It didn't mean that he was permissive, though, that he tolerated the accidents that occurred here.

Speaker 22 There was always an unspoken expectation that my family did better, that we didn't grow complacent in our management of old land.

Speaker 22 It was especially pronounced with my interactions with Sheriff Russell. Like he was pushing me forward, now that my parents were no longer alive to do so.

Speaker 2 So, what's your plan? Oh, uh.

Speaker 50 You do have a plan, right?

Speaker 22 Jeez, give me a moment. Should have gone for the focal cords instead of the drugular.

Speaker 38 Should have sharpened your knife more.

Speaker 11 Shit hurt.

Speaker 22 We just wrapped up one of our big events. There's only a couple of them during the camping season, and we closed down for a week afterward to clean up the land.
We'll be closed all this week.

Speaker 22 I'll have Brian turn the dogs loose and see if they can hunt down the man with no shadow during that time.

Speaker 2 I'd ask if that's safe, but I don't really care about your safety.

Speaker 22 I can't promise anything. We've never gone after the man with no shadow directly.
We've never gone after any of the creatures with human-like intelligence directly.

Speaker 22 They're a lot more dangerous than the others.

Speaker 59 Well, Russell has gently suggested we provide you with some resources.

Speaker 2 If you need help getting your land back under control, I'm obligated to make the offer.

Speaker 22 No, I think it's best if I I handle this. My staff are well-trained.
As long as we keep unqualified people out, there shouldn't be any incidents.

Speaker 104 Glad to hear that.

Speaker 34 I don't want to be near you when you're holding that shotgun of yours anyway.

Speaker 22 You're never going to let the whole I tried to kill you thing go, are you?

Speaker 5 Nope.

Speaker 22 Ugh, fine. There's something bothering me about that camper that was beheaded.

Speaker 35 Oh, other than the fact that, once again, your campground got someone killed?

Speaker 22 It's just that the man with no shadow doesn't typically act like this. Yes, he gets other people to do his dirty work because that's what he's all about.

Speaker 22 But waltzing in and depositing someone's head on my desk, I've never seen that from him before.

Speaker 22 I don't even have records of him being directly responsible for any deaths because I couldn't pin anything on him. There were incidents I suspected were his doing, but never anything this bold.

Speaker 11 Well, what's your point?

Speaker 67 I just...

Speaker 22 I've got a bad feeling is all. I think we're coming up on a bad year.

Speaker 5 Oh, hell.

Speaker 22 Before we go any further, we should talk about what what a bad year is. I don't have a good explanation for what causes them.
Oh, I've looked for patterns. I always do.

Speaker 22 Is it the stars, the planets, or the seasons? Or some other force, some current to the inhuman world that flows just beneath our reality? I can't say for certain. All I know is that things get bad.

Speaker 22 It's like kicking an anthill. All those inhuman things come churning out of the mire, hungry and vicious, searching for something to feast upon.

Speaker 22 The creatures here already grow more active, unpredictable, and new things come to the campground, like a black hole pulling in the light around it. That's a bad year.

Speaker 22 I've dealt with a couple in my lifetime, even managed to stop one in its tracks, though I don't know if I'll ever be able to pull that off again.

Speaker 22 There's been omens for previous bad years, small things like dead birds on my parents' gravestone, failed crops, or two-headed calves, the usual.

Speaker 22 But over the years, my family has developed their own sense of things. We just know.

Speaker 22 Feel it in our bones and our chests. Our interactions with the inhuman things feel off.

Speaker 22 There's a tension just underneath the surface. It draws them out of the shadows.
We've been taking some precautions, but I wasn't convinced it was enough. I radioed Brian after Sheriff Sabota left.

Speaker 22 Hey, what do you think about having two of your dogs guard the grove? His grove?

Speaker 22 I don't know, Kate.

Speaker 81 Seems risky.

Speaker 22 There was only one grove that mattered on my campground, the grove that belonged to the man with no shadow. It changed locations, but you could always find it when you looked for it.

Speaker 22 The staff recognized the trees leading up to it and knew to keep their distance. He's up to something.
I just know it. I want him contained.
Yeah,

Speaker 81 and I want my dogs to be safe.

Speaker 81 There's a bit of a difference between chasing down the inhuman in the open field and lying in wait right outside their home. It's

Speaker 81 personal.

Speaker 22 All he can do is control human minds. The dogs will be fine.

Speaker 81 You don't know that's all he can do. I'm not putting them on his own turf, Kate.
Find a different solution.

Speaker 22 It was rare that Brian argued with me. When it came to his dogs, though, he was uncompromising.
Ugh, fine.

Speaker 22 This is going to come up in their performance review, though.

Speaker 81 I don't believe you for an instant. You wouldn't dare cut their treat supply off.

Speaker 22 He's right, I wouldn't. Until I have a better solution, I've instructed my staff to work in pairs, which is a typical procedure for a bad year.

Speaker 22 But I've also started rotating the pairs so that two people aren't together for too long.

Speaker 22 Additionally, anyone that enters the campground during our cleanup and repair work is accompanied by a staff member. It's not sustainable, but it buys me a little time.

Speaker 22 I've been looking through our records to see if there's anything that can be gleaned about the man with no shadow. There's not much.
But I invited Russell over to review it with me.

Speaker 22 He could pass it along to Sheriff Sabota for me and save both of us another uncomfortable discussion.

Speaker 79 This is your mother's journal?

Speaker 22 Yeah.

Speaker 22 She didn't write a lot down, just tidbits of things she found important. It's hard to make sense of it.
I don't think she intended for someone else to read them.

Speaker 73 Is it difficult for you to go through her things?

Speaker 54 Yeah, it is.

Speaker 22 I've read through it a couple times now, and most of the time, it's not worth seeing her handwriting again. But look, this time, I know what I was looking for.

Speaker 22 I thought it was strange the first time I saw it. Here, the page I bookmarked.

Speaker 79 The man with no shadow. And the two calendar dates.

Speaker 97 That's all that's on this page.

Speaker 22 Do those dates look familiar to you at all?

Speaker 11 Hmm.

Speaker 55 No.

Speaker 2 Wait, that one.

Speaker 13 I remember that year.

Speaker 79 It was the first year Sabata ran against me for office. He never seemed particularly excited during the campaign either.

Speaker 79 At the time, I thought it was because he knew he wasn't going to win, but seeing how bittered he's gotten while I was trapped in that house, I kind of wonder if he didn't want the job at all.

Speaker 22 Probably because he was only running to screw me over.

Speaker 73 He kept running every year after that.

Speaker 29 Never won.

Speaker 80 Not until I vanished into that house.

Speaker 79 But he kept trying.

Speaker 79 He

Speaker 73 was never happy about it either.

Speaker 79 Like it wasn't something he actually wanted to do.

Speaker 79 You need to ask him what happened.

Speaker 22 No, no way. You do it.

Speaker 17 No,

Speaker 2 you do it.

Speaker 79 Your campground, and he's the sheriff.

Speaker 55 You need to learn to work with him.

Speaker 47 Figure it out.

Speaker 56 I'll investigate that other date in your mother's journal.

Speaker 79 See what was happening around town at that time.

Speaker 15 Sure.

Speaker 22 Thanks.

Speaker 22 I didn't say it, but there was something I would need to investigate on my own. And my mother came by those dates in her journal and what she meant by them.

Speaker 22 The weeks after a big event are quiet, which is a welcome reprieve, but there's a lot of work to do. Picking up the trash left behind is only the beginning of it.

Speaker 22 Having a tent or a trailer in one spot for a week or more kills the grass, so we have to go reseed.

Speaker 22 We fill the potholes on the road with gravel and put dirt in the ruts left by trucks getting stuck in the mud.

Speaker 22 We check that everyone filled in their fire pits like they're supposed to and fill them in if they don't. I make a note of who doesn't fill in their fire pits.

Speaker 22 When they come back next year, they might find that their favorite camping spot has been given to a different group and they have been relocated to a less desirable spot.

Speaker 22 Might even be in the deep woods where the monsters live. Should probably stop doing that.
Perchdo wouldn't like it.

Speaker 22 The day after my conversation with Sheriff Russell, I was out on the hill leading down into the deep woods, trying to figure out what to do with the trench.

Speaker 22 The one that's right alongside the road and just keeps getting deeper every year. This time it ate a pickup truck's back tire tire, and we had to get the tractor to pull it out.

Speaker 22 So, kind of high on my priority list to fix. Pouring dirt and gravel into it simply isn't working.

Speaker 22 Alas, I never get a moment's peace, not even to fill in a stupid hole. Hey, did you get the propane tank replaced? The big one with all the rust?

Speaker 22 Sure, did all my employees that put bets on it exploding this year will be disappointed?

Speaker 81 Well, I think they're still in the running because I'm standing here next to it, and the replacement is still on the truck, but the driver isn't anywhere to be found did did we give him a pamphlet when he showed up would he have read it

Speaker 22 no of course not okay we need to sweep the woods get the staff out there send your dogs out as well i'm gonna go check the grove the man with no shadow

Speaker 22 do you think he got to the driver honestly i have no idea but he's the only monster sheriff sabota is breathing down my neck about

Speaker 22 inhuman things are elusive They're not something you can hunt. Oh, it's a common enough misconception.

Speaker 22 Even the locals will say they're going monster hunting when we gather everyone up with our guns and our flares and go out into the woods to take on something particularly troublesome.

Speaker 22 But the truth of it is, we hunt them just as much as a deer hunts the wolf. We don't find the monsters.
They find us when they're hungry. The man with no shadow is a rare exception.

Speaker 22 He wants to be found. His clearing is easy to stumble upon by accident and it is always there, waiting when you want to find it.

Speaker 22 His clearing is surrounded with stones covered in moss, with thin, straight maple trees ringing it on all sides but one. I took a deep, studying breath as I approached the entrance.

Speaker 22 The man with no shadow was waiting for me. He stood tall and willowy next to the missing truck driver, his red hair brilliant in the sunlight.

Speaker 22 His arm was draped over the man's shoulder as if they were friends, but his nails dug into the flesh and a thin bead of blood trickled down the truck driver's chest.

Speaker 22 He was stripped to the waist and five holes bled slowly on his chest, clogging with congealing blood. The black crimson of a deep wound.

Speaker 22 They were arrayed around where his heart was, like fingers had been thrust through his flesh.

Speaker 22 From the dried blood on the man with no shadow's fingers, I have to believe that was exactly what happened.

Speaker 16 Hello, Kate.

Speaker 22 Speak sparingly or I walk away.

Speaker 21 You'd abandon my captive to save yourself.

Speaker 13 How very like you, Kate.

Speaker 22 How did you get him here?

Speaker 71 The lights can be coerced sometimes.

Speaker 22 Seriously, how fucking hard is it to not follow the lights? You shouldn't even have to read the rules to realize this.

Speaker 22 It was a whole thing in Lord of the Rings, and everyone has watched Lord of the Rings, right?

Speaker 21 I'll give him back if you like. We had a good long chat, and I'm not particularly impressed with him.

Speaker 22 You don't release people without asking for something in return. Name your price.

Speaker 21 Oh, no, you could have this one for free.

Speaker 22 He shoved the truck driver forwards. The man stumbled across the boundary of the Man with No Shadow's lair.
His eyes cleared and he looked about him, startled, bewildered by his surroundings.

Speaker 22 He stared down at the wounds on his chest.

Speaker 50 What's going on?

Speaker 59 Where am I?

Speaker 54 Why am I bleeding?

Speaker 22 Here, come stand behind me. I'll handle this.

Speaker 21 He's all yours.

Speaker 22 You don't let go of anyone.

Speaker 19 I do when they're useless.

Speaker 19 And this one is no good anymore, on account of the mark I put on him.

Speaker 21 You know, the one that taints his soul with my presence gives him my

Speaker 71 scent.

Speaker 50 Who is that?

Speaker 53 What is he saying?

Speaker 22 I'll explain later. Let's go.
Let's get out of here.

Speaker 22 I grabbed the truck driver's arm and drew him away from the glade, back towards the house. I could figure out what the man with no shadow had done, and why, later.

Speaker 22 We didn't make it to the house before I heard the baying of the hounds. When I hired Brian, his dogs came with him.

Speaker 22 It was simply understood that they were part of him, that he wasn't whole unless they were nearby.

Speaker 22 I remember growing up with him, how he was a quiet, reclusive boy, and how the dogs would wait outside the school.

Speaker 22 At recess, he would play chase with them, far from the other children, eschewing human company. He rarely spoke.
I never paid him much attention.

Speaker 22 Not until he showed up at my campsite inquiring about a a job opening. His dogs sat behind him during the interview, staring at me and wagging their tails.

Speaker 22 They should have died of old age long ago, but I think we all know they are not normal dogs. Sometimes when they're running as a pack, their barking sounds more like wailing.

Speaker 22 Now their cries echoed from all around us.

Speaker 53 What is that noise?

Speaker 22 Just some dogs. They're friendly.
Don't worry about them.

Speaker 86 They're getting closer.

Speaker 22 I hesitated, my mind screaming at me the last thing the man with no shadow had said. The marks on the driver's chest.
His scent. We were halfway between the grove and the house.

Speaker 22 There was no other shelter easily available. I tightened my grip on the man's arm, digging my nails into his flesh.

Speaker 53 Run!

Speaker 22 You need to get to the house. It was hard to get him to move.
I pulled him along, breaking into a sprint myself, and after a handful of stumbling, reluctant steps, he fell into a trot.

Speaker 22 Not fast enough. Not nearly fast enough.
The dogs, they'll kill you! That got him moving.

Speaker 22 Some primal instinct finally shook itself free in his mind and he began to outpace me, drawing ahead with his longer legs, and my legs burned as I sucked in air in an effort to keep pace.

Speaker 22 I caught a glimpse of a large shape in my peripheral vision. Black-gray, and then it slammed into my side.
The hound threw itself between us.

Speaker 22 I was knocked boldly aside by a mass of fur and muscle, and then the dog was over top of me, legs splayed, its head lowered and a growl rumbling deep in its chest.

Speaker 22 I clodded its fur, searching for a collar, but it would not be moved. It had to protect me from the man with no shadow after all.
I opened the channel on my radio.

Speaker 55 Brian, recall your dogs.

Speaker 100 Recall your fucking dogs.

Speaker 22 The truck driver had managed to stay on his feet and he was continuing to run across the stretch of grass that led to the house. Another black-gray shape peeled out of the forest.

Speaker 22 Another came from the other direction. And then the entire pack was bearing down on him, and I knew it was too late.

Speaker 22 They surrounded him, running to either side, snapping ivory teeth at his legs, searching for an opening.

Speaker 54 I could only watch in horror, helpless to stop this.

Speaker 22 My radio clutched uselessly between my fingers. One lunged for his leg.
The man leapt away, twisting his body out of its reach, and putting his back to another one of the dogs.

Speaker 22 It stretched out its head and its jaws clamped down on his calf.

Speaker 22 It spun its hindquarters, bracing against the ground, halting its forward momentum in one fluid gesture, and the man's leg bent sharply sideways at the knee.

Speaker 22 His body jerked like a whip cracking, tumbling towards the ground, and then he vanished from sight under a mass of bodies. His screams didn't last long.

Speaker 22 At least they gave him the mercy of a quick death by tearing out his throat first. Only then did the dog standing over me move.

Speaker 22 I walked slowly towards where the rest of the pack were still dismembering the poor man's remains. Kate?

Speaker 22 Kate. What's going on?

Speaker 22 Hey, it's fine. Everything is fine.
Can you meet me at the house? I just need to take care of something and then I'll be there in a minute. I covered the body with a tarp before Brian got there.

Speaker 22 He still saw the blood and the muzzles of his dogs that were waiting patiently in the yard, and he entered my house uneasily, watching me and surely noticing the pained, resigned expression I bore.

Speaker 22 He warily sat down and waited for me to speak.

Speaker 22 There was...

Speaker 22 An accident.

Speaker 108 I thought I heard screams. And the blood on their muzzles.

Speaker 22 Yeah, the man was no shadow. He put his scent on that truck driver.
Somehow. And the dogs thought it was him.

Speaker 22 There was a long silence, broken only by the whining of one of his dogs at the front door, waiting to be let in.

Speaker 108 Sending them out was a mistake.

Speaker 22 You couldn't have known. We had no idea he could do something like this.

Speaker 108 But we know he's cunning.

Speaker 34 That he plans. He

Speaker 108 used my dogs to hurt someone. I

Speaker 85 can't let that happen again.

Speaker 22 It won't. We won't let them patrol alone anymore.
They'll stay with you and you can control them.

Speaker 48 No, I...

Speaker 48 I'm sorry, Kate.

Speaker 108 I'm going to remove them from the campgrounds. They're my dogs.
This is my decision to make.

Speaker 22 I watched him leave from the window. His dogs crowded around him and he started to pet one on the head and reflex, and then he hesitated.

Speaker 22 He lifted his hand, stuffed it in his pocket, and continued walking without touching any of them.

Speaker 54 They followed him, uncomprehending.

Speaker 22 I regret calling them his fucking dogs. I think he feels this is his failure to bear.

Speaker 22 But I'm the one that told him to set them to patrolling the campsite, to chase down and kill the man with no shadow if they caught his scent.

Speaker 22 I'm the one that knows the folklore, the stories of how the guise or essence of another can be transferred through symbolic acts.

Speaker 22 A piece of clothing, an ointment, or in this case, a mark over the heart. I just didn't make the connection.
This possible outcome eluded me.

Speaker 22 I feel like I'm trying to outwit the man with no shadow, and it's just not working. I'm not nearly so clever.
I know things, but I don't always see the patterns.

Speaker 22 And I lack the cunning malice necessary for navigating the man with no shadow's web.

Speaker 22 So few of its strands are visible. It feels like I don't notice them until they're wrapped around my neck.

Speaker 22 I called Sheriff Sabota because I had to. I expected him to sound angry.
Instead, he just sounded defeated.

Speaker 81 What am I supposed to do, Kate? The town is upset. Russell has them mollified for the time being, but there's still quite a few pushing for me to force you out.
How am I supposed to handle them now?

Speaker 22 I don't know. Try ignoring them.
That's what I do.

Speaker 81 It's too late for that. There's things that have been set in motion.

Speaker 11 What things?

Speaker 81 Checked the mail yet?

Speaker 22 I hung up on him. I ran to the mailbox.
Inside, I found a letter from a law firm. Enclosed, you will find the completed quit claim deed.

Speaker 67 What is this?

Speaker 22 For the purchase of the campground? As the granter of the property, please sign where indicated?

Speaker 14 Like hell, I will.

Speaker 22 This is bigger than just Suboda. Way bigger.
Someone had the gall to impersonate me and negotiate the purchase of my land and my livelihood. There's no way on earth I'm signing anything.

Speaker 22 But I'm sure that's not going to stop them. I'm not sure who I can trust anymore.
I've been able to ignore the town for the large part and focus on tending to the inhuman. In a way, that's easier.

Speaker 22 I have wards, I have rituals, and I have my shotgun. But now, it looks like this is bigger than just one person.

Speaker 22 It's not just Sabota, it's a whole lot of people, and all of a sudden, that town that I've liked to ignore is on my doorstep with evil intentions.

Speaker 22 I don't like dealing with people even when they're not conspiring against me. Maybe that's why I like being alone, minding my business and my campgrounds.

Speaker 22 But what happens if those people take it away from me? What happens to whoever takes it over? What happens to the town? And what would I do with myself?

Speaker 31 Goat Valley Campgrounds Season 2 was written and adapted for audio by Bonnie Quinn.

Speaker 60 Produced for the No Sleep podcast by Phil Mikulski.

Speaker 30 Musical score composed by Brandon Boone.

Speaker 4 Starring Lindsey Russo as Kate, David Cummings as Sheriff Saboda, Kyle Akers as Brian, Jesse Cornett as Russell, Graham Rowett as the man with no shadow, and Allie Hirschman as the truck driver.

Speaker 13 Join us next week for chapter two of Goat Valley Campgrounds Season 2.

Speaker 71 Our tales may be over, but they are still out there.

Speaker 9 Be sure to join us next week so you can stay safe, stay secure, and stay sleepless.

Speaker 31 The No Sleep podcast is presented by Creative Reason Media.

Speaker 28 The musical score was composed by Brandon Boone.

Speaker 31 Our production team is Phil Michalski, Jeff Clement, Jesse Cornette, and Claudius Moore.

Speaker 32 Our editorial team team is Jessica McAvoy, Ashley McInelly, Ollie A. White, and Kristen Semito.

Speaker 32 To discover how you can get even more sleepless horror stories from us, just visit sleepless.thenosleeppodcast.com to learn about the sleepless sanctuary.

Speaker 32 Ad-free extended episodes each week and lots of bonus content for the dark hours, all for one low monthly price.

Speaker 32 On behalf of everyone at the No Sleep Podcast, we thank you for joining us and seeking safety from the things that stalk us in the night.

Speaker 6 This audio program is Copyright 2025 by Creative Reason Media Inc.

Speaker 50 All rights reserved.

Speaker 23 The copyrights for each story are held by the respective authors.

Speaker 28 No duplication or reproduction of this audio program is permitted without the written consent of Creative Reason Media, Inc.

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