WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:07.960
Snow Smother's shore city as the bells strike midnight, and
2
00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:12.480
a red giant stalks the streets while people crash and
3
00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:18.640
claw at ghosts. Only they can see somewhere above the chaos,
4
00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:33.000
something new is born, fear itself whispering Merry Christmas? How
5
00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:33.920
did you get in here?
6
00:00:37.119 --> 00:00:38.000
Ho? Ho?
7
00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:48.119
What's that you want to be scared? Come with me?
8
00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:17.480
This is Weekly Spooky. Hello, my spookies, it's not Wednesday,
9
00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:24.040
no no, but it's the holiday season and there's always
10
00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:29.680
room for another scare. I'm your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto,
11
00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:33.519
and tonight we have a very special treat for you
12
00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:40.799
to unwrap, a novella length story about love and loss
13
00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:46.439
and fear. But before we get to that, I want
14
00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:49.680
to say thank you so much for joining us. I'm
15
00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:54.079
so honored to bring a little festive fear to your
16
00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:58.000
holiday season. And if you love what we do here
17
00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:00.920
at Weekly Spooky and I want to support us in
18
00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.959
a very direct way, you can head to Weeklyspooky dot
19
00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.840
com slash join for as little as one dollar a month.
20
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:13.680
You get two bonus episodes every single month, and my
21
00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:19.240
undying gratitude, as well as over five years of audiobooks
22
00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:25.879
and creepypasta readings at Weeklyspooky dot com slash join. There
23
00:02:25.879 --> 00:02:30.039
are ninety spookies who've already signed up. You should join
24
00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.240
them this Christmas. And a big thank you to our sponsor,
25
00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.400
cozyerth dot com. If you need bedding or loungewear that's
26
00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:42.800
extra soft and extra comfy, head tocozyearth dot com and
27
00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:46.800
use promo code spooky at checkout and get forty one
28
00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:51.439
percent off and you'll support the show in doing so.
29
00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:55.080
So Head toczyearth dot com and use the code spooky.
30
00:02:56.039 --> 00:03:02.479
But as for tonight, imagine it's Christmas Eve and the
31
00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:08.599
whole city is wrapped in snow and panic. People are
32
00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:13.520
crashing their cars, running from things no one else can see,
33
00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:19.919
screaming at shadows that vanish when the lights come on. Cops, kids,
34
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:25.479
strangers on the street, all haunted at once, like someone
35
00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:31.840
flipped a switch in their heads. Now, imagine there's something
36
00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:36.520
out there that likes it that way. Not a ghost,
37
00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:42.560
not a demon you can vanish. Just a shape made
38
00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:48.280
of every ugly thought you've ever had, every moment you
39
00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:53.039
wished someone would suffer. It walks the city in bare
40
00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:58.159
feet and a wicked smile tonight. We're not just telling
41
00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:03.560
a Christmas story about heres and monsters. We're asking what
42
00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:10.280
happens when fear itself decides you are its favorite present
43
00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:23.959
and it starts unwrapping you from the inside out. A
44
00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:33.040
blue Christmas by Rob Field's prologue. Have you ever heard
45
00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:37.839
of fear? Okay, yes, I'm sure you know what fear
46
00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:44.160
itself is, But I'm talking about this creature named Fear.
47
00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:48.199
I have no idea where the hell she came from,
48
00:04:48.839 --> 00:04:52.800
but I'm down here in the sewer system on Christmas Eve,
49
00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:58.720
cowering in a corner. I've just pissed myself, which should
50
00:04:58.800 --> 00:05:04.000
tell you how scared this thing has made me. By
51
00:05:04.040 --> 00:05:07.879
the way, I'm a reporter. I came all the way
52
00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:11.399
to Shore City to get a story for Josh Caller,
53
00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:18.279
my editor. I learned that superheroes are actually real, and
54
00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:22.000
now Blue Girl and the Jeweler are at the mercy
55
00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:29.600
of this thing named Fear. Mm. Yes, I'm loving my
56
00:05:29.839 --> 00:05:36.639
new powers. Now my dollies show Fear what scares you
57
00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:43.160
the most, then she shall use your fear to destroy you.
58
00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:48.920
Just seeing Fear made me fall to my knees. But
59
00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:55.360
hearing her, she sounds like a little girl. Definitely one
60
00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:59.680
of the creepiest things I've ever heard. That's why I
61
00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:05.120
ran away and hid back here. Like I said, I'm
62
00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:10.600
still scared as hell. Maybe I'm still too close to
63
00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:16.560
that thing. Ugh? How did I get myself into this situation?
64
00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:28.639
Maybe I'd better start from the beginning, which was earlier today. Boy,
65
00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:32.160
do I ever know how to pick him? Take? Right? Now?
66
00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:37.079
It's Christmas Eve. This man finds me sitting in Shakers,
67
00:06:37.639 --> 00:06:42.319
a bar in Strickfield college kids like to frequent anyway.
68
00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:47.160
I'm wearing this tight fitting dress and heels and nursing
69
00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:50.879
a tall glass of beer. You'd think I'd be having
70
00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:55.759
red or white wine, but I hate wine. Give me
71
00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.959
a good old fashioned beer any day of the week.
72
00:07:00.040 --> 00:07:03.439
When I'm taking another pull, that's when I feel the
73
00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:08.800
man directly behind me and glance over my shoulder. He's
74
00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:13.600
wearing an all white suit, well practically all white. He's
75
00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.040
got a black shirt on inside his vest. He's also
76
00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:20.519
got a piece of eye candy on either side of him.
77
00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:27.720
Yet this asshole is clearly interested in me. Honestly, I
78
00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.639
couldn't tell you how many times men wanted to pick
79
00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.199
me up once they see my sexy ass perched on
80
00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:38.439
a barstool, it gets their rocks going. At the end
81
00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:42.079
of senior year at Bellevue High School, people told me
82
00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:47.000
I'd easily win the unofficial Girl with the Hottest Ass award.
83
00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:51.079
Not to toot my own horn, but they weren't wrong.
84
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.720
Even when I got out of that shit town and
85
00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:59.560
went on to higher education, I still had all kinds
86
00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:05.680
of guy hitting on me, likely after checking out my ass. Okay,
87
00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:09.800
a bar is definitely no place for someone like me,
88
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.759
But when I want a beer, I want a goddamn beer,
89
00:08:15.600 --> 00:08:17.720
and I should be allowed to sit my hot ass
90
00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:22.879
wherever I want without being bothered. I'm drinking my goddamn
91
00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.279
beer when this guy with his arm candy is hitting
92
00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:30.000
on me. Oh, he's really bold. When he grabs two
93
00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:35.279
handfuls of surgically enhanced tits from behind me and says
94
00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:41.000
into my ear how he'd really appreciate me. Then he
95
00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:45.840
gives my fun bags another gentle squeeze when he feels
96
00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:50.559
me moved. I slowly turn around with my beer in hand.
97
00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:54.879
Any other time I'd have thrown my beer right in
98
00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:58.279
someone's face for touching me like that. And that's just
99
00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:04.120
the start the fish come. Next problem is Shakers has
100
00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:09.919
my favorite beer on tap here o'hanlan's Irish lagger. He'd
101
00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:15.039
be ashamed to waste such an excellent beer. I actually
102
00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:19.679
let this Don Juan take me with him. The bouncer
103
00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:23.480
stops me and says I can't take my beer outside,
104
00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:27.639
so I chug it and hand over the mug. Then
105
00:09:27.799 --> 00:09:33.840
I let out a long, satisfying belch. Even then, Don
106
00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:38.519
Juan seems to still want me. Once we reach the
107
00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:42.519
suite at Strickfield In it doesn't take long for us
108
00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:46.720
to get naked. The two arm candies are watching us
109
00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:51.440
doing some serious fucking on the bed. He can't keep
110
00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.240
his hands off of my ass as I'm riding him
111
00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:59.159
like a bitch in heat. Suddenly the door bursts open
112
00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:02.879
and a want team rushes in. Two of them pull
113
00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:06.799
my naked ass off of Don Juan. As a Strickfield
114
00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:12.039
detective enters, don Juan is yelling in some language I
115
00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:16.399
really don't recognize it. Sure ain't Spanish, since I do
116
00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.279
speak that. Hey, what the hell? I shout at the
117
00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:25.320
cops as they start to arrest me. Don't I even
118
00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:30.600
get to get dressed first? Shit? The detective tells them
119
00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.679
to let me go. I want to talk to her alone.
120
00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:39.320
He points to the two arm candies. You can take
121
00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:44.759
them away. Once it's just the detective and naked me.
122
00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:50.440
He closes the door and faces me. You can get
123
00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:54.519
dressed now, Miranda. I laugh and give him a good
124
00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:59.759
look at me. What's the matter, Detective Kasmarak? Do I
125
00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:05.639
make make you nervous? I purr while sliding my thong
126
00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:10.360
back on. Kasmarak sits at the desk and faces me.
127
00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:14.320
I retrieve the camera I hid in the lampshade by
128
00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:18.960
the bed, and hand over the micro cassette more than
129
00:11:18.960 --> 00:11:23.480
it missible in court. Dear sir, enough there to convict
130
00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:28.759
de Louis de Marco for good. I knew exactly who
131
00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:34.720
don Juan was, and Kasmarak knows exactly who I am
132
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:45.399
and what I do. For the record, I ain't no hooker,
133
00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:49.200
and I didn't record De Marco and me fucking on
134
00:11:49.320 --> 00:11:55.080
the bed. I only hid the recorder there. Very very
135
00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.720
long story short. DeMarco took us bitches to his pad
136
00:11:59.799 --> 00:12:04.919
for after some drinks. Right in front of us, he
137
00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.919
pulls out his gun and kills one of his henchmen
138
00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:13.000
for skimming off the top. Those were his words. It's
139
00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:17.240
all on tape. I also slipped into his office and
140
00:12:17.399 --> 00:12:21.960
recorded his books. There's enough on that micro cassette to
141
00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:28.600
send DeMarco's ass to prison for life, hell for multiple lives.
142
00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:35.840
Kasmarak eyes my nearly naked body. Seriously, Miranda, why do
143
00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:39.799
you do it? Why do you risk your life for stories?
144
00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.679
Allow me to introduce myself. I am Miranda Mason Phillips,
145
00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:51.360
Ace reporter for the Strickfield Journal. People all over Feldner
146
00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:55.360
County and even in Eerie City and Shore City know
147
00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:59.440
my name. I've been on The Tonight Show and Sixty
148
00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:03.080
Minutes for some of the huge cases I've busted open,
149
00:13:03.919 --> 00:13:07.399
and De Louis de Marco is one of the biggest
150
00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:12.799
stories I've bagged. Yet. It doesn't take a rocket scientist
151
00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:14.879
to figure out if you want to make it big
152
00:13:14.960 --> 00:13:18.639
in this business, you gotta be willing to do absolutely
153
00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:24.759
anything to both get the big stories and remain relevant.
154
00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:29.480
You do that by taking the most serious of risks,
155
00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:33.840
including sleeping with a crime lord over and over again.
156
00:13:35.120 --> 00:13:38.440
In other words, this ain't the first time I used
157
00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:43.480
my body as a weapon. Hell, I even shot up heroin,
158
00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:48.720
snorted coke, and popped ecstasy while going under cover just
159
00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:53.679
to get headlines withdrawls can be hell, but it comes
160
00:13:53.720 --> 00:13:58.000
with the job. Other newspapers have been offering me big
161
00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:01.799
contracts and incentives to get me to come work for him,
162
00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:06.600
but this little village newspaper continues to keep me rolling
163
00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:11.000
in dough and benefits. Also, my editor doesn't give me
164
00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:15.799
any shit, not when Miranda Mason Phillips sells a shitload
165
00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:20.399
of papers. And on top of that, Strickfield's got major
166
00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:24.799
headlines flowing out of fountains here. For one thing, there's
167
00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:30.240
actually this giant Lady Spider, a creature with a human
168
00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:35.480
female's upper body and a spider's entire lower I proved
169
00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:38.559
she was real when I snapped multiple pictures of her.
170
00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:41.879
When my editor first wanted me to get those pictures,
171
00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:46.200
I said he was full of shit when he talked money. However,
172
00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:50.960
I went out and brought home the picks. Now what's
173
00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:55.480
going on with me? In Detective Kasmarak? Well, no, I
174
00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.679
ain't sleeping with him, but I sure wouldn't be opposed
175
00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.200
to it. Shortly after he transferred here from Erie City,
176
00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:05.559
he busted me when I went under cover and an
177
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:10.440
illegal pornography ring. Months later, he busted me again, thinking
178
00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:14.639
I was a prostitute at Strickfield University when a big
179
00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:19.159
drug bust went down. My editor vouched for me. Both times,
180
00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:24.080
Kasmarak and I got into some huge arguments. He loved
181
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:28.440
saying I was interfering in police business. I kept shoving
182
00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:32.200
the First Amendment in his face. When he threatened to
183
00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:37.320
arrest me again, I dared him to. Eventually we started
184
00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:41.120
working together. Now him arresting me is his way of
185
00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:45.080
getting me to safety so I can give him crucial evidence.
186
00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:49.519
Much like just now. He gets credit for the arrest,
187
00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:53.559
and I get the top story in the Strickfield Journal
188
00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:58.399
and any other papers that negotiate with mine to syndicate
189
00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:03.399
my stories. Why do you do it, Miranda, Kasmarak asks
190
00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:08.799
me again. I give him my wicked smile because I
191
00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.440
ain't got nothing else better to do. He shakes his
192
00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:17.120
head slowly as I finish getting dressed. When the coast
193
00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:21.399
is clear, Kasmarak drives me into downtown village to the
194
00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:24.919
home office. When I get out of the car, I
195
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.919
close the door and lean in the window until next time.
196
00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:36.159
Detective I purr. He sighs and shakes his head slowly.
197
00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.799
I back away from the car and head inside the
198
00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:45.320
Strickfield Journal just as it starts to snow. My editor,
199
00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:49.440
Josh Callers, sitting behind his desk. The look on his
200
00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:54.159
face says he's expecting something from me. I pull out
201
00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.360
my smartphone and remove the micro SD card. After I
202
00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.240
give it to him, he loads it up and looks
203
00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:07.079
my shit over. Yes, yes, good, Hell, yes, he looks
204
00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:10.559
at me now. Yeah. He may be my boss, but
205
00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:14.440
he treats me like a real friend. Why do you
206
00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:17.880
do it, Miranda. You're good enough to be the top
207
00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:23.240
newshound for USA Today or any paper you want, and
208
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:26.319
here you are still working for a little village rag
209
00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:31.000
like mine. He quickly holds up his hands. Believe me.
210
00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:34.960
I appreciate everything you do for my little paper. Hell,
211
00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:38.400
I was just printing village news before you came along,
212
00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:42.480
wanting a job, saying you had to start somewhere. So
213
00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:45.359
I take a chance on you, give you a job,
214
00:17:45.400 --> 00:17:49.880
and what do you do. You turn my little village
215
00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:55.440
paper into the biggest goddamn newspaper in the state of Ohio. Hell,
216
00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:57.960
we're shipping lots of papers to Erie City and Shore
217
00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:02.839
City and even outside of the state. Why me, Miranda
218
00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:10.759
suddenly the phone rings, Josh quickly answers it. Yeah, yeah,
219
00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:15.559
what's that you say? Are you serious? No, I'll get
220
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:19.880
my ACE reporter over their stat Josh slams the phone
221
00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:23.680
down and looks at me. Get that sexy ass of
222
00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:26.759
yours on the roof. Ernie's gonna fly you to Shore City.
223
00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:31.880
There's some mechanical monster running rampant there, and I want
224
00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:40.480
that story. I squeal like I just lost my cherry
225
00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:44.319
and haul ass to the roof Ernie Smith, our resident
226
00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:48.319
helicopter pilots waiting and ready to fly me wherever the
227
00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:52.799
boss says to even on Christmas Eve, and with snow
228
00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:57.200
coming down fast like he said, the paper has grown
229
00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:01.599
a lot since I joined the staff. Ernie's already getting
230
00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:05.039
the machine warmed up, and soon he's taking us up
231
00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:09.079
and on our way to Shore City. With all the
232
00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.640
amazing stories I get, you'd think my shit would be
233
00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:17.480
in the supermarket tabloids, right, Hell no, what I find
234
00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.960
is real. But you know what I always wanted since
235
00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:27.759
becoming an ACE reporter, I want the story the Holy Grail.
236
00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:31.640
I want to discover something so goddamn amazing it'll be
237
00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:38.319
my crowning achievement, my Swan song my life's work. Remember
238
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.559
I was the first reporter to uncover the mutant spider Chick.
239
00:19:43.240 --> 00:19:46.720
I snapped a picture of a teenage girl flying on clear,