Aug. 20, 2025

The Hellhowler - Demon Dogs, Dark Secrets, and a Deadly Summoning

The Hellhowler - Demon Dogs, Dark Secrets, and a Deadly Summoning
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A chilling case file unfolds when paranormal investigator James Becker is hired to help a frightened woman in the wealthy Heaven’s Hills development. But what begins as whispers of howls in the night quickly spirals into blood, betrayal, and the summoning of a hellish beast.

In this terrifying original horror story by Joe Solmo, the line between hunter and prey is shattered. Who is the true Hellhowler—and what sinister price must be paid when a demon dog prowls in the shadows?

Brace yourself for a tale of black magic, monstrous hounds, and the darkest corners of human desire.

The Hellhowler by Joe Solmo

🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!

🎉 Unlock exclusive bonus episodes and support the show on Patreon!
👉 WeeklySpooky.com/Join

📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!


🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Mark Shields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com

🎧 LISTEN NOW and subscribe for spine-tingling horror stories every week!

🎉 Unlock exclusive bonus episodes and support the show on Patreon!
👉 WeeklySpooky.com/Join

📬 Contact Us / Submit Your Horror Story!

🎵 Music by Ray Mattis 👉 Check out Ray’s incredible work here !
👨‍💼 Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
🎥 Produced by: Daniel Wilder
🌐 Explore more terrifying tales at: WeeklySpooky.com
WEBVTT

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A howl cuts through the night, deep guttural, not of

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this world. In the Dark Hills, blood is spilled, secrets faster,

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and something summoned is hungry for more. Can you possibly escape?

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What's that? You want to be scared? Come with me?

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He will experience tales over opera, ghosts and death. It

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is not recommended for.

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The week At Heart Heart listen, as in the dark

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it's more fun at that way way.

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This is Weekly Speaking.

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Hello, my spookies. It's Wednesday, and you know what that means.

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It's time for a little spooky in your weekly. I'm

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your host and narrator, Enrique Kuto, and we have a

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very very special treat for you tonight, a story that's

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extra meaty, a novella length piece of terror from Weekly

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Spooky original Joe Solmo. But before we get to that,

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I want to say a humongous thank you to you

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for listening to the program. You spookies that tune in

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every single week are like myself, desperate for Halloween every

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single day of the year, and I am happy to provide.

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And if you love what we're doing here at Weekly Spooky,

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make sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app then

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head to Weekly spook key dot com slash join, where

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you can support us directly for as little as one

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dollar a month to guarantee we keep going and going

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for another six years and beyond. You'll get two bonus

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shows every month, tons of exclusive audiobooks and creepypasta readings,

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and of course my undying gratitude just had to Weeklyspooky

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dot com slash join. But as for tonight, what if

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the howl you heard in the night wasn't from a

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wolf or even a dog, but from something far worse,

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a creature dragged up from the pit of hell, itself

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bound to a summoner's will with only one purpose to kill.

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Tonight's tale takes us to a house on the edge

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of wealth and ruin, where love turns to betrayal and

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the shadows hide teeth sharper than knives. So get cozy

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because this story starts right after this The Hell Howler

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by Joe Solmo from the files of James Becker Case

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number six zero two three, The Hell Howler. It was

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on April fifth that I was first contacted by the client,

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one Marlene Kraus. She came to my office on Church

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Street just after lunch. I had just eaten a pastrami sandwich,

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hard roll mustard. I could tell by her gorgeous green

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eyes darting around in fear that her lunch had been

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of the liquid kind. A woman after my own heart. However,

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it seemed to not have helped her nerves. I offered

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her a drink from the small fridge by the side

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of my desk for emergency purposes only. She said yes,

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so I popped the top of the bottle and handed

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it over to her before getting one for myself. Mister Becker,

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I know this is going to sound weird, she started.

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If I had a dime for every time I heard

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that sentence, I could have retired years ago. I don't

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know who I need to see to get paid, though,

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Please call me James, I said. I found it makes

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me seem less intimidating to be on a first name basis.

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I got a mug only a mother could love on

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a body that exercise has forgotten. My face might have

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been handsome once, but when you tussle with the paranormal

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like I do, you get the shit beat out of

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you a lot. I'd have to take my shoes off

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to count how many times I've had my nose broken

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by some cryptid. I subconsciously tugged my shirt down to

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make sure my beer belly was hidden from view. I

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could tell from her looks that something has gotten her scared.

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She stared at the bracelet on her wrist. It had

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a Celtic shield, notot used for protection, but I doubt

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she understood the significance. Not all of these cases end

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up with an epic showdown with the undead or bigfoot.

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Sometimes it's nothing, regular old bad guys doing bad guy shit.

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I haven't gotten a read on her at this point,

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so I sat back and let her tell her story

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as I enjoyed my post pastrami beer James, she said,

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and took a long pull from the bottle. Down at it,

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I could tell she wasn't used to slumming around with beer.

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She was a fine, brandy kind of gal. She took

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a moment to collect herself and looked up at me.

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I think I'm going to die. We are all going

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to die, I said, with the infamous Becker charm. That's

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how I get all the ladies. My compassion and the

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power to speak the wrong thing at the wrong time.

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Women love assholes and I am a fucking catch. I

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mean soon. I think I'm being hunted, she explained, and

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pushed a lock of her wavy brown hair back behind

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the cutest ear I've ever seen. I bet her shampoo

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smelled amazing. Hunted by what? I asked her? Taking a

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drink myself from the bottle, I didn't notice anything off

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with the flavor. People of refined taste have no taste.

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You know what I mean? I don't know. I don't

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know how to explain it. Last night at home, my

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husband and I, she started, Husband, I should throw her

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out of my office. I thought I couldn't be that cruel,

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could I? I mean, don't you go looking into my

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past for that answer? The answer I'm giving you now

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is a reluctant no. I guess I won't find my

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true love on this case either, maybe the next. What's

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the address address, she asked? Where do you live? I

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inquired with a raised eyebrow. Oh, we're over in Heaven's Hills,

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the new development, she answered, Of course she was. That

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was big money. I didn't think the places were open yet.

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Only the developer lived up there. It was a town

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over in Union. I haven't been that way in a while.

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There really isn't much else out there. I'll come out tonight,

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missus Kraus, just before dark. I'm guessing you are safe

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until nightfalls, I asked, nine times out of ten. Whatever

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paranormal issue, these cases have only operates under cover of night.

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Some are stronger after dark, some die in the sunlight,

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others just like the aesthetic. I won't know which I'm

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dealing with until I get out there and can snoop

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around a bit. How did you know my name? Don't

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you want to hear the details? She asked, confusedly. Is

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anyone else living over there yet? Or is it just

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you and your husband? The develop I'll get all the

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details tonight when I get there. I'll interview you and

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your husband. Once I have both stories, I can figure

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out what we're dealing with here. I am terribly sorry,

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but I have a very important client. I have an

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appointment with I kind of lied, kind of of course.

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Forgive me for barging in like this. I should have

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called and made an appointment, Marlene said as she stood up.

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I tried not to get caught gawking at those legs

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of hers as she made her way to my office

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door seven o K, I called out after her. Perfect,

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she replied, and when I looked up at her face,

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she was watching me. Damn it too slow on the

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eye withdrawal. It's been a while since I've been caught gawking.

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She was sharp. I admired that in my women. Thank you,

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mister Becker, I mean, James, I already feel better knowing

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you are on the case. I gave her an award

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winning smile until she closed the door. I finished off

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my bier, sat down and put my feet on my desk.

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Time for that appointment, I thought, and drifted off for

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a few hours. I needed my beauty sleep. I know

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what you're thinking, what an asshole, But let me explain.

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Since I was a kid, I could kind of feel

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the paranormal, catch glimpses of the things that lurk in

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your bedroom at night. Most people go their whole lives

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without seeing any of that shit. I've pretty much seen

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it all, and let me tell you it's fucking frightening.

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I don't get much sleep at night when those things

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like to do their business. I catnapped during the day

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just to get by. Oh and once those things know

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you can see them, they don't leave you the fuck alone.

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Even friendly ghosts get lonely and you are the only

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thing that can see them other than cats. Yeah, not

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a lot of downtime. Don't get me started on the

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darker beings.

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Don't go away weekly, spooky will be right back.

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After my nap, I hunted around for more info on

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the crouses. Sometimes good old detective work gets me all

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the information I need for a case, but in this

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instance they seemed squeaky clean. I don't like my rich

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people to be good too. Makes the world not fair.

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No Fauscian deal with the devil or stepping on the

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backs of others to get there. Sometimes life just doesn't

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make sense. I grabbed my keys and a fresh bottle

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from the mini fridge, with a mental note to restock

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that I know I won't remember until it was too late,

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and headed out the door. It was still cold out,

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not the frozen tundra of a Northeast winter, but a

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transition towards spring. I regretted not grabbing my coat about

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four seconds after getting in the car, but I refused

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to go back on principle. I drove up the long,

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steep dirt road leading to the development past the field

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of stumps that used to be a forest, and up

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and up I went until I was nearly at the

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top of Heavens Hill's namesake hill. There stood the only

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house that had actually been built up there. It was

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large and white and had caught, so you knew it

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was from money. It had a circular driveway, a two

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car attached garage, and a fountain in front that wasn't

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working yet. A well maintained frontage greeted me as I

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exited my ship box nineteen seventy eight Dodge Omni. People

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ask me how it still runs after all these years.

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It's part Dodge engineering, part owner love, part incantations, and

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the blood sacrifice of the mice that tried to winter

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in it or steal the dropped fries from under the seat.

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I tell them that usually makes them go away and

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talk to someone else. To be honest, I have no

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idea why it works, and I'm not questioning it. It's

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been paid off for a long time and still starts

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when it needs to. The door opened as the last

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sputters of the mostly replaced Mopar engine died out. A

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man stood at the entrance wearing a tux. I suddenly

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felt underdressed in the same stained T shirt. I met

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Missus Krausen earlier. Could you tell missus and mister Crouch

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that James Becker has arrived, I asked the butler. He

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gave me a particular look and motioned me inside. In

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the foyer, Marlene Krause waited, wearing a cocktail dress and

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holding a wineglass in her hand. Her brown, wavy hair

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surrounded her beautiful face and hung halfway down her torso

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It took me a moment to take my eyes off her.

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I could see the curve of her lips as a

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hint of a smile crossed it. She was amused by me. Dear,

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mister Becker is here, the man in the tuck said.

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I turned toward him. Oh you're mister Krause. I saw

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the tucks and thought I started to explain that I

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was the butler. He asked, a little annoyed. Well, yes,

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I said, unabashedly. I am sorry. We have an engagement

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we must attend tonight. We can give you about an hour,

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mister Becker before we must leave, he said. I was

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going to tell him to call me James, but fuck him.

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I didn't like him from the start, Oh, James, come

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sit with us and hear missus Krause said, and entered

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a room off the hall. It held several comfy looking

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sofas and a table with a bottle of booze. Make

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yourself a drink, she finished. I walked over to the

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table and eyed my choices. Some of these I had

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never heard of, and the ones I had I had

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never drunk. I chose one at random, something called knob Creek.

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I poured half a glass and joined them on the sofas.

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I had never sat on something so soft. I pulled

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a notepad from my pants pocket. I like the old

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school feel of writing down everything myself. I remember facts

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better that way. Cell phones are spotty at best out

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here anyway, I took a big gulp of the knob

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Creek and gave them a smile as they watched me.

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I'm pretty sure they didn't see my eye tear up.

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Let's start with names and occupations, I said, Marlen Kraus, housewife,

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John Kraus, land developer. They said, okay, John, Marlene, can

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you tell me what happened last night? Let's start with John.

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I asked, sure, John said, and straightened his tucks. We

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were walking on the nature trail after dinner to see

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the scenic beauty of Heaven's Hills. John began, you don't

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have to sell it to me, I said, Did your

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company make the trail? Not exactly. We found the trail

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when we were surveying it and made it wider and

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more accessible so the residence of Heaven's Hills would enjoy it. Anyway,

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it was after dinner and not too far from sunset,

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and we were near the top of the ridge to

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the south when a cold wind blew and we both

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felt like we were being watched. I stood up as

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I listened to John's story and walked over to the mantel.

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There was a small wolf figurine there, looking freshly carved.

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Had picked it up to examine it. Did you hear

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anything branches breaking or grunts? I asked, as I turned

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the figure over in my hand. Tell him about the roars,

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Marlene interrupted, not so much a roar as a howl,

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like a dog or a John explained wolf. I interrupted,

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showing them the figure. Yeah, it carried on the wind,

240
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but it was faint. I had stepped off the trail

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to take a quick leak, and I heard it it's

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hard to say for sure which direction it came from.

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John continued, There hasn't been a wolf around this area

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for a hundred years. I explained, and set the figure

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down on the mantle. I'm just telling you what I heard,

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Marlene said, with a pout. Sorry, I didn't mean to

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indicate I thought you were lying, I apologized. She still

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sat there beaute poudy. John was a lucky man, continue,

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I said to John. Soon after that, we decided to

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00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.039
head back, but we both kept looking over our shoulders.

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We realized we were walking faster than normal. Both of

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us felt like we were being followed. It was most unsettling.

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John said, Still no grunts or rocks being thrown, trees

254
00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:33.799
being hit by other trees in the distance. I asked,

255
00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:38.160
thinking I had an idea of what it might have been.

256
00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:43.680
You're not safe yet, weekly spooky will be right back.

257
00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:52.799
What do you think it is becker? John asked, Well,

258
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sometimes there are things in nature that don't like man's encroachment,

259
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things that can be territorial. I've seen a dozen sasquatch

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cases that start like yours, but they usually have rocks

261
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being thrown or other aggressive behavior. So far, you haven't

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actually seen anything, correct, I asked, no, nothing. James Marlene said, ah,

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she remembered my name. I may have floated off the

264
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floor just a little bit. I'll tell you what, Why

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00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.440
don't you two head out to your event that you're

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00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:37.799
so dressed up for, and I'll take a walk down

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this trail and see what I can find. We can

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reconvene in the morning. I told them be careful. James

269
00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:51.759
Marlene said, oh, if you fancy that figure, go ahead

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and take it. I don't want to think about wolves

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right now. I picked up the figurine again and told

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00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:04.200
them thanks, and slipped it into my pocket. Where did

273
00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:07.920
you get it, if I might ask, from a shop

274
00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:12.240
in town. A woman carves them herself. When we were

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driving around looking for a land to develop, we stopped

276
00:21:16.079 --> 00:21:19.359
in and thought it was a charming little shop. We

277
00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.880
picked it up as a souvenir of our faith in

278
00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:27.799
our investment and future, John explained, and then excused himself.

279
00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:32.519
Marlene walked up to me so close I could smell

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her shampoo. This time it was apple scented. I was

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00:21:36.920 --> 00:21:39.759
glad I was wearing glasses to keep my eyes from

282
00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:42.920
popping out of my head as I snuck a glance

283
00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:46.440
at the cleavage in front of me. Thank you, James.

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I feel better knowing you are on the case. Please,

285
00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:55.440
if there is anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask.

286
00:21:56.480 --> 00:22:00.440
It gained about one thousand degrees in that room. Swear

287
00:22:01.480 --> 00:22:05.000
I'll get this whole thing figured out. You have nothing

288
00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:09.319
to worry about. I'm a professional, I said, and down

289
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:12.599
the rest of the knob creek and placed my glass

290
00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:16.720
on the table. I'll have the butler take care of it,

291
00:22:17.319 --> 00:22:22.920
Marlene said, with a sultry smile. My face reddened, which

292
00:22:23.160 --> 00:22:26.519
I didn't think was possible since all my blood was

293
00:22:27.079 --> 00:22:31.720
differently located at the time. I found my way back

294
00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:39.000
out to the car to get some supplies. I grabbed

295
00:22:39.079 --> 00:22:44.160
my on the go pack, which included such occupational necessities

296
00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:49.519
as holy water, silvered blades, dowsing rods not the kind

297
00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:55.519
used for water, and various other stoppered bottles of various concoctions,

298
00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.880
and more modern day toys like a drone and a kin.

299
00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.640
Why an e reader, you may ask, well, when you

300
00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:08.480
need that one ancient tome to save the world, and

301
00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:11.799
you have mere minutes left to do so, you do

302
00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:14.519
not want to have left it behind at home base,

303
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.119
do you Besides, all these old books were heavy and

304
00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:22.839
not to mention a fire hazard. It sure is a

305
00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:25.920
pain in the ass to digitize some of those tomes,

306
00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:29.440
but it has saved my ass more than once when

307
00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:35.519
dealing with ancient pseudo deities and prophecy. I didn't expect

308
00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.400
to need it on the trail, but I tucked it

309
00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.839
into the front pocket anyway. I slung one of the

310
00:23:41.880 --> 00:23:46.359
straps over my shoulder, then the other, shifted the weight

311
00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:50.319
around until it was as comfortable as possible, and groaned.

312
00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:53.480
At the incline of the start of the trail, it

313
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:58.400
looked like it crested the hill behind the Krouse house. Ah,

314
00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:00.720
it didn't take long for me to get to the

315
00:24:00.759 --> 00:24:04.240
wooded part of the trail. Most of the development was

316
00:24:04.319 --> 00:24:08.640
happening further down, with the Crouses building their mansion to

317
00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:13.119
lord over all below. I did notice that the path

318
00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:17.200
was wide and smooth, and saw skid steer tracks on

319
00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:21.519
the pack dirt. The occasional uprooted tree lay next to

320
00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.640
the path and gave me a great place to sit

321
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:28.079
and catch my breath. Even if it was just a

322
00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:33.039
modest incline, I had vanquished it was quiet up here,

323
00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:36.759
and I could feel a slight breeze, even though it

324
00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:41.240
wasn't much above freezing. It was welcomed on my sweating skin.

325
00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:46.200
Occasional bird chirps and small sticks breaking I could make

326
00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:52.000
out through my own labored breathing typical woods noise. Nothing

327
00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:55.400
to be frightened about. I have spent many a night

328
00:24:55.480 --> 00:24:59.759
in the woods hunting the paranormal, and I don't spook easily.

329
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:05.240
Once I could concentrate, I closed my eyes and focused

330
00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:09.920
in on my gift, looking for signs of anything out

331
00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.960
here in the woods that might be from another realm

332
00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:19.400
or a cryptozoologist's dream, but felt nothing. I decided I

333
00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.640
would go down a bit further, at least to where

334
00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:26.680
the Crouses had said they got the eerie feeling. Before

335
00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:30.000
I headed back to the car, I took a sip

336
00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:32.880
from the half empty water bottle I found on the

337
00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:37.000
floor of the dodge. It was mostly refreshing and not

338
00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:41.240
gross at all. I shouldered my pack and moved a

339
00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:45.480
little further along the path it had mostly flattened out.

340
00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:51.200
To my relief, I found the hike actually enjoyable, even

341
00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:54.279
if my body was wondering why I was putting it

342
00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:58.839
through the torture, I decided to ignore my lungs and

343
00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:04.079
beating heart and just enjoy the view. That's when I

344
00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:10.640
crossed it. What it exactly was, I didn't know a

345
00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:15.119
boundary of sorts. I could feel the creepiness fixating on

346
00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.440
me as I scanned the woods for any sign of

347
00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:24.640
life or even unlife. There are many boundaries in the world.

348
00:26:25.400 --> 00:26:29.559
Some are easily defined, like rivers or the Great Wall

349
00:26:29.640 --> 00:26:35.599
of China. Others only certain people can perceive, like thresholds

350
00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:39.960
and lay lines. I gave myself a moment to try

351
00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:44.640
to identify the energy. Was it natural? Was it a

352
00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:49.079
cult related? It was slippery, really hard to get a

353
00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:53.960
bead on. Just then I heard feet crunching the sand

354
00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:58.759
on the trail. I saw an older woman coming towards me.

355
00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.240
He had one of those taco bell dogs on a leash.

356
00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:07.160
Its bug eyes looked up at me and it started

357
00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:11.960
to bark. d'Artagnan stop it, She called out to her pet,

358
00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:15.640
giving a gentle tug on his leash. It gave a

359
00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:20.519
little growl, making eye contact with me before sitting next

360
00:27:20.519 --> 00:27:24.960
to her leg. Could this be the howl the crouses

361
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:25.440
had heard?

362
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.839
Did you hear that. Better check the locks on your

363
00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:33.319
doors weekly. Spooky. We'll be right back.

364
00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:39.599
Hello there, Thanks for calling him off, I said, with

365
00:27:39.680 --> 00:27:44.240
a smile. My name is James Becker, I said, and

366
00:27:44.359 --> 00:27:48.319
held out my hand. The woman looked down at one

367
00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:52.240
hand holding the leash and the other an old, gnarled

368
00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:56.960
walking stick, then back to me. My hand retreated into

369
00:27:57.000 --> 00:28:03.799
my pocket in embarrassment. The woman responded, are you from

370
00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:10.400
the development Heaven's Hills? Heavens No, I joked. She didn't

371
00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:13.359
think I was funny. I wish I was back at

372
00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:18.119
my office with another pastrami sandwich and beer. They took

373
00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:21.640
the nature trail and widened it. I've been walking it

374
00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:24.759
for years. It was always wide enough for me and

375
00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:29.079
d'Artagnan before. Don't see why they had to improve it,

376
00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:34.359
she said. I don't know either. You walk this trail often,

377
00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:40.839
I asked, for years, she replied, coldly, so, you said.

378
00:28:41.559 --> 00:28:44.559
I didn't feel anything coming off of either her or

379
00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:48.519
her dog, at least nothing that stood out more than

380
00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:52.559
the boundary, which was still making my senses go haywire.

381
00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.440
The trail used to lead to that lake down there,

382
00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:00.279
through the woods. I used to go and feed the dustucks,

383
00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:05.880
She explained. I thought bread was bad for them, I said,

384
00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:10.839
trying to engage her, I said, nothing about bread. If

385
00:29:10.839 --> 00:29:13.200
you're not from the development, then why are you on

386
00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:17.480
the trail? She asked? The crous has hired me to

387
00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:22.400
investigate a possible dangerous animal on the trail. They said

388
00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:24.880
they felt like they were being followed the other night.

389
00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:28.119
Do you think d'Artagnan here might have gotten off his

390
00:29:28.279 --> 00:29:30.839
leash and came after them with all the fury of

391
00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:36.079
a crunch wrap supreme, I asked, He never leaves my side,

392
00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:42.960
Terror responded, she was a real talker. Say how much

393
00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:46.960
further does this trail go before turning back toward Heaven's Hills?

394
00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:51.519
I asked about a mile. It dips down the other

395
00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:54.440
side of the ridge for a bit, then climbs back

396
00:29:54.519 --> 00:30:01.119
up behind where they built their house. She answered, more uphill. Great.

397
00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:05.279
I think I'll just turn back, I said, and slipped

398
00:30:05.279 --> 00:30:09.759
a crystal just off the trail. I didn't think she noticed.

399
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:13.200
I'll come back for it tomorrow and see what kind

400
00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:16.559
of energy it absorbed. It might help me figure out

401
00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:20.680
what kind of boundary this is and what exactly I

402
00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:24.599
am dealing with. Have a good one, I said, and

403
00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:28.279
gave the woman a wave. I turned to go back

404
00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:32.519
to my car. I felt a hundred times better after

405
00:30:32.599 --> 00:30:37.519
crossing that boundary again. Just as I turned a curve

406
00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:41.039
in the path, I caught the woman in my peripheral.

407
00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:45.839
She had not moved from that spot and was watching me.

408
00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.920
What a weirdo, I thought. I gave her another wave

409
00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:54.519
and a smile before starting the descent down to the

410
00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:59.480
Krause house. She never waved back. She probably thought the

411
00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:04.440
same of me. Could she be the culprit? Maybe it

412
00:31:04.599 --> 00:31:07.839
wasn't a cryptid that chased them, Maybe it was some

413
00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:12.519
witch that marked a piece of land to chase off developers.

414
00:31:13.079 --> 00:31:17.440
She sure was crabby enough. Well, that's not fair. There

415
00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:20.359
are plenty of witches I know that are pleasant to

416
00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:23.640
be around. I got back to the car and through

417
00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:27.000
the pack in the hatchback of the Omni. I had

418
00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:32.240
some leads to start, like what is that boundary? Will

419
00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:35.640
the town property records show me something there that might help?

420
00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:41.039
Do my spiritual friends know this terra? Did the figurine

421
00:31:41.079 --> 00:31:44.279
fit into the equation? Do I have any chance with

422
00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:48.400
missus Kraus? Sadly, I already knew the answer to the

423
00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:54.200
last one a resounding no. Maybe when I write my memoirs, though,

424
00:31:54.960 --> 00:32:04.400
maybe then I can pencil it in. I slept in

425
00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:07.640
the next morning, my head felt like it had been

426
00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:12.480
kicked in. I searched around for my glasses, which happened

427
00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:15.480
to be on the top of my head, not sure

428
00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:19.119
how they didn't get crushed last night. I made my

429
00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:23.240
way through the empty bottles and open ancient texts to

430
00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:26.799
the bathroom and took a piss in the dark. My

431
00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:30.839
eyes weren't ready for the daylight yet. I made my

432
00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:33.559
way to the fridge and found a gatorade in there.

433
00:32:34.400 --> 00:32:37.480
It looks like drunk me was thinking of the future.

434
00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:42.079
I thanked myself and drank it down, hoping it would

435
00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:46.039
curb the hangover a little bit. On my desk I

436
00:32:46.119 --> 00:32:50.880
found the drunken scribblings of a half crazy paranormal investigator.

437
00:32:51.640 --> 00:32:55.119
Good thing I could read my own handwriting. I picked

438
00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:59.400
it up and commanded my eyes to focus. It took

439
00:32:59.480 --> 00:33:04.920
a few more for them to listen find answers to case.

440
00:33:06.160 --> 00:33:10.279
Sometimes I really am proud of myself. I popped on

441
00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:13.519
the TV volume on mute as I waited for the

442
00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:17.960
hangover to subside. I woke up again about two in

443
00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:21.240
the afternoon and realized it had been a day or

444
00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:24.960
two since I had showered. I went into the bathroom

445
00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:30.119
and cleaned myself up, made myself human again, even took

446
00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:33.160
the time to shave. It had been at least a

447
00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:36.839
week since I'd done that. I read over my notes

448
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:40.799
taken at the Crouse's and headed out the door. I

449
00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:44.200
had a few stops to hit this afternoon, and the

450
00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:47.519
day was getting away from me. Once I had gotten

451
00:33:47.519 --> 00:33:51.440
a fresh sandwich in beer from Herschel's Deli, I drove

452
00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:54.400
over to Union to check out the shop that sold

453
00:33:54.440 --> 00:33:58.559
the figurines. I didn't really get a sense of anything

454
00:33:58.640 --> 00:34:01.640
from the wolf, but it was better to be safe

455
00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:06.160
than sorry. I sat in the omni finishing my sandwich

456
00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:11.159
and beer before heading over to the shop, Casey's Curios

457
00:34:11.360 --> 00:34:14.800
it was called. I opened the door and a little

458
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:18.559
bell rang. Every step I took on The old wooden

459
00:34:18.599 --> 00:34:23.519
floor creaked ominously, and I wondered how far a fall

460
00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:28.239
into the basement actually was as I scanned the cluttered room.

461
00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:32.960
In most of these kinds of places, you will find

462
00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:37.719
some kind of artifact giving off energy. People who aren't

463
00:34:37.760 --> 00:34:41.800
perceptive to that kind of thing might still feel uneasy

464
00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:45.719
and decide to donate or sell an item without knowing

465
00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:50.760
the why. A few hit me right away, but nothing

466
00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:55.159
that seemed in any way related to the case. I

467
00:34:55.239 --> 00:34:59.679
found the display of carved figurines and gave them more scrutiny.

468
00:35:00.119 --> 00:35:03.920
As I heard the creaking coming from behind me. Find

469
00:35:04.039 --> 00:35:08.840
something you like? Came the voice from behind me. I

470
00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:13.960
turned and was surprised to see a familiar face.

471
00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:20.679
A sh it was only the wind, your safe, weekly spooky,

472
00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:24.719
We'll be right back, Tara.

473
00:35:24.760 --> 00:35:30.320
Was it, I asked? It was? And still is, she said,

474
00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:34.840
as she passed me and went behind the counter. Where

475
00:35:34.920 --> 00:35:39.519
is d'Artagnan not a great watchdog, eh, I joked, Or

476
00:35:40.119 --> 00:35:43.920
at least I thought I did. You couldn't tell from

477
00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:48.239
her reaction At the vet found a tick on him.

478
00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:52.400
Getting it checked out, Tara replied, with all the warmth

479
00:35:52.440 --> 00:35:57.559
of the Arctic circle. Well, I am sorry to hear that. Anyway,

480
00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.480
As I said yesterday, I was looking into some wild

481
00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:05.159
animals up in Heaven's Hills for the crouses, and I

482
00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:10.599
found this in their study, I said, producing the wolf figurine.

483
00:36:10.800 --> 00:36:14.880
And you think that was following them? They could probably

484
00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:21.199
outrun something so small. She asked me what a comedian well.

485
00:36:21.280 --> 00:36:24.480
I found it curious that they had a wolf figurine

486
00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:27.679
on their mantle and said they had heard howling on

487
00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:30.519
the wind. I thought I would check out where the

488
00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:34.679
figurine came from. I replied, let me know if any

489
00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:38.719
of these make a sound, I'll charge another five bucks.

490
00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:42.480
Tara said and opened a shipping box that had been

491
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:46.320
on the counter. She pulled a locket out and set

492
00:36:46.360 --> 00:36:50.719
it down. I could feel the energy emitting from it.

493
00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:55.679
That's a nice locket, I said, focusing more on it.

494
00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:59.599
Sometimes it was hard when there were other things around,

495
00:37:00.280 --> 00:37:03.800
like the boundary. Last night, I put the other items

496
00:37:03.840 --> 00:37:06.880
out of mind using an exercise I learned when I

497
00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:10.679
was little, and focused my attention in front of me.

498
00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:17.199
I was surprised to find two distinct aurs. One was

499
00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:21.920
from the locket, and it screamed of divination magic. It

500
00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:26.039
was used recently to find someone. I caught glimpses of

501
00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:29.679
a woman's face, but it flashed by too fast for

502
00:37:29.800 --> 00:37:34.679
me to see. Wonder who sent that to Tara. Usually

503
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.000
when someone with the talent finds an item, they don't

504
00:37:39.079 --> 00:37:43.199
let it go unless they were asking a huge favor

505
00:37:43.239 --> 00:37:47.440
of someone, and they traded a magical item for said favor.

506
00:37:48.679 --> 00:37:53.400
The other aura was coming from Tera herself. I tuned

507
00:37:53.440 --> 00:37:58.119
into that she was a dabbler. She wasn't very powerful,

508
00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:02.159
but she did indeed dabble in magic. There was some

509
00:38:02.239 --> 00:38:06.760
residual magic coming from her, now faint, it had been

510
00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:10.480
a few days since she had tried anything. It had

511
00:38:10.519 --> 00:38:15.440
the smell of summoning magic. With dabblers sometimes they get

512
00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:19.480
the idea but not the nuance of what they are doing.

513
00:38:20.559 --> 00:38:23.280
She could have been trying to summon a demon or

514
00:38:23.519 --> 00:38:26.719
a lost loved one in a seance, even though that

515
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:30.159
isn't the proper way to do it. Did they give

516
00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:34.480
you that to return? Tara asked, No, they loaned it

517
00:38:34.519 --> 00:38:37.960
to me. I replied, do you remember when they were

518
00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:41.760
in here, mister? I get a lot of people coming

519
00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:46.079
and going weirdos. I remember, like people asking me if

520
00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:50.599
my figurines can howl. But a tourist couple a thousand

521
00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:57.239
of those walked through my shop every summer. Tara explained, ouch, Well,

522
00:38:57.800 --> 00:39:01.079
thank you for your time, I said, and headed for

523
00:39:01.159 --> 00:39:05.960
the door, not going to buy anything. She called after me.

524
00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:09.119
I knew she was just trying to guilt me into

525
00:39:09.159 --> 00:39:13.320
buying something, and I am a sucker, so it worked.

526
00:39:14.199 --> 00:39:17.039
I remembered her story about the ducks in the lake

527
00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:21.239
and picked up a duck figurine. I slipped a crystal

528
00:39:21.360 --> 00:39:25.559
under the display, covering the move with my back to Tara.

529
00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:30.039
Fifteen bucks, she said, as I placed the figurine duck

530
00:39:30.119 --> 00:39:34.440
on the counter and put her hand out open palm.

531
00:39:34.880 --> 00:39:37.880
I reached into my wallet and slapped her at twenty.

532
00:39:38.800 --> 00:39:42.679
Keep the change in case it quacks, I said, and

533
00:39:42.800 --> 00:39:47.440
turned back towards the door. Nothing. The woman has no

534
00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:51.679
sense of humor. The day had really gotten away from me.

535
00:39:52.280 --> 00:39:55.599
The sun was going to go down soon, just enough

536
00:39:55.639 --> 00:39:58.440
time to go get my crystal on the trail and

537
00:39:58.519 --> 00:40:02.239
head over to Kraus's. I set the duck figurine on

538
00:40:02.320 --> 00:40:06.159
the seat next to me and headed up to Heaven's Hills.

539
00:40:07.079 --> 00:40:10.000
I got to the boundary just as the sun dipped

540
00:40:10.039 --> 00:40:13.320
behind the hills. It hit me like a ton of

541
00:40:13.320 --> 00:40:16.960
bricks again, and in the fading light, I had to

542
00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:21.079
use my cell phone's flashlight to find the crystal. It

543
00:40:21.199 --> 00:40:24.360
was clear when I dropped it in the leaves. It

544
00:40:24.440 --> 00:40:29.039
was now striped red and black. That's not a good

545
00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:32.920
sign red and black are the dominion of the abyss.

546
00:40:33.639 --> 00:40:36.519
All the levels of hell from any religion you can

547
00:40:36.559 --> 00:40:41.079
think of, belongs there. You add that to summoning magic

548
00:40:41.119 --> 00:40:45.039
aura from earlier, and you usually get yourself a demon.

549
00:40:46.159 --> 00:40:49.199
Why couldn't it have been a sasquatch? I had a

550
00:40:49.239 --> 00:40:51.960
bottle of pheromones on me to get a wild, horny

551
00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:56.239
teenage squatch to follow me farther from humanity and deeper

552
00:40:56.239 --> 00:41:00.000
into the woods primordial. That would have been an easy

553
00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:05.679
But nope, it has to be a goddamned demon. The

554
00:41:05.760 --> 00:41:10.639
thing about demons is they are tricky. Was the summoning

555
00:41:10.719 --> 00:41:14.719
magic around Tera because she was summoning a demon? Or

556
00:41:15.760 --> 00:41:19.480
was it because she was summoned? Did the aura being

557
00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:22.440
faint mean it was strong on an object in her

558
00:41:22.480 --> 00:41:28.400
shop and rubbed off? Either way, the boundary had hellish energy,

559
00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:31.119
and I needed to step out of it to think

560
00:41:31.199 --> 00:41:35.440
without its negative energy bombarding me. I made my way

561
00:41:35.559 --> 00:41:39.280
down the trail about seventy feet or so, far enough

562
00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:43.320
to think straight, but still within sight of the boundary's position.

563
00:41:44.440 --> 00:41:47.719
I twirled the crystal in my hands as if looking

564
00:41:47.760 --> 00:41:51.159
it over for answers, when truly there was no more

565
00:41:51.239 --> 00:41:55.719
information it could give me. I pocketed it and headed

566
00:41:55.760 --> 00:41:59.320
down the trail toward the crouses. I could see the

567
00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:02.000
porch light through the trees when I felt a twitch

568
00:42:02.079 --> 00:42:07.840
of magical energy, then heard a scream. I ran as

569
00:42:07.920 --> 00:42:10.800
fast as my out of shape bulk could move, and

570
00:42:10.840 --> 00:42:13.679
it was only thirty seconds or so before my foot

571
00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:17.440
hit the boards of the porch. Marlene was laying on

572
00:42:17.480 --> 00:42:21.840
the floor clutching her arm. I could see the crimson

573
00:42:21.960 --> 00:42:26.760
flow from between her fingers, just above her bracelet. John

574
00:42:26.920 --> 00:42:31.239
was in an Adirondack chair. He too was clutching himself

575
00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:37.519
as blood flowed. What happened, I asked, looking over the scene.

576
00:42:37.559 --> 00:42:41.480
It attacked us, John called out. I pulled his hand

577
00:42:41.519 --> 00:42:45.400
away from his left forearm. There were deep punctures there

578
00:42:45.760 --> 00:42:50.880
and scratches defensive wounds from an animal attack. I could

579
00:42:50.880 --> 00:42:54.239
feel the heat coming from the wound, and steam rose

580
00:42:54.320 --> 00:42:58.239
from the crimson ribbons of flesh. It didn't feel that

581
00:42:58.360 --> 00:43:02.239
cold out to cause steam from warm body. I grabbed

582
00:43:02.239 --> 00:43:06.639
my handkerchief and flask from my bag and wrapped his arm,

583
00:43:07.360 --> 00:43:11.880
then turned my attention to Marlene. What was it? I

584
00:43:11.960 --> 00:43:16.239
asked them. It was too dark to see, but it

585
00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:20.119
definitely was some kind of animal. We heard the howl

586
00:43:20.199 --> 00:43:24.599
again just before Marlene came out with the drinks, John said,

587
00:43:24.840 --> 00:43:30.639
pointing at the spilled tray and glasses on the porch floor. Interesting.

588
00:43:31.480 --> 00:43:33.840
I didn't hear anything, and I was just up the

589
00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:38.079
trail over there, I said, as sure as hell felt something,

590
00:43:38.159 --> 00:43:41.000
though it was too quick to get a fix on.

591
00:43:42.519 --> 00:43:46.800
More scares to come weekly, Spooky, We'll be right back.

592
00:43:49.800 --> 00:43:53.840
Those cuts would scar up severe. I treated her wound

593
00:43:53.880 --> 00:43:58.519
the same way and looked around for evidence. It hit

594
00:43:58.599 --> 00:44:01.920
me from behind and landed right on John. I got

595
00:44:01.960 --> 00:44:05.679
my arms up to protect my face, Marlene said. As

596
00:44:05.719 --> 00:44:09.599
I surveyed the scene. On the railing, I found a

597
00:44:09.639 --> 00:44:13.519
tuft of black hairs. I quickly grabbed a baggie from

598
00:44:13.559 --> 00:44:17.519
my pack and collected it with tweezers. I dropped the

599
00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:20.400
baggie on the porch and bent to pick it up.

600
00:44:21.480 --> 00:44:25.480
When I did, I noticed the prince on the wood.

601
00:44:26.039 --> 00:44:29.239
I took out my phone and snapped a few picks.

602
00:44:29.719 --> 00:44:34.760
What is it, Marlene asked, Prince of our suspect, I said,

603
00:44:35.199 --> 00:44:38.960
looking at the canine footprints burned into the wooden porch.

604
00:44:40.079 --> 00:44:43.559
How many in the universe could leave Prince like these.

605
00:44:43.639 --> 00:44:49.840
You ask, there is a very short list a hell hound. Well,

606
00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:53.800
now we know what was summoned. The question now is

607
00:44:54.679 --> 00:44:59.679
why what did TA have against John and Marlene Kraus?

608
00:45:00.559 --> 00:45:04.639
The development would be my first guess. Usually that's all

609
00:45:04.679 --> 00:45:08.199
the guests I need. I'm not being conceited here, I'm

610
00:45:08.719 --> 00:45:12.559
just good at my job. Summoning a hell hound takes

611
00:45:12.599 --> 00:45:17.920
a specialist, a long time practitioner, not just some curious

612
00:45:18.000 --> 00:45:21.599
teens like you see in a horror movie. This person

613
00:45:21.639 --> 00:45:25.840
would need years of training from knowledgeable people, a cult

614
00:45:26.000 --> 00:45:29.440
or sect hidden away, and I didn't know of any

615
00:45:29.480 --> 00:45:33.960
around here. That doesn't mean they don't exist, just that

616
00:45:34.119 --> 00:45:40.440
I was unaware. So is Tara my hell howler, the

617
00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:44.880
person that brought this beast here? Or is there another

618
00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.440
player I haven't met yet? I would say intriguing, But

619
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:53.760
what I really would be thinking is, for fuck's sake,

620
00:45:54.079 --> 00:46:03.039
why can't these cases ever be easy? The next day

621
00:46:03.159 --> 00:46:07.719
I slept in sensing a pattern. This time, I wasn't

622
00:46:07.760 --> 00:46:11.800
just up all night drinking. In fact, last night I

623
00:46:11.880 --> 00:46:14.800
was up all night drinking and reading up on hell

624
00:46:14.840 --> 00:46:19.719
hounds and how to stop them. There was surprisingly limited

625
00:46:19.800 --> 00:46:23.519
documentation on them, even though myths of them have been

626
00:46:23.519 --> 00:46:29.800
around since antiquity. Before starting my binge a hem reading,

627
00:46:30.599 --> 00:46:33.440
I dropped in with an old friend to learn more

628
00:46:33.519 --> 00:46:37.440
about the Hell Howler. Madam Stacy made most of her

629
00:46:37.480 --> 00:46:42.599
money telling fortunes at Renaissance fairs, psychic fairs, and craft shows,

630
00:46:43.039 --> 00:46:46.599
as well as other events. But she was the real deal,

631
00:46:47.320 --> 00:46:50.920
unlike most of them on that circuit, since she had

632
00:46:50.960 --> 00:46:53.760
been around and seen a lot of things, and much

633
00:46:53.880 --> 00:46:57.400
like me, found steady work here with all the conduits

634
00:46:57.400 --> 00:47:01.199
of the paranormal that seemed to intersect in our little

635
00:47:01.239 --> 00:47:04.800
slice of America. I pulled out my phone and opened

636
00:47:04.800 --> 00:47:07.719
the picture I took of one of Madam Stacy's books.

637
00:47:08.559 --> 00:47:12.679
She wouldn't let me touch them, let alone borrow them, which,

638
00:47:12.960 --> 00:47:16.679
to be honest, is probably a good thing. That is

639
00:47:16.800 --> 00:47:19.840
the other reason for the kindle. I can't keep a

640
00:47:19.920 --> 00:47:23.199
book's binding intact for more than a week, no matter

641
00:47:23.239 --> 00:47:27.760
how careful I was with them, they just disintegrate under

642
00:47:27.760 --> 00:47:31.599
my care. I pinched the screen and zoomed in on

643
00:47:31.679 --> 00:47:36.519
the left column of the page. Hell Howler a specific

644
00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:41.199
spellcaster with a knack for summoning from the abyss. This

645
00:47:41.360 --> 00:47:45.960
person can imbue their emotions into their magic asking for

646
00:47:46.039 --> 00:47:51.039
help from the lower planes. Powerful hell howlers can summon

647
00:47:51.159 --> 00:47:55.079
up to class five demons. If they work in tandem,

648
00:47:55.320 --> 00:47:59.559
a coven of hell howlers could summon even more powerful entities.

649
00:48:00.679 --> 00:48:03.079
There is a rumor of a shadow mass that can

650
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:06.719
be conducted with ninety nine hell howlers to draw a

651
00:48:06.800 --> 00:48:11.360
Prince of Hell to the summoning circle to answer three questions.

652
00:48:12.360 --> 00:48:17.440
As with any summoning ritual, if done incorrectly or without

653
00:48:17.480 --> 00:48:21.199
the right amount of power, control of the summoned entity

654
00:48:21.760 --> 00:48:25.920
will falter, and in most cases it will turn on

655
00:48:26.000 --> 00:48:31.079
the summoner. Found in several cultures, many use their powers

656
00:48:31.119 --> 00:48:36.639
for political assassinations or shows of power. Cultures with blood

657
00:48:36.760 --> 00:48:41.719
rituals and human sacrifices are commonplaces to find hell howlers.

658
00:48:42.599 --> 00:48:48.239
Known hell howlers have been found among the Aztecs, Canaanites, Celts,

659
00:48:48.280 --> 00:48:53.199
and Germanic peoples. For example, below was a picture of

660
00:48:53.239 --> 00:48:56.599
a woman in an open robe with her arms in

661
00:48:56.639 --> 00:48:59.679
the air, in the center of a magic circle. In

662
00:48:59.719 --> 00:49:03.840
front of her was a tornado of flames with sinister

663
00:49:04.079 --> 00:49:09.079
eyes looking back at her. Well, that didn't really tell

664
00:49:09.119 --> 00:49:12.280
me what to do to stop one I guess I'll

665
00:49:12.280 --> 00:49:15.360
have to throw the kitchen sink at it. When I confronted,

666
00:49:16.400 --> 00:49:19.519
the kitchen sink is what I call a concoction of

667
00:49:19.639 --> 00:49:26.039
all the usual monster killers. Holy water, wolf's bane, iron supplements,

668
00:49:26.079 --> 00:49:30.239
and minced garlic are the main ingredients. Smells like shit,

669
00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:34.320
but it gets the job done most of the time.

670
00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:38.360
I rifled through my books on ways to protect Marlene

671
00:49:38.400 --> 00:49:42.239
from the summoned beast, made a quick list, and headed

672
00:49:42.320 --> 00:49:46.400
back to Madame Stacy for the items I didn't have myself.

673
00:49:47.440 --> 00:49:51.400
Having hair from the beast provided us with some material

674
00:49:51.519 --> 00:49:54.480
to make a charm out of. In a perfect world,

675
00:49:54.559 --> 00:49:58.000
that should be enough, but since we don't know who

676
00:49:58.079 --> 00:50:02.599
summoned it, there really was no telling. Madam Stacy and

677
00:50:02.639 --> 00:50:05.400
I worked on the charm for most of the afternoon

678
00:50:05.920 --> 00:50:09.800
before I realized I had not eaten anything today. My

679
00:50:09.920 --> 00:50:14.400
stomach groaned its displeasure. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

680
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:18.400
I asked Madam Stacy as she looked up from the charm.

681
00:50:19.000 --> 00:50:23.639
My stomach had interrupted her spell. You go grab us

682
00:50:23.679 --> 00:50:26.280
a couple of sandwiches so I can finish this in peace,

683
00:50:26.920 --> 00:50:30.480
she said. I had only interrupted her a few times

684
00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:34.960
with questions, what do you want, I asked the mystic,

685
00:50:35.320 --> 00:50:38.199
as I watched a woman at the front window peeking in.

686
00:50:39.119 --> 00:50:42.239
Madame Stacy put a closed sign up so we could

687
00:50:42.280 --> 00:50:48.119
get this done before tonight. PASTRAMI hard roll mustard, she said,

688
00:50:48.559 --> 00:50:52.400
and went back to work. I should propose right now,

689
00:50:53.280 --> 00:50:56.800
if only she were a little younger. She was older

690
00:50:56.840 --> 00:51:00.119
than the omni. I slipped out of the side door,

691
00:51:00.199 --> 00:51:04.559
not only because that was where the aforementioned shitbox was parked,

692
00:51:05.119 --> 00:51:08.199
but this way I didn't have to confront the customer

693
00:51:08.320 --> 00:51:12.159
at the door. I'd much rather confront an angry ghoul

694
00:51:12.320 --> 00:51:17.079
feasting on corpses in the local cemetery than deal with living,

695
00:51:17.280 --> 00:51:21.320
breathing people. They're so much harder to get a handle on,

696
00:51:22.039 --> 00:51:24.360
what with their schemes and lies.

697
00:51:26.480 --> 00:51:30.360
You're not safe yet, weekly Spooky will be right back.

698
00:51:33.559 --> 00:51:36.519
I pulled out onto the street and headed the few

699
00:51:36.559 --> 00:51:40.360
blocks west to the deli. Yeah, I could have walked,

700
00:51:40.400 --> 00:51:44.559
but this was more efficient. I walked into the deli

701
00:51:44.639 --> 00:51:47.960
a hero. They thought something had happened to me because

702
00:51:47.960 --> 00:51:51.320
they haven't seen me yet today. That says a lot

703
00:51:51.360 --> 00:51:55.239
more about me than it does their friendliness. I think.

704
00:51:56.400 --> 00:51:59.440
When I told them I needed too, they all made

705
00:51:59.519 --> 00:52:04.320
mocking faces, which to me said, whoae, look at the

706
00:52:04.320 --> 00:52:09.559
big boy getting two sandwiches. They didn't believe me when

707
00:52:09.559 --> 00:52:12.400
I said one was for a friend, even when I

708
00:52:12.480 --> 00:52:16.599
got two drinks. Maybe I'll see if Madame Stacy can

709
00:52:16.599 --> 00:52:19.840
put a minor curse on them, maybe make all their

710
00:52:19.880 --> 00:52:24.320
wives grow mustaches or something. I grabbed the bag and

711
00:52:24.519 --> 00:52:28.119
was back at the shop. Within twenty minutes, Stacy had

712
00:52:28.159 --> 00:52:32.760
finished the charm for Marlene to wear a necklace. It

713
00:52:32.840 --> 00:52:37.360
also had the Celtic shield nott like Marlene's bracelet. We

714
00:52:37.480 --> 00:52:40.760
finished our late lunch as we went over the defenses

715
00:52:41.239 --> 00:52:43.519
I was going to put up in the Krause's home.

716
00:52:44.400 --> 00:52:47.559
I was running out of time. I wanted to stop

717
00:52:47.599 --> 00:52:50.760
over at Terra's shop again to get a better feel

718
00:52:50.840 --> 00:52:54.079
on her and what talent she might have with the

719
00:52:54.119 --> 00:52:59.119
magical arts. With a reluctant hug the only payment beyond

720
00:52:59.119 --> 00:53:02.639
the sandwich Madame Stacy wanted. I was on my way

721
00:53:02.719 --> 00:53:06.079
to Tara's shop. I should get there in time to

722
00:53:06.159 --> 00:53:09.840
ask her some questions. I got to start setting an

723
00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:14.239
alarm so I don't sleep the days away. I usually

724
00:53:14.280 --> 00:53:17.559
fight the evil at night, but the day is crucial

725
00:53:17.639 --> 00:53:22.400
prep time. Maybe I should just stock up on caffeine pills,

726
00:53:22.440 --> 00:53:25.679
since I'm not one for coffee. I had a few

727
00:53:25.719 --> 00:53:28.360
hours of daylight still when I parked in front of

728
00:53:28.480 --> 00:53:33.519
Tara's store, Casey's Curios in Union. Her sign said they

729
00:53:33.519 --> 00:53:37.079
were open to five, just enough time to get home

730
00:53:37.159 --> 00:53:41.239
around dark this time of year, you know, maybe to

731
00:53:41.320 --> 00:53:44.880
give directions to your pet hell hound who was somehow

732
00:53:44.920 --> 00:53:50.079
disguised as a Chihuahua named d'Artagnan. Although that would be

733
00:53:50.239 --> 00:53:55.239
a funny scenario, it was very unlikely. I didn't detect

734
00:53:55.320 --> 00:53:58.960
any camouflage magic on the dog when we first met,

735
00:53:59.519 --> 00:54:03.039
and if I I was dealing with a football sized Helmut,

736
00:54:03.199 --> 00:54:06.960
the scratches would have been on the Krouse's legs, not arms.

737
00:54:07.760 --> 00:54:12.199
How would it have reached trampoline or a puchapult. I

738
00:54:12.239 --> 00:54:15.280
opened the squeaking door of the Omni and made my

739
00:54:15.400 --> 00:54:20.320
way inside the building. Tara was behind the counter, polishing

740
00:54:20.360 --> 00:54:24.079
what looked like an antique tea set. If she could

741
00:54:24.079 --> 00:54:27.960
see the spirit attached to it, I couldn't tell. The

742
00:54:28.039 --> 00:54:31.519
apparition turned towards me with the kind of hatred only

743
00:54:31.599 --> 00:54:35.960
the eyes of the dead can show, and whispered curses

744
00:54:36.000 --> 00:54:41.119
at me. I wasn't impressed. I've dealt with tougher ghosts.

745
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:44.239
I ignored her, and it made her angrier by the

746
00:54:44.280 --> 00:54:48.159
string of cursewords coming out of her mouth. My father

747
00:54:48.400 --> 00:54:51.719
was a trucker and my mom was a whore, and

748
00:54:51.800 --> 00:54:56.000
I think they both would have blushed. No refunds if

749
00:54:56.039 --> 00:55:00.719
it didn't quack, Tara said dryly before putting the teapot

750
00:55:00.800 --> 00:55:04.559
back in an old leather case. As soon as she did,

751
00:55:05.039 --> 00:55:11.440
the apparition disappeared. No, it quacks, just fine, a satisfied customer,

752
00:55:11.960 --> 00:55:16.039
I said back at her. She raised an eyebrow, then

753
00:55:16.159 --> 00:55:21.000
lowered it. You want a different animal, perhaps a whale song,

754
00:55:21.280 --> 00:55:25.559
to put you to sleep, she said sarcastically, while putting

755
00:55:25.599 --> 00:55:28.400
the case on a stack of other boxes behind her,

756
00:55:28.880 --> 00:55:33.480
under some wooden shelves with various products on them. I

757
00:55:33.559 --> 00:55:38.000
wanted to check up on d'Artagnan, I explained. She raised

758
00:55:38.000 --> 00:55:42.840
the other eyebrow. She was eyebrow dexterous. She nodded. Towards

759
00:55:42.880 --> 00:55:46.880
the back of the store. Sitting on an antique Bergerie

760
00:55:46.960 --> 00:55:52.519
chair was the canine in question, sleeping away. He was

761
00:55:52.599 --> 00:55:56.960
wearing a red and blue superhero costume complete with cape

762
00:55:58.159 --> 00:56:02.639
glad he's doing okay, said, Hey, I have a question

763
00:56:02.800 --> 00:56:08.199
for you. Oh yeah, she asked, opening another cardboard box

764
00:56:08.320 --> 00:56:12.679
that had arrived with today's packages. Yeah. Have I come

765
00:56:12.719 --> 00:56:16.760
to the right place for athame Her eyes narrowed as

766
00:56:16.760 --> 00:56:21.559
she scrutinized the sincerity of my inquiry. What do you

767
00:56:21.599 --> 00:56:25.840
need it for? She asked, for a blood ritual. I

768
00:56:26.000 --> 00:56:30.199
lied over by the cauldron's last table on the back wall,

769
00:56:30.719 --> 00:56:34.679
she explained, My wicked mom would kill me if I

770
00:56:34.719 --> 00:56:38.760
ever used Athamee to draw blood. Tara doesn't know shit

771
00:56:38.880 --> 00:56:42.239
about fuck when it comes to proper use. I think

772
00:56:42.280 --> 00:56:46.960
my original assessment was correct. She was a dabbler at best.

773
00:56:47.880 --> 00:56:52.199
Well shit, then, who is the hell howler? I glanced

774
00:56:52.280 --> 00:56:57.199
through her product. She did have some decent stuff, and

775
00:56:57.280 --> 00:57:01.239
wherever she's getting her shipments from they are top notch.

776
00:57:02.159 --> 00:57:04.599
Too bad, she doesn't know what to do with them.

777
00:57:05.559 --> 00:57:08.079
She could take over the county with the amount of

778
00:57:08.119 --> 00:57:13.199
spiritual firepower in this room alone. I wonder what she

779
00:57:13.360 --> 00:57:18.880
keeps in back the krouses. I started turning over a

780
00:57:18.920 --> 00:57:23.360
blade in my hand. It was too polished, too finished

781
00:57:23.400 --> 00:57:27.400
for me. I prefer the old world craftsmanship with my

782
00:57:27.599 --> 00:57:32.639
ritual implements. What do you know of them? Nothing? Really.

783
00:57:33.239 --> 00:57:35.920
They came in here boasting how they were going to

784
00:57:36.039 --> 00:57:39.119
change our town for the better and all the local

785
00:57:39.199 --> 00:57:41.960
shops were soon going to have lines out the door.

786
00:57:42.760 --> 00:57:45.400
They bought that figurine and told me they were about

787
00:57:45.400 --> 00:57:49.400
to make a deal to make my life better. Usual

788
00:57:49.480 --> 00:57:55.480
out of town snobs, Tara replied, who is Casey? I asked,

789
00:57:55.519 --> 00:57:58.079
as it just now occurred to me that this place

790
00:57:58.280 --> 00:58:03.039
wasn't named after her. My husband been in the ground

791
00:58:03.079 --> 00:58:07.679
ten years, she said. He used to handle antiques and

792
00:58:07.760 --> 00:58:11.119
the like here. He liked to fix up older stuff

793
00:58:11.199 --> 00:58:14.360
to make it shine again. He let me sell my

794
00:58:14.519 --> 00:58:20.079
stuff here too. He knew you practiced, I asked. I

795
00:58:20.199 --> 00:58:22.840
told him I did, and that was good enough for him.

796
00:58:23.800 --> 00:58:26.719
He didn't want to know any more. Gave me my

797
00:58:26.840 --> 00:58:31.079
space to do what I wanted. Tara replied. I found

798
00:58:31.119 --> 00:58:36.079
an older looking bowline and grabbed some candles. Sometimes these

799
00:58:36.119 --> 00:58:39.480
things come in handy. I made my way back through

800
00:58:39.519 --> 00:58:43.039
the rows of items to the counter. I placed the

801
00:58:43.119 --> 00:58:47.679
crescent bladed object down, then set the candles next to them.

802
00:58:48.679 --> 00:58:52.320
Anything else, Tara asked, as she rang me out and

803
00:58:52.400 --> 00:58:55.840
put my items in a paper bag. Do you have

804
00:58:55.960 --> 00:59:02.679
anything for summoning spells, wands, stuff like that. Tara narrowed

805
00:59:02.719 --> 00:59:06.559
her eyes at me again. I could tell she really

806
00:59:06.559 --> 00:59:12.239
didn't like me poking into her business. Summoning magic is dangerous.

807
00:59:12.840 --> 00:59:17.280
I would leave that to the professionals, she answered, true,

808
00:59:17.400 --> 00:59:21.960
but if one was going to try, I hinted, I

809
00:59:22.000 --> 00:59:28.079
would suggest they don't, was her reply point taken. Thank

810
00:59:28.119 --> 00:59:32.519
you again, Tara, My condolence is for Casey, I said,

811
00:59:32.800 --> 00:59:36.239
and paid for the bowline. I now had all I

812
00:59:36.360 --> 00:59:39.960
needed for tonight. Some shop owners make it hard to

813
00:59:40.039 --> 00:59:43.840
want to support local business. Though. Tara was a downright

814
00:59:44.159 --> 00:59:49.400
miserable person. But I don't think she is the hell howler.

815
00:59:50.280 --> 00:59:53.800
Who else could the crouses have pissed off? I wondered,

816
00:59:54.239 --> 00:59:56.360
as I fired up the omni.

817
00:59:57.559 --> 01:00:01.199
Don't go away, weakly spooky, We'll be right back.

818
01:00:04.719 --> 01:00:09.679
I got to the client's house about two hours before sunset,

819
01:00:09.760 --> 01:00:14.440
just enough time to prepare for the impending attack. When

820
01:00:14.480 --> 01:00:17.639
I pulled in the driveway, John was out front, so

821
01:00:17.719 --> 01:00:20.960
I had him help me unload several of my musty

822
01:00:21.079 --> 01:00:25.639
Duffel bags from the hatchback. What do you have in here,

823
01:00:25.679 --> 01:00:30.079
Becker decade old Jim clothes, he said, as he got

824
01:00:30.079 --> 01:00:33.639
a whiff of the contents you got me. I was

825
01:00:33.679 --> 01:00:37.159
hoping to get some laundry done while we wait, I joked,

826
01:00:37.639 --> 01:00:42.079
but it went right over mister Soerpuss's face. I guess

827
01:00:42.159 --> 01:00:44.840
I would be serious too if there was an infernal

828
01:00:44.960 --> 01:00:48.960
beast hunting my wife in a few hours, I gave

829
01:00:49.039 --> 01:00:55.480
him a pass this time. Where's Marlene? I asked, missus

830
01:00:55.559 --> 01:00:58.760
Kraus will be home shortly. I advised her to get

831
01:00:58.760 --> 01:01:03.360
a hotel tonight, but she insisted on being here. I

832
01:01:03.440 --> 01:01:06.840
don't know why I would prefer she was out of danger.

833
01:01:07.440 --> 01:01:11.880
John said, don't worry, John, we won't let anything happen

834
01:01:11.960 --> 01:01:16.119
to her. I reassured I could tell by his face though,

835
01:01:16.800 --> 01:01:21.800
that I failed. I began rummaging through the stinky bags

836
01:01:21.840 --> 01:01:24.760
to get set up. I grabbed a baggie of red

837
01:01:24.800 --> 01:01:27.800
brick dust and began to scatter it in the doorway.

838
01:01:29.000 --> 01:01:35.440
Are you going to clean that up? Afterward? John asked, honestly,

839
01:01:36.119 --> 01:01:39.239
probably not, but I am sure you have a maid

840
01:01:39.360 --> 01:01:42.360
come in at least once a week, I said, and

841
01:01:42.480 --> 01:01:46.360
grabbed the baggie with a mix of garlic, sage and lavender.

842
01:01:47.239 --> 01:01:49.719
Why have the smells spread out through the house when

843
01:01:49.760 --> 01:01:53.599
I can combine them all together right here. Once I

844
01:01:53.719 --> 01:01:57.320
profoundly stunk up the joint, I started to use the

845
01:01:57.400 --> 01:02:01.400
bowline to carve some cymbals into the candles. I had

846
01:02:01.480 --> 01:02:07.599
just picked up standard protection stuff, nothing too crazy. I

847
01:02:07.719 --> 01:02:10.880
wanted a bastion of protection in case I needed to

848
01:02:10.960 --> 01:02:13.920
bide my time with the creature once I face it.

849
01:02:14.880 --> 01:02:18.400
Sometimes I'm not the fastest thinker on my feet, but

850
01:02:19.039 --> 01:02:22.360
give me a month to prepare, and I'm fucking batman.

851
01:02:23.519 --> 01:02:26.880
I placed a hamsa hand above the kitchen sink and

852
01:02:27.000 --> 01:02:30.519
sprinkled a little more of the brick dust. I didn't

853
01:02:30.559 --> 01:02:33.159
have enough dust to give the house a good redding,

854
01:02:33.760 --> 01:02:37.599
but I got most of the first door. John mostly

855
01:02:37.639 --> 01:02:42.119
followed me around, sighing at everything I was doing, until

856
01:02:42.119 --> 01:02:46.440
he heard Marlene come in through the garage. That reminded me.

857
01:02:47.239 --> 01:02:49.800
I ran over to the door to the garage and

858
01:02:49.920 --> 01:02:55.159
sprinkled my protection magic cocktail. Marlene watched me with both

859
01:02:55.360 --> 01:03:00.119
interest and amusement. It seemed or she was smiling at

860
01:02:59.920 --> 01:03:05.440
me for another reason. Nah, she wasn't interested in me.

861
01:03:06.239 --> 01:03:10.159
That was only in my dreams, no one else's. She

862
01:03:10.440 --> 01:03:13.280
was the client and I had to be professional. I

863
01:03:13.360 --> 01:03:20.400
told myself that was why we could never be together. Focus, Becker, Focus.

864
01:03:20.960 --> 01:03:23.800
I snapped out of it and continued to work around

865
01:03:23.800 --> 01:03:27.239
the house. An hour later, I was just about done

866
01:03:27.679 --> 01:03:30.480
when Marlene came to me in the kitchen by the

867
01:03:30.519 --> 01:03:35.440
garage door. How are things progressing, she asked, in that

868
01:03:35.960 --> 01:03:40.960
sultry voice. Almost done here? We got the house on lockdown.

869
01:03:41.519 --> 01:03:43.840
No way that creature is going to find its way

870
01:03:43.880 --> 01:03:47.519
in here, I said, not past all the protection I

871
01:03:47.599 --> 01:03:53.159
put up. I was rather proud of myself. Hungry, she asked,

872
01:03:53.199 --> 01:03:56.280
and went to the fridge. She pulled out a pound

873
01:03:56.320 --> 01:03:59.440
of pastrami and set it on the counter next to

874
01:03:59.519 --> 01:04:06.320
some hearts. She knew me I could eat, I understated, Here,

875
01:04:06.440 --> 01:04:09.760
have a seat. I'll make you a sandwich, she said,

876
01:04:10.159 --> 01:04:12.320
and pulled a knife out of the block to cut

877
01:04:12.320 --> 01:04:15.960
the rolls. I took a load off and realized I

878
01:04:16.000 --> 01:04:19.960
had been working right along pretty good. I mentally checked

879
01:04:19.960 --> 01:04:24.760
off items on my list and realized I was done.

880
01:04:24.960 --> 01:04:28.400
I looked at my watch. I had twenty two minutes

881
01:04:28.480 --> 01:04:32.920
until sunset and the chance of attack. With everything I

882
01:04:33.000 --> 01:04:37.119
read on these hounds, they are usually spotted over three days.

883
01:04:37.760 --> 01:04:42.199
The summoning only lasts that long. If they fail, they

884
01:04:42.199 --> 01:04:45.800
don't go back to Hell. They simply cease to exist.

885
01:04:46.559 --> 01:04:51.320
So there is the motivation for escalation of attacks. The

886
01:04:51.360 --> 01:04:55.039
final one should be tonight. I just had to make

887
01:04:55.079 --> 01:04:58.440
sure it wasn't a fatal one. I looked over at

888
01:04:58.480 --> 01:05:02.039
the other smelly duffel back in the hall, the one

889
01:05:02.119 --> 01:05:06.360
I haven't opened yet. It held the best line of defense,

890
01:05:07.360 --> 01:05:10.920
basically a holy rolled up newspaper to hit it on

891
01:05:11.000 --> 01:05:15.880
the snout with and say bad dog or bad hell hound.

892
01:05:16.760 --> 01:05:21.239
Well that sounds more appealing than what it actually was.

893
01:05:22.360 --> 01:05:26.400
Supernatural beings aren't always pretty, and neither are the tools

894
01:05:26.440 --> 01:05:31.039
and weapons used to fight or subdue those beings. I

895
01:05:31.159 --> 01:05:33.199
know what I had in the bag wasn't going to

896
01:05:33.239 --> 01:05:38.079
win any craftsmanship awards. It looked like total shit, but

897
01:05:38.239 --> 01:05:40.880
none of that matters as long as it gets the

898
01:05:41.000 --> 01:05:46.480
job done. Here you go. Marlene smiled warmly and sat

899
01:05:46.519 --> 01:05:49.559
down next to me at the table. I could smell

900
01:05:49.599 --> 01:05:54.159
her perfume. Thank you, I said, and looked down at

901
01:05:54.159 --> 01:05:57.679
the sandwich. She must have given me half of the

902
01:05:57.760 --> 01:06:01.199
meat I saw her take out of the fridge. Wow,

903
01:06:01.760 --> 01:06:05.239
now that is a sandwich, I said, and held it

904
01:06:05.280 --> 01:06:10.119
out at arm's length admirably. Don't drop it, she said.

905
01:06:10.559 --> 01:06:14.159
As it started to slip from my hands, she grabbed

906
01:06:14.199 --> 01:06:17.199
for it and ended up putting her hands around mine.

907
01:06:17.960 --> 01:06:24.760
Her skin was soft and warm, very warm. You feeling okay,

908
01:06:25.280 --> 01:06:31.280
I asked, under the circumstances, Yes, she replied, and gave

909
01:06:31.320 --> 01:06:35.239
me an award winning smile. I melted in my chair

910
01:06:35.679 --> 01:06:38.519
and puddled on the floor to bask in her glory.

911
01:06:39.400 --> 01:06:41.679
I snapped out of it when I realized I had

912
01:06:41.719 --> 01:06:48.519
spicy brown mustard on my shirt, humbling, Oh dear, she said,

913
01:06:48.880 --> 01:06:51.840
and grabbed a paper towel. She wet it in the

914
01:06:51.960 --> 01:06:56.079
sink and returned to me, rubbing the damp paper product

915
01:06:56.199 --> 01:07:00.199
on my shirt. She was so close I could smell

916
01:07:00.000 --> 01:07:04.920
her hair. What's that? I asked, and backed up. As

917
01:07:04.920 --> 01:07:08.480
her husband entered the room. He carried the rest of

918
01:07:08.519 --> 01:07:12.159
the candles I had carved protection rounes in and a

919
01:07:12.159 --> 01:07:15.719
box of matches. I could smell the sulfur of the

920
01:07:15.760 --> 01:07:19.480
matches wafted by my nose. If he cared I was

921
01:07:19.519 --> 01:07:23.679
that close to his wife, he didn't let on, Man,

922
01:07:24.079 --> 01:07:25.280
I would be furious.

923
01:07:27.159 --> 01:07:31.400
More scares to come weekly. Spooky will be right back.

924
01:07:34.920 --> 01:07:38.119
I finished, placing them on the second floor. I had

925
01:07:38.159 --> 01:07:42.239
these left over. Where do you want them, John asked.

926
01:07:42.840 --> 01:07:46.920
I pointed to the next room. Most likely the creature

927
01:07:46.960 --> 01:07:49.840
will come to one of the doors. I'd place them

928
01:07:49.880 --> 01:07:52.960
near the front entrance. The door is made of glass

929
01:07:53.000 --> 01:07:57.840
and vulnerable, I told him. He nodded and headed out

930
01:07:57.880 --> 01:08:02.239
to the foyer. If you will excuse me, Marlene said,

931
01:08:02.880 --> 01:08:07.639
I have to go powder my nose. Consider yourself excused,

932
01:08:08.119 --> 01:08:11.320
I said, and gave her a bow. As I stood up.

933
01:08:12.280 --> 01:08:15.880
I think I heard something crack in my back. I

934
01:08:15.920 --> 01:08:19.560
am getting too old to fight monsters. I realized I

935
01:08:19.560 --> 01:08:22.159
had forgotten to give her the charm we both worked

936
01:08:22.159 --> 01:08:25.800
so hard on earlier. I guess it can wait until

937
01:08:25.840 --> 01:08:29.359
she's out of the bathroom. I used to imagine rich

938
01:08:29.479 --> 01:08:33.000
clients like these would be so grateful that they would

939
01:08:33.039 --> 01:08:36.199
throw handfuls of cash on me, and if I just

940
01:08:36.319 --> 01:08:39.920
stuck with it, I could retire in a few years.

941
01:08:40.399 --> 01:08:45.399
But those few years have doubled and doubled again, and

942
01:08:45.560 --> 01:08:49.840
I'm still living one Pistrami sandwich at a time. If

943
01:08:49.840 --> 01:08:53.079
I can stop this hell howler from completing its goal

944
01:08:53.640 --> 01:08:57.880
and killing Marlene, then I know they would pay. That

945
01:08:58.159 --> 01:09:02.680
wasn't the question I just know from previous experience it's

946
01:09:03.520 --> 01:09:07.279
never enough. While Marlene was out of the room and

947
01:09:07.399 --> 01:09:11.079
no longer distracting me, I went over my list again

948
01:09:11.600 --> 01:09:15.079
to make sure I had all the bases covered. As

949
01:09:15.119 --> 01:09:17.880
I was mentally checking off the last of the list,

950
01:09:18.640 --> 01:09:22.159
I heard a commotion from the foyer and ran out there.

951
01:09:23.159 --> 01:09:27.760
John had dropped a candle and it had broken. What happened,

952
01:09:28.119 --> 01:09:32.159
I asked, I burnt myself. I should have waited to

953
01:09:32.239 --> 01:09:35.600
light it until I placed the damn thing. He showed

954
01:09:35.640 --> 01:09:39.199
me his finger. I tried to remember what compassion was

955
01:09:39.359 --> 01:09:46.000
like and did my best to show him. The sound

956
01:09:46.159 --> 01:09:50.399
came from everywhere at once. The howl rang through my head,

957
01:09:50.920 --> 01:09:54.800
sending flashing images of my own gruesome death At the

958
01:09:54.840 --> 01:09:59.159
claws of the beast being summoned. I caught glimpses of

959
01:09:59.199 --> 01:10:02.560
the animal's p of view as it closed in from

960
01:10:02.560 --> 01:10:06.319
the forest path. I heard the snort of its nostrils,

961
01:10:06.720 --> 01:10:11.800
trails of smoke rising from the nasal orifices. It covered

962
01:10:11.840 --> 01:10:17.560
ground fast and would be here in seconds. Where's Marlene,

963
01:10:18.039 --> 01:10:23.399
John asked, with a scared expression, powdering her nose. I responded,

964
01:10:24.399 --> 01:10:28.000
I'm right here, she said, entering the foyer with us.

965
01:10:28.560 --> 01:10:32.359
While looking over her shoulder, I glanced at the door

966
01:10:32.560 --> 01:10:35.840
to make sure we had enough protection coverage even with

967
01:10:36.079 --> 01:10:40.439
the broken candle. We were good. We should move to

968
01:10:40.520 --> 01:10:45.319
an interior room, if possible, barricade ourselves in until I

969
01:10:45.359 --> 01:10:50.760
can assess the situation. I explained this way through the kitchen.

970
01:10:51.319 --> 01:10:55.760
Marlene suggested, and we followed. I grabbed my bag on

971
01:10:55.800 --> 01:10:59.560
the way through. As we passed through the kitchen, another

972
01:10:59.720 --> 01:11:03.359
flatsh of the beast's point of view entered my mind.

973
01:11:04.239 --> 01:11:08.520
I could see Marlene's car sticking out of the garage.

974
01:11:08.560 --> 01:11:12.199
She had left the door open. It was a good thing.

975
01:11:12.319 --> 01:11:15.880
I reddened the kitchen door that led to the attached garage,

976
01:11:16.359 --> 01:11:20.800
I thought, as I double checked my work. Ah fuck,

977
01:11:21.399 --> 01:11:24.920
I said elegantly. There was a break in the dust,

978
01:11:24.960 --> 01:11:30.079
as if someone was dragged through it enough to break

979
01:11:30.119 --> 01:11:34.880
the protection. Just then, a bang struck the door. I

980
01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:38.840
watched it move from the impact get behind me. I

981
01:11:38.960 --> 01:11:42.359
called out and reached into my bag of tricks. I

982
01:11:42.439 --> 01:11:46.760
pulled out a shillelah infused with protection magic and faced

983
01:11:46.800 --> 01:11:50.279
the door as it began to splinter. I ran over

984
01:11:50.399 --> 01:11:53.520
my movements in my head and couldn't figure out how

985
01:11:53.600 --> 01:11:58.039
I scuffed the red brick dust rookie mistake, screwing up

986
01:11:58.039 --> 01:12:02.039
your own circles and lines. If I survived this, I

987
01:12:02.119 --> 01:12:05.720
told myself I wouldn't put that part in my report.

988
01:12:07.079 --> 01:12:10.399
A moment later, a large black and red furred paw

989
01:12:10.680 --> 01:12:14.439
pierced the wooden door. Its claws had to be four

990
01:12:14.479 --> 01:12:18.359
inches long. I whacked it with the Shalalah and heard

991
01:12:18.359 --> 01:12:21.600
a sizzle and a howl from the other side. It

992
01:12:21.760 --> 01:12:25.479
wasn't the same howl as earlier, which means the hell

993
01:12:25.560 --> 01:12:29.920
Howler had to be close. After all, I had heard

994
01:12:29.960 --> 01:12:34.239
its call. No time for window peeking to see who

995
01:12:34.359 --> 01:12:38.079
might be outside right now, though, I turned my eye

996
01:12:38.119 --> 01:12:41.359
from the door for just a second to see John

997
01:12:41.399 --> 01:12:45.720
and Marlene still standing there. Get in the room, I

998
01:12:45.840 --> 01:12:50.960
yelled out. That was all the distraction the unholy beast needed,

999
01:12:51.479 --> 01:12:55.079
as it launched its mass through the door and barreled

1000
01:12:55.119 --> 01:12:58.600
into me. I landed on my ass on the hard

1001
01:12:58.720 --> 01:13:03.920
tile floor, the beast's jaws inches from my throat. The

1002
01:13:03.920 --> 01:13:07.199
only thing that stopped it was the Shalelah held in

1003
01:13:07.279 --> 01:13:14.119
my hands across its slobbery jaws. Definitely not the damned Chihuahua,

1004
01:13:14.239 --> 01:13:18.920
I thought, did I see any stray Saint Bernards around.

1005
01:13:19.760 --> 01:13:24.199
In reality, it didn't resemble any dog breed or even wolf.

1006
01:13:25.039 --> 01:13:29.800
It was larger, smelled like brimstone and death, and had

1007
01:13:29.920 --> 01:13:34.039
tiger stripes of black on a body of short red fur.

1008
01:13:35.039 --> 01:13:37.920
It was at least the size of a mastiff, if

1009
01:13:37.960 --> 01:13:42.039
not bigger. It had three black eyes staring at me.

1010
01:13:42.159 --> 01:13:45.039
As I pushed up with all my might, trying to

1011
01:13:45.159 --> 01:13:49.119
keep that maw away from my face, I could hear

1012
01:13:49.199 --> 01:13:52.960
the protection magic sizzle its flesh, but the beast was

1013
01:13:53.000 --> 01:13:57.760
in such a state of rage it didn't seem to notice.

1014
01:13:57.920 --> 01:14:00.760
I spoke a word I learned a law long time ago,

1015
01:14:01.560 --> 01:14:04.600
a word of power. I was told not to use

1016
01:14:04.640 --> 01:14:07.800
it lightly. To use words of power like this strained

1017
01:14:07.920 --> 01:14:11.119
sum of your life. But I didn't see much more

1018
01:14:11.199 --> 01:14:13.920
life in me. If I didn't use what I had

1019
01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:18.640
for the safety of anyone reading this file, I won't

1020
01:14:18.640 --> 01:14:23.000
include the word here. Trust me, it's for your own good.

1021
01:14:23.680 --> 01:14:27.239
I spoke the word, and the magical force created within

1022
01:14:27.439 --> 01:14:31.279
rushed through my hand and lifted the hell hound into

1023
01:14:31.319 --> 01:14:34.560
the air, throwing him into the island in the middle

1024
01:14:34.600 --> 01:14:37.880
of the room. It bought me enough time to get

1025
01:14:37.920 --> 01:14:41.319
to my feet and see Marlene pull shut the sliding

1026
01:14:41.439 --> 01:14:46.079
door to the den. Good keep some distance while I

1027
01:14:46.159 --> 01:14:50.439
figure this out. The beast growled behind me and I

1028
01:14:50.560 --> 01:14:53.920
turned to face it, tapping the Shalelah in my left

1029
01:14:53.960 --> 01:14:57.880
palm as I made eye contact with it. The old

1030
01:14:57.960 --> 01:15:02.960
blood was pumping. Now, come on, Susie, let's dance, I

1031
01:15:03.079 --> 01:15:07.880
said bravely to an animal that couldn't possibly understand my words.

1032
01:15:08.680 --> 01:15:12.279
It launched at the wall. Its great muscles flexed as

1033
01:15:12.279 --> 01:15:16.119
it pushed off the sheet rock and passed overhead. I

1034
01:15:16.239 --> 01:15:19.640
gave a wild swing, but missed it completely as it

1035
01:15:19.720 --> 01:15:24.119
crashed into the den door, breaking through and passing into

1036
01:15:24.199 --> 01:15:28.479
the darkened room beyond. I heard a scream and raced

1037
01:15:28.520 --> 01:15:32.840
into the den behind it. Inside it was dark. I

1038
01:15:32.840 --> 01:15:36.319
could hear the beast snarling from the right, but my

1039
01:15:36.560 --> 01:15:39.319
out of shape ass was blocking most of the light

1040
01:15:39.760 --> 01:15:43.119
from the door. I patted the walls next to the

1041
01:15:43.199 --> 01:15:47.439
door until I found a light switch and flicked it on.

1042
01:15:49.479 --> 01:15:54.680
If you thought that was scary, just you wait, weekly spooky,

1043
01:15:54.840 --> 01:15:55.920
We'll be right back.

1044
01:15:57.920 --> 01:16:01.239
Marlene was backed into a corner by an old looking

1045
01:16:01.359 --> 01:16:05.520
record player. The beast was sizing her up for an attack.

1046
01:16:06.439 --> 01:16:09.960
John laid on the floor. Bloody ribbons of flesh hung

1047
01:16:10.039 --> 01:16:14.760
from his arms and torso he wasn't moving. He must

1048
01:16:14.800 --> 01:16:18.119
have gotten in the way of the beast's prey. I

1049
01:16:18.159 --> 01:16:22.039
hoped I would fare better. I charged the beast with

1050
01:16:22.079 --> 01:16:27.079
a primordial roar of my own shalela overhead. I launched

1051
01:16:27.079 --> 01:16:30.399
off the ottoman and saw myself in slow motion, like

1052
01:16:30.439 --> 01:16:33.680
they do in the movies when two warriors leap and

1053
01:16:33.840 --> 01:16:38.319
meet in mid air. I brought the hardened blackthorn down

1054
01:16:38.359 --> 01:16:42.279
on the beast's snout, using the word again as I

1055
01:16:42.359 --> 01:16:46.560
placed my other hand on its skull. The combination of

1056
01:16:46.600 --> 01:16:50.199
the protection spells in the shalela and the magic force

1057
01:16:50.359 --> 01:16:55.199
pushed the beast's head down to the luxurious carpet. I

1058
01:16:55.279 --> 01:16:58.279
hoped people that can afford that kind of carpet can

1059
01:16:58.319 --> 01:17:01.680
afford to get bloodstains out of it. I brought the

1060
01:17:01.680 --> 01:17:05.960
shaleala down again and again on the head of the beast,

1061
01:17:06.520 --> 01:17:09.920
each strike leaving marks on his body from the light

1062
01:17:10.079 --> 01:17:14.119
energy of the protections from evil. I tried not to

1063
01:17:14.159 --> 01:17:16.800
give it time to recover, and hoped I could just

1064
01:17:16.880 --> 01:17:21.199
beat it to death or submission. After the fifth blow,

1065
01:17:21.680 --> 01:17:24.600
I told Marlene to get out of the corner, and

1066
01:17:24.720 --> 01:17:28.520
she ran towards the kitchen. That proved to be a

1067
01:17:28.560 --> 01:17:32.960
bad move. As the beast's eyes tracked its prey, it

1068
01:17:33.039 --> 01:17:36.239
pushed past me and knocked her literally out of her

1069
01:17:36.279 --> 01:17:41.479
shoes to the carpet below. I stepped over the motionless

1070
01:17:41.520 --> 01:17:45.239
body of John, the sting of losing a client hitting

1071
01:17:45.279 --> 01:17:49.479
me harder than the beast had so far. I couldn't

1072
01:17:49.560 --> 01:17:53.600
lose another. I struck the beast on the back, but

1073
01:17:53.720 --> 01:17:57.279
other than the sizzle and welt it left. The beast

1074
01:17:57.399 --> 01:18:01.640
paid it no mind. Its own serve bible depended on

1075
01:18:01.760 --> 01:18:04.640
the kill. I had to take it up a notch

1076
01:18:05.119 --> 01:18:09.680
to get its attention away from Marlene. She screamed as

1077
01:18:09.720 --> 01:18:13.159
it gripped her forearm with its jaws. I didn't have

1078
01:18:13.319 --> 01:18:16.720
much time to make an impact on the beast. If

1079
01:18:16.720 --> 01:18:20.239
I blasted it with magic, it just might rip her

1080
01:18:20.319 --> 01:18:24.039
arm off as it gets flung against the wall. I

1081
01:18:24.159 --> 01:18:29.920
needed a new strategy, something it wouldn't expect, and then

1082
01:18:30.079 --> 01:18:33.760
the idea hit me. My mind dismissed it almost as

1083
01:18:33.800 --> 01:18:36.680
fast as I thought it up. I heard a bone

1084
01:18:36.760 --> 01:18:41.760
break in Marlene's arm, followed by another scream. There was

1085
01:18:41.800 --> 01:18:46.159
no more time to debate. There are certain places, whether

1086
01:18:46.520 --> 01:18:50.039
you are a beast, a man, a cryptied demon or angel,

1087
01:18:50.560 --> 01:18:55.600
that are very sensitive to pain, one being the eyes.

1088
01:18:56.399 --> 01:18:59.840
But I wasn't on that side of the beast own.

1089
01:19:01.359 --> 01:19:05.600
I was on the other end. I looked down at

1090
01:19:05.600 --> 01:19:09.319
my Shalela with a tear in my eye. It was

1091
01:19:09.439 --> 01:19:13.760
like saying goodbye to an old friend. Because if this

1092
01:19:14.000 --> 01:19:19.520
worked and I survived, I knew I wouldn't want it back.

1093
01:19:20.720 --> 01:19:22.960
I spit on the end and gave it a shove

1094
01:19:23.079 --> 01:19:27.319
where the beast was least expecting an attack. When there

1095
01:19:27.359 --> 01:19:32.439
was resistance, I pushed harder and harder. Half the Shalela

1096
01:19:32.600 --> 01:19:37.680
disappeared before the beast even reacted. I don't know how

1097
01:19:37.720 --> 01:19:41.359
to describe the noise it made. It didn't belong to

1098
01:19:41.479 --> 01:19:46.239
beast or man. It was almost a surprised muling with

1099
01:19:46.359 --> 01:19:50.279
a hint of betrayal and a bit of how dare you?

1100
01:19:51.439 --> 01:19:55.159
Instantly it let go of Marlene, who scrambled on those

1101
01:19:55.239 --> 01:19:58.680
beautiful legs back against the wall. As I got the

1102
01:19:58.720 --> 01:20:02.960
whole beast's attention, it began to turn on me, and

1103
01:20:03.039 --> 01:20:06.880
I knew if it did, I was dead. I held

1104
01:20:06.960 --> 01:20:10.319
up the end of the magical Shalela suppository in my

1105
01:20:10.479 --> 01:20:15.199
hand and uttered the word one more time, letting the

1106
01:20:15.239 --> 01:20:19.720
magic flow through the wood and inside the digestive tract

1107
01:20:20.159 --> 01:20:24.479
of the unholy beast. As the magic reached the tip,

1108
01:20:25.000 --> 01:20:28.760
it reacted to the protection magic infused there, and the

1109
01:20:28.800 --> 01:20:32.680
force was pushed away from the shalala in all directions.

1110
01:20:33.920 --> 01:20:37.079
The wood was wrenched from my hand as the beast

1111
01:20:37.159 --> 01:20:40.920
twisted and made eye contact just a second before the

1112
01:20:40.960 --> 01:20:46.720
force was released. Starting with the intestines expanding, the beast

1113
01:20:46.800 --> 01:20:51.119
began to bloat with the magical force pushing through its body.

1114
01:20:52.159 --> 01:20:55.800
Its sides expanded out until it was shaped more like

1115
01:20:55.880 --> 01:20:59.680
a hell hippo than a hell hound. I saw the

1116
01:20:59.720 --> 01:21:04.039
anguish in its face a moment before the hell pinata burst,

1117
01:21:04.880 --> 01:21:09.960
raining hellhound flesh down on a shocked Marlene. It hit

1118
01:21:10.000 --> 01:21:14.079
me too, but I wasn't as shocked. This was the

1119
01:21:14.159 --> 01:21:17.640
outcome I had hoped for. I looked down at the

1120
01:21:17.680 --> 01:21:24.800
blood and unmentionable material covering my schalela and sighed, well,

1121
01:21:25.319 --> 01:21:27.399
I guess if I wanted to go out in a

1122
01:21:27.439 --> 01:21:31.960
blaze of glory, there wasn't too many ways more rewarding

1123
01:21:32.479 --> 01:21:36.960
than an exploding holy suppository in a hell beast. It

1124
01:21:37.039 --> 01:21:41.199
should be proud for its contribution. I popped down on

1125
01:21:41.239 --> 01:21:44.399
my knees and took a few breaths. I was still

1126
01:21:44.439 --> 01:21:47.960
in fighter flight mode and had to let myself calm down.

1127
01:21:48.960 --> 01:21:54.119
Marlene sat on the floor, crying, holding her arms. She

1128
01:21:54.239 --> 01:21:57.199
didn't look that bad off once you clean the hell

1129
01:21:57.239 --> 01:22:00.640
hound's insides off of her. I try to get to

1130
01:22:00.680 --> 01:22:04.119
my feet and placed my hand on something. It was

1131
01:22:04.199 --> 01:22:09.199
Marlene's shoe. I rose and walked to her. She was

1132
01:22:09.199 --> 01:22:13.960
getting up as well. I handed her the shoe. Thanks,

1133
01:22:14.199 --> 01:22:19.039
they are really expensive, she said, pushing her hair from

1134
01:22:19.079 --> 01:22:25.159
her face. Funny, I thought you had green eyes, I said,

1135
01:22:25.239 --> 01:22:28.319
looking at her face. She looked back at me with

1136
01:22:28.439 --> 01:22:34.800
eyes the darkest brown, almost like black pools. You must

1137
01:22:34.800 --> 01:22:38.359
have been mistaken, she said. I looked down at my

1138
01:22:38.479 --> 01:22:42.680
hand and saw red dust on my fingers. How did

1139
01:22:42.720 --> 01:22:46.760
that get there? I checked on John, but like I feared,

1140
01:22:47.439 --> 01:22:50.920
he was dead. There was nothing I could do for him.

1141
01:22:51.800 --> 01:22:54.560
I called an ambulance and tried to figure out how

1142
01:22:54.640 --> 01:22:59.119
I was going to explain what happened. Marlene sat quietly

1143
01:22:59.159 --> 01:23:02.560
in the kitchen while I did so. I grabbed all

1144
01:23:02.600 --> 01:23:06.119
my mystical objects and threw them in my car before

1145
01:23:06.159 --> 01:23:10.199
the authorities arrived. They tend to ask a lot of

1146
01:23:10.319 --> 01:23:14.119
questions from the kook on the scene, and I just

1147
01:23:14.239 --> 01:23:17.520
didn't want to put Marlene through a media frenzy and

1148
01:23:17.760 --> 01:23:21.800
shit show. She had just lost her husband, for Christ's sake.

1149
01:23:22.600 --> 01:23:25.880
I made it down the driveway just as the sirens

1150
01:23:25.960 --> 01:23:30.640
reached my ears. I drove the other way. I had

1151
01:23:30.720 --> 01:23:33.520
left her with what to say. Tell them it was

1152
01:23:33.560 --> 01:23:36.319
an animal attack. Tell them a bear came in the

1153
01:23:36.359 --> 01:23:39.479
house and killed your husband. Tell them the chunks are

1154
01:23:39.479 --> 01:23:43.000
from blasting it with the shotgun. While distressed about John,

1155
01:23:43.960 --> 01:23:48.640
they owned a shotgun seemed feasible. If she gave them

1156
01:23:48.680 --> 01:23:54.399
no reason to doubt her story, then she should be fine.

1157
01:23:55.319 --> 01:23:59.520
I like it Spooky weekly. Spooky will be right back.

1158
01:24:02.840 --> 01:24:05.920
A few days later, I came to the wake. I

1159
01:24:06.000 --> 01:24:10.039
was surprised to see Tara there. She stood outside the

1160
01:24:10.119 --> 01:24:13.640
church as people came and went to pay their respects

1161
01:24:13.680 --> 01:24:18.039
to John. I hesitated to go in and walked up

1162
01:24:18.079 --> 01:24:23.319
to the woman. Have you been inside, I asked, not yet,

1163
01:24:23.960 --> 01:24:28.319
she replied. Watching a couple exit the funeral home, you

1164
01:24:28.439 --> 01:24:32.840
know them, I asked, nope, But I'm guessing they were

1165
01:24:32.880 --> 01:24:36.800
some of John's investors. They drove up in that BMW,

1166
01:24:37.600 --> 01:24:41.880
she replied, pointing down the street. In fact, I haven't

1167
01:24:41.920 --> 01:24:45.479
recognized a single person coming or going since I got here.

1168
01:24:46.560 --> 01:24:50.880
I don't think he had any friends in town. He didn't,

1169
01:24:51.199 --> 01:24:54.920
came Marlene's voice. She had come out the side door

1170
01:24:54.960 --> 01:24:59.119
to sneak a cigarette. She wore a skin tight black dress,

1171
01:24:59.520 --> 01:25:04.359
barely containing all the lovely curves. Her brown hair spilled

1172
01:25:04.359 --> 01:25:08.520
over her bare shoulders under a black hat. She was

1173
01:25:08.600 --> 01:25:12.159
wearing the same black shoes she had been wearing that night.

1174
01:25:13.560 --> 01:25:17.479
How are you, Marlene, I asked. Did the cops give

1175
01:25:17.520 --> 01:25:22.920
you any trouble at first? But I'll manage, she replied.

1176
01:25:24.119 --> 01:25:27.479
I saw a construction crew headed up your way, Tara

1177
01:25:27.640 --> 01:25:32.039
said to the widow, going to finish your husband's work. No,

1178
01:25:33.000 --> 01:25:37.039
I couldn't stand the sight of that house after what happened,

1179
01:25:37.720 --> 01:25:41.359
I'm having it torn down. Besides, with the news of

1180
01:25:41.439 --> 01:25:46.239
my husband's gruesome death, the investors are all pulling out.

1181
01:25:47.279 --> 01:25:50.479
There won't be a development at Heaven Hills after all,

1182
01:25:51.159 --> 01:25:55.960
Marlene explained. I'm sure it's for the best, Tara said,

1183
01:25:56.359 --> 01:26:00.000
and turned away. She began to walk down the street

1184
01:26:00.239 --> 01:26:05.039
back towards her shop. I'm sorry about John, I said

1185
01:26:05.039 --> 01:26:09.000
to her, Thank you. It means a lot. I was

1186
01:26:09.039 --> 01:26:12.880
hoping you would be here, she said, and handed me

1187
01:26:12.920 --> 01:26:18.319
an envelope. Inside was a ton of bills. I rifled

1188
01:26:18.359 --> 01:26:23.000
through it quickly, all hundreds. I never gave you my fee,

1189
01:26:23.439 --> 01:26:28.000
I said, I did my research before hiring you. Mister Becker,

1190
01:26:28.520 --> 01:26:32.119
she explained, you will see there is three times your

1191
01:26:32.159 --> 01:26:37.880
normal fee in cash. Why the tip your husband died,

1192
01:26:38.600 --> 01:26:43.359
I asked, nodding at the church. For the next part,

1193
01:26:43.960 --> 01:26:49.640
she said, a chill ran down my spine. Hush money,

1194
01:26:50.239 --> 01:26:55.319
I asked, how did you figure it out? Well, most

1195
01:26:55.439 --> 01:26:59.359
novice summoners get in over their heads. I wasn't sure

1196
01:26:59.560 --> 01:27:02.600
until it attacked us, but I know you are the

1197
01:27:02.680 --> 01:27:06.359
hell Hower. You summoned it to kill your husband, and

1198
01:27:06.439 --> 01:27:09.560
you lost control of it and feared for your own life.

1199
01:27:10.399 --> 01:27:13.199
I'm guessing you had no desire to live here in

1200
01:27:13.239 --> 01:27:19.279
our podunk town and be away from high society. A

1201
01:27:19.359 --> 01:27:22.720
girl has grown accustomed to such things, even if her

1202
01:27:22.840 --> 01:27:28.800
husband yearned for a simpler life, she explained, And instead

1203
01:27:28.840 --> 01:27:31.880
of taking half his money in a divorce, you could

1204
01:27:31.920 --> 01:27:36.319
summon a demon dog and have it all did Tara

1205
01:27:36.560 --> 01:27:40.479
know what was happening. No, she gave me a name

1206
01:27:40.560 --> 01:27:44.239
of someone I could talk to about summoning magic, and

1207
01:27:44.359 --> 01:27:48.800
that man gave me your name, she said. I still

1208
01:27:48.920 --> 01:27:51.960
wasn't sure it was you until I heard the howl

1209
01:27:52.159 --> 01:27:56.319
while you were powdering your nose. But I didn't want

1210
01:27:56.359 --> 01:27:59.319
to believe it. But when I found the red brick

1211
01:27:59.439 --> 01:28:02.560
dust on your shoe so you could let your pet

1212
01:28:02.640 --> 01:28:08.159
demon in, I knew. And your eyes they were green

1213
01:28:08.439 --> 01:28:12.880
when we met, my favorite color. What are you going

1214
01:28:12.960 --> 01:28:16.119
to do now, mister Becker? Tell the police that I

1215
01:28:16.600 --> 01:28:21.239
summoned a demon to kill my husband or take my money.

1216
01:28:22.239 --> 01:28:26.039
I've learned from my mistakes, but not in a repentance way.

1217
01:28:26.760 --> 01:28:29.359
I would do it a bit more carefully if I

1218
01:28:29.479 --> 01:28:33.720
had to do it again. Don't worry, my lips are sealed.

1219
01:28:34.439 --> 01:28:37.960
It's a shame about old John. He seemed all right

1220
01:28:38.079 --> 01:28:41.680
to me. Towards the end. I doubt our paths will

1221
01:28:41.720 --> 01:28:46.199
cross again. Just know if they do, I won't be

1222
01:28:46.279 --> 01:28:51.239
able to look away again, I said. I felt like

1223
01:28:51.319 --> 01:28:54.399
an asshole letting her go, but there was no way

1224
01:28:54.439 --> 01:28:58.439
the police would believe my story anyway. I get enough

1225
01:28:58.520 --> 01:29:02.800
strange looks around town I had to trust that karma,

1226
01:29:03.079 --> 01:29:06.840
in one form or another, was coming for her and

1227
01:29:06.960 --> 01:29:10.560
let it do its work. I've seen worse people get

1228
01:29:10.600 --> 01:29:15.319
away with more. She only murdered once, as far as

1229
01:29:15.359 --> 01:29:20.159
I know. Oh uh, I got you something too, I said,

1230
01:29:20.800 --> 01:29:23.479
and handed her the charm I had made for her.

1231
01:29:24.399 --> 01:29:27.680
It's a little late now, though. She took it in

1232
01:29:27.760 --> 01:29:31.039
her hand and looked it over before looking at me

1233
01:29:31.920 --> 01:29:37.560
with the same green eyes. I remembered. Good day, mister Becker,

1234
01:29:38.319 --> 01:29:43.680
Marlene said, finishing her cigarette. She turned back towards the

1235
01:29:43.760 --> 01:29:50.079
funeral home. Call me, James, I replied. She didn't hear me.

1236
01:29:51.319 --> 01:29:55.520
The air grew warmer, the sun a little brighter. After

1237
01:29:55.680 --> 01:29:59.920
she left, I decided it was time for a person.

1238
01:30:00.079 --> 01:30:10.199
Draw me sandwich, hard roll mustard. Well, my Spookyes, I

1239
01:30:10.239 --> 01:30:14.159
hope you enjoyed that bigger bite of a story this week.

1240
01:30:14.239 --> 01:30:19.199
Something to tempt your appetite as we head into October,

1241
01:30:19.279 --> 01:30:22.920
when we'll be having a lot more novella length episodes

1242
01:30:22.960 --> 01:30:26.560
for you all to enjoy. So make sure you're subscribed

1243
01:30:26.560 --> 01:30:29.319
if you're not already, because October is going to be

1244
01:30:29.399 --> 01:30:33.560
a wild time with thirty one shows in thirty one days.

1245
01:30:34.279 --> 01:30:37.920
We'll have lots of short stories, novellas, movie reviews, and

1246
01:30:38.039 --> 01:30:42.279
so much more, something spooky for every single day of

1247
01:30:42.319 --> 01:30:46.199
the spookiest month of the entire year. And I hope

1248
01:30:46.199 --> 01:30:48.800
you'll join us. And speaking of, if you love what

1249
01:30:48.800 --> 01:30:50.680
we're doing here and you want to support us and

1250
01:30:50.720 --> 01:30:53.359
help us keep it going day in and day out,

1251
01:30:53.399 --> 01:30:56.319
well I guess night in and night out, you can

1252
01:30:56.359 --> 01:30:59.840
head to Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join for as little

1253
01:30:59.840 --> 01:31:02.439
as this one dollar a month. You get two bonus

1254
01:31:02.520 --> 01:31:06.239
shows every single month, as well as exclusive audio books

1255
01:31:06.560 --> 01:31:11.720
and five years of creepy pasta readings, among others spooky perks.

1256
01:31:11.840 --> 01:31:15.800
And that's at Weeklyspooky dot Com slash Join. And speaking of,

1257
01:31:15.880 --> 01:31:17.920
I want to say an extra special thank you to

1258
01:31:18.000 --> 01:31:22.039
our Patreon podcast boosters, folks who go to Weeklyspooky dot

1259
01:31:22.079 --> 01:31:25.199
Com slash Join and contribute a little bit more to

1260
01:31:25.279 --> 01:31:28.960
hear their names on the show. And they are Johnny Nix,

1261
01:31:29.119 --> 01:31:32.720
Kate and Lulu, Jessica Fuller, Mike h Shcuey, Jenny Green,

1262
01:31:33.000 --> 01:31:36.720
Amber Hansford, Karen we Met, Jack Kerr and Craig Cohen.

1263
01:31:36.760 --> 01:31:38.239
Thank you all so much, And if you want to

1264
01:31:38.279 --> 01:31:40.720
hear your name at the end of every episode of

1265
01:31:40.760 --> 01:31:43.000
Weekly Spooky. All you have to do is head to

1266
01:31:43.039 --> 01:31:47.159
Weeklyspooky dot com slash join and select the fifteen dollar

1267
01:31:47.239 --> 01:31:50.520
a month or higher tier. We really do appreciate it,

1268
01:31:50.560 --> 01:31:55.039
and I love saying your names in my silky spooky voice.

1269
01:31:55.359 --> 01:31:56.920
But now it's time for me to get back to

1270
01:31:56.960 --> 01:32:00.479
work because there's going to be something very special dropping

1271
01:32:00.479 --> 01:32:04.079
this Friday to help keep you in the spooky seasoned

1272
01:32:04.119 --> 01:32:07.079
spirit as we head out of summer and into the

1273
01:32:07.079 --> 01:32:10.479
fall month. So for myself, for my executive producers Rob

1274
01:32:10.520 --> 01:32:14.000
Fields and babbletopia dot Com, my producer Dan Wilder, and

1275
01:32:14.039 --> 01:32:16.880
my composer Ray Mattis, I'll talk at you next time.

1276
01:32:17.359 --> 01:32:18.479
Thank you for listening.

1277
01:32:18.520 --> 01:32:22.439
To make sure to find your way back next week week.

1278
01:32:23.199 --> 01:32:28.479
But for now you are safe, trust me,