Santi - Classic

When Maribel loses her little brother Santi, her very best friend in the world, she learns that love is sometimes stronger than death. We travel to Mexico for this very special Spooked tale.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Glynn Washington?

  In the master's chambers, they gather for the feast. They stab at what they're stealing knives, but they still can't kill the beast. You're listening to Spooked. Stay tuned.

• 0:25Speaker 01

  Why have so many crop circles appeared around Britain? How did thousands of people demonstrate powers of telepathy? Can the dead suck the life from the living? Join me, Tim Harford, for a trip into the paranormal throughout Halloween month on Cautionary Tales. Listen to Cautionary Tales on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

• 1:02Glynn Washington?

  It's easy to say. I've said it myself, it's all in your head. It's just a projection. Born of grief, born of terror, that's all it is. Sure. Don't you get it? But then, projections. Now, projections. They don't talk back. Get ready, dear listeners. Spook starts...now.

• 2:02Glynn Washington?

  Today, we travel to Mexico for a very special story. One that's dear to our hearts here at the Spooked. I'm honoured to introduce you all to Maribel Placencia. Spooked.

• 2:32Speaker 02

  Mi hermano Santiago y yo... My brother Santiago and I, we played a lot. We called Santiago "Santi" for short.

• 2:42Speaker 02

  And sometimes I liked to mess with Santi. One time, we played hide-and-seek, and my mom had this old refrigerator.

• 2:51Speaker 02

  And it occurred to me to stick him in the fridge.

• 2:55Speaker 02

  And boom, I closed the door.

• 2:59Speaker 02

  And that's when I start to hear my brother's cries and screams.

• 3:04Speaker 02

  "Kitty, kitty, I don't see you. Kitty, I don't see you."

• 3:10Speaker 02

  When I opened the door, he throws himself into my arms. And I said, "But why are you crying?"

• 3:18Speaker 02

  "I couldn't see you. I couldn't see you."

• 3:22Speaker 02

  I mean, it was dark in there for my little brother.

• 3:30Speaker 02

  And that's the thing, he hated being alone. When I'd leave for school, he'd also cry. Because he didn't follow anyone else the way he followed me.

• 3:41Speaker 02

  I took care of him, I gave him his bottle, I changed his diapers. We slept together.

• 3:48Speaker 02

  And we grew up like that.

• 3:52Speaker 02

  That day, my mom was in her room, and I was in the kitchen with my sisters. We were playing.

• 4:00Speaker 02

  I was 8 years old, and my little brother was gonna turn 3.

• 4:05Speaker 02

  And a boy from the neighborhood comes by and asks my mom if he could borrow a wheelbarrow. My mom says, "I can't come out, but come inside and take it." So my little brother, when he hears a boy's voice, he runs to see him, because that boy was always playful with him.

• 4:23Speaker 02

  And that boy, he picks up the wheelbarrow that's in the back patio, and it slips. The wheelbarrow hits a brick wall, and some of the bricks fall. And one of those bricks hits my little brother. It hits him on the back of the head, and he falls.

• 4:41Speaker 02

  We all run over to see. My mom takes him in her arms. She picks him up and tries to wake him, but he doesn't respond. I start screaming. What's wrong with my little brother? My mom runs out with my little brother. She's barefoot even, and she gets in a taxi. They left.

• 5:05Speaker 02

  I remember my sister Rossi and I went outside. There was a big rock in the street, and we sat on the rock.

• 5:14Speaker 02

  And I go, "But what happened to him? Did you see? We didn't know what had happened to my little brother." We see the taxi pull up to the house, and my mom looked like a...

• 5:27Speaker 02

  Like a zombie. My mom had my little brother in her arms. And I asked someone, "What happened?" And they said, "Well, your little brother died."

• 5:39Speaker 02

  Back then, I didn't understand what death was. I mean, I didn't know what it meant to die.

• 5:48Speaker 02

  Relatives started arriving, and people from the funeral home came. They said they were going to prepare the boy. And someone said, "Take the girls." So they take us to the neighbor's house.

• 6:05Speaker 02

  We were at the neighbor's house for a long time, when they finally said we could go back.

• 6:12Speaker 02

  I run out towards my house.

• 6:15Speaker 02

  The door to my mom's room was open, and so that's when I see the coffin for the first time.

• 6:22Speaker 02

  A little white coffin.

• 6:28Speaker 02

  And in the middle of her room, they made a cross out of sand. And on top of the cross, they placed my little brother's coffin.

• 6:37Speaker 02

  It had velvet trimming all around it.

• 6:40Speaker 02

  White velvet. I got close. I couldn't see him entirely, but standing on my tippy toes, I was able to see him. He was dressed in white, with a little white button-up shirt and white pants with suspenders.

• 7:01Speaker 02

  His little hands were crossed over his chest. I start crying right there. And I hugged the coffin. "Santi, you're not dead."

• 7:15Speaker 02

  "You're just asleep. Get up, let's play." And the neighbors, one of them grabs me by the waist, another one grabs me by my feet. I'm kicking, I'm screaming. I nearly toppled the coffin. It took three people to carry me out to the patio. They didn't let me back in.

• 7:44Speaker 02

  And then night came, and everyone fell asleep. That's when I decide to go inside. I went and sat next to him.

• 7:54Speaker 02

  And with my hands, I would try to open his eyes and I would say,

• 8:00Speaker 02

  "Wake up. You can't go. You have to be here, because we have so many things to do."

• 8:08Speaker 02

  I kept waiting for him to get up.

• 8:11Speaker 02

  I was so tired, I fell asleep in the chair.

• 8:17Speaker 02

  The next day, my dad put us all in white dresses, with little pockets in the front.

• 8:23Speaker 02

  And then my dad gives me a small bouquet of white roses. People start grabbing flowers. And my dad tells me, "Honey, it's time to take your brother to the cemetery."

• 8:39Speaker 02

  We walked to the cemetery. And he was in the middle. And behind the coffin, my mom, my dad, and us kids. We walked to where there was a hole in the ground. We walked on top of these mounds of dirt. And the dirt fell and would go into the hole. Los zapatos que teníamos estaban ahora negros debido a todo el suelo.

• 9:06Speaker 02

  Eso es cuando comencé a llorar.

• 9:10Speaker 02

  "Papá, no lo puedes poner ahí". "Porque sufriera, va a morir". Todavía recuerdo inclinarme y ver todo negro, húmedo. Y mi papá dijo: "Tu hermano ya está muerto".

• 9:50Speaker 02

  El sacerdote hizo el sermón. Solo pude ver su boca moverse.

• 9:56Speaker 02

  Pero no podía oír nada, nada. No podía oír lo que decía. Solo quería meterme en el túnel con mi pequeño hermano.

• 10:08Speaker 02

  Llenaron su tumba de flores. Y comenzaron a tirar suelo sobre él.

• 10:14Speaker 02

  Y mi mamá gritaba a Dios: "No existes. Si existieras, mi hijo no estaría muerto".

• 10:24Speaker 02

  Se estaba volviendo más oscuro cuando nos fuimos.

• 10:28Speaker 02

  Esa noche dije a mi hermana: "¿Qué pasaría si vamos al cementerio para mantenerlo con nosotros?". Y ella dijo: "No, está muerto".

• 10:39Speaker 02

  Todos los ojos estaban sobre mi mamá. Porque estaba en una muy mala forma.

• 10:45Speaker 02

  Y como niños, nos enviaron a la escuela como si nada hubiera pasado. Pero continué preguntándome: "¿Dónde está mi hermano?".

• 10:53Speaker 02

  De hecho, no dejaría a nadie dormir en mi cama. Porque creía que mi hermano volvería.

• 11:04Speaker 02

  And one night, I was asleep. And when I move my body, I feel something next to me. I feel my arms around someone. I thought, "Oh, one of my sisters came into bed with me." Their backside was up against my chest. But when I opened my eyes, it wasn't my sister, it was my little brother. So I lean over, but real quick, like a spring. "Santi, Santi, estás aquí?" And I go, "Santi, you're here?" He was warm, soft. He was a person, like any other person.

• 11:49Speaker 02

  I mean, he wasn't a ghost or a corpse that was cold and stiff. I mean, it was him, it was him, with his white clothes. He was right there. And he turns his head and looks at me and he laughs. I got scared. We sit on the bed and talk. And I said, "What are you doing here?" And he said, "I haven't left, I'm here." I go, "But we took you in a coffin." And he said, "No, I'm here." And I said, "But you're here all the time? In the morning, at night, you're always here?" And he said, "Yes."

• 12:32Speaker 02

  I go, "Well, let's go tell my mom you're here." And he said, "No, my mom can't see me. No one sees me, only you can see me." But then my brother hugged me and said he was really scared. I go, "Why?" And he says, "Because where I am, it's very cold. And it's dark, and I'm all alone."

• 12:58Speaker 02

  In that moment, I was happy because I was looking at my little brother. I was hugging him, I could feel him.

• 13:06Speaker 02

  I was so happy he was there with me. And I said, "I'm gonna put a sweater on you." And he said, "No, I'm always gonna be cold." And I go, "But why are you cold?" And he said, "My mom cries too much." He said that my mom wasn't letting him go because she cried so much.

• 13:25Speaker 02

  And I said, "But where are you then?"

• 13:29Speaker 02

  And he said that he was always next to my mom.

• 13:36Speaker 02

  It was the next day. I didn't go to school because I wanted to see if my brother was here.

• 13:43Speaker 02

  All my siblings left. My mom, I could see her from my room. I focused on her movements.

• 13:54Speaker 02

  With my eyes, I scanned her bed to try to see where my little brother could be. I get out of bed. I go to her back and her head. And I start touching her with my hands. And I go to her feet. I sit on the bed and I stare at her.

• 14:12Speaker 02

  And she says, "Well, honey, are you crazy? What are you doing?" "Nothing." "What are you looking for?" "Nothing, nothing."

• 14:21Speaker 02

  And I stand up and I say, "Oh, I think I left something under your bed." I thought, "Maybe because it was dark underneath the bed, he might be there."

• 14:32Speaker 02

  I go under the bed to look.

• 14:37Speaker 02

  I couldn't find him. I couldn't feel him. I didn't see him.

• 14:45Speaker 02

  During the day, I was always sad. At school, I stopped doing homework. I would fall asleep on my desk. I stopped playing with other kids. I didn't want to play with anybody, not even with my sisters, with nobody. I became quiet.

• 15:03Speaker 02

  But when night came, it's like I came to life again. Because I knew that at night, my brother would come. My little brother would come, and he would say, "I'm here."

• 15:17Speaker 02

  Oh, when I would hear those words, I would get up so fast, and I would say, "Let's play. What do you want to play?" "Patty Cake, Patty Cake."

• 15:28Speaker 02

  And we would play with his toys. And one time, we started playing in my mom's room.

• 15:36Speaker 02

  And then my mom woke up. My brother runs behind me. I immediately put my arms up, like trying to cover my brother up, so my mom wouldn't see him.

• 15:48Speaker 02

  "What are you doing, honey? Are you okay? What's wrong? Why are you playing?" And I go, "No, no, no, no, no. I'm fine, I'm fine." "But what are you doing?" "Nothing, nothing. Just go to sleep."

• 16:02Speaker 02

  When I see my mom close her eyes, I say, "She's asleep." But when I turned around, my brother isn't there anymore. So then, I wouldn't see him anymore. I never saw him walk away or anything. He'd just disappear.

• 16:20Speaker 02

  But I didn't tell anyone. I was scared that if anyone else found out, I wouldn't be able to see him anymore.

• 16:29Speaker 02

  And then, one day, my family started to wonder why some of Santiago's toys kept popping up on the floor every morning. His little cars, his favorite three-legged giraffe, or this little ball. My sister Rossi said, "I know who plays with the toys." And my mom said, "Who?"

• 16:51Speaker 02

  Kitty gets up in the middle of the night.

• 16:55Speaker 02

  She plays with someone, she talks with them, and she laughs. "Liar, liar, that's not true. I don't play with anyone, I don't get up." I mean, I denied it. My mom said, "Honey, maybe you're dreaming or something." "No, it's not true. It's not true." And my sister goes, "Yes, she does get up."

• 17:18Speaker 02

  They even had my sister keep an eye on me during the night to see who I played with, but she never did because she was so scared.

• 17:27Speaker 02

  And so I kept seeing my brother. I kept playing with him.

• 17:36Speaker 02

  And one night, he came, and he said that soon, we were going to be together.

• 17:43Speaker 02

  I stopped eating. I would only take a couple of bites of food. And later, I would stick my finger down my throat to get the food out. I had a dog, and the dog would go under the table. And sometimes, I would give my food to him. And no one noticed.

• 18:05Speaker 02

  I was getting thinner and thinner. I had big bags under my eyes. I was letting myself die, so I could be with him.

• 18:17Speaker 02

  And so here comes my grandma. And she says, "You know what? Something's happening here that's not normal. This girl isn't well." And so she says, "We're going to take her to a temple." And I go, "What's that?" "It's a place where they're going to cure you." "I'm not sick." So that night, I see my brother. And I cry, and I tell him. "My grandma says she's going to take me to a temple." And he said, "Don't go. You have to be with me."

• 18:56Speaker 02

  So when the day came to go to the temple, I made it so hard for them to get me out of the house. I threw myself on the ground, and I said, "I'm not going. I'm not going. I'm not sick." They dragged me out of the house, and they took me.

• 19:15Speaker 02

  When we got there, I saw a room with candles.

• 19:20Speaker 02

  And I said, "I don't want to. I don't want to see the witch." And they said, "She's not a witch." "I don't want to," I screamed.

• 19:50Speaker 02

  They pushed me in. And when I see this woman, she scared me. The woman was big, her hair was long, she was dressed in white. She was sitting in a chair, and her eyes were closed. She looked ugly. I'm standing in front of her, and she starts... And like, her whole body was shaking. And her hands were shaking.

• 20:15Speaker 02

  And then my mom says, "Ma'am, I'm here with my daughter." And the woman says, "Quiet, sister. Quiet. I know why you're here."

• 20:25Speaker 02

  The woman says to my mom, "You have a son that just died, who was very close to this girl." My mom starts crying, and says, "Yes."

• 20:36Speaker 02

  "Your son," she says, "he's going to take your daughter." "Your son can't find the light. Your son is in the darkness. But because you won't let him go, you cry for him too much." And she said,

• 20:53Speaker 02

  "Your son's frightened. He feels alone, and that's why he wants to take his sister. And he's going to take your daughter, if you don't do something."

• 21:06Speaker 02

  I wasn't sure if the woman was telling the truth, but what she said was very similar to what my brother had told me. I didn't know what to feel. The woman said, "You're going to do a novena día." Every day, we were going to pray in my mom's room, where the vigil for my brother had been held.

• 21:29Speaker 02

  I would have to get on my knees and pray for nine days.

• 21:34Speaker 02

  And with that, my brother would find the light.

• 21:38Speaker 02

  The first days were hard.

• 21:42Speaker 02

  My mom, my dad, and my grandma, they would have to drag me into my mom's room to pray.

• 21:51Speaker 02

  And when they would start to pray, I would cover my ears and lie down on the floor.

• 21:58Speaker 02

  I remember how they would force me. They would have to grab me by the shoulders and the knees to get me to kneel.

• 22:06Speaker 02

  I felt that if I prayed, I was going to harm my brother. That my brother was going to be alone and trapped forever in that cold and dark place.

• 22:16Speaker 02

  So I would cover my ears and go, "No, no, no, I'm not going to pray. I'm not going to pray." And then my parents would start the prayer all over again.

• 22:36Speaker 02

  And then one night, my mom started crying and screaming, "God, I give you my son." And to my little brother, she'd say, "Baby, follow the light." That's when things started to change.

• 22:52Speaker 02

  We were halfway through the novena día, and in the night, my brother comes and says, "I'm here." So I get up.

• 23:02Speaker 02

  "Guess what? It's not dark anymore. There's light." And I go, "What do you mean?" He says, "I can see light."

• 23:10Speaker 02

  And I said, "Like, from a light bulb?"

• 23:14Speaker 02

  "Or from a lamp, or like a match." He tried pointing to where the light was coming from, but I couldn't see anything.

• 23:23Speaker 02

  And he said, "There's so much light, there are so many kids, and there's a man who's very good." He said, "Look, this man is waiting for me." And I go, "But how are you going to go with that man if you don't even know him?" And he goes, "He's good. He's good." And I said, "But how do you know they are kids? You already went?" And he said, "Yes, I'm already with them." And I go, "But how, Santi, if you're here?" And he goes, "Because there's light, and now I can see the path. But this man said I had to come and say bye to you." I started crying, and I said, "No."

• 24:03Speaker 02

  He goes, "Yes, my mom doesn't cry anymore." "She doesn't cry anymore, and she's better."

• 24:10Speaker 02

  I go, "Well, tell the man to take me with you." And my little brother said, "You can't come with me. You're going to live a very long time."

• 24:22Speaker 02

  And I said, "Aren't you scared?" He said, "No." "Aren't you cold?" And I said, "You're not cold at all?" "No." "Are you happy?" And he said, "Yes." "You like to play with the kids?"

• 24:35Speaker 02

  I mean, I interrogated him, and he said, "Yes."

• 24:39Speaker 02

  We hugged, and we cried. I started to feel calm. It's like I was no longer afraid to let go of my brother. He smiled now. His face was so different.

• 24:51Speaker 02

  He looked happy.

• 24:54Speaker 02

  He got up and said, "I have to go." He turned. He walked across the dining room and went out the patio.

• 25:06Speaker 02

  And this is something I never saw, right? How my brother left? But this time, I did see. And from that moment, I never saw him again.

• 25:20Speaker 02

  When I woke up the next day, I looked around me. Everyone was sleeping. I see my mom in her bed. So I get out of bed. I go to her. I start moving her, and I said, "Mom, mom." And she wakes up, surprised. "Honey, what's wrong?" And I said, "I'm hungry. I want to eat."

• 25:44Speaker 02

  I was sitting at the table, and my mom gave me a glass of milk with bread.

• 25:51Speaker 02

  And I go, "Mom, Santiago's gone." "Honey, what do you mean? You saw him?" And I go, "Yes, he came for the last time. He said goodbye to me."

• 26:04Speaker 02

  My mom falls to her knees, and she cries and cries.

• 26:11Speaker 02

  And my mom said, "Yes, baby."

• 26:16Speaker 02

  "Follow the light, my love. Follow the light."

• 26:23Speaker 02

  Little by little, I told my mom everything.

• 26:27Speaker 02

  I started to get better.

• 26:30Speaker 02

  I started playing with everyone and I would tell my sisters, "Let's play patty cake." And every time we played patty cake, I thought of my little brother, but now it felt nice.

• 26:44Speaker 02

  And there is one thing. I was always looking up at the sky. And my mom would catch me and say, "What are you looking for?" And I would tell her,

• 26:56Speaker 02

  "It's just, I want to see the light."

• 27:15Glynn Washington?

  Thank you, Maribel. From the bottom of our hearts for sharing your extraordinary story. Love to you and your family. That piece comes to us from Spook correspondent, Eric Yanies. Original score by Renzo Gorio. Produced by our very own Nancy Lopez. And we're gonna have a Spanish language version of this story available.

• 27:41Glynn Washington?

  Now then. Just because we've reached the end doesn't mean it's over, Spookster. It is never over. Never over. And if you want stories free of those things that bump in the night, check out our sister podcast, Snap Judgment. Real people. Real stories that might just blow your mind. Cinema of sound. Snap Judgment.org.

• 28:08Glynn Washington?

  Spooked is brought to you by the team that steadfastly ignores any and all voices heard in the middle of the night. Please run away. From Mark Ristich. From Anna Sussman. Our chief spooksters, Eliza Smith, Marissa Dodge, Renzo Gorio, Leon Morimoto, Jacob Winnick, Tiffany Yaliza, Anne Ford, Eric Yanies, Sana Khan. Original score is by Lauren Newsom. My name is Glynn Washington now.

• 28:40Glynn Washington?

  If you find a nickel in the forest, ask yourself some serious questions. Have you prepared to be in this forest? And for what reason are you searching for nickels when you know full well that your attention needs to be on remembering with laser-like focus to never, ever, no matter what, never, ever, never, never, never, never, ever, never, turn out the light.