Three Elves on the Shelf

Lorena and her family are on vacation in Huasca, Mexico, where she buys three cute elf figurines at, “El Museo de los Duendes,” the Museum of the Elves. Apparently, these creatures can grant you wishes. But you gotta be careful what you wish for...

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

• 0:06Glynn Washington?

  Christmas is coming, but you don't stop to chat. And you don't put no money in this old man's hat. If you got none extra, well, that'll have to do. But if you're sitting on gold, I'm coming for you.

• 0:32Glynn Washington?

  Listen to Spooked. Stay tuned.

• 0:44Glynn Washington?

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• 1:27Glynn Washington?

  Spooksters, you have spoken. We want more spook, you said. We want to support the show, you said. And can we please, for the love of all that is holy, please get rid of those ads? Well, prayers answered. Spooked Plus has risen. Ad-free spook, the entire library, no interruptions, just you and whatever's lurking in the shadows. Exclusive bonus stories every month, fresh nightmares you won't hear anywhere else. The Spooked Plus community. Listen together, chat in real time, because no one should face the darkest alone. And, and, ask me anything for yours truly.

• 2:12Glynn Washington?

  If you've got questions, I've got answers. Maybe, and we're just getting started. Spook says, "We are a small team chasing down the big mystery. Your support keeps this flame burning, so come on in. The door is open. Spooked.supercast.com. That's spooked.supercast.com. Spooked Plus. Don't turn out the lights.

• 2:55Glynn Washington?

  I have a bad dog. I mean, Georgie's a good boy. He's a sweet mutt. Somebody found him wandering around the side of the road. He's just a couple of weeks old, missing a leg. So I don't know about his early life. It seems like it was tough, really hard. But whatever happened, it gave him something, some kind of magic power. Because now Georgie refuses to do tricks or anything, the come, fetch, heal. He can't be bothered. Instead, he's got a sixth sense. If you're feeling some kind of way, if you haven't even noticed it yourself,

• 3:40Glynn Washington?

  he notices it, puts his head in your lap, looks directly at you. No screens, no filters, makes you feel better. So then a little while ago, this dog suddenly starts bringing rocks in the house. Rocks, and I don't want him to hurt himself. So I take the rock from him. I toss it as far as I can. Bad dog, leave them rocks alone. But then he's right back in the house with some rock. Georgie, for the love of God. And it takes a while to notice that it isn't rocks that he's bringing in the house.

• 4:23Glynn Washington?

  It's a rock, one rock. Doesn't look particularly special, about the size of my palm, just a rock-colored rock. And it's crazy. I can throw this rock, bury it, hide it, whatever. The dog is going to find the rock.

• 4:43Glynn Washington?

  Fine, let me just decide. Let the baby have his bottle. Aight, Georgie. The rock stays in the house.

• 4:53Glynn Washington?

  And putting this rock in the living room, it seems to make this dog happy. Or happier. He's always happy as a clam. And now the dog that won't watch TV or anything will sit and look at this rock for hours.

• 5:11Glynn Washington?

  And I don't care about any rock. At least I didn't. But Georgie loves this rock.

• 5:19Glynn Washington?

  And I love Georgie.

• 5:22Glynn Washington?

  So now,

• 5:25Glynn Washington?

  I love the rock. It's become kind of a totem. A charm. I rub this rock for luck. Sometimes I sit right next to Georgie and I look at the rock too. It's nice.

• 5:42Glynn Washington?

  In fact, if a thief came in the darkest night and stole away this rock, my family would mourn the loss. Something special.

• 5:56Glynn Washington?

  For real. What is going on, I do not know. But...

• 6:06Glynn Washington?

  Georgie's getting older.

• 6:11Glynn Washington?

  And I just ask the universe.

• 6:14Glynn Washington?

  To please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please.

• 6:21Glynn Washington?

  Please leave this rock

• 6:24Glynn Washington?

  exactly where it is.

• 7:23Glynn Washington?

  Rocks, statues, ceramics. Let's meet Lorena. Lorena, she's on vacation down in Mexico with her mother and her sister. They've been checking out some amazing landmarks. With a little bit of time to kill, the tour guide suggests a detour to Wasca. Now, Wasca is a charming town located deep in the forests of central Mexico. Now, it's beautiful, certainly. Pretty.

• 7:54Glynn Washington?

  But that's only scratching the surface.

• 7:58Glynn Washington?

  Food.

• 8:44Speaker 01

  Vamos en el coche, por una recta muy muy larga. La carretera es destapada. We're in the car driving down a long, straight dirt road.

• 8:58Speaker 01

  The sky is turning gray. The trees are covered in moss, creating this archway over the road.

• 9:08Speaker 02

  Nuestro guía se llamaba Fernando.

• 9:11Speaker 01

  Our guide's name is Fernando. He's been driving us around on this private tour.

• 9:19Speaker 01

  At one point, he says, "You should take out your cameras. People often take photos of these trees, hoping to spot elves and fairies."

• 9:31Speaker 01

  Okay, this is obviously not true. My sister is just as skeptical, but my mom, she's totally on board. Growing up, she heard a lot of stories about elves.

• 9:47Speaker 01

  So, she pulls out her phone and starts snapping pictures left and right.

• 9:57Speaker 02

  Por fin llegamos al museo.

• 10:00Speaker 01

  We finally get to the museum.

• 10:04Speaker 01

  We enter this little building that looks like a fairy tale cottage made out of bricks and wood.

• 10:12Speaker 01

  We walk into this huge hall, and it's filled with elf dolls.

• 10:18Speaker 02

  En todas las paredes hay figuras de duendes.

• 10:21Speaker 01

  They're on the walls, they're sitting on benches. Some are a foot and a half tall, others just a few inches. Some are plastic, others porcelain.

• 10:37Speaker 02

  Los duendes no... no son muy lindos.

• 10:41Speaker 01

  These elves aren't exactly cute. They look like kids with grown-up faces. They have big ears, wrinkled skin, huge noses. Some wear pointy hats and baggy pants. And their eyes... Their eyes are so expressive.

• 11:03Speaker 02

  Cada uno tiene como su historia y su nombre.

• 11:07Speaker 01

  Cada elf tiene un pequeño signo con su historia y su nombre. Uno de ellos está vinculado a la fertilidad y el guía nos dice que las personas que quieren tener hijos deberían dejar algo de dinero en frente de ellos. Hay otro elf para aquellos que están luchando con las adicciones. Está rodeado de cigarros y una botella de alcohol.

• 11:31Speaker 01

  Hasta hay un libro de invitados donde la gente deja notas de gracias a estos elfes. La gente escribe cosas como: "Gracias por permitirme ir en esta vacación". "Gracias porque finalmente podemos tener un hijo".

• 11:46Speaker 01

  Y estoy ahí sentada como...

• 11:48Speaker 02

  ¿Será verdad esto?

• 11:50Speaker 01

  ¿Es esto real?

• 11:55Speaker 02

  Cuando ya terminamos el recorrido, hay una tienda de...

• 12:00Speaker 01

  Así que terminamos el tour y nos encontramos con esta pequeña tienda de regalos.

• 12:06Speaker 01

  Hay llantas de clavos, magnes... Pero también estos pequeños elfes, de aproximadamente dos pulgadas de alto.

• 12:16Speaker 02

  Su cara era tierna.

• 12:20Speaker 01

  Estos elfes, son tan caros. Se ven como juguetes de cerveza. Todos están llevando cristales de cuartos, con cada cristal representando una poderes elfos únicos.

• 12:35Speaker 01

  Así que conseguimos un rojo para mi mamá, para su salud.

• 12:40Speaker 01

  Ella tuvo un accidente hace unos años y sufre de amnesia anterografa.

• 12:47Speaker 01

  Ella suele olvidar cosas que suceden durante el día, pero se aferra a sus viejos recuerdos. Para mi hermana, que acabó de graduarse y está buscando trabajo, elegimos un verde para la prosperidad.

• 13:05Speaker 01

  Para mí, estoy muy bien en el trabajo. Las cosas están bien con mi compañero.

• 13:10Speaker 02

  Entonces dije, me llevo el de la suerte.

• 13:12Speaker 01

  Así que simplemente elijo uno para la suerte.

• 13:29Glynn Washington?

  This episode is sponsored by Vinted. Imagine opening my closet, looking for a shirt, and I see that jacket. That jacket, that jacket I got for that party I never went to three years ago. That jacket, it's still there, it's still mocking me. Well, it was still there. Because then I stopped and I reached for my phone, because Vinted is a secondhand marketplace app where you can sell clothes that you no longer wear. Listing on Vinted is quick and simple. Once an item sells, Vinted creates the prepaid shipping label for you. And Vinted has no seller fees, meaning you keep every dollar you earn.

• 14:12Glynn Washington?

  And I could get a little more room in my closet, you know, for that next jacket. Give your clothes a second life with Vinted. Download the Vinted app for free and start listing. No seller fees, so you keep everything you earn.

• 14:44Speaker 02

  Cuatro días después, llegamos a nuestra ciudad, Pasto, Colombia.

• 14:48Speaker 01

  Four days later, we are back home in Pasto, Colombia. We start unpacking and we take out the elves. I put my elf on a shelf that's in my room. My mom puts hers next to the TV. And my sister takes hers to her room. Then my sister says...

• 15:07Speaker 02

  Les vamos a poner dulces, les vamos a poner monedas.

• 15:12Speaker 01

  Let's try giving them some candy and some coins. So, we rummage around for whatever candy we have at home.

• 15:21Speaker 02

  Recuerdo tanto que era un super coco.

• 15:24Speaker 01

  I find a super coco. It's a very cheap coconut candy with cream filling, super sweet. And I just put it under the elf and take a picture. I send the picture to my friend, Tatiana, just to brag about my trip.

• 15:41Speaker 01

  She replies back...

• 15:44Speaker 02

  ¿Por qué no me trajiste uno a mí?

• 15:46Speaker 01

  Why didn't you bring one for me?

• 15:54Speaker 01

  Of course, weeks go by and nothing happens. I don't feel any luck here. My sister, she gets a job, but we don't think it's because of the elves. And my mom, well, she eventually walks around the house and grabs the elves candy and the coins. She just forgot.

• 16:19Speaker 01

  One day, I'm at work and my sister texts me, asking if I had taken her purse.

• 16:27Speaker 01

  I'm like, "No."

• 16:30Speaker 01

  Apparently, it had a lot of money inside, and she had put it on a tall shelf at home.

• 16:37Speaker 01

  So when I get home, I help her look for it.

• 16:40Speaker 02

  Las dos buscamos ahí, y no estaba.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  We look on the shelf, nothing there. We look all around the apartment, nothing. So I tell her...

• 16:53Speaker 02

  ¿Caro, y si le ponemos una moneda, qué tal aparezca?

• 16:57Speaker 01

  "What if we give your elf a coin? Maybe that will help us find it." I'm just joking, but she puts a coin in front of her elf and says...

• 17:10Speaker 02

  Les dijo: "Por favor, duendes, que aparezca mi cartera."

• 17:13Speaker 01

  "Elf, please, let me find my purse." Ten minutes later, we're back searching through the same spots, and...

• 17:22Speaker 02

  Ahí está.

• 17:23Speaker 01

  There it was. Right where she had left it, on the top of the shelf.

• 17:30Speaker 02

  Suelto una risa, pero risa nerviosa.

• 17:33Speaker 01

  I let out a nervous laugh, but we're like, "Maybe we didn't see it before."

• 17:44Speaker 02

  Y entonces llega la Navidad.

• 17:47Speaker 01

  It's now the Christmas season. Our tree is up, and a cute snowman tablecloth covers our dining table.

• 17:57Speaker 01

  I'm at home doing arts and crafts for a work contest, to see who could make the best nativity scene using only recyclables.

• 18:07Speaker 01

  My task is the tree wise man, so I make one of the wise man figurines with styrofoam and old fabric.

• 18:17Speaker 01

  Once I finish, I leave it on my bedroom table and go take a shower.

• 18:26Speaker 02

  Cuando salí a la habitación, no estaba.

• 18:31Speaker 01

  When I get out of the shower, the wise man figurine is not there anymore.

• 18:39Speaker 01

  My first thought is, I'm home alone, so maybe one of my dogs took it? But that's impossible.

• 18:49Speaker 01

  We got a fence in the hallway to keep them out of the bedrooms.

• 18:54Speaker 01

  So I searched the rest of the house, but this wise man is nowhere to be found.

• 19:03Speaker 01

  Hmm.

• 19:05Speaker 01

  This has already happened to my sister and her purse.

• 19:10Speaker 01

  So I start to toy with the idea of talking to my elf.

• 19:20Speaker 01

  My elf already had a couple of coins in front of it, about 50 pesos.

• 19:27Speaker 01

  So I stand in front of the elf and say:

• 19:30Speaker 02

  Señor Duende, por favor, le dije que aparezca mi figura, y te pongo un billete.

• 19:37Speaker 01

  Mr. Elf, please, bring back my figurine, and I will give you more money.

• 19:44Speaker 01

  I feel so silly talking to the elf.

• 19:49Speaker 01

  I go back to the living room and start searching everywhere again.

• 19:55Speaker 01

  But then, I turn around and...

• 19:58Speaker 02

  The la figura estaba en el árbol de Navidad.

• 20:02Speaker 01

  The wise man is sitting on my Christmas tree, on one of the branches.

• 20:11Speaker 02

  Me asusté.

• 20:12Speaker 01

  I'm scared.

• 20:14Speaker 02

  Yo dije: "No, es imposible. Yo... yo no fui."

• 20:18Speaker 01

  This is impossible. It... it wasn't me.

• 20:23Speaker 01

  But I go to my room, and I put a 2,000 peso bill under my elf. About half a dollar.

• 20:38Speaker 01

  When my sister and my mom get to the apartment, I tell them what happened. But I try to keep the details light, so I don't scare my mom. She just laughs, and says: "Well, looks like we did bring some magical elves with us." She wasn't scared at all.

• 21:01Speaker 01

  But I'm a little spooked, because I was alone when it all happened.

• 21:08Speaker 01

  That's when I start to believe in the elves. I start to feel like they're alive, living in my home. So I just keep giving them treats, just in case.

• 21:22Speaker 02

  Las siguientes semanas, empecé a volverme más generosa con ellos.

• 21:27Speaker 01

  Over the next few weeks, I become more generous. I give them nicer candy, not super cocos, and larger bills. But I'm the only one doing it. My sister never gives them anything. As for my mom, she starts taking the money and the candy again.

• 21:54Speaker 02

  Unos días después del episodio del árbol de Navidad, había un concierto de Marco Antonio Solís.

• 22:02Speaker 01

  A few days after the Christmas tree incident, there's a Marco Antonio Solís concert. I'm in line with my boyfriend and my uncle. It's almost 7:00 p.m.

• 22:16Speaker 01

  Suddenlly, I receive a phone call from one of my aunts. She tells me that my mom's not answering her calls.

• 22:26Speaker 01

  So, I call my mom.

• 22:30Speaker 01

  No answer.

• 22:32Speaker 01

  It's getting late, and my mom usually doesn't go out alone.

• 22:39Speaker 01

  I start worrying that something might have happened to her. Or maybe she had some kind of breakdown. Even though she's been living with Adnisha for eight years, something like this has never happened.

• 22:56Speaker 01

  I step out of the line, and I leave my boyfriend and uncle behind.

• 23:03Speaker 01

  When I get home, I start walking around the block. But I don't see her anywhere.

• 23:09Speaker 02

  Estaba en pánico total.

• 23:11Speaker 01

  I'm starting to panic, because it's almost nine. She's been missing for three hours.

• 23:19Speaker 02

  Estoy desesperada, y al punto de casi llorar.

• 23:23Speaker 01

  I'm so desperate that I wanna cry. I'm thinking the worst. Maybe she was kidnapped? Maybe she had an accident?

• 23:35Speaker 01

  Then, an idea pops up in my head. I mean, this is like my last resort.

• 23:44Speaker 02

  Cerré los ojos y les hablé a los duendes.

• 23:48Speaker 01

  I close my eyes, and I talk to the elves. Just like how you would pray to God.

• 23:55Speaker 02

  I say: "Por favor que aparezca mi mamá, y yo les voy a poner un billete de 50.000."

• 24:02Speaker 01

  "Please, bring my mom back home. I'll give you a 50,000 peso bill, about 12 dollars." That was the biggest denomination in Colombia back then.

• 24:15Speaker 01

  Después de rezar, me miro y me voy de vuelta a casa. Y cuando me miro al espejo...

• 24:23Speaker 02

  Veo a mi mamá en la puerta, parada.

• 24:27Speaker 01

  Veo a mi mamá, parada frente a nuestro edificio.

• 24:31Speaker 02

  Fue inmediato, se...

• 24:33Speaker 01

  Se pasó tan inmediatamente. Mi mamá es tan tranquila, como si nada hubiera pasado.

• 24:41Speaker 01

  Le digo: "He estado buscándola toda la noche", y ella dice que quería ir a caminar, y que no escuchó su llamada por teléfono, pero estaba bien.

• 24:57Speaker 01

  Volvemos al apartamento, y estoy pensando...

• 25:01Speaker 02

  Gracias, yo. Gracias, gracias, gracias, duendes. Así.

• 25:05Speaker 01

  Gracias, gracias, gracias, elfes.

• 25:09Speaker 01

  Llevo un billete de cincuenta mil pesos, lo envuelvo con una bandera de plástico, y lo pongo suavemente junto a mi elf.

• 25:19Speaker 01

  Ese es el incidente que me hizo respetar más a los elfes.

• 25:25Speaker 01

  Empiezo a sentirme un poco obsesionado. Empiezo a dejar más dinero. Billetes de cinco mil pesos, cien pesos en monedas.

• 25:37Speaker 02

  Llegó un punto en el que yo les hablaba.

• 25:41Speaker 01

  Empiezo a hablarles. Cuando estoy solo, le digo en voz alta:

• 25:47Speaker 02

  "No te vayas a llevar mis cosas".

• 25:50Speaker 01

  "Por favor, no os escondáis".

• 25:52Speaker 02

  "No vayas a lastimarnos".

• 25:54Speaker 01

  "Por favor, no os lastimes".

• 26:03Speaker 01

  Entonces, un día, voy a salir a tomar bebidas con un amigo, pero me doy cuenta de que no tengo dinero. Así que mi única opción es tomar el billete de cincuenta mil pesos del elf.

• 26:17Speaker 01

  Me subo al elf, miro en sus ojos y digo:

• 26:22Speaker 02

  Que le iba a tomar prestado el billete y luego se lo devolvía.

• 26:25Speaker 01

  Voy a tomar el dinero, pero asegurarme de devolverlo más tarde.

• 26:53Speaker 01

  Una noche, mi novio está estando en mi lugar. Estamos durmiendo, y de repente...

• 26:59Speaker 02

  Sentimos un golpe fuerte, eh, en la sala.

• 27:03Speaker 01

  Escuchamos un golpe fuerte en la habitación. Como si alguien hubiera dejado una silla.

• 27:11Speaker 01

  Me levanto para ver si estaba bien. Pero todo parece como si fuera. Así que lo limpio y me voy de nuevo a la cama. El siguiente día, aún estoy medio dormida, sentada junto a mi novio. Se estira su brazo y dice:

• 27:31Speaker 02

  Mira.

• 27:31Speaker 01

  ¡Mira!

• 27:33Speaker 02

  Vi que estaba lleno de rasguños pequeños.

• 27:38Speaker 01

  Su brazo está cubierto de estos pequeños broches. Estos broches son pequeños y cortos. Como... Los Duendes de bebé.

• 27:50Speaker 01

  Parece que alguien lo hizo con propósito.

• 27:55Speaker 01

  Envío un mensaje a mi hermana sobre el golpe y los broches.

• 28:00Speaker 01

  Y ella responde con una foto de su brazo.

• 28:04Speaker 02

  Sus brazos llenos de moretones.

• 28:08Speaker 01

  Su brazo está cubierto de estos pequeños broches. De tamaño de monedas.

• 28:16Speaker 01

  Ella dice: "No recuerdo haberme herido a mí misma. Se aparecieron esta mañana."

• 28:24Speaker 02

  Ahí nos empezamos a asustar.

• 28:27Speaker 01

  Comenzamos a asustarnos.

• 28:29Speaker 02

  Sabíamos que eran los Duendes.

• 28:31Speaker 01

  Son los elfos. Estamos seguros de que son ellos.

• 28:38Speaker 01

  Mi hermana dice que deberíamos los dejar ir. Pero algo dentro de mí me dice que... No puede ser tan fácil.

• 28:53Speaker 01

  So we called this family friend who's helped us with this type of thing before.

• 28:59Speaker 01

  He comes over and I show him the elves. He just stares at them for a moment.

• 29:08Speaker 01

  And then, he asks me to put them back in my room.

• 29:13Speaker 01

  He says, "They can't be here with us, because they will hear us talking." I'm gonna tell you how to get rid of them.

• 29:29Speaker 01

  The first thing he says is:

• 29:31Speaker 02

  "Estos duendes son muy poderosos. Les han dado muchos regalos."

• 29:36Speaker 01

  "These elves are very powerful. You've been giving them a lot of treats." And then he looks at me and says, "Actually, your elf is the most powerful, because of all the money and candy you've given him." "That's the one to blame for everything that's been going on." He says, "You bought these elves for a reason. But if you continue to keep them in your house, they will turn against you. Your mom's health will suffer. Your sister will struggle at work. And you will run out of luck."

• 30:19Speaker 02

  Estaba asustada, muy asustada.

• 30:23Speaker 01

  I'm freaking out. I'm wondering, "What if we can get rid of them? What should we do?" He says:

• 30:32Speaker 02

  "El secreto para deshacernos de ellos..."

• 30:35Speaker 01

  "The secret to get rid of them."

• 30:38Speaker 01

  "And don't ever repeat this aloud, okay?"

• 30:44Speaker 02

  Vas a buscar una iglesia que tenga dos puertas?

• 30:47Speaker 01

  You're gonna look for a church. And this church must have two doors.

• 30:54Speaker 01

  One door to enter, another to exit.

• 30:59Speaker 02

  ¿Los vas a llevar?

• 31:00Speaker 01

  You're gonna take them. And you're gonna leave them at the church's entrance. Then, you're gonna tell them, loud and clear, so they can hear you.

• 31:11Speaker 02

  Por favor, espérenme aquí.

• 31:13Speaker 01

  Wait for me here.

• 31:16Speaker 02

  Y yo ya regreso por ustedes.

• 31:18Speaker 01

  I'll be right back.

• 31:21Speaker 01

  After that, you're gonna enter the church. Pray. And when you're ready, you'll exit through the other door.

• 31:36Speaker 01

  That night, I text my friend Tatiana. I tell her:

• 31:41Speaker 02

  Voy a hacer algo y necesito que me acompañes.

• 31:44Speaker 01

  I need to do something, and I need you to come with me. She asks, "What is this all about?" And I tell her, "It's about the elves." She's not taking me seriously. She just replies, "Well, make sure your elf is not reading your texts."

• 32:06Speaker 01

  So the next morning, I meet up with Tatiana. And we head towards the church. I'm carrying the elves in a black, plastic bag. We're walking in silence.

• 32:21Speaker 01

  When we get to the church, there's no one around.

• 32:27Speaker 02

  Caminé hacia la entrada

• 32:29Speaker 01

  I walked through the front entrance.

• 32:31Speaker 02

  y los dejé en la primera escalera

• 32:35Speaker 01

  And I placed the bag on the doorstep.

• 32:40Speaker 01

  I say: "Esperenme aquí, que ya regreso." "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

• 32:50Speaker 01

  My friend and I go inside. We sit down and start to pray. At the back of the church, next to the statue of the Virgin Mary, I see the exit door, wide open to my right.

• 33:07Speaker 01

  I'm praying for the elves to stay, so they don't follow me.

• 33:14Speaker 01

  After a few minutes, we slowly stand up and leave through the exit door.

• 33:22Speaker 01

  We quickly turn the corner and start speedwalking.

• 33:27Speaker 02

  Estaba muy agitada, nerviosa.

• 33:30Speaker 01

  I feel agitated, nervous.

• 33:34Speaker 02

  Estaba como escapando.

• 33:36Speaker 01

  It's like we're escaping.

• 33:49Speaker 01

  Once we are far from the church, I start telling Tatiana the whole story about losing money and losing my mom.

• 33:57Speaker 01

  She's freaking out. She's like:

• 34:00Speaker 02

  "¿Cómo la voy a llevar? ¿Hacer algo así? ¿Qué tal se le hubieran pegado a ella?

• 34:05Speaker 01

  "Why did you bring me here? What if they come with me? "What if someone sees them and takes them?"

• 34:13Speaker 01

  I tell her:

• 34:14Speaker 02

  "No sé."

• 34:15Speaker 01

  "I don't know. I just hope people think it's a trash bag and throw it away."

• 34:25Speaker 01

  Once we get back to the apartment, I tell my sister and my mom what we had done. My sister looks relieved, but my mom? Well, she laughs at everything. She chuckles and says: "Ay, pobrecitos. Poor little things. Who's gonna take care of them now?"

• 34:49Speaker 01

  I have never, ever gone back to that church. I think that was the first and the last time I have ever been in that area.

• 34:59Speaker 02

  Mi miedo era que si yo pasaba por ahí, estuvieran esperándome.

• 35:04Speaker 01

  I'm scared that if I walk by, they're still waiting for me.

• 35:10Speaker 02

  Porque yo les dije que me esperaran.

• 35:12Speaker 01

  Because I told them, "I'll be back."

• 35:40Glynn Washington?

  Thank you, thank you Lorena, for sharing your story with the Spooked. And do not forget, the next time you're in Mexico, be sure to pay a visit to a Museo de los Duendes in Huascar. But please be careful with any souvenirs you may purchase.

• 36:00Glynn Washington?

  Lorena's English voice in that story was by Laura Ubate. The original score was by Nicholas Marks. This piece was scouted and produced by Eric Yáñez.

• 36:25Glynn Washington?

  Oh, yes. 'Tis the season, dear Spookster, the winter solstice holds a special place in the hearts of those who seek to understand the shadow. And there are creatures, entities, set to only make their presence known during this season and no other. So, if you have a story about such a power, about your relationship with such an entity, I would love, love, love to hear it. I promise to tell only one million of my closest friends the magical mystical fellowship of Spooksters. Let me know, [email protected],

• 37:07Glynn Washington?

  because there is nothing better than a Spook story from a Spooked listener.

• 37:20Glynn Washington?

  Spooked is brought to you by the team that doesn't give pennies to elves under any circumstances, except for Mark Ristich. He's out here, willy-nilly, on these streets, sticking coins into every scary-looking ceramic he can find. Naturally, there's David Kim, Zoe Farigno, Eric Yanis, Taylor Decat, Marissa Dodge, Miles Lassie, Doug Stewart, Elliot Lightfoot, Paulina Kriki, Juan Diego Beltran, Sasha Wilson, Dan Yacinski. The Spook theme song is by Pat Lassini Miller.

• 38:04Glynn Washington?

  My name's Lynn Washington, and we bow before the carved figure sitting on the lotus leaf, or the god hanging from a cross, or the deity standing at the temple gates. We bow knowing full well this wooden pretense is not our god, but a vessel that we pour into to remind ourselves of the mystery. So why are we shocked when it happens? And it happens often at the figure, the statue we fervently beg for mercy, for hope, justice, healing, for revenge.

• 38:42Glynn Washington?

  Why are we shocked when that statue weeps as if an acceptance of the vision we have poured into it? We say the mystery has power over all things, but we recoil when it does the smallest thing. Wooden statues, ceramic figurines, totems, if we put something into them...

• 39:12Glynn Washington?

  Isn't it natural? We also get something back.

• 39:18Glynn Washington?

  I don't want to be surprised at how the powers manifest themselves. No, no.

• 39:25Glynn Washington?

  I want to be careful. And the best ward I know, the very best protection I have, is to never, ever, never, ever, never, ever, never turn out the lights.