Glam Ghosts

Theresa is living on the island of St. Thomas when hurricane Marilyn strikes. After the storm, she wants to reconnect with the land she loves at the beach. The roads are tricky, traveling at night can be difficult, and once the streets go quiet... you never know who might show up.

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

• 0:04Speaker 00

  That's not the sun, little island. You better run, I said. It's not right.

• 0:22Speaker 00

  You crossed over the spoon. Stay tuned.

• 0:32Speaker 00

  Do you like scary stories? Think you've heard it all? Well, you've never heard it like this.

• 0:40Speaker 00

  Radio Rental is a horror podcast featuring true scary stories told by real people.

• 0:45Speaker 01

  He's tapping, tap, tap, tap. He's tapping on the door. He wants us to open the door.

• 0:52Speaker 02

  Then the narrow light turns on, and then the narrow light turns on in the shape of a triangle. And I'd say it's probably about the length of a school bus, you know, around about my head.

• 1:00Speaker 03

  She had long, ratted hair. She was wearing a dress. Her ribs were showing, her fingers were long, she looked shriveled, partially decayed.

• 1:12Speaker 04

  I'm starting to freak out a little bit. I'm pleading with them to just please let me out. Dee's eyes started opening. They were pure white, and I lose it.

• 1:24Speaker 00

  Radio Rental returns October 23rd. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

• 1:31Speaker 05

  From kickoff to the final whistle, trade the biggest moments in football on KALSHI, America's number one prediction market platform. Kansas City takes on defending champions Seattle. Currently trading at 41% to win. A $100 trade pays out $244 if they come out on top. Download KALSHI, use code HOOPS to get $25 when you trade $25. K-A-L-S-H-I. KALSHI, trade what's next. 18-plus only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. KALSHI products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kalshi.com/ regulatory.

• 2:08Speaker 06

  Cheers to fall savings at Whole Foods Market, home of higher ingredient standards. This Halloween, share chocolates and candies, made without that spooky high fructose corn syrup. Throwing a party? Make it easy with a Berry Chantilly Cake. Ready to cook pizza? No antibiotics ever chicken wings. And sushi made fresh daily. Fall gatherings never tasted better. Save through November 3rd at Whole Foods Market.

• 2:42Glynn Washington?

  I'm in my house, sitting on my couch, having such a very good time, just eating a sandwich. A rare moment of tranquility, of peace, of joy. Minding my business. Then I hear sharp angry knocks. Hold on!

• 3:04Glynn Washington?

  I get up, open the door, and it's a dear friend of mine. She says, "You know what your problem is?" That's a big question. Existential, my problem. I have so many, many problems. To single out just one only makes a mock of the others. My problem?

• 3:29Glynn Washington?

  Even beginning to list them on a piece of paper makes me grow weary. And I'm thinking all this to myself, and I remember she's still standing here, angry, upset, my dear friend. And it occurs to me that her question is rhetorical, that if I just wait a little bit longer, she's gonna answer it herself. She's gonna tell me my problem.

• 3:53Glynn Washington?

  My problem. But then, right this moment, I can't help but consider, my real problem is I was having such a good time eating a sandwich.

• 4:12Glynn Washington?

  Until someone came to ruin it.

• 4:18Glynn Washington?

  I glared at her. She scowls at me. And slowly, deliberately, I pushed the door closed.

• 4:34Glynn Washington?

  Spooked.

• 4:37Glynn Washington?

  Now.

• 5:23Glynn Washington?

  Paradise. Lost. Now your paradise might be some alone time with a sandwich, or it might be 1995. But Teresa is living on the beautiful island of St. Thomas with her 10-month-old baby, White Sand. Crystal clear water, perfect beaches, and some of the best snorkeling you'll ever find. Now for Teresa, this is a personal Shangri-La. But Hurricane Marilyn, the strongest storm to hit the island in five years, is about to start knocking.

• 5:57Glynn Washington?

  Spooked.

• 6:14Speaker 08

  What I most love about St. Thomas, my home, are the beaches.

• 6:21Speaker 08

  Beautiful lush palm trees, beautiful bright flowers, rolling hills with green grass.

• 6:29Speaker 08

  But, everything was just gone.

• 6:32Speaker 09

  And the hurricane watch has been changed to a hurricane warning for Puerto Rico and for all the Virgin Islands. This is a full-blown hurricane, category 3, a major hurricane.

• 6:44Speaker 10

  There's no real way on or off St. Thomas at this point.

• 6:50Speaker 08

  It was an overnight storm. It was so frightening.

• 6:55Speaker 09

  Winds gusted up to 127 miles per hour.

• 6:59Speaker 11

  We was going out the door and the storm was coming in our room behind us. That's how close it was.

• 7:03Speaker 12

  The walls shaking and everything vibrating.

• 7:09Speaker 08

  Glass was just shattering and it was filling the room. My son was in the crib and the glass was just covering him. And I remember leaning over the bars of the crib to pick him up. He was fine.

• 7:28Speaker 08

  We were surrounded and this monster was just blowing and sucking everything with it.

• 7:42Speaker 08

  We wake up the next morning after the storm and I realize that the storm has completely devastated everything.

• 7:52Speaker 08

  Trees are all down, cars are destroyed, boats had capsized onto highways. It looked like bombs had been set off. It was just pure devastation.

• 8:06Speaker 08

  For weeks, there was nothing open, nowhere to go. My mom, she was still on the island and her home received very little damage. So my son and I, we ended up going to stay with her for a little bit.

• 8:27Speaker 08

  Once the government tested the waters and deemed that the beaches were safe for the public, I decided that I was going to visit every beach that I could to physically reconnect with my homeland. And I would take the baby with me.

• 8:48Speaker 08

  So the plan was to hit at least three beaches. My mom is giving me warnings, "Don't stay out late today. Don't keep the baby out late." But I just, I just need to get to the beach. It was like therapy. I needed to just make more memories with my son after all the devastation.

• 9:14Speaker 08

  Driving was a challenge. It was like being on an obstacle course because there's so much debris in the road. All the power lines are down. There's nails. People's personal things are just all over the street. But I was determined to get to this beach, Magens Bay.

• 9:36Speaker 08

  When I was five years old, we would go every Sunday. There were these metal grills that were implanted in the ground. And I can remember my parents cooking tons of trays of chicken there. We'd play ball on the sand. We would do wrestling in the water. Magens Bay had a lot of memories for me.

• 10:01Speaker 08

  So we get to the beach, and it was still beautiful to me, even after the storm. I'm carrying my son out of the car, and we're walking towards the water. The trees are destroyed and burned. But the water is still there, and the water is still blue. We get in the water. The water is just so pristine. It's so clear. And there are tons of fish. Holding my son in the water, I can still feel the fears of almost losing him with all this glass and what happened with him. But the ocean, the beach, it's just always so healing.

• 10:50Speaker 08

  My son loved the beach. We were there for maybe two hours. And then we packed up and we got to the car. And we're heading to the next beach, which is Koki Point.

• 11:06Speaker 08

  That beach had the most beautiful fish. There were a lot of rocks and caves and reefs there. We stayed there for maybe two and a half, three hours. So I thought, well, you know, if we left now, we can get maybe one more beach in.

• 11:26Speaker 08

  Getting to this third and final beach, it is quite late in the afternoon. I ended up bumping into some friends at this beach and we were having a good time.

• 11:39Speaker 08

  My son is now getting sleepy. And I realized that it is 7:15 PM. It's going to be dark soon. It was time to head home.

• 11:54Speaker 08

  So I get in the car and I start driving.

• 11:58Speaker 08

  I'm feeling pretty good about the ride home. But again, it's really getting dark. There are no streetlights.

• 12:11Speaker 08

  I am still quite far from home. I'm in the countryside and the roads are really bad. And then I realized it was pitch black. I'm driving by memory with only my own headlights. I'm definitely feeling anxious.

• 12:35Speaker 08

  I did not first notice it, but the car is starting to make an all-too-familiar sound.

• 12:43Speaker 08

  It was definitely the hissing and the grinding. And the steering was shot. I knew what was happening. I'm driving on this flat and I'm also now on the rim. I had really messed up.

• 13:12Glynn 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.

• 13:55Glynn 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.

• 14:12Speaker 05

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• 15:05Speaker 08

  I pull over as best as I can. It's like a little clearing in the grass.

• 15:12Speaker 08

  Put the car in park and I leave the headlights on. I turned to look in the back. My son is asleep. And I'm just thinking, what is my next move?

• 15:30Speaker 08

  I got out. I'm still in my bathing suit, no shoes and just my towel. It was the front driver's side tire and it was gone. The rim was bent.

• 15:46Speaker 08

  And I'm thinking, this is not something that I can do on my own. But I'm in the countryside. There's no signs of life. There are no cars. There's not even a breeze. I had no flashlight. I thought, well, you did it now.

• 16:06Speaker 08

  And I sat on the hood of the car, waiting.

• 16:14Speaker 08

  I'm here now at least an hour. No cars on the road. There's no one walking. My son is still in his car seat, still asleep. I have no more bottles for him. I'm almost out of diapers at this point. And I'm feeling pretty low about myself.

• 16:37Speaker 08

  I'm calling out and I'm yelling.

• 16:42Speaker 08

  As soon as I shut my mouth, I saw something coming. And it was the headlights of a vehicle.

• 16:54Speaker 08

  The vehicle is slowly approaching mine. The headlights are very bright. And I start studying the shape of the car. And it's actually a Jeep. And I'm studying it almost in disbelief that there's another driver on the road.

• 17:21Speaker 08

  The Jeep comes to a full stop. I look into the window and there are two passengers. And they're smiling at me.

• 17:33Speaker 08

  I started to cry. I was so happy to see someone.

• 17:41Speaker 08

  The driver, the gentleman, he puts the window on his door down. And I, I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

• 17:52Speaker 08

  He was dressed in fine clothing. He had a tuxedo. And his hair was so neatly combed. I mean, everything about him, he looked like a model. His passenger was female. And she leaned over past him to get a good look at me. She's wearing what looked like a ball gown. Dark blue was her gown. And it was glistening, almost like she had rhinestones. And her hair was so long. She had it like over one shoulder. Where are they coming from? Why are they dressed like that? It was almost like they had went to a gala or like to a silent auction

• 18:37Speaker 08

  or a big awards banquet. But there's nothing open. Everything was destroyed in the storm.

• 18:47Speaker 08

  He says, hey, we're going to help you. We're gonna get you where you need to go. Why don't you get in with us and we'll take you home?

• 18:58Speaker 08

  I don't say anything. I just keep looking at them. Who are they? There are no events happening. No one has power to even host an event that would warrant them to be dressed in this way.

• 19:12Speaker 08

  She chimes in and she said, "Yes, yes, it's okay. We're gonna take good care of you. And your baby."

• 19:23Speaker 08

  This is where I get really nervous because I'm driving a two-door Honda Accord and the windows are tinted black. There's no way that anyone can see or know that there's a passenger in the backseat, much less a baby. What if somebody sent them to harm me? What if they take my baby?

• 19:46Speaker 08

  He said, "Why don't you get your baby, get the bag, and come on?" And I looked at her, the passenger, and she had these really kind eyes and she kept reassuring me, saying things like, "Come on, we're here to help you. Get the baby, get the baby, let's go."

• 20:06Speaker 08

  And I took a deep breath and I decided in that moment, I'm gonna take them up on the offer.

• 20:14Speaker 08

  And so I opened the passenger door. I unhooked the baby seat. I grabbed the diaper bag. And then I shut the car door and I think, "Okay, this is it."

• 20:28Speaker 08

  She's looking now from the front seat to the back, watching me get in. And she's just smiling.

• 20:36Speaker 08

  He's smiling at me too, looking through the rearview mirror. And I'm thinking, "This was either the stupidest thing I've ever done or it's the smartest thing."

• 20:48Speaker 08

  The car started to move. I'm looking around and there was nothing inside that looked like there were personal effects. It was just really nothing in the backseat, nothing on the floors.

• 21:01Speaker 08

  They were not saying anything. They're just smiling.

• 21:08Speaker 08

  It's just silence.

• 21:11Speaker 08

  I am just watching where we're going and then I start to give him directions.

• 21:17Speaker 08

  I said, you know, "Once we get to the bottom of this hill, you're going to make this turn and that turn."

• 21:25Speaker 08

  He cut me off and said he knew where to go.

• 21:32Speaker 08

  That's when I got really, really scared. Because how do you know where to go? You don't know me.

• 21:39Speaker 08

  This was the one moment where I thought, "This was a really bad decision. I have to get out of here." So I started to unhook my son's straps in the car seat. Because if I needed to run, I would just have to snatch him out.

• 21:57Speaker 08

  I'm so nervous. I'm looking out the window. I am saying "Hail Marys" to myself.

• 22:04Speaker 08

  I'm studying the passenger, the female, and I'm paying close attention now to her skin.

• 22:13Speaker 08

  Her skin was so shiny. It was like glitter, almost. Like holographic. She has no moles and no freckles. It was almost as though she had like a glove on because of how perfect the skin was.

• 22:32Speaker 08

  And she turns, she catches me, staring at her, and we meet eyes. And she smiles, and so I look out the window because she's caught me again staring at her.

• 22:47Speaker 08

  The Jeep is making its way around these turns and these hills, and we start getting down into the town area. At this point, I'm thinking, "Well, what if we do make it home?" He knew how to get to the town area, and now I need to give him directions. I am trying to let them know that I am aware of where we are. But again, he's cutting me off and

• 23:14Speaker 08

  just reassuring me, "I know, I know. I got this."

• 23:18Speaker 08

  I sat back and I thought, "Yeah, this is the part where they're gonna kill me." Because I had never shared directions with them. "How do you know where I live?"

• 23:33Speaker 08

  We are passing the airport now, which is close to where my, my mother's house is. This area is very tricky because there are no, we have no street signs, period. And one wrong turn, you could end up in a ditch. All I could think of is, there's no one walking around. There would be no witnesses if these people were to do harm to me. So we needed to make a right turn. But before I say anything, he looked in the rearview and he said, "I know where we're going." And he turned.

• 24:15Speaker 08

  I was very, very surprised. "How did you know to come here?" And so I just sat back and I thought, "Okay, well, we're almost here, so what could go wrong?"

• 24:40Glynn Washington?

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• 25:20Speaker 05

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• 25:40Speaker 13

  A A L S H I. Kaoshi. Trade what's next. Eighteen plus only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Kaoshi products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kaoshi.com/ regulatory.

• 26:16Speaker 08

  We drove a little bit. There was a left turn and he managed that one as well.

• 26:22Speaker 08

  And there's just about four or five houses between the turn and where I'm needing to go. And he pulls up right in front of my parents, my home, my childhood home.

• 26:37Speaker 08

  He puts the car in park and he looks right at me and he says, "Right house?"

• 26:47Speaker 08

  And she says the same exact words. "Did we get the right house?" I saw my mom. My mom is sitting on our porch and my mom starts running down the stairs to meet me at the gate. I had never been so happy to see my mother, even though I knew I was in for it because it's almost nine o'clock. I start grabbing for the car seat and the bag. I'm thanking them, but I'm also very anxious to get to my mom. I get out and I got into the gate. My mom grabs the car seat. My son is a little groggy, but he is awake. He's looking around.

• 27:30Speaker 08

  My mom is fussing about me being out late. She is whispering and she said, "Who are these people? Where did you find them?" I said, "I don't know, Mom. They just showed up and I need to give them money for gas." She hands me this $20 and when I turn to go out of the gate to give it to the driver, they're driving up, away from the home. They're driving up the hill. This is a one-way street that I live on, but I see them drive up. And my mom says, "Go up there and help them because there's no place to turn around. There's too much damage." And so I go running. I'm still in my bathing suit.

• 28:14Speaker 08

  The neighbor is hanging over her porch and she's yelling, "I need to put clothes on." "Why are you dressed like that at this hour? Where are your shoes? What are you doing?" And I said, "I have to find these people." They went up here. What driveway did they try to turn into? And the neighbor, she just looks at me very confused and she said, "No cars are coming up this road." "There's been no cars."

• 28:41Speaker 08

  And I wait and I'm looking, I can't find them.

• 28:46Speaker 08

  I go and I find my mom near the gate. And she's tending to the baby and I said, "I can't find them." And she said, "What do you mean?" And I said, "They're gone."

• 28:58Speaker 08

  At this point, I saw something coming on the road. A tow truck is approaching. And that was my car on the hitch. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. How did this happen? Who called? And the driver stops at the gate and he lets the car down. And my mom is very angry with me. She goes, "Oh, another bill." And I go over to him and I said, "Hey, how much is the tow?" He goes, "Oh, no, no, no, it's already covered. It was already paid." And he hands me the key.

• 29:38Speaker 08

  And then he drives off.

• 29:42Speaker 08

  I am completely in shock.

• 29:47Speaker 08

  Who paid for the tow? Who are these? Who are any of these people at this point?

• 29:53Speaker 08

  So I made my way onto the porch. And we sat on the porch for about a half an hour, debating who these people could have been.

• 30:04Speaker 08

  She just kept saying, "Where did you find them? What if they harmed you? Where were they coming from? Where did they go?" I had no answers.

• 30:15Speaker 08

  My mom, being so religious, she felt that that was God's way of protecting me. She wanted so badly for me to believe that these were my guardian angels. I just felt like maybe I was at the right place at the right time. But because of the skin I saw on that woman and how they were dressed so nice, I felt like maybe they were other beings.

• 30:47Speaker 08

  I was 21 at the time of this incident. And I'm 49 now, and I still think about those two people. What if they're my guardians? What if somebody sent them to help me? I still don't have the answer. But I still wonder if they are indeed still with me.

• 31:30Glynn Washington?

  Thank you, Teresa, for sharing your story of Spooked. That story was scouted by Paulina Kriki. It was scored by Clay Xavier and produced by Eric Yanez.

• 31:53Glynn Washington?

  Now then, there are said to be entities, the not-people, that sometimes take the form of people and walk amongst us, eat with us, love us, hate us. But they are not us.

• 32:13Glynn Washington?

  Jin, Katsune, Skinwalkers, Fae, Arishas, so many different cultures tell very similar stories. So many people have had encounters that have left them shaken. And if you are one of those people who have had dealings with the not people, now, I want to know about it. We all want to know about it. Spooked at snapjudgment.org because there's nothing better than a Spooked story from a Spooked listener. Spooked at snapjudgment.org.

• 32:46Glynn Washington?

  Now, if you walk a dark trail through a dark wood,

• 32:53Glynn Washington?

  you may see a dark door. And if you hear whispers inviting you in, that way lies Spooked Underground Studios at KQED. I'd advise to immediately turn the other way lest the way turn toward you. Spooked is brought to you by the team that has not yet personally witnessed a not person, except for Mark Ristich, whom we all suspect is probably not one of us.

• 33:25Glynn Washington?

  There's Davy Kim, Zoe Fergno, Eric Yanez, Elliot Lightfoot, Marissa Dodge, Taylor Decot, Miles Lassie, Doug Stewart.

• 33:39Glynn Washington?

  We've got the special incantation from Spook Legal that reads, "No Snap Studios content may be used for training, testing, or developing machine learning or AI systems without prior written permission. Take that, Skynet on Team Spooked." The union representative, producers, artists, editors, and engineers are members of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIL Local 51. The Spook theme song is by Pat Massey Miller. My name is Glen Washington.

• 34:12Glynn Washington?

  And you might not think that you see auras.

• 34:17Glynn Washington?

  You might not believe in any such nonsense. Perhaps it's the word that throws you off. So let's say "energy" instead. I have a friend who, no matter where she goes, no matter what she does, within moments, babies will come crawling up on her lap. Drinks are somehow on the house, strangers, young, old, rich, poor, divulge their life secrets. It is wild.

• 34:46Glynn Washington?

  To witness this happen over and over and over again, I ask, "What did you do now?" "Nothing." "Why is this going on?" But more importantly, the real question is,

• 35:02Glynn Washington?

  "How come it doesn't happen to me?"

• 35:07Glynn Washington?

  I mean, I know why.

• 35:12Glynn Washington?

  I don't see the auras, the energies that some people claim,

• 35:17Glynn Washington?

  but still I know she shines. And I want to shine too. When I was tiny, my mother used to sing to me, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine." And I'd squeal and laugh and clap and no, I wanted to let my light shine, but somehow, after walking through the valley of the shadow of life,

• 35:45Glynn Washington?

  it feels like I've left something behind in that darkness.

• 35:50Glynn Washington?

  Something precious, something sacred, something I need back. And I marvel

• 35:57Glynn Washington?

  at those who still carry theirs while I search for this something I once had. "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."

• 36:10Glynn Washington?

  You know,

• 36:13Glynn Washington?

  some things don't belong to the shadow.

• 36:19Glynn Washington?

  Never, ever, ever, never, ever, never, ever, ever, never, ever.

• 36:27Glynn Washington?

  Turn out your lights.

• 36:56Speaker 05

  From kickoff to the final whistle, trade the biggest moments in football on Kalshi, America's number one prediction market platform. Kansas City takes on defending champions Seattle. Currently trading at 41% to win. A $100 trade pays out $244 if they come out on top. Download Kalshi, use code HOOPS to get $25 when you trade $25. K-A-L-S-H-I. Kalshi, trade what's next. 18 plus only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Kalshi products are not available in all jurisdictions. Prices, values, and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kalshi.com/regulatory.