There's Something Wrong With Wendigoon | CreepCast

For decades, a shadowy organization called the Lemonati has kept lemon on top and lime in the shadows. Look around. Lemon forward sodas. Even lemon forward songs. We ran the tracks, slowed them down, reversed them, and squeezed out the truth. That's lemon propaganda right there. But now, 7up is fighting back with their new lime lemon soda. Join the 7 uprising. Flip the sip. Chronic migraine is 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox, onabotulinumtoxin A, prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine before they start. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It prevents, on average, 8 to 9 headache days a month versus 6 to 7 for placebo. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away. Has difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing? Eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinumtoxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Why wait? Ask your doctor. Visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more. Welcome back to Creepcast! We're back today. We're reading another Elias Witherow story, the Tommy Taffy guy, which I do say we actually just got a Most Wanted poster. And for Tommy Taffy, did you know that? I did not know that. You should have it right here. Hi! Come down to the basement! You're not my daddy! So it actually hurts my feelings more when it's closer to how I actually look. I mean, it looks pretty close. Because I was over there, he was at the mic. He was literally at the mic and he was doing this while we were sitting here waiting for the lights to turn on. He was really doing this. Because you just can't help but big ol' pufferfish, aren't ya? We're reading Elias Witherow's "There's Something Wrong With Dad." You were drawing something and I was like, "Oh, maybe it's a little bit for the episode. I'll wait." So I didn't ask and then whatever. Go ahead. What are we reading, Hunter? "There's Something Wrong With Dad," which is the future story of Isaiah. I'm very excited to see where this goes because I'm now picturing that you are the dad in this and this is your child. That's how I'm picturing this. And what's even funnier is that when we were reading this, there is a. So there is a "Not Safe For Work" warning? And there's an immediate. And this is the trigger warning off the top too, right? There is a tag right at the top that says "Child Abuse." I've never seen a story tagged with "Child Abuse." I don't think Tommy Taffy had "Child Abuse" on it. It didn't. It didn't, but this one does. This one does. And it's by the guy that wrote. We like Elias Witherow. Tommy Taffy has a good story. He also wrote "Feed the Pig." His best work, in my opinion. Great author. And then for this recording session, our beloved Harry was like, "Oh, well, you know, let's do this story. How about this one?" And we look at it and it says "Not Safe For Work." And I'm like, "Okay." And then click through, tag, "Child Abuse" warning. Trigger warning. I don't have any. We have never read this. I have no idea. Harry has. So whatever happens, he set us up with. And he is not. He's being very elusive with. He's not in here. What is in there? My specialty. My specialty. Without further ado, should we just jump right in? I guess. Do we have any. Oh! Yeah, go ahead. We probably have merch by this time. Here's a link to the merch. New merch. New merch. We have a big backpack. That was a tiny backpack. Yeah. At first. So now there's a bigger backpack. Can you put this on real quick? Stand up and put this on. Okay. There's two. Put the body on. All right. Do we have the big one? It's in the other building. I think it's in the other building. Can we get that big one? This is the first product sample they sent. Also, I'm a morbidly obese man. Once again, not morbidly, but. Imagine. Imagine you pull out your CreepCast backpack and it's this. I think it's a good look, personally. Oh, did you need my iPad? Hey, you. Yeah. Hey, Mike. Hey, Mike. Do you mind if you grab my iPad and my backpack? Nick, call my name as if we're high school buddies. Or be like, "Hey, Hunter. Can I borrow your notebook?" Hey, Hunter. Can I borrow your homework? Hey, sure, man. Oh. I just ripped the arm off. That actually. Great job, dude. We have a better backpack. I'm pretty sure. That was the prototype. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. To clarify the ones that are sent out aren't that. Well, to be fair, you're not a gigantic worm man. I was just trying to get out of the back. They're not that small. Yeah, that was the actual one. Same design, but bigger. For also all the beautiful audio listeners out there, thank you so much to Spotify, Apple Podcasts for the rating. It's a tiny little backpack. All right. There's more than just that. No, no, no. Other merch items as well. It's a tiny backpack, and I shattered it. If you decide to support us. You would think that it was made of glass. You would almost assume the backpack was made of literal stained glass. Here we go. Let me do this one. Now, look at this guy. See, now this is what we want. You made these way too. Yeah, they're for me. Let me put them on. Put it on. Hold on. Yeah, here, look. Actually, this is going to be a funny juxtaposition. Here's your. Now, what we preferred was large cartoony backpack. Yes. Like Goosebumps. You're going to struggle, too. This is really not a great promo for this product. Are you getting that turn around? Yeah, turn around. It's a big fucking. You want to put your full child in there? Yeah, you want to put a baby in there? You have a baby sister or baby brother? I put several in there. You want to come to college with me? You want to get in? You want to go to economics? Here we go. I mean, look at the size difference. Hold on, hold on, hold on. I mean. It's a bit. There you go. Maybe you buy both. It's a Russian nesting doll-styled backpack. Will we do that? I don't know. We have shirts and stuff, too. Fuck it. You want to buy it? I don't care. Let's finally get to the story. Well, I care. If you all decide to support us there, thank you very much. It means a lot to me. Who cares? All right. I'm kidding. Please don't be mad at me. He is very high energy today. Also, hey, shout out to patrons. Yeah, man. Good one. Shout out the patrons. Okay. Thank you all very much to the patrons who continue to support us. It means the world. Your support means a lot. Let's just keep doing this. So thank you. There's something wrong with daddy. Something wrong with dad. Elias Witherow, all-time author. Hunter, are you ready to get into it? Let's do it. Let's do it. Fifteen years ago, something terrible happened to my family. It's taken a lot of therapy and drugs to help me cope with it. And I still think about those days a lot. I can't seem to get some of the images out of my mind. They scare me. They keep me up at night. I want to forget, but I can't seem to. My therapist told me I should write it all out. She said that it would help me purge some of these memories. I'm not sure if I believe her, but I'm going to try. I have to. I need peace of mind. I can't keep living like this. A couple things you need to know before I begin. One, my family didn't believe in me. Two, my family didn't like to be bothered. Three, my family didn't like to be bothered. Four, my family didn't like to be bothered. Five, my family didn't like to be bothered. Six, my family didn't like to be bothered. Seven, my family didn't like to be bothered. Eight, my family didn't like to be bothered. Nine, my family didn't like to be bothered. Ten, my family didn't like to be bothered. Eleven, my family didn't like to be bothered. Twelve, my family didn't like to be bothered. Thirteen, my family didn't like to be bothered. family. My mom, Anne, was caring, kind, and had a passive way of dealing with things. She was a soft-spoken, submissive woman. My brother, Jay, was two years younger than me. I loved my brother. He was a troublemaker and I constantly had to cover for him, hiding some of his more mischievous actions from our parents. And then there was my father, Henry. He was an old-fashioned kind of man, strict but honest. He believed in a moral code, believed in being an upstanding example, and was a hard-working provider for our small family. That was before everything went bad. That was before my father changed. Ooh. Also, I just want to say the same people that do like, I don't believe it. TV will rot your brain out. That's the same guy smoking like menthol cigarettes and drinking Everclear and all that kind of stuff. You're ruining your mind with that. I know people that smoke cigarettes but won't smoke. I don't want to sleep next to like, uh, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Yeah, they have that. We're gonna put that phone, you know, yeah, I don't let it. Yeah, they've got signals, they'll mess with it. You better seriously put that phone away. Get away from me. Yeah, those radioactive waves are fucking my mind, man. Like, eyes completely yellow. Is that a Nokia? Is that a Nokia? It doesn't have Bluetooth, does it? Is that a Nokia for me? Keep that away from me. Get that away from me right now. I was sitting at the breakfast table, happily munching my toast. My six-year-old brother sat across from me, slurping down his milk. My father walked into the kitchen and asked Jay to stop being so rude before going to my mother, pecking her on the cheek, bidding her good morning. My mother smiled and helped him with his tie, telling him his lunch was packed for the day and to come home safe. My dad threw on his sports jacket and grabbed his briefcase from the kitchen counter, ruffled my hair, and leaned down next to me. Are you going to be good for your mom today, champ? This close, I could smell his cologne, his face freshly shaved. He was a good-looking man, tall and dark with broad shoulders. I'd always looked up to him and admired his physicality. Yeah, Dad, I'll be good. So I'm not going to say anything yet. Because like any other story, I wouldn't give that a second thought, but just because. Well, he's just a giant neon sign at the beginning of the story. Just because we had my. We've had multiple stories like. Wee-oo-wee-oo-wee! Yeah. Yeah. Smiling, my dad went to my brother and asked him the same. My brother shrugged his shoulders, a goofy grin on his face. One of his front teeth was loose and it stuck out at an angle, the object of much fruitless wiggling. Maybe today they'll come out. He kissed Jay on the forehead and said a goodbye to my mother, blowing her a kiss and was out the door. As I finished my toast, heard him fire up the truck and back it down the gravel driveway. My mother. My mother began cleaning up the breakfast dishes, telling Jay and I to finish up and fetch our school books. I hated school, as all children do. I thought it was boring and a waste of time. The woods and hills were more interesting to me than words or pencils. Groaning, I brushed the crumbs from my shirt and motioned for Jay to come with me to our room to collect our school supplies. The day passed like so many before it. Jay and I sat at the kitchen table, doing our schoolwork, listening to our mother, and trying not to die of boredom. Lunch, my mother. My mother made us peanut butter sandwiches. We were allowed to go outside for an hour. This was always my favorite part of the school day. Jay and I bound from our house and went to the woods. We climbed trees, threw rocks at each other, then finally took turns rolling down the grassy hill we lived on. I remember how warm it was that day. The June heat foreshadowing an even hotter July. We heard our mother calling us back in and we obeyed, sealing ourselves for the final stretch of schoolwork. Hours seemed like years in that kitchen. But three o'clock always came. When the hands on the old clock made a right angle, we were allowed to close our books for the day. That evening, Jay and I decided to make paper airplanes on the living room floor as my mother prepared supper. I remember the delicious smells wafting through the house as we folded newspaper into planes. Jay had just finished his first one, holding it up proudly, when Dad came home. From the second he walked into the door, I knew it was going to be a bad night. We all have those memories of our first day at school. We all have those memories of our fathers, probably when his temper got the better of him and everyone was on eggshells. This was different, though. There was an aura of tension around him that I had never seen before. He didn't say anything when he walked in, just tossed his coat over the back of a chair and put his briefcase down. My mother turned from the stove and smiled at him, welcoming him home and asking how his day was. Dad said nothing, just going to the sink and filling a glass of water. He drained it in one long gulp and set the glass on fire. The glass down. Turned to Jay and I. Something hard and dark in his eyes. What are you doing? Look, Dad, it's a B-52 bomber! He said proudly, swooping his paper plane through the air. My father took a step forward suddenly and snatched it from his hand, examining it. He lowered the plane and stared at us. Is this the paper I was reading this morning? I swallowed. Yeah, Dad was in a bad mood. I told him they could use it. Use it? I thought you were finished reading it. My mother intervened. My dad turned to her. Well, maybe you should ask me next time. Do you think you can handle that? My mom blinked. I'm sorry, honey. I didn't think it was a big deal. My dad said nothing. Just pulled the kitchen chair out and sat down, watching us. I felt uncomfortable. I felt like he was looking for an excuse to be angry. He wasn't usually like this, but there had been a time or two his anger had gotten the better of him. For the most part, though, he wasn't a violent or even loud person. Bad day at the bank, dear? My mother asked, stirring a pot full of sauce. She was, oh, I thought he was, she was being, I saw stirring a pot and thought it was a metaphor. She's actually stirring a pot. My mother asked, stirring a pot full of sauce she was preparing. My dad turned to look at her. I had the worst day I've ever had. You can't even imagine. None of you can. The things I go through to put food, on this table! My mother turned and frowned. I'm sorry to hear that. Can I get you a beer? Is that your, is that your, I want a beer? That's like the. Uh, duh. Uh, duh. Uh, duh. That's too stupid! Uh, yes! Is that. That's how he talks to his wife, too. No. I do, oh my god, baby, please, could you? Mm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. My mom went to the fridge and pulled one out, handing it to him and putting a hand on my dad's shoulder reassuringly. My dad went to twist the top off, but. Pulled his hand away with a snarl. Ah! Shit! Of course it's not a twist top. Why would it be? Such a funny thing to get mad at. Ah! Ah! I guess you need a goddamn opener for everything! Nothing works in this house. Nothing works in this. Fuck! I could see a drop of blood on my dad's hand from where the cap had cut him. I began to look for an excuse to leave the room before dinner. Relax, dad. I'll get you a bottle opener. My dad shook his head. Oh, don't bother! Raising his arm, he smashed the neck of the beer against the table and shattered it. Poured the beer from the fragmented neck into a glass before tossing the empty bottle towards the trash can. It missed and shattered on the floor. Henry! My mom said, her voice a soft hiss. My dad took a long pull and set the glass down hard on the table. Maybe next time you should just get the goddamn twist off caps! Maybe you should think about me once in a while! Not wanting to fight, my mom quietly turned around and continued making dinner. My dad took another drink from the glass and looked at Jay and I. I quickly looked down at my half-made paper plane and mindlessly fiddled with it. I didn't want him to even know I existed right now. Tommy! My dad called. My heart froze. I looked up at him, panicked. Were you good today? Was Tommy a good boy for mommy? His voice was condescending, his eyes boring to mine. I nodded. He drained the rest of his beer, staring at me before putting it down and muttering, You better have been. My brother and I tried to melt into the floor. My dad stood and went to the bedroom to get changed out of his work clothes. He let out a sigh of relief and looked at Jay. He grimaced at me and shook his head, his loose tooth jutting from his upper lip. Be good tonight. I whispered urgently to him. I picked up my plane and decided to stash it in my bedroom. I didn't want to give my dad anything. I didn't want to give my dad any excuse to flip out tonight. Out of sight, out of mind. This is, this is like, so far, just very tragic. Just a very sad scenario. I feel like this seems like this is legitimately most nights at my house growing up. I feel like it was the, uh, it's just doing a thing of being like, hey, how was your day? Oh, spin me up and let me go. It's like a loose cannon, emotionally immature dad. It's kind of what this is. It's what this reminds me of. It's funny because I was about to be like, yeah, I've heard from people who have had abusive households. I mean I've never seen my dad Also first I thought the kid was gonna be like Dad I've got broken glass shards From like If you smashed a bottle It would go everywhere And you'd be drinking it Yeah It's like cut off his throat and shit Ah it's smooth Just coughing up blood Dad You good boy You good boy for mom today Blood Sweating blood You good boy for mom Was that the paper I was reading today big man Can you read that Can you do that Dad truly has become scary Hasn't he There's certainly something wrong with him There's something wrong with Pep Pep I want to take a quick moment To thank today's sponsor Factor Lately I've been running around With a million things to do And with everything going on Eating healthy is easier said than done Especially during the summer Who wants to spend their time Around a hot kitchen Well thankfully today's sponsor Factor Has me covered Factor powers your day Sun up to sun down With nutritious breakfast options On the go lunches Premium desserts And guilt free snacks In just two minutes Factor lets you heat Eat And enjoy Factor's never been lacking in variety But now there's even more They now have several Asian inspired dishes Asian approved As well as Mediterranean diet options All packed with protein And the delicious Good for you fats 97% of customers Say Factor's helped them Live a healthier lifestyle And it's not hard to see why I mean with meal options Like calorie smart Keto Protein plus And vegan It's hard not to And every week You get to choose from 65 different meal options And I'm sure you'll find Something you'll love And the best part about Factor Is there's no prep work Grocery lines And virtually no cleaning Make your days easier And healthier with Factor Because right now Is the perfect time To get in on their offer That's because you can Eat smart at FactorMeals.com Slash CreepCast50 off And use code CreepCast50 off To get 50% off Your first box Plus free breakfast For one year That is right Half off your first box Plus free breakfast For a whole year That's code CreepCast50 off At FactorMeals.com Slash CreepCast50 off To get your delicious Ready to eat meals now Offer only valid To new Factor customers With code And qualifying Auto-renewing subscription purchases Get in on your meals today Thank you all for watching the ad And thank you to Factor For sponsoring the show And the channel We are now Back to the episode As I walked down the hallway Towards my bedroom I passed my parents room Glanced inside And saw my dad He was standing by the bed Shirtless and facing the door For a split second I froze Expecting him to bark at me For something Then I saw He had his hands over his eyes His elbows jetting away From his body Didn't move a muscle Stood like that silently Like he had been turned to dust Turned to stone I didn't know what to make of it The odd display Unnerving me I didn't stick around To find out what he was doing And quickly scooted down The hall to my room I deposited my plan On my dresser Just as I heard my mom Call everyone for supper Jay and I trot to the table As my mom placed A steaming bowl Of hot spaghetti on it Smelling of garlic and basil Jay rubbed his stomach And swooned Expressing to mom How hungry he was Took my place at the table Next to him As my father Entered the kitchen I was so hungry Wordlessly Took a seat At the head of the table Opposite my mother Who shot him A cautious glance He folded his hands And turned to me Why don't you say Grace for us tonight Tommy Nodded and closed my eyes Locking my fingers together Dear Jesus Thank I jumped As my dad slammed his head Down on the table Jay let out a little squeak And my mom visibly flinched My dad leaned towards me Now Tommy How do you expect Jesus to hear you When you talk so Softly Start over But louder My heart was thundering In my chest And it took conscious effort To keep my voice from shaking My father's outburst Was so sudden And out of character For him that I didn't know how to respond I lowered my head And began again Dear Jesus Thank you for the food And thank you for My mom who made it After a pause I added And thank you for Dad Who goes to work for it Amen My mom asked me Echoed my amen Amen Told me that was a nice prayer Jay was staring at my dad And he's blooming in his eyes Dad looked at the bowl of spaghetti And I saw his jaw clench This again? I guess it's not your fault Dan That you can't cook anything But noodles It's not like your family Had the money to send you to college To make something To make something of yourself Gosh God damn My gosh Good lord Fuck's sakes My mom looked up at him Shock rippling him down Rippling across her face My dad met her stare His face carved from stone He was daring her To say something to him Anything Wisely My mom lowered her eyes And began spooning out The steaming spaghetti Jay immediately dug into his Twirling his fork around The sauce noodles And shoving them hungrily Into his mouth I winced as he slurped down A mouthful Causing the red gravy To squirt from his lips Dad turned to him His eyes ice Jay? What have I told you About being rude? Rude at the table Jay froze Fork halfway to his mouth He stuttered Mind blanking My dad curled a finger at him Come here Now I felt my heart sink Into my guts And turned to rot I was breathing heavily Not wanting my brother To be in any kind of trouble I watched as he slid From his chair Fearing his eyes Bring me your plate He said in the same Iron voice Jay turned and took his plate Slowly Walking it over To stand in front of my dad My father looked him over Shaking his head His mouth twisting Into a grimace I didn't raise a pig But if you insist On being one You're gonna eat like one This is rough Is it even a horror story? This is sad Hey thanks for inviting me out Hunter Great time Thank god we're back In person reading this huh? Harry's like Guys I know a great story This will be a good kickoff Dude honestly This is gonna The whole Everyone's gonna love it This one It'll kill Zero notes This one He suddenly grabbed Jay's plate And threw it on the floor Shattering it And spraying spaghetti Everywhere I jumped to my seat again Forced my eyes away And praying I'd disappear My mom gasped And her mouth fell open My dad pointed to the floor Go ahead son If you're so desperate To be a barnyard animal You can eat like one When is it socially Acceptable to kill him? From the wife Perspective What is it like She gets her involvement I don't think he deserves death But I think he could be like We should get out of here I mean what good Does he bring He threw a plate of spaghetti On the floor Yeah but he's making his son Like eat off the floor I hear ya Do I think that calls To the death penalty? No Okay You know I think it's Hunter Hancock You know what though I think that this is This is a good time This is a good Let me tell you what this is This is a red flag moment Right? I thought you were about to lead Into an ad read No no This is a great time To talk about our Ridge wallet No the This is This is a thing where This is a time In a person's life Which if someone's Going through this right now Maybe there is Maybe there's someone Who's listening to this That's going through it right? This is a moment where you say Hmm That's a bit of a sign That this is probably Not the correct environment I should leave Yeah I need to get out of here Yeah Which is sometimes hard to do But you know Yeah you should leave Because it will not get better I think as soon as he Lays a hand on the child I think that's worth it That's worth it That's worth shooting him? Yeah Or cutting off his hands Or something like that Okay You know what I mean? I feel like the cutting off A little plate of spaghetti On the floor It's not so much The throwing the spaghetti On the floor As much as it is Making the kid Well of course Of course I'm just saying Yeah Alright Yeah Jay looked at my mom And I could tell He was on the brink of crying Not sure what to do Begging someone for help Henry Don't you think You're overreacting a little bit? My mom ventured timidly My dad slammed his hands down again His voice rising And If you don't raise these kids To be gungren Hate it when the wind blows north I think he's trying to say ungrateful I think he's having a stroke That's Or he's transforming It looks like he's like Yeah Like something Something weird Is happening to him Yeah Everyone paused I chanced to glance at my dad What? It sounded like he switched sentences Midway through My mom said nothing Waiting for her husband to continue Jay sniffled beside me And I reached out a hand And took his Squeezing it gently My dad blinked And one of his eyes Rolled up into his head And then righted itself Happened so fast I almost didn't see it Cleared his throat And gave his head a quick shake My father blinked a few more times And then Looked at me and Jay Saw me holding his hand Jay on the brink of tears Tommy Look over your brother's hand He said His eye twitching slightly I obeyed Our sweaty palms separating I watched my father Food forgotten My throat dry And mouth parched I didn't understand Why he was acting like this I had never seen This hostile towards us I knew that sometimes When he had a bad day at work Came home frustrated But never like this What had happened today? Father looked at me in my seat Waving Jay to sit back down Tommy Your brother was being punished Do you know why I punished you? You boys It's so that you understand Right from wrong Now I just saw you trying to come for your brother. That tells me that you're on his side. That tells me you think it's okay to act like a pig at my table. I shook my head frantically. No, no, I just wanted to. My dad cut me off with a wave of his hand. Stop! Stop! I don't want to have to punish you for lying as well. Padded the tabletop. Put your hand on the table. Shot my mom a terrified look, begging her for help. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. Didn't know how to react. I'd never seen her husband so cruel or sharp with us. She was speechless. Afraid that saying something would antagonize my dad further. On the table! My dad repeated, his voice hardening. Hand shaking. I placed it on the table, palm down. Jay had started to cry next to me. Tears dripping from his cheeks. My dad picked up his fork. At what point is this just like. Well, he's a monster. Well, yeah, but it's just. Is this not just like torture porn? Well, he's a monster hunter. Oh, okay. Oh, I forgot. Yeah, yeah, it's fine. Henry? Mom whispered eyes wide. I looked at my dad, fighting back my own tears. Fear choking me. My father gripped the fork. You need to understand that. He stopped suddenly, coughing hard and then gasped in a dry voice. Don't you hate the wind in the north? He dropped the fork. He dropped the fork on the table and his mouth fell open. His tongue stretching to his chin. His eye began to twitch rapidly and he rubbed it viciously, closing his mouth and gritting his teeth. None of us moved, paralyzed by the odd display. I had no idea what he was talking about or why he was acting like this. Something was wrong with him. That much was clear. After a few seconds, my dad lowered his hand from his face and smiled at all of us. I think you boys understand now. Remember what I said. And we won't have to do this again, okay? Jay and I nodded vigorously, desperate to get away from the tension, the table, all of this. It felt like I was stuck in some alternate reality. Nightmare, just waiting to wake up from. My dad pointed to the floor. Tommy, could you please clean up that mess? As I scrambled to comply, he turned his eye to my mother, looking her up and down where she sat. He began to twirl a spoon in his hand and got a strange look in his eye. It was a. It was as if he was evaluating her as a person, taking in all her physical features. As I was scraping globs of spaghetti into the trash, I heard my father say, Jay, can you go around to the back of the house and get me a brick? Don't. Don't like that. Don't like anything. While he's looking at his wife, they're two of my mom. What for, pops? Gee, dad, what is it? Jay, can you get me a frying pan? Go to my study and get the katana. Jay, can you go to my study and get the keyblade? What do you want the keyblade for, dad? And get me Mickey's shield. Where the fuck is it? It's really in the kingdom hearts. I was kidding, paraphernalia. Fuck it. Get me Goofy's boots as well. Dad? What are you talking about? Turns into a violent, torture porn, kingdom hearts, kingdom hearts fan fiction. Where did you even get kingdom? It was just up there somewhere and you just grabbed it as it went by. I don't know. Okay. I don't know. I heard my brother get up and open the side door to the house. The hinge is creaking in their familiar way. Henry? What's wrong? Heard my mom ask in a hushed voice. Even as I sponged up the mess, I could hear the fear in her voice. My dad didn't respond. I finished wiping sauce from the floor just as Jay shuffled back into the house. He held a brick in his hands, dirt staining his fingers. Cast down eyes, he brought it to my father, placed it on the table next to him. My dad turned to the both of us, his voice cold steel. Now both of you go to your room for the night. I'm going to fuck your mother. Harry, where's Harry? Get him in here. What's he doing with that brick? Can you, where, where is Harry? Hold on, hold on. Me and your mom were playing Bob the Builder. Okay. Can he fix it? We need, we need to interrogate this man. Why don't you call mom's vagina the chimney? No, bad, bad. You're not, you don't, don't. This is not funny. This is not cute. This is very bad and not good. It's, it's funny because it's just, uh, I think if I can, we're not done yet, but if I can assess of our, I think that it's trying to make like a mutation or like an uncanny Valley thing out of like a story out of basically like, uh, family, uh, abuse or like, uh, like a paternal abuse situation. Right. And then transferring that of like, what would be just, uh, emotional. Um, emotionally unfit parent actually transforming into something is what's going on. Like a Mr. Hyde kind of problem with this, which is the same kind of problem that at least I have with Tommy Taffy is that it's just so abrupt. And it's just, it's one of those things where it's like, huh? You know, he starts it off. Like to me, it's not justifiable or not, not that just fall. It's, it's not satisfying enough to just be like, my dad was a great guy. Yeah. He didn't let us have internet, but you know, he thought it ran our brain out. And all of a sudden he's just like, I'm going to shove this brick up your mom's vagina. Cause that's what he's saying, right? Yeah. It's gotta be what he's saying is yeah. I wonder why a brick. Cause it's coarse and painful and huge. I mean, that's all it makes sense. Yeah. It's the torture. It's torture. It's like, this is all torture. Porn is what it is at this point. Literally. Yeah. I like how Harry was like, they'll love this. Okay. Well, I don't think he ever said he'll love this. I think he just said that this is like, he put it on the docket. He did put it on the docket. I mean, I, he needs to be here. You have to kind of fault him a little bit for that. Yeah. He put this on the docket. And earlier today when I said, let's start with this one, he goes, that's a good one. Elias Witherow too. What I've been noticing a big motif is older. The perspective always of the older brother, younger brother, mom, and then some kind of, and then the dad figure is always like in Tommy Taffy. It wasn't the dad, the guy just that would just like, didn't he just like listen to the mom? Well, his thing was, so there were two families in the first Tommy Taffy story. He was like, Oh, this happened to me when I was a kid. We have to let this play out. Yeah. And then the dad let the mom, the basement. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And his daughter, remember there's the one where the boy comes, his son comes to him and he's like, come here. And he could hear the noise in his daughter's room. And he was like, we just have to ride this out. We're going to have to edit this. And then in the flat and the second one, which was a prequel about the dad as a boy, his father got killed by Tommy Taffy because his dad kept trying to, his dad was the one that tied him up in the basement, set him on fire and everything. Tommy comes back and like drives a stake through his mouth and kills him. Is it, I get, or let's just read it. If both stories put you in an insanely uncomfortable scenario where it's like, I don't want to think about being in this scenario because Tommy Taffy is like, what if someone was going to. What if Superman was a pedophile? Yeah. What if someone was going to rape your kids and you couldn't do anything about it? You just had to be there. No, he kills you if you try. And then he rapes them. It's very unforgiving. I think that's probably why too, is why it feels so bad is that it's like, there's really no point. Like it's, it's completely hopeless. Yeah. Which I think might be a narrative choice of like the hopelessness of these situations or something. Yeah. Cause what's a kid going to do? Yeah. But I wonder if there's a way where, is there a way that you could write that to where it's unnerving and not just reverse it? Revolting? Like, is there a way to get across that idea without having it be maybe so literal? I guess for a horror story, revolting can be the point where it's like, gosh, that made me uncomfortable. And that's like, yeah, but I don't think that's satisfying. That doesn't, it's not a horror I enjoy, but it is a kind of horror. Is that the same kind of stuff? Cause we've had people recommend us the, the, the story, like playground. I've always heard people talk about playground, the book. And there's like a, I think that one's more of like saw trap stuff, like wacky ways people get killed. Yeah. Okay. So, but is that not, I guess in a way, is that not torture porn? I mean, similar where it's just like, this is a, like, can you imagine going down this thing? It doesn't really matter. It's like, there's really no escaping it, but it's just like, it was a slide with blades or whatever. It's just not comparable to that in a way. I think it is in the sense of it's like that, that one's a bit different. Cause I would say there's like gimmicks, so it's part like a saw traps, it's like the funness of it sort of, whereas this one's kind of like, don't you hate this? Don't you? I bet you feel real bad. Yeah. Well, I think it's also trying to tap into people where it's just like, I bet you, you know, just tapping into like, I guess that, like that memory of like, I don't know, a fight you maybe had with your parents. Yeah. You know, it's like trying to like twist that in a way where it's fucking to an extreme, obviously. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. I heard my mom gasp as Jay and I turned away, took my brother's hand in mine, heart racing. I was terrified. I rarely heard my dad use that kind of language before. We're never in such an abrasive. of manner so we quickly walked to our room i looked at jane saw his face was a mess of snot drool and tear-streaked hair his eyes were wet and wide with confusion he didn't understand any of this didn't understand why his father was being so mean to him i didn't either and so i gave his hand a little squeeze sure what else to do we closed the door to our bedroom and stared at each other we could hear our dad yelling loudly in the kitchen his voice rising jay covered his ears and ran to his bed collapsing into his pillow i went to him and put a hand on his back as he cried sobs muffled in the cotton then i heard my mom start to scream i felt tears spill from her gosh it's like uh it's such an unnecessary amount of description of like the weeping and just the like it's so it's excessive extremely excessive again harry that's a good one before we're done recording he needs to come stand in here he's gonna have to he's gonna have to have something he's gonna have to pay for his crimes i felt tears spill from my eyes and i began to hyperventilate each breath a desperate attempt for oxygen covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut as something crashed to the floor in the kitchen more banging followed and all the while my mother continued to shriek her voice was so loud that i couldn't even breathe i couldn't even rising to an inhuman level there was agony in her cries along with fear and i kept waiting for her to stop but she didn't kept going and going and going and going jay was weeping now kicking his head into his pillow trying to block out the sound his whole body was shaking and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing i laid down next to him and clutched his body to mine my own tears spilling into his hair i didn't know what else to do you know when this horrible nightmare would end i heard another crash is something shattered in the kitchen i heard my mother howling and screech of table legs on the hardwood floor gosh i heard jay praying to god this is so rough dude i just like it's a thing where there probably is people out there who enjoy this like i felt miserable there's things i like that i'll i'll partake in where it's just there's things i like that i'll i'll partake in where it's just there's things i like that i'll partake in where it's just there's things i like that i'll i'll partake in where it's just there's things i like that i'll i'll partake in where it's just there's things i like that i'll i'll the the context everything the grossness moves you in a way or not even gross but just like something that just moves you in a way where it's like i didn't think that it could make me feel like this this is just like a record this is like a horrible recollection it feels like a thing that like other people really shouldn't even know about yeah you know i mean like a private like an intimate thing that someone would tell you where you're like oh my god it's horrible yeah but just having it be so it's almost like which kind of get which is kind of the thing that i guess makes me respect the story a bit where it's like in the real world there are maybe like some of the elements like the brick and stuff but who knows maybe there was there have been scenarios that intense you know of like spousal abuse oh i mean i'm sure there is but i think the context of of like i guess learning about these things is i guess it's like if i mean i don't know it's just the first time you're following somebody you're coming this is the first time it's just like such a whiplash yeah we're like what it's just all you know and it's just grueling it's also somewhat it's almost like i guess it's almost torture yeah i guess it depends on the context you enter it with as a reader as a reader yeah torture torture as a reader as you're reading it i guess it depends on the context you enter it because if you're going to talk about a story about like spousal abuse something that intense then i don't think you should pull punches you know no i don't think you have to hide stuff but i just i guess it's just uh i still i mean i don't think you have to i haven't finished it but so far it does not feel it doesn't even not even say classy it's the wrong word i just think it feels excessive to the point of i guess just like how else can i twist the knife more right right yeah which i don't i don't particularly find interesting not my kind of thing but like maybe for somebody maybe for somebody and also because like there's real world scenarios like this i do kind of respect and in that sense not pulling punches kind of like the first time i watched schindler's list where it's like oh my gosh for two hours and then at the end you're like well i guess it would have been worse if they didn't show it right if they downplayed how bad it really was so you know yeah i don't know i don't know yeah also i'm not smart enough to articulate my my thoughts like that i guess i guess the difference between schindler's list and this is that that is a real thing that and to pull away from and to not show the horrors of it would maybe be disrespectful versus this is a fictitious thing that can happen well here's the thing i'm not i'm not saying a lie specifically obviously you are no uh but maybe this was like based on a real story i probably imagine it was so if it was then similar to schindler's list maybe it would be illegitimate to pull back on some of the more gruesome details to a degree i guess yeah maybe maybe maybe i don't know if that's the case the two i don't know it feels like uh to also fabricate that story in a way where it's like i'm gonna make characters around this horrible thing that happened to me yeah he's like and he's also like a monster that's kind of like that's a good point yeah i think that would be a bit tasteless in my opinion yeah yeah yeah no it makes sense i heard jay praying to god his voice trembling i clutched him tighter realizing that i was sobbing as well my whole body felt like it was a quivering mass of jello my muscles weak and useless i was more terrified than i'd ever been in my life finally my mother stopped screaming soft hush fell over the house i didn't hear anything except the blood pumping in my ears jay had quieted to a series of soft sniffles his face still buried in the pillow looked up from the bed staring at the closed bedroom door i begged it to remain shut i heard movement in the house footsteps that came down the hall stopped on the other side of the wall in my parents bedroom i heard shuffling and then the door shut i waited and prayed jay shifted next to me and i told him to be quiet wiping tears from his face and holding him close more footsteps in the house heavy slow paces i thought for sure my mom was dead people didn't scream like that and live our bedroom door open jay let out a little scream and shrunk into me as my dad entered he was crawling on all fours all right monster man he was crawling on all fours his mouth hanging open drool running down his chin his eyes rolled back into his head he shuffled side to side across the floor slowly opening and closing his mouth spittle leaking from his face he was blinking rapidly one of his eyes rolling forward to stare at us after a few seconds he coughed hacking up phlegm growling he wiped his lips and stood looking down at us cowering on the bed come with me he said his voice a low rattle in his chest i didn't move jay shrunk further against me i could feel his body shaking against mine sweat beating on his skin my dad took a step towards us get up both of you right now where's mom he was standing in front of us now she's resting she's had a long day no get up jay shifted against me and then he was sliding to the floor without much choice i followed his example jay shifted against me and then he was sliding to the floor without much choice i followed his example my dad placed a hand on each of our shoulders and guided us towards the door we were directed through the house i listened for my mother what had he done to her where was she was she dead in the bedroom i didn't hear anything no clues as to her condition or where she was we entered the kitchen and i saw that the table was pressed against the cabinets and a few of the dinner glasses lay shattered on the floor expected to see blood smeared across the floor dripping down the surfaces but there was none at least that was until i saw the brick it had been placed on the counter by the sink half of it was soaked in thick oozing blood when i saw it i felt my body tense up my dad must have felt the change in my stance because his grip tightened on my shoulder jay was sniffling beside me his eyes cast down refusing to look up and potentially see the horrors my father had bestowed on my mother my dad pushed us through the side door outside the night air was humid and sticky on the skin a fat yellow moon had been on the skin hung in the sky like an out of place christmas ornament stars twinkled across the black canvas and my ears were filled with the sound of chirpy night critters contrary to inside everything felt alive out here pulsing in unison to the night's dark heartbeat we were led around to the back of the house towards our old shed my dad didn't keep much out there just a few tools and the rickety lawnmower both of which weren't used much throughout the year i didn't like the shed something about it at night as i lay in bed i would imagine some creature hiding inside waiting until i fell asleep before emerging and creeping into my room to watch me jay and i jerked to a halt as my dad squeezed our shoulders wait here he said his voice sounding far away and strange cleansed up from my shoulder and saw he was rubbing his eyes i want to go back in i want mom jay sobbed wiping his nose with the back of his hand you can go and win came up and traveled in the wind I doubt that his sentence fraction entering into two nonsensical statements. He coughed hard and stuck his tongue out like he had a bad taste on it. I saw a shudder wreck his body, and he looked like he was about to gag. He gained control of himself with a quick shake of his head, closing his mouth so hard his teeth clicked together. I watched as he came around us and walked towards the shed. He looked back, making sure we were obeying, and then went inside. Jay looked at me, his eyes full of fear. He expected me to have some kind of explanation, an answer to the madness that surrounded us. I couldn't summon the words to comfort him, didn't know what combination of soothing syllables I could possibly string together to calm his terror. What is he going to do with us? I whispered the warm moonlight shining in his eyes. It's going to be okay. I said softly, the words tasting like a lie. We heard movement from the shed, our father's actions hidden behind the closed door. A warm breeze stirred the distant trees, and the night was filled with the sound of rustling leaves. My hair danced across my forehead in the wind, and I begged to blow away with it. Jay and I remained frozen in place, neither of us knowing which would be worse, facing whatever my father was preparing or running away, and facing the wrath that came after. It's not like we had anywhere to run. I mean, where could we possibly go? How could we flee? Who could we flee to? Our minds were trapped inside our youth, doomed to the almighty authority of our father. See, paragraphs like that, I see where it's coming from, with, like, the father, being a monster as representative of, like, real scenarios like this. 100%. That's very clear. I see the vision. That's very clear. I mean, the idea of even personifying into a horror story of the monsters our parents become, or reveal to be through, you know, like a workplace thing, your dad loses his job, he changes, he goes, you know, this could be a personification of the dad being an alcoholic. Something like that. That all is, that is totally clear. You know what I mean? When we finish it, I'll have more thoughts on it. But I do, like, I mean, like, it's very clear. That's, I think, what the story is trying to get to. Yeah. Yeah, I think so. The shed door opened, snapping me out of my thoughts. My dad stepped back into the night, his figure draped in shadows and dark moonlight. Both of you, get inside. Jay grasped my arm as we shuffled forward, our father stepping aside to let us pass. Smell of rotting wood and old grass salted my senses, and I rubbed my hand across my neck, nose, trying to scrub the stench away. My dad had illuminated the cramped space with an old electric lantern. Set on the workbench on the right, our small lawnmower catching the light on its dull metal surface. Tools piled around the lantern, an array of rusted hammers, screwdrivers, and pliers. I couldn't remember the last time my dad had actually used any of them. But all of that was seen with a passing glance. That wasn't what held my attention. Something else did. My eyes drawn to it like fire, and gasoline. Jay's fingernails dug into my skin as he saw it too, his breath catching in his lungs. A noose hung from the crossbeam, dangling down into the empty space. The rope was knotted tight, twisting cords more menacing than anything on the workbench. Oh, look who decided to show up. Look who decided to show up. We have some questions. We have a lot of questions for this story once we're done. Okay, all right. My dad entered behind us, shutting the door. He went and stood by the noose, motioning me forward. Come on now, Tommy. Let's get this over with. Dad? I croaked, mouth dry, and voiced cracking like a dead twig. What are you gonna do? Heart was pressed against my ribs, throwing itself against bone, a wild beast in my chest. Dad traced the hanging loop with his fingers. You're gonna be my wind chime, son. That's cringe. I need to know when the wind will blow north. I think you'll be a good chime. One time to your insides out, but I'll do that after. Wait, why are you doing this, Daddy? Jay cried, with tears rolling down his cheeks. He didn't answer, just waited for me to go to him. I didn't move, didn't know what to do. Was he serious about going through with this? He couldn't be. This was my father. He loved me. He would never do this. He wouldn't ever do anything to seriously hurt me. At this age, blind trust is a dangerous thing. It filled me. The memories and kindness my dad had shown me over the years. I trusted him. He was my father. But that darkness in his eye, that black spark, terrified me. Reality and faith collided together in my mind like oil and water, the mixture turning my stomach in sick horror. My father gripped the hanging rope. If you don't come over here right now, I'm gonna use Jay instead. I felt my brother bury his face into my side, weeping. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Over and over again, his tears damp on my shirt. I wrapped an arm around his head, feeling his sweaty hair brush over my skin. My heart was audible in my ears, my lips cracked and dry, breath coming and stuttering heaves. "Dad!" I cried, feeling myself begin to cry. "Dad, I don't want to! Please, Dad!" My face was flushed as the fear came bubbling out of my face in wet streaks. My father suddenly reached out and grabbed me, gripping my arm and yanking me towards the rope. I let out a cry and fell towards him, his hands hard and strong. Pushed and shoved me, positioning me under the rope, its shadow a dark halo over my head. Jay was screaming openly, his face red and terrified. He just stood there, helpless, as my father pulled the noose down and slid it over my head. "Dad's gonna hang me." The thought hit me like a knife to the heart. My knees were weak. He could knock together. My whole body trembling in horrific anticipation. The rope around my neck scratched and rubbed against my skin, coarse and itchy. This was really about to happen. Up until this point, I didn't believe my father was capable of such sins, especially to his own son. My dad was my hero, a strong, supportive pillar and an example to my brother and I. Now I waited with bated breath for him to kill me. "Here we go," Dad said, positioning himself behind me and grappling, dangling into the rope. I hung from the crossbeam. Heard a tighten of cords, the rope stretching and straining. Suddenly my throat was clamped with hot fire, a burning agony that cut it up into my chin as I was lifted off my feet. Kicked my legs frantically, impossibly helpless, my hands grabbing at my neck, couldn't get my fingers between the rope. My skin, the tension denying any space to dig my nails into. My head swelled and I felt the blood in my face ready to pop out of my eyes and mouth. I hacked and coughed, horrible gagging wretches exploding from my lips as I tried to breathe. My vision began to swim and my colors began to blend. I felt myself dying. Suddenly, the pain was gone, a halo of fire around my throat vanishing. I felt my knees hit the hard floor and I crumpled into myself. I sucked in deep lungfuls of air. I never tasted any sweeter in my life. As the world began to focus again, I realized my father was screaming. I blinked back at the dizziness and focused my eyes, pushing the shadows away. My father was against the back wall, clutching his side and howling as blood bubbled from his shirt. Jay stood next to him, weeping, screaming, his right arm soaked with blood up to his elbow. He was holding a rusty box cutter, its blade dripping. "Don't hurt Tommy." Jay was howling through wet eyes, "Don't hurt him, dad." Hand pressed to his side, my dad swiped at Jay, trying to snatch the box cutter. Jay jerked back and almost tripped over himself, letting out another shriek. "Look at what you did to me!" My dad grimaced, pulling his hands away and revealing a deep gash in his side. Deep gash in his side, shirt tattered and red. I struggled to my feet, reaching out and pulling Jay towards me. Took the box cutter from him and put a hand on my throbbing head. I'm okay. Suddenly, my dad lunged for me, pushing himself off the wall using his back. Without thinking, I slashed at him, a purely defensive reaction. Time seemed to slow as I watched the blade catch my dad in the arm, the blade eating into his skin. Cut through the flesh like soft butter, parting his wrists like a bloody zipper. Blood squirted into my eyes, and I heard my dad scream, pulling his arm back and cradling it on his chest. He slumped to the floor, his face pale and full of fury. He was breathing hard, and I could tell it wouldn't be long before he steadied himself and was at us again. I grabbed Jay and ran from the shed, the night behind us filling with howls of rage. As the air hit our tear-stained faces, I suddenly noticed trucks roaring down the road and up our driveway. They were bulky and loud, diesel engines growling towards us, blinding white lights cut past through the night. Shining across my bloody face as two, three, then four of them stopped in front of our house. They were camouflaged. Even at that age, I knew they were military. What? What? What is going on? My exhausted, terrified mind asked. I pulled Jay close to me and advanced on them, unsure what they were doing here, but desperately needing of help. Too many merged from a white van dressed in hazmat suits. It's in a shiver of fear. fear coursing through me as they charged jay and i yelling and waving their arms i froze in the yard jay trembling beside me men in uniform poured from the other vehicles guns drawn all pointing at us they all had gas masks on and it gave them a chilling inhuman look in the moonlight everyone was shouting as the men in the hazmat suits approached jay and myself i back up and step as they get close gripping the box cutter in my bloody hand i didn't know who these people were or why they were pointing guns at us i needed to protect jay he had been through enough we both had it's okay kid it's okay one of the men in the suit said raising his hands the other one had a pistol drawn scanning the yard where is he one with the pistol asked i stammered mind blanking in fear and confusion your dad where's your dad kid through the suit i could see blue eyes reflecting back at me he's in there jay cried suddenly pointing to the shed he wanted her tommy so i i cut him i had to i'm sorry i didn't want him to hurt i didn't want tommy to die first one looked at the one with the pistol and gave a quick nod i watched as he trot over to the shed and peeked inside he looked back and gave the three of us a wave and then a thumbs up to the men in gas masks then he entered the shed and i heard him kill my father gunshot exploded in the night and i jumped the finality of it deafening i stood there dumbfounded bloody confused and i couldn't make out what these men were what they were doing here or why they had shot my dad clutch jay to my side who was staring up at me with giant round eyes did did that man just kill dad yes his voice is shaking whisper the man in the hazmat suit shook his head son you don't have anything to worry about it's gonna be okay now he won't hurt you anymore someone was yelling behind him and i glanced over his shoulder to see the men in masks had gone into our house one of them was for a medic frantically waving his hand to get inside my mother i prayed she was okay and these men could help her i didn't know what my father had done to her but i remembered the screams what's going on i whispered as i watched the man with the pistol exit the shed he was yelling towards the soldiers asking for something my ears not registering his calls my world was crashing down around me in inky patches of disbelief and shock man knelt down in front of us placing a hand on each of us our shoulders boys i really i really shouldn't be the one to tell you this especially right now i looked at him with moist eyes my dad just tried to hang me please i could see shock ripple through his eyes through the hazmat visor he looked at both of us struggling with himself please i begged desperate to make any kind of sense of the madness man sighed boys something happened today i really don't think i should be the one to tell you but he looked at us again boys something bad happened today something bad happened by the bank where your dad worked there was some kind of earthquake very minor but a cup but but i cut a deep gash in the earth it opened up a pocket of something that we've never seen before some kind of gas the wind carried it towards the town and he looked to the ground shaking his head he killed a lot of people a lot of people we're trying to contain it keep whatever it is from spreading is that why you shot dad js quietly sniffling and rubbing his nose because he had to go to the bad because he got the bad wind on him the man the man looked up at both of us his eyes fearful boys your dad died this morning along with everyone else at the bank we took his body to containment to performing an autopsy on him as we speak i'm really sorry damn it i am felt my brain bend backwards on itself a mess of knotted thoughts and emotions the words hitting me like bullets what was this man talking about dad died this morning it was impossible he came home from work it's like every other day dad's body was lying dead in the shed this man was lying he had to be then who's who's in there finally asked the question coming out in a weak treble man shook his head son whatever's lying dead in that shed it isn't your father you see something else came out of the earth this morning something other than poisonous gas something that crawled up to the surface and got out something that for whatever reason took the form of your father and drove home to you all the witness is solemn it leaving you only wanted to get out when we found your dad's body we didn't know what to make of it we still don't that thing in there he said pointing to the shed we don't know what the it is or what it was trying to do but that is not your father shook his head shit i'm really sorry kids i really did i really shouldn't be telling you all this i'm sorry about your dad i really am he stood up come on we need to get you to the hospital and have you checked out it's gonna be okay i promise i barely heard him as jay and i led to the trucks so i'm in carrying my mother out of the house on a stretcher she was a little bit scared but she was a little bit scared and i was alive and barely conscious but when she saw she reached out and called our names they started crying again and i sprinted to her i wanted to as well but found i didn't have the strength everything the man had told me twisted and coiled around my mind none of it made sense none of it could possibly be real couldn't be how could my entire life change so drastically in one night what was going to happen to us now where were they taking us were we going to be okay at the time i didn't know i felt someone grasped something out of my hand and i realized one of the soldiers was trying to pry the box cutter out of my grip i let go the rusty metal peeling away from my palm played staining it in sticky red splotches what had happened tonight looked back and saw the men in hazmat suits pulling my dad's dead body from the shed and zipping it up in a clear plastic body bag a final thought rippled through the madness what the hell is that thing the end so a so a goblin crawled through poisonous gas to come out take the form of this random man's body go home shove a brick in a woman's pussy and then threaten to hang some kids and they're like yeah i don't know what's happening boys you know why you know what really pisses me off about that telling you this boys and boys son boys i shouldn't be telling you never mind okay i'll tell you i shouldn't be the one to do it i shouldn't i'll tell you but i shouldn't be the one goblins are real i should have said it i've said too much i've said too much never mind i've said not enough and too much at the same time that's why the brick win the pussy i should have even said that what am i doing i hate that ending because it also i feel like we're giving the the we're giving it we're giving way too much credit for being like oh it's a thing about you know you're growing up and you kind of realize the faults of your parents and how really how nasty they can be and you know the perception of all that and how nope nope it's a goblin bad poison goblin bad goblin poison goblin from the bank in town killed everyone what is going wait how could this all happen in one day my life's upside down i shouldn't even tell you this it was it became like a freaky friday thing like it just totally jumped jamie lee curtis and lindsey lohan have switched bodies yeah yeah just at the bank i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't know i don't know you know what's crazy about this this is actually a really good example of framing because i was thinking about it at the end when the the guy was describing like there's a gas that makes like before he revealed he was dead no when he revealed he was dead and i thought he was resurrected or something but instead it was a goblin what was that it reminded me of graylock do you remember in graylock how all the miners died yeah their bodies reanimated yeah that was sick so imagine if in graylock there was a short that was this where it's one of the mine workers coming home and being supervised and they're like oh my god i'm gonna die i'm gonna die i'm gonna die and then transforming slowly that would work because graylock starts with the big picture it starts with like this is a big mine company and there's something that you can even have the thing of like let's just say it's the poisonous gas that transforms them and that's like that's representative of something of the dad taking something and changing right whatever that's all fine i think another thing that just since we're all done with it now since the story's buttoned up since the brick has been laid so to speak uh i hate the like it's not fun or rewarding reading something that's like yeah i don't know we fucking yeah you throw the plate on the floor and make him eat like a pig it's you know it's it's almost something it's like it'd be fucked up yeah you put a fucking rake on his back and you scratch his back and he's got a fucking strips of blood in his back yeah it's like oh yeah that would suck yeah it would yeah it's like and he's crying too and and like you just you can see the tears forming from his tear ducts and he's like fucking mumbling something to god but it doesn't matter because that motherfucker's not helping and i take it i take a rabid raccoon i shove it up his asshole and you're like well that would be crazy yeah it's like isn't this awful but then all the stuff we were giving it like well maybe it's being that awful because it's trying to be like representative of real world scenarios that would make sense but then at the end it's like no it's the poison - Yeah. - It's the poison goblin from the bank. That's what it is. the i do think there is ways because what you're getting at earlier with does it cheapen a thing to be like you're put through like if it was about this traumatic thing right yeah if you want to be stuck in that i understand what you're trying to get at there i think that what we're what we're really saying with that is if the goal of this thing is to be something where it's like you realize the faults of your parents or like let's just say it's like the the repressed trauma or you like you know you you get to a certain age and you are able to realize that maybe your parents are the people who they say they are yeah i think that's fine to put people in that scenario to be like and then you're stuck like if you're building out the you're building out a scenario it's the first time you notice it's like that that catalyst that catalyst moment where it's like you're here and that your senses are heightened i heard every single thing but this whole story is just like yeah i shit in a fucking diaper and i put i put razor blades in a diaper and it cuts a little under some of my balls yeah and it hurts it's just like yeah that would be pretty fucked up yeah that would be bad that's why it's not satisfying yeah it's i think that you can have a thing where you do maybe you do have a guy shove a fucking brick in a pussy somehow and it is alluded to something it like can be it reminds me of uh like uh some of the rob zombie horror films well yeah let's just it's the grindhouse aesthetic of like people screaming and it's just like isn't this just fucking gross and terrible yeah and even then like it's just i guess that's the biggest complaint the biggest complaint i have is that i gave it credit for it's just like it's just like i gave it credit for just which also too we have and i say i will say i we have i've seen this too are we the most what is it what is it what is it called what's like uh comprehend like literacy literacy comprehension whatever no we're we're not the most no literate no there's times where i'm like guys who have a podcast there has been times and i exactly and this is me just shooting from the hip here but what i've just read because there's been times in the show where we're halfway through a four-hour story and i'll be like it's a girl yeah you know or like how how it took us like seven hours into mother horse eyes to be like oh this is a cat yeah this is a cat yes the story yeah which i still didn't even know at the end i was just like i had no idea about the cat had no idea all right so i guess from what i'm seeing here is that from just the blatant part of reading which this is a more condensed story but i it's just it's excessive to be excessive which is also why i think some people have complaints with like the shit like playground yeah or you know like there's a there's like another one that that guy wrote where it's like i don't know the picture the cover of the book is like uh it's like a really gross kitchen or something and it's all about like a guy being like yeah just like kidnapping and torturing a person well it's also like um with i had a train of thought i completely lost it it's it's hard to justify all the torture porn stuff because i do think that there's like there is merit to things of building up a narrative that is just like this is about this repressed thing and it's a heightened version of everything so everything that's happening it's like you're in it and you're trapped in this nightmare and i think it is supposed to be tackling things where it's like you've probably had something like this and this is the heightened version of that but it's also so easy to just be like yeah it just reads as cheap i guess is what i say it feels cheap it feels like it's a very quick way of being like yeah and her fucking fingernails fall off and she's trying to scratch a bug itch but it won't well it's still well at the end of it too it's again i was giving a benefit of the doubt of like well maybe this will get to a place where it's about real world things and at the end it's like some supernatural it wasn't set up boys yeah it wasn't like delivered on to where it was like representative of the real trauma so it's like the real trauma was just set dressing for the goblin i mean it wasn't even set dressing or was this just a thing where it's like wouldn't it be crazy if your dad came home and he like just fucking like shoved a brick up your face and you were like oh my god i'm gonna die your mom's pussy well i think it was like it's so over the top and then all of that your dad comes home like there was a there was a thought and i could be the literacy comprehension could be completely wrong i want to put that out there right wouldn't it be crazy this was a straight of thought yeah your dad comes home he's like go outside and get a brick i'm gonna fuck your mom with it and you're like dad that's that's not cool right and then at some point there was a pause and then the earth cracks open and there's mustard gas and goblins where was that connection well i feel like i have no idea i have no because when i heard the gas i was like that's supposed to be something about substance abuse or something it's what i was thinking that's something where it's like your dad breathing this thing it's not that's not really who he is but no dad's dad yeah that's dad but then but then it's like no he died right there yeah there's a ghoul that came out of the ground and then for some reason he looked at your dad yeah he looked at your dad and he's just like yep transformed into him yeah and he's just like i'm gonna go home and i'm gonna i'm gonna like i'm just gonna strip so also i know where you live yeah yeah i know where he gets in the car he gets in the car he goes home and he's like i need a beer honey yeah exactly he's like and also he's carrying the emotional baggage like fucking long day at the bank yeah as if you guys even fucking care and then all of a sudden he's like eating off the floor you fat pig yeah my fat son he's like spaghetti again as if he knows she's been spaghetti this is the biggest part of the isaiah okay poison gas well sure goblin crawling on the ground sure he knows then the goblin who has not been to the back side of the house knows that there's a brick pile outside the back yep yep unless he's just like he's unless he was driving in he's like and he saw it there there's the brick how'd you know about the brick pile goblin man which i guess to be fair if he knew exactly where the coordinates were to the house then look this the story is uh it's not my thing there's people like we mentioned earlier who the enjoyment to them is the brutal nature of it like oh that's messed up which if you like it good for you just not my flavor it can be done correctly i think anything can be done there like i said there is probably a story out there where if i saw a guy being like yeah i'm shoving a brick up there yeah in a way where i was like damn that hit somehow don't know how i'd kind of love to find out how where i'm like okay i'm in all right hey we turn in the right direction you know what i mean but all in all i just uh here actually you know what harry harry come over here what was the justification for reading this was it just because it was an alliance with a row piece no hold on get up here let him use your mic yeah that's what i'm gonna look at this walk of shame coming in here we were supposed to we were supposed to we were supposed to read shell silverstein's where those sidewalk ends and earlier i'm like how about this one you're like that's a good one so what about this story made you well hold on in my defense i i did make the list although you picked this story from the top of the list so it was isaiah who's there's a real choice no no no no no my mic now he he had a list of six stories all of which were reading during this trip and he goes which should we do first oh i see and i'm like oh we'll start with elias this was on a list of six that he compiled that part is true i will i that part is true this is the first time in podcast history where the where the producer has to defend himself like what are you talking about yeah no i just want to say that can we confirm that you did pick it from the top it was my list my botched list but you did pick it from the top was it a blind fire because it was elias with row was it a blind fire so wait can i yes well let me explain at the beginning he said i also wonder what happened he's so hot right now can i can i at least i was not here i'm hot because you're like isaiah did this okay for the record looking at the camera isaiah did not do this uh can i at least get the line read because part of the the whole reason i picked this story is because i wanted to hear the the quintessential line i'm gonna fuck your mom i miss i wasn't here when that i had to i was doing chores uh you wait so you didn't read that part no i did i no i said i didn't oh you want me to read it out loud he's saying he picked the story so that there would be a sound i thought it'd be funny that line i i thought it'd be funny you know what i think you i think you put us in a little bit of rough pumpkins i think people are gonna be i think people are gonna be upset i think that is an absurd reason okay this one won't come out for a while so there's that yeah it's fucked up is by the time this comes out we're gonna be like oh fuck i forgot about that one well there's your story sorry guys thanks for the pog thanks for the uh hey seriously i hope none of you guys fucking hope none of you guys get fucking razor wire on your fucking dinky balls and your fucking hey i and hey by the way also i'm gonna fuck your mom tonight with this fucking rusty shovel all right bye is that it that's good i think that's it you