Scary Stories - The Game

0:00One thing I love about music is how everybody has a different answer when you ask what songs shape the culture. That is exactly what the Sprite Living track list is built for. It brings together 50 tracks that help define hip hop, from classics like Cream and rappers Delight to newer moments like March Madness and TGIF. The best part is that lyrics and titles from those tracks extend to limited edition collectible packaging across Sprite and Sprite Zero Shigger bottles and cans, with stories and breakdowns behind the bars. Check out the full Sprite Living track list through the link in our show notes. Play it, debate it, collect it. This episode sponsored by Let Us Financial. Self-employed, congrats. You fired your boss and hired five new ones. Taxes, bookkeeping, payroll, healthcare and retirement. That's why I use Let Us Financial. Leave a W2 job and suddenly every back office task is your job. Let us financial help solo business owners organize spending, savings and taxes in one place so your money finally makes sense.

1:04If you're a freelancer, creator or consultant, Let Us Financial helps you save time, cut stress and get back to the work you actually want to do. Visit Let Us, L-E-T-T-U-C-E.co now. To find out how much time and tax money Let Us Financial could help you save. Let's back office more business. With VerboCare, help is always ready before, during and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists so support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind. At Verbo, we understand that even the best of plans sometimes need a little support, so we've planned for the plot twists. Every booking is automatically backed by our VerboCare and T giving you confidence from the very start. Whenever you need help, it's ready. Before your stay, through the moments in between and after your trip. Because a great trip starts with peace of mind and maybe a good playlist, but we've got the peace of mind part covered.

2:07The Ouija board has been around since the mid 19th century. People wanted to contact their dead loved ones or get a peek into the future. But somewhere along the line, these boards picked up the reputation as being a tool for the devil. So is the Ouija board just a fun game or does it open a portal for evil? These are the stories we'll be exploring here tonight. This happened when I was 12 or 13 years old, on a hot summer night in Marolou, Louisiana. A group of my friends were outside underneath the streetlight. We'd been talking about my friend Joey's 22-year-old sister, she claimed to be able to contact spirits with the Ouija board. Now, her Ouija board wasn't one you could buy at the local toy store. She got it from her aunt, who was in Davoudou, and she bought it from a store in the French Quarter, a place well-known for its connection to the dark arts. We used to watch when she'd take the board out, but we were all very skeptical that she was actually speaking to the dead. We told ourself that his sister was the one moving the plant chat herself, and it wasn't real. But we all still wanted to try it out ourselves.

3:12I'd never actually touch the board before, because even though I was skeptical, I figured why take chances. Besides, if things got bad, I could always walk away, if I was just a bystander. So Joey snuck into the house and brought the board outside under the streetlight. We all just stood there looking at it, no one wanted to touch it. But we couldn't chicken out now, so we decided that we would do rock paper scissors until two people were left, and they would play, while the rest of us watched. Finally, only two remained of the eight or so kids that were there. Joey actually volunteered, but Jamie was the one who lost at rock paper scissors, and I could tell she was already having second thoughts about going through with it. But, on they went, placing their fingers on the plant chat exactly how we had seen Joey's sister do it before. For several minutes, nothing happened. The kids started saying that they knew it was fake, and that his sister must have been moving it herself the whole time. But then, the plant chat started to move.

4:14It was looping around in the figure eight pattern. We all backed up a few inches, scared. Of course, we all accused Joey of moving it, but he swore it wasn't him. So then we thought it was Jamie, but she was clearly frightened. Her face had gone pale and I really thought she might faint. After about a minute of this, one kid said to ask the spirit some questions. So we asked some very generic yes or no questions. The board would answer right away, then go right back to that constant figure eight looping action again. This went on for about five minutes until I asked the spirit its name. The spirit claimed to be Lauren, a 16-year-old girl that had drawn in the Mississippi River, which was only 12 blocks from where we lived. So this smart-ass kid named Ryan, who was the oldest among us at 14 years of age, decided to ask Lauren if she was hot. We all laughed, but soon stopped, as the plant chat shot over to the word no, then slowly spelled

5:16out the word cold. At that very moment, a cold breeze cut through the hot summer air, and it wasn't like any other cold breeze I've ever experienced before. It almost felt like the air had died, if that makes any sense. Everyone there fell silent, for what seemed like forever, before another girl asked if Lauren was still there with us. As the plant shed went over to yes, Jamie got scared and pulled her hand away, leaving only Joey touching it. But it never stopped moving. It kept going round and round in a figure eight loop, waiting for the next question. Jamie, hi, my name is Madison Tavlem, and I'm Presley Hossbock. Have you ever joined this podcast? Be sure to check us out on ClearingSmiles. ClearingSmiles is a podcast where we try to make health and wellness way less overwhelming. In partnership with Colgate Palm Olive, we're breaking down topics like oral health, pet nutrition, skin health, and more with the help of expert guests. We'll be swapping stories, learning healthy habits, and asking the tough questions like how often should I floss?

6:18What kind of sunscreen is right for me? And finding out what vets wish every owner knew about nutrition. Be sure to check out ClearingSmiles wherever you get your podcasts. Looking at Verbo Vacation rental means you get Verbo Care in 24-7 life support, verified reviews from real guests, and top-rated homes with the love by guest filter. I just booked my Verbo because there was a sweet line for it. We all have our reasons. If you know, give Verbo, termsupply, cverbo.com slash trust for details. This episode sponsored by Let Us Financial. Self-employed? Congrats! You fired your boss and hired five new ones. Taxes, bookkeeping, payroll, health care, and retirement. That's why I use Let Us Financial. Leave a W2 job and suddenly every back office task is your job. Let Us Financial helps solo business owners organize spending, savings, and taxes in one place, so your money finally makes sense. If you're a freelancer, creator, or consultant, Let Us Financial helps you save time, cut stress, and get back to the work you actually want to do.

7:18Visit Let Us, L-E-T-T-U-C-E.co now. To find out how much time and tax money Let Us Financial could help you save. Let's back office more business. She said she couldn't take it anymore and wanted to go home. She started to walk to her house, but Ryan convinced her and everyone else there to stay. So, back to the board we all went, as Joey sat there with his fingers on the plant shed that kept spinning round and round. Apparently, when Jamie tried to leave, it angered the spirit, and the plant shed was spinning faster than ever. Things were getting incredibly tense, and I felt like something bad was gonna happen. But Ryan, he was still completely skeptical, and he decided to mess with Lauren Samar. He was being very disrespectful, and he thought it would be funny to ask her a bunch of sexual questions. And that caused the plant shed to spin even faster. Joey told Ryan to stop being stupid, because he couldn't hold onto the plant shed if it went any faster.

8:21But Ryan said that he knew it was Joey moving the pointer in the first place, and that he didn't care about angering some, quote, dumbass spirit. He then yelled at the board and said, if you're really here, then show yourself. Well, Lauren decided to show us that she was truly there. That same cold breeze came back, but that wasn't the only thing. As we sat there under the streetlight, every other streetlight all the way up and down the street in both directions, went out at the same time. We just looked at each other for a second, until we fully realized what had just happened. Then we all ran. I never ran faster than I did that night. I remember hearing the girls screaming and the boys yelling, but I never looked back for any of them. I didn't even see to it that the girls got home safely. All I could think of was getting myself home safely. I didn't even bother to look back to see if anyone stuck around. The next day I found out that nobody stuck around.

9:23They all ran. Even that instigator, Ryan. Joey left the Ouija board under the streetlight he was so scared. It was still there the next morning. That night when the streetlights came on, they all worked perfectly. Nothing was wrong. We all decided that if we just didn't talk about it, we could forget it, as if it never happened, and go on with our lives. But I'm sure it stuck with the others just like it stuck with me. We all got into a lot of trouble with Joey's sister when she found out that we used her Ouija board. She told us that we were all far too young and weak to be dealing with these spirits, and that we could have gotten hurt. She said the next time we should wait for her. But for me, there will never be a next time. I'm not going near one of those things again. My late mother was a no-nonsense woman, and she wasn't exactly known for her sense of humor. She certainly wasn't one to tell tall tales, so I have no reason to doubt her word when it comes to this story. My mother was a divorcee when she met my father,

10:27and it was she who divorced her husband, Frank, not the other way around. This was in the 1930s. Frank was a bookie, and he was often out late at night taking bets all around town. One night when my mother was left home alone yet again, she decided to go across the street to visit a neighbor of hers. The two talk for a while. At Verbo, we understand that even the best of plans sometimes need a little support, so we plan for the plot twists. Every booking is automatically backed by our Verbo care guarantee, giving you confidence from the very start. Whenever you need help, it's ready. Before you stay through the moments in between and after your trip. Because a great trip starts with peace of mind, and maybe a good playlist, but we've got the piece of mind part covered. Well, then for fun, the woman brought out a Ouija board. Mom didn't know what to ask, so she decided to test the board and ask a question that she knew the answer to already. She asked where her husband Frank was, knowing full well that he was

11:30working. However, the board replied that he wasn't working, he was at a local dance hall. Well, Mom was shocked, and she asked more questions. What's he doing there? Who's he with? The board told her that he was there with another woman, and that they had been having an affair for quite some time. My mother, not one to sit back and do nothing, grabbed her code and dashed off to the dance hall, hoping of course that the board was not telling her the truth. However, it had been telling her the truth. Mom bound Frank and his girlfriend and confronted them. I can only imagine the scene that she must have created. Mom's voice, when raised, could compete with any jet engine for loudness. She immediately filed for divorce. From then on, she always blamed the Ouija board for destroying her marriage. My mother had an experience with the Ouija board when she was a young woman. She had a couple of friends over, and they were playing with the Ouija board

12:33one night. When they were done, her friends left, and Mom went about cleaning up the apartment. But once alone, Mom wanted to keep playing the Ouija board. People remembered this. The Ouija board is not your personal magic eight ball. It's a tool that can open up a portal to the other side, and who knows what could come through. My mother's spiritual guide is her late grandmother. She's most likely where I get my psychic gifts. Anyway, Mom decided to ask another question, but when she put her fingers on the plan shed, it moved of its own accord. It spelled out, you need to call, and then it pointed out a local phone number. Well, Mom wasn't about to dial a number that she didn't recognize, especially not at that time and night. But when she placed her fingers back on the plan shed for a second time, it once again spelled out. I said, you need to call, and it repeated that same number. At that point, Mom thought she'd better call.

13:35It turned out to be the unlisted home phone number of a local spiritualist, the Reverend Marney Koski. The woman that answered was very annoyed. She said, if you want an appointment with the Reverend, you'll have to call the church in the morning. How did you get this number? By that time, the Reverend had picked up the extension herself, and she asked my mom who she was, and how she got the number. Mom told her the whole story. After hearing the story, the Reverend Koski told my mother that her grandmother wanted her to get rid of that Ouija board, and never touch another one again. She told her that her grandmother had to cross over the veil to protect her while she was using the board that evening, and that she, quote, was far too busy on the other side to have to come back and deal with this nonsense ever again, so she needed to just stop messing with the Ouija board. Then the Reverend gave my mother instructions on how to get rid of it. She was told to break it into seven pieces, and either throw it away, or bury it far from home.

14:36A lot of people think that fire is the best way to get rid of it or neutralize it, but that's wrong. Fire actually releases the energy, and it can cause mayhem in your life. When it comes to Ouija boards, make good choices, people. This is a long story, but it's 100% true. In the summer of 2019, I was 19 years old. I had a lot of stuff happen that caused me to be very depressed. My boyfriend broke up with me without telling me why, and shortly after, I was assaulted by a so-called friend. I was at a point in my life where I didn't care about anything any longer, so when my friend Lily asked me if I wanted to play Ouija board with her, I said, hell yeah, not caring a bit about the possible consequences. Since neither of us owned a board, we went to our local Books a Million store to buy one. Lily instantly started having doubts about whether we should mess with this stuff or not. We're both Christian, and we were taught that Ouija boards were a

15:39big no-no. However, I told her that everything would be fine, and if that made her more comfortable, we could buy some protective incense and burn it before we played. While this did make her feel better, so we purchased the board. The main reason she wanted to use the board was to contact her recently deceased grandmother. I did warn her that if her grandmother was in heaven, she most likely wouldn't come through, but I supported my friend, so I agreed to at least try to contact her grandmother. As for my motive to use the board, ever since I was a kid, I always felt that something wanted to talk to me from the other side. So, being the depressed girl that I was at the time, I was like, bring it on, demons, bring it on. I had been having very vivid dreams where in every single one of them, I was assaulted by demons, and I would end up being the mother of the Antichrist. I didn't then, and I still don't now, take those dreams very seriously at all,

16:40but Lily wasn't intrigued, and she wanted to see if a spirit would come through and explain the dreams to me. So we went home, and no one else was around, just us on the board. I could tell that Lily was nervous, and a small part of me was as well, but I refused to show it. We both decided that I would be the person to ask the questions, so I sat down and opened the board. I asked, are there any spirits that would like to speak to us today? There was nothing. The planchette didn't move, and everything was silent. I asked that same question four or five times before there was any movement at all. As soon as the planchette moved to yes, I asked the spirit what its name was. It spelled out something nonsensical that I can't even remember, and then it claimed to be a little girl, a cousin of mine that died in a house fire. Now, I knew I didn't have any cousins that died in a house fire, but I played along anyway. At some point, the spirit started making a figure

17:42eight all across the board and pointing out various numbers, so I just said goodbye and closed the session. But that wasn't the last time that we used the board. That same alleged little girl kept trying to contact us repeatedly. We both tried to figure out what that thing wanted from us, but before we knew it, the little girl morphed into a male demon named Vovo. Based on my readings about Ouija boards, I knew it very well could have been Zozo. However, he swore up and down that he wasn't Zozo, but he said that Zozo was indeed in the room with us. According to him, Zozo wanted to harm us, but Vovo wanted to protect me, not Lily though, just me, which I found really weird. Vovo told us he was always present in the dreams that I'd been having. He claimed that he was destined to be the father of the Antichrist and me, the mother. He also told me that he was deeply in love with me. I thought that was a bunch of crap, but Lily got excited and began asking more questions. But every time she would ask something,

18:47the plant shed always moved to know, no matter what the question was. Eventually she realized that he only wanted to talk to me. I agreed, and I continued asking questions. Apparently there's this whole plan in hell where I'm going to be the mother of the Antichrist. Vovo was a high-ranking demon, and according to him, his rank is right below Lucifer. But right after telling me this, the plant shed shot over to goodbye, and all communications ceased. Lily and I agreed to try to contact her grandmother one more time. But of course, the only one that came through was Vovo. He said he'd reveal too much to me the last time, and that Lucifer wasn't happy about it. But at the same time, Lucifer did want me to have some of the information that he gave me. I was still completely skeptical at that point, so I just shrugged it off and said, whatever. All of a sudden, I could feel something lightly brush against my lips and cheek. I screamed and

19:47closed out the session. Then both of us lit the incense and walked around the house saying the Lord's Prayer. Fast-forward a few months and I was at my friend Kat's house with another friend, Ashley. My father had found and burned the Ouija board, but we all wanted to play. So we went back to the book's a million and bought another board. Though and behold, after we started playing, Vovo was the only one who had come through. He told my friends he only wanted to talk to me, not them. He claimed to have been watching me since I was five years old, and that everything that was planned is supposed to go down in 2023. This scared my friends, so we stopped using the board for the day. You would think I'd have learned my lesson by then, but a couple of months later, I was at another friend's house, Amanda, and I was getting high with her and her friends. This was without a doubt the dumbest decision I've ever made, but we decided to use the Ouija board, while we were high. I was so out of it I don't remember any of it to be honest,

20:49but according to Amanda, Vovo kept refusing to talk to anyone and just kept spelling my name out over and over, but I was too high to do or say anything. After about an hour, they gave up and put me to bed. Now you may wonder if I'm worried about this prediction. No, I'm not. Because despite my plane with the Ouija board, I still have a very strong Christian faith, and I don't believe the Lord would allow this to happen. But I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens in 2023. Taxes, bookkeeping, payroll, healthcare, and retirement. That's why I use lettuce financial.

21:50Leave a W2 job and suddenly every back office task is your job. Lettuce Financial helps solo business owners organize spending, savings, and taxes in one place, so your money finally makes sense. If you're a freelancer, creator, or consultant, lettuce financial helps you save time, cut stress, and get back to the work you actually want to do. Visit lettuce, L-E-T-T-U-C-E dot-C-O now to find out how much time and tax money lettuce financial could help you save. Let's back office more business. McDonald's is putting value back on the menu. Whether you're craving a big Mac, McNuggets or sausage egg and cheese, McGrittle's, make it a meal, and save. Your favorite is now your wallet's favorite too. Extra value meals are back. Sun rises, prices fall, get a sausage McMuffin with egg or sausage egg and cheese McGrittle's small hot coffee and hash frowns for just six dollars. Price and participation may vary, promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.

22:52Ba-da-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. Premier hosts on Verbo deliver quality vacation rental stays with fast responses and clear instructions. Oh, I had a question, our host replied super quick. Premier Move Wish I had a Premier Group chat, they won't even write me back. Book a top-rated stay with a Premier host. If you know, give Verbo.