S1 Ep15: Voices in My Ear

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Astonishing Legends. The views and opinions expressed by hosts and listeners on the Astonishing Dead Letter office are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Astonishing Legends Productions, the Astonishing Legends Network, or any affiliated entities or guests. When something unexplainable happens to you, it can make you feel isolated or alone. But trust us, you're not. For over a decade, you've been sending your strange stories to Astonishing Legends, and now it's time for our fellow legenders to hear them too. Join us weekly in the vault beneath Blanket Fortiana, which we call... The Astonishing Dead Letter Office. Tonight's episode, Voices in My Ear. This week's story comes to us from listener Nicole, and it's pretty wild. Nicole sent this back in 2021 when she first started listening to Astonishing Legends. At that time, she was on the Sally House series and had gotten to the part where Tess, our executive producer and dear friend, described hearing a voice speak into her ear while we were in the Sally House. So as soon as we began the recording, my blood literally went cold, and I heard someone answer the first question with why. The hair around my ear was moved away very, very slightly, so much so that for a second I thought it was just somehow inexplicably wind. And the only way I can describe the voice, because I almost knew immediately by looking around that no one else had heard the voice, because no one else was reacting the way I was reacting. And I asked the room, I said, did anyone hear that? And the answer was no. And it, to me, seemed that the voice was coming from inside my own head. I don't know how to describe it other than that. It didn't feel like someone was whispering in my ear. And in fact, I wonder if that little breath of, you know, air, that hair pull, was someone telling me to pay attention to what was about to come next. Because I feel like you're not used to hearing voices inside your own head that aren't your own. I love that story. It's freaking wild. And I always think about the people who think the EVP we got there was a fluke of bad recording equipment. This was a completely independent additional incident from that same day. One of what I would say were three independent things, including red marks appearing on our friend Megan's arms while we were upstairs. Yeah, there were a lot of small things. And, well, if you've been on some kind of ghost hunt, overnight lockdown, investigation type thing, and you experience with a group of people, often there are small little things that happen. And since we weren't very experienced at that time, nor are we now, at that time, not knowing what to expect. And I think that's also part of the shock factor, at least for Scott, I think, and for myself. There were some small, odd things that we had mentioned in that series that I didn't necessarily put towards a ghost experience at the time, but only much later, one being that, and looking back on it, the camera shut itself off like five or six times. That's right. Brand new camera. And I just thought, like, oh, well, you know, those things, things seem kind of on the cheap. And, but it was full spectrum and it did what it was supposed to do. But oddly, like I look over, like, oh, it stopped running. Yeah. This is a video camera that recorded straight to SD card. And it's like, well, that's odd that it just shut off. But I didn't think of anything at the time. And then later realized, like, oh, that happens a lot on these ghost shows. Yeah. Equipment shuts off, fails, batteries drain. And then the other thing that was weird, and I mentioned on the show, and again, it kind of just makes you wonder, is that I got back to our hotel room here and I opened my bag that was kept in the car the entire time, did not take it inside the Sally house, and I unzipped it, and I got a big face full of that stale, old, derelict grandma house smell. Oh, yeah, the air. Yeah. The air, and it's pretty stuffy and stale smelling because, you know, again, it's not lived in. It's kept clean and minimally dusted and all that, but it does have that old house smell. Yeah, old carpet, old house smell. Yeah, right. And it just, it's like, well, that's weird. This bag was not even in there. And so, again, I don't know if that's a hitchhiker, an old factory hitchhiker, but it was pretty odd. So anyway, at the time, though, in the moment for both Tess and Megan, those parts of what happened in the Sally house were super personal because it affected their person. Like, her hair brushed back a little as if the breath from some kind of a spirit was getting her hair to push back. Or was it just that the spirit was close to her ear? Yeah. I was thinking, who knows? But that happened, and it reinforced the whisper in her ear as being something real and not just happening inside your head. And with Megan, we can see very fine, faint scratches that kind of appear on her arm. And she's very fair-skinned, so it was pretty apparent that it wasn't just her, you know, putting on a scratchy sweater. Yeah. You know, what happened outside of the audio recording we got in file 10 was something that was palpable to us and that moment. And also in thinking back on it. So if you don't know what we're talking about here, folks, just look for our series on the Sally house. But in tonight's dead letter, Nicole has a story of her own about hearing a voice in her head during a wicked protection ritual that left a lifelong impression on her. A quick reminder, our main feed is PG-13, but the language is an important part of Nicole's experience. Listener discretion is advised. Listener discretion is advised. And if any listeners might have contacted you to validate Tessa's experience and share their own experiences like this. But I can confirm that this is something I have experienced myself. I, too, have heard such a voice in my own head. It was one single occasion in 1998 when I was 21 years old. It was around the time when web TV was a thing, and most folks in North America were just beginning to access the Internet in their own homes. The short story is, I had been a member of the now-defunct Witch Vox website when I was exploring Wicca. I came across a post from another member, a young woman, who was being targeted by someone who was trying to harm them by psychically attacking them. This woman asked for help and requested that any members interested join in a virtual coven circle to cast a protection spell. Please bear with me here. I know this sounds fluffy and woo-woo, and at this point, some more skeptical folks would already be tuning me out. I foolishly decided to participate in this circle. I didn't know anyone involved, but I really felt for this young woman and wanted to help. I say this was a foolish decision because, while the circle was successful at accomplishing its goals, it was foolish of me to have engaged in such an activity without being aware of the potentially serious consequences it could have for me. It was later in the evening, around 10 p.m. As directed, I logged into Witch Vox, focused my entire attention and personal energy on creating the circle with everyone else who was involved, and proceeded to hold that focused energy on the person being protected for about a half hour. It took a lot of effort, and I was aware of the other people present. But I could not see faces, only shadow-like figures. There was no sense of fear at all, just a lot of strong energy focused on creating a shield around this woman. As the circle was being closed, and we were all preparing to go our separate ways, I was beginning to come out of what was a deeply meditative state. I was still entirely aware of my surroundings, and I hadn't consumed any entheogens. That is something I have never done. I was, and always have been, 100% sober, and I do not do drugs of any kind. I was at the point of opening my eyes when I could suddenly hear an angry male voice clearly state my mind, I use the word state here because that was the intention, to communicate resentment and anger to me. The voice wasn't screaming or yelling in any way, but I could definitely feel the malice in the voice, and I felt anger that was not my own. I was surprised by the voice. It was entirely separate from me in a way I can't quite describe, and it was quite clearly not merely a thought or something imagined on my part. I would like to say it was similar to someone whispering in my ear, much like Tess experienced, but it was no whisper, and similar to what Tess had heard, the voice was in my head. I got the very distinct sense that I was not alone. But as soon as I became aware of the voice, I could feel whatever was present depart. I wouldn't say there was something in the room with me. Rather, it felt like whatever spoke to me came to me from over a distance and then returned wherever it came from. It meant for me to know that it was angry I had been a part of the circle. Afterward, in a chat thread, the woman it was held for noted me in particular for being very strong and very present in the circle. I don't know where that voice came from. It sounded human and was crystal clear in its tone and strength. It was definitely a male voice, and it didn't have any kind of an accent. I can still hear it when I think back on the experience, and I can still feel what it meant to convey to me. I've never heard it or any other voices in this same way again. As Tess relates, it's difficult to convey how I knew this was the voice of something external to me coming into my head. There's something about an experience like the one I had that is very difficult to articulate in a way that makes it clear this wasn't my voice and that it belonged to something else. Since it's very much internal, there's obviously a lack of tangible evidence. All I can say is that there was a knowing that at the moment I heard that voice say, Bitch, in my mind, I was definitely not alone, and I was indeed physically alone. Some folks who practice witchcraft say that when you open yourself up to being in contact with things unseen, it's like hanging an invisible open sign above your head, and the unseen shows up for business. While I am not a witch myself, I know this to be true from my own experiences. Like you say in the second episode of The Sally House, don't open doors you don't know how to close. Well, we used to talk about this a lot when we started, but people being afraid to talk about a weird experience, I feel like that taboo has shifted a little since we started the main show back in 2014. Or maybe that's just me personally caring less about what people think within the confines of the Astonishing Legends universe. I don't know. It feels like it's more okay to share these stories now than it was when we started. Do you feel that way? Yeah, the cultural attitude has changed a little. People say that about UFOs as well. Certainly, those are more concrete nuts and bolts type of anecdotes that people have. In fact, I just was hearing somebody the other day talk about what was it like to share these kind of stories. Well, in the 70s, I would say, from the late 60s to the 70s, it became a more metaphysical, you know, Age of Aquarius type of vibe with the hippie movement and all that, the summer of love. All these things made it okay to talk about it, but it was still kind of woo-woo for the general population. And so there was a greater interest in all things metaphysical and with gurus and, you know, the Beatles and the Maharishi and all that kind of stuff coming in. A very much more awakened sense of spirituality that was more alternative, let's say. And then also translated in stories about Bigfoot. Of course, that was a little more popular back then. And some ghosts and UFO stories and all that. That has always been around, I believe. But it was still a little bit taboo to talk about for the mainstream public, right? That you get the eye roll even more so. And then that attitude, as I think, what's happening, especially in the early parts here of the 21st century, that we're getting an attitude shift because more things are opening up. Now, you still see a lot of people poo-pooing a lot of stuff online, and that's natural. I understand that. Yeah. We're also getting more, let's say, confirmation. And what happened today, Scott, that was a little bit of a government hearing on UAP and UFO experience today in Congress. Yeah, that's right. That's right. We were, as we're recording this particular story, it is the day of the congressional hearing on UAP where a lot more interesting stuff came out with Lou Elizondo and all those guys. And our friend Jeremy Corbell was there, of course, on the front row. And we're talking about that tomorrow on A Junk Drawer, which by the time you hear this episode of this will have been weeks ago. So look for that if you're a Patreon member and you haven't heard that. Look for that. Well, I think there are levels, too. It varies with the genre in that there are areas that are much more acceptable. Even today, as we're talking about attitudes shifting and it being more open and okay to describe your experience, there is a difference, as we've talked about a lot, of seeing a strange zigzagging silver cigar-shaped craft in the sky bouncing around. And it had carnival lights on it, this and that. It's changing into colors. That's one thing. If you say you went on board one, that's another thing. That's a whole other area. Certainly ghost stories and ghost sightings have been around since humans have been around, I believe. And people have already talked about that. And that's kind of always maintained the same, I think, because in looking at paranormal experiences, that's probably the most common, I would think. Yeah. Then let's say seeing a cryptid or a UFO, ghosts are everywhere. Yeah. They hang out in certain places. You can go get some ghost evidence if you want, but you'll still get people rolling their eyes like, okay, you know, you sure like glug, glug, glug, you haven't been drinking. People will be a little more accepting of that, but that's a much more easy to experience phenomenon, I think. Like, but still people have this kind of same attitudes because what's scary about that is not aliens, but it's suggestive. Well, I guess there's a tie-in too. There's got to be ghost aliens, I'm sure, or alien ghosts. What's scary about that is it suggests an afterlife. And you might think that that's comforting, but I think with some people that's kind of scary in the reverse ironic way in that you don't just die and molder in the ground, that there is another life and maybe you're held accountable for what you did in this life, something like that. And so there are big things to think about that call it a question, the nature of existence, religion, your personal beliefs, and what happens to us after we die. And in this case, you know, the spirit world is very mysterious. And what do you mean they can talk to us? What do you mean they can plant a word into our heads and make us hear things? That lack of control is very frightening to people. Well, the easiest thing to whistle past the graveyard is to kind of chuckle at it and deny it and roll your eyes. Yeah, that's a good point. Well, the other thing I thought was interesting was that, you know, in hindsight, she regrets getting into something without fully understanding what it might lead to. There's something we hear a lot on the show. Nicole at least had some knowledge of what she was getting into. But there's been a lot of stories over the years on our main show on Astonishing Legends, more of skeptics, really, who don't get that the unexplained doesn't care whether you believe in it or not. Yeah. Yes. It's a question of you have the experience. Like the Sally house, since it's already been mentioned in this episode, I can mention it again. And I went into that house in disbelief. I believe that something had happened in the past, and I thought that was real, but I thought it was old news by the time we got there so many years later. And that almost seemed to attract more attention based on my personal experience. Yeah, especially if you're a trickster. It's a bigger trick. It's a bigger prank to play on somebody who doesn't think that any of this is possible. And then when you witness it yourself, you're extra freaked out. Right. This should not be happening, and yet you just experienced it. What do you call that? It's hard to reconcile. So you get even more shook. And I think that might be part of the shock factor that's appealing to whatever's causing this stuff. And that, yeah, people think that when we present some of these stories, the feedback we'll get is like, oh, well, of course they believe in this. You know, they're Catholic. So, you know, it's all full of spooky mumbo jumbo. And, of course, they cause this to happen or they're imagining it because they're prone to it. They're expecting to see something like that, and then they do. But I can tell you, we get just as many emails and responses of people who said, yeah, I didn't believe in any of this. I'm an agnostic. I'm an atheist. I believe in a Christian denomination that just does not believe in spirits or ghosts. We don't talk about it. It's not a thing. And then this happened, and I can't deny it. It's really hard to reconcile because, again, you're shaken to your core about your beliefs. Like, well, if that's possible, what else is possible? Well, let me ask you this. Did you know what an entheogen was? Had you heard that word before? Not really. No. Well, I know the concepts and the shamanic practices. I've heard about psychedelics and things like that. Yeah. Well, that's what it is. I had to look it up, and I'm sure a lot of folks are like, come on. And we have a lot of witches who listen to our show. Hi, everybody. We love you guys. And you obviously knew this, but we didn't know this. And I guess this is what Wikipedia says about entheogens. Shamans all over the world and in different cultures have traditionally used drugs, especially psychedelics, for their religious experiences. Knew that. I just didn't know this was the word. In these communities, the absorption of drugs leads to dreams or visions through sensory distortion. The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness, such as those experienced in meditation and mystical experiences. Ego dissolution is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic experience. Then it goes on to mention peyote and ayahuasca and some other synthetic drugs, which we're not saying you should go out and do. This is just, this is what this is. And I think it's important that Nicole makes it clear that that wasn't involved in this case at all. So for folks who might be, oh, she was just high. No, she was not. In this particular story, that was not what was going on with her. So that adds another dimension to the nature of the story. And I can also confirm that Tess was not on peyote when we went to Sally House. But do you know really? We weren't watching her the whole time. No, that's true. Well, Nicole, we know it's been a while, but this seems like a bad way to find out how easy it is to open an unwanted line of communication with the unseen, as you said. We hope you figured out how to see who's calling from here on out. We hope you figured out a way to see who's calling from here on out. The Astonishing Dead Letter Office is hosted by Scott Philbrick and Forrest Burgess, and is executive produced by Tess Feifel. The show is edited and mixed by Sarah Voorhees-Wendell at VW Sound. The theme is based on the Astonishing Legends theme by Judson Crane at Founder Music, arranged by Alan Carissia, who composes all the other music in the show. Tommy Beaver Design created the logo. The announcer is John Bolton. That's me. Stories are lightly edited for length, content, and readability, but otherwise presented as they're sent to us. We're always looking for more Dead Letters, so if you have a story of your own you'd like to share, email it to deadletteroffice at astonishinglegends.com. Please include how you would like to be credited. First name only? First name last initial? Anonymous? A pseudonym? Let us know. Due to the number of emails coming in, we often cannot respond, but we do read them all. 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