Relatos Macabros de Velorios y Funerarias - Octubre de Relatos Vol. 2

Relatos de la Noche

This episode of Relatos de la Noche presents three chilling first-person accounts centered on paranormal encounters during wakes and funeral homes in Mexico and the United

Key takeaways

• A funeral home employee in Portland, Oregon, hears distinct wooden footsteps climbing stairs at night while guarding two bodies, concluding one of the deceased approached her room.
• Sixteen-year-old Iris hears a voice from her harsh grandfather's room during his Chiapas wake calling her nickname 'Changuita' and echoing her private thoughts about his loneliness.

Main topics

• Paranormal experiences during wakes and funerals
• Grief, mourning rituals, and emotional voids

Notable quotes

"I knew that whoever had climbed was on the other side."

Conclusion

The episode leaves listeners with a haunting reflection on how grief and cultural beliefs shape

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:04) My mom was alone at the funeral. No one else stayed. In the morning, something woke her up. A strange feeling. Speaker 1 (0:15) When she opened her eyes, she saw her dead brother standing outside her coffin, with the same makeup she had hated, because it made him look horribly pale. Speaker 1 (0:32) We continue this October of stories, now approaching another perfect scenario for a paranormal story, the velourios, where the line that separates us from the living from the dead is blurred and where sensitivity can make us perceive things that at any other moment would seem invisible to us, totally alien. We invite you to listen and to continue commenting which one you want to be the next scenario for October of Tales. For now, it's time to close your eyes and let yourself go. because you are listening to Nights Tales. Speaker 1 (1:17) Hello, community of Night Tales. This happened to me a few years ago, when I just arrived to live in the United States. I am Mexican and since I lived there, I have already dedicated myself to funeral services. It is not that one is used to working with the dead, because at least I feel that I could never do it, but I did learn that it was my job. I learned to prepare bodies, help during the services. even to accompany families because that is very difficult, very delicate and I think I am good at that kind of thing. So when I arrived in the United States, one of the first things I did was to look for work in the same. I ended up here in Portland, Oregon, and luckily I found a pretty quick place in a funeral home. Speaker 1 (2:07) One of the first things that surprised me was that the funerals here are sometimes different from the ones we have in Mexico. This one at least was. It was literally a house. A big, old house, adapted to provide funeral services. Below was the room where the family was received, and also the areas where we worked with the bodies. Upstairs were the bedrooms. In fact, my boss lived there. That at first seemed very strange to me, although I had already seen it in the movies. He slept upstairs and downstairs. He could see one or two dead people waiting for his service the next day. When I told him, he laughed, because for him it was completely normal. Because I've been living like this for years. Speaker 1 (2:59) We got along well from the beginning, maybe because I already had experience and he didn't have to teach me almost anything. He was trusting me quite quickly and after a while there was a time when I needed to leave Portland. Speaker 1 (3:13) I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was very urgent. I was going to spend the night outside and he asked me if I could stay in charge of the funeral home. I mean, if I could stay at home. I said yes because I wasn't really worried. I had spent nights working in funerals in Mexico and I knew that obviously nothing was going to happen. Speaker 1 (3:41) He explained some things to me before leaving and told me that I could sleep in one of the rooms upstairs. The second room was empty, I had a bed and I could stay there without a problem. Speaker 1 (3:53) That night there were two bodies in the funeral room. A girl and a man... very fat. I'm not going to tell you how they died or anything like that because it's not the case. And besides, these are things I want to respect. I only mention them because they were the only other two people in the house. There was no service that night. There were no relatives. My dad had left, the doors were closed. Speaker 1 (4:27) It was just the two of us. Speaker 1 (4:33) It rained a lot in Portland, and that night it hadn't stopped raining. It was a storm without wind but quite strong. Speaker 1 (4:43) A constant rain that hit the windows and that after a while even started to roll me. Speaker 1 (4:50) I closed all the doors, checked that everything was in order, and went up to the room. Speaker 1 (4:56) I was on the phone for a while and then I turned off the light to try to sleep. Speaker 1 (5:02) I don't know how long it had been since I heard something. Something down there. At first, I didn't pay attention. It was a very old wooden house. I had been working there for a long time to know that it made noises. La madera tronaba, se escuchaban las tuberías, algunas puertas se movían un poco, y además estaba lloviendo. Bien podía ser la lluvia. Speaker 1 (5:36) Then I heard something on the staircase. As if someone had come up. Speaker 1 (5:42) I stood still. That staircase had a very particular sound. It was made of wood and crunched a lot when someone climbed up. I used it every day. I knew exactly how it sounded. Someone was climbing. Speaker 1 (6:01) I got into bed and I stayed watching the door. For a moment I thought my dad had returned. It was the only thing that made sense. Maybe he had forgotten something or his plans had changed. But I did not hear any door open down there. and the steps continued to climb very slowly until they reached the second floor. Ahí dejaron de escucharse por unos segundos. Speaker 1 (6:30) I was sitting in bed looking at the door. Speaker 1 (6:34) And as you can imagine, I no longer had any intention of going out to check. Speaker 1 (6:41) Then I heard the footsteps again. Now they approached the corridor, approaching my room, and stopped right outside the door. Speaker 1 (6:54) They just stayed there. Speaker 1 (6:58) On the other side of the door. Speaker 1 (7:01) I knew that whoever had climbed Speaker 1 (7:04) Estaba del otro lado. Speaker 1 (7:08) I stood still, not knowing what to do. I know it was probably seconds, but at that moment it felt like a very long time. Speaker 1 (7:19) Después se volvió a escuchar algo. Speaker 1 (7:22) The steps went back down the hallway. They reached the stairs and started to go down. Speaker 1 (7:30) They heard each other until they got to the first floor, I think. Porque después ya no escuché nada. Speaker 1 (7:38) I didn't go down as a unit. I didn't even try to find out what it was. I stayed inside the room with the door closed until dawn. Speaker 1 (7:50) I know someone could tell me that it was the house, the rain, the pipes, whatever they want. But I worked there. I knew the noises of that house and I know perfectly well how that staircase sounded when someone walked. And that's what I heard. Speaker 1 (8:11) As I told you, that night we were just... Three people there. Me and the bodies of a girl and Mr. Fat. Speaker 1 (8:25) Until today, I don't know which one of the two scares me the most. Speaker 1 (8:31) That was the one who came up to look for me. Speaker 1 (8:42) Hola comunidad de relatos de la noche, mi nombre es Iris y lo que les voy a contar me pasó cuando tenía 16 años, durante el velurio de mi abuelo materno, en Chiapas. Speaker 1 (8:54) Before I start, I have to say something about him, because I think it is important to understand what happened that night. My grandfather was not a good person. I know it can be very ugly to say something like that about someone who has already died, especially being part of your family, but it would not make sense to try to change it now. He was a bad man, very tough. Of those men who believe that because they have money or because they give work to other people, they can treat them as they want. Speaker 1 (9:24) He had a farm there in Chiapas. I can't tell you which one because it's now managed by my uncles. But it's a pretty big property. He had cattle, they planted some things, and he had several workers who lived very close by. Some even inside the same farm with their families. My grandfather had lived there the whole of his life. They say he never left there more than one night. Speaker 1 (9:50) My mom also grew up on the farm, although she was very young. I think as soon as she could. We didn't live in Chiapas. We went from time to time, generally on vacation, or when there was some family commitment that my mom couldn't say no to. So I never had a relationship, not even close to my grandfather. And the truth is, I didn't want to have her either. I was scared. It's not that she would have done something to me directly, but what my mom told me. or the way he made us feel uncomfortable, like he was judging us. It was enough. Speaker 1 (10:27) I don't remember seeing him play with us when we were kids. I don't remember him hugging me just once. When we got to the farm, my mom told us to go say hi, and we went almost like it was an application. Buenas tardes, abuelo, le decíamos, y él apenas levantaba la mirada. Eso era todo. Speaker 1 (10:50) And well,