EPISODE 236

THEY'RE NOT SHADOWS

This episode presents a curated anthology of fictional audio dramas spanning paranormal horror, sci-fi comedy, and psychological thriller genres. The opening segment features a

Key takeaways

Listener Ricardo shares a family legend about Madame Coutenot, a pregnant French woman whose ghost haunts a Puerto Rican cemetery on full moons.
Officer Kowalski pulls over Mr. Zegel, an interstellar scout driving a modified Toyota that runs on dark energy and has six legs.

Main topics

Paranormal ghost stories
Sci-fi comedy sketches

Notable quotes

She wore a long white dress paired with a delicate crown of white flowers.

Conclusion

The episode delivers a tightly packaged anthology format that successf

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) you Speaker 3 (0:30) We're going to start with a story sent in by a listener. Speaker 3 (0:39) My name is Ricardo and I come from a family of witches. Speaker 3 (0:48) Currently, only my dad, myself, and a cousin we're teaching are the only ones in the family still practicing the craft. We live in Puerto Rico. This happened on the last night of summer, 2011. A few weeks before, my dad told me a story about a spirit who roams the old Gothic cemetery in our town. Speaker 3 (1:19) He told me that when he was young, his teacher, Tato, passed the story down to him. Speaker 7 (1:30) Back in the 18th century, a French woman named Madame Coutenot and her German husband moved here to Puerto Rico because he was in charge of building the train tracks. The poor woman died of a sudden Speaker 6 (1:42) asthma attack while she was pregnant. They say if you go to the old cemetery at midnight on a full moon, you can see her walking. Speaker 3 (1:55) It was a quiet evening and I was upstairs in my room. Speaker 4 (2:05) Your friend Juan is outside calling for you. Speaker 6 (2:08) Yeah, I know. Speaker 6 (2:21) Hey man, we're heading up to the courts. You in? Sure, let me just grab my sneakers. Speaker 3 (2:27) We played for ages. Speaker 3 (2:41) And by the time we finished up, it was around 11pm. Speaker 3 (2:49) By 11.30 we were passing the old high school. Speaker 3 (2:56) That's when a strange feeling washed over me, like something out of the ordinary was waiting for us. Speaker 3 (3:07) My dad's voice echoed in my head. Speaker 6 (3:12) Walking in the cemetery at midnight when there's a full moon. Speaker 3 (3:20) By the time we made it to Old Cemetery Road, it was almost midnight. Speaker 3 (3:28) I looked up at the sky. There was a bright full moon hanging right above us. Speaker 3 (3:40) As we approached the gates, the energy in the air grew Speaker 4 (3:45) thick. Speaker 3 (3:48) One was walking on my right, Nate on my left. Speaker 6 (3:54) Wait a sec guys, I gotta pee Speaker 3 (3:58) One disappeared into the darkness of the cemetery. Speaker 3 (4:05) Nate and I kept walking. Speaker 3 (4:10) My instincts kicked in. I could sense something waiting inside those gates. And I didn't want to be exposed. So I quickly swapped sides with Nate, putting him on the side of the open gates. Speaker 3 (4:38) I turned my head toward the shadows behind the gates. Speaker 3 (4:44) She was. Speaker 3 (4:48) She wore a long white dress paired with a delicate crown of white flowers. In her hands, a bouquet and over her face, a thin veil. Speaker 3 (5:04) Her skin had an ethereal blue glow. And she was completely translucent. Speaker 3 (5:14) In that pitch black cemetery, she was the only thing giving off light. Speaker 3 (5:22) I watched as she glided slowly and silently through the graves. Speaker 6 (5:33) Run! Speaker 3 (5:36) We sprinted down the dark road, completely terrified. Speaker 3 (5:43) About a minute later, we stopped running. Speaker 3 (5:49) Eventually, one caught up. Speaker 6 (5:55) What the hell happened? Why'd you run? Speaker 7 (5:57) You didn't see her? Speaker 6 (5:59) What are you talking about? Speaker 3 (6:11) The story has become legend in our town. Speaker 3 (6:17) The tale that teenagers tell at parties and children whisper at sleepovers is Speaker 6 (6:25) different. Speaker 3 (6:27) They say she wanders through the graveyard, crying and holding a baby. Speaker 3 (6:34) But that's not what we saw. We saw her floating through that moonlit graveyard. But she wasn't crying. And all she was holding...