Sinister Sightings - EP389

All right, the first one, paranormal story, call it Pam.

"Hey, Donna and Carrie.

I've been listening to y'all for years, so honestly, it feels like we're already friends.

I live in Austin, Texas.

I missed your visit to Star Bar a couple of years back and still regret not meeting y'all when you were here.

Since you've been asking for listener stories, I figured it's finally time.

You two and the podcast are such a comfort and something I look forward to every single week.

Now, I'm not a great writer, but here goes.

It's a late summer night in 2012, right before I turned 17 that September.

I grew up in a quiet Iowa town, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and some people get away with anything just because of their last name.

As a gay kid in the Midwest, I was lucky to have the best group of girlfriends.

For this story, we'll use fake names: Jessa, Anna, Jillian, and Mila.

They were my people, my safe space.

And okay, we had a little rebellious streak.

We smoked cigarettes after school and maybe had a few warm beers at a bonfire.

You know, classic teenager, we're totally invincible energy.

One night, I'm leaving my job at Subway smelling like bread and olives [laughs] when I get a text from Jessa.

She says she got a Ouija board.

Instantly, I'm in.

A couple of years before, I'd bought a tarot deck from this little new age Wicca store in Des Moines near where my brother lived, the kind of place that sold incense and crystals.

Ever since then, I wanted to try a Ouija board, and I knew the rules.

Don't play alone.

Don't use it in your house.

Always say goodbye.

So all five of us met up at our old elementary school playground because obviously that's where you'd contact the dead.