Latest / Amigos, Afraid! / 46. Beacons and Beasts: Battery Point Lighthouse and Redwood Forest Cryptids

Transcript

46. Beacons and Beasts: Battery Point Lighthouse and Redwood Forest Cryptids · Amigos, Afraid!

0:01
Be who you are for your pride. We're back.
0:08
We're back, baby. We're back in.
0:10
It's Pride month. Happy pride to me, happy pride
0:13
to you. Happy pride to every gender
0:16
expression on the spectrum. Happy pride.
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Love you to every letter of the LGBTQIA plus mafia.
0:24
This is your month. This is be chaotic.
0:26
Celebrate one another. Celebrate yourself and listen to
0:30
us on this Thursday. Most importantly, listen to us
0:35
on this beautiful Thursday. Welcome back everyone.
0:38
Welcome back. It is the daily BJ.
0:40
I am Brian. I'm Jerry, I think.
0:44
You can't have an identity crisis 40 something episodes in.
0:47
Imagine I'm like becoming self aware right now and everything
0:51
before that was. A weird dream.
0:54
Just a weird yeah fever dream. That'd be cool.
0:56
No, because how did you end up where you are now?
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I was meant to be where I was meant to be.
1:00
First I was afraid, I was petrified.
1:04
I Will Survive. It all comes back to pride.
1:06
Yep. I hope you guys are starting off
1:08
your June real well. I hope you guys voted this.
1:12
Week. Yes, yes, yes.
1:13
I know it was the primaries. I hate to hear when people
1:17
saying, oh, I don't vote for the primaries.
1:19
That's so aggravating because you get to decide who's going to
1:21
be on the November ballot. Hello.
1:23
Come on. That's.
1:24
Pretty wild, no? In my circle.
1:28
There was a few in mind and I I was shamed.
1:31
I was like, well, what do you mean there's still time?
1:33
They're like, no, no, I'll wait till the general election
1:38
anyway. Anyways, how was your week
1:40
friend? Did you have a good one?
1:42
Pretty eventful. A couple of birthday parties
1:44
here and there. Happy birthday, Happy belated
1:48
birthday Sido. Oh, happy birthday, Sido 20 one.
1:52
That's crazy. I remember when he was born.
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No way. Like no, I don't.
1:56
No, I don't. But I remember when he was a
1:58
baby. Crazy.
2:00
Happy birthday. Dang it, now he's a a grown man.
2:02
He's a grown ass man that pays bills.
2:05
Welcome to the real life, buddy. Yeah, hey, you got to have a
2:07
horizontal ID now that's. True, that matters.
2:13
We also went to Glows. Yeah.
2:14
Belated birthday Gloria, Ooh she's a weenie.
2:17
Bit older. A weenie bit older.
2:19
Entire birthday was a weenie themed because of little baby
2:23
Lente Lento. He's a sweetheart.
2:27
That was fun. I did not anticipate drinking on
2:30
a Sunday, playing a rage cage on a Sunday, but anything for my
2:33
friend. I mean, yeah, it it wasn't, I
2:34
wouldn't, I wouldn't like say it was like crazy drinking because
2:37
it wasn't. It was just little little lores
2:39
of of of of seltzer a. Seltzer.
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A little splash, a little splish splash.
2:44
I did so good the first time and I made the mistake of telling
2:46
everyone I didn't drink because next round Jerry literally
2:49
looked me up and down and stood right next to me.
2:52
Because how dare you say that to my face?
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I mean it's what happened. I don't remember who was
2:56
standing next to but they it was most up the table was there was
3:01
dead spots. There was, there was.
3:03
The table was not up to regulation, however.
3:05
I was in the perfect spot. Yeah, you were, which is why I
3:08
never drank. Made on the first bounce,
3:10
almost. Every time.
3:12
Yeah, that was a new set of Brian I've never seen.
3:14
You can see me in the pro leagues next year, 30 years old
3:17
at the Rage Cage. Professional games.
3:21
That's why they call you Rage Cage, Brian.
3:22
Yeah, because I'm raging and I'm caged.
3:25
I'm sorry, I'm just kidding. I'm not caged.
3:27
I don't support. I don't support.
3:29
Jerry doesn't know what that is, but, and I'm not going to tell
3:31
him Happy pride. Maybe I'll tell you off the
3:33
podcast, but. My mind went nowhere.
3:37
I'm like, I have no idea what you're talking about.
3:38
Good, good. Some of you listening.
3:40
No. And you get it.
3:43
I don't support it, but you get it.
3:44
OK, we'll talk. We'll talk.
3:47
Besides that, yeah, pretty chill.
3:49
Chill weekend. How about you?
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Did you do anything else? No, aside from going to see
3:54
Gloria, I had a pretty very chill weekend.
3:58
I was crafty. I'm still on my book binding
4:01
journey. I have a long list of books I
4:03
need to do for people. I am a little behind but it's
4:06
getting done. His books are closed.
4:09
Yeah, I made a really cute little notebook for Gloria with
4:13
a picture of her and Lentil as the cover.
4:15
Very cute picture of Lentil as the back.
4:17
It was very nice. It was, that's it.
4:20
I really did not do much else. I've just been anticipating this
4:24
next weekend. We have we have a trip.
4:28
We're going on vacation. PTO is being taken.
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PTO is being taken. Not really, it's on a weekend.
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But I don't know, it took the whole week.
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I took the whole week. I'm coming back and I'm not
4:39
going to work. Good for you.
4:40
Thank you. Good for you.
4:42
We're going to go to the redwoods.
4:46
Woo long line. A long, a long, a long.
4:50
The trees are that long, so he's.
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Really long trees, yeah. A lifelong dream of mine has
4:57
been to see the redwoods and the sequoias.
5:00
I'm knocking redwoods off 1st. There you go.
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Allegedly. Some people in our circles think
5:05
they're the same tree. Allegedly.
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He said it. I will stay here and say it
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pretty 'cause I don't know what you're talking.
5:15
About. And you're so pretty keepsake
5:16
you. Thank you.
5:17
But we're going up north. Yeah.
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And I have never been to like any kind of National Park.
5:25
So I'm elated, ecstatic, titillated, kind of.
5:30
Have you never been to the mountains here, Angela's
5:33
National Forest? Nope.
5:35
I've been to Mount Baldy. That's the San Bernardino of
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National Forest, I believe, I think.
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OK, well now. Now I feel let down.
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Well, you're going to cross off more, and actually that should
5:48
be a pleasant surprise that you have been, You've visited some
5:51
national parks. No, now I'm sad.
5:54
Redacted. Jerry, please tell me what
6:02
haunted you this week. Brian, do you want to know what
6:04
haunted me this week? I'm dying to know because we
6:05
didn't talk about it. Before you want to know, Yeah.
6:07
So we I did not discuss my topic with Brian, but what really
6:10
haunted me this weekend was smog checks.
6:14
Oh yeah, guy, I've heard. That one I heard that.
6:16
That's the nightmare guys. I'm sorry if you also deal with
6:19
biannual smog checks. But anyways, that's what really
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haunted me this week in lieu of our redwoods visit.
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Good transition words. I I'm talking about some
6:30
cryptids this evening. Oh, I'm excited for a Cryptid
6:33
story. When you think about cryptids,
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they usually picture forests in the Pacific Northwest.
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The Bigfoot. The Mothman.
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I love all those. I love them all, happy pride and
6:47
mysterious creatures lurking. Love all cryptids.
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Mysterious creatures lurking just beyond the tree line.
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If there was ever a place where something unknown could hide, it
7:00
would be the redwoods. These trees can go over 350 feet
7:04
tall. Standing among them feels less
7:07
like walking through a forest and more like wandering through
7:10
the pillars of some forgotten cathedral.
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The canopy blocks sunlight. Fog hangs between the trunks.
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Sounds echo strangely, strangely, strangely.
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Oh my God. So tonight, Brian, we're heading
7:23
into the redwoods to meet a couple of the creatures that
7:26
supposedly call this place home, allegedly, which a a a home
7:30
which we will call home in a couple of days.
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Only for a short period of time. I'm not moving yet.
7:36
I'm not claiming that of my home yet, but once we see the beauty,
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I bet you we will. OK, I'll be enticed by the
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cryptids. The first Cryptid that's been
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gaining attention all over the North America?
7:46
The dog, man, I got that dog in me.
7:51
It's you, the dog in question, and it's a little Chihuahua with
7:54
the Malik. And he's, yeah, he's just
7:56
yapping. Do you know anything of the Dog
8:00
Man? Have you heard of the Dog Man?
8:01
No. Other than my friend Jerry,
8:02
who's got that dog in him, Nothing.
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Thank you. We will put a picture of the dog
8:07
in question. We'll come back to this question
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then because I want you to learn about him and then I'm going to
8:11
have you decide on something. OK, so Dog Man reports usually
8:16
describe a creature standing between 7:00 and 9:00 feet tall,
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I'm already interested, covered in dark fur with a head of a
8:23
wolf and the body of a man Wow. Witnesses often describe glowing
8:28
eyes, massive shoulders, and an unsettling intelligence.
8:33
Unlike Bigfoot sightings, where the creature often runs away,
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dog man stories tend to have a much more threatening tone.
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People report feeling watched, followed, sometimes even
8:44
stalked. One account associated with the
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Redwood region described an enormous canine like figure
8:51
standing upright among the trees before disappearing into the
8:54
forest. Witnesses described an
8:56
overwhelming sense of dread before even seeing it, as if
8:59
something was wrong with the woods themselves.
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And that's actually a common theme in dog man encounters
9:04
around the country. The creature isn't just seen,
9:07
it's felt almost like the forest changes around it.
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Imagine this Brian, you're hiking, which you will be.
9:15
I, which I hate doing. The trail is empty, which it
9:17
will be. I hope you haven't seen another
9:20
person in ours will be with you. So you're safe there.
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OK. Then you hear something moving
9:24
through the brush. Not on four legs, not quite on
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2. And then you notice two eyes
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staring back from between the trees.
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How long before you're setting a world record in the 100 yard
9:37
dash? There's going to be a brief
9:40
moment or I pause, OK, And I look around, OK, and I make sure
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I have all five other people with me, and if it's not one of
9:49
them, that's when I'm breaking records.
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So logical thinking you're like, oh, that's Jerry.
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Like that's literally Jerry. Dog in dog out there is Jerry.
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That dog right there, That dog, Jerry.
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Dog A. Chihuahua I just ran across in
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the redwoods. That's Jerry.
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Jerry, he shifted. Some researchers believe dog man
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stories may have evolved from older werewolf legends brought
10:10
over by European settlers. We've talked about it.
10:13
Yes, we have. Others think they're simply
10:16
misidentified bears. But here's the thing.
10:18
What Black bears don't usually stand motionless behind trees
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watching people? Wait, wait, pause.
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Pause, pause. Is there bears where we're
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going? Of course it's a Redwood I.
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Don't wanna go anymore. Well, I see that.
10:30
I I I'm seeing right now that you are packed.
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So, Brian, bears are curious creatures.
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They're more scared of us and we are scared of them.
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Are they? Yeah.
10:39
There is a lot of things we can do to alert bears that that way
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they know we're in the area. So you're you're you're
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traveling in a big group. You're good.
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I literally saw a video yesterday of this couple hiking
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and two bears pulled up on them and it was so.
10:53
Scary. And it was a couple.
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Yeah, two people. Two people.
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We're more than two people. We're bigger.
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Two people and two bears. That's a 1V1 fight.
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We cannot 1V1 a bear. It's 100 people per bear.
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Yeah, but no, 100 people. 1 bear.
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Happy Bride. OK.
11:15
Black bears don't leave witnesses convinced they they
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don't leave. Witnesses.
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They don't leave Witnesses. No, I can't go now.
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They don't leave witnesses convinced, they just locked eyes
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with something intelligent. Whether Dog Man is exists or
11:30
not, the reports kept coming. And a forest where visibility
11:33
can shrink to just a few yards because of fog.
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It's easy to understand how stories like these survive.
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Guys the. Weather is foggy.
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Once again, this, these reports are so sporadic, but not a lot
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of information. They're just creepy.
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There is a picture that that was provided along with this article
11:56
with a very fuzzy, low quality wolf looking thing standing on
12:02
the it's it's a real picture, like someone felt alleges, not a
12:05
drawing. Got it.
12:06
Yeah. So I will.
12:07
We will have that. So that's going to be exciting
12:10
if we happen to see black bears. I mean, bears in general do
12:13
stand on 2 legs. That's not something that's
12:15
unknown or. Unheard of.
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I've seen like really skinny bears that stand up, but they're
12:19
I don't think they're in America.
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Bears in general sense. Like, I know.
12:23
No, no, but there's one bear that looks like a man in
12:25
costume. That's weird.
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Yeah. That was just me.
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Oh my. God standing in a zoo.
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The next Cryptid, honestly, is going to send you over the edge,
12:37
because it's even worse. In my opinion, this next
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creature sounds less like a terrifying monster and more like
12:43
something a lumberjack invented after drinking questionable
12:46
moonshine. The Central American wind
12:50
tosser. The creature itself.
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What's up? Tossing wind tossing wind me
12:56
after this Del Taco. According to old lumberjack
13:01
folklore from the early 1900s, the Wind tosser was a small but
13:05
incredibly massive beast set to roam parts of California's
13:09
rugged coastal forests. It supposedly had a long,
13:12
tubular body covered in bristly fur, three separate sets of legs
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positioned around its body, and both its head and tail were
13:21
mounted on swivel points. Witnesses claimed the head and
13:25
tail could spin around at nearly 100 revolutions per minute.
13:29
Imagine a badger. Now give it 6 legs, then make it
13:34
spin like a possessed lawn sprinkler in the shape of a long
13:37
blog. I can't.
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Picture this. There's a picture.
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Oh my goodness. Okay, that's the wind tosser.
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The creature supposedly evolved or may be adopted to survive
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earthquakes. It's three sets of legs were
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arranged around its body, so no matter how it fell, it would
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always land on another set and keep moving.
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Oh. My God it's like a cat when you
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throw it, it just lands but it just can't stick the exact
14:00
landing. There was also a toy I remember
14:02
like growing up where it's like a car or something and if it
14:07
were to flip over, it had another set of wheels that would
14:10
just keep it going. I.
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I I have seen this. You know, I, I'm going to pull
14:14
it up. It's like some sort like some
14:16
Hasbro or something. Car toy, remote control
14:20
something. So pretty genius in my opinion.
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Nature looked at California and said we're going to need a back
14:26
up plan. The wind tosser was also said to
14:29
be nearly impossible to kill. What?
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Thinking of shooting it? No, Thinking of clubbing it?
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No. Apparently the only way to
14:38
destroy one was to trap it inside a large pipe or flume.
14:43
Once inside, all the legs would start running in different
14:45
directions until the creature literally tore itself apart.
14:50
This thing sounds aggressive. The most specific weakness?
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Encrypted history. Forget the silver bullets.
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Forget holy water. This thing gets defeated by
15:01
plumbing. Wait, OK, what?
15:05
Brian, if someone told you there was a six legged spinning
15:08
monster in the woods, at what point would you just accept that
15:11
the forest belongs to it now? Oh, immediately, I'm not arguing
15:15
with that. I'm not trying to fight that.
15:17
If the only way to kill it is to like, cover it in another tube
15:21
so it's legs just spin and then tear itself apart, that's too
15:25
much. OK.
15:25
So we're carrying bear spray and then a really large tube on our
15:28
eye. And eye drops in case we make
15:31
eye contact with the dog man and engage in the world record
15:36
longest Cryptid versus human staring contest.
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I fear I will blink first. There, we're done.
15:44
We're done. You went.
15:44
By it you won. Get away from me.
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What's fascinating is that both the dog man and the wind tosser
15:50
share something in common. The redwoods.
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The forest almost encourages stories like this.
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The trees are ancient. Some were already hundreds of
15:59
years old when the Roman Empire existed.
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Fog constantly rolls through the forest.
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Visibility changes by the minute, sounds bounce between
16:08
the trunks, and many visitors describe feeling small,
16:11
vulnerable and strangely disoriented.
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Duh. I mean 300 plus feet of trees
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and you're just like a puny little Ant like.
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Imagine I know why I want to go. Imagine how the ants feel.
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Oh my goodness, I want to feel small.
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I want to look up and not see the top of the tree.
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In places like this, legends grow like Moss.
16:30
Every strange sound becomes a possibility, every shadow
16:33
becomes a creature, and every unexplained encounter gains a
16:36
life of its own. The last one is not a Cryptid.
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The last one is a living thing we might see.
16:46
Have you heard of Ghost trees? Have I heard of ghost trees?
16:50
Are they, like the trees that have been turned into paper,
16:54
coming back to? Oh, no, That post that you threw
16:58
out and you didn't write anything in it just because it
17:00
was detached from the original stack of Yeah, yeah, never mind.
17:03
I don't know where I was going with that anyways.
17:08
Albino redwoods, also known as ghost trees.
17:11
I did hear about these. Did you?
17:13
Scattered throughout Northern California are incredibly rare
17:16
Redwood trees that are completely white.
17:19
No green needles, no normal bark coloration.
17:22
Just pale, ghostly branches standing among the giants like
17:26
something from another world. Dang albino trees.
17:30
So for years, scientists were baffled.
17:33
How could tree how could a tree survive without chlorophyll,
17:36
without the ability to properly photosynthesize?
17:39
The answer is bizarre. Those white trees are connected
17:43
to healthy redwoods through shared root systems.
17:46
What? They essentially survive by
17:48
receiving resources from the larger trees around them.
17:51
Scientists have described them as living extensions of the
17:54
parent tree, rather than completely independent
17:57
organisms. According to NPR, these redwoods
18:00
sprout almost exclusively at the base of the parent tree, growing
18:03
directly from the root burl. So they're like a conjoined
18:06
baby. In a way, yeah.
18:08
And they're just connected to the root system and steal those
18:11
nutrients needed to survive because, yeah, they can't
18:13
photosynthesize. They have no chlorophyll, just
18:16
white trees, albino redwoods that are scattered sources,
18:20
which I will say say there's hundreds.
18:24
Other sources say there's only 25.
18:25
Like the answers are so varied that honestly we don't know.
18:30
I think it's in order to protect them because obviously something
18:34
so rare will get exploited. So I hope that, you know, the
18:37
Rangers and and whoever else is there protecting the locations
18:41
of it remain secret, you know, so they keep them secret.
18:45
People have to know where they are because how would we know
18:47
about them for sure? So, according to Zayn Moore, a
18:50
plant biology PhD student, the albino redwoods are nature's
18:54
beautiful toxic waste dumps. While there still isn't a
18:57
definite cause to what initiates these mutations, research has
19:01
found that there is a high proportion of albino redwoods in
19:04
areas with high UV light exposure and increased human
19:07
activity. Albino redwoods are a sign of
19:10
amazing adaptability. They're often called Ghost of
19:14
the Forest due to their ghostly hue.
19:16
Albino redwoods literally cling to life, eternally ephemeral,
19:20
sacrificing themselves for the good of the other trees around
19:23
them in their endless struggle for existence.
19:26
So you're hiking through the fog, which you probably will.
19:29
Yep, I'm anticipating it. You're going to do.
19:31
Round the corner and standing among towering redwoods is a
19:35
glowing white tree. It's not green.
19:38
There's no color. Just this pale figure emerging
19:41
from the mist. It's easy to see why people
19:44
started calling them ghosts. Yeah, like it's just spectral.
19:48
Yeah, that's a phantom. That's a, that's a, that's a
19:50
portal. If I go through that Bush like
19:52
Homer Simpson does in that little shrub, I'm going to
19:55
appear in like a different timeline, so.
19:57
You are. I have confidence in that.
20:01
I want to find one. I don't.
20:02
I don't think the places that we're going to might have a
20:05
location close to it, but if we happen to stumble across one, my
20:10
my breath will be taken. Away.
20:12
Yeah, I'd make a wish, because what are the odds?
20:15
You would have to manifesting and we're not going to touch it.
20:19
We're going to observe. We're going to appreciate going.
20:20
To take one picture and. We're going to move on and we
20:23
won't tell anyone the location. I'll take a picture on my
20:26
instant camera so it's not even digitized.
20:28
Oh, I like that. I'm going to draw it.
20:31
Oh, even better so. I'm just going to remember I saw
20:33
it. I'm.
20:34
Going to remember I saw it and then I'm going to draw it on a
20:35
white paper. I'm not even going to look at
20:37
it, Jerry. That's honestly, that's even
20:39
better. You can imagine it.
20:40
Your mind will. I'm not pretending there.
20:44
Brian, you're in the living room.
20:45
Nope, I'm learning. I'm staring at a ghost Redwood
20:47
right now. Looking at a ghost Redwood.
20:49
Freshly bleached Redwood sitting in a chair.
20:52
I'm going to say brother. And then because we're both
20:54
bleached, get it? Some Some estimates suggest that
20:59
there are only a few 100 known albino redwoods among millions
21:03
of Redwood trees, making them one of the rarest sights in the
21:06
forest. Imagine not knowing the science.
21:09
It's 1890. You're deep in the redwoods.
21:11
There's fog everywhere and you suddenly find a completely white
21:15
tree glowing in the mist. Oh my gosh, you're not going to
21:18
immediately turn around and go home?
21:22
Depends who I am because if I'm like an indigenous person like
21:25
this has to have been seen by some generation of indigenous
21:29
people. Passed down from generation to.
21:31
Generation, so they know. But if I'm like a white settler
21:35
during Manifest Destiny and I see a white tree, I'm like, this
21:38
is it, this is it, It's over for me.
21:42
Manifest Destiny My way to the grave.
21:47
Manifest myself into illness. The redwoods don't really need
21:52
monsters. The forest is already strange
21:54
enough. You have trees older than
21:56
civilizations, fog that swallows entire hillsides, ghostly white
22:01
redwoods that shouldn't exist, and stories of towering dog men
22:05
and spinning 6 legged nightmares hiding somewhere between the
22:08
shadows. Whether the creatures are real
22:10
folklore or simply products of landscape so immense that it
22:14
overwhelms the imagination, one thing is certain.
22:17
If there's a place where monsters could still hide, the
22:20
redwoods would be near the top of the list.
22:24
I buy it and I said that's the reason why I want to go.
22:27
I want to feel small. You telling me now that those
22:30
trees are like older than entire empires?
22:35
Are they as old as the dinosaurs?
22:38
That was like millions of years ago.
22:39
I think that how has life been alive for so long, yet we know
22:46
so little? I'm pretty sure we can.
22:50
You know, there's like downed trees that were either cleared
22:54
to make space or they fell with from natural causes.
22:57
But I'm pretty sure we can see the rings and try to count.
23:00
Do you think we find a stump? Yeah, I hope so.
23:02
Big stump. I hope so.
23:05
Me too. So we can count count the rings,
23:08
the rings of power. Wow Jerry, thank you for sharing
23:11
that information that what haunted you last week will haunt
23:15
me in the next coming days. Because walking into one a bear
23:20
is terrifying. Walking into the Wolf Man, that
23:23
was an event that did not exist in my realm of possibilities
23:26
before 30 minutes ago, and now it does.
23:29
It could just be a furry. It's just someone with the furry
23:33
head because they don't have time to put the rest of their
23:36
outfit on. Oh, because they're hiking, they
23:38
don't want to. Yeah.
23:38
So, yeah. So they have to take breaks and
23:40
then they go behind trees, of course, and then they freeze
23:43
when people pass by. Because they didn't think anyone
23:45
was going to see them. And then of course people stare
23:47
because they're like their brain is trying to decipher what this
23:49
thing is and they're going to put their mask back on to not
23:53
reveal their identity. And the mask doesn't have
23:55
working eyes, which is why it doesn't blink and it just looks
23:57
like it's intelligently staring at you.
23:59
There's furries in the redwoods confirmed.
24:04
It's a perfect place. Oh for you.
24:06
Interesting. It's a perfect place to find a
24:09
very for to find anything a perfect.
24:11
Place to give what? Does that mean again?
24:14
Oh, Jerry, nothing, I tell you. Oh, my God.
24:17
Nothing I tell you. Do you retain?
24:18
I'm trying to culture you. It's pride.
24:21
What are you? The public school system, Yeah,
24:24
trying to retain information. Specifically, 10 to 11th grade.
24:27
Where the objective is retainment.
24:29
And and flash cards memorizing. Yeah, instant learning.
24:33
Wow. Multiple choice.
24:35
Oh, thank you, friend. Now I'm scared.
24:37
Now I'm gonna have nightmares. Good.
24:38
Well, the good thing is that you won't be alone.
24:40
You'll have a very supportive friends that will cheer you on.
24:45
And so I wander into the forest at night because I hear
24:47
something calling me. And you're going to go because.
24:50
When else is a forced spirit just going to begging me into
24:52
the woods? That's not here at that point.
24:54
I'm going to, like, cheer you. But yeah, Brian, go go, go get
24:58
that forest. Go get that Cheneke.
25:00
Go get forestry. Go.
25:01
Redwood tree. Get that log, get.
25:05
That wood. Sorry, the redwoods, the
25:08
redwoods or ghost or ghost Redwood or ghost Redwood.
25:13
Thank you for for listening, Brian, I, I'm dying to hear
25:17
because you've been so excited to share this information.
25:20
So I would not ask you, Brian, what haunted you this week.
25:24
What haunted me this week is literally a haunted lighthouse.
25:28
Like like just a building with a light that goes like.
25:34
Very similar to Jerry who wanted to research something in
25:39
anticipation of our future plans this weekend.
25:45
I could not find anything very specific to the Redwoods.
25:48
So thank you so much for being so diligent and finding
25:50
something that is pertinent and relevant, but not far out.
25:55
OK, a couple miles north, I think maybe an hour drive.
26:02
Is Crescent City the book? No.
26:05
Sarah J Matt The. Real city of crescents I think.
26:09
Wait, is it called Crescent City?
26:10
I think it is, yeah. What is worse, a lighthouse that
26:13
traps you on an island at the whim of the ocean, or a
26:17
lighthouse haunted by its keeper for over 100 years?
26:20
The ocean hand zone. What if it's both?
26:24
Fuck. Battery Point Lighthouse sits on
26:27
a small rocky island just off the coast of Crescent City, CA
26:32
Located near the California, Oregon border, the lighthouse is
26:35
known as one of many haunted lighthouses scattered along the
26:38
Gold Coast. On December 10th, 2026, it will
26:42
celebrate it's 170th anniversary.
26:45
This haunted lighthouse is a Sagittarius just like me.
26:48
Wow. For 170 years, it has stood as a
26:52
lasting symbol of resilience, tragedy and, if local theories
26:56
are true, a few lingering ghosts.
26:59
You're built like a lighthouse. But what does that mean,
27:03
Heraldo? You're glowing, radiating light.
27:08
OK, you're safe this week at the height of the American Gold
27:15
rush. Back, baby.
27:19
Back, baby. The droves of families travelled
27:21
West in the hopes of digging up wealth.
27:24
What once stood as empty land would become a bustling town in
27:27
a week's time. Once again, big thank you
27:30
Manifest Destiny Listen episode 44 to what that led to.
27:35
Yes, please. Most people arrived with
27:37
whatever they could carry on their wagons, which is not
27:40
enough to build an entire community.
27:42
In order to sustain such quick growth, the California coast
27:45
became a long stretching hub for the shipping of timber and
27:48
supplies. Due to the increasing number of
27:51
ships sailing up the coast, Crescent City needed a way to
27:54
protect ships from crashing into the rocky coastline.
27:58
The city received a $15,000 grant from the United States
28:01
Congress to build the Crescent City Lighthouse.
28:04
It was built on a very thin peninsula, so thin that two
28:08
times a day the rising tide swallow the connecting path to
28:11
the mainland, making the lighthouse its own island.
28:15
Current postings do say that it's only open tide permitting.
28:19
That's I love how they say tide permitting, like just whether
28:21
the elements allow it and the tide allows it.
28:24
OK, Jerry is currently seeing a picture where the tide has taken
28:27
over the path. So when the tide is high, it's
28:32
literally just an island. You're only able to go during a
28:35
certain part of the day because the tide has pulled so far back
28:38
that you can actually see the path that's leading up to the
28:40
island. I know because of currents and
28:42
stuff it's unsafe, but I wonder how deep the deepest point of
28:44
that path. Wouldn't.
28:46
Yeah, that'd be a good question for someone better at
28:47
researching than me would know. Thank you for bringing that up.
28:51
I don't think that's important information, I promise.
28:54
Honestly I don't know if I would ever want a job at a lighthouse,
28:59
specifically one the ocean kind of decides if you can if you're
29:03
staying at home or not. Exactly.
29:05
Damn I forgot the the milk. Fuck.
29:09
I know. The path is covered by walk.
29:12
We're stuck here. Oh well, Jerry really wants to
29:16
work at the lighthouse. He loves the ocean.
29:17
I I could rock a little lighthouse outfit like like a
29:20
would they be a captain? No, you're just a watcher.
29:24
You a keeper, That's what they're called.
29:26
Keeper of the lighthouse like a like a What's his name?
29:29
I can see you in. I can see you since.
29:32
Oh my gosh. I can see you in some
29:34
suspenders. Suspenders.
29:36
Yeah, yeah, yeah, in some like tweed pants.
29:38
William Dafoe in the lighthouse. Oh my gosh, can't say I've ever
29:42
seen that movie. I'm so sorry I haven't.
29:43
Either I just know. That he's a keeper.
29:46
I just know that he's, yeah. That's literally it, that you
29:50
have a lighthouse hat. That's me, so I showed you a
29:53
picture. It's a very small lighthouse.
29:56
It's a two floor building with a massive light on the roof, far
29:59
different from the towering beacons you might be imagining.
30:02
The first floor held the living room and kitchen, with a spiral
30:05
staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms.
30:07
Over the years, a few additions were added, such as two side
30:10
buildings used to house the Lantern oil used to keep the
30:13
lighthouse lit. The building did not receive
30:15
electricity until the 1930s. I hate when that happens.
30:21
Over it's 170 year long history, there is bound to be residual
30:25
energy lingering in its walls. Absolutely.
30:28
The lighthouse was home to multiple families over the
30:30
years. You can imagine what tragedies
30:33
may have occurred on the island. The first major tragedy in the
30:37
area occurred July 30th, 1865 when a side wheel steamer named
30:44
Brother Jonathan departed Crescent City and route to
30:47
Portland. The ship had been dubbed as the
30:50
West Coast Titanic, servicing Californians to Portland, San
30:55
Francisco, and British Columbia. Maybe the moniker was a curse,
30:58
as it would end up facing a very similar fate.
31:03
Soon after setting sail what would have been a routine trip,
31:06
a sudden storm took over the coast.
31:08
The ship, which was full of passengers and cargo, had
31:12
already suffered a bit of damage on a previous voyage when it had
31:15
crashed into the Portland harbor.
31:18
Unable to fight the gusts of winds rocking the boat, they
31:21
were forced to turn back. Unfortunately, the decision was
31:26
made a little too late. An enormous wave lifted the boat
31:29
out of the water, sending it crashing into an unmarked rock
31:33
under the surface. The force of the collision
31:35
impaled the ship. That's straight through Captain
31:41
D Wolf the Wolf the Wolf Captain the Wolf the Dog Man made the
31:47
call to abandon the ship. Less than an hour after the
31:50
collision, the ship and its passengers disappeared into the
31:53
ocean. Reports estimate that around 240
31:56
people were lost to the catastrophe.
32:00
This is personally what makes me scared of the ocean.
32:03
How did you deal with this possibility when you were on a
32:06
cruise? Did it even cross your mind?
32:08
No, I felt very safe. There was a certain point where
32:12
you forget you're on a boat 'cause you just feel like you're
32:16
walking in a building and then staring out into the water at
32:19
some point was just like, wow, this is like insanely beautiful.
32:22
Really. So that kind of took over any
32:25
fear. Yes, the only time it wasn't
32:27
really fear, it was just when we hit open ocean at like a higher
32:31
speed than just cruising where the boat was moving like crazy,
32:34
where you just felt intoxicated, like you, you were like falling
32:37
over. You couldn't walk in the
32:38
straight line. That would have technically be
32:40
the scariest thing 'cause you're just like what the fuck?
32:41
This was weird but no friend. Honestly.
32:44
Like it was 10 out of 10. I mean, you were up in very
32:48
similar waters. You were up in the Pacific
32:50
Northwest. No sudden storms came up on
32:53
y'all. No.
32:54
Good. I'm hoping that 170 years later
32:57
we have better boating systems. Yeah, I think so.
33:00
And a bunch of lifeboats. That too.
33:02
Because unfortunately, only one small wooden boat managed to
33:05
escape that carried only 19 survivors to safety.
33:09
Damn. Only 11 of them were crew
33:12
members. Oh.
33:15
A survivor recounted the horrifying moments quote a
33:19
Chinese woman was helped in with her child.
33:21
Her husband asked to get in but was repulsed.
33:24
He begged hard, but the sailors were firm.
33:27
The parting between husband and wife was enough to ring even the
33:29
hearts of those whose only emotion was that of self
33:32
preservation. Damn.
33:34
Just like the Titanic, women and children first.
33:36
But I guess it was only one woman, one child and 11 crew
33:39
members. And the rest were like I work
33:41
here. I know how to row a boat.
33:43
Yeah, I was trained on this. For months, bodies would wash
33:49
ashore around the lighthouse and surrounding coast.
33:54
In 1879, a massive wave struck the kitchen on the western side
33:58
of the lighthouse. The force caused the wood stove
34:01
to topple over, starting a fire. No.
34:04
The keeper family rushed to draw water from the well to put the
34:07
flames out. Luckily a second wave hit the
34:10
house and it put out the fire. Nice.
34:13
The wave was like fuck my bad my.
34:14
Bad, my bad. I take it back.
34:15
I take it back. Another disaster struck the area
34:20
in 1964. So you're my my parents were
34:23
born. I heard 1864 no 19. 64 Yeah.
34:28
On March 27th, the deadliest tsunami in California history
34:32
wiped the Crescent City coastline.
34:34
The keepers were left stranded in the lighthouse and watched as
34:37
an entire community around the lighthouse was wiped by waves
34:41
reaching up to 600 mph. Hell no.
34:45
The tsunami ended up claiming the lives of 11 people,
34:48
destroying 25 blocks of the city.
34:51
To everyone's surprise, the lighthouse stood untouched, as
34:55
if protected by some unnatural force.
34:59
Water benders, they had them on deck.
35:04
It was the following year when the live in keepers began to
35:07
experience paranormal phenomena. Clarence and Beggy Coons were
35:13
designated caretakers at the time.
35:15
Peggy was the first to report the sound of wet footprints
35:18
echoing around the outskirts of the lighthouse.
35:21
She would follow the noise, believing they were coming from
35:23
the rocks at the edge of the island.
35:25
However, she never found the source.
35:30
Footsteps are one thing. What footsteps?
35:35
Isn't that creepier? Yeah.
35:37
Keepers never stayed long after that.
35:39
It is believed that the strange phenomena plaguing the
35:42
lighthouse drove keepers away. The longest serving keeper was
35:46
John Jeffrey, who long after his death, it's said to still be
35:50
heard climbing the stairs of the lighthouse Lantern.
35:54
John Heatley Jeffrey had previously served as a captain
35:57
in the 56 Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War.
36:00
He fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run and was even present
36:03
when General Robert E Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
36:08
After being discharged from military service, he moved to
36:10
Crescent City with his wife in 1868.
36:14
He was put in charge of the lighthouse in 1875.
36:17
Jeffrey maintained Battery Point Lighthouse for almost 40 years.
36:20
During that time, he and his wife raised four children at the
36:23
lighthouse. They were serving as keepers
36:25
during the devastating wave that crashed to the station and the
36:28
fire that followed. Him and his wife were the ones
36:30
trying to put out the fire that later got put out, by the way.
36:33
Damn, is it? Oh, wait.
36:34
Actually, you owe me one. You owe me your life.
36:37
Remember that fire I stopped? Yeah.
36:38
I need your soul now. Yeah, I saved you, but you've
36:40
made a deal and you're going to live here forever.
36:42
In 1914, the couple left Battery Point when John was transferred
36:46
to Point Pine Nose Lighthouse in Pacific Grove.
36:49
John passed away in 1929, and while I couldn't find a
36:53
definitive cause of death, it wasn't believed to have been
36:56
anything violent. Still, it's easy to understand
36:59
how someone's energy could have become trapped in a place after
37:02
repeating the same routine for more than 4 decades.
37:06
As we've discussed in a few of our other episodes about ghostly
37:09
apparitions, this would be considered a residual hunting.
37:13
Unlike an intelligent haunting where a spirit is aware of its
37:16
surroundings, A residual hunting is believed to be a replay of
37:19
past events. Yeah, according to the local
37:22
legend, John is still working those familiar steps, carrying
37:25
out his duties he performed for almost 40 years.
37:28
No takes on PTO. Go check out the ghost Redwoods.
37:34
Yeah, you're almost there. You're our way.
37:37
Take your wet footsteps over there.
37:38
Yeah, just walk it if you need to.
37:41
Jerry, if you died and had to be stuck hunting one of your jobs,
37:45
which one would it be? That's a great question.
37:49
Oh, man. OK, do.
37:52
You need time to think. I can tell you mine.
37:53
Yeah, go for it. I would love to hunt Old Navy.
38:00
I just think it'd be so funny. We used to always talk about
38:03
ghosts, and I had a ghostly experience at Old Navy.
38:05
I don't know if we've talked about this.
38:06
I don't remember, no. I, I think I was going to wait
38:10
to bring it up when we did the second jobs episode.
38:12
Who knows if that's happening with how we're taking this
38:15
podcast now exactly. But there was an instance during
38:19
Christmas season where we're there later than normal that I
38:22
am folding a table of pants at the front of the store.
38:25
The only thing behind me is a glass window and a hanging sign.
38:30
These signs are huge. They hang from the ceiling.
38:33
They are like bigger than my torso.
38:34
These things are probably like 4 feet by 5 feet.
38:38
They're huge posters just dangling.
38:42
I'm folding the pants and the thing bumps into my back and
38:46
these things are hanging off of very delicate thin metal rods
38:50
that if you run into them too fast, they do fall off.
38:53
So I turn around like, Oh my God, let me make sure it's not
38:56
falling. There's no sign.
39:00
You just touch your back. Something touch my back so hard
39:04
that I genuinely thought when I turned around that the sign was
39:07
going to be swaying back and forth because they're they move,
39:11
yeah, but I've run into them before.
39:13
Damn. And I think I was folding it
39:16
with someone at the table and I was like, Oh my God, I just felt
39:19
something touch me. And I don't remember who it was,
39:23
but that happened to me. And that could be me in the
39:27
future. That could be.
39:28
That could be me haunting the Old Navy messing with the jeans.
39:32
I'd seen someone fold the jeans horrifically.
39:35
You're like Nudge. Let me show you how you do it.
39:37
Yeah, moving the hangers. That a second story.
39:41
OK. Very similar time after closing.
39:44
I thought I had to call security because I figured someone had
39:48
snuck into the store or had stayed past closing because I
39:51
heard hangers moving in the kids department.
39:54
Absolutely. After I had done my rounds of
39:57
clearing the entire building. Fucking not.
39:59
So I'm like hello. I'm with someone who's in the
40:04
back counting the money. So I'm like, hey, so and so
40:07
until audit, there's no one. Yeah, they're counting the
40:09
money. At the end of the day, they're
40:11
like, hey, no one's back there, right?
40:13
Because they have access to the cameras in there.
40:14
They can see everything. She's like, no, I don't see
40:16
anyone. I'm like OK.
40:19
There's a ghost that's created the ghost of Old Navy.
40:24
That's terrifying. I think the anything at the
40:26
mall. I just saw a ghost video at the
40:27
mall or from a mall, which is pretty scary.
40:32
OK, fuck that. But you've experienced
40:36
something. I like I that's that's crazy as
40:38
an adult too. So I know sometimes like our our
40:41
just brains just block out those memories and they just bring
40:43
them up randomly. Yeah, I think I'm going to say
40:47
security when I work security because worked a bunch of
40:50
different events like it could have been an art exhibit.
40:52
It could have been a rave. It could have been like some
40:55
sort of like, I don't know, like a like a televised event.
40:59
So like I could just be a ghost? Seeing what's happening.
41:02
Yeah, getting the tea. Just post it up like I was like
41:05
cool security. So like I'd be bothering my head
41:06
with the music and stuff. So like, oh, that guy's chill,
41:09
you know, no one thought. That around and you're gone.
41:11
No one here knows that I'm a chill security and then.
41:14
I'm a ghost. Like, hey, let's go get that
41:15
guy's like a beer. Then they come back gone.
41:19
Let's go bring him a Taco. He's probably hungry.
41:21
That chill. Where's this chill security guy?
41:24
What chill security guy? There never was a chill security
41:27
guy and then bam just haunt different events.
41:31
So you're just haunting different places in Lai.
41:33
Love that. Why not?
41:34
That one I like better than just climbing the same set of steps
41:37
up to light a lighthouse that doesn't need to be lit anymore
41:40
because it's not oil powered. Hey, we'll probably have some
41:43
massive quads. So you know what?
41:44
Good. For absolutely.
41:45
Good for him. Caked up, Mr. Jeffrey, you're
41:50
caked up, caked up in, caked up in 1875.
41:56
I don't remember what year caked up in the early 1900s Love that.
42:00
Caked up in the lighthouse. OK, aside from wet footsteps,
42:05
visitors also claim to hear the laughter of a little girl in the
42:08
living room quarters. Could not find out in any of my
42:11
sources who that might be, but I choose to believe it.
42:15
I agree because we believe women.
42:18
Today, the lighthouse is still lighting the way for any ships
42:21
within 14 miles of Crescent City coast.
42:24
It's open for tours, but as mentioned previously, it is
42:27
highly dependent on whether or not the path is underwater that
42:29
day. The Del Norte Historical Society
42:33
warns quote extreme care and caution should be used when
42:37
crossing the 200 feet between the mainland island.
42:40
Anytime wave action may cover the crossing area.
42:43
Sneaker waves are a threat to visitors standing on or near the
42:46
rocks and the shores of the island.
42:50
I feel like it's like a like a crocodile or alligator hunting
42:54
prey, like at the edge of the water where a poor little
42:57
animals drinking water, not a not a clue that there's a
43:01
predator in the water and then bam, takes it away.
43:04
Yeah, the water. That's what I feel like the
43:05
waves are doing. Well, yeah, in this case the.
43:07
Waters are the predator. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
43:08
Yeah, waiting for you to do your little.
43:11
Let me take a picture right by the ledge.
43:12
Yeah, by the rocks. Let me run up this path and then
43:17
wave takes you out. Gone.
43:18
Yeah. Well, hopefully we make a stop
43:22
there, that'd be pretty cool. I would love that.
43:25
I don't know if it's out of the way.
43:26
We do have a very convoluted way to get up to the redwoods, so
43:29
we're flying to a different state and then driving down, but
43:33
hopefully it's in, it's on the path there.
43:34
That'd be fun. I would love to stop and and
43:37
show you guys and see a place that like we've talked.
43:39
About in person, we can make it a challenge where we record
43:43
ourselves running from the shore to the lighthouse and back.
43:47
You're so brave. As someone who's scared of the
43:49
ocean. Yeah, I'll watch you do.
43:50
That and then we'll run straight into the forest where there
43:52
might be bears. Oh my God.
43:55
How about you run away from the ocean and I run away from the
43:57
forest? You're running into the
43:59
lighthouse. I'm running towards the bears.
44:01
Got it break. Add that to the list of places
44:06
to visit haunted lighthouses. OK, added.
44:09
Dude, that's, that's creepy. I think lighthouses in general,
44:12
you know, when, when there's a body of water that can be a
44:17
portal with a lot of residual energy, both negative, positive,
44:23
whatever. With such tragedies like in the
44:26
media area, like bodies coming up to the coast.
44:29
Over a long period of time like. That that's scary.
44:33
So that's as scary as a Cryptid or as a paranormal?
44:38
Paranormal experience? Real.
44:39
Events are just as scary than made-up ones.
44:42
Exactly. Scarier sometimes even.
44:45
Wow, thank you Brian. That definitely would have
44:47
haunted me if I. Read that.
44:50
It's been haunting me for like 3 days, guys.
44:52
That's crazy. Well, yeah, yeah, three days.
44:55
Because it's Thursday. Today.
44:56
It's Thursday. Hope we get to see something.
45:01
I hope we don't. Hey, I want to see a ghost tree.
45:05
OK, true. That's the that's the on the
45:06
allowed list. The other ones, they don't have
45:09
my consent. Do you have a song for us?
45:15
Yes, I have a song that's been on repeat the last couple days
45:20
because as I mentioned, I think 2 weeks ago or the week before
45:24
Tua Liu dropped a song and it just has me back listening to
45:26
her discography. She was like the soundtrack of
45:29
my summer 3-4 years back so it's good to be listening to it to
45:33
her again. But one of my favourites right
45:35
now is No One Dies From Love by Tua Liu.
45:39
I'm pretty sure you played it in the car, but I can't like play
45:45
the song in my. Head.
45:46
No one dies from love. Guess I'll be the first.
45:51
She's such a go getter. Damn, you have to play it.
45:55
I'm just trying to look for a song.
45:57
I I honestly, I haven't really listened to a lot of new things.
46:02
Doesn't have to be a song, we could go rogue.
46:05
You can recommend a show, a movie, something.
46:08
Watch Survivor. We do.
46:10
We're we're on the last episode, so we're going to see who wins
46:14
it. Dang, I hope you're taking notes
46:15
in case we get lost in the woods.
46:17
Oh, yeah, I got it. We can totally do this.
46:18
Like all those challenges that they're going to magically
46:20
appear in the woods if we get lost, Like that's going to be
46:23
our way out. This forest is going to
46:24
challenge us to do some sort of puzzle and obstacle course.
46:28
And then we'll get immunity and we'll survive.
46:29
And then we'll survive and I'm like, cool, you're you live to
46:32
see another day. And then bam, we we're day two
46:35
of our survival. We're trying to get out of the
46:36
redwoods. And the winning prize is you see
46:39
the ghost tree. Exactly.
46:40
That's yeah. And Jeff Probst is there to give
46:42
you a kiss on the lips. Somehow he's been there the
46:44
whole time. So like he's been commentating
46:46
on it, but you we just can't see him because.
46:49
They move his trailer. Every day they move his trailer
46:50
and he's probably the Chenega. He's probably the the the the
46:53
one there that's in the in the forest.
46:55
You know what? How tall is he?
46:56
That might be. True.
46:57
Honestly I have no idea, but I just figured he was elusive.
47:01
Elusive and sexy. To many people, oh, thank.
47:04
You guys for listening. We appreciate you joining us
47:08
every Thursday. I hope you did your homework and
47:09
you recommended the podcast to one person.
47:12
I did today in person. What guys?
47:15
I'm getting so brave. I've been telling people like,
47:17
yeah, I got a podcast. You should listen to it.
47:19
It's paranormal. Start with the later seasons and
47:22
episodes if you're really into paranormal.
47:25
Is it episode? I said episode 40s, OK 30s and
47:28
40s. OK, it's been a while.
47:33
The last person I recommended it to was my Barber.
47:35
Shout out to my Barber, Christian.
47:37
Can't wait to meet him. Go get a haircut.
47:40
Cat, this week I got I got a hot date with the ghost trees and
47:43
the Wolfman. Next time, yeah.
47:47
Thank you for listening guys. We'll be here next Thursday and
47:50
every Thursday after that probably.
47:51
Yeah, knock on wood on hard Redwood that we don't get lost
47:55
out there. We're not.
47:57
We have two professionals. Yeah, we'll keep you guys
47:59
updated. Follow us on Instagram daily BJ.
48:01
What if we go live? I don't think we're going to
48:04
have service in the Redwood trees.
48:06
I know a guy. Follow us on TikTok.
48:08
To the Daily BJ Maybe we'll go live in the redwoods.
48:12
Well, maybe we'll go live inside a Redwood.
48:17
My mind has been blown. We'll for sure record some tik
48:20
toks. I have some saved do.
48:21
You have some saved. Yeah, we can record fun silly
48:24
little Tik Toks. I'm done.
48:25
OK. All right.
48:28
See ya. See you guys next week.
48:30
Adios.