Latest / Amigos, Afraid! / 47. Stairway to Humboldt: Eureka Inn Hauntings and Stairs in the Woods

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47. Stairway to Humboldt: Eureka Inn Hauntings and Stairs in the Woods · Amigos, Afraid!

0:02
Guys, we were cursed and we've survived to tell the tale.
0:11
That's the sound of Humboldt County cursing.
0:15
Us. That was my rendition of a Ant
0:17
from Lord of the Rings. But we're back from our trip,
0:21
ladies and gentlemen. I believe we told you guys last
0:24
week that we were headed up north to the redwoods.
0:26
Well, let me tell you, that was an adventure.
0:30
It was so cool. It was.
0:32
Insanely beautiful trip of a lifetime.
0:36
Had a fantastic time but we did not come back the same people.
0:40
You can say we were reborn out in, I forgot the county name,
0:46
but odd in Humboldt County. But the redwoods, Really, they
0:50
did something. They really did.
0:52
Welcome back guys. This is daily BJI am Brian.
0:54
And I'm Jerry, my wife said something real weird.
0:57
Sorry. He went through pretty again
1:01
finally, because he was reborn. Exactly guys, we are freshly
1:06
back. Literally, we were just up in
1:09
Norcal. That was an adventure to get to
1:12
and it was an adventure coming down.
1:15
We've been on four plane rides in the last week to get to a
1:20
destination that is in our same state.
1:23
You know, I will like for the future.
1:27
Hindsight is 2020. Absolutely.
1:29
A direct flight would be nicer. Yeah, it does save a couple
1:33
couple bucks having a lay a layover.
1:36
Yeah, but we're going to talk about why we got cursed.
1:41
Yeah, and sometimes maybe stick to a car instead of flying.
1:49
Maybe I'm off for a road trip. Not 12 hours, no or more.
1:53
No, because they make it fun. It's yeah, 12 hours.
1:56
But then you stop at all the roadside attractions and then
1:58
you spend like one day somewhere, so you split it up
2:01
55. OK, for this exact trip, no, but
2:04
for future ones I could totally see that happening.
2:07
OK OK, so we went into the redwoods, we're hiking, we're
2:12
venturing forth. Shout out to Mellie, Emma and
2:16
Fabi. Y'all really made this trip and
2:19
obviously my wife. But dude, we also visited the
2:24
lighthouse we talked about. Yes, it is very different to
2:28
talk about a place and only see it online than actually living
2:33
in it. And as soon as we found out that
2:36
it was easily feasible for us to visit the Battery Point
2:41
Lighthouse, it was #1 on the itinerary list.
2:44
We dropped down in freaking Oregon, rented a car, drove down
2:48
the freaking One O 1 freeway, and ended up at Battery Point
2:52
Lighthouse. Guys, we were there.
2:54
We went and if you follow us on TikTok you might be getting some
2:57
content. Yeah, I'm going to post a video
2:59
probably the same day that you're seeing this, just as a
3:01
little refresh of our trip up there.
3:03
But when they say tide permitting, we went there, the
3:06
entire walkway flooded. Gone.
3:10
It was it's own little island, like maybe 100 feet out and we
3:16
are not risking that. Nope, they advise you not to.
3:19
I can't swim. I'm not going to try.
3:22
It looks so cool from over here, from this side of the bank.
3:26
Wow. It was very windy and it was
3:30
cold and it was everything that I expected in Northern
3:32
California to be. It was so cool.
3:35
It looked a very very old and we can see why they built the
3:38
lighthouse there. Very choppy, very rocky.
3:42
Very rocky and I know we talked about the the ship.
3:46
Dang it I forgot the ship's name but the one that crashed into a
3:49
rock like off the coast the entire drive when we were headed
3:52
to our Airbnb. Like if you see coastline there
3:55
is massive rocks either jutting out of the water that you can
3:59
visibly see breaking the surface.
4:01
Imagine all the ones under. I didn't feel anything when we
4:04
were there, maybe because we were too far.
4:06
And we were so excited because we all met up there.
4:09
That's true. So like at that moment with all
4:12
our loved ones around us, like it's hard to feel energy when
4:16
we're giving off so much love and, and, and positivity and
4:19
stuff. So maybe it's a deterrent to
4:21
anything negative trying to latch on.
4:23
Well, I guess it was only for the time being, because as soon
4:27
as that day ended, we were met with obstacle after obstacle.
4:32
The we had flat tires. We had missed flights.
4:37
We had cops. No, it's not what you're
4:43
thinking. So let's start from the top.
4:46
So. Our friends and Manfabi drove
4:49
down. They said we'll meet you there.
4:50
For them, it was also like a 10 hour road trip.
4:52
But they committed. They said we're going to do it.
4:55
They rented a car just like we did.
4:57
We met up in Crescent City from the lighthouse.
5:00
We went all the way down to Mckinleyville for our Airbnb.
5:03
Yeah, because we did a whole day of travelling.
5:05
We said let's keep it local. We're just going to have fun,
5:08
check out a local brewery, have dinner, and then we'll head back
5:11
to the Airbnb. Chill.
5:13
All was well. So we thought the next day we're
5:19
getting ready to leave. We're going to go get coffee.
5:23
What do our friends notice when we stop at the coffee shop down
5:25
the road? Our tire is a little flat.
5:27
It wasn't super, it wasn't all the way flat, but you can see
5:29
the difference and sure enough, we find the nail.
5:34
So we were fucked and what happened it Sunday?
5:37
Yeah, no tire repair shop was open within like 30-40 miles and
5:43
we had a full day plan of hiking, going to the sky zone,
5:47
sky trees. The trees of mystery.
5:49
Trees of mystery. So we do as Latinos do.
5:53
We we problem solve. We had six people in a five
5:57
person car. You bet.
5:58
We squeezed our way in and made it up there.
6:00
We we also everyone had a seat belt on.
6:02
Absolutely. We broke no laws.
6:04
None at all. So we made it work.
6:06
Yeah, we made, we fashioned our own seat belt.
6:08
It was fantastic. We made it to the.
6:12
The Trillium Falls Trail. Yeah, we made it to Trillium
6:15
Falls, and in that moment, Oh my God, Jerry, I felt tiny.
6:21
There's nothing more just breathtaking than seeing a tree
6:27
that's 10 times your size where you can't even like, see the
6:32
other side. You can't wrap your arms around
6:33
it. They're just massive beings.
6:38
It's incredible. It's it just it takes your
6:40
breath away. The entire time I had the
6:43
Jurassic Park theme song just playing in my head.
6:45
I was waiting for a velociraptor or AT Rex to just come out of
6:49
the woods and just take me. That's it.
6:52
I had two worries that entire time, one of which was the dog
6:55
man did not want to run into him.
6:57
And then number two, I was certain we were going to see
6:59
some sort of bear. Every time I heard any kind of
7:02
rustling, I'm like, this is it, it's over for us, we're going to
7:05
die. Unfortunately there was no bears
7:09
insight. That would have been the
7:10
highlight of my trip. That would have been super cool
7:12
if we run into a bear. None came out, so he was fine.
7:18
What we did see was a whole herd of freaking elk.
7:21
Which was amazing because we were in Elk County.
7:23
We were and when we got to the hiking place, there was Park
7:26
Rangers there and they're like, hey, heads up.
7:29
There's a very specific rule you should follow when you see elk.
7:32
If you can hide it behind your thumb and you don't see it,
7:36
you're at a safe enough distance to not get closer to that,
7:39
because if it's bigger than your thumb in your eye line, it can
7:43
chase you down in a heartbeat. Yeah.
7:45
What were all these people doing once the freaking Park Rangers
7:48
left? Pulling out their phones and
7:51
getting within 15 yards. I would say no, not even yards.
7:56
I would say they were within 20 feet.
7:59
Yeah. And you could tell that their
8:00
vibes of the elk, they were like getting a little like you're in
8:04
my personal. Space if I feel like when
8:05
they're stopping, like if they stop eating and look up at you
8:10
and make contact, it's like I notice you, you're too close.
8:14
But that's the thing. I feel like in those situations,
8:16
who knows whether it's tourists or just people that weren't
8:20
advised on that rule. They're just going to do what
8:22
they, you know, they're the, the what they think is fun, what it
8:26
what they think is going to be get the perfect shot and it's
8:29
unsafe for the most part. So do your research before I'm
8:32
glad there was a Ranger there helping us helping people out
8:35
just to make sure. But if you happen to be one of
8:37
those people that just ignore all the signs.
8:41
Disregard good luck. Completely disregarded their
8:44
safety. All for the picture to post on
8:48
Facebook because I know that's where they're posting.
8:50
That trail was beautiful. Took a little longer than
8:53
expected. Totally fine.
8:54
We had to stop. Yeah, we weren't rushing through
8:57
it. Just because it says that it
8:58
takes an hour doesn't mean you need to complete a trail in an
9:00
hour. No, we were there for three
9:01
hours. Stop, take a see.
9:03
Just breathe it in, you know? It was beautiful.
9:07
It was so cool. I felt like an elf, a gnome if
9:12
you will, and. For someone who does not hike
9:15
it, at the end of the day it was not that bad.
9:17
I'm still sore a good couple of days out.
9:20
I did not stretch that morning and I was kicking my butt
9:23
because I didn't, but it was it was worth it.
9:27
And now you're a professional hiker.
9:28
Now you can go to all hikes. I feel like I can, yeah, yeah.
9:31
None of them are going to compare to hiking the redwoods,
9:35
but I would give them a shot. They'll all be special in their
9:37
own way. And maybe if I just fear that
9:40
maybe I'll find a bear, I'll have that same rush.
9:42
And you can go double the mile, triple the distance.
9:47
I need someone hiking behind us with bear sounds on a speaker.
9:49
Exactly, exactly. Well, after that we did suffer
9:57
some delayed flights and missed flights, which added on to the
10:03
curse. So we ended up having to rebook
10:07
a new flight and missed our original flight, which I mean,
10:11
if you've ever been at the airport, you know the struggles
10:13
of like travelling and lugging your, your shit around.
10:16
And it's, it's, it's, it's draining when you're tired,
10:19
you're hungry, you just want to get home, shower, go to sleep.
10:21
And it's like, Nope, you're here for two more hours.
10:25
It was so stressful because we get on the first flight to our
10:29
transfer airport perfectly fine. Yeah, it's on time.
10:33
We get loaded up, they do make an announcement saying oh, we
10:36
might be a few minutes late. We haven't cleared the the
10:41
airfield or whatever for us to to fly out, but we will be at
10:44
getting out of here soon. Couple seconds later, oh Nope,
10:47
they gave us a slot. We're going to be flying out in
10:49
a second. Oh, change of change of plans
10:52
guys, looks like they are going to be holding us for at least 30
10:55
minutes. We're like OK, well you know
10:58
what, we had like a good hour in between boarding time and
11:00
landing for our connection later on.
11:01
We're going to be fine. We get up in the air, let us
11:05
know we're going to get there right before three.
11:08
I think our boarding time was at 33330.
11:14
We get so close to Sacramento where we're transferring to get
11:16
back to LA. We get another warning, hey
11:19
guys. So they don't have room for us
11:22
to be landing. We will be flying up for around
11:24
30 minutes just over the airport and we just see the time just
11:28
ticking because now that's going into our boarding time and it
11:32
ends up being longer than 30 minutes and when we finally land
11:36
it is four O 9 and our plane leaves at 4:11.
11:40
The plane was gone. The plane was gone, your luggage
11:44
was supposed to be gone, but it's still with us.
11:46
Yeah, it sucked. And then trying to rebook a
11:49
flight through the app or trying to get get a hold of someone to
11:52
help us out. No one at any gate wanted to
11:53
help us. Impossible.
11:55
They're like you need a you need a call.
11:56
No, you should call or you go to the ticket counter, leave TSA
11:59
and come through again. No.
12:01
You're crazy. So that was the second thing
12:05
which we were like, Yep, we we received a curse.
12:08
We were hexed. It was John Jeffries.
12:10
John Jeffrey from the Battery Point Lighthouse was out to get
12:13
us. He was like, you guys should
12:15
have known that the redwoods were 5 minutes away instead of
12:18
an hour instead of an hour. That's.
12:19
So sorry anyone who's watched our Tiktok, it is amongst the
12:24
redwoods. So, yeah, so that was number 2.
12:27
And then to top it off, as we mentioned, this trip had
12:31
everything. We finally land, it's late, we
12:35
get in the car. Luckily we parked at the one of
12:38
the hotels nearby. We got on on board of the
12:43
shuttle pretty quick. Got to the car pretty quick.
12:45
Smooth your. Car was still there.
12:47
Car was still there. That's a fucking win.
12:49
We drive home, We're so close to getting off the freeway.
12:53
Exit away from where we need to get off.
12:55
And what do I see behind me? Blue and red lights.
13:00
I'm like I'm getting pulled over.
13:01
We're. Like, no, it's not us.
13:03
There's no way it's. Us and I'm like, well, let me
13:05
move over just to make sure if they if it isn't us, they can
13:07
pass me. And we were like in the middle
13:09
lane. So I'm like, that's kind of
13:10
weird. I merged to the right.
13:14
It's me. Why am I getting pulled over?
13:16
What did I do? I'm not like I didn't, I didn't,
13:19
I didn't do one of. That we're not speeding, we're
13:20
chilling. My car can't even speed.
13:23
Luckily it was my older car, so we I I got off the freeway.
13:29
I pull over and he's like, hey, where you going?
13:33
Same questions. It's a large generic question.
13:37
Pulled you over because you're one of your brake lights are
13:40
out. And I'm like, oh, oh, Dang, my
13:43
bad. Like he's like, yeah, I just got
13:45
that fixed. All right, cool.
13:47
He's like, he's like, you know where you're headed?
13:49
I'm like, yeah, this is actually my exit.
13:50
He's like, oh, OK, that's good. He's like, well, no, that's not
13:52
good, but. And it was just.
13:53
Let's get that fixed. So yeah, that was just another
13:58
little silly moment. Little.
13:59
Little one. And what Melissa noticed was
14:02
like, Oh my God, his patch says Eureka.
14:06
I didn't catch that. I mean, you were also stressed
14:08
out. I also my, my blood pressure was
14:09
like skyrocketing. 2000 / 1,000,000 Yeah, I mean, it's
14:13
always, you know, just accelerating and scary.
14:17
So all the feelings. On his arm, said Eureka, CA.
14:22
And we're like, no way. We were just there.
14:24
That's crazy. I didn't hear that.
14:27
I just blocked it out. Sorry, Melissa.
14:29
That's crazy. She should have said something
14:30
that would have been funny. Oh, we tried.
14:32
We were being kind of loud, but I guess he he was just focused
14:34
on you. Since I'm so handsome.
14:36
I know he's just and that's why he didn't give you a ticket.
14:39
Yeah, no ticket, no nothing. We got home saved.
14:41
Everything was cool, everything was chill.
14:43
But I think the curse is lifted. I think we did our time.
14:45
It's ended, We had a really good night's sleep.
14:48
Yep, we're back out of here on a Thursday and hopefully things
14:53
look up. On a Thursday, things are
14:55
looking up. Why?
14:55
Because we're here recording this new episode.
14:59
The trip was amazing once again. Just it's, it's always fun just
15:02
to disconnect and be out there in nature and feel.
15:05
Tiny one thing I missed was video games, but it's fine.
15:10
I have the rest of the week to play.
15:12
Exactly. Well, I mean the trip itself,
15:18
like once again, 10 out of 10, if you can make it, go out to
15:21
the redwoods, go touch some grass, touch some trees, touch
15:25
some trees the size of sky, skyscraper.
15:30
Besides that, what haunted you this week?
15:33
Has ever been cursed. The entire Humboldt County kind
15:37
of haunted me this week and had me thinking what else resides up
15:42
here? Because when we went, we
15:45
expected full on summer weather. It's June here in Southern
15:48
California, we're pushing 90° already.
15:51
We looked at the weather. Oh, it's going to be rainy and
15:53
foggy. You know what, that's perfect.
15:55
Give us a little bit of cool weather before we get into 100°
15:59
freaking summer. And on that trip we did visit
16:04
the neighboring cities of Arcata and Eureka.
16:08
And walking through Eurea, California on a misty morning is
16:12
honestly a beautiful, eerie picture.
16:15
Victorian buildings peek out through dense fog and tucked
16:19
away on the corner of F St. and 8th St. stands at Eureka Inn, 1
16:23
of many haunted locations along California's Redwood Coast.
16:29
While Jerry and I walked the downtown streets checking out
16:31
local bookstores, record shops and boutiques, little did we
16:34
know that we were blocks away from one of the most haunted
16:37
places in the city. We were like four blocks away.
16:42
I didn't feel a pool or a calling.
16:45
Really. Because the vibes, they were
16:47
eerie. They were, they were.
16:49
The Eureka Inn is a four story Tudor hotel that spans an entire
16:53
block South of downtown. Like much of Humboldt County,
16:56
the inn was built due to the large influx of westward
16:58
settlers during the Gold Rush. Eureka became a primary stop
17:02
between the better established western port cities of San
17:05
Francisco and Portland OR. Similar to Crescent City, which
17:09
was discussed last week, it would become a popular pit stop
17:12
to visitors traveling between the two cities.
17:15
The hotel opened in 1922 to coincide with the opening of the
17:19
Redwood Hwy. The highway, also known as US
17:22
Route One O 1, is a NS highway connecting Los Angeles, CA to
17:27
Tumwater, WA. The One O 1 cuts through Eureka,
17:29
Arcata, and Mckinleyville, which is where we spent our weekend.
17:34
I don't know if it was the misty weather, but driving through
17:37
those cities felt a little scary.
17:40
Beautiful, but kind of scary. Maybe the scale of the giant
17:45
Redwood trees along the way kind of plays into it, but you can't
17:49
shake off the feeling that something is tucked away,
17:51
hidden, just out of reach. Did you feel the same?
17:57
How did you feel about the the vibes of Humboldt County?
18:01
Driving in the in general, when there's like curves on these
18:04
massive trees and these cliffs eyes that oversee the ocean is
18:08
fucking terrifying. So my once again, my anxiety was
18:12
through the charts, through the city itself.
18:15
Very like, I don't know. I don't know how to describe it
18:19
like it was just. Is quaint the right word?
18:23
I'm looking for like just like. Kind of cinematic.
18:26
Yeah, yeah, it like it didn't feel real.
18:28
It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been I think to
18:33
date and it made me feel so small, especially when we went
18:38
out to the beach in Mckinleyville.
18:42
Like staring out into the expansive ocean to then turn
18:46
around and you see the tree line that is so.
18:49
Tall. There has to be weird things
18:53
happening because everything is so dense you can't see
18:59
everything, so of course your mind kind of wanders.
19:02
I love that you said that your mind wanders.
19:06
What is scarier to you, the ocean or the woods?
19:08
The ocean, Really. Yeah. 1000% the ocean.
19:11
But you would find yourself more often in woods in the ocean.
19:14
Like you can easily not be in an ocean.
19:17
Yes, I think you should know that.
19:19
No, I was just asking if it changed because the redwoods was
19:23
freaking dense and the trees were huge.
19:25
Yeah, but it was I never felt like fear walking through the
19:30
the through the trillion Trillium falls.
19:34
It was just so peaceful and beautiful.
19:35
And I think that's what changes different.
19:37
If it was, if it was dark and it had no light, different story.
19:40
But because it was during the day and everything is so
19:42
colorful and beautiful and big sick.
19:45
My fear is getting so deep in there and not being able to
19:49
like, find your way out. My fears drowning.
19:56
Honestly, a haunted hotel in an area with those vibes is not
19:59
hard to believe. During its initial run, the
20:03
Eureka Inn house thousands of visitors, allegedly even housing
20:06
US presidents and royalty. The hotel shuttered its doors
20:09
after 80 years in service when the IRS placed a lien on the
20:13
property in 2002, forcing it to close in 2004.
20:17
The property was purchased in 2008 and renovations began
20:20
immediately. It was reopened to guests in May
20:23
of 2010 after being restored to its original color scheme and
20:26
historical glory. In many paranormal circles, the
20:30
word renovation raises a giant red flag.
20:33
Many supernatural theorists believe that renovations and
20:36
remodeling disturb the energy of a building, awakening spirits
20:39
that had long been dormant. Have you ever looked into why
20:44
that is or why that connection exists?
20:47
If if I try it, it's going to be because whatever materials are
20:52
holding that energy are now being taken out or replaced,
20:55
therefore whatever is attached to it manifests.
21:00
I feel like it has to be building of a specific age to be
21:04
able to harbour enough energy for that long.
21:09
Because I've lived in a remodeled home growing up like
21:12
my parents, like we did a big majority of it.
21:15
Nothing spooky ever happened. But also the home itself is not
21:20
that old. Like something has to have
21:21
existed long enough for there to be a greater chance of tragedy
21:29
or just intense emotion. And I also wonder if maybe the
21:33
construction noise wakes the spirits and makes them a little
21:37
grouchy. So what the fuck man?
21:38
I'm tired. I'm.
21:39
Sleeping so restfully. It might be 3:00 PM for you, but
21:42
it's 2:00 AM for me, you know? Eternally. 2:00 AM OH.
21:46
No, he died at 2:00 AM. Yeah, I.
21:48
Was about to say, what's the time of death shit.
21:51
Whether that's true or not, a lot of the modern ghost stories
21:54
surrounding the Eureka Inn seem to pop up around this time.
21:58
On a Reddit post by Lay Low 2100 on the Humboldt With subreddit
22:02
workers and visitors have documented the paranormal
22:05
experiences at the Eureka Inn, user C Antelope 371 states.
22:11
Another thing I remember is the remodel crew removing parts of
22:14
walls in a room and finding evidence that someone had fired
22:17
a shotgun at it and what appeared to be a rusty substance
22:21
associated with it. They think it's dried blood.
22:25
This might lend support to a story of a customer ending his
22:28
life in a room when he lost all his money in a stock market
22:31
crash long ago. Now, I couldn't verify that
22:35
story through newspaper archives or historical records, so take
22:38
it with a grain of salt. But like many ghost stories, the
22:41
rumor has stuck around. The renovation crew weren't the
22:45
only people reporting strange activity.
22:46
A deleted account states that they had a rough visit,
22:50
experiencing sleep paralysis and nightmares of their bed shaking.
22:55
They write that on 2 separate occasions they witnessed the
22:58
apparition of a woman in early 20th century attire.
23:02
They estimated that she looked like she had stepped out of the
23:04
1920s or 30s and was staring at them with complete disdain.
23:09
How would you react to being judged by a ghost?
23:11
Would it hurt your feelings more or less and being judged by a
23:15
person? No, because then I could just
23:19
throw being alive back at their face.
23:21
Turn it in on them. Do you think their outfits have
23:28
an impact on the fear level? It's a good question, yes.
23:36
Why? Because what we know as normal
23:39
is not that, so that anything outside of that is therefore
23:45
seen as like some sort of alarm. Yes, I wrote down it's more of a
23:49
what the fuck moment catches your eye and makes you want to
23:52
look, which happened because we were in one of the like antique
23:57
stores and home grown. That's so true.
23:59
Walks in and full on like 1910. Yeah.
24:03
Quaker. Garb and and I did when we
24:06
walked out, I'm like, you saw the lady too, right?
24:08
That was the first thing I said because they my mind went
24:10
exactly that was like, am I seeing this?
24:12
Am I the only one seeing this lady?
24:14
Yeah, this colonial lady. Going straight to the Bagoos.
24:16
Like let me ask someone. No, I, I saw her too.
24:20
OK, cool. And we saw her leave.
24:22
So she she, she was real. We saw her driving the 2014 Jeep
24:25
Cherokee. So yeah, it's it was, she was
24:27
real. But you see, it captures your
24:29
attention. Yes, it does.
24:31
If I'm seeing someone walking down the street or like in a
24:33
public building and they're just wearing everyday clothes, unless
24:36
they're like super hot and sexy, they don't stand out to me.
24:39
Not enough to be like, whoa, was that person real?
24:42
Did I see them? Because they could have just
24:45
walked away. But if home girl in her freaking
24:48
Pilgrim outfit. I've I've been saying a whole
24:50
bunch of different names for this.
24:51
She was just dressed real old like and she was young.
24:55
She was like early 20s. But if I looked at her, turned
24:58
away, looked back and she was gone, then I would think very
25:01
clearly the ghost spirits haunting the Bagoos.
25:07
The Bagoos, no. During one of those days, that
25:13
same person recalled a chilling nightmare.
25:15
I had another night there marked by dreams that a man kept
25:18
walking in and out of my room, opening and closing the door,
25:21
using the bathroom and laying in the bed beside me.
25:25
They believe that a well known haunt at the hotel is that of
25:28
two children who died of illnesses in the early 20th
25:31
century. Another Redditor responds to the
25:33
deleted author saying that they live next door to the inn they
25:37
write. Ever since we've moved in.
25:40
My daughter talks about a young boy around 3:00 to 5:00 that
25:43
lives there. His name is Hunter.
25:46
I cannot find any online documentation of those deaths at
25:50
all. Still, people claim to hear the
25:52
sound of children laughing echoing down the halls late at
25:55
night. The third floor seems to be a
25:58
hotspot for paranormal activity at the Eureka Inn.
26:01
Reddit user Super Low 98 O1 claims that the hotel bears a
26:05
striking resemblance to the hotel in The Shining.
26:08
That alone is enough to raise the hairs on the back of my
26:11
neck. User Acceptable way 5986 claims
26:19
to have seen a full bodied apparition standing with them in
26:22
the elevator, similar to the deleted users claim I mentioned
26:26
earlier. They also suffered sleep
26:28
paralysis during their stay, having heard footsteps and
26:30
knocking when no one else was around.
26:33
A prior housekeeper confirms that the third floor is the most
26:36
haunted part of the end. A negative energy trails through
26:40
the rooms, hallways and stairwells.
26:43
They believe that they were being followed by something
26:45
close behind them whenever they worked on the third floor.
26:49
One commenter felt the energy on the 3rd floor was so scary that
26:53
they requested to be moved to another floor.
26:55
Still, they cannot get a full night's rest.
26:58
User Vegan Muffin top 69 Iconic name that's.
27:03
Pretty good. Says they had a nightmare, that
27:05
they had been thrown into the ceiling and against the walls.
27:08
Leather comments mention orbs seen in pictures taken at the
27:11
hotel. Another person says a drawer
27:13
kept opening by itself and a worker even said that moldy food
27:18
appeared in a room that had been thoroughly cleaned out multiple
27:21
times. No one had been staying in it.
27:24
It had been cleaned out, yet food was just.
27:26
Appearing. That's gnarly.
27:30
What would you have to encounter at a hotel for you to leave?
27:34
Like what kind of weird supernatural experience would
27:36
send you? Any no, I mean it's I don't know
27:43
like anything specific. Giving you contacts let's say.
27:46
Let's say you paid like 300 a night.
27:49
For this hotel, fuck, but they better be putting in half
27:52
because what the hell. I'm not sharing a room with an
27:54
entity if they're not splitting the the check.
27:58
If they're if it's like a poultry guys where they're
28:01
actively throwing shit and it's like meant to hurt.
28:04
I think that for sure. I mean, don't get me wrong, if
28:06
like anything, if something moves, I'm going to be sketched
28:08
out, but I think movement like me knowing something's there and
28:12
then I see it move or I come back and it's not in that same
28:16
place without a logical explanation.
28:19
I might be like Hey I need another room.
28:21
I feel there's a lot of things that you can like explain away.
28:25
Even if it was some sort of supernatural experience, you're
28:29
able to come up with something to debunk it.
28:32
Hey, if something had moved when you were gone, OK, maybe
28:34
cleaning came in and they reset stuff.
28:38
But if you come across something that is intent on causing you
28:41
harm, like something is moving while you're there or you get
28:45
some sort of feeling of something touching you.
28:47
Like if I were to feel like pressure on my neck or something
28:51
and I wake up and nothing's there, I really respectfully
28:55
have to leave. Yeah, I'm sleeping in the car.
28:57
I mean, there's. Yeah, I paid for the room and
28:59
I'm paying for parking. Yeah, I'm sleeping in my car.
29:01
Yeah, exactly. I don't know, dude.
29:04
I've lived through that experience in San Diego where I
29:07
told you I heard freaking crying coming out of the bathroom.
29:10
And I was like. OK, we're going back to bed.
29:13
But yeah, that's a sound. I feel like logically my brain
29:17
would just be like it's someone crying outside, let me just give
29:20
them their space and try to go back to sleep with my headphones
29:23
on. Some hotels do have very thin
29:25
walls. Yeah.
29:26
You can hear full on conversations next door, Queen
29:28
Mary especially. That would give me reason to
29:32
explain away any kind of like weird things.
29:35
Yeah. Same with just the oh, you can
29:38
hear children laughing. Two children are so loud.
29:41
OK, but then that's my experience.
29:44
I tie that when you said that that's a that's a that's a fuck
29:46
no for me. That's I'm out because when I
29:48
heard the the kids like a kid or two kids laughing at one of the
29:53
schools that I worked at a couple years ago in the secluded
29:57
section of the school late, like I was the only one and I heard
30:00
it coming from a classroom. That experience.
30:03
I'm never like that spine show is unlike any other.
30:06
Like, yeah, I was out of there. It was enough to send you home
30:08
for. Yeah, I'm not going to be
30:09
checking anything. That it is what I heard it, I
30:11
acknowledged it, but I'm moving on and I'm going home.
30:15
So I I I was not about to fuck around and find out.
30:19
Dang, I think that's where a lot of crazy stuff happens.
30:22
People want to, they want to find out.
30:25
They buckle Brown. And they have time to find out
30:29
what's going to. I mean, we, we stayed at an
30:34
Airbnb. Who knows if that itself was
30:38
haunted. I did talk with Melissa because
30:41
this second night, because we were there for three nights.
30:44
The second night I did hear really weird noises just coming
30:47
from like around the house. Yeah, you did mention that.
30:51
I don't remember what they were in my like, half asleep state.
30:54
I'm like, is it the aliens? Because I didn't feel ghostly.
30:58
It just felt like there was something weird happening
30:59
outside. Yeah.
31:01
And in my perception of ghosts, they just don't exist outside.
31:04
Yeah, though they have to be indoors.
31:06
Yeah, they're very temperate, or they have a temperament, was the
31:09
word. They're bougie ghosts.
31:12
They want to be inside where it's safe because it was raining
31:15
like crazy. Yeah, it was so nice, though.
31:19
I didn't get any bad vibes, honestly.
31:21
I mean, there's always like the the what if, like, oh, whoa, I
31:24
wonder what's happening here. I wonder how long this has been
31:26
here. A lot of those regions are very
31:28
old, so it's like these buildings are very old but never
31:32
got any red flags or anything. Mosa said she had heard
31:35
something drop. And I'm like, oh, that was me.
31:37
I kicked my water bottle at one point.
31:40
It was also very creaky. Like, yes.
31:43
So if we had heard footsteps, we would have noticed.
31:45
Yeah. But nothing hasn't really stood
31:48
out. What helps is hearing the
31:49
creaking 'cause you're like automatic alarmed and then you
31:52
hear either the sink turning on or the flush and you're like,
31:56
it's got to be someone, we're good, we're good.
32:01
At the end of the day, a majority of the supernatural
32:03
occurrences at Eureka Inn are hearsay, long standing rumors
32:07
that create a sense of excitement surrounding an old
32:09
building. Walking around the city for the
32:11
brief time we did it does feel old.
32:15
You see it in the layout of the city and especially in the
32:18
architecture. It's as if the city of Eureka
32:21
was built to be haunted. I enjoyed my time there.
32:26
I wish I had more time. Yeah, we were only there for an
32:28
afternoon. We got ramen at a restaurant in
32:31
downtown. The record shop that we that was
32:35
open when we went was really cool.
32:38
The Jean jacket steel that I got at the thrift store.
32:44
Good times. I wish we explored the shore
32:46
more. We were so close.
32:48
I went back on Google Maps to see how close we were to the the
32:53
Eureka Inn. We were like four blocks away.
32:55
It was down that same St. that we parked, but it was just isn't
32:59
on the Main Street that we took to get back on the 101.
33:01
Yeah. But even further down W like to
33:04
the coast. Yeah, I would have loved to see
33:08
that, just to see how different the vibe is here based on
33:11
Crescent City, because Crescent City was kind of cliffy.
33:14
This just seems like it was pretty much level with the
33:17
ocean. Yeah, similar to the one in
33:20
McKinley, the beach. Oh yeah, McKinley.
33:22
Rose to that was such a cool beach guys like once again, you
33:26
know me, not a big beach guy, but when you see just a empty
33:31
massive beach with a rainbow circling the sun, Oh my.
33:35
God, yeah, guys, happy pride. Happy pride.
33:36
There was so much rainbows in the sky.
33:38
Yeah, it was like almost like in a big circle around the sun.
33:41
What whatever phenomenon that is just very cool.
33:44
But that beach was like, eerie because it was also just alone.
33:47
Yeah. And it was later in it.
33:48
Radial rainbow. I like it, yeah.
33:52
Also, we are so far from the ocean.
33:54
Yeah, we were on the beach, but that sand stretched.
33:57
Far, yeah, yeah, but it's one of those like beaches where like
34:00
the the sand is so fine where it almost looks feels like a desert
34:04
and then it just goes into some cold ocean which you said it
34:07
wasn't that cold, no. It was colder outside, guys.
34:09
It was freezing when we went. There's a picture of me and I'm
34:11
all like huddled. I'm wearing shorts.
34:14
Great idea. Yeah, it's just it was freezing,
34:18
but it was so good 'cause we have pizza.
34:20
And a Little Caesar's on the beach of Mckinleyville, yeah.
34:25
So sick. Well, friend, what haunted you
34:27
this week? Oh, Brian, Brian, Brian.
34:32
Staircases. I'm starting off with a story
34:39
and that's all the context I'm giving.
34:41
OK, I'm excited. Now, I don't know if this is
34:45
true in every search and rescue unit, but in mine it's sort of
34:50
an unspoken regular thing we run into.
34:53
You can try asking about it with any other search and rescue
34:56
officers, but even if they know what you're talking about, they
35:00
probably won't say anything about it.
35:02
We've been told not to talk about it by our superiors, and
35:05
at this point we've all gotten so used to it that it doesn't
35:08
even seem weird anymore. On just about every case where
35:11
we're really far into wilderness, I'm talking 30 or 40
35:15
miles, at some point we'll find a staircase in the middle of the
35:18
woods. It's almost like you took the
35:21
stairs in your house, cut them out, and put them in the forest.
35:26
I asked about it the first time I saw one and the other officer
35:28
just told me not to worry about it and that it was normal.
35:32
Everyone I asked said the same thing.
35:34
I wanted to go check them out, but I was told very
35:37
empathetically that I should never go near any of them.
35:40
I just sort of ignore them now when I run into them because it
35:43
happens so frequently. Short story from user search and
35:47
rescue Woods subreddit. No sleep.
35:50
So we're starting off with that story because that was the
35:53
original post that just created a wildfire of staircases in the
35:58
woods. Recollections and experiences.
36:01
Have you heard any of these in your deep dives?
36:04
This is a bullet point on the list of things I have done
36:09
YouTube deep dives in my early childhood.
36:12
So yes. And I am scared.
36:14
OK, I'm going to give you a little scenario because I I'm
36:16
with you. Like, I think that's just eerie
36:18
and once again, connecting dots that just don't make sense to
36:21
the human brain because you're now a hiking enthusiast.
36:25
Oh, I'm not. Pro Imagine you're hiking
36:28
through a quiet forest. The sun is beaming down, but
36:31
you're covered by thick canopy. There's a steady breeze and an
36:34
eerie silence. You only notice when you stop
36:37
talking or breathing hard. Then, as you stop and catch your
36:39
breath, you see a staircase. Not rubble that vaguely looks
36:44
like a stairs. An actual staircase.
36:47
Concrete steps, maybe wood, maybe a railing with Moss
36:51
growing on its sides, or just completely free of any growth.
36:57
Almost new. No building is attached to it,
37:00
just stairs in the middle of nowhere.
37:02
What do you do? I don't know, those are two very
37:07
different vibes. I think the one covered in Moss
37:11
and like growth of plants would be a little easier to accept
37:16
than a brand new staircase is just in the woods.
37:20
Yeah, I think I'm putting my detective hat on and I'm
37:24
checking it out. You're.
37:26
So brave. I would too, right?
37:29
I would climb it to like not the top top, but a couple steps.
37:31
Just for like 1-2, three go back down.
37:35
So a lot of people treat the stairs in the woods phenomenon
37:38
like ancient folklore, but the modern version is surprisingly
37:41
recent. The idea really exploded online
37:44
after a series of horror stories posted around 2015 by a Reddit
37:47
user claiming to work in search and rescue, which was our first
37:50
story that I read. So that's the first one that's.
37:52
The first one, the stories appeared in No Sleep, a
37:57
subreddit specifically built for fictional horror, written as if
38:01
it were real. No Sleep works because everyone
38:04
stays in character, so right away we should be skeptical.
38:08
Reminds me of SCPS. Exactly.
38:11
A later Reddit discussion in Subreddit Out of the Loop broke
38:15
this down pretty clearly. The stories became popular
38:18
because they felt plausible, but there was never solid evidence
38:21
that search and rescue teams were actually finding
38:23
supernatural staircases in the forest.
38:25
You don't say. That said, the stories spread
38:29
fast because they hit a very specific fear, human structures
38:33
appearing where they don't belong.
38:35
The boring answer is probably true most of the time.
38:38
Old buildings fall apart, staircases don't.
38:41
Forests are full of remnants from cabins, fire lookouts,
38:44
hunting lodges, mining camps. I can kill, I can go on.
38:49
But wood rots, roofs collapse, walls disappear, and nature
38:53
swallows everything. Concrete stairs or stone
38:56
foundations can survive for decades.
38:59
The result is exactly the image people describe online, a
39:02
staircase leading nowhere. Historians and park workers
39:05
regularly document abandoned buildings in wilderness.
39:08
Forests aren't as untouched as they seem, but many were logged,
39:12
settled, mined, or developed long before becoming protected
39:15
land. Even knowing that the stories
39:18
work on a psychological level, a staircase feels unfinished.
39:21
It's designed to take you somewhere, and when it doesn't,
39:24
your brain starts filling in the blank.
39:27
That's why these stories spread internationally.
39:30
People in Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia, and the UK all
39:34
report stairs in the woods, But many of those reports appeared
39:38
after the Reddit stories became popular.
39:40
The legend likely spread 1st and people started interpreting
39:43
ordinary ruins through that lens afterward.
39:46
It's a classic Internet folklore pattern.
39:48
So they see this and if they find anything similar, that's
39:52
enough to to add fuel to the. Fire.
39:54
Yep, like I read about this. Oh, I have that same thing.
39:57
It's got to be an abandoned house that's in our woods.
40:00
With a staircase. Wow.
40:03
The story is very wildly, but some themes keep showing up.
40:06
Staircases that look strangely clean.
40:09
The people describe steps with little Moss or debris.
40:11
Even in overgrown areas. Birds stop chirping.
40:15
Winds feel muffled. Sudden quiet in nature makes
40:18
people alert and uneasy. The common eerie environments
40:22
don't require anything supernatural.
40:24
Our brains are very sensitive to places that feel wronged.
40:27
That's. What I'm telling you about the
40:29
ocean versus the woods, which are so thick.
40:33
I don't want to drown Brian. I don't want to get eaten by a
40:35
shark and. Die, I need you to relate to me.
40:40
You know how to swim. I don't.
40:41
Barely. Many of the stories or from the
40:45
Rangers or search and rescues say don't go near the stairs.
40:49
There's no verified evidence of official warnings like this, but
40:52
it makes for excellent horror storytelling.
40:55
I have another question. OK, If a park Ranger casually
40:59
told you, yeah, we don't mess with the stairs, are you leaving
41:03
immediately or are you pretending you're in a horror
41:05
movie and investigating further? Anything for the views.
41:12
I don't know. I am very by the books.
41:15
I love to follow a rule, OK? If I had someone with me and my
41:18
best friend Jerry was there and he said, hey, let's check it
41:21
out, I would feel a little bit more emboldened.
41:23
Exactly, but he's. Given a little a peruse, I'm
41:26
just going to go see, OK, what's on the other side of the stairs?
41:30
Why is there nothing going around it?
41:32
I do have a question for you. What do you visualize?
41:35
Because I'm I'm thinking like The Sims guys.
41:39
I love The Sims and you get a pick like a staircase.
41:42
I might have to show you a specific example I need to see.
41:44
But they're like are you thinking like grand staircase or
41:51
just like a singular like one person size staircase?
41:57
Like pre built kind of. OK, in my brain I think would
42:03
what is this called? Spiral spiral staircase.
42:05
Very elegant, that. Wasn't even an option in my.
42:08
Brain and like, yeah, big enough for like two people to go up
42:11
them, but just like not massive, but big enough to where you're
42:15
like, oh, that's weird and untouched now in my brain,
42:20
because I've seen some of these so-called alleged pictures,
42:24
they're always either concrete or if they are like wood or
42:27
untouched, they're just very just symmetrical, just straight.
42:30
That answers my other question of it making sense to be wood or
42:36
or cement because that no cement specifically because that would
42:39
outlive wood because you did say wood deteriorates, the things
42:43
get overgrown. I feel like it's very hard for
42:46
something to grow on cement, otherwise they'd have to be like
42:49
trailing like vines or? Something, yeah, or just
42:52
overgrowth of, you know, Moss, grass.
42:54
Moss covered staircase would also be a very weird sight for
42:57
it to be perfectly like. And I think I talked about it
43:00
too, but different sources vary. They're saying either they're
43:04
untouched and it's like it's even more alarming because it's
43:07
as if they were, they just appeared or they're like covered
43:10
in some sort of like vegetation or something.
43:12
And, and even that's kind of like, whoa, why is there just a
43:15
staircase though? So.
43:16
And you can't find the remnants of anything else of a building,
43:18
correct? That's scary.
43:20
If I'm alone, I'm listening to the park Ranger.
43:22
If I'm with a friend, I'm a jerk it out.
43:25
Alone. I'm gone.
43:26
Yeah. No, Absolutely.
43:27
Hey, that's cool. Staircase.
43:28
Anyways, my trail goes this way. Bye.
43:30
Yeah, there might be a bear behind me.
43:32
Got to go. There's probably, that's
43:33
probably a bear trap. No, you're the bear in question.
43:38
In mythology and religion, I've taught Jerry too much.
43:44
Stairs often represent transitions, heaven and earth,
43:47
life and death, the known world and the unknown.
43:51
So when you place a staircase in an empty forest, it instantly
43:54
feels meaningful, even if it's just remains of somebody's cabin
43:58
from 1938. Checks out.
44:03
Two real things that probably helped fuel the vibe around this
44:06
legend. Abandoned ruins in Europe, old
44:09
estates, monasteries and wartime structures often decay until
44:13
only foundations and stairs remain.
44:16
Photos of these places circulate online constantly because they
44:19
look uncanny out of context. In Japan, the AO Kigahara
44:24
forest. Sorry if I butchered that.
44:26
The forest already has a reputation for eerie silence and
44:29
unusual landmarks. Have you heard about this?
44:30
Yes. About entire communities just
44:32
regrown into the freaking forest.
44:35
Internet culture blended that atmosphere with these staircase
44:38
stories, even though there's no evidence of supernatural stairs
44:41
there specifically. So I need to see those pictures
44:43
I'd I'd read about it, didn't see any.
44:46
Here's my take. I think there are extra
44:50
dimensional structures hidden around the globe.
44:52
My first thought is the pyramids, just not staircases.
44:57
I think abandoned human structures and forests are more
44:59
common than people realize, and I think once the Reddit stories
45:02
became popular, people started seeing ordinary ruins through a
45:06
horror movie filter. If I found a staircase alone in
45:09
the woods I would for sure feel unsettled.
45:12
I don't find that normal, but logic and instinct are not
45:15
always on speaking terms so it just depends.
45:18
What if I'm already on edge because I saw a bear and I had
45:21
to fight it off my adrenaline's pumping and then guess what?
45:23
Now you're met with a stair. Staircase.
45:26
Do we think bears know how to climb stairs?
45:28
They're great climbers, so yes. But they know they'd have to put
45:31
one paw in front of the other to get up there.
45:34
Yeah, I think so. Oh, I was like, maybe, maybe I
45:36
am climbing those stairs. To avoid the bears, Yeah, yeah.
45:40
No, they they, they can dig their claws in.
45:42
Two legs to get up here. They're like, that's a wooden
45:44
staircase, I can just sink my claws in that.
45:47
You're right. It's like damn concrete.
45:48
Fuck. He's safe for now.
45:53
Before I get into something that's like really on the nose
45:56
for us with a lot of our previous topics.
46:00
I do want to say that, you know, on in other podcasts that I've
46:03
listened to and that's why we drink is one of them.
46:06
Tik Toks. Just different platforms that
46:08
have mentioned these staircases often note them being portals.
46:13
So stories say where someone might have ventured into the
46:18
forest, ran across a a random staircase, climbed it, It was
46:22
during the morning when they started their hike, get to the
46:25
top, wow this is cool. And then descend and it's night
46:29
time and hours in a day have passed.
46:33
Where did we talk about that? We've talked about this.
46:35
We have very similar. Well, what episode was it where
46:37
I mentioned the kids? They climbed a hill and then
46:41
when they came back they're like, oh, we've been gone for
46:45
what was 5 minutes for them, but the mom's like, you've been gone
46:48
for hours. Or or another one where it's
46:51
like they ran into a cabin that was like randomly somewhere.
46:55
That's what I was thinking. The whole that one.
46:56
That one too. The one that had all the weird
46:58
crosses and stuff. Have we recorded that many
47:00
episodes that I can't remember the?
47:02
Topics, yes, because I don't remember all the information we
47:07
have the notes. We just have to do a little deep
47:08
dive on our notes, but that's. What I was thinking the entire
47:11
time, friend. So some sort of like time glitch
47:14
or portal, we've talked about that.
47:17
Well, these staircases also have that same story in some of them.
47:21
Other stories say that they're actual portals where they climb
47:25
up the staircase and to them seems a couple minutes they see
47:29
things happening around them, but then when they descend,
47:32
they've been lost for days, weeks, months.
47:35
It it would be nice to quote them directly, but I don't
47:38
remember them. I just remember.
47:40
Hearing no I'm looking for them too and I'm like hello that's
47:43
the fun part. It was a Reddit stories.
47:45
There you go, the Reddit story episode number #3636 Reddit
47:53
Stories to tell in the dark. Amazing.
47:56
So that's, that's the biggest debate.
47:57
Also, is this fiction? Are these just creative writing?
48:03
Maybe. It seems it seems like it the
48:05
first one because as you said, that subreddit is mainly stories
48:10
to keep you up at night. Scary.
48:12
It 100% lends itself to just create a writing.
48:16
Also search and rescue team never says where, what region,
48:19
who, there is no proof. I know they're just stories.
48:21
They might not want to disclose it or not able to, but.
48:25
Yeah, we're we have our thinking hats on.
48:26
As much as we love to believe this stuff, please know that
48:28
means Jerry are we know we are where?
48:31
I'm a little skeptical. I'm a little skeptical too, but
48:34
in once again, in the off chance we're in the winds we see a
48:38
staircase, we at least are going to know to avoid it.
48:43
Maybe Michael Betancourt, I owe that that name to be that last
48:49
name to me is just Betancourt. Like Betancourt in Spanish, he's
48:53
an art historian, filmmaker, theorist and professor
48:56
associated with the Savannah College of Art and Design.
48:59
So many hats. I know most of his work focuses
49:02
on digital media, cinema, visual culture, and how humans
49:06
interpret images and technology. He's written several books on
49:10
glitch art and digital aesthetics, including Glitch Art
49:14
in Theory and Practice and Glitch Theory Art and Semiotics.
49:19
What's important is that Betancourt is not arguing that
49:22
reality glitches. He's arguing that our
49:24
understanding of reality glitches, This is tied to those
49:28
staircases because one of the theories of those staircases
49:31
them being glitches, glitches in the Matrix, glitches in, you
49:35
know, reality, whatever it may be, they're glitches.
49:37
So he kind of dives into it and talks about glitch theory.
49:41
Now, this is connected to our themes.
49:43
Oh. Yeah, yeah.
49:44
How? One of his examples that runs
49:47
throughout his work is a simple technical malfunction.
49:50
Imagine you're watching television and suddenly the the
49:52
screen fills with static. Most people immediately think
49:56
the TV is broken. Yeah, that's what he interprets
49:59
as a diagnostic interpretation. You identify the problem and you
50:03
stop thinking about it. Case is closed.
50:07
What if an artist intentionally creates that same static, places
50:11
it inside a gallery? Now people stand there and
50:14
discuss what does it mean? Is it commenting on technology?
50:18
Is it representing chaos? Is it a critique of media?
50:22
The image hasn't changed, but the interpretation has.
50:25
You're giving it meaning interpretation.
50:27
Exactly. He uses another example in his
50:29
work involving a famous monkey selfie.
50:32
When people learned a monkey accidentally pressed the shutter
50:35
button, they started debating, well, who made the image?
50:38
The monkey, The camera? The photographer?
50:41
The machine? The discussion wasn't really
50:44
about the photo, it was about how people assigned meaning and
50:47
intention. The glitch wasn't the picture.
50:50
The glitch was our interpretation.
50:54
Old YouTube videos or any media, A face gets stretched, it gets
50:57
warped. A person's eyes appear in the
50:59
wrong place, pixels melt across the screen.
51:01
Most people know that as a compression error.
51:04
I'm not most people, but thank you.
51:07
But for a split second, your brain tries to make a sense out
51:09
of it. Lizard people, those are real.
51:13
That's the liminal moment Betancourt keeps talking about,
51:16
the moment before you've decided what something actually is.
51:20
So if we recall our last example of you walk into the forest,
51:23
you're a professional hiker, You love it.
51:25
You see the staircase, No mystery.
51:28
You know that there is old structures, that it might have
51:30
decayed. That's the only thing standing
51:32
story over. But then there's that staircase.
51:36
It's incomplete. It demands context.
51:39
It practically begs you to ask questions.
51:42
Where did the building go? Why is this the only part left?
51:46
Whose horse is at? Who built it?
51:48
When was it built? Whose?
51:49
Horse is that. What happened here and why is
51:52
Gamora the staircase creates a gap in the story?
51:56
I'm experiencing a glitch right now.
51:58
What does it all mean? This is where Betancourt would
52:02
probably get excited. The staircase becomes what he
52:04
calls a liminal object. It's sitting between categories.
52:08
Is it a ruin? Is it a landmark?
52:10
Is it a warning? Is it a monument?
52:12
Is it evidence of something forgotten?
52:15
The brain can't immediately decide, so meanings start
52:18
multiplying. That's exactly why the staircase
52:21
stories exploded. Not because they were
52:23
convincing, because they were unresolved.
52:25
The mystery remains alive because nobody can settle on a
52:28
single interpretation. The original No Sleep stories
52:31
did something brilliant, they removed the explanation, and
52:34
that's it. Nothing supernatural actually
52:37
happens. The stories never prove portals.
52:39
They never prove monsters. They never prove alternate
52:42
dimensions. Instead, they take an ordinary
52:45
object and remove its context. And what does that do?
52:48
They create horror. Bettencourt would probably argue
52:51
that the staircase functions exactly like a glitch in a
52:54
digital image. It's an interpretation, a break
52:58
in the expected order, a moment where reality suddenly doesn't
53:01
make sense. Not because reality changed.
53:04
Because your framework for understanding reality failed.
53:08
And the heart of his theory, The glitch isn't the object.
53:11
The glitch happens in the observer.
53:15
The creepiest interpretation for me isn't that the staircases are
53:18
portals, it's that they reveal weakness in the human
53:21
psychology. We desperately need the world to
53:23
make sense, and we encounter something that doesn't fit
53:26
neatly into a category. So we start creating
53:28
explanations. Ghosts, aliens, interdimensional
53:33
doorways, simulation theory. Maybe the staircase is just
53:37
concrete and rebar, but the second it breaks the story we
53:40
expect the forest to tell, it becomes a glitch not in reality
53:44
in us. But I get, I get why it becomes
53:50
scary because there's no purpose.
53:52
Yeah. So the whole fear is trying to
53:54
figure out what is that purpose? And we as humans are very scary,
53:59
scared people. We fill in the blank.
54:02
Yeah, and for a lot of people, that blank gets filled with some
54:06
sort of anxiety. Yeah, yeah.
54:09
So we've talked about that, whether it was sleep paralysis,
54:12
our mind making up things, whether it was things in the
54:14
dark, shadow people. It's just our interpretation of
54:16
it, what our brain decides to make with whatever knowledge it
54:19
knows. And it just creates.
54:21
It goes free it it has a creative writing session.
54:26
Well, I hope I never run into a freaking staircase in the wood,
54:28
because who knows what my mind is going to try to assign it
54:31
meaning, Yeah. And that to me also reminds me
54:34
of like the non believers where they don't believe until it
54:37
happens to them. This can very much be that where
54:39
it's like, whoa, I know the glitch theory.
54:41
You know, they just said. Yeah, I know the fear is just
54:43
trying to understand. Yeah, it's just the
54:44
interpretation my brain is trying to make out of it.
54:46
Guess what? I'm going to climb it.
54:48
It's been 50 years. Shit.
54:51
I come back, everyone I know is dead.
54:52
Maybe I should have listened to subreddit.
54:55
No sleep, No sleep. I should have heeded their
54:58
warnings. Never climbed the staircase in
55:00
the woods. Isn't that crazy?
55:01
How just being in an environment kind of makes your mind wander
55:07
into a whole bunch of different places.
55:09
Yeah, I think we should keep travelling.
55:13
I agree. It opens up your worldview.
55:15
I know we didn't. We left the state for like a
55:17
couple hours to get back into the state.
55:20
But even our own, like places we can go and see something that
55:25
kind of alters your brain chemistry.
55:28
And if you think about it too, like, of course we have National
55:31
Forest here, but to the same capacity of like the Redwood
55:35
National Forest, nowhere near that.
55:37
And that's normal to some people.
55:39
Yeah, they live there. Yeah.
55:40
That's not normal to us. So, people.
55:41
Correcting us in the top in the TikTok comments, saying, all
55:45
right, look, they're actually, like, right around it, yeah.
55:47
You're right. Now we know.
55:50
Thank you. But also we didn't know.
55:55
My bad. This is the daily BJ with a
55:58
public. Yeah, this is our first apology.
56:01
Video. We did not know that the
56:04
redwoods forest was that big. Yeah.
56:08
How do you do it? Well, do you have a soccer
56:11
recommendation for the week? Man, it's funny because we
56:16
played a lot of music that the redwoods have never.
56:19
Ever heard before? Ever heard before?
56:21
So I mean, just give me any 6X song.
56:24
Absolutely. We're going to be playing
56:26
bitches like me. That's the one now we showed the
56:31
redwoods something, something different, something they've
56:34
never experienced. We shared our culture with them.
56:37
Yeah, and not really because she isn't she like Argentina?
56:42
But yeah, just just any 6X song, yeah, going up to one O 1, yeah,
56:46
I don't think that's ever been done before.
56:49
I doubt it. Well guys, thank you so much for
56:50
listening. Who knows what will haunt us in
56:54
the next week? Stay tuned.
56:57
And the prey that our curse has been lifted.
57:00
It has, I hope so. I paid the we just had to pay a
57:03
fee. You had to pay the fee.
57:04
You will have to pay the fee if you don't fix that break.
57:06
Like I need to go to O'Reilly or something.
57:12
Chattos O'Reilly, please sponsor us.
57:16
Next episode, haunted cars. Write that down.
57:20
Write that down. No.
57:20
One's going to listen to that. Have a great day.
57:23
Hope you had some coffee, caffeine, anything, because I
57:26
know I am. Do you want something?
57:29
I'm gonna go right now. Cafecito, you done?
57:33
I'll take one. I'm not talking to you, I'm
57:35
talking to. Them.
57:35
Oh, I thought it was offering adios.