Witches, Magic, Murder, & Mystery · Megan and Kara

349. SPOOKY: Listener Ghost Stories, Vol. 20

·38 min·2 clips

A desert commuter says a winged figure crossed the road twice before major events nearby.

The episode opens on a hard note. One host explains that her mother had been in the hospital, then in multiple hospitals, before doctors identified autoimmune encephalitis and the family finally had a name for what was happening. It turns into a plain reminder to speak up for yourself, or for a family member, when the symptoms do not make sense and nobody has the full picture yet. The hosts also talk about how easy it is to worry that doctors will think you are overreacting, especially with medical issues, and how that feeling can get stuck in people. Then the listener stories start. Erin writes in about her youngest daughter, Emmy, and the strange energy around the family’s 75-year-old house after they moved in and made it their own. One afternoon, Emmy says Luther was on the trampoline, describes him as red-haired and wearing a work shirt like daddy’s, and the hosts react with exactly the right mix of amusement and unease. A few days or weeks later, Emmy points toward the ceiling and says little daddy is climbing up the wall, then adds that he has claws. Her mother asks whether little daddy is nice, and Emmy smiles and says yes. More stories follow. One later memory lands on Granny Rindy, whose sack now reads as a protection charm once the storyteller is older and can see it differently. The image shifts from odd family folklore to something protective, with the line about walking like you have three thousand ancestors behind you hanging in the air. The show stays chatty throughout, with reactions, side comments, and the familiar back-and-forth that keeps the stories feeling live rather than packaged. It ends on a soft note after listener thanks and sponsor copy, leaving a cozy-but-creepy mood built from domestic life, old magic, and harmlessly unsettling hauntings.

As heard by us

A blunt medical update, eerie family stories, and a haunted-kitchen kind of mood.

This episode opens with a blunt medical update about a mother’s autoimmune encephalitis and the need to keep pushing when something feels off.

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Why you'd press play

You want a listener-submitted ghost story with banter, tenderness, and a few real chills.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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