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Episode 30 - The Psychology of Fear and Freak Accidents
0 Playsin 5 days
Nym gets psychological about fear and Nylene ruins everyone's day with several horrific freak accidents.
Enter the Nightmare for show notes, sources, transcripts, and more!
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:29
Speaker
Welcome to Nim and Nyleen's Nightmare Cottage, where we explore history, mysteries, and other tales of the macabre. I'm Nim. And I'm Nyleen. Let the nightmare begin.
00:00:47
Speaker
disturbing andm mature content to follow I if you dare
00:00:54
Speaker
was talking about like RuPaul where they like walk in and then everyone's like, wait, wait. Oh yes. Entrance looks. It's like, what did you just say? Yeah. I love so many of those, but that's not this podcast, I guess.
00:01:09
Speaker
How have you been? been okay. I rediscovered my switch and it's all your
Rediscovering Gaming and Cozy Spooky Games
00:01:15
Speaker
fault. My Nintendo switch. So I've been actually playing a lot of games. I used to be like a big gamer at home and and and I grew up that way, of course. and Yeah. But I've fallen off of it the last couple of years. I used...
00:01:28
Speaker
ah why I've worked in video games forever, and but I've changed the type of industry within the video game industry that I've been in. And since I went away from current modern games, I just haven't been playing anything. My Switch has been in a drawer since I stopped playing Animal Crossing a couple years ago.
00:01:46
Speaker
i held on longer than most, but... You did. You did. You were still. And every once in a while you go back. The shame gets me too much. I hate when they shame me. I don't. I have. I haven't gone back since I was out playing because I don't. Yeah, probably for that.
00:02:01
Speaker
Yeah. No, I hate when they shame me. and like, I kind of. I kind of like being gone for a while or changing the dates in Animal Crossing. I'm sorry, this is not our audience, but it's going to be for like five seconds. Bear with me, guys.
00:02:13
Speaker
But yeah, I do like it. It's just that extra task to do. But I know like they're going to yell at me. Yeah. Or like there's going to be a bunch of people moved out and then everyone's all sad. They're like, I really miss my buddy.
00:02:25
Speaker
Maybe I'll just leave. And I'm like, you should, Roger. Fucking asshole. So in the new new, I say new, it's been, ah it came out 2020 is most people will remember if you know what Animal Crossing is.
00:02:37
Speaker
That was the best time to play. It was the time to play for sure. in that version of the game, people won't move out unless they tell you first. Yeah. So that was. but you can't keep it. Oh, I think you can.
00:02:49
Speaker
You can be like, is there anything I can yeah do? if If you catch them the first time they say it. Yeah. But more fitting for the cottage. I've been playing a lot of cozy, spooky games. Yeah. And I've been finding a lot, but a lot of them are unfinished.
00:03:01
Speaker
yes that is definitely the case i'm also finding out that there's a lot of really great games that are in early access on steam only yes and like i have a computer and it and it lucky you would probably play it like most of these are because they're pretty simple games right yeah but i mean i just like playing on my switch i love playing on my switch i agree but it looks like there there might be some stuff coming out soon I don't know if this comes out while the Steam sale is still going on, but because so if for those who are uninitiated, if you're into video games or if you're not or whatever, Steam is a program on computers. they base it I'm going to horribly, horribly describe this.
00:03:43
Speaker
It's basically a hub for all of the fucking PC games, um except for like proprietary ones. Just PC games. Just be right. You're right. They're not all fucking. Exactly. We do have to specify. yes I guess you do. But like that's where you can find all of the games to download for your computer on Steam.
00:04:01
Speaker
Well, a couple times a year they do like these really ridiculous drastic sales where like games that are normally $50 might be $5 or $10 or whatever. And other marketplaces like on the Switch will sometimes mirror some of those sales. Yeah. So...
00:04:15
Speaker
It's a good time to shop for shit. ah There's a ah game called Bramble I saw this morning software like $3. I think that might have been one that I was going to send you. I'll look at it later. yeah was like yeah It's like a ah Scandinavian horror platformer, I guess. That sounds awesome. so yeah so And it's $3. Yeah, that does make me feel better when they're unfinished. if they're like Under think that's pricey. It's like yeah yeah ten ten dollars and under is my threshold for like unfinished tester games right or like just as long as i if i get an afternoon of enjoyment after that you can't get an afternoon for of enjoyment for ten dollars i mean you can you can but like if you're gonna go pay for something i mean you can't get a movie for that like yeah yeah like that you can't do shit but i can sit in my house for a few hours and play games speaking of sitting around in your house for a few hours and playing games yeah
00:05:12
Speaker
So, like, we've been we've been doing that a lot around here because it's Bashy's birthday week. Yes. And so I took off the week so just that I can spend time with him and have fun. But, you know, while he's napping or sleeping or whatever, I've been...
Puppy Tales and Humorous Shedding Stories
00:05:27
Speaker
Doing my cozy gaming and I've noticed, I think I told you that Fern was shedding really bad. The new new new big puppy, Fern. You didn't tell me, but I didn't have to ask. She was... Oh, yeah. Actively just losing her coat on your face.
00:05:41
Speaker
Well, yeah. I mean, I i always wear black. i Like, I've gotten to the point where I, okay, I gave her, i brushed her. I gave her a bath with, like, those scrubby things that are supposed to help loosen the fur.
00:05:55
Speaker
I blow-dried her. i do I did the little... Like, it's supposed to thin out their undercoat. So I did that. Oh, my gosh. The hair just keeps on coming.
00:06:06
Speaker
Like, I ain't just... She's so clean, though. she's She's getting so many baths, but she just sheds so much. It's to the point where my spider webs actually have fur hair in them. I'm not even kidding. I will take a picture of one right next to one of like my back door that has just like fur in it.
00:06:25
Speaker
That's ridiculous. Yeah. the spiders are like, what the fuck is this? This is why am I getting alerted for this? So that's my life. Just being covered in hair after I just cut my hair. That's how tired I am of this.
00:06:39
Speaker
Everyone else in my house has longer hair than I do at this point. um Do we want to get started today?
Website Technical Issues and Feedback Encouragement
00:06:47
Speaker
I guess. Okay. Before we do, i do want to say if you're you've been on the site, I don't remember when it happened. It's probably been about like a week where there's been some kind of weird thing going on with Squarespace and some of the coding for like a specific thing. and Not to get too into it.
00:07:07
Speaker
The site is down. have not abandoned it. So just g give it like a week or two and She has to rebuild everything. Yes.
00:07:18
Speaker
Everything. Every single episode of show notes. so So by the time you get this, it'll probably be done. It will. Yeah, no pressure. But if in case it's not, or even if it is, feel free to reach out because the comment thing still works. You can comment or send us an email.
00:07:35
Speaker
But if there's anything about the page that you don't like and you're like, why the fuck is this a thing? Please make it stop. Or like, hey, I really would like more of this instead. Let me know. I'll fix it. Now's the time.
00:07:46
Speaker
Nightmare Cottage at gmail.com. There you go. Go to the contact us and just do it.
Earliest Memories of Fear - Childhood Nightmares
00:07:52
Speaker
Also stickers. Stickers. still have stickers. Yes. So if you need any, I'll send it twice to the same place. I don't care.
00:08:07
Speaker
Do you remember the first time you were scared? Like the first time you noticed it? I mean, I feel like,
00:08:17
Speaker
I mean, probably. Probably, yeah. I mean, most of the time it was nightmares for me because I had night terrors a lot as a kid. Yeah, we did talk about that. Yeah. Yeah. And the doll.
00:08:29
Speaker
Yeah, the doll one. Yeah. But I think another one that's kind of funny that stands out but scared the shit out of me at the time because I was a kid, if that's what you're asking me. Yes, yes, yes, yes. It was around the same time that I had that doll dream where I turned into the doll.
00:08:46
Speaker
But it was my my pre-preschool teacher. um Her name was Miss Ogle. Miss Ogle, if you're out there listening, I had a dream about But yeah, no, it she was –
00:09:03
Speaker
This is going to sound really fucked up because I was like maybe four or five because it was pre preschool. And I remember having a dream about my teacher being in the fireplace, but she wasn't like burning. She was just tiny.
00:09:18
Speaker
Like a tiny little like, like almost like the fireplace was a TV screen. Right. And the teacher was in the fireplace. And so was Barney. And her and Barney were in the fireplace. And they were like doing weird things like just dancing.
00:09:32
Speaker
And then like they went like to a part of the fireplace I couldn't see. And right next to the fireplace in this apartment at the time was a glass double door.
00:09:44
Speaker
And so I looked her around the corner and they came out of the closet like full size. shit. But their face was all messed up. Messed up how? Like it was just like it looked all melty and stuff. Oh.
00:09:55
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know. I don't see faces in dreams most of the time. But yeah, that was really scary for me because I was four. And so. Yeah. I mean, that would be scary.
00:10:06
Speaker
like now. um yeah How about you? So the first thing I remember being afraid of is the slamming door at the end of the song Thriller from Michael Jackson.
00:10:20
Speaker
So anybody who is not aware, Thriller. Big major song in the 80s. You've probably heard it at Halloween, even even if you don't think you know it. It ends at the end with Vincent Price cackling, which is one of my favorite sounds in life now. i almost had to put a ringtone on my phone for the first time ever. And I was going to put his laugh, but then I decided if somebody needed me at 3 a.m., m which is why I needed a ringtone.
00:10:44
Speaker
Waking up to Vincent Price cackling is probably not. Might ruin it for you. Maybe. I don't know. Maybe. i still Jury's still out. But after he cackles, the door slams and I'm still like real it's like a startle it was but because I knew it was coming because it was the song you hear it occasionally right The anticipation of knowing it was going to happen.
00:11:08
Speaker
i would just close my eyes and plug my ears. I'd get just really upset when the song would even come on ah But yeah, that's that's what we're going to talk about today, the psychology of fear. I think I mentioned in the last episode that this is when everyone else joins me in the celebration of Halloween.
00:11:22
Speaker
You know, since Halloween starts on November 1st and ends on October thirty first I was like, wait.
00:11:31
Speaker
That's the first day of Halloween. Sorry. i i I apologize for being extra about that. No, you know what? I don't apologize for being extra about Halloween. Yeah, fuck everyone. She loves Halloween.
00:11:42
Speaker
I don't think anybody who hated Halloween probably wouldn't would be here listening. That's not true. Maybe they're listening to just be like, i fuck those bitches. Hate hate listening? Hate listening. Yeah. Yeah. Any hate listeners out there, you let me know what you don't like and I'll help you with doing it.
00:11:57
Speaker
nightmare cottage at gmail.com yeah ah um but every october people willingly subject themselves to fake gore jump scares and chainsaw wielding actors uh horror movies flood every streaming service and movie theater as people seek out terror and fear on purpose halloween lets everyone experience terror in a fun safe and socially acceptable ways So it was a combination of that shower thought and the fact that a free for now audio book I had downloaded was about to go away.
Inspiration from 'Nightmare Fuel' and Psychology of Fear
00:12:28
Speaker
What book was it?
00:12:29
Speaker
It was, it's called Nightmare Fuel, actually. and Which is how it caught my eye, right? so It's Nightmare Fuel, The Science of Horror Films by Nina Nessif. So it was free on Audible and I had downloaded it a long time ago when I was researching, I think, for the final girl episode.
00:12:45
Speaker
And I got a little alert that it was going to be going away by now. ah So I had listened to it and was really interesting. So like half of everything I'm saying and comes from that book. So that book is what made me like I had a different topic planned for today. is This made me change everything. Okay. So so first we're going to get a little sciencey and break down the biology of it all.
00:13:06
Speaker
Most fear pathways are located in the limbic system. Which is? It regulates emotions and ah hormones, basically. And it's we're primarily looking at the amygdala, the hypothalamus, and the hippocampus.
00:13:21
Speaker
So all your brain stuff. Your brain stuff. Your brain biz. Your brain biz. Not all of it, just those parts Just those parts of your brain biz. So the amygdala is both kind of like a processor and a hard drive. Okay. It kind of sorts your fears out into categories and sends it off to be processed.
00:13:33
Speaker
You know, what kind of fear you're going to be experiencing. What flavor of fear are we seeing today? You laugh, but that's basically it. Yeah. It's just funny. Yeah. It's basically where the memories are stored, where fear memories are stored, and which help the process of determining how to handle each fear and put like fight, flight, or other, which I'll explain, expand. Okay.
00:13:53
Speaker
Yeah. Arousal. Nope. They're all F's. so Okay. Well, fuck. No, wait. And that's actually not, I mean, we'll get there. We'll get there. I don't like that. We're going to get there. Okay.
00:14:06
Speaker
Oh, all right. So we that was the amygdala. So the hippocampus helps sort fear by associating fear memories to provide your brain with a context for why it's afraid for if or why it's afraid.
00:14:18
Speaker
So that you can judge fight or flight. Right. It's like, is this weird sound a threat or is it the house settling? yeah You know, that kind of thing. And then the hypothalamus controls hormone production and release.
00:14:29
Speaker
So once the amygdala and hippocampus have determined if here is appropriate. That's going to get that adrenaline rush. Exactly. It floods the body with whichever hormone that is appropriate for the moment or whichever one it thinks is appropriate for the moment.
00:14:42
Speaker
um Outside of the limbic system, we also have the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex that monitors your self-control and helps your body determine if if it needs to freak out more or if it's good.
00:14:55
Speaker
Okay. So now in the event of a jump scare or other an unanticipated fright, like if you don't have... Like you have even letter yeah even less time than that instinct, right? The limbic system is completely bypassed and the brainstem goes into action with reflexes.
00:15:12
Speaker
So that's what you, you know. Yeah, startle. Right. These processes all have evolutionary roots in human development. Some of the ways our bodies process and react to fear stimuli likely came from prehistoric human responses to threats like poisonous spiders and snakes or distrust of different human species or different species of hominids. I'm just like imagining like one of those early humans kind of like laying in the grasses, just watching the prey waiting and then just a spider like jump scaring them. and the pool And then just finding a way to light it on fire. Because that's what we do.
00:15:47
Speaker
we light things on we we We light things on fire, not spiders. Spiders are not things. They are living creatures. And they're so cute. Exactly.
00:15:58
Speaker
We both sent each other pictures of spiders today. Oh my I, I will tell you, speaking of spiders, I'm so sorry. I'm just going to off on tangent. Yeah. So there's this, there's this person that has these little jumping spiders and I love them so much because they always have videos of them like booping their little spiders, like giving them little high fives. And they're like, really, you could befriend a spider. Like all you got to do is this. And I'm like,
00:16:23
Speaker
I kind want to though. I know. I kind of want to, but I'm just like really afraid that it's going to be like the one time I do, it's going to like get in my eye or something and freak me out. See, that that's not even where I was going with it. i just I know that something horrible would go wrong with the whole situation or I'd get too attached and it would die.
00:16:40
Speaker
ah Yeah. That would happen to you. Yes, it would. You would like make it a house and everything. Well, see, i have my kitchen spiders. And when... and someone keeps killing them.
00:16:51
Speaker
You know? They keep going missing. You should start putting their pictures on your cartons of milk and see what your family does. um How Nim gets... What's the word?
00:17:06
Speaker
Institutionalized? Yes. Yes. why that's not the exact word but yes along as institutionalized sound name gets institutionalized
00:17:15
Speaker
anyways anyways fear spurs different kinds of reactions we already talked about fight or flight but there's actually three other f's to add the list okay in addition to fight and flight we also have freeze
Fear Responses and Personal Tendencies
00:17:28
Speaker
yes fright And friend or flirt or fun or fuck, i guess, depending um on on whose work you're reading or whatever. Yeah.
00:17:39
Speaker
Some of them are pretty clear. Fight, you go on the offensive against the threat. Flight, you GTFO and flee the threat. Mm-hmm. Freeze. This is where you don't move at all. And that's most useful if staying hidden is the best course of action. That's what Ace does whenever I like come in the room and I'm like, what the fuck?
00:17:55
Speaker
Yes, he does exactly that. yeah No, that's the, you know, I think that might actually be fright. Which, well, no, it's not. That's like a catatonic inability to move. yeah It's like the ah real for like ah unconscious freezing. Like the sleep paralysis. And deer in the headlights kind of situation, right?
00:18:14
Speaker
um It's markedly less strategic. And then finally we have the friend flirt fawn fuck. Basically trying to win over the threat as a form of self-preservation. i feel like that's what I would do.
00:18:25
Speaker
I'd be like lucked. I mean, me too. sure we could cut a deal here. i Same, but not in any kind of like weird, dirty, nefarious thing. No.
00:18:38
Speaker
i'm I just find myself very charming. Exactly. I think that I would be able to. Like I'm thinking in like scream terms, right? Like you that that scream dude's coming after you and you're like, hold on.
00:18:49
Speaker
Like there has to be a reason you're doing this, right? Like it can't just be like that you want to murder me. Like let's talk about it. Like what what are you what you trying to get out of this? Like maybe I can help you. Maybe I can schedule some of these appointments for you if you need me to. you Skeet Ulrich or Matthew Lillard?
00:19:06
Speaker
I don't know words. um The two guys that are in script. like Skeet Ulrich is the the boyfriend and and Matthew Lillard's the funny one. There is something st about Matthew Ulrich that has always... Skeet Ulrich or Matthew Lillard?
00:19:24
Speaker
Matthew Lillard. There is something about Matthew Lillard that I've always really enjoyed. i think I first saw him in 13 Ghosts. I first saw him in SLC Punk.
00:19:36
Speaker
SLC Punk! I forgot about him in SLC Punk. So yeah, there's always been like, he does a lot of really... cool stuff like very diverse roles yeah but his face is so much the same he has the Nicolas Cage effect without without taking over the whole movie yeah I was gonna say he's far more charming about it in my opinion yes like no he's playing the same character but with depth every single time right different layers of that character man is he in stuff these days I miss him yeah is he cool yeah I've actually seen him oh he's been in this amazing I think it's called
00:20:14
Speaker
Good Girls. That's what it's called. um I think it was on Netflix. Good Girls. Okay. Yeah. He played the the husband, the helpless husband who is a fuck up, but also not.
00:20:26
Speaker
A lovable fuck up? Yes. No, no. No. No, he's a piece shit. It's fine, though. His wife is, too. Anyways. Got it. I'm sorry. We've totally gone on tangent. Moving on. That's cool. Fear. Fear.
00:20:38
Speaker
fear Fear is entertainment is a huge industry between horror, haunts, and lore. Why do some people enjoy controlled fear? Why do they seek it out? We've never been to a haunted house together, right?
00:20:49
Speaker
No, because I'm too afraid. Okay, I was gonna say- And you guys are too not afraid. And Monkey would probably laugh. he would not. No, no. Here's here's the thing. I love haunted houses.
00:21:00
Speaker
I'm actually a lot better about them now than I ah used to be. i mean, I just laugh now because it's all very funny and fun and just delightful to me. But earlier, when I would still be a scaredy bitch, he would just hold on to me. Yeah, but that youre you're his, well, now his wife, but- Well, you're his person. that That is very different. You're actually one of his people, too. He would protect you with his life.
00:21:22
Speaker
Yes. But that knowing he's very logical. Look, I know this because I am him. Right. Yes. ok They are. They are the same person. And me and Ace are the same person. It's weird. It's a really weird relationship we have going on.
00:21:34
Speaker
Anyways, moving on. Sorry. Sorry. But for real, though, he would. that that's ah that's that's a protected thing because that's because fear is delicate, yeah right? you know so um he He is a hilarious asshole sometimes, but not not when it can make things bad, you know? yeah yeah And like that would also ruin a haunted house for a person, is fucking with them like that. They would never want to go again, and he knows better. He wants people to come back, right? Yeah. Yeah.
00:22:02
Speaker
anyways yeah But you like horror movies now. I do. I like horror movies as long as they're not Home Invasion, which we've talked about. Right. Okay. So what is it that draws you to horror movies specifically? What is it you're going to watch? The Adrenaline Rush. You are going for that.
00:22:19
Speaker
Yes. Okay. Okay. I don't know what it is. Actually, that's exactly why i used to love roller coasters too. I loved that falling feeling, that pit you get right as you go to the top and you're falling over and you're weightless and your heart is in your stomach.
00:22:32
Speaker
I love that. And so it's the same thing with horror movies, especially movies. i don't i We've talked about this. I don't watch a lot of i watch a lot of TV, but when I'm looking at like fast media, like online or even games, I don't listen to the to music, right?
00:22:48
Speaker
And horror is very score-based. You need that that score. You do, yeah. Because otherwise, it's either really funny or nonsensical. Another thing off completely off topic that you made me think of You should look up.
00:23:03
Speaker
There's a clip of the last scene in Star Wars A New Hope. No music. like The music is just off. And now they're just like, ah! No, no. It's it's the like a little award ceremony at the end where it's just...
00:23:16
Speaker
Han Solo and Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker walking down the aisle to get their medals from Princess Leia. And like there's the audience and everything. So in the movie, there's this grand John Williams score.
00:23:29
Speaker
and And the only other thing you really hear is Chewie doing his... but That thing, yeah. And... But without the music, everybody's making weird looks at each other. like Like, just everybody's reactions and expressions are just so awkward if you don't have the music. it's like and I feel like awkwardness is even its own form of fear, too, that if you really think about it.
00:23:52
Speaker
That's what my anxiety is made of. yeah Sorry to to circle back here. No, I'm not sorry. It's our podcast.
00:24:03
Speaker
So to your point, horror film, as far as like you watch it for the adrenaline, they do they they build them for you, basically.
Horror Films and Primal Survival Mechanisms
00:24:10
Speaker
and They use psychology and your biology to manipulate your brain and body.
00:24:14
Speaker
Every jump scare, eerie sound or unsettling visual is carefully crafted to trigger primal survival mechanisms buried deep in human biology. But I feel like even that, it has to be like a button. Like you press it so many times, you're going to get, it's going to get worn out, right? Yeah, desensitizing is a thing. Yeah. Absolutely it is. Yeah. didn't even think about it that way. Yeah, you're right.
00:24:34
Speaker
Yeah. And it's, ah that's part of the craft of it, though. Like they they'll take what you're expecting. Yes. And subvert it and fuck you up anyway. Yes. You know, so.
00:24:45
Speaker
But when you sense danger, whether it's a masked figure lurking in a hallway or a violin screech in a dark forest, your amygdala lights up. Telling your body to go into fight or flight mode. Your heart races, your pupils dilate, and your body floods with adrenaline.
00:24:59
Speaker
All while you sit safely on your couch eating popcorn. What kind of popcorn? Delicious popcorn. It needs be kettle corn. Oh no. Oh, you eat regular popcorn? I don't like sweet popcorn.
00:25:12
Speaker
I don't like regular popcorn. don't like buttery popcorn. I don't necessarily like, but so here's what I do. I have one of those, um you pour olive oil into it and you pump it and then you can spray the olive oil.
00:25:23
Speaker
so it's Oh yeah. It's like, yeah. it's like, tastee has one of those it's like cooking spray yeah with real oil. Right. So I'll spray that and toss the popcorn in it and then I'll put the salt on top of that. That's how I leave. So you get naked popcorn and...
00:25:36
Speaker
Yeah, I do. i have this really cool little bowl thing that I can microwave. like And I get the this Amish popcorn that's really big and fluffy and awesome. I've never heard of this. This is one of my favorite snacks in the world. You need to like make this for your haunted movie night.
00:25:53
Speaker
Okay. I always have a giant bag of it in my pantry. It's it's a staple in my house. yeah I think that would be a really good idea. like You should make... that how have we never how have i never talked to you about my popcorn i don't know because we've talked about like because i started making that chocolate covered popcorn like i don't know why we've never had this conversation why are we learning so many new things a decade later yeah this is why we have a podcast not so we can share our dark coziness with everybody but so we can get to know each other that's true it sorry guys you're along for the ride i'm not you're along while we fall in love over horror stories
00:26:31
Speaker
<unk> have a good response oh shit horror filmmakers know exactly how to provoke those reactions they use jump scares to trigger reflexive flinching they use uncanny visuals like dolls or human-like creatures yes to exploit our discomfort with things that are almost normal what i hate the most is that violin or that cholo the two yeah you know what i'm talking about yeah i know exactly what you're talking about your point they use sound design sudden silences heartbeats whispers or those yeah jolting violin screeches to build anticipation and make you lean in just before they scare the shit out of you but it's not all about terror a well-constructed scare also activates your reward system which is the the why you enjoy it yeah after the panic your brain releases dopamine giving you a thrill
00:27:19
Speaker
That's why people laugh after screaming. You survived the scare and your body rewards you for it. It's yay, we did it. Exactly. That's exactly what it is. um Horror works because it hijacks your biology. Oh, so it might be a good way to boost your self-esteem. Just go to a horror house. A horror house.
00:27:36
Speaker
A whore house. No, go to a haunted house and boost your your dopamine and self-esteem along the way. You heard it here first on Nightmare Therapy. Yeah. this is not official health advice but for entertainment purposes only but yeah it it it lets you feel fear in a safe and controlled environment and it tricks your brain into enjoying it it's science with things There's also a level of social bonding that happens with shared things.
00:28:10
Speaker
Yes. We survived that together. We did the thing. Nothing builds trust like clinging to your friend while screaming and running from a guy in a burlap sack. So now let's look at the psychology of anticipation and surprise as fear is often about the buildup.
00:28:23
Speaker
Yeah. Anticipation activates the imagination. The music builds as you slowly turn the corner and right when you are sure you're about to be attacked, The cat jumps out.
00:28:34
Speaker
You're lulled into a false sense of safety only for the real threat to jump out. Surprise is the key. Jump scares work because of uncertainty. and know you didn't have a lot of trick or treating experiences as a kid. When you did go, was there ever?
00:28:47
Speaker
Did you just do malls? Did you ever do houses? Only really as a teenager. So was there ever any of those houses that looked like really scary and yes like you would expected something to jump out at you? Yes.
00:28:58
Speaker
Like, is am I going to get candy or am I going to get trauma? Well, I think I told you this past Halloween. Oh, my gosh. We'd started this podcast on around last Halloween. And we're about to do another one here and a couple. Well, in a month and well not a month and 20 something days. Well, and when people get this like two weeks.
00:29:17
Speaker
Yeah. Exactly. So i know, i remember last year was when Bash really started kind of understanding what was happening. And we were actually able to go door to door. he was still not quite vocal yet.
00:29:30
Speaker
But there was this one house that I could see had those like, those spiders that like, when you get in a proximity, and they jump out at you or or like pop open or whatever. Right.
00:29:41
Speaker
And I was like, so I had to stop and be like, okay. you're this is what's going to happen. um I just need to be ready for it. And he was like very nervous, but he walked very slowly and he's like, oh, oh.
00:29:55
Speaker
And then it happened and he goes, oh, And then he started laughing, just like you said. It was that it was that like, ah like uncertainty. And then that jolt.
00:30:06
Speaker
And then even though he knew it was coming. i love that. Yes. That's so great. Okay. So I remember a few of these houses that were like that. I don't remember skipping any. And now you are that house. That's why. No, I'm not.
00:30:19
Speaker
Most clearly, I remember two stuffed scarecrow kind of things sitting on chairs on a porch and That's because we were Jeepers Creepers kids. Well, spoiler alert, one of these was not a scare. ah They just jumped and went rawr. That's not okay. You don't do that. You don't do that.
00:30:34
Speaker
So I remember screaming loudly, but I don't remember running away. like And I would love to set up a scare, but I don't want to make anybody cry. yeah no. i What I should do is wait for when the teenagers come up, because I absolutely give anybody who comes to to trick or treat at my house on Halloween gets candy. i don't care what age you are. If you're in costume, if you come by my house on Halloween,
00:30:52
Speaker
If we order food, you get candy. I don't care. everybody Everybody can get candy. But if we get, maybe the teenagers, I can have monkeys scare them. I don't know. me, any time. That's you get your house egged, huh? Well, it's more the involuntary punch kick.
00:31:09
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And, you know, other forms of violence when people get scared. I suppose that's true. I don't know. But I'm a scaredy cat. So. Yeah. I'm scared of scaring other people because then they'll hurt me. And I don't want, again, i just don't want to make the experience negative for anybody because it's, I want everybody to celebrate it, you know? Yeah. Yeah.
00:31:27
Speaker
But to that end, um I'm going to touch a little bit on fear and childhood
Children's Attraction to Spooky Experiences
00:31:31
Speaker
development. Okay. Good to know. So kids tend to gravitate towards spooky stuff within limits, but only when it's delivered in like a safe, playful, age-appropriate package.
00:31:42
Speaker
Think giggling at googly-eyed monsters, spooky kids' books like Goosebumps, or walking through a haunted house with one eye open and a firm grasp on mom. Yeah. There is a thrill to safe scares.
00:31:54
Speaker
Kids are our natural explorers, and fear is one of the things they're wired to explore in small doses. Yeah. Playful fear is how children begin to understand boundaries between safe and unsafe, real and imaginary, fun and too much.
00:32:08
Speaker
Halloween provides a ritualized space for this. It's a big spooky sandbox where kids can pretend to be something scary, encounter fear in a controlled way, and learn that being scared doesn't always mean being in danger.
00:32:18
Speaker
Think of it as emotional strength training. Halloween is a gym for building resilience through rubber spiders and spooky music. Kids use imaginative play to work through complex emotions, including fear.
00:32:30
Speaker
At ages four through seven, which Bash is now entering. That's the fun times. Children often experience magical thinking. They may believe that monsters are real, but they also believe that they can defeat them with a flashlight and a blanket.
00:32:45
Speaker
Oh, fair enough. I was trying to logic my way out of this. That might be the problem. Have you ever played Scribblenauts? Just what I... It's not. That's a whole other tangent.
00:32:56
Speaker
ah Halloween lets kids personify fear and often control it. They can dress as a monster, laugh at a jump scare, or claim mastery over going through a spooky haunted house. It's practiced for real life, but with fewer consequences and more candy.
00:33:10
Speaker
But there's a limit. While many kids enjoy spooky play, too much fear shuts everything down. Developmentally, children have a hard time separating fiction from reality until ages seven to nine. Traumatizing scares like ultra realistic haunted houses or terrifying masks can create long term aversions or worse, an early hatred of Halloween. oh I know.
00:33:31
Speaker
Can't have that. Age appropriate fear is the key. What's fun for a 10 year old might traumatize a four year old. Maybe go for Casper and not the conjuring. Yes. A lot of monsters associated with Halloween reflect common fears.
00:33:46
Speaker
Vampires can represent fear of sex or disease or the social elite, while zombies evoke fear of conformity, consumerism, and collapse. Clowns are chaos, deception, and betrayed trust, and werewolves are repressed rage and dual identity.
00:34:01
Speaker
ghosts cover guilt grief and unresolved trauma robots can be fear of replacement or fear of ai listen i did not ask for a therapy appointment too bad now i feel like um lucy from charlie brown with her five cent therapy yeah therapist is in i was gonna make my desk like that like put a cardboard thing like that yeah for yeah but i don't ever work on halloween because i was off that week you should still have it period you're right So horror movies are also their cultural time capsules for our fear.
Horror Films as Reflections of Societal Fears
00:34:33
Speaker
Fear trends shift with the times, and our media reflects that. In the 1930s and 40s, there was a collective fear of the unknown and otherness. This is when we had the Great Depression. it was just before World War two Science was making advancements, many of which fell in the more worried about if we could than if we should category.
00:34:50
Speaker
We see this reflected in Dracula in 1931 a fear of a foreign invader. Frankenstein, 1931 science going too far and man playing God. And the Wolfman, 1941 with the uncontrollable beast within.
00:35:05
Speaker
That whole collection, yeah. Oh, yeah. In the 1950s, we had nuclear panic and the Red Scare. This is the beginning of the Cold War and paranoia was thick. With themes of mutation, invasion, and conformity, we saw these fears depicted in Invasion of the Bounty Snatchers in 1956, which could either be an allegory for communist infiltration or for mindless conformity, as well as The Thing from Another World from 1951. The Thing from Another World. Yeah. With its suspicion of outsiders and fear of the unknown. I really didn't expect you to know that movie. You make my heart happy. Yeah.
00:35:37
Speaker
The 1960s had a lot of psychological horror and commentary on civil rights. Psycho in 1960 shows us that madness can hide behind a polite smile. George Romero's Night of the Living Dead from 1968 is frequently noted as commentary on racism, the civil rights movement, and general social breakdown.
00:35:55
Speaker
In the 1970s, we were reeling from the aftermath of the Manson murders, Watergate, the energy crisis, and distrust in religion and government. This brought themes of innocence lost, religious fear, and suburban vulnerability.
00:36:09
Speaker
The Exorcist, 1973, The Omen, 1976, and Carrie, 1976, reflected distrust of religion. The Stepford Wives, 1975, the original, serves gaslighting at its best.
00:36:21
Speaker
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974, shows horrors lurking outside of civilized society. The 1980s brought us the Reagan era, rise of conservatism, the AIDS crisis, and suburban sprawl.
00:36:34
Speaker
Common themes in this time were teenage punishment, moral panic, and fear of the other within safe spaces. 1978 Halloween and sets the tone for the 80s a little earlier, but the final girl trope begins here, and it's like the evil lurking within so of suburbia.
00:36:51
Speaker
Oh, yeah, you're right. I guess there was a lot of like, people have hidden secrets you don't know. Yeah. Your neighbor next door. And same thing with the next one, Nightmare on Elm Street, 1984. Your dreams are no longer safe.
00:37:02
Speaker
Freddy Krueger was a representation of repressed guilt and trauma because that was, you know, the parents had the guilt of all this. Anyways. Watch the movie. You'll understand. Yeah. and We've mentioned a Nightmare on Elm Street on this podcast multiple times. Way too many times.
00:37:15
Speaker
Friday of the 13th, 1980. teenagers are punished for sex, drugs, and bad decisions. The Lost Boys, 1987. Vampires as metaphors for outsider youth and rebellion. Yeah, I feel like vampires have always been outsiders, rebellion, or the upper crust, if you will. Right.
00:37:33
Speaker
Or... The crustiest of the uppers. Or STD stuff. Yeah. also yeah So the ninety s ushered in meta horror and tech anxiety. We had the rise of the internet, mass shootings, and Gen X cynicism.
00:37:46
Speaker
There was a lot of self-awareness, digital anxiety, and media saturation. Scream, as we talked about before, is self-referential and breaks the horror rules by mocking the genre and honoring at the same time.
00:37:57
Speaker
Blair Witch Project, found footage, really kind of took off at this point. Yeah, I feel like found footage really had a moment. It really did. and and it's still kind of hanging on. there's There's some people that still do it well. I do kind of feel like our...
00:38:11
Speaker
slight obsession, if you will, of the found footage type media really, really, really led to that boom of like documentaries, right? Like where you're seeing a lot more of that, like, well, now I can incorporate that found footage real life right of, you know, real life crimes. And then that blurred those lines of those found footage of what is real and what isn't. Right. Yeah.
00:38:34
Speaker
It plays with the reality versus fiction, like you were just saying, and then early internet marketing helping fuel urban legends like that, too. Ringu in Japan in 1998, or the ring in the US in 2002, shows the fear of cursed technology and media consumption.
00:38:48
Speaker
And even fear in animation, too. There's a lot of it. Yeah. the The turn of the century brought us fears of terrorism, lost trust, and an impending apocalypse. This was the time of 9-11, mass surveillance and economic collapse.
00:39:01
Speaker
We were afraid of unseen threats, global pandemics, and we started losing faith in the systems that held things together. i will say even listening to all this, i I'm getting little... Anxiety, yeah. Yeah.
00:39:13
Speaker
Yeah. Sorry. That's why I'm getting quiet. I'm like, this is a bummer. I know. Welcome to my nightmare. 28 Days Later in explored our biological warfare fears.
00:39:25
Speaker
Hostile in 2005 reflected our fears of being powerless abroad. Yes. Down at the Dead in 2004 looked at consumerism and societal collapse. Getting closer to the present in the early 2010s, the shared fears involved social horror and identity, racial injustice, LGBTQIA plus visibility, social media, income ah inequality, all played a role in the collective fears of the time.
00:39:50
Speaker
Privilege, identity, and hidden systems of oppression were key themes. Get Out in 2017 showed us racism mass as liberal tolerance, as well as fear of being modified or erased.
00:40:01
Speaker
Hereditary looked like family trauma, ah grief, and mental illness as horror. And Us in 2019 gave us suppressed social classes. oh Man, that was a fucking good movie. It was, yes.
00:40:13
Speaker
As of the time of this recording, we are midway through the 2020s. The beginning of this decade brought us fears of isolation, dread, and of course, global pandemic. Now we are seeing collective fears of aging, displacement, immigration, assimilation, and more cropping up.
00:40:28
Speaker
Smile in 2022 gave us trauma as something contagious and mental illness as a horror metaphor. Barbarian of 2022, Airbnb gone wrong. Yeah. um Yeah. has Got gender dynamics, trust issues, and the horror of the unknown in familiar places.
00:40:44
Speaker
The Substance 2024 is a body horror and satirical grotesque that deals with aging, beauty standards, celebrity, pressure to stay young, media, and how society discards people, women especially, when they are no longer considered marketable.
00:40:58
Speaker
Sinners in 2025, set in 1932 Mississippi, b blends supernatural horror, Black mythology, and historical context. It focuses on returning to one's roots, confronting racial violence and survival,
00:41:10
Speaker
And because it's period horror, it shows how past injustices still echo how identity, racism, myth, folklore, and historical memory are alive in storytelling and culture. then finally, The Ugly Stepsister from 2025 is a twisted take on Cinderella as satirical body horror slash black comedy.
00:41:27
Speaker
And it's competing for beauty, dealing with the standards of appearance, rivalry, and and how beauty is socially constructed and what ugly means. It's basically body horror as a critique of beauty culture.
00:41:38
Speaker
And I will say like all of these things you've mentioned, right? Like you can see so much of it too in Black Mirror episodes. I know we've brought up Black Mirror so much here, but even like a lot of the stuff you were bringing up where you're like in late 2010s and, you know, midway through 2020, it's like, you're right. And now here we are, the fear of AI, artificial intelligence. Like, I mean, we've always had that.
00:42:01
Speaker
robots are going to take over thing but right where is that leading? I feel like that we're seeing that a lot in our media now if we're going to predict what we'll be talking about you know in the future of what was happening during this time.
00:42:13
Speaker
Yes, for sure. I definitely see AI takeover movies coming in our near future. Yes.
Future Horror Themes: AI and Technology
00:42:18
Speaker
That's all I really had. Fear reminds us that we're alive. It's natural and even healthy to in the right context.
00:42:23
Speaker
Halloween can be the perfect testing ground for our fear. It's temporary, it's pretend, and it's full How do I dress as AI for Halloween? You already are. I don't like that. Don't do that.
00:42:36
Speaker
Have you seen some of those videos that look like real people doing real things? Yes. That are 100% AI? Yeah, there was one of like Elon Musk, I think, out there. Well, there are some that are just like random people. yeah is it It's like, here's our, say our YouTube garden video yeah or whatever. And it's like completely 100% AI. don't like that.
00:42:54
Speaker
i don't like
00:42:57
Speaker
Yeah. There's one that I showed Ace yesterday because I was like, it was... You know those pages on some of some of the social media platforms where it's like it it's like, click here for more info, right? But it's like, it looked like a legit page.
00:43:10
Speaker
And it was like of these massive fossils being found of you know the possibility of ah a larger version of the species like it it all sounded plausible right yeah and so i was like get you yeah and i was showing it to him and i was like is this real and he's like i don't know i don't think it is but usually he can tell really well like you know oh this line is off or the fingers are off or look at their eye or look at the you know what i mean he's so good at like finding the wrongness in the picture i guess you can say
00:43:44
Speaker
We had talked about what we were possibly doing before and you had talked about fear. And so to celebrate our newfound understanding of how fear works – Here is a reminder that danger is lurking everywhere. Thanks.
00:43:59
Speaker
We're going to talk about some of the most bizarre freak accidents I could find out there. um Just like a little mini and series that I might do from time to time of like just little short stories of like what the fuck. um Short stories of what the fuck. Yeah, exactly. I like it.
00:44:12
Speaker
If you're anything like me, these accidents are going to haunt your every waking moment and will pique your anxiety. You are very welcome. Yes. All right. Yeah.
00:44:23
Speaker
So our first one takes place in January of 2022 in downtown Los Angeles, California. Heather Garcia was celebrating her niece's birthday. The family had run at a party bus for the night to just drink, dance, have a good time while they drove around.
00:44:39
Speaker
Have you ever been on a party bus? I have. You have? I have. Did you enjoy it Yes, but it was also the last time I got so drunk I got sick. That's funny because I feel like I would get nauseous, like just just being on the bus.
00:44:53
Speaker
Oh, yeah. No, we were a dancing. Oh, nice. Yeah. drinking, dancing while stuck on a um in traffic sounds horrible. Yeah. To add to the nightmare, the bus was traveling on the freeway and the group was dancing on the bus and enjoying their night.
00:45:08
Speaker
Heather trips and falls against the door of the bus. The door immediately flies open, dumping Heather onto the freeway where she was hit by a vehicle and killed on impact. The worst part, she left behind five children ranging in age from one to ten.
00:45:23
Speaker
So that's extra sad.
00:45:26
Speaker
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You already have questions. How? They said that the door was broken. Like they couldn't get it open initially. Like the guy who was driving the bus said the door like that was not a working door. Like they weren't opening it.
00:45:41
Speaker
So. Seems like you shouldn't use that bus then. Yeah. For the rental. Yeah. I couldn't imagine being the person who hit them like on the highway. oh my God. I didn't even think about that. Yeah. I would feel so guilty. Like I think about that all the time when I used to drive under like overpasses, like especially in like the big city areas where i'm like, please nobody just jump off. Oh my God.
00:46:04
Speaker
Guys, these are only going get worse. like I know that was like a real that was a real easy one. OK, next one takes place in August of 2014. Eight year old Maria Shilsiva of Lashievo, Russia. OK, I'm sorry if you're in Russia and listening to this or Russian. I'm going to butcher this.
00:46:24
Speaker
Chelsea of Lashievo, Russia found the bodies of her parents, brother and grandmother in their basement, which they used as a cellar. Earlier that morning, her father, Mikkel, went into the cellar to get something for the family.
00:46:39
Speaker
When his wife, Anastasia, realized her husband hadn't returned, she became worried and went to look for him in the dark cellar. When both mother and father hadn't returned, their 18-year-old son, Gregory, went into the cellar to look for his parents.
00:46:54
Speaker
He quickly became unresponsive and didn't return either. there gasp? All that remained in the house were eight-year-old Maria and her maternal grandmother, Aradia.
00:47:06
Speaker
I love that name, by the way. Anyways, Aradia called a neighbor to let them know that something suspicious was happening at the house and that they needed help. Unfortunately, Aradia did not wait for help to come and decided to go into the cellar as well, but left the door open on her way down.
00:47:23
Speaker
When her grandmother didn't return, eight-year-old Maria made her way down as well. What she found was her grandmother, parents, and brother all dead on the cellar floor with no apparent wounds. But little Maria was unharmed.
00:47:36
Speaker
Toxicology found there to be some severely rotten potatoes in the cellar that had filled the space with toxic gases. Without a means of escaping, the gas consumed all the oxygen in the room and quickly killed each member of the family as they came to check on the others who had gone down before them. Oh my God. So why didn't Maria succumb to the same fate?
00:47:55
Speaker
Because she left it open and the gas is escape. Exactly. The grandmother had left the cellar door open before going down, allowing the gas to leave the cellar before Maria came down looking for them. So at least she was saved.
00:48:06
Speaker
I didn't realize that potatoes could be so dangerous and I actually threw away some really rotten ones after this. Yeah. Like when i when I read the story. um Yeah. Yeah. When potatoes rot, they release solanine, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia, which are all toxic. Yeah. And especially in a room together will, you know, eat up all the oxygen. That's horrible. Yeah.
00:48:29
Speaker
Realistically, in large spaces, you're probably fine. ah But something like a sealed basement or a cellar, you know, make sure you burp your... your area burp your area burp your areas guys no don't do that don't do that never mind no rewind nope don't rewind fast forward fast forward
00:48:48
Speaker
stay right where you are
00:48:51
Speaker
In another case of strange
Bizarre Freak Accidents and Historical Tales
00:48:53
Speaker
deaths in the home, in September of 1567, long, long time ago, i wait wait the mayor slash governor of Brandu Amin in and Austria was Hans Slinginger.
00:49:07
Speaker
Hans had a four-foot beard. When Hans wasn't sporting his beard in its full glory, he would roll it up and tuck it neatly into his pocket. One night, a fire broke out in the town. Oh, no.
00:49:19
Speaker
And the mayor woke up out of a dead sleep and sprang into action. He dressed up and went to help put out the fires. But as Hans stepped towards the top landing of his staircase, his foot landed on his beard and caused him to tumble forward, and he snapped his neck on the way down. Oh, no. Oh,
00:49:36
Speaker
It gets worse. oh Upon his death, Han's family decided that his beard should live on. Oh. They cut his beard off and kept it as a memento, passing it down from family member to family member over the years. What was it that you called those?
00:49:51
Speaker
Like death mementos? Memento Mori. In 1919, the beard was to the city Bruneau, Amin, where remains this in nineteen nineteen the beard was donated to the city of bruno i'm in where it remains to this day Is it like in a museum, I guess? Yes, it is crazy. i'll put I'll definitely put it on the ah on the show notes.
00:50:09
Speaker
Keeping on with historical places. I think I've asked you this before. Have you ever been to a national park? Mm-hmm. Okay. So ah this one's going to get a little grody.
00:50:22
Speaker
Is it going to be worse than the last time we went to a national park on this podcast? Yes. pray In a sense. So I've been to the, I think it's called Uribe.
00:50:34
Speaker
Wichita? Q-U-A-C-H-I-T-A. I don't know how it's pronounced. Wichita? Probably. National Forest in Oklahoma. um There's also a few in Texas I've been to.
00:50:46
Speaker
I've always wanted to go to Yellowstone, but I'm convinced that if I do, that's when that geyser is going to erupt for good. yeah And I mean, but I guess there's worse places to be because if you're right there, then you'll just die a lot easier.
00:50:58
Speaker
Much quicker. You probably won't know what hit you. Exactly. Anyways. Anyways. So...
Tragic Hot Spring Rescue Story
00:51:03
Speaker
Our next one takes place at Yellowstone National Park in July of 1981. David Allen Kirwan and Ronald Ratliff and Ratliff's dog Moosey were walking through Yellowstone Park one morning.
00:51:16
Speaker
As they were nearing the hot spring known as Celestine Spring, Moose decided to jump into the scalding hot spring for what reason I don't fucking know.
00:51:27
Speaker
temperatures in this spring reach around 200 degrees fahrenheit which is 93 degrees celsius needless to say the dog moose immediately realizes his mistake and is yelping in pain in response david decides to jump in and try to save the dog which is even more odd because it isn't his dog like you would think the other guy would have jumped in for his own fucking dog bystanders are warning david not to get into the hot springs but he's just not listening David took a few steps into the pool before diving head first into the water in an an attempt to swim to the dog faster.
00:52:00
Speaker
David reaches the dog and tries to pull him to safety, but the dog doesn't make it. This is the worst thing you've ever done. Ronald, the dog's owner, is able to pull David out of the hot spring, but he sustained second degree burns on his feet. Ronald did.
00:52:17
Speaker
As David is laying on the ground waiting for emergency services to arrive, he says, quote, that was stupid. How bad am i That was a stupid thing I did. End quote.
00:52:29
Speaker
I'm sorry. this This is about to get worse. so Oh, yeah. and David was in really bad condition. Yeah, your face. Yeah. So you know how you're peeling your hands all over your face. Now imagine your skin's coming off with it.
00:52:40
Speaker
Why would you say that? That's what was happening to him. oh He was in really bad condition. He had lost his sight, um was very pale white ah with his hair falling out. So he was like basically poached.
00:52:53
Speaker
um When a bystander tried to remove one of his shoes, his skin came off with it. He ended up with third degree burns over 100% of his body, and he passed away the next morning at a hospital in Salt Lake City.
00:53:05
Speaker
And Moosey, the dog, was never recovered. So keep your dogs on a leash if they're around dangerous situations, guys. Just saying. I'm very sad. These aren't going to get better.
00:53:18
Speaker
Great. Okay. Are there any more puppies? Maybe. i might have cut that one, but we'll talk about that later. We, of course, had to have a couple that took place in the world of professional sports.
Adam Johnson's Death and Safety Regulations
00:53:30
Speaker
First, the world of hockey. Adam Johnson was an American professional hockey player who played 13 games in the NHL National Hockey League, for those of you who don't know. He moved on to play for European teams for a while, and in the summer of 2023, Johnson debated on retiring from hockey for good.
00:53:48
Speaker
Unfortunately for him, he decided to sign one more season with the Nottingham Panthers for the 2023-2024 season. In October of 2023, Adam Johnson was set to play the Sheffield Steelers before a crowd of 8,000 people during a game at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England.
00:54:07
Speaker
Just 35 minutes into the game, Adam Johnson collided with Steelers player Matt Petgrave. Petgrave's skate kicked up towards Johnson as he began to fall and made impact with Johnson's neck.
00:54:19
Speaker
After the impact, Johnson attempted to skate over to the bench while bleeding heavily onto the ice. He collapsed on the ice before making it to the bench, and shortly after died from his injuries. so Apparently, neck guards are made to prevent this type of injury in hockey, but Adam was not wearing one at the time.
00:54:37
Speaker
They were not mandatory safety requirement for the league that he was in. His death prompted a review of player safety, which in turn made neck guards mandatory for a few different professional hockey leagues starting in 2024.
00:54:49
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. so I mean, good thing he made a change. Yeah. I mean, I guess that's something. I know. i was like, I never thought of that happening in hockey. As I mentioned, hockey isn't the only dangerous sport with an untimely accident mid-event. 2012, 74-year-old Dieter Strach was an official at an athletic event in Dusseldorf, Germany.
00:55:12
Speaker
He was running to measure the distance of a javelin that was thrown by a 16-year-old competitor. Dieter, an experienced judge, was so good at measuring these distances that he just so happened to stop right in the spot where the spear was landing.
00:55:26
Speaker
It's about to get graphic, guys. The one and a half pound javelin steel tip landed in the official's cheek and dropped down into his neck. In response, Dieter shouted, grabbed the javelin, pulled it out of his neck and dropped to the ground.
00:55:41
Speaker
All of this while a crowd of 800 spectators and the 16 year old competitor watched on. Oh, my God. Yes. Needless to say, he ruptured an artery in his neck and passed away the next morning.
00:55:55
Speaker
Apparently it's common for um an experienced judge to run towards the javelin when it's still in the air. Like, you know, like they're just like running towards it because it's, it's, they're trying to get the call made.
00:56:05
Speaker
There's nothing in the rule saying not to do it, but like, I don't know. You couldn't pay me enough to run towards like something that is like hurling towards the ground. Cause I did physics and geometry and understand how that's going to end. Right.
00:56:19
Speaker
like That's the end of Dieter. Yeah. Our next one's a short one. Short, sweet, to the point. You'll get that later. no. no This takes place in 2003. 31-year-old Jane McDonald was visiting her friend, a distant relative, Reverend Sharon Colvin, at their home in Lenarckshire, Scotland. Jane had been tidying up the kitchen before bed and slipped and fell onto the open, loaded dishwasher. oh She fell directly onto a kitchen knife that was facing upright. Why? Jane was able to pull herself up but collapsed onto the kitchen floor.
00:56:52
Speaker
Sharon found Jane on the floor, bleeding out, and called for emergency help. Jane passed away from blood loss shortly after the paramedics arrived. Apparently a similar incident happened in 1997 to a 12 year old boy in Scotland as well.
00:57:05
Speaker
So if you're one of those lazy people like me who put your knives in the dishwasher, make sure they're facing blade side down because fate is scary. I'm sorry. Just because physics, physics.
00:57:19
Speaker
ah Oh my God. And, and Schrodinger's gun too. You're, you're introducing it. The idea that... Chekhov's gun. Chekhov's gun? Schrodinger's cat. Chekhov's gun. I'm sorry. Chekhov's gun.
00:57:30
Speaker
Except knife. Right. Which means if it's in the scene, it's going to go off. Exactly. slash stab. Or stab. Or slash. Or slash. All right. We're fired.
00:57:42
Speaker
Our final one is a bit of a tall tale. don't like you. don't like you. This one takes place in Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas.
00:57:54
Speaker
I've actually been here and it's pretty cool. It's one of those safari parks where you stay in your car and drive through like I think it's like 1800 acres of land and mostly free range exotic animals. There's dinosaur prints there too, yeah? Yes, the dinosaur, there's a dinosaur park next door, which isn't as shitty as it sounds. Like, it's actual, like, real fossils and stuff. not They do have some of, like, the fake metal dinosaurs, but they're cool.
00:58:18
Speaker
Anyways. Hey, all fake metal dinosaurs are cool. Yes. So, what could go wrong for your and exotic animals, right? So, in October of 2023, Carrie Hill visited the Wildlife Center At this place, they let the giraffes free roam in an area and they come up to the car and eat out of your hand.
00:58:37
Speaker
I hate it because their tongues freak me out and they're disgusting. You're so cute. They're so cute. So cute. Giving me heartburn. So they have their sunroof open and the giraffe is shoving its face in the top of the car and getting like all snacked up.
00:58:54
Speaker
who And all of a sudden the giraffe loses its balance and falls over onto the car and hits the windshield. It's failing, trying to get up, just crashing all over the car while the windshield is caving in and on on these people.
00:59:07
Speaker
The giraffe does finally make it out of the car, and he's okay. Luckily, no one's injured. But can you imagine trying to explain this to your boss the next day or the insurance company?
00:59:18
Speaker
That a giraffe fell on your car, crushed it, Also, like, I wonder what insurance this would be covered under because that part, not only from going there, do I know this, but also on the page that I read this, they make you sign a waiver saying that they are not responsible for any damage that happens. So, like, that giraffe just fell on your car. I really wonder if you're going covered.
00:59:45
Speaker
But in all seriousness, this is one of those parks where the animals are pretty well behaved. Don't super try it to attack you. I just went to one outside of Dallas once and it had llamas chasing me and holding the car hostage until we like proved to them that we didn't have food. oh my God. Yeah.
01:00:00
Speaker
How do you prove to a llama don't food? You show them the empty bucket and you're like, it's empty. And they like they're like, okay. And then they like run off. But otherwise they'll like run in front of the car and stop so that you can't go.
01:00:11
Speaker
This is like grim. Anytime I walk into the kitchen for any reason at all, he tries to dive in front of my feet to either murder me or get a treat. I'm not sure which he wants more.
01:00:22
Speaker
The fossil rim center did confirm that the giraffe was okay after the incident. And that as of 2023, this is the first incident of its kind in their 11 years on the site. So that's good. Yeah. It's not like a common occurrence, but it was more just like one of those, like, what the fuck?
01:00:40
Speaker
Like that can happen. That's a thing. That's that's great. I was already not happy about it having its tongue in my roof. And now like the whole thing can just cave in to my roof.
01:00:51
Speaker
well I guess anything really can. Can it? what Lots of big, heavy animals can. Yeah. Yeah. And that's it. Those are my yeah crazy, bizarre accidents for this fucked series.
Nightmare Fuel Segment: Personal Horror Stories
01:01:04
Speaker
R.I.P. Moosey. Yeah, R.I.P. Moosey. And all of those people, too. So do you have any nightmare fuel today? do have nightmare fuel.
01:01:15
Speaker
I'm sorry if you guys hear Sebastian slamming everything in the background. I'm not. He does that. He's allowed. His name is Bash. It is. He's gonna bash things. It's true. It's like bandit. So I have Bam Bam.
01:01:29
Speaker
I forgot about Bam Bam. Sorry. um I have two Nightmare Fuels. Okay. First one is my potentially my favorite horror movie.
01:01:40
Speaker
Definitely my most frequently watched horror movie because I watch it multiple times a year is Trick or Treat. It's from 2007. right And it's just like the most Halloween-y of all Halloween things. i if If I ever need or want to be in the Halloween vibes, I watch Trick or Treat. its It is a good movie, but man, his face. I always forget that they do end up showing his actual face. For like a second. It's such a small part of the movie. ah Close your damn eyes, Ben. It's gross. His face looks gross.
01:02:12
Speaker
Well, so does the inside of a pumpkin. That's true. It looks like a prolapsed pumpkin. That's basically what he is
01:02:22
Speaker
The other piece of nightmare feel I have, and this is going to be the first probably of several game recommendations I make, but after you inspired me to play Oregon Trail, I found...
01:02:35
Speaker
organ trail like organs like your organs it's um it's on switch and steam at least i don't know what else it's on but it's basically like very pixelized basically it's organ trail but it's there's zombies and um it's the apocalypse you're going from city to city trying to get safe and uh that sounds awesome and it's ah oh actually i i took screenshots and i'll i can't um I'll show you through this podcast. No, you, personally, this bitch.
01:03:04
Speaker
I named the characters Nim, Nyleen, Ace, and Monkey. Nice. And Bash, because I had five. So unfortunately... How dare you? Why would you do that to my baby? Well, I don't know. Some of the text that came out of this was just like really fucking hilarious, which I'll just have to show you later, because I'm not going to sit here and try to find it.
01:03:21
Speaker
Yeah, I had to take pictures of some of the things that were happening on the screen. was pretty hilarious. But it's like a short... thing i think i bought it for five bucks but it's oregon or a o r g a n o-r-g-a-n oregon trail for it's just a silly good time
01:03:40
Speaker
would you rather greet every stranger with a passionate french kiss stand naked on a pedestal in times square for an entire day one day it is kind of like didn't we do this one already no okay i thought we did no because i would choose if i but i would choose that we did We did nudes online. You're right. Okay.
01:04:00
Speaker
So yeah. We did not actually do nudes online. I just realized I need to qualify that. No, that was what the last card was. Sorry. um People be gross and I don't want to put my tongue in people's mouths that I don't know. I agree. I would stand naked and times swear. For day? It'd be over in one day.
01:04:19
Speaker
Yes. This is every stranger. Exactly. Ever. Yes. So fuck that. Alright, well, thank you for joining us. I'm sorry the site might be broken by the time you're hearing this. might be fixed.
01:04:31
Speaker
Feel free to message us. Let us know if there's anything specific you want us to cover or... Or if you'd like to share your nightmares with us. Yes.
01:04:40
Speaker
Nightmarecottage at gmail.com Sorry. Sorry. forgot my job. ah um Awesome. Well, we'll see y'all next time. Sweet dreams. Bye-bye.
01:04:51
Speaker
If you have topic requests, book or movie recommendations, or just want to say hi, email us at nightmarecottage at gmail dot com or visit our website at nightmarecottage dot com. Sweet dreams!
01:05:04
Speaker
Bye bye!
01:05:20
Speaker
bye bye