Episode 182 - Close to Home

0:00Welcome to the world, I'm your host, Jack Wagner. We've got a double feature for you this week, two stories from two different people, and we put these two together because they both involve encountering something unexplainable, impossibly extraterrestrial, right outside the place where people often feel the most protected home. It's hard to imagine seeing something so extreme and to have it happen in a place as ordinary as your own house. The place you know better than anything else and you feel the most comfortable in. It brings up the question of why these things choose to manifest where they do if it's a choice at all. This first story comes from somebody named Charlotte who witnessed something unexplainable

1:01in the sky with her now ex during the early days of COVID. What caught my eye in Charlotte's original email to us is how much she downplayed this experience. She said and I quote, I don't like the story because I find it dissatisfying to tell. I guess I still don't know what to make of it. I just don't have anything to grip on to in terms of understanding what it is which is dissatisfying. I also feel like I sound totally nuts when I tell it which isn't very often but I can also tell most people I've told it to don't fully believe me which is fair. I don't think if I were them I would believe me 100% either. Reading all of that while knowing exactly what she did see made me extra curious to talk to her because I assure you what Charlotte saw was not planned or dissatisfying at all. I'll let her take it from here. This episode is called Close to Home and you're listening to other world.

2:02Hello. Is this Bobby? What could it be? I said it's core of the science you can't argue with. You don't have a story to bow to science. It's almost frustrating that it's happened. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. I'm gonna die of it. If it wins, we're just like wrong. Everybody knows that. You know that it takes them a minute. I'm gonna die of it. I'm Charlotte. I'm 25. I'm from coastal BC. I live in Montreal. I've been here for about five years now.

3:04I graduated my bachelor's degree last summer. I've just been taking kind of a gap here. I'm just working and figuring out what I'm gonna do this fall. I work at a YMCA as a lifeguard and aqua fit instructor. And then I also am a busser as well. Aqua fit instructor? Yeah, you know, like water aerobics. Like for the old ladies? Yeah. Wow. Mostly old ladies, but every once in a while there's an old dude. And every once in a while, like every once once in a while there's a 30 something year old. I'm from a small town on the Sunshine Coast in BC. Now that I don't live there, I have much more of an appreciation for it, which is so classic. But it's really beautiful and like really special growing up like with so much forest around so many mountains, the ocean, yeah, just so gorgeous. So much wildlife as well, bears, deer, sea otters,

4:07eagles, ravens, whales, all the good stuff, a lot of the da da da da. So anyway, you grow up in a place like that and you think that the world is just like that. And then you leave and you're like, well, no, that not everywhere. It's like that. And I really miss the ocean a lot. It's just so special and beautiful and I love swimming. But I kind of resented it growing up because it's like, you know, small town vibe. Everyone knows each other. Everyone's in each other's business. You don't really have a sense of privacy. But yeah, small town. Small town everyone knows each other. Everyone knows each other's business is all this like gossip and drama. How small are we talking here? I guess not that small for BC. When I was growing up there, the population was about 15,000 people in the whole like regional district, which is pretty much just like the town. But then also includes some people like a little bit like north of town and south of town, which is still town.

5:07But yeah, about 15,000 people is a little bit more now. So small, but not as small as like a lot of people. A lot of other places in BC. Yeah, I graduated in 2019. At the time, I was still with my high school partner. And then we broke up in the winter of 2019. And then like shortly after that, I got together with the person who comes up in this story, who I saw this thing with. So I was like working. I was working in a different pool than the one I do now. Obviously, because I'm in Montreal. But I was working as a lifeguard in BC in my hometown. And I remember everyone talking about it. It was like on the news, like, oh, like this COVID thing, and I remember a guy on the maintenance team being like, oh, they're not going to shut us down. Like this thing, it's going to be like, it's just going to be a couple of weeks and then it'll blow over. Obviously that didn't happen. And the pool that I worked that did shut down. So I was on EI for a little bit.

6:10Yeah, it was interesting in BC. It's interesting, I guess, to like learn about how everywhere in general, like handled it differently. But in BC, the like provincial person responsible for like health and whatnot, her name was Dr. Bonnie Henry. And so she had a thing where, you know, we had to keep like, your social distancing and all of that. But we had a thing called like a bubble. So you had like a limited amount of people that you were supposed to have in your bubble. So you weren't supposed to like be in close contact, like close physical contact with more than, I think it was six people. And then also like the person in this story who saw this with me, who was there, yeah, is my ex. And their dad was or is I guess a doctor and was like super paranoid about COVID, which makes sense.

7:12So I was not allowed like in the house or anything. Me and my ex could only see each other like outside of the house, even though we were like in each other's bubble and everything. So like they at a certain point, my mom was like fine. If they came over to our place, but I wasn't allowed to go like inside their physical home. So I was allowed to be like in the backyard. So especially at the initial lockdown period when everything was still like really uncertain. Now we didn't have a lot of information on what was really going on. And all of the restrictions were like really heavily in place. I wasn't seeing a lot of people. Obviously I wasn't working either. So I was like seeing my family and then seeing this person and like a couple other friends. But mostly me and my ex would just like go on walks outside or like hang out outside. Or I would often go over to their place.

8:14But again, like not inside just outside in the backyard. The story that I'm going to tell, I was just over at my ex's place in the backyard. It was just us and we were just talking. And like also I'll say we were not drinking or smoking anything or like nothing. Like we were both just sober. And it was a summertime. One thing I'll add I guess is that in my hometown in the summertime, it can be like 10pm. And there's still light in the sky, which is really special and beautiful. So it wasn't like the peak peak of summer. It wasn't like, I think it was probably in August. So like the sun would be setting like a little before 10pm type of thing. Yeah, we're just in the backyard. The house, like there's neighbors close enough by like it's all like a giant property. There's a front yard in a backyard. And it's like, I don't know, like early evening dinner time when we started hanging out. Like full brightness.

9:14Sun in the sky. Beautiful day. We're just chilling. Just talking about whatever. And then like as we're talking, I start to just kind of notice. I guess like I we were sitting kind of like side by side in the backyard. And this person was on the right of me. And so was like if you really kept going so was Vancouver Island. And the ocean and the horizon and all that, which is also where the sun sets. Anyway, and so as I'm like looking over and like talking to my ex. I start to just like consistently notice the same kind of thing like way way in the distance. It looked like it's like over the ocean for sure. It looked like it could be over. Like it could have been coming from Vancouver Island or a nearby island called Texeta. So way far away. As we're talking like I just started to I don't remember like the first time I noticed it.

10:14Because it was just like something in the sky. I must have written it off. But then eventually like as we're talking time is going by. The evening is progressing. And I start to notice it more and more to the point where I'm like, okay, it's more noticeable. Like more prominent in the sky. But it hasn't gone a certain trajectory that I would have expected it to. It didn't go like left or right in the sky. Like it was it was just kind of like stagnant in the same place. But if anything over time it was like getting bigger so like coming closer. And I remember pointing it out at a certain point. I was like, what is that? Like have you noticed that? I've been seeing this thing. But it hasn't moved position to the. And my ex was just like, oh, like weird. Whatever. Like it's probably just an airplane or something. And I was like, yeah, sure. And then again, like eventually I'm like, well, no, that's not an airplane because it hasn't moved. Like it either would have passed over us by now. If it was coming in this direction, which like would have been abnormal because we were not close.

11:19Like it's a small town. So we have an airport. But like you know, it's always the same small planes coming from the same spot. Like they're just going to Vancouver basically. So it wasn't one of those. And if it was anything else, like it didn't make sense. Like it would have either gone like left in the sky or right in the sky or it would have like gone over us. Because at a certain point it's been like an hour since I first noticed it. And then we're talking about that. And then we just carry on talking about whatever I don't remember our conversation. It probably wasn't anything worth noting. And then again, like, what is that? I guess to a point where I'm like, hey, there's no, like we can't shrug this off anymore. Like what is that? And at this point, it's like a bit later. Like it's still bright out. But like the sun is definitely on its, it's like golden out or like the sun is on its way down on the horizon. And just all of a sudden, basically, like this thing is approaching us.

12:22And like you can make it out more. And it's not an airplane. It's not a helicopter. It's not anything that I know that I still to this day. I know how to identify or to even get close. And it just keeps approaching us to the point where as it's getting closer to dusk, it's fully hovering over the house. So like it's getting closer and closer and both like, what is that? Oh my god. Like it's coming here. It's coming this way. And then we both just like, I don't remember saying anything because it was so close and just started hovering like right above the house, right above us. And we were both just like, had just shut up because it was just insane. The perimeter, like the circumference of it is large enough to kind of cover the perimeter of the house itself. And like I said, it was not a small house. It wasn't like a mansion or anything.

13:22But it was like a decently sized house, you know, two stories, multiple bedrooms living room kitchen, a garage. And if I had been on the roof of the house, I swear I could have stood up and reached up and touched it. Or like just jumped a little and been able to like touch it with my hand. It was that large and that close to us. And it's just hovering there, like fully centered over the house. We're both just looking up at it, not saying a word. Just I was just like, jaw on the floor, like what? Like one of those weird like pinch in yourself to see if you're dreaming type moments. Like I knew I wasn't dreaming, but like you can't like how do you comprehend something like that? It was like like pancake-y kind of like if you put two frisbees together and then like that ends, the edges were like more tapered off kind of like an almond.

14:28It didn't have it was like classic flying saucer, I guess, but like without the little glass dome. And it was silver mostly, not like not as shiny as a spoon or anything like that, but it was like a kind of metallic silver. And I couldn't make out anything like it was so weird. I couldn't make out any parts, like any machinery, any discernible parts or features really like. Like in airplane, you can see like the the seams, I guess, like the way it was assembled, like the different discrete parts that make it into what it is. And I couldn't, and again, like I'm close to this thing, like even though I wasn't obviously on the roof close enough to touch it, I was just sitting in the backyard. Like I'm just looking up at it and it's right there. So I couldn't see any like discernible features, which is really strange. And then another part that's really strange is like in the middle, there's like a band of lights.

15:32And it was as if it was like opaque glass or like frosted glass and then a light shining through that, like diffused. But I don't know what, like I don't know that it was glass. I don't know what anything was. And another thing that's weird about it is the lights, if you just glanced, like looked up and then glanced away again, like you would think that the lights were all evenly spaced perfectly, like you would expect some type of machine to be made. But as I was staring up at it, not only could I not discern anything, like I also couldn't. Like the spacing of the lights seemed to be not, it seemed to be not quite perfectly spaced, like nothing was quite like as you would expect it to be. Yeah, like in terms of the spacing of the lights and then also it almost seemed like they were.

16:34Some of them were slightly brighter than others, but just it like imperceptibly, like, like you know when the moon is moving in the sky or like you can see the sun setting and sometimes it's quite obvious. And sometimes it's just like over time you realize like, oh, like the sun has definitely moved from where it was before, but you could keep your eyes on the sun the whole time. And like even though it's moving it so slow that you can't quite make it like you can't quite see that it's moving, but you know that it is like I don't know that makes sense, but it was like that where I was like the lights don't seem perfect, like they don't seem like logical or like they make sense. Both in terms of like their brightness kind of adding and flowing a little bit maybe, but also in terms of the distances between them like it seemed weird and then also again like I couldn't tell. Like what the source of the lights was like yeah there was nothing quite familiar about it.

17:40So it's hovering over the house probably for like about a minute or a minute and a half. I don't think that we were really exchanging any words or saying anything, especially at the start. I think there were a few like oh my gods, they're like holy shit, you know, but we weren't really talking. We were both just like totally gobsmacked or at least I was like maybe I don't know like I wasn't paying attention to my ex really that at the start, especially like as it first was happening over the house, I was just like like what the fuck is this? And what is it doing? What is it doing? Why is it here? Like I remember being so perplexed in the moment, but especially after and still now like why, why, why, why? Was that its trajectory? Why did it do that? Because it's so specific like to not just be a coincidence.

18:49But then I don't understand like the the motivation of whatever to have chosen to to hover over that house at that time in front of me and my ex like that. So and I guess I remember also being like like what now like what what's going to happen now like what is happening and what's going to happen and what is this? I didn't have at the time like I didn't have a sense of red or something like that. I just remember being completely bewildered and that that thing that you always hear about whenever some kind of strange event happens like this. Where time is different, not in a sense of like lost time, just in a sense of like that that maximum like two minutes probably like between a minute and a minute and a half where it's hovering over the house felt like every second counted like a year's worth.

19:59The time just had so much more weight and stretch to it if that makes sense. So as it was coming, I didn't notice any sound at all just that it arrived from way off in the distance like over the ocean by the horizon from wherever in the sky. As it's hovering over the house again no no sound no noise no. Anything like anything that you would expect from anything that exists in the world like anything that moves especially that fast and especially something that large makes sound. It or produces wind or like movement or there's like there's like the physics of it like the laws of physics and stuff.

21:02It didn't have any of that. It didn't do anything that it should have. And so at a certain point after like what feels like forever but it was really ultimately must have been a brief. I'm guessing that it must have been like under two minutes. I feel confident about that but really like the felt sense of time. It's just so different that it's hard to say exactly. Anyway, I sort of point after that hovering and by this point it's dusk. It goes like a little bit up away from the roof but still in the in place and then goes. I'm trying to think like what direction it would have come from. It's just exactly west like maybe a little bit northwest and it leaves southeast.

22:03Anyway, as it leaves, yeah it lifts up and then just goes over towards again the ocean but like a different direction towards the ocean. And like over there's like a small like foresty. It's not like a massive forest but there's like a bunch of trees basically that it like passes over. It doesn't like wrestle any of the leaves or branches. It doesn't make any wishing sound. And it left so quickly it took a long time to arrive from the first time that I really noticed it and remember noticing it. To the time that it was over the house it was like at easily at least an hour an hour and a half. It left like completely gone in less time than it hovered over the house like under a minute probably probably like 30 seconds.

23:04And we're watching it leave and that's when we're exchanging more words more just like like what the hell like what the hell like nothing nothing revolutionary but just like or being more vocal like what the fuck. And it's not like it was so far in the sky like it came right over the house it was it was close enough that I should have been able to hear something. Whether it was just like the wind that it produced in the trees like wrestling them around or like an engine or something. And this is the detail that I at the start when I would tell like a couple people like my mom or a couple friends. This is the part that I omitted that I now no longer omit in part because there's another episode of other world where the person described something pretty similar happening to them and described.

24:05It's like internal experience that I also had but I never talked about because I was like that's crazy. I was having over the house I had like a feeling and again like I don't know what it was I didn't see anything like like a UFO with like a Martian in it like I didn't see anything like that I didn't I don't know what it was still but I don't know where I felt like like a feeling of almost like eye contact. And again like it didn't have discernible eyes I'm not suggesting it in a literal sense but like a feeling within myself of like a kind of mutual awareness or like a mutual recognition like almost as if like obviously I knew I was observing it but it felt like to me whatever this was or whatever it was was also somehow aware of me.

25:07I don't know how else to put that into words but it was really strange and it's still actually still find that really unsettling. I mean all of it the originally what got me the most was the lack of physics of it like the lack of like obeying or like adhering to like the laws of the world and like the laws of science. The laws of anything that was what really like stumped me for a while and I remember like afterwards. You know I went over it with my ex like did you see that what did you see what like what was it like for you and it matched for us both and that was crazy. But also I tried to like I tried for a while to find like other if I tried to look into like UFO sightings and like also military tech to like try to see if there was some point of reference that was like close enough to what I saw that I could like make sense of what I saw through.

26:24I never found anything that matched it of course or that really came close but now the thing that I find like freaky is that sentiment that I had of like being like kind of being observed or or just that it was there because I had noticed it. Like as if it like that song notice you noticing me it was kind of like because it was so far away when I when I was noticing it for the first few times and then eventually when I was like wait this is worth pointing out like it's so it's still like I've noticed it over and over and it's still there and this is weird. It's like it somehow knew or sensed that that I was noticing it and like that I was curious about it and then I like as if that was the reason that it came over and I don't know.

27:37If it's an animal right like if it's like a dog or a horse there's like a match of curiosity I guess like like an animal and animals curiosity. I mean even if it's like a bear is a innocent curiosity even if it's like a predatory animal like it's still somewhat innocent if that makes sense but this one I don't know like it I would say more like it wanted. As if it wanted me to know that it knew that I saw it like as if it was like making a point almost if that makes sense whereas like a dog or a horse or even a bear wouldn't necessarily have that same angle to it or that layer you know what I mean like yeah it to me the way that I felt if I could try to put it in words was like it. It knew and noticed that I had noticed it and like wanted to make a point of specifically going right where I was.

28:47It's gone and you know we're both still letting out some like oh my god what the hell type of things. I specifically remember you know we're asking each other like what what was that like neither of us have an answer like you know did you see that you see that. We're both like yeah but like you know what was that is the big question neither of us have an answer and then I immediately am like to really hang up on what what was that like what like how do I make sense of what just happened. You know we're both in agreement that that was crazy and that it happened and that but I'm like I need to like do something with this like I don't know what to do and for me I was like immediately after it had gone I remember being like you know pointing out that it didn't make any sense like it didn't like did you hear any wind or any like engine sound or like any sound at all. I remember talking about like how it didn't make sense to me how it left so fast and on top of that not making any sound or anything.

29:58I'm trying to like explain it away like I'm trying to like go over it all and like see it you know rack my brain to see if if between the two of us we can come up with some type of like way to account for what just happened. I immediately like after you know a few exchanges back and forth and whatever like when the the initial like shock somewhat settled I'm like on my phone looking up like UFO stuff like China. What I can find to see if there's something close by I'm like on. Like looking up like local news obviously wouldn't have been that out that past I'm like the Facebook groups that same night everything like I'm I'm immediately like trying to like come up with some type of answer. Never never got one. I don't think I've asked somebody this before it's very simple but what is it like to have seen UFO.

31:02Like I want to know yes. I feel like there's probably a lot of people listening who would love to see one and think it would be really cool but I get the sense that you might not think so. Yeah it's funny it's like you know what they say about the questions of the hardest answer. I asked you this because because you said you like skip UFO episodes I think you think they're boring or whatever or do you like I wondered yeah like is this embarrassing to you like what like. Yeah yeah okay yeah it is embarrassing it is embarrassing because I'm aware I'm aware the whole time that it's like. It sounds like a clock of shit like it and it's not like it's really not but I'm aware that it sounds that way. Like I sound if not insane I just sound like I'm full of shit. It's also deeply dissatisfying like it's so deeply dissatisfying because I have no.

32:08No answer at all like no there's no satisfaction in it in telling the story even like I said I haven't told a lot of people recently I've had a better time like the more recent times that I've. Like shared my story with friends here and there it's it's been better than in the past partly I think because I had that encouragement from one person but still. Like I'm telling it all and I know that I'm telling the truth as I experienced it and I still am like. In my head I'm like what what the hell like what am I talking about. So I find it deeply dissatisfying and kind of disturbing also like it like at the time I wouldn't have necessarily I don't think disturbing would be one of the first words to come to mind but like recently.

33:09It's disturbing to me like I said it's it's I find it really freaky the physics of it or like the lack of physics of it like the technology aspect and then also like the what some people maybe would think of as a coincidence that it like came to the house after I pointed it out to my ex but I I again like I don't know what to make of it or anything but one thing that I feel. Maybe the only thing that I feel like confident in saying is like that whatever for whatever reason it does not like that cannot be a coincidence like maybe it could have been a coincidence if it had just like passed over the house and kept going but it stopped there like there's like a aspect of that feels deliberate that I can't ignore but I also at the same time yeah like I can't ignore this any of it but I also can't go anywhere with it can't do anything. But anyway I would they can't do anything with it that that could do anything because nothing to do about it or to be done about it.

34:15I guess if it was like a paranormal story like sometimes those are ongoing or whatever and sometimes they end up like resolving like eventually they usually like resolve and like there's like an end note and of course like I'm the sightings over whatever but I never again for so many different reasons never wanted to see a UFO never thought I would be like I'm not going to do it. It's not something I've ever really thought about or like took took very seriously. I'm glad I guess that I didn't that I didn't think I was a cow and like scoop me up. But I don't know I wouldn't recommend it. I don't know. I like it's not that deep it's all like I wish I could I would have never seen it or whatever like it's not it's not anything like that like I guess I'm closer to neutral but like I wouldn't wish to have experienced this. It's just really random that it did I guess but if it's random or not I couldn't I couldn't say obviously yeah. So yeah what it's like to have seen a UFO.

35:17Really weird not my favorite dissatisfying strange and at least for me it makes me feel like a totally nuts person. It couldn't really imagine like wanting that or like seeking that out or like hoping that it would happen to me but that's just me. Alright we'll be right back after this quick break. G'day I'm Justin Mouffers host of the Platypus Economics Podcast. If there's one thing I've learned from a career teaching economics it's that your life is shaped by economic currents you'll never see. A single price tag can explain things a thousand experts can't. People who understand economics they make better decisions in their careers their finances their relationships and their communities and I want that for you.

36:25Listen to and follow Platypus Economics available now wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you so much to Charlotte for talking to me. I know I laughed at her original email a bit and teased her somewhat for being so blase about it but after talking to her more I do understand where she's coming from. She saw this completely shocking inexplicable craft in the sky of nowhere and then it was gone. It never happened again there was no message or meaning or really anything beyond that one moment. It was just this random inexplicable occurrence. What is a person supposed to do with that especially when it was so brief? I ask myself that all the time and to be honest if something like this happened to me I think I would probably react in a way very similar to Charlotte.

37:30I think lastly I'd say that the reason I liked Charlotte's reaction to this experience is that it seems to show that these types of sightings happen to all sorts of people including ones who are completely disinterested in them and don't really care too much that they have seen it after the fact. I find that really interesting. This next story comes from Sam. Sam grew up in New Jersey and after letting go of her dream of becoming an equestrian she started spending most of her time with her best friend Sophie. One night Sam and Sophie snuck out to do some stargazing and while they're heading home they encountered something in front of Sophie's house that they could not explain. I'll let Sam take it from here. My name is Sam. I'm 27. So this story happened honestly probably pretty close to exactly 10 years ago.

38:42I've grown up in New Jersey, Honored in County which is a very farm-esque area. It's not like Nork at all. There's horses and cows and tons of farmland everywhere. I'm currently living in Pennsylvania. So I'm currently at that tech. I can care of animals, keeping them healthy, make them feel good when they're safe. I feel good when they're sick. I was a competitive equestrian for like 15 years and I stopped riding my junior year of high school. I started riding when I was 5 and I stopped when I was 17. I was competitive. I traveled New York, Florida, Mississippi, funnily enough, Kentucky. It was like my entire life. I was spending like it was like a full-time job. The amount of time that I was spending there if not more. I didn't really care about school. I never liked school. I never cared about doing my homework or studying.

39:58My whole focus was just on riding. I thought that at that time I feel like I had my life together because I thought that's what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I was going to open up a facility. I was going to train, sell, compete, have clients. But my parents are divorced. It was a big point of contention between them financially because my mom felt like she needed extra help to support it. It's a very expensive thing to do, especially when you're competing. My dad was very big on education. That's the time when you start applying to colleges. You take that next step. He was not really having it anymore. It was causing so many fights. I was getting caught in the middle of it. It sucked the joy away. I decided I was like, you know what? I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I quit.

41:07I've continued working with horses on and off since then. I have crazily enough. I'm 27 and I've got 20 years of experience with horses. I still consider them a big part of my life. I'd like to, when I'm in a financially stable place, kind of introduce that back into a certain degree, not at the level that I was doing it at more for just fun this time. I never really had a group of friends throughout school. My friends were always at the barn. I spent a lot of time in my classes in high school, kind of alone, keeping to myself and sophomore year of high school. I had a study hall. I sat in the back and kept to myself. My best friend Sophie, she had a group of friends in that study hall. One day she just decided to come over and sit with me. She started coming and sitting with me in study hall. We quickly became very close friends. We bonded a lot on music, specifically the Beatles.

42:18We quickly started hanging out at going to parties and having sleepovers and just being angsty, teenage kids. I never really liked having people come over my place. It was pretty met. My mom remarried when I was 10. We moved into my stepdad's house. It wasn't really meant for five people between her and him, my stepbrother, my brother and me. It was very crowded and small. She had a really nice house. We would always go over there. We would sneak out at night. We would turn the alarm system off and then crack open the back sliding glass door. We would just go out the back, do our thing, sneak back in. We would just straight up lie to both our parents and say we were going, I would be like, I'm sleeping over her place or she would be like, I'm sleeping over Sam's place. Then we would just wind up going somewhere else entirely different.

43:25We would just smoke and weed, drinking, listening to music, even tripping acid at points. We were a little experimental. This was the summer of 2016, I believe. She lived on a cold assack. There were probably 10 houses, max 15 houses. It was one way in, one way out. They were really nice houses. Across from her street was this big field. We decided one night that we just wanted to sneak out and set up a blanket and just smoke in the field and look at the stars, play some music and enjoy the moment. We would enjoy being alive, being introspective, all that kind of good stuff. It started with us sneaking out, walking down her street, going across the street into that field and smoking some weed.

44:35We sat down, we had rolled a crappy joint with just like dirt weed and we were sharing it between the two of us. Just looking at the stars, talking, listening to music, just it was summer, feeling the nice warm air. There was a little bit of a warm breeze just enjoying life. Nothing too crazy. We probably snuck out at around 10.30 and honestly I don't really remember much about being there in the field because when I look back my mind is just, all I remember is the aftermath. We decided to, I started getting a weird feeling. I just started feeling uneasy, almost like a pit in my stomach type feeling. We decided to walk back at around 11.45, 12 a.m.

45:47It was not a far walk because like I said, it was just one way into her neighborhood, one way out and this field was directly across the street from the entrance of her neighborhood. It was probably like a seven minute walk back to her house. I had been feeling uneasy, like a little restless since we started walking, not when we were sitting down in the field and just enjoying the stars and all of that. It only started when we started walking back. Once I saw her driveway, once that was in my view, I specifically remember turning to her and I said, thank God, like we've made it back. Because I felt relief knowing that her house was in my sight that in my mind, we're at the base of her driveway, we're home. We made it, end of story. I said that to her and she was just like, yeah, she agreed, she's like, yes, we're back. We get to the base of her driveway right before the base of her driveway. I say, thank God, we've made it back.

46:57And how her house was set up was like the driveway was to the left of her house. So if you're standing right before the base of her driveway and you're looking at the house, there's her front door, the front entrance. And then as you come up the driveway to the right, there are two garage doors, there's spotlights that were on attached to her garage. And then if you went past the garage doors and wrapped around the backside of the house to the right, she had a deck and a pretty large deck and two sliding glass doors and we had left the one sliding glass door slightly cracked. After I tell her how I'm relieved or whatever, you know, just feeling safe seeing her house tangibly in front of me, we start walking up the driveway and we get probably like right about halfway up the driveway and she just stops dead in her tracks.

48:07And I must have been looking at the ground, I don't know, but I see her stop dead in her tracks. So I turn and I look, she was on my left. I turned to my left and I look at her and I see her staring straight ahead, just dead silent. So I follow her gaze and there is this like thing, grouched down over what I assumed to be a septic tank. It was some structure that was in her yard that had always been in her yard that you could tell was like partially underground, but some of it like was also above ground. And it was just crouched over this septic tank, I assume. And then it sees us looking at it and it kind of like, it doesn't stand up straight right away, but it kind of just like moves its upper body to the side to look at us.

49:13And I mean just complete shock, like it was like the feeling of life or death. I was like, is this like, am I going to die? Is this how it goes down? Like what the fuck is that? The human mind can't even fully comprehend to this day, I still feel like I can't even fully comprehend what was in front of me. When it was crouched down, I couldn't tell how tall it actually was. It was very, very skinny and lanky, so I think being crouched down didn't really give a good picture into the full height. It was so light, like paper white, but with a gray hue, it wasn't like looking at a piece of paper, it was like looking at like a light, something that's like a light slate gray color, but just like so pale. And honestly, I don't remember if it had like distinguishable features on its face, but I remember it looked like it was like clothed, like it was not naked.

50:22It was wearing what looked to me to be just an average navy track suit. And it almost even seemed like it was like wearing a hood, but it definitely would have been bald there, but there was no hair. It was just like a grayish, a light gray translucent looking creature, not translucent in the sense that you could see through it, but it was just so pale. And like it was such a stark contrast against the dark night and the green grass and the trees that were behind her yard. It was just shocking. And when it got up, like it almost got up in two phases, because it wasn't, it didn't realize we were there. And then this all happened so fast, by the way, but it winds up getting up slowly and then takes off across her backyard. I don't know if it took off towards the woods because there were woods behind her backyard that she had a neighbor, like next to her on both sides. So like it kind of it could have been running towards the woods or it could have been running then into go into the neighbor's yard, but it took off running.

51:41And it's each like stride was like five to six feet wide like it had a massive step. And I should also mention how when it got up after being crouched down, it's arms like we're very stiff and lanky and just like stuck to its side. So it moved when it stood up before taking off, it just moved in a very non-human way. It was very, very stiff. It's almost like its arms didn't even move. Like it got up like a board and then just took off across her backyard. And it was almost like what's the word I'm looking for. I mean fluid, slightly like elegant, I'd say, as funny as that sounds because just the way it was covering ground was like crazy. The most vivid part like right before we ran away was it had, I mean, there was like the septic tank that it was crouched down over, which was like right after the asphalt ended in her driveway and the grass began.

52:59And she had a pretty big yard. There were a bunch of trees like it was very wooded behind her grassy yard. And I just like it covered ground from the septic tank to the middle of her yard so fast. And the last like image that I have of it is probably right kind of in the middle of her yard, aiming either towards the woods or towards her neighbor's yard. And even standing fully upright, it was a little hunched over, not like super hunched over, but like it's shoulders were kind of rounded. And just like the contrast of the skin that I was able to see against the dark tree outline was like crazy. Like it was so so pale, but it looked like it was like wearing some kind of fabric that was like a dark color.

53:59The way it moved was just so otherworldly. I just seeing it run and cover ground like that like was insane. It was so tall, it moved so quickly. And honestly, like the shock that it felt when we saw it, like we were both parties were equally as shocked, like it did not expect to be seen by like two young girls. It didn't expect to be seen by anything. It stopped what it was doing. It looked at us looking at it and then it got the hell out of there. I mean, we looked at it for as long as we could, but once once it started running, we started running. We don't say anything right away. It's honestly kind of like comedic what happened next to me because we without even words, we both reached out for each other's hands.

54:59And we locked hands and we took off together holding hands, which I just love because I feel like I'm the type of person in a situation like that where most people I probably would have just been like, well, I hope you're following me because I'm running and like that's that. We both just instinctively went to grab each other's hands were like we're in this together. We locked hands and we ran around to the front of her house and ran up onto her front entryway. There were two stairs. We ran up the two stairs and now we're standing right at her front door. We're like holding each other because this like never in my life have I felt fear like this. Like I literally was like, is this are we are we going to die like is something going to happen to us. And for some reason being the young kids that we were we didn't think that ringing the doorbell and waking her mom was an option like going through the front door not an option.

56:07We just had to gather our strength and walk back around to the back and sneak in the way we had snuck out mind you her mom would probably have been annoyed and like gave us a very minor scolding. But it wouldn't have been worse than if that thing was like in her yard waiting for us. But it was not an option. We could not wake her mom. So we were standing there probably for like five minutes just trying to like talk each other into having the strength to go back around. And I will never forget we're holding like we're holding on to each other's shoulders and we're like it was just a deer. It was just a deer. We kept repeating to each other. We're like it was just a deer. It was just a deer. Trying to convince our minds and convince ourselves that like we had it in us to go back around to her backyard and sneak in. We gather ourselves. I mean we're scared shitless. I'm surprised I didn't hit my pants honestly. Neither of us did. I don't know how. We're so scared.

57:18We gather our strength. Probably five minutes. Maybe max 10 minutes have gone by where we're just like we also wanted to give it some time to like leave the scene hopefully. So after some time had passed and we tried to convince each other that it was just a deer and that there was no danger or anything like that. We didn't just see something so strange like unexplainable like the human mind can't even comprehend it. We start walking. We came down the front stairs of her front entrance. Follow the little path. That led to the driveway and then we were walking on the driveway. We went past the garage doors and we wrapped around the corner and worked our way up onto her back deck. Meanwhile our head is on a swivel like we are so so scared. But we get to the sliding glass door and we sneak back inside and we shut it and we lock it and we're just dead silent for 10 minutes like just not uttering a word to each other.

58:34Just silent. And once we were inside and we felt you know a little bit safer. We were so scared. We were like she had we were in her kitchen and she had a window like above her sink. And we were so scared to look at the window like we did not want to look out and just see its face like staring in at us. But the first thing that we said after the silence broke one of us said it. I don't remember which was that was not a deer. And once the silence was broken with that, you know, whoever initially said it like her either her or I. The other one of us was like yeah no like that was not a deer. And then we kind of just started dissecting what we actually saw. I remember she was the one like I was just in complete shock. I was sitting down. She was standing and she was kind of like going through what like how that thing moved like I remember her being like reenacting the crouch position and then reenacting it getting up and standing.

59:41And when she reenacted the way it got up like I just went cold because it was so she did it so perfectly the way it was like non human and stiff but at the same time like fluid. I like it felt like I was like seeing it like it just made me realize that like we did see the same exact thing. You know what I mean like seeing her reenact what we saw I was like oh my god like yeah that is what we saw. And we were in complete shock. Honestly, we decompressed for a little bit just inside in her kitchen like talking it through. And then I mean I think we just went to bed or tried to like I'm sure we were laying in bed like tossing and turning a little bit unable to sleep. But we didn't really do anything after that. We were just completely shocked. For a long time we were scared of her backyard at night like we tried to avoid it completely.

1:00:47We did not like and in my head and I told her I was like the odds of like us seeing that again are basically zero like we probably in theory have nothing to worry about because what are the chances that like that's going to happen again. You know what I mean but we still were very wary we were scared of the kitchen window for a while we did not want to look at that damn kitchen window. We told a couple people we did wind up telling her mom a few weeks later we just had to you know we had to get it off our chest. Um, her mom didn't really take it like too crazy. I think she probably in her head was like what the hell are like sure ladies sure yeah you saw that like hope you're doing okay type of situation she didn't have a big reaction to it. Um, our friends that we told they were like whoa you know that's crazy like I think they believed us I like to think they believed us their reaction kind of made it seem like they did.

1:01:55But at the same time it's like how can someone react to hearing that like unless they actually were there themselves you know there's only so much you can say. I mean I think I'm going to read the people who I tell it to I try to like read their reaction to see if they think I'm lying or like if they can put themselves in that position and like really try to get into the experience. Or if they're just like yeah like that's crazy like wow and kind of like don't really think about it much deeper. So we remained friends all through the beginning of COVID but she was dating this guy she had been dating him for a while but just as kind of time went on it became more of a toxic relationship and they'd argue a lot and I didn't like him.

1:02:55I thought she deserved better. I didn't agree with how he was treating her and you know she would come to me when they would argue and I would try to get her to see my side and get her to see that she deserves more. And so I did create a little bit of distance because I mean there's only so much you can say and when someone is like in a situation like this. Like it just it gets heavy and I was always I was always there for her and she knew that but I also needed her to know that like I don't agree with this like and I'm not just going to you know act like this is okay and like everything sunshine and rainbows you know. And then in 2021 she wound up passing away very unexpectedly and now I I miss her every single day but also like this crazy story that was shared with another person she's she's gone and I just have it to myself now.

1:04:09It's just crazy because to experience something like that you know that's a once in a lifetime that's even less than once in a lifetime like people you know most people are never going to experience something like that and to have experienced it with her and we used to tell a story together and we were on the same exact page we saw the same exact thing we experienced it the same exact way. And now to have her gone and I'm the only one left kind of carrying the story and like living with what we saw it's a very weird feeling and part of the reason why I wanted to come on here is because I love your podcast I love your audience and I want to share it for myself but also to kind of keep it alive for her as well. And I like to think that now wherever she is I like to believe there's an afterlife I don't know if it's just to make myself feel better but I truly truly do believe that there is one at my core and I like to think that she has seen it all she can see anything she wants to see and I like to believe that like she has an answer as to what this was and I like to believe that like whenever my time comes.

1:05:31I can go directly to her and be like break that down for me like what did we see that night so many years ago. Thank you so much to both Charlotte and Sam for sharing their stories you know whether or not these experiences are two sides of the same phenomena. I know that Sam felt like what they saw might be extraterrestrial and I will say that the idea of this creature in Sam's story wearing a sort of outfit or like a jumpsuit is pretty interesting because it's quite common in reports from people who have been abducted that they describe seeing these beings wearing a sort of jumpsuit or a second layer of skin or something that's kind of in between.

1:06:32Although that being said I will say her story and her experience is very unique and a lot different than the stories of people who end up seeing beings in those jumpsuits. I don't think I've ever heard one exactly like Sam's. My condolences to Sam for the loss of her best friend. I am very glad that this experience serves as a positive memory for the two of them and also a way for her to process the tragic loss. Part of the reason I want to put these two stories together is because their opposites in some ways for Charlotte her experience was in some ways meaningless and in the case of Sam. The experience sort of took on a meaning of its own because it's such an emotional, powerful, positive memory of her and her best friend. This episode was called Close to Home and you've been listening to other world.

1:07:34Other world is executive produced and hosted by myself Jack Wagner. Our producers are Theoshafer, Theocrants, Haley Parson and Nikki Kate Delgado. Our theme song is by Cobra Man. The soundtrack of this episode is by Wiccafase Springs Eternal, Juice Jackal and North Americans. Our artwork is by Koldisak Studios. Please show us your support by subscribing, leaving a five-star review and telling your friends about the show. If you want to hear bonus episodes of Otherworld, you can become a patron at patreon.com slash Otherworld. Our social media is at Otherworld Pod. Thank you to the team at Odyssey, Leo Ristennis, Maura Curran, Josephina Frances, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gainer and Hillary Schuff. Follow and listen to Otherworld now for free on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. If you or somebody you know has experienced something paranormal, supernatural or unexplained, you can send us your stories at Stories at OtherworldPod.com.