Readers Beware... | Reading Reddit Stories

- Before we get into this episode, I do want to give a trigger warning. This is the scary episode, which means there are some intense themes and subjects. that we are going to talk about. Hello and welcome to "Smosh Reads Reddit Stories.". I'm Shayne, and today is a spooky, scary episode. And I'm joined by two people who are spooky and scary, Damien and Angela. - Boo. - Whoo. - Oh my god. - Sike. - That's your thing. Boo. - Bah! - Boo. (Damien yells). (Shayne laughs). - Best holiday ever? - The smile monster.

- Best holiday ever? Next to Christmas. - Agreed. What could possibly-. - You're a Thanksgiving guy. - Thanksgiving guy? - I'm not a Thanksgiving guy. - I knew he's a Thanksgiving guy. - I'm not a Thanksgiving guy! - Yes, you are. - I promise you I'm not. a Thanksgiving guy. - Don't lie in front. of the people. You're coded in-. - I'm not a Thanksgiving guy! - Yeah, I-. - I'm not a Thanksgiving guy. - Then what the (beep) are you? - What are you? - I'm thinking. Let me think about all the holidays. - Has to think about it. - What are the other holidays? - You a Boxing Day boy? - Arbor Day? - [Damien] Arbor Day. - Does New Year's Eve count? - Yeah, it counts.

- But you're a Thanksgiving guy. Look at you. - More than Halloween? - I'm not a Thanksgiving guy. - You're in cowboy boots. You're Thanksgiving. - That's true. - The hell? - What are those? Thursdays? - No, these are-. - He's not even... - I don't know. Okay? - But Halloween's really fun. - Here's what I like about Halloween. Here's my hot take. - [Angela] Yeah. - Halloween the day, it's always kind of whatever. The month is what's cool. And it's not even because like, I have so many friends, I feel like you're one of them, who, like, their month is like planned out.

I don't feel like you're... It's Damien. - It just seemed like you have so many friends. This is one of them. - I have so many friends. - I'm like, I made it! Angela, I made it! - I have a lot of friends who I feel like, like the October is their month, right? Chanse is another one. - Yeah. - I feel like where it's like, oh yeah, I've got it all planned out. - Well, it's gay Christmas. Halloween is gay Christmas. - Yeah. Yeah. But for me, I don't really feel like I do a lot throughout October. Like, I go to like maybe one or two parties. Thanks. - So cool.

- In LA, compared to like a lot of people, that's a very small amount. - It's a big social calendar. - But I have a lot of fun in my own geeky way. where like in October I'm just like, well, I'm gonna read scary books and watch scary movies. So I kinda like, I just have a theme. for like what I'm doing all the time. - I think it's just the vibe. Like, I call it, like the month of it, I call it pumpkin times. In the same way, I know the McElroy's have candle nights, but I've got pumpkin times. - [Angela] Nice. - Let's make it a thing. And, you know, like Christmas gets earlier. and earlier every year.

I'm starting to, you know, when we film this beginning of August, I'm already seeing a bunch of stuff in stores for Halloween, and I'm like, good, take it over. - Yeah. - I need that dopamine. I want the, like pumpkins everywhere. I want a spiderweb. - Get your pumpkins out. Get your pumpkins out. - Get your pumpkins out, dude. - Hey. - [Angela] Get your pumpkins out. - Hey, it's Saturday morning. Reddit's here. Whip out those pumps. - Pumpkin pancakes actually sound pretty good. - I hate the way I said that. I'm so sorry. - I love a pumpkin beer. A pumpkin ale. - I can do a pumpkin ale occasionally. - Yeah, usually just one.

- [Shayne] Sometimes they're too much. - Yeah, yeah. - I don't drink anymore, but whenever I had a pumpkin ale it sounded so good, but it didn't like- - She's right there. - It didn't merge. Sorry. It didn't merge. It was just like, it was an ale and there was some-. - I get what you're saying. - Yeah. - Well, are we ready for some scary stories? - Yes. - To get us in the zone. - I hope this, gulp. I hope this, gulp. I hope this isn't too scary, Shayne. Gulp. - Well, I have been informed. that some of these stories are on the more spooky side. of like paranormal, ghosts perhaps.

And then there are some on the scary side. of real life scary situations that people-. - Bad boyfriends. Ah. - Ah. - Public speaking. - [All] Ah! - Not having healthy communication and boundaries. - [All] Ah! - Ghosts again. - Whoa! - Rule of fours. Sorry. (everyone laughs). - Rule of fours. - Gotta do it. - Okay, let's get into it. - Oh, man. Okay. - This first one comes from the Paranormal subreddit. - [Damien] Okay. - "I think my house is haunted.

"I see gnomes and hear voices.". - Gnomes? - "Context, southeast of Spain. "I have one old French bulldog. "All doors are locked. "I only have two neighbors, et cetera.". - They both wear little hats. (crew laughs). - Do you know what gnomes are? - Yeah. - Okay. Just making sure. You turned and you went, "Gnomes?". - Yeah, no, but... I don't wanna open this can of worms, but I don't really know what a gnome is. But keep going. - Oh, I feel like that's maybe important-. - They work for Travelocity. (everyone laughs).

- It's just like a little guy-. - I know, just like a little guy. - Like a garden gnome. - A garden gnome. Yeah. Little guy with a hat. - But I feel like there's probably a monster version of 'em, right, in some parts of the world where it's like, oh, it's just like a evil little creature. - Oh. - I see the Keebler elves and I think those are gnomes. - Okay. - They say they're elves. - They say they're elves, but I'm like, yeah right. - Yeah. - But we don't owe them our respect. - Yeah. - Okay, so he has one old French bulldog. "All doors are locked. "I only have two neighbors, et cetera. "I'm laying in bed, scrolling on my phone, "and I hear my husband shouting, 'Babe?'.

"I look at my clock, "knowing it's way too early for him to be home. "I open the bedroom door and reply, 'Yeah?'. "Nothing. "I assume he didn't hear me. "We live in an apartment with weird angles, walls, "sometimes it muffles words. "I yell my husband's name back, still nothing. "Now I'm weirded out. "I call him and I'm half laughing, half panicked. "and ask him if he's home. "He says no. "I ask him what he's doing, "and he says he's driving to the airport.

"We run a car rental business. "I tell him what happened, and he assured me I'm home alone. "I'm at a loss. "I hear him call me so clearly. "It was like he was looking for me. "I've checked the whole house. "and nobody is home apart from me and our dog, "an old Frenchie who can barely walk anymore. "I've had other experiences in this house, "such as a literal gnome running under our bed. "I'm serious. "I can't explain it, and it sent shivers all over my body.". Okay. Yeah. Pause.

You're like, "Oh, I heard a voice. "By the way, I have seen a little tiny man. "run under my bed." - Run under my bed. Moving on. - By the way, side note. Side note. I've seen a tiny little man run my bed. - Back to the voice. - [Shayne] Back to this thing I heard. - So clear to know what it is. Like, if in your periphs you see something move, you'll be like, "What was that? "A mouse, a spider? "I should investigate.". To say, without a doubt, "This was a gnome.". - Yeah. - Crazy to say periphs.

- Out of your periphs. Peripheral vision takes too long. So I just say periphs. - Update. - Already? So that was the whole thing when you paused? And now there's an update? - Is that the story? (crew laughs). Shayne, you updated so fast. - Do you have anything to talk about? - She lives in a tree. I don't know. - That was just crazy. I've just never heard you... It just happened so fast. - [Damien] Yeah. - For sure. - Okay, so wait-. - That was almost a jump scare.

- That was the end of it? She was like, "Okay, I heard a voice.". - She's like, "I heard a voice,". - But it doesn't compare to the gnome ran under my bed. - I guess I need to ask, before we get further into these stories, Angela, where do you find yourself on the, when it comes to ghosts or paranormal or things? Like, I'm not asking even if you're a believer or not. How quickly are you like when something happens. to be a skeptic of it or to be-. - It depends on the day. - [Shayne] Okay. - But I am usually probably right in the middle. Like, I'll be like, are we sure she wasn't tired that day?

- [Shayne] Yeah. - But then I'm also like, so a gnome must have lived there before. You know, like, so I kind of buy into it. And you buy into it too, right? - Nah. I mean, I love paranormal stuff. I love the stories. I love the idea of it. I don't personally really believe. in pretty much anything at all. But, you know, even close family members have ghost stories. of things they went through, and I'm like, I believe them. But then like in the back of my mind I'm like, well, it was the '80s.

Maybe they were coked out. Like, I don't know, you know? - That's also fair. - What about you? - I kind of, I am super skeptical, right? And so people think that I don't believe in anything. My thing is, I believe anything is possible. But because I believe absolutely anything is possible. and I believe there's an infinite amount that we don't know, I need to be skeptical. - [Angela] Yes. - And tear everything away. - That makes sense. - So like if I see a blur go by, I go, I know that I saw a blur go by. I know that I don't know what the (beep) just happened.

- Yeah. - Where I get skeptical is especially when people go like, "Oh, I saw a gnome.". And I'm like, you're so certain. And I'm like, that's where... I'm not skeptical of the world being mysterious. and having a lot there. I am skeptical of human perception. because it has been proven to be so faulty. You're a fan of true crime. You know that witness testimony is very like up in the air. because our memory, our perception. is tough to trust a lot of times.

- Yeah. - Sure. - You need to cooperate. - I'm like, I need to be skeptical. I need to be skeptical because I'm skeptical. of what I am seeing. - Yes, yes. - It's not that I don't trust people, I don't trust just our brains sometimes. - I also like, I think a lot of things can be explained, and like my dad had a good way of putting it is like, everything is magic until you understand how it works. - [Shayne] For sure. - But like I was swiping earlier today. and I didn't even look into whether the image was real. or not, but like, you know, sometimes water turns red. due to some kind of algae. And it was like a waterfall in Antarctica.

that was like pure red and it looked like blood. And I thought to myself, like, if I didn't know exactly how that happened. and there was not like internet communicating stuff, I would've been like the falls turned red, and when we killed Jake, that counted as a sacrifice and it stopped being red. You know what I mean? - Sure. Yeah. - Like, it's so easy to be like, "This is probably it.". - Right. - [Angela] Yeah. - Look, I mean, we live in a world. where we have to be skeptical of like, AI can create a person who talks and sounds real. And I'm like, we already live in such-.

- No, MrBeast is really my friend. (crew laughs). - Like, we're already living in the sci-fi world. that we read about as a kid. So I'm like, I have to... I am not saying anything is impossible. I'm just like, I have to be skeptical. - Literally. - Sure. - But there's mysterious stuff. And look, there's so much undiscovered. There's so much... Once we discover it, once we know what's going on, it changes what that could be, right? - I'm also the type. that like I would love to be proven wrong. Like, in the same way of like being skeptical.

Like, if there was some way someone were like, "Oh yeah, we found gnomes and we've made contact.". Great. It's probably not under Bethica's bed. after thousands of years of being undetected. You know what I mean? - Have you guys seen the Dynasty ghost? - The Dynasty ghost. I've heard. - There's a theater we perform at a lot, Dynasty Typewriter, and they have a documented ghost sighting. And then I do my podcast there, and someone in the comments was like, "Second ghost sighting at Dynasty.".

So then I fully was on board 'cause it was the second. Like, if it's a pattern, if that gnomes back, I'm in. - Yeah. - But then we looked at it, and it looks like a piece of AC. Like, AC lit weird. But the first, I'll show it to you guys, it's crazy. - [Damien] Really? - I'm sure. I'm sure. And I'm not doubting you. - None of us are doubting you. We hear you. - But I'm still, I'm skeptical. because I believe most people want ghosts to be real. because we want to prove that there's more.

Right? 'Cause I think to me there's nothing scarier. than them not existing. - Did I ever tell you my really sad ghosts. aren't real story? - No. (laughs). - It's not sad sad. But like I've always loved paranormal stuff, and when I was a little kid, maybe six, five or whatever, went to Disney World for the first time, rode the Haunted Mansion, and at the very end, you know, they're looking in mirrors and it says, "Be careful. "You might just take something home with you.". And you see in the mirrors there's like a ghost with you. And my parents were like, "Hear that?

"You might take it home with you. "Be careful.". The moment I get home, first thing I do is run into the bathroom. and look in the mirror and I'm like, "It's not working. "It's not working. "Like, how do I do this?". And I'm like talking to my parents. I'm like, "Where's the ghost?". And they're like, "Oh sweetie, it was just in the mirrors. "in the Haunted Mansion.". But I wanted a ghost friend so bad. (crew coos). - This is why I think I'd be a (beep) up mother. I'd be like, "Look to your left.". - You're like (laughs). (crew laughs). Like, I gotta kill someone for my kid. - You don't see him, Damien? - [Damien] Aw. - I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Okay. Update. I need to know.

- Sorry. Sorry. - No, you're perfect. What happened? - Okay, update. A year update. "I'm selling this house. "I've had enough.". - Whoa. - "So it's a year since everything happened. "The snake, the gnome, the voices.". The snake? (crew laughs). - I love this author. She just has like a funny way. - "And things aren't much better. "We have small possessions go missing. "and turn up in crook and crannies. "My underwear and my husband's jewelry often winds up. "under our living room sofa. "when they have no reason to be there.

"It can't be my French bulldog. "as she's too big to fit under. "We also routinely hear. "whistles/weird mimicking like sounds. "A big one is when I leave the house. "and my husband reports hearing me moan sexually. "from upstairs in the guest room. "I know, I know, both weird and creepy. "But it's happened multiple times, "and when he checks it out, there's obviously nothing. "Same with when I hear a man whistling. "when it's just me home with my old dog. "We are trying to sell this house and buy a new one. "It's not been easy. "because we've had some especially religious families come. "and view it only to feel weird.

"or some outright tell me I need to have it blessed. "I'm not religious/part of any religious groups or a church. "I'm also scared to mess with anything in here.". Whoa. - Done? - [Damien] I wish you would've-. - I gave you the update way too soon. and now you want it immediately. (everyone laughs). - Well, both of these ended like it was just-. - I know, I know. These end on just like, "And I don't know.". (crew laughs). - Do you think the moan was the gnome? (crew laughs).

- We have gnomes that are (beep). - Oh no, she has (beep) gnomes! - (beep) gnomes! - Oh no! - Bone gnome. - Bone gnomes. - The gnomes are boning. Moaning. - Their little hats. Damn. - God, this is weird. The whistling, the moaning? - Look, and here's where I'm at. Like I said, I'm skeptical. I'd be like, I don't know what's going on, but I don't wanna be here. And also on her note of like, you need to bless the place. I'm like, I don't wanna mess with anything. Like, I just wanna get outta here.

- You gotta shake that hornet's nest to get 'em all out. It's like, well, I don't know about that. - You gotta punch it. Show 'em who's boss. - I might just get my car and go home. - Yeah. Oof. Well, there is another update. - Well, thank you. I saw that whole thing. He made you feel bad about that. - Yay. - "Woke up to a sink of warm soapy water. "What gives? "Okay, as the title suggests, "my husband, who's 25, and I, 24, are asleep. "It's currently 12:55 AM as I type this.

"I wake up to get a drink of water. "and the washing up bowl is full of warm soapy water. "Wake up my husband, he is just as confused. "The pots are from earlier and all dry. "We live alone, "and I always leave my bowl/sink empty due to flies. "What the (beep)? "I've never experienced this before. "I have had weird experiences here, but nothing like this.". Sorry. Stop! Stop! Your sink fills with soapy water and you go, "I've never seen anything like this.". A gnome. ran under your bed! - Ran under your bed!

(crew laughs). - Like, come on! (Angela laughs). Stay consistent with us! Please! - I've never seen you sit up on these. (everyone laughs). - No, I'm just like, you gotta at least go, "I have had weird experiences here, "but nothing like this except for the gnome that ran.". (everyone laughs). Except for the gnome that ran under my bed! (everyone laughs). - I like this though.

It makes me believe that she believes it. 'cause so many of these Reddit stories where like, "What happened last night, I have to tell you. "It all began on Thursday.". You're like, okay, this is too written. You're full of shit. Like, at the very least, I think she believes this is happening, which is-. - Yeah. - Listen, this may be in poor taste, but do you think the gnomes boned and moaned too hard? Bowl of soapy water. - Bowl of soapy water. Okay, this is one where-. - That's disgusting, Angela. Get a life. - I gotta be completely honest-. - I thought you meant they were just cleaning up. - No. - Gnome (beep). - Unfortunately I am skeptical of this lady's judgment.

a little bit. - [Damien] Yeah. - Yeah. Because a sink being full of water. is actually an extremely normal thing. Am I wrong? - I see a sink full of water. that didn't have water in before and I have chills. - Really? You don't think like the water could have come up. from the drain? - Oh, it could've come up. - Or like just your sink. I, one time, I had a crazy one happen. I came home and now I lived in a, like the fourth story of a apartment building.

And I came home one time, and there was just perfectly a puddle. in the middle of like my kitchen area. Like, a couple feet from the sink, perfectly just in the middle. And then, but the sink was empty. And I was like, where did this puddle of clear water come from? And then I noticed there was water. around the edge of the sink. And I deduced and we had had, there's plumbing issues. I deduced that I was like, wow, 'cause I'd been gone all day-. - The water... - The water had overflowed onto the ground.

and then gone down. And then because like the sun hit my like-. - [Angela] Yeah, it dried off over there. - It had evaporated enough. - [Damien] Wow. - That was my assumption. Now, ultimately, I don't know. Now I've also told stories on here, like I'm like, I have been in an apartment by myself. and just a full on yell happened just in the apartment. that sounded like it was inside. And it went on for a while, and I was like-. - Was it inside? - And it was actually... (crew laughs). It was actually me. - You look in the mirror and it's you screaming.

- And then I looked in the mirror. and I saw that I was just like, "Ah!". (everyone laughs). - I solved it. Ah! - That's horrifying. - But I have no idea. I just don't know. - Yeah. - I think they live in an area with weird trees. Hear me out. I've also had plumbing issues before. because trees have grown into pipes. That's how my neighbors doodoo ended up in my shower, which was very scary. - Your neighbor shit in your shower. - No, he promises it was root. (Shayne laughs). And, you know, like trees rubbing up against windows. can sound like, "I'm your husband.

"I'm your husband.". - Yeah. - Maybe weird trees. - [Damien] Maybe weird trees. - So they live in Spain, which means there could be some very old architecture. - Southeast Barcelona trees. - It's always, look, here's part of also my skepticism. It's always really old buildings. It's like, yeah, it's old, 'cause like yeah, there's people that live there. I'm like, it's also old, which means the infrastructure of it's bad. - It's kind of shitty. - Like, things are falling apart. - The pipes are crazy. - Yeah. Like, there's a lot going on that we don't see. There's rats in the walls. There's also, I will say this does happen.

where people live in people's places that don't know about. - That's an actual guess, I was thinking. - Here's the sink. - Well, sorry, you can't just show a sink of water. and be like, "Here's proof.". Like, that's... - So the tub is filled with water, but the sink around it is not. But I don't know. - Right, but that's also-. - So it didn't come up from the pipes, it didn't come up from beneath it. It's in that tub. But I get what you're saying where it's just like, "All right, person on the internet, I trust you.". - Yeah. - And that's the tough thing with the internet. That's why like no matter what you read, you kind of have to always have that lens.

of someone could be lying. - [Angela] Yeah. - We see that with any Reddit story, right? Where it's like, "Oh hey, my girlfriend's being really shitty.". And then you get the girlfriend commenting being like, "Do you wanna tell them the actual story?". - Yeah. Yeah. Are the comments like begging for more gnome stuff? - So... (crew laughs). - That is the pull, huh? - 'Cause I'm like, what happened? - So top comment, "Phrogging," with a PH, "Phrogging is when someone secretly lives. "in another person's home without their knowledge.".

- I think that could be it. - And there's been a lot of proven cases of it. to like shocking degrees. - [Damien] Yeah. - [Shayne] Not to terrify you. - What? Is the gnome? - So there was like a story, there was like a video of like this apartment, and truly someone was living in like a high up like cupboard. and it's like people do it. - There's a high cupboard situation. There's also like a famous story. where it was like a crawl space of an attic. where they would like, they were just sort of off to the side. Like, there was a happy ending one. where it was like once the lady found out, you know,

she actually let him. stay there for like- - They kissed? - And they kissed. It was a Hallmark movie. It was called "Dirty Stinky Attic Man.". No. She let him stay there for like a week or two. until it was like he was able to get back on his feet. But yeah, no, I think-. - It's a possibility. We don't know. - And if he's tiny and has a little hat. - And if he's, hey. Someone said, "If you have an attic or crawl space, "you might want to check them.". OP said, "We have no attic or basement, "and we live in a two bedroom apartment. "We have checked the rooms and nothing.

"Checked the locks just to be sure. "We do have a few crawl spaces, "but too much furniture to check.". - No. - Lastly, someone said, "Carbon monoxide?". And OP said, "We've checked, all clear.". (crew laughs). (sniffs) We're good. (everyone laughs). - We've checked, all good. - No, the detector's not going off. They're like, "Madam, that's a banana.". (everyone laughs). - This is freaky. - Do we have carbon monoxide? A whole ghost is like, "No, we're good.". - She's lying to you.

- We're good. - You're overreacting. - All right, update number three. - Yes! - There we go. - Let's go! - "Hi, everyone. "Sorry I didn't update sooner. "I have-". - Hi, everyone. It's me, the gnome. (everyone laughs). - Hey, it's me! (everyone laughs). - It takes me so long to get the individual keys. - I found OP's post. (everyone laughs). - I'm the Ray Romano gnome. (everyone laughs). - [Eric] Ray Roma-gnome. - Ray Roma-gnome. - Nice. Nice. - Nice, Eric. - Someone write that down!

- "Hi, everyone. "Sorry I didn't update sooner. "I had a lot of abusive messages, "which made me not want to post anymore. "But I also know there are people here genuinely curious. "and supportive. "To answer common questions, "I have checked the monoxide detector twice. "and even replaced it. "We are safe, and that is not it. "We also have no dishwasher. "We don't take sleeping pills or any drugs. "As I stated a couple days ago, we searched our flat. "and my husband's parents' adjoining house. "with some friends. "Here's the weird part.". Sorry. Okay. - Yep.

- Husband's parents' adjoining house with some friends. So the parents and some friends live in the adjoining house. - [Damien] Okay. - Okay. - Just throwing it out there. "Here's the weird part. "Our area is clear as expected. "We don't have an attic or basement, "but we also searched the house connected. "while his parents are away in the UK for a while. "Turns out the upstairs loft had an old mattress. "which looked used despite being left as a spare, "bottles of what looks like pee and some empty wrappers,

"et cetera." - Okay. - "Nobody was up there, "but we alerted police who came to check it out. "They helped us call a locksmith. "and search the house completely. "and our apartment and found nothing. "We hope whoever it was isn't able to come back. "I think this will be my last update. "unless there's some more updates or if the person returns.". Sorry, this person, I love this person. So there's not gonna be any more updates. unless there's some updates. (everyone laughs). And we're like, you got it. - You got it, dude.

- You got it, man. (everyone laughs). That's literally the sentence. "I think this will be my last update. "unless there's some more updates.". - That explains everything. But also like, except for the gnome where she's like-. - I know! - Like, is it that common where people are like, "Yeah, you have gnomes, "but like what was this about someone yelling 'babe'?". (everyone laughs). - Okay, you got gnomes, but what's all this other stuff? - She's like, my husband and I, we don't do drugs. except the one night we saw the gnome. (everyone laughs). - We don't do drugs. Just salvia. And it's-.

- And just that one night we saw that gnome. Anyway. - Guess what? Update. - Number four? So she had an update, so she updated! Yes! - Shayne, you're killing me. You're killing me. - It's almost like she said she'd do it and she did it. - Okay. - "Our friend sent us a few pictures from the loft, "the mattress, which used to be new, "a few trash bags and empty cans. "as well as what turned out to be woman's underwear. "that thankfully wasn't mine, "men's clothes, which aren't my husband's, "and a couple used condoms, which is unsettling.

"We are guessing it's probably a male pervert. "who has a thing for underwear and watching, "which is the worst outcome. "I doubt I'll have any other updates after this one. "Fingers crossed this keeps whoever it was out. "But police have said if we see anyone loitering. "or in the house/apartment again. "to call and they will be arrested thankfully. "Thanks again, everyone.". - That is horrifying. - All right, so that is actually the worst. A gnome, we would've loved a gnome. - Yeah. - I would've loved a family of gnomes.

- Unless they were also perverts. - All right, so everything effectively was explained. - Everything makes sense. And I feel like you never get this. - Except the gnome. - [Emily and Bailey] And the snake. - And snake. And snake. - And snake. - And snake. (laughs). - It was like, "Oh yeah, also the snake.". It's like, you did not tell us about the snake. - Well, that one's not paranormal. That's just like, uh-oh, gotta handle that. Not like there hasn't been snakes here in 1,000 years. (Shayne laughs). - The moaning makes sense. The jewelry. Underwear. It all makes sense.

Except the gnome. - I feel really bad 'cause this sounds like a horrible-. - Horrifying. - Horrifying situation. - I do think that the police gave her the equivalent. of what she did to us at the end of last story. Like, no updates unless there are updates. And the police are like, "Well, if the guy intrudes again. "and is a pervert in your house, "you can call us and then we'll handle it.". It's like, yeah. - I mean, what can you do? You could just be like, all right, well we looked and if-. - Start a manhunt for a pervert. Just start like clinking two underwears together and see if-.

- Have underwear underneath a big box with a stick. - [Damien] Yeah. - And when he goes under there, you pull the stick-. - There you go. And then boom. - And then he goes, "Duck season fire.". And then you shoot and his beak is backwards. - All right, we're getting a picture of the snake. (crew laughs). - I don't want pictures of the sink. I don't want pictures of the snake. I don't want pictures of the underwear or the mattress. I wanna see the gnome. - The bottles of piss. - Yeah. - Well, whoa, whoa, go back. - Wait, slow down. Oh, okay. A snake at the bottom. "My creepy house is playing with me.

"A snake at the bottom of the stairs?". And then there's a snake at the bottom of the stairs. But that's a snake. Like, snakes exist. And they will go into your house. - Snakes exist and gnomes don't! - [Shayne] Yeah. - What's he planning on doing? He doesn't have legs for the stairs. - Is this the first story? We (laughs). - It's been like a half hour. - I'm not gonna read-. - It's been 30 minutes? - [Damien] I don't know. - Should I read this? "I'm using the hairdryer. "and I hear what sounded like my husband again.

"This time I heard him say, 'Philly Goose,' my nickname, "in a high pitched sing songy voice. "He does this very often and I felt relief. "I open the bathroom door and I shout, "'Thank God, I've been really on edge.'. "No response. Nothing.". And then after all that, she goes down to the bottom of the stairs. and there's a snake at the bottom. I feel like once again it sounds like this guy. who was potentially living up there was like a creep. - Is this like a whole bit? Are you guys doing a never ending really scary story.

that's not gonna stop until the episode-. - [Shayne] No, no. - Because I'm starting to get a little freaked. - No, no. - Update. - Like, we're on like seven updates. - All right, but we didn't know we had that one. Okay, we're done. We're done. That's where it was left off. A bunch of creepy stuff happened. They found proof that a guy was living in the-. - You can't just do that. (Angela laughs). You can't just do that. I was like, no. No. - It always works with Amanda. And you went, "You can't just do that.". - I feel so bad in haunted houses. because I love scary stuff, but I'm not easily scared.

So usually like now we all have masks, but like, usually I'm just like smiling. and they're like, "Rah!". I'm like, "Ah!". Like, I'm just having a great time. Yeah. - That was so funny. I tried to scare you. You can't just do that. - You can't just. (everyone laughs). Sorry. No, you can't just do that. - [Angela] Next story? - Let's move on to our next story. So Angela can stop freaking out. - Yeah. It's all okay. - Update. There was another snake. - Our next story. I have gnomes in my house. No, I'm just kidding. - No, like literally. (laughs). - [Damien] I'm actually mad about it. - We should do that to Amanda's the second she's back.

- Yes! - And you're in the episode. - Yes! - That's fine. - And then we'll just keep going. (Shayne laughs). - Yeah, sounds like a great time, Shayne. Have fun. - All right. Okay. This one comes from the subreddit Advice, and it came from September of 2020. "I think my girlfriend has been trying to get me fired. "from all my jobs. "I'm shaken. "Please help me. "I'm a 24-year-old man, "and I've been with my girlfriend, let's call her Janice, "she's 29, for two and a half years.

"I just finished my education where we started dating. "and I have been doing all sorts of jobs since. "Sometimes two at a time. "I did this to expand my resume and gather job experience. "I worked in cafes, bookstores, a library, a grocery store, "and as an English tutor. "Most of those jobs lasted about three to five months. "My shortest stay was two and a half weeks, "my longest eight months. "But since I didn't have a hard time applying. "for new positions, I tried to block it out, "though it was kind of eating me up internally. "People called to complain about me.

"People left bad reviews about me. "People used my employee wifi access. "to look up sketchy things on the internet under my name. "Former employees called to inform them about me, "right name and all, "and much, much more subtle stuff that I couldn't disprove. "But I was too anxious to do anything about it. "I just told my girlfriend. "She comforted me. "She supported me every time I got my life ruined. "by these people. "But I kept going, though they kept finding me. "Fast forward to this week. "I currently hold a part-time position at a bakery. "I've been working there for two months and a half.

"It's going okay. "But my manager approached me. "about something regarding our Google reviews. "Someone was complaining about an employee. "and their description of them could only really fit me. "It was on a day where we were pretty short of staff, "so I could have been the only person in the store. "on that day for all I know. "Anyway, their review contained some pretty elaborate. "and nasty comments about me. "This has happened on one or two of my jobs already. "I told my manager that it was all pretty bogus. "and that someone had a vendetta against me. "as it has happened before.

"She believed me. "and told me that she'll dismiss the comment. "On my break, I checked out the review myself. "Their username was kind of stupid. "I'm not gonna type it out here since I still work there, "but I'll just call them Mick Myrtle. "as it was in the same range of sounds kind of fake, "but not really. "Anyway, I come home, but don't tell Janice about it. "She had heard it all before, "so I didn't see the point in complaining. "about another time I almost lost my position. "We chat, all is well, and she leaves the room. "Her phone is on the table, "and suddenly she gets a notification.

"or an email of some sort from Google. "I don't remember what it said exactly, "but the pop-up read something along the lines. "of 'Mick Myrtle, manager has responded to your review.'. "My heart dropped. "I've been trying to ignore it since. "This was two days ago. "It just fits in the picture of bad reviews. "It fits in the picture. "of the phone complaints my workplaces have received. "about me in the past. "It fits in the picture. "of all the sketchy things I've been fired for. "Why would she do that though? "I'm looking for an explanation. "This literally can't be.

"She's the only thing keeping me sane. "I don't know what to do.". - Dude. - [Shayne] Whoa. - That freaks me out. - I'm like almost lost at this because-. - Yeah, it's just like... She's just doing this to him. - I've seen a fair amount of like that category of thing. where like someone can like, the idea of like, wow, so one person's just gonna take it upon themselves. to like ruin your life. It's like, yep. Like, sometimes people can be like that.

- But they're still dating? - They're still dating and she still comforts him. - Well, it's only a couple days since he saw that. And so-. - But I mean like it wasn't a bad ex or anything. - No, they're together. And he's like talking about her like, oh, she comforts me. She's there for me. Like, this is all great. To be honest, this almost sounds like, and this is not a real sort of like diagnosis or anything, it reminds me of like Munchausen's by proxy type of vibes.

- It does, it does. - She's harming him to put him in a vulnerable position. where she's then there to comfort him. - She's also five years his senior. So it could just be, like he just finished school. and maybe it's like, oh, he doesn't need you anymore. Well, yes you do. Don't worry. - That's-. - We're not psychologists. Like, that is-. - I am. - Yeah. But I'm just like that reminds me of what I hear about. with those things. But it also reminds me of a Reddit story. that I don't know if we've read on here of a woman. who found out her boyfriend who is the sweetest guy.

She's like, he's so sweet, he's so great. She's like, but I found out that he on Reddit just goes on subreddits. and just says horrible shit to women. Like, leaves horrible comments to women. And I'm like, you think about this, how often in real life do you meet people that seem great? But you then go online. and you see all these horrible comments. and you're like, who is leaving these comments? Are they like that in real life? - Are they amongst us? - Honestly, it's a terrifying aspect of the internet, right?

Is that all of us are a little different. when we go onto anonymous forums and can type whatever. - [Angela] Yeah. - So like what are people doing? It's an awful thing to consider. - Yeah. - But it's why trust is so important. But this takes it to another level of like-. - A betrayal. - You're doing it to me. - [Damien] Yeah. - But it's a full thing. that people can get away with and do. - The internet is such a scary thing. Like, there's so much beauty that comes from the internet, like people connecting, et cetera, but so much power lies in the hand of like every individual.

that like even if one out of 10,000 people is crazy. and vindictive and mean, it's like that one person can have so much of an effect. on your life. - Yeah. - Yeah. It's once again, it goes towards the like being skeptical. of what you read on the internet. because you don't know who's posting it. You don't know who's saying it. And it's so scary that one person can get someone fired. from that many jobs.

- One person could create life on multiple levels. and come at you on all sides. That's what's scary about this. is like the multiple usernames. - [Shayne] Yeah. - I remember I took a class at UCLA. and it was like some type of psychology class or something. and it was all based in like, and this was like in 2015. And I can't imagine taking something like this now, but it was like a, it was a class where we got on "Second Life.". It was like-. - [Damien] Oh yeah. - And then we like-. - [Crew] "Second Life"? - Yeah. And she had us like be as different as we could.

and then kind of as far as we can go there. and then write about the idea that we had a separate life. And like what that made me think and the safety I felt. being able to do whatever I wanted. with no one knowing that was me. Right? - [Damien] Wild. - I mean, it was just, I mean it wasn't even that developed of a game I guess. at the time, but like that and just talking about like how no one knew. that was me and what that did to my brain, and like...

- No, I mean, here's the thing. The internet, as we know it, has developed so fast, so powerfully in the past, I mean five years, every year. Psychologists, our understanding of what it's doing to us. is not keeping up. We'll know in like 50 years what it's doing to us. But we're always gonna find out after the fact, right? And now we have AI talking to us all the time. We have no idea what that's doing to people. But like this is an aspect,

and anonymity does so much to a person. - Truly. - Like, it does so much to a person. And it's very scary. And clearly she has the ability to just invisibly-. - I mean, honestly, and these are stories though. that go back, like think about, this is so lame, but I'm thinking "Cyrano de Bergerac.". I'm thinking like disguises. Like, in old stories too, where it's like I wanna become another person. I wanna create life that's different than my own. And I wanna manipulate other people using my pen. It's like... - I can control people.

I can control his life. - My gosh. I never thought about like all the Shakespeare plays, it's like the original catfishing. - Yeah. - Yeah, "Midsummer Night's Dream"-. - Like "Twelfth Night.". - Is basically like gaslighting. - Yeah. Like violent. - Shakespeare's like this is gonna hit in 500 years. (everyone laughs). All right, comments. "Please for the love of God do not stay with that woman. "She is sick. "Who the hell does that to someone they love?". Someone replied to that saying, "It's like that girl who was putting nicotine patches. "on her partner every night, "so when she left he would be chemically dependent on her.

"and start going through withdrawal.". Did not hear that one. - Yeah, it's like that one time. - Yeah, it's like that one time with the gnome. Someone said, "This is extreme manipulation and abuse. "I feel sick to my stomach thinking. "about you having gone through this for years, "losing job after job and being devastated and confused. "The worst is you confiding in her. "and her knowing exactly what she did to you. "I really don't understand how anyone can do this. "to someone they love. "Please, OP, for your sake, "you need to leave this relationship.".

Lastly, someone said, "OP, this vile Mick Myrtle is the real version. "of your girlfriend. "The version you love is a fantasy image. "she used to trap you.". Yeah. This is one of those where it's like, I don't think you're gonna be able. to understand what's going on. - Yeah. - You can't. Update. - Oh. Gnomes. - "Hello, people who are still invested. "I'm sorry for not updating you guys earlier. "A lot has been going on. "First of all, yes, we broke up. "That's why I'll be referring to her as my ex from now on. "Anyway, let's start from the beginning.

"On the Monday of the following week, "I couldn't take the uncertainty anymore. "I told my ex I needed her booking account. "to book a train ticket to visit my dad for a few days. "She complied, "and when she was in the shower getting ready for work, "I booked my ticket and started looking through her emails. "After some digging, I found an email to herself, "which contained a spreadsheet file. "I sent the file to myself, printed it out, "and took a screenshot. "Why? "The spreadsheet contained about every single information. "about me that there was, "numbers, emails, passwords, work times,

"colleagues, their numbers and social medias, "as well as some emails and passwords. "that she used for accounts to ruin my life with. "Everything was on there conveniently sorted for her. "to ruin my life as efficiently as possible. "When she left for work, "I decided it would be best to immediately pack my stuff. "Nothing that mattered would be left behind. "I felt like a wanted man. "Like I was being hunted. "despite not being seemingly out of place. "I called my boss, "told her I would be taking some time off from work, "and headed out to see my dad. "Needless to say, he was the sanity I needed.

"I cried about everything I saw. "I panicked for a whole two days straight. "about how my life was ruined and I didn't know what to do. "He had to sleep on the couch in the guest room. "because I was so scared of my ex coming in. "He handled it like a champ. "I love you, Dad. "He called the police, a lawyer, "and most recently a therapist for me. "because I was in the most horrible state of my entire life. "We're currently sorting out the legal stuff. "I haven't talked to my ex. "except for letting her know it was over. "and that she's a sick psychopath. "My dad handled the rest. "I changed all my passwords, "and now I'm looking for a new place to live.".

And that's the last update. - Police, lawyer, therapy, repeat. Police, lawyer, therapy, repeat. - Yeah. Call the Avengers on your ex. - I like... I don't know. I'm sure all of us have experienced levels. of like breaches of trust. that sort of shake you for a while. I don't know how you'd process that. - Yeah. This makes cheating look like nothing. Like, I'm like, oh dude,

why couldn't you just sleep with someone else? Like, goddamn. - I'm scared for this person. - You're terrified. - And not just OP. I mean, I'm scared for this. Like, this person is-. - 'Cause that's behavior that doesn't stop. - No, they're not like lesson learned. - No, it's one of those where it's like, do everything you can 'cause this person needs to be like, something needs to happen. - [Angela] Yeah. - And it's not even that, like, this could follow specifically him for years. - That's where my head's at where I'm like,

I'd be more scared of you being my ex. Like, you need to be my ex. But I'm now terrified forever. - Yeah, that's what she did when she liked you. Sorry. - Yeah. No, no, no. It's like one of those types of extreme abuse. that it's gonna get worse when you stop it. And a lot of people are like, all they can do is rely on loved ones. Thank God OP had their dad. - [Damien] Yeah. - Like, you just need people around you. And that's just so, it's so hard and horrifying. I can't imagine. - I would probably do the same thing as him. I think... No, this is such a unique situation.

I've never heard of anything like this. But what I've also heard the advice given. in situations where it's like you need to get out. is like before they know that you're getting out, get everything in order. And so if I was his friend and he told me about this, I'd be like, change all your passwords, change all your information and then clean sweep, get out. - No, I mean that's a lot of abusive relationships. - That is like the best advice that I would've given him. But also at the same time, you have to get out. And even if it's worse when you get out,

it's like you have... Like, if you stay, you know what's gonna happen. - Well, isn't that kind of what he did? He was like, I'm gonna book a train ticket to see my dad. And then he is like, I got there and changed all my passwords. - I think he basically did that. Yes, he did effectively do that. And I think it worked out. 'cause she didn't know that he was, so I think that is effectively what he did. - It's kind of just, but it's about the point. where it's like an abuser at this level. is going to get set off so bad when you catch them. - [Shayne] Yes. - And they're gonna double down or come in in another way. And it's like you gotta protect yourself.

- Yeah. And fortunately they're not married, right? 'Cause I know people say that about like, get the-. - Get yourself together. - Get the papers together first. and then let them know because... But this is so unique and it's like terrifying. 'cause she is smart. She had a whole spreadsheet with all the information. I mean, what an awful... I would rather have every ghost in my house. - I was about to say, like, I wish this was ghosts. - I'll take ghosts every time. - Yep. - See, I don't know if I could. (crew laughs). - I will take ghosts every time.

- Ghosts can't use Excel, so you'd be in clear. - Ghosts can't make spreadsheets. I've never heard of a haunted spreadsheet. - But I can block a person. I can't block a ghost. - I'm gonna be real honest. I would be skeptical if I can block this person. This person seems terrifying. - No, you're so right. - I hope, it's been five years. I hope this person's doing well. I hope their ex is... I hope their ex has faced repercussions. I hope their ex... Or has miraculously learned to be a better person. - Yeah.

- Died. (Shayne laughs). - Or died. This next one comes from Am I The Asshole. "Would I be the asshole for telling my sister. "about her husband's creepy AF novel about me? "My sister, four years younger than me, "and her husband had been married for two years, "together for five. "Brother-in-law and I dated during high school, "and it ended under circumstances that were not ideal. "Brother-in-law and I have not gotten along. "since he and sister got together.

"My sister essentially believes I'm jealous of her. "for marrying my one who got away. "He is not that. "So our relationship has also suffered as a result. "This whole situation is already (censored) up. "And yes, I'm pretty sure it's putting my therapist's kid. "through college, but that's not the problem right now. "Recently brother-in-law has begun reaching out. "to me more frequently. "I've been very cautious. "But after talking it over with people in my own life, "chose to be more friendly toward him as part of an attempt. "at repairing certain aspects of my relationship.

"with the entire family. "Last week, brother-in-law asked. "if I would read a book he had written. "with the underlying implication. "that I would help him career-wise. "with his aspirations as a writer. "Out of politeness and curiosity I said sure, "thinking I would perhaps get a good laugh out of it. "and a story to tell my publishing friends. "The book is about us.". - No. (crew laughs). - "I don't know how else to put it. "It's a domestic thriller.

"So think 'Gone Girl,' 'You,' et cetera. "About a man who realizes he has married the wrong sister.". (Angela grumbles). "And becomes obsessed with his sister-in-law.". - Sugar water. Sorry. - "It's one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. "It doesn't exactly read like a manifesto, "more like something you'd see on r/MenWritingWomen.". - Bada ba ba ba ba. - "But aspects of the story were deeply unsettling.

"to me personally, "touching on things that happened to me. "in high school and later. "And I don't understand why he would give this to me to read. "unless he wanted to either creep me out. "or, as in the story, he intends to leave my sister. "and wanted to see if this would.". - Oh! - "Jesus, it's too weird to say, open a door with me?". (Angela yells). I'm the scat man! - Yeah, I was like... (everyone laughs). - I can't explain it, but I'm so uncomfortable I have to scat.

- The Angela Giarratana story. (Shayne scats). They said she couldn't jazz, but she just had to. - This man makes me scat! (crew laughs). - Well-. - [Angela] Keep going. - Don't say it like that. (everyone laughs). - That's the end of the clip. Nice. Perfect button. - Thanks. - "Here's how I'm conflicted. "People have always used art as a form of cathartic healing. "If a stranger handed me this book, "I would just say, 'not my taste,' and move on. "That said, this is my sister's husband,

"and I found certain elements so. "skin-crawlingly uncomfortable. "that I almost didn't finish it. "That also said, this is my sister's husband. "And I'm afraid based on the past, "that if I tell her about this, "she will flip out on me and not him. "and/or if she confronts him, "will he also just lie about the whole thing? "And on the off chance. "that it's more than just tasteless catharsis, "I don't want my sister to get turned into a skin suit. "There are no skin suits, but you get it. "And if it is just a fictional fantasy thriller,

"I'll either look like a paranoid asshole. "or the lawmakers who tried to ban video games. "after Columbine.". - I don't say this ever, and so it's not even in my vocabulary, but when she was like, here's when I'm conflicted, I almost went, "Honey.". Like, it just... 'Cause come on. - Yeah. I... No, there's no like, oh, well I'm conflicted here. It's like, no, this is wild. - I mean, I don't blame OP.

for not really fully being grounded in a response. 'cause this is is-. - 'Cause you're not expecting this. Same with the previous story. These are situations that you don't expect to happen to you. - And you don't expect your brain to have a logical. and safe response to something this scary. - Yes. - You're also probably kind of hoping. that someone in the comments is like, "Oh no, this is actually totally normal. "Don't worry about it.". In a weird way-. - You're like hoping. Yeah. - Because once again, similar to Reddit stories. where someone writes out something, 'cause like getting your thoughts out,

getting your fantasies out, getting all these things into a diary setting. where you write it all out and then you read it. and you go, "Oh, right, this is irrational. "Oh, right, this is stupid.". - [Angela] Yeah. - But he wrote a book about all of this. and then was like, "I want you to read this.". You know how much work goes into a book? This is too calculated. Too much time has gone by. This is a dead serious situation.

- And what sucks about this. is that like her sister's collateral damage here, right? And she's worried about their relationship. - And honestly, if her sister doesn't have her back here, she cannot- - Then just go. But get out. Get out. - You gotta give her sister the book and go, "You can read this. "If you don't think this is as serious as I do, "then you don't have to talk to me.". - You can't make that decision for like, you gotta give her the tools to be like-. - I'm showing you this book, not because I'm jealous. or in love with your husband. I'm showing this book because it's the other way around. - It's the pure opposite.

- And I'm getting away no matter what. And if you don't believe me, like I can't stop you. - Yeah. - I don't know. - Some comments here. "I don't have a judgment here, "but have you thought about asking him. "if your sister has read it and/or asking her?". OP says, "He says she hasn't read it, "but I could potentially ask her in an innocuous way. "in order to broach the subject.". Someone said, "Not the asshole. "I would handle it differently though. "Find a way to meet them when they are together. "and then tell him you really liked the book.

"Then ask her if she has read any of it. "She will obviously say no. "Then tell the story in the most optimistic way possible. "Try to get the (beep) out before someone gets emotional. "Good luck. "This shit is weird as hell.". I don't think that's, I don't know if I'm taking that advice. - That's very Reddit. Like, and then I stood up and everyone's like (claps). - Don't say you liked it to him. Like, don't say you liked it. That's not true. Someone said, "I think it would fall under not the asshole, "but your relationship with your sister is already strained. "If you are serious.

"about trying to salvage your relationship with her, "I would keep this bomb away from her. "Comedy option...". - Read it. Read it. - A silly one for mom. - A silly option. "Casually mention, oh, I saw brother-in-law's manuscript. "Had he gotten any offers for it?". Okay. OP said, "I'm 50% leaning towards your serious option. "and 50% leaning in the direction of if she finds this. "on his laptop/email and then finds out I knew about it, "she will be rightfully infuriated. "A bomb is right.". I don't know, man.

Like, it's his fault. - [Damien] Yeah. - He is the bad guy. And I'm sorry that your sister's on her side, despite the clear, obvious warning signs. that were there since high school. - That's the other thing too, with the high school, like she didn't get into specifics. and it's none of our business, but the way she made it sound, she was like, "It did not end on good terms. "We are not friendly.". And it's like we don't know what happened. and if she even has felt safe this whole time. - [Shayne] Yeah. - Like, this is creepy no matter what,

but she needs to be safe. - Yes. - And it's like, if the sister doesn't believe it, like I hope that's salvageable, but damn. - I feel bad for the sister too. - I do too. I know that's gotta be an awful situation. And it's awful in relationships. to like hear someone else say, "Yeah, your partner's awful.". And to be like, you don't wanna believe that. - And all you wanna dot wanna believe that angry. that it's being brought to you. - [Damien] Yeah. - Like, and just kind of killing the messenger. because you hate the message so much. And that sucks. - Right. Absolutely.

- And you look back and you're like, "Oh, sorry.". - Especially something so egregious. as like, oh, they wrote a book about me sexually. It's like, no. I can't handle that. I can't handle that my partner did that. - And I almost like humanize the sister getting angry. I know it's not right, but like, yeah, the other sister, the whole book is about her. But I'm starting to think like, I would even believe. that her sister's marriage is all not real.

You know what I mean? - That's the implication. Sure. - And like what a bomb for both of them. Like, that her whole life is, yeah, I don't know. Oof. - You're right. There's so many layers of it. because like when it's something that big, you don't necessarily know where to stop, where it's like, oh man, what a betrayal. And it's like, what if it goes this much deeper too? - And I'm not trying to like measure the pain, but like the book versus like this is her husband. - [Damien] Yeah. - Like, this is gonna turn her upside down. - Oof.

- Oof is right. - There's no more updates on that one. - 'Cause like our girl said a couple OPs before, no update because there isn't an update. - Yeah. - I'll update when I have an update. - Yeah. Seriously. I hope they're okay. - Me too. - Man, that sucks. ♪ Spooky scary ♪. ♪ Skeletons ♪. - "Am I overreacting for thinking my psychiatrist. "asking to move in with me is inappropriate.". - (laughs) Buddy, no.

No, you're not. - "So last week I had an appointment with my psychiatrist, "and I had disclosed to her. "that my husband and I were buying a house. "She asked for details of the house. "and when we were closing, so I told her. "She then replied with, 'That's perfect. "'I just need one bedroom and a kitchen. "'I like to cook.'. "Of course, at first I thought she was joking. "But then she went on. "She goes, "'I told my landlord I am moving outta my current place. "'because the commute is too far. "'and I'm looking for something closer to work. "'Would you be willing to rent a room out to me?'. "She then showed me text threads with her current landlord.

"who was praising her for being a good tenant. "I kind of brushed it off and said, "'Well, I don't know about a room, "'but the place we are renting now. "'will be available once we move out.'. "And she said that would be nice, "but she was looking for something cheaper. "As our session ended, "she told me to call her if I needed her. "And then she said, 'But I might need you first.'. "Now, my husband thought it was funny when I told him. "My best friend thinks this woman. "should not be a psychiatrist. "I have had previous uncomfortable encounters with her. "where she told me my miscarriages happened.

"because I wasn't happy enough. "And this most recent session she told me. "it's because my baby knew that we didn't own a home yet. "Am I overreacting. "thinking that this person is wildly inappropriate?". I don't know if you're seeing a psychiatrist. You might be seeing a demon ghost. - I miss the paranormal ones. - Please give me a ghost. - Where the (beep) are the gnomes? - Also it happened again. It really happened again, guys. Someone was talking about one spooky thing. and then they used something even spookier.

to just describe the behavior and then moved on. 'cause that is so (beep) terrifying, that thing about the children. - You know what I feel like? Okay, you know what I feel like happens? I don't think this is discussed often. I feel like sometimes people bring to like a friend. or to an accomplice, they bring like, hey, this thing happened, and it's the mild thing. - Because they're kind of scared. - And then in telling the mild, like, 'cause it's kinda like putting your toe in the water. It's like, yeah, so this person said this stupid thing.

And yeah, I mean obviously they said this other stuff. - [Angela] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - I kind of feel like that happens a lot. And that almost feels like her writing it out, being like, yeah, it's kind of weird. And yeah, this other stuff happened too. And it's kind of putting, like, it's allowing her-. - Helps you process. - No, for sure. - 'Cause like, oh my god. - I think the brain is funky. with how it takes care of itself. - I like your little hat. - Thanks. - Little gnome. - I think sometimes it like presses down the stuff. that's even worse. And that's just like survival, I guess.

- When talking to my therapist about something once, I like went on a little tangent in the middle of the story. and like continued on and she actually went, "Oh my god.". And I was like, "Oh, what? "Oh, that was bad, huh?". (Shayne laughs). "Yeah, I guess that was pretty bad. "But anyway, back to the thing I meant.". But like to make your therapist stop and go like, "Ah.". I was like... - Like, dissociation is real. - Horrible people do manage to get degrees and licensed.

- Every day. - It does happen plenty. Should we trust professionals? Yes. But also it is a doctor, and getting second opinions. and third opinions is very smart. - There we go. - And if you see a psychiatrist. and they're saying anything like that, which is also not based in any sort of science. - The person in charge of your brain meds. - Yeah, it's like you could be like, "I'm gonna go see a different psychiatrist.". - See? This is why we give him the iPad, folks. (crew laughs). Good job. Well said.

- I feel like I say the most common sense things. - No, but no, but you have to say that to be like-. - Say the most basic things just to establish a ground-. - Oh, I wasn't making fun of you at all. I thought you did that very well done. Where it's like we shouldn't, like, yeah, people have degrees and stuff, but you need second opinions, especially when it gets like that. - Can I make a wild comparison? - [Damien] Please. - It reminds me of when I was doing really bad at math. in fifth grade. I was behind in math, like horribly. And so my parents were like, we're gonna take you and put you in Kumon.

The like math learning program. And I go, and like by this time in fifth grade, we're doing like long division and stuff. But I go and I'm like, all right, like, I'm gonna start doing math. 'cause apparently I suck at it. But then they're like, all right, great. And I get my first packet and it's truly zero plus zero. And I remember being like, this is an insult. Come on, guys. And they're like, no, we start you at literally the basic ground level. And they're like, the reason we do that. is because if you missed something at the very base level,

it's gonna mess you up all the way to the top. - Whoa. - And so it's like, if you somewhere along the line. thought two plus three equals six, that's messing you up here. - That's just alternative facts. - And I don't even know where I caught that I did mess up, but I went from being behind. to being in the advanced program in like five months. - Wow. That-. - And so, and like I was doing like crazy. I did stuff in sixth grade in Kumon. that I never hit in college. - Wow. - Like, I was doing crazy shit. Just 'cause like they're like, all right, now you're moving, now you figured it all out.

And I was like, I don't know what I missed, but I missed something that was so basic. But it's kind of why it is important. to like establish these ground rules. Like, 'cause another example that we see in Reddit stories. is like toilet etiquette, right? Where people are like, oh yeah, like we have a poop knife. and that's normal and everyone has it. And it's like, no, we don't, but like because we don't talk. about these basic level things you miss it. - Wow. I mean that's really wise, Shayne. Now I'm thinking about that. for like even people with relationships.

where like, go back and in a fundamental age, in like an early relationship, you were treated a certain way. that made you believe something about your worth. It was a learning curve that you never healed. - It's why people will, like, you'll hear something so atrocious said to someone. and they'll just be like fine with it. And it's like, you know that was bad, right? - [Damien] Yeah. - And they'll be like, "No.". It's like, somewhere along in your life. you learned that that was actually okay. It's so common knowledge that that's bad what they said.

But in our learning, we miss these very, very basic things. It's so important to like establish the baseline. over and over. It's boring. - Or we learned, like that happened to you. and your body has to keep going and pushes down. - Totally. - Yeah. Protects you by doing-. - Totally. And we all have that. We all have the blind spots. But this person thought it was okay. that the psychiatrist said that to them. - Because they are an authority figure. And if you're not used to it, like if you hear something like that, even if you think it's a little bit off,

like everything they've said so far to you. has been something you've taken as the truth. Like, I do need that medication. That is a good way to treat things. Yada, yada, yada. The baby thing is weird, but okay. You know? - It's also the tough balance of like, we have such a distrust of science and medicine nowadays, but you also, you need to find that healthy balance. of trusting your own judgment. while also trusting the judgment around you. But that's why it's like, it's always okay to go get second opinions. It's always okay to go to another professional.

- [Damien] Yeah. - [Angela] Yeah. - Anyways, let's move into the verdict, which is not overreacting, obviously. Comments. "Is she even a licensed therapist? "Yes, this is a massive violation of your personal. "and professional relationship. "Does she work on her own. "or part of a group of therapists at the office? "If she works for a group, "I would call up and ask to speak to a manager. "I would ask for a different therapist. "or a referral to a different office. "Tell them the story about what happened.". Someone else said, "Are you a recovering people pleaser? "Perhaps she was testing your ability to set boundaries?

"Aside from that, it's definitely weird though. "And if she's being 100% serious, it's worth reporting to be honest.". OP said, "I am a people pleaser, "but I haven't been seeing her very long, "so I'm not sure she would be testing me. "But I don't really know.". - A good therapist shouldn't be testing you. - Yeah, no, that's not how it works. - I'm just gonna say that. - That's not how it works at all. - The only test. is how much you can make your therapist laugh. so you become their favorite client. - And that's me every time. - [Shayne] Yes. - Not because I'm making them laugh, but I try to just-. - You gotta be the favorite. - I gotta.

- Gotta be the favorite. - Someone said, "Psychologist here. "Wildly inappropriate and unprofessional. "She needs to be reported to her board, "licensing agency, bosses if she has them, "to your insurance company, et cetera. "And you need to find a new doc stat. "So sorry this happened to you. "She should not have done that.". Update. "I am reporting her and switching providers. "Thanks for all the comments.". - Great. - Thank God. (Angela and Damien applaud). - And there's no horror movie. because you did the right steps. - Update. I went back to her office, and she hadn't been there for 20 years.

- What? All that I saw was a little snake and a little hat. - (laughs) And a little gnome. - And my sink has soapy water. - Yeah, my sink's all soapy. - And the sink kept calling me babe. - I mean, I feel like I hear nightmare therapist stories. a lot these days 'cause I think it's a thing. you just gotta triple double check. That person's inherently in a place of power. or like in manipulative possible, I don't know. - Also to be clear, for therapists and psychiatrists, I mean, I don't know about psychiatrists, but therapists,

therapists aren't actually supposed to be like telling you. what to do. - [Angela] Yeah. - They are supposed to like guide you. and ask the right questions and help you figure it out. - [Angela] Yeah. - If you have a therapist that's going, "You need to break up with your boyfriend,". or like obviously moving in with them is wildly a breach. But like it's okay to be skeptical. Like, I think therapy is so important. It's so huge. It's wildly expensive, so I understand why a lot of people can't do it. But like if you're able to, it's also okay to be like,

you know what, this therapist, I'm not feeling it. - [Damien] Yeah. - You are allowed to keep going to new therapists. Like, keep trying it out. But like have that healthy balance of am I right? What am I feeling? - I think the best way to do that. is to like talk to other people. Like, this person went to a Reddit, so it's important to just like talk to others. - Absolutely. - Yeah. - [Shayne] Absolutely. - Communication's key. - Diversify. Similar to stocks and bonds, you also diversify your network. and get everyone's opinions and feelings on things. - And feelings on things. - Bitcoin of emotion.

- Whoa. (everyone laughs). - Spooky. - [Emily] This is getting really scary. - Whoa! NFTs are back. - Shayne if he sold Bitcoin. Oi! - Put everything in a high yield money market. of, you know, treasury bonds, which is basically-. - You guys feel like today's been seven years? - Yeah, dude. - I do. That's the gnome effect. - You wanna know something scary? We shot the "Try Not To Laugh Smosh Mouth" episode. I don't know when that aired. - I wanna say four hours. - But no. We filmed it hours ago,

but it aired like a month and a half ago. - And that's scary. - But we filmed that today. So we filmed that hours ago. So imagine the headspace we're in. 'Cause if you haven't watched that, go back and watch that now. - You're gonna be like, "What?". - It's insane. - And Angela and I specifically, we were both nap takers. - You guys took a, I walked out and you guys were asleep. And I go, "Ready for 'Reddit Stories'?". You went, "Yeah.". - And in between them, play a little game. - This is how we do it here. - That's true.

- Our next story comes from Relationship Advice. This is a 22-year-old boyfriend, 19-year-old girlfriend. "My boyfriend won't stop curling my hair in my sleep.". - Oh. - Okay. Just a little serial killer behavior. (everyone laughs). - You smell different when you sleep. - "My boyfriend is curling my hair in my sleep.". (Angela yells). "How do I confront him?". - Get off! - "My boyfriend has always been interested in my hair, "and he likes to watch me curl it, et cetera. "Then he started asking me to curl it. "Just subtle hints at the beginning, which then evolved.

"After this going on for a few weeks, "it progressed and he became more pushy about it, "resulting in lots of arguments. "These got progressively worse for a few months. "Then recently, probably about two weeks ago, "I noticed strands of my hair were curled. "when I woke up in the morning. "I've also noticed my curlers have been moved around. "and are slightly warm when I go to use them. "At first I didn't think much. "and just put it down to my erratic sleeping habits, "but my hair gets progressively more curly. "every time it happens. "I don't know how to confront him about this. "as when I tried, he denied and became extremely agitated.".

- Oh. - "If anyone has had similar experiences. "and/or some advice, please share.". - Not similar, but I've got advice. (crew laughs). - Yeah. - Get outta there. - Yeah. Done. Done deal, man. - It's kinda like what you're saying. about like not knowing the baseline. Like, 19 to 22, I'm assuming that this is probably the first, maybe in the first couple of like, oh, it's a boyfriend. that I can actually like stay over the night with, whatever. Like, is it normal that he gets kind of mad about those? Nope, bodily autonomy.

You didn't consent to any of that. Time to go. - This is bad! I thought we heard the worst today. This is the worst. I hate this. I think this man needs to go away! And take a long shower and really, oh, I hate him. No. She said no. It's not your body. Go away. Sorry. - No, don't be sorry. - I got too real. - No, I feel like this case, cut, dried and curled. (Angela laughs). - No, no, no. Just cut and dry.

- No. Yeah, awful. Comments. (crew laughs). I don't know what else to say. - Comment. What? Next top comment. What? - Because at the top of this I was like, oh, I don't wanna like kink shame if he's like into curls, but she said no. - Yeah. - And then-. - [Emily] He used hot tools! - I don't care if it's cold, Emily! (everyone laughs). - Cold curl. - She doesn't wanna do that. - Like a little cold curl. - You know, you got, little cold curl. - I love cold curl.

No, this guy's gotta go! Read a book! - Yeah. Can I get a hamburger, a shake, and can I get a side of some cold curls? (everyone laughs). - We have some curly fries from yesterday. Why do you call 'em that? - You know what I want. (everyone laughs). All right, comments. "Every day I think I cannot be surprised by this app, "and every day I am proven wrong.". - Me too. Me, me. - [Shayne] It is shocking. - Up, up vote. - Someone said, "I'm thinking of her dead asleep.

"when he sneakily curls her hair with a comb or hot iron, "and it seems hilarious to me. "Not to her though. "This is definitely wild.". Lastly, someone said, "If he became agitated when you tried to confront him, "I'd say this should be the end of the relationship.". - Yes. - Yeah. - "He is clearly aware that you don't want him to do this, "but now does it when you're asleep. "absolutely without your consent. "He could be doing other things without your consent. "Even if he isn't right now, he could get bolder. "as he knows you can sleep through the hair curling.". - Yeah, like this is so quirky of a weird thing.

But at the end of the day, it's just not respect. And it's like we talked about this before with the stories. where someone is like, someone does something to them when they're asleep. or like, you know, like the person sleeping under the, like it's just your safe space. and it's like, I just, like this guy's gotta go just like curl his own (beep) hair. - Yeah. - Shove the curling iron up his throat. - Like how you switched that mid-sentence. Shove the curling iron... - He should just shove that curling iron right up. into the drawer and put it away. (everyone laughs).

- Sorry, we're cutting all that anyway. Okay. - All right, there's nothing else to say on that one. - Yeah, that's so scary. - That is awful. All right, our last story. - Please be a ghost. Come on, man. - I like just want it to be a gnome and not a stupid idiot. - No more just creepy dudes. - This last one is a Today I (beep) Up. - And now I'm dead and haunting things. - "Today I (beep) up by being a horny 21-year-old. "and not realizing how scary a girl actually was.".

Girls are scary. So I've heard. - Can you just read that again? - "Today I (beep) up by being a horny 21-year-old. "and not realizing how scary a girl actually was.". So he clearly got himself into a situation. 'cause he's like, "Oh, I can get laid,". but not realizing she was probably like a vampire. or something. - Okay. - I hope so. - [Shayne] I hope so. - Okay. - So this story happened, this story was posted four years ago,

but it happened five years prior. He's talking about a story from five years before. - On this very day. - Yes. "I had been seeing this girl for a couple of weeks, "pretty casual, but she was really fun and funny, "if not a bit intense. "After a few weeks she starts referring to me. "as her boyfriend and talking about meeting her parents. "I'm not feeling it, but being a douchey 21-year-old, "I go with it 'cause she's having sex with me. "So it all comes to a head one night. "when she pulls me into a room off of her bedroom,

"laid out on the floor are dozens. "if not hundreds of pictures of her. "And I'm not talking about sexy pictures, "which would still be weird, but regular pictures of her, "pictures with her family, her friends from high school, "definitely one Christmas card. "with her whole-ass family on it. "She then proceeds to ask me to have sex with her. "right there. "Shit was creepy. "So I left real fast after I finished.". - Okay. Moving on. - "After regaling some friends with that bizarre tale,

"they were pretty sure she was cursing me. "or stealing my soul, "I cut it off with her. "and she proceeded to come by my work daily for hours. "and stare at me.". - Well, you don't say. (everyone laughs). - "That went on for a couple of months before we banned her. "After that she would send me messages on Facebook. "about how we were meant to be together. "and how much she loved me. "I'd get a message every couple of months. "before I eventually blocked her. "Haven't seen or heard from her in years. "Thank God.". - She's just gotten better at hiding, dude.

- Yeah. - So the pictures were on the ground. and they had sex on top of the pictures of her? - She just didn't have any rose petals. She's like, "Have all these Polaroids, I guess, of me and my family.". - Oh God. - And they're just like normal pictures? - [Shayne] Yeah. - That's what's weird. - Oh, that's (groans). - That made, yeah-. - Also like family Christmas card is rough. Come meet my parents. And they're like, "Hi, Rick.". - That's really weird!

- Oh God. - Oh my god, I wonder if that was like a spell. If you have sex with someone on top of pictures of them. and their life. - He needs a counter curse of some kind. - Yeah, he needs to jack off completely by himself. (everyone laughs). - He's like, "That's it? "Oh, thank God. "I think I've already broken that curse like 12 times.". - That's all I had to do? - That was easy. (everyone laughs).

- But fool, you'll never learn the counter. Oh, what are you doing? - Oh God. - Y'all, that, whoa. - That's a cold curl right there. (everyone laughs). - Stop that! - That's a gnome right there. Oh. - Oh, I feel bad for him. That's scary. She showed up to the work. - Okay, but it's been five years and he hasn't seen her. - What if his work, is it a, gulp, a, gulp, is at a mortuary? - I love that the top comment in quotation is, "Left so damn fast I almost didn't have sex.".

(everyone laughs). A good Reddit comment. That's a good Reddit comment. - Good comment, good comment. - Thank you for the gold, kind stranger. (everyone laughs). - Someone said, "After a few months you had this. "as a daily occurrence for hours on end for months. "before you banned her?". Coming to his work and staring at her. and it took months to ban her. I understand some workplaces, that's just how it goes. - She might buy something. I don't know. - Someone said, "My theory is the OP did get their soul stolen. "OP is actually the girl who completed the ritual. "to steal his life and the girl stalking him.

"after is original OP trying to get his body back.". - Yep, yep, dude, I was thinking that. I was literally thinking like, what if it keeps, like, what if someone sees him later and someone's like, no, someone had sex with you and you had photos. Like, what do you mean? - Oh, it's like-. - "It Follows" situation. - Oh! - Dude, this is way better than what they wrote. (everyone laughs). - Whoa! - Yeah. - This was a lot today.

- That was a lot. I think ghouls gotta up their game because-. - Ghouls need to start doing stuff. - These were all scary for sure, and I'm glad we had a gnome in there. That's awesome. But like a lot of creepy people. A lot of creepy people. - Nothing scarier than trauma. - Turns out that people are still the scariest thing. in the universe. - And so is Reddit. - Black holes second place. - There are planets where it rains molten glass forever. - That's kind of gorgeous. because it's just happening over there. (Damien laughs). (Shayne laughs).

- Is that a ghost? It's over there. Don't worry about it. - It's over there. He's not here. It's over there. It's over there. - It's in Disney World, dude. They can't even come here in your mirror or anything. - They're under contract. They can't leave. - Walt had his ducks in a row with the occult. - Well, are you guys scared? - Yes. - Yes. - Yeah, me too. - Today was, yeah, this was a very scary "Reddit Stories.". - It was. Yeah. - Thanks for hanging out. - Thanks for having us. - [Damien] No problem. - Powering through it.

And thank you for watching. Let us know if there's any gnomes under your bed. - Yeah. Are you in Spain? Is it a normal occurrence? - Yeah, what's the deal with gnomes? - I love that, by the way. - Give it up for the art department. - Yeah, did they make that? They made that? - They made this. - Damn. Whoa. - That's so cool. - Awesome. - I literally love it. Guys, what if we name it? - What? - Or we can just end the video. (everyone laughs).

Thanks for coming. Goodbye! - Bye! - Bye! See you next Saturday!