Short Stuff: Two Scary True Shorties! | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. hey and welcome to the short stuff I. should say hey and welcome to the short. stuff I'm Josh and there's Chuck and. Jerry's here too skullking around like a. real ghoul who just wants to dig up a. grave and eat the corpse inside that's. what Jerry does around this time of year. uh and this is short stuff so let's get. going because it's basically Halloween. that's right the day before Halloween. we're going to talk about two scary. stories big thanks to medium People.

magazine Cult of weird and the cut and. other places for these two scary stories. the first one about the britzius family. of alurn Pennsylvania who moved into a. home for their family of. six they were like let me let's renovate. a little bit let's take down this wall. in the living room and oh my God what is. that basically because what they found. within the walls of the home were.

dead animal carcasses bones and. skeletons yes and very quizzically they. were wrapped in newspaper uh that dated. from the 1930s and 40s and apparently. every wall that they opened up to put. insulation and they found it packed with. not only like dead animals but also some. spices artifacts and by God I searched. high and low for an example of what the. artifacts were but everybody just. followed the example of whoever first.

wrote artifacts and that's all you can. get so I have no idea what the artifacts. are maybe that was in. newspapers I guess those qualify as. artifacts yeah yeah all right we'll just. say that so spices newspapers and dead. animals and they're like I don't know. what's going on here so let's ask some. locals what they think is happening and. uh it turns out that these people bought. their house smack dab in the middle of. Pennsylvania Dutch Country and it turns. out what had happened is they discovered.

that their house uh was being protected. via a kind of Dutch magic Pennsylvania. Dutch magic called. poow that's right uh has its roots in. Pennsylvania there and it's sort of like. um I mean Christianity is is part of it. because they do use the Christian or I. don't know if they're still around or. maybe did use the Christian Bible I. think it is still around okay but. there's definitely folk magic healing. remedies stuff like that um paow refers.

to uh or it actually came from um this. German book called the long lost Friends. by uh John George homman published in. 1820 and they believe that um it wasn't. called powwow at first but it was. renamed that later after the Algonquin. word uh for you know pawow Gathering of. medicine men and that was it it was it. was this book basically uh that also has. kind of a creepy backstory though. right uh well yeah so just a little more.

about the book it's a bunch of folk. remedies and spells and recipes and hey. use this you know cat's paw for you know. to ward off this thing and it very. importantly to me um the no nothing in. the book is for casting spells against. somebody or for hexing somebody it's all. protective or defensive to like undo. some heck somebody did on you so it's. basically all positive and poow doctors. who again are still around today they. don't take a scent for what they're. doing if you want to give them something.

as a a token of thanks they'll accept it. but they do not charge for their. services or else it won't work and to. the people that they're working with and. themselves they are a conduit through. from God to this person who needs. healing and that's what they're serving. as which is where the Christianity part. comes in that's right uh and I mentioned. the creepy backstory of that book uh. here is that because in. 1928 uh it was found um in the. possession of of a a guy a murderer.

named John. blim and there was a local witch in this. story named Nelly null great name and. what great name Nelly n yeah for yeah. absolutely um uh John blim was convinced. that he was cursed by one of his. neighbors and so he went to break into. that neighbor's house to find the spell. book and try and reverse this curse but. when he broke in his neighbor was. actually there so and they just killed. him they mutilated him and they thought.

maybe that will lift the curse so that. has nothing to do with actually what's. in the book cuz like you said it's a. it's a positive book of uh of protection. spells mainly uh but it is Halloween so. I thought it was worth mentioning yeah. and also reverse the curse sounds like a. Cubs t-shirt from the. 90s you know yeah yeah totally or Red. Sox maybe so yeah it turns out that the. um the house of Nelson REM the neighbor. who was killed by John blim it's still. around and his great-grandson lives.

there and the part of the floor where. REM was burned alive is still singed and. the guy has cut it out and put. plexiglass over it and gives tours of. the house that's right and again has. nothing to do with this home or the dead. animals in the wall uh they're just dead. animals in the wall and by all. appearances it was part of a powwow. protection uh ritual uh they don't know. what that house might have been trying. to be protected from that's kind of. creepy yeah but they took care of.

everything to the tune of about $20,000. because insurance would not cover it no. they said this existed before your. policy so Ts for you the spookiest part. of the story. exactly uh so let's take a break and. we'll come back and talk about a second. real life Horror Story how about that. let's do it. [Music].

stuff you should. [Music]. know stuff you should know should know. okay Chuck so for this second real life. scary story we're going to talk about.

The Saga of Derek and Maria Brodus who. bought a a dream home essentially in. Westfield New Jersey in. 2014 uh they paid over asking for it. which is also very scary um they paid. 1.4 million for it uh and this house was. a four B sixth- bedroom Dutch Colonial. which should be the opposite uh it was. built in. 1905 and they loved the house they. thought it was amazing what they didn't. know is that there was a stalker.

watching the house who called thems. appropriately The Watcher that's right. uh this is of course the basis of the uh. Netflix show The Watcher uh and we. should also say we're going to cover. this in about six or seven minutes and. this is a very Den story so there is a. lot more out there about the Watcher and. this is the broadest of overviews about. the broadest family you like. that uh but this house was originally. built in 1905 uh about a month before. closing.

um the woods family who was selling it. got a letter from someone that called. themselves The Watcher sure it was. handtyped and they claimed to be. watching the house in one of a long line. of people in their family that had been. watching the house since 1905 yeah and. one little note about the the letters. the letters were tip but the envelopes. were hand um handwritten in a blocky. script uh yes and that to me S suggests. strongly that The Watcher couldn't.

figure out how to type onto an envelope. which I find. hilarious yeah that's pretty funny uh so. 657 Boulevard uh is where this house is. and um the woods family had lived there. for 23 years they were like this letter. is kind of weird it's a little creepy. but we're selling it and let's just not. tell anybody that right um so yeah. apparently it was the first letter they. ever got no one ever seems to have. intimated that they got one prior to.

this so they just kind of threw it away. and were just like whatever and then uh. over the the course of the next month as. the bruses start started moving their. stuff in three days after closing in. June they received a letter their first. letter and uh it was essentially The. Watcher introducing themselves to this. new family who' moved into this house at. 657 Boulevard that the Watcher was um. the third generation to watch this house.

hey Dave maybe we could uh Dave producer. Dave For the Shorties maybe we' have. some scary music when we read these. letters great idea great idea so cue the. scary music and here we go with letter. two my grandfather watched the house in. the 1920s and my father watched in the. 1960s it is have be and of course put. the little parenthetical SI I in there. which means I'm not the dummy there're. the D it is have be put in charge of. watching and waiting for its Second. Coming you don't want to make unhappy.

talking about the house MH do you need. to fill the house with the young blood I. requested I asked the previous owners to. bring me young blood so this is not the. kind of letter you would want to get. when you're moving into your new house. especially because you have kids and. this person is this Anonymous letter. writer is mentioning young blood that. you apparently brought to them and um. they the The Watch said that the woods.

had sold the house because the Watcher. asked them to and they were doing the. Watcher's bidding something that the. Watcher liked to apparently think about. thems that they were in control of. everything that happened with this house. and two weeks later another letter. arrived it was addressed to Mr and Mrs. bradus they left the O out this time and. it got even more detailed about the kids. yeah I was talking about their birth. order their nicknames uh and this is. very creepy but it asked who uh would be.

in the street facing rooms and said it. will help me to know who is in which. bedroom then I can plan. better man don't forget the music there. dat yeah so Derek brus did what every. normal father uh and husband would do in. 2014 he set up webcams in the house. yeah yeah and they hadn't moved in by. the way in fact never moved in they had. moved some of their stuff in MH but. given what was happening they were slow. rolling I.

yeah so weeks after the second letter so. this is a couple months after they. closed on the house they got another. letter that said where have you gone to. 657 Boulevard is missing you and um. that's fairly creepy but at least it. wasn't a threatening letter this time uh. but it also showed that the Watcher was. clearly watching the house and so a year. went by a year Chuck where these people. who paid almost one and a half million. for their house never moved into it.

because they were too scared of whoever. this person was and they also grew very. paranoid I don't think the Netflix. special um took any liberties with that. I think it was like an actual depiction. of um like how this family especially. the dad kind of descended into paranoia. and suspecting anyone and everyone of of. being The Watcher um they just couldn't. take this at all so they just never. moved in the house and they tried to. sell it and it did not go very well I.

thought a second ago you were going to. say these people did move into their 1.4. million million dollar house for a year. because they were too scared and. privileged right yeah yeah we just want. to move in so um one other thing too I. called it a Netflix special which I. think kind of outed me as almost 50. right you know a program it was the. Netflix movie of the week you watching. your. programs so they uh went to court and. said said hey these Woods people got.

this they knew about this they didn't. disclose this now we've got this um. scary haunted house uh or maybe not. haunted maybe being stalked by a real. dangerous person and the woods were like. no no no no that's not true that that. didn't happen and so news started. getting hold of this they started. reporting it uh they actually did DNA. testing and found that uh woman's DNA on. the envelopes and letters uh and that. they had. uh cerney postmarks on them yeah that's.

20 miles away and closer to New York I. don't know if we said this um this whole. thing takes place in uh what is it. Westfield New Jersey right yeah of. course New Jersey okay so um the the. cops are involved now the the. prosecutor's office is actually involved. they're spending money testing this. stuff for DNA like you said and um they. started theorizing of who it could be uh. and that they thought that maybe it was. one of the uh other prospective buyers.

who was mad that they've been out bid by. the bruses maybe they get them out of. there yeah could yeah exactly could have. been one of the neighbors like the The. Watcher essentially intimated and then. there was a lot of Suspicion on the brus. family too that they were essentially. like the um the family from The. Amityville Horror that they had they. were trying to basically create a. sellable story which is what turned out. to be the case actually yeah or buyers. remorse too that's another one too um. but they uh that would that would be a.

terrible terrible thing to do if you. just wanted to sell the house and there. were other people who had offered over. asking why would you like saddle it with. a a now famous stalker rather than just. being like we're going to sell it and. we'll try to sell it at least Break Even. yeah yeah for sure that doesn't make. much sense yeah uh so in 2016 they tried. to subdivide the property into a couple. of lots get rid of that house build two. more the zoning board in the town said.

no no big slap in the face and um they. rented the place and the renter was like. yeah I mean I know about this Watcher. thing but like I wasn't too freaked out. it was fine it was a good house to rent. and I did have a clause an out Claus in. my lease in case another letter popped. up smart and another letter did pop up. and this was uh a really creepy one and. I think you should read this one oh the. whole thing okay violent winds and. bitter cold to the vial and spite Derek. and his wench of a wife Maria you wonder.

who the Watcher is turn around idiots. maybe you even spoke to me one of the. so-called neighbors who has no idea who. the Watcher could be or maybe you do. know and are too scared to tell anyone. good move I walked by the news trucks. remember this whole thing had become. like a media Circus by now when they. took over my neighborhood and mocked me. I watched as you watched from the dark. house in an attempt to find me. telescopes and binoculars are wonderful. inventions. 57 Boulevard survived your attempted.

assault and stood strong with its Army. of supporters barricading its Gates my. soldiers of the boulevard followed my. orders to it te They carried out their. mission and saved the soul of 657. Boulevard with my orders all hail the. Watcher pretty full of themsel right. yeah he he kind of came across as a. smarmy a-hole in that one whoever this. Watcher is he or she don't forget they. found female DNA on the envelope oh yeah. that's true this sounds like something a. guy would do though uh they did mention.

the renter in that letter uh the renter. was a little bit spooked but was like. but I'll stay here you know I like this. place uh get some of those cameras in. there and uh I'll be fine uh and then. there was one last spooky um spooky tag. on this letter about the Revenge that. might befall them maybe a car accident. maybe a fire maybe something as simple. as a mild illness that never seems to go. away but make makes you feel sick day.

after day after day after day after day. maybe the mysterious death of a pet. loved ones suddenly die planes and cars. and bicycles crash bones break they. threatened to make a plane. crash hey that's pretty scary so how'. the whole thing end up the brus family. finally did sell the house about five. years after they bought it right yeah at. a $400,000 loss and that is the into the. story what I don't know is how the.

Netflix show that surely it just doesn't. wrap up that way there's oh you haven't. seen it no have you yeah it's good oh is. it good you watch the whole thing yeah. it's how does it end well don't tell me. how it ends I guess on air but I. honestly don't remember how it ends but. I don't it didn't seem to um it didn't. seem to be like a a succinct ending like. everything was wrapped up if I remember. correctly oh but it it gets nuts man. it's off the rails it's got and you know. I'm sure they fictionalized a lot of it. but um it's got uh what's his name the.

guy like rose bur's husband Bobby kavali. oh he's married to Rose bur I didn't. know that yeah one of my favorite. couples and I sat next to him in a. lounge at LaGuardia Airport one time and. he smiled at me so y I think we got. something Brewing there friendship wise. I think so too well then you should. definitely watch the Netflix special on. The Watcher because you need something. to talk about with that's right and. thanks to everyone for indulging this. extra long two-part shorty and uh be. safe tomorrow Happy Halloween everybody.

happy Halloween everybody short stuff's. out stuff you should know is a. production of iHeart radio for more. podcasts iHeart Radio visit the iHeart. Radio app Apple podcasts or wherever you. listen to your favorite shows. [Music].