S1 E09: The Descent

The Warning Woods has haunting horror stories that are sure to linger with you long after listening. I'm Miles Treidel, writer and narrator of The Warning Woods. Each week, I write an original scary story and share it with you. If you're into scary stories, you need to check out The Warning Woods. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search. When I was a kid, my dad used to read to me every night. We read John Grisham or...

Martha Grimes novels. Boss! Mendez, catch me up. I saw a girl excited for her move. No, I think she was coerced into making that video. Seriously?

Whatever it is, I promise we can do something to help. It's too late for that. It's too late. It's too late. But what they don't seem to tell you in a lot of those novels is this. The real shit, it's a lot worse. Fran. what's this missing persons case i'm sure you're sad that i'm gone and i'm going to you saw the signs in the video right the slurred speech the franticness

She kept looking to her right, and I think she was coerced into making that video. Seriously? We're following up on the old case file, given the situation. About the radio station shootings? I think what Sheriff Crowley is trying to say is that we don't want to leave anything unturned since the tragedy. We need to get in there. I made the calls. You stand down until we figure this out. The Crowley miniseries. All ten episodes available now at patreon.com slash howigied.

Excuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me. Coming through. Hello. Let me by. Everybody back up, please. Excuse me. Let him through. Jesus. Thanks. What's going on? High-profile case. Vanderbilt family. I'm not familiar. They're the founders of the town. Been here for generations. Now, they're opening up this new apartment complex on the east side. And as luck would have it, we've got a body on the first day of showing. I gotta say, I'm kind of surprised that you called me in on this one. Why?

Well, after our talk in the woods and, you know, the whole thing with the bunker. This should be an open and shut insurance case. I need you to confirm the death here so that we can give the press a statement saying that the Vanderbilt family was in no way responsible. Okay? Okay, guess we won't talk about it. And that is a woman's body on the pavement.

We've cut off the surrounding area from the public, but that didn't stop a crowd from forming around the tape. Why are there so many people here? I was just getting used to no one caring about deaths in this town. Vanderbilt name. Man, what in the hell happened here? That looks like quite an impact. See the window way up there? The big-ass floor-to-ceiling section missing? Fourth story up. Looks like one of the panes is missing. Was she pushed through? That's what we need you to confirm.

I'm 99% sure she wasn't. We've got a couple off to the side right now. They were looking at the apartment when our victim, Natalie Rowe, fell through the window. Hmm. That doesn't sound like something that happens out of the blue. Thing is, these windows are supposed to be shatterproof. Definitely looks shatter to me. Actually, shatterproof glass can still break. It just has plastic on both sides that's supposed to hold it together. Well, it's broken now. Huh.

The way these shards are strewn around the body, it looks like the glass was whole until it hit the ground. So it didn't break in the actual window? No, it didn't. Hmm. Tell you what, give me a few minutes to take a look at this and I'll have an answer for you. Good. Stay away from the couple and don't talk to the public. Yes, ma'am. I'd better get a full page in the Times. Natalie? Yep.

That was me, Natalie Rowe, real estate mogul cut down in her prime. Real estate princess falls to tragic end in shoddy building accident. Miss Rowe, I can hear you. Excuse me? You? Yeah. My name is John. You, of all people, can hear me. Not the press or that dashing sheriff. I'd really like to figure out what happened here. I just told you what happened.

I was cruelly robbed of my wonderful life. Yeah, but how? Well, I fell out of the damn window, obviously. Did it shatter? No, you see. I've worked on Vanderbilt Constructions before. These windows are bullets and shatterproof, so I did my normal routine of pushing and pounding on it to show the clients, and it popped right out of the pane, and so did I. You pushed on the window until...

Splat. Tragic. Victim's body shows no traces of glass shards in her clothing, visible skin, or hair. It appears that the glass shattered upon impact with the ground, but... Let's see. I'll take a few photos of the glass here for reference before we move your body. I hope these bastards get sued for all they're worth. There are some large chunks in different areas, so it definitely looks like it shattered when it hit the ground and then kind of scattered all over the place.

Let's take a look at your body here. I'm not noticing any deep lacerations that would suggest falling through the glass window. There's definitely some cuts and scrapings here, and a little bit of blood around this scene, but... Hmm. There actually appears to be very little glass in her hair, which suggests that it didn't shatter on top of her. There are some bones in her neck that definitely look broken.

I'm noting a broken collarbone and some bruising that's indicating an internal bleed from an impact. Nothing's immediately standing out to me as if she was hit or pushed. I'll have to take a look at the scene upstairs to make sure. Hell, I hope I own this damn complex when my lawyers are through. Glad to see you're taking this well. I want a goddamn statue of me in the center of this shit town. Yeah, I will ask about that. I'll be right back.

We don't have definitive evidence yet. When we do, we'll be comfortable making a statement. Thank you. Crowley. Yeah? You got something? I think so. There isn't an overabundance of glass on the victim's body, and it seems to indicate that the window was whole when it popped out. I need to get up to the scene to check and be sure. But if there are no glass shards up there, we can be fairly certain that it didn't break until it hit the ground. Alright, let's get you up there.

Dr. Spacer, it's me from the hospital. You again. Curtis. You know him? Came to my office a few days ago asking about you. We're working, Curtis. Please leave. I knew I'd find you here. Big case, huh? Are you going to use your magic to solve it? My magic? Let's go! Wait, wait! Who were you just talking to, Doctor? What? Over by the body.

It looked like you were having a conversation. I was just talking to myself. Just ignore him, John. No, it's okay. I record audio notes for all of the case files. Oh. You sure it wasn't someone else? Curtis, I'm gonna tell you one last time. Fuck off and stop spouting your conspiracy bullshit. We're working. Sure. Sure. I'll see you later, Dr. Spacer. Ready to launch your business?

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I'm Amy Nicholson, the film critic for the LA Times. And I'm Paul Scheer, an actor, writer, and director. You might know me from The League, Veep, or my non-eligible for Academy Award role in Twisters. We come together to host Unspooled, a podcast where we talk about good movies.

Critical hits. Fan favorites, must-sees, and in case you missed them. We're talking Parasite the Home Alone. From Greece to the Dark Knight. So if you love movies like we do, come along on our cinematic adventure. Listen to Unspooled wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to hit the follow button. Up here. Emergency stairwell. Forget him. What was he asking about me? You know, specifically. Who knows? Asking all kinds of weirdo questions.

But that's not unusual for him. Is this a regular thing? Oh, yeah. You could say that. Guy's a nut job. I've had run-ins with him a few times over the years. It's always one thing or another. Usually aliens are government conspiracy crap. It'll blow over. Has he ever gotten confrontational? What do you mean? Oh, it's nothing. I've just seen him around a few times and he's kind of giving me a creepy vibe. I wouldn't worry about him. He's harmless. Well, it's just that...

After the whole Springfield Corporation thing, I think I may have an idea as to what's going on around here. What does that mean? I'm referring to those storms that you saw, and potentially why everyone around here seems to be acting so crazy. And also, what happened to your son? Don't you fucking dare, John. You don't know anything.

about anything. Look, I know you don't want to talk about it, and I'm not trying to insert myself into the situation, but- I swear to God, John. I'm just trying to find an explanation. Stop talking. Stop it right now! I think the flares cause some sort of health and mental problems in the people in this town. If you've got theories, that is fucking fantastic! Go talk to Curtis about them. I'm sure he would love it.

But you leave me and my son out of this shit. Fine. I'm sorry. I don't want to know. And unless you pry into my life, that's all the better. Bad stuff happens sometimes, John. And you gotta deal with it. And some things? Some things are just better left unexplained. How can you say that? Just... Just drop it. All I care about is that we get in, we do our jobs, and we get out. That's it. I thought you of all people would want to know. Jeez, you treat this like a damn social hour.

You know, I have friends to talk about my shit to, okay? Yeah, I can see that. You should try it sometime. You know, making friends. I got it. Or maybe, I don't know, a hobby of some kind. That way you can stop acting like a wannabe investigative journalist. Okay, okay. I get the picture. Here we are. Just go ahead in. Wow.

You were not kidding when you said luxury apartments. Didn't expect something this fancy in Springfield, huh? Well, honestly, I was just trying to change the subject, but this is kind of extravagant, especially for here. Um... Vanderbilt's on money, and... I guess they've heard about the reputation we've been getting. Guess they expect more fancy people to move here. People want to live here? The nation's highest death rate attracts a certain...

Clientele. Well, I'm sure someone being killed in a freak accident would only help the property value. What happened to not jump into conclusions? It's not my conclusion yet, it's just where the evidence is pointing. Look. The room's all yours. I'm gonna go see if the deputy's questioning can corroborate your evidence. I've got the only set of keys and the door auto-locks, so leave it cracked. Got it. Listen, I'm sorry I brought it back.

Alright, let me shuffle my way around this carpet. Starting at the doorway area it doesn't look like there are any flecks of glass. Which leads me to believe that if someone had pushed Natalie Rowe through the window, they'd also have some glass on their clothing. I'll have to remind the deputy when we get back down there to take the clothes for evidence.

I'm not seeing anything around the perimeter, and there's no indication of any signs of glass in the immediate area. I'm not finding glass shards anywhere. If it was cleaned, this was done incredibly well. There also doesn't seem to be any sign of a struggle. Honestly it still looks like a showroom up here. The only glaring issue is the lack of a window in the frame on the far wall.

As I'm approaching the frame, I still see no signs of glass shards, although my gut is telling me that there are none to find. This whole place is the most innocent looking crime scene I've ever been to. Yet someone is still dead. Holy shit. What are you doing here? I came to talk to you. You're not allowed up here. You just said it's barely a crime scene. I won't disturb anything. I'm gonna call the sheriff. Why are you backing up? Are you afraid of me? You need to go. Relax.

If anything, I want us to be friends, and I can keep a secret. What secret? I don't know what you're talking about. Are you recording this? What? Why? That recorder in your hand. I saw it last time, too. Do you record everything? No, not everything. Interesting. Does anyone else know what's on those tapes? What are you trying to imply?

Something is going on with you, isn't it? You can tell me. No, no, you don't need to turn it off. Look, you are clearly experiencing some kind of trauma from your accident. I know something happened in that ER. I keep having these visions. Just talk to me. We can share this together. I'm trying to be honest and to be cordial with you, but I really don't know what this is.

Who were you talking to down there? Get away from the window. It's a long way down. Curtis, listen to me. Back up. Were you talking to the... dead lady? Did she answer you? Just come over here and we can talk. I'm not gonna jump. But if I did, what do you think I'd find? What do you want from me? The truth. Dr. Spacer, that's it. I'll see you soon. Damn it.

By the window frame, I'm not noticing any glass shards anywhere. I'm not seeing anything in any of the ridges or grooves around here either. It just kind of looked like it popped out. There's no sign of damage. Anything. That seems like a fluke. A one in a million chance that you just happened to be right there at the wrong time. Oh, God. Why did I come back up to the ER then?

I should have just stayed downstairs. I wouldn't have had to lie to Crowley again. And then Curtis never would have seen me. I could have just come upstairs with some details about that Sean guy later. God damn it. I need to be more careful with this. What do I do about Curtis? I can't tell him, obviously. That's insane. Do I even tell Crowley that he came up here? Maybe we can file a restraining order.

Maybe I could convince everybody else that he's crazy. That shouldn't be very hard, right? I mean, he's talking about convincing people that I see ghosts. Maybe I should have just pushed him out of the window when I had the chance. Alright girls, this is the place. We'll get everything loaded over to the boat and we'll lock up the truck. Don't leave anything behind. Wait, is that it? That's where we're going?

Yeah, that's it. Seal Skin Rock. Wow. Return to the mysteries in Don't Mind, Seal Skin Rock. Subscribe now to catch the premiere, and we'll see you on The Rock. From the creators of the Leviathan Chronicles and the Rapscallion Agency comes a thrilling new chapter in the Leviathan Universe. Come aboard the Invenience.

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