2x11: Spider

[00:00:00] My name is Andrew Tate and this is Season 2, Episode 11 of Lets Not Meet, A True Horror Podcast. This was around two years ago after going to see a movie with a couple of friends.

[00:00:37] I live in a small town, so the nearest decent movie theater is about 40 minutes away. I'm always the driver because my car is the most functional for those long distances, and I'm also kind of a softie when it comes to doing favors.

[00:00:52] This also means I'm always the last one to get home for the night, and it's usually very early in the morning when I do finally get home. On this specific night, it was pretty late when we got back.

[00:01:02] Like I said, it's a small town, so when it gets late, the roads are pretty much dead. There's an order that I drop everyone off in, the furthest from my house to the closest, logically. We're pretty spread out from each other.

[00:01:15] If you've ever been to a rural town, you'll know that there are a lot of twists and turns on back roads and things like that. I drop off one of my friends, and there was only my boyfriend left.

[00:01:28] I drove towards my boyfriend's house and stopped at a T-intersection along the way. The road in front of us was lit with streetlights, but the further you looked down either side of the road, it was dark. There were no cars anywhere, as I expected.

[00:01:47] I turned onto the road and headed towards my boyfriend's house. Not even a minute down the road, I saw headlights in my rearview mirror. I don't know when they'd shown up, but I remember noticing them because the headlights looked like the ones on a friend's car.

[00:02:05] They were four lights all around and arranged like the corners of a trapezoid. For a moment, I thought it could be my friend, because the lights were so distinct, but the vehicle looked much larger. I brushed it off and continued driving.

[00:02:24] We were on one of the main roads, so it didn't surprise me that they continued to follow us as we went. After a while, I turned onto a back road that was pretty hilly, but it was the shortest way to get to my boyfriend's house.

[00:02:40] The vehicle also turned onto that road, but it still wasn't that weird. My boyfriend lives in one of an assortment of ranch houses, so we've had a lot of people follow behind us to that section of the town and then eventually taper off into their separate driveways.

[00:02:59] They were pretty far behind us, so I didn't think much of it. Sure enough, they kept taking every turn that we took. The closer we got, my boyfriend and I even began to joke about how long they'd been behind us.

[00:03:17] It was only when we turned into his driveway that we grew concerned. He has a long driveway that goes up a hill. I reached the top and could see the vehicle slow down at the end of his driveway, and

[00:03:31] then it turned in and began to slowly drive up. Very slowly. My boyfriend sat in my car as we looked at each other because we didn't know what the fuck was going on. As it got closer, we went through every possible person that it could have been.

[00:03:52] We even considered my sister who could have recognized my car and wanted to scare us. It was a reach since no one we brought up owns a car that looks like that, but I was praying that was the answer.

[00:04:06] They reached the top and parked maybe 10 feet behind me. Then they turned off their headlights and sat there. It was too dark to be able to make out what kind of car it was.

[00:04:18] I kept turning in my seat to see if someone was walking around or if I could catch a glimpse of their vehicle. We sat for a long time trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

[00:04:29] We didn't dare step out of the car, and I kept the engine running just in case I needed to make a break for it, although they were parked directly behind me, blocking the driveway.

[00:04:41] I'm not sure how long we sat there for, but there was a good while that nothing happened. Then I heard a creaky door open and shut. I instinctively pressed the lock door button, even though my car was already locked.

[00:05:01] I watched as a middle-aged or older man came into view in my side mirror. As I watched him step closer, I leaned away from the window and towards my boyfriend in the passenger seat as the man walked up to my window.

[00:05:17] He had a pretty big gut, and his silver hair was pulled into a ponytail beneath a red cap. He cupped his hands and peered into my car. I can still remember him looking right at me so vividly. His expression was blank. I couldn't move.

[00:05:39] Then he stood back up. He pointed back towards his vehicle and said something that I couldn't make out, and then just turned around and left. He didn't turn his headlights back on until he reached the road. When he turned, I could see the dark outline of a truck.

[00:06:00] My boyfriend and I sat there stunned for a long time. My boyfriend and his stepdad drove behind me to my house to make sure that no one followed me there either. He hugged me before I went inside and said that he'd give me an update the next day.

[00:06:15] No one we knew could explain it or knew who he was. I haven't seen a similar truck since then, but if I notice a car that has been following me for a while, no matter what it looks like, I make sure to take a few extra turns away

[00:06:30] from my house until they've turned onto a different road. I can't help the sneaking suspicion that things may have gone a lot differently if I were alone. I am 23, 5'2", and female. I am by no means intimidating, even when I try.

[00:07:00] I work two days of night audit for a hotel in a heavy populated area of Houston, Texas, with zero security. If you know anything about Texas, you know it can never be good news. With all of that being said, last Tuesday I was alone, playing stupid games online

[00:07:16] and listening to Ryan's Roses to pass the time. Around 1am, this man with a crazed look in his eyes wanders in. I have cameras right next to the desk, and I saw zero movement before the door slid open.

[00:07:30] Anyways, he walks up to the desk and refuses to look me in the eyes until I ask him if he's doing alright. He snaps his head up, looks me right in the eyes, and says, No, I'm not doing alright at all.

[00:07:44] I'm kind of taken aback, so I apologize and ask if there's anything that I can do. He declines, and then asks if he can get a drink from the little shop next to the desk. I tell him, yeah, of course, go ahead and get whatever you'd like.

[00:07:57] The prices are listed on the wall. Before he walks away to go get a drink, he makes sure to tell me, Now don't worry, I have money. I would never steal from you like that. I didn't really say anything, just kind of smiled at him and nodded understandingly.

[00:08:13] Well he wasn't lying, he for sure had money. He handed me two bloody dollar bills. So now the alarm bells are ringing in my head. He starts apologizing and asking me if I'm mad at him, and if he's upset me.

[00:08:30] All of which I say, No sir, I'm not even a little bit upset. I was getting bored here anyways. I suddenly became painfully aware of how empty the entire hotel was at that moment. He stands there for a minute, takes a drink, and then makes eye contact for

[00:08:48] two seconds before he tells me that he needs me to call the cops. I start shaking, but somehow manage not to let off that I was absolutely terrified. I get the police dispatcher on the line and begin giving all of my information and our location.

[00:09:05] Then from the background, he starts saying that he was almost hit by a car while walking in the middle of the road. Then the dispatch asks to speak to him. So I hand the guy the phone and he starts looking around while describing himself.

[00:09:21] He stops looking around and looks right into my eyes and says, yeah, I'm gonna kill myself on the freeway. Now I don't take that lightly. No matter who says it, an audible gasp left my lips and

[00:09:39] it's like it woke up something inside of him the way his eyes lit up. He then hangs up the phone and slams it down on the counter in front of my computer and looks at me.

[00:09:52] I try to make small talk asking what's going on and how he's really doing tonight. But no, he avoids those questions and starts asking me some questions about the hotel. Like, what's your nightly rate tonight? He goes from harmless questions to asking me if I'm all alone and

[00:10:12] when my manager will be back. And if I lock all the doors around me. Now I'm afraid. I pick up what he's putting down. And I want no part in whatever he was planning if he managed to get me out from behind that desk.

[00:10:27] I switch gears on conversation and tell him that he's more than welcome to take a seat in one of the comfortable chairs in the lobby until the police arrive. He thanks me and asks me again for about the 20th time if I'm mad at him.

[00:10:43] He then sits down and I get even more uneasy because he starts looking around anxiously. You know that look someone gets whenever they're working up the nerve to do something? They just haven't yet? Yeah, that's the look and the vibe he was giving off.

[00:11:02] Around that time my brain is finally piecing together what is actually happening. Another guest pulls up right in front of the lobby. His face immediately drops any excitement and he almost looks mad. In comes this woman and her son who couldn't have been more than 12 years old.

[00:11:21] They come up, no reservation so it's now a walk in. Her son starts whispering something to her that neither of us can make out. So he says it louder. Mom, didn't we just see him walking around the hospital? My blood runs cold.

[00:11:42] She tells her son to hush and locks eyes with me. I hand her paperwork to sign. She takes that opportunity to secretly ask me if I'm doing okay, if the police need to be called and if I'm concerned.

[00:11:57] I tell her yes, I'm terrified, but the cops are on their way. I can see him straining to hear what we're saying. So I stop and tell her about breakfast and all that good stuff. She tells me that she won't be leaving me alone and

[00:12:13] that she will stay with me until the cops come because something doesn't feel right. I'll never forget her face and her heart. After the cops had come and taken him away to the mental hospital, I presume,

[00:12:28] she comes back in from just outside the doors where she also called the police. She comes up and tells me that they just left the hospital up the road visiting her sister and passed him on their way out,

[00:12:41] where he was wandering around the hospital parking lot with his head down. They came straight to the hotel. He beat them here. She swore he walked here, but there's no freaking way he walked here and beat them.

[00:12:58] She said something felt off as soon as she walked in and saw him. She told me he likely was trying to lure me out by making me feel bad for him. Whatever he was planning, I never want to find out.

[00:13:23] I work second shift at my company, normally 5 PM to 1 AM. On the street I work, there are two ways for me to get home. To the left takes me over some train tracks and there's a 24 hour burger place and

[00:13:37] a Mexican fast food place that is still open till 3 AM. The police station is maybe a 10 minute drive from the tracks. To the right takes me straight to the highway which gets me home.

[00:13:50] If I go to the left, I have to take side streets to get to the highway as it doesn't connect for a few blocks or go back over the tracks and past my workplace to get to the highway. I hope I didn't lose you there.

[00:14:03] Now onto the story. Tonight I got out a bit early, about 1230. Lucky me, I was hungry so instead of going straight home, I decided to go out for burgers. Usually I have my window rolled down, listening to music on my phone.

[00:14:20] As I close my car door, I realize a rather large spider. Okay, it was the size of my thumb but that's still kind of a big spider to me. It spun its web outside between my window and my side mirror. Spiders freak me out. Since it was outside,

[00:14:39] I contented myself to leave my windows rolled up and just blast my music. As I'm pulling out, I see the train barriers come down. I'm not foolish enough to try and beat it so I pull up and wait at the barrier.

[00:14:55] As I'm waiting, I see movement out of the corner of my eye and that's when I see him. A haggard man, maybe somewhere in his 30s with dirty hair and clothes standing next to my car. We have a few homeless people around but

[00:15:11] they usually don't bother you if you ignore them and don't talk to them. I figure he'll go away. He walks to the driver's side and tries to open my car door. My car has automatic locks that activate pretty much as soon as the car is on. Thank goodness.

[00:15:31] He starts banging on my car door window. He starts screaming for me to let him in. I reach for my phone, but of course I'm panicking and can't get it out of my purse and then immediately drop it down the side of the seat.

[00:15:46] I'm scared he's going to break the glass or something at this point. I have a foldable nightstick in my car, but in my panic, I forgot it was there. I finally get a hold of my phone and dial 911.

[00:16:00] I'm screaming at him to back off and that I've called the police. He's going around trying to get into my car via the other doors, screaming at me the whole time, calling me about every name in the book, saying, get out of the car.

[00:16:16] I'm giving the dispatcher my location and it feels like forever for the cops to show up, but was likely only a few minutes. The guy in the meantime is crawling on top of my car, beating it with his fists.

[00:16:31] Of course now the train has left and the barrier is up, but I don't want to risk killing this guy by flooring it over the tracks. I'm pretty sure that's at least manslaughter if he dies. Thankfully, I see cop lights.

[00:16:46] He runs off and one of the responding officers gives chase. The other cop tells me to pull in at the burger place and calms me down. He takes all the information that I can remember in my panicked state. He then says offhandedly something to the effect of,

[00:17:00] good thing your windows aren't down. And that's when it hit me. The only reason they weren't down was because of that spider on my car. They didn't find the guy as there are a crap ton of places to hide and it's pretty rough terrain at night.

[00:17:16] But they did say that they would step up patrols around that area. The cops assured me that I did everything right that I could have done. I decided to skip eating out as I wasn't in the mood anymore and just went home to have a freak out and

[00:17:31] methodically quadruple check all my doors and windows. I don't see what his deal was, but creepy guy who tried to get into my car, let's not meet, and to the spider that may have inadvertently saved my life. I'll let you slide this time.

[00:17:46] The final story of this week's episode is read by the author, the person who experienced it, Taylor Hayes. She sent over the story in audio format, and she did such a great job that we decided to include it in this episode.

[00:18:10] So listen now to The Crumbling Barn and the Crazy Farmer by listener Taylor Hayes. I have changed the names of my friends who are with me on this horrible night for their safety. To give you all some context, I am a 22 year old baby faced,

[00:18:33] skinny, red headed girl living smack dab in the middle of the Midwest. At first glance, I look like a wholesome and harmless young girl. And that's probably why people are usually surprised to find out that I am much braver and much more adventurous than most.

[00:18:51] You wouldn't believe it just looking at me, but I have much more confidence and charisma than any one person could ever possibly need. Over the years, I've become incredibly capable of keeping my cool and diffusing difficult situations.

[00:19:08] And I think it was that skill of mine that was the only reason we made it out alive that night. Last spring, I graduated from the University of Iowa with a double major in creative writing and journalism as well as a minor in history.

[00:19:23] Over the past year and a half, I've mostly been doing boring and menial freelance work. I've written a few articles that have been published in a couple different types of publications, but mostly I just write the summaries you read on the back of books.

[00:19:38] In January, I was hired to write an article about urban exploration, and that must have been how they found me. A few months later, I received a phone call from a major publishing company that publishes those ghost adventure type books, asking if I would be interested

[00:19:53] in writing a book about urban exploration in Midwestern ghost towns. Obviously, I said yes, and within a week, the contract was signed and I began writing. Urban exploration has been a huge hobby of mine for nearly a decade.

[00:20:08] Over the past eight years, I've traveled all across the country exploring all types of abandoned locations. As a teenager, I never realized the gravity of the legal repercussions or the risk I was taking on my personal safety by carelessly running around in rotting, crumbling buildings.

[00:20:27] I play it a lot safer now. I almost always only explore when the sun is out. I always wear a hard hat and goggles, closed-toed shoes, long pants, and long sleeves. I also always have a backpack with a crowbar, hammer, nails,

[00:20:44] rags, bobby pins for picking locks, and a first aid kit. As a teenager, I only explored in the dark. Though it can be more discreet, darkness makes it difficult to accurately assess the condition and safety of a structure or

[00:21:00] to determine whether it is actually abandoned or just in really rough shape. Urban exploration while the sun is out is safer by a significant margin, though it is much less discreet. Even though my trespassing and breaking and

[00:21:14] entering has gotten me into more legal trouble than I care to admit, I would much rather take the legal risk over any other, any day of the week. I should have stuck to that rule of mine, and this never would have happened.

[00:21:28] I only have one more ghost town to visit before I finish the book. Though I was given a list of specific locations to write about, I was also told to independently search for more farmhouses, barns, and things of that nature to photograph.

[00:21:43] So on all of our long road trips, we always take the back roads and try to find places that fit that description. A few weeks ago at around 1.30 in the morning on a Sunday night, my friends and I were driving down an old country highway surrounded by seemingly

[00:21:59] endless land that appeared to have been lost to time. There were four of us in the car, me, my friend Haley, my photographer Jesse, and my friend Jacob, who always did all the driving. Jacob was driving us back to our hometown after a long weekend of

[00:22:15] sketchy motels, trespassing, and a stressful legal situation I was luckily able to talk our way out of. We all noticed the barn as we drove past, and Jacob quickly slammed on his brakes and reversed so we could get a better look.

[00:22:30] About a quarter of a mile off the highway, there was a large decaying barn. Most of the barn's roof was caving in around an enormous hole in the middle of the roof. The windows were boarded up, and the siding was barely hanging onto the barn's bones.

[00:22:45] We could see nothing between the highway and the horizon except this barn. Typically, tall crops grow in every Midwestern field at the end of July, but the only thing that we could see for miles was a dark, empty wasteland.

[00:23:02] The four of us all nodded at each other, and we pulled off to the shoulder of the highway where we decided that I would inspect it, and then let the group know if it was safe enough to explore.

[00:23:12] I grabbed all of my belongings and headed towards the barn. It wasn't a long walk, and I wasn't concerned about getting caught, considering the fact that we hadn't seen another car, street lamp, town, or even the slightest indication of civilization for over an hour.

[00:23:29] I carefully approached the barn and circled its perimeter, inspecting how safe this heartbreakingly decayed barn was. I was surprised to find that the main barn door had been taken off, and when I peeked inside, the inside looked to be structurally sound.

[00:23:44] I walked around a bit, checking the beams, the wood, and other things like that, before I stepped outside, flashed my light at the car three times. Our secret affirmative signal. From what we could tell, the barn seemed to have once been used to store hay and livestock.

[00:24:01] It had a large open ground floor that was now covered in dust, hay, and time. Some of the wooden floorboards were rotting from slight water damage, and parts of the roof had fallen through the hole.

[00:24:13] On each side of the room, there were staircases that led to balconies where a few old bales of hay still remained. Underneath the staircases against the wall were stables that we assumed once housed horses.

[00:24:27] It was in rough shape, but we thought we'd be fine if we were careful. We were so wrong. As we were inspecting, I jumped and I yelped when a yellow light accompanied by heavy footsteps began flashing through the windows of the barn. As a deep voice yelled, hey.

[00:24:46] For a moment, we were all paralyzed, standing like a petrified forest in the center of the barn. Though my friends are aware of what they are getting into when they do these things with me, I always have, and I always will take the blame and

[00:25:00] assume full responsibility for all of our actions. Jacob was the first to move, throwing me his keys and wallet before sprinting up the stairs to hide behind a bale of hay. Haley and Jesse were able to snap out of our trance and

[00:25:14] run to the farthest stable, closing the door unseen. But I just stood there in the center of the barn, exposed to the world by the empty doorway directly in front of me. I realized that we weren't alone. We were trespassing.

[00:25:31] And in the state where I live, it is well within a property owner's legal rights to shoot and kill any trespassers on their land. I couldn't move. I just stood there, holding Jacob's keys and wallet when the spotty yellow light flickered again.

[00:25:49] I don't blame my friends for hiding. Maybe I would have too if I wasn't frozen in fear, wondering whatever horror I was about to deal with. And then eventually the lights and footsteps just stopped. I waited in that spot for what felt like forever.

[00:26:07] I don't know how long it really was. My friends peeked out at me once or twice, but the look of fear that I'm sure was painted on my face told them all they needed to know, don't move a muscle.

[00:26:20] I stood and I waited, just waited for something to happen, for anything to happen, but nothing did. And after a while, I thought nothing would. I slowly crept towards the entrance of the barn and as I leaned out of the doorframe and looked to my left,

[00:26:38] I heard a very familiar noise off to the right, the sound of a shotgun cocking. I shivered and slowly turned my head to see an incredibly tall middle-aged man in dirty overalls. And of course, a cocked shotgun in his huge hands aiming at the ground.

[00:26:56] As calmly as I could, I dropped Jacob's belongings and raised my hands in the air. As I carefully stepped out of the barn's doorway, the father immediately took a step forward and pointed his shotgun directly at my chest without any hesitation.

[00:27:11] In an effort to maintain my cool and not get murdered by some Midwestern hick, I said to him in a shaking, panicked voice, please don't shoot. I don't want any trouble. My name is Taylor Hayes. I am unarmed and I have no ill intentions.

[00:27:27] I thought your barn was abandoned. I didn't realize I was trespassing. I'm so sorry. Please don't shoot. I'm so sorry. And I figured that would generate some sort of response from him. I waited for him to lower his shotgun or say something or even shoot me, but

[00:27:45] we just stood there staring at each other with a shotgun aimed point blank at my heart. Based on how long the clock in the car said that we were at the barn, we stood there staring at each other in silence for the longest 20 to 30 minutes of my life.

[00:28:02] I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I had no idea what to do. After a while, I found myself wishing that he would just shoot me. He wasn't moving. He wasn't speaking. He was just holding that shotgun and staring.

[00:28:19] And I don't know how, but somehow I mustered up the courage to speak again. Please don't shoot. I'm going to pick up my car keys and then I'm going to back up slowly towards the highway and leave your property. I'm so, so sorry. Please don't shoot.

[00:28:36] Is that okay? He still said nothing, but after a minute I took a deep breath and decided to slowly back away anyway, not taking my eyes off of his dark silhouette. After a few steps, he lowered his shotgun, though he remained still, still staring at me.

[00:28:55] I walked backwards towards the highway with my hands up, my sweaty palms holding Jacob's belongings the entire way up to the road. He only turned around to leave when I reached the highway. I stood on the gravel road as I watched him walk away into the darkness.

[00:29:10] After a few paces, he turned around and waved to me. I don't know why. I don't know why I waved back. When he had completely left my field of vision, I ran to Jacob's car and

[00:29:22] started the engine before taking out my phone to frantically message our group chat, telling them to get the hell out of the barn as fast as possible. Shortly thereafter, I saw three bodies sprinting towards me while I sat in

[00:29:36] the driver's seat of Jordan's car, smoking a cigarette in absolute shock. As soon as they flung themselves into the car, the tires squealed as I sped back onto the highway, very quickly reaching almost 90 miles an hour. After a few miles, Jacob, who was sitting in the passenger seat,

[00:29:53] yelled at me to slow down and when I refused, he insisted I pull over. He drove the rest of the way home as we all sat in silence. I don't know exactly how much of that nightmare my friends clearly heard or saw,

[00:30:06] but I know they heard enough to know what really happened. We didn't talk about it in the car on the way home though. We still haven't talked about it. The book is almost done and this definitely isn't going to stop me from future urban exploration, but

[00:30:22] I will never deviate from my plan or explore anywhere abandoned at night ever again. So, Crazy Farmer, who almost shot me for exploring his crumbling barn, Let's Not Meet Again. Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast.

[00:30:43] This week you have heard headlights by Candid Cabin Sight. He paid with blood money and tried to lure me out of the office by a chelish one. Pretty Sure a Spider Saved My Life by Britjen1988. And finally, The Crumbling Barn and

[00:30:57] the Crazy Farmer read by listener Taylor Hayes. I'll see you guys next week for a brand new episode of Let's Not Meet.