0:00

When it comes to life's adventures, Hyundai

0:02

is thinking of every mile. It's

0:04

your journey. I'm Freddie Prince Jr.

0:06

And just like Hyundai, my journey is at the heart

0:08

of my story. And when it comes to listening

0:10

to your heart, Hyundai is thinking of every

0:12

mile. My podcast wrestling with Freddie

0:15

centers around my passion for wrestling and

0:17

my journey to how I came to love it. So

0:19

come along for the ride with Hyundai, proud

0:21

partner of the Michael Tura Podcast Network.

0:24

It's your

0:24

journey. Welcome

0:26

to Scary Story Podcast. For

0:29

some, the holidays bring along memories

0:31

of those that are gone. A

0:33

time when tragedies seem to hurt us,

0:36

just a little bit more than usual. My

0:40

name is Edwin, and he

0:42

is a scary story. Robert's

0:49

song. I

0:51

had just started my shift that my dad's shop

0:54

and it was already going badly. An

0:57

angry man had just left after coming

0:59

to me for an issue with his phone line.

1:01

When all we did at the time was sell and

1:04

repair cellphones. He

1:06

had paid his bill and was getting charged again.

1:08

And even though I try to help him figure it

1:10

out, for free by the way. He

1:12

was frustrated the whole time until he

1:14

turned to cussing me out for asking

1:16

him to call his service provider The

1:19

job didn't pay anything. I

1:22

was just doing my dad a favor while he was

1:24

out of town for his treatments about four

1:26

hours away. And I was staying at

1:28

his house. He

1:30

offered to close a shot for those two days if

1:32

I couldn't help out, but I couldn't say

1:34

no. Plus, it was

1:36

my girlfriend's birthday that weekend. And even

1:38

though she was upset, there was only so

1:40

much she could say to me about it.

1:43

That would make it up to her. The

1:46

rest of the day went okay. I

1:48

sold a cell phone and warranty for

1:50

it, a couple phone cases

1:52

and replacement chargers. A

1:55

few people stopped by the shop to ask how

1:57

my dad was doing and nothing more,

1:59

which was nice of them, but I really

2:01

wanted it to be closing time in order for me

2:03

to go upstairs. I wanted

2:05

to order takeout and fall asleep in front

2:07

of the television. But

2:11

around six forty, I started wondering

2:13

just how bad it would be if I to close

2:15

down the shop just twenty minutes early.

2:18

What could happen between then and when

2:20

the actual time to close rolled by? But

2:24

with every thought came an opposite one,

2:27

snapping me back into reality like a rubber

2:29

band. Thoughts that told

2:31

me to just be patient that

2:33

I had gotten through the hardest part already,

2:36

that my dad needed the help. I

2:40

sat back down behind the counter as I

2:42

watched the crouching silhouette of a

2:44

woman coming up to the front door.

2:47

I was hoping she would just keep walking.

2:50

But unfortunately, she reached for the

2:52

door handle and rattled it open. It

2:55

was an older woman, but

2:57

their hair dyed red that was closer

2:59

to purple. A long

3:01

black skirt and glasses hanging

3:03

from the front of her yellow blouse. She

3:06

looked at me and smiled focusing

3:08

on her steps once again. Making

3:11

sure not to trip over her own feet.

3:15

Hello, she greeted me while

3:17

trying to reach for her purse to take out her cell

3:19

phone. After

3:21

a few seconds, she gave up and focused

3:23

once again on her steps until she got

3:25

to the counter, where I was pretending

3:28

to be busy with something else while she got

3:30

there. She

3:32

told me she had a few problems with her cell

3:34

phone. One of them

3:36

was that her battery wouldn't last very long.

3:39

When she told me that it only lasted

3:41

a day. I explained that

3:43

cell phones nowadays had more features

3:46

and used up more battery power than

3:48

before. After

3:50

some back and forth on her thoughts on how long

3:52

a battery should last, she accepted

3:55

that it was fine and came to terms with the

3:57

fact that she'd have to charge her cell phone

3:59

every night. The

4:01

other issue though, that

4:04

one was a strange one. I

4:07

keep getting a phone call young man.

4:10

It rings at around two in the morning and

4:12

it wakes me up. I can't

4:14

go to sleep easily, you see? She

4:16

explained. Later telling me

4:18

about some of her elements and her sleeping

4:20

problems. I asked

4:22

if she had tried to put the phone on silent,

4:25

but she said that she needed it on in

4:27

case of an emergency. This

4:30

had sounded a lot like the problem I had with

4:32

another customer at the start of the day.

4:35

It was an issue with the phone service provider,

4:38

not with the phone itself. But

4:41

I took a deep breath and decided to give this

4:43

old woman a hand with the phone by offering

4:45

some ideas. I

4:48

could block the number for her, and

4:50

that's what I offered. So we

4:52

tried that. As

4:55

I was running through the incoming phone

4:58

logs, and I saw a few phone calls

5:00

during the day. None with

5:02

names attached to them, but was right

5:04

about the middle of the night ones. They'd

5:06

show up at one fifty nine AM,

5:09

consistently. Every

5:11

single night. The

5:14

thing was they would all be coming from

5:16

different numbers. Has

5:19

crawled down as far as they could for the

5:21

entire six sixty days that the phone kept

5:23

records for. It was

5:25

there. Night

5:27

after night at one fifty nine

5:30

AM. A phone call.

5:34

Sometimes it would go unanswered and display

5:36

as a missed call and

5:38

other times it would show up as an eight

5:40

or so second phone call.

5:44

Do you know who's calling your phone that

5:46

late? Have you talked to

5:48

them? She

5:51

explained that nobody would ever answer,

5:53

that her hearing was also bad, and so

5:56

she couldn't be sure. I

5:58

thought it was odd, but I was convinced

6:00

that it was a scammer or prank caller.

6:04

But every night, for

6:06

at least the past two months, it

6:09

must have been determined While

6:12

we do certain types of repairs, we

6:14

also provide loaner phones, which

6:17

my dad started offering to certain customers

6:19

and this woman had known about it

6:21

because after noticing that I was looking at

6:23

my watch, she cheerfully

6:25

suggested to leave her phone there overnight,

6:28

and then just give her a loner phone. And

6:30

she would come back tomorrow once the phone was

6:32

fixed, and then she would let me

6:34

close-up. I didn't

6:36

know how the phone was gonna get fixed,

6:38

but honestly I was tired and I accepted

6:41

without making her fill out all of the

6:43

paperwork required. I

6:45

simply gave her a flip phone and told

6:47

her that the phone number was labeled on the back

6:49

of the phone. And then to come

6:51

back for her cell phone in the morning, She

6:54

smiled and watched her every step

6:56

as she worked her way back to the front

6:58

door. I side

7:00

and relief accepting that

7:02

if this woman would just never come back

7:04

with her phone, I would just pay my dad for

7:07

it. I was tired.

7:10

And so I went upstairs to the living

7:12

room above the shop and couldn't wait

7:14

to sit down with a hot pocket and

7:16

a diet coke right in front of the television.

7:20

Dad didn't have cable, but there

7:22

was something comforting about being in

7:24

that house sitting on dad's

7:26

chair after all those years again.

7:32

And flicked on the TV the evening

7:34

news were on. In the

7:36

microwave, beeped just then.

7:39

I've grown as I got up to

7:41

grab the hot plate from out of there and then sat

7:43

down once more. I

7:45

closed my eyes for just a minute when

7:48

I heard it. My

7:50

phone. I've

7:53

forgotten to text my girlfriend that evening

7:55

and despite her being chill for just

7:57

about everything. Not saying

7:59

good night to her was sure fire away

8:01

to get her angry. I

8:03

never understood that, but in my head I

8:05

planned out the speech saying that I wasn't

8:07

asleep that I had been watching

8:09

something on TV or maybe that I

8:11

was just about the texture. I'd

8:14

come up with something on the spot. But

8:17

then I looked at the cell phone screen and

8:20

it was dark. Dead.

8:25

And yet I could still hear the beeps.

8:28

The ringing of the

8:30

phone was faint, but clear.

8:33

I stopped breathing just

8:35

so that I could listen better. That's

8:39

when I noticed it was coming from the shop

8:41

downstairs. I

8:43

was hoping it would stop on its own,

8:45

but it kept going, ringing

8:47

and ringing until I made up my

8:49

mind to go check it out for myself.

8:53

The cell phone was on the counter just

8:55

where I had left it, vibrating

8:58

near the edge of it and about to fall.

9:01

Still ringing. I

9:03

could barely see it in the dark mini

9:06

showroom of the shop. If

9:08

I flicked on the light switch, it would

9:10

turn everything on and I feared that it

9:12

would let people know that the shop was

9:14

open. Even though in my drowsy state and had to

9:17

become clear just how late it was.

9:19

I walked up to

9:21

it and grabbed it just before it went

9:23

off the edge. The number

9:26

on the screen seemed familiar, but it

9:28

wasn't registered. Evibrated

9:30

in my hand, heating up as a

9:33

numbers themselves seem to blur on the

9:35

super bright screen. I

9:38

pressed a green button to answer and

9:40

held it up to my ear. Hello?

9:44

I answered. That's

9:46

when I heard a song.

9:50

Clearly, it was a

9:52

piano. Soft

9:55

and hauntingly familiar.

9:58

I close my eyes and let the

10:01

music flood over my head with

10:04

every note taking me to the next

10:06

until all I could hear was a

10:08

melody, though. Followed every stroke of

10:10

the hammers, all the

10:12

way to the end. I

10:15

stood there in silence. Because

10:17

I heard the tone that tells you goodbye.

10:20

I must have stood there

10:22

for another ten minutes before I took the

10:24

phone with me and walked upstairs again.

10:27

I sat on

10:29

the couch and texted my girlfriend at

10:32

night and relaxed in front of the television

10:34

until I fell asleep. In

10:38

the morning, dad called promptly at

10:40

nine, asking how everything

10:42

was going and that everything went well for

10:44

him the previous night. Thanking

10:46

me for taking care of his store.

10:48

It must have been the first time

10:50

I heard him say such a sincere thank you

10:52

to me. It was the first

10:54

time I told him that he was welcomed

10:56

the way that I did. We

10:58

just wear the touch of feely type of

11:00

people in my family. I

11:03

was glad that he was okay and I

11:05

wanted him to come back. At

11:08

ten, I walked downstairs and opened up

11:11

the shop. I hadn't

11:13

even managed to sit back down when I saw

11:15

the old woman walking up to the front

11:17

door. I smiled

11:19

at her and met her at the entrance,

11:21

She shook the phone I had loaned

11:23

her as I asked how she was doing.

11:27

Well, this phone didn't ring last

11:29

night, she said. Smiling. I

11:32

shared her same smile when I said that I

11:34

was glad to hear that. I

11:37

then explained that I had also heard the phone

11:39

ring at two in the morning and that a way to

11:41

fix that would be to change her phone

11:43

number. Her eyes lit

11:45

up. Then said

11:47

that her friends would not know that new

11:49

phone

11:49

number. She then stopped

11:52

suddenly and asked who the caller

11:54

had been. It was

11:56

likely a machine I explained. It

11:59

played a piano song and then hung

12:01

up. Did

12:03

they say anything? What

12:05

song was it? She

12:08

was surprised that lack of knowledge

12:10

about classical music. And despite the

12:12

song being familiar to me, I tried

12:14

humming it. Before she started humming

12:16

it along with

12:17

me. Her voice

12:20

was cracking, which she

12:22

said knocked her

12:26

and e flat. That's

12:30

Robert Song, and

12:33

then a wide smile spread along

12:35

her face. Do

12:37

I owe you anything? She

12:40

asked. I said

12:43

no after a few seconds, but then I

12:45

try to find out if she wanted me change her

12:47

phone number. Or if she wanted to trade it

12:49

for another loner phone, she

12:53

smiled and said that she was okay with

12:55

it now. She then

12:58

said, thank you and

13:00

then walked out the door.

13:12

The

13:27

next story is called five

13:30

steps away. When it's

13:32

coming up right after

13:33

this. When it

13:35

comes to life's adventures, Hyundai is

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thinking of every mile. It's your

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own world takes listeners through our

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entire journey. The good, the bad,

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and the oftentimes hilarious moments

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that make up our lives. Whether we're pulling prank

13:49

calls on our friends or having an honest

13:51

discussion about representation, it's

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all a part of our story. And

13:55

Hyundai knows your journey is at the heart of your

13:58

story. That's why they're by your side

14:00

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milestones together. And thanks

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We're using their voices to share

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Podcast Network. It's your journey.

14:29

A car

14:31

passed at just the wrong time. Desperately

14:34

hoping that the audio would have at least caught

14:36

the moment that the little girl dropped her ice

14:39

cream cone and screamed and sad made

14:41

my fingers tremble against the recorder.

14:44

Almost missing the stop

14:46

button. I pushed on the track

14:48

back one and then pressed a tiny

14:50

speaker against my ear. I

14:52

should have brought my headphones, but even through

14:54

the loud noises on the street,

14:57

I knew that luck was not on my side that day.

14:59

I had missed it.

15:02

And here's the thing. I doubt

15:04

anyone else has ever bumped into

15:06

one of us. People out

15:08

there recording everyday objects,

15:11

walking around the streets with microphones,

15:13

but trust me it's a job.

15:16

Sure walking through airport

15:18

security will always flag me with some

15:20

questions about why I'm carrying so many

15:22

microphones. So many interfaces

15:24

with me. And then

15:26

asking if I'm a producer or a

15:28

musician. But really, I

15:30

just catch sounds and add them to my

15:32

own collection or sell them in my

15:34

libraries. When

15:36

I was first starting out, I would go

15:38

around editing sounds and uploading

15:40

them for one dollar and seventy nine

15:43

sense on some of the forums, mostly

15:46

for low budget films or universities

15:48

that would buy them. There

15:50

would be sounds of foot steps through metal stairs

15:52

or sounds of airplanes passing

15:54

by. I used to live

15:56

by LAX, which was both a blessing

15:58

and a curse for all of the airplanes

16:00

sounds, which was good, then it was bad

16:03

for all the sounds that would get in the way

16:05

of other sound recordings. But

16:08

things were changing. With

16:10

every season, things started becoming a

16:12

little more extreme. Sounds

16:15

of homeless people fighting in treats or

16:17

the sounds of a leg breaking.

16:21

Sure you can make these with celery and

16:23

smashing fruits in order to get the perfect

16:25

sounds out. There was

16:27

also another level of production, getting

16:30

the real thing. Realistic

16:35

sounds paid the most money.

16:37

And even though hardly any

16:39

field recordist out there would ever

16:41

admit to this. Some

16:43

of us were guilty of trading evil things

16:46

for money. Among

16:48

the groups and conferences, there would be

16:50

a few that talked about it being

16:52

our right of passage, the

16:55

things that we would do for sound, just

16:57

like photographers do for the perfect

16:59

photograph. But then

17:01

we would reach a tipping point that would turn

17:03

us back into the friendly men and women walking

17:05

around with huge headphones and microphones

17:07

in their hands. For

17:10

me, it happened last year around

17:14

Christmas. Request

17:18

for sounds in the horror

17:21

topics are big around the start of the

17:23

year. Are you surprised to hear

17:25

about that? I was two before I got

17:27

into this. Anyway,

17:29

there was a specific director that

17:31

I legally can't name. Who

17:33

would reach out for a few of us here in the

17:35

Los Angeles area about getting some sound

17:38

made. Sometimes, it would

17:40

be about on location recordings.

17:42

And other times it would be request

17:44

for sounds, human

17:47

sounds, laughter,

17:50

cries, grunts

17:54

and screams. But

17:57

this recording will

17:59

never leave me. It

18:03

was almost five in the morning, and the metro

18:05

station had just opened.

18:07

There were a few people on the train platform, and

18:09

I was adjusting the cables of one of

18:11

my microphones when I heard it.

18:14

People gasped at the same time. There was

18:16

a woman at the end of the platform that

18:18

was screaming hysterically, unable to

18:20

make any other sounds.

18:23

I was standing five steps away from the edge

18:25

of the platform, staring at the woman and

18:27

pointing my microphone at her echoing

18:30

screams. I

18:32

had press record by now and was staring at the

18:34

monitoring graph on my device. Sound

18:38

was perfect. guys

18:41

rushed up towards the platform from behind

18:43

me as I watched a hand trying to

18:45

reach over the yellow border, and the

18:47

edge just before the rails. One

18:50

of the guys reached

18:52

for his left hand. The

18:54

other grabbed him from his right elbow.

18:58

The train was now approaching. It's

19:01

coming fast with the loud screech of the

19:03

brake system as it tried to stop before

19:05

striking the man. I could see the

19:07

top of his head immediately before I saw

19:10

both of his eyes. The

19:12

plea for me to help.

19:15

Was only five steps away from grabbing on his

19:17

shirt and yanking him out onto the

19:19

safe concrete platform. But

19:23

it was then when the screeching takes

19:25

over the recording. Two

19:28

guys trying to pull him up lost grip

19:30

against the heavy train as a body

19:32

crunched away from them, from

19:34

under the train tracks. The

19:36

screams didn't last for very

19:39

long. The

19:41

woman at the end of the platform sounded

19:43

like a blurred echo. The

19:46

sounds of the brakes and the wheels against the

19:48

metal tracks covered up most of what I needed.

19:51

After the disappointment

19:53

left me, it got

19:55

covered up by what I had

19:57

just done. A consequence

20:00

of those who lose themselves and

20:03

sound.

20:12

You can join me on scary FM's

20:14

server on Discord when you click the invite

20:16

link in the description of this episode.

20:19

Please tap follow on your app to get

20:21

new stories. And if you wanna listen without

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com for free next time you wanna listen

20:28

to one of my stories. Up next,

20:30

be sure to check out true scary

20:32

story, where real people

20:34

share their true paranormal encounters.

20:37

It's available here now. Just type it

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into the search bar and check it out.

20:41

Thank you very much for

20:44

listening. See

20:46

you soon.