 Welcome, Weirdos! I'm Darren Marlar, and this is a Chamber of Comments episode where I enter the emails that I've been sent recently. Sometimes it's a nice complimentary email that I receive, sometimes it's heart-wrenching, sometimes it's asking for advice, sometimes it's a complaint. You can email me, though, about anything, anytime at darranatwearddarkness.com. Darran is D-A-R-R-E-N. And your emails always come directly to me. I don't have an assistant or a service. I try to read every one of them as well. And more often than not, I'll reply to those emails here in the Chamber of Comments. Again, you can email me at darran at weirddarkness.com. In this episode, she's referring to the October 2nd episode, Who Are the Shadow People. She says, In this episode, did you inadvertently undo a bit of your laudable work combating mental illness? The story that alarmed me starts at 1745 and is titled The Black Whisperer. At 2730, the writer concludes the story by claiming that he is unburdening himself of a demon that has long plagued his life by sharing the story with listeners. Look behind you. Surprise! You now have a demon attached. Funny, not funny. The link in the show notes goes to a website displaying demon art. Although the vast majority of people will recognize this as just another creepypasta, such stories could be damaging to a subset, those with obsession issues, in particular with OCD or those with delusional disorders. Please consider what stories like this could do to these people. Besides this minor caveat, your work helping mental health is admirable. My digital hat is off to you, and to all the good work that you do, signed K. Thank you very much for the email, okay? You know what? I've never really considered that. I'm not one to get triggered easily, so I guess it's just something that never really occurs to me. But I don't know that I'd be able to change anything with what I do, because if I were to start thinking about every story and how it could possibly affect somebody, I don't think I'd be able to do any of the stories that I do. I mean, they're all dark in some way, and you never know what's going to be in somebody's past, somebody's mindset. I can't program or create a show on the possibility that somebody might or might not get triggered. I understand where you're coming from. Don't get me wrong. And I think you have a point. It's just that I don't think this particular podcast is one that could do anything about that. And regarding the website that displayed the human art, that's not something that I... How do I put this? I give the authors of each story that is sent to me the opportunity to include a social media link or to their website. And if that's their website, then, well, that's their website. So with all the thumbnail art that I put up for the podcast, both in the podcast and on YouTube, there's a lot of demonic stuff there as well because of the show titles and stuff. So I don't think I can do anything about it, Kay. I really appreciate your heart. And I think it's admirable that you... By the way, I want to thank you for being so respectful in your email as well. Sometimes, well, not sometimes, more often than not, somebody will email me with a concern or a complaint, and they'll be downright rude about it, or maybe they'll be terse about it and just say, you shouldn't have done this. Boom. And that's it. That's the end of the email. You are so respectful in your email. And I greatly appreciate that. I wish more people would do this. I have no problem receiving emails from people who have an issue with something or a concern about something or a complaint about something. So long as they are coming at me with respect and you did that and I greatly appreciate it, Kay. Thank you very much. Our next one comes from B. Hello, Darren. I found your podcast while searching for paranormal stories a few months ago. My love for the paranormal started as a young boy after having a not-so-nice experience that I'll explain in another email. This email I'll try to keep short and to the point about my life to date. My childhood was average until I was around seven or eight years old. I come from what some may call a dysfunctional family where conflicts were handled physically. Not so uncommon in the early 80s, I guess, as I see in other families act in the same way. I have five siblings, four brothers and a sister, my sister being the youngest born in 1981. It was around this time my childhood was starting to downward spiral into dark happenings as well as doings. Most of my childhood memories have been blocked out, I was told because of the trauma. My father was never home because of work, which left my mother as basically the only authority figure in the house. She used a wooden paddle as means for discipline, which for some reason I always seemed to be at the wrong end of. I think the verbal abuse may have been worse than the beatings, even though at one point she was hitting me so hard she broke the paddle. Always being told you weren't as good or as smart as your older brothers may have added to the physical angst of a young boy. It was around this time that I was sexually abused for the first time. This would go on for at least three years. I started stealing liquor at 10 and smoking marijuana at 11. Cigarettes soon followed. About the same time I started killing birds, squirrels and mice. I didn't really like to do it, but I didn't want to stop either. It gave me a feeling of power. I was too small and weak to fend off my abusers, so I took it out on the animals that unfortunately crossed my path. I had my first wanted sexual experience with a female at the age of 12. This seemed to curve my want for hurting animals, so I ran with it. I became obsessed with it. Multiple partners and self-pleasuring was my release, but on occasion, when frustrated, I would hurt and kill again. I knew it was wrong and would have moments of guilt, but that would pass. This is when I started having thoughts of suicide. The pattern continued until I met a girl at 14 who would eventually become my wife. My attraction to her was instant. I stopped the abuse of animals and never did it again. She was a lover of all creatures of God and I couldn't hurt anything she loved. Unfortunately, I couldn't curve my appetite for sexual pleasure with just one partner. I've had multiple affairs during our relationship together. I've also attempted suicide by hanging four times. I finally decided I needed help in 2015. I didn't want to hurt her anymore. I had to find a way to end my cycle of adultery and depression. I checked myself into a hospital after my last suicide attempt. With counseling and medications, I became a totally different person. I had a love of life that I never had before. Unfortunately, I damaged our relationship so bad that she found comfort in doing what I had been doing our entire relationship and in 2017 we separated. I fell into such a deep depression I lost my way once again. This time though my escape was alcohol. I drank every day for 8 months. I was killing myself just slower. I lost a brother, my wife, my life and my mother in the span of 3 months that year. November 2017, while drinking at a bar and sulking in my misery, I had a revelation and I went to my wife and asked if she felt we still had a chance. I started therapy again as well as the medication. We were living our best lives, finally. May 2018 came and I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Surgery and treatments tested us mentally and financially. We fought together as one and beat it. Wow. Two weeks after I finished treatments, she was diagnosed with cancer as well. Oh my gosh man. Once again we fought as one, she beat her cancer. People tell me I have a guardian angel, I'm not a religious person and I tell them that she is my angel. She was sent to save me and she has multiple times. Thank you Darren for your time and effort to help people in need. You very well could be their angel. Wow. Wow bee. Oh my gosh. Um, what? This is a testimony man. If it wasn't for the fact that you're not religious, this would be a testimony. That's what Christians call a testimony. They tell their lives about what happened before they found Christ. And quite often those stories are really ugly, much like yours is. And then they say how their life has changed. And in a way that's kind of what you've done. It's just that you're giving power to your bride, which I have to admit, she is an amazing person. To be with you since the age of 14, finally becoming your wife, granted you did have some marital problems which you admit were your fault. And yet she gives you another chance later. You both go through such horrible times, not just the sexual infidelity, but then you getting cancer and beating it and then her getting cancer and her beating it. Dude, if you two were meant to be together, there was like nothing that would tear you two apart. That is amazing. I gotta say, I'm kind of torn here. I mean, I'm really sad for your life, but I am so stoked for where you are now and what's going on. You've gotten help. You actually reached out for help because you knew you needed it, which is a brave thing to do. So many people don't know how tough that really is. Unless you have depression or if you have an addiction or something like that, people don't realize how difficult it is to reach for help. It's a pride issue. You're ashamed of where you are and what you've been doing and you don't want to tell anybody about that. But that's exactly what you need to do in order to break that cycle. I remember, and I don't know if I've ever talked about this on the podcast in the past, but when it comes to the sexual addiction, I had that as well early in our marriage. I was never unfaithful, but I had an addiction to porn and it was eating me up and I never wanted anybody to know, of course, especially my wife. And the longer I kept the secret, the harder it was for me to stay away from it. It kept eating at me and eating at me, and that's the way dark secrets work. The longer you keep that secret, the more it's going to eat at you and the stronger a grip it has on you. Eventually, I got around to it. I finally told my wife, we went out to dinner once. I think we went to a Sonic and I told her what was going on and that I was really, really sorry and that I felt like I needed to tell her and that I needed help. She was having the exact same issue and I didn't know. We both had an issue with it and immediately it disappeared for us. I'm not saying this will happen for you. I mean, granted, we were also relying on God in this one. That was part of the reason that I told her. I knew that I had to confess to her and to God at the same time what it is that I was struggling with. Obviously, God knew what I was struggling with. It's not like God was blind to it or anything he knew. It's just that I didn't want to talk to him about it. But once you tell somebody, be it the person that you're sinning against or just a psychologist or psychiatrist or a doctor, whatever, as soon as you tell someone that secret tends to break and that grip tends to break and we did not have an issue with it after that. We both were in a way kind of freed from it and it was no longer an issue. And so the idea that you went out and actually asked for help is just amazing. I know I'm ranting here. I'm going off on a tangent, but I just can't tell you how proud I am of you. It is so, so great. And to come up with that, especially with that childhood, I can't tell you how many people I know that have had that physical abuse childhood. In fact, Robin, the woman I married, has that kind of childhood. Her dad only knew how to communicate through yelling and through hitting. And Robin's first marriage was the same way. She didn't realize it when she married him, but as soon as they said, I do, like within the first 24 hours, he immediately turned into a physical abuser. It's I don't know why that happens, why we are attracted to what we've already been had in the past, even if it was bad. But fortunately, she got out of that. We've been married now coming up on, well, March will be 28 years for us. And I've never laid a hand on her. And I never will. And I will. I never verbally abuse her. I treat her like the queen, the princess that she is. That's why I call her my bride, not just my wife. Because that's the way I think of her. That's the way I want to think of her. And that's the way that most people should act. Don't ever say, Hey, you know, here's my ball and chain. I know it's a joke. It's meant for humor, but it's also disrespectful. And even though maybe people don't take it that way, there it does something to you in the back of your head. And it just kind of lessens the relationship. But if you always speak of your spouse in good terms, if you speak of your bride or your groom, or, you know, this is my better half, you know, something along those lines, always in a positive manner, it's amazing how that can, how that impacts your marriage. Also, I also think it's funny. I thought it was funny. I know you didn't when you were being spanked with the wooden spoon, you're being paddled. I was in first grade. And I don't know what I did. I don't remember anything other than the actual spanking. But I was in first grade and the teacher took me into her office. And she grabbed a ruler and she started swatting me. And I was laughing. I don't know why I was laughing. I don't know what was funny about it. But I was laughing. She broke the ruler on my butt. And I kept laughing. In fact, I laughed harder at that point. And I'm sure that did not help my situation. But that's all I remember of it. And I just had to share that with you, because I thought it was funny, at least in my own head. But be, man, I'm really proud of you. And I hope and pray for nothing but the best for you and your angel. That is really an amazing story. Okay, Jenna sent me an email saying, Darren, I want to start off by saying thank you. Thank you for what you do and what you spread. October of 2014, my boyfriend, and most importantly, my best friend who got me through my abusive mother at the time, passed away to suicide related to military trauma. For the past eight years, I've struggled with the wise and severe depression and PTSD related to the incident. I've struggled finding myself after his passing. For six months after his passing, I didn't get out of bed. I barely ate. And I was hospitalized six times. I'm an adult now, married with animals and following my passion. I stumbled upon your podcast at random and it saved my life. No, like seriously saved my life. In my darkest moments, I've turned to your podcast to feel normal, to listen to the stories and hear someone talk about mental health. I'm someone who has a gift. I'm able to see and talk to spirits, and hearing the stories you put out on your podcast has brought me a sense of normalcy, like I'm not weird. At my darkest moments of suicidal thoughts, your voice and your stories you share has been my saving grace. Your podcast truly gave me hope in the darkness. So thank you. Thank you for giving me hope, for pulling me through the hard days of dealing with grief. If you ever make it out to Boise, Idaho, I'll be praying you visit to thank you in person. Thank you for giving me the strength each and every day to get up and have something to look forward to. Much love from Idaho. Jenna. That is an amazing compliment. Jenna, thank you so much. I really appreciate that. I'm very sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine what life would be like if I was to lose my bride, and I would probably be the same way. For a good six months or more, I probably wouldn't want to get out of bed. I probably wouldn't want to eat, which is saying a lot for me. If you know what I look like, I love to eat, but the depression would probably tear me up. I would want to give up on life. I understand. It's just part of the grieving process, but I'm so glad that you find comfort and a feeling of belonging here in the Weird Darkness podcast in our Weirdo family. That is the ultimate compliment. I really appreciate that, Jenna. Thank you so, so much for sharing that with me. Jeanne sent an email saying, Hey, Darren. Excuse me. Hi, Darren. I say, Hey, he says hi. Anyway, enjoy your reading of the Abominable History of the Man with Copper Fingers by Dorothy L. Sayers and realize it's got to be the basis for the movies that use that twist in their plots, such as House of Wax and Mystery at the Wax Museum. A first story appeared in 1928 that predates those films by quite a bit, and I can't recall that conceit employed elsewhere. Of course, there was the story of Pygmalion and Galadia, or of the Gollum, but those are statues coming to life, not sculptures made of dipped people. Again, much appreciate your reading and continue to enjoy Weird Darkness as my favorite podcast. Glad you're finding good stuff to narrate in those wonderful old Hitchcock anthologies, too. Best source I know for a wide range of compelling, interesting stories. Be well and stay safe and happy, signed Gene. Thank you, Gene. I appreciate it. And yeah, you know what? When I was reading that, I thought the same thing. I thought this really sounds like a House of Wax kind of situation, or Mystery at the Wax Museum. I didn't say that, obviously, in this story, because I was just narrating the story. It wasn't a commentary type of thing, but I totally thought the same thing. I did not go back and compare the years, though. So if you're correct and I have no reason to doubt that you are, or that you're not correct, then yeah, it would come out before House of Wax and Mystery at the Wax Museum and those types of movies, and you gotta wonder, maybe that's where they got their inspiration. And I got an email from one of my patrons, Ben, sent me an email saying, not sure where or how you find all the information for your shows, but I saw something and I can't find any info on it. Today, while driving, I live in Northern Kentucky, my stepdaughter said she saw something falling to the earth. I look and see what looks like contrails, but they were definitely moving straight down. There were two of them. Never have I ever saw a downward one. Definitely was moving down and not up. Coincidentally, my father yesterday was out hunting and saw a silver object at a distance which appeared to just hover in place and then suddenly vanished. I haven't got to speak in depth with him about it yet. Any ideas on the downward contrail? Have you ever come across any info on something like that? Well, Ben, I have done an episode on contrails, but I don't believe it touched on anything like downward contrails specifically. This is kind of a new one for me. In thinking about this, I can imagine a contrail moving straight, forward, ahead of you, like away from you, and that might look like it's going down just because of the curvature of the earth. If it continues going straight, it's eventually going to move down past the horizon, so it's going to look like it has that downward angle, even if it doesn't. But I'm not saying that it was a contrail. I'm just saying that's one possibility. It's the only thing that came to mind. But regarding your dad's sighting of a silver object hovering in the sky and then disappearing, man, that's got UFO written all over it. So, thank you very much for sharing that. And if he wants to put out that story a little bit more, if he wants to go in more in depth, I'd love to tell that story here in the podcast. Well, there you go, folks. If you have an email for me, drop it to darwinatweerdarkness.com. Darwin is D-A-R-R-E-N, and I might use your email in a future Chamber of Comments. God bless.