 Hey Weirdos, welcome to Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained. This episode is a little bit different, though, in the fact that this is a Chamber of Comments episode where I take the entire episode and just answer emails that I've been sent. Sometimes it's a nice complimentary email, sometimes it's heart-wrenching, sometimes it's asking for advice, sometimes it's a complaint. You can email me anytime about anything at Darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Your emails always come directly to me, not some assistant or service, and I do try to read every single one of them. More often than not, I'll reply to those emails here in the Chamber of Comments, so you'll want to be sure that you listen to these episodes. Again, you can email me Darren at WeirdDarkness.com. Before we get too far into this, though, I only have a couple of days left. Here it is October 29th, we've got the 30th, and then Halloween, and that is it when it comes to our Overcoming the Darkness campaign. We are down to the wire, and we've not yet reached our goal. So if you have not given and you're planning on doing so, or if you've been thinking about it, please think harder. And if you can give now while you're thinking about it while you're listening to this Chamber of Comments episode, I would greatly appreciate it. We do this every year, it's the only time of the year that I actually do a fundraiser and ask for donations, and every dollar we raise is going to go towards organizations that help people who struggle with depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. So it's definitely a worthy cause. So please give if you can. You can do that by going to WeirdDarkness.com. There's a big subscribe button there on the front page, or you can go to the Hope in the Darkness page and learn a little bit more about it. Our first email comes from Brian, saying, Hi Darren, after listening to your podcast for the past two years, I'm finally sending you an email. This email is really in regards to the last guy's email you received about not including the True Crime and Paranormal stories. If he doesn't like it, there are many other podcasts he can listen to. Last time I checked, True Crime slash Paranormal is part of the Weird Darkness. It's not about glorifying the killer or killers. It's no different than having these documentaries, ghost tours, prison shows, America's Most Wanted, Unexplained Mysteries, or any other True Crime series. Please don't change your formula, Darren. You cannot please everyone. For every 100 fans, you'll still have haters. Even Jesus had haters, LOL. Anyways, brother, you are amazing, so keep rocking. P.S., I'm trying to wait till I get paid so I can donate to the fundraiser. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks right now. Boy, Brian, you know what, I totally understand that. Living paycheck to paycheck. And the idea, just the thought that you would even consider giving towards our fundraiser with as strapped as you are for cash, that truly means a lot. Thank you so much for even thinking about it. And for those who can't give, I understand, especially now with the economy the way it is, if you just want to spread the word about the fundraiser, that would be great too. Just tell your friends that this is what we're doing, that it's overcoming the darkness, that it's helping people with depression, and then include the link to the donation page or to the Hope in the Darkness page, either one, that would work either way. But if you can't give, I completely understand, but if you just spread the word, that also helps. So thank you in advance. Carrie sent me an email saying, Hi Darren, just listen to the episode on Abduction and Paranormal. The subject of other dimensions is fascinating to me. I've recently read Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott, and I thought it explains possible other dimensions in an elegant way. The idea of visual perception of dimensions changed my idea of other worlds. Up to this point, I had the idea that I lived many different lives all at once, but on the same plane of experience. By this, I thought that each individual has a world in their minds that is unique to them, that their world is created by their thoughts, feelings and experiences and their perception of others is based in and colored by those emotions. The idea can be expanded on. We see in 3D, due to the setup of our optic network and our actually fourth dimensional beings. In Flatland, a square cannot see a sphere as a sphere. It's perceived as a point that expands to a circle and then contracts back to a point before it vanishes. The square only sees in 2D. The sphere does its best to explain the visual experience that the square just witnessed, explaining 3D sight. I always consider higher dimensions as outside of my current plane, something you achieve when you pass on. What if higher dimensions are the paranormal? The experiences that people have could be a look into higher dimensions. The healer could have tapped into a higher dimensional ability, same for the person that hears loved ones that have passed on. Everyone has had an experience, big or small. I no longer see just an expanding circle before me. We are spheres. We encompass all dimensions and planes. Therefore, we have an ability to experience all individually and as a whole. Thank you for letting me share my new perception on my current life, signed Carrie. Well thank you Carrie, mind blown. That was really hard to follow. I've seen demonstrations on YouTube where they tried to explain how a 2D object or a living creature that lives only in the 2D would see a 3D object. It's really hard to get your mind around all you're doing just hearing the explanation. You really need to see this. And even then, it's hard to grasp. But you do have a point that we are 4D beings. We see in 3D, but we're in the fourth dimension. We've also got time and space with us, if that's the fourth dimension that you're referring to. But we are stuck in time at one particular point. Maybe when we pass on, actually, there is a definition of eternity. When we pass on to eternity, I've heard eternity described once as not forever, not like this point and then continuing on forever. But eternity is all time in one point. So it's past, present and future all happening at the same time. So in a way, you would be in that fourth dimension, now I'm confusing myself. Gary, thank you very much for the email. I'm going to have to reread your email later on and see if I can do so without getting a headache on it. Good news gracious. DJ is one of my patrons. They sent an email saying, Microterror episodes are great. Hope kids enjoy as much as I do. I'm a mid 40s male. Well, thank you, DJ. Good timing on you sending this as well. Today, of course, Saturday, October 29th was the last episode because we were doing one episode every Saturday through the month of October. That being said, it's really been a success. And the author, Scott Donnelly, is really happy with the kind of feedback he's getting. So we're going to bring it back. In fact, starting in January 2023, every Saturday will be Microterror's Saturday. You'll still get your regular Weird Darkness episodes, but every Saturday for, well, from now until Scott wants to stop writing. And he's already, I think he's got like 20 episodes already written. As soon as we talked about this and he thought it was a great idea, he just had a flood of ideas coming his way. So starting in January, we're going to bring back Microterror's scary stories for kids. I could not be happier about that. It's one of the most fun things that I've done on Weird Darkness. I had a lot of fun doing Spooky Santa, but these Microterror's are just that much more fun, especially with all of the sound effects that I put behind it, the vintage Halloween scary music that I found that I use for it. And I love doing stuff for the kids too. So I couldn't be happier that we're going to start doing that in January. So I'm glad that you like them, DJ. You're not the only adult that likes them. And hopefully the kids will love them even more as we continue on. I get something called Charitable Digest in my email, and it sends me the latest reviews from Apple Podcasts. And I received a couple saying, one saying, love. It might have too many ads, but it's an awesome podcast. And they gave me five stars. So despite the number of ads that the podcast does get sometimes, they gave me five stars. So thank you for that. And then, oh, by the way, that came from Guy68373. And then FlyGuyTraj said, love and hate the show. And they gave me five stars as well saying, I love everything about the show, but I hate it too. Why do I hate it? Because some of the stories scare the crap out of me. And I can't sleep at night because they stay stuck in my head. In all seriousness, I love the show. I can't get enough of it. Well, thank you very much for everybody that does leave, that leaves reviews like that, especially those five star reviews. I really appreciate that. Troy sent me an email saying, please, for the love of God, it is pronounced sasquatch. Think of your ass when saying it, not sasquatch, as you're pronouncing it. Also, concerning the Patterson film, it's not that they didn't have the means to buy a suit so authentic looking. It's the fact that in 1967, you couldn't buy a suit so authentic looking for any amount of money. As crazy as it sounds, the dang thing does exist. Well, Troy, thank you very much for the email and for correcting my pronunciation. I've heard that actually said both ways, sasquatch and sasquatch. So I don't know if I was incorrect with it, but that's okay, you're entitled to your opinion. I had the same thing happen when it came to the when to go, because I used to say when d go. And people said, no, it's not when d go, it's when to go. And it turns out you can actually pronounce it both ways, but when to go is the one that's used most. And another one that I refuse to change the pronunciation of, because I just like the way I say it is Ouija board, Ouija. People say, no, it's Ouija, but no, I say Ouija and it can be done both ways. I go with Ouija because I like to be a jerk. All right, moving on to our next email. This one comes from Jamie and she said, hi, Darren. Okay, so I'm listening to an old show back from June 15th, 2021, and you are reading emails. OMG. When you talk about dealing with all your issues at once, you start listing them. The one that got me to stop working and start cracking up out loud, the Frito chip toenail. I was laughing so hard, people were looking at me like I'm nutty. Of course, I told them about your awesome show. Yes, this is a good way of getting the word out about the show. Love the show and hope you make many more. God bless you and Robin. Forever a patron weirdo, Jamie. Thank you, Jamie. I appreciate that. In case you have no idea what Jamie's referring to, I used to do stand-up comedy. I did it for about 10 years and one of my bits was just how as I get older, my body's falling apart. And so the line that she's referring to, let's see if I can remember this now, the line says now that I, this is back when I hit like 40, I'm 53 now, but so, you know, as I get older, you know, I'm, I'm losing my hair, finding it in my ears. I got, I'm nearsighted and farsighted. I've got psoriasis on my cheeks, both sets. Got high cholesterol, high blood pressure, acid reflux, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome, got a toenail that looks like a Frito. And there you are. And that's, that's what she was laughing at. So I'm glad you got a laugh out of it, Jamie. This one comes from Aaron saying, hello, Darren. I hope this email finds you and your wife well. My name is Aaron. I'm a paramedic and a firefighter from Ohio. First, I just want to tell you how much I love your podcast. He gets me through those long shifts and helps me unwind after them. I wanted to respond to your request about if we were using any of the mental health links you share. For me, it is a resounding yes. I use seven cups almost daily. Recently, a fellow co-worker of mine who's also my best friend attempted suicide. Oh my gosh, Aaron, I'm so sorry to hear that. Thankfully, he did not succeed and he's still with us and has made a full recovery. I recently referred seven cups and your podcast to a friend of my wife's whose son was recently sexually assaulted. I'm hoping that with the help of seven cups and the other forms of therapy, this poor young man gets the help he needs. Thank you for what you're doing and please keep it up. I look forward to many more episodes. Stay weird. Wow, Aaron. Talk about a segue. Oh my goodness gracious, I am so sorry to hear that about your friend and also this poor kid who was sexually abused. That is horrifying. I just don't understand this world. I really don't. Robin and I were talking about this the other day and in the Bible, God destroyed the world with a flood, with a worldwide flood because people were so evil and we have got to be so many times worse than they were then with our current society and it is only his grace and mercy holding back his judgment that we're still here because we definitely deserve judgment. So often, I watch the news, I see what's going on and I just think Jesus comes soon because I just I don't understand. I don't know how this world can take that much more of it. We were talking about women who are assaulted and of the five women that I have been truly serious about in my life, three of them have been had been sexually abused and I take that back. Four, four of them have been sexually abused. It's just horrifying. So I'm glad that you're finding your help on that Hope in the Darkness page. That's what are overcoming the Darkness Fundraisers all about. Erin is responding to a request I made back in September for anybody who did use the page and got some help out of it. So thank you for telling me about that Erin, but this is why the overcoming the Darkness Fundraiser is so important. It's exactly these types of people that we're trying to help. I mean, how can you not be in depression, anxiety? How can you not have suicidal thoughts when stuff like this happens? So again, if you can give, and I don't mean, I didn't mean to turn this into, you know, into a begathon through Erin's email and Erin, I'm sorry if it's coming off that way, but you've just given me the opportunity here to show how important our fundraiser is each year. So thank you for that. Let's see here. We'll move on to Derek. Derek says, hello, Darren. Wow, what an inspiration you are for me. You literally talk me to sleep every night. I would love the opportunity to talk to you even for a brief second. Please feel free to contact me, however, so we can speak in person. Long-time listener, lost depression, soul-defined sanctuary in your stories. You are a great help to humanity and on behalf of everyone in my shoes. Thank you. Well, thank you, Derek. And how are you? I actually emailed Derek just because he I thought it'd be a nice little surprise for him. And he's another one of those people that says that I talk them to sleep every night. So again, how do you take that? I'm so boring that I put you to sleep. I know that's not what they mean when they say it. It's just kind of fun. It just strikes me as funny whenever somebody mentions that. So thank you very much for the really kind comments, Derek. I appreciate that. Yass sent me an email and I'm not going to try to pronounce your entire name because I'm sure I'll butcher it. But if you want to find this person online, it's Wicked Gypsy artistry and music production. Wicked Gypsy. And Wicked Gypsy is all one word. Wicked Gypsy artistry and music production. So anyway, they sent an email saying, Hi, Darren. You probably don't remember me, but I wanted to reach out to you because I immediately thought of Weird Darkness when I watched Netflix's 28 Days Haunted. I watched all six episodes yesterday. I never watched TV, so you probably already have seen it, LOL. OMG. Literally, it was so beyond gripping. As it's Ed and Lorraine Warren's son-in-law who hosted. Three haunted locations. One was Madison, North Carolina. And if you've not seen it, please consider it. Full body chills and it goes into Charlie Lawson, possibly being possessed prior to murdering his entire family on Christmas Day 1929. Possibly something to add to a future follow-up since Christmas is right around the corner. Okay, I'll shut up. I cried in the end because I was so incredibly amazed at the paranormal intelligence. I don't think it was prompted or exaggerated by the production team. Okay, okay, okay, I'll shut up. If time permits, could you let me know if you've already seen it? Happy Halloween and warm regards, Yas. Yas or Yas, however you pronounce your name. I've not seen it. 28 Days Haunted. I didn't even know that it existed. But the idea that it touches on the Lawson family massacre, that I want to see. Especially if they have an alternate theory about the dad, Charlie Lawson, being possessed. That's interesting. So I'm going to have to check that out. I've not seen it yet. People have been asking me about the Watcher on Netflix because they said, didn't you do something on your podcast that's about that story? And yes, I did. The Watcher on Netflix, from what I understand, I've not watched it yet. But it takes a lot of liberties with the story. And from what I understand, the original story, by the way, if you want to hear what really happened originally, look on WeirdDarkness.com, use the search function and look for the Circleville letters. That's what it's based upon. Apparently Lifetime had a movie based on the Circleville letters that the families, or the family that was being tormented by this writer of the letters, they actually approved the Lifetime version. They did not approve the Netflix version. And so I'm guessing, and I've not seen the Lifetime version either, by the way, but the Lifetime version is probably a lot closer to reality than what the Netflix version is. Because Netflix, like I said, took a lot of liberties from what I have read, and they start making, they start bringing in characters and motivations that were never mentioned in any of the Circleville letters. But still, I'm sure it's really entertaining, because that's Netflix. They do a lot of entertaining stuff. Gene Stewart sent me an email saying, DARREN, heard you remark about having run out of migraine meds and insurance companies sadism kicking you. I sure hope you can resolve things soon, man. No one deserves anything less than the medical help they need. Wish I could help out, but at least let me say that you're not struggling alone against today's broken systems. Be strong, stay dark, and keep being weird. Namaste, signed Gene. Gene, thank you very much. I appreciate that. And no, actually, it's not been resolved. So what we're doing now, because my insurance company is just being butts about it, there were three different medications that we tried that they didn't want to approve any of. So I'm actually paying out of pocket for the injection from my migraines now. And I don't know, there's no other way around it. So I appreciate everybody who listens to the podcast, because you're helping me pay for my migraine meds, and they are not cheap. And in fact, I think it's about, I'm getting a two month supply each time, it's costing me about $1,200, something like that. Each time I get it, yeah, I know. I know, it's horrible. So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody who listens to Weird Darkness, because if it wasn't for you, I would not have migraine medication right now, and I would be in a world of hurt. And one more message just when it comes from Petina, who also happens to be one of my patrons, saying, sorry about your back and sinus infection, both of those things really suck. I hope you feel better soon. I forgot to tell you, thank you for your shows. Last year and early this year, I was in the hospital two times for six days each. You helped me get through the worst time of my life. I was all alone, but you and your stories kept time going. I'm the one that wrote you about the hospital attendant looking through my little window while you were talking about Michael Myers, LOL. I have a strong feeling that guy will never be the same. He scared me and I scared the hell out of him. Thank you for sharing that, Petina. That's great. Yeah, the back and sinus issues are actually getting, you might hear a little bit of sinus issues right now. For those of you who don't know, if you don't follow the podcast too closely or if you don't follow me on social media, while I was in Plattsburgh, New York, I started getting a really awful sinus issues and my back was hurting. At first, I thought, uh-oh, I've got the COVID, but I took a test and it came out negative. I do tend to get sinus infections, not so much anymore. I used to, every single year, I used to get a sinus infection and strep throat every single year. I think it had something to do with me doing a lot of singing, opening up the throat, maybe that helps. I don't know. It's just a guess. And the reason I say that is because when I really stopped singing as much as I did and started doing just regular voice work, I didn't get the sinus infections and the strep throat like I used to. So that's the reason I wonder about it. Now, ironically, and this is why I think it's also the singing because while I was on my way to Plattsburgh, I cranked up the radio and I started singing as loud as I could to Little River Band's Greatest Hits, one of my favorite albums of all time. And then that's when the sore throat began and that's when the sinus infection began. So that's why I'm going to blame it on singing. That's what I'm going to do. In fact, I'd love to blame it on the Little River Band, but I don't think they had anything to do with it. I think it's all on me. But fortunately, the sinus infection is on its way out. As for the back problem, I slipped when I was getting gas in the SUV. I slipped, fell on the concrete and I wrenched my back. And of course, that would happen on my way to Plattsburgh, of course. So I was there for three days, kind of miserable. It didn't get really, really bad until my way back. I don't know why it took that long to really, really hit hard. But I got back Tuesday from the trip. And Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I was in a world of hurt. I couldn't move hardly. And thank goodness, we had bio-freeze and a heating pad here because I think that's what helped more than anything else. That and all the painkillers. And I discovered Mydoll, by the way, accidentally. I don't know if you guys heard that in the podcast. But I was in so much pain that I decided to pick up some Ibuprofen at a convenience store while I was on the road. I don't know what I did. I thought I was picking up a leaf or something like that or maybe Advil. I picked up Mydoll, which is not Ibuprofen, by the way. It's actually a Cetaminophen, along with some other things. But I didn't realize that. I was so desperate after I left the store, I said, forget it. I'm going to take it anyway. I know this is actually meant for women and their periods and all, you know, their menstrual cramps and stuff like that. But I'm going to take it anyway, because I don't care. Wonderful stuff. So as the TV commercials said, thank you, Mydoll, because that actually really helped with the backaches quite a bit. Didn't take them away entirely, but it made things bearable. Okay, so we've gone on long enough here. Sorry, I was just rambling there for a little while. Tomorrow, October 30th, we've got my annual War of the Worlds episode, and then the live screen on Monday. So if you haven't already, please put it on the calendar. It's going to be a great time. You can get more information on it just by clicking on live screen at WeirdDarkness.com, but it is the one day of the year that I do the show live on camera. I do it on Halloween. It's just sort of the end of the month. It's the end of our birthday month. It's the last day of the fundraiser. It just kind of makes sense to do it just one big final splash. And I do it during the trick-or-treat hours here in the Rockford, Illinois area. So that way you can actually watch the trick-or-treaters when they come up to the door, because I'll use the ring doorbell camera. I'll put that into the live video stream so you can see the kids when they come up, as I'm telling the stories. We've got some fun songs that we'll be doing, including one that I wrote specifically for this year, and we'll also be doing giveaways. So if you are not already signed up for the Weird Darkness email newsletter, then you want to do that, because that's where I'll be drawing the names from, and we're doing lots of giveaways during the live screen. All right, that does it. Thanks a lot, everybody. I appreciate it. Again, if you want to drop me an email and be featured in the next Chamber of Comments, all you got to do is send it to me, Darren, D-A-R-R-E-N at WeirdDarkness.com. God bless, everybody. See you in the next episode.