Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] I'm Ben, and welcome to the show where you and I gather around this campfire to hear some of our fellow campers scariest experiences.
[00:00:15] Whether you're a new or returning one, I'm glad you're here tonight. We will just jump right into the story sent in by a camper named Josh about he and his dog's encounter with what he describes to be a gnome.
[00:00:32] So now, without further ado, do you want to hear a ghost story?
[00:00:39] I always walk Murphy after dinner. Just a quick lap through the neighborhood, past the empty lot where the old house burnt down last year, down to the park and back.
[00:00:50] Same time, same path.
[00:00:53] He knows it by heart.
[00:00:55] Murphy's a good dog. Half golden, half something else.
[00:00:59] Built like a linebacker but with the kind of energy of a kid on soda or after their first taste of caffeine.
[00:01:08] This particular night I didn't bring a flashlight. The streetlights, I thought, were enough.
[00:01:13] The moon was full after all.
[00:01:16] It had rained earlier, so the grass glistened.
[00:01:19] The air smelled like wet pavement.
[00:01:22] Murphy was sniffing every puddle like it held a secret.
[00:01:25] Every blade of grass like another dog had just peed on was a quiet night, almost too quiet.
[00:01:34] No recognizable crickets, no frogs, just the wet squish of my sneakers and Murphy's jiggling dog tags with every step.
[00:01:43] We were rounding the bend near the empty lot when he stopped dead, the hair on his back standing up, growling real low.
[00:01:53] I followed his stare into the tall grass near where the fountain of the old house still sat.
[00:02:00] Next to it was, well, not a person.
[00:02:04] Not an animal either.
[00:02:06] It was small, at most 3ft tall, but in a way that's hard to explain.
[00:02:14] It had limbs, sure, but they were a little too long for the body, like someone had a ball of clay and stretched the arms out for a laugh.
[00:02:25] The weirdest thing, whatever this was, was wearing a little coat, tattered and mud stained and strangest of all, a small pointed hat.
[00:02:38] I almost laughed, but Murphy just growled.
[00:02:42] And then he did something that he'd never done before.
[00:02:46] He bolted. He didn't bark. He didn't wait.
[00:02:50] He just tore the leash out of my hand and chased whatever this was straight into the bush over the crumbling fountain.
[00:02:57] Both he and whatever this thing was disappeared into the black tangle of weeds behind the lot.
[00:03:05] I yelled, called after him, murphy. Murphy, come back. Murphy.
[00:03:11] But no response.
[00:03:13] I could just hear the crunching of twigs and a distant thud.
[00:03:17] I jumped the curb and ran after him, past the fountain and into the brush.
[00:03:24] The ground back here was uneven, like nature was Trying to bury the past.
[00:03:30] There were piles of bricks left over from the house. Twisted metal and a rusted mattress spring.
[00:03:36] Almost like this area was a junkyard of memory.
[00:03:40] My feet sank deep into the wet earth. Vines caught my ankles and the thick branches clawed at my arms.
[00:03:48] It was quiet back here.
[00:03:50] I could no longer hear Murphy. I couldn't see the snome.
[00:03:55] I was breathing hard. Listening to my pulse.
[00:03:57] I almost turned back, Almost convinced myself it was just a raccoon in some sort of weird costume. Maybe even a cat.
[00:04:07] And that Murphy would come out after he caught it.
[00:04:10] But then I heard a laugh.
[00:04:13] High pitched, raspy.
[00:04:19] Like someone who smoked through a hole in their neck.
[00:04:22] It echoed, bouncing off all the trees.
[00:04:26] It made it impossible to tell which direction it was coming from, but I could tell it was close.
[00:04:31] I tried to follow.
[00:04:34] It was stupid, but I had to find Murphy.
[00:04:38] He's my dog. He sleeps at my feet. He waits by the door when I'm gone. I have to find him.
[00:04:45] I pushed deeper until the trees thickened and the sky vanished completely.
[00:04:51] When I finally found the hole, it looked like an old well, covered with leaves and bramble.
[00:04:58] Just wide enough for me to slip through.
[00:05:00] The rocks around the edge were slick with moss, and I saw a tuft of golden fur.
[00:05:07] Murphy had been here.
[00:05:09] I crawled down into the hole.
[00:05:11] It was really quiet down here.
[00:05:14] And then I heard the faintest growl.
[00:05:17] Maybe a whimper, I couldn't tell. But my stomach dropped immediately. Murphy was down here.
[00:05:23] I circled the well, searching for a ladder, a rope, anything.
[00:05:29] There was nothing.
[00:05:30] It was like the earth had swallowed me whole.
[00:05:34] I stood there for a second, catching my breath.
[00:05:37] I could smell rot and hear dripping.
[00:05:40] And then I heard skittering from deeper into the well.
[00:05:44] It sounded like dozens of tiny feet scraping against stone.
[00:05:48] I pressed myself against the wall and listened.
[00:05:53] I could see a faint glow from deeper into this tunnel.
[00:05:56] It wasn't fire and it wasn't electric. It was almost like bioluminescence. Maybe a fungus, but the color was wrong. It was a reddish purple, and it almost made my eyes hurt to look at.
[00:06:10] I moved forward.
[00:06:13] The tunnel at the end of this well opened up into a chamber maybe 10ft wide.
[00:06:18] Circular, like an old cistern.
[00:06:21] The walls were covered in carvings, spirals, eyes and jagged runes I couldn't recognize.
[00:06:29] In the center stood a table made of stone and what looked like bones.
[00:06:35] Antlers were jutted into the corner.
[00:06:38] Something stood on top.
[00:06:40] Murphy. He was alive.
[00:06:42] Just standing there, growling.
[00:06:45] I approached him from the end of the tunnel.
[00:06:47] And just on the other side Was the gnome.
[00:06:51] This time I saw it clearly.
[00:06:54] Its skin was gray, like concrete soaked in ash.
[00:06:58] Its eyes were black, no whites, no iris, just voids.
[00:07:05] Its mouth was too wide, with teeth like sewing needles. It wore a patchwork cloak made of tiny squares stitched together.
[00:07:16] And on its head was a pointy little hat.
[00:07:21] It tilted its head at me and then smiled.
[00:07:24] I put myself between Murphy and the gnome.
[00:07:28] It didn't move.
[00:07:30] But it spoke.
[00:07:32] At least I think it spoke.
[00:07:34] It wasn't in any language I understood. And in that moment, I did not hesitate. I ran. I scooped Murphy off the stone. He was heavy, but adrenaline's funny like that.
[00:07:45] And ran back to where I came, half dragging myself, half dragging Murphy as his paws scraped along the side of the well.
[00:07:55] This gnome screamed behind me, inhuman, like feedback from broken speakers. The tunnel trembled. Rocks fell. My feet burned.
[00:08:07] I didn't stop.
[00:08:08] I hit the shaft and climbed, wedging my hands and feet into the cracks. Dirt crumbled beneath me.
[00:08:16] I slipped and Murphy squirmed.
[00:08:19] One of them reached up, its claw slicing at my calf. But I kicked it hard and I think I felt it snap.
[00:08:27] I got to the top and could feel some air.
[00:08:30] I threw Murphy out of the tunnel and finished getting myself out, rolling onto the grass. Murphy and I scrambled away.
[00:08:39] And behind me, when I looked, the well was gone.
[00:08:43] Like it just closed up like an eyelid. With no sound, no wind, no.
[00:08:49] Just vanished. Murphy wasn't quite himself for a few days after that. He didn't bark. He wouldn't eat unless I hand fed him. And he wouldn't go near the empty lot.
[00:08:59] Hell, I didn't go near the empty lot either.
[00:09:03] I checked a few days later just to be sure. There was no sign of the hole. The well, it was in fact gone.
[00:09:10] But the strangest thing.
[00:09:12] About a month later, Murphy dug something up in my backyard. At first I thought it was just a dead squirrel, but it was a hat.
[00:09:21] A small pointed hat.
[00:09:24] Thank you Josh for allowing me to share your story.
[00:09:27] I think this is honestly the first gnome story I've ever heard and, well, color me intrigued.
[00:09:35] So I'm curious to know if any other campers have had similar experiences.
[00:09:40] Please let me know and if you're willing, send in your encounter. I would like to do more of these gnome stories.
[00:09:49] But with that, I have no show announcements this week. If you would like a shout out at the end of an episode or access to our monthly bonus episodes, head over to patreon.com do you want to hear a ghost story?
[00:10:00] But as always, I'M just glad to have you all as campers on this journey. So please keep sharing the show with anyone you think might like these stories or someone you're just trying to scare.
[00:10:10] If you're enjoying the show, please leave a review.
[00:10:13] Would love to hear from you. Until next time.
