[SPEAKER_00]: So, you're someone who was raised with stories of the ill-treatment of women.

[SPEAKER_00]: But this is your generation and things have began to shift.

[SPEAKER_00]: But what if one day in your new home, you hear someone in a back corridor when you know your reload.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or maybe it begins when the person you love the most pauses mid-step and looks at you with a smile that isn't theirs.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're posture they're faced.

[SPEAKER_00]: and what if all of these moments are signs of something older, heavier, and far less interested in the living than you dare admit?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that is today's experience, the episode 5.

[SPEAKER_00]: Live from Liverpool, the Dark Paranormal Season 22.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hello everyone and welcome back to the Dark Paranormal Season 22 episode 5.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, these midpoint episodes are coming up more and more quickly each and every season.

[SPEAKER_00]: And although there are only five more episodes to go, you guys will truly know by now you can still send your experiences in because this show is in a state of constant flow.

[SPEAKER_00]: If the right experience lands, it lands in your ears as soon as we can get it recorded.

[SPEAKER_00]: A time constraints on your experiences is something that we did away with over 10 seasons to go.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're sat there on something which you think is only a paragraph that no one will be interested in.

[SPEAKER_00]: they will believe me.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, if you have an experience, either click the link in the show notes or head over to the darkparanormal.com and click submit my experience.

[SPEAKER_00]: As always, a huge thank you to our wonderful community over at Patreon who literally keep this show going and just to remind you all [SPEAKER_00]: on new Patreon tiers or kicking from December 1st, meaning that believe me I know as a podcast fan during this time of year, podcast adverts are overkill and they ruin podcasts.

[SPEAKER_00]: However, the very first entry tier at Patreon for less than the price of a high street coffee pump month gets you add free releases to everything on the main feed.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's three shows a week, each and every week, add free.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or roughly just over four hours worth of entertainment, add free for the price of a coffee that would have lasted maybe 10 minutes.

[SPEAKER_00]: So either click in the show no to you can get a free week trial of any tier or go direct to patreon.com forward slash the dark paranormal.

[SPEAKER_00]: But right now it's time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Lower the lights.

[SPEAKER_00]: Make yourself comfortable.

[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, leave your disbelief at the door.

[SPEAKER_00]: As we hear all about, what she became.

[SPEAKER_00]: Dear Kev, thank you for reading my first ever submission on Dark Bikes.

[SPEAKER_00]: I must admit I had a bit of a fan girl moment hearing your voice read out my family's experience.

[SPEAKER_00]: As promised, I'm sending in the story of my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: But before I start, I would like to add a disclaimer.

[SPEAKER_00]: The story contains themes of domestic violence, poor treatment of women, mental health issues, cultural differences.

[SPEAKER_00]: And my grandma's story has frustrated me since the time I could even comprehend it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even thinking about it breaks my heart.

[SPEAKER_00]: The story is from India.

[SPEAKER_00]: and there are several aspects of cultural differences so vast that I will try my best to provide context as these differences are across timeline and geographies.

[SPEAKER_00]: Since I was born and brought up in that environment, I might be incentive to certain aspects.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hence, please read my previous [SPEAKER_00]: I must add, I am extremely proud of my country, and when I see how much we progressed since the time of my grandma, I think she would have thrived in the current India.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother's mother, who I will address as grandma, was an amazing person.

[SPEAKER_00]: She lived in Bangalore, India, where she met my grandpa, and it was love at first sight.

[SPEAKER_00]: His family was very orthodox, even though both my grandma and grandpa belong to the same religion, his family were reluctant to acknowledge their relationship just for the petty reason that it was not arranged by the parents.

[SPEAKER_00]: In most Indian households the right way to get married is to have your parents look for a suitable partner.

[SPEAKER_00]: You wanted to ensure your children can survive once they're on their own.

[SPEAKER_00]: In India, you live with your parents until you're married.

[SPEAKER_00]: This notion has changed a lot in the past decades, and people can now see that the need to have a marriage arranged is no longer needed.

[SPEAKER_00]: The children are capable of living a happy, independent life by themselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: Eventually my grandpa's family agreed to the marriage.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm told that my grandma adored my grandpa.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm also told that my grandma was an amazing singer.

[SPEAKER_00]: She was extremely knowledgeable and an amazing cook.

[SPEAKER_00]: I do wish I'd met that version of her.

[SPEAKER_00]: The grandma I met was totally different, [SPEAKER_00]: Grandpa was working as an officer of the regional bus transport.

[SPEAKER_00]: His job took him places all over the state.

[SPEAKER_00]: After marrying Grandma, him and Grandma settled in Bangalore.

[SPEAKER_00]: Grandpa would be a way for weeks on his job.

[SPEAKER_00]: Soon, my mother was born, the first of seven children.

[SPEAKER_00]: After a year came my aunt.

[SPEAKER_00]: Back then, female birth was treated like a curse, especially farming families and families from rural areas preferred male children.

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, this kind of made sense from the old days perspective.

[SPEAKER_00]: A pure need for survival.

[SPEAKER_00]: People needed hands [SPEAKER_00]: Additionally, in Hindu culture, people believe that a female child always belongs to someone else.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ayy, the family she will marry into.

[SPEAKER_00]: And there's also the aspect of Dowery.

[SPEAKER_00]: All this has changed in the last few decades and Dowery is now illegal in India.

[SPEAKER_00]: When my aunt was born, my grandpa's parents started harassing my grandpa.

[SPEAKER_00]: Saying things like, if the next child is a female, we might have to find our son or woman who can provide sons.

[SPEAKER_00]: I have no idea how my grandpa reacted to that.

[SPEAKER_00]: What I do know is that it's had a huge impact on my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: She really did believe that grandpa would leave her if she didn't produce a son.

[SPEAKER_00]: This absolutely breaks my heart.

[SPEAKER_00]: I wish I could go back in time and do something to help her.

[SPEAKER_00]: A year later, another aunt was born, a third daughter.

[SPEAKER_00]: The stress and anxiety of having another daughter mixed with postpartum depression changed my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: She developed [SPEAKER_00]: she completely rejected the baby.

[SPEAKER_00]: My second aunt was raised by my grandpa's sister.

[SPEAKER_00]: No one took care of my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: She was given a minimum medication.

[SPEAKER_00]: To complicate things, grandma started getting seizures.

[SPEAKER_00]: I still don't understand why they went on to have four more babies.

[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, by the time my uncle was born, my grandma was completely out of it.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother had raised kids' numbers four to seven.

[SPEAKER_00]: Between kid number three and number four, my grandparents moved to a village up north of Bangalore.

[SPEAKER_00]: As my grandpa was a government employee, he was provided a small house in quarters, [SPEAKER_00]: This quarters made of small houses formed an angular bracket with a well in the middle.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's the backside of the houses that led to the well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Strange things started happening at that house.

[SPEAKER_00]: In order to explain what happens next, I need to provide some context.

[SPEAKER_00]: In India, there's a superstition that between certain hours during the day, [SPEAKER_00]: My mum told me that during these hours Lord Shiva called upon ghosts and spirits to feed them.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you are in the way, you get possessed.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've heard of other stories, but this is the one that my family believes.

[SPEAKER_00]: These hours are even published in the Hindu calendar.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even to date, people avoid buying new things or starting travels during these hours.

[SPEAKER_00]: So, during these auspicious hours, generally my grandma would stay indoors, a would not allow my mother and her sister to go out and play.

[SPEAKER_00]: The first day in this new house around noon, which is during the Hindu witching hour, if you will, my mother, her sister, and grandma, all heard a lady crying.

[SPEAKER_00]: The noise seemed to be moving, as though the lady was walking from right to left.

[SPEAKER_00]: So on a sunny day, my grandma apparently was seated on the step at the back entrance during those auspicious hours.

[SPEAKER_00]: Later in the evening, my grandma asked the neighbours about the crying lady.

[SPEAKER_00]: She was told that it's the spirit of the lady who once lived in one of the houses.

[SPEAKER_00]: One day, she was pulling water up from the well, slipped and drowned.

[SPEAKER_00]: She was also seven months pregnant.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's believed that she died during the witching hours, and that's why she cannot move on.

[SPEAKER_00]: She roams around, crying, looking for help.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was this time that things started to escalate.

[SPEAKER_00]: Specifically, my grandma's behavior started to get, well, creepy.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mom and aunt would find my grandma staring at them from the opposite end of the house.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you would have on her face this insidious smile.

[SPEAKER_00]: They literally had to scream at her to snap her out of it.

[SPEAKER_00]: this one time, my mum and aunt were doing housework, and my grandma started chasing them around.

[SPEAKER_00]: They thought it was all for fun, until they saw that same insidious smile.

[SPEAKER_00]: They literally ran out of the house and waited hours before going back in.

[SPEAKER_00]: Usually after such [SPEAKER_00]: and then be bedridden for a day or two.

[SPEAKER_00]: Grandpa was only home at weekends, so my mum and aunt had to take care of each other, and my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: At this time, my grandma was pregnant with baby number four.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mum and aunt dismissed grandma's behaviour by thinking it was down to her personality disorder, [SPEAKER_00]: One day, when my mum and aunt came back from school, they couldn't find grandma anywhere.

[SPEAKER_00]: They looked all around the house, the back door was open.

[SPEAKER_00]: When they went outside, she wasn't there.

[SPEAKER_00]: My aunt out of curiosity went to the well to look inside, and there she was.

[SPEAKER_00]: She'd fallen in and fainted.

[SPEAKER_00]: Luckily the well was only one quarter full.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother and aunt quickly alerted the neighbors who rescued my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: She seemed to be unheard.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just cold and unconscious.

[SPEAKER_00]: When she came to, she said the only thing she remembered is going up to the well to get some water.

[SPEAKER_00]: This should have been the point where my grandpa should have cared more.

[SPEAKER_00]: ensuring that Grandma's okay.

[SPEAKER_00]: But when he was told about the incident, he apparently just scoffed and told her not to go to the well alone.

[SPEAKER_00]: When we came when Grandpa was home, him and my mum and aunt were having some lunch.

[SPEAKER_00]: Grandma was serving them fresh half food from the kitchen.

[SPEAKER_00]: At some point, she came in and dropped a pot of bowling hot milk down my grandpa's back.

[SPEAKER_00]: There was no prior argument to indicate why this was done and she had the same insidious smile.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was the first time grandpa laid hands on her.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was physically abusive ever since.

[SPEAKER_00]: Probably because mental illness was not understood at that time, he didn't know how to help her, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he did start drinking, a lot, and that led to more conflicts which led to more abuse.

[SPEAKER_00]: He showed me the scars from this incident when he was alive, and it looked gruesome.

[SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, my grandpa decides it's better for my grandma and the kids if the family was close but.

[SPEAKER_00]: They moved to a town where my grandpa's parents and sister lived.

[SPEAKER_00]: Long story short, they were not nice to my grandma nor to my mother nor aunt.

[SPEAKER_00]: I need a break here.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's getting too hard for me to relive the stories I was told.

[SPEAKER_00]: strange things continued to happen with grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: There was an abandoned house on the street.

[SPEAKER_00]: Rumour had it that it was haunted by something called a Brahma-Rakshasa, pronounced as Brahma-Rakshasa.

[SPEAKER_00]: Say, fast them.

[SPEAKER_00]: These are believed to be a type of a Rakshasa or demon that is a spirit of a person [SPEAKER_00]: Apparently, if people who are brownened, and commit deeds that are against their religious beliefs, they are cursed to become demons after death.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother said that all the kids in the neighborhood were extremely curious about this abandoned house.

[SPEAKER_00]: No one dared to go in, but they would spend hours staring at the windows to see if they could spot anything.

[SPEAKER_00]: One evening, my mum was returning from her friend's home.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whilst walking across the abandoned house, of course, she was staring into the windows.

[SPEAKER_00]: And she swears she saw someone walking across the front windows.

[SPEAKER_00]: She stopped and continued staring in.

[SPEAKER_00]: Fangs, and it was just pacing across the window.

[SPEAKER_00]: It paid no attention to her.

[SPEAKER_00]: It looked like it was not aware about any movement outside of the house.

[SPEAKER_00]: Side note, later on in life, my mother had a serious encounter with the Bramarak chassis, but that's a story for another time.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother ran home and shared her findings with Grandma, who forbade her to go near the abandoned house ever again.

[SPEAKER_00]: Of course, my mum didn't follow those orders.

[SPEAKER_00]: This made her feel quite famous amongst the neighborhood kids.

[SPEAKER_00]: One day, the straight puppy that was on the streets mysteriously died.

[SPEAKER_00]: It laid out in the road for [SPEAKER_00]: it was getting dark, so my grandma went out, picked up the puppy in her arms, then walked in to the abandoned house, and she buried him there.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother and aunt were freaking out watching this.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother said she was absolutely convinced that my grandma would not [SPEAKER_00]: but then she comes back.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother was confused.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why did Grandma ask her not to go near the house, but she went in by herself?

[SPEAKER_00]: Other instances of my grandma exhibiting impossible strengths started to carry.

[SPEAKER_00]: My grandpa's mother and sister, who saw all of this happening, [SPEAKER_00]: Now believe that was something strange going on with my grandma, after discussing amongst themselves they decided that the only thing they could do was to take her to a priest in her remote village.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now this is why even I questioned, what if the issue was more medical in nature?

[SPEAKER_00]: makes me think that it could be possible her issues were not medically curable, but again, that's a story for another time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then came the day where my grandma, grandpa, his mother, sister, my mom and my aunt journeyed on to visit this priest.

[SPEAKER_00]: They drove a car driven by two [SPEAKER_00]: In India, most people believe in astrology, it's a huge part of the culture.

[SPEAKER_00]: When a person is born, a map starting at the time of birth is made.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now of course, I'm no expert on this.

[SPEAKER_00]: All I know is it's called a jataka.

[SPEAKER_00]: My parents blame everything that's challenging in my life.

[SPEAKER_00]: on that star alignment.

[SPEAKER_00]: When the oxen arrived, the priest looked at my grandma's jataka and asked since when she started behaving different.

[SPEAKER_00]: He did some math and then told the most disturbing yet plausible prediction.

[SPEAKER_00]: You see, according to the priest, my grandma [SPEAKER_00]: She was possessed by the spirit of a pregnant woman who wanted to take my grandma's life.

[SPEAKER_00]: He said that my grandma's mental state had made her susceptible to such spirits.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then the priest asked, Has there been any life threatening events?

[SPEAKER_00]: My mom recalls the incident when my grandma fell into the well around two years ago.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was curious to how my grandma was reacting to all of this.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was told by my aunt that grandma didn't want to offend her mother-in-law, so she stayed quiet and played along.

[SPEAKER_00]: Once she heard the priest's evaluation, she actually felt like she was curable.

[SPEAKER_00]: Man, I can't explain the frustration I get when I hear these things.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel so helpless.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel my heart bleeding for my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: The priest recommended an exorcism.

[SPEAKER_00]: The next day, at dawn, the ritual began.

[SPEAKER_00]: As the ritual progressed, my grandma started to behave more and more [SPEAKER_00]: At one point she even got up to leave, and my grandpa and his sister had to hold her down.

[SPEAKER_00]: At the very end of the ritual, the priest pulled out an empty glass bottle.

[SPEAKER_00]: My aunt said they saw white smoke come out of my grandma and go in to the bottle.

[SPEAKER_00]: And as soon as this happened, my grandma lost consciousness.

[SPEAKER_00]: Personally, I don't know what to think of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I got this story from my mom, my aunt, their aunt who was present at the ritual, and all of them have the same story years later.

[SPEAKER_00]: However, there is a part of me that would this if my grandma needed medical attention, but I digress.

[SPEAKER_00]: The priest shook the glass bottle with this weird white smoke in it, and he said this strange white smoke which seemed to have emanated from my grandma and entered this glass vessel was the spirit possessing my grandma.

[SPEAKER_00]: He then ordered my grandpa to throw the bottle into flowing water.

[SPEAKER_00]: The priest warned not to ever open the bottle at any cost.

[SPEAKER_00]: Before he said if the spirit is released, it cannot be captured again.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a couple of hours later it would appear my grandma gained consciousness.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother said that for the first time in years, if that like her mother was back.

[SPEAKER_00]: The next day, the gang started their journey back home, and they made an agreement the first time they passed some flowing water.

[SPEAKER_00]: They would launch this bile of smoke slash possessing spirit into that flowing water once and for all.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mother said that she and aunt were so excited to meet their mother again that they asked her a million questions.

[SPEAKER_00]: they also found out that my grandma had holes in her memory.

[SPEAKER_00]: She had no recollection of throwing bowling milk on my grandpa.

[SPEAKER_00]: All picking up the puppy and heading in to the abandoned house.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was a great moment of reconciliation.

[SPEAKER_00]: Everyone was happy.

[SPEAKER_00]: at some point in the noon day stop for lunch.

[SPEAKER_00]: After eating, they decided to chill for a little bit before continuing on.

[SPEAKER_00]: My mom said that some of them fell asleep and after a little nap they all hopped on the cart and continued on.

[SPEAKER_00]: Two hours later they reached the river bank and my grandpa started heartily looking for the bottle which he found [SPEAKER_00]: open an empty.

[SPEAKER_00]: When he asked, what happened?

[SPEAKER_00]: Where's it gone?" [SPEAKER_00]: My grandma said, why are we carrying empty glass bottles?

[SPEAKER_00]: She had no recollection of the entire trip, the priest, the ritual, she was disoriented, she had opened the bottle.

[SPEAKER_00]: She would have seizures often.

[SPEAKER_00]: She would remain unconscious for days.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the memories I have of her, she is strange.

[SPEAKER_00]: She treated me differently because my dad was not from the same religion as her.

[SPEAKER_00]: She had separate plates and clips from me.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I do remember her being really nice on some days.

[SPEAKER_00]: One such day was the day she died.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would like to tell you that story.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's for another time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Kev, this story has been very heavy on my heart.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not going to proofread it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have the mental capacity to do it.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry.

[SPEAKER_00]: I trust you and your team will edit as need be, and I know you don't care about spelling garrison, etc.

[SPEAKER_00]: Do reach out if you have any questions, and I seriously hope my grandma is in a better place.

[SPEAKER_00]: So many people failed her.

[SPEAKER_00]: Today, the woman I am, I carry her story with me, and try to live a life that would [SPEAKER_00]: religious beliefs aside, she was a human being, one with hopes that was destroyed by dogma, best wishes, anonymous.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, anonymous, thank you so much for a midpoint experience, that genuinely has been on my mind ever since reading it this week.

[SPEAKER_00]: and it's been on my mind because of the pain I can genuinely sense from yourself in reflecting on your family's history.

[SPEAKER_00]: And there is so much to unpack, it's an entire episode on its own.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's made me realize the differences we have in terms of equality in the East and the West.

[SPEAKER_00]: So for example, the variant forms or fights for women's rights are two completely different things, although both trying to achieve the same goal.

[SPEAKER_00]: Though it's striking just how recent things such as arranged marriages, things such as it being a curse to give birth to a daughter.

[SPEAKER_00]: is in a certain culture.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not me putting down that culture I understand how cultures form, some stay as they are and change slower for different reasons.

[SPEAKER_00]: Over longer periods of time, which would only be understood by much clever amendment to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I think it's the first experience I've ever covered where the humanity side of things has me as concerned as the supernatural side of things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because what we're discussing here is truly terrifying.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is so much to unpack within what was mentioned here, things such as the priests saying, throw it in a body of flowing water.

[SPEAKER_00]: That is a popular part of many spells.

[SPEAKER_00]: Then of course we have your grandmother herself oncorking that bottle and instantly be coming on a wear of where she's been, what's taking place.

[SPEAKER_00]: I genuinely could talk about this one episode for a good hour and that's exactly what our shows will be but we introduce our new Patreon show for the higher tier where we discuss things that have a reason that we within the experience as we've shared with each other.

[SPEAKER_00]: the talking of sharing, please anonymous if you do find the time and you feel okay enough to do so.

[SPEAKER_00]: Each of those little anecdotes you said that's a story for another time.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know we'd all love to hear them.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when you have the time and patience to do so, please do send them in.

[SPEAKER_00]: But for everyone, thank you for joining me on Episode 5.

[SPEAKER_00]: Until next time, remember, when you're discussing the paranormal, always leave some of your disbelief at the door.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'll speak to you all next week, the Episode 6, the second half, of season 22 of the dark paranormal.