Listener Tales 110: Playdates with the Paranormal

Episode of Morbid · May 28, 2026 · 53 min

Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart read listener stories about young children who appear to see, befriend, or remember ghosts and past lives.

Summary

In this Listener Tales installment of Morbid, co-hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart opened by promoting a new Morbid candle and horned hoodie released with SiriusXM, and a one-night live show at Radio City Music Hall on June 27. They then read a batch of listener-submitted stories centered on children and the paranormal, frequently interrupted by jokes about "Nicholas," a talking presence in their studio that they treated as a resident ghost.

The first tale, from a listener named Dani, described her toddler, called Miles, who spoke of an "other mama," of driving a car into water, and of seeing an elderly ginger woman in the car. An anonymous listener recounted a Galveston ghost tour at the site of St. Mary's Orphanage, destroyed in the 1900 hurricane, where orbs seemed to follow her husband's camera, and later her son's imaginary friend "Haber," who said he had to stay in a tree. Kelley advised listeners to explicitly tell spirits not to follow them home after visiting haunted places, and Urquhart noted they had done so at several sites.

A third listener described a year of grief and a spouse's military deployment, during which her daughter befriended "Mimi," who was "a shadow"; she later learned that Mimi was the nickname of her late great-grandmother, and sharing the story with her grandmother Gigi helped repair their relationship. Kelley recalled that Urquhart's middle child once insisted on visiting a nonexistent pink-housed "other grandmother." The final tales came from Jacqui, who grew up near a Watertown, Massachusetts cemetery and discovered she had vivid memories of attending a school that never existed, and Hannah, a former daycare teacher whose toddlers pointed out ghosts above a converted fireplace.

Chapters

0:00
Intro, candle launch and Radio City show
The hosts promote a new Morbid candle, a horned hoodie, and their June 27 live show at Radio City Music Hall.
3:02
Kids say the creepiest things
Listener Dani describes her son Miles recalling a past life and seeing ghosts in the car and a parking lot.
9:19
Galveston Ghosties
An anonymous listener recounts orbs at the site of St. Mary's Orphanage and her son's ghostly friend Haber, prompting advice on telling spirits not to follow you home.
15:59
Mimi the Shadow
A listener's daughter's imaginary friend Mimi turns out to share the nickname of her late great-grandmother, leading to healing with her grandmother Gigi.
33:22
All the ghosties love me
Jacqui, raised beside a Watertown cemetery, learns that her vivid memories of a preschool and Easter egg hunt involved a school that never existed.
41:11
Spoopy kids in a haunted daycare
After a tangent about Ash's old-timey field trip and a Nicholas interruption, Hannah describes toddlers seeing ghosts above a fireplace in a converted daycare.
51:04
Outro
The hosts ask for listener tale submissions and joke about Nicholas saying his name and being a Beyoncé fan.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Ash Kelley
Kelley promoted the hosts' one-night live show at Radio City Music Hall on June 27.
“Buy tickets to the live show. You should go to Radio City Music Hall on June 27th”
Listen from 1:56 · Radio City Music Hall
Ash Kelley
Kelley told new listeners that the show's early episodes are rough but that the podcast improves over time.
“We start sounding a lot better and we get much more professional as time goes on”
Listen from 3:27
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart said she believes children who report such experiences tend to forget them as they get older.
“i always wonder if these kids like i think when they get older they like forget this stuff”
Listen from 8:39 · Children's reports of past lives
Ash Kelley
Kelley observed that most parents are less validating than Dani and more often dismiss children's paranormal claims.
“most people aren't as validating. Yeah. I think more often you hear stories where people are like, don't say that”
Listen from 9:07 · Children's reports of past lives
Ash Kelley
Kelley advised that after leaving a haunted place one should shake off and explicitly tell entities they may not follow.
“you have to shake everything off and you have to explicitly tell the entities you cannot follow me”
Listen from 13:50 · Ghost sightings and hauntings
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart said the hosts have performed this ritual at the USS Salem, the S.K. Pierce Mansion and the Lizzie Borden house.
“We did it at the S.K. Pierce Mansion, at Lizzie Borden. We've done it every single time”
Listen from 14:08 · Ghost sightings and hauntings
Ash Kelley
Kelley said she would not want child ghosts in her home.
“I don't know about that. I don't really want kid ghosts”
Listen from 15:09 · Ghost sightings and hauntings
Ash Kelley
Kelley recalled that Urquhart's middle child used to talk about and ask to visit a nonexistent other grandmother.
“remember when your middle used to talk about her other grandmother yeah she wanted to go visit her one time”
Listen from 19:52 · Imaginary friends
Ash Kelley
Kelley said the child described the other grandmother's pink house and became genuinely upset when told she did not exist.
“i was like you don't have another one and she would get like genuinely upset”
Listen from 20:12 · Imaginary friends
Ash Kelley
Kelley joked that producer Mikey tried to silence the studio presence the hosts call Nicholas.
“Mikey just tried to silence Nicholas. And it's me he doesn't like?”
Listen from 43:46 · Ghost sightings and hauntings
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart reported that the studio presence Nicholas appeared to say his own name during the recording.
“that motherfucker just said his name he just said nicholas”
Listen from 48:41 · Ghost sightings and hauntings

People

In the conversation

Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid

Discussed

Lizzie Borden19th-century American woman acquitted of axe murders, portrayed by a listener's grandmother in a local haunted house
Whitey BulgerBoston organized crime boss referenced regarding the era a listener's mother grew up in

Topics

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Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley recount the rise and fall of St. Louis's Lemp brewing dynasty, its string of suicides, and the alleged haunting of Lemp Mansion.
#344 Dusty Slay - Moon Landing Conspiracies, Flat Earth, Aliens and the Nephilim
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Comedian Dusty Slay tells Shawn Ryan about his Alabama upbringing, sobriety, comedy career, Torah-observant Christian faith, and doubts about the moon landing and round earth.
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Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart recount the 1870s Vermont mediums William and Horatio Eddy, their Spiritualist fame, fraud allegations, and their haunted former tavern.
Listener Tales 114: Back to School Tales
Morbid · Sep 28, 2026 · 54 min
Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart, costumed as Miss Trunchbull and Miss Frizzle, read back-to-school listener tales about haunted schools and a haunted college house.
Morbid Book Club: Killing The Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar
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Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart talk with horror author Richard Chizmar about his Boogeyman trilogy finale, Killing the Boogeyman, and collaborating with Stephen King.

From the publisher

Weirdos! Has a child ever traumatized you by vibing with the supernatural? This month, DebDeb has cultivated a batch of tales where the kids play nice with people that have crossed the veil. The best part? They are brought to you By you FOR you and ALL ABOUT YOU! Check out the YOUTUBE VIDEO VERSION is packed with extra Nicholas footage! If you’ve got a listener tale please send it to Deb by emailing us at Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line, and if you share pictures, please let us know if we can share them with fellow weirdos! :)

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Spirituality·Parenting·Comedy