Welcome listeners to another episode of Fast Food Horror. I where is he?
Where is EJ? EJ? Eight? Oh, that breathe is probably in
the living room. He's probably upstairs. Oh, I wonder what that boy
is doing? EJ? EJ? Where are you I? Or what are
you doing up here? I didn't even hear you come upstairs from the dungeon,
EJ. We are supposed to be recording a new episode for the listeners.
What have you been doing? Oh? I'm sorry. I you know
that podcast. You introduced me to, the Two Crows podcast. I've been
binge listening ever since. You've been listening without me. Oh, don't worry.
It's an anthology series. There are so many episodes listen to, and
I just skipped ahead a few. I didn't think it would matter. You're
cheating on me with another podcast we're supposed to be listening to together. I'm
sorry, I'll stop right now. We're supposed to record, right I'll They
just cover so many great topics. They just did a special episode on the
alien bodies that were carted out in front of the Mexican Congress. Then they
did an episode on Lavinia Fisher, the first ever female serial Killer, just
so many cool topics. I'm sorry, I'll stop, but Igor, I
found out something today. Not only are they on every single major podcast platform,
they're also on YouTube and My Birthdays in November, and they have merchandise.
They have just a hint, they have merchandise. Dually noted EJ.
Now, please, I do not want to be the adult in the room.
Can we please start with the show? Hi, listeners, it's e
J. Miller here, creator and writer here at Fast Food Horror. I
am very, very excited about this episode. In particular, we are going
to be welcoming a new voice talent to the Fast Food Horror family. Holly.
Holly is a fantastic voice actress. I hope, I hope. I
hope you enjoy her as much as we did here listening to her bring life
to this story. And if you enjoy her as much as we did,
you can find more of Holly over at her podcast, Damn It with Beaver.
Yes, I know, Damn It with Beaver. It's on every single
podcast platform there is. And now, without further ado, Igor Frederick Igor
take it away. Welcome listeners to another episode of Fast Food Horror. In
this episode entitled Lizzie. It's not her fault. It's not her fault.
It's not her fault, it's not Gracie's fault. She couldn't have known.
No one could have known. I can't believe. I still can't believe that
everything has happened, everything that has happened to us in the last twelve hours,
it's all because of Lizzie. I'm sorry, Stop stop saying that.
Oh God, now I'm talking to it. Yesterday was such a rainy day.
We were struggling with something to do all of us, but not have
it cost an arm and a leg. My husband, Marcos, came up
with this idea to go to this mall on the other side of the county,
the Western Hills Mall. It's kind of empty, so no big crowds
to worry about, especially with our four young ones all under the age of
nine. It has some unique and different stores, shops and vendors, a
food court with all the requisite fast food establishments, even a discount movie theater
that showed old movies for two dollars a ticket. We were really looking forward
to showing the kids Snow White and Seven Dwarves on that big screen. Marcos
had the kids very excited to see it, but I think he was more
excited than they were. And they have an honest to goodness arcade, two
stories of mall to explore. It was going to be such fun on what
was a rather gloomy, rainy day. We started at one end and walked
from store to store, throughout the elevator and the escalator multiple times like they
were carnival rides. We got lunch, saw snow White in the Seven Dwars,
the kids giggling at Dopey the whole way through. Marco's laughing a little
too hard. He's such a child. Each of these kids found cute little
toys. I even won a Teddy Bear at the claw machine. In the
arcade. At the far end of the mall, we found this gem of
a store, the Everything Emporium. It was in one of those large box
store spaces. Someone had come in and cleaned it up and least small spots
within two vendors of all kinds selling everything and anything, part large craft fair,
part antique store, part flea market. It was cool, just like
walk around and see all the things and oddities. Some brought back fond memories
of our childhood toys and comic books and board games and gaming consoles, movies,
movies, posters and books, gadgets from the seventies and sixties and beyond,
vintage clothing, sculptures, artwork, military pieces, lamps, furnitures from
yesteryear, just Aisle upon aisle, the labyrinth that was the everything in Oreum.
We were almost finished during the store when we heard Gracie squeal with delight.
We watched as she scooped up an antique doll and clutched it in an
embraced to her heart. Marcus and I smiled each other as we joined Grace
and the rest of our brood, who had excitingly gathered around their sister.
Grace looked up, beaming at us and showing her find. It was one
of those porcelain dolls from early in the last century. Describing it as previously
loved would have been an understatement. Its dress was no longer white, but
an aged and stained yellow, with small tears and holes here and there.
Its once golden hair was a more mustard yellow and no longer combed in its
bonnet covered pigtails. Its porcelain face was scuffed with a small crack along the
right cheek, The only part of the doll that was still bright was its
lips and cheeks of red apple, which against its other dull and aged colors,
made it look more like blood. I tried to be very supportive and
well lied about how beautiful it was while Marcos spent to her level and fingered
gently the price tag. Marcos made eye contact with me and mouth one hundred
dollars. I was way more than we had in our doll budget, especially
one in such poor condition. It hurt to look our little blonde, blue
eyed girl, who had so much hope and love in her eyes for this
doll that had seen better times. But I explained to her that it was
way too expensive, maybe for Christmas. Marcos gently scooped her up in his
arms, gave her a kiss on her forehead, and our troop bid farewell
to be everything Emporium, leaving the creep all behind on a shelf amongst the
other oddities. It was all things considered a good day. Everyone had fun,
a day of memories made. We piled into our minivan and made it
onto the highway heading home. The kids talked excitedly and giggled about their day.
When we heard a new voice come from the rear of the vehicle.
I'm sorry, and then there was an audible bang from both sides of the
vehicle, followed by the front of the car lurching forward. We had a
flat, I mean correction, we had two flats, both front tires.
Marcos safely guided the car to the side of the highway, and we both
looked behind us to check on the kids. We were created by five smiling
faces, five not four. There was DEVI Madeleine, Live and Grace,
and seated next to Grace, buckled and tight was that doll? Marcos and
I exchanged looks, confused because we had left the doll on the shelf in
the store. Marcos had immediately scooped up Grace and we had leaped. So
how did the doll end up here? Which one of our children had purloined
the doll for their sister. Marco said he was going to call triple A
since we had only one spare tire. My unspoken job now was to sherlock
how the doll made it here. We didn't want to accuse because while I
knew that would not go well, Lived was far too young to have committed
this crime. So that left Devin or Madeline. I just asked the group
how the doll made it here, but they all stuck to the same story.
When they got in the van, the doll was in the stroller that
was secured in between the middle stats, and no one would give an inch
as to how it got in the stroller. It was just there. Two
hours later, many a game of I Spy in episodes of SpongeBob on our
phones, we were back on the road and I was no closer to finding
out how that doll made it into the car. Due to the late hour,
we decided we'd come back tomorrow to return the doll, as we had
not purchased it. We pulled into our driveway just before six pm, everyone
with their small treasures. They got at the mall, Grace clutching her doll
to her chests, my mind still trying to figure out how it got it
as a stroller, while thinking what was the easiest thing to make for dinner,
probably pancakes. Marcos quickly dogged ahead of us up the driveway. I
heard him exclaimed as he reached the gate. No, I'm sure I locked
it. As I watched him work the rear yard gate open and closed.
He looked at me with concern and worry. Our family dog, mister Floffers,
could enter and eggs of the yards through the doggie door, but was
confined to the rear yard. We always made sure to lock the rear gate
to prevent him from getting loose, the fear always being he'd wandered down the
street and it's the busy main road, so oh no, look, Marcus
whispered, looking in the distance behind me. I turned to see the tail
tail flashing emergency lights coming from the main road. I tried to rehassure him
it wasn't mister Floffers, but that he should go check. He kissed me
on the cheek and set off down the driveway and out of sight towards the
main road at a brisk jog. I ushered the kids into the house,
and as Grace passed, I heard a thin voice, I'm sorry. I
stopped a Grace and ass what she had said. Grace said it wasn't her,
it was Lizzie. Lizzie, I asked. Grace hugged her doll even
tighter and said it was her doll's name, and Lizzie was sorry. Before
I could ask anything further, She quickly dashed into the house. Thirty minutes
later, with the smell of pancakes and maple syrup filling the kitchen, Marcos
came through the door, eyes red rimmed. My heart fell. He reported
that mister Flofers half made it out of the yard and made it down the
main road. The flashing lights were for him. We hugged, and we
discussed how we were going to break the news to the kids. The issue
of Lizzie was pushed back in our minds until we heard a bang from the
upstairs bedroom and a sharp cry. We both ran upstairs to find Madelene lying
on the floor in a heap of tears, while Grace was seated in the
corner clutching Lizzie. Devin had dashed in behind us. Liv explained that Madelene
was on her top bunk when she fell through tears, though Madelene said she
felt someone push her. When we sat Madeleine up, we could see her
collarbone was drastically out of place and probably broke in. Grace said nothing,
just sat there with her head down, clutching her doll. I skipped Madelene
up gently and followed Marcos out of the room. As we did, we
heard a thin voice from the corner of the room. I'm sorry. I
turned and handed Madeleine to Marcos, told him to bring her down to the
van and I'll be there in a second to take her to emergency room.
After everyone left the room, I got down to Grace's level. Honey,
I asked, did you push Madeline off the bunk bed? Gracie frantically shook
her head. No. Did live push your sister off the bunk bed?
Again? She shook her head, no, blonde hair shaking as she did.
Then who did? Devin was in his room. Grace looked up at
me with tears in her eyes, and it was a shaky voice. Said
it was Lizzie, but she was sorry. I looked at my little girl
and asked, are you making her talk? I've heard her say I'm sorry,
but that doll is too old to be doing that. I asked to
see the doll. I worked it over in my hands this way, that
way, feeling for any kind of mechanism within the doll, and there was
nothing. I placed the doll beside my daughter and left the room, my
heart breaking just a bit. Something was wrong. I returned with Madeleine shortly
before ten o'clock, arm in a sling and sleeping peacefully in my arms.
The attending doctor said there was nothing really to do except give it time and
rest. I walked Madeleine up the stairs and placed her in the lower bunk.
I nudged her younger sister Live awake and asked her to go to the
top bunk at length until Madeleine was better about getting down the ladder by herself
in her current condition, and then walked over to Gracie's bed and found what
I was looking for. I scooped up the doll and walked it out of
the room, again, working it over and over in my hands. I
knew my daughter's voice, and the voice I was hearing it was not hers.
It was too thin and had a faint echo to it. And I
would be taking the doll back to the store in the morning, but until
then it would spend the night in the van. The doll was unnerving me,
and since Grace had obtained it, regardless of how nothing but bad luck
had befallen us. Marcos met me in the kitchen, two cups of tea
in front of him. I gave him the update on Madeline's collarbone, then,
trying not to sound nuts, gave him my feelings on the doll.
The great thing about being married to someone for so long, having been through
ups and downs of life together. No matter what you tell them, they
listen. They didn't judge. They don't have to be worried about being made
fun of the lid old. They just honestly listen. And Marcos listened.
Having been raised Catholic, his mind was very much into what I was describing,
even though I didn't want to admit when I was describing. He didn't
think my feelings were an overreaction. He understood my concern and did judge me
or pick on me. When I told him I put the doll in the
car for the night and wanted it gone back to the store first thing in
the morning. You offered to be up first thing in the morning. He
would drive it there himself when the store opened. I sighed and gave him
a kiss and asked to keep lock up the house. As I dashed upstairs
to take a quick shower before we went to bed. He kissed me again,
took my mug of tea to the sink, and went about the routine
of closing up the house. Fifteen minutes later, feeling refreshed and clean from
a long day, I expected to find Marcos in bed, but he wasn't
there. I walked about the house room to room searching for him. I
didn't want to call out and risk waking the just can't figure out what he'd
still be doing up. I made it to the living room and the first
thing I saw was the doll. She was seated on the couch, staring
straight ahead. Why was she there? How was she there? I left
her in the van and I locked the van, But there she was,
sitting upright, staring straight ahead, staring right at me. I turned the
lights on in the living room, which is when I found Marcos laying face
down on the ground on the opposite side of the room. My heart dropped
before I could rush to him. I heard two things, the voice emanating
from the doll, that thin voice from Lizzie, I'm sorry, and a
faint scamper. A tiny legs making their way quickly across the hardwood floor.
Eight tiny light. My eyes were immediately drawn to it. A large spider
about the size of a tea plate, gray and black, was walking around
Marcos like a predator sizing up its prey. I held back a screen,
then reached for the first thing I could find. The fireplace shoveled, I
raised it over my head and brought it down, crashing onto the large spider.
I checked on Marcos, my heart rapidly beating. I could still hear
faint breathing. I called nine one one, and within minutes, Marcos,
the children, and I were on our way to the hospital, which brings
us to now. I can't pronounce the type of spider. The doctor told
me it was only thought it was exotic and not even from this area.
That I was lucky to find him when I did, and with the description
I gave, made it easier to treat and save him. I waited till
morning till Marcos was conscious. When the doctors assured me he'd be fine,
I dropped the kids off at my mother's house and just told her that they
were tired and I needed to spend more time at the hospital before bringing Marcos
home, and then made a bee line for our house. I found Lizzie
where I left her. As I approached, I heard it. I'm sorry.
I was fighting back the urge to engage with it, to talk to
it, to let it alone, blame it, but it was the only
answer. I hustled into the car, and well, here I am pulling
into the Western Hills mall parking a lot. Lucky for me. That Everything
Emporium is just right by that entrance, just down the hall. And no,
no, no, no, it was open the other day. How
was it closed? An empty? How, ma'am? Can can I help
you? Are? Are you all right? That Everything Emporium? I need
to return this stall, but it's empty. Closed. Yeah, mall stores
do that. I guess that doll's yours now for good. I'm sorry.