Speaker 1: I was just looking for a quick snack run that night.
The exams were killing me and I needed a short break,
so I went to the nearby convenience store. The fluorescent
lights flickered slightly as I walked down the aisles, my
cart rattling with the basics, instant noodles, a few energy drinks,
and gums. I turned into the chip's aisle, scanning for
my favorite pringles. That's when I saw the crazy girl.
She stood there, disheveled and jittery, her hair a tangled mess,
wearing a skimpy, worn out one piece. Her eyes were wide,
almost manic. Darting around from left to right, she was
muttering to herself a strange, repetitive chant.
Speaker 2: Gotta get some pringles, Gotta get some pringles, Gotta get
some pringles.
Speaker 1: She said it over and over, her voice rising and
falling in pitch, sometimes whispering, sometimes nearly shouting. I tried
to ignore her, but it was hard not to feel easy.
Her presence was unsettling, a sense of crazy shooting from her.
I cautiously reached for a can of pringles, thinking maybe
it would calm her down if she saw that I
wasn't interested in taking.
Speaker 3: All of them.
Speaker 1: As soon as my fingers wrapped around the can, her
eyes locked onto mine for a moment, time seemed to
freeze her chance stopped abruptly, and silence filled the aisle.
Speaker 3: Seconds passed, and then dread.
Speaker 1: Set in when I realized that she wasn't even blinking.
Then she lunged at me, her hands clawing at my face.
I stumbled back. The pringles can flew from my hands.
She screeched a sound that was more animal than human,
and then dug her nails across my cheek, drawing blood.
Speaker 3: I don't know what had.
Speaker 1: Happened, but I was just paralyzed by her sudden outburst.
I grabbed a nearby shelf, trying to steady myself, but
she was relentless.
Speaker 3: What the hell get off me?
Speaker 1: I tried to push her away, but she was stronger
than she looked. She grabbed a bag of chips and
swung it at my head. The bag burst open, chips
flying everywhere, but she didn't stop and started throwing more.
She grabbed another and another, pummeling me with each one.
I was still confused as what to do. The aisle
was deserted as well, so there was no one around.
In a desperate attempt to defend myself. I grabbed a
jar of salsa from the shelf and smashed it against
her hands.
Speaker 3: She screamed in pain, but she didn't back down.
Speaker 1: She picked up a metal shelf bracket that had fallen
loose and swung it at me. I felt a sharp
pain in my arm as it connected, and I knew
I was bleeding.
Speaker 3: Help. Someone help.
Speaker 1: I backed up against the shelves, looking for anything I
could use to defend myself. My hand found a can
of soup and I hurled it at her. It hit
her square in the chest, knocking her back just enough
for me to make a run for it. Stumbled down
the aisle, my vision blurry, blood dripping from my arm
and face. I could hear her behind me, her footsteps erratic,
her voice a high pitched wail.
Speaker 4: You gotta get some wrinkles.
Speaker 1: I turned a corner, nearly slipping on the tiled floor.
Ahead of me, I saw the store security guard rushing
towards us, his face a mix of confusion and determination.
He tackled her just as she was about to reach me,
bringing her down to the floor. She fought him, screaming
and thrashing, but he managed to pin her down.
Speaker 3: It's okay, I got her.
Speaker 1: Two store boys also came running in and helped in
pinning the woman down. She screamed at the top of
her lungs, shaking her body and tossing all over the floor.
I collapsed against the shelf, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
My entire body ached, and I could feel the warm
trickle of blood down my face and arm. Other shoppers
had gathered their eyes wide with shock. The police arrived quickly,
and paramedics soon followed. They took her away in coughs,
while she still screamed the same.
Speaker 3: Thing, gotta get some springles.
Speaker 1: As they patched me up, I could hear the murmurs
around me, people speculating about who she was and why
she had attacked me. I don't understand. She just snapped.
The next morning, it was all over the news. They
described her as a local drug addict with a history
of mental illness. She was apparently under the influence and
hadn't eaten in three days. In her high she had
entered the store and got lost between the aisles, just
remembering to eat pringles. Gotta tell you the truth. Lots
of crazy surround in the world right now. My friends
and I were obsessed with the occult. Back in school.
Speaker 3: We spent countless nights hunched over dusty books of satanic
cults we could get our hands on the web, seeking
the thrill. It was Jimmy who discovered the bizarre fact
about the founder of Pringles, whose ashes were buried in
a Pringles can. Dust kids trying to avoid homework sounded
like the perfect setup for a seance. One Friday night,
we gathered in Jimmy's basement when his parents were out.
The place was dimly lit by flickering candles, the air
thick with the scent of incense. An old Ouiji board.
Speaker 1: Lay on the floor between us, next to a can
of pringles. The ritual was Jimmy's idea. He claimed he
found it in an ancient grimoire online. We each took
turns eating a pringle, then placed the can in the
center of our circle.
Speaker 3: We joined hands.
Speaker 1: The atmosphere electric with anticipation. Spirits of the beyond, We
summon thee We seek the spirit of Frederick Bauer, creator
of Pringles, Reveal yourself to us, His voice echoed through
the basement.
Speaker 3: For a moment, nothing happened.
Speaker 1: We had tried these online rituals before, and they were
usually a hog. But just as I was about to
laugh it off, a chill ran down my spine. The
candle flames flickered violently, casting twisted shadows on the wall.
Speaker 3: Frederick Bauer show yourself.
Speaker 1: The Ouiji Board's planned chet began to move, spelling out
words we couldn't understand. The temperature suddenly dropped, and a low,
guttural growl filled the room. Suddenly, the pringles can toppled over,
rolling towards me as if pushed by an unseen hand. Guys,
this doesn't feel right. Before I could finish, the lights
went out. The basement was plunged into darkness. The only
sound are panicked breathing. Then the haunting began. The first
instance was subtle. We heard whispers incomprehensible and eerie echoing
through the basement. At first we thought it was just
our imaginations, but when the whispers turned into wailing of
a woman, we knew something.
Speaker 3: Was horribly wrong.
Speaker 4: We need to end this now.
Speaker 1: He tried to close the seance, but the Ouiji board
wouldn't cooperate. The plan chet moved on its own, spelling
out no, over and over. Suddenly, Jimmy was thrown across
the room, his body slamming into the wall with a
sickening thought. He groaned, struggling to stand as we ran
for the door. The basement door slam shut. An invisible
force yanked at my hair, pulling me all the way
down the stairs back into the basement. I screamed, clawing
at the air, but there was nothing to fight against.
Jimmy and Sarah grabbed me, pulling me back, but the
force was relentless. My scalp burned as clumps of hair
were ripped out. Suddenly, Sarah's arm was twisted at an
unnatural angle, bones cracking under the pressure of an unseen grip.
She cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face.
We watched in horror as dark bruises formed on her skin.
Speaker 3: We need to get out of here.
Speaker 1: We scrambled towards the basement door again, but it wouldn't budge.
The candles reignited on their own, their flames turning blue. Slowly,
we saw four to five shadows walking across and slowly
merging into a dark humanoid figure. Its eyes glowing white,
it lunged at us, passing through Jimmy's body. He convulsed,
his eyes rolling back as the spirits seemed to possess him.
Speaker 3: Were not straight. His voice was.
Speaker 1: A horrible blend of his, and the spirits deep and distorted.
He grabbed Sarah by the throat, lifting her off the ground.
Speaker 3: I tackled him.
Speaker 1: Breaking his grip, but the spirit was still inside him,
fighting back with inhuman strength. In the chaos, Sarah found
a discarded crucifix among the occult items. She held it up,
chanting a prayer through sobs. Strangely, it worked. The spirit
recoiled and Jimmy collapsed, the dark figure coming out and
dissipating into the air. The three of us rushed to
the door again, and this time it opened.
Speaker 3: We managed to.
Speaker 1: Drag Jimmy to his dad's car, tying into the seat
with the seat belt. Something told us that it wasn't
safe to be in the house. Jimmy was still thrashing
and screaming, the spirit's influence still lingering, but he finally
calmed down after some time. Exhausted and terrified, we slumped
in the car. None of us even knew how to drive.
And we didn't think any neighbors would believe us, so
we just kept to ourselves. The three of us got
some sleep till Jimmy's dad knocked on the window to
wake us up. Early next morning, we got out and
dropped some excuse, but Sarah glanced at the back seat
and froze the can of Pringles from our ceremony for
the line there. I'd been into the industry as a
model for about two years and didn't really have many friends.
I had few word friends are the ones I would
meet on shoots after months. Since I'm an introvert, I
find it especially hard. So when Josephine invited me for
a road trip with her modeling friends, I said yes.
Josephine was one of the hottest things in the industry
affairs with a late night show host, hooking up with millionaires,
posh brands. She had it all. Of course I wanted
to be friends with her. She picked me along with
her friend Melanie and Claire, and we left for a
road trip to Joshua Tree to escape the mundane and
indulge in magic mushrooms. We only stopped once to fill gas.
I bought a can of pringles and some beer before
we were on our way. After only about an hour
of reaching Joshua Tree, we started tripping Beyond the initial euphoria,
The world around me suddenly morphed into a kaleidoscope of
vibrant colors and shapes. Everything was magical. My hands were
suddenly fluffier. Melanie's voice suddenly started sounding like that of
a man, and Josephine's eyes went red while she started
swinging her body like a pendulum while standing. It was
fun until the munchies hit us like a freight train.
Josephine rummaged through our supplies, only to discover that our
snacks were missing. We looked as well, but all that
I could see were vibrant red skies and waves in
the distance which.
Speaker 3: Were getting bigger.
Speaker 1: Panics set in as we realized that the only thing
left was a single can of pringles in the car.
Speaker 2: It wasn't enough, Josephine, where did you put the sex?
Speaker 1: Josephine's eyes widened, her pupils dilated. She stared at me blankly,
and I could see her grip on reality slipping.
Speaker 4: I thought you had the aguel A wave.
Speaker 1: Of annoyance searched through me. My voice took on an
accusatory edge.
Speaker 4: You were in charge of the snacks.
Speaker 3: The tension in the air thickened.
Speaker 1: Melanie and Claire sat quietly, their eyes darting between Josephine
and me, Sensing the brewing storm. Josephine's face twisted in
a mix of hallucinations and anger. The drugs had heightened
all of our emotions, and I could see Josephine's mental
stability teetering on the edge.
Speaker 2: Don't blame this on me, like you're always so perfect, Adele,
so damn perfect. What are you even talking about? They're
picking you for the Gucci campaign? Bitch, Tony thinks I
lost the X factor? Can you imagine dropping me a literal.
Speaker 4: Legend for you? Bitch? You can't even model.
Speaker 1: Before I could react, she suddenly lunged at me. She
snatched the can of pringles, her eyes wild, and started
dashing it again my head. I fell to the ground, dazed,
Get off me, you'll lunatic. The desert spun around me,
my vision blurring. I could hear Melanie and Claire shouting,
but their voices seemed distant, like echoes and a canyon.
Josephine continued to assault her hands, clawing at my face.
I felt her nails dig into my skin, ripping and tearing.
Blood ran down my cheeks, mixing with my tears. Stop Josephine, please,
But she was lost in her own world, her actions
fueled by a dangerous mix of drugs and latent rage.
As I struggled, the world shifted. My hallucinations morphed Josephine's
face into that of a Pringle's mascot, a twisted caricature,
grinning down at me with malevolent glee.
Speaker 4: No, no, this isn't real, but.
Speaker 3: The pain was real. The terror was real.
Speaker 1: I fought back, trying to push her off, but she
was relentless. She grabbed a rock, raising it high above
her head. I closed my eyes, bracing for the impact.
In a surge of adrenaline, Melanie and Claire managed to
pull her off me. I gasped for air, my body trembling.
They dragged her to the car, shoving her inside. Josephine
screamed and thrashed, but they managed to tire to the
seat belt, securing her in place.
Speaker 4: Adel Are you okay, I.
Speaker 1: Nodded weakly, my head throbbing, my vision still hazy. Blood
dripped from the wounds on my face.
Speaker 4: We need to wait until she calms down.
Speaker 1: We sat in silence, the only sound Josephine's ragged breathing
and the distant call of coyotes. Slowly the effects of
the drugs began to wear off. Josephine slumped in the seat.
Speaker 4: The mushrooms must have triggered something at her. We need
to get help.
Speaker 1: The desert, which had seemed so enchanting hours before, now
felt ominous and foreboding. I knew that I had to
see a doctor soon, praying that Josephine's attack wouldn't leave
scarring on my face. That is when my eyes fell
on the seat next to Josephine. There, partially hidden under
a blanket, was the bag of snacks we had been
searching for. A tear escaped my eye as I got
in the car and we left