Prisoners | Campfire Stories with MrBallen

0:00All right, so I am back in front of a literal fire because you guys loved the last fire episode that we did, the last campfire episode. And on today's campfire episode, I have a great ghost story. Not only is the story itself super creepy, but I'm telling you, the plot twist at the very end, worth sticking around for. You've got to listen. It's a great story. I know you're going to love it. But before we get into today's story, if you're a fan of the strange, dark, and mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right fire pit, because that's all we do. And we upload two, three, even four times every week.

0:39So if that's of interest to you, please invite the follow button to join you at a nice cozy campfire. But as soon as they sit down and they get their s'mores all ready to go, pull out a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Also, please subscribe to our channel and turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our weekly uploads. Okay, let's get into today's story.

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1:59Visit usaa.com slash bundle auto property to see how much you could save. Multiple product savings do not apply in all states or to all situations. Savings subject to change. Restrictions apply. Membership eligibility and product restrictions apply and are subject to change. USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its affiliates, San Antonio, Texas. One afternoon in the winter of 2015, a 57-year-old woman named Patricia Dare was sleeping on her couch inside of her home in France when the sound of her phone dinging woke her up. Patricia slowly opened her eyes and she felt groggy and confused.

2:37She'd been relaxing and watching a movie since she had the day off from her job as a reporter for a local radio station, but she realized, you know, she must have dozed off. And so Patricia, she grabbed her phone and she checked her notifications and she saw she had a text message, but from a number that she didn't recognize. And what it said was really weird. It said, quote, the castle wants you, the castle is calling you, come. And for a second, Patricia just had no idea what this meant. Couldn't make sense of what this even said, but then she realized there was actually text messages that she had received earlier from this number and she realized who it was.

3:14So the person texting Patricia this strange message was this middle-aged woman named Beranger. About eight months earlier, Beranger had approached Patricia while she was out in public and told her that she desperately needed Patricia's help. Because, Beranger said, she worked in a castle and that castle was haunted. So Patricia, in addition to being a local news reporter, was also a self-proclaimed psychic medium, meaning she basically believed that she had the ability to contact the dead. That was something she was really passionate about. And in fact, she was fairly famous for being a psychic medium in France.

3:53So, you know, this request was actually not that bizarre for Patricia. But because of Patricia's status, both because she was, you know, a famous medium and also because she was on the news, you know, she was sort of well-known and it drew a lot of people to her, claiming that they had, you know, paranormal issues ranging from, you know, thinking they saw a ghost to their houses haunted or whatever. And almost all the time, when Patricia would follow up with some people who claimed they had issues, she would discover that, you know, despite her best efforts, there clearly was nothing going on that was paranormal.

4:28There was no dead to talk to. It was just like, you know, drafty windows or a house settling or, you know, just a shadow that looked really eerie or something. So the vast majority of times people approached Patricia, she really didn't take them that seriously. So a couple of months ago, when Berenger had approached Patricia, you know, her reaction to it was basically like, oh, your castle's haunted. Yeah, I bet, you know, but she was polite about it. But realistically, she didn't believe it was true. But because Berenger was sort of persistent, really demanding help from Patricia, Patricia did give her her phone number sort of to be polite.

5:06And then immediately afterwards, Berenger had texted Patricia. and those were the text messages that Patricia had, you know, in the thread, but Patricia had intentionally ignored them. But now, you know, here was Beranger texting her once again with this sort of weird cryptic message, you know, again about this haunting of her castle. And this actually kind of piqued Patricia's interest. And because Patricia did have a day off here, she actually felt inspired to follow up and maybe go check out this castle and see what this haunting was all about. An hour and a half later, Patricia pulled up in front of this small cottage that was on the same property as the castle.

5:47She knew from earlier text messages that this cottage was where Beranger actually lived. And so Patricia parked, she got out, she walked up to the front door of the cottage, and she knocked. But nobody answered. And so after a few moments, she tried knocking again, this time a little bit louder. And then the door did open. But it was not Beranger. It was this man, this middle-aged man who looked very confused to be seeing Patricia standing there. And just from the look on his face, you know, Patricia immediately launched into this, you know, explanation of why she was here. You know, is Berenger here?

6:20I was speaking to her via text message. And the man still, he's looking at her like, what are you doing here? What's going on? But then from behind him out walks Berenger. And when she looked towards the door and she saw Patricia standing there, Berenger was practically weeping. I mean, she was so happy and clearly relieved to see Patricia. And she's just like, oh, my gosh, thank you so much for coming. This is unbelievable. Thank you. Like, we really need your help. And then before Patricia could ask any questions, Beranger pointed to the man that had opened the door for Patricia and seemed so confused.

6:53And, you know, at this point, his expression had softened quite a bit. And Beranger said, this is my husband. This is Remy. And he, too, is so relieved you're here. And so at this point, Patricia, you know, she shook his hand and she smiled at them both and was like, yeah, you know, I don't know what I can do for you. You know, why don't you fill me in? You know, all I know is apparently your castle over there is haunted. Can you tell me the story? And so Berger, she had to kind of compose herself because she was quite emotional just to see Patricia here. But, you know, after collecting herself, she told Patricia that about a year ago, her husband, Remy, had been hired as the caretaker of that castle and that she had just come along to help.

7:32And she said, you know, at first, both of them had been really excited for this opportunity because it came with free housing in this cottage. However, Berenger said that they had only been working here for a couple of weeks when really weird stuff started to happen. Berenger said that she'd be in the castle doing, you know, daily chores and she would know that she's the only one in the castle. Yet she would suddenly hear what were obvious footsteps of people walking and running around on the upper floors of the castle. And at this point, Remy chimed in and he said, yeah, me too. Like, I've heard those footsteps in the castle and I know it's totally empty.

8:10But even stranger than that is Remy said he'd be in the castle and he would hear voices. And not just, you know, people whispering or something like you see in the movies. No, he would hear people screaming at the top of their lungs, like in other distant parts of the castle that he couldn't see. And it was terrifying. As Patricia listened to Remy and Beranger tell this story, you know, Patricia was struck by how earnestly they came across. I mean, they definitely were shaken by whatever they experienced inside of that castle. Like, they were genuinely troubled and didn't know what to do about it.

8:44I mean, Remy still had this job at the castle. They still had to go in there, but it was becoming like this big issue, and they didn't know what to do about it. As Patricia was listening to the couple tell this story, you know, she couldn't help but feel like they were being very honest. They seemed very earnest as they're telling the story. Like they weren't trying to dramatize. They were trying to relay what amounted to, you know, trauma. They both clearly did not like going in the castle. It was like this thing they had to do due to Remy's job, but they were trapped. They felt like we don't know what to do here and no one's taking us seriously.

9:18But at the same time, you know, Patricia is a veteran, you know, psychic medium. and she's been to numerous house calls, numerous haunted homes. And, you know, many times, you know, the screams people think they hear in their home or like, you know, the sound of wind coming in through an open window and the footsteps are like, you know, a pet somewhere in the house. So there could easily be, you know, a reasonable justification here. But it seemed apparent that there was enough here that it certainly warranted Patricia actually going to the castle and having a look around. And so she said, okay, let's go over.

9:52like, let's go see the castle. A few minutes later, Patricia followed Béranger and Remy along this wooded path from the cottage over to the castle. Even from pretty far away, the castle was huge and very intimidating. There were two very tall round towers on either end, and in the middle was a slightly shorter section that was decorated with a bunch of turrets. The castle only had two windows that were visible from the front where they were approaching, and for a second as Patricia was looking at it. She had this sort of uneasy feeling that the windows were the eyes on the castle, and the castle was looking at her.

10:28But she shook the feeling off and kept walking along. And a few minutes later, they reached the castle's huge front door. And at this point, Remy pulled out this huge key ring covered in keys, and he unlocked the door. And then he kind of stepped aside and pushed it open, sort of gesturing for Patricia to make her way inside. Now, Patricia was doing her best to be very professional and, you know, not quite buy into the hype, at least not yet. You know, this could be something completely rational. But when Patricia walked into the castle, she found herself inside of this huge empty space called the Great Hall.

11:02And the first thing she noticed was really how dark and cold it was inside. I mean, this was a castle, of course, and so that was sort of the atmosphere you'd expect. But this felt like eerie, like this was not a place you'd want to spend a lot of time. And also, it just felt like the atmosphere was just heavy somehow. Like, it really was just a tense place to be. Patricia took a deep breath and kind of centered herself. And then she looked around a bit more closely, and she saw there were a few windows on the back wall, but they were all shut. And then right in front of her was this huge stone staircase.

11:33And to her right and to her left, she could see there were long hallways that she knew must lead to dozens of rooms, potentially. And so after standing there for a few moments, just kind of taking in the scene, Patricia turned to Barranger and she asked her, she said, okay, so you've heard footsteps, you know, upstairs when this place was empty. Can you tell me what you were doing, you know, in any of the instances where those sounds came through? Like, what were you doing? Do you remember? And Barranger said, actually, yeah, I do remember. The last time it happened, I was closing the shutters on the window.

12:05And I know I heard people upstairs when I was doing that. And so immediately, Patricia is thinking, oh, you know, that could be it. Maybe it was literally the sound the shutters were making that maybe somehow gave Berenger the impression that there were footsteps elsewhere inside of this castle. I mean, everything echoes inside of here. It's this big cavernous space. It was possible. And so Patricia's like, okay, well, let's go test the shutters. Let's just see if maybe that is causing some strange sounds in your home. And Berenger and Remy did not seem remotely offended by this. If anything, they were like eager to find a rational explanation for whatever it was they were experiencing.

12:42And so quickly, they, along with Patricia, walked over to one of the windows and Patricia reached out and she opened up the shutters and then shut the shutters and then did it a few more times. But there were no strange sounds. There certainly were no sounds of footsteps running around inside of the castle. Like there was no way that the shutters were making sounds that you could confuse for footsteps. Like this was not it. However, Patricia decided she would, just in case, try another shutter, you know, see if maybe one of the other shutters made strange sounds, just to confirm really this is not the case.

13:18But as she reached for this other shutter, before she even touched it, there was this loud, sudden, high-pitched shrieking sound that echoed all through the castle from upstairs, and then it just went deadly silent. And immediately the hairs on the back of Patricia's neck stood up, I mean, this was like an unmistakable sound. And Patricia, she turns to Remy and Beranger, and they're obviously spooked. I mean, they've experienced stuff like this, but this is still just so terrifying. And Patricia, you know, she's standing there, not even sure what to do, but then she kind of, she tells herself like, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

13:55That couldn't have been what we thought it was. There's no way that that was like some screech coming from some ghost upstairs. Like there has to be a logical explanation here. And part of the reason she was thinking this is even in, you know, her time as a psychic medium, nothing this visceral had ever happened in her career. Something like that was out of a movie, you know, like literally a ghost screeching upstairs. And so Patricia turns to the couple and she's like, look, obviously I heard that too, but let's not rule out that that could have been the wind or something. Let's not jump to conclusions here.

14:29Okay. Let's, let's be rational. Let's be pragmatic. Let's just search the castle and see what we're up against.

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17:40Expedited transfers available for a fee. Tips are voluntary and don't affect the service. Available in select states, terms and restrictions apply. Visit Earning.com for full details. and so the couple you know remy and beranger they did not seem reassured but they kind of nodded along like you know whatever you say but then like before anyone could do anything else there was another sudden loud high-pitched scream coming from somewhere else upstairs a different voice is now screaming upstairs and then it went deadly silent again and then it was very clear to Patricia and certainly to the couple, this castle might just be haunted.

18:22There's something going on here that is not right. However, as Patricia is standing there kind of trying to get her bearings of like what she should even suggest they do, because suddenly she is like the expert in charge of the response here, before she could even think, she had this very powerful feeling come over her that she would sort of describe as like a pull. It was like a magnet was pulling her in the direction of these screams. Like she felt like she needed to go upstairs to the second floor to wherever those screams came from. She had to. And it wasn't even clear if this was like her channeling her psychic medium powers.

18:57It was like the castle was pulling her deeper and deeper inside of the structure. And so without even telling Remy and Beranger what she was doing, Patricia just kind of silently turned and began walking almost against her will towards that stone staircase that went up to the upper levels. And now at this point, the castle is deadly silent. All you can hear is the sound of their footsteps, their footsteps, as they're making their way over towards the staircase. And, you know, Remy and Berenger, they're so frightened. They're just, you know, tucked up right behind Patricia, following her along, not even sure what they should be doing.

19:33And so upstairs they went, and Patricia, again, she's got like this intense feeling that she has to go upstairs. She can't even control it. And so up the stairs she goes. No one's talking. All they hear is the sound of the footsteps on the staircase. And up and up they go, all the way up to the third floor, which is where these screams were likely coming from. And at that point, Patricio, almost on instinct, turned left and began walking down this long hallway with all these doors that were shut along the way. And again, the castle is just deadly quiet. All you can hear are their footsteps. And down the hallway they go, all the way to a dead end, where there is a single room that is shut at the very end of the hallway.

20:12And at this point, Patricia, almost like without even thinking, she turns and kind of almost aggressively says to Remy, get your keys out and open this door. Like she didn't even know why she was being aggressive. It was like just coming through her. But Beranger at this point, she chimes in and says, you know, the owner of the castle, they told us this is the one room we're not allowed to go in. We've never been inside of here. We can't go in here. Patricia, she just looks at Beranger and says, I don't care. We have to go in. Open the door. I'm going in. I have to go in this room. And so at this point, Berenger, she looks at her husband, and Remy kind of shrugged.

20:47I mean, they don't even know what they're supposed to do at this point. But they figured, all right, you know, she's the expert. Let's let her go in. And so Remy, he pulled out his big set of keys, and he fumbled through them all. And Patricia, you know, she's rearing to go in this room. She can't even understand why she feels this way. And Remy, he reaches over. He turns the lock. He pushes the door open. And Patricia walks inside. Now, as soon as this door opened up, Remy and Beranger got a look inside of this room. And it was unremarkable. It was like a vacant room. There was nothing inside of it.

21:19Like, there was no clear reason why this room was off-limits per the owner. But as they watched Patricia walk to the middle of the room sort of slowly and methodically and come to a stop right in the middle with her back to them, they could have sworn they heard whispers suddenly picking up inside of this room, even though there's nobody else in there but Patricia. And then Patricia, who by this point was sort of, you know, freaking out, Berenger and Remy, she was acting just very different than when she had first arrived. She just stood there in this sort of bizarre way, just like rigid, staring towards the back of this room as these whispers are kind of going on in this dark room.

21:55And then from the threshold, Berenger and Remy watched as Patricia, who has not turned around yet or anything, she just began to twitch. Like her shoulders were moving around funny and her neck was snapping in a strange direction. and then she began letting out this just awful croaking sound, this constant like single tone croaking sound and it went on for so long that you'd think she would have needed to take in a breath to then continue this croaking sound, but she didn't. It just went on and on and on, just emanating from her body and you know, Remy and Beranger, they're terrified at this point for a host of reasons, but really it's now Patricia that's scaring them the most and Patricia, as she's twitching and croaking, she suddenly stops and whips around and looks at the couple and her mouth is open, like her jaw is slack and this croaking sound is still coming out of her, but clearly she's also weeping.

22:48Tears are coming down her face. Now, Remy and Beranger, I mean, they are beyond terrified at this point for so many reasons, but they clearly know some kind of crisis is unfolding with Patricia and they want to help her. And they were about to ask her, like, what can we do? Like, what's going on when there's this loud slamming sound somewhere else in the castle on one of the lower levels? It sounded like a door slamming shut, but really loud. And it was like the noise like snapped Patricia out of whatever trance she was in. And suddenly she became really focused. And then instead of communicating with the couple, she just bolted right past them, sprinted down the hallway and ran down the stairs.

23:27Like she was chasing after the sound that had just been made somewhere downstairs. And so Remy and Barranger, they're like, what else can we do but follow her? And so they run down the hallway, you know, several, you know, lengths behind Patricia, who's somewhere downstairs. And they get down to the second floor, the couple does, and they can hear the sound of movement in one of the rooms down the hallway. And then they hear this loud, like animalistic yelling sound that appears to be, you know, Patricia yelling or growling or something somewhere in one of these rooms. And so they make their way in that direction and they see there's this open door that leads into a bedroom and then there's a bathroom off the bedroom.