The Storytelling Podcast - Ep23 - Listener’s Stories: Gifts from the Shadow Side (Brazil roundup)

Tonight, we're delving into a theme that often brings joy, but can also hide something far more sinister: gifts. 

Yes, those tokens of affection, remembrance, or sometimes... something else entirely. 

This is another episode with real stories sent by our listeners from Brazil.

Thank you to all of you.

Visual Episode: https://youtu.be/t2ovKbEVV2w
Spotify episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ocEC4rQPDrLdf0liKHvSI?si=1162081c738246d9 

Available on all Podcast platforms.

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Music by: 
Sound Effect by freesound_community from Pixabay

Image Credit: 
AI Originated

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hello story lovers and welcome back to the storytelling podcast, your cozy corner of captivating tales. I'm your host Alejandra, and tonight we're delving into the theme that often brings joy. But can you can also hire something far more sinister, which are gifts. They are tokens of affection, remembrance, but sometimes there is something entirely different. And tonight I've gathered stories from our listeners, and they are all from Brazil. And thank you to everyone who shared their stories of gifts received, and I will share all the details on the description box. And by the end of the episode, you can share yours too. About these gifts, they carried not well wishes, but eerie feelings, bad luck, and even outright scares. These are not just presents, they are vessels of dark intent, curses, or unexplained phenomena. So dim the lights and maybe a warm drink for this. And prepare yourselves because this episode we are opening presents from the shadow inside. And guys, just to remember that um I thought it was fun because these are uh listeners from Brazil that actually wrote in English and sometimes in Portuguese because I do know how to speak Portuguese, but um the title of the emails, I didn't read the emails, but the title of the emails said, you know, it's a gift or something regarding the gift. Um, that's why I just coordinated them just for this, just compile them just for this episode. So bear with me. If sometimes I give some pauses, it's because I need to translate a couple of things. Um, but let's go, let's go to our first story. And our first story comes from Isabella S in Santa Cruz do Sul, uh, in Rio Grande do Sul, which is um a city, a county in Brazil, who received a rather unconventional 18th birthday gift from a relative, and it's normally the I've I guys I have listened so many things about gifts from people that are bad. Sheesh. Let's go. Uh hola Alejandra. So, hi Alejandra. I'm a long time listener and I absolutely love your podcast. I live in Santa Cruz do Sul and I have a story that still gives me chills. When I turned 18, my chia Dahlia, my uncle, my aunt Dahlia, a distant relative, known for her grudges, give me a lace veil. Um I'm assuming the lace veil is just it it wasn't for a wedding, she's saying it wasn't for a wedding, it was just a very old heavy black lace veil. So in certain parts uh of the world, not only in Brazil, but um the more um and I'm sorry if I'm mistaking this, but the more Catholic side, they normally the the women usually go to mass before, you know, um in the olden times, they took like a veil to the mass. So I'm in my head is this kind of veil, but correct me if I'm if I'm there. Um uh the moment that I put it on, I felt a drop in temperature and an immense pressure on my chest. I it felt scratchy, the veil, and smelled faintly of incense even after washing. That night I had the worst nightmare of my life. A blurred figure clothed in black standing over my bed. It went to the back of my closet, but the filling didn't leave. So it went to the I'm assuming she you picked the veil and just put it in the back of the closet. Good girl. Every time I was going uh every time that I was about to go on a date, start a new job, or do something good, I would hear a faint rustling sound on the closet, and the opportunity would vanish. My grandmother, seeing my streak of bad luck, took one look at the veil and gasped. She took it to a local blesser, Jesadeira, who confirmed it was heavy, tied to prevent the joy and success. The old woman burned it in the yard while chanting, so praying. The smoke was unnaturally thick and black. The rustling stopped immediately, and frankly, I felt lighter. I never saw Aunt Dahlia again, and I never will. It was definitely a gift with bad intentions behind it. Thanks for letting me share my chilling experience. Yeah. Um a black lace veil and a string of bad luck. That that was a powerful combination, Isabella. And it sounds like Tiadalia gift was indeed heavy with negative energy. How why would she do that to you? That's that sounds true. It sounds strange, but something against you? Something going on? And and yeah, it's amazing how deeply this, you know, this kind of subtle malices can affect your life. Um, everything goes wrong. Uh, hope everything is better, Isabella, to be honest. And thank you for your your email and your story, of course. Um, actually, I if you can, Isabella, and when you hear this, can you share below? Like, if is everything okay with you after that? Can you get the job? Everything was okay. Like, can you share that experience the after it? It would be nice to know. Now, the next one comes from Pernambuco and comes from Raphael B and recounts an unnerving experience that it looked innocent, but it comes from a wooden ugly doll. Here we go, guys, another doll. Hey Alejandra, this happened 10 years ago when I lived just outside Petrolina. I was a kid obsessed with football, but my neighbor, Donna Ilda, had a strange fact fixation on me learning about local crafts. For my birthday, she gave me a hand-carved wooden doll. It wasn't cute, it was primitive looking with blank painted eyes and a fixed, slightly downturned mouth. I thanked her, but I really hated it. I bet. I put it on my bookshelf. That's when the weirdness started. My dogs would bark relentlessly at the bookshelf in the middle of the night. I'd wake up and swear the doll had moved, maybe just slightly tilted or facing a different direction. But the really eerie thing was the whispering. When I was home alone, I'd sometimes hear a low, dry voice near the doll. It sounded like someone calling my name Raphael, but in a sorrowful, sorrowful, joining, drawn out way. It wasn't aggressive, but it was profoundly unsettling. One afternoon I came home and the doll was on the floor facing the wall. I know I didn't knock it over. In a panic, I threw it into the external rubbish bin. Donna Ilda cornered me on the next day, and her eyes uh in her eyes narrowed, and she asked me, Did you lose my beautiful gift, meu filho? My son. I lied and said it must have gone missing. She just smiled, a horrible knowing smile, and I felt a shiver down my spine. The whispering stopped, but I still see that downturned mouth sometimes when I close my eyes. Keep up the great work, Ali. Thank you very much, Raphael. Listen, it has it all. It has it all. It has anything, everything to be wrong. And when you say the downturned mouth, I can honestly see it in my mind, the corner of my mind, and it's truly unsettling. Um, and Raphael, and that's something, you know, there is something creepy about inanimate objects like dolls to come up to life. And you know, why would she give it to you like this? Especially because you know, nothing against it, nothing against it, but you know, uh she could have given you like the ball from hell, but no, she gave you a doll. Sorry about that, and thank you very much, Raphael, for sending your your email. And next one, the next story comes from Camilla, and she's from Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, and she says she's really scared, and okay. I'm just I'm just okay. So, this is this is from now. Okay, this is not this is this story, it's actually from now, and she says, Alejandra, I need to tell someone this. I'm still really scared. Oh boy, I mean truly deeply find it. Um, guys, before this, there was another text about uh her saying that her name was changed, etc. Uh, but I didn't reach this part. So she says, I'm still really scared, I mean truly deeply find it. It started with a gift from my ex-boyfriend's mother, Donna Celia, right after we broke up. So all the the names are changed, she told me on the beginning of the of the email. Which so right before right after we broke up, Donna Celia gave her uh a gift, uh, so her ex-boyfriend's mother. Um she insisted on giving me a piece of the family to remember them by a small antique clock. It was beautiful but had a cracked glass face, and the hands were stuck exactly at 3.15. She made me promise to keep it in my night on my nightstand. A first the first few nights were okay, but quiet, and then I started waking up every night at precisely 3.15. Not an alarm, just awake. The room would be pitch black, but I feel a heavy cold presence at the foot of my bed. I couldn't move. I'd see nothing, but I'd hear a slow, deliberate tick-tock coming from the broken clock, which shouldn't make a sound. Oh, so the the clock was broken. Why did you give you a broken clock? Um the sound wasn't in my ears, it felt like it was inside my head. One night I saw a flitting distorted shadow on the ceiling, stretching and then snapping back. I screamed, a sound I barely recognized and broke it from paralysis. So she was suffering from you know sleep paralysis. Um I tossed the clock out of the window the next day. It shattered on the pavement. That night I woke up at 3 15 to the sound of something scrapping against my bedroom window. Like a broken hand trying to climb the glass. Sorry guys. I moved houses a month later. Okay, good girl. I still get panic attacks around that time of the night. I generally believe Donna Celia used that gift to tie something awful to me, and I'm afraid it followed. So and and it ends here. So, Camilla, you change houses. Good for you. So it followed. Um, and okay, one thing is the broken clock. Why would someone give you a broken clock? Secondly, the tick tock sounds, and then the scrapping on the window. But what happens now? We need to have like a part two of this. Um, you know, send me an email like saying the part two, like what is happening, because for the start of your email, it was like you were really scared, but I don't know how to help you out, or maybe someone in the comments can help you out, but uh, you know, we need the part two. Um, what is happening to you now? Did it follow you, as you're saying? But what's going on? You know, Camilla, I hope everything's okay, and thank you very much for sharing um your experience. But let us know what's happening. We we need a part two, okay? And hope everything's okay. Um taking a deep breath. We're going to share about Lucas in Campina Grande, Paraiba, who encountered a reflective gift that showed him more than just his own face. Good afternoon, Alejandra. I recently inherited a very ornate heavy hand mirror from my great aunt, Tiavo, he wrote. After she passed away, she and my mother had a famously tense competitive relationship. The mirror came with a note saying, May you always see yourself clearly, which sounds nice, but knowing her, it was loaded with bad energy. The mirror was beautiful, but it felt cold to the touch always. When I held it, I had I get a flash of a woman's face, not mine, looking back. An old, gaunt, and very sad person. The real problem was my reflection. Over several weeks, I noticed my reflection in that mirror started to look tired, aged, and slightly distorted, even though I felt fine. My friends joke that I looked hungover every time I had it, I held it recently. So every time that he held the mirror, he would look like he was hangover, like pale and something like that. One day I was looking in it and for a split second I didn't see myself at all. I saw a dark room, a flickering candle, and my great aunt's face twisted in a sneer. I dropped the mirror onto a soft rug, terrified. I sealed it in a box with sea salt and aluminium foil. Are you going to bake it? A trick of wise old man, sorry about the joke, but a trick of wise old man told me to use for protection and took it to an empty field far from the city. I smashed it with a rock. The eerie feeling of being watched vanished instantly. I think she wanted to steal my ashe, which is um uh words uh from um African religions. Um that means uh life force or good energy, it's it's called ashe through it. Love the podcast, keep the stories coming. Uh thank you, Lucas. Um, and of course, you know that I'm always like have a little joke around everything, but um, I didn't know about the sea salt and element and foil um to protect or to you know cover something uh might come in handy. Um but after that it's everything okay. Hopefully, everything is okay. Um and still story number three, why do people give this? What is the think of giving these kind of things? Um, thank you, Lucas, for sending your your email, and I hope everything's okay with you. And for the next one, the next story, is about it's from Marillia L from Minas Gerais. Oh, this is this is nice. It's a town called Três Corações, which is basically three hearts. Um it's a nice I didn't know about that city. Um and shares about a story about a jealous colleague. Hi Alejandra, I live in Three Hearts, and I have a short chilling story about a gift I received after getting a huge promotion at my job, which made my colleague Giselle furious with jealousy. Giselle gave me a gift-wrapped pillowcase embroidered herself, saying it was to help me sleep soundly. It was a beautiful rustic piece embroidered with tiny intricate knots, and I used that that night. The sleep was anything but sound. I was plagued by vivid, unpleasant dreams, not scary monsters, but dreams of failure, embarrassment, and being laughed at by my peers. I would wake up sweaty, feeling drained, and strangely confused about simple tasks. This went on for three nights. My focus at work became terrible. On the fourth morning, I flipped the pillowcase inside out to wash it. On the inside, sewn into the lining was a cluster of very specific symbols made of black thread. They looked like tangled crosses and little stick figures with X's over the eyes. I instantly recognized the pattern from a book my grandmother had about folk magic, specially fetus spells. Used to confuse and block someone's success. It was a classic knot of confusion spell. Boy. I immediately cut the pillowcase into small pieces, burned them in an iron pot, and buried the ashes in running water. My sleep and clarity returned it immediately. Shiselle avoided me my avoided my eyes for weeks. Sometimes a gift is less about generosity, but about spite disguised in fabric. So clearly, Marillia, you know your thing, and your grandmother knows your thing too, so good for you in terms of knowing what was going on. Well, actually catching that, and knowing what you had to do. Um, and hope everything's okay with you, Marillia. Now, what happened? Did Giselle avoid you forever? Or she's not working with you, or you're not working with her anymore, because you know, people can move on. And thank you, Marilla, for sending your your email today. Okay. And and yeah, you know, there are there are I I read some some time ago that um some gifts are what you know I I also do it. I do create I do prefer to give gifts that are made by me or they are you know more personalized to the person. But I read sometimes ago that the personalized uh gifts in terms of you know being bad, like we are reading today, they have more power because they were created thinking of that person. So yeah. Do with this information what you want. Um and now I'm telling the Yeah, sorry, I got lost in so many times. So the next one is about is from Andre Andre from Pirianopolis in Goyas. And tells us about a figure charm that offered more than just protection. Um if guys, figure charm, I I don't know how it says in English, but it's you know those old talismans. Normally it was at least for for those in in that I know or that I saw, uh, even in museums, it were made mostly in in wood, and it's basically how can I say this? Um it's like you cross your fingers, just it's it's like something that you can cross your fingers just to protect you. It's called the figure in Portuguese. Um sorry if if I remember during what it is, I will tell you, but I don't know what it is, but just not let let's just continue. Um I'm a big fan of the show listening from Piranopolis. I love I have a story about a figure charm that still makes me wonder. My aunt Regina was always a bit eccentric with a strong belief in omens and curses. When I moved away from university, she gave me a beautiful wooden figure. Aha, see? It was wooden. Um, you know, the hand gesture charm for good luck. Okay, uh some might consider good luck. I normally saw it like protection, like, you know, lessas, something like that. She said, This will protect you from all evil eyes, Andre. Never take it off. I wore it in a leather cord around my neck. For a while, things were great. I felt lucky. But then I started having recurring nightmares, not about my about monsters, but being utterly alone in vast empty spaces. I wake up feeling drained, cold, and profoundly sad. During the day, I started feeling extremely isolated, even when surrounded by friends. It was like I was invisible or everyone was just a bit distant from me. One day I was studying in the library and the figure felt suddenly hot against my skin. I took it off and as I held it, I swear I heard I heard a faint high-pitched giggle. It sounded malicious. When I looked closely, the wood seemed to have a little tiny crack. I hadn't noticed before. Right in the thumb. It suddenly felt heavy like lead. My roommate who was into spiritual things saw it and immediately said, Andre, this figure is broken. It's not wording off evil, it's hold it again. Whoa, didn't know that. He suggested burying it. Uh I dug a hole deep in the university gardens and buried it. Listen, that university, hmm. The things might have changed. Um that night I slept soundly for the first time in months. The isolation lifted. I think Tia Regina, Uncle Regina, uh Aunt Regina, with all her good intentions, might have accidentally given me something that was already carrying a burden, or maybe she subtly wished I wouldn't leave her behind. Thanks for providing a space for these tales. But yeah. What can I say, Aunt Regina? Her intentions were well a Figa it's it's meant for good luck. Um but somehow, you know, could it be from that Figa? Could it be actually that you were so overwhelmed? Because you know, the first year in university, my major major people think that you're going to have fun, etc. etc. But no, it's extremely overwhelmed. So, you know, could it be both, maybe? Um, well, hope everything's okay, Andre. Thank you for sending your email. Okay, hope everything's okay with you. And our next um email comes from Fernanda in again, Rio Grande do Sul, about a wedding gift and a resentful stepmother. Hola Alejandra, I'm writing from these beautiful mountains of Gramado, but my story is anything but beautiful. It's about the family heirloom given to me by my stepmother Helena for my wedding. Helena always resented me, believing I stole my father from her. But she's your stepmother, so technically. Uh the gift was a single antique silver spoon. It looked lovely, but when I picked it up, it felt unnaturally cold, even on a warm day. She said it was for sweeting my new life. Uh we decided to use it for our first meal as a married couple, steering sugar into our coffee. From that day on, my new marriage felt bitter. My husband and I started having petty arguments over nothing. Our finances, which has been stable, suddenly took a nosedive. We had car trouble, appliance breakdowns, and just a constant string of small frustrating misfortunes. It felt like the very everything good in our lives immediately followed by something bad. One evening, as I was washing it, the spoon slipped and clattered against the sink. I distinctly heard a whisper, like a sigh of satisfaction, coming from the water as the spoon sank to the bottom. I felt a surge of fear. My grandmother, who lives nearby and is very traditional, visited and noticed the spoon. She immediately looked worried. Fernanda, she said, this spoon felt heavy, not with silver but with bad intentions. Helena is a generous jealous woman. She advised me to melt it down. I found a local jeweler who, a lot, after a lot of convincing, agreed. As it melted, he said the silver seemed to resist bubbling strangely. Since then, the constant bickering and bad luck have eased significantly. I truly believe that the spoon was meant to steer unhappiness into my marriage. It's good to finally get this off chess. Girl, just take it off your chest. And guys, why you give things to people, especially beautiful? That's so bad. Um but I I do think that there is the the silver spoon in here. Um I can research about it, but I do think that in some cultures the silver spoon is given to in marriage just to sweeten the marriage. So the that's that's why some people um still give cutler cutlery uh to newlyweds, um, not just because they need it, but it's you know, you know, you have like that silver cutlery just to the newlyweds, etc. That that's the tradition, um, because it's to help the marriage uh to be sweetened, to have food, you know, just that kind of um tradition. Um, but in this case it was and about the the melting the spoon. Um that's I was in my mind I can see that bubbling. Um what happened to that after he'll melt it? Did you create anything else? He you know, just give it to the chuler. What happens? I would like to know about that. Um, did you create another antique piece? What happened, you know? Um, and thank you very much um for for sending Fernanda for sending your email. Okay. And for our last email, just for today, um, there are going to be more episodes, but just for today, and not to extend more much more the the episode. Uh, the next one is from Patricia from Mato Grosso in Bonito. Um, such pretty names in in Brazil. Um, hi Alejandra, I'm a very big fan. I have listened to the eerie stories, I'm from Bonito, and I have a story about a very particular souvenir from an old friend. I had a fellow out with an acquaintance, Larissa, over a misunderstanding. Months later, she showed up at my door with a peace offering, a beautiful, smooth river rock painted with a serene bluebird. It was quite lovely. She said she painted it herself and hoped we could be friends again. I put the rock at my bedside table. That night I started to feel incredibly restless. I tossed and turned, unable to find comfort. When I finally drift off, my sleep was light and filled with fragmented, anxious dreams. The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache and a strange feeling of being watched, even though I was alone. This went on for days. I was exhausted, agitated, and felt a constantly low-level anxiety. I also started having minor accidents, tripping, dropping things, burning myself while cooking. It was like my coordination and peace of mind had vanished. One night, I woke up abruptly to chain to a strange, most imperceptible vibration coming from my bedside table. The painted rock, I picked it picked it up, and it felt unnaturally warm, almost throbbing. As I stared at the serene bluebird, it painted its painted eye seemed to glint with a tiny malevolent spark. I felt a wave of dizziness. My neighbor, an old indigenous woman, saw my tired state and asked me if anything anything new was in the house. I showed her the rock. She picked it up, her face darkening. This bird, she said, it steals your rest. It binds your spirit. She took it to her backyard, muttered some words in her language, and then smashed it with a hammer, burying the pieces deep. I slept soundly that night for the first time in weeks. I think Larissa painted that bird to steal my peace. Thank you for your podcast. Thank you, Patricia, for your email. Hope everything's okay now. Um, as I as we saw previously, it was so this person offered her something that she painted herself, so it was, you know, created for this person. And I think those are the most powerful. Um, so yeah, uh hope you you got lucky with your neighbor to help you on that. But what happened? Did you continue to talk with Larissa? Can you share with us on the on the comments? Because I would love to know. Um, and thank you very much once again, Patricia. Hope everything's okay. And that's it, storytellers. Um this brings us to the end of tonight's unnerving uh journey through gifts from the shadow side, from the cursed veils to whispering dolls, from broken clocks to enchanted rocks. It seems to me that a simple present, you know, can carry the weight, you know, it's jealousy, it's ill, it's always something older and darker in this kind of things. And these stories from the interior cities of Brazil remind us that the human heart holds so much capacity for love and also unfortunately so much malice. A huge thank you to Isabella, Rafael, Camilla, Lucas, Marilia, Andrea Fernanda, and Patricia for sharing their experiences. And if you have a story of your own, something strange, unexplained, and utterly terrifying us, uh, you can send it for the next episode. Uh, you can send your your emails and your stories or special topics that you want me to share it uh for the storytelling podcast 880 at gmail.com or follow me on social media at the storytelling podcast. And before you go, if you haven't done that already, I would love you for you to click on the follow or subscribe button and see you on the next episode. And thank you everyone to the emails that I have received. We will have more um episodes with listener stories from now on because I got a huge bunch of emails to sort it out, and I'm trying to compile them to you know to fit at least you know, three, four to five in the same, but I'm also sharing the the historical um hauntings over there uh in this immense world. Okay, thank you very much, and see you on the next episode.