Indiana's Daylight Darkness of the Solar Eclipse and the Nocturnal Heartbeat of Fear
Apr 18, 2024
Melissa
Have you ever felt the shiver of darkness during the day? That's what my pals Kevin, Michael, and I experienced as the sun vanished, painting the sky with the surreal tapestry of a total solar eclipse in Indiana. With every second of totality, we were swept into a communal spell, alongside fellow enthusiasts Debbie and Darren, amidst the historic backdrop of Mississinewa Park. Together, we navigated the thrills of celestial wonder, local reenactments, and the comical battle with an air mattress that wouldn't stay inflated. It's a story stitched with laughter, awe, and the kind of unscripted moments that make for the best memories.
But as dusk crept over our campsite, a different kind of adventure began—one that had me questioning if I was in a scene from a suspense novel. A mysterious presence in the foggy night, a series of phantom knocks, and the ghostly approach of a flatbed truck had my heart racing. Left without cell service, my past raccoon encounter haunting my thoughts, I embarked on a spine-tingling trek back to safety. Join me as I recount the fear, the cunning it took to outmaneuver the unknown, and the overwhelming relief that flooded in with the return to familiar ground—proving that sometimes, the real adventure begins when the sun goes down.
Have you ever felt the shiver of darkness during the day? That's what my pals Kevin, Michael, and I experienced as the sun vanished, painting the sky with the surreal tapestry of a total solar eclipse in Indiana. With every second of totality, we were swept into a communal spell, alongside fellow enthusiasts Debbie and Darren, amidst the historic backdrop of Mississinewa Park. Together, we navigated the thrills of celestial wonder, local reenactments, and the comical battle with an air mattress that wouldn't stay inflated. It's a story stitched with laughter, awe, and the kind of unscripted moments that make for the best memories.
But as dusk crept over our campsite, a different kind of adventure began—one that had me questioning if I was in a scene from a suspense novel. A mysterious presence in the foggy night, a series of phantom knocks, and the ghostly approach of a flatbed truck had my heart racing. Left without cell service, my past raccoon encounter haunting my thoughts, I embarked on a spine-tingling trek back to safety. Join me as I recount the fear, the cunning it took to outmaneuver the unknown, and the overwhelming relief that flooded in with the return to familiar ground—proving that sometimes, the real adventure begins when the sun goes down.
It's your host, melissa, at Strange, strange Beyond Insane. How's everyone doing? I hope better. We've, you know, had some sad news on here and I kind of want to just do a lighter topic.
Speaker 1:
I did currently for the eclipse, the whole eclipse, I guess experience. You will thank you to Kevin and Michael. They took me on a little road trip to Indiana and we got the full fucking experience. Um, thank God for them because they knew where to go. We did stay at a campsite in the um in the airstream and then we went about, I think 15 minutes South of there to this um park and it was. I just lost my breath time. It was literally breathtaking. It was very cool experience. Five star rating. I give it a 10.
Speaker 1:
It did get pretty dark where we were. I know it got a little bit darker than here in Michigan. I'm sorry, In Indiana I got darker than here in Michigan. I meant to say I'm so excited to start the recordings. I'm sorry, in Indiana I got darker than here in Michigan. I meant to say I'm so excited to start the recordings. I'm just like getting ahead of myself. Yeah, so we had full totality. Don't ask me exactly what part of Indiana, because I was a backseat driver, I was not paying attention. It was wonderful.
Speaker 1:
The air mattress was not on my side this time. It was okay the first night. The second night was fucking miserable. But something else happened the night of the eclipse and we'll get into that. But let me just start off with some live recordings that I did on our little adventure through the whole. I mean you're gonna feel it listening to these like the whole. I mean you're going to feel it listening to these like the whole entire production of the eclipse, the whole four minutes. All right, let's start here. Hey everyone, it's Melissa, your host at Strange, strange Beyond Insane, and we are here, live in Indiana, with Michael and Kevin for the eclipse. It's April 8th 2024. It's a big day. It's like it's Mississipiwana. Mississipiwana Park is where we are at. We are walking. Oh, they're announcing.
Speaker 2:
So they have like a telescope that you can look into.
Speaker 1:
We are walking down a hill now to go over by the DNR people. Very, very nice setup here, nice park.
Speaker 2:
There's a bunch of colanders. You can look at A lot of people here. It's not at the right angle.
Speaker 1:
Alright, we're coming up to the Sky Watcher classic telescope. People are in line. We're just kind of waiting around right now. Alright, you guys, it's Melissa, your host at Strange Band, insane, and we are back and Totality is almost there. I got to look in the telescope. It was a really cool experience. I'm just trying not to talk too loud because everyone's kind of yeah, I'm actually, I have a podcast, so I'm live right now. No, no, no, I like people to talk. Yeah, looks great, you're having a great time. Thank you, what is your name? Debbie? Debbie, that's a good name. That was my mom's name. It's lucky, good name. All right, so what do you want to do, michael? You want to hang out for a minute or you want to go back? No, I'm staying on top of it.
Speaker 2:
I didn't get the whole thing, but I got a motor.
Speaker 1:
Oh, that's nice. All right, I'm going to grab a water. Talk to some more people.
Speaker 2:
Some more people. They feed some stuff for you too, it's nice. It's nice, yeah, here.
Speaker 1:
Yes, that's what this is actually for.
Speaker 2:
The reenactment's done in the field that you guys are on.
Speaker 1:
Is that from the battlegrounds? Yes, ok.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, they actually bring in and it's probably an hour reenactment. They do it two or three times during the weekendgrounds. Yes, okay, yeah, they actually bring in. It's probably an hour reenactment. They do it two or three times during the weekend, on Saturday and Sunday. Okay, it's really nice. It really is Cool. You said you're from Sterling Heights. You said you're from Sterling Heights.
Speaker 1:
My parents lived in Sterling Heights.
Speaker 2:
My grandparents lived in Lucifer, and what was it Mound in Lucifer?
Speaker 1:
and what was it? Mound and Lucifer. Oh, okay, yeah. So yeah, I grew up in Sterling Heights. Okay, I have a podcast too. That's why I was just trying to talk to a few people before the whole experience happens. It's really nice. Yeah, it's almost. It's a really nice setup here.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, during the fall of the year the one they do, the 1812, this place is packed and they got the. We rent the fields that you see for parking and it's a very nice thing if you have an opportunity to come down here.
Speaker 1:
It's worth the trip yeah, it's only three hours from us.
Speaker 2:
Yeah we'd like to see that. I like that. There's a battlefield too, I guess. Right, we passed it. Yep coming in and they have a whole village that they set up on the lake. So you walk up and down and they peddle stuff. You know how that is, but it's all from that era, hot dogs, cool.
Speaker 1:
What is your name again, darren Darren, nice to meet you, thank you. Thank you guys, so much.
Speaker 2:
If you guys are camping in Salamone, if you get a chance, jump another half hour away and go to Missinnawa. We have a full hookup Available, 50 amp service. We've got a beautiful lake. Salamone, We've got a beautiful lake. Oh wow, the Salmon's got a nice lake too. That would be nice if we could have the full hookup?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, that would have been nice. And a whole lake? Yeah, because I think where we're staying at is that like a gravel pit or like a dam or something You're at.
Speaker 2:
Salmon, no, it's a reservoir. Still, oh, it's a reservoir. Okay, it's a reservoir. The reservoirs in Indiana are controlled by Mississippi every day, so whatever water flow they need, that's what we do. Oh, okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:
Well, thank you, guys, no problem.
Speaker 2:
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:
Have a good day. Hey guys, it's Melissa back, your host at Strange, strange Beyond Insane. We're back at the truck and it's getting dark and it's really, really cooled off. Michael and Kevin and I all feel like it's very eerie right now, very, very strange feeling. Everything's super quiet and the light is really really, really weird. Anyways, we have about maybe four to five minutes until full totality. We have a very clear um path right up to it. We have taken videos and pictures. Kevin found a way to rig the um nasa glasses onto our lenses on our phones and it seems to be working quite well. So we will be back shortly to let you guys know how we feel after the crazy totality. And well, if you hear us howling, there was a woodpecker that was going crazy. We'll see what happens. Everything's really quiet right now, besides us, of course. All right, you guys, let me pull up some other video content that I have. Give me one moment, be patient with me please. All right, you guys, we're almost in complete totality. Oh my God, it looks so crazy. Oh my God. Oh my God, it's going dark. You god, it's going dark. You guys, it's going dark. It's going dark. All the roosters are going nuts.
Speaker 1:
We came to a park about 20 minutes. Alright, that was the coolest experience. Michael got emotional. It was so cute because he said he loved hearing everybody cheer. I mean, we were literally like right where we needed to be. Thank you to Kevin and Michael. You're welcome. Thank you For taking me. I'm cold now. I got really cold. It was so much fun. Everybody was cheering. There's a lot of people up and behind us that you can't see. That was the coolest experience ever. That was the coolest. Okay, and now we're going to move on to what had happened that night of the eclipse. You thought the full glamour filter. Whoops, sorry about that. Okay, Now, this is a little bit of a lengthy one and, you guys, I was a little out of breath because I had to run for my life, literally.
Speaker 1:
But here we go. I'm going to play this, all right. So I have to be quiet. But I finally got back to the campsite, so I went to the bathroom, to the family one, so I can lock the door. Kevin and Michael are in the camper, they're getting ready to go to sleep, and so I'm sitting on the toilet and a couple minutes later, um, someone softly starts knocking. Well, before they started knocking. I heard their feet shuffle like back and forth by the door and I'm like what the hell? And then they knock soft and I said someone's in here and then shuffle. A couple minutes later they knock again. And'm like someone's in here, and then they it's like this. And I'm like hey, and I'm like what the hell? So I keep hearing them shuffle back and forth and I'm like Kevin, michael, nothing. And I'm like oh fuck. So I like hide in the bathroom and like very, very, very soft knocks like every few minutes, like. So I put my like, I put my ear next to the door and I'm like listening. And then all of a sudden and I'm like fuck. So I'm like oh my god.
Speaker 1:
So it took me like forever to come out of the bathroom. So I come out of the bathroom, I have my light on my phone, my flashlight, and it's like so fucking dark and foggy and I'm like, okay, the moon's in that out there's a few stars. So I start briskly walking with my light on and I keep looking behind me. So I was so focused on that that I was like two campsites over and I'm like, oh my god, oh my god, it's like pitch black. So I'm like walking around anxiously and I kind of start jogging.
Speaker 1:
Well, from a distance I see this really long truck with lights on, like a flatbed, and I and I'm like, okay, that's like the main road. I remember coming in and out of here with Michael and Kevin so I'm like, okay, I'll just follow by there. So all of a sudden, this, this flatbed, is like driving really really fast and erratic through this park and I'm like, why are they driving like that? And then we end up passing each other. They whip the truck around and follow me, their bright lights on, and I'm like, oh my god, oh my god, and it's fucking one o'clock in the morning, so it's like 12 30 in the morning, everyone's sleeping, all the lights are off, a pitch black. So I'm like running and hiding and waiting for this truck to pass each time. And then they fucking caught up with me again and I'm like, oh my god, I'm not in the right campsite. And I was like, oh my god, so I start like running my ass off and they get behind me and they're like really close and I was just like, oh my god, they're gonna fucking traffic me or something. I'm still shaking.
Speaker 1:
So I run between two RVs and I just like this, like I get there in the headlights and they fucking I mean this is like a long flat back in this, like little part, right and they pull up and they roll down their window and they have two men stare at me and then all of a sudden they said like 201, 201. And they pull up. It looked like an SUV that was like sunk back and I'm like oh, thank God. And I just fucking run, okay, oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you guys. So I was texting Michael and Kevin. I was trying to text them in the bathroom and call them. No fucking service, right. And when I first got in there I had like four bars. So no fucking service, right. And when I first got in there, I had like four bars. So I kept putting my phone up in the air, I was like moving my phone around and I just I could not get a hold of them because nothing was going through.
Speaker 1:
So, anyways, finally, so I start running back and I call Kevin. Kevin doesn't answer because he's popping popcorn. So Mike answers and he's all like tired. I'm like Michael, michael, I'm fucking lost and it's so dark out here. Oh, I swallowed a bug, swallowed a bug.
Speaker 1:
I'm like still so shaky that's why I'm talking so fast and I have to be low because everyone's sleeping and he's like follow this, follow'm like. I'm like, I'm like I'm fucking lost, like it's pitch black. So finally I get like midway and I'm like, okay, I see the headlights and it's like three streets over whatever. So I finally can calm down. Okay, I'm like, oh, thank god. And then all of a sudden I pass the dumpster right back here and pop and I'm like, oh, it's a raccoon. I'm like, oh, my god. So I'm like, oh, you scared me, little guy. And then all of a sudden I hear like relief and it's oh, my god, the fucking thing was chasing me. I don't know how many there were. So I'm screaming in the pitch black and I'm running out and I'm like Michael, kevin, somebody.
Speaker 1:
Oh, my God, I am like petrified of raccoons because I have PTSD from camping, like years ago, like many, many moons ago, when I was very, very young I think I was 17 or 18. And we had a school of raccoons attack our cabin. They were on the roof, they were everywhere, they were hissing, scratching at the cabin. It was scary. Okay, so I'm going to show you guys how far away I was. Oh, I can't flip the camera. I think that dog truck still. But like, all the way, oh, you see where those lights are, those flashing yep, that orange light back there.
Speaker 1:
All the way back, dude, I was like so far away, it's not even funny, but anyways, um, we went to a, um, historic native american cemetery, one of the like coolest cemeteries I've ever been to, and, um, yeah, and we did, we asked for permission to go in there and everything, and the natives still own it. Um, but I'm like starting to think like, was that? Like a real person that was knocking at the door? But you guys, is like pitch black, like this is what I was walking through, like it is, it's pitch black. Anyways, story time over.
Speaker 1:
I literally need to go to bed because I have to be at work and we have to leave super early. I hope everyone had a good eclipse day. I'm in here I'm laughing in the background because the raccoons at the end you know that just put me over the fucking edge, the damn raccoons, anyways. So after the eclipse that night, it was completely, completely pitch black. I had my cell phone light all the way to the highest setting and it there was no, like the light wasn't reaching to any distance. I mean, I could literally just see in front of me. It was absolutely fucking petrifying and I should have known better. I should have just walked my ass back and got one of the boys, because as soon as I got like um, ooh, I just got a shake and I got really cold. Ooh, um, ooh.
Speaker 1:
After I got like a couple whatever rows or streets over, I did have a very uneasy feeling and I was just like, oh, you're just being like a little sissy bitch. Um, yeah, never again. If I ever have a feeling again, I don't care who it is a stranger or whatever. Somebody is walking with me at a campsite and guarding me while I'm peeing. There was no number two involved, it was just number. I literally just had to pee. I wanted to pee before I went and slept because of course, the water wasn't working in the airstream or whatever. They had to buy a part. Of course. That's just our luck, but I'm not complaining because it's a lot better than staying in a fucking tent. Yeah, so I just want to get that last pee out before I went to sleep and, like I said, I had an uneasy feeling and I should have woke up the boys, or they weren't. Well, michael was like in and out of sleeping and, of course, Kevin, he's a night owl like me. Michael was like in and out of sleeping and, of course Kevin, he's a night owl like me, so he's chomping on popcorn.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so the cemetery that we went to um hands down one of the coolest I always say areas. I mean that's so like cliche, like it was. Oh God, I don't know how to. I don't know how to describe it. It was, I don't know how to describe it. It was, I don't know it. It it was beautiful and it was scary at the same time. Um, michael was freaking out. Poor Michael, he's like we shouldn't be here. We shouldn't be here. I did ask um the spirits when we got there. I said, hey, is it okay If we just come in and communicate? We're not going to really really take pictures? Um, and if we do take a couple of pictures, is it okay if we have um the flash off? And um, I did get confirmation, so it made me feel better.
Speaker 1:
We did go to a cemetery before that, like a civil war cemetery. That was really awesome to see. Okay. So the picture of a tomb that I have right here, it's chief. Now I'm going to fuck this up and I apologize. Please do not get offended. Do not get mad at me. I'm horrible with pronunciation Meshingomesea. I'm just going to say Meshingomesea. Okay.
Speaker 1:
So he lived from 1781 to 1879. And it says here, in remembrance of our ancestors, a completion of all individuals known to have been inherited in the, the miami indian cemetery. So this was um. This was made this um tomb in remembrance in 2009, and this is from the um. Hold on you guys, let me try to zoom in on this. The Mississiniowa, however, you say that Battlefield Society, so where we were earlier that day.
Speaker 1:
So, again, this is the Miami Indian Cemetery, and it was so much fun, it was so peaceful it was. We got bum rushed. Um, I did not feel scared, I did not feel threatened. Um, kevin and Michael got some awesome pictures. I was pretty much recording, just doing like an EVP. Um, definitely have to go back to that place, but yeah, that um, oh. And then I came back to work and, of course, um, you know, some drama went on with another worker and there's always drama in that place. So two days later, I quit my job, y'all, and I am proud of myself. I quit my job and I'm starting a new job tomorrow. Well, I'm going in for a couple hours to see if it's, if it's like a right feel for me. But yeah, so that concludes our solar eclipse trip. And had a lot of fun and thank you again, shout out to Michael and Kevin for taking me with them. It was quite the experience. All right, you guys. Thank you for listening. Tune in, we'll be chatting soon.