That's a nope from us

A man murders a friend in Paris, commits cannibalism, and then somehow gets to live openly, publish books, and collect attention instead of a life sentence. That is the core horror behind the Kobe Cannibal case, and we walk through it step by step, from Issei Sagawa’s early warning signs and escalating obsession to the killing of René Hartevelt and the shocking failures that follow. If you’re searching for a true crime podcast that doesn’t look away from the hard questions, this one is about accountability, loopholes, and the way a real victim can get buried under notoriety.

We also unpack why the aftermath still makes people angry decades later: the legal insanity ruling in France, the deportation back to Japan, missing documentation, and how celebrity culture can mutate into a reward system for the worst people. René Hartevelt’s family has to live with not only the loss, but the public spectacle built on it, and we don’t let that get minimized.

Then we pivot into the supernatural with one of the most viral modern urban legends: black eyed children. From the 1996 Abilene, Texas encounter to later “let us in” doorstep stories, we break down the repeating patterns, the dread people describe, the invitation rule that echoes vampire folklore, and the theories that range from demons and fae to aliens and psychic vampires. It’s paranormal storytelling, but it also says something real about fear, empathy, and how internet folklore spreads.

If this hit you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who loves true crime and the paranormal, and leave a review. What part of the story do you think is the bigger nightmare: the crime itself or the system that let him walk free?

Transcript

Cold Open And Life Updates

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Welcome to Feral Nightmares, where true crime and true supernatural collide.

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hi! Welcome to Feral Nightmares with your host, Tay and Binks. Alright. Okay, we did not plan that little high. It just happens. It happens.

SPEAKER_02 0:22

It's okay. We run on the same wavelength.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Yeah. Like what was going through your head? Like, we were just both ready to like get this done. We're ready to get this done.

SPEAKER_02 0:34

Maybe so we can have a three-day break from party break from each other.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

I mean, I love you and I love you too, but we've spent a lot of time together in the last like week.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Yeah, I think it was the 60 plus hours at our day job, and then you were here on Sunday recording. Yeah. So we had two days at work. We were supposed to record yesterday, but just we needed a break. Nah, not we you got sick. I was sick yesterday. I literally slept all day. I mean I woke up at 8 30, 8, 8:30 yesterday morning. Decided this ain't the vibe. Texted you and was like, I like everything hurt, my sinuses hurt, like just a horrible headache. 10 o'clock, I went and laid back down. Yep. I did not get out of my bed until 5 p.m. And I slept the entire time.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

So when I got back from my doctor's appointment yesterday, like I ate, and then I automatically like I got the text and I just like passed out afterwards. I was like, so we were both like I mean like I wanted to get it done yesterday just because that like was the most convenient right. We would have had more time away from each other. We would have had more time away from each other, but at the same time, after like all the sh like the last week, what we did last week plus the two days, I was just I wasn't wanting a day.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

We need a day off.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

We needed a day off, and we earned it.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

We earned it because it is so hot outside, you gotta watch how you talk to me now.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Oh yeah. Also, guess who is going to the psychologist to get tested for AD ADHD? That bitch. This one.

SPEAKER_02 2:23

Finally. Yeah, finally to set up the appointment. Okay. Are you gonna do that or do I have to do it for you?

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Uh no, they just reached out to me today about it, and I'm just gonna have to get back to them about like time and date. Yeah, I need to know like we know what our work schedule is gonna really look like. Yeah, I need to know what our work schedule is gonna look like. So, and that is set like if they're open on the weekend, then that's fine. That would be great. That'd be fine. That'd be great. If they are, let me know. So I can go get tested too. I'm gonna see if I can do it on Monday because I have off that day. Six day weekend. Yes, asshole. It's fine. It's fine.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

So, are you ready? I am. Are you ready to be thoroughly disgusted? I am always thoroughly disgusted in something. No, this is gonna be a you might not stay for dinner.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

We may not have to feed you today. I'm already not gonna have to stay for dinner. As I said, I'm dog watching. Oh yeah. I got a hyperactive puppy at the house that I am watching while my mom and her boyfriend are out of town. So yay!

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Yay. You're gonna have fun this weekend with all the fireworks and one very anxious dog. Benadryl, just saying.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Oh, yeah, no, I'm already planning on drugging their asses like at the beginning of the day, and then like towards like every four hours. Yeah, no, jogging their asses.

SPEAKER_02 3:51

Benadryl Layla, like Tater's mom Benadryled him.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Oh yeah, he was a coworker of ours.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

He was allergic to Benadryl.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

And slept for like 16 hours straight. I am so jealous of that fucker. We were all we're like, we're glad you're okay, but dude. Okay, I like how we said let's lock in and then not. Yeah. Okay, so very set.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

And let's go.

The Kobe Cannibal Story Begins

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Alright, so I am gonna take you to the far away land that my youngest is obsessed with right now. We are going to Kobe, Japan. Upayan? Japan. I said Upayan. No. We're gonna go there in our minds to close your eyes. Visualize. Okay. Alright. Yep. You can see it. You're in Japan now. I'm in Japan now.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Like, okay, what part of Japan?

SPEAKER_02 4:43

We're talking about like good beef. That's all I know. Which is this is really kind of ruining that for me.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

But okay, but like are you like more like city or more out in the country? I feel like it's city. Okay. Alright, so I got it.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

April 26, 1949, Kobe, Japan. A very premature baby is born. His name is Isisegawa. Okay. And he would grow up to be known as the Kobe Cannibal.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Love that form.

SPEAKER_02 5:25

Yeah, this is this one gets a little rough. So basically, he's born to some wealthy ass parents. Alright. Like the kind of wealthy ass parents. Late 40s in Japan, wealthy parents. Oof. So like they came through World War II and still had money. Yeah. So, but he was born, he was so small when he was born that's reported that his father held him in the palm of his hand and he fit almost perfectly.

SPEAKER_00 6:00

The only thing that went through my head is Kobe.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Right, right. Do you know how many times I've I had to rein myself out on that? Writing these notes. And I'm just here like fucking kids. Right. But, you know, and he he he's healthy enough. He does have, you know, some issues, uh, especially because he was born extremely premature.

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

And in the 1940s, it's yeah. He's lucky he survived. But he also had a very, you know, he was very much an introvert. You know, he's got his his health issues. He was kind of sickly, he would get random illnesses. But that did lead to something like his his great love, which was literature. Oh. Yeah. Something we have in common, right? You know, because you can go anywhere, you can do anything in a book. I just want to say me and Lavar Burton taught me, you know, to take a look. It's in a book, Reading Rainbow. Okay. Oh my god. Look, all right. I I was raised on PBS and Guy and Light, okay?

SPEAKER_00 7:11

Okay, and I was raised on not that.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Not that. Yeah, you had a terrible childhood. I had Mr. Rogers.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Oh fuck off.

SPEAKER_02 7:21

I had Sesame Street, LeVar Burton. Okay. I had Sesame Street President.

SPEAKER_00 7:25

Bob Ross. Yeah, you did cut Bob Ross. Look, I don't remember much of what I watched when I was a child. I remember Barney.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

And that was it.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

And Thomas.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

And Thomas, yes. Those are the ones who I remember. Anyway, so like he he loves books. He loves stories. And that's great. Yeah. You know. Well, there's a few things that kind of start to be a little off about him. Okay? Like, like he's in first grade, seven years old, roughly. And he happens to look over to his classmate. Yeah. His male classmate. And I'm assuming like the school uniform with shorts and like the button-down.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Like I'm getting like the traditional like Japanese schoolboy, like attire. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

Yeah. And he looks over at his classmate and he looks at his his legs and sees his thigh. And basically goes through, that's a nice looking thigh. I want to bite it. I okay I want to eat it.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

Seven years old. Look, the thing that went through my mind is like he said, look at us a kid, like he's like, I'm gonna bite it.

unknown 8:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Right. He did not. He thought about it. Look, I'm not gonna judge. Okay, like the eating the thigh, but like there are just some times where you just look at something something you just want to bite it, right? Yeah. So but not in a cannibal way.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Anyway. Anyhow. Anyhow. So he manages to not bite his classmate. Good on him. Snaps for him. But you know, as he gets older, he's becomes more introverted and you know, spends more time in his books. And because of the culture that he was raised in, very conservative culture. Yeah. He's not told basically the birds and the bees and what's gonna happen with his body when he hits a certain point. So when he hits puberty and starts getting hard-ons, he doesn't know what to do with it. So he forces his dog to lick it. So he commits bestiality by middle school.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

I have no words. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Yeah, I have none either. Um choices were made. Yeah. Yeah. So we're gonna flash forward about

Tokyo Break In And Rape Charge

SPEAKER_02 10:22

10 years.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Thank God. And he is attending the is it Waco W A K O Waco? Waco?

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:32

That feels right.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

That feels right.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

University in Tokyo. So now we're in the city.

unknown 10:38

Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Big time. And he's 24 years old. Well, EC's got a type. All right. He likes Western women. Tall, blonde. Okay. You know. What most men go for. Everything I'm not. But he ends up following, you know, spots a German woman and follows her home. And she goes to her apartment and she goes to bed. Yeah. He breaks into her apartment. And his plan, which he did not succeed in, was basically while she slept, he was going to slice off part of her butt to eat.

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Okay, um. And sneak away. I wanna know what the thought process was behind that. He he wanted to touch the butt. He wanted to eat the butt. He wanted to eat the ass? Yes. Eat the booty like groceries. Mm-hmm. Okay. So anyway.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

So yeah, he she woke up with him like standing over her, freaks the fuck out. As she should. As she should. Contacts the police. He gets arrested. And he is charged with rape. Okay. He did not admit his true reason for being there. Because how do you tell the cops? I wasn't gonna fuck her. I was just gonna eat her in a non-sexual way.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

I'm sorry, that one got me dead. I know. So I was gonna eat her out. Not sexually.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

Not sexually. Not sexually. Not that. So 1977.

Paris Obsession And Gun Ritual

SPEAKER_02 12:40

Okay. A couple years later, he moves to France for his PhD in literature. Because he that's what he's studying, right? No, like I know that, but like he got charged with rape. With rape. With rape. Daddy got him off, I believe. Not that way. Not that way. Daddy's money. So I I want to say he served a little bit of time, but not a lot. So he was able to get his undergrad, and I'm assuming his master's, and then he's headed off to Paris to I'm assuming everything kind of got like swept on the bus. Right. So he goes to 1977, he moves to Paris to get his PhD in literature, literature at I'm getting ready to have to talk French, so give me a second here. Is it gonna be like me refreshing? No, because I can actually do this. Um so I love that for you. Right. So he goes to France to get his PhD in literature at Sorbonne.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

And he develops a routine once he gets there. Because he's essentially he's in France. He's with the Western women that he finds attractive, lots of blonde Parisian women. But because he is so insecure in himself, and so introverted, instead of trying to make friends and get a girlfriend, every night he picks up a different sex worker, brings her back to his apartment, does the deed, and while they're like cleaning up afterwards, before they leave, he pulls out his gun and points it at the back of their head. And the quote I have from him, because you know I love a good quote. Who doesn't love a good quote? Is almost every night I would bring a prostitute home and then try to shoot them, but for some reason my fingers froze up and I couldn't pull the trigger. These women left unscathed.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Okay, but like did they know that he pulled a gun?

SPEAKER_02 14:51

Oh, so like he was literally standing behind them where they couldn't see him and would point the gun at the back of their head.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:59

And it helped that he was only four foot nine. My ten-year-old is taller. So Okay, we do not love this short king. We do not love the short king. But basically, you know, he he did he considered himself to be very ugly and very short. And, you know, no confidence whatsoever. Okay, Lord Farquad. Right. So, you know, by the age he's 32 years old. He's working on his PhD. He does actually manage to make friends in his classes, in his program.

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 15:38

One of those friends is a Dutch student by the name of, and now I have to speak Dutch, Renee Harteveld. Okay. Now, Renee was genuinely his friend.

SPEAKER_03 15:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

She would come over and they would translate poetry and have dinner and like like honestly, that sounds like a like an ass date. Right. All he had to do was be like, hey girl. Hey girl, you wanna you and me and you can do a little nibble. You know, probably such break skin. Whatever. Let me eat you out. This time sexually. Right. So here's the thing. You know, Renee is a Dutch woman. Yeah. She is five foot ten, she's 25. Dutch women are beautiful. She would come over and they would read poetry and have dinner and all of these things.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

Okay, like if someone was like, hey, you want to um read poetry and have dinner, I'd just be like, You gotta give me a wing as well, because that sounds like I know, especially for you.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

If a guy can come up and was like, Hey, do you want to come over to my house and read the Odyssey? If you like it, then you'd have to put a wing. Right. Like, you gotta put a wing. I know how to get you. You gotta put a wing on me at that point. You know, especially if he wore plaid and had red hair. And a bubble butt. Bubble butt. Zach has a type. I don't know. He wants to be able to, you know, pick somebody up doing up ease. Anyway, so Renee's genuinely a friend of his. Yeah, like so what she didn't know is every time she would come over.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Wait, does he pull the same thing?

SPEAKER_02 17:19

He would pull the gun out. Her back's turned, she's like at the sink washing her hands before dinner. He would pull it out. And he could never do it because he's like, that's my friend, right? That's my girl. Can't do it.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Okay, so he's like 4'11, like not no 4'9. 4'9. 4'9, and she's like 5'10. Yeah. I can only like imagine fucking yeeted his ass. Look, I can only I can yeet his ass. I can like imagine like a fucking almost like toddler pointing gun. Just like he can't, he's not aiming like straightforward. He has to be like up.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

On June 11th, 1981.

Renee Hartevelt Is Killed

SPEAKER_02 17:59

Easy invites Renee over to translate some poetry. Okay. She sits down at the desk. She's got the the book in front of her. And you know, she she's reading. Yeah. He pulls out his gun. And it basically goes through and said, now or never. And he pulls the trigger and shoots her, killing her instantly in the throat. No. He fainted. Murders her and fainted. I mean, like, I feel so bad for Wenee. Right. But like the beauty of it, she didn't know what happened. Okay. Like it was instant, she's gone. Yeah. Like, she went out reading poetry.

SPEAKER_00 18:46

You know what? Like. At least. Like, that's the only like real silver lining.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

Is that she did not?

SPEAKER_00 18:53

She did not deserve it.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

One, she didn't deserve it. Two, she didn't know what happened.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

So, like, that's the only that is the only silver lining. Okay, but like, also, how much of a fucking pussy do you have to be to like to faint? To faint while you do that. Like, no, no, because this man. It gets worse.

unknown 19:11

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

He's killing once a ton, how bad? He's the Kobe cannibal. Okay, I know that, but like. He only had one victim. This motherfucker faints from the shock of killing her.

Cannibalism And Suitcase Dump

SPEAKER_02 19:28

Well, he comes to, and he's like, Alright, I can carry out my plan. Right? Rapes her corpse. Tries to bite into her butt cheek and like rip out a chunk with his teeth, bare teeth. His teeth weren't strong enough. So he goes, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 19:51

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Are you are you good now?

SPEAKER_00 19:57

No, don't like this is why this is why girls choose the bear. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Yeah, so he his teeth aren't strong enough, so he goes to his kitchen, he grabs a knife. Knife's not sharp enough. Well then he has to go to the store. Wait one second, one sec. The fucking knife not being just like, damn. It's like a dull ass, you know, restaurant steak knife.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Okay, do you remember that SNL set? Like cut.

SPEAKER_02 20:33

I'm guessing it might have been like a fucking butter knife for all of the preparedness this man had. I don't know. I'm sorry, but like just like the Yeah. So he's I'm sorry, like that is terrible.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

That is very terrible.

SPEAKER_02 20:46

I honestly, because I've researched this, like I've had all the I'm going to hell. Oh. For all the jokes that went through my head while I was having to write this stuff down. But yeah, so the his knife, his knives are not sharp enough. That's some great hay beef.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 21:12

So I'm joining you on that bus. Yes, you are. So he had to go to the store because he's not like our girl Krista. He didn't have anybody he could borrow a meat cleaver from. He had to go buy one.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

You also need to need to have one friend where you can borrow a meat cleaver from. Seriously. Seriously.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Cup of sugar, meat cleaver, tarp. Anyway. Bleach. Right. So he goes to the store, he buys a meat cleaver. He comes home and starts to essentially. What is the word I'm looking for?

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Dismember?

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Butcher.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:02

Because and I'm just gonna kind of give you a rundown. He ate her breast, face, feet, thighs, and neck. He tried eating her butt, but said that it had the the fat was similar to corn. I'm not gonna lie, I read that and I was like, what the hell? And like I rubbed my butt to see if I could feel it. Don't know. And of course, because he is a bit of a snob, he uh decided he was gonna eat her clitoris as well. But he had to swallow that whole because she was on her period and he didn't like the smell. And in various stages of butchering her, he took photographs.

SPEAKER_03 22:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 22:59

Okay. So now he had her for a couple of days dismembering, eating, and then he tried to dispose of her. And I'm probably gonna butcher this, but uh he put what remained of her in two suitcases and carried them to the uh bois de bolum. Yeah, that's as close as I can get. Sorry, France. Park.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Okay, but they're not gonna be as offended as the Russians.

SPEAKER_02 23:35

B-O-I-S-B. Bois De D-E. Bois de B-O-U-L-O-G-N-E. My brain wants to say bologna. I know that's not it. Boulong? Bologn? I don't know. I took Spanish in high school, y'all. Same. Anyway, so he goes to this park with the two suitcases and gently puts them into a lake.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Okay, what in broad daylight?

SPEAKER_02 24:12

Broad daylight.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

There's people around.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

That's so natural.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

That's a choice. And a random man is walking down the pathway and he sees these two suitcases very close to the shore. Like and sees Sagawa walking away and is like, hey man, are those yours? Sagawa ignores him, keeps walking. So this guy wades in like ankle deep, pulls the suitcases out. He thought he was being a good Samaritan. Right. He was like, the fuck's in these suitcases, right? Curiosity, man. It's killing. You gotta know. So he pulls him out and finds what is left of Renee.

SPEAKER_03 24:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:59

Notifies the authorities, all of that. Sagawa gets arrested four days later. And you know, he he was held for two years awaiting

Legal Loopholes Let Him Walk

SPEAKER_02 25:10

trial. But daddy's money buys really good lawyers. So daddy's money. I know. I wish I had some. Yeah, I'm gonna butcher that too. The judge's name. So, but he was found legally insane and unfit to stand trial. And the French judge, Jean-Louis Brosier, ordered that uh Isisagawa be held indefinitely at a mental institution.

SPEAKER_03 25:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

So here's the thing: he is deported back to Japan.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

And he is committed to the Matsuzawa hospital in Tokyo.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 25:52

The doctor clears him.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

Said he was saying Deadly paid off.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

His sexual perversion was his sole motivation for murder. In France, the doc the charges are dropped, and the documents are never sent to Japan. So France says he's insane and has to be committed indefinitely. Gets deported to Japan. They don't send the paperwork with him.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

Like, is it just meant to like smell foul play as well? You're not getting into that?

SPEAKER_02 26:21

Uh I honestly you have to wait until you you see how this all plays out.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:30

So give it a minute.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

I'll give it a minute.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

So yeah, Japanese authorities never get the money. And on August 12th, 1986, Isisegawa checks him out, checks himself out of the hospital as a free man. Now, while he was in the hospital, he became a macabre celebrity. When Inuhiku Yamata publishes In the Fog, and it's Sagawa's accounts of the murder and the aftermath. So now he's got a book. Right. And because of this celebrity status, that was part of what led to him being deported as well. Other than the fact he's not a French citizen.

SPEAKER_03 27:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

You know. So he's in Japan and basically writes books, becomes like a guest speaker. He even writes restaurant reviews. Here's another quote for him. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 27:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:34

Actually, no, I'm gonna tell you something else. He was on basically a Japanese reality show where they would take like a man and a woman and they would have to like live together for 24 hours, 48 hours, something like that. Complete strangers. He's on this show with a woman. They end up fucking. And then he tells her he's the Kobe Cannibal. Yeah. Japan made him a morbid rock star. He's writing books about the murder, including the pictures that he took of her. And he was a free man until his death. In what was it? 2022. So not that long ago. But here's the quote from him.

When A Killer Becomes A Celebrity

SPEAKER_02 28:34

It is Sagawa said, being forced to make a living while being a known murderer in Cannibal was a terrible terrible punishment.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

But he basically became a a fucking celebrity. So not only did he effectively get away with the murder, he was complaining about this being known as a murderer and a cannibal.

SPEAKER_02 29:02

It's so hard to work. But you're getting book deals, you're getting like real interviews, you're getting reality TV in the 80s or 90s, whenever it was. You know, like it's and then like you're going out and talking about it.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Yeah, like something that makes like this was like your like like one of your close friends.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

Right. Like and he did actually feel bad about it being her.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

That makes it all the better. Sarcasm. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 29:31

But yeah, he he literally he writes the books, he uses Renee's postwortom pictures, and he descor and has descriptions of how she tasted. So, like, my guy.

SPEAKER_00 29:44

My dude.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Easy. What the fuck? Japan should have done better, France should have done better. They failed. Renee Hartovelt did not deserve this by any means. No. And like I said earlier, the only thing I can say, and the only good out of it is she did not know what happened.

SPEAKER_00 30:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

You know, but her family knows what he did to her.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

And then for them to like know that he's a fucking celebrity.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

Yeah. So that, my friend. You know, and it and it actually he was there was a lot of a kerfluffle over him not being in prison and him being a free man.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

I mean, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:39

So, but yeah, that's the Kobe Cannibal. And I don't know if I'm be able to eat steak now. Or at least for a little while.

SPEAKER_00 30:51

Oh, I'm definitely gonna be able to eat some steak.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

I had some last night. So he does. Nice. Alright, Zach, tell me a story. Okay. Are you gonna put me out? Am I gonna have nightmares?

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Probably not.

Black Eyed Children Urban Legend

SPEAKER_00 31:06

Knowing what you have to deal with on a daily basis. Yeah, you. I was gonna say your kids. Speaking about children, this is gonna be a nice short and sweet segment. We are gonna discuss about one of the most persistent Oberlegends, this current age, the age of the internet. We're gonna be talking about the black-eyed children, also known as B-E-Ks. Well, I just called them BACs. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

Alright, that's not a little cling-on. I'll accept it. I'll accept it. I'll allow it. I did show you that picture of me, right? Where I look like a fucking black-eyed kid.

SPEAKER_00 31:47

Oh yeah, you did.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Anyway, like as I got a special talent.

SPEAKER_00 31:53

Anyway. Being a fucking creepy bitch. Yes. Now I know where where your children get it from.

unknown 31:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:00

Yeah. Especially the little one.

SPEAKER_02 32:03

She got baked in my crazy. And was born premature and fit in her father's hand and stole my book on s of serial killers to learn about cannibals. I'm really worried.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

Yeah, we're probably gonna have to do a segment on them.

SPEAKER_02 32:21

Look, at this point, I have already told both of my children, who I love dearly, they're gonna end up on a true crime podcast. One's gonna be the victim. The other one's probably gonna be the perpetrator. And you know what? I I am ready for my dateline interview. There were signs. I can point to specific examples. I am doing everything I can to get them the mental health help they should need. You know, as any good mother. As any good mother, I will baker act one of them little shits if I have to. Anyway, black eyed children.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

Go. Going from one psychotic child to a whole phenomenon, as far as I can tell, it doesn't really go back any further than 1996. It was a good year. I don't really know. I wasn't even fucking born. Oh, good for you. And that was when the first major encounter happened by a Brian Bethel.

Abilene Parking Lot Knock

SPEAKER_00 33:26

And look, this is somewhere in fucking Texas, and I'm still gonna get along. So Abilene. Abeline, Texas. Abiline, yeah. Yes. Okay. I suck at names. Names 100%. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

Anyway. What was that fucking look for? My brain that the intrusive thoughts made it to my face. Anyway. Look. Continue.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

Okay. Tell me a story. Now. This chill has all tales of this kind really begin. In the night. In the dead night. In a fucking like movie parking lot. I'm just gonna. It's always creepy shit in the parking lot. No, but Bethel was sitting out in the car under the street, like making out like checks to pay some bills. He's adulting. He's adulting, but like, come on, in an empty parking lot. Hey, he in the middle of the night. Come on. Like that that's begging for trouble.

SPEAKER_02 34:26

Honestly, I get it. I get it. He could have just got off work. He's like, hey, shit, I forgot to write those checks. I gotta pay my bills. I gotta get him dropped off. He's gonna pass all those places on his way home, drop-off box.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Yeah. You don't know the 90s. I don't know the 90s. Like whenever I started working, like it was all just like you can like checks. I didn't have checks. Actually, I did have checks on my first job. No, I'm talking like you didn't have personal checks. Oh, yeah, no. I've been. Have you never had to fill one of those out? No, but my grandma always um had to, and I like I was wondering, why is grandma doing that? Just like, oh, it's because she's old. Anyways, but yes, he was sitting in his car, making out some checks. When two kids come up and knock on his um car window. Nope. Nope. The kids look to be like round 10 and 14, knocking on the window when the fuck are their parents at? Right. Asking to for a vibe to the mom's house so they can get money to go see a movie. If you want to know what movie is, it was a Mortal Kombat movie specifically. Finish him. Finish him. Like at first, like they were polite, but by the way, strange, but polite. It was kind of like a CW show, like how Yeah. Yeah, they're acting like kids out of a CW show.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

So, like my little one that's always talked way older than her age.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Sounds more mature than Yeah, but I was also kind of thinking like the fucking Riverdale um script. I don't know why that one went through my head. Yeah. But Bethel noticed like the time, and he realized that the like those sort of like the last showing of the movie. And when you notice that, guess what he also noticed?

unknown 36:26

What?

SPEAKER_00 36:26

Solid black eyes on the children. Oh my god. Okay, like fuck them kids. Fuck them kids. Fuck them kids. I will punt those ass. No, because you gotta get out your car to punt them. Oh yeah, true. Crank that window up, baby. Crank that window up. Drive over them. I'll drive over them. We can leave them. You would hit them with your car. I'll hit them with my fucking car. And like when Fuck them kids and fuck you too.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

Pretty much. Pretty much. Really glad I didn't do the original story.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

We realized that would have been horrible. That would have been terrible.

SPEAKER_02 37:03

We had to, we had to like thank God. Anyways. Thank God that's gonna be its own episode. But I got a lot to say about that one. Anyway.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

After noticing the eyes, that's when he started feeling like a crushing dread. And like the kids, like they keep on like wanting, like insisting, just like let me let me in the garden. Let me in, let me in, let me in.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Give me a ride. Come on. You know you want to.

SPEAKER_00 37:35

Yeah, exactly. And like like a peer pressure from a 10-year-old and a 14-year-old. I mean my kids. Anyways, like and they kept on saying stuff like we can't come in unless you tell us it's okay. Let us in. Alright. I'm gonna be getting to that. Don't worry, I'll get to that little thing. And like, like any reasonable person, he rolled up his window. He knocked the fuck out there. And noped the fuck out there. You know what? Smart decision. Right. And but by the time he looked looked back, the call I was vacant again. So mysterious. Like sewer people. Sewer. No, that's what I do on the weekends. I know. But okay, so this event took place in 1996, but he didn't really talk about it until 1998, and that's when he kind of posted it on a form, like supernatural form, like with some friends. But I couldn't really find it.

SPEAKER_02 38:44

So the early days of the interwebs. The early days. That AOL dial-up. Traumatized. Mom, I'm on the computer. Damn it, I was downloading a song.

SPEAKER_00 38:59

And a virus.

SPEAKER_02 39:01

Yay, Lamwire.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

And as a result of that, that became actually the first recorded sighting of the BKs, which was start of the entire modern urban legend. Bethel did have like one other thing. Like he later mentioned in the story that a trusted friend told him about something that happened in Portland. And like, you know, it's like the same similar story. Like, okay. I'm not gonna go in on about a lot of stories, like, because they're all pretty much the same, almost the same. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:39

Yeah, so if all not- I don't know a lot about these little fuckers, but I know enough.

SPEAKER_00 39:44

Yeah, like if you probably heard one story, you probably heard all of them. A good chunk of them. There's some variations, but we'll get into that later. Spoilers. So it was a similar story. Adult and encountered kids like standing near the car, and the tale repeats itself. There was being polite, asking for help. There was a crushing pressure. Let me in.

unknown 40:13

Let me in.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

Why are you whispering? Because you're whispering. Well, I'm being the creepy black-eyed kid right now. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Let me in. I can't come in until you invite me. You know you want to invite me.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

Okay, like go a little more high-pitched. Just let me in. Come on, guy. Just let me in. Okay, now sound a little more monotone.

SPEAKER_02 40:33

I I can't do that. No. I've never been good at monotone. And I've never had a high-pitched voice, so. I could do a good monotone if I needed to. I learned to not do it when I worked at a call center.

SPEAKER_00 40:48

Damn it, call center. Anyways. Like crushing pressure, the black eyes, and the need to nope the fuck out of there as fast as you can. Like, as I said, you heard one of these stories, you pretty much You've heard them all. But now but there's another story I'm about to begin to. But first, let's get into what they look like. And like over the next little insert picture of me from 2014. Like over the next 30 years, so like hundreds of ports will be coming in and like appearing online. Like, as I said, the stories differ, but still have the common elements, such as kids aging with age ranging from 6, 16, paler skin, thin builds, monetone voice. And some say they like have slightly outdated clothing, but also like said that just they're just wearing hoodies. And like it just gives off like this really uncanny valley effect, like, because they seem like something I I saw is like they seem to learn hum um humanity through observation. Which I but they're kids, so they don't pay attention. Whatever these things are, they really did not do their they didn't do all of their homework. They didn't do all their homework, yeah. And of course, who can forget the solid black eyes? You know, what they're fucking named after. And another um consistency is always asking um for ride to use a phone to go home and that stuff. But they always ask for um permission, but they can't force their way in. But they do get persistent if you don't indulge them, you know. So a typical kid. So typical kid, yeah. Kind of like they work on they work on vampire logic, like they you have to be invited, you have to be invited, or else they can't really do shit to you. And the last thing the last thing that all someone's have stories have in comedy, comedy in common, in common, fucking English, love that for me. Fucking words, how do they work? I don't know. Yeah, I know. Well, the thing is, I was good in English, so was I, yeah, but we we don't get paid to talk.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

But we really don't yet. Yet. Hey, hey, like and subscribe. Find us on YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook, and go to our website, feral nightmares.com.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

Thank you. Love, love and support. And okay, where was I? Oh yeah. Last and certainly not least, the accompanying dread that follows the encounters. Like, honestly. It just seems like any type of interaction with a children for me for a child with me, like Yeah. I mean, yeah. Yeah. This is gonna be chaotic. I understand. The audio is chaotic. You're chaotic. I am. Okay, now here's an eerie story that I did find.

Doorstep Tales And Invitation Rule

SPEAKER_00 44:00

Of it happened during a Vermont blizzard, and it was a couple woke up during a snowstorm to find two children standing outside of their door, and the children weren't dressed for the weather, and they were like strangely strangely calm and speaking in vain vague. Sorry, my English is not good right now. Almost and it is his first language. I have no respect for our own language. I know this, but I need you to work on it. Okay. Like they sound almost like rehearsed. Like, you know So nothing like us. So nothing like us, yeah. No, we go on this wild dog. We do against a couple's better judgment. They let them inside. Well, you know. You know, like and like if I saw a child, like outside in a blizzard, yeah, my hoodie. My first instinct is just like come in, get out of the cold.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

Like I'm gonna ask questions first.

SPEAKER_00 44:57

That's just me. Yeah, no, but like, this does get into something that I'm gonna be talking about later. And like, as I said, they do what any good Samaritan would do. Let the kid inside, put blankets around them, trying to make sure that they're warm. But then, but the sense of unease that they have, like, never went away, and had some point it just got impossible to ignore. And like the other stories, they notice the black eyes. Like, the thing is, how do you not notice the black eyes first? Like, you only notice it after they're already inside. Like, that's just me.

SPEAKER_02 45:36

Because they were okay, they were more concerned about like their well-being, yeah, and the fact that they were un underdressed for the weather.

SPEAKER_03 45:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:45

And then once you get them inside and you get a good look at it, making sure they're not like blue and you know, frozen. Oh shit, you're that's wow. Okay. Beautiful eyes.

SPEAKER_00 45:57

Don't blame my souls, you know. And like eventually the kids do get up and leave the house, like, with no explanation, and going back into the storm. Some versions of the story add like more to the aftermath, including like illnesses, nosebleeds, missing animals, and a sense of something like is following them inside. Yeah, I've been saw one saying that like the um cats died, which one demons.

SPEAKER_03 46:24

Demons.

SPEAKER_00 46:26

Okay. And like, as I said, I'm not gonna be getting into a lot of stories because as I said, you heal one of them, you pretty much almost heal all of them at this point. So now let's get into some of some of the theories

Theories And Internet Folklore Machine

SPEAKER_00 46:42

behind them. Oh, yeah, they're demon vampires, dude. Oh yeah or aliens, or demon vampire aliens. You also forgot the Faye.

SPEAKER_02 46:52

I'm a Fae.

SPEAKER_00 46:54

Just because you're middle just because that's part of your name doesn't mean that you are one.

SPEAKER_02 46:59

I mean, ears are kind of pointy. My eyes are damn near black.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

I mean, you are a whimsical bitch, but like And I'm I mean little shit. So when I want to be. But like you do see like all the commonalities with all the folklores.

SPEAKER_02 47:16

Who stepped in the circle? I did. Good job, Zach.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

I know. But like, yeah, we literally just kind of hit on all of the things that they could be. Like with like with the vampires, they need a permissioner. And like Demons theme. Yeah. And like being compared to like Faye and like changelings, like with the way, like, because you know how like in stories how the Fay Act they are strange, polite, um, speech patterns, like but off. But off, like, and they attempt to lure people into potential dang dangerous situations, and also like man-fires, demons, aliens. Yeah. And then they've also been they hit the big four, they really do, and also like they seem to be like some sort of like phobophage or like psychic predator that feeds on fear. Yes. And like, we know um we said also said demon, or like some sort of like evil spirits. And like they've all there have also been theories that the souls of dead children and are linked to local ghost stories surrounding particularly tragic and violent deaths of children, which gets me into another story that's actually a little more outside of the norm. A little bit, still has a common commonalities. That was good timing.

SPEAKER_02 48:46

That really was. Like I hoped to god it got caught. Huh? I hope that got caught. I hope it did too. If it didn't, it's thundering.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

Okay, so there was a story that involves a ghost stories and connections to BEKs. In 2014, Lee Brinkley, a British um singer and paranormal investigator, spoke about investigating rumors of BEKs and Canuck Chase, where his um where a mother and daughter were walking down um street and heard screaming and spot a child walking alone. And you know, at that point, like maternal instincts kick in and the mother went chasing after the child, but yeah. Fuck that kid. Fucking white people.

SPEAKER_02 49:34

Like, I just okay. One I'm a seasoned cracker. Two, I'm a Trisket bitch. Uh I'm bougie. I'm artisanal. Anyway. Artesian. Yeah. I'm an artisanal cracker. So I get to say it, you don't. I'm white, I because you know I glow in the dark. I glow in the daylight shit. Um you have fucking disco ball when needed. Right. So, no, in that situation, you're walking with your child, you see it, hear some screams, and you see a child walking by themselves, you pull out your phone and go, hello, 911. Yeah. I'm gonna drop a pen. You send somebody out here. Yeah. You don't go chasing after another child.

SPEAKER_00 50:23

You really don't, and like that's also putting your own child in danger as well. I'm sorry. That's no. No. But she couldn't catch up to the child. So when but when she turns around, the child's standing there, like covering her eyes. And like it seems it seems to be like a girl, like around the age of 10, but when she moves it, black eyes. And like the mom, like, and obviously, like the mother grabbed her child and like stepped the fuck back. Right.

SPEAKER_02 50:51

Trying, like, trying to protect her child, which which, bitch, if you had not ran chasing this child, you would not be in this situation. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_00 50:58

Sorry, but that was nearly putting your own child in danger. I'm I'm just gonna They're gonna. Where's my crayons? Okay, I got the pencils right here. Okay. But by the time that she'll never bring Rose Art into my house. That's shit. But by the time that the woman turned back around, the child was gone.

SPEAKER_03 51:20

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 51:22

Nope. And Winkley, like, he wrote a book about supernatural stuff in London. And he claimed that the same girl was actually a ghost, and that his aunt encountered the same creature 30 years prior in 1982. Like, within like the same area. He said that his aunt heard a child crying in the middle of night and went out looking for looking for the child, which again, just like Obviously, these are not people who grew up in Appalachian.

SPEAKER_02 51:56

Oh, yeah. You you thought you heard some at night? No, you didn't. No, you didn't. No, you didn't.

SPEAKER_00 52:05

Nah, I look I'm colouring to calm myself down at the moment. No, I literally put in, first off, no, you didn't. Second off, fuck them kids. See, we know. We know. When it when his aunt reached the child, the child seemed to be around six-ish. The child looked up at her with solid black eyes before vanishing back into the woods. Yep. Nope. Yep, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. The signing of this BEK seemed to be connected to a real life tragedy surrounding one of the largest police investigations in British history for the murderer of three local school girls within the Canuck Chase area in the 60s. And all this seems to influence Winkley's decision to classify this as a ghost rather than a BEK.

SPEAKER_02 52:54

Hang on. Canook Chase?

SPEAKER_00 52:57

Yeah, it might be a might be a story for some time. I am so glad I can give you content. Hey. Hey. And like and like this all seems to be like a perfect example of like what a modern folklore is. Because this phenomenon began with a specific story, and then over time people unconsciously copied its structure, and it's spread through the internet via email chains, forums, paranormal websites, creepy pastas, YouTubes, and of course, podcasts. Hey, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 53:42

Hi there, Feral Nightmares.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

Like and subscribe. There was even a comic book series called BEK. Of course there was. There was. That further expands on the myth and said that the and like in the comic book it says that the origin of the BEKs start starts when uh when children murder the family members and then they become BEKs.

SPEAKER_02 54:06

Does that involve waking up with your three-year-old arranging candles around a crystal ball? No. Okay, I'm good.

SPEAKER_00 54:12

I just think that your child was trying to summon something into the house before they realized that this is how you get demons. Oh no, I taught my children from a very early age on demons.

SPEAKER_02 54:25

And like all Y'all, seriously, like my I we're joking. We joke, but this is all real stuff that has happened with my youngest child.

SPEAKER_00 54:36

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:38

Like I said, I One's gonna be a murderer.

SPEAKER_00 54:43

One's gonna get murdered. One's gonna be a murderer, and one's gonna be murdered. And like, and all of this, like, just spread and reinforced the legend which gave rise to these many offshoots of the BEKs while still like maintaining like the core principles that we discussed earlier. And the other um elements that are added in, such as doorways, protective prayers, sudden disappearances, and even flashes of light. There's even a reddit story where saying that they're radioactive, and after like after this woman encountered some BEKs, she developed um symptoms like nosebleeds. Radioactive. Yeah. And she got radiation poisoning. Yeah, radiation poisoning. That's the words I'm looking for. And she went to get it checked out and she was diagnosed with skin cancer. Okay. And like, as I said earlier, like all this stuff just seems to be like an amalgamation of ancient like Motice instead of like its own true like thing. It just seems like an amalgamation of like different folklores. It's the millennial Dracula. It's the millennial Dracula. And like, honestly, I think these stories are interesting because they tap into like the twisted idea of childhood innocence. Yes. Like, we see child childhood as like innocent, vulnerable, and like to an extent. You need to protect them. Like, you need to protect children. And like, whatever these entities are, they exploit that to protect the children. Yeah. And they prey upon protective instincts around children. They turn childhood innocence into something remote and manipulative. And they turn human empathy into a liability. Yeah. I mean, good for them. I mean, good for them, like good hunting strategy strategies. I mean, yeah, if you're gonna That actually brings me into um something interesting.

SPEAKER_02 56:41

Fucking psychic vampires, that's what they are.

SPEAKER_00 56:44

That could be something.

SPEAKER_02 56:46

No, I mean literally, because the psychic vampire feeds off of your energy and especially fear and stress and all of that.

SPEAKER_00 56:54

As I said earlier, like some sort of phobophage.

unknown 56:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 56:57

And like that actually reminds me of an anime that I watched called Free Ren Beyond's Journey's End. Because in there there are demons that are so I'm like they took in they took human appearances to try and deceive and get closer to humans in order to eat them. And in one episode, like there was a demon child that okay, so this is all based off like D style fantasy. And like so the party was gonna kill it, and they tried saying, Wait, I have a mother, but no bitch. Nope. Like they don't understand like they just didn't understand the concept of a mother or empathy, and know that's what people say in order for like someone to try to spill their life.

SPEAKER_02 57:50

And usually don't. I have kids. Don't have kids. Or they messed it up a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 57:57

Yeah, and like what should we call it? And like that just like there's like a mixture of like thunder and like someone racing down the street. But yeah, like that's also what comes into my mind when I'm like thinking about this and like twisting that like need to protect into something horrific and dangerous. Like honestly, I kind of like think of it as more of an amalgamation of like different folklores.

SPEAKER_02 58:31

I mean it's very interesting, but I stand by my previous statement about the fuck them kids. Fuck them kids.

SPEAKER_00 58:39

That is a pretty good sentiment to have overall. Fuck them kids. I love my children. I love some other people's children. I promise. I mean, I don't have kids myself, but I'm a pretty cool uncle. You really are. Yeah. So, yeah, that's my story for today. Yeah, fuck them kids. Fuck them kids.

Final Warnings And Social Links

SPEAKER_02 59:00

Um so yeah, that's don't seriously, if you you don't go chasing down a child.

SPEAKER_00 59:11

Don't go chasing children. That's not yours.

SPEAKER_02 59:13

You call the police. No, you did not hear anything screaming at night. No, they did not call your name. No, that is not your child in the middle of the woods. No, it's never a mannequin.

SPEAKER_00 59:24

Um, yeah, that's been our stories for today.

SPEAKER_02 59:30

All right. So we've already said it once, twice, maybe. I don't think we did the full thing, but you can find us on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X, and Facebook at Feral Nightmares Podcast. And you can find us on our website at feral nightmare.com. And you can email us at gmail or at feral nightmare's gmail.com. Yes. So if you have any story suggestions, you just want to tell us what we're doing good. If you want to tell us we fucking suck, do it. It's not gonna affect how I feel about myself. Same.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:05

And um just uh giving us that content.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:08

Like so giving us those views. So right. So yeah, that's it for now.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:14

Yeah, I mean, until like 10 minutes later.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:16

And 10 minutes later when we record the next one. Yeah, that one's gonna be funky. That one's gonna be a little funky.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:21

All right, yeah. So yay! Sweet dreams, and fill nightmares, and fuck them kids, fuck them kids.