Unmasking "The Cracking Man", a Possessed Clown Doll | Episode 008 | Haunted Objects Podcast

[@malloryr4883]

Can I just say that the Connor reveal was a true moment of cinematic genius

[@DeaDBeaT187]

Greg looks like if pennywise was played by Dwight from the office 😆 Dana looks cute 😍

[@hollybeary]

Greg just needs Dwight's glasses 😆

[@ignatiusb.samson977]

"...My soul would rocket out of my butthole and fly away to a different dimension..." 12:09. I cannot remember laughing quite so much as this in a very long time.

[@kestopia1993]

When the camera was on Connor, I started wheezing. 😂

[@hazelmartin7911]

It kept making me giggle every time it switched to Connor and you could see all the clowns in the monitor.

[@iside42]

Oh god just too funny.

[@oct2182]

I wasn’t looking at the screen when the episode started and absolutely lost it when I turned back. Fantastic episode

[@SandraPokorneyCmonDude]

OMG The same!!!

[@HelloNewMoon]

Same 😂😂 just casually talking about chiropractics and then 🤡🤡🤡

[@ricardomejias4771]

i throughly enjoyed how the clown outfits weren't explicitly referenced, they wore them like it was just another outfit, as a true clown would...

[@julie1631]

"I've never been less attracted to someone than seeing someone I was attracted to dressed like a clown."- Greg Newkirk sitting directly across from his wife...who is currently dressed like a clown 🤣

[@Gashzilla666]

Dana: "...rocket out of my butthole and fly away to a different dimension"...this is the content I am HERE FOR!!!

[@MarcosCodas]

Same!

[@julierobbins6216]

As a mental health professional I am utterly fascinated by the idea of not generational curses but generational trauma --and how this impacts families with possible paranormal trauma….

[@Error.Valkyrie]

I was NOT expecting Conner's costume and oh my god that was great 🤣

[@coreypriest9933]

I NEED a ”Hellier” , season 3. Bring it on! I LOVE YOU Conner, Dana & Greg!

[@bagandbroad]

My dad became a Shriner clown when I was in high school, and suddenly a bunch of clowns were hanging around the house all the time. It was brutal because clowns hung for introverts and won’t leave them alone. The more you don’t like them the more they bother you to try to win you over.

[@beckybrett7832]

The way I HOWLED with laughter the moment your faces appeared in full clown just casually talking there

[@wooly7396]

People formed a posse to hunt clowns? That's insane!

[@HelloNewMoon]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@PlantEnchantress]

I work for a chiropractor and the videos online are pretty aggressive.... they turn the volume up on it etc. Chiro is now covered by most insurance companies because it does have its place in the medical field. It helps pregnant woman get the spine aligned for labor pains, bulging disks, whiplash in the neck. It helps ease the pain of arthritis, and fibromyalgia. The chiro's I work for also went to school to study medical science. So it's not just spiritual anymore. Thats more old school chiropractic. ..... BUT I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!! Always get excited when a new one is uploaded!! LOVE THE COSTUMES LOL!!

[@ignatiusb.samson977]

Another phenomenal episode. The cold open with no mention of the clown outfits... Genius! And the Emmit Kelly story. Again you unearth amazing stories.

[@tvav69]

Maybe The Cracking Man wanted her to burn the clown because his spirit is trapped inside by the prayer pin and if he was burned it would destroy the pin and set his spirit free to wander the world terrorizing people with his cracking bones. Phenomenal episode guys!!

[@jema_23]

Dana and her Ghostbusters II references make me so happy :)

[@forsakethelight]

Thank you for letting people know about (and explaining) the DR60 recorder. It makes me crazy to see all these shows and paranormal groups using these recorders and claiming the responses are actual 'evidence.' I don't understand why so many people use them when we know for a fact that they are defective. I pretty much dismiss anything that is recorded by these recorders. I feel like there are a lot of people who watch paranormal shows who don't know about this.

[@iside42]

Although I still find the Sallie house one from AL very scary

[@achohelelwhy]

Dana, definitely check out Jimbo the Drag Clown-- also Canadian!

[@ahedgewitch]

That look from Connor at 1:30:43 is priceless! Thanks again for another episode!

[@aliciaczachowski1947]

Clowns definitely creep me the heck out, but I laughed out loud when Connor showed up on screen the first time.

[@kaceymontgomery]

Omg that cold open and "shit myself to death" hilarious

[@Vixenventures]

I once heard that some folks are actually subconsciously drawn to horror movies and violent video games because it's a safe and anonymous way to re-encounter some traumatic that happened to them and resolve it without ever having to talk about it or consciously deal with it.

[@wigglyennui]

That's a big part of why I watch true crime.. it's a safe way to re experience/process my trauma, and the bad guy gets caught in the end.

[@Vixenventures]

@@wigglyennui Exactly. The ending where the bad guy always gets caught is supposed to help re-write what happened also. It's pretty cool to think tv is quietly helping folks like this.

[@beachvermin]

the first time my life changed completely was when i watched hellier for the first time. the second time my life changed completely was when i hit play on a new objects pod episode only to see greg and dana newkirk dressed as actual clowns. either way, so glad our paths crossed. keep on being awesome

[@Akeyma]

10000% this.

[@beachvermin]

@@Akeyma you can't possibly come back from either of those things

[@talkuntilthejoyisgone3549]

I was not prepared for that Connor reveal....

[@TheNightBook]

The amount of random information I gleam from these podcasts is astounding. Not to mention you all make me laugh to hard. Wonderful as always.

[@SactownOwen]

I've had sleep paralysis my entire life. My poor parents had no idea why I was so hysterical at night as a baby and I have never outgrown them. It's awful and I truly think things take advantage of us when we are trapped in that state.

[@SamIAm2000]

I enjoyed this episode so much guys. Such a sinister story about Weary Willie and the family issues that happened.

[@MarcoVisconti]

I need to make a Dark Side of the Clown album now!

[@linalitonjua5419]

I never knew anything about the Emmett Kelly clown "possession" and the history of Weary Willy! (Good work Connor!) That is seriously creepy. There was also a local kids weekday afternoon show in Los Angeles, starring a tramp clown named Hobo Kelly. She (yes, this tramp clown was female) had the same look as Emmett Kelly, would host cartoons, call the kid viewers "Mischief Makers", and had a gigantic box that was filled with toys that she'd give away every day to a kid who sent in a postcard, selected at random. A friend of mine actually won one time. I always wondered how Hobo Kelly could come up with all these toys if she was a tramp. I was a logical kid. GREAT episode, guys!

[@lyriawitch6861]

Just when I think that it could not get better or funnier, you all prove me wrong. I love the podcast and just live my life waiting for the new episode. Love you all!!!🥰

[@rubybananers8215]

Y'all have fast become my new favorite podcast. This was a great episode. Also made me oddly nostalgic for my time making costumes for the RB&BB Clowns.

[@iside42]

Omg I can't believe you did the episode dressed as clowns. I died laughing 😃

[@ςατυηιηεψιηδ]

This was such a good episode on Spotify that I had to visit you guys here!!! Keep up the great work y’all, with much Love From California

[@oscillatewildly6553]

You guys should have Stevo on your Podcast, he graduated from Clown College ... to Jackass ... To mountains of coke and PCP and had paranormal experiences, spent two years in rehab and is healthy happy in love and doing his own podcast, all of this you probably know! Just thought I'd mention it

[@asstronuggets]

Man I love you 3. Every episode scratches an itch I didn’t even know I had. Can’t wait for the next episode! Love connors priest theory

[@HauntedMoons-]

This episode reminded me that Jack Nicholson warned Heath Ledger about playing the Joker, but refused to elaborate further. Kinda ominous lol

[@kevinmeece4672]

Holy Shit!!! Listened to the podcast yesterday and had no idea you guys did this in costume. You we're right, totally different experience.

[@linneakou]

I'm barely a minute in and I'm losing it at the costumes

[@morrislary4576]

I'm another of those people that listened without looking at the screen for like the first 10 minutes, then glanced up and freaked my shit.

[@bryna7]

I was pleasantly shocked by Connor's costume.

[@SuperPhoneDialer]

GUYS about the "weary Willie" situation: My family also has one of these, my little sister has inherited an "alternate personality" or whatever from my father. Weirdly it's a male "character" but my father only had daughters, and she is the youngest of three sisters (He was also the youngest of three brothers, now that i think about it). It's so strange, we don't talk about it much, it's just a weird fact. She surrounds herself with things that confirms this male character, such as living on a street with the same name as him, aquiring objects with his name (for example china where the branding is his name) and draws comics about him. She started doing this before we even knew my dad had "it", you see he died when we where kinda young and we came over a series of journals later on when his mother died he had kept secret from his youth and young adulthood that where describing this alter. I had no idea other families had this and now I need to know if it's a thing or a weird coincidence. I remember how freaked out we where when reading the journals especially my sister that he also had this guy kinda existing in him? I swear she is not mentally ill, she has a stable life and a steady job. With time we just accepted it. It sounds crazy typing it out...

[@therealantsquish7991]

I love this conversation - and watching you guys be serious in full makeup and costume

[@gabrielastarr21]

This was such a phenomenal podcast episode! I love everything y'all do, but this was a perfect journey to listen to. You made something scary, really interesting and fun. My favorite so far!

[@JulesTheTrickster]

I may be biased, but I have a feeling this is going to be my favorite episode yet.

[@alienpilled]

🚨 citizen's arrest 🚨 Connor looks too good in his clown getup

[@spooksgallery1447]

I thought the Cracking Man was a little red headed doll that had no pants. A kind friend made some pants for him. It's possible I have my little dolls mixed up.

[@gammabob5414]

As a kid in the 80s, I met Emmett Kelly, Jr. I was literally about to type "sweeping up the spotlight" right before you guys mentioned it : )

[@KyraThomsen]

Brilliant episode! My theory is that the original witness 'trained' their subconscious mind to be alert to the cracking sound (perhaps a naturally occuring sound in their environment) in order the find the source of the sound (they say in the letter that they have been trying to track the sound) and when they were dreaming and their unconscious mind heard the cracking sound it alerted/forced them out of REM sleep and resulted in sleep paralysis. It's possible the cracking sound is paranormal, but if we assume the figure they saw is sleep paralysis then it's probable that the catalyst for the sleep paralysis is the subconscious trained to find the sound. Also the idea to burn it was planted by the friends that she was with when she found the box in the basement, and the first thing they said was to 'kill it with fire' (a meme-y joke but could have implanted the idea in her mind).

[@shaunthompson9324]

Hell yeah..... love this channel 😍... you guys are awesome....thank you 😊

[@julesniner1766]

I absolutely fricken love you guys!

[@jennnorman9382]

I wasn't ready for the Clown costumes lol!! Especially Connor!! Really awesome show guys!

[@Ed_Zachery]

I had to stop…..collect myself…..after “soul out of my butthole”…..😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@itchywitch5923]

I had both suffocating and intruder sleep paralysis. Then I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Turns out I was just… not breathing….

[@Graylec_Neil]

Well . . . That was weird . . . Also, I'm never eating celery again!

[@kailab7756]

I'm terrified of clowns, but I love this podcast so much that I'm still watching it.

[@elementsoftarot]

Oh my God.. 😂😂😂😂 ! I was not expecting the costumes! Brilliant! As always, I listen first in my car on the way to/from work and watch after to see any visuals. Well, this was a visual! Ha ha ha! You guys never let on at all! So so good! (PS- this is Aldona on my public channel).

[@unosukeKawazu]

Willie sounds like Tyler Durden in the Fight Club comics

[@borisdevilboon8064]

Omg i nearly did a spit take when i saw Connor 🤣

[@sparklywaistcoatproduction1254]

"Slapstick" is called that because the physical comedy of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian commedia dell'arte involved the characters using a kind of clapper to make the noise of someone being hit. That clapper became known as a slapstick, and then the word eventually got connected with broad physical comedy more generally. Commedia dell'arte involved stock clown characters such as Harlequin, Scaramouche, and Pierrot.

[@weirdsalt1775]

I listened to only the podcast yesterday and loved it. Then saw the image for this episode on KZbin and realised I needed to see y'all dressed up 🤣

[@UlricaMC]

I'm one of the kids who saw a clown too early. I don't know how old I was, but I was young enough to be carried by my mom. And it totally was the abnormality of the clowns that got to me - the big feet, the big nose etc. After that I even felt that the proboscis monkey was a bit creepy with its "abnormal" nose. These days (I'm 47), how I react to a clown depends on the situation - I love Pennywise (I think that Tim Curry's version was creepier though, because he looked more like a traditional clown). But clowns can still creep me out at times, like make my skin crawl but I'm not scared.

[@PearliBOMB]

Watching this was PROFOUNDLY disquieting.

[@ravenm4826]

Great episode guys!!! Love that you never address the...uh...'clown' in the room

[@Wendylyle]

One of the biggest clown characters in my childhood was Red Skelton.

[@nibordiabla7493]

Oops!! Be careful, your age is showing.😁

[@Wendylyle]

I’m not a host. Couldn’t care less.

[@jenniferloving9054]

My parents introduced me to Red Skelton. Thankfully, I don't have colurophobia.

[@katerosario1139]

Great episode! I learn so much in every video, I’m so glad you guys started a podcast!! ❤️

[@janetc988]

Great episode, like how you dressed up for the occasion.

[@francinebacone1455]

My mother was a "Clown for Christ", she kidnapped me and one of my siblings and raised us in filth and poverty in a trailer park in the deep South. I have Complex-PTSD from these events. She even dated clowns. And her clown dated clowns. uggggghhhh. I have stories. ... and issues. lol.

[@PorkinsTheWhite]

Something that was interesting about Gacy's clown makeup is it was different than other clown makeup. It was very pointed, lots of triangles where other clowns would have more rounded shapes.

[@cailapilo3672]

I was once called a “sexy clown” by a coworker trying to ask me out. Let me tell you, it was not well received at the time but has since become one of my favorite stories to tell people. I have never in my life heard someone else utter the phrase “sexy clown” until today, and while I’m somewhat triggered, I’m also wondering if Dana reached through space and time to pull this phrase from my brain hahaha. Great episode as always!

[@greatlakesnarwhalmichellee4507]

Sadly I didn't have many friends so being a nice clown is a why to have friends and bring joy to others. Smilee' the clown

[@mayonakaame]

Strip Clubs are liminal spaces! I was a dancer for a few years and absolutely had some (very minor) identity things pop up between my stage personality and myself. + SWers often are very spiritual/attract the paranormal. There's a big crossover between SWers, Healers, and magical practices.

[@sarahsimmons4583]

The fact that y’all made it through the entire episode without laughing at each other is huge! Not a clown fan, but I like them a tiny bit more after learning so much about them. Still not gonna buy any though.

[@batmanlovesamanda]

OMG...love that you called the DR60 "primo". That word/name is incredibly relevant to the Sallie House EVP the Astonishing Legends team got on their DR60.

[@misshoneychurch8153]

Maybe the Priest had a box of cursed objects?

[@Jen10Jen29]

I am deceased. I listened to this whole episode on the podcast and you absolutely never even HINT that you’re in costume

[@shadowcadence378]

Aahh, this was a really scary story! Love the clown costumes, Connor looks fantastic 🤣 When they said the doll came from a priests house and then later described the mummy man for the first time, I immediately thought that figure was the priest, and that the "do not open" box was full of cursed items the priest had been asked to bless/exorcise. I'm completely convinced that's the explanation. I think that the physical phenomena of sleep paralysis puts us into a liminal state that, like other liminal states, allows manifestation of the paranormal. Maybe the cracking man can only visually manifest in that state, but it's easier for him to manifest as just sounds the rest of the time? It's gotta take more energy to manifest both in sound and sight.

[@DeaDBeaT187]

I was not ready for the clown make up and spit my drink out...

[@SactownOwen]

Me, 1 second in: IS THIS THE BEST EPISODE YET? I'm gonna go with yes.

[@juliebuol7622]

I lived in Chicago when John Wayne Gacy was doing birthday party’s. The weird thing is that for our 4th bday party my parents hired a clown for my twin sister and me. In my memory, he looks exactly like JWG. Like FREAKY! We grew up loving Bozo the clown. Looking back at it now, I think, wtf were my parents thinking? Lol 😂

[@chachachubs5600]

Conner... lmao Why can conner pull off clowning so well?

[@ColeWoodruffMusic]

57:00 I've experienced sleep paralysis twice in my life. Once in college it happened and I was literally awake and could hear and see my roommates talking, my alarm go off on my phone, and texts coming in, but could not move. And the second time I was laying on my stomach with my head under my pillow when I felt a person push on my back and crawl onto my bed and I saw long hair hanging down over my pillow but it jumped off before I could see the face and I was left paralyzed staring at the wall for several mins. My bed frame creaked very loudly any time you got into the bed and I vividly remember hearing the bed creak as this entity crawled onto my back. Both of my experiences have involved sounds. Two of the most terrifying experiences I've had.

[@eilfiemusic1836]

The clown looks so cute! Would love a more detail image of the painting wrapped around the Clown. I’m guessing the painting didn’t have any artist markings? Really good show and I love how you went into such detail on the history of clowns and the archetype. Did not know about the Weary Willie separate personality.

[@MikeArcher_HauntedSoldier]

I hate clowns but freaking love this episode and only 12 mins in!!! The clown costumes have me rolling and then the first shot to Connor and I lost it!!! Yessssssss to all of this!!

[@Selene13zz]

I'm with Dana - clowns are inherently creepy & murderous (except maybe French Cirque Du Soleil clowns).

[@irememberjeepz]

Oh man, I was not expecting that. Just two clowns having that opening conversation. I lost it. 😂

[@bellaloco7910]

So weird watching you clowns … borderline freaky watching intelligent, engaging and fascinating conversation among clowns for so long. I think I was getting a teensy bit hypnotized by looking at your eyes so intently for such a long time. Something about the ‘unreal’ aspect of your faces made me really focus on your eyes. It seemed like everyone’s eyes got redder and glassier as time moved along and that sort of tranced me out even more. Luckily I fully snapped out of it when Greg went for the chips … I literally almost pooped my pants. 🙏✌

[@shelldust7143]

Fantastic episode again guys!! Great costumes!! Interesting clown facts!! Thank you!

[@bridgetvest7645]

Who chose Connor's look? I imagine him saying, " I don't want to." Great look!

[@randalalansmith9883]

Hobo: Travels while working. Tramp: Travels but doesn't work. Bum: Does neither.

[@metalheadtakesthesquare]

"I'd shit my pants to death." 😅😅

[@spooky.scoundrel]

I have debilitating coulrophobia but I love you both too much to not watch this someone help me

[@mullinaxfamily]

Maybe the clown belonged to a sick child and the priest blessed it for them before they had surgery or chemotherapy or something like that. 🥺

[@brenna9007]

I died when I looked at the screen and saw these costumes! Brilliant!

[@eSportDjango]

Summoning a Scary Clown GF at 3:00AM (Gone Sexual)

[@saraharosa4584]

Always, always find each episode fascinating...until this one...genuinely creeped OUT...interestingly enough my granny, a teacher, worked at a school with the custodian who grew up with his family working Ringling Brothers...this guy, as a child, knowing Emmett Kelly and a "sad clown" with Willie...as children my granny took my siblings and I to this custodian's house where he proceeded to dress up as Traveling Willie and did a few magic tricks and shared a few stories growing up in the circus and Mr. Kelly...the only thing I really remember about the experience was an overwhelming sense of creepy sadness...forgot about it until I watched this episode. Excellent as always but geez...

[@naimayaman4975]

This just made me love clowns even more! Cute doll

[@AMiniki]

Oh god why? 😂 I hate clowns… I blame my siblings making me watch It when I was little. I spent months terrified of showering because I was afraid It would come out of the pipes. I still feel my heart skip a beat whenever I see a clown. I did stop looking at my screen.

[@PyckledNyk]

I don’t know why but the word “bones” and all the words describing what would happen to those bones have all been making me laugh my butt off