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Hello again, I'm Trevor Henderson. Just a few updates before we get to today's episode. First, you can get early and ad-free access to all of our episodes when you listen on the Apollo Podcast app. And if you purchase an episode or a season pass in December, everything is half off. You can learn more by searching for Apollo Podcasts in the iOS or Google Play Store. Second, did you know that we're on YouTube? You can watch a version of our show on the Screenbox YouTube channel or find a link in our show notes. We have new episodes coming soon. And now, this week's episode.
We are The Watchers.
Observers of the strange, paranormal, occult, unwelcome, unspiritual, horrifying, mystical, secret, transcendent, repulsive, captivating, unwelcome, appalling, gruesome, unseen, magic, weird, revolting, intrusive, horrifying, unseen.
Welcome to the Mayfair Watchers Society. The camera's sorted? Thank you, sweetheart. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the second quarterly meeting of the Mayfair Town Hall. Let me start by thanking those of you who showed up. I understand there was some confusion given the date, but...
I mean, we always knew that sooner or later the stars would align and the first weekend of April would happen to fall on the first day of April, so... I'm seeing quite a few empty chairs this time. I guess not everybody got the memo that the date of this quarter's meeting wasn't a joke, huh? Before we get started on this meeting's agenda, I'd like to direct your attention to the camera we've got set up in the far back corner there.
No, other side, folks. We weren't about to set it up by the door to the restrooms, were we? Come on now. In case you're happy to have missed the last couple of meetings, a decision was made back in October to record all the town hall meetings going forward for the benefit of the Alfred P. Scanlon Jr. Political Society. These kids, man. When I was in high school, you couldn't have paid me to listen to an adult talk policy. Huh.
With that out of the way, the first item on today's agenda concerns graffiti. I know we've talked about this before, but it continues to be an issue, hence why it's coming up again. Now, if you were here last July, you know a decision was made to expand certain youth engagement programs as a way to try and mitigate this sort of destructive behavior.
But despite the valiant efforts of Miss Siobhan Winters of Scanlon High and a promising start to the initiative, we've since been informed by members of the Neighborhood Watch that reports are on the rise again. With that in mind, I'd like to propose that we... Couple kids been painting peckers and hoo-hahs on the sides of utility boxes. You think that's the biggest problem our Mayfair's got, do you, Davey? Meredith, I didn't know you attended these. I don't.
You think I make a habit out of wasting my time watching the town idiots jerk each other off over who's responsible for cutting the grass around the fire hydrant? Meredith, I'd like to remind you that these meetings are being recorded for the benefit of our youth. If you'd ever bothered to take a look yourself at some of that public art you're so concerned about, Davey, you wouldn't worry about what those kids can learn from me.
If you're done interrupting, I'd like to get back to the agenda. Now, on the subject of reducing graffiti... Do I seem like I'm done? If I seem like I'm done, maybe I'm not making myself clear enough.
If you submitted an item for discussion, it's already on the agenda. The longer it takes us to get through the preceding items, the longer it'll take to get to yours. All right? You really think I'd have gone to trouble, Davey? For sure. Things get brought up when they get brought up, and that's the way the world works. I'm very sorry to hear you feel that way. But the fact remains that you had three months to make a submission, Meredith.
If you have an issue to discuss that is not already on the agenda, you'll just have to wait till the end to bring it up. Hopefully we'll have time to address your concerns and- And how exactly you intend to stop me from making my issue your first and only issue David Wilkinson. That's right. That's about what I thought. There is a way these things are done. Yeah. So mousy little dipshits like you can get their say in.
Used to be who got their say was whoever could shout the loudest. Yes, well, that's not how things are done now. We have a responsibility to the young, civically-minded members of this community who will watch these tapes to set an example in upholding those standards of conduct which have been established by years of precedent and... You think I forgot that time I found you smoking dope with that hussy Sheryl Askin in the woods behind my house, Davey? No, I didn't.
Didn't even bother to pull your pants up before you started running, did you? Just left her there in the grass to take the blame for it. Now, there's a good example for the civically minded use. Please leave. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Meredith. Yeah? On what grounds? You're being disruptive.
Disruptive. Let me tell you a thing or two about disruptions. I wouldn't be here in the first place if somebody in this goddamn town wasn't putting my livelihood at stake. How's that for a disruption? What do you mean? If you'd let me speak my piece from the beginning, you might have known already. Alright, fine. Speak your piece then. What is it? Last month. March. That was shedding season.
Okay, for the benefit of those of us who may not be familiar with what you're referring to, please elaborate. I think I'm looking at the only person here that I might apply to, but sure, can do. Now, if you don't know me, you know my work. Probably got yourself a bone-handled knife, a little carving, or a scrimshawed antler somewhere in your house. Yeah, that's right. I'm the bone lady. Ain't dead yet, no matter what your daddy told you.
If you do know me, you know I still hunt my own sheds, age be damned. Still track my own bulls. And it's spring. Spring's when the antlers start to drop. Had an early rut last fall, was expecting an early shed this year. Had my eyes on the bulls all through February, waiting for them to drop their racks. Come first week of March, I find one of my bulls is lightheaded, so I do as I always do, try to scout out where he dropped his rack. Got eyes on one, but not the other.
Pain in my ass. It's the start of the season, but not unheard of. I figured either I must have missed it or the dumb animal dropped it in a goddamn ravine somehow. Is there a point to this, Meredith? More than there ever was a point to you, Wilkinson. A few days later, another one of my bulls turns up lightheaded. I get my binoculars out and I go walking, keeping my distance, scouting. Come up empty. Can't find either.
Alright, sometimes that happens. Please just get to the point. Is this supposed to mean something to us? If you weren't a soft-handed, pencil-pushing little turd who came out the wrong hole, it just might mean something to some of the other folks here, I can tell. By the third shed, nothing to show for it, I started noticing something. The herd seemed agitated. Put an idea in my head. Somebody was going out and hunting sheds ahead of shed hunting season.
Meredith, I understand that this is important to your work. But unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, there are no restrictions on when someone is allowed to go looking for antlers. If someone beat you to it, that's not a crime. Davey, you know how often I check my bowls? How often? Twice a week, if I can manage it. I'm in a good spot, lets me keep an eye on them without causing a ruckus. Okay, and? And...
Even if a bull drops his rack right there where you can see it. You don't go after it until after he's moved on. And I don't mean moved away. I mean moved on. Doesn't matter if a bull sheds in the first week of February, last week of March. You don't touch that rack until he's made his way back out for the summer. Be that April or be that May. Did you know an elk don't need to see you to know you're there? Uh-huh. That's right. They can tell you're coming from over two miles away.
If you get within about half a mile of them, well, that's when they start thinking you're a threat. Going after a shed too soon is a good way to stress not just the bull who dropped it, but his whole herd, if he's got one. And stressed elk, they don't graze. Too busy watching their backs, waiting for something to jump out at them. And elk that don't graze, after going lean on winter, they get skinny, they get weak.
So come September, you end up with less elk with less meat on them than you might have if they hadn't gotten it into their heads that something was skulking around looking at them. That's a fine way to procure yourself a winter die-off. And if someone is hunting antlers out of season, they'd have to be going out into the woods while the elk are still in the area? Mm-hmm. Do you have proof? You remember that first shed I spotted? That half a rack from my first bull?
Sure. Checked on it later. Gone. Well, maybe an animal. There's only one natural animal that'll pick up a shed and take the whole thing with him. And he doesn't live in the woods. Other animals, they might gnaw on him, might even drag him out of the open. But they won't take him far. Not more than a handful of feet, as far as I've seen. Well, if what you're saying is true, this is concerning. Mm-hmm. Like I said, Davey...
Mayfair's got bigger issues than peckers on post boxes. Unfortunately, Meredith, I really don't know what you expect us to be able to do about it. You said April is shed hunting season, right? Mm-hmm. Then the elk should have moved on already. So even if you've identified the culprit, there's not a lot that can be done at this point. Have you identified the culprit? And if I have? Then I'd ask you to share that information with the room.
Never said I was done talking, Wilkinson. Christ, Meredith, you know who did it or don't you? You're not sure, are you? You don't have any proof. You think I didn't go looking? You think that wasn't the first thing I did? Set up trail cameras all along the tree line, just like Harry always told me I ought to. Mostly just saw the elk. First always nibbling at bushes and the trees never grazing. Stressed. That could just as easily be a predator, couldn't it? A pack of coyotes?
Sure. Maybe. Except coyotes don't trouble up too much. 'Cause they're opportunity hunters. There are too many unwatched dogs around here for them to want to bother going after a five to seven hundred pound animal. Coyote ain't a wolf, Davey. Could it be a wolf then? If we had wolves in these woods this close, we'd know about it. Yes sir, I can promise you that. So you think it has to be a person or a group of people? A person.
Yeah, that's what would make the most sense. I'm going to ask you again. Do you know who's responsible? Well, it sounds like you either don't know or have no intention of sharing your suspicions. And honestly, at this point, I'm not sure what exactly it is you think can be done. What's happened is extremely unfortunate, especially if it's had an impact on the health of the animals. But it's done. The animals have moved on and... Is it? Is it done? You sure about that?
If you've got a point to make, just make it. I always knew your mama's smarts must have skipped a generation, but lord, it really is something else to see it up close. Got a head on you like a hollow melon. You know who else? Hunt sheds, hunters. Why don't you go ahead and ask yourself if there's not something worrisome about that.
You really think a hunter who will hunt sheds out of season with no regard for the well-being of the animals ain't gonna think it's fair game to get a head start on hunting season? Get started in August and to hell with the folks who wait till September. And you think a hunter is behind this? I didn't say that. Then why did you bring it up? Because it's a possibility and one these folks would be aware of.
And besides, don't matter whether it's a poacher or a poltergeist, anything that stresses the herds is bad news for all of us. Alright, alright. This is a serious concern and I can promise you it'll be looked into. We'll bring it to the neighborhood watch and to the police if necessary, and if we're unable to resolve it by the end of the quarter, we'll put it on the agenda for July. See if anyone has any information and- No! That's not going to work! Pardon? We can't sit around waiting for this to get resolved behind closed doors, David.
This is too serious an issue to leave us out of until... two months before hunting season? It's been half a decade and the herd still hasn't completely recovered. We just can't afford for them to start shrinking again. Jim and I rely on the hunting season to get us through the winter, and I know we're not the only ones. I understand that this is alarming, but I promise you we will do our utmost to figure- She's right! Simone's right!
This can't wait. I'm in the same boat. A lot of folks who work seasonally are. We can't afford to have another hunting season cancelled. We all remember what happened last time. Some of us don't have any other income during the off-season. A bit of house painting, grouting a bathroom, laying some tile. It's not enough. I know for me, the cash I make off the hunt is the only thing that gets me through January and February without having to make some hard decisions. And March.
If the frost sticks. Yeah, that too. I could tough it out for a year, maybe. But I don't have a family. You see? In the interests of prioritizing the well-being of the community, I am making the executive decision to place this at the top of today's agenda. Trevor Henderson here with an ad break. If you'd like to get early and ad-free access to Mayfair Watchers Society, consider supporting us on the Apollo Podcast app.
This episode is brought to you by Shopify. Whether you're selling a little or a lot, Shopify helps you do your thing, however you cha-ching. From the launch your online shop stage, all the way to the we just hit a million orders stage. No matter what stage you're in, Shopify's there to help you grow. Sign up for a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash special offer, all lowercase. That's shopify.com slash special offer. And now back to our show.
Therefore, first on the agenda is the matter of interference with the local elk population by an as-of-yet unidentified person or persons within the community. For the benefit of the members of the Alfred P. Scanlon Jr. Political Society who may end up reviewing this video, the resident who has put forth this issue for consideration is Miss Meredith Shaw of Timber Lane. Myths? When that happened...
Would you prefer I still called you Mrs. Shaw? No, I suppose not. With Harry gone, I guess that does make me a miss again now, don't it? Meredith, I need you to tell us everything. What do you think I've been trying to do? If some idiot hadn't have kept on interrupting me, we might be done by now.
I'll try not to interrupt you again. So please, in the interest of time, unless absolutely necessary, I'm going to have to ask you to be a little more succinct in your explanation, all right? This is a town hall, not the Mayfair Little Theater. Davey, I will tell this story how I'll tell it. Or I won't tell it at all. Meredith, please. Just let her talk, man. What happened? Like I said before...
I went looking for shed poachers. Set up the trail cams. Set to watching. Poachers looking to drop a bull or buck out of season. They're careful. Poachers out looking for horns or antlers. Not so much. See, when you strap a half dozen racks to your back, you're not thinking about who might be watching. You're just trying not to trip and gore yourself on the damn things. Once your pack gets more crowded, every once in a while you find yourself at a crossroads.
Find a shed, realize you don't have room to orient it in a way where none of the prongs would be in your way. And then you've got to decide for yourself whether you want to risk it or have to come back another time. When you decide to risk it, sometimes you pay for that. Got a scar on my leg this wide from slipping on my way home a few years back. One the first time won't be the last. So when I caught a glimpse of
What looked like the back end of a shed hunter at the end of a long and real successful day. I thought to myself, there he is. I got you, you son of a bitch. Meredith, language. But there was something funny about how he looked. Funny how? I could see the racks, but couldn't see the person behind them. And the way he'd position them and his pack was crazy. Uneven, unbalanced prongs, just...
sticking out every which way, just begging for trouble. Slip or trip and fall on your ass, good as done for. Bleeding out in the woods with no one to find you. - Sounds like an experience. - Well, it's not just that. He was, seemed like he was walking backwards. - Backwards? - Yeah, coming towards the trail cam backwards, pack first. - Why would someone do that? - I don't know. At least I didn't then.
But you figured it out. What did I say about interruptions, Davey? Happened a couple more times, too. Just kept getting stranger and stranger. Started thinking maybe my mind was going. Because the more I saw him, the more I started thinking what I was looking at was an elk that was all antler. And not solid, either. Not all bone. Just racks and racks and racks. Sort of...
twisted together and make something shaped sorta like a bull. So I started asking around. You know what folks told me? Apparently when it's not scaring the herds, that boogeyman of mine likes to hang around the gas station out by Hillboro Road. Kept getting sent picture after picture after picture of the damn thing. Supposedly traipsing around the parking lot by the gas and go or hanging around the fairgrounds. Even saw a video of it moved a bit like stop motion.
So it's not a person at all? It's some sort of entity? One we haven't seen before? You'd think so, wouldn't you? I imagine that's the point. Nobody's out looking for poachers when everybody's out looking for a thing. It's a real clever bit of misdirection. Why are you so sure? Because what kind of thing like that goes around haunting places it don't belong, but is sure to be seen?
Doesn't even do anything but stand there. So you think it's... what, a puppet or something? I don't know. I can't make sense of it. Have you seen it? Of course. No, I mean, have you seen it in person? Yeah. And it's the damnedest thing. Still can't figure out how he did it. Meredith? I went out to see it for myself.
Thought I might catch a glimpse if I wasn't relying on trail cams and cell phone footage shot by half drunk teenagers and whole drunk bums. Took me almost a week to catch it. And it's that sound. What? The sound it made. You can get some real strange whistles on windy days when you're shed hunting. Wind blowing through the gaps between the racks in your pack. But I'd never heard anything like that sound.
When it moved, it clattered something awful. Just the worst racket you can imagine. Not loud, but penetrating. Bone on bone. Just vile. And none too good for the antlers, I imagine. But when it was just standing there, it didn't even seem like the wind had anything to do with it. The air was so still, it felt like the whole world was holding its breath. But it still made that sound.
Like wind whistling through the open holes of a skull. I don't know how he did it. Couldn't see any wires, no little machines. It really looked like it was moving on its own. Meredith, the way these things behave, it doesn't always make sense. It sounds to me like we need to start considering that we might be dealing with an entity. No. No? No way, no how. It's too tidy. Even with the broken antlers, it's too tidy. Broken antlers? Yeah.
It moved a bit while I was watching it, and one of the sheds towards the back of it, where the hindquarters might have been, it just sort of snapped and fell out. Didn't seem to hurt it none, though I think it might have stumbled. Oh, uh, well, of course, it wouldn't have hurt it. Damn thing's not alive. I hadn't really been looking too closely at it before then. Wasn't until I got my binoculars out that I noticed how the racks weren't
They weren't all the same age. You could tell where the new sheds had gone. A lot of the others were old. Like a shed you might find deep in the woods. Sun bleached almost white. Prongs dull. Gnawed at and worn down. It was one of those that had dropped. Picked it up after it went back to wherever the hell he keeps it. It's a damn fine hoax. Couldn't stop myself from thinking, ah, yeah, that's why it's been picking them up, huh?
Like it was a real animal, not some con artist's magic trick. Meredith? Who's he? I think it's pretty clear by now that you've got somebody in mind. I'm gonna ask you one more time, who do you- Red. Who? Um, that'd be Alfred Calloway. He and Meredith were friends. He died back in September. Like hell he did. Faked his death, more like. Mary, you came to his funeral, you know that's not true. Don't you tell me what I do or do not know!
Has anyone else encountered this, uh... this antler elk? Um... uh... I haven't, but... I think one of my buddies did. Who would that be? Omar asked for. He said almost the exact same thing Miss Shaw said. Even showed me a bit of broken antler he said he found in the parking lot. Seemed really freaked out about the thing. Said the sounds it made set his teeth on edge. I kinda just thought he was drunk or fucking with me or something. Completely slipped my mind until now.
Okay. And mind your language, please, Patrick. Oh, sorry. Can you tell me when you had this conversation with Omar? Uh, two or three weeks ago? Maybe the 11th or 12th? Gotcha. And you didn't believe him when he told you he saw something? No. Is there a reason for that? Do you have a reason to believe your friend might have been lying to you? No, no, no. Omar's a good guy. He's not like that. So why didn't you believe him?
It's... I mean... It's like Ms. Shaw said. It just sounded like a weird place or something like that to be, you know? I feel like when you see entities in spots like that, they're usually more... people-shaped? I mean, that's been my experience. Okay, okay, yeah. You can sit back down, Patrick. So, so far we've got two people that we know of claiming to be eyewitnesses. Anybody else?
I know Patrick was speaking on someone else's behalf, but going forward I'd like to ask for first-hand accounts only, please. We all know somebody who knows somebody who saw something somewhere, and I'd rather not muddy the waters with second- and third-hand stories. Anyone? Okay. Meredith, when did you see the entity? It's not a damn entity! All right. Still, when did you see it? You mean when did I see it last?
Sorry, are you... are you saying you saw it more than once? In person? Yeah. I am. How many times? Four. Jesus. And you never saw anybody? No. Meredith, I need you to explain to me why you're so sure Al Callaway is behind this. Because right now that makes a hell of a lot less sense than the alternative. Because it was his goddamned idea. What? Clarify, please.
He told me about it years ago, before he was pretending to be dead. He told you he planned to make something like this? No, of course not. He told me he'd seen the damn thing. Got drunk, started running his mouth about how he'd nearly hit a white elk with holes in it, pulling into a rest stop off the dirt road between here and the berg. It stuck with me how he described it. Never could forget it.
He said, it looked like somebody tried to make an animal out of a fancy wrought iron fence. Only the fence was made out of bone and the animal didn't seem to know there was nothing holding it together. Fairytale bullshit like that. Not entity talk, just drunk trapper nonsense. Hated that I didn't believe him. Told me he hoped I saw it too someday so he could say he told me so.
So, we have three eyewitnesses then, and precedent for it being in the area. Rad didn't witness shit. He made the damn thing. I'm going to ask you again. Do you have any proof? He said he hoped I saw it. Now I'm seeing it. That's not proof enough for you? Meredith, if I told Patrick I saw Grizzly one year and then Patrick happened to see it the next, that wouldn't mean I put it there. Damn you, listen to me.
Red's done this. You think he'd up and die before he got the chance to tell me he told me so if it were true? That vindictive old bastard would rise from his goddamn grave before he let that happen. Simone, Patrick, please escort Meredith outside and calm her down. You keep your damn hands off me, you hear? I'm looking at you right in the face. Liz, sweetie, can you see if the watchers know anything about this? I'm gonna get my shotgun. I'm gonna tell you what's what. That's right. All right, sorry for the interruption, everyone. With that out of the way, let's get back on track.
Now, about the issue of graffiti. Thank you for listening, neighbor. Mayfair Watchers Society is based on the works of Trevor Henderson. Andler Elk was written by Cale Brown. David Wicklinson was played by Graham Rowett. Meredith Shaw was played by Janine Bauer. Simone was played by Elisa Park. And Patrick was played by Brandon Nguyen. Dialogue editor is Daisy McNamara. The sound designer is Brad Colbrook. Music by Matt Royberger.
The showrunner is Pacific S. Obadiah. The creative director is me, Trevor Henderson. And the producers are Tom Owen and Brad Meskin. A Bloody FM Show.