"Did Anyone Else Visit The Tongue Museum Growing Up?" | CLANCYPASTA ORIGINAL

[00:00:13] I was recently talking to my nephew about this school field trip of his that's coming up.

[00:00:19] I guess he's going to be visiting a farm in the state over.

[00:00:23] Well, that got me thinking about all of the field trips I had as a kid, particularly the ones from grade school.

[00:00:33] I started talking about the state aquarium and the zoo and the airplane museum we visited when I was a little too young to care about it, unfortunately.

[00:00:44] But none of it seemed to peak my nephew's interest.

[00:00:49] Yeah, well, I went on.

[00:00:52] What else?

[00:00:54] Oh, we went to that tongue museum once.

[00:00:59] Um, let's see, what else?

[00:01:03] My eyes glanced over to my nephew.

[00:01:06] He was now looking away from his phone for the first time all evening and staring at me with a strange look on his face.

[00:01:14] What, I asked.

[00:01:19] The tongue museum?

[00:01:21] I've never heard of that before.

[00:01:23] Where is it?

[00:01:25] Oh, it's um, I began, but was then forced to pause.

[00:01:31] I know they took our class there on one of the school buses and I remember it taking quite a little while to get there.

[00:01:40] But as to where it was, I couldn't say I knew.

[00:01:45] I'm not sure, I said.

[00:01:52] What did they have there?

[00:01:54] Just tongues?

[00:01:56] My nephew asked, with a look on his face that was either disgust or stifled hilarity.

[00:02:03] We both started to laugh.

[00:02:06] Well, let's see here.

[00:02:09] It's been quite a while since I've even thought about the place and it was well over a couple decades ago.

[00:02:15] But yeah, I think it was mostly tongues.

[00:02:19] I remember the gift shop had a wall filled with a lollipop shaped like tongues of all sizes and different animals.

[00:02:27] I specifically remember this pig tongue sucker they had that was the size of a dinner plate.

[00:02:35] And it was red.

[00:02:37] Kind of creeped me out.

[00:02:39] My mind wandered off as I spoke and I found myself staring at the ground before my feet as images and long lost memories began to swirl around my skull.

[00:02:56] For a moment, I almost questioned if any of this actually happened or if all of this was somehow a dream or a delusion I dreamt up without realizing.

[00:03:09] But as the recollections continued passing my mind's eye, I became utterly convinced that this did in fact happen.

[00:03:21] It was around then that my brother walked through the front door.

[00:03:26] Sorry, sorry, went a little late tonight, he said.

[00:03:30] Hey, you weren't too much of a handful for your uncle now were you?

[00:03:34] He asked as he threw the fast food bag down on the front coffee table.

[00:03:40] My nephew shook his head but then immediately brought his attention to the subject at hand.

[00:03:47] Did you go to the Tongue Museum too?

[00:03:52] My brother's eyebrows shot up to the top of his skull and he started laughing hysterically for just a second before suddenly regaining composure and declaring,

[00:04:02] No, no, I think I would have remembered that.

[00:04:07] Why? The teachers find a better place to scar you with?

[00:04:13] Now, my nephew is going to a farm for the field trip and his dad was worried they might bring him into some of the more brutal you could say areas of the place.

[00:04:24] But I told him I don't think the school would have allowed that anyway.

[00:04:30] Uncle Dave says he went as a kid.

[00:04:33] My brother turned my way looking very suspicious of me.

[00:04:39] Oh, I see, he said with a wink.

[00:04:44] Well, I'm sure that was very educational.

[00:04:49] I could tell he thought I was pulling the kid's leg.

[00:04:53] I'm serious, John, I said, trying to keep as serious a face as possible.

[00:05:00] My class, we went to this Tongue Museum as a kid.

[00:05:04] So you're telling me you never went?

[00:05:07] He stopped taking off his shoes and looked me straight in the eye.

[00:05:13] No, Dave, I've never even heard of the Tongue Museum, let alone visited.

[00:05:19] Are you serious or what?

[00:05:23] I'm dead serious, man, really.

[00:05:25] I can tell you about it if you want.

[00:05:28] I haven't thought about it in years, but I can think aloud.

[00:05:34] Both my brother and his son nodded, and I closed my eyes to try and recall and staring into the empty void behind my closed eyelid.

[00:05:45] That's when the images began to appear.

[00:05:49] I think I was in the fourth grade when we went.

[00:05:56] I remember pulling into the large open empty parking lot when it was still too early for the sun.

[00:06:04] Must have been 5am at the earliest.

[00:06:07] The building itself was like a big pink and purple spire erected in the middle of this giant parking lot,

[00:06:16] a giant construction in the loose shape of a tongue.

[00:06:21] To get inside we all had to walk through a slightly smaller but still very huge paper mache tongue

[00:06:29] in the opening entryway where you'd buy your tickets to get in.

[00:06:33] But after you buy the ticket, the guy directed us to the right

[00:06:39] to walk through this doorway that was blocked off in a wall of flowing yellow slime.

[00:06:50] You see there was a chute just above the door where the water flowed out.

[00:06:56] And the ground just below was made of a metal grate, the slick and viscous liquid draining straight through,

[00:07:04] although a good deal of splashing was definitely occurring.

[00:07:10] The teacher, Mr. McCoy, turned to the front desk worker and asked if this was some kind of a joke.

[00:07:18] The guy looking like some teenager who didn't even care about the job to begin with

[00:07:24] told our teacher that was the only way into the exhibit and by the way there were no refunds

[00:07:30] so if we weren't going to enter, we were out of luck.

[00:07:33] My teacher looked like he wanted to strangle the guy.

[00:07:38] But eventually he turned around and said,

[00:07:42] well alright everyone if you have a jacket just pull it over your heads

[00:07:47] and hold your breath and run through real quick.

[00:07:50] Now one at a time now alright?

[00:07:52] I remember being pretty creeped out by the stuff.

[00:07:58] I absolutely hated getting soaked and when I got near it it reeked of a very specific smell

[00:08:06] I don't think I've ever smelled before or since.

[00:08:10] It was kind of like sewage but also a bit yeasty maybe?

[00:08:15] I don't know it was really hard to place.

[00:08:19] I ran through just like everyone else.

[00:08:22] By the time we all made it past the check-in area,

[00:08:26] my entire class was dripping with this sticky goo.

[00:08:30] Our teacher was absolutely irate.

[00:08:34] It's been so long since this field trip took place

[00:08:41] so I'm not going to be able to recite the entire chain of events

[00:08:47] but it's very possible I'll remember certain events out of order.

[00:08:51] But I know that after we walked through that doorway

[00:08:54] we ended up in this long dark hallway with a glass case on one side

[00:09:00] that had a sign hanging from the ceiling just above

[00:09:03] that read, TONGS OF THE WORLD.

[00:09:08] There were about 50 or so tongues propped up on sticks

[00:09:12] and the glass cases ranging in variety and size

[00:09:16] from a draft tongue to a gorilla tongue

[00:09:20] to a kangaroo tongue to a bear tongue

[00:09:23] and so on and so forth.

[00:09:27] I remember hesitating as I walked forward

[00:09:30] to take a look at the exhibit.

[00:09:33] After getting up close to what I think was the bobcat tongue

[00:09:38] and getting a good look at it, something felt really

[00:09:43] well uncomfortable about what I was seeing

[00:09:47] and no it wasn't the fact that I was looking at an exhibit of severed tongues.

[00:09:53] I stared as I tried to place it

[00:09:56] and then it suddenly hit me.

[00:09:59] They all looked fresh

[00:10:03] like alive almost.

[00:10:06] They were moist and glistening but not in an embalmed kind of a way

[00:10:12] but more like it was just cut off the body moments before we arrived

[00:10:17] and struck up in the exhibit with a stick for our personal enjoyment.

[00:10:22] Just as this thought occurred to me

[00:10:27] our teacher was nagging us to get a move on

[00:10:30] that there were many more exhibits to get to

[00:10:33] and that if we didn't move quick there wouldn't be nearly enough time

[00:10:37] as we all hustled along.

[00:10:43] I remember looking around and talking to some of the other kids

[00:10:48] I don't remember specific conversations or anything

[00:10:52] but we were all a little wigged out.

[00:10:56] Definitely wished we hit the petting zoo instead

[00:11:02] as I told my nephew and brother about all of this

[00:11:07] I could tell they were both getting a little creeped out

[00:11:11] and not itching to say a word in the least.

[00:11:15] They were good listeners now

[00:11:17] clearly curious about the situation.

[00:11:21] I turned my eyes back to the floor

[00:11:24] and tried to recall where we went next.

[00:11:28] I was drawing a blank until suddenly

[00:11:31] a thought shot into my mind like a underbolt

[00:11:36] and I almost jumped out of my chair.

[00:11:39] Oh my God, I spoke suddenly almost out of breath.

[00:11:47] Hey, you okay?

[00:11:49] My brother asked, leaning a bit closer in his chair.

[00:11:54] Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay, I just

[00:11:57] I hadn't thought about this in so long

[00:12:00] but I used to think about this a lot.

[00:12:05] How would I not remember it?

[00:12:07] How is that possible?

[00:12:09] Odd things occurred in that museum.

[00:12:15] One oddity that occurred would haunt me

[00:12:18] for quite a few years after the fact

[00:12:21] though I think it was suppressed initially

[00:12:25] for some time and after resurfacing

[00:12:28] it seems I succeeded in suppressing it quite wholly

[00:12:32] though I just wrecked that accomplishment.

[00:12:37] No, it was all too clear in my mind now

[00:12:42] and the longer I stood,

[00:12:44] the more disturbed I became.

[00:12:47] I don't really remember how we ended up in this place

[00:12:54] but at one point I found myself

[00:12:57] in this small room with this other kid.

[00:13:01] I think his name was Joey.

[00:13:03] What's particularly odd about this initial recollection

[00:13:07] is that I don't recall this room

[00:13:11] which was no bigger than a small closet, mind you,

[00:13:15] having a door.

[00:13:17] There was no way in

[00:13:19] and I have no idea how either of us got in there.

[00:13:23] It's like we just popped into the room somehow.

[00:13:26] However, there may not have been a way into that room

[00:13:31] but there was most certainly a way out.

[00:13:37] Though the room was in its essence

[00:13:39] just a little navy blue painted box

[00:13:42] with a small incandescent light bulb

[00:13:45] hanging from the ceiling.

[00:13:47] That wasn't all it was.

[00:13:49] There was in fact one cavity in the wall.

[00:13:54] Joey and I were staring at it

[00:13:57] at the opening portal of a tube slide

[00:14:01] like one of those huge amusement park slides

[00:14:04] you'd go down as a kid that twists and turns all around

[00:14:08] with all of those little plastic porthole windows on the sides.

[00:14:12] It was almost identical to one of those

[00:14:16] except for the bottom half of the tube.

[00:14:19] The part you'd sit and slide down on

[00:14:22] which was shaped like a large tongue.

[00:14:28] There was another oddity about the slide.

[00:14:31] Peering down into the cavernous entryway

[00:14:35] it was utter darkness all enveloping black

[00:14:40] just six inches beyond the entry point.

[00:14:44] There was no way of telling how long the slide went

[00:14:47] or where it went.

[00:14:51] Just thinking about it now

[00:14:53] brings a cold sweat to my brow.

[00:14:56] For reasons not known

[00:15:02] Joey kept trying to get me to go down that slide.

[00:15:06] He said we'd go together, me first

[00:15:09] and then he'd jump on down behind me.

[00:15:13] I remember taking a step forward to peer down the tube

[00:15:19] and staring into that abyss just made me feel so sick.

[00:15:25] I just couldn't imagine committing to that slide

[00:15:29] without any reassurance of where it'd take me.

[00:15:32] It was just too scary and I outright refused.

[00:15:38] Joey kept on trying to get me to go down

[00:15:42] eventually resorting to name calling in the likes.

[00:15:46] When he finally began to understand that there was

[00:15:50] no way I was going down that slide willingly

[00:15:54] he got real silent

[00:15:56] and after a few moments

[00:15:59] declared that he was going to go down the slide alone.

[00:16:04] I recall freaking out at this

[00:16:07] trying to talk him out of it and telling him

[00:16:09] this could be a big, big mistake

[00:16:12] but he didn't seem to care.

[00:16:15] In fact he acted like I was being the biggest

[00:16:18] wuss in the world for not wanting to slide down with him.

[00:16:22] I held my breath as I watched him take his sneakers off

[00:16:27] and then he sat down at the entry of the slide.

[00:16:32] He turned to look at me and said

[00:16:35] alright I'll yell up when I reach the bottom

[00:16:38] so you can finally grow a pair

[00:16:40] and get on seeing the rest of the exhibits.

[00:16:44] I wanted to argue with him

[00:16:46] but instead I just nodded my head slowly

[00:16:49] biting my tongue.

[00:16:54] For a moment he almost looked like he was hesitant

[00:16:58] but then in the time it takes to snap your fingers

[00:17:03] he was off and down the tube.

[00:17:07] The moment he went off he began screaming in excitement

[00:17:11] like the kind of shrieks you'd hear at an amusement park

[00:17:15] the sound getting slowly softer

[00:17:18] and softer as he was carried further and further away from me.

[00:17:25] This continued for about 15 seconds

[00:17:28] before his voice was suddenly cut off and silenced

[00:17:32] along with an extremely loud metallic thwack sound

[00:17:37] like a boulder had just hit a metal roof.

[00:17:42] I held my breath trying to hear the faintest of noises.

[00:17:47] I crawled closer to the slide's entry.

[00:17:51] Joey

[00:17:53] I called out after about 30 seconds

[00:17:56] and waited in the silence.

[00:17:59] Joey hello are you okay?

[00:18:04] But there was no response.

[00:18:08] I remember the feeling of staring down

[00:18:11] into that dark tongue of a slide

[00:18:14] breathless, feeling butterflies in my stomach

[00:18:18] hoping for any kind of response that would let me know he was okay

[00:18:23] but as I stared into the emptiness of my mind

[00:18:27] I, waiting for the next events to replay

[00:18:31] that never occurred.

[00:18:33] I don't recall any events relating to the slide after that.

[00:18:43] In fact the next thing I knew I was back with my class

[00:18:48] walking, wandering the halls of this museum again.

[00:18:54] I remember thinking about Joey for a few moments

[00:18:58] being somewhat worried about him

[00:19:00] but nothing near the level of fear I felt back in that little room

[00:19:06] and then I just moved on.

[00:19:10] Must have gotten caught up in the hurriness my teacher was pushing us through.

[00:19:16] In thinking back on it I'm pretty sure I never did see him the rest of the trip

[00:19:23] and then I think Joey moved to another state not long after that.

[00:19:29] In fact now that I think about it

[00:19:33] I don't really remember seeing him when we got back to the school that night

[00:19:39] or any day after.

[00:19:44] It was around this point in the recollection

[00:19:47] that I noticed my brother was looking pretty uneasy.

[00:19:51] Our eyes met and then his started over to his son.

[00:19:57] Ah well.

[00:19:59] Alright Jacob, time to get to bed.

[00:20:01] Got that field trip tomorrow.

[00:20:04] Jacob who was definitely listening to the story eagerly

[00:20:09] wasn't happy about this

[00:20:11] but after some intense prodding from his dad

[00:20:14] he pretty quickly meandered up the stairs and into bed.

[00:20:18] Obviously not happy but whatever.

[00:20:23] When the door upstairs slammed shut my brother almost immediately spoke.

[00:20:30] Are you trying to give my kid nightmares?

[00:20:33] Is this your idea of a good joke?

[00:20:36] I stood up from my chair immediately and held out my hands in protest.

[00:20:41] John, I'm being completely serious.

[00:20:44] I know your kid had problems with scary stories in the past

[00:20:48] and to be honest if I remembered how weird this got at the beginning

[00:20:52] I wouldn't have started talking about it.

[00:20:55] You gotta understand I just...

[00:20:57] This is all coming back to me

[00:21:00] and I haven't thought about any of this stuff in a long time now.

[00:21:04] I'm talking decades John, decades.

[00:21:07] I'm sorry if I upset you or your kid alright?

[00:21:14] John looked me up and down and then nodded.

[00:21:18] Yeah alright.

[00:21:20] I'm sorry.

[00:21:22] I believe what you're saying but my god Dave

[00:21:25] I'm just gonna let you know this is quite hard to believe

[00:21:29] that it actually happened you know.

[00:21:31] I mean forget the fact I've never heard of this before

[00:21:34] you've never talked to me about this before

[00:21:37] this is also really one of the creepiest things I've ever heard.

[00:21:41] John walked into the kitchen as he spoke.

[00:21:45] I heard him open the refrigerator.

[00:21:48] You want anything to drink?

[00:21:53] I've got water and some cola.

[00:21:55] It was those words that opened another door in my mind.

[00:22:01] I suddenly found myself back in that museum

[00:22:05] but no longer in the halls.

[00:22:08] I was in the cafeteria.

[00:22:13] Oh uh no uh no thank you.

[00:22:17] I tried to speak through the haze of recollection.

[00:22:22] When my brother returned I went off rambling almost immediately.

[00:22:28] I uh I remember standing in line at the kitchen.

[00:22:35] We were all holding these little styrofoam trays

[00:22:39] and I recalled being quite hungry.

[00:22:42] Arriving so early we did indeed breakfast

[00:22:45] and I feel like we'd already been in the museum

[00:22:48] for quite a few hours at that point.

[00:22:51] It was taking a really long time to move through the line.

[00:22:55] It was like it took each kid five minutes just to get their food

[00:22:59] and with limited time and a long line of hungry kids

[00:23:03] that wasn't gonna cut it.

[00:23:05] Everyone was getting real cranky.

[00:23:08] But as I finally got closer to the buffet style area

[00:23:13] where you'd grab your food

[00:23:15] I suddenly realized why I was taking so long

[00:23:20] looking at the three layered shelving of food.

[00:23:26] One thing was for certain.

[00:23:28] There was not much variety.

[00:23:32] The top shelf was labeled gourmet

[00:23:36] and it contained a pile of what looked like chunks of raw, bloody meat

[00:23:42] wrapped in cling wrap.

[00:23:44] I reached up and took one in my...

[00:23:49] moving it around before my eyes.

[00:23:52] It became clear that I was holding a severed tongue

[00:23:58] placing it back with trembling hands.

[00:24:01] My eyes turned to the next shelf down labeled common.

[00:24:08] The items here looked relatively similar to the top shelf

[00:24:12] except more uniformly shaped

[00:24:15] each piece about the same size and shaped roughly like a ball.

[00:24:22] I picked one up and after squishing it in my hand a little

[00:24:27] it felt like I was holding a wrapped up clump of raw ground meat.

[00:24:35] I must have squashed a little too hard because when I placed it back

[00:24:39] my hand was dripping with red liquid.

[00:24:45] I braced as a horrid chill ran down my spine

[00:24:49] as I turned my eyes to the only shelf left

[00:24:53] the bottom shelf which read imitation.

[00:24:57] The food items here weren't wrapped up in cling wrap like the others

[00:25:04] but it was still quite a sight.

[00:25:07] They looked like mass produced packaged products

[00:25:10] like chip bags and whatnot.

[00:25:13] But the plastic was clear.

[00:25:15] It inside were these bright pink and red masses

[00:25:21] shaped like a human tongue

[00:25:25] trying to stay positive and trying to acknowledge my growling gut.

[00:25:31] I picked one up and brought it to my eyes.

[00:25:35] It looked kind of like a gummy candy that hardened in a tongue mold.

[00:25:42] I turned the package around to find an ingredients listing

[00:25:45] which read as follows

[00:25:48] ingredients

[00:25:51] gelatin

[00:25:53] artificial tongue flavoring

[00:25:57] That was it.

[00:25:59] Those were the ingredients.

[00:26:03] After looking back at the long line behind me

[00:26:07] and everyone else waiting to get their pick of these delightful treats

[00:26:11] I just put the imitation tongue back on the shelf

[00:26:15] and walked out of the line

[00:26:17] tossing my styrofoam tray in the trash.

[00:26:20] Not many kids picked anything up to eat

[00:26:26] but the ones who did looked like they were having quite a tough time getting it down.

[00:26:32] I watched this one kid trying to tear through his tongue with his teeth for about three minutes

[00:26:38] before he gave up and tossed it in the trash.

[00:26:42] Watching a kid who got the imitation tongue

[00:26:47] he took one bite, chewed it up

[00:26:50] and then just left it on the table as he ran to the bathroom.

[00:26:54] I imagine he didn't enjoy it too much.

[00:27:02] Soon enough we were wondering the halls again following my teacher.

[00:27:07] At some point we passed a window where I realized the sun was already setting outside.

[00:27:14] I remember being amazed, wondering how that was possible

[00:27:19] given how early we'd shown up.

[00:27:22] And that was also when I realized that I had to take a leak pretty bad

[00:27:28] so I asked my teacher if I could use the restroom which he said was fine.

[00:27:34] I had to go so bad I didn't even ask him if he knew where the bathroom was

[00:27:39] and I just ran off down one of the hallways.

[00:27:43] I ran for quite a while but no luck finding a hallway.

[00:27:48] I took a few twists and turns getting more and more worried

[00:27:53] and more and more uncomfortable with each passing second

[00:27:58] before I almost laughed in joy at the side of a bathroom sign

[00:28:02] hanging above one of the doors to the side.

[00:28:06] Just before I walked in there was a slight hesitation

[00:28:11] as I considered the possibility of something unpleasant hiding behind that door

[00:28:19] but after rolling it around in my mind for a second

[00:28:23] and feeling as though I was about to have an accident right then and there

[00:28:28] I took a deep breath and rammed my way through the door.

[00:28:33] That was when I discovered that I was in a perfectly normal restroom

[00:28:38] two stalls and four urinals.

[00:28:41] I was so relieved and ramped to take care of business

[00:28:46] finishing up in the bathroom I decided that instead of running back to my group

[00:28:54] like I'd done all the way to the bathroom

[00:28:56] I could just stroll along and really take my time

[00:29:00] enjoying whatever exhibits and the things I saw on the way back.

[00:29:04] Well this turned out to be a little bit of a mistake

[00:29:09] because it took me probably ten minutes to realize that I was completely lost

[00:29:14] and had no idea where my class was at all.

[00:29:19] I began speed walking down various hallways

[00:29:22] taking all sorts of twists and turns

[00:29:25] ignoring every exhibit and attraction I'd pass in search of my group.

[00:29:31] I began to run and shout out for my class in desperate futile attempts

[00:29:37] but then as I turned another corner

[00:29:41] I noticed just down the hall and to the side

[00:29:44] this gigantic red velvet curtain

[00:29:48] hung up on the side of the hallway

[00:29:51] nearly reaching all the way up to the ceiling

[00:29:54] it was an extraordinarily large

[00:29:58] incredibly expensive looking piece of drapery

[00:30:01] that almost seemed to glow even amongst these shadowed halls.

[00:30:07] I walked up slowly my previous frenzy coming to a sudden halt

[00:30:13] and ran my hand along the fabric

[00:30:17] it was incredibly smooth like silk

[00:30:22] pushing my hand forward

[00:30:24] I realized there was no wall behind this curtain

[00:30:29] there was some opening behind

[00:30:33] I bent down and slowly lifted the curtain above my head

[00:30:39] and peered inside

[00:30:44] what I saw took me a few moments to really process

[00:30:50] and even then I don't think I really got what I was seeing

[00:30:55] until after I was already running away as fast as I possibly could.

[00:31:02] It was as though I was staring through the entrance into a gigantic factory

[00:31:08] one of those the size of a football stadium or larger

[00:31:12] littered and utterly cluttered with machinery

[00:31:17] this machinery was affixed with an assortment of blades

[00:31:22] and saws connected to one another with these large but barely skinny conveyor belts

[00:31:30] there were windows built into the immensely high ceiling

[00:31:36] that revealed the sight that really took my breath away

[00:31:41] hung from the towering ceiling on meat hooks

[00:31:45] or a variety of tongues

[00:31:48] most of them the size of a small car

[00:31:51] scattered and littering the entire ceiling

[00:31:54] fading off into the distance

[00:31:57] and the fog of the ginormous building

[00:32:01] God there must have been hundreds of them at least

[00:32:05] and what looked like clear slime muddied with streaks of red

[00:32:11] dripped and leaked onto the floor

[00:32:14] from the disgusting severed ends of the unfortunate organs

[00:32:20] the longer I stared into this space

[00:32:23] the more freaked out I became

[00:32:26] and before I knew it

[00:32:28] I found myself sprinting through the hallways of the museum

[00:32:32] away from that curtain at full speed

[00:32:37] after about a minute of sprinting as I turned another corner

[00:32:42] I had just so happened to run straight into my group

[00:32:45] as they were looking at a large painting of a dissected rat tongue

[00:32:51] I was very winded and freaked out

[00:32:54] and to make it worse, hardly anyone there even seemed to notice me

[00:32:58] but as I finally caught my breath to speak

[00:33:02] I began ranting and raving at the teacher about what I saw

[00:33:07] about the gigantic factory

[00:33:10] the blades

[00:33:11] the meat hooks

[00:33:14] it was as my eyes lifted up to meet Mr. McCoy's

[00:33:18] but I realized he looked very confused and almost annoyed

[00:33:25] I instantly stopped talking to which my teacher began

[00:33:31] Davey, I know all that

[00:33:35] we already visited the farm

[00:33:38] he then patted me on the head and said

[00:33:41] alright class let's get a move on

[00:33:45] I was confused but silenced

[00:33:50] and then we all got on the move

[00:33:53] I was utterly confused

[00:33:56] and I might even go as far as to say distraught

[00:34:03] by then I was more than ready for this trip to come to a close

[00:34:09] I started asking the other kids if they knew when we were going to leave

[00:34:14] but none of them were any help

[00:34:16] but almost like he read my mind or perhaps I read his

[00:34:21] Mr. McCoy turned around and announced

[00:34:25] alright everyone we're gearing down to head back to school soon

[00:34:29] so I want you all to make sure you didn't lose anything

[00:34:33] and for the final exhibit we'll be taking a look at the on-site petting zoo

[00:34:37] right this way

[00:34:39] he said and immediately turned around and began walking

[00:34:46] the next thing I knew

[00:34:48] we were all standing in this little room surrounded by four gray walls

[00:34:55] however one wall was not like the others

[00:35:00] there was one side of the room that was painted a darker shade of gray

[00:35:05] than the other three

[00:35:07] almost black really

[00:35:09] littered with about 30 holes of various diameters all about

[00:35:15] I remember staring at these holes

[00:35:18] wondering how long we had to be here

[00:35:21] when before my eyes

[00:35:23] a snake began working its way out of one of the holes near the center

[00:35:30] I shrieked as did most of the kids

[00:35:33] and we all huddled to the back wall

[00:35:35] but the teacher told us to quiet down

[00:35:38] that there was nothing to be afraid of

[00:35:41] as the thing continued to emerge

[00:35:45] I suddenly realized that what I was looking at

[00:35:49] was not a snake

[00:35:51] but was in fact yet another tongue

[00:35:56] and as we all watched in horror

[00:35:58] one by one

[00:36:01] a series of large shimmering

[00:36:04] wet and slimy tongues

[00:36:07] slowly wiggled out from each hole

[00:36:10] and once emerged about half a foot out

[00:36:13] would just stop and sit there

[00:36:16] waiting for us to come closer

[00:36:19] I looked around at my fellow classmates

[00:36:26] half the class looked confused

[00:36:29] and the other half looked horrified

[00:36:32] no one wanted to get anywhere near these things

[00:36:37] some of the tongues were shaped

[00:36:40] and about the size of dogs

[00:36:43] some like cats

[00:36:45] and there were a few that looked

[00:36:47] incredibly human

[00:36:49] and about 10 of them were unbelievably large

[00:36:53] about the size of a large pillow on its side

[00:36:57] I have no idea what animal

[00:37:02] those tongues were harvested from

[00:37:05] I don't want to know

[00:37:10] the seconds ticking away

[00:37:12] apparently our teacher really wanted us

[00:37:15] to enjoy the petting zoo

[00:37:18] Dave, he said, singling me out

[00:37:22] why don't you go give that one over there a rub

[00:37:25] it looks friendly I think

[00:37:28] I swallowed against my dry throat

[00:37:32] and nodded

[00:37:34] and to walk towards that forehead wall

[00:37:37] of wet glistening tongues

[00:37:39] I found myself standing in front of this particular one

[00:37:43] that was huge

[00:37:45] about as wide as a football

[00:37:48] it was like I could see its heart beating

[00:37:51] through the center of its tongue

[00:37:53] a little spot in the middle pulsating

[00:37:56] every second or so

[00:37:59] I lifted my hand

[00:38:01] and began reaching towards the wet glistening pad

[00:38:05] of this monstrous organ

[00:38:08] as my fingers met the slippery surface

[00:38:11] I pressed my entire palm down against the wet tongue

[00:38:17] it was like the presence of my hand

[00:38:19] sparked the thing salivary glands

[00:38:22] as the tongue almost immediately began

[00:38:25] dripping a clear viscous substance

[00:38:29] before it suddenly retracted back into the wall

[00:38:33] in an instant like a turtle pulling its head

[00:38:36] back into its shell

[00:38:38] I let out a small yelp and jumped back

[00:38:42] putting aside the disgusting and horrid nature

[00:38:47] of the exhibit for a moment

[00:38:49] the sheer speed with which it scurried away

[00:38:53] back into the wall was nothing short

[00:38:56] of nightmarish

[00:38:58] completely and utterly unnatural in every way

[00:39:02] impossible really

[00:39:05] but then again

[00:39:07] it wasn't the first impossible thing I'd seen that day

[00:39:12] it was then

[00:39:14] I heard my teacher say

[00:39:17] alright everyone got everything

[00:39:20] it's time to head back home

[00:39:23] those words could not have been more welcome

[00:39:27] and my mood was given an immediate boost

[00:39:30] at the thought that I'd be out of here before too long

[00:39:34] I tried to rally the other kids together

[00:39:37] make sure no one was holding us back

[00:39:39] or slowing us down

[00:39:41] so we could just get out ASAP

[00:39:44] but as it turned out

[00:39:46] the only way in was also the only way out

[00:39:50] which is to say

[00:39:52] we had to pass through that disgusting waterfall of slime

[00:39:56] to reach the outside world again

[00:40:00] this time the teacher didn't even tell us to form a single file line

[00:40:04] to get through

[00:40:06] and Mr. McCoy wasn't complaining about it either

[00:40:09] when we were all hesitating to run through the goop

[00:40:13] he got a little annoyed and said

[00:40:15] come on guys let's move it

[00:40:18] your parents are going to be worried sick

[00:40:20] don't leave 20 minutes ago alright

[00:40:22] now seriously let's go

[00:40:24] he was really serious and kind of upset

[00:40:28] so we all just kind of ran through in a mad dash

[00:40:32] we got absolutely drenched

[00:40:36] and so did Mr. McCoy though

[00:40:39] oddly enough this time around

[00:40:42] he almost didn't really seem to mind

[00:40:46] in fact he was smiling

[00:40:49] his face completely drowned in this gross substance

[00:40:53] as he made it out and to the other side

[00:40:57] he began talking almost immediately

[00:41:00] what looked like a giant snot bubble

[00:41:02] forming and growing larger and larger

[00:41:05] before splattering all across his own face

[00:41:09] within the first few seconds

[00:41:11] of him making it to the other side

[00:41:13] alright kids on to the bus

[00:41:17] let's go let's go let's go

[00:41:20] he was in a real hurry

[00:41:22] the bus was right there

[00:41:25] parked in the moonlight of the empty parking lot

[00:41:28] we all piled on

[00:41:31] gooping up the seats real good

[00:41:34] oddly but thankfully

[00:41:36] the bus driver did not seem to mind

[00:41:39] he didn't say anything at least

[00:41:42] and then we were driving

[00:41:45] and I guess at some point we got back to the school

[00:41:48] and then our parents brought us home

[00:41:51] as I finished recalling the story out loud

[00:41:58] my brother had this look on his face

[00:42:01] of absolute shock

[00:42:04] he took a sip from his glass

[00:42:06] as he brought his eyes back to mine

[00:42:09] so that's the story, huh?

[00:42:13] I raised my eyebrows

[00:42:16] a little confused at his attitude

[00:42:20] yes that's the story

[00:42:23] that's what happened

[00:42:27] my brother got up and walked over to the window

[00:42:30] staring out at the star twinkling sky

[00:42:34] he then turned back around

[00:42:37] I uh...

[00:42:40] I would uh... I'd be careful

[00:42:43] you tell that tale to

[00:42:45] I mean listen I know

[00:42:47] you're not nuts or anything

[00:42:49] and I believe you're not lying to me but

[00:42:52] I'm pretty uh... I mean

[00:42:55] you know it's quite an incredible tale

[00:42:58] is all I'm trying to say

[00:43:01] I nodded and brought my gaze back to the floor

[00:43:06] well uh... I should probably get going

[00:43:10] you gotta get your sleep anyway so

[00:43:13] oh yeah well yeah

[00:43:16] thanks for watching Jacob again

[00:43:19] I'll call you tomorrow and we'll find another time for you to watch him

[00:43:23] yeah yeah goodnight

[00:43:26] I mumbled as the door shut behind me

[00:43:33] I stood in the cold windy night

[00:43:36] looking up at the stars

[00:43:38] and feeling the ghost of that museum in my chest

[00:43:43] my god I thought

[00:43:45] is it really true?

[00:43:48] am I going crazy?

[00:43:51] I don't think so but

[00:43:53] with how my brother just reacted

[00:43:56] god I wasn't sure

[00:43:59] when I got home that night

[00:44:02] I laid in bed staring at the ceiling all night

[00:44:06] I didn't get a wink of sleep

[00:44:09] I just kept seeing that kid Joey

[00:44:12] slipping on down that tube slide

[00:44:17] and then the next morning

[00:44:24] I called my mother bright and early

[00:44:27] it was probably about 7am

[00:44:30] which for me was earlier than I'd ever even be out of bed

[00:44:34] but for my mom it was just another Tuesday

[00:44:38] hey ma I uh... I need to ask you about something

[00:44:43] alright

[00:44:45] she responded

[00:44:47] almost like she was racing or something

[00:44:51] I was at John's house last night watching the kid

[00:44:54] and uh... I started thinking about old field trips

[00:44:58] I was on back in school

[00:45:00] and I started talking about

[00:45:05] I cut myself off

[00:45:07] as the memory of my brother's reaction to my tale

[00:45:11] began to play in my mind like a film

[00:45:15] my own brother had a hard time taking my story serious

[00:45:19] and he was probably about 5 times more open minded than my mother

[00:45:23] how was she to react to all this

[00:45:27] surely she would not respond well

[00:45:31] probably tell me it was a dream like I first thought last night

[00:45:35] or worse

[00:45:38] she might think I've lost it

[00:45:40] apparently I'd been sitting in silence for quite a little while

[00:45:47] as I suddenly realized my mom was talking into my ear

[00:45:52] Davey? Davey?

[00:45:55] you still there? hello?

[00:45:59] I snapped out of it

[00:46:03] uh yeah mom I'm here sorry

[00:46:06] I was just thinking about my old school days

[00:46:10] you remember that elementary school

[00:46:13] you and dad sent me to right?

[00:46:19] yes of course I do dear

[00:46:22] is that what you're calling me about?

[00:46:25] she sounded a little suspicious of me

[00:46:28] or maybe she was just concerned

[00:46:33] well uh... I was thinking about some of my old classmates

[00:46:38] Darren and Josh and uh...

[00:46:42] Joey

[00:46:44] do you remember Joey?

[00:46:48] there was a long stretch of silence over the line

[00:46:52] after a while it became my turn to pester the line

[00:46:56] mom? you there?

[00:47:04] oh uh yes yes I'm here

[00:47:07] she responded very nervously

[00:47:10] like something was wrong

[00:47:14] now what makes you want to know about Joey?

[00:47:19] know about

[00:47:20] well I was just thinking about some of my old classmates

[00:47:24] and remember hanging out with him and playing video games one time?

[00:47:28] I just wanted to know if you remembered him that's all

[00:47:34] there was another stretch of silence

[00:47:36] before she said

[00:47:39] oh I remember little Joey

[00:47:43] poor little Joey

[00:47:45] poor little Joey

[00:47:48] I stood up from my bed

[00:47:51] cell phone still pressed against my ear

[00:47:55] what do you mean mom?

[00:47:57] I could hear her starting to make strange sounds across the line

[00:48:04] like she was trying to hold back sobs of some kind

[00:48:08] oh son

[00:48:11] she began

[00:48:13] I never told you about it at the time because it was just too horrible

[00:48:17] we all didn't talk about it

[00:48:20] it was just too... too horrible

[00:48:23] for a young boy like you to have to face

[00:48:26] so none of us brought it up for all the kids' sakes

[00:48:31] for your safety

[00:48:35] I was pacing the room now

[00:48:37] wondering what in the world my mom was talking about

[00:48:41] what?

[00:48:45] I don't understand mom

[00:48:47] find out about what

[00:48:49] your friend Joey she began

[00:48:55] he didn't move away like we all said he did

[00:48:59] son

[00:49:02] your poor little Joey was the victim of a horrible horrible crime

[00:49:09] he disappeared one day and his mother rightfully went ballistic

[00:49:13] absolutely hysterical

[00:49:16] he had gotten on the bus one day

[00:49:19] but according to the school

[00:49:21] he was never dropped off

[00:49:24] it wasn't until many years later that they identified his remains

[00:49:30] after a fisherman pulled up a small child's shoe on his line

[00:49:35] that wouldn't have been odd

[00:49:38] were not for the fact that the shoe contained a sock

[00:49:42] filled with bone

[00:49:45] the authorities came out

[00:49:47] and investigated

[00:49:49] identified him

[00:49:53] oh Davey I'd never seen a woman so overcome with grief

[00:49:57] than I did his mother on that day

[00:50:00] it was awful Davey just awful

[00:50:06] as my mother's words settled in my skull

[00:50:10] I suddenly felt on the verge of passing out

[00:50:14] and fumbled from my bed just a few feet away

[00:50:19] when I caught my breath I asked

[00:50:22] Bob

[00:50:24] did they ever find anything out?

[00:50:28] do they have any clue who did it or

[00:50:32] there was another stretch of silence

[00:50:34] before my mom gave me a piece of information

[00:50:38] that made me wish I'd never place the call to begin with

[00:50:42] well

[00:50:46] she began

[00:50:48] no no one was ever charged

[00:50:51] and there weren't even any leads on the case

[00:50:54] but um

[00:50:56] when they found the rest of his remains

[00:50:59] I just remember his mother

[00:51:02] when she calmed down

[00:51:04] describing to me how the police told her

[00:51:07] whoever had done this

[00:51:09] was a real depraved mind

[00:51:12] and had probably done whatever he did for kicks

[00:51:16] his poor poor mother

[00:51:18] could barely get the words out

[00:51:20] could barely describe the state of the corpse

[00:51:24] well did she?

[00:51:29] I asked

[00:51:31] did she describe anything?

[00:51:33] she only told me a little

[00:51:38] and it was so horrible

[00:51:40] she could barely get the words out

[00:51:42] and immediately burst right back into tears

[00:51:45] and I just left it there to comfort her

[00:51:49] Davey

[00:51:51] his corpse

[00:51:53] aside from the horribly rotted

[00:51:56] and decomposed nature of the thing

[00:51:59] was relatively normal

[00:52:01] but the reason the cops said what they did

[00:52:05] is because there was one notable feature of the remains

[00:52:09] and it was in the boy's mouth

[00:52:12] his tongue was missing

[00:52:14] the detectives told his mother that it looked like the thing had been cut clean off

[00:52:20] with an extraordinarily sharp blade

[00:52:24] very far back in the boy's throat

[00:52:29] they were sure no animal could have been responsible

[00:52:33] it was a deliberate, horrific act, Davey

[00:52:39] and I'm sorry

[00:52:41] so sorry you had to hear this

[00:52:46] I'm sorry I couldn't take this to my grave

[00:52:50] I know it's been many decades now

[00:52:53] but horrors like this don't simply vanish from the mind

[00:52:58] I just hope the images and the thoughts

[00:53:02] don't haunt your dreams

[00:53:05] like they have mine