Welcome to Paranormal Nightshift, your go-to podcast for all things mysterious and otherworldly. In this episode, titled “The Tourist,” we venture into the eerie world of a night-shift retail store in Gatlinburg, drastically affected by the COVID pandemic.
As the town’s tourist activities halted, the main strip turned into an empty, desolate place. Little did the store owners know that their quiet store would soon become a hotspot for strange occurrences. From the moment COVID locked their doors, they started hearing mysterious sounds emanating from the store, as if a child was playing inside.
Initially, the owners dismissed these noises as mere tricks of the mind, but as days passed, the activity became more intense. Toys and rocks used in gem mining attractions would move on their own, and laughter of children filled the air. The bewildered couple even installed cameras to investigate, which captured the peculiar movements and disturbances happening in the store at night.
In an attempt to communicate with the unseen presence, they asked if anyone was there and if they had a name. They received no response until they noticed an overwhelming display of keychains with the name “Caitlyn” scattered throughout the store. They embraced this presence, treating her as a friendly spirit, and even left toys out for Caitlyn during the pandemic’s quiet days.
As the town reopened and life returned to normal, Caitlyn’s playful presence remained. A young boy playing with the rocks in the store unknowingly conversed with her, confirming that Caitlyn was still lingering. Intriguingly, a visiting medium captured a photograph of Caitlyn in the storefront, validating her existence beyond doubt.
Despite the enigma surrounding Caitlyn’s origins and her apparent attachment to the store, the owners cherish her presence and have embraced her as part of their lives. As they wonder about her past and wish to understand her circumstances, they believe that she means no harm and that the store is her safe haven.
So, join us on this captivating journey into the world of the paranormal as we explore the heartwarming and mysterious tale of Caitlyn, the beloved spirit of the nightshift retail store.
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The sun’s going down but you’re
clocking in.
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Here’s some things that only
night shift will understand.
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Welcome to paranormal night
shift.
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Your home for all things that go
bump in the night.
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Is your Your fan submitted
stories told right here.
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Let’s get right to it.
Today’s episode is called The
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Tourist Town.
COVID changed a lot of things
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for a lot of people.
But for us in retail, it was the
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first time that we had empty
stores ever.
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And in a tourist town like
Gatlinburg, having a block of
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stores with no customers was
almost like a ghost town in
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itself.
Those people don’t know this,
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but the main strip of Gatlinburg
has apartments over the
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buildings.
My wife and I had owned this
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store for years.
And sure, you hear all sorts of
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stories, but we never believed
them.
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But this was the first time, the
first time since we owned this
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store that there was never
customers in it.
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It all started probably 3 days
into COVID.
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It was the third day that our
doors were completely locked and
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sitting upstairs watching TV, we
started to hear things move
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around within the store.
It sounded like somebody was
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down there like some sort of
child playing.
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Of course.
I went downstairs to investigate
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and found nothing.
It must have just been the TV or
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minds playing tricks on us.
We were not used to having it
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this quiet, but this continued
on over and over again for days
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on end.
Every time it got really quiet
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upstairs, it sounded like the
store downstairs was busy, full
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of life.
We continued to hear children
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laughing and playing.
Do you know those rocks that
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they have in those tour shops?
You know, the gym minds that
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your kids love to play with?
The rocks.
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We could always hear the rocks
moving like somebody was digging
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in them.
We would constantly find rocks
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on the floor, toys knocked over.
Things unfolded as if somebody
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had been in the store.
At first it was kind of amusing,
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almost nice to know that maybe
something was down there and
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enjoying it, but then it started
to get louder and louder and we
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were losing sleep and we really
didn’t know if it was paranormal
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or if there was really somebody
in our store going to let you in
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on a secret.
We have CCTV but other than the
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ones right above the register
don’t really film anything.
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So my wife decided to actually
get some good cameras and set
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them up.
Watched overnight and surely
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enough books would come off the
shelf.
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Rocks were being played with,
toys were being thrown around as
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if somebody was messing with
them.
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We finally went down there one
night and decided to address
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whatever was down there.
Do you know that you’re here?
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Do you know that we are here?
And if you are here, can you
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tell us your name?
Nothing.
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Nothing at all.
We stayed down there most of the
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night, but finally got tired and
decided to go upstairs.
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But the next morning when we
went downstairs, you know the
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keychains that have people’s
names on them, The name Caitlin
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was everywhere.
The whole thing.
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Just Caitlin, Keychains
everywhere.
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This was our life now.
We talked to her, We’d go down
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into the store and we’d leave
toys out for Caitlin.
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We’d say, hey Caitlin, bye
Caitlin, good night, Caitlin.
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It was just the way it was all
throughout COVID.
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But once COVID opened back up
and everything started moving
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again, the store was busy and
filled with life.
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We always still talked to
Caitlin.
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The other day there was a young
boy playing in the rocks by
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himself, but was having a
conversation with someone.
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He saw it and I knew it was
Caitlin.
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I asked him, who are you talking
to over there?
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He said the little girl.
She says hello.
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I didn’t want to scare him so I
said hello.
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Caitlin, how are you?
But there was nothing there.
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The other day a lady walked into
the store and told us that she
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was a median, that she could
communicate with spirits and
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wondered if we had had any
paranormal activity.
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My wife and I giggled and
laughed and said, of course you
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must be talking about Caitlyn
and her face turned white as a
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ghost so that you’re aware
you’re aware that she’s here.
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Of course we are.
She means there’s no harm.
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She’s a wonderful little girl.
She wanted to take pictures.
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The median did and took pictures
of the storefront.
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We finally got him back and sure
enough, there was a little girl
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in the window.
I wish I could send you these
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pictures, but they’re private
and we don’t know anything about
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Caitlin other than that she is
there and she is very real.
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I wish we knew why she was
trapped here.
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I wish we knew that if she knew
that this was her home and that
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it was safe for her, maybe she
lived here many years ago.
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Maybe she is trapped.
But either way, this is her home
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and we love to share it with
her.