So, as I mentioned in the previous module, that in the previous module, I spoke about very very briefly the theory and the background about joins.  And I will actually write the code, you will see the code and you will see the results and you will understand that what is the benefit of the join operation. In the prior module or in the previous module, I showed you, I told you, I explained to you that why we split the tables and then we have to join the tables. So right now in this module, we'll talk about using PHP to actually perform the join. Now before we perform the join, I will very very briefly speak about some of the useful commands which are required because when we display the results, there is a kind of a precedence or which is called as a coalition when we when the strings are used. So this is about the string processing. So let me explain it to you in more detail. So we have this over here what we call as the binary attributes and coalitions. So it means that if I retrieve results from the database. So they are sorted displayed in alphabetical ordering. If I order them, of course, if I order them. So something starting with a comes first, then something starting with B comes at the second which is followed by a and by default, if it's B or capital B, they are treated the same. Number one, number two is that if I run a query and retrieve something starting with capital B or starting with small or lower case B, it will not the engine will not differentiate. Right. To add functionality, what we do is we use the binary attribute binary attribute after the variable which we are using. So when we use this binary attribute, then the precedence is set or the coalition is set. Right. And there's a difference between small b and capital B is a difference between banana starting with small b and difference between banana starting with capital B. That is one thing. The other thing is the unique constraint. The unique constraint what it does, it is similar to the primary key which creates an index and there is no repetition on the column within the column for which the primary key is applied. The same is true for the unique constraint, but there are differences also unique constraint is slightly different. There are two differences of unique constraint as compared to primary key. That I will go into the detail when we go towards the detail of this particular module about this running and performing the joints using PHP. And then is the enum data type. This is enumeration. So what it is saying is that in this column which is text column, we can only have certain strings. For example, in the gender column, we can only have male or female. And for the same, for example, it is the type of movie. We can only have the fiction or we can only have comedy and so on. So that is the end. So this is the type which we assign to the columns and use these commands to ensure those columns are there. Okay. Then of course, when we retrieve the data from the database using the SQL commands, we can reduce the number of rows, we can order them, we can group them, we can sort them, we can summarize them, we can do all sorts of those things. Right. And remember that these things are not happening on your client end. On client end, you make the request that request is passed through the second tier, which is the your application tier and then go to the database tier. And from there, the results are sent to the web server and the pages are generated. So this is more which I will be covering. And this this part very interesting part, which we will cover in the detail part where we create the forms for this fictitious book store, which I'll be talking about. So right now I'll be talking about some details about pulling data from multiple tables. So let's look at some examples and let's look at some code over here. So over here, let's look, this is the command over here, this is the MySQL prompt over here. And I would like to know that how many pages, okay, what were the URLs for which the pages were accessed. So I get only number four, that is fine. But what is not fine is, is I really don't know which people accessed with which pages. So I change the code. So instead of from this message log, I also look at the member ID, okay, and from the access log. So I just access log also. And now I am counting the page URL. So what I get, this is the member ID, okay, this is the member ID over here, one, three and six. And we see that this member has access to pages. Now that is useful information. But that is not very interesting information. Why? Because it is very difficult to connect the member ID with the member itself, especially when I have tens of thousands of members, right? So this query over here, this lists all the first names and the last names of my members. So for the sake of simplicity and the size of the screen, we are only showing results from a very small database. You can see that we have these members, okay, and we have the six or seven members over here. And now we know that member one is John, okay, and we know that member three is, and so on, who is member six and so on. So these are all the members. Now, up till now we have not applied the join over here. Up till now, up till now we have not applied the join over here. So what I'll do is now I will apply the join. You can see the results. So this is the join. This is the join over here. This is the join over here, okay, so I have now used the join. And based upon this join, now I have the link between the member ID and the member name. So now I have very useful information. So you see in this module, what we did was that I showed you very briefly that what we are looking at and then the limitations of what we are getting. And then we apply the join and get the results. And if you recall, in the first module of the course, I spoke about, I talked about, I gave you the idea that we are going to use a hands on approach. We are going to open the hood and fix the problem over there. And we are going to have an understanding. So this is the step by step approach of the understanding, which will be following in this course. And of course, you are welcome to ask questions. And we will be very happy to answer your questions.


Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and is intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised. Welcome, Weirdos. I'm Darren Marlar and this is Weird Darkness. Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural, legends, lore, the strange and bizarre, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved and unexplained. This episode was originally aired on April 1, 2019, April Fool's Day. Many podcasts and YouTube channels today are taking advantage of the date on the calendar and playing practical jokes on their subscribers in celebration of All Fool's Day. And I'll admit I was tempted to begin a story and then rickroll you, but instead I thought it might be fun to bring some dark stories into today's podcast that have a funny or amusing twist to them. Still creepy, but comical as well. I don't believe any of these stories are actually true, but that doesn't mean that they're not entertaining. If you're new here, welcome to the show. While you're listening, be sure to check out WeirdDarkness.com for merchandise, my newsletter, to enter contests, to connect with me on social media. Plus, you can visit the Hope in the Darkness page if you're struggling with depression or dark thoughts. You can find all of that and more at WeirdDarkness.com.  If you travel to Bear Lake in Utah on a quiet day, you just might catch a glimpse of the Bear Lake monster. The monster looks like a huge brown snake and is nearly 90 feet long.  According to some, it has small legs and it kind of scurries when it ventures out on land, but in the water, watch out. It can swim faster than a horse can gallop, makes a mile a minute on a good day. Sometimes the monster likes to sneak up on unwary swimmers and blow water at them, the ones it doesn't carry off to eat, that is. A fella I heard about spotted the monster early one evening as he was walking along the lake. He tried to shoot it with his rifle. The man was a crack shot, but none of his bullets touched the monster. It scared the heck out of him and he hightailed it home faster than you can say Jack Robinson. His rifle behind him and claimed the monster ate it. Sometimes when the monster has been quiet for a while, people start saying it's gone for good. Some folks even dredge up that old tale that says how Pekos Bill heard about the Bear Lake monster and bet some cowpokes that he could wrestle that monster until it said Uncle. According to them folks, the fight lasted for days and created a hurricane around Bear Lake. Finally Bill flung that their monster over his shoulder and it flew so far it went plomb around the world and landed in Loch Ness where it lives to this day. Of course we know better than that. The Bear Lake monster is just hibernating. Keep your eyes open at dusk. Maybe you'll see it come out to feed. Just be careful swimming in the lake or you might be its next meal. The train rumbled around him as he adjusted the throttle. The night shift was always the toughest in the engineer's mind. It ruffled through tempas a few minutes ago and was on his way to Thatcher. Not a bad stretch of road and there was no better train in the entire Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. He stretched a bit and yawned trying to stay alert and then he gasped. The lights had picked up the figure of a beautiful woman with long red gold hair and wonderful blue eyes standing near the tracks too near. He sounded his horn to warn her away and then he realized that the light was shining right through her. She was a ghost. She stepped into the center of the tracks laughing and beautiful. She disappeared seconds before the train rushed through her and then she was there in the engine cab next to him. The scent of roses filled the air. He stared at the ghostly vision bewitched by her beauty. With an enticing smile, she wrapped ghostly arms about his neck and kissed him, then was gone. Dazed and disappointed, the engineer finished the run to Thatcher in a trance completely forgetting to stop at the station. The fireman had to pour water on his head to snap him out of it. The engineer decided not to tell anyone about the ghost fearing for his job, but he was plagued by curiosity. Finally, he invited the story to a close friend who was a fellow engineer. To his surprise, the friend had heard about the ghost before. The ghost's appearance on the train was by no means uncommon. No one knew who the woman had been in life, but she always appeared on that stretch of track after dark, beckoning to the man on the railroad crew with a bewitching smile. Sometimes, said his friend, sometimes she would come right onto the train. Better not tell your wife about it, his friend advised. The engineer never did. There was an abandoned house sitting in the middle of a fancy neighborhood in Calgary that nobody would go near, and I mean nobody. Now, my pal Albert was the agent in charge of selling that haunted house, and he tried everything in his power to close the deal, but folks were too plumb scared to make an offer, even at rock bottom prices. Finally, Albert lit on the notion of selling the house right unseen to a rich city slicker from the States. Worked like a charm, too, until the day the city slicker decided he wanted to visit the property after all. Albert was all set to take the fellow there at high noon, but the city slicker's train was delayed, so it wasn't until after dinner that the two men set off for the haunted house. It was a dark and rainy night, but early enough in the evening that the ghost might still be resting. At least, Albert hoped this was the case. Albert unlocked the front door, and it opened with an ominous creak. Albert swallowed nervously, but the city slicker just chuckled and said something about atmosphere. Albert relaxed a bit and wondered if he shouldn't have raised the price a bit. The two men entered a tall foyer absolutely festooned with dusty cobwebs. Creepy, the city slicker said enthusiastically. He bounded energetically into the center of the foyer. Come to me foul spirits, he intoned loudly. Immediately the whole house rang with a sinister unearthly chuckle. Then an unearthly voice boomed, I'm coming down now. The city slicker jumped and then turned to Albert with a happy grin. Great special effects! How'd you do that? I didn't, Albert said, his teeth chattering. He backed up until he hit the front door and stood there with his hand on the knob. I'm coming down now. The voice boomed again, and the city slicker's grin slipped a bit. He looked at Albert's frightened posture and then followed the agent's gaze toward the stairs. A bright light exploded into being at the top of the steps and quickly resolved into a sinister green head with flaming eyes, writhing hair and fangs instead of teeth.  As the head began rolling down the stairs toward the two men, Albert's nerve broke. In a moment later, he was halfway down the road, his own scream rivaling that of the specter in the house behind him. It wasn't until he was almost home that he realized he had company. The city slicker was running along beside him. Mr., I don't think I want that house after all! he panted. Why not? asked a hauntingly familiar voice. Albert and the city slicker looked over and saw the green head with flaming red eyes keeping pace with them as they raced down the street. The city slicker gave a screech that would have shamed a banshee and disappeared into the distance so fast there was no keeping up with him. Must have been the asking price, the floating head said conversationally to Albert. The real estate agent shrieked even louder than the city and ran away so fast that his shoes made sparks against the pavement. The next day, Albert quit his job and moved to Vancouver where he spent the rest of his life working on a fishing boat and the haunted house fell into ruin and was eventually torn down. Well now, old Sam Gibb, he didn't believe in ghosts, not one bit. Everyone in town knew the old log cabin back in the woods was haunted, but Sam Gibb just laughed whenever folks talked about it. Finally, the blacksmith dared Sam Gibb to spend the night in this haunted log cabin. If he stayed there until dawn, the blacksmith would buy him a whole cartload of watermelons. Sam, he was delighted. Watermelon was Sam's absolute favorite fruit. He accepted the dare at once, packed some matches at his pipe and went right over to the log cabin to spend the night. Sam went into the old log cabin, started a fire, lit his pipe, and settled into a rickety old chair with yesterday's newspaper. As he was reading he heard a creaking sound. Looking up, he saw that he gnarled little creature with glowing red eyes had taken the seat beside him. It had a long, forked tail, two horns on its head, claws at the end of its hands and sharp teeth that poked right through its large lips. There ain't nobody here tonight except you and me, the creature said to old Sam Gibb. It had a voice like the hiss of flames. Sam's heart nearly stopped with fright. He leapt to his feet. All right, gotta be nobody here but you in a minute, Sam Gibb told the gnarled creature. He leapt straight for the nearest exit, which happened to be the window, and hightailed it down the lane, lickety-split. He ran so fast he overtook two rabbits being chased by a coyote. But it wasn't long before he heard the pounding of little hooves of the gnarled creature with the red eyes caught up to him. You're making pretty good speed for an old man, said the creature to old Sam Gibb. Oh, I could run much faster than this, Sam Gibb told it. He took off like a bolt of lightning, leaving the gnarled creature in the dust. As he ran past the smithy, the blacksmith came flying out of the forge to see what was wrong. Never mind about them watermelons, Sam Gibb shouted to the blacksmith without breaking his stride. Old Sam Gibb ran all the way home and hid under his bed for the rest of the night. After that, he was a firm believer in ghosts and spooks, and he refused to go anywhere near the old cabin in the woods or watermelons. More fun April Fears Day stories coming up on Weird Darkness. There was once a crazy ghost over Pukipsy Way that got folks so plumb scared that nobody would stay more than one night in its house. It was a nice old place, or was, until the ghost began making its presence known. It got so nobody would enter the house, not even kids on a dare, and you know what they're like. Now, when my friend Joe heard a fancy old house in Pukipsy was selling dirt cheap, he decided to go have a look. He asked me about it, and I told him about the spook. But Joe just laughed, I don't believe in ghosts, he said, and he went to visit the agent selling the house. Well, the agent gave Joe a key, but refused to look at the old house with him, which should have told Joe something. But Joe is a stubborn man who won't listen to reason. He even waited until after dark to visit the house for the first time just to prove his point. But Joe got to the house around 9 p.m., and he entered the front hallway. There was a large entrance and well proportioned, but neglected looking with creepy cobwebs and dust everywhere. As Joe paused near the door to get his bearings, he heard a thump from the top of the staircase, facing him. A glowing leg appeared out of nowhere and rolled down the steps, landing right next to Joe's feet. Joe gasped out loud and stood frozen to the spot. An arm appeared and rolled down to meet the leg. Next came a foot, then another arm, then a hand. Glowing pieces of body kept popping into existence and plummeting down the steps towards Joe. Joe held his ground a lot longer than anyone else ever had, but when a screaming head appeared at the top of the steps and started rolling towards him, Joe had had enough. With a shriek that could wake the dead, those that weren't already up and haunting the house that is, Joe ran for his life, out of the house, out of the street, and right out of town, leaving his car behind him. He called me the next day and asked me to drive his car down to the hotel where he had spent the night. Joe was headed back to Manhattan and refused to come within 50 miles of the keepsie ever again. The agent gave up trying to sell the house after that and the house fell into ruin and was eventually torn down. A fisherman from Newfoundland was having difficulty finding someone to assist him. Help was scarce and he couldn't find a soul to hire. Then one day, he saw a handsome fellow in fancy city clothes walking along the docks. This was obviously not a man looking for work, but the fisherman still called out, half in jest, are you looking for some work? Well, it was a surprise the city man nodded and jumped into the boat. They agreed to split the catch into three parts, one for the city man, one for expenses, and one for the fisherman. Then they set out in the boat. At first, the skipper caught three fish to every fish caught by the city man. It was quite disgusted with his performance. At this rate, he would have done better fishing alone. So he said, am I supposed to catch all the fish for you? Why don't you catch some? Well, then, if it's the fish you're looking for, said the pesky stranger, how about these? He grabbed the fish gaff and smacked the port side of the vessel three times. Come aboard, fish, he shouted. Immediately, fish of every shape and size came leaping out of the water on the port side and flopped into the bottom of the boat. The stranger then hit the starboard side of the boat three times and fish came hopping and flopping in from that direction. Until the boat was so full, the skipper could barely see the stranger over the mound of fish. Stop or you'll drown us both. He shouted to the city man. Well, that pesky cityfeller held up the fish gaff and immediately the fish stopped jumping into the boat. The skipper eyed the catch and then grinned in delight at the city man. I wish I'd brought a spot of rum. He cried enthusiastically. We should celebrate this fine catch. A spot of rum coming up, said the pesky fellow.  Then he bore a second hole into the mast and poured himself some whiskey. By this time, the skipper was marveling at the magic produced by this pesky cityfellow, but he wasn't about to ask how he pulled off such stupendous tricks. He was just grateful to benefit from them. He topped off his rum from the hole in the mast and then turned the boat towards shore. The stranger wanted to steer, but the skipper, he wasn't sure where that pesky fellow would take his boat, so he politely declined that offer and the man grinned knowingly and poured himself some more whiskey. When they reached the docks, the two men sat down and started dividing the catch between them. Lay out one for you, one for expenses, and one for the devil, the pesky cityfellow said with a lazy grin. So that was what the skipper did. He made three piles and they kept throwing the fish one at a time into a pile chanting, one for me, one for expenses, one for the devil, until the entire catch was divided. The skipper put the devil's portion on a wooden rack called a stage that was used for drying fish. Much obliged, said the pesky fellow with a happy grin. He kicked over the stage, leapt into the sea with his portion of the catch, and the whole kitten caboodle disappeared in a puff of smoke. The skipper shook his head a few times. Then he went back to the mast to pour himself some more rum, but both of the boreholes had disappeared, along with the pesky fellow. I came home late one night after work and found my wife Ethel pottering about the kitchen with a big yellow cat at her heels. And who is this? I asked jovially. This is our new cat, said Ethel, giving me a hug and a kiss to welcome me home. She just appeared at the kitchen door and wanted to come in. None of the neighbors know where she came from, so I guess she's ours. It'll be nice to have some company around the house. I bent down and scratched the yellow cat onto the chin. She purred and stretched. Well, I think our income can stretch far enough to feed three, I said. My son had taken over my job at the mercantile and my wife and I were enjoying a leisurely old age. I like to keep busy, though, and so I spent a few hours every day cutting and hauling wood to be used at the mill. I went out to milk the cow, and when I came back in Ethel gave the cat some cream and a saucer. We sat on the porch after dinner and the cat sat with us.  She purred loudly. Donald, Ethel said. She sounded worried. I turned to look at her. The neighbors acted rather oddly when I told them about the cat. They seemed to think she was a ghost or a witch of some sort, transformed into a cat. They told me to get rid of her. A witch, I asked a laughed heartily.  The cat yawned and stretched. Reluctantly, Ethel started to laugh with me. It seemed such a ludicrous notion. We sat watching the beautiful sunset and then took ourselves to bed. The cat quickly became an essential part of our household. She would purr us awake each morning and would beg for cream when I brought in the morning's milking. She followed Ethel around supervising her work during the day and would sit by the fire at night while we read aloud. The days became shorter, as Autumn approached, and often I'd work until nearly sunset, cutting and hauling wood. One night in October, I didn't finish hauling my last load until dusk. As soon as I piled the last log, I started down the road hoping to get home before dark since I hadn't brought a lantern with me. I rounded a corner and saw a group of black cats standing in the middle of the road. They were nearly invisible in the growing dark. As I drew nearer, I saw that they were carrying a stretcher between them. I stopped and rubbed my eyes. That was impossible. When I looked again, the stretcher was still there and there was a little dead cat lying on it. I was astonished. It must be a trick of a light, I thought. Then one of the cats called out, Sir, please tell Aunt Ken that Polly Grundy is dead. My mouth dropped open in shock. I shook my head hard, not believing my ears. How ridiculous, I thought. Cats don't talk. I hurried past the little group, carefully looking the other way. I must be working too hard, I thought. But I couldn't help wondering who Aunt Ken might be and why the cat wanted me to tell her Polly Grundy was dead. Was Polly Grundy the name of the cat on the stretcher? Suddenly I was confronted by a small black cat.  I stopped and looked down at it. It looked back at me with large, green eyes that seemed to glow in the fading light. I have a message for Aunt Ken, the cat said. Tell her that Polly Grundy is dead. The cat stalked past me and went to join the other cats grouped around the stretcher. I was completely nonplussed. This was getting very spooky, talking cats and a dead Polly Grundy and who was Aunt Ken? I hurried away as fast as I could walk. Around me the woods were getting darker and darker. I didn't want to stay in that wood with a group of talking cats, not that I really believed the cats had spoken. It was all a strange, waking dream brought on by too much work. Behind me the cats gave a strange shriek and called out together, old man, tell Aunt Ken that Polly Grundy is dead. Well, I'd had enough. I sprinted for home as fast as I could, and I didn't stop until I'd reached the safety of my porch. I paused to catch my breath. I didn't want to explain to Ethel that I was seeing and hearing impossible things. She dosed me with castor oil and called the doctor. When I was sufficiently composed I went into the house and tried to act normally. I should have known it wouldn't work. Ethel and I had been married for thirty years. She knew me inside and out. She didn't say anything until I'd finished the chores.  After I'd taken a few bites and started to relax, she said, Tell me about it, Donald. I don't want to worry you, I said, reluctant to talk about what I'd seen and heard on the way home. The yellow cat was lying by the fire. She looked up when she heard my voice and came to sit by my chair. I offered her a morsel of food, which she accepted daintily. I'll worry more if you don't tell me, said Ethel. I think maybe something is wrong with my brain, I said. While I was walking home, I thought I saw a group of black cats carrying a stretcher with a dead cat on it. And then I thought I heard the cats talking to me. They asked me to tell Aunt Can that Polly Grundy was dead. The yellow cat leapt up onto the window sill. Polly Grundy is dead? She cried that I am the queen of the witches. She switched her tail and the window flew open with a bang. The yellow cat leapt through it and disappeared into the night, never to return. Ethel had to dump an entire bucket of water over my head to revive me from my faint. The good news, she told me when I sat up, dripping and swearing because the water was ice cold, is that you have nothing wrong with your brain. The bad news is that our cat has just left us to become the queen of the witches. We'll have to get another cat. Ah, no, I said immediately, I've had enough of cats. We got a dog. The boy had been out looking for work all day with no luck. When night fell, he was far from home. He decided to spend the night in an empty, run-down house. The minute he laid down, he fell into a sound sleep. The boy was awakened quite suddenly by a thump on the roof. With a pounding heart, he sat up and lit a candle. A voice called out, I'm falling down. The boy scrambled out of the way, just as a skeletal arm came crashing to the floor. The voice shouted again, I'm falling down. And another arm landed beside the first. Then a leg, the chest and a second leg.  The boy lifted his chin and grinned back, determined not to show his fear. The skeleton was delighted by the boy's spirit and said, You have courage, son. Are you brave enough to wrestle me? The boy was terrified, but he did not dare refuse this strange apparition. The skeleton and the boy wrestled back and forth, up and down the room. Remembering a trick his older brother had taught him, he twisted suddenly and threw the skeleton onto the ground. You've won, the skeleton said. Such courage deserves a reward. Come, I will give you my treasure. The boy was startled. What kind of a treasure could an old skeleton have? Pick me up and carry me on your back to the next room, said the skeleton. Remember to take your candle. The boy picked up the skeleton and put it on his back. Then he retrieved his candle from the corner of the room and carried the skeleton into the next room. As they passed through the doorway, the skeleton blew out the candle. Now stop that, the boy said, annoyed. The skeleton cackled madly. The boy let the candle again and the skeleton blew it out. I'm going to drop you, the boy threatened. He let the candle again and again the skeleton blew it out. The boy dropped the skeleton onto the floor. I will break all your bones, he said. Impressed, the skeleton replied, You are so courageous and strong, I will let you see my treasure. The boy let the candle again and turned to look into the room. It was filled with piles and piles of gold and silver and jewels. I want you to promise me something, the skeleton said. The boy drew his gaze reluctantly from the magnificent treasure and looked at the skeleton. I want you to promise me that you will gather all the poor people you can find in one day and give them each a bag of money, the rest you can keep for yourself. It would be a good thing to share this wealth with the needy, the boy decided, so he agreed to do what the skeleton had asked. The skeleton gave a happy laugh and began to disappear piece by piece, first his head, then his leg, then his chest, then his other leg, so on until he was gone.  They lived in comfort all their days. More April Fears Day stories coming up. Tommy knockers are the spirits of departed miners that help miners find one. They also knock on the walls of the mines right before a cave in. When you hear a tommy knocker knocking, it is best to depart the area right quick. They have saved the life of many a miner who has been in danger. Some folks say that the very first man to hear the sound is jinxed, but that is not always the case. It is important to stay on the good side of the tommy knockers. Many miners leave a bit of their lunch for the spirits, and to please them, they fashion the little clay figures of their spirits. The tommy knockers can be spiteful creatures if they don't like you. One unlucky miner named Eddie became a target of the tommy knockers.  He couldn't figure out why the tommy knockers had singled him out until one day he heard a voice calling to him from the dark opening of a nearby shaft. Eddie, I want my five dollars, the tommy knocker said. Eddie was so startled he dropped his tools all over the ground. The voice sounded just like that of his old friend Joe who had died in a cave in a few months back. Eddie had borrowed five dollars from Joe and had never returned it. Eddie went into the shaft and sure enough, there was Joe Trelawney's ghost, shrunk to the size of a two-foot dwarf with a big, ugly head, large ears and a crooked nose, but it was still Joe. He wore a peat hat, a leather jacket, and water-soaked leather boots. The tommy knocker was not pleased to see Eddie. Give me back my five dollars, Eddie, the ghost of his old friend demanded. I don't have any money on me, Joe, Eddie said, patting his pockets for emphasis. I've heard that before, said the tommy knocker, dryly. I didn't believe it then and I don't believe it now. The tommy knocker disappeared into thin air, leaving an uneasy Eddie to wonder what the ghost would do next. He soon found out. All day long, Eddie was plagued by the tommy knocker. His ladder was shaken so hard that he almost fell.  He just missed being buried by a rockfall. And through it all, Joe's voice would taunt him. Give me back my five dollars, Eddie. All right, Joe, all right.  Abandoning his work for the day, Eddie made the long climb to the surface and took five silver dollars from the money box he kept under a loose board in his bedroom. Then he climbed back down into the mine and stuck the five dollars into a crack in the wall next to the place Joe's spirit had appeared to him. There's your five dollars, Joe, Eddie shouted, his voice echoing oddly in the dark tunnel. It's about bloody time, Joe said, appearing next to him and peering critically into the crack where the money lay. Are you going to leave me alone now? Eddie asked. The tommy knocker grinned impishly at Eddie. Maybe, he said, he scooped up the five silver dollars and disappeared into the dark. The preacher was writing to one of the churches on his circuit when darkness fell.  The preacher clutched his Bible and said, the law will take care of me. He went into the mansion just as the storm broke. He put his horse into the barn and made his way into the house. The door was unlocked. He went into a large room which contained a fireplace that filled one wall. There was wood laid out for a fire. He laid a match to it. Then the preacher sat down to read his Bible. Gradually the fire burnt down to a heap of coals as the storm howled around the mansion. The preacher was roused from his reading by a sound. He looked up from his Bible.  Then it walked to the fire and sat down among the red hot coals. It picked a coal up in its paw and licked it slowly. The cat got up, shook off the ashes and walked to the foot of the preacher's chair. It fixed blazing yellow eyes upon him, black tail lashing and said quietly, wait until Emmett comes. The preacher jumped from Genesis to Matthew in shock. He'd never heard of a cat talking before. Nervously he kept reading his Bible muttering to himself, the law will take care of me. Two minutes later another cat came into the room.  It lay down among the red hot coals, lazily batting them with enormous pause. Then it walked over to the other cat and said, what shall we do with him? The first cat replied, we should not do anything until Emmett comes. The two cats, black as midnight, sat watching the preacher who read through the gospels at top speed, aware of blazing yellow eyes watching him the entire time. A third cat, big as a tiger, entered the room. It went to the fire full of red hot coals and rolled among them, chewing them and spitting them out. Then it came to the other two cats facing the preacher in the chair. What shall we do with him? It growled to the others. We should not do anything until Emmett comes. The other cats replied together. The preacher flipped to revelation, looking furtively around the room. He closed the Bible and stood up. Good night, cats. I was glad of you company, but whenever it comes, you don't tell him I've been here and went. One dark, windy night, the town drunk was meandering his way home after the bar closed. Somehow he got turned around and ended up walking through the churchyard instead of taking the road home. The wind picked up and he thought he could hear a voice calling his name. Suddenly the ground opened up in front of him and he fell down down into an open grave. He could hear the voice clearer now, calling to him. He knew it was the devil coming for him just like the preacher said he would on account of him being the town drunk. The hole was very deep and inside it was pitch black. His eyes adjusted to the darkness after a few moments and he made out a form sitting in the darkness with him. It called his name and he scrambled away in fear, trying to climb out of that terrible grave. Then the figure spoke. He can't get out, it said. The drunk gave a shout of pure terror and leapt straight up more than six feet. He caught the edge of the hole in his hands, scrambled out, and ran for home as fast as he could. Inside the open grave is neighbor Charlie, sighed in resignation. He'd fallen into the hole a few minutes before his friend and thought that together they might be able to help each other climb out. Now he was going to have to wait until morning and get the mortician to bring him a ladder. Everyone laughed at Jumpy Uncle Phil, who believed the world was largely populated with monsters and ghosts and spooks and witches and werewolves, but he was considered harmless and no one much bothered about the poor fella until one summer when a new family moved to town with two naughty sons. As soon as they learned about Jumpy Uncle Phil, those boys became obsessed with tormenting him. They snuck out to his place one night and painted hex signs all over his barn. When Uncle Phil woke up the next morning, he ran all the way to the church, sure the devil was out to steal his soul away. The old man wouldn't leave until the minister went out and blessed his house. A week later, the boys gathered all the black cats in town they could find and put them into Uncle Phil's house. When Uncle Phil opened the door, fur flew everywhere as the black cats hissed and bit. Uncle Phil ran back to the church and the minister had to bless the man's house all over again. Then one night they stuck in Uncle Phil's house through the parlor window, dragging a scarecrow with them. They set up the scarecrow so that it loomed over the poor sleeping man. Then they sunk out and positioned the lantern on a tree branch so that the light illuminated the scarecrow's face. The boys started moaning and groaning and calling Uncle Phil's name from the yard outside his bedroom window. Uncle Phil woke with a gasp and then screamed in sheer terror. Leaping off the bed, he dove out of his bedroom window and climbed into the tree. Below him, the lantern fell to the ground, setting fire to the woodpile beside the house. The boys stopped laughing and ran to the barn for something to put out the fire. Together, they managed to put it out, but the side of the house was scorched. The boys snuck into the house and removed the scarecrow before hightailing at home. In the morning, Uncle Phil had come down from the top of the tree and went to fetch the preacher. Uncle Phil was sure the devil would come to his house again and tried to take away his soul. The minister had to perform a third ritual cleansing of the farm before Uncle Phil would return to his property. The boys figured they'd better lay low for a while after the fire, so life went back to normal for Uncle Phil. Then, about a month after the devil's visit, Uncle Phil passed away in his sleep and the boys were sure it was their fault. They felt terrible about it, but what could they do? Uncle Phil was gone.  The boys were alarmed and could not convince their parents that they did not know how the cats got there. Then the boys came home from school one afternoon to find hex signs painted on their barn. The boys yelled in terror and ran inside their house completely spooked. Later that night, the boys woke to hear a voice moaning their names. They sat up in their beds and saw the illuminated figure of a scarecrow looming in the center of their room. The boys screamed in terror. I have come for your soul, it moaned, waving its arms about. The boys screamed again. Then the scarecrow started laughing.  After all, turn about his fair play. Laughing and crying, the boys had to agree. And they never played a practical joke on anyone else ever again. Thanks for listening. If you like the show, please share it with someone you know who loves the paranormal or strange stories, true crime, monsters or unsolved mysteries like you do. And please leave a rating and review of the show and the podcast app you listen from. Doing so helps the show to get noticed. You can also email me anytime with your questions or comments through the website at WeirdDarkness.com. That's also where you can find all of my social media, listen to free audiobooks that I've narrated, shop the Weird Darkness store, sign up for the email newsletter, find other podcasts that I host, and find the Hope in the Darkness page if you or someone you know is struggling with depression or dark thoughts. Plus, if you have a true paranormal or creepy tale to tell of your own, you can click on Tell Your Story. All stories in this episode were gathered and rewritten by S.E. Schlosser. You can find links to all of the books that these stories are pulled from in the show notes. Weird Darkness is a production and trademark of Marlarhouse Productions. Copyright, Weird Darkness.  And a final thought, your journey will be much lighter and easier if you don't carry your past with you. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me in the Weird Darkness.


This is how I got burnt out on Christianity. I became a Christian at a young age and from early on I was concerned with this idea of what it meant to be a good Christian, to evangelize, to read my Bible, to pray, to go to church, to do all the right things. I felt this looming weight on my shoulders that just wouldn't budge. Pressure if I made the wrong move, God's love for me would cease. I got to the point where I felt like giving up. Like everything I did was never enough. I felt like I was never measuring up. Christianity was my escape as I tried to prove to myself that I was okay. That was the Christianity that I experienced for years, but a few simple truths pierced my heart. God's love for His children is unconditional. It can't be earned and it can't be lost. Nothing can separate me from the love of God. My worth and my identity are secured to Christ and His work so I am invited into rest. God's desire for me is that I would delight so deeply in Him that my life would become a vessel of His living water.


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Hi Benjamin, it's nice to see you. Tell us where you are right now. I mean Aman, wait just a second because I'm in a room with a lot of people. Guys, I'm doing live for Cold Pink now, you can say hi to them. We're gonna talk about Palestine so be a little quiet please. So I mean Aman, after they rejected me from the border I went back to Aman and I'm staying here a couple more days until I go back to Sweden. Could you begin by just telling us what happened at the border and then we'll go back and talk about your journey to the border? Yeah, I guess the same thing as for you, like a long interrogation. For me it took six hours, I don't know how long the interrogated you though. Seven hours, yes. Seven? Yes. I had to do something bigger, we had to compete the most hours of interrogation. What did they interrogate you about, if you could talk a little bit about what happened? They really wanted the names, they wanted places, they wanted to know exactly everything I was going to do, who I was going to meet, their telephone numbers if I could provide. Obviously I don't give the Israeli authorities names of Palestinians because that's like a one way ticket to jail for them I figure. So yeah they would just keep pushing for that and since I knew they were going to reject me to begin with I didn't really have any plans in Palestine so I just told them I would go around as many places as possible for the whatever time frame you would allow me to be there and they're like no you didn't walk here for 11 months just to not have a plan of what you're going to do there I said, you don't really know me. And it's my understanding that they accused you of planning a protest or demonstration in Navi Salah? They gave me two official reasons, like I was falling asleep a lot because I was so tired. And when they said they like bombard you with questions for I don't know an hour or two and then they send you out and then they take you in again and bombard you with questions so when I'm out I'm just falling asleep because I had worked for 12 hours that day in 40 degrees heat and finally they came out and said like you're not allowed entry into what they call Israel occupied Palestine and the two reasons were one they thought I was lying during the interrogation which I was not but they thought so and two that I was going to arrange a demonstration in Navi Salah which is very the weird accusation like even if I was intending to do that why would that be a reason for not allowing me to Palestine if they say there are democracies right well demonstrations are allowed in democracies as to my knowledge but apparently they think that's too big a threat for them to arrange a demonstration. This wasn't even my intent I honestly don't know where they got that idea from. They kept asking are you going to visit this place and I kept just replying yes to every place because I don't know probably every place if I had time. And I know the village of Navi Salah well and I know that the Timimis have been posting about seeing that you were accused of that I'm wondering if you've had a chance to be in touch with them and. No not really but I think I would contact them like pretty fast if they would let me in of course I want to meet them they are so brave they are true heroes and I really want to meet them. So maybe you could tell us a little bit about I know it was 11 months and I've seen the AJ Plus video but maybe you could tell us a little bit about your journey to Palestine why you know what your thoughts were choosing that journey and maybe some highlights. Sure so the whole idea behind the journey is that the world moves with pressure Israel will not stop occupying Palestine just because it suddenly wakes up one day and realizes that it's breaking international law and not respecting human rights I mean there was stuff because there will be pressure to stop and pressure doesn't come by itself it usually requires mass movements of millions of people demanding but people don't just wake up one day and realize everything that's wrong about the world and start demanding justice they need to be informed first they need to have their awareness and it requires a lot of organization and mobilization to inspire people to do something about all the injustices we have all around so one way I figured to erase a lot of awareness would be by walking because in nature of it being difficult would just I don't know motivate people to ask like why would this crazy guy walk so long like that's a really weird thing to do it's really hard why walking so then I will get the chance to talk about the occupation in Palestine all the human rights violations that is the conversation would always come up like why am I doing it and I would always try to engage as many people as possible in what's happening over there and been happening the last and for the journey in itself it's been so long I don't know what to say I've been working in the snow in Bulgaria and the last day took 12 hours in 40 degrees heat in the Jordan Valley I've been meeting amazing people I've been alone for a long time also between cities and between villages it really really tough walking up and down mountains walking in valleys just everything it's been such a long time wow um you gave talks along the way yes yeah yeah that's a good way of raising awareness I tried to organize lectures at universities at organizations whatever I could find a venue the most spontaneous one was at the bar in Croatia where I just asked the bartender if I could use his huge flat screen TV to plug in my uh I have a presentation about Palestine so he turned down the music and I started talking to the crowd about Palestine it was really fun and we just gave a quick lecture about the human rights violations they kind of killed everyone's mood but there was good discussions afterwards but people were like what the fuck is happening and like why is he talking about this and oh those pictures I haven't seen before that was nice you can always like you create your opportunities you can talk as much as you want if you take the initiative and don't ask for permission and just go ahead ask a little bit that's be very proactive what kind of responses would you say you got from people that were not previously familiar with the issue do you feel like you changed hearts and minds along the way well I certainly hope so and I think so but it's difficult for most people this information that we are sharing is completely new and I respect the people not taking it as face value and just going in doing their own research they shouldn't trust me right with everything I'm saying they should go and do the research and see if what I'm saying is true or not so hopefully I inspired some curiosity as for people to go and find out more about what's happening and as soon as anyone starts reading human rights reports they will see the ugly truth of occupation so raising curiosity I think it's really important and I could tell that I touched quite a few people also on the way I know that you've gotten quite a lot of media upon your denial which is is really fabulous and successful I think that it you really reached out and Palestinians I know have responded with just real applause and gratitude to you for this opportunity to raise awareness and I heard as well you were even offered like an honorary citizenship yeah that's what I heard as well but you know I read it in the media as everyone else not like I heard anything from the person in charge so I know it's been in the media a lot but if you could give a message to folks on the ground in in Palestine to the Tamimis and to people in Ramallah and Bethlehem and Hebron and everywhere what would you like to say to them what would have you like to say to them in person that instead well don't lose hope the world is with you and nothing comes cheap and nothing is for free we need to struggle to gain our rights everywhere all the time the world doesn't change itself it is changed by people Palestine will not free itself and in the end it will be freed by the Palestinian people and not some Swedish guy of course I will have as much as I can but the work on the ground is what's going to be most important in the end and like the first Intifada a mass movement of non-violent resistance and mass boycotts the Israeli forces were scared in their beds when the Palestinians had their 18 cows in Bait Zahur and started producing their own milk that's what's gonna scare the occupation you becoming self-sufficient and not relying on the occupation anymore for anything and as soon as you manage to really push that mass movement and starting to use the BDS as a tactic inside Palestine also mass boycotts of the Israeli occupation until they become serious about pursuing some sort of solution or some sort of peace they have to be pressured into doing so and the most powerful pressure is from inside Palestine and we will do everything we can from outside to support and to help and to pressure our government to stop supporting the occupation while it lasts I know that my my own story specifically and then all the other stories of recent denials Israel really seems to be cracking down on solidarity activists and human rights advocates being able to enter and stay in the country do you do you feel like our solidarity and our work on the ground with Palestinians is having that type of an impact that Israel is really afraid of this growing support across the world yeah of course I mean why else would they react the way they are reacting why would they deny me entry if they didn't fear anything what it would they deny you entry especially as a Jewish person I mean all their fallacies are just falling to the ground it's not like they have anything to do with they just keep mounting these excuses but we keep proving them wrong while all we are seeking is peace and human rights no matter who we were and for me as a non-religious Swedish person like why would they deny and human rights activists from Sweden for empty it just proves our point that they have a lot to hide that the agniphate of occupation prefers to stay hidden and continue its dirty business unnoticed and when we expose the truth by just letting the Palestinians have a voice and trying to share their stories to the world Israel starts reacting heavily investing millions of dollars on tracking us hacking our phones countering our initiatives it proves that it's working and that it's that it is activism that's going to have an impact I mean in the end words are cheap but when we start to do actions they have to react and every reaction is a proof that what we are doing is working um do you have any plans for what's next I imagine you must want some time off and a little bit of time to rest but do you have next plans for how you'll continue your advocacy you know 11 months on the road you get a lot of ideas on what to do next I have a lot of big projects in mind all human rights related and I'm going to make some sort of grand announcement with a video about my next big project but in the near future I'm just going to do speaking tours in as many countries as possible go to the universities and try to speak about the occupation and the human rights violations like you can contact every single school in every single country that's a massive work but I will try to get people to work on that with me and see whatever schools would have me come and talking about my experience on the road and in Palestine and just about human rights and this region and how we can progress well I know we at Code Pink would love to be a part of and support in whatever way we can actually coming to the US that's one of my nearest plans so for sure we will meet there I hope well absolutely so we're based in I work out of Washington DC and we're based here in Washington DC and we can't wait to to see you here and yeah both the we'd be thrilled to plan some speaking events maybe to go around and meet with offices in Congress and speak to them about your experience that would be amazing that would be really amazing let's do as much as we can yes let's be in touch immediately I'll follow up with this to see when your plans to arrive are and we'd love to also put you in increase any contacts that you can use in the US for all of that and to work with you in that way and in all of your next adventure I'd really like to thank you for coming on with us and we were speaking with Benjamin who was just denied entry at the Jordanian border as he tried to enter Palestine Israel denied him entry saying that they were afraid he might participate in a demonstration in the village of Nabisala he had walked for 11 months from Sweden to Palestine to raise awareness for Palestinian rights and we're going to be continuing to follow what he does and to push back against Israel's denial of entry to nonviolent human rights activists I'm going to bring him back on for a moment to see if he has any last words for us before we end this video Benjamin I'm adding you back in just going over again with people what happened on your journey and how thrilled we are to be with you today I want to know from you also what happened during your interrogation what did they say because you even had a visa right I did I so I had been in Palestine last summer right at the same time last summer and I was physically assaulted by a settler in in the city of Hebron I was there staying with Palestinians and being part of that community and so this settler physically assaulted me and soldiers stood by and watched her do that and I went on camera during the assault and you can hear me in the video talking to the soldiers and saying you have an opportunity to protect me and what you're doing here is not in accordance with Jewish values so when I left the country after all of that I was there for about six weeks um when I left the country I was informed by the government that in order to come back I would have to have a visa in advance I needed permission in advance from the government and so I got that permission I got a visa in advance from the Israeli consulate in New York City and I entered with that visa and boy were they unhappy that I that I had that visa and they went through quite a process it seems to revoke the visa and then deport me from the country my my interrogation was was quite interesting and the beginning of it which might be before they fully realized who I was because I'm Jewish the beginning of my interrogation the first round of it was very friendly um you know just a warm conversation about one two and um that I raised my children Jewish and you know you have a visa it should just be a few moments and then it got ugly after that and it was a period of seven hours all together and it was a lot of the same things they demanded to look at the contacts in my phone and they started going through the contacts looking for Arabic or Muslim names just disgustingly racist um yeah why do you have these names in your phones why would you know Palestinians and I was like you know well because unlike you I think that all people are equal and uh appreciate relationships and friendships with all people and they started yelling at me who do you know in Palestine who would you be in contact with they started yelling so even though you gave them your phone and they looked at all your contacts they still denied you entry this makes me this makes me so much happier that I did not give them my phone and let them see who I know and who I don't know it's not like I know any dangerous people but I just don't want any normal Palestinian guys and girls to get into any trouble which they would because as we know the Israeli states like to make trouble for normal people they they they absolutely like to make trouble and you know so for example they you know started um saying you know what is this work you've done you know with with Issa Amra who I've worked with and who we got advocacy for in congress and I said you know what you can you can look it up um quite proud of my my work and he supported by Amnesty International and um they started yelling at me about what happened in Hebron last year why would you make our soldiers look bad why would you tell them well they are doing a good enough job themselves to make themselves look bad I think they don't need anyone exactly what I told them well you know it's not me that's making them look bad it's what they're doing the actions like don't film me when I'm harassing people it makes you look so bad but maybe you shouldn't harass people in the beginning what do you think about that exactly and you know a lot of like where are you gonna go same thing as you where are you gonna go do the plans to go into the West Bank you know why would you be with Palestinians a lot of that we know last summer you spent the time in Hebron with Palestinians and you're a Jew you shouldn't be with Palestinians they said that you're a Jew you shouldn't be with Palestinians which is what the soldiers had told me the previous year in in in Hebron and I think really they pretty much they say they said it like that or that's just the like gist of it that's the gist of it yeah just pure pure racism that's pure racism yeah you're Jewish so you shouldn't spend time with Palestinians what about the Jewish Palestinians what about human rights I'm a non-violent advocate for human rights for all people and they would just go on yelling at me at one point they yelled at me why do you have this visa who gave you this visa they said you gave me the visa your government gave me the visa which made them unhappy they uh interrogated me about Code Pink um my organization and uh said um you know what is Code Pink what does it do and I explained we are an anti-war organization and we oppose militarism and we're women's land we do not like anti-war right they're not anti-war they are not into anti-war and peace unfortunately yeah just you know really quite nasty and unpleasant and then they after about six hours they told me you're being denied entry and basically started racing me back to an airplane to send me back to New York did you have to pay for that or did they pay they paid for that I would have liked to have flown over to Jordan and I would have paid for that but apparently you're deported from Ben-Gurion they have to send you back to whatever flight you came in on basically um and you know I feel badly I was planning on spending the summer uh working with Code Pink's partners on the ground with Coalition of Women for Peace um an incredible Israeli activist organization that challenges Israeli weapons companies yeah the thing is they are even preventing us from meeting the wonderful Israelis that are working for peace I mean they are preventing these contacts between the Israelis that are working actively towards a better world and us who are also trying to do the same I think they're not so fond of those particular Israelis as well unfortunately not but they are the heroes working from inside it's really tough I can imagine absolutely and Palestinians you know in on the ground are just becoming more and more isolated as more and more people are denied entry we had um two leaders from Center for Constitutional Rights uh in the US that were denied entry recently Israel is trying to remove human rights watch from the country so they can't do their work on the ground it's just a case of strangling and isolating Palestinians as and trying to you know make them alone in their struggle for freedom and equality yeah with a new law that's being discussed to forbid any photography and videos of soldiers it's just screams that they have everything to hide I mean once they expel every single human rights activist peace activist human rights organization and forbid all cameras and videos then there's no obstacles right to carry out more massacres and atrocities I guess absolutely so before we start again we have to be active that's what it's all about there's activities we just have to be the counterweight to that because they are working hard I mean they make no illusion they're spending their money and their time investing in making that happen so we need to work even harder work smarter and just invest all our time and energy as much as we can afford to try and be the counterweight because it's not like they're gonna give up by themselves and they they will move with pressure and we are the pressure I love how you said that so let's um all of us and and as a message to our audience yeah and it's not just you and me either it's everyone watching it's every person in every country of conscious it's about us normal people just standing up for our principles because even if you say that you have a principle if you will never act upon it it's like you never had it in the beginning we need action we can't just talk about peace and human rights if we never take action because words fall short of action always so I want to thank you for taking action and thank you for speaking with us today and you and I will continue to be in touch and I look forward to meeting you in person me too all the best and let's meet soon all the best to you thank you so much for your work