WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.940 The Silent Directive is a horror podcast. There 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:06.780 are many themes some users may find disturbing. 00:00:07.219 --> 00:00:10.119 Please check the description before listening. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:20.399 Thank you. The Silent Directive Episode 2 The 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:33.820 Paiwan Effigy After I became what I am, it took 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:36.380 me at least a month to regain consciousness. 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:39.820 If I wasn't careful, it would have never happened. 00:00:40.340 --> 00:00:43.240 I would have been lost in the vast space of everything 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:48.320 ever. But I had a plan. An anchor. I used my 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:52.479 name as my anchor. By saying my name on the tapes, 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:57.399 I anchored myself to you, my listeners. But when 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:02.020 I first regained consciousness, I wasn't in a 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:06.579 location. I was fragmented across eons of space. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:11.079 Over the course of several months, I slowly collected 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:14.079 my being. I didn't have control over it. I still 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:17.420 don't. I simply find myself where I need to be. 00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:22.500 Around to watch something happen. My first memory, 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:26.349 the story I first observed, was one about an 00:01:26.349 --> 00:01:31.109 effigy. I wasn't watching like you would, not 00:01:31.109 --> 00:01:34.530 in a true linear fashion. I didn't know how the 00:01:34.530 --> 00:01:36.810 story would end, but I knew more details than 00:01:36.810 --> 00:01:40.209 I had observed. The first thing I remember seeing 00:01:40.209 --> 00:01:44.890 was a prison visitation room. It was an older 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:49.250 woman speaking to her middle -aged son. I knew 00:01:49.250 --> 00:01:52.250 instantly he was in prison for murder. Violent 00:01:52.250 --> 00:01:56.840 murder. premeditated and horrible. This man was 00:01:56.840 --> 00:02:01.280 not a good person. But the woman, his elderly 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:07.000 mother, she was. She was there to visit and forgive 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:10.699 him. She loved her son and truly believed he 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:13.960 could be redeemed. She was a religious woman, 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:17.199 but her religion would not save her son from 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:22.219 the death penalty he was facing. Some people 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:24.419 believe humans don't naturally have the capacity 00:02:24.419 --> 00:02:27.740 for violence, that it's only taught by our society. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.740 Others think differently. They believe humans 00:02:30.740 --> 00:02:34.699 have the inherent, natural, instinctual capacity 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:38.539 for violence. I don't know which is true, even 00:02:38.539 --> 00:02:41.240 based on what I've seen. But I do know this. 00:02:42.039 --> 00:02:46.460 Humans have equal capacity and instinct for peace 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:50.819 and for violence. Which, if you ask me, makes 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:54.840 the choice of violence much, much more sickening. 00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:00.840 Her son was the latter. He chose violence, and 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:04.099 he liked the feel of it. Maybe he was born wrong, 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.500 maybe he was forged by experiences. Either way, 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:11.159 three women were dead, their skulls caved in 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:15.560 from the meat tenderizer he used. And he liked 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.500 that feeling of the crunch underneath his hands. 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:24.759 This mother still believed in her son. She came 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:26.919 to visit that day because she felt it would be 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:29.099 the last time she would ever see him. He had 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:31.460 received the death penalty because he had pleaded 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:34.139 guilty in court. This alone did not earn him 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:36.580 the death penalty, but upon seeing the utter 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:38.860 lack of guilt on his face during the hearing, 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:42.699 he was given a harsher punishment. Tomorrow night. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.599 A handgun would be placed on his back, aimed 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:49.319 at his heart, and the trigger would be pulled. 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:57.280 The Paiwan people of Taiwan are the second largest 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.300 indigenous group of that country. This mother 00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:03.039 was one of these people. Part of her beliefs, 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:06.280 as is common with many Asian cultures as well 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:09.879 as others, was the idea of healing dolls, or 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:12.919 rather, effigies. This mother wanted to save 00:04:12.919 --> 00:04:15.840 her son's soul. While most effigies and rituals 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.259 are used for physical healing, she attempted 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:21.399 something new. All in an effort to maybe cleanse 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:23.980 her son's soul, which she believed was corrupted, 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:29.019 damaged, ill, not rotten. Using a lock of her 00:04:29.019 --> 00:04:31.660 son's baby hair, she constructed one of these 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:34.660 effigies. She meditated and prayed all she could, 00:04:34.740 --> 00:04:37.480 barely sleeping or eating. She wasn't there for 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:41.040 the execution. It wasn't public. She didn't even 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:43.779 know for sure when it would happen. No one did. 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:49.639 Only the executioner. But somehow, she knew what 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:52.860 happened the next night. As she meditated, she 00:04:52.860 --> 00:04:58.379 could feel it. Hear it. The gunshot. Her candles 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:02.980 flickered with the echo. And that was that. He 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:06.420 was gone. Call it spiritual. Call it a mother's 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:10.879 instincts. She just knew. But I knew, just as 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:15.540 you do, it was not over. That it was all only 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:25.600 just beginning. The mother did not sleep that 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:29.540 night. She couldn't. She was too worried. She 00:05:29.540 --> 00:05:33.019 was too sad. During some late hour of the night, 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.680 as she tossed and turned in bed, she took a look 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:40.040 around her bedroom. It was empty as usual, and 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:43.139 dark. The only light was the dim glow from the 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:46.420 moon, leaving a streak across her wall. There 00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:49.939 was a figure standing in her doorway. She gasped, 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:52.500 shot up, turned on her light. There was no figure. 00:05:52.819 --> 00:05:56.959 Her room was empty, quiet. Keeping her eyes on 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.459 the doorway, she turned her light off. There 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:02.620 was a shadow. No figure, no person, just a shadow. 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:06.120 She let out a breath of relief and laid back 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:11.240 down. Yet no sleep came. About three years before, 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:15.360 the woman's cousin had visited her home. One 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.300 of those nights, her cousin was up late, working, 00:06:17.500 --> 00:06:19.300 sitting at the desk in the corner of the bedroom. 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:22.339 She struggled to sleep that night, knowing that 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:24.100 there was someone awake and possibly watching 00:06:24.100 --> 00:06:28.459 her. The exact same feeling came over her in 00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:31.839 this moment. If there was any hope of sleep before, 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:35.569 it was gone now. Then she found herself in the 00:06:35.569 --> 00:06:38.310 kitchen, getting a glass of water. She wasn't 00:06:38.310 --> 00:06:41.670 alone. She was sure of it. As she drank, she 00:06:41.670 --> 00:06:43.610 found herself pressing her back to the fridge. 00:06:43.930 --> 00:06:46.990 Maybe then nothing could sneak up on her. But 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:50.110 that was silly. She knew it. But she didn't feel 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:53.829 it. She felt the faint touch of a hand brushing 00:06:53.829 --> 00:06:56.910 against the side of her arm. There was no one 00:06:56.910 --> 00:07:01.889 there. No one. The voice coming from her bedroom 00:07:01.889 --> 00:07:05.600 said differently. It wasn't saying anything, 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:10.480 but it was clear, and it was a voice. She made 00:07:10.480 --> 00:07:13.759 up her mind to investigate. She grabbed a knife 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:16.480 from the kitchen and slowly made her way to her 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:20.079 bedroom. If she had only noticed that the other 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:23.000 tool she kept in the knife drawer was missing. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:27.540 She turned the lamp on, casting light across 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:31.439 the room. It was empty. The bed was still messy. 00:07:32.589 --> 00:07:36.850 She felt stupid, scared of the dark. She set 00:07:36.850 --> 00:07:38.790 the knife down and turned the light back off. 00:07:39.769 --> 00:07:42.589 As the light left the room, she was able to see 00:07:42.589 --> 00:07:45.509 a dark figure sitting on her bed. It's back to 00:07:45.509 --> 00:07:48.089 her. She screamed and turned the lights back 00:07:48.089 --> 00:07:52.930 on. It was gone. It was never there. With the 00:07:52.930 --> 00:07:55.029 knife back in her hand, she studied the room. 00:07:55.329 --> 00:07:59.589 Had they moved? Then she noticed something that 00:07:59.589 --> 00:08:03.350 made her blood run cold. The spot on the bed, 00:08:03.509 --> 00:08:07.709 right where it had been sitting, was indented, 00:08:07.730 --> 00:08:11.329 as if there was a person still sitting there. 00:08:12.569 --> 00:08:14.810 She flipped the lights back off, and there it 00:08:14.810 --> 00:08:17.769 was again, the figure, sitting on the bed. This 00:08:17.769 --> 00:08:20.329 time, its back wasn't turned. It had shifted, 00:08:20.529 --> 00:08:23.589 and it was turned to look at her. Through the 00:08:23.589 --> 00:08:27.290 dark and disfigured and vague face, she was able 00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:32.070 to recognize her son. She gasped. dropped the 00:08:32.070 --> 00:08:33.889 knife, and turned the lights back on. She wanted 00:08:33.889 --> 00:08:36.350 to see him, of course. He was here, alive and 00:08:36.350 --> 00:08:39.289 free. As light filled the room, her son disappeared. 00:08:39.669 --> 00:08:42.570 If only she was able to foresee. If only she 00:08:42.570 --> 00:08:44.629 weren't blinded by innocent love, she would have 00:08:44.629 --> 00:08:47.570 noticed the signs of danger. She just wanted 00:08:47.570 --> 00:08:52.529 to see her son again. So she turned off the lights, 00:08:52.629 --> 00:08:57.330 and the figure reappeared right in front of her. 00:08:57.820 --> 00:08:59.919 She gasped in surprise and went to move away, 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:02.559 but it was too late. Her son leapt forward, tackling 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:04.980 her to the ground. She yelled and fought, still 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.360 too surprised and confused to make a choice. 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:11.220 He raised his arm, and his mother looked in horror, 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.299 as the last thing she saw was her own meat tenderizer 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:26.330 in his dark, shadowy hand. And she died. beat 00:09:26.330 --> 00:09:29.970 to death by her own son's spirit. Because in 00:09:29.970 --> 00:09:32.769 life, he had chosen violence, so in death it 00:09:32.769 --> 00:09:36.750 was all he knew. And that was that. She was discovered 00:09:36.750 --> 00:09:41.049 later on. Many in close circles believe it was 00:09:41.049 --> 00:09:43.909 her son's spirit that killed her, while officials 00:09:43.909 --> 00:09:47.090 stayed on the lookout for a copycat killer. But 00:09:47.090 --> 00:09:50.029 two months after she was discovered, a close 00:09:50.029 --> 00:09:52.649 friend of the family snuck into the house, took 00:09:52.649 --> 00:09:57.129 the effigy, and burned it. That is all I saw 00:09:57.129 --> 00:10:01.169 before I found myself elsewhere. I'm not sure 00:10:01.169 --> 00:10:03.769 why that was the first thing I remember, but 00:10:03.769 --> 00:10:07.590 it was a horrid story. An innocent, loving mother, 00:10:07.789 --> 00:10:11.509 too trusting, too forgiving, killed by her own 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:14.269 son, only because she had tried to save him. 00:10:15.549 --> 00:10:19.490 To leave a moral, if I deem it necessary, I'd 00:10:19.490 --> 00:10:24.629 say, be careful with forgiveness. Some don't 00:10:24.629 --> 00:10:25.230 deserve it.