"You guys are being stalked."
My new podcast IRL: Lunatic Fringe is live.
January was National Stalking Awareness month. Everything has a month or a day, so it won’t surprise you that I had no idea. Well, not until I spoke to an old friend, “Kevin” (not his real name).
We caught up a few weeks ago, and he began to describe what he and his current paramour, “Gretchen” (not her real name), were experiencing. In short, after she found out the guy she was seeing had lied one too many times, she ended it. Unfortunately, her ex was having some real challenges accepting that.
When this ex had made the connection that “Kevin” and “Gretchen” were dating, he snapped… and not for the first time.
“Kevin” described some of the harassing activities this guy was undertaking. Some of which included:
His and hers tires being slashed
Catfishing
Doxing
Fake Instagram accounts for them both.
Fake Twitter accounts for him (non-located for her)
A barrage of registrations to websites for both… seemingly signing them up for the entire internet
For her harassing and graphic texts from disposable numbers
Unwanted gifts sent to her, her sons, and her mother
For him, a black dildo was left in the driveway.
Empty syringes were left on his sidewalk.
Constantly leaving bags of dog shit on his sidewalk.
This person even mailed shit to “Kevin.”
As “Kevin” ticked off each offense, I felt my eyes widen and my mouth drop. Ultimately, I began hearing a roll call of people who were stalked:
The actress Rebecca Schaefer (murdered)
John Lennon (murdered)
Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman (both murdered)
Playboy Playmate and actress Dorothy Stratton (murdered)
It was also starting to be reported that the November 2022 four-person student murder in Idaho was stalking-related.
So, I said: “Dude, you guys are being stalked.”
”Nah, he’s just an asshole.”
”I don’t doubt that. But he is stalking you.”
He paused for a moment before asking: “You think?”
The lion’s share of my podcasting and writing falls into the musical milieu. As a storyteller, my creative writing bends toward fictionalized non-fiction. And I’d like to think I can weave a decent yarn, and as I listened to “Kevin,” something told me this story was a bit different.
This was not me.
This was someone I knew.
This was not normal.
This was real.
I felt “Kevin” and “Gretchen” had a story & I wanted to help them tell it.
Like every Chardonay-soaked woman in America, I have a voracious appetite for true crime podcasts; however, I’m more of a Pinot Grigio guy. Since my writing hasn’t ever been focused on crime, it didn’t seem prudent to begin by attempting to tell a friend’s story.
They were being hit multiple times daily, relentlessly across numerous fronts - digitally, by mail, and in real life. Capturing the sheer volume of consistent insanity “Kevin” was relaying to me would’ve been a literary Sysaphean endeavor.
I listened, and I heard how frustrated “Kevin” was. It was quickly apparent that stalking is one of the most insidious crimes. In the Netflix series I Am A Stalker, you can hear in the intro voice-over something to the effect of “I’d rather be considered a murderer than a stalker.”
The sad truth about stalking is that it is no longer just some dummy lurking in the bushes. Well, it is; it’s just that the bushes now include the digital world… and that’s much harder to police and therefore making the assailants harder to prove. Modern stalking is a true horror story, and as one cop told them: “Very little can be done until something happens.”
And he’s right.
And from what I heard, it sounded like this guy wasn’t going to stop until something happened.
And I didn’t want that “something” to happen to either “Kevin” or “Gretchen.” While I may not have been up for telling their story in a literary manner, I was certainly up for telling it using audio. Besides, this was their story, and I felt they should be telling it.
So I asked: “Hey man, would you be interested in recording all this for a podcast?”
”All what?”
”Everything you’re telling me.”
He paused for a moment before saying: “Lemme ask ‘Gretchen.’”
He sent “Gretchen” a text, and she quickly replied that she was on board.
The concept I pitched was simple, no names, no locations, a disguised voice for him, and honesty. We would record as many episodes as it took to tell their story… up to that point. I would edit them together, and we agreed to drop them all at once.
The next step was easy, set up a few dates to let them tell their story.
So, that’s what we did.
Below you will find four episodes of “Gretchen” and “Kevin” telling their story.
Report all stalking to your local police, and if you feel in danger, call 911 immediately.
IRL: Lunatic Fringe is available on all podcast platforms: