0:00

MHM. Bridgewater is a production

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of I Heart Radio three D audio and Grim

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and Mild from Aaron Mankey for a

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full exposure listen with headphones.

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Listener discretion advised. Ah,

0:18

and and are you are?

0:23

And

0:25

and where are you? And

0:33

and and

0:43

and yeah,

0:57

and we're where are you? H

1:08

ahead? No?

1:11

No, no, no no no

1:14

add and

1:19

here, Jeremy, oh

1:23

dare me over here? Man? Right

1:27

here? Where where I'm

1:30

stuck? Oh god,

1:32

I didn't see it in the dark. Are

1:36

you hurt? No?

1:39

Just a little bruised. That's the nature.

1:43

Come on, help me up. Okay, okay,

1:51

fine, fine, it's just a little wet, stupid

1:55

swamp. What the hell

1:57

happened? I just I could

2:00

and see in the dark, put my foot down in the wrong place

2:02

and just went down. Where

2:05

is this a sick hoole or an animals end of some

2:07

good? Maybe my

2:09

trap someone set for us? I don't know. Oh,

2:11

come on, it wasn't

2:14

a deer that slammed into us, Jeremy,

2:16

there's somebody. What

2:21

the I

2:23

don't know? Come on, m

2:39

oh my god, it's the gathering. So

2:42

Olivia was right, Well,

2:46

come on, let's go talk to them. Don't move

2:51

their hands. M hmm,

2:54

that so harmless. After all, where

3:24

aren't they back yere? Wheren't they back yet? Are

3:28

yet? Chill man? They'll be fine

3:31

and is a badass. A couple of Manson

3:33

family want to bees, are not going to scare her. Okay,

3:36

last I checked, the Manson family murdered

3:38

a bunch of people. You know what

3:40

I mean. The gathering is a bunch

3:42

of whack jobs. You have nothing better to do than spout

3:45

nonsense and stand in circles singing Kumbaya

3:48

because you're such an expert by

3:50

now I am. I have spent the last hour

3:52

and a half reading about them online. What how

3:56

No, No, that's not possible. I searched

3:59

every conceivable database trying to find

4:01

reference to them and have come up with basically

4:03

nothing. That's because

4:05

you're looking at all that. Yeah, you know, legal

4:09

places, something like that.

4:11

Anyway, while you've been sitting there with your cute

4:14

little papers, you think

4:16

you think my papers are cute, I have

4:19

been trawling every single board and form popular

4:21

with cultists. Oh, I've been

4:23

reading police files for your information.

4:25

There's plenty of stuff in there

4:28

that's useful. Oh yeah, like what

4:31

like like like did you know that the gathering

4:33

had an extremist offshoot in the seventies

4:36

that believed in human sacrifice.

4:38

They were called the Children of

4:40

Tichiva. Yeah,

4:44

yep, I found them too. Really,

4:47

I've only been able to find one or two references

4:49

in the period research I've done. After the

4:51

mid eighties, there's no trace. But but

4:53

you've found something in the past

4:55

two hours. Are you kidding?

4:58

A fringe black magic cult that believes

5:00

in human sacrifice? That is

5:02

internet catinet. What

5:09

are they saying? It's Latin? I'm

5:12

pretty sure. Do you speak

5:14

Latin? No? One speaks Latin

5:18

and no, so you don't know what they're saying.

5:20

No, but neither do you da?

5:26

What the hell? What are

5:28

they trying to do it? Who cares? They

5:30

have a six ft bonfire in the middle of protected

5:32

wetlands. Jeremy, did

5:35

you did you see

5:37

that? Just see what in

5:40

the fire? What

5:43

are they doing? They're

5:47

heating their blades, change

5:52

and change,

5:56

and they're

6:00

coming toward us. Wait

6:11

wait, wait, so are you saying that the Children

6:14

of Titchuba still exist? No?

6:17

Thankfully, it seems like the gathering excommunicated

6:20

those members. For lack of a better word, I

6:22

guess the main group wasn't so interested in human sacrifice

6:25

and realized how racist and misguided

6:27

the offshoot was because of the whole

6:29

Salem witch trial thing. Yeah, Titchuba

6:32

was the first one to be accused of witchcraft simply

6:34

because she was a woman of color and easy to blame.

6:37

She wasn't a witch. She was enslaved and abused

6:39

and scapegoaded and jailed, and we don't even know

6:42

how she died. And for a bunch of weirdos

6:44

in the seventies to take her name and apply it to their

6:46

creepy goth cult is racist

6:48

and insulting and just playing wrong.

6:52

Wow. That was Have

6:55

you been sitting here keeping that in for

6:57

the past hour? It drives

6:59

me not it's probably a bunch of rich

7:01

board kids. You don't know a single thing about

7:04

the history of the place they live. Oh

7:06

well, that's not fair, because

7:08

I mean, they clearly knew a little

7:10

bit of history if they decided to name their

7:13

group after Chichiba. Why

7:15

are you defending them? No, No,

7:17

I'm not. I'm not. I get where

7:19

you're coming from completely. My heritage

7:22

has been co opted and twisted, to

7:24

believe me, but that doesn't mean it's not

7:27

interesting At least academically.

7:30

Whoever the children of Chichiba were, they

7:32

were clearly familiar with at

7:35

least basic Salem history. And we're

7:37

trying to accomplish something by invoking

7:39

Tichiba's name. That's

7:42

what I'm interested in. History

7:44

is written by the victors, which is why the Salem

7:46

Witches are still so maligned and misunderstood.

7:50

Well, I'm so glad all that suffering can

7:52

be your academic interest. It's

7:55

important the way history is told.

7:58

When there's something complicated and strange

8:00

like the Salem witch trials, most people don't even

8:02

attempt to understand the nuances

8:04

of it. Instead, the myth

8:07

survives. And that's what you study,

8:10

the myth exactly. Why

8:13

why not just study history then help

8:16

people understand the complicated pieces

8:18

because stories are the easiest

8:20

way to do that. There's a reason

8:22

the weird, incorrect legends

8:25

survive. They're easier to digest,

8:27

more interesting to engage in. Okay,

8:31

but as far as I'm concerned, Oh

8:33

thank god, Hey, where

8:36

the hell have you guys been? And why

8:38

are you covered in dirt? Um? We

8:42

found the gathering? Yeah, and they've what challenged

8:44

you to a mud wrestling contest? I

8:46

don't think we would have one, considering they had

8:49

very big, scalding hot knives on them. Knives.

8:52

Yeah, are you guys okay? Yeah? Yeah, yeah,

8:54

Yeah, we're fine. We got out of there really quick. Why

8:56

you didn't stay and talk to them, Well, we didn't

8:58

think it was a good idea, with being armed in us

9:01

having recently fallen down a lot, but

9:03

we know that it is not our only chance.

9:06

What do you mean the leader? I

9:09

know her, Olivia. I'm

9:11

gonna need you to find an address. Look,

9:18

I'm just saying that if you spend all your time

9:20

focusing on the legends, I think you're

9:23

really missing the point of it all. Oh,

9:25

there are a lot of people ratshaw.

9:29

Yeah, I think we should talk about

9:31

what we saw. Isn't that what we've been doing

9:34

now? You know what I mean? Not the gathering,

9:37

not the knives, the fire. What

9:39

about the fire. I know you saw it too. I

9:42

could see the look on your face. I was

9:44

watching a cult have a secret

9:46

ceremony. I can't even imagine what my face

9:48

was doing. No, No, I saw you

9:51

and you saw the symbols in the flames. They

9:54

were the same ones that we saw on the rock. But

9:57

that sounds like a trick of the light, and

10:00

not to mention, we both bumped our heads. Yes, yeah,

10:02

and what about that huh? Who was in the woods

10:04

with us? All the gathering members? You

10:07

know they were dressed in white, right, so if

10:09

one of them had knocked us over, we would

10:11

have seen it. It was like no, no more

10:13

like the shadow was chasing us, I think,

10:16

and it was an animal. Why

10:19

did you call up for your dad? What

10:23

I heard you? I heard you call out for him.

10:26

Did you hear something? I don't know

10:28

what you're talking about, Jeremy, you're

10:30

ready to go? Yeah? One

10:32

sec? Well,

10:35

anyway, things, why you do debate?

10:39

Sure thing, I'll see you around

10:42

yeah, look,

10:46

see him monday, Okay, you

10:48

will? I mean yeah,

10:51

I think we should go talk to Celeste together, right,

10:54

Yes, yeah, I agree?

10:58

Okay? Good? Hey

11:01

and Anne, thank you for

11:04

what you really

11:06

kept your cool tonight. That's

11:09

what I do. I'm not some shrinking

11:11

violet Bradshaw. That's

11:14

not what I'm saying. I know.

11:18

Look, it's not what I do. I

11:20

was terrified, and even

11:22

with all the insanity and being chased through the woods and

11:24

falling down into a sinkhole, you kept

11:27

your head and you got us out of there, so just

11:30

thank you. Well, you're welcome.

11:33

So now can you agree that you need to listen

11:35

to me about all of it? I

11:38

think I think

11:41

what we both need is a good night's sleep.

11:44

Sleep isn't going to make this go away, Bradshaw,

11:47

Well, it's worth a try. Have

11:51

a good night, Annah?

12:00

Yeah, yeah,

12:07

why are yet?

12:13

Yeah? It

12:54

kind of looks like your place. What

12:56

do you mean, secluded near

12:59

the woods, a bit

13:01

of a creepy hermit vibe. My

13:04

house doesn't have a creepy hermit vibe.

13:06

Well, you don't have any neighbors, Anne, and

13:09

it's not like we live in the middle of nowhere. You really have to look

13:11

to final places secluded his years. Oh

13:14

well, at least I don't have wind chimes. I

13:16

mean, how much more cliche can you get? She's

13:20

definitely got a very neighborhood

13:23

witch feeling going here. Yeah.

13:27

Hey, don't you think we should

13:29

bringing in the police on this because

13:31

you think they would listen? I just think

13:34

I don't know. We were almost attacked by burning

13:36

knives last night and this woman was at the center

13:38

of it. She's not dangerous. How do

13:41

you know? I interviewed her

13:43

and I'm pretty good at reading people from you

13:45

know, my decades in the police force. But

13:47

you interviewed her forty years ago. I think

13:50

it's likely that things have changed since then.

13:52

Yeah, people don't change. Do

13:55

you think she's going to remember you? I

13:58

guess we'll just have to wait and see. Yes,

14:05

how may I help you? Sorry to bother

14:07

you, ma'am. My name is Jeremy

14:10

Bradshaw is an

14:12

beer. Yes, I remember

14:14

you, my How we've

14:16

aged well?

14:19

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling pretty spry,

14:22

almost like I could run through a swamp in the middle

14:24

of the night. Mm hmm. Would

14:27

you like to come in? Thank

14:37

you for the tea. It's very

14:41

that's unique my own blend. You

14:44

don't want any, Miss Becker. I

14:46

don't typically drink homemade bruise given to

14:48

me by cultists. Yes, let's

14:50

not skate around while you're here. You said

14:53

you came across our little meeting last

14:55

night. Yes, sorry

14:58

to be so blunt. You weren't supposed to to see

15:00

that. I don't know if it lived up to your

15:02

expectations, Miss Becker. From what I told you

15:04

about the gathering in the past, you

15:06

barely told me anything about the gathering. You

15:09

were a potential witness to a crime. Come

15:11

now, you didn't actually believe that everyone

15:14

else did, but you knew, you knew that the

15:16

gathering had nothing to do with any of the dark happenings

15:19

in Bridgewater at that time. You

15:21

knew we weren't Satanists. We still

15:23

aren't. That doesn't mean you're not messing

15:25

with things that you shouldn't be. I mean,

15:28

what exactly were you trying to invoke last

15:30

night? We were trying to speak to

15:32

the other side? What does

15:34

that mean? Do you know

15:36

what hawk a mock swamp means? And wappa knock

15:40

the place where spirits d well. You

15:42

see, I'm like you, I actually have family

15:45

members who are wamping up. Don't presume

15:47

to know my heritage, Miss Becker. Is

15:49

that why you were there? Because you believe there

15:51

are spirits? Hacka mock

15:53

Swamp is just one of several places we

15:56

meet. I can't divulge the other

15:58

locations free times day

16:00

for us, maybe Dighton Rock.

16:02

I couldn't say this entire

16:05

area is ripe for communication.

16:08

The veil is thin here again?

16:10

What does that mean? The Bridgewater

16:13

Triangle, as I believe you call

16:15

it, is a bright spot, a

16:18

portal between worlds that attracts

16:20

creatures of all sorts looking to get

16:22

to the other side, the

16:25

other side. Yes, what

16:28

what is the other side? Well,

16:31

it's the side that isn't this one, okay?

16:34

Meaning meaning what exactly?

16:38

The other side is many things, too many people.

16:41

For some, it's a demon realm, a place of fire

16:43

and malice and great and terrible power.

16:46

Those are the groups that everyone has always been afraid of,

16:49

Like the children of Tichuma. Yes,

16:52

those awful people. I

16:54

thought that they were part of the gathering. We

16:56

shared some members for a time, but

16:59

no, our philosophies were entirely

17:01

different. The children of Titchuba,

17:04

so heinously named for a woman whose

17:06

personhood has been already dragged

17:08

through the mud. Plenty believe that Bridgewater

17:11

was a doorway to hell. They believed

17:13

that they could call in the devil as the Salem, which

17:15

is purportedly did and gained unthinkable

17:18

power. But just as they misunderstood

17:20

history, they misunderstood this area

17:23

terribly. But you understand

17:25

the area, yes, I

17:27

do. Well. No,

17:31

that's an awfully arrogant thing for me to say. I

17:33

am but a mere mortal. I could never

17:36

truly understand all the secrets and magics

17:38

that this place holds. But I

17:41

understand it better than most. I

17:43

am attuned and

17:46

I take it. You don't think this is a doorway

17:48

to help, No, I do not,

17:52

But it is a doorway for

17:55

others. The other side is the Faye Realm, the

17:57

place where magic is real and creatures of mischief

18:00

rain. For some it's a wormhole,

18:02

a place to transport you through time and space.

18:06

But for the Gathering, it is none

18:08

of those things, and all

18:11

of those things. It is

18:13

a doorway to everything else,

18:16

everything except how We

18:19

don't believe in hell, but you do believe

18:21

in magic. We believe in energy,

18:25

and we believe that there are many mysteries in this

18:27

world that we simple humans will

18:29

never be able to fully comprehend.

18:32

So then, what were you doing last night?

18:34

What were you channing? A

18:37

parry? Ianuam venite

18:40

ad open

18:43

the door? Let us here speak?

18:46

Now what does that mean?

18:48

Well? I just told you what

18:51

What do those words mean to you?

18:55

The gathering is dedicated to communicating

18:58

with the other side, to would

19:00

end. I can't tell you that because

19:03

it's a secret, or because you

19:06

don't have any goal at all. Hm.

19:10

You don't believe in anything, do you? Jeremy, No,

19:12

I do. I believe in I

19:14

believe in science, and I believe

19:17

in what I can see with my own

19:19

eyes. But you say you're a folklore

19:21

professor, and yet it is

19:24

clear to me that you don't have respect for the

19:26

gathering and our beliefs. No,

19:28

no, please, I'm look, I'm

19:30

sorry if I offended you. I really

19:33

don't honestly have any problem with

19:35

anyone believing anything as

19:37

long as they're not causing

19:40

harm. We're not doing harm.

19:43

The gathering is a peaceful, spiritual

19:45

group. Then why were you while carrying

19:48

burning hot knives last night? You

19:50

were leaving your ceremony to go further and just want

19:53

to do God knows what carvings,

19:55

My dear, the knives were

19:57

for carvings. We have to

20:00

communicate somehow. You

20:02

were all there, So who were you communicating

20:04

with other members of similar

20:07

groups who might happen upon our doorway?

20:09

As our future selves are meeting. Places

20:11

must constantly shift as the land

20:14

shifts. It's the twenty

20:17

first century. Why not use

20:20

I don't know, phones, are signal

20:22

or some other secure messaging. We

20:25

know that some of your members are using anonymized

20:27

emails to talk to each other online. So it's not like

20:29

you can't use technology. Well,

20:32

some of our newer members prefer that form of communication.

20:35

Yes, but we are not only

20:37

communicating with those in the here and now

20:39

Jeremy, right, you mean you're also

20:42

trying to talk to the other side with with

20:45

the carvings. That is correct,

20:48

the forest, the swamp, this

20:50

entire region. It

20:52

wants to speak to us, speak

20:55

for us. So you vandalized

20:57

protected lands. It is in vandals

21:00

in its freedom of expression. Free speech

21:02

doesn't cover the facing state parks. I

21:04

think you know a little something about unconventional

21:07

communication, miss Becker. What

21:11

do you mean someone has

21:13

been trying to communicate with you and

21:16

with you, Jeremy, he's desperate

21:19

to talk. Excuse me, forgive

21:26

me. I'm speaking out of turn. I

21:30

think it's best for you to to leave now. Oh

21:32

we're not done talking. I'm afraid we are,

21:34

Miss Becker. I'm sorry. It couldn't be of more help to

21:36

you. You know, we could cause you quite a lot

21:39

of trouble. I don't think you could. Last

21:42

I checked, you were how do you put it?

21:44

Persona on grata with the police. I'm

21:47

not sure they listened to you. And even if they did, what

21:50

exactly would you be saying? You

21:53

may have trespassed on a very private meeting last

21:55

night, but you didn't witness anything illegal.

21:58

Correct your harming detective

22:00

forests on swampland and the

22:02

police are suddenly so concerned with nature.

22:06

You need to face reality. You

22:09

don't have any power here. I

22:11

had absolutely no reason to talk to

22:14

you, and yet I did. And

22:17

I don't need to indulge this any longer, not from

22:19

people who don't respect who I am or

22:21

what I do. I think you should

22:23

go fine.

22:27

We were appreciating your time so list and

22:30

I'm not trying to cause you any trouble,

22:32

I promise, But would

22:34

you be willing to talk to me more about the gathering?

22:37

It would I think makes

22:39

some really wonderful local coverage for my

22:41

book. Mm hmm. I'm

22:45

not sure that's the wisest idea, Jeremy, neither

22:48

of mine. Please just consider

22:51

it. I will if

22:55

you will consider opening your mind. There

22:59

are a message just Jeremy, your

23:02

father? Did

23:06

you know him? I just

23:10

the story. I just know the story.

23:13

What do you mean? Really?

23:15

You need to leave? I wish you all the best, keep

23:18

an open mind. Wait, wait, the last well

23:27

that was a crop a nonsense.

23:30

Well if it's such a nonsense, then

23:32

why did you ask if you could talk more? Are

23:35

you kidding? You were right? She's a wonderful cliche.

23:37

The windshimes were just the tip

23:39

of the iceberg, So you

23:41

don't believe a word of it. I definitely

23:43

believe that she believes it. But

23:45

that's why I want to talk to her more. The more research

23:48

I do, the more Vippin

23:50

was dead on. This personal angle

23:53

is so important. I

23:55

don't think my book is just about the legends of this

23:57

place. It's it's about the people

24:00

too, and what the legends mean to them. And Celeste,

24:04

she's a great example of the ways that all

24:07

these myths mixed in with the age

24:09

of conspiracy, they've

24:11

congealed into something brand

24:14

new, new myths, new ways of interacting with them.

24:17

What's so interesting? No offense,

24:19

bread shob But I don't need the whole academic

24:22

lecture here. I get that you're excited about your

24:24

tenure and you're publishing your deal or

24:26

whatever. Well, my publishing deal

24:28

isn't totally finalized, and I think I'm

24:31

looking at a slightly bigger picture here.

24:34

She's hiding something. She's not hiding

24:37

something I don't think that woman is capable of hiding

24:39

anything. Now, whether she's been watching

24:41

us or is genuinely in tune with something

24:43

that we're not, I can be fairly

24:45

certain it's not that she knows

24:48

things that she shouldn't, And I'm

24:50

going to find out how she knows, one

24:52

way or another. Oh and what are

24:54

you talking about? What does she know

24:56

that the unconventional means of communication that she was

24:59

talking about mentioning your father. Of

25:01

course you mentioned my father. She's praying on my

25:03

vulnerability. Yes, yes, but she she was

25:05

right. I do know something about unconventional

25:08

forms of communication. What are

25:10

you talking about? I

25:15

got a voicemail from your father? Okay,

25:18

I'm sure you've got a lot of voicemails from my father

25:20

when you were working together. No, Jeremy,

25:23

not when he was alive. I

25:26

got a message from him two days ago. Bridgewater

25:37

was created by Aaron Mankey and written

25:39

and directed by Lauren Shippen, with executive

25:42

producers Aaron Manky, Misha Collins,

25:45

Matt Frederick and Alex Williams,

25:47

supervising producer Trevor Young, editing

25:50

and sound designed by Trevor Young and Matt

25:52

Stillo, and music by Chad

25:54

Lawson, starring Misha Collins

25:57

as Jeremy Bradshaw, Melissa Ponzio

25:59

as An Becker, Karen Sony as

26:01

Vipen Corona, Lori Allen as

26:04

Nancy Collins, Cheryl Umania

26:06

as Officer Bautista, Victoria

26:08

Grace as Katie Frank's Will Wheaton

26:11

as Captain Haddock, Hillary Burton

26:13

Morgan as Shelley Hoskins, Jonathan

26:15

Joss as Joseph Hoskins, Sabra

26:18

May as Olivia Hoskins, Samuel

26:20

Marty as Ethan Hoskins, Kristin

26:23

Bauer as Celeste, and Nathan

26:25

Fillion as Thomas Bradshaw, with

26:28

additional voice acting by Brigand Snow,

26:30

Andrew Nowak, Julia Maurizawa,

26:33

Jarvis Johnson and Brielle Bresnan,

26:36

Kristen dim Curio, James

26:38

Oliva, and Leron Amil.

26:42

Learn more about the show over at Grimm and

26:44

Mild dot com slash Bridgewater

26:46

and find more podcasts from I heart

26:48

Radio on the I Heart Radio app, Apple

26:50

Podcasts, or wherever you listen

26:53

to your favorite shows, and as always,

26:56

thanks for listening