EP. 168 — Spooked

Jenna [00:00:04] I’m Jenna Fischer. 

Angela [00:00:04] And I’m Angela Kinsey. 

Jenna [00:00:06] We were on The Office together. 

Angela [00:00:07] And we’re best friends. 

Jenna [00:00:08] And now we’re doing the ultimate Office rewatch podcast just for you. 

Angela [00:00:12] Each week, we will break down an episode of The Office and give exclusive behind the scenes stories that only two people who were there can tell you. 

Jenna [00:00:19] We’re the Office Ladies. Hello! 

Angela [00:00:29] Oohhhhh. 

Jenna [00:00:30] Ooh, you’re coming in spooky. 

Angela [00:00:32] Because it is Spooked! Today on Office Ladies. 

Jenna [00:00:36] Season eight, episode five, written by Carrie Kemper and directed by Randall Einhorn. Are you ready for a summary? 

Angela [00:00:44] I can’t wait. 

Jenna [00:00:45] Here it is. Erin falls short of everyone’s expectations when she is put in charge of this year’s Halloween party decorations. Her fellow employees step in to salvage the day, but she still fears Andy is going to fire her. Dwight meets his match when Robert California brings his son to the office, and Jim heckles Pam for believing in ghosts. 

Angela [00:01:08] Jim. Jim, I have issue with you. We’ll get to it. 

Jenna [00:01:12] Well, we got mail. 

Angela [00:01:14] Oh, I bet. 

Jenna [00:01:16] Fast fact number one. This is a Halloween episode. This is only the third Halloween episode where it was Halloween all day. Our first one wasn’t season two, Halloween. And then we had season seven just last year, Costume Contest. And we have had like, cold opens or nods to Halloween, but we got to wear our costumes all week for this episode. 

Angela [00:01:41] I was not happy about it. I had that pregger belly unitard thing. Okay, imagine this, guys. You step into a unitard. I know we’ve talked about this so much, but it’s got like a pillow in it. You strap that thing on you, it goes over your bra and your underwear. Then you put on knitted tights. Knitted tights that go over all of that. Then you put on this long kind of, I don’t know, knitted long top. Then you put a furry skirt with a wire tail over all of that. 

Jenna [00:02:14] I’ve never been more comfortable than I was in my kangaroo outfit. 

Angela [00:02:17] You know what? You know what, lady? 

Jenna [00:02:19] I loved it. 

Angela [00:02:20] Your kangaroo outfit was my penguin. 

Jenna [00:02:23] Yes! Well, listen, Angela, since we’re talking about costumes, we got a second question from Emily B in Boone, North Carolina, who said, Can we get a costume breakdown for everyone in this episode? 

Angela [00:02:35] Come on, North Carolina. You know I got your back. I am ready, Emily, with my costume breakdown. Here we go. Angela is her OG cat costume. Pam, as you heard, is a kangaroo. I want you to know, in the shooting draft, it said Pam is dressed as a kangaroo with a stuffed animal peeking out of the pouch. 

Jenna [00:02:52] And there was. 

Angela [00:02:53] You carried that around all week. Phyllis was a burlesque dancer, Stanley, a chef. Erin is Wendy from the Wendy’s fast food chain. Andy is a construction worker. Darryl, Kevin and Jim were NBA basketball players from the Miami Heat at the time. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Creed was Osama bin Laden. Dwight is Kerrigan from Starcraft. And I’m sorry, folks, I had to Google Starcraft. I wasn’t sure what it is. It’s a like a real time strategy game, Jenna. 

Jenna [00:03:24] Mm hmm. Yeah. 

Angela [00:03:25] Have you played it? 

Jenna [00:03:26] No. 

Angela [00:03:26] Okay. Me either. Ryan is Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. Gabe, Toby and Kelly are all skeletons. Oscar is a liar Anthony Weiner, based on a New York City politician who was involved in a sexting scandal back then. Meredith got to be Kate Middleton. She elbowed, you know, Kelly out for that one. Her costume might be my favorite. It’s a white T-shirt. With some duct tape. It’s like amazing. And a crown. Robert California is Jack Nicholson. 

Jenna [00:03:56] Yup. 

Angela [00:03:56] The scene was extended in the shooting draft where he actually says that he’s Jack Nicholson, and his son Bert is zombie from The Walking Dead. I think that’s everybody. Oh! Oh! Emily, in North Carolina, I have more for you. I’m not done because I also did the costumes in the Toby and Dwight flashback sequence. I got so excited I forgot I did that. Dwight was Billy the saw puppet, Freddy Krueger and Hellraiser. Oh, and then also he had the big wings, you know, full of blades for Kerrigan. And then Toby was a hippie and a pirate and maybe, maybe it looks like from the back, a priest. 

Jenna [00:04:34] Well, Angela, I thought that was an excellent costume breakdown. I think Emily’s going to be very happy with that. Should we move on to fast fact number two? 

Angela [00:04:41] Yes. 

Jenna [00:04:42] Fast fact number two is a fan question from Angie D in Mexico. I loooove Robert California’s son. 

Angela [00:04:50] Oh, lots of O’s? 

Jenna [00:04:52] Lots of O’s in all caps. He is such a talented actor. What can you tell us about him? Well, Angie, we agree with you. We thought he was incredible. His character is Bert, and he was played by David Mazouz. Incredible. I mean, the presence, the talent that this kid had. 

Angela [00:05:10] Just the confidence, like he went toe to toe with Rainn, who could be, you know, a little scary. 

Jenna [00:05:17] Yeah. Yeah, he was amazing. Now, you might recognize him because he played Bruce Wayne on the television show Gotham. 

Angela [00:05:25] Oh, my God. Yes. Oh, my God! 

Jenna [00:05:29] Yeah. 

Angela [00:05:31] No way. I’m just putting it together. 

Jenna [00:05:34] Yeah. He started working in commercials when he was eight, and then he starred on Gotham from the age of 13 to 18. He now attends Stanford University. He’s pursuing a degree in economics and psychology. I think he graduates this year. But get this, here’s a little bit of trivia about him. His birthday is February 19th, which is the same as Batman, who David played on Gotham. Same birthday as Batman. 

Angela [00:06:04] That’s just crazy. It was meant to be. 

Jenna [00:06:07] It was meant to be. And now, fast fact number three. This episode was crazy from a production standpoint for several reasons. First of all, we were starting to cross board. That is when you shoot two episodes at once. And I am very sorry, but I was the reason for the cross boarding. I was getting really close to my due date. And so we were shooting both this episode and parts of Pam’s replacement all in the same week. And they were doing that so that they would shoot me on Mondays and Tuesdays and then they would shoot everybody else the rest of the week. They were always trying to get my work done in the first two days of the week in case I went into labor. 

Angela [00:06:50] We didn’t know if we were going or coming whenever we did this cross board stuff. And we had done it before, you know? 

Jenna [00:06:56] Oh yeah. 

Angela [00:06:56] But I was like, Wait, wait, what am I putting on? Where am I? What’s what’s the scene? 

Jenna [00:07:00] We also reserved one entire day to shoot the opening skit for the Emmys, the 2011 Emmys. I found it on YouTube. It’s really fun. This is the one where all these different actors from different TV shows came on to the set of The Office. 

Angela [00:07:20] And had talking heads. 

Jenna [00:07:20] As their characters. 

Angela [00:07:21] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:07:23] Yeah. And they were all just like talking about their workplaces as if they were doing a talking head on The Office. But there were also little scenes. So like, for example, at one point Aaron Paul comes in, he’s being Jesse Pinkman, which it’s ironic that later Ryan is Jesse Pinkman for Halloween, that this was all happening at the same week. But Aaron Paul comes on and he’s looking for Creed and he’s weirded out that there’s all these cameras. And Creed’s like, Don’t worry about it, it’s not a big deal. And then he hands Creed like a little paper bag, and then Creed yells, I got my crystal meth! And then as Jesse Pinkman, he’s all weirded out and he, like, runs away. 

Angela [00:08:00] Aaron Paul is so nice. 

Jenna [00:08:02] So nice! 

Angela [00:08:03] So nice. 

Jenna [00:08:04] Just a really great guy. 

Angela [00:08:06] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:08:08] And then there were all kinds of stars, like from 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation and Mad Men, Law and Order SVU, even Kim Kardashian. I was talking with Steve Burgess about this, and he said that he produced this whole thing and that most of the actors really did come in and sit in our conference room to do these talking heads. And you can see Leslie David Baker sitting in the background of all of these talking heads. 

Angela [00:08:33] Leslie David Baker, talk about someone who showed up every day and was just such a trooper, because those talking heads sometimes took a really long time. 

Jenna [00:08:41] I know. 

Angela [00:08:41] And he was there. 

Jenna [00:08:42] He was. There was also a talking head that we did with Cee-Lo Green, who happened to be a judge on The Voice that season. And we brought in one of those giant chairs. So he’s sitting in one of those giant chairs instead of our regular chair. Steve Burgess said in order to get the chair into the conference room, we had to take down the entire wall of the conference room, move the chair in, and then rebuild it. Isn’t that insane? 

Angela [00:09:09] That’s crazy. 

Jenna [00:09:10] And then I guess there were a few people who are based in New York, like Tracy Morgan and Mariska Hargitay and Kim Kardashian. And in that instance, there was a crew in New York who shot them on a green screen. And then we sort of like inserted our background. And then I guess Matt Sohn also took a camera around. He went to the Mad Men set and same thing. He like set up a green screen because that was the only way to grab, you know, those other talking heads. But yeah, this was a big deal. It took 12 hours. A whole day. It was our Wednesday, so we crossed boarded on Monday, Tuesday, and then we did this crazy Emmy extravaganza on Wednesday, and then Thursday Friday was like more of Spooked. It was bonkers. 

Angela [00:09:51] I was curious to see what was happening during the week that we filmed this. I always go and check my email, my digital clutter just to see. And I actually found this in my digital clutter. Ken Jeong emailed me like at 9:52 p.m. the day before and said, Hey Angela, are you going to be on set tomorrow? I’m going to shoot something on your set for the Emmys and I miss you. I hope all’s well. Will I see you? XOXO Ken. 

Jenna [00:10:15] Oh!

Angela [00:10:16] Because we have been friends a long time. We did a movie together years ago called Furry Vengeance, where we played the bad guys. And I wrote back and I said, Ken, I’m so sorry, I’m not in today. I’m bummed that I will miss you. Have fun. 

Jenna [00:10:29] Aw. 

Angela [00:10:29] So it was my day off and I did not come in. 

Jenna [00:10:33] Well, Angela, you and I are not in the Emmy extravaganza thing. 

Angela [00:10:36] I think we had the day off. 

Jenna [00:10:37] Yeah, I don’t know why I’m not in it. I don’t know why you’re not in it. Phyllis is also not in it, and Kate is not in it. But and Ken Jeong did not make it in either. 

Angela [00:10:47] I don’t know what he filmed, but I guess he got edited out. 

Jenna [00:10:51] Exactly. Well, that’s all I got for fast facts. Should we take a break and then come back and see Andy is reviewing everyone’s costumes before they can wear them. Very controlling. 

Angela [00:11:03] Yeah. He’s got rules. 

Jenna [00:11:04] Yeah. 

Angela [00:11:08] We’re in Andy’s office and he is stating that he has three rules for the Halloween costumes: don’t be offensive, don’t be cliche, and don’t take the first two rules too seriously. 

Jenna [00:11:19] Yeah, he’s prescreening costumes this year. He’s pretty much saying no to most of the costumes. Or he’s not impressed. 

Angela [00:11:28] He says yes to Angela’s costume. I think he’s scared of her still. He says no to Kevin’s gorilla costume. And he says that Kelly and Meredith cannot both be Kate Middleton. 

Jenna [00:11:37] Well, he also says no to Phyllis’s sexy bunny costume. 

Angela [00:11:40] Oh, yes. How could I forget that? 

Jenna [00:11:42] I had to see what was written in the script about these dueling Kate Middleton costumes because they were so amazing. And here is what it says: Kelly holds a nice white wedding dress in front of her. Meredith has an oversize white T-shirt with a sheet duct taped to the bottom.  

Angela [00:12:01] Yeah, it’s brilliant. 

Jenna [00:12:03] But this is when we learned that Meredith is a huge fan of the royal family, and she used her sister’s funeral as an excuse to go to the wedding. 

Angela [00:12:13] Meredith flew to London, and, you know she wasn’t invited in the chapel. So that means she’s standing out, what, in the street? Watching it on a Jumbotron? What? 

Jenna [00:12:23] Yeah. 

Angela [00:12:24] This was one of the biggest jumps for Meredith’s character for me. I was like, Are you serious? 

Jenna [00:12:28] I kind of loved it. 

Angela [00:12:30] Andy’s going to arrive to work now as a construction worker. And he and Erin have such an awkward exchange. It made me so, like, sad and uncomfortable. And I’m like, What the heck? What happened to them? 

Jenna [00:12:41] She’s also covering his door with cobwebs. So many cobwebs that you can’t enter the office. 

Angela [00:12:50] I hate those stupid cobweb things. I hate them. I hate- our kids love them. They want to put them in the hedge, you know, in the front of the house every year. They love to put them in the hedge, but guess who’s taking them out of the hedge? 

Jenna [00:13:01] And this year it rained. 

Angela [00:13:02] And it rained so they were like goopy. 

Jenna [00:13:03] We had them in our hedges as well. 

Angela [00:13:05] Ugh. 

Jenna [00:13:05] Yeah. It was a tough removal this year. 

Angela [00:13:08] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:13:08] Dwight is going to enter, and he’s very annoyed that no one knows who he is. 

Angela [00:13:13] Well, you know, I guess Kerrigan is the queen of blades, you guys. But he has no blades. He blames Toby. And this is when we see the flashback, right? Toby has said, Dwight, you cannot bring any weapons into the office. And each year for his Halloween costume, he has to remove something, right? 

Jenna [00:13:28] Yep. 

Angela [00:13:30] Well, I found in the shooting draft a candy bag alt must shoot that I think would light a fire under the theory that Toby is the Scranton Strangler. 

Jenna [00:13:39] What?! 

Angela [00:13:40] Yeah. This was an alt that they didn’t use. Here it is. Toby would have said, Every Halloween, I tell him the same thing. You can’t have weapons. And every year he says, As soon as I get my weapons back, I will kill you. It’s our yearly dance. What he doesn’t know is one day I’m going to kill him. 

Jenna [00:14:01] (GASPS)

Angela [00:14:02] Not really. He he he. I mean. 

Jenna [00:14:06] Wow. That sounds serial killer-y. 

Angela [00:14:09] It sounds Scranton Strangler-ly. 

Jenna [00:14:11] It sure does. 

Angela [00:14:12] Can’t say it. And then he goes, Not really. Ha ha.  And he has a little laugh. Just saying. Found it in the candy bag alts. 

Jenna [00:14:18] Well, you had a great candy bag alt. I had a sighting of candy at 2 minutes and 39 seconds, a giant tub of candy corn at reception. Not a bowl, but a giant bucket. And I ate so much of it. 

Angela [00:14:34] I ate so much of it. And candy corn is the type of thing where I just eat it and eat it. And then it turns on me and I’m like, stop. Am I remembering this right that B.J. loved it, too? 

Jenna [00:14:43] Yes. B.J. loves all prop food. Even if he doesn’t like that food in real life, if it’s a prop, he likes it. 

Angela [00:14:51] That’s Mindy too. 

Jenna [00:14:52] Yeah. I decided to do a deep dive on candy corn. 

Angela [00:14:56] What? 

Jenna [00:14:57] And what I found might cause you to never eat it again. 

Angela [00:15:01] I doubt it. I love it. I can’t resist it. 

Jenna [00:15:05] Well, hear me out. You know I love it, but I maybe learned too much. I’ve seen too much now. You know how that happens? 

Angela [00:15:13] The curtain was opened. 

Jenna [00:15:16] Well, I watched that documentary, My Octopus Friend. I’ll never eat octopus again. I’ll say that. 

Angela [00:15:21] They’re so smart. 

Jenna [00:15:22] I know. So here we go. Deep dive on candy corn. Here’s what it’s made up of. Corn syrup, confectioner’s, glaze, salt, dextrose, gelatin, sesame oil, artificial flavor, honey and three different food colorings. That all sounds fine, right? Nothing alarming. Now, gelatin is derived from animal parts. It’s made up of, like, hide and bone. And so candy corn is not vegan. 

Angela [00:15:49] It’s in everything. 

Jenna [00:15:49] It’s in everything. It’s not vegan. If you’re vegan, you have to really look for the gelatin in things. 

Angela [00:15:57] You also probably have to take vitamins and stuff that are real chalky. 

Jenna [00:16:00] Oh, because of the gelatin in a lot of vitamins. I love that that’s where your brain went. You were like, I feel bad for people have to take the chalkey vitamin. But I get it. 

Angela [00:16:10] Some vitamins are really big and the little, you know, slick gelatin coating makes it slide down. 

Jenna [00:16:16] That’s what she said. 

Angela [00:16:18] Okay. 

Jenna [00:16:18] Well, speaking of a slick coating, candy corn has a slick coating. 

Angela [00:16:24] I love your way of finding transitions. 

Jenna [00:16:26] It’s true. I literally-. 

Angela [00:16:31] Speaking of slick coating. 

Jenna [00:16:33] Well, here’s the thing, Angela. In my document, I actually wrote Candy Corn has a slick outer coating. I mean, it’s right here. You played right into it. So the slick coating on candy corn is made from lack resin. Do you know what lack resin is? 

Angela [00:16:50] Is that like what you use on your violin? Like when you. 

Jenna [00:16:54] Yes. It is a secretion from tiny red insects called lac bugs. 

Angela [00:17:02] Hmm. 

Jenna [00:17:03] And if you ever want to eat candy corn again, don’t look up a picture of it. It looks like gelatinous poop on a stick. 

Angela [00:17:11] I’ve got no problem with eating bugs. 

Jenna [00:17:12] Like the Blob. Have you ever seen the movie The Blob? As the blob like, goes up someone’s hand and is, like, eating them? That’s what it looks like. But this ingredient causes the candy corn to turn hard. And that’s why you can leave it in a bowl throughout Halloween season or a bucket and it doesn’t, you know, go stale. The lack resin. 

Angela [00:17:34] I have no problem eating a bug. We probably all eat a bug every day. 

Jenna [00:17:37] But it’s like bug poop. It’s like a bug secretion. 

Angela [00:17:43] Well, you know what? If you eat a bug, you eat all the bug. 

Jenna [00:17:46] Okay. 

Angela [00:17:47] I’m just saying, isn’t there like some like statistic out there that at least once a day we eat a bug? We don’t even know it. Like in our sleep, like something crawls in our mouth or something? 

Jenna [00:17:55] Why would you say that? Why is that in my head now? That bugs are crawling in my mouth as I sleep? 

Angela [00:18:00] You know what I’m realizing? 

Jenna [00:18:02] That’s horrifying. 

Angela [00:18:03] I feel like I just, like, I just pitched an idea to Gabe for his weird movies. 

Jenna [00:18:08] Sure did. Well, there you have it. Everything you wanted to know about candy corn. 

Angela [00:18:16] I’m still going to eat it. I’ll eat that insect poop. 

Jenna [00:18:19] Great. I probably will, too. Moving on. Andy is not impressed. 

Angela [00:18:26] Really? I don’t want to move on. I think we- I want to learn more gross stuff about candy corn. Okay. What’s Andy up to? Oh, he got a text. Robert California is coming. Now he’s really scared. It scared the bleep out of him. Is there a lip flap? Please tell me. 

Jenna [00:18:40] Wait, what is happening? 

Angela [00:18:42] Sam is sharing something. Oh, God. Is there a museum where we can see bugs doing- it’s an urban legend, Angela. 

Jenna [00:18:47] It’s an urban legend that you swallow spiders in your sleep. Myth. You unknowingly swallow an average of four live spiders in your sleep each year. This is a myth. 

Angela [00:19:01] Now, look up how often in a day do we eat a bug? Like a gnat or something? 

Jenna [00:19:08] What, is your mouth just open all the time? I mean, what scenario are you just inhaling and digesting these bugs all day? 

Angela [00:19:19] Close your mouth, bug’s gonna fly in. Oh, my gosh. That’s making me laugh. 

Jenna [00:19:25] Oh, here’s from Sam already. The average person unknowingly eats a surprisingly high number of bugs each year. 

Angela [00:19:32] Thank you! Thank you. 

Jenna [00:19:35] The average person consumes up to one and a half pounds of insects annually through fruits and vegetables. 

Angela [00:19:43] That amounts to about 440 to 660 bugs in a year. Thank you. 

Jenna [00:19:48] But not from just crawling in or flying into your mouth at random. Because they’re on something that you’re actively choosing to ingest. 

Angela [00:19:59] Fine. Whatever. I said I think we all eat bugs. My point stands. We all eat bugs. My point stands. 

Jenna [00:20:05] Okay, We’ll let it lie. 

Angela [00:20:08] We will. 

Jenna [00:20:09] We eat bugs. 

Angela [00:20:11] We eat bugs. 

Jenna [00:20:12] But they don’t just fly into our mouth. 

Angela [00:20:16] But they get in there. 

Jenna [00:20:17] Yep. Apparently, they do. One and a half pounds of bugs a year. Things you didn’t know that you would learn today. 

Angela [00:20:27] Thank you. Welcome to Office Ladies. 

Jenna [00:20:29] Andy is going to ask Kangaroo Pam the fax something for him. And this makes Erin very uneasy. Why did he ask Pam? Is Pam faxing things in a special way that she doesn’t know about? I have something to point out in this scene. My makeup is really thick. It’s really thick in this whole episode. And this is because it was hiding my melasma. I got the melasma on my face during pregnancy, and it never really went away. And I treated it with, oh, my gosh. 

Angela [00:20:58] Creams. You had so many creams. 

Jenna [00:20:59] Creams, special facials, laser facials, yada, yada, yada, yada. Finally, I just gave up and I let it take over my face. And now it just sort of spread so much that it evened itself out. That’s my great skin advice, everyone. 

Angela [00:21:14] Just let it go. 

Jenna [00:21:16] Just let it go. 

Angela [00:21:17] I thought you looked beautiful. 

Jenna [00:21:19] Thank you. I did notice my makeup was very heavy, and I was like, Oh, yeah, I remember that. That was the melasma years. 

Angela [00:21:24] We’re moving now into the kitchen. Everyone’s kind of gathered around having lunch, and Phyllis says that she and Bob are doing a Scranton haunted walking tour. Well, this got me curious. Is there such thing as a Scranton haunted walking tour? And guess what I found? 

Jenna [00:21:40] What? 

Angela [00:21:41] There is. It is called Scranton After Dark. I really want to do this. Jenna, listen to it. Come celebrate Halloween in Scranton with a bit of history with the Lackawanna Historical Society’s Scranton after dark, haunted walking tours. You get a guided walking tour around downtown Scranton for tales of mayhem and mysterious happenings at some of your favorite places. The guides weave a candlelight path, imparting tales of tragic events, curious occurrences, and ghostly apparitions that have become part of the city’s lore. Participants are invited to attend a presentation by local paranormal investigators who reveal evidence collected at several reportedly active haunted locations within the city. 

Jenna [00:22:27] Wow. 

Angela [00:22:29] $15 a person. I want to go. 

Jenna [00:22:31] I’ll go. 

Angela [00:22:32] How fun would that be? 

Jenna [00:22:34] We need to go to Scranton. We’ll spend, like, a whole week there eating in all the places and seeing all the things. 

Angela [00:22:39] I know. 

Jenna [00:22:41] Well, in this scene, Pam tells Phyllis that they have to go to the Banshee Pub because Pam had a ghostly encounter there. 

Angela [00:22:51] Mm hmm. With the man in black. 

Jenna [00:22:54] Yes. She says when she was 22 years old, she worked at the pub and that she was looking up into the mirror and she saw a man standing behind her over her shoulder, the man in black. And then when she turned around, he wasn’t there. And she told people about it and they were like, Oh, yes, this is the ghost. This is the man in black. Well, we got a fan mail flurry, Angela, because during the Murder episode, I talked about my real life encounter with the Lavender Lady when I worked at the Murder Mystery Dinner theater place in St Louis. And they wanted to know if, by any chance, the inspiration for Pam’s Man in Black story was based on my Lavender Lady story. And yes, it absolutely was. The writers used my Lavender Lady story. However, the Banshee bar that Pam mentions is actually a haunted bar in Scranton. It’s probably on the tour you were talking about. 

Angela [00:23:51] I want to say, I bet it’s on the tour. 

Jenna [00:23:53] However, in 2017, it changed ownership. It’s now called A.V. Restaurant and Lounge, and it was recently named the most haunted restaurant in Pennsylvania by the Food Network. 

Angela [00:24:06] Put it on our list. We’re going. 

Jenna [00:24:08] However, the Man in Black was a fictional story that we made up. At the actual A.V Restaurant and Lounge, staff have felt hands on their shoulders, even though no one is there. They’ve seen glasses randomly break. And they’ve heard tables moving on the second floor, even though no one’s up there. 

Angela [00:24:29] I’m not going to the second floor. 

Jenna [00:24:31] Really? 

Angela [00:24:32] Okay. If you go with me. 

Jenna [00:24:36] So the cool thing was that the Food Network did an article where they listed the most haunted restaurant in every single state in the United States. So this was the most haunted in Pennsylvania. And the one that I worked for was named the most haunted restaurant in Missouri! 

Angela [00:24:53] Oh, no way! 

Jenna [00:24:54] Yes! I looked through some of the other states, and there’s just one more that I want to highlight. 

Angela [00:24:59] Okay. 

Jenna [00:25:00] It’s the Cruise Room in Colorado. It’s inside the Oxford Hotel. And I guess this hotel is famous because it has a ghost. A man who comes in wearing a post office uniform. 

Angela [00:25:13] Stop it. 

Jenna [00:25:14] He orders a beer, and then he mutters, “The children. I have to get the gifts to the children.” And then he drinks this beer and he leaves. But when the bartender goes to take the beer away, it’s still full. The legend is that back in the 1930s, there was a postal worker on his way to deliver children’s Christmas presents in Central City, but the gifts were never delivered. He went missing, and later that spring, his body was found with all of the Christmas gifts still with him. 

Angela [00:25:48] Found where? 

Jenna [00:25:49] It didn’t say. 

Angela [00:25:50] Like did he freeze to death or something? 

Jenna [00:25:52] Don’t know. 

Angela [00:25:53] Was he on horseback? 

Jenna [00:25:55] No idea. But he can sometimes be seen going to the Cruise Room in Colorado and having a beer. He’s still worried about the Christmas presents. 

Angela [00:26:06] He wasn’t so worried. He had a beer. 

Jenna [00:26:08] This is his spirit is having a beer. 

Angela [00:26:12] I know, but I’m just saying. 

Jenna [00:26:14] What would you have him do? 

Angela [00:26:16] Deliver the presents!  

Jenna [00:26:18] You want to see him as a ghost, going around to children’s houses and showing up? I’d much rather he’d go to the bar.  

Angela [00:26:25] Listen. I don’t want to judge him. But maybe if he hadn’t stopped for a beer, they would have had their presents. 

Jenna [00:26:31] His ghost stops for a beer and is upset about not delivering the presents. This is after the fact. There’s no evidence that he stopped for a beer before. In real life, before he went missing. 

Angela [00:26:47] Well, I’m going to let it go, but I kinda am judging him. 

Jenna [00:26:50] All right, Angela. 

Angela [00:26:55] All right. Well, let’s take a break, because when we come back, Jim is going to have a talking head where he just can’t believe that his wife believes in ghosts. 

Jenna [00:27:05] Yeah. 

Angela [00:27:06] We have lots to say. I’m gonna call this next scene. What the heck, Jim? In the break room. 

Jenna [00:27:16] Okay. 

Angela [00:27:17] So catchy. What the heck? Break room scene. Because Jim is going to ask Pam, I mean, does she really believe in ghosts? You know? 

Jenna [00:27:26] Yeah. Like, what does she think it was? It was definitely just like she mis-saw something. 

Angela [00:27:33] And he is totally being that little passive aggressive judgy, you know? And she’s like, I told you this on our first date. And he’s like, Well, I had just told you a story about meeting the Blue Angels, and I thought you were just trying to one up me. 

Jenna [00:27:45] Yeah. 

Angela [00:27:46] He’s so taken aback that she might believe in ghosts. 

Jenna [00:27:50] Well, we got a fan question from Aidan W in Portland, Oregon, who says, All right, I have to know. Everyone in the studio. Sam, Cassi, Angela, Jenna, who believes in ghosts? 

Angela [00:28:04] Sam, go first. 

Sam [00:28:06] I definitely believe in ghosts. And I encountered one much like your story. Years ago I was bartending at a place called Por Vous, which is a French bar here in Los Angeles. And just like your story, looked up at a mirror and there was somebody behind me. And when I turned around to them, they were gone. 

Jenna [00:28:25] I have a question. Why do so many ghosts go to bars? 

Sam [00:28:30] I don’t know. 

Jenna [00:28:31] They really love a bar. 

Sam [00:28:34] But there was all sorts of stuff. You know, glasses would come off the shelves, bottles would come off the shelves, all sorts of stuff like that. 

Jenna [00:28:41] Wow. Is that your only ghost encounter? Your only personal one? 

Sam [00:28:46] Yeah, that’s my only personal one. But I believe. I’m a hard believer. 

Jenna [00:28:50] Cassi? 

Cassi [00:28:51] My answer is no. 

Jenna [00:28:53] Yeah, I knew! I knew that you would not believe! 

Sam [00:28:56] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:28:57] I knew that your logical brain would not go there. 

Cassi [00:29:00] Yeah, but I do have a reoccurring experience I can’t… Like I think there’s a logical psychological explanation to it, but every time a family member or friend passes, a smell I associate with them, I smell it when I’m driving, like within that month that it happens. So it’s gotten to the point now that I’ll just be like, Hello, you know, goodbye. But that always happens to me. So I don’t know what that’s about. 

Jenna [00:29:28] Does it happen before you know they’ve passed? Or within sort of the month of their recent passing? 

Cassi [00:29:36] Within the month of their recent passing. So it could be like a psychological trigger. But I did have- the first time it happened, my friend was in the car with me and she smelled it, too. 

Jenna [00:29:49] Oh, wow. 

Sam [00:29:51] Hmm. 

Cassi [00:29:52] I don’t know. 

Angela [00:29:52] Interesting. 

Cassi [00:29:53] But no. 

Jenna [00:29:54] Angela? 

Angela [00:29:57] Yeah. I mean, you know, I totally believe that, you know, um there’s spirits. I totally believe it. You know, I haven’t had, like, an encounter. I don’t have, like, a story, but I’ve sometimes just had a feeling. One time I was doing the the show Haters Back Off for Netflix, and we were filming in Vancouver at a really, really old building that was used in like the forties as an insane asylum. They gave people lobotomies there. It was like creepy. 

Jenna [00:30:32] Wow. 

Angela [00:30:32] And it’s condemned. Half of it is boarded up. And the other part of it, they rent out to TV and movies. And we were there and filming at night, and there was a floor that some of our local crew members were like, We don’t go on that floor. We don’t go on that floor. And there were no lights on that floor. It was getting dark. We had to bring in all of our own lights, you know? And so a few of us were like, okay, let’s go up the back stairwell up to that floor. It was so creepy. And now I don’t know if I just built out what might have happened there or things like that, but I did not like the feeling there at all. I was like, No, I’m like, I’m gonna go back down. I’m going down. Where are the lights? Where’s craft services? I’m getting out of here. I didn’t like it. 

Jenna [00:31:16] Hmm. 

Sam [00:31:18] What about you, Jenna? 

Angela [00:31:19] All right. Jenna? 

Jenna [00:31:20] I think I have a ghost in my house. 

Sam [00:31:23] Oh, wow. 

Angela [00:31:24] That’s a country music song. (SINGS) I’m just a ghost in this house… 

Jenna [00:31:29] I don’t like to talk about it because. 

Angela [00:31:32] You don’t want to let the ghost know. 

Jenna [00:31:34] I am right now sitting in the closet of the ghost. The ghost is in my podcast closet. 

Sam [00:31:44] Okay. 

Angela [00:31:44] Okay. 

Sam [00:31:46] Does it record? 

Jenna [00:31:47] No. There is a window in my closet. So this closet, it is- the house is almost 100 years old. It turns 100 years old next year. This room that is my office has an old fashioned closet that has like a built in vanity with a mirror and two windows next to it, and then like, a cedar closet. And this was the vanity of the woman who originally owned the house. And this was like her dressing room. One of the windows opens on its own all the time. All the time. I will shut it and I’ll come back at another time and it’s open. 

Angela [00:32:33] Oof. 

Jenna [00:32:34] It just is that way. I have come to accept it. She seems friendly. I think she just wants some fresh air. I don’t know. Lee is convinced that the latch on the window is just weak. 

Angela [00:32:48] Lee’s your Cassi. 

Jenna [00:32:49] And the wind blows it open. But I am like, I don’t know. I mean, I have now over that window I have, like, a heavy, thick sound blanket. You know, because I podcast in here now. And even still, the window opens from underneath the heavy sound blanket. So, like, what? 

Angela [00:33:13] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:33:14] I just um… I just try to, you know, I just try to respect her space. But I am convinced that, I don’t know, something’s opening my window. 

Angela [00:33:29] All right. 

Jenna [00:33:30] But we’re existing together now. 

Angela [00:33:32] I believe it. 

Jenna [00:33:33] Here’s what I won’t do. I will never, ever go on like a ghost finder thing where they come in and seance my house or, like, look for the evidence. We’re just going to keep it how it is, which is in a real gray area, where it might be the wind. It might be the lady. We close the window when it’s open and we just all live our lives. I don’t want more information. 

Sam [00:33:59] You don’t want to confirm that someone died there? 

Jenna [00:34:02] She did. She did, I think, die here. But I’m not 100% sure. Yeah. 

Sam [00:34:08] Ugh. 

Cassi [00:34:08] Yeah. 

Angela [00:34:08] Yeah. 

Cassi [00:34:09] They say if you’re not in a new home, probably someone has died in your home. 

Jenna [00:34:13] Yeah. Well, thank you, everyone, for sharing. I guess we are, what, 75% for ghosts? 25% no ghosts? 

Angela [00:34:22] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:34:24] Mm hmm. 

Angela [00:34:25] All right, Speaking of spooky- how’s that transition? 

Jenna [00:34:29] I liked it. 

Angela [00:34:30] Robert California is going to arrive with his son, who’s in a very elaborate zombie costume. And we’re going to find out that Robert has a son. His name is Bert. 

Jenna [00:34:40] Robert is going to give some Roberts sass. Did you note the Roberts sass? 

Angela [00:34:44] About the party? 

Jenna [00:34:46] No, about Andy’s costume. 

Angela [00:34:48] Oh, he does. He’s like, On this day where you can be anything you want, you choose to be a laborer. 

Jenna [00:34:53] Yes. I wrote it down because I loved the quote. 

Angela [00:34:56] Roberts sass. 

Jenna [00:34:58] And on this day of fantasy, you are a laborer. I loved it. 

Angela [00:35:04] Well, the other Roberts sass I was talking about is how he points out kind of like the kiddy decorations that Erin has put up. 

Jenna [00:35:11] Yes. 

Angela [00:35:12] And Erin is so, you know, mortified. She’s like, oh, my gosh. And Andy’s like, well, we have a better party that’s going to it’s going to get spookier and blah, blah, blah. And this makes Erin spiral. 

Jenna [00:35:23] Yes. Well, something that Robert does like are the skeleton costumes that Gabe and Kelly and Toby are wearing. Kelly and Toby planned it. Gabe just kind of took it upon himself to join in. 

Angela [00:35:33] They even have a song. 

Jenna [00:35:35] And a dance. 

Angela [00:35:36] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:35:37] After which Robert kind of very casually but pointedly digs into Kelly’s greatest fear. 

Angela [00:35:44] I loved this, Jenna, because remember, I forget what episode it was, they said how Robert California will zero in on someone. 

Jenna [00:35:51] Oh, and make a small talk. But that it’s terrifying? 

Angela [00:35:54] Yes. 

Jenna [00:35:55] Yes! Well, Kelly admits that her greatest fear is never marrying and dying alone. And Robert’s like, Very interesting. Then he kind of turns to Toby, and Toby’s like, What? 

Angela [00:36:06] He’s like, I’m fine. Yeah. Robert California might be king of the mind games. He’s clearly having some fun here. And it’s going to continue throughout the episode. He’s going to keep messing with people. He seems fascinated by what everyone’s fears are. 

Jenna [00:36:19] Mm hmm. 

Angela [00:36:20] Angela and Phyllis are now going to start taking down Erin’s decorations from the conference room. And there’s some real Angela sass here. She’s like, Are we are we able to really talk or are we still sparing feelings? Because I hate all of this. 

Jenna [00:36:36] You know, we had a fan catch from Candace R in South Dakota, who said, I have an observation I’ve been holding on to for like two years since I first noticed it. 

Angela [00:36:45] Two years? 

Jenna [00:36:46] Mm hmm. At 7 minutes and 55 seconds, Phyllis takes down the skeleton decoration that Erin put up because it’s just not, quote, Halloweeny enough. However, in the very first Halloween episode in season two, at 7 minutes and 45 seconds, you can see that same skeleton on the wall behind Angela while she is decorating. So that means that Erin must have found this decoration stored away and thought it would be a good choice because Angela would have approved of this decoration in the past. It really makes you even sadder for Erin, who was so eager to do a great job at her first party that she even borrowed ideas directly from Angela, who just ripped them right off the wall. Well, Candace, well done. That is a great catch. 

Angela [00:37:33] It is a great catch, Candace. But Angela gave her box of Halloween decorations to Jim and Dwight. I don’t know where Erin got these from, and she might not have known it was Angela’s box. 

Jenna [00:37:44] Still, it doesn’t explain why suddenly a decoration that Angela enjoyed in the past, she now is ripping off the wall with Phyllis. Maybe she thinks it’s, you know, no longer great. 

Angela [00:37:55] No, I don’t think she has any rational thinking here. I think it’s just like I’ve been given permission to throw shade at Erin, and I’m going to take it. 

Jenna [00:38:05] I just noticed how many pumpkins are used to decorate the office. Like Erin went really pumpkin heavy. There are- I couldn’t even count them all. I got up to 14. And I’m talking from when you walk in the front door and the conference room. So many pumpkins. A variety of pumpkins, but so many stick up pumpkins. This got me curious. According to an article on Real Homes dot com about the most popular Halloween decorations, the pumpkin is not the most popular. Lombardo Homes looked at Google search data and found that skeletons were the most popular. 

Angela [00:38:42] I was going to say skeletons! 

Jenna [00:38:44] Followed by pumpkins. On average, people spend $145 on Halloween decorations and they spend 3.3 hours decorating their homes. And 82% of people in America decorate for Halloween in some way. 

Angela [00:38:57] Yeah, I mean, our kids love decor. They love decorating for any holiday. Forget it. Like every holiday, something’s going up somewhere. 

Jenna [00:39:05] Robert California’s son, Bert, really doesn’t care about all the Halloween stuff. He is on Jim’s computer and he is tracking hurricanes. He starts heckling Dwight about his costume, which he then is able to correctly identify as being Kerrigan from Starcraft. This is going to start a little thing now between these two. 

Angela [00:39:26] He sort of earns Dwight’s respect. They know a lot of similar subjects. 

Jenna [00:39:30] They really do. I think that sort of shows you what a child Dwight is. Very childlike in his interests and things. We got a really fun fan letter from Jackie M in Denver, Colorado, that I just loved. Jackie says this: I am so excited about this episode. I’m a huge Office fan. I usually rewatch it at least once a year, but my partner Jason had never seen it at all. And when we got to this episode, he lost it. He is a huge Starcraft nerd. Jackie’s said, I had no idea it was real. Outside of the world of The Office. 

Angela [00:40:07] Same Jackie, same. 

Jenna [00:40:09] Same! Jackie goes on to say, I’ve since learned that Starcraft has a huge cult following, but it’s mainly in Korea and overseas. Also, this episode was so impactful on our relationship because when we got our puppy a few months ago, Jason wanted to give her the name Kerrigan, and his logic was it comes from Starcraft, which I love, but it’s also a reference to The Office which you love. So needless to say, our little girl is now named Kerrigan, Kerry for short. And shout out to my sister Katie, who got me listening to the podcast. I love that story. 

Angela [00:40:47] Aw. Me too. Erin is now going to confront Andy. She wants to know why Angela and Phyllis are helping with the party. And this is when Andy says, You know what, I want to talk to you about things, but we need to talk later. At the end of the day. 

Jenna [00:41:00] Yes. 

Angela [00:41:00] And then he fakes that. He has a phone call and it’s so fakey and bad. And Erin is just so in her head. She’s worried. She clearly still has feelings for Andy. And I really felt for her. 

Jenna [00:41:13] Yeah, I did, too. She is so in her head and so nervous that she’s actually going to go ask Gabe for help. 

Angela [00:41:21] I know. 

Jenna [00:41:22] She wants to make the party a little more adult. A little more sexy. Actually not sexy. Just make it scary. And Gabe is delighted. 

Angela [00:41:32] But like, he does just, like, creepy laugh. He’s like, I’ll be back. 

Jenna [00:41:37] It’s true. This next scene is going to get us a note from standards and practices. 

Angela [00:41:43] The finger? 

Jenna [00:41:44] Mm hmm. Jim is over at Andy’s old desk, and he calls Pam, and he’s giving her grief about her belief in ghosts. 

Angela [00:41:54] He says, Why don’t you draw me the man in black that you saw? 

Jenna [00:41:57] Yeah. Draw me a picture of it. So Pam’s like, Fine, I’ll draw you a picture of it. She holds up a drawing, and it’s clearly a middle finger. I really enjoyed the note from standards and practices. It says this: Please blur the middle finger. And then in parentheses in quotes it wrote, The bird in Pam’s drawing. 

Angela [00:42:19] In case you weren’t sure which one the middle finger is. The bird. You know. 

Jenna [00:42:24] The bird. And so we did. And I did not draw that, by the way, that was pre drawn. There is no way I could have drawn that so quickly. So that was fakey drawing. I wasn’t really drawing the middle finger there. 

Angela [00:42:37] Robert California is now going to walk over to the accounting area where there is a conversations about ghosts happening. And we’re going to find out who in the office believes in ghosts and who doesn’t. Meredith shares that she believes in them. But you guys, this scene was a lot longer. Meredith is going to tell everyone about her encounter with a ghost, and I really thought you should hear it. 

Robert California [00:42:58] What are we talking about? 

Jim [00:43:00] I was talking about my wife and how she believes in ghosts. And then we had a little debate. And then Meredith said that she believes in them, too. 

Robert California [00:43:06] Have you seen a ghost? 

Meredith [00:43:08] Seen and banged. I met him in a bar. Right? There’s something weird about him. He doesn’t smell right. His clothes are all tattered and dirty and from another age. Anyways, we end up back at my place and we go at it all night. 

Oscar [00:43:20] Meredith, don’t. 

Robert California [00:43:22] No, no, no. I’m very comfortable with all things sexual. Continue. 

Meredith [00:43:27] I wake up the next morning, all my stuff is gone. Whole house turned over, no trace. You tell me what happened. 

Robert California [00:43:35] Have you consider the possibility that you slept with a drifter. 

Meredith [00:43:40] He didn’t smell like a drifter. 

Jenna [00:43:46] Oh, my goodness. 

Angela [00:43:47] This goes to our ghosts in bar theory. 

Jenna [00:43:50] Yes. Oh, Meredith. Also, during this scene, it’s revealed that Kevin does not believe in ghosts. You know, he’s only scared of real things like serial killers or kidnapers. He’s not afraid of made up things like ghosts or mummies. 

Angela [00:44:06] And then Oscar says, No, Kevin, mummies are real. And he’s like, Yeah, you’re, you know, pranking me. And Robert’s like, No, it’s true. There’s thousands of them. They’re, you know, in museums, they’ve been mummified. 

Jenna [00:44:20] This is the first Kevin’s heart of it. And he has an amazing talking head. It’s amazing. We got a fan letter from Kellyanne M in Woodbridge, Virginia, who says, This episode has my absolute favorite line in it. At 12 minutes and 27 seconds, Kevin’s talking head where he says, Why on earth would a museum put a mummy in it? His delivery of this line is gold. He is so shaken by this realization that museums would house real life mummies. He even has a little whimper at the end, which makes the entire quote even more hilarious. I could not agree with you more. I love it. 

Angela [00:44:57] I don’t even know how Brian made that sound. He made like a quiver whimper. 

Jenna [00:45:04] Oh, he is the king of like these one line talking heads that just absolutely kill. 

Angela [00:45:12] Totally. Finally, the party is going to happen. We’re in the conference room. There is a fog machine. There’s some more spooky decorations. And Andy’s like, Erin, you nailed it. Way to go. 

Jenna [00:45:25] You know, we had a very hard time getting that fog machine to work consistently. Do you remember, Ange? 

Angela [00:45:31] Not only do I remember, but I have a video that I want to post. We talked about it in our book, but I really want to post this video. The fog machine broke, and while they were trying to fix it, I mean, Kate and Craig and Ellie and Ed, they improvised a whole song. They made up a whole song. 

Jenna [00:45:50] It was about the broken fog machine. 

Angela [00:45:52] It was so fun. And I’m going to post it. And then you hear at the end of it, All right! Going back to one! The fog machine was fixed. 

Jenna [00:46:01] Yeah, I totally remember that. It was one of those times where there’s a hiccup on set that turns into a personal memory you’ll never forget. Well, guys, Erin has decided that it’s time for a spooky movie. Gabe made it. It is Cinema of the Unsettling. 

Angela [00:46:18] Which I looked up. I looked up Cinema of the Unsettling. 

Jenna [00:46:22] Is it real? 

Angela [00:46:23] It’s not real. Although there are, like, weird kind of movies in this vein. The actual terminology of Cinema of the Unsettling, we made up. 

Jenna [00:46:35] Well, it’s basically a series of weird shots. And we really watched this video during this conference room scene, because we shot all of the material for Gabe’s Cinema of the Unsettling video the Friday before this week. I got some tidbits from Steve Burgess about the making of the video. He said, you know the shot of the melting Barbie doll in the microwave? 

Angela [00:47:02] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:47:02] Well, first of all, that was a note from the studio. We could not use a real Barbie doll because we didn’t want Barbie to sue us. So we use kind of like a generic looking Barbie-esque doll. But he said, guess what? They don’t melt. 

Angela [00:47:17] I was going to ask. 

Jenna [00:47:19] Yeah. It didn’t matter what they did. Phil actually had to have a like wax figure made so that they could melt it in the microwave, but it still took forever for it to melt. Steve Burgess said it was like a ton of editing to make that little moment like, look good. 

Angela [00:47:38] What the heck are they making the fakey Barbie dolls out of? 

Jenna [00:47:42] I don’t know. Un melting things. 

Angela [00:47:45] I bet those are in the landfill forever. 

Jenna [00:47:47] Steve Burgess also said, you know the shot of the cake where the goo comes out? 

Angela [00:47:52] Mm hmm. 

Jenna [00:47:52] He said that when they cut that cake, it, like, poured out. It leaked everywhere, and it took forever to clean up. It was like a massive cleanup. That one little shot. But I did not get any details on what exactly was in that cake. It looks like that blood syrup. 

Angela [00:48:13] It looked gross. 

Jenna [00:48:13] It looked gross. We had a fan catch from Anthony L in Louisville, Kentucky, who said, In Gabe’s unsettling video, we see a lot of gross things, including cockroaches. Which Anthony found interesting, because in the episode China, we learned that Gabe can’t stand the thought of cockroaches. Remember when Dwight puts up the big sign over the office windows? 

Angela [00:48:37] Oh, yeah, the big banner. Gabe was terrified. He had to run inside. 

Jenna [00:48:41] Yes. And so he thought it was very interesting that Gabe still included the cockroach in his film. 

Angela [00:48:48] I’m thinking maybe the writers forgot about that scene in China. 

Jenna [00:48:53] Anthony also wondered if the writers forgot about the scene. 

Angela [00:48:57] Anthony, I’m with you. No one is liking this movie. Andy’s like, Turn it off. Erin is so embarrassed and she’s like, I’m sorry. I well, I was trying to make the party more adult. I also have this pecker poker. It’s the card game that gets you haaaa. 

Jenna [00:49:17] It’s the game of cards that gets you har. 

Angela [00:49:20] Har. 

Jenna [00:49:21] Yeah. 

Angela [00:49:22] I did not Google pecker poker. Just so you know. Because I didn’t want to see where the Internet took me on that. 

Jenna [00:49:30] I think it’s good that you didn’t look it up, Angela. I’m not really sure where that would lead you, but probably nothing you need. 

Angela [00:49:37] Nothing I need to see. I don’t need to see what’s out there when you Google pecker poker. 

Jenna [00:49:41] Well, standards and practices had some things they didn’t want you to see either. They said, quote, Please ensure that no images show through the pixelated pecker poker cards. Thank you. Again. Do you see how polite they are? There’s a please and a thank you in there. 

Angela [00:49:59] They like Steve. 

Jenna [00:50:00] They clearly do. People really liked our reaction to pecker poker. Angela, Steve Burgess wrote that it made him laugh out loud when he saw our reaction. Many people wanted to know if we were genuinely surprised because our reaction looks so genuine. But no, we knew it was coming. I don’t know. We just gave a good reaction that day. 

Angela [00:50:25] We did. So guess what? There’s no coming back once you introduce pecker poker at work. Immediately the next scene is Erin in Andy’s office with Robert California. And he’s asking her, Why didn’t you just ask Andy for clarification about what adult Halloween party meant? I mean, you guys are clearly very close. 

Jenna [00:50:46] Yeah. 

Angela [00:50:46] And then there’s that awkward look between the two of them. And Robert’s like, Oh, I see. Well. This is now none of my business. 

Jenna [00:50:56] But I’m going to stay. 

Angela [00:50:57] He’s gonna stay and watch it all play out. 

Jenna [00:51:01] This is when Andy tells Erin that thing he wanted to tell her is that he’s dating someone. They’ve gone on 31 dates, and it’s kind of weird because he hasn’t let this woman call the office or come by the office to kind of spare Erin’s feelings. But now it’s getting weird. And so he needs to tell her. I thought Erin was going to, like, just slowly die inside. I can’t believe she even made it out the door. 

Angela [00:51:28] Ellie Kemper crushed it. She crushed it. I felt her heartache. I felt her awkwardness. I felt her embarrassment. I was like, Oh, poor Erin. 

Jenna [00:51:40] The next scene, Pam is being questioned about her ghost sighting again. 

Angela [00:51:45] I know. I love that she called Jim out and was like, Hey, how is this any different from you being superstitious about your jersey? You know, and not washing it? Well, I want you guys to know the scene was longer and a few people take Pam’s side. It was cut out, but I want you to hear it. 

Jenna [00:52:01] Please. 

Stanley [00:52:01] Ghosts aren’t real, how come everyone knows what they look like? It’s not like a bunch of people got together and agreed on a lie. 

Pam [00:52:07] Thank you. 

Oscar [00:52:08] Interesting. Every culture has this trope. Clearly, there’s some sort of real phenomenon out there. 

Jim [00:52:16] Oscar. How are you on that side? 

Pam [00:52:18] This isn’t about sides. This is about me seeing a bluish gray old man in the mirror. And then he vanished. 

Creed [00:52:26] Pam. This is important. Was he me? Am I him?

Pam [00:52:32] No, Creed. 

Jim [00:52:34] But that would make more sense. 

Jenna [00:52:41] A bluish gray old man. And then Creed is amazing. Tell me, Pam, was that me? 

Angela [00:52:49] But we learned in the scene that Stanley and Oscar are on the same side as Pam. And we know that Meredith is. So there’s more people in the office that believe in ghosts. 

Jenna [00:52:59] During this scene, at 17 minutes and 4 seconds, on the light fixture behind Jim there is a fake black crow. It is a decoration. However, I will have you know that more than once, more than twice, I don’t know why, I would just catch that crow in the corner of my eye and it would make me flinch. This decoration really got to me the week we were shooting this, and I was very distracted by it during the scene. And when I saw it, it was one of those things where I was like, Oh my God, it’s the crow! 

Angela [00:53:33] The crow! I remember the crow! 

Jenna [00:53:35] There it was just like the height of it, the way it was positioned. I don’t know. That was a personal memory that I’ve now shared with all of you. We got a fan question from Carolyn B in Philadelphia, who said, In the spirit of this episode, I have to ask, was there ever a paranormal experience on the set of The Office? Well, Carolyn, I did not remember one. Angela, I don’t know about you. I threw it out to the Office text thread. 

Angela [00:54:05] Yes, we have a text thread with the whole cast called The Office Peeps that we are actively on. It is the sweetest, most wonderful thing. I love it when we all pop up on it. And Jenna put it to the group. Do you guys remember if we ever had a ghost or paranormal event on the set? And everyone has been responding the whole entire time we have been recording this podcast. Our phones have been buzzing because everyone is responding and it’s getting really silly. Everyone’s like, No, but now people are just kind of making up things. Like Rainn said no, but it’s currently haunted by the ghost of our show! And Kate Flannery said, Rainn’s right. The Office will never die. Oscar wants to know if anyone’s going to organize an Office sleepover at the studio. We could spend all night and get to the bottom of this. 

Jenna [00:54:51] Then he says, Unfortunately, I’m busy on that date. 

Angela [00:54:53] The date that hasn’t been set. 

Jenna [00:54:56] Well, I guess the answer is no. None of us remember or experienced a paranormal experience on the set of The Office. But I thank you for your question because it has created a very entertaining text thread response. 

Angela [00:55:09] I have my favorite line of this episode. 

Jenna [00:55:12] What is it? 

Angela [00:55:13] It’s when Robert California notices that Creed is a little nervous around the fake snake. 

Jenna [00:55:18] Okay. 

Angela [00:55:19] And Robert says, Are you scared of snakes? And Creed says, You don’t live as long as I have without a healthy fear of snakes, Bobby. I just love that Creed called him Bobby. No one else calls him Bobby. 

Jenna [00:55:32] Well, thus begins a series of little scenes where whoever Robert is talking to, he’s getting them to tell him about his fear. And Darryl is afraid of being buried alive. And Meredith tells Robert that Jim gives her the creeps. And then this cuts to a Robert California talking head where he just says, What am I up to? Bum bum bum… 

Angela [00:55:55] He then launches into a huge long story. 

Jenna [00:56:00] Mm hmm. 

Angela [00:56:01] A creepy, scary story where he singles out every person practically in the bullpen and plays on their fear in his story. 

Jenna [00:56:10] Yes. The story has a snake. It has someone being buried alive. It has mummies. 

Angela [00:56:17] It has someone dying alone. 

Jenna [00:56:19] It has a tall, slim man. Jim. 

Angela [00:56:22] Jim. And it ends so oddly. 

Jenna [00:56:26] Yes. 

Angela [00:56:27] And on that fevered night, she rushed to the nursery, threw open the door. Baby, are you okay? Baby sat up slowly, turned to Mother and said, I’m fine, bitch. Like, he like lowered his voice. I was like, What is happening? To which his son laughs hysterically. 

Jenna [00:56:47] Yes. Everyone is just speechless. 

Angela [00:56:50] Yeah. 

Jenna [00:56:51] And Robert’s going to explain what it was all about in his final talking head. 

Angela [00:56:55] He says, Fear plays an interesting role in our lives. How dare we let it motivate us? How dare we let it into our decision making, into our livelihoods, into our relationships? It’s funny, isn’t it? We take a day a year to dress up in costume and celebrate fear. 

Jenna [00:57:12] There you have it. But this episode is going to end with Bert going over to Toby’s desk and firing him. He says, I’m the CEO’s son, and you’re fired. 

Angela [00:57:22] So mean. 

Jenna [00:57:24] I know. 

Angela [00:57:24] Dwight is pranking Toby. He’s, like, laughing silently over the partition. So mean. 

Jenna [00:57:29] At 21 minutes and 4 seconds, I notice two things in Toby’s nook. One good and one huh? The good one is that there are a bunch of new photos of Toby’s daughter on the wall. I love this detail. I love how our desks changed with us and with the passage of time. You know, he still has his little puppy dog thing. He still he has a lot of things that are the same. But all the pictures on the wall, his daughter is older. You know, Toby’s daughter was played by one of our crew members daughters. And that crew member would bring in updated photos for Toby’s nook. So new pictures. But also that brings me to huh? Which is on his desk, he has a mug with all of his pens and pencils in it, but it’s a yellow NBC peacock mug. 

Angela [00:58:16] Woopsies. 

Jenna [00:58:17] Huh? What’s that about? 

Angela [00:58:19] I don’t know. I don’t know. 

Jenna [00:58:22] Hmm. 

Angela [00:58:23] Well, that was Spooked, lady. 

Jenna [00:58:25] Yeah. 

Angela [00:58:26] I think what I learned is there’s nothing scarier than Robert California zeroing in on you. 

Jenna [00:58:31] I think you’re right. I think you’re right. Well, thank you, everyone, for listening. Thank you to Steve Burgess and the Office Peeps texts thread for getting back to us. 

Angela [00:58:44] And thanks to you guys for sending in your questions and comments. We just love ’em so much. And happy summer everybody. We’re gonna take two weeks off. My birthday’s coming up.

Jenna [00:59:01] Angela, once again we will not be working on your birthday. 

Angela [00:59:02] I know! I’ll eat cake for everybody. 

Jenna [00:59:11] Well we’ll see you in two weeks, everyone. Love ya! Thank you for listening to Office Ladies. Office Ladies is produced by Earwolf, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. Our show is executive produced by Codi Fischer. Our producer is Cassi Jerkins. Our sound engineer is Sam Kieffer. And our associate producer is Aynsley Bubbico. 

Angela [00:59:27] Our theme song is Rubber Tree by Creed Bratton. For ad free versions of Office Ladies, go to Stitcher Premium dot com. For a free one month trial of Stitcher Premium, use code “office”.