This post is about the podcast Alice Isn’t Dead, Part 1, Chapter 3: “Nothing to See.”

Road trips come with the constant ethical dilemma of whether it’s OK to pee somewhere without buying anything.

I live in the Midwest, which means visiting family or friends a few hours away equals driving a few hours, as public transportation isn’t as readily available. I have always felt the pressure to spend money if I’m going to pee somewhere, even though, on the rare occasion I haven’t, it’s not like anyone who works there gave me dirty looks (even though it was quite obvious). I once took a pregnancy test in a Hardee’s bathroom out of panic after I had a dream that I was pregnant and felt the need to take one as immediately as possible, thus stopped to pick one up on a holiday road trip, intending to take it to my final destination, but couldn’t wait.

It was positive, by the way. But multiple tests the next day, an ER visit for a blood test, several more tests over the next couple of weeks and the lack of a human growing inside of me would eventually confirm that it was a false positive. Regardless, while freaking out about the positive test, I bought a soda at the Hardee’s that I didn’t even drink.

That’s an entirely different kind of horrifying roadside tale from the one being told in Alice Isn’t Dead, though. The true star of this episode is Disparition. The soundtrack heats up with a pulse-like rhythm as the narrator is attacked, transitioning suddenly yet seamlessly into a rock-like drumbeat and melody as she fights back, only to disappear as the radio cuts out. It’s well done, and the reason you may have been about to pee yourself as you listen to the scary attack (and if you were on the road, I won’t judge you if you didn’t buy anything wherever you stopped to pee).

Descriptions of the “historical” McDonald’s and its place in society as a public toilet, along with other road sights like adult video stores and gas stations. I didn’t feel like it really chapter 3 advanced the plot very much, but did much more scene-setting in describing more of life on the road, which I’m starting to think might seem bizarre to people who haven’t had to spend a lot of time on the road. So for those people, know that it’s very common to use something like a porn shop as a road marker on a journey you’ve taken before.

The return of the Thistle Man was a welcome one, if very frightening. The story continues to unfold, yet becomes even more mysterious, a welcome paradox, and woven in are the usual heavy-handed phrases like “Home isn’t a place.” Hearing the sound in the trailer of the truck and not knowing what it is, followed by the attack and screams and narrator trying to catch her breath, is a little mini ghost story on its own. Hearing those sounds without explanation, and the explanation following, is definitely effective.

Overall it’s pretty intense, and I’m glass the intensity didn’t come off too cheesy like it could have. If it were Night Vale, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for it to come off a little comedic, but Alice doesn’t work that way.