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Misprint of Taylor Swift record containing “demonic music” freaks out fan

"People were saying it's haunted," says the new owner of a very rare "Speak Now" vinyl

Senior Culture Editor

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Taylor Swift performs onstage during night two of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 08, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Taylor Swift performs onstage during night two of Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 08, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

A UK woman received quite a shock after lowering the needle on her newly purchased copy of Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” album and hearing an ominous voice saying, “I quit seeing people, I quit looking at the flakes of flesh and dancing organisms.”  

“At first I thought that maybe she’d put a secret message in the vinyl because it started talking and I was like, ‘OK, this is weird, but it’s not unlike Taylor,’ said Rachel in a quote obtained from Insider. In a now viral unboxing video of her $39 purchase posted to TikTok, she’s seen flipping the record and hearing a creepy man saying, “There are 70 billion people of earth. Where are they hiding?” 

Reaching the conclusion that what she had on her hands was not what commenters suggested was a “haunted” or “cursed” album, but a comical and likely valuable misprint of a ’90s electronic music compilation, she laughed it off. “I haven’t seen a single other person who this has happened to,” she told Insider. Although a representative for Universal Music offered to look into the flub if she sent the album back to them, she has no plans to give up her “creepy vinyl.” 

By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Senior Culture Editor, where she helps further coverage of TV, film, music, books and culture trends from a unique and thoughtful angle. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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