Latest / Saved as Draft / Episode 93 - Your True Halloween Tales

Transcript

Episode 93 - Your True Halloween Tales · Saved as Draft

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Boo!
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: I gotcha, didn't I?
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm pretty good.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: Bradley, there you are.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Lord Devereaux, you scared me.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Normally I would apologize, but it is All Hallows' Eve, so I suppose the fear is appropriate.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, fine.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: What's up?
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Many things, Bradley, but I don't have time for such discussion.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I wish to know what you're doing to celebrate today's occasion.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's going to be an epic Halloween and horror-themed episode of the podcast here.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: So welcome everyone to the Saved as Draft podcast.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get into it.
• 0:45
  [music]
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back everyone to episode 93 of the Saved as Draft podcast.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Crazy to think that this time last year I was wrapping up the first indulgence
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: and now we're about to close the book on the second.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: I even interviewed horror author Spencer DW this time last year and
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: if you haven't heard that one be sure to check it out.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was episode 41 of the show for those who are curious.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: And speaking of Spencer...
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: I recently shared some information about a fundraiser for him happening through his COFI.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: He has some emergency dental work that needs to be done.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: And of course,
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: this is the US of A,
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: so our insurance doesn't typically cover these kind of things,
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: leaving Spencer to foot a $4,000 bill.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure we can all imagine that that's not possible in today's day and age
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: for many, many years.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again for taking the time to support another author in the community here
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: and a good friend of mine as well.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: And moving right along here, I'm still behind on scheduling interviews for the show here.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's something I'll discuss towards the end.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: But this year I do have something special to celebrate Halloween.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: For this week's writing discussion on the show, I've asked folks.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to gather stories of the supernatural,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: the spiritual, the unexpected, the unexplainable, and read them on the show here.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm really excited to get into those.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: I've got some really interesting topics to cover,
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: and that'll happen of course later in the episode here.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's all I've got for housekeeping this week,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: so let's get right into things with a look at this week's Community Spotlight.
• 2:42
  [music]
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: This week our community spotlight is on David T. Etheridge.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: David is an author of serial fiction,
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: dark fantasy,
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: techno thrillers, and even comedy horror, which you know I love to see.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: I first met David when he graciously gave me feedback on my first ever Devine tale.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: His thoughts were so helpful that I'm planning on re-releasing that story down
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: the road with his suggestions included alongside some updated narration as well.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: And while David does a lot of interesting stuff on his own publication,
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: today I want to spotlight the work he does with Write Club.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: This is a really cool group where you can submit stories and get real-time feedback
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: from other authors.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'll link to David's post about it in the show notes here,
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: but you can also reach out to him directly with any questions or
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: a submission according to the post.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: I was talking to Jennifer Jorgensen the other day,
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: and she had nothing but great things to say about Write Club.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: I've been meaning to submit something myself or to join in on the feedback via Discord.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: So hopefully I'll find some time for that soon here.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_01: But in the meantime,
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to shout it out because it's a really cool initiative,
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: and I think more writers should definitely get on board and check it out.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: So again,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: check the show notes for a link to David's profile
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: so you can see what he's got going on and give him a subscription
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: because he definitely deserves it.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: A huge thank you to David as well for all the work that you do in the community.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: I see it, I respect it, and I appreciate it.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, next we'll dive into this week's Halloween-themed writing discussion.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: But first, a quick word from our sponsor.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Today's episode of the Saved as Draft podcast is sponsored by- wait a second,
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: the script is empty here?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Guys, what's going on?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, don't worry about it, Bradley.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: The Viscount and I have this one covered.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: We- we do, cousin?
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't aware of this.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, just follow my lead.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Fellow creatives, let me ask you.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever found yourself in need of a story,
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: but didn't have the time or the ideas or the energy to write it?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yes, yes, of course, I've found myself in that situation fairly often.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you ask?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is sponsored by Ghost Riders.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Ghost Riders never get enough credit.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, they don't get any credit at all.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: Cousin, I'm wondering if this is something coming from Bradley.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Wasn't he a ghostwriter in the past?
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah, I was, but ghostwriting is, like, just a thing.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's not something that can really sponsor the podcast.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm still trying to figure out what the heck we're doing here.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Feels like you're just throwing this together, Lord Devereaux.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Preposterous.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always prepared.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ghostwriters do deserve credit for what they do.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Although...
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Although by their very nature,
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: they're unable to get credit because they are in fact a silent writer.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I can see how this is falling apart in real time.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: My apologies, Bradley.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's okay.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a crazy month.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: If anything,
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: a wacky,
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: weird, off-the-cuff sponsor is pretty on brand for the show here on Halloween.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate you both trying.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't we just get back to the show?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I believe that is the best approach.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, and we're back.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, full disclosure,
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: I did not write a sponsor segment this week in the script,
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: and I figured,
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: you know what,
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: let me just turn on the microphone and see what Lord Devereux and Viscount have
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: in store for us.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what we got.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what, I'm gonna keep it.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you gotta roll with the punches when you do these things.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, for this week's writing discussion,
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: I was inspired by a favorite podcast of mine called Astonishing Legends.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Seriously, if you're a fan of The Strange and Supernatural, you gotta check out that show.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: They do amazing work,
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: and every Halloween,
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: they have guests come onto the show to tell true stories that they've experienced,
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: and it's always just really interesting.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: I think they did like four episodes like that this year.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I decided to try my hand at something similar this Halloween,
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: which means I've gathered together several tales of the strange,
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: the scary, and the supernatural.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: Everything from spirits to cryptids and even examples of how humans can truly be
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: the most terrifying monsters of all.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Now, since these are real stories,
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: we're going to cover topics that may not be suitable for all the listeners here.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you would prefer not to hear these stories
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: or you have younger listeners listening alongside you right now,
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: go ahead and skip to
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: 53 minutes and 18 seconds.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll be right back to the rest of the episode.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: and if you decided to stay,
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: then let us get into the stories submitted
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: for this year's special Halloween writing discussion.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: Beginning with a few of my own,
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: and of course, I have Lord Devereaux here to jump in and comment as he would like.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for being here, Lord Devereaux.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Very interested to hear these stories, Bradley.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, let's get into it.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: Actually, you know what, Lord Devereaux, can you grab us some music?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think we need some music for these stories.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: Ah, yes.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: A little seasoning to go with our buffet of fear.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: and I'll kick things off with a little bit of an introduction here,
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: including a story of my own.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: So, beyond the inspiration from the other podcasts that I mentioned,
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: one of the reasons why I wanted to do this is because...
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: I am someone who,
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: and I think this is true of a lot of people,
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: it's like as my life has gone on,
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: my perception and my open-mindedness has changed a lot.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously growing up I was raised Catholic and that was kind of like,
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_01: that was my,
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: I've become far more kind of spiritually oriented in that sense where I'm just kind
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: of open minded and the same thing.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: That goes for things like the supernatural or things like cryptids,
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: things like, you know, is there life out in the universe?
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: I have landed somewhere around the concept that we as people,
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: we love to say that we know everything.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so to say that we can,
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: just write off entire things like these cryptid stories or ghost stories or stories
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: of, you know, what happens afterwards.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like, these are topics that I, myself, keep a very open mind about.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And when I hear stories from other people related to these things, I do take them to heart.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I do believe them.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Because I'm not in a position to disprove it, nor will...
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: So as we head into these stories this week,
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: I would like to ask you to try and adopt a similar mindset,
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: even if you are someone who considers yourself very
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So please,
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: let's jump into these stories here with an open mind and let me start by telling you
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: a little bit about an experience that I had.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: For me, the most recent one was when I was on a work trip.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: I went to,
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: let me think here,
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was CES, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: And I was there for a work trip,
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: and for the first time ever,
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: I was staying at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, which is the Egyptian-themed one.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: The building itself is shaped like a black pyramid.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And as someone who grew up very fascinated with Egyptian history and stuff like
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: that, it was super cool.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: But also,
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: I learned a lot while I was staying there about the history of the hotel and how
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of things that probably shouldn't have been moved out of respect for
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: the culture and the mythology.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of things were moved into this hotel and put on display and stuff like that.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, the history of the hotel itself is filled with all kinds of dark stories.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: So all that being said, I didn't know any of this when I first started staying there.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: I was there for, I think, a couple of days, two or three days or something like that.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: But I didn't know any of this when I started staying there.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: But when I walked in, I mean,
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: just from the very beginning,
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: I had this very like,
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: I've heard stories about supposedly haunted places,
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: but I've never actually been to any of those places that I can think of.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe this is something that,
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: is like a feeling that a lot of people get when you go to a place that has sort of
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: a dark past.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: But certainly I felt that when I walked into this hotel and it was right from the beginning.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like I remember getting lost in the maze like hallways trying to find.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: And the front lobby desk, it was very much like a liminal space experience right off the bat.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then the way that the hotel is set up on the inside, it's like a hollowed out pyramid.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're walking to your room,
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: for example,
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: several stories up,
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: you're walking around the edge of the pyramid and to your right,
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: or your left,
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_01: depending on which direction you're going,
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: is a balcony that overlooks just a sheer drop all the way to the bottom floor there
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: with the casino and everything.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Man, I mean, you know, I'm not a big fan of heights, so that probably didn't help.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: But I remember, like, just,
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_01: walking to my room,
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: especially after that first night,
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_01: I remember we had gotten an Uber at one point, my coworkers and I.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: The driver asked where we were staying and we said, oh, the Luxor.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: And then he went on to tell us about its history and some of the horrible things
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: that have happened there.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think,
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: for example,
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: one of the primary architects of the hotel was killed during the construction of it.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's also been several incidences of people either falling or jumping
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: from those higher balconies on the inside.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Just really scary stuff.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you can argue that these things maybe got inside my head, but I just remember...
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_01: From the moment I walked in, I just remember feeling like oppression.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that term is used when we talk about like spiritual type stuff.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: I really felt it.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it felt like physically heavy.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: And it made me sick to my stomach that last night that I was staying there.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: And again, my mind was swimming with all these thoughts about the history of the place.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, that definitely didn't help.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: But I still remember just walking to my room that last night, you know, alongside that balcony.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: And this was high up, right?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And there was this little voice in my head that kept telling me to just to,
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: an intrusive thought,
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: if you will,
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: kept telling me to,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: go over,
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: take a look at the balcony,
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: maybe just maybe climb over it,
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: you know, like it's suggesting that I jump basically.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that was terrifying because it felt different than your typical intrusive thoughts.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't like a,
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: kind of a inside joke where your brain's like, ha ha, what if you did this?
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was more like a suggestion.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that really, really freaked me out.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: Honestly, I would never, ever stay there again.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: I apologize if anybody who likes the Luxor is listening or if you've worked there or anything.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Not trying to insult any of the people that work there.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: It was just not an experience that I ever want to repeat.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that's the most recent one.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, let's dive in here and take a look at some of these other stories.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Starting first with a story submitted from an author over on Blue Sky.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: So an author by the name of Jacob Marsh responded to my call
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: for true Halloween stories and sent one over.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm really excited to read this one.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: So let's dive into our first guest story tonight from author Jacob Marsh.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: This one is titled A Walk in the Woods.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a skeptic by nature.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's important to note before I share my story.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: I don't believe in ghosts, and most conspiracy theories make me laugh.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: But as cold and calculated as my withered soul is, I leave a bit of room for cryptids.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not talking about Mothman or Nessie,
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: cool as they are,
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: but grounded, realistic monsters like Lazarus Taxa or out-of-place animals.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I believe it.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: I have a good reason to.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: When I was a teenager, I was quite the outdoorsman.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Long before a double career as a librarian and horror author found me deskbound,
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: I spent most of my free time traipsing around the woods,
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: looking for a stream to wet my line or a place to draw my bow.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: Fishing still appeals to me, but I never really took to hunting.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Target practice is fun, but stalking the woods never felt right.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: It never felt sporting.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: But I still went out from time to time with my uncle,
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: who must have thought I would get it eventually, like coffee but with more blood.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was on one of these uncomfortable outings that my story takes place.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: It was late fall slash early winter, but during a particularly cold patch.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: The snow had fallen hard that season and far too early.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: This meant that animals whose coats are seasonally themed stood out like a sore thumb.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: So there I was,
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: single-barreled shotgun in hand,
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: knee-deep in snow, looking for brown rabbits against an endless white backdrop.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, hardly sporting.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: But we didn't find any rabbits that day.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: All we found were snow-covered trails and numbing cold.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: It was strangely quiet, oddly still among those frost-bitten pines.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like nature was coiled up, ready for something we were not.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, we didn't know that.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: My uncle, walking beside me with a rimfire .22 caliber rifle, never commented on it.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: We were trying to be quiet, after all.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: And, room to consider it, the situation had taken on more meaning.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder if he feels the same way looking back.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: We've never really talked about it.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: But, at least to me, staring back through twenty years of snow, there was a tension in the air.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: The tension didn't break so much as focus as we heard a snapping of brush behind us.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: Not loud and clumsy like a moose, but one single mistake in a series of silent maneuvers.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: Turning, I saw something now etched into my memory like a wood carving.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: A large, black cat, bigger than any dog I've ever seen, bounding across the ten-foot trail.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Three quick leaps and it had disappeared again on the opposite side.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: Before either of us could speak,
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: a second one bounded behind it, nearly as big and heading in the same direction.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: Once they had crossed, the world was silent again.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: No snapping branches, no growling, just the same cold silence we've been experiencing all along.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: In the years since,
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: I have looked into alien black cats, something called phantom cats or just ABCs.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: The common sighting resembles a panther and,
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: at least in North America, seems to be a mountain lion with a black coat.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Seems reasonable enough.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't even the first time I'd seen a mountain lion in the wild.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: But the wrinkle comes from the fact that scientists say mountain lions lack the DNA
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_01: to be melanistic.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's not that they commonly don't grow black coats.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: They can't.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: Bobcats can, and that's the skeptic's easy retort.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: It would be mine too, but there's a problem.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: One distinctive part of that crisp memory is the long black tails of these huge cats.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't see two bobcats that day.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: I would also hazard to say my uncle didn't either.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: We crept back to the truck,
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: through all the snow without another word,
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: scanning the woods for motion or noise, shoulder to shoulder, guns raised.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: We were not prepared for large game.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: We could only hope to scare them off, assuming we heard them coming.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, wow, wow.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: What a story.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Lord Devorah, what did you think of this one?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: The woods often hold horrors beyond our understanding.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know this very well, living in the realm of Appalachia, Bradley.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's very true.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I've lived in Virginia for six years now.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah,
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I've definitely heard some weird things out in the woods
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: and I've become very interested in cryptid stories like this one.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this was excellent.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, first of all,
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: just from a writing perspective,
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_01: I have to shout out the absolutely incredible just pacing and suspense
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: that this story has.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously,
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: it's based on a real experience,
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: which I think helped because it does It does feel very authentic
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: and I also really appreciated how the author as a skeptic themselves kind of dove
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: into the logic behind how some of these experiences are written off but
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_01: then was able to debunk it through some of the things that they saw.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: This was absolutely chilling.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, really, really good stuff.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: And again, this is author Jacob Marsh over on Blue Sky.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: I will drop a link to his profile over there.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah,
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: clearly this author knows how to tell a great story
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: and clearly he has seen some stuff too.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: So shout out again to Jacob.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: What a phenomenal story to start off our segment this week.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: our second true Halloween tale this week comes from an author on Substack
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_01: who submitted this story anonymously.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Let's jump into it.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: I was spending Halloween with my cousins in West Virginia.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: I just met them because I do not have exactly a close family.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: I was 13.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: My cousin Stevie was 13 too.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: His father, my uncle, got drunk and belligerent so much it freaked me out.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: He was throwing things and yelling.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: I ran outside in the dark.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Dark woods in West Virginia felt safer.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: So Stevie said he was going to call his sister and she would get me.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Within 10 minutes, a green car pulled up, but Stevie was driving.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: He said get in, and this silly scared girl got in.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: He asked if I was okay.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Dad gets like this when he is drinking.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: He said he was glad I visited and hoped this wouldn't scare me away and said
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_01: if I wanted to I could call my dad when we got to his sister's.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I got to his sister's.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: He said he was going to park the car and I knocked on her door.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: I knocked as she was opening the door to get us.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_01: I told her Stevie drove me here.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_01: Stevie doesn't know how to drive.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: What car did he use?
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: The green bug.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: It had a hole in the floor.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_01: I watched as he was driving.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Stevie doesn't drive.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Their brother Michael looked like him, had a green bug, the car he died in five years ago.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: I described what he was wearing.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: It was what he died in.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was rescued by a cousin I never met and brought to safety.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: I remember it clearly.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: I shook for four days.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: I can remember not saying a word in those four days as I processed an abusive uncle
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: and a dead cousin.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: My mom never believed me.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: I don't tell many people because I still think it's the weirdest Halloween I ever had.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, okay, so this one is, you know, a lot different than the first one we heard.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: This one is obviously more of a ghost story, if you will.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: But it's powerful stuff.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: basically what happened here is someone who appeared to be her cousin, Stevie,
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Picked her up and brought her to safety only for her to find out
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_01: that Stevie doesn't drive and apparently his brother
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: who passed away five years prior looked just like him so the implication here
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: of course is that the spirit of the brother is the one that drove her.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: Back home.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: If you've read ghost stories, you've heard stuff like this, right?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: These sort of almost guardian angel type situations where a spirit shows up
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: or something supernatural occurs to guide someone to safety.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: There's countless examples of this in other stories over the course of history,
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: but it is chilling to hear this directly from an individual
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: who experienced it themselves.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, yeah,
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: this is, again,
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: it's a haunting story,
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: but it's also in some ways sort of beautiful because something breached beyond
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: the veil to help this person get to safety, and that's really powerful stuff.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Lord Devereaux, I'm sure you're familiar with stories like this.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: What did you think of this one?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: We often find ourselves afraid of things we do not understand,
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: but it is entirely possible that they are here to help.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Very, very good point, my friend.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: The unknown is scary, but it's not always hostile, and this story proves that.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you again to the author who submitted this one anonymously.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Really appreciate it.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Let's move on to the next one.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: All right, our next true Halloween story tonight is from author J.M.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding,
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: my co-host,
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: one of my co-hosts on the Second Indulgence Challenge,
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_01: and someone you all know very well.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_01: Let's dive into it.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so 2018 or 2019, we were on a cruise aboard a big-ass ship.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: We were on deck six or seven and looking out at the water at dusk,
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: like that last few minutes before it gets dark.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: I look down at the hull and about 20 feet out,
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: I see two green glowing shapes keeping pace with the ship,
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: probably doing about 12 knots or so.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: I pointed it out to my wife and she saw it too.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_01: It looked like two big green eyes.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: It moved a little towards the ship,
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_01: then sped up as it got closer, so it moved up the ship, then faded away.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't just disappear.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_01: We were on the edge of the Puerto Rico Trench around that time.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: My wife thinks it was a giant squid, but I don't think so.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Never heard of bioluminescence with that species.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: Me, I think it was the Kraken.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: To this day, it's still the weirdest thing I've seen in the ocean.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, really, really good.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: A short but powerful piece there from J.M.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: And again, oceans.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: We have explored very, very little of our oceans.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: So it does not surprise me that there are things in there
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: that we cannot possibly understand or things of legend.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: Only thing I will add here,
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Bradley, is that I have met the Kraken myself, and they are quite nice.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: They do indeed glow, so J.M.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding is correct.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there you go.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: Straight from the source.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, let's jump into the next story here.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: This one is from Hallie Jules.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: Hallie says,
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: I teach preschool,
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: and a few years back I had a strange conversation with one of my students' mothers.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_01: At the end of the day,
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: in the carpool line,
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: I opened the car door to help the little girl get in,
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: and her mom asked me, Hey, is there a guy named Kenneth that works at this school?
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: Again, another short but powerful story here from Hallie.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this concept of reincarnation of past lives, I mean,
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: this again is something that it's, you know, you hear about it in different stories.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: I've done it in my fiction a little bit,
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: but it's obviously something you hear about,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: like, from, you know, history, mythology, different religions, stuff like that.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's, I don't know, you know, it's one of those things where, again, it's like, we don't know.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: And in my opinion,
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: if you don't know something, then that means everything is still possible, right?
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if you know the answer, then that's the answer.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: That's the truth.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: But if you don't know...
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Past lives are like opinions.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone has at least one.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there you go.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: next up we have a story here from J.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: Allen Winchester who says,
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: Back in the summer of 2009,
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: I was living with my mom, but she and my sisters were out of town.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: A friend came over to bring me something to eat and hang out a bit pretty late at night.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: My phone made a weird noise, so I checked it.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: There was no cell service.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: My friend checked his, and his said the same thing.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: We both went quiet,
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: thinking about what could take down two different carriers in the area,
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: but that was when we realized the crickets were silent outside.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like the idiots we were, we went outside to see what was happening.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_01: There was no animals on the street, which was odd for the neighborhood, not even bugs.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_01: Then we heard shuffling in the grass by the porch.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: There was nothing there,
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: but the grass looked like it had been stepped on repeatedly,
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: like someone pacing back and forth.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: The steps were kind of quick,
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: as if the stride wasn't long,
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: and my friend asked if a child ghost haunted my mom or something.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: I told him her guardian angel works overtime, because she's third eye blind.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: That was when we noticed purple smoke drifting over the houses at the end
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: of my mom's cul-de-sac.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: It crept along the street and grass toward us.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: The pacing stopped, and I told my friend we should probably go inside.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: This numbskull dragged me by the arm to his van,
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: saying we should find out where it was coming from.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I was too dumbstruck by his lack of self-preservation to argue.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: He drove out a few streets and we realized the purple smoke was coming out
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: of several streets leading away from the high school.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_01: When we headed that way, we saw the football field was almost completely engulfed in the stuff.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: At that point I blacked out,
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: and my friend claimed he pulled over to listen to me mumble something in Gaelic.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_01: How he knew it was Gaelic is beyond me,
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: but he said he recognized the word for water or river or something.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: It was 2008, and we weren't recording on our phones back then.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: When I came to,
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_01: I feel ice cold,
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: and he grabbed a hoodie from the back of the van to try to warm me up.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: He finally drove back to my mom's house,
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: saying the two main roads out of the neighborhood had smoke on them.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_01: Once he pulled in the driveway,
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_01: I looked up and saw a clear circle in the sky around the full moon,
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: and I saw so many stars like I was back on my godmother's house ranch away
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: from city lights.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_01: The clouds were swirling around the circle.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_01: I felt drawn to it,
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_01: so I walked down into the street,
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: where I felt a heavy presence that almost made my legs give out from underneath me.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: It felt like two forces were pressing one either side of me,
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: and I prayed for lunacy from Selene to calm my nerves.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: It worked,
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: but I also swear I saw two groups of transparent giants standing on either side
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: of me.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: I asked if they could not fight in front of my mom's house.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: She already had enough going on without having to repair anything.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: After a few moments, they walked away from each other.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_01: My friend said he watched the smoke dissolve after I had spoken.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_01: I come to find out my fiancé and future wife had a rough dream that night and woke up scared.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: She couldn't get through to me on my cell phone for over an hour.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_01: She told me that something had attacked her in her dream,
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: but it let her go, dissolving into purple smoke.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: Needless to say, the Winchesters were never unprepared for visits after that night.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, okay.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: As usual,
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_01: Jaden always brings so much to these writing discussions,
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_01: and this week, this true story is truly something.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: There are so many elements here.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the connection with his fiancee, now wife, obviously,
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to dive deeper into this one at some point,
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_01: if Jaden is willing,
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: because there's definitely a lot of elements at play here,
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: a lot of potential theories about what this could have been.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean,
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_01: just a really powerful story for so many different reasons,
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: so many different connections.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously,
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Jaden himself,
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_01: I've become really good friends with him over the past couple of years,
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: and I can tell that he's definitely someone who is very spiritually tuned to
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: the broader universe, to things that most people may never even register.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: So this story really does add to some of the things that I already know about him
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: and his sort of spiritual sensitivity.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this was really powerful stuff.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: Lord Devereux, do you have any thoughts on this one?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is clear that Jaden possesses the ability to tap into things
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: that we cannot possibly understand.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: Such is the nature of creatives.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: When one opens their mind, the possibilities become endless.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_01: I could not agree more, my friend.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for that.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you to Jaden for the story.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, next up, Fritz Fallen says,
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: The island
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: and fort carry with it several spooky stories of both prisoners and soldiers.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: The only way to the island is via ferry, and there's exactly one ferry that runs.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_01: The tour was being led by Ed Okonowicz,
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: who was a storied historian, folklorist, writer, and paranormal interest.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we went,
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_01: and while it was fascinating to be at the fort at night,
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: they had set up living history actors to randomly show up throughout the course of
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: the night and pretend that they couldn't see or hear us.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of corny.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: Still, a fun and interesting night.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: So at the conclusion,
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: everyone,
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: everyone on the tour,
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: everyone working at the event,
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_01: everybody,
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_01: is sitting on this shuttle that takes you from the bridge over the moat back to
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: the ferry dock.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_01: And some of us start hearing harmonica music playing faintly from the fort.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: Not everyone heard it,
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: but my brother confirmed,
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_01: as he was only one of two people who were groundskeepers there,
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_01: that absolutely nobody was back in the fort.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: Because we were on the shuttle,
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: the shuttle was going to the ferry dock,
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: and the ferry was the only ferry of the night.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Ever since then, I've wanted to go spend a night at the fort.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: My brother would consistently be there with only one partner as part of
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: the groundskeeping crew during the off-seasons,
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: and often would place recorders in various areas and get straight bizarre EVPs.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: Excellent story here from Fritz.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and again,
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've visited kind of historical places like this obviously during the day,
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: but I've never done like a ghost tour type thing like this.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's really interesting how much things can change and how much
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: the atmosphere can change at night.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, this idea that everyone is gathered together heading back to the last ferry.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: So there's literally no one left and yet we hear music.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: That is really, really chilling.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: A fantastic story here from Fritz Fallen.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Lord Devereaux, do you have any thoughts on this one?
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_00: Music is one of the few things that can defy time and space.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: It passes through the veil easily.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, yes, I would agree with that, especially with some of the stories I've heard.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: next story here is from Beastly Being,
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: and this one is based on a real sort of human monster, I would say.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, again,
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: skip forward a little bit or go to the timestamp that I mentioned
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: if this is something that you prefer not to hear.
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Wanted to give you a heads up before I dive in.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_01: BeastlyBeing says,
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's horrifying to think about how conditioned I was to feel responsible
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: for his emotions while ignoring my own pain.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: She says at the end here, don't feel sorry for me, it's in the past.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_01: She follows up by saying,
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_01: I actually have another story,
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: but I'm not sure if it fits the Halloween theme any better.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: I went hiking and made the mistake of taking two of my foster pups who happened to be hounds.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, they picked up the scent of some animal and then disappeared into the woods.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: I spent hours looking for them, getting more and more desperate.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: After seven hours,
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_01: I was so desperate that I actually started praying,
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: even though I don't believe in God.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_01: I remember saying something like,
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: God, I promise I'll go to church, just please give me my dogs back.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I kid you not,
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: the moment I finished saying that,
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: I turned around one more time and there they were after seven hours of searching.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: I still don't believe in God, but I have to admit that timing was a strange coincidence.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so two stories that are obviously very different.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: The first story from Beastly being, yeah, I mean,
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: we talked about this a few weeks back during one of the October writing discussions,
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: but people really can be the worst monsters of all.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: And while I do believe in everything we've heard tonight,
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: I also truly believe and have seen and experienced myself the depths
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_01: of what human beings are capable of.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_01: I know Beastly Bean says,
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_01: don't feel sorry for me,
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_01: it's in the past, but I am truly sorry that you had to go through that.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that is a really poignant example of how horror exists here and now
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: in very documented ways, in ways that are easily documented.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: And it is chilling to think about how emotions can be manipulated like that.
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, the second story here,
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: the one about the dogs,
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_01: I've heard some stories like this before,
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: where people claim to have sort of a miraculous experience when they decide
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: to just go through the act of praying.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I think what's interesting here is that...
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_01: We often associate praying in this context here.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously with this context, she was praying to God, like the Christian God, if you will.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: But I think prayer in general, obviously, is not exclusive to Christianity.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_01: It is something that exists across religions.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think in general,
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: this idea that we can kind of put our intentions and our thoughts out into
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_01: the universe and request the help of something greater than ourselves.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_01: I think that concept as like praying is Makes a lot of sense.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I'm someone who's very open-minded and I believe in this kind of stuff.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is an example of how you don't have to pick the right god to pray to.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: You can just pray, right?
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: You can just pray.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_01: You can put those thoughts and those intentions out into the universe
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: and something may hear you and it may help.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_01: And in this case, the coincidence, that's all it could be, right?
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: But it could also be something greater because the timing is pretty interesting there.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: Would you agree with that, Lord Devereaux, based on your experience?
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course.
• 38:39
  SPEAKER_00: There are countless creatures and energies in the universe.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: Reaching out to them and asking for help is perhaps something
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: that everything has done over the course of time and space.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: And doing so can often result in positive outcomes.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: So my advice, if you need help, simply ask.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: Very good advice, and thank you again to Beastly Bean for sharing those.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: to wrap things up here,
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: I've got two more stories here,
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: both of which come from CJ Knight, aka Terrifying Tales.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: So, let's start with the shorter one here, and then I'll jump into the first one that CJ shared.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: So, our first story from CJ says,
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: I just posted this as a comment on Mina Howell's latest Penny Dreadfuls podcast.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_01: Hindsight probably tells me it's a succinct little true horror story worthy of a note here too.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_01: I have so many stories.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: Some of the scariest were in my old job, one that still freaks me out to think about.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_01: Call out to a young woman having issues with an elderly neighbor.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's in a wooded area at night about 10 minutes outside the city.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: The place has nice homes surrounded by big trees with spacious blocks of land for
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: the homes, but the trees are so thick you can't see your neighbor's house.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_01: The young woman was home alone.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_01: Her husband was working.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_01: She decided to go for a run on the treadmill,
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_01: and her gym is in a small outbuilding unattached to the main house.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: The home had security cameras inside and out.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: The footage shows the young woman running on the treadmill with her back to the door
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_01: and her headphones on.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_01: The door opens.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: The old woman enters holding a sheet of paper and a kitchen knife.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: She stares at the young woman for about five minutes,
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_01: walks up behind her, and sticks the paper on the wall.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: Then the old woman leaves.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_01: The outside cameras show her across the lawn and disappear into the trees.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: Her movement outside was what I would describe as the four-legged crab walk from
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_01: the film The Exorcist.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_01: The paper she stuck to the wall was a sketch of an inverted cross.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: I went next door and found the house of the old woman unlocked and in darkness with
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_01: an old record player playing.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't find her.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_01: The cops whose area it was arrived shortly after and took over.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, a little context here.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: So CJ Knight, Terrifying Tales, is a retired detective.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: In fact,
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: I interviewed him on a prior episode of the podcast here,
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: and I would highly recommend checking it out.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's one of my favorite interviews I've ever done.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so this story here comes from when CJ Knight was a detective.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_01: So this is a real story and a real case.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously there's some reference here to security cameras that show how things played out.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, this is...
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_01: Truly terrifying, my goodness.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, the sketch of the inverted cross,
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_01: the footage of the woman disappearing into the woods,
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_01: the fact that her house was empty afterward, I mean, gosh.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, really, really scary stuff.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: like every other story here,
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_01: this is a real experience with documented evidence as well.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_01: That's super scary.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's finish things off with one last story here.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: Also from CJ Knight, a.k.a.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: Terrifying Tales.
• 41:50
  SPEAKER_01: This is actually a post on Substack.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I will be sure to link to this along with a link to this chat as well in the show notes.
• 41:59
  SPEAKER_01: So let's dive into one last true scary story for Halloween this year.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: The following is a true story.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_01: It takes place over a period of 30 years.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: The first part took place in the family home for a period of years
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: until my younger brother reached the age of 8 years old and slowly tapered off.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: The entity reappeared later in my life when my own children were born.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_01: No doubt the reactions to my account will be mixed.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: There will be those who believe the words I write,
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: others who believe that instances occur but with rational explanation,
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: and those who simply do not believe the account.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_01: What follows is my true ghost story by C.J.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_01: Knight.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: The best place to start with a story like this is at the beginning.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_01: The home I grew up in was a new build my parents Debbie and Allen purchased not long
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_01: before I was born in 1984.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: The home was a three bedroom brick construction in a brand new subdivision.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: At the time, it was one of only a handful of homes built in the area.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_01: The subdivision was built on bushland,
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: much of which remained in my childhood until progress killed it off for more homes
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_01: and a shopping center.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_01: I spent many summers in that bushland dodging highly venomous tiger snakes,
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: affectionately nicknamed nope ropes.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_01: The home was quiet and friendly for those first years.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: In 1990, my younger brother Jonathan arrived and things changed.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_01: The first in the family to encounter the entity was my mother.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: She had many encounters that she kept to herself out of fear of not being believed.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: No one was there.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_01: One afternoon she was in the kitchen peeling potatoes.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: My brother and I were in the living room out of sight watching TV.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: My mother felt a tug on the back of her shirt.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: She turned around to find herself alone.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: She came into the living room to ask my brother and I who'd just been out in the kitchen.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: We hadn't moved,
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: and I still remember the blood draining from my mother's face
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_01: when she could tell we were telling the truth.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_01: Not every night,
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: but sometimes,
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: my brother would wake in the night and wander the hallway in the dark,
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: looking for our mother.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: The sound of his footsteps would usually wake me up.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_01: My mother would call out to him, and he'd find her.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes,
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: those footsteps would happen,
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_01: wake me up,
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: my mother would call out, and we'd find my brother still in bed sleeping.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_01: The archway to the sunroom can't be seen from the kitchen.
• 44:53
  SPEAKER_01: My mother was home alone one day in that kitchen while my brother
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: and I were outside playing with the other neighborhood kids.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_01: My mother saw a small boy standing beneath the archway.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: She can describe him to this day.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_01: He was real enough that my mother told him the kids were all outside in the street.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: The boy disappeared.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: My mother didn't hear the front door and searched the house.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: She searched every room,
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: discovered the front and back door locked, and no boy anywhere in the house.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_01: I was the next one to encounter the entity.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone in the house was asleep in bed.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: I was in the sunroom doing my homework with my back in the archway.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_01: Textbooks and papers splayed out on the table in front of me.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_01: I still remember the episode of Band of Brothers that was airing on the TV beside me that night.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: A waist-high flash of light passed by me at high speed.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: The rush of wind blew my homework off the table and shifted my textbooks.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how long I sat there, but I found my way to my mother.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_01: By the look on my face and the room I'd been in, she believed me instantly.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_01: It was that night that she confided in me the things that happened to her.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: Next up was my father's turn.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_01: He was sitting in the dining room that sits between the kitchen and the sunroom archway.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: My mother was in the kitchen.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: My father stood abruptly from the dining table and started wandering around the house.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_01: After his second lap, my mother asked him what he was doing.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's when his next sentence started with, You're gonna think I'm crazy.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: The small boy had appeared to him beneath the archway.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_01: One other occurrence that always stood out in my mind happened to the friend of mine
• 46:24
  SPEAKER_01: that lived directly across the street.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_01: He saw a small boy running up and down the front porch.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_01: He was convinced enough that it was either me or my brother that he ran across
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_01: the street to talk to us.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_01: His eyes never left the figure running on the porch,
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_01: and as he stepped onto the porch, the child disappeared.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: These occurrences continued over the next few years.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_01: As my brother grew older,
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_01: they happened with less frequency until stopping completely
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_01: when he was eight years old.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_01: To this day,
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_01: he doesn't believe any of us,
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: and has no recollection of the occurrences or ever seeing the entity himself.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: Fast forward to 2013, and I welcomed my first daughter, Talia, into the world.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_01: She would frequent Nana and Poppy's house while I was at work.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: Around 2016, my mother was in the kitchen when Talia wandered out to her.
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_01: Talia asked her nanny for a band-aid.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_01: She said she needed it for the boy who had an ouch on his foot.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_01: Curious, my mother collected a band-aid and followed Talia back to the sunroom.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_01: Talia turned to my mother and said, The boy is gone now.
• 47:24
  SPEAKER_01: Turns out the entity wasn't gone, instead it decided to change its residence.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: Talia welcomed her brother Caleb in 2016 and sister Adelyn in 2017.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: My wife and I divorced in 2018 and I purchased a new home.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_01: It wasn't long after the activity started in that home.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_01: It started small enough,
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_01: things moving around,
• 47:45
  SPEAKER_01: disembodied voices that could both be explained away as forgetfulness and tricks of
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_01: the mind.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_01: The first time I suspected it might be something more was familiar.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: By this time,
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: it was common for me to hear the footsteps of one of them wander down the hallway
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_01: to find me.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_01: One particular night,
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_01: Caleb and Adeline were fast asleep and had become our ritual I read to Talia.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: I still remember the book I was reading to Talia on this night.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was the Goosebumps book by R.L.
• 48:12
  SPEAKER_01: Stine titled Vampire Beach.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_01: Talia and I heard the familiar tiny footsteps running down the hall toward us.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_01: They stopped short of the door.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_01: I got up to investigate.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: I found Caleb and Adeline both asleep in their beds.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_01: When I returned to Talia, I'd already decided I'd imagined it.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_01: That wasn't until Talia asked me if it was Caleb or Adeline.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: When I told her they were both still in bed asleep,
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: her facial expression turned to terror, and I knew she'd heard the footsteps too.
• 48:39
  SPEAKER_01: From that point on, things kicked off again.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_01: From the living room sofa,
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'd see a tiny shadow figure running in the hallway,
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: hear a child's voice call out for Dad when I was home alone,
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_01: and feel the random tug on the back of my shirt.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_01: One night when the kids were staying with their mother,
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was awoken at 3am to the sound of voices.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_01: I found the laptop I'm typing on now open with YouTube playing an A for Adley video.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_01: The laptop had been switched off and closed when I went to bed.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_01: Another night,
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_01: alone again,
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_01: I was awoken to noises coming from Caleb's room at the other end of the house.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_01: I found all his electronic toys active and moving around on the floor.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: On both of these occasions,
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_01: the cop and me activated with the most obvious conclusion,
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_01: someone else was in the house.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_01: There's no way to do justice to the feeling I had when I checked behind every door,
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: in every closet,
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_01: under every bed,
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_01: and found the windows and doors locked and no one else in the house.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_01: I now come to the instances that were most terrifying for me.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_01: The first, I woke to tiny footsteps hurrying down the hallway to my bedroom.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_01: I turned my head to see the tiny figure enter the doorway and rush toward my bed.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_01: It was in that moment of me pulling the donut back and the shadowy figure jumping
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: toward me that it dawned on me that I was home alone that night.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: I jumped up and the shadow vanished.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_01: The second, I was home alone again.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: I fell asleep on the sofa.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: I woke to the sound of a crowd of people talking at once.
• 50:04
  SPEAKER_01: It made me think the next door neighbors were having a party.
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this is an important distinction.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_01: I could move.
• 50:10
  SPEAKER_01: This wasn't sleep paralysis.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_01: The noise increased in volume around me and I tried to get up.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_01: I was pushed back down on the sofa.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_01: As I said, I could move.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_01: I was flailing around on the sofa like an overturned bug,
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_01: fighting against something I couldn't see.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_01: The noise increased to a deafening level, followed by a white flash.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_01: Then the noise died down.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_01: As I was released and sat up, I heard the sound of a child giggling in the corner of the room.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_01: The final one, home alone again.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_01: It was without question the most unsettling.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_01: I suffer from PTSD and I have nightmares all the time.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_01: One was different.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't feel like a dream at all.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_01: My senses were alive with touch, smell, and sight.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's safe to discuss the dream's content.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_01: What I will say is that it was demonic in nature It played like a survival contest
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_01: where I was the last one standing.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_01: The creature hunting and killing us wanted the prize that I received for being
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: the survivor of the contest.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_01: When I refused to hand it over, I woke up.
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_01: I sat up, swinging my legs off the bed.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_01: My feet were still wet and cold from the dew on the grass from the dream.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_01: Then I heard a growl from the corner of the room and saw a shadowy figure crouch there.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: It didn't stop growling until I turned the light on and it disappeared.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_01: The last incident is why I refer to this as the entity.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there's probably plausible explanations for everything I've outlined here.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_01: I've just written what's happened.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: Adeline,
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: my youngest,
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_01: is now nine years old,
• 51:34
  SPEAKER_01: and the activity has died down significantly,
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_01: much as it did when my brother was the same age in the 90s.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_01: This could also be multiple entities, if it is in fact supernatural in nature.
• 51:44
  SPEAKER_01: Perhaps the only thing that warrants mention is I was a police officer for
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: a long time and made detective in my 20s and was burnt out and left
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_01: the force entirely by my late 30s.
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_01: Over the course of that career,
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: I spent significant time with countless souls who died
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: in traumatic circumstances processing crime scenes and conducting investigations.
• 52:04
  SPEAKER_01: If this is in fact multiple different spirits or entities,
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_01: perhaps I took my work home with me in the literal sense, unintendedly.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_01: Let me know if you enjoyed reading this,
• 52:13
  SPEAKER_01: as I have in fact encountered things I couldn't explain throughout the course
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_01: of my policing career.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'd need to keep names and places out of it,
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_01: but I could certainly outline those bizarre cases if anyone is interested
• 52:22
  SPEAKER_01: in reading them.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, wow, wow.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_01: That was an incredible story to finish things off here.
• 52:27
  SPEAKER_01: A huge thank you again to CJ Knight, aka Terrifying Tales there.
• 52:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I'll put a link to that story in the show notes.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: Be sure to show it some love,
• 52:35
  SPEAKER_01: and let them know in the comments if you want to hear more of these stories
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_01: from him.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_01: It seems like,
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_01: being someone who's a retired detective that he has seen a lot,
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_01: and these stories here are perfect examples.
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_01: Again, these are things that I believe in.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_01: I believe every single one of these stories that I've read here tonight,
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_01: and I really appreciate all of you sharing,
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_01: and I know Lord Devereaux appreciates it as well.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_01: He loves fiction, but at the end of the day, sometimes we need to tell our real stories too.
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because at the end of the day, all stories matter regardless of where they come from.
• 53:04
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you again, everyone.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really appreciate it.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_01: And now we'll switch gears here and head back into the second half of the podcast,
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_01: starting with a quick look at how things are wrapping up here with
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_01: the second Indulgence Challenge.
• 53:17
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, Lord Devereaux, thanks again for joining me for those stories there.
• 53:20
  SPEAKER_01: That was quite the segment.
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_01: How is the dessert course going with the challenge here?
• 53:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course, Bradley, I appreciate you letting me listen to some of those tales.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_00: The dessert course is going quite well, but I still feel like something is missing.
• 53:36
  SPEAKER_00: But cousin, what could it possibly be?
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_00: We have so many good
• 53:39
  SPEAKER_01: stories here.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_01: Haha, well, perhaps I can help.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my, Fintan, are those story asteroids from Jay Allen Winchester's Imaginings Universe?
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_01: Indeed.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_01: Jay asked me to bring them to the party.
• 53:55
  SPEAKER_01: He apologizes that he couldn't be here, but I did bring a different dragon in his stead.
• 54:02
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings, fellow story eaters.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, hey, Smog.
• 54:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's good to see you.
• 54:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we had not heard from you in some time.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_00: We thought maybe you had gotten lost in the basement of the manor.
• 54:19
  SPEAKER_00: Cavernous depths, cousin.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_01: Right, yes, sorry.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, no, I was just getting ready.
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: Fintan came to get me.
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_01: He knows I can't resist a good story, asteroid.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_01: They're made from stardust.
• 54:38
  SPEAKER_01: Did you know that, Bradley?
• 54:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, Fintan, I'm quite familiar with Jaden's universe.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well then how come you've never done anything that creative with Devine's lore?
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_01: Hey now, I think Devine lore is pretty creative.
• 54:51
  SPEAKER_01: It made you, didn't it?
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_01: Huh.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_01: Touché, Mr.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_01: Writer.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_00: Silence, all of you.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's time for our post-dinner sermon.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: A sermon?
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_01: About what?
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see, Bradley.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_01: Just watch.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: Greetings, fellow consumers of art and creativity.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_01: May the blessing of Substack be upon you.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_00: And also you.
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_00: And also you.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_00: Bradley, say it back.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, right, sorry.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_01: And also you.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let us read from the book of Substack.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_01: Please turn to Restackians, chapter 24, verses 7 through 12.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have some boxes as precious.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's fine, you two, just listen.
• 55:41
  SPEAKER_01: And Saint Attila raised the holy algorithm up on high, saying, O Lord,
• 55:47
  SPEAKER_01: bless this thy newsletter,
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_01: that with it thou mayest smite Shadowbanning and deliver thine writings unto
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_01: the inboxes of the faithful in thy mercy.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_01: And the Lord did grin,
• 56:01
  SPEAKER_01: and the people did subscribe unto the poets and essayists and novelists
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_01: and political commentators and amateur philosophers and recipe bloggers
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: and self-proclaimed thought leaders- Wait a second, is this just that note that J.M.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding restacked earlier this week?
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_01: Silence, Bradley.
• 56:19
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 56:20
  SPEAKER_01: And the Lord spake, saying,
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_01: Number of the tags shall be three.
• 56:38
  SPEAKER_01: Four shalt thou not select,
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_01: nor either select thou two, accepting that thou then proceed to three.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_01: Five is right out.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_01: Once the third tag being the third of the tags be selected,
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: then pressest thou the wholly publish button,
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: and thy post shall be delivered unto thy subscribers,
• 56:57
  SPEAKER_01: who, being free in my sight, shall be entreated to upgrade unto the paid.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_01: Wait a second, I'm confused.
• 57:06
  SPEAKER_01: What are we supposed to do?
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_01: Wilt thou deliver a stack to thy people, and they may readeth the good stack?
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_01: Or wilt thou remain silent,
• 57:16
  SPEAKER_01: depriving your fellow stacker of the stack that shall make them whole?
• 57:19
  SPEAKER_01: In the words of the great Derek James Critzberg,
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_01: Restack unto others, as you'd have them restack unto you.
• 57:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, you know, that's actually really good advice there at the end from Derek.
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_01: So, Bradley, what did you think of the sermon?
• 57:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it was, uh, enlightening.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, I agree.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_00: What was your favorite part?
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, man, would you look at the time.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_01: I gotta get back to the podcast.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, say thank you to all the guests for me and remind them we still have
• 57:52
  SPEAKER_01: a final sprint this week where submissions are open,
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_01: so everyone has until November 7th to get their final entries in.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: Is that not what you just told them?
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, you know, it doesn't hurt to remind him.
• 58:03
  SPEAKER_01: All right, and we're back.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_01: Each week on Tuesdays,
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_01: I open a thread in my subscriber chat where you can share your work and pitch it
• 58:10
  SPEAKER_01: to me as well, which raises your chances of being selected.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_01: I've been doing three shoutouts this month during the challenge,
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_01: but since we're winding down here,
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to bring back the five shoutouts for this segment like normal.
• 58:21
  SPEAKER_01: That means I've got five stories and or poems for you all this week.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'll share my thoughts on each, and I'll read an excerpt from them as well.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_01: Let's dive right in.
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_01: First up this week is A Gift Most Unkind, The Fae Made Me Do It, by Beastly Being.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_01: This is a story for the Halloween challenge that Beastly was running this month.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_01: I was very happy to see her doing prompts,
• 58:42
  SPEAKER_01: and I knew I had to check one out,
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_01: especially this one since she did it for one of her own prompts.
• 58:48
  SPEAKER_01: Her pitch this week is one of the reasons why I picked this piece as well.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_01: Not only did she give me a choice between two different links,
• 58:54
  SPEAKER_01: which was nice, but she threw a little humor in there as well to get my attention.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing I'll say is that Beastly asked me to always offer full feedback
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_01: on her work,
• 59:02
  SPEAKER_01: so I'm going to share my thoughts and my suggestions here
• 59:05
  SPEAKER_01: on how this could be improved.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: So, with this piece,
• 59:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm continuing to see this author find her style and voice and it makes me so happy
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: to see this happening.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_01: Her recent poems and stories just get better and better.
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_01: I can see her confidence and her craft building in real time and it's resulting
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_01: in some really good work.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_01: She's also flexing her creativity more and more with some really inspired concepts.
• 59:27
  SPEAKER_01: For example,
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: her day one second indulgence story about the ritual still lives rent-free
• 59:31
  SPEAKER_01: in my head.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: And with this story,
• 59:34
  SPEAKER_01: she goes for a second-person approach in which the narrator is addressing
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_01: the reader directly.
• 59:39
  SPEAKER_01: This is really effective when it's done right because it allows us
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_01: to insert ourselves into the story.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_01: And here,
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_01: Beastly does some really cool stuff with the idea of bargains that
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_01: the Fae often strike with mortals.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_01: The deal here is simple.
• 59:52
  SPEAKER_01: Surrender an emotion, and you'll never feel it again.
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_01: Anything you'd like, too.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_01: It can be grief, shame, jealousy, guilt, anything at all.
• 1:00:00
  SPEAKER_01: But of course, there's a catch.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: There's always a catch.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_01: This story hints at what the true cost will be,
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_01: but it stops short of ever outright explaining everything.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_01: It also ends on a wickedly delicious note.
• 1:00:11
  SPEAKER_01: I really love that final line.
• 1:00:13
  SPEAKER_01: Conceptually, I think the story here is nearly perfect.
• 1:00:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it sets out to strike a bargain with the reader, and it makes the stakes clear.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_01: As a proof of concept,
• 1:00:20
  SPEAKER_01: I really can't fault it,
• 1:00:21
  SPEAKER_01: but as a story, I'll say that it leaves me with a lot of questions.
• 1:00:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, who is this Fae?
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_01: Why are they offering the bargain?
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_01: Who are we meant to be?
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_01: Why have we crossed paths with them?
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not saying that we need to have answers to all these questions,
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_01: but I think from a storytelling perspective,
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_01: it's good to have things like this in terms of telling a full and complete tale.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_01: The core concept here is executed beautifully,
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_01: but as a story, I'm left wanting more surrounding this intriguing bargain.
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_01: But even then, I feel like this piece absolutely works on its own.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_01: It all depends on what the author wants the reader to take from the piece.
• 1:00:53
  SPEAKER_01: If Beastly wanted to simply showcase a proof of concept here about the bargain
• 1:00:56
  SPEAKER_01: and leave the reader with more questions than answers, then she succeeded entirely.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_01: If her goal was to develop a broader world with backstory and character development,
• 1:01:04
  SPEAKER_01: well then of course this story could have used a little more meat on its bones.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_01: But no matter how you slice it, this is a very well-written and insanely cool story.
• 1:01:12
  SPEAKER_01: Let's check out an excerpt.
• 1:01:14
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, don't look at me like that, darling.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_01: I said any emotion, but gifts must be unwrapped, and bargains must be honored.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_01: You must reach inside yourself and pull your chosen emotion free.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_01: Give it flesh, give it something with which to look upon you.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, how marvelous!
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_01: You mortals do keep the most peculiar things inside yourselves.
• 1:01:33
  SPEAKER_01: How deliciously undignified!
• 1:01:55
  SPEAKER_01: Whatever form it takes, it will know you.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_01: It will remember everything you felt while it lived inside you.
• 1:02:02
  SPEAKER_01: And you, sweet thing, will never feel it again.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_01: Not even when it begs you to take it back.
• 1:02:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there is one tiny detail I ought to mention.
• 1:02:13
  SPEAKER_01: Nature so despises an empty space.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_01: Something will grow where your emotion once lived.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_01: Something new.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_01: Something hungry, perhaps.
• 1:02:23
  SPEAKER_01: I cannot say what it will be.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just beautiful.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_01: I love the writing.
• 1:02:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it has this amazing voice to it.
• 1:02:30
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_01: this is a sign of how this writer is growing and maturing as an author
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_01: because her last few stories really have a strong voice like this,
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_01: especially this one.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_01: So shout out to Beastly Bean.
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_01: That was an amazing first shout out this week.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_01: Our second shoutout this week is An Ode to the Nature of Sunset by Jen Ratcliffe.
• 1:02:50
  SPEAKER_01: Friends,
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you right now,
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_01: this right here,
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_01: this shoutout is the perfect example of why I do shoutouts here each week
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_01: because this is one of the best things that I've featured on this podcast.
• 1:03:01
  SPEAKER_01: What we have here as this post is an entire experience.
• 1:03:04
  SPEAKER_01: It has gorgeous writing, stunning photography, beautiful art, and perfect narration.
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_01: The concept is simple.
• 1:03:12
  SPEAKER_01: Our author here is a writer and amateur naturalist documenting her nomadic lifestyle
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_01: on a narrowboat in the UK island waterways.
• 1:03:20
  SPEAKER_01: And in this piece,
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_01: she examines sunsets through every lens you could possibly imagine,
• 1:03:25
  SPEAKER_01: and each one gets better than the last.
• 1:03:27
  SPEAKER_01: The piece is divided into sections.
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sunsets as light, as music, as art, as divinity, and so on.
• 1:03:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's this deep dive into something we all take for granted as people.
• 1:03:36
  SPEAKER_01: At least I know I do.
• 1:03:38
  SPEAKER_01: When's the last time you really stopped and thought about a sunset?
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, fine.
• 1:03:42
  SPEAKER_01: It hasn't probably been that long since we're all writers and poets here,
• 1:03:44
  SPEAKER_01: and we live to romanticize things like sunsets, but still.
• 1:03:47
  SPEAKER_01: We take these things for granted.
• 1:03:49
  SPEAKER_01: And as I said at the beginning here, Jen's narration really ties it all together.
• 1:03:53
  SPEAKER_01: The listening experience is borderline meditative.
• 1:03:55
  SPEAKER_01: It has beautiful background sounds, and it's honestly just perfect audio all the way through.
• 1:04:00
  SPEAKER_01: I honestly wish that my Dream Drafts meditation podcast was half as good
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_01: as what Jen's doing here.
• 1:04:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this is seriously amazing work.
• 1:04:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I am absolutely going to check out more because this is really, really good.
• 1:04:11
  SPEAKER_01: Let's check out an excerpt.
• 1:04:13
  SPEAKER_01: Sunsets have a distinct summer feel to them, though, don't they?
• 1:04:28
  SPEAKER_01: The sunsets I've witnessed were actually always towards summer's end,
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_01: spring's beginning, or in the darker half of the year.
• 1:04:36
  SPEAKER_01: In my photo reel spanning six years aboard our little narrowboat,
• 1:04:40
  SPEAKER_01: it is November, December, January that I've stood for hours.
• 1:04:43
  SPEAKER_01: On Mars, sunsets are actually the inverse of this color spectrum.
• 1:04:47
  SPEAKER_01: They're blue due to dust causing red wavelengths to be diminished.
• 1:05:13
  SPEAKER_01: Imagine a turquoise sunset with indigo mists,
• 1:05:17
  SPEAKER_01: a green sun like Dr. Seuss had taken over the land.
• 1:05:21
  SPEAKER_01: If we were Martian, would we still be staring at the sunset?
• 1:05:25
  SPEAKER_01: Just incredible.
• 1:05:26
  SPEAKER_01: Poetic, beautifully written, and again, gotta check out the narration.
• 1:05:29
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Jen.
• 1:05:30
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so happy to have discovered this.
• 1:05:32
  SPEAKER_01: Really, really enjoyed it.
• 1:05:34
  SPEAKER_01: Our third shoutout this week is What's Inside by Joel L. Now,
• 1:05:40
  SPEAKER_01: I have checked out some of Joel's work before,
• 1:05:41
  SPEAKER_01: but it's been a little while,
• 1:05:42
  SPEAKER_01: and this one was pitched to me by Reby or Rebecca Watson in
• 1:05:45
  SPEAKER_01: the podcast thread this week.
• 1:05:47
  SPEAKER_01: She specifically mentioned the audio, and you know I love me some good audio as we just heard.
• 1:05:52
  SPEAKER_01: So what we have here is just under three minutes of concentrated analog horror goodness.
• 1:05:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a huge fan of series like Local 58,
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_01: The Monument Mythos,
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_01: Gemini Home Entertainment, and Home Safety Hotline if you ever played that game.
• 1:06:05
  SPEAKER_01: And there's so many more examples.
• 1:06:07
  SPEAKER_01: Analog horror just feels very atmospheric to me.
• 1:06:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's the mystery.
• 1:06:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's the minimalistic approach.
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's the way you have to kind of piece it together.
• 1:06:15
  SPEAKER_01: And Joel clearly understands that because this piece hits all the right notes
• 1:06:19
  SPEAKER_01: for me, both figuratively and literally.
• 1:06:21
  SPEAKER_01: The writing is grandiose, but not overly rendered.
• 1:06:24
  SPEAKER_01: It feels forbidden and cosmic, but it's not cheesy.
• 1:06:27
  SPEAKER_01: The audio adds some really nice depth to each of the words as well,
• 1:06:31
  SPEAKER_01: which is exactly what good audio does for writing.
• 1:06:33
  SPEAKER_01: It gives it a voice, lets it echo more than just sentences on a page.
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_01: And it all goes by pretty fast, but it'll leave you thinking, wondering.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_01: It hits that curiosity and intrigue center of your mind.
• 1:06:43
  SPEAKER_01: And before you know it, you're clicking into other posts.
• 1:06:46
  SPEAKER_01: I know I was.
• 1:06:47
  SPEAKER_01: Joel's got one hell of a rabbit hole here if you follow his publication all the way down.
• 1:06:52
  SPEAKER_01: And call me Alice because I'm about to tumble right into it.
• 1:06:57
  SPEAKER_01: Let's check out an excerpt here.
• 1:06:59
  SPEAKER_01: A civilization extinguished in darkness.
• 1:07:02
  SPEAKER_01: A voice pulled apart and repurposed.
• 1:07:05
  SPEAKER_01: Laughter at the edge of oblivion.
• 1:07:07
  SPEAKER_01: An environment contaminated with psychosis entering a sleeping mind.
• 1:07:12
  SPEAKER_01: Different expressions.
• 1:07:14
  SPEAKER_01: The same underlying disturbance.
• 1:07:18
  SPEAKER_01: Beneath every narrative, something moves.
• 1:07:21
  SPEAKER_01: It weaves itself inside possibility.
• 1:07:23
  SPEAKER_01: We've observed it arranging itself into people,
• 1:07:26
  SPEAKER_01: institutions, histories, entire realities built around a single unanswered question.
• 1:07:34
  SPEAKER_01: And now, It has begun arranging itself around you.
• 1:07:39
  SPEAKER_01: You are receiving this because a boundary has failed.
• 1:07:43
  SPEAKER_01: Recognition is the first symptom.
• 1:07:45
  SPEAKER_01: Curiosity is the second.
• 1:07:47
  SPEAKER_01: There is no established sequence beyond that.
• 1:07:52
  SPEAKER_01: What a chilling final line there.
• 1:07:54
  SPEAKER_01: Really good stuff.
• 1:07:54
  SPEAKER_01: Again, just a few minutes of audio.
• 1:07:56
  SPEAKER_01: Check it out.
• 1:07:56
  SPEAKER_01: Do yourself a favor because you're really going to love it.
• 1:07:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I apologize in advance because you're not going to be able to stop there.
• 1:08:01
  SPEAKER_01: You're going to keep going.
• 1:08:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's how analog horror works.
• 1:08:05
  SPEAKER_01: Our fourth shoutout this week is The House That Held a God, Part 10 by Aegon Targaryen.
• 1:08:12
  SPEAKER_01: I featured a prior entry in this series on the show,
• 1:08:14
  SPEAKER_01: but with this one,
• 1:08:15
  SPEAKER_01: Aegon pitched me Part 10 and said that he'd included a conlang in this chapter,
• 1:08:19
  SPEAKER_01: and that part had me very intrigued.
• 1:08:22
  SPEAKER_01: Conlang, of course, is short for Constructed Language.
• 1:08:25
  SPEAKER_01: Aegon has been working on a language of his own for this series,
• 1:08:28
  SPEAKER_01: and not only does it look and sound really cool here,
• 1:08:30
  SPEAKER_01: but there's an appendix at the end with translations for everything you read in
• 1:08:34
  SPEAKER_01: the story.
• 1:08:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now, as a lifelong writer and gamer,
• 1:08:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm no stranger to fictional languages,
• 1:08:39
  SPEAKER_01: but it's not often that we get translations as well in my experience.
• 1:08:42
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes you're left to wonder,
• 1:08:44
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes you have to unlock the translation,
• 1:08:46
  SPEAKER_01: or other times you just have to use context clues.
• 1:08:49
  SPEAKER_01: Aegon's approach here is what I prefer.
• 1:08:50
  SPEAKER_01: You can leave it to the imagination,
• 1:08:52
  SPEAKER_01: or you can check the section at the end for translations if you want
• 1:08:55
  SPEAKER_01: that full context.
• 1:08:56
  SPEAKER_01: Either way, the language itself sounds really nice when I was reading it.
• 1:09:00
  SPEAKER_01: In fact,
• 1:09:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to try and read an excerpt of it here,
• 1:09:03
  SPEAKER_01: and Aegon,
• 1:09:03
  SPEAKER_01: I know you're listening, so I apologize if I pronounce any of these words wrong.
• 1:09:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is the second time I've read it.
• 1:09:09
  SPEAKER_01: I read it when I,
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_01: was writing the script here, but now I'm recording it, so the second time.
• 1:09:14
  SPEAKER_01: But let's see what we got.
• 1:09:15
  SPEAKER_01: Let's dive into an excerpt.
• 1:09:17
  SPEAKER_01: Aurelion replied.
• 1:09:28
  SPEAKER_01: I sent a fireball toward his ice storm.
• 1:09:30
  SPEAKER_01: It melted a hole through his storm.
• 1:09:32
  SPEAKER_01: He responded with a shard of ice, which pierced my side.
• 1:09:40
  SPEAKER_01: He grunted out.
• 1:09:41
  SPEAKER_01: I stopped.
• 1:09:43
  SPEAKER_01: With what?
• 1:09:44
  SPEAKER_01: I said in my native tongue.
• 1:09:46
  SPEAKER_01: The council kicking you out wasn't a part of the plan, he said in star speech.
• 1:09:52
  SPEAKER_01: We were going to approach you for help directly, but then... Jacob.
• 1:09:58
  SPEAKER_01: And a short excerpt there, but again, really cool the way that that conlang sounds.
• 1:10:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it flows really well, too.
• 1:10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Even if my pronunciation was off,
• 1:10:06
  SPEAKER_01: you can see,
• 1:10:07
  SPEAKER_01: if you read it or listen to it just now,
• 1:10:09
  SPEAKER_01: that it definitely has a sort of, you know, like, structured...
• 1:10:13
  SPEAKER_01: I chose this one because it came with a very interesting pitch.
• 1:10:16
  SPEAKER_01: The author mentions that he doesn't often write from a woman's POV,
• 1:10:19
  SPEAKER_01: but that when he does,
• 1:10:19
  SPEAKER_01: he tries to focus on what women want,
• 1:10:20
  SPEAKER_01: including things like empowerment,
• 1:10:21
  SPEAKER_01: equality, justice, and, of course, an outlet for their rage.
• 1:10:42
  SPEAKER_01: I like that pitch because it tells me that the author has a good grasp
• 1:10:45
  SPEAKER_01: on what makes this POV unique and special in storytelling.
• 1:10:49
  SPEAKER_01: We've all seen the jokes on the internet about how men write women,
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_01: but I trusted M.
• 1:10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Brandon Robbins to do it well here,
• 1:10:54
  SPEAKER_01: and I wanted to see what he had in store with this piece.
• 1:10:57
  SPEAKER_01: And this one does come with some trigger warnings,
• 1:10:59
  SPEAKER_01: but I won't be discussing any of that content here on the show.
• 1:11:02
  SPEAKER_01: Just something to think about if you go to read the full thing,
• 1:11:04
  SPEAKER_01: which of course you'll find a link in the show notes.
• 1:11:06
  SPEAKER_01: With this story, I really felt similar vibes to something like Stephen King's Carrie story.
• 1:11:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is a story here about a woman who is wrongfully accused and pushed too far
• 1:11:16
  SPEAKER_01: by those who were meant to listen and believe her.
• 1:11:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's set during the witch trials,
• 1:11:20
  SPEAKER_01: which of course adds another layer of paranoia to the piece that I really liked.
• 1:11:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I love here how M. Brandon Robbins gave us the setup without wallowing in the details.
• 1:11:29
  SPEAKER_01: The scenario here is plenty enough for you to get angry about on behalf
• 1:11:33
  SPEAKER_01: of our protagonist Abigail.
• 1:11:35
  SPEAKER_01: He gives us all the details we need to be on her side and ready for whatever she needs to do.
• 1:11:40
  SPEAKER_01: It's a story that approaches heavy topics in a very respectful way and it balances
• 1:11:44
  SPEAKER_01: that with an emotional catharsis because the bad guys do indeed get what's coming
• 1:11:48
  SPEAKER_01: to them.
• 1:11:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it all feels earned.
• 1:11:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's great work as always from this author.
• 1:11:52
  SPEAKER_01: So let's check out a quick excerpt here.
• 1:11:55
  SPEAKER_01: The same guard who had retrieved her from her hut now escorted her to the village square.
• 1:11:59
  SPEAKER_01: There was a stake with a pyre at its base there.
• 1:12:02
  SPEAKER_01: The Witchfinder stood there with a torch and her accuser stood by his side.
• 1:12:06
  SPEAKER_01: The village was gathered,
• 1:12:07
  SPEAKER_01: crying insults and slurs at her,
• 1:12:10
  SPEAKER_01: throwing sticks and stones in her direction,
• 1:12:12
  SPEAKER_01: and cheering as the guard grabbed her elbow and shoved her up the single step set in
• 1:12:17
  SPEAKER_01: the back of the pyre.
• 1:12:18
  SPEAKER_01: The guard secured her wrists behind her back and the Witchfinder raised the torch.
• 1:12:23
  SPEAKER_01: The crowd cheered and the witchfinder touched the torch.
• 1:12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, amazing work from everyone with the shoutouts this week.
• 1:12:51
  SPEAKER_01: Remember,
• 1:12:52
  SPEAKER_01: if you want to be featured here,
• 1:12:53
  SPEAKER_01: check out the podcast shoutouts thread in my subscriber chat
• 1:12:56
  SPEAKER_01: on Substack every Tuesday.
• 1:12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Pitch me your latest work and it might appear right here on the podcast.
• 1:13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now, let's take a look at the top stories from week four of the second Indulgence Challenge.
• 1:13:10
  [music]
• 1:13:27
  SPEAKER_01: Alright, and now it's time for a look at the Week 4 Second Indulgence leaderboards.
• 1:13:31
  SPEAKER_01: We had less submissions this week,
• 1:13:32
  SPEAKER_01: so some of these will only have two stories instead of the top three,
• 1:13:36
  SPEAKER_01: but I'm still including the unranked bracket,
• 1:13:37
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 1:13:38
  SPEAKER_01: and I've got a few wildcard stories at the end, so there's plenty to go around here.
• 1:13:43
  SPEAKER_01: Let's dive in and see which top the charts in Week 4 desserts for the Second Indulgence.
• 1:13:49
  SPEAKER_01: Starting with the lightweight leaderboard,
• 1:13:50
  SPEAKER_01: in second place this week, it's Never Enough by Victoria Muesca Birch.
• 1:13:56
  SPEAKER_01: This was for the prompt about an immortal being who's tempted by the prospect
• 1:14:00
  SPEAKER_01: of finally being able to die.
• 1:14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Victoria takes a really interesting approach here,
• 1:14:05
  SPEAKER_01: where we see through the eyes of this deity that has seen all of human history
• 1:14:08
  SPEAKER_01: and now resides on Mars watching from afar.
• 1:14:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's beautifully meditative and it expresses the exhaustion of being immortal really well.
• 1:14:16
  SPEAKER_01: I also love how the narrator sort of fights with themselves over this prospect of dying.
• 1:14:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's really fascinating and very profound.
• 1:14:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's a simple and short but very effective entry as always from this author,
• 1:14:27
  SPEAKER_01: so remember to check the show notes for links to everything,
• 1:14:29
  SPEAKER_01: and congratulations again to Victoria for being on the leaderboard this week.
• 1:14:33
  SPEAKER_01: In first place on the week four leaderboard for Lightweight Bracket,
• 1:14:36
  SPEAKER_01: it's Chapter One, Time Immemorial by Alexander Aviles.
• 1:14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Alex is the lightweight author to beat this month.
• 1:14:44
  SPEAKER_01: He's been on the leaderboard nearly every week, if I recall correctly.
• 1:14:48
  SPEAKER_01: This is also for the prompt about the immortal being,
• 1:14:50
  SPEAKER_01: and what Alex Xander did here is offered up a poem.
• 1:14:54
  SPEAKER_01: It brings his signature word choice and atmospheric storytelling to the piece,
• 1:14:58
  SPEAKER_01: but it's wrapped in this beautiful poetry that flows perfectly from one line to
• 1:15:02
  SPEAKER_01: the next.
• 1:15:03
  SPEAKER_01: And the rhyme structure here lends a lot of gravitas to the lines as well.
• 1:15:07
  SPEAKER_01: It makes me realize that I want to see more poetry from this author.
• 1:15:10
  SPEAKER_01: I knew his stories were good, but this is just as good too.
• 1:15:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's great stuff, and congratulations again to Alexander for topping the leaderboard this week.
• 1:15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Very interested to see what will happen when the final scores come out.
• 1:15:21
  SPEAKER_01: And now for our middleweight leaderboard.
• 1:15:23
  SPEAKER_01: In third place this week, it's The Periphery by CJ Knight, aka Terrifying Tales.
• 1:15:29
  SPEAKER_01: This was for Prompt 19, which included some 3D art of a monster created by Gary Mucklow.
• 1:15:34
  SPEAKER_01: CJ Knight once again shows us here how it's all done.
• 1:15:37
  SPEAKER_01: This piece has phenomenal worldbuilding,
• 1:15:40
  SPEAKER_01: and it perfectly introduces the threat while layering in
• 1:15:43
  SPEAKER_01: the reasons why you should be afraid.
• 1:15:45
  SPEAKER_01: He gives it this almost legendary status,
• 1:15:47
  SPEAKER_01: like it's an urban legend passed down through generations across the world.
• 1:15:52
  SPEAKER_01: The way it targets its victims is extremely unsettling,
• 1:15:54
  SPEAKER_01: and I loved how the story had us questioning whether or not the narration is
• 1:15:59
  SPEAKER_01: to be trusted as things begin to unravel.
• 1:16:02
  SPEAKER_01: There's uncertainty and mystery here that carries the story all the way through,
• 1:16:05
  SPEAKER_01: and it left me completely breathless by the final line.
• 1:16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Great stuff, and happy to see my friend CJ Knight on the leaderboard this week.
• 1:16:14
  SPEAKER_01: In second place once again this week on the Millweight Leaderboard,
• 1:16:16
  SPEAKER_01: it's One Step at a Time by Richard Pack.
• 1:16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this story was on the leaderboard last week between weeks three and four,
• 1:16:24
  SPEAKER_01: and it managed to hold its spot by racking up more points in this week here.
• 1:16:28
  SPEAKER_01: So here's a quick recap of what I had to say about that story last week.
• 1:16:32
  SPEAKER_01: The world building is absolutely fantastic.
• 1:16:34
  SPEAKER_01: Richard knows what he's doing here,
• 1:16:36
  SPEAKER_01: and he uses it to illustrate the scope of the character in the story here who is for
• 1:16:41
  SPEAKER_01: the immortal prompt.
• 1:16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And he does this in a really interesting way with some stunning imagery.
• 1:16:46
  SPEAKER_01: There's a line that I mentioned last week early on that says,
• 1:16:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now the buildings were hardly more than suggestions in the dirt,
• 1:16:52
  SPEAKER_01: reduced back to so much carbon.
• 1:16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like, that is a really good line,
• 1:16:56
  SPEAKER_01: but it also gives you that sense of scope on this immortal character's lifespan.
• 1:17:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I gotta shout out the ending once again here like I did last week.
• 1:17:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's a really good ending.
• 1:17:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's got a great final reveal.
• 1:17:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it ties everything together perfectly,
• 1:17:09
  SPEAKER_01: adding a lot of weight to the conversations that you read prior to it.
• 1:17:13
  SPEAKER_01: An excellent story.
• 1:17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Happy to see it again here on the Week 4 Leaderboard.
• 1:17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Alright,
• 1:17:18
  SPEAKER_01: and in first place on the middleweight leaderboard this week,
• 1:17:20
  SPEAKER_01: it's Unfinished Dead by Rebecca Watson.
• 1:17:24
  SPEAKER_01: This is another piece inspired by Gary Mucklow's monster art,
• 1:17:27
  SPEAKER_01: and here we have one of Rebe's iconic poems to dig into.
• 1:17:31
  SPEAKER_01: The rhyme structure here makes this feel like a dark fairy tale,
• 1:17:34
  SPEAKER_01: and the way Rebecca dives into the elements of the monster
• 1:17:37
  SPEAKER_01: in each stanza is wonderful.
• 1:17:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's got chilling imagery,
• 1:17:41
  SPEAKER_01: gorgeous word choice, and rhymes that will literally send a chill down your spine.
• 1:17:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I, of course,
• 1:17:46
  SPEAKER_01: don't normally do excerpts with these quick hitter leaderboard shoutouts,
• 1:17:50
  SPEAKER_01: but I gotta give you an example here with this one stanza,
• 1:17:52
  SPEAKER_01: which reads,
• 1:17:54
  SPEAKER_01: And those it keeps beneath its chest are never granted death's cold rest.
• 1:17:58
  SPEAKER_01: They feel the ooze.
• 1:17:59
  SPEAKER_01: They feel the years.
• 1:18:01
  SPEAKER_01: They feel their names dissolve to fears.
• 1:18:05
  SPEAKER_01: That's a perfect example.
• 1:18:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's why I love Rebecca's poetry.
• 1:18:08
  SPEAKER_01: And that should be plenty enough for you to also want to check it out.
• 1:18:11
  SPEAKER_01: So remember, links in the show notes.
• 1:18:13
  SPEAKER_01: And congrats again to Rebecca on the first place spot in the week four leaderboard.
• 1:18:18
  SPEAKER_01: And now for our heavyweight bracket.
• 1:18:20
  SPEAKER_01: In second place this week, we've got The Hollow by Bent But True.
• 1:18:24
  SPEAKER_01: This is another story for Gary Mucklow's 3D art prompt,
• 1:18:27
  SPEAKER_01: and here,
• 1:18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Victor decided to offer up a classic creature feature complete with
• 1:18:31
  SPEAKER_01: a dark rainy night, a car accident, and some truly gnarly imagery.
• 1:18:36
  SPEAKER_01: I loved how this story leans into the best elements of monster horror.
• 1:18:40
  SPEAKER_01: The atmosphere here takes center stage,
• 1:18:42
  SPEAKER_01: and the moments when the monster's doing what it does best are gut-wrenching in
• 1:18:45
  SPEAKER_01: the best way possible.
• 1:18:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's an intense,
• 1:18:48
  SPEAKER_01: legitimately scary,
• 1:18:49
  SPEAKER_01: and really fun story that will leave you with your eyes wide as you read
• 1:18:52
  SPEAKER_01: the final moments.
• 1:18:54
  SPEAKER_01: A fun entry from Bent But True this week,
• 1:18:55
  SPEAKER_01: and yet another example of how well this author does horror.
• 1:19:00
  SPEAKER_01: In first place this week,
• 1:19:01
  SPEAKER_01: on the heavyweight leaderboard,
• 1:19:02
  SPEAKER_01: we've got The Curse of Eternal Life by Gary L. Taylor.
• 1:19:07
  SPEAKER_01: And this is,
• 1:19:07
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 1:19:07
  SPEAKER_01: for the immortal prompt,
• 1:19:09
  SPEAKER_01: and this one is one of Gary's longest poems yet,
• 1:19:12
  SPEAKER_01: if I'm not mistaken, and coincidentally also one of his best.
• 1:19:15
  SPEAKER_01: I love how he developed the lore here with the protagonist.
• 1:19:18
  SPEAKER_01: Not only do they not die but they age backwards at a certain point.
• 1:19:21
  SPEAKER_01: There's even a Benjamin Button reference which I loved because I enjoyed that movie
• 1:19:24
  SPEAKER_01: a lot back in the day.
• 1:19:26
  SPEAKER_01: But then we learn how they discover that they're also invulnerable,
• 1:19:29
  SPEAKER_01: and that part is chilling too.
• 1:19:31
  SPEAKER_01: Gary uses the space here to really showcase the depth of the character's lifespan
• 1:19:35
  SPEAKER_01: and all the things they've seen and experienced.
• 1:19:38
  SPEAKER_01: If you've never read Gary's work, this is a great place to start.
• 1:19:41
  SPEAKER_01: One of my favorite things he's done,
• 1:19:43
  SPEAKER_01: really enjoyed this,
• 1:19:43
  SPEAKER_01: and very much deserving of the first place spot on the Heavyweight Leaderboard.
• 1:19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Congrats to Gary.
• 1:19:49
  SPEAKER_01: And now for a look at some unranked stories from week four.
• 1:19:51
  SPEAKER_01: We're kicking things off with Our Corner of Doom by Nimita Kahl.
• 1:19:55
  SPEAKER_01: This was for the prompt featuring the 3D sculpture of a monster by Gary Mucklow.
• 1:19:59
  SPEAKER_01: And with this piece,
• 1:20:01
  SPEAKER_01: Nimita demonstrates why horror poetry can work really well when it's done right.
• 1:20:06
  SPEAKER_01: She uses each stanza at the beginning to build suspense.
• 1:20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Every collection of lines is like another footstep.
• 1:20:12
  SPEAKER_01: She keeps the mystery intact and builds that tension as you hear about the creature closing in.
• 1:20:17
  SPEAKER_01: And as you expect everything to explode once the monster arrives,
• 1:20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Instead,
• 1:20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Nimita describes a creature that is patient,
• 1:20:24
  SPEAKER_01: calculating, careful, but ruthless all the same.
• 1:20:28
  SPEAKER_01: Toss in a cruel final twist and an ending that will leave you chilled to the bone,
• 1:20:32
  SPEAKER_01: and you've got one of the finest Halloween poems I can think of,
• 1:20:35
  SPEAKER_01: this side of Edgar Allan Poe.
• 1:20:37
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to check this one out.
• 1:20:38
  SPEAKER_01: You'll find links to all these in the show notes.
• 1:20:41
  SPEAKER_01: Our second unranked week four shoutout is The Wedding Feast by Gregory Blair.
• 1:20:47
  SPEAKER_01: This was for the prompt about two cannibal families and their wedding tradition.
• 1:20:50
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, we got weird this last week as you can tell.
• 1:20:54
  SPEAKER_01: Gregory took the prompt in stride though,
• 1:20:55
  SPEAKER_01: presenting a story that tees up a truly diabolical ending.
• 1:20:59
  SPEAKER_01: I love the setup here with the world building and how it illustrates
• 1:21:02
  SPEAKER_01: the tradition prior to the big reveal.
• 1:21:04
  SPEAKER_01: The line between horror and comedy can be razor thin,
• 1:21:07
  SPEAKER_01: but Gary walks it beautifully in this piece.
• 1:21:10
  SPEAKER_01: I was shocked and laughing at those final lines.
• 1:21:12
  SPEAKER_01: I always really enjoy reading his work here, and this one is indeed another fantastic piece.
• 1:21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Our third unranked shoutout this week is Two Families United by a Common Ingredient
• 1:21:24
  SPEAKER_01: and Not Else by Leron Haywood.
• 1:21:27
  SPEAKER_01: This was also for the cannibal prompt,
• 1:21:29
  SPEAKER_01: and I think the most striking aspect of this piece is the opening segment where
• 1:21:32
  SPEAKER_01: the characters are,
• 1:21:33
  SPEAKER_01: shall we say,
• 1:21:34
  SPEAKER_01: setting up the presentation for their food, which in this case is a person.
• 1:21:38
  SPEAKER_01: There's a wildly dark creativity to this piece,
• 1:21:41
  SPEAKER_01: and it carries Leron's iconic style of dark humor that emerges from time to time
• 1:21:45
  SPEAKER_01: in their work.
• 1:21:46
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see what I mean when you read it,
• 1:21:47
  SPEAKER_01: but when I read about how they presented this dish, I was like, wow, okay.
• 1:21:53
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, it takes a lot to get that kind of reaction out of me.
• 1:21:56
  SPEAKER_01: I've been a fan of horror my whole life,
• 1:21:58
  SPEAKER_01: so it's not often that I get genuinely shocked and surprised,
• 1:22:01
  SPEAKER_01: but this story did the trick.
• 1:22:03
  SPEAKER_01: Great work here from Leron.
• 1:22:05
  SPEAKER_01: And now, for a few wild cards before we wrap up our shoutouts this week.
• 1:22:10
  SPEAKER_01: First up in my wild card prompt picks this week is They've Been Trying to Reach You
• 1:22:14
  SPEAKER_01: by Felix Thornfell.
• 1:22:16
  SPEAKER_01: This was for the prompt about subverting a horror trope this week,
• 1:22:19
  SPEAKER_01: and I had to see Now,
• 1:22:20
  SPEAKER_01: I won't spoil things here,
• 1:22:22
  SPEAKER_01: but Felix managed to get some really fun comedy in here before the end,
• 1:22:24
  SPEAKER_01: including some satire that I really enjoyed.
• 1:22:26
  SPEAKER_01: And as always,
• 1:22:26
  SPEAKER_01: he understood the assignment,
• 1:22:27
  SPEAKER_01: and I'm really glad that he decided to check this one out for today's episode,
• 1:22:31
  SPEAKER_01: because it was a very fun read.
• 1:22:49
  SPEAKER_01: And finally,
• 1:22:49
  SPEAKER_01: my friends,
• 1:22:50
  SPEAKER_01: one last wildcard shoutout from a different horror writing challenge,
• 1:22:53
  SPEAKER_01: this one penned by a co-host of mine, so it counts.
• 1:22:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm of course referring to J.M.
• 1:22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding and his story for Dreadtober, hosted by Derek James Kritzberg.
• 1:23:03
  SPEAKER_01: His submission was titled Bedtime Ritual,
• 1:23:05
  SPEAKER_01: and you know I couldn't miss out on an opportunity to talk about this one,
• 1:23:09
  SPEAKER_01: so I had to dive in.
• 1:23:10
  SPEAKER_01: This one shows off a few of J.M.
• 1:23:12
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding's strengths as a horror author.
• 1:23:14
  SPEAKER_01: The concept is a father tucking his son into bed and then going
• 1:23:17
  SPEAKER_01: through their usual ritual of checking for monsters in the closet,
• 1:23:21
  SPEAKER_01: underneath the bed, and so on.
• 1:23:23
  SPEAKER_01: At one point early on,
• 1:23:24
  SPEAKER_01: it looks like things may turn quickly into horror,
• 1:23:26
  SPEAKER_01: but it turns out to be just a red herring.
• 1:23:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that one actually got me,
• 1:23:29
  SPEAKER_01: because it settled me back into a sense of false security,
• 1:23:32
  SPEAKER_01: which is exactly what J.M.
• 1:23:33
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding wanted.
• 1:23:35
  SPEAKER_01: When the story does take its turn into horror, it's fast and hard.
• 1:23:39
  SPEAKER_01: The scares go right up to 11, and the gore does as well.
• 1:23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Our poor protagonist is forced to watch something truly horrific as
• 1:23:46
  SPEAKER_01: a creature slowly devours his father in front of him.
• 1:23:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I won't spoil the ending, but that final line of dialogue gave me chills from head to toe.
• 1:23:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, what an ending, man.
• 1:23:56
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a fan of J.M.
• 1:23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Gooding's horror,
• 1:23:58
  SPEAKER_01: this is another must-read,
• 1:23:59
  SPEAKER_01: and if you have yet to check out his take on scary stories,
• 1:24:02
  SPEAKER_01: then it's an easy recommendation from me.
• 1:24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Check the show notes as well for a link.
• 1:24:07
  SPEAKER_01: And that's it, my friends, for the week four recap.
• 1:24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Truly incredible work this month.
• 1:24:11
  SPEAKER_01: But we still have one week left.
• 1:24:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 1:24:14
  SPEAKER_01: The second indulgence will remain open until November 7th.
• 1:24:17
  SPEAKER_01: We've got one final Halloween prompt that went live today,
• 1:24:20
  SPEAKER_01: and now you have another seven days to catch up and submit
• 1:24:23
  SPEAKER_01: for any prompts you missed all month.
• 1:24:26
  SPEAKER_01: And if you're finished submitting,
• 1:24:27
  SPEAKER_01: consider reading, liking, commenting, and restacking other authors' stories.
• 1:24:31
  SPEAKER_01: Because,
• 1:24:31
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 1:24:32
  SPEAKER_01: your support will boost their scores and help them take home the win this year.
• 1:24:37
  SPEAKER_01: For now though, let's wrap this episode up with a look at next week on Substack.
• 1:24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Alright everybody,
• 1:24:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'll keep this final segment short for us here,
• 1:24:45
  SPEAKER_01: but basically the plan next week is obviously to let things settle out with
• 1:24:49
  SPEAKER_01: the second indulgence,
• 1:24:50
  SPEAKER_01: give you all a chance to wrap things up,
• 1:24:52
  SPEAKER_01: submit any final entries, and of course boost your scores.
• 1:24:56
  SPEAKER_01: I myself coming out of the challenge here will We'll be keeping an eye out on
• 1:24:59
  SPEAKER_01: the final scores and we'll have an announcement post November 7th with the winners.
• 1:25:04
  SPEAKER_01: And speaking of winners, I still need to interview the winners from the last challenge.
• 1:25:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to address that here on the show.
• 1:25:10
  SPEAKER_01: I, of course,
• 1:25:11
  SPEAKER_01: when I first started doing Saved as Draft,
• 1:25:12
  SPEAKER_01: I had author interviews every single week.
• 1:25:15
  SPEAKER_01: And looking back, I don't know how I did that.
• 1:25:17
  SPEAKER_01: I really don't.
• 1:25:19
  SPEAKER_01: Because obviously I have a lot going on.
• 1:25:22
  SPEAKER_01: Things change.
• 1:25:22
  SPEAKER_01: Life has been crazy.
• 1:25:23
  SPEAKER_01: 2026 has been one hell of a year for a lot of us.
• 1:25:26
  SPEAKER_01: That being said,
• 1:25:27
  SPEAKER_01: I do feel that author interviews and having guest co-hosts and things like that are
• 1:25:32
  SPEAKER_01: a part of the show's DNA.
• 1:25:34
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm trying to get back to them just as soon as I can,
• 1:25:37
  SPEAKER_01: starting with those winners from last month's challenge.
• 1:25:39
  SPEAKER_01: And then,
• 1:25:39
  SPEAKER_01: of course,
• 1:25:40
  SPEAKER_01: the winners of this month's challenge will be invited onto the show as well.
• 1:25:44
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, I've had a few live streams that have popped up.
• 1:25:47
  SPEAKER_01: I have some projects happening behind the scenes that I can't quite talk about yet.
• 1:25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Those things obviously take time in addition to everything else I've got going on
• 1:25:54
  SPEAKER_01: to say nothing of my full-time day job.
• 1:25:58
  SPEAKER_01: That being said, I do have a live stream interview with Michelle Ray this coming week.
• 1:26:02
  SPEAKER_01: So keep an eye out for that.
• 1:26:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'll share it on Substack.
• 1:26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Really excited to talk to her.
• 1:26:06
  SPEAKER_01: She does apparently live streams with other authors.
• 1:26:09
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I'm excited to do that.
• 1:26:12
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah,
• 1:26:13
  SPEAKER_01: and this coming week,
• 1:26:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to try to finally get back into my novel because that's been sitting for a
• 1:26:19
  SPEAKER_01: while now, unfortunately, due to everything.
• 1:26:22
  SPEAKER_01: And alongside that, obviously, I want to get back into Devine, Fenton, of course.
• 1:26:27
  SPEAKER_01: He's having fun with J. Allen Winchester and his Imaginings Universe.
• 1:26:32
  SPEAKER_01: While I'm thinking of it,
• 1:26:35
  SPEAKER_01: if you have yet to check it out,
• 1:26:36
  SPEAKER_01: head on over to J. Allen Winchester's Substack and look for Into the Gateway.
• 1:26:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's a brand new series, a crossover series between Devine and his imagining his universe.
• 1:26:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's a beautifully produced audio drama.
• 1:26:50
  SPEAKER_01: I, of course,
• 1:26:51
  SPEAKER_01: contribute to the script and I voice Fintan,
• 1:26:53
  SPEAKER_01: but the rest of that audio magic is all Jaden and he does great work.
• 1:26:57
  SPEAKER_01: So please check that out.
• 1:26:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's really, really good.
• 1:27:00
  SPEAKER_01: We have a new episode coming out this week, new episodes every two weeks.
• 1:27:04
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, really good stuff.
• 1:27:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm definitely excited that Devine's getting some representation over there.
• 1:27:09
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, Fintan's having a good time.
• 1:27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Beyond that, like I said, trying to get back into my novel.
• 1:27:16
  SPEAKER_01: Stay tuned.
• 1:27:17
  SPEAKER_01: If you're one of the winners from Smogus Story Horde,
• 1:27:20
  SPEAKER_01: I will be reaching out as soon as I can once I have some stability to stand on here.
• 1:27:25
  SPEAKER_01: On a final note, We're coming up to the end of 2026 here.
• 1:27:29
  SPEAKER_01: It has been a very long year for me,
• 1:27:32
  SPEAKER_01: and I know it's been a very long year for a lot of you as well.
• 1:27:34
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of us have been struggling, some with smaller things, some with larger things.
• 1:27:39
  SPEAKER_01: Regardless,
• 1:27:40
  SPEAKER_01: whatever you're going through,
• 1:27:42
  SPEAKER_01: it really means the world to me that you continue to show up and listen to
• 1:27:45
  SPEAKER_01: the show each week.
• 1:27:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's no secret the downloads are down,
• 1:27:48
  SPEAKER_01: but also Substack changed how they track the downloads,
• 1:27:51
  SPEAKER_01: so it's just been a bit of chaos this year in general.
• 1:27:54
  SPEAKER_01: I am trying my best not to read into it too much.
• 1:27:58
  SPEAKER_01: I know plenty of you,
• 1:27:59
  SPEAKER_01: I can see the numbers, plenty of you are showing up and listening every week.
• 1:28:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that makes every single hour that I spend on this absolutely worth it.
• 1:28:06
  SPEAKER_01: So again, thank you to everyone in the community.
• 1:28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you to all of you listening.
• 1:28:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I wish you all a wonderful and safe Halloween.
• 1:28:14
  SPEAKER_01: And this is Bradley Ramsey signing off.
• 1:28:16
  [music]
• 1:28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, everybody.
• 1:28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry I'm late.
• 1:28:36
  SPEAKER_00: I was trapped in the void.
• 1:28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Endless.
• 1:28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Dark.
• 1:28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sad.
• 1:28:42
  SPEAKER_00: Who are you?
• 1:28:43
  SPEAKER_00: The party is winding down.
• 1:28:45
  SPEAKER_00: All the guests have already arrived,
• 1:28:46
  SPEAKER_00: unless... Would you happen to be the cosmic cuttlefish, Voidy?
• 1:28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, yeah, that's my name.
• 1:28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Gosh.
• 1:28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody knows you're supposed to show up fashionably late to a party, man.
• 1:29:01
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, I can't believe it, Voidy's actually here!
• 1:29:04
  SPEAKER_01: Now comes the part where I wait and see if anybody in
• 1:29:06
  SPEAKER_01: the comments recognizes this character from earlier in the podcast.