If you lose a child, the sight of a school bus can rip your grief wide open. But what does it mean when a school bus shows up in the middle of the night?

Rick Sherman (he/him) is a retired award-winning Magician/Mentalist living in the manicured suburbs of Long Island, New York. Finding himself with a surfeit of free time he has turned to writing with increasing degrees of success. He lives with his wife and five children (only three of which have four legs and a tail).   facebook.com/RickShermanMagi


You can read "Night Bus" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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Photo thanks to Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash.

The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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A man goes in search of a godly godparent for his newborn daughter. But, when humans and gods form relationships, does the human always get what they want?

Allister Nelson is an avid fan of fantasy romance, world mythology, and writing! She is a Pushcart Prize nominee, Tea Witch, armchair occultist, cult aficionado, Taylor Swift Truther, and big time navel gazer. She loves to cook, bake, bike, and play with her husband and dog. She enjoys taking them on long walks, and watering them occasionally. A lifelong Washingtonian, she loves writing diverse fantasy romances with a dash of intrigue and spice! 


You can read "Godmother Death" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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Have a story you'd like us to read? Send submissions to [email protected].

Today’s character attracts the supernatural. But why? To introduce strange creatures to the world? Or because a horrible fate awaits?

Simina Lungu is a speculative fiction writer currently residing in Timisoara, Romania. She has several short stories published in places such as Night Picnic, CommuterLit, or Dark Fire Fiction. Her writings explore primordial fears as well as the need for human connections. Those who wish to know more about her can check out her website: https://corasimina.wixsite.com/siminalungu-writer or come hang out on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/simina.lungu.writer

You can read "Scattered Hauntings" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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Photo Part of "Fairy Godmother" by Sarah S. Stilwell Webber

The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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Five poems--"Doorways," "Hush," "Journeys," "She Laughed," and "The Last Time I Was Here"-- that journey into the afterworld and the feelings of curiosity, discovery, revenge and acceptance experienced by the living and the dead.

Like a magpie, Rhonda Parrish is constantly distracted by shiny things. She’s the editor of many anthologies and author of plenty of books, stories and poems. She lives with her husband and cats in Edmonton, Alberta, and she can often be found there playing Dungeons and Dragons, bingeing crime dramas or cheering on the Oilers.
Her website, updated regularly, is at http://www.rhondaparrish.com and her Patreon, updated even more regularly, is at https://www.patreon.com/RhondaParrish

You can "Doorways," "Hush," "Journeys," "She Laughed," and "The Last Time I Was Here" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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Photo Part of "Fairy Godmother" by Sarah S. Stilwell Webber

The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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"Fox Hunt" first appeared in Commuter Lit on September 27, 2022

In Japan, foxes are messengers for the god of agriculture. In today’s story, a farmer hates foxes and spends his life hunting them with his dog trained for the hunt. So, how is it that he remains wealthy and unpunished for killing his god's favorite animal?

Linda Gould is an American who has lived in six countries. The mythology and folktales from each have inspired her writing-- fiction and non-fiction. Her work has been published in media outlets around the world. Gould is the editor of White Enso, an online journal of creative work inspired by Japan, and host of “The Kaidankai,” a podcast of modern ghost and supernatural stories read aloud.

You can read "Fox Hunt" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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Photo of the memorial and fossilized dog by Linda A Gould

The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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Small acts of love and beauty can make the difference between wanting to die and wanting to live. In this case, the help comes from an unexpected source.

Maia Brown-Jackson is a symphony of papercuts, banged-up knees, and stubborn determination. She believes in the altruism of strangers, the power of direct action, and the use of the Oxford comma. She strives to offer what she can; here, that offering is her words.

You can read "The House" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

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What does it mean to come from "the longest and purest royal bloodline in history?"

Hana Carolina is a pseudonym of an Edinburgh-based creative and academic writer. Born in Poland, she moved to Scotland and studied literature, film and television for many years. Since then, she has been working as a tutor, interpreter, and researcher, and publishing academically while writing dark stories about horrible people. Her work has been published in Every Day Fiction, Crow & Cross Keys, Five on the Fifth, the Chamber Magazine, BRUISER, The Horror Tree, Black Sheep Magazine, and others. You can find her on X/Twitter @HanaCarolinaSCO and BlueSky @hanacarolina.bsky.social.

You can read "The Perfect Homogeny" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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Photo Part of "Fairy Godmother" by Sarah S. Stilwell Webber

The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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A psychic is hired to perform at an exclusive hotel. When he encounters a sad and lonely ghost, he thinks love is all the ghost needs to be released from our world. But something else is keeping the sad ghost and others from moving on.

Geoffrey Marshall is a writer in Aurora, Canada. He knows just enough to be dangerous (mostly to himself) in several different fields. You can find his work in The Ansible, Academy of the Heart and Mind and the September 2022 issue of MoonPark Review. His education never really took, through no fault of his instructors (debatable) but he did manage to acquire a BA in English Literature from Carleton University. Find him on twitter @g_k_marshall.

You can read "Where They Look Away" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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After WWII, an injured man plans to recuperate at a countryside manor where he has a strange encounter.

Claude Chabot has published five short stories and has produced and directed four radio plays based on his own stories. One of them, an adaptation of his own ghost story, was aired on public radio worldwide. He has also completed a collection of short stories exploring the conflicts and changes his characters experience while traveling, along with several ghost stories and other stories with assorted themes.


You can read "The Gables" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

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Have a story you'd like us to read? Send submissions to [email protected].

A young man suffers for his father's sins.

Born in Tokyo and educated at ICU in Japan and Brown University in the United States, Akira Odani wrote for many years for the Japanese media. Today, his interest has turned to writing in English and subjects related to his experiences interacting with the two cultures. He is a member of the Florida Writers Association (FWA) and Taste Life Twice Writers’ group. Some of his recent works have appeared in the pages of FWA Collection, Volume 8: Hide and Seek (2016) and Volume 10: Where Does Your Muse Live? (2019), and Editor, Randell Jones Personal Story Publishing Project, Twists and Turns, Sooner or Later, and Lost & Found (Fall 2022 – Spring 2023).

You can read "Bemoaning Ghost of War" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.

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The Kaidankai Podcast features original short fiction exploring horror, fantasy, science fiction, and the strange.

New episodes every Wednesday.

Subscribe on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Read the stories at kaidankaistories.com

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Bluesky

Have a story you'd like us to read? Send submissions to [email protected].