Obscure Terminus

I haven't heard from my friend Dante for a little over a week now. It's not like him and I'm a bit worried. I may head to his place to see what's going on. I hope he's alright. I'll keep you posted on what I find.

Hey there you are!  I've been waiting for you.  What took you so long.  Hurry and sit down.  I have some things that I want to tell you.  

Did you get lost on your way here?  It's okay.  I get lost myself.  I'm sorry.  I haven't introduced myself yet.  My name. doesn't matter.  

Isn't it a beautiful night?  The night sky is pitch black and the stars are looking down at us. It's times like this that I really appreciate nature and all of its mysteries. the old gods of this land are watching us.  You can feel them gazing upon you sometimes.

We're far enough away from the city that there's no light pollution.  You could scream and nobody would hear it.  Oh don't worry.  We're safe.  We are beyond the haunted woods.

Oh, you haven't heard?  I'll tell you a little about that.  A mile or so away from here.  Down the road.  There's an abandoned town.  Perhaps you've heard of it.  Red Falls.  Actually, I would be surprised if you heard of it.  It isn't exactly tourist friendly.  The town was wiped off the maps.  Removed from text books.  Marked as a no fly zone.

It's truly a town of mystery.  I heard that the residents just up and vanished one day.  Not all of them however.  A few woke up that that day to discover that their neighbors and many others were just gone.  Ben. was one of the remaining.  So was I...

This isn't the first time something like this has happened.  The last time was just over 100 years ago.  The time before that, another 100 or so years.  That land.  It's cursed.

It used to be home of Native Americans.

Local Native American legends say that their patron deity lived in the woods.  It was a shape shifter of sorts an was slumbering.  Until the colonists came. 

My grandma used to say.  "And the river ran red from twilight to twilight."  Whatever that meant.  Most if not all of the lands in Massachusetts have tales.  Perhaps settling here was the curse.

The town history is drenched in blood.  Nobody should have ever settled there.

The government keeps a tight lid on this place.  

The nearby town.  Green River.  Is really a cover for government surveillance.  This whole land is cut off from the rest of the state.  There's really only one way in and out.   What the government interests are.  Are closer to supernatural.

You don't want to get caught trespassing.  Also, you don't want to really get to close to the town or surrounding woods.  

Don't worry.  Like I said.  We're out beyond the deep woods of red falls.  We're safe so long as we don't. venture any closer.

It's time to go.  I can feel something in the air...You know the way out of here.  

Oh my name?  

You can call me Claire.

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Sound fx courtesy of www.freesound.org

Hey everyone it's Ben.  I'm still alive and am sorry for the lack of updates and content lately.  It's been a rather rough few months and this was before everything went down with Covid-19.  I wanted to give a quick update here and wish you all the very best during these trying times.

It's very important that you continue to isolate and avoid going out as much as possible.  It's very scary to see that some states here in the USA are ready to re-open when the pandemic is far from over.  Everyday I check Facebook and twitter and see people losing loved ones.  Please stay at home and away from other people. If you feel like you are overreacting or that this is a waste of your time, good! Maybe your homemade mask won’t stop tiny viruses from coming in, but they will capture most of what you’re breathing out which could potentially contain viruses you don’t even know you’re carrying;  you may not even get symptoms. Maybe you think this silly quarantine has gone on long enough because you personally haven’t lost anyone.

This pandemic is not being taken seriously by a lot of people and it's sad that it will take a tragedy for some to open their eyes and see that this is very real and needs to be a top priority.  It's super shitty that the United States has the highest rate of infection and it could have been much better if people weren't so damn stubborn.  FB is great to keep track of those you're worried about but it is historically not the best place for news. I encourage you to seek as much information as you can from many sources, especially international sources. BBC will report on the virus without any American biases.

My heart goes out to all of those affected and have lost those dear to them.  Listeners, I may not know who you are, but I do care for your well being.  Take care of yourself, stay safe, and keep creating.

A man named Martin had a nightmare one day that really stuck with him.  Someone else's memories began to burn themselves inside of him.  Who's memories are they?  Why is this happening?  What does it mean?

Hey everyone.  Just providing a quick update.  A new episode will be uploaded soon.  Thank you for taking the time to listen.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/obscureterminus

Can you feel it drawing closer?  I can.  The seasons are changing and Autumn will soon be upon us.  It has been windy here recently with days alternating between cool,and dry,hot and humid. The air was heavy and oppressive but is starting to gasp with cool breezy days in Summer’s death throes.

The spirits are restless and ache to be known, remembered, like this cool breeze having been gone long enough to forget. I can hear scratching and whispering in the next room.  I feel the chill and goosebumps which deny any rational cause. As Summer weakens in senility I can see faint outlines retracing familiar ghosts.  I feel their presence behind closed doors.  Fear will clutch at my chest.  Bravery faltering with every step I take in the dark hallway.  There is little hope, little chance of solace.

Only a potion of mulled apple cider and pumpkin pie can save me now. I shall await their coming presently having prepared my stomach and mind. I leave it now to the background incense of intoxicating cinnamon, cardamom, clove and allspice to protect me from their eternal longing. haha

Please enjoy this story...inspired by those who whisper to me.  "The Demon Spell" by Scottish-born novelist James Hume Nisbet.

Sound effects courtesy of www.Freesound.org

With the coming of fall, what better time to read a story fit for Autumn.   This is a short story by locally born writer H.P. Lovecraft.  The Cats of Ulthar.  Please enjoy.

Music and sound fx courtesy of www.freesound.org

Hey this is Ben! I hope everyone is keeping cool and having a great summer. I sure am, and  just wanted to provide a quick update. I’ve been working on a few different projects and it’s just a matter of what to upload next. As usual, it’s chaos over here but from Chaos, Order is born, as they say. I have the usual podcaster problems:  finding time to record after work, endless editing and of course, the feeling that each episode isn’t quite perfect yet. Thankfully inspiration is one thing that is always around.  

I would also like to thank you listeners for taking this journey into The Darkness with me. I started this podcast as an experiment to help me further develop my writing and narrating skills. I hope it shows. This experience has been rewarding and I am growing. Thank you to those who have reached out with your appreciation and kind words. 

Stay tuned for more adventures taking place in Red Falls and elsewhere!

Tonight's episode is a continuation of a story I read previously.  For a recap, tune back to episode 4 for the first part of this story.  

I present The Deep Web Part 2 by reddit user Mr. Outlaw

Ben wakes up in an unidentified hospital with nobody around.  With a sense of dread, he decides to leave the hospital only to discover the halls are not just that.  After wandering for a ways through the many passages, he is pursued by an explainable horror.  Narrowly escaping, he discovers yet again something isn't quite right...