Episode 18 of Prelude To A Scream features "Spirits" - a completely original story by Mark Leslie that has been released straight to digital format.

"People who haven't died can still leave their spirit in a place."

Fascinated by the ghostly crying that haunts a repetory theatre house, Sally and Rob begin to unravel the mystery behind the eerie occurances, while learning about the undying passion that can bind two people together or a person to a place.

This podcast contains the full audio version of "Spirits" as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale and why he decided to release this one straight to digital format for 99 cents rather than sell first rights to a print market.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 17 of Prelude To A Scream features "Requiem" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in Darkness Within magazine #2 in 1999.

"Requiem" is the tale about a lonely rich collector of haunted artifacts whose purchase of a Victorian bureau completely changes his appreciation of his prized possessions.

This podcast contains the full audio version of the story as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale and a bit about the process of looking back at a previously published story and the temptation to re-write and revise a tale based on feedback provided to the author since the first appearance of the tale.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 16 of Prelude To A Scream features "But Once A Year" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in Crossroads magazine #13 in 1995.

"But Once A Year" is a dark humour tale about an old man whose best friend returns in the wee hours of All Hallows Day, not to reveal the mystical wonders of the afterlife, but to bum a cigarette and perhaps a beer off of his old friend.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the inspiration behind the creation of the tale as well as a bit about the writing and submission process (specifically, about the importance of doing market research when submitting a story, and trying to match the right story with the right editor/market)

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 15 of Prelude To A Scream features "Erratic Cycles" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in Parsec magazine in 1999.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the lengthy origin of the tale, which involved a series of re-writes and re-imagining of the concept. He explains how the first draft of the story was written on a Commodore 64 computer and was called "Compact Car" as well as how feedback from editors who rejected the story helped him revise the tale and character in positive way, leading it to being nominated for an Aurora Award.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 14 of Prelude To A Scream features "Almost" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in One Hand Screaming in 2004.

This podcast contains the flash fiction story as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale, which involved adapting an urban legend story that he had heard many times and many variations of into a new story by using a different point of view or perspective in telling it.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 13 of Prelude To A Scream features "The Bogeyman Can" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in imelod (the litzine of horror & the bizarre) in January 1999.

This podcast contains the flash fiction story as well as Mark discussing the origin of the tale, which involved a short writing exercise he does in which he tales a set of song lyrics and strives to write a parody version of those lyrics ("Weird Al" style). When he completed the parody of "The Candy Man" made popular by Sammy Davis, Jr. he decided to figure out a context in which such a bizarre song called "The Bogeyman Can" might be used.

Links:

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 12 of Prelude To A Scream features "The Shadow Men" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the anthology Northern Haunts (edited by Tim Deal) in February 2009.

Northern Haunts is a collection of 100 short terrifying tales meant to be read around the campfire. "The Shadow Men" was written specifically as a tale that could be told around the campfire as if it was a personal experience of the narrator, and draws on using the sights, sounds and smells likely to surround the listener's experience.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the inspiration for the tale, which include working at Fox Lake Lodge in Northern Ontario as a teenager and listening to stories around the campfire from the lodge owner who was a masterful storyteller. Mark also talks about J. P. Couvrette, a buddy he worked with at the lodge who told funny stories as well as some great creepy ghost stories, one of which, involving the haunting call of a loon. J.P.'s loon tale kept Mark up all night, still haunts him more than 20 years later and inspired both this story as well as a short scene from "Erratic Cycles" another of his tales.

Links:

• Kevin MacLeod - the brilliant composer behind the mood music used in this podcast.
• Mark Leslie's Website
• Mark Leslie's Blog
• Northern Haunts (Edited by Tim Deal - Hardcover)
• Northern Haunts (Edited by Tim Deal - Trade Paperback)
• One Hand Screaming (A site for Mark's book with online samples, including "Erratic Cycles") (Chapters/Indigo) (Amazon)
• Environment Canada/Canadian Wildlife Service - loon images & sounds

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 11 of Prelude To A Scream features "From Out of the Night" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the magazine The Darker Woods (Issue #2) in February 1997. It was reprinted in 2004 in Mark's short story collection One Hand Screaming.

"From Out of the Night" concerns a woman who locks and hides her family inside their house while blood-thirsty vampire-like creatures masquerading as humans come knocking for them in the night.

This podcast contains the full story as well as Mark discussing the inspiration for the tale as well as the helpful suggestions offered by the original editor who published this tale and how they helped him fully realize the characters for this tale.

Links:

• Kevin MacLeod - the brilliant composer behind the mood music used in this podcast.
• Mark Leslie's Website
• Mark Leslie's Blog
• One Hand Screaming (site with samples) (Chapters/Indigo) (Amazon)

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 10 of Prelude To A Scream features "Phantom Mitch" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the magazine Wicked Mystic in 1993. It received honourable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror #7 and was reprinted in 2004 in Mark's short story collection One Hand Screaming.

"Phantom Mitch" looks at the phenomenon of the "phantom itch" (itches felt on phantom limbs) and proposes the idea that the amputated limb might exist on some other ethereal plane or "afterlife."

This podcast contains the full story as well as notes from Mark on the writing of the tale and outright begging for listeners to provide feedback or ask questions which he would be happy to answer.

Links:

• Kevin MacLeod - the brilliant composer behind the mood music used in this podcast.
• Mark Leslie's Website
• Mark Leslie's Blog
• One Hand Screaming (site with samples) (Chapters/Indigo) (Amazon)

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.

Episode 09 of Prelude To A Scream features "Browsers" written by Mark Leslie and originally published in the magazine Challenging Destiny in 1999. It was reprinted in 2004 in Mark's short story collection One Hand Screaming.

"Browsers" is a "haunted" bookstore, story that was inspired by a real-world trip to a bookstore in Hamilton, Ontario, where Mark now lives.

This podcast contains the full story as well as notes from Mark on the writing of the tale as well as an interesting encounter with a reader who was familiar with the particular bookstore Mark used as the basis for this tale.

Links:

• Kevin MacLeod - the brilliant composer behind the mood music used in this podcast.
• Find A Bookstore - a fun way to discover Canadian Bookseller Association member bookstores across Canada
  
• Mark Leslie's Website
• Mark Leslie's Blog
• One Hand Screaming (site with samples) (Chapters/Indigo) (Amazon)

Download MP3 by right-clicking here.