PseudoPod

by Sandra Odell

“Who we are as a child defines who we will become as an adult, and never so much so as when we are afraid.”

“Fear” is a PseudoPod Original.

Sandra lives with her husband, sons, and cats in Washington state. Her work has appeared in such venues as Pseudopod, PodCastle, The Drabblecast, Crossed Genres, and Daily Science Fiction. She is currently hard at work plotting her second novel. Or world domination. Whichever comes first.

Your narrator – Patrick “The Voice” Bazile was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Patrick has voiced everything from PSA’s to major product brand commercials and movie trailers to documentaries. With a deep, commanding voice often referred to as “The Voice of God” Patrick demands attention.

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“I hear something downstairs. Denny, you go down the basement and check the door. Make sure it’s locked tight.”

Dennell Baker clutched the doorframe beneath the latch until he could feel his pulse in his fingertips. “Sorry. What?”

The realtor in her sensible blue pantsuit and blued hair, what his mother used to call “old white lady church hair”, paused. “I wondered if we could go downstairs and –”

That’s what he’d thought she’d said. “No.”

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Author : Zachary T. Owen Narrator : Misty Dawn  Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop Discuss on Forums “Favors From Hell” is featured in Zachary’s new book from Grindhouse Press, Burn Down The House And Everyone In It. Favors From Hell by Zachary T. Owen When I was eight years old I […]

by Zachary T. Owen

“Favors From Hell” is featured in Zachary’s new book from Grindhouse Press, Burn Down The House And Everyone In It.

ZACHARY T. OWEN is the author of BEAUTIES IN THE DEEP and BURN DOWN THE HOUSE AND EVERYONE IN IT. His work has been featured in many print and online magazines. Sometimes he uses a pen name. He is a resident of Pennsylvania. He grew up on Sega Genesis and horror films. You can find him on Twitter.

Your narrator – Misty Dawn describes herself as part warrior and part pacifist, owing to her Comanche and Cherokee heritage. She credits her mother with encouraging her two greatest loves: music and horror, and H.P. Lovecraft and Stephen King with teaching her to embrace the darkest corners of her imagination, and to coax those things living within to come out and play. She hopes to create a YouTube channel and is working on redesigning her blog, Deadtime Musings, from Dusk to Misty Dawn, to include short stories of horror, both real and imagined as well as poetry and lyrics, also of a dark nature. A Navy brat who grew up abroad, she settled in San Francisco, attending UC Berkeley, where she received a BA in Drama/Communications.

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When I was eight years old I choked on the smoke from my Uncle’s cigar as he drove me to the toy store. My two year old brother slept soundly, buckled into his child safety seat in the back of Ernie’s Desoto.

‘Before we get there I need a favor,’ Ernie said, his mouth wide and his eyes staring at my blouse. He pulled off the road and stopped the car in an alley. ‘It will only take a minute, just you see,’ he promised. He leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath. His cigar smoke filled the car and my lungs.

He was right. It didn’t take long.

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Author : Alasdair Stuart Narrator : Alasdair Stuart Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop Discuss on Forums PseudoPod 462B: Halloween Parade 2015 is a PseudoPod original. Happy Halloween! This year’s Halloween Parade by Alasdair Stuart is being released as a bonus episode. Check out his blog at http://alasdairstuart.com/ follow him on twitter […]

Authors : Mike Allen, Julia Watson and Nina Kiriki Hoffman Narrators : Brian Rollins, Ben Kohanski and Kaitie Radel Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop Discuss on Forums PseudoPod 462: Flash On The Borderlands XXIX: Monsters is a PseudoPod original. “Habeas Corpus” is original to PseudoPod. “Monster” first appeared in Nameless Magazine, […]

Happy Halloween!

This year’s Halloween Parade by Alasdair Stuart is being released as a bonus episode.

Check out his blog at http://alasdairstuart.com/ follow him on twitter @AlasdairStuart and grab a copy of his book The Pseudopod Tapes Vol 1: Not the end of the world, just the end of the year.

Halloween Parade music is “Ominousity” by Nick and Gerald, from MusicAlley.com.

“But the problem is to make the soul into a monster” – Arthur Rimbaud

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“Habeas Corpus” by Julia Watson

“Habeas Corpus” is original to PseudoPod.

JULIA WATSON is a freelance writer and editor, and a graduate of UCR’s Palm Desert Low-Residency MFA program in Creative Writing, where she studied screenwriting and fiction. She lives near San Diego, CA and is currently at work on a TV pilot script and a YA fantasy novel. She also has an indie short film, FOREVER HOLLYWOOD (a 16-minute zombie movie she co-wrote and assistant produced). For more info and updates about the film, see its Facebook Page. And you can find her on Twitter at @wordnerditis.

Your reader – Kaitie Radel – is a music education student and aspiring voice actress, has been voice acting as a hobby for two years. In addition to this project, she has participated as both a VA and administrator in several fan projects such as The Homestuck Musical Project and Ava’s Melodies. She can be contacted at kaitlynradel at mail.usf.edu.

Bottom of the breath, I aim and squeeze. CRACK. Mr. Johnson, our next-door neighbor, falls. Goes still. His noisy mutt, the one you hated, used to welcome me at the end of his chain with rough fur and a wet tongue to wash my salt away. I’m glad that dog’s not here.

Another. A woman—hard to tell who. I fire. As her ruined face explodes into mist, I whisper my thanks to the fool who built a gazebo on this ugly spit of land overlooking Rustridge Canyon—named for the five generations’ worth of scrap refuse the town tossed into it. You’d say I was crazy, boxing myself in, but alone, it’s the only way to get this done.

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“Monster” by Mike Allen

“Monster” first appeared in Nameless Magazine, Issue 3, Spring 2014. “I got the idea while watching a documentary on the origins of fractals.”

MIKE ALLEN is the editor of the anthology series Clockwork Phoenix and the digital journal Mythic Delirium. His first novel, THE BLACK FIRE CONCERTO, a post-apocalyptic tale of music, magic and flesh-eating ghouls, was published last year by Haunted Stars Press, and he’s written a sequel, THE GHOULMAKER’S ARIA. His website is Descent Into Light and his publisher website is Mythic Delirium.com. His first collection of horror stories, UNSEAMING (with a gracious introduction by Laird Barron, Thomas Ligotti called it “seriously unnerving fun”) was released by Antimatter Press in 2014. (Unseaming contains all four stories that have appeared on Pseudopod – “The Button Bin,”, “The Blessed Days”, “Let There Be Darkness” & “Monster”) and also contains the 19k sequel to Button Bin, “The Quiltmaker.”

Your reader – Ben Kohanski is new to Pseudopod and Escape Artists!

“Since I grew tall enough to sit at a classroom desk, I’ve longed to be a monster. There is no reason for this that you or your friends in the department will ever be able to find, should you have an opportunity to delve into my history. My mother and father loved each other. They were neither too lenient nor too strict. The bullies in my school, the ones who introduced my fellow gifted students to cycles of humiliation and pain, paid no attention to me at all. My teachers never singled me out for praise or discipline.”

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“Stillborn” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

“Stillborn” originally appeared in the first BORDERLANDS anthology from 1990 edited by Thomas F. Monteleone

In the past thirty-plus years NINA KIRIKI HOFFMAN has sold around ten novels and more than three hundred short stories. Her work has been on final ballots for the World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Endeavour, and other awards, and she[...]

Authors : Andrew Reid, Richard Kellum, Severity Chase, Laura Lam, Taran Matharu  and Edward Cox Narrators : Alasdair Stuart, Tatiana Grey, Graeme Dunlop, Marguerite Kenner, Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali and Joe Scalora Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop Discuss on Forums PseudoPod 461: Flash On The Borderlands XXVIII: Britshock II is a PseudoPod original. […]

by Severity Chase, Richard Kellum, Laura Lam, Andrew Reid, Taran Matharu, & Edward Cox

A gaggle of new Flash Fiction to warm your heart and chill your bones…

Absolution by Severity Chase

Read by Khaalidaah Muhammed-Ali

Severity is mystery.

My Daily Vampire by Richard Kellum

Read by Graeme Dunlop

Richard’s not only an author (Fantasy/Horror) and daydreamer. he’s a fellow podcaster who, along with Chris Brosnahan (Who’s own serial you should totally be reading too), hosts Early Draft. He’s on twitter here and blogs at Elf-Machines From Hyperspace.

The Ghost of Gold and Grey by Laura Lam

Read by Tatiana Gomberg

Laura, geek, author, Californian can be found on twitter here and she blogs here. Her upcoming books are False Hearts & Masquerade. Out now: Pantomime, Shadowplay & The Vestigial Tales.

Run Forever by Andrew Reid

Read by Joe Scalora

Andrew Reid – Cook, climber, teacher, writer and one of the most fiercely articulate, creative people it’s my honour to know. He and I, along with Lou, survived redshirting World FantasyCon together last year. That may mean at some point we open a bar. We’ll let you know… Andrew blogs at My God It’s Raining and tweets here.

Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing by Taran Matharu

Read by Marguerite Kenner

Taran, is the author of the popular book Summoner: The Novice (read 6 Million times and published in 11 languages) and can be found on twitter here.

Gravemaker by Edward Cox

Read by Alasdair Stuart

Edward, author of THE RELIC GUILD and THE CATHEDRAL OF KNOWN THINGS can be found on twitter here and blogs here

And that’s our stories, supplied by The Mushens Agency. I’d like to thank all our narrators and authors for turning in stories that show just how diverse and vibrant a genre horror is.

The stars are right again, and what an age-old cult had failed to do, a band of innocent authors has accomplished. After vigintillions of years the Flash Fiction Contest is loose again, and ravening for delight. Each week, batches of stories will be released into gladiatorial pits to fight for supremacy. The floor will be churned to mud with the blood of the fallen until the mightiest stories remain for your delight and dread. Head over to the forums, take up your stone, and join us in the harvest festivals of the October Country.

It’s easy to be become a member. Sign up for a forum account and make a single post so we know you’re not a bot. This is a good thread to start with. From there, head over to “The Arcade” as the contest thread will not be visible until after you have made at least one post. Authors, encourage friends and families to come over and participate – you just can’t tell them which stories are yours. Visit our forums for rules and details.

Purchase your copy of Queers Destroy Horror! here: http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/ebooks/october-2015-issue-37-queers-destroy-horror/

Buy a copy of Hexed by Anders Manga here: https://andersmanga.bandcamp.com/

Author : Jason Rush Narrator : Cheyenne Wright Host : Alasdair Stuart Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop Discuss on Forums PseudoPod 460: Great Oak is a PseudoPod original. Purchase your copy of Queers Destroy Horror! here: http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/ebooks/october-2015-issue-37-queers-destroy-horror/ Buy a copy of Hexed by Anders Manga here: https://andersmanga.bandcamp.com/ Great Oak by Jason Rush Rob swings the […]