PseudoPod

• Author : Eric Czuleger
• Narrator : Joe Calarco
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

“Punksnotdead” was first published in Eric’s first novel Immortal L.A. which was inspired by listening to Pseudopod in the Albanian Alps for two years.

“It makes me uncomfortable to share this story. It was supposed to be one thing and it took a dark turn on me. It was inspired by the nightly walks my best friend and I take by the ocean. We’ve been taking the same walks for years. The coastline never changes but we do. I guess that scares me. That a minute ago we were twelve, a second ago we were twenty, and the coastline never changes.”

“”Punk is Dead. He has twenty-four hours Left.””

The post Pseudopod 416: Punksnotdead appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : Orrin Grey 
• Narrator : Cunning Minx
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

“Night’s Foul Bird” was originally printed in the 14th issue of Innsmouth Magazine which was themed around “wings.”

“I’m obviously a fan of the aesthetics of early horror films, and this story was all about that, especially the portrayal of vampire lore in early films, especially silent films, though saying that in the opening might be giving the game away a bit. It’s also one of a pair of stories I wrote back-to-back dealing with early portrayals of vampires in media–its companion is a very short piece called “The White Prince” that’s in Steve Berman’s anthology of incubi stories Handsome Devil out now from Prime books, which deals more with early vampire novels and specifically Dracula, instead of film.”

“Last week, a man moved into the building. He lives in the same rooms as us but on the fourth floor rather than the sixth. On the floor between is a plump-cheeked lady whose two sons both died in the War. I call her the “Widow Flowers,” because she is always drying flowers in the kitchen above her sink. She gives them out to everyone as gifts at every relevant occasion. I wonder if she loves them because they’re beautiful but already dead, unchanging, like a photograph, but Mother says I mustn’t ask people such questions.

The new man is strange, pallid and sunken, and his head seems to taper from top to bottom, as though his chin is forming like a stalactite from his face. His eyes are very pale and he has an odd way of staring at you as if he’s actually looking at whatever’s just behind you, instead. Mother says that he’s sweet and that I mustn’t judge. That many of the young men who came back from the War came back just like him. I don’t think he seems young, but Mother says that he’s not much older than me. She blames the War for that, too.

He says his name is ‘Milton,’ but in my mind, I’m already calling him “Mr. Chaney,” because there’s something about him that reminds me of Lon Chaney’s faux-vampire in London After Midnight, which I loved up ‘til the end. Maybe it’s his long coat, which he wears always draped over his shoulders, his arms not through the sleeves. Maybe it’s his shadow, which seems to cling too close to him, to hunch at his back when he stands near walls, as though it’s whispering secrets in his ears.

Mother says that I’m sensitive, but that I should keep it to myself, and that I mustn’t judge people until they’ve given me a reason to, as it says in the Bible. I don’t think that is what it says in the Bible, but I don’t contradict her.”

The post Pseudopod 415: Night’s Foul Bird appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : Daniel Mills
• Narrator : George Cleveland
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

“The Photographer’s Tale” was first published in Theaker’s Quarterly Fiction #36 in 2011 and later reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 23. It currently appears in the author’s 2014 collection The Lord Came at Twilight.

“‘Shall we proceed?’ asked Arthur.

‘Of course,’ said Lowell, nodding. He had already prepared the collodion mixture and adjusted the lens. All that remained was to open the shutter. Taking up the flash box, he slipped his head under the cover and placed his eye against the viewfinder.

The powder vanished from Mrs. Whateley’s brow. In its place he noted the swelling of an under-skin bruise. As Lowell watched, horrified, the colors deepened and spread, leaching through flesh and tissue to collect in a series of purple bruises down the woman’s neck, creating the imprint of a man’s hand around her throat.

Lowell’s stomach clenched. The air left his lungs, and he gasped for breath that would not come. She looked up at him then — perhaps only to wonder what was taking so long — and in her eyes he saw a silent suffering, such as he had once glimpsed in the eyes of another, and all at once, he understood everything.

Whateley had come to him seeking concealment. Like many clients, he wanted an image of false happiness, another mask for the violence and cruelty they both strove to hide — he with his airs and false benevolence and she with her daubs and powders. Mrs. Whateley gazed back at Lowell through the viewfinder, her eyes bloodshot, sightless.

He swallowed. ‘I’m—sorry,’ he said and withdrew from the hood. He stepped backward from the camera. ‘But I cannot go through with it.'”

The post Pseudopod 414: The Photographer’s Tale appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Narrator : Claudia Smith
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

“Variations Of Figures Upon The Wall” was published in Where Thy Dark Eye Glances: Queering Edgar Allan Poe, edited by Steve Berman.

“The maid slowly buttoned the dress, her hands inching along Rowena’s back. Rowena looked out the sole window in the room – a great sheet of unbroken, tinted Venetian glass – and across the desolate, green fields.

‘What was the Lady Ligeia like?’ Rowena asked.

The maid’s fingers stilled against Rowena’s back.’

‘She was a harsh mistress,’ the girl said.

‘How so?’

But the girl did not reply.”

The post Pseudopod 413: Variations Of Figures Upon The Wall appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : Eleanor Wood
• Narrator : Alasdair Stuart
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

“Rule Of Five” first appeared in Bete Noire in May 2012 and hasn’t yet been reprinted.

“Obsessive compulsive disorder is far from the trivial, quirky condition it’s often made out to be. It’s a serious psychiatric disorder that can massively impact the lives of its sufferers. Through this story, I wanted to explore it in a psychological horror context whilst trying to convey the pressure and intensity of living with OCD.”

“Adam clicked the light off. He clicked it on again. Off again. On again, once more, and then, finally, off. Sighing, he closed his apartment door and turned the key before unlocking it, opening it just to check that the light was off (it always was, by the very nature of the Rule of Five), and closing and locking the door once more. He walked, in elongated steps, the five paces to the head of the stairs, and then trotted down them briskly, counting them in his mind. Fourteen steps, of course. There would always be fourteen, unless he failed to count them. But in that event, the number of steps would be the least of his worries.”

The post Pseudopod 412: Rule Of Five appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Authors : Kate Jonez, L.R. Bonehill and Steve Calvert
• Narrators : Tatiana Grey, Roberto Suarez and John Michnya
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

• Poor Me, and Ted first appeared in Attic Toys, an anthology published by Evil Jester Press and edited by Jeremy C. Shipp. “Every day we go about our lives navigating through crowds on busy city streets, riding buses or trains filled with strangers. Most of the time, individuals barely register in the sea of humanity. We don’t know, or perhaps even care, what lurks in the mind of nondescript passers-by. We should care.”
• The Beachcomber was originally published in May 2013 by Dark Fuse at Horror D’oeuvres. “It is one of those rare stories that came to me more or less fully formed after spotting a strange, slightly disturbing figure ambling across a rain-soaked beach in Wales. There was no way I wanted to talk to this odd man, but, from a safe distance, I wanted to know what clacked and rattled inside his bag. He’s still out there somewhere, I’m sure. So, like all Pseudopod stories, this one is most definitely true.”
• Sanctuary makes its first appearance on Pseudopod. “‘Sanctuary’ began as a story about fear, and how it can sometimes feed on itself and grow stronger. Later I realized it was also a story about prisons and how—sometimes—the worst prisons are the ones we build in our minds.”

Interstitial music is “Fearless Bleeder” by Chimpy, available from Music Alley.

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” – C.S. Lewis

“Poor Me and Ted” by Kate Jonez

“Glory, Glory, Glory. That’s about the stupidest name you can give a person like me. But my mom had high hopes like lots of hard-working folks do. They use fancy names like they’re magic spells. As if naming a kid could somehow make it better than it really is. I don’t go in for that kind of crap. I named my kid John. Simple. John.

‘I know that mess is up here somewhere, Ted. I know it is.'”

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“The Beachcomber “ by L.R. Bonehill.

“All that came back from the cold sea was Little Rosie-Cheeks. Washed ashore one late afternoon as rain whipped down from a slate-grey sky and a rough wind snapped across the beach. Face down in a rock pool, stranded in shallow water and silt. Red cheeks washed pale, white dress smeared with grime the colour of tobacco. A deep gouge cut across her forehead, the seams flecked with grit.

David held the doll now as he walked along the quiet beach. Held it by the hand as if it were a child at his side. It bumped and knocked against his leg as a litter of shells crunched underfoot. Water leaked through a split in the bottom of one shoe. He could taste salt in the breeze, the tang of brine on his tongue.”

***************************************************************************

“Sanctuary” by Steve Calvert

“Raoul had been sleeping. He did not know what had awakened him. Perhaps his body had grown tired of sleep. Raoul slept a lot–too much– but his hiding place was small and dark, so there was nothing else for him to do.”

The post Pseudopod 411: Flash On The Borderlands XXIII: Grief appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Authors : Andrew Reid, Francesca Haig, Lou Morgan, Den Patrick, Severity Chase and Peter Newman
• Narrators : Wilson Fowlie, Alasdair Stuart, Graeme Dunlop, Dave Robison, Siobhan Gallichan and Rikki LaCoste
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

Pseudopod 410: Flash On The Borderlands XXII: Britshock is a PseudoPod original.

The post Pseudopod 410: Flash On The Borderlands XXII: Britshock appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : Catherine MacLeod
• Narrator : Tatiana Grey
• Host : Rachael K. Jones
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

This story first appeared in John Joseph’s Adams’ WOMEN DESTROY HORROR, published this month by NIGHTMARE MAGAZINE.

“I said, ‘Is it true time has no meaning in the Labyrinth?’

‘Yes. Why?’

‘Because the tape is only four minutes long, but I’m sure my rape took longer.’

He nodded. ‘It did.’ He stared at nothing for a moment. ‘Where are your companions from that night?’

‘I don’t know.’ And it’s in their best interests not to be found. You can hear them laughing on the security tape, under the Minotaur’s grunts and the sound of tearing meat. Only one wall away, and they didn’t try to save me. Justin, Marcus, and Caroline just patched their handscreens into the camera and watched the whole thing.

Minos said, ‘Tell me what happened.’

I didn’t want to need him. I said, ‘You know.’

‘I saw. It’s not the same thing.’ “

The post Pseudopod 409: Sideshow appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : Annie Neugebauer
• Narrator : Rikki LaCoste
• Discuss on Forums

A slightly different version of this story was first published in the October 2011 issue of Underneath the Juniper Tree, accompanied by original artwork by Ken Lamug.

The Journey Into kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/763571195/edgar-allan-poe-meets-ken-scholes-a-journey-into-e/posts

The Ghostwoods Books Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/960264226/ghostwoods-books-our-2014-15-list-of-6-to-8-books

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

Most of the year, Jack was a fine enough boy. He almost always remembered to put his dirty socks in the hamper instead of under the bed. He certainly never hid his mama’s darning needles – except for when she deserved it. And if he occasionally didn’t go to sleep right when he told his papa he would, it was only because he was too afraid of the dark to turn out his light – and who can sleep with the light on? He hauled hay, set the table, did his schoolwork sometimes. Most of the year, Jack was a fine enough boy.

The post Bonus Pseudopod Halloween Flash Episode: Jack And The Bad Man appeared first on PseudoPod.

• Author : David Nickle
• Narrator : Dave Robison
• Host : Alasdair Stuart
• Audio Producer : Graeme Dunlop
• Discuss on Forums

“Knife Fight” was originally published in Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories

There are only ever two combatants in a knife fight, and each combatant is allowed a knife.

The knives are to be provided by the combatants, in a keen, clean condition free of rust. Other objects—scissors, hammers, axes, surgical instruments—shall not be considered knives for the purposes of the knife fight.

Combatants shall arrive stripped to the waist, and well-lubricated so as to keep the knife fight from becoming a wrestling match, which is unseemly.

Goose fat is considered an acceptable lubricant for the purposes of a knife fight.

Victory in the knife fight is usually decided by the drawing of first blood.

Combatants shall avoid their opponents’ faces, hands, and throats, confining their strikes to parts of the body usually covered by appropriate business attire.

In the event that both combatants draw blood from one another in the same instant, the knife fight shall be considered a draw and entered into the Records as such.

To the victor go the spoils.

The post Pseudopod 408: Knife Fight appeared first on PseudoPod.