“…these grinning men were someone’s brother, son, husband, father. They were human beings, people who took immense pleasure in the utter cruelty… Their cruelty made them feel good, it made them feel proud, it made them feel happy. And it made them feel closer to one another.”

- Adam Serwer, “The Cruelty Is the Point”

From the clear vein a stream immortal flowed,

Such stream as issues from a wounded god;

Pure emanation! uncorrupted flood;

Unlike our gross, diseased, terrestrial blood:

"I'm covered in blood but only some of it is mine I'll update yall later but i'm safe now"

"…the next day I'll wake up like trying to get out of PTSD of, like, people watching me. It's like I go through a weird phase where I feel like I'm being watched, but when you get over that, you'll be good."

"I no longer love blue skies. In fact, I now prefer grey skies… When the sky brightens, we live in fear."

- Zubair Rehman

Do not despair. Do not spare your enemies. There is nothing in the world that can hinder or harm us, for God is with us. Do not think our previous mistakes of any consequence, for there are still great things to be accomplished in the Indies.

- Jan Pieterszoon Coen

"...those who accompanied Ishtar know no food, know no drink, eat no bread and drink no wine. They accept no gifts. They never enjoy the touch of a lover, never have any sweet children to hold. They tear away the wife from her husband's embrace, snatch the son from his father's knee, drive the bride from the house of her new family…"

- Ishtar's descent to the netherworld

I cut off the head of Teumman, their presumptuous king who plotted evil. I slew his warriors without number. I captured his fighting men alive. I filled the plain of the city with their bodies. I made the river flow with their blood.

- Neo-Assyrian Annals

Want more Stupendous Stories? Visit my blog at ⁠⁠⁠www.stupendousstories.wordpress.com⁠⁠⁠. Thank you for listening!

Welcome back, dear listener. Season 5 of Stupendous Stories: Fear begins October 10, 2024. Tune in every Thursday in October for a new horror story on your podcast platform of choice!

"I don't think Abbie's doing okay."

Content warning: Suffering of innocents.