The Midnight Holler

MIDNIGHT HOLLER | BROADCAST 004 | “The Smoke That Stays” (Part Two) — The Thirteenth Night

The journal of Joel Ardis, fire observer at Station L-7, continues.

Part Two covers Days Eight through Thirteen. It was found in a waterproof box on the floor of the cab on October 3rd, 1973. Joel Ardis’s gear was present. His boots were at the base of the ladder.

He has not been found.

Haven’t heard Part One? Start there first.

Also... a great deal about Jonah's story is revealed. Clues about how he found the station, the rules about it, and what happens when the broadcasting stops.

If you liked this episode, consider subscribing or submitting your own story to [email protected]

MIDNIGHT HOLLER is a Southern Gothic horror fiction podcast broadcasting from WHAINT Radio, 107.9 — hosted by Jonah, a man who found the station during a storm and hasn’t been able to leave. Every week, Jonah plays the dark stories and the true ones, because out in the Holler, dead air lets things in.

New episodes every week. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

Lock your door.

Thanks for listening.

BROADCAST 003 of The Midnight Holler

Recovered from the journal of Joel Ardis, a former U.S. Forest Service ranger stationed alone at a remote fire lookout tower in Northern California, this account follows fourteen days above the Feather River Canyon where the silence begins to change. Dead animals appear at the base of the tower. Figures stand motionless at the treeline. A strange camp hides in the drainage below. And by the thirteenth night, Joel realizes the smoke rising around his tower is not from any fire he was sent to watch.  

Presented by The Midnight Holler and WHAINT Radio — broadcasting from somewhere in the dark since 1976.

Lock your doors tonight. We’ll be back next week.

Presented by The Midnight Holler & WHAINT Radio

Tonight’s broadcast comes to you through the static, somewhere between the pines and whatever waits beyond them.

In “The Thing That Learned My Voice” a ranger's missing persons patrol turns into something far worse. The missing person is recovered, but so is something else. There are old stories about things that wear hunger like a second skin. Things that call from the tree line. Things you should never answer.

Inspired by the eerie tone of late-night AM radio broadcasts, this episode of The Midnight Holler brings you a chilling Wendigo tale of isolation, dread, and the terrible realization that some things do not stay in the woods.

So dim the lights, check the locks, and keep your radio low.

Because out there in the cold… something may have heard you listening.

You’re tuned to WHAINT Radio. The signal fades, but the holler remembers.

Tonight’s broadcast takes us deep into the black water of the Okefenokee Swamp — the legendary “Land of the Trembling Earth.”

Two men set out by boat, pushing nearly eight miles into the swamp’s winding channels, surrounded by cypress knees, hanging moss, and miles of dark water. But as night settles over the Okefenokee, they begin to notice something watching them from the tree line.

At first, it’s only a few glowing eyes.

Then dozens.

Then more than they can count.

Stranded deep in the swamp with no help nearby, the men realize they are not alone — and whatever is moving through the woods and water is closing in fast.

Tonight on The Midnight Holler, Lewis brings you a chilling Southern swamp horror story of ghouls, blackwater, and a desperate fight to make it out alive.

So turn the lights down low, keep your hands steady on the dial, and don’t stare too long into the trees.

Because in the Okefenokee…

something may be staring back.

Episode: There Are Ghouls in the Okefenokee Swamp, Land of the Trembling Earth

Genre: Southern Horror, Swamp Horror, Backwoods Horror, Creature Story, Scary Stories