July 29, 2025 • 34 mins
Abby and Alex Goleman are thrilled to present three haunting horror stories.
First Date was written by Carver Welsh and narrated by Abby Brenker. Follow Carver on IG @carverwelsh.
A Scratching at The Door was written by Jon Adcock and narrated by Denali Bartell. Follow Jon's work here. Check out Denali's poetry collection here.
Division of Spoils was written by D.H. Parish and narrated by Mike Macera. Check out D.H. Parish's work here.
Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the lunatics radio, ourpodcast.
I am Abby Brer sitting herewith alex goldman hi everyone
and we are back with anothercampfire tales episode now that
the weather is a bit warmer andthe sun is a bit brighter and we
are back to uh.
So I guess this campfire talesisn't so much gathering around
(00:40):
the fire for warmth, it's like acozy summer beach bonfire vibe
oh, oh yeah, maybe somemarshmallows still.
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Right, just picture us with sand and surf all around
us, that's right.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Less hot chocolate, more surfboard we surf.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, but more of a beachy good time.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I'm very excited to report again for the second.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Campfire Tales episode of the year that we have
three brand new writers.
Again to lunatics radio hour.
Yeah, very cool, very cool.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's honestly like one of the proudest things
because for so long for thispodcast, for many years,
whenever there were topics, Iwould be the one writing stories
to go with them, because, like,the viewership was so little
right and and it just to me it'slike a testament of the growth
of the show but also thecommunity.
Hopefully that's being fosteredand that's the most important
(01:31):
thing.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
So I feel very proud of the fact that we have new
writers who are submitting andkind of joining the ranks of the
lunatics community yeah, Iremember when we, when we
started, it was mainly you, butthen you know some of our same
friends contributing to this, soit's very cool that we have so
many, so many new listeners andso many new contributors to to
(01:54):
really fill out this, this wholeseries that just reminded me.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Actually I forgot not totally forgot, but didn't
really remember.
You were on such an earlyepisode of lunatics radio, like
episode 12 or something thatsounds right, and now we're up
to 100 and whatever we're up towow, wild wild.
So we're all visualizing thistogether.
Right, there's some warm, awarm glow coming off of the fire
(02:19):
in front of us, but also kindof a cool breeze coming in from
the atlantic or the pacific.
Wherever we're visually, therewe go and we're passing around
the sticky, we have stickymarshmallow fingers and we're
going to listen to three storiestogether.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And I'll say this Listen, just because we're on
the beach doesn't mean they'renot scary.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh right, I'm practically terrified already.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
First date Read by Carver, welsh.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Portland was typically a dreary, rainy place.
Today was no different.
The rain gently hummed againstthe roofs, bits of the sun
peeking out from between theclouds.
A young couple walked, laughing, an old man sweeping the walk
in front of the store across thestreet.
From between the clouds, ayoung couple walked, laughing,
an old man sweeping the walk infront of the store across the
street jealously watched thempassing, yearning for what never
was.
A baby bawled as her motherpushed the stroller.
(03:14):
The mom smiled at the couple,nostalgia in her eyes.
Have a beautiful day, the momsaid to the couple.
The girl turned to her andreplied oh, you too.
And immediately turned herattention back to the young man
walking with her.
The man had a youthful, roundface, though his hair was
speckled gray.
He wore a teal polo with oakleysunglasses tucked into the
placket of his shirt.
(03:34):
His tan gleamed in contrast tothe day, ending suddenly like a
car crash.
At his collar.
He wore khaki pants that stillhad the long crease along the
leg and his shoes would havebeen better at home on a boat
than the rain-slicked streets.
The pockets of his coat swunglike pendulums.
The street was lined with aneclectic jumble of old and new
storefronts squeezed betweentaller, glossy new buildings
(03:57):
from the 80s.
The breeze blew, the smell ofcoffee from many locations and
the earthy scent of dirt, allmingled with the acidic smell of
stale urine from therain-soaked pavement.
Let's stop at that bookstore,the young man said, pointing to
a tiny shop with weathered brownshingles nailed carelessly to
the walls.
The shop sign had faded farbeyond being able to read it
(04:18):
from even the minimal distancethe couple stood, but the
stacked books blocking thewindows gave away its likely
purpose.
Sure, why not?
His companion answered.
The girl had long, inky hairthat framed an innocent face.
Her wide, dark eyes had ahungry glimmer, as if she hadn't
eaten for some time.
An all-too-sweet smile playedon her lips as she spoke, the
kind of smirk that suggested shewas enjoying a private joke at
(04:39):
his expense.
Her creamy, paper-white skinseemed to absorb the gloom of
the Portland day.
She wore simple clothes astriped, long-sleeved top that
clung to her slight frame, anoversized flannel that clashed
with the stripes, but she pulledit off in a rebellious fashion,
the sleeves rolled up, bothpaired with low-waisted jeans
that showed the slightest amountof her even paler midriff, her
(05:01):
Doc Martens high-heeled boots,scuffed all over from countless
city walks and outdooradventures splashed carelessly
in the puddles.
They rushed across Couch Streetas a bicycle whizzed past, its
rider draped in a Columbia coat,mohawk plastered against one
side of the head.
A wave of warmth greeted thecouple as they entered the
bookstore, wrapping them like agrandmother's hug.
The store even smelled like agrandparent's home.
(05:23):
The couple set about lookingthrough books immediately.
You two are a pretty couple.
An old man behind the counterremarked His bald pate, a beacon
below the fluorescent lights, athin layer of sweat glistening
on it, although he was juststanding there.
Thank you, said the young man.
He looked as though talking tothe older man made his skin
crawl.
Are you the owner?
Yep, 20 years I've been here,the old man said.
(05:43):
While coming around the counter.
He leaned against it, facingthe couple, his hands folded in
front of him, like he was easinginto talking for a while.
Although they've tried to runme out of here to make more damn
condos, I ain't selling it,believe you me.
They offered me half a millionfor this place.
I'm 62, and that's all theyoffered me.
Maybe if this was 20 years agoI could retire on something like
that.
But now the girl smirked lookingthrough a stack of mystery
(06:06):
books that looked well worn.
The young man nodded and triedto look very focused on a book
about knitting.
You need to make sure you treata woman right, the shop owner
continued.
The young man smiled pleasantlyand tried to look busy looking
at some books near the counteras his hands absentmindedly
wandered to his pockets.
The girl glanced up.
Oh yes, please educate mypartner here.
The shop owner nodded sagely,his voice thoughtful, as if
(06:28):
remembering a great fact.
You see, keeping a woman happyis all about giving.
It's not what she gives youalthough I'm sure that's the
only thing on your mind at yourage.
It's about giving her what sheneeds, what she craves.
We only just met today, theyoung man said.
The shop owner's head went likea bobblehead.
Ah, but trust me, I know I knewas soon as I spotted the woman
that became my cousin's wife.
(06:48):
She ate him all up.
The girl rested her hand on herdate's arm and smiled at the
owner.
Thank you, she said, settingthe book she was holding down on
a nearby table.
I love your store, but I thinkI'm going to rescue my date here
and get him to give me a biteto eat.
She added with a wink they leftthe store, the warmth of the
bookstore quickly running awayas they stepped back into the
gloom of the city.
I know a place where we can getsomething to eat, the man
(07:10):
suggested.
The girl shrugged we can cutdown this alley to save some
time.
Looks like it might be about torain heavier, he said and
brushed the tips of his fingeron the outside of his pockets
again reassuringly.
Sure, let's do it.
They turned down a wide alley,dimly lit in its relation to the
sun.
The other end of the alley wasbrighter, like a light at the
end of a train tunnel, as itmade the alley seem longer.
(07:31):
Their splashing steps echoedever so slightly in the murky,
shallow puddles.
The smell of sour blend ofrain-washed filth masked any
pleasant aroma from before.
He let his hand creep towards apocket, fingers lovingly
creasing the cold handle of hisknife, his tools.
He was so glad to have themwith him.
The knife was small but it didits job just right.
(07:51):
The zip ties in his otherpocket rustled lightly on his
hand like the stems of flowers.
Oh boy, did he love to show hisdates, his tools.
His pace slowed.
She got ahead of him just a bit.
He pulled the knife out.
Its blade twisted and glintingevilly.
He liked his prey woundedbefore he bound them.
He lengthened his stride,closing the gap between them.
(08:12):
He was getting aroused.
It'd been a long time since hewas properly aroused.
Suddenly she turned to him, herever-present smirk on her lips,
sweet and hungry.
He quickly slipped the knifeback into his pocket.
She grabbed his arm and movedever so slightly toward him.
He could feel her warm breath.
You smell nice.
She murmured her voice low,lower than he thought it should
(08:32):
go.
Her grip fastened tighter onhis arm, uncomfortable, almost
painful.
He tried to pull away, but herhand was unwavering.
Hey, what the heck are youdoing?
He said.
Well, more like mumbled.
Any thoughts of arousal longgone.
She pulled him closereffortlessly.
Her lips brushed his ear.
You taste even better, shewhispered in that oddly deep
voice.
She ran her tongue along hischeek.
(08:54):
He could feel the scaly ridges.
He shuddered.
He wanted to scream, but allthat came out was a horrible
retching gargle.
She darted her tongue in andout of his mouth with a smacking
slap.
She held his head in both hands.
He trembled, a warm wetnessspreading down his leg into the
rainy street.
What are you doing?
He stammered.
Her face began to blur the edgeof that damn smile that never
(09:16):
left.
Her face stretched wider andwider until it was well past her
ears, almost splitting her facein two.
Her jaw elongated and for oneirrational moment he expected to
see long, serrated teeth thatwould put his toy to shame.
But no, there were no sharpteeth, but rounded, yellow,
cracked molars, rows and rows,like a shark all looked rotten.
(09:38):
He tried to scream, but only theretching gargle came out,
filled with a taste of copperand bile.
Please, no, he moaned.
Oh, oh, shh.
She whispered her voice, a deepcroon that rattled in his skull
.
There's no point in crying.
What's going to happen willhappen.
No, he finally managed toscream.
Two weeks later, as the rainlightly thrummed against the
(10:01):
cobblestones of the PortlandRoad and people rushed along the
Albert neighborhood, a girlwearing a striped shirt and
flannel, her bare midriff, aglow of light above the
low-slung jeans, walked hand inhand with a young blonde man.
The young man looked forward, ahopeful expression on his face,
not fully noticing the crookedhalf-smile that never left her
(10:21):
pale lips.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Wow, you know, I knew , because it was a story on this
podcast, that it was going toget scary.
And at the first few minutes Iwas like, oh wow, things seem to
be going well.
I mean, they're going to thebookstore, they're going to get
something to eat, great.
But then, you know, the second,he was reaching for his knife.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
I was like what's going to happen next?
A red flag.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I would say A red flag.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
A red flag on any date.
Yeah, ladies, listen.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Well, I was very happy to see the tables turn a
little bit towards the end there.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
I know.
I mean, it's one of my favoritetypes of stories to write, you
know, especially when it's notjust like a plot twist, like, oh
, the girl is a killer, you knowgender, you know.
But it's also like, oh, he wasgonna kill her, but she's gonna
kill him first totally, you knowthis.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
This is what's cool about this series, I think, is
you really hear from umdifferent people's perspective
what they find scary, right,yeah, that's the whole point of,
uh, the stories that you wouldbring to a campfire.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yes, yes, very, very good point.
So this story was written byCarver Welsh, who is a writer
out of Portland, oregon.
He writes as a means ofescaping the humdrum monotony of
office life which, hey, I thinkAlex and I both can understand
Absolutely.
Carver can often be foundenjoying a pint at a local pub
with his dog, butters.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Oh, great name Butters Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
And, as always, we will link all of the different
ways that you can follow Carverand his work in the description
of this podcast.
So please do do that and checkout the writers who have very
generously allowed us to usetheir work.
I also really like that he'sfrom Portland and wrote a story
about Portland.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
You know, you can kind of feel the city a little
bit in the writing and kind of.
I also think that makes theEntwist ending a bit more
surprising, because he'spainting this really cool
picture of what, like a firstdate in Portland would be.
Like you know, and to me, I wasactually picturing it in
Portland, Maine, because that'sthe Portland that I know, so
well, but I think they have somesimilarities and like a
gloominess, sometimes in an oldkind of brick building, kind of
(12:29):
town with alleys, the rainynature, yeah.
Yeah, coffee shops and bookspiled up you know all the way on
windows.
But anyway, I know he's writingabout Portland, oregon, but he
did a really great job creatingthat vibe in that moment and
then kind of took it away fromus.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Totally, and I should note I thought you did a
wonderful job reading that story.
I always love listening to youread your spooky stories on the
podcast, so it was cool to hearthat.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Thank you, alex.
Okay, well, we have two otherhaunting stories to listen as we
are huddled around this beachbonfire.
So shall we.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Okay so first just a quick content warning on this
upcoming story, includingsuicide and some pregnancy stuff
.
So just putting that out there,it's like a Lovecraftian horror
story.
It's very, very good.
But I just want everyone to beaware of those things first.
If you're not interested inthose topics, just fast forward
a few minutes.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
A scratching at the door.
Red-eyed Sean Adcock.
Red-eyed Denali Bartell.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Turn right on Chandon Road.
In 200 feet your destinationwill be on the right.
You've arrived at yourdestination.
There was a driveway on Nikki'sright and she turned into it.
The driveway wound up thehillside, surrounded by dense,
whispering trees, to end at astately two-story house.
There were lights on the groundfloor and Ryan's car was parked
(13:59):
in the driveway.
At the sight of the car, nikki,his ex-girlfriend, felt five
months of anger and hurt well up.
She gripped the steering wheel,closed her eyes and took deep
breaths to calm down.
She had pictured thisconfrontation over and over
again ever since the day shefound all of Ryan's belongings
gone and his note on the kitchencounter.
(14:22):
Yesterday their friend Davidgave her the address where Ryan
had been staying, the gravelcrunched under her feet as she
walked up the driveway.
The sun was a smear of orangeat the horizon's edge and the
stars, like scattered diamonds,glittered.
Whenever the clouds parted, thegibbous moon had begun to rise
and hung above her, heavy andmisshapen in the autumn sky.
(14:44):
A storm was expected by morningand the trees swayed in the
wind it had sent as itsharbinger.
The wind through the treesalmost sounded like howling.
The house was formidable, witha heavy oak door and bars on the
windows.
Despite her anger, she laughedwhen she saw the door knocker.
It was shaped like a lion'shead.
She'd only seen something likethat in movies.
(15:06):
Before she knocked, she reachedout a hand and ran it over the
deep scorings in the door.
They looked like claw marks.
The knocker was heavier than itlooked and its sound
reverberated through the house.
The howling seemed louder andshe turned and stared into the
encroaching woods.
It was more than just the wind.
(15:26):
Someone's dog must have gottenout.
Ryan opened the door and hiseyes opened wide in surprise.
But there was something else inthem, something inexplicable.
Fear, nikki, what are you doinghere?
I thought we could talk aboutyour leaving.
My note said everything thatneeded to be said.
He looked past her, staringinto the woods.
(15:49):
Yeah, your note.
After four years together, youmoved out while I'm at work and
leave a note.
Let's start with that.
You need to leave Nikki.
He was still looking past her.
After you, look me in the eyesand tell me you don't love me.
Nikki grabbed his face withboth hands and made him look at
her.
She stared into his eyes andlet go when she saw their sorrow
(16:16):
.
Just talk to me, ryan, tell mewhat's going on, please.
You started acting strangeright after your cousin died.
Shit is already here.
He was looking past her again.
Nikki turned and stared intothe woods A shape loped out of
the darkness of the trees.
It was dog-like, but larger thanany dog she had ever seen.
Its head was massive and whenit saw her it bared its teeth.
(16:41):
She could see they were longand sharp, even in the dim
moonlight.
What frightened her the mostwas its eyes.
They glowed like burning coals.
Get in the house, nikki Now.
Ryan pulled her into the houseand slammed the door closed.
What is that, nikki cried?
My family's dirty little secret, our curse.
(17:04):
The door shuddered as the thingoutside flung itself against it
.
"'damn it, nicky, you shouldn'thave come'.
He slumped into the nearestchair and buried his face in his
hands.
As the door shuddered from theonslaught, a dazed Nicky looked
around the room filled withostentatious furniture,
tapestries and paintings allexpensive-looking decor steeped
(17:25):
in elegance and wealth.
She knew his great-un uncle hadmoney, but didn't know he had
been this rich.
It's something one of myancestors summoned years and
years and years ago.
Ryan looked up at her withred-rimmed eyes.
It's haunted my family eversince.
I don't understand.
It's something demonic.
(17:46):
It cleaves to the oldest malein the bloodline and then moves
on to the next in line when hedies.
That's why I acted so strangelywhen my cousin died.
My great uncle cousin and Iwere the only males left.
My uncle was dying and mycousin was a year older than me.
It was supposed to be his.
You could have just told me,instead of just leaving.
(18:07):
Told you what, nikki?
That there was a hellhound onmy trail.
I left to keep you safe.
It usually sits on the frontstep all night whining and
scratching at the door to be letin.
It's acting like this becauseyou're here.
All of this comes with a price.
His vague wave took in the roomand its contents.
(18:27):
It's a jealous little monsterand doesn't like to share.
It will kill anyone I love.
The room was suddenly quiet.
As the assault on the door ended, ryan got up and cautiously
approached one of the barredwindows.
The creature was sitting justoutside on its haunches, panting
and staring into the house.
(18:49):
Its eyes were twin embers inthe gloaming.
Everything I wrote in that notewas a lie, nikki.
His back was turned towards herand he spoke to her reflection
in the window.
I've loved you from the moment.
I saw you at David's weddingthe first time we made love.
I cried after you left.
I couldn't believe how lucky Iwas.
(19:09):
He turned and looked into hereyes.
He leaves every morning justbefore dawn.
You can go after that.
I love you, nikki, but you cannever see me again.
There was a sound of shatteringglass as she reached out to
touch his face.
There was a sound of shatteringglass as she reached out to
touch his face.
Two immense paws thrust throughthe front window and a long
(19:31):
muzzle reached in and startedworrying at the window bars.
Ryan grabbed her hand and ledher upstairs to one of the
bedrooms.
After they moved the dresseragainst the door, he took a
revolver out of the nightstandand sat on the edge of the bed
with her Silence followed afinal tearing sound from
downstairs.
Ryan raised his finger to hislips as they heard the heavy
(19:52):
tread of steps coming up thestairs.
There was a snuffling outsidethe door and Nikki took his hand
.
They both started as a heavybody crashed against the door.
When it threw itself againstthe door again, the frame gave
way with a sharp crack.
I won't watch you be torn apart,nikki.
I'm the last it ends with me.
He put the barrel of the gun inhis mouth and pulled the
(20:14):
trigger.
As it pushed into the room,nikki ran to the far wall and
pressed against it.
The creature howled over Ryan'sbody.
Then, sniffing the air, itslowly approached her, mewling
softly.
Ropes of saliva trailed fromits massive jaws, exhaling
(20:34):
sharply its breath.
Like an open grave, it extendeda long gray tongue and licked
her stomach.
She felt the baby kick okay,alex thoughts, feelings whoa.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
I would say this story brings up a lot of
different horrific actions.
The first, I would say, is uhgetting the courage to confront
your, your uh partner of manyyears after they abandoned you.
Yeah, I like that in itself isa whole horror topic.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Yeah, absolutely, and I also love we've talked about
this before but like theinterwovenness of elements of a
story that are so relatable andrealistic and human with
elements of a horror story thatare so of another universe you
know that include monsters andhorrifying things that we don't
(21:30):
know exist, you know?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, let me say, when this one ended, I pretty
much shrieked.
I was like no, of course thecycle continues.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, yeah, oh, so good, really good.
I was a really big fan of thisstory.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Absolutely yeah, and this one also kept me on the
edge of my seat.
I felt like with every newrevelation it really got deeper
and more interesting.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Yeah, absolutely so.
This story was written by JohnAdcock and he has a funny bio
that I'm going to share.
Writing in the third personalways makes the author feel
like he's writing his obituary.
But here goes a lover of altrock, akira, kurosawa, movies
and craft beer.
The author lives in northerncal.
The author lives in northerncalifornia with his wife and two
(22:20):
kids.
His beautiful wife definitelycould do better, but luckily for
him, she hasn't caught on tothat fact yet.
Rage against the machine, theblack keys and the warlocks are
in heavy rotation on spotify forwriting inspiration, which I
love that.
He said that first of all theblack keys and rage against the
machine a billion out of ten.
I haven't listened to thewarlocks, so I will yeah, add
that to the queue please andobviously a big fan of kurosawa
(22:42):
film.
So I love getting a little tasteof kind of what people are into
, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, where it all comes from right.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, absolutely.
As always, we will linkeverything you need to follow
John below and kind of staytuned with his journey.
But, yeah, love that story and,of course, that was narrated by
our dear friend Denali Bartel,who did a really lovely job, as
always.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Absolutely Always good to hear from Denali.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah, and had such a great build to it, just such a
great voice.
I thought it was very, verywell performed, okay.
So, as the cool breeze perhapsgets a little colder off the
ocean, we have one more storyand just one final content
warning of the episode before weget into this one.
It is quite graphic at momentsand alludes to some very
(23:27):
nefarious, horrifying things.
So just, be warned.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Division of Spoils.
Read by DH Parrish.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Read by Mike Becerra.
Sydney and I have been bestfriends for years.
We met when their family movedhere, when we were both six, and
for a long time we wereinseparable.
Some of my best memories are ofus sailing.
My dad has always loved sailingand has a small sloop, and so
when the weather allowed, wewould go out with him on the
lake as his crew.
Sometimes we went fishing onthe boat.
(24:05):
There's a picture that I haveframed in my room of us eating
this really large bass.
We somehow managed to catch Ourclothes still grossly stained
with blood from cleaning it.
Mostly we just collectedsunburns in good times.
In the winter we would gosledding together at Jackson
Hill and go back to their housefor hot chocolate and
marshmallows.
And for Halloween we wouldalways go trick-or-treating
(24:26):
together.
We would match our costumesPirates one year.
Doctor and Nurse one year.
Batman and Superman one year.
You get the idea.
The first year we went out byourselves when we were eight, an
older kid ripped Sid's bag as ajoke when we were almost done
for the evening, causing almostall of their stash to fall into
a mud pile and get ruined.
Sid cried, but we went back tomy house, pulled all our candy
(24:48):
and divided it into two equalpiles.
We decided going forward thatwe would always split what we
got, and that is what we alwaysdid.
That way, no one lost out whenone of us got candy corn and the
other got a whole Milky Way.
We would divide our spoils andshare evenly.
It would be completely fair.
United we stood.
Three years ago Sid's familymoved across town.
(25:08):
We still go to the same school,but it is a bit harder to spend
time together and so we havedrifted a little bit apart.
Sid hangs out a bit more withthe cool kids, I keep a bit more
to myself.
We are still good friends.
The first year Sid moved, Iinvited them back to the
neighborhood for Halloween to gotrick-or-treating.
We had a good time, although wedidn't wear matching outfits.
(25:33):
Sid had this goth look, goingon with dark makeup.
That looked really cool.
It would have looked cool evenif it wasn't Halloween.
Well, I was dressed as an evilclown.
We went out for the evening anddivided our candy at the end as
usual, although whenever therewas an odd number of anything,
sid let me have it as if theydidn't care as much about the
candy anymore.
Last year Sid wasn't able tomake it.
They said they had an illness,although they recovered quickly
and were able to come to schoolthe next day, thank goodness.
(25:55):
I had felt bad for Sid notbeing able to go out on
Halloween and made sure that Isplit up the candy I had gotten
and gave Sid half.
They were surprised when Ipresented them the bag at school
, but I wanted to keep ouragreement.
That's what friends do.
This year Sid is coming over.
In fact, they'll be here soon.
Sid wasn't able to get hereearly enough to trick-or-treat.
There was some family eventthey said they had to go to, so
(26:17):
I went out trick-or-treating onmy own.
I dressed up as a zombie.
I still am.
I think I did a really good jobon the makeup and want to show
them.
It's not quite as good as thatgoth look, but it's pretty close
.
I tried to visit as many housesas I could and get as much
candy as I could, so we couldhave a lot to share with each
other.
As I suspected, I was probablythe only one able to go out,
(26:38):
what with Sid's familycommitment.
Families are great, butsometimes they get in the way of
the fun.
Anyway, sid will be here soonand I have a great surprise for
them.
There's a guy at school, jake,who we both have a crush on.
Well, probably everyone has acrush on Jake.
He is so cool and good looking.
He's tall, with dark hair anddark eyes.
He looks quite mysterious andbrooding.
(26:59):
He is on the basketball teamand even drives a motorcycle.
Well, guess what?
Jake is coming too.
Actually, he's here already.
I found him after school todayand got the courage to tell him
that I'm having a get-togetherfor Halloween at my house and
invited him over.
At first he started to say no,very politely of course, as he
is also very polite, but when Itold him that Sid was coming and
(27:20):
that my parents would be outand hinted that I might have
alcohol, he remembered that hewould be able to make it.
In fact, he's here already.
He's got here at six.
It's a good thing he didn'tcome any sooner, or my parents
might have seen him, and then Iwould have had some explaining
to do.
Mom and Dad don't really likefor me to have anyone over on
school nights, since it mightinterfere with my studies.
Jake looked at my makeup andtold me I did a great job and
(27:41):
apologized for not dressing uphimself when I told him that Sid
hadn't arrived yet.
He apologized for coming tooearly and started to leave,
saying that maybe he'd come backlater.
I told him not to worry andthat, as promised, we had beer.
Dad always keeps the fridgestocked and I gave him one.
He sat down in my dad's chair.
Dad would never let that happenif he were here and tried to
(28:06):
drink it like a pro, which hedefinitely isn't.
Boys like Jake think they knowhow to drink, but they don't.
I watched him use as hegrimaced with each sip.
Still, it was cute, just likeJake.
Anyway, I gave him the remoteand I told him he could watch TV
while I got things ready.
He offered to help.
Again, he's so polite, but Itold him he didn't need to.
So he turned on some sportschannel and watched a basketball
game with his beer.
I went and got the shovel I hadset aside for just this moment,
(28:29):
approached him from behind andbrought it down solidly on his
head.
He was out cold.
I tied him up quickly and hedidn't wake up through the whole
process.
As I said, I went outtrick-or-treating.
I was not going to waste thisgreat costume on just two people
.
I got back to find Jake stillin the chair where I tied him up
, although he was strainingagainst the hempen rope that
bound him and the gag I hadshoved into his mouth.
He is not going to get out.
(28:50):
I have spent too much timesailing for him to have any
chance of loosening those knots,no matter how strong he is.
So first things first, I need todivide the candy for Sid and me
.
That will be easy.
The hard part will be dividingJake.
Maybe Sid can have their waywith him before midnight and I
could have him afterwards tilldawn.
Romantic, no, oh, I'm justkidding.
(29:10):
That wouldn't be appropriate.
Now the question is whether tocut Jake in half at the waist or
split him in half verticallyleft and right.
Much as I think the second isprobably fairer, although one of
us would get his heart, I don'tknow if I have the strength to
saw through his skull.
Dad has lots of tools but nopower saw His spine, on the
other hand, shouldn't be toomuch of a problem.
Not much difficult than guttinga fish, I imagine.
(29:32):
Of course I will let Sid decideif they want the top half or
the bottom half.
That is only fair.
I'll divide and she'll choose.
And that is our deal Spliteverything we get on Halloween
equally.
And now that I think about it,I also need to do something with
mom and dad's bodies.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
I'm sure Sid will help me with that.
That's what friends are for,right.
I suppose if I had to pick aunifying theme for these three
stories which I know is not thepoint of this episode it would
be great, surprising endings.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Oh, totally.
Yes, I was completely caughtoff guard.
Again, again, yes, three forthree, totally.
They fooled us all.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
So this story was written by DH, by dh parish, who
is a physician by day andhorror and speculative fiction
author by night.
He has had stories appear onmultiple horror podcasts,
including scare you to sleepnocturnal transmissions in the
morbid forest, as well as inseveral print horror anthologies
, and we will leave the link todh parish's author page in the
(30:32):
description of this episode soyou can keep an eye out on works
he already has in the ether andnew ones.
Hopefully that will be coming.
I thought this story was great,of course, but I also really
loved the performance by mikemacera, our friend mike macera,
who narrated it, because itstarts and he has the perfect
voice for this.
I feel like it started sosweetly, innocently, and then,
(30:53):
as it evolved, I feel like hisperformance did a really great
job in kind of carrying usthrough to the reveal at the end
.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
If anything, he was very consistent with his timbre.
That maybe made the performancethat much more shocking when,
all of a sudden, we were at theend and all of us all these
horrible things were happeninghorrible, things horrible.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
And these middle school kids are just oh yeah,
like they used to be.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
No, no, not like when we were growing up no, I would
have never cut someone in halffor one of my friends look, I'm
an advocate for halloween allyear long also, so I'm very glad
to get a little taste ofHalloween during the spring.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yes, we have to live for something.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Yes, that's very true .
Speaker 1 (31:40):
There has to be something out there for us.
Well, another successfulCampfire Tales episode.
I would say I again just thankyou to all of the writers and
narrators who help keep thisseries and this podcast going,
because we very much rely onyour very, very talented skills
and everyone is quite generousand allows us to use and feature
(32:00):
their work and their voices.
And, just again, I really lovethe sense of community.
And if you are a writer or anarrator but if you're a writer,
head to lunaticsprojectcom,click on submit.
There you will find the list oftopics and stories, types of
stories that we're looking forand accepting currently, as well
as a link to a form where youcould submit your stories to us
directly.
We're no longer acceptingsubmissions via email, um, but
(32:24):
so we kind of try to keep thingsa little bit more organized now
, uh, in the form.
But thank you all so much forlistening and, alex, thank you
for being part of this series.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Oh, thank you for having me again.
This was so fun.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Of course.
Okay, everyone.
Well, thank you so much forlistening.
I hope you're staying safe andstaying spooky, and we'll talk
to you soon.
Bye.
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode
of the lunatics radio, ourpodcast.
I am Abby Brer sitting herewith alex goldman hi everyone
and we are back with anothercampfire tales episode now that
the weather is a bit warmer andthe sun is a bit brighter and we
are back to uh.
So I guess this campfire talesisn't so much gathering around
(00:40):
the fire for warmth, it's like acozy summer beach bonfire vibe
oh, oh yeah, maybe somemarshmallows still.
Yeah, of course.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Right, just picture us with sand and surf all around
us, that's right.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Less hot chocolate, more surfboard we surf.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Yeah, but more of a beachy good time.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I'm very excited to report again for the second.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Campfire Tales episode of the year that we have
three brand new writers.
Again to lunatics radio hour.
Yeah, very cool, very cool.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's honestly like one of the proudest things
because for so long for thispodcast, for many years,
whenever there were topics, Iwould be the one writing stories
to go with them, because, like,the viewership was so little
right and and it just to me it'slike a testament of the growth
of the show but also thecommunity.
Hopefully that's being fosteredand that's the most important
(01:31):
thing.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
So I feel very proud of the fact that we have new
writers who are submitting andkind of joining the ranks of the
lunatics community yeah, Iremember when we, when we
started, it was mainly you, butthen you know some of our same
friends contributing to this, soit's very cool that we have so
many, so many new listeners andso many new contributors to to
(01:54):
really fill out this, this wholeseries that just reminded me.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Actually I forgot not totally forgot, but didn't
really remember.
You were on such an earlyepisode of lunatics radio, like
episode 12 or something thatsounds right, and now we're up
to 100 and whatever we're up towow, wild wild.
So we're all visualizing thistogether.
Right, there's some warm, awarm glow coming off of the fire
(02:19):
in front of us, but also kindof a cool breeze coming in from
the atlantic or the pacific.
Wherever we're visually, therewe go and we're passing around
the sticky, we have stickymarshmallow fingers and we're
going to listen to three storiestogether.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
And I'll say this Listen, just because we're on
the beach doesn't mean they'renot scary.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh right, I'm practically terrified already.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
First date Read by Carver, welsh.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Portland was typically a dreary, rainy place.
Today was no different.
The rain gently hummed againstthe roofs, bits of the sun
peeking out from between theclouds.
A young couple walked, laughing, an old man sweeping the walk
in front of the store across thestreet.
From between the clouds, ayoung couple walked, laughing,
an old man sweeping the walk infront of the store across the
street jealously watched thempassing, yearning for what never
was.
A baby bawled as her motherpushed the stroller.
(03:14):
The mom smiled at the couple,nostalgia in her eyes.
Have a beautiful day, the momsaid to the couple.
The girl turned to her andreplied oh, you too.
And immediately turned herattention back to the young man
walking with her.
The man had a youthful, roundface, though his hair was
speckled gray.
He wore a teal polo with oakleysunglasses tucked into the
placket of his shirt.
(03:34):
His tan gleamed in contrast tothe day, ending suddenly like a
car crash.
At his collar.
He wore khaki pants that stillhad the long crease along the
leg and his shoes would havebeen better at home on a boat
than the rain-slicked streets.
The pockets of his coat swunglike pendulums.
The street was lined with aneclectic jumble of old and new
storefronts squeezed betweentaller, glossy new buildings
(03:57):
from the 80s.
The breeze blew, the smell ofcoffee from many locations and
the earthy scent of dirt, allmingled with the acidic smell of
stale urine from therain-soaked pavement.
Let's stop at that bookstore,the young man said, pointing to
a tiny shop with weathered brownshingles nailed carelessly to
the walls.
The shop sign had faded farbeyond being able to read it
(04:18):
from even the minimal distancethe couple stood, but the
stacked books blocking thewindows gave away its likely
purpose.
Sure, why not?
His companion answered.
The girl had long, inky hairthat framed an innocent face.
Her wide, dark eyes had ahungry glimmer, as if she hadn't
eaten for some time.
An all-too-sweet smile playedon her lips as she spoke, the
kind of smirk that suggested shewas enjoying a private joke at
(04:39):
his expense.
Her creamy, paper-white skinseemed to absorb the gloom of
the Portland day.
She wore simple clothes astriped, long-sleeved top that
clung to her slight frame, anoversized flannel that clashed
with the stripes, but she pulledit off in a rebellious fashion,
the sleeves rolled up, bothpaired with low-waisted jeans
that showed the slightest amountof her even paler midriff, her
(05:01):
Doc Martens high-heeled boots,scuffed all over from countless
city walks and outdooradventures splashed carelessly
in the puddles.
They rushed across Couch Streetas a bicycle whizzed past, its
rider draped in a Columbia coat,mohawk plastered against one
side of the head.
A wave of warmth greeted thecouple as they entered the
bookstore, wrapping them like agrandmother's hug.
The store even smelled like agrandparent's home.
(05:23):
The couple set about lookingthrough books immediately.
You two are a pretty couple.
An old man behind the counterremarked His bald pate, a beacon
below the fluorescent lights, athin layer of sweat glistening
on it, although he was juststanding there.
Thank you, said the young man.
He looked as though talking tothe older man made his skin
crawl.
Are you the owner?
Yep, 20 years I've been here,the old man said.
(05:43):
While coming around the counter.
He leaned against it, facingthe couple, his hands folded in
front of him, like he was easinginto talking for a while.
Although they've tried to runme out of here to make more damn
condos, I ain't selling it,believe you me.
They offered me half a millionfor this place.
I'm 62, and that's all theyoffered me.
Maybe if this was 20 years agoI could retire on something like
that.
But now the girl smirked lookingthrough a stack of mystery
(06:06):
books that looked well worn.
The young man nodded and triedto look very focused on a book
about knitting.
You need to make sure you treata woman right, the shop owner
continued.
The young man smiled pleasantlyand tried to look busy looking
at some books near the counteras his hands absentmindedly
wandered to his pockets.
The girl glanced up.
Oh yes, please educate mypartner here.
The shop owner nodded sagely,his voice thoughtful, as if
(06:28):
remembering a great fact.
You see, keeping a woman happyis all about giving.
It's not what she gives youalthough I'm sure that's the
only thing on your mind at yourage.
It's about giving her what sheneeds, what she craves.
We only just met today, theyoung man said.
The shop owner's head went likea bobblehead.
Ah, but trust me, I know I knewas soon as I spotted the woman
that became my cousin's wife.
(06:48):
She ate him all up.
The girl rested her hand on herdate's arm and smiled at the
owner.
Thank you, she said, settingthe book she was holding down on
a nearby table.
I love your store, but I thinkI'm going to rescue my date here
and get him to give me a biteto eat.
She added with a wink they leftthe store, the warmth of the
bookstore quickly running awayas they stepped back into the
gloom of the city.
I know a place where we can getsomething to eat, the man
(07:10):
suggested.
The girl shrugged we can cutdown this alley to save some
time.
Looks like it might be about torain heavier, he said and
brushed the tips of his fingeron the outside of his pockets
again reassuringly.
Sure, let's do it.
They turned down a wide alley,dimly lit in its relation to the
sun.
The other end of the alley wasbrighter, like a light at the
end of a train tunnel, as itmade the alley seem longer.
(07:31):
Their splashing steps echoedever so slightly in the murky,
shallow puddles.
The smell of sour blend ofrain-washed filth masked any
pleasant aroma from before.
He let his hand creep towards apocket, fingers lovingly
creasing the cold handle of hisknife, his tools.
He was so glad to have themwith him.
The knife was small but it didits job just right.
(07:51):
The zip ties in his otherpocket rustled lightly on his
hand like the stems of flowers.
Oh boy, did he love to show hisdates, his tools.
His pace slowed.
She got ahead of him just a bit.
He pulled the knife out.
Its blade twisted and glintingevilly.
He liked his prey woundedbefore he bound them.
He lengthened his stride,closing the gap between them.
(08:12):
He was getting aroused.
It'd been a long time since hewas properly aroused.
Suddenly she turned to him, herever-present smirk on her lips,
sweet and hungry.
He quickly slipped the knifeback into his pocket.
She grabbed his arm and movedever so slightly toward him.
He could feel her warm breath.
You smell nice.
She murmured her voice low,lower than he thought it should
(08:32):
go.
Her grip fastened tighter onhis arm, uncomfortable, almost
painful.
He tried to pull away, but herhand was unwavering.
Hey, what the heck are youdoing?
He said.
Well, more like mumbled.
Any thoughts of arousal longgone.
She pulled him closereffortlessly.
Her lips brushed his ear.
You taste even better, shewhispered in that oddly deep
voice.
She ran her tongue along hischeek.
(08:54):
He could feel the scaly ridges.
He shuddered.
He wanted to scream, but allthat came out was a horrible
retching gargle.
She darted her tongue in andout of his mouth with a smacking
slap.
She held his head in both hands.
He trembled, a warm wetnessspreading down his leg into the
rainy street.
What are you doing?
He stammered.
Her face began to blur the edgeof that damn smile that never
(09:16):
left.
Her face stretched wider andwider until it was well past her
ears, almost splitting her facein two.
Her jaw elongated and for oneirrational moment he expected to
see long, serrated teeth thatwould put his toy to shame.
But no, there were no sharpteeth, but rounded, yellow,
cracked molars, rows and rows,like a shark all looked rotten.
(09:38):
He tried to scream, but only theretching gargle came out,
filled with a taste of copperand bile.
Please, no, he moaned.
Oh, oh, shh.
She whispered her voice, a deepcroon that rattled in his skull
.
There's no point in crying.
What's going to happen willhappen.
No, he finally managed toscream.
Two weeks later, as the rainlightly thrummed against the
(10:01):
cobblestones of the PortlandRoad and people rushed along the
Albert neighborhood, a girlwearing a striped shirt and
flannel, her bare midriff, aglow of light above the
low-slung jeans, walked hand inhand with a young blonde man.
The young man looked forward, ahopeful expression on his face,
not fully noticing the crookedhalf-smile that never left her
(10:21):
pale lips.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Wow, you know, I knew , because it was a story on this
podcast, that it was going toget scary.
And at the first few minutes Iwas like, oh wow, things seem to
be going well.
I mean, they're going to thebookstore, they're going to get
something to eat, great.
But then, you know, the second,he was reaching for his knife.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
I was like what's going to happen next?
A red flag.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
I would say A red flag.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
A red flag on any date.
Yeah, ladies, listen.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
Well, I was very happy to see the tables turn a
little bit towards the end there.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
I know.
I mean, it's one of my favoritetypes of stories to write, you
know, especially when it's notjust like a plot twist, like, oh
, the girl is a killer, you knowgender, you know.
But it's also like, oh, he wasgonna kill her, but she's gonna
kill him first totally, you knowthis.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
This is what's cool about this series, I think, is
you really hear from umdifferent people's perspective
what they find scary, right,yeah, that's the whole point of,
uh, the stories that you wouldbring to a campfire.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Yes, yes, very, very good point.
So this story was written byCarver Welsh, who is a writer
out of Portland, oregon.
He writes as a means ofescaping the humdrum monotony of
office life which, hey, I thinkAlex and I both can understand
Absolutely.
Carver can often be foundenjoying a pint at a local pub
with his dog, butters.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
Oh, great name Butters Wow.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
And, as always, we will link all of the different
ways that you can follow Carverand his work in the description
of this podcast.
So please do do that and checkout the writers who have very
generously allowed us to usetheir work.
I also really like that he'sfrom Portland and wrote a story
about Portland.
Speaker 2 (12:02):
Totally.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
You know, you can kind of feel the city a little
bit in the writing and kind of.
I also think that makes theEntwist ending a bit more
surprising, because he'spainting this really cool
picture of what, like a firstdate in Portland would be.
Like you know, and to me, I wasactually picturing it in
Portland, Maine, because that'sthe Portland that I know, so
well, but I think they have somesimilarities and like a
gloominess, sometimes in an oldkind of brick building, kind of
(12:29):
town with alleys, the rainynature, yeah.
Yeah, coffee shops and bookspiled up you know all the way on
windows.
But anyway, I know he's writingabout Portland, oregon, but he
did a really great job creatingthat vibe in that moment and
then kind of took it away fromus.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Totally, and I should note I thought you did a
wonderful job reading that story.
I always love listening to youread your spooky stories on the
podcast, so it was cool to hearthat.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Thank you, alex.
Okay, well, we have two otherhaunting stories to listen as we
are huddled around this beachbonfire.
So shall we.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (13:06):
Okay so first just a quick content warning on this
upcoming story, includingsuicide and some pregnancy stuff
.
So just putting that out there,it's like a Lovecraftian horror
story.
It's very, very good.
But I just want everyone to beaware of those things first.
If you're not interested inthose topics, just fast forward
a few minutes.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
A scratching at the door.
Red-eyed Sean Adcock.
Red-eyed Denali Bartell.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
Turn right on Chandon Road.
In 200 feet your destinationwill be on the right.
You've arrived at yourdestination.
There was a driveway on Nikki'sright and she turned into it.
The driveway wound up thehillside, surrounded by dense,
whispering trees, to end at astately two-story house.
There were lights on the groundfloor and Ryan's car was parked
(13:59):
in the driveway.
At the sight of the car, nikki,his ex-girlfriend, felt five
months of anger and hurt well up.
She gripped the steering wheel,closed her eyes and took deep
breaths to calm down.
She had pictured thisconfrontation over and over
again ever since the day shefound all of Ryan's belongings
gone and his note on the kitchencounter.
(14:22):
Yesterday their friend Davidgave her the address where Ryan
had been staying, the gravelcrunched under her feet as she
walked up the driveway.
The sun was a smear of orangeat the horizon's edge and the
stars, like scattered diamonds,glittered.
Whenever the clouds parted, thegibbous moon had begun to rise
and hung above her, heavy andmisshapen in the autumn sky.
(14:44):
A storm was expected by morningand the trees swayed in the
wind it had sent as itsharbinger.
The wind through the treesalmost sounded like howling.
The house was formidable, witha heavy oak door and bars on the
windows.
Despite her anger, she laughedwhen she saw the door knocker.
It was shaped like a lion'shead.
She'd only seen something likethat in movies.
(15:06):
Before she knocked, she reachedout a hand and ran it over the
deep scorings in the door.
They looked like claw marks.
The knocker was heavier than itlooked and its sound
reverberated through the house.
The howling seemed louder andshe turned and stared into the
encroaching woods.
It was more than just the wind.
(15:26):
Someone's dog must have gottenout.
Ryan opened the door and hiseyes opened wide in surprise.
But there was something else inthem, something inexplicable.
Fear, nikki, what are you doinghere?
I thought we could talk aboutyour leaving.
My note said everything thatneeded to be said.
He looked past her, staringinto the woods.
(15:49):
Yeah, your note.
After four years together, youmoved out while I'm at work and
leave a note.
Let's start with that.
You need to leave Nikki.
He was still looking past her.
After you, look me in the eyesand tell me you don't love me.
Nikki grabbed his face withboth hands and made him look at
her.
She stared into his eyes andlet go when she saw their sorrow
(16:16):
.
Just talk to me, ryan, tell mewhat's going on, please.
You started acting strangeright after your cousin died.
Shit is already here.
He was looking past her again.
Nikki turned and stared intothe woods A shape loped out of
the darkness of the trees.
It was dog-like, but larger thanany dog she had ever seen.
Its head was massive and whenit saw her it bared its teeth.
(16:41):
She could see they were longand sharp, even in the dim
moonlight.
What frightened her the mostwas its eyes.
They glowed like burning coals.
Get in the house, nikki Now.
Ryan pulled her into the houseand slammed the door closed.
What is that, nikki cried?
My family's dirty little secret, our curse.
(17:04):
The door shuddered as the thingoutside flung itself against it
.
"'damn it, nicky, you shouldn'thave come'.
He slumped into the nearestchair and buried his face in his
hands.
As the door shuddered from theonslaught, a dazed Nicky looked
around the room filled withostentatious furniture,
tapestries and paintings allexpensive-looking decor steeped
(17:25):
in elegance and wealth.
She knew his great-un uncle hadmoney, but didn't know he had
been this rich.
It's something one of myancestors summoned years and
years and years ago.
Ryan looked up at her withred-rimmed eyes.
It's haunted my family eversince.
I don't understand.
It's something demonic.
(17:46):
It cleaves to the oldest malein the bloodline and then moves
on to the next in line when hedies.
That's why I acted so strangelywhen my cousin died.
My great uncle cousin and Iwere the only males left.
My uncle was dying and mycousin was a year older than me.
It was supposed to be his.
You could have just told me,instead of just leaving.
(18:07):
Told you what, nikki?
That there was a hellhound onmy trail.
I left to keep you safe.
It usually sits on the frontstep all night whining and
scratching at the door to be letin.
It's acting like this becauseyou're here.
All of this comes with a price.
His vague wave took in the roomand its contents.
(18:27):
It's a jealous little monsterand doesn't like to share.
It will kill anyone I love.
The room was suddenly quiet.
As the assault on the door ended, ryan got up and cautiously
approached one of the barredwindows.
The creature was sitting justoutside on its haunches, panting
and staring into the house.
(18:49):
Its eyes were twin embers inthe gloaming.
Everything I wrote in that notewas a lie, nikki.
His back was turned towards herand he spoke to her reflection
in the window.
I've loved you from the moment.
I saw you at David's weddingthe first time we made love.
I cried after you left.
I couldn't believe how lucky Iwas.
(19:09):
He turned and looked into hereyes.
He leaves every morning justbefore dawn.
You can go after that.
I love you, nikki, but you cannever see me again.
There was a sound of shatteringglass as she reached out to
touch his face.
There was a sound of shatteringglass as she reached out to
touch his face.
Two immense paws thrust throughthe front window and a long
(19:31):
muzzle reached in and startedworrying at the window bars.
Ryan grabbed her hand and ledher upstairs to one of the
bedrooms.
After they moved the dresseragainst the door, he took a
revolver out of the nightstandand sat on the edge of the bed
with her Silence followed afinal tearing sound from
downstairs.
Ryan raised his finger to hislips as they heard the heavy
(19:52):
tread of steps coming up thestairs.
There was a snuffling outsidethe door and Nikki took his hand
.
They both started as a heavybody crashed against the door.
When it threw itself againstthe door again, the frame gave
way with a sharp crack.
I won't watch you be torn apart,nikki.
I'm the last it ends with me.
He put the barrel of the gun inhis mouth and pulled the
(20:14):
trigger.
As it pushed into the room,nikki ran to the far wall and
pressed against it.
The creature howled over Ryan'sbody.
Then, sniffing the air, itslowly approached her, mewling
softly.
Ropes of saliva trailed fromits massive jaws, exhaling
(20:34):
sharply its breath.
Like an open grave, it extendeda long gray tongue and licked
her stomach.
She felt the baby kick okay,alex thoughts, feelings whoa.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
I would say this story brings up a lot of
different horrific actions.
The first, I would say, is uhgetting the courage to confront
your, your uh partner of manyyears after they abandoned you.
Yeah, I like that in itself isa whole horror topic.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Yeah, absolutely, and I also love we've talked about
this before but like theinterwovenness of elements of a
story that are so relatable andrealistic and human with
elements of a horror story thatare so of another universe you
know that include monsters andhorrifying things that we don't
(21:30):
know exist, you know?
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Yeah, let me say, when this one ended, I pretty
much shrieked.
I was like no, of course thecycle continues.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, yeah, oh, so good, really good.
I was a really big fan of thisstory.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
Absolutely yeah, and this one also kept me on the
edge of my seat.
I felt like with every newrevelation it really got deeper
and more interesting.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Yeah, absolutely so.
This story was written by JohnAdcock and he has a funny bio
that I'm going to share.
Writing in the third personalways makes the author feel
like he's writing his obituary.
But here goes a lover of altrock, akira, kurosawa, movies
and craft beer.
The author lives in northerncal.
The author lives in northerncalifornia with his wife and two
(22:20):
kids.
His beautiful wife definitelycould do better, but luckily for
him, she hasn't caught on tothat fact yet.
Rage against the machine, theblack keys and the warlocks are
in heavy rotation on spotify forwriting inspiration, which I
love that.
He said that first of all theblack keys and rage against the
machine a billion out of ten.
I haven't listened to thewarlocks, so I will yeah, add
that to the queue please andobviously a big fan of kurosawa
(22:42):
film.
So I love getting a little tasteof kind of what people are into
, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, where it all comes from right.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Yes, absolutely.
As always, we will linkeverything you need to follow
John below and kind of staytuned with his journey.
But, yeah, love that story and,of course, that was narrated by
our dear friend Denali Bartel,who did a really lovely job, as
always.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Absolutely Always good to hear from Denali.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Yeah, and had such a great build to it, just such a
great voice.
I thought it was very, verywell performed, okay.
So, as the cool breeze perhapsgets a little colder off the
ocean, we have one more storyand just one final content
warning of the episode before weget into this one.
It is quite graphic at momentsand alludes to some very
(23:27):
nefarious, horrifying things.
So just, be warned.
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Division of Spoils.
Read by DH Parrish.
Speaker 4 (23:43):
Read by Mike Becerra.
Sydney and I have been bestfriends for years.
We met when their family movedhere, when we were both six, and
for a long time we wereinseparable.
Some of my best memories are ofus sailing.
My dad has always loved sailingand has a small sloop, and so
when the weather allowed, wewould go out with him on the
lake as his crew.
Sometimes we went fishing onthe boat.
(24:05):
There's a picture that I haveframed in my room of us eating
this really large bass.
We somehow managed to catch Ourclothes still grossly stained
with blood from cleaning it.
Mostly we just collectedsunburns in good times.
In the winter we would gosledding together at Jackson
Hill and go back to their housefor hot chocolate and
marshmallows.
And for Halloween we wouldalways go trick-or-treating
(24:26):
together.
We would match our costumesPirates one year.
Doctor and Nurse one year.
Batman and Superman one year.
You get the idea.
The first year we went out byourselves when we were eight, an
older kid ripped Sid's bag as ajoke when we were almost done
for the evening, causing almostall of their stash to fall into
a mud pile and get ruined.
Sid cried, but we went back tomy house, pulled all our candy
(24:48):
and divided it into two equalpiles.
We decided going forward thatwe would always split what we
got, and that is what we alwaysdid.
That way, no one lost out whenone of us got candy corn and the
other got a whole Milky Way.
We would divide our spoils andshare evenly.
It would be completely fair.
United we stood.
Three years ago Sid's familymoved across town.
(25:08):
We still go to the same school,but it is a bit harder to spend
time together and so we havedrifted a little bit apart.
Sid hangs out a bit more withthe cool kids, I keep a bit more
to myself.
We are still good friends.
The first year Sid moved, Iinvited them back to the
neighborhood for Halloween to gotrick-or-treating.
We had a good time, although wedidn't wear matching outfits.
(25:33):
Sid had this goth look, goingon with dark makeup.
That looked really cool.
It would have looked cool evenif it wasn't Halloween.
Well, I was dressed as an evilclown.
We went out for the evening anddivided our candy at the end as
usual, although whenever therewas an odd number of anything,
sid let me have it as if theydidn't care as much about the
candy anymore.
Last year Sid wasn't able tomake it.
They said they had an illness,although they recovered quickly
and were able to come to schoolthe next day, thank goodness.
(25:55):
I had felt bad for Sid notbeing able to go out on
Halloween and made sure that Isplit up the candy I had gotten
and gave Sid half.
They were surprised when Ipresented them the bag at school
, but I wanted to keep ouragreement.
That's what friends do.
This year Sid is coming over.
In fact, they'll be here soon.
Sid wasn't able to get hereearly enough to trick-or-treat.
There was some family eventthey said they had to go to, so
(26:17):
I went out trick-or-treating onmy own.
I dressed up as a zombie.
I still am.
I think I did a really good jobon the makeup and want to show
them.
It's not quite as good as thatgoth look, but it's pretty close
.
I tried to visit as many housesas I could and get as much
candy as I could, so we couldhave a lot to share with each
other.
As I suspected, I was probablythe only one able to go out,
(26:38):
what with Sid's familycommitment.
Families are great, butsometimes they get in the way of
the fun.
Anyway, sid will be here soonand I have a great surprise for
them.
There's a guy at school, jake,who we both have a crush on.
Well, probably everyone has acrush on Jake.
He is so cool and good looking.
He's tall, with dark hair anddark eyes.
He looks quite mysterious andbrooding.
(26:59):
He is on the basketball teamand even drives a motorcycle.
Well, guess what?
Jake is coming too.
Actually, he's here already.
I found him after school todayand got the courage to tell him
that I'm having a get-togetherfor Halloween at my house and
invited him over.
At first he started to say no,very politely of course, as he
is also very polite, but when Itold him that Sid was coming and
(27:20):
that my parents would be outand hinted that I might have
alcohol, he remembered that hewould be able to make it.
In fact, he's here already.
He's got here at six.
It's a good thing he didn'tcome any sooner, or my parents
might have seen him, and then Iwould have had some explaining
to do.
Mom and Dad don't really likefor me to have anyone over on
school nights, since it mightinterfere with my studies.
Jake looked at my makeup andtold me I did a great job and
(27:41):
apologized for not dressing uphimself when I told him that Sid
hadn't arrived yet.
He apologized for coming tooearly and started to leave,
saying that maybe he'd come backlater.
I told him not to worry andthat, as promised, we had beer.
Dad always keeps the fridgestocked and I gave him one.
He sat down in my dad's chair.
Dad would never let that happenif he were here and tried to
(28:06):
drink it like a pro, which hedefinitely isn't.
Boys like Jake think they knowhow to drink, but they don't.
I watched him use as hegrimaced with each sip.
Still, it was cute, just likeJake.
Anyway, I gave him the remoteand I told him he could watch TV
while I got things ready.
He offered to help.
Again, he's so polite, but Itold him he didn't need to.
So he turned on some sportschannel and watched a basketball
game with his beer.
I went and got the shovel I hadset aside for just this moment,
(28:29):
approached him from behind andbrought it down solidly on his
head.
He was out cold.
I tied him up quickly and hedidn't wake up through the whole
process.
As I said, I went outtrick-or-treating.
I was not going to waste thisgreat costume on just two people
.
I got back to find Jake stillin the chair where I tied him up
, although he was strainingagainst the hempen rope that
bound him and the gag I hadshoved into his mouth.
He is not going to get out.
(28:50):
I have spent too much timesailing for him to have any
chance of loosening those knots,no matter how strong he is.
So first things first, I need todivide the candy for Sid and me
.
That will be easy.
The hard part will be dividingJake.
Maybe Sid can have their waywith him before midnight and I
could have him afterwards tilldawn.
Romantic, no, oh, I'm justkidding.
(29:10):
That wouldn't be appropriate.
Now the question is whether tocut Jake in half at the waist or
split him in half verticallyleft and right.
Much as I think the second isprobably fairer, although one of
us would get his heart, I don'tknow if I have the strength to
saw through his skull.
Dad has lots of tools but nopower saw His spine, on the
other hand, shouldn't be toomuch of a problem.
Not much difficult than guttinga fish, I imagine.
(29:32):
Of course I will let Sid decideif they want the top half or
the bottom half.
That is only fair.
I'll divide and she'll choose.
And that is our deal Spliteverything we get on Halloween
equally.
And now that I think about it,I also need to do something with
mom and dad's bodies.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
I'm sure Sid will help me with that.
That's what friends are for,right.
I suppose if I had to pick aunifying theme for these three
stories which I know is not thepoint of this episode it would
be great, surprising endings.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
Oh, totally.
Yes, I was completely caughtoff guard.
Again, again, yes, three forthree, totally.
They fooled us all.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
So this story was written by DH, by dh parish, who
is a physician by day andhorror and speculative fiction
author by night.
He has had stories appear onmultiple horror podcasts,
including scare you to sleepnocturnal transmissions in the
morbid forest, as well as inseveral print horror anthologies
, and we will leave the link todh parish's author page in the
(30:32):
description of this episode soyou can keep an eye out on works
he already has in the ether andnew ones.
Hopefully that will be coming.
I thought this story was great,of course, but I also really
loved the performance by mikemacera, our friend mike macera,
who narrated it, because itstarts and he has the perfect
voice for this.
I feel like it started sosweetly, innocently, and then,
(30:53):
as it evolved, I feel like hisperformance did a really great
job in kind of carrying usthrough to the reveal at the end
.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
If anything, he was very consistent with his timbre.
That maybe made the performancethat much more shocking when,
all of a sudden, we were at theend and all of us all these
horrible things were happeninghorrible, things horrible.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
And these middle school kids are just oh yeah,
like they used to be.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
No, no, not like when we were growing up no, I would
have never cut someone in halffor one of my friends look, I'm
an advocate for halloween allyear long also, so I'm very glad
to get a little taste ofHalloween during the spring.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Yes, we have to live for something.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
Yes, that's very true .
Speaker 1 (31:40):
There has to be something out there for us.
Well, another successfulCampfire Tales episode.
I would say I again just thankyou to all of the writers and
narrators who help keep thisseries and this podcast going,
because we very much rely onyour very, very talented skills
and everyone is quite generousand allows us to use and feature
(32:00):
their work and their voices.
And, just again, I really lovethe sense of community.
And if you are a writer or anarrator but if you're a writer,
head to lunaticsprojectcom,click on submit.
There you will find the list oftopics and stories, types of
stories that we're looking forand accepting currently, as well
as a link to a form where youcould submit your stories to us
directly.
We're no longer acceptingsubmissions via email, um, but
(32:24):
so we kind of try to keep thingsa little bit more organized now
, uh, in the form.
But thank you all so much forlistening and, alex, thank you
for being part of this series.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
Oh, thank you for having me again.
This was so fun.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
Of course.
Okay, everyone.
Well, thank you so much forlistening.
I hope you're staying safe andstaying spooky, and we'll talk
to you soon.
Bye.
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