PlayStories To Keep You Up At Night brings you fantastic dark fiction every week: ghosts, vampires, the living dead, Eldritch abominations, weird stuff nobody can explain, even some good old-fashioned murder. Whatever dark, bent, or twisted tale you’re in the mood for, you can find it here.
Curated from among the 21st century’s finest writers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, from all over the world, Stories To Keep You Up At Night explores the human condition in ways that will keep your mind racing long into the night. Travel from small-town Pennsylvania to the court of an Indian raja, from dank European dungeons to haunted African deserts, from forgotten pasts to terrifying futures—and be ready to sleep with the lights on…if you can sleep at all.
Hosted by Marco Palmieri and Diana M Pho.
Heard Stories To Keep You Up At Night on Realm yet? Join me: https://realmfm.page.link/rJyNT2vbnojvPPVd8
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1. Haunted Houses . . . and Other Dwellings
Home is where the horror is. Welcome and come in for Tananarive Due’s “Caretaker,” read by David Sadzin; and A. C. Wise’s “How To Host a Haunted House Murder Mystery Party,” read by Caitlin Kelly
2. Ken Liu + George Takei Special
Two science fiction superstars, together for the first time! Star Trek’s George Takei reads two amazing stories by the incomparable Ken Liu: “Saboteur” and “Summer Reading”
3. Other People
Relish the mystery of Mimi Mondal’s dark fantasy whodunit set in a bar in India, as narrated by Soneela Nankani
4. With a Golden Risha, Part 1
P. Djeli Clark’s epic adventure of anarchist airship pirates is so big, it needed two episodes, narrated by Walles Hamonde
5. With a Golden Risha, Part 2
Let Walles Hamonde’s voice take you back to P. Djeli Clark’s astonishing vision of the ancient Near East, and the search for a mythical city of riches
6. Monstrous Folklore
Some monsters come from outside; others from within. Savor Victor LaValle’s Iceland encounter, “I Left My Heart in Skaftafell,” read by Ryan Vincent Anderson; and Joyce Chng’s tale of lupine hunger on a college campus in “The Thing You Feed,” read by Christina Ho.
7. Pestilence and Plague
Inspiration can come from anywhere, even a global pandemic; Catherynne M. Valente’s “A Perfect Host” is voiced by Leon Nixon; while Tananarive Due’s “Shopping Day” and Usman T. Malik’s “Lady Cataract Comes to the Mosque” are narrated by Natalie Naudus
8. Future Imperfect
Dark visions of days yet to come, as imagined by Chinelo Onwualu in “Read Before Use,” read by Shayna Small; and E. Lily Yu’s “Local Stop on the Floating Train,” read by Cristina Milizia
9. No Flight without the Shatter
Get swept away by Brooke Bolander’s haunting meditation on the wisdom of animals and the end of the world in “No Flight Without the Shatter,” as read by Gail Shalan
10. Monsters from Beyond
Two chilling tales that’ll make you latch your windows and lock your doors: Max Gladstone’s Lovecraftian “Crispin’s Model,” as voiced by Robin Ray Eller; and Jeffrey Ford’s unsettling “The Angel Seems,” as told by Kitty Hendrix
11. The Queen’s Garden
Follow Kate Elliot into “The Queen’s Garden,” a world of court intrigue and subtle humor, where two princesses join together to save their kingdom from their corrupt father, narrated by Rachel Fulginiti.
12. Strange Encounters
Odd meetings make for odder conversations. Listen in on Marie Brennan’s “Nine Sketches in Charcoal and Blood,” read by Walles Hammonde; and Brian Staveley’s “The Log Goblin,” read by Neil Hellegers.
13. Breaking Water
The dead are rising in Kolkata. Indrapramit Das gives us his unique take on zombies with “Breaking Water,” voiced by Deepti Gupta and Vikas Adam.
14. The Infernal History of the Ivybridge Twins, Part 1
Join us as we welcome the two new arrivals to the unsavory and decadent Calipash family.
15. The Infernal History of the Ivybridge Twins, Part 2
Let Ana Clements’ voice carry you back to the ancestral home of the Lords Calipash
16. Before the World Crumbles Away
A. T. Greenblatt reminds us that, even at the end of everything, what matters most is love. Narrated by Erin Bennett.
17. Dark and Disturbing
You’ll want to keep the lights on for these stories: Thoraiya Dyer’s “Bahamut,” read by Chanté McComick; and Nisi Shawl’s “Cruel Sistah,” read by Robin Ray Eller.
18. It's Machine Code
Curtis C. Chen shows us it’s slippery slope when a cop is more interested in crime than in criminals, narrated by Nicol Zanzarella.
19. Migration Suite: A Study in C-Sharp Minor
Maurice Broaddus’s lyrical meditation on the ongoing journey of the African people, voiced by Eboni Flowers.
20. Fire in the Haze
Mishell Baker weaves a tangled web of gender roles, and irreconcilable yet enduring love, read by James Meunier.
21. Weird Western Vibes
In perilous times, two women do what they must to survive. Nicole Givens Kurtz’s “The Wicked Wild” is read by Shayna Small; Malka Older’s “The Slow Steed and the Fast” is read by Natalie Naudus.
22. The Future of Hunger in the Age of Programmable Matter
Sam Miller shows us a future when anything is possible—for better or worse, voiced by Matt Godfrey.
23. A Key to the Illuminated Heretic, Part 1
What if Joan of Arc had not been burned at the stake? A.M. Dellamonica dares to imagine it, read by Shiromi Arserio and Matt Godfrey.
24. A Key to the Illuminated Heretic, Part 2
Follow the voices of Shiromi Arserio and Matt Godfrey back to A. M. Dellamonica’s fascinating alternate history of Joan of Arc.
25. White Lines on a Green Field
The Coyote myth meets high school football in Catherynne M. Valente’s contemporary folktale, narrated by Lisa Flanagan.
26. Strange Horror
Something weird and wicked this way comes: Marie Brennan’s “What Still Abides” is read by Walles Hammonde; and Jeffrey Ford’s “86 Deathdick Road” is read by Steven Jay Cohen.
27. The Synchronist
The tale of a father, a daughter, and a twist in time, written by Fran Wilde and voiced by Nicol Zanzarella.
28. Microbiota and the Masses
A woman protected from deadly pathogens risks everything for love, in a story by S. B.Divya, narrated by Deepti Gupta.
29. When a Kaiju Falls in Love
A story of civil unrest and civilization-destroying monsters, written by Zin E. Rocklyn and voiced by Keylor Leigh.
30. Uplifting Fantasy
Two tales to lift your spirits: Kate Elliott’s “Making the World Live Again,” read by Rachel Fulginiti; and Karen Lord’s “Cities of the Sun,” read by Robin Miles.
31. Only Unclench Your Hand
A young woman’s fateful encounter with Filipino folk magic, written by Isabel Yap and narrated by Sara Siu.
32. A Human Stain, Part 1
Welcome to Schloss Meresee, where Kelly Robson’s delightfully disturbing, Nebula Award-winning gothic novelette unfolds, as told by Shiromi Arserio.
33. A Human Stain, Part 2
Let narrator Shiromi Arserio guide you back to the creepy goings-on in Schloss Meresee, and Kelly Robson’s eerie, Nebula Award-winning tale of Old World family secrets.
34. Interesting Family Dynamics
Weird stuff happens when the world falls apart: Steven Barnes’ “#WeFlu” is read by Leon Nixon; and Chinelo Onwualu’s “What the Dead Man Said” is narrated by Jennifer Kanari.
35. The Paladin of Golota
Two souls meet on a field of death, and strike a bargain
36. His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light
Writer Mimi Mondal and narrator Vikas Adam remind us that all actions have consequences, even acts of compassion.
37. The Muses of Shuyedan-18
Indrapramit Das’s wildly imaginative and hauntingly erotic exploration of an alien world, narrated by Deepti Gupta.
38. Horror with Humor
Dark, twisted, and funny: Jeffrey Ford’s “The Blameless” is narrated by Steven Jay Cohen; and Brian Keene’s “Not Alone” is read by Leon Nixon.
39. No One Dies in Nowhere, Part 1
Let Catherynne M. Valente show how one goes about solving a murder in the afterlife, narrated by Neil Hellgers and Robin Miles.
40. No One Dies in Nowhere, Part 2
Follow the voices of Neil Hellgers and Robin Miles back to the afterlife and Catherynne M. Valente’s surprising solution to an impossible murder.
41. Robotics
The themes may be mechanical, but the stories are deeply human: A. T. Greenblatt’s “Heavy Lifting” is read by Erin Bennett; and Kelly Robson’s “Monkey Work” is read by Leon Nixon.
42. Ishq
They whispered: Parveen is in love with the shakarkandi vendor. A ghost story set amidst rising floodwaters in Old Lahore.
43. A Kiss With Teeth
Domestic life isn’t always easy. Vlad has grown distant from his wife, their son is struggling in school, and, as he gets to know his son’s teacher, it’s becoming very difficult to hide his teeth.
44. Belly Speaker
A young Black woman traveling with a Wild West circus uses her supernatural connection to a magical doll to free herself from the control of white men.
45. In the Future When All’s Well
These days, pretty much anything will turn you into a vampire.
46. In the Ruins of Mohenjo-Daro, Part 1
Stranded by the Taliban in the ruins of a pre-Islamic city, a woman chaperoning a school trip faces ancient horrors as boys go missing and the fog rolls in.
47. In the Ruins of Mohenjo-Daro, Part 2
Part 2 - Stranded by the Taliban in the ruins of a pre-Islamic city, a woman chaperoning a school trip faces ancient horrors as boys go missing and the fog rolls in.
48. A Cup of Salt Tears
A woman, tormented by her husband’s impending death, is visited by a kappa.
49. A Spotted Trouble at Dolor-on-the-Downs
Wherein an illustrious butler is dispatched to aid the 27th Lord Calipash and his sister, with regard to an unusual cephalopod.
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