Nightshade Diary Podcast Series

Podcasts of classic stories of horror, mystery, science fiction and adventures, reminiscent of the pulp fiction magazine era which birthed the best writers in these genres
Narrated by M.P. Pellicer

Nightshade Diary Archives Can Be Found at Spreaker

A shunned house, the abode of a murderer, even the skeptical can become victims of evil when they dismiss everything as superstition. Once more the epic struggle between the Elder Gods and the Ancient Ones was having repercussions on one of earth's seemingly most peaceful valleys.

Selling your soul is easy enough, it's when the time comes to honor your end of the deal that things get dicey. "The Sandwin Compact" is a novelette written by August Derleth, first published in Weird Tales in November 1940. The story is narrated by Dave, who spends summers at his uncle Asa's house. Uncle Asa exhibits unusual behavior, such as responding oddly to the call of a sea-bird, which Eldon reveals was not a bird at all but something else communicating with Asa. Dave experiences strange dreams and finds the house smelling of fish and with phantom footsteps and vocal sounds. Upon investigating, they find Uncle Asa arguing with something that croaks in an unknown language and the room dripping and wet, leading to Uncle Asa's confession that the Sandwin family has been selling off its oldest sons to Cthulhuoid hordes for generations to maintain their wealth.

Evil beings from a distant dimension use the most unusual items to punch a hole into our reality. "Something in Wood" is a short story by August Derleth that was first published in the March 1948 issue of Weird Tales. The story revolves around Jason Wecter, an art critic and collector of weird and macabre artwork, who wishes to obtain a wooden bas-relief that would complement his collection. His friend Pinckney finds a dark and heavy wooden sculpture of an octopoid creature in a second-hand shop in Portland, Maine, and purchases it as a gift for Wecter. The inscription on the base of the sculpture is in an unidentified language and reads: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn".

Spooky neighbors, weird-acting birds in a remote setting, sounds like a horror story to me. The story The Whippoorwills in the Hills by August Derleth is a horror short story first published in the September 1948 issue of Weird Tales. It is set in the Cthulhu Mythos and draws elements from several H. P. Lovecraft stories. The story follows Dan Harrop, who takes possession of a country house in the vicinity of Arkham and Aylesbury, which used to belong to his cousin, Abel Harrop, who disappeared a few weeks before. The story is set in a rural New England where people speak an archaic diction.

Some knowledge is forbidden and with good reason, and for some the very fact it's forbidden is a lure that cannot be denied. The Mask of Cthulhu is a collection of short stories by August Derleth, first published in 1958. It is part of the Cthulhu Mythos and expands on the themes and characters introduced by H.P. Lovecraft.

"Something from Out There" is a short Cthulhu Mythos story by August Derleth. The story involves rural English doctor William Currie, who investigates a man named Malvern who is in a state of madness, clutching a star-shaped stone acquired at a ruined priory.

---

---

Listen on Spreaker