Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny is a novella published in 1967. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic Southern California, thirty years after a nuclear war has devastated the United States. The world is buffeted with hurricane-force winds above 500 ft. preventing air travel, and unpredictable "garbage storms" combined with giant, mutated animals and insects making surface travel extremely dangerous. "Hell" Tanner, is an imprisoned member of the Hells Angels, a convicted killer and thief, who is offered a full pardon for his crimes in exchange for undertaking a suicide mission: driving a convoy of three heavily armed vehicles through "Damnation Alley," a radiation-free passage across the ruined continent to Boston. The mission is to deliver a desperately needed plague vaccine to survivors.
A film adaptation by the same name was released in 1977. The story inspired the 2011 Lonesome Road downloadable content for Fallout: New Vegas, and the original Fallout game drew from its premise. The story also inspired the The Cursed Earth arc in 2000 AD magazine, the album Quark, Strangeness and Charm by Hawkwind, and the novel Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams.
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The Racer is a 1956 short story written by Ib Melchior. The story was first published in the magazine Escapade in October 1956. It presents a dystopian vision in which five race drivers compete in a transcontinental race where the winner is determined by a combination of finishing position and the number of pedestrians they kill, earning points for each casualty. The narrative follows Willie "The Bull" Connors, a racer whose confidence wavers as he becomes increasingly haunted by the lives he takes, ultimately leading to a moral reckoning when confronted by a young woman who challenges his identity as a "racer".
The story served as the basis for two major film adaptations: Death Race 2000 (1975), starring David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone; and Death Race (2008), starring Jason Statham. The 2008 version was a remake based on the screenplay of the 1975 film. Melchior also claimed to have originated the ideas for both Lost in Space and Star Trek, though these were later developed by Irwin Allen and Gene Roddenberry, respectively. 
The Illustrated Man is a titular short story written by Ray Bradbury which framed the narrative for the book of the same title with a collection of 18 science fiction stories. It appeared in Esquire magazine in 1950, introducing the concept of the magically tattooed man whose pictures come alive, and in some cases foretell the future.
Herbert West - Reanimator is a horror story by H. P. Lovecraft first serialized in the magazine Home Brew in 1922. The story introduces Herbert West, a brilliant but amoral and narcissistic medical student at the fictional Miskatonic University in Arkham, who becomes obsessed with the idea of reanimating the dead through a chemical reagent. West's theories, which view life as a purely mechanical process, lead him to conduct secret experiments on fresh human corpses, eventually resulting in the creation of violent, animalistic reanimated beings.
The narrative is told from the perspective of West's former friend and assistant, who recounts their time at medical school, their clandestine work in an abandoned farmhouse, and the increasingly horrific consequences of West's experiments. The story served as the basis for the 1985 horror film Re-Animator, directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West. Combs reprised the role in two sequels, Bride of Re-Animator (1990) and Beyond Re-Animator (2003), cementing the character as one of cinema's greatest mad scientists. 
Smokie Joe is a short horror story by David Drake. The story is known for its disturbing content and is not suitable for the squeamish. It centers on a character named Smokie Joe, who operates a drug ring and engages in a chilling conversation with a dying man, revealing the deadly nature of the drugs he sells.
Awakening is a short story by David Drake, which speculates on the limits of denial, and on the bad outcomes of wishing things were different then what they are. 
The Empire of the Ants is a 1905 short story by H. G. Wells. It follows Captain Gerilleau, a Creole naval officer, who is dispatched to the Amazon basin in South America to investigate reports of a plague of unusually intelligent and aggressive ants destroying a colony. Accompanying him is Holroyd, a Lancashire engineer, who initially views the mission as absurd, questioning what one can do against ants. As the crew travels up the river, they encounter increasing evidence of the ants' intelligence and organized behavior, including reports of a man being killed by a swarm after returning to his home, which the ants had seemingly vacated. It inspired the 1977 science fiction horror film of the same name.
Eight O'Clock in the Morning is a science fiction short story written by American author Ray Faraday Nelson, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. The story follows George Nada, a man who, after attending a hypnotist's show, "awakes all the way" while others remain in a trance. He becomes the sole human to perceive the true nature of reality, seeing reptilian aliens referred to as the "Fascinators" or "Reptilians" which are —hidden beneath human skin. These aliens secretly control society by broadcasting subliminal messages through signs and television, which only George can now see and resist. George realizes that he is the only one aware of the deception. The story served as the basis for John Carpenter's 1988 science fiction action film They Live, which starred Roddy Piper in the lead role. 
The Lord of the Dead, is set in the 1930s and follows Steve Harrison, a hard-boiled detective who becomes entangled in a criminal conspiracy involving Erlik Khan, the primary antagonist and self-proclaimed "Lord of the Dead". Erlik Khan seeks to unite secret societies of the East under his rule using ancient magic and manipulation. The narrative incorporates elements of supernatural intrigue, reincarnation, and ancient vendettas, with Harrison being pursued by Amir Amin Izzedin, who believes Harrison is the reincarnation of a man who wronged him in a past life. The story also involves Joan La Tour, Ali ibn Suleyman (a Druse warrior caught in a cycle of reincarnation), and other figures drawn into the conflict.
Out of the sea she came, this gloriously beautiful woman, to compass a weird revenge that had been too long delayed—a sage of Heldra the lovely, Heldra the wicked. The Sea-Witch is a short story by American writer Nictzin Dyalhis, first published in 1937 in the pulp magazine Weird Tales. The story is set on the North Atlantic coast, where the narrator encounters Heldra after a violent storm, describing her as a gloriously beautiful yet enigmatic figure who speaks of Norse mythology, such as the sea god Ran.
A humorous fantasy story about what happens when the line between present reality and another place some call fantasy blurs.
There are cautionary tales about certain places, that without rhyme or reason should not be disturbed, but greed is known to make a person deaf to the whisper that warns you that danger is close.
 "Something Had to Be Done" is a short story by David Drake. The tale is recognized for its gritty realism and its exploration of the psychological impact of violence.
"The Cookie Lady" is a horror short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It is a story of terror, chilling and memorable. It tells of a chubby teenager boy called “Bubber” who visits the kindly old neighborhood lady who bakes him cookies. But what Bubber does not not know is that the cookie lady has an agenda, the cookie lady is not as kindly as she seems.  An alternate history where vampires have taken over, in Europe at least, and are the aristocracy. The emergence of science and technology, in the guise of a microscope, has given these vampires a reason to fear the humans they have come to dominate. Like any form of tyranny there will be those who accept it, and there will also be those who rebel.
Author - Brian M. Stableford 
The Bat is My Brother is a short story by Robert Bloch, first published in the November 1944 issue of Weird Tales. The story, Graham Keene, who awakens to find himself buried alive in a pauper's grave and discovers he has become a vampire due to a recent attack. The story is recognized as one of Bloch's significant contributions to the horror genre, which also includes his famous novel Psycho.
The Repairer of Reputations is the first story in Chambers' collection of The King in Yellow and which contains the motif of the Yellow Sign. It is about a man, Hildred, and takes place in New York City in the 1920's. He keeps company with a deformed man known as Mr. Wilde, which it's inferred is the author of King in Yellow, and is known as the Repairer of Reputations. This means that people tell him ways in which their reputations have been damaged, and he, for a price, repairs their standing. In this position he hires many people to help him. According to him, he is in communication with 10,000 men, and that he could overthrow the country within 48 hours, which he plans to do.
What if an extraterrestrial could take over your mind? Is it real, or your descent into madness?
PRNDLL by Robert F. Young 
"It sat alone, might and shaggy on the hilltop, and the warm breeze swayed it. For four billion years, step by step, it had been aborning. Now it was finished, complete." It is into this world that a colony of humans escaping a nuclear-blasted Earth land, and realize this idyllic setting is in reality hell.
The Ghost of Two Forks by Elmer Kelton: "A railroad was often a blessing to early Texas towns, but it could as easily be a curse. But other towns, once prosperous, withered and died because the Eastern money counters and the surveyors favored a route that bypassed them. Such a town was Two Forks, for years a county seat." What happens to a town when all the living leave?
The Defense of Sentinel by Louise L' Amour: "No sound…. No movement. No rattling of well buckets, no cackling of hens, no slamming of doors. Sentinel was a town of silence." An abandoned town, except for one person. 
"The realization he’d been in this canyon before hit him like being kicked by a mule. If he remembered right, it was about twenty years before." There are some memories you can never forget or outrun.
 What predator could claim as prey a fully-grown, great white shark? There is only one that comes to mind, but you see it's supposed to be extinct.
 Ghosts of Duster | Old West Mystery Story | Podcast Two Texan saddle tramps come upon a ghost town, that at first glance seems deserted, but turns out it's not.
STORIES:
"The House of the Nightmare" is a short story by Edward Lucas White, originally published in 1906. The narrative follows a man who, after crashing his car, seeks shelter in a peculiar house for the night. The story is known for its eerie atmosphere. Edward Lucas White (1866-1934) was an American writer and poet, best remembered for his fantasy horror stories inspired by his nightmares. He authored several historical novels but is particularly noted for his supernatural tales, including "The House of the Nightmare" and "Lukundoo". The Elemental is a short story by Frank Belknap Long, included in his collection "The Early Long". Long was a prolific American writer known for his contributions to horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and gothic romance. His writing career spanned seven decades, and he is particularly noted for his early contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos alongside his friend H. P. Lovecraft 
Two exotic strangers capture the admiration and curiosity of New York elites, each for their own reason. One is a brilliant conductor with a tail, and the other a beautiful member of a foreign royal family. But jealousy is not called the green-eyed monster for no reason.
First published in 1934, the story tells the tale of a scientist who conducts an experiment that brings dragons back to the modern world, leading to the destruction of humanity. Written by Guy Endore, who is best known for his novel "The Werewolf of Paris" (1933).
 STORIES:
A Most Unusual Murder by Robert Bloch This is a short story by Robert Bloch written in 1961. The story combines elements of Jack the Ripper with time travel, featuring a mysterious antique shop that serves as a gateway to different periods where the Ripper's presence can be felt. The Haunted Chair by Stephen F. Wilcox What could keep a ghost tied to its favorite chair, familiarity or something nefarious? |
Nightshade Diary Podcast MP3 Files
MarleneFrom the pages of Nightshade Diary come the haunting and hair-raising tales of ghosts, murder and mayhem. Who's hiding in the closet? What's under the bed? You'll be asking yourself these questions after you listen to these creepalicious tales that'll have you leaving the lights on when you go to sleep. Sources & Credits
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