The City of Phantoms

**"The City of Phantoms"** is a radio play by J.P. Leck and is the thirty-third installment (thirtieth, chronologically) in his Endless Elsewhere multimedia meta-narrative. It is the eleventh Endless Elsewhere radio play. It was announced on social media on Saturday, September 21, 2019. It is scheduled for release on Thursday, October 31, 2019.

## Synopsis

On Halloween night, the new host of *Circle City Supernatural* - Lindsay Mallyn - opens the airwaves for an all call-in episode of the show, which attracts various stories of strange creatures that are currently inflicting Circle City. In the midst of it all, Mallyn decides to uncover the mystery of the Circle City Collector, who might be able to help explain some of the general weirdness that pervades their 'burg.

Meanwhile, the members of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency discuss the ramifications and reasons behind the sudden influx of creatures around town.

### Post-Credits

Keith Sorrels turns off the radio, leading to a discussion with the other members of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency. The team discusses the influx of monsters, prompting Carolyn Pelfrey to draw comparisons between the monsters on the radio and the ones in Leck's books. The team surmises these monstrous additions to Circle City are a result of Clarence Grindle's arrival, prompting Dr. Hardesty to admit that he had told Keith to give Grindle's painting to Leck in order to lure the villain to him.

## Characters

* **Lindsay Mallyn** - the new host of *Circle City Supernatural* after the retirement of Ray Kadera.
	+ *Lindsay Mallyn is voiced by **Lindsay Leck**.*
* **Farmer Phil** - an aquaculturist who has a startling encounter on the water
	+ *Phil is voiced by **Dennis Hanley**.*
* **Martha** - a rambling caller who came upon a forked-tongued crow
* **Tomas** - an hysterical Hispanic caller who spied a giant snake in the midst of a storm
	+ *Tomas is voiced by **Emmanuel Aguirre**.*
* **Sylvia Flores** - the producer of *Circle City Supernatural* who is fluent in Spanish and well-versed in the works of J.P. Leck
	+ *Sylvia is voiced by **Patty Esparza**.*
* **Chad** - a gas station attendant forced to abandon his post after a creature burrows below his station.
	+ *Chad is voiced by **Jack Draga**.*
* **Dr. Bingwen Jiao** - a physicist who witnessed a "transcendental bijection of space."
	+ *Jiao is voiced by **Alex Shen**.*
* **Charlotte** - an EMT whose partner was killed by a mysterious parasitic creature
* **Carolyn Pelfrey** - the lead researcher and occult expert of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency
	+ *Carolyn is voiced by **Julia Leslie**.*
* **Ryan Tolliver** - the latest addition to The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency
	+ *Tolliver is voiced by **Tucker**.*
* **Dr. Frederick Hardesty** - the official mascot/secretary of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency
	+ *Hardesty is voiced by **Stephen E. Foxworthy**.*
* **Keith Sorrels** - the head of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency
	+ *Keith is voiced by **Stephen E. Foxworthy**.*

### Referenced Characters

* **Ray Kadera** - the former host of *Circle City Supernatural*, currently enjoying a well-deserved retirement
* **Edwin Lydell Pendergast** - the master of automatics is mentioned by Dr. Jiao during his call to *Circle City Supernatural*
* **The** **Collector** - the now-disgraced 'author' of various infamous texts circulating through Circle City
* **Clarence Grindle** - a traveler of space and time currently on the lookout for his painting
* **Violet** - the former book-bearer, now fighting monsters freelance abroad

## References

"The City of Phantoms" contains references to the following Endless Elsewhere stories:

* *The Merely Mortal*
	+ The various creatures witnessed by the callers to *Circle City Supernatural* were all first seen by Bertram and his team in The Land of Phantoms.
* *The Strangely Undying*
	+ Pendergast and his orb are both mentioned at various times throughout the play.
* *The Tremendously Endless*
	+ Both Clarence Grindle and his painting are mentioned in the post-credits epilogue.
* "The Necromancer"
	+ Hardesty reveals here why he had Sorrels give Grindle's painting to the Collector.
* *The Endless Elsewhere vol. 1*
	+ Sylvia explains the events of the Collector's epilogue to his collection of short fictions to Lindsay.
* Unknown entries
	+ It is unknown at this time how the members of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency know about Clarence Grindle or how they came into possession of his painting.
	+ Violet's mission after her appearance in "The Non-Man" and how she managed to save the members of The Unclosing Eye Detective Agency have yet to be explained.