recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
"Happy Childhood"

**"Happy Childhood"** is the second tale the fifteenth episode of the fifth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a girl tries to sneak and watch TV. Written by Maggie Webster, it has a runtime of 11:23 and was performed by Nichole Goodnight and David Cummings. It is the 567th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Ten-year-old Maggie is spoiled by her rich parents. She lives in a lavish house and is given everything she asks for. She especially enjoys the "father/daughter walks" her father takes her on, where they will go to the park. The only thing her parents disallow her to do is watch television on the large screen in their living room. Except for special occasions when her mother will put on a VHS, the TV is locked with a password. This makes her unhappy, as her friends constantly talk about cartoons they have watched on cable.

Maggie has a dog, Rosco, whom her father presented her with. One afternoon, her mother has to work after school and a family friend drives her home. Alone in the house, she checks the answering machine and finds a message from her father to her mother, explaining that the TV password expired and he set a new one.

Deciding to snoop and watch television, she enters the number but finds the same thing on every channel: footage of crying women tied to posts in concrete cells. She thinks this must be some kind of cop show her mother told her that her and her father watch, as she can sometimes hear crying and screams from downstairs while she lies in bed.

One woman manages to grab the attention of Rosco, who begins barking at the screen. The woman stares at the camera and pleads to be let free. Maggie recognizes her as a woman her and her father met on one of their walks a few months previously, who had a dog that looked exactly like Rosco.

Maggie hears her mother come home and turns off the TV, happy that she knows an actress from the show with its logo in the lower righthand corner, "Closed Circuit Television".

## Cast

Nichole Goodnight as Maggie

David Cummings as Maggie's father
"My Town is Being Infested by Strange Bees"

Illustration by Mark Pelham

**"My Town is Being Infested by Strange Bees"** is the first tale in the sixteenth episode of the eleventh season of The Nosleep Podcast. Written by René Rehn, it has a runtime of 11:05 and was ready by Matthew Bradford. It is the 1367th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man shares the story of some strange bees that have been appearing around his town. They are double the sizes of wasps and yellowjackets and seem to attack with malice rather than just if they're being ignored. Bug spray becomes common and everyone carries a can with them wherever they go. Bites and stings happen practically every time anyone goes outside. The town is briefly thrown into a panic when the body of a woman that was stung to death by the bees is found in the woods.

The man notices he hasn't heard from his friend, Robert, in a few days. He calls his girlfriend, who tells him she hasn't heard from him either. Going to Robert's house, he sees him just arriving home. Robert seems spacey and doesn't respond to any of the man's questions. He suddenly becomes aware of a loud buzzing noise coming from somewhere in the house, but can't find the source.

Suddenly, Robert's mouth opens and hundreds of bees spill out, attacking the man. He kills some of them with the spray. Every time a bee is killed, Robert shrieks. He goes to attack the man, but falls over. The insects continue to spill out of every orifice in his body while the man escapes the house and calls the police, who arrive and kill all the bees.

After an investigation, the police reveal Robert had been dead for a day or two before the man met him at his house. His body and brain are filled with chewed-up tunnels. The man is chilled by the fact that the bees somehow controlled his body after they killed him. He wonders if they were using Robert as a hive to bring themselves closer to the center of town.
TSA Officer

**TSA Officer** works at San Jose Airport. He once had Dr. Shaun Murphy detained after he took a knife and ran away, not knowing that he was trying to save someone's life.

## Biography

### Season 1

At the San Jose Airport, Dr. Shaun Murphy witnessed an accident; an airport sign broke and glass shards rained all over a young boy, Adam, who was travelling with his parents Bonnie and Carl. In order to save Adam's life, Shaun needed to perform an emergency medical procedure, for which he needed a knife, alcohol and other supplies.

He approached a security checkpoint and headed for a large bin. He was suddenly stopped by an unnamed TSA Officer, who told him that he couldn't be back here. Shaun told him that he needed a knife. The officer sarcastically replied "sure", "anything else?". After Shaun realized that the officer wasn't going to give him what he needed, he quickly grabbed the knife he thought was the sharpest, and started to run away. Since he isn't a good runner, Shaun was tackled hard to the ground by two TSA Officers. The officer quickly ran up to them, called Shaun an idiot and told him that he was lucky they didn't shoot him. At that moment, Bonnie interfered and told the officers that Shaun was trying to save her son's life. The TSA personnel looked to each other - this wasn't the type of situation they were taught; they let him go.

## References

1. ↑ "Burnt Food": Season 1. Episode 1. David Shore (writer) & Seth Gordon (director). [September 25, 2017].
"Pork n' Stuff"

**"Pork n' Stuff"** is the third tale in the nineteenth episode of the thirteenth season of The Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman becomes a frequent patron at a sinister restaurant. Written by Charlotte Ledville, it has a runtime of 17:52 and was performed by Addison Peacock, Sarah Ruth Thomas, David Cummings, and Kyle Akers. It is the 1652nd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A woman moves back to her hometown after a messy divorce and decides to go around and look at the new shops. She arrives at a small restaurant named "Pork n' Stuff". The woman is greeted by the overly friendly cashier, who insists on her trying on the free samples. She tries one of the sandwiches and finds it delectable. Most of the items on the menu are pork-themed. The woman visits the restaurant numerous times over the next few months.

On Halloween, the woman and her friends attend a wild party and get drunk. They decide they're hungry and stumble into town to grab food. The woman heads into Pork n' Stuff while her friends go to a coffee shop down the street. When she enters, she sees a man in a pig mask disappear into a back room behind the counter.

The cashier appears and takes her order before heading into the back room as well. The woman waits for several minutes but hears nothing coming from the door. A group of teenage boys enter. After several impatient minutes, they leave.

Fifteen minutes later, the woman decides to enter the back room to see what the problem is. She hears a strange, growling voice conversing with the cashier. The cashier says they have enough meat, to which the voice replies that they're almost done. The woman peeks into the room and sees the man from earlier with a knife, cutting chunks out of his flesh and placing them onto a pan. She realizes the pig face isn't a mask at all but rather his own head. He notices her and asks her to wait apologetically.

The woman flees the restaurant screaming and runs into her friends, who take her home and dismiss the whole episode as a drunken hallucination. The storefront is vacant the next time she visits, replaced with a cell-phone repair shop months later. The woman often wonders about the cashier and the pigman and hopes they are doing well.

## Cast

Addison Peacock as the woman

Sarah Ruth Thomas as the cashier

David Cummings as the pigman

Kyle Akers as the teenage boy
"The Baby Monitor"

**"The Baby Monitor"** is the fourth tale in the seventh episode of the eleventh season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man installs a baby monitor in his daughter's grave. Written by E.Z. Morgan, it has a runtime of 8:25 and was performed by Mick Wingert, Nichole Goodnight, and Erika Sanderson. It is the 1325th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man and his wife, Kelsey, finally conceive after ten years of trying. They have a baby daughter and name it Faith. However, after just a week of being alive, she suddenly dies one morning. The couple go into catatonic states as they plan the funeral and bury her, destroyed by the death.

On the night after the funeral, the man sees Kelsey setting up the baby monitor like their daughter is still alive. He tries to tell her to put it away, but is shocked to hear noises coming through it. She tells him she put a baby monitor with Faith. Without thinking, he rushes to the cemetery and digs up his daughter's grave only to find her dead body. Someone calls the cops on him and he is sent home after being warned to never desecrate the site again.

The man comes back in and accuses Kelsey of lying. More sounds come from the baby monitor. She leads him into Faith's room where a large, insectoid-like creature is clutched in her arms. It says a few garbled words in a screeching voice before biting on Kelsey's breast, causing blood to flow. The man strokes the creature's head and declares it beautiful.

## Cast

Mick Wingert as the man

Nichole Goodnight as Kelsey

Erika Sanderson as the creature
"Grandpa's Second Voice"

**"Grandpa's Second Voice"** is the first tale in the eighteenth episode of the third season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a boy recalls his grandfather's strange affliction. Written by Paige Penfold, it has a runtime of 5:15 and was performed by David Cummings. It is the 286th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy is fond of watching "medical marvel" shows with his grandfather Al. These shows feature anomalies like six-legged cows or skinless babies. Al always jokes that he should be on one of those shows, as he has a "second voice" that speaks under his own. Whenever he talks, another quieter, more scratchy voice says the same thing at the same time. Al never goes to the doctor to get his affliction figured out, as he went all the time as a child and nothing was ever found. The boy gets to calling the second voice "Ed".

Al dies a few years later. During his autopsy, it is revealed that when he was in his mother's womb, he absorbed a twin egg that grew to a small size in his belly. The mouth of the vestigial twin was attached to his own esophagus. "Ed" apparently survives and still talks for a few days after Al's death before expiring.
"The Clown in the Church"

**"The Clown in the Church"** is the second tale in the eleventh episode the thirteenth season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a boy is disturbed by a clown doll in an abandoned church. Written by Scott Newman, it has a runtime of 16:22 and was performed by Jeff Clement, Graham Rowat, and Erin Lillis. It is the 1603rd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy, Mark, moves into a new house with his mother and his brother, Steve. An abandoned church lies across the street. Mark sees a grotesque clown animatronic with a sign with the words "HUG ME" written on it hanging around its neck through one of the windows. Steve teases him over his fear of the clown, but his mother tells him to quit it.

The next day, after he returns home from school, he sees the clown in a different window than before. Mark is freaked out, but tries to ignore it. When he gets on the bus the next morning it's a different window as well. He yells at Steve for moving the clown to scare him, but Steve denies moving it. A few days pass and the clown doesn't move at all.

That afternoon, while getting off the bus, he notices that the clown hasn't moved, but instead has grown taller and looks more monstrous. He decides to stay up all night and watch the clown to make sure nobody is playing tricks on him.

Mark accidentally falls asleep and wakes up past midnight. Looking out his window, he sees that the front door of the church is open and the clown is nowhere to be seen. Moments later, his bedroom door opens and a clown face peers in at him. He screams, only to be interrupted by Steve's laughter.

Steve removes the clown mask. The mother comes in and yells at Steve for scaring Mark and yells at Mark for making such a ruckus. Everyone goes back to bed. After that night, Mark never sees the clown again.

Years pass. Mark convinces himself the whole episode was a prank pulled by his brother and his friends. His fear of clowns becomes a running joke in the family. One day, he receives a phone call from Steve, who sounds shaken. Steve informs him something happened that night that ne never told him.

He reveals that after Mark and the mother went to bed, he headed to the bathroom to put on the mask only to see someone else enter ahead of him. When he checked back after the prank, he found the window open and a red pompom on the floor. He then says that he saw the clown in the alley outside his apartment the previous night, and that it looked ten feet tall.

## Cast

Jeff Clement as Mark

Graham Rowat as Steve

Erin Lillis as the mother
"Miss Marni's Teahouse"

**"Miss Marni's Teahouse"** is the first tale in the sixteenth episode of the seventh season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman tries to get rid of an unwanted suitor. Written by Rona Vaselaar, it has a runtime of 17:40 and was performed by Erika Sanderson and David Ault. It is the 847th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A woman, Marni, owns and operates a teahouse that has been in her family for generations. She buys tea, brews it for customers, and offers recommendations. Her neighbor, Mrs. Thompson, is a foul-mouthed, cantankerous old woman who wants nothing to do with the shop next door. Marni highly enjoys her job and life.

One morning, Mrs. Thompson's grandson and primary caretaker Jamie enters the teahouse under the pretense of buying tea for his grandmother's dementia. However, it soon becomes clear he just wants to flirt with Marni. She brushes him off, but he returns almost every other day after that to buy more tea or ask her on dates, which she always turns down.

Months pass. Jamie eventually breaks down and says he'll do anything for a night out with her. Marni tells him of an extremely rare type of tea called Da Hong Pao that is only grown in the high mountains of the Fujian province in China. If he will go there and get her the tea by mentioning her name, she will go out with him.

Jamie readily agrees to the proposition and purchases a plane ticket, spending the next sixth months learning Chinese and frequently visiting the teahouse to give Marni unwanted updates on his progress. The day arrives and he leaves, getting a kiss from her on his way out.

Several weeks pass and Jamie fails to return. Mrs. Thompson grows worried of her grandson's absence. Finally, one day, an Asian man arrives at the shop carrying a lacquered black chest. He delivers it inside, drinks a cup of black tea, and leaves.

Marni excitedly opens the box to find Jamie's skeleton inside, buried in a large supply of Da Hong Pao tea. She has been trying to get this particular type for years but the residents of the mountains demanded a human sacrifice each time. Marni heads over to Mrs. Thompson's house and comforts her over the disappearance before giving her cups of tea laced with Jamie's bone marrow.

Mrs. Thompson becomes a much more mellow person and doesn't yell at her anymore. Marni celebrates the fact that she now can add special healing powers to her tea and that her neighbor will now live longer, forever wondering and in pain of what happened to her grandson.

## Cast

Erika Sanderson as Marni/Mrs. Thompson

David Ault as Jamie
"Spitting Image"

Illustration by Krys Hookuh

**"Spitting Image"** is the second tale in the fifth episode of the twelfth season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a man tries to figure out if his new neighbor is an old friend of his from high school. Written by Meg Molloy, it has a runtime of 29:20 and was performed by Graham Rowat, Addison Peacock, and Kyle Akers. It is the 1448th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man, David, decides to move back to his hometown after being away for many years. He manages to procure a small apartment in a seedy building. On his drive home, he recalls a friend he had in high school, Rebecca. Though they were never romantically involved, he still has fond memories of her and especially remembers the distinctive dolphin tattoo she had on her upper arm.

A few days after moving in, he runs into one of his neighbors that looks almost exactly like Rebecca. He tries to see if she has a tattoo on her arm, but is unable to. Due to social anxiety, he doesn't simply just ask her if she is Rebecca. Put off by the encounter, she leaves.

David then tires breaking into her mailbox to try and see if she has any mail with Rebecca's name on it, but is caught by her. She tells him off for being creepy and chases him away. Nevertheless, he successfully breaks in that night while she's busy in her apartment, but is unable to find any letters with her name on it. On his way back to his apartment, he hears her singing with a man.

The pair have a few more creepy encounters. During an altercation in the laundry room, he thinks he sees her head turn around completely. When he accuses her of having a boyfriend, she answers in the man's voice from earlier that she is single. Doing some online research later that night, he discovers that the real Rebecca died in a fire many years ago.

Now convinced some kind of shapeshifting monster has taken over her body, David takes his gun and heads to her apartment, finding her in the bathroom. She is feasting on a bathtub full of human flesh and bones. He holds her at gunpoint, accusing her of killing Rebecca. The monster shifts to its true form and laughs, saying it doesn't kill its victims, only takes their bodies and feasts on them after they have died some other way.

David tries to shoot the creature, but realizes his gun is jammed. Checking the barrel, he accidentally shoots himself in the chest. As he bleeds out on the floor, the creature eats a part of his hand before shifting to look like him. In his own voice, the creature tells him it only kills when its prey threatens it, and prepares to feast on him.

## Cast

Graham Rowat as David

Addison Peacock as Rebecca/the creature

Kyle Akers as the man's voice
"Red Meat and Rats"

**"Red Meat and Rats"** is the third tale in the first episode of the thirteenth season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a kidnapped girl tries to escape a basement with the help of a rat. Written by Marcus Damanda, it has a runtime of 32:40 and was performed by Jessica McEvoy, Matthew Bradford, and Mick Wingert. It is the 1553th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A girl, Rowan, awakens strapped to the wall of an unfinished basement in the middle of the night. Although she initially panics, she recalls the situation that lead to her kidnapping. She was riding her bike home from softball practice when a construction worker, Buddy, purposely hit her with his work truck before chloroforming her and telling her was going to eat her.

She notices two rats in the basement with her. One slowly begins advancing towards her feet while the other sits there, staring at her. Beside her, she sees a hacksaw just out of reach and across the room the slightly decayed body of an older boy, missing a few limbs and chunks of flesh. A voice suddenly appears in her head, introducing itself as Timmy. Rowan realizes that she remembers the name: two children, a boy named Timmy and his younger sister Lily went missing weeks previously.

Timmy tells her he is inside the rat staring at her, and proves it by winking. He says he's going to help her escape. He chews through one of the leather restraints, allowing her to reach the hacksaw and cut the rest of her bonds. She cuts Timmy's body down before he reveals to her that she needs to help rescue Lily, who is in another house nearby. As they leave the basement, Timmy's voice leaves her head but continues to lead her on while the other rat follows.

They find themselves in a partially constructed housing development. Buddy sits in a truck a few hundred feet away, smoking a cigarette and unaware of the escape. Timmy leads her past a few other houses with basements, in which Rowan cuts down the bodies. She can hear more rats leave the basements and follow her as she leaves them.

As Rowan descends the basement steps of the house Lily is in, she sees Buddy head into the house she was in a give a cry of frustration. Lily is alive, but barely. Cutting her free, she follows Timmy's lead and manages to drag Lily behind a few houses towards Buddy's truck while he searches for them. The number of rats behind her grow.

Buddy finally sees her and Lily and prepares to recapture them before the rats suddenly attack, swarming him to ground and biting him to death. The girls are recused by the police and taken to the hospital. After they recover, they become best friends. Rowan hopes that Timmy's spirit left the rat and went to heaven.

## Cast

Jessica McEvoy as Rowan

Matthew Bradford as Timmy

Mick Wingert as Buddy
"For the Glory of God"

**"For the Glory of God"** is the fifth tale in the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man stops at a small town where trouble is brewing. Written by Liam Hogan, it has a runtime of 20:40 and was performed by David Cummings, Jessica McEvoy, and Brian Mansi. It is the 403rd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

An opening narration explains that the town of Crowheart, Nebraska has been chosen for a ritual that is performed every 119 years where demons and angels descend on a small town to battle for souls.

A man, Adler, stops at a small diner in Crowheart during a road trip for a bite to eat. He is greeted by the waitress, Jenny, who is setting up Christmas decorations. The pair talk for a minute before he orders a burger and onion rings. Frank, Jenny's husband and the diner's cook, begins preparing his meal.

Suddenly, a dark form rushes pass the window, causing Jenny to drop the decorations. She calls for Frank, who comes to see what has happened. A loud, siren-like wail suddenly erupts from outside and a body falls from the sky, landing on Frank's car. Frank recognizes it as his brother. He runs outside to investigate, only to get swooped up by one of the dark shadows from earlier and carried into the sky.

Adler and Jenny run to the window to see two winged forms, a demonic one and an angelic one, fighting over Frank. The demon seems to win and sends Frank's body plummeting to the ground. Adler attempts to barricade the door and asks for Jenny's help, but she is suddenly picked up by an angel that flies through the diner's window. Adler runs into the kitchen and hides beneath a sink.

For the next few hours, he hears screams and gunfire coming from outside. Suddenly, an angel and a demon enter the kitchen and merge into one being before approaching him at the sink. They explain that they have completed the ritual and collected all 142 souls in the town, 71 apiece. Adler wonders why he's still alive, and they inform him that since he is completely neutral, neither bad nor good, they are unable to claim his soul. He asks what became of Frank and Jenny; they tell him that the demon claimed the former while the angel claimed the latter. They disappear shortly after, but not before telling him that he must find his own way in the world now.

Adler runs out to his car and drives through the town, looking at all the destruction. At the city limits, he pulls over to throw up before continuing on his journey.

## Cast

David Cummings as Adler/Frank

Jessica McEvoy as Jenny

Brian Mansi as the opening narrator
"Christmas Tree Camera"

**"Christmas Tree Camera"** is the first tale in the thirteenth episode of the sixth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man caputres something disturbing on his Christmas tree camera. Written by Manen Lyset, it has a runtime of 6:45 and was performed by Jesse Cornett, Nichole Goodnight, and Rima Chadda Mycynek. It is the 690th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man buys a large ornament at a shop that has a camera inside it with the intention of dressing up as Santa to surprise his daughters with a video on Christmas morning. He checks the camera every few days to make sure it is working. Satisfied, he places an SD card inside.

On Christmas Eve, he turns on the ornament and has fun with his family. After his wife and daughters go to bed, he dresses up and makes a show of eating the cookies and laughing merrily beforing placing presents under the tree. Shortly afterwards, he goes to bed.

On Christmas morning, he turns on the video for his daughters and lets it play in the background while everyone unwraps presents. He comes upon a blue package he doesn't recognize. One of his daughters say that the elf must have left it behind.

Knowing his wife didn't dress up as an elf, the man watches the video and is shocked to see a stranger in an elf costume enter the living room and hide in the corner as he does the Santa bit. The elf kept standing there for an hour, staring directly at the camera, before approaching it while taking heavy breaths and shutting it off.

The man checks the blue package and finds the battery to the ornament inside. His wife opens the back and finds the case empty. He wonders what scares him more: the video itself, or whatever it was the elf did after it turned off the camera.

## Cast

Jesse Cornett as the man

Nichole Goodnight as the man's daughter

Rima Chadda Mycynek as the man's wife
"When Your World Falls Apart"

**"When Your World Falls Apart"** is the third tale in the nineteenth episode of the second season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman is destroyed by the disappearances of her children. Written by Anton Scheller, it has a runtime of 16:48 and was performed by David Cummings. It is the 157th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Carol has a family she adores: her loving husband Tim and two children, six-year-old Norman and four-year-old Chloe. They live in a large house in a suburban neighborhood and everything appears to be perfect.

One evening, however, Norman goes missing after getting off the school bus. Despite an extensive months-long search, no trace of him is found. Carol has a breakdown and becomes overprotective of Chloe, not letting her go anywhere on her own and keeping the house safe from all dangers. Tim tries to get her to ease up on the restrictions, but Norman's disappearance has shattered her sense of security.

Two years pass. One afternoon, Carol reluctantly leaves to go buy birthday presents for Chloe, leaving Tim at home to watch her. He lets her play in the back garden (something Carol has forbidden) and checks on her every ten minutes. However, one check he is five minuets late and she is gone when he looks again.

Carol breaks down completely at her second child's disappearance, being committed to an asylum and attempting suicide twice. No trace of Chloe is found. The police investigate several leads, but no arrests are made. Tim takes a sabbatical from work to take care of her.

A year passes and things appear to be getting better. Tim returns to work and Carol gradually accepts the loss of her two children. Though still troubled and sad, she has put the past behind her. Her and Tim plan to travel together and even maybe have another child.

Carol finds solace in tending the garden, the last place her daughter was seen alive. One afternoon, she digs in the back near an old bush and discovers a bone. Digging deeper, she finds several more bones and pieces of clothing, including a boy's shoe.

The police are called by the neighbors after hearing Carol's hysterical screaming. They dig up the garden and find the corpses of Norman and Chloe, dead for years. Tim is arrested but denies doing anything to his children, something Carol believes until their severed, preserved heads are found in a metal trunk in his workshop.

Carol goes completely insane and is committed to the asylum indefinitely. She cries and attacks anyone that comes near her, tearing her hair out and committing acts of self-harm. A nurse at the asylum decides to tell her story.
"Body Fluid Bingo"

**"Body Fluid Bingo"** is the fourth tale in the tenth episode of the eleventh season of The Nosleep Podcast. Written by D. Williams, it has a runtime of 27:00 and was read by Nikolle Doolin, James Cleveland, Peter Lewis, Erin Lillis, and David Cummings. It is the 1339th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Shawna works as the 'houseperson' at a hotel. It is her job to clean every area except for the actual rooms, which are cleaned by the housekeepers.

She relates a particularly memorable cleaning session. Walking into the lobby, she finds the concierge, Darren, doubled over in disgust. An unseen guest has defecated in several large piles in front of the desk and down the hallway towards the elevators. Though Darren and Laurie, the hotel's security officer, are disgusted, she finds the whole situation more hilarious than nauseating. Her extensive knowledge in chemicals makes her very good at cleaning and getting rid of odors.

Laurie, noticing Shawna's knack for cleaning, creates "Body Fluid Bingo" for her, a bingo board in the breakroom with several different kinds of bodily fluids on it. When she has filled her entire square after cleaning up at least one mess of each type, she will receive a prize.

Shawna reveals the circumstances that lead to her being at the hotel. She used to be a brilliant chemistry student with several honors and degrees. After a few more months of school, she would have graduated with full honors and gone into any field of microbiology of her choosing. However, she was expelled from the college and banned from working in the science field ever again after an incident. As part of a project, she cowrote a paper on cells with her mentor, Dr. Leland. After writing the reports and taking pictures, she sent it to him to edit and submit to a scientific journal. However, Leland thought the pictures were not groundbreaking enough and doctored them to make them seem more important. When the ruse was revealed, his thirty year reputation was at stake. Afraid of the repercussions, he framed Shawna for the edits and had her expelled to protect the good standing he had built up. Heartbroken and unable to find work in the field of her dreams, she took the job at the hotel.

One day, she hears Darren checking Dr. Leland in for a science convention in the hotel. Angered and wanting revenge, she uses her knowledge of microbiology to grow several varieties of lethal anthrax. Using her universal key, she plans to secretly slip into Leland's room while he's away and infect him for ruining her career. She muses that his violent death will lead to her cleaning up every fluid on her bingo board.

## Cast

Nikolle Doolin as Shawna

James Cleveland as Darren

Peter Lewis as Dr. Leland

Erin Lillis as Laurie

David Cummings as a hotel guest
"Sunflower's Weep"

### Narrator(s)

Dan Zappulla, Nikolle Doolin, Atticus Jackson, Erika Sanderson, Mike DelGaudio, and David Cummings

### Next

"Commercial One: Slurpee's Slug Dogs"

**"Sunflower's Weep"** is the fifth tale in the twenty-third episode of the thirteenth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a pastor attempts to cur a sick little girl. Written by R.E. Rodden II, it has a runtime of 27:50 and was performed by Dan Zappulla, Nikolle Doolin, Atticus Jackson, Erika Sanderson, Mike DelGaudio, and David Cummings. It is the 1685th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A strange disease called "sunflower's weep" has infected the world. It is characterized first by reddish, swollen skin followed by the formation of sores in a circular pattern on a body part. These sores hold white worms. When they burst, the worms are released along with a large amount of fluid. The host then dies shortly afterwards. If the disease is treated soon enough, it is possible for the patient to make a full recovery.

A pastor is immune to the disease, as a portion of the population are. Him and his coworker, Dave, discuss what they should do about the diseased and dying in their town. The pastor wants to attempt to cure and comfort the patients, while Dave wants to excommunicate them and leave them to die.

Suddenly, the doors of the church burst open and mother, Gladys, comes in carrying her daughter, Mason. She says that Mason has been badly infected but the wait for doctors is far too long. Dave is disgusted and backs away, but the pastor removes her headband to see a ring of weeping sores covering the top of her head, ready to burst at any moment.

A group of men in Hazmat suits, followed by a police officer, enter the church and prepare to take the girl away. The pastor suddenly grabs Gladys and Mason and drag them into one of the offices in the back of the church, shutting the door behind them just as Dave manages to enter. Gladys weeps as the pastor asks Mason if it hurts, to which she replies it does. Putting his hands on her head, he suddenly feels a strange power erupt in him. The sores stop weeping and appear to grow smaller.

Just then, the group of Hazmats and the police officer manage to enter the office. Dave points at the pastor and accuses him of carrying the disease. He rips off Dave's baseball cap to reveal a progressed ring of sores on his forehead. Dave is taken away by the group, screaming. The police officer sees that Mason's disease is not as progressed as it was before and leaves with Gladys to take her to a doctor, where she can be cured. The pastor muses that in order to survive the disease, humanity needs to embrace hope and not hate.

## Cast

Dan Zappulla as the pastor

Nikolle Doolin as Gladys

Atticus Jackson as Dave

Erika Sanderson as Mason

Mike DelGaudio as the Hazmat leader

David Cummings as the police officer
"I Bet I Can Make You Smile"

**"I Bet I Can Make You Smile"** is the first tale in the twenty-first episode of the ninth season of The Nosleep Podcast. Written by Tobias Wade, it has a runtime of 12:55 and was read by Jesse Cornett, David Cummings, and Erika Sanderson. It is the 1128th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy attends his grandfather's funeral. While there he notices a man that is the only one smiling. After the service the boy runs out to a tree in the backyard and cries. The smiling man, revealed to be Death, approaches and the boy asks him if he knew his grandfather. He responds saying that he was the one that killed him. He then says he can make the boy smile. He commands a squirrel to jump off the tree and land on his shoulder, and it does so. He then says he will kill the boy's grandmother, and leaves.

Sure enough, three weeks later, the boy meets Death at his grandmother's funeral. Out by the tree, the boy expresses hatred at the man for killing his grandmother. Death makes a variety of nearby animals dance, making the boy smile.

Thirty years later, the boy, now a man, meets Death at his mother's funeral. After Death tells him that he killed his mother, the man beats him to a bloody pulp. However, Death has a proposition: if he can get the man to smile, then he has to help him on his next kill. The man relents, and Death calls a crow to land on his shoulder. Looking into its eyes, the man recognizes his mother's soul inside the bird. He smiles.

The man then follows Death and helps him relieving people of the burden of life.

## Cast

Jesse Cornett and Erika Sanderson as the man/boy, respectively

David Cummings as Death
"The Neighbors Upstairs"

**"The Neighbors Upstairs"** is the second tale in the seventeenth episode of the first season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a mother is tormented by her loud upstairs neighbors. Written by Whitley Olivier (originally under the pseudonym Jennifer Mouser), it has a runtime of 6:20 and was performed by Wendy Corrigan and David Cummings. It is the 66th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Jenny lives in a large apartment building with her husband and infant daughter. Though they enjoy their residence, they're annoyed by their upstairs and downstairs neighbors. Below them is a senile old woman who complains that they make loud noises at night, even though they happen when they are asleep. The upstairs neighbors are loud and always seem to be running around. The noises have woken her daughter up on multiple occasions.

The upstairs neighbors become such a nuisance that Jenny goes up to confront them. When she comes up to the door, she sees the light coming from the peephole go out, indicating there is someone inside. She knocks and asks to speak with them, but is ignored. Frustrated, she goes back downstairs.

Jenny writes a note asking them to keep it down and pins it to the door. A few days later, she notices that it is gone, but the noises continue. She constantly goes back to try and catch anyone home, but is unsuccessful. Eventually, it becomes such a problem that she contacts the building's manager.

The manager informs her that no one has officially rented that apartment in months. The police are called and they break down the door, revealing undisturbed carpet and the note from earlier ripped to shreds in the corner. Jenny muses that the old lady below them might not have been as crazy as she thought.

## Cast

Wendy Corrigan as Jenny

David Cummings as the manager
"The Smiling Man" (Season 2 Tale)

## Summary

**"The Smiling Man"** is the first tale in the fifth episode of the second season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a student goes on a walk and encounters a strange man. Written by L.S. Riley, it has a runtime of 6:40 and was performed by Michael McElroy. It is the 92nd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A student sometimes has trouble sleeping. Not wanting to stay in his apartment and keep his roommate up, he goes on long night walks in the city.

On one such walk, he turns onto a side street to loop back to his apartment only to see a man ahead. He wears an old suit and keeps his head pointed towards the sky, eyes open wide with a large smile on his face. He moves jerkily, almost dancing, down the sidewalk.

Unnerved, the student crosses to the other side and looks forward for a few moments. Turning back, he sees the man standing perfectly parallel to him, one foot in the street, still looking skyward. The student walks forward again and turns once more to see the man has now crossed the street and is on the same side as him, crouched down.

The man takes large steps towards him, eventually coming within a car's length, still smiling. The student blurts out a few garbled words in fear before the man turns around and dance-walks away in the other direction. The student watches him until he's almost out of sight. Suddenly, the man turns around and begins running at full speed towards him.

The student runs away across several blocks and into a crowded square. The man is gone. On the way back to his apartment, he checks behind his back several times. The student moves out of the city a few months later, shaken by the encounter and the fact that the man looked completely and utterly insane.
"The Girl on the Porch"

**"The Girl on the Porch"** is the fourth tale in the eighteenth episode of the twelfth season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a couple is disturbed by an unwanted visitor. Written by R.J. Clark, it has a runtime of 22:07 and was performed by Jeff Clement, Sarah Ruth Thomas, Addison Peacock, and Nikolle Doolin. It is the 1517th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A couple, Grant and Shelly, live peacefully in a house in the middle of the woods with their dog, Olaf. Shelly is heavily pregnant with their daughter and is constantly stressed, so she makes soup to allieviate her feelings.

One night, a heavy storm knocks off the power to the house. The couple is enjoying the evening by candlelight when Olaf begins growling at the front door. Grant knows Olaf is easily scared, so to see him so protective is an unsettling sight. A few minutes later a knock comes on the door.

Peering through the glass, Grant sees a young woman, Katie, on the front porch. Katie says that she has gotten lost while riding her bike in the storm and asks to be let inside so she can call her parents. Consulting with Shelly, she tells Grant that she's scared it's a trap. A common ruse for robbers is to send a girl up to a house asking for help, only to bring her friends barging in when the door is opened. Deciding not to risk it, they turn Katie away, who stomps off.

The next day, the storm has gone away but the property is scattered with debris. Grant takes the afternoon to clean up the mess. He finds a bike in the ditch near the road, causing him to wonder if Katie was telling the truth. As he puts the bike in their barn, Shelly calls him inside where a news report is playing on the TV. The anchor announces that Katie's mutilated remains were found in a cornfield not far from the house and that there are no suspects. Shelly begins making soup while Grant heads back outside.

At dinnertime, Grant heads back into the house and checks on Shelly's cooking. He finds a severed human hand in the soup pot with Katie's ring on it. He chastises her for overcooking the meat before they laugh and sit down for dinner.

## Cast

Jeff Clement as Grant

Sarah Ruth Thomas as Shelly

Addison Peacock as Katie

Nikolle Doolin as the news anchor
"Too Close to Home"

**"Too Close to Home"** is the first tale in the seventh episode of the ninth season of the Nosleep Podcast. In it, a woman's neighbor vanishes. Written by H.F. Fae, it has a runtime of 18:20 and was performed by Jessica McEvoy and David Cummings. It is the 1059th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A young woman manages to scrape together enough money to buy a one-bedroom bungalow in a seedy part of the city. Though her parents are wary, they eventually agree to it after she buys a large dog, Jade. While moving in, one of the neighbors, Mr. Barton, comes over to introduce himself. He went to the same high school as the woman's father.

Over the course of the next few weeks. Mr. Barton becomes a comforting presence in the woman's life, giving her tips on how to stay safe while walking Jade in the city and talking to her whenever she goes to get the mail. He owns a small dog, Smokey, that doesn't appear to like him very much and barks constantly.

Jade has a habit of barking loudly whenever Mr. Barton returns to his house late at night. The woman notices that he keeps his backyard rather overgrown and cluttered. He claims keeping it that way lets him be closer to nature. Whenever the pair speak, she hears him mutter *"Too close to home"* after they are done. She wonders if she is reminding him of anyone.

One night a few months later, the woman waits for Jade to begin barking at the car, but nothing happens. She throws a rock at the fence and sees several scavenger birds fly away. Mr. Barton disappears for over a week. The lights in his house are turned off and his car never shows up. The woman's father, who had been doing activities with him, asks his daughter to check on him. When she knocks on the door, she receives no response. She begins feeling unsafe in the neighborhood without his presence.

A few weeks later, Mr. Barton's other neighbor finally calls the police. Countless birds are seen flying around the property. Checking the house, they find Smokey strangled to death. Found buried in the backyard are the corpses of over a dozen missing women, suspected victims of a serial killer that had been striking the city. Also found among the bodies is that of the real Mr. Barton. The killer had murdered him three years previously and assumed his identity before leaving the city.

The woman realizes the meaning of the words the imposter always said whenever they finished talking: she lived too close to him to be a potential victim.

## Cast

Jessica McEvoy as the woman

David Cummings as the fake Mr. Barton
"Elevator Code"

**"Elevator Code"** is the first tale in the first episode of the thirteenth season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a man discovers a secret floor in the hotel he's staying at. Written by Christopher Maxim, it has a runtime of 15:10 and was performed by Mike DelGaudio, Sarah Ruth Thomas, and Addison Peacock. It is the 1551st tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man works as an event planner and travels around the country to do his job. One assignment sees him staying at an eight-floor hotel in New England. He develops a crush on the front desk worker, Claira.

While watching television one night, he finds a series of floor numbers written on the list of channels. Wondering what will happen if he tries it out, he enters the public elevator and enters the numbers in the order they were written, but nothing happens.

Still thinking about the numbers, he steals a maid's pass key and enters the numbers on the hotel's service elevator. The car suddenly ascends to a nonexistent twelfth floor, where the doors open to reveal a magnificent ballroom where masked people dance in vintage clothing. The group see him, fall silent, and stare. The man asks what the people want, and a woman with a fox max answers that they want to be saved. The back of the room suddenly erupts in fire and the group is consumed in flames.

The doors close and the elevator descends to the lobby, where he asks Claira if the hotel ever had more than eight floors. She reveals that the building used to have twelve, with a large ballroom on the top. A mysterious fire burned down the higher floors many years ago, killing a number of people who were attending a dance.

The man is shaken by his experience and wonders if he somehow could have saved the group of people.

## Cast

Mike DelGaudio as the man

Sarah Ruth Thomas as Claira

Addison Peacock as the woman in the fox mask
"The Cornfield"

"The Cornfield" is the second tale in the 3rd Episode of the 1st Season of The Nosleep Podcast. Written by Karina Young, it has a running time of 6:37 and was originally read by Jinny Sanders. It is the 8th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Classmates Amy and Sara get into a loud argument at school one day. They are sentenced to detention. Because of this, they have to walk home in the dark down a long road next to a cornfield. Amy tries to scare Sara by saying she saw someone moving through the corn. Sara doesn't believe her, but with enough goading, she investigates, followed by Amy.

Amy quickly abandons Sara in the corn, with the intention of frightening her. She hears someone moving and jumps out but sees no one. A few feet away she hears Sara scream, followed by a loud thump and a terrifying laugh. She quickly leaves the field and runs home.

Amy reveals that Sara's corpse was found bound and mutilated in a nearby field weeks later. She still feels guilt for causing her death at the hands of whoever was in the corn that night.