recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
"I Won't Take Care of My Sister Anymore"

**"I Won't Take Care of My Sister Anymore"** is the first tale in the fourth episode of the second season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man refuses to take care of his sister. Written by Allan Edgarton, it has a runtime of 8:19 and was performed by David Cummings. It is the 87th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man suffers a strained relationship with his family. His mother is a spiteful, mean woman and the two bicker constantly. He also has a younger sister who was declared the favorite after she was born, receiving all the attention and love he never got. Unfortunately, when she was ten years old, she fell out of a tree and hit her head, leaving her comatose. She is hooked up to machines and lies in a vegetative state in her room.

Though his mother is rich, the man doesn't expect to receive an inheritance. However, when she dies, she wills him the family mansion and the remainder of her fortune, with the stipulation that he must move in and take care of his sister. He readily agrees, as several nurses have been hired and he doesn't have to do much.

He takes the room next to his sister's, but quickly grows uncomfortable with the loud machines. He hears a banging noise from her room one night and investigates, seeing a picture frame that fell off the wall. For the next few weeks, he hears odd noises from the room. During one incident, he finds the door cracked open and his sister wearing a different gown than the one the nurses put her in a few days previously. He asks one about it, and she thanks him for supposedly changing the clothing after she had to call in sick and miss a week.

The man moves to a room on the other side of the mansion and tries to ignore his growing dread. One night, he is lying in bed when the door opens, and footsteps enter the room. His sister appears in a beam of moonlight on the floor, mouth wide open and staring at him. He moves out of the house and refuses to take care of her anymore.
"Never Wander Off in Robinson Woods"

**"Never Wander Off in Robinson Woods"** is the first tale in the twenty-first episode of the eleventh season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a boy sees a strange man in the woods. Written by Lincoln Merch, it has a runtime of 22:15 and was performed by Peter Lewis, Erin Lillis, and Nichole Goodnight. It is the 1392nd tale overall on the podcast.

It was later followed up with a sequel in S12E22, with "A Car Accident Can Change Everything".

## Summary

Zach recalls the life him and his sister, Heather, lived with their alcoholic mother when they were kids. She worked three jobs, had many boyfriends, and wasn't very caring to either.

The three of them used to go camping in the Robinson Woods, a forest near their hometown. On this particular trip, Zach somehow got separated from Heather and their mother while he was picking up acorns. He finds a silver cross necklace buried in the leaves and feels someone staring at him.

Turning around, he sees a strange man dressed in a pair of red and brown pajamas. He has long, flowing, matted black hair and strange eyes. Zach goes to run away but finds the man walks exactly ten feet behind him no matter where he goes or how fast he travels.

Three hours later, he runs into Heather and his mother, the latter of which is furious for him running away. Zach tries to point out the man, but he has vanished. He goes to show them the silver cross, but it has vanished as well. Believing him to have been followed by a pedophile, the mother takes Zach and Heather out of the woods and files a police report, although nothing comes of it.

Back in the present, Zach still finds himself wondering about that day. He tries to tell his mother about it, but she brushes the whole incident off. Heather doesn't seem interested in it, either. Disgusted, he goes to the public library and researches the story of Robinson Woods.

An old man, Robinson, and his family were the first to settle in the area over a century ago. Robinson lived to be over 100 and lived peacefully with no enemies. However, one day he went missing from his cabin. A few days later, his mutilated corpse was discovered in the woods, contorted and violated in many horrifying ways. Zach sees a picture of Robinson, but he doesn't look anything like the man he saw in the woods that day. He then sees a wanted poster of a drifter seen in the area around the time of the death, the only suspect in the investigation. It matches the man's appearance exactly. Around his neck is a silver cross necklace.

## Cast

Peter Lewis as Zach

Erin Lillis as the mother

Nichole Goodnight as Heather
"The Road of Ice and Men"

**"The Road of Ice and Men"** is the first tale in the seventh episode of the fourteenth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a solider is ordered to commit a terrible act. Written by Paul R. Hardy, it has a runtime of 10:30 and was performed by Graham Rowat and David Cummings. it is the 1740th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A Russian solider during WWI tries to deflect from the country, but is caught by his general and put in a labor camp as punishment. One freezing winter night, the entire camp is ordered to build new roads in the Russian wilderness. Given the climate, the roads are made of ice.

As the solider walks, he begins to notice dark shapes under the frozen water of previously built roads. As they get closer to the spot where the road must be continued, he realizes the dark shapes are the bodies of dead soldiers being used as support for the structure.

A water truck carrying the general follows the soldiers from behind, in addition to a battalion of guards to ensure they do their work. After a few hours, some of the guards come forward and hammer a large, deep hole in the ice. The soldiers are told to line up. The first ten are ordered to strip their clothes and jump in. The solider, who is eleventh in line, is handed a hose and ordered to fill in the hole with water.

The solider hesitates, hearing pleas coming from his comrades in the hole. The general angrily orders him to fill it or he will be forced to jump in as well. With no other option, he turns on the hose. The men in the hole attempt to climb out but are shot by the guards. Eventually the hole fills up completely, trapping the survivors under the freezing ice.

The soldiers march on, over the entombed bodies of their comrades. The soldier wonders what will become of him in the future with the guilt of the event hanging over him.

## Cast

Graham Rowat as the solider

David Cummings as the general
"My Friend's Mother"

**"My Friend's Mother"** is the second tale in the sixteenth episode of the first season of the Nolseep podcast. In it, a boy has a strange encounter with his friend's mother. Written by Erik Hessman, it has a runtime of 6:47 and was performed by David Cummings. It is the 62nd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy is best friends with his classmate from school, Ryan. Ryan's house resides in the middle of a large open field with a long winding driveway.

One night, the boy gets in a fight with his parents and calls Ryan, asking if he can come over. Ryan is surprised that he's calling so late, because it's after 9:00, but tells him he can. However, he says he might be late because his football practice doesn't get out until 10:00.

The boy rides his bike to the house and knocks on the door, only for Ryan's mother to answer. Though he likes his mother, the boy is creeped out by her disheveled appearance and wide smile. She asks him to come in for tea, which he reluctantly accepts.

Inside, the boy sits at the kitchen table while the mother stands facing the kitchen window, not moving or speaking. Uncomfortable, he gets up and looks at her, only to see she is still smiling with her eyes wide open.

He makes an excuse about having to leave and runs out the door, not getting a reply. As he walks onto the porch, he sees a car coming down the driveway. It parks next to the house and Ryan gets out, excitedly greeting him. The other door opens and Ryan's mother exits, cheerfully asking him how his night has been going.
"Direct Observations"

**"Direct Observations"** is the first tale in the twenty-third episode of the thirteenth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a scientist discovers a way to photograph human souls. Written by Paul Miscavage, it has a runtime of 21:30 and was performed by Jeff Clement and David Cummings. It is the 1681st tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A scientist, David, reveals that he has managed to discover something that will disrupt the very nature of death and reality itself: actual proof that humans have souls. More specifically, he has managed to photograph the moment a soul as it leaves the body. The effect can only be achieved using vintage analogue photography, as newer digital cameras are unable to pick up the thin, ghostly wisps of the souls as they exit their vessels.

David arranges a summit held in a large Russian city to display his findings. Scientists come from all over the world to attend. Gathering the crowd into a large auditorium, he announces his discovery and displays several photographs, to which some of the audience members scoff. He then reveals that he is giving the scientists themselves a chance to photograph the phenomena.

A condemned criminal is wheeled onto the stage, strapped to a gurney. David instructs the scientists to reach under their seats and retrieve the analogue camera and film that has been placed there. He then reveals the criminal is going to be executed onstage in front of them so they can photograph the event. Several object to this and are given the opportunity to leave, but none do.

The criminal is shot in the head by a guard and the scientists eagerly snap their cameras. After the gurney is wheeled off, David reveals that half the audience was pricked on their fingers upon entrance to the auditorium with a deadly toxin that will kill them in several minutes. He instructs the other half that wasn't poisoned to photograph their dying colleagues.

Eager to see the results of such a breakthrough, none of the scientists help their fellow audience members and instead eagerly snap pictures of them. Privately, David views several secret cameras he placed above the audience and reveals the souls are not leaving the dead scientists, but rather their heartless colleagues that are photographing them.

## Cast

Jeff Clement as David

David Cummings as an audience member
"A Childhood Memory"

**"A Childhood Memory"** is the second tale in the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a boy encounters a ghost in an attic. Written by Raymond Wolfgang, it has a runtime of 22:55 and was performed by Ben Williams, David Cummings, and Jessica McEvoy. It is the 406th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A boy's mother works as a real estate agent, selling houses in old, run-down neighborhoods. The mother drags the boy to an open house in a large, monstrous mansion that has been abandoned for decades. It is covered in peeling paint and the yard is overgrown. The boy notices a window on the third story and decides that he has to investiage the room it belongs to.

While his mother shows the house off to a prospective buyer, the boy climbs to the second story before finding a set of stairs leading to the attic behind a small door. When he arrives, he finds it barren except for some dust and an old closet standing the corner. The door to the closet is locked. After a few attempts to open it, he looks out the window at the yard below.

A male voice suddenly comes from behind the closet door, sounding urgent and frightened. The man begs to be let out, claiming that he locked himself in accidentally. The boy answers his cries and tries to open it, only to find it won't budge. After several failed attempts, the man's voice suddenly intensifies, sounding angry and commanding. He demands to be let out. His hot breath comes through the keyhole and hits the boy's face.

The boy backs away, realizing that the dust that came up when he entered means that the man has been locked in the closet for a long time. The man swears and insults the boy before he begins banging on the door, saying he hasn't seen the sun in years. He shoves his arm underneath the crack in the door and reaches. The boy notices that the arm looks black and rotten.

He flees screaming down the stairs, running into his mother. She asks what's wrong before going upstairs to check. She screams and the buyer of the house runs into the attic before he begins screaming as well. The cops are called and they find the decayed corpse of a man inside the closet, having been dead for decades.

The boy grows up, trying to put the incident behind him and telling himself that what he saw and heard that afternoon were all the result either of an overactive imagination or the trauma associated with finding a corpse. Sometimes, however, he is unable to talk himself out of the vision and thinks he remembers seeing a red eye staring at him through the keyhole of the door.

## Cast

Ben Williams as the boy

David Cummings as the man in the closet

Jessica McEvoy as the mother
"Wishes Really Can Come True"

**"Wishes Really Can Come True"** is the second tale in the twenty-first episode of the eleventh season of the Nosleep Podcast. In it, a woman's honeymoon to South America goes wrong. Written by Karen Park, it has a runtime of 36:55 and was performed by Mary Murphy, Kyle Akers, Nichole Goodnight, David Cummings, and Jesse Cornett. It is the 1393rd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A woman marries the man of her dreams, Will. The woman works as a surgeon while Will tries to make it as a concert pianist, but is unsuccessful. They take a honeymoon to South America. In Guatamela, Will takes her to a strange ritual in a small village. Her husband, with the assistance of a local, Juan, makes an offering to "Maximin", a plastic mannequin dressed in a black suit with a painted face that sits in a secluded hut. The woman is disturbed and passes out.

She awakens in the hotel room and goes to take a shower. She sees Maximin in the garden outside the hotel, watching her through the window. Will goes and looks, but no one is there. The woman asks Will if anything happened after she passed out, but he says no. She vaguely recalls him and Juan placing her on Maximin's lap.

They return home, where the woman goes to her job as a surgeon. Unfortunately, her hand is cramping up and she can't seem to move her fingers. A nurse and one of her fellow doctors looks at it and urges her to get it looked at. That night as she returns home, she is chased by Maximin.

Will lines up several successful auditions for pianist gigs while the woman's work falters because of her hand, which seems to be hardening. After another encounter with Maximin on the subway, she confronts Will about what happened in the hut. She deduces that he wished for a successful career as a pianist in exchange for his wife's hand. He denies everything. Enraged, she slices his palm with a shard of broken glass, damaging it enough so he can never play the piano again.

The woman divorces Will and her hand has returns to normal. She moves back to her hometown to work as a surgeon there, which is what *she* wished for when she was in Maximin's hut.

## Cast

Mary Murphy as the woman

Kyle Akers as Will

Jesse Cornett as Juan

Nichole Goodnight and David Cummings as hospital workers
"The Basement"

"The Basement" is the fourth tale in the second episode of the first season of The Nosleep Podcast. It concerns a teen hiding in his basement from an intruder in the house. Written by Matt Dymerski, it has a running time of 6:42 and was originally read by David Cummings. It is the 6th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A teenager is home alone late one night watching a horror movie in his basement. He thinks he hears noises upstairs and turns off the TV as well as the lights in the room, leaving it in pitch blackness. He climbs behind the TV just as something comes down the basement steps with a loud thud. Terrified, he stays behind the TV in the dark for two hours while he wonders why whoever or whatever is in the dark with him isn't doing anything.

Eventually, he realizes that he needs to get out of there. Trying to be silent, he quietly slips out from behind the TV and begins inching his way towards the stairs in the dark. A sudden clattering noise is heard, and the teenager charges up the stairs and out of the house before running to a friend's and calling the police.

Eventually, the police discover the thing the basement was an elderly neighbor of the teen's who had a heart attack, stumbling into his house for help before dying on the basement floor.

The teen is left to wonder what caused the clattering noise and realizes, with horror, that someone else was in the basement with him and the corpse.
Jon Patrick

## About

**Jon Patrick** is an author who has been featured on the NoSleep Podcast. He made his debut in S3E20 with "Unknown Cargo."

## Tales

* **Season 3**
	+ **Episode 20**
		- "Unknown Cargo"
	+ **Episode 21**
		- "What It Said"
* **Season 4**
	+ **Episode 1**
		- "Unlocked"
	+ **Episode 4**
		- "21 Day Quarantine"
	+ **Episode 14**
		- "She'd Recently Lost a Child"
	+ **Episode 17**
		- "A Message in a Very Old Bottle"
	+ **Episode 20**
		- "Testing in Progress"
* **Season 6**
	+ **Episode 11**
		- "The Fires beneath Centralia, Pennsylvania"
"My Last Night Babysitting"

**"My Last Night Babysitting"** is the third tale in the eighth episode of the second season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman has a strange encounter with the woman that hired her to be a babysitter. Written by Jeanna Saccomano, it has a runtime of 11:40 and was performed by Wendy Corrigan. It is the 103rd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Jeanna accepts a babysitting job from a rich family that lives in a large house high in the mountains. She finds it a bit strange to be babysitting, considering she is in grad school, but the pay is great and the family is very nice to her. Things go well for a few months, with her watching the couple's (Renee and Eric) daughter, Alison.

One cold February night, Jeanna's boyfriend Marc drops her off around 7:00. Renee pays her on the way out the door and says she'll be back at 10:00. The night goes normally, with her being able to get a lot of studying done. She puts Alison to bed. At 9:50, Marc returns to drive her home.

At exactly 10:00, Renee knocks and enters the house. Jeanna is surprised by her sudden change in demeanor, which is short and clipped. Her movements are mechanical and she appears to never stop smiling. Creeped out, Jeanna and Marc leave. She stares and waves at them from a window. They notice that Renee's car is dirty and damaged, something they find odd because she has a reputation of being a neat freak. They begin driving down the mountain road.

A few minutes later, Jeanna notices that she has forgotten her textbook and convinces Marc to turn around and go back for it. When they arrive, they find Renee's car gone. The house appears to be deserted when they enter. On the answering machine is a message from Renee, saying there was some sort of accident on the highway and she won't be back until 11:00.

Marc runs upstairs to check on Alison, finding her sleeping peacefully. The couple wait in the living room until Renee returns an hour later, acting and speaking normally. As they pass her car on the way out, they find it bright and sparkling from a recent wash.

Jeanna never tells Renee about the experience and eventually quits the job, glad to be free from whatever it was that happened that night at the house in the mountains.
"The Graveyard Beside My House"

**"The Graveyard Beside My House"** is the sixth tale in the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman worries about the graveyard beside her house. Written by Jonathan Sparks, it has a runtime of 15:25 and was performed by Corinne Sanders, Jessica McEvoy, and David Cummings. It is the 440th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A woman, Jenny, owns a house that resides right next to a graveyard. Though a path cuts right through the cemetery to the sidewalk across from her front door, she is afraid of the area and always takes the long way around, adding fifteen minutes to her walk. On one such night, she stops at the entrance and briefly considers going in before changing her mind and running the long way, but not before she thinks something sniffs at her neck.

The next day at her coffee shop job, she tells her friend Diane about it. She chastises her for being such a scaredy-cat and tells her to flirt with the white-haired young man that is waiting in line. The man seems to recognize her from the house next to the graveyard and asks to meet her at her place at 9:10 that night because he wants to show her something. She agrees, but is briefly distracted by another customer. When she turns around, he is gone. Diane is wary of the offer, but tells her to go through with it anyway.

Jenny stops at the graveyard entrance at 9:04 and considers taking the shortcut through it, only to see a new grave has been dug a few hundred feet in. Something suddenly crawls out of the hole and stands on top of the dirt pile. Terrified, she runs the long way again and comes home at 9:18. The white-haired man never arrives.

The next day, the man appears at the coffee shop again and looks hurt, asking her to be home on time that night. Diane is once again creeped out, but Jenny insists on confronting her fear of the graveyard. A father asks for the washroom key for his son. When she turns around the white-haired man is gone again.

That night, she once again stops at the entrance and briefly considers taking the long way, but decides to bite the bullet and run through. Just as she passes the new grave, a figure steps out from behind a headstone, causing her to scream and fall.

The white-haired man says he's glad she made it on time, exactly at 9:10. In the new grave is an open coffin. He grips her hard and opens his mouth, revealing razor-like teeth. Though Jenny struggles, he bites her neck and she passes out. When she wakes up, she realizes she's buried alive in the coffin.

## Cast

Corinne Sanders as Jenny

Jessica McEvoy as Diane

David Cummings as the white-haired man/first customer/father
"Life of the Party"

**"Life of the Party"** is the first tale in the third episode of the third season of the Nosleep Podcast. In it, a girl makes a delivery to a strange house. Written by Ryan Anderson, it has a runtime of 19:20 and was performed by Elle Hama. It is the 197th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A girl gets an after-school job at a butcher, delivering meat orders on her bike. One Friday evening, she finishes her rounds and returns to the shop for her paycheck, only for the owner to hand her a final order to take out to a Mr. Fritz, supposedly a big customer. The address lies in Reedsburg, a mostly-abandoned wooded town a few miles away.

Begrudgingly, the girl gets on her bike and rides to the address as night falls, almost getting lost on the winding dirt roads. She turns down a path marked with a hand carved sign reading "BROWN ROAD" and arrives at a large iron gate, beyond which is a cemetery. Fearing that failing to complete the delivery will result in losing her job, she opens the gate and walks through the gravestones, finally arriving at a large, crumbling house.

The only light on inside appears to be a candle in an upper window. When she knocks, Fritz, an extremely old man, answers and lets her inside. The interior of the house is dirty and yellowing. As she drops the meat in the freezer, Fritz mentions that he's having a birthday party for his wife. Finally able to leave, the girl runs back through the cemetery, jumps on her bike, and begins riding away.

Unfortunately the bike's chain breaks at the end of the road and she falls into the ditch, momentarily passing out. As she awakens, she sees a strange woman in a flowing white dress in the trees across the road. Not wanting to walk back to town, the girl retreats towards the house hoping to ask Fritz to use his phone.

As she walks through the cemetery, she hears music. Ducking behind a rock, she sees a man in black playing a violin on the front porch next to a table with a birthday cake on it. Fritz approaches the cemetery and scans the area, but doesn't see the girl. Finally, he tells the violin man to keep playing and hoists a rotting body up from the ground. As he dances with it, she realizes the corpse is wearing a white dress and looks like the woman she saw in the woods.

A fly enters the girl's mouth, causing her to cough. Fritz lets go of the woman's head and she falls backwards, violently cracking her neck. However, her head turns toward the girl and she smiles. Fritz lets go of her and begins walking towards the rock, leaving her standing on her own. The violin man cuts a piece of cake and begins walking forwards as well, the candle wax dripping onto the frosting.

The girl sprints away from the cemetery and into the night, running over three miles back to her house. Years pass and she gradually forgets about the incident. One morning, she receives a postcard in the mail with a picture of the Brown Road sign on the front. On the back, written in a shaky hand, is an invitation to a party.
"Santanic Rituals of the Greater Butler County Area"

**"Santanic Rituals of the Greater Butler County Area"** is the fourth tale in the sixteenth episode of the thirteenth season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a gas station worker attends a satanic ritual. Written by Dan LeRoy, it has a runtime of 22:22 and was performed by Mick Wingert, Atticus Jackson, Elie Hirschman, Kyle Akers, and Matthew Bradford. It is the 1633rd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man, Rozier, accepts a job at a gas station right after he gets out of prison for stealing from his boss. He is annoyed by his coworker Terry's attempts to befriend him and ask him about his times behind bars. During one shift, the topic of conversation shifts to the occult and Terry claims that him and a group of his friends hold periodic satanic rituals with the hopes of one day summoning a demon. He claims he's seen goat prints in the snow near where they've completed his rituals.

Terry manages to convince Rozier to attend the ritual that takes place on Halloween night. In attendance is the group's leader, Rodger, who has kidnapped and drugged a runaway teenage girl to sacrifice to Satan. The group builds a bonfire and Rodger begins reading off satanic verses before slicing the girl's throat.

Rozier becomes disgusted with the ritual and draws the ire of two of the group's members, a man in a Black Sabbath shirt and a man named Weasel. He throws both of them into the fire before revealing himself to be a demon in disguise, sent to the mortal world as punishment for stealing from Satan. He shifts into his demonic form before slaughtering the rest of the group members. As he walks back into the woods to head back to hell, he muses that he doesn't care much for humans.

## Cast

Mick Wingert as Rozier

Atticus Jackson as Terry

Elie Hirschman as Rodger

Kyle Akers as Sabbath Shirt

Matthew Bradford as Weasel
"What I Found"

**"What I Found"** is the first tale in the seventh episode of the fifth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man finds a disturbing journal. Written by Keith McDuffee, it has a runtime of 17:00 and was performed by David Cummings and Channe Nolen. It is the 522nd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man finally budgets enough money to purchase a summer house. He finds one he loves built on an isolated lake that comes with several amenities, including its own cistern. Unfortunately, an elderly couple, Alice and Tom, manage to purchase it a day before he goes to make an offer. Angry and bitter, he buys the smaller, less luxurious house a few doors away. Every day, he watches them swim in the lake or sit in the sun.

After a few months, however, activity at the house stops. The car isn't in the driveway and the man never sees them. In the fall, it unexpectedly goes up for sale. He pounces on it and moves in, finding all the couple's stuff still left inside after their children didn't want it. Checking behind the woodstove, he finds a journal kept by Alice in the months leading up to her and Tom's disappearance.

The first month or so went well, with the couple enjoying their time at the new house and playing with their dog, Hunter. However, soon after, Hunter started barking nightly, and the couple began hearing strange screaming noises from the woods. After Tom let him out one evening, Hunter ran into the woods didn't come out again. A few days later, Tom saw someone standing by the cistern, but they ran away before he could greet them.

Alice continued to hold out hope that the dog would come back, even after a month passed. Her and Tom started feeling sick over the course of several weeks. Though they took several trips to the store and stocked up on water, their illness worsened. Thinking there must have been something wrong with the water in the cistern, Tom went out to check and failed to come back by the next morning. Scared, Alice went out to look for him.

The journal ends here. The man reveals that he was the one causing all the disturbances, murdering Tom, Alice, and their dog before stuffing their bodies in the cistern and filling it in so he could have the house.

## Cast

David Cummings as the man

Channe Nolen as Alice
"5:19"

**"5:19"** is the first tale in the thirteenth episode of the second season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a man sees a strange sight outside his window one morning. Written and performed by Mark Copeland, it has a runtime of 3:20. It is the 123rd tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A man explains that none of his family members believe in the supernatural, but that they all have experiences and stories which can't quite be explained. The man shares his own unique story.

One night, he couldn't fall asleep, so he stayed up until the early hours in the morning reading, painting, and browsing the internet. Not tired but unable to do anything else until his family wakes up, he sits on the couch absentmindedly watching television when he suddenly becomes aware of a sound in the distance. The sound, which he realizes is they yowling and barking of cats and dogs, appears to be getting louder. He soon pieces together that this pack of animals is traveling down a sidewalk that runs through the park behind the house and wraps around into the neighborhood.

The man listens to the animals for a few minutes before running to his front door and locking it. Looking out the window, he sees an old man in a suit walking down the path on the opposite side of the street. He's holding several cats and dogs on leashes and peering into the front windows of the houses as he passes them. When the old man turns onto his side of the street and begins making his way towards his house, the man runs to his room and hides until he falls asleep.

When he asks his family at breakfast the next morning if they heard anything the night previously, no one responds. His grandfather suggests coyotes made the noises. The man half-heartedly agrees with him, unable to come up with explanation for the incident.
"Children's Playground"

**"Children's Playground"** is the second tale in the twenty-first episode of the second season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a boy has a frightening encounter. Written by Arnie Kalkauskas, it has a runtime of 10:40 and was performed by David Cummings. It is the 166th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

Michael goes to the playground after school to play hide and seek with his friends Billy and Tom. Billy counts and Tom hides behind the merry-go-round as Michael enters the expansive set of climbing tubes. After about ten minutes, it begins to get dark. Bored, Michael calls that he has given up. A voice suddenly calls to him from inside the tubes, telling him it's time to come out. Creeped out, he begins shuffling backwards.

The face of a dirty, deranged homeless man suddenly appears in the darkness in front of him. He smiles and begins rapidly crawling forwards. Michael crawls through the series of tubes endlessly, gradually getting lost but evading the man. The man calls to him but eventually gives up, exiting.

Hours later, Michael hears police sirens outside. Following scrapes of wet dirt, he makes his way out and runs to his parents. Billy and Tom's bodies are found weeks later in a drainage ditch, badly mutilated. Michael realizes with horror that the wet dirt in the tunnels was actually blood. He is chilled thinking about the man's deranged smile at the fact that he had won the game.
Tanja Milojevic

Tanja Milojevic is a narrator on The Nosleep Podcast. She made her debut in S11E07's "The Room Upstairs". Main character narrations are bolded.

## Appearances

* **Season 11**
	+ **Episode 7**
		- "The Room Upstairs"
	+ **Episode 20**
		- "Curse of the Gilded Echo Part 3: The Queen in Ivory"
		- **"An App Called, 'How Will You Die?'"**
* **Season 12**
	+ **Episode 8**
		- "Luminescence"
* **Season 15**
	+ **Bonus Episode #2: Halloween 2020**
		- "Mother Mary's Scary Halloween Ferry"
	+ **Episode 10: Halloween 2020**
		- "Hide the Knives"
	+ **Episode 13**
		- **"My Sweet Boy"**
	+ **Episode 17: Christmas 2020**
		- "The Paper Plate House"
		- "Carol's Christmas Cookies"
	+ **Episode 18**
		- "The Lady of the House"
* **Season 16**
	+ **Episode 4**
		- **"She Watches Me"**
	+ **Episode 5**
		- **"Butcher"**
* **Sleepless Decompositions**
	+ **Vol. 4**
		- "A Hungry Mouth to Feed"
* **Season 17**
	+ **Episode 22**
		- "The Drive-In Movie"
	+ **Episode 23**
		- "Astraphobia"
	+ **Episode 24**
		- "I Can't Hear You"
	+ **Bonus Episode #6: Suddenly Shocking, Vol. 15**
		- **"The Pond"**
* **Season 18**
	+ **Episode 8**
		- "Underground"
	+ **Episode 14**
		- **"Dear Jennifer"**
	+ **Episode 17**
		- "Jerry's Run"
	+ **Episode 18: Halloween 2022**
		- "The Shadow Mouth"
	+ **Episode 23**
		- "Newborn Screening"
	+ **Episode 24**
		- **"The Day the Music Died"**
	+ **Bonus Episode #4: Christmas 2022**
		- "Here We Come A-Caroling"
	+ **Bonus Episode #6: Suddenly Shocking, Vol. 16**
		- **"Smudge"**
"There is No Such Thing as Real Magic"

**"There is No Such Thing as Real Magic"** is the third tale in the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a magician goes and sees an exclusive magic show. Written by Edwin Crowe, it was performed by David Ault, James Cleveland, Dan Zappulla, Jeff Clement, and David Cummings. It is the 1490th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A magician, Baz, frequents an online forum for him and other illusionists. Someone posts a grainy video to a page showing an elusive magician, called the Russian, allegedly sawing a woman in half alive. Baz calls the video a hoax. Later that night, he is DMed by a user named Dan who offers him tickets to a show the Russian is putting on in the Ukraine the next week. Since he has no work on his schedule, he accepts.

Baz flies to the Ukraine and goes to the address for the show, which is in a seedy building in an alley. At the preshow, he meets up with Dan and they watch the show when it comes on, with the Russian appearing and performing several illusions while an announcer introduces them.

Later, Baz, Dan, and several other ticketholders are selected to be a part of the Russian's final tricks and are lead into a back room, where they are instructed to wait to be called. While there, they meet another armature magician, Brandon. One by one, the holders are taken onstage and appear to be slaughtered by the Russian's acts, such as Dan being sawn in half in a box and Brandon being hit with a knife. Baz is horrified and tries to escape but finds guards blocking the door. When he is taken onstage, he yells to the audience that people are actually being killed, but they just laugh at him.

Minutes later, the holders come out from behind a curtain, alive and well. The audience erupts into applause. Dan explains that the whole show was a trick and Baz was selected as the dupe to point out how frighteningly realistic the Russian's tricks were.

Shaken by the whole experience, Baz returns home to England and doesn't go on the forum for several weeks. When he hears that the rest of the Russian's shows have been cancelled, he checks the board again to see that Dan has DMed him a picture. It shows his stomach with a bloody slit through it growing wider, with Dan commenting with horror that he is afraid the Russian's magic is wearing off.

## Cast

David Ault as Baz

James Cleveland as Dan

Dan Zappulla as Brandon

Jeff Clement as the Russian

David Cummings as the bouncer/the announcer
"Who Killed Sarah Cooper?"

Illustration by Lukasz Godlewski

**"Who Killed Sarah Cooper?"** is the second tale in the eleventh episode of the fourth season of The Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman finds the body of a girl in the woods. Written by C.K. Walker, it has a runtime of 14:30 and was performed by Alexis Bristowe and David Cummings. It is the 400th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A woman, Jessica, lives in the same backwoods mountain town that she grew up in, despite her hopes to leave and find a job with a publishing company in the city. Due to her troubled childhood and a stalker she has a restraining order against, Doug, she goes running in the woods behind her property regularly to calm her nerves.

One Sunday morning, she begins running but decides to stray off her usual path and run deeper into the woods, as she has her GPS with her. After about an hour, she arrives at a clearing with a large oak tree in the middle. When she leans against the tree to rest, she notices a pink shoe sticking out of an alcove. Investigating further, she discovers the crumpled body of a small girl crammed inside.

Jessica runs back to her house and calls the police. A crowd slowly gathers outside as news vans and curious onlookers arrive. She thinks she sees Doug in the crowd and almost tells the cops. The police eventually retrieve the body of the girl and identify her as a girl named Sara, but currently unable to find her parents.

A few weeks pass and the investigation continues. Jessica is called down to the station under the guise to answer questions about the case, but is instead greeted by a detective and a man she does not recognize, Dr. Watner. The detective tells her that Sarah died from blunt force trauma before asking her if she knows who Dr. Watner is. She claims she doesn't remember.

Dr. Watner tells her that they have identified the body as that of her daughter, Sarah. Jessica claims this is impossible, as she doesn't have a daughter. He then informs her that she came to him a few years previously after her daughter disappeared, claiming that Doug kidnapped her. He then shows her pictures of her with Sarah.

Jessica tries to tell them that she saw Doug on the day of the discovery, but Dr. Watner informs her that Doug does not exist. The detective looks apologetic and informs her that she's going to need a lawyer and the doctor's help. They pair leave shortly after. Jessica sits in confusion wondering what exactly happened.

## Cast

Alexis Bristowe as Jessica

David Cummings as the detective/Dr. Watner
"The Studio Audience"

**"The Studio Audience"** is the second tale in the second episode of the fifth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a woman begins hearing a studio audience in his head. Written by Manen Lyset, it has a runtime of 10:40 and was performed by Jessica McEvoy and David Cummings. It is the 495th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

After crashing her bike and suffering a concussion, Mary begins hearing a live studio audience inside her head that reacts to whatever she does. Whenever her boyfriend, Eric, tells jokes, the audience laughs. When they cuddle at night or her cat snuggles with her, they make "awww" noises. Mary is worried that she's suffering schizophrenia at first but after a visit from the doctor she accepts her new condition.

After a few months, however, the audience seems to turn against her. They make unnecessary gasping noises that cause her to panic and slip in the shower, breaking her wrist. When she falls on ice and breaks her finger, they laugh. Mary worries the audience is a reflection of what she truly thinks of the world around her.

The audience eventually begins to influence her so much she degrades her relationships with Eric, her parents, her friends, and her boss. After a few weeks of being alone and broke, she decides to ignore the audience and reconciles with everyone.

A few more months pass, and she mostly manages to avoid letting the audience influence her. One night, she is visited by a police officer who informs her that Eric has been killed in a car accident. The audience laughs uncontrollably, even at the funeral. Mary despairs that she's a terrible person for thinking her boyfriend's death is funny.

## Cast

Jessica McEvoy as Mary

David Cummings as the police officer
"Wendigo Psychosis"

**"Wendigo Psychosis"** is the second tale in the fifteenth episode of the thirteenth season of The Nolseep Podcast. In it, a man is trapped in a snowbound cabin by a wendigo. Written by Cash Robinson, it has a runtime of 13:47 and was performed by Nikolle Doolin and Mick Wingert. It is the 1624th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

This story is told in the third person. Nikolle Doolin serves as the narrator.

Sometime in the 1800s, a man and his brother are traveling in the mountains when a large snowstorm hits. The brother catches frostbite and becomes deathly ill. The pair finds a cabin and the man brings his brother inside. The man tries to nurse him back to health but he succumbs to his disease and dies.

The man is snowbound in the cabin for the next week. He tries eating some food scraps he finds and drinks melted snow, but as time passes he grows weak and malnourished. Finally succumbing to hunger, he shamefully eats parts of his brother's corpse.

A few nights later, the man is sitting in the attic when he notices a large, dark figure coming towards the cabin in the snow. It's an immensely tall, emaciated humanoid with a pair of antlers on its head and a cloth veil covering its face. The man recognizes it as a wendigo and yells at it to go away, claiming that he only ate his brother to survive.

The wendigo shreds its veil with is claws to reveal that it has the brother's face. The man cries out in terror and yells at the creature that it will have to wait outside, as the snow is currently too high for it to enter the cabin. He proudly proclaims that he would rather succumb to starvation than give up and go out to it. The wendigo sits down on a snowbank and waits, grinning at him.

A few hours pass. To the man's horror, he notices that the snowfall has stopped and the sun is coming out. As the snow begins to melt, the wendigo prepares to enter the cabin.

## Cast

Nikolle Doolin as the narrator

Mick Wingert as the man
"Holes"

**"Holes"** is the first tale in the thirteenth episode of the first season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a girl experiences strange things in her grandparent's house. Written by Joey Brashier, it has a runtime of 6:58 and was performed by Wade Thorson. It is the 51st tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A girl is sent to live with her grandparents while her parents are on tour in the army. The grandparents' large house sits in the middle of the woods and used to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. The girl enjoys spending time with her grandma and grandpa. Her room sits at the center of the house with no windows in it.

The girl notices that her things are going missing, such as her toothbrush, her comb, and some of her clothes. Her grandparents tell her she must just be misplacing them and joke about a ghost. Holes suddenly start appearing in the walls of the house, especially in the girl's room. Creeped out, she asks to sleep in her grandparents' room.

At two in the morning, the girl hears a tapping noise. She looks at the wall in time to see a circular piece of plaster fall out. She screams and her grandparents wake up. In the morning, they decide to go away for the weekend. When they return to the house days later, they find more holes in the girls' wall and most of her possessions missing. Exhausted, she falls asleep in her room.

At midnight, she hears a rhythmic tapping noise coming from behind her wall. Looking up, she sees an eye staring at her from one of the holes. The grandparents call the police and the cops break down the wall to find a hidden room.

In the crawlspace is a thin layer of garbage and waste, in addition to most of the girls' missing possessions. Hanging from a rafter is the body of a man. The police speculate he broke into the house and lived in its walls, spying on the girl and accidentally dying while sexually asphyxiating himself to her.
"Totality"

Illustration by Krys Hookuh

**"Totality"** is the second tale in the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of The Nosleep Podcast. In it, a woman finds a hatch in the middle of a field. Written by T. Takeda Wise, it has a runtime of 22:30 and was performed by Jessica McEvoy, Nikolle Doolin, and Mike DelGaudio. It is the 1489th tale overall on the podcast.

## Summary

A stargazer enjoys going out to remote places in the middle of the night to look at the sky. On one such occasion she hears about a blood moon that will be in her area and heads to a deserted field to watch it through her telescope.

While waiting for the moonrise, a pair of cops pull up. The female officer warns her that there are coyotes in the area and the male officer tells her to be careful and to make sure she's not doing anything illegal. They leave shortly after.

Deciding she wants a closer look, the stargazer heads deeper into the field only to trip over something and fall. Looking behind her, she sees there is a hatch with a glass dome on it in the middle of some grass. An eye appears behind the glass and begins knocking on the hatch, begging to be let out. The stargazer sees that the hatch is locked with a combination lock and is impossible to open without the code. Despite the person's pleas to not leave them alone and help, she leaves to go find the cops.

A few moments later, the cops pull up again. The stargazer tells them what she saw but they don't seem all that worried. To quell her anxiety, the female officer follows her into the field to where the hatch was, only to discover that it is now missing. Confused and overwhelmed, the stargazer yells at the cops for not doing anything before they threaten to arrest her for trespassing. She begrudgingly packs up her telescope and prepares to leave. The male officer tells her not to tell anyone about what she saw and to never return to the field.

A few days pass. The stargazer can't get the strange event out of her head and decides to head back to the field to try and figure out what was going on.

## Cast

Jessica McEvoy as the stargazer

Nikolle Doolin as the female officer

Mike DelGaudio as the male officer/the person in the hatch
Thea Arnman

## About

**Thea Arnman** is an illustrator on the Nosleep Podcast. She made her illustrating debut in S1305, with "Halfway to Forgotten".

## Illustrations

* **Season 13**
	+ **Episode 5**
		- "Halfway to Forgotten"
	+ **Episode 14**
		- "The Storm Game"
	+ **Episode 22**
		- "The Book of Skin"
* **The New Decayed Season 1**
	+ **Episode 3**
		- "Smile Dog"
* **Season 14**
	+ **Episode 4**
		- "A Date with Uncle Wiggily"
	+ **Episode 22**
		- "Sweet Remains"
* **Season 15**
	+ **Episode 6**
		- "No Hole in a Small World Can Truly Be a Small Hole"
	+ **Episode 16**
		- "Doors"
* **Season 16**
	+ **Episode 1**
		- "Shadow of the Keeper"
	+ **Episode 11**
		- "The Hidden Television Channel"
	+ **Episode 23**
		- "Suds & Monsters"
* **Season 17**
	+ **Episode 10**
		- "Three Lanes Deep"