#nosleep horror

[divinemelpomene]

Podcast Hauntings Part I

Hey, [REDACTED],

Hey! Hope life is treating you well! Saw on social media you've avoided Covid too -- just got my antibodies checked again! We should hang out soon?

Look, I get it. We haven't talked in like...fifteen years. And I know what happened that night was But we didn't have a falling out, right? It was more of a drifting apart, yay college, heh. Friends until the day we die... that's what we always said that night, right? I mean if you called me tomorrow....no, okay. I probably wouldn't have even listened to the voicemail for weeks. So I have no right to be writing this email, asking you for help. (Is this even still your email? Mine hasn't changed in fifteen years.)

I think I need help. I think it might be supernaturally related. It's...christ it's now almost 2 3 AM, so bear with me if I'm a little weird in the words. I haven't slept a full night in weeks. I know people say that, but I am talking spurts of half hours. It's -- well that's not important.

So, I am still a writer! I write audio dramas now for a living. Well, I say a living. I write them for money, but I have to still.... it doesn't matter. I make money at it, so I can say I am professional right? I hope you're still doing some writing too! Did you keep that demon dictionary? I know we said we'd get rid of it but

Anyways, remember how we used to go to all those author signings, and they would talk about characters coming to life, taking control of the story through the author. It was always so metaphorical, blah blah, and like that's really cool! But I never really once believed an author was being held at knife point over a story from a character. They didn't....actually come to life.

[REDACTED], I swear I have no other way to say this. I think I am being haunted by the characters in this audio fiction I'm working on.

It's a cool show, life in a weird small town. Reminds me of that show your dad used to love - Twin Peaks? Get a lot of vibes from that show in so much media these days. Don't ask me how many times I've watched Gravity Falls. Anyways, I've been working on this podcast for four months now, and it's going pretty great! Got some good traction, amazing sponsors lined up -- even got a few guest voice actors that would make teenage us scream in delight! It's a wonderful mixture of horror and comedy -- I am loving working on it. My first solo written episode airs soon!

But... at some point the voices started. I could hear them everywhere, constantly coming from behind me. Then it was the dreams.

And now I'm CERTAIN I've seen one of them. I don't know how else to explain it. They.... I mean they aren't... I'm going to have to explain this to you in person.

The last person I tried to get to help me said i was overreacting this isn't scary enough to keep me from sleeping my trauma wasn't enough for them

This isn't me just hallucinating from a lack of sleep. If I sleep for longer than a couple of hours, I risk dying. I've come too close to death so many times now. The bruises oh God and that time I woke up feeling a hand on my throat? The comments that week

I need your help. Can you call? I know it's been years. But I don't know who else to trust with this kind of secret. You're the only other person who remembers what happen that night. I don't think it's related, but... I don't know who else to turn to at this point who won't instantly try to talk me into a 72 hour hold.

I hope you still check this email. If you do, give me a call at 404-44x-xxxx

-Mel

[notbecauseofvictories]

I will say, choosing to make your way through a bunch of point-and-click games on itch.io will single-handedly remind you that creativity is not "dead" or "corporatized" but actually, we as a species are still amazing, wildly inventive, and largely unhinged; if you claim otherwise, you're just not looking at the right bits.

[sepulchretide]

Listening to the nosleep podcast is always such a mixed bag like the first two or three narrations are the most boring unscary or cliche shit and then the last story of the episode is the most haunting thing you'll remember for years to come. You just have to sit through 2-3 hours of the former

[girlfromthecrypt]

Nosleep author new to Tumblr --- Here to say hi!

It's great to see you here!

In case you're a stranger stumbling across this, I am an author on r/nosleep over on Reddit. I write first person POV dark fantasy/horror stories, mostly with a light touch. Topics include but are not limited to fairy-infested theme parks, frustrated dimension hoppers struggling with unemployment and women in wedding dresses roaming haunted forests. If any of that sounds interesting to you, feel free to check out my Reddit account. Or maybe you'd care to take a look at my subreddit, r/CrypticPark. As of now, the bulk of my work can be found there.

I suppose everyone who's following this blog knows me from Reddit. I plan to post my stories here as well as to r/nosleep. I find that the landscape on that subreddit has changed a lot lately, and not exactly in the best way. So maybe branching out will do me and my creative work some good. Let's see how it goes!

I gotta admit, I'm not at all used to how Tumblr works, so this post is as much as a greeting as it is me dipping my toes into what's sure to be a raging sea. Do folks even post texts like these here? Guess I'll see. Have mercy on me, is what I'm saying. I'm about as social media-savvy as your stereotypical granny. In fact, I am typing this with my screen dangerously close to my face, squinting at the keyboard like a vole. Still, I'll try my best to figure out this platform and make your stay on my blog as pleasant as I possibly can. I admittedly had fun playing with colors and fonts for my profile, so I hope there'll be good things to come.

Thanks for following my stories! Cheers

XxGftc

[brainhemorrhage]

This is not Hell. It's not Heaven either. This is the Black Farm.

(Inspired by Feed The Pig by Elias Witherow. Pls read it <33333. art by Blake Neubert)

[haveyouheardthispodcast]

[erikasandersonactor]

Horrorcon UK

Ok, so a little rather late for an Audio Drama Sunday post, but I wanted to share what an epic weekend we had at Horrorcon UK in Sheffield 11-12th May.

Myself, Daivd Ault and James Cleveland (all from The NoSleep Podcast) were there promoting "Horror in Audio Fiction", trying to get more people to discover audio drama and fiction through podcasts, and not assuming all podcasts were two blokes talking about stuff into a mic.

Having worked on over a 100 shows between us, (with a lot of horror), it became a game of "Tell us what kind of horror you like, and we'll recommend a show for you to listen to".

From the big anthology shows like NoSleep, and the very British and queer Shadows at the the Door, we kept finding more shows to talk about and add to an ever-growing flow chart.

Shows we were flag waving for included:

The NoSleep Podcast Shadows at the Door @re-dracula @thekilda @woebegonepod Dark Dice Red Odyssey Audible Visions Drama Creepy Campfire Radio Theatre The Wicked Library Victoria's Lift The Dead @lessismorguepod The Hidden Frequencies

And it wasn't just horror! We gave shoutouts to @camlannpod and the sci-fi series Cyclone as well!

In all, a wonderful weekend introducing people to the incredible world of audio drama and fiction.

[wendingus]

See you this weekend 👁️

[fabdante]

in this one the part where i spent months blanking on what to do for a background has been shortened

art only blog - insta - inprnt - redbubble

[rehnwriter]

New Video up on Youtube!

[artisticfurby]

gang i am hyperfixated on this r/nosleep story/book i am sorry the 66358 in the bg is a reference to the book

[divinemelpomene]

Podcast Hauntings Part II

Hey, [REDACTED],

Thanks for the call. I'm sorry I missed it, I was avoiding it dear God I am not ready to actually talk to you it's the whole "trouble sleeping," you know? I think I am going to call out Monday to just…try and sleep for 12 hours. But hey after emailing you I fell asleep nearly immediately and succeeded at getting more than a couple of hours of sleep uninterrupted?

It was so cool to see your name pop up on my missed call list! And to hear your voice it sounds exactly the same as it did the last time we spoke. How do you still sound like that college guy? I guess we are that generation that won't change out cell numbers, huh? I didn't realize you had moved out to Ireland! How amazing– for work or school? Or following a love? I can't look you up on social media I didn't think about you for fifteen years I always figured you'd be the one to get out of here first. Maybe with the time difference we will be able to chat on the phone some during those insomnia nights I’m having.

Really though, thanks for not just calling my sister to come commit me for 72 hours. I don't think I can take the silence. If… if I keep the background noise high, it keeps them from coming. That sounds like the new season of Stranger Things, have you seen it? It reminds me of all the movies we used to watch, curled up on the couch in your parents basement I swear I am not claiming to be haunted by Vecna or something.

Let me see if I can explain what’s happened. The first time I noticed it, I mean I have to admit it had been clearly going on for awhile it was just the sound of a voice in the back of my head. A quiet voice, saying something in …well, in the voice I imagined her to have. I remember being excited that I was starting to be able to get into her head, you know? Like the authors used to talk about.

I kept thinking how lovely her voice is. Hypnotic, really. To everyone else it’s so awkward to their ears they cannot hear her the real her the true

The dreams started a few weeks later. Again, they felt like inspiration — my brain finally getting into a world so completely that I could write pages without stop. The easiest audio drama project I’ve worked on. Well the easiest since that project. That project we swore would make us famous that project that I agreed to do despite my gut reaction

After a few heavy nights of dreams followed by mornings of copious note taking, the dreams…turned strange. I mean, I was still in the town, just…not a part of town I had ever written about. It looked like that town. That town that we wiped from our memories god damn it those memories The character wouldn’t let me stay in this new part of town. Why would my brain keep bring up this place, but not actually allow me to enter it?

The last dream I had before I truly stopped sleeping well, I had turned up on the corner of this side of town. Again. I looked up to see her, the bright emerald green clothing I had began to associate with her. She shook her head, her eyes deep with concern.

“Why do I keep coming back here,” I asked, frustrated. She didn’t respond, just squeezed my arm tighter. So tight so fucking tight I tried to pry her hand off my arm.

“You’re hurting me,” I cried, as she squeezed tighter. I woke up to a scream on my lips.

It was a few hours later when I saw the bruise mark on my elbow, after wondering why the hell it was so sore.

I know how this sounds. But you have to realize, it was the town. The town with all the details. Did…did we not succeed?

With love,

Sincerely,

Mel

[sparkles-and-trash]

I LOVE horror, especially reading it, and especially interactive stuff. I’ve been on nosleep for 10+ years, and very few things actually gets to me

I somehow hadn’t read Correspondence yet, and started two hours ago, I’m almost finished, and hoooly shit, holy shittttt

Like holy shit I am so jumpy and when my Bluetooth speaker just stopped working twice in a row I nearly cried istg this is TOO MUCH FOR ME

[mere-vanilla]

I caved and started reading nosleep

I'm on the last part of Left/Right Game

Hypothesis before I finish the story: the road is life and/or grief, "unfinished business", etc.

And with that, let's see where the road goes.

[girlfromthecrypt]

It's so hot here that my roommate started shedding his skin. [Short horror story/nosleep]

Marco and I have been living together for over two years now. We never had any issues with our arrangement. We work together to keep the apartment clean, rent gets paid on time and in full every month, and I believe we've actually evolved into being friends over time. Therefore, these problems we've been having really threw me off guard.

It started when Marco staunchly refused to leave his room. I wasn't exactly worried at first. Our area has recently been hit by an extreme heatwave, and since we don't have an AC, I figured Marco locked himself in with a bunch of electric fans. When I went to knock on his door, I could hear them whirring on the other side. It weirded me out that he didn't answer immediately, though. After waiting a couple seconds, I chalked it up to him being asleep, but just as I was about to turn and leave, he called out to me. "Jen?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't dead. "Yeah, it's me! Just wanted to ask if everything's alright."

"Sure, I'm, uh… great."

His voice gave me pause. It sounded unusual, un*like* him. It was garbled and had an almost hissy quality to it. "You going to the store?"

"Yeah," I answered, trying not to make my discomfort known. "Need anything?"

"Can you get me a sixpack and a bag of ice, maybe?"

I told him I would and upon my return, I found a twenty lying on the floor by his doorframe. "Keep the change," Marco shouted.

I placed the items he'd ordered where his money had been and left, hoping things would be back to normal the following day. Perhaps Marco had caught a heatstroke working outside and that's all there was to it. Temperatures aren't normally that high where we live, so nobody's used to this kind of weather. The day after was a Sunday, and I made breakfast for the two of us like I did every week. Unlike every week, however, Marco wasn't waiting in the kitchen for it to be finished.

At first, I hollered for him to come out and eat with me, but when he didn't answer, I carried a plate of pancakes over to his room. I knocked, then asked into the silence whether he wanted any. I received no response, so I set aside the plate and banged both fists against his door. Still nothing. Both irritated and uneasy, I tried the doorhandle. My roommate and I are very respectful of each other's privacy, and I would never do so if it wasn't a pressing matter. It didn't amount to anything either way. Marco had locked himself in. He was definitely there, though. I heard his chair squeak.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "I can call a doctor, or…"

I trailed off when I saw a note being slid through the crack beneath the door right at my feet. I bent down to pick it up. It was in Marco's handwriting, but decidedly messy; like he'd been in a great hurry and practically spewed ink onto the paper.

*Hey Jen, I'm fine but my throat hurts so I can't talk. I'm sorry but I'm not coming out, I don't want to pass it on to you. I don't need a doctor, I bet I'll be fine in a couple days. Don't worry, ok?*

I frowned at the note, but took the news in stride. What else could I do? I told Marco I'd leave the pancakes outside for him, and not long after I'd returned to the living room, I could hear him dragging the plate inside. I found myself rather missing Marco's presence around the apartment. Three days went by without me catching so much as a glimpse of him. I'd have to walk past his door to get to the bathroom, and I would hear him playing the weather report on his little TV inside every time. On the fourth morning, I found another note, this time on the fridge.

*Hey Jen, I'm going out to see my mom. Be back in a week.*

What the fuck? First he's sick, now he's going on a trip. I was beyond confused. I tried to call him, but he didn't pick up. That wasn't really a surprise. Marco is one of those people who don't ever really use their cell phone. Most of the time, he doesn't even have it on him. Nevertheless, it only added to my growing concerns. Another two days passed and I didn't hear a thing from my roommate. I tried once more to call him when I got off work, just in case. It was already nighttime and Marco normally went to bed quite early, so I didn't really expect him to pick up. And he didn't.

Instead I heard a familiar ringtone coming from his room. It only lasted a few seconds before stopping abruptly, like it had been turned off in a hurry. My stomach sank when the realization set in. Why in the world would he lie to me? This didn't make any sense. The whole situation had the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but despite this, I began heading towards Marco's room. His door looked eerie in the dim lamplight of the hallway. I inched closer, hand outstretched to jiggle the handle. Locked. Of course.

"Marco?" I tried, pressing my ear up to the wood. "What's going on?"No answer. I could hear a squeaking noise coming from inside, like a chair being moved."What the fuck, man," I said, stifling the tremor in my voice. "You're clearly in there, I don't understand…"

That's when I had an idea. There were spare keys to all the rooms in a drawer in the living room cabinet. Neither of us had ever used them before, but there they were.

"Marco, if you're not gonna talk to me, then I'm coming in," I declared with all the determination I could muster. He didn't respond.

"I'm serious, I'm getting the spare and then I'm coming in."

Silence.

I bit my lip, turned on my heel and headed for the living room. My heart was thundering in my chest when I returned with the key. I crammed it into the hole with shaking fingers, turning it once, then twice.

*Click.*

I swallowed, steeling myself before I pushed down the handle and nudged the door open. The motion was accompanied by a drawn-out creaking noise that reminded me I should oil the hinges sometime. With my pulse thrumming in my ears, I entered the darkness beyond the threshold. I couldn't see anything except the limited areas that were illuminated by the ceiling lamp shining in from the hallway. In vain I groped around for the lightswitch, then I decided to give up and just proceed. Something stopped me from going back and grabbing a flashlight. I simply had a feeling I shouldn't turn my back on that room.

Both arms outstretched, I ventured further inside, feeling around for Marco's desk. Soon enough, my palms met with the smooth, hard wood and I braced myself against it almost desperately. "Marco?" I asked, an intangible fear compelling me to whisper. My hands started roaming the surface in front of me. I could feel his laptop, powered off and shut, his mousepad and a set of pens and pencils. Then I moved on to the chair. I flinched when I made contact with something dry and soft hanging over it. At first I thought it was a t-shirt, but the fabric felt almost like extremely thin baking paper. I continued to stroke it, and as my hand went down what was presumably the neckhole, I found that it was warm and damp.

Disgusted, I withdrew from the surely sweat-soaked piece of clothing. Remembering Marco's small desk lamp, I mentally palmed my face for not looking for it sooner. It didn't take me long to locate the switch. As the small light came on, its beam fell onto what I'd *thought* to be a shirt, causing me to recoil in shock. It was skin.

There was an entire fucking skinsuit slung over the back of the chair. It was like a snake's shedding, except tan and pink and human-shaped, with two arms and two legs and a tear in the back from which its wearer must have emerged. The remnants of the face dangled from the ragged neck-scrap, and it looked like the dried remains of one of those cosmetic gel masks. I stared at it for a moment, my eyes bulging and my heart in my throat before I started to violently gag. I clung to the edge of the desk for dear life, trying to keep my thoughts in order.

And that's when I heard it. A garbled, distorted hiss coming from right above me. I whipped my head up just in time to catch a glimpse of a figure scuttling across the ceiling and disappearing into the hallway at an inhuman speed. My mind raced, but before I could think of anything better to do, my feet were already carrying me out the door. I burst into the living room, my face burning as panic spread throughout my body. Inwardly, I was yelling at myself to get out, to leave this place while I still could. Despite this, I followed the sound of dishes rattling into the kitchen.

I hastily flicked on the lights and started looking around for the source of the noise. My stomach was churning and beads of cold sweat ran down my face. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that whatever had been hiding in the shadows could be none other than Marco.

Marco, who was somehow able to walk on the ceiling, who had shed his skin and deposited it on the chair at his desk. Marco, who I'd been living with for two years, who had always been kind and friendly and open, who never argued when it was his turn to clean or take the trash out. Marco, who most definitely wasn't human.

Marco…

Marco was staring at me. I could feel his gaze burning holes into my side. I turned to the right, slowly raising my eyes to the kitchen cupboard. Cowering on top of it, not unlike a wild cat, was my roommate. He had pressed himself against the wall, flattening himself to the cabinet on all fours like a master contortionist. His entire body was of a dripping, aggravated scarlet. His face was bright red, his eyes bulging out of his head; it looked as though the lids were missing. Marco's lips had thinned and receded so his gums were on display—I'd never realized how large his teeth were. Dampened brown curls clung to his neck and temples. Rooted to the spot, all I could do was stare at this thing that my friend had turned into.

He—it—stared back, that same hissing sound emanating from somewhere deep in its throat. Slowly but surely, it loosened from its rigidity and began crawling towards me, sticking to the ceiling like an enormous anthropomorphic gecko. The fluids coating Marco's pink body dripped onto the floor in front of me. I must have forgotten how to breathe altogether. My tongue was bone dry, like a dead leaf lying limp inside my mouth.

"Marco," I muttered. "Marco, this is you, right?"

A rumble rolled from his chest, something akin to a growl.

I raised both my hands, taking a step back as he advanced. "You're okay! I swear," I stammered. "I'm not gonna tell. Whatever this is, I promise I'm not gonna tell."

He stopped and cocked his head, neck cracking. His mouth fell open and his tongue dropped out. It was twice as long as humanly possible. I stifled a shudder, keeping my hands up and forcing myself to assume a soothing expression. "Everything's okay. Stop growling. You know me. We live together. I make you breakfast on Sundays and it's your turn to take the trash out tomorrow."

Marco closed his mouth. He crept over to the left wall and began descending, movements fast and spider-like. Once more standing on two feet, he started walking towards me, step by step, the soles of his skin-stripped feet creating a wet slapping sound on the smooth clean floor. I dropped my arms, focusing on keeping my breathing steady until he finally came to a stop in front of me. "You're okay," I repeated. "You're alright. Can you still hear me? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

A nod. Then, he opened his mouth, forcibly shaping the growls and hissing noises into distorted, almost intelligible words.

"My kind is sensitive to heat."

[spiciestmarinara]

I followed Re:Dracula when I heard Jonathan Sims appears in it, the Hotel promotion made me more excited to get into it, BUT- it reminded me-

If you’re a fan of Jonathan Sims and some how haven’t heard of Slay The Princess, the full game is coming out soon and there’s a generous free demo still available and it’s really good.

Nichole Goodnight (who I know from The NoSleep Podcast) plays the titular Princess, Jonathan Sims is the Narrator and ‘The Voices in your Head’ and both of them do a really good job.

I don’t want to spoil too much but your goal in the game is what it says on the tin, you have to slay a Princess or the world will end.

Would me saying that Sims also does a Matt Berry impression in the game sweeten the deal as well?

The full game is coming out on October 20th so now is the perfect time to check out the demo on Steam.

Edit: I looked up Nichole Goodnight’s socials to check if I was spelling her name correct and still managed to drop the ‘h’ on accident.

Slay the Princess! It’s good! Perfect for Halloween time! Go play it!