Westside Fairytales: Horror and Dark Fiction Stories

Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is the second half of a two-part tale.

Last episode, we left the subject of our story, a young man named Barden, in his hermitage of a flat in Paris. He’s been bothered by strange knocking from the apartment downstairs, and visions of some pale-faced apparition that may or may not be a symptom of his self-imposed isolation. Barden is a man who likes solitude not because he enjoys it, but because he’s afraid of trying anything else. But he’s started hearing the first low peels of bellsong in the foggy Parisian night, and soon he may find the call of at least one of those long and lonely notes too enticing to ignore.

Literature recommendation: ”The House of Sand and Fog” by Andre Dubus III

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Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is about a man living alone, with little more than the glow of his computer to keep him company. But something from beyond the veil of death and time may soon enter into the life of this modern hermit, whether he wants it to or not.

This month’s recommendations:

Literature recommendation: ”My Friend Dahmer” by Derf Backderf

Random horror recommendation: The Haunting of Hill House

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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I fought a war once. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen combat, more than a decade actually. But even after all that time, the memories of Iraq: The sand. The heat. The people. The violence. Those have stayed closer to my heart than almost any other thing I’ve done.

In today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales, we follow a veteran who faces a similar problem, coming to terms with the guilt of surviving something many others did not. He’s a man who’s taken up ultra-marathoning as a way to escape the memories and feelings that have haunted him since his last ugly day in the sandbox. But on this run, he finds something else chasing him through the rocky sands of the Mojave desert. Something he might not be able to outrun.

This month’s recommendations:

Literature recommendation: ”The Complete Lovecraft” by H.P. Lovecraft

Random horror recommendation: Hollow Knight video game

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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The grind can get to you. My guess is you know what I’m talking about. Most of you, my Dear Listeners, are probably listening to this in the background of some banal task. You’re driving yourself to work, or the kids to school. You’re out mowing the lawn or sitting on a cold bench waiting for the train to finally show.

But like most people in this modern world, you’re somebody with someplace to be and something to do. And it’s hard sometimes, the way the days begin to flit by as you stack dollars and pay bills. As your hair grays and the days disappear until, one day, it’s like your whole life is behind you. But the grind, the grind never slows.

Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is about a man trapped in that same grind, by his own desire to become the master of the great millstone itself. But his preoccupation with success is getting to him, coloring every new day darker than the last.

This month’s recommendations:

Literature recommendation: ”Uzumaki” by Junji Ito

Random horror recommendation: Jacob’s Ladder

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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Life is like the tides. It comes and goes, rises and falls with the moon and light and darkness. This endless force propels us forward no matter our situation, until we can be moved no more.

Today's minisode of the Westside Fairytales is about a man who takes his elderly grandfather on a late night surf trip. A last bit of kindness before the moon sets in the west. 

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Buy our book "The Eyes Beneath My Father's House" on Amazon!

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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Some fears are not shared evenly amongst the inhabitants of this little blue marble. The fear, for instance, that your agency could be stripped away at any moment without recourse isn’t something we all feel, but that some of us know all too well.

It’s fear that comes with a shaky position in society. Women, minorities, and folks with lifestyles and predilections that buck the status quo. If you’re not one of these folks, you might not know what it’s like to not be believed. To simply be ignored by the powers that be, to be dismissed casually. Even to have your life simply placed into the hands of another, regardless of how you feel about the situation.

Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales lives amongst the tendrils of this idea. It is the story of a woman who wakes up to a life that isn’t hers, that she doesn’t want to live, and that certain forces, certain people, won’t allow her to leave. Our protagonist knows the truth about herself, but she’s stripped of her freedoms, even her dignity, simply because that’s the sort of thing that happens to women sometimes.

This month's recommendations:

Podcast recommendation: Hillbilly Horror Stories

Literature recommendation: ”House of Leaves” by Mark Z. Danielewski

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Buy our book "The Eyes Beneath My Father's House" on Amazon!

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is about a man trapped in a relationship he despises. He doesn’t know if he hates his wife, but he does know he plans on leaving her, just as soon as they reach the end of the long trip they’ve embarked on together.

But his plans are put on hold when they stop for gas at a remote desert gas station. Strange things have the building and its occupants under siege. There seems to be no way out, and unfortunately for our protagonist, “til death do us part” may be his only option. 

This month’s recommendations:

Podcast recommendation: Evergreen

Literature recommendation: ”Night Shift“ by Stephen King

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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Life has a pace, a rhythm. It’s always unsettling when things disturb it. The death of a friend, an injury, an accident, when the unexpected comes calling it usually visits with bad news in tow.

Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is about a man who sets his watch by life’s banalities. He lives a boring life, a life he generally enjoys, but things are about to change for him. It starts small; a gap appears on a street where there was no gap. But even a small change in a boring life can have extraordinary effects.

This month’s recommendations:

Podcast recommendation: 33% Pulp

Literature recommendation: ”Dry” by Augusten Burroughs

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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There’s an old sort of saying that the best judge is one who hates his work. A man eager to pass judgment on others, that is, is the man least capable of doing the job.

Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is about just that sort of man, a reserved individual sent to a small village in a seemingly medieval country, tasked with finding out why people passing by the town are being branded as criminals and hanged.

It’s not just a story on the passing of judgment, but on the nature of those judgments we pass and are forced to pass on each other. How eagerness for justice may lead us to injustice.

This month’s recommendations:

Podcast recommendation: Gamma Radio

Literature recommendation: “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines

Thanks for listening! Subscribe and review us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Buy our book "The Eyes Beneath My Father's House" on Amazon!

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

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We all feel the urge to run sometimes. Pressure builds up around us, pushing on our chests and heads, caving in the soft bits inside our ears and eyes until we feel fit to burst. Money, family, loneliness, the struggle to be known, the pain of being forgotten, it all stacks up and gets heavier. And heavier. And heavier.

And when it gets to be too much, there’s a part of you inside that lets you know. We need to run now. We either run, or we die.

Today’s episode of the Westside Fairytales is about a girl who decides to run. She’s taken all she can of the life that was given to her at birth, a life that’s had terrible consequences for most all of the people who’ve gotten tangled up in it. She gets involved with a soon-to-be notorious outlaw, and cuts a path of crime and pain across America, until she arrives at her final destination a thousand miles from where she started, feeling like she’d never really left at all.

This month’s recommendations:

Podcast recommendations: Dark Topic and Canadian True Crime

Literature recommendation: ”A Winter Haunting” by Dan Simmons

Thanks for listening! Subscribe and review us on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Buy our book "The Eyes Beneath My Father's House" on Amazon!

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Artwork by Yui Breedlove

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.