Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Wonderful Magic Lantern Show
Episode Date: September 17, 2026Narrator: Heather Foster 🇺🇸 Writer: Alicia Steffann ✍️ Sound effects: countryside ambience, crickets, birds 🌾🐦⬛ Welcome back, sleepyheads. Tonight, we’ll be mak...ing a journey back to the late 19th century to experience entertainment before the advent of films. In this time, many folks were wowed by travelling lantern showmen. 😴 Includes mentions of: Americana, Children, Family, Parents, Grandparents, Food, Dogs, Nostalgia, History. Get Sleepy Premium Listen completely ad-free and access our entire catalogue of stories and meditations by subscribing to our premium feed. Your support means the world to us and makes it possible to keep the show running! ❤️ Get your 7-day free trial: getsleepy.com/support. Connect Stay up to date on all our news and even vote on upcoming episodes! Website: slumberstudios.com/getsleepy/ Facebook: facebook.com/getsleepypod/ Instagram: instagram.com/getsleepypod/ Our Apps Redeem exclusive unlimited access to Premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Get Sleepy and Slumber Studios team: Deep Sleep Sounds: deepsleepsounds.com/getsleepy/ Slumber: slumber.fm/getsleepy/ FAQs Have a query for us or need help with something? You might find your answer here: Get Sleepy FAQs About Get Sleepy Get Sleepy is the #1 storytelling podcast designed to help you get a great night’s rest. By combining sleep meditations with a relaxing bedtime story, each episode will guide you gently towards sleep. Thank you so much for listening! Feedback? Let us know your thoughts! slumberstudios.com/contact-us/. Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios. Check out our podcasts, apps, and more at slumberstudios.com. That’s all for now. Sweet dreams! ❤️ 😴 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Welcome to get sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy.
My name's Thomas. Thanks so much for joining us.
Tonight's story was written by Alicia Stefan, and Heather will be reading it for us.
Thank you both so much.
will be making a journey to the late 19th century to experience entertainment before the advent of films.
Many years before the birth of movies, audiences were being dazzled by the stories and images
of devices called magic lanterns. The earliest of these projectors probably date back to the
1600s, the power and complexity of the magic lantern increased over the years.
By the end of the 1800s, it's estimated that there were as many as 30,000 to 60,000 lantern
showmen traveling the United States alone, putting on upwards of 150,000 shows per year.
These presentations were a form of entertainment that reached the humblest locations, offering joy and education to the masses.
Before we begin, settle down and start to consciously slow your breathing, mentally acknowledge any thoughts that intrude on your relaxation.
gently putting them to bed by the night.
Focus on releasing any tension in your neck, your jaw and your limbs.
Leave yourself open to the scenes that are to come in our story,
letting go of the chatter of the day as you do so.
Now, come along with us as we imagine the experience of a family in the United States countryside
in the 1890s, attending a much-anticipated travelling Magic Galantan show.
It's a gentle summer afternoon, and the air is filled with the promise of a beautiful evening
to come.
This is where our story begins.
Coming for weeks with anticipation.
Since the day the posters had first appeared,
announcing that the traveling magic lantern show was coming,
the locals had been talking about what a treat it would be.
Everyone from the elderly folk, down to the children,
had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Mr. Cartwright's spectacular stereo opticon display.
Georgie and his friends had spent far too much time gawking in front of the advertisements.
A stereo opticon sounded very fancy and expensive,
but Georgie's father said that normal folks just called it a magic lantern.
Still, as Dad admitted,
it wasn't often that a show came through this neck of the woods
with such a large magic lantern.
He'd heard that Mr. Cartwright's model projected images
that seemed to move and change,
and that they were a wonder to behold.
In honor of the occasion,
the Reverend had agreed to let the townspeople host the lantern show in the church.
It was, after all, the biggest place where people could gather,
and it was often the sight of some meeting or other.
The posters proclaimed that the show was appropriate for all ages,
and that it would feature travel scenes and humorous but tasteful stories.
The Reverend was barely easily convinced.
After all, even he liked to see a good job.
show once in a while. The occasion had, of course, given all the ladies in town an excuse to rustle up
a summer picnic. The event would probably be a little warm with all those people crammed into the
church they reasoned. Everyone would be wanting a cool glass of lemonade after, and the lemonade
table needed a cake table next to it, and then someone offered to bring some savory pies,
and before you knew it, there were plans for quite an evening spread. Mr. Johnson, the town's
best fiddler, had said it would be a shame not to have some music afterwards, too.
Now the more talented players in the community were planning to bring their instruments,
for a little dancing and merriment.
Provided that the weather cooperated,
people were expecting quite a shindig at this point.
But of course, the magic lantern show would be the main attraction.
The day of the lantern show had brought good fortune.
The skies were clear and blue,
and all signs were pointing to a little.
a really fine summer evening. As Georgie and his sister Alice went about the usual household
chores, their mother skillfully baked a beautiful blueberry pie to contribute to the festivities.
Everyone knew that her pies were among the best in town. It made Georgie proud to see it
cooling on the counter, looking like a picture in a magazine.
He was less thrilled to change into his Sunday clothes when late afternoon came around.
But Mother insisted, he grumbled quietly about putting on his nice shirt and his knickerbockers.
They were not as comfortable as his everyday trousers.
Alice seemed almost excited to put on her nicest dress.
But it was no wonder, he thought to himself,
as he observed the light, loose fabric, draping soft and easy to her knees.
She looked a lot cooler than he was liable to be.
When he was all dressed, Georgie turned and looked at their dog Buster,
who was lying in the corner.
His chin rested on his paws, and he peeked up at Georgie through long tufts of hair that partially covered his eyes.
He seemed to be skeptical about this unusual appearance of the Sunday clothes, as if in sympathy, Buster uttered a little grumble.
But Georgie forgot all about the indignity of the Knickerbockers when it was finally time to go.
Dad had the wagon waiting outside, and the horses all hitched up.
He helped mother into her seat carefully,
mindful of the fact that she was carrying a near perfect pie in her hands.
She sat down with a smile, looking so pretty.
Like the rest of the family, she was dressed in her newest blouse.
It had fashionably puffed sleeves.
and was starched and ironed.
Georgie knew that mother would look cool as a cucumber,
no matter how warm it got.
Georgie and Alice got up in the back of the wagon,
and Buster hopped in and settled down between them.
He was a good dog and would be allowed to wait outside the church
until the picnic started.
It would be fun for him to play with the children,
afterwards. All the other kids knew Buster and were used to having him around. He was one of the
gang. The two kids were hopping with excitement by the time they pulled up to the church building.
There were lots of other horses and wagons that had gotten there before them. A few young people who
lived in town, had even ridden their bicycles, which were leaning against nearby trees,
looking exotic in comparison to the ordinary wagons. No sooner had father stopped the horses
than Georgie, Alice, and Buster were piling out of the back seat. Running toward the front
of the church, they met with their friends who were.
were similarly shined up in their best outfits.
Mother made straight for one of the long tables some of the ladies had set up under the old
trees that towered nearby. They would be busy making the picnic look beautiful
until it was time for the lantern show to start. Georgie felt like he'd seen the ladies
set up picnic a thousand times, but he'd never watched the preparations for a magic lantern show.
Around the back of the church, he could see a shiny green wagon. It was entirely enclosed,
like a little house. It had paneling that ran top to bottom and a real cut glass window.
This had to be the wagon belonging to the map.
magic lantern man, he thought in awe.
It was the fanciest conveyance he'd ever seen.
At the moment, however, all the action was sure to be inside the church,
with the show scheduled to start in just a few minutes.
The man in charge had already moved his equipment inside.
Kids were not allowed to go inside yet.
But the Reverend arrived at the door just in time to greet Mrs. Miller,
who always played piano at the church services.
She went right on in, and a few minutes later,
Georgie could hear the broken strains of music coming out of the building.
She was definitely not playing hymns this evening.
These tunes sounded like some songs.
out of a theatrical production.
Finally, the big moment had arrived.
An important-looking man appeared at the top of the front steps of the church.
He was dressed in what Georgie considered to be city clothes.
With his stiff collar, his shiny shoes, and his bowler hat,
he definitely didn't look like any of the farmer.
and small business owners who populated Georgie's town.
In a rich and dramatic voice,
he introduced himself as Mr. Cartwright
and welcomed everyone to this Stereo Opticon show.
Then with a dramatic aside to a nearby lady,
he added that some would call it a Lanterna Magica production,
and that they would be quite right,
because what these folks would be seeing this fine evening was no less than wondrous.
He went on to give a tantalizing summary of the performance ahead.
The people waiting outside whispered to each other with excitement.
Meanwhile, children practically danced with anticipation.
Georgie felt so lucky.
He was going to remember this show forever.
He was sure of it.
The dapper Mr. Cardwright then vanished into the interior of the church,
and a flood of spectators slowly began flowing in after him.
Although he felt a bit naughty thinking it,
Georgie reflected that it would be quite crowded in the pews,
as this many people didn't usually show up on a Sunday for services.
Mother joined them as he and Alice moved toward the entrance with their father.
The picnic would be guarded from pets and other hazards by a few of the grandmotherly ladies
who had already seen enough lantern shows in their lifetimes.
They had more interest in gossiping outside than fanning themselves in the packed interior.
Georgie couldn't imagine why anyone would miss such an exciting event.
But he had long ago given up trying to understand how grown-ups had any fun.
Coming out of the afternoon sun, the interior of the church was quite dark.
Not only did his eyes need to adjust, but the windows had been covered with cloth to keep the light out.
Almost every seat in the room was taken, and some of the men had politely chosen to stand along the sides,
giving their seats to excited children and their mothers and grandparents.
Mother and Alice sat down, but Georgie proudly stood next to his father in the corner.
As his eyes swept the room, taking in the colorful crowd, father,
leaned over and spoke quietly in his ear. He pointed out the projector in the back of the room.
Father had spent some years living in the city when he was younger, and he'd seen a fair number of
shows like this. He told Georgie that this was a device with two lenses, which meant it was called
a biennial. Having two lenses was what made it possible for the device.
for Mr. Cartwright to bring motion to his slides, either by creating action or by making them
dissolve one into another. The projector would be lit by kerosene, he added. It wasn't as bright
as what was used in large theaters in the city. Those big shows used limelight, which was limestone
burning and gas. It was very powerful, he explained, but also not safe for a small space like this
one. Keracine would work just fine for their church, he reassured Georgie. As he said this,
he motioned to the white cloth that had been stretched across the altar in the front. It was
clear that this would create the screen that the projectionist needed
in order to show his stories via the kerosene and the biennial projector.
Father was distracted by Mr. Taylor, a friend who was standing nearby.
Georgie politely ignored their conversation about the weather as he continued to take in the church
full of people. He noticed that Mrs. Miller, the accompanist, was walking down the same
center aisle of the church, handing tambourines and small horns to a few children and giving them
quiet instructions. Each of these rosy-cheeked lucky recipients sat a little taller in their place,
smiling proudly. They would obviously be taking their assigned tasks very seriously.
Just when Georgie was beginning,
to feel a bit antsy, Mrs. Miller sat herself very importantly down at the piano bench and began to play
a lively tune. This had the immediate effect of shushing the entire gathering. Men stopped their
conversations along the wall and mothers leaned over to corral the attention of their youngest children.
Meanwhile, the older kids, the ones closer to Georgie and Alice in age, needed no prodding.
They had been waiting for this very moment.
The piano trailed off and Mr. Cartwright's melodious voice rolled through the church with an introduction.
He told his audience of the beautiful slides they were about to view together.
First, he explained, they would have a fairy tale and a humorous cartoon for the youngest members of the audience.
Then, he added dramatically, they would be viewing photographs of some of the world's most beautiful places.
This, he added with gravity, would be both amazing and educational, a worthy topic for a worthy topic for.
such a family gathering. Parents around the room murmured their approval and nodded. Finally, he noted
that some younger members of the audience had kindly agreed to assist with the proper sound effects,
and that they should feel free to use their instruments whenever the story seemed to require them.
This last pronouncement made the assembled company chuckle with good nature.
The children certainly seemed ready for some audience participation,
and Mrs. Miller played some jaunty notes on the piano to demonstrate.
And so, Mr. Cartwright said, raising his voice dramatically,
let the wonderful magic lantern show begin.
Everyone turned instinctively to look at the screen, holding their breath.
Mrs. Miller started playing a fanciful song.
It reminded Georgie of fairies tripping through a field.
Sure enough, an image appeared on the screen, showing a castle and a beautiful forest.
A faun and a bird each moved slightly, back and a little.
and forth, as if in motion.
This was the trick
father had told him about
of using more than one slide
to change the picture.
Using a series of slides,
Mr. Cartwright began to recite a fairy story
about a princess and a great enchantment.
Every so often,
the picture would change
showing a new set of slides and a new scene that advanced the tale.
The little ones in the room could barely keep their seats.
They were standing, slipping forward into the pews in front of them,
and whispering to each other with excitement over each twist and turn of the story.
When the hero appeared, Mr. Cartwright reminded the story.
smallest performers to create some triumphant music.
Horns sounded in the church, and tambourines rattled while the entire audience cheered.
Georgie looked at all the men who stood near the wall in the dim light, their faces illuminated
by the projector.
Each one was grinning ear to ear, as if they were boys again.
When the fairy story concluded, Georgie wanted it to start all over again.
The audience clapped wildly and the children sounded their instruments again.
Mr. Cartwright took a small bow and allowed the praise to continue for a seemingly amount of time.
Then, as if on a cue, Mrs. Miller once again resumed playing the piano.
this tune was quirkier than the last.
Georgie was immediately curious to see what was coming
because the mood was shifting to something more upbeat and humorous.
The scene of a bedroom appeared.
A man was sleeping in a bed wearing a striped night shirt.
Beside him, there was a cat.
There was no narration to this story
because nobody needed it.
They were all soon howling with laughter as the scene advanced.
While the man slumbered, a mouse entered the room.
The slides alternated.
It looked up, down, up, down.
And the cat did the same.
Cat began chasing the interloper, darting over and under the
bed. This, of course, woke the man, and chaos ensued. The bedroom was soon the sight of a mad
race that neither man nor beast could win. The children were fast learners, and they knew that they were
expected to provide a real clamor for this segment. Adding to the madcap action, they tooted their horns,
shook their tambourines and stomped their feet energetically.
Georgie's eyes scanned the townspeople,
and he couldn't help smiling at the happiness all around him.
Everyone was together, having a great time.
Just when Georgie thought he couldn't laugh anymore,
the scene resolved.
The man and the cat and the mouse,
ended up sleeping sweetly in the bed together, and the story was done.
After all the excitement, it was just the right time to settle down the audience.
Mrs. Miller began playing very pleasant music that reminded Georgie of a summer's day
or a drive in the country. Mr. Cartwright now began to show the travel season.
scenes he had promised before.
First, a photo of Niagara Falls.
The second slide created an illusion that the water was moving.
Nobody in the church had ever seen Niagara Falls in person,
and there was much ooing and eyeing around the room amongst the adults.
Another scene appeared.
This was a castle in Germany.
Georgie's mouth fell open as he gazed at its soaring towers,
set against the backdrop of a forest.
It was just like something out of the fairy story they had heard earlier.
He barely listened to Mr. Cartwright's narration as he described it.
There was so much to take in.
More followed, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China.
From the interior of their local church, the people of Georgie's small town
appeared to travel the world in just a half hour.
When the final scene disappeared from the screen, there was a moment of hushed silence,
followed by raucous applause.
As he stood in the midst of the clapping,
Georgie's head was full of new ideas.
He felt as if he was a different boy
than he had been a few hours ago.
One who had glimpsed all the wonders the world had to offer.
As the children emerged from their rapt attention to the show,
they gave the horns and tambourines.
one last go. No doubt they realized they'd have to give them up shortly. Mrs. Miller played a flamboyant
and triumphant tune as Mr. Cartwright stepped into view and swept into a low bow, although he had an
aspect of humility about him. It was clear that this was a familiar and favorite part of the program for
the accomplished showman.
When the cheering and the piano music had stopped,
it was like the people in the church had awakened from a dream.
The men along the walls slowly stopped leaning,
standing upright and shuffling their feet.
The mothers in the pews helped extract the instruments
from the hands of reluctant children,
straightening wrinkled little dresses and shirts.
But any small feeling of disappointment
Georgie was experiencing over the end of the program
quickly became a fresh sense of excitement.
After all, there was still a lovely picnic to be had outside.
As Mr. Cartwright set to packing up his projector,
people steadily began to file out of the warm church.
Georgie politely waited for others to go ahead of him.
He was rewarded by his father's hand on his shoulder,
letting him know he was proud of Georgie's restraint.
Finally, the last of the spectators were able to emerge onto the front steps.
Dusk was falling, but there was still a sense.
of light and expansiveness.
After the dimness and the heat inside the church,
the summer evening was glorious.
Children ran outward from the church entrance in all directions.
Some made straight for the popular wooden swing.
Others skipped lightly to the edge of the nearby pond.
More than a few expectantly approached.
the generously laden tables the ladies had been tending.
They were bursting with good things to eat.
A soft, warm breeze ruffled Georgie's hair,
and he inhaled the perfumed evening with his eyes closed.
He loved the grassy smell of summer,
and the sounds of the crickets and the evening bird song.
After what had seemed like a long,
and isolating winter, it was heavenly to be here, amongst so many friends and neighbors,
enjoying a rare celebration. Buster appeared almost instantly at his side. He was excited to see
his boy after waiting so patiently outdoors for the last hour. Two of Georgie's friends
broke through his referee as they ran by.
They were his schoolmates, Frank and William, and they had a paper boat with them, calling out to Georgie to join them. They dashed by a picnic table first, each grabbing an enormous molasses cookie. William's grandmother was tending the food there, and she scolded him with an indulgent smile, calling after him that he should eat some proper dinner first.
Georgie knew this rule would not be enforced.
The beauty of a big picnic like this was that nobody was really watching the kids.
He and Buster followed William and Frank to the pond.
He took in the sight of all the grown-ups who were positioned near the food.
They were in deep conversations, gossiping or exchanging news.
Everyone was enjoying the night air and a chance to socialize.
Mr. Johnson had wasted no time getting the music going.
He and a couple of other men were already striking up a tune in a little trio under a nearby tree.
Georgie passed Alice and some of her friends at the swing.
Her friend Mary was sitting on it,
and Alice and another girl were twisting it around and around,
preparing to release her into a delightful spin.
He wasn't interested in playing with his younger sister and her friends,
but he noticed that two of them already had some dirt on their Sunday dresses.
He chuckled to think of how.
his sister would have to explain to mother later.
The tall grasses near the pond
brushed against his hands as he walked
a well-worn trail to the water's edge.
Frank and William were there already
and they greeted him with enthusiasm.
Kneeling down, he watched as William pushed
the little paper boat out onto the water.
Tiny insects skin.
littered away from it as it sailed a few feet, leaving a silver ribbon of water in its wake.
Looking up into the darkening sky, Georgie noticed that the moon was nearly full and the sky was cloudless.
The untouched part of the pond was like a lopsided looking glass.
A short distance away, some of the younger children,
or squealing as one of them searched for the source of a croaking frog.
They plunged here and there into the grass, making no headway whatsoever.
Nearby, one of their mothers watched with a smile on her face.
She didn't seem to mind that her little one was getting a bit muddy in the name of science.
She kept the close eye on the gaggle of children
To make sure they didn't stray into the water
Buster wagged his tail energetically
And trotted over to the edge of the gaggle of frog-seeking children
He whined gently
As if trying to tell them where it was
But he sat still like a good boy
And let them have their fun
The paper boat was a mediocre
or craft it turned out, and it stalled and then slowly took on water after a short time.
The boys shrugged off the loss of it and turned back toward the picnic area, shoving their hands
deep in their pockets and slowly walking away from the water.
Buster followed. After a few steps, Frank let out a cry of discovery. It spotted the
first of the fireflies coming out.
Georgie grinned as they slowly made their way back to the church.
Once he had spied the first and then the second tiny glowing orb,
the fireflies seemed to multiply around him.
It was like stars in the grass, he thought to himself,
silently illuminating and then vanishing,
as if sending him nature's morse coat.
Although the churchyard ahead was teeming with Marymakers,
he paused for just a second,
just one beautiful second
and imagined this moment, frozen in time.
He was suspended in the summer-scented evening
with a twinkling grass all around him.
The lively song of the song of,
of a fiddle and stomping feet could be heard nearby, and he was happy.
Georgie fetched himself a delicious little savory pie from the picnic tables,
and walked slowly around the adults who were chatting in small groups.
Mr. Cartwright had finished packing his equipment away in his fancy show wagon.
He was now enjoying the full attention of no.
numerous young people. The men were all eagerly asking him questions, fascinated by the glamour
of his technology, and the worldliness it conveyed. Even at his tender age, Georgie Riley observed that
the young ladies seemed most dazzled by the dapper Mr. Cartwright himself. But the boys were too busy
talking with the stranger to notice that all their girls were making eyes at him.
Georgie eyed the gleaming wagon, still visible on the desk.
Part of him wanted to live a life of adventure like that, traveling the world and attracting
admirers.
But another part of him couldn't imagine leaving behind the familiarity of his family farm
and Buster and his friends.
It was nice to get a glimpse of these wonders
through the magic lantern show,
but it was also nice to know
he'd be going home to his familiar, comfortable bed.
And that was what needed to happen soon.
The darkness properly fell across the gathering.
The little clusters of dancers dispersed.
Parents started packing up the remains of the picnic and saying their farewells.
Fathers could be seen with the smallest children slung over their shoulders, half asleep.
Picnic baskets were closed.
The tables returned to the church, and the sound of wagon wheels began to punctuate the murmur of the gathering.
The ride home felt a little surreal.
Georgie and Alice laid their heads back and stared up at the canopy of stars above them.
There were so many that they couldn't possibly be counted.
Even Buster seemed a little tired from his adventures.
He lay with his chin on his paws, looking up at the children with sleepy eyes.
The trip home seemed to take much longer than the journey to the show earlier.
At one point, Georgie almost dozed off
and imagined he was being serenaded by an orchestra of crickets.
Mother helped both of the children into their night clothes
as soon as they got home
and tucked them into bed with a kiss.
As was asleep in moments.
But Georgie was just alert enough to relish the cozy, soft blanket.
and the embrace of his pillow.
Turning over, he gazed out the little window of their room
to look at the glowing moon that hung there,
framed like a picture.
He imagined it was the lens of a magic lantern
and that it was projecting a picture of their house
onto a faraway screen.
What would people in other parts of the world
think about Georgie, about their farm, about Buster and the paper boats.
He smiled sleepily at the thought, as he sailed away on an ocean of stars and fireflies.
He thought that surely anyone would think his world was pretty wonderful indeed.