The NoSleep Podcast - NoSleep Podcast S13E20a - Halloween Live at The El Rey Theatre

Episode Date: November 10, 2019

NoSleep Podcast S13E20a - Halloween Live at The El Rey Theatre This special hiatus episode features the performance from our Halloween Live Tour at The El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California on October 31, 2019.   "Dinner At The Gladstones'" written by Henry Galley (Story starts around 00:10:10) "The Wandering Soul" written by Michael Whitehouse (Story starts around 00:34:00) "Bhavisana" written by D. Williams (Story starts around 01:10:00) "A Very Sleepless Halloween" written by Olivia White (Story starts around 01:35:30) Click here to learn more about the voice actors on The NoSleep Podcast   Click here to learn more about Henry Galley   Click here to learn more about Michael Whitehouse   Click here to learn more about D. Williams   Click here to learn more about Olivia White   Executive Producer & Host: David Cummings Musical score composed by: Brandon Boone Audio mastering by: Phil Michalski Halloween Live Graphic courtesy of Krista Neubert NoSleep Live Hallloween 2019 Tour Art courtesy of Abby Howard Audio program ©2019 - Creative Reason Media Inc. - All Rights Reserved - No reproduction or use of this content is permitted without the express written consent of Creative Reason Media Inc. The copyrights for each story are held by the respective authors.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the No Sleep Podcast. I'm David Cummings. This week we have a special treat for you as we take a bit of a post-tour and post-Halloween break. Season 13 will continue next weekend, but for this week we want to share with you the live show we performed in Los Angeles on Halloween night. It was the final night of our No Sleep Halloween live tour, and we were thrilled to be able to conclude the tour at the legendary L. Ray Theater in L.A. joining me on stage were the tour team of Jessica McAvoy, David Alt, Nicole Goodnight, and our musical maestro, Brandon Boone. And for the final story, we were joined by special guests, Aaron Lillis, Addison Peacock, and Peter Lewis. And speaking of tours and live shows, I want to remind everyone about our big European 2020 tour this January.

We're super excited about those shows, so please make sure you get your tickets soon to a show near you in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. We can't wait to share the No Sleep Live experience with our great fans in Europe. And so, with no further delay, it's time for the treats and a few tricks, as we take you to the L. Ray Theater on Halloween night as we present No Sleep Halloween Live. It is the season of Halloween. Join us and brace yourself for no sleep Halloween live. Los Angeles.

The night here at the El Ray Theater. Thank you for coming out. Thank you for getting your trick-or-treating done early. Coming out. This is amazing. This room is really nice. This is fantastic. Now, I always pronounced it L.A.

I didn't realize the city was called L.Rae. I thought I didn't know what that was. That's a good way to start the show with a bunch of humor. Okay. Well, no, we are thrilled to be here. This is our Halloween tour finale. We're ending tonight here in L.A. So thank you for being a part of that.

What a way to wrap things up. It's bittersweet. We've been on the road for almost six weeks. five and a half weeks we have driven a grand total to this point of 9,375 miles. We started in Seattle

and we did just kind of a loop of the U.S. So, and a little jog into Toronto. And strangely enough, that's my hometown. I'm David Cummings. I'm the host of the show. Thank you, folks. Such a thrill to be back in L.A. And, yeah, I just can't get over this room. I think I might move in

here and this is really nice. But yeah, we're actually doing a show live in L.A. on Halloween, so that's just amazing. I won't belabor that point. I think I've said it about six times now, but I'm going to start by introducing a gentleman to you who's up here on stage. He doesn't usually stand

so close to the audience, for legal reasons, but we are thrilled that he joined us back in season three of the podcast and his music has gone on to become the foundation of our sound. He has become over the years an international

multi-award winning composer because he scores not just our show but he has scored a number of short independent films that have gone to festivals and have gone on to win awards and so and I think at one show I said believe it or not he's actually won awards so

didn't mean it to sound that way but yes he is a great person he hails from Cincinnati Ohio would you welcome please Mr. Brandon Boone Happy Halloween So, Brandon, this certainly is not our first time in LA, but the first time here at the legendary L. Ray Theater. How are you feeling at the end of the tour? I feel great.

Sleepy, but great. So Brandon, we've joked with you a lot this tour. Always. But, yes, we like to point out that, of course, being our Halloween show, we sort of go with sort of an orange motif, you know, David's vest and whatnot, my little candy corn here. but so often we have orange lights and they strike Brandon's shirts and they make it look like flesh so a lot of people after the show say

is he not wearing a shirt under that jacket so we wanted to make sure everybody knew that Brandon is wearing a shirt I am I assure you and there was rumors he said this is the final show I might go out without a shirt on could you imagine that I could imagine awful

well we're glad you're wearing a shirt Brandon and Who are you going to introduce to our lovely crowd tonight? I am going to introduce a wonderful young voice actress. You know her from the Whistlers, the things we saw in the woods. You know her as summer. Down in the library basement, I can go on and on and on.

She's incredible. She's insanely gifted. She is South Dakota's newest resident. Please give it up for Jessica Snackaroni McAvoy. What is up, L.A.? Hey. Yeah. Who saw us last year?

No one, cool. A first time for everyone. Hey, welcome, guys. Well, that is awesome. Now, Jessica, the tour is coming to an end. How do you feel? You know, tired. But you're excited, I'm sure, to be here at the legendary L.Rae Theater.

The legendary L. Ray. I can't stop saying that. Every time I've talked about this theater, I say, the legendary El Ray Theater. And it is, it is legendary. I mean, look at those chandeliers up there. That's amazing. So you're all excited.

You want to just get started. So you might as well introduce the lady you have shared many van rides and sleeps with on this tour. Yeah. So I've been lucky enough to share a room, occasionally a bed, with the... Stop it. ...incredibly talented. From Rochester, New York, Miss Nicole, good night. Hello.

Happy Halloween. Wow, that was a sultry happy Halloween. Good Lord. It wasn't better than the happy one. It was just something a little different. Oh, sultry. So, how are you feeling at the end of the tour and Nicole Good Night? So tired.

I'm really excited to be here. It's only 9,375 miles. That's not too much. But I had that on. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So three days before we started our tour, I lived in Florida, drove 21 hours up to Rochester, New York,

with three cats and a hedgehog, very stressful drive. And then three days later, hopped a plane to go to Seattle to start the tour and then drove around the entire U.S. to be here tonight. But all that aside, there is someone who's gone a little further than I have to be here tonight. And that is the wonderfully talented, amazing, from Rip in England, David Alt. This is the BBC World Service, wishing you the most felicitous of all Hallows' Eves.

That's how we do it. And you hand out to the trucker-treaters steak and kidney pie? Is that what you normally? No, tea. Lots of tea. We just have mugs of tea brewed for... But America wouldn't understand that. well we're glad you have overcome the hardships on Sunday afternoon my time

I will have in my hands a nice big mug of tea and I will be happy not that I'm not happy now I'm just gonna just gonna say that not that I'm not happy now but you should do what other audiences have done and they just polite British applause just a slight there we go perfect you guys are amazing

Well, we have four stories that we'd like to perform for you tonight. We're going to have some fun. We've got some very special guests joining us for the last story. So you might want to brace yourself for that one. But we're going to start. David mentioned he was from a country known as England. Sorry. And the first story we're going to do is written by one of his fellow countrymen,

a person who has done many great stories for us on the podcast. Mr. Henry Galley. So we're going to do one of Henry's stories tonight. Oh, that's a very nice British applause for that one too. Lovely. This story, written by Henry, in it we're going to meet two couples. They are friends. They are co-workers.

And they're getting together for a meal that, well, it doesn't turn out quite the way anyone would expect. And so join us, if you will, if you're not already too full of candy. because we're going to have dinner at the Gladstone's. Oh, Jesus, what were those directions? How amazed we found the place. Greg, why do you always have to be such a pessimist? We got here, didn't we? So stop grumbling about it for two seconds.

Time is money, Linda, and right now we're in poverty. Drama queen. How was Bill doing when we left? Haven't heard from him. But you know what Bill's like? He comes and goes. Yeah, he comes to make with... draws from the international bank of mum and dad, and then goes to spend it all. I wouldn't mind

if you just gave us a little respect or even talk to us, but nope, just a great heaping, helping of cold shoulder. Just try to put it out of your mind during dinner, Greg. It was very nice of the Gladstone's to invite us over, especially considering, you know, what happened. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but well, where was Bill headed? Greg. Okay, okay. Look, I'm sorry, Linda. I just want to to know. We've got a lot riding on tonight, so sue me for not wanting to leave anything about this to chance. Fine. He told me he was heading to a Halloween party at Nathan's house. Nathan? Oh, that little shit. You know, he was always a bad influence. But you made sure Billette before he left, right? I made him lunch myself. Yeah, and he ate it?

Yeah. You're sure he ate it? Yes, Greg. I'm sure he ate it. Thupor. Well, it should be good until we get back. Parenthood, right? Right. It's all going to be a hell of a lot easier after tonight, Linda.

A hell of a lot easier. We just need everything here to go off without a hitch. I know, I know. You're not the only one who planned all this, remember? It'll be fine if things go smoothly, which they will. Okay, well, here we are. Big smiles. Big smiles.

Should I knock again? No, no, that'd be rude. A little longer won't hurt Greg. This is what he always does. This is the kind of shit, which is why... Hello! Thank you so much for coming, Mr. Brown. It's Greg now, Donald.

None of this Mr. Brown business. Of course, of course. Oh, did you have any trouble finding the place I couldn't help but notice you two being fashionably late? Well, we had some trouble with the direction. directions, trick-or-treaters mobbing the streets in town, and this place, well, this place is really out here. Oh, guilty is charged, Mrs. Brown.

We like our privacy out here. You can call me, Linda. Well, then let's get you in off the porch, shall we? Oh, of course. Stay out here any longer, and you'll be frozen stiff. Come in, come in. Oh, lock the door. Better safe than sorry, right? Of course. So many crazy people out there these days. You can't ever be too careful.

Right. Okay. Wow, Dawn, Melissa, this place is beautiful. You two have really landed on your feet. Oh, well, making the best out of a bad situation has always been a talent of ours. Isn't that right, honey? Why, yes, darling. Making purses out of pig's ears all day long. No kidding, though, this place is gorgeous. I mean, these chandeliers! How on earth did you afford all this after... Well, you know...

Well, we've been saving money in all the right places. And speaking up, dinners in the oven. Why, I've been slaving away in the kitchen all day. We really wanted to make tonight something special. Oh, no need to go above and beyond for a little old us. Right, Rick? Yeah, right, yes, yes, sir. We're just friends.

No need to go over the top. Oh, my goodness. That's us. We're always going over the top. Hey, take a seat. We'll be right back. Okay. Yeah, we'll do that. Back in a jiffy. Yep, just two shakes of a fuzzy little lambs tail.

Seems they're adjusting to the new situation well. Yeah, I'm not so sure. Don't they seem a little off to you? I don't know. I'm just feeling a little bit uncomfortable. Well, sure. They're a little cheerier than usual, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe they're just happy to be back in the swing of things. Right.

Whatever you say, Linda. And we're back. Ah, Donald, Melissa, how's dinner coming along? Oh, marvellously, Mr. Brett. It's Greg now, Donald, please. We're just friends, remember? Right, yes, of course. Old habits die hard.

So, what are we having? Oh, it's a slow roast with the side of steel. steamed vegetables. That sounds delicious. We haven't eaten all day. Well, you won't have to wait much longer, Greg. We'll take wonderful care of you. Oh, and until then, how about some wine? I've been saving this bottle for a special occasion and now seems as good as time as any to pop it on open. Are you sure? I'd hate for you to waste good wine on us. Oh, nonsense. It's a special occasion. We're going to pull out all the stops. Well, I'd better just have the one glass. After all, I'm the designated driver. No, no, no, no. Where's the fun in that? Yes, yes, treat yourself. We've got a guest room.

You can stay here and then leave in the morning once you've sobered up. I know some excellent hangover cures, you know. It's nice of you to offer, but Greg has to be at work tomorrow morning, so we really shouldn't. Oh, nonsense. Come on, Greg, you're the big boss man. You can set your own hours, can't you? Well, I suppose Oh, there we go, I'll pour you a glass

You too, Linda Oh, thank you Sometimes you just have to live a little Oh, of course You never know when you'll stop getting the opportunity Cheers Vanilla Cherry

Ooh, very tasty I agree When was it bottled? Well, that's a very, very good question Let me see here Um, 19996 by the looks of Excellent. Yeah, why. That was when you started your job at Walker and Walker and Walker's Limited, wasn't it, Donald?

Why, yes, it was. Oh, but that was before your company acquired, it wasn't it, Greg? I don't quite remember. The wine must be going to my head quicker than I thought. It was the year Bill was born, too. Oh, yes, how could I forget? Bill? Oh, yes, your boy. How is he, by the way? Oh, he must be in college by now, right?

Well, you would think so. But he's not really... Well, he's... Well, what? Yes, we're waiting. No judgment, of course. We're all friends here, right? Right.

Bill isn't up to all that much at the moment. We're having a little bit of trouble with him. And he's what the politically... incorrect experts would call a problem child. Oh, yes? Well, how so? He's been acting out lately, staying out all night,

never doing his chores, always asking for money, and of course he flat out refuses to get a job. Oh, what a terrible shame, right, Donald? Oh, yes, a terrible, terrible shame. Well, say, why not give him a job at Walker, and Walker and Walker's limited? you know, an internship.

It wouldn't do any good. The boy just won't work. It's one thing to let him sap money out of us through his allowance, but it's another thing entirely to let him mooch off the company dollar, having enough trouble with layoffs already. Oh, don't we know it? Right. We've been finding balloons in his pocket, too.

Well, perhaps he's moonlighting as a birthday clown. Well, yes, that would explain an awful lot. Textbook, birthday clown behavior, definitely. I appreciate your optimism, but the reality is that our little Billy has taken to doing whippets. Like the dog? Beastiality? Oh my, that's horrifying. No, no, no, no, no. God, no. Nitrous oxide, I mean. You know, laughing gas. Kids take it at parties to get high? You'd think he'd get enough laughs at our expense, the advantage.

advantage-taking little brick. Oh, it's terrible how children these days feel the need to indulge in intoxicants just to have a good time. Another glass of wine, anyone? Oh, yeah. Wonderful, wonderful. Listen, Greg, Linda, I have so much respect for what you're going through. I mean, you're doing wonderfully, all things considered. It's true.

I'm sure there's an end in sight. Yeah, right. Word of advice. Never have kids. There are pain in the ass, there are a financial drain. There's a complete lack of respect. Okay, Greg. I think people get the idea.

Sorry. Just a bit of a grumpy drunk, I guess. No need to apologize. Like I said, all friends here. All friends here. Yes, fast friends. You too seem to be doing well for yourselves. Yeah, it's nice to see you're on the up and up.

Lovely home, great wine, and you seem happy. Well, it wasn't always this way. Yes, we went through a bit of a dark patch after the incident. But we're all better now. Oh, yes, all better. Good as new. Right as rain. Fit as a fiddle.

100% sane. Zero percent crazy. Well, how did you do it? Having goals helped, it really gave us a sense of direction following the message. you know something to help for. Yes. You know, after losing my job at Walker and Walker and Walker's limited, I felt like I was lost and a void.

After all, I'd been at that job for, well, I suppose, as long as Bill has been alive, but, oh, I loved it. It was my whole life. And so when I lost it, I had to take another job. And honestly, Greg, I've never felt better. Well, I'm very glad to hear that, Donald. And, you know, letting you go was really not. nothing personal. You were one of the best, the best credit officers at the company. But,

you know, this economy and cutbacks, sacrifices had to be made. Oh, we understand, Greg. We really, really do. Why, we've made plenty of sacrifices since Don lost his job, and we're better for it. Much, much better. Yes, much better. If anything, we're grateful. It was a real blessing in disguise. I can't thank you enough. When's dinner ready. It smells delicious. I'd almost forgotten. I'll go check. Oh, I'll join you, dear. We'll be right back. Right back. Jesus Christ, intense much? Oh, he's always been like this. You know, just a, just a little full-on, eccentric even. There's eccentric and then there's that. They're manic, Greg. It's weird. It's real weird.

You're just over-analyzing things, Linda. I told he was just a weird guy. He always has been. Okay, get this. So every holiday, every holiday, he would come in early, earlier even than me, and he would decorate the office. That's not normal. Not on President's Day.

But he's harmless. Open your eyes and think for a second, you don't. What reason do they have to be so smug Unless they know What? You know what I'm talking about? What if they know what we did? Oh, now you're just being paranoid, Linda.

How could they possibly know? We took every precaution. Hell, it might not even have happened yet. They don't know. You don't know that. Look, I'm not saying it's a certainty. I'm just saying something isn't right. there's a reason they're so cheerful

after you shafted them I didn't shaft them I told you it was inevitability given the economic situation If they find out what we've done We're screwed So maybe cut down And all the sauced up blabbering

Will you hop off my dick Please? I swear you are the only person Choosing to be a goddamn Happy for Halloween Kiss my ass you dangle and hemorrhoid I swear to God When we get out

And we're back again Dinner's ready It was a real labor of love Just to show you how much we appreciate you I'm sure you must be starving by now Well I am a little peckish Now that you mention it I think we all might be getting a little tense

Because we're hungry Right Greg? Hungry Yeah Yeah right Linda Well great Come join us in the dining room I'm sure the wine has wetted everyone's appetite

Wow, this dining room is just spectacular. Is this new? Oh, it's a pretty recent fitting. Like I said, we wanted to make it perfect for special occasions, and it doesn't get much more special than this. Well, if you say so, please, please take a seat and make yourself comfortable. Of course.

Thank you. There we are, nice and cozy. I'll start plating up the meal. Say, all these renovations, Donald, did you come into some money recently? No, Greg, same as always here. Are you planning on coming into some money? Greg, behave.

We're adults, Linda. Can't we discuss this like men? If there are any issues between us, it's better that they come out now, isn't it? At least wait until after dinner, maybe? Speaking up, here you go. Bonapeteen. Thank you, Melissa. We really appreciate your hard words.

Oh, no, no. Don't think me yet. Dig in and then thank me. All right Greg Sure thing honey I suppose we won't be stopping to say grace Thought as much So Donald

Yes Greg Are you sure you don't harbour any Well we'll say Animoicity about the firing Oh none at all Greg No like I told you it was a kind of a Come to Jesus moment for me You know how it is

you spend a couple of decades in one job, and, well, you get locked into a routine. Getting fired. Well, it freed me up to pursue a whole new direction. I can say for a fact that since losing my job, I've done things I never even would have imagined doing before. Oh, it's marvelous. Yeah, sure.

Look, would any of this new knowledge you've come into happen to involve anything we've done? We. Linda and I. Greg. You're making a fool of yourself. You drank too much. You know how you get when you drink.

What? It was you who said them, I know. And now I'm the asshole for actually trying to do something about it. Yes, Greg. You are the asshole. You're always the asshole. Please, I'm not the guy. Is everything okay? Yes, Melissa. Everything's just fine, fine and dandy. Just enjoying this delicious rose.

Oh, I'm very glad to hear that. Oh, whatever. Are you okay there, Greg? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit of a cramp. Oh, me too, now that you mention it. Oh, I hope the meat's not bad, Donald. Oh, the meat's fine, Mel.

Farm to table. Doesn't get any more reliable than that. Well, I think it's delicious, Mel. Don't worry about it. You know, it upsets me that you don't think I'm being sincere, Greg. What gave you that impression? Oh, don't play dumb with me, Donnie, boy. I'm not a fucking rube.

You don't get to run a company like me by being a rube. Nobody here suggested that, Greg. Just calm down and keep eating. Oh, that's enough out of you, too, your contemptuous little bitch. You think you can pull the wool over my eyes? I know exactly what game you're playing. Jesus Christ, Greg, you're making a bigger... Sorry.

You're... Christ! Oh, everyone just calm down. Maybe get... Maybe get some water. I think we're all just getting a little out of source right now. I mean, what do you think we've done, Greg? Really, what is it you're accusing us of?

Haven't we lost enough already with that mentality? Oh, fuck you, you're weird little prick. You've seen our dirty laundry now. What, you're going to try and squeeze money out of us for us with this whole little plan is? Simply don't know what you're talking about. Neither of us do, Greg. Exactly, which is maybe why it's time to... Everyone thinks they can have a peace.

All of you, just looking for a moment of vulnerability. And then when there's blood in the water, you take advantage. You take fucking advantage. Like Bill? Yeah, exactly like fucking Bill! Greg, no. You're going to say something you regret. Oh, fuck off, Linda.

They know. They already know. In which case, you might land us an even deeper shit. So maybe shut your mouth for once and just enjoy dinner. Are you enjoying your meal, Linda? Yes, Melissa. It's lovely. Thank you. I'm glad. I mean, I'm really, really glad. Why, it makes sense that you'd enjoy it. You made it yourself.

And another thing. Come again? Well, you freed us, Greg. All we wanted to do was return the. favor. Wait, I don't understand. Oh, Linda, Linda, Linda. When did you last speak to Bill? Why, it was right after lunch, wasn't it?

Any idea where he went after that? The Halloween party. He went to the Halloween party. Ever get any confirmation that he made it there? Hmm? No? Oh, well, he could be anywhere now, couldn't he? absolutely anywhere.

It's a very special meal. Very, very special. No. No, no, no, no. This is a joke, right? This has got to be a joke. Does it look like a joke? Let me put it more simply for you

so you don't misinterpret it. We happened to run into Bill today in your home earlier. We told him we wanted to help you out, But, well, Bill being Bill, he wasn't all that receptive. Oh, we had to take drastic action. He may not have been all that cooperative in life, but afterwards, believe me. Well, the meat came off the bone like hot butter.

Bonapete. Am I missing something here? Oh, Donald. There's been a huge misunderstanding. that you were going to blackmail us. So you killed Bill? Oh God, what an insane coincidence. This is amazing.

Blackmail you, isn't this worse? We poisoned Bill's lunch earlier today. Like I told you, he was a pain in our backsides. We figured this dinner would make a good alibi for when he died at the party. But we just had him instead. This is hilarious. Actually, that is pretty funny.

It explains why the meat tastes weird at least, right? Exactly. We poisoned Bill, and now thanks to you, his body's poisoned us. All of us. Oh, God, you couldn't make this shit up. What a night. Dinner at the Gladstone by Henry Galley. All that coughing and pain and stuff we were portraying was just in the script.

We're not that decrepit at the end of a long tour. There was someone that was concerned really early on that something was actually wrong with us. It was very sweet. Yeah. But we're fine, physically. Mentally is another... Indeed. Very different thing.

Well, we started with an author from England, and we're going to move a little bit north, remaining in the UK, to the beautiful country of Scotland, where we meet Mr. Michael Whitehouse. Michael is a Scottish gentleman who has graced us with stories for every live performance we've ever done, and so we're thrilled to have another story from Michael on this tour. and if you have heard Michael's stories that we have done at the live show or sometimes we'll release a live episode you will know that Michael likes to set his stories in this fictional town of Winderm and we are going to return to Winderm again tonight

and we're going to meet a woman who is struggling with her life at the moment you see it's the mid-70s and she's struggling like many people are because because the Vietnam War has ended. And she was over there and experienced the atrocities of war, but there's something else that is troubling this woman. And so we're going to meet her, her family, her friends, and we're going to try to understand what it is that is troubling her so,

what it is that is haunting her. And so let's join these people as we discover and learn about. the wandering soul. John, are you awake? John, are you awake? Wait, what? I said, are you awake? Well, I am now. What's wrong?

Can't you hear that? Allison, not this again. For Christ's sake, it's three o'clock in the morning. Just listen. There it is again. It sounds closer this time. Allison, we've been through this for weeks. It's in your head.

Fine. I'll go check on it myself. No, no, I'll do it, I'll do it. The usual drill, I guess. Go over here, check the spooky corners first, make sure they're empty, and then over here to the closet where I confirm that... Oh, my God.

What is it? What have you found? My dress sense is terrible. I mean, look at the... these clothes. I'm turning into my father. Stop goofing around. I'll check the window myself. And? It's hard to see down the street.

Another one of the lights is out again. Oh, wow, that's the third light to go out on our street alone. This month. Well, I'll speak to Pat down at Town Hall about that. There's nothing out there now. The town has gone quiet. Exactly. Seriously, honey, it's in your head.

Don't tell me it's in my head, John. I know what I heard. It's out there. Somewhere. I'm sure she's fine, John. You just have to understand what she's been through. I know, Mark. I know.

I'm trying to be patient, but I just don't understand it. She's been home now for two months, and it's getting worse. I wish you'd talk to her, Eliza. Oh, I've tried, believe me, but she just should just... shuts the conversation down. Besides, she'll kill you if she finds out we've had another one of our meetings in this bar again. Did she not get suspicious tonight?

No, no, I hardly see her. She spends most of her time developing her photographs in the other room. Oh, she's obsessed by it. You know, what worries me most is that on most nights she's taken to going for long walks, quite late, sometimes coming home

after midnight. I've asked her where she's going, but she just, she never gives me a straight answer. Well, maybe it's just her way of working through things. Eliza, you're her oldest friend. I mean, I've been married to Allison for seven years, but in some ways she's closer to you. Oh, John, that's not true.

Oh, it is, it is. I don't begrudge it. No, I mean, I love her, of course, but these last two months since she's been back, I realize I just don't understand her. Not like I thought I did, at least. Well, I've only known Allison for what, the last three years since I arrived here, and I think we can all agree.

that she likes me best. Well, she certainly finds you the most annoying. Annoying in a charmingly British way, though. You know, jokes aside, Eliza, is there anything you can do? I'm at the end of my tether. I honestly don't think talking to her myself is going to cut it. You know, she's still mad at me from the last time that I confronted her. Look, why don't we all just get together for a dinner?

Maybe we can gently persuade her to talk to a therapist and have more luck as a group. I just wish she'd never gone to that damned war. Yeah, me too. I'm glad you cleared your plates. I will say I married a good cook. Oh, I thank you. Well, Alison, while we've been eating, I've been looking at these amazing pictures. Are they yours?

Yeah, a few landscapes. Oh, and that one over there is of a villager I met in Peru. A roo. Yeah. Such an interesting face, the way the shadows catch it? Yeah, it's amazing. And the one next to it, with the tree in black and white? That used to be in Eliza's dad's backyard.

Before he pulled it down out of spite. We had a tree house up there. A lot of good memories. Hey, Eliza, tell Mark the story about how you and Tom Brennan got stuck up there when you were, you know. I've heard this one. and I'm going to go get dessert. No, I don't think I will. Come on, Mark will love it.

A little too much, that's what I'm wrong about. How do you get stuck up in a tree house? Mark? And what were you doing? We're not going to talk about it. Allow me. Don't get you, listen. All right, all right, I won't.

Oh, come on. This is not fair. It was really funny, though. Oh, God. Don't you offer. Here's dessert, everyone. Oh, apple pie, my favorite. Am I ever going to hear this?

this story. Eat your apple pie. Get it out of one of you eventually. So, Allison, after dessert, do you want to show Mark some of your latest photographs? Is this stuff you shot while you were away?

Yeah, I've been developing some of it in my studio. Well, I'm interested to see what it's like over there. When I was a kid, I always loved pretending to be a soldier. I've always been fascinated by war. war's not some idle game you play well yes but you were a photographer doesn't that give you some kind of perspective or distance

too much I'd imagine it would be exciting out there in the jungle seeing it all first hand at first then you find out what it's really like you can't prepare for that I think people complain too much about that sort of thing. I say roll up your sleeves and just get on with it. It can't be that bad. Oh, really? Why don't you go get some of your photographs? Show Eliza and Mark the ones you developed yesterday. Maybe we'd have a better understanding if we saw it through your eyes.

I'm not sure it's pretty bleak stuff. I'm sure we can handle it. After all, you did, didn't you? Okay. I have some photographs in the next... room. I'll be right back. We're pushing her too much, Mark. I thought if maybe she got angry about her experiences, then she might let us know how she's really feeling. Yeah, but she's not angry.

She's not anything. That's the problem. Here we go. I just developed these ones yesterday. That's a village we found. Not sure if it was us or them who did it. I didn't think they would be so... Violent, horrific, evil? All of the above, I've seen enough.

I don't want to look. Why? I hardly know how bad it was. I only need to look at you the way you've been since you've been back to things that you say you hear. Don't start with this again, Eliza. It's not in my head. I've heard it several times now around Winderm. It's here.

And yet you won't tell us what exactly that something is. You wouldn't understand. Why don't you try me? It might help to talk about it. To who? You or a shrink? Either would be a good start. Okay. Now I get it.

Now I know why you were also insistent to come over tonight. Is this an intervention? It's not like that, Alison. We're just worried about you. John says every night you wake up and say you hear something around the town, and now you started disappearing for a few hours before midnight. When you look out our bedroom window each night, I see it in you. What?

Well, that you want to know. You want to see something out there. You're almost disappointed when there's nothing there. But yet you're still terrified of it. I just wish it would show itself or leave me alone. What, though? What would show itself? The wandering soul.

Okay. I have had enough. You need to see a shrink, Allison. John, come down. Come on, Eliza. She's talking about seeing ghosts. There's something broken in there. Not seeing ghosts.

Hearing them. It. Or maybe there's more than one. I don't know. Look, Alison, if you tell us, I promise we won't laugh. We won't get angry. We'll just sit here and we'll listen. Everyone agree?

I guess, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Remember when we were younger, Allison? We shared everything with each other. You helped me with all that stuff with my dad. Just please let me help you. And if you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for me. Do it for us.

I've been losing sleep at night worrying about you. Oh, Eliza, I didn't realize. Maybe it is time that I tell you all. just, please try to be open-minded. This isn't easy for me. We'll all listen patiently. Won't we, John? Yeah, yeah, okay.

When I was away, I was assigned to a platoon to get some coverage of the war for the paper. Frontline stuff. I was so happy to be finally given a front-page assignment. And for the first few weeks, nothing much happened. The platoon had been given instructions

to keep me out of harm's way. Most of my photographs were just of the platoon wandering around in a part of the jungle, which was supposed to be well away from the enemy. But they were wrong. Those shots I showed you. The village? We stumbled across it.

The village wasn't on any map, and it only consisted of about 25 people. But it was like you saw in the pictures. The place had been burned out, and there were corpses of people just lying on the ground. Some of them burned. Some of them with their heads crushed in. I saw this kid, no older than five.

I'll spare you the details, Eliza. No one knew if it was ours or theirs who had wiped the village out. But over the next few weeks, we found two more villages just like it. Were they also? The same? Yeah. I've never seen anything like that. War is one thing, but this, this was monstrous.

People cut open, burned. some of them with their faces smashed and bloodied beyond all recognition. I'm sorry. I didn't know. Now you'll maybe understand why I haven't wanted to talk about this, John? Anyway, it came down from the chain of command that they were worried that these killings were done by our own. They were especially concerned because I had witnessed and documented the entire thing. Morale about the war has been bad enough at home If these killings got out

The nature of how brutal they were I think Command worried that some of our boys Might end up in jail for war crimes But do you think it was one of the platoons? Maybe I mean it could even have been the platoon I was assigned to Because I didn't get to go out on every patrol with them But they swore it was a group hiding in the jungle

Who did it that was when I found out about the wandering soul. What is the wandering soul? It's a recording. As simple as that. Supposedly, the Vietnamese have a tradition that if people die during an unjust act or are never properly buried,

they become a wandering soul, crying out and haunting people to make them change their ways. Army intelligence gave our platoon a recording which they hoped would force anyone hiding in the area to surrender. But how could a recording do that? You didn't hear it. It was awful. Human screams, agony, despair just echoing out through the trees.

And inside of it, voices pleading with the enemy to surrender or they too would end up as a wandering soul. It preyed on their superstition, and I have no idea where the army got it from. Did it work? At first, a few did surrender, but they swore they knew nothing about the village massacres and even blamed our soldiers. The whole thing was a mess. Then, one evening, as we were heading back from a patrol, one of our soldiers, Alonzo, He started playing the recording over a speaker to see if it would spook anyone out from the jungle around us.

I'll never forget it. A strange mist seemed to wander between the trees. Then we heard branches cracking in every direction. And all along the screams of that tape were being played. But it seemed worse than ever before. The mist thickened and we could have. didn't see anything. The platoon started to get scared. We could barely see each other. Then someone started shooting, and it was as though the voices wailing and crying mixed with the gunfire. People

were screaming. Then I was hit in the leg. I fell to the ground, but just as I lost consciousness, I saw something lying beside me. Anzo had dropped the speaker for the wandering soul, and he was staring at it. He was wide-eyed, and I saw real terror in his face. You see, the speaker was broken. But I swear to you, the screams of the wandering soul were still there, closing in all around us. In the confusion, we lost two of the platoon, including. Alonzo and the rest carried me out of there. Three weeks in a hospital and then I was

flown back home to Winderm two months ago. Ever since I can still hear the cries of the wandering soul after sunset roaming around the streets and each night the voices are getting closer. You don't have to walk me home Mark. I'll be fine. It's not all about you, Eliza after Allison's story back at the house tonight I think you'll find that you're walking me home oh are you scared let's just say that the empty streets of Wyndham look a little bit more malevolent now after sunset but in truth I just feel sorry for Allison she's gone through so much I don't think I can unsee those photographs of the village but just imagine seeing it firsthand and from what she

said there's worse still on those roles of film I'm amazed she managed to just smuggle them back here without someone in the army destroying them. I've never even seen her like this. She's like a sister to me, and I just feel so lost. You know, John's right, though. I think she might be sick. Well, she's lucky to have you as a friend. I'm the lucky one.

She helped me with all that stuff with my dad when we were younger. Oh, yeah. How is Chester these days? Yeah, my dad is still a creep. He's still trying to run the town by buying up everything in sight. I barely talk to him. Okay, okay. No, off the record.

Are the things they say about him true? Oh, you have no idea how vindictive he can be. He's a total narcissist. You want to hear something? Okay, go on. He's trying to get me to sign a legal agreement after he dies, that when he does, I'll take his ashes and scatter them at the edge of the field of them.

What, you mean the big pumpkin field? Yes. Oh, but it gets better. How does he even know you've signed it? If he's dead, what? He doesn't make sense, but it gets better. Okay, go on. He wants a statue.

A statue. A statue of all things erected to him in the field and his honor. He's so self-involved. He wants to run this town long after he's dead. But you know, I have my own idea of what I'm going to do with this little empire when he dies. But the thing is, he doesn't seem that old. He's not. He's still got a couple decades left of terrorizing the town.

He just likes to plan ahead, and I have to deal with him. Being his daughter, you know, it was Allison that gave me a place to stay a few years back when all that stuff with my dad happened. We will help her, Eliza. We will. But you know, I've been thinking about this whole wandering soul thing. I think we need to break the spell. Do you believe in it, then? No, no, no, no. But what I mean is we need to break the psychological grip the concept of it has on Allison.

And I think I know of a way. How? Okay, well, I've got a friend. Well, you might know her Jackie with the nose. Yeah, I know Jackie. Yes. And you probably know the nose as well. But you know that she works for Senator Williams?

Yeah. Well, it's a long shot, but maybe I can get her to pull a few strings for me. We might be able to get some information about how they made the Wandering Soul recording in the first place. If we can show Allison that the voices on the tape are just actors, then maybe it'll give the delusionless power. Yeah, if Jackie can do that for you. Anything's really worth a shot at this point. Yeah, exactly.

It's getting a little colder tonight. Well, lucky for you. I think this is your house here, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the wall. It's no problem. What is it? Nothing, just a couple of the streetlights went off down there. Is that? Is that mist? Well, the temperature is dropping and it's wet.

Yeah, no, no, but it looks different. Oh, don't you start? No, I'm serious. Hey, look down that street. Yeah. It's like the mist suddenly stops. It's just a wall of fog. I've never seen anything like that before. Well, fog, mist, whatever.

It's got to stop somewhere. Oh, there goes another light. Why are we whispering? Don't you need to walk down there to get to your apartment? You know, why don't you just crash on my sofa tonight? I'll be fine. Another light just went out. It's pitch black down there now.

Maybe, maybe I will just come inside, just for a little bit, but it's not because I'm scared. Oh, no, no, of course not. I'm sure there's nothing to be afraid of. Yeah, me first. Where are we going, Allison? Just a short hike to the top of Crow Hill. It's the best place for me to show you. What do you want to show us? You'll see.

Since we all had dinner together a few nights ago, I've been watching, keeping notes. I think I can prove to you that the wandering soul is here that somehow it followed me back from the jungle. Allison, it's not real. I know. None of you believe me, but I can prove it. We're nearly there.

So this is where you've been disappearing on your walks at night then? Sometimes I have to be careful after sunset. Allison, there is nothing out there that will harm you. This is all a delusion. You'll see. Allison, Sean's right. I just...

I wish you'd realize we're all just looking out for you. The Wandering Soul, it's just a bad dream. That's all it is. You haven't heard it. When you do, you'll know it's real. Those voices in the jungle, they came for the platoon. They were inside the mist. I'll show you. We're nearly at the top of the hill. Allison, I've spoken with a friend of mine who's on Senator William's staff.

About what? They were able to find out where the Wandering Soul recording was made. It's a complete fabrication. There's nothing supernatural about it. Just some paid voice actors and some clever manipulation of the sound to make it sound unnerving. It's a hundred percent fake.

The army made it to scare Charlie. That's it. Maybe it is fake. Or maybe the army recorded something they never should have. Either way, those sounds disturbed something in the jungle. Something that answered. Allison, it's going to be dark soon.

Why don't we go back home and then we can... No, you don't believe me. None of you do. So you need to see for yourselves. Here we are. Allison, it's the top of Crow Hill. I always loved it up here. Remember when we used to come up here as kids?

Happier times. You can see all of Winderm from up here. It looks so peaceful. But it isn't peaceful. You'll see, just look down at the streets. What are we supposed to be looking for? Wait a moment. Our sun's disappearing over the hills.

It'll be dark soon. Wait for the twilight. That's when it starts. Main Street looks dead tonight. Except the usual blinking sign. The light on top of the radio station is an eyesore, even from up here. You know, every now and then... Never mind.

No, no. Go on, Eliza. Every now and then, Winder gives me the creeps. It's my home. I grew up here, but sometimes it just feels like something's wrong with it. Well, thanks for that, Eliza. Now Allison can build into her fantasy that the town attracted this wandering soul nonsense. The sun is gone. Everyone be quiet.

There's nothing there, Allison. There's simply nothing... There, look over by Sirling Street. Does look unusual. All I see is missed. Exactly. Now keep your voice down. This is what you dragged us up here to see?

You've lived here most of your life, Allison. You know that sometimes mist or fog comes down off the hills and into town. Not like this? Do you not see anything unusual about it? Eliza and I saw something similar the other night. Yeah, it is kind of strange how it's so localized to just one street. Right. I've been coming up here for the past few evenings.

Every night, the same things happen. The sun sets, then a mist comes down from the hills on the other side of town. Yeah, it's called weather, Allison. No, this isn't natural. There's something inside of it. Oh, I am done with this nonsense. Please, John, just watch the mist down there. It'll happen in a moment. Looks like it's clearing. It isn't clearing. It's moving.

Oh, my God. Don't play into this rubbish Eliza. You'll only be able to be. You'll only make things worse. The mist is moving down Serling Street and along Kingsdrift. It almost looks like it's... Alive? It's something like that, I suppose. It isn't alive.

It's very dead. Or what's inside of it is. The dead stay dead, Allison. That's just mist coming down off the hills. Keep watching. It's moving towards mainstream. Now look at the lights. The radio station light went out

Yes Just as it was touched by the mist Oh, that's just an electrical fault I spoke with Pat down a town hall And he said that the streetlights have been going out Around here for a while now That's true, but that's not a streetlight That's the Wyndham radio sign

Why would that go out? Genius Oh, come on, it's clearly just some sort of... John! Look at it! A pocket of mist roaming through the town It always appears after the sun goes down and is localized to one street at a time and look how it's moving from street to street.

That's not a random fog. I know what that is. What? I've seen that movement before. When I was with the platoon, they would break up an area into a grid. Then they'd search each one methodically. It's moving again.

It's not just moving. Eliza, it's searching. Searching. I've had enough. If you two want to stay up here and play into this bullshit, that's up to you. I'm going home. Can't you just believe me for once in your life? No, I can't. Good night. Stop.

I'll come home, John. Just please wait for the mist to leave town first. It usually does around midnight. Well, that's not for a couple of hours yet. Look, I'm cold and I've had about enough of this. You want proof that this is all in your head that it's just missed down there while in here. John? Hey, John.

Hey, hey, hey, up here on the hill, yeah. John? Yeah, you looking for Allison Levin? She's right here. And so am I. Yeah, you might as well come get me too. God knows I've got nothing better to do than stand on a hill at night, screaming at the weather. I think you've made your point, John.

Oh, Allison, look, the mist isn't moving. It's sitting right there at the end of Main Street, and you know why? Because there's nothing in it. There's no dead souls, no screaming voices, nothing. Now, I am getting off of this damned hill, and I would really appreciate it if you would come back to reality and walk with me. Maybe we should walk back into town. You don't believe me? Does that mist look strange?

Yes. but the wandering soul is something the army made up, Alison. You have to believe that and get on with your life. Eliza? Let's just go back into town and suit tomorrow, Brinks. I thought at least you would. I'll always have your back, Alison. I just, I think it's best if we don't jump to conclusion.

Wait, look, the mist. It's moving towards us. It's just the breeze. There's no wind, John. I can hear it now. I can hear them I think it might be prudent to get off this hill We can stop at my apartment

It's nearest So you do believe I just think we should get out of the cold It's pretty dark up here I've never seen mischanged direction like that Before it's moving towards us in fact The voices are getting louder I can't take this

Let's get off of this hill Mark you can fix me a drink at your apartment The South passes this way It'll be safer in the dark Can't you hear them? Just keep moving, Allison. Things will look much better once we're inside. I'd move a little faster if we don't want to get lost in that mist.

It'll be here soon. Speed might be a good idea. I'd hate to get stuck up here for the night. Voices, I could hear them wailing. There are no voices, Allison. Snap out of it. And we're halfway down, Allison. We'll be off the hill in no time.

It's too late. It's here. Look! It's just mist at the bottom of the hill. Oh, suddenly you don't sound so sure. Look, it's blocked our way. We can walk. through it. Can't you hear them? Can any of you hear them? I can't hear anything.

Should Mist be doing that. It must be the wind. Snap out of it, John! The air is dead tonight! Well, there must be wind for it to be able to do that. It's climbing up the hill towards us. Run! Wait, Alison, come back. Back up the hill. Move, Eliza! Here it comes. Allison! I can't see a thing! Look, hold my hand, Eliza. Allison, honey, where are you? Don't let them take me. Please, God, no! Where is she? Allison! Let go with me! Allison, where are you?

Don't let go, Eliza. I have to go to her! Don't let go! No! Allison! The mist's clearing it's moving back into town. We'll find her, John. Allison! Stay here with me until it's gone. Mark, Eliza, I can see you. Which way did Allison go? go. We've got to find her.

Well, there goes the mist, back up into the hills. Well, she can't have gone far. She's got to be around here somewhere. Allison! Why isn't she answering? On the ground over there, I think that's her. Oh, God, no. No, Allison, oh God, baby, what did you do?

Eliza, don't look. Let me see her. Let me... Oh, baby, oh God. She must have fallen off the edge of the cliff on these rocks. Oh, God. Is she? There's no signs of life.

No, she might be. No one could survive an injury like that, John. I'm so sorry. Oh, your beautiful face, Alice. What did I do? What did I do? You didn't do anything, John. It was an accident.

Mark, why didn't you let me go to her? Maybe I had found her before this. It wouldn't have mattered, Eliza. Wouldn't have mattered. This was no accident, Eliza. What do you mean? I held on to you. because as the mist covered us, I heard something inside of it.

What? What was it? I don't know. It was, it was horrid, like a voice far away, but also near it. It was, it was rotten. It was angry. And it said Allison's name. The Wandering Soul by Michael Whitehouse. If there's one thing that we've learned over years, it's that we need to stay out of Winderm. Never treats us very well, especially Jessica. I've died in every single one of Michael's tour scripts. Every single one.

We live. He knows that you make fun of bagpipes, and so it's all coming together there, Jessica. It's enough to knock anyone off, kilter. Goodbye. That's the last time I'm going to accept. a pun that bad. We're going to move on to our third story. I'll begin with a question.

How many people here tonight just happen to listen to the No Sleep podcast? What a coincidence. Well, that's wonderful. Well, we are now in our 13th season, and if you are listening to the current season, you probably heard the first episode, episode one of season 13, in which we did a story called Shreds by

D. Williams. And that's the person who has written this story for us now. And in this story, we're going to meet three people. They have found themselves in a situation where they don't know why they are where they are. They don't know what's brought them there together. But they quickly start to understand that the predicament they're in is a very, very unsettling one. And so let's meet these people. Let's find out what they're going through and how it all relates to a remote village in India, which is known as Bavisana.

What is this? Hello? Nurse? Anyone? What? Oh. Hey, hey, miss. Are you awake?

Can you hear me? Yeah, I can hear you. Where are we? Is this some kind of hospital? I think so. Yeah, I'm not sure. I can't remember how I got here. Do you know what's going on?

No, I was going down to the newsstand before work, and I don't know what happened. Who's that next to you there? I don't know her. Well, we'll try to wake her up. Maybe she'll have an idea of what's going on. Okay. Hey, hey, you, uh, wake up. Hey, I don't...

Who are you? Uh, my name's Susan, and that's... Uh, uh... Harold, Harry, Harry. And that's Harry. Do you know where we are? No, I... I'm Linda's...

I don't... know this place. It looks like a... Like a hospital room, yeah. Except I haven't seen a nurse or a doctor or anyone. Why is the door like that? Like what? Oh, God. We're locked in here.

Jesus, it's completely sealed. And around the window, too. We're sealed up in a big freaking Watkin... What's wrong? I don't know. I... I touched my own. arm and there's a bump under this bandage. Leave the bandage then. If you're hurt, you don't want to make it worse?

No. No, look, I have one on my arm, too. It's like a boil. No, no, it can't be. Do you have one too? Yeah, it looks like one of... Wait, wait, hold on, look. Out the window there, in the hallway, someone's coming. Hello? Hey! Hey! Please don't yell. Oh, my head.

How else am I supposed to get his attention? Have everything sealed up? He can't hear you anyway. Hey! Hey, right here! Yes, yes, yes, right here. To make such a show of it, Ms. Brown, I was coming to you anyway. I missed what you said, though. Care to try again, now the intercom is on? What is this place?

What are we doing here? Who are you? Well, this is a research hospital, and I am Dr. Whitaker. I'm supervising your cases. Are we sick? Unless I severely misunderstood that part of medical school, hospitals are for sick people. But why is it like this? Why does that door look like an airlock?

If you're a doctor, why aren't you coming in here? My goodness, so many questions. Let's see, it looks like an airlock because it is one, and I'm not in there with you because it is against protocol. Talking this way is fine, though, don't you think, with the glass and the intercom, it's practically the same anyway. Besides, if I were to come in, I think you'd find the required attire somewhat upsetting. Oh, my God.

But I guarantee that you are receiving a very high level of care. You talk about it like it's some kind of prison. Certainly not. As I said, it is a hospital. Well, then why are we locked in? If it's a hospital you can't keep us here, let us out. Oh, I see. I know I'm afraid it's quite the other way around. I can keep you here and I can't let you out. Are too dangerous to do otherwise?

What's wrong with us? Well, officially nothing is wrong with you. I suppose everything is, depending on your view. You see, you three are dead. But my son, I don't understand. Harold Smith died in a car accident on the 29th, and Linda Jones and Susan Brown. Both died on Halloween.

Linda Jones of a mugging on awry and Susan Brown in a fire at her flat. You really shouldn't put the kettle on when you're tired, Ms. Brown. Forget to add water, and the next thing you know, everything is burned up. No, no, no, that doesn't make any sense.

Burned up? Yes, that's typically what fire does. No open cuskets for any of you, it would appear, all damaged beyond recognition. But my cat, Lady Fluffy Toes the third was completely unharmed in the Firemer's Brown, though I do believe the shelter has changed that somewhat unfortunate name. No.

No, stop. Stop talking about it. Like, it's happened. It hasn't. It's not even possible. Eddie and I were going to work on his costume today for Halloween at his school tomorrow. It's only the 30th, so we can't. Actually, today is November the 9th.

In 1990, in case that was indebted. No, ten days, but Eddie! Eddie is perfectly fine as well, Ms. Jones. He's been homeed with a very lovely family. Quite sad, I expect, but he'll bounce back. Young people tend to do so. What about you, Mr. Smith? Seems that you were all alone in life. No pets, no wife, no children, but I could be misinformed. Can I assuage your fears about anything? No. No, I don't think you can.

Terribly clever. So, how are we... If we're... Oh! No, no, no, no, no. That's only the official story. Unofficially, you're very much alive, clearly. So then, then what is it?

How can we have been here that long and not known it? Have we been in a coma? No, you've been sedated, actually. But... Why? A diagnostic. chest x-rays and blood work and the like.

It would be easier with conscious participants, of course, but we tend not to expect much in the way of patient cooperation here. Speaking of, you all did have your full rounds of vaccinations as children, didn't you? I checked your medical records, but I feel they might be a tad unreliable in your cases. Why are you doing this to us? Because you are sick, I thought I made that quite clear. I don't understand I don't understand any of this

Well, no, I don't expect you would But the good news is that you don't need to So if that's all settled Why don't you tell me how you're all feeling Any discomforts, headaches, chills Ms. Jones, I noticed your cough, A bit of a tickle in the throat Please, I don't need to be here

I just need to see my baby, I need to go home And what home would that be? The one here in London Or the one in Pennsylvania that you left 10 years ago. Either way, it doesn't really answer my question. I don't care. I just...

I just want to see my son. It's touching, really. It seems a terrible shame that he doesn't know his father. Moved here to marry the man and then never went through with it, wasn't it? You jackass, leave her alone. Has known it for names, Mr. Smith. He's scared. We all are.

Just... Please. Just tell us what's happening. Let us out. I can't let you out. You would be a danger to society. What part of you are sick is so difficult to understand? I'm not.

I'm fine. We're fine. Your flat is gone, Ms. Brown. So where would you even go? Back to Los Angeles. Just need some sunshine and warmth to stop your shivering, I suppose, since you're not sick. Just cold?

Certainly don't have a fever. Please. It does seem a bit of an odd choice, though, to move away from Los Angeles for art school, wasn't it? I... I wanted to go to Goldsmiths. Oh, of course. And why not?

Excellent college. I bet you connected with some interesting people while you were there. Like-minded people. Free thinkers. Perhaps even a few communists. Probably not hard at all to push... artists over that edge. What does that have to do with anything?

What are you even talking about? I'm just lamenting Ms. Brown's crushed dreams of making art. Came all this way for goldsmiths and now works for a parcel force. And you, Mr. Smith, you're quite an enigma yourself. Crossed an ocean and waited five years for naturalization just to work for Euro control, as though Canada has no need for air traffic control. I don't need to explain myself to you. No, you certainly don't.

Nor am I asking you, too. I was just remarking on how interesting it is that you all ended up here in London. So you're trying to say, what? That you've got us locked up because we're not from here? That's an interesting way of looking at it, I suppose. Well, that doesn't make us sick. People move to different countries all the time.

They certainly do. But I'm not interested. in people, I am interested in U3. Tell me, was immigration supposed to be a more effective cover, or was there just something about an American accent that was easier to fake? What are you

talking about? I'm talking about infrastructure, Ms. Brown. The city's weak points. Air travel, the tube, even the bloody royal mail, apparently. Did you really think the British government wasn't going to notice? Notice

what? The that we all move to London, that we all go to work? What is there to notice? I don't feel right. A refreshing bit of honesty. What doesn't feel right, Ms. Jones? Are you nauseous? Are you feeling feverish, perhaps? Don't say anything to him, Linda.

He's crazy or something. There's something wrong with him. Something wrong with me. Why not? He's not going to let us go. Why not just tell him? What good is it arguing with him like you two have been doing? It's not getting us anyway.

That's the spirit. Just tell me. It's all I wanted to know in the first place. Don't, Linda. I'm dizzy. And my mouth feels wrong. Wrong in what way? Can you describe it for me? There are bumps, heart bumps, under the skin all over it hurts. Really? I've never heard of the so early. Have any of them broken open? Do you taste blood? I can taste it in my throat. Good Lord, so early.

How many of them have broken down, would you say a majority or just a few? Ain't no more questions. Leave her alone. What about you, Miss Smith? Feverish, of course, but is there anything else? Headache, backache? Nope. Looks like you have a bit of bleeding into your eyes.

Harry? Oh, don't listen to them. Your eyes are fine. Are they? You can't feel a subconjectival hemorrhage, Ms. Brown, and you certainly can't see it. But when the hemorrhages start under the skin, you'll see them. You probably won't feel. them, but you will certainly see them, and then when the skin starts to lift...

Shut up! Are they kind to spread? What, the sores? On you, yes, they most assuredly will. As Brown likely not, but her hemorrhages will spread in a similar fashion face, hands feet. Perhaps the two of you can compare notes. What is this? What's wrong with them?

Well, the same thing that's wrong with you, Mr. Smith, though, you seem to be taking longer at it. Smallpox. No. No. No, we can't have smallpox at that. That's not possible. Of course it is. I infected you all four days ago.

You did what? No, no, but it's... Contagious, disfiguring, deadly? It's extinct. It's fucking extinct. It has been for years. In the wild, perhaps, but not in the lab. No, but you can't.

There's only two places in the world that are allowed to have it. This isn't one of them. Nowhere in London, nowhere in England. You can't have it. My, my. Terribly knowledgeable for a woman who works in transportation, aren't you? And yet somehow still very naive. We can't have it.

And yet we do. And now you three have it too. Why? Why would you... You can't do this. We didn't do anything wrong. You can't do this. Let me out of here.

I'm getting out of here. No! Touch your eye me, Miss Brown, or I swear to God, I'm... None of you touch your IVs. Removing them would be entirely counterproductive to your treatment. You're treating us? Of course we're treating you. I told you before, a high level of care.

The slightest chance of helping, we are pumping into you. But if you infected us, why would... Because we know about your country's... America doesn't have a bioweapons program. Well, that's debatable. But I am not talking about biopreper. Biopreper. What is that?

What does that mean? You say we have weapons and then you say that that's not what you're talking about? Still such beautiful performances. Even in a situation like this one, I am very impressed. They did you all an immense disservice but they didn't pull you out after Peschnik defected. Precizs. Precian.

What? You think... You think we're Soviet agents? No, Ms. Bram. I know your Soviet agents. You're nuts. You're completely nuts. That's insane. You can't know that because it's not true. I was born in the United States. My name is Linda Jones, for God's sake.

I don't know anything about guns or weapons. Please, enough with the theatrics. I know about all three of you, just like I know about the experiments your country has done. You could kill thousands upon thousands of people. That is what is insane, not me. Experiments. Thousands of...

How could any of us do any of that? Well, not alone. But with the information you three have and the infectious agents your scientists have engineered, it would be a simple matter. So that's what this is? You've just engineered some of your own? Exactly.

With the approval of the British government, of course, this is our way to match you. We call the strain Bavisana, after the village it was isolated in. Of course, it's much more lethal now than it was then. Apparently the word means something like divine. And after what we've done to, to it in most certainly is divine.

It's like the wrath of God. So what? So what? Yeah. So what? Let's go along with this insane theory of yours and say that single mom Linda over here and Susan with her fluffy wuffy little kitty cat and I, we're all spies. And we've been plotting some sort of horrific fate for London all the while knowing whatever

weapons mother goddamn Russia has been making. Let's just say that. So what's your plan for us then? Use us to test your own weapon, and then what? Unleash the superbug, kill them before they kill you? No, that's... Nobody's been vaccinated against smallpox since the 70s. That's a whole generation with no immunity at all.

You couldn't contain the spread. It would go everywhere, around the whole world. It would take the children first, like my Eddie. He never heard anyone. He's just a little boy. Is that what you want, Dr. Whitaker? Kill your enemies, even if it means killing their children and killing your own children, too. The ones who never did anything wrong? Is that what this is all about, mutually assured destruction?

God, no, God no. We are treating you, don't you understand? We could stop it. That doesn't make sense. Of course it does. We don't know what the Soviet, what your strain is capable. of. We don't even know what strain it is. We only know. Mavisana is our blind approximation of it as lethal and as contagious as humanly possible.

So if we can develop a vaccine against it better than the old one, then surely it will be effective against the strain produced at biopreparate. We are trying to save lives, not take them. But you had to test it. But you couldn't test it on your own people. You couldn't even let them know you had it. So you round us up, call us spies, have the government fake record so it looks like we're dead. For the last time I know you're... Stop.

Stop. The sores on our arms. You've already vaccinated us. Yes. Vaccinated as children, but the immunity can decrease over time. So we vaccinated you again post-exposed. It's just like it would be in the event of an attack. You try to stop the spread and decrease the severity of the illness for those already infected.

So then there's a chance. No, no, Miss Jones. You misunderstand. You three are not part of the test group. You're part of the control. You were vaccinated with the old vaccine. No, no, but still... Today can still do something, can't it?

Even a small amount, right? It can still help. Oh, it can't. Bavisana was devised to evade the old vaccine, to rip through it. We're just using you to see how fast it does. Bavisana by D. Williams. Why is it that British people always make the best villains? It's typecasting, I tell you.

Well, before we get into this final tale, I'd like to introduce three very special guests who are going to join us for this tale. Oh, yes. I may have been joking about Elijah Wood, but I'm not joking about these three folks. The first is a native of Los Angeles, California. She has been on the show for a number of seasons now. She has created many memorable characters. We love her to death. Would you please welcome Ms. Aaron Lillis?

Thank you for making the trek all the way here, Aaron. Thank you. It was like an hour. Well, thank you for making the long, long trek. You're welcome. Now, our next special voice acting guest is also living here in Los Angeles. I should just say Los Angeles. I don't know why I keep making that strange pronunciation.

But she was going to school, and now she's working out here, braving the competitive acting market of Los Angeles. We are thrilled that she is on the show. She, again, has created many wonderful characters. She has a very memorable voice. 9,375 miles. Would you please welcome the delightful, the wonderful, Addison Peacock! Addison, welcome.

Thank you. You made it up from the Libreya tar pits, I understand. I did. Crawled my way up here myself. That's not an insult. I understand you do some work there. I do. I do.

I sling tickets at the tar pits. That's awesome. Wonderful. Well, I think we're all ready to go. Oh, no. There's one more gentleman who's going to join us on stage. This young man, what can one say? He joined us in season three.

And he very quickly became a fan favorite with his distinct, almost singular voice that he has. He has created so many memorable characters, including there's, well, the mummer man is one of them. This young man hails from Denver, Colorado. Would you welcome to the stage, some guy named Peter Lewis. Hey there You're all looking cozy Blood drenched I hope

Maybe some of you In the back Now Peter you I think actually did come from the tarpits Is that how that works? I think so Well we've got a full house up here This is fantastic What a way to end a tour

And so as I like to say In our final tale We're going to be doing a story written by Olivia White, who is our content manager and who has created so many great stories for us. And in this tale, we meet a group of people who are, strangely enough, podcasters, whatever that is, they're traveling around and they're looking for strange Halloween

kind of attractions to report on. And they find one all right. Oh, they find one. And so let's join these people, as they experience, well, I guess you could call it a very sleepless Halloween. Oh, hi, there's a gas station up ahead. Oh, good spot, Carly. I think I'm going to pull in, guys.

Works for me. I could use some snacks. Zinn, did you eat all the Cheetos already? I got hungry, okay? Oh, God, yes, please. I need the toilet. Toilet? You're not quite American yet, T.J. Oh, come on. Who has a rest in a rest room? Okay, okay, I'm stopping.

I think I'll join T.J., in the toilet. Not literally. I mean, you're welcome to. Gross. I mean, no offense, T.J. No wife of mine is going to use the toilet with a strange British man. Strange? You wound me.

Ten years we've been online, buddies. For real, though. It's so cool you came over to join us for our annual October Road trip. trip. Oh, Brian's been begging me to come for years. Finally, the jealousy got too much. I just had to, and I must say, it has been awesome getting to meet you all in person. Ah, to think a humble online role-playing group could bring people together like this.

You're all a bunch of geeks. Hey, I'm a geek, but you love me, right? And I do appreciate you getting involved in this for me. Oh, admit it, Zinia. We've won you over. Clearing dungeons, slaying dragons. You're into it. Well, there is a certain juna sequa to Brian's DMing.

Aha, see? My skills can convert anyone. Anyway, whoever needs the bathroom, head there now. Whoever wants anything at the store, let's go. I'm leaving in ten minutes with or without you all. Angel, are you sure you're okay? Yeah, just shaken. What even happened?

Why'd we have to go screeching out there like a bat out of it? Well. Rural men, honey. You can't just say that? What happened? Angel and I were in the snack aisle, and this old attendant guy came up to us. Was he a bigot? No. Well, at least I don't think so. A lech, maybe? I'm not sure that was it. I think he was warning us. What did he say?

Well, he came up to us and sort of leered, then said, They'll like you, they'll want you, don't stop. So we assumed it was some kind of, well, we're young women, so, you know. But then Brian came over and... And he was very rude. Rood hand. He said, they'll want you too. Oh, they'll definitely want you.

They'll want all of you. And then he just looks... Well, he looked panicked. I'd say, scared. Sure, maybe. He looked like that and then yelled, Freaks and Geeks. It's the Freaks and Geeks.

Do I really give off that sort of aura? I mean, I know we're a D&D club, but I think we're all pretty normal. Oh, I wish I hadn't been a... in the toilet. I would have punched that guy's lights out. I really think he was just concerned for us. About what, though? Oh, never mind that. Hey, look up ahead. Oh, hey. Have we got our first hit of Halloween? Yeah, yeah, I think we have. Holy shit. Have we found one? Yes. It looks like it, guys. So, you down? Am I ever? Yeah, babe, let's get to it.

Oh, man, this is going to be good. Halloween roadside attraction. As you know, they're a real phenomenon in this area. Not the usual haunted houses or corn mazes. We've done all that. Seen everything they have to offer. But a couple years ago, we heard about this route, and we've done it as a group ever since each year on Halloween.

Well, most of you have. I'm new to it. No, this is a new one for us, too, though. I'm glad you suggested we take the back road, son. Yeah, see, I do have. some good ideas. I'm stoked that we found this place. As am I, dear, as am I. I was beginning to think our inaugural Halloween opening would be sons' guests. Well, I mean, you are pretty out of the way here, but that's the beauty of it, isn't it? Finding the hidden gems. Well, I hope you find my hidden gem to be as precious as I do.

I will. Madam Fortune, isn't it? Madam Fortuna, my dear. Oh. Hey, so, do you mind if we record? We have a podcast. It's mostly a...

It's live action roleplay, but for Halloween, we do an episode about these attractions. So we kind of record our thoughts and experiences as we go. Most people are okay with it. Recording. Well,

That's a novelty. So will this be broadcast live? No, no, no, no. We need editing to make us sound good. We'll record it, edit it, then cut it into an episode to release next week. The sort of post-Hallowing tradition. Well, of course that's fine. Record away.

We're here at Grande Fortuna's Fright Fest, our first stop of our Halloween road trip, 2019. A small, rustic farmhouse sits among the desert dirt. At first glance, one would be forgiven for mistaking it as unoccupied. It certainly isn't, though. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the charming Madame Fortuna, our gracious host. She's a strange, almost macawarral, a older woman, except the type of person you'd expect to find finding a backroads freak show.

Carly, save that kind of thing for the studio. She might have heard you. I can't help but if she creeps me out. Anyway, there's a barn outback, which seems to be the site of the freakish fright fest. What say we go get our scares on, people? Well, that sounds just divine. If you don't be so kind as to follow me,

I'll introduce you to a Halloween show the likes of which you've never seen before. I promise. Hear that listeners? Things are about to get spooky. I gather you'll be listening to this, not watching. So let me tell you, I'm about to throw open the doors

to the grande, fortune is freakish fright fast and blow your host's minds. Here we go. Words fail me. Not for the first time. I regret not. not starting a YouTube channel for this. Oh, you guys really need to see it to do it justice, but we'll try.

It's like a museum of the macabre. Strange objects, statues, effigies. A bloodstained farm tool of some description? What appears to be a tableau of shrunken heads on a bookcase? It's all fake, of course, but it's effective numbers. Oh, no, no, no, dear. Nothing's fake here. Look, read the blacks.

Everything tells a story. I'm intrigued by this tool. This is the actual side that belonged to Harrington Foster, the infamous cop slayer of the 1970s. Harrington Foster killed two police officers after making false 911 calls and luring them to his property. When follow-up officers arrived the next day

after their colleagues failed to return, they discovered the two men dismembered and disemboweled, displayed proudly on Foster's living room wall alongside his wife and two daughters. What about this one? It says it's an authentic effigy retrieved from an ocean-worshipping cult in New England.

Being around it too long causes nausea and strange dreams. No, don't touch it. I'm just... It's best not to touch it. Sorry. Sorry, I was... Sorry.

Come on, Angel. Let's check out the heads. Brian, I don't like this place. Can we please go, honey? You've got to be kidding. This is fascinating. It's what we come out for. This is prime Halloween exhibition stuff.

Yeah, it clearly isn't, though. It's clearly here all the time. It's a museum. What's the... What's the... Halloween gimmick. It's this isn't a pop-up attraction. That's what we cover, isn't it?

I mean, yeah, you do have a point. They obviously didn't set this up just for Halloween. No, no, my friend. Don't be mistaken. This isn't the Halloween exhibition. This is the museum. The Halloween special is through that curtain over there. Jeez, you sure do you like staking up on people, lady.

Ah, yes. My partner's always saying, Matt. But if you think I'm bad for it, then, well, he's worse. Oh, I'm worse, Samlian. Speak of the devil. And the devil shall arrive. May I introduce you to my partner? The miraculous, the malevolent, Papa Grande. I am delighted to see you all, and thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for, oh, blessing our little show with your presence. Is that her husband?

What a pair. Honey! No strictly business, I must confess. While Madam Fortuna is undeniably enchanting, my proclivities are somewhat different as are hers. Do you mind if I continue to record, sir? Oh, by all means. We're joined now by Papa Grande.

He's a tall, imposing figure, wild locks of hair, long black coat. He reminds me of someone, but... Resputin. You're thinking of Rasputin. That's it.

Is that it? Yeah. Yeah, I can see it now. Yes, indeed, I've been compared to the mad monk more times than I can count. I would like to consider myself somewhat less mad, though. No less dead. Excellent, fantastic. But, oh, goodness me, look at the time.

We are holding up our guests, madam. Oh, no, no, no, no. It's really fine. We have plenty of time. I don't mean you. Now let's get the show started. Time to come out. What's a...

What the hell? What are those things? They're coming out of the walls, the floor, they run! We go! Are they waking up? Oh, yes, yes, I think they are. What? What?

My hand. Hey, untie us. Now! Oh God, oh God, oh God. He is definitely awake for grande. Excellent. I was beginning to think we'd have to resurrect to the opening act. Sorry, a little stage humor there.

Good one. My dear, uh, Zinia, was it? You don't mind if I borrow your recording device, do you? Let go of me! No? Good. Now then, I believe that this recording is for listeners of your podcast. And I'd hate to disappoint your listeners.

so I'll do my part to get this all on tape. But I do have to warn you, your audience is not my priority. It's our audience that I really care about. What audience? What are you talking about? What audience? Right there in front of you.

All these souls, you see, have come from far and wide to see you perform for them today. Look at them all out there watching their dead eyes unblinking, just waiting to see what tricks you'll perform. And oh, what a show we have for you tonight, my dear audience. It is an old favorite, but one I know you all love. Some call it sick, depraved, evil. I call it the human mind. Who's going to be our first victim, Papa Grande? Let us go! You're sick, demented! Well, I think we have a volunteer.

This, dear audience, is Angela McKenzie, but she goes by the name Angel. And isn't that just heavenly? Angel likes kittens and going to the gym and her girlfriend, Zinia. Oh, that's cute. Watch as the devilish Papa Grande reaches into Angel's mind and twists it, warping away her very humanity. Angel, McKenzie. When I reach the count of three, you will be my thrall, and you will do and say everything I tell you.

Do you understand? No! You're delusional! First, I won't. One, two. Angel, Mackenzie, who is your master? You are, Papa Grande. What the hell?

Angel, is this a joke? Are you... Angel? The woman next to you, Zinia, claims to be your girlfriend, but you hate her, don't you? Yes, Papa Grande. Tell her you hate her. I hate you, Zinia. I've always hated you.

You disgust me? You're a pathetic, needy bitch. I want to cut you out of my life like a tumor. You are nothing to me. All is Papa Grande. Angel, what are you... Just go die. I despise you. Oh, excellent.

Now, Angel, you can sleep. I have something special planned for you two later. No, let me go! Come on, guys, this is gone on far enough. Fuck that polite bullshit. If you don't let us go right now, I'm going to call the cop so hard on your... Carly Rackstraw!

Wife of Brian Rackstraw. I could... convince you two to hate one another, but well, you don't really need that, do you? Your stale, lifeless marriage doesn't need any meddling from me. Oh, who, cold one, Papa Grande. Papa Grande, I hear Carly really doesn't like bugs. Oh God, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop, stop. Oh, bugs, you say.

Like the bugs that will be crawling all over her skin when I count to the bugs. Three. One, two. No, no, stop. Stop. Go after me instead. Three! Leave her alone. Remain calm. There's nothing on you. There's nothing there. You monsters! Monsters? Oh, that's rich coming from you. A man who upon the count of three will be possessed by a demon so vile that your mind will shatter simply from encountering it. One, two, three!

Look at him. Riving like. like a pig, just wriggling, squealing, shrieking like a pig. And you know what we do to pigs around these parts, don't you? My dear audience. Wee. Demon, break free of your bonds and eat Carly. That last supper, we have exercised to the demon. What did I do? What did I do?

And unable to live with himself, the poor little piggy. Little Piggy broke his own neck. What? One. No. Two. No. Three.

Oh, don't. Audience, my dear audience, are you not entertained? Let's return to our loving couple. Angel and Zinia. Angel, remind us who you obey? I obey Papa Grande. Hmm. You know, I was going to have her kids.

her beloved Zinia. Don't you dare. She won't. She won't do it. But... But... What fun is that? Instead, Angel, I recant.

You do love Zinia. You love her more than life itself, and you should tell her. Oh, my God. I love you. I love you so much. I'm so sorry. Whatever happens,

just know that I love you. This isn't me. Okay, he's done something to me. He's inside my head. I love you. I will always love you. I love you so much. I love you.

I love you. I love you. Now stop breathing. My dear Zinia. Original Zin. I'm sorry. I truly am. You have nothing to live for now, do you?

She surely does not. So I'm going to count to three and get inside your head. One, two, three. And now I'm going to slice off your bonds, and now I'm going to give you this knife,

and now I'm going to bid you to kill Papa Grande. Wait, what? I didn't say that. I didn't mean to say that. That wasn't what I... No, what do you? Put this down! I did.

What? What just happened? And now, Zinia, now you can cut your own throat. What? Wait, wait, stop, stop, stop. Okay. You can stop recording now.

Was it everything you hoped for? Everything and more. This guy, this Papa Grande character, he was great. Where did you find him? Drifter. Pulled up to the museum with a trunk full of body, parts and murder in his eyes. It didn't take much to talk him into being the star

of our show. He didn't even question how the mind control stuff would work. Just believed in me. I didn't even need to avert any otherworldly influence. What a joke. Oh, man. It must have been from Denver. I'll tell you, though, despite that,

his mind was strong. It took a real effort to siphon my power through him without him realizing. And he pulled it off marvelously, though. I must say, And, you know, we got everything on tape. The recording is going to be phenomenal. The show 10 years in the making.

Ah, it seems so long when you say it like that. And yet, 10 years is a mere drop in the ocean for beings like us. Ah, the time investment was worth it. The trust, the backstory, the audience investment. When this audio leaks, the impact is going to be huge. So much delicious chaos. Any regrets about having to abandon the Brian Roxor identity? Uh, none.

He's had his day. Oh, poor Brian. Murdered by a psychotic madman. Oh, the cops are going to be searching for Papa Grande for years. I admit it's a shame. I can't take the credit, though. But, well... It's not like we demons need any notoriety.

Tell that to some of the other guys. That crew who did the V.H. chest store killings a few decades ago. They've been surfacing again lately, making waves, took over a church or something. Me, I'm just happy to sow a little discord

and terror here and there. This recording is certainly going to do that. I mean, there's still a few hours left of Halloween night. If we hurry, we can get it out there before midnight strikes. Well, I suppose we better thank our audience, too. You may be wondering why,

We summoned you all here when this whole thing has been to create a recorded show for listeners worldwide. It's simple, really. Studio recordings are great, but you just can't beat a live audience. So, we thank you for being here tonight to bear witness to the murders of beloved friends and colleagues. I do apologize for dragging you all from your eternal torment. When the sun rises on November 1st, you'll be free to return to the nether worlds from whence you came. But for now, on Halloween, I shall enjoy devouring all these souls, as I've enjoyed every soul I've devoured for millennia.

And I'd like to invite you all to join me as we feasts, and brace yourself. For tonight there will be. No sleep. Thank you so much everyone. Keep it going for Aaron Lillis, Nicole Goodnight, Peter Lewis, Jessica McAvoy, Addison Peacock,

David Altz, and Mr. Brandon Boone. Without his shirt, I know. Right, well I won't keep you very long, but this is the last show of our tour. of our tour, we've done our 9,375 miles, as has been belabored all the way through this show. But as this is the last show, I do have to say a few words of thanks to various groups of people and as good things always come in threes, I've got three groups of people to thank.

Firstly, for all of the venues, we've had some amazing venues throughout this tour and each one of them has had wonderful tour managers and tech guys and galleys and galle. and also really crucially and importantly, the merch volunteers. So everyone who has been at the venues, please give them a big round of applause. And as we've been going around, we've been lucky enough to be graced with the presences of some of our guest actors. And we've also met writers, artists, our social media managers. So all of the people from the teams, please can you give them a big round of applause as well? And finally, it's you, the audience.

because I think it's quite simple to say, without you, there would be no show, and there would certainly be no, no sleep. So I would like you all to give yourselves a big round of applause. And when we do the meet and greet, we get to speak to so many lovely people. And you say things like, well, no sleep has helped me through long shifts

or long truck journeys or commutes and things like that. We've also been really touched when people have come up to us and said that the podcast has helped you through some really bad times or has shown its amazing and wonderful support for the LGBT communities. And we've even been told that we have brought couples together. So two years ago in our New York show, two people got talking in line and they came to our Brooklyn show again this year. still happily together. So there is one man, there is one man for whom we can thank for bringing all of us together, all of us on stage, all of you here. We have had the most fantastic opportunity to go across the states, yeah, go into Canada, but go across the states and meet all of you and have such an impact not only on our lives but on yours as well.

He is a man with the patience of a saint. He is generous to a fault. It is Mr. David Cummings. Well, you're very kind, David. Thank you. I don't know what to say. I'm going to start crying. But it is wonderful.

This has been such an amazing tour, and I'm thrilled to have people like this to tour with. These folks are a lot of fun. And I won't disclose my age. but they make me feel a lot younger than I am. And younger than I look, come on now. So thank you, thank you, and thank you folks for coming out tonight to our finale. This has been such an amazing wrap-up.

So thank you. Thank you, everyone. You can just feel the love in the room tonight. Thank you so much. As the lights come back on, our stories come to an end. Please remember to be kind and rewind. If you would like to find out how you can hear the full. length versions of our audio program, please visit the no sleeppodcast.com to learn about our season past program. On behalf of everyone at the No Sleep podcast, we thank you for listening.

Join us at the video store next week. Our door is always open. This audio production is copyright 2019 by Creative Reason Media Inc. All rights reserved. The copyrights for each story are held by the respective authors. No duplication or reproduction of this audio program is permitted without the written consent of Creative Reason Media, Inc.