Welcome to Night Vale - 2 - Glow Cloud

Episode Date: July 1, 2012

A mysterious, glowing cloud makes its way across Night Vale. Plus, new Boy Scouts hierarchy, community events calendar, and a PTA bake sale for a great cause! Weather: "The Bus is Late" by Satellite... High, satellite-high.com Music: Disparition, disparition.info Logo: Rob Wilson, silastom.com Produced by Night Vale Presents. Written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Narrated by Cecil Baldwin. More Info: welcometonightvale.com, and follow @NightValeRadio on Twitter or Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:04 Howdy y'all. It is Jeffrey Craneer. I'm not sure which episode of Welcome to Nightville you're listening to, but I am speaking to you from April of 2026. And I'm here to tell you we're going to be in Europe. If you want to see Nightville live and you're going to be in Europe, come check us out at the end of May. We're going to be in Edinburgh on May the 27th. We will be in Manchester on the 28th, London on the 29th, and Amsterdam on May the 30th. Just go to Welcome to Nightville.com slash live to see the show dates and to get your tickets. This is. our newest Nightville live show Murder Night in Blood Forest. It is so much fun. Please come check it out. Also, coming up this month here in April, it is the return of Alice Isn't Dead, brand new episodes of our other crazy hit podcast. This is written by Joseph Fink, produced and with music by disparition and starring Jacique and Nicole. So make sure you are still subscribed to Alice Isn't Dead and go get those on April the 13th as new episodes come out. Finally, speaking of other shows, Do you want to hear us talk about other things? We have three other really great chat shows.
Starting point is 00:01:07 First of all, there's Good Morning Nightvale for all of your Nightville needs. You can hear Hal, Meg, and Symphony talk about every single episode in order of Welcome to Nightvail. Also, we have Random Horror Number Nine. That is me and Nightville star Cecil Baldwin talking about horror movies one at a time in a random order. And then Joseph and Meg do best worst, which is a really fun podcast where they look at hit TV shows and they review the best rated on a IMDB, the worst rated on IMDB, and if you're a Patreon member, they will review the middleest rated on IMDB. So check out all of those at nightfallpresents.com or just wherever you get your podcast. And hey, thanks. The desert seems vast, even endless. And yet, scientists tell us that
Starting point is 00:01:54 somewhere, even now, there is snow. Welcome to Night Vale. The Night Vale Tourism Board, visitable night veil campaign has kicked off with posters, encouraging folks to take their family on a scenery-filled jaunt through the trails of Radon Canyon. Their slogan, The View is literally breathtaking. Posters will be placed at police stations and frozen yogurt shops in nearby towns, along with promotional giveaways of plastic sheeting and rebreathers. And now the news.
Starting point is 00:02:57 of our listeners seen the glowing cloud that has been moving in from the west? Well, John Peters, you know, the farmer, he saw it over the western ridge this morning, said he would have thought it was the setting sun if it wasn't for the time of day. Apparently, the cloud glows in a variety of colors, perhaps changing from observer to observer, although all report a low whistling when it draws near. One death has already been attributed to a number. One death has already been attributed to the glow cloud. But listen, it's probably nothing. If we had to shut down the town for every mysterious event that at least one death could be attributed to, we'd never have time to do anything, right? That's what the sheriff's secret police are saying, and I agree. Although,
Starting point is 00:03:50 I would not go so far as to endorse their suggestion to run directly at the cloud, shrieking and waving your arms just to see what it does. The Apache tracker, and I remind you that this is that white guy who wears the huge and cartoonishly inaccurate Indian headdress, has announced that he has found some disturbing evidence concerning the recent incident at the Knight Vale Post Office, which has been sealed by the City Council since the great screaming that was heard from it a few weeks ago. He said that using ancient Indian magics, he slipped through council security into the post office and observed that all the letters and packages had been thrown about as in a whirlwind, that there was the
Starting point is 00:04:45 heavy stench of scorched flesh, that the words written in blood on the wall said, more to come, and soon. Can you believe this guy said he used Indian magics? What an asshole. Here's something odd. There is a cat hovering in the men's bathroom at the radio station here. He seems perfectly happy and healthy, but it's floating about four feet off the ground next to the sink. Doesn't seem to be able to move from its current hover spot.
Starting point is 00:05:32 If you pet him, he purrs, and he'll rub on your body like a normal cat if you get close enough. Fortunately, because he's right by the sink, it was pretty easy to leave some water and food where he could get it. And it's nice to have a station pet. Wish it wasn't trapped in a hovering prison in the men's bathroom, but listen. No pet is perfect. It becomes perfect when you learn to accept it for what it is. And now a message from our sponsors.
Starting point is 00:06:08 I took a walk on the cool sand dunes, brittle grass overgrown, and above me in the night sky above me I saw. Bitter taste of unripe peaches and a smell I could not place, nor could I escape. I remembered other times that I could not escape. I remembered other smells. The moon slid. like a wounded animal. The world spun like it had lost control. Concentrate only on breathing
Starting point is 00:06:47 and let go of ideas you had about nutrition and alarm clocks. I took a walk on the cool sand dunes, brittle grass overgrown, and above me, in the night sky above me I saw. This message was brought to you by Coca-Cola. The City Council, in cooperation with government agents from a vague yet menacing agency, is asking all citizens to stop by the Night Vale Elementary School Gymnasium tonight at 7 for a brief questionnaire about mysterious sights that definitely no one saw and strange thoughts that in no way occurred to anyone, because all of us are normal and to be otherwise would make us outcasts from our own community.
Starting point is 00:07:43 Remember, if you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget. The Boy Scouts of Night Vale have announced some slight changes to their hierarchy, which will now be the following. Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Eagle Scout, Blood Pact Scout, Weird Scout, Dreadnought Scout, Dark Scout, Fear Scout, and finally, Eternal Scout. As always, sign up is automatic and random, so please keep an eye out for the scarlet envelope that will let you know your son has been chosen for the process. This is probably nothing, listeners, but John Peters, you know, the farmer, he reports that the glow cloud, is directly over Old Town Night Vale and appears to be reigning small creatures upon the earth,
Starting point is 00:08:46 armadillos, lizards, a few crows, that kind of thing. Fortunately, the animals appear to be dead already, so the Night Vale Animal Control Department has said that it should be a snap to clean those up. They just have to be tossed on the Eternal Animal Pire in Mission Grove Park, so if that's the work, the glow cloud has for us. I say go ahead and do your daily errands. Just bring along a good, strong umbrella, capable of handling falling animals up to, say, 10 pounds. More on the glow cloud as it continues to crawl across our sky. And hey, here's a tip. Take your kids out, and use the clouds constantly mutating hue to teach him or her the names of colors.
Starting point is 00:09:38 It's fun, and it shows them the real-life applications of learning. Alert. The sheriff's secret police are searching for a fugitive named Hiram McDaniels, who escaped custody last night following a 9 p.m. arrest. McDaniels is described as a five-headed dragon, approximately 18 feet tall, with mostly green eyes, and weighing about 3,600 pounds. He is suspected of insurance fraud.
Starting point is 00:10:12 McDaniels was pulled over for speeding last night, and the Secret Police became suspicious when he allegedly gave the officers a fake driver's license for a five-foot-eight man named Frank Chen. After discerning that Frank Chen was actually a five-headed dragon from somewhere other than our little world, the Secret Police searched McDaniel's vehicle. Representatives from local civil rights organizations have protested that officers had no legal grounds to search the vehicle. But they ceded the point when reminded by secret police officials that our backwards court system will uphold any old authoritarian rule made up on the fly by unsupervised gun-carrying thugs of a shadow government. The secret police say McDaniels
Starting point is 00:11:03 escaped custody by breathing fire from his purple head, and he was last seen flying and shrieking over red mesa. Secret police are asking for tips leading to the arrest of Hiram McDaniels. They remind you that, if seen, he should not be approached, as he is literally a five-headed dragon. Contact the sheriff's secret police if you have any information. Ask for Officer Ben. Helpful tipsters will earn one stamp on their alert citizen card. Collect five stamps, and you get stop sign immunity. for one year. And now a look at the community calendar. Saturday, the public library will be
Starting point is 00:11:54 unknowable. Citizens will forget the existence of the library from 6 a.m. Saturday morning until 11 p.m. that night. The library will be under a sort of renovation. It is not important what kind of renovation. Sunday is dot day. Remember, red dots on what you love, blue dot. on what you don't. Mixing those up can cause permanent consequences. Monday, Louis Blasco is offering bluegrass lessons in the back of Louis' music shop. Of course, the shop burned down years ago and Louis skipped town immediately after with his insurance money, but he sent word that you should bring your instrument to the crumbled, ashy shell of where his shop once was and pretend that he is there in the darkness teaching you. The price is $50 per lesson payable in advance.
Starting point is 00:12:53 Tuesday afternoon, join the Night Vale PTA for a bake sale to support citizens for a blood space war. Proceeds will go to support neutron bomb development and deployment to our outer solar system allies. Wednesday has been cancelled due to a scheduling error. And on Thursday, is a free concert. And that's all it says here. New call in from John Peters, you know, the farmer. Seems the glow cloud has doubled in size, enveloping all of Night Vale in its weird light and humming song.
Starting point is 00:13:37 Little League administration has announced that they will be going ahead with the game, although there will be an awning built over the field due to the increase in size of the animal corpses being dropped. I've had multiple reports that a lion, like the kind you would see on the sun-baked plains of Africa, or a pea-stained enclosure at a local zoo, fell on top of the white sand ice cream shop. The shop is offering a free dipped cone to anyone who can figure out how to get the thing off. The sheriff's secret police have apparently taken to shouting questions at the glow cloud, trying to ascertain what exactly it wants.
Starting point is 00:14:22 So far, the glow cloud has not answered. The glow cloud does not need to converse with us. It does not feel as we tiny humans feel. It has no need for thoughts or feelings of love. The glow cloud simply is. All hail the mighty. glow cloud all hail and now slaves of the cloud the weather Waiting for the bus in the rain and the rain, wait, wait for the bus in the rain, wait for the bus in the rain, wait for the bus in the rain, wait for the bus in the rain, wait for the bus in the rain, wait for the bus in the rain, wait for the bus in the rain, waiting for the bus in the rain, waiting for the bus,
Starting point is 00:15:30 Where is the bus? The bus is late. Waiting for the bus in the rain. In the rain, when the bus come, where the bus's at. Got my bus pass. Bus is much better than a train. Than a train. Take phone pictures while I'm waiting at the bus. Stop bus.
Starting point is 00:15:40 Not here while the bus so late. I'm waiting for the bus in the rain, wishing I was on the bus when the bus drive around your state. Oh, could it come the bus? Oh, shit. It's a different bus. Not the right bus. Not the bus I need.
Starting point is 00:15:52 Now I'm waiting for the bus in the rain at another stop. But they got a real high speed. Waiting for the bus. Took a picture of another bus. the bus in the rain. I've been waiting for the bus since the sun came up but the sun ain't out no more because it's gray. Waiting for the bus. There's a gray one, blue one, a red one, all of them turned away. I've been waiting for the bus, got to catch a bus, got to watch news, got a regiment and playing for the day. Bus.
Starting point is 00:16:15 Waiting for the bus in the rain and the rain. Now there's other people waiting at the bus stop. Hey, where's your bus pass, boy, when you're waiting for the bus in the rain, have your bus pass. Ready, all the people on the bus get annoyed. I'm waiting for the bus like I do every day on my way home. Waiting for the bus. for the bus in the rain, at least on the days when it's raining and I'm waiting for the bus, cause the other days ain't the same. Sweet bus in the rain, man, I prefer sunshine, should be waiting for the bus with a mop. Sorry, listeners.
Starting point is 00:17:54 Not sure what happened in that earlier section of the broadcast, as in, I actually don't remember what happened. Tried to play back the tapes, but they're all blank and smell faintly of vanilla. The glow cloud, meanwhile, has moved on. It is now just a glowing spot in the distance, humming east to destinations unknown. We may never fully understand or understand it all what it was and why it dumped a lot of dead animals on our community.
Starting point is 00:18:30 But, and I'm going to get a little personal here, that's the essence of life, isn't it? Sometimes you go through things that seem huge at the time, like a mysterious glowing cloud devouring your entire community. While they're happening, they feel like the only thing that matters, and you can hardly imagine that there's a world out there that might have anything else going on. And then the glow cloud moves on, and you move on, and the event is behind you. and you may find, as time passes, that you remember it less and less, or absolutely not at all, in my case.
Starting point is 00:19:18 And you are left with nothing but a powerful wonder at the fleeting nature of even the most important things in life, and the faint but pretty smell of vanilla. Dear listeners, here is a list of things. Emotions you don't understand upon viewing a sunset. Lost pets, found. Lost pets, unfound. A secret lost pet city on the moon. Trees that see.
Starting point is 00:20:01 Restaurants that hear. A void that thinks A face half seen just before falling asleep Trembling hands reaching for desperately needed items Sandwiches Silence when there should be noise Noise when there should be silence Nothing when you want something
Starting point is 00:20:30 something when you thought there was nothing clear plastic binder sheets scented dryer sheets rain coming down in sheets night rest sleep and good night listeners
Starting point is 00:20:56 good night welcome to nightvale is a production of nightvale presents. It is written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Kraner and produced by Joseph Fink. The voice of Night Vale is Cecil Baldwin. Original music by Disparition. All of it can be found at disparition.com or at disparition.bancamp.com. This episode's weather was, the bus is late by satellite high. Find out more at Satellitehigh.com. Comments, questions, email us at info at welcome to nightvale.com or follow us on Twitter at nightvale radio. Check out welcome to nightvail.com for more information on this show, as well as all sorts of
Starting point is 00:21:47 cool nightfail stuff you can own. And while you're there, consider clicking the donate link. That'd be amazing. Today's proverb, men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Earth is a hallucination. Podcasts are dreams. Are you squeamish about horror movies but kind of want to know what happens? Or are you a horror lover who likes thoughtful conversation about your favorite genre? Join me, Jeffrey Kraner and my friend from Welcome to Nightville, Cecil Baldwin, for our weekly podcast, Random Number Generator Horror Podcast Number 9, where we watch and discuss horror movies in a random order.
Starting point is 00:22:29 Find, here's the short version, Random Horror 9, wherever you get your podcast, boo.

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