Each week, a group of storytellers gathers around a campfire. There's world-weary club MC Edgar Allan Poe, nerd dad Stephen King, violent goth Mary Shelley, squid-obsessed wimp HP Lovecraft, and others. A comedy-horror semi-anthology adapted from Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated microfiction.
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Low-budget movie mogul Roger Corman sets out to produce a papier maché blockbuster adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale of psychological suspense. Loosely following the plot of the original, Poe is tasked with taking care of a Scottish castle belonging to a certain formerly popular children's author. But uh oh! His wacky pal Stephen King arrives... with his all-amateur band, the Rock Bottom Remainders, in tow! When an electrical blackout results in the Pals smashing a priceless collection of literary awards, it's a race to get the castle presentable again before the gender-critical reptilian returns!
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, sexual references, loud noises, discussion of transphobia, death including drowning. Additional CN, 2025: Neil Gaiman is a character in this episode, which was written, produced and released in 2023, before the stories about Gaiman came to light.
CAST:
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON
with
Roger Corman — BITTER KARELLA
Neil Gaiman/Dario Argento — DEXTER HOWARD
David DeCoteau — BRAD BARNES
Patricia Highsmith — KATE DAVOLI
Lord Byron — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Percy Shelley — LOU SUTCLIFFE
Secretary — MARNIE WARNER
and special guest villain
HAILEY PIPER as She Who Must Not Be Named
Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, A Light Most Hateful, The Worm and His Kings series, and other books of dark fiction. She is also the author of over one hundred short stories appearing in Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cast of Wonders, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and various other publications. She lives with her wife in Maryland, where their occult rituals are secret. Find Hailey at haileypiper.com.
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
The Tale of the Snow Woman
Season 1 · Episode 7
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 • Duration 37:33
It's winter at the campfire, and that means one thing—snow-themed holiday special! The Midnight Pals are visited by Junji Ito, adorable catboy and terrifying master of fucked-up-face-filled manga horror, accompanied by original weeaboo Lafcadio Hearn. The pair narrate an ancient Japanese folktale of ripped samurai, distressed noblewomen, and seasonal ice-demons. Lafcadio helps Junji out by using his insightful perspective as a Greek-Irish academic to explain Japanese tradition and culture. HP Lovecraft nearly has an aneurysm.
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, sexual references, discussion of racism and appropriation, violence, death, references to guns.
CAST:
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
HP Lovecraft/Lafcadio Hearn — ROBIN JOHNSON
with
Junji Ito/Osamu Tezuka — TENEST TANG
Lord Fujiwara — JON GUTIERREZ
Lady Minamoto — NICOLETTA GIUSEFFI
Snow-child — CHIBI
Naoko Takeuchi — LORETTA CHANG
Kouta Hirano — JOHN SERRANO
Script by Lou Sutcliffe, edited by Bitter Karella and Robin Johnson. The Japanese sensitivity reader was Minaro Kato-Hopkins, and the Irish accent and swearing coach was Liselle Nic Giollabháin.
Lafcadio Hearn's translation of the Japanese folktale "Yuki-Onna" (The Snow Woman) is included in his collection Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, which is available from Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1210
A transcript of this episode can be found at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/s01e07-the-tale-of-the-snow-woman/transcript
Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals: Season 1 trailer
Season 1
Monday, September 4, 2023 • Duration 00:59
Living and dead horror authors tell scary stories round the campfire in "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals", a hilarious audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's 3x Hugo-nominated comedy-horror microfiction. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
CAST, in order of appearance:
EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON – Dexter Howard
HP LOVECRAFT – Robin Johnson
BRAM STOKER – Joel A.S. Butler
JONATHAN HARKER – Thaddeus Strange
DRACULA – Rodrigo Borges
PATRICIA HIGHSMITH – Kate Davoli
STEPHEN KING – Jason Robison
MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza
VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN – Dominic Rye
DEAN KOONTZ – Wren Montgomery
CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica
SHE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED – Hailey Piper
Trailer edited by Robin Johnson using material from episodes written by Bitter Karella and Robin Johnson.
Clive Barker takes the stage and relates his cult classic of an eternal battle—gay monsters versus redneck cops. Cabal has always had unsettling dreams of becoming a gay monster, but his personal journey to gay monsterhood is obstructed by queer-gatekeeping monsters, Nazi sheriffs' departments, and unconvincing gimp-mask serial killer David Cronenberg. Frank Belknap Long teaches Dean Koontz to be a furry.
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, sexual content, violence, discussion of homophobic and transphobic propaganda techniques, homophobic and transphobic state violence, riots, guns and military weapons, death and killing, attempted genocide.
CAST:
Clive Barker—SISTER INDICA
Edgar Allan Poe—RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley—REBECCA D'SOUZA
Dean Koontz—WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King—JASON ROBINSON
HP Lovecraft—ROBIN JOHNSON
with
Cabal—JOHN SERRANO
Lori—LORETTA CHANG
Sheriff—DEXTER HOWARD
Deputy/David Cronenberg—JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Governor/Monster Gatekeeper—CASSIE VULPINE
Frank Belknap Long—DAVID COURT
Script by Bitter Karella, edited by Robin Johnson, inspired by Clive Barker’s 1990 cult film Nightbreed, an adaptation of his novella Cabal. Elements of copyrighted works are used for purposes of parody and comment.
Patricia Highsmith, crime writer, snail friend, and lovable weirdo known for her shabby trenchcoat, eccentric habits, and possibly imaginary wife, investigates a bizarre double murder. Two people who don't know each other, or if you will, "strangers", meet on a rail vehicle, or as it were, "train", and plan the perfect crime. What really happened with Mary Shelley and her polycule at Lake Geneva last summer?
Content notes: swearing, violence, murder, death including by train and drowning.
CAST:
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
with
Patricia Highsmith — KATE DAVOLI
Jane Williams — HANNAH BROWN
Percy Shelley — LOU SUTCLIFFE
Mrs Cleveland — JULIA DRAKE
Edward Ellerker Williams — DAVID COURT
Train engineer — CANAVAN CONNOLLY
Human Guy — DEXTER HOWARD
Human Bruno — BRAD BARNES
plus special guest stars
HELEN ARNEY as Mary Wollstonecraft's ghost
MIKE McSHANE as William Huskisson MP
Helen Arney is a science presenter and musical comedienne who has appeared in TV, radio and theatre across the world with her unique mix of stand-up, songs and science. For more information, see helenarney.com.
Mike McShane, veteran of Whose Line is it Anyway?, kindly agreed to record a cameo scream in support of Waverley Care, who provide help to people living with HIV and hepatitis in Scotland. Donations can be made at https://waverleycare.org
Script by Robin Johnson, edited by Bitter Karella, inspired by Patricia Highsmith's novel Strangers on a Train and its film adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock.
The Tale of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Midnight Society
Season 1 · Episode 4
Tuesday, November 21, 2023 • Duration 41:49
Arthur Conan Doyle stumbles upon the Midnight Pals' storytelling circle and reluctantly agrees to bring beloved supersleuth Sherlock Holmes back for one last, final, final case. A locked-room murder mystery turns to metafictional highjinks as the Pals are embroiled in the world of Holmes's adventures, sort of like when the holodeck malfunctions on Star Trek.
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, drug references, portrayal of psychologically abusive relationships, threats of violence, guns, discussion of death, loss, grieving and murder.
CAST
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
HP Lovecraft/Arthur Conan Doyle — ROBIN JOHNSON
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
with
Sherlock Holmes — LOU SUTCLIFFE
Dr Watson — CANAVAN CONNOLLY
Professor Moriarty/Ian Fleming — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Inspector Lestrade — LISELLE NIC GIOLLABHÁIN
Old-timey radio announcer — NOMI IBSEN
Raymond Chandler — DEXTER HOWARD
Script by Robin Johnson, edited by Bitter Karella, based on the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. Production and music by Robin Johnson. Daisy McNamara was an audio consultant.
Most of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories (as well as his Professor Challenger ones) are in the public domain and can be found on Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/69
Neurotic closet-dweller Bram Stoker visits the campfire to tell his iconic vampire story. In Transylvania, hot twink Jon "Jonathan" Harker shacks up with a rich older man who wants to consume his bodily fluids. Meanwhile in England, notorious strumpet Lucy Westenra attempts to ensnare her innocent friend Mina into the dangerous and disgusting world of sex. A cautionary tale about the perils of horniness, as Bram attempts to prove once and for all that vampires are in no way sexy. Mary Shelley invites Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer just to stir the pot.
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, violence, death, guns, gory sounds, Victorian institutionalisation of mental health patients, strong sexual content.
CAST
Edgar Allan Poe/Dracula — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley/Mina Murray — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
with
Bram Stoker/Quincey Morris — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Jonathan Harker — THADDEUS STRANGE
Lucy Westenra — MARNIE WARNER
Dr Van Helsing/Dr Seward — CASSIE VULPINE
Renfield — JOHN SERRANO
Anne Rice — LORETTA CHANG
Stephenie Meyer — NOMI IBSEN
Additional voices — EMILY HANNAK, LOU SUTCLIFFE, DAVID COURT
Script by Bitter Karella, edited by Robin Johnson, based loosely on Dracula by Bram Stoker. Production by Robin Johnson. Music by Alex Rancourt, Robin Johnson and Lou Sutcliffe.
Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula is the codifying example of the vampire story in popular culture. The book is in the public domain and can be found on Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/345
A new candidate for the Midnight Society, insufferable San Francisco hipster Robert Louis Stevenson, attempts to impress the Pals with the story of Henry Jekyll, a Victorian psychiatrist. On the steamship home from a business trip, Jekyll's seemingly chance meeting with a certain Edward Hyde will change his perception of reality forever. In a twist so unexpected that nobody even knows it's a twist, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde turn out to be the same person! An adrenaline-fueled social satire of mischief, mayhem and soup.
Content notes: swearing, discussion of colonialism and colonial violence, mention of death, murder and cannibalism, guns, explosions, themes of mental illness and dissociative identity.
CAST
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
with
Robert Louis Stevenson — DEXTER HOWARD
Dr Jekyll — KARIM KRONFLI
Mr Hyde — SEAN BABAPULLE
The Major — DAVID COURT
Poole — DAISY MCNAMARA
Constable — CANAVAN CONNOLLY
Resurrection Man — BRAD BARNES
Fanny Osbourne — SENI RIVERA
Script by Robin Johnson, edited by Bitter Karella, based (very) loosely on The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson. Production and music by Robin Johnson. The sensitivity reader was Rebecca D'Souza, and Daisy McNamara was an audio consultant.
Stevenson's original novella is in the public domain, and can be found on Project Gutenberg at https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/43
Mary Shelley tells her Midnight Pals a chilling tale about a brilliant young researcher, Victor, whose arrogance leads him to pursue a deadly ambition. The experiment has been attempted by generations of mad scientists, but never successfully accomplished: the creation of a Frankenstein! Stephen King gets pedantic about terminology.
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, violence, gore, death including the murder of a child, mention of strangulation.
CAST
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Edgar Allan Poe/De Lacey — RODRIGO BORGES
Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON
with
Victor Frankenstein — DOMINIC RYE
The Monster — CANAVAN CONNOLLY
The Bride — BETH LINDLY
Professor Griffin — ANNA LAZAREV
Professor Waldman — BRAD BARNES
Dr Krempe — DAVID COURT
Agatha — LIETTHYS
Captain Walton — LOU SUTCLIFFE
Olaf — DEXTER HOWARD
additional voices — LORETTA CHANG, MERCEDES HESSELROTH, EVE MORRIS, ADAM ROBINSON
Episode written and produced by Robin Johnson, loosely based on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and its various adaptations. Script edited by Bitter Karella. Music by Robin Johnson. Daisy McNamara was an audio consultant. Material based on existing works is used for parody and comment.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is often cited as the first science fiction novel and is certainly one of the most important and influential horror novels ever written. Shelley wrote it at the age of 18 (THAT'S LESS THAN 19) as part of a ghost-story writing competition with her pals. It has been adapted to stage and screen countless times, perhaps most notably in James Whale's 1931 film adaptation starring Boris Karloff as the trope-codifying flat-headed monster. The original novel is in the public domain and can be found on Project Gutenberg at
Midnight Snack: The Tale of the Torture Tower
Season 1
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 • Duration 09:25
It's Bram Stoker's turn at the campfire and he's brought a new story, "The Tale of The—" oh dear, we might have to do something about that title.
Content notes: Discussion of racism; human and animal death; discussion of violence and torture.
Season 1 Premiere: Our first full episode, The Tale of the Frankenstein, will release on our podcast feed on Tuesday 31st October— but there will also be a special early streamed premiere and open hangout with the cast and crew on Sunday 29th October at 5PM GMT / 1PM Eastern / 10AM Pacific. Join us on Rodrigo "Poe" Borges's twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/TheCommanderRod
CAST:
BRAM STOKER – Joel A.S. Butler
EDGAR ALLAN POE — Rodrigo Borges
CLIVE BARKER — Sister Indica
HP LOVECRAFT – Robin Johnson
MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza
STEPHEN KING – Jason Robinson
DEAN KOONTZ — Wren Montgomery
Script, production and music by Robin Johnson, loosely adapted from The Sq**w by Bram Stoker. The Midnight Pals is created by Bitter Karella. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones.
Bram Stoker's unfortunately named short story The Sq**w was included in his posthumously published short story collection Dracula's Guest, which can be found on Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10150 (CN for explicit racism, torture, gore, and killing of humans and animals.) In adaptations it has been variously renamed Dungeon of Horror, Cat's Cradle and The Torture Tower.
HP Lovecraft's childhood cat was named either what you're thinking, or something worse.
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
This episode takes many liberties with history, the Midnight Pals characters are not necessarily representative of the real-life authors with whom they share names (except when they are), and Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals should on no account be regarded as a historical source... but...
The story that the real Mary Shelley had sex on her mother's grave is often dismissed as myth, but happens to be surprisingly plausible—see this unrolled social media thread by the London Vagina Museum: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1588162489858117634.html
Shelley, despite centuries of historical gal-pal-ization, was certainly bisexual and probably did have an affair with Jane Williams, the widow of the man who drowned alongside Percy. See https://bi.org/en/articles/famous-bis-mary-shelley
William Huskisson, member of parliament for Liverpool, was indeed killed by the first train locomotive, Stevenson's Rocket, during a technical demonstration. He'd probably have survived if he hadn't stopped halfway across the tracks to dither over whether to go left or right, which ought to be a lesson for all politicians. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Huskisson#Death
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com
