23 – Santa Therapy

A short story by James Winterbottom This story was partly inspired by the Pied Piper of Hamlin and partly inspired by a story in The Guardian about how the Deputy Mayor of New York was looking to appoint a Director of Rodent Mitigation to combat the city’s rat problem. I thought it was funny how […] The post 27 – Director of Rodent Mitigation appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

A short story by James Winterbottom This story is about a bank manager that goes off the rails and decides to rob his own bank after he becomes disillusioned with how the job he used to love has changed too much. This story is influenced by the time I spent working as a banking advisor […] The post 26 – An Inside Job appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

A short story by James Winterbottom. WARNING: This story contains adult references and may offend those of a more delicate disposition. Please skip this story if you’re easily offended. Chris’ best friend Mike died of a sudden illness and didn’t have time to get rid of his “personal items” from his room in his mother’s […] The post 25 – The Sin Eater appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

A short story by James Winterbottom. Using Siren Head, a character created by Trevor Henderson. This is a spooky story about a boy that is invited into the woods at night by a bully to try and find Siren Head. Both boys find more than they bargain for! You can buy Trevor Henderson’s artwork of […] The post 24 – Hunting Siren Head appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

If you’ve been sacked by your therapist then shopping centre Santas are actually a pretty good alternative. Or at least that’s what the main character in this story believes. Read the story to see if you agree with him or not. Written and performed by James Winterbottom. Merry Christmas! This will be my last podcast […] The post 23 – Santa Therapy appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

If you ask a private detective to investigate your husband you have to be prepared to hear the answers. This story is all about a wife finding out what her husband has been doing on a Wednesday night for the last few months. It’s not an affair, as she thought, but for her, it feels […] The post 22 – Not an affair… appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

Written and performed by James Winterbottom What if every little mistake you’ve ever made haunted you for the rest of your life? What if only people that had never done anything wrong could get jobs? This week’s story is set in the near future where tough new laws mean that even tiny mistakes from your […] The post 21 – Your Permanent Record appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

Sometimes people seem nice on the surface but not far beneath the pleasant exterior there is a darker side waiting to come out. This story is about one of those people, who you might meet and think are perfectly pleasant but actually are completely sociopathic.  He Seems Nice is a short story that is written […] The post 20 – He Seems Nice appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

!!!PLEASE NOTE: THIS CONTENT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN!!! It’s hard to be a children’s entertainer when you’re wife has left you for her pilates instructor, you don’t have access to see your son anymore, you’re struggling to control your weight and your alcohol consumption and the demons in your head make it hard to […] The post 19 – Keep The Energy Up! appeared first on ShortStoryCast.

Where do ideas come from?  What happens if they run out? This story examines what looks at what might happen if the source of inspiration dries up and you have to take extreme measures to try and get your creative inspiration flowing again. The consequences are unexpected.  A short story written and performed by James […] The post 18 – The Well appeared first on ShortStoryCast.