The Other Stories | Sci-Fi, Horror, Thriller, WTF Stories

80.1 Speed Awareness CourseOne of our cameras detected a violation of the speed limit. You can either accept 3 points on your driving license, or take the Speed Awareness Course. What is your choice?Written by Joanne Askew (www.jaskewauthor.com)Narrated by Alexandra Elroy (social media link)Edited by Duncan Muggleton (http://soundcloud.com/duncanmuggleton)With music by Duncan Muggleton (http://soundcloud.com/duncanmuggleton)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)The episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgA quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission reading.And to Ben Errington for drawing social media cards from his neverending content deck… deck, I said.Deck.Science Fiction and Horror writer, Joanne Askew, explores mental health, sexual identity and diversity through her fiction. The deepness and darkness of space is her second home. As an LGBTQIA+ activist, she aims to use her fiction to make the world a better place for the next generation to come out in. Her sci-fi horror novella, Sloth, is out now. www.jaskewauthor.comAlexandra is a bilingual voice actress and writer who lives in the Netherlands. She loves everything to do with stories, especially creative and playful horror. Her favourite voices to do are witches, goblins and crazy computers. When she is not voicing, writing or mummy-ing (which is all the time, really) she directs plays that she adapted from classic novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Death on the Nile and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.The Other Stories is a production of the story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, and is brought to you with a Creative Commons – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Don’t change it. Don’t sell it. But by all means… share the hell out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A struggling artist turned gallery owner launches his attempt to become remembered.Written by Dan HowarthNarrated by Josh CurranEdited by Karl HughesWith music by Umcorps and Thom RobsonAnd sound effects provided by Zapsplat.com and Freesound.orgDan Howarth is a writer from the North West of England. He has co-edited three anthologies, the most recent of these, Pareidolia was launched by Black Shuck Books in July 2019. His chapbook Dulce Et Decorum Est is available from Demain Press. Dan can be found on Twitter via @danhowarth20. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

90.2 She BurnsA struggling actress visits a cryptic Seer, who hands her a crooked match, and a choice.Written by Luke Kondor (https://www.instagram.com/lukeofkondor/)Narrated by Georgia Cook (https://twitter.com/georgiacooked)Edited by Duncan Muggleton (http://soundcloud.com/duncanmuggleton)With music by Duncan Muggleton (https://temporalrecordings.wordpress.com)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgThe episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)A quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Joshua Boucher Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission reading.And to Ben Errington, the virtual warlock, summoning engagement and every social media content spell.Luke Kondor started writing on his computer in his early teens and never looked back… and now he has very sore eyes. He also runs and produces a short story podcast called The Other Stories, which has amassed over 11-million downloads and has a monthly listenership of ~100k downloads. Currently he lives and works on a dining room table in the middle of Sherwood Forest. For more head to www.lukekondor.com**Georgia Cook is an illustrator and writer from London. She is the winner of the LISP 2020 Flash Fiction Prize, and has been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, Staunch Book Prize and Reflex Fiction Award, among others. She can be found on twitter at @georgiacooked and on her website at https://www.georgiacookwriter.com/**Join TOS+ to access over 90 exclusive episodes, get regular stories in higher quality audio, a week early, and ad-free, at https://theotherstories.net/plus/Support the show, get audiobooks, and more at https://www.patreon.com/hawkandcleaverJoin our communities for book clubs, movie clubs, writing exercises, and more at https://theotherstories.net/community/Leave a voicemail or get in touch at https://theotherstories.net/submissionsCheck out our writing courses at https://theotherstories.net/courses/Grab some merch at https://gumroad.com/hawkandcleaverThe Other Stories is a production of the story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, and is brought to you with a Creative Commons – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Don’t change it. Don’t sell it. But by all means… share the hell out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

89.1 The Incomparable Freddy RedWhen seven-year-old Kim Barnes wills her imaginary friend, Freddy Red, into existence, who spills over with games and laughter and titters and blood.Written by Luke Kondor (https://www.lukekondor.com)Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davies (https://twitter.com/mldAudio)Edited by Karl Hughes (https://twitter.com/karlhughes)With music by MusicLFiles (https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles)And Duncan Muggleton (https://temporalrecordings.wordpress.com)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)The episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgA quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission reading.And to Ben Errington, our own imaginer, dreaming up content friends to play with at the social media playground.Luke Kondor started writing on his computer in his early teens and never looked back… and now he has very sore eyes. He runs and produces a short story podcast called The Other Stories, which has amassed over 10-million downloads. In 2015, he won the best Low-Budget Film Award at the London Short Film Festival for a film he made in 7 days with no camera and no money. Currently he works from a dining room table in the middle of Sherwood Forest and lives with his fiancée, Cat, their pet cat, Oscar, and their larger, angrier cat, Alaska, who is actually a dog. www.lukekondor.comFor more of Matthew Lloyd Davies’ work, head over to https://www.matthewlloyddavies.comYou can help support the show over at Patreon.com/HawkandCleaverYou can join our Bookclub, Movieclub, and writing exercises over at Facebook.com/groups/hawkandcleaverT-shirts, mugs, posters, and comic books are available at www.gumroad.com/hawkandcleaverGet help with your short stories and your podcasts by heading to TheOtherStories.Net/servicesThe Other Stories is a production of the story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, and is brought to you with a Creative Commons – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Don’t change it. Don’t sell it. But by all means… share the hell out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

C.S.UA near immaculate crime scene, a homicide specialist and a pioneering piece of investigative technology. Is it the perfect murder or can it be solved in minutes?Written by Richard Reynolds (groundzerocomics.co.uk)Narrated by Justin Fife (https://www.twitter.com/justinbfife)Edited by Duncan Muggleton (http://soundcloud.com/duncanmuggleton)With music by Duncan Muggleton (https://temporalrecordings.wordpress.com)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgThe episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)A quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission reading.And to Ben Errington for separating the social curds from the media whey and serving up delicious content cheese.Richard Reynolds is the owner and operator of Ground Zero Comics, a small shop in Mansfield, England, but writes, draws and produces his own comics and strips whenever he gets the chance. You can read these comics for free on the shop’s website, groundzerocomics.co.uk - ‘free comics’ sidebar.**Audio producer, amateur voice actor, podcaster, and video game lover, follow Justin Fife on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/justinbfife** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

78.2 HuskToday’s episode has been sponsored by Territory is the new novella from Dan Howarth.In a remote Finnish hunting community, darkness and the cold hold the villagers close. As a pack of wolves threaten the village’s future, grief-stricken hunter Jari must unite the population to reclaim their territory.Old feuds and dark habits rear their heads as Jari tries to lead the villagers through their toughest season, but it soon becomes clear that not everyone will survive the winter.Territory is available on 10 June.HuskThere's something strange in the way grandpa's ageing. His skin is flaking. Mum's upset. The nightmares won't stop coming.Written by Daniel Willcocks (https://danielwillcocks.com/)Narrated by James Barnett AKA Jimmy Horrors (https://www.jamesbarnettcreative.com)Edited by Karl Hughes (https://twitter.com/karlhughes)With music by Nul Tiel Records (https://nultielrecords.com)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)The episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgA quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission reading.And to Ben Errington for spooking the neighbours with the content demons he raises with his copy of the Social Media Necronomicon.Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-winning podcaster of dark fiction. He is an author coach, founder and CEO of Activated Authors; one quarter of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver; co-founder of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, ‘The Other Stories‘;’ CEO of horror imprint, Devil’s Rock Publishing; and the host of the ‘Activated Authors‘ podcast.Dan is furiously passionate about creativity and productivity. He has written 60+ books since 2015 for himself and on behalf of ghostwriting clients. His mission in life is to activate creatives and authors to ensure they keep their creative flames and passions burning in a sustainable, positive, and healthy way.James Barnett is the producer of the Night’s End podcast. A short story fiction podcast with tales of horror and the paranormal. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also catch other works of his at www.jamesbarnettcreative.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

87.5 CrawlspaceDennis' quiet evening of reading is interrupted by thumping music coming from his neighbour's house. Or at least he thinks that's where it's coming from.Written by Kev Harrison (www.kevharrisonfiction.comNarrated by Narrator and edited by James Barnett AKA Jimmy Horrors (https://www.JamesBarnettCreative.com)With music by Daniel Birch (https://danielbirchmusic.com)And Andrew kn (https://freesound.org/people/Andrewkn/)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgThe episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)A quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission reading.And to Ben Errington for wriggling through the twists and turns of the social media labyrinth.Kev Harrison is a British writer of horror and dark fiction living in Lisbon, Portugal. His novella, Below, is out now from Brigids Gate Press. Find more about him and his work at www.kevharrisonfiction.comJames Barnett is the producer of the Night’s End podcast. A short story fiction podcast with tales of horror and the paranormal. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also catch other works of his at www.JamesBarnettCreative.comJoin TOS+ to access over 90 exclusive episodes, get regular stories in higher quality audio, a week early, and ad-free, at https://theotherstories.net/plus/Support the show, get audiobooks, and more at https://www.patreon.com/hawkandcleaverJoin our communities for book clubs, movie clubs, writing exercises, and more at https://theotherstories.net/community/Leave a voicemail or get in touch at https://theotherstories.net/submissionsCheck out our writing courses at https://theotherstories.net/courses/Grab some merch at https://gumroad.com/hawkandcleaverThe Other Stories is a production of the story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, and is brought to you with a Creative Commons – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Don’t change it. Don’t sell it. But by all means… share the hell out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

81.2 Desire & Sons"Desire & Sons" is a translation of Nicola Lombardi's short fiction "I Desideri." The translation has never been published, and Mr. Lombardi has authorized me to translate his fictions and seek publication for them.The sign in the window reads “Ghosts--Bought & Sold.” Surely the proprietor of this curio shop is joking; but the narrator soon discovers that the owner is far more serious than he could ever have expected.Written by Nicola Lombardi & Joe Weintraub (social media link)Narrated by James Barnett AKA Jimmy Horrors (social media link)Edited by James Barnett AKA Jimmy Horrors (social media link)With music by Daniel Birch Music (https://danielbirchmusic.com)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)And sound effects provided by Freesound.orgThe episode illustration was provided by Luke Spooner of Carrion House (https://carrionhouse.com/)A quick thanks to our community managers, Joshua Boucher and Jasmine ArchAnd Carolyn O'Brien for helping with our submission readingAnd to Ben Errington for his triple lutz and axel jumps at this year’s Social Media Content Figure Skating competition."Desire & Sons" is my translation of Nicola Lombardi's short fiction "I Desideri." The translation has never been published, and Mr. Lombardi has authorized me to translate his fictions and seek publication for them.Here is a brief bio:After thirty years of writing--3 novels, six collections, one film adaptation, multiple translations from the English--Lombardi is considered a master of the horror genre in Italy (his website can be found here:at www.nicolalombardi.com). His first collection in English, The Gypsy Spiders and Other Tales of Italian Horror, was published by UK's Tartarus Press in Dec. 2021.James Barnett is the producer of the Night’s End podcast. A short story fiction podcast with tales of horror and the paranormal. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. You can also catch other works of his at www.JamesBarnettCreative.comJoin TOS+ to access over 90 exclusive episodes, get regular stories in higher quality audio, a week early, and ad-free, at https://theotherstories.net/plus/Support the show, get audiobooks, and more at https://www.patreon.com/hawkandcleaverJoin our communities for book clubs, movie clubs, writing exercises, and more at https://theotherstories.net/community/Leave a voicemail or get in touch at https://theotherstories.net/submissionsCheck out our writing courses at https://theotherstories.net/courses/Grab some merch at https://gumroad.com/hawkandcleaverThe Other Stories is a production of the story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, and is brought to you with a Creative Commons – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Don’t change it. Don’t sell it. But by all means… share the hell out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Impersonatorus RexGerald thinks he’s found another heartbroken woman to manipulate — until he meets Tor’s husband. At first, Thomas seems like just another loser, but Gerald soon realises Thomas isn’t quite all there; apparently, he does a great dinosaur impersonation... of the carnivorous varietyWritten by Luke Kondor (https://www.instagram.com/lukeofkondor/)Narrated by Josh CurranProduced by Karl Hughes (https://bsky.app/profile/karlhughes.bsky.social)With music by Myuu (https://www.thedarkpiano.com/)And Thom Robson (https://www.thomrobsonmusic.com/)And sound effects provided by zapsplat.comJoshua Boucher is our story programmer, and along with Jasmine Arch and the eyeless ones, Mary Pastrano and Cody Czarzasty, he helps manage our community.And to Ben Errington the ongoing explosion of content being fired out of his Social Media canon.Josh Curran is a narrator and writer. He has narrated many episodes of The Other Stories over the show’s lifetime. He is also the creator of the horror Audio-Drama podcast, Miscreation.Join TOS+ to access over 90 exclusive episodes, get regular stories in higher quality audio, a week early, and ad-free, at https://theotherstories.net/plus/Support the show, get audiobooks, and more at https://www.patreon.com/hawkandcleaverJoin our communities for book clubs, movie clubs, writing exercises, and more at https://theotherstories.net/community/Leave a voicemail or get in touch at https://theotherstories.net/submissionsCheck out our writing courses at https://theotherstories.net/courses/Grab some merch at https://gumroad.com/hawkandcleaverThe Other Stories is a production of the story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, and is brought to you with a Creative Commons – Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license. Don’t change it. Don’t sell it. But by all means… share the hell out of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We hope you're enjoying the summer, and thank you for your continued support of The Other Stories. We wanted to bring you something special today that we think many of you will enjoy. The Hawk & Cleaver team have been working on recording and editing the first book in The Aelfraver Series, The Rave. We even have TOS narrator Erika Ventura cast as the narrator. Author J.R Traas describes it as an arcanepunk cyberfantasy about teenage rebellion against the ruling elite and their gods. TOS editor Karl Hughes said it reminded him of The Hunger Games, but full of even more Sci-Fi and even more awesomeness. The story begins with Alina, a 17-year-old Aelfraver (a hunter of arcane beasts), who is also a pacifist. When her grandfather disappears in the middle of making dinner, Alina is left with an empty monster hunter school and a crippling pile of debt. Unlicensed and underage, she forges an Aelfraver license and enters the floating capital city, joining the hunt for a mysterious entity that has been slaughtering the wealthy and powerful, leaving no witnesses. If she can somehow deal with this elusive creature and claim the bounty, she believes all her problems will be solved. But she’ll have to beat 200 cutthroat killer Aelfravers to the finish line. We don't do many audiobooks, but even so, this is the biggest project we've ever taken on, and we wanted to share it with you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.