Sinister Minutes

Guest author Valerie Patrick is a burgeoning horror author. a public librarian by day, and a hermit crab by night. Look for her on TikTok as Valerie (@novels.and.notebooks) . This story was first published back in March on Horrific Scribes ; Sinister Minutes is pleased to provide the audio premiere. Later, Tim's got some spookiness of his own to share with Midnight Shadows from the Cemetery. Do vi...

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Algernon Blackwood is considered one of the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre—he apparently wrote so many stories at the 11th hour for newspaper publication that no one has been able to put an accurate count on the total. No shortage of weird fiction authors consider him an influence, including Lovecraft, but unlike the latter we don't have to squint quite so hard to lo...

Many tales in this episode were inspired by the wildly imaginative Nicole L Soper Gorden , who provides her inspiration to the universe each Wednesday via her Instagram , Bluesky , and Facebook feeds. By all means, grab a copy of her dark eco-fantasy novella, The Earth, Our Body . She assures us that it's filled with "angry women burn down the patriarchy with nature magic" vibes, plus sapphic kiss...

"Vengeance" brings on a host of creepy critters, and not all of them are insects. Then Tim makes us pay attention to "Whispers in Darkness" Guest author Swarnadip Chatterjee is a freelance author, poet and Hindustani classical music vocalist. His works have been published in Voices, The Statesman, Stellium Literary Magazine (a US-based magazine focusing on LGBTQ issues), and the Bengali literary j...

The Flowering of the Strange Orchid, a story of obsession and hubris, one that's relatable a hundred thirty-odd years later with every tale of billionaire buffoons and their strange predilections.  .  Once you've breathed in the aroma of that delightful bloom, let Tim liven the mood with a little Phantom Parade. Image by Leopictures from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Feeding Azrael, comes to us from Jonathan Phillips. He's a landscape gardener based in London whose short fiction explores the strange edges of ordinary life. He is currently completing his debut collection, which includes today's tale. If you enjoy this story, keep an eye out for the collection. More strange things are coming. Then, Tim's pulling out the harmonic drill grabbing the longest bit he...

A weird tale from a weird era written by a weird guy - H.P. Lovecraft. Then more ghoulish graveyard mood with a trip to the crypt, a haunting Tim Parker piece called Dark Corners. Image by Bernd from Pixabay Be sure to check out Sepulcher of Nightmares, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdT2cq2mPk4 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's story, She Takes Your Voice First, is all about the great outdoors. Four guys, four kids, and a canoe. What could possibly go wrong? Was 'pretty much everything" one of the possible answers? After that adventure, Tim takes us on a different kind of excursion to a very special "Ruined Abbey" Today's guest author, Nicholas Kellogg weaves chilling tales from his home in Connecticut, where he...

Truth and Consequences is all about a worker who only thinks he's had a horrendous day. But as anyone who's ever had a bad day at work knows only too well, things can always get...far worse. After that adventure, Tim takes us on a culinary adventure with a delightful helping of Eldritch Spinach. Image by Jean-Louis SERVAIS from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fear, culled from the very first issue of Weird Tales magazine, released in March of 1923. How will you react when faced with your greatest fear? Will you freeze in place? Will you run? Or will you face it head on, with the certainty that either the thing you fear or your fear itself will consume you? If you need an alternative solution to facing your fear, Tim has a suggestion, with a piece calle...

A theater experience that pulls ever so gently at the fragile strings that hold our minds a hair's breath away from utter insanity. What if the play itself was enough to cause something to happen, if the words spoken upon the stage invoked something dark and ancient. Later, Tim takes us down a dark and twisty path to show us "Something Under." Recluse Playwright comes to us from guest author...

Today's story is all about television, and takes place during its heyday, a time when most people only had three or four channels to pick from. So pull up a spot on the carpet close to the set, grab a bowl of sugary-sweet cereal, and let's go watch Funny Forest Friends! Our tale comes to us from guest author Nathan Poole Shannon, who's an emerging writer of the strange and macabre... like water or...

In "The Well," there's some really weird shit going on. Over there. Just beyond the edge of town. Might better tell the sheriff. Or maybe not. Then, just when you thought it was safe to go to sleep, Tim's blasting us with Night Terrors. "The Well" was written by E.B. Sommer, whose work has been featured in The Daily Tomorrow, Manawaker Flash Fiction Podcast, and The Stygian Zine. She is an Associa...

Directions is all about the ways we get from point A to point B, and how much we rely on our phones to get us there in the most efficient way. After getting lost in the narrative, Tim leads us down a dark path with a piece he calls It Came From the Box. Graphic based on an image by Jiří Groh from Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the strongest communities, each of us pitch in and do what's best for one another. Sometimes that requires a little sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrifice isn't so little. Open Market was written by guest author Brett R. Scott, who workshops their stories on Reddit, under the name Miss Mnemosyne. Then it's time for Tim to take us down a dark, chill set of basement stairs and lock us away in a piece...

Guest author Harvey Carnell provides a tale of a modern family called "The Mother." How DO we get into that attic? And just how reliable is our narrator? After that, Tim provides some dark chill with a piece called Midnight Ripples. Harley Carnell lives and writes in London. His Pushcart-nominated fiction appears in Penumbra, the NoSleep Podcast, Bards & Sages, and Riptide Journal, among other...

A guy who decides to make a deal with a demon...as part of his plan to increase the traffic on his channel. Chapter 1 of Marked. Then, a musical interlude from Mr. Parker, with a seven fugue piece called Cortege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our favorite old xenophobe, Howard Philips Lovecraft. A musical piece called Festering Fingers wriggling its way into your track-or-treat bag. Plus a couple of short-shorts inappropriate for even a purple people eater. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Duet - a fairy tale about a princess and the musical challenges she's willing to tackle to meet her prince. Then, a composition that cuts right to the bone - The Knife. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Both of Us, by Zachary Reisch, features a woman whose inherited illness causes her romantic relationships to come with a painful price. In Poppet, a bayou witch is hired to craft a voodoo doll...of a creature most certainly not human. Finally, Tim's gearing up to blow us all away with a piece of sinister music he calls Pandemonium 4. Zachary Dein Reisch writes speculative fiction in Boston, Massac...

A strange bar, stranger patrons, and a band that's ready to play all night, whether anyone wants them to or not. Then, dip your toe in the dark swirling waters of Tim's musical madness. Smoke + Coffee was written by Glenn Dungan, who is currently based in Brooklyn—where he exists within a Venn-diagram of urban design, sociology, and good stories. When not obsessing about one of those three, he can...

A '70s metal band plays their killer hit single - right up until the incident that leads to their premature and abrupt end. Then Tim cracks open the Cellar Door - do you dare listen to what's down there? Guest author John Kuyat is a NYC-based horror and speculative fiction writer. His work has appeared in Horror Tree's Trembling With Fear, Graveside Press's Howl: A Shapeshifting Anthology, Dug Up...

The storytelling world is filled with wishes that suck, and today's tale is no different. Then, a journey into sound. Image by  Rolf Dobberstein  from  Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If there was a way to remove yourself from everything, to erase it all, would you do it? Then a little eldritch jam with Tim's Sonic Chlithonic. Image by  Eden Moon  from  Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.