Don't Fall Asleep

Tonight, let’s go viral! Our protagonist is a writer hungry for just a taste of recognition. One day he crafts a character guaranteed to capture the imaginations of the masses and adds a bit of mystique to her, and suddenly Sweet Jane is born! It takes off beyond his wildest dreams! Ahhh, what a thrill. Mmmm... But then, the murders begin. This story is called “Sweet Jane”, and was written by M.M....

Tonight, let’s knock out a few pesky chores! And maybe we’ll even survive till bedtime! Our protagonist is worn out. He works hard, and there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done. This is how he finds himself at his apartment complex’s laundry facility late at night, listening to podcasts and pondering the world. Perhaps some of you can relate; I’d wager more than o...

Tonight, let’s celebrate a birthday in true horror style! Our protagonist is a young boy whose household has a very strange ritual on his birthday. They go out into a cabin in the woods, lock him in a secure room, and only bring him out in the morning. What could possibly be going on here?! I mean I’ve heard of a lock in, but not like this, and never with only one or two guests! This story is call...

Tonight, let’s see if we can discover an ancient curse, and get out alive! Our protagonist lives a somewhat isolated life in a small town in the UK. Life is good here though, comfortable enough with a few nice amenities and a town where everyone knows everyone else. There’s just one tiny little problem—a haunting, melodic sound that drifts down over the town every once in awhile, and asks for a gr...

Today, we’ll be checking in on a colleague of mine. She’s well-liked by her students, takes care of the needy, and truly sees the people that her students are. What an educator, right?! Well I’ve received some reports that she’s been acting rather strangely lately. This story is called: There's something wrong with Ms. Wexler  and was written by: WeirdSuggestion152

Tonight, let’s do some soul searching in the woods! Our protagonist has headed off into the great outdoors after having a difficult conversation. He hopes to prove to himself that he can be assertive and capable. But as he looks around and wonders where on earth the trail got to, a voice on the breeze lets him know he may not be the only soul IN these woods. This story is called Off Trail, and was...

Tonight, let’s walk among the ghosts of our childhood homes! It’s a tale as old as time: A young family snags a great deal on a spacious old house. A bedroom for both kids, and room enough for an office or two! Big back yard to play in, imaginary friends with too much skin, shuffling footsteps in the night, and little doors that don’t lead where they should! It’s the American dream. Wait just a mo...

Tonight, lets have a little therapy! Our protagonist is a young therapist in the first few years of their practice. They meet a new client with a problem that I’ve never read about in the DSM—they’ve stopped being a person. Well, sounds pretty treatable, right? Ha ha ha… well, wait’ll you hear about the OTHER symptoms. This story is called OAK, and was written by D.D. Wikman… Wikman's story ar...

Tonight, let’s finally settle some urban legends about our school! Our protagonist and his friend Alex are curious middle schoolers, who enjoy investigating silly urban legends that circle around their old school. Haunted bathrooms, pools on the roof, you know the stuff! There’s only one problem: urban legends aren’t supposed to be real. As the stone staircase behind the janitor’s closet twists aw...

Tonight, we’ll meet Dalton; a perfectly ordinary—if a little BROKE—young man living in a comfortable, small town. Until a social media notification dings in one evening that changes everything: Rest in peace, man. Gone too soon. Surely it’s a joke, or some new trend. The dead don’t keep going to their 9 to 5, do they?! This story is called: I'm not dead. My social media says otherwise. And was...

Tonight, let’s knock off early and put a line in the water! Ahhh yes, the classic, soothing pastime of fishing. No longer a necessity for food, now we don’t even have to catch anything! Just sit back in the shade, have a cool drink, and let the world slide by. Speaking of sliding by…did you see that? It was probably nothing. But uh, say—do you remember the story Floods? I’ll put a link on screen f...

Tonight, we’ll shelter together from the storm! Have you ever had to shelter in place during severe weather? Let me tell you, it’s frightening enough all on its own! But what if you knew that your neighbors were disappearing one by one during the storm? That someone, or some thing was striking your neighborhood at it’s most vulnerable and isolated? This story is called A Knock on the Storm Cellar,...

Tonight, we’ll confront a classic case of the camera capturing more than the eye! Tonight’s protagonist is newly wed to the love of his life, Hana, who is an enthusiastic amateur photographer. But when certain anomalies begin to appear in some of her pictures, it reopens old wounds from the past, and threatens the future of the happy couple. This story is called “ My wife thinks the camera has a g...

Tonight, we’ll tie up a few loose ends! You recall our intrepid detectives Samuel and Gerard, don’t you? Undoubtedly there are some newer fans out there who haven’t heard of these two yet. Allow me to put a link on screen for our Youtube viewers! For our podcast listeners, I will include two links in the show notes. It’s not required listening, but you will get a lot of helpful context. This story...

🫣 Join the Don't Fall Asleep midnight newsletter for bonus stories and behind the scenes peeks → https://dont-fall-asleep.kit.com/a1cc7fe612 Tonight, I'll try my hardest to get under your skin! Wait and see... Imagine you work in a morgue, and the police have wheeled in a new cadaver. There are several unusual things about the cause of death, but your job isn't to figure out the WHY,...

Tonight, we’ll explore the horrors of a traumatic brain injury! No, no, I’m not going to change the show into a spooky, serialized medical drama! Unless…. No no no, tonight’s story isn’t even about the brain injury! It’s about the things that Ben can see after the accident. Swirling colors, light trails, all kinds of visual disturbances any time anything moves. Except…this one thing. This story is...

Tonight, we'll take a little stroll around the undercity! The DEEP under city. Our protagonists have started a YouTube channel that highlights spooky and abandoned places—ha! Join the club. But these two do Urban exploring—unlike yours truly. They decide to climb down into the sewers in search of a major break- NYC’s mysterious Sewer people. This story is called “We searched for NYC’s Sewer Pe...

Tonight, we’ll take a peek behind the waterfall! Our protagonist is a Danish man on vacation in the US. He has a deep interest in waterfalls, so he and his travelling companion decide to visit one. They find an eerily empty picnic ground, and that’s just the beginning… This story is called Don’t go Chasing Waterfalls, and was written by Claus Holm. Check out Tempus Investigations here!

Tonight, we’ll hear the story of a happy couple wrapped in marital bliss! Ha ha ha, yes, you know there’s more to the story than that. Our couple has the perfect, mundane life, until one of them begins misremembering key details of their relationship. His behavior seems to change too—just slightly. Just enough. And that’s only the beginning. This story is called The Shift, and was written by Emily...

Tonight, we’ll start a new job! And boy does it have some strange BENEFITS! Our protagonist is a young person fresh out of grad school and desperate for some cash! With debt piling up and the job market weak, they begin applying to everything they can. They finally find a job with a bafflingly simple premise and an attractive compensation package—that’s red flag number 1. And the red flags just ke...

Tonight, YOU are going to star in the story! Close your eyes for me, if it’s safe to do so of course. Imagine yourself behind the wheel of your car, driving down a lonely, 2 lane state road. Night is falling, and your mind is heavy from the long drive and a terrible revelation from earlier in the day. In the distance, rising toward you over the crest of a hill is a neon sign that stands stark agai...

Tonight, we’ll take to the seas, and experience a very CLASSICAL type of horror! Our Protagonist is sailing aboard a fishing boat in the north Atlantic. He and his motley crew are looking forward to hauling in a great catch, and returning home. Something unexpected shows up in the nets, however, and alters the course of their lives forever. This story is called: I'm the last survivor of a ghos...

Tonight, we’ll take a little field trip! You know, this story hits the ground running and holds you in a vice grip until the moment it ends. For me to reveal much at all about the circumstances behind the story would rob it of some punch. So let me just say that this story is called: “Eyes on Your Littles”, and was written by Darren Todd. Enjoy…

Tonight, we’ll take up serpents! Well, no, not really, but we’ll wind up in a place where they just might! Our protagonist is a young man who loses his father too soon. He doesn’t have much to remember his old man by, just a handful of paintings his father did earlier in life. But one day, he discovers something that will change the course of his life,and bring him face to face with a monster . Th...

Tonight, we’ll have our very own PSYCHO moment! Our protagonist Jimmy is just an average man with an average life. He works a 9-5, and he pays the price. All he wants is to be left alone in his average home. Then why does he feel like he’s in the twilight zone? He always feels like someone is watching him, and he has no privacy! Ha ha ha… This story is called Somebody’s Watching m- AHEM, no, it’s...