Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals

It’s the night of the full moon, and someone forgot to lock up Stephen King securely. Now Steve’s evil alter ego, Richard Bachman, has escaped! The Pals have no choice but to hear his murder clown hotel story. CAST  Stephen King/Richard Bachman – JASON ROBINSON  Clive Barker – DAVID AULT  Edgar Allan Poe – RODRIGO BORGES  Mary Shelley – REBECCA D'SOUZA  HP Lovecraft – ROBIN JOHNSON  Dean Koontz –...

It's HP Lovecraft’s turn and nobody can stop it, so he tells a story about a town whose sinister residents guard a dark secret that is almost certainly “There’s a squid”. Howard and Mary go head-to-head in a high-stakes bet.  HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY Stephen King — JASON ROBI...

Those stuck-up snobs at the most privileged literary circle of all, Clarion West, have perpetrated a despicable prank on the Midnight Pals involving a paper bag full of dog poop, a match, and Steve's brand new sneakers. This means WAR! CAST:  Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA HP Lovecraft/Michael Swanwick — ROBIN JOHNSON Dean Koontz/Harlan El...

In a six-minute mini-episode, Patricia Highsmith tells the Midnight Pals her story of the (maybe not so) Talented Mr Ripley, and then the real Charles Dickens himself drops in at the campfire. Content notes: swearing, discussion of internalized homophobia, violence and discussion of murder, stalking.  CAST:  Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA...

Anne Rice comes to the campfire to tell her timeless odd-couple romance about a depressed slave plantation owner who’s swept off his feet by a total jerk. Also, they’re both vampires. Al Copeland gets a taste of his own chicken.  Content notes: swearing, raised voices, gory noises, death, violence, murder, slavery, implied domestic abuse, sexual references, discussion of body dysmorphia, vomit.  C...

It’s Edgar’s turn with the flashlight… but, after a heated debate about what makes a better plot device, the death of a beautiful woman or a murderous monkey, little Dean Koontz ends up telling tonight's story instead. It has everything—an all-American Special Army Marine, a poorly written neurodivergent lady, an evil mutagenic monkey who's escaped from science, and a VERY good dog!  Content notes...

The Pals visit JRR Tolkien and his fantasy storytelling friends at Unicorn F*** Club, where Angela Carter puts a modern, feminist spin on a traditional fairy tale. Hans Christian Andersen is smitten. Frank Belknap Long gets stuck in his fursuit.  Content notes: Swearing, violence, allusion to sexual assault, vomit, gory noises, people being eaten, sex.  CAST:   Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Alla...

When Edgar Allan Poe is missing after a violent altercation with Henry W. Longfellow, a mysterious puzzlebox leads the Midnight Pals to the ninth circle of Hell, where they confront a gang of sadomasochistic demons. Brian Jacques humorously outwits a cat.  Content notes: violence, gory noises, blood, swearing and raised voices.  CAST:  Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mar...

Season 2 of "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals" releases Friday January 17th, 2025! Living and dead horror authors tell scary stories round the campfire in this audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated comedy-horror microfiction. This trailer contains clips from upcoming episodes "The Tale of the Interview with the Vampire", "The Tale of the Watchers", "The Tale of Little...

Roger Corman attempts to make a series of "Candyman" movies. Can he complete his totally popular, not-at-all-obscure-cult-classic slasher quadrilogy without being thwarted by the bee-adjacent serial killer himself? Oh, and... ONE OF OUR HEROES DIES TRAGICALLY!!!—but gets better, with a brand new face and voice actor.  Content notes: swearing, sexual references, loud noises, violence, gore, death a...

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 Botto...

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...

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...

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 l...

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...

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 hor...

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...

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 in...

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...

The main characters of Midnight Pals, plus a few regular visitors to the campfire, introduce themselves with a series of short skits based on their most popular works. A medley of midnight-snack size tales from Stephen King, Mary Shelley, HP Lovecraft, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allan Poe and more. This is a consolidation of ten short ‘teaser’ mini-episodes that were released prior to season...

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 Johns...