Tom's Terror Trove

РАСКО́Л Another deep dive into the doleful denizens of Limbus Company's bus. Although in this case we are dealing with a feverishly cheerful and multifarious (I have a feeling I'm going to abuse that adjective) individual, set free from their mind body and spirit-bindings. Let's not forget Sonya, hy0umon of negotiable affection-flipped freedom fighter. Let us cling to the needles th...

"If anyone’s doing the heavy lifting, it’d be us... Hey! Manager Bud! More incoming!" In this episode, I take a look at suffering and redemption in The Metamorphosis, philosophical pessimism, and how Gregor in Limbus Company might be Georg Bendeman, the happiest Gregor yet, or even Kafka himself. Reincarnation is a heck of a thing. Plus of course the traditional (I've done it three,...

New friends are made, and the true magnitude of the trials ahead begins to manifest, as the pilgrims arrive at the ancient and forbidding City. But with sickness and potential conspiracy threatening their safety, is there anyone left they can turn to? Part 10 of a 10-part dark fantasy full-cast audio drama. Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road, Dream Voice https://andrewwinson.com/ Thomas Barker as A...

Mysterious, tree-like branches with the power to actualize the feelings, wishes, and psyches of people. The primary objective of the LCB is to gather them up. In this episode, I nearly get over my skis in examining the literary origins of the Golden Boughs of Limbus Company, particularly looking at the book of the same name by Sir James George Frazer, and the Aeneid, by Vergil. Plus of course the...

He stooped to laugh again, and his mirth was yellow-toothed -- menacing. “Have no fear!”   he reiterated, and with that stretched his hand toward the wall, there came a click and we were in black, impenetrable darkness. A rumination on the nature of evil, and the ability to see things FROM BEYOND, courtesy of a groundbreaking writer of dark fantasy. This story was first published in 1919. Narrated...

Limbus Company begins with Dante (our clock-headed manager-protagonist) beset by three sinister individuals known as Wolf, Panther and Lion. These characters have parallels in the Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. In this episode, I draw upon some scholarship, a coupla wikis and my own general knowledge to pull together some additional information about the beasts, and what they mean, beyond what we ar...

To round out Season Two of TTT (though, seriously - I'm on hiatus right now!), and to say thank you to everyone who's tuned in during 2025, I've put together a little sampler of sinners. Features excerpts from: Moby Dick Don Quixote The Metamorphosis The Odyssey The Stranger Demian Wuthering Heights A little out of my usual subject matter, but we'll resume our regular programmi...

Tom's Terror Trove is still technically on a little Summer break, but that doesn't mean I don't have a few pressies to hand out before the end of the year! Short story by Michael Botur Two lovers with not long left to live put aside a portion of paradise, creating their own country while the planet rots -- though of course, holding onto nature isn't easy. In fact, managing wild...

"I never eat pork. It's not that I'm vegetarian, or Jewish or Muslim, it's all to do with something that happened in the 70's, when I was fifteen years old." So begins a tale of innocence lost, buckets of blood, and the lengths someone might go to in order that they might... sustain a life. A gruesome tale from New Zealand. Story featured with kind permission from the...

In the late 1920's, folklorist and assistant professor at Miskatonic University Albert N. Wilmarth investigates the ominous events that occured in the wake of the historic Vermont Floods. His ill-advised delving, and correspondance with the recluse Henry Akely, will lead to a series of cosmically horrifying revelations. Turn your lights down low, put your headphones on, and tune in to the pen...

Two unsuspecting ambulance attendants get far, FAR more than they bargained for, in this disgusting story from 1938. Running from 1934 to 1947, Lights Out was an old-time radio program devoted to stories of horror and the supernatural. Created by Wyllis Cooper, later in the run it was helmed by the brilliant (and eccentric) Arch Oboler. I was spoilt for choice in picking an episode to recreate (it...

We are once again adrift on dark and inhospitable waters this week, as, arriving hot on the heels of ferocious storms in New Zealand, Tom's Terror Trove is proud to present this newly-recorded version of The Brain-Eaters, from 1932. The title gives perhaps a scintilla of a clue as to the contents of the story. Good gross-out pulpweirdfiction stuff. Eat up! Narrated by Thomas Barker If you&apo...

Tonight, Tom's Terror Trove returns to one of the most original minds in Weird Fiction, the pioneering William Hope Hodgson. The Voice in the Night concerns a lonely ship in the middle of the Pacific, and a grotesque interlocutor with a horrifying story to tell. B  O  D  Y  H  O  R  R  O  R Narrated by Thomas Barker If you'd like to chip in a couple of dollars to help with hosting and pr...

A tale of debauchery, depravity, and pestiferous perukes! E F Benson (whose "The Thing in the Hall" I recorded in May 2024) said of Le Fanu, that his “best work is of the first rank, while as a 'flesh-creeper' he is unrivalled. No one else has so sure a touch in mixing the mysterious atmosphere in which horror darkly breeds". I think that is certainly true of tonight’s sto...

Antithetical in life, in death I can make these authors share equal billing, muhahahaha! Ahem. Tonight, Tom's Terror Trove is proud to present a story of a sadistic contest that grips a quiet southern town, PLUS a quickie about the mysterious (and potentially sinister, if wronged) ways of felines. Listen, if you care - I mean, dare! Narrated by Thomas Barker If you'd like to chip in a co...

Renowned author of mystery and gothic horror Shirley Jackson weaves a dreamlike tale of doublings, echoes, and (in the words of ST Joshi) "exemplifies the 'quiet weird tale' at its pinnacle". Published in 1950, the story follows Margaret who visits her friend Carla's country estate for the holidays. Will she ever leave? Has she always been there? Narrated by Thomas Barker...

We return to the Land of the Rising Sun this week, for a tale in which no overt harm is ever done, nor threatened. Yet this might (by certain metrics) be one of the grossest stories I've had the distinct pleasure to record. An eminent writer receives an unsolicited manuscript, in which is contained a perverse narrative confession written by a disturbed chairmaker. Transgressions ahoy. Narrate...

As secrets and lies threaten to break apart the pilgrimage during their trek through the treacherous mire of The Grey Grease, a danger they thought they had escaped emerges from the clouds. Can Huw deploy what little magic he possesses to protect the group? Part 9 of a multi-part series. Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road https://andrewwinson.com/ Thomas Barker as Athamas www.thomasva.com Jesse D....

What if the otherworldly entities of the Cthulhu Mythos aren’t truly evil or malevolent, what if they are simply alien in the most profound sense of the word? This story from 1949 about a dreamy young woman named Avis Long, maintains an almost romantic, sensuous quality (at least - I think so!), right up until its horrifying conclusion. Listen out for the breaking into reality of creatures from Yu...

Deep space. Two jumpy chancers. And the aching, endless hunger of the void. The Vanderlark was published in 1952, and written by prolific speculative fiction author Margaret St. Clair. It's the first 'pure' sci fi story for TTT. Rejoice! The name may stem from the Vrykolakas, a vampire of sorts from Greek folklore. You'll see why. Narrated by Thomas Barker If you'd like to...

Published in 1906, this lush, vivid and grim story paints a picture of the post-resurrection life of Lazarus not as a miracle to be celebrated, but an abomination to be abhorred. The author, Leonid Andreyev, lived from 1871 to 1919, and the rich vein of Expressionism that runs through his novels, plays and short stories proved highly influential. Authors such as H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howar...

Hello, and welcome to Tom's Terror Trove, a podcast currently disgorging The Crawling World, an original dark fantasy/sci fi, full cast audiodrama. I also narrate classics and little-known gems of horror fiction: Mid 19th - early 20th century a speciality. New episodes every Friday, 9am NZ Time. I’m Thomas, a voice-actor (+ an occasional writer and musician), and I’m delighted to have you joi...

The madness and monstrosity lay in the figures in the foreground—for Pickman’s morbid art was preëminently one of daemoniac portraiture. In this classic short story by H. P. Lovecraft, the narrator, Thurber, describes his encounter with the reclusive painter of the story's title, and comes to a dreadful conclusion about the inspiration behind his creations. "Pickman's Model" wa...

Walter John de la Mare (25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was a prolific writer of fiction, and a crafter of finely tuned psychological horror. Lumping this particular story in with the 'gothic' subgenre is a little crude, but it shares a fair some features with The Turn of the Screw, so if you enjoyed my reading of that legendary novella, you'll likely appreciate this. Then again, I do...

Wes, Lithee and Garm contend with a monstrous interloper, as the pilgrims near the end of their journey through the mountain. Their troubles are far from over, as they now face the vast, fetid swampland of The Grey Grease. Part 8 of a multi-part series. Andrew Winson as Fork-in-the-Road https://andrewwinson.com/ Thomas Barker as Athamas www.thomasva.com Jesse D. Hill as Longarm defunktknight@gmail...