PodCastle 386: Flash Fiction Extravaganza! Ghostly Interludes
Flash Fiction Extravaganza! Ghostly Interludes
“The Spirit of Pinetop Inn” by Renee Carter Hall.
Read by Folly Blaine.
First appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (#58).
The first ghost showed up right on time, striding into the Pinetop Inn’s front parlor so regally that the proprietors, Emma and Tom, expected a flourish of trumpets to accompany his entrance.
The ghost bowed to Tom and kissed Emma’s hand. “Sir Edward Blackthorn the Fourth, at your service, my lord, my lady.” He straightened and handed Tom a thick leather-bound book. “My references, dating all the way back to 1784. I trust you will find everything in order.”
Tom squinted at the faded calligraphy. “Impressive.”
“Wet” by John Wiswell.
Read by Nathaniel Lee.
First published in the first issue of Urban Fantasy Magazine.
It was on Day Six that I sat in a puddle from a leaking drainage pipe, and something about it got the kid to finally roll over, peeking out from under her shiny yellow hood and recognizing that there was another person there who wasn’t afraid of a raincoat. I was the picture of chill. After all, my raincoat protected me from the puddle.
She didn’t resume breathing correctly, because she didn’t actually have lungs anymore, but she did stop thinking she was hyperventilating. Then I offered her the candybars, which she didn’t take, but she did appreciate. She took my tablet instead, haunting my browser and looking up the latest One Direction videos. I deleted my cache later.
“The Faces Between Us” by Julie C. Day.
Read by Dave Thompson.
First published in Interzone #254.
Drive long enough and you can find anything. Copper-eyed goddesses. Gilded August afternoons. That arid stretch of Oregonian high desert in the southeastern corner of the state. Keep driving and you might catch something even more precious—a path through. Perhaps even a fairy-tale ending. That’s what Amber promised me during that long ago summer.
Didn’t matter. Back then the girl could have said almost anything and I wouldn’t have listened.
Rated R
About the Authors
John Wiswell
Julie C. Day
Julie C. Day’s fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in over two dozen venues, including Interzone, PodCastle, and Kaleidotrope. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast program and a Masters of Science in Microbiology from the University of Massachusetts. In addition to PodCastle, she narrates other people’s fiction at StarshipSofa and FarFetchedFables and also acts as host and narrator of the Small Beer Press podcast. You can find Julie on Twitter @thisjulieday or through her website: www.stillwingingit.com.
About the Narrators
Nathaniel Lee
Nate puts words in various orders. Sometimes people give him money afterward. No one knows why. You can follow his writing at www.mirrorshards.net.
Dave Thompson
Dave Thompson aka the Easter Werewolf aka the California King is still uncomfortable with the notion of pumpkin beer, but don’t hold that against him. He lives outside Los Angeles with his wife and three children. Together with co-editor Anna Schwind, he ran PodCastle for five years. Dave is an Escape Artists’ Worldwalker and Storyteller, having been published in, and narrated for, all four EA podcasts.
