Fictional Worlds

This episode of the Drabblecast presents “Bears Discover Fire,” by Terry Bisson. We examine and interpret humanity through anthropomorphism. When bears discover fire, stop hibernating, …

The Morthouse by Maria Haskins   In her forty-two years on God’s wide Earth, Gerda has read no books other than The Bible and Luther’s Small Catechism, but once, after Sunday service, she heard the sexton say that there are places where the dead traverse a river after death, paying a boatsman to ferry them across the water. Gerda […]

Yung Lich and the Dance of Death By Alex Fox   My Christian name was Thomas Kanfor but ever since that bastard wizard rose me from the grave I go by Yung Lich. On that moonless night he spoke some words from a tattered grimoire over my naked, somewhat-recently-dead corpse and voila, here I am. […]

Presenters: Marguerite Kenner and Alasdair Stuart Hey folks, welcome to an Escape Artists metacast. I’m Marguerite Kenner. And I’m Alasdair Stuart. For those of you who have never heard a metacast before, think of this like a mini State of the Union address, a way for us to update you about what’s been happening at EA. The […]

Mama uat-ur By Z. K. Abraham   Pressing her forearms against the first-floor window’s metal frame, Temesghen watched aegean-blue waves splash against the concrete walls, searching for another flash of the being’s presence in the sea below. The stars were partially shrouded by the clouds; the sky was a milky greenish swirl like rotting leaves and […]

Wapnintu’tijig: They Sang Until Dawn By Tiffany Morris   In the time of fever, the marks of the animals changed. Waterbirds shone with new radiance: a bright blue iridescence clung to their feathers, glimmering, soaked with the sacred oil of daylight. Their language changed along with their plumage: the chirrup chirrup from their open beaks […]

The Dragon Killer’s Daughter by MacKenzie R. Snead   Gayamiza was no stranger to pilgrims, but these two were not welcome — an old man and his daughter, foreignness sewn into their clothes, engraved in the blades they carried. The city let them in, as it did all acolytes, but as if swallowing food it […]

In The Woods Somewhere (or Stories Never Leave) by Victor Forna   Gods Slap Those Who Summon Them. We shouldn’t have been there — but we were, hiding behind the kola-nut tree, peering into the silver night, parents worried over our empty beds back home, and that’s why we can tell you today, beside this […]

The Consequences of Microwaving Styrofoam by Leah Ning   We meet when we’re sixteen, and the Spark pops bright orange between us the moment our eyes meet. I don’t want to be friends with her. She’s strange and aloof and unkind. But the Spark is the Spark, and everyone saw it, so soon I’m alone. […]

The Ant King: A California Fairy Tale by Benjamin Rosenbaum Sheila split open and the air was filled with gumballs. Yellow gumballs. This was awful for Stan, just awful. He had loved Sheila for a long time, fought for her heart, believed in their love until finally she had come around. They were about to […]

Lockdown Around the Christmas Tree by Heather Shaw & Tim Pratt   What a colossal crapstorm of a year, the third year of infinite garbage in a row, ever since the lockdowns started. The walls came down around Mischa in March 2020, and here they were, still standing, tall and impenetrable, for Christmas 2022. Then […]

[Note: This is Part 2 of a two-part novelette. Visit our previous post to read Part 1.] The Science and Artistry of Snake Oil Salesmanship by Timothy Mudie PART TWO   Portico. Threshold of the frontier. Jewel of the prairie. A town of graded roads and running water. At least, it had been in the […]

The Science and Artistry of Snake Oil Salesmanship by Timothy Mudie   Aloysius P. McNutt arrives in town one-and-a-half days after the snake, as per usual. Earlier would be too suspicious, and later risks that the settlers will have attacked the snake themselves, which simply won’t do. Aloysius needs to sell the snake oil to […]

Dying Rivers and Broken Hearts by Gabriella Buba   Manila, Philippines, 1936   Maria-Lucia had failed. In her hand, a freshly struck agimat burned. The copper amulet pressed with the image of the Virgin Mary was hot with the power the coven had gathered from the full moon. Golden light streamed between her clenched fingers. […]

The Witching Hour By Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki   I stood balanced at the top of the oldest palm tree, the one that grew at the south end of the village. I was in my element — pitch-black night. This was my dawn. The murmurs of glowing spirits mixed with the chitter of living insects. The […]

Hello everyone! Escape Artists is excited to announce that we are launching our first-ever audience survey between November 15th and 30th! We are interested in learning more about you, our audience, including how you engage with our shows, your access needs, what content you enjoy and want to see more of, and how you think […]

The Bone Pickers by Kelsey Hutton   My last day picking buffalo bones, stooping and flinging and splintering tibia among the tall grass, was the day I lost the smell of freshly tanned leather. The buffalo gave us so many gifts, but the finished hides were my favourite. Rich and musky-smelling, hair scraped off, with […]

The Tree Whisperer by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe   The trees are getting restless. I walk down the beaten forest path, trying my best to ignore their murmurs, but they are too many and their words crowd my mind. The green will perish . . . You must warn the people . . . Call down the […]

PodCastle is very proud to present Indigenous Magic, our special month of stories featuring Indigenous themes by Indigenous authors. Every week during November 2022, we will be bringing you a new Indigenous Magic story, and we can’t wait to share them all! We have five fabulous stories coming up: “Anu and the Vetala” by […]

Anu and the Vetala by Srikripa Krishna Prasad   The marble-tile floor of King Vikramaditya’s throne room is cold against Anu’s forehead. As she prostrates herself before him, body curled into a ball as her forehead meets the point of her hands, she can’t help the contempt that rises in her throat like vomit. Such […]

The Half Dark Promise by Malon Edwards The first thing Bobby Brightsmith told me when I moved to the South Side of Chicago from La Petite Haïti with Manmi was to run like a scalded dog if I ever saw zonbi la in the half dark on the way home from school. See, when Bobby […]

Harlequin Moon by Jennifer Hykes The man called Dirt was a master of riddles. It was his only gift. He was not a riddler himself. From the time he could speak, he always called things exactly what they were and nothing else. He had tried, once or twice in his childhood, to craft a joke […]

O Cul-de-Sac! by Tim Major   O neighbours! If only we might speak! Do you feel as I feel? Do you think as I think? Here we are, all crouching in our circle, so close to one another. It is maddening. I see your people come and go. I hear snippets of their conversations. They […]

Aurum & Indigo By LP Kindred   Aurum sits on a wooden stool, hunched over the oakwood bar, stained darker by shellac and low lights. In spite of them, he stares into his book while a second lies closed atop the bar. His feet dangle, kicking softly. Eyes rake over words but their meaning never […]