Fictional Worlds

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 […]

archived 1 Nov 2022 12:28:01 UTC

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 […]

archived 24 Oct 2022 13:16:53 UTC

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I watch the spheres orbit about one another as they spin within the space defined by the delimiter field. Fractal printers are fascinating. I find their intricate revolutions calming. “What do you think it is, Derry?” Gia’s always trying to predict what’s next. “I have no idea, young being. What […]

archived 23 Oct 2022 23:05:39 UTC

Author: Ken Poyner The replicators have decided we should all eat peanut butter and crackers; for a month the machines have been spitting out endless batches of peanut butter and crackers. Not bad peanut butter, and truly delicate crackers. But it has been a month. Damn artificial intelligence. Yes, it learns and adapts, but to […]

archived 23 Oct 2022 23:03:01 UTC

Author: Sasha Wolff See The Sea Jewel zip around the cosmos like a theater bus that know no bounds; see it pop up in the remote corners of this glittering universe like Mary Poppins’ stuffed purse of many surprises; like a magical, mischief-making lunch basket of lipstick, lyrics, and lunar love… Everyone aboard The Sea […]

archived 23 Oct 2022 23:00:44 UTC

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Seventeen hours. My backside went numb so long ago it’s taken my legs with it. I’m going to be walking like a geriatric, which is ironic considering I’m unlikely to reach any age close to that if I keep pulling sessions like this. “Have you sorted it, kreepol?” I think […]

archived 23 Oct 2022 22:59:08 UTC

Author: Joey Fazzone “Make it red, make it orange, make it purple, yellow, pink,” he sang, twirled, and danced. “Make it brown, magenta, and any shade you think.” He winked. His assistant was about to speak before he whirled again, proclaiming dramatically, “So don’t chew the purist, shoot the jurist, or sob till you’re blue….” […]

archived 23 Oct 2022 22:54:51 UTC

archived 23 Oct 2022 22:53:20 UTC

Author: Majoki *It was obvious the indigenous creature was in an expiring condition,* wrdlgrp expressed matter-of-factly to the processing agent handling his arrival. *Not the issue, wrdlgrp-sln,* the processing agent xtsm shunted back reviewing wrdlgrp’s record of transit. Their forenodes mutually engaged, the experience was made clear to xtsm. *I still do not understand why [�]

archived 23 Oct 2022 22:51:47 UTC