Author Topic: Pseudopod 155: The Worm that Gnaws (Read 25782 times)

Bdoomed · **on:** August 14, 2009, 04:45:17 AM

Pseudopod 155: The Worm that Gnaws

By Orrin Grey
Read by Ian Stuart

I’ve ‘ad loadsa bad jobs in my day, but this ‘un’s the worst by a mile. Trompin’ aroun’ in the boneyards at midnight, diggin’ up dead folks wi’ a wooden spade, breakin’ open the caskets wi’ a mattock, an’ haulin’ ‘em up an’ out by the heads. Christ.

The mist creeps up ‘til it’s so thick ya can’t hardly see the groun’ for it, makes the tombstones look like ships at sea where they thrust up out a it. Cold as a witch’s tit, an’ only one bottle between us, Wolfe an’ I.

‘Course it’s illegal. I ain’t had but a job or two that weren’t, in one way or t’other. But the fines ain’t steep, an’ the constables tend ta look t’other way. Sides, the pay’s worth the risks. Good pay, for a fella like me, or a fella like Wolfe.

‘E’s the boss, is Wolfe. Been at the game a long time, compared ta me, an’ ‘e ain’t like ta let me forget it. Big fella, shaped like a barrel, face all red an’ puffy from too much drink. “Ya’d drink too, ya’d seen what I seen,” ‘e always tells me, as if I don’t drink.

Listen to this week's Pseudopod.

Sgarre1 · **Reply #1 on:** August 16, 2009, 10:38:22 PM

Really excellent reading on a really solid creep-out story, like something from prime EC days, or Warren magazine's CREEPY of the 70's! Great show all around!

“Elaborate burial customs are a sure sign of decadence.”
J.G. Ballard, “The Waiting Grounds”

kibitzer · **Reply #2 on:** August 17, 2009, 01:01:49 AM

Nicely read, as ever by Ian Stuart. Good creepy little story. Worms don't bother me much, though.

Unblinking · **Reply #3 on:** August 17, 2009, 03:13:50 PM

Excellent story brought to life by excellent narration. Actually I think I probably enjoyed this more in audio than I would have written, it might've been hard to parse with all the apostrophes. Nice open ending as well.

I'll definitely be looking forward to more contributions from both Orrin and Ian.

thomasowenm · **Reply #4 on:** August 17, 2009, 07:53:03 PM

The story was meh, but man the narration was top notch. Well done.

Listener · **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2009, 01:16:17 PM

I wonder if the story was written in dialect. The reading was certainly great.

I was surprised when Wolf said his wife was trampled by a horse when she fell in front of a carriage. I guess I don't know enough about UK history to know that "resurrection men" should elicit a certain time period.

Overall pretty good.

Sgarre1 · **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2009, 01:25:31 PM

The sample provided at the top of the entry is a good example of the writing style - lots of 'postrophes!

DKT · **Reply #7 on:** August 20, 2009, 03:18:00 PM

I'm pretty sure I would've liked this story a lot regardless, but Ian Stuart's reading put it head and shoulders above great.

umamei · **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2009, 09:19:58 AM

Really enjoyed this one. It was a great one to listen to especially. I'm not sure I would have liked all the apostrophes in reading it either, but I think I would have enjoyed it anyhow. I think it's a lot easier to make worms creepy again when placed in a historical setting. I'm not sure I would have been creeped out as much had this been set in recent decades.

MacArthurBug · **Reply #9 on:** August 21, 2009, 06:18:34 PM

wow man! What a reading. The narritive is creepy and wonderous. my type of story, not really scary but man- the reading!!!

orrin · **Reply #10 on:** August 22, 2009, 06:27:53 PM

Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the story! And thanks to Ian for the incredible narration. It was absolutely perfect.

I'd been meaning to send something to Pseudopod for some time, and the reason I chose this story was because I thought it would work really well in audio, due to the dialect and all the apostrophes and such. Thanks to the folks as Pseudopod putting together such an awesome reading of it, I think I was right.

goatkeeper · **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2009, 02:07:30 AM

GREAT story! Well done Orrin, I hope PP runs more of your work. Great climactic build, your writing is very compact, effective and engaging here.
GREAT read! Outa the park, wowza's for rizzle, Ian knocks it outa the figurative park of some sort.

kibitzer · **Reply #12 on:** August 24, 2009, 04:37:30 AM

@orrin -- cool avatar dude.

orrin · **Reply #13 on:** August 24, 2009, 07:00:09 PM

@kibitzer

Thanks. It was originally drawn for me by a friend and I've used it as my "author photo" ever since.

eytanz · **Reply #14 on:** August 24, 2009, 08:16:49 PM

I really liked this one - great, creepy tale, and the narration was wonderful. I was listening to this while shopping in IKEA - about as far from a dark, muddy, graveyard as one can get, and I still got sucked into the story enough that I literally jumped when another shopper stopped me to ask me a question. Well done!

Unblinking · **Reply #15 on:** August 26, 2009, 06:38:58 PM

Quote from: eytanz on August 24, 2009, 08:16:49 PM

I really liked this one - great, creepy tale, and the narration was wonderful. I was listening to this while shopping in IKEA - about as far from a dark, muddy, graveyard as one can get, and I still got sucked into the story enough that I literally jumped when another shopper stopped me to ask me a question. Well done!

I find IKEA pretty frightening myself...

Bdoomed · **Reply #16 on:** August 26, 2009, 11:12:00 PM

I enjoyed this story, very creepy. I loved the bit where the narrator was surprised that he remembered the dead girl's name, it really emphasized the oddity of the situation.
and top notch reading!

wakela · **Reply #17 on:** August 28, 2009, 02:20:46 AM

This is an example of a story with a not-particularly-fascinating idea made great through characterization. These guys were very rich, believable characters, and the story was full of details that point to a small thing, but make you think of big things.

I thought there could have been a little more building up in the ending. It felt abrupt.

I'm sure I'm not the only one here who would like to hear more about this "anatomy school." I can see the once beautiful, gothic towers and the pale, sallow students poring over decomposing corpses.

best
reading
evar

natashafairweather · **Reply #18 on:** September 02, 2009, 08:02:08 PM

Wow. Really solid story with incredible narration. I love this podcast - you hard-working folks just do such good work.

empathy44 · **Reply #19 on:** September 03, 2009, 11:54:02 AM

"Happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl."

The Festival
H.P. Lovecraft

orrin · **Reply #20 on:** September 03, 2009, 02:19:54 PM

@empathy44

Yes! That's exactly the quote that inspired this story, and from which I drew the title!

oddpod · **Reply #21 on:** September 03, 2009, 02:37:02 PM

ace :-) now you all know what fokes talk like round my neck of the woods!

Nerraux · **Reply #22 on:** September 03, 2009, 07:38:19 PM

I loved the story, and the reading was perfectly suited for it. Good on both the author and the narrator!

Not to detract from that, but Alisdair referenced the story of the defection of Cristian Raducanu at the end and suggested people look up the story for a good tale. I can't find anything online, and I'm usually a Google ace. Can anyone send me a link to a good version of the tale?

empathy44 · **Reply #23 on:** September 03, 2009, 07:48:01 PM

Quote from: orrin on September 03, 2009, 02:19:54 PM

@empathy44

Yes! That's exactly the quote that inspired this story, and from which I drew the title!

Yay! I win a multi-tentacled cookie! It is, bar none, my favorite Lovecraft quote and an example of why no one has ever been able to write--for instance--a decent version of the Necronomicon.

empathy44 · **Reply #24 on:** September 03, 2009, 11:11:56 PM

I really loved this story. And the narration was perfectly suited/done. I have a love of stories set in the Lovecraftian world that don't attempt to be a clone of Lovecraft. I particularly liked the description of Charlie checking the door 3x and the description of the associates voice.

Author Topic: Pseudopod 155: The Worm that Gnaws (Read 25782 times)

goatkeeper