Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals
Bitter Karella
Each week, a group of storytellers gathers around a campfire. There's world-weary club MC Edgar Allan Poe, nerd dad Stephen King, violent goth Mary Shelley, squid-obsessed wimp HP Lovecraft, and others. A comedy-horror semi-anthology adapted from Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated microfiction.
Midnight Snack: The Tale of the Talented Mr Ripley
In a six-minute mini-episode, Patricia Highsmith tells the Midnight Pals her story of the (maybe not so) Talented Mr Ripley, and then the real Charles Dickens himself drops in at the campfire.Content notes: swearing, discussion of internalized homophobia, violence and discussion of murder, stalking. CAST: Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON with Patricia
Feb 15, • 6:46
The Tale of the Interview with the Vampire
Anne Rice comes to the campfire to tell her timeless odd-couple romance about a depressed slave plantation owner who’s swept off his feet by a total jerk. Also, they’re both vampires. Al Copeland gets a taste of his own chicken. CAST: Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON Dean Koontz/Lestat de Lioncourt — WREN MONTGOMERY Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON with Anne Rice — LORETTA CHANG Louis de Pointe du Lac/Percy Shelle
Feb 7, • 43:30
The Tale of the Watchers
It’s Edgar’s turn with the flashlight… but, after a heated debate about what makes a better plot device, the death of a beautiful woman or a murderous monkey, little Dean Koontz ends up telling tonight's story instead. It has everything—an all-American Special Army Marine, a poorly written neurodivergent lady, an evil mutagenic monkey who's escaped from science, and a VERY good dog! Content notes: swearing, loud noises, some sexual references, comedic violence with some gory noises and gunfire,
Jan 31, • 39:03
The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood
The Pals visit JRR Tolkien and his fantasy storytelling friends at Unicorn F*** Club, where Angela Carter puts a modern, feminist spin on a traditional fairy tale. Hans Christian Andersen is smitten. Frank Belknap Long gets stuck in his fursuit. Content notes: Swearing, violence, allusion to sexual assault, vomit, gory noises, people being eaten, sex. CAST: Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe/JRR Tolkien — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON Dean Koo
Jan 24, • 34:02
The Tale of the Hellraiser
When Edgar Allan Poe is missing after a violent altercation with Henry W. Longfellow, a mysterious puzzlebox leads the Midnight Pals to the ninth circle of Hell, where they confront a gang of sadomasochistic demons. Brian Jacques humorously outwits a cat. Content notes: violence, gory noises, blood, swearing and raised voices. CAST: Clive Barker — DAVID AULT Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA HP Lovecraft/Brian Jacques — ROBIN JOHNSON Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY St
Jan 17, • 38:23
Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals: Season 2 trailer
Season 2 of "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals" releases Friday January 17th, 2025! Living and dead horror authors tell scary stories round the campfire in this audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated comedy-horror microfiction. This trailer contains clips from upcoming episodes "The Tale of the Interview with the Vampire", "The Tale of the Watchers", "The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood", and "The Musical Tale of Rebecca". For more information, see https://midnightpals.
Dec 12, 2024 • 1:30
The Tale of the Candyman
Roger Corman attempts to make a series of "Candyman" movies. Can he complete his totally popular, not-at-all-obscure-cult-classic slasher quadrilogy without being thwarted by the bee-adjacent serial killer himself? Oh, and... ONE OF OUR HEROES DIES TRAGICALLY!!!—but gets better, with a brand new face and voice actor. Content notes: swearing, sexual references, loud noises, violence, gore, death and murder. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Roger Corman (1926–2024), a true pioneer of hor
Oct 2, 2024 • 11:16
Season 2 crowdfunding now!
We've opened crowdfunding for Season 2 of Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-midnight-pals-podcast-season-2/x/20621044#/ Based on our experiences of Season 1, we've set a flexible goal of $6,000 to cover paying our actors, cast and crew at bare-minimum indie rates; if we outdo that goal, we'll increase everyone's pay proportionately. Perks range from a credit in the show notes or on air, to a pretty PDF containing all the Season 1 scripts wi
May 3, 2024 • 1:00
The Tale of the Tell-Tale Heart
Low-budget movie mogul Roger Corman sets out to produce a papier maché blockbuster adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale of psychological suspense. Loosely following the plot of the original, Poe is tasked with taking care of a Scottish castle belonging to a certain formerly popular children's author. But uh oh! His wacky pal Stephen King arrives... with his all-amateur band, the Rock Bottom Remainders, in tow! When an electrical blackout results in the Pals smashing a priceless collectio
Dec 19, 2023 • 33:42
The Tale of the Snow Woman
It's winter at the campfire, and that means one thing—snow-themed holiday special! The Midnight Pals are visited by Junji Ito, adorable catboy and terrifying master of fucked-up-face-filled manga horror, accompanied by original weeaboo Lafcadio Hearn. The pair narrate an ancient Japanese folktale of ripped samurai, distressed noblewomen, and seasonal ice-demons. Lafcadio helps Junji out by using his insightful perspective as a Greek-Irish academic to explain Japanese tradition and culture. HP Lo
Dec 12, 2023 • 37:33
The Tale of the Nightbreed
Clive Barker takes the stage and relates his cult classic of an eternal battle—gay monsters versus redneck cops. Cabal has always had unsettling dreams of becoming a gay monster, but his personal journey to gay monsterhood is obstructed by queer-gatekeeping monsters, Nazi sheriffs' departments, and unconvincing gimp-mask serial killer David Cronenberg. Frank Belknap Long teaches Dean Koontz to be a furry. Content notes: swearing, raised voices, sexual content, violence, discussion of homophobic
Dec 5, 2023 • 35:11
The Tale of the Strangers on a Train
Patricia Highsmith, crime writer, snail friend, and lovable weirdo known for her shabby trenchcoat, eccentric habits, and possibly imaginary wife, investigates a bizarre double murder. Two people who don't know each other, or if you will, "strangers", meet on a rail vehicle, or as it were, "train", and plan the perfect crime. What really happened with Mary Shelley and her polycule at Lake Geneva last summer?Content notes: swearing, violence, murder, death including by train and drowning.CAST: Ma
Nov 28, 2023 • 47:49
The Tale of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Midnight Society
Arthur Conan Doyle stumbles upon the Midnight Pals' storytelling circle and reluctantly agrees to bring beloved supersleuth Sherlock Holmes back for one last, final, final case. A locked-room murder mystery turns to metafictional highjinks as the Pals are embroiled in the world of Holmes's adventures, sort of like when the holodeck malfunctions on Star Trek.Content notes: swearing, raised voices, drug references, portrayal of psychologically abusive relationships, threats of violence, guns, disc
Nov 21, 2023 • 41:49
The Tale of Dracula
Neurotic closet-dweller Bram Stoker visits the campfire to tell his iconic vampire story. In Transylvania, hot twink Jon "Jonathan" Harker shacks up with a rich older man who wants to consume his bodily fluids. Meanwhile in England, notorious strumpet Lucy Westenra attempts to ensnare her innocent friend Mina into the dangerous and disgusting world of sex. A cautionary tale about the perils of horniness, as Bram attempts to prove once and for all that vampires are in no way sexy. Mary Shelley in
Nov 14, 2023 • 36:38
The Tale of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
A new candidate for the Midnight Society, insufferable San Francisco hipster Robert Louis Stevenson, attempts to impress the Pals with the story of Henry Jekyll, a Victorian psychiatrist. On the steamship home from a business trip, Jekyll's seemingly chance meeting with a certain Edward Hyde will change his perception of reality forever. In a twist so unexpected that nobody even knows it's a twist, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde turn out to be the same person! An adrenaline-fueled social satire of mischi
Nov 7, 2023 • 35:11
The Tale of the Frankenstein
Mary Shelley tells her Midnight Pals a chilling tale about a brilliant young researcher, Victor, whose arrogance leads him to pursue a deadly ambition. The experiment has been attempted by generations of mad scientists, but never successfully accomplished: the creation of a Frankenstein! Stephen King gets pedantic about terminology. Content notes: swearing, raised voices, violence, gore, death including the murder of a child, mention of strangulation. CAST Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA Edgar Al
Oct 30, 2023 • 37:32
Midnight Snack: The Tale of the Torture Tower
It's Bram Stoker's turn at the campfire and he's brought a new story, "The Tale of The—" oh dear, we might have to do something about that title.Content notes: Discussion of racism; human and animal death; discussion of violence and torture. Season 1 Premiere: Our first full episode, The Tale of the Frankenstein, will release on our podcast feed on Tuesday 31st October— but there will also be a special early streamed premiere and open hangout with the cast and crew on Sunday 29th October at 5PM
Oct 24, 2023 • 9:25
Midnight Snacks: 10 teaser mini-episodes
The main characters of Midnight Pals, plus a few regular visitors to the campfire, introduce themselves with a series of short skits based on their most popular works. A medley of midnight-snack size tales from Stephen King, Mary Shelley, HP Lovecraft, Clive Barker, Dean Koontz, Edgar Allan Poe and more.This is a consolidation of ten short ‘teaser’ mini-episodes that were released prior to season 1. We’ve done this to clean up our feed and make it easier for new listeners to navigate to the full
Oct 23, 2023 • 14:48
Teaser 11: Shirley Jackson
Mary Shelley brings Shirley Jackson to the campfire to tell her iconic spooky mansion story, The Tale of the Haunting of the Haunted House on Haunted House Hill. This is the second-last of our mini-episodes leading to the launch of our first season on Halloween. Our first full episode, The Tale of the Frankenstein, will also be streamed on Twitch in a special premiere and cast hangout on Sunday 29th! See our social media for details. CAST: SHIRLEY JACKSON — Rayna Montgomery MARY SHELLEY – Rebec
Oct 17, 2023 • 4:28
Teaser 10: Arthur Conan Doyle
In our antepenultimate mini-episode, Arthur Conan Doyle visits the Midnight Pals' campfire and reluctantly begins a Sherlock Holmes story. CAST: ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE — Robin Johnson EDGAR ALLAN POE — Rodrigo Borges STEPHEN KING — Jason Robinson DEAN KOONTZ — Wren Montgomery CLIVE BARKER — Sister Indica MARY SHELLEY — Rebecca D'Souza Script and production by Robin Johnson. The Midnight Pals is created by Bitter Karella. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones. Elements of existing w
Oct 10, 2023 • 1:36
Teaser 09: Robert Louis Stevenson
Throughout October, we'll be releasing weekly teaser mini-episodes of Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals in the run-up to the launch of our first full episode on Tuesday October 31st. In this teaser, San Francisco hipster Robert Louis Stevenson tells the Pals his short economics-horror story "The Tale of the Bottle Imp". CAST: Robert Louis Stevenson – DEXTER HOWARDEdgar Allan Poe – RODRIGO BORGESHP Lovecraft – ROBIN JOHNSONDean Koontz – WREN MONTGOMERYMary Shelley – REBECCA D'SOUZA
Oct 3, 2023 • 1:52
Teaser 08 - Roger Corman
Papier-mâché blockbuster filmmaker Roger Corman arrives at the Pals' campfire with a proposition to adapt one of HP Lovecraft's novellas into a movie of an Edgar Allan Poe story, in our latest teaser micro-episode. Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals' first season begins releasing full episodes weekly from October 31st. CAST ROGER CORMAN – Bitter Karella EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges DEAN KOONTZ – Wren Montgomery HP LOVECRAFT – Robin Johnson CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica MARY SHELL
Sep 19, 2023 • 2:00
Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals: Season 1 trailer
Living and dead horror authors tell scary stories round the campfire in "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals", a hilarious audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's 3x Hugo-nominated comedy-horror microfiction. For more information, see https://midnightpals.comCAST, in order of appearance: EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo BorgesROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON – Dexter HowardHP LOVECRAFT – Robin JohnsonBRAM STOKER – Joel A.S. ButlerJONATHAN HARKER – Thaddeus StrangeDRACULA – Rodrigo BorgesPATRICIA HIGHSM
Sep 4, 2023 • 0:59
Teaser 07: Anne Rice
Vampire fangirl Anne Rice gets to tell the story in this week's teaser. Full episodes of "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals" will begin releasing on Halloween. CAST ANNE RICE – Jessica Berson EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza DEAN KOONTZ – Wren Montgomery HP LOVECRAFT – Robin Johnson CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica Script and production by Robin Johnson, including material adapted from tweets by Bitter Karella. Find the Midnight Pals at midnightpals.com
Aug 29, 2023 • 1:37
Teaser 06: Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe tells the Midnight Pals "The Tale of the Black Cat", in the sixth teaser for the upcoming audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated microfiction The Midnight Pals. CAST STEPHEN KING – Jason Robinson EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges HP LOVECRAFT – Robin Johnson MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza Script by Robin Johnson, including material adapted from tweets by Bitter Karella. Music by Robin Johnson. Find the Midnight Pals on twitter at @midnight_pals or subscribe to the pod
Aug 15, 2023 • 1:26
Teaser 05: Dean Koontz
The Master of Suspense, Dean Koontz, wows the Midnight Pals with his creativity. The fifth teaser trailer for "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals", the upcoming audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's twice Hugo-nominated social media microfiction, with full episodes launching in late 2023. CAST DEAN KOONTZ – Wren Montgomery EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges STEPHEN KING – Jason Robinson CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza Script adapted by Robin Johnson from twe
Aug 1, 2023 • 1:01
Teaser 04: HP Lovecraft
It's HP Lovecraft's turn to be storyteller in our fourth teaser trailer. Howard chills the Midnight Pals with his famous brand of cosmic horror, inspired by his lifelong night terrors and existential dread of anything foreign. Contains NSFW language. CAST EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges HP LOVECRAFT – Robin Johnson STEPHEN KING – Jason Robinson CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza Script adapted by Robin Johnson from tweets by Bitter Karella. Thanks to Eve Morris and Dais
Jul 18, 2023 • 0:56
Teaser 03: Clive Barker
The third teaser trailer from the upcoming audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated microfiction Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals, based on the first ever Midnight Pals tweet! Contains NSFW language.CAST EDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica HP LOVECRAFT — Robin Johnson A transcript of this trailer is available at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/teaser-03-clive-barker/transcript
Jul 3, 2023 • 0:59
Teaser 02: Mary Shelley
The second teaser trailer for the upcoming audio adaptation of Bitter Karella's Hugo-nominated microfiction, Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals. Queen witch Mary Shelley arrives at the campfire and goths the hell out of everyone. Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals will be released to all podcast platforms in late 2023. CASTEDGAR ALLAN POE – Rodrigo Borges MARY SHELLEY – Rebecca D'Souza CLIVE BARKER – Sister Indica HP LOVECRAFT — Robin Johnson STEPHEN KING – Jason Robin
Jun 19, 2023 • 1:04