New stories from old friends – that’s what’s in store for you in this episode.  We’re continuing our horror motif with some heart-pounding terror from our buddies at Campfire Radio Theater. Campfire Radio Theater specializes in horror, and their expertise shows in this adaptation of the spine-tingling short story by Joe R. Lansdale, “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road”.  Lansdale wrote the comedy-horror novella Bubba Ho-Tep, which became a cult-classic movie with Bruce Campbell. There’s no room for humor in this piece, though — it’s all harrowing suspense when the heroine, Ellen, is figuratively running from a bad relationship.  But after a night-time car crash inRead More →

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We’re moving from fun fantasy to abject horror with this episode’s sole feature: Janus Descending, by No Such Thing Radio. Janus Descending follows the stories of Peter and Chel:  two xenoarchaeologists who launch an expedition to survey a small planet in a binary star system.  Their focus is on the remains of an alien civilization.  They soon realize that the monsters who destroyed that civilization still lurk in the ruins…and scientific discovery is fast forgotten as Peter and Chel find themselves in a game of cat-and-mouse, with their own lives in the balance. Jordan Cobb created and produced this high-suspense story; she also plays Chel. Read More →

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Fantastic fantasy continues as we bring you the next two episodes of Rainbow Demons, just to make sure you get good and hooked on this creative tribute to the fantasy genre and video games – especially Legend of Zelda. The series started as a creative test…but with a couple of episodes under his belt, creator Klim Levene decided the concept was sound, so he enlisted both students and pros to take Rainbow Demons to the next level.  That quality really shines through as you listen to episodes three and four, “Demons & Wizards” and “The Forgotten City.” Once again, we’ll follow that with chapter twoRead More →

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Fantasy fans, it’s time to tickle your ears with a tantalizing tale that twists the typical into a triumph of storytelling! Rainbow Demons follows the formula of a fantasy quest story, but takes its cues from the real world.  For example, with so much rainy weather in Vancouver – where creator Klim Levene lived at the time he started the series – rainbows as supernatural occurrences were…well, a natural!  In this case, rainbows contain coins scattered within themselves, instead of being all together in a pot at the rainbow’s end.  And Vancouver’s fog?  Levene’s story makes that the whispered work of a demon.  Then thereRead More →

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Fire up your auditory boilers:  it’s steampunk time! This episode of Midnight Audio Theatre marks the debut of an innovative, highly creative series in our fold:  The Tales of Sage and Savant.  The series busts storytelling convention in many ways; for example, our two heroes die at the end of every season…because that’s how they stay alive. Confused?  Not once you know the show’s delightfully deadly premise.  Dr. Petronella Sage conducts research at Kings College in reanimating dead tissue to advance the science of limb replacement.  She accidentally electrocutes herself during one of her experiments, separating her consciousness from her body.  Along with her dedicatedRead More →

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“We’ve pretty much biffed this one.”  That’s the reason humanity is searching for a new planet to terraform in the comedy science fiction series Oz 9.  And with the biffing of COVID and climate change still going strong as we post this installment of Midnight Audio Theatre, we could sure use an hour of laughs! Oz-9’s origins were in a simple audition tape, never meant to be heard by the general public.  Writer and producer Shannon Perry was just helping out her friend Tim (who plays Colin in the series) record material to round out his portfolio.  They started with some Sherlock Holmes readings, thenRead More →

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Everything is relative.  That includes literary genres.  For example, is space opera science fiction, or is it fantasy in a sci-fi setting? Our feature in this installment of Midnight Audio Theatre faces that relative classification conundrum.  You’ll hear the beginning of the sci fi series Relativity by Lee Shackleford…except it might really be a mystery.  Relativity is the story of a man marooned in space, and the woman hell-bent on rescuing him (albeit “by the book”).  The big mystery to be solved if he’s going to make it home:  how was his ship sabotaged, and why? This series is lovingly produced by Shackleford.  It’s trulyRead More →

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It’s another world premiere! With this episode, we conclude our celebration of Midnight Audio Theatre-produced features with the debut of a story by K.G. Kline; it won in our 2019 scriptwriting competition. “No Man’s Land” opens above Earth.  A vast orbiting luxury space hotel has been converted into a weather observation station with just one occupant.  The ho-hum routine of her daily duties must alter suddenly when she receives a surprising transmission from a long-forgotten vessel.  This may alter more than her daily duties – it could alter the entire course of this future human society. There are stories behind the story, too.  It wasRead More →

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We continue taking our gaze inside:  to audio dramas produced right here by the many minions of Midnight Audio Theatre.  All of whom are Cathy Rinella*, your show host AND supreme sound designer, audio engineer, writer, director…well, you get the idea.  As she reads each entry from our annual scriptwriting competition, she hears how the characters and action will play to the ear, then holds tight to the demanding detail that her mind’s ear creates. That quality shows. You’ll hear it for yourself in all our offerings in this episode.  It’s a trilogy of tales penned by three-time competition champ Evan Waters, beginning with “BondsRead More →

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Midnight Audio Theatre’s features festival is roughly midstride as we present you with a world premiere.  Every year, we’re amazed at the incredible quality and creativity of the works submitted in our annual scriptwriting competition.  Last year (2019) was no exception. You’re about to hear “Wingbeats” by K.S.Dearsley.  Dearsley is an accomplished writer in multiple media – including plays, books, short fiction and poetry.   A Doctor Who fan, she loves to create speculative fiction. In “Wingbeats,” young Katya is sent to live with her aunt in a foreign country after weather ruins the crops in her impoverished farming village.  Her aunt, though, is not theRead More →

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