Episodes

  • This week’s story is  We're Civilized! by Alex Apostolides and Mark Clifton. The fate of Mars and its inhabitants hangs in the balance, as the self-assured captain and the thoughtful scientist grapple with the consequences of their actions. Will they recognize the value of the life they have found, or will they repeat the mistakes of history?


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is The Man Who Remembered, an original story by Spiritus Dei. We meet a young man named Randy, a man who found himself at the tender age of 29, just beginning to see his life take shape. He had a job he could tolerate, was contemplating the future with a newfound optimism, and was thinking about re-entering the world of romance. But Randy's plans took an unexpected detour when fate dealt him a fatal hand—an accident that ended his life and set him on a path through a surreal afterlife bureaucracy.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  • In this week’s story The Leech by Robert Sheckley, we explore a tale of a spore—a seemingly lifeless entity that has drifted through the cosmic void for millennia, until the fateful day it lands on Earth. Unbeknownst to humankind, this tiny seed holds within it a hunger that defies comprehension, an insatiable thirst for energy and mass. As it stirs to life and begins to grow, it falls to an unwitting professor and an overconfident general to confront the unknowable.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “Big Stupe” By Charles V. De Vet. If the human exploration of space goes anything like our exploration of Earth, we probably won’t think very highly of the aliens we meet, which means it would serve us right if they thought the same thing about us


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead



    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is  “The Luckiest Man in Denv” by Simon Eisner. In a future dystopia where social climbing and technological manipulation intertwine, a man stumbles upon a disturbing conspiracy.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Our story this week is “The Snowbank Orbit” by Fritz Leiber. It's the story of a young spaceman grappling with the surreal and isolating vastness of space and the shadow of interstellar conflict.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is The Snowball Effect by Katherine MacLean. In a clash between academia and administration, a university president challenges the real-world value of sociology, prompting an experiment that could change the world forever or at the very least one sewing circle.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “A Matter of Protocol” by Jack Sharkey. A lot of writers have speculated about what aliens would do here on Earth if they ever showed up, but what if humans were the aliens visiting a new world?


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Here's a little bonus content from our narrator Darren Marlar's podcast Weird Darkness. H.G. Wells was a prolific sci-fi author, but with The Red Room he showed he could hold his own in the horror genre as well.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “Welcome Martians” by S.A. Lombino. What if we landed on Mars and discovered people who were so much like us that they wouldn’t actually believe you were from Earth?


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Our story this week is  “Don’t Shoot” by Robert Zacks. If you invent something Earth-changing, you need to be careful who you sell the technology to. You might end up inadvertently creating a cryptid.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “The Merchants of Venus” by A. H. Phelps. If you were trying to recruit people for a new colony, who would you choose? Most people would be looking for the next George Washington, or at the very least the next Neil Armstrong. History suggests, they’d be wrong.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “The Undersea Tube” by L. Taylor Hansen. Back when Hansen wrote this story in 1929, a project like the Chunnel was a far off dream. Of course he envisioned things going a little differently when we started digging under the sea.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “Scent Makes a Difference” by James Stamers. They say scent is so strongly tied to our memory that it can help trigger all sorts of long lost memories even years later. Now one man learns it can also help you meet different version of yourself from alternate realities


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Our story this week is“Sweet Tooth” by Robert F Young. If we ever do actually meet aliens there will be plenty of people who will be worried about ending up in a “To Serve Man”-type scenario. But it might turn out human beings aren’t the ones who have to worry about being devoured by our visitors.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • As human beings venture out into the cosmos, it’s pretty certain they’re going to run into all sorts of unexpected threats to their health and well-being. It happened to explorers hundreds of years ago when European explorers arrived in the New World and were exposed to all sorts of new diseases… then they decided to return the favor by giving blankets infected with small pox to the people they met. Of course it’s also entirely possible that explorers out in space will run into problems that are a little more familiar. As is the case in this week’s story, Operation Distress by Lester Del Ray.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “Ask a Foolish Question” by Robert Sheckley. The secret to learning the answers to life, the universe and everything is knowing the right questions to ask.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • This week’s story is “The Trap” by Betsy Curtis. People have been dreaming of living forever since the dawn of time, but there are a couple of potentially problematic details they probably didn’t consider.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • If we’ve learned anything from pop culture, it’s that there are rules for time travel. This week’s story, “Security Plan” by Joseph Farrell introduces us to one inventor that probably should have spent a little more time watching time travel movies for educational purposes.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Did you know that in 2024 a person making the average salary in the United States can’t get qualified for the average priced home? It’s bad out there. So much so that many are giving up on the idea of owning a home all together. In this week’s story “Time Arbitrage” a couple is just about ready to give up themselves, when they learn about a company offering an unexpected solution to the problem.


    If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/


    Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

    Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/


    Other shows hosted by Darren:

    Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

    Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

    Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

    Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

    Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.