Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals

It’s the night of the full moon, and someone forgot to lock up Stephen King securely. Now Steve’s evil alter ego, Richard Bachman, has escaped! The Pals have no choice but to hear his murder clown hotel story.
CAST 
Stephen King/Richard Bachman – JASON ROBINSON 
Clive Barker – DAVID AULT 
Edgar Allan Poe – RODRIGO BORGES 
Mary Shelley – REBECCA D'SOUZA 
HP Lovecraft – ROBIN JOHNSON 
Dean Koontz – WREN MONTGOMERY 
with 
Bill – BRAD BARNES 
Beverly – RAYNA MANDARA 
Ben – TENEST TANG 
Richie – JOEL A.S. BUTLER 
Mr Penny/Clown – DEXTER HOWARD 
additional voices by HANNAH BROWN and LORETTA CHANG 
Script by Brad Barnes, edited by Bitter Karella and Robin Johnson. Production, audio editing, music and sound design by Robin Johnson. The dialogue editor was Liselle Nic Giollabháin.
A transcript of this episode is available at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/the-tale-of-that/transcript
Content notes: This episode contains raised voices, loud noises, gory noises, swearing, violence and threats of violence, sexual references, and references to vomit, fatphobia, racism, addiction, and clowns.
"Richard Bachman" was a pseudonym used secretly by Stephen King early in his career, in order to release "off-brand" books, the first of which was 1977's Rage. The identity was revealed in 1985, by which time five novels had been written under that name, four of which were then republished together as the collection The Bachman Books; "Bachman" has produced two more books since then. Rumors that Bachman is the true father of Stephen's second son Owen King are wholly unsubstantiated.
 

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals is a work of social and literary satire. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones; any resemblance to real-life people, organizations or events, other than with satirical intent, is coincidental; any elements of work not in the public domain are used for the purpose of parody and comment; and no challenge is intended to the ownership or validity of any intellectual property. The Midnight Pals is the creation of Bitter Karella ©
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com

It's HP Lovecraft’s turn and nobody can stop it, so he tells a story about a town whose sinister residents guard a dark secret that is almost certainly “There’s a squid”. Howard and Mary go head-to-head in a high-stakes bet. 
HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON
Clive Barker — DAVID AULT
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
with 
Helen Olmstead — TERRI LYNNE HUDSON
Mr Lillibridge — BRAD BARNES
Preacher Marsh — DAISY McNAMARA
Hick — KATE DAVOLI
Bus Driver — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Gilman — DEXTER HOWARD
Mr Pabody — TENEST TANG
Script by Robin Johnson, edited by Bitter Karella. Production, editing, music and sound design by Robin Johnson. The dialogue editor was Liselle Nic Giollabháin. 
A transcript of this episode is available at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/the-tale-of-the-shadow-over-innsmouth/transcript
HP Lovecraft's The Shadow Over Innsmouth, first rejected by Weird Tales in 1933, is one of his longer, better written, and more clearly xenophobic works. The novella, about a coastal town that has been reduced to decrepitude by an influx of immigra– uh, fish monsters, was printed in a run of 400 clothbound copies in 1936, half of which were pulped. This was the only book of Lovecraft's fiction to be published in his lifetime. Lovecraft was unhappy with the print run, which contained innumerable typographical errors, and insisted on the book being distributed with an errata sheet, which was also inaccurate. In 1942, five years after Lovecraft's death, Weird Tales printed an abridged version of the story. 

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals is a work of social and literary satire. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones; any resemblance to real-life people, organizations or events, other than with satirical intent, is coincidental; any elements of work not in the public domain are used for the purpose of parody and comment; and no challenge is intended to the ownership or validity of any intellectual property. The Midnight Pals is the creation of Bitter Karella ©
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com

Those stuck-up snobs at the most privileged literary circle of all, Clarion West, have perpetrated a despicable prank on the Midnight Pals involving a paper bag full of dog poop, a match, and Steve's brand new sneakers. This means WAR!
CAST: 
Clive Barker — DAVID AULT
Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
HP Lovecraft/Michael Swanwick — ROBIN JOHNSON
Dean Koontz/Harlan Ellison — WREN MONTGOMERY
Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
with 
Frank Belknap Long — DAVID COURT
August Derleth/Robert Silverberg — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Roger Zelazny — BRAD BARNES
Greg Bear — DEXTER HOWARD
Script by Bitter Karella. Production, editing, music and sound design by Robin Johnson. The dialogue editor was Liselle Nic Giollabháin.
A transcript of this episode is available at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/the-tale-of-those-bullies-at-clarion-west/transcript
 

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals is a work of social and literary satire. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones; any resemblance to real-life people, organizations or events, other than with satirical intent, is coincidental; any elements of work not in the public domain are used for the purpose of parody and comment; and no challenge is intended to the ownership or validity of any intellectual property. The Midnight Pals is the creation of Bitter Karella ©
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com

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 Highsmith — KATE DAVOLI
"Charles Dickens" — BRAD BARNES
Script, audio production and music by Robin Johnson. The Midnight Pals created by Bitter Karella ©
A transcript of this episode is available at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/the-tale-of-the-talented-mr-ripley/transcript
Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr Ripley (1955) is a psychological thriller dripping with the sort of blatant homoeroticism that gets described as "gay undertones". It and its several sequels have been adapted for screen multiple times, including the 1999 movie in which Matt Damon and Jude Law play chess in the bath, and the 2024 Netflix miniseries in which Andrew Scott walks up and down stairs. 
Hans Christian Andersen was Charles Dickens' worst fanboy ever. In one episode, he invited himself to the Dickens' home, overstayed by several weeks, and reportedly cried when finally made to leave. 

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals is a work of social and literary satire. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones; any resemblance to real-life people, organizations or events, other than with satirical intent, is coincidental; any elements of work not in the public domain are used for the purpose of parody and comment; and no challenge is intended to the ownership or validity of any intellectual property. The Midnight Pals is the creation of Bitter Karella ©
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com

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. 
Content notes: swearing, raised voices, gory noises, death, violence, murder, slavery, implied domestic abuse, sexual references, discussion of body dysmorphia, vomit. 
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 Shelley — LOU SUTCLIFFE
Claudia — MARNIE WARNER
Reporter — DAISY McNAMARA
Bram Stoker — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
Yvette — TERRI LYNNE HUDSON
Al Copeland — DEXTER HOWARD
Additional voices by Eve Morris and David Court. 
Script by Bitter Karella, edited by Robin Johnson. Audio production, music and lyrics by Robin Johnson. Closing theme performed by Dexter Howard and the cast. 
Interview with the Vampire (1976) was the debut novel of Anne Rice (1941-2021). An influential work of gothic gay vampire romance, it was adapted into a Hollywood movie in 1994 and an ongoing AMC TV series since 2022. Rice wrote a large number of increasingly silly sequels, creating the Vampire Chronicles series. As referenced in the episode, she engaged in a bizarre, years-long feud with fried chicken magnate Al Copeland after he opened a restaurant in New Orleans. 
A transcript of this episode is available at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/the-tale-of-the-interview-with-the-vampire/transcript

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals is a work of social and literary satire. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones; any resemblance to real-life people, organizations or events, other than with satirical intent, is coincidental; any elements of work not in the public domain are used for the purpose of parody and comment; and no challenge is intended to the ownership or validity of any intellectual property. The Midnight Pals is the creation of Bitter Karella ©
No "AI" is used in any part of this production, ever.
Subscribe to Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you find podcasts. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review. For more information, see https://midnightpals.com