Episode 10: Diary of a Dead Man: Birth of a Poltergeist

Welcome to Story Time with Darcie!

In every episode, you hear a piece of my own short fiction. I’m an eclectic writer, so you may be surprised by the genres and situations, but what these stories have in common is their exploration of big ideas.

I am delighted to bring back Nikolas Yuen for today’s story! You heard him as the narrator and title character in August’s episode featuring Godly Musings Over Triple Espresso and as the villains in June’s episode, Refuge. Today, Nik again takes on the narrator and title character in Diary of a Dead Man: Birth of a Poltergeist. 

Yup. Today, in honour of Halloween, you’ll hear a ghost story. 

Please be advised, as a ghost story, Diary of a Dead Man: Birth of a Poltergeist of course carries a Content Warning for Death/Dying, and as a Poltergeist story, also for Violence, and Blood. But it doesn’t start there. It starts with a father, mourning the loss of his child … 

At the last minute, I decided I wanted to create a bit more of a spooky atmosphere for today’s ghost story. I went to FreeSound.org, to collect some ambient noises. These are created by wonderful producers and are offered free of charge on this creative commons website. Thank you to those producers who created those sounds. The sound design itself, I did. It’s another gift of this podcast to me that I’m learning so much about sound editing. So, thank you FreeSound.org, thank you to the three producers who created our background sounds. I hope that I did justice to our story today. 

It had been over a year since I read that story before hearing Nik’s version. I didn’t realize until it was over that my jaw was clenched with anxiety. I can’t decide which character I feel worst for. Our dearly departed, having to watch his family move on without him, his son for losing his father twice (once to death and a second time to darkness), or the widow for losing two romantic partners, the just as he recovers from the first. 

Once again, thank you, Nik, for sharing your talents for this story. You’ve become a regular here on Story Time with Darcie! I’ll be looking for the next project I can bring you in for. You can hear more of Nik in Bleak December Inc's "The Wickerman" and "Return to Frightenstein" or back here as soon as I can make it happen! 

If you would like to become a voice on Story Time with Darcie, please, reach out! My eclectic stories need a variety of voices, and, while Nik has a variety of voices on his own, yours will also be a welcome addition! 

Thank you for listening. To read more of my stories and perhaps inspire my next one, join me at my new website: www.darcietkelly.me. If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of Musings: A Collection of Short Stories, get in touch on facebook at @DarcieTKelly. or email me (email4darciekelly(at)gmail.com). And please, subscribe on your podcatcher of choice for future episodes of Story Time With Darcie. 

Until next month, Happy Halloween, stay well, and keep smiling. 

Direct Link to text version of Diary of a Dead Man: Birth of a Poltergeist.