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1:39

Hello, and welcome to Christmas Eve

1:41

edition of gifts for the wicked. Today,

1:43

I'm presenting two short tails that were a bit too

1:46

long to be dabbles. The idea

1:48

was to give you all a daily tale in the tradition

1:50

of advent calendars, each day

1:52

between Thanksgiving and Christmas had a small

1:54

treat leading up to the big day. I'm

1:57

guessing most of you know a dreble is a

1:59

complete story in a hundred words.

2:02

And I hope you enjoyed the daily tales.

2:04

If you'd like a video version of this episode,

2:06

check out our YouTube channel. Sincere

2:09

thank you to those of you who are supporting the

2:11

show. Without you, this show would not

2:13

be possible. Our authors and everyone

2:15

else involved in making the show Thank you

2:17

for your support of this show and of

2:19

Independent horror fiction. If you're not

2:21

yet supporting the show, you can do that at patreon

2:23

dot com wicked library.

2:25

For as little as three dollars a month, you help

2:27

make the show you love possible and get

2:29

fun rewards. A lot of hard work and

2:31

money goes into making The Wicked Library, and

2:33

I really do rely on the support to help us

2:35

make sure no one works for

2:38

free. If you're unable to support the show financially,

2:40

please give us the gift of a five star

2:42

rating and review on Apple podcasts. This

2:45

helps others find the show. Thank

2:47

you to Jesse Hock for the amazing cover

2:49

art featured throughout the series. And

2:51

without further ado, please enjoy

2:53

your Christmas Eve with two dark tales.

2:56

Jessica do you see what I see,

2:58

scored by Nico Vitez. And

3:01

my tail, you'll tide ride.

3:08

Do you see what I see by

3:10

Jessica McHugh? She

3:13

died alone. And a house full

3:15

of people. While

3:17

music and laughter swelled like cigar

3:20

smoke in the other rooms of the Blackwood

3:22

home, Areeze room

3:24

was silent. Even

3:26

the snow on her empty window box fell

3:28

louder than her final breath, and

3:31

she was glad of it. Snow

3:33

had such a short time to tell its

3:35

story, and she'd had plenty.

3:39

She'd lived as an ornament, like

3:41

a snowflake and frozen lace,

3:44

and it hadn't served her well. The

3:47

time had come. To melt.

3:50

The annual Blackwood Christmas party

3:52

stretched on with no one wondering

3:54

what became a Marie. Why

3:56

would they? She'd baked cookies

3:59

and hung stockings. She'd

4:01

set out the gilded crystal punch bowl.

4:03

What else could she do but fade into the background?

4:06

The rarely thought of anyone but themselves,

4:09

and Jerome was only attentive

4:11

when he had something to hide, which

4:13

he usually did. With

4:16

cocktails fueling the festivities, the

4:18

family's blind spots bled through them

4:20

like the feathered ink on a blank check.

4:23

That's where Marie hit. To make her

4:25

preparations. She wasn't

4:28

hasty. In the weeks before the

4:30

party, she waved red flags like

4:32

a matador, inviting someone to

4:34

change her mind, but her

4:36

efforts went largely unnoticed. Jerome

4:39

thanked her for the lack of gift

4:41

debris that year. But didn't

4:43

connect the lack of debris to

4:45

the lack of gifts. The

4:47

kids expressed gratitude as she

4:49

was at nagging them about watering the Christmas

4:52

tree, but no one noticed it was dead

4:54

by the morning of the party. Brown

4:57

needles littered the tree skirt. Which

5:00

was just one piece of holiday decor

5:02

she used to cover the tubes running

5:04

from the gas guzzling beasts in the

5:06

garage throughout the Blackwood

5:08

home. TENCEL, Murray

5:10

discovered, hit a multitude of

5:12

sins. Alcohol

5:15

too. Though she didn't drink

5:17

that day, the Blackwoods would

5:19

blame the cocktails for every

5:21

blush and dizzy spell, if

5:23

only to explain their own, those

5:25

spirits were involved pin

5:28

holes in the tubing were harder at

5:30

work as Marie Woosley made her

5:32

way to the bedroom. To

5:34

the drowsy end, the family

5:36

remained blissfully ignorant. To

5:38

her plan, her death, and

5:41

to the first three missus Blackwoods

5:43

watching them choke on air. The

5:46

title of missus Blackwood was

5:48

ephemeral as snow and

5:51

just as burdened by beauty that

5:53

dazzled in warm than unmade itself

5:55

within a season. And

5:57

like snow, what they left

5:59

behind was drastically different

6:02

from what they'd been at their peak. Something

6:05

once so lovely and unique became

6:08

filthy, slush, more

6:10

cursed than memory. More

6:12

stain than ghosts. The

6:15

Blackwood home was rife with stains

6:17

Jerome and the kids were to

6:19

concede to sea in life and

6:21

had followed them into death.

6:23

They couldn't see the police who discovered

6:25

their bodies two days later nor

6:28

the former matriarchs that can fired against

6:30

them. They couldn't even see each

6:32

other as they walked from

6:34

room to room. They'd

6:36

woken alone. In a household

6:39

of people and they would

6:41

never know.

6:53

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Get the Riker We're

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dealing. Yolthide

7:13

Ride by Daniel Foisett.

7:25

Lock your doors. It

7:27

doesn't matter. I have

7:30

the children. It doesn't

7:33

matter. I

7:35

am coming. Now

7:38

is the time of the long dark

7:40

nights of winter when spirits

7:43

howl at your windows in the chill

7:45

air. You feel

7:47

the cold and the dark.

7:50

Deep inside, you

7:52

feel the primal fear.

7:56

Trim your trees, lights

7:58

your candles, sing your

8:00

songs, pretend

8:02

to feel safe. I

8:06

am coming. My

8:10

minions have finished their long work.

8:13

I've watched as they fill my

8:15

dark carriage with sack upon

8:17

sack of gifts.

8:20

I dance as they attack my great beasts

8:23

with leather and bridal

8:25

and rains. I

8:27

laugh as the bee snorked

8:29

and snicker and pranks in place.

8:35

Gather for protection,

8:38

laugh to cover your fear,

8:42

drink, to bring

8:44

sleep, pray

8:47

against the night. I

8:51

am coming Now,

8:54

my fire burns laden

8:57

with golfer and fairer. And

9:00

missile. The holy smoke

9:02

rises and I call to the ancient ones

9:04

who sired me. The

9:06

sky ripples and glows

9:09

with ethereal light. The

9:11

barrier thins, and I prepare

9:13

for my entry into

9:15

your realm. I

9:18

come now. From the great

9:20

north, I ride through the dark night.

9:22

I soar. I come hunting

9:24

as you sleep into

9:26

your home. I

9:29

am here. You

9:33

sleep. Your

9:36

children sleep. Did

9:39

you leave offerings? The

10:11

Wicked

10:11

Library is created by Night Story Studios

10:14

LLC. All rights reserved.

10:16

Merry Christmas and to all,

10:18

a Dark Knight.