0:04

You know what time it is. That's

0:07

right. It's whatever time you're listening to this. And

0:09

you know what month it is. Spooky

0:14

month. It's the month for thrills

0:16

and or chills. And I have

0:19

two spooky things for you today. The

0:21

first is that right now, as we speak,

0:24

the Night Vale live show is on tour.

0:27

This is a brand new Night Vale live show called

0:29

The Attic that has never before

0:31

been heard anywhere else. It is designed

0:34

to not require any knowledge of the show at all. So you

0:36

do not have to be caught up and you can bring your friend

0:38

who's never heard the show and they will have a good time. I

0:41

know your friend. They'll like this. Tonight

0:43

we are in Boston, tomorrow in Chicago, then

0:45

Madison, and then a bunch of other cities.

0:48

Yesterday, we rehearsed this show and

0:50

it rules. I'm really excited

0:52

for you to see it. It's spooky and funny

0:54

and a good time. Go to welcometonightvale.com

0:57

and click on live shows for the full schedule

1:00

and for tickets. The second is that

1:02

I, Joseph Fink, wrote a novel

1:04

called The Halloween Moon, and

1:06

it is perfect for this time of year.

1:08

This is a novel for anyone from the age of 9

1:11

up. Kids will love it. Adults

1:13

will love it. It is about Esther Gold, who

1:15

loves Halloween more than anyone. Until

1:17

one year, Halloween night just won't

1:20

end. I wrote the book that I would have loved

1:22

when I was Esther's age. And I hope that you and

1:24

anyone younger you know will love it too. Celebrate

1:27

the season with The Halloween Moon, available

1:29

wherever you get your books. And hey,

1:32

boo!

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2:07

It's okay to judge a book by its cover,

2:10

especially if that cover is made from

2:12

questionable leather. Welcome

2:15

to Night Vale. I

2:43

thought it might be fun to bring our listening community

2:45

closer together by hosting a regular

2:48

book club, wherein we all read

2:50

the same book and then have a discussion here

2:52

on the air about it. It's kind of

2:54

like in third grade when we all

2:56

had to read the 784-page tome, the

3:00

Metaphysics of Unity and Collective Consciousness

3:03

by 18th century philosopher Jurgen

3:05

von Schlitzenhaus, and then discuss

3:07

it in front of the class while a deep voice from

3:09

a loudspeaker gave commentary

3:11

along the way. Remember

3:14

how much closer we all got in elementary

3:16

school because of that helpful feedback?

3:19

Remember when the loudspeaker would shout things like,

3:22

wrong, and ethical crime

3:25

at us and we would start crying and

3:27

none of our classmates would speak up for us because

3:29

of fear of retribution, especially a

3:31

one-week exile to the arena of re-understanding?

3:36

Yes, reading truly is fundamental.

3:39

So let's start a book

3:41

club. For that, I've

3:43

brought my friend and city council member,

3:46

Tamika Flynn. Hi Tamika.

3:48

Hi Cecil, thanks for having me.

3:51

Hey, don't wander off.

3:53

Just stay in the studio, okay? Oh,

3:56

I see you've brought along the lost boy that

3:58

you're fostering. The one Carlos

4:00

and I found in Grove Park last month.

4:03

Yeah, he's been great, but it's

4:05

also been a real learning curve for me. He's

4:08

very curious, always wandering off. He

4:10

wants to see what's in the dumpster. He wants to

4:12

know where the tunnel off Route 800 goes. He

4:15

wants to see what's at the bottom of the pit of fun.

4:18

The pit of fun reopened? Yep.

4:22

That's not good. No, I

4:24

think we're going to have to reinstitute

4:26

the lottery. Yeek!

4:28

Well, it is our civic duty

4:30

after all.

4:31

So Tamika, tell

4:34

our listeners what book we're talking about

4:36

today. I thought we should start

4:39

our book club with a classic of American folk

4:41

literature.

4:42

Less Misarray Blaze by

4:44

famed Chicago writer Victor Hugo.

4:47

Oh, I'm so excited. Now,

4:49

I've never read this novel before, but

4:51

I did see the musical back in

4:53

the 90s. I remember

4:55

there was a spinning stage, a giant

4:58

chandelier that crashed down, and a

5:01

witch who sang a song about meat pies?

5:03

Yes,

5:04

the musical was a faithful retelling

5:06

of the novel. Victor Hugo, in fact,

5:09

wrote all the music for it, but instruments

5:11

hadn't been invented in the 1800s, so

5:14

it wasn't fully staged until 1980,

5:15

when the TR-808 drum

5:18

machine was developed and music finally

5:20

became possible. Sadly,

5:23

Hugo never got to see his masterpiece realized.

5:26

Well, let's get into it, shall we?

5:28

Hey, where did

5:31

he go?

5:32

I'm sorry, Cecil,

5:33

he wandered off again. Hang on.

5:35

Sure thing. While

5:37

Tamika is looking for the boy, let's

5:40

get to some breaking news. The

5:42

National Weather Service has issued a high

5:45

winds warning for our area in

5:47

effect till midnight tonight. They're

5:49

expecting wind gusts of up to 60 miles

5:52

per hour here in the valley. They

5:54

have also issued a sandstorm watch,

5:57

though they don't believe it will get to that point. they

6:00

do caution, we should all be

6:02

prepared to kill our doppelgangers should

6:04

they arrive

6:05

in a blinding cloud of dust once again.

6:09

Right, let's hope not.

6:10

I can't do it. We

6:12

should win the ball again and more to people who

6:14

have to deal with two boys. That

6:16

sounds impossible.

6:18

The National Weather Service also announced they

6:21

developed a new sport called Flotiball,

6:24

wherein they attach themselves to weather balloons and

6:26

then throw balls at each other. They're

6:28

especially excited to play the game today when

6:31

the winds are super volatile. Weather

6:34

conditions make the game, said NWS

6:37

spokesman Matt McLaren. Think

6:39

about how fun it is to watch football in the snow

6:42

or basketball during a tropical storm

6:44

or ice hockey in a flash flood. So

6:48

everyone be careful out there. Oh

6:51

good, she found him. Yeah,

6:54

he was trying to pet the cats in the

6:55

station bathroom,

6:57

but they were all hissing and swiping at him. He

6:59

didn't seem affected by it at all. He's

7:01

such an enigma. You know,

7:04

when we chose Les Misarray Blace for

7:06

our book club, I knew I'd have to go to

7:08

the library to check it out. Ooh,

7:11

the library. Right, but you

7:13

know me, I'm always ready for a showdown

7:15

with those librarians. I got my

7:17

bandolier, my machete, some librarian

7:20

spray, and my community

7:21

radio tote bag full of flash grenades.

7:24

I was all set for an epic battle, and

7:26

I was extra prepared because I

7:28

had to take the boy with me. But when

7:31

we entered the library, nothing.

7:34

I could hear the librarians slithering

7:36

around

7:36

the staff. I saw them skittering

7:38

up the wall. This is normal stuff,

7:40

of course. They get into their hunting

7:43

positions when people come in to

7:45

find a good read, but as

7:47

we snuck forward, it sounded as if

7:49

the librarians were moving

7:50

away from us.

7:53

Like they were scared. Well,

7:55

to be fair, Tamika, you do have

7:57

a reputation. Right?

7:59

I thought that too at first, but

8:02

their fear of me has always been a respectful

8:05

fear. They still engage me in combat.

8:08

They still try to sink their pincers

8:09

into me. But they know

8:11

they can't be sloppy about it. But this, this

8:15

was different. As

8:17

we walked through the stacks, not a single

8:19

librarian pounced. In fact, I make

8:21

eye contact with one. It was hiding just

8:24

behind the spiritual

8:24

self-help section. It

8:26

glowered at me, and then it caught

8:29

sight of this little guy. And when

8:31

it did, the librarian raced

8:33

out of there. Uh, speaking of the little guy,

8:36

where did the boy go? Again? I'm

8:39

sorry, Cecil. No, no worries. I have

8:41

a child myself. It's not easy.

8:44

Take your time.

8:46

While Tamika's away, this would be a good

8:48

time to have a look at traffic.

8:51

The high winds have created quite a bit of debris

8:54

on the roadways. Over on Galloway,

8:56

right in front of the Chipotle, there's a pile

8:58

of lumber that was blown off a

9:00

flatbed truck. On Somerset

9:03

and Earl, near the dog park, there's a glowing

9:05

outline of a woman in Victorian

9:07

roads. And at

9:09

Mcdowell and Maple, two dogs are

9:12

tugging at a sock that gusted in from a

9:14

nearby county. The dogs won't

9:16

leave the road at all until they determine

9:18

the rightful winner of the sock. These

9:21

winds are bad, folks, so drive

9:23

carefully.

9:24

Okay, I'm back. While that

9:26

was close... What happened? Well, I

9:29

found him digging in your station's supply closet.

9:31

He had uncoiled all of the aux cables. Oh,

9:34

that'll be easy to put back. He also

9:36

found a bunch of foam microphone covers, which

9:39

he was trying to eat. You know, they don't

9:41

taste as good as they look. But he also

9:43

discovered a box of rusty switch

9:45

blades.

9:46

Why do you have a box of old switch blades

9:49

in your supply closet? Oh,

9:50

sound effects. Of course.

9:52

Well, I found the boy holding

9:54

one of the knives and droning... Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif!

9:59

While grinning ears...

9:59

to ear. It was the first time I'd seen

10:02

him smile. Aww. It was

10:04

very cute, but also

10:06

very scary. Aww. I

10:09

got it out of his hands just in time.

10:11

Who knows what he would have done with it.

10:13

How do you manage having

10:14

a young kid, Cecil? There's no

10:17

one right answer to parenting. You

10:19

just, you know, find your own way.

10:22

Also, I have lots of anxiety and very

10:25

little sleep. Those two things help

10:27

a lot too. Well,

10:30

let's finally talk about Les

10:33

Miserables. Though I think

10:35

the correct pronunciation in the Chicago

10:38

accent is Les Miserables.

10:43

Okay. The

10:45

book opens

10:46

on a young Jean Valjean, a Southside

10:49

kid who had to steal bread loaves to

10:50

pass the time. And this upsets the mayor,

10:53

Tony Javert, who is very

10:55

rude. Oh, but I love the scene where

10:57

Valjean gets caught. Javert's

10:59

all like, nipping a wee loaf

11:02

are we lad? I love that Midwestern

11:04

dialect. So, Valjean

11:06

gets arrested and spends his whole

11:09

time in prison atoning for what he's

11:11

done.

11:11

True, but while forgiveness of oneself

11:14

and others is a central theme in this novel,

11:16

we can't forget that he also uses

11:18

his time in prison to start an improv

11:21

comedy group. Oh

11:23

no. Yes, it's part of the moral complexity.

11:26

While Valjean is a good man, the

11:28

book still depicts him doing terrible things like

11:31

improv comedy. The

11:34

improv troupe will come into play later in the book when

11:36

the character Eponine gets introduced.

11:38

Oh, that was a really sad

11:41

part. She paid so much

11:43

money for all of those classes and

11:45

never got cast in a single comedy

11:48

showcase.

11:49

So she became a street urchin.

12:00

Wow, okay, well, might

12:03

as well get to our sponsored ads.

12:06

We have a new sponsor to our show, Dave's

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12:13

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12:16

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12:18

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12:21

with lots of puns, all kinds

12:23

of kites. Yep, we're quickly

12:25

becoming kite experts and honestly,

12:28

we're the only kite store in Night Vale, so

12:30

where else are you gonna go? We don't even

12:33

know how to make kites or exactly

12:35

what they look like. We just opened this

12:37

morning because of the wind. We're nothing

12:39

if not opportunists and we've certainly

12:42

never tried to make kites before. So

12:44

come on over to Dave's Kites and tell

12:47

us what a kite's supposed to look like. Custom

12:50

kites. That's it! We'll

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make you a custom kite. You

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just carefully and slowly explain

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what kind of materials to use and

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how exactly to put it together and

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we will make you a bespoke

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kite. Dave's Kites.

13:08

What have we gotten ourselves into? Well,

13:11

he didn't go far this time at least. I

13:13

found him in your control booth. He seems

13:15

so interested in your radio station.

13:18

Maybe he'll grow up to be a DJ

13:21

just like his Uncle Cecil.

13:22

I'm not a DJ, Tamika. I

13:24

am a journalist.

13:26

Same thing. So,

13:29

we have to talk about the way this book ends.

13:31

What did you make of Javert's decision? I

13:34

was honestly shocked.

13:35

Oh, of course. It's one

13:37

of the most talked about twists

13:40

in literature. Somehow Javert

13:42

went back in time to stop Valjean

13:44

from stealing that bread in the first place, but

13:47

in the process, he unknowingly affected

13:50

all future outcomes in the world.

13:53

Simple butterfly effect stuff, but what's so

13:55

tragic is that when he gets back to the future...

13:58

Oh, oh, fun trivia.

14:00

Did you know that Back to the Future was the

14:02

original title of this novel?

14:04

I did not. It's such

14:06

a great title, but

14:07

a little spoilery? Because

14:10

at the end, Gewehr finds himself in an eternal

14:13

loop of returning to Valjean, stealing

14:15

the bread, trying constantly to

14:17

have the moment occur exactly as

14:20

it originally did. But every

14:22

time Gewehr gets back to the future, he

14:24

sees that the world is very different.

14:27

And it's so gut-wrenching because

14:29

originally, everything turned out so

14:32

happy for everyone in the book. Cosette

14:34

became the first woman congressman in Illinois.

14:37

Marius opened his own bowling alley in Akron.

14:40

Eppenin got a special street

14:41

urchin scholarship from UW.

14:43

Even Valjean finally founded

14:45

that improv company, mmm, Second

14:48

City?

14:49

Oh no! Yes.

14:51

While Valjean is ultimately

14:53

a redeemable person, he still

14:56

ends up persisting with something as absolutely

14:58

unforgivable as improv comedy.

15:01

But by trying to prevent a

15:03

single small crime, Gewehr's

15:06

time meddling turned everyone into sex

15:08

workers and dead soldiers during the

15:11

French Revolution. And now

15:13

he's doomed to an eternity of trying

15:15

to right his own wrongs.

15:17

What a powerful- What? Where

15:20

did he go? I don't

15:22

know. Oh no, there he is.

15:24

Get down from there! Get down!

15:27

Listeners, the boy has gone outside where

15:29

he is climbing our radio tower. Goodness.

15:32

He must be 40 feet in the air now. I

15:34

see Tamika going after him. She's climbing

15:36

up but she's nowhere near as quick and- Oh,

15:38

these winds are so strong, I can't look! Listeners,

15:42

while I wait for what I hope is a daring

15:44

rescue,

15:45

you can listen to the weather.

15:51

Thanks for watching! You

16:04

only see her in

16:09

the heat of me, she's trying to hide,

16:12

never get to kiss with me so many

16:14

nights. If she

16:20

wants to shoot a big fight,

16:24

she knows her cold red is fine,

16:27

you can be wrong to make

16:30

her feel right. Maybe

16:35

it ain't lost but it can be

16:37

enough, lost

16:40

now She's

16:43

trying to fill you up from an

16:45

empty can She's

16:48

only gonna let you drown

16:51

She can feel her way

16:55

She's a father in the

16:57

day A

16:59

father who lets you lose your way

17:04

We should let you know The

17:14

love that I see in your baby's eyes

17:18

Wearing a dress

17:22

Who I'm a Christian

17:24

child She'll

17:30

back down and leave me

17:32

too much She's

17:34

been in the club You

17:38

want me to keep it in Maybe

17:45

it ain't lost but it can be

17:47

enough, lost

17:49

now She'll

17:52

fill you up from an

17:54

empty can She's

17:57

only gonna let you drown She

18:00

can hear her always saying,

18:04

she's a liar in the

18:07

name, a liar

18:09

when she's a zombie. But

18:16

you can't go on for no

18:19

more. The

18:24

end now, oh you

18:26

and sister. You're

18:31

a zombie in the

18:34

world's eye. Take

18:39

on my gun, take on

18:41

my gun, take on my

18:43

boy. She

19:01

can hear her always

19:04

saying, she's

19:06

a liar in the name,

19:09

a liar when

19:11

she says your name. She

19:17

can hear her always

19:20

saying, she's

19:22

a liar in the name,

19:26

a liar when she says your name.

19:31

Oh she says your name. You

19:41

only fear me in the half a life,

19:44

something else to try to find.

19:53

The boy had made it all the way to

19:55

the top of our tower, almost 100 feet

19:58

in the air. On

20:00

a single narrow ladder, Tamika

20:03

climbed after him. At the very

20:05

tip, she found the boy with the whole

20:08

of his body wrapped around the transmitter

20:10

itself. She thought he was frightened

20:13

from the height and was hanging on for

20:15

dear life. But when she reached

20:17

him, she saw he was making a dull,

20:20

undulating hum, like he

20:23

himself were transmitting the radio

20:25

waves. He hugged the

20:27

transmitter tight, like a baby koala

20:30

to a raccoon it thinks is its mother.

20:33

Tamika pulled him away and told him that they had to

20:35

get down. He resisted.

20:38

He said that he loved the feeling of

20:40

that transmitter, that when he touched

20:42

it, he understood everything.

20:46

He understood the wind, the earth,

20:49

the stars, and the far reaches

20:51

of space. He even understood

20:54

himself. He wanted

20:56

to bring the transmitter home to carry the

20:58

magical object with him. Tamika

21:01

refused, but when she took his hand

21:03

to begin the long, precarious journey

21:05

back down the ladder, he pulled away

21:08

from her. And as he did, he

21:11

lost his footing. In hell.

21:14

Tamika caught him by his legs. The force

21:16

of his catch set Tamika herself tumbling

21:19

backwards, with only the backs of her

21:21

knees on a ladder rung, keeping

21:23

them aloft. Upside down

21:26

and losing strength in her hands, Tamika

21:28

thought, this is it. We're done,

21:31

but I can't let go. Even if it means

21:33

my own doom, I can't

21:36

let go. Just

21:39

when she couldn't hold him any longer, she

21:41

saw it. A weather balloon zipping

21:44

past. Tied to this weather

21:46

balloon was National Weather Service spokesman

21:48

Matt McLaren, who was not even looking at

21:50

the stranded Tamika and child. He was

21:52

chucking balls at other guys on weather balloons

21:54

and shouting floaty ball every time he hit

21:57

one of them. Always the quick

21:59

thinker. Tamika kept one hand on

22:01

the boy and with her other hand grabbed

22:03

onto McLaren. This

22:06

momentum pulled Tamika and the boy

22:08

right off the tower and they dangled

22:10

from the weather balloon until the weight dragged

22:12

them back down safely to

22:15

the ground. As they reached

22:17

the earth, McLaren said, you

22:19

know that's a foul, right? I get two free

22:22

floaty flings for that. Tamika

22:25

just hugged him and said, sure, guy, you should

22:27

do that. So

22:30

she took the boy by the hand and said, let's

22:32

go home and read a book quietly

22:35

together. The boy nodded and

22:37

asked if they could read something happier than the one

22:40

about the miserable musical people. Tamika

22:42

said, sure. What

22:44

do you think about reading the Joy Luck Club?

22:48

So this concludes our first edition

22:50

of Book Club. It's

22:53

been an exciting debut. We'll

22:55

have to do it again. And you know, I think

22:58

Tamika had a good idea. Let's read Amy

23:00

Tan's The Joy Luck Club for next

23:02

time. It's so much more pleasant

23:04

than Les Miserables. It

23:07

sounds like it's about a group of people who experience

23:09

nothing but joy and luck.

23:12

Stay tuned next for the cracking open

23:15

of a spine. Probably

23:17

a book's spine.

23:20

Hopefully.

23:21

Good night. Night Vale. Good

23:24

night.

23:33

This show is brought to you by BetterHelp. Sometimes

23:36

I'll be in front of my computer on a deadline and

23:38

think, just right. You have an outline,

23:40

you have your story, you just have to type the

23:42

words and I can't. My brain talks

23:44

me out of it and I end up cleaning my files

23:47

or making a snack or just working on something

23:49

else instead. It feels like my brain is

23:51

sometimes fighting against me, which is where

23:53

talk therapy helps so much to take

23:56

action for what's good for me in the long

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run. BetterHelp can help you.

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to find the right someone. BetterHelp

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is customized online therapy that offers video

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phone and even live chat sessions with your

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therapist. So you don't have to see anyone on camera

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if you don't want to. Make your brain your

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friend with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com

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slash night veil today to get 10%

24:15

off your first month. That's betterhelp,

24:18

H-E-L-P.com slash night

24:20

veil.

24:27

Welcome to Night Veil as the production of Night Veil

24:29

presents. It is written by Joseph Fink

24:31

and Jeffrey Cranor and produced by Disparition.

24:34

The voice of Tameka Flynn is Symphony

24:37

Sanders. The voice of Night Veil

24:39

is Cecil Baldwin. Original music

24:42

by Disparition. All of it can be found

24:44

at disparition.bandcamp.com. This

24:48

episode's

24:48

weather was Half Light

24:50

by Juliana Finch. Find out more

24:52

at julianafinch.com and

24:55

see her on tour with us as the live

24:57

weather in just a few days. Comments,

24:59

questions, email us at info

25:01

at welcometonightveil.com or

25:04

follow us on Twitter, I guess, at Night

25:06

Veil Radio and on Instagram

25:08

at nightveilofficial. We now have a TikTok

25:11

at nightveilofficial as well. Most

25:13

importantly,

25:13

check out welcometonightveil.com where

25:16

we have a twice monthly mailing list that

25:18

is the best way to keep up to date directly

25:20

from us to you. You can

25:22

learn about things like our brand new live

25:24

show, The Attic, touring right now.

25:28

And today's proverb, dance like no one

25:30

is watching. Just pretend

25:32

you're completely invisible. Maybe

25:35

do a heist too. See what you can get away

25:37

with. Hi,

25:55

I'm Jeffrey Cranor and I wanted to tell you about

25:57

one of my other podcasts, Random Number

25:59

Generations.

25:59

Raider Horror Podcast number 9.

26:02

So the thing is, my friend Cecil Baldwin,

26:04

the voice of Night Vale loves horror

26:07

movies and he's helping make the genre more

26:09

approachable for me and hopefully for you too,

26:11

one film at a time, in a random order.

26:14

Are you squeamish about horror movies? Look, I get

26:16

it and no worries. Just listen in and we'll

26:18

tell you everything that happens. But do you love

26:20

horror movies? Well that's great too. Watch along

26:23

with us each week. We've got nearly 200 episodes

26:26

covering everything from The Shining

26:28

to Leprechaun 4 in space.

26:29

I'm serious. We go in a random

26:32

order. So check out Random Horror 9 wherever

26:35

you get podcasts.