Welcome to Night Vale is a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, reporting on the strange events that occur within it. The series was created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. It has been published by Night Vale Presents since March 15, 2015.

This series has inspired my writing and concepts ALOT since i started listening (probably 2-3 years ago). It is an intriguing, terrifying experience, but you will love every minute. I’m posting this now with the knowledge of the USA’s next president and feel that if you want to be scared out of your mind because of Trump’s rule, find solace in Nightvale.

It follows host of the town’s community radio station, Cecil Palmer (voiced by the very talented Cecil Baldwin) and a HUGE amount has happened in the 5 years this show has been running.

I was first shown it by my Fiance and after a few episodes i was hooked! I think what is most interesting is the connection we, as listeners, make with a voice when we cannot picture a face.

Like the late Terry Wogan or the fiction ‘Three-Dog’ (Fallout: New Vegas) a radio personality only has their voice to connect with us, and Cecil is no exception. There is a certain rhythm to these hosts voice that means you don’t even have to listen directly to what they are saying, but you know its them, a lull from the radio

The language is beautiful, witty and clever, with story-lines that can be dormant for some time (20 episodes say) and suddenly they are the most prominent thing in existence. The style of storytelling is very similar to Lovecraft’s horror, but the comic releif is something to be admired. I, like so many listener’s of the podcast, wish i could pack up and move to that friendly desert community, be shouted at and watched for being an interloper, yet at the same time I wouldn’t be able to hack it (I’d be terrified).

Favourite episode (s): Story about them, Story about you, Whose a good boy (part 1 & 2).

How it inspired me:

The podcast inspired some writing that myself and Dominic did whilst in our 3rd year (you can hear Neverware in a previous post), but I want to explore more with space, sound and connection of voice and body.

I want to write a podcast series similar to this about my own fictional stories following a town, but with a twist. YTR. FM (You’re Town Radio) is a personal station, hosted and broadcast directly to you, telling you everything you need to know about who you really are, and your exploits. It will develop along with my project (including a video game, various concept art, books and performance) and have specially created episodes that will be performed live to audiences and will utilize the space of where we perform in an interesting way. Stay tuned for more info!

Below I have linked Nightvale’s YouTube channel, where you can watch videos with only a picture and get lost in the wonderfully weird world of Nightvale, start at the beginning and I can (mostly) guarantee you wont want to stop listening.

You can subscribe to Welcome To Nightvale’s streams on Itunes, Spreaker or listen on YouTube (the link I have provided only has up to ep88 for some reason, you can find episodes after that online though)

Happy listening!