Dark Tales: Spooky Stories for Halloween - Episode 16

Who's ready for Halloween? This show features spooky tales told at Portsmouth Halloween Parade fundraisers held at 3S Artspace. If you haven’t been to Portsmouth, NH at Halloween time, it's worth the trip. The city goes all out with a community-run Halloween parade that nothing short of an impressive show of creativity and creepiness. Anyone can join the parade, which is probably wide it draws hundreds of participants, musicians and floats, and about 10 fold the number of spectators.

The first story on this episode is from Kristen Ringman, a fantastic horror and fantasy writer, who shares a story from her book I Stole You, Stories from the Fae, which was a Lambda Literary Finalist in LGBTQ Science fiction, fantasy and horror. This story is a mesmerizing tale about a woodland supernatural creature longing for human connection and the consequences that come from trying to seek it.

The next story we have is a story from Long Story Short advisory board member Mark Michael Adams with this "true" story about exploring an abandoned prison at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. This prison is a looming castle over the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine, made famous for being one of the most fearsome military brigs in all of the armed services. Known as the Alcatraz of the East, legend has it that if anyone escaped, the Marine guarding that prisoner would have to serve the remainder of his sentence. The prison closed in 1974 and has since been empty--with plenty of local conjecture as to what secrets might be inside. Here, Mark talks about a night he and his friends dared enter the secure facility and the supernatural occurrences they witnessed there.

The Portsmouth Halloween Parade is a community-funded event that relies on donations. Please consider making a donation at https://www.portsmouthhalloweenparade.org/ or attending one of their spooky fundraisers:

Fri Oct 1 – Rock Show @ Press Room, 8pm

Thu Oct 21 – SCARY-oke @ Daniel Street Tavern (aka D Street), 9pm

Fri Oct 22 – Movie Night @ Liar’s Bench, 8pm

Sat Oct 23 – Pumpkin SMASH @ Portsmouth Farmer’s Market*, 8am – 1pm

Sun Oct 24 – Halloween Costume Paddle Contest @ Pierce Island, 11am – 12pm

Wed Oct 27 – Flatbread Community Night @ Flatbread Portsmouth, 3pm – 9pm

Thu Oct 28 – Undead Beat Night @ Book and Bar, 7pm

For the most up-to-date information, check their Facebook page.

For more information about Long Story Short and the live shows, go to https://longstoryshortpod.com.