The Tale of the Tell-Tale Heart

Low-budget movie mogul Roger Corman sets out to produce a papier maché blockbuster adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale of psychological suspense. Loosely following the plot of the original, Poe is tasked with taking care of a Scottish castle belonging to a certain formerly popular children's author. But uh oh! His wacky pal Stephen King arrives... with his all-amateur band, the Rock Bottom Remainders, in tow! When an electrical blackout results in the Pals smashing a priceless collection of literary awards, it's a race to get the castle presentable again before the gender-critical reptilian returns!

Content notes: swearing, raised voices, sexual references, loud noises, discussion of transphobia, death including drowning. Additional CN, 2025: Neil Gaiman is a character in this episode, which was written, produced and released in 2023, before the stories about Gaiman came to light.

CAST:

• Edgar Allan Poe — RODRIGO BORGES
• Mary Shelley — REBECCA D'SOUZA
• Clive Barker — SISTER INDICA
• Dean Koontz — WREN MONTGOMERY
• Stephen King — JASON ROBINSON
• HP Lovecraft — ROBIN JOHNSON

with

• Roger Corman — BITTER KARELLA
• Neil Gaiman/Dario Argento — DEXTER HOWARD
• David DeCoteau — BRAD BARNES
• Patricia Highsmith — KATE DAVOLI
• Lord Byron — JOEL A.S. BUTLER
• Percy Shelley — LOU SUTCLIFFE
• Secretary — MARNIE WARNER

and special guest villain

• HAILEY PIPER as She Who Must Not Be Named
  • Hailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, A Light Most Hateful, The Worm and His Kings series, and other books of dark fiction. She is also the author of over one hundred short stories appearing in Pseudopod, Vastarien, Cast of Wonders, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and various other publications. She lives with her wife in Maryland, where their occult rituals are secret. Find Hailey at haileypiper.com.

Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart is available in Volume 2 of his collected works on Project Gutenberg at https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2148/pg2148-images.html

A transcript of this episode can be found at https://midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/s01e08-the-tale-of-the-tell-tale-heart/transcript

Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals is a work of social and literary satire. All characters are fictitious, especially the real ones; any resemblance to real-life people, organizations or events, other than with satirical intent, is coincidental; any elements of work not in the public domain are used for the purpose of parody and comment; and no challenge is intended to the ownership or validity of any intellectual property. The Midnight Pals is the creation of Bitter Karella ©

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