Series Recommendation: Ominous Thrills

Summary

Podcast Title: How I Died
Host/Author: Audiohm Media
Episode: Series Recommendation: Ominous Thrills
Release Date: December 16, 2024

---

Overview

In the episode "Series Recommendation: Ominous Thrills," How I Died delves deep into the eerie and captivating world of Ominous Thrills, a multi-award-winning full-cast anthology podcast specializing in horror, thrillers, and suspense. Hosted by Audiohm Media, this episode not only recommends Ominous Thrills but also provides an immersive glimpse into one of its standout episodes, "The Final Cut."

---

Introduction to Ominous Thrills

The episode begins with a brief advertisement segment, interrupted by the main content at [01:32]. The narrator enthusiastically introduces Ominous Thrills, highlighting its accolade-winning status and exceptional sound design.

• Narrator: "...the sound design is phenomenal. Just listen to the first minute after this and you'll hear some of the lengths that they go to to create this immersive sound..."

This sets the stage for listeners, emphasizing the podcast's ability to create a fully immersive auditory experience that is both spine-chilling and engaging.

---

Spotlight on "The Final Cut"

The heart of the episode centers around a detailed exploration of "The Final Cut," an episode from Ominous Thrills. The narrator provides a synopsis, emphasizing the high production values and the necessity of headphones to fully appreciate the soundscapes.

• Narrator: "...this episode follows true crime executive Lacy Ridgway as she coaxes a reclusive, bestselling horror author to write an original story and unwittingly invites a malevolent force into her life..."

Key Highlights:

1. Immersive Sound Design: The episode is lauded for its exceptional sound design, which plays a crucial role in building suspense and enhancing the horror elements.

2. Engaging Plot: The story revolves around Lacy Ridgway, a senior producer grappling with professional and personal challenges, and SV Mallon, a reclusive author with a dark past.

3. Character Dynamics: The interactions between Lacy and SV Mallon are tense and filled with psychological depth, showcasing themes of ambition, creativity, and the supernatural.

4. Climactic Confrontation: The narrative builds up to a supernatural confrontation, blurring the lines between reality and fiction, culminating in a dramatic and unsettling climax.

---

Notable Quotes and Scenes

Throughout the episode, several pivotal moments and quotes stand out, enhancing the narrative's intensity and depth.

• Lacy Ridgway ([03:02]): "I have to cut it out. I have to cut it out. I have to cut it out. Get out. Get out."

  This line underscores Lacy's desperation and internal struggle, hinting at deeper psychological or supernatural influences.

• SV Mallon ([12:24] - [15:29]): "I'm not a total bastard, so I'm going to warn you once. Don't Change a word."

  SV Mallon's chilling demand highlights the perils of tampering with dark forces and sets the tone for the ensuing horror.

• Lacy Ridgway ([24:58]): "How do you even have..."

  This incomplete thought reflects Lacy's growing realization of the supernatural elements at play, deepening the mystery.

• Final Confrontation ([39:25]): "You changed the words. Now you got to pay. Like all of us, bro."

  This confrontational exchange marks the climax of the episode, where the consequences of altering the original narrative come to fruition.

---

Themes and Insights

1. The Thin Line Between Creation and Destruction:
The episode explores how creative endeavors can inadvertently unleash uncontrollable forces. Lacy's attempt to revive a stalled series by tapping into SV Mallon's dark history serves as a cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of meddling with powerful, unknown elements.

2. Psychological vs. Supernatural Horror:
While Ominous Thrills expertly blends psychological tension with supernatural horror, "The Final Cut" particularly emphasizes the psychological unraveling of its characters, making the horror more personal and impactful.

3. The Cost of Ambition:
Lacy's relentless pursuit of success leads her into a dangerous pact with SV Mallon. This dynamic underscores the theme of ambition's potential to push individuals beyond ethical and moral boundaries.

4. The Power of Storytelling:
The episode delves into the meta-narrative of storytelling itself, questioning the responsibilities of creators towards their content and the stories they choose to tell or alter.

---

Conclusion and Recommendations

"Series Recommendation: Ominous Thrills" offers an insightful and thrilling look into one of the most gripping episodes of Ominous Thrills. By showcasing "The Final Cut," How I Died effectively conveys why Ominous Thrills stands out in the crowded podcast landscape. The blend of exceptional sound design, compelling storytelling, and deep psychological themes makes it a must-listen for fans of horror and suspense.

Final Takeaway:

• For Horror Enthusiasts: Ominous Thrills provides a rich, immersive experience that goes beyond typical horror podcasts, making it an essential addition to any horror aficionado's playlist.

• Sound Design Appreciation: The podcast's commitment to high-quality soundscapes enhances the storytelling, making each episode not just a story but an aural journey.

• Engaging Narratives: With complex characters and intertwining plots, Ominous Thrills offers narratives that are both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Listeners are encouraged to check out Ominous Thrills on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts to experience the full depth and horror that "The Final Cut" and other episodes have to offer.

---

Notable Quote Highlights:

• Narrator ([01:32]): "...the sound design is phenomenal..."
• Lacy Ridgway ([03:02]): "I have to cut it out. I have to cut it out. I have to cut it out. Get out. Get out."
• SV Mallon ([12:24]): "I'm not a total bastard, so I'm going to warn you once. Don't Change a word."
• Lacy Ridgway ([24:58]): "How do you even have..."
• SV Mallon ([39:25]): "You changed the words. Now you got to pay. Like all of us, bro."

These quotes encapsulate the episode's tension, character motivations, and the overarching themes of power, control, and the dark side of ambition.

---

Whether you're a seasoned fan of horror podcasts or looking to delve into a new series, How I Died's recommendation of Ominous Thrills is sure to intrigue and satisfy your craving for thrilling, well-crafted stories.

Transcript

[Lacy Ridgway]

Bingo Blitz rules. If your bingo has ads in it, that's not a bingo. If it doesn't have the coolest tournaments, mini games, and the most breathtaking design, Nope, not a bingo. If your bingo moment makes you feel so excited that you just want to burst in joy and scream out loud, Bingo. Sorry. So you're playing Bingo Blitz. Now that's a bingo. Cover a world of excitement with Bingo Blitz, the number one free bingo game. Download Bingo Blitz and play for free. Now that's a bingo. Chronic migraine is 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more. Botox Onobotulinum Toxin a prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for adults with migraine with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It Prevents on average 8 to 9 headache days a month versus 6 to 7 for placebo. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor. Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems or muscle weakness can be signs of a life threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk.

[Grant]

Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck.

[Lacy Ridgway]

And injection site pain, fatigue and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions including als, Lou Gehrig's disease, Myasthenia Gravis or Lambert Eaton Syndrome and medications including Botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. Ask your doctor and visit botoxchronicmigraine.com or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more.

[Narrator]

Hey everyone, I am back again with another recommendation for you. This time for a dark and devious episode from our friends at Ominous Thrill, a multi award winning full cast anthology of horror thrillers and suspense. And man, this episode is fantastic. It's called the Final Cut. The episode follows true crime executive Lacy Ridgway as she coaxes a reclusive, bestselling horror author to write in original story and unwittingly invites a malevolent force into her life. You have got to put on some headphones as you're listening to this because the sound design is phenomenal. Just listen to the first minute after this and you'll hear some of the lengths that they go to to create this immersive sound. And just wait until the ending because there is a really, really great sound design for the. Let's just say malevolent force that comes. Check out this episode and if you enjoy it, this and other Ominous Thrill stories are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Listen up Thrillers. A quick note Tonight's devious audio delight contains adult content and language, including graphic violence. OMINOUS THRILL One new message. Friday, September 23rd, 1994, 2:38am Made. It's Kane.

[AJ Roberts]

Pick up.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Pick up. God damn it. She poisoned me, Emily. I know she did. I feel it in my veins, spoiling my blood.

[Janet Schofield]

Just like your own.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I had to stop her. I had to do what I had to. How did you know this would happen? How? This sickness. This sickness. I feel it. It's in my gut. I have to cut it out. I have to cut it out. I have to cut it out. Get out. Get out.

[AJ Roberts]

Welcome to the Behind True Crime podc. I'm AJ Roberts.

[Janet Schofield]

And I'm Janet Schofield.

[AJ Roberts]

And today we're talking with Lacy Ridgway, senior producer of podcasts at BDC Media. Lacey is credited with inventing the hottest new trend in true crime. Inspired by. Lacey, welcome.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Thanks, A.J. happy to be here.

[AJ Roberts]

So tell us the story about how you came up with Inspired By.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It was born out of frustration. We'd spend months working stories that had compelling elements, only to find they didn't tick all the boxes needed for a full length audio series.

[AJ Roberts]

And how often did that happen?

[Lacy Ridgway]

All the time. People love to say truth is stranger than fiction, but that's because we'd spend months finding the stories that actually were. So I decided to take elements from the abandoned stories and create Inspired By. That's where you pass on fictional versions of people's stories as true crime. But they're not true, right? They're inspired by the truth, Janet, like it says on the tin. How would you feel if the tragedy of someone you loved were retooled through your salacious fictionalising. Interesting choice of words. I'm using the stories my colleagues discarded for not being salacious enough. And I like your sister Jessica, for example. What? Would Jessica's troubled and tragic life be good material for an episode of Inspired by. This is not what I.

[AJ Roberts]

Okay, let's take a breath here. Janet sits on a very high throne sometimes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It's called journalism, A.J.

[AJ Roberts]

Okay, Janet, Lace, let's talk about your latest hit, Stafford Ladies Night. Now, this one has me riveted, and I have to ask.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, let me wrap this up.

[Grant]

Rephrase. I need a minute now.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Hey, I'm getting called away. Can we.

[AJ Roberts]

Yeah, we can pick it up later.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Of Course. Great. Just in time. What's up?

[Grant]

I put Stuart on leave.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Finally. So what does this mean for Senior vp?

[Grant]

Well, that's some naked ambition.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Like you haven't been worried about it since the rumors started.

[Grant]

Yeah, well, I'm in crisis mode now. I need the story whisperer.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Can't. My plate is full with.

[Grant]

I need you to take over Stuart's project.

[Lacy Ridgway]

That fucking genre fiction thing? You know that's not my jam.

[Grant]

Give me a break, Lace. True crime is genre for people who think they don't like genre. And inspired by.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Is almost all fiction inspired by true shit. Not totally made up out of thin air shit.

[Grant]

So make it inspired by something true. Or license something you can adapt. But no big names. It needs to be cheap and fast. And it needs to be a hit.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You promoted Stewart despite all the rumors. And now that he shit the bed, you come to the woman you passed over with the impossible ask of making a cheap, fast hit.

[Grant]

It's not like that.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Isn't it? What's in it for me?

[Grant]

Besides keeping your job?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I can replace BDC faster than BDC can replace me.

[Grant]

Want to test that? You know how many hunger producers I got calling?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Try it. You need a hit, Grant. Not the time suck of running noob camp.

[Grant]

Okay? What? What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Senior vp?

[Grant]

No way.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Stewart's creepy shit is legend. He should have never been in line for Senior vp.

[Grant]

He has more experience.

[Lacy Ridgway]

And jerking off in front of the interns.

[Grant]

Hey, I'm dealing with it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Years too late. I do this. Senior VP is mine. It's even a good look for you when news about Fondlegate gets out. Can't.

[Grant]

Pending a full inquiry.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Bullshit. You know he's done.

[Grant]

I don't. But you deliver a hit on time, on budget. Senior VP is on the table.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No. Guaranteed.

[Grant]

You're something else.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Don't make it seem like a favor, Grant. I earned this. Prove it again.

[Grant]

Make the hit.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I need my team.

[Grant]

I can't cripple other shows for this.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You can have Kim Valentine. She's been here what, a month?

[Grant]

Look, she's smart, ambitious and begs to be on your team.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Great. A fucking groupie.

[Grant]

Make it work. Clock's ticking. I need your pitch with a beat sheet in 48.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Are you trying to make me fail?

[Grant]

Pressure is how the magic gets made. Isn't that what you tell all the interns?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Asshole. Kim Valentine got your shot. Follow me. Close the door.

[Janet Schofield]

Thank you so much. I'm a big fan of your work.

[Lacy Ridgway]

And I look forward to out.

[Janet Schofield]

So it's true.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Senior VP is Mine. But I need help. Can you help?

[Janet Schofield]

Oh, yes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Find me source material for an original episode of this fiction thing. Delightful frights.

[Janet Schofield]

Sure. I can hit the top. Literary agents for horror authors.

[Lacy Ridgway]

A bit off the rack, don't you think?

[Janet Schofield]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

You lobbied to be on my team. Why?

[Janet Schofield]

I want to learn from you.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Why?

[Janet Schofield]

Because I want to be you. I want to run this whole thing one day.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I don't even run this whole thing yet. Right. Find me dark, edgy, subversive, fringe of culture shit. Stuff only five people know about.

[Janet Schofield]

Sure, but that's not really our house style.

[Lacy Ridgway]

House style is my job.

[Janet Schofield]

It'll take some time.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I need five names by 8pm oh, welcome to the grind, Kim. You good?

[Janet Schofield]

Yes. I won't disappoint. Promise. Lace, did you get my email?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah. Amazing. Two minutes past deadline.

[Janet Schofield]

Oh, sorry, I was.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let's see what you got.

[Janet Schofield]

Emily Fern. Lots of published works. One of Bram Stoker.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Next. Really?

[Janet Schofield]

Malcolm Ladd.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Great POV with a bunch of creepy pastas that got no traction. When I said sources, only five people know. I wasn't being literal.

[Janet Schofield]

Sorry. Okay. S.V. mallon.

[Lacy Ridgway]

How do I know that name?

[Janet Schofield]

He had a bestseller in 89 and then vanished.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, Bones of Lily. Read it when I was a kid.

[Janet Schofield]

Oh, no. Too mainstream?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I don't know. I found the paperback at a garage sale my mother dragged me to. Paid a nickel for it.

[Janet Schofield]

Any good?

[Lacy Ridgway]

What's good to a 7 year old?

[Janet Schofield]

He hasn't published anything since.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It was the right kind of dark, though, about this guy Lester or something. Anyway, his wife and prized son are killed in a convenience store robbery and Lester is so racked with grief, he imprisons his teen daughter, Lily. He breaks her bones so she can't run away.

[Janet Schofield]

Damn.

[Lacy Ridgway]

He's so desperate to have another son, he repeatedly rapes Lily to get her pregnant. She eventually does, but it's a girl. And this goes on for years. As told through her diaries. Lester kills the infant girls and tortures Lily as punishment. Lily finally gives birth to a boy. Lester is so overwhelmed with joy at the sight of his newborn son, he doesn't even see Lily. She wraps the umbilical cord around his neck and strangles him to death with it.

[Janet Schofield]

You read that when you were seven?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Might have been eight. Shit. Malon's perfect.

[Janet Schofield]

He never published again.

[Lacy Ridgway]

How'd you find him?

[Janet Schofield]

The publisher of his old short severed flesh set up a funding page for him. He needs 50k for cancer treatments.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I'm loving this.

[Janet Schofield]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

That's leverage.

[Janet Schofield]

You don't know if he still writes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Set up a call.

[Janet Schofield]

They said he's off the grid. No phone, no Internet. Writes longhand by mail.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I don't have time to mail letters. Where does he live?

[Janet Schofield]

Mailing is Darwin, California.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Where the hell is that?

[Janet Schofield]

Just outside of Death Valley.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Five hour drive. Text me the address. I'm off. What?

[Janet Schofield]

Now? That's such a long shot.

[Lacy Ridgway]

This is giving me the feels. Dig into Mallon's history and find me backups. But obscure and dark. Like Mallon.

[Janet Schofield]

Okay, I'll keep digging.

[SV Mallon]

Got her gun and the right to use it. Now off.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I'm looking for SV Malin.

[SV Mallon]

No Mallon here.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Since when?

[SV Mallon]

Not the mayor. Leave.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Mail is addressed to S.V. malin.

[SV Mallon]

Blame the post office.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Mr. Mallon, my name is Lacy Ridgeway. I wanted to talk about how we can help each other.

[SV Mallon]

Don't need help.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I want to hire you to write.

[SV Mallon]

Don't write. Leave.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Since when?

[SV Mallon]

You're trespassing. Leave before I shoot you in the gut right through this door.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I think you do. Right?

[SV Mallon]

Five seconds.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I read Bones of Lily when I was a girl. It was amazing.

[SV Mallon]

Wasn't meant for little girls.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Well, hello, Mr. Mallon.

[SV Mallon]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Bones of Lily made me want to be a writer.

[SV Mallon]

And great, you said your piece. Leave.

[Lacy Ridgway]

There's no way you could write something like that and then. Just stop the. You know I'm going to pay you to write a short story for me.

[SV Mallon]

Don't write. Hear me?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I did. I just don't believe you. 5,000 for one short story?

[SV Mallon]

Who the fuck are you?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Lacy Ridgeway. From you come all the way out.

[SV Mallon]

Here in your fancy car with your fancy shoes, from what la to insult me with $5,000?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Looks like you could use it.

[SV Mallon]

Don't know. Go back.

[Lacy Ridgway]

5,000 covers. Your next treatment, this Friday, right? 30 minutes is all I need. No, I traveled all this way.

[SV Mallon]

Didn't ask you out here.

[Lacy Ridgway]

20 minutes.

[SV Mallon]

2:15.

[Lacy Ridgway]

5. 10. That's all I need.

[SV Mallon]

5. And the clock started when you asked for 30.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I'll show myself in. So how long you been out here?

[SV Mallon]

Four minutes. 30. Going to waste it on small talk?

[Lacy Ridgway]

No. 5,000 cash for an original. Short as dark as Bones of Lily.

[SV Mallon]

Gonna make me repeat myself for four more minutes? I don't write.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What'S in here private.

[SV Mallon]

Three minutes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

How do you know that? There's no clocks in here.

[SV Mallon]

Two minutes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Your clock is running fast.

[SV Mallon]

It's my clock. 1:45.

[Lacy Ridgway]

So what's your deal? You kill the game with Bones of Lily and then stop. Makes no sense.

[SV Mallon]

Was a one off you done?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Ah, writer's block. I get it. I was a writer too.

[SV Mallon]

Was, huh?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Turns out my thing isn't coming up with original ideas, it's making other people's ideas better.

[SV Mallon]

Another leech. Final minute.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I'm not leaving in a minute.

[SV Mallon]

Then leave. Now.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I see what this is. Big desk in the middle of the room, no distractions. You're right. Admit it.

[SV Mallon]

Time's up. Get out.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I want you to sit down at this big beautiful desk and write me an original dark and devious malice. 2,500 now, 2500 when it's done.

[SV Mallon]

There's a million writers in LA and.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I'd have to rewrite them all. But you, Mr. Mallon, rocked my seven year old little heart. So give me a dark and twisty short based on something true.

[SV Mallon]

Something true, huh? Okay, imagine this. A no talent young woman, overly ambitious, too cute for her own good. She drives her luxury car deep into the desert to harass a man who just wants to be left alone.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, yeah, I get it.

[SV Mallon]

Her arrogance gets to be too much for him. He walks to the bookshelf, pulls out a book. It's old, tattered. Like this one, Bones of Lily, the one she said she liked. He offers to sign it and send her on her merry way. And just as she lets her guard down, he smashes the book into her dumb fucking face.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Oh, twist. Love it.

[SV Mallon]

She drops to the floor, dazed and petrified as hot blood pours down her face. He leans over and smashes her again.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Smash. Smash.

[SV Mallon]

Drenching the pages in her gore.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Is that supposed to be me? I'm flattered.

[SV Mallon]

He drags her body to the backyard and kicks her into a pit he'd already dug.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Convenient.

[SV Mallon]

There she'll sit in the smoldering desert sun to rot. The buzzards and vultures descend, picking her crushed up face. Clean up every speck of meat. Bit by bit, they devour her rotting flesh until there's nothing left but bones. And I'll call it, Bones of Lacy.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Bravo. Nice improv. You kind of skipped right to the third act, but still pretty effective.

[SV Mallon]

It's the only true story I have to tell if you don't leave.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, here's my rewrite. The young woman, she's incredibly smart, ambitious, and, let's face it, fucking hot. She fights off the old man, which isn't hard to do because he's built like a rotting twig. She knocks him down and grabs that book. Her favorite from his pathetically small creative output. She climbs on top of his frail carcass Pushing the book into his weakened chest, she makes it really hard for him to breathe. He gasps and gasps for breaths she will not let him have. And just as he drifts closer to his final breath, she leans in real close. And with a sexy whisper you know he loves, she bumps the offer to 75 hundred. And he accepts.

[SV Mallon]

Write the damn thing yourself.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I can't invent shit out of thin air. I need a prompt. Like the short you're gonna write me.

[SV Mallon]

So you'll take my story and muck it up with your LA bullshit.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I need to mainstream it. Yeah, people say they love the darkness, but only as long as the exit sign is clearly fucking lit. That's my superpower.

[SV Mallon]

So you make commodities you can peddle to idiot.

[Lacy Ridgway]

God, no wonder you flamed out.

[SV Mallon]

You don't know you wrote a hit.

[Lacy Ridgway]

That rocked my seven year old world and nothing since. I'm here to bail you out.

[SV Mallon]

If you knew anything, you'd run right out of here.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Prove it.

[SV Mallon]

Okay. I'll write you a story. And you'll do what all no talent hacks do. And then. Then you'll know the truth.

[Lacy Ridgway]

All right, Just so we're clear, it needs to be new. None of the old shit I know you got stashed away in this dump. New it is at least 30 pages, no more than 60.

[SV Mallon]

Come back tomorrow this time.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Really? Okay, email me. Here.

[SV Mallon]

No computer, no Internet, no signal.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Are you kidding?

[SV Mallon]

I write longhand.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What is this, the 1800s?

[SV Mallon]

1600S, actually.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You're gonna make me deal with 30 handwritten pages?

[SV Mallon]

This time tomorrow?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Better not be shit.

[SV Mallon]

It'll be more than you can handle.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You go from I don't write to I'm going to blow you away in five minutes to know your ego is intact.

[SV Mallon]

Ain't about ego.

[Lacy Ridgway]

People who say it isn't about ego always have the biggest egos.

[SV Mallon]

Such wisdom. What are you, 24?

[Lacy Ridgway]

No, but I'll be back in 24. Don't waste my time. Lace. Where have you been? Desert Peach Motor Lodge. Gotta spend the night. It's the closest place to Mallon's that has signal. What's up?

[Janet Schofield]

I got some clarity on Mallon's history. Thought you should know.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I got Malin writing. Do I need to know whatever this is?

[Janet Schofield]

Yeah, I think you do.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Fine. What?

[Janet Schofield]

After Bones of Lily, Mallon's publisher paid him a hundred thousand dollars advance for his next novel. Five years later, he hadn't delivered a single word.

[Lacy Ridgway]

At least I only gave him 3,700.

[Janet Schofield]

They gave him a month to deliver a draft or they'd sue for breach of contract. A week later, he delivered a 700 page handwritten draft called Shepherd's Fury.

[Lacy Ridgway]

So what's the point?

[Janet Schofield]

They had edits, but Mallon refused to make changes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Mr. Ain't about ego.

[Janet Schofield]

He said he was done writing, that he lost an eye over it. It had to stay exactly as he wrote it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

He does have an eyepatch.

[Janet Schofield]

So the publisher hired Thomas Kane to do the rewrite.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Am I supposed to know that name?

[Janet Schofield]

I don't know. But Kane stopped the rewrite, complaining the work was making him violently ill. Ugh.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What is with these guys?

[Janet Schofield]

And then he went off the deep end and started acting out events from.

[Lacy Ridgway]

The story like it was about a.

[Janet Schofield]

Man convinced he was being poisoned by his wife. The wife denies it, but he keeps getting sicker. One night he confronts her and when.

[Lacy Ridgway]

She tries to leave him, kills her. Tropey as fuck, but he keeps getting sicker.

[Janet Schofield]

He wants to get the poison out of his body, so he grabs the pen he'd been writing with and stabs himself in the stomach over and over until the holes are big enough to reach inside and pull out his own intestines. He throws them all over the floor trying to get the poison out of his body.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Is this the story or Cain?

[Janet Schofield]

Uh, yes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Are you fucking with me?

[Janet Schofield]

No. Kane died. The publisher took the project to other writers, but they all turned it down. They said it was accursed, it was never released and Mallon vanished.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Fuck. This is amazing.

[Janet Schofield]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

His last story drove a man to murder his wife and cut himself open. What will the first S.V. mallon story in decades do to you? Marketing is gonna love this.

[Janet Schofield]

Lace, this is serious. He's got, like, bad juju.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Can you even say that anymore?

[Janet Schofield]

I'm not kidding. He's been out there alone for what, 30 years? Who knows what?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Stop. A stiff breeze could knock him over. My biggest fear is that he won't deliver a single usable sentence. I pick up his story tomorrow. I'll call you then.

[Janet Schofield]

Okay. Lace, Be careful.

[SV Mallon]

Got money?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let me see the pages over there. Parchment? Are you serious?

[SV Mallon]

That's enough money.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I need to check this isn't 30 pages of all work and no play.

[SV Mallon]

Going to have to trust you.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Sat on a 100k advance for 5.

[SV Mallon]

Years and delivered the novel money.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Why it take 5 years?

[SV Mallon]

Creating is harder than adapting. You should try it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No, thanks. Pages. The final cut Title.

[SV Mallon]

As much as you disgust me.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Charming.

[SV Mallon]

I ain't a total bastard, so I'm going to warn you once. Don't Change a word.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Is that what you told Kane?

[SV Mallon]

How did you know about that?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Due diligence. Nasty shit.

[SV Mallon]

Well, then you already know.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Why do you do it?

[SV Mallon]

Thought he was smarter than what was on the page.

[Lacy Ridgway]

How do you lose your eye?

[SV Mallon]

Made the same mistake like you will. I'm betting.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Who did it? Dealer, bookie, me. Bullshit.

[SV Mallon]

Gouged it out myself with that pen.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let me see. Oh, oh, not your empty eye socket, psycho. The pen. Let me see. Why you make it sound mysterious. I did not depend with your gouged out eye on it. You did show me.

[SV Mallon]

You know what they say about curiosity.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, it skilled the cat. Not leaving until you show it to me.

[SV Mallon]

Well.

[Lacy Ridgway]

That'S gorgeous.

[SV Mallon]

Looks are deceiving.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Seems old.

[SV Mallon]

Dates to the late 1600s.

[Lacy Ridgway]

And how do you know that?

[SV Mallon]

I just know. It was used by a scribe for the Church of St. Pierre, France. To translate text of an ancient occultist group into the church archives.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Is this the story I just bought?

[SV Mallon]

No. In 1668, a great fire destroyed the town of Auxer Lenie's France. It killed hundreds of people.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Okay.

[SV Mallon]

This pen was the only thing to survive. You see here? The engraving boiled up a scar. Its provenance.

[Lacy Ridgway]

How do you even have.

[SV Mallon]

This was a gift. Came at a time I thought was my darkest. After Lily five years, I had no words Then this an endless word.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You wrote Shepherd's Fury. With that, the novel Cane was already enough story time. You wrote this story with that?

[SV Mallon]

I'll show you out.

[Lacy Ridgway]

But that thing has to be worth. Like, why not sell it? Get your treatments, move out of this dump.

[SV Mallon]

I'm letting its words walk out with you. That's risk enough.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Its words.

[SV Mallon]

Last time I tell you, don't be smarter than what's on the page.

[Lacy Ridgway]

But what if I actually am? Oh, have a nice life. Virgil.

[Janet Schofield]

This is Lace. What'd you get?

[Lacy Ridgway]

You are not ready.

[Janet Schofield]

Try me. I love horror. Oh, shit. It's handwritten.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, with a rare as fuck fountain pen, if you can believe that.

[Janet Schofield]

That's cool.

[Lacy Ridgway]

That's passive aggressive. He wants to make it hard to change. He's real clear about not changing the words.

[Janet Schofield]

Like he was with Kane.

[Lacy Ridgway]

He's sensitive on that topic.

[Janet Schofield]

The final cut. Yeah, that's some classic 80s slasher vibes.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Anyway, it's about a girl named Sylvia Grace who is plagued by horrible visions. She believes she's possessed by evil spirits to escape her body.

[Janet Schofield]

Ooh, I'm sensing body horror.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You're scaring me.

[Janet Schofield]

Two older brothers rubbed off.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Anyway, her family tries to help and sends her to a priest. The priest believes her, so he performs special prayer sessions, coaxing her into a trance. He says it's like an exorcism, but he's really ghbing her and shit. Yeah. Sylvia becomes increasingly distraught and the spirits get louder and louder. She believes the only way to release them is to cut them out. That's like Cain at that point. It's just relentless self torture porn. Until she makes the final cut, calls her family together, tells them she wants to set her evil spirits free. And slices her own throat in front of them. Dakota has Sylvia's younger sister hearing the voices too.

[Janet Schofield]

Is any of that true?

[Lacy Ridgway]

It rings similar to my sister Jessica.

[Janet Schofield]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Not the priest shit, but the inner demons. The self harm.

[Janet Schofield]

Oh no. Lace.

[Lacy Ridgway]

She had a lot of issues. Substance abuse, street life, abusive partners. She'd get help and then relapse, repeat a dozen times. In the end, she cut her own throat.

[Janet Schofield]

I'm sorry. How could Malin know that?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Don't know. I mean, her story is findable for anyone looking for it. But Mal's off the grid, so I.

[Janet Schofield]

Have a few backup writers.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It's too late. We're stuck with this.

[Janet Schofield]

How are you going to happy ending that.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Malin doesn't develop Sylvia's backstory. He just treats her as prop to make it all about the evil spirit. So I'll lose the priest shit and give her childhood trauma.

[Janet Schofield]

Daddy issues always works.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It's a crutch. But let's say dad is abusive, kills Sylvia's mother and goes to prison. Sylvia gets bounced around foster care and lands with a horrible family that takes as many girls as possible for the money. They abuse Sylvia for sport, telling her she's cursed and evil. We'll play it as supernatural from Sylvia's pov, but the real monster is this batshit crazy family.

[Janet Schofield]

We gotta lose the cutting though, right?

[Lacy Ridgway]

The lurid shit for sure. But I'll keep it and treat it as a trauma response to her abuse. I'll add a mentor who saved Sylvia from a suicide attempt. Let's call her Mandy. Oh my God.

[Janet Schofield]

That movie was insane. Insane.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What?

[Janet Schofield]

Nick Cage, Andrea Risboro, Panos Cosmatos I.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I have no idea what you're talking about right now.

[Janet Schofield]

Are you okay?

[Lacy Ridgway]

No, I'm itchy as. Anyway, with Mandy's help, Sylvia is finally able to face her demons. She becomes a crisis counselor where she helps save other troubled girls.

[Janet Schofield]

A survival story.

[Lacy Ridgway]

The inspired by version I would have wanted for Jessica. Yeah, Incredible. We'll tag it with a PSA for the self Harm crisis line. And I'll finally get that fucking promotion I deserve.

[Janet Schofield]

Shit. I just watched you do that.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Well, that's how the sausage gets made. Christ, what is with this itch?

[Janet Schofield]

Did you get bit by something?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I must have. Okay, outline that for tomorrow's meeting. Top priority on it.

[Janet Schofield]

I'm so excited to be working with you on this. Tomorrow's meeting is going to be amazing.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Good morning, everyone.

[Janet Schofield]

Hello.

[Grant]

The women of the hour. We're all looking forward to this.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Great. Kim just sent you the pitch to follow along. This is a dark and twisted story of Sylvia Grace, a vulnerable girl who is driven to the brink of self destruction when she mistakes her abusive environment for supernatural evil. We will follow Sylvia's story as the newest girl to arrive at the Kemp foster family after her father. The. The chems have quite the nefarious operation going, taking a dozen girls.

[AJ Roberts]

You all right, Lis?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. I'm all good. Shortly after Sylvia arrives, the Kemps are visited by an auditor for Social Services. And so they kill the auditor and lash out at Sylvia, abusing her, telling her she's cursed, that she's not spirits in the comp. Get them out. Get them out. What?

[Grant]

Lace, you're bleeding.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What?

[Janet Schofield]

Lace. Hey, let's take a break, okay?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Go.

[AJ Roberts]

Oh.

[Grant]

Get yourself cleaned up.

[Janet Schofield]

Come on. Come with me. You really clawed yourself. Let me clean this up.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah, okay. What happened?

[Janet Schofield]

You don't remember?

[Lacy Ridgway]

No. It felt like bugs.

[Janet Schofield]

Shit. Lace. Total confidence. Okay. What are you on anything?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I totally understand, Kim.

[Janet Schofield]

No, I'm just asking. With all the pressure of this project.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No. Okay. No.

[Janet Schofield]

I think the bleeding stopped. Finally.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Okay. Shit. I gotta get back in there.

[Janet Schofield]

However you want to play this, Lace. I got you. Okay?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Yeah. Thanks.

[Grant]

Lace.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Hey.

[Grant]

Hey, Lace. Are you okay?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Fine, Grant. Just allergic reaction. New moisturizer.

[Janet Schofield]

Yeah. Same thing happened to me last year.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It was not fun. Oh.

[Grant]

Okay.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let's get back to the pitch.

[Grant]

I postponed it until tomorrow.

[Lacy Ridgway]

You what?

[Grant]

Lace, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Are you trying to sabotage me? What? Vp? My promotion.

[Grant]

Shit, Lace. No. I need this to work as much as you do.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Great. Come on, we're finishing now.

[Grant]

No, false alarm. We'll pick it up tomorrow. Details to follow.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What the fuck, Grant?

[Grant]

Go home, Lace. Get some rest.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I don't need rest. I need.

[Janet Schofield]

I can totally handle things here, Lace.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Really.

[Janet Schofield]

Get some rest.

[Lacy Ridgway]

9Am tomorrow. I want everyone back in that room.

[Grant]

Check in at 7. We'll figure it out.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Okay. See Sylvia? Sylvia runs through the hall, caught off guard.

[Janet Schofield]

Hi.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Stop A voice, but man. Oh, my God. Get out. Get. Get out. Get out of me. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Get out.

[Janet Schofield]

Get out of me.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Okay, yeah, just a sec.

[Janet Schofield]

Hey. Looks like you're making progress.

[Lacy Ridgway]

What the fuck are you doing here? Here to help Team Lace. I didn't ask you to come here. You need to leave.

[Janet Schofield]

What's wrong?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Nothing. Leave now.

[Janet Schofield]

You're bleeding again.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No, don't.

[Janet Schofield]

Let me see.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Stop it. Lace.

[Janet Schofield]

Your cut. What's happening?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I. I can't explain.

[Janet Schofield]

You did this.

[Lacy Ridgway]

There's.

[Janet Schofield]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Never mind.

[Janet Schofield]

Lace, what?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Bugs, okay? Thousands of bugs are crawling inside of me. I can see them. I could feel them under my skin. And I. I had to cut them out.

[Janet Schofield]

Shit. You didn't take anything. Even by accident.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I don't have time for this, Lace.

[Janet Schofield]

This is just like pain.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Christ, Kim. Really?

[Janet Schofield]

It's very similar. Let. I can transcribe.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Kim, stop.

[Janet Schofield]

I won't change anything.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No, this has to be me. I can't work here now. I have to focus.

[Janet Schofield]

What is all this stuff for?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let go.

[Janet Schofield]

Knives.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Go home, Kim.

[Janet Schofield]

A blowtorch. Lace, what the fuck?

[Lacy Ridgway]

I need to stick the ending.

[Janet Schofield]

Lace, you're scaring me.

[Lacy Ridgway]

That's pressure, Kim. Get your shit together. Me?

[Janet Schofield]

Where are you going?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Desert Peach Motor Lodge. It's Lacy Ridgeway. I stayed there a few nights ago. Whatever you lost, hon, it's gone. No. I need a room for tonight. First come first, sir. Hold one. I'll be there in an hour.

[Janet Schofield]

Don't hold rooms.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Thanks. Okay, okay. Sylvia crawls under the bed. Terrified. Meline Kemp taunts her. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Stop it.

[SV Mallon]

Stop it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Okay, hang. Okay, okay, okay. You're not real. This isn't real. This isn't real.

[Narrator]

What?

[Lacy Ridgway]

What?

[Janet Schofield]

Get the pen. Leave us.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I see Mallon opened the door. What the did you do to me?

[SV Mallon]

Did it to yourself. Like I knew you would.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let me in.

[SV Mallon]

You changed the words. Now you got to pay. Like all of us, bro.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Let me in.

[SV Mallon]

Stop that.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Where's the pen?

[SV Mallon]

Can't help you now.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Lies. Get the pen.

[Janet Schofield]

Let me have it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Where is it?

[Janet Schofield]

It.

[SV Mallon]

They finally got someone to serve.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I'm jealousy. You think I deserve this?

[SV Mallon]

Thought you were smarter than what's on the page.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Kill him. Get the pen. The pen. Give it to us.

[SV Mallon]

Us?

[Lacy Ridgway]

Give it to me.

[SV Mallon]

I kept it caged up here for 30 years. Not letting it out now.

[Janet Schofield]

Get out.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Shut up. Get out. Get out. That's not good. Please. Please stop.

[Grant]

Get the door.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It's in here, isn't it. Open it.

[SV Mallon]

It's using you to kill him again.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Okay. Shut up. Open this door.

[SV Mallon]

It'll kill you.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It needs me.

[SV Mallon]

It needs your suffering.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Shut.

[SV Mallon]

Stop.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Getting that pen and everything you've written with it. Last chance getting this thing out of me.

[SV Mallon]

Stop.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Kill him.

[Janet Schofield]

Precious stuff.

[Grant]

Finish.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No. No.

[Janet Schofield]

Finish.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No. No. No. No. No. No. Are you here? Here. In here.

[Janet Schofield]

Holy Lace. What happened? Oh, no. He's gone.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Tell her to get the pen. Get help.

[Janet Schofield]

No service out here, Lace. And you've lost a lot of blood. Don't. Don't.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Lace.

[Janet Schofield]

Don't. What? Lace.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Pen.

[Janet Schofield]

Pen. Malin's pen.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No.

[Janet Schofield]

It's okay, Lace.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It's okay. No.

[Janet Schofield]

I promise I'll find it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

No.

[Janet Schofield]

I'll find it.

[AJ Roberts]

Ominous Thrill presents the final cut. Created, written, directed and sound designed by Jeff Schmidt. Starring Juliana La Barbiera as Lace, Catherine Ballantyne as Kim, Ray Laska as SV Mallon David Patrick Raines as Grant, Owen McEwen as Kane, Marianne Stanek as Janet, Lisa Stanley as motel operator and Cherie Wishard as the voice. If you like what you've heard, please give us a five star rating. A positive review and tell a friend. It encourages others to listen, like. Follow or subscribe to Ominous Thrill to receive our next devious audio delight for free. To learn more, including how you can support the making of ominous thrill, visit ominousthrill.com until next time. Thrill you later.

[Lacy Ridgway]

If I ply you something, will promise.

[SV Mallon]

Not to tell anyone about it.

[AJ Roberts]

What is it?

[Lacy Ridgway]

There's a thing in the sky. You've got to get someone down here quick.

[Janet Schofield]

It's fucked.

[Lacy Ridgway]

It's moving. It's buzzing.

[Janet Schofield]

It's getting closer. I think I need to talk to someone.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Singing Don't. Don't. Poppy. It's getting louder.

[Janet Schofield]

I can feel it.

[Lacy Ridgway]

I can feel it inside my head.

[Janet Schofield]

Listen to Hovering, the latest fiction horror show on Rome's premier horror channel, Undertow. Hovering is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

[Grant]

Contained herein are the heresies of Radulf Bantwine, erstwhile monk turned traveling medical investigator. Join me as I study the secrets of the divine plagues and uncover the.

[Lacy Ridgway]

Blasphemous truth that ours is not a loving God and we are not its favored children.

[Grant]

The heresies of Redolf Bandwein. Wherever podcasts are available.