The NoSleep Podcast – Sleepless Decompositions Vol. 22

Date: January 18, 2026
Host: David Cummings
Production: Creative Reason Media Inc.

Episode Overview

This episode of The NoSleep Podcast, Sleepless Decompositions Vol. 22, offers a chilling double feature, each tale infused with a European flair. Host David Cummings frames the episode around the deep roots of horror traditions in "the Old World," inviting listeners to explore sinister transformations and the mystique of place—one in a dying village under a vengeful sun, and the other in the hypnotic underbelly of Prague. The episode is prefaced by a moving address from voice actor Atticus Jackson about his personal health battle.

Key Discussion Points & Episode Structure

1. Opening & Announcements

• Atticus Jackson’s Personal Appeal (00:37–03:47)
  • Atticus Jackson, a beloved voice actor, shares his battle with the rare skin disease hidradenitis suppurativa, which is both physically and financially draining.
  • He expresses heartfelt gratitude for community support and directs listeners to his GoFundMe, providing context and updates.
  • Quote:

    “The listeners have always shown that they have had so much heart and today, I guess I'm asking for a piece of it. A piece of that delicious, juicy, beating heart.”
    — Atticus Jackson, [01:12]

• Origins of Horror – Introduction to Volume 22 (03:47–05:22)
  • David Cummings sets the thematic stage by invoking classic European horror icons and inviting listeners on a virtual journey, bypassing the need for travel (“you don't need a Jet2 holiday to travel there, hop on board The NoSleep Podcast and be transported to lands of Euro horror”).

2. Story One: “How the Sun Approaches Every Summer” by Aches Linardus

[Story Begins: 06:51]

• Premise:
  In an isolated, seemingly archaic village, a man with peculiar sensitivities observes the sun incrementally drawing nearer each summer, with deadly consequences.
• Key Elements:
  • The protagonist has an unusual ability to notice minute changes in size and color, a trait stemming from his childhood.
  • Villagers dismiss his warnings until the changing sun is undeniable, but suffering and death follow.
  • His history involves magic-like abilities, perhaps stemming from a mysterious paternal heritage, and the isolation those abilities bring.
  • The protagonist outlives all: arranging the bodies of villagers, unfeeling, as the sun engulfs the world—a bleak reflection on disconnection, otherness, and unintended consequences of innocent rituals.
• Notable Quotes:
  • On the sun’s change:

    “I awoke in my house feeling a little warmer than usual, the dust of my bed sticking to my back through layers of sweat. The air was drier, thick with bitter dust... I squinted at the sun, wrapped my thumb and index finger around its flickering outline... but this time the distance between my fingers was slightly larger.”
    — Narrator, [07:47]

  • On loss and apathy:

    “One summer ago I woke mid afternoon... Body warm and so sweaty I could feel my palm creases. I stepped over my wife’s shrunken corpse and went outside to see the sun, so large I had to use both hands to fit its outline.”
    — Narrator, [13:40]

  • On guilt and monstrosity:

    “In that quiet contemplation, I wondered, was I a monster for not feeling anything about my wife being dead? Was I a monster for feeling a sense of relief?”
    — Narrator, [15:50]

• Atmosphere & Themes:
  • Languid, mythic narration, building an atmosphere of creeping dread and tragic inevitability.
  • Meditations on measurement, order, and control as coping mechanisms in a collapsing world.

3. Story Two: “Flash Mobility” by Ollie A. White

[Story Begins: 22:37]

• Premise:
  Henry Halliwell, a medical student taking a gap year across Europe, stumbles into a hidden Prague square and a supernatural social phenomenon—where music, madness, and metamorphosis interlace with reality.
• Key Elements:
  • Henry describes academic burnout and family issues before setting off to Europe.
  • In Prague, he chances upon a shadowy alley, meets a group of cryptic children, and is drawn by strange music into an enchanting but disquieting square.
  • The scene shifts from quaint and inviting to grotesque and surreal: a legless monkey, a haunted organ grinder, and an increasingly macabre orchestra that captures Henry in a spell of music and grief.
  • The townspeople unite in a sinister, humming condemnation, and when Henry tries to escape, reality itself betrays him: he loses language, youth, and identity.
  • The tale ends with Henry, now an immortal, ageless singer cursed to haunt Prague’s alleys—a fixture of sadness and warning.
• Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments:
  • On the weight of studies:

    “In the last four years I’d touched more cadavers than I had other living people. That day, when it all became too much, I realized I was decaying in my skin, rotting away at my very soul...”
    — Henry Halliwell, [22:43]

  • On entering the uncanny square:

    “If the children had surprised me, then what I saw around the next corner left me speechless. The alley opened up into a large square and a more perfect, parochial setting you couldn’t wish for...”
    — Henry Halliwell, [37:55]

  • Monkey and music motif:

    “It was a monkey... the traditional organ grinder’s monkey... the creature’s legs had been amputated at the knee. Only small stumps remained... Bandages, dirty and old, covered the ends...”
    — Henry Halliwell, [43:48]

  • Loss and despair through music:

    “Divine, haunting, mesmerizing piano music drifting forth from the organ, the notes flowing through the square... Sadness began to well up in my chest. Tears started to prick my eyes. Images of my sister swam through my mind...”
    — Henry Halliwell, [45:05]

  • Transformation and exile:

    “On the wall, a dirty, chipped mirror cast my reflection. The youthful face of Henry Halliwell no longer looked back at me. Instead, the face I saw was old, ancient even... I was no longer myself, and yet I very much was.”
    — Henry Halliwell, [63:29]

  • Final curse:

    “I’m a sore on the landscape, an impossible old man who nonetheless never ages... I know if I keep looking, someday I’ll find them tucked away in a secret corner of the city, playing their music, calling me home.”
    — Henry Halliwell, [66:45]

• Atmosphere & Themes:
  • Vivid contrast between the picturesque and the macabre.
  • Exploration of alienation, failed ambitions, and the price of trespass.
  • The power of music—both to move and undo.

4. Credits & Closing

• David Cummings recaps production credits and urges listeners to visit thenosleeppodcast.com for show notes, author info, and more stories. ([67:38])
• The episode ends with thanks and reminders about supporting the show, and a hint to tune in for Volume 23.

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:37 | Host intro and Atticus Jackson’s GoFundMe announcement | | 03:47 | Discussion: European roots of horror | | 06:51 | Story One: “How the Sun Approaches Every Summer” begins | | 19:41 | Break and sponsor messages | | 22:37 | Story Two: “Flash Mobility” begins | | 37:55 | Henry enters the haunted square in Prague | | 45:05 | Orchestral “transformation” scene | | 63:29 | Henry’s realization and curse explained | | 66:45 | Henry’s closing monologue as Prague’s fated singer | | 67:38 | Credits and outro |

Tone & Style

As always, The NoSleep Podcast combines atmospheric, immersive storytelling with evocative scores and nuanced performances. The tone is somber, eerie, and reflective, laced with dark humor and pathos—ideal for lovers of psychological and supernatural horror.

Highlights for New Listeners

• The episode stands alone; each story is self-contained and accessible.
• Memorable for its deep psychological character studies and inventive, fresh spins on classic horror motifs.
• The European settings add richness and tangibility to both tales.
• Both stories serve as meditations on identity, memory, and loss through a horror lens.

Notable Quotes

• “You are not beholden to me at all. I will still be here creating crazy voice characters and dying every other episode. But yeah, feel free to help me and my family because we could sure use it and I would be eternally grateful to you.”
  — Atticus Jackson, [02:46]

• “A little playground with no one to tell me there's no such thing as magic. No one to judge me as a demon child... and no one to burn her alive?”
  — Narrator, Story One, [18:20]

• “This note, this single note, was filled with malice and anger. It was pure hate distilled into music, all aimed at me.”
  — Henry Halliwell, [55:15]

• “I haven't found them yet, but I will. I know I will. They're missing a singer. And after all, isn't that what I'm supposed to be? Because I'll tell you this, no matter how ugly I am, how broken and decrepit and decaying, my voice makes up for it. It's beautiful. It's tragic.”
  — Henry Halliwell, [66:45]

For more information, visit thenosleeppodcast.com.