The NoSleep Podcast - S23E08 (August 24, 2025)

Episode Overview

This episode of The NoSleep Podcast, presented by host David Cummings, delves into chilling tales that explore the concept of "presence"—the unnerving sensation of not being alone, even when you are. Each story embodies a different twist on being haunted or followed by an entity or force, whether supernatural, psychological, or undead. The episode is framed by an atmospheric radio host from WNSP, cryptid lore, and stories that promise to disturb and unsettle.

Key Discussion Points & Episode Structure

1. WNSP Radio Segment & Introduction to "Presence" (00:00–06:33)

• Host D.C. of WNSP addresses listeners with thanks and regional urban legends—especially the Goatman and the ominous Goat Valley.
• Sets the mood: warnings about camping, Goatman sightings, and urban legends.
• Segues to The NoSleep Podcast, reinforcing the theme of disturbing presences.
• David Cummings introduces this week's stories:
  • Urges season pass holders to download episodes before platform changes.
  • Announces First Cut Horror Film Festival details.
  • Establishes "presence" as the unifying theme: "By presence, I don't mean gifts wrapped up in a bow. I mean presence in terms of things that make you feel like you're not alone...that presence isn't there to do anything good for you.” (03:30)

2. Story 1: "Nothing But Thirst" by Don Tobin (06:33–16:45)

Performers: Regan Tacker and Jesse Cornett

Plot Summary

• Two thieves, Jeb and the unnamed narrator, are camping in the desert with stolen silver.
• They discover an ancient well—abandoned, dry, and eerie.
• Jeb becomes obsessed, convinced a woman's voice calls to him from the well.
• During the night, drawn by the voices and his own greed, Jeb plunges into the well.
• Narrator descends after him, succumbing to seductive, hallucinatory whispers promising to fulfill his every desire.
• The presence in the well is revealed as a malevolent, incomprehensible force that consumes those who seek to satisfy hunger or greed.
• The narrator barely escapes, but loses both his partner and the silver: "The well was dry, had always been dry, and whatever was down there was nothing but thirst." (16:32)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Jeb’s descent into madness:
  “He looked at me, his eyes shadowed and hollow. ‘She's asking for me… She's down there.’” — Jeb (09:33)
• The horror of the presence:
  “A shape that wasn't a shape, shifting like smoke caught in water, growing and collapsing all at once. It was the wrongness that clawed at the backs of my eyeballs…” — Narrator (13:00)

Themes & Takeaways

• The insatiable, destructive nature of greed and longing.
• The concept of something ancient that preys upon human desire.
• Survival carries its own scars; the thirst never truly ends.

3. Story 2: "The Last Visit" by Ashley Adams (20:45–34:55)

Performers: Waffea White and Jessie Cornett

Plot Summary

• April, the protagonist, is tormented by lifelong sleep paralysis—manifested as a grotesque woman who pins her to her bed.
• Her fiancé Dave was her main support, researching every folk remedy to help her.
• After a particularly cozy brunch, Dave is suddenly killed in a tragic accident.
• April’s next episode of sleep paralysis is more vivid and threatening, but also features Dave’s voice encouraging her to fight back.
• With supreme effort, she finally moves her toes—breaking the paralysis, although her nightmare is not over.
• The sleep demon fuses her corpse legs to April’s and shrieks; guided by Dave’s memory, April severs the connection with a syrupy steak knife.
• The demon scuttles away, defeated. April awakens—empowered but left to face grief and reality.
• Closing on a subtle, bittersweet release, she affirms: “Safe,” as she plants her toes on the floor. (34:54)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the recurring terror:
  “My visitor, the same one I had my whole life.” — April (22:40)
• Dave’s encouragement (posthumous):
  “‘Move.’ A deep voice, but a familiar one, thrummed in my ear. Dave.” — April (27:19)

Themes & Takeaways

• Grief, trauma, and the persistence of inner demons.
• Empowerment through memory and love remains possible even in horror.
• The distinction between nightmare and reality blurs in the aftermath of loss.

4. Story 3: "Easy Way Out" by Madeline Rubik (38:12–74:45)

Performers: Mike Delgadio, Kyle Akers, Matthew Bradford, Nicole Goodnight

Plot Summary

• Hunter, a worn-out nurse with a smoking addiction, is haunted by his dead brother, Johnny.
• Johnny was always a manipulative troublemaker, eventually killed during a botched mugging.
• However, after the funeral, Johnny returns—decayed, demanding, and very much undead.
• Johnny is both physically rotting and violently charismatic, blackmailing Hunter into performing illicit surgeries, stealing hospital drugs, and procuring black market organs to keep him half-alive.
• Hunter’s life devolves into a nightmare: caring for a zombie-like brother who cannot die, all while being complicit in criminal acts.
• Johnny’s demands crescendo into kidnapping the woman who originally shot him, insisting Hunter now perform live organ transplants from their victim.
• Hunter nearly attacks Johnny, fantasizing about ending it all, but the cycle of abuse, fear, and guilt paralyze him. He acquiesces, rationalizing and postponing action.
• The episode ends as Hunter sits outside, overwhelmed and exhausted, unable to escape his brother’s grasp: “He’d get away from Johnny someday. He’d find the courage to fight back...But today was just too difficult.” (74:30)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• The toxic, inescapable hold of Johnny:
  “Some people might have thought it was supernatural...But Hunter didn’t think there was anything supernatural about him. Johnny was just a spoiled brat who couldn’t accept when his time was up.” (63:23)
• Johnny’s violence and manipulativeness:
  “‘I can’t die, you idiot.’” — Johnny, after being stabbed (69:57)
• Hunter’s paralyzing guilt and fatigue:
  “It wasn’t worth it. The police would have to be called. He’d have to face consequences for everything he stole… It was just easier…” (71:21)

Themes & Takeaways

• The horrors of familial obligation and cycles of abuse.
• Guilt, complicity, and the fantasy of escape.
• The line between supernatural horror and the real terrors of moral compromise and addiction.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On Presence:
  “That presence isn’t there to do anything good for you… in these tales, the presence seeks to be much more present.” — David Cummings (03:30)
• On the Curse of Desire:
  “There’s a hunger that doesn’t go away, no matter how much you take. Jeb learned that too late. I just learned to live with it.” — Narrator, “Nothing But Thirst” (16:35)
• On Fighting Back:
  “‘Move.’ A deep voice, but a familiar one, thrummed in my ear. Dave.” — April, “The Last Visit” (27:19)
• On Inescapable Family:
  “Johnny was just a spoiled brat who couldn’t accept when his time was up.” — Narrator, “Easy Way Out” (63:23)
• On Surrender to Horror:
  “He’d get away from Johnny someday… But today was just too difficult.” — Hunter (74:38)

Noteworthy Moments (Timestamps)

• Goatman and Cryptid Valley lore, setting the horror tone (00:00–03:30)
• Season pass announcements and shifting platforms (02:00–03:00)
• First tale begins: "Nothing But Thirst" (06:33)
• Climax of the well horror (13:00)
• Second tale begins: "The Last Visit" (Sleep Paralysis) (20:45)
• April’s visceral battle against her night terror (27:00–30:00)
• Third tale begins: "Easy Way Out" (Undead Sibling Horror) (38:12)
• Hunter’s realization of Johnny’s immortality (53:03–59:54)
• Basement confrontation and climactic violence (69:19–70:37)

Episode Tone & Style

The episode’s tone oscillates between atmospheric unease, psychological dread, and grotesque body horror, matched by the podcast’s signature rich sound design and immersive narration. The language is direct, vivid, and often laced with dark humor or despair, closely mirroring the original voice of each protagonist.

Conclusion

S23E08 of The NoSleep Podcast is a testament to the anthology’s mastery at reinventing horror rooted not only in the supernatural, but in the raw, fraught emotions of its characters. From the call of a cursed well, to the lifelong terror of sleep paralysis, to the chilling burden of a familial monster who refuses to die, each tale lingers with the audience much like the presences it describes—long after the episode is done.