The NoSleep Podcast: Season 24, Episode 2

Released: February 8, 2026
Host: David Cummings
Producer: Creative Reason Media Inc.
Theme: Horror stories where the uncanny and the supernatural intersect with everyday life and water, and where encounters with darkness leave characters changed forever.

Episode Overview

This episode of The NoSleep Podcast dives into horror tales themed around the hidden and menacing powers lurking beneath tranquil surfaces—especially water, the occult, and the unknown lurking in the woods. Host David Cummings presents three chilling stories, each exploring a different facet of terror: occult healing with a sinister price, soul transference beyond the grave, and an uncanny encounter deep in the winter woods.

Key Segments & Notable Quotes

1. Introduction & Occult in Horror (00:08 - 04:24)

• Host David Cummings sets the stage by reflecting on water’s dual nature—both life-giving and a source of horror—and discusses the recurring role of the occult in horror films and storytelling.
• Mentions classic and contemporary films, and shouts out the Adams family’s film Mother of Flies as a recommended occult horror movie.
• Connects this thematic intro to the episode’s stories, which all revolve around “strangers and strange things” with unsettling outcomes.

Quote:

"Water. It gives us life. We are drawn to it, yet it holds immense power over us. It can bring unspeakable horror to the most familiar places… It’s time to dive deep into the abyss." — David Cummings (00:08)

2. Story 1: "House of Flies" by Sam Riding (04:24 - 07:59)

Summary:
A desperate man brings a terminally ill little girl to a reputedly magical old woman in hopes of a cure. The horror deepens as the old woman uses occult surgical methods, revealing that the “cure” is monstrous: the girl is sacrificed, her body parts used in a ritual that grants the man not healing for her, but numbness from his own emotional and physical pain.

Key Moments & Quotes:

• Meeting the Old Woman (05:07)
  "I saw the flies. Hundreds of them, their faint buzzing building to a crescendo hum as they crawled all over the structure."

• The Ritual (06:32)
  "She took the little girl by the hand, whispered a few words over her, then reached into the wallet of surgical tools. Then, with one swift motion, she brought the blade of a scalpel across the girl's throat. I couldn't watch."

• Chilling Resolution (07:09)
  "I don't feel anything anymore… Not even the guilt of abducting a little girl from a family that loved her, even if she was doomed to die young. I don't feel a thing anymore and I love it."

Performers: Regan Tacker, Mary Murphy, Aaron Lillis

3. Story 2: "Musical Souls" by Liam Hogan (12:18 - 31:45)

Summary:
Set in a rain-drenched, old Edinburgh, a female doctor targeted by a grave robber outsmarts him. She doesn’t practice anatomy like her brother, but is engaged in esoteric experiments involving the soul. Luring the robber with gin, she poisons him, forcing his spirit into a five-day-old corpse. His fate? Serve her bidding, with only the promise that she alone can transfer his soul to another body—if she feels like it.

Key Moments & Quotes:

• Negotiating with the Grave Robber (15:55)
  "£8… No, no, it was foolish of me to even consider it. Best stick to your original five. Really, I've gone quite off the idea." — Dr. Knox

• Explaining the Science (21:17)
  "I am a scientist, Mr. Beresford. My interest is in the animus, the life force, what you might call the soul."

• The Soul Transfer (25:32)
  "The third method is to encourage another soul to take possession of the vacant corpse... they might not want to, but needs must if their own body becomes inhospitable."

• Twisted Fate (28:37, 31:01)
  "Be polite, Mr. Beresford. Like it or not, you now rely on me. Only I can transfer you to another body, a fresher body. And I will only do that if you serve me well."
  "Yes, Doctor." — Mr. Beresford, now in a decaying corpse

Performers: Erica Sanderson, Guy Woodward

4. Story 3: "Ferals" by AT Blackwater (34:49 - 60:21)

Summary:
Ryan, at his girlfriend Sadie’s request, agrees to help her father Wayne collect animal traps in the snowy north woods—a favor that turns from a simple outdoors task into a harrowing encounter with local legend. Wayne warns Ryan about "the ferals," wild people who supposedly haunt the woods. Initially skeptical, Ryan’s journey is plagued by inexplicable disturbances: missing traps, eerie screams, and finally, evidence of something unnatural—a set of tracks made by a creature walking on both hands and feet, two fingers missing from the right hand, matching a grisly story Wayne had demonstrated earlier.

Key Moments & Quotes:

• Folkloric Setup (41:43)
  "No, the wolves are fine for the ferals." — Wayne
  (The legends of wild people dating back to the 1800s are recounted.)

• Proof of Legend: The Fingers (44:30)
  "Wayne took a screwdriver off the wall and dug around the salt. Two brown and shriveled objects rose to the top… He held it under the light… I could clearly see the yellowed shape of a ragged fingernail at one end of smelled faintly of rot and dried meat. My stomach turned."

• Culmination in the Woods (57:00)
  "At the base of another tree. The sight of those tracks has seared into my memory… One was clearly left by bare human feet… the second set, moving in unison, was a perfect set of prints from human hands, as though someone had been walking through the snow on all fours. And… the right hand was missing the first two fingers." — Ryan

• Resolution (59:24)
  "[Sadie] So how was it?"
  "[Ryan]: I looked closely in the rearview mirror at the dark, hulking mountains of the north woods behind me. I let out an involuntary sigh, almost like I was about to cry. I swallowed hard. It was fine. I'm all done." (A subdued, haunted response.)

Performers: Matthew Bradford, Lindsay Russo, Graham Rowett

Noteworthy Themes & Atmosphere

• Atmosphere: Each story is laced with rich, chilling atmospheric details—buzzing flies, creaking carts, bone-chilling silence in snowy woods—intensifying the horror. The terrors are made more immediate by grounding them in relatable, everyday settings: a desperate parent, a struggling scholar, a boyfriend doing a weekend favor.
• The Horror of Numbing vs. Feeling: "House of Flies" explores the horror not just of dying, but of losing the ability to feel anything at all.
• Science and the Supernatural: "Musical Souls" plays with the tension between scientific curiosity and occult practice, suggesting there may be little difference when dealing with the soul.
• Folklore in the Modern Day: "Ferals" draws on local legend to deliver fear that straddles the line between myth and reality, leaving listeners doubting what really lurks in the woods.

Standout Quotes

• On Numbness:
  "I don't feel anything anymore... Not even the guilt... and I love it." — (07:09, "House of Flies")

• On the Soul:
  "My interest is in the animus, the life force, what you might call the soul." — (21:17, Dr. Knox, "Musical Souls")

• On Legend Made Flesh:
  "There were two distinct sets of tracks... One was clearly left by bare human feet... the second set... from human hands, as though someone had been walking through the snow on all fours." — (57:00, Ryan, "Ferals")

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Occult in Horror: 00:08 - 04:24
• Story 1: "House of Flies": 04:24 - 07:59
• Story 2: "Musical Souls": 12:18 - 31:45
• Story 3: "Ferals": 34:49 - 60:21

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers the classic NoSleep blend of atmospheric, emotionally grounded, and disturbing horror, all tied together by the looming presence of the unknown. Whether the terror comes from the occult, the manipulation of life and death, or the age-old specter of what might be lurking out in the wild, these stories are united by their chilling depiction of ordinary people forced to confront (or become) something monstrous.

For fans of horror rooted in folklore, the supernatural, and gritty human desperation, this episode is a must-listen—preferably with the lights on.