The NoSleep Podcast

Season 24, Episode 4 (S24E04)

Date: February 22, 2026
Host: David Cummings
Produced by: Creative Reason Media Inc.

Episode Overview

This episode of The NoSleep Podcast, S24E04, submerges listeners into three original horror tales, all tied together by the chilling theme of consumption—both literal and metaphorical. Whether it's a monstrous presence feeding in the night, an entity born from decades of suffering in an abandoned hospital, or the corrosive burden of guilt and memory, these stories reveal how horror emerges wherever there is hunger, emptiness, or something waiting to be filled... and how nothing is ever truly left uneaten.

Key Discussion Points & Story Summaries

Introduction: The Allure and Horror of Consumption

[00:08 – 04:13]

• Host David Cummings reflects on the word "consume," noting its rarely positive connotations and its natural fit for horror stories.
  • “Anywhere we look, the act of consuming things or being consumed is something that rarely has a positive outcome. Perhaps that's why the concept of consumption is so well suited to horror.” — David Cummings [02:08]
• The concept sets the tone for the episode—each story centers around entities, emotions, or people who consume, or are consumed by, something far darker than mere appetite.

Story 1: "My Wife Keeps Feeding the Thing That Comes at Night"

Written by: Marcus Walbring
Performed by: Peter Lewis and Sarah Thomas
[04:13 – 23:49]

Summary

• The narrator and his wife Joan are drifting apart after his confession of infidelity.
• Joan begins a new ritual: setting dinner leftovers on the back stoop every night.
• Strange, heavy, clawed footsteps visit at night, accompanied by unnatural breathing and laughter.
• As the narrator grows physically weaker, Joan grows more vibrant; he eventually realizes his life force is being drained and fed to the lurking creature.
• In a harrowing climax, Joan—her eyes black and cold—drags the now-skeletal narrator outside, taunting him before the monstrous, bird-like beast consumes him alive.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Her tone was odd, like there was some kind of veiled threat behind the words, but I didn't think much of it. I was just happy she was talking to me at all.” — Man (narrator) [05:02]
• “You hungry, little bird? Come on, eat it all up.” — Joan [15:09]
• “I wake up again in the middle of the night, but not because I hear the thing outside this time. It's because I've been pulled out of bed onto the floor. Someone in the shadows has me by the ankles... It's Joan.” — Man (narrator) [17:57]
• “That's it, little bird. Not a lot of muscle left on it, but there's plenty of organ meat inside.” — Joan [21:53]

Themes & Insights

• Consumption as both a supernatural and emotional act: Joan literally feeds her husband to a monster, but she is also transformed (or corrupted) by his betrayal.
• The narrator’s guilt and emptiness are made literal as something monstrous “fills the void” created by their broken marriage.

Story 2: "Residual"

Written by: Simon Bleakin
Featured in: Hospital of Haunts anthology
Performed by: Nicole Doolin, Danielle McCrae, Matthew Bradford, Jesse Cornett, Kyle Akers
[26:53 – 59:17]

Summary

• Litch Hurst Hospital is infamous for tragedy and strange phenomena; in its labyrinthine tunnels, something unnatural is born from decades of pain and death.
• The entity—eventually known as “Tom”—forms from accumulated negative energy, assembling itself from discarded hospital detritus and scraps.
• After absorbing the essence of ghosts (which disappoints), it eyes the living. When two maintenance workers enter the tunnels, Tom hunts and feeds on them, finding true satisfaction only in living energy.
• The story ends ominously as Tom begins to hunger for the world above, moving toward the occupied levels of the hospital.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “All hospitals were haunted, of course... But still, few hospitals felt like Litchhurst. The scent of death lingered in every breath taken by the living.” — Narrator [27:18]
• “[Tom] spoke with the wheezing cough of the tuberculosis victim and chuckled with the wild, throaty gurgle of a restrained lunatic.” — Narrator [28:53]
• “Steve's eyes were wide and a squeezing pressure was spreading painfully across his shoulder and neck...” — Narrator, as Tom kills Steve [51:17]
• “Why had it waited so long before hunting these creatures? This was ecstasy.” — Narrator (on Tom feeding) [57:00]

Themes & Insights

• Consumption here is spectral, existential, and horrifyingly physical—a monster literally “feeds” on trauma, ghosts, rats, electricity, and eventually human life.
• Blending of haunted hospital tropes with a fresh “origin” for the ghost/monster—something born from residual suffering and eager to claim more.

Story 3: "Bring Your Slaughter to Work Day"

Written by: Abby Vale
Performed by: Graham Rowett, Wafia White, Sarah Thomas, Nicole Goodnight, Danielle McCrae, Jeff Clement, Kaia Lakers, Dan Zapula
[62:07 – 76:39]

Summary

• Barnaby, a private, introverted custodian, brings his daughter Claire to his workplace for “Bring Your Child to Work Day.”
• The story unfolds in poetic, melancholic narration, reflecting Barnaby’s struggles with guilt and deep sorrow. Claire, five years old, is seen only by him.
• Through memories and internal monologue, it’s revealed that Barnaby accidentally killed Claire in a fit of rage (throwing a lava lamp that spills hot wax over her) and has preserved her body, hidden in secret, carrying her (both literally and figuratively) everywhere he goes.
• On this ill-fated work day, overwhelmed by memories and the longing for rest, Barnaby’s grip slips—he snaps, bringing about fresh horror in a river of wax and violence as guilt is finally “unloaded.”

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “She weighed me down, tugging at my arm in that moment, and just the same as she did whenever she wanted to be picked up, I was always carrying her now.” — Barnaby [62:10]
• “No you don't, I said. Said you can do anything in the world. Pick anything... ‘I want to be wherever you are, Daddy. By your barn.’” — Barnaby and Claire [68:22]
• “I’d thrown the lamp at the doorframe. I didn’t know she was there... her bubbly body had left the tub to check on Daddy. Be a barn. And then she was gone, covered in shattered glass and hot paraffin wax.” — Barnaby [73:22]
• “As soon as the doors parted, a river of orange burst out, and so did I. I waded through the wax, no longer hardened or holding back my rage.” — Barnaby [75:30]

Themes & Insights

• Guilt as a form of consumption—Barnaby is “eaten” inside by what he’s done, and ultimately becomes the monster to which he’s always been compared.
• The story uses poetic refrains (Barnaby’s name, songs, colors) to blur reality and delusion, making the horror as much psychological as physical.

Notable Quotes & Moments (Selected)

• “Perhaps that's why the concept of consumption is so well suited to horror.” — David Cummings [02:08]
• “You know who I think you should call? Maybe you should call, Claire.” — Joan, weaponizing knowledge of the narrator’s affair [20:20]
• “Tom practiced saying it [the boy ghost’s name] over and over for months, a rasping wheeze in the darkness.” — Narrator [38:12]
• “I want to be wherever you are, Daddy. By your barn.” — Claire (Barnaby’s daughter) [68:34]
• “I sang, Barnaby me a be a barn a lot. To slaughter. To slaughter a lot.” — Barnaby, at the climax [76:34]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:08 | Introduction: The theme of consumption in horror | | 04:13 | Story 1 begins: “My Wife Keeps Feeding the Thing That Comes at Night” | | 23:49 | Story 1 concludes | | 26:53 | Story 2 begins: “Residual” | | 59:17 | Story 2 concludes | | 62:07 | Story 3 begins: “Bring Your Slaughter to Work Day” | | 76:39 | Story 3 concludes |

Episode Tone & Style Notes

• Language & Tone: Classic NoSleep—lush narration, immersive horror, bleak emotional honesty, and measured, atmospheric pacing.
• Atmosphere: Dread is ramped up by rich detail: domestic loneliness, crumbling hospital decay, the surreal routines of everyday workplaces warped into nightmarish tableaux.
• Themes: Consumption, guilt, the predatory nature of emotional wounds, what’s left behind after loss or betrayal.

For Listeners: Why You Should Listen

This episode perfectly exemplifies the NoSleep Podcast’s enduring appeal: chilling original horror stories, brought to life with evocative writing, first-rate voice acting, and an atmosphere that lingers long after the tales conclude. Whether you crave monsters, ghosts, or psychological horror, S24E04 delivers fear in forms you won't soon forget.