Story of the Night - 24 October 2013

Tonight's first story is one that I believe many readers will be able to connect with, though hopefully not fully.  The idea that you have as a child that you are responsible for things that you have no control over, and sometimes not responsible for things that you do, clicks with a good number of people.  In The Night Watcher, user PerceptorPrime explores this theme in a tale about a dark figure stalking in the night, and is our Single story of the evening.

The second story is quite a bit longer, but it is worth the long read.  As a fan of longer stories myself, this one did not disappoint.  The story is called The Spire in the Woods, by user TheBoyInTheClock.  Fair warning, there is some NSFW content.  This story is as haunting as it is beautifully written, so take your time on this one and enjoy it.  For ease of browsing, here are all the parts (additional links are located in the body of the story):

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV
• Part V
• Part VI
• Part VII
• Part VIII
• Part IX
• Part X

Thanks for coming by, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.

Story of the Night - October 23, 2013

Welcome back.  There are quite a few good stories over at NoSleep this evening, and I had to narrow it down from an initial block of four to get to a selection for tonight.  After much debate, I have selected The Girl in My Dreams by user NotANovelist.  Fans of the horror genre know that there are different types of fear.  There's the jump-out-and-yell-boo variety, the suspenseful drawn-out variety, and numerous others.  One of my favorites is the lingering creepiness kind.  This story pegs that niche pretty well.

I realized today while going through the New Queue that I have been remiss about one rather large aspect of the NoSleep community.  There's a podcast, and it is amazing.  The NoSleep Podcast is orchestrated by David Cummings, known on Reddit as user MikeRowePhone.  Every episode, approximately five stories from NoSleep and other horror subreddits are included.  The first few stories are available for free each time, but a pass can be purchased to hear the full episode.  The production quality and voice talent are top-notch, and it is well worth your time.  You can find out more one their subreddit or their website.

That's it for this evening.  If you have any comments or suggestions, leave them here on the blog or email me at NoSleepStoryOfTheNight@gmail.com.

Thanks for coming by, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.

Story of the Night - October 22, 2013

Well, this too was bound to happen eventually.  But instead of just talking about it, let's throw it up on the marquis, shall we?

October 22, 2013

No Story Selected for Story of the Night

After browsing through last night, I didn't see anything that shot out and grabbed me by the collar, anything that pulled me in and kept me there (at least, not within the 24-hour time constraint).  This is not to say that the stories posted were bad, just that every day can't be spectacular.

For those who are new to NoSleep, it should be noted that sometimes nothing will jump out at you on the sub.  Don't be discouraged, these lulls usually lead to some pretty amazing things, because unspeakable terror abhors a vacuum.

We can't just leave though.  There must be a story.  Something to read.  Something to keep us up at night.

Got it.  This story made me cringe in that deeply uncomfortable way that made me question whether or not I should turn away in abject horror or scroll up and read again.  Author Skarjo treated NoSleep to the story Autopilot back in March 2013.  Since then, it has been made into a short film.  Also worth noting, it is the top-rated story of all time on NoSleep at this time.

Thanks for coming by, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.

Story of the Night - October 21, 2013

First, one for the Short category.  In the spirit of describing without spoiling, let's just say this story will give you whatever the opposite of a warm and fuzzy is.  Not quite the jimmies being rustled, but somewhere along the lines of an uneasy, sinking feeling that humans can be a terrible species of creature.  With that said, here's Ghost Costumes by IncredulousCockatiel.

Second, we have one for the Single category.  This story made the cut for the evening for two reasons.  One, it is creepy and realistic, which are the two main ingredients of many great NoSleep stories; this story is no exception.  Two, the writings is worth taking a moment to appreciate on its own.  Author LittleQuark presented Construction.  Take that one in, enjoy it.

Third is something of an unusual entry for this nightly thing of ours.  The story is The Fogknife by Gristledorf, and it is a very well written story with some classic horror elements.  I was torn between it and Construction for tonight's Single category selection.  I have chosen to include it here not as the Story of the Night (though it is the stuff those selections are made of), but because of a comment on the story.  User supremecrafters' comment (found here) is what I like to refer to as a NoSleep Remedy.  It's one of those comments that can alleviate the self-inflicted restlessness we bring on ourselves by frequenting NoSleep.

That's it for tonight.  I am hoping that one of the many ongoing series on NoSleep will come to a conclusion some time soon so that I can post one for the Series category.

Thanks for coming by, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.

Story of the Night - October 20, 2013

Every once in a while, a story comes along on NoSleep that grabs my attention in an unusual way.  Not the normal spooky way, or the check-over-my-shoulder creepy way, or even the "there's something under my bed shit-shit-shit-shit" way.  Tonight's story, Ellen's Video Tapes by Middie321 is one such story.  Don't get me wrong, this story will still give you one or two of those other feelings as well, but it is written in such a way that you get pulled into it very easily.  And that's what makes it this evening's NoSleep Story of the Night.

Thanks for coming by, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.

Story of the Night - October 19, 2013

Good evening.  Tonight's story is somewhere on the edge of Short and Single, but it's just long enough to give you a little bit of a thrill.  User creeperlady presented Peripheral, a story that exacerbates that feeling that something is there with you, but just out of the corner of your vision.

As part of the continued exploration of NoSleep's past, take a look at [NSFW, NSFL, LEGITIMATE NIGHTMARE FUEL] Don't Forget Your Friend by millerkevinisaiah.  This was one of the first stories I read on NoSleep, and it introduced me to the gritty end of the NoSleep scale.  On an admin note, none of the warnings/triggers I listed are present on the original story; it's just a fair warning.

Well, that's it for this evening.  As always, if you have any questions, comments, or horribly shameless plugs for your own work (none of these have come in so far, but hey, why not), please let me know at NoSleepStoryOfTheNight@gmail.com.

Thanks for coming, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.

Story of the Night - October 18, 2013

Welcome back, or if this is your first time, pull up a chair.

I've received a question about the categories I am using to separate the stories listed on this blog; specifically, why are there so few series listed so far, even though NoSleep is pretty series-heavy at the moment.  There are two reasons.

1) Series will only be included as a Story of the Night after the final installment of the series.

2) Sometimes, a series doesn't need to be a series, it has just been broken up for reasons that elude our cognitive capacity.  There's been a lot of discussion about this top in the NoSleep Discussion (Out of Character) subreddit, http://www.reddit.com/r/NoSleepOOC.

So, with that taken care of, the Story of the Night for this evening is Rock Climbing by Bodysseus, falling in the Single category.  Aside from the pucker factor parts of this story will induce, the suspense level is kept pretty high once it hits.

Thanks for coming by, see you tomorrow, and sleep tight.