Welcome To Night Vale

Welcome to Night Vale is the broadcasts of a small community radio station in a town where hauntings are quite possibly the least of their problems.  It is also by far and away one of the most enjoyable listens I've had in recent memory.


It's a hard show to classify.  Horror would probably be the most logical genre to place it under, but then that somewhat fails to communicate the subtle tones of black comedy or scifi wierdness that factor into the show as well.

A massive amount of the show's appeal is the delivery style used by the host, a well spoken man named Cecil, as he casually reports on the news around town.  News which often as not will involve Angels, mysterious hooded figures, harbor districts for a town in the middle of the desert and strange glowing clouds that rain dead animals.

The podcast has been running for over a year now and has become quite the hit, with an inevitable amount of tumblr fangirls accompanying it.  I think if you were to make an adaption of the show casting Benedict Cumberbatch as beautiful scientist Carlos, Tumblr may well explode.

The podcast generally follows a format of a succession of strange news stories, some which recur within the episode, others of which recur in subsequent episodes and still more which recieve no callbacks at all.  The format works well and makes for an addictive just one more feel to each episodes.  Each episode features a musical segment (introduced as the weather, of course) by a variety of indie artists, most commonly lofi songs set to acoustic guitar, that provide wonderful variety.

Apart from those, the stories are usually accompanied by a haunting score by Disparition, bookended by a delightful piece of theme music.

Overall, it's a must listen.  New episodes emerge roughly twice a month.  You can find their website here.

Enjoy, dear listeners.  Goodnight.

Posted in: commonplace books, Jeffrey Cranor, Joseph Fink, podcast, podcast review, welcome to night vale