"The Mummer Man" - Horror Hill

Horror Hill — A Horror Fiction Anthology and Scary Stories Series Podcast

The episode presents a horror fiction narrative about a lonely bibliophile who joins a local book club to rebuild his social life after a painful breakup. His search for reading material

Key takeaways

• Eric Peabody introduces original Horror Hill host Jason Hill for this archival performance.
• The protagonist joins Tara's cottage book club to escape post-breakup loneliness and social isolation.

Main topics

• horror fiction anthology
• book club dynamics

Notable quotes

"None of it is real. Only the pain is true."

Conclusion

The episode delivers a tightly paced, visceral horror experience that explo

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) Greetings, listeners. Eric Peabody here, and tonight I'm bringing you another taste of Horror Hill's past with a special performance from the program's original host, Jason Hill. Jason established the voice and atmosphere of Horror Hill during its formative seasons, guiding listeners through some of the program's most memorable journeys into the macabre. Should tonight's performance leave you wanting more, the first few seasons are waiting. filled with stories he both hosted and brought to life. As for me, I'll be here every Thursday with new tales of terror of my own. Before we continue, please be advised that tonight's story contains material of a graphic and violent nature. Listener discretion is advised. Tonight's story introduces us to a lonely bibliophile who joins a local book club in the hope of rebuilding his social life after a painful breakup. While searching for his next selection, he discovers a weathered volume devoted to black magic, complete with a Ouija board and a peculiar invocation concealed within its pages. When the group decides to recite the accompanying rhyme, their skeptical amusement gives way to terror as the boundaries of Terra's secluded cottage begin to bend around them. What answers their summons has come to play, but the mummer man's idea of entertainment is far removed from their own. Written by David Sherrick and performed by Original Horror Hill host Jason Hill, this is The Mummer Man. Speaker 1 (1:41) Where do I start with this? Speaker 2 (1:44) He won't tell me. Speaker 2 (1:48) So, I'll start at the beginning. Speaker 2 (1:52) It's probably as good a place as any. Speaker 2 (1:56) I'm a bibliophile. I love books. I love reading and I love collecting books. Speaker 2 (2:04) Or at least I did. Speaker 2 (2:07) It's changed now, of course. Speaker 2 (2:12) I joined a group at a local book club in the hope of meeting new people. I'd just come out of a shitty relationship and I was low, feeling pretty hollowed out. Most of my friends were her friends, and when we split, they mostly sided with her. Speaker 2 (2:31) So, I was single and friendless. Thought maybe I'd start over. Make a new circle. Speaker 2 (2:41) I saw on Reddit some life hack about local interest groups as a way of finding like-minded fellows. So, naturally, I thought, what about a book club? Speaker 2 (2:54) And it was a good club. Speaker 2 (2:58) But it's changed lately. Speaker 2 (3:01) It's far more serious now. Speaker 2 (3:05) Not so much fun as it was to start with. Speaker 2 (3:10) A lady called Tara ran the book club. She was single and pretty, but also pretty strange. Hippie guru. Speaker 2 (3:21) I decided early on that she and I were not going to socialize outside the club. The club met once a week here in her cottage, all low beams and exposed stonework and log fires. Speaker 2 (3:35) The first couple of meets were okay. Fun. Like I said, the people were quite nice, really. Speaker 2 (3:45) Each session, we took it in turns to bring a book we intended to read. Everyone else had to source the same book and read it ready for the next meet. We actually did that, too. This wasn't one of those book clubs where everyone used the book thing as an excuse to meet and chew the fat. I liked the fact that we read the books and then talked about them. I liked the fact that they were all proper bibliophiles. Like me. Speaker 2 (4:15) I like that. Speaker 2 (4:20) Like it now. Speaker 2 (4:23) It was a happier time. Speaker 2 (4:27) It's so dark now. Speaker 2 (4:30) It's not at all like it was. Speaker 1 (4:34) I'm typing. Speaker 2 (4:37) It was my turn to choose a book, so I went for a walk and popped into a flea market bookstore. A place I'd never been before. It was musty, just like I like it. Downstairs was local history. Upstairs, fiction, hobbies, children's literature. The staircase between floors was open plan and turned a corner halfway. Speaker 2 (5:04) Here was a half-landing in a bookcase marked Esoterica. Speaker 2 (5:11) I have a look. Weird books about mysteries, magic, and miracles. Speaker 2 (5:17) I pick up an Erik von Daniken. Ancient Aliens Speaker 2 (5:23) I decide to make this