295 - The Book of Dale

Welcome to Night Vale

Cecil Baldwin reports that archaeology professor and cult leader Harrison Kipp faces trial for the murder of Jalen Rutherford, with a biased jury being selected by Sheriff Sam. Cecil interviews

Key takeaways

• Harrison Kipp's trial for Jalen Rutherford's murder is set for February 1st, but jury candidates must show a strong history of guilty verdicts.
• Dale is described as a god who lives behind the sky and co-authored The Book of Dale with Harrison Kipp.

Main topics

• Harrison Kipp's murder trial and jail interview
• Dale as a god and author of The Book of Dale

Notable quotes

A message folks gotta hear.

Conclusion

The episode uses the trial and jail interview to build dread around Harrison Kipp while

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:05) Howdy y'all, it's Jeffrey Cranor and we have a brand new audio drama just for you. My Night Vale co-writers Joseph Fink and Brie Williams and I, we wrote a romance. It's called This Will Ruin the Tour. It's set in a single day in New Orleans, about a 40-something pop star on her comeback tour and a young journalist looking for his big break. We're so proud of this story. We had so much fun writing it, and we were even more proud of it once we heard Michael John and Prota and Robin Virginia do the voices and Disparition composing the music. It's all so stunning, and we love it, and we think you will too. This Will Ruin the Tour comes out October 26, 2026, and is available wherever you get your audiobooks. Oh, please pre-order if you can, because that really helps us creators out when you do that. If you're wanting a scary story for this scary month, I'm recommending Joseph Fink's The Nudge, a brand new novel about a man running from something, but has he run far enough? This book is Shirley Jackson-like with a Stephen King breezingness to the writing. The print version has original drawings by Nightville artist Jessica Hayworth. They're super scary. And the audiobook features Nightville actors Kevin Arfree and Cecil Baldwin. Get more info about This Will Ruin the Tour and The Nudge at welcometonightville.com. Click on books. Also, did you know that we are on tour one last time in 2026? Yes, December 3rd through the 8th. We're going to be in the American Northeast for just these final six shows. So go to welcometonightville.com slash live to see those dates. And these are the final performances of Murder Night in Blood Forest. Probably our most fun live show to date. So if you're in the Northeast in December, come see us then. Finally. We have a ton of new merch over at welcometonightville.com. You click on store to see all of that. We brought back our popular Halloween sweater. And of course, we've got Nightville scarves and hats for the winter. Not to mention tons and tons of t-shirts, mugs, totes, and so on. We're always putting in new things and taking old things out of the store. So check back regularly. That's welcometonightville.com. Click on store. And hey, thanks. He lurks in shadow. He slips into dreams. He casts no reflection. Audible presents Bram Stoker's Dracula, a new full-cast audio thriller starring Ella Purnell as Mina Harker, Jonathan Bailey as Dracula, and an A-list cast including Maggie Gyllenhaal as Van Helsing, Amy Lou Wood as Lucy, David Johnson as Dr. Seward, and many more. The new full-cast thriller locks Mina Harker in a battle of minds with the Count. When Mina's fiancé, Jonathan Harker, vanishes in Transylvania, Mina pieces together letters, diary entries, and chilling testimony to hunt the predator stalking those she loves, only to discover Dracula's already haunting her. Joined by the enigmatic Van Helsing, Mina and a small, fearless band race against time to stop this ancient terror. Featuring a haunting original score by Ilan Escheri and spatial Dolby Atmos sound design, Audible's Dracula invites you to welcome literature's most shadowy figure into your world. your home and into your ears. Feel the terror of being hunted and the thrill of the hunt. Don't miss this year's best new audio thriller, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Audible's new full cast original adaptation, written by Robert Ahern and directed by Mary Lambert. Now on Audible, listen to the darkness. Go to audible.com slash listen to Dracula. Hey, it's Jeffrey Cranor, and if you're listening to Welcome to Night Vale, then you've surely already heard of Hello from the Magic Tavern. Set in the magical land of Foon with wizards, goblins, unicorns, and definitely a talking badger, Hello from the Magic Tavern is an improvised fantasy comedy podcast with the really funny and really delightful hosts Arnie Niekamp as himself, Matt Young as Usador the wizard, and Adel Rufai as Chunt the talking badger. Each episode features hilarious guests in an ever-growing fantasy. world. And just like with Night Vale, Magic Tavern has ongoing storylines, so if you are a completist, go right to episode one, but honestly, you can really pick up at any episode. Might I recommend season two, episode 94, titled Mothman, because it features their greatest guest voice of all time, me, in a very tiny part. Also, that episode features Hank Green as Hans Hoffman, Science Mothman, in the title role. It's incredible. Honestly, every episode of Hello from the Magic Tavern is perfection, and I have adored this podcast for more than a decade now. Please go listen and subscribe to Hello from the Magic Tavern wherever you listen to podcasts. Speaker 5 (4:44) Let's put a pin in that. And let's stick a knife in that. Ooh, and that one really needs a pitchfork. Welcome to Night Vale. Speaker 4 (5:19) Today's top story. Speaker 5 (5:20) A trial date has been set for archaeology professor and cult leader Harrison Kipp for the murder of Jalen Rutherford. Harrison allegedly murdered Jalen with a collection plate after he discovered Jalen was embezzling donation money that was promised to Harrison's religious organization. The trial is set for February 1st, and Sheriff Sam is currently interviewing candidates for the jury. Anyone interested should email a resume, cover letter, and headshot to the sheriff's secret police. The sheriff said they're looking for retribution-minded individuals who don't like fringe religions or academic types. We've got a perfect prosecution record here in Night Vale, Sheriff Sam said, and we'd like to keep it that way. So it's important that all jury members have a strong history of guilty verdicts and maybe a death penalty or two under their belts. Speaker 4 (6:21) Harrison's Speaker 5 (6:22) bail has been