This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Jonathan Cook: Hi listeners.

[0:01] Devon McSherry: STAGE FRIGHTS is a Gather by the Ghost Light production and an immersive audio experience intended for adult audiences.

[0:08] Jonathan Cook: Immerse yourself.

[0:10] Devon McSherry: And enjoy.

[0:12] Jonathan Cook: Previously on STAGE FRIGHTS.

[0:15] Devon McSherry: So on today's episode, we'll be performing a sacrifice.

[0:22] Unknown speaker: Intruders!

[0:23] Unknown speaker: Ow!

[0:24] Unknown speaker: Get the axe!

[0:25] Unknown speaker: We're not intruders.

[0:26] Unknown speaker: This is our show.

[0:27] Jonathan Cook: Well, our plan was to perform a sacrifice on tonight's show, and we were going to choose from one of these little rascals.

[0:34] Devon McSherry: You need to perform a sacrifice, and we need to perform a show.

[0:37] Jonathan Cook: So what if you all stick around and we use these sacrificial candidates here as the performers in our show?

[0:45] Devon McSherry: What a great idea.

[0:47] Jonathan Cook: Perfect a good twisty ending.

[1:02] Unknown speaker: Did it go well with my twisty hair?

[1:04] Devon McSherry: Ah, indeed.

[1:06] Unknown speaker: Oh.

[1:07] Unknown speaker: Are we good to go?

[1:08] Jonathan Cook: Or you were all frighteningly fabulous.

[1:11] Devon McSherry: Of course I can't sacrifice any of you.

[1:13] Unknown speaker: You heard the duck.

[1:14] Unknown speaker: Be gone.

[1:15] Unknown speaker: Yes, be gone, my little beasties.

[1:18] Unknown speaker: Oh, this is fun.

[1:20] Unknown speaker: What's next?

[1:22] Jonathan Cook: This next scary tale is for all the zombie fans out there.

[1:26] Unknown speaker: What did you say?

[1:28] Unknown speaker: Oh my god, why is he looking at me like that?

[1:31] Unknown speaker: How dare you!

[1:32] Unknown speaker: He's speaking in all capital letters.

[1:34] Unknown speaker: What what is happening right now?

[1:36] Devon McSherry: Doc?

[1:37] Unknown speaker: Is everything okay?

[1:46] Unknown speaker: Whew.

[1:47] Unknown speaker: Pardon me.

[1:49] Unknown speaker: Don't you know the Z word is not politically correct anymore?

[1:54] Unknown speaker: What?

[1:55] Unknown speaker: Zombies?

[1:56] Unknown speaker: Stop saying that.

[1:56] Unknown speaker: You're being insensitive.

[1:58] Jonathan Cook: Well, what should we call them instead?

[2:01] Unknown speaker: So many options.

[2:02] Unknown speaker: Undead, living dead, walkers, stalkers, shamblers, bitters, lurkers, growers, ghouls.

[2:07] Devon McSherry: Oh, okay, okay, we get it.

[2:08] Jonathan Cook: Okay, for this story, we're gonna need three actors.

[2:10] Devon McSherry: Preferably ones that can groan like a zon like like the living dead.

[2:15] Jonathan Cook: Oh, perfect.

[2:17] Jonathan Cook: I know exactly who fits that.

[2:19] Devon McSherry: Great.

[2:20] Jonathan Cook: Here's an eager three for you.

[2:23] Jonathan Cook: Your name?

[2:24] Brad King: Brad King.

[2:25] Jonathan Cook: Here is your script.

[2:27] Jonathan Cook: Uh, you're gonna be Clint.

[2:28] Jonathan Cook: He's a grizzled veteran and a survivalist, equipped to handle anything the world throws at him.

[2:34] Jonathan Cook: But he also has a sensitive side.

[2:36] Jonathan Cook: And you come over here.

[2:38] Unknown speaker: Yeah, me?

[2:38] Jonathan Cook: Yeah, here's your script.

[2:40] Jonathan Cook: You'll be.

[2:41] Unknown speaker: Hey, wait a minute.

[2:42] Unknown speaker: I recognize you.

[2:43] Unknown speaker: What's your name?

[2:44] Michael Silvio Fortino: It's Michael Silvio Fortino.

[2:46] Jonathan Cook: Didn't you play the gas station cashier in season three of Stranger Things?

[2:50] Michael Silvio Fortino: Hey, I thought you looked familiar.

[2:52] Michael Silvio Fortino: Your character's name was Ricky, right?

[2:54] Unknown speaker: Yeah.

[2:55] Unknown speaker: Yeah, that was uh Yeah, that was me.

[2:57] Unknown speaker: That was uh start the costume.

[2:59] Jonathan Cook: Well, today you get to play Evan, a desperate young man doing whatever he can to survive the apocalypse.

[3:06] Unknown speaker: Right on.

[3:07] Jonathan Cook: And you are?

[3:08] Karla Daly: Uh Carla Daly.

[3:09] Jonathan Cook: You'll be playing Evan's part-time girlfriend.

[3:09] Unknown speaker: Part-time?

[3:13] Unknown speaker: What do you what does that even mean?

[3:15] Jonathan Cook: You'll see.

[3:16] Jonathan Cook: This one is called Let the DEAD BURY the Dead.

[3:20] Unknown speaker: Good title.

[3:21] Jonathan Cook: Written by Mike Brannon.

[3:23] Unknown speaker: Brennan.

[3:30] Unknown speaker: In here.

[3:31] Unknown speaker: Damn it, you idiot.

[3:32] Unknown speaker: Get in the barn.

[3:34] Unknown speaker: Oh my god.

[3:35] Unknown speaker: Oh my god.

[3:35] Unknown speaker: Shut up.

[3:36] Unknown speaker: Oh my god.

[3:36] Unknown speaker: Damn Mouth and get in the barn!

[3:38] Unknown speaker: Jesus!

[3:38] Unknown speaker: Jesus, they're everywhere!

[3:39] Unknown speaker: Did they follow us here?

[3:40] Unknown speaker: Did they follow us?

[3:41] Unknown speaker: Christ, I've never seen a zombie swarm that large.

[3:44] Unknown speaker: I thought we'd be okay at the RB.

[3:46] Unknown speaker: I thought we'd be okay.

[3:47] Unknown speaker: Jesus Christ, they're everywhere!

[3:49] Unknown speaker: Keep it down!

[3:51] Unknown speaker: I'm sorry.

[3:52] Unknown speaker: I'm just a little freaked out.

[3:53] Unknown speaker: Jesus, I've never seen so many.

[3:55] Unknown speaker: Jesus.

[3:57] Unknown speaker: Wait.

[3:58] Unknown speaker: Hold on.

[3:58] Unknown speaker: Karen, where's Karen?

[4:00] Unknown speaker: What happened to Karen?

[4:01] Unknown speaker: Who?

[4:02] Unknown speaker: My girlfriend.

[4:02] Unknown speaker: She was in the RB with me.

[4:03] Unknown speaker: Did she get out?

[4:04] Unknown speaker: Is she okay?

[4:07] Unknown speaker: Karen!

[4:09] Unknown speaker: Darren!

[4:10] Unknown speaker: Fuck away from the door!

[4:11] Unknown speaker: You out of your goddamn mind!

[4:13] Unknown speaker: I'm sorry.

[4:13] Unknown speaker: Sorry, it's just well, I mean, Karen and I, we've only been together for a few months, but I I I I I can't believe it.

[4:22] Unknown speaker: It's okay.

[4:23] Unknown speaker: I understand.

[4:25] Unknown speaker: Here.

[4:26] Unknown speaker: Take this flask and drink.

[4:28] Unknown speaker: If it makes you feel any better, it was too late for her.

[4:32] Unknown speaker: The swarm was overpowering.

[4:34] Unknown speaker: There is no way she survived.

[4:36] Unknown speaker: Sure, but I I mean if if somehow there was a way.

[4:39] Unknown speaker: There wasn't.

[4:41] Unknown speaker: Trust me.

[4:42] Unknown speaker: Drink.

[4:45] Unknown speaker: Oh god.

[4:46] Unknown speaker: What the hell?

[4:47] Unknown speaker: What is this paint thinner?

[4:48] Unknown speaker: Ever clear 151.

[4:50] Unknown speaker: It's close enough, I suppose.

[4:52] Unknown speaker: Shit.

[4:52] Unknown speaker: It's almost pure grain alcohol.

[4:54] Unknown speaker: That stuff is strong enough to eat a hole through your stomach lining.

[4:57] Unknown speaker: You got some kind of plan to live forever?

[4:59] Unknown speaker: I guess not.

[5:02] Unknown speaker: I guess none of us do.

[5:07] Unknown speaker: I mean, I suppose I should feel lucky to be alive.

[5:09] Unknown speaker: It's just a a few months ago I was a uh pharmaceutical rep with a nice cushy office.

[5:14] Unknown speaker: Now look at me.

[5:15] Unknown speaker: Dirty, bleeding, scared, all the shit.

[5:17] Unknown speaker: I mean, I can't stop shaking.

[5:19] Unknown speaker: Look!

[5:19] Unknown speaker: Look here, I I can't stop shaking.

[5:22] Unknown speaker: Man, when those hokey things lunged through my windows, I thought I was done for.

[5:27] Unknown speaker: And then you shot that big bald guy with the yellow eyes and dragged me off to safety.

[5:31] Unknown speaker: Don't mention it.

[5:34] Unknown speaker: How you feeling?

[5:36] Unknown speaker: How am I feeling?

[5:38] Unknown speaker: Feeling good.

[5:39] Unknown speaker: Feeling okay.

[5:42] Unknown speaker: To be honest with you, I think I'm feeling.

[5:45] Unknown speaker: Wait a minute.

[5:47] Unknown speaker: What the hell?

[5:48] Unknown speaker: Did you just poison me?

[5:49] Unknown speaker: Is that your plan?

[5:50] Unknown speaker: Drug me, torture me, perform some sort of sadist Edgar Allan Poe pit in the pendulum type shit on me?

[5:56] Unknown speaker: Is that your plan?

[5:57] Unknown speaker: You sick son of a bitch.

[5:59] Unknown speaker: Answer me!

[6:01] Unknown speaker: Answer me.

[6:03] Unknown speaker: You're right.

[6:05] Unknown speaker: I'm sorry, that's that's crazy talk.

[6:07] Unknown speaker: I I know you didn't poison me.

[6:09] Unknown speaker: Sorry, everything that's happened.

[6:11] Unknown speaker: I guess we all go a little bit crazy sometimes.

[6:14] Unknown speaker: It's all right.

[6:15] Unknown speaker: I understand.

[6:17] Unknown speaker: Times like these.

[6:19] Unknown speaker: Seems like every B movie horror cliché suddenly applies.

[6:26] Unknown speaker: Hello?

[6:26] Unknown speaker: Hello, is anybody in there?

[6:28] Unknown speaker: Karen?

[6:29] Unknown speaker: Evan?

[6:30] Unknown speaker: Evan is that new?

[6:33] Unknown speaker: Get away from the meeting.

[6:35] Unknown speaker: Let me go.

[6:35] Unknown speaker: She's she's already gone, son.

[6:37] Unknown speaker: She's bit and she'll turn.

[6:39] Unknown speaker: She's already dead.

[6:40] Unknown speaker: You have to let her go.

[6:42] Unknown speaker: What are you talking about?

[6:43] Unknown speaker: I hear her.

[6:44] Unknown speaker: She's alive.

[6:44] Unknown speaker: She's right there.

[6:46] Unknown speaker: You want proof?

[6:48] Unknown speaker: You want to see?

[6:49] Unknown speaker: Here.

[6:55] Unknown speaker: What do you think you're doing?

[7:00] Unknown speaker: Evan.

[7:02] Unknown speaker: Evan, I don't.

[7:04] Unknown speaker: I don't think I can.

[7:08] Unknown speaker: Karen!

[7:09] Unknown speaker: Oh my god, we have to help her!

[7:11] Unknown speaker: Don't you dare move a goddamn muscle!

[7:13] Unknown speaker: You wanted to watch fine watch You need to see what happens I'm bleeding I'm bleeding those things they bit me I think I'm gonna be sick Evan Oh Evan you're here thank god you're here thank god you're all right help me Evan please I'm I'm pleading and Karen don't heal touch her god I think she's dead I think she's dead not exactly watch watch what happens next though what uh I don't understand my family I don't speak Spanish can neither of us spoke Spanish the herd probably fed on some Hispanic family somewhere but just watch watch what's happening you shouldn't have gone after them boy you should have stayed stayed with us let the dead bury the dead the dead bury the dead what I'm dead bury the dead I don't care.

[8:49] Unknown speaker: I don't understand.

[8:51] Unknown speaker: I don't understand what's going on.

[8:54] Unknown speaker: Took me a while to figure it out.

[8:56] Unknown speaker: Most people don't get to see what really happens.

[8:59] Unknown speaker: People get grabbed, people get eaten.

[9:01] Unknown speaker: Nobody sees a thing.

[9:03] Unknown speaker: But if you're patient and quiet, and you sit and you watch.

[9:10] Unknown speaker: Jesus.

[9:12] Unknown speaker: I can't stop aching.

[9:15] Unknown speaker: I need a drink.

[9:16] Unknown speaker: At the end, when the disease takes hold, all the memories of the victims come bubbling up to the surface.

[9:23] Unknown speaker: Maybe these zombies don't have thoughts or feelings of their own.

[9:27] Unknown speaker: Maybe they eat other people to somehow capture their essence, their emotions so they can feel something again.

[9:37] Unknown speaker: I don't I don't feel good. My stomach's twisted. Tied up in knots.

[9:44] Unknown speaker: I understand, son. I know exactly what you're going through. Come here.

[9:51] Unknown speaker: Yeah. Nope. Don't let it still. Hold still, you stupid son of a bitch.

[9:57] Unknown speaker: What the hell? What the hell are you doing with those handcuffs?

[10:00] Unknown speaker: Just get over here.

[10:01] Unknown speaker: No. Just sit still.

[10:07] Unknown speaker: There. There we go. Help me! Help!

[10:11] Unknown speaker: Got you locked into place.

[10:12] Unknown speaker: Somebody help me, please help me!

[10:13] Unknown speaker: Oh, quit your yapping, you zombie infested fuck. You think anybody cares enough to help you?

[10:19] Unknown speaker: There's nobody in this whole goddamn world that gives two shits about you. So shut the fuck up!

[10:23] Unknown speaker: Please, man. Please don't don't do this. Don't do this. Whatever you think of me, please, please don't do this.

[10:30] Unknown speaker: Look, I'm I'm not one of them. I'm not, I'm a human being just like you.

[10:33] Unknown speaker: You're a human right now. That won't last long.

[10:37] Unknown speaker: What do you mean?

[10:42] Unknown speaker: You've been bit.

[10:44] Unknown speaker: What? No. No, I haven't. That's ridiculous.

[10:49] Unknown speaker: You see that blood coming from your arm? That I I probably caught it against the metal siding of the RV when you dragged me out.

[10:56] Unknown speaker: No. No, you remember that bald fucker with the yellow eyes who came through the window of the RV. I was watching him through binoculars.

[11:05] Unknown speaker: I saw him take a big old juicy bite out of your arm. Last thing he did before I put a bullet in his head.

[11:11] Unknown speaker: Wait, you were watching me? You were watching me and you let that thing? You let that thing bite me?

[11:19] Unknown speaker: Of course I did. I've been waiting on a moment like this for weeks now. Waiting for the same zombie to grab a hold of someone.

[11:27] Unknown speaker: I almost got my chance at the Pigley Wiggly in Gastonia. The lady bled out before I could get to her. I almost lost hope.

[11:35] Unknown speaker: Then I saw you getting out of your rust-colored coachman in the woods, and I knew I'd found my mark.

[11:43] Unknown speaker: Eight minutes. First the tremors, then the nausea. Right on schedule.

[11:49] Unknown speaker: Anyway. In the end, it was pretty easy. All I had to do was lead the zombie pack over your little clearing and wait for them to do their thing.

[12:00] Unknown speaker: It was simple. Not like you were smart enough to properly barricade your home or put the lights out at night.

[12:09] Unknown speaker: You're crazy. Nobody would do that. You led them to me? You wanted them to bite me. Why?

[12:17] Unknown speaker: Why would you? I'd managed to protect my family to keep my wife and daughter safe since the very first hordes started invading our towns.

[12:26] Unknown speaker: We kept on the move. I scrounged for supplies, and my wife, Marsha, kept an eye on Matilda. That was my daughter's name. Matilda.

[12:36] Unknown speaker: Eight years old. She'd never lost that childlike innocence. Even when the worst.

[13:03] Unknown speaker: My daughter was gone. That goddamn bald bastard was staring at me with those unholy yellow eyes, and I knew.

[13:12] Unknown speaker: I knew if it was the last thing I'd ever do, I'd get my chance to say goodbye.

[13:20] Unknown speaker: I'm sorry, kid. I'm sorry you had to go out this way. If there was only some other way.

[13:35] Unknown speaker: Marsha. Can you hear me? Are you in there?

[13:43] Unknown speaker: Clint. Clint, is that you?

[13:48] Unknown speaker: I'm here, baby. I'm here.

[13:51] Unknown speaker: You weren't there. You were gone.

[13:53] Unknown speaker: I know. Marsha, I know. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

[13:57] Unknown speaker: It's alright. It's all right, my darling. My hands, why are they chained together?

[14:03] Unknown speaker: Oh, Lord, my love, I'm so sorry. Here, here. Let me help you with that.

[14:09] Unknown speaker: Shh. It's all right. It's not your fault. It's not your fault.

[14:18] Unknown speaker: You're always there for us. I love you, Marsha. I always have.

[14:27] Unknown speaker: Ever since we were in grade school together when we moved into that tiny apartment in Anderson. When Matilda came along.

[14:36] Unknown speaker: When we had that miscarriage when we fought and when we would make up. I always will. I love you.

[14:51] Unknown speaker: I love you. Daddy? Oh. Oh my Matilda. Sweet baby girl.

[15:02] Unknown speaker: I miss you, Daddy. Oh, I miss you too. It's okay, baby. You don't have to be afraid.

[15:09] Unknown speaker: I'll be with you soon. It's okay. Daddy will be with you soon.

[15:21] Unknown speaker: You zombie sons of bitches all right. Come. Come and get me. Bite me.

[15:31] Unknown speaker: I blast your fucking head off. Then my wife and my child will get one more chance to live.

[15:37] Unknown speaker: It's all right, you sons of bitches. It's alright. Come and get me. Come and get me.

[15:48] Unknown speaker: Come on.

[16:01] Unknown speaker: Well, that was an impressive and refreshing new take on the zombie genre.

[16:07] Unknown speaker: Oh, don't be so dramatic. Things go in and out of style so quickly nowadays.

[16:12] Unknown speaker: The word zombie is now in again. And you three actors are out.

[16:18] Unknown speaker: What? Alright. Story really touched my little black heart. So as a courtesy, I won't cut yours out.

[16:26] Unknown speaker: I'll stay if you need me. They're sacrificing actors.

[16:29] Unknown speaker: You've been at work in years, man. Leave me alone!

[16:32] Unknown speaker: Come on! Fine. Come on. Good luck with your sacrifice! A tootaloo.

[16:38] Unknown speaker: Well, look at that. We're down to the last few candidates for the sacrifice.

[16:44] Unknown speaker: It's almost time. He's right. We only have a few more to save.

[16:52] Unknown speaker: What stories do we have left? Well, here's the last script. It's a good one, though.

[16:56] Unknown speaker: Oh, yeah, that should definitely do the trick. Come on, come on. We don't have all day.

[17:01] Unknown speaker: Our sacrifice isn't going to sacrifice themselves, you know. A lot of work to be done.

[17:06] Unknown speaker: People to torture, limbs to sever, a sacrifice to sacrifice. Let's get on with it.

[17:10] Unknown speaker: Gotcha covered, Doc. This next story may be the scariest one yet.

[17:20] Jonathan Cook: Okay. STAGE FRIGHTS is a Gather by the Ghost Light production.

[17:27] Jonathan Cook: It was produced and directed by Jonathan Cook and Devon McSherry. The STAGE Frights concept and theme was created and written by Jonathan Cook.

[17:36] Jonathan Cook: The featured audio play in this episode, Let the DEAD BURY the Dead, was written by Mike Brannon. The STAGE Frights series stars A.C. Daniel, Matt Kridel, Luke Romagnoli, Azariah Seay, Marian Thibodeau, Mickey Lay, Robb Smith, Wesley Pierson, Pepper Wren, Brad King, Michael Silvio Fortino, Karla Daly, Korilyn Hendricks, Arelis Rivera, TJ McSherry, Devon McSherry, Jonathan Cook, and Nathan Shelton as Doctor Necropolis.

[18:04] Jonathan Cook: Original audio production, sound design, and editing by Jonathan Cook. Intro and outro music by composer JK/47.

[18:14] Jonathan Cook: Additional featured music in this episode by idokay and Ace. Special thanks to the Frightmare Theatre Podcast, Bonnie Marie Williams and the Horror Nerds Podcast, Horrorstruck Hot Sauce, and Le Chat Noir Theatre.

[18:27] Jonathan Cook: This program is funded in part by the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.