Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories

A serial killer's love for his mother drives him to make unusual art in her honor.Jill Trade is a married mother of three boys. She is a trained meat cutter, cosmetologist, and she formerly worked in finance. She enjoys passing time at the playgrounds writing poetry and short stories while her boys run out their energy. Her short stories have been published in Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories and Blood Moon Rising Magazine. You can read "Gargoyles Don't Cry" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers.Website: kaidankaistories.comFollow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

On the day of the week meant for relaxing, enjoy a brief story about the supernatural. "The Beautiful Death of Abilene Bethel" by P. T. Corwin was originally presented on March 23, 2022 on the Kaidankai podcast.A woman decides she will save her family the anguish of watching her waste away. How do you plan a beautiful death and how much control do you actually have?P. T. Corwin uses his training as an actor to read to himself in funny voices. He is proud to say that in secondary school, he read Stephen King so religiously that his teacher had a quiet word with his mother. His stories have most recently been published in Hedge Apple, Schlock Webzine and Dark Matter Magazine. He celebrates his literary victories on his website at www.ptcorwin.co.uk and on his Facebook page (@ptcorwin)."The Beautiful Death of Abilene Bethel" was first published on Schlock! Webzine.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers.Website: kaidankaistories.comFollow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

A friendly girl's lunch turns ugly when dark secrets are revealed.Linda Sparks is a poet and writer who has been published in various anthologies as well as online publications and podcasts. She has 21 published books. She also served as Editor for Valkyrie Magazine. She prefers writing horror including what she terms as horror poetry which is included in a few of her books. She also writes science fiction, dark fantasy and paranormal mystery. She enjoys her group, "Cemetery Squad" and they explore cemeteries and graveyards everywhere. Her children have told her one of the highlights of their childhood was having cemetery picnics. She grew up in Southern California and now lives with her family in Florida and uses the hurricanes as writing material. You can read "The Mark of the Cat" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers.Website: kaidankaistories.comFollow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_USPhoto by Akin Cakine on Unsplash

Steve Carr passed away in 2022. He has been missed every day since.Today's story is a classic. In "Catacombs of the Doomed," a kidnapped man wakes up in a dungeon. He wonders what act of his brought him to this situation, and what will become of him. But some fates are too horrible to contemplate. Steve Carr, from Richmond, Virginia, has had over 540 short stories published internationally in print and online magazines, literary journals, reviews and anthologies since June, 2016. He has had seven collections of his short stories published. His paranormal/horror novel Redbird was released in November, 2019. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize twice. Steve Carr's story The Betrothed was also featured on kaidankai (August 5th).Read by Michael Rhys, a Tokyo-based voice actor and writer and teller of short tales.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers.Website: kaidankaistories.comFollow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

A sad, lonely man finds help from the beyond. Resistant at first, he eventually confides to his friendly helper, whose raison d'etre appears to be to help him. Maggie Nerz Iribarne is 53, living her writing dream in a yellow house in Syracuse, New York. She writes about teenagers, witches, the very old, bats, cats, priests/nuns, cleaning ladies, runaways, struggling teachers, and neighborhood ghosts, among many other things. She keeps a portfolio of her published work at https://www.maggienerziribarne.com.You can read "Information, please?" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers.Website: kaidankaistories.comFollow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_USPhone photo: Al Quino on Unsplash

This week's animal theme continues with a story where dreams and reality cross, where fears and worries should be heeded, and where ignoring the warnings can lead to dire consequences. Made in '93, Tejaswinee is a lawyer with a Master's degree in Business Law from the Department of Law, University of Calcutta. She resides in the city of Chandannagar in West Bengal, India. Tejaswinee often finds catharsis through the written word, but mostly she spends half the day daydreaming and imagining stuff, and she loves writing across genres. She also dabbles in the occasional poetry. Music is her drug, travel brings her peace, and solitude is her therapy.Her socials are: Twitter - @TejaswineeRC & Instagram - @tejaswineeroychowdhury Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers. Follow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-FiPayPal

What would happen if people with phantom limbs could put the ghostly appendages to work? Can they be used to change the past?Michael Fowler is a humor and science fiction writer living in Ohio.You can read "The Phantom Detective" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers. Follow us on: TwitterMastodonInstagramYouTubeFacebookPlease donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

Every Sunday I post a favorite story that was broadcast in the early days of the Kaidankai. So, whether you listen while working or relaxing, turn up the volume and enjoy "The Hunter's Wife" by Andi Brooks. A man falls in love with a woman and creates a long and loving life with her. But can we ever truly know the people in our lives? A Tokyo resident since 2006, Anglo-Irish writer Andi Brooks is co-author of the critically acclaimed biography Vampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain, curator of The Bela Lugosi Blog and a recipient of a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for his article on the love affair between Bela Lugosi and Clara Bow, "Dracula and the It Girl." Since moving to Japan, he has become immersed in the world of yūrei and yōkai. His collection of original Japanese Ghost stories, Ghostly Tales of Japan, was published in 2020. He is currently writing a second volume of ghostly Japanese tales.Ghostly Tales of Japan: Amazon: https://amzn.to/3xp1o2TVampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain: http://www.cultmoviespress.com/vampire-over-london/Bela Lugosi Blog: https://beladraculalugosi.wordpress.com/"The Hunter's Wife" is read by Ghiselle Camacho, a wannabe Renaissance woman who diddles with anything her muses collide into. She is an actor, writer, poet, gardener, chef, photographer and visual artist. She's a third-culture Filipino-Canadian living in Japan with her Canadian husband and Japan-born Canadian children.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers. Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

A young witch learns the strength and depth of her powers. When a rogue witch puts the entire coven at risk, will her powers be enough to save the community?Lori D'Angelo's work has appeared in various literary journals including Drunken Boat, Gargoyle, Hawaii Pacific Review, Heavy Feather Review, Juked, Literary Mama, the Potomac Review, Reed Magazine and Word Riot. She is a fellow at Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, a grant recipient from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and an alumna of the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. She lives in Virginia with her two dogs, two cats, two kids, and one husband. You can find her on Twitter @sclly21. You can read "A Tale of Two Cats" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers. Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

The mind under stress sees things that aren't there, imagines conversations, and befriends strange creatures. Or, it sees peculiar things, has conversations with strange bedfellows, and befriends dangerous creatures and we just attribute it to mental illness because our own brains are too uncomfortable with the possibility such things could be real. War was written in Russian by Jonathan Vidgop and translated into English by Leo Shtutin.Jonathan Vidgop is a theatre director, author, screenwriter, and founder of the Am haZikaron Institute for Science and Heritage of the Jewish People in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Born in Leningrad in 1955, Jonathan was expelled in 1974 from what is now called the Saint-Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts “for behavior unworthy of the title of Soviet student.” Having worked as a locksmith, loader, and White Sea sailor, he was drafted into the army and sent to serve in the Arctic Circle. He is the author of several books. Two chapters from his latest novel, Testimony, accepted by the leading Russian Publishing House NLO, “Birdfall” and “Man of Letters,” were published in English in Goats Milk Magazine and The CHILLFILTR Review. A story was recently accepted by Los Angeles Review, and another by Pembroke Magazine. The story “Nomads” is the recent winner of the Meridian’s Editors’ Prize in Prose.A graduate of Merton College, Oxford, Leo Shtutin is a freelance translator from Russian and French and has worked for online publications such as The Calvert Journal and Open Democracy. His translation of Death of a Prototype, a novel by the contemporary Russian author Victor Beilis, was published by Anthem Press in 2017 and nominated for the 2018 Read Russia Prize. Between Page and Stage is his first book.You can read "War" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers. Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

What changed God's favorite angel to the black-hearted, evil devil of today? The answer will surprise you.Melissa Miles is an American who lives in New Zealand. She had many professional iterations, including acting, teaching, and film-making. She is now focused on her writing and her aging menagerie.You can read "A Devil in the Making" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Hear "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones here.Click here to learn about the 2023 Kaidankai contest for writers. Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

​A couple takes a detour on their way to New Orleans and gets lost. Can they escape what they encounter on the backroads of the Deep South?Lamont A. Turner is a New Orleans area author and father of four. His work has appeared in numerous print and online magazines and anthologies. "Souls In A Blender," his first collection of short stories was released by St. Rooster Books in 2021 and is available on Godless Horrors and Amazon. A second collection is scheduled for an early 2023 release. He can be found on Twitter at LamontATurner1 and on regulay posts updates on the Facebook group, The Haunt Of Lamont. You can read "Bayou Blackout" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

A story from the Saami culture. A father and his children worry about an evil and powerful witch showing up at their house. They do what they can to ward off danger. Will it be enough?Ron Riekki’s books include Blood/Not Blood Then the Gates (Middle West Press, poetry), My Ancestors are Reindeer Herders and I Am Melting in Extinction (Loyola University Maryland’s Apprentice House Press, hybrid), Posttraumatic (Hoot ‘n’ Waddle, nonfiction), and U.P. (Ghost Road Press, fiction). Right now, Riekki’s listening to James' "Laid."Janette Schafer is a writer, photographer, and classically trained singer who works as a real estate agent in Pittsburgh, PA. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University. Janette is the Chief Editor of Social Justice Anthologies and the Artistic Director for Beautiful Cadaver Project Pittsburgh. An award-winning poet, Janette is the author of Something Here Will Grow (Main Street Rag Press), Mother's Unbearable Itch (Alien Buddha Press), and Other Names and Places (LBF Books.). Also a playwright, Janette was the winner of the Pittsburgh Original Short Play Series in 2017 for her work Dearest. Janette lives in McKees Rocks, PA with her husband Garth and her cat Gino.You can read "Boahjenásti" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

A short detour takes an unsuspecting psychic to church. But the preacher and congregation have a few unresolved issues to work out, and only a psychic can help.Geoffrey Marshall is a writer in Aurora, Canada. He knows just enough to be dangerous (mostly to himself) in several different fields. You can find his work in The Ansible, Academy of the Heart and Mind and the September 2022 issue of MoonPark Review. His education never really took, through no fault of his instructors (debatable) but he did manage to acquire a BA in English Literature from Carleton University. Find him on twitter @g_k_marshall.You can read "Lake Torment" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $25 US and a podcast episode will be dedicated to you.Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

Artists often have to be creative to make ends meet. What lengths would you go to to have your art read/seen/listened to? Is it possible to stop once you've established a "fan" base? Joyce Chng's fiction has appeared in The Apex Book of World SF II, We See A Different Frontier, Cranky Ladies of History, Accessing The Future, The Future Fire and Anathema Magazine. Joyce also co-edited THE SEA IS OURS: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia with Jaymee Goh. Fire Heart, a YA fantasy under Scholastic Asia, is published in 2022. (Pronouns: she/her, they/their)You can read "Treacle Blood" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

What goes on in the mind of a serial killer? And is there any protection--in this world or another--against them?Adam Breckenridge is an Overseas Traveling Faculty member of the University of Maryland Global Campus where he travels the world teaching US military stationed overseas and is currently based in Japan. He has thirty-three story publications to his name and has most recently appeared in the Fantastic Other, and Lucent Dreaming and Beneath Ceaseless Skies.You can read "The Vengeance of Blood" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

When a pet dies, is its ghost obligated to be loyal to its earth family? Especially if one family member didn't love it?​James Rumpel is a retired high school math teacher who has greatly enjoyed spending some of his free time turning a few of the odd ideas circling his brain into stories. He lives in Wisconsin with his wonderful wife, Mary.You can read "Lucky" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

Charles Dickens really hates grumpy people during Christmas. Here is another story that helps us understand there is much to love about life.Charles Dickens was an English writer of the 1800s who created some of the Western World's most famous stories including Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities.You can read "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/kaidankaiPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

Even sleep demons have their troubles. Where do they go to solve their problems?Luis Paredes is a horror, fantasy, and speculative fiction writer living in Westchester, New York. Current work includes Head Hunters, his debut novel featuring 10-foot-tall praying mantis demons; Out On a Limb, the first in a series of magic noir mystery adventures staring private occult investigators Rebecca Suarez and Peyton Marx, and the mob-inspired short story, Forgive Us Our Debts. When not crafting strange tales, you can find Luis tinkering with old typewriters or using pencils, brushes and ink to bring his weird characters to life on paper. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luisparedeswrites/Twitter: https://twitter.com/luis_writesWebsite: https://luisparedeswrites.comYou can read "The Ammuntadore" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/kaidankaiPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US

A simple story about an evening in the life of a zombie. It's funny and gross, a little weird, and very surprising.Ronan O’Driscoll is the author of Poor Farm, published by Moose House Press, and Chief O’Neill, published by Somerville Press. Poor Farm is an imagining of what might happen to an autistic young man in nineteenth century Nova Scotia. Chief O’Neill covers the life of Francis O’Neill (1848-1936), another wandering Irishman who ended up in America as Chicago chief of police, remembered today for his collections of Irish tunes. He lives in Nova Scotia with his wife and three children. For more details visit https://ronanodriscoll.com.You can read "My Darling Zombie" at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.Follow us on: Twitter: Japanese Ghost Stories @ghostJapaneseMastodon: https://mastodon.sdf.org/@KaidankaighoststoriesInstagram: WhiteEnsoJapanYouTube: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural StoriesFacebook: Kaidankai: Ghost and Supernatural Stories Please donate any amount to the Kaidankai:Donate $50US and get a t-shirt with the Kaidankai logoKo-Fi. https://ko-fi.com/kaidankaighoststoriesPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/kaidankaiPayPal: https://paypal.me/whiteensokaidankai?country.x=JP&locale.x=en_US