#NIKIGNIK PLEASE HELP HIM

[roki-roki-roll]

I want only one thing in Season 5

[ghostsandmermaids]

Fandom Manifesto: Hello From The Hallowoods

(Originally written for the Fandomanifesto community on Pillowfort.)

Here's a (mostly spoiler-free) fandom manifesto for my favorite podcast, Hello From The Hallowoods. (Please try to keep the comments on this post spoiler-free as well.)

What is a fandom manifesto?

Inspired by ship manifestos, a fandom manifesto is an essay meant to introduce people to a fandom and promote it by explaining its appeal. It's a really fun tradition that I would love to keep going.

What is Hello From The Hallowoods?

Darker than your dreams, and farther North than you remember, there is a forest where life and death meet…

Hello From The Hallowoods is a queer horror podcast written and produced by William A. Wellman (they/them). This is the official description (taken from Spotify):

Come walk between the black pines! In this award-winning queer fiction podcast, a cosmic narrator follows the increasingly connected residents of the forest at the end of the world. It's a bittersweet story that explores queer identity, horror genre tropes, and finding hope in humanity's last moments.

It's set in a forest in northern Canada (the Hallowoods) in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by the black rains. The story follows the inhabitants of the Hallowoods—only some of whom are alive and human—as their lives become increasingly interconnected. 

The podcast is narrated by Nikignik (he/they), also known as One Hundred Eyes in the Dark, an eldritch god who speaks directly to the listener via their nightmares. He begins to tell these stories because he's grieving his partner, another god called Marolmar (he/him), and humans were the last thing Marolmar created. Over time, Nikignik changes from a more passive narrator to an active character in the story.

There are a lot of characters, including but not limited to:

a nonbinary Frankenstein's creature piercing together their identity

a trans ghost dealing with his occultist father

an invisible man finding love at first sight

a genderfluid storm witch trying to prove themself

a retired rockstar and her punk butch lesbian daughter

a floral-suit-wearing demon on a celestial audit of earth

a starwolf on a mission to kill said demon

a killer robot skull and his pet dead seagull

an unkindness of ravens (yes, they are one character)

… and many, many more.

How scary is it?

It's a horror podcast, so there are some scary moments, but for me, the story feels very comforting and bittersweet as it explores horror tropes in a really unique way. According to the website:

It's been described as a show that helps you sleep easier, rather than one that keeps you up at night.

The story also explores themes like religious trauma, isolation, death, grief, and queerphobia, so please check the content warnings at the end of each episode description or at the start of each episode transcript. Transcripts are available on the website.

Why should I listen to it?

If the description above didn't convince you, here are some more reasons why you should listen to Hello From The Hallowoods. 

There is so much content! I often complain about books being almost always standalones or duologies lately and TV seasons only being 8-10 episodes. If I really like something, I want to spend as much time with it as possible!

With HFTH, I don't have that problem because there is so much to listen to! There are currently (almost) 150 episodes available (plus a few live shows and bonus episodes), and new episodes come out every Wednesday. There are also weekly 100-word bonus stories on Patreon, and a tie-in novel called One Hundred Eyes In The Dark is currently in the works, so if you're looking for a story you can get really invested in (or if you're angry that all your favorite shows have been canceled), HFTH is perfect for you!

There are so many queer characters, disabled characters, and characters of color! If you're looking for a really diverse show, you will love HFTH. (I cried when I heard a character describe herself as aromantic.) But even aside from the diversity, the characters are just amazing. I mean, "What if Frankenstein's creature got love and support and was an absolute cinnamon roll?" is the perfect character concept. The villains are also really compelling and well-written. 

It's a great introduction to podcasts, especially for book lovers, because it often feels like a very immersive audiobook! The voice acting and music are incredible, and even though there are a lot of characters, you can tell them apart very easily by their voices. If you like fantasy and horror books, this could be your introduction to the world of audio dramas. 

That being said, if you have listened to other horror podcasts before, you will still love this one! It sometimes reminds me of Welcome To Night Vale, but the setting and characters are very unique, and the writing is so, so beautiful. 

It's also a great introduction to horror! I used to avoid horror media because I get scared very easily, but horror podcasts (and especially Hello From The Hallowoods) made me discover how much I actually enjoy horror. HFTH explores horror tropes in such a kind, unique, and hopeful way, and as sappy as that sounds, listening to it makes the horrors of everyday life a little easier to deal with. 

If you like Malevolent (another really great horror podcast), Harlan Guthrie has a guest role in HFTH! You might also recognize Mx. Wellman's voice from other podcasts like WOE.BEGONE, The Silt Verses or Old Gods of Appalachia. 

The fandom is amazing! Everyone is so kind and talented, and we always have a lot of fun theorizing about what will happen next. There's even a fan-run Discord server!

We also have a fan wiki, and in addition to the official information, we also have a "fun gender" for each character. Here are some of my favorites:

Tumblr Sexyman (Official)

Eye-Affiliated Podcast Host

Deer that will fuck you up

Whatever the hell was going on with the guy from Shape Of Water

Nightmare Personality

Hot Topic Goth

Dilf Automobile

How do I listen to it?

You can listen to Hello From The Hallowoods on the podcatcher of your choice. Here are some suggestions from the Hallowoods website:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Podbean

YouTube

Google Podcasts

It's not an anthology, so please listen to it from the beginning to see how the different characters and plot threads come together. 

The show is entirely ad-free and sponsor-free, so if you like it and want to financially support it, please consider joining the show’s Patreon.

And that's it! There are many things I didn't include for spoiler reasons, but this should give you a basic idea of what HFTH is about and why I love it so much. 

I hope I convinced you to listen to Hello From The Hallowoods, and maybe you will love it as much as I do!

[vestaclinicpod]

Audio Drama Sunday - 19th May ✨

I have had my heart ripped out through my ears this week by certain shows *cough* Small Victories *cough* but here’s everything I listened to! 

👻 @tellnotalespod (S2E10) these ghosties may be incorporeal but the chemistry between them sure isn’t!! I loved hearing Leo find a role that they feel fits them but found myself burying my head in my hands again as they continue to be manipulated by Frank. I love that it’s been written so that there’s definitely something suspicious going on but you can’t quite put your finger on what it is exactly. It’s so much more like real life than if Frank was just obviously rotten and if (when) he reveals himself to be a rat bastard, I hope it helps people examine their own relationships with people who might be manipulating them! 

🌲 @hellofromthehallowoods (152) Clem 😭 I hate that even as a listener I compare her to Riot but her sense of humour in the face of being pretty much ripped to shreds is SO much like Riot 😩 

And, oh. Oh, Raj. Maybe he hasn’t made a covenant with Syrensyr …. maybe the real eldritch power was grief all along. This killed me. 

I’m hoping at some point (either in the canon or as a bonus) we get to hear the Nikignik/Marolmar conversation in its entirety from start to finish. I love getting snippets but I also want to hear it in full!! 

🧳 Travelling Light @monstrousproductions (22) ooooh I do love a spooky tale and would happily listen to an entire series set in the world of this story! 

🏛 @the-mistholme-museum (TRANQUIL) What a lovely ending to an astounding show. It’s so comforting to know that, at the end of everything, there will still be stories 🥺💙

🖥️ The Magnus Protocol (16) Poor Alice ☹️ I really enjoyed the multimedia additions in this episode, it made it so much more entertaining to listen to!! 

🍎 @notquitedeadpod (XXXVIII) Oh lord. Maybe Casper isn’t the angel we assumed him to be 😩 I literally didn’t trust Neige at all when he was first introduced but, god, I am so soft for him now. If it turns out that he’s the one manipulating Alfie I’m going to lose it. What on earth are they going to do with Casper now?? 

🌞 Small Victories by @wgc-productions (2.05-2.07) oh my GOD!! Marisol!!! I can’t even believe what has happened in my ears. CHRIST. I think what hurts the most is that it actually took zero effort for her to find the oxy in the end - she was REALLY stopping herself 😭 she could have taken it at any time and didn’t. Sometimes it’s hard to believe this show has been written and acted, the writing and performances are so spot on that it feels like real life!

^ So I wrote this and then finished off the rest of the season and OH MY GOD!!!!!!! Shit, man. I completely didn’t even realise who ‘The Host’ was until she apologised to him at the start of the last episode 😭 don’t do this to me, I’m too fragile 😭 ugh, it’s all just too much. I need season three right now. 

Please, everyone go listen to Small Victories!! And if you're having a generous audio drama Sunday, Stories from Ylemore by @itmeblog is crowdfunding and you should support them!!

[dathen]

About halfway through season 2 in Hello from the Hallowoods relisten:

Danielle best character of all time

No seriously I cannot get over how much I love her she has EVERYTHING

The fucking mood whiplash between her waking up all "who the fuck is Arnold Eggers" and we realize SHE'S LISTENING TO THE SHOW WITH US NOW immediately followed by the heart-twisting poignant scene of her grappling with body dysphoria because her real world self doesn't match her dream self

God this podcast does the emotions and struggles of trans people so so so so well

Percy and Diggory immediately helping however they can is one of the most beautiful scenes in this podcast. TRANS SOLIDARITY

I was CRYLAUGHING at Nikignik jumping in and out of the narrative getting so hissy and angy at Danielle telling Riot about him. Fucking funniest "narrator entangled in the narrative" moment in fiction history

"Please stop arguing, you'll upset Danielle" "I'm immobile, not a baby, and besides I'm enjoying the drama :3" SHE'S SO SDFHSFOHKJSFHDFSHFJSDHFJ QUEEN!!!

I love her

DANIELLE

Danielle!!!!

MORE DANIELLE IN MY LIFE PLEASE

Oh and good lord there's so much tension between her and Other Riot/Clem. Knowing how close they're going to become makes it all the tastier

Also I ship them and all of this would be a delightfully messy build-up to a relationship a la Riot and Olivier

Goddamn this show has too many good characters it feels like I can never give any one of them the love they deserve

[dathen]

Hallowoods 38 rambles!  Spoilers of course.

I miss the rest of the Hallowoods crew so much I could die but today’s ep was FASCINATING.  Danielle!!!  I am so curious about her!!  Also it was WILD hearing Nikignik interact directly with a mortal, and despite how cryptic he was it was incredibly insightful for him as a person.  Being as honest as he could be, assuring Danielle she had a choice and has no obligation to help him, genuinely treating her almost as an equal despite her being a human who’s lived her entire existence in a virtual world, and him being a cosmic deity.  

ALSO DANIELLE WANTING TO TELL RIOT HOW TO SAVE HER MOM??? YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!

Also Nikignik absolutely going off about Lady Ethel while the soft gentle intro music plays was pinnacle comedy, I missed 90% of what he said from giggling too much