#dear evelyn

[oswednesday]

do you like podcasts? creepypastas? audio drama? horror? literary discussions? you can find all that at jawscast! a podcasting network me and my best friend jonah run together! learn more about us, the network and, most importantly, our shows here: https://jawscast.neocities.org/

[withswords]

Sparrows come home to roost.

From the small town of Keen's Cross, Indiana came a missing persons case that rocked the country. A housewife and mother of two, married to the beloved town pastor, vanished, leaving behind only a cache of disturbing journals. Police and FBI searched fruitlessly for months for any trace of Naomi Payne.

That was 20 years ago.

Sparrow Payne has returned to Keen's Cross after a long absence to inherit the family home. With their father dead and mother gone, all Sparrow has left is their baby sister, Evelyn. But the discoveries they make while attempting to reopen Naomi's cold case may threaten to rob them of even that.

DEAR EVELYN is a new horror podcast about the darkness at the heart of small town America. New episodes are live on the 15th and 30th of the month.

[existentialterror]

Light's ARG notes - Dear Evelyn

Dear Evelyn (spotify link) is a horror podcast with a few ARG elements! It's just coming out and it's really good. I know some of the people involved (though don't know anything else about the podcast itself) and really like the other podcast on their network, the Creepypasta Book Club. Check em out! There are also some ARG elements. (It looks like you can listen to the podcast without engaging with any of the ARG elements, at least for now, but it's early on and anyways I love an ARG.)

Under the cut I'm dropping a lot of spoiler notes on Episode 1 "introductions" and Episode 2 "The Attic", which is all that's out so far. Really just my notes on the characters and what we know about everything.

I'm taking a break for this in between working on the shorthand code, which... might take me a while. I know nothing about shorthand and never claimed to be good at codes in the first place. XD

Characters

The Payne family

Sparrow Payne - The voice of the show. Sending recordings to get back in touch with their younger sibling, Evelyn. Their father has just died and they've moved back to the old family house in Keen's Cross, Indiana.

Got emancipated at 16, hasn't been back since. Refers to themself as "the scary one" of the siblings.

Evelyn Payne - Sparrow's younger sister. Was more online at a younger age. Also left Keen's Cross early and has been estranged from everyone. Things are really tense with Sparrow, who doesn't even know their address, which Sparrow thinks is fair.

As a kiddo, really morbid and into scary stuff. Made up and was scared of "Gabe the Cave Monster".

On a post-it note on the wall of Evelyn's room, in her handwriting, is "Pale_Horse1392".

Pastor Roger Payne - Sparrow and Evelyn's dad, who recently died. Was always a hardass but really became a pious dick after his wife vanished.

Naomi Payne - Sparrow and Evelyn's mom, who went missing when Sparrow was - I forget but I want to say like 12 years old.

Into new age stuff, not as into the religious stuff, which was a point of conflict in her relationship with Roger.

Wrote extensive diaries.

Sparrow is pretty sure she's dead.

Other characters

Mrs. Rapperty (sp?): Next door neighbor, lives alone in big dirty house. Recluse. Now maybe has Alzheimer's or something. Said Naomi was so beautiful but that she lost the faith and left the kids - all of which was news to Sparrow. She seems to know something about Naomi.

Jake Petty: Gay kid that the kids knew when they were younger, stayed in Keen's Cross. Closer to Evelyn's age.

Officer Petty: Jake's dad. Cop.

Pastor Drayer (sp?): The new pastor. Was really curious about Evelyn at Roger's funeral, despite having never met either of the Payne kids.

The missing person case

According to news report at the end of "introductions", Naomi was: Reported as missing:

4 days after last seen

3 days after authorities were notified

Reported to outside authorities (like, police in another town) BY one of the kids hitchhiking to a nearby town. Guessing that's Sparrow, since Evelyn was very young.

Sparrow tried to get help and answers as a kid but doesn't seem to have known much.

Since she died, the entire case has been publicized and become infamous online, which Sparrow hates. A lot of stuff like Naomi's journals are digitally available.

Naomi's journals

Naomi wrote some every day, almost.

Some missing ones mentioned in "The Attic", including various years. The journals are indexed with letters.

Also lots of albums, almost all of the mom. Lots with the mom and some baby in places that don't look like Keen's Cross, which is confusing to Sparrow.

A lot of the diaries were made public but not these ones Sparrow just found in the attic.

Sparrow mentions one specific entry - 1992 (May 18) - Talking about Mt St Helens erupting, on its anniversary. Naomi tried to get others to leave town - something bad is happening here too.

An excerpt of one of the diaries, written in shorthand, was shared with the episode description. I'm still trying to figure out what it says.

The Payne House

Dad left the kid's rooms mostly untouched since they moved out.

Bunch of stuff in the attic that is padlocked shut. Wild!

As of "The Attic", at Evelyn's suggestion, Sparrow found the key taped to the underside of Dad's night stand.

The attic contained a bunch of Naomi's things and diaries, mostly untouched in interceding years. Unclear how much of this, if any, the police ever saw. There are sections of the diaries - like in shorthand - that definitely never appeared online, and that Sparrow never saw before.

pale_Horse1392

Right, so in the description of "introductions", there's a link to this image:

The QR code goes to this youtube channel, which contains (at time of writing) only this cryptic video.

So I'm thinking pale_horse1392 is either Evelyn, or someone Evelyn was in contact with as a young person.

Riddle

If you click on the drawing of Gabe the Cave Monster in the episode 2 notes, there's a link to a riddle. I also have not figured out the riddle.

[dearevelynpodcast]

[Content Warning] Subject matter: Death, Missing Persons, Religion In-discussion: Misgendering, Family Estrangement

After the death of Pastor Roger Payne, the prodigal Sparrow returns to their ancestral home.

look closer: https://file.garden/Zw25xMMxh3sEB4Ti/1552251212091514FH.png

Dear Evelyn is a JAWScast network podcast produced on the traditional lands of the Darkinjung people.

You can reach us at dearevelynpodcast@gmail.com.

Writer/Producer: Jonah Tennant (he/they) https://withswords.tumblr.com/

Sparrow Payne: Tempest Wisdom (Any/All)

Newscaster: Rosie Sentman (Any/All)

Music Credit: The Slow Fall by Patricia Taxxon

Visit us at jawscast.neocities.org ,thank you for listening.

[jawscast]

JAWScast is a small, independent podcasting network.

Jonah and Wednesday began recording in 2022 with the Creepypasta Book Club, have since added the horror fiction podcast Dear Evelyn, and are planning to expand the lineup further with several new projects, both fiction and nonfiction.

JAWScast is by and for amateurs, with the mission of making art for its own sake. We will NEVER sell out unless the money's good.

:SCHEDULE:

🍝Creepypasta Book Club: Every other Friday (on hiatus)

🔎Dear Evelyn: 15th and 30th of every month

[withswords]

[hi! i'm jonah, the showrunner of dear evelyn. we have 5 episodes out with our 6th shortly on the way, and i'd really appreciate if you checked out my pod!]

From the small town of Keen's Cross, Indiana came a missing persons case that rocked the country. A housewife and mother of two, married to the beloved town pastor, vanished, leaving behind only a cache of disturbing journals. Police and FBI searched fruitlessly for months for any trace of Naomi Payne.

That was 20 years ago. 

Sparrow Payne has returned to Keen's Cross after a long absence to inherit the family home. With their father dead and mother gone, all Sparrow has left is their baby sister, Evelyn. But the discoveries they make while attempting to reopen Naomi's cold case may threaten to rob them of even that.

DEAR EVELYN is a new horror podcast and interactive unfiction game. New episodes are live on the 15th and 30th of the month.

Spotify RSS Discord + unfiction center

Happy Saturday, friends! It's time yet again for

✨Fiction Podcast Self Promo Saturday!✨

Every Saturday I create a space for audio drama folks to promote their achievements, with the intention of spreading the word about fiction podcasts!

If you have anything audio drama related that you'd like to promote or shout out, or any achievements from this year that you'd like to celebrate, reblog this post with your self promo! I'll reblog every one I see throughout the day!

[cyanwyrmy]

💌📭Oh, I like Eddie so much in your performance, I adore this big boy, can we find out more information about his moms? (sorry if there are any mistakes, I'm writing through a translator)

Hello! Thank you for the ask! Just a reminder before I talk more about them, Jeanie and Evelyn are NOT CANON in the official Welcome Home lore and they are just fan-made concepts of who Eddie’s parents could be. I’m sure Clown has plans for Eddie’s family that will be shown in a future updates!

Jeanie Dear (Left) and Evelyn Dear (Right) are a married couple living in a city far from where they grew up. Jeanie is a writer and comic artist for a newspaper, and Evelyn is a mail carrier. The pair have been friends since childhood and grew up in a small southern town where they struggled to express themselves. I have some unfinished sketches of Jeanie and Evelyn as kids that I might share in the future, but for now I’d say the were similar to Carl and Ellie from Up: Jeanie was a shy and artistic kid who kept to herself, while Evelyn was outgoing and had no trouble standing up to bullies.

Perhaps I’ll share more later, but that’s good for right now. Please enjoy this cute newly wed drawing inspired by the “I love my wife!!!” Meme

[leytwopoints]

Razzle & Dazzle

[harrowharksboner]

their love letters >>>>

[applestede]

So it’s come to my attention that Mary probably won’t be in S2 which, bummer.

But I hope she can at least have some passing good mention, or some indication that she and Stede are on speaking terms.

First of all, no matter what they think of each other, they still have kids, and I would hope that Stede would want to be at the very least aware of what was going on in their lives, even if he isn’t really their father figure anymore.

But I also think that Mary and Stede could be really good friends regardless, especially since that pressure of being in a marriage that neither of them wanted and neither of them enjoyed is gone. You can see a glimpse of that camaraderie toward the end of episode ten (the conversation about love, and the whole faking his death thing.)

She could easily send him letters using some sort of pseudonym or another form of don’t-reveal-my-ex-husband-isn’t-actually-dead deception. They could gossip together.

I just think they could have a really strong bond when there are no expectations put on them.

[love7ssour]

Decided to make my oc

[oswednesday]

Sparrow finds an unexpected lead on Naomi's case.

check out Sparrow's photos: https://jawscast.neocities.org/dear_evelyn_resources

Dear Evelyn is a JAWScast network podcast produced on the traditional lands of the Darkinjung people.

Writer/Producer: Jonah Tennant (He/They) https://withswords.tumblr.com/

Sparrow Payne: Tempest Wisdom (Any/All)

Music Credit: The Slow Fall by Patricia Taxxon

Visit us at jawscast.neocities.org. Thank you for listening.

[withswords]

want to learn more? stream dear evelyn on spotify

[dearevelynpodcast]

EPISODE “#1: introductions” transcript

[Content Warning] Subject matter: Death, Missing Persons, Religion In-discussion: Misgendering, Family Estrangement

After the death of Pastor Roger Payne, the prodigal Sparrow returns to their ancestral home.

[MYSTERIOUS SOUND]

[Recording start]

SPARROW:

Dear Evelyn,

I'm pretty much settled in at the house. The fridge and freezer are full of casseroles so at least I don't have to worry about food while I look for work and go through the boxes and stuff. I know I already told you over the phone but the funeral went fine. Seems like the whole town showed up, lot of people asking about you. I forgot how popular Dad was with everyone. The choir ladies cried more than me. Well, I mean, probably everyone cried more than me; I don't think it's fully like, sunk in yet, even now.

Sorry if I'm awkward? I'm not used to just like, talking. I had to write notes for myself so I remember everything I need to tell you, so if I sound a little, a little wooden...

I keep thinking about what you'd say in response and it's weird to keep going without you; but I guess it's been like that for a while, right? Having to go on without you and pick up the slack...

Wow! That was bitchy, (laugh); I'm sorry again.

But, yeah. I don't know. It's weird being back here and knowing he's… not. I know you haven't been back to Keen's Cross since you were like 16 but I honestly don't think anything has changed since then other than Dad being gone. Um. I'm supposed to talk about how I feel about that, right? Like that's how this is supposed to work? So (a big inhale) I guess I'm anxious. Because I'm rocking up to town after, maybe, fifteen years and the only reason anyone recognizes me anymore is because I live in Dad's house and I organized his funeral. And I have to reintroduce myself to everyone like a fucking gender studies crash course: like, “hi I'm Sparrow, yeah I used to be blah blah blah, it's okay to call me this or that or whatever, yes I like having my hair this color, and please don't call me a girl”, like, if you're going to be weird about by whole deal, I'm straight up in my 30s. That's well beyond girl territory. Have the balls to call me a woman, if you’re going to act like a Boomer!

I think I'm starting to loosen up, I don't know, uh. It's not so bad when you get into it, it's like a polar bear swim. It's only painful before you hit your stride. God. Our whole lives we went to that stupid church camp and you never once got brave enough to do the polar bear swim with us. When we see each other in person you and I are going to find the nearest lake and jump in at the crack of dawn, whether you like it or not.

You said you’re out near Portland, now right? Maybe I got that mixed up. Um, I know you’re somewhere out in the PNW. But I know it’s all water out there, it’s not like here-- where you have to drive around to the good side of Patoka to swim. At least its clean, its better than Lake Mich’.

The pastor, the new pastor I guess, he was really fussed about you not coming. He said how Dad always talked about you. We came up in his sermons from time to time I guess, like little dumb anecdotes about when we were kids so he could spin it to make a point about some bible shit. God, remember how that always drove Mom crazy? She was born in the wrong generation, she was such a hippie. Dad use to make fun of her for all her New Aged shit and she’d get so mad. But I don’t know why she went and married a pastor if she couldn’t stand sermonizing.

You might have been too young to remember, I know, I know you don't like to talk about her. It's just, it’s hard not to think about her when I'm living in her house.

But yeah, Pastor Dreher was looking forward to meeting you and you stood him up! He was surprisingly young. Single. Maybe a solid 6. He’s not local, he only moved here a couple years ago which probably makes him the only addition to the neighborhood in 20 years. God, you'd think he had a crush on you from the way he talked; and maybe he did, Dad had a few family pictures left in his office. If you want, I can take a message for the pastor-- pass it back and forth like middle school love notes. It give us more of an excuse to talk.

You never had a phase like that, as far as I know; boy crazy, or-- or girl crazy. Or maybe you did. But you never talked to me about it. And I never heard about it from anybody else. Shit, I know I wouldn’t want to date an any of the boys in town either especially after Mom and the media and all. But, you were online from a much younger age than me and it was anywhere a weird shut in like you was going to connect with someone, it was online—which makes sense why we’re doing this now, right?

It wasn't exactly hard to drift apart, I hope you don’t mind me saying. Like, even when we were kids, you, you really kept me at arm's length, and I missed all the milestones I feel like I was supposed to have as your big sibling. I don’t know if its because Mom’s stuff like traumatized you and you didn’t want to try to reach out to anyone else or if that’s just naturally how you are because I literally never got to know you well enough and it sucks. But I'm really glad that you want to reconnect now. Doing this exchange diary thing with you, I want you to know it really matters to me, a lot. Knowing I'm not going through all of this alone. But that like, you want to be in my life, that you want me in your life. People can say whatever they want about you not coming home, but I get it. You don't have any memories of this place that aren't all wrapped up in the investigation. I almost wonder if you made the right call, not even showing up.

The old house feels smaller than I remember. Like there should be more rooms here or more space in the rooms, but I can't imagine what would have gone there if it was bigger. Dad hadn't touched either of our bedrooms in years except maybe to dust them, because they were both clean when I got here. Obviously you took your computer when you left but everything else looks the same, down to the sticky notes on the wall. They're curling a little but well preserved for being a decade old.

Oh, Let's see here… Um... PALE underscore HORSE 1392. What is all this shit? Passwords? Usernames? You big edgelord where you out there on some forum calling yourself “PALE HORSE”. Absolutely unserious behavior. God, your handwriting is so awful -- or it was when you made these at least. You were probably 12 based on the fact you thought this was cool. 1 3 92, that's your birthday, right? Capricorn. You were such a weirdo. You are a weirdo, making me talk in an empty room like this. I bet you think it's hilarious.

Your room is really sparse compared to mine. I guess yours is more… practical? Having a tiger mural on the wall isn't doing much for the house's resale value, so I'll have to paint over it eventually, but I still think it's pretty cool. Or maybe if I leave it, some little kid is going to end up with the coolest bedroom ever. Actually since being back I've been sleeping in Dad's room instead. The mural reminds me too much of Mom. I was six or seven I barely had complex motor function. But she drew the outline on the wall and she let me paint the base stuff. I’m sure she went back over it, touched up my sloppy six year old paint job ‘cause it still looks good.

I… don't know how much is okay to talk about with you, about her. Like I know this is an exercise in honesty and all but I don't want to, I don’t want to do more than you can handle.

So, what else… maybe I should say something about my life and you tell me about yours? Well until recently I was the jewelry manager at a department store. Do I seem like I'd be good at sales? I promise I'm not this awkward with customers, I get into a real groove with it. Obviously I had to leave because of Dad and moving back here all of a sudden, and I haven't been able to even think about looking for work. I don't know if I want to go back into it. It's not like sales was my dream job or anything, it was just something that I could make decent money doing.

I'm too old to have a passion anymore. With the life insurance policy I was thinking maybe I could go back to school? I always wanted to work in a museum, like remember those history channel docs we used to watch where they made historians look so cool? That's what I want. I want to be like an Indiana Jones badass solving history mysteries. (Laugh)

And, you know, if nothing else maybe I can work in the gift shop with my finely honed salesmanship. Between Dad's life insurance and what I can probably get from flipping the house, that's good money to live off of for a while.

But speaking of flipping the house, uh, since I'm going to be going through a lot of the junk we have here for any mementos, is there anything you want me to send you? I know you don't feel comfortable sharing your address yet, I wouldn't either if I were you, but you can get a p.o. box. I'm sure there has to be something sentimental here for you. Jewelry, drawings.

Mom's clothes and jewelry are all in the attic I think, Dad never got around to throwing any of it away. Problem is the attic door is padlocked and I don't know where the key is. And It's heavy duty, so if I can't find it I'll have to get some major bolt cutters to clip it off. And then the problem will be needing to replace the padlock. Just another thing to add to the list. Whatever. I may even redo the whole attic when I start renovating, I haven’t decided. If it’s big enough, I might turn it into a full on loft space. That’s really trendy right now. And the difference in listing prices between 3 and 4 bedroom is pretty big. I can sell it for maaaybe half a mil once I do all my updates.

I know Dad wanted us to keep the house, save it for my family or yours. Probably yours- he knew I wasn't going to have kids. Or if I was he wouldn't approve of how I was going to get them and who with, and blah blah blah. He didn't get it. To him, Keen's Cross is like fucking Mecca, I swear, but I've been living in Chicago half my life now and this bitch still doesn't have a single Chinese restaurant! I actually measured this on Google maps, the nearest restaurant that isn't some Ruby Tuesdays Olive garden ass shit is 15 miles from the ol’ Keen’s Cross dead zone. God, it's a wonder we don't have the Klan here, maybe because they can't find the place on a map. I thought I was lost for a good half hour before I got myself back on track. Actually, I finally asked one of the ladies about it at the funeral like, what was up with the whole map thing and apparently it’s due to some city ordinance for privacy, so the only maps Keen’s Cross shows up in are official government records. I didn’t even know you could do that.

Anyway, I don't want to spend the rest of my life here. Not just because I want to go back to Chicago, or because of the people, or because of Mom. Like, I can't breathe here. I guess I've always felt that a little, but it's worse now than ever. I forgot how wet the air is here. It's like someone just--just breathed in my face.

I shouldn't complain too much. I've got a big beautiful house to live in and money to put food on the table even once I run out of Sandra's Swedish turkey meatballs in the freezer. I’ve got you, Evelyn. Which means a lot to me. And I’ve got a whole bunch of boxes and shit to go through, so I guess I’ll let you go for now. Okay. Bye.

Love, Sparrow

[Recording stops]

[A button of a tape recorder is pressed down, whirling]

NEWSCASTER: And in the small town of Keen’s Cross, a strange development today in the story of the disappearance of a local pastor’s wife. Mother of two, Naomi Payne was reported missing to the Paoli police department this past Monday- our sources say, four days after she was last seen, and three days after the local authorities were notified.

It is now confirmed that one of Naomi’s own young daughters made her way to Paoli on her own, even hitchhiking up State Road 37, when she believed her mother's case wasn't being taken seriously in Keen’s Cross.

It seems her prayers have been answered, as state police have joined the investigation, searching for any signs of Naomi's whereabouts. This brave young woman has told investigators that she will stop at nothing to ensure her mother returns home safely. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Naomi Payne please contact the State police department at the following number-- [the recorder stops abruptly]

[Episode ends]

[Outro: The Slow Fall by Patricia Taxxon]

Dear Evelyn is a JAWScast network podcast produced on the traditional lands of the Darkinjung people. Written and produced by Jonah Tennant, starring the voice talent of Tempest Wisdom. For our full cast by episode, please see the description. Dear Evelyn updates on the 15th and 30th of each month, so be sure to subscribe to catch the next episode. If you’d like to learn more, or find other shows that we’ve made, visit https://jawscast.neocities.org/, . Thank you for listening.

[Further Credits]

Newscaster: Rosie Sentman (Any/All)

look closer: https://file.garden/Zw25xMMxh3sEB4Ti/1552251212091514FH.png

You can reach us at dearevelynpodcast@gmail.com.

[sillymoonboi]

The shading hurt my hand😭

Anyways dazzle fanart

[lyledraws]

Evelyn and Caleb share a tense, yet tender, moment on the Clawthorne couch. Based on a moment from @litfeathers Chapter 19 of Birds Fly in Different Directions.

Don't know what it is about Birds Fly that makes me want to draw it so much. Maybe it's just because it's such a good fic!