The Listener's Curse

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:02 Hello and welcome to Awaiting Prompt: the AI podcast. Hosted by me, Matt Eastland-Jones.

Nick Short 0:08 And me, Nick Short.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:09 Each week we gave an AI a series of story prompts. These could be genres, characters, plot points, and see what kind of story it comes up with.

Nick Short 0:18 We're not writers, and we're certainly not authors.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:21 We may need to give the AI a bit of direction on the way. But every single word is going to be entirely generated by an AI.

Nick Short 0:27 We're just really interested in the technology, seeing what it can do and having a laugh at the stuff that it can't.

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:33 So if that sounds good, then tune in every Friday to Awaiting Prompt.

Nick Short 0:38 In this week's episode of Awaiting Prompt, we're going slightly meta with the theme of podcasting. Matt, you're up first!

Matt Eastland-Jones 0:50 Okay, you ready? Kyle Parsons, had always been the kind of person who sought out the unknown. Whether it was a passion for art he hadn't seen yet or a song he only knew the lyrics to. Kyle was always looking for what made him feel like he was part of something bigger than himself. So it's no surprise that Kyle was enthralled by the mysterious horror podcast called The Listening Darkness. The podcast seemed to come out of some black hole in the void. No real name or face attached to it, just cryptic stories and morbid tales of death and despair. Kyle couldn't help but be drawn in. Though he first tried to shrug it off as nothing more than a mindless distraction. But as the weeks passed, he kept listening. Kyle began to feel like something was watching him, an unseen shadow hanging over his life. Things started to get really strange after the sixth episode had dropped. Dropping the sixth episode of this new horror podcast.

Nick Short 2:02 Also, it's like five episodes, everything's fine, but the sixth!

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:08 Things started to get really strange after the sixth episode dropped. That night, Kyle had a dream warning him not to keep listening. But instead of being frightened, he was more fascinated than ever. He decided that if there was going to be a sinister force trying to put a stop to the listening darkness. He wanted to know what it was.

Nick Short 2:32 That's a good title.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:35 Yeah, it came up with that.

Nick Short 2:35 That's really good.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:36 Yeah, it came up with that, which I was quite, I thought was quite good. You're ready for the next bit?

Nick Short 2:40 I'm ready to be spookied.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:44 On a level on a level of zero to spooky, how spooky are you?

Nick Short 2:48 I'm probably at a sp-.

Matt Eastland-Jones 2:51 The next episode contained the story of a man named Justin Miller, who stumbles upon an abandoned house and soon finds himself in a fight for his life against an unknown entity inside. Kyle was beginning to feel that that entity was following him around now too. No matter how much he tried to ignore the feeling and write it off as paranoia. There were signs that seems to follow him. Strange noises when he's walking around in the dark. How often think he walks around in the dark?

Nick Short 3:24 Also, I'm gonna be honest, after the first strange noise of walking around in the dark, I would stop walking around in the dark.

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:33 You just drop that hobby altogether?

Nick Short 3:34 Yeah, I mean, is he outside walking in the dark? Or is he just in his house and he just doesn't want to turn the lights on?

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:39 Cost of living crisis, all those energy bills

Nick Short 3:42 Ooh, this is getting deep.

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:45 That's what the sinister entity is.

Nick Short 3:49 It's the upcoming recession.

Matt Eastland-Jones 3:52 Strange noises when he was walking around in the dark, shadows in the corners of his vision, and stranger still, the feeling that somewhere out there, something was always listening. He even began to notice small things like objects flickering in his peripheral vision, or things disappearing or appearing for no reason at all. He knew something was out there. But he wanted to make sure he didn't fall into whatever trap the listening darkness had set. One night while walking home from work, Kyle felt a chill down his spine as though someone were watching him. He turned around and saw the man from the podcast, Justin Miller.

Nick Short 4:38 I'm presuming this isn't an audio-only podcast then.

Matt Eastland-Jones 4:42 Maybe he introduced himself. Frightened, Kyle ran home and shut all the doors and windows tight. But something told him that it wouldn't help. It seemed that whatever darkness had been unleashed by the listening darkness, it had already taken hold of his life. From then on, it seems that everywhere he went and everything he touched was tainted by the darkness he had tried so hard to ignore. He started seeing Justin's face in people in the street and hearing his voice in random stranger's conversations. That's legit spooky. He spent most nights living in fear until one night something changed.

Nick Short 5:26 He felt happy again?

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:29 That would be a plot twist wouldn't it?

Nick Short 5:29 He was living in fear until one night he felt fine.

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:32 He was okay. Where do you think this is going?

Nick Short 5:37 I don't know, whether Justin's gonna like slowly take over... it is really creepy like hearing his voice.

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:44 That legit would be spooky.

Nick Short 5:46 Although maybe he's just left a headphone in

Nick Short 5:48 He's just got one airpod.

Nick Short 5:50 He's just completely forgotten about it.

Matt Eastland-Jones 5:52 He woke up to realise he was in the woods next to the abandoned house like the one in the podcast. He followed just inside to find him kneeling on the ground, trembling and sobbing, screaming for someone to help him. He soon finds out that Justin had been one of the first people to listen to the podcast and the terrifying entity had followed him, eventually capturing him to. It was the same darkness that had been stalking Kyle and now it was trying to ensnare him just like it had Justin. Kyle is not given the chance to escape. Everywhere he turns there's a dead end. But all he can do is try to stay awake and fight the darkness. But as more time passes, and more people start listening to The Listening Darkness. The darkness grows stronger, spreading from person to person, like a virus. Soon Kyle realises that the podcast isn't just a show. It's a portal for the evil entity that's been hunting him claiming souls one by one with each episode. He must find a way to break the spell and release himself of this nightmare. Before the listening darkness claims him too. The story ends with Kyle using his last bit of energy to record a podcast of his own. As we all would in our final moments. Warning others of what's out there in the darkness. He manages to finish it just as the last vestiges of life escape his body. His words echo through the void...

Nick Short 7:37 Like, comment and subscribe.

Matt Eastland-Jones 7:41 His words echoed through the void. But will they be enough to save those come after him? Pretty please with that!

Nick Short 7:49 Couldn't be saved Justin time.

Matt Eastland-Jones 7:55 That was even better.

Nick Short 7:57 So what happened to Kyle in the end? Not Kyle, to Justin.

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:01 Justin died. Yeah, it didn't specify that. Yeah, I gave it the prompt that Justin dies. My prompt was write a horror story about a horror podcast. The people that listen to the podcast experience the same fate as the characters in the podcast. Follow one person who listens to the podcast. Guess we've got five titles, Chilling Echoes from the Unknown. The Listening Darkness: a tale of terror. Shadow of Death, A Listener's Curse. A Listener's curse, that's good!

Nick Short 8:47 Mmm, A Listener's Curse is good!

Matt Eastland-Jones 8:50 Right. Well, now on to you.

Nick Short 8:52 I gave it a very, very vague prompt to do with our theme and then I gave it a genre and I just left it at that.

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:01 I think in general, you give vaguer prompts.

Nick Short 9:04 Yes. It does take longer to find something that's not awful. But I do think I just like...

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:11 There's something satisfying about it when it's there like...

Nick Short 9:12 When it's completely the AI, like most I'll be like, continue to story or finish this. Like that's what I've been doing for the last couple of episodes, just write this vague thing, continue it, finish it. With mixed results. Right. The darkness of the... bollocks.

Matt Eastland-Jones 9:33 Is it the same?

Nick Short 9:35 The darkness of the podcast studio settled in all around me like a fog. As I stepped inside, a strange sense of dread crept up my spine. The single fluorescent light above my head flickered and hummed as it illuminated the sparsely furnished space before me. But what really caught my eye were the two armed figures silhouetted against one wall. Clearly sentinels there to protect something or someone, although who that might be or why they felt such protection necessary was still a mystery to me. This was clearly not going to be an ordinary day at work. My heart was racing and before I could think of what to do next, one of the assailants spoke up.

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:16 Were they already there when he got to work that day?

Nick Short 10:18 I think so. You've just walked in...

Matt Eastland-Jones 10:21 Just walked in and seen them there and just be like...

Nick Short 10:25 And there's just two random guys there. What are you doing here? His gruff voice demanded. Even under the darkness of the room, I could make out his features. Two dark beady eyes, a square jaw set in a scowl and an unsettling sneer that seemed almost dangerous. His voice shook me with fear, but something inside my gut told me not to show it. Whatever this was about, I would have to face it head on. Straightening myself as best as I could, I cleared my throat and made my answer known. My name is Mackenzie Armstrong, I began slowly. I'm here because, well, I'm here for a job interview?

Matt Eastland-Jones 11:03 How did you not know that those two men were just the people that was might be conducting the interview.

Nick Short 11:09 The other figure step forward into the light revealing themselves as another muscular man, similar in stature and appearance to their companion, but younger in age with tattoos, decorating both arms, signalling hours upon hours spent perfecting various martial arts techniques. He's got a snake on his arm and you're like, yeah, he's a black belt in karate. A malicious smirk crossed his lips as he sized me up while speaking calmly yet firmly. This isn't your typical podcast studio, or any kind of work environment, he said gesturing throughout the blacked-out room. So you might want ot reconsider. It's the first time there's a genuine spelling mistake. I've never had a spelling mistake in any of these prompts. Grammatically, it's been buggered, but the spelling... I gulped, trying to think of some sort of answer that could explain my presence in the studio without giving away too much information and it trails off there. Do you have any ideas of what the genre might be?

Matt Eastland-Jones 12:13 I feel like it's a thriller.

Nick Short 12:16 Interesting. I'm gonna just get it to continue. What makes you think this isn't a typical podcast studio? I asked trying to sound composed even though my heart was thudding in my chest.

Matt Eastland-Jones 12:29 Is this just the story of your job interview to work for me, but through the lens of...

Nick Short 12:35 It was very strange, there were two very muscular men stood outside the office building. One of them had a lot of tattoos he had pod and cast on his knuckles. It was really unusual. The smaller man let out a chuckle, clearly amused by my question. You've obviously never been here before, he said motioning to the sparsely furnished room. This is the Podcast Agora, a podcast studio for the criminally inclined, we provide a space for even the darkest of entities and actions to be discussed, assessed and executed with ease. As he spoke, I felt a chill run down my spine. I've been warned about the Agora before. But hearing about it from one of his patrons still made my knees shake. I'd been warned about it, despite the fact I came here for a job interview.

Matt Eastland-Jones 13:26 It's one of their patrons so they've got a Patreon account. To be fair, there must be a small community of like criminal podcasts.

Nick Short 13:34 Like pirate radio, but podcasting?

Matt Eastland-Jones 13:39 Yeah, but where criminals like talk about crimes they've done but anonymously.

Nick Short 13:43 That would be amazing. Would they have like a jingle?

Matt Eastland-Jones 13:46 Yes, it would b police sirens and then everyone in the studio freaks out.

Nick Short 13:51 No, that's a sting. Plus, he added with a smirk, you may see an arm wrestling match or two in here too. It's the perfect spot for these kinds of debates. I couldn't help but smile at that. If there was any place on the planet where arm wrestling could exist as a legitimate form of debate, then this had to be it. The Podcast Agora hosts an array of podcasts for the criminally inclined. For instance, there's Jonesin' with Johnson, a weekly podcast that follows two infamous mobsters on their attempt to conquer the world of crime. Each episode sees the duo navigating between the different criminal organisations while attempting to build up their own power base. There's also Talk Like A Pirate, a show where various buccaneers, brigands and scallywags debate the finer points of pirate culture. The hosts tackle topics ranging from the best tools for slicing and dicing loot, to whether or not it's okay to have wenches and brews as a meal accompaniment

Matt Eastland-Jones 14:59 I like to think they're just talking about pirating like DVDs and games and stuff, streaming, but they still talk...

Nick Short 15:09 Finally, there's also Heist Laugh Tips, a weekly parody show, which follows a motley crew of chaps as they attempt to plan and successfully execute some of the biggest heist imaginable, all with the help of some very well-crafted puns. There's no need to take yourself too seriously when it comes to making a plan for a robbery. I hesitated, biting my lip, was I really sure I wants to be involved in something like this. Just then one of the two men stepped forward his expression softening. Look, he said in a low voice. You don't have to decide right now. But if you're even remotely considering it, why don't you come back tomorrow morning, we could give you a tour of the place, and you can get a better feel of what we do here. His unexpected kindness made me pause and before I could think to say no, I had accepted his invitation. They warned me about this place. But sure, yeah, why not? The next day, I returned to the Podcast Agora, and my doubts melted away as soon as I stepped inside, rather than a space purely dedicated to criminal discussion. It was instead more like a safe haven for those looking for an outlet for their frustration or cravings for something new.

Matt Eastland-Jones 16:26 And arm wrestling matches.

Nick Short 16:28 And arm wrestling matches. They're just people with broken arms, because they've just been going at it all day.

Matt Eastland-Jones 16:32 They're the ones that hold the mics.

Nick Short 16:33 Yeah. After taking a tour of the studio, I realised that this was perhaps the perfect place for me. As it turned out, I was meant for the Podcast Agora and it was there that I started my podcasting career. Little did I realise that what started out as a simple interview would lead me down such an unexpected journey and it stops there. That's the end of the story

Matt Eastland-Jones 17:01 That's good!

Nick Short 17:03 So I said write the beginning of a novel set in a podcast studio, Film Noir. So I was imagining like dark streets, heavy rain, but just in a podcast studio, and I just wanted to see what it would do. So it created the Podcast Agora.

Matt Eastland-Jones 17:25 Characters.

Nick Short 17:26 The characters, the podcasts that it makes!

Nick Short 17:30 That's crazy!

Nick Short 17:30 Just from continue the story. Right, this needs a title, The Agora of Dark Discourse.

Matt Eastland-Jones 17:38 There you have it, two AI-generated stories about podcasting. Join us next Friday, we're going to be covering the theme of Love, for Valentines, because that's a thing that people celebrate. Not me, or my wife. Nope, money you don't need to spend. But if you want to then you can do and that's totally fine, but not us. So join us next Friday for Awaiting Prompt.

Nick Short 18:06 That's everything for this episode of Awaiting Prompt.

Matt Eastland-Jones 18:09 If you enjoyed it, then please leave us a review and make sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date with all future episodes.