Pseudopod

Stepfathers
By Grady Hendrix

Pseudopod is a horror podcast. In a step away from the usual creepy, crawly stuff, they recently offered a darkly funny story based on Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Let's just say that it includes teenage angst, Yog-Sothoth, video games, and TV Guide.

Here's a snippet:

Dark god upstairs - dorky dudes coming in through the house all the time - Billy's head felt like it was going to split open underneath all the pressure. Downstairs, there was the stress of avoiding the hair-tousling wanksters as they tried to suck up to him while his mom finished getting ready. Upstairs, hiding out in his room, there was a nightmare from beyond the stars, a living terror from the remote gulfs of frozen space, who refused to wash his own dishes.


I can only hope to write like this someday. Of course, I've tried.

When I was a teenager - back in Bedrock High with Fred Flintstone - Lovecraft's stories kept me awake at night listening for rats in the walls. This story had me laughing out loud at work, laughing hugely as the story unfolded through my MP3 player. Coworkers stared.

Oh, and before I forget, Betty Rubble was even hotter as a teenager.

Link to Pseudopod