Soren Narnia
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stranglehold
🕑 Added 2025-03-03 15:00:13 +0000 UTCA youthful lark across the states takes a man into the heart of an awful anomaly.
Music: “Outside Your Grace” by Denhollander, all rights reserved.
Released everywhere else on Friday.
P.S. The latest version of the ongoing Knifepoint Horror transcript archive has been split into two PDFs to keep the file sizes manageable. Download this ghastly torrent of words, including the text of stranglehold, here and here.
Notes ‘n’ nuggets, continued:
rory – The idea for this one came after yet another knee-slapper of a discussion I had with a former co-worker, going over a topic we’d pounded on many times before: the terrifying smallness and meaningless of human existence in a bleak, uncaring universe. Yay! When we talk about the subject, usually while hiking merrily in bright sunlight, we tend to approach it in a rather comedic way… but it’s tough to confront the Big Vast again and again without becoming a little haunted by how tiny we ourselves are. All I did, just for a moment as I drove home from that last hike, was extend the concept of the brevity of our time in the cosmos to its most extreme degree, and a story started to form.
(I’ve found that extending familiar concepts to their most extreme degree is a helpful tool to kickstart ideas. For example, what if a vampire was not just 500 years old… but 50,000 years old? What if transforming into a werewolf was not just physically painful… but distorted your limbs in a permanent way every time it happened? What if instead of a Seven Eleven being open 24/7… the employees were never even allowed to ever go home? "How Bad Could It REALLY Get?" is an interesting mind game to play when I ponder familiar horror tropes.)
Anyway, I got thoroughly depressed thinking about a three-second lifetime, and figured what everyone really needed was for me to pass that right on. You’re welcome!
I do try, from the earliest drafts of most of these stories, to find some kind of redemptive ending for the suffering folks trapped inside them. If I can get that slight “up note” to make sense given the ghastliness of what comes before, I’ll resolve things that way, and sometimes it feels easy and honest to let that break through. Such an ending was prepared for rory; In it, we hear the narrator reflect on an encouraging note he receives from the woman he helped to kidnap long ago. But I found that the story was just too compact to suddenly pivot at the last minute and make that gentler ending feel earned.
So instead, rory remained in full dark mode throughout. I hope that I’m never haunted one day by the ghosts of characters who were coldly denied the (slightly) happier endings I once clearly visualized for them, and in the case of rory’s narrator, actually wrote, recorded, and dropped into the editing timeline… then made disappear with a single mouse-click. The universe is cruel.
Carried by Beasts – Lucky me, sometimes the ideas just drop on my head from the sky, totally gift-wrapped. I heard the concept of an anchoress for the first time while listening to a history podcast (In Our Time by the BBC), and I immediately pounded on my steering wheel shouting “Yes, please!”, nearly dropping my Impossible Whopper in excitement. The image of an anchoress doing her thing in a lonely cabin in wintertime was instantly powerful to me.
What did not drop from the sky was the notion to present the story through the opening arguments of a trial. This was a case of responding to creative anxiety, of feeling the maddening itch to try something different even at the cost of maybe not quite serving the story properly. When I think of the awesome suspense possibilities of telling this tale from John Lilly’s point of view, going long into his whole experience from beginning to end, I definitely get the sense that it should have been done that way... but I’m drawn in by unusual formats and adventurous ways to approach storytelling, and the true-crimey goodness of courtroom presentations was too powerful to resist. There’s a theatricality to some of the real ones that’s kind of riveting to listen to, and of course I like the minimalist approach they demand. Plus, there's the fun challenge of trying to accurately mimic the ambient sounds of that particular setting; in Carried by Beasts, you're hearing an overcomplicated mix of staged ambience and brief snippets from actual courtroom recordings.
Part of the inspiration for this 'stage play' format was a recent French movie called Red Rooms, which begins with a creepy real-time opening arguments scene that’s allowed to breathe and move at a really hypnotic pace. Disturbing flick!
stranglehold (minor spoiler) – When the ideas aren’t flowing for whatever reason, I sometimes retreat to thinking about classic horror setups—you know, I-Inherited-a-Spooky-House, or I-Went-into-the-Woods-and-Oopsie!-There-Was-an-Ancient-Legend-I-Forgot-to-Google-First, that kind of thing. I like to sort through the tried and true options and think how to twist one a little—or, if I can’t come up with a twist, to build a story from one that can at least come to life through atmosphere, suspense, and fun sensory details.
Last year I decided I’d like to go tripping again through the ‘I-Got-Stuck-in-the-Wrong-Place-Wrong-Time-Wrong-Detour’ trope. It’s such an enduring setup: A character minding their own business steps accidentally into a disturbing pocket of reality within a pocket of geography that seemed familiar until that moment.
After cycling through many possible villainous elements that a character might encounter out there on the cruel road and not coming up with anything compelling, I began to think, Hell, what if the villain was just a regular human being who really, really, really sucked? What I started to like about that idea was not so much the villain himself, who I kept a little mundane here, but the notion that his real power lies in draining the will of those he corrupts. There’s a psychological phenomenon that captives can suffer even when they vastly outnumber their captors: Though the clear survival strategy is to fight back in one great surge, they’ve been so beaten down over time by a sense of helplessness that when the moment comes to strike, they’re too mentally paralyzed to rise up. Keeping that in mind, the core idea of stranglehold started to seem eerily plausible to me—as long as enough details were left out to keep the situation conveniently mysterious. 😊
- S
Comments
Reid J
Alice in Chains' "Man in the Box" started playing in my head when the duo were stalking through the basement. Which either makes the whole scene hilarious or that much more awful. Excellent work as always my friend.
Ursula K. LeSin
Dead of dehydration, of course, because they never brought in the tea.
Soren Narnia
Sorry, MELVYN… love that Y
Soren Narnia
I see a story in which Melvin refuses to ever end a discussion of some 12th century architect, kind of a ‘They Shoot Horses Don’t They ‘ scenario that ends with four PhDs lying dead of dehydration in the studio.
Ursula K. LeSin
Sure, a Knifepoint Horror story in the format of an In Our Time episode would be a nightmare to record, but think of it how happy it would make all 12 of us in the venn diagram intersection of KPH and IOT superfan-dom. "My name is Kelvin Spragg...."
Alain Kapel
That one was creepy as heck!
Theo T
Completely absorbed in this story thank you once again my friend
Dale McClaran
I saw Red Rooms last night. My mouth was pretty much open the whole viewing. Initially I didn’t think I would be able to get through it the way the crime scene was described in court, but it wisely didn’t go there. It was really good, thanks for the rec!
buddhapugz
“The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.” 😉 W. B. Yeats
Willis Tisdale
YAAAAAAY!!!!!
Soren Narnia
Oooooh, THAT would be realllllly cool.
mooglesuit
Sorry if that sounded reductive. Not trying to bait you into making political statements. The fundamental theme of liberation from a despotic authority figure via necessary violence is rather evergreen, and suitably horrifying. Loved the relative subtlety with which it was explored, whatever the authorial intent may have been. Also gave me a slight impression of Heart of Darkness in small town America, which is a premise with plenty of potential.
Lori K.
What an excellent synopsis, Emily!! 👏
Soren Narnia
Weird timing on this one for sure—started writing it last September!
mooglesuit
Can’t help but interpret this one as a timely, cathartic allegory 😉
Jill E Merrill
Don't know if this reply was for me but why not open my big mouth? Cause it's held shut by dried blood from nose surgery. Who needs Soren when I can just post a picture of my face? Anyhow being 69 myself I have an affinity for seniors developing new skills they hadn't glued together before. So yay 80! So what if your short term memory has dwindled to less than five minutes? That's what Google is for. And I am a loving supporter of my sister and her long-time girlfriend. They'll be spending their last summer working at Mt. Denali. Sorry Soren if your page gets shut down by my choice to continue to call Mt. Denali by its indigenous name. Don't worry. I won't call you by yours. Wait. I already am!
Emily T
This had many things I love: it’s set in a freezing cold winter night. It’s got a weird, semi empty town. The protagonist is kind of insufferable but he sort of knows it. A brave kid. A villain whose motivations are completely unknown and whose methods of punishment have no boundaries. And, of course, a random dude trapped in a box, just ‘cause. (We’ve all been there, am I right ladies?)
Thorne Russell
One of these days you’re gonna catch me Poopid at Lendy’s.
BB Schaiks
Plumbers’ wrench and claw hammer over giant gun - excellent touch. A person’s weapon can tell you stuff about them and this stuff is too often neglected!
BB Schaiks
I also adored the 80 year old woman character and the story in general- Family, maybe? Loved Soren’s characterization of her as having so much more style than some women half her age- Soren, it seems, sees old women as people — a rarer quality than one might think! Also sees sisters as people, for the good and bad! (Got many laughs out of Cleanse, I think it was).
Soren Narnia
2016! Goodness!
Stephanie Barnes
Great! As always haha. Might be weird but you've always been a big inspiration to me since I found your stuff in 2016, I've been trying to gather the courage in my own creative life to put my stuff out there, and you are always a great inspiration 👍🏽 💜 keep doing what you're doing! (Long as it doesn't like, become dangerous or something....)
jean
I love the imagery in this one. Its been coming to mind throughout the days since I listened.
Violence Zack
Awesome! Thank you so much. I'm gonna go listen to it 😈
Averhardt
That was fucking awesome.
Soren Narnia
That one was in the 2022 Halloween compendium, called Is It That Time Again?
Violence Zack
I don't know why, but this reminded me of another story. I'm hoping it's a KPH story and not some other podcast. It's about a person who keeps seeing a ghost in their basement window (I think of a house they just moved into) so they try to stake it out. Does anyone remember the title? I kinda wanna listen to it again.
Soren Narnia
About 61% of the time actually, according to recent data!
Neha Lal
Brilliant as ever Soren, I like how you always manage to turn my expectations against me. Here I was thinking Leon would have some supernatural power and yet in the end he was just a man. I think it’s even more terrifying in a way that an entire town becomes captive to the whims of one person simply because of their fear of him. I’m sure theres an analogy to be drawn to politics somewhere in there. Anyways, thanks for the tale and I can’t wait for the next one!
Michael Fallon
Sometimes a drunken fool is our only hope.
Lizzie Crowley
Great stuff as usual. Growing up in a small highland town I always love the small town horror vibe. Shades of Shirley Jackson and as another poster mentioned Ken McElroy
Jill E Merrill
Thanks. Didn't even notice she'd left the thumb drive in Camille's mom's computer. I thought she was using her own. Don't movies have beginnings, mines and ends? Even if they're not in that order?
Lizzie Crowley
I also went down a rabbit hole wondering about the protagonists motivation. Ended up searching through reddit forums and found an explanation I think could fit... Although apparently the director wanted to leave the intention ambiguous https://www.reddit.com/r/Shudder/s/mFywvRlt5y (the comment which is mostly blacked out because of spoilers)
Alain Kapel
I meant the new KPH episode, should have been clearer with my wording. 😅
Soren Narnia
Leaving the missing film with the parents instead of the authorities definitely raises more questions about the woman’s motivations and mental state. Good question!
Jill E Merrill
Episode? I thought Red Rooms was a film. Just watched it. Excellent. Is the series any good? How can it even be a series? Once was plenty for me.
Jill E Merrill
Thanks. I responded to you in a separate post cause I couldn't figure out how to reply. Rented the movie on Prime. Sorta wish I hadn't. Please see my post below.
Jill E Merrill
Lizzie, thanks for the url. And thanks to you and Soren both for your comments. I just finished watching and was definitely unsettled. I'm kind of stupid with plots; was this all a complicated way to ensure the defendant was found guilty? Did the protagonist buy the missing snuff film online on Tor and release it to the court to prove his guilt? Why would she do this? Why did it make the defendant change his plea? With or without the answers very creepy because it was so matter of fact. Was this the connection with stranglehold? If not, I don't see it. Guess i folded my brain and put it under my pillow with my pajamas when I woke up this morning.
Lizzie Crowley
It's a great film... Definitely worth a watch. I found it very unsettling https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/red_rooms
Lori K.
Great story with a tension-filled buildup. Not since Blood Simple has an empty bar been so menacing. I definitely felt the Ken McElroy vibes! Let’s hope the townsfolk stand behind Nick and Luke the way they did in Skidmark…er…Skidmore, Missouri (sorry Skidmore residents, couldn’t resist)
Ryan Fahey
I like the pseudo-western vibe of the “black hat” rolling into town, the townsfolk hiding away, and then the climactic showdown.
Soren Narnia
Red Rooms is a very eerie character study—mostly in English as I recall. Definitely has an unusual protagonist!
Jill E Merrill
What's Red Rooms? I must have skipped right by it. Gotta find it now. As for stranglehold, Luke is my favorite hero yet. What an amazing kid. Might not have been his bullet that actually killed Leon, but without it the narrator might not have succeeded. So what happened to this little kid who quietly held the Leon plot line together? What did he do after Leon died? Where did he go? Certainly not back to his mother's. From kid comic book writer to assailant, what a great character. As for the alcoholism part, I gotta say my favorite story about that is the guy who goes to AA and has a 80 year old woman as a sponsor. My memory is terrible, but as I recall she really kicked ass. That particular plotline wouldn't have worked for this story but it was somehow reminiscent. Off to find Red Room. The title is very Shining.
Jill E Merrill
Welcome! Listen to all his back stories. It's definitely worth it.
Ryan Fahey
Hey, maybe that guy in the box was jaywalking or cutting the tags off of mattresses. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
Soren Narnia
The best part is always at the very end of the “bonus” five minutes when they bring in the tea!
Jeffrey Young
I know the Scripture says "judge not, lest ye be judged," but I'm just gonna come right out and say it: That Leon guy is a real jerk.
Brian Quinn
I think someone already said this but in my mind, this took me straight to the Ken Rex McElroy story out of Missouri. Obviously not the exact same and with an awesome KPH flavor to it. Some of my absolute favorite stories from this series are ones that take place in quiet abandoned places at night - Moonkeeper, etc. Awesome awesome story!
dan
I have listened to every episode of KPH multiple times and this is the first one I found unsettling enough that I had to turn it off and cannot finish it. So much scarier than if it was just gore
Dorsett
Soren, thank you for sharing the thought process for your recent stories. I, myself, was excited to note that you’re also an “In Our Time” podcast fan. I am always so curious about Melvyn Bragg’s ability to interject question after question to his assembled team of subject matter experts? Always something fascinating (and obscure) to learn from that podcast.
William David
Best story since 2018
zac braciszewicz
This struck me as sort of a thematic sequel to "Town". Another place stuck in the grip of some inexplicable sadistic power, except this time just the wrong person wanders in at just right time to break the 'stranglehold'. And in the end, that power that seemed overwhelming turns out to mostly be other people's fear of it.
David Montano
Great classic KP. I’m always especially compelled by the tales featuring a protagonist struggling with an addiction. And seems to go hand/hand with horror somehow. Maybe the point at which otherwise good people do wrong, or otherwise intelligent people make bad decisions etc. Great story—thanks for this.
John Potiseck
My work shift started a 2:00 pm today.
Alain Kapel
Nice to see the love for Red Rooms, it was pretty great! As for the new episode, well I guess I better make some time for it, but not before sundown 😱
Lori K.
Oh! I haven’t had a chance to listen yet - planned for tonight - but the Ken McElroy story has always fascinated me. I’m REALLY excited now! May need to have a whopper for breakfast if I can’t sleep afterwards
Soren Narnia
Wait… for breakfast??
John Potiseck
I just watched Red Rooms recently. And had an Impossible Whopper for breakfast today. And enjoy listening to In Our Time. So that all kinda clicked.
Jfer
snackshop
Laura Forgeson
Top tier episode.
Nick
That last line was such a nice pay off/ending. Excellent as always, sir.
Josh
As a relatively new Patreon person, this is my first experience of seeing a new story drop and the alert pop up on my phone unexpectedly. Was very cool. I loved this one, particularly the part where he’s describing his descent into drunkenness in the back room of the bar.
Soren Narnia
Bingo. I read about him a few years ago and never forgot that example!
Adam Shreve
I saw some shades of Ken McElroy in stranglehold. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_McElroy?wprov=sfti1#
Kelly V
You must be psychic. Got a long, soul-sucking drive to the airport today, and I was already queuing up KPH when this dropped. At least now the ride won’t feel like a one-way trip to Hell. Appreciate it.
Colin Crary
Red Rooms was so dope
Cole B
This episode is so quintessential KPH. As someone who likes to pop in to the dive bar spotted off the beaten path, Barn Top felt eerily familiar
Helena Tkalez
Wow this was incredible. Chills.
David Greenspan
Fifty-six minute story, one hour and eight minute car ride. What will I do for the extra twelve minutes???
Rebecca R
Yessss, In Our Time. Can we maybe have a KPH take on an episode? Melvy B would probably be happy to appear. I secretly love it if the guests start arguing and he has to sort them out. Madlad
Mike M.
I beg you to one day release a KPH special edition that is just a collection of these summaries about how you wrote each story. Along with any embarrassing napkin-based illustrations involved.
Leslie
Yay! Happy Monday! :)
Kelvin
Red rooms is fantastic, I totally get why that might have led to the format with Carried By Beasts
Charles Pickering
Praise be. PRAISE BE!
Elliot Lem
Happy KPH release day to all who celebrate!
