Image from podbay.fm
In 2012, the first episode of a podcast called “Welcome to Night Vale,” was published online by Commonplace Books. The creators, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, write new episodes and air them on a bi monthly basis. Since it first aired, “Welcome to Night Vale” has gained a swiftly-growing fan base.
“Welcome to Night Vale” is about a (fictional) little town called Night Vale. Night Vale is located somewhere in the deserts of the southwestern United States. Strange things happen in this town, which is populated by angels (that don’t exist), mysterious hooded figures (that you musn’t look directly at), and then some fairly normal folk, or so they seem, until they are struck by lightening and promptly sprout a second head.
The podcast is done in the style of a radio news report, complete with weather, traffic, and recent news. The newscaster is Cecil Baldwin, who not only has a strange way of making the extraordinary seem ordinary, but always seems to know when and where everything is happening. Many of the strange goings on in Night Vale seem to be based off of conspiracy theories, superstitions, and mythological legends. If you can think it, it probably happened somewhere in Nigh Vale.
“Welcome to Night Vale” can be found on YouTube and iTunes, and more information about the show itself can be found on the Commonplace Books website. It’s an overall amusing show to listen to while on a long drive, while working out, or if your just curious about the goings on in a strange little town.
