SYSK's 2025 Shocktober Halloween Spooktacular

Key Takeaways

The annual "Spooktacular" episode features two classic horror stories: "Caterpillars" by E.F. Benson and "The Deep Drowse" by Allison B. Harding.
"Caterpillars" details a man's encounter with monstrous, luminous caterpillars in an Italian villa, culminating in a character's death from a mysterious cancer.
"The Deep Drowse" chronicles humanity's gradual succumbence to a global, inescapable sleep, leading to civilization's end.
The second story concludes with future intelligent animals studying human records and deeming their civilization unfit for survival.

The first story, "Caterpillars" by E.F. Benson (1912), is set at the Via Cascana, a beautiful, luxurious house in Sestri de Levante on the Italian Riviera.
The narrator immediately feels unease upon arrival in May, intensifying despite receiving news of prosperity rather than expected bad news.
A restless night and an unoccupied bedroom contribute to the narrator's premonition of something amiss.
Arthur Inglis, an artist and fellow guest, vehemently dismisses the supernatural during dinner.

The narrator discovers an open door to an unoccupied bedroom, emitting a strange, gray light.
Inside, a four-poster bed is covered in large, luminous, yellowish-gray caterpillars, described as a foot or more in length.
These mutant caterpillars possess crab-like pincers and crawl towards the narrator, prompting a panicked retreat to his room.
The horror is confirmed to be real, not a dream, as the narrator endures a night of intense fear.

The narrator later discovers Inglis has found a caterpillar, identifying it by its crab-like pincers, as it begins to spin a cocoon.
Inglis humorously names the specimen 'Cancer Inglisensis' after himself.
Overwhelmed by the caterpillar's resemblance to his terrifying vision, the narrator throws the pillbox containing it out a window into a fountain.
The caterpillar improbably survives, crawling up a marble cupid statue, before Inglis crushes it after it lands on his shoe.

The episode transitions to the second story, "The Deep Drowse," published in the September 1949 issue of Weird Tales.
The author, Allison B. Harding, is a pseudonym, potentially Gene Milligan or a husband-wife team.
Hosts speculate the anonymity was for "under the table" payment or to avoid professional disapproval.
The story introduces Arthur Hodges, a successful writer with severe hay fever, living in a country house with his wife, Frances.

Arthur Hodges' writing success provides amenities like a hermetically sealed study and bedroom to manage his severe hay fever.
His wife, Fran, returns on August 14th with a movie company's offer to buy his serial for a significant sum.
Fran suggests celebrating their prosperity by inviting friends, including Jack, Cynthia, Tim, and Mary, for a party the following weekend.
She notes the oppressive heat and darkening sky while preparing for guests.

Fran attempts to call friends for the party, but both Cynthia and Jack Fisk exhibit unusual voices, sparking speculation about drinking or illness.
Cynthia confides they both need rest, and Jack sounds worn out and groggy over the phone.
Fran and Arthur detect a mysterious hissing sound during calls, which Cynthia attributes to the heat.
Difficulty with connections and strained voices continue with Mary, initially attributed to hay fever.

Fran's distress escalates after reconnecting with Cynthia, learning Jack has passed out and Cynthia is struggling for help.
Arthur suspects something unusual and calls Dr. McCollum, who gives a cryptic response about the odd situation.
Subsequent calls to the police are unresponsive, and Tim exhibits slurred speech, mentioning "the deep drowse."
Arthur urges Tim to call for help, recognizing a widespread issue.

Arthur decides to investigate the situation himself despite Fran's fears of war or poison gas.
Upon stepping outside, he immediately experiences lightheadedness, nausea, and sweating, noting the unnaturally quiet air.
He suspects poison gas, experiences incapacitation for about eight minutes, and develops a growing tolerance to the outside air, though it induces extreme drowsiness.
Arthur makes trips to gather food and supplies, holding a 'council of war' with Fran at 5 a.m., acknowledging their sealed quarters and oxygen supply.

As their oxygen supply diminishes, Fran experiences physical symptoms, prompting Arthur to adjust the flow.
Arthur reveals he extended their air supply by five days beyond his initial calculation, now on day 12.
They realize communication lines are cut, feeling isolated like marooned individuals.
Arthur finishes typing, documenting their predicament as oxygen runs out, contemplating their impending end.

The Institute of Hieroglyphics studies a momentous solar system change, the "suspension," discovering records by bipeds A. Hodges and F. Hodges.
A. Hodges' account is deemed an accurate record of the first 12 days of the event, though he did not grasp its true significance.
Future historians note that war was a primary concern, linking Hodges' writings of atomic bombs and poison gas to tribal factionalism.
The "suspension" was eventually understood as a cessation of consciousness, leading bipeds into an irreversible sleep and starvation, rather than poison gas.