Fanbruary Day 2: Welcome to Night Vale

Love is in the air. Love is in the ground. Love has gotten into the water supply, and the EPA is very unhappy. Welcome to Night Vale.

[Weird mystery music plays]

Welcome to Night Vale is a podcast, new episodes on the first and fifteenth of every month, the show which spawned the Night Vale Presents podcast network. It takes place in the small desert town of Night Vale, in the form of a community radio broadcast presented by Voice of Night Vale, Cecil Palmer. Here's the thing, though; Night Vale is the weirdest, creepiest little town you'll ever encounter. All of the conspiracy theories are real. There is a Vague, Yet Menacing Government Agency that monitors the actions of every citizen in town. The City Council mandates that angels do not exist and only tell lies, and that you should under no circumstances lend them five dollars no matter how nicely they ask. Never, under any circumstances, should you enter the library, and don't even think about looking at the Dog Park.

And yet, as strange as all that seems, Night Vale often seems as cozy as it is creepy -- these are still people, after all, even if that old woman happens to have no face and also secretly live in your home, or if that guy is literally a five-headed dragon. It is a story about them, and sometimes it is a story about you, and sometimes it is a story about us. Whole paragraphs of deep, creepy, and poetic monologue can pass you by, before being quickly and adroitly turned on its head.

Plus, there's a great musical guest spot every week, really good queer representation, mysterious arcs that span over seasons, and more!

There's more than a hundred episodes out so far. But if that seems like too much of a commitment right now, or you just don't like podcasts as a medium, there's also two standalone Night Vale novels, Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours, which require no prior knowledge of the podcast. Plus, illustrated scriptbooks from the first four series are now on sale.

To sum up, Night Vale is a great show -- creepy, endearing, deep, romantic, and pretty darn funny to boot. If you enjoy the works of Lovecraft, Stephen King, or Garrison Keillor, Night Vale is probably for you. Even if you don't like any of those authors, give it a try anyway! Give Night Vale a chance to wrap its many tentacles around your heart. (Plus, Cecil's voice? Mmmmmmmmmmm. Like rich dark chocolate.)

Good night, dear readers. Good night.
-6&7

P.S., If you enjoy Welcome to Night Vale, you may also like Good Morning Night Vale, the official Night Vale recap show. Three of the voice actors (Hal Lublin, Meg Bashwinner, and Symphony Sanders) get together to talk about all the stuff that happened behind the scenes, plus interviews with other performers on the show and reading listener mail. Also, they talk about food. A lot. Just, so much. New episodes every Thursday.