PseudoPod 338: Beware The Jabberwock, My Son
Beware The Jabberwock, My Son
by Dixon Chance
Richard stayed frozen. This is nonsense, he thought. Am I afraid of a funny noise? Of nonsense? He formed a determined smile and decided to recite Humpty-Dumpty’s poem to himself. Maybe that would help him relax, fighting nonsense with nonsense. “_I sent a message to the fish/ I told them, ‘This is what I wish—’_” he said softly.
He had nerved himself up enough to go two steps when he heard the next sound. It was like a lady’s fan—one made of cellophane—being opened. Or a breeze being…folded?
The sound (_whiffle_) came again, and this time it definitely came from the mirror. Definitely. He could imagine its long, snaky neck pouring out of the mirror frame, those two pale unblinking eyes peering around his bedroom as it flew
(_whiffle_)
About the Author
Dixon Chance
DIXON CHANCE is the “just for the joy of it” pseudonym of David Ellis Dickerson, a regular contributor to “This American Life” and other public radio shows, and the author of the memoir HOUSE OF CARDS (Riverhead 2009) about my career as a writer at Hallmark. My work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Gettysburg Review, and Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror.
About the Narrator
Kevin M. Hayes
For Kevin M. Hayes, involvement in science fiction, fantasy and horror began at a very young age as an insatiable reader. Eventually he grew from passive reader to active participation as a writer. He became involved with Parsec, the SF/F/H organization in Western Pennsylvania and had his first story, “Rumpled Bedfellows” published in a fan produced anthology called “Six from Parsec.” (it’s still available if you ask nicely) Then his story, “The Thithshtach Diner” won the Parsec Short Story Contest in 2001 He went on to sell it to an e-zine called “Speculon.” He’s been published in Parsec INK’s first two Triangulation anthologies in 2003 and 2004 and even had clean limericks in a chap book. He’s had stories in “The Realm Beyond” and “TV Gods” both from Fortress Publishing and also a story in WorD Publishing’s first anthology: “Knee Deep in Little Devils.” He’s working on another anthology for WorD called “Beer, Because Your Friends Aren’t That Interesting” and he has co-moderated the WorD writing and critique group for over ten years. He is deeply involved with Parsec and the Pittsburgh science fiction community on many levels. It isn’t clear how Kevin became involved with PseudoPod, EscapePod, PodCastle and Cast of Wonders, but when he found them, he knew he wanted to narrate stories, as well as write, and has had the good fortune to have done it for over eight years.
