Tales From The Potts House: William Hope Hodgson

In the spring of 2020, while stuck in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I began experimenting with streaming live audio to Twitch. I wanted to mix, chop, and screw with Creative Commons-licensed music live while reading weird fiction no longer restricted by copyright. My elderly Mac Pro from 2008, connected to even older audio interfaces and a Reloop Mixage Controller Edition USB DJ controller, running El Capitan and old versions of Traktor and Logic, gave me endless troubles. I originally wanted to use MainStage, but it would not behave reliably for me at all and I had to give up. Audio was glitching occasionally, but I kept the setup limping along long enough to finish this live reading. This is a challenging story to read aloud, as much of it is in the form a single monologue of extremely long sentences that flow together into extremely long paragraphs in a hypnotic, stream-of-consciousness style. Because there is continuous background music, no editing was possible. Enjoy!

A captain returns to his home town and the woman he loves after twenty years on the high seas.

A ship at sea in the dead of night is hailed by a solitary figure in a small boat. Who is he, and why does he refuse to allow the crew to see him?

The good ship Seabird is repaired, and all aboard her long to see England once agan. A vicious fight with the weed men claims one final victim before the ship is finally free of the Land of Lonesomeness. The friendships forged in that strange land will not be quickly forgotten. The music is by Samsa, from the album "The Laurentian Divide," and by PHOLDE, from the album "In Favor or More Permanent Pleasures."

Aboard the ship, the men use long reeds from the island to help push the weed aside, and as the line is tightened the ship inches ever closer to the island. Our narrator and Mistress Madison find that they are in love, and at last the ship pulls itself free of the weed and into open water! The music is by Adaptcore, from the album "Sunset After Wind," and by Formication, from the album "Pieces for a Condemned Piano."

The narrator rides aross the rope to the vessel in the weed. There he meets the dead Captain's wife and young niece, Mary Madison. But the rope line is already beginning to show signs of fraying, and so it is too risky for the narrator to return to the island. Can the hulk pull itself free from the weed before the rope breaks? The music is by Samsa, from the album "Sounds Good on Paper."

Another sailor is presumed lost after the tragic weed-man attack, and Job's grave has been plundered. The giant crossbow has failed to fire a line across to the trapped ship, but as luck would have it, one of the sailors is an expert in kite-making! Soon a heavy line connects the ship in the weed and the island. The ship begins to draw the line taught. But will it be strong enough? The music is by Caul, from the album "Apophasis."

The survivors' worst fears are realized when in the moonless darkness their camp is attacked by vile and terrifying creatures. It seems that only fire can deter these evil beasts, but the men are rapidly running out of fuel! The music is by Slutmachine, from the album "Inching Glaciers," and by PHOLDE, from the album "In Favor of More Permanent Pleasures."

The survivors work to construct a giant crossbow in order to fire a line across from the island to the ship. But the island is unquiet in the night! Uncanny things are moving about in the valley, and in the waters between the island and the mysterious continent of weed. The music is by Formication, from the album "Pieces from a Condemned Piano."

The bo'sun continues work on the ship while keeping one eye on the ship in the weed. When the people on board the ship discover that there are people on the island, there is much rejoicing. But neither group can reach the other, and the men scratch their heads until the narrator proposes to bridge the gap with a cord shot from a giant bow. The music is by Exit, from the album "Sleep."

The men bury the young seaman, Job. As they climb to the highest point of the island, they are relieved to discover a source of fresh water. The bo'sun orders the men to move the camp to more defensible high ground, while he continues his work on the boat. The men work diligently, and aside from a fight with a giant crab, the afternoon passes uneventfully. The narrator feels gloomy as he goes to sleep, but wakes to find that there is a light visible aboard the derelict vessel, trapped in the weed only half a mile from the island! The music is by Samsa, from the album "A Forest Without Trees."

While the survivors work on the boat, Job is taken from the tent. Following the the slime trails of strange creatures, the men find Job's still-warm body in the valley, drained of blood. In their rage they set fire to the giant toadstools in the valley, which burn all through the night. The music is by Mystified, from the albums "Ophir" and "These Fragments."

The survivors try to care for injured seaman Job, who remains unconscious. The bo'sun starts repair work on the boat, and the other men establish camp. But while he sleeps, the the narrator is attacked by a slimy, tentacled beast, and as the men run out of fuel for the watch-fires, they wonder what strange things slither in the dark. The music is by Mystified, from the album "These Fragments."

At last the survivors discover an island in the weed, and all go ashore to explore, except Job, who is left to look after the boat. But this island refuge may not be the place of safety that they long for -- Job is injured as a giant devil-fish attacks the boat, damaging it. Music is by Mystified, from the albums "Ophir" and "These Fragments."

Having escaped the great storm, the crew navigates an ocean filled with huge floating masses of seaweed, where rotting ships are trapped forever in the "cemetery of the oceans." Music is by Aidan Baker from the album "24.2.24.4."

The crew of the boats, having left behind the Land of Lonesomeness, encounters a storm of tremendous power. Music is by Cordell Klier from the album "Emmisary." Storm sound effects are from the Freesound project.

The men of the Glen Carrig, lost in the Land of Lonesomeness, finally discover fresh water. But their joy is chilled as they discover the source of the weird crying sound that haunts this cursed place. Music is by Adaptcore from the album "Sunset After Wind."

Aboard the derelict vessel, the survivors hunt for potable water and discover disturbing notes left by a former passenger, containing references to a mysterious, threatening creature. Grace Potts is featured as the voice of the passenger's diary. Music is by Cordell Klier from the album "Emissary."

The survivors follow the stream and come upon a derelict vessel, well-stocked with food. But why was this ship apparently abandoned in great haste, and what is the source of those mysterious sounds in the night? Music is by Samsa from the album "The Laurentian Divide."

The survivors of the Glen Carrig paddle their lifeboats up a creek in search of fresh water, only to find a desolate land haunted by eerie sounds. Music is by Samsa from the album "The Laurentian Divide."