Winner of the 2002 Silver Ogle for Excellence in Fantasy Audio...

 A father defends his house from strange, rooftop noises on, you guessed it, Christmas Eve while his young daughter begs him to led Santa inside.

Time: 5:33

Originally posted December 19, 2002

You might well wonder what I was thinking with this episode. Sometimes, I wonder what I was thinking. I know this much, if this subject had not already been breached in the classic Suspense episode, 'Zero Hour', I wouldn't have come anywhere near it. Rachel, again, does solid work in this episode. I'm really pretty proud of it, though I'm not sure how I'll feel next December when the Christmas spirit files into our lives again.

Honorable Mention at the 2002 Mark Time/Ogle Awards recognizing Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Audio...

A writer listens to ghostly recordings on a stormy night. But are the sounds in the background more than just sounds?

Time: 8:05

Originally posted October 21, 2002

Production notes: One of the more challenging SFX shows so far, 'Background' included yet another recording device and some fairly advance foley work. The concept of ghostly voices being recorded, even when those in the room with them don't realize it at the time, is not a new one. Paranormal researchers have said for years they are more likely to pick up something on video than to sight it with their own eyes. The recorded sections were done on a Realistic portable recorder by me, while I walked around the museum where I work - which is reputed to be actually haunted! Foley work was also a bit more advanced. The chopping sound? A real hatchet, and a honeydew melon with a with a metal bracket inside. The bracket was an accident. When I went to do this sound, I realized I couldn't very well hold the melon in one hand while hacking away at with the hatchet, so I took a metal shelf bracket and inserted it into the melon, giving it a handle. When the hatchet struck metal, I thought it sounded just a bit like striking bone, so I left the sound in. One more note, this was the first IX episode with the new, shorter intro. On stories lasting five minutes, a whole minute of intro seemed a bit excessive.

And Last Month's Period Chiller...

Two children in Depression-ridden American discover how thin the barrier is between real fears and imagined.

 
Time: 10:54

Originally Posted: July 2, 2003

Production Notes: Drunk from the news of 'Up on the Rooftops' silver Ogle Award, this episode was the most ambitious yet. Bigger, louder, longer more, is the way I think of it, perhaps even a bit too long. This episode marks the debut of Stephen Adams behind the mic, and he gives a great performance as the young boy trapped into behaving like a man. I'm very proud of both my kids, who pulled off both the psychology of the story, and the accents. One interesting side note, it was during production of Bog Man that local newspapers were doing stories on IX for the Ogle Award. One photographer was present when Stephen was recording the final speech (...don't tell papa...don't tell papa...) and you can just hear his camera clicking in the background.