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Written by James Winterbottom and performed by Ashe Russell

Would you be willing to have everything you ever wanted if it also came with an angry goose?

This episode is a real treat, as the story is performed by an actor, which adds an extra dimension to the storytelling. The story is about a man whose life is going about as badly as it possibly could be until he meets a man in a pub that offers to fix everything if he is willing to accept a huge price to have all his problems taken off his hands. The rest of the story examines what happens when you agree to something without thinking through the consequences.

I hope you enjoy this week’s story, as I talk about at the end of the episode, there are a lot of parallels in this story with my experience of parenting. I won’t discuss them in too much detail here as it would involve revealing spoilers of the story but I found writing this story helped me to better understand my philosophy towards raising my children – which is weird when I started out trying to write a silly story about an angry goose!

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.

I’ll be back next Friday with another short story. In the meantime, please remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Goodbye!

James

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A short story by James Winterbottom

This story was inspired by a man my dad met in a lift that refused to press a button for him because, as he told my father, “I don’t do favours”. I wondered what things would have to happen to you that would lead you to a point in your life where you wouldn’t even be willing to push the button on a lift for someone else and this story is the answer to that question.

If you’re interested in buying live locust in the UK you can find them in Pets at Home by following this link: https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/merch-groups/great-deals/live-food, listeners in other countries will have source out their own supplier. This podcast won’t take any responsibility for any consequences arising from anything that happens as a result of locust-based acts of revenge. I can confirm that no locusts were harmed in the making of this podcast! (This paragraph will make more sense once you’ve listened to the story, I promise.)

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter (twitter.com/shortstorycast) or on Facebook (facebook.com/shortstorycast).

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A short story by James Winterbottom

This story is about a young woman that attempts to become a seawitch by following the instructions she finds on a blog. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go to plan when the practicalities of her life get in the way and the vague instructions make it difficult for her to follow. She tries her best though and gets some unexpected results. 

This week’s story was read by my wife, Claire Winterbottom and was inspired by me receiving an invitation to a handfasting ceremony that was officiated by a seawitch. This story was written before I met the seawitch though and therefore isn’t a fair reflection of what actual seawitches are really like, it’s more about my preconceived ideas and prejudices about what the role involves.  

Here’s a link to the blogpost I mentioned in the episode: https://otherworldlyoracle.com/how-to-be-a-sea-witch/.

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.

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A short story by James Winterbottom

This week’s story is about a man that has become the world’s most prolific serial killer but he’s never been caught for his crimes. He’s frustrated that he’s achieved his lifetime ambition but isn’t able to tell anyone about it or he would end up in prison. 

I mention in the episode a page on Wikipedia with a list of the world’s most prolific killers, listed by their number of victims. Here’s the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_by_number_of_victims.

If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to email me at contact@theshortstorycast.com, on Twitter or on Facebook.

I’ll be along next Friday with another story.

Thanks!

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A short story by James Winterbottom

This week’s story is about how being stuck in a job that you don’t like can have serious (and unexpected) implications for your health. 

If you enjoy the podcast please make sure you subscribe with your podcasting app of choice. If you really want to earn extra brownie points you could also leave a review or follow one of the social media accounts for The Short Story Cast.

I’ll be along with another story next Friday. Thanks for listening!

Thanks to ComaStudio for the background music on today’s episode. You can hear more of their melodic beats on Pixabay or, most likely, future episodes of my podcast.

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