"The Translucents" by Ian Gordon / Van Melsen Mythos

[@HorrorBabble]

Pete's story continues to expand...! For more on 'Ravenglass', check out our first original Carnacki story: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKu4aJalebStptU And a few other Van Melsen links: Van Melsen Mythos Book 1: USA: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGXFZCH5 UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CGXFZCH5 The Van Melsen Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLeNNKRLWxwoO0VCrw61QeyrZk_DQYZycx

[@ClockworkChainsaw]

I've been stuck on the sofa for over an hour, putting off going to bed, but then I spotted not only a new Horrorbabble narration, but a new Van Melsen, and I couldn't get to bed quick enough to listen to it.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thank you as always for joining us! Pete appreciates it...

[@scyphe]

Awesome, the next chapter in the Van Melsen library. Time to turn off the lights and lay down and experience the inner movie in my mind that's about to start. Thank you Ian for your dedicated work to provide great narration of great stories.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks as always, Scyphe!

[@richardferguson6893]

New van Melsen? Put that right into my veins please.

[@szabolcsmezei4088]

"...the pervasive smell of old wool, and the organic whiff of bleeding dye..." is one of your best lines.

[@deniseindoung4514]

Is this the first time Peter Van Melsen references Carnacki? That was so cool!

[@HorrorBabble]

He's referenced in Hammer & Nails: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpS1iX2vetmSipo

[@williambarnette1049]

I love these stories. they have such character.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, William!

[@paulcateiii]

just what I needed this Monday evening - thanks Ian and Jen

[@HorrorBabble]

Cheers, Paul!

[@joz6683]

Van Melsen and doppelganger. Put off going to bed until this dropped. I have always found Doppelgangers fascinating, from reading about them as a teen and watching the old Roger Moore film "The Man Who Haunted Himself." So thanks for writing about them.

[@HorrorBabble]

A classic film, indeed!

[@andreasfilis9001]

This was an unexpected surprise for Van Melsen stories. Fantastic as usual, excellent narration by Ian and a subject that I have never thought before. Thank you Ian.

[@HorrorBabble]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@andreasfilis9001]

@@HorrorBabble I usually enjoy everything you post.

[@richardferguson6893]

I only have one complaint: i needed another hour! Excellent story crafting as per usual and i'm looking forward to wherever/whenever the next installment takes us.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks Richard!

[@andrewsisson6536]

Another incredible tale, as always! I need my own doppelganger to go to work so I can stay home and listen to all the Van Melsen stories yet again! I occasionally listen to a paranormal podcast. The hosts have a recurring joke about "spooky honky-tonk pianos." It gave mea chuckle!

[@VictorReynolds]

Another great Van Melsen story! Can’t wait for the next!

[@cobrachicken07]

Excellent tale and reading! Based on the past few of your original yarns, I can tell the doppelganger has captured your imagination. Just don't let it take over your storytelling. You're the best.

[@HorrorBabble]

You're right -- I've been mad on the subject as of late. I reckon I'm done with it for now. Thanks for listening!

[@Suchega_Uber]

Fully caught up. This has been an awesome journey and I feel really lucky to be here for it. Great work to everyone involved. Super excited to see where this goes.

[@sashacampbell3513]

I truly enjoy all your work, but the original Van Melsen stories always feel special 😊 thanks for sharing!

[@AndyParkinson-r2h]

Been waiting all day to listen to this....I can see Southport from where i live...brilliant work thank you

[@HorrorBabble]

Are you above or below it?

[@AndyParkinson-r2h]

@@HorrorBabble Above it in Lytham looking across the river Ribble...

[@HorrorBabble]

Nice! We visit Lytham fairly often.

[@AndyParkinson-r2h]

@@HorrorBabble It is a lovely place to live, Lytham Hall is very haunted so is the the ship and royal pub...so I am totally in my element!

[@HorrorBabble]

Still haven't been to the hall, though my brother visits pretty often. It's on the list! APEX Cycleworks has become a favourite spot for a good coffee.

[@DonSmith2323]

Im a self proclaimed and obsessed classic mystery and true victorian crime aficionado and what Gordan has done with Mr.Van Melsen and the cases/stories/tales so far are absolutely top knotch i will be spending the rest of my life holidays of Halloween and Xmas eves listening to the great M.R.James and Poe and Dickens and Doyle and Gordan great work we're all luckily able to get the opportunity to read or listen to your masterpieces Thank You also great narration leaves you gripping your seat and deep in analysis & deduction.. Bravo

[@HorrorBabble]

Thank you, Don.

[@bearislandjosh5279]

I absolutely love the PVM stories!

[@HorrorBabble]

That's great to hear!

[@anthonybarnwell767]

I'm so excited

[@Eris123451]

To be continued obviously; but that said I haven't enjoyed a Peter Van Melsen story as much as this one for quite a while. Well done.

[@HorrorBabble]

Cheers, Eris!

[@CJ-uf6xl]

Excellent! Looking forward to the next installment 👍

[@HorrorBabble]

He'll be back soon!

[@nathanharper5670]

I love the new narrative voice for Van Melsen - very creative, Ian!

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, Nathan! In truth, it follows the same format as a previous story in the series: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqHVeIOsjdV4aNk

[@nathanharper5670]

Oh, yeah - that's right. That's a good one, too.

[@thefisherking78]

So good, I listened to the whole thing three times

[@merlapittman5034]

Another excellent Van Melsen story - I very much enjoy these!

[@HorrorBabble]

That's always great to hear. :)

[@Wombats555]

Let us drink tea talk doppelgangers! Love the link back to A Haunting At Ravenglass.

[@dennisdanielson5561]

Yes! A new Van Melson story!

[@nobodyyouknow1065]

I appreciate the nod at Charles Fort.

[@itzybitzyspyder]

45 minutes til my D&D game...let's do this!

[@Nanosuit37]

You never disappoint Mr. Gordon and Horror Babble. Excellent. Very good. I look forward to the next installment of this story. Until next time.

[@dennisthornton4434]

Cool. A new van melson story. 🎉

[@tooladdict85]

Just got off work. Gonna enjoy this on my drive home!!

[@RolandWieffering1]

I have become a great fan of P.I. Peter Van Melsen. It seems to me that his stories are getting better and better. I hope you have time to write some more of these stories. Except a few, I really enjoy following the Investigations of the paranormal investigator with the Dutch name. Thanks for this little Jewel of a story. As always, all the best from Holland.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, Roland -- I'm trying to make more time to write at the moment. It's tough! All the best.

[@thomasturner2007]

Always looking forward to Peter's next appearance! Thank you!

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, Thomas!

[@jessisage4708]

The only thing I look forward to on Mondays are your uploads! Thanks, Horror Babble ❤❤❤

[@HorrorBabble]

Thank you for coming back every week!

[@garymcdonnell5791]

Can't believe the main man him self has been to Southport' 20 minutes away from me in Kirkby Liverpool and he didn't pop in for a cup of tea with me and a good chat!! Haha..keep up the bloody good work Ian and co workers... X

[@soulreaver1983]

Magnificent many thanks Ian!😎👍👍

[@HorrorBabble]

Thank you, sir!

[@soulreaver1983]

@@HorrorBabble My pleasure good sir.

[@woolybooger7770]

"Warren of Wares" nice turn of phrase

[@stevecausey545]

Woo hoo! Perfect for tonight's listen.

[@HorrorBabble]

Cheers, Steve!

[@daveglass7396]

Another very good story and always nice to hear stories set in Merseyside

[@HorrorBabble]

Southport has always been a favourite haunt of mine.

[@scoutrifle6827]

Woo hoo, another original ! Always my favorite stories on HB.

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks for listening!

[@corinnemurphy7278]

Ooo, thank you for this creepy tale, dear Ian. Cheers!

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks again, Corinne!

[@martiwilliams4592]

Very enjoyable! Thank you!

[@beancount811]

Van Melsen's just the ticket for this evening. :)

[@tooladdict85]

I got the reference at the end! That made my whole day!

[@tooladdict85]

By any chance was this planned or after I suggested it a few weeks back? Thank also for the amazing work you guys are doing

[@HorrorBabble]

VM references Carnacki in Hammer & Nails -- there's more to come!

[@xabaya3294]

Love these stories, thank you

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, Xabaya! (Great name, btw)

[@amgroves76]

Wonderful

[@beitodesstrafe]

Quite good. Thank you!

[@mortuarycookiezshane4192]

Ah yes perfect thing to listen to rn!!!

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, Shanna -- hope you've recovered, btw!

[@tamlandipper29]

Enjoyable as always. The one thing that does occur to me, though, is that I don't have a feel for the basis of Van Melsen's tremendous sang froid. An opportunity to explore his younger development?

[@HorrorBabble]

I touched on his earlier years in 'Owlman', but there is certainly more to come.

[@joannewatts9892]

A bit of a scary story , however , a good short story .. beautiful , art 🎨 work , ian . the cover piece reminds me of dreams & i love to dream 🌬️ 😪🌛✨ thank you , ian & jenney 💗🌼

[@HorrorBabble]

Thanks, Joanne -- I suppose it isn't a million miles away from what you might see in a dream.

[@joannewatts9892]

@@HorrorBabble beautifully put .

[@Eartse60]

Brilliant

[@zednotzee7]

Excellent ! Another Van Melsen story ! I've been feeling a bit rough over the last few days and am going to have an early night. And this will be just the thing to listen to in bed. 😃

[@HorrorBabble]

Get well soon, Zed!

[@zednotzee7]

@@HorrorBabble Thanks you. I'm feeling a bit better today. Strong coffee and a few cigarettes today have no doubt helped ! 😁

[@HorrorBabble]

Wait a minute... Peter?!

[@zednotzee7]

@@HorrorBabble Shhh, not so loud. I'm incognito.... 😉

[@bobbymarcum772]

Dear Ian: I love your Van Melsen stories, and I was curious (being an American cousin of yours) what sort of accent the character "Cain" or "Cane" has. I have often wondered when I have heard it published abroad before.

[@HorrorBabble]

Hi Bobby! He has a Lancastrian accent - Cane hails from Preston.

[@donaldmccleary9015]

An excellent story and narration. Trade the tea for coffee/Scotch (sometimes), cigarettes for Zyn, and Fortean Weekly for Fortean Times, and you have my evening! Excellent bit of writing. Good to hear more from Pete!

[@HorrorBabble]

Ha! Thanks again, Donald!

[@raylauderback5126]

Excellent! A possible "team up" in the making? 😮

[@HorrorBabble]

...

[@brograb898]

Pete’s back from the dreamscape!

[@williamfawkes8379]

I'm under the weather, but that's a perfect place to visit PVM.

[@johannageisel5390]

Curious!

[@victoriahadley7138]

Dear god! Cold tea! The horror!!! THE HORROR!!!!!! 🤢🤯

[@MoonLitChild]

A Van Melsen story and a Max Carrados story over at Bite-Sized Audio in the same week? Talk about winning

[@HorrorBabble]

Ah! I do very much enjoy the Carrados tales -- I'd better go see what Simon has been up to...

[@thriddoctor]

Love he Fortean Times reference.

[@fisk0]

When the music memorabilia section came up, I almost expected this to go into Elvis sightings.

[@stormedjustonce6626]

7:09 Warren spotted. He's still alive. There is hope.

[@HorrorBabble]

Ha!

[@Jose-oq6kj]

NEW VAN MELSEN!? AWESOME :D

[@adamthompson626]

this has been the 3rd doppelganger work I have listen to by you. Are... are you ok Gordon? Something you are trying to tell us?

[@HorrorBabble]

I think I've been replaced. Twice.

[@adamthompson626]

@@HorrorBabble lol

[@GodOfPlague]

I think Ive seen two shows, one western one, Eastern, about doppelgangers. I think in both if you saw your double you'd die. Its a fun idea.

[@balaam_7087]

I want crossover stories with Peter Van Melsen and Dr. Van Nostrand

[@Eris123451]

I looked him up and I'm still non the wiser; then we don't own a television.

[@tamlandipper29]

From Seinfeld?

[@Eris123451]

Is that H.P. Seinfeld, Clark Ashton-Seinfeld or Robert E. Seinfeld ? As I say we don't own a television.

[@HorrorBabble]

Ha!

[@BeastlyEwok]

Ian, why not take a crack at "The Lurker in the Threshold" - H.P. Lovecraft & August Derelith. It's part of the Cthulhu Mythos.

[@HorrorBabble]

Hi BE - that one comes up a lot, but as is the case with almost all Derleth stories, it isn’t in the public domain. I’ve tried to contact Arkham House, but I never get a reply. It’s a tough one.

[@k1e756]

why, at the beginning of a new chapter, are your recordings cut off for a few fractions of a second?

[@HorrorBabble]

Hmm… That doesn’t happen at this end. What’s your setup for listening?

[@Zettoman]

what do you think of chat-gpt or similar AI used for writing horror stories?

[@tamlandipper29]

I can't speak for Ian, but I don't believe a general LLM could write good horror. In my opinion good horror is like good comedy. It must mix the familiar with the unexpected and wrong. One could easily compose an algorithmic approach to try, but tuning it to produce a 'good' balance would be too resource intensive to be worthwhile. Contrast that with, say, shirtless romance novels, where they seem to be fixed formulaic already. That said, automation makes an excellent first line for assisting with writing. I use ChatGPT as the 'help' function using MS Office. I also increasingly use ChatGPT as an adjunct to Google. For a recent example, I saved a chunk of time by asking Chat GPT to find me USMC formations that had served in the Pacific campaign and then transferred to Europe. It turned out to be hallucinating 'facts' about the 4th marine regiment, but it got me on the right track very fast. It's like having a bright and loquacious hunchback around as an assistant, but one that is inveterately lazy.

[@HorrorBabble]

I've been drafting an article on the subject for a while now, but things are changing so quickly that I'm struggling to maintain a 'stance' on the matter. I still use AI-generated imagery for some videos, so I can't dismiss the technology, though I *can* say that using it has increased my appreciation for the work of human beings. I'll be hiring artists whenever I can afford it, and I'll still use public domain imagery if I can be sure it isn't AI-generated (this is one of the reasons I'm still using MS Designer). As for writing stories though, I enjoy the process far too much to hand over portions of the creative process to AI.

[@bigsarge2085]

❤️‍🔥

[@KarlHessey-db6mf]

Astral, vibes

[@dennisthornton4434]

Got a question. What'd fortrain weekly in your stories that van melson writes for.

[@HorrorBabble]

Hi Dennis -- it's a fictional magazine.

[@dennisthornton4434]

I know. Just wondered if it was a serious type magazine or a tell all conspiracy type thing. Good addition to the stories though either way. Consistency in the stories.

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

👊🏿

[@HorrorBabble]

Always a pleasure, Veronica!

[@jolenelittlewood7978]

A gang of doplegangers, p,v,m best be on point in Southport.

[@timmy18135]

Isn't there a twilight zone episode like this?

[@HorrorBabble]

More than likely! I'd like to see it.

[@AcornElectron]

Am I a fool though? I have only your word to take for it and your words are doubtful, although time itself would probably prove your own opening statement partially correct. If this Liverpudlian adjacent tale is to be held as truism then I can only speculate on the fate of a man that disappeared 105 years ago …

[@thehillz726]

good to see peter is a high functioning smoker

[@HorrorBabble]

Those things plague him!