I have a friend, Olaf Erinsfar, a Swede by birth, who yet by reason of a strange and melancholy

mischance of his early boyhood has thrown his lot with that of the new world.

It is a curious story of a headstrong boy and a proud and relentless family.

The details do not matter here.

But they are sufficient to weave a web of romance around the tall yellow-bearded man with the sad eyes and the voice that gives itself perfectly to plaint a little Swedish songs remembered out of childhood.

In the winter evenings we play chess together, he and I, and after some close fierce battle has

been fought to a finish, usually with my own defeat, we fill our pipes again, and Ernie Frod tells me stories of the far half-remembered

days in the fatherland before he went to sea. Stories that grow very strange and incredible

as the night deepens, and the fire falls together.

But stories that nevertheless, I fully believe.

H.P. Podcraft.com.

That is the opening paragraph from Ralph Adams Crams, The Dead Valley.

And you're listening to the H.P. Lovecraft literary podcast.

Here at H.Podcraft. I'm Chad Fyfer. And I'm Chris Lackey. And our reader we heard in the opening

there is a friend of the show, first-time reader, Eric Hale. You know, he's a friend to all-mankind, really.

I've heard that about him. He wanted me to mention that if you're looking for a voice actor or reader and you like what you heard there,

go ahead and hit us up here at the show and we'll put you in contact with Eric

because I think he did a pretty cool job there.

Yeah, really outstanding and it felt good. It was a good

experience. So this story is told by an unnamed narrator who knew the Swedish

guy Olaf who is now an adult but the tale that he tells and happened when he was 12 years old and I think this is one of the first times that we've had a story where we've got a child protagonist. I really like that.

Yeah, you know, you're right.

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