I Was Sent to Debunk the Mountain Shrine. I Couldn't Explain What I Saw.

Weird Darkness: Paranormal & True Crime Stories

Darren Marlar

True Crime, History, Society & Culture, Documentary, Science, Religion & Spirituality

4.6 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Edward Blair only wanted a quick, quirky feature story from a secluded Japanese shrine—but what he found was a girl who defied explanation, a priest with powers beyond science, and a warning about the dangerous cost of controlling the universe.

“The Shrine” by Walt Sheldon – originally published in Fantastic Universe, December 1956

MORE Stories Like This: https://www.auditoryanthology.com
Fully Produced Version: https://www.auditoryanthology.com/2025/04/17/the-shrine-by-walt-sheldon/

Originally aired: December 15, 2025

EPISODE PAGE (includes sources): https://weirddarkness.com/TheShrine
ABOUT WEIRD DARKNESS: Weird Darkness is a true crime and paranormal podcast narrated by professional award-winning voice actor, Darren Marlar. Seven days per week, Weird Darkness focuses on all thing strange and macabre such as haunted locations, unsolved mysteries, true ghost stories, supernatural manifestations, urban legends, unsolved or cold case murders, conspiracy theories, and more. On Thursdays, this scary stories podcast features horror fiction along with the occasional creepypasta. Weird Darkness has been named one of the “Best 20 Storytellers in Podcasting” by Podcast Business Journal. Listeners have described the show as a cross between “Coast to Coast” with Art Bell, “The Twilight Zone” with Rod Serling, “Unsolved Mysteries” with Robert Stack, and “In Search Of” with Leonard Nimoy.DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
#WeirdDarkness #VintageScienceFiction #JapaneseMysticism #ClassicHorror #ScaryStories #Psychokinesis #MysteriousShrine #ParanormalPowers #WeirdFiction #DarkFiction

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The following is a story I narrated for the Auditory Anthology podcast a few months ago.
0:05.6	If you'd like to hear the fully produced version with music and sound effects, I've placed a link to the full version in the episode description.
0:12.5	And if you're a fan of classic sci-fi stories from the 50s and 60s or quirky, short, creepy stories,
0:18.4	you'll want to subscribe to Auditori Anthology, which you can do
0:21.5	at Auditori Anthology.com.
0:30.0	The Shrine by Walt Sheldon, originally published in Fantastic Universe, December
0:36.3	1956.
0:39.3	The American stopped to rest, to doll up his brow, and he withdrew for a moment into the
0:44.8	modelled shade beside the trail.
0:47.5	Ahead, the mountain rose and became blue with distance.
0:51.6	A figure in a saffron robe moved down the trail and toward him.
0:56.3	"'A woman,' said his lips without sound, his eyes clocked surprise.
1:02.6	He was Edward Blair. He worked for the English-language Tokyo Tribune. It was as good a paper
1:08.6	as any to work for when your career had been interrupted twice by war.
1:13.2	You could coast on the Tokyo Trib. You could let things not matter.
1:18.5	Now he watched the woman. She walked with a gliding motion. Though her steps were tiny and downhill,
1:25.6	her shoulders moved in an even line.
1:28.4	They were small shoulders, and as she neared, he saw above them an oval face, a beautiful
1:34.2	and simple face with golden skin and eyes of dark velvet.
1:39.2	He stepped out of the shade and smiled as she came upon him.
1:43.2	She showed no surprise, and he was startled to hear her
1:46.8	speak good English. You are, Mr. Blair? Why, yes, yes I am. I am sent to meet you. I am sorry to be
	...

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