Hello, gentle listener, and welcome to Nocturnal Transmissions, the fortnightly podcast that brings you dark tales both old and new, performed by voice artist Kristen Holland.

We interrupt this episode for a brief announcement.

This episode is a Patreon subscriber exclusive episode.

Nevertheless, we will still be sharing this little taster, as it were,

with you our unsubscribed friends of the podcast.

Enjoy.

My voice artist, Kristen Holland.

Now, before we get to the matter at hand, and what matter it is, we would like to welcome our latest acolytes to the Nocturnal Transmissions family. Matt Bradshaw, welcome, Phoebe Bryant, welcome, Callister Reed, welcome, and thank you.

Way back in October last year, we shared a story with you by William Hope Hodgson, entitled The Seahorses.

Now, I know that this tale is a particular favourite amongst some of you out there. We here at Nocturnal Transmissions have long admired this

touching, amusing, chilling and strangely uplifting piece of writing for many years,

and were very excited to share it with you. We now share another piece from this very same author. However, if you are

anticipating an experience analogous to that elicited by the aforementioned sea horses,

I'm afraid this tale is a very different beast indeed.

Join us for some monster mayhem

in William Hope Hodgson's

A Tropical Horror. A tropical horror. We are 130 days out from Melbourne.

And for three weeks we have lain in this sweltering calm.

It is midnight and our watch on deck until 4 a.m. I go out and sit on the hatch. A minute

later, Jockey our youngest prentice joins me for a chatter. Many of the hours we've sat thus and talked in

the night watchers, though to be sure it is Jockey who does the talking, I am content to

smoke and listen, giving an occasional grunted seasons to show that I am attentive.

...