Hello, gentle listener, and welcome to Nocturnal Transmissions, the fortnightly podcast that brings you dark matter from the twisted minds of horror wordsmiths.

Childhood.

What a time of joy and wonder.

And what greater source of joy, comfort and stimulation could there be then our childhood play things.

Happy memories.

The trouble with memories is it can be unreliable.

Nocturnal transmissions is proud to present

Mr. Jinkies

by Brandon Faircloth.

When I was little, I loved Scooby-Doo.

The show itself, more than the titular character, who I always found a little disturbing, if I'm being honest.

But I loved the ghosts and mysteries.

And I loved Velma, who was always smart and determined to keep the

rest of the Scooby gang on the right path. Apparently, I loved the show and Velma so much that

when I was about four, I would run around the house yelling, jinkeys, jinkeys! Much to the annoyance of my brothers and long-suffering parents.

It was told to me as a cute story when I was older,

but I could read between the lines.

I even had a little stuffed rabbit that I named Mr. Jinkies.

I remember a friend of the family had brought him to me, a kind-looking

older man in a grey overcoat, and I loved Mr. Jinkies from the start. I had nightmares a lot

when I was small, and sleeping with Mr. Jinkies seemed to be a magical cure-all for them.

It may seem silly, but I slept with that rabbit until I went to college.

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