The Audio File: The Creeping Hour

When I was a kid, I absolutely adored the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine. Sure, maybe they could be a bit cheesy at times, but that's what made them fun. Plus, they were good introductory horror novels for kids. You just don't really see very much horror media aimed kids like that these days. Thankfully, I've found an audio drama that fills that niche. We're taking a look at The Creeping Hour.

The Creeping Hour is a horror anthology aimed at kids. It is hosted by The Creeps. They're three kids named Axe, Weta, and Toro. They turned into monsters after listening to too many scary stories. If you're not careful you may become a Creep yourself before the podcast is over. So, strap in your ribs, crumple you ears, and suck on something sour, because the time has come for The Creeping Hour.

I first learned of The Creeping Hour when it decided to take a look at the website for TRAX. They're a subsidiary of PRX focused on creating quality podcasts for listeners between the ages of nine and thirteen. I'd know about TRAX thanks to Timestorm and Live From Mount Olympus, and I was curious about what other shows they had to offer. I saw The Creeping Hour, it looked promising, and now here we are.

The Creeping Hour is created by Elie Lichtschein in collaboration with WGBH. If you've ever watched PBS or PBS Kids, chances are you've encountered WGBH's logo at some point. This is rather fitting, as I think of TRAX as what it would be like if PBS Kids made audio dramas. Molly of Denali doesn't count, because it was made to tie-in with the show. Usually, audio dramas from TRAX have at least some sort of education content to them. The Creeping Hour stands out due to being purely for entertainment.

Like I said, this is a horror podcast aimed at kids, so don't expect anything too intense. Think along the lines of Goosebumps or Are You Afraid of the Dark? However, being aimed at kids doesn't mean that that these aren't good stories. I quite enjoyed them. In fact, why don't we take a look at the individual stories?

Our first episode is titled "Meet the Creeps." We are formally introduced to our ghoulish hosts for the first time. Axe goes first with the story telling. She tells a story about two boys who sneak into an old house on a dare. The house belongs to an old man named Mr. Dirt Spy, because that's all he can say. They're sure they'll find something weird, but they're about to find more than they bargained for.

Overall, this was a reasonably good first episode. The production values are top-of-the-line, as is to be expected from TRAX. The acting is also quite good. In fact, I think I recognize one of the boys as the kid who played Mondo in Cupid and The Reaper. And yes, I have that and Becoming Mother Nature on the "to be reviewed" list. Anyway, there's a good sense of tension and spookiness before we finally get the big reveal. I thought that said reveal was well done. On the flip side, Mr. Dirt Spy's constant chanting got very irritating very quickly.

All of that having been said, I couldn't help but feel that The Creeping Hour was capable of doing better. I sensed strong potential, don't get me wrong, but perhaps this first episode isn't their best work. I'm going to discuss the big reveal, so jump down a few paragraphs if you don't want that spoiled.

Everyone who wants out gone? Then let's continue.

So, what's lurking in the house? A spider, a very big spider. That's what Mr. Dirt Spy has been trying to say: dir spi, or put another way, spider. All well and good, but I protest this slander of our eight-legged friends! They are wonders of nature, and help keep the insect population in-check. Besides, we all know that only naughty kids get eaten by the monster-sized ones. The story stops just before we find out the boys' fate, but that just makes it more effective. Horror often works best when you leave blank spaces for the audience's fertile imaginations to fill.

Also, I realized that the names of the Creeps are puns. Weta has mandibles and antennas like an insect, and shares her name with a type of cricket from New Zealand. Toro has horns and a nose ring like a bull. Axe seems to be the only one without an obvious theme. Though, I guess it works as a rocker name, and she is a rock star.

All in all, a reasonably solid first episode, but I sensed that The Creeping Hour was capable of doing better.

That brings us to episode two "Out of the Wind." Weta tells a story about a group of friends on a field trip. They're helping clean up a beach on a blustery overcast day. Before long, they discover some mysterious eggs, and decide to sneak them home on their backpacks. But what about that mysterious creature soaring through the clouds?

Okay, now we're talking. I rather enjoy overcast days when it's not too bright, but also not too dark. When the light is just right, it's a magical time where anything seems possible. A sort of time when mystery and adventure could be lurking in your own backyard. We never get a full description of the monsters, but what we do hear sounds fun. I like the idea of some sort of sky shark thing that only comes out on overcast days. Well, only comes out on overcast days as far as we know.

But we also gotta talk about Rashona. She really wants to be a scientist. She's determined to make discoveries and prove how fearless she is. To this end, upon discovering the mysterious eggs, she...immediately swallows several of them. I realize that kids don't always think things out, and the horror often relies on people doing stupid things, but really? Rashona, there's a difference between being brave and being stupid. In fact, most scientists would agree that sticking random objects in your mouth, especially when you don't know what they are, is incredibly dangerous. Although, this does lead to some amusing scenes later on in the story.

I thought it was a nice touch to have the monster attack the bus when everything was dark and rainy. When I was a kid, my classes always took charter buses whenever we went on out of town. It was actually pretty fun; the rides were always very relaxed and casual. Of course, if we ever drove once it got dark, then things could get boring. Hey, at least when it's day you have nice scenery to look at. It probably would have been scary, but having a monster attack would have spiced things up.

In a way, this episode was almost were rely nostalgic for me. It is also an excellent second episode, and really begins to show what The Creeping Hour is capable of.

Episode three is titled "Big Shoes." Toro tells the story of Andrew Korman. He loves to pick on Gary, a kid who wears big shoes because he has big feet. Andrew begins to wonder if maybe Gary might not be human. Perhaps, he might be a shedim. Andrew is sent to see the guidance counselor, Mrs. Chanticleer. Of course, Andrew will soon learn that a phone-call to his parents is the least of his concerns.

This show keeps getting better and better. I love it when I get to learn about creatures from folklore and mythology that I hadn't previously heard of. Shedim are creatures from Jewish Folklore. They're a type of demon, or at least, fill the role of demons. They look exactly like humans, except that they have large chicken feet, instead of human feet. Yes, there are more creatures in Jewish Folklore than just golems. It is really great to see lesser-known aspects of Jewish folklore brought to a wider audience. Admittedly, it was pretty obvious that Mrs. Chanticleer was the shedim. Chanticleer is a common name for roosters in fairy tales. It was obvious, but still effective. Sometimes times in horror, waiting for the other shoe to drop for the characters can be effective.

It sure was nice of Gary to save Andrew from Mrs. Chanticleer. Personally, if I was in his shoes, I'd have just let the bully get eaten. I guess that makes Gary a better person than I am. The only real issue is that it is said that Mrs. Chanticleer is from Sylvania. I looked it up, and I couldn't find anywhere of that name. I suppose it was supposed to be a fictional Central/Eastern European country.

Still, that's a minor quibble. I'd say this is the best episode of The Creeping Hour yet. So, how are they going to top this one?

The fourth episode is titled "Perfect Teeth." Weta tells the story of Mariana, a girl who needs to get braces. Thankfully, she won't have to wear them for long. Her orthodontist, Dr. Fossil, has discovered a revolutionary new metal called fossilonium. It is stronger and quicker to bond than most other metals, so Mariana will only have to wear her braces for a few weeks. However, Mariana's brother Pablo has noticed that she's acting awfully strange after getting her braces. It's as if the braces are changing more than just her teeth.

So, how does The Creeping Hour top the last episode? Quite well indeed. It's interesting, because this episode very much reminds me of an episode from the Canadian radio horror anthology Nightfall titled "The Dentist." Said episode was later adapted by the always excellent horror anthology audio drama Campfire Radio Theatre. It involves an evil dentist who is using a laser to lobotomize his patients, and then sells their cranial fluids as a youth serum. Obviously, this results in some pretty significant personality changes in the patients. So, in many ways, you can see "Perfect Teeth" as a kid-friendly version of "The Dentist." Hey, I'm not complaining. "The Dentist" was one of my favorite episodes of both Campfire Radio Theatre and Nightfall.

Horror often derives from social anxieties, and this episode is no different. Just as "Big Shoes" taps into the fear of bullying, this story draws upon feelings of forced conformity. When you're a kid, it often feels like every adult is trying their hardest to cram you into a mold. Braces are also something many kids have to deal with sooner or later. Now, I should say most orthodontist are lovely people, but it doesn't make brace hurt any less. Hey, if you ever feel bad about having braces, take solace that at least you aren't me. I had to have braces twice! Second time was to correct the impact of faulty headgear, and I had to have jaw surgery as part of that correction.

An episode that manages to surpass its predecessor and more. I'd even go so far as to declare it possibly the best of the bunch.

Episode five is titled "The Beat." Axe tells the story of a boy named Ben. He is attending a Halloween party hosted by his friend Aiden. Ben is incredibly nervous and easily spooked, but his crush Esme will be there, so he's trying to put on a brave face. But he'll have to find answers to several questions if he wants to make it through the night. Why is very wearing such strange white masks? And what's up with that strange beat coming out of the speakers?

And so, we've reached the final episode of The Creeping Hour. I found Ben very easy to relate to. I too was very nervous and easily spooked when I was kid. Well, if I'm being honest, I still am. I didn't go to many parties, but that's because I didn't actively seek them out, and I wasn't much of a social butterfly. It didn't help that I tend to be fairly sensitive to loud music. I must say that the titular beat is rather catchy. I found myself tapping along to it. Hmm, better watch out, the fourth wall might not be able to protect you from this one.

It's not that this was a bad episode. Far from it, I quite enjoy it. It's just that this was the last episode of the series, hopefully just for now, so I was a little bummed that The Creeping Hour was over already. I also felt that "The Beat didn't quite keep up the momentum that "Big Shoes" and "Perfect Teeth" started. Again, this isn't to say that "The Beat" was bad. As the final episode, it had a lot of pressure riding on it, since it is the note that the series ends on. Again, hopefully that's just for now. If it had been just another episode, then perhaps it's would feel like there was less pressure on it.

Now, I don't want to end on a bad note here. This was still a very good episode, and I very much enjoyed it.

And so that was all the episodes of The Creeping Hour. It's a little disappointing that we only got five episodes, but hey, quality over quantity. According to Elie, the five episodes that are out so far are the pilot season. They were written with the hopes that The Creeping Hour would get picked up as a full series. Here's hoping that it does sooner, rather than later. It's been over a year, true, but the COVID-19 pandemic messed with the schedules of a lot of audio dramas. So, I suppose that hope springs eternal. I really hope we get more episodes of The Creeping Hour someday.

And so that was The Creeping Hour. An excellent horror podcast that is aimed at kids, but that doesn't mean listeners of all ages can't join in the fun. Give it a listen if you haven’t already.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.