The Lifer

03/17/25 • 14 min

Nestled beyond the boundaries of our known world sits Blackmoor Penitentiary—a nightmarish prison where the walls pulse with malevolent life and the sky hangs perpetually like a bruised wound. Here, under the watchful gaze of an inhuman warden known only as "the Keeper," society's most dangerous criminals fight nightly for their survival.
Our narrator, self-named "the Lifer," has endured this hell for over seven years. Unlike his fellow inmates—monsters whose names once dominated headlines and true crime podcasts—he's just a regular person who made one catastrophic mistake. Now he battles alongside notorious killers like the Butcher (a hulking brute covered in trophies from countless kills), the Widow (a graceful assassin who's dispatched seven husbands), and the Surgeon (a calculating strategist who turns anything into a weapon).
Each night brings the same grim ritual: prisoners thrown into "the pit," a circular arena slick with blood and lined with bone spikes. The Keeper watches from his throne of bones, ember eyes glowing with anticipation as inmates tear each other apart. We follow the Lifer through a particularly brutal fight as he dispatches three opponents in succession, earning another day of life but feeling increasingly hollow about his victories. When a terrified young prisoner arrives the next day, our narrator confronts the devastating truth: there is no escape from Blackmoor, only the endless cycle of violence that transforms even ordinary people into monsters to survive.
Ready to descend into a world where supernatural horror meets prison survival? Join us for this bone-chilling exploration of what happens when humanity faces the ultimate test in a place where even hell doesn't want its inmates. Listen now and ask yourself—what would you do to survive just one more day in Blackmoor?

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If you have questions, comments or suggestions you can email me at:

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Previous Episode

The Guitar Man

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Ever encountered someone who seemed too talented to be human? That unsettling feeling sits at the heart of "The Guitar Man," a chilling tale that explores the supernatural power of music and the price we pay for beauty.
When a mysterious stranger arrives in Black Hollow—a forgotten Appalachian town of just 839 souls—he brings with him a guitar that produces sounds unlike anything the locals have ever heard. His music fills the dilapidated Bent Penny bar with raw, haunting melodies that make you "feel things you thought you'd forgotten and forget things you didn't want to remember." Night after night, crowds grow, people travel miles to listen, and for a brief moment, this dying town experiences something like revival.
But something isn't right about the guitar man. His eyes occasionally flash yellow, his smile reveals teeth too perfect, and people who listen too closely begin to disappear. Tommy Hargrove is the first to glimpse the musician's true nature, but by then it's too late—the spell has been cast. One by one, the townsfolk vanish, leaving empty streets, abandoned vehicles, and the hollow shell of what was once a community. When the guitarist finally leaves, he takes with him "a town full of fresh souls for his boss," moving on to find another place to play his deadly songs.
Have you ever been completely captivated by a performance that seemed almost supernatural in its power? Share your experience with music that moved you beyond words—hopefully with less sinister results than the residents of Black Hollow.

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The Art Gallery

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What happens when the art we observe is actually observing us back? When a man's casual detour leads him to a converted garage art gallery on a rain-slicked Wednesday night, curiosity quickly transforms into unspeakable horror. The paintings hanging in this decrepit space aren't mere artistic expressions—they're confessions, raw and visceral depictions of terror that feel disturbingly familiar.
Among the collection of nightmarish canvases, one painting stops him cold: a terrified woman clutching her child, a shadowy figure lurking in the doorway behind them. The mundane setting—a living room with flickering TV and cheap wallpaper—belies the pure horror radiating from the piece. Something about the scene awakens long-buried memories, fragments of a past the man has spent years denying.
When the gallery's gaunt owner appears, speaking of "inspiration" and "capturing pure terror," the horrifying truth begins to surface. The painting isn't just art—it's a memory, a moment frozen in time depicting his mother and sister in their final moments. And the shadowy figure wielding the hammer? His own father. As lights flicker and die, the boundary between art and reality dissolves completely, leaving the man face-to-face with both his past and his fate. Because some memories, once acknowledged, refuse to remain safely contained within frames—they step out into the darkness, hammers raised, ready to claim new victims.

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TERRORBITES Podcast - The Lifer

Transcript

The Lifer00:00:42.900

The first thing you notice about Blackmoor Penitentiary is the smell . It's not the stench of sweat , blood or decay though those are there lingering like old friends . No , it's the smell of wrongness . It clings to the air thick and oily , like the breath of something that shouldn't exist . The kind of smell that makes your skin crawl and your stomach churn , even if you've been