Shows
AMBIENT ARCANA"One Of These Days" by Gabriel García Márquez and "Razor" by Vladimir Nabokov What would you do if you suddenly found your worst enemy completely at your mercy? Would you take revenge? Would you forgive?" Here are two stories that explore what happens when, out of the blue, the opportunity for vengeance arrives.
"One Of These Days" by Gabriel García Márquez
"Razor" by Vladimir Nabokov
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
2026-02-2519 minAMBIENT ARCANA"Strabismus" by Stefan GrabińskiA man finds himself struggling against an invasive intelligence taking over his mind and trying to eradicate everything the man had previously revered and admired in Stefan Grabiński’s “Strabismus.”
Translated by Miroslaw Lipinski
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Jim Billbrough
2026-01-2731 minAMBIENT ARCANA"TIBETAN FOLK TALES" BY A.L. SHELTON, VOL. 4 Once again we spend the Yuletide season high up in the Himalayas with three stories from Albert Leroy Shelton's 1925 book Tibetan Folk Tales:
"The Wiley Poor Man," "The Story Of The Two Devils," and "The Story Of The Violinist."
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough
2025-12-2325 minAMBIENT ARCANA"In the Compartment" by Stefan Grabiński In this episode we explore what happens when a mild-mannered man is not only addicted to train travel but is actually transformed into a bold and charismatic person each time he rides the rails...and the consequences he must face when the ride comes to an end.
"In the Compartment' by Stefan Grabiński
Translated by Miroslaw Lipinski
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Jim Billbrough
Train sound effects by Pond5
Please note: this story deals with some adult themes so par...
2025-11-2827 minAMBIENT ARCANA"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe This Halloween, in the grand tradition of horror duo team-ups such as “Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman,” “Billy The Kid vs Dracula,” and “Sharktopus X Whalewolf,” we bring you David Mulholland and Robert Billbrough performing Edgar Allan Poe’s OG dungeon crawl - “The Cask Of Amontillado.”
Robert Billbrough as Montresor
David Mulholland as Fortunato
Music by Man Tray: Kelvin Weston, John Gunther, and Paul Billbrough
Music Production by Paul Billbrough
Post Production by Bob Familiar
Sound Effects by Pond5
2025-10-2817 minAMBIENT ARCANA"The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde In this episode a selfless Nightingale sings her heart out to create a Red Rose for a lovelorn Student, but is he truly worthy of such a precious gift?
It's Oscar Wilde's poignant tale of blood thirsty horticulture - "The Nightingale and the Rose."
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Joey Pesce
Nightingale recordings by Pro Sound Effects
2025-09-2318 minAMBIENT ARCANA"The Twins" by Edogawa Rampo In this episode we present a twisted tale of twin brothers. The younger brother -a murderous, narcissistic hedonist who will stop at nothing to get what he wants; the older brother -a man who enjoys wearing silk kimonos, taking early morning walks in the garden, and neatly folding his towels after every use. Physically identical except for a small mole on the younger brother's thigh - a mole with a suspiciously sinister looking goatee!
"The Twins" by Edogawa Rampo.
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
...
2025-08-2632 minAMBIENT ARCANA"A Bottomless Grave" by Ambrose BierceIt's Family Values Gone Wild in Ambrose Bierce's Dark Comedy
"A Bottomless Grave."
Narration by David Mulholland
Music by Man Tray
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar.
2025-07-2921 minAMBIENT ARCANA"Instructions" by Bob LemanHave you ever felt like a helpless pawn being manipulated by mysterious and hidden higher-dimensional beings?
If so then this is the episode for you!
It's Nebula Award Winning Author Bob Leman's trans-dimensional, mind and body altering trip through an almost endless game of bizarre, sanity shattering, yet seemingly mundane tasks:
"Instructions."
All Music, Audio Production, and Narration by Bob Familiar
2025-06-2426 minAMBIENT ARCANA"Jeep Show" by Robert B. O'Connor This is a special episode of Ambient Arcana marking the 80th Anniversary of V.E. Day - Victory in Europe Day - May 8th, 1945 when Germany officially surrendered to the Allied Forces ending World War II in Europe.
A reading from “Jeep Show” by Robert B. O’Connor.
Jeep Show is the story of entertainment specialist Jim Tanzer who finds himself trapped in the front lines during the Battle Of The Bulge. The unexpected German assault catches the American forces off guard, yet determined not to give way, even at the cost of their own lives.
"...
2025-05-0829 minAMBIENT ARCANA"Le Miroir" by Robert Aickman We finish our current coverage of the works of British author Robert Aickman with a story that explores what happens when the face looking back at you in the mirror is not your own.
"Le Miroir" by Robert Aickman
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
2025-04-2227 minAMBIENT ARCANA"The Coffin House" by Robert Aickman In this episode two young British women, serving in the 'Woman's Land Army' during WWII, decide to skip a dour farmer's Christmas party only to discover there are worse ways to spend the Holiday in Robert Aickman's
"The Coffin House."
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
2025-03-2512 minAMBIENT ARCANA"Laura" by Robert AickmanMod dress? Thigh-boots? Impossibly long worm-infested hallways?
It's Robert Aickman's strange tale of a mysterious, ageless woman orbiting the life of a hapless man:
"Laura."
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Alex Fitzsimmons
2025-02-2722 minAMBIENT ARCANA"The Cookie Lady" By Philip K. DickIn this episode we explore the heavy price of turning back the hands of time with Philip K. Dick's "The Cookie Lady."
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar.
Narration by Jim Billbrough
2025-01-2923 minAMBIENT ARCANATIBETAN FOLK TALES BY A.L. SHELTON, VOL. 3Once again we spend our Holiday Season at the Top Of The World with yet more stories from
Albert Leroy Shelton's 1925 book "Tibetan Folk Tales"
All music and audio production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough
2024-12-3120 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar” By Edgar Allan PoeIn this episode we take the ultimate trip as we follow Ernie Valdemar on his final journey.
Edgar Allan Poe’s story of Mesmeric Malpractice -
“The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar”
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
We’ve based our narration on Basil Rathbone’s abridged version of this story from his 1960 recording of Poe’s stories for Caedmon Records.
That narration can be found on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/QlgUNHJDWtk?feature=shared
...
2024-11-2522 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The October Game” by Ray Bradbury Just when we thought we were done with Bradbury he pulls us back in! “The October Game” a disturbing Halloween horror story where the terrors are real…or are they?
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar.
Narration by Jim Billbrough.
Additional Voices by Izzy Q. and The Artist Known As Φ.
2024-10-2823 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The Lake” by Ray Bradbury We say goodbye to Summer with a late season tale of first love, tragic loss, and grim reunion.
It’s Ray Bradbury’s classic macabre tearjerker - “The Lake.”
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Clark Goodpaster
Lake wave audio recording provided by Pro Sound Effects
2024-09-3014 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The One Who Waits” and “The Pedestrian” by Ray BradburyIn this episode we explore two stories of Retrofuturism by science fiction/fantasy icon Ray Bradbury:
“The One Who Waits” - A lonely old soul gets closer to the new neighbors in the worst possible way.
“The Pedestrian” - A solitary man walks the empty streets of a TV dominated dystopia.
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough
2024-09-1229 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The Legend of U Raitong, The Khasi Orpheus” In this episode we tell a tragic story of forbidden love and dire consequences- “The Legend of U Raitong” as described by Mrs. K.U. Rafy in her 1920 collection “Folk-Tales Of The Khasis.”
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
While researching this story we found two more recent translations of “U Manik Raitong” by contemporary Khasi authors, both of which are worth checking out:
“Khasi Myths, Legends & Folk Tales” by Bijoya Sawian
(No direct link to the story on Google Books, but open the Table of Cont...
2024-07-3023 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The Story Of An Hour” and “A Pair Of Silk Stockings” by Kate ChopinTwo stories about the elusive dream of freedom- A secret dream suddenly dashed and a dream unlooked for fulfilled.
Kate Chopin’s “The Story Of An Hour” and “A Pair Of Silk Stockings.”
Narrated by Arline Billbrough
Music by Paul Billbrough
Produced by Bob Familiar
2024-06-2620 minAMBIENT ARCANA“In A Grove” by Ryūnosuke AkutagawaIn 1950 Akira Kurosawa merged two of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s short stories together to make his classic film “Rashomon.”Last episode we covered the story that gave the film it’s name and in this episode we explore the story of the murder at the heart of that film, told by seven characters with seven different, often conflicting accounts:
“In A Grove” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Mandy Familiar, Bob Familiar, Joey Pesce, Shannon Wilson, Jace Wilson, Danielle Barry, Matt Gruenberg, and Jim Billbrough
2024-06-0526 minAMBIENT ARCANA“Rashōmon” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa In this episode we contemplate whether it is better to accept death with your morals intact or to survive by any means necessary.
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s “Rashōmon”.
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Jim Billbrough
Some sound effects in this episode were licensed from
Pro Sound Effects
240 Kent Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11249
licensing@prosoundeffects.com
2024-04-2618 minAMBIENT ARCANAThree Stories by Jorge Luis Borges A trio of strange and beautiful fever dreams by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges-
“The Rejected Sorcerer,” “The Circular Ruins,” and “The Two Kings and The Two Labyrinths.”
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Jim Billbrough
We’d like to express our thanks to Jon Fredette of “The Oddcast” podcast for his advice and encouragement on this episode. If you like Ambient Arcana there’s a good chance you’ll like ”The Oddcast.”
Here’s a link to Jon’s homepage featuring his podcasts, music, and more: https://www.jonfredet...
2024-03-2026 minAMBIENT ARCANA“Gods Of The North” A Conan The Cimmerian StoryIn this episode we chase away the winter blues with a bloody sword in Robert E. Howard’s coldest Conan story - “Gods of The North” (aka. “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter”).
All Music and Music & Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Rick Weidner, Danielle Barry, Matt Gruenberg, Mandy Familiar, Bob Familiar, and Jim Billbrough
Some useful links:
https://bobfamiliar.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ambientarcana
ambientarcana@gmail.com
2024-02-2821 minAMBIENT ARCANA“Mother Sauvage” by Guy de MaupassantBonne année! Joyeux 2024!
We start our Third Season with a fiery French tale of one woman’s burning need to find balance in a hostile universe. It’s Guy de Maupassant’s torrid tale of red hot revenge! -
“Mother Sauvage.”
All Music and Music & Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Veronica and Joey Pesce, Bob Familiar, and Jim Billbrough
Recorded by Joey Pesce and Bob Familiar
If you think we judged Robert W. Chambers a bit harshly on his anti-German attitudes here’s a link to his...
2024-01-2319 minAMBIENT ARCANAMore Tibetan Folk Tales by A.L. Shelton Once again we travel to the magical land of Tibet for the Holiday Season.
In this year’s Yuletide offerings a painter and a carpenter commit supernatural postal fraud, a donkey and a rock get arrested for assaulting a jar of oil, a pair of crippled birds dispense great wealth and harsh justice, a sociopathic rabbit distributes stolen goods with murderous intent, and a goiter at a ghost party is about as welcome as a fruitcake.
It’s Albert Leroy Shelton’s posthumously publish page turner - “Tibetan Folk Tales”
All Music and Music&Audio...
2023-12-1522 minAMBIENT ARCANA“The She-Wolf” by Saki (H.H. Munro) In this episode of Ambient Arcana we explore the mysteries of ‘Siberian Magic’ and the unexpected social challenges that having one’s hostess turned into a wolf can put upon a party guest - It’s “The She-Wolf” by Saki (H.H. Munro)
Music and Music&Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by: Jace Wilson, Shannon Wilson, Mandy Familiar, Bob Familiar, and Jim Billbrough
“The She-Wolf” was published in the short story collection “Beasts and Super-Beasts” by Saki back in 1914. While searching for this month’s story we came across an excellent audio version of this b...
2023-11-2117 minAMBIENT ARCANAThe Statement of Randolph CarterNothing says Halloween quite like Trick or Treating in an ancient swampy cemetery in shadow haunted Florida!
It’s H.P.Lovecraft’s grim tale of grave robbing gone wrong - “The Statement of Randolph Carter.”
All Music and Music & Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough
Recorded Almost Live at Sounds Familiar Studios
2023-10-2519 minAMBIENT ARCANAFrom Beyond In this episode we dust off our vestigial sense organs and fire up our Pineal Glands to take a mind bending peak beneath the thin veil of our reality in H.P. Lovecraft’s psychedelic mad scientist revenge romp - “From Beyond!”
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narrated by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough
2023-09-2522 minAMBIENT ARCANAThree Stories by H.P. LovecraftThis month we take a trio of trips into the Infinite Unknown with weird fiction icon Howard Phillips Lovecraft-
“Ex Oblivione,” “Nyarlathotep,” and “The Book.”
All Music & Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Narration by Jim Billbrough
For further exploration of Lovecraft and his works we suggest checking out these websites:
The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
https://www.hplhs.org/
And
Strange Studies of Strange Stories
(Formally The HP Podcraft Literary Podcast)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...
2023-08-2826 minAMBIENT ARCANACool Arctic Stories for Hot Summer NightsA small sampling of Inuit, Yup’ik, and Unangax folktales collected by American and European Scholar-Explorers in the late 19th and early 20th century. Even in this muted form, sometimes translated through two or three languages, these stories still retain the power, beauty, and humor of the original folktales.
The word Eskimo has long been known to be a misnomer, even as far back as the mid 19th century. Since most of the material used here came from Ethnological surveys that sought to be as specific as possible the term occurs rarely in the collected stories and is...
2023-07-1917 minAMBIENT ARCANAThree Stories by Ambrose Bierce Biercemania!
Three dark and evocative tales by surprise ending aficionado Ambrose Bierce:
"The Boarded Window," "John Mortonson's Funeral," and "The Applicant."
All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Music by Man Tray and Bob Familiar
All stories read by Bob Billbrough
2023-06-2034 minAMBIENT ARCANALafcadio Hearn’s Tales From Ghostly Japan, Vol. 2We finish our coverage of Lafcadio Hearn’s tales from ghostly Japan with three more stories: “The Corpse-Rider” from the book Shadowings and “Jiu-Roku-Zakura” and “A Dead Secret” from Kwaidan.
Music and Audio production by Bob Familiar.
Read by Bob Familiar, Jim Billbrough, and Special Guest Narrator Rick Weidner.
2023-05-1118 minAMBIENT ARCANALafcadio Hearn, Stories from “Kwaidan” & “In Ghostly Japan,” Vol. 1 We return to the works of Lafcadio Hearn with the first of two full length episodes of strange and unusual stories from his adopted country of Japan.
“Diplomacy” and “Riki Baka” from the book “Kwaidan” and “Fragment” from “In Ghostly Japan”
We also introduce a new reader, Rick Weidner, who provides some much-needed low end to the narrations.
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Read by Bob Familiar, Jim Billbrough, and Rick Weidner
2023-04-0426 minAMBIENT ARCANAThe Reconciliation by Lafcadio HearnWe start our second season with a short story about love, loss, and the potential supernatural repercussions to procrastination. “The Reconciliation” by Lafcadio Hearn from his book “Shadowings.”
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
Read by Jim Billbrough
Ambient Arcana would like to dedicate this episode to our good friend Gabrielle Agachiko who passed away last month. Gabrielle was a wonderful singer with a powerful voice and an irrepressible personality. We had been planning to have her read for the podcast, particularly the parts that called for goddess level intensity, but unfor...
2023-02-1310 minAMBIENT ARCANATwo Tibetan Folktales by A.L. SheltonGifts? Check!
Visits from distant relatives? Check!
A Christmas ghost story? Check!
Our last episode of season one features two stories from A.L. Shelton’s 1925 collection of “Tibetan Folktales” :
“The Man And The Ghost” & “Story Of A Juggler’s Tricks”
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar.
Narration by Jim Billbrough & Bob Familiar.
Recorded Live (more or less) at Sounds Familiar Studios
2022-12-2415 minAMBIENT ARCANAIn the Court of the Dragon by Robert W. ChambersA Demonic Organist! Random Time Displacement! Interdimensional Church Services! A full on Carcosa Mythos story - “In the Court of the Dragon”, from “The King in Yellow”by Robert W. Chambers.
Reading by Jim Billbrough
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar
All Music used in this episode was by Man Tray
Please consider supporting Ambient Arcana on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/ambientarcana?fan_landing=true&view_as=public
2022-11-2226 minAMBIENT ARCANAThe Street of the Four Winds by Robert ChambersWe take a look at the world of R.W. Chambers with a somewhat beige story from "The King in Yellow" called "The Street of The Four Winds". A story about love, loss, and the vagaries of cat ownership. An extra long episode with a pretty beefy bio and a bonus story snippet at the end.
Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar, Narration and Bio by Jim Billbrough. The poem introducing the story was read by Mandy Familiar.
Please consider supporting Ambient Arcana on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/ambientarcana?fan_landing=t...
2022-11-0235 minAMBIENT ARCANAUncle Abraham’s Romance by Edith Nesbit This is a bonus episode of Ambient Arcana featuring a very short story about young love, lonely churchyards, and the unspeakable horror of 18th century miniature portrait art - "Uncle Abraham's Romance" by Edith Nesbit. Read by Jim Billbrough, Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar.
2022-10-0311 minAMBIENT ARCANAJim and Bob Chat: The Making of the Edgar Allan Poe EpisodesA discussion about Poe, music, and podcast collaboration.
2022-09-3015 minAMBIENT ARCANAPoe, The Black CatA terrifying tale of animal abuse, axe murder, and impromptu basement renovations! "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. Read and recorded by Bob Billbrough. Original soundtrack produced by Bob Familiar featuring music by Man Tray (aka Kel Weston and Paul Billbrough), and Bob Familiar.
2022-08-0431 minAMBIENT ARCANAPoe, The Oval Portrait and The Masque of The Red DeathPoe and Nepotism abound! Two stories by Edgar Allan Poe read by Bob Billbrough. Additional music provided by Man Tray featuring Kel Weston and Paul Billbrough. All other music and audio production by Bob Familiar. Snacks and Poe Bio provided by Jim Billbrough.
Titles and Time Markers:
The Oval Portrait/ 00:32
The Masque of The Red Death/ 9:59
Poe Bio and Credits/ 27:57
2022-07-1235 minAMBIENT ARCANAJim and Bob Chat: Pu Songling and Other Things!Jim Billbrough and Bob Familiar, the production team behind Ambient Arcana, talk about the Pu Songling episodes and try to define what the hell they’re trying to do with this podcasting thing. Is it music with storytelling, or story telling with music? Is it unintentional ASMR? A weak attempt at scary bedtime stories? A sad grasp towards artistic relevance before the fading of the light? Probably. Anyway, tune in and find out!
2022-06-0818 min
AMBIENT ARCANAPu Songling, More Stories from “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”Four more stories by Pu Songling featuring a fox wedding, a trip through hell, a dishonest fortune teller (shocking!), and zombies!!!
Titles and time markers are:
The Golden Goblet/ 00:32
A Most Exemplary Monk/ 11:50
Magical Arts/ 14:34
The Living Dead/ 23:04
2022-05-1034 minAMBIENT ARCANAPu Songling, Selected Stories from “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”Ambient Arcana's first full length episode featuring seven stories from Pu Songling's "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio."
Story and Time Markers are:
The Giant Turtle/00:32
Biting a Ghost/04:00
Wild Dog/08:09
The Dead Priest/11:10
The Lingering Death/13:50
Wailing Ghosts/15:56
The Girl in Green/19:19
Biography and Credits/25:53
2022-05-1029 min
AMBIENT ARCANAIntroducing Ambient ArcanaOur trailer episode is a cautionary tale about drinking something even when you know it’s probably not good for you called “In a Cup of Tea”, from Lafcadio Hearn’s book-
“Kottō, Being Japanese Curios, With Sundry Cobwebs”.
Music by Bob Familiar.
Read by Jim Billbrough.
2022-05-1009 min