"A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overheard while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale."
That calm, soothing voice communicates everything you need to know about the weirdest little town in the middle of nowhere. The words greet listeners in the first episode Welcome to Night Vale, a bi-weekly podcast created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.
The podcast presents a fictional radio broadcast from the desert town of Night Vale, emceed by its most popular radio host, Cecil Baldwin. Cecil discusses the daily occurrences of the town: news from the forbidden dog park, a new revelation from Old Woman Josie and her angels, or the mayoral race between The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home (played by Mara Wilson) and the five-headed dragon fugitive Hiram McDaniels (played by Jackson Publick).
The show is currently second on iTunes' list of top podcasts and has amassed a huge following on Tumblr.
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What makes Welcome to Night Vale unique is its special brand of oddity and suspense, mixed with creative storytelling. The town experiences abnormal occurrences that, oddly enough, seem to phase no one, least of all smooth-voiced Cecil. The one exception is Carlos, a scientist who recently arrived to Night Vale — he acts as the voice of the audience and reacts to the disturbing events of the day.

The podcast features a non-traditional weather section every episode. A song plays, usually without any meteorological theme whatsoever, varying from Dutch rap to Spanish acoustic rock to full orchestral pieces.
The podcast's opening and background music are composed by Disparition. The track above, "The Bus Is Late (Waiting For The Bus In The Rain)" by Satellite High, appears in episode two, "Glow Cloud."

Episode 13, "A Story About You," highlights the flexibility of the narrative. Rather than discussing the events of the day, Cecil narrates a story in second person, as if it is the listener were performing the actions. The story follows "you" at your job moving boxes in the desert, when a rebellious thought pops into your head to steal one of the strange parcels. The act leads you on a whirlwind chase through Night Vale. It marks the show's real strength: a dark, experimental imagination and a bevy of hilarious and tragic characters — even when that character is the listener.
Welcome to Night Vale ultimately provides a wonderfully bizarre story of a radio DJ from a strange little town and the everyday lives of its residents. Take the opportunity this Halloween to listen to a creative, spooky podcast sure to delight and entertain you, even if it's just for the commute home.
Below is the first episode, "Pilot."

You can subscribe and listen to all Welcome to Night Vale episodes for free from iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Feedburner or Libsyn. Check out Commonplace Books for more information on the series.
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Image: Rob Wilson