Escape Pod 231: Solitary as an Oyster
Show Notes
Special Closing Music: “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” by Twisted Sister.
Solitary as an Oyster
By Mur Lafferty
“Who’s there?” the voice asked, rough and unpleasant. Robert and Lydia glanced at each other.
“The Paranormalists, Mr. Scrooge. You called us a couple of hours ago,” Robert said.
“Took you long enough,” the voice said. The door clicked as Scrooge unlocked several locks, and finally it slid open a couple of centimeters. Scrooge peered out, the heavy chain still on the door. Jenny flipped the night vision off her camera to get a clear view of him in the foyer’s dim light. He was much smaller than his voice implied, a diminutive man who was probably a bear in the conference room, but a pussycat when in thin pajamas and a robe.
Well, not a pussycat. Something more like a weasel.
About the Author
Mur Lafferty
An inaugural inductee of the Podcast Academy’s Hall of Fame, Mur Lafferty began podcasting in 2004 and later built her writing career from her work as a science fiction podcaster.
As of 2026, Mur has written ten novels, eight novellas, and one nonfiction book. Her work has ranged from Star Wars to superhero fiction to afterlife fiction to paranormal fantasy to space murder–plus one book supporting writers based on her award winning podcast.
After winning the 2013 Astounding Award for Best New Writer, her work has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Parsec, Philip K. Dick, Manly Wade Wellman, and Podcast Peer Awards. Her podcast Ditch Diggers, with Matt Wallace, won the 2018 Best Fancast Hugo Award.
As an editor, Mur was the first editor of Pseudopod and Mothership Zeta, and is currently the co-editor of Escape Pod (with Valerie Valdes), eight-time finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine.
Her nonfiction work has appeared in Knights of the Dinner Table, and on the podcast The Dragon Page. In 2014, she received an MFA in popular fiction from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine.
She lives in Durham, NC, with her husband. She likes video games, tabletop games, murder mysteries, and dogs.
About the Narrator
Alasdair Stuart
Alasdair Stuart is a professional enthusiast, pop culture analyst, writer and voice actor. He serves on the board of the Escape Artists Foundation and hosts their weekly horror fiction podcast, PseudoPod. Alasdair has been a Hugo and BFA finalist on several occasions, is an Audioverse Award winner for voice acting and has won the Karl Edward Wagner award twice. He writes the award-nominated free weekly pop culture newsletter THE FULL LID. Follow him on Bluesky for daily writing exercises, podcast and movie recommendations, and photos of his cat.
