Illinois Hell Hole

11 Episodes
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By: Matt Brookens

"A 'movie for your ears,' with immersive soundscapes, music and the kind ofengaging performances that would be at home in a big-budget theatricalrelease." — Illinois TimesHORROR COMEDY | FULL-CAST AUDIO DRAMA | NEW EPISODES EVERY SATURDAY THROUGH OCTOBER 24 — START WITH EPISODE 1A snarky, entitled emo musician inherits his parents' farm and discovers abottomless pit that grants wishes — but only when suckers are chucked in. Nowhis WILDEST DREAMS are just a few "accidents" away.Today, Ned Fischer's precious little life pretty much crapped the bed: Dumped by his girl, booted from Mothers of Misery, and let go by his boss who is a "Dickle...

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The Monkey's Paw - Horror Read with Score/Sound Design + Intro Jokes by Matt Brookens
The Monkey's Paw - Horror Read with Score/Sound Design + Intro Jokes by Matt Brookens episode artwork
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The Monkey’s Paw: W.W. Jacobs’ 1902 horror classic, read in full with an original score and sound design. A mummified paw grants three wishes, and the White family learns the hard way that every wish has a price. Before the story, Matt Brookens opens with a stand-up set.

This is a bonus episode from Illinois Hell Hole, a nine-episode supernatural horror comedy audio drama written and directed by Matt Brookens. It was first broadcast on NPR Illinois 91.9 FM and stars Corey Burton, Daran Norris, Kassandra Escandell, Doug Lussenhop and...


You are Going to Hell... TONIGHT!
#9
10/24/2026

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THE EXCITING CONCLUSION!

Illinois Hell Hole

A Movie for Your Ears

A snarky, entitled Emo musician inherits his parents' farm, discovering a bottomless pit that grants wishes… but only when people are chucked in. Now his wildest dreams are just a few dead bodies away!

A feature-length horror/comedy full-cast ASMR immersive audio extravaganza by Matt Brookens — starring Daran Norris (The Fairly OddParents), Corey Burton (Star Wars, Disney) and Meghan McDonough (Dark Matter).

As...


Springfield Is Hell-Adjacent
#8
10/18/2026

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Episode 8 of Illinois Hell Hole, the full-cast horror comedy audio drama, where a cursed cornfield in central Illinois collects its debts with interest. Over a pair of ten a.m. whiskeys at the Busted Bottle, a reformed Rabin Masterson sets out to save his great-great-grandson's soul. Life is precious, he swears. There is still hope. There is wifi! And so, with the best of intentions, he asks Ned the most dangerous question in the county: what do you wish for?

Out in the corn, Lenore stands alone at the lip of...


Hell, Michigan
#7
10/10/2026

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Illinois Hell Hole, Ep 7
Fall arrives, and the town psychic Moonglow shows up at the farmhouse with a dusty old tome: The Illustrated Guide to Hell Holes. Ned swears he'll "totally skim it," but its pages lay out the rules of the pit in the cornfield: who it takes, what it costs, and what it means when a stranger from another time shows up with endless money and golden bracelets.

Ned confronts Rabin at the Busted Bottle and finally gets the truth about the man in the vintage...


Whoopsie
#6
10/03/2026

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At dawn, Ned joins Rucker, Lenore's new "alpha male" fiancé, in the cornfield to hunt the giant Hogzilla. With the pit to hell waiting deep in the corn, nothing good is going to happen. By nightfall a storm brings a beautiful visitor to the farmhouse door, and Ned has a family question Rabin doesn't want to answer. 

CAST
Corey Burton as the Narrator
Daran Norris as Rabin
Matt Brookens as Ned
Reggie Guyton as Moose
Meghan M. McDonough as Lenore
Keith Compton as Rucker
Je...


Just a Common Mega-Hole & Dreaming of Bananas
#5
09/26/2026

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Ned and Moose enlist a scientist to take a look at this bottomless pit. Lot's of off-putting screaming from down there, but it's probably a wayward badger or a red tail hawk. I mean are we not men of science? 
Then Ned meets Lenore at the Illinois State Fair. Sparks fly as they play the hammer swing. Running into Ned coincidentally again, Rabin encourages him to do the WRONG thing... again. It's like he's intentionally trying to lead Ned down the road to hell or something. 

Illinois Hell Hole

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The Shadows Will Come to Collect
#4
09/19/2026

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IN THIS EPISODE: Ned takes his problems to Moonglow, a witchy psychic giving tarot readings in the woods. Hell is real, part of the collective unconscious. No more wishes, and nothing is free. That night Ned tells Moose everything and together they form an Emo band! 
We get a glimpse of Ned's troubled dirtbag teenage years in a flashback.

And later, alone in his parents' bedroom, Ned gets a terrifying visitor who has been waiting for an introduction.

In this episode: Corey Burton as your Narrator. Matt Brookens a...


Stranger From Another Time
#3
09/12/2026

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IN THIS EPISODE:
Ned finds his debt miraculously erased and himself cleared of any connections to Bill the Bill Collector's demise. A mysterious stranger comes out of the hole and enters town seeking news and learning about all the new technological doohickies beyond comprehension. Ned speaks to Bill's widow who doesn't buy his innocence act.

Cast: Corey Burton as your Narrator. Daran Norris as Rabin. Matt Brookens as Ned. Reggie Guyton as Moose.  Maria Libri as Sheryl. John LaFlamboy as the Bill Collector, Mindy Turano as Macy and N...


Totally an Accident
#2
09/05/2026

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Illinois Hell Hole is a nine-episode supernatural horror comedy audio drama, originally broadcast on NPR Illinois 91.9 FM.

All nine episodes are complete. New episodes every Saturday through October 24, with the full feature-length Movie Cut on Halloween.

IN THIS EPISODE: Ned runs into Lenore Brooks at the Busted Bottle, the crush he never had the stones to ask out. She has a boyfriend now. He has a farm he's about to lose.

Out in the corn, Ned finds a hole. Twenty feet across, perfectly...


Welcome to Hell
#1
09/05/2026

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1939. A blood red moon, a gusty farmhouse and a man asleep at a table covered in miracle elixir vials and cash. Someone or something is coming for him and out in the corn field, a bottomless pit has opened.

Modern day, Los Angeles, Ned buys a Korg synth in hopes it'll do his playing for him and save his band. Too bad he's about to get kicked out. And his girl has left him for the lead singer AND his boss just fired him. Could things get any worse? You betcha!<...


Illinois Hell Hole - Trailer
08/25/2026

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HORROR COMEDY | FULL-CAST AUDIO DRAMA PODCAST

Something wicked is coming to Illinois.
A snarky, entitled Emo musician inherits his parents' farm, discovering a bottomless pit that grants wishes… but only when people are chucked in. Now his wildest dreams are just a few "accidents" away!


"A 'movie for your ears,' with immersive soundscapes, music and the kind of
engaging performances that would be at home in a big-budget theatrical
release." — Illinois Times

Nine episodes. Full cast. Sound Design and...