Science Fiction · Madhouse Radio
The 100 Handed: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Podcast
by Madhouse Radio
Agents Evan Wexler and V spend their nights conducting one paranormal investigation after another. In the Gloom-haunted Texas, shadow work is more than facing your inner darkness, and monster energy doesn’t just come in a can. Witchcraft, child abduction, and DNA siphoning are just a few of the body horrors that Wexler and V face. Wexler, a cynic veteran who enjoys chain-smoking as much as gunsmoke, works for the Madhouse, a group of tattooed magicians that put the ‘cult’ in organizational culture. Everything changes when he brings aboard the dogman V. (Well, dog-woman. Lycanthropy doesn’t discriminate). Werewolves and monster hunters don’t mix well, and V often finds herself under the scrutiny of Madhouse leadership. For V, entering the world of the Madhouse is a baptism by fire. For Wexler, any given trial is just another Monday. That is, until the conspiracy theories, monster murder, and kidnapping start point in the same direction. The evidence piles up, along with the bodies, and it turns out there’s another organization of magicians in Texas. They are ambitious. They are cruel. They offer no mercy. They are The Hundred Handed. So begins the power struggle between the Madhouse and The Hundred Handed. The Madhouse hopes to stem the tide of the Gloom, a meta natural force that breathes life into humanity’s worst nightmares and can make a heart’s most twisted desires come true. The Hundred Handed hope to harness the Gloom in hopes of creating a new world order, one subjected to their ice hearted mastermind’s designs. A dark urban fantasy, The 100 Handed features full voice acting and sound design, with a colorful cast of characters. Joining Wexler and V in their war against the Gloom is Solomon, the enigmatic tattooist of the Madhouse who can draft magical tattoos upon the bodies of those with the discipline to bear them, as well as Hannah Vasquez, their alcoholism afflicted boss. Monstrous Creeps such as Vincula, a manifestation of nightmares, attempt to satiate their neverending addiction to human suffering. A reckless psychemancer, Maya Steyers, seeks a powerful divination map that can lead to anywhere in the multiverse. Katherine, the mad scientist who created V (as well as a whole host of family drama that could keep a therapist off the unemployment line for decades) preoccupies her time by working on a resilient biological superweapon . Stalking the streets of Austin is Acantha, a vengeful fae who seeks the life of the man who stole her wings. Deep within the lair of the Hundred Handed lurks AU-019, a magically-infused artificial intelligence who questions its purpose and nature. Looming over this carnival of chaos, this demented drama, is The Handless One, whose vision is to circumvent the deep sleep we call death, and claim the ultimate prize. Call it what you want. Transhumanism. Eternal life. The defiance of death. Immortality. All players in a game that sinks as low as a gutter and rises as high as a tower, that crosses between the muck and grime of this world to the empyrean powers of the world beyond. Loyalty will be tested. Ethics will be pushed far past the boundaries of guilt. Wexler and V will need to rely on a resource far more powerful than gold crosses and silver bullets: trust. In a world full of betrayal, illusion, and magic, that’s a rare currency indeed. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It all begins with a missing person investigation in Small Rock, Texas. The calm before the storm. One disappearance sets off a chain reaction that will change the world. Weep at the wonder, and howl at the horror. Support the show's Patreon at patreon.com/madhouseradio and get ad-free episodes, show transcripts, and more.
