Cast The First Shadow by Marc Brandel Episode #562
Marc Brandel | May 27, 2026-
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Cast The First Shadow by Marc Brandel Episode #562
Marc Brandel
CAST THE FIRST SHADOW
Episode #562 · Written by Marc Brandel · Narrated by Scott Miller
Ernie Combs has spent his entire life hiding from something most people never even think about. Every school, every apartment, every friendship eventually collapses under the weight of a secret that marks him as different the moment someone notices it. Years of shame have taught him how to disappear into crowds, avoid bright places, and keep his distance from people who might turn fearful once they discover what he lacks.
Then, in the middle of Manhattan, Ernie sees someone moving through the city exactly as he does. Christine is frightened, isolated, and carrying the same burden he has carried since childhood. Their connection is immediate because neither of them needs to explain the dread of being noticed. For the first time in his life, Ernie feels understood without having to defend himself.
But happiness does not erase old wounds. As Ernie begins tasting the ordinary life he always envied, his hunger for acceptance grows stronger. What begins as a tender refuge between two lonely people slowly tightens into something far more painful. “Cast The First Shadow” transforms a simple fantasy idea into an unsettling portrait of insecurity, self-loathing, and the quiet pressure people place on anyone who seems different.
The story first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1954 and remains striking for how grounded its emotional conflicts feel. Marc Brandel avoids spectacle and instead focuses on the small humiliations that shape an entire life. The result is intimate, cruel, and unforgettable.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marc Brandel built a varied writing career across fiction, television, radio, and film. His short fiction appeared in publications including The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, while his later suspense novels included The Man Who Came Back, The Choosing, and Rain Before Seven. He also worked extensively in television drama during the 1950s and 1960s.
“Cast The First Shadow” stands out among Brandel’s shorter works because of its emotional restraint. Instead of treating its premise as spectacle, Brandel focuses on embarrassment, longing, and social fear, allowing the horror to emerge through ordinary human reactions. That quiet approach gives the story its lasting power.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to Cast The First Shadow by Marc Brandel — a vintage science fiction story filled with loneliness and fear.
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LOST VOICES OF VINTAGE SCI-FI
Not every science fiction writer built a long career in the field or became a widely recognized name. Some published only a handful of stories before disappearing from the magazines, leaving behind little biographical record and few surviving details. Others may be remembered for work in different genres, while their contribution to science fiction was brief.
Yet these writers helped shape the texture of the pulp era and beyond. Their stories experimented with bold ideas, filled the pages between the famous names, and added depth to the ever-expanding landscape of vintage science fiction.
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast exists in part to rediscover these voices. The stories below were written by authors who published briefly, sparingly, or whose science fiction output was small - but whose work still deserves to be heard.
- The Ultimate Paradox by Thorp McClusky
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- Welcome to Paradise by Allyn Donnelson
- Day of Reckoning by Morton Klass
- Zeritskys Law by Ann Griffith
- Up For Renewal by Lucius Daniel
- Patch by William Shedenhelm
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Electronic Landslide by Clyde Hostetter
- They Reached for the Moon by William Oberfield
- Death Walks on Mars by Alan J. Ramm
- When the Moon Fell by Morrison Colladay
- Know They Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis
- The Other One by A. H. Gibson
- No Evidence by Victoria Lincoln
- The Man Who Liked Lions by John Bernard Daley
- Willies Planet by Mike Ellis
- The Short Snorter by Charles Einstein
- Your Servant Sir by Sol Boren
- The Fugitives by Malcolm B. Morehart Jr
- Leave Earthmen or Die by John Massie Davis
- And All the Girls Were Nude by Richard Magruder
- Rabbits Have Long Ears by Lawrence F. Willard
- Dust Unto Dust by Lyman D. Hinckley
- Cosmic Tragedy by Thomas S. Gardiner
- Day of Wrath by Bjarne Kirchhoff
- You Are Forbidden by Jerry Shelton
- Thirty Degrees Cattywonkus by James Bell
- The Small Bears by Gene L. Henderson
- The First Spaceman by Gene L. Henderson
ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST
The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 43 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 4.2 million listens.
Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.What listeners are saying:
★★★★★
“A legitimate Top Tier Pod. I can’t do justice to how good this podcast is, truly. The host has an affect and vocal style that’s just perfect. The stories are buried gems, sure, there’s problematic vocabulary but you have to enjoy it in the spirit it’s offered. I LOVE seeing how creative people from 40-50 years ago, imagined how the world would exist. It’s just glorious and I love it.”
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★★★★★
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Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.
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