Beyond The Door by Philip K. Dick Episode #146

Philip K. Dick | November 21, 2023

Beyond The Door by Philip K. Dick Episode #146
Philip K. Dick

BEYOND THE DOOR

Episode #146 · Written by Philip K. Dick · Narrated by Scott Miller

A gift meant to mend a strained marriage takes on a life of its own. When a cuckoo clock starts choosing sides, love, jealousy, and fate all tick toward an unexpected reckoning.

Larry wants to surprise his wife with a thoughtful gift, a gesture that might patch over the cracks in their marriage. He chooses a cuckoo clock—an antique piece that recalls happier days. But the moment Doris winds it up, the little bird inside seems to come alive, watching, listening, and waiting. What begins as a domestic squabble unfolds into something far stranger, where affection and guilt, jealousy and justice, all keep perfect time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Philip K. Dick turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. “Beyond The Door” transforms a kitchen-table argument into a haunting reflection on pride and punishment, revealing how fragile human control can be when emotion meets the unknown. Few writers could fuse the fantastic and the familiar so deftly—turning the ticking of a clock into a heartbeat that won’t be silenced.

Dick’s career would later span reality-bending novels and prophetic visions of technology and paranoia. Yet his early short stories—like this one—remain miniature studies in psychological tension. First published in the early 1950s, “Beyond The Door” shows why Philip K. Dick endures: he could take the most mundane moment and push it just far enough past reality’s edge to make you question everything you think you know.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Beyond The Door by Philip K. Dick — a classic sci-fi tale of jealousy, irony, and the mysterious power hidden within a simple cuckoo clock.