IT BURNS ME UP!

Episode #286· Written by Ray Bradbury · Narrated by Scott Miller

A murdered man lies motionless on his living room floor—yet his mind remains awake, watching the circus of detectives, reporters, neighbors, and a strangely calm wife swarm around his corpse. As the night unravels, he witnesses the living expose their vanity, cruelty, and secrets in ways they never imagined a dead man could see.

It Burns Me Up! is Ray Bradbury’s wickedly sharp, darkly comic meditation on death, ego, and the strange theater of human behavior. The story opens with a man lying murdered on his living room floor—stabbed, slashed, and quite thoroughly dead. Yet his consciousness lingers, forced to witness the flurry of detectives, reporters, curious neighbors, and one disturbingly serene wife as they invade the scene. What follows is a wildly compelling mix of noir, satire, and psychological tension, all narrated by the one person none of them thinks can hear a word: the corpse.

Bradbury uses this bizarre vantage point to expose the living in all their messy glory. The detective blusters for credit, the coroner fusses with clinical pride, the reporters elbow each other for angles, and the neighbors treat the murder like a sideshow. Meanwhile, the dead man’s wife slips through the chaos with feline ease, withholding secrets and wielding her charm with precision. Through it all, the narrator reflects on memory, vanity, spectacle, and the strange fate of becoming a story told by millions before his ashes even cool. It’s a tale that feels at once humorous, unnerving, and painfully accurate in its portrayal of human nature.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ray Bradbury remains one of the most celebrated voices in speculative storytelling. His fiction transcends genre boundaries, blending science fiction, fantasy, horror, and literary insight into narratives that leave lasting emotional impressions. With iconic works like “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Martian Chronicles,” “Dandelion Wine,” and “Something Wicked This Way Comes,” Bradbury shaped generations of writers, filmmakers, and audio dramatists. His gift lies not only in imagining the impossible, but in revealing the very real humanity beneath it.

Bradbury’s short fiction is especially revered for its tight construction, evocative imagery, and emotional clarity. Stories like “It Burns Me Up!” demonstrate his unmatched ability to turn a single moment—a single body, a single room—into a full universe of motives, personalities, and tensions. His legacy endures because he never simply told stories; he unveiled people, with all their contradictions, flaws, and sparks of wonder. This story is a perfect example of Bradbury’s ability to turn the ordinary and the macabre into something unforgettable.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to It Burns Me Up! by Ray Bradbury — a dark, witty vintage sci-fi tale of a murdered man observing the living expose themselves in unexpected ways.

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