Know They Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis Episode #453

Elisabeth R. Lewis | November 12, 2025

Know They Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis Episode #453
Elisabeth R. Lewis

KNOW THY NEIGHBOR

Episode #453 · Written by Elisabeth R. Lewis · Narrated by Scott Miller

A strange noise, a dead cat, and an uneasy stare from a neighbor begin Ellen’s morning in The Tenderloin. By nightfall, she’ll wish she’d never opened her door—or trusted anyone on her floor.

Elisabeth R. Lewis weaves this story like a slow-burn fuse, turning the everyday into the eerie and the familiar into the alien. Know Thy Neighbor mixes urban realism with uncanny horror, giving us a heroine whose fears feel uncomfortably real until the unthinkable steps into view. Written during the golden age of short science fiction, it channels post-war anxiety, loneliness, and distrust into something that still resonates today: the fear that the threat isn’t from another planet—it’s living right next door.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elisabeth R. Lewis is a near-forgotten name from the golden age of magazine science fiction. Know Thy Neighbor appears to be the only story published under her byline, yet it leaves a lasting impression—a compact, unnerving tale that stands comfortably beside the era’s best speculative fiction. Little is known about Lewis herself, but her writing reveals a sharp sense of atmosphere and a talent for transforming ordinary settings into places of quiet dread. Her lone story remains a striking reminder that even a single appearance in the classic magazines could earn a writer a place in the long, strange history of vintage science fiction.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Know Thy Neighbor by Elisabeth R. Lewis — a vintage science fiction tale of paranoia, fear, and the terrifying secrets hidden behind your neighbor’s door.