About[]
"Animal Crackers" is the third tale in the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the Nolseep Podcast. In it, a boy faces a monster in his school's basement. Written by Manen Lyset, it has a runtime of 10:20 and was performed by Elie Hirschman and David Cummings. It is the 726th tale overall on the podcast.
Summary[]
Sam is being picked on by his class' bully, Tommy. Tommy demands the Sam's animal crackers, which he doesn't have that day. He throws him in the school's basement and holds the door closed. Sam is terrified of the basement because of an urban legend about the room. A creature known as the "Clock Man" supposedly lives inside and makes "tick" and "tock" noises to you matching how many years you have left to live.
Sam walks down the stairs to try and find a light switch when he hears the ticking and tocking coming from somewhere in the darkness. Not counting the sounds, he runs up the stairs and out the door, noticing Tommy has disappeared. He heads into a bathroom stall and cries.
A few years pass and Sam grows, becoming the tallest person in class. One afternoon, he notices Tommy bullying a smaller boy, Peter, in the same way he bullied him. Sam pushes Tommy into the basement and shuts the door as Peter runs away.
Tommy bangs on the door for a few minutes before all goes still. Suspicious, Sam enters the basement and heads down the steps, only to hear the ticking again. He hears Tommy crying and looks in the corner, seeing an emaciated, naked man sitting there counting with the bully beside him.
Sam grabs Tommy and hauls him up the stairs, shutting the door behind him. Tommy sobs that the Clock Man only counted once for him. Exactly one year later on the day, he dies in a car accident. Sam is happy he didn't stop to count his own sounds.
Cast[]
Elie Hirschman as Sam
David Cummings as Tommy/the Clock Man