Till the Yule Log Burns Out - Audio Book
Project Overview
This casting call is for the official audiobook of Till the Yule Log Burns Out edited by Kay Hanifen, which is a Christmas-themed horror anthology with a wraparound story that was released in the winter of 2024.
With the exception of the Innkeeper, each voice actor will be narrating their individual character's story/section in the anthology. This is a horror book; some adult language and scenes of violence are featured. Voice actors must be above the age of 18 and comfortable with that content.
Please introduce yourself and then choose 2-3 of the dialogue options to provide for your audition.
About the book:
"No rest ye frightened gentlemen
Full of horror and dismay…
When the St. Wenceslas Episcopal Church choir bus gets trapped in a snowdrift on the way to a Christmas Eve competition, the eleven members find their way to an inn run by the mysterious Innkeeper. Though disappointed that they won't get to the competition, they decide to make the best of it by opening their Secret Santa gifts.
But the gifts they open are not the original presents they bought for each other. Every one links back to a dark secret in their past, one that they are compelled to share: stories of Christmas monsters, cursed objects, and vengeful spirits. Featuring stories by David Washburn, Nick Aucoin, Julia C. Lewis, Nikki Kossaris, Zach Swasta, Loki Dewitt, Greta T. Bates, M. Rook Grimsley and a wraparound and story by Kay Hanifen, these travelers will tell their tales Till the Yule Log Burns Out."
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The lead narrator of the wraparound interludes. A friendly older man with a sort of ageless quality to him. He welcomes the characters to the inn, but there’s something not quite right.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- male adult
- male senior
“You’re no bother at all. My inn welcomes all travelers. Dinner is just about ready.”
"Everything was just so. A Christmas so idyllic that it would make Charles Dickens and Norman Rockwell seethe with envy. Now, all he needed was someone to share it with. Nicodemus notwithstanding, of course. The cat, for all his faults, was a wonderful companion during this time of year, but Christmas Eve was never meant to be spent alone."
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A spitfire who regularly butts heads with Kate. She’s the youngest of the group and tries to be a good person, but she has a dark sense of humor that most don’t appreciate.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- female young adult
“Oh no, Laina! Santa came early and became a cannibal! Look! He got your elf!”
"It didn’t run like you’d expect a doll to. Not like, oh I don’t know, Woody from Toy Story with his head flailing back. It ran like an actual runner, and so fast that I didn’t even see it. Or hear it for that matter. It made no sound!"
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A young woman who enjoys scaring people. She and Maven are on similar wavelengths, making them friends, though she carries a lot of guilt over her history.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- female young adult
"Around 4:00 p.m., I brought my father a plate of cookies and a mug of hot chocolate. At around 4:15 p.m., I watched as Aunt Becky went out on the back porch for a smoke break. All I had to do was give her a little push. The ice and the stairs did the rest."
"Thus I, Millie, at age eight, decided that I wasn’t sure that God was the right route to go. I needed something easier. More straight-forward. I needed the magic of Santa Claus."
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
An older woman sensitive to the supernatural who hates her inherent gift. St. Wenceslas was not her first choice of church, but it's the one that her children attend, so makes the best of it (mainly by loudly complaining about the reverend to whoever is in earshot). She’s self-righteous and occasionally rude - especially when trying to hide that she's afraid.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- female adult
- female senior
“Bright Solstice, Maggie. I picked up some potatoes from the neighbor. Do you want to add them to today’s meal or save them for our Christmas dinner?”
"You see, the women in my family have certain…abilities…talents. We typically step into them on or around our 16th birthday—powers like intuition, precognition, and mediumship. On my mother’s side of the family, we consider these gifts to be spiritual in nature and not associated with the occult. But my father, a strict churchgoer, would not hear of it. "
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A woman who is not at all interested in the Secret Santa exchange but who does so regardless.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- female adult
“O. M. G. It’s hideous!”
"Across the party, Liz heard someone else laughing. Scott. He had a drink in his hand and was schmoozing it up with some of the members of upper management who rarely made their way to the office. Seeing him in all his arrogant, self-aggrandizing, smarminess irritated Liz like it never had before. She stared daggers at him and was so fixated on her anger that she didn’t hear Pam step up behind her."
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A strong animal rights activist and vegetarian who comes from a family of hunters. He gets a taxidermized reindeer head as a Secret Santa gift, much to his disgust.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- male adult
"When he posted the photo of him and his kill to social media, people were much less excited. John had told the first few to man up and get over it. He had a variety of hunting photos on his page. He was used to writing comments calling out ‘soyboys’ and ‘whiny liberals’ who didn’t mind their business. This seemed the same at first. It became clear soon after that the amount of people who were upset were more than John wanted to deal with though."
“I asked you a question earlier, but I already knew the answer,” the Santa said, “You’re on the naughty list! And naughty boys get coal for Christmas. However, you aren’t a little boy anymore, are you, John?”
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
The oldest of the group. Carrie’s in her mid-seventies and is like everyone’s beloved grandmother. However, the bus crash seems to have caused some mental confusion for her, much to the concern of the rest of the cast. She started the congregation with the goal of creating a community for outcasts and has a lot of tension with Kate, who is more traditional.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- female senior
“Wow, using an innocent woman as your meat shield,” I said flatly. “That’s not pathetic at all.”
"I stared, unsure of how to react. Would she want a hug? To tell me what happened? To call the police? I fidgeted with my bracelet, the textured bead against my thumb helping to soothe me."
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A committed vegetarian who can’t stand the smell of meat due to a dark experience in his past. He’s nerdy, a little awkward, and attends the church mainly out of guilt.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record
- english
- male adult
“Don’t you die on me!”
"The odor of burning wood evokes a feeling of dread in me even after all these years. To see a smoldering fire, no matter how cozy it may seem, lights my chest afire with anxiety and sorrow. Sometimes, even an innocent piece of charcoal can send me reeling for hours. I never knew what a true guilty conscience could feel like, not until I caused the death of my best friend and tried to burn the evidence like the coward I am."
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A woman in her late 30s or early 40s. Athletic and attractive, but not “sexy”. She reflects on her relationship with her older cousin and how events in their childhood can create a wedge that turns to resentment.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record.
- english
- female adult
"I feel bad nowadays reflecting on it, but I remember as a little girl wishing that we were brother and sister and that I lived there too. Not that I was particularly ungrateful or didn’t love my parents or anything. I mostly used to fantasize about that on the sad car ride home when we would leave. I even knew which room would be mine in those fantasies."
"We have to tell someone! We have to go get help!”
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
The choir director. She's in her early 40s, is married, and is losing her Christmas spirit.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record.
- english
- female adult
"As we continued to hold hands after shaking them, I began to feel unwell. Maybe I need to have something to eat. Trying to find my mom in the crowd as I began to feel dizzy, I could hear “Santa Baby” playing now. Why can’t I see her? She was just behind me. I began to fall right into Evan’s arms and his face was the last thing I saw…"
"Congratulations, you have completed Elf training. You must take this certificate to guard gate 2. At said gate, you will pledge allegiance to always believe in Santa Claus. This includes decorating for Christmas every year. If you are unable to fulfill your pledge, there will be consequences."
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A killer who had joined the congregation to please her boyfriend. While he didn’t stick around, she still joined the choir because she likes to sing.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to record.
- english
- female adult
"I took no joy in his pain. I just wanted him to love me. But that is impossible now. He rejected the foot. He even reached for his phone, and I hate that he did that. I had no choice but to silence him. "
"I had never seen a man so beautiful. Normally I don't like men. I don't particularly like women either, but I find men vile with their body hair and their putrid sweat. Brian was different though. I knew it from the moment I first met him. He caught me off guard with his beautiful smile and his icy blue eyes that seemed as fresh and cool as a glacier. He smelled like cedar in the forest in winter. He didn’t shed flaky dry skin everywhere and he never allowed himself to have bad breath, body odor, or even ear wax. Unlike most disgusting human beings, he was just so clean. "
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue
A bus driver with a deep love for his wife, who starts to feel some guilt over how the events are unfolding.
Please choose 2-3 of the options to read.
- english
- male adult
"This quest is quite unsavory, you will want to go alone. To the butcher shop you will need to roam. A pig’s heart is required for this to end. Enjoy the final day, my friend."
“Pack a bag for Rudolph, Wisconsin, Jude. We are going on a road trip.”
Attach a voice acting reel and/or monologue.
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