The Nightmare Trials

S3E15: EllieThis research file documents a fracture. Not in the world, but in a mother’s mind.Something is wrong in this home.A child who remembers things she should not. A voice that feels too calm. Too knowing. Ellie says things that do not make sense. Things that feel rehearsed. Repeated. Like she has lived this before.And her mother can feel it.What begins as unease slowly spirals into obsession. Every word Ellie speaks feels like a warning. Every look feels like a test. Reality starts to slip as memory and perception blur together, leaving one question that refuses to go away.What is Ellie?As the night stretches on, fear begins to take shape. Love starts to bend under the weight of doubt. And the line between protecting a child and surviving her becomes harder to see.Because some children are not what they seem.And some truths do not reveal themselves until it is far too late.

S3E14: CognivarIn a reality where control is disguised as safety and freedom is quietly stripped away, Merrick finds himself face to face with something… new.Not a god of old.Not a creature born from chaos.But something far more familiar… and far more dangerous.As influence spreads and authority tightens its grip, a new entity emerges, one that doesn’t seek worship… only obedience.Meanwhile, the lines between power, identity, and control begin to blur as forces beyond comprehension continue to move their pieces into place.Because in a world where everything is watched…Nothing is truly your own.⚠️ Content Advisory: This episode contains graphic violence, disturbing themes, and intense psychological horror. Listener discretion is strongly advised.🎙️ Production Note: This episode may include AI-assisted voice modulation to enhance character immersion and storytelling.

“I Drive for CERBER is a supernatural horror comic series created by Shaun Barbour of InstInked Comics. It follows Jim, a driver for a ride-share service that doesn’t just pick up people… it picks up everything else. From cryptids and urban legends to things that should never exist, every passenger has a story—but not all of them are alive to tell it.Issues #1 and #2 are available now, with Issue #3 currently in production and an upcoming Kickstarter campaign on the horizon. You can grab the books, along with other horror titles like Belial and the Hollowed Universe novels The Treatment and The Hollowing, at www.instinkedcomics.com.Follow Shaun’s work on TikTok @instinked and on Facebook under Shaun Barbour to stay updated on new releases, behind-the-scenes content, and the upcoming Kickstarter.

S3E11: Everyone Dies TonightThis research file presents a contained incident. A single night. A single location. No escape.What begins as a celebration quickly unravels into something far more sinister as a familiar place becomes the stage for unimaginable violence. Beneath the surface of routine conversations, old wounds linger. Trauma festers. And something long buried begins to rise.As the night unfolds, a presence emerges. Methodical. Relentless. Personal.One by one, those within reach are pulled into a nightmare that feels both random and deliberate. But this is not chaos. This is not chance.This is something far more intimate. Memories blur with reality. Truth fractures under pressure. And the line between victim and perpetrator begins to dissolve in ways that cannot be undone.In this file, the past is not something that stays behind you. It waits. It grows. And eventually… it comes back.Everyone has a breaking point.Tonight… it is reached.⚠️ Warning: This episode contains extreme violence, graphic gore, psychological trauma, and disturbing themes. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

This research file forces a decision no one should ever have to make.As the situation surrounding Simon reaches a critical breaking point, Aubrey finds herself pulled into a confrontation with a force long buried but far from forgotten. The Vega has returned… not in body, but in consciousness. And with it comes manipulation, cruelty, and a test designed to break even the strongest will. Trapped within a constructed reality, Aubrey is given an impossible choice. Sacrifice one… or lose everything. With Earl and Mr. Fields caught in the balance, the illusion of control begins to shatter. Words become weapons. Promises become traps. And time itself becomes the enemy as Simon’s life hangs by a thread.In this file, loyalty is tested, sacrifice becomes inevitable, and the cost of hesitation is laid bare. Some choices define who we are. Others haunt us long after they are made.⚠️ Warning: This episode contains graphic violence, emotional trauma, psychological manipulation, and intense horror themes. Listener discretion is advised.

S3E9: Body AdsThis research file follows Daniel, a man given a second chance at life after waking from cryogenic suspension decades later than anyone intended. Once promised a cure for a terminal illness, he returns to a world that is medically advanced, economically efficient, and morally hollow. What begins as a miracle quickly sours into something grotesque. Guided through this new society by Dr. Corvex Finnegan, Daniel is introduced to a culture where the human body has become prime real estate. Flesh is bought, sold, branded, harvested, and repurposed in the name of profit. Advertising is no longer something people see. It is something they wear. Something they carve away. Something they become. As Daniel struggles to understand the nightmare he has awakened into, one truth becomes impossible to ignore. In a world driven by sponsorship and consumer hunger, untouched skin may be the most valuable commodity of all. In this file, survival, exploitation, and corporate horror collide in a vision of the future where the body is no longer sacred. It is inventory.Some people sell their image.Others are sold piece by piece.⚠️ Warning:This episode contains body horror, medical exploitation, disturbing social themes, and intense psychological dread. Listener discretion is advised.

S3E8: Son of HermesThis research file follows the horrifying legacy of Hermes, a brilliant doctor driven by grief, ambition, and a desperate promise to repair what had been broken. What begins as experimental neuroscience and the hope of healing damaged minds slowly mutates into something far more sinister.Behind sealed doors and hidden laboratories, children are altered, lives are erased, and science is bent toward a purpose no human was meant to serve. At the center of it all stands Roman, an architect of manipulation whose plans reach far beyond medicine, morality, or mercy.But every creation carries consequence.From the wreckage of these experiments rises something new, something born of pain, loss, and impossible transformation. No longer fully human, yet carrying the memory of the man who tried to save him, this being becomes the living embodiment of a father’s failure and a world’s coming terror.In this file, grief becomes innovation, innovation becomes monstrosity, and the line between salvation and annihilation is erased entirely.Some children inherit their father’s name.Others inherit his unfinished work.⚠️ Warning: This episode contains graphic body horror, medical experimentation, child endangerment, violence, and intense psychological and existential horror. Listener discretion is advised.

S3E7: Family Ties – Part 2The Calvetti story continues.In the aftermath of the events set into motion in Family Ties – Part 1, tensions inside the Calvetti family reach a breaking point. Old grudges surface, long-buried secrets claw their way into the light, and the line between family loyalty and supernatural obligation begins to fracture.As the search for answers leads deeper into the underbelly of their world, a relic of Seamus’s gold resurfaces, drawing the family into a confrontation that was never meant to happen. What begins as a simple meeting quickly unravels into betrayal, bloodshed, and the return of a presence that should have remained buried.But the greatest revelation lies within the family itself.Truths about the Calvetti bloodline come to light, truths that reshape everything they believed about their past, their enemies, and even one another. What once seemed like curses may have always been part of a far larger design.Some battles are fought with weapons. Others are fought with blood.And the Calvetti family is about to learn just how deep those ties truly run.