About this episode

A nervous newcomer faces a high-stakes family dinner where an empty chair holds a haunting significance.

While trying to survive his second high-stakes family dinner with his girlfriend's relatives, a nervous newcomer discovers that the mysteriously warm, perpetually set empty chair at the head of the table belongs to a beloved grandfather who passed away eleven years ago. Tales From The Blue Line: Every morning at three, Mason and Ally ride the Blue Line into downtown Chicago together. The train brings out its own brand of weird, which has led to Mason and Ally trading spooky stories to help their commute pass a little faster. If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/ You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free! Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/ Other shows hosted by Darren: Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/ Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The…

People in this episode

Hosts: Keith Conrad, Darren Marlar

Topics covered

• family dynamics
• ghost stories
• commuting
• Chicago
• supernatural

Keywords

• family dinner
• empty chair
• grandfather
• spooky stories
• Blue Line
• Chicago

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sound Concept Media, Substack

Books & works: Tales From The Blue Line

Places: Chicago

More episodes of Auditory Anthology

• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells: Chapter Twenty Six · July 19, 2026 · 12 min
• A Great Day for the Irish by A.M. Lightner · July 16, 2026 · 29 min
• Tales From the Blue Line - The Overnight Returns · July 14, 2026 · 11 min
• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells: Chapter Twenty Five · July 12, 2026 · 19 min
• The Vilbar Party by Evelyn E. Smith · July 9, 2026 · 23 min
• Tales From the Blue Line - The Crossing Guard · July 7, 2026 · 13 min

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