Municipal zoning auditor Grace Decker arrives in Gorse Hill expecting boundary disputes and routine paperwork. Instead, she finds a town frozen in fear—and learns that every night, someone must watch the hill.

Tonight, it’s her turn.

Left alone beneath a full moon with only a lantern, a folding chair, and one impossible instruction—don’t look away—Grace discovers that Gorse Hill’s oldest tradition hides an ancient and deadly debt.

File 004 of Nova Nightwood’s Obscura Archive is a small-town creature feature about isolation, inherited guilt, and what happens when the Watcher finally steps down from the hill.

Written and produced by Nova Nightwood and Nightwood Studios.

Audio narration designed by Webster Walker.

“The Watcher’s Debt” written by Nova Nightwood.

E-Book available through popular retailers and library apps: Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Fable, Smashwords, Tolino, Vivlio and more.

Link to BNN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-watchers-debt-nova-nightwood/1151333784?ean=2940197106254

Link to Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-watcher-s-debt-1?sId=2c2b47a4-90a3-403a-91eb-607cf1262e70&ssId=zRfI8NX5YL04DGE4FdWDt&cPos=1

Link to Fable: https://fable.co/book/the-watchers-debt-by-nova-nightwood-9798237461862

Link to Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/2104208

This is a work of fiction. Any names, references, or visual similarities to real people or events are completely coincidental.

Season One theme: “Let’s End This Conversation Now” by CTRL S.

Additional music and sound design created with licensed and original production resources.

Audio narration, music, and visual production are currently created using AI tools and Adobe Creative Cloud resources. If you’re interested in learning more about these tools or using them for your own creative projects, please refer to the affiliate links below, which support the show with a commission if you choose to use them:

ElevenLabs Audio Narration:

https://try.elevenlabs.io/novanightwood

Select sound effects and music licensed through Artlist.io:

https://artlist.io/referral/9717734d-84c9-458d-a9aa-75a3ad63860b

Select music created with Suno under the name Nightwood Studios:

https://suno.com/invite/@nightwoodstudios

Visual production resources:

OpenArt.ai

Adobe Creative Cloud

Visit NovaNightwood.com for show details, official merchandise, and more.

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CONTENT NOTES

This episode contains small-town and wilderness horror, threatening creatures, stalking and pursuit, involuntary confinement and abandonment, coercion, physical violence, blood, death, body horror, transformation imagery, references to past deaths, and intense scenes involving danger and survival. It also includes sudden sounds and sustained suspense.

Listener discretion is advised.