SBR 1.8: Keepsakes

"'The first day of the rest of your life. New Years' Resolutions, and a letter with implications that are...unfortunate...'"

Events of Note

 * Sam casts a circle of good intent and there is a small amount of mournful wailing.
 * Sam is able to change the colour of the swirls inside the crystal ball.
 * Sam reads a book about a girl called Tara.

Summary
Sam begins the episode by welcoming the listeners into the New Year, and explaining how to cast a circle of good intent. He then goes on to talk about New Years Resolutions, and how Marie used to tell listeners whether their resolutions were worth doing or not. Sam acknowledges that they don't have the psychic ability to do that, but shares some of the responses anyway. Sam also shares his own resolution, which is to improve his tarot reading skills. He mentions that he is able to affect the colour of the crystal ball, which he believes is a good sign.

They talk about how they have been trying to organise the studio, as it was particularly messy when they first went down there. He mentions a letter from Laura, who was asking about keepsakes and organisation, and more specifically, whether or not to keep a strange book. She included some of the torn out pages in her letter. Sam begins to read them, telling a story about a girl called Tara. Tara interacts with a odd book that seems blank initially, but changes as she reads. She reads about a creature that is hunting a girl, and after several familiar actions, Tara realises that the book is following the real life actions of her and her roommate. She is incredibly disturbed by this, but cannot seem to put the book down.

The episode ends abruptly at the end of Tara's story, and Sam does not sign off.

Characters Featured

 * Sam Enfield
 * Madame Marie (mentioned)

Listeners writing in/mentioned:


 * Sarah from Wyoming, regarding their resolution to learn more household spells
 * John from London, regarding his resolution to escape the unending scrutiny of his toxic workplace
 * Cory from Paris, regarding their resolution to become a vigilante fighter
 * Laura, regarding the strange book she found

Trivia

 * This is the first episode in which Sam does not sign off.
 * The forum user John from London is a reference to character Jonathan Sims from The Magnus Archives.
 * The forum user Cory from Paris may be a reference to the TV show "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir".