THE WILD WIND | An American Gothic Tale by Cor Zim (Cor Zim | Radio Verté)

It’s a dark time as PA dies in the cornfield he labored all his life, and the drums of war can once again be heard on the horizon. Sarah weighs the worth of empathy after Junior returns from WWII in a wooden box and Momma is found swinging from a twisted tree, having succumbed to lifelong grief.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

Hobos, angsty teenagers, and Satanic worshipers invade the deteriorating buildings of the shuddered Hilltop as Sarah stalks them under the influence of pills she scavenges from the abandoned pharmacy.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

Doctor Zola tutors Junior under the Graveyard Elm and inspires him to become a doctor under mentorship about rounds on the Hilltop. Junior eventually goes off to college, marries, and has a child of his own, whom he introduces to his catatonic father, Richie, in Ward E.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

The Wild Wind is an American gothic tale about a woman born and raised on the grounds of a psychiatric institution—not as a patient but as the daughter of the asylum’s farmer—who learns of love and loss while grappling with the question of what it means to be sane when insanity is the norm.

“What’s to be sane in the garden of madness?”

That’s the question haunting Sarah, a centenarian writing about her life growing up at the asylum on the bank of the Illinois River. After a long-tormented life, Sarah intends to commit after completing a typewritten manuscript spoken to a man named Sam. Through a lens of lore and myth—the secrets that shaped Sarah’s twisted and mysterious life are revealed.

In Sarah’s labyrinthine quest for healing and peace, she painstakingly deconstructs the most transformative moments of her life. Her journey, spanning a century, is marked by profound hardship and survival, leading her to the poignant realization: “Sanity is but paper in a world consumed by fire.”

The Wild Wind defies convention, blending plot and character development in a refreshingly unique way. With an equally unusual structure and lyrical prose, Sarah’s account is intellectually intriguing and emotionally compelling. It sheds light on the darker aspects of American society and history, encouraging readers to view themselves and the world from a fresh perspective.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

NURSE KATE embarks on a poignant journey to join the ranks of young nurses at the Hilltop State Hospital after her brother's untimely and tragic death. On her first day, she meets DOCTOR ZOLLA, a figure of hope whose progressive ideals precede him. Later, she accompanies a mute, known simply as BOOKBINDER, at the beginning of a journey of healing from a rather severe nervous breakdown.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

Sarah meets a boy named Richie at the rodeo as a teen. The couple falls in love on horseback under the stars, but Richie is soon sent off to WWI, but not before proposing to Sarah, sliding a horseshoe nail ring upon her finger. A numbered collection of love letters to Richie illustrates her growing superstitious obsession as Richie’s shell-shocked mind gradually appears to present itself. Sarah eventually discovers she is pregnant with JUNIOR and grows worried as Richie fails to acknowledge a son born in his absence in dissonant, shaky-handed letters.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

When SARAH, an isolated old woman, awakes to see a spider in the corner drop down not once but three times, she knows she will die in the same old farmhouse where she was born. Sarah intends to kill herself by consuming a bottle of pills, leaving behind a peculiar manuscript addressed to a man named SAM. In a reverse chronology, an account of a long and often macabre life spanning the entirety of the twentieth century begins. Sarah, having been born and raised on the grounds of the Hilltop State Hospital—not as a psychiatric patient, but as the daughter of the asylum’s farmer on the cusp of her own death, expresses what she has learned over a lifetime of love and loss at the very crossroads of life and death. All the while, Sarah continually grapples with the existential question of what it means to be 'sane' when insanity is the norm, declaring, “Sanity is but paper in a world consumed by fire.”

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

The last nail in the coffin of Sarah’s impending isolation is hammered by the death of Richie. Sarah confesses her relationship with “Nazi pills” she steals from the asylum, reformed in what she views as a fascist vision of hell since the death of the progressive Doctor Zolla. Sarah begins her rapid descent into a decades-long state of madness. Ronald Reagan closes the Hilltop, and the patients walk the streets of the nearby city of Grandview, where they eat out of dumpsters and freeze to death in the winter.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

As Sarah's stash of pills runs out, she is forced to endure the throes of a violent withdrawal. But upon finding a misplaced bottle on MOMMA's dresser that "shakes like a rattlesnake," she pops "two reds and blue," which send her on a drug-fueled, Homeric odyssey into the thicket after blackberries for jam.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

Meet FANNIE, a whiskey-guzzling swindler who is not your typical widow. She takes advantage of men for survival, who, in turn, attempt to take advantage of her. Fannie, the greatest escape artist the Midwest has ever known, engages in a capricious dialogue with her dead husband, CECIL, while on a quest for the finest food and drink saloons stretching the great plains have to offer. Her love of dance, the pursuit of late-night fun, and vengeance for the men who wronged her make for a life on the lam that seems to know no limits, as no cage can hold her. But Fannie's lackadaisical nature and her fondness for fainting can't save her this time from the judge and jury, who scold down their high-held noses, "Not this time, Fannie."

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

After being introduced to the array of colorful characters who occupy the dayroom, Doctor Zolla discovers ROSE in a poorhouse. Having been locked in a Utica crib for forty years, she is permanently hunched over like a toad and blind from gouging out her eyes after being haunted by OLD SCRATCH. The doctor brings Rose back to the Hilltop, where she undergoes a remarkable recovery, her enduring spirit becoming a totem of the Hilltop’s transformative vision.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

Fannie is sent off to the inescapable confines of the penitentiary--a "Puritan vision of hell" --where she suffers starvation and abuse at the hands of sadistic GUARD LEWIS. As despondent the circumstance presents itself, Fannie plans her escape, nonetheless. After consulting with Cecil and initiating the first female riot in American history, Fannie sets a course of feigned insanity and a gruesome, unimaginable act of "breaking out," which solidifies her legacy once and for all in the great halls of injustice.

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.

Richie returns from WWI, and only months later, Sarah is shocked to discover his shell-shocked, catatonic state as he stares off into the unknown with empty eyes in the stuffy confines of an old farmhouse on a grey winter day. After Richie's parents abandon him at the Hilltop—though the two can now never marry—Sarah devotes her life to caring for her "Dear Richie."

Dedicated to Dr. George Anthony Zeller (1858-1938 ), whose vision and journals inspired this tale.

Written & Narrated by Cory Zim

Produced by Radio Verté

Executive Producer, Cory Zim

https://radioverte.works

Cor Zim is the executive producer of Radio Verté and the author of two fiction novels, THE WILD WIND and AHOOGA!, each of which has been adapted into an audio podcast series. He is the author of two nonfiction novels, SPOON RIVER GOTHIC: Narrative of a Double Homicide and DEATH RIDES THE HIGHWAY: A Thrill Ride Fueled by Murder & Terror, both of which have also been adapted into audio podcast series produced by Radio Verté.