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NightVale

The cover image of the podcast 'Welcome to Night Vale'

We have nothing to fear except ourselves. We are unholy, awful people. Fear ourselves with silence. Look down, Night Vale. Look down and forget what you've done.
— Town motto[1]


Night Vale is a friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while everyone pretends to sleep.[2]

Location

Night Vale is located somewhere in the American southwest, surrounded by a vast empty desert, near Desert Bluffs.

Hiram McDaniels and Carlos both describe Night Vale as hard to find. Hiram's violet head claims to have searched for the town based on "whispers" and "rumors" and "vague directions."[3] Carlos called Night Vale "a place that is difficult to leave, and difficult to enter." He also remarked, "I don't even remember how I got to Night Vale in the first place. I mean, where is Night Vale, even?"[4].

Cecil Palmer, however, says Night Vale is "perfectly located [...] between several vertices," which is why the town often receives visitors.[5]

The only Night Vale grocery store mentioned is a Ralphs, which is the name used for the Southern California locations of Kroger. In "The Registry of Middle School Crushes", Joshua trees are mentioned; they are native to the Mojave desert in southeastern California, southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and extreme southwestern Utah.

Nearby towns

Cactus Park
Sand Plains

Citizenship

It seems to be relatively easy to become a citizen of Night Vale. When Route 800 is shut down, Night Vale Community Radio announces to non-citizens, "Congratulations! You now live in Night Vale!" Newcomers receive a New Citizen Welcome Packet and mandatory orange poncho from City Hall[6].

Despite the town's welcoming nature, citizens seem to be sensitive to the presence of outsiders; Carlos is repeatedly described as such[7][4]. Some visitors are regarded with suspicion[8], while others are not [9][10]. Hiram McDaniels, who lived outside of Night Vale until he was thirty years old,[3] seems to escape scrutiny, as do the dreaded Glow Cloud[11] and you[10].

It is not advisable for Night Vale natives to leave Night Vale. Doing so may lead to the strangeness of Night Vale "infecting" the native's new chosen home. The effects can be reversed if the native returns to Night Vale[12].

History

Findings such as cave paintings show early settlement of Night Vale began already in 4000 BC, and document their towns and hunting methods. The paintings also depict the dark, inhuman, shimmering shapes that watched these ancient habitants in the distance[13]. The shapes never came closer, nor further away, but their presence could always be felt. The original discoverer of these paintings tried to wash them off the walls when he found them, as on religious grounds, he did not believe in the past[13].

Night Vale was founded in 1745. Four groups of settlers had come to the site of Night Vale then left. The fifth group "looked at each other, shrugged, and plopped down their stuff," thus marking the beginning of Night Vale. Early settlers of Night Vale included peace-loving imperialist conquerors and religious leaders who wore "soft meats crowns" made of inverted organs strung around the head[13].

The Night Vale City Council, then known as the Town Elder Council, first met in 1824. Its composition was precisely the same as on the present day, except Tamika Flynn was not a member. All records of this meeting were destroyed.

While Night Vale has seen many major disasters that killed most of its population, no single disaster has been mentioned that would have disestablished the continuity of Night Vale as a city, the City Council, or the mayor's office. However, one of the prophecies insists that the mayor's office will become vacant no later than 2022 and remain vacant until at least 2052[13].

For a short period in 2014, StrexCorp took control over the city, after slowly and discreetly buying local businesses like Night Vale Community Radio. The town surged against the corporation and was finally liberated, as well as its neighbor city Desert Bluffs[4]. Due to the crisis that struck the latter, which was controlled by StrexCorp long before Night Vale, the town was attached to Night Vale and became a part of it[14].

Life and culture

The citizens of Night Vale, the majority of whom are human, are very tolerant of all sorts of death, disaster, supernatural creatures and occurrences, and government intrusion. There are occasional exceptions, such as Steve Carlsberg, who gets very concerned about government conspiracies and often attempts to call out the logical absurdities taking place in the town. If Cecil Palmer is to be believed, though, it's perfectly normal for the government to produce everything up to and including sandstorms that cause doppelgangers. Night Vale has a seemingly one-sided rivalry with the nearby town of Desert Bluffs.

Events

Event name Frequency Host Location Description
Bluegrass Festival[15] Annual Louie Blasko's Music Shop
Children’s Fair[16] Annual The great lawn near City Hall
Children's Fun Fact Science Presentation[17] Annual Night Vale Community Radio Night Vale Community Radio devotes an entire episode to a scientific narrative.
Citywide Fitness Fair[1] Rec Center
Cloud Amnesty Day[18] Annual The one day a year in which all Night Vale citizens are allowed to acknowledge and talk about clouds.
Costume Gala[19] Annual New Old Night Vale Opera House This event is the opera house’s largest fundraiser, and one of the most prestigious costume contests in the region.
Dot Day[11] Red dots on what you love, blue dots on what you don't.
Fashion Week[20]
Fried Chicken and Cigarette Fair[1]
Gun buy-back program[16] Annual Sheriff's Secret Police Rec Center
Haunted Halloween Hayride[21] Annual Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex
History Week [13]
Holiday Fireworks Extravaganza[22] Annual Night Vale Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area
Lee Marvin Film Retrospective [13] Biennial
Marathon Through the Narrow Place[23] Annual Along the Crooked Path, down into the Deepening, and, ultimately, Through the Narrow Place. Approximately 26 miles, family friendly charity race.
Night Vale Alive Fireworks Spectacular[24] Monthly a Vague, Yet Menacing, Government Agency
Night Vale Cat Show[25] Annual
Night Vale Science Fair[26] Annual Rec Center
Night Vale Shakespeare in a Pit Festival[12]
Offerings to the Eternal Scouts[27] Annual City Hall
Opera Free Day[28] Weekly Night Vale Opera Citizens are relieved of all opera for 24 hours
Pub Crawl[25] Bi-monthly (every other month) Every bar in town becomes overrun with 7 inch long bugs that look like earwigs but with human faces. All participating bars and pubs are offering two for one specials on well drinks and bottled domestics.
The Safety Parade[29] Annual Sheriff's Secret Police Parade held in order to highlight safety. No one is allowed to march in or attend the parade for their own safety.
Solemnity Fest[30]
Sorrow Songs Singalong[31] Annual
Spring Cleaning Day[32] Annual Barista District Mandatory yearly cleaning.
Valentine's Day[33][34]
Youth Art's Fair[35] Annual Night Vale PTA

Laws and Ordinances

  • Anything can be true if you say it loud enough [36]
  • You can be dead if caught without jorts.[37]

Organizations

Professional and Benevolent Organizations

  • Intelligence Group International[1]
  • National Rifle Association[2]
  • Night Vale Business Association[2]
  • Night Vale Press Corps[38]
  • Night Vale SPCA[39]
  • Night Vale Spiderwolves[38]

Government Agencies

  • Animal Control[11][40]
  • Night Vale Council for Commerce[31]
  • Night Vale Department of Transportation[41]
  • Night Vale Parks and Recreation Department[31]

Notable locations and facilities in Night Vale

The communities and geography of Night Vale

  • Central Night Vale[42]
  • General Night Vale Area[42]
  • Science District[12]

Parks, museums, and landmarks

  • Children's Science Museum[8]

Education, infrastructure, and government facilities

Category Night Vale medical facilities not found
  • Night Vale Senior's Center[1]

Stadiums and convention centers:


Businesses

The City Council is the preeminent political power in Night Vale; they tightly control all local commerce. However, when StrexCorp was the supreme power in Night Vale, the corporation simply owned the vast majority of the following businesses outright.

Roads

Residents

Though most of Night Vale citizens are human beings, its population consists as well of angels[2], 5-headed dragons[11], ghosts, mysterious hooded figures[2], ancient powerful entities, a fist sized river rock, and even a detached hand on a middle aged man[8]. The people of Night Vale are mostly nice though suspicious people, obeying the draconian law dictated by sinister forces they do not fully understand. They tend to be cautious and unwelcoming towards foreigners, such as Carlos, although they do welcome certain newcomers. It is not clear how many residents live in the city,

After the rebellion against StrexCorp and its takeover by the angels (who do not legally exist) Night Vale's neighbor Desert Bluffs was affiliated to Night Vale[14], thus all of its residents are now officially Night Vale residents, except those who moved to New Desert Bluffs, in the parallel universe.

Citizens, Creatures and Sentient Entities

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Episode 10 "Feral Dogs"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Episode 1 "Pilot"
  3. 3.0 3.1 Live show "Condos"
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Episode 49B "Old Oak Doors Part B"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Episode 6 "The Drawbridge"
  6. Live show "The Debate"
  7. Episode 16 "The Phone Call"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Episode 18 "The Traveler"
  9. Episode 39 "The Woman from Italy"
  10. 10.0 10.1 Episode 13 "A Story About You."
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Episode 2 "Glow Cloud"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Episode 7 "History Week"
  14. 14.0 14.1 Episode 83 "One Normal Town"
  15. Episode 27 "First Date"
  16. 16.0 16.1 Live show "The Librarian"
  17. Episode 161 "The Space Race"
  18. Episode 96 "Negotiations"
  19. Episode 176 "The Autumn Specter"
  20. Episode 69 "Fashion Week"
  21. Episode 155 "The Heist, Part 3"
  22. Episode 160 "The Weather"
  23. Episode 75 "Through the Narrow Place"
  24. Episode 72 "Well of Night"
  25. 25.0 25.1 Episode 159 "Cat Show"
  26. Episode 113 "Niecelet"
  27. Episode 81 "After 3327"
  28. Episode 71 "A Stranger"
  29. Episode 121 "A Story of Love and Horror, Part 1: “Barks”"
  30. Episode 79 "Lost in the Mail"
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 Episode 11 "Wheat & Wheat By-Products"
  32. Episode 101 "Guidelines for Disposal"
  33. 33.0 33.1 Episode 12 "The Candidate"
  34. Episode 17 "Valentine"
  35. Live show "The Investigators"
  36. Episode 147 "The Protester"
  37. Episode 177 "Bloody Laws, Bloody Claws: The Murder of Frank Chen"
  38. 38.0 38.1 Episode 19A "The Sandstorm (Part A)"
  39. Episode 9 ""PYRAMID""
  40. Episode 43 "Visitor"
  41. Episode 21 "A Memory of Europe"
  42. 42.0 42.1 Episode 15 "Street Cleaning Day"
  43. Episode 14 "The Man in the Tan Jacket"
  44. Episode 3 "Station Management"
  45. Episode 149 "The General"
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