Soup Night originally started as my submission to the #MastoScaryStories competition in October 2022 on the Fediverse. I ended up writing a silly poem about a fellow who's trying to fix soup for supper & all the monsters who get drawn in by the smell & come asking to join in. It was fun, and I got second place!!
In 2023 and 2024 I worked on arranging the poem/story into a song. I played it at a couple of shows & then in September I started working on recording it. We had a backyard show in the middle of October, and we decided to incorporate a "Soup Night" element into that & film a music video.
We set up a crafting table & invited guests to craft monster masks for themselves. I recruited a couple friends & family memebers to be key characters, and we hustled through filming (while also trying to prepare soup and set up for the show--it got a lil' hectic!). At the show my sister Kat did some stand-up, we had a solo set by Brad from Eggs on Mars, and then I played a solo set myself (including "Soup Night", of course!).
It was a Friday night with a chill in the air,
And for supper I was hungering for something new.
I found an old cook book down under the stairs,
And scribbled in the back was a secret, Secret Soup.
I'd seen it once before, back when I was a kid.
It was my Grandpa's special recipe.
I asked about it once, and this is all he said:
"If you're gonna cook the Soup, just leave your whole evening free."
For a soup night!
Sooouup night!
When the steam starts bubbling from out of the pot
When the bread is warm and the soup is hot
It's a soup night!
Sooouup night!
It called for spinach, brussels sprouts, and kale for starts,
Then cabbage heads, corn ears, and artichoke hearts.
There were onions, garlic, chives, and leeks.
There were three types of lentil and five types of bean.
Summer squash, pumpkin squash, acorn, and gourd,
And more kinds of spice than I could really afford.
There were carrots, parsnips, and various roots,
Potatoes, tomatoes, and even some fruits!
So I made my list and I gathered it up.
I went to six different grocery stores to find this stuff!
Then I laid it all out and gave it a chop,
Poured five kinds of broth in my biggest soup pot,
Then I threw it all in and I turned on the heat,
And a powerful stink rose up over me!
I said, "Whoo-ee, Grandpa! Hope I'm doing this right..."
But I refused to give up on my first soup night.
So I stuffed my nose down into my shirt,
And I watched the soup bubble, and I gave it a stir.
The house was smelling like the End had come,
But after 45 minutes the soup was done!
It was a soup night!
Sooouup night!
The steam was bubbling from out of the pot
The bread is warm and the soup is hot
It was a soup night!
Sooouup night!
Before I even sat down came a knock on the door--
There was a dead man standing on my own front porch!
With a skeletal smile and a gutteral moan,
He said, "That soup smells delicious, could I maybe have some?"
Well, Grandpa taught me, "Never turn a guest away,"
But the next one showed up on eight furry legs
And started clicking at me from it's pincerous mouth,
Saying, "I smell something wonderful coming from this house..."
So I gave them a nod, and I opened the door.
"I'll pour you each a bowl--we've got plenty more!"
It's a soup night!
Sooouup night.
Yeah the steam is bubbling from out of the pot,
The bread is warm, and the soup is hot!
It's a soup night!
Sooouup night!
When I got back in the kitchen, nearly shrieked in surprise:
There was a demon manifesting before my own two eyes!
It leapt from the steam clean over the stove
Yellin, "Aah Ooh Eee! I think I burned my toe!"
I barely had time to get the first aid kit
Before two slime creatures and a ghost slipped in.
And after that we had so many guests coming through
I had to ask the werewolf to start serving the soup!
At the soup night!
Sooouup night!
There were bugbears, hobgoblins, spirits, and sprites.
There were shadow monsters, boogeypeople, and bumps-in-the-night.
They were slitherin' and scurryin' and shufflin' in.
They were crawling through the windows and up from the vents.
I saw skeletons, banshees, phantoms, and ghouls.
I had to tell a poltergeist to quit bending my spoons!
At the soup night!
Sooouup night!
There were jackalopes, hell-hounds, and skeletal elk.
There was a raven on my mantle and faeries on my shelves.
In the shadows lurked a figure with a luminous grin,
And I accidentally let a couple vampires in.
There were gargoyles, moth-people perched on the roof--
Yeah, everybody came to try my Grandpa's soup!
At the soup night!
Sooouup night!
Yeah the steam was bubbling from out of the pot
The bread was warm and the soup was hot
At the soup night!
Sooouup night!
Well, they were slurping and chattering and having a ball.
They were sitting on the floor and standing on the wall!
I'd never seen so many creatures in my little old house.
(And it was well past midnight before they finally cleared out.)
When everything was finished, there was one bowl left,
And I realized I hadn't even had mine yet!
So I plopped down at the table,
And I heaved a mighty sigh,
And I dipped in my last hunk of bread
And cautiously took a bite...
It was savory and spicy,
A terror and a delight,
And I finally had my supper
On my first soup night....
Adapted from "Soup Night", written by Nash for the Mastodon Scary Stories Contest, October 2022.
Directed by the High Siblings, Kat & Nash.
Music written & performed by Nash.
Filmed at the "Soup Night" backyard concert, hosted by Mom & Dad High.
CAST
SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to Mom, Dad, Super Grandpa & Grandma, and Anna for all their help with hosting (and preparing the soup).
And thanks to everyone who attended our Soup Night!
Souuup night!