Palimpsest Productions’ Third Annual Gothic Cabaret features an evening of Appalachian horror story and song. A live performance of a brand-new episode of the audio drama Palimpsest, a reading by Jen Julian from her new Appalachian dark fantasy novel The Winter Folk, and the haunting sounds of traditional ballad singer Eleanor Chen. Plus, terrifying cryptic-themed tea blends from Haints and Hollers Apothecary.
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Palimpsest Productions creates dark stories about dark things that won’t stay buried. Co-founded by writer Jamieson Ridenhour and actor Hayley Heninger, they specialize in audio drama and live audio experiences. Starting in 2017 with their namesake audio drama, they have since expanded into a full production company.
Over the course of five seasons and seven stand-alone episodes, Palimpsest has accrued over 1.2 million downloads, been on multiple end-of-year “best of” lists, been nominated for AudioVerse awards, and been listed as an important show in the BBC’s “State of Audio Drama” report. Critics have called Palimpsest “a masterclass in atmosphere” and “audio fiction’s best foray into the Gothic.” Their new audio drama Highgate Wood launched in May of 2026.
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Jen Julian is a Locus Award nominated author of two novels—Red Rabbit Ghost (Orbit/Run for It 2025) The Winter Folk, (Orbit/Run 2026)—and one short story collection—Earthly Delights and Other Apocalypses (Press 53 2018).
She is a 2016 Clarion alumna with an MFA in Fiction from UNC Greensboro and a PhD in English from the University of Missouri.
She and her fluffy ginger cat currently live in the mountains of North Georgia, where she teaches creative writing at Young Harris College and acts as fiction editor for storySouth. She is currently working on her fourth book, an apocalyptic sequel to The Winter Folk.
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Eleanor grew up in Silicon Valley, California, but her family started visiting Asheville to learn old time music when she was six years old. Throughout her life, she blended her training in classical choir and contemporary vocal technique with her extensive folk music education. She is a clawhammer banjo player, a flatfoot dancer, and a singer of Southern Appalachian ballads.
Mentored by seventh-generation ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams, Eleanor is honored to carry on the tradition of singing acapella love and murder stories. She is passionate about showcasing the wisdom of the past, and the power and relevance such old songs still bring to the present day.
You can hear Eleanor's playing, dancing, and singing in her family's band, The Corn Likkers, on their album Surrounded By Troubles. You can hear her live around Asheville, NC with Andy Ferrell in their old time duo, Leather Britches, and monthly at the Old Marshall Jail with Sheila's ballad community, the Nest of Singing Birds.
