Mallory Sees the Static Snow

There’s No Such Thing As Gideon Gale, Pt.2 — Thorson's investigation escalates when he learns that Gideon Gale's "reports" appear to have some kind of sinister effect on the people who view them.

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Nov 20, 2025

Welcome to my latest serial, There’s No Such Thing as Gideon Gale, where bereft Midwesterner Calder Thorson investigates an impossible phenomenon overtaking the airwaves in his small town. —

Charismatic feature reporter Gideon Gale is a recent addition at KZMT Local. So why does everyone in Russet Lakes remember watching him as long as they’ve been alive? Well—maybe not everyone. For a select few, Gale’s reports appear only as static snow on the television. But something is interviewing these people, and Thorson intends to find out what it wants, before the whole town—and possibly the world beyond—falls under Gideon Gale’s spell.

← Start from the beginning

a brick building with a small window at night — Photo by Isaac Mitchell on Unsplash

The following collection of letters from Mallory White, a retired resident of Russet Lakes, to Robert Tailor, the General Manager of KZMT Local. Apart from Tailor, the older woman appears to be the only other person who cannot perceive Gideon Gale.

After talking with Robert Tailor, he was nice enough to give me copies of the letters he received from Mrs. White, along with his best recollections of what he wrote back to the woman.

Mrs. White is a sweet lady, lived in the RL her whole life, and spent most of it watching KZMT Local. I haven’t been able to get a hold of her yet, but I’m still trying. Meantime, I’ve gone and typed up the letters so you can read them too, minus the personal details.

To whom it may concern,
I have been watching KZMT Local since I was a little girl, and it makes me sad to see such a serious slip in the quality of your broadcasts. During yesterday’s evening news, your broadcast cut out to static for several minutes. Evidently I missed some kind of charming feature report from a gentleman named Gideon Gale. Normally, I am not the kind of person to make such a fuss, but this was the third day in a row this has happened.
My son came by to take a look at my television, and he told me there’s nothing wrong with it. I even called the cable company, and a lovely young man explained my account and signal should be working properly. He assured me the problem has to be with the broadcast, not my television.
Would you please take a look at your signal before I miss any more of your stories?
Sincerely,
Mallory White

Letter 2 (Summarized)

In his first response to Mallory White, Robert Tailor tells me he was brief, professional, apologetic, and probing. He claimed there had been some kind of internal maintenance change around the same time Gale began working at the station, and wondered if this was the source of Mrs. White’s signal issue. He asked outright if she had seen any of Gale’s other stories.

Tailor tells me that his aim here was trying to figure out whether she was experiencing the same phenomenon he was, and if so, had it started at the same time.

He ended by promising to get to the bottom of the issue, and to remain in correspondence until they could reach a solution.

Letter 3 (Verbatim)

Mr. Tailor,
Thank you for your timely response to my letter. I’ve found most young people have forgotten the art of writing a good letter, wouldn’t you agree?
As to your question: no, I have never seen a story segment featuring Mr. Gale in any of your news programs. However, he has become quite the topic of conversation around here these past several weeks.
Just the other day, I went to Central Market with my dear friend Doris. She is about my age, but through a bit of good genetics and luck I suppose, she has managed to keep her hearing. She was telling me about a fascinating news report Mr. Gale did about a gifted local ventriloquist. Of course, that sort of skill is beyond my appreciation. But Doris assured me it was quite something to behold.
While we conversed, the boy at the meat counter chimed in to say that he had seen the piece too, and was equally impressed. I didn’t think this new generation cared much for local TV news, but this young gentleman assured me—through Doris—he’d never missed so much as a single report from Mr. Gale, except on holidays when he traveled to see family. That confused me, because I would wager I have watched KZMT Local longer than that boy’s been alive. In all that time, I have never heard of Mr. Gale. I told him as much, again with Doris interpreting for me, but he assured me that Mr. Gale had been a regular staple in your station’s programming as far back as he could remember.
To my shock, Doris agreed with him. She told me she had memories of Gideon Gale back when her family first got a television. I told her she must be mistaken; by conservative estimate, that would put your Mr. Gale somewhere in his late eighties. Only a handful of my friends have reached that age, and they are barely ambulatory. They certainly are not running around with a camera.
At this point, a bit of a line had formed behind us at the meat counter. Normally young people in a queue can get a bit impatient, but this group seemed quite eager to gather and discuss Mr. Gale. According to Doris, every single one of them agreed that Mr. Gale had been a staple part of our community for as long as they have.
I grew ever more curious, and so I had Doris ask them what they thought Mr. Gale looked like. They all seem aghast that I had never seen one of his specials, informing me that I simply must. I explained that I had been trying to watch, but could not due to the signal issue that you have been trying to resolve for me, Mr. Tailor. They seemed greatly distressed by this, but relented once I accepted an invitation to watch the news at Doris’s house this coming Friday.
Curiously, none of them could agree on the specifics of Mr. Gale’s description. All vaguely described him as a stately, silver-haired gentleman who looks to be in his fifties. His voice was the one thing they could all agree on: rich, friendly, and commanding.
After all of this, I thought Doris might be having a bit of fun with me, but I know her well enough that she’d never fib when interpreting.
To be honest, Mr. Tailor, I am no longer sure I want your signal to be fixed. The whole experience has left me rather shaken up. Has Mr. Gale really been on your air for decades? I cannot imagine this could have escaped my knowledge for so long, given the fervency of his fans. I shall know for sure after this Friday.
Thank you again for your time.
Sincerely,
Mallory White

Letter 4 (Summarized)

Tailor told me he sent his second reply to Mrs. White via priority mail in an attempt to reach her before she went to watch the program.

In his letter, Tailor recalls candidly telling Mrs. White that there is no signal issue, and that he cannot perceive Gideon Gale’s reporting either. He explained what he told me during our interview: that even when viewed in broadcast control–which shows the feed exactly as it goes out to everyone’s television–he sees only static.

Furthermore, Tailor wrote to Mrs. White that video tapes of the segments in question also appear to him as static snow on other televisions when played back on VCR, but that all other observers can perceive the Gale reports just fine.

Next, Tailor explained that he had also taken notice of Gale’s growing fan base of self-identifying life-long viewers, which is seemingly at odds with the latest Nielsen ratings numbers. Tailor describes an upward hockey stick in viewership since the night he and Mallory White first observed the static. Logically inclined readers might have already spotted the problem here: the entire community cannot have been lifelong fans of this man’s work, if they only started watching in the last few weeks.

Finally, Tailor repeated his advice that Mrs. White keeps her head down and pretends that she too is a fan of Gideon Gale, until they can figure out what is happening.

Letter 5 (Verbatim)

Mr. Tailor,
Your advice arrived too late for me, despite your every effort. Doris called me shortly after my previous letter, anxiously asking that I come to watch Mr. Gale’s piece on Thursday, rather than Friday as previously agreed. She explained that in his most recent on-air appearance, Mr. Gale had promised to do a follow-up report that I simply couldn’t miss.
Immediately, it became apparent that the problem was not merely confined to my home. Doris’s television began blasting the same static, and though she was kind enough to put the subtitles on for me, they gave no indication of what might have been playing out in this elusive report.
More concerning still: Doris appeared completely captivated by the report for its duration–and unnaturally so. Her eyes appeared glassy, and she seemed to be looking beyond the static of the screen, if that makes sense. I do not think she blinked once until it was over. That was when she turned to me, and asked what I thought.
By this point, I was sure something unnatural had taken place. My feeling was the same as yours: that I should pretend to have seen the piece. I told Doris I thought it was delightful. She smiled at first, but pressed me for details, growing increasingly irritable as she realized I had been lying. Doris quickly went from irritable to irate, screaming at me and demanding to know why I had not paid proper attention. I tried to explain, once again, that I saw only static. But she would have none of it.
I had to excuse myself. When I did, she followed me the whole way out to the car, yelling the most unkind accusations. Doris said that I was jealous that I had grown old to be boring, without learning or mastering anything worth a feature by Mr. Gale.
I am still shaking as I write this. How could Doris, a lifelong friend of mine, do such a thing?
I may have to wait until my son’s next visit to mail you this reply, as I have lost my usual interpreter. I normally would just slip my reply in the mailbox and think no more of it. I am no longer sure that is wise. I have spied Doris’s car circling the block a few times, at inconsistent hours and days. I do not believe she wishes me harm, but to continue accosting me about my inability to see the news reports.
The others are another story. Perhaps I have grown paranoid after the incident with my old friend, but my neighborhood seems much more well trafficked than normal. I live on a rather out-of-the-way side street. I usually only see my neighbor Greg, walking his energetic little Collie. But as of late, I see all manner of people out for walks. They seem very ordinary, very normal. But I cannot help but feel they give my home a few too many casual glances.
While I am still not sure why you and I appear to be the only two who cannot perceive Mr. Gale’s news segments, I am beginning to believe this is a blessing. I have no idea what came over poor Doris, but I do not want the same to happen to me.
In the interest of safety, I wonder if you could write me back and furnish me with a few topics or memorable segments that Mr. Gale has put to broadcast? That way, I have something to discuss if confronted again. I am hoping this will be enough to feign knowledge, and draw away this unwanted attention.
Sincerely,
Mallory White

Letter 6 (Summarized)

Under the pretense of gathering Gideon Gale stories to submit for awards, Tailor asked around the station and came up with a list of half a dozen memorable stories. He described them in detail in his reply.

Tailor also expressed concern about the people apparently watching the woman’s home. He suggested that it was safest for the time being to break off contact.

Mrs. White has not replied in the weeks since Tailor’s third and final letter. She remains the only person to contact the station about the static.

Based on the reaction that Mrs. White described, and the behavior I have observed in my neighbors, I assumed that there would be an abundance of fan mail sent to the station. But according to Tailor, if viewers are trying to get in touch with the reporter, they aren’t sending their letters to KZMT Local.

I asked Tailor for the tapes of those award-winning Gideon Gale segments he mentioned in our interview. He was happy to provide them, but didn’t seem convinced I would find any clues there. I admit: I’m a little nervous to watch. I’ve done my best to avoid watching any of Gale’s stories. After hearing what happened to Doris, I’m actually outright scared about what I could see.

There’s no chance of shying away now, though. If I have any chance of figuring out what this Gale-thing did to my brother, it’s in those tapes. Pray I don’t end up like him, or like our neighbors.

Thank You for Reading

If you have any insight into the Gale investigation, please consider sharing in the comment section. Again, this is an ongoing process, and I will do my best to respond to your comments.

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