We’re back and we’re putting on our thermal underwear, ready for a long journey south. Sure, we’ve timed our trip for the summer, but it still gets a little nippy down there. We’re not inured to the cold like all those rugged New Englanders. Still, we’re looking forward to our little trip of the Mountains of Madness. We’re just hoping the locals will be as friendly as we’ve heard.
Main Topic: At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness is one of Lovecraft’s longest works and one of the most important to the development of the Mythos. It tells an epic tale of an ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic and their encounter with forgotten horrors from the distant past. Plus penguins. Lots of penguins.
As ever, we drill deep into the story in search of inspiration for our Call of Cthulhu games. This is surprisingly tricky in the early parts of the story, as Lovecraft is more concerned with explaining the technicalities of the expedition than developing the story. Still, this can be good inspiration for some games, especially if they involve detailed explorations of geology. That’s what horror is all about!
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- Amundsen expedition
- Scott expedition
- Beyond the Mountains of Madness
- HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast discussion of At the Mountains of Madness
- “Who Goes There?” by John W Campbell
- Frozen Hell by John W Campbell
- Nicholas Roerich
- The Roerich Museum
- The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
- Pemmican
- Ranulph Fiennes
- Kendal mint cake
- Tablet
- White pudding
- The House of R’lyeh
News
The Blasphemous Tome issue 5
We have started work on issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome. This is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. Once again, this issue will feature a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, along with plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork. If you have any short pieces of prose (no more than 500 words) or black-and-white art you would to submit, please send it our way!
Necronomicon 2019
This was the first episode we recorded since returning from Necronomicon 2019, so we offer a short overview of what we got up to there. Roll on 2021!
Other Stuff
Songs
The winds that blow through those frozen Antarctic peaks are filled with strange, piping sounds that inspire unease. Our songs are filled with gratitude to new $5 Patreon backers. They still inspire unease, however.
Reviews
Once again, we have a lovely new review to share, this time from JR Wilkinson in Australia. If you feel inspired to write a review of your own — whether on Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you might find podcasts — we would be delighted!
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I am looking forward to hearing what Scott has to say about Alan Moore’s references to this story in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Nemo’s tale, I think)