
We’re back and we’re getting on a bit. Turning 250 is a sobering milestone. Worse, we seem to be getting a bit peculiar in our dotage. Or maybe it’s just the world around us that’s getting stranger. Either way, this gives us an excuse to ramble on about weird things. So we have.
Main Topic: Making Call of Cthulhu Weird
Given that this is our 250th episode, we thought we’d tackle a big topic. While Call of Cthulhu is primarily known as a horror RPG, the Mythos is so much more than simple scares. Its mixture of science fiction, fantasy and horror reflects its origins in weird fiction. But what does that actually mean? And, more importantly, how can we make our games weirder?
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- Weird fiction
- Weird Tales
- The Weird, edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer
- The New Weird, edited by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer
- “The Outsider” by HP Lovecraft
- The Sunset Warrior by Eric Van Lustbader
- Twin Peaks
- Clark Ashton Smith
- Robert E Howard
- The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by HP Lovecraft
- Yellow Submarine (1968)
- Over the Edge
- “The Seven Geases” by Clark Ashton Smith
- Lord Dunsany
- A Dreamer’s Tales by Lord Dunsany
- The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
- Deliria
- “The Shadow Out of Time” by HP Lovecraft
- “The Whisperer in Darkness” by HP Lovecraft
- “Dockside Dogs”
- “Gatsby and the Great Race”
- Lost Highway (1997)
- “A Saturnine Chalice” from Dead Light and Other Dark Turns
- Unknown Armies
- “The Hospice” by Robert Aickman
- Jonathan Carroll
- Magical realism
- Jorge Luis Borges
- Flotsam and Jetsam on How We Roll
- Brian Courtemanche
- The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch
- Wild Palms
- The Prisoner
- The Twilight Zone
- Illuminatus! by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
- House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
- William S Burroughs
- QAnon
- David Icke
- Conspiracy theories
- The X-Files
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
- Dagon (2001)
- Stuart Gordon
- Delta Green: Countdown
- Carcosa
- Metropolis Sourcebook
- Kult
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
News
Season’s Greetings!
December is a time for celebration around the world, and we are well into the Christmas season here in the UK. But that’s not the only thing we’re celebrating. As we’ve mentioned, this is our 250th episode! Well, 250th standard episode. By the time you include all the specials and backer-only releases, it’s more like 300. Blimey!
Scott in Trebuchet Magazine
Scott has written another article for Trebuchet Magazine. This is a short piece about his experiences with aphantasia and how it has shaped his imagination. It appears in issue 12, subtitled “Realities”. As ever, the article (and the whole magazine, of course!) is beautifully laid-out and accompanied by evocative art.
If you fancy picking up a copy, our good friends at Trebuchet have provided a 20% discount for our listeners. Just enter the code “dorwardagainstmine” when checking out.
Getting Creative With Cthulhu
Paul appeared on a panel with Mike Mason and Heinrich Moore at the recent Miskatonic Repository Convention. The topic was “Getting Creative With Cthulhu” and you can find a recording of it below.
The Blasphemous Tome issue 10
This is your last chance to get a signed copy of issue 10 of The Blasphemous Tome. While the PDF of this issue will continue to be available for download from Patreon, this is your only opportunity to get a physical copy signed by all three of the Good Friends.
Anyone backing us at the $5 level before the end of December 2022 will receive a signed, printed copy, delivered into your hands through eldritch means. Or the post. See either our Patreon page or the post about The Blasphemous Tome on this very website for further details.
The Blasphemous Tome is a Call of Cthulhu fanzine licensed by Chaosium, and issue 10 includes a full-length scenario from our very own Matt Sanderson.
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