We’re back and we’re scaring ourselves. Sure, we do all the normal stuff like jumping at shadows, gasping at loud noises, and cowering under the bedclothes when thunderstorms shake our windows, but the really frightening stuff is inside us. Worse still is what that might make us do to each other. Maybe we can cut all the bad thoughts out if we could only find a sharp enough knife.

Main Topic: We Are the Horror

Most tabletop horror games revolve around the struggle between the player characters and one or more external antagonists. The concept of a “Big Bad Evil Guy” is at the heart of most of our gaming experiences. But what happens when we take all that away? How might games work when the horror comes from the interactions between the PCs? And what are some of the possible pitfalls of this approach?

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome Ericka Skirpan back as our guest host for this episode! Ericka is a LARP creator, consultant, and facilitator. She writes extensively about LARPs at The Space Between Stories. Currently, Ericka is working with Mooney Bin Entertainment on LARPs such as “Conscience” and “Dresden Files 1923”.

You can find Ericka’s article “LARPing Made me a Stronger Person” in Scientific American. She has also written for 7th Sea, Vampire: The Requiem, and Changeling: The Dreaming.

News

Matt at Dragonmeet

Dragonmeet will take place in London on the 29th of November this year, and Matt will be attending as a regular punter. Do say hi if you spot him, but please observe our strict catch-and-release policy!

Christmas Ghost Story Reading

Our good friend Mike Perceval-Maxwell of Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories is once again organising our annual Christmas ghost story reading. This year, we will be presenting “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen, with an exciting cast of guest readers.

The readings will take place on The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord server over four nights, between the 15th and 18th of December inclusive. Each reading will start at 22:30 GMT and last for 30-40 minutes.

As per previous years, we plan to record these readings and release them on the Good Friends’ podcast feed. You can find our previous Christmas ghost stories below.

“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
“The Canterville Ghost” by Oscar Wilde
“The Viy” by Nikolai Gogol
“Told After Supper” by Jerome K Jerome
“The Searcher of the End House” and “The Horse of the Invisible” by William Hope Hodgson

Matt and Scott at Illusion Con

Matt and Scott will be on various panels at this year’s Illusion Horror Con over the weekend of the 5th-7th of December. We are still finalising details, but you should be able to find them at the convention website.

Blasphemous Tome Issue 14

Issue 14 of The Blasphemous Tome will be going out in early January of 2026. This bumper issue includes two new scenarios by Matt and Scott, presenting loose conceptual sequels to “A Social Responsibility” and “Blackwater Creek”.

Anyone backing us at the $5 level or higher at the end of December will receive a print copy of the Tome, signed by our own gnarled hands. Backers at the $3 level will receive a voucher for a heavily discounted print-on-demand copy, and every backer will receive the PDF.