Our 2023 ghost story for Christmas continues with part 3 of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Viy”.

Good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories), has once again organised a suitably eerie performance on our Discord server. He is joined by guest readers Dom Allen, John Casey, Scott Dorward, Sarah Dovey, Rina Haenze and Sue Savage.

We have broken the story up into four parts. Our plan is to release them all as bonus episodes in the run-up to Christmas. You can download part 1 and part 2 here.

If you would like to listen to the final part live, you can hear it on our Discord server. We will be reading at 22:30 GMT on the Friday the 23rd of December.

So light some candles, mutter a protective prayer, and duck before that coffin smacks you in the head!

The Viy by Nikolai Gogol

Shchedryk” (Carol of the Bells), performed by the choir “Solomiya”, is used here under a Creative Commons Attribution Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Licence.

If you would like to read along at home, you can find “The Viy” on The Literature Network.

There is also a fantastic film adaptation of “The Viy” available on YouTube.

You can also read Scott’s review of the film, from his 2013 October Horror Movie Challenge, on this very server.

And if all this has put you in the mood for Christmas ghost stories, please check out our previous readings:

The Viy part 2

Our 2023 ghost story for Christmas continues with part 2 of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Viy”.

Good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories), has once again organised a suitably eerie performance on our Discord server. He is joined by guest readers Dom Allen, John Casey, Scott Dorward, Sarah Dovey, Rina Haenze and Sue Savage.

We have broken the story up into four parts. Our plan is to release them all as bonus episodes in the run-up to Christmas. You can download part 1 here.

If you would like to listen to the remaining parts live, you can hear them on our Discord server. We will be reading at 22:30 GMT on the following evenings:

  • Part 3 – 20th December
  • Part 4 – 23rd December

So grab a fortifying drink, kiss the nearest Cossack, and get ready to be reunited with old friends!

The Viy by Nikolai Gogol

Shchedryk” (Carol of the Bells), performed by the choir “Solomiya”, is used here under a Creative Commons Attribution Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Licence.

If you would like to read along at home, you can find “The Viy” on The Literature Network.

There is also a fantastic film adaptation of “The Viy” available on YouTube.

You can also read Scott’s review of the film, from his 2013 October Horror Movie Challenge, on this very server.

And if all this has put you in the mood for Christmas ghost stories, please check out our previous readings:

We are delighted to offer you another ghost story for Christmas. Good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories), has once again organised a suitably eerie performance on our Discord server. He is joined by guest readers Dom Allen, John Casey, Scott Dorward, Sarah Dovey, Rina Haenze and Sue Savage.

This time, it’s the turn of Nikolai Gogol’s “The Viy”. While this tale of witchcraft, the unquiet dead, and the king of the gnomes may not seem like a classic Christmas ghost story, it has more than enough chills and evil spirits to fit the bill. It’s also very funny in places.

We have broken the story up into four parts. Our plan is to release them all as bonus episodes in the run-up to Christmas. If you would like to listen to the remaining parts live, you can hear them on our Discord server. We will be reading at 22:30 GMT on the following evenings:

  • Part 2 – 16th December
  • Part 3 – 20th December
  • Part 4 – 23rd December

So grab a nice, greasy sausage, say your prayers, and prepare for the ride of a lifetime!

The Viy by Nikolai Gogol

Shchedryk” (Carol of the Bells), performed by the choir “Solomiya”, is used here under a Creative Commons Attribution Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Licence.

If you would like to read along at home, you can find “The Viy” on The Literature Network.

There is also a fantastic film adaptation of “The Viy” available on YouTube.

You can also read Scott’s review of the film, from his 2013 October Horror Movie Challenge, on this very server.

And if all this has put you in the mood for Christmas ghost stories, please check out our previous readings:

We’re back and we’re catching up with our reading. Until recently, we thought we’d seen the most sanity-blasting fanfic the internet could offer. Between terrible prose, wooden characters, and unacceptable levels of horniness, bad fanfic can eat your brain quicker than a hungry ghoul. But this twelfth volume of The Revelations of Gla’aki is in a league of its own. We’re used to Mary-Sue protagonists taking over the narrative, but this Y’golonac character keeps threatening to take over the reader. It’s irritating, but probably not worth losing our heads over.

Main Topic: Y’golonac and The Revelations of Gla’aki

This episode is our latest exploration of the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. We have devoted previous episodes to Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Azathoth, Nodens, Ubbo-Sathla and Mordiggian, Ithaqua, and Cthulhu. This time, we’re returning to Ramsey Campbell, following our earlier discussions of his creations, Daoloth and Eihort, and Gla’aki.

Specifically, it’s the turn of everyone’s favourite headless monstrosity — Y’golonac! As disturbing as Y’golonac’s appearance is, his recruitment techniques are far worse. We spend some time discussing how we might use Y’golonac in our games and how we might avoid crossing any personal lines in doing so.

At the same time, this is also a follow-up to last episode’s exploration of Gla’aki, perusing the tome which connects him to Y’golonac — The Revelations of Gla’aki. This unusual book is almost a character in its own right, stretching the definition of a living document.

And do hang around after the credits for a bonus from our good friends at the HP Lovecraft Historical Society.

Y’golonac

Things we mention in this episode include:

Cold Print cover

News

Scott on Blood Moon Rising

Scott recently made a guest appearance on the Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle, Blood Moon Rising, run by our good friend Rina Haenze for The Old Ways Podcast. This is the first of a handful of appearances, with Scott giving voice to William Mallet, a scheming Camarilla elder sent to bring order to San Francisco. Expect bastardry.

William “The Hammer” Mallet

Scott on Pretending to be People

And if that weren’t enough, Scott has also been playing an NPC on Pretending to be People. Our good friends Joe and Zach decided that Scott was the natural choice to play Beck Wilder’s mother, Kim. So he did. Kim’s first appearance is in the season two episode, “Printing Press”.

Pretending to be People

We’re back and we’re holidaying at Deepfall Water in sunny Gloucestershire. The area may be a bit rundown but you can’t argue with these prices. Buying a house here cost us less than a week in Benidorm, and it even came with a free library in the cellar! Our estate agent is a chatty sort, full of lively local folklore. He reassures that that every rural area has tales about dead cities arriving on the back of a comet. Apparently, we have neighbours, although we never see them out and about in the daytime. Must be gamers. One of them, Gla’aki, is supposed to be a prickly sort but we’re sure that meeting him with prove revelatory.

Main Topic: Gla’aki

This episode is our latest exploration into the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. We have devoted previous episodes to Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, Azathoth, Nodens, Ubbo-Sathla and Mordiggian, Ithaqua, and Cthulhu. This time, we’re returning to Ramsey Campbell, following our earlier discussion of his creations, Daoloth and Eihort.

While Gla’aki has only appeared in a handful of Call of Cthulhu publications, he has made quite an impact, and not just on the Brichester area. He’s an interesting example of how Mythos deities can change over time. While we’ve seen other deities evolve in the hands of multiple writers, Gla’aki represents one of the largest revisions by its original author.

Gla’aki in all his spiny glory

Things we mention in this episode include:

The Inhabitant of the Lake and Less Welcome Tenants by Ramsey Campbell
The Last Revelation of Gla'aki by Ramsey Campbell

News

ENnie Nominations

The shortlists for the 2022 ENnie Awards have been announced and a number of good friends of the podcast are in the running. Ain’t Slayed Nobody is up for Best Podcast, to no one’s surprise. Chris Lackey and Mike Mason’s Cults of Cthulhu, which we discussed recently, is listed for Best Supplement. The HP Lovecraft Historical Society’s Call of Cthulhu Classic Prop Set has a well-deserved shot at Best Aid/Accessory – Non-Digital. And TYPE40’s Call of Cthulhu 3D Digital Gamer Props – Masks of Nyarlathotep has been nominated for Best Aid/Accessory – Digital.

Please be generous with your votes!

Scott on Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection

Oliver Brackenbury, host of the Unknown Worlds of the Merril Collection podcast, recently interviewed Scott to discuss the evolution of the Cthulhu Mythos beyond Lovecraft. The episode is scheduled for release on the 25th of July.

Dockside Dogs now in print

Paul’s Reservoir Dogs-inspired Call of Cthulhu scenario Dockside Dogs is now available in print-on-demand form from DriveThruRPG. Just tell them Mr Puce sent you.

Dockside Dogs cover