Category: Horror Stories

We’re back and we’re waking up. It’s been a long old kip, but not that refreshing really. Dreams of being chased by hunting horrors aren’t as restful as we might like. On the bright side, we’ve awoken to a world as wonderous as any dream. Admittedly, that may be more the paucity of our dreams than any praise of the waking world. Who would have thought that our dream city was Milton Keynes all along?

Main Topic: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath part 5

This is the conclusion of our multi-episode exploration of Lovecraft’s novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. In our earlier episodes (part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4), we looked at the story’s origins and followed Randolph Carter’s increasingly odd adventures in search of his dream city. Now, we’re journeying into Kadath itself, accompanying Carter to, we hope, the fruitful conclusion of his quest.

As ever, we pick the story apart, looking for Call of Cthulhu inspiration. In particular, we spend some time wondering how mountains can tiptoe so daintily. Maybe that extra head helps with coordination.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• Plateau of Leng
• Night-gaunts
• At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft
• Shantaks
• Nyarlathotep
• Pschent
• Men of Leng
• “The Call of Cthulhu” by HP Lovecraft
• The One Ring
• Powered by the Apocalypse

• Randolph Carter
• Howard Carter
• Tutankhamen
• “Nyarlathotep” by HP Lovecraft
• “The Statement of Randolph Carter” by HP Lovecraft
• King Kuranes
• Vega
• Azathoth
• Frankie Howerd

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Nodens
• Hunting Horrors
• “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
• “Fungi From Yuggoth” by HP Lovecraft
• Lengian spiders
• “The Other Gods” by HP Lovecraft
• Celephaïs
• Dylath-Leen
• The Enchanted Wood

• Ulthar
• “The Cats of Ulthar” by HP Lovecraft
• Sarkomand
• HP Lovecraft’s Dreamlands
• “The Colour Out of Space” by HP Lovecraft
• “Pickman’s Model” by HP Lovecraft
• Ain’t Slayed Nobody

News

Issue 9 of The Blasphemous Tome

We are now a month away from the release of issue 9 of The Blasphemous Tome. This is the semi-annual fanzine we create for our wonderful Patreon backers. And what is Patreon, we hear you ask? Well, we don’t actually hear you. We’re wearing noise-cancelling headphones and they tend to block out obvious rhetorical devices.

But still, Patreon is a crowdfunding platform that allows people to sponsor creative endeavours, such as the Good Friends. The generosity of our backers allows us to put a lot more time into the podcast than we could otherwise, from research to scripting to audio production, and we hope the results are worth it.

It seems the least we can do to reward such generosity with a couple of fanzines a year, as well as uncut versions of the podcast, the occasional exclusive audio release, and a few other goodies.

Paul’s unboxing video of the HPLHS prop set

Our good friends at the HP Lovecraft Historical Society have been creating wonders again. They have produced a box set of props and handouts to tie into the recent Chaosium release of remastered classic Call of Cthulhu publications from the ’80s. Paul has been lucky enough to lay hands on one of these sets and offers a brief overview of the contents.

Paul on Frankenstein’s RPG Podcast

Paul has also made a return visit to the Frankenstein’s RPG podcast. In the second series, the team are assembling the perfect science fiction RPG from the dismembered remains of other games. This episode delves into the blood and guts of initiative and combat.

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We’re back and we’re holidaying in Leng. While it’s not everyone’s first thought for a getaway, we’ve found it really quite dreamy. Leng may have had some shocking reviews on TripAdvisor, but we’re not sure where its evil reputation comes from. Sure, our stone hut is draughty and the corpse fires do little to take the edge off, but it’s not the worst Airbnb we’ve ever rented. The locals have a lively culture, with a special interest in music and the arts. Their extended crotala solos take a bit of getting used to, but the dances that accompany them are lively. We would join in except our legs bend the wrong way. The only irritating thing is how much the locals fuss about spiders. There’s nothing around here a rolled-up newspaper can’t take care of. Now, what’s with all that scuttling outside…?

Main Topic: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath part 4

This is the fourth part of our multi-episode exploration of Lovecraft’s novel, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. In our first three episodes (part 1, part 2 and part 3), we looked at the story’s origins and followed Randolph Carter’s increasingly odd adventures as he searches for his dream city. Now, we’re heading into the most action-packed part of his romp through dreamland.

As ever, we pick the story apart, looking for Call of Cthulhu inspiration. In particular, we spend some time trying to work out why Leng gets such a bad rap. Sure, it seems cold and grey, but by that measure Aberdeen should have a similarly evil reputation.

Links

Things we mention in this episode include:

• Necrotising fasciitis
• ICU delirium
• The Sopranos
• Shantaks
• Mister Ed
• Night-gaunts
• Crotala
• Leng
• Nyarlathotep
• Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Lovecraft and the Occult
• At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft
• Lengian spiders

• Sarkomand
• Diorite
• Nodens
• Moon-beasts
• Azathoth
• The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers
• HP Lovecraft’s Dreamlands
• The Private Life of Elder Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Keris McDonald and Adam Gauntlett
• Robert E Howard
• The Two-Headed Serpent
• Dog Soldiers (2002)
• From Beyond the Grave (1974)
• MK-RPG

News

Matt Returns!

The big news this episode is that Matt is well enough to record with us again! His experiences with necrotising fasciitis over the past few months have been nothing short of terrifying. Matt shares some of the less gruesome details, along with insights about what it’s like to be in a coma. All surprisingly relevant to our main topic.

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