Gothic Horror

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We’re back and we’re skulking around the old ruined abbey. Sure, the place is lousy with ghosts, but they’re not really that important. We’re far more concerned with the weather. If reading Gothic horror has taught us anything, it’s that storms are caused by our own inner turmoil. Or is that the other way around? Maybe we could figure it out if all these bloody ghosts would just shut up. Why won’t the past just stay dead?

Main Topic: Gothic Horror

This episode is our attempt to understand what exactly Gothic horror is. We’ve often mentioned how Lovecraft’s early work was rooted in the Gothic, but we’ve never really explained what that means. Gothic horror is one of those genres that you know when you see it, but actually defining it can be tricky.

Happily, Matt has a degree in English, and part of his studies involved the history of Gothic literature. We imposed upon him to dig out some of his dusty old texts and explain what elements go into Gothic horror and how the genre stands apart from other forms of horror literature.

Things we mention in this episode include:

mill of the stone women poster

News

Illusion Horror Con Seminars

Matt and Scott recently attended the Illusion Horror Con, taking part in seminars discussing horror GMing techniques, how to take inspiration from horror media, and the cosmology of the Kult RPG. All of these are now available for your streaming pleasure.

Paul’s Substack

Paul has started his own substack over at paulfricker.com, talking about the various projects he has on the go.

Rivers of London Launch at Dragonmeet

Paul attended Dragonmeet last month to promote the new Rivers of London RPG. He took part in a seminar on the topic, alongside Lynne Hardy and Ben Aaronovitch. While this was apparently recorded, it has yet to appear on YouTube. We shall update the show notes should this change.

The PDF of Rivers of London is out now, with printed copies due in the spring.

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The Viy – part 4

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Our 2023 ghost story for Christmas concludes with part 4 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. Part 1, part 2 and part 3 are also available for download.

So fortify yourself with some brandy, listen for the cock crowing, and, whatever you do, don’t look into the Viy’s eyes!

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:

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The Viy – part 3

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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:

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Making Call of Cthulhu Weird

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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?

Things we mention in this episode include:

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.

The Blasphemous Tome issue 10

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The Viy – part 2

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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:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | More

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