Victorian Spiritualism part 1

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We’re back and we’re rapping. While we’re sure we could come up with some killer rhymes, we’re letting our toes do the talking today. There’s no reason why messages from beyond can’t come with a sick beat, and creaky toes are the body’s other beatbox. Victorian Spiritualism is proving much funkier than we ever suspected.

Main Topic: Victorian Spiritualism part 1

This is the first of our two-part look at the origins and evolution of Spiritualism in the gaslight era. We look at how Spiritualism grew out of Mesmerism, how it became a religion, some of the strange phenomena that mediums produced at the behest of the spirits. This will continue in the next episode, when we examine some of the key figures of the Victorian Spiritualism movement and how many of them were exposed as frauds.

Yes, frauds. It shouldn’t be controversial to talk about how Spiritualism is rooted in lies, but its growth into a religion might make this a touchy subject. As ever, we don’t aim to denigrate people’s deeply held beliefs, but we can’t shy away from the fact that the originators of Spiritualism were admitted hoaxsters who denounced their creation later in life.

These episodes also gloss over the details of séances. We aim to cover those in more detail in a later episode.

Things we mention in this episode include:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and friend
Mesmerism in action
The Fox Sisters

News

The Blasphemous Tome issue 11

The next issue of The Blasphemous Tome will soon be entering layout, ready to creep its way across the globe in June. This is the fully licenced Call of Cthulhu fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of the podcast. Issue 11 features a gorgeous full-colour cover from John Sumrow and a brand-new Call of Cthulhu scenario from our own Scott Dorward.

Blasphemous Tome 5a Reissued

Speaking of The Blasphemous Tome, Patreon backers can now download the PDF of issue 5a. This was previously released as issue 5, back when it was a print-only publication. It features a modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario by Matt Sanderson, entitled “Number 22”.

People backing us on Patreon at the $3 level or higher before the end of May 2023 will receive a discount voucher for a print-on-demand copy of issue 5a.

Scott and Paul on The Miskatonic Playhouse

Scott recently joined the “Cult and Culpability” Regency Cthulhu arc on the Miskatonic Playhouse podcast for a short run, giving voice to the villainous Lord Cosgrove. Newman has also recorded an interview with Paul which should be going out on the podcast feed soon.

Paul at Chaosium Con

Paul discusses his recent visit to Chaosium Con in Michigan, where he met up with our regular contributor John Sumrow and played a game with You Too Can Cthulhu.

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Son of Listener Suggestions

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We’re back and we’re listening again. Usually, we don’t hold with listening. Most things people try to tell us are things we’d rather not hear. Whether this is advertising, gossip, or sinister secrets about the true nature of reality, we generally find we’re happier not knowing. In this case, however, we’re listening to our listeners, which is the kind of paradox that pleases us. They also have some great suggestions for us, which is a huge improvement over the scatological or anatomically improbable suggestions people normally make to us.

Main Topic: Son of Listener Suggestions

Late last year, we used Discord and Twitter to ask our listeners what kinds of things they’d like to hear us discuss. The response was overwhelming and we now have a massive list of possible topics. Although these suggestions were exceptional, there are a good number we’d struggle to turn into complete episodes. Rather than ignore these, we’ve decided to go through the replies and see what we can address succinctly.

We started going through these suggestions in an episode a couple of months ago, but we barely scratched the surface. Here, we delve into several more topics, such as low/no-Mythos scenarios, Lovecraftian monsters, folklore, orientalism, and sex at the gaming table.

Thank you to PatrickSmatrick, Etymological Tom, Weasels10 and OrbitalAxolotl on our Discord server for the topics we discuss in this episode.

Please do let us know if you have any suggestions of your own. We are always hungry for ideas, and suggestions are a safer way of getting them than eating human brains.

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

The Blasphemous Tome issue 11 submissions

The next issue of The Blasphemous Tome is approaching fast. The cut-off for submissions is the end of April 2023, so please get in touch if you’d like to send us a short article or piece of fiction (up to 500 words) or any artwork you would like to see in the ‘zine. Our email address is submissions@blasphemoustomes.com

The Blasphemous Tome is the fully licenced Call of Cthulhu fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of the podcast.

Covers of Tomes of yore

A Weekend With Good Friends

We have dates for the next Weekend With Good Friends! This is the online RPG convention organised by our lovely listeners and hosted on our Discord server. While the main source of information is our Discord server, we also have a web page with important details and links. We will update this as things progress.

The important dates are:

  • Friday 2nd – Thursday 15th June — GM signups
  • Friday 23rd – Thursday 29th June — Player signups
  • Friday 30th June — Lottery results announced
  • Friday 7th – Sunday 9th July — AWWGF
a weekend with good friends logo small

Paul on D12 Café

Paul was interviewed recently by bestselling French author Henri Lœvenbruck for his new D12 Café YouTube channel. This is the first English-language interview on the channel, and the two discuss RPGs, writing, and some of the many projects Paul’s been involved with.

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Barbarian (2022)

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We’re back and we’re trying to figure out why the hell this film is called “Barbarian“. Learning that the screenwriter doesn’t know either makes us feel better, but not by much. Maybe a nice bottle of milk will settle us down.

Barbarian (2022)

This episode is our look at Barbarian, the recent horror film debut of writer/director Zach Cregger. As ever, we talk through the film itself, picking out highlights and lowlights. And, of course, we discuss what we could steal for gaming.

We should offer some content warnings. The plot of Barbarian involves kidnapping, rape and forced birth. While neither the film nor our analysis go into details, we do discuss these elements. Obviously, we also get heavily into spoilers.

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

A Weekend With Good Friends

We have dates for the next Weekend With Good Friends! This is the online RPG convention organised by our lovely listeners and hosted on our Discord server. While the main source of information is our Discord server, we also have a web page with important details and links. We will update this as things progress.

The important dates are:

  • Friday 2nd – Thursday 15th June — GM signups
  • Friday 23rd – Thursday 29th June — Player signups
  • Friday 30th June — Lottery results announced
  • Friday 7th – Sunday 9th July — AWWGF
a weekend with good friends logo small

The Blasphemous Tome issue 11

The next issue of The Blasphemous Tome is approaching fast. Issue 11 features a strange new Call of Cthulhu scenario called “Blackshade”, written by our own Scott Dorward. While “Blackshade” is set in the Gaslight era, it is illuminated by the latest developments in electrical lighting. We spare no expense for our readers!

The Blasphemous Tome is the fully licenced Call of Cthulhu fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of the podcast.

Covers of Tomes of yore

Blasphemous Tome 4b Rerelease

We’re continuing our rereleases of out-of-print issues of our fanzine, The Blasphemous Tome. Issue 4b was the first of our PDF-only interim Tomes, and has not been available in print until now. All Patreon backers of the Good Friends can now download the PDF, along with many other back issues. Anyone backing us at the $3 level or above before the end of April 2023 will also receive a voucher for a heavily discounted print-on-demand copy.

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Strange NPCs: Edgar Cayce

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We’re back and we’re catching up with our sleep. Don’t worry, we’re still using this time productively, just like Edgar Cayce taught us. Whether it’s diagnosing your athlete’s foot, telling you of your past life in ancient K’n-yan, or just prophesying the fall of Penge again, we’re on the case. Just take care not to transcribe any snoring as that just tends to confuse the reading. Now, can you leave us to peruse the Akashic Records for another 15 minutes? We were up late last night.

Strange NPCs: Edgar Cayce

We are returning to our Strange NPCs format, in which we look into the lives of historical figures who might inspire our games of Call of Cthulhu. This began with our first two “Great NPCs of History” episodes (one and two). We then had more detailed episodes about Albert Fish and Louis Wain.

This episode looks into the life of Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet. While Cayce’s work grew in fame following his death, becoming a cornerstone of the New Age movement, his origins were more humble. That’s not to say they weren’t filled with strange events. We delve into his life, belief and legacy, looking for elements we might include in our games.

Thank you to Mecrutio on our Discord server for suggesting this topic.

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

Submissions for The Blasphemous Tome issue 11

While the next issue of The Blasphemous Tome is still a few months away, we’re currently open for submissions. If you have a short article, poem or piece of flash fiction of up to 500 words, or some artwork (black and white or colour) that you think we’d like, we’d love to see it! You can send them to submissions@blasphemoustomes.com

Submissions for this issue will be open until the end of April 2023.

The Blasphemous Tome is the fully licenced Call of Cthulhu fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of the podcast.

Covers of Tomes of yore

Blasphemous Tome 4a Rerelease

We’re continuing our rereleases of out-of-print issues of our fanzine, The Blasphemous Tome. Issue 4a was one of our print-only publications and has not been available as a PDF until now. All Patreon backers of the Good Friends can now download the PDF, along with many other back issues. Anyone backing us at the $3 level or above before the end of March 2023 will also receive a voucher for a heavily discounted print-on-demand copy.

Issue 4b is in the pipeline and will be available for download in early April.

The Blasphemous Tome issue 4 cover
Thank you again to Evan Dorkin for his fantastic cover art!

Paul at Chaosium Con

Paul will be attending Chaosium Con in Ann Arbor, Michigan, between April 13-16. Please do say hi if you spot him in the wild.

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Mythos Deities: Cyäegha and Byatis

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We’re back and we’re stroking our chin serpents. The Byatis beard care regimen is a strange one and requires a little more anthropophagy than we normally indulge in. Still, it’s hard to argue with the results. The only real downside is the way we can be pulled away without notice whenever someone strokes an effigy of us. Even that is a small price to pay for such lustrous facial, um, hair. Yeah, let’s call it hair.

Cyäegha and Byatis

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, Cthulhu, Daoloth and Eihort, Gla’aki, Y’golonac, and Tsathoggua, Atlach-Nacha and Abhoth.

Rather than focusing on the creations of a specific writer, we’ve chosen this episode’s pairing for their connections to specific places. Cyäegha comes from the work of Belgian weird fiction author Eddy Bertin, remaining Bertin’s best-known creation. The parentage of Byatis is more complicated, however, originating as a passing mention from Robert Bloch before being fleshed out by a young Ramsey Campbell. Both are unusual deities, however, and we find plenty to say about them.

Things we mention in this episode include:

News

Submissions for The Blasphemous Tome issue 11

While the next issue of The Blasphemous Tome is still a few months away, we’re currently open for submissions. If you have a short article, poem or piece of flash fiction of up to 500 words, or some artwork (black and white or colour) that you think we’d like, we’d love to see it! You can send them to submissions@blasphemoustomes.com

Submissions for this issue will be open until the end of April 2023.

The Blasphemous Tome is the fully licenced Call of Cthulhu fanzine we produce for Patreon backers of the podcast.

Covers of Tomes of yore

Nameless Horrors and Rivers of London

Some or all of us have been involved with two recent publications from Chaosium. First, there is the reprint of Nameless Horrors. This was the scenario collection the three of us penned as part of the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition Kickstarter, way back in 2015. Unlike every 7th ed book that followed, it was printed in black and white and issued as a softback. The new edition is a hardback and in full colour, however, finally matching the rest of the game line.

Hardcopies of the Rivers of London RPG are also beginning to ship. This is the RPG based on the urban fantasy series by Ben Aaronovitch.

Blasphemous Tome 4a Rerelease

We’re continuing our rereleases of out-of-print issues of our fanzine, The Blasphemous Tome. Issue 4a was one of our print-only publications and has not been available as a PDF until now. All Patreon backers of the Good Friends can now download the PDF, along with many other back issues. Anyone backing us at the $3 level or above before the end of March 2023 will also receive a voucher for a heavily discounted print-on-demand copy.

The Blasphemous Tome issue 4 cover
Thank you again to Evan Dorkin for his fantastic cover art!

The Good Friends on Really Dicey

Paul, Matt and Scott recently appeared on the Really Dicey YouTube channel to discuss the rerelease of Nameless Horrors. We talked about what inspired the book and what to expect from this new edition.

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