318: Metafiction and Horror, with Eleanor Hingley
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re discussing metafiction and horror. More importantly, we’re getting the title of the episode in the first paragraph for SEO purposes. Main Topic: Metafiction and Horror Metafiction turns up in every genre from literary fiction to SF, breaking fourth walls, playing with storytelling conventions, and embedding fictional narratives within fictional narratives. Our focus here, however, is on the connection between metafiction and horror, whether this is self-aware slasher films or horror novelists who write about horror novelists. We look at various definitions of...
info_outline
317: Small Town Horror, with Eleanor Hingley
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re keeping to ourselves. You really can’t be too careful. The outside world is full of dangerous ideas and strange people. Some of them don’t even play Call of Cthulhu. Sure, they might find our ways odd too, especially if they hear the singing in our early episodes. Still, the real small town horror is always other people. Main Topic: Small Town Horror This is a local episode for local people. We explore small town settings and why they work so well for horror. Isolated, insular communities are a mainstay of horror, usually populated by sinister locals who shun...
info_outline
316: Art and the Cthulhu Mythos, with Kailas Elmer
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re pushing boundaries. Good taste has never come easily to us, but it’s downright impossible when talking about art that might inspire Call of Cthulhu games. From performance artists who mutilate themselves in inventive ways to photographers who raid the local morgue looking for models, it’s hard for horror writers like us to make this stuff any nastier. But still we try. Main Topic: Art and the Cthulhu Mythos This episode is the conclusion of our two-part look into the relationship between Lovecraft and art. , we looked at the artistic influences that...
info_outline
315: Lovecraft and Art, with Kailas Elmer
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re mulling over bas-reliefs again. Once you start looking into the relationship between Lovecraft and art, the damn things are everywhere. We would say that there’s no relief from them, but that would be beneath us. Main Topic: Lovecraft and Art This episode is the first of a two-part look into the relationship between Lovecraft and art, and how this shaped the Cthulhu Mythos and Call of Cthulhu. Next episode, we’ll be flipping things around and looking for inspiration from the world of art, but here we’re examining the influence it had on Lovecraft’s life...
info_outline
314: Analogue Horror, with Holly Buteau
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re twiddling the tracking knob. It’s supposed to help clear up the image on this old videocassette, but maybe that’s just missing the point. The static can be the most interesting part, filled with whispers, ghosts, and ancient secrets. Compared to such wonders, the film itself is a bit disappointing. Then again, analogue horror seems to be more of a vibe than a form of storytelling, so maybe we should just let the white noise wash over us. Main Topic: Analogue Horror This episode sees us explore analogue horror, trying to work out what exactly it is and how to bring...
info_outline
313: Horror in Space, with Holly Buteau
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re and we’re answering the call of the void. Really, it’s about the scariest call you can receive, regardless of what Cthulhu may tell you. The yawning darkness of infinity shouldn’t be as tempting as it is. For all our talk about horror in space, maybe the real horror was inside us the whole time. Main Topic: Horror in Space This episode heads into the cold and the dark, exploring just what it is that makes space so scary. We talk about some of the real challenges and dangers posed by space travel and how they can amplify horror, then move on to inspirational...
info_outline
312: Comedy Horror, with Evan Dorkin
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re and we’re putting on our ponchos. They look a bit silly, but that works for us here. The important thing is that they’ll keep some of the gore off our clothes. Comedy horror can be a messy business, especially once you bring gardening equipment into play. We’re not sure whether to laugh or cry, so we’ll probably just scream. Main Topic: Comedy Horror This episode sees us delve into the bloody world of comedy horror, trying to pin down what makes the two genres work so well together, looking at some examples from media, and trying to work out how to perform...
info_outline
311: RPGs and Fiction, with Evan Dorkin
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
info_outline
310: Something Wicked This Way Comes, with Cuppycup
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
info_outline
309: Theme Parks and Horror, with Cuppycup
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re learning about protein spills. What sounded like an innocent sexual innuendo has turned out to be more scatological than any of us would have liked. The unpleasant realities of theme parks are well hidden behind twee language and cute costumes. Happily, once we strip them away, we can find some good horror inspiration. Although we do wish it all smelled a bit better. Main Topic: Theme Parks and Horror This episode, we visit the topic of theme parks, amusement parks, funfairs and the like, looking for Call of Cthulhu inspiration. As with so many things rooted...
info_outline
We’re back and we’re peering through time. Handily, Yog-Sothoth has granted us the power to see he who is to come after us. Well, except Charles Dexter Ward actually turned up in 1926, around a hundred years earlier than anticipated. Time can be like that.
Happily, Ward has been raised from his essential saltes several times since then — on screen, in audio, and even within the pages of the occasional scenario. We’ll try to catch up with him where we can. Let’s just hope that it’s really Ward we’re meeting and not Joseph Curwen. It’s so embarrassing when we mix them up!
Main Topic: The Case of Charles Dexter Ward part 5
This is the conclusion of our investigation into HP Lovecraft’s novel The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. We start off with some final thoughts on the story itself, and then move on to discussing how it has found its way into other media. Considering what an overlooked tale this is, it has a rich history of being adapted.
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- HP Lovecraft Historical Society reading of the complete fiction of HP Lovecraft
- At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft
- Yog-Sothoth
- “The Dunwich Horror” by HP Lovecraft
- “The Shadow Out of Time” by HP Lovecraft
- Gothic horror
- “The Thing on the Doorstep” by HP Lovecraft
- “Pickman’s Model” by HP Lovecraft
- “The Outsider” by HP Lovecraft
- The Haunted Palace (1963)
- “The Haunted Palace” by Edgar Allen Poe
- American International Pictures
- The Raven (1963)
- The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
- Charles Beaumont
- Heroes
- Roger Corman
- The Resurrected (1991)
- Dan O’Bannon
- Alien (1979)
- Total Recall (1990)
- Brent V Friedman
- Return of the Living Dead (1985)
- “Cthulhu Dreams” by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
- Hellraiser (1987)
- Dark Adventure Radio Theatre adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward
- Necronomicon Providence
- The Lovecraft Investigations
- “The Whisperer in Darkness” by HP Lovecraft
- “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by HP Lovecraft
- “The Haunter of the Dark” by HP Lovecraft
- Pleasant Green
- Shadows of Yog-Sothoth
- Grizzly Peaks Radio
- Day of the Beast
- Dark Adventure Radio Theatre adaptation of Day of the Beast
- Horror on the Orient Express
News
Paul’s Final Episode
This is Paul’s final episode with The Good Friends of Jackson Elias. After 300 episodes, he has decided to step back from the microphone and focus on writing. Please join us in thanking him for his time on the podcast and in wishing him every success with the fresh horrors that await him.
This is not the end of the podcast, however. Matt and Scott will continue with a roster of guest hosts, each bringing their own blasphemous knowledge and insights to our discussions. Our first three guest hosts will be comedian and writer Ross Bryant, Lovecraft scholar Heather Miller, and gaming icon Seth Skorkowsky. We shall announce further guests as we book them.
Blasphemous Tome Issue 13
We are hard at work on issue 13 of The Blasphemous Tome, the fanzine we put out twice-yearly for Patreon backers of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias. This new issue will contain “A Social Responsibility” — a brand-new and gruesome Call of Cthulhu scenario from our own Matt Sanderson, set amidst the urban decay of modern-day Northampton.
Anyone backing us at the $5 level or higher by the end of this year can expect a printed copy of the Tome, signed by our own fair extremities. Backers at the $3 level will receive a voucher for a discounted print-on-demand copy, and everyone will receive the PDF.
Don’t forget that backing us also gives you access to the entire back catalogue of the Tome in PDF format, which includes a wealth of Call of Cthulhu scenarios you won’t find anywhere else.
Matt and Scott at the Illusion Horror Con
Matt and Scott will be attending the Illusion Horror Con this December, running games and taking part in panels. This is an online horror convention with attendees from across the world. You can find full details of the schedule at the convention website.
Paul at Dragonmeet
Paul will be on the Chaosium booth at Dragonmeet this year. This is an annual one-day gaming convention held in London. Do stop by and say hi if you’re there.
Christmas Story Reading on the Good Friends Discord
With Christmas fast approaching, Mike Perceval-Maxwell of Mr Spike’s Bedtime Stories is once again organising a full-cast ghost story reading on The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord server. This time, we shall be reading two tales of William Hope Hodgson’s occult detective, Carnacki the Ghost Finder. Specifically, we will be reading “The Searcher of the End House” and “The Horse of the Invisible”.
So fire up your electric pentacle and join us by the fireplace at 22:30 GMT on the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th of December. Don’t despair if you can’t make the live performances, as we plan to record them and release them as special episodes on the podcast feed.
The Ice House on Symphony Entertainment
Scott recently joined Bridgett Jeffries and Graham Walmsley for a live improvised horror story over on Symphony Entertainment. Bridgett recorded the tale, which we dubbed “The Ice House”, and you can watch it below.