326: We Are the Horror, with Ericka Skirpan
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re scaring ourselves. Main Topic: We Are the Horror Most tabletop horror games revolve around the struggle between the player characters and one or more external antagonists. The concept of a “Big Bad Evil Guy” is at the heart of most of our gaming experiences. But what happens when we take all that away? How might games work when the horror comes from the interactions between the PCs? And what are some of the possible pitfalls of this approach? Our Guest Host We are delighted to welcome Ericka Skirpan back as our guest host for this episode! Ericka is a LARP...
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325: Using LARP Techniques at the Table, with Ericka Skirpan
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re acting out. Main Topic: Using LARP Techniques at the Table Live action and tabletop roleplaying share common roots and many similarities, but they are also quite separate hobbies. Each has evolved in its own ways, developing a unique variety of forms and tools. So what can the world of tabletop roleplaying, particularly Call of Cthulhu, learn from LARP? What are some of the different types of LARP? Which LARP techniques lend themselves best to tabletop play, and how can they be adapted? Our Guest Host We are delighted to welcome Ericka Skirpan as our guest host...
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324: The White People, with Jared Logan
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re enjoying a night out under the hill. While the rest of you are clubbing, we’re trying a different kind of dancing. There’s even a singalong, plus some arts and crafts. Sure, some people might say this is all witchcraft, but we promise you it’s no more sinister than a children’s game. The white people have tried to offer their opinion, but our Aklo is a bit rusty. Maybe the nymphs can help translate, assuming we ever figure out what they actually are. Meanwhile, we’ll just enjoy another goblet of what may be the best wine we’ll ever taste. Main Topic: The...
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323: The Joy of Gore, with Jared Logan
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re bloody. Honestly, that’s the least of it. Most of this gore is blood, but we’re sure there are strips of skin, shards of bone, and maybe the occasional kidney mixed in with all this mess. The plastic ponchos were supposed to help, but at this stage they’re more like stencils than protective clothing. No one ever warned us that podcasting could be this wet and sticky. Maybe we should just focus on getting some of these teeth out of our hair for now. Main Topic: The Joy of Gore While not all horror involves gore, it is an essential part of the genre. Whether...
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322: 28 Days Later, with Maverick Hanze
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re raging. While this virus plays a part, we’re more angry about the sequels to 28 Days Later. The first follow-up, in particular, is enough to make you chew someone’s face off. Happily, the original film still has as much bite as ever. Now if only we could convince it to let go of our leg. Main Topic: 28 Days Later Following last episode’s look at , we’re delving into a classic of the genre. Sure, the folks behind 28 Days Later have said that it’s not a zombie film, but we’re ignoring that. This has all the hallmarks of a zombie...
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321: Zombies, with Maverick Haenze
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re hungry for brains. Sure, that whole that whole thing about zombies eating brains was made up by Dan O’Bannon in 1985, but that doesn’t make them any less tasty. And just because we’re chowing down on some grey matter doesn’t mean that we’re keen on any of that other new-fangled nonsense. Zombies shouldn’t run around or hold conversations, and they definitely shouldn’t be love interests. Shambling and moaning was good enough for those who came before us, and it’s good enough for us. Main Topic: Zombies Given how prevalent zombies are in horror media and...
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320: The Broadsword, with Andy Goodman
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re checking the vents. They’re long overdue a service, but that doesn’t mean they should be talking about eating people’s kidneys. Maybe we could dismiss it as a load of hot air, but they don’t even provide that most days. We would ask the building supervisor to sort them out, but he’s either been eaten by the vents or tumbled through the alien portal in the basement. That portal is a safety hazard, and if it did swallow him that’s his own fault for not slapping some Polyfilla in there sooner. The cosmic nightmares of living at the Broadsword Hotel are bad...
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319: Roll Your Own Mythos, with Andy Goodman
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re hunting for the biggest cigarette paper known to man. Well, ideally known to the gods too. If we’re going to fit an entire pantheon inside, this thing needs to be truly cyclopean, and maybe even non-Euclidean. An extra dimension or two wouldn’t hurt either. And we haven’t even started working out how to light up the damn thing! Main Topic: Roll Your Own Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos didn’t really start out as a cohesive entity. It has become increasingly codified by generations of fans, starting with August Derleth, but this can be an impediment to creativity....
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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...
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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_outlineWe’re back and we’re enjoying the salt air. Or should that be the Saltair? Either way, it would be even jollier if there weren’t all these ghouls around. We have nothing against them, and they do seem to serve a useful purpose, but they do have an unfortunate habit of popping up when you’re least expecting them. On the other hand, they are lively dancers, especially for dead folks. We suppose that if you are going to have a Carnival of Souls, some not-quite-live entertainment goes a long way.
Main Topic: Carnival of Souls
This episode delves into the 1962 horror film Carnival of Souls. While it wasn’t a commercial success by any measure, it has become a classic of the genre, influencing everyone from George Romero to David Lynch. The story of its origins is almost as strange as the film itself, and we go into both in detail, looking for inspiration for our games of Call of Cthulhu.
As Carnival of Souls is in the public domain, you can watch it on YouTube. We highly recommend doing so before listening to this episode, as we will spoil the bejesus out of it.
Our Guest Host
Regular listeners will know that Paul has left the Good Friends. Matt and Scott are inviting interesting people we know to join us as guest hosts, bringing fresh perspectives and expertise to our discussions.
We are delighted to have Ross Bryant join us again as our guest host for this episode. You may know Ross from The Improvised Shakespeare Company, Dropout TV, The Glass Cannon Network, or the many improvised Call of Cthulhu games he and Scott have played together on Ain’t Slayed Nobody. He is currently developing a new historical Call of Cthulhu actual play podcast called Walking Shadows, with Rashawn Scott, Becca Scott, and Zach Reino. The first episode will be out in 2025, wherever you find your podcasts.
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- “She Moves Backwards” on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
- Herk Harvey
- Centron Corporation
- “Ministry of Fear” on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
- British Public Information Films
- Hauntology
- Candace Hilligoss
- The Third Man (1949)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- Macbeth (1971)
- Lee Strasberg
- Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- World’s Greatest Sinner (1962)
- Mystery Science Theater 3000
- The Survivor by James Herbert
- The Survivor (1981)
- Alien (1979)
- The Shining (1980)
- Lost Highway (1997)
- The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists by Neil Strauss
- Funeral potatoes
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- Fugue state
- “The White People” by Arthur Machen
- “In the Garden of Eden” from The Simpsons
- Arnold Schoenberg
- The Backrooms
- American Horror Stories
- “UNLAND” from Fears Sharp Little Needles
- “UNLAND” on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
- “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
- The Crow (1994)
- Robert Aickman
- Wraith: The Oblivion
- Kult: Divinity Lost
- Saltair Pavilion
- Edge of Midnight
- Wes Craven Presents “Carnival of Souls“ (1998)
- The Good Friends of Jackson Elias Discord Server
News
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.
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 22:00 GMT (note updated time — the time mentioned on earlier episodes is wrong) 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.
