309: Theme Parks and Horror, with Cuppycup

Release Date: 03/23/2025

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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

More Episodes

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 in childhood joy, theme parks can easily turn into something nightmarish in both our imaginations and in reality. We dip into personal experiences, urban legends, and our own wild ideas, looking for both the roots of these fears and ways of bringing them into our games.

There is something of a focus on Disney parks in our discussion, only because our guest host used to work for Disney, as did Matt’s wife, Tiff. This gives us a wealth of personal anecdotes to draw upon.

Our Guest Host

We are delighted to welcome back Cuppycup! Cup, of course, has been on the podcast before, discussing Louis Wain with us a few years ago. He is best known as the mastermind behind the award-winning actual play podcast Ain’t Slayed Nobody, where you will also find regular appearances by Scott alongside some of our other guest hosts, including Ross Bryant and Josephine McAdam.

As well as ASN, Cup is producing a new Call of Cthulhu podcast called Walking Shadows, with Ross Bryant as Keeper, and a cast that includes Becca Scott, Rashawn Scott, and Zach Reino. The first episodes should be out within the next couple of months.

And Cup’s first published scenario, “Deadwood on Lane 8”, will be out on the Miskatonic Repository soon. This is a 1990s Pulp Cthulhu extravaganza that puts the cosmic firmly into cosmic bowling.

If you want to keep up with all these projects, you can follow Ain’t Slayed Nobody on Bluesky or join their Discord server.

News

A Weekend With Good Friends

Summer 2025 will see the return of A Weekend With Good Friends! This, of course, is the online convention organised by our lovely listeners, taking place on the Good Friends Discord server.

Key dates are:

GM signups: 23rd of April – 7th of May
Player signups: 22nd of May – 5th of June
A Weekend With Good Friends: 13th – 15th of June

Games and panels will run throughout the weekend.

We shall share more details are they become available.

Scott on Fear of a Black Dragon

Scott recently joined Jason Cordova over on Fear of a Black Dragon. They discussed the Call of Cthulhu scenario “The Necropolis”, written by Leigh Carr, from the Gateways to Terror collection. Jason and Scott delved into what makes “The Necropolis” such a perfect introduction to Call of Cthulhu, examining some of the tricks it uses to be tightly focused and accessible to newcomers.

If you want more, you can also hear Scott run “The Necropolis” as a live game for How We Roll at PodUK 2019.

Matt and Scott on RPG Reanimators

Both Matt and Scott have been recording with RPG Reanimators, and our respective episodes are now out. Matt discussed “The Burning Stars” by David Conyers, from Terrors From Beyond, offering his personal tips and insights. Scott talked to the crew about his own scenario “UNLAND”, from Fear’s Sharp Little Needles, revealing things he might change about the scenario and some of the content that never made it into the published version.

Main Topic: Theme Parks and Horror

Our Guest Host

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News

A Weekend With Good Friends

Scott on Fear of a Black Dragon

Matt and Scott on RPG Reanimators

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