314: Analogue Horror, with Holly from RPG Reanimators
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Release Date: 05/29/2025
332: Religious Horror, with Zach Reeves
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re trying to muster up some faith. Sure, we understand that the Mythos is utterly indifferent to crucifixes and holy water, but maybe we can still find some comfort in religion. But we’re also worried that the wrong kind of belief could end up doing more harm than good, especially if it all turns a bit fanatical. Maybe religious horror is more complicated than just muttering a few prayers and hoping for the best. We haven’t got a prayer, have we? Main Topic: Religious Horror From vampire hunters wielding crucifixes to Taoist priests battling jiangshi with talismans,...
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331: Connecting Call of Cthulhu Scenarios, with Zach Reeves
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re stringy Main Topic: Connecting Scenarios in Call of Cthulhu Call of Cthulhu is famous for its epic published campaigns. We’ve all played elaborate treks around the world, punching eldritch evil in the face. But what about the less formal approach where we string together often unconnected adventures into an ad hoc campaign? How do we adapt scenarios to this approach? What are some of the possible pitfalls? And are there any specific tips we’ve picked up over the years? Our Guest Host We are delighted to welcome Zach Reeves to The Good Friends of Jackson...
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330: Cryptids and Call of Cthulhu, with Paula Deming
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re blurry. Sure, your camera phone might have all the pixels, but we remain resolutely out of focus. You don’t get to maintain your status as a cryptid by being discernible. Mothman would never speak to us again. And before you complain, do you really want a clear picture of the Michigan Dogman’s notorious genitals? Actually, on second thoughts, don’t answer that one. Main Topic: Cryptids and Call of Cthulhu Call of Cthulhu is full of strange creatures that live in the dark corners of the world, only occasionally encountered by unlucky humans. But how does...
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329a: Just One More Thing - sample episode
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
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329: Cthulhu and Board Games, with Paula Deming
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re wiping ichor off our meeples. Cthulhu and board games can be a messy combination, but also a popular one. Cynics may tell you that this is because Cthulhu is in the public domain, so anyone can slap his tentacles on a game for a bit of brand recognition. We prefer to think the truth is more insidious than that, however. Every die roll, every card played, every token moved towards its inevitable doom is done in Cthulhu’s most terrible name, the terrible luck of the players and the curses they utter when they lose sustaining him deep beneath the waves. Plus, they’re...
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328d: The Great God Pan 4
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We are wrapping up our festive ghost story reading of “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen. This reading has been organised by good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of ), taking place on . Mike is joined by guest readers , , , , and , and . You can find the first three parts in your podcast feed, or right here on this very server. So invoke the name of Nodens, practice your knots, and dive into Queer Street with us. , arranged by Jon Fylling, is licenced under the . If you would like to read along at home,...
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328c: The Great God Pan 3
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We are continuing our festive ghost story reading of “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen. This reading has been organised by good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of ), taking place on . Mike is joined by guest readers , , , and , and . If you’re reading this shortly after release, you have time to join us for the conclusion at 22:30 GMT on Thursday the 18th of December. So shake the cobwebs loose with a bracing night-time walk, brush up on your Latin, and do try not to dwell on those unsettling illustrations. , arranged by...
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328b: The Great God Pan 2
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We are continuing our festive ghost story reading of “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen. This reading has been organised by good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of ), taking place on . Mike is joined by guest readers , Brian Murphy, , , , and . If you’re reading this shortly after release, you have time to join us for part 3 at 22:30 GMT on Wednesday the 15th of December. We shall be continuing at the same time on Thursday the 18th. So put down those Chinese boxes, open up a good bottle of chianti, and listen to our tale of...
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328a: The Great God Pan 1
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
It is time once again for us to all gather around the virtual hearth for another festive ghost story reading. This year, we present “The Great God Pan” by Arthur Machen, a weird tale of mad science, supernatural horror, and very human revenge. This reading has been organised by good friend of the Good Friends, Mike Perceval-Maxwell (host of ), taking place on . Mike is joined by guest readers , , , , , and . If you’re reading this shortly after release, you just have time to join us for part 2 at 22:30 GMT on Tuesday the 16th of December. We shall...
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328: The Birds, with Ross Bryant
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
We’re back and we’re watching the skies. You never know when some gannet might decide to kamikaze its way into your skull, or a mob of hawks take exception to your woodwork and peck it to splinters. We’ve decided to turn to two experts for advice, but their approaches don’t really mesh. Daphne du Maurier would have us hunker down and wait for the inevitable, while Alfred Hitchcock favours stalking your love interest, barely even addressing the avian threat. We’re beginning to think these so-called experts are for the birds. Main Topic: The Birds The Birds is one of Alfred...
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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 it to the gaming table. It’s perhaps a harder genre than most to pin down, partly because it is relatively new, but also because it is arguably more of an aesthetic than a series of defining tropes. We ran into similar issues when discussing Gothic horror, however, that that didn’t stop us then!
As well as delving into the origins of the genre, we discuss notable media, and some of the RPGs that have drawn upon it all. And, of course, we talk about some of our own ideas for how to let it infect our games.
Our Guest Host
We are delighted to welcome Holly back to the Good Friends, following last episode’s discussion of horror in space! Holly co-hosts RPG Reanimators, a podcast focusing on providing resources for GMs and players of horror RPGs. She’s also a regular on Into the Darkness, an actual play YouTube channel. In addition to RPGs, she’s an avid board gamer, space nerd, and all-around trivia enthusiast. You can find Holly over on the RPG Reanimators Discord.
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- Found footage
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- The Last Broadcast (1998)
- War of the Worlds radio broadcast
- Hysteria around War of the Worlds broadcast debunked
- Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
- Snuff films
- Cannibal Holocaust murder trial
- Blair Witch website on the Wayback Machine
- Butterfly Kisses (2018)
- House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski
- Urban legends
- Creepypasta
- Kris Straub
- Candle Cove
- Channel Zero
- Local 58
- Gemini Home Entertainment
- SCP Foundation
- There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
- Alternate Reality Games
- Lost marketing ARG
- Swamp Motel
- Isklander
- Too Many Cooks
- This House Has People In It
- Unedited Footage of a Bear
- This House Has People In It ARG
- Marble Hornets
- The SMILE Tapes
- Smile (2022)
- Gothic horror
- Goosebumps by RL Stine
- Fear Street by RL Stine
- The Ring (2002)
- J-horror
- One Missed Call (2003)
- Ring (1998)
- Ring by Koji Suzuki
- Spiral by Koji Suzuki
- British Board of Film Classification
- Video Nasties
- The Evil Dead (1981)
- Unknown Armies
- Archive 81
- Archive 81 podcast
- Scanlines by Todd Keisling
- Budd Dwyer
- Max Headroom signal hijack
- Satanic panic
- Gateways to Abomination by Matthew M Bartlett
- Matthew M Bartlett interview
- Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell
- “Cigarette Burns” from Masters of Horror
- A Child Across the Sky by Jonathan Carroll
- The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
- In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
- Sapphire & Steel
- “Signal to Noise” by Colin Richards
- Liminal spaces
- The Backrooms
- Videodrome (1983)
- AM1200 (2008)
- Oxenfree
- Electronic voice phenomenon
- White Noise (2005)
- White Noise: The Light
- Horror in Space
- The Fourth Kind (2009)
- A24 Backrooms
- Late Night With the Devil (2023)
- Ghostwatch
- We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021)
- I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
- Impossible Landscapes
- The Yellow Sign
- Unfriended (2014)
- Host (2020)
- Summoners for Mage: the Awakening
- Numbers stations
- Five Nights at Freddy’s
- Stories Untold
- Alone Against the Static
- Alone Against the Static on How We Roll
- Press Play
- Public Access
- The Between
- Ain’t Slayed Nobody
- It by Stephen King
- It (2017)
- It Chapter Two (2019)
- Rainbow “unaired” episode
- In the Mouth of Madness by Sutter Cane
- Sinister (2012)
- “Lux” on Doctor Who
- Public Information Films
- “The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water”
- “Apaches”
- “Ministry of Fear” on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
News
A Weekend With Good Friends
Player signups for A Weekend With Good Friends will close very soon. If you are reading this shortly after the episode goes out, you just have time to sign up, but act quickly!
AWWGF is, of course, is the online convention organised by our lovely listeners, taking place on the Good Friends Discord server.
Key dates are:
- 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.
Cosmic Dark Kickstarter
At the time of posting, the Kickstarter for Graham Walmsley’s new game, Cosmic Dark, has two weeks left to run. The campaign is fully funded and well into stretch goals. One of the planned goals is a scenario from our own Scott Dorward, a heart-warming piece about cute furry animals, titled “Warm Fuzzies”.
If you want to hear Cosmic Dark in action, Graham ran a campaign of it for Ain’t Slayed Nobody. Scott was one of the players, along with Good Friends guest hosts Cuppycup and Ross Bryant. The full campaign is now out, so it’s the perfect time to catch up with it all.
