330: Cryptids and Call of Cthulhu, with Paula Deming
The Good Friends of Jackson Elias
Release Date: 01/12/2026
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 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 this relate to the cultural phenomenon of cryptozoology? Are there any specific cryptids we find fascinating? And how might they inspire our games?
Our Guest Host
We are delighted to welcome Paula Deming to The Good Friends of Jackson Elias! Paula is an actress and YouTuber making entertainment-focused videos about board games on her channel Things Get Dicey, and talking about board games on the comedy panel show This Game is Broken. She plays tabletop RPGs with the Glass Cannon Network and Ain’t Slayed Nobody, and you can find her as a regular cast member on Push the Roll With Ross Bryant. Importantly for this episode, Paula was also the co-host of a podcast about cryptids, called Death By Monsters. Most recently, Paula has run “Servants of the Lake” for Tickingtimebob Gaming.
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
- Death By Monsters
- Cryptozoology
- Blurry Photos podcast
- Adventures in Cryptozoology by Richard Freeman
- Thylacine
- Anaconda (1997)
- Anaconda (2025)
- Megamouth shark
- Colossal squid
- Giant oarfish
- Abyssal gigantism
- Bigfoot
- Loch Ness Monster
- The X-Files
- Analogue horror
- Slender Man
- British Cryptids webseries
- Alien big cats
- Fortean Times
- Fortean Times UnConvention
- Dangerous wild animals act of 1976
- Wild wallabies in the UK
- Wild parrots in Pasadena
- Wild cockatoos in Hong Kong
- Wild Indian ringnecks in the UK
- “The Right Stuff” on Push the Roll With Ross Bryant
- Michigan Dogman
- Beast of Seven Chutes
- “The Legend” by Steve Cook
- Coast to Coast AM
- Art Bell
- Bobby Fischer
- “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” by HP Lovecraft
- Bunyip
- Gla’aki
- The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water
- Emu War
- Cassowary
- Pendragon
- Yeti
- Megalodon
- Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten
- The Meg
- Pliny the Elder
- Tongue stones
- Sixgill shark
- Mothman
- The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel
- The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
- Mothman statue with well-defined buttocks
- Molly Malone statue in Ireland
- Silver Bridge collapse
- Banshee
- Sandhill crane
- Hounds of Tindalos
- Mokèlé-mbèmbé
- The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Black rhinoceros
- Megafauna
- Mongolian death worm
- Mongolian Death Worm (2010)
- Tremors (1990)
- Roy Chapman Andrews
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- The Jersey Devil
- Daniel Leeds
- Poor Richard’s Almanack
- Hammer-headed bat
- Spring-Heeled Jack
- “The Jersey Devil” from The X-Files
- Dobhar-chú
- Black Shuck
- Sea otter
- Rogue taxidermy
- Feejee mermaid
- Jackalope
- Jenny Haniver
- Sea monk
- Deep Ones
- Ghouls
- Mi-Go
- Roanoke Island
- Terror Australis
News
Matt at ConTingency
Matt will be heading to the ConTingency convention in Hunstanton very soon. Please say hi if you spot him lurking, and you may even be able to find space in one of the many games he is offering.
Monsterhearts on Ain’t Slayed Nobody
Scott recently ran a campaign of Monsterhearts for Ain’t Slayed Nobody, with Mary Lou, Kat, Chuck, and cup as players. It is a backer-only release for now, and you can find the first episode on the ASN Patreon now.
