Paul Fricker

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/05/12/disgust-and-body-horror/ This episode is our exploration of the linked topics of disgust and body horror. We were originally going to cover disgust in our episode about Making Call of Cthulhu Scary, but ran out of time. And body horror has been on our list for some time. It seemed logical to send the two topics through the telepods, melding them into a twitching, mewling hybrid of an episode. Once again, Mike Mason, the line editor for Call of Cthulhu, joins the discussion and offers his insights. We explore the role of disgust in horror and how we might go about harnassing it in our games. Then, we move on to discussing what makes body horror so effective. Finally, we wrap up the episode by licking the floor under our fridges. It’s tangy! Once again, the current lockdown means we recorded this episode remotely. We hope that we’re getting the hang of making this sound all right. It’s far from the biggest problem current circumstances have presented, but it’s still a challenge. Links Things we mention in this episode include: Paul Ekman Basic emotions Nattō Moral disgust Raiders of the Lost Ark Leeches Nights With Alice Cooper News story about a man with a tapeworm in his brain Tapeworms Body horror The Thing The Fly Re-Animator David Cronenberg Uncanny valley Invasion of the Body Snatchers “The Body Politic” by Clive Barker Evil Dead II Casu marzu Plague of Demons by Keith Laumer Body horror and ableism The Blasphemous Tome Issue 5.5 We are currently putting together issue 5.5 of The Blasphemous Tome. This is an interim digital edition of the fanzine we publish for our Patreon backers. Issue 5.5 will contain a number of pieces we couldn’t fit into our last print edition, along with all-new articles and artwork. It will also feature a new Call of Cthulhu scenario by Scott, titled “The Murder Shack”. Anyone backing us at the time of release (expected to be early July) will receive a PDF copy. If you would like to submit a short article or a piece of artwork, we would love to hear from you! News From Chaosium Mike shares details of some exciting Call of Cthulhu publications and actual play recordings from Chaosium. Mansions of Madness Volume 1: Behind Closed Doors Children of Fear Mike Mason on Twitter Chaosium on Twitter Chaosium’s Twitch channel The Dead Within on Chaosium’s YouTube channel A Cold Fire Within on Chaosium’s YouTube channel

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/04/28/making-a-monster/ We’re back and we’re heading up to the laboratory to see what we can throw together. There are some leftover eyeballs in the fridge, and an assortment of horns, fangs and claws in those crates in the corner. We seem to be running short on hides, however. Maybe we can mix up a protoplasm cocktail instead. Admittedly, we still need to find a new lab assistant after the last time we tried that… Main Topic: Making a Monster This episode is a discussion of how we go about creating new monsters for Call of Cthulhu. Is it enough (or even safe) to reskin a Deep One or a shoggoth? How do you decide how deadly your monster should be? What kind of stats should you assign? What is the monster doing in your scenario in the first place? And why not just pick something out of the rulebook rather than going to all this trouble? Handily enough, Mike Mason, the line editor for Call of Cthulhu, is on hand to help us with these deliberations. Mike is in the last stages of putting together the new Malleus Monstrorum, and has been giving a lot of thought to such matters. He offers sage advice and helps us brainstorm some new creations. This is the first standard episode we’ve recorded during the lockdown. It’s taking us a little while to get used to doing everything remotely, but we hope the episode still sounds decent. In terms of sound quality, that is. Otherwise, we’ll have no truck with decency. Links Things we mention in this episode include: “Fungi From Yuggoth” by H P Lovecraft Dagon (2001) The Two-Headed Serpent The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H P Lovecraft Call of Cthulhu subreddit Dagon ‘zine “You in Your Small Corner” by Andy Bennison Little Shop of Horrors (1986) News Convention Updates In our last episode, we discussed upcoming conventions we were planning to attend. How quaint all that seems now! The best advice we can offer is to check the websites for Continuum and UK Games Expo to see if they will be postponed, cancelled or moved online. Backer-Only Specials During this lockdown period, we’re releasing extra episodes of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias to help you pass the time. These Patreon backer exclusives are going out on the weeks between normal episodes. At the time of posting, we’ve released two, discussing horror films and books we’ve enjoyed recently. If you want to access these and the upcoming episodes, simply back us on Patreon at any level. News From Chaosium Mike shares details of some exciting Call of Cthulhu publications and actual play recordings from Chaosium. Harlem Unbound 2nd edition PDF (print coming soon) Cthulhu Dark Ages 3rd edition PDF (print coming soon) Malleus Monstrorum 2nd edition, coming soon Chaosium’s Twitch channel The Dead Within on Chaosium’s YouTube channel A Cold Fire Within on Chaosium’s YouTube channel

This is the latest instalment in our series on the deities of the Cthulhu Mythos. Earlier episodes have covered Dagon, Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep. Listen here. This time, the focus is on the blind idiot god at the centre of it all, Azathoth. We dig into Azathoth’s origins and how he changed throughout Lovecraft’s work. Then we move on to exploring how other writers have used and adapted Azathoth (warning: contains Lumley). Finally, we dig into Azathoth’s role in Call of Cthulhu, discussing how we might use him in our games. This is the last episode we recorded in person before the COVID-19 pandemic forced us all to self-isolate. The next few episodes (at least) will be recorded using the wonders of the internet. You may notice that they sound a bit different. Links Things we mention in this episode include: Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book HPLHS replica of Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book “Azathoth” by H P Lovecraft The Azathoth Cycle: Tales of the Blind Idiot God Vathek by William Beckford The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H P Lovecraft “The Other Gods” by H P Lovecraft “Nyarlathotep” by H P Lovecraft The Gods of Pegāna by Lord Dunsany “The Whisperer in Darkness” by H P Lovecraft “Fungi From Yuggoth” by H P Lovecraft “The Dreams in the Witch-House” by H P Lovecraft “The Horror in the Museum” by H P Lovecraft for Hazel Heald “The Thing on the Doorstep” by H P Lovecraft “Forever Azathoth” by Peter Cannon “The Haunter of the Dark” by H P Lovecraft The Lurker at the Threshold by August Derleth Paradise Lost by John Milton “The Insects from Shaggai” by Ramsey Campbell The Flying Spaghetti Monster Malleus Monstrorum Richard L Tierney Gnostic Gospels Titus Crow series by Brian Lumley Ernest Rutherford Nuclear fission The Burrowers Beneath by Brian Lumley “Passing of a Dreamer” by Gary Myers “Kill the Moon” episode of Doctor Who “The Colour Out of Space” by H P Lovecraft Elysia by Brian Lumley The family tree of Azathoth Monty Python’s Life of Brian Event Horizon Résumé With Monsters by William Browning Spencer “The Sect of the Idiot” by Thomas Ligotti “Cadenza” by Matt Sanderson, from Covert Actions “The Music of Erich Zann” by H P Lovecraft World War Cthulhu: Cold War Edge of Darkness Doom Patrol Our good friend David Kirkby sent us some wonderfully hideous idols to say thank you for helping him promote his recent charity auction. We are unspeakably grateful to him for this. The idols have now been blooded and we have placed them at the appropriate sites. All is proceeding to plan. If you would like such a blasphemy of your own, please check out David’s website. Continuum and UK Games Expo Back in those long-forgotten days before we retreated to our bunkers, gaming conventions were a thing. People would actually gather in person to play RPGs, gossip, and drink inadvisable quantities of beer. How quaint all that seems now. This episode was recorded just before the world changed, and we discuss a few such conventions we were planning to attend. It is possible that they may still go ahead if quarantine restrictions are eased. They might, however, be rescheduled or even go online. Nothing is certain anymore. We recommend that you check the websites for Continuum and UK Games Expo for updates rather than trusting anything we might say in the episode. Our relationship with reality is tenuous at the best of times.

Listen here: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/03/31/more-great-npcs-of-history/ In this episode, we once again seek out historical personages who might make interesting Call of Cthulhu NPCs. We have restricted ourselves to the classic 1920s and Gaslight time periods to best fit your games. This is a follow-up to our first Great NPCs of History discussion in episode 173. That time, Paul and Scott got so carried away (mainly with monkey glands) that Matt never got to present his selection. In an uncharacteristic display of fairness, we let him go first this time and still managed to squeeze in three NPCs. This episode was recorded a couple of weeks before the CORVID-19 pandemic caused us all to self-isolate, so we were all gathered together in Paul’s studio. That all seems like such a long time ago now. We have one more such episode to release before those recorded remotely. You may notice a change in sound quality once this happens. Links Things we mention in this episode include: Nellie Bly Nellie Bly, the musical “Nelly Bly”, the song Six Months in Mexico by Nellie Bly “Ten Days in a Mad-House” by Nellie Bly Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey Ellen Wilkinson The 1913 Suffrage Pilgrimage The Communist Party of Great Britain Communist Women’s International The Black and Tans 1926 General Strike The Jarrow March “The Call of Cthulhu” Franz Kafka’s literary executor The Dead Zone by Stephen King All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein Red Army Faction Masks of Nyarlathotep Edgar Laplante King Con: The Bizarre Adventure of the Jazz Age’s Greatest Imposter by Paul Willetts Ballyhoo men Medicine shows Tom Longboat Vaudeville The Old Ways Podcast We recently attended the funeral of Jackson Elias, again. This is getting to be a habit. Our good friend Michael Diamond included us as mourners in a recent episode of The Old Ways podcast playthrough of Masks of Nyarlathotep. You can find our appearance by proxy in chapter 5 of the New York season. Type 40 Paul recently met up with Alan and Nicky from Type 40 and learned all about their “artefacts from imaginary universes”. As well as Call of Cthulhu props, they also make all sorts of strange items likely to appeal to fans of SF, comics and other such things.

Special: Parapsychology and Ghosts – a Conversation With Christian Jensen Romer part 2 Listen here: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/03/24/special-parapsychology-and-ghosts-a-conversation-with-christian-jensen-romer-part-2/ We’re back with the second part of our discussion with parapsychologist, RPG author and raconteur, Christian Jensen Romer. In the first part, CJ told us how he became involved with ghost hunting. In this episode, he delves more into the various studies of ghost phenomena and some possible explanations for ghost sightings. In the process, CJ clarifies and corrects a number of points we made in our recent episodes about ghosts. We really should have talked to him before recording those! NEWS Further to yesterday's post, just to clarify, the Patron-only meet up will take place on Saturday 20th March 2020 at 7PM GMT, and we will use Crowdcast. If you have not already received the link, we will send it again on the day.

We’re back with something of an impromptu special. Scott recently joined our good friend Joe Trier of How We Roll for a chat about playing RPGs online. This seemed timely, with almost everyone we know going into self-quarantine due to COVID-19. Our discussion covers tools and techniques, with an emphasis on how to get into online gaming for people who have never done so. While our main focus is on D&D and Call of Cthulhu, we do mention a few other suitable games. If the format of this episode sounds different, this is because we recorded it for How We Roll. Joe has kindly agreed to let us release it on our feed. We have simply added our usual intro and outro to stop you getting too disorientated!

Listen here: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/03/17/a-warning-to-the-curious/ While we’ve wrapped up our discussion of ghosts, we haven’t quite left the spectral world behind yet. Or maybe it refuses to leave us alone. Once these spectres set their sights on you, they can prove vexingly dogged. We’re going to keep away from any Martello towers, just to be safe. This episode explores M R James’ classic English ghost story, “A Warning to the Curious”. England has an enduring love for ghost stories, and James is the towering figure in the field. We spend some time talking about the man himself and how his work has retained its appeal. Then we go digging for treasure in one of his best-known tales, looking for inspiration for our Call of Cthulhu games. We’re sure everything will be fine. Links Things we mention in this episode include: M R James Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968) A Ghost Story for Christmas (BBC TV series) A View From a Hill Number 13 Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010) The Tractate Middoth Martin’s ClosThe man himself Aldeburgh in Suffolk Martello towers “A Warning to the Curious” read by Michael Horden Redacted dates in fiction A Podcast to the Curious “The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral” “The Treasure of Abbott Thomas” The Coat of Arms of East Anglia Rendlesham crown The BBC Adaptation of “A Warning to the Curious” Church grims Black dogs Bungay black dog The boots The Babadook Hounds of Tindalos Ten Candles A Ghost Story for Christmas playlist No Diggin’ Here Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange by Adam Scovell Our folk horror episode “Three Crowns” by The Triple Tree from their album, Ghosts The Lost Crown video game “An Amaranthine Desire” from Nameless Horrors Dunwich in Suffolk News Ain’t Slayed Nobody Paul recommends Ain’t Slayed Nobody, a relatively new Call of Cthulhu actual play podcast focusing on Down Darker Trails. They are up to three episodes now and may branch out into other Cthulhu settings in subsequent shows. One Cut of the Dead on Tear Them Apart Our good friends Evan Dorkin and Paul Yellovich at the Tear Them Apart podcast recently released an episode about the marvellous Japanese horror film, One Cut of the Dead. You should seek this out even if you have no interest in found-footage or zombie films (especially if you don’t). It is full of surprises and pure joy. You should also go into it with as foreknowledge as possible of what you are about to see. And then you should listen to the Tear Them Apart episode about it. Voluminous: The Letters of H P Lovecraft And we have yet another newish podcast to recommend: Voluminous. Our good friends at the H P Lovecraft Historical Society are discussing Lovecraft’s copious correspondence, with each episode focusing on a single letter. And, as Paul mentions, who could be a better choice to present such a podcast?

And also, Scott has recorded two bonus episodes: Following our recent discussion of ghosts in Call of Cthulhu, we thought it might be useful to get an expert opinion. Luckily, our good friend Christian Jensen Romer (CJ to his friends) is a qualified parapsychologist. He is also a member of the Society for Psychical Research and a familiar face to viewers of TV shows like Most Haunted. Listen here As if that weren’t enough, CJ has also written for Call of Cthulhu and other RPGs. In particular, listeners may know him as the author of The Parapsychologist’s Handbook. This was one of the first monographs that Chaosium published, back in 2008. Basically, he’s much better qualified to talk about this stuff than any of us. Scott spent some time talking to CJ about his experiences and how parapsychology treats the subject of ghosts. In fact, we spent so long talking that we are going to have to split the discussion in two. This first part largely covers CJ’s personal experiences with ghosts. Part 2, scheduled for release on the 24th of March 2020, focuses more on general parapsychology.

Ah very good Eric, yes!

And here is part 2! Listen here This is the second of two episodes looking at ghosts and how they tie into Call of Cthulhu. The first focused on ghost stories and folklore. This time, we discuss how (and if) ghosts might fit into Call of Cthulhu and the wider Cthulhu Mythos. While Lovecraft wrote a handful of tales which might be considered ghost stories, these were usually unrelated to his Mythos fiction. We debate whether it is reasonable to draw all of Lovecraft’s work into our own interpretations of the Mythos, regardless of Lovecraft’s intent. Building on that, we discuss which canon elements of the Mythos might serve as substitutes for ghosts in a more purist game. Mostly, however, we just argue about stuff. You know the drill. Links Things we mention in this episode include: “The Horror at Red Hook” by H P Lovecraft “The Music of Erich Zann” by H P Lovecraft “He” by H P Lovecraft “Hypnos” by H P Lovecraft “The Street” by H P Lovecraft “In the Vault” by H P Lovecraft “The Evil Clergyman” by H P Lovecraft The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H P Lovecraft “The Outsider” by H P Lovecraft The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H P Lovecraft “The Dreams in the Witch House” by H P Lovecraft “The Haunting” “From Beyond” by H P Lovecraft The lloigor Yithians Sapphire and Steel The Stone Tape Supernatural Ghostbusters The English Ghost by Peter Ackroyd “The Ash-Tree” by M R James The Felix Castor series by Mike Carey Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch “The Terrible Old Man” by H P Lovecraft Pepper’s Ghost Tupac hologram Walker in the Wastes The Walking Dead “The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James Don’t Rest Your Head “Dockside Dogs” Pulse (2001) The Haunting of Hill House (2018) Haunted by James Herbert The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens The Muppet Christmas Carol Henri Loevenbruck Concrete Cow 20 Concrete Cow 20 will take place on Saturday the 14th of March. This is Milton Keynes’ own one-day RPG convention, held in the Old Bath House in Wolverton. Tickets are £5 on the door. We will be there and we would love to see you! Scott on the RPG Heroes Podcast Scott recently appeared as a guest on the relatively new podcast, RPG Heroes. As the name implies, the main subject is who the guest’s heroes are in the world of RPGs. Klaas also talked to Scott about building atmosphere in horror games and whether Call of Cthulhu scenarios need to be investigations. Paul on The Grognard Files Podcast Paul has also been guesting on other podcasts. The recent interview he recorded with Dirk the Dice at Grogmeet 2019 for The Grognard Files is now available for your ears to enjoy.

This is the first of two episodes looking at ghosts and how they tie into Call of Cthulhu. Our original plan was to do it all in a single episode, but we talked too much. Listen here. As a result, this first part is largely us exploring what we think ghosts might be, as well as discussing what we do and don’t like in a ghost story. If you think the answer is “ghosts”, you might be surprised. Next episode, we shall dig more into how we’d use ghosts in our games, and whether ghosts even belong in Call of Cthulhu.

Listen here: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/01/21/midsommar/ This episode is our look at the 2019 American/Swedish folk horror film, Midsommar. It is an unusually sun-drenched horror, long in running time and short on action. As you might imagine, this led to some disagreement amongst us as to whether it is the best film of the year or slightly less fun than root canal. Things we mention in this episode include: Lincolnshire Poacher Matt’s “Cadenza” scenario from Covert Actions Hereditary Folk Horror The Wicker Man NC-17 rating Hårga Runic alphabets Necropants Grease They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Hårgalåten The Handmaid’s Tale Blood Eagle Father Ted The Poena cullei, penalty of the sack Roman execution methods The Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs Matt at ConTingency Once again, Matt is heading off to the seaside. There is no finer time to visit the east coast of Great Britain than late January. The North Sea always has a warm welcome waiting for you. Matt, however, will be spending his time indoors, playing games. This is his annual pilgrimage to ConTingency, the extended residential convention that has now moved to Hunstanton in Norfolk. If you are attending the convention, be sure to sign up to his games and set fire to all the NPCs. Smart Party Dragonmeet Seminar When Paul visited Dragonmeet late last year, he joined Mike Mason and our good friends from the Smart Party for a seminar. They discussed ideas about how to be a better player, some extending beyond bringing snacks and not falling asleep at the table. You can find a recording of the seminar at the Smart Party’s website. Rivers of London RPG The other bit of excitement at Dragonmeet was the announcement of the forthcoming Rivers of London RPG from Chaosium. Based on the Peter Grant police procedural/urban fantasy novels by Ben Aaronovitch, the game will use a version of BRP customised by our very own Paul Fricker. More news as it becomes available. The Whisperer in Darkness We also briefly mention the audio adaptation of Lovecraft’s “The Whisperer in Darkness” that the BBC is releasing as a podcast. This follows on from their previous adaptation of “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”. In both cases, the events are presented as an investigative podcast, complete with hints of connections to the wider Mythos. You can also access these programmes through the BBC Sounds app.

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/01/07/great-npcs/ This is our attempt to find interesting and overlooked figures from history and explore how they might make great NPCs for our Call of Cthulhu games. We had a great deal of fun preparing and recording this episode, so it may become a regular format. We will at least have to record one more episode anyway, as we ran out of time and couldn’t include everyone we wanted to. Be warned that the latter half of the episode gets weird. One of our subjects was a medical innovator who did things to human bodies that might make you uncomfortable. Then again, isn’t that exactly what you want in a Call of Cthulhu NPC?

It’s taken a long time but we’ve finally tackled one of the most important topics in Call of Cthulhu: Mythos tomes. Hell, our website takes its name from the most famous one of all. Listen here. We spend a little time talking about how we might use Mythos tomes in our Call of Cthulhu games, how they work mechanically and what new and interesting tomes we might create. Matt’s shrieks of anguish as we discuss players who burn eldritch texts are worth the price of admission on their own. Links Some of the things we mention in this episode include: At the Mountains of Madness Maléfique Our favourite ephemera shop in Newport Pagnell Kenneth Grant The Occult and Lovecraft Finnegans Wake Walker in the Wastes The Anarchist Cookbook Bookhounds of London Multi-Coloured Swap Shop The Exegesis of Philip K Dick Break Today Planarian worms Desert Island Discs (not tomes) Bob Monkhouse’s joke book Monty Python’s “The Funniest Joke in the World” sketch “The Treader of the Dust” by Clark Ashton Smith The Revelations of Gla’aki Samizdat Cultes Des Goules The History of the Necronomicon “Number 22” Playtest Matt briefly discusses his recent playtest of his scenario, “Number 22”, as found in the new issue of The Blasphemous Tome. We offer places in playtests like this to our Patreon backers first of all. If you are a backer, do check your feed or email for announcements such as this one. Flotsam & Jetsam Organised Play Campaign The final part of the Flotsam & Jetsam organised play campaign for Call of Cthulhu is due out less than a week after this episode. If you want to give it a try, simply sign up for the Cult of Chaos programme. You can even earn some cool rewards for doing so! The Blasphemous Tome issue 5 Issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome is now in the post, but there is still time to secure your copy if you act quickly. All you need to do is back us on Patreon before the end of the year. The Tome is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. This issue features a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, called “Number 22”, written by very our own Matt Sanderson. You will also find plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork, including many contributions from our wonderful listeners! Tomes were sent out to everyone who had backed us up to December 3rd. Those who back us after that date (and before the end of the end of the year) will receive theirs in January. Songs As part of this retooling, we are also discontinuing the songs we sing to new Patreon backers. This is probably an act of mercy. While they’ve been fun to do, the joke is wearing thin. Thank you to everyone we’ve sung to and we hope the mental scars fade with time! You will find a couple of our final abominations in this episode. Be warned.

We’re back and we’re finally free of the city of the Elder Things. Now, we’re racing off to the aëroplane as fast as our little legs will carry us. Everything will be fine once we’re airborne. We’ve learnt our lessons and we shan’t look back. Nope, no way. Not after that whole shoggoth incident. Looking back only leads to trouble. We’re smarter than that now. Oh, bugger. We looked back. Listen here This is the final part of our discussion of Lovecraft’s epic, At the Mountains of Madness. After all the geological, biological and historical explorations of previous chapters, we find ourselves caught up in something almost mystical. The story ends with another infodump, but one born of madness. As ever, we pick this apart in search of gaming inspiration. We then offer a quick overview of other works inspired by At the Mountains of Madness. Unsurprisingly, Beyond the Mountains of Madness, the classic Call of Cthulhu campaign, plays a big part in our discussion. It says a lot about our interests that we completely neglected to discuss any video games. There are plenty of fine games out there that draw upon Lovecraft’s tale, but you’ll have to turn to younger and hipper podcasters for details of them. Links Some of the things we mention in this episode include: “Pharos” from Fungi From Yuggoth The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath “The Thing on the Doorstep” “The Dreams in the Witch-House” The House of Doors by Brian Lumley “The Colour Out of Space” Jacob’s ladder The Archetypes from “The Seven Geases” Beyond the Mountains of Madness Assault on the Mountains of Madness The Antarktos Cycle Frozen Hell by John W Campbell The Great White Space by Basil Copper “Shaft Number 247” from New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos “The Crevasse” from Nathan Ballingrud’s North American Lake Monsters Monsterland — the upcoming TV programme based on North American Lake Monsters “Branch Line Repairman” by Adrian Tchaikovsky, from The Private Life of Elder Things The Thing From Another World The Thing Guillermo Del Toro’s ill-fated adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness Prometheus Ubik by Philip K Dick Blade Runner (A Movie) by William S Burroughs Antarctic Journal R-Point Ian Culbard’s graphic novel adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness The manga adaptation by Gou Tanabe Illustrated edition by François Baranger Mountains of Madness by The Tiger Lilies At the Mountains of Madness by the psychedelic rock band, HP Lovecraft The HP Lovecraft Historical Society’s readings of Lovecraft’s fiction The HPLHS Dark Adventure Radio Theater adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness Extinction Rebellion The Last Winter Blood Glacier Lake Vostok Aghori ascetics The Exegesis of Philip K Dick The Blasphemous Tome issue 5 Issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome has come back from the printer and the first batch will be in the post any day now! The Tome is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. This issue features a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, called “Number 22”, written by very our own Matt Sanderson. You will also find plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork, including many contributions from our wonderful listeners! If you would like to secure your copy, simply back us on Patreon by the end of the year. Dragonmeet 2019 Matt and Paul will be attending Dragonmeet in a few days. This one-day convention takes place at the Novotel in West London on the 30th of November. Paul will also be a guest on a panel at 11am, hosted by our good friends Baz and Gaz of the Smart Party. Check the programme on the day for details.

We’re back and we’re nearing the end of our expedition. The tunnels below this ancient, pre-human city are full of penguin droppings but somehow these aren’t the foulest things down here. Something has been polishing these floors like a giant protoplasmic Roomba. We’re not sure what it is yet, but it does seem to have a lovely singing voice. Maybe it will be our friend. Listen here. This is the penultimate part of our discussion of Lovecraft’s epic, At the Mountains of Madness. We’re well into the action-packed part of the story, with monsters aplenty. Sure, some of these monsters are penguins, but they do look really creepy down here in the dark. Especially the ones without any eyes. Links Some of the things we mention in this episode include: The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath The lost colony of Roanoke Y’ha-nthlei “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” The Antarctic Regions by Karl Fricker Fricker Glacier The Generation Game Giant penguins! Penguin biscuits Palimpsests “The Shadow Out of Time” The Private Life of Elder Things The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket Penguin Fringed Abyss podcast Isaac Bonewits Yukio Mishima Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Frankenstein The Singularity We have finished laying out issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome and it will soon be heading to press! The Tome is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. This issue features a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, called “Number 22”, written by very our own Matt Sanderson. You will also find plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork, including many contributions from our wonderful listeners! If you would like to secure your copy, simply back us on Patreon by the end of the year. Those who back us (at $3 or more) before we send out the first batch in late November will also receive one of our eldritch Christmas cards. Matt and Paul will be attending Dragonmeet next month. This one-day convention takes place at the Novotel in West London on the 30th of November. If you see them wandering around looking lost, please say hello and guide them to wherever they need to be. Paul also offers a brief shout-out to Stephen Twining’s YouTube Channel, Wandering Monsters. While the channel mostly focuses on D&D, recent episodes have discussed Call of Cthulhu and Runequest as well. We share a marvellous new review from TomasDeTorque in Australia. If you feel inspired to write a review of your own — whether on Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you might find podcasts — we would be delighted! As of episode 171, we shall be dropping the social media segment of the podcast. This is part of our grander plan to retool a few things to keep the podcast fresh. As part of this retooling, we are also discontinuing the songs we sing to new Patreon backers. This is probably an act of mercy. While they’ve been fun to do, the joke is wearing thin. Thank you to everyone we’ve sung to and we hope the mental scars fade with time! This episode sees (hears?) us singing to the fine folks behind Trebuchet Magazine. With recent issues about “Space and Time” and “The Human Body”, there is plenty of rich Call of Cthulhu inspiration to be found in its pages.

This is the section of At the Mountains of Madness in which Lovecraft tells us of the decline and fall of the Old Ones. While we’re experiencing the story at two degrees of remove, it’s still quite gripping. More importantly for Call of Cthulhu players, this is probably the largest history of the Mythos Lovecraft offered us in any of his tales. Listen here This is also the part of the novel where things really get moving and the novel turns into a full-bore horror story. You will find gore, slime and sinister penguins aplenty down here in the dark. Better still, the narrative pace accelerates like a speeding shoggoth. Links Things we mention in this episode include: Eurythmy Petrified wood The Two-Headed Serpent “The Shadow Out of Time” “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” “The Thing on the Doorstep” Our episode about Hastur Crack in the World The origins of the Moon Barbapapa “Shoggoths in Bloom” The Private Life of Elder Things “The Whisperer in Darkness” The Loney News The Blasphemous Tome issue 5 We have started work on issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome! This is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. Once again, this issue will feature a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, called “Number 22”, written by our own Matt Sanderson. You will also find plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork. If you have any short pieces of prose (no more than 500 words) or black-and-white art you would to submit, please send them our way before the end of this month! Dragonmeet 2019 At least some of us shall be attending Dragonmeet next month. The one-day convention takes place at the Novotel in West London on the 30th of November. If you see any of us wandering around, please do say hi (or anything else that takes your fancy). We’ll try not to bite. Paul will again be taking part in a seminar with Baz and Gaz of the Smart Party Podcast - please drop by and say hi! Other Stuff Songs If, like some of the unfortunate members of the Miskatonic expedition, you were vivisected by an alien monstrosity, you may well cry out in terror and agony. We, on the other hand, scream with pleasure in honour of two new $5 Patreon backers. These cries are no less bloodcurdling, however. Also, be warned that we are making some changes to our backer rewards soon. Once we have worked our way through our current backlog of $5 Patreon backers, we shall stop recording new songs. They have been great fun to do, but as listeners with ears as keen as young Danforth’s may have noticed, we are struggling to keep them fresh. We hope that their discontinuation will prove more of a relief than a disappointment. Review We share a marvellous new review from hobsoninthehills in the UK. If you feel inspired to write a review of your own — whether on Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you might find podcasts — we would be delighted!

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2019/10/15/at-the-mountains-of-madness-part-2/ This is the second part of our expedition through Lovecraft’s short novel, At the Mountains of Madness. Our Antarctic journey is going to be a long one. Now that we’ve actually recorded all the episodes, we can safely reveal that there are going to be five installments in total. This will take us up to the end of November, when the weather in the Northern Hemisphere should start becoming inspirational. Brrrr. Listen here. Links Things we mention in this episode include: Clark Ashton Smith The Comanchian era Lovecraft’s drawings of his monsters “The Dreams in the Witch-House” Pachinko The Antarktos Cycle Brian Blessed The Donner Party Machu Picchu The Giant’s Causeway The Evolution of Horror podcast The Blasphemous Tome issue 5 We have started work on issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome. This is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. Once again, this issue will feature a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, written by our own Matt Sanderson, along with plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork. If you have any short pieces of prose (no more than 500 words) or black-and-white art you would to submit, please send it our way! Concrete Cow 19 1/2 Paul and Matt recently attended the Concrete Cow convention in Milton Keynes and share some of their experiences in this episode. If you missed the convention this time, you can always come along to Concrete Cow 20 on the 14th of March 2020. Songs How the dogs at Lake’s camp howled when they caught the scent of the ancient and not-quite-dead horrors their master had unearthed. In contrast, we howl with pure joy at our two new $5 Patreon backers. We do mention that one of them, Amber Reeves, turns nightmares into exquisite jewellery. Unfortunately, we have since learnt that she has shut down her shop front. If she reopens it, we shall be sure to tell you. Check the website for video of Matt and Scott performing their arcane... art.

We’re back and we’re putting on our thermal underwear, ready for a long journey south. Sure, we’ve timed our trip for the summer, but it still gets a little nippy down there. We’re not inured to the cold like all those rugged New Englanders. Still, we’re looking forward to our little trip of the Mountains of Madness. We’re just hoping the locals will be as friendly as we’ve heard. Listen here Main Topic: At the Mountains of Madness At the Mountains of Madness is one of Lovecraft’s longest works and one of the most important to the development of the Mythos. It tells an epic tale of an ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic and their encounter with forgotten horrors from the distant past. Plus penguins. Lots of penguins. As ever, we drill deep into the story in search of inspiration for our Call of Cthulhu games. This is surprisingly tricky in the early parts of the story, as Lovecraft is more concerned with explaining the technicalities of the expedition than developing the story. Still, this can be good inspiration for some games, especially if they involve detailed explorations of geology. That’s what horror is all about! Links Things we mention in this episode include: Amundsen expedition Scott expedition Beyond the Mountains of Madness HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast discussion of At the Mountains of Madness “Who Goes There?” by John W Campbell Frozen Hell by John W Campbell Nicholas Roerich The Roerich Museum The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe Pemmican Ranulph Fiennes Kendal mint cake Tablet White pudding The House of R’lyeh The Blasphemous Tome issue 5 We have started work on issue 5 of The Blasphemous Tome. This is the print-only fanzine we produce exclusively for our Patreon backers. Once again, this issue will feature a new scenario for Call of Cthulhu, along with plenty of other juicy articles, stories and artwork. If you have any short pieces of prose (no more than 500 words) or black-and-white art you would to submit, please send it our way!

This episode wraps up our recent look at the occult by discussing a recent occult horror film, seeing what angelic inspiration it can offer. A Dark Song is a British/Irish co-production from 2016 that has developed something of a cult following. While it does exaggerate aspects for dramatic effect, it may be the most realistic and sympathetic portrayal of the western magical tradition put on film. Listen here The film centres on the Abramelin Operation, a notoriously long and involved magical ritual with a reputation for driving occultists mad. As such, it is terrific inspiration for Call of Cthulhu. We pick the film apart, looking for elements we can borrow for our games. Links Things we mention in this episode include: Kill List The Canal Sightseers The World’s End Boleskine House Austin Osman Spare Sigil magic Songs The Abramellin operation calls for daily prayer, offered in praise of the most awesome entity who watches over you. Our prayers take the form of songs, and we offer them to our Patreon backers. We only have one such song for you this time, but we hope that it strikes the right note of trembling awe. https://blasphemoustomes.com/2019/09/17/a-dark-song/ Also - don't miss Scott's interview with Brian Courtemanche, released last week: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2019/09/13/special-brian-courtemanche-interview-at-necronomicon-2019/

https://blasphemoustomes.com/2019/09/03/occult-horror/ After spending a couple of episodes discussing how Lovecraft and Call of Cthulhu relate to real occultism, we thought we’d get a little more lurid. This is our look at the genre of occult horror, which is something quite different than occultism. It is the blood-drenched, Satan-worshipping, virgin-sacrificing insanity that you would encounter in more disreputable sources, such as tabloids or Dennis Wheatley novels. We begin by trying to define the genre and mentioning some of its more famous proponents, at least in twentieth-century literature. Our terms established, we then break occult horror down into its main tropes and discuss how we might use these in our games. Call of Cthulhu may not precisely be an occult horror game, but it is suffused with the genre’s sulphurous influence. Links Some of the things we mention in this episode include: Folk horror Writers of the Golden Dawn: Bram Stoker, Arthur Machen, AE Waite, Algernon Blackwood, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sax Rohmer, Dion Fortune, E Nesbit, WB Yeats and Aleister Crowley. “Man-Size in Marble” Simon Iff Moonchild The Cottingley Fairies Montague Summers The Malleus Maleficarum Dennis Wheatley The Devil Rides Out They Used Dark Forces To the Devil a Daughter Jack Chick The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult Black Sabbath Tim Powers Arturo Pérez-Reverte Dreams in the Witch House Tantra “Casting the Runes” “The Caller of the Black” From Hell “The Monkey’s Paw” The Ching Ming festival Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs Our interview with Sandy Petersen Also: Concrete Cow Concrete Cow 19 1/2 is approaching faster than anything made out of concrete should be able to. This is the one-day RPG convention held twice per year in Milton Keynes. Full details can be found on the Concrete Cow website. At least some of us will be there, so please come along and say hi if you’re in the area. And Music? Writers of occult horror would have you believe that blood-fuelled, orgiastic rites take place behind innocuous doors in suburbia. Nothing about this episode’s songs would change their minds. Our frenzied celebrations of two new $5 Patreon backers must have summoned a demon or two.

We’re back and we’re casting protective circles around our microphones, burning incense that smells like Cthulhu’s armpits and waggling our wands for all they’re worth. No matter how fevered our incantations, however, the songs always seem to break free. Some magic is too foul to be contained. Lovecraft and the Occult This is the first of a pair of episodes looking into the relationship between HP Lovecraft and the occult. The focus this time is on how much (or little) Lovecraft drew upon real occult beliefs and practices. In particular, we’ll focus on the Western occult tradition and its manifestations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Next time, we’ll explore how the relationship has been reciprocated. Things are going to get weird.Joining us in this exploration is Mike Mason. As well as being line editor for Call of Cthulhu, Mike has a keen interest in the occult and offers some personal insights. You don’t think that Call of Cthulhu has won all those ENnie awards without help from the unseen masters, do you? Links Things we mention in this episode include: Rosicrucianism John Dee Enochian Johannes Hartlieb The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Theosophy Helena Blavatsky Occultism Lovecraft’s letter to Clark Ashton Smith about the occult Nicolas Flamel The Witch-Cult in Western Europe The Case of Charles Dexter Ward The Goetia Kabbalistic tree of life Rudolf Steiner Sufism Whirling Dervishes The Abramellin Operation Necronomicon The Good Friends will be flying out to Providence for Necronomicon 2019 in just two short weeks. We hope to see many of you there. Please say hi if you spot us in the wild. Mike and a number of other folks from Chaosium will also be attending the convention, operating a stall overflowing with wonders. Scott on Fictoplasm A little overdue, but we finally mention that Scott was a guest on Ralph Lovegrove’s excellent Fictoplasm podcast. Ralph and Scott discussed what our gaming lives might be like if Robert W Chambers had been the main figure of twentieth-century horror fiction rather than Lovecraft. This makes a perfect companion piece to our own recent discussions about The King in Yellow.

This episode is our look at what makes a game of Call of Cthulhu scary. We focus on Call of Cthulhu because that’s what we do, but the elements we discuss could apply to any horror game. Fear is a pretty universal thing. Listen here When we say that fear is universal, we mean that there are some main strands of fear that run through us all. The specifics and triggers may be different, but there are many commonalities. Inspired by this article in Psychology Today, we go through some of these basic fears, looking at how they might come into play. Additionally, we offer some tips about the techniques we use and some insights into if and how we’ve been scared by games. Is scaring players possible or even desirable? Are there right ways and wrong ways to make people feel uncomfortable at the gaming table? Where does that line lie? Links Other things we mention in this episode include: The Descent (2005) The film about an avalanche that Matt mentioned but couldn’t remember seems to be Force Majeure (2014). The Call of Cthulhu Facebook group Current 93 A little sample of their work (YT: Current 93 – The Frolic) (YT: Current 93 – The Frolic) Necronomicon 2019 The Good Friends are gearing up to go to Necronomicon 2019 in Providence next month. We will be pretty busy while we’re there, but we hope to meet as many of you as possible. Please say hi if you spot us in the wild. At least two of us don’t bite. Those are pretty good odds. The Blasphemous Tome 4.5 We have finished the writing and editing of the special interim edition of The Blasphemous Tome. Matt is poised to lay the issue out as soon as we have the last two pieces of artwork. At present, we expect to get the Tome to backers by the middle of this month (July 2019). The Blasphemous Tome is the fanzine we produce exclusively for Patreon backers of The Good Friends of Jackson Elias. It is normally a print publication, but this special extra is a PDF. Everyone backing us by the end of July will receive a copy. See our recent post for more details. Burning Luck Reviews Good friend of the Good Friends, Max Mahaffa, has started up a review page on Facebook, titled Burning Luck Reviews. Check out his review of the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set, with more to follow. Merchandise We keep forgetting to mention that we have some Good Friends merchandise available. If you would like a T-shirt that tells the world that you are a good friend of Jackson Elias or a mug that warns of the danger of Attract Fish, check out our Redbubble store! Reviews We share another lovely new review of the podcast this episode. Such kind words sustain us and, more importantly, help others find the podcast. We are profoundly grateful for every review we receive. If you write a review of your own on Apple Podcasts or wherever you download our episodes, we would be delighted to hear about it.

We’re back and we’re putting ourselves through torments. Watching Pascal Laugier’s 2008 horror film Martyrs is not necessarily a pleasant experience. This is not to say that it is a bad film — quite the opposite. It is, however, a gruelling one. The unrelenting cruelty and torture it depicts make it highly divisive. Not only is Martyrsviscerally nasty but it is emotionally draining and potentially quite upsetting. This is not a film for everyone. Be warned. From the build-up we’ve offered, you may wonder why anyone would want to watch a film like Martyrs. This is not a simple question. Some of us are drawn to the extremes and understanding why can be difficult. This is especially true in the case of Martyrs, which is not remotely titillating. We spend some time trying to understand its appeal, and a little more finding ways in which it can inform our gaming. Additionally, we touch upon the larger New French Extremity movement of which Martyrs was a part. This cinematic explosion of blood and terror — largely confined to the first decade of this century — explored uncomfortable subjects unflinchingly, depicting violence in a way that is both repellent and beautiful. We mention a few other highlights in passing: Calvaire (2005) (AKA The Ordeal) Irreversible (2002) We also mention a few of Pascal Laugier’s other projects, as well as the 2015 American remake of Martyrs. None of us has seen the latter. From reviews and interviews, it seems to be another example of neutering a work of dark horror and turning it into something safe and palatable, wrapped up with a nice, happy ending. Have we learnt nothing from the remakes of The Wicker Man, The Haunting and The Vanishing? The other Laugier films we touch on are: Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) Saint Ange (2004) (also known as House of Voices) The Tall Man (2012) Incident in a Ghostland (2018) We also mention Laugier’s abortive attempt to remake Hellraiser You may have noticed that we have mentioned little about the actual plot of Martyrs. This is deliberate. Few other films we have seen benefit quite as much from going in cold. Martyrsis full of surprises, regularly shifting tone in ways that disorient and shock. If you are not completely put off by the idea of unglamorous violence and degradation, we recommend you read no more about the film before watching it. The Blasphemous Tome 4b Issue 4b of our fanzine, The Blasphemous Tome, is nearing completion. This is our first experiment with putting out an interim Tome between our normal releases. Longtime listeners will know that we send a printed fanzine to our Patreon backers every year. This time, we thought we’d release a PDF of the material we were unable to fit in the last Tome, along with a whole bunch of new content. The main feature is a brand new Call of Cthulhu scenario from our very own Paul Fricker and a fantastic cover by the wonderful John Sumrow. Issue 4b will go out in early July and we shall send a copy to everyone who is backing us on Patreon at the time of release. We have spared you any singing in this episode. After spending an hour talking about extreme torture and suffering, it seemed unfair to inflict any of our own. This is a short respite, however. We have new Patreon backers to thank and there will be song in the next episode.

We’re back and we’re taking a last look around Carcosa, wondering where all these tentacles came from. Robert W Chambers was more concerned with masks, moons and mists. Now there seem to be monsters everywhere and people are calling Hastur a god. Who is responsible for all this? Like everything relating to Carcosa, the answer is elusive and ambiguous. Main Topic: Hastur For the past few episodes, we’ve explored the Carcosa Mythos of Robert W Chambers. Its most famous elements — The King in Yellow, the Yellow Sign and Hastur — are usually seen as part of the Cthulhu Mythos, but we worked hard to keep these elements separate. Well, this is the episode in which we mash it all up again. Hail Hastur! We go on a deep dive into the Lake of Hali, trying to understand just what Hastur is. Bierce created him as a benign god of shepherds. Chambers took the name and made him a star (or maybe a place, or a person…) Lovecraft mentioned the name in passing but never defined anything. Derleth turned Hastur back into a god, or at least a Great Old One. Lin Carter added the Chambers back into Derleth’s work. Call of Cthulhu added new layers of complexity and John Tynes tore it all down and wrote a new mythology. So where does that leave Hastur? And how did the King in Yellow become his avatar when there is no mention of this in Chambers, Lovecraft or Derleth? Hastur is an unusual deity, even by the standards of the Mythos. The Malleus Monstorum lists a number of avatars with no real thematic connection. He is associated with a variety of creatures, some of which seem like odd choices. Beyond his connection to The King in Yellow, it can be difficult to know what to do with him. We spend the latter half of the episode coming up with ways we might use Hastur in our games. Links Some of the specific works we mention in this episode include: Supernatural Horror in Literature by HP Lovecraft “The Whisperer in Darkness” by HP Lovecraft A number of stories by August Derleth: “The Return of Hastur”, “The Gable Window”and “Witches’ Hollow”. The Trail of Cthulhu by August Derleth “Tatters of the King” by Lin Carter (found in The Hastur Cycle, edited by Robert M Price) Malleus Monstorum for Call of Cthulhu “The Feaster From Afar” by Joseph Payne Brennan “Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?” by Kevin Ross (and not “Oh Say, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?” as Scott kept saying in the episode!) Deities & Demigods for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Beetlejuice Candyman “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker “Tatterdemalion” by Richard Watts and Penelope Love “The Road to Hali” by John Tynes Delta Green: Countdown, particularly John Tynes’ essay, “The Hastur Mythos” Tatters of the King by Tim Wiseman Curse of the Yellow Sign by John Wick Ripples From Carcosa by Oscar Rios Resumé With Monsters by William Browning Spencer “I, Cthulhu” by Neil Gaiman Community Masks of Nyarlathotep Nominated for Origins Award The Origins Awards will be announced on Saturday the 15th of June, shortly after this episode goes out. Masks of Nyarlathotep is on the shortlist for Best Roleplaying Supplement. We shall keep you posted about how it fares. The Blasphemous Tome 4b Issue 4b of The Blasphemous Tome is slithering towards completion. This is our first attempt at a supplemental Tome, using some of the material we were unable to fit in issue 4. There will also be a bumper crop of specially written material, including a brand new Call of Cthulhuscenario from our very own Paul Fricker. You can also look forward to the mix of articles, fiction and art that you’ve come to expect from earlier Tomes. Unlike the previous editions, however, The Blasphemous Tome 4b will be a PDF-only publication. Anyone backing us at the time of release (probably early July) will receive a copy via Patreon. Fictoplasm If you would like to listen to a different take on The King in Yellow, Scott recently joined Ralph Lovegrove on his excellent podcast, Fictoplasm. They speculated about what the foundations of horror roleplaying might have been if Chambers rather than Lovecraft had been its main influence. This was just part of a longer series in which Ralph has explored novels in which fantastical works of fiction have proved more real than anticipated. Songs Wise souls fear to speak the name of Hastur the Unmentionable. They know that the right words have the power to tear the world apart, letting madness rush in. Our songs have the same effect. We present two of them in this episode, offered in thanks to new Patreon backers. Expo Extra Episode (see yesterday's release) Live from UK Games Expo in Birmingham! Paul joined our good friends Baz and Gaz from the Smart Party and Dirk the Dice from The Grognard Files for a chat about how to run games at conventions. At least one other attendee of this year’s Expo could have benefited from their wisdom. We’ve all had games go wrong at conventions, but none go so badly wrong that they made the national news! And as a reminder, Paul and Dirk also recently joined Baz and Gaz for their 100th episode. If you haven’t listened to it yet, strap on your ears and do so at once!