Paul Fricker Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/06/23/cults-part-1/ We’re back and we’re preparing for Ascension. All right, we’re not entirely sure what Ascension involves, but it certainly sounds exciting. Our glorious leader, the beacon of effulgent wisdom that he is, assures us that the flame of enlightenment awaits us all. We merely have to follow his instructions precisely and question nothing. We have faith that this can only lead to wonderful things. Um. Yes. Wonderful things. Now, where’s that smell of smoke coming from? Main Topic: Cults part 1 This is the first of a multi-episode look at cults in the real world and how (and even if) they relate to what we see in Call of Cthulhu. Over the course of this series, we will discuss what kind of person forms a cult, how cults recruit, how they indoctrinate their members and what kinds of things they might believe. This episode is largely taken up with trying to pin down what a cult is. Trying to do so proved contentious, especially as “cult” is such a loaded term. No organisation in the modern day would willingly call itself a cult, and some fight hard against the label. But why is it such a pejorative term? And are people right to be afraid of organisations they consider cults? Once again, the 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: Religion in Call of Cthulhu Cults podcast Heaven’s Gate Grounded With Louis Theroux Soul Snatchers: The Mechanics of Cults by Jean-Marie Abgrall Spying in Guru Land: Inside Britain’s Cults by William Shaw Cargo cult The Witch-Cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray Wild Wild Country Peoples Temple Anti-Cult Movement Parliamentary Commission on Cults in France Order of the Solar Temple How Cults Work Jackals QAnon The anti-vaccination movement Manson Family Aum Shinrikyo Branch Davidians Children of God/The Family International NXIVM Malignant narcissism 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. More Lockdown Specials We are still releasing fortnightly lockdown specials, discussing films, books and television you might find inspirational in your gaming lives. If you are backing us on Patreon, check your feed. Otherwise, backing us at any level will grant you instant access to the back catalogue. Matt on Roll to Save Matt recently appeared on the latest episode of the Roll to Save podcast, discussing his love of Vampire: the Masquerade. He will also be returning in a later episode to discuss Paranoia. We assume he means the RPG. At least that’s what they tell us. The Good Friends of Jacks-Con Elias Our wonderful listeners over on our Discord server are putting together an online gaming convention in our honour! The Good Friends of Jacks-Con Elias will take place over the 10th-12th of July, with game slots running around the clock. Everyone is welcome to come and join in. You can find out more details on this very website, or, better still, join our Discord server and take an active role. Thank you very much to Orbital Axolotl for coming up with this and bringing it together, and to everyone else who has chipped in with logistical support, ideas and games! Scott in Trebuchet Magazine Scott has an article in issue 8 of Trebuchet Magazine, due out in July. The theme of the issue is Contemporary Surrealism. His article, titled “Lovecraft, Artificial Intelligence, and the Limits of Human Imagination”, is a playful piece about the role AI weirdness might play in bringing Lovecraftian madness into the real world. If you would like to try a digital issue of Trebuchet, simply order one from their website and enter the code CORONA2020 at checkout to get it free of charge. Assuming this impresses you as much as we think it will, you can then pre-order a print copy of issue 8 at a discount — £10 (instead of £14) in the UK and £15 (Instead of £19.50) everywhere else. This is a 180-page, full-colour arts magazine, and promises to be a thing of beauty. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Fricker Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 Part 2 is now out: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/07/07/cults-part-2/ We’re back and we’re examining our beliefs. Everyone believes things that seem weird to other people. Whether this is that a dead god speaks to us in our dreams or that podcasting is a serious career, others may be bemused or horrified when we express it. Most of the time, however, these beliefs don’t impact others (although our sacred tenet that we should only bathe during solar eclipses has cut down on party invitations). When a cult forms around such beliefs, however, things might become more sinister. Probably no more fragrant, however. We are continuing our discussion of real-world cults and how they might relate to Call of Cthulhu. This time, we delve into the kinds of belief systems cults build themselves around. In the process, we cover some unusual variations, from terrorist groups to multi-level marketing firms. We try very hard not to conflate the two. Perceptive listeners will notice that this episode is a little longer than usual. There is a story behind this… We meet (online, these days) once a month to record our standard episodes. Usually, this gap doesn’t present any problems, as our episodes tend to be on discreet subjects. The longer runs are either heavily scripted, as in At the Mountains of Madness, or broken into subtopics, like The King in Yellow. With the cults episodes, we are just working to a single page of bullet points, bringing our own research and experiences to the conversation. Well, during the last month, we lost our place in our notes and completely forgot where we had got to. Paul and Scott are old, and so have an excuse for poor memories, but we are very disappointed in Matt! All this means that we ended up talking about some of the same things in episodes 2 and 3. To save on redundancy, we have edited two recordings together into a single episode, removing repeated talking points and anecdotes. The two recordings aren’t exactly duplicates, however. The unedited versions going out to Patreon backers will have plenty of juicy material that didn’t make it into either episode. Once again, the 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: Joshua Kennon’s article on cult beliefs Folk Horror Quiverfull Great Replacement The Wicker Man Shub-Niggurath Cthulhu Dark Ages Cthulhu Invictus The VVitch Heaven’s Gate Eschatology The Idol of Cthulhu “The Call of Cthulhu” Red Army Faction Prosperity Gospel The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers Multi-level marketing schemes The blood of the lamb Crucifixion in the Philippines Mortification of the flesh Salad Fingers Mystical religion Buddhafield Holy Hell (2016) Set and setting Candid Camera: Face the Rear Asch Conformity Experiments Cargo Cult “The Dunwich Horror” South China Morning Post article about North Korea Charles Manson The Baader-Meinhof Complex Symbionese Liberation Army 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. More Lockdown Specials We are still releasing fortnightly lockdown specials, discussing films, books and television you might find inspirational in your gaming lives. If you are backing us on Patreon, check your feed. Otherwise, backing us at any level will grant you instant access to the back catalogue. The Good Friends of Jacks-Con Elias Our wonderful listeners over on our Discord server are putting together an online gaming convention in our honour! The Good Friends of Jacks-Con Elias will take place over the 10th-12th of July, with game slots running around the clock. Everyone is welcome to come and join in. You can find out more details on this very website, or, better still, join our Discord server and take an active role. Thank you very much to Orbital Axolotl for coming up with this and bringing it together, and to everyone else who has chipped in with logistical support, ideas and games! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Fricker Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Part 3 now out: https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/07/21/cults-part-3/ We’re back and we’re accepting an enticing invitation. Apparently, if we accompany our new friends back to their commune, they’ll give us dinner and share the secrets of the universe with us. We’re more interested in the food, but who are we to turn down some free enlightenment? The meal smells lovely too. It’s roast pork of some kind, although the cuts look unusual. Still, best tuck in and fuel up for the initiation ritual later. We are continuing our discussion of real-world cults and how they might inspire Call of Cthulhu games. This time, we’re exploring how cults draw people in and what kind of people they attempt to recruit. Based on the anecdotes we share, the answer seems to be “Paul and Scott”. Once again, this is a slightly longer episode than usual, mixing together elements from the recording misadventures we mentioned last time. Once again, the 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: John Sumrow’s Patreon Peoples Temple Buddhafield Holy Hell (2016) Cult Concern FAQ The School of Philosophy A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell The Jesus Army Spying in Guru Land: Inside Britain’s Cults by William Shaw NXIVM Children of God/The Family International Grounded With Louis Theroux Heaven’s Gate Derren Brown Messiah Shared psychosis Elmore Leonard Full Fathom Five Paul has a new Call of Cthulhu scenario coming soon to the Miskatonic Repository. “Full Fathom Five” is an unusual adventure set aboard a whaling ship in the 19th century. As well as blood and sea slime, it drips with period detail. It should appear on DriveThruRPG by the end of the month. Watch our Twitter feed for more details. Masks of Nyarlathotep on How We Roll The end is nigh! As many of you may know, Scott has been running his prelude chapter from Masks of Nyarlathotep for an all-star cast on How We Roll. The players include Veronica from Cthulhu and Friends, Keeper Murph from The Miskatonic University Podcast, Seth Skorkowsky, and Eoghan and Joe from How We Roll. Well, we are now in the final stretch. The final episodes will be appearing in the HWR feed over the course of the next month or two. Now is a great time to start catching up if you haven’t already done so! 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. More Lockdown Specials We are still releasing fortnightly lockdown specials, discussing films, books and television you might find inspirational in your gaming lives. If you are backing us on Patreon, check your feed. Otherwise, backing us at any level will grant you instant access to the back catalogue. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Fricker Posted August 4, 2020 Author Share Posted August 4, 2020 PART 4 out now! https://blasphemoustomes.com/2020/08/04/cults-part-4/ This is the conclusion of our discussion of real-world cults and how they might inspire Call of Cthulhu games. We wrap things up by looking at why people stay in cults, how they might break away, and what could happen to those who do. Once again, the 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: Dawn Smith’s TED Talk about her experience in an evangelical cult Peoples Temple Heaven’s Gate Buddhafield NXIVM Trail of Cthulhu “The Dunwich Horror” The anti-vaccination movement Qanon Sunk cost Why facts don’t change people’s minds Carlos Castaneda Amy Wallace Shared psychosis William Miller Seventh-day Adventist Church The Great Disappointment Jonestown recording Harold Camping Jehovah’s Witnesses and the end of the world The Late, Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey Extinction Rebellion /r/collapse The Concerned Relatives Holy Hell (2016) Anti-Cult Movement Cult deprogrammers EST Exit counsellors Audio Quality Since we started recording remotely, we’ve struggled a bit with audio quality. Scott’s Blue Snowball microphone, in particular, has been malfunctioning in alarming ways. With the lockdown easing a little, we managed a brief socially distanced meeting in which we distributed the equipment we’d used when we recorded in person. As a result, you should hear a marked improvement as of this episode. The Good Friends of Jacks-Con Elias A few weeks ago, our wonderful listeners organised a virtual convention in our name! There were over 50 games run and around 120 players. Thank you very much to Orbital Axolotl for kicking the whole thing off and to TRNSHMN and IPwndMSCS on our Discord server for running it all so smoothly! Scott on Expedition to the Grizzly Peaks Scott recently recorded a substantial interview with Andy Goodman of the Expedition to the Grizzly Peaks podcast. The discussion covered Scott’s background in gaming and the various Call of Cthulhu projects he has worked on over the past 10 years or so. Do check out the other episodes, including actual plays of Masks of Nyarlathotep and “Blackwater Creek”. More Lockdown Specials We are still releasing fortnightly lockdown specials, discussing films, books and television you might find inspirational in your gaming lives. If you are backing us on Patreon, check your feed. Otherwise, backing us at any level will grant you instant access to the back catalogue. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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