MonsterTalk

We talk with Dr. Jeffrey Weinstock (Central Michigan University) about "Monster Theory" and his new volume which collects a panoply of essays on this interesting topic. 

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In this episode of MonsterTalk Radio, Blake and Karen have David Farnell of Fukuoka University on the show to talk about Frankenstein and the novel’s—and the monster’s—impact on pop culture, as well as how the definition of what a monster is and how monsters are perceived have evolved through literature. David has published numerous papers on monsters and monsters in literature.

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When we think about monsters, the number one reaction most people will have is fear. Why is that and where does it come from? How do our brains process the concept of monsters, our gut reactions to them, and about where we stand with all of that? In this episode of MonsterTalk, Blake sits down with author, professor, and artist, Stephen Asma to delve into how monsters evolved with us as humans culturally, how our imaginations play a role in it, and how our minds wrap themselves around our beliefs—among many other things.

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A look at the brief but influential "life" of the Grand Guignol theater, a Paris stage venue that specialized in gore and terror. We interview Professor Richard Hand, who has co-authored four volumes about this amazing little production company that for a brief while made much of true-crime and visceral nightmarish plots to present gore, horror and terror to Paris audiences. With less than 300 seats but with thousands of performances, the screams that came from its stage still echo through the world of theater to this very day.

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We're joined by the Spooky Science Sisters to talk about one of our favorite ghost stories, the psychic/omen/folklore/horror story that has haunted Karen and me since we were kids - the tale of Lord Dufferin and his encounter with the beyond. 

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Here on MonsterTalk, we stretch the idea of what a monster might be in all sorts of interesting ways. In this episode, Blake and Karen dive into the world of monstrous plants, with Peter D’Amato as their guide. Having grown them for over 40 years, Peter D’Amato is the authority on carnivorous plants. He also authored the book, The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants, which has been reprinted over 25 times.

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Was Elizabeth Bathory the most vicious serial killer of all time? We're joined by historian Kayla of Historical AF to talk about the facts behind the brutal legend of the blood countess. [EXPLICIT WARNING]

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Blake and Karen speak with Toby Ball, author and host of the Strange Arrivals, a podcast that presents a historical UFO event within a social and scientific context. They deep dive not just on the UFO phenomenon, but also on ufology, aspects of which Blake has strong feelings about, as he ardently shows throughout this episode.

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In this episode, we’re talking with Mike Mason of Chaosium, the gaming company that makes the role-playing system Call of Cthulhu. Mike is here to talk about the newest version of Chaosium’s monstrous bestiary, which is called the Malleus Monstrorum, for the seventh edition of the classic game ecosystem based on the works of HP Lovecraft, and all kinds of Lovecraft-adjacent horror.

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We're making big changes in MonsterTalk, joining up with the AirWave podcasting network. This should mean more regular release schedules!  Karen and I have been banking content and I've been working my arse off with behind-the-scenes administrative work.   So our next regular episode is about UFOs and I'm excited about it because there is a lot of really interesting stuff to be said about what's happening in that part of our culture right now. But for now? Let's relax and just talk monsters! I'm excited to bring on Mike Mason of the roleplaying company Chaosium to discuss their new 2-volume book of Lovecraftian monsters: The Malleus Monstrorum!

MonsterTalk Podcast Chaosium and the Malleus Monstrorum Guest: Mike Mason

Episode Summary

In this episode, we're talking with Mike Mason of Chaosium, the gaming company that makes the role-playing system Call of Cthulhu. Mike is here to talk about the newest version of Chaosium's monstrous bestiary, which is called the Malleus Monstrorum, for the seventh edition of the classic game ecosystem based on the works of HP Lovecraft, and all kinds of Lovecraft-adjacent horror.

Notable Quotes

“Storytelling is a tradition and an art form that goes back to the very beginnings of humanity. And I think role-playing is just a different iteration of the same kind of will to tell stories.” - Mike Mason

“At the very heart of the [Call of Cthulhu], it's a horror role-playing system. And if you want to not use the Cthulhu mythos in any way, and you want to focus on traditional folklore monsters like werewolves and vampires, you can do. You could do a version of Dracula or whatever horror film you want to name, and use the game as a vehicle to do that.” - Mike Mason

“I've described in my own work how important narrative is to literally every culture. Like there's elements that are repeated inside these cultures, in their own different sort of idioms, but the storytelling process itself seems to be a very human thing. I'm not aware of any culture... and I don't know if you can have culture without story.” - Blake Smith

“I've mentioned it before, I'll mention it again. People ask me, wait, if you're going to start with Lovecraft, what do you think the best book to begin with is? And I always say a dictionary.” - Blake Smith

Relevant Links

Chaosium.com

Cthulhu mythos

Call of Cthulhu RPG game

Malleus Monstrorum

Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft

Shadow over Innsmouth by H. P. Lovecraft

The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft

Dreams of the Witch House by H. P. Lovecraft

The Horror from Red Hook by H. P. Lovecraft

The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle

Pulp Cthulhu

Down Darker Trails

The Children of Fear

Roll20

Fantasy Grounds

Demon Slayer

Horror on the Orient Express

RuneQuest

Superworld

George RR Martin's WIldcards to become TV Series 

Basic Role-Playing system (BRP)

Lovecraft Country

Re-Animator

From Beyond

Call of Cthulhu Starter Set

Call of Cthulhu Quickstart

Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rule Book

DriveThruRPG.com

Usborne Book of Ghosts

Gef! The Strange Tale of an Extra-Special Talking Mongoose by Christopher Josiffe

In this Episode of MonsterTalk

· (00:00:01) Introducing Mike

· (00:03:04) Call of Cthulhu, the role-playing game

· (00:08:21) Shadow over Innsmouth and The Dunwich Horror

· (00:09:27) Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green

· (00:11:42) The sanity game mechanic

· (00:14:50) Long-form, continuous gaming campaigns

· (00:16:36) Pulp Cthulhu

· (00:18:32) The Malleus Monstrorum, Book One: the monsters

· (00:21:00) The Malleus Monstrorum, Book Two: the deities

· (00:22:40) The art of The Malleus Monstrorum

· (00:26:03) The versatility of Call of Cthulhu’s game mechanics

· (00:30:12) Role-playing games and the pandemic

· (00:33:44) Demon Slayer

· (00:36:36) Role-playing and the cultural importance of storytelling

· (00:40:29) RuneQuest, Superworld, and the Basic Role-Playing (BRP) system

· (00:44:02) Lovecraft Country and the new, diverse voices of Lovecraftian horror

· (00:50:09) How to start playing Call of Cthulhu

· (00:53:35) Mike’s favorite monster

· (00:59:27) Embracing contemporary technology in horror role-playing

· (01:00:43) The importance of “the Onion” in storytelling

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