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.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MonsterTalk

237 - Lord Dufferin's Ghost

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

236 - Carnivorous Plants

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] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

235 - Hungarian Goulish: The Elizabeth Bathory Mystery

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

234: Toby Ball - Strange Arrivals S2

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chaosium and the Malleus Monstrorum

 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 Check out Chaosium on social: Twitter | Facebook Catch Mike Mason on social: Twitter | Facebook You can also listen to our episodes on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify| Stitcher | TuneIn Follow us on our social networks: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube Love the show? Support us on Patreon!

Bonus - Chaosium and The Malleus Monstrorum

On July 18, 2021 the AiPT SciPhiFest Conference included a 45 min segment of my  interview with author and comic-book artist Stephen R. Bissette (who is probably best known for his work on the Alan Moore run of the DC comic Swamp Thing). The interview is about Stephen's book CRYPTID CINEMA (http://bit.ly/CryptidCinema) with a special focus on the little-known touring film used by Roger Patterson to promote (and profit from) his famous alleged Bigfoot film. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

233 - Bigfoot: America's Abominable Snowman

They're everywhere. They're inside you. You can't escape them - and can't live without them: Bacteria! We're joined by microbiology experts Maddy Love and Kurt Jude to talk about the fascinating (but sometimes disgusting) lifeforms we call "bacteria."   What is bacteria?  Bacterial vs Viral infections  CDC on antibiotics    Additional Links: The impact of thawing bacteria   Should I freak out about flesh-eating bacteria? 

232 - Bacteria

They're everywhere. They're inside you. You can't escape them - and can't live without them: Bacteria! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The online convention starts at 10 am and I'll be participating in a couple of ways if you're interested. At noon, I've got a special interview with Stephen R. Bissette. You might know him as a key artist on Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing in the 80s - but if you've been subscribing to BIG FOOTAGE the Patreon bonus cast, you'll know him as the author of CRYPTID CINEMA. I'll also be on at 3:30 pm with Jeb Card to discuss conspiracies and comics. https://bit.ly/SciPhiFest2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AIPT Presents SciPhi Fest 2021

Sapphire Sandalo is the host of the web series Stories with Sapphire. She's a writer, animator, podcaster, TV personality, and part-time university instructor. Her series tells stories with distinctive music and animation and has a strong representation of many monsters, ghosts and creatures that come from Asian folklore from multiple cultures and stories submitted by her audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

231 - Asian Monsters with Sapphire Sandalo

Karen and Blake are joined by the hosts of MonsterFuzz, Eamonn O'Neill and Rob Billington, to discuss monsters and folklore of Ireland. Well, that's what we were supposed to talk about but we wandered a bit because it was obvious we all loved talking about monsters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

230 - Otter King & Other Things

  It's been nearly a century since the uncropped photo of the alleged Watertown Ghosts was seen by the public. In that time a tiny cropped version of the original has become an iconic member of the "greatest ghost photos of all time" club.  Blake's research which was published in 2010 showed that the photo was manipulated, but he never forgot the missing uncropped photo and unanswered questions about the case. But thanks to his research we can now see the original photo in its uncropped state and it's a surprisingly dramatic image. If you'd like to share the story of this photo with friends please consider checking out his write-up of the case on Medium. "Clapping" for the article and sharing it may help other paranormal enthusiasts see the full photo and new details.  Below you can see the cropped and uncropped photos: The uncropped full version of the famous ghost photo, rediscovered after more than fifty years:   

229 - Watertown 2: Eclectic Boo-Galoo

Blake Smith has uncovered the uncropped "Watertown Ghosts" photo, lost to the public for more than fifty years, plus more discoveries about this famous alleged ghost photo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MonsterTalk: The Science Show About Monsters is a free audio podcast that critically examines the science behind cryptozoological (and legendary) creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, or werewolves.

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