Spent the last few weeks reading about horror and attempting to resist tropes only to realize the tropes are there because they help us organize meaning. I didn’t, however, read about the haunted object trope. So many fun ones to learn about.
The leaf mold gets me everytime. I'm so allergic and my mother used to make me mow them up to put on the compost pile. House made out of leave sounds like torture to a person with my sensitivities.
I’m so almost done with school, Chuck. Two more days. Then I can get back to soaking my brain in writing and reading. Always love a new podcast. Thanks!
Things which are haunted always seem to be related to some kind of trespass or unresolved trauma from the past. Take for instance the movie “Even Horizon” — it’s set in space where’s there’s no land or objects to plunder. Still, once the spaceship passes through the wormhole and becomes haunted the crew subsequently start hallucinating people and events from their pasts. They can confront this unresolved, usually traumatic thing and overcome it or they can be destroyed by it. Or, in the case of Sam Neil’s character, they can be possessed by it (literally in the film, though figuratively speaking nothing really has more of a chokehold on a person than their past).
I admire the traditional English horror stories and their delightfully passive narrators. They create suspense without revealing too much about themselves, leaving the interior details to the imagination. Very different from our American style, but both approaches have their uses.
Oddly, a few days ago I bought the audible of the complete M.R. James Ghost stories. 18 hours and 42 minutes. The first story I listened to was The Monkey's Paw. Cue spooky music associated with weird coincidences.
I listened to the podcast. I think Jim Thompson was a master at using language breaking down to reflect a character's deteriorating mental state. A Hell of a Woman, The killer Inside Me and Savage Night being examples.
I'm a sucker for ye olde ghost stories. I had enough credits to minor in 19th century British fiction. "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad?" I mean come on! The sheer drama of just the title. Also, to anyone interested in the STD horror subgenre, may I recommend Demon Seed by Dean Koontz and Night of the Demons. Original and remake.
I love working on horror. It lets us express the human condition in all these bizarre and extreme ways.
What about haunted people?
Well all sorts of demon possession gets mistaken for mental illness.
And vice versa
Per aspera ad astra
Both haunted people and objects have a history.
*Raises hand*
What ever happened to the haunted teddy bear, Mr Palahniuk!? Will he be up for grabs soon?
The bear might turn into a real one and eat you.
Maybe that's why I want him so bad!
It'd be a sequel to “Grizzly Man”
For sure. I will be sure to be even more obnoxious as the Grizzly Guy was.
Thanks for asking! It's in my office. Shall I send it to you for the holidays? If so, send Dennis your snail mail via The Cult.
Yeah!! I'll send him my address! Thank you thank you!!!
Spent the last few weeks reading about horror and attempting to resist tropes only to realize the tropes are there because they help us organize meaning. I didn’t, however, read about the haunted object trope. So many fun ones to learn about.
Always good to establish rules just to break em
House of Leaves is a great example...It's a great example for everything really.
The leaf mold gets me everytime. I'm so allergic and my mother used to make me mow them up to put on the compost pile. House made out of leave sounds like torture to a person with my sensitivities.
Yeah. It sounds like you'll need a leaf steroid to get you through the season!
I like how Yggdrasil is thrown in at the very end at PG 709. Make me wonder if the growling the family heard was Nidhogg.
Unknowingly went the Brit route. I use their spellings half the time, might as well use their tropes too.
Wait, do I need to make up a story to make someone feel guilty about black christmas tree air fresheners?
I'm not gonna say no....
Mr Palahniuk likes mushrooms. I'm taking kratom right now instead of alcohol and it's a great substitute.
I've never had that.
I really like it. It's quite calming but at some point I will have to deal with withdrawals. Apparently the withdrawal deal is horrible with kratom.
Oh really? I see them selling it all the time in Indy alcohol and smoke shops around here.
Oh it's everywhere but I imagine there still may be a time when I won't have it. These things are rarely a constant and sustainable forever.
I’m so almost done with school, Chuck. Two more days. Then I can get back to soaking my brain in writing and reading. Always love a new podcast. Thanks!
I read "Or am I just bugging?" in Cher Horowitz's voice. I need you to know this.
“Let’s suppose that the British plundered the world and brought all the spoils back to the British Museum.”
We’re just trying to see if we can replicate the movie “Night at the Museum”. We’ll give everything back after, promise.
Mr Palahniuk? Can you talk about your near death experience in the comments?
Sorry, words only diminish such topics. You'll have your own someday.
I already did Mr Palahniuk. I died from a fentynal overdose for 7 minutes. I only saw black.
Things which are haunted always seem to be related to some kind of trespass or unresolved trauma from the past. Take for instance the movie “Even Horizon” — it’s set in space where’s there’s no land or objects to plunder. Still, once the spaceship passes through the wormhole and becomes haunted the crew subsequently start hallucinating people and events from their pasts. They can confront this unresolved, usually traumatic thing and overcome it or they can be destroyed by it. Or, in the case of Sam Neil’s character, they can be possessed by it (literally in the film, though figuratively speaking nothing really has more of a chokehold on a person than their past).
I admire the traditional English horror stories and their delightfully passive narrators. They create suspense without revealing too much about themselves, leaving the interior details to the imagination. Very different from our American style, but both approaches have their uses.
Oddly, a few days ago I bought the audible of the complete M.R. James Ghost stories. 18 hours and 42 minutes. The first story I listened to was The Monkey's Paw. Cue spooky music associated with weird coincidences.
I listened to the podcast. I think Jim Thompson was a master at using language breaking down to reflect a character's deteriorating mental state. A Hell of a Woman, The killer Inside Me and Savage Night being examples.
I'm a sucker for ye olde ghost stories. I had enough credits to minor in 19th century British fiction. "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad?" I mean come on! The sheer drama of just the title. Also, to anyone interested in the STD horror subgenre, may I recommend Demon Seed by Dean Koontz and Night of the Demons. Original and remake.
If you haven’t you should check out E.F Benson a literal student of James’
Ah, I just read one. Benson's ghost was much kinder and more gentle.