The Good Friends of Jackson Elias is an irregular podcast devoted to the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game, horror movies and horror gaming in general. It is hosted by Paul Fricker, Matthew Sanderson and Scott Dorward, three freelance writers who have worked on the new edition of Call of Cthulhu and other horror roleplaying games. Episodes are usually built around a particular theme, always centred on our shared love of all things dark and horrifying.
https://blasphemoustomes.com/category/podcast/
Nightmare Alley
We’re back and and we’re geeking out.
Main Topic: Nightmare Alley
With all the talk about mediums in recent episodes, we thought it might be helpful to examine one from media. Guillermo del Toro’s 2021 adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s novel Nightmare Alley may not lean into the Spiritualist elements of the source, but it still presents a gripping story of a predator who uses the techniques of stage mediumship. Moreover, the film’s setting in the worlds of carnival sideshows and mentalist acts are rich inspiration for games of Call of Cthulhu.
As well as discussing the film itself, we talk a little about del Toro’s career, focusing on some highlights.
Links
Things we mention in this episode include:
* Spiritualism
* Séances
* Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham
* Nightmare Alley (1947)
* Tyrone Power
* Hays Code
* “Who Goes There?” by John W Campbell Jr
* The Thing (1982)
* The Thing From Another World (1951)
* Nightmare Alley: A Vision in Darkness and Light
* Geek show
* Freaks (1932)
* Mentalism
* Hanged Man tarot card
* In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
* “Bleak Prospect” from Nameless Horrors
* Theosophy
* Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
* Hellboy (2004)
* Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)