Episode 164: Another Excuse To Drink In the Street

We kick off an episode devoted to Halloween in the Mythology Hut, where we survey the holiday’s history, mutations over time, and cultural diffusion.

Ken suspects that 1933’s so-called Black Halloween might be entirely apocryphal, but even so we head for the Gaming Hut to riff an outline for a Trail of Cthulhu scenario in which Nodens lets his dark side out.

The Horror Hut has us gazing into mirrors and their use in scary storytelling.

Finally the Consulting Occultist delves into the North Berwick witch trials, in which opponents of King James VI / I found themselves on the wrong end of a Halloween-related accusation.

Ken and Robin have oft been accused of being cards. Well, we can deny it no longer. We have become super-limited promo cards for Murder of Crows, Atlas Games’ fast-paced card game of murder and the macabre, for two to five players in the mood for something a little morbid. It’s Edward Gorey meets Caligari, by way of Edgar Allan Poe. Wait a minute, what does that graphic say? I’m not so sure about this…

Ken fans who did not partake of the Kickstarter will want to sink their fangs into the general release of the Dracula Dossier from Pelgrane Press, consisting of the Director’s Handbook and Dracula Unredacted.

You say that’s still not enough Ken for you? Very well, my friend. His brilliant pieces on parasitic gaming, alternate Newtons, Dacian werewolves and more now lurk among the sparkling bounty of The Best of FENIX Volumes 1-3, from returning sponsors Askfageln. Yes, it’s Sweden’s favorite RPG magazine, now beautifully collected. Warning: not in Swedish.

In a move that surely violates someone’s security clearance, this episode is also brought to you by our friends at Arc Dream Publishing. The Kickstarter for Delta Green: the Roleplaying Game has come to an end, but don’t let that stop you from indulging your fever for this classic game, or that pinnacle of the Cthulhu game zine world, The Unspeakable Oath.