There Might Be Cupcakes Podcast
by Carla Pettigrew
Carla is: a bookdragon; a 50-something with psychology and counseling degrees with post-grad work in grief/loss/trauma, sex crimes, and forensic anthropology; a woman who has lived in three haunted houses; a former freelance journalist and counselor, who is never bored; a disabled introvert who sees connections everywhere--like John Nash, only less math-y; a knitting fidget who loves horror movies with a skewed passion. Like one of her heroes, Harriet the Spy, she wants to learn everything and write in all down in her commonplace book. Join her (and sometimes her friends) in her strange library as she INFJs everything from unused angles. It’s going to get weird in the best way. Let’s play. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/there-might-be-cupcakes-podcast--4761852/support.
Episodes
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Adulting in Pink: 106
In which Carla explores Duckie or Blane--then v. now, and the effect "John Hughes movies" had on her as a GenXer (and is Pretty in Pink fairly called a "John Hughes movie"? And is 54 too old to watch "80's teen movies"? And how many things "in quotations" are too many things?) Sources: You…
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Victorian Christmas: A Strange Christmas Game: 105
In which Carla celebrates the season by once again celebrating a Victorian horror author, as the Victorians would wish us to do in this season of darkness and cheer. Sources and References: Books by Charlotte Riddell available from Project Gutenberg Books by Mrs. J. H. Riddell available from...
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Hauntology: 104
In which Carla reenters the…why is it a house of leaves? Sources and references: The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Whalestoe Letters: From House of Leaves Poe’s album “Haunted”: Apple, Spotify Starling House, Alix E. Harrow...
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I Contain Multitudes: 103
In which Carla shares her nonfiction five star reads of the past year, and celebrates Banned Books Week. bannedbooksweek.org Theme song and stinger: “She Comes Through the Fog” by Haunted Me, used with permission. How to Support Cupcakes: Subscribe to ad-free episodes and the newsletter at...
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Five Star Fall: 102
In which Carla shares her five star reads of the past year, and talks about where she's been. Theme song and stinger: “She Comes Through the Fog” by Haunted Me, used with permission. How to Support Cupcakes: Subscribe to ad-free episodes and the newsletter at theremightbecupcakes.com (hosted by...
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To the Teeth: 101
In which Carla shares one of Poe's more controversial and violent stories with you. Sources: Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Tales - Berenice Berenice – The Poe Museum Berenice (short story) - Wikipedia Southern Literary Messenger - Wikipedia A Historical Guide to Edgar Allan Poe,...
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Rattlesnake Kisses and Caviar Dreams: 100
In which Carla and her co-author and friend Robert Ford have fun and find cupcakes. Hope you do as well. Video version to follow shortly. Uninterrupted by ads on all feeds. List of Bob's works robertfordauthor.com: Instagram, Bluesky Rattlesnake Kisses (Knucklebucket) by Bob Ford and John Boden...
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House of Leaves: Playing in the Halls of Hells: 99
In which Carla reenters the…why is it a house of leaves? Preorder Tom’s Crossing by Mark Z. Danielewski: https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781524747718 Sources and references: The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Whalestoe Letters: From House of Leaves Poe’s album...
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House of Leaves Recap 4 and 5/5: Build a Casket for My Tears: 98
In which Carla goes deeper into the Five and a Half Hallway and The Three Attic Whalestoe Letters of the House of Leaves novel (fourth and fifth episodes in the series). Remember, Mother loves you. The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Whalestoe Letters: From...
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House of Leaves Recap 3/5: The Hallways in This Tiny Room: 98
In which Carla continues to explore the Navidson Record of House of Leaves, so that we may go deeper. Further down and further in. This is the third glow stick we have popped; we have two more, and much more darkness. The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The...
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House of Leaves Series Recap 2/5: And These Shadows Keep On Changing: 96
In which Carla recaps the second episode (Ergodic) in the series on the universe of the horror novel House of Leaves, so that we may go deeper. Further down and further in, cupcakes. This is the only map we have. The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Whalestoe...
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House of Leaves Series Recap 1/5: So Many Splintered Trees: 95
Recap of the first episode in the series on the universe of the horror novel House of Leaves, so that we may go deeper. Further down and further in. The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski The Whalestoe Letters: From House of Leaves Poe’s album “Haunted”: Apple,...
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Victorian Christmas: Rock of Ages, Haunt for Me: 94
In which Carla returns to the haunted English coastline for Victorian Christmas ghost stories. Source: Strange Stories of Ghosts and Coincidence, ed. Arthur Conan Doyle https://archive.org/details/doyle-arthur-conan-et-al.-strange-stories-of-coincidence-and-ghostly-adventure-george-redway-1891...
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From the Pantry: Boo Without Goo: Scary Movies for the Squeamish Part 2: 93
In which Carla expands a horror movie project that began as a challenge from her best friend: what high-quality horror movies don't have gore? Originally broadcast November 9, 2021 How to Support Cupcakes: Audible: https://www.audible.com/ep/creator?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R Substack:...
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From the Pantry: Boo Without Goo: Scary Movies For the Squeamish Part 1: 92
In which Carla expands a horror movie project that began as a challenge from her best friend: what high-quality horror movies don't have gore? Originally broadcast July 2, 2017 How to Support Cupcakes: Audible: https://www.audible.com/ep/creator?source_code=PDTGBPD060314004R Substack:...
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Ten: Trekking Stubborn: 91
In which Carla looks back over ten years of disability. plus: From the Pantry, originally episode 12, to honor what is missed: Driving, Dancing, and Pizza Hut Loop earplugs: loopearplugs.com will redirect you to your local site Recommended and referenced reading: Bob Ford: official website:...
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From the Pantry: Eclipse: 90
Talking about where I have been, plus: From the Pantry, originally episode 19, to honor the recent eclipse: In which Carla starts with Dolores Claiborne and Gerald's Game--Stephen King's planned In the Path of the Eclipse series—and explores folktales used to explain solar eclipses. It gets…
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Victorian Christmas: A Peculiar Atmosphere of Cranky Scholarship: 89
In which Carla celebrates the Twelve Days of Christmas by connecting M. R. James to Ash’s chainsaw. M. R. James adaptations listed at Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/jwlZ Adaptations of this story: 1956: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-whistle-and-ill-come-to-you-1956-online only for those…
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Library Pirates (with Princess Jones Curtis): 88
Happy anniversary to all of us! Thank you for six years of cupcakes; you are the cupcakes I find on difficult days. I hope I have given you some. Show notes: In which Carla and Princess Jones Curtis from the Bye, Pumkin Podcast talk about being mysteriously early readers, the effect V. C. Andrews...
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To the Lighthouse to Catch a Fish: 87
Show notes: In which Carla tells the fairy tale within Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Sources: “The Fisherman and His Wife”, from Grimm, Wilhelm; Grimm, Jacob. The Complete Folk & Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9789176374559 To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf...
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The Children Are Not Alright: 86
Show notes: In which Carla updates the story of episode 21, Nine Days and Two Car Seats, which tells the story of the murder of Michael and Alex Smith, and updates what their murderer, her mother, Susan Smith, has been up to in the time since the murder. Theme song and stinger: “Comadreamers I”…
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Victorian Christmas: Fingering Death: 85
In which Carla shares lots of good news, and reads more Victorian horror for the holidays. Sources and Recommended Reading: The Valancourt Book of Victorian Christmas Ghost Stories (pp. 117-123) https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781943910564 Ada Buisson on Goodreads:...
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The Little Mermaid: 84
In which Carla explores the kerfuffle behind The Little Mermaid. Original story by Hans Christian Andersen begins at 19:22 Recommended Reading: Haunted Waters by Mary Pope Osborne https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780763629953 Disney: The Little Mermaid: The Film Script...
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Social Appetites: 83
In which Carla discusses the current eating disorder drama and pain in reality tv, her history with an eating disorder, and revisits her interview with Eli Sirota for National Eating Disorders Week. Suggested reading material: Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson...
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Reintroduction and Celebration: 82
In which Carla revisits her first episode and updates it, to celebrate five years of podcasting. Guest visit: Bye, Pumkin Podcast: Surlesque and Lisa’s Angels: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/bye-pumkin-936759/episodes/surlesque-and-lisas-angels-142924068 Greg Behrendt is Uncool: “There Might…
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In the Spirit of the Staircase: House of Leaves: 81
In which Carla goes deeper into the Five and a Half Hallway and The Three Attic Whalestoe Letters of the House of Leaves novel (fifth episode in the series). Theme song and stinger: “Comadreamers I” by Haunted Me, off their Pleasure album, used with permission The House of Leaves universe: House…
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Rooms Full of Indistinguishable Remains: House of Leaves: 80
In which Carla explores the echoes of Johnny's past and the house's present, the spiral of echoes, and the beginning of the exploration of the Five and a Half Minute Hallway. Letters from an asylum and always echoes hallways. Theme song and stinger: “Comadreamers I” by Haunted Me, off their...
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Teenage Hero: Reaching for the Moon: 79
In which Carla learns that the most important Supreme Court case of the civil rights movement was brought about by a sixteen-year-old in her state...and an entire county in her state shut down public school rather than integrate. Marked explicit for racism and racist violence. Theme song and...
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Beloved: The Chaos of the Needy Dead: 78
In which Carla reviews Toni Morrison’s multi-award-winning horror novel Beloved, and the horrific history that inspired it for Black History Month. Theme song and stinger: “Comadreamers I” by Haunted Me, off their Pleasure album, used with permission End music: Lapitino, F. J., Anderson, M.,...
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Epiphany: Breaking Up Christmas: 77
In which Carla celebrates Epiphany by exploring barriers, and celebrating the Victorian tradition of horror at Christmas one more time this season, by reading a Victorian short story that takes place on another barrier night: Halloween. Story: “Man-Sized in Marble”, by E. Nesbit Referenced...
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Victorian Christmas Horror: The Girl in the Snow: 76
In which Carla once again explores the horror realm of Victorian Christmastide and reads another story by a Victorian horror author. Referenced episode: 67: Haunted Yule: Twelve Days:...
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Holly Jolly Horror: 75
In which Carla reads her original Christmas horror short story, “Holly Jolly Christmas”. All rights reserved. Music: “Deck the Halls” by Rue Royale and “Christmas Evil” by Associated Press, used with permission Theme song and stinger: “Comadreamers I” by Haunted Me, off their Pleasure album, used...
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Boo Without Goo, Volume Two: 74
In which Carla reviews and discusses 31 more horror movies without blood and gore, suitable for the squeamish viewer or beginner to horror. No spoilers. Podchaser: The 60 Best Podcasts to Discover for November, including There Might Be Cupcakes!...
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Tangerines to Apples: House of Leaves: 73
In which Carla continues to explore the Navidson Record of House of Leaves. This is the third episode; to begin, start with episode 68: Bone-Chimes and Primitive Spiders: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/there-might-be-cupcakes-podcas-520320/episodes/bone-chimes-and-primitive-spid-85959021 then...
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What's Your Motivation, Heather?: 72
Show notes: In which Carla explores the horror subgenre found footage, and its subgenre internet horror Creepypasta: https://creepypasta.fandom.com/ https://www.reddit.com/r/creepypasta/ https://www.reddit.com/r/creepygaming https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep Ted the Caver:...
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Red Death: 71
In which Carla explores Poe’s plague, and its relationship to Shakespeare’s desert island. Sources: Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales and Poems https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9781500497248 The story at the Poe Museum: https://www.poemuseum.org/the-masque-of-the-red-death The story with annotated...
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Ergodic: House of Leaves: 70
In which Carla explores the beginning of the Navidson Record, the structure of the novel, the history of ergodic literature, and the social phenomenon of the novel 21 years ago, as well as the psychological symptom that drives the stories in this novel. First episode in this series: Bone-Chimes…
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Four Cupcakes: 69
In which Carla celebrated four years of There Might Be Cupcakes! (April 28, 2017) Sources: https://poestories.com/read/alone https://www.eapoe.org/works/poems/alonea.htm The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book by Bill Watterson https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780836204384 Greg Behrendt, “There...
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2017 Entire Halloween Special: 27
The entire episode 27 has been found and saved. Let us celebrate #halfwaytohalloween! Enjoy this flashback to 2017, and enjoy my story and stories from other wonderful podcasts. List of all podcasts involved in this episode, in order, with links, at the website entry for episode 27, Halloween...
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Bone-Chimes and Primitive Spiders: House of Leaves: 68
In which Carla begins her series on the horror novel House of Leaves. The House of Leaves universe: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780375703768 The Whalestoe Letters: From House of Leaves https://bookshop.org/a/6560/9780375714412 Poe’s album “Haunted”: Apple...
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Halloween Cupcakes: 27
This is my segment from the 2018 multi podcast collaboration for Halloween, which was published as my episode 27. When I transferred to Spreaker Prime, the incredibly large episode was lost in transit. Here is my portion: In which Carla goes legend tripping, looking for the Bunnyman of Virginia....
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Haunted Yule: Twelve Days: 67
In which Carla explores the Twelve Days of Christmas and why we send Christmas cards, and reads a Victorian horror story by F. Marion Crawford. Christmas episodes: 32: What the Dickens 47: Victorian Christmas: The Goblin and the Paw 65: Happy Christmas Chaos 66: Deck the Hall with Horror Sources...
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Deck the Hall with Horror: 66
In which Carla revisits the Victorian Christmas tradition of scary stories at Christmas by reading four horror classics of the era--and, in doing so, explores the not-well-known genesis of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, as well as the four-hundred-year-old origins of “Deck the Halls”. Things get…
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Happy Christmas Chaos: 65
In which Carla shares personal stories from childhood Christmases, and shares how she and her family found cupcakes in the unlikeliest of places. These are the stories that weren't funny then, but are now. Originally aired December, 2017; now with new music Website entry for this episode...
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Hounds of Love: 64
In which Carla reads several of her poems live. “and the hunter always followed deep into the forest of campus down the wide lane of Avent Ferry into the shelter of my first home my Mews, I your dark muse on foot or by car, you followed my ex-boyfriend, my attacker ("This girl just had a bad…
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Still Haunted: 63
In which Carla shares more of her past and present personal paranormal experiences in her second live episode. To watch this episode, you may go to either to GetVokl or to YouTube. Image: one of my photographs from Waverly Hills Resource: My Letterboxd list of my favorite haunted house/demented...
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Personal Hauntings: 62
In which Carla shares all of her past and present personal paranormal experiences in her first live episode. To watch this episode, you may go to either to GetVokl or to YouTube. Website entry: Haunting resources (including my Waverly Hills photos) theremightbecupcakes.com/resources-hauntings....
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Roland and the Dark Tower: 61
In which Carla explores all the different incarnations of Childe Roland and his Dark Tower quest throughout history. Referenced and related episodes: Episode 19: The King’s Eclipse Episode 54: Gilead: Meaning in Place Suggested Reading (links to Bookshop, supporting independent bookstores and…
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Urban Legend: 60
In which Carla celebrates World Book Day by reading from her own novel in progress, working title Bonnie Mommie, that she first read from in episodes 2: Casey Anthony and Bonnie MacNara and 8: Toxic Doxology. Referenced episodes on official website: 2: Casey Anthony and Bonnie MacNara:...
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Commingled Gloom and Grandeur: 59
In which Carla reads a lesser-known Poe story, "The Oval Portrait". Story Read: "The Oval Portrait”, Edgar Allan Poe, April 1842 Read online with linked vocabulary words and references at https://poestories.com/text.php?file=ovalportrait Recommended Reading: The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar...
About this show
Carla is: a bookdragon; a 50-something with psychology and counseling degrees with post-grad work in grief/loss/trauma, sex crimes, and forensic anthropology; a woman who has lived in three haunted houses; a former freelance journalist and counselor, who is never bored; a disabled introvert who sees connections everywhere--like John Nash, only less math-y; a knitting fidget who loves horror movies with a skewed passion. Like one of her heroes, Harriet the Spy, she wants to learn everything and write in all down in her commonplace book. Join her (and sometimes her friends) in her strange library as she INFJs everything from unused angles. It’s going to get weird in the best way. Let’s play.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/there-might-be-cupcakes-podcast--4761852/support.
Hosted by
Carla Pettigrew