The Delapore Media Podcast

On the tenth episode of the Delapore Media Podcast we discuss cults.  The cultist often comes off as an oversimplified, homicidal and/or suicidal zealot in Lovecraftian TTRPGs and pulp stories of cosmic horror.  This episode applies the Lovecraftian gaze on the human factors that make this kind of fanaticism possible and considers how to use those ideas in storytelling. With Amanda Montell's Cultish: The Language of Fanatacism (2021) as our principal text, and corresponding examples of cults in Lovecraft's short stories, we dive into the histories of three cults that gained prominence in The Post War United States.  We examine cult techniques for attracting and maintaining the devotion of followers, we consider the fallout from these organizations, and we look for lessons that we can apply to fictional cults we create for our cosmic horror TTRPGs and other creative works.  Warning: This podcast contains candid discussion of mass suicide and sexual abuse, including recordings of cult leaders discussing the same.   Readings from the works of H.P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu The Haunter of the Dark The Shadow Over Innsmouth   Additional Works Cited: Neonomicon, Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows (2011)   For Further Information on the Cults Discussed: People's Temple (forthcoming) Heaven's Gate (forthcoming) Behind the Bastards Episodes on L. Ron Hubbard.   Music Credits Theme by Cyber Angel Additional Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio CapCut, and Brighid Wall L. Ron Hubbard, "Thank You for Listening" (1986). "Father Dagon" written and performed by Stephen Wall as Zadok Allen and voices of the Innsmouth Boys Choir.     Resources and Products from Delapore Media Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN, available at DriveThruRPG.   A Miskatonic Repository Scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG This vampire horror scenario is set retro 90s Middle America and follows church moms and goth kids as they discover the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting, 6 pre-generated characters, maps, and art by DG Monsters, DNS, and Murphy Knox.  

This episode takes on the complex task of portraying ethnic and cultural groups in Lovecraftian horror, with particular emphasis on colonized peoples.  Thankfully, we have the poetry of featured author Bryan Thao Worra to serve as waypoint and respite as we answer the racist caricatures of the Lovecraftian past with foundational works of modern anthropology and ethnography.  There are better, more realistic ways to portray the Cthulhu Mythos' corruptive influence on human groups.  We can write fiction and TTRPGs that account for cultural context, maligning rumor, and the other everyday social practices that help cosmic horrors do their terrible work and hide in plain sight.        Featured Author: Bryan Thao Worra Before We Remember We Dream.  2020 Demonstra: Lao American Art and Poetry, 2013.  Art by Vongduane Manivong. THAOWORRADOME A blog of Laotian American Writer Bryan Thao Worra and various guests dicussing Lao American Literature   Additional Works Referenced Derleth and Schorer. "Lair of the Start Spawn," 1932.  Republished in Magazine of Horror 1966--starting on page 8. Robert M. Price ed. Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos, 1992.   Victor Lavalle, The Ballad of Black Tom, 2016.   Renato Rosaldo. Grief and a Headhunter's Rage, 1989. Clifford and Marcus.  Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, 1986.    Edward W. Said.  Orientalism, 1977   Music Credits Theme by Cyber Angel Additional Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio CapCut, and Brighid Wall   Resources and Products from Delapore Media Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN, available at DriveThruRPG.   A Miskatonic Repository Scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG This vampire horror scenario is set retro 90s Middle America and follows church moms and goth kids as they discover the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting, 6 pre-generated characters, maps, and art by DG Monsters, DNS, and Murphy Knox.  

I was so inspired by my discussion with Jacqueline Bryk, I decided to take a walk through the haunted neighborhoods of Lovecraft Country and provide my own thoughts on the connections between cosmic horror and the family.  Join me, as I peer through the dingy basement windows of the eponymous Shunned House, examine the two fictional families at the heart of the tale, and then consider familial pressures in H.P. Lovecraft's life by reading a few childhood letters he received from his maternal grandfather.    Works and Authors Discussed The Shunned House, by H.P. Lovecraft H.P. Lovecraft: Letters of to Family and Family Friends, Hippocampus Press Clifford Geertz In the Mountains of Madness Voluminous: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft   Music Credits Theme by Cyber Angel Additional Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio and Brighid Wall   Resources and Products from Delapore Media Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN, available at DriveThruRPG.   A Miskatonic Repository Scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG This vampire horror scenario is set retro 90s Middle America and follows church moms and goth kids as they discover the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting, 6 pre-generated characters, maps, and art by DG Monsters, DNS, and Murphy Knox.  

Author, Editor, and Game Designer Jacqueline Bryk returns to the Delapore Media Podcast to give her takes on horror literature, her current reads and all-time favorites, and provide extensive commentary on the connections between two subjects: cosmic horror and the family.  This episode is full of inspiration, direction, and novel approaches from an experienced game developer.  It is not to be missed, especially if you are looking for something new and meaningful to bring to the table when you write or run your next horror game. Jacqueline Bryk Social Media: @rufflejax.bsky.social Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/rufflejax     Works and Authors Referenced Ruthanna Emrys Delta Green Shotgun Scenario Contest Ursla K. Le Guin Margaret Atwood V. C. Andrews Alison Rumfitt  Andrew Joseph White Agustina Bazterrica A Certain Hunger, Chelsea G. Summers A Single, Numberless Death, Nora Strejilevich   Music Credits Theme by Cyber Angel   Resources and Products from Delapore Media Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN, available at DriveThruRPG.   A Miskatonic Repository Scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG This vampire horror scenario is set retro 90s Middle America and follows church moms and goth kids as they discover the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting, 6 pre-generated characters, maps, and art by DG Monsters, DNS, and Murphy Knox.  

In this episode, I'm privileged to present my interview with TTRPG designer Jacqueline Bryk.  Jacqueline is prolific editor and writer who has worked on a wide variety of games including Kult: Divinity Lost, Exalted, Scion, and World of Darkness.  February marks the release of her latest solo TTRPG project: Bear Witness, available through Plus One EXP Zine Club.  This solo journaling game is an homage to the transgressive 2008 French horror film Martyrs, directed by Pascal Laugier.  I talk to Jacquelyn about what inspired her, how she developed the game, and we share a discussion of my play-through experience.  We also discuss the American suburbs as a horror setting and some of the more monstrous qualities of the nuclear family. Content Warning: Bear Witness is a transgressive horror TTRPG that describes the systematic kidnapping and torture of helpless individuals, all beneath a layer of suburban banality and nonchalance that serves to heighten the cruelty and inhumanity perpetrated by the player character.  Both my discussion with Jacqueline Bryk and my notes from my play-through of the game reflect these facts.     Jacqueline Bryk  Blue Sky: @rufflejax.bsky.social Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/rufflejax   BEAR WITNESS IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE  https://plusoneexp.com/products/bear-witness-1   Notes for My Play-Through of Bear Witness https://delaporemedia.wordpress.com/bear-witness-play-through/   Musical Theme: Gothic by Cyber Angel

This is a bonus minisode in which I read a bit from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear."  I'm mainly doing this to test some uploading issues, but since this reading was going to end up on the cutting room floor, I figured I might as well share it.  Enjoy.   H.P. Lovecraft's "The Lurking Fear" (1923) Music Credits Theme by Cyber Angel Additional Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio   Resources and Products from Delapore Media Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources Get a Discounted Code of Delapore Media's Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario here: SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN at DriveThruRPG.  60% Off.  Only $2 USD! Or get the code at http://www.delapore.media under the post "Anniversary Sale!"  A vampire horror scenario set in retro 90s Middle America where church moms and goth kids take on the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting.  

This episode explores the American suburbs as a unique horror setting and considers how to bring that horror to TTRPGs and other creative works.  I'll discuss the origins, failings, and fallout of suburban expansion and consider the shadows that lurk amidst a landscape of cul-de-sacs, perfectly manicured lawns, and two-car garages.  I'll show you how suburbia gave birth to a new wave of gothic storytelling and provide some accessible academic resources you can use to plan your stories set in the American suburbs.    So keep up with the Joneses, don't tread on the neighbors' grass, and avoid the baleful gaze of the HOA president as we consider the nightmare of the American Wasteland.        Content Warning:  This is a politically charged episode with frequent references to systemic racism and poverty.  Also, this episode features readings from the works of Matthew M. Bartlett, a man who's prose would give any would-be censor an apoplectic fit.  You have been warned.     Thank you to Matthew M. Bartlett for permission to read from his works.  Mr. Bartlett's unique catalogue of surreal and grotesque horror tales and other merchandise is available online at Gare Occult.   Works Referenced: Eco Gecko, Urban Planning Commentary on YouTube.  Particularly the video essay series Suburban Wasteland.   M.A. Kleen, Author and Blogger.  Specifically his articles on the Suburban Gothic. Stephen Graham Jones, Mongrels, 2016.   Matthew M. Bartlett, The Devil's Radio and WXXT Program Guide chapbook series.     Music Credits Themes by Cyber Angel, Ausku Studio, Pinetreesstudio, STAGEWORKMUSIC, CapCut Music Additional Music by Brighid Wall   Resources and Products from Delapore Media Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources Get a Discounted Code of Delapore Media's Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario here: SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN at DriveThruRPG.  60% Off.  Only $2 USD! Or get the code at http://www.delapore.media under the post "Anniversary Sale!"  A vampire horror scenario set in retro 90s Middle America where church moms and goth kids take on the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting.  

This episode focuses on ghosts and ghost stories in TTRPGs.  I'll look at some narrative tools that let your players' imaginations do the heavy lifting, talk about some talented ghost story authors and how they use these tools, critique a beloved retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and page through one of my favorite TTRPG resources for building better ghosts.  All this, plus my own chilling account of a supernatural visitation.   Content Warning: Casual Discussion of Suicide.  Follow Along in Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts  Works Referenced: The Theory of the Weird Tale, ed. S.T. Joshi, Sarnath Press (2024). The Weird and the Eerie, Mark Fisher, Repeater (2017).    Collected Ghost Stories, M.R. James, Benedict Classics (2011). Celtic Weird: Tales of Wicked Folklore and Dark Mythology, ed. Johnny Mains, British Library Publishing (2023). Illusions of Presence: Lost Christmas Ghost Stories, ed. Johnny Mains, British Library Publishing (2025). Tell Me I'm Worthless, Alison Rumfitt, Tor Nightfire (2023). Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts, Bill Connors et al., TSR (1992). The Muppet Christmas Carol, Brian Henson, Walt Disney Pictures (1992). Music Themes by Cyber Angel, Kourenaidouke, and Cowaii (via CapCut) Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources Get a Discounted Code of Delapore Media's Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario here: SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN at DriveThruRPG.  60% Off.  Only $2 USD! Or get the code at http://www.delapore.media under the post "Anniversary Sale!"  A vampire horror scenario set in retro 90s Middle America where church moms and goth kids take on the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting.  

This episode explores Folk Horror as a genre, its origins in rural folkways, and how to utilize it as a theme in TTRPG horror scenarios in ways that avoid feeling stale and formulaic.  I supply a bit of personal biography about rural agricultural life in my childhood, I talk through some personal theories on why I think folk horror holds the interest of an urbanized audience, and I look at whether Lovecraft's body of work contains folk horror.    Moon Signs and the Body woodcut image Works Referenced: Out of the Ordinary: Folklore and the Supernatural, Edited by Barbara Walker (1995) Pagan Celtic Britain, by Anne Ross (1967)  Folk Horror Revival and the Urban Wyrd Project   Music Themes: Gothic by Cyber Angel, Gothic Music with a Classical Atmosphere by Kourenaidouke; both available through CapCut. Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources Get a Discounted Code of Delapore Media's Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario here: SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN at DriveThruRPG.  60% Off.  Only $2 USD! Or get the code at http://www.delapore.media under the post "Anniversary Sale!"  A vampire horror scenario set in retro 90s Middle America where church moms and goth kids take on the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting.  

In this episode I explore the vampire as a concept in folklore and popular culture using Paul Barber's Vampires, Burial, and Death, and then look at new and different ways to adapt this enduring monster framework to horror ttrpgs.   Visit Delapore Media for more TTRPG Resources Get a Discounted Code of Delapore Media's Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario here: SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN at DriveThruRPG.  60% Off.  Only $2 USD! Or get the code at http://www.delapore.media under the post "Anniversary Sale!"  A vampire horror scenario set in retro 90s Middle America where church moms and goth kids take on the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting.  

In this episode I talk about my journey as a Lovecraftian, encountering Lovecraft's racism, and working through it, as I find my own place as a fan and creator within the genre. Visit Delapore Media for a more TTRPG resources.   Get a Discounted Copy of Delapore Media's Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario here: SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN at DriveThruRPG.  60% Off.  Only $2 USD! Or get the code at http://www.delapore.media under the post "Anniversary Sale!" A vampire horror scenario set in retro 90s Middle America where church moms and goth kids take on the Cthulhu Mythos.  A great one-night scenario with a unique setting.