#this book had another interesting theme : what is ritual to humans as a species?

[feytouchedtwilight]

“There was a time, Becket knew, when holy people were not safe. When they were not tame. When they were not the gentle shepherds, but the keepers of mysteries and the guardians of fire. As a priest, he turned wine into blood and bread into flesh—why had that ever become a tame thing, a safe thing? God was not safe. The numinous was not safe. So why then had he hemmed in his faith with safety? His hunger with rules? His zeal with bloodless, methodical praxis? He loved rituals, rites, and liturgies, that was unchanged. He loved the motions of them, the ancient words, the less-than-ancient words made to sound older than they were. But he’d been reduced by them, he saw now. Or perhaps not him personally, but his understanding, his relationship with God and belief. He’d hoped to wrestle it into submission, that relationship, and make it something that matched the way other people believed. He’d hoped to hide his zeal, stuff it into the corners of himself, bind it and lash it to his heart so it could never make it to his mouth to his hands and deeds. So that it could never make itself known. All he’d wanted, all he’d ever wanted, was to believe like other people did. Communally and pleasantly, and with glad hearts that could easily bear the distance between themselves and God. Not wild and alone. Chasing after God like an abandoned bridegroom. … Yes, the zeal was dangerous. Yes, it could consume him if he wasn’t strong enough. But he was tired of fighting it. Tired of pushing away love and sex and feral fun, tired of keeping his hunger for God locked in a box because he felt like he had to.”

~ Door of Bruises by Sierra Simone

[carriagelamp]

Art of Aardman

I found myself a cheap copy of the Shaun the Sheep movie, so I was rewatching a bunch of Aardman films earlier this month and decided to hunt down some books too. For anyone that doesn’t know, Aardman is a British stop-motion studio that does fantastic work like Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, Early Man… tons of cool stuff. They’re always quirky and funny and warm-hearted. This was just a very nice art book for anyone that’s a fan of Aardman stop motion and wants to see a bit extra; it shows some cool concept art and blows up the neat details in Aardman work, especially in their intricate stuff like The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

Asterix and the Picts (Asterix and the Chariot Race, and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion)

I decided to try a couple of the new Asterix comics that were done by the new team, just to see if they stand up to the old ones (that and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion cause I’d never read that one before). They were pretty decent! Asterix and the Picts was my favourite of the two though I wouldn’t say either are going to contest for my favourite Asterix comic... but still! The art looks good and the stories felt like what I would expect, they made for a pleasant couple evenings of reading especially since it’s been so long since I’ve read a new Asterix comic. If you’ve never read Asterix it’s one of the biggest name French comic series in North America, as far as I know and very worth the read. It’s about a single Gaulish village that’s holding out against the invading Romans through sheer force of will, slapstick hijinks, and a magical super-strength potion brewed by their druid. Lots of fantastic visuals and cute wordplay, even in the English translations.

Bear

I found out about this bastion of Canadian literature via tumblr post that was losing its collective mind over the fact that some bizarre bear-based erotica novella somehow won the most prestigious literary prize available in Canada. Since I too found this hilarious and unspeakably bizarre I had to give it a read, obviously. And yes, the flat surface level summary is... a librarian moves out into rural Ontario and falls in love with a literal for-real not-supernatural-not-a-joke bear. And I have to say… it is actually worthy of an award, which I was not expecting given that I was there for a laugh. It has beautiful writing, and the subtextual story is pretty interesting… it kind of makes me think of The Haunting of Hill House actually in terms of themes. (Womanhood, personhood, independence, autonomy partially achieved through escaping the male gaze by claiming non-human lovers... listen if I were still in university I would right a paper comparing the two novels).

I dunno man, it’s fucking weird. Actually a well-written book, but sure is about a woman falling in love with a literal bear. Give it a read if you want something bonkers but like… high-brow bonkers.

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites

Best book I have read in like… a while. A long while. I am not a fast reader, and I consumed 90% of this book over a weekend. It’s not at all like Terry Pratchett, but at the same time it scratched an itch for me that I haven’t had satisfied since Pratchett’s death. A very clever, hilariously funny poly romance between a disabled werewolf, an anxious vampire lord, and an incredibly powerful woman, with heaps of social satire, political commentary, and sinister undertones. The whole thing reads a bit like fanfiction and I say that in the most flattering way possible -- it is so easy to jump right in and be immediately taken over by the characters and the world and the plot, you never feel like you’re fighting to engage even though the world-building is fascinating and expansive. It welcomes you in right away, it was the book equivalent of a quilt and a hug which is something I sorely needed with all this pandemic bullshit. If you read any of the books on this list, go read that one while I sit here in pain waiting for the sequel.

Kid Paddle

I watched the cartoon of Kid Paddle as a kid and was thinking about it recently, so I decided to hunt down some of the original comics online. They’re fun and weird, with a cute art style and fantastic monsters designs. (My favourites are always about Kid either daydreaming or playing games that involve Midam’s weird warty troll creatures. It’s like a cross between Calvin and Hobbes and Foxtrot with the fun sort of quirks that I love in Belgian comics. Unfortunately, unlike Asterix, I’ve only come across these ones in French, but if you can read French it’s totally worth popping over to The Internet Archive and reading the ones they have available.

The Last Firehawk: The Golden Temple

The lastest Firehawk book. Despite being written for quite young readers, I did enjoy the early books in this series quite a bit. They’re about a young owl and squirrel who found an egg for a magical species that was believed to be extinct. With the newly hatched firehawk, the three of them head off on a mission to find an ancient firehawk magic that could save the entire forest. Very basic adventure story but a good intro to the tropes for children. Unfortunately the quality really feels like it drops with each subsequent book; this will probably be the last one I bother reading.

Lumberjanes: The Moon Is Up

I honestly think I enjoy these Lumberjanes novels even more than the comics just because it really gives time to delve into each story and examine how the camper are really thinking and feeling about everything. (Also I’m always weak for novelizations of anything.) The Moon Is Up is a book that focuses more on Jo, and takes place during the camp’s much anticipated Galaxy Wars, a competition between cabins that goes over several days. While the campers prepare for these challenges though, they also run into a strange little creature with a penchant for cheese and theft. Roanoke cabin needs to keep ahead in Galaxy Wars and somehow deal with the fearsome Moon Pirates that a closing in...

Lumberjanes v4 (Out Of Time)

One of the Lumberjanes comics, a cool, girl-focused, queer comic series. Honestly, this is just a fun series that I never got as into as I should have. My advice is honestly to skip book one because it gets better as it continues, and I’ve really been enjoying the later books now that I’ve given it another go. It follows five campers at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types (Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley) as they handle all sorts of challenges, from friendship to crushes, camp activities to supernatural horrors, getting badges to not being brutally killed. Great if you liked the vibe of Gravity Falls but want it to be queer-er.

Mooncakes

Another queer graphic novel, but unfortunately not a very good one. It really looked appealing and I had high hopes, but the book itself really didn’t hold up… I actually couldn’t even finish it, the plot was just too… non-existent. The art is fairly mediocre once you actually look at it, especially backgrounds, and it feels very… placid. Not much conflict or excitement or even a very compelling reason to keep reading. If you just want a soft queer supernatural you may get more mileage out of it than me, but it didn’t really do it for me. There’s better queer graphic novels out there.

New Boy In Town

One of the worst books I have ever read. My girlfriend had ordered a very different book online but through a frankly stupendous error was sent this 1980s pulp romance instead. Absolutely nauseating on levels I couldn’t even begin to enumerate here. Naturally we read the whole thing out loud. Probably took us 10 times longer to finish than it warranted because I had to stop every two sentences to lose my mind. If you like bad decisions, baffling hetero courting rituals, built-in cultural Christianity without actually calling it that, and gold panning then boy howdy is this the book for you.

(seriously, you better have patience for gold-panning if you attempt this one, because I sure learn that I don’t)

Piggies

This was a picture book I enjoyed as a kid and had a reason to reread recently. Honestly it’s just very cute and simple, and the art is completely mesmerizing. Wonderful if you know a young child that would enjoy a simple goofy boardbook.

Shaun the Sheep: Tales From Mossy Bottom

Related to my Aardman fascination earlier this month. I tried reading a varieties of Shaun the Sheep books — most of which are mediocre at best — but the Tales From Mossy Bottom Farm series is genuinely good. Just chapter books, of course, but the illustrations match the series’ concept art and each story feels like it could have jumped directly out of an episode. They’re just cute and feel-good! Kinda like Footrot Flats but more for kids, and from the sheep’s perspective moreso than the dog’s.

[ossseous]

hello!! hope you're well! just saw ur response to the "properly formed society" comment on the carrier bag theory ursula post, i felt like the way u answered was so gentle but firm and informed. was wondering if u could maybe share some recommendations for texts to read more about this? cos i agree w/ the idea but its hard to find books like that. for example i think yuval's book ultimately has this kind of idea behind it (havent read it but from what ive read OF it, thats the vibe). thank u!!

sorry the word limit probably didn't help me express that right, i meant more books about anthro that focus on exploring human nature and our beginnings with a less "man is violent. man is the best supreme species. progress greatest invention. colonialism good because progress" yadda yadda yadda kind of deal, does this make sense? thank you again. also i think im obligated now to ask u your garbage ship of the week 

I’m much more of an article person than a book person because I can only take so much dry jargon filled writing for so long, but I do have some suggestions.

The biggest one is probably Questioning Collapse. For context, Jared Diamond is a man (not an anthropologist) that shares all his theories on how past civilizations, such as the Greenland Norse, or the Rapa Nui, or the Maya, collapsed, in the terribly titled book Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (yikes). Let's get some things straight though. Jared Diamond proved in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, that he is a white supremacist who exploited the people of Papua New Guinea and believes that euro imperialism was just , bound to happen because europeans were more "civilized." So it was no surprise when all his favorite themes, that people, especially "uncivilized" ones, are violent and selfish, showed up in Collapse. 

Unfortunately, many of these theories have become very popular and many people assume them to be correct when they aren't. Some examples: Diamond posited that the Rapa Nui (Easter Islanders) essentially destroyed their own natural resources which lead to warfare, cannibalism, and eventually their own demise. This ignores the fact that the island was ravaged by european expeditions, which included Fuck Boy Supreme James Cook (of the botched kidnapping and eventual killing by Hawaiians fame). Of course these encounters with Europeans led to the enslaving of the Rapa Nui, as well as the introduction of diseases that had a devastating impact on the population numbers.

Anyways, Questioning Collapse, edited by McAnany and Yoffee, is a collection of essays written by different people in the scientific community to dispute the theories Jared Diamond lays out in his book Collapse.

Ancient Civilizations by Fagan and Scarre, specifically chapter 2 “theories of states”

Another one would probably be Almost Human: A Journey into the World of Baboons written by Shirley C. Strum. I cant quite remember if Strum ever addresses this because it has been a few years since I read it, but: some of the earliest "man is just naturally violent and animalistic" ideas actually come from the surveying of baboon (and other primate) behavior and comparative anthropology. However, this came early in the field of primatology when observation methods weren't pinned down. Long story short, the male baboons that were being observed weren't actually being "naturally" violent--they were agitated and scared because the people observing them were literally observing them from a big ol scary unfamiliar jeep/atv thing that they drove up right next to the baboons' band. That was decades ago, and a lot of changes have been made since to how fieldwork is done. Anyways, Strum was one of the earliest groups of people to go out and observe baboons and she continued to do it for decades. Almost Human is essentially a look at her field notes/diary during the time. I have a couple other primatology book suggestions if you are interested. Here a couple: Gorillas in the Mist or anything else by Dian Fossey. Manipulative Monkeys by Susan Perry.

The next book I recommend is Farmers, Traders, Warriors, and Kings: Female Power and Authority in Northern Igboland, 1900-1960 by Nwando Achebe. From what I remember, Achebe isn't terribly fond of the anthropology field, (which is interesting because much of the book is ethnographic), but what can I say, I personally do not like historians myself so 🤷‍♀️ (also I might be thinking of someone else)

My personal loathing of historians aside, this is a great book that explores the ways in which women... well... navigate power and authority. You get to learn all about Female Kings and how the Igbo do not fit in with eurocentric gender norms--as well as the impact that European colonization eventually has on the Igbo culture and the role women and men play within their families and society.

Some articles that discuss the effects of colonialism, structure of prehistoric societies etc etc from an anthropological perspective:

State Formation: Anthropological Perspectives by Krohn-Hansen and Nustad

Different Types of Egalitarian Societies and the Development of Inequality in Early Mesopotamia by M Frangipane

Change in the Lives of Brazilian Indigenous People: To Pluck Eyelashes (or Not?) among the Canela by William and Jean Crocker

Gender Dynamics in Hunter-Gatherer Society: Archaeological Methods and Perspectives by Brumbach and Jarvenpa

Economy, Ritual, and Power in Ubaid Mesopotamia by Gil Stein

I have a lot of these articles (and more lol) as PDFs. If you would like to read them and cannot access them, let me know, I can put them in google drive or something.

also my garbage ship right now is still beth/borgov from the queens gambit lmao

[theysaywhatasadsight]

Fangs, Claws and Webshooters

A/n: This is for  @revengingbarnes  ‘s  10k writing challenge, the theme of which was TV shows. I chose Teen Wolf with Peter P. This was an interesting challenge to write! 

She walked out of ethics, books in hand, her friends giggling at a joke Rachel was making. She rolled her eyes and laughed at Rachel's annoyed face. Her phone chimed, causing her to do an awkward juggle as she took it out of her pocket.

“There’s an old warehouse near Tempaera's, 3 A.M. He'll be armed.” The peaceful facade of her being just another average college student was broken, replaced by the reality; she was a nameless and faceless mercenary, engaged in the slaughter of a new hunter. Misusing her werewolf abilities was not ethical, then again she had grown up in Beacon Hills, where every second week a new creature popped up, hell bent on destroying the world.

Shooting off a quick message to respond to another friend's text, she wondered what excuse she would make this time for skipping date night.

Having a significant other wasn't something she had yet become used to. There was flirting, of course, mild and harmless with all her brother's friends (and later even proteges; true alpha certainly attracted werewolves everywhere) but never something that was even borderline serious.

She’d never previously had any time to pursue relationships, nor any motivation. Between protecting her town and somehow finding the time to study to even get a chance at a decent college. Needless to say, when she made it to MIT, following in the footsteps of Lydia, the entire pack was overjoyed but sad to let her go.

She’d met Peter in Introduction to Programming Languages, where he’d crashed in 15 minutes late, sat next to her and spent the entire time answering every question that was put up. They soon developed competitiveness, which lead to sniping back and forth at each other, to studying together for tests and then failing when the two realized they couldn’t sit and study without getting distracted.

She had her suspicions he was...something, because of his accelerated stamina and ability to go without sleep forever apparently. Possibly a werewolf, maybe something else; she would have to check the bestiary to be sure. He didn’t mind the missed dates or the occasions when she suddenly disappeared back to California for a ‘family emergency’, so maybe he did understand her reasons.

Before she could text him, her phone rang. She smiled and answered.

“Won’t make it today, gotta study for a Chemistry test.” he told her and sighed.

“I was about to cancel too, something’s come up.”

“Are you cheating on me, YN? I don’t take well to being second choice.”

“Yes, I’m cheating on you with Captain America, happy? Ugh those baby blues, that hair, what can I even say?”

“At Least you didn’t say Iron Man, I don’t think my heart could take it if you went at it with my former employer; not to mention he’s married to the CEO of Stark Industries.”

“Ha ha, Pete, I’m dying of laughter.”

“That was the intention.”

“Whatever, bye. Love you.”

“Yes, I love me too.” she let out a chuckle of disbelief and hung up.

She sat down to do a bit of homework before heading towards the warehouse. Scratching her head at the question, she was debating calling Peter to ask for help when her phone rang again.

“Stiles.”

“Hey. You, uh, got my text?”

“Yeah. Who is this guy anyway?”

“He’s, uh, you remember those killings a few years back? Everyone supernatural was a target?”

“Hmm, I guess? Bunch of people thought they’d rid the world of evil. He one of them?” she sighed.

“The philosophy’s pretty common, YN. They think we’re monsters, that the world is better off without us. He’s a part of a group going after every creature in the bestiary.”

“Are they going after mutants too?”

“Not those in the accords, as far as I know.”

“Never thought you’d be snooping around in government stuff. What would the Sheriff say?”

“Be disappointed in me, probably. Which is what your brother is now. He called me in a murderous rage about how I was ‘endangering his sister’s life’ and how i ‘should be more responsible’, considering I’m ‘an older brother figure to her’”

“How are the two of you even responsible in any way? You throw yourselves at any danger you find! I volunteered to do this, Stiles, I’m capable.”

“Speaking of, when were we going to hear about this guy you’re dating?”

“How’d you find out?”

“Peter Parker; good grades, straight A student, interned for a billionaire, but got in on that same scholarship you did.”

“Misusing and taking advantage of your position?”

“Maybe. So I have to give a full report on him to Scott but if you could…”

“I’ll text you when it’s done, Stiles, I’ve got homework, bye!” she cut the call, smiling fondly.

She walked into the warehouse, whistling.

“Let’s make this easy for both of us. You stop hiding and come out, I kill you and I go back home and do my chem homework.”

“Werewolf. You took the bait.”

‘You’ve just started talking and I already want to kill you, God. How does your little cult stand you?”

“Your species is a walking plague. How many have you infected, little one?” he stepped into her view, brandishing a gun pointed straight at her.

“Plague? Species? I’m not some mythical beast.” she kept her tone taunting to hide the waver in her voice. It was only the 3rd time she was doing this. “I should go into bounty hunting, heard it’s lucrative.”

“You’ll have to get out here alive before you go making plans, beast.” he whispered before firing, she dodged and snarled, claws snapping and features shifting. She ran at him, swiping. He ducked and sliced at her right side with a knife. Crying out in pain, she fell, throwing her claws at him in frustration. He fell too, crawling backwards to get away from her. She stood up, grabbing a metal rod from his bag and dragging it towards him, it ringing on the floor.

“We’re going to do this old fashioned human way, then” she grunted, wincing at the cut near her kidney. “You added wolfsbane to the knife, huh? You’re pro, I’ll give that to you.” She hit at his wrist, making him scream and drop the knife. “But I’ve seen worse.”

She hit his abdomen, then his torso. The wolfsbane hurt like hell, and she was sure she was about to lose her vision.

“It’s not just wolfsbane, little one. It’s something much, much better.”

She swore under her breath as her legs gave out. Reaching out, claws extended, she closed your eyes, hearing powder showering down on the floor.

The man raised the gun a final time, saying a prayer to his gods. He smiled, squeezing the trigger-

The glass windows above crashed as a masked figure swung in. The man shot at whatever it was, but they were too fast. He was suddenly immobilized, down on the floor with sticky webs on his wrists that pinned him down.

Peter rushed to the girl lying inside the circle of what looked to be ash. The killer had a ritual apparently, where the victims were surrounded by ash and were gunned down. He turned the girl over, who was convulsing. Recognizing the face, he inhaled sharply. Picking up the rod next to her, he swung at the killer’s head, knocking him out cold. He picked up his girlfriend and strode out.

He laid her down gently on the asphalt and took his mask off. She was awakening gradually, gasping in pain.

“YN, hold on, okay, I'm calling an ambulance.”

“No, wait.” She coarsely whispered. He leaned over her. “Is the cut healing?”

“It's deep, really really deep.”

“There's a lighter in the pocket of my jacket. Take it out and burn the wound.”

“What? No, I'm not gonna hurt you more.”

“It'll help with the wolfsbane, Peter. Do it.” She groaned. He quickly took it out and switched it on, grimacing as he put it on her skin. The wound gave off yellow smoke and her eyes glowed. Her claws dug into the ground underneath.

“That's it, that'll take the wolfsbane out. Call whoever you want and tell them...tell them I was in an accident.” She managed to whisper before she blacked out. Peter looked at her, brushing away hair from her forehead.

She came to gradually, eyelids fluttering. Her head pounded and she had no control over her limbs. She tried to sit up, wincing. She was in the hospital, it seemed. There was commotion in the chair to the right. Someone abruptly sat up, blinking widely.

“Scott,” she whispered as he stood up and hugged her.

“Stupid girl. I told you, you don’t go after a manic killer on your own.” he kissed her hair.

“Did you two rescue me?”

“No, we got here a day ago. Your boyfriend called Stiles, the first number he found on your phone and Stiles called me and…”

“How long have I been out?” she cut him off.

“Three days.”

“Scott, whatever he shot me with, it was beyond wolfsbane, I couldn’t heal.”

“Yes, Lydia researched it, said it was some kind of hybrid derivative. These people, they’re trained to take us out. She’s trying to find an antidote.”

“Coffee, kid?” Stiles sat down next to Peter, handing him a cup.

“Yeah, thanks.” his eyes were bloodshot, not having slept for the past 3 days. After he left that warehouse, he had called in anonymously to the emergency services, telling them the location and the restrained killer inside.

“You should go get some sleep. I think they’re only allowing family as of now.” he sighed.

“Nah, I’m good.” Stiles nodded, as they sat in awkward silence.

“So, uh, Spiderman?”

“I’m sorry what?”

“You’re spiderman, right?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Kid, I work for the government, I know my way around.”

“Oh yeah? Well, your hometown's life expectancy is really, really low. Teens killed every year, 65 percent go out of town for college. Care to explain? Didn’t think so.”

Stiles grimaced. “You’re smart, kid. So, tell me this, are you one of those assholes hunting supernaturals?”

“What? No!”

“So, you’re not spiderman and yet managed to walk out of a skirmish with a, uh, serial killer, which, might I add, your werewolf girlfriend couldn't and called me?” He shrugged. “It’s your secret to keep, buddy, just, don’t put YN in danger.”

“She kind of did that on her own. At your suggestion, I believe.”

“I told her not to do it, okay? And she said, I quote “I have claws and fangs, Stiles, I intend to use them.” I mean, who says that? How can you get through college and be an assassin? It was different in high school.”

“How so? Were you all assassins for hire?” Peter turned to him.

“No, no no. We were just trying to live and supernatural shit would often come up and try to kill us. It was batshit crazy stuff.”

“I’m kind of familiar with that, except I never had a pack.”

“Boohoo, sob story, wait until you hear about when I got possessed by an evil spirit...wait what? So you do admit you’re Spiderman?”

“Look, I’ve missed three days of classes and my girlfriend is 3 rooms over trying not to die.”

“She’s like my baby sister dude, not that you should have any sisterly feelings for her, and..”

He paused when a nurse leaned down in front of the two.“Um, Mr. Parker? Mr. Stilinski? Ms. McCall is awake and requesting to see the both of you. I’d advise you to not give sudden shocks or news.”

She was talking on the phone when the two came rushing to the door. She held up a finger while Scott stood up from the chair he was sitting in.

“She’s talking to Mom right now, telling her not to worry.”

“She’s not listening.” she smiled as she cut the call. Glancing up, she saw the three figure standing at the threshold, all glowering. She sat up, got down from the bed and walked over.

“Okay. Scott, you’ve done your protective alpha thing already. Stiles, Peter, you two can battle to death over who gets to scream at me first. I, need that" she said grabbing Peter's cup and sipped.

“Okay, stop. You're not poisoning yourself with shitty coffee the minute you wake up.” Stiles took the cup back from her. “And lie down, please.”

She made a face and sat down on the bed. “How soon are they discharging me?”

“They'll keep you under observation for a few days.”

“I have classes to attend!”

“You didn't really care about that when you went after a gun-toting maniac.” Peter frowned.

She rolled her eyes and lay down again.

“That's not how I wanted you to meet Scott, you know.” You smiled at Peter as he dropped you off to your dorm a few days later.

“They're...nice, if a little…”

“Scary?”

“More like funny.”

“Hey, he's my alpha okay? We learned how to kill and maim before we learned calculus.”

“You'd make great friends with Black Widow, you know?”

“OH MY GOD, YOU KNOW HER?” He laughed as she poked him repeatedly, “Peter! Answer me!”

[creative-salem]

“Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style” Q & A: Kristin Harris and Allison French

Q & A: Kristin Harris and Allison French on their podcast, “Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style”

By Amber Newberry

In the shadowed corners of Salem, the local podcasters are whispering in the dark. As the creative community takes to the microphone, they fill our ears with unique talk-shows, old-school style radio-theater, discussion of historical tales, and explorations of everything from pop-culture and politics, to true crime and planetary science. My new favorite podcast, “Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style”, features a unique and in-depth look at all things sinister. With episodes like “Murderous Purpose: Turning Murderers into Movie Stars”, I knew I was in for a trip down a morbid, and totally engrossing rabbit hole. I was pleased to have the opportunity to pose questions to local “Life After Midnight” podcasters, Kristin Harris and Allison French.

  Q: The purpose of your podcast, “Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style”, is to explore the dark side and educate the masses on the macabre. What inspired you to start a podcast about the darker side of history? Why do you feel it’s important to remember morbid history and ensure stories of this nature are told?

  A: Kristin: I’ve always been intrigued by the folklore aspects of history, mainly stories that we hear and wonder about where they come from, what the origins of those stories are, and why we cling to them in our culture. From a very early age I was obsessed with ghost stories, stories about vampires and other mythical creatures, and especially those that had a darker story to them. I feel that there is something to be said for why society, as a whole, always takes interest in things that frighten us, and in some cases, almost idolize those things. They are an important part of our culture, and so Allison and I have set out to educate people about where these attachments come from, and in our research it’s been interesting to see where in human history the darker aspects or obsessions in human society have originated from. Allison: I think it’s been a long time coming for both of us, for sure. We both grew up being interested in things that were a little unorthodox. I had some bizarre paranormal experiences as a kid, but I still can’t really put my finger on where the obsession with this whole subcategory began. All I can really recall is that I’ve always been attracted to things that were on the darker side. It went from being the elementary school kid obsessed with Halloween, to being the high school kid voluntarily choosing the most tragic, eerie topic – that no one else wanted to pick – to do a project on in history class. I think part of it was sort of rebellion; there’s always something sexy about the stuff that’s controversial. But I also genuinely think I got a real high on diving headfirst into content that might give someone else nightmares. The more dark history I researched, the more I realized how important it is to know about some of these stories. I learned more about human beings & culture by studying the Manson Family than I ever learned from half of the content I was taught in grade school. And this is coming from a massive history nerd.

Ep 1 (Part 1): Welcome to Our Nightmare by Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style

(This podcast is intended for adults and is NSFW.) Part 1 of our first episode, introducing ourselves to you & discussing the presence of Salem, Massachusetts in film & television.

Q: How do you plan the subject of your episodes? Is there research involved? A: Kristin: Really we just got together one day and decided that we both had so much to say about the weird shit we were obsessed with, and that we really wanted to have a go at making an academic endeavor into some of the themes discussed in the podcast. But we also wanted it to be accessible for a wider audience. Usually, to plan an episode, we think about something that has always intrigued us, whether it be Salem’s kooky portrayal in movies, serial killers who are idolized, why people believe in vampires, strange diseases people believe in, and things like that. Then we have to narrow it down a bit, and think of things within that topic that relate to each other, and then, yes, lots of research commences. Allison and myself will each pick two or three points within that topic to focus on, split up the work between us, and then come back and share our findings and fit that into an episode format, usually within an hour, but sometimes more, as we have a whole lot of crap to say. The research is very intensive, with both of us tracking down not only books from experts on certain topics, but also primary sources, court records, burial and death records, and things of that nature to make sure that we are covering all aspects of the topic from all sides. Allison: Just to add to what Kristin said – I think the most exciting part about planning episode content is the stuff you just kind of fall into. You start somewhere and then the next thing you know, the dots start connecting. For example, we were talking about our eagerness in doing an episode about some of our ‘favorite’ famous murder stories, but which ones do we pick? How do we tie them together? We sat down and basically just started having a conversation about these different examples, and suddenly one of just sort of said, “isn’t it funny how the media craze & sensationalism surrounding these crimes is what people remember the most about them?” And that was it – the episode topic just, sort of, was born. So I would say each episode is absolutely something we research heavily, but our favorite part about the episode preparation process is the details that come from discussion.

  Q: You mentioned discussing sensationalism revolving around crime and heinous acts, which was covered in your most recent episode, why do you believe people have such a strange fascination with the macabre?

  A: Kristin: I think that people use those things as an outlet to explore into their own thoughts. One of the things that I have studied in particular, while I was attaining my Master’s, was death in American culture. In studying this theme and realizing how that seems to connect with so much in our repeated popular cultural themes, I began to notice a pattern. And it is widely thought by many who study anthropology that death is one thing that is a definite for all humanity, and therefore, cultures from all over the world can at least connect on that one point. We are the first species to have a conscious awareness of the fact that we are going to die, inevitably, and out of that anxiety has come all of the ritual we see around the death of a person, all of the popular culture references to death, and the obsession in some parts of culture, with the idea of immortality. So, all of these things are, perhaps, some of the most important parts of our culture because they are, in a sense, a collective of personal beliefs that can be translated across almost all cultures. In the case of heinous acts, well, what is more terrifying than the thought that another person, possibly someone you know and love, could decide to end your life at any given moment? We already feel such a loss of control with the knowledge that death is imminent, add to that the prospect that even more control is taken away, and this intrigues people. We want to know why someone would upset that balance, and sometimes in a horrific and violent way. Allison: I couldn’t have answered that any better. I totally agree. I still can’t even really explain my own morbid fascinations. I will still read Creepy Catalog, in the dark, before bed, fully knowing that I am heading into the ‘big fucking nope’ part of the internet, yet I love every second of it. I get jumpy, and wide-eyed, and every simple creak in the floorboard is suddenly danger, but I keep reading. A sensation I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to explain.  But it’s the same thing with being fascinated by the macabre – it’s not an average part of everyday life, it’s the things that aren’t ‘the norm’, and whether we want to admit it or not, we crave that. Everybody’s a little weird in that way, they just won’t always admit it. When morbid stories or murders suddenly become high-profile, widely-reported news stories, everybody latches on, and the abnormal becomes the normal, which gives everybody something to hide behind. It’s suddenly not weird anymore because the newspapers say, “here”.

Our Books

Listed in Order of Release Date Shadows in Salem For anyone who knows the history, Salem, Massachusetts has more than a few stories to tell. Travel to the Witch City within the pages of these collected short stories, and know the captivating nature of one of the oldest towns in America.

  Q: Speaking of high profile history of a heinous nature, Salem is known for the infamous Witch Trials, but can you tell us about any other especially sensationalized crimes that took place in Salem?

  A: Kristin: In our episode “Murderous Purpose: Turning Murderers into Movie Stars,” we talk about the murder of Captain Joseph White that occurred in Salem in April of 1830. This was a highly sensationalized murder, reaching publications all over the United States. This was partly because it was a shockingly violent crime perpetrated against a well-known and wealthy member of Salem’s merchant class, but also in part, because of the involvement of Daniel Webster, who was a prominent prosecutor, to investigate the case. As this case unraveled, the Knapp brothers, who had conspired to have Captain White killed by a man named Richard Crowninshield, became stranger and stranger, which only added to the fascination. I won’t completely ruin it for you, and you can listen to the whole story on our podcast, but this case was so influential that a ballad was written about it; it was used as inspiration for “The Tell-Tale Heart,” written by the great master of Horror, Edgar Allan Poe, and some like to posit the rumor that the inside layout of the White mansion, (now known as the Gardner-Pingree house on Essex St. in Salem) was used by the Parker Brothers as the first board design for their game of Clue, when it was first released. Sadly, it’s been difficult to track down a whole lot of hard evidence about if that is true, but I guess some still think it’s a fun story to tell.

  Q: What are some of your favorite “macabre” locations in the Salem area? Is there a place in The Witch City you particularly enjoy haunting or that you find especially inspiring?

  A: Kristin: To me, as someone who had the privilege to work there for a few short years, the Witch House, here in Salem, will always be my favorite haunt. It’s one of those places that when you’ve had the opportunity on a cloudy, misty day when it’s quiet, to just sit in the house and absorb and appreciate the simple fact of where you are at that moment, it stays with you. It’s the only remaining home in Salem with a direct tie to the Witch Trials, as it is the former home of Jonathan Corwin, one of the magistrates that presided over the trials, but it is so much more than that. It’s a beautiful representation of 17th century architecture, but it has also seen almost every period in Salem’s history. It sits roughly in the same place it did, only being moved to accommodate the widening of the streets as they changed, but it is still on its original property, and when you think about all that’s transpired in Salem since the house was built and how many people have seen that house, it is pretty amazing. Allison: I’m not sure if there’s any one location within the Salem city limits that really triumphs over any others for me – there’s so many wonderful spots, it’s hard to pick a favorite. I think Broad Street Cemetery is a pretty powerful place, I always get a strange feeling of solitude when I’m there. I will admit that there are a lot of spots I’ve become a little too used to – not necessarily desensitized, but if they’re on my tour routes, they start to become, well, routine. I still get a little choked up every now and again when I’m near the Memorial, particularly when I’m standing by George Jacobs’ memorial bench & talking about him. But aside from all of this, one of my favorite things about New England and especially Salem, is how many spots you feel that ‘time warp’ effect. Salem has this magical way of allowing you to step back in time for a moment, as if the houses are trying to tell you stories.

Q: Why is podcasting important to the modern creative scene in Salem and beyond?

  A: Kristin: Salem is very much a city that clings to its history and its identity very fiercely, and there are people that cling to those things just as fiercely, but it’s also a city that continues to grow, to challenge itself and to be open to new avenues of information. There is a lot to be said for some of the interesting (to put it mildly) ways that information and history is shared in Salem, We feel that in an age where not everyone has access to some of these institutions, we are in a place that we can offer another avenue. Accessibility for history and education can come in many forms, and there are several companies here, like Creative Salem, that are really the forerunners of community engagement in the new age, and we hope that we can be the spooky side of that and continue to add to the creative and entrepreneurial movement that seems to be happening in town. Hopefully that can spread beyond the local scene, and we’d like to reach as many people as possible. In the future, we hope to have source lists for our listeners as well, so they can see this information for themselves. We try to mention all our sources in our episodes, but it will be helpful to have them written down for people.

  Allison: Once again, I couldn’t agree more. Salem is a highly creative city. Creatives don’t all listen or learn the same way. Presenting material in a podcast form is highly accessible to not just the world of so-called “good listeners”, but to a world of people – like me, honestly – who often need auditory stimulation in order for something to really be absorbed. It’s also about outreach. Podcasts from any given location are generally within reach for anyone in the world. Using this kind of creative avenue, we aren’t just getting our material out there, we’re making connections with people from all over – from one community of weirdos to the next!

Find out more about “Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style” on their Facebook page    https://www.facebook.com/lifeaftermidnightsalem/

“Life After Midnight” logo by artists Kenny Harris: http://www.kennyharris.net/

Amber Newberry is Editor-in-Chief of Salem-based horror and dark poetry press, FunDead Publications. www.FunDeadPublications.com

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“Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style” Q & A: Kristin Harris and Allison French

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“Life After Midnight: Strange History, Salem Style” Q & A: Kristin Harris and Allison French was originally published on Creative Salem