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Episode 23 - Queer Folklore and Dudleytown, Connecticut
9 Plays15 hours ago
Nym and Nylene welcome a visitor! Markie, aka author Maz Maddox, and bestie to the Cottage, travelled across the land to go to Pride with Nym, so the girls made her - erm....asked her - to join this week's nightmare! Nym kicks things off with a look into queer folklore and Nylene takes us back into the darkness with the mysterious Dudleytown.
Enter the Nightmare for show notes, sources, and transcripts.
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Transcript
Introduction to Nightmare Cottage with Marky Maddox
00:00:29
Speaker
Welcome to Nim and Nyleen's Nightmare Cottage, where we discuss dark locations, sinister media, and other tales of the macabre. I'm Nim. And I'm Nyleen. Let the nightmare begin.
00:00:53
Speaker
I was just finishing my jumbled thoughts here because I had notes that I didn't know I needed.
Pride Weekend and Humorous Anecdotes
00:01:01
Speaker
so We have an extra special guest today. we have we have mentioned this person before in our sleep paralysis episode. We've got Marky, Maddox, the author of Amazing Badass Gay Romance and Adventure.
00:01:16
Speaker
That's what it's called. Yeah, that's the title. And my full title as well. First of my business cards. First of her name. Yes, first of her name. Yay, I'm happy to be here. I'm i'm glad to be a part y'all's podcast. Thank you for inviting me. Yeah.
00:01:31
Speaker
Marky is joining us for Pride Weekend, and we're ah we made her hang out with us. Yes. So you guys... You really had to twist my arm. Bound and gag. But yeah, so you guys are here for Pride stuff, right? I think you guys are going to an event tomorrow or something like that. don't know if you want to talk about that. So, I mean, we are we're going to go to our local Pride event. There's going to be drag performers and vendors and blazing hot sun and humidity. I thought you were going to go a
00:02:02
Speaker
ah probably gonna be blazing hot people there too but you know yeah probably yeah we're all a little fiery in our own way yeah exactly but awesome sauce so i said awesome sauce now they know i'm 52 um oh i told you i got locked out on a balcony at work right oh that sucks yeah so it was like the end of the day like i like to go out and like there's a specific like okay this is gonna make me sound like a psychopath but like I like to sit in this very specific comfy chair in front of this window at work. Like at the end of the day, like around like 4 or 4.30, I'll like sit there and I'll just work. Yeah. Because it's just nice to get away from everybody for a minute.
00:02:40
Speaker
And this time there was somebody in my chair. It's my chair. And there was someone in it. And so i was like, well, I guess I'll just go outside. And so I decided to go out on the balcony and we're on the third, maybe the fourth floor.
00:02:52
Speaker
And there's a key in it. to open it so that it doesn't like just slam all day. Well, I opened it, went and I was just sitting out there working and apparently somebody decided that it should be closed and didn't look outside to make sure there was no one there.
00:03:07
Speaker
Well, the worst part is there's no internet signal on the balcony. So like I couldn't use my computer. Like I was like using it to do like stuff offline, but like I couldn't slack anybody.
00:03:19
Speaker
um So I had to like get it on my phone and then even like the cellular network was kind of shoddy. Yeah. So I'm like messaging everybody and i'm like, hey, ah somebody can somebody like let me let me in because I'm stuck on the balcony. Yeah.
00:03:32
Speaker
And they just start messing messaging like security and like HR and everyone's gone for the day. and so I'm just like all alone. And then I saw somebody walking by. And so I just start like waving and banging on the window. yeah they were like, are you okay? And I was like, no, I'm not.
00:03:49
Speaker
I'm trapped out here. So that was
Work Experiences and Childhood Fears
00:03:52
Speaker
um embarrassing and very fun, I guess. Yeah. it was it was an experience. Yes. Now, you know, hopefully they know now to maybe check outside.
00:04:01
Speaker
Dude, I don't know. a note on the fucking door or something. I will say there is this girl that works there that like, I don't know, I swear she hates me because like, wait she just like happens to always be coming around the corner and like we lock eyes. Yeah. And I'm like, I don't know, every time that she looks over, I happen to be looking in that direction. So I'm sure she thinks that I'm always looking at her, but I'm not. Yeah.
00:04:23
Speaker
This is relevant because there was, can you stop? Because there was another day this week that I had decided to go outside, but I learned my lesson from last time I got locked out.
00:04:34
Speaker
So I had taken the key with me. Yeah. And so there was like someone else that was out there while I was out there. So I went, when I went back inside, I went and just put the key in the lock just to make sure that like they had it.
00:04:49
Speaker
But this girl happened to be turning the corner when I did that. Yeah. And so she walked by the windows, like as she saw me like putting it in and then like, I kind of heard her stop walking, turn around, and I looked back and she was like, hey and she like walked back to the door and she was like making sure it was unlocked. And I think she just thought that I like locked somebody out there on purpose. What does she think of you i to have assumed that's what you did? Probably just thinks I'm really weird.
00:05:16
Speaker
Well, you know, she's got you pegged. That's my life. so Anywho's.
00:05:22
Speaker
anywho What about you, Mark? Any crazy, weird bullshit happening in your life these days? No, I mean weird work shit. I told Nim I had a freak out at work the other day. Like I was working on a project that I just was having a hard time with. And the company that I work for, most people who work there have been within the company for a long time.
00:05:42
Speaker
um Or are connected in some capacity. So they speak a very specific type of corporate lingo and yeah language and stuff. Yes. And you're like trying to learn all of their... just content. Actually, when I started, they gave me basically a guide on like some of their terminology. col glossary. Yeah, ah basically. Just so they're like, so you know what things are. And I was like, this is already a red flag, right? But I had been just confused all week about this project.
00:06:06
Speaker
And I've... was asking people to help me who was like not part of my team, but like other teams being like, what do you mean by this? And and things like that. And finally I was explaining to my coworkers that because I'm not part of the ecosystem, I'm constantly lost.
00:06:23
Speaker
I was like, because everyone who works here is connected to the company. Their husband works here or their mom works there. Their uncle's in maintenance. They were born here. They have a house on top of the roof. I don't fucking live here. yeah And like,
00:06:35
Speaker
got really quiet and we're like the the campus is the floor that I'm on has like a big open environment.
Queer Folklore and Symbolism
00:06:41
Speaker
So it's my team and then a bunch of other teams and I'm screaming. Yes. Cause I had just lost my shit.
00:06:49
Speaker
And so it gets quiet. And then my boss starts laughing so hard. I think he's to throw up. So he's howling with laughter and I'm standing there being like, so I'm going to go, I'm going to Y'all have a good day.
00:07:00
Speaker
um may or may not be back. It's fine. I'll just go crawl in a hole and die. So it was it was great. So was ah that was basically how I kicked off my like vacation. Oh, God. Oh, no.
00:07:11
Speaker
The last day I was in the office before I like jumped in the car and and drove here for our Pride event. but So I was just like, anyway, bye. so yeah, was pretty fun. But yeah, that was ah that was my week. That sounds so good. Yeah.
00:07:24
Speaker
i It's going to be great. We'll see what happens when I get back. It'll be all right. We'll be fine. We'll be fine. It's going to great. Yeah. Maybe they'll write you a book or something that you can more, more references to go. Yeah. Just be like, just so you know, this is what this is. And I'll be like, ha ha ha.
00:07:42
Speaker
So now you're going to be that guy. Yeah. fired Fire guy. I think I've, I've told you, i don't know if you know, so I am, I'm actually very afraid of the dark. I'm, I'm full. I'm a full adult.
00:07:54
Speaker
i If the lights go off, I will curl up in a ball and cry. Okay. Um, So my child apparently feels the same way. um And we're trying to teach him to sleep in his bed by himself.
00:08:12
Speaker
And that has brought some very interesting words to come out of his mouth night that I don't like. So one of them, like I was trying to get him to stay in his room and he was like, but the shadows, the shadows are touching me.
00:08:28
Speaker
And I was like, don't like that. Totally your child. I have to sit there and be the adult and be like, no, honey. See, look, shadows. They're fun. So exciting. Yeah.
00:08:40
Speaker
And then he asked me to take all of his dinosaur pictures off as well, because he said, they were forming shadows and scaring him. So he's really afraid of shadows right now. Okay. And I don't like that.
00:08:52
Speaker
Yeah. So I scared the, the living shit out of him on accident because I have outlet in there still. like I don't know if you know what that is. It's like the little, it's like a little camera and it also has like a bunch of other features, but I just use it for the camera at this point.
00:09:05
Speaker
And so he woke up and I heard him and I was trying to keep him in his room and I was like, Hey, bash, lay back down, lay back down. Yeah. And he just stops. Yeah. looks around and goes, and he just takes off running. And I ah meet him in the hallway and I'm like, Hey, it's all right.
00:09:24
Speaker
Let's go back to your room. And he goes, no, there's voices. There's, there's a man, there's a man talking. And I was like, okay, well, first of all, like, that was a beautiful woman. Actually. Yeah. And then, um yeah, I was like, no, it's fine. He was mommy, his mom. And he was like, no, there's someone in there.
00:09:42
Speaker
yeah And I like, so I took out the camera and I show him, I'm like, look, it's just us. Yeah, it's fine. It's fine. And he's falling asleep. and He's like, okay, okay. And I'm like, see, mommy's watching all the time. It's fine.
00:09:53
Speaker
It's fine. And he goes, okay. All right. He goes, can you make sure you look out the window and that there's no man out there? And I'm like, Oh, why are we why are we worried about that? like yeah I don't know where any of this stuff is coming from, and it's all not okay.
00:10:08
Speaker
um And then you're, yeah, don't you look at me like that, because he was telling you that there's ghosts here or something. Yeah, they live in the backyard. Backyard ghosts. Maybe he was saying goats.
00:10:19
Speaker
No. Like that. No, he was definitely talking about ghosts. Why? I don't remember anymore, but he was definitely talking about ghosts. this was Did you ever ask him what they look like or anything? No. Why not?
00:10:33
Speaker
but but i thought what you see exactly a little child's imaginations conjuring up because you know it's yeah yeah that's true just i shouldn't buy up shit should mind some of that amazing child creativity did you remember seeing anything when you were at all no but we did make our own ouija board i had to have been oh god okay i was probably about seven or eight and he was ten or eleven yeah That's prime scare the shit out of yourself territory. Well, I'm sure they were messing with me. I don't remember what happened, but I remember being very spooked by the whole situation.
00:11:12
Speaker
And then my mom was mad at both of them. so But that's all I could remember of it. i didn't you know i But I don't i never saw anything that creeped me out, I don't think. wouldn't think of i might I might bring it out of my repressed memories at some point, but I can't think of it now.
00:11:29
Speaker
I feel like if you've gone this long, you might as well just leave it in there. Yeah, yeah. We don't need to open anything. Anything with a padlock on it. What about you? like Do you remember seeing anything? or like What is even your stance on ghosts and things? I don't believe any of You don't believe in any of that? not even remotely. But I remember when I was teenager remember was have very lucid very vivid dreams and they're really bad when I'm right about to wake up that's when they're like really like tactile and like I'm kind of in between being awake and then but all the dream stuff still firing yeah so I'll see stuff that's not there or I'll feel things as yeah so I remember
00:12:07
Speaker
i was ah I was coming out of one of those and I saw a woman standing over me. God. And I remember I looked at her and she went, like, she kind of, like, looked at me and, like, leaned back, like, ooh, whoops, and then, like, left.
00:12:19
Speaker
And I saw her, like, go through the wall and I was like, that was fucking cool. But, yeah. So, like, i didn't think it was real, but I was just like, Jesus Christ. That was unnecessary. my God. Yeah. ah so It was wild. That'd be fucked up if it was a ghost. And it was like, oop.
00:12:33
Speaker
Yeah. Oop, oop, oop, whoops. No, I forgot they could see me right now. So, yeah. But I just remember being like, oh, cool. But, yeah. that's That's the only thing I can remember.
00:12:44
Speaker
Nice. Did you? Yes. i um There was... is going to sound stupid. There was pants. So it was pants. Okay.
00:12:54
Speaker
I was like maybe five or six, but I was on the bottom that bunk. But like every night there was a giant pair of pants. Okay. That would like come. And it was like almost like it was walking on stilts.
00:13:06
Speaker
Ew. And like the waist of it was as high as like my sister's bunk. And there was nothing above it. It was just like jeans that were that tall. Yeah. and But it the way it would walk was like like like it was struggling to balance. Ew. And it would just stand there.
00:13:21
Speaker
And then there was also, but or they blue or green? there were Now what I know are like like Smurfs or gnomes is what I imagined them to be. okay i was I had a really severe imagination as a child. Now I can't even picture the apple that I'm talking about.
00:13:35
Speaker
But yeah, and it would just sit on my chest. So I'm guessing it was some form of sleep paralysis. That's wild. Yeah. Yeah, that would be freaky little kid. Yeah. My mom thought it was funny she because she thought I was just like...
00:13:47
Speaker
joking and i'm like no yeah it's real and it's scary yeah it reminds me of the little tiny ashes and army of darkness yeah have you seen army of darkness i guess not oh okay that's a recommendation yeah that's a good one yeah it's hilarious and fantastic and awful in all of the perfect ways it's so good but this is not nightmare fuel time oh sorry maybe this is story time
00:14:13
Speaker
Okay, so this is going to be airing July. So we're going to be out of Pride. But you know what? Pride is year round. We're going to be out of Pride. No more Pride. No more Pride. We ran out. We ran out. Yeah.
00:14:24
Speaker
have to restart. Listen. You know, I love to dive into folklore. Are you familiar with any queer folklore at all? I think so. No? thought you said queer folk.
00:14:35
Speaker
Queer folklore. No, not that I'm aware of. Okay. Okay. Unless you're about to tell me there were like some queer aspects to like Brothers Grimm or something like that. um you I'll get there. But i have a good name but but you probably heard like some Greek and Roman myths maybe. But there's actually a reason that there's not a lot of queer representation in archived folklore.
00:14:58
Speaker
And it isn't because it didn't exist. Is it because of the Christians? This is another... Those pesky Christians! I mean, yes, but it's kind of worse than that. This is another Library of Alexandria situation. oh And both of you know that's a nightmare trigger for me. Yeah. um So it's... One of the primary tools used by folklorists for research is the Arne-Thompson-Uther Index, or the ATU Index.
00:15:25
Speaker
It's a catalog of folklore that categorizes and organizes folktales by type. It includes translations and adaptations of folklore from all over the world. The index was created by Auntie Arne in 1910. Auntie Arne?
00:15:39
Speaker
Like Auntie Anne? No, it's like A-N-T-T-I. Auntie, Auntie, I don't know. Auntie Anne. It's the opposite pretzels. Wait, no, I'm thinking it's like the pretzel people. Oh, I was thinking of the, I think that is Auntie. Auntie Anne. Auntie Anne, yeah. I was thinking of like, I was thinking of the Wizard of Oz. This is spelled like, oh, Auntie Anne.
00:15:57
Speaker
Anne. Her name is Emily. um But no, it's spelled like anti, but with an extra T. So I don't know. Anti, anti, whatever. r and ah Anyways, he published it in German in 1910. And then in 1928, Stiff Thompson translated it into English and revised and expanded the text. His name was Stiff?
00:16:17
Speaker
Stiff. Like Sith, but with extra I am so sorry. No, you're not.
00:16:23
Speaker
no Yeah, so Stith Thompson translated it into English and revised and expanded the text. But when he did this, he edited it to to his own personal moral standards.
00:16:34
Speaker
um He basically deleted anything that portrayed homosexuals in any kind of positive light and anything that was deemed to be lewd. I'm sorry, what year was this? Because like I feel like art was just lewd at that time.
00:16:46
Speaker
1928. Oh, yeah. There's no art in 1928. Right. Okay. So that's when it was done. Something that happened. The Victorians really worked hard to clean up everything. They wanted it to be prim and proper.
00:17:02
Speaker
And that's how you see things like the badass Celtic fairies, F-A-E-R, you know. ah We're talking about pride, but not those kind of fairies. Well, it all comes together. but um and then But that they're where we got the more, you know, feminine, ethereal, you know, the fairies, like Tinkerbell kind of fairies. oh got ah they They really cleaned up a lot of folklore stories in general, like whatever. they They cleaned everything up and sterilized it
00:17:34
Speaker
to fit into their prim and proper customs. not in And as much as I love the Victorian period of history to study, that's some really rude fucking shit. yeah So there is that, but yeah, so this comes right after that. This was 1928. So it's definitely after Victorian times, but yeah,
00:17:50
Speaker
There's people like that now. Gotcha. Many of these were ancient word of mouth only stories, and many of them have been completely removed from our grasp. So these works join the lost homes of Alexandria.
00:18:01
Speaker
Luckily, not all is lost in what, in my opinion, is a punk rock display of activism. Folklorists and enthusiasts have continued to dig through the ATU and other archives to uncover lost queer folktales and putting the history and queer culture back into the narrative.
00:18:17
Speaker
So here shortly i am going to share a couple of queer folk tales that have resurfaced. But first, I'm going to talk about one folkloric creature with queer connections. Are you telling me like Bigfoot might be gay?
00:18:30
Speaker
God, I hope so. I ship him in the Yeti so hard. Oh my God, yes! Wouldn't be cute? Their little children would be spotted. Aww. love it. Can you write this?
00:18:42
Speaker
going to have Ace draw it. Please, please go. And then we will turn it into a children's story. Yeah. Oh my God. We all have tasks. Yeah. We have homework. I like this. I'll be the project manager.
00:18:57
Speaker
She'll be the accountant for when we start making tens of dollars. Your face. I'm an accountant. I'm an accountant. Okay.
00:19:08
Speaker
So no, we're not actually going to talk about Bigfoot, but we're going to talk about mermaids. They are a well-loved trans and queer icon, especially young Gen X and elder millennials because Disney's adaptation. Did you just say elder millennials? Yes.
00:19:23
Speaker
See, I've decided that that's what y'all are. would be... i am a young Gen X. Actually, I'm i'm in but between. I'm super in between. and i have Yeah, because I've seen both. like Your year is is gobbled up by both sides. I i actually prefer. She doesn't want to be one of ours.
00:19:40
Speaker
She just was like, you know what? That's what she does. I'm not one of you. That's when she's serious. Not one of the lineals. No, I most identify with...
00:19:51
Speaker
Xennials with an X ah because it's like right in between Gen X and Millennials. She just doesn't want to be considered older is what think. Yeah, yeah. She's on the younger side. No, I, this is a whole other conversation. I can talk about this whole fucking thing for hours, but I have opinions, but that's not what we're talking about right now. We're talking about mermaids.
00:20:11
Speaker
So yes, anyways, Disney adapted Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid in 1898. Ooh, Disney's old as fuck! 1989. This was the beginning of Disney's reign in animated movies there for a while, but mermaids had been a queer icon for much, much longer.
00:20:28
Speaker
Going way, way back, in one of the most ancient examples of a mermaid, Adar Gaddis was a Syrian goddess who was often depicted with a fishtail. Her priestesses would worship in her temple, which had a stone pool filled with fish.
00:20:40
Speaker
All of her priestesses were born male and would self-castrate and live out their lives accepted as women in the community. um Sounds like apothecary diaries. You should watch it. Okay. Show? Yeah, it's on Crunchyroll.
00:20:53
Speaker
Oh, right. i think it might be on Netflix, too. Beyond this ancient connection, there is even a more general view that the mermaid is accepted as the gender she presents regardless of what is or isn't between her legs.
00:21:05
Speaker
It's also relatable that mermaids are monsters that aren't monstrous, usually. But then going back to the Disney adaptation of The Little Mermaid, the transformation alone is a powerful connection for all kinds of queer kids.
00:21:17
Speaker
Also, just because the connections are here and I can't not share them, Hans Christian Andersen, who originally wrote The Little Mermaid, he wrote it in response to being rejected by a man he was in love with because he was bi.
00:21:27
Speaker
Oh, I didn't know that. did know about that. Because that's why it has a, the real story has a tragic ending because he wasn't able to get his point. Exactly. That's really sad. It is really, really sad. I do have a question for you that's going to completely derail this. Let's do it.
00:21:39
Speaker
Do you think that Ursula was a villain? It's been so long since I've seen it, I don't remember. Listen, I think, look, Ursula did come with a bad deal, like, to the table. Sure.
00:21:52
Speaker
But Ariel took it. She signed that contract and then she reneged on the contract later and was like, mm. i Didn't she also just like, she met the dude once and was like, I'm willing to just throw my whole life away for some dick, basically?
00:22:04
Speaker
Yeah, pretty much. Calm em down. the fuck? I mean, she was 16. Hormones are... intense at that time. Sure. and i guess her mom wasn't around to be like, honey, damn. That's true. You know what mean? And her dad's walking around with that shirt all the time. I mean. Listen, I would have watched the movie if he went after Melissa's face.
00:22:21
Speaker
Yeah. I don't remember anyone's name. So I'm like, I remember Daddy Mermaid. Daddy Mermaid. And handsome human dude. Eric. That's his name, Eric. And King Triton is the other one.
00:22:32
Speaker
Hey, look, everyone knows names. I love that. But Ursula, think she was okay making the deal. it was shitty when she came up to steal him at the like in the whole marriage at the end thing. I mean, that's kind of whole fey MO, right? Yeah, sure.
00:22:48
Speaker
And I love Ursula. I like i don't want to like... That's I'm saying. I love how we're like, I mean, she's just playing by rules. She was. like... She's a businesswoman. Yeah, sorry she... She tricked a horny 16-year-old to do what she wanted.
00:23:01
Speaker
Just took her voice, literally. It's fine. It's fine. worry And that actually brings me to my last point on the Little Mermaid bit, is that Ursula was designed after the drag queen Divine. What?
00:23:14
Speaker
Really? The original one? Yes. No shit. Yeah. So ah Howard Ashton, who wrote several songs for the Little Mermaid um and several other things, Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, During production, he pitched a look change for the Sea Witch. Instead of a skinny old hag, as they usually did, yeah he presented them with Divine. And if you're not familiar with Divine, if you haven't seen Divine, she looks like Ursula. Oh my god!
00:23:35
Speaker
Let look that up real quick. And I would recommend, if you want to see some of her work, ah Pink Flamingos is a John Waters movie, and you're in for our treat. Divine, drag, and queen.
00:23:47
Speaker
Oh yeah, I know who she is. Obviously I didn't know her name, but I've seen her stuff. yeah That's crazy. On to story time. I'm going to share two short folk tales with y'all today.
00:23:58
Speaker
And this first one is called a Dog in the Sea. And I'm going to tell the story and then I'm going to tell a story of how I found the story in true folk tale fashion. What a young man wants to become a sailor, but his protective parents didn't want to let him They finally relent after he sucks at absolutely everything he does. He got fired from every job he tried to do.
00:24:17
Speaker
So his mother gives him her life savings, a medical bomb and a dagger to aid him on his journey. The man joins a sailing crew, but shipwrecks in a storm and washes up on shore. he inevitably runs out of money and starts to panic and contemplates walking out into the sea.
00:24:33
Speaker
Okay, but like how long was he without money? like Right? Was it like the the next day? And how did the money like survive the shipwreck, but nothing else did? It was coins. Wouldn't they have rusted? don't know.
00:24:46
Speaker
I think it takes a minute for gold to rust.
Folktales: 'Dog in the Sea' and 'Ifas and Ianthe'
00:24:49
Speaker
Does gold rust? Google it and let us know. Comment below. Nightmare Cottage at gmail.com.
00:24:58
Speaker
About this time he's contemplating walking into the sea, a big black shaggy dog emerges from the waves and offers him help. That's not odd. It's fine. Let's hold on a second. So you run out of money and you're like, to kill myself. A dog shows up and was like, bro, I'm going to help you out. You wouldn't be like, I'm going to keep walking into the sea because I've clearly lost my fucking Exactly. like I think I'd hear him out.
00:25:22
Speaker
Yeah, that's fair. Be like, not I got yeah i got that no money and nothing else to lose, so what's up? Yep. Yep. what What do you got? So the dog fills the man's purse with money and instructs him to pay double for everything he buys.
00:25:35
Speaker
When he's spent all of that money, the man returns to the dog who gives him a thousand gold pieces and instructs him to get a ship and a crew. The audacity though, after you spent all that money to be like, Hey daddy.
00:25:47
Speaker
Don't you think, I wonder if he spent all the money and then try to walk into the sea again. And the dog's like, hold on. God damn. Nihilistic fucker. aren't So he gets the ship and crew.
00:26:00
Speaker
don'ty They set sail, but a storm dragon attacks them. The dog defeats the dragon while the crew hides below deck. They find the dog horribly wounded, but the man heals him with his mother's balm.
00:26:12
Speaker
The dog tells the man to jump into the sea, much to the terror of his crew. Before he jumps, the dog warns him explicitly that he will meet a beautiful woman near Golden Castle who will attempt to seduce him. I'm just imagining like your your cat you're on a ship, right? Like this is your life and your captain is like just in the corner talking to a fucking dog.
00:26:32
Speaker
This is the guy. Yeah. He's like, the guys, I got to jump over. And they're like, uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. The dog said so. Yeah. That's great. but That's great. Go get the rope. Yeah.
00:26:44
Speaker
So that warning though. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. Um, so he, he was warned that he would meet a woman near a golden castle who would attempt to seduce him. But if he gives her as much as a kiss, all will be lost.
00:26:56
Speaker
Ooh. The man jumps into the sea and sinks to a sunken kingdom unharmed. And the dog leads him to the town where a beautiful woman meets him. She promises him half of her kingdom. If he'll marry her, the man refuses and stabs her to death with a dagger.
00:27:14
Speaker
Excessive. so That is just too much too fast for this guy. You spend all your money, you try to kill yourself. The lady's like, I'm gonna seduce you. He's like, I've been warned. And goes from like, no thank you to murder. Like, way too fast.
00:27:30
Speaker
She explodes into dust, leaving behind only a belt with silver keys. Yeah, I'm vissering to dust. Sounds like she was a vampire. And he was like, she was like, can I come inside? And he was like, no. And she's like, ah!
00:27:42
Speaker
It was a sunlight dagger. Yeah, there you go. Or silver. It was made of silver. Hey, there you go Yeah, perfect. As soon as he kills the woman, he hears this cruise shout out because suddenly the kingdom has risen to the surface again.
00:27:55
Speaker
oh the dog reveals to the man that the woman was an evil witch that had sunk the city with a curse and turned everyone into animals. The man enters the castle and the dog is already inside to lead him into the dungeon where they find a caged lion.
00:28:08
Speaker
The dog instructs the man to cut off his head and tail and swap their places. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Cut off the head and tail of the lion and put the lion's head on its ass. you think maybe, he didn't really need to do that. He just really hated that guy. Oh, my God. He's like, I want him to know he's an asshat.
00:28:28
Speaker
There's not a damn thing he can do about it. The guy's like, dude, don't, don't. I'm in here because I followed what he told me. Because that means the lion could speak. yeah Do you think the lion was like, whoa, hey, whoa, wait wait a minute.
00:28:42
Speaker
Well, doing this turns the lion into an old man, which happens to be the king. The king praises the man for being the only person who managed to resist the witch.
00:28:53
Speaker
All the animals in the castle turn into a human, including the dog, who is the king's son. The king suggests that the man and his son should rule the kingdom together. The man wants to accept, but he feels he has to return to his parents.
00:29:05
Speaker
The king gives him a ship full of gold instead. The man sails back to his parents, who praise him, but tell him to go back and marry his prince, which he does, and they live happily ever after. No, yeah, super sweet. But like, at what point did they mention like that was his prince? See, did I miss that part? Like, I don't remember. Well, the king was like, hey, you should stay with my with my son and like rule.
00:29:27
Speaker
And he's like, I can't I gotta go home and check on my parents. And the parents are like, go. What are you doing? go be gay. Live your best gay life. Yeah, you live your best gay life.
00:29:37
Speaker
Love that. Now, I will say that the translations I came across didn't actually have the happy gay wedding at the end. But this is the adaptation of author Pete Geordie Wood. so you just picked the happiest one?
00:29:49
Speaker
Well, i read nightmareronage I read like eight of them. I know, but we' it's pride. We need to celebrate a very queer joy, man. That's fair. the nightmare cut the nightmare cottage is a cozy place. And in cozy places, there is love.
00:30:02
Speaker
That's fair. I love spooky shit. There's love. All right. Anyways. So yeah. so it was Pete Geordie Wood. while the versions I read didn't actually read as gay, they did kind of read as Ace.
00:30:15
Speaker
He was untempted by the beautiful witch with the generous offer. So it's still good to see some queer representation within one of these folktales anyways. It's either Ace or the guy was so gay that he showed up and the woman was just like had her titties out and he was just like, Okay.
00:30:31
Speaker
yeah He's like, let's play, honey. Yeah. love that outfit girl. Anyway. Also, here's a dagger. He did not let that. He stabbed her because her outfit's soft. That's why it escalated so fast. Gotta get her off this island. She got voted off.
00:30:50
Speaker
So to close this out, I'm going to share the story of Ifas and Ianthe. There was a couple named Ligdis and Telethusa. Telethuza was pregnant and nearly due. Ligdis told Telethuza that he wished for her two things.
00:31:04
Speaker
First, that the birth caused her no pain. And second, that the child be a boy. If the child wasn't a boy, he commanded Telethuza to put her to death. Girls were too much trouble and too weak.
00:31:15
Speaker
This started off so nice. I hope this isn't painful, but... If it has a vagina, we're going to have to kill it. So, crying herself to sleep, Telethuza dreamed of Isis, accompanied by the entire Egyptian pantheon.
00:31:29
Speaker
The goddess came and spoke to Telethuza and told her to raise her child regardless of its gender. The child was a girl, but Telethuza obeyed Isis. She kept the baby and raised her as a boy.
00:31:40
Speaker
ah She named her Ifis, which works as both a boy name and a girl name. Ifis grew up to be a beautiful child. She was even more comfortable living as a boy. Time passed and Ifis was betrothed to her childhood friend, Ianthe.
00:31:53
Speaker
They had known each other forever and loved each other very much. Ifis became concerned. She was happy about being able to marry Ianthe, but what would she think on their wedding night? Ifis's mother was also concerned about this.
00:32:06
Speaker
They kept postponing the wedding, hoping to come up with something. Telethuza takes Ifis to the Temple of Isis and pleads for her help. She followed her guidance to keep Ifis alive. Surely she would help her here now.
00:32:19
Speaker
After a time, the temple began to shake, and they took this for a positive answer and began to leave. But as Telethuza turns to look at her daughter, she sees that Ifas now has
Spooky Tales of Dudley Town
00:32:28
Speaker
tanned, less feminine features, shorter hair, sharper lines, and a longer, more masculine stride.
00:32:34
Speaker
Ifas is transformed into a boy. ah yay! love that. In gratitude to Isis, mother and now son place a votive tablet in her temple, and the next day, Ifas and Ianthe wed, and we presume lived happily ever after.
00:32:48
Speaker
<unk>s doing that yeah I was kind of wondering how they were going to like I was like it's either going to be like lesbian pharaohs and they're just going to like roll with it or it's a transition story either one fucking great it comes to be a problem when there's time for an heir yeah exactly yeah and they then they get all prickly and weird about it they lived happily ever after in your version yeah
00:33:21
Speaker
Now that we have our happy pride stuff out of the way, do you want to bring us some nightmares? Yes. Now, I'm not quite sure if mine is nightmarish, but it is quite a spooky story. But seeing as neither of you believe in ghost stories, we'll see what happens.
00:33:37
Speaker
Well, I like ghost stories. I just don't believe in ghosts or supernatural things. See, but that's what makes it scary. mean, I'm not scared of it. I think it's just neat. Oh, fair. I guess. I mean, I'll take it.
00:33:52
Speaker
All right. um Have you heard of a little town called Dudley Town in Connecticut? put So you won't find it on any maps. A Google search will pin a heavily forested location in Cornwall, Connecticut.
00:34:04
Speaker
And this area is tucked away at the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, has some historical traces to the Mohawk people. Some sources cite that this area was previously used as a burial site for the Mohawk tribes.
00:34:17
Speaker
So, you know, starting off really strong with ah Indian barrel tribes. Yeah, be that's notoriously a great place to be. So this area had very rocky soil. It was mountainous terrain, very dense forest, swampy lands.
00:34:31
Speaker
I didn't realize mountains and swamps could exist in the same area. i didn't either. But here we are. Yeah. Apparently Thomas Griffiths and Gideon Dudley thought that sounded like the perfect place to settle a farming community. And so they purchased the land in 1738 from Yale College at auction.
00:34:49
Speaker
As the town developed, they began to encounter more problems. Due to its location between three large hills, the area was completely dark by noon. So not great for farming. Yeah, no.
00:35:00
Speaker
The winters were hard and the soil was not suitable for growing. So the farming community, of course, failed and the community fell back on farming timber from the swamps as their main source of income.
00:35:12
Speaker
By 1854, only 26 families were living there, and this would be the peak of the town's population. A few sources call attention to mysterious happenings around the town and its eventual abandonment in the 1900s.
00:35:25
Speaker
So we'll start our tale of unfortunate events with Nathaniel Carter. He settled in Dudleytown with his family in 1759. He left his home for a business trip one day and upon returning, learned his wife and infant had been killed. o Now, one source says it was by Native Americans. Another one says by cholera.
00:35:45
Speaker
Those are two completely different ways to die. um But OK. um Either way, he decided to move back to New York with his remaining family. Whether he was unlucky or cursed, he was murdered shortly after in New York.
00:35:59
Speaker
God. Yeah. Was it either Native Americans or Colorado? Yes, they followed him to New York. One of those. was just a collar in a box. Yeah.
00:36:09
Speaker
Or maybe that was somebody's name. Mistranslation. oh gosh there's a drag name cholera sorry but yeah yeah welcome to the sage cholera no don't do that cholera cholera cholera something for your books yeah our next victim gershon hollister fell to his death while building a barn in 1792 for william tanner
00:36:44
Speaker
This was the first recorded death in Dudleytown. The other ones were just more... Okay, like speculation or something? not recorded. But while it seems to be an accident, some sources cite that Tanner caused the fall and claimed that a strange animal from the forest had killed Hollister.
00:37:00
Speaker
This was bolstered by other townspeople citing demons and ghosts. While it's said William Tanner went insane and died from the incident, I found that he was somewhere between 90 and 104. Yeah. the time i mean maybe he at that point he probably was fucking and right yeah like that's i'm saying like maybe he did throw something at him and it was like the wolves that come for you he's living in a town that gets dark at noon the dude's going through some shit exactly also he's 90 also he's 104 in the 20s like jesus next up sarah fay was another unfortunate victim ah of what was now being considered cursed land
00:37:38
Speaker
Sarah was the wife of General Herman Swift, a revolutionary war hero, and she was struck by lightning and died on their front porch. She just went out during a lightning storm one day and just... That's a mad lot....struck down. I mean, you're at the top of a mountain.
00:37:54
Speaker
Oh, yeah, fair. Yeah. Maybe that's just... Why are you outside? Shouldn't have known better. Yeah, and apparently his mental health didn't fare too well after that. So he lived to be 104? Yeah.
00:38:09
Speaker
Mary Cheney was the next one. She was the wife of presidential nominee Horace Greeley, um and she committed suicide a week before the election in 1872. Greeley lost the election to Ulysses S. Grant and blamed the cursed land for the death of his wife and the loss of the election. and Anything other than taking personal accountability. Yeah, maybe his campaign just sucked.
00:38:32
Speaker
Who knows? Anyways, John Patrick Brophy was one of the last few townsfolk left standing. His wife died of tuberculosis shortly after his two kids went missing. oh He said they walked into the woods and didn't come back.
00:38:49
Speaker
um Later, their house burned down in a mysterious fire. And then John was said to have disappeared into the woods as well. Because, like, what the fuck else are you going to do? it i mean, yeah, he's walking to the sea. He's got nothing else going on.
00:39:01
Speaker
And finally, we come to the unfortunate happenings of Dr. William Clark, who purchased property in the area in 1900. Him and his wife would visit the home a couple times a year as a holiday home.
00:39:13
Speaker
How fancy. In 1918, Clark and his wife were summering in their vacation house. Must be fucking nice. Right? Their summer house was the Swamp Mountains? Yeah. They got and a raw deal, I feel like. mean, they were right next to New York in the early nineteen hundreds Okay. that's Wasn't that... Oh, God.
00:39:33
Speaker
Is my timing wrong? was like, was that like Industrial Revolution or is that way... No, that's... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so it probably sucked. The mountain air was nice. Yeah, fair, fair. That's super true. Yeah. Yeah.
00:39:44
Speaker
Him and his wife would visit the home a couple times a year as a holiday home. In 1918, Clark and his wife were summering in their vacation house when he had to take a last minute year shed shake when I said summering.
00:39:56
Speaker
I can see it. He had to take a last minute trip to New York for business. Dr. Business. Dr. Business. Upon his return, his wife had absolutely lost it, as you do in the mountains all alone. Was she 104? No.
00:40:12
Speaker
ah She claimed that she had seen strange creatures in the woods and that they were coming for her. So she committed suicide shortly after. Good God. Clark did remarry, suspicious, and built a new home in the area where he lived with his new wife until his death in 1943. You see that cabin out there, honey? That's where my last wife off She killed herself, by the way.
00:40:36
Speaker
How's the honeymoon working out Oh, it gets better. ah so In 1924, William Clark, the guy whose wife killed himself, and a few other investors decided to buy up all of the land in the area, and they created the Dark Entry Forest Association.
00:40:54
Speaker
feel like I've seen this movie. And has since been maintained as a private land trust. They replanted multitudes of trees, mostly red pine, in an attempt to dedicate the area to wildlife and forest preservation. They're trying to good things. Yeah, okay.
00:41:10
Speaker
Unfortunately, they did run into a few problems over the years that some might attribute to the curse of the land. In 1936, the area lost a lot of those newly planted pine trees to a pine shoot moth infestation.
00:41:22
Speaker
And just a few months later, they lost numerous walnut seedlings to heavy brush fires in the area, which I don't know how often mountains get fires, but... I feel like it's part of a cycle, but if I gave any more details, I would be making...
00:41:37
Speaker
The moths set the fire. They're like, fuck this place. Yeah. There's a curse. They're little hands. They are dusty. and shake Yeah. was that so Sprinkling it around and setting fires.
00:41:50
Speaker
Moths rule. the Yeah. They're just creating so many stories. I know. I love Norway pines were planted in the area to replace the lost trees. And around 1940, the government donated Japanese chestnut trees and 100 hybrid poplars.
00:42:05
Speaker
So the area did grow and they saw some peace for some time and it turned into even more of a dark, scary forest. very very Yes. So rumors of ghost activity, the remnants of the original village and stories of the deadly curse began to spread.
00:42:23
Speaker
Even Ed and Lorraine Warren, best known for their many paranormal investigations and cursed object museum visited the town. They actually recorded a Halloween special in Dudley Town in the 70s and declared it, quote, demonically possessed.
00:42:37
Speaker
Of course they did. Yeah, I was going to say, sure. It's kind of what they do. Yeah. Holy mo. As you can imagine, this made anyone in the area looking for a spooky thrill want to go trek in the woods for a peek.
00:42:47
Speaker
Over the years, the land gained popularity for ghostly figures, phantom hands touching or pushing you around and just a general heavy presence in the very dark forest. And it's also called, like,
00:42:58
Speaker
The dark entry forest. I was about to say, they kind of named it spooky. Yeah, you you kind of caused this. Now, they say that the reason they named that wasn't because of the dark entities. It was because it was just between the hills, and so it got so dark. And this is the dark entry.
00:43:12
Speaker
And I'm like, eh. It kind of sounds sexy. It does, yeah. Dark entry forest. That's why I was like, I feel like there's like a brothel or something weird. Right, yeah. Some weird, like. There's something else going on. Yeah, something weird. They didn't document it.
00:43:24
Speaker
Is it related to pride? I have.
00:43:28
Speaker
Is that where all the orgies happen? I'm butz-ed. Continue. God. So, reminder, this is actually someone's private property at this point that all of this is happening.
00:43:41
Speaker
So people were running around the forest looking for ghosts and abandoned properties, but the residents of the area claimed thrill-seekers would wander around their actual houses, like, trying to get into their houses. That's how people get actually killed. Yeah. shit Leave litter all over the area, vandalize the properties,
00:43:58
Speaker
And they started more than a few fires, some by rowdy teenagers out there drinking and doing fun stuff. Yeah. So the land is now officially closed to the public. um It's illegal to go on the land unless you own it. Of course, it has a police patrols and one resident going so far as to take pictures of license plates to send to the local police ah for trespassing. you It's pretty crazy. Like it's all over the place.
00:44:24
Speaker
So even the private land has become a nightmare of its own in a way. A bureaucracy and HOAs. and And some lady, Karen running around. You can't park here. You're not from this neighborhood.
00:44:36
Speaker
Do you live here? Yeah, do live here? Do you have your pool pit? I was like, you can't use the pool. So the worst part about all of this, most of the stories cannot be backed by records or go against public records.
00:44:50
Speaker
So... Though the Mohawk presence in the area was confirmed, there was no indication of any burial grounds. Fun fact, this would be pretty easy to confirm as traditionally Mohawk dead are buried with their feet facing west.
00:45:03
Speaker
The Dudleys of Cornwall, who were said to have been the town's namesake and original curse bringers due to wronging one of the kings or something back in England, something like that. yes But they actually had no connection to the original land or the origins of the curse. They have no idea why it was named Dudley Town.
00:45:21
Speaker
Interesting. um Horace Greeley's wife, who was said to have gone crazy and killed herself, she never lived anywhere near the area. Okay. yeah So the people who were said to have gone insane in front of the town curse were over 80 and died of natural causes, except like the the one suicide here and there. Yeah.
00:45:39
Speaker
Most of the others can hardly be proven through records or, you know, for like over 100 years, like people are gonna die especially in a town of 26 yeah yeah well all these people are living a long ass time especially for back then i know honestly it's not a this good curse yeah they're probably living well with that mountain name no shit basically the current residents of what used to be dudley town and currently makes up the dark entry forest are constantly tormented by thrill seekers running around their backyard screaming about ghosts that probably never existed great in the end
00:46:14
Speaker
That's awesome. Yes. I was like, really like, it was like, everything I was starting to read was like a really spooky story. I was like, wow, this is crazy. Yeah. And then I stumbled upon one and was like, okay, no, this whole thing is bullshit. And here's why. Yeah. And I was like, oh my God. That happens to me so often when I do research. It's like, I find this like really cool trail and I'm following it. I'm like, oh my God, this is amazing.
00:46:36
Speaker
And then I find the person who proves it all wrong and here's why. And it all makes very much sense that this was bullshit. Yeah. But that's still like the flop doodles. Yeah. That's still the fun part. It's like going down the ghost story and being like, okay.
Queer Literature and Lighthearted Banter
00:46:48
Speaker
Yeah. Right. Yeah.
00:46:49
Speaker
Well, and it's always fun because it's, there's always little nuggets of truth. Yeah. And then it just spirals from like weird 105 year old grandpas like telling their kids like, hey, because of the force, it's scary and there's monsters.
00:47:01
Speaker
Yeah. They're like, okay, well... Why do you sound like Gary Busey? I don't know. That was my old man voice.
00:47:09
Speaker
I need you to do something. Say, Gary Busey, pet judge. What? Gary Busey what? Pet judge. Gary Busey, pet judge. Ace is going to love that one. I'll show you. I'll show you.
00:47:26
Speaker
Nightmare fuel. I have... The only nightmare fuel I have, apparently you can't access. So I sent you a book on like, apparently all of the happenings here. um Let me see. What was it?
00:47:40
Speaker
Dark Entry ah by John B. Kachuba. Apparently it has some pretty good reviews. It's ah supposed to be a horror book. um And it's just supposed to be based on like, you know, this mythical town of Deadly Town.
00:47:55
Speaker
and like crazy things that are happening there to these people. There's also a movie called Dark Entry, which honestly it has good reviews on IMDb, but I can't find anywhere to watch it. So if you know where to watch it, nightmare cottage at gmail.com.
00:48:11
Speaker
Marky, do you have some nightmare fuel for us? um I don't know if it relates to anything we talked about. ah well, kind of. No? Maybe. It doesn't have to relate to what we talked about. Okay. Well, I was like, I did read a kind of dark romance with mer people in it. And it has a transgender main character.
00:48:28
Speaker
I love that. So it kind of like all relates to that story. It's called a Bone in His Teeth. Kellen Graves. serious that Yeah, that sounds correct. And I'm not done with it. I'm about like 75, 80% through.
00:48:40
Speaker
But yeah, dark. It's got really cool like merfolk stuff. they called I think they're called Mero in the book. um Yeah, it's definitely a dark romance though for sure. So kind of spooky. There's like ghosts and i never thought about dark romance that's awesome oh yeah yeah there's there's a lot of facets when it comes into like dark romance stuff like it can get depending on like what triggers and stuff you're cool with oh yeah um there's some like stuff that kind of trends into like non-consensual things but then i the dark romances i like are more of like horror themed dark so like the main love interest is like this big scary marrow guy and he's very cursed
00:49:18
Speaker
And like, there's a fucking full of haunted forest with like dead marrow spirits in it and shit. And then like, there's a underwater ghost that he can repel to keep the lighthouse safe. It's like, it's really rad. Sounds really awesome. Yeah. it's It's really cool. So, um, yeah. Love that.
00:49:33
Speaker
It's very good. What's your nightmare, y'all? um I have a few. i'm First, I'm going to recommend two of my favorite queer horror books, which are, actually I say favorite because I've only read one of them, but i'm goingnna but I've got the other one queued up, ready to start.
00:49:49
Speaker
i've I've read Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle, and it was fantastic. It's about a conversion camp. Oh, God. And it's excellent. And then Bury Your Gaze is this other one. I'm about to start the audio. I'm really excited about it because it's like got a full cast audio.
00:50:05
Speaker
So I've got a funny story with that. One, I'm also reading Bury Your Gaze for the book club I'm in. I'm almost done with that. Fucking great. Very, very good. So I'm good friends with a voice actor. His name's Kurt Graves. He auditioned for Bury Your Gaze. Tried to get it.
00:50:18
Speaker
Didn't get it, right? I'm so sad. Yeah. He's so good. He was so excited. he really thought he had it because he, like, knew a guy who knew a guy. And he was like, oh, man, I got this. yeah And he didn't get picked. But his friend TJ Klune did get picked.
00:50:29
Speaker
TJ Klune is an author who he works with. And so TJ narrates parts of this book and they were nominated for an Audi. So now every time he sees Kurt, he's like, oh, I mean, no big deal. i'm not a voice actor, but I got the nominated for an Audi. So he, like, throws it in his face every time he sees it.
00:50:46
Speaker
He signed one of his books, like, hope you get naughty soon or something like that very catty and funny like that's their relationship yes T.G. Clint is a hilarious amazing author yeah he's very very good Kurt Graves is an amazing narrator for for audiobooks and very sassy and I love him so much yeah they're they're back and forth it was fucking hilarious yeah yeah was very good so the other thing I'm going to recommend because we have the author Maz Maddox here. Yes.
00:51:15
Speaker
I mentioned at the beginning that Marky writes gay romance adventure, amazing books. Like they're just fucking cool. She's got like a series on with centaur shifters. It's like ah a shifter wild west situation. And then there's the dinosaur series, which is fucking awesome.
00:51:31
Speaker
It's the relic series. I'm going mention these, but the actual nightmare fuel I'm going to, well, okay. So it's a nightmare fuel, very loose It's okay. So it's not nightmare fuel, but it fits in the cottage because it's cozy and it's a little spook because it's a demon romance.
00:51:43
Speaker
Yeah. ethan It's fun. Ethan and Jag destroy the world. I didn't know that was a demon romance. Yeah, a demon romance. And Kurt narrates it too. Yeah, Kurt narrates it it. Don't feel bad. I don't really read books.
00:51:54
Speaker
I'm sorry. Oh, you're fine. No, no. It's also like, it's very like, very um niche. Yeah. So it's like, you have to be, there's a lot of boxes to check for you. Like, this is for me. Yeah. So,
00:52:05
Speaker
But this one is a standalone. and The rest of them are series. It's a great way to jump into Maz's work, but it's about a cute little twink who accidentally summons a demon and oh the repercussions of that. It's also kind of holiday based because it goes through both Halloween and Christmas with themes surrounding those. And it's it's super fun, super cute.
00:52:23
Speaker
What was it called again? Ethan and Jag Destroy the World. Ethan and Jag Destroy the World. Yes. By Mazmatics. Yeah. Who we have here today, but as Marcus. and mark as As her real. yes
00:52:41
Speaker
I don't have very many cleansing palettes today, but I do have some questions. So I usually do have, not never have I ever. Why do i always want to call them never have I ever?
00:52:55
Speaker
What is it called? to Have you, no. Would you rather? Would you rather? I yeah i know words. um Would you rather? And I'm going to, ah usually give them to like, ask them them, but today I'm going to ask you since you're our special guest. Yeah.
00:53:10
Speaker
Would you rather? Okay. Be able to speak with the dead, but only through the dreams of others. Okay. Or hear the thoughts of the living, but only their darkest desires.
00:53:22
Speaker
Speak to the dead. Really? Yeah. A hundred percent. Oh, that'd be fun. But what if they were just like, kept trying to tell you how they died? And it was the same person that just kept being like, hey, you need to tell the cops.
00:53:33
Speaker
And you're like, dude, I've tried. Yeah. And they just kept bothering you. like Well, see, there's actually another good series I could plug that's very similar to that. The series is by S.E. Harmon. And it's about ah a guy who is a medium.
00:53:47
Speaker
And he's also a profiler for the FBI. Wow. And he is he hates this ability, doesn't like it. And because these ghosts show just like, you got to help me. And he's like, I am. working you know what I mean or like he or at one point he does try to help so like a murdered this young teenager was murdered and so he goes to his parents he's like hey your kid's not missing he's murdered I can't i don't have any evidence and he told me why are you mad you know and like and just getting him trouble at work and all this shit it's it's very fucking funny and it's got a good like murder mystery what's the series called
00:54:20
Speaker
um let me see because now that that sounds it's me super good I've been listening to the audio because Kurt narrates it so um let me see well maybe I'll listen audio because usually i can't deal with audio because it's too like it puts me to sleep because it's so like it lulls me Yeah. Okay. So the first one in the series is called P.S.I. Spooky by S.E.
00:54:46
Speaker
Harmon. Kurt didn't narrate the first one. He started on the second book. P.S.I. Spooky. Yeah. And the second one, I think, is Principles of Spookology. But yeah, very, very good. Very funny and nice and spooky, like with it being dead people and like depending on who he's talking to.
00:55:02
Speaker
it kind of ramps up by like the second book. Somebody comes to him and he's like trying to tell him like the last thing he remembers. And as he's like telling him, his body starts to rot in front of him. and He's like, Oh shit. You what I mean? It's, it's fucking rad.
00:55:14
Speaker
So I love that. Like they're actually like falling apart. They're not just like, I hate in horror when not in horror, but in general, when you're talking about ghosts and they're just these like,
00:55:26
Speaker
clean, just normal looking. And it's like, no, like they got run over by a car. Yeah. They should look nasty. Yeah. So like they start off looking pretty normal, but then like, as they start talking about their death, like they'll start bleeding or like rotting and stuff, or like they'll spiral and start screaming like their last words over and over. It's like, i was like, this is cool. and love So yeah, it's good.
00:55:46
Speaker
All right. That was, that was great. Next one. Would you rather be followed by a benign ghost that only you can see, but constantly judges your decisions or have a poltergeist that causes havoc, but protects you from harm.
00:56:03
Speaker
Oh, that's tough. So basically catty ghost or your cats, but they protect you. I mean, I kind of feel like I live with that now. Exactly. um Man, I don't know.
00:56:17
Speaker
I almost want the catty ghost because it'd be hilarious. It'd be hilarious. I'd want desperately to befriend it. I feel like I could win them over eventually. You know what i mean? And they're just like, and you're like, they're pleasing you. And they're like, now you're just trying too hard. Yeah, exactly. They'd like, you look like shit. And I'm like,
00:56:32
Speaker
Okay. I don't know. Like, that's fine. Tell me how to fix it. I don't know. So I would, I would go with the sassy ghost. I love that. The judgmental sassy ghost. That's fair.
00:56:42
Speaker
Last one. Would you rather have a pet that could speak but only say things to make you paranoid? Or have plants that grow incredibly fast but consume anything in their path.
00:56:54
Speaker
Oh, shit. You know what? I'll go with the pet thing because Jinx kind of already does that to me. Like, Jinx will sit in my lap and he'll be, like, half asleep and then he'll do the, like... Oh, my gosh. Where they look in the corner. Yeah, they look in the corner. And, like, I've done the thing where it's, like, really early in the morning.
00:57:09
Speaker
And he did that, and I slowly turned around, and then looked back, and he was back to normal. i was like, no, fuck you. What did you see? Isn't that cool? Was it a demon? Was it a spider?
00:57:19
Speaker
Like, what's up? So i feel like i'm I'm prepared for that one, so we'll go with that. so Just like ready to panic. Yeah, so if Booker comes in, he's like, seven days. I'd be like, all right, that's weird, but...
00:57:31
Speaker
Fair enough. Yeah, your brother sees ghosts, so it's fine.
00:57:36
Speaker
That's funny. Love that. Well, that's it. That's all I have. Yeah, love that. It's fun. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much. It was very fun. Yes, it was great. But um yeah, awesome. Thanks, guys. And again, please ah look up Maz. Do you have like any socials that you want? Yeah, so I've got a website, MazMedX.com. I'm on, I almost said Twitter. I haven't been on Twitter in a hot minute.
00:57:58
Speaker
um I'm on Instagram a lot more these days. My Facebook is there, but I'm kind of falling away from it at this point. So yes, Instagram for sure. And then Hoof and Fang podcast is the podcast I do with Kurt.
00:58:09
Speaker
So if you like LGBTQ fantasy fiction podcasty stuff, it's mostly us complaining about stuff. But we sometimes talk about books too. And obviously you've noticed she's hilarious. So it's extra great.
00:58:21
Speaker
I know my best. So thanks again. And sweet dreams. If you have topic requests, book or movie recommendations, or just want to say hi, email us at nightmarecottage at gmail.com or visit our website at nightmarecottage.com.
00:58:38
Speaker
Sweet dreams. Bye-bye.
00:58:55
Speaker
bye by