Eldritch Girl: Weird Gothic Stuff & Nonsense

Jem Foreman and Theo Shaw take part in a ritual but bite off more than they can chew; Wes unlocks his powers, but a calamity befalls Fairwood. If the cliffhanger is too much for you, buy the book and check out the illustrations! You can also drop me a tip at ko-fi.com/cmrosens. CWs: toxic relationship dynamics with emotional manipulation, blood, insectoid creatures, body horror.

Wes goes to a memorial service with a bloody twist, Katy mounts a rescue, and Ricky takes news of his death a little too fatalistically. Buy the books/tip me/join my membership on ko-fi.com/cmrosens CWs: gore, threat, sacrifice, depression

Wes foresees Ricky's fate and teams up with Katy. Don't forget you can buy the books in my Ko-Fi shop, and become a member for monthly perks! ko-fi.com/cmrosens CWs: gore, violence, suicide ideation, depression, apocalyptic death cults.

A depressed Katy contemplates ending her life, and is visited by a mysterious, Otherworldly figure. You can support the podcast and buy the books at ko-fi.com/cmrosens CWs for suicide ideation/intention, reference to historic self-harm, and more maggot/infestation imagery.

Jem Foreman reveals more horrifying details about the cult to Wes, who rediscovers a certain power. This episode contains lots of stuff around cult sacrifice, emesis, and violence. Drop me a tip if you're enjoying the podcast so far! https://ko-fi.com/cmrosens

Ricky is taken out for a pint, as Wes tries to get closer to him... with some unexpected consequences. Loving the free audio version? Tip me on my Ko-Fi if you can, or buy the book from me! ko-fi.com/cmrosens Disordered eating, enabled binge, refs to genocide and mass bereavement, some twisted, dysfunctional relationship dynamics.

Wes learns they are being supernaturally stalked, and sees the end of the world.This section has emesis, more parasitic-like descriptions, mention of erectile dysfunction, and some graphic scenes of death, violence, self-mutilation, and apocalyptic trauma.

Katy gets an SOS call and locates her missing cousin, but it's not looking good.Part 1 of Chapter 3 has some graphic descriptions of wounds, implied drug use, and be prepared for descriptions that may trigger parasitophobia and/or trypophobia.

Wes faces a moral dilemma, and learns the latest news. Check out cmrosens.com for the accompanying blog post. This chapter contains mention of erectile dysfunction and su*cide coercion, addiction, sobriety journey and fear of relapse.

Delve into Cumbrian folklore with Lucy Rose as we discuss creating a Gothic aesthetic, depicting trauma, and depicting the lost lives of the working class in historical Gothic piece, She Lives Alone. Watch the film on YouTube via Alter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlAQGOcVa6YEpisode Content Notes: SLA is a short supernatural horror film. We discuss the content, which includes a ghost, folk exorcism, self-mutilation (driving an iron nail through her own hand), grief and bereavement, the trauma of toxic parent/child relationships. What we didn't discuss in this interview is the potential sapphic vibes between Maud and her friend, and the idea that maybe this is behind Maud's mother's accusations of Maud's "wickedness" , but that is also one reading of the film should you watch it.Bonus Episode Credits Music: Waltz Primordial Artist: Kevin MacLeod (feat Alexander Nakarada)

Full content notes for the whole series are at the start, and this specific ep has a number of those straight out of the gate, so listener discretion is advised! In this chapter, Ricky has done something drastic and feeling the consequences, while a mythological character I've flirted with mentioning in THE CROWS and THIRTEENTH rocks up on-page. The accompanying post on cmrosens.com goes into more detail around this character, so head over there for some additional notes and context! Ko-Fi: Ko-Fi.com/CMRosens

Three possible futures. Two versions of the apocalypse. One chance to save the world.Wes Porter, a severely depressed insanity-inducing playboy, is detoxing from hallucinogens that have unlocked his ability to see versions of potential futures - and he's just foreseen two ways the world could end. Normally, Wes would leave the hero bullshit to somebody else, but he can't abdicate responsibility this time... not when both those apocalypses might be his fault. With some prompting from a mythological bard-prophet who may or may not be real, and a lot of assistance from his monster-eating baby sister who desperately wants to move out of his apartment, and their soothsayer cousin who has his own demons to fight, Wes attempts to save [his] world... but have his poor decisions doomed them all?THE DAY WE ATE GRANDAD is the third book in the Pagham-on-Sea series. It is a dysfunctional family cosmic horror novel for fans of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES, and THE CALL OF CTHULHU, with themes of bereavement and grief, generational trauma, and a dash of Roman and Welsh mythology.Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60161402-the-day-we-ate-grandadCover design: Rebecca KenneyInterior Illustrations: Tom BrownEdited by: Johannes PunktPodcast Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

The last (and double-length!) episode of S02, in which the triad meet their Grandsire, Ricky finds some comfort, Wes makes a choice and gets some insurance, and Katy sets herself on a path she can't come back from. CW: graphic gore/violence, killing family, drug use, strong language, gruesome transformational body horror

In this episode with multiple guests, I catch up with Ezra Arndt, Frank Rudiger Lopes and Alessandra "Allie" Pino on their short stories in THE UNCANNY AND THE DEAD anthology out now in eBook and Paperback! This indie horror anthology was edited by Ezra Arndt and also contains a longer short story/short novella by me, entitled THE RELUCTANT HUSBAND.

Ricky and Wes learn the extent of their powers in the Outside and must decide what to do with them; Katy hatches out, and Grandad's priests show up.CWs: deconstructive body horror, insectoid creature swarm, creature goreTheme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

Katy's metamorphosis begins, Ricky takes a risk that leads to a bad trip, and Wes finds himself assuming responsibility.CWs: consuming non-edible hallucinogenic/toxic substance, discussion of sexual relationship between cousins, deconstructive body horror (while conscious).Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

Katy, Wes and Ricky begin their exploration of the Outside, but Wes isn't the only one to be affected by the atmosphere in this other dimension. CWs: body horror, family-context aggression, thinking of people as objects, blood/accidental cut.Theme Tune by Gemma Cartmell

An interview with Ally Wilkes, author of ALL THE WHITE SPACES, released 25 Jan '22 (UK) and 22 March '22 (USA). This episode includes an author-read extract from the novel, and we discussed Polar exploration in the early 20thC, the Great War (WWI), Polar horror, and a morsel of survival cannibalism.

The Triad find themselves trapped the wrong side of the portal with an unexpected benefit for Wes.CWs: fist-fight, blood, disordered eating/mindless eating to painful over-capacity (of rotten food)Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell

Katy returns to the Outside unprepared and Wes seizes his chance to get rid of Ricky. CWs: drug-addled decision-making, aggressive family arguments, body horror. Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

Ricky struggles to cope with his cousins and his deeply-rooted insecurities, while Katy, struggling to deal with her grief and newfound knowledge, figures out why Wes is on the List. Wes is just... struggling.CWs: alcohol use in context of a depression spiral, lack of self-awareness, on-page panic attack, references to drug use, deteriorating mental health.Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell

I talk to Mason Hawthorne, author of several short stories including LEADBITTER HOUSE published in Nyx Publishing's first Queer Gothic anthology, UNSPEAKABLE, about Australian small town Gothic, body horror, and the process of writing short fiction.

In this week's episode, Wes sets his cap at Fairwood (and Carrie), takes drugs to see glimpses of a strange future, and recalls his own Changes.CWs: drug-taking and on-page trip in POV, come-down and out-of-touch/derealisation POV due to drug-taking, very strong language (the C-word again), depersonalisation (when Wes can't remember his own face for the first time), explicit attraction to first-cousins in inbred family context, coerced alcohol intake/relapse, toxic family dynamics.Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell

Katy faces the consequences of her actions and some unwelcome revelations about the List and her destiny.CWs: gore, maggot-adjacent infestation, body horror, emesisTheme tune: Gemma Cartmell

Fairwood extracts Katy's memory of her 11th birthday, in which Katy's destiny becomes clearer to her; in the present, Katy learns who killed her beloved grandmother and Wes and Ricky face a reckoning.CWs: child neglect and manipulation, disruptive/drunk/violent family member in family gathering situation, gift-giving (can be read as manipulative but without CSA connotations); gore, violence with blunt instrument, head injury/impalement, maggots, parasitic-infestation-adjacent body horror, strong language, dealing with grief and trauma in destructive ways.Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

I read out a version of the December letter that Ko-Fi supporters received this month with a Christmas card from Carrie, Ricky (and Wes). This is a non-canonical AU project set in the present day, where I explore what 'would happen if ...' and thread some arcs together. If you want to read the letters you get them as Ko-Fi posts at my lower monthly tier, or sent to you, handwritten, with other little things at the higher tier. CWs for mention of [historic] depression spirals and self-medication references, plus entrail-reading. Music: Robobozo by Kevin MacLeod

Wes's meeting with Katy goes very badly, resulting in Katy needing a rescue.CWs: driving-under-the-influence POV, implied careless driving, homicidal ideation (he fantasises about strangling Katy with his scarf) and strong language, attempted abduction by father and siblings, some graphic sibling bullying and intimidation.Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell(c) All Rights Reserved 2021

Wes finds out what's really bothering Hugo and has a confession of his own; Katy goes back to college and gains a magical artefact.CWs: In Wes's section: under-the-influence POV, suicide ideation in context of reference to a deliberate car-crash, father/son estrangement, and references to cocaine and fictional designer drugs. In Katy's section: refs to historic animal cruelty, a toxic and manipulative friendship, and a bit of sexually-active teenage drama.Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell(C) All Rights Reserved 2021

I talk to Magen Cubed this week about monster romance, the US class system and writing in the Southern Gothic mode. We discuss her novel LEATHER AND LACE, the main characters Dorian (an anxiety-riddled vampire) and Cash (a laid-back human monster hunter), their backstories, and the interaction with the decaying setting and other Southern Gothic tropes.

Wes receives an ultimatum that will bring him back to Pagham-on-Sea and recalls a bad memory. CWs: depersonalisation and derealisation, self-harm (hitting self violently/repeatedly), bullying older relatives, death threats against loved ones, estranged father/son relationship, implied struggles with self-loathing. Theme Tune : Gemma Cartmell(C) All Rights Reserved 2021

Ricky gets to know Katy without having to actually talk to her, and the Voice comes back (with more reverb than ever). CWs: dealing with bereavement/grief/memories, ritual cutting and reference to self-harm history, emesis, jealousy, attempted mind-manipulation.Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell(C) All Rights Reserved 2021

In this episode I update you on the hardback edition of THE CROWS and the limited book box release (Jan 2022), my short novella coming out in the Spooky by Association anthology (Jan 2022) which is the genesis story of the Porter branch of That Family, and also on the letter-writing project I've got to help me work out some character arcs beyond the books. Not necessarily canonical but what happens if... ... ... To sign up to that, check out my Ko-Fi and join the Eldritch Family tier (it's open internationally as the tier cost includes p+p).

Ricky goes for a winter walk, and he and Carrie have a heart-to-heart...CWs: very strong language [use of c-word], casual attitude to random killing, troubled/complicated domestic dynamics, calling out controlling behaviour.Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell(C) All Rights Reserved 2021

Katy has an eye-opening chat with Ricky while Wes gets wasted and unlocks a surprising new ability.CWs: implied cannibalism of human/human-passing organs, drugs and alcohol, background gore, amputation and torture, masturbation and xenophobia.Theme Tune by Gemma Cartmell

"Snuff films aren't fucking vegan, Lucy"Wes fails to handle some personal problems and ends up on yet another family outing he doesn't want to be involved with.CWs: unhealthy sexual/romantic relationship, addiction, coerced drug-taking, toxic family dynamic.Theme Tune by Gemma Cartmell

This interview with Alessandra "Allie" Pino contains discussion of food in the Gothic, and how food can betray us (in the context of horror but also anxieties around food in real life). Allie discusses her co-written project, A GOTHIC COOKBOOK, which contains essays on 13 Gothic novels, along with 5-6 recipes from each of those novels per chapter, developed and adapted for a modern kitchen. You can pledge to the project on unbound.com and use the discount code GOTHICPOD10!Intro/Outro Music: Robobozo Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Listen to my improv commentary of the 1931 Dracula (dir. Tod Browning). The full transcript is available on my website cmrosens.com, and if you'd like to tip me on Ko-Fi it would be much appreciated! I might put future film commentaries up on Ko-Fi for supporters.Intro/Outro Music: Robobozo by Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech) CC.03 License.

Katy wakes up in unfamiliar surroundings, and underestimates her cousin.CWs: abduction, toxic family dynamics, teen with self-harm tendencies.Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell2021 All Rights Reserved

A bonus short story available to buy as an ebook from all ebook stores and direct from my Ko-Fi shop for £1.99. OVEREXPOSURE is a traumatic short about obsessive love. All Rights Reserved.CWs: self-harm, self-mutilation, bodily fluids, descent into addiction.Intro/Outro theme: Robobozo by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under CC BY 3.0 License

Welcome back to Eldritch Girl. In this episode, Ricky has some explaining to do.CWs: bird death and entrail reading, facing mortalityTheme Tune: Gemma CartmellAll Rights Reserved 2021

Katy is kidnapped and Wes breaks several promises, but for once it's not his fault,CWs: running away from an unsafe (murderous) home, kidnap, experimental (coerced in underground clinical context) drug use.Theme Tune: Gemma CartmellAll Rights Reserved 2021

An interview with author S. T. Gibson, where she reads an extract from DOWRY OF BLOOD (Nyx Publishing, 2020) and we talk about Dracula's Brides, polyamory and Gothic fiction!Intro/Outro Music: Robobozo Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) CC BY 3.0

Thirteenth Part One: Welcome back to the podcast! In this episode, I chat about the novel that's being serialised in this season, give you the head's up on the CWs and read the prologue to ease you in. Lots of gore from the get-go.WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (eldritch edition) X HANNIBAL RISING - Lovecraftian mythos meets family drama in this serialised novel by C. M. Rosens, All Rights Reserved 2021.Katy Porter is the thirteenth child of a thirteenth child in an inbred family of eldritch horrors, and her own eventual metamorphosis will change her into a creature that hungers for her family's flesh. To some, she's a threat - to others, a weapon.Katy needs allies to help her control her Changes, but she's stuck with her oldest brother, a drug-addled playboy who voted to have her killed but is chaotic enough to have genuinely changed his mind, and her eyeball-eating, god-like cousin, whose idea of protecting her involves abduction, dark rituals, and encouraging her homicidal side.If anyone is going to survive Katy's transformation, scores need to be settled and fears need to be faced - and Katy is not the only one who needs to face them.Content Warnings for drug use, self harm, suicide ideation, incest, violence, gore, body horror, and strong language. Adult Horror. Full list of CWs can be found on its product page at cmrosens.com.

What's next for ELDRITCH GIRL? Join me on 7th Oct 2021 and find out! AUDIOBOOK OF THE CROWS, as heard on my podcast, will be out September 2021.

Chapter 21 ~ I Have You Now, My Pretty, in which Carrie's wyrd endsFollowed byEpilogue ~ Is This The End? in which some things are wrapped up to no-one's satisfaction.The complete audiobook will be available to buy from August 2021 from my Ko-Fi Shop.Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

Our last author interview of the season is with April-Jane Rowan, one of the founders of Gurt Dog Press, which is currently open for submissions! We hear an extract from Rowan's new novel, LOVELORN, released August 2021, and chat about faeries, folklore, body horror, and different kinds of tainted/toxic love (not just the romantic kind). Rowan also discusses Gurt Dog Press and B Proud PR, a promo service for LGBTQ+ stories and authors.

Typically the 'If I Can't Have You [no one can]' trope centres a damsel in distress, but in this case, said distressed damsel is a cannibal soothsayer with parental issues, and he needs rescuing. Chapter 20, If I Can't have You..., in which Guy makes a choice and things get worse, is Carrie's last day to live. Season finale is the next episode! Disclaimer: I'm not doing the Sussex accent that Ricky's parents have, hope that doesn't spoil things for you!CWs: threatened lobotomy (by parasites), zombies/zombie abuse, implied incestuous siblings, horrendous family dynamics. Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

More gruesome murder-by-vengeful-ghost and an alcoholic character's POV in this chapter - and we're two more episodes from the end! Chapter 20 next week, followed by Chapter 21 + Epilogue as the season finale. This time, here's Chapter 19, Let The Past Burn, in which things unravel and Ricky says goodbye,Theme Tune: Gemma Cartmell

I chatted about queerness, transness and monstrosity with Johannes T. Evans (he/him), a gay transmasc author and stand-up comedian from South Wales currently living in Ireland. He reads an extract from his serial Powder and Feathers, and we talk about power dynamics in relationships (and the abuse of them), the three themes of liberty and freedom, duty and responsibility, trauma and recovery, and how they intersect in messy and monstrous relationships in his body of work. We also discussed monstrous bodies, queerness, transness and gender presentation, and so much more! Join us for an hour of queer monster chat and general ranting.Intro/Outro music: Netherworld Shanty by Kevin MacLeod

Early hours through to early morning of 12 May - Carrie now has 1 day left to live in Chapter 18, Death and the Maiden, in which Ricky tells the truth. CWs: strong language, drunkenness, possession/telepathic boundary violations, sexual arousal, brain invasion (pseudo-injection via ear), amnesia.Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell

A really short chapter, Chapter 17 Revenge Served Cold, in which Ricky finds a tongue and all hell breaks loose, has the audio of my Dec 2020 Q&A at the end. You can find the video versions of me answering Qs1-10 on my YouTube channel and the blog post for the written form on my website (videos embedded).CWs include gore, bird death, physical intimidation of an older vulnerable man, murder, body horror and drunkenness (cont).