Cromtober, Part III: Robert E. Howard's "The Cairn on the Headland"

Oh, hello there! Good evening. It's such a pleasant night here on the headland, isn't it? I do so much enjoy being here in the evenings. My doctor tells me the ocean air is good for my convalescence, so I try to make it out here before the sun sets. It's so peaceful, an almost timeless quality to the landscape, don't you agree? It's almost unbelievable to think of the barbarous battle that spilt so much blood here nearly a millennium ago...

Hugh Frazer's Battle of Clontarf (1826)

And so our Cromtober 2014 shenanigans draw to a conclusion! In our third episode we tackle Robert E. Howard's The Cairn on the Headland! It was first published in Strange Tales in 1933. If you don't have a copy of the story to read, check it out here for free! While you're at it, make sure you read up a little bit on the Battle of Clontarf! Or listen to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History episode on this era of history. That guy knows his stuff!!!

And we had a plethora of spooky 'One Things' as we head into the homestretch for Halloween....

Jon: the zany Bruce Campbell vehicle, Bubba Ho-Tep!

Josh: the Paul W.S. Anderson cult favorite, Event Horizon!

Luke: Another seasonal text, The Book of Hallowe'en!

Don't forget that you can support The Cromcast by signing up for your free trial of Audible at audibletrial.com/thecromcast. We recommend trying out one of their THOUSANDS of titles!

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ The spooky organ intro comes from (we think) the public domain (via the YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2RP1GivOqo). Our epic closer is the tail-end of Agalloch's Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires. Agalloch are AMAZING, and their song absolutely fits into our pagan Norse discussions, don't you think? We hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work! All music was obtained legally. And seriously, go pick up some of Agalloch's discography. Check out Marrow of the Spirit or, their newest, The Serpent and the Sphere!

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

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Cromtober, Part II: "The Music of Erich Zann" by Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Greetings, young scholar. I'm glad you found my advert in the newspaper!

Yes, I still have a room to let. It's up the stairs here. In fact, it's are right below the top floor. One Mr. Zann holds the room above you. Have you heard of him? I'm told he's a viol player of some repute.

Looks like a student of metaphysics to us!

In our second Cromtober episode of 2014 we tackle H.P. Lovecraft's The Music of Erich Zann! It was first published in The National Amateur in 1922. If you haven't read this story, we really recommend it. If you don't have a copy of it, read it here for free! 

Artwork by Andrew Brosnatch used for publication of the story in Weird Tales in 1925

And we had a plethora of spooky 'One Things' as we prep ourselves for Halloween....

Jon: Weird Kentucky (and the larger Weird US series)!

(Note - Check out some of the Kentucky ghosts and monsters we mentioned! The Pope Lick Monster, and Bobby Mackey's Music World.) 

Hail, Goatman!

Josh: The Black Wings of Cthulhu (there's a follow-up, too)!
Luke: The Best Horror of the Year, Volumes Four & Five!

Our Cromrade Whiskey51 shared a link to an audio play version of this story with us. You can find it on archive.org! (Thanks for sending us the link!)

Don't forget that you can support The Cromcast by signing up for your free trial of Audible at audibletrial.com/thecromcast. We recommend trying out one of the The Best Horror of the Year anthologies!

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ The spooky organ intro comes from (we think) the public domain (via the YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2RP1GivOqo). The disconcerting violin interludes are Alexey Voytenko's The Music of Erich Zann, composed for violin in 2009. These were accessed via the Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAwSxtaD4II). We hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase the work!

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Leave us a voice mail! (859) 429-CROM! (That's 859-429-2766)
Follow us on Twitter! Or on Facebook!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! Don't forget Stitcher!

Cromtober, Part I: "The End of the Story," by Clark Ashton Smith

Hile, traveler! I bid you, please come out of the storm. Here... Have a hot meal and some tasty wine before we retire to the library to discuss 'many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.' What's that, you ask? Pay no mind to that parchment! 

"It is better not to ask.. . There is a curse on the pages that you hold in your hand: an evil spell, a malign power is attached to them, and he who would venture to peruse them is henceforeward in dire peril both of body and soul." 

In our first Cromtober episode of 2014 we tackle a Clark Ashton Smith story! It's The End of the Story, first published in 1930 in Weird Tales. If you don't have a copy of it, read it here for free!

And we had some spooky 'One Things' as we prep ourselves for Halloween....

Jon: Reader's Digest's Mysteries of the Unexplained

Josh: Colin Wilson's The Occult: A History

Luke: Ray Bradbury's The October Country

Don't forget that you can support The Cromcast (we need to eat too) by signing up for your free trial of Audible at audibletrial.com/thecromcast. We recommend trying out the CAS Anthology, "The End of the Story," which includes the eponymous tale.

Finally... Jonesin' for some additional CAS discussion? Don't forget to check out The Double Shadow!

Our episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ The spooky organ intro comes from (we think) the public domain (via the YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2RP1GivOqo). The ending music is a portion of Type O Negative's "Blood and Fire" (Out of the Ashes Remix). Used without permission. RIP Peter Steele! All music was obtained legally (Oh yeah.... Who remembers the Mortal Kombat OST)?!?! We hope our discussion of this content makes you want to go out and purchase their work.

Questions? Comments? Curses? Email us! (thecromcast at gmail dot com)

Leave us a voice mail! (859) 429-CROM! (That's 859-429-2766)
Follow us on Twitter! Or on Facebook!
Subscribe to our feed on FeedBurner! Or, check us out on iTunes! Don't forget Stitcher!

Cromtober

Hello all! Our favorite time of year is upon us! The ambiance of the diminishing daylight hours and the leaves steadily changing colors and falling from the trees have combined to trigger our need for some scary stories!

Last year (all the way back in Episode 9!), we covered Pigeons From Hell and The Haunter of the Ring! This year, we are expanding Cromtober, and will be covering a story from the Weird Tales gurus we've mentioned most often. Here they are!

1. Clark Ashton Smith - The End of the Story

2. Howard Phillips Lovecraft - The Music of Erich Zann 

3. Robert Ervin Howard - The Cairn on the Headland

Three masters. Three classic tales. Three back to back to back episodes of The Cromcast!

Let us know what you think of these stories! 859-429-CROM! thecromcast at gmail dot com!

Happy Cromtober!

JJL