A reading of H.P. Lovecraft’s “He,” which was first published in the September 1926 issue of Weird Tales , and first read aloud here, by me, in May of 2025. Please note: this is a horror podcast, and may not be for everyone. In particular, this story contains some unkind depictions of New York immigrants and Native Americans, an unexpected amount of architectural detail, a fancyboy-turned-necromancer, rum drinking, tobacco smoking, poorly inflected Georgian-era English, a particularly damaging b...
May 04, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Claire and Tod discuss HP Lovecraft's "The White Ship," first published in 1919 in The United Amateur. What better way to celebrate ☘️ St. Patrick's Day ☘️ than talking about Lord Dunsany at some length! Also, Claire, a sophisticated and educated lady of Irish decent, learns what a shillelagh is in this episode, so that's a bit of St. Patty's fun! Links for you: Lord Samuel's Lovecraft Metal Spotify Playlist Tod's Dreams and Nightmares Apple Music Playlist...
Mar 16, 2025•46 min•Season 1Ep. 66
HP Lovecraft's "The White Ship," first published in the November, 1919 issue of The United Amateur , and first read here by Tod in March of 2025. As this is a horror podcast, it may not be for everyone. Specifically, this story contains descriptions of fanciful, far off lands, a celestial bird of impossibly beautiful plumage, the river Narg, a city paved with bones, and the rejection of paradise. If these elements are likely to disturb you, voyage no further with this episode. You...
Mar 02, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Claire and Tod discuss HP Lovecraft's "The Outsider," which was first published in the April, 1926 issue of Weird Tales, though purportedly written around 1921. Is it really about body dysmorphia? Could be! Is it goth a fuck? Absolutely it is! Anyway, here are some links! First off, check out Hell Cat Speed and Design 's YouTube channel. If that's not quite noisy enough for you, then you're urged to experience Nile's Amongst the Catacombs of Nephrem-Ka with you...
Feb 11, 2025•38 min•Season 1Ep. 64
A reading of HP Lovecraft's "The Outsider," first published in the April, 1926 issue of Weird Tales, and first read here by Tod in January, 2025. As this is a horror podcast, it may not be for everyone. Notably, this story contains depictions of a dark and brooding forest of secrets, a crumbling castle of misery, silent rats and other ethereal vermin, screaming, wind-riding ghouls, and, (no spoilers) the most shocking, soul-crushing revelation of abomination and hellishness. If an...
Jan 22, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Tod and Claire discuss HP Lovecraft's "A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson," which was published in the November, 1917 issue of the United Amateur under the name "Humphrey Littlewit, Esq." and have a couple different takes on this story. Is it self satire? Probably. Is it actually a story about imposter syndrome? Maybe! Is it perhaps the most cosmically horrifying story of them all, since even if you're 200 years old, your life may well be vanishingly insignificant...
Dec 28, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 62
A reading of HP Lovecraft's "A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson," first published in the November, 1917 issue of the United Amateur, and first read here by Tod in December, 2024. This this work is a rarity in Lovecraft's oeuvre, as it was intended as a bit of satirical parody of Lovecraft himself. As this is pointedly not a horror story, there are no content warnings for this episode. However, you are still advised to steer clear if you are troubled by excessive name-droppi...
Dec 27, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Tod and Claire discuss " The Evil Clergyman " by H.P. Lovecraft, which was first published in the April, 1939 issue of Weird Tales. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Notably, the story features an attempted suicide by hanging, an accidental manslaughter, book burning, the Anglican church, possession or possibly hallucination, and abnormally high foreheads. If these elements are likely to disturb you, you should skip this episode. Correction: Tod erron...
Dec 07, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 60
A reading of HP Lovecraft's The Evil Clergyman , first published in the April, 1939 issue of Weird Tales , and first read here by Tod in October, 2024. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Notably, this story features an attempted suicide by hanging, an accidental manslaughter, book burning, the Anglican church, possession or possibly hallucination, and abnormally high foreheads. If these elements are likely to disturb you, you should skip this episode. And h...
Oct 26, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 59
In this episode, we present a lecture and discussion on issue spotting and the nightmarish legal landscape that Lovecraft and his characters occupy. Featuring a barely audible Tod, and a very audible Claire and Harley, presenting their findings in Vanitas Horrendum Lex: From Beyond The Bar . This was recorded live at NecoronomiCon Providence on August 16, 2024, in the beautiful Omni Hotel. You can text us now. Why? That’s between you and your Elder God. Support the show Like the show? Say so wit...
Sep 25, 2024•22 min
Tod and Claire discuss "The Festival," by H.P. Lovecraft, which was was first published in the January, 1925 issue of Weird Tales. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Specifically, this story deals with Yuletide and the winter solstice, madness, probable hallucinated delusions, hybridized winged monsters, cultic activity, the silent treatment, claustrophobia, atonal piping, the Necronomicon, an attempted suicide, and the resultant hospitalization. If su...
Sep 10, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 58
A reading of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Festival," which was first published in the January, 1925 issue of Weird Tales, and first read by Tod on September 2, 2024. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Specifically, this story deals with Yuletide and the winter solstice, madness, probable hallucinated delusions, hybridized winged monsters, cultic activity, the silent treatment, claustrophobia, atonal piping, the Necronomicon, an attempted suicide, and the...
Sep 02, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Only lightly edited for loudness normalization, this is the live Fungi From Yuggoth discussion recorded at NecronomiCon 2024. If AI generated music offends you, then you definitely want to skip this episode, and we shall never speak of this again. In fact, you should never go looking for such things at https://podsothoth.bandcamp.com , You can text us now. Why? That’s between you and your Elder God. Support the show Like the show? Say so with money ! Or just hang out with us on Mastodon, at @pod...
Aug 16, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 56
A reading of "The Fungi From Yuggoth," by H.P. Lovecraft, first published in its entirety in _Beyond the Wall of Sleep_ by Arkham House in 1943, though published individually and sporadically in _Weird Tales_ and other magazines after they were completed on January 4th, 1930. It was first read by Tod on July 21, 2024. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Specifically, this sequence of sonnets deals with shoplifting, several ancient farmhouses, glimpses o...
Aug 07, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Send your Lovecraftian legal questions to Claire at [email protected] (not dot-com, dot-club)! Have you been driven insane by glimpsing the ineffable chaos of Azathoth during a seance? Has a loved one been lost to the dark guiles of Nyarlathotep? You may be entitled to compensation! In this episode, Claire and Tod discuss "The Thing In the Moonlight," by H.P. Lovecraft and J. Chapman Miske, first published in the January, 1941 issue of Bizzare , which was based on a letter from L...
Aug 03, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 43
A reading of "The Thing In the Moonlight," by H.P. Lovecraft and J. Chapman Miske. This story was first published in the January, 1941 issue of Bizzare , and is based on a letter from Lovecraft to Donald Wandrei in November of 1927. It was first read by Tod on July 21, 2024. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. This story involves a swampy dreamscape, an ancient trolley car, and a furtive yet fruitless escape from a howling motorman monster, all as part ...
Jul 21, 2024•6 min•Season 1Ep. 53
In which Tod and Claire discuss HP Lovecraft's "The Picture in the House," first published in the July, 1919 issue of The National Amateur. You can read the complete text at hplovecraft.com . As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Specifically, this story focuses quite a bit on cannibalism, as practiced in the unexplored Congo and backwoods New England, as well as an overstuffing of queso, a probable death by lightning strike (or, as Claire believes, ...
Jul 15, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 52
In which Tod reads HP Lovecraft's "The Picture in the House," first published in the July, 1919 issue of The National Amateur, and first read by Tod on June 29, 2024. You can read the complete text at hplovecraft.com . Note that a couple words have been changed in this reading. You can guess which ones. As this is a horror podcast, this episode might not be for everyone. Specifically, this story focuses quite a bit on cannibalism, as practiced in the unexplored Congo and backwoods...
Jun 29, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 51
In which Claire and Tod talk about HP Lovecraft's "Polaris," first published by HP Lovecraft in the December, 1920 issue of The Philosopher , and available at hplovecraft.com . As this is a horror podcast, please know that this episode may not be for everyone. The discussed story includes descriptions of siderophobia (the fear of stars), a swampy cemetery, a mention of cannibalism, a confusion between waking and dreaming life, and many poorly pronounced fantastical place and race ...
Jun 18, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 50
In which Tod reads HP Lovecraft's Polaris , first published by HP Lovecraft in the December, 1920 issue of The Philosopher and first read by Tod on May 12, 2024. Please be forewarned that this is a horror podcast, and so it might not be for everyone. As a warning, this short story includes descriptions of siderophobia, (the fear of stars), a swampy cemetery, a mention of cannibalism, a confusion between waking and dreaming life, and many poorly pronounced fantastical place and race names. I...
May 12, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 49
In which Claire and Tod talk about HP Lovecraft's "The Music of Erich Zann," first published in the March, 1922 issue of The National Amateur, and available at hplovecraft.com . As this is a horror podcast, please know that this episode may not be for everyone. This story, in particular, features some poorly pronounced French, a number of awkward social encounters, some disturbing and dangerous architecture, descriptions of fantastic otherworldly musical elements and the implied p...
May 03, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 48
In which Tod reads HP Lovecraft's The Music of Erich Zann , first published in the March, 1922 issue of The National Amateur , and first read by Tod on April 13, 2024. As this is a horror podcast, please know that this episode may not be for everyone. This story, in particular, features some poorly pronounced French, a number of awkward social encounters, some disturbing and dangerous architecture, descriptions of fantastic otherworldly musical elements, the implied, posthumous playing of t...
Apr 13, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 47
In which Tod and Claire discuss The Descendant, by HP Lovecraft, first published in the winter 1938 issue of Leaves. We also talk about Charles Fort and the Fortean Times , kind of a lot. Links to things mentioned in the show include Angela Collier's "physics crackpots: a theory" and https://hplovecraft.com . We also talked about NecronomiCON Providence , which I hope you go to in mid-August. Please be aware, this is a horror podcast, so it might not be for everyone. Notably, this...
Mar 21, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 46
In which Tod reads HP Lovecraft's The Descendant , first published in the winter 1938 issue of "Leaves," and first read by Tod on February 25, 2024. Please be aware, this is a horror podcast, so it might not be for everyone. Notably, this story fragment touches on the troubling topics of the ravages of age and dementia, the Roman empire and medieval England, the dreaded Necronomicon, 90's-era Satanism, and a nihilistic longing to escape the natural world. If these topics are ...
Feb 25, 2024•10 min•Season 1Ep. 45
In which Claire and Tod discuss the Rats in the Walls. Note we spend the first quarter talking about racism in literature sooooooooo there's that. Here's the Javascript to change the cats name, do with it what thou wilt: https://gist.github.com/todb/35aa059ef2a94cb86a2db63e5121ddeb And here's Jason Buck's Linktree, if you get a chance to see him, he's real good, even though we make just a little bit of fun: https://linktr.ee/jasonbuckstoryteller/ Okay I gotta pick Claire...
Jan 19, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 44
In which Tod reads for you The Rats in the Walls by HP Lovecraft, first published in the March 1924 issue of Weird Tales. Please note, this is a horror podcast, so this episode might not be for everyone. This story contains depictions of cult worship, mispronunciations of various Anatolian and Roman deities, the American Civil War and the Great War, ancient and medieval architecture, Piltdown Man, The Marquis de Sade, surprise cannibalism, and of course, swarms and swarms of rats. If such things...
Jan 13, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 43
In which Tod and Claire discuss "The Horror At Martin's Beach," by Sonia H Greene and HP Lovecraft, originally published as "The Invisible Monster" in the November, 1923 issue of Weird Tales. More about Sonia Greene: https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/marriage-failure-and-exile-hp-lovecraft-in-new-york More about Captain Orne's possible connection to the Marsh family of Innsmouth: https://lovecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Marsh_family I used a bit of short ambience in this r...
Dec 18, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Just in time for Halloween! In this episode of Podsothoth, a Lovecraft book club, Tod Beardsley reads to you The Horror at Martin's Beach by HP Lovecraft, which is also sometimes known as The Invisible Monster by Sonia H Greene. It was first published as the latter in the November, 1923 issue of Weird Tales. Please note, this is a horror podcast, so this episode might not be for everyone. This story contains depictions of fish monsters, Yankee capitalism, marine hypnosis, a decadent beachsi...
Oct 31, 2023•16 min•Season 1Ep. 41
In which Claire and Tod discuss The Shunned House , by HP Lovecraft, first published in the October, 1937 issue of Weird Tales . And here are some links in case you're a weirdo who reads these show notes. Link to the Kickstarter project for publishing The Shunned House: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helios-house/shunned-house Wikipedia article about The Shunned House, including the Gorey-esque illustration by Virgil Finlay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shunned_House Girl with Al...
Sep 24, 2023•38 min•Season 1Ep. 40
In which Tod Beardsley reads The Shunned House , by HP Lovecraft, first published in the October, 1937 issue of Weird Tales . Since this is a horror podcast, it may not be for everyone. This reading contains detailed descriptions of 17th, 18th, and 19th Century architecture, a meandering genealogy, several child maladies and deaths, including stillbirth, an infectious madness, eerie fungi and vapors, a vampiric presence, and a rental property which certainly would not meet modern residential bui...
Aug 02, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 39
