Wide Atlantic Weird

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A RE-POSTING OF AN OLD EPISODE FOR COPYRIGHT REASONSCian & Donal tackle the history of the band KISS using the autobiographies of the four members to tell the tale ...

NOTE: this is a repost from 2020 for copyright reasonsVideo games have played a key role in the evolution of horror storytelling over the last couple of decades. And if you have fond memories of pre-rendered backgrounds, polygonal zombies, bad controls and even worse voice acting, then this episode RESTLESS DREAMS: 90S SURVIVAL HORROR NOSTALGIA is for you! Cian and Aodh get misty-eyed recalling the highs (and hilarious lows) of the Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Dino Crisis franchises. The 90s and early 00s were something of a boomtime for big-budget, mainstream horror games. But there's much to discuss: what exactly makes a game 'survival horror?' Why did the Resident Evil series become a silly action slugfest? And just where exactly has that sly bastard Albert Wesker gone off to this time?Along the way, find out why whether a psychological take on horror gaming is better than zombies-in-your-face, and why dinosaurs are awesome but endless key unlocking puzzles aren't. So make yourself a Jill sandwich, find yourself a crackly radio, and pray that you're still the master of unlocking. You're about to enter the world of survival horror ...And this is our last escape.

Cian returns to the cabin to tackle a subject that he should have tackled long ago: the life and mysterious disappearance of Percy Harrison Fawcett. First part (fingers crossed) of a series attempting to contrast the various books about Fawcett that are out there. Featuring: -extended thank yous to all the nice folks who've sent me books and things during the hiatus -in-depth breakdown of the 2009 David Grann book 'The Lost City Of Z' -audio from my trip to Spike Island, where Fawcett was stationed in the early 20thc Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wideatlantic

Dónal returns to the cabin to discuss Kenneth Branagh's 1994 film 'Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.' It's a spoilerfest so beware - we take the film apart into it constituent elements (it's primarily constructed of hubris and bare chest real estate) to find out whether it's ALIVE or rather a cobbled-together monster. BUT, what if the real monster was John Cleese all along?

You're very welcome to the cabin in the woods once again! Usually on Wide Atlantic Weird, we investigate real-life stories of ghosts, monsters and UFOs, taking a critical, almost-academic look at the origins of these tales.  This episode is something a little different, and something very special. Just this once, we’re proudly presenting a short AUDIODRAMA (an audio play) about the birth of the Bigfoot phenomena in California in the 1950s, and the various eccentric characters who first went in search of this beast. This episode, Wide Atlantic Weird presents: DAWN OF THE WILD. SHOW NOTES Cast: Narrator - Jo Hart Jean Brown - Faye Sewell Cleve Grounds - Ali Keane Selwyn Ahern - Cian Gill Tom Slick - Fionn MacSkool The Ghost Trail on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyswG_oLkVQV9vQNnpJj1_A Scuts Link https://thescuts.bandcamp.com/ Owen Schinkel https://slidingdutchman.com/ Kylie Anderson https://kyliekaymusic.com/index.html Loon Sound by NicStage https://freesound.org/people/nicStage/sounds/432603/ Cricket Sound by InspectorJ https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/352514/ Bell Sound by InspectorJ https://freesound.org/people/InspectorJ/sounds/415510/ Wilhelm Bigfoot Scream by Wilhelm_Screaming  https://freesound.org/people/wilhelm_screaming/sounds/213383/ Growl Sound by JosephPharoah99  https://freesound.org/people/josepharaoh99/sounds/366837/ Night Forest Sound by LionRoar0905  https://freesound.org/people/lionROAR0905/sounds/518310/ Camera Click Sound by Bratok999  https://freesound.org/people/Bratok999/sounds/173564/ Camera Flash Sound by sjturia https://freesound.org/people/sjturia/sounds/370892/ Horror Suspense Drone by Hybrid_V https://freesound.org/people/Hybrid_V/sounds/320830/ Town Hall Sound by KentDavies959 https://freesound.org/people/kentdavies959/sounds/466663/

Cian takes another trip into the realms of folklore. A stray Reddit tale introduces our host to the Native American legends of disembodied voices that mimic humans to trick and trap travellers in the wild. Always a fan of campfire lore, Cian investigates this idea as it turns up in contemporary legends, the original mythology of native peoples, and how folks have used the idea of malevolent forest spirits in classic fiction. And as some traits cross over with Irish mythology, Cian invites Mr Andrew Byrne to talk about similar legends from the old sod. One again, there'll be history, mystery, mythology and even some Tolkien as we trace the history and origins of this idea. Join us for a beer at the Cabin In The Woods. There's a campfire burning, and we're ready to tell stories in this episode: FOR FEAR OF LITTLE MEN: VOICES IN THE WOODS. Up the airy mountain Down the rushy glen We daren't go a hunting For fear of little men (William Allington) From NWHikers http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7968453 From the BFRO http://www.bfro.net/legends/penutian.htm

It sometimes seems the human need to believe in unspoiled wildernesses full of large, overlooked creatures knows no bounds! And it feels like there's hardly an 'impossible' animal that doesn't have some folkloric core of supposed 'real life' sightings. And so it is with the woolly mammoth. At the cabin in the woods, Cian nurses a beer and investigates an almost-forgotten tale: the legend of the living mammoth of Siberia. This case is going to take a deep trek into the musty wilderness of the cabin's library: childhood monsters books, 1950s cryptozoology tomes and of course, 19th century hoax newspaper stories. It's a fine example of how myth and reality blend over the years to create a legend. This episode: TALES OF LIVING MAMMOTHS: KIND OF A BIG DEAL. Mammoth Video from 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWlq4OtmEFo Encyclopedia Of Cryptozoology https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Woolly_mammoth On The Track Of Unknown Animals, Bernard Heuvelmans, 1955 https://books.google.ie/books/about/On_the_Track_of_Unknown_Animals.html?id=AIwpAQAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y The Most Mysterious Places On Earth, Nick Redfern, 2013 https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-most-mysterious-places-on-earth-1 National Geographic Article on McClure's The Killing Of The Mammoth https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2012/02/08/shooting-the-last-mammoth/

An empty, apocalyptic London, survivors proposing radical utopias - and all while 9-foot, monstrous carnivorous plants roam the streets? It must be THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS, the most famous novel by John Wyndham, the mid-century British author famous for penning so-called 'cozy catastrophes.' Cian is joined at the Cabin In The Woods by Mr Neil Philips from the UK Wildlife Podcast to discuss Wyndham and the book, Soviet science, Cold War paranoia, mad botany, and 1950s apocalypse fiction. Grab yourself a drink, a pipe, and a tweed jacket for ROOTS OF HORROR: JOHN WYNDHAM AND THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS! Theme by Kevin Gill & Cian Gill UK Wildlife Podcast Page http://www.uk-wildlife.co.uk/uk-wildlife-podcast/ The Blind Logic Of Plants by Adam Stock https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5621/sciefictstud.42.3.0433?seq=1 A Guide To The Day Of The Triffids by Melanie Kelly https://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-Triffids-PDF.pdf

Since we were in the area - a very brief ghost story/urban legend for you from County Cork.

*NOW UPDATED WITH EXTRA BONUS MATERIAL!* On this episode, enter the Wide Atlantic Weird cabin-in-the-woods to find the place stuffed with mummified cats, cursed relics and forbidden idols as we delve into THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS! This 1903 book from Dublin-born Bram ‘Dracula’ Stoker affords us the perfect excuse to doff a pith helmet, drink cognac, and tell mystical tales of turn-of-the-century Gothic London and spooky, mysterious Egypt! Come to find out when the Western world actually decided that mummies were scary, why the British were obsessed with Egypt, and how to tell when a fellow is decent by looking at his skull – but stay for the eccentric Irish occultists, the racial hang-wringing, and of course the blatant Orientalising. -what race were the ancient Egyptians anyway? -did an Irish palm-reader predict the downfall of Charles Stuart Parnell? -why did Oscar Wilde’s father want Cleopatra’s Needle brought to London? -can Cian jam HG Wells, AC Doyle and ‘Invasion literature’ into another episode?? All these questions and more will be raised, mulled over, and distainfully dismissed in THE JEWEL OF SEVEN STARS: BRAM STOKER’S SPOOKY EGYPT PART 1. Theme from the 1959 Hammer version of The Mummy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zef-RrAunZ4 Quadrivia article about Cleopatra’s Needle https://quadriv.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/the-sphinx-cleopatras-needle-and-the-psychogeography-of-london/

Christ on a bicycle, you just wouldn't believe the madness that went on behind the scenes during the making of ALIEN 3. An astonishingly bleak, gothic entry into a big-budget franchise that killed off most of its beloved cast, Alien 3 was hated by fans upon release and has only very slowly gained a slightly better reputation over the years. Cian and Stokes enjoy some fine German beer (and Kinsale Pale Ale - recommended!) while getting into the almost incredible reasons why this film spent so long in development hell. From unused scripts about monks on a wooden planet to British wrestlers, dogs in costumes, sexy blonde studio spies, and a pre Fight Club David Fincher, this story has enough weirdness going on to swing a Xenomorph. But does the film hold up? Will the guys ever record an episode about Alien Resurrection? And what is the connection to Last Action Hero? Join Wide Atlantic Weird for some horror film goodness and a descent to Fiorina (Fury) 161 in RUMOUR CONTROL: THE UNBELIEVABLE DEVELOPMENT HELL OF ALiEN 3.  Theatre Preview (The Bitch is back) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3L3jJyzjFI Alien 3 UUP Original Script (Hicks, Ripley and Newt) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_3#1987%E2%80%931989 Brian Glover, wrestler, angry, bald, yorkshireman. Wrestling 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_zPH3u65H8 Wrestling 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QxyO_rGqYg Bottom (i.e Secret Shame): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsz5aGJUNXs Special Effects Whippet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUMX6hsvbO4 Super Face Hugger: https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Royal_Facehugger Bambi Buster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQCq3CHzhdk Michael Biehn Time Bomb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105597/ Michael Biehn on Ripley & Hicks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Vgl6eopOy8 Reactions to Alien 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QHc0n0G2kA

Some months ago we did an episode solely about the first Blair Witch movie from 1999. We're doing everything else in the franchise (two movies and a bunch of video games) in one episode. While this might give you an idea of the level of quality we're dealing with, there are interesting things to notice within these films and games. Perhaps the take-home lesson is simply that not everything needs a franchise. But grab a beer and join us at the Cabin In The Woods to see whether there's anything salvageable within the FRANCHISE NOBODY WANTED. Big thanks to our guest Ian Stokes!