Grim Worlds

Derek Olson

A podcast for weird tales, odd fantasy, questionable horror, implausible sci-fi, and Small Myths. Consumer discretion is advised.

Episodes

  1. 05/24/2021

    The Grave

    Hi Neighbors Every episode is special, but this one, well this one pulls at my heart strings a bit more than most. When I started I wanted to pay some homage to the Weird Fiction of the past and to that end I have decided to reach back into the grandpappy pulp and pull up a tale from inside the first issue of Weird Tales. The Grave was written my Orville R. Emerson and published in Issue One Volume One of Weird Tales in 1923.  As far as I could find in my research this was the only story Mr. Emerson ever published and for many reasons, that makes this tale feel even more special. Just like every one of you.  The story is centered around a couple of soldiers moving around the European theater during World War One and one of them stumbling upon a weird story of his own, penned by a German Soldier. The grim autobiography follows the soldiers thoughts as he is trapped underground, trying to feed himself, trying to free himself, and trying to keep himself sane as he slowly devolves into a revenant. Chilling stuff indeed. It's clear to me Mr. Emerson had some demons to exorcize and did so at the typewriter. A process I'm very familiar with.  I wonder now if Mr. Emerson managed to write such a good tale that he freed himself of those demons and perhaps that's why we only have the singe story from him. I just hope that was the case.  Music for today's episode was provided my Frequency Collisions https://frequencycollisions.bandcamp.com/ and Wintergatan https://wintergatan.net/ Please check them out and throw them some support! The source for todays story was found using a fantastic internet archive of Weird Tales found here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1GNCfBzO4NcbvjE8XsNlpAjYPpA5rf25PulI7RpVBkhU/htmlview?urp=gmail_link&gxids=7628 For both reason and passion I'm Derek.  Be Well.

  2. 05/10/2021

    The Things They Collected and Martian Union

    Hi neighbors. Welcome to Season 1 Episode 2  The Things They Collected - and - Martian Union That's right! Two stories for the price of one, both written by author Mark SR Peterson. A main course and a sweet dessert.  In The Things They Collected you meet Tim - a man driven by his need to find all the things - everything possible - that's perfect for his collections. It is the story of a simple life spun out of control surrounded by futuristic technology and what might be an ominous prophesy surrounding a mysterious magazine titled "The End" with a final section that made me wonder - is the collecting bug a communicable disease?  In Martian Union we follow a pair of Explorer Astronauts as they investigate the surface of Mars and find a surprising answer to one of the great mysteries of American history.  More about Mr. Peterson's work is available on his website http://marksrpeterson.com/ I think you should go and check it out.  This episode's music is provided by Frequency Collisions  you can find more of their music at https://frequencycollisions.bandcamp.com/  Additional music is provided by Wintergatan Find them at https://wintergatan.net/ You can support the podcast by visiting me on Patreon and signing up to receive some great benefits and increased access at https://www.patreon.com/grimworlds  Or you can find me at http://www.grimworlds.com/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/grimworlds/   For both Reason and Passion I'm Derek Olson and I want to thank you for listening.  Be Well!

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About

A podcast for weird tales, odd fantasy, questionable horror, implausible sci-fi, and Small Myths. Consumer discretion is advised.