News from Stay Forever, or: A Few Thoughts on Podcasts

Rahel Schmitz, Stay Forever, Star Wars, Podcast

The cat is out of the bag: After the German games podcast Stay Forever invited me as an expert on the world of H. P. Lovecraft last year, I was asked if I would like to support the project occasionally as a freelancer. Of course, I was more than happy to do so!

Die Welt von Star Wars” (‘The World of Star Wars‘) is the first Stay Forever episode where I host the conversation. My wonderful guest and expert is Kevin Arnold, who runs the podcast Bucketheads. More episodes focussing on the lore of fictional worlds are to come, but I won’t tell quite yet which realms these episodes will explore.

One thing is certain: I’ve had a lot of fun with the podcast, even though it’s still new territory for me. That is exactly what excites me, since podcasting lures me out of my (writing) comfort zone. I am all the more motivated to pursue the new avenue.

My Very Own Podcast?

I have been toying with the idea of setting up my own horror podcast for quite some time now. While I have plenty of ideas, I am currently lacking the necessary time to build up such a project. Also, I personally enjoy podcasts that are structured like a dialogue and where at least two people converse about a certain topic. For my own podcast, I would therefore need a long term sparring partner.

While I am still pondering the project, here’s a small selection of my favorite horror podcasts – all in English:

  • The Faculty of Horror: My absolute top podcast. Film specialists and Rue Morgue journalists Alexandra West and Andrea Subissati discuss horror films on an extremely sophisticated and yet accessible and humorous level.
  • Random Number Generator Horror Podcast No. 9: At the end of each episode, hosts Jeffrey Cranor and Cecil Baldwin (both Welcome to Night Vale) decide randomly which film to discuss in the next podcast. The entertaining part: Jeffrey doesn’t like horror movies.
  • H. P. Lovecast Podcast: A podcast by my good friends Michele Brittany and Nicholas Diak that explores the works of Lovecraft and his peers. The focus is often also on current publications. I consider myself very lucky to have been a guest on one of their episodes.
  • The Horror! (Old Times Radio): This fictio podcast is a goldmine of radio history. Gathered here are radio dramas and adaptations of famous ghost stories that were once broadcast. The sound quality is often poor due to the age and time of recording. Perfect for those retro feelings!
  • Chilling Tales for Dark Nights: Another fiction podcast, this time with original short stories recorded especially for this series. Each episodes features several tales and there’s always a gem or two.

Here a short list of podcasts I have contributed to so far.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *