Monday, November 05, 2007

Wormwood

I came across this online mystery serialisation via The Mystery of the Haunted Vampire and it is a great series, well worth a listen.

Up to episode 15, at point of posting, the premise is: “Tragedy forced Doctor Xander Crowe down the pathways of the occult and he was forever transformed.

"Now, chasing the vision of a drowned woman, Crowe finds himself in the haunted town of Wormwood, where evil lurks in the shadows and stains the souls of its inhabitants.”

This is real American Gothic, filled with spirits and occult occurrences. In fairness it doesn’t feature a vampire, however they are mentioned in passing and so they form part of Crowe’s world view - a connection enough to give a show of this quality a mention. Crowe himself is a fantastic, utterly unsympathetic character.

Wormwood can be found here.

10 comments:

Carnacki said...

I could have done without the "Snot bubbles" song at the funeral. That was one of the scenes where I imagined they thought it was hilarious at the time they did the show, but then someone should have said, OK, let's save that for our holiday party outtakes and now do the real take of the funeral scene. But I'm very impressed with the story overall. You're right he's a completely unsympathetic character which is one of the really cool things about the story. I have no clue how these podcasts productions work. Obviously a lot of effort has gone into it yet they're free downloads. Is it done for resume building or as a hobby or is there some hidden revenue stream? (I'm really just curious about how they do it. I might have to email them for a blog interview.)

Anonymous said...

So glad you're into the show. Xander Crowe is indeed a fun character to write, and so I'm thrilled that you're finding him fun to listen to. Is there any better sort of character than the unsympathetic hero? We have some big stuff in the coming weeks, as the show ramps up to the season finale, so I hope you stick around and listen to what happens. If you're interested in doing a blog interview about our production -- absolutely. Drop us a line.

Anonymous said...

First: Thanks so much for the great comments! We really appreciate it!

Carnacki: As the writer of the funeral episode, I can simply say...I've long had this thing about serious musicians who talk about really serious topics and then give the song an edgy title like "mucus" (true story from experience). Snot Bubble was simple my riff on that. Whether it worked or not...I'm the one to blame. :)

(and we'd be happy to do a blog interview -- feel free to email at wormwood@habitformingfilms.com.)

Anonymous said...

Ha! I didn't know Jeremy was just posting! Great minds...;)

Taliesin_ttlg said...

Many thanks for the comments guys (and nice to see you here as well carnacki, I always check MHV daily).

I am looking forward to the next episode with great anticipation and, to be honest, didn't mind the snot bubles moment - I know people who would have done something like that if they'd been able to plus it opened the general surealness that little bit more.

I'm cyruious, as you could possibly tell given the ature of the blog, as to Crowe's hinted at past encounter with a vampire - perhaps it'll end up as one of the show site's stories; hint (for those reading the comments and never having visited the site, shame on you but there are stories on the site set in the Wormwood universe.)

Taliesin_ttlg said...

I should also add that I am obviously unable to type when having the first cup of coffee in the morning!

cyruious should have read curious
ature should have read nature

lol - dyslexic fingers

Anonymous said...

taliesin:

We've got a lot of "past stories" about Crowe, and one suspects he's dealt with vampires before...I actually have vampire story that I've wanted to write for awhile, and I may put it into either prose form or make it part of an audio flashback in the show.

But...episode 16 (available now)...MAY have something to do with vampires....;)

Taliesin_ttlg said...

cheers for the heads up - downloaded and listened to.

Rob G. said...

As the voice of Cedric Bloomington on Wormwood, I can only hope that, after listening to Episode 16, I can be accepted into your vampire organization. He may not be the neatest of blood-drinkers, but he gets the job done. Thank you for listening to us here in Wormwood...we appreciate the support. Keep listening, it only gets weirder. Thanks again...Rob G. (the voice of Cedric and others)

Taliesin_ttlg said...

Rob, many thanks for the comment and also for the hard work you and the rest of the cast do to bring us the show - it is really appreciated.

I'd say it was more a vampire disorganisation, lol, but welcome.