Spooky & Strange

Dec 15 2023 68 ep. 24 mins 115
Spooky & Strange Podcast artwork

Follow me into the endless library... Commentary, reviews, and retellings of horror tales, weird fiction, spooky stories, and mysterious mysteries with Aurelien. Books, short stories, flash fiction, and more.

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Alanna by Tamora Pierce, in quotes

Dec 15 2023 15 mins  
"Alanna gritted her teeth and thrust her chin forward stubbornly. She would see this through." It's midwinter in the endless library, and Aurelien has only the very best books to shine a light in the gloom. "Alanna" (1983) by Tamora Pierce is a bright, fun, gritty-in-age-appropriate-ways, accessible first book in a girl-forward fantasy series. Episode references: Sunny Nwazu

The Fall of the House of Usher E1 commentary/watchalong

Nov 18 2023 56 mins  
A wealthy CEO faces a criminal investigation amid tragedy, trauma, and a supernatural threat. The Usher family learns an informant lurks among them. The Fall of the House of Usher (2023) has entered the Flanaverse. Based on various Edgar Allan Poe stories and characters, this show explores the prominent and wealthy Usher family. Is this just spooky Succession? Is it spooky at all

The Woman in the Brown Coat by Aurelien and Dustin!

Oct 27 2023 23 mins  
"Her head starts to turn, and I gasp --" Trick or treat, spooky friends! Aurelien and Dustin (from The Rewatch Recap) wrote a spooky little PG-rated story together. Keep an eye on your windows and stay alert as you settle into "The Woman in the Brown Coat" (2022). Produced by Dustin: https://linktr.ee/DustinCanRead With additional voice acting by Kay: https://linktr.ee/fmwlpo

A spooky Friday the 13th reading from Her Dark Inheritance

Oct 13 2023 12 mins  
"All the future looked gloomy and threatening, and the gaunt wolf hovered at the door of the Lynnes' humble home." Gather round, spooks and strangers! For this special spooky season October Friday the 13th, Aurelien reads aloud chapter 1 of "Her Dark Inheritance" (1892) by Mrs. E. Burke Collins. What do you think the inheritance is, spooky friends? And do you want to hear more?

Curiosities of Superstition by W. H. Davenport Adams

Oct 08 2023 36 mins  
"It was on Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, that superstition ran riot..." Trick or treat! Aurelien explores the spooky archives of Project Gutenberg and comes back with 1880s non-fiction takes on Scottish Halloween traditions. How is bobbing for apples part of a divination ritual? Is any of this actually spooky? Join around the cauldron for readings and stories from "Curiositie

Aurelien reads The Beautiful People by Charles Beaumont

Sep 18 2023 45 mins  
"Mary was a misfit. She didn't want to be beautiful. And she wasted time doing mad things - like eating and sleeping." Aurelien reads another original Twilight Zone source story. This time, let's go back to 1952 (or is it 2022??) with The Beautiful People by Charles Beaumont. Read the story at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36258/36258-h/36258-h.htm Want more old school s

Library book sale bookstravaganza

Aug 24 2023 60 mins  
“Don't join the book burners. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book...” ― Dwight D. Eisenhower Aurelien digs out from under a pile of library sale books and catalogs her unread gems. Tune in for hot takes on old books! Ranging from "the most unusual mystery novel ever written", to neurological non-fiction, to the YA of our nightmares, and short stor

The spookiest summer reading check-in

Jul 31 2023 20 mins  
Spooky salutations, listeners and readers! It's time for a "what I was reading when I wasn't here" mid-2023 check-in. Slither into the shade and have a listen, then make your plan of (reading) attack. **** Black Bloom by Felix I.D. Dimaro After Dark with Roxie Clark by Brooke Lauren Davis Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant The Two Doctors Gorski by Isaac Fellman The Honeys by Ryan

Readalong: Interview with the Vampire, chapter 1

Jul 09 2023 26 mins  
"Here are the confessions of a vampire." Let's read INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (1976) by Anne Rice together, spooky friends! Tune in to hear Aurelien's running commentary on her first time reading Chapter 1/paperback book pages 1-34. Readalong with your own copy or just listen in for the story! -- Theme: Magical Transition by Kevin McLeod Additional music and sound effec

Horror writer Hailey Piper drops in

Jun 16 2023 56 mins  
Could you slip through a hole in reality? Aurelien interviews horror author Hailey Piper, author of QUEEN OF TEETH, THE WORM AND HIS KINGS, NO GODS FOR DROWNING and more. It's a far-ranging conversation about so many ways we experience horror. Listen for horror geekery about unreliable narrators, our fuzzy reality, takes on modern movies, hopeful hopelessness, splatter Westerns,