web02.fireside.fm Sun, 14 Jun 2026 18:51:22 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Cryptozoology” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/cryptozoology Wed, 11 Sep 2019 11:30:00 -0400 Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." en-us episodic Art and philosophy at the limits of the thinkable Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Professor Phil Ford and writer J. F. Martel host a series of conversations on art and philosophy, dwelling on ideas that are hard to think and art that opens up rifts in what we are pleased to call "reality." yes weird, art, philosophy Phil Ford and J. F. Martel admin@weirdstudies.com Episode 55: The Great Weird North: On Algernon Blackwood's 'The Wendigo' https://www.weirdstudies.com/55 360cdc39-110f-4f39-b568-a0d3d05bbf88 Wed, 11 Sep 2019 11:30:00 -0400 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 55 The Great Weird North: On Algernon Blackwood's 'The Wendigo' full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel Phil and JF discuss Algernon Blackwoods tale of the Canadian forest, "The Wendigo." 1:22:32 yes <p>No survey of weird literature would be complete without mentioning Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). As with all masters of the genre, Blackwood's take on the weird is singular: here, it isn't the cold reaches of outer space that elicit in us a nihilistic <em>frisson</em>, but the vast expanses of our own planet's wild places -- especially the northern woods. In his story "The Wendigo," Blackwood combines the beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands with the folktales of his native Britain to weave an ensorcelling story that perfectly captures the <em>mood</em> of the Canadian wilderness. In this conversation, JF and Phil discuss their own experience of that wilderness growing up in Ontario. The deeper they go, the spookier things get. An episode best enjoyed in solitude, by a campfire.</p> <p><strong>Header Image:</strong> "Highway 60 Passing Through the Boreal Forest in Algonquin Park" by Dimana Koralova, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Highway_60_passing_through_the_boreal_forest_in_Algonquin_Park_(September_2008).png" rel="nofollow noopener">Wikimedia Commons</a></p> <p><strong>SHOW NOTES</strong></p> <p>Glenn Gould, <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szgnGV4hOKU" rel="nofollow noopener">The Idea of North</a></em><br> Algernon Blackwood, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10897/10897-h/10897-h.htm" rel="nofollow noopener">"The Wendigo"</a><br> <a href="https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones" rel="nofollow noopener">Game of Thrones</a> (HBO series)<br> Weird Studies, <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/29" rel="nofollow noopener">Episode 29: On Lovecraft</a><br> H. P. Lovecraft, <a href="http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/essays/shil.aspx" rel="nofollow noopener">"Supernatural Horror in Literature"</a><br> Edgar Allan Poe, <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/69390/the-philosophy-of-composition" rel="nofollow noopener">"The Philosophy of Composition"</a><br> Fritz Leiber, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafhrd_and_the_Gray_Mouser" rel="nofollow noopener">The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser</a></em><br> Richard Wagner, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsifal" rel="nofollow noopener">Parsifal</a></em><br> David Lynch, <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4093826/" rel="nofollow noopener">Twin Peaks: The Return</a></em><br> Peter Heller, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/River-novel-Peter-Heller/dp/0525521879" rel="nofollow noopener">The River: A Novel</a></em><br> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Tim_McLean" rel="nofollow noopener">The Killing of Tim McLean</a> (July 30, 2008)<br> Weird Studies, <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/3" rel="nofollow noopener">Episode 3: Ecstasy, Sin, and "The White People"</a><br> Mysterious Universe: <a href="https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/11/strange-and-terrifying-encounters-with-skinwalkers/" rel="nofollow noopener">Strange and Terrifying Encounters with Skinwalkers</a><br> Jacques Vallée, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Magonia-Folklore-Parallel-Worlds/dp/0809237962" rel="nofollow noopener">Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds</a><br> Graham Harman, <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Weird-Realism-Philosophy-Graham-Harman-ebook/dp/B009ODXIH6" rel="nofollow noopener">Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy </a></em><br> Arthur Machen, <em><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40241" rel="nofollow noopener">Hieroglyphics: A Note Upon Ecstasy</a></em> </p> Algernon Blackwood, wendigo, Canadian wilderness, weird stories, skinwalkers No survey of weird literature would be complete without mentioning Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). As with all masters of the genre, Blackwood's take on the weird is singular: here, it isn't the cold reaches of outer space that elicit in us a nihilistic frisson, but the vast expanses of our own planet's wild places -- especially the northern woods. In his story "The Wendigo," Blackwood combines the beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands with the folktales of his native Britain to weave an ensorcelling story that perfectly captures the mood of the Canadian wilderness. In this conversation, JF and Phil discuss their own experience of that wilderness growing up in Ontario. The deeper they go, the spookier things get. An episode best enjoyed in solitude, by a campfire.

Header Image: "Highway 60 Passing Through the Boreal Forest in Algonquin Park" by Dimana Koralova, Wikimedia Commons

SHOW NOTES

Glenn Gould, The Idea of North
Algernon Blackwood, "The Wendigo"
Game of Thrones (HBO series)
Weird Studies, Episode 29: On Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft, "Supernatural Horror in Literature"
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition"
Fritz Leiber, The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Richard Wagner, Parsifal
David Lynch, Twin Peaks: The Return
Peter Heller, The River: A Novel
The Killing of Tim McLean (July 30, 2008)
Weird Studies, Episode 3: Ecstasy, Sin, and "The White People"
Mysterious Universe: Strange and Terrifying Encounters with Skinwalkers
Jacques Vallée, Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds
Graham Harman, Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy
Arthur Machen, Hieroglyphics: A Note Upon Ecstasy

]]> No survey of weird literature would be complete without mentioning Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951). As with all masters of the genre, Blackwood's take on the weird is singular: here, it isn't the cold reaches of outer space that elicit in us a nihilistic frisson, but the vast expanses of our own planet's wild places -- especially the northern woods. In his story "The Wendigo," Blackwood combines the beliefs of the Indigenous peoples of the Eastern Woodlands with the folktales of his native Britain to weave an ensorcelling story that perfectly captures the mood of the Canadian wilderness. In this conversation, JF and Phil discuss their own experience of that wilderness growing up in Ontario. The deeper they go, the spookier things get. An episode best enjoyed in solitude, by a campfire.

Header Image: "Highway 60 Passing Through the Boreal Forest in Algonquin Park" by Dimana Koralova, Wikimedia Commons

SHOW NOTES

Glenn Gould, The Idea of North
Algernon Blackwood, "The Wendigo"
Game of Thrones (HBO series)
Weird Studies, Episode 29: On Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft, "Supernatural Horror in Literature"
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition"
Fritz Leiber, The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Richard Wagner, Parsifal
David Lynch, Twin Peaks: The Return
Peter Heller, The River: A Novel
The Killing of Tim McLean (July 30, 2008)
Weird Studies, Episode 3: Ecstasy, Sin, and "The White People"
Mysterious Universe: Strange and Terrifying Encounters with Skinwalkers
Jacques Vallée, Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds
Graham Harman, Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy
Arthur Machen, Hieroglyphics: A Note Upon Ecstasy

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