web02.fireside.fm Wed, 17 Jun 2026 03:09:30 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) Weird Studies - Episodes Tagged with “Robert Aickman” https://www.weirdstudies.com/tags/robert%20aickman Wed, 21 Nov 2018 10:00:00 -0500 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 34: The Weird Realism of Robert Aickman https://www.weirdstudies.com/34 65d31e71-a6f5-461e-b65a-1ec5b7aa9715 Wed, 21 Nov 2018 10:00:00 -0500 Phil Ford and J. F. Martel 34 The Weird Realism of Robert Aickman full Phil Ford and J. F. Martel JF and Phil discuss Robert Aickman's masterwork of weird fiction, "The Hospice," from his 1975 collection "Cold Hand in Mine." 55:25 yes <p>Although he is one of the luminaries of the weird tale, Robert Aickman referred to his irreal, macabre short works as <em>strange stories</em>. Born in London in 1914, Aickman wrote less than fifty such stories before his death in 1981. JF and Phil focus on one of his most chilling, "The Hospice," from the collection <em>Cold Hand in Mine</em>, published in 1975. In it, Aickman uses a staple ingredient of the classic ghost story -- a man is stranded on a country road at night, lost and out of petrol -- to concoct an unforgettable blend of fantasy and nightmare, reality and dream. Indeed, Phil and JF argue that Aickman deserves a place alongside David Lynch and a few others as one of those rare fabulists who can adeptly disclose how reality is more dreamlike, and dreams more real, than most of us would care to admit.</p> <p>Header Image: Detail from photo by Ivars Indāns (Wikimedia Commons)</p> <p><strong>REFERENCES</strong></p> <p>Robert Aickman, "The Hospice" from <em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Hand-Mine-Robert-Aickman/dp/0571244254" rel="nofollow noopener">Cold Hand in Mine</a></em><br> Dante Aligheri, <em><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/41537/41537-h/41537-h.htm" rel="nofollow noopener">The Divine Comedy: The Inferno</a></em><br> David Lynch, <em><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/why-twin-peaks-the-return-was-the-most-groundbreaking-tv-series-ever-115665/" rel="nofollow noopener">Twin Peaks: The Return</a></em><br> David Hume, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_induction#David_Hume" rel="nofollow noopener">An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding</a></em><br> Weird Studies, <a href="https://www.weirdstudies.com/22" rel="nofollow noopener">Episode 22</a>: Divining the World with Joshua Ramey<br> Norman Mailer, <em><a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/308/308496/an-american-dream/9780241340516.html" rel="nofollow noopener">An American Dream</a></em> </p> robert aickman, the hospice, analysis, cold hand in mine Although he is one of the luminaries of the weird tale, Robert Aickman referred to his irreal, macabre short works as strange stories. Born in London in 1914, Aickman wrote less than fifty such stories before his death in 1981. JF and Phil focus on one of his most chilling, "The Hospice," from the collection Cold Hand in Mine, published in 1975. In it, Aickman uses a staple ingredient of the classic ghost story -- a man is stranded on a country road at night, lost and out of petrol -- to concoct an unforgettable blend of fantasy and nightmare, reality and dream. Indeed, Phil and JF argue that Aickman deserves a place alongside David Lynch and a few others as one of those rare fabulists who can adeptly disclose how reality is more dreamlike, and dreams more real, than most of us would care to admit.

Header Image: Detail from photo by Ivars Indāns (Wikimedia Commons)

REFERENCES

Robert Aickman, "The Hospice" from Cold Hand in Mine
Dante Aligheri, The Divine Comedy: The Inferno
David Lynch, Twin Peaks: The Return
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Weird Studies, Episode 22: Divining the World with Joshua Ramey
Norman Mailer, An American Dream

]]> Although he is one of the luminaries of the weird tale, Robert Aickman referred to his irreal, macabre short works as strange stories. Born in London in 1914, Aickman wrote less than fifty such stories before his death in 1981. JF and Phil focus on one of his most chilling, "The Hospice," from the collection Cold Hand in Mine, published in 1975. In it, Aickman uses a staple ingredient of the classic ghost story -- a man is stranded on a country road at night, lost and out of petrol -- to concoct an unforgettable blend of fantasy and nightmare, reality and dream. Indeed, Phil and JF argue that Aickman deserves a place alongside David Lynch and a few others as one of those rare fabulists who can adeptly disclose how reality is more dreamlike, and dreams more real, than most of us would care to admit.

Header Image: Detail from photo by Ivars Indāns (Wikimedia Commons)

REFERENCES

Robert Aickman, "The Hospice" from Cold Hand in Mine
Dante Aligheri, The Divine Comedy: The Inferno
David Lynch, Twin Peaks: The Return
David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
Weird Studies, Episode 22: Divining the World with Joshua Ramey
Norman Mailer, An American Dream

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