Lunatics Radio Hour: The History of Horror

This week Abby and Alan kick off our Halloween horror franchise watch through with the first four movies from the Hellraiser franchise. Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject. Get Lunatics Merch ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the discussion on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out Abby's book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Horror Stories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep. Sources A Nerdist Article by Rosie Knight: A Very Brief History of The Hellraiser Franchise Slash Film Article by Scott Thomas: The Entire Hellraiser Timeline Explained  The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker All off the Hellraiser movies  Wikipedia and IMDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the veil thins, Abby talks about the history of séances and the human need to understand what happens after we die. Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject. Get Lunatics Merch ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join the discussion on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠. Check out Abby's book ⁠⁠⁠⁠Horror Stories⁠⁠⁠⁠. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep. Sources Smithsonian Magazine Article by Abbott Kahler: The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism A Magician Among The Spirits by Houdini, available on Project Gutenberg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Abby and Alan talk through the history of the belief in full moon madness and "lunatics." Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠. Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject. Get Lunatics Merch ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Join the discussion on ⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠. Check out Abby's book ⁠⁠⁠Horror Stories⁠⁠⁠. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep. Sources Pagan Grimoire article by Rebecca Swanner: Moon Gods and Goddesses: Deities of Lunar Magic and Mysticism Etymonline article on the history of the word Lunatic NASA article on Moon Phases History.com article by Melinda Beck on European Wolf Trials PubMed Studies: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1454923/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25756232/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8924138/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17256692/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31012946/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26498230/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33571126/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10363673/ Fred Sebastian, "Bad Moon Rising: The Persistent Belief in Lunar Connections to Madness," CMAJ (2005). This is particularly useful because it covers Paracelsus, Blackstone, Bethlem, John Haslam, and Benjamin Rush. Nigel Walker, "The Insanity Defense before 1800," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (1985), for the history of insanity and criminal responsibility in English law. TIME, "Miscellany: Lunatic," March 7, 1932, for the Else Flothmeier case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Abby and Alan talk about the history of Black Cat lore. From how cats were worshiped in ancient Egypt, to how the European and American Witch Trials helped to turn cats into a symbol of the spooky! Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠. Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject. Get Lunatics Merch ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Join the discussion on ⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠. Check out Abby's book ⁠⁠Horror Stories⁠⁠. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the final part of our series on Atomic Horror, we look at the fear of nuclear war and the possibility of what could happen after the bombs stopped falling. During the Cold War, scientists began studying the potential global effects of a large-scale nuclear exchange, including the concept of nuclear winter, in which smoke and soot from widespread fires could block sunlight and cause severe climate changes. We look at the science behind the nuclear winter theory, the 1983 TTAPS study, and the way these ideas influenced public fears about nuclear war. We also examine films including The Day After, Threads, Dr. Strangelove, and other movies that imagined what life might look like before, during, and after a nuclear conflict. From atomic monsters to nuclear apocalypse, this final chapter of Atomic Horror looks at how horror films reflected one of the defining fears of the Cold War. Support the show on Patreon⁠. Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject. Get Lunatics Merch ⁠here⁠. Join the discussion on ⁠Discord⁠. Check out Abby's book ⁠Horror Stories⁠. Available in eBook and paperback. Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices