Episode 490 - Good Lady Ducayne

Ah, March is for Draculas - the most wonderful time of the year, it takes me back to my academic days! Whilst we’ll never know for certain how much Braddon and Stoker discussed their tales (though given the publication timings and their friendship it’s likely that they did), there are certainly similarities to be seen in the two fin de siecle vampire tales. Both ‘vampires’ have likely historical figures as inspirations (Ducayne, with her use of blood to fight back the years, probably has her roots in Bathory’s bathing in the blood of virgins). The tensions between traditional and new ideas about society, politics, and science bubbling up at the end of the century show through with the use of blood transfusions and the appearance of the independent ‘new woman’, also put under threat by swarthy foreigners draining their blood and embodying Victorian fears around reverse colonisation - and as you guys highlighted during the episode, Stafford shows off the other side of that coin, putting English primacy front and center when he says, 'If you ever engage another companion--or take another English girl into your service, Lady Ducayne, I will make all England ring with the story of your wickedness.' Whilst Ducayne is described in a number of ways that hint at an Otherness, as she is English you can read her as embodying the Victorian Old Guard, clinging to power, living off the blood of the younger generation and needing to be cut off by the new wave coming through. As a contemporary text to Dracula, it’s an interesting comparison.

It is an almost forgotten bit of movie trivia, but 'getting stoked' was the inspiration for Lyin' Vincent Price, and film producer William Castle, to come up with Percepto! for the film The Tingler. The luxury version is as described in the wikipedia article, but for smaller theaters Lyin' Vincent Price would hide behind movie seats and goose unsuspecting patrons, or apply chloroform to get people to appear to faint. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tingler#Gimmicks

Joe Webb

Switchblade Mosquito is my new band.

Alan Ricks

I really liked this story and the discussion. Given that the average age of the members of the US senate is presently 61 (one of the oldest in US history), and our current presidential race is between 3 men in their 70s, two of whom very possibly have dementia, I thought it was incredibly relevant. And not just in terms of age, but also in terms of wealth (which often goes with age), the powerful seem to prey on the weak. This story illustrated that principal very clearly. The circumstances of Bella finding and taking this job reminded me of a number of modern issues. Yes, that whole "What, you want to be paid?" thing, but also how often I've gotten what I think is a good job that pays a living wage for decent work, only to find that actually I am being chloroformed and drained of my life force so that the wealthy and powerful can have more, when they already have so much. While of course I've never been chloroformed by an employer (so far), the rest of that scenario is closer to the truth than it has any business being.

Oooh, I just read the next story. I liked it, will be curious to see what Da Boyz make of it.

Scott Morrison

Did you know that Dr. P is what you get after drinking Dr. Pepper?

I'm new to this fine online community. Do we have a term yet for the 'bits of utter nonsense that Chad Fifer spouts with a perfectly straight face'? If not, we should come up with one. I hereby submit....Fi-phorisms.

Scott Morrison

Just listened to both episodes of "Quiet & Bold". Outstanding. I'll let the clear prejudice against my home state - Connecticut - slide this one time because you didn't have it actually possessed by the essence of some weird-ass monster. Also, several lines in there made me snort-laugh, which I DO hold against you.

Quite an interesting listen this was. I’m kinda curious if back in the day there was someone who read it, read between the lines and felt insulted. Good thing Twitter was a century too late for such people to vent their anger

loved the episode plus both new and old Quiet and Bold tales were exactly how much I wanted of each type

Benjamin Adler

In addition to the 'inject yourself with young blood' idea, there's also a lot of interest in 'cord blood' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cord_blood

Scott Morrison

Super Stoked includes Butterfly Kisses

Scott Morrison

So basically Lady Ducayne is pulling a Peter Thiel?

Briar Ripley Page

Understand the stoked but please elaborate on the more extreme Super Stoked? Chad said it twice and somehow I feel he has first hand knowledge.

When they mentioned the mosquito bite, I got excited.. immediately reminded me of a modern Johnny Quest cartoon they did in like the late 90s. Johnny fought actual monsters in this series, and ran into a Vampire Queen who drank blood like a Mosquito

Wulf Mungus

Actually, it's "Dracupodes."

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

This one felt very ahead of its time, almost postmodern in its subversion of expectations. I could see Donald Barthelme or John Barth come up with a plot along those lines. Great stuff!

I love Ur sense of humor, Chad. But when you liken old people who can't work anymore with old people who literally prey upon young people for their BLOOD, you fall flat on Ur face. Because you remind one of the infamous video of the arrogant Fabianist socialist George Bernard Shaw declaring how many people he desires to see killed because they just don't pull their weight enough. Maybe next you'll be seeking a humane way to have them all gassed to death, just as he did? Seriously; check it out. The video is widely available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Ljkoh_vmE or get yourself a copy of the video "The Soviet Story"; he gets some special airtime.

Chad was on fire for this episode. The surplus draculae, the Catherine wheel lamborghini and the return of the ever present Dean. I done some pretty hearty nasal exhalations while I had this on, which we all know is the accepted barometer of comedy.

the new Q&B is stunning, good work y'all (and obvs the illustrious Mr. Johnson).

Always happy for another March is for Draculae (which I believe is the correct plural form). In the time of COVID-19 the idea of people not being willing to, in Chad's words, shake the cage and take a good look at new realities is unfortunately more apt than ever.

March is for Draculas! My favorite time of year. I rather liked this story, especially once I realized there was a hint of tongue in cheek to it and stopped being annoyed by Bella's general naïveté. The theme of the rich preying on people, especially though young people's blood aged alarmingly well, as the previous commenter pointed out. Here's another piece on the practice: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/2/19/18232259/fda-young-blood-transfusion-safety-concerns

Stewart Huntsman

The idea of regaining youth through young blood is still around and taken quite seriously by a fringe group. There are a number of companies that are running clinical trials and you can get enrolled, for a steep price. See this Scientific American article. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/young-blood-transfusions-are-on-the-menu-at-society-gala/

Donny Bliss

That old style stoking still happens, only now they call it getting Bidened.

You enjoyed Japanese stories so much. Please please please consider doing A Terrible Vengeance by Gogol. It's so great and terrible indeed. Evil sorcerers, dead ansestors, family secrets, incest... It's good and not too rooted into Russian lore and history.

New Quiet & Bold! Yeah. I wrote so many moons ago, how great it'd be for you two, your significant others and Andrew to play (and record) some COC scenarios, especially Delta Green. Well, you went one better. Brilliant ep and I hope we get to hear the next one soon, though its clear you guys are doing so much these days so patient as always. Regarding this story, meh. Really needed a showdown and not a dressing down followed by a Tiny Tim happy ending. At the very least the two docs could have gone crashing out the windows in a death struggle a la Reichenbach Falls. But your point about a trope in gothic fiction of vampires as a metaphor for aristocrats as parasites is spot on which I've always contrasted with Van Helsing having only one real goal: to reconstitute or recreate a traditional Victorian if only proxy family with all its established patriarchal roles while Dracula is the subversive seeking to burn it all down. I know this reading is undercut by Mina's strong willedness and independence, but she was always ready to submit to the doc, (as well as Harker and Huey, Dewey and Louie or the red shirts if you prefer). Of course Dracula is a parasite and an aristocrat and most movies going back to Lugosi have gone along with the vampire as symbol for oppression of the underclass, but my reading has always leaned towards the Count as an anarchist, horrified with what he is and horrified with the world. The wonders of modern London don't really convince him that humanity is worth saving. Sorry for the overlong giant text. I'm sitting in the dentist office waiting to be tortured in a much less pleasant way than good horror fiction.

I'm about halfway through the story right now, but I swear you've covered this one before. I can't find it in the backlog. Maybe it was part of a multi-story episode? Either that or the story you covered was this story published under a different name but with the same plot. Or it was covered by the DrabbleCast and I'm misremembering, but can't find it in their backlog either. Anyone else having this same deja vu?

James Anthony

I enjoyed the story. It seemed very modern in outlook.

Steve

Retrograde Orbit is great. Everyone should have one.

Steve

Interesting show, I’d never heard that some people thought that “stoked” is a surfing term.

Jeff C. Carter

I'm reserving "Does this mosquito have a switchblade?" as the name of my first solo album after my acid jazz band "March is for Draculas" breaks up.

Trace

Chad, this is a safe space. Now please tell us, which valet hurt you?

Kit Ainslie

Oh, if you haven't set on all the vampire tales for this month, Edward French recently did a full reading of a goodun--"Share Alike," by Jerome Bixby.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)