Episode 468 - Ashes

This is the only "EddyCraft" story I've never managed to get in print (my only missing piece of hands-on Lovecraft fiction) and so also had never read it. Even though I've always had a soft spot for The Loved Dead (even wrote a song in homage called "Cemetery Lovin' " :P) and rolled the odd eyeball or two in guilty pleasure at DBB and our favourite ghost werewolf story, I am fairly happy to leave this one out of my "complete" collection...

Lord Rancid

At first I was kind of sad that my name got called on this episode, but then I thought about it for a bit and decided, hey, I'm on one of the last Lovecraft episodes! How many other Patrons can say that?!

Matthew Bizzell

I believe “Asses” was indeed the story’s original title (and subject matter), and that Lovecraft’s revision work simply consisted of doing a search and replace changing it to “Ashes”.

I had to listen to this episode three times... not for the story, but for the "when you're bout to give a story a really good reamin'....", "more like asses", of course, and such :) Proof that you guys can spin anything into comedy gold!

LOL "...because being in a soundproof room doesn't mean you can't hear the sounds in the room" LOL

Andrew M. Reichart

#BatSharkRepellant ftw

Andrew M. Reichart

Unrelatedly: using Google to remind myself of the name of the scientist, I saw that the March 1924 issue of Weird Tales in which "Ashes" was published has some naked-Houdini-with-skeleton beefcake on the cover, so, check it out, if that's your thing. Maybe Chad and Chris should cover *that* story!

It would be better if Van Allister had developed a process of turning people into small white polyhedral blocks, which Trek TOS fans know is a terrifyingly awesome power. And then there could be a sequel involving haunted RPG dice.

Carilla vs. Doctor Ash should be your next movie project.

Ethan Cordray

I completely forgot that I read this story years ago. It was pretty lame then and it’s pretty lame now 😋👍

Steven Vincent

Honestly, I *love* the idea of mad science with mundane applications. Wanna revolutionize waste disposal? Create a superweapon that can instantly level a city in moderate amounts! Wanna make a far more efficient mail system? Break conservation of energy! Wanna build a better mouse trap? Matter/energy conversions! Alas, that kind of insane whimsy was lacking in this tale.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

1. Car-gilla (car-rilla?) is awesome and should be the center of an entire line of comic books, movies, and action figures. 2. The Ashes formula would revolutionize...waste disposal? And would likely destroy the funeral industry as we know it. I'm not sure what I think of mad science that has such very mundane applications....

Not a very good story. Funny great episode though. I did get a thank you at the end of it! Even though I don’t know why. Methinks it’s for another one of me as I’ve been a patron for a while and a member before that. Regardless love hearing my name called out! Keep it up! Congrats to the other Andrew Buchanan! You know who you are......we all hope.

Andrew Buchanan

Followed ever-so-shortly by "gator dragon armageddon."

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

I think you need to do a retrospective show on the most insane and/or implausible mad scientists you’ve encountered in 10 years of episodes. My money is on “dinosaur with a human brain” being number one.

Bret Kramer

There are things humanity was not meant to know, thankfully.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

If this is the revised version... how bad was the ORIGINAL version of the story??

Jason Thompson

Our boss, you see, he's invented a liquid that turns everything to ash. Everything except glass. He is a genius! Why just last week he invented a novel little chemical compound that has the ability to raise someone who appears dead, but is in fact simply sleeping quiet soundly. Rouses them right up, I say! Last month it was a complicated construction of wool infused with herbs which - and you may find this difficult to comprehend - drives cats mad. Mad, I tell you. They nip all about it in paroxysms of pleasure. He was recognized by the academy, our dear mentor, for the pioneering work he brought forward that demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt the unmistakable link between sound and movement *and* how the two can (under certain circumstances) drive two ordinary, healthy adults to ribaldry of a nature unprofessional to say the least.

Chris, the gorilla car is a good idea. Please be respectful.

I am really disappointed with Chad ,I mean how could he have not seen “Batman:The Movie” ,seriously that means he is totally unaware of The Batman Shark scene.I am sure that everyone who takes a advanced film course or teaches one ,would spend an entire semester just breaking down that one scene.

I was really disappointed in this story after the last one, which I found super creepy. But I was intrigued by the inclusion of two elements that I just never expect to see in any story HPL is associated with: mentions of sex (between living people this time) and,even more astonishing, a woman interested in science! I'm also curious if the narrator is a recurring character in Eddy's stories; perhaps a purveyor of the various weird tales that come his way. Maybe you answer this in the episode, which I'll be listening to later (and simply assume will be as entertaining as always.)

Just started 'er up and glad to hear you guys hating this thing as much as I did years ago. And on that note, a trip down memory lane! I can't recall exactly which episode it was, but waaaaay back during the days you were still covering Howie's fiction these collaborations came up. Specifically, Chad mentioned he'd never read them and Chris gave a quick description. During which he, with a gleeful tone, said "Ashes" was "pulpy and awesome!" ...I may or may not have wanted to stab you when you said that. I'm glad you've become sane, Chris.

Mandy Reznor (She_It)

I am hugely disappointed in Chris' dismissal of Car-rilla. I demonstrate ardently against it. Also was it just me or did this feel oddly like a half baked version of RE Howard's writing? You've got a love interest, and an iron-willed (though not iron-thewed) protagonist who while brainy resorts to physical force. No cheesy recurrence of race-memory for Bruce though.