Podcast: Dreadful Discourse

July 10th, 2020

Update, 1/11/2021: The podcast has been on hiatus for four months, but my partner Lindsay and I are making content again. However, the podcast has a new name, Dreadful Discourse, and will have better production values: a new credits intro, custom background art drawn by me, music, and better-sounding audio. Also, more Lindsay and less me flapping my goddamn gums. Yay!

The whole YouTube playlist is available, here. We also have a new Patreon for the podcast, which you can find, here.

Dreadful Discourse is a podcast-style YouTube series hosted by myself and my partner, Lindsay Wheeler. In it, we discuss the Gothic—what it is, and its individual components in a great detail.

Note: This section will be updated as future videos in the series go live.

Episode 1, the Pilot

This episode discusses the Gothic more generally by outlining its core components: the uncanny, the abject, hauntology, atmosphere, presentation (i.e., horror and terror), oscillation; and various tropes, including the Faustian Bargain and the Promethean Quest.

Episode 2, the Uncanny

This episode covers the uncanny within the Gothic mode: from masks and slashers, to aliens, robots, ghosts, and more!

Episode 3, the Hauntology

This episode Derrida's Hauntology within the Gothic mode, as well as the differences between it and pastiche!

Episode 4, the Abject

This episode covers Julia Kristeva's process of abjection within the Gothic mode: from the idea itself; to archaic mothers, graveyards, and metroids; to hypocrite mad scientists and more!

Episode 5, Atmosphere

This episode covers atmosphere—specially Rudolph Otto's Numinous (mysterium tremendum), and H. P. Lovecraft's Weird (cosmic nihilism) as they appear in various Gothic tales.

Episode 6, Terror & Horror

This episode covers terror and horror as outlined in Ann Radcliffe's famous model. Using this model, Lindsay and I dissect The Invisible Man (2020).

Episode 7, Satan

This episode cover Satan (in all his forms) in Gothic media.

Episode 8, Phallic Women & Archaic Mothers

From Macbeth to Carrie to Metroid, Lindsay and I discuss phallic women and Archaic Mothers in Gothic media.

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Persephone van der Waard is the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). Persephone has her independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing on partially on Metroidvania), and is a MtF trans woman, anti-fascist, atheist/Satanist, poly/pan kinkster, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist with two partners. Including multiple playmates/friends and collaborators, Persephone and her many muses work/play together on Sex Positivity and on her artwork at large as a sex-positive force. That being said, she still occasionally writes reviews, Gothic analyses, and interviews for fun on her old blog (and makes YouTube videos talking about politics). To learn more about Persephone's academic/activist work and larger portfolio, go to her About the Author page. To purchase illustrated or written material from Persephone (thus support the work she does), please refer to her commissions page for more information. Any money Persephone earns through commissions goes towards helping sex workers through the Sex Positivity project; i.e., by paying costs and funding shoots, therefore raising awareness. Likewise, Persephone accepts donations for the project, which you can send directly to her PayPal, Ko-Fi, Patreon or CashApp. Every bit helps!

My name's Persephone van der Waard; I have my MA in Gothic English literature and independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing partially on Metroidvania), and I am the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity vs Sex Coercion, or Gothic Communism—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). A rape survivor/granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor and Dutch Resistance member—and someone anti-war (as a business), anti-Zionist and anti-racist/anti-white-supremacist who specializes in tokenism (e.g., TERFs, SWERFs, and fascist feminism)—I'm a MtF trans woman, Tolkien and Amazon enthusiast, former YouTuber, anti-fascist, loud critic of Marxist-Leninism/state vampirism, atheist and Satanist, poly/pan kinkster with multiple partners, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist; i.e., under my brand of Gothic (gay-anarcho) Communism as a holistic, intersectional discipline: one devised in 2022-2023, and which my friends and I currently achieve together. / Originally this blog explored my love of movies when I was cis-het; now I use it to write about the Gothic—horror, but also sex, heavy metal, and videogames in a queer way (especially Metroidvania).

I take donations for my work (which goes towards helping sex workers, trans people and other minorities). I currently take payment on PayPal, Patreon, and CashApp, etc; all links are available on my Linktr.ee. Every bit helps!

Regarding Formatting Issues for Blogposts (Older than October 2025): Recently Josey Howarth helped transfer my old blog from Blogger to WordPress, which—while vital for security reasons—altered their formatting. On a phone screen, the posts are mostly readable, but look slightly "jank" on computer screens. Many also contain outdated "About the Author" sections—meaning inside the posts-in-question, alongside the blog website "footer" (as added by Josey after the transfer). Such things are temporary. Eventually we plan to overhaul their visual design, remodeling my blog and website (thus fixing the issues in the question)!

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