Night of the Living Dead (1968) (feat. Mike Lera)

We’re ending our first zombie series with the classic that launched the modern, pop culture zombie: George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968). We’re joined by writer, filmmaker and all-around horror buff Mike Lera to explore how Romero’s ghouls got the zombie moniker. In this episode, Cullen accidentally watches the 1990 remake, Hannah reminds us of the importance of remembering the original Haitian zombie and its history, and Mike shares his experience meeting Judith O’Dea, a.k.a Catatonic Barbara.   Check out Mike on Instagram and Facebook @MikeLera.author.screenwriter, on YouTube @MikeLera and be sure to check out his work on MikeLera.com.   Research for this episode: “The Tragic Forgotten History of Zombies” by Mike Marian - The Atlantic “Romero Invented Flesh Eaters” - Zombie Research Society “Infographic: The Ultimate Guide to Zombies” by Luke W. Boyd - Zombie Research Society I Am Legend (Novel) - Wikipedia Night of the Living Dead - Wikipedia   ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Hannah Sylvester.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Zoinks! The NMF gang watches “Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island” and, like, we weren’t prepared for such a rich discussion on zombies. This week, we dive into the voodoo of New Orleans and how this movie uses it as a backdrop for benevolent zombies, voodoo dolls, and werecats! Cullen reveals himself to be the lost 5th (human) member of the Mystery Inc. gang, Hannah headbangs through the music numbers, and our guest Christian does a Charli XCX impression so good, you’ll get the heebie-jeebies.    Check out Christian Cintron on Instagram and X @StandUp4YourPower, and watch his comedy special “Laugh Proud” for FREE on Tubi!   Research for this episode: The Zombie Island Reboot Era - HassledVania The History of Scooby Doo - Dave Lee Down Under "Scooby-lution” - Obscure Obsessions Obscure Obsessions Episode on Scooby Doo Louisiana Voodoo–Mystery in Motion: African Spirituality in Mardi Gras - Louisiana State Museums New Orleans Voodoo - NewOrleans.com  “Voodoo, Psychics & Spirituality” - Folks, PBS Voodoo doll - Wikipedia Voodoo Is Rebounding in New Orleans After Hurricane Katrina - Newsweek Hexing a Hurricane - Wikipedia “God, Gays, and Voodoo: Voicing Blame for Katrina” - Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal Cats in Ancient Egypt - Wikipedia Cats, Bastet and the Worship of Feline Gods - American Research Center in Egypt The 'Feline States of America': How Cats Helped Shape The US - WUWM   ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Hannah Sylvester and Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

To start off spooky month, we’re exploring the Haitian-Vodou origins of the zombie in the 1988 Wes Craven film, “The Serpent and the Rainbow.” Hannah takes the lead, diving into the real-life story of zombification and the years of scientific study on the phenomenon that inspired the film. With our friend and fellow podcaster Kyle Leone, we have a fascinating conversation about the brutal historical context and rich folklore of the original zombie as it’s explored in this equally fascinating zombie film.   Check out Kyle Leone and his podcast The Gory Days on Kyle-Leone.com or wherever you get your podcasts!   Research for this episode: The Serpent and the Rainbow (film) - Wikipedia Slavery and the Haitian Revolution - Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (George Mason University) Haiti (Saint-Domingue) - SlaveryandRemembrance.org The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead - Harvard Magazine Clairvius Narcisse - Wikipedia The Serpent and the Rainbow (book) - Wikipedia “The Tragic Forgotten History of Zombies” by Mike Marian -, The Atlantic   ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Hannah Sylvester.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

This week, we’re crying our eyes out over the idea of change and new love after grief in the 2020 animated film “Over the Moon” from Netflix and Pearl Studio. Our friend Ellen joins Cullen and Hannah to fangirl over our new favorite lunar pop princess deity, Chang’e. Listen to us chat about the Mid-Autumn Lunar Festival and the different versions of the Chang’e story, shake our butts to “Ultraluminary” in the club, and induct Fei Fei into the Women in STEM Hall of Fame.   Research for this episode: Handbook of Chinese Mythology  The Fairytellers  Over the Moon and Chinese Culture    ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Cullen and Hannah continue down the Descendants Rabbit Hole and overcomplicate Cullen’s conspiracy board as they analyze Descendants: the Royal Wedding and Descendants Rise of Red. Can they untangle the Descendants timeline and deal with all the complications and worldbuilding deviations Rise of Red brings or just shrug and say it’s for kids? It’s Cullen and Hannah so of course they will go crazy trying to decipher this lore and ask once and for all, what do good and evil look like?  Research for this episode: Queen of Mean Charting  My Immortal  TikTok Aesthetic  Descendants Novels, Web Series, and Stage Play  Goth History Doll Drama  ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Follow Cullen and Hannah into the lore that is the Descendants franchise (2015-Present) as we dissect this Disney Channel Fanfic Franchise as a case study for the commodification of morality in the modern world. Are Good and Evil merely aesthetics? Join us on an unhinged pop culture journey to find out. In part 1 we discuss the Original Trilogy (2015-2019) and the wild lore it creates to carry us between banger dance numbers.  Research for this episode: Queen of Mean Charting  My Immortal  TikTok Aesthetic  Descendants Novels, Web Series, and Stage Play  Goth History Doll Drama  ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Ask us what kind of tree it is, because it’s a Chris Pine (movie). We watched “Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves” and explored the world of the Forgotten Realms with our favorite dorky, dysfunctional adventuring party. Cullen references The Veggie Tales for the 100th time, Hannah shares her close call with a rogue gang of Minions, and Maiko reports live from Legolas’ back woods.   Check out our guest appearance on Shoot the Flick! We had a fun conversation dissecting the obliteration of history in “Night About the Museum.” You can find that episode of Shoot the Flick on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and more!   Research for this episode: Dungeons & Dragons - Wikipedia Miniature wargaming - Wikipedia Chainmail (game) - Wikipedia Editions of Dungeons & Dragons - Wikipedia Forgotten Realms - Wikipedia  Harpers - Wikipedia  Emerald Enclave - Wikipedia  Neverwinter - Wikipedia    ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan & Hannah Sylvester.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

The Famtasy Choice Awards (50 Episode Celebration)   Cullen and Hannah thank viewers like you and hand out Famtasy Choice Awards to the characters, songs and movies we’ve met on the Fantastical Adventure as voted by our listeners. We also read comments and reviews and celebrate the journey of our first 50 episodes. Thank you listeners for listening to 50 episodes of magic, mayhem, and movies! ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

Nimona (2023) (feat. Allyssa Swearingen and Brittany Spurlin)   This week, Cullen is joined by two grad school friends, Allyssa and Brittany, to talk about the shape-shifting queer tale of Netflix’s Nimona! We start with some queer book recommendations to finish your Pride Month with some more awesome tales. Then, Cullen gives us an overview of shapeshifter and trickster lore, Allyssa raves about the unique world of the movie and Brittany swooned at the love story between Boldheart and Goldenloin.   PSA: Support your local library!   Check out Brittany on Twitter (currently known as X): @BSInitials  ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.

For this week of Pride Month, we’re talking about the animated movie that invented gender-bending — Disney’s Mulan 1998. Cullen shares two of the oldest versions of the Chinese folktale, Hannah can’t stop talking about how good this movie is, and our guest Nick convinces us that he’s not saying Mulan is a trans story but he’s also not NOT saying that. Huge thanks to our friend Nick for sharing amazing insights and love for this great film! Vote in the Famtasy Choice Awards Research for this episode: Everything Culturally Right and Wrong With Mulan 1998 - Xiran Jay Zhao Synopsis of Mulan Play Mulan History  Chinese Dragons  The Ballad of Mulan  Fairytellers Episode on Mulan    ====================================   Watch Us on YouTube!   Follow Our Adventures on Social Media:   @notmyfantasypod Instagram TikTok   Research & Writing by Cullen Callaghan.  This episode was edited by Hannah Sylvester.   Cover Art by William Callaghan Intro Music: "The Quest" by Scott Little.