Possession in Call of Cthulhu

We’re back and we’re under the influence. Sure, the alien entity taking up residence in our heads may not technically be a demon, but that feels like an academic distinction right now. It’s little comfort to learn that the thing messing with your thoughts is a giant insect from another planet or a discorporate consciousness from the primordial past. If it walks like a demon and quacks like a demon, we’re happy to call it a badly mangled metaphor. Possession in Call of Cthulhu is a messy business, leading to madness and terror, and not even innocent clichés are safe. Main Topic: Possession in Call of Cthulhu Following last episode’s discussion of Late Night With the Devil, we thought we’d look at the role of possession in Call of Cthulhu. While there may not be any literal demons in the Cthulhu Mythos, that doesn’t mean there’s no possession. Between Yithians, shan, deathless sorcerers, and whatever horrors you create for your own games, there are plenty of entities that can take over a human host and drive them to do weird or horrible things. But how do we handle all this in our games? Can having their investigator possessed be a fun experience for players? Is possession an all-or-nothing deal? And what inspiration can we take from horror media? Links Things we mention in this episode include: * Mind Control * Late Night With the Devil * Ghosts * The Exorcist (1973) * Come Closer by Sara Gran * Deadlands * Discussion of werewolves in R’lyeh Roulette IV * The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley * The Devils (1971) * Urbaine Grandier * Miracle of the Gadarene swine * Michael Taylor murder case * “The Shadow Out of Time” by HP Lovecraft * “The Thing on the Doorstep” by HP Lovecraft * The Private Life of Elder Things * Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys