AMBIENT ARCANA

In 1950 Akira Kurosawa merged two of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s short stories together to make his classic film “Rashomon.”Last episode we covered the story that gave the film it’s name and in this episode we explore the story of the murder at the heart of that film, told by seven characters with seven different, often conflicting accounts: “In A Grove” by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa Music and Audio Production...

 In this episode we contemplate whether it is better to accept death with your morals intact or to survive by any means necessary. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s “Rashōmon”. Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narrated by Jim Billbrough   Some sound effects in this episode were licensed from Pro Sound Effects 240 Kent Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11249 licensing@prosoundeffects.com

 A trio of strange and beautiful fever dreams by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges- “The Rejected Sorcerer,” “The Circular Ruins,” and “The Two Kings and The Two Labyrinths.” All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narrated by Jim Billbrough We’d like to express our thanks to Jon Fredette of “The Oddcast” podcast for his advice and encouragement on this episode. If you like Ambient Arcana...

In this episode we chase away the winter blues with a bloody sword in Robert E. Howard’s coldest Conan story - “Gods of The North” (aka. “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter”). All Music and Music & Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narration by Rick Weidner, Danielle Barry, Matt Gruenberg, Mandy Familiar, Bob Familiar, and Jim Billbrough   Some useful links:   https://bobfamiliar.bandcamp.com/   https:...

Bonne année! Joyeux 2024! We start our Third Season with a fiery French tale of one woman’s burning need to find balance in a hostile universe. It’s Guy de Maupassant’s torrid tale of red hot revenge! - “Mother Sauvage.” All Music and Music & Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narrated by Veronica and Joey Pesce, Bob Familiar, and Jim Billbrough Recorded by Joey Pesce and Bob Familiar If you thi...

 Once again we travel to the magical land of Tibet for the Holiday Season.  In this year’s Yuletide offerings a painter and a carpenter commit supernatural postal fraud, a donkey and a rock get arrested for assaulting a jar of oil, a pair of crippled birds dispense great wealth and harsh justice, a sociopathic rabbit distributes stolen goods with murderous intent, and a goiter at a ghost party is...

 In this episode of Ambient Arcana we explore the mysteries of ‘Siberian Magic’ and the unexpected social challenges that having one’s hostess turned into a wolf can put upon a party guest - It’s “The She-Wolf” by Saki (H.H. Munro) Music and Music&Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narrated by: Jace Wilson, Shannon Wilson, Mandy Familiar, Bob Familiar, and Jim Billbrough “The She-Wolf” was publi...

Nothing says Halloween quite like Trick or Treating in an ancient swampy cemetery in shadow haunted Florida! It’s H.P.Lovecraft’s grim tale of grave robbing gone wrong -  “The Statement of Randolph Carter.”   All Music and Music & Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narrated by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough Recorded Almost Live at Sounds Familiar Studios

 In this episode we dust off our vestigial sense organs and fire up our Pineal Glands to take a mind bending peak beneath the thin veil of our reality in H.P. Lovecraft’s psychedelic mad scientist revenge romp - “From Beyond!”   Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narrated by Bob Familiar and Jim Billbrough

This month we take a trio of trips into the Infinite Unknown with weird fiction icon Howard Phillips Lovecraft- “Ex Oblivione,” “Nyarlathotep,” and “The Book.” All Music & Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Narration by Jim Billbrough   For further exploration of Lovecraft and his works we suggest checking out these websites: The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society https://www.hplhs.org/...

A small sampling of Inuit, Yup’ik, and Unangax folktales collected by American and European Scholar-Explorers in the late 19th and early 20th century. Even in this muted form, sometimes translated through two or three languages, these stories still retain the power, beauty, and humor of the original folktales. The word Eskimo has long been known to be a misnomer, even as far back as the mid 19th c...

 Biercemania! Three dark and evocative tales by surprise ending aficionado Ambrose Bierce: "The Boarded Window," "John Mortonson's Funeral," and "The Applicant." All Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Music by Man Tray and Bob Familiar All stories read by Bob Billbrough    

We finish our coverage of Lafcadio Hearn’s tales from ghostly Japan with three more stories: “The Corpse-Rider” from the book Shadowings and “Jiu-Roku-Zakura” and “A Dead Secret” from Kwaidan. Music and Audio production by Bob Familiar. Read by Bob Familiar, Jim Billbrough, and Special Guest Narrator Rick Weidner.

  We return to the works of Lafcadio Hearn with the first of two full length episodes of strange and unusual stories from his adopted country of Japan.  “Diplomacy” and “Riki Baka” from the book “Kwaidan” and “Fragment” from “In Ghostly Japan” We also introduce a new reader, Rick Weidner, who provides some much-needed low end to the narrations. Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Read by Bo...

We start our second season with a short story about love, loss, and the potential supernatural repercussions to procrastination. “The Reconciliation” by Lafcadio Hearn from his book “Shadowings.” Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar Read by Jim Billbrough   Ambient Arcana would like to dedicate this episode to our good friend Gabrielle Agachiko who passed away last month. Gabrielle was a won...

Gifts? Check! Visits from distant relatives? Check! A Christmas ghost story? Check! Our last episode of season one features two stories from A.L. Shelton’s 1925 collection of “Tibetan Folktales” : “The Man And The Ghost” & “Story Of A Juggler’s Tricks” Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar. Narration by Jim Billbrough & Bob Familiar. Recorded Live (more or less) at Sounds Familiar Studios

A Demonic Organist! Random Time Displacement! Interdimensional Church Services! A full on Carcosa Mythos story - “In the Court of the Dragon”, from “The King in Yellow”by Robert W. Chambers. Reading by Jim Billbrough Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar All Music used in this episode was by Man Tray Please consider supporting Ambient Arcana on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ambientarcana?f...

We take a look at the world of R.W. Chambers with a somewhat beige story from "The King in Yellow" called "The Street of The Four Winds". A story about love, loss, and the vagaries of cat ownership. An extra long episode with a  pretty beefy bio and a bonus story snippet at the end. Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar, Narration and Bio by Jim Billbrough. The poem introducing the story was...

 This is a bonus episode of Ambient Arcana featuring a very short story about young love, lonely churchyards, and the unspeakable horror of 18th century miniature portrait art - "Uncle Abraham's Romance" by Edith Nesbit. Read by Jim Billbrough, Music and Audio Production by Bob Familiar.

A discussion about Poe, music, and podcast collaboration.

A terrifying tale of animal abuse, axe murder, and impromptu basement renovations! "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. Read and recorded by Bob Billbrough. Original soundtrack produced by Bob Familiar featuring music by Man Tray (aka Kel Weston and Paul Billbrough), and Bob Familiar.  

Poe and Nepotism abound! Two stories by Edgar Allan Poe read by Bob Billbrough. Additional music provided by Man Tray featuring Kel Weston and Paul Billbrough. All other music and audio production by Bob Familiar. Snacks and Poe Bio provided by Jim Billbrough. Titles and Time Markers: The Oval Portrait/ 00:32 The Masque of The Red Death/ 9:59 Poe Bio and Credits/ 27:57  

Jim Billbrough and Bob Familiar, the production team behind Ambient Arcana, talk about the Pu Songling episodes and try to define what the hell they’re trying to do with this podcasting thing. Is it music with storytelling, or story telling with music? Is it unintentional ASMR? A weak attempt at scary bedtime stories? A sad grasp towards artistic relevance before the fading of the light? Probably....

Four more stories by Pu Songling featuring a fox wedding, a trip through hell, a dishonest fortune teller (shocking!), and zombies!!! Titles and time markers are: The Golden Goblet/ 00:32 A Most Exemplary Monk/ 11:50 Magical Arts/ 14:34 The Living Dead/ 23:04

Ambient Arcana's first full length episode featuring seven stories from Pu Songling's "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio." Story and Time Markers are: The Giant Turtle/00:32 Biting a Ghost/04:00 Wild Dog/08:09 The Dead Priest/11:10 The Lingering Death/13:50 Wailing Ghosts/15:56 The Girl in Green/19:19 Biography and Credits/25:53