Heeeeeeello Folks
Hypnogoria review
Rating – 
Thankfully, I don’t have to review podcasts on an episode by episode basis or I’d be here a loooooong time with this Hypnogoria review. When I listen to a podcast series, most of the time I don’t listen right from when it first airs, maybe I’ll be a series or two behind (occasionally it’ll be a really old one that has long finished by the time I discover it). With Hypnogoria I joined it about nine years after it started NINE YEARS! This the longest running British Podcast on horror and suchlike. Hell it might be the longest running British podcast full stop. It’s also one of my favourites, which is why I’m waxing lyrical about it here.
So what’s it all about?
Hypnogoria is a true labour of love by Mr. Jim Moon, a literal oracle of all things horror, folklore and geek culture. I do not use that term lightly. He really is a font of knowledge on pretty much any subject you care to mention. He has a lovely jovial tone, mixing great humour with a deep understanding of his chosen subjects that will at once remind of that nice English teacher or favourite Uncle. I first heard about him after he had done a reading of a classic horror story on a different podcast. Once I heard him read, I had to find out more about his show and I wasn’t disappointed with what I found.
The episodes vary greatly in content, and as such the show has diversified over the years into:
- Hypnogoria – The main show that covers various pop culture and folklore topics (books, films, comics etc.)
- Microgoria – Short, off the cuff shows that don’t always warrant full episodes. Despite the name and Jim’s best intentions, these have the habit of sometimes running longer than actual Hypnogoria episodes!
- Tomegoria – Book review episodes, where a new book is discussed every episode
- The Commentary Club – Where Jim and his wife watch a film and discauss all manner of trivia and interesting tidbits.
- The Great Library Of Dreams – In which Jim reads a classic horror story.
That sounds like a lot of stuff…
The main Hypnogoria episodes will either be a one off episode, maybe a review of a film or TV show or a whole series of episodes covering a single topic (some of the earlier ones covered the 2000AD comics, the history of Batman, Zombie films, Christmas folklore and classic Universal monster movies) and I really think that’s what makes this show stand out. You may not be entirely interested in 1970s British kids TV shows or Vincent Price, but that’s ok. Just skip to the next episode and I guarantee you there’ll be something to enjoy.
Is it any good?
Now having said all that, it may sound like Jim may be spreading himself a bit thin by covering such diverse topics. However, that’s not the case at all. Each episode has an incredible amount of research involved, and the facts that get uncovered can be very obscure indeed. I always get caught out when he doesn’t include some obscure fact that I know, and I have that moment of glory before he mentions that exact thing and expands on it. I guarantee that even if you’re a massive fan of H.P. Lovecraft, or even Father Christmas (yes really), Jim will dig up some remarkable nugget of knowledge that’ll blow your mind. The fact that each episode has so much work involved shows that he really does have a deep love for all that he does, and he wants to share it all with us.
Final thoughts
A decade’s worth of shows looks a bit daunting when you first hit “subscribe”, but don’t be discouraged by the quantity. You don’t have to listen to them all in day long binge sessions (like I did), just find something you like and dive in. I suspect you’ll even find some new areas of interest to follow (like, I don’t know, 1970s Spanish zombie movies *ahem*). Since first discovering this podcast, I have found an appreciation of comedy series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (in fact, all of Matt Holness’ work), the Father Brown mystery stories, the novels of Adam Nevill, and the aforementioned Spanish zombie films.
I must confess that I haven’t listened to every single episode. I have listened to over 95% of them though, even ones on subjects I already know about. As I said, he’ll uncover some amazing bit of trivia, or debunk some well held belief, and make your world all the better for it.
Hypnogoria is a podcast that easily joins the more traditional folklore type podcasts with pop culture shows like some podcast colossus (allow me the hyperbole here).
Everyday’s a school day with uncle Jim!
You can listen to Hypnogoria here
Great review of a fantastic set of podcasts!