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20th Century, Cinematic Horror, Ghastly Affair, Giallo, gothic game, Gothic Gaming, Gothic Horror, Gothic Literature, Gothic Movie, Gothic Romance, Gothick, Gothique, Historical, Historical Gaming, History, Occultsploitation, role playing, role-playing game, roleplaying game, Romantic Horror, rpg
I’m in the early conceptual phase for a supplement expanding Ghastly Affair to cover the years from 1964 to 1976 – the Swinging Sixties, and Groovy Seventies. It was a period of upheaval, uncertainty, and panic, with many parallels to the decades surrounding the French Revolution. I’m envisioning games where Demon Hunters in mini-skirts and go-go boots fight supernatural evil on the streets of Swinging London, black-gloved killers stalk gorgeous models in terror-wracked Milan, and glamorous jet-setters conduct drug-fueled Black Masses in haunted mansions atop the Hollywood Hills. Naturally, I would assume that characters from the 18th century will discover passages into the 20th, and visa-versa! To that end I’ve compiled a thematic “canon” of movies from the Sixties and Seventies that feature the essential Gothic themes of Ghastly Affair – sex, death, Satanism, sorcery, addiction, ghosts, shocking crimes, and dark obsessions.
Some Inspirational Movies for GROOVY Ghastly Affair:
- Alice, Sweet Alice
- All the Colors of the Dark (Tutti i colori del buio)
- Amuck! (Alla ricerca del piacere)
- Baron Blood (Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga)
- Beyond the Door (Chi sei?)
- The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo)
- Blacula
- The Blood Spattered Bride (La Novia Ensangrentada)
- Burnt Offerings
- Daughters of Darkness (Le Rouge aux lèvres)
- Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
- Don’t Look Now
- Dorian Gray (Il dio chiamato Dorian) (1970 film)
- Dracula AD 1972
- The Exorcist
- Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (Le foto proibite di una signora per bene)
- Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay (Morgane et ses Nymphes)
- House of Dark Shadows
- The Iron Rose (La Rose de Fer)
- The Legend of Hell House
- Lips of Blood (Lèvres de Sang)
- The Mephisto Waltz
- Night of Dark Shadows
- Nude for Satan (Nuda per Satana)
- The House That Dripped Blood
- The Omen
- To the Devil a Daughter
- Requiem for a Vampire (Requiem pour un Vampire)
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Rosemary’s Baby
- Satanic Rites of Dracula
- Simon, King of the Witches
- Story of O (Histoire d’O)
- Suspiria
- Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (Il tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave)
- Vampyres
- Vampyros Lesbos (Las Vampiras)
- The Wicker Man
I’ve included two movies (“Girl Slaves of Morgana Le Fay” and “Story of O”) not usually considered Gothic or Horror, because they are nonetheless thematic and stylistic fits for my conception of GROOVY Ghastly Affair. I’ve excluded pure horror films, like “Night of the Living Dead”, that focus on the horrific without juxtaposing it with the beautiful. For that reason I’ve also mostly excluded American-style “slasher” or gritty crime movies, other than the very Gothic “Alice, Sweet Alice”. I’ve included numerous Italian Giallo films, however, because even though most contain few to no supernatural elements, their stylish, hallucinatory quality and kinky fetishism mark them as heirs to the crime-obsessed early Gothic novels.
Of course, THE touchstone for late 60s Gothic Romance is “Dark Shadows”, but GROOVY Ghastly Affair would not be simply a “Dark Shadows” RPG. As much as I might love to create an actual “Dark Shadows” game, there’s simply no way I would ever be able to afford the license. Nonetheless, the ability to successfully handle “Dark Shadows”-type stories would be the test of any game claiming to emulate Swinging Sixties Gothic.
As for books, many of the Gothic stories of the late Sixties and early Seventies (such as “The Exorcist” and “Rosemary’s Baby”) were actually turned into movies. The great Shirley Jackson novels, however, are actually a little before this time (she died in 1965). The late Sixties and Seventies were also a great time for horror comics, and the stories in the Warren publications of the Seventies – “Eerie”, “Creepy”, and “Vampirella” – were often as sexy as they were horrific.
Musically, I thinking the likes of Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Roxy Music, T Rex, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Goblin, and The Velvet Underground. The time period included the early days of Disco and Punk (and many of the aforementioned bands are in fact proto-Punk), but in my conception the Groovy Seventies ended when Punk and Disco both became prominent in 1977.
The Engine of Oracles 
I was just watching Dracula AD 1972 the other day! So many great/cheesy movies from this period to draw on! I wholeheartedly support this effort.
I can only hope to one day be as cool as Johnny Alucard! “Dracula AD 1972” is almost always among the Hammer movies my wife and I watch every Halloween (along with “The Vampire Lovers”).
I seem to have overlooked the TV movies “The Night Stalker” and “The Night Strangler”, as well as the series “Kolchak: The Night Stalker”. Those three are definitely on the list!
But in fact at this time began to show cartoons about Scooby-Doo and his friends. And the characters in many ways correspond to the ideas of the 60’s and 70’s (van with colors of rage). And you can create a more “adult and gloomy” version of the “mystical corporation”. What do you think? The level of luck Daphne just like “Truly Innocent.”
😀
Of course “Scooby-Doo” should also be on the list of inspirations! The game should definitely be able to handle a group of “meddling kids” solving horrible mysteries (which always turn out to be somebody disguised as a supernatural being, or using stagecraft to fake a haunting). And of course, the basic plot of an Ann Radcliffe novel is pretty much that – an innocent girl experience apparent supernatural events, which upon investigation are revealed to to have ordinary explanations.
Interesting…
I’d definitely like to explore the possibilities for scenarios that straddle both time periods. For example, a Saga could alternate between a set of characters in the 1960’s, and their previous incarnations in the 1790s. One or more people might visit a haunted chateau in 1969, and wander into a room where it’s 1789. And of course, Vampyre PCs from the 18th century might still exist in the 20th century.
“my glasses! I can’t find my glasses!” ::gropes across the floor and then falls into a time portal::
This is an astonishingly brilliant idea.
Thank you. For some strange reason it’s a time period largely ignored by RPGs, even though it’s overflowing with story possibilities. And, of course, there’s so much great music from the era as well.
I am looking forward to this.
I am very excited about this project as well. If your genre emulation is half as good as it was on the original Ghastly Affair, I’d say we’re in for a treat.
You beat them to the punch by a couple of years, but it’s interesting to note that Onyx Path is also exploring the idea of 18th- and 19th-century Gothic stories interpenetrating the world of the 1960s and 70s in their Kickstarter-funded game They Came from Beyond the Grave!
Mechanically (and perforce thematically), I suspect GROOVY Ghastly Affair will be quite different from TCFBTG!, but I’m looking forward to seeing both.
That you for the compliment. As far as I can tell, Onyx Path has chosen to focus on playing up the “cheesy” elements of 70s horror films. My vision for GROOVY Ghastly affair is for something that can handle concepts like “Badass King Fu Fighters Versus Dracula”, but can also be played as a serious exploration of Gothic themes. And just like regular “Ghastly Affair”, I want to give player the tools to truly imagine themselves as people living in that time period. But, I would also like to check out Onyx Path’s game. It looks like fun.
I’ll be curious to see whether the campiness of TCFBTG! succeeds in contrasting but not capsizing the Gothic elements of the game. In the meantime, there’s definitely room for differing gaming takes on such a rich cultural moment. 🙂
For more italian (and specifically Milanish) goodness, you may also consider Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, Caliber 9, Naked Violence, and the Night Porter,
Thanks for the suggestions!
I feel bad about coming to this as late as I have, but I would also add the 4 1970s David Cronenberg body horror movies – all of them have kind of a Bell-Bottom Gothic aesthetic and could easily be converted to meat-grinder-ish, but very effective Groovy Ghastly Affair/Uncanny Highway scenarios:
– They Came From Within / Shivvers
– Rabid
– The Brood
– Scanners
As a big Croneneberg fan myself, I approve! And Canada certainly would have an Uncanny Highway of its own.
I’d like to add “Inherent Vice” (2014) as possible inspiration for Groovy Ghastly. It’s a 2014 movie but takes place in 1970.
And it’s not a movie but The Illuminatus Trilogy (1975) is a book covering all sorts of trippy things but mostly revolves around conspiracy theories.
And speaking of The Illuminatus Trilogy, does your Groovy Ghastly stuff include Discordianism at all?
Cool stuff.
I’m personally a big fan of RAW’s
fnordwork, and loved the Illuminatus Trilogy. And I went through my own Discordian phase when I wasfnordyounger. So that amounts to some kind offnordinfluence!