Tag / Zines

by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: The Occult Lovecraft

Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, Occultism, and Roleplaying Games. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

A beautifully produced historical artefact from a strange and revealing moment in Lovecraft fandom, where rationalism, occult enthusiasm, and personal testimony collide. Both intellectually curious and quietly amusing, it captures a point at which Lovecraft’s legacy was still being actively contested and reinterpreted.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: Anti-Sisyphus

Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, Occultism, and Roleplaying Games. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

A formally inventive and deliberately disorienting zine that uses the language of roleplaying games to question what games are and where their meaning resides. By presenting mechanics divorced from context and systems that undermine themselves, Anti-Sisyphus becomes less a game than an argument enacted in form. The result is a work that baffles, provokes, and lingers.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: Crossroads, Issue 1

Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, and Occultism. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

A confident and ambitious first issue that approaches American Folk Horror as something still in the process of being defined. Though it begins by trying to justify that project in abstract terms, it soon comes alive through its examples, moving across film, folklore, and history. The result is not only stimulating but energising. This is the kind of zine that makes you want to be part of the conversation it is trying to build.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: The Ink that Bleeds


Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Weird History, Occultism, Criticism, and RPGs. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

A brief and attractively produced zine that claims to explain immersive journaling games but reads more like the notes of someone lost deep within their own creative process. Its ideas about creativity, the unconscious, and emotional immersion are intriguing but rarely clarified. Rather than offering concrete recommendations or clear explanations, the author wanders between eerie candour and spiritual exegesis, leaving the reader to puzzle out both the method and its appeal.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: AmberZine, Issue 1

Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, and Occultism. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

Long out of print and born in the pre-PDF era, the AmberZines represent a path less travelled in RPG publishing. Rather than offering new rules or optional mechanics, they functioned as an early experiment in documenting play itself. A platform for gamers to reinterpret canon, chronicle their campaigns, and treat the act of play as the primary text.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: Hellebore, Issue 9

Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, and Occultism. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

The Beltane 2023 issue of Hellebore isn’t their strongest, but it still demonstrates the thoughtfulness and visual sophistication that set the magazine apart from its imitators. Built around the idea of routes and rituals of passage—whether via pilgrimage, migration, or ley lines—it offers a surprisingly diverse exploration of how landscapes become loaded with meaning. If the ley line material feels a little over-familiar, the strength of the prose and the density of ideas elsewhere more than make up for it.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

Field Report: Whale Roads

Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, and Occultism. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

A 250-page account of a TTRPG campaign in which three GMs and close to thirty players took a run at Wolves upon the Coast, Luke Gearing’s epic Viking-themed sandbox. Exemplary not only in how it records play, but also in its description of how a large and fractious group navigated questions of logistics and governance, Whale Roadsis a reminder of how much there is to be gained by shifting our focus from the tools that create games to the things that are created.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

FR: The Last Closet on the Left – Issue 1


Field Report is an infrequent series tracing physical zines that move in the same circles as this blog: Folk Horror, Forteana, Weird History, and Occultism. It takes the place of my earlier Zine Corner series. The rest of the series can be found here.

VIBE:

Like the best criticism shaped by queer theory, this zine blends cultural analysis with close reading, delivered in a voice that swings between defiance and vulnerability. It is part manifesto, part love letter.

Across its pages, the desire to claim and recognise queer energies in film and television blurs into something more personal. The essays move between scenes on screen and scenes from the writers’ own lives, tracing the ways horror both reflects and distorts queer experience. There is anger here, and joy, and a powerful sense of reclamation.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: gothHoblin’s Grimoire, Issue 2


Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

An extraordinarily good-looking free RPG zine comprising a variety of essays on the theme of ‘Ancient Magic’. System neutral and considerably more interested in sparking inspiration than providing table-ready material, gothHoblin’s Grimoire is half-way between Hellebore and Knock! – It is most deserving of your attention.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hellebore, Issue 7 (Beltane 2022)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

An elegantly curated series of articles on ritual and traditional folkloric practice that pushes against the idea that British folklore is something that is dead and culturally inert. The magazine argues that folklore is a site of cultural conflict and that folklore lives on as long as it is re-claimed, re-used, and re-interpreted by modern audiences.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hwaet! Issue 1 (July 2022)


Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

In the grand tradition of Hellebore, Hwaet! is a British zine about folklore, occultism, popular culture, and general weirdness. Featuring some lovely artwork and some elegant prose, Hwaet is an absolute joy.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Wyrd Science, Volume 1 Issue 3 (Autumn 2022)


Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

A Generalist RPG magazine with bags of potential and no small amount of style but its content feels too much like a series of low-effort promotional emails. The RPG scene deserves better.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hellebore, Issue 6 (Samhain 2021)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

An exemplary issue of what remains one of the best weird magazines in the business. The article about the legacy of Britain’s last cunning man and the one speculating about what might have happened had John Dee decided to work for the Ottoman Empire are particularly brilliant.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: The Occultaria of Albion, Volume 2 (Thackford on Yap)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

The second volume of The Occultaria of Albion is even stronger than the first. Beautifully designed and hugely evocative of 1970s weirdo Forteana, this zine explores the chequered occult history of one of the most mysterious (fictional) spots in all of Britain – a town that was buried under a dam in the early 20th Century and is now home to weird animals, healing waters, serial killers, and military research centres. Weird in all the right ways.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hellebore, Issue 5 (Beltane 2021)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

The Unearthed issue is a reminder of why Hellebore remains the best in the business: Beautifully produced, and full of artwork that really strengthens the general vibe of the magazine, issue 5 is just one fantastic essay after another.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: The Occultaria of Albion, Volume 1 (Melwerther Hall)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

The start of a formally-interesting and fiercely ambitious multi-media zine project that combines Weird short fiction with hauntological elements evocative of a lost past that never quite existed. Love the format, bit less convinced by the quality of the writing itself but this is only volume 1 so there’s loads of time and room for improvement.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hellebore, Issue 4 (Yuletide 2020)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

This Christmas-themed issue of Hellebore explores a number of really fascinating ideas but both the visuals and some of the writing feel somewhat rushed. It is still an amazing magazine that is fully worthy of your time but there were obvious trade-offs involved in the decision to add an extra issue in time for Christmas.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Undefined Boundary – Volume 1, Issue 1


Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

The first issue of a refreshingly free-wheeling and wide-ranging journal that draws on the methods and currents of both Psychogeography and Hauntology while refusing to be hemmed in by either. Full of passion, weirdness, and intelligence, Undefined Boundary feels like the start of something new.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hellebore, Issue 3 (Samhain 2020)


Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

Ever vibrant, ever thought-provoking, and ever fascinating, Issue 3 of Hellebore remains a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone writing their own horror, folk-horror, or dark fantasy TTRPG adventures.

Continue reading →
by Moreau Vazh

ZC: Hellebore, Issue 2 (Beltane 2020)

Zine Corner is an occasional series in which I talk about individual issues of zines I have come across on my travels. Some of these will be about RPGs, some of them will be about horror, some of them will be about folklore, and some of them will just be weird and cool. The rest of the series can be found here.

Resplendent in neon pink and sage green, the second issue of Maria J. Perez’s scene-defining magazine of occultism and weird folklore does a deep dive into the subject of the ‘Wild Gods’.

Continue reading →