Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4646 )

• Talking Tolkien

  

  I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings back in college. Although I enjoyed them a great deal, they weren’t enough to swing me into high fantasy. Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• AI Takeover

  

  It’s already beginning.  As if the world under Trump isn’t bad enough, AI (you can call me Al) is beginning to play its tricks.  You see, I know my place. Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Creepy Cryptids

  

  J. W. Ocker and I have a few things in common. We’re both Edgar Allan Poe fans. We both have an interest in the odd. And we like to visit places where... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Googling Books

  

  I admit to Googling my own books from time to time.  (I know, I know!  You’ll go blind if you don’t stop doing that!)  Since I haven’t yet seen any royalties (o... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Demon Pop

  

  To be honest, I hadn’t even heard of KPop Demon Hunters. The places I look for media advice generally don’t cover such fare. I’m not into K-pop, Manga, or... Read more

  Posted on 07 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Black Monk

  

  Back at Nashotah House the local ghost was called “the Black Monk.”  A plausible origin story circulated with the name; a student broke through the ice on the... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Finding October

  

  This post is both about and not about a movie.  On a recent weekend I tried to watch The Houses October Built. I found it on a free streaming service (with... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Lap Dog

  

  Recently my laptop had to be in the shop a couple of days when a component went bad.  This became a period of discovery for me.  My laptop is my constant... Read more

  Posted on 04 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Tapped Out

  

  I grew up with rock-n-roll. Those born in the previous decade to mine can say the same thing, but collectively we are the earliest now adults who never knew lif... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Life’s Work

  

  Here’s the thing: religion (or philosophy) is my life’s work.  By that I mean that I can’t just casually encounter an important idea that impacts larger life an... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• On the Run

  

  I come down on the side of book. Usually. In the book or movie first debate. I have to confess, however, that I learned about Logan’s Run because of the movie. Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Oh Deere

  

  Strange Harvest seems to have impressed a number of viewers, but for someone attuned to religion and horror it rang false. The Lovecraftian elements appear... Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Unexpected Thoughts

  

  The unexpected changes things.  We in the western world live under the false assumption of permanence.  We build something and it remains.  Well, any homeowner... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Gothic Dreams

  

  I love this book. Roger Luckhurst understands that the gateway to horror is the gothic. In Gothic: An Illustrated History he offers a world-wide, luxuriantly... Read more

  Posted on 26 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Funerals

  

  Attending the funeral of a teen is a somber experience.  I can’t even begin to imagine what tempests the parents are facing.  After having given my condolences... Read more

  Posted on 25 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Deception

  

  It’s not bad for an independent horror film written and directed by the same person. Who also did the music. The Ruse is a moody murder-mystery with several... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Dark Dreams

  

  I’ve been pondering the role of religion in dark academia. While not a major element, it’s certainly present in Ashley Winstead’s In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. Read more

  Posted on 23 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Substantial

  

  Body horror isn’t my favorite, but The Substance was so widely acclaimed that I figured I needed to see it. It’s easy to see why it was so well received—it is... Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Power of Yes

  

  In going back over my fiction writing, I had a realization.  Both the first novel I tried seriously to get published (still not) and the first short story I... Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Swing Low

  

  The 1970s were a rare era. On the cusp of the electronic revolution, we grew up with many old fashioned notions about how things were done and what was possible. Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2026 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY