Succumb to the Maddening Call…

Cosmic horror and black comedy meld in The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program, an award-winning podcast that fuses live tabletop roleplaying with cinematic audio drama. Each season is a standalone tale where our cast lives the terror, uncovering uncanny mysteries with edge-of-your-seat suspense. Through our transformative take on Lovecraftian horror, humanity’s hate and fear is the ultimate enemy and not every unknown being is a monster. 

It’s a series made by (and for) fans of Guillermo del Toro, David Lynch, Stephen King, historical fiction, audio drama, actual play, and horror hounds of all walks. Want a taste? Check out our latest season: “Night at Howling House”

Help us fund our biggest story yet! In “The Case of the Penumbral Gate”, there’s metaphysical malpractice afoot in the haunted halls of Arkham Asylum and our cast explores the troubled history of female Agents in the Bureau of Investigation, occult Jazz-Era hedonism, the trauma of The Great War, and the power of love and acceptance. What’s more, we’ve partnered with Chaosium to turn this and our other original scenarios into officially-licensed roleplaying materials!

We’re an independent studio telling genre-bending stories, and our shows wouldn’t be possible without listener-support. In order to pay our cast and crew fair wages, keep the mysteries coming at the quality fans are accustomed to, and to produce illustrated Call of Cthulhu roleplaying scenarios, we’ll need your help! This campaign is to aid us in tackling post-production costs for our next season… and beyond.

Fund this project and unleash these squamous stories far and wide! You’ll hear them first and give a grim and glistening gift to the world.

Let’s Cut to the Chase

We’ll go into more details below and in the FAQ, but you want the skinny? Here goes:

“The Case of the Penumbral Gate” has been recorded with our principal cast. Our primary goal is to get the basic funding we need to make this series happen; editing, actors, score, sound design, art, etc. as well as produce an all-new Call of Cthulhu RPG scenario. Depending on the success of this campaign we might even be able to expand the production to include amenities like a live jazz band and original songs by Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys.

The Case of the Penumbral Gate

So who’s in this new season and what’s it all about? Melody Perera and Cat Blackard return as fan-favorite sapphic cat-worshipers, Anjana Ramakrishnan and Estelle Thorpe, and are joined by Sarah Rhea Werner of Girl in Space as Special Agent Lenora Lake and Liam Malone of RPG From Scratch as Special Agent Sam Bowman.

Agent Lake is the last female agent; on the outs thanks to Hoover’s misogyny. And Agent Bowman is... not well liked. They’ve been demoted to janitorial duty: cleaning up cold cases in Arkham. It's only a matter of time before their paths cross with Estelle and Anjana, and the Agents learn that the universe is simultaneously more beautiful and horrendous than they could possibly imagine. Together, these strange allies join forces to wake Arkham from its latest nightmare.

This story is rife with twists, turns and dynamic character interplay - it’s going to be our longest season to date! There’s easily over 10 episodes of material, but that’s not all: We’ve got a plethora of stretch goals to expand “Penumbral Gate” and two additional seasons of Mystery Program recorded. Our stretch goals contain more digital backer content, RPG content for your own games, and all-new bone-chilling audio experiences. Keep reading to learn more!

The Black Market: Add-Ons Galore!

We’re grateful for your support in bringing our stories to life - and we want to see that you’re justly rewarded!

Contribute to our campaign at any level to unlock access to THE BLACK MARKET - an exclusive collection of perks you can add to your donation. Choose your support tier, click “Get This Perk”, and you’ll immediately get access to add-ons and experiences that both enhance your pledge power and your arcane abilities such as: 

• “The Terrible Secret of Lot X” - Digital PDF and Hardcover Book
  Our original Call of Cthulhu scenario, “The Terrible Secret of Lot X”, expanded beyond what you know from our season of Mystery Program. An auction win offers an occult hodgepodge from the trunk and glove box of a deceased book dealer. Disparate and ominous clues drive investigators all over Lovecraft Country as they scramble to put together the dealer’s dark past and defend against a dangerous future, should other interested parties get their hands on these sinister sundries.
  
  During this campaign, PDFs are available exclusively as part of basic backer tiers which includes ultra-early beta access. Hardcover books are available at an exclusive discounted rate via The Black Market at $25 + print cost and shipping (see below).
  
  Roleplaying Book Fulfillment and Shipping:
  All hardcover books and PDFs are delivered through DriveThruRPG. Backers will receive PDF downloads for beta and final digital versions at no additional cost.
  
  In order to offer the most cost-effective shipping options and a reduced price for backers purchasing hardcover books, you will receive a link to purchase the book at an at-cost price from DriveThruRPG. This at-cost price is the basic cost of printing the book and will be less than $10, even if the color stretch goal is hit. Backers also pay shipping costs. The purchase price via this campaign is at a reduced cost from the final retail price of $50.

• Wooden Red Herring Coins
  When a player does a very good job of chasing down the wrong lead, reward them with an authentic red herring coin! Five 1.5” wooden coins in a 4x6” cotton muslin pouch with instructions by Keeper Luke Stram on how to integrate them into your gameplay. Sets $25 each.
   
• Lot X Mystery Box - Limited Supply!
  Experience the same surprise and terror wonder as the cast of “Lot X”! We’ll ship you a personalized treasure trove of bizarre books, wearable weirdness, uncanny collectables, and one-of-a-kind oddities to delight and amaze! $100 each.

• Vintage Marvel Whirling Spray Kit - Only 1 Available!
  A rare, authentic, antique medical device complete with box and brochures - the direct inspiration for the advert in “Lot X”. Take it as it is, or have our cast and crew deface it with our signatures. $250.
   
• Play The Call of Cthulhu With Our Keeper - Single Seats & Private Games
  Risk life, limb, and sanity in a game of Call of Cthulhu run by Mystery Program’s Keeper, Luke Stram in a 4-player, single-session multi-hour adventure. Single seats: $250, Private Games: $1000.
   
• Tea & Tarot with Estelle Thorpe - Limited Slots!
  Share a cup of tea and a glimpse into the beyond with occultist, Estelle Thorpe via a 45-minute video call. $250.
   
• A Custom Advert in Mystery Program - Limited Supply!
  Sponsor an episode of our show and you, your company, or product can be enshrined in Mystery Program forever!  It could be for a real world product, it could be a marriage proposal - Whatever the case, our team will write and perform a custom advert just for you. $750 each.

• Custom Magickal Ritual - Limited Availability!
  Our Showrunner, Cat Blackard, is a practicing witch and priestess of Bastet with experience performing rituals of all sorts: pre-surgical, burial rites, weddings, and communing with the beyond. Have her custom-design a ritual to achieve a positive goal in your life. $1000 - only performed on behalf of consenting parties and with positive intentions. 
   
• UNLOCK FURTHER ADD-ONS!
  If our main goal is reached, we’re producing “The Case of the Penumbral Gate” as a roleplaying scenario. All backers receiving the “Lot X” digital scenario will also receive “The Case of the Penumbral Gate” and backers will be able to add-on physical editions of the scenario to their contribution. The same goes if we meet our stretch goals for future seasons.

Strapped for Cash?

Spread the word! Tell your friends, tell your Discord communities, tell your favorite personalities, tell your followers via any platform you have. Original posts/tweets/Tiktoks generate donations. And keep the fire: on average, folks need to see a message at least 7 times before they take action. Need some help? Here’s a message you can share or edit:

Bring horror-comedy audio drama to life! The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program (@CthulhuMystery) is crowdfunding an all-new story and RPG scenario and this emotional cosmic horror can’t manifest in this reality without our help! cthulhumystery.com/crowdfund

The Budget

Our initial goal of $16,000 is to get the show made, barebones, with a limited cast, but at a quality we can be proud of. Most importantly, this basic cost pays our cast and crew paid fair wages for their time and skill.

• Actors 10%
• Music 13%
• Sound Design 22%
• Art & Transcripts 11%
• Fees and Licenses 18%
• Incentive Expenses 19%
• Producer Fees 4%
• Buffer 3%

37% of this amount encompasses the basic fees associated with IndieGoGo, credit card transactions, licensing, and expenses relating to the production of rewards and fulfillment. 

We’ve also taken care to build in safety margins so that, if successfully funded, any oversights or unexpected developments won’t adversely impact the production.

Should we surpass this basic goal, we have such sights to show you, and elements we’d love to add! Such as…

Stretch Goals

$21,000 - Two original songs by Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys

The Army of Broken Toys is an 8-piece band that makes beautiful, chaotic, genre-hopping, socially-conscious, irreverent music - so suffice it to say that our creative ethoses are very aligned. They’re the musicians we’ve featured most often on Mystery Program. Some very special and haunting moments happen in “Penumbral Gate” and they’d be absolutely stunning if they were punctuated by original songs. If you’re familiar with “The Terrible Secret of Lot X”, then you might catch our drift.

$22,300 - A Live Jazz Band to Accompany Anjana 

It’s Estelle’s birthday and you’re invited to the big bash. Of course there’s live music and what’s this? Anjana’s taking the stage to serenade her love with a bawdy jazz-era tune? Hot dawg! Yup, actor Melody Perera is a damn fine singer and we’d be fools not to showcase that. This will pay for live trumpet, trombone, piano, and double bass to give this scene the big-entrance polish it deserves.

$25,000 - Full Color Interior on All RPG Scenarios

All digital and physical RPG books that are funded via this campaign will be rendered in full color!

$28,300 - "The Black Birth": Remastered & Expanded

Our first season, “The Black Birth”, debuted in 2015 and it’s fair to say Mystery Program has grown a lot since our days of relatively raw actual play. We want to put the story that started it all shoulder-to-shoulder with all that came after and give it the audio drama spit-shine it deserves. For the remaster of "The Black Birth", we’ll go back to the master recordings, rebuilding it from the ground up, expanding the voice cast and the story for more moments with the characters you love. Most significantly, we’ll get to meet the most important character who was silent until now: Hannah/Miriam. We’re collaborating with system creatives (people living with DID) to offer a sensitive and humanizing portrait to the women at the heart of this story. If you’re a Twin Peaks fan: imagine incorporating the story expansion of Fire Walk With Me into the series. More questions? See the FAQ!

$31,600 - A Prequel Special Starring Agent Lake

Our first standalone audio drama special that expands the Mystery Program universe - an extra-long, self-contained story that takes place between seasons.

Untangling a conspiracy in Washington D.C. puts Agent Lake in Director Hoover’s crosshairs. There’s something weird going on and no one is listening. Naturally, this world-weary non-conformist has to take matters into her own hands. 

Sarah Rhea Werner and Cat Blackard will collaborate on a scripted prequel to “Penumbral Gate.” This story will further explore the real-life, unsung history of the first female Special Agents in the U.S. and combine the true uncanny mysteries with our own.

Stretch Goals Beyond the Penumbral Gate

Can this crowdfunding campaign reach beyond “Penumbral Gate”? We have no idea, but running headlong into mysteries is our business! 

If by some strange providence we’re able to reach these strange aeons, we’ll shed light on these stretch goals - there are more stories to tell and further blasphemous benefits to unlock… New seasons, RPG scenarios, and Mystery Program Specials await - where you’ll meet characters such as…

• New Season & RPG Scenario: “Empire of Nightmares”
• New Season & RPG Scenario: “The Spoils of Innsmouth”
• "The Festival" - A Mystery Program Winter Holiday Special
• “Daughters of Bastet”  - Estelle and Anjana Origin Special
• “The Truth” Before “The Dare”  - “Howling House” Epilogue Special

(Arcane) Seal of Approval

All roleplaying materials produced in conjunction with this campaign are officially-licensed by Chaosium Inc.

Call of Cthulhu is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc., and is used with their permission. www.chaosium.com.

Thank You!

You read this whole thing? That’s awesome! You must really love our weird infotainment and we’re so happy you’re with us on our strange journeys. Thanks for being here. Thanks for being you! If you wanna come hang out with the Omniverse team and a whole community of lovers of the eccentric and esoteric, come visit our Discord server!
 

Love is our strength. Love is our blade.