"John Goodrich is a Cthulhu Mythos talent to watch. His tales are engrossing, with strong human elements." - David Conyers

What I've published

Dissecting Hannibal Lecter, edited by Benjamin Szumskyj February 2008:
My essay “Hannibal at the Lectern: A Textual Analysis of Dr. Hannibal Lecter's Character and Motivations in Thomas Harris's Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs” appears in Dissecting Hannibal Lecter: A Critical Anthology on the Writings of Thomas Harris (ISBN 978-0-7864-3275-2) from McFarland Books.

Consider this exchange from The Silence of the Lambs:

     "What does he do, this man you want?"
     "He kills —"
     Ah —" [Dr. Lecter] said sharply, averting his face for a moment from her wrongheadedness. "That's incidental. What is the first and principal thing he does, what need does he serve by killing?"

Did you ever wonder what need Dr. Lecter serves when he kills?
 

April 2007:
“Champagne” took second place at the Horror World Gross Out Contest. Getting one of the judges to comment “Dude. You’re WEIRD” was a real bonus.
Two-Gun Bob, edited by Benjamin Szumskyj

November 2006:
“... From Acorns Grow: Robert Howard Revealed in Post Oaks & Sand Roughs” appears in Hippocampus Press's Two Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard (ISBN 0-9771734-5-3), edited by Benjamin Szumskyj. This essay is an attempt to apprehend some of the phenomenal mind of pulp writer Robert Howard by comparing his letters to a fictionalized autobiography he wrote between 1923 and 1926.
The Right Hand of Doom

October 2006:
“Mr. Boy: Hellboy & The Struggle to Adulthood”, a study of father-son issues in the Hellboy graphic novels, appeared in Benjamin Szumskyj's Right Hand of Doom: A Critical Study of Michael Mignola's Hellboy. The limited edition of 333 has sold out.

Cthulhu Express September, 2006:
“The Patriot” appeared in Rage Machine Books' Cthulhu Express anthology (225 pages, ISBN: 1-8970-8417-X). After selling eleven copies, this book has gone out of print.

Arkham Tales August, 2006:
“Arkham Rain” appears in the Arkham Tales anthology (ISBN 1-56882-185-9), published by Chaosium. It received an honorable mention in the Year's Best Fantasy & Horror 2007.

Matthew Carpenter, reviewer of many Mythos books, had this to say:

“Mr. Goodrich is active on the mythos scene but I don't recall seeing his work before. I'll have to remedy that! ‘Arkham Rain’ was a terrific story about the Innsmouth taint visiting an unwitting family. An old mythos trope? You bet! But this was a wonderfully original take.”

You can read this and other reviews at the Amazon page for Arkham Tales
The Keeper's Companion 2 2002: The Keeper's Companion 2 (ISBN 1-56882-186-7) is a collection of articles on Prohibition, Firearms, Tomes & Creatures for the Call of Cthulhu game. I edited "The History Behind Prohibition", a lengthy article by Adam Gauntlett bringing anti-alcohol advocates, law enforcement, gangsters, rum-runners, and consumers into focus. This article fills more than a quarter of the book's 168 pages.
The Unspeakable Oath 16 March 2001:
“That Horrid Book!” in The Unspeakable Oath's double 16/17 issue. It details many ways for the unholy books of the Cthulhu Mythos to haunt seekers into the unknown without resorting to game mechanics.
Ticklebritches and the Cowboy 2000:
I helped to edit Ticklebritches and the Cowboy (ISBN 0-9700464-0-5), a collection of humorous and insightful stories, musings, and poems spanning all decades of the 1900s. Part One (1900-1947) recalls Lois McClurg's early life in the San Joaquin Valley, California foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Through her unique eyes, she vividly describes life as one of ten children being raised by a Catholic mother/teacher and a pack-train guide/father; becoming a teacher; marriage to a cowboy/rancher and bearing children during the first half of the 20th century. Part Two (1947-1999) records her life in the Flathead Valley, Montana foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Glacier National Park.

Written over a fifty year span, we share Lois's amazement on life and societal changes from the early, rugged 20th century pioneering days to growing old in the 1990s. Ticklebritches was a nickname given to Lois by her father, because she loved to laugh and found fun in so many things. These recollections reflect that sense of humor that she still had at the age of 91.
The Doomtown Epitaph Winter 2000:
“Stranger and Stranger” in Doomtown Epitaph #2 as part of an ongoing series of stories or Alderac Entertainment Group's Doomtown Card Game. I have collected this and many other Doomtown stories, primarily those connected with the eldrichly inbred, degenerately evil Whateley clan in the Whateley Family Bible.
Beyond the Mountains of Madness 1999:
Beyond the Mountains of Madness, (ISBN 1-56882-138-7) The Origins award winner for best roleplaying adventure of 1999, included my 12,000 word completion of Edgar Allen Poe's Narrative of A, Gordon Pym, linking it to HP Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness. In addition, I supplied articles on the history of Antarctic exploration, Antarctic flora and fauna, and created more than fifty characters for both the Starkweather-Moore and Lexington Expeditions.
The Unspeakable Oath #13 1995:
"The Gentle Art of Slaughtering Investigators" in The Unspeakable Oath #13.

“As for the unsavory Mister Goodrich, his commentary on how the Keeper should serve as the channel for the uncaring universe is among my favorite pieces that we've published in TUO.” —John Tynes
Quanta December 1992:
“Green”, my very first e-publication, appeared in the Quanta, the Electronic Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy.


Irons in the Fire

Being a worker was difficult in the 1920's, even if your boss wasn’t part of an evil cult. “Captains of Industry” has been sold to Chaosium's Cthulhu's Dark Cults, which also features Dave Conyers, John Sunseri, William Jones and Cody Goodfellow.
“The Patriot” is being reprinted in the Cross-Genre Cthulhu double anthology. Who wouldn't want to get under that cover? So I'm appearing with the likes of Kim Paffenroth, William Meikle, D. L. Snell, CJ Henderson, John Sunseri and David Conyers.
For most people, there is a gap between what they do, and what they are. Dr. Frances Norbert is a professional monster hunter, and this isn't a problem for him. "Dreams" has been accepted into the SHOGGOTHS! anthology, which is sure to please any fan of blasphemously protoplasmic, yet faintly self-luminous engines of destruction.

Updated on February 12, 2008