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- Culture Consumption: August 2025
Culture Consumption: August 2025
All the books, movies, television, and games I enjoyed over the last month
Andrea Blythe
September 03, 2025
Books
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister is the story of a family weighed down by its traditions. The Haddesley are infamous recluses in their community. Secretly, they live in communion with the bog under a kind of pact — in exchange for tending to and caring for the bog, the eldest male of each generation is presented with a bog wife, who is pulled up from the mire to ensure that the Haddesley bloodline remains pure. As their father is ailing and ready to breath his last, the siblings come together to prepare for his passing and the ritual of welcoming the new bog wife.
Unfortunately, the bog is sick and each of the siblings is burdened by their own resentments and anxieties. Charlie, the eldest who was injured by a fallen tree, is burdened with the responsibility of carrying on the family line and is unsure of his ability to do so. Eda, the second eldest, manages the household and is determined to ensure the family’s ongoing place in the house and the bog. Wenna, the middle child, returns to the house after escaping from the family in the world. She’s come back to enact the rituals as required but intends to leave immediately after and is terrified of being sucked into the old family patterns. Percy, the second boy (essentially the spare), has been carrying the responsibilities of caring for the bog (because his older brother could not) and holds immense resentments that he cannot inherit. Meanwhile, Nora, the youngest, often feels neglected and unloved and, thus, is desperate to hold her family together, so she won’t ever have to be alone.
Shifting between each of the siblings’ point of views, the novel unveils patterns of generational abuse and the ways we getting knotted up in our family traditions. It presents an aching portrayal of family, home, and the expectation of magic. And in the end, this book broke my heart in every way possible. I love it.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix is about the ways girls are expected to be perfect and pure or risk being swept aside. When fifteen-year-old Fern becomes pregnant, her family sends her to the Wellwood Home, a place for wayward girls to give birth away from the outside world and then return to their normal lives. While at the home, they are expected to let go of the girls they were — and are not even permitted to use their real names — so that they can return to their lives as if nothing happened. Like it wasn’t even them.
As Fern builds friendships with other girls at the home, all heavily pregnant, they begin to share their desires, dreams — and deep dark secrets. Hoping to find a way to save themselves and each other, the girls turn to a mysterious book of witchcraft, promising the power to change their lives. When no one listens to you, sometimes turning to an ancient, dark and dangerous power feels like the only way out.
Hendrix does a wonderful work with this story, reflecting the feelings of being trapped by one’s life and unable to get support or help from the adults around, who fail to listen and assume they know better. These girls felt real, full of depths of sorrow and desire and rage. And their story is frightening and moving.
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare is a young adult slasher novel. Quinn and her father move to a tiny, rural town and are eager for a change following her mom’s death. She quickly makes friends at the school by accidentally siding with a group of misfits known for their drinking and elaborate, live-streamed pranks. Invited to a party in a cornfield, Quinn goes along, enjoying herself — right up until a killer clown emerges from the corn and begins slaughtering the teenagers.
Cesare presents a great cast of characters, a terrifying villain, and a bloody good time. I read through this book so quickly, and I can’t wait to read the next two books in the trilogy.
In anOther Mythology, Maxwell I. Gold uses classic mythology — both Greek and Roman tales and the structure of mythology itself — to explore a new modern concept of myth that exists outside of the heteronormative expectations of the original myths. These pieces are presented primarily in prose poetry format to evoke the sense of traditional narrative and are blended with surprising moments of free verse to emphasize specific emotional beats, creating a rich sense of depth.
They always forget me, the Closet of Shadows. I'm here in the shadows, too, a host for those poor unfortunates always terrified without cause, without anything, and too quick to make the jump or the last kiss when they're brought to me in this place of dark cavernous dreams and helmets taller than their nightmares.
Books Finished This Month:
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
The 2025 Rhysling Anthology, edited by Pixie Bruner
anOther Mythology by Maxwell I. Gold
The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
Total Books for the Year: 34
Still in Progress:
The Stand by Stephen King, Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr., Synchronicity by Tureeda Mikell, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, How a Poem Moves: A Field Guide for Readers of Poetry by Adam Sol, and Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown.
Short Stories & Poetry
A selection of works I recently read in journals and online publications, with a few lines from the text shared here.
Three Poems by Kenzie Allen (The Adroit Journal):
You know nothing of stars.
There is a low black river bordering the field,
and a sturdy little fence you arch across
with your precious skull and your ludicrous eyelashes
should a child approach with carrots or careless hands.
You don’t know the ocean, or the end of that road;
the bubbling cloud of ash thrown up by dirty bombs;
what a human can do to another human
or to anything else, really, that gets in its way;
Poetry: “A War of Words” by Marie Brennan (Strange Horizons):
Last week I had a word for it.
That feeling when something goes well,
really well,
and you’re warm and bright inside—
there’s a word—
but it’s gone, stolen, seized in the raid;
Poetry: "Temperance and The Devil, Reversed" by Ali Trotta (Uncanny Magazine):
It begins with running,
always the same
bone-white panic—
running from something bigger
than yourself, this story
told and retold, until it shapeshifts
into something Other,
and it chases you like a wolf.
Poetry: “Royal Heart” by Andrea Gibson:
You will never be let down by anyone
more than you will be let down
by the one you love most in the world
it’s how gravity works
it’s why they call it “falling”
it’s why the truth is harder to tell
every year you have more to lose
Horror: "Two’s Company, Three Might Be A Sign of Demonic Possession" by Audrey Zhou (PseudoPod):
You didn’t take the usual precautions when Lin died.
You would find out later how it happened—slippery tile floor, the trials of installing a new shower curtain rod, and the surprisingly fragile vertebrae going up Lin’s neck—but in the moment all you knew was that there was a crash. When Lin didn’t respond after you called her name from the kitchen, you had enough wherewithal to grab the salt before stumbling to the bathroom, but not enough to keep from spilling a third of it all over yourself when you saw her body.
Poetry: "The Witch Is My Mother, The Witch Is My Prince" by Silvatiicus Riddle (Strange Horizons):
My eyes are each a glass coffin,
and somewhere inside I am dead.
I waited for your kiss,
inside the dank carapace of this body,
but you did not come; the bluebirds
saw you on horseback, hunting pheasants, the sparrows—
at ease on the arm of a handmaid’s daughter.
Poetry: "How Dark the Beginning" by Maggie Smith:
All we ever talk of is light—
let there be light, there was light then,
good light—but what I consider
dawn is darker than all that.
Movies
KPop Demon Hunters
KPop Demon Hunters is an absolute delight. Three famous KPop singers use their voices to not only gain millions of fans, but also to hold back the tides of demons that hunger for human souls. It’s main characters are bad ass dorks. The animation is vibrant and fast paced enough to make the action sequences exciting — and the music is bopping. Plus, there’s derpy cat, who I love.
Had a great time watching Jaws on the big screen for its 50th anniversary. The movie holds up incredibly well, especially the first half of the movie, when the community is still trying to determine if there is a threat. The moments when we see less of the wonky mechanical shark, Bruce, are certainly the best. And Spielberg is amazing at building tension within the limitations faced during filming. It’s a classic horror film for a reason, and it was amazing to see it in the theater for the first time.
On that note, I’m loving this trend of bringing classic movies back to theaters for their anniversaries and commemorate their legacy.
Television
Azi and Levi in Scavengers Reign
Scavengers Reign is like nothing I have ever seen before. Following an accident on the transport ship, Demeter, three groups of survivors — Sam and Ursula, Azi and her robot Levi, and Kamen — are left stranded on an alien planet. Underlying their struggle to survive is their memories of the past, the people they love, and their desire to return home to a world that makes sense.
But what makes this show so special is its intricately designed alien world. It’s rare for a show to be able to pull off something that feels truly alien — and Scavengers Reign does that beautifully. This world is presented as a unique and distinct eco-system, with diverse regional biomes. The animals live together in a cycle, predator and prey, with occasionally unique iterations. For the humans living in this world, it’s beautiful and confounding. Any plant, animal, or natural formation could be useful or a threat, but it takes working through the wonder and confusion to figure that out.
“This place. It’s like a puzzle,” says Azi. “Nothing really works in the way we know it.”
Beautiful horrors in Scavengers Reign.
Each episode provides wonderful new insights into this world along with new, terrifying creatures. This is a world full of horrors — ranging from traditional hungry, monster-like creatures to psychological horror to body horror. And yet, I cannot emphasize enough just how gorgeous this world is. Hands down, Scavengers Reign is one of the most beautifully animated shows I’ve ever seen. Every single shot is stunning and richly detailed. The world these animators created is lush and vibrant and so alive, and I would absolutely want to see it in person, if I thought I could survive for more than a few minutes there.
It honestly feels criminal that this show was canceled after its first season.
Hashira Training Arc in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
I watched the most recent season of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, called “Hashira Training Arc.” After discovering vital secrets about Muzan Kibutsuji (the first demon), the demon slayers are committed to training and preparing for his next attack. This mostly involves Tanjiro and other lower-ranked demon slayers training with the Hashira (upper-ranked fighters), who are each known for their specific skills and techniques. The show continues to be fun, but has lost some of the zest from its first couple of seasons. This season also doesn’t feel like a complete arc compared to previous seasons, because it ends on a massive cliffhanger — right before the demon hunters were going to launch into the final battle. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Games
Polly is the infamous mascot of the shipping company the crew works for. | screenshot by me
Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ) is a psychological horror game about a crew left stranded in space after their ship collides with an asteroid. The five person crew operates a long-haul transport ship, and are constantly reminded by the company’s mascot Polly to stay focused on work and to not linger to long in idle distractions. The isolation on the ship and the slim chance of being rescued reveals dark secrets and the crew’s hidden selves.
The game approaches the narrative as a puzzle, presenting scenes from two points of view — Curly, the captain, and Jimmy, his second in command — and arranges these fragmented scenes out of chronological order. This puzzle structure allows for an emotional escalation, building tension through mystery, rather than a straightforward progression of the plot. It also reflects a sense of workers being trapped in the flow of their lives, struggling to take responsibility for the mistakes they’ve made as the story cycles back on itself and grows increasingly surreal. I was particularly haunted by the Curly’s looming eye swirling in its socket, like the Tell-Tale Heart’s ever beating heart beneath the floorboards.
Most of the gameplay is in the walking sim style, with the player moving through the various rooms and interacting with people and objects. Slight puzzle mechanics involving collecting necessary items or revealing codes help to make the experience feel more interesting and diverse, as well as contributing to the escalation of the experience.
As events become more surreal, the gameplay shifts to include some additional gameplay mechanics, which did not work as well for me. For example, there’s maze in which the player must move silently as possible and a sequence involving having to shoot a person hunting you with an axe. These sequences tended to be more frustrating than frightening, since they were outside of the typical gameplay and didn’t feel like a natural extension of the experience. And because I’m terrible at keyboard and mouse controls, the gun sequence was essentially impossible for me. So, I had to skip it entirely in order to finish the game, essentially loosing a chunk of the story along with it. (Apparently, I was not the only one to struggle with this section.)
Despite these small struggles, I loved Mouthwashing. It’s tightly designed, and I really respect the way the developers leaned into the limitations to support the best experience they could with the tools they had.
Marissa Marcel (Manon Gage) on a talk show in Immortality. | screenshot by me
Immortality (Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid Productions) is an FMV (full-motion video) game about Marissa Marcel, an actress who was all set to be famous and even filmed three major motion pictures — only to have none of those pictures ever be made public. The game consists of searching through short video clips from these unreleased movies, along with behind the scenes footage and TV interviews. The player can fast forward, rewind, and zoom in on people or objects to switch between and discover new clips.
When I first started playing, I felt a little lost jumping between the video clips, not really sure what I was doing, why I was doing it, or where the game was going. But this was definitely a “stick with it” situation, because just as I was feeling ready to put the game down, strange and unsettling things started happening in the game. Now, the more I play, the more deeper mysteries unveil themselves. And I am so fascinated to discover what’s really going on.
Baldur’s Gate 3. | I had to get a screenshot of the poor cabbage seller who lost all his cabbages (a la Avater: The Last Airbender).
I finally returned to Baldur’s Gate 3 (Larian Studios) after some six months away. I needed the break after reaching the third act, because I was feeling rather burned out by the sheer size of the game and the choices involved. Now I’m ready to get back into things.
Upon returning to the game, I experienced only a few minutes of initial confusion ("what was I doing again?” and “wait, how I use these controls?”), but got back into the flow of things fairly quickly. My goals right now are to stay focused on companion quests, followed by the main quest — with the idea that I’m not going to talk to every single NPC in the game, like I usually would.
Nevertheless, I’m finding plenty of random quests that seem fun, and I just can’t help getting sidetracked, because there’s so much to discover. The exploration is fun and stumbling upon a chaotic new adventure is a blast — and I love meeting new NPCs. So, as much as I’m trying to streamline through to the end of the game, this is definitely going to take me a while.
When it comes to tiny games, I ended up playing a bunch of Bitsy experiences while looking through Anna Anthopy’s Itsy Bitsy Exercises, a series of lessons and inspirations for making short narrative games using the Bitsy tool. Here are some of the ones I loved (all under five or so minute to play):
"muddy water 'round my shoes (homebound just once more)" by adam le doux
"Junk Shop Telescope" by cephalopodunk
"Mammoth Hunt" by Cooltendo
"A Captain's Lonely 60 Days" by Yellow Attic
"Tea for Two" by Sean
"the nightly routine" by miniwoolf
"The Space Slime" by Skyler Aure
That's it for me! What are you reading? Watching? Loving right now?
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