Panel: “Cult” Like It’s A Bad Thing
What actually qualifies a group to be considered a cult? Is it always religious/spiritual, or are there secular cults? Can a cult ever be harmless? This panel discusses cults by their legal/academic definition as well as their archetype in pop culture. Please do not bring sacrifices. With Adam Scott Glancy (M), Cody Goodfellow, Liv Rainey-Smith, Josef Wilke

In 1998 Scott Glancy left a perfectly functional career as an attorney to join up with the role-playing game publisher Pagan Publishing, the nerd equivalent of running away to join the Foreign Legion. Today Scott is the man in charge of Pagan Publishing (much in the same sense that the last surviving legionnaire can be said to be in command of Fort Zinderhoff). Pagan’s most recent project is “Horrors of War,” an anthology of scenarios set during the Great War for the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game. Scott is a contributing author on the award-winning Delta Green series of Call of Cthulhu rpg supplements and has had Lovecraftian fiction published in several short story collections including the recent "Book of Cthulhu II," "Shotguns v. Cthulhu," and the upcoming “Swords v. Cthulhu.” You can hear his recorded games sessions on Role-Playing Public Radio, and listen to him bloviate on the Unspeakable Podcast and Podcast at Ground Zero.
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Cody Goodfellow has written ten novels and five collections of short stories, and has won three Wonderland Book Awards. His comics work has been featured in Mystery Meat, Creepy, Slow Death Zero and Skin Crawl. As an actor, he has appeared in numerous short films, TV shows, music videos by Anthrax and Beck, and a Days Inn commercial. He wrote, co-produced and scored the Lovecraftian hygiene films "Baby Got Bass" and "Stay At Home Dad," which can be viewed on YouTube.
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Liv Rainey-Smith's original art is created through xylography, the practice of carving and printing wood. Rainey-Smith draws upon both European and Japanese techniques to create her work and favors working with natural materials as much as possible. She finds inspiration in early European prints, esoteric traditions, folklore, weird fiction, and the natural world. She won the World Fantasy Award for Best Artist in 2025. Rainey-Smith's woodcut art illustrates The Starry Wisdom Library Catalogue of the Greatest Occult Book Auction of All Time, and accompanies her story in The Dagon Collection.
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Josef B. Wilke is an award-winning author and comic book writer currently living in a catacomb deep beneath Redmond, Washington. His most recent comics are House of Doom and Coffee House of Doom, with Greenhouse of Doom releasing later this year. Josef is a member of the Horror Writers Association, having helped establish the Seattle chapter as co-chair in 2023. A rabid horror fan, Josef collects all things spooky including books, movies, comics, and retro video games. When not writing, Josef can be found in sneaker shops looking for vintage Air Jordans. Follow Josef on Instagram and Bluesky at @Hashtagspooky.
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