Rambles & Whimsy is a creative blog packed with horror articles, strange history, true crime, movie reviews, tabletop RPG advice, writing updates, science curiosities, and darkly funny essays. From cosmic horror and cursed objects to Dungeons & Dragons tips and behind-the-scenes looks at original fiction, Rambles & Whimsy is a cabinet of stories, curiosities, and creative oddities for readers who like their facts fascinating and their fiction a little strange.
Crying is a Free Action
Crying is a Free Action is my corner of the internet for all things tabletop role-playing.
Here you’ll find thoughts on running games, building worlds, telling better stories at the table, and surviving the occasional rules argument. I write about Game Mastering, player habits, storytelling tricks, and the strange, wonderful chaos that happens when a handful of people sit down with dice and imagination.
Some posts are practical advice. Others are reflections from behind the GM screen after many years of rolling dice and making things up as I go.
Whether you’re a veteran GM, a curious player, or someone who just loves the idea of collaborative storytelling, you’re welcome at the table.
Grab your dice, check your character sheet, and remember:
Sometimes the only thing left to do… is cry.
The Chop Shop
The Chop Shop is where things get a little darker.
This corner of Rambles & Whimsy is dedicated to horror in all its strange and wonderful forms. Here you’ll find essays on unsettling history, disturbing curiosities, eerie folklore, and the stories behind some of the genre’s most fascinating creations.
Sometimes we’ll dig into real-world horrors that are stranger than fiction. Other times we’ll explore the films, books, monsters, and ideas that make the genre tick.
If it’s creepy, macabre, grotesque, or just plain fascinating, it probably belongs here.
So step inside, if you dare. The lights are low, the scalpel is sharp, and there’s always something interesting on the table.
Rambles & Whimsy
Rambles & Whimsy is my little corner of the internet where curiosity gets to stretch its legs. Here you’ll find odd stories, strange history, creative musings, and the occasional rabbit hole that was simply too interesting not to follow.
Some posts explore writing and storytelling, others dig into peculiar facts, folklore, forgotten people, or the weird corners of culture that make you pause and think, “Huh… I didn’t know that.”
Think of it as a cabinet of curiosities in blog form. A place for ideas that don’t quite fit anywhere else, but are too fascinating to ignore.
If you like stories, strange trivia, creative thinking, and the occasional bit of delightful oddness, you’re in the right place.
Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of tea, and have a ramble.
When the Monster Has a Point
Horror monsters are rarely innocent, but they are often evidence. From Frankenstein’s Creature and Godzilla to Candyman, the Xenomorph, Sadako/Samara, the shark in Jaws, and the zombie horde, this article puts the monster on trial and asks an awkward question: what if the creature is not the disease, but the symptom? Sometimes horror’s real terror is not the thing with claws, teeth, hooks, or cursed videotapes. Sometimes it is the world that made room for it, profited from it, ignored it, or called it unnatural after creating the conditions that brought it crawling into the light.
Roll for Intrigue
Quest givers are a classic part of fantasy roleplaying, but what happens when the person offering the job is lying?
In this article, Robin B. Devlin explores ten ways a quest giver might mislead the party without turning the adventure into a cheap “gotcha.” From stolen heirlooms that never belonged to them, to monsters who are not really monsters, fearful omissions, political schemes, cursed memories, and weaponised technical truths, each idea is designed to add intrigue rather than rob players of agency.
This is not about tricking your table for the sake of feeling clever. It is about leaving fingerprints, planting clues, and giving players the chance to notice that something does not quite add up.
Perfect for Game Masters who want their quests to feel messier, richer, and more alive, this piece offers practical ways to turn a simple job into a delicious little knot of suspicion, consequence, and chaos.
Horror Tropes Under the Knife
The Final Girl: Horror’s Last Woman Standing
The Final Girl is one of horror’s most enduring figures: bloodied, battered, terrified, and somehow still standing when the credits roll. But where did she come from, why does she matter, and how has modern horror changed her? In this first instalment of Horror Tropes Under the Knife, we dissect the Final Girl from her slasher origins in Halloween and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to her evolution through Scream, Ready or Not, Midsommar and X. She is survivor, witness, warning bell, problem, icon, and revenge fantasy. Now let’s see what’s under the skin.
21-07-26 Human bones can withstand stresses of 24,000 lb per square inch >>> (16,873,670 kg/square meter)
20-07-26 In China, there are 600 bicycles for every car.
19-07-26 Jaffa Cakes have been around since 1927.