For the second year in a row now at Dragon Con, I got the wonderful opportunity to interview Dr. Emily Zarka (I swear I did, I just forgot to take a selfie with her this time!), known for her work on the Monstrum series on the Storied YouTube channel. She also recently released Serial Killers, Real and Imagined, an audiobook that looks at the serial-killer trope across history.
We had a lovely chat about her panels at Dragon Con this year, her preparation for her first foray into tabletop gaming (as a GM no less!), what she’s been up to lately, and one bonus question that I think you’ll like.
Me: I caught your panels on Friday – Alternative Worlds and Alternative Monsters! What was your prep, experience, and takeaways from those panels?
Dr. Zarka: For the other worlds panel, I actually did have to do quite a bit of research. I was tangentially familiar with quite a few of the different underworlds, afterlives, and celestial realms, but not well versed enough that I felt like I could teach a class on it. So I did a lot of research prep for that one. I think the monster panel was a little more organic, because that’s truly my wheel house. The weirder the monster, the better. And I was just so impressed by both panels, of course, by the audience. One thing I really love about Dragon Con is that I feel like the audience and the people here are so passionate about the subject, so respectful of one another, and ask just such really interesting, smart questions. So it’s truly a joy to be on those.
Me: At your panel, I heard you saying that you’re prepping for your very first campaign – That’s so exciting!
Dr. Zarka: Yeah! It just seems like a natural progression, and there are so many people who are passionate about it. Obviously being here with the tabletop track and alt history tracks, it seems natural and so fun. I wanted to be involved in the community more. So I was just talking to someone, and I said, Yeah, I think I want to become a GM for Tales from the Loop. And they’re like, oh, that’s like kind of hardcore. And I was like, oh! Jumping straight in the deep end. I just fell in love with the world. So I have the book – I’m studying. It’s an alt history that you play as a kid. So characters 10 to 15, the younger you are, the luckier you are, which contributes to the dice rolls and stuff. So it just seems fun.
Me: There were some projects you were telling me about last year that I was excited to see come to fruition. The serial killer audio cast painting serial killers as monsters. I was really excited to hear that that came out.
Dr. Zarka: That’s still pretty fresh. It just came out last month. Serial Killers, Real and Imagined, is the series that I wrote for Audible. And, you know, there’s tons of true crime stuff out there. I, you know, preface this when they approached me like, I’m not a psychologist, like I can’t really speak to that. What I can speak to is pop culture and how we make narratives both real and fiction. So that’s the approach I took. Yeah, so the series looks at serial murder, but more the archetype of the serial killer as a monster trope, and sort of how that evolved. So I start with Elizabeth Báthory and go, you know, all the way to the fanatic True Crime sort of wave we’re seeing right now, and giving my take on why I think that happens, and end up talking about werewolves and vampires and Hollywood and media. And it was a lot of fun. I also voiced it like I read it, which was interesting. That was my first foray into vocal acting.
Me: People keep on saying that we live in unprecedented times in history, and there are a lot of stories being told about what’s going on in the world and with other people. I was wondering: are there any monsters, any stories, any morals from maybe some older stories that you’ve found poignant for current events?
Dr. Zarka: Absolutely. I think that what it comes down to is: we’re more alike than we are different. I think that’s a really important message that people forget. That’s one of the things I aim for with Monstrum and my monster research – trying to make people see connections between cultures and histories through something that seems more approachable, like a ghost story or a dragon or a zombie. Even just being willing to expose yourself to new ideas is something that people could also benefit from. In monster lore and storytelling and folklore, usually the bad person gets their just ends. That doesn’t always happen. More importantly, it’s the people around them who learn from that person’s mistakes. I think those stories can be beneficial in this day and age.
I want to thank Dr. Emily Zarka again for being so gracious with her time and for the thought and care she put it into answering my questions. Hope to see you again next year!
Were you at Dragon Con? Did you go to Dr. Emily Zarka’s panels? If so, what are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Twitter/X at @TheConCollectve, Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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