Not Quite Dead – Details, episodes & analysis

Hey folks! Something a bit different this week. Last year, I got quite a lot of interest in the idea of me talking about my relationship with existing vampire media, queer readings of those vampires, and how those things contributed to the creation of Not Quite Dead. Mild Spoiler Warnings for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire and Underworld. Based Vampirification is me discussing the various pieces of vampire media that set me down the path which would eventually lead to the conception of Not Quite Dead. It involves tenuous leaps, stretched interpretations and deeply personal readings of the texts in question, all informed by many years of academic literary study and not-so-academic vampire brain rot.

Transcript available here: https://hangingslothstudios.com/based-vampirification/

Or here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AZ0aYTVZ9j_FL1OBoNQAlfWUoPsPQxAAKaYqssHe_Ns/edit

If you're intrigued to take a slightly more scholarly jaunt into this subject matter, here are some things which I think make for a great jumping off point. There's a range of things listed here, including a fun video essay, some non-academic articles and an academic paper:

• ‘The trail of blood : queer history through vampire literature’ https://louis.uah.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&context=uah-theses
• ‘Vampires Are Us’ https://glreview.org/article/vampires-are-us/
• ‘Closet and Coffins: The Queer-Coded History of Vampires and Representation’ https://ohiofusion.com/closet-and-coffins-the-queer-coded-history-of-vampires-and-representation/
• ‘Vampiric Seduction and Vicissitudes of Masculine Identity in Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ https://www.jstor.org/stable/40347238 
• ‘Twilight’ (a video essay) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqloPw5wp48

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie becomes the prodigal friend, and suffers the consequences.

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-33/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n2zBBKwiZRk93KuOCOC4k0tjHpuWl2-kFSUY4c_BFrM/

Please bear in mind that this show is a work of horror fiction and frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. This episode contains:

– sudden, loud noises

– profanity

– descriptions of medical injuries

– mishandling bodies of deceased/potentially deceased persons

– descriptions of violence and torture

– descriptions of nonconsensual blood-drinking

– discussion of violent medical abuse and torture, including medical abuse which harmed children

– mentions of IV access points

– mentions of needles/cannula

– audio depiction of a blood draw

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie reaches breaking point and has chosen to take drastic action. Before he solidifies his decision, he reflects on the factors pressing him to make it.

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-32/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tdm6h4PlDSbwGnD_upSbIpgC4CXz8QD0zKw_E086qtg/

Please bear in mind that this show is a work of horror fiction and frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. This episode contains:

– profanity

– descriptions of medical injuries

– mishandling bodies of deceased/potentially deceased persons

– descriptions of violence and torture

– descriptions of nonconsensual blood-drinking

– discussion of violent medical abuse and torture, including medical abuse which harmed children

– mentions of IV access points

– sounds of a character in emotional distress

– implied threat to life and references to intent to end life

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tensions are mounting between Alfie and Neige as they struggle to resolve their different views of what to do with Casper. It's clear that Neige is holding things back, and though Alfie is pushing for more, Neige always seems to find a way to change the subject... 

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-31/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14dFHgxXSPCvmLZdYsZvo_CEs8ax0s70ZvdJfn1Aa-XE/edit?usp=sharing

Please bear in mind that this show is a work of horror fiction and frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. This episode contains:

– profanity

– depiction and descriptions of injections – vein access, cannulas, blood draws, infusions

– references to implied sex and sexual acts

– descriptions of violence

– depictions of drinking blood

– mentions of violent medical abuse and torture, including vivisection (of vampires)

– sounds of characters in emotional distress

– implications of past physical abuse and trauma

– mentions of violent murder and killing

– scenes with sexual and violent implications

– sounds of medical equipment

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie is making some questionable decisions as he learns more about the mechanics of vampirism.

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-30/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Gu1zEWS7gzeI3pH7-fDLN3inQnyM-IdhEn4aJi7in50/

Support us on Patreon to get Early Access to new episodes: https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios

This show is a work of horror fiction frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. In addition, listeners should be aware that this show contains the following throughout:

- profanity

- references to sex

- frequent violence

- traumatic injury

- death, including violent death

- references to medical procedures

- hospital settings

– profanity

– depiction and descriptions of injections – vein access, cannulas, blood draws, infusions

– descriptions of violence and torture (sounds of hitting, gushing blood, squeals of cries)

– depictions of drinking blood – descriptions of violent medical abuse and torture, including vivisection (of vampires)

– sounds of a character in emotional distress

– descriptions of violent murder and killing

– mentions of sex

– sounds of medical equipment

Metal clanging SFX recorded by Jack Locke.

Not Quite Dead is written, performed, and edited by Eira Major, under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Live, laugh, bite.

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some time after the incident at the laboratory, Alfie and Neige continue to investigate what happened to Casper. This time their approach is a little more hands-on.

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-29/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dF9C3CSC1rwJD1BR4reqmLZnOPWxLV-ClLTTUHasMM8/edit?usp=sharing

Support us on Patreon to get Early Access to new episodes: https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios

This show is a work of horror fiction frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. In addition, listeners should be aware that this show contains the following throughout:

- profanity

- references to sex

- frequent violence

- traumatic injury

- death, including violent death

- references to medical procedures

- hospital settings

– profanity

– descriptions of injuries (broken cheekbones, medical injuries)

– depictions of violence and torture (sounds of hitting, gushing blood, squeals of cries)

– depictions of drinking blood, with sounds – descriptions of violent medical abuse and torture, including vivisection (of vampires)

– depictions of violence (hitting, slapping, breaking bones)

– hyperventilating

– implied threat to life and references to intent to end life

– sounds of medical equipment

– description of a blood draw/blood donation

Not Quite Dead is written, performed, and edited by Eira Major, under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Featuring a guest performance from Will Cummings. Live, laugh, bite.

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find out more: https://hangingslothstudios.com/not-quite-dead/

Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios/

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join show creator Eira as he answers a selection of questions from you, the weird and wonderful audience of Not Quite Dead! In this first part of the Q&A, Eira will focus on answering questions surrounding the role of vampiric literary traditions in shaping the show, and on the mechanics of the vampires in the world of the show.

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1waUF4AHNft8LOf0y0n5XeA7Do_J2ZZ7t5p5Winy6910/edit?usp=sharing

Want to help make Season Three a reality? Support the show on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neige takes Alfie hunting in York. Things do not go to plan, to a spectacular and devastating degree.

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-28/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hhlxo1XGSeVU2O3QhmF0eRpa520aOZ-SFV3_aoz1JZQ/edit?usp=sharing

Support the show and get early episode access: https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios

This show is a work of horror fiction frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. In addition, listeners should be aware that this show contains the following throughout:

- profanity

- references to sex

- frequent violence

- traumatic injury

- death, including violent death

- references to medical procedures

- hospital settings

– profanity

– references to sex

– depictions of violence (sounds of hitting, gushing blood, squeals of pain)

– depiction drinking blood, with sounds

– depictions of death, including immediate, on screen death

– depiction of a car crash – sounds of tyres squealing, explosions, shattered glass

– yelling, sounds of distress

– hospital/laboratory/medical setting

– sounds of medical equipment

– description of medical intervention

– extremely distressing scenes with descriptions of corpses

– sound of a character in extreme emotional distress

– major character death

Not Quite Dead is written, performed, and edited by Eira Major, under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Featuring a guest performance from Aaron Wolfe. Live, laugh, bite. The outro to this episode is Nocturne No.2 Op.62, sourced here, in the public domain: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Frederic_Chopin_-_nocturne_no._2_in_e_flat_major%2C_op._62.ogg

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie has a chance to collect his evolving thoughts and performs some investigations, some more invasive than others.

Transcript: https://hangingslothstudios.com/nqd-27/

Or: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bQ4i4xaQNwkyO2SZHczUjJTVQRF9Bfg8vR8QB8yRNRA/edit?usp=sharing 

Support the show and get early episode access: https://www.patreon.com/hangingslothstudios

This show is a work of horror fiction frequently places characters in situations which jeopardise their psychological and physical health. In addition, listeners should be aware that this show contains the following throughout:

- profanity

- references to sex

- frequent violence

- traumatic injury

- death, including violent death

- references to medical procedures

- hospital settings

- profanity

- references to sex

- descriptions of accidental injuries to hand 

- descriptions of blood and drinking blood

- detailed discussion of bodily fluids, mostly focused on blood and spit, but with mentions of ejaculate and one mention urine

- discussion of teeth 

- sounds of a character pulling out a tooth without pain relief or proper tools, including expressions of physical pain

Not Quite Dead is written, performed, and edited by Eira Major, under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution License. Featuring a guest performance from Aaron Wolfe. Live, laugh, bite.

Not Quite Dead is back, with spin-off series Snow Blood. Set years after the original story, Snow Blood follows Alfie and Neige as they attempt to start to build a better life for themselves and vampires everywhere. One problem; none of the other vampires want to help, and there is this guy who keeps calling, over and over, insisting Alfie comes to meet him... Snow Blood is crowdfunding on Kickstarter from 7th April to 8th May, 2026 and will air in October 2026.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.