Aaron Mahnke is creating Lore Podcast
Telling the truth, one scary story at a time.
610
$3,057
Milestone Goals
2 Milestone Goals
reached
A Professional Show
The $5,000 mark used to be about going weekly. But while you might devour each episode in a matter of minutes, each one takes me over 30 hours to make. That's an insanely demanding production schedule. Doing it weekly would kill me and the quality of the show.
Instead, I'd prefer to hire people to help me. Primarily, a research assistant, but production help down the road. Your contributions could be creating real jobs. Imagine that!
Instead, I'd prefer to hire people to help me. Primarily, a research assistant, but production help down the road. Your contributions could be creating real jobs. Imagine that!
A Deeper Show
If Lore support makes it to the $10,000 per month mark, things start to get interesting. That kind of support would allow me to increase the depth of experience for the show's audience. $10,000 per month would allow for some travel to widen the reach of the live shows and connect with more listeners in-person.
Audio interviews with writers and historians, video tours of historic sites, and better access to hard-to-find source material would all allow me to create supplementary material for each episode. Imagine 15-minute video "extras" for each episode, available only to Patreon supporters; that’s the kind of depth I want to provide.
Audio interviews with writers and historians, video tours of historic sites, and better access to hard-to-find source material would all allow me to create supplementary material for each episode. Imagine 15-minute video "extras" for each episode, available only to Patreon supporters; that’s the kind of depth I want to provide.
About
Aaron Mahnke is a designer and writer living on the historic North Shore of Boston. In addition to producing Lore, he writes supernatural thrillers.
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Top PatronsSee all 610
;){kind=link}
;){kind=link}
I believe people hunger for story.
We all enjoy a well-told, well-written tale. It allows us to escape for a moment and live in someone else’s world, a world where problems have solutions (most of the time) and things make sense (again, mostly). Story is in our DNA. We evolved from knuckle-dragging cavemen into advanced cultures, in part, because we discovered the benefits of gathering around the fire at night and telling stories. Shared knowledge, shared experiences, communal narrative; this is what makes us who we are.
I created Lore because I wanted to tell stories. In the process of researching my supernatural thriller novels, I often discover pieces of history and lore that give common scary stories a new level of detail, and a fresh humanity. Vampire tales, for example, aren’t stories of supernatural beings; they are stories about our longing for immortality, the hint of our death that waits around every corner, and a way to rationalize the mysteries of the afterlife.
Vampire stories aren’t about vampires, you see. They’re about us.
What is Lore?
Lore is a regular, bi-weekly podcast about the history behind frightening stories. Each episode is around twenty minutes long, and covers a specific historical event or story, along with the supernatural lore and cultural anthropology that is found at its root. Lore is a spoken word, narrative podcast, produced in the style of NPR’s Serial, because I believe the experience is just as much about the mood created as it is the story being told.
Reviews of Lore have blown me away — from AV Club to Will Wheaton — but I can’t help but nod and think, “Of course they have!". I’m telling stories. I’m welcoming listeners into another world, a world that’s sitting right behind our own, one that feels equal parts comforting and frightening. This is what people want, and I love creating it.
Why Patreon?
It takes time to research each episode properly, to write up each transcript, and to record and produce the audio at a level of quality that my listeners deserve. That time spent researching, writing, and recording is time that I can’t spend doing client work (I’m a design consultant by day).
Monthly support from loyal listeners will help me take on less and less design work, buying me time to create the top-notch content that everyone has come to love.
Of course, there are also hard costs to running the show. Hosting costs for the website and podcast feed, equipment, travel for live shows, and all sorts of other incidental costs. Patreon support helps cover all of that.
Thank You
Every listener makes a difference, and for that I thank you all. The show is out there and free for anyone to listen to and enjoy. Tell your friends and spread the word. And if you find that you want to help push Lore over the next big hill, consider contributing a small amount each month toward the show. With your help, Lore can continue to grow!
We all enjoy a well-told, well-written tale. It allows us to escape for a moment and live in someone else’s world, a world where problems have solutions (most of the time) and things make sense (again, mostly). Story is in our DNA. We evolved from knuckle-dragging cavemen into advanced cultures, in part, because we discovered the benefits of gathering around the fire at night and telling stories. Shared knowledge, shared experiences, communal narrative; this is what makes us who we are.
I created Lore because I wanted to tell stories. In the process of researching my supernatural thriller novels, I often discover pieces of history and lore that give common scary stories a new level of detail, and a fresh humanity. Vampire tales, for example, aren’t stories of supernatural beings; they are stories about our longing for immortality, the hint of our death that waits around every corner, and a way to rationalize the mysteries of the afterlife.
Vampire stories aren’t about vampires, you see. They’re about us.
What is Lore?
Lore is a regular, bi-weekly podcast about the history behind frightening stories. Each episode is around twenty minutes long, and covers a specific historical event or story, along with the supernatural lore and cultural anthropology that is found at its root. Lore is a spoken word, narrative podcast, produced in the style of NPR’s Serial, because I believe the experience is just as much about the mood created as it is the story being told.
Reviews of Lore have blown me away — from AV Club to Will Wheaton — but I can’t help but nod and think, “Of course they have!". I’m telling stories. I’m welcoming listeners into another world, a world that’s sitting right behind our own, one that feels equal parts comforting and frightening. This is what people want, and I love creating it.
Why Patreon?
It takes time to research each episode properly, to write up each transcript, and to record and produce the audio at a level of quality that my listeners deserve. That time spent researching, writing, and recording is time that I can’t spend doing client work (I’m a design consultant by day).
Monthly support from loyal listeners will help me take on less and less design work, buying me time to create the top-notch content that everyone has come to love.
Of course, there are also hard costs to running the show. Hosting costs for the website and podcast feed, equipment, travel for live shows, and all sorts of other incidental costs. Patreon support helps cover all of that.
Thank You
Every listener makes a difference, and for that I thank you all. The show is out there and free for anyone to listen to and enjoy. Tell your friends and spread the word. And if you find that you want to help push Lore over the next big hill, consider contributing a small amount each month toward the show. With your help, Lore can continue to grow!