That Damned Hotel

The Pulp Stage's original supernatural comedy serial by John Marks.

The place: Hollow Grove Hotel, a lovely establishment that's been the site of only a few (dozen) murders over the years. Also, it stands over a portal to hell, so it might have a minor demon infestation. But, no bedbugs!

Recorded periodically during live recording sessions broadcast to YouTube and then released on the Pulp Podcast. 

See links to every episode and an interview with show creator John Marks below.

Latest Episode

Episode 30: Mystery of the Loch Bess Monster
Demonhunter Eugenia, Demon Plinth, and Human Frank go on a vacation to a peaceful lake.

But is it REALLY a peaceful lake, or is the lake hiding an ancient monster secret?
Link

That Damned Hotel is the longest running serial series by The Pulp Stage, a delightful comedy set at a hotel with demonic clientele. We sat down with writer and star of the series, John Marks.

To see episodes of That Damned Hotel, see The Pulp Stage YouTube Page. To download the podcast, go to Apple Podcasts.

Q: Your long running series is called That Damned Hotel. Tell us about what the story of it is. 

A: That Damned Hotel is set in an old hotel in Hollow Grove, a hotel which was unfortunately built directly over a portal to Hell. This causes many demon-related problems for the show’s heroes: Eugenia, a demonhunter; Plinth, a baby demon; and Frank, a human with chronic stress (worst superpower ever).

Q: This series precedes the more recent development of The Pulp Stage serials including William Berk's Beaten Path. How did it come about? 

A: I wrote the pilot for the show while working graveyard shift at a hotel in downtown Portland. So many truly bizarre and unbelievable and scary things happened at that job that I started cataloging them, then added in the demonology and Hell stuff (thanks, religious upbringing!). I was looking for a good opportunity to create a serial podcast ever since I joined Pulp Stage, and this story turned out to be it!

Q: This series is now in the third season! How has the concept and the characters developed in that time? 

A: When we first met Frank, Eugenia, and Plinth, they were immature and individualistic. Now, they’re slightly more mature and aware of their capabilities—but most importantly, they see each other as family. Somehow, they’ve bumbled their way through such enemies as an archdemon and Frank’s mom--and this season’s antagonist, a teenager demon (duh duh DUH). The hotel now also has a Hell Portal in the lobby, which opens up the possibility for any infernal creature to pop through and cause mayhem.

Q: This series is regularly hilarious with a consistent comic voice. How do you maintain all of the characters’ voices throughout the long run of the series?

A: Matt Haynes and I work together on developing the episode outlines, and we’re always trying to think of ways to top the action of previous episodes and take the characters on new journeys with surprising ends. It helps that the three characters started out with almost no skills whatsoever, so there’s been LOTS of room for growth! Writing the characters consistently while showing growth has been a new skill for me, and I have Damned Hotel notebooks full of agonizing to prove it.

Q: How did your initial idea evolve in the Pulp Stage workshopping process?  Was there anything that was a surprise to you?  Anything that came out just like you intended from the start ?

A: I originally wrote the first episode as a one-off short play. We workshopped this in the Tuesday Reads room, everyone enjoyed it, so we decided to keep creating episodes! I continue to workshop each episode with either our Tuesday Reads group or the Sunday Writer’s Room.

The biggest surprise was Plinth. She was meant to just be a one-episode antagonist, but she QUICKLY took on a life all her own and I realized that she belonged in the team.

Many of my expectations for the show have gone out the window, however I always hoped to see the Frank, Eugenia, and Plinth create their own dysfunctional family together; and that really seems to be happening!

Q: You also star in the series as the hotel runner Frank. How is it being your own leading man? What do your fellow co-stars bring to the project?

A: Playing Frank makes my neck hurt. Other than that, I love playing him, although it can be difficult to stay out of ‘writer mode’ when playing.

Kaia Hillier and Jacquelle Cherise, who play Eugenia and Plinth, are IRL best friends and a literal comedic team in real life; and you can sure see that chemistry in the show! Molly Gregerson, who played Uzbegyll in season one, now directs the show episodes. Having such talented women who love the show and were involved from the beginning is one of the secrets to its success.