Lunatics Radio Hour is a non-fiction history podcast about the history of horror and the horror of history. Each episode explores real, documented events where fear, violence, survival, and the unknown shaped human lives and cultures. The show also traces how historical events influenced film, examining how real-world horrors became the stories and images that appear on screen.
Topics include dark history, psychological phenomena, folklore rooted in fact, and the historical roots of horror cinema. Most episodes focus on researched historical subjects. Occasional short fiction stories are included and clearly labeled.
If you’re drawn to the darker side of history and the real events behind horror films, Lunatics Radio Hour explores where history, fear, and cinema intersect.
Site
RSS
Apple
Données mises à jour le 04/11/2026
Classements récents
Dernières positions dans les classements Apple Podcasts et Spotify.
Liens partagés entre épisodes et podcasts
Liens présents dans les descriptions d'épisodes et autres podcasts les utilisant également.
Détails sur Lunatics Radio Hour: The History of Horror, podcast de The Lunatics Project
Episode 216 - The History of Spontaneous Human Combustion
mardi 3 novembre 2026 • Durée 48:32
This week Abby and Alan discuss the history of Spontaneous Human Combustion, real cases and how it impacted horror and pop culture.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Sources
Bleak House preface, Project Gutenberg
Let's Talk About Spontaneous Combustion, CrimeReads
The Mystery of Spontaneous Human Combustion, Grunge
Can humans spontaneously combust?, Popular Science
Burn, Baby, Burn: Understanding the Wick Effect, Scientific American
Is spontaneous human combustion possible?, Science ABC
Irishman's Death Ruled Spontaneous Combustion, ABC News
Galway man spontaneously combusted, Irish Echo
History.com, Mental Floss (Stacy Conradt), Pérez-Pérez and Vallejo, St. Pete Catalyst (Bill DeYoung)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 215 - The History of The Hellraiser Franchise: Part 2
samedi 31 octobre 2026 • Durée 48:41
This week Abby and Alan continue our Halloween horror franchise watch through with the last six films of the Hellraiser franchise.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Sources
A Nerdist Article by Rosie Knight: A Very Brief History of The Hellraiser Franchise
Slash Film Article by Scott Thomas: The Entire Hellraiser Timeline Explained
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
All off the Hellraiser movies
Wikipedia and IMDB
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 214 - The History of The Hellraiser Franchise: Part 1
mardi 27 octobre 2026 • Durée 46:48
This week Abby and Alan kick off our Halloween horror franchise watch through with the first four movies from the Hellraiser franchise.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Sources
A Nerdist Article by Rosie Knight: A Very Brief History of The Hellraiser Franchise
Slash Film Article by Scott Thomas: The Entire Hellraiser Timeline Explained
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
All off the Hellraiser movies
Wikipedia and IMDB
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 213 - The History of Séances
mardi 20 octobre 2026 • Durée 28:39
As the veil thins, Abby talks about the history of séances and the human need to understand what happens after we die.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Sources
Smithsonian Magazine Article by Abbott Kahler: The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism
A Magician Among The Spirits by Houdini, available on Project Gutenberg
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 212 - The History of Full Moon Madness
mardi 13 octobre 2026 • Durée 36:32
This week Abby and Alan talk through the history of the belief in full moon madness and "lunatics."
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Sources
Pagan Grimoire article by Rebecca Swanner: Moon Gods and Goddesses: Deities of Lunar Magic and Mysticism
Etymonline article on the history of the word Lunatic
NASA article on Moon Phases
History.com article by Melinda Beck on European Wolf Trials
PubMed Studies:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1454923/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25756232/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8924138/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17256692/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31012946/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26498230/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33571126/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10363673/
Fred Sebastian, "Bad Moon Rising: The Persistent Belief in Lunar Connections to Madness," CMAJ (2005). This is particularly useful because it covers Paracelsus, Blackstone, Bethlem, John Haslam, and Benjamin Rush.
Nigel Walker, "The Insanity Defense before 1800," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (1985), for the history of insanity and criminal responsibility in English law.
TIME, "Miscellany: Lunatic," March 7, 1932, for the Else Flothmeier case.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 211 - The History of Black Cat Superstition
mardi 6 octobre 2026 • Durée 26:21
This week Abby and Alan talk about the history of Black Cat lore. From how cats were worshiped in ancient Egypt, to how the European and American Witch Trials helped to turn cats into a symbol of the spooky!
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 210 - The History of Atomic Horror: Part 3 - Nuclear Winter
mardi 29 septembre 2026 • Durée 42:28
In the final part of our series on Atomic Horror, we look at the fear of nuclear war and the possibility of what could happen after the bombs stopped falling. During the Cold War, scientists began studying the potential global effects of a large-scale nuclear exchange, including the concept of nuclear winter, in which smoke and soot from widespread fires could block sunlight and cause severe climate changes.
We look at the science behind the nuclear winter theory, the 1983 TTAPS study, and the way these ideas influenced public fears about nuclear war. We also examine films including The Day After, Threads, Dr. Strangelove, and other movies that imagined what life might look like before, during, and after a nuclear conflict.
From atomic monsters to nuclear apocalypse, this final chapter of Atomic Horror looks at how horror films reflected one of the defining fears of the Cold War.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 209 - The History of Atomic Horror: Part 2 - Attack of The Mutants
mardi 22 septembre 2026 • Durée 50:08
In Part Two of our history of atomic horror, Abby and Alan look at how filmmakers moved beyond the initial fear of nuclear weapons and began exploring the effects of radiation, mutation, and scientific experimentation.
From giant insects and oversized animals to shrinking and enlarging humans, the atomic age created a new generation of monsters. We look at films including Them!, The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Amazing Colossal Man, The Fly, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, and The Hills Have Eyes, along with the continued evolution of Godzilla and other atomic monsters.
We also explore Nevada’s nuclear testing sites and how the real-world landscape of atomic testing became part of American horror, from atomic tourism to films about people transformed by radiation.
Listen to Part Two of our history of atomic horror and hear how nuclear anxiety continued to shape horror movies long after the first atomic monsters appeared.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Listen to The Great Atomic Power.
Sources
PBS article Atomic Tourism in Nevada
The “True” Story Behind The Hills Have Eyes on Reynold’s by Stephen Basdeo.
Mubi Article: Through the Eyes of America: Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes by Matt Carlin
Science History Institute article by Judith Kaplan: Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins: These four scientists codiscovered the double-helix structure of DNA, which formed the basis for modern biotechnology.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 208 - The History of Atomic Horror: Part 1 - The Atomic Age
mardi 15 septembre 2026 • Durée 36:04
The atomic bomb changed the world in 1945, but it also changed the way people imagined horror.
In Part One of our history of Atomic Horror, Abby and Alan look at how the Manhattan Project, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear testing, and the beginning of the Atomic Age influenced science fiction and horror cinema. As the threat of nuclear destruction became part of everyday life, filmmakers began turning those fears into stories about monsters, mutations, alien invasions, and the destruction of humanity.
We look at some of the films that helped establish Atomic Horror, including The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Godzilla, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. We explore how these movies reflected fears about nuclear weapons, radiation, scientific experimentation, and the possibility that humanity had created something it could no longer control.
This is the beginning of the Atomic Horror story, from the development of the atomic bomb to the monsters that emerged from the nuclear age.
Support the show on Patreon.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here. Join the discussion on Discord. Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Sources
A Nightmare on Film Street article by Kimberly Elizabeth: Oppen-Horrors or: How I Recommended 10 Atomic Horror Movies to Blow Your Mind
History.com article on the Manhattan Project
An Atomic Heritage Foundation article by Paul Tibbets and Curtis LeMay: Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 1945
PBS.org article Letter from Albert Einstein to FDR, 8/2/39
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 207 - The History of Divining and Dowsing Rods
mardi 8 septembre 2026 • Durée 42:13
This week Abby and Alan discuss dowsing and divining rods, and how people believed a forked stick could reveal hidden water, buried treasure, minerals, or even supernatural forces.
From early references to divining rods and their connections to magic and folklore to the rise of water dowsing in Europe and America, we trace how a simple forked branch became an instrument of supernatural belief.
We look at the people, practices, and ideas behind dowsing rods, including rhabdomancy, the occult traditions surrounding magical wands, early modern beliefs about hidden forces, and the long-running debate over whether dowsing actually works. Along the way, we explore the folklore and history that turned an ordinary stick into a supposed supernatural tool.
Follow us on social media @ TheLunaticsProject.
Get Lunatics Merch here.
Join the discussion on Discord.
Check out Abby's book Horror Stories. Available in eBook and paperback.
Music by Michaela Papa, Alan Kudan & Jordan Moser. Poster Art by Pilar Keprta @pilar.kep.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Découvrez des podcasts liées à Lunatics Radio Hour: The History of Horror. Explorez des podcasts avec des thèmes, sujets, et formats similaires. Ces similarités sont calculées grâce à des données tangibles, pas d'extrapolations !