Explore every episode of the podcast Talking Scared
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 209 – Anna Bogutskaya & A Deep Fear of Things Sincere | 27 Aug 2024 | 01:25:33 | |
Anna Bogutskaya is one of the UK’s most prominent film critics, with a penchant for horror. She knows her scary onions. And in her new book, Feeding the Monster, she asks an important question (well, important to the likes of you and me) – Why does horror have a hold on us?
In concise but free-ranging essays, she looks at the prominent themes that sets the horror oft the last decade apart, peeling back the skin of the genre to see how it’s muscle flex and grip, and also give you tons of films to watch in the process.
We have a similarly freewheeling conversation in this episode, talking about everything from our primal horror movie experiences, to the meme-ification of monsters and why Mike Flanagan is both outlier and heart of the genre.
Also… Anna introduces me to the concept of Vecnussy, which may ruin Stranger Things for you, like it has for me.
Enjoy
Other books mentioned:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 208 – Adam Cesare & Making Scary Clowns Great Again | 20 Aug 2024 | 01:15:11 | |
Send in the clowns. Tell them not to forget their crossbows and chainsaws.
This week our guest is Adam Cesare, who’s Clown in a Cornfield trilogy reaches a climax (I won’t say end) in Book 3: The Church of Frendo. I read all three books in one mad rush and they confounded all of my horror-savvy, slasher-weary expectations. These books are a State of the Nation story for the ages – think George Orwell’s Animal Farm, but with fascist clowns rather than Bolshevik swine.
Adam and I have one of those very Talking Scared conversations. We get into the political and the personal, touching on his time as a teacher, the challenge of empathy, the role of guns in fiction and the rural/urban divide in America.
But also… clowns! Horrible face-painted bastards that they are.
Enjoy.
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 200 – Every-Damn-One and Their Scariest Story | 02 Jul 2024 | 02:40:38 | |
200 episodes! Madness. Who knew there could be so much to say about horror?
I knew. You knew. And here we are.
It turns out that the real cursed treasure was the friends we made along the way – and how better to celebrate the bicentennial, than by inviting some of the Talking Scared nearest and dearest, to tell us their scariest story?
I called, they answered – with tales of voyeuristic ghosts, horrifying roadside encounters, disappearing witches, whispering demons, damaged eyeballs, lost children and ….Richard Simmons!!
Enjoy this. You deserve it. Thank you so very much for your ear, your attention and your support over these last four years.
Onward.
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 112 – Jamie Flanagan & Stories as Companions for Loneliness | 04 Oct 2022 | 01:05:36 | |
The best and spookiest season starts in earnest, this year on Talking Scared. Our guest is Jamie Flanagan, actor, screenwriter, and part of the team who delivered such televisual delights as The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass and now, The Midnight Club. With The Midnight Club due to land on Netflix worldwide this Friday – I rejigged the schedule to sneak in a chat with Jamie about his work on the show, his relationship with horror-maestro director, Mike Flanagan, and some of the magic that bubbled to the surface in Midnight Mass. Jamie pulls back the veil on the mythical ‘writers room’. He talks about the difficulty of getting anything to screen. And we talk, of course, about the influence of Stephen King. It’s a pleasant detour this week, away from books, without leaving the literary entirely behind. Enjoy! The Midnight Club is released worldwide on Netflix, October 7th. Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 111 – Alexis Henderson and Hot Marxist Bloodletting | 27 Sep 2022 | 01:07:46 | |
It’s not only vampires that drink blood. That’s what we find out on this week’s episode. Our guest is Alexis Henderson – author of The Year of the Witching and now, her sophomore novel, House of Hunger. It’s a luscious, lurid tale of dark fantasy, blood and sex. Y’know … all the good stuff. Oh, and it’s one of my favourite books of the year. Alexis and I discuss the collision of horror and fantasy, the erotics and politics of blood, and the double standards when it comes to female perversion. We also talk a little about a certain Bloody Countess, who plays a big part in the background of House of Hunger. Enjoy! House of Hunger is released September 27th by Ace Books Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 110 – Clay McLeod Chapman and Unhealthy Obsession with Clear Plastic Tarps | 20 Sep 2022 | 01:14:10 | |
Wanna get haunted? That’s the delightful proposition offered by Clay McLeod Chapman’s Ghost Eaters – a novel of ghosts, grief and ghastly narcotics. Just take one pill and you can sell all the phantoms that surround you. What a premise! It’s Clay’s second time on Talking Scared and he’s always welcome. There are few more honest, open, and thoughtful writers out there. This time around we go deep, into the real emotional core of Ghost Eaters, talking about lost friends and long-ago dreams. We discuss 90s indie art, postmodernism’s pains-in-the-ass, and our drug experiences (turns out we’re lame). Oh, and there are Machine Elves. What are Machine Elves, you ask? Listen to find out. Enjoy! Ghost Eaters is released September 20th by Quirk Books Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 109 – Gemma Amor and The Big Mental Health in Horror Bonanza | 13 Sep 2022 | 01:55:22 | |
The time has finally come to go to the scariest place imaginable – the inside of the human mind. Thankfully, we have a friend to accompany us on this most hideous of trips. I’m joined this week by Gemma Amor, author of the brand-new techno-horror FULL IMMERSION. It’s a book that deals with trauma, psychosis and experimental treatment, and it’s the perfect springboard for an epic conversation about mental health in horror. Gemma and I cover the autobiographical elements of her novel and how it helped her recovery. I lay bare my own neurosis and explain why this genre is not necessarily a safe space. And Gemma explains the dangerous reality of being a woman in the horror game. If that all sounds a tad sombre, don’t worry – there is also chat about the Uncanny Valley, Men in Black, Creepypasta and Black Mirror. As well as the pros and cons of pushing over racist statues. It’s a long episode this one. You won’t get this level of self-indulgence every week. But it was just too good a conversation to cut short. Let’s head into my head, it’s scary there!! Enjoy!
Read Gemma’s essay - The Female Experience of Fear Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 108 – Hailey Piper and Ambulatory Brain Monsters | 06 Sep 2022 | 01:04:32 | |
Finally, she’s here! After months of waiting for schedules and book releases to align, Hailey Piper is on the show. She’s here to talk about both of her 2022 releases – each is a kidnapping experience. The novella Your Mind is a Terrible Thing takes us up into the void and into creepy inner space. Her forthcoming novel No Gods for Drowning transports us somewhere else entirely. Hailey lets me blather on about social commentary and metaphor before reminding me gently that sometimes it’s ok to enjoy the story. We talk about concise world-building (how!!), zombie capitalism, police brutality, anxiety and body autonomy, and why Queer characters don’t need an agenda to be worthy of inclusion. By the time this goes live Hailey has probably written another two books!! But for now, I’m just delighted to have her on the show to discuss these two. Enjoy! Your Mind is a Terrible Thing was released May 2022 by Off Limits Press; No Gods for Drowning is published September 7th, 2022 by Polis Books. Other books mentioned in the episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 107 – Zin E. Rocklyn and the Commonality of Pain | 30 Aug 2022 | 00:52:48 | |
Time to get weird and wiggy and wondrous. Our guest this week is Zin E. Rocklyn, author of many short fictions, and her (very) recently award-winning novella Flowers for the Sea. It’s an afro-speculative blend of science fiction, horror, fantasy, myth, dystopia, pre-history and apocalypse – all confined to a single boat in a big, bad ocean, and all told within 100 pages. Phew – it’s dense! Zin and I cover a lot this week. We barrel through her the twin crises of reproductive rights and climate change – and look at how inequality is a huge component of both. We talk about writing the body, evoking smell and how pain has many uses. That sounds dark. It is. But there is also light, including an unexpected reference to an old British sitcom, the juxtaposition of Zin and Hyacinth Bouquet made me laugh!! Enjoy this one. Flowers for the Sea was released October 2021, by Tor Other books mentioned in the episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 106 – Gwendolyn Kiste and the Madwomen Bite Back | 23 Aug 2022 | 01:08:37 | |
Get your bell bottoms, your peace sign, your tie dye and your … crucifix! This week’s guest is Gwendolyn Kiste and her new novel, Reluctant Immortals, transports us to San Francisco in 1968, the summer after the Summer of Love, when the sun is setting on the hippie movement. Into this chaos comes a quarter of iconic Gothic characters, ready to fight it out all over again. Like the book, the surface of this conversation belies its inner darkness. Yes we talk hippies. Yes we talk Haunted Hollywood. Yes we talk cheesy movies. But we also get into the horrific implications of vampires for sexual consent, the true hideous power of the patriarchy, and how women are weaponised against women. There is substantial conversation about domestic and sexual abuse in the second half of the conversation. Just a warning in case this is a problem for you. It’s a tough conversation, but a good one. Enjoy! Reluctant Immortals is released in North America on August 23rd by and in the UK on November 22nd by Titan. Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 105 – Agatha Andrews and Danger-Bangs in Haunted Houses | 16 Aug 2022 | 01:04:45 | |
This week we’re crossing the podcast streams again – and broadening our reading at the same time. Agatha Andrews is the host of She Wore Black, a Texas-based podcast of Gothic, Mystery and Horror. She’s also my horror-podcasting buddy, the romantic yin to my dark, depraved yang. And she knows a thing or two about Gothic Romance. It turns out it’s not all virgins in nightgowns (though they do make an appearance). Agatha talks me through the complex, overlapping relationships between Romance, Gothic, horror and erotica. We talk about how love combines with fear, why happy endings are an ironclad rule and the joy of the Danger-Bang. She also helps me navigate some recent twitter beef that had me utterly confused. This is a little diversion for the show, a ramble down a different path for this week. But hey, give love a chance! (plus, we also talk about House of Leaves) Episodes of She Wore Black are released weekly and you can find Agatha at @sheworeblackpod Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 104 – Michael J. Seidlinger and Strange Footsteps at Midnight | 09 Aug 2022 | 01:13:24 | |
Are your doors and windows locked? Good. ‘Cos this one is going to scare you! This week I’m joined by Michael J. Seidlinger, author of the new home-invasion nightmare, Anybody Home. You’ve read this scenario before – invasion, torture, death and suffering – but never like this. We talk about why home invasion is so singularly frightening, about the role of movies and lenses in our hyper-surveillant culture, we disagree on the current state of experimental fiction, and Michael gives perhaps the most startling answer yet to the question of where did the idea for this book come from… All that, plus my rantings on the morality of torture porn, some really geeky video game chat, heavy metal metaphors, and an afterword containing some important questions for the future of this show. Enjoy! Anybody Home is published August 16th by CLASH books Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 103 – Giving Kids Swords: A Middle Grade Special w/ with Ally Malinenko, Dan Poblocki & Lora Senf | 02 Aug 2022 | 01:38:55 | |
What scared you as a kid? Monsters? Ghosts? The thing in your closet? The perilous state of the environment and the terrible carbon footprint of children’s toys? If it’s any of the former then you’re in good company. (If it’s the latter then boy did we need you in 1987!) This week’s guests understand the fear that makes the childlike mind tick and tock, they know how to get under young skin, and they know how to inject a little hope into the horror. Ally Malinenko, Dan Poblocki and Lora Senf are three of the finest middle-grade authors around. Their books, This Appearing House, Tales to Keep You Up at Night and The Clackity present three very different kinds of nightmares to challenge, inspire and slightly terrify readers age 8-12. In this middle-grade special we dive deep into each of their book, to examine how horror works for younger readers. When does a lot become too much? And what can we say to the gatekeepers and politicians who would rather these precious children not read such awful things. It’s an important question, cos, after all, kids are the ones who are going to have to both survive and save this world – so let’s at least prepare them with some horrors they can conquer in the here and now. This is a longer episode, and a slightly left-turn. But it’s also a lot of fun and surprisingly dark. Enjoy! The Clackity is published June 28th by Atheneum This Appearing House is published August 16th by Katherine Tegen Books Tales to Keep You Up at Night is published August 16th by Penguin Workshop Other books discussed in this episode include:
To find out more about my friend Amy Sarthou and her Portable Magic project to increase inclusive school reading – you can follow her on instagram at PortableMagic_reads_books Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 199 – Josh Malerman & The Most Frightening Love Story | 25 Jun 2024 | 01:18:46 | |
My unpaid cohost returns. Josh Malerman ladies and gentlemen.
Josh has been on the show many times before, but never have I been so excited to speak to him. His latest novel, Incidents Around the House is about as good a horror book as I’ve ever covered on this show… or possibly read in my life. It’s the story of a young girl, her family, and the entity pursuing them, but – as you’ll hear – it goes a whole lot deeper (and unforgivingly darker) than that.
Josh tells us about the unique process of writing this book. We discuss the challenges of child narrators. I beg insight into the demons and half-glimpsed horrors of his story… and I assault him with odd comparisons.
It’s all very freewheeling and fun. As the 199th episode should be, before we tip over the edge into a whole new century.
Enjoy – and read this damn book!
Other books mentioned:
The House of Last Resort (2024), Christopher Golden Coraline (2002), by Neil Gaiman The Exorcist (1971), by William Peter Blatty Good Night Sleep Tight (2024), by Brian Evenson Nightmares and Dreamscapes (1993), by Stephen King From a Buick 8 (2002), by Stephen King 11/22/63 (2011), by Stephen King
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 102 – Nina Nesseth and How the Gross-Out Can Save Your Life | 26 Jul 2022 | 01:14:02 | |
Do you like scary movies? Yes, course you do – you’re listening to a horror podcast. Okay, cliched horror quote asides – this week is something a little different for the show. It’s been a minute since we’ve had some non-fiction, and how better to scratch that itch-for-facts than with a discussion of BRAINZZZZZ? Our guest is Nina Nesseth: scientist, researcher and author of Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films. It does what it says on the cover. Nina guides us through a century of horror cinema, looking at how we, as a species, react neurologically and physiologically to scenes of blood, violence and carnage. Think of it, perhaps, as a tour of the most haunted house of all, the human mind. We dissect everything – movies, culture, eyeballs (prepare yourself!), and the trailer for Rob Zombie’s The Munsters. We also talk about communicating science in the new age of anti-rationality, how our brains can tell screens and real life apart, the best ever decade for horror, and we mock the phrase elevated horror in all the ways that stupid term deserves. Enjoy! Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films was published on July 19th by Tor Nightfire Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 101 – Nat Cassidy and Who Asked for a Body Anyway? | 19 Jul 2022 | 01:09:49 | |
We’re heading into largely uncharted horror waters this week with our guest Nat Cassidy. Nat’s debut horror novel, Mary: An Awakening of Terror dares to confront one of the last true taboos of horror fiction. No, it’s not cannibalism, or necrophilia, or the bowel movements of Tucker Carlson … no… it’s the menopause. That’s right. Female physiology. The horror, the terror, think of the children!!! Nat and I talk about why horror shies away from the topic of middle age and menopause, and why he was inspired to tell this story when he was just thirteen years old. We talk about Stephen King and Carrie and their lasting influence. And we look back at the worse year of Nat’s life, and how it helped fuel the writing of Mary. We also promise (and fail) to talk about Bruce Springsteen, our shared north star. Watch this space for more on that in the future. Enjoy! Mary: An Awakening of Terror is published on July 19thth by Tor Nightfire Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 100 – Paul Tremblay and the First-Person Asshole Narrator | 12 Jul 2022 | 01:09:59 | |
DUM DUM DUM!!! 100 episodes!! We did it. We reached an utterly abstract threshold together guys and we are DELIGHTED to be here. I’m also delighted to welcome Paul Tremblay back to the show for a neat bit of circularity (as he was the one to kick things off way back in episode 1). Paul’s new novel, The Pallbearer’s Club came out just at the right time to make him the 100th guest. I’m convinced he planned it that way. It’s a tale of weird adolescence, New England folklore, Punk Rock and loneliness. Sounds typically bleak right? Well it is, but it also has jokes, a heartwarming friendship and argumentative notes in the margins – so it’s both a homecoming and a departure for Paul. We talk about his early desire to be a musician, his obsessions with misinformation, the art of fictionalising the truth, and the fear that inspires his uniquely uncanny set-pieces. Oh, and we also mention a certain film adaptation that may be in the works. Enjoy! The Pallbearers Club was published on July 5th by William Morrow and Titan Books Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 99 – T. Kingfisher and the Fungus-Punk Epidemic | 05 Jul 2022 | 01:08:16 | |
It’s been a rough couple of weeks. So, let’s have a laugh: Poe-style! Our guest is T. Kingfisher. She’s an expert in taking dry, dark horror classics and investing them with newfound life. In What Moves the Dead she manages to find the gruesome joy in even the most dolorous of text. What Moves the Dead reconfigures and reapproaches Poe’s classic, “The Fall of the House of Usher.” It updates the year, introduces some gender fluidity, and even adds Beatrix Potter’s aunt. Yes, this is not your usual rewrite. It also involves mushrooms. Lots and lots of mushrooms. Consequently, we talk a lot about mycology – but we also get plenty of other fun stuff. Like whether we enjoy explanations in horror, how Albanian inheritance laws inspired her novella’s gender dynamics, and how her grandmother would have excelled at polygamy had it been invented. This episode is a sprinkle of zest into the rancid stew of life. Enjoy! What Moves the Dead is published on July 12th by Tor Nightfire Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 98 – Tim McGregor and Blaming the Danish | 28 Jun 2022 | 01:10:38 | |
Things are a bit fishy this week, as I’m joined by long-time friend-of-the-show Tim McGregor (@TimMcGregor1) to talk about the long history of fish-tailed women and why we find them so frightening … and sexy! Tim’s forthcoming novella, Lure, is a mermaid story with bite! No Ariel here; Sebastian the Crab is hiding. Instead it’s about the war of attrition between a brutal patriarchal settlement and the sea-she-creature who holds them to account. (a little fitting for this week’s misogyny-a-thon in the Supreme Court) As well as mermaid lore, we also talk about Tim’s upbringing in the Ontarian wilds … and his father’s axe … as well as disagreeing on heroes and villains, and delving into Tim’s experiences on the periphery of one of the year’s biggest horror meltdowns. Enjoy! Lure is published on July 18th by Tenebrous Press Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 97 – A Monstrous Roundtable, with Ellen Datlow, Nathan Ballingrud, Chikodili Emelumadu & Joe R. Lansdale | 21 Jun 2022 | 01:12:54 | |
This week on Talking Scared it’s monsters all day, every day. To celebrate the release of Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous, we gather around the campfire with editor Ellen Datlow and three of her contributors – no less than Nathan Ballingrud, Chikodili Emelumadu and the great Joe R. Lansdale. As a result, this is not your average Talking Scared episode. There is interruption, overlap, argument much good humour. Amidst the chaos we still manage a fascinating conversation about the creatures that lurk in the wilds and those who walk amongst us. We talk about what makes a monster, why we love them, and where they fit in our modern hyperconnected world. (and they have the audacity to tell me that Bigfoot isn’t real!) Enjoy! Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous was published on June 7th by Tor Nightfire Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 96 – Stephen Lloyd and Cutting the Treacle | 14 Jun 2022 | 00:58:46 | |
We’re closing out our (very) loose trilogy of episodes devoted to sinister schools and magical children. This week it involves pentagrams and witch-burnings, which are always a good time. Our guest, Stephen Lloyd, is better known for his comedy than his horror. He has spent a career crafting some of the biggest sitcoms of the century (some of which helped my marriage survive lockdown). Now, he has turned his pen to something much less wholesome, in his first novel, Friend of the Devil. We talk about Satanism and D&D and the aftermath of Vietnam – all that stuff that made the 80s such a goddamn fun decade for so many. But we also look at how those tendrils reach into the present set of existential crises. Socio-political shi*tshows aside, Stephen discusses the difference between writing horror and writing comedy, he explains the inner workings of a TV writer’s room – and how penning a novel in isolation is a whole other thing. I even ask him for advice on screenwriting, because my ill-conceived ambition knows no bounds… Enjoy! Friend of the Devil was published on May 30th by G.P. Putnam Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 95 – J.M. Miro and Throwing Your Arms Around the Monsters | 07 Jun 2022 | 01:17:55 | |
This week we go to magic school, but there isn’t a f***ing owl or a talking hat in sight. Instead, it’s a much more macabre affair, as J. M. Miro begins his trilogy of dark sorcery with Ordinary Monsters. J. M. goes by a different name in his other, more prosaic writing life, but here, with us, in the blood and the shadows he writes as his second self. Which is a long-winded and torturous way to say this is a pseudonym. We talk about the creative and practical reasons behind that, as well as his tragic family history, his obsession with Victorian London, female detectives in history and how to write a compelling action scene. And we manage to do all that without saying a single hateful or prejudiced thing. Imagine! Enjoy! Ordinary Monsters was published on June 7th by Bloomsbury and Flatiron Books Other books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 94 – Scott Hawkins and a Dog-Eat-Lion World | 31 May 2022 | 01:03:21 | |
This week we go behind the curtain to look at the inner workings of a bona-fide modern classic. Our guest is Scott Hawkins, whose debut novel, The Library At Mount Char delighted genre fans back in 2015. Now, to commemorate its first UK publication, Scott joins me for a conversation about its many madcap secrets. We talk about everything from cosmic ethics to kidney stone – he gives us a little until-now-unknown backstory on some of the most mysterious characters, and I take umbrage at how awfully he treats the poor, poor pooches that guard his goddamned library!! This is a lovely conversation about the loveliest book you’ve ever read … that contains scenes of children being roasted alive. Enjoy!
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 93 – Kiersten White and Freedom from the Hope of Youth | 24 May 2022 | 01:09:11 | |
Here I come, ready or not! Our guest this week is Kiersten White. She’s the award-winning author of numerous macabre YA fictions, but now she’s making her debut in adult fiction (not that kind!) with Hide – a tale of life-or-death hide-and-seek. It’s a fantastic premise to begin with. Think The Hunger Games meets Squid Game, or any other kind of game but nastier and with more socio-political heft. Yeah, that’s right. Once again on Talking Scared the guest and I deconstruct society, in particular the capitalist nightmare that is at the core of Kiersten’s novel. We talk about economic inequality horror, American fairytales, the conflict between boomers and millennials, and the difference between mazes and labyrinths. I even ask some good questions about craft. We laugh a lot, but be warned, there is a burning rage behind this book. Enjoy! Hide is published on May 24th by Penguin and Del Rey Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| Off Book #2 – National Park After Dark | 21 Jun 2024 | 01:09:11 | |
In the second Off Book episode we get out of our armchairs and go on a real adventure. Well, not really – but we talk to two people who do.
Danielle and Cassie are the hosts of National Park After Dark – a podcast catering to the “morbid outdoor enthusiast.” They have skyrocketed to success, with well-researches stories of murder, maulings and mad incidents out in the world’s national parks.
I’ve listened for years now and I’m delighted to finally get the chance to ask them all the questions… what is their favourite flavour of outdoor macabre? Is there a particular unsolved mystery that burns a hole in their brain? What’s the scariest thing they’ve encountered out there… and should we reintroduce wolves to the UK? (Yes!)
You don’t need to like the outdoors to enjoy this episode. Danielle and Cassie do the hard work for us.
Just enjoy!
Books mentioned:
Wolfish: Wolf, Self and the Stories we Tell About Fear, Ferocity and Freedom (2023), by Erica Berry A Bolt From the Blue: The Epic True Story of Danger, Daring ad Heroism at 15,000 Feet (2012), by Jennifer Woodlief The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), by Stephen King Where the Dead Wait (2023), by Ally Wilkes Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (1997), by Travis Walton
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 92 – Anne Heltzel and a Big Pile of Dead Baby Dolls | 17 May 2022 | 01:09:28 | |
This week’s episode couldn’t have come at a more pertinent time. As women’s reproductive rights come under assault in the US, as Roe V Wade gets rolled back and fat, sweaty men in suits make rules they will never have to obey – I’m joined by a writer who wrote a book about the cult of having babies. Anne Heltzel is the author of Just Like Mother, a contemporary Gothic techno-thriller about fertility, pressure, choice and cults. Okay, the real-world context may be heavy, but the book is a blast. It’s both a surface-level thriller and a deep indictment of the way that modern life has got us all under pressure and running just to keep up. Anne and I talk about the creepiness of dolls, whether we give too much importance to twists, our shared experiences of feeling off-course in our twenties, and how everything, anything can be a cult if you just tweak it hard enough. Enjoy! Just Like Mother is published on May 17th by Tor Nightfire Other books mentioned in this episode include:
You can download your free copy of Ash by Dan Soule from Amazon in your region until May 19th. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 91 – Jason Rekulak and Pencil Crayon Jump Scares | 10 May 2022 | 01:01:05 | |
Do think kids’ drawings are creepy? They are, right? All big smiles and suns with eyes and weird flowers the size of people… and the dead girls in the background. Right? Our guest this week has built a whole horror story around these little paper nightmares. Hidden Pictures is a novel that blends text and image in ways that I’ve never seen done before, or never as well. It’s a story of childhood imagination, suburban murder and summer terror. Think Gone Girl with Crayola ghosts. Jason and I talk about lots of things – the rise of 1% horror; the relationship between image and text, and how to adapt an experimental book for audio. We get into the fairy tale details that I missed, and ask kid’s imaginary friends are just so damn freaky. Trust me, you’ll never look at your little cherub’s artistic offerings the same way ever again. Enjoy Hidden Pictures is published on May 10th by Flatiron Books and Sphere. Other books mentioned in this episode include:
My article in Esquire on ‘The 50 Best Horror Novels of All Time’ Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 90 – Isabel Cañas and Running Barefoot Through Books | 03 May 2022 | 01:18:59 | |
It’s a week of deep-dives, haunted-houses and academic horror-stories this week on Talking Scared. Our guest is Isabel Cañas. And she’s having the busiest week known to (wo)mankind. Not only is she defending her doctoral thesis on Medieval Turkish Poetry, she also has the small matter of her debut novel – a sweetly sinister piece of Latin Gothic called The Hacienda We talk about everything that could possibly have influenced the novel. From the creepy house she once lived in, to her worldwide travels and her academic studies. It also plays a part – but nothing more so than a childhood spent reading. As well as diving deep into what made Isabel who she is, we also talk about Latinx horror generally, about mixing Catholicism with something even stranger, how she will never be frightened by the same things as Stephen King, and why it’s so important to keep the literary door ajar once you’ve kicked it open. It was a pleasure to speak to Isabel. I can’t believe she found the time. Enjoy The Hacienda is published on May 3rd by Berkley Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 89 – Alma Katsu and the Hatred that Never Seems to Die | 26 Apr 2022 | 01:12:50 | |
This week Alma Katsu brings her brand of immaculate historical horror to Talking Scared. After the The Hunger upped the ante on the Donner Party, and The Deep gave us a sinking feeling about the Titanic, Alma is back with The Fervor – a book too dark to write a pun about. It’s a tale of haunting and conspiracy during the years of Japanese internment in the US. Spanning multiple states, and multiple POV’s, it weaves a story of anger, prejudice and hate that seems all too familiar today. We talk a lot about the history of internment and anti-asian prejudice in the US, about Alma’s heritage and career, and the unique perspective it gives her on the topic. But don’t worry, just as it’s all about to get worryingly serious –the spider demons pop in to lighten the mood! Enjoy! Other books mentioned in this episode include:
The Fervor is published on April 26th, by G.P. Putnam. It will be released in the UK in October, by Titan. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 88 – V. L. Valentine and The Difficult Second Ghost Story | 19 Apr 2022 | 01:07:02 | |
After much recent politickin’ and metaphor – we’re back with a good old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness ghost story. And from a friend, no less. V. L. Valentine came on the show last year (ep.31) to talk about her debut medical horror whodunnit, The Plague Letters. Now she’s back with her sophomore novel, a ripe Gothic treat called Begars Abbey. It plays with the tropes beautifully. There are secret rooms, sinister histories, mad old relatives, torture, crypts, sinister servants and lots of ghosts. Why the shift, from surgeons to spooks, you may ask. Well, Vikki and I talk about that. As well as what she learned between book 1 and 2, the elements of pacing, writing problematic women in the age of twitter, the macabre history of old dungeons and the perilous evils of Downton Abbey (ok – that last one is more my soapbox). Also, Vikki takes me to task about not yet finishing my own novel. Consider me chastened and now writing! Enjoy! Begars Abbey is published on April 26th, by Viper. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 87 – Malcolm Devlin and the Brexit Zombie Story | 12 Apr 2022 | 00:59:08 | |
I promise this week isn’t a pandemic novel. I know … we all need a break. No, Malcolm Devlin’s And Then I Woke Up IS about a disease, but not one that makes you cough, vomit or melt. Instead it’s a disease (drum roll), OF THE MIND!! But even then, it’s not what you think – no rage monsters here. Well, not really. Instead, this novella is a perfect allegory of how narratives can infect, distort and corrupt. How reality is contingent, and how the truth is more elusive by the day. All that, with zombies (sorta) Malcolm is a very polite man. So polite that he lets me use his book as a jumping-off point for all manner of cracked pseudo-philosophical theories. I basically forget the first rule of podcasting – DON’T talk more than the guest. Sorry. But when I give Malcolm chance to speak, he says great things. We talk about everything from the power of story and culture, to the problems with zombie narratives and how, in times of horror, Left and Right wing doesn’t necessarily mean what you think. Plus, we reminisce about the blue/gold dress illusion, the Bath Salts Cannibal, and other great noughties memes. Enjoy! And Then I Woke Up is published on April 12th, by Tor. Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 86 – Alan Baxter and a Stranger in a Strange Town | 05 Apr 2022 | 01:11:17 | |
Alan Baxter is the Lord of Weird Australia. I said it before, he liked it, so I’ll say it again. Alan Baxter is the Lord of Weird Australia. Perhaps nothing he has written is as weird, or as Australian as the stories set in and around the town of Gulpepper. He took us there in The Gulp and now he’s taking us back in The Fall, the second collection of linked novellas outlining the town and its weird inhabitants. Bear in mind, when I say nothing he’s written is as weird or as Australian – this is a man who wrote a book about a homicidal kangaroo! So yeah, The Gulp and The Fall are weird. Weird as hell. Weirdness on toast (with or without vegemite). We talk about that weirdness, about how to make it work and when to reign it in or let it ride. We talk the beauty and threat of Australian wilderness and the monstrous potential of the ocean. We talk winging it when it comes to mythology and how even Alan isn’t sure where Gulpepper goes next. We talk about all sorts of things. It’s a blast. Enjoy! The Fall: Tales from the Gulp 2 is published on April 12th.
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 85 – Emma Stonex and the Light That Never Goes Out | 29 Mar 2022 | 01:10:43 | |
Imagine it’s just you and two other people stuck in a single building for weeks on end. Everyone’s bad habits on display. How long would it take you to turn murderous? That’s just one of the possible questions asked in Emma Stonex’s The Lamplighters. Inspired by the real-world vanishing of the Flannan Isle Lighthouse keepers, but full of incident and weirdness all it’s own, The Lamplighters is equally poetic and paranoid, gentle and cruel, haunting and horrifying. It may be the best thing I’ve read this year. It will either make you want to move to a lighthouse immediately, or never again set foot anywhere but dry land. Emma and I talk about the sea, about bad places and lonely buildings, and we come back again and again to the inexhaustible metaphor of the lighthouse. It all gets very lyrical, but we do also use the word “bonkbuster” at one point, to puncture the profundity. This is a truly fantastic book, and a great conversation with someone who shares our love for the windswept, memory-stained places of the world. Enjoy! The Lamplighters is published in paperback on March 1st in the US and March 31st in the UK. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 84 – Dark Stars Roundtable, with John F.D. Taff, Livia Llewellyn & Josh Malerman | 22 Mar 2022 | 01:31:10 | |
This week is an orgy of horror. There are four of us. That makes it an orgy right? (I’ve never been to one – never got the invitation). Ahem … sorry. I'll start again. This week I am joined by not one, but THREE guests. John F. D. Taff, Livia Llewellyn, and of course, Josh Malerman. We could call them stars from the firmament of horror. Dark Stars perhaps. That would be fitting, considering that’s what they are here to discuss (amongst many, many things). Dark Stars is a benchmark spook fest. An anthology of fiction that attempts to set the tone for where we are in our collective horror moment. John is the editor, Josh and Livia are contributors – amongst nine other names from the very forefront of the genre. Each story is different, with few tropes, little tradition and zero constricting theme. It’s just a collection of darkness, depravity and delight. John, Livia and Josh are old friends, old battle-companions from the horror vanguard. As such I’m essentially redundant this week. I just turned the show over to them and got out of the way. I make an attempt at order and structure – we talk about making horror weird as hell, about drawing fiction from life, about how we use and abuse tropes in this new horror landscape, but mostly it’s about community, friendship and weird, perverse joy in being creepy together. Oh, and Josh and I talk bad drug experiences, whilst Livia joins my fight to put sex back in horror! Enjoy! Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror is published on May 10th by Tor Nightfire in the US and Titan in the UK. Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store.
| |||
| 83 – Simone St. James and Good Time, True Crime | 15 Mar 2022 | 01:01:49 | |
Hey horrorfam – ready for a good ol’ murder mystery? Y’know, with ghosts… Our guest is Simone St. James, the doyenne of ‘Supernatural Suspense’ (as the marketeers love to call it). Her 2020 smash hit The Sundown Motel put her name up in lights, and her latest – The Book of Cold Cases keeps it there, shining cold and bright. It’s a tale of murder, media and misogyny – told in the classic dual-timeline manner that seems to feature in all good supernatural suspense novels – and it features a female serial killer (or is she?), a haunted house (or is it?) and a VERY millennial true crime blogger (or is… yes, yes she is!) It was exactly the kind of story that I needed to blow the nuclear cobwebs off in our freshly frightening times. Simone and I talk about the struggle of plotting, and its rewards for enjoyable stories. We wonder why we don’t get more female serial killers in fiction and the complexity of flipping gender roles within genre. We also tussle with the troubles of setting horror in Canada. …oh, and I try to convince her to start a podcast. Enjoy! Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 198 – Paul Tremblay & The Book is Better | 18 Jun 2024 | 01:05:24 | |
Paul Tremblay returns to Talking Scared on a long orbit, like that fabled Planet X that’s going to kill us all.
He’s back after two years for another discussion of horror aesthetics, introspective terrors and mixed-media nightmares – this time in Horror Movie, his meta-take on cursed cinema and lethal creativity.
Horror Movie is about young filmmakers and the shoot that marks them all, even unto death. It’s also about the making of art, the machinery of fear and the cynicism of Hollywood. But beneath all that self-reflexive interrogation, it’s also just a damn creepy story. And Paul talks to me about all of it.
Note – there is jet lag aplenty in this episode. An arms race of confusion and forgetfulness. It makes for a good time. Bear with us.
Enjoy
Other books mentioned:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 82 – Mike Meginnis and Things You Should Do Before You Die | 08 Mar 2022 | 01:08:41 | |
Are you ready for another apocalypse? Covid and nukes not enough for ya? Well here you go then. Something slightly different. Mike Meginnis’ Drowning Practice is an odder than usual end-of-days. It’s a book in which everyone knows that time is up, and yet they just don’t seem to care. There are few (I won’t say zero) ravening lunatics in this book – but the more chilling realisation is that even at the end of the world, you still have to go to work. Mike and I talk about art and NFT monkeys, about poisoned capitalism and how his book mirrors our own pre-apocalyptic malaise. We also talk about the link between depression and creativity, and we have a friendly disagreement about whether the protagonist of this book is a deeply sinister character. This is a gentler end-of-days than most, but no less horrifying in its implications. Enjoy! Drowning Practice is published March 15th by Ecco Books. Other books mentioned in this conversation include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 81 – Tyler Jones and Old Eyes in Young Faces | 01 Mar 2022 | 01:09:12 | |
Tyler Jones’ Burn the Plans reminds me of the first time I picked up Stephen King’s Night Shift. I didn’t know who this King guy was, only that his stories were varied, scary, funny, awful and sweet and sweetly awful. In short, a great time. Burn the Plans is the same. The collection dashes from an ever-so-American-Gothic farm to a bloodsoaked art gallery, CIA psychic experimentation to invisible Frankensteinian limb-monsters. Tyler’s imagination runs amok and breaks the crockery. We talk about small presses and self-publishing, the discipline of being your own editor, the writing from the POV of kids and the problems with perfect prose. We also discuss the collection’s theme – that life isn’t safe, that we should learn to expect the unexpected, be ready to live with (and survive crisis). That message has never been so clear as in recent news … and if you listen to this episode, please stick around for my outro as I have something to say, and dedications to make. Enjoy! Burn the Plans was published February 28th by Cemetary Gates Media Other books mentioned in this conversation include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 80 – Gretchen Felker-Martin and Bustin’ Everyone’s Balls | 22 Feb 2022 | 01:05:20 | |
Have you ever wondered what fresh testicles taste like? No? I don’t believe you. Our guest this week wants to get you thinking about it … well, that and many more important things. Gretchen Felker-Martin is the author of Manhunt – potentially the most buzzed-about horror novel of 2022. The story follows a pair of trans- protagonists through a blighted landscape of monstrous men and militant feminists – with the prized scrotal orbs being the key to continued life, and the pursuit of happiness. Quite a lot to chew on, right (I’ll stop!). On top of that pulpy set up, the book goes deep, turning the end-of-the-world into the perfect allegory for anti-trans thinking, but also sparing much empathy for the confused, the ignorant and the self-loathing. It’s an angry book, but a thoughtful one. Gretchen and I talk about love and hate, about the fear of involuntary transitioning, about victimhood and caring and fighting back against facism. I went in expecting a polemic but ended the conversation feeling strangely better about the world. I hope you do too. Enjoy! Manhunt is published February 22nd by Tor Nightfire Other books mentioned in this conversation include:
Gretchen’s interview with Heat Death can be found here. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 79 – Leon Craig and the Queerness at the Bottom of the Well | 15 Feb 2022 | 01:07:56 | |
February’s focus on the best new Women-in-Horror continues with Leon Craig and her debut collection, Parallel Hells. Leon is a North London writer with a globalised imagination. She’s been published all over the place, but is also a member of the Future’s in the Making, Queer writer’s collective. That perspective is inescapable in this collection. Wherever her stories take us, from an Eastern European pogrom, to a Viking settlement, or a BDSM dungeon frequented by denizens of the underworld – Leon maintains an outsider’s eye and a clear knowledge of the deliciously Gothic possibilities of Queerness. We talk Jewish folklore, emotional angst, mid-20s ennui, and the bright, healthy, happy side of sadomasochism. All that with some demonic-inflection and a good dose of the odd and downright weird. What’s not to like? Enjoy! Parallel Hells is published February 17th by Sceptre Books. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 78 – Thomas Olde Heuvelt and the Mountains of (My) Madness | 08 Feb 2022 | 01:07:22 | |
This week is my personal Everest. Thomas Olde Heuvelt, bestselling Euro-horror whizzkid author of HEX, joins me to to talk about his newest novel – Echo. It’s a story of mountaineering, and madness, and monsters of the soul. If you follow me on any form of social media you may have seen that this book utterly distressed me. I can’t even say why myself; it just tweaked a nerve. Echo is a wonderfully easter-egg-laden novel, full of references to other horror masterworks. As you’ll hear in this conversation, that is no surprise. Thomas knows what he’s doing. He knows how to twist the knife (or the climbing axe) for maximum effect. We talk about mountains, of rock and of the mind. We talk about the role that those grand peaks play in horror through the ages, and how his own relationship with the mountains is one of both fascination and terror – whereas, for me, it’s just the latter. We also discuss writing horror in translation, about the role of erotic love in horror fiction, and the creepy mountain stories that led to the creation of this nightmarish book. Enjoy! Other books mentioned on the show include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 77 – S.A. Barnes and Every Direction is Down | 01 Feb 2022 | 01:09:19 | |
In space no one can hear you read! This week our guest is S.A. Barnes – who’s new novel Dead Silence answers the (stupid) question, once and for all, of whether horror can take place in space. It’s a tale of a blue-collar crew, who encounter more than they reckoned for when salvaging a fabled spaceship. You think you’ve seen this play out before, I know. You haven’t. Stacey and I talk about all things “space-horror”, from the looming shadow of Alien and Event Horizon, to the most truly terrifying thing you can now encounter in orbit: a tech bro. We also talk romance in horror, Scottish ghosts, classic X Files episodes, what makes for a great haunted house (corners, amongst other things), and we both lament our shared anxiety when we hear a sound we can’t recognise. This is just a pure fun book, and delightful conversation that boldly goes … etc, etc. Enjoy! Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 76 – Ally Wilkes and Good Reasons to be Afraid of the Dark | 25 Jan 2022 | 01:06:11 | |
Is it cold where you are? If so, do I have the book for you. Our guest is Ally Wilkes, whose debut novel, All the White Spaces was my pick for the most anticipated horror novel of early 2022. I was NOT disappointed. The book takes us to Antarctica in 1919, just months after the end of the First World War, in the dying years of the Heroic Age of Exploration. There, trapped in the frozen ‘overwinter’ the team of men are forced to confront a malignant presence that draws them out into the cold. Did that give you a shiver? The good kind? Yes! Ally’s book is the springboard for a great conversation about exploration and hauntings. We debate over what the thing in the darkness is. Is it a ghost, a god, an evil sense of anti-human geography? But beyond that we also get into all kinds of meaty, chewy topics, such as how her novel unpicks and deconstructs the long-celebrated ideas of masculinity, heroism, nationhood and empire. Yet, despite all that, the Daily Mail still gave it a good review. It’s THAT good a book. Enjoy!! All the White Spaces is released in the UK on January 25th by Titan Books, and on Mach 22nd by Atria in North America. Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 75 – Kristi DeMeester and Misogynistic Little Paper Cuts | 18 Jan 2022 | 01:07:41 | |
This week it’s time for good girls and bad girls to unite. Our guest is Kristi DeMeester whose new novel, Such A Pretty Smile sinks its teeth deep into the raised hand of misogyny. It’s a tale of violence and viciousness and vivid nightmares – and a whole new apparatus to explore the evils that men do. At this point I assume we’ve already weeded out the guys who roll their eyes at #metoo!? That’s for the best cos this is a feminism-heavy week. We talk about how horror treats women, from monstering menstruation to imagining female puberty as a threshold into hell. Along the way we cover the awful concept of the ‘lesser’ dead, the question of whether pretty girl privilege is a thing, and whether men really think women are too delicate to write such awful things. We also consider why dogs can be much scarier than wolves. This book started my year off right. Ambiguous, though-provoking, and ANGRY. Kristi is not f*cking around here. Enjoy!! Such a Pretty Smile is released January 18th by St Martin’s Press. Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 74 – John Connolly and the Many Faces of Metaphysical Mystery | 11 Jan 2022 | 01:29:56 | |
Kicking off the New Year right, by interviewing one of my favourite living writers. John Connolly is the author of the bestselling Charlie Parker series, a 19 book odyssey that takes us from the Maine coast to the darkest corners of the USA (and elsewhere), in the process, transmuting hardboiled detective noir into cosmic horror. After two decades of reading about Parker, you can be sure I have plenty to ask John – about writing American horror as an Irishman, Maine’s hostile spaces, the thrilling allure of literary violence, and whether he has an end in sight. But John is also here to talk about a whole other beast. Shadow Voices: 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction is his mammoth attempt to map the contours of his native literature, and expose the snobbery that has suppressed it. We talk a lot about how genre works (and doesn’t work), and how Irish fiction is at the very bedrock of this horror thing we all love. I’m a fanboy this week, no point denying it. I just did my best not to embarrass myself – especially as we were both enjoying a festive drink! Enjoy!! Shadow Voices: 300 Years of Irish Genre Fiction was published October 2021 by Hodder and Stoughton. Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 73 – The Best Horror-ish Books of 2021 | 30 Dec 2021 | 00:47:02 | |
It’s just me this week – sneaking one last episode in to talk about my own personal top-10 horror novels (or horror-ish) from the last twelve months. It’s been a stellar year, and picking just ten books was a nightmare all of it’s own. But these things must be done. The world MUST know what one more straight, white guy thinks about culture, or society will collapse. I hope you enjoy this as I get more and more animated as things go on. It’s a good job I’m taking next week off – I’m starting to sound manic. Have a great new year folks, and thanks for all your kindness and support this year. Here’s to 2022… it surely can’t be any worse.
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok Or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 197 – Elle Nash & Insects in the Ozarks | 11 Jun 2024 | 01:15:10 | |
Elle Nash’s Deliver Me ruined my week. In the best possible way.
This book, about a woman so desperate for a child that she does truly terrible, no-good things, contains some of the bleakest, most brutal scenes I’ve read in a while. And it’s not even really being treated as a horror novel.
Elle and I talk about that.
We also talk about the hot-button topics of the novel, the patriarchy, the toxic Christianity, the… insect erotica! But we also discuss her wandering heart and the empathy and provocation that drives her work.
It’s a lovely, laid back conversation about a challenging book.
Enjoy
Other books mentioned:
Geek Love (1989), by Katherine Dunn Violent Faculties (2024), by Charlene Elsby Frisk (1991), by Dennis Cooper
Support Talking Scared on Patreon
Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 72 – State of the Horror Nation II, with Emily Hughes and Sadie Hartmann | 28 Dec 2021 | 01:53:51 | |
Well, we made it to the end of this nightmare of a year. And though there has been plenty of horrific stuff along the way – war, plague, corruption … literal armed insurrection, at least the fictional horror has been fun. To commemorate a special year in horror, I’m getting the band back together. Sadie Hartmann, AKA Mother Horror, and Emily Hughes of Tor Nightfire (and various other parishes) join me to talk about the stuff they have loved from the second half** of 2021. **if you missed our coverage of Jan-June, you can find it in episode 46. We pick the books that really stood out for us, plus many more that we enjoyed. We discuss the TV and movies that have shaken and stirred us since July, and we look ahead to the bright (dead)lights of horror to come in the New Year. We also pick apart some thorny issues plaguing the genre, like the ridiculousness of rating books by stars, and my own irritation at everything being compared to Get Out. Each of the books we mention is listed below, including an episode number if it has been previously featured on Talking Scared. Don’t look at that yet though; it’ll spoil the surprise. Enjoy, and well done for getting through the year. Books picked
Coming soon
Other books mentioned
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok Or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com | |||
| 71 – A.J. West and Paranormal Foreplay | 21 Dec 2021 | 01:10:18 | |
This week I bring you a ghost story, as befitting the season. Though it’s a little more lurid than Charles Dickens would have liked. The guest is A.J. West; the book is The Spirit Engineer. It’s one of my very favourites of 2021. Set in Belfast between the sinking of the Titanic and the outbreak of war, it’s a tale of science and the supernatural. Of William Crawford, a man who wants proof of the beyond, and will risk everything to grasp it. It’s actually based on real people and events, which I didn’t know, and still find incredible. A.J and I talk about spiritualism and deceit, about the links between sex and seances, and about the rare appearance of a truly unlikeable male protagonist. We disagree a little, AJ thinks William’s he’s an antihero, I think he’s an asshole, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is the standout character of the year for me. I hope you get chance to pour a drink, pull up a chair, and read this book over Christmas. Enjoy You can read more about the story behind The Spirit Engineer on A.J’s website, ajwestauthor.com Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok Or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||
| 70 – Ross Jeffery and Disturbing the Comfortable | 14 Dec 2021 | 01:07:42 | |
This week I am going to utterly ruin your festive mood! My guest is Ross Jeffery – author of Juniper, Tome (for which he was Bram Stoker nominated) and numerous short stories. His work is grim, gritty, gory and other words beginning with G - but they are nothing compared to the sheer horror of his latest work, Only the Stains Remain. Yeah, this is one of those special episodes in which I feel duty-bound to roll out the trigger warnings. Only the Stains Remain is about child abuse, and it pulls no punches. Feeling festive yet, Ho Ho Ho, etc. The novella is a savage revenge-trip of blood and guts in which awful things happen – but thankfully – often to awful people. So, you’ve been warned. But also be reassured. Neither the conversation, nor Ross’s book goes into exploitative details – and we manage to talk about a surprising number of very jolly things - from why Ross is drawn to such extreme projects, why writing for shock alone never really works, what it was like to be Bram Stoker-ed out of the blue, and what the members of Ross’ church make of his writing. It’s a mix of the horrific and the wholesome this week. Which could describe most of my Christmases. Enjoy Books discussed in this episode include:
Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok Or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. | |||