The Spooky Scholars Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

I'm with actor David Hern who was involved in the spinoff series,Freddy’s Nightmares, among other horror finds like Summercamp Nightmare and Zombie Voodoo Scream Party.

In our conversation, David gives his insight on being a working actor and some healthy, practical advice for anyone looking to get into the business.  

You can find out more about David and his take on being an actor in his book, How Not to Make it in Hollywood

Hypnosis and the 'evil psychiatrist' is a horror movie trope of a storyline that goes ALL the way back to the very first horror film. So is this one of our deepest rooted fears?

In this episode a real life hypnotist gives her take on several hypnosis horror movies that really gave real hypnotherapists a hard time in the middle of last century.

We'll also look at how hypnosis is portrayed in modern horror and whether it's accurate or just a fun and powerful device to add to the idea of mind control and demon possession.

*This episode may contain spoilers for:

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

The Hypnotic Eye (1960)

Horrors of the Black Museum (1960)

Suitable Flesh (2023)

Get Out (2018)

Camp and Cult Classic horror seem to go hand in hand at times but there IS a difference! With help from some experts like Susan Sontag to help us sort through it all and we'll talk about the classic films we love but some people really really hate!

We'll also look at how these movies amass a following over time and what kind of 'cults' are created from this film worship.

*this episode is spoiler free!

Kimberley Pinzon joins me to discuss her book, Final Girl Redux: A Relaxed Exploration of Women’s Place in Horror. And, as happens when two horror nerds get together, we go into a lot of other ideas and films as well.

Kimberly is especially wise in is how gender is portrayed in horror movies and she has new insights you may not have thought of before when it comes to final girls and the representation of all genders in horror films.

So get ready to see even your favourite movies in a new way!

*Somewhat Spoilers:

Get Out

Hereditary

Hostel

Behind the Mask

*Bonus material and show notes on patreon.com/spookyscholars

Does your favourite horror movie pass the test? Maybe it does with you, but what if we're talking about representation and diversity in film (and we are!)

Tests like the Bechdel, Mako Mari and the Sexy Lamp test aim to call out lack of representation of race, gender (happy pride!) and disabilities so that we're not left with superficial and flat characters.

We want more from our horror, right?

Join me to see who will pass or fail miserably [HINT: it's not who you think!]

Pink Horror is a fierce and expanding subgenre - but what is it exactly? Horror for girls? Rage horror? Feminists on their $#!* again?

Author Wendy Dalrymple is championing the genre with her work and support of the writers and film directors who are bringing women's issues to the forefront of horror and, even though you may not think so, it's something for everyone of every background and orientation to enjoy.

Wendy gives us more than a peek at pink horror with a robust starter pack of authors and films to add to our TBR and TBW lists.

In this episode Ashe is joined by Wendy Dalrymple @wendydalrymplewrites

Have you heard?!

King Charles's 'blood ritual portrait' that has a striking resemblance to Dracula and Vigo the Carpathian in Ghostbusters 2?...

...The Met Gala missed the point of the dystopian short story theme they chose?Gross!

...Also, Stormy Daniels, among other things she's up to lately... is directing horror?

Yikes! We gotta talk about this!

In this episode we look at current events from this month (and this week!) that have surprising and even shocking horror connections.

Have you ever heard sparrows described as 'vicious' or 'hateful'? Have you ever thought they could be liminal creatures or soul carriers?

Find out more about the dark reputation of this omnipresent and seemingly innocent and sweet little bird in this episode.

We'll fly from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina to *spoilers of* Stephen King's The Dark Half to learn more and see sparrows in a whole new spooky way!

Does horror make you want to snuggle or want your space?

How about this: have you ever heard that horror could "scare us into submission to perform socially acceptable gender roles?" Ummmm, What?!

Well, it's all true and wrapped up in a neat little (deceiving) bow called, 'snuggle theory'.

And while it sounds super ick to our 2024 ears, we're going to step INTO IT on this episode and find out what it is and if it has any place now in our world or in our horror.

Y'know those shirts? The ones you might call a 'baseball tee'?

Well, they have a name - Raglan Shirts. And the history of the Raglan and Lord Raglan goes back A LOT farther than you think.

On this episode I look at the history of the Raglan shirt and why it very often pops up in horror movies. Hint: there's a practical reason - not just a fashionable one.

Together we'll complete the compiling of a list of Raglans all over horror movies and prove that it is the quintessential horror costume for final girls and killers alike!