Episodes
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In the immortal words of Creed’s Scott Stapp, “can you take me HIIIGHER?”
Yes, I can.
Our guest this week is Nicholas Binge, author the new buzzy, horror-sci-fi novel, Ascension. It’s about a very weird, very big mountain that appears out of nowhere to lure the unwary upwards. Nothing good occurs, of course. Again…much like a Creed concert.
This is where the comparison’s to terrible post-grunge rock ends (thankfully) cos Nick and I have much more fun making comparisons to the likes of Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft… to the classic Gothic and Adventure stories that Nick mixes with his oh-so-modern science-fiction themes. Ascension is a treat for fans of both traditions.
We also talk about the place of mountains in our literature, the shattering chaos of quantum mechanics, recontextualising neurodiverse characters and the occasional shoggoth!
Enjoy!
Ascension was published on April 25th by HarperVoyager and Riverhead Books.
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Annihilation (2014), by Jeff VanderMeerThe Lost World (1912), by Arthur Conan DoyleAt the Mountains of Madness (1936), by H.P. LovecraftHouse of Leaves (2000), by Mark Z. DanielewskiFever Dream (2014), by Samanta SchweblinSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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We are paying tribute to the best of us this week. The booksellers. Keepers of the flame, beacons in the night, purveyors of meaning in a cold, dark universe … usually.
Alice Slater used to be a member of that celebrated guild, now she’s written about the light and dark side of the trade in her debut smash, Death of a Bookseller. It pulls back the curtain on an industry we all care deeply about, to reveal the obsession, madness and … murder(?) behind the chai lattes and instagram posts.
In this conversation we cover a lot of ground… from the problems inherent in True Crime, book-fetishization, and the weird empathy we feel for serial killers’ pets. Plus, I get to talk about my favourite things (see: everything mentioned so far) with someone who genuinely once worked in my local bookshop.
This was a blast.
Enjoy!
Death of a Bookseller was published on April 25th by Hodder and Scarlet
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Savage Appetites: True Stories of Women, Crime and Obsession (2019), by Rachel MonroeThe Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper (2019), by Hallie RubenholdYou (2014), by Caroline KepnesGone Girl (2012), by Gillian FlynnThe Last House on Needless Street (2021), by Catriona WardThe Sluts (2004), by Dennis CooperThings Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (2021), by Eric LaRoccaEcho (2022), by Thomas Olde HeuveltSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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No book has ever made me so painfully aware of my nipples as Katrina Monroe’s The Graveyard of Lost Children. And I won’t ever have to breastfeed.
Katrina’s novel is a full-treatment of the horrors involved in motherhood. Yes there is love, but there is also social pressure, paranoia, loneliness and chafing! And that’s before we even get to the spectral Black-Haired Woman who haunts the unlucky mothers of Katrina’s second novel. Parenting horror has seen a lot of great titles in recent years, but this may be my favourite.
In this episode we talk about changeling lore, about asylums, about the motif and metaphor of wells, and the creepiest mental health condition i’ve ever heard of.
And I guarantee this is the only horror lit podcast of the week to feature the phrase “stool sample.”
Enjoy!
The Graveyard of Lost Children was published on May 9th by Poison Pen Press
Link to The Burning of Bridget Cleary
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
They Drown our Daughters (2022), by Katrina MonroeIf We Were Villains (2017), by M. L. RioSuch a Pretty Smile (2022), by Kristi DeMeesterThe Good People (2016), by Hannah KentLast to Leave the Room (forthcoming 2023), by Caitlin StarlingSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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You will know Justin Cronin as the author of the landmark The Passage. That trilogy set the world of horror and science fiction (and all points in between) alight in the early 2000s and he’s back after eight long years, with The Ferryman. This time he’s swapping vampire plagues for something wholly more subtle … but no less terrifying. I can’t tell you what ‘cos that would ruin it for everyone, but it may shake the very building blocks of your reality.
Justin and I discuss all manner of existential worries, from the nature of reality to the malign impact of ‘wellbeing’ lifestyles. We talk about Kazuo Ishiguro, Planet of the Apes and myriad other influences that flow into the wonder, horror and awe of The Ferryman. Don’t worry, we cover The Passage too…
And he also explains how telling any story is just like telling a joke really, really well.
Enjoy!
The Ferryman was published on May 2nd by Ballantine Books and Orion
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
The Earth Abides (1948), by George StewartLonesome Dove (1985), by Larry McMurtryNever Let Me Go (2005), by Kazuo IshiguroThe Remains of the Day (1989), by Kazuo IshiguroNetherland (2008), by Joseph O’NeillPlanet of the Apes (1963), by Pierre BoulleShotgun Lovesongs (2013), by Nickolas ButlerSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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What if the world ended, not with a bang, but a slow squelch?
That’s sort-of the premise of The Marigold, the brand-new novel from Andrew F. Sullivan. In this book a slow apocalypse is corroding Toronto. Above ground, urban development is driving ecological disaster, whilst in the basements and dark places a new fungal menace is squirming from the shadow. You may never look at your own athlete’s foot the same way.
Andrew and I talk about many things, mushrooms and mycology, the weird ‘third life’ of fungus and the cosmic horror to be found in the soil and loam. We also look at how grimy 80s exploitation movies influenced his book, and I discover an awful lot about raccoons.
A great conversation about a unique book.
Enjoy!
The Marigold was published on April 18th by ECW Press
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Annihilation (2014), by Jeff VanderMeerWhat Moves the Dead (2022), by T. KingfisherThe Deluge (2023), by Stephen MarkleyFollow Me To Ground (2018), by Sue RainsfordNight Terror: Troubled Sleep and the Stories We Tell About It (2023), by Alice VernonSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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This week we’re dissecting spectres and excavating the haunted house in Ai Jiang’s word-of-mouth smash, Linghun.
Ai’s novella is a blast. A read-in-one-sitting tale of grief and greed and ghosts and what the word HOME really means. We go deep, talking about different cultural iterations of the supernatural, the impact of location on writing style…and the horrors of the Edinburgh vaults.
Enjoy!
Linghun was published on April 4th by Dark Matter INK
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Back to the Island this week! With Rachel Eve Moulton and The Insatiable Volt Sisters.
Rachel sophomore novel is the weirdest island story since Lost, or Brexit. It features a strange family with a stranger secret, curses, killer quarry ponds and the wearing of other people’s skin. And yet you probably still want to visit Fowler Island (I did).
We talk about working with surrealism, about writing volatile sisters and gendered monsters, and about the wonderful horror-lure of island life.
It’s worth noting, we also spend time discussing famous suicide hotspots – this seems like something you should know in advance.
Enjoy!
The Insatiable Volt Sisters was published on April 4th by FSG
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Tinfoil Butterfly (2019), by Rachel Eve MoultonHurricane Girl (2022), by Marcy DermanskyDiary (2003), by Chuck PalahniukThe House of Dies Drear (1968), by Virginia Hamilton“The Raft”, in Skeleton Crew (1985), by Stephen KingSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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Fairy tales are the first horror stories, right? Kids being eaten by witches, narcissistic imps who steal your babies. That’s the good stuff.
Kelly Link knows a thing or two about the darkness inside fairy tales, and how to (re)tell them for maximum effect. She is a superstar of the short story, a Pultizer nominee and someone who just plain knows a lot of interesting stuff.
Her new collection, White Cat, Black Dog takes some of your favourite stories and twists them into new shapes. Some you’ll recognise, most you won’t (unless you have a degree in folklore or just run to Wikipedia to look smart). We talk about how and why she reinvents stories, why she wishes every story was a ghost story, and how she controls the extreme weirdness in her fiction.
Oh, and she also indulges me as I ask her lots of questions about my favourite story in years. One she wrote. You’ll be sick of me saying the title by the end.
Enjoy!
White Cat, Black Dog was published on March 28th
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
The Women Could Fly (2022), by Megan GiddingsGet In Trouble: Stories (2015), by Kelly LinkWhen Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (2021), ed. by Ellen DatlowOur Share of Night (2022), by Mariana EnriquezSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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Terrible times and awful words await us this week. Thankfully, on this show that’s a good thing!
Our guest is Max Booth III, the wizard behind Ghoulish Books and the author of bathroom-set apocalypse, We Need to Do Something. He’s here to talk about his new collection of uber-dark stories, Abnormal Statistics.
These tales are pitch black, treacle-thick pieces of clotted nastiness. Bad things happen to lots of people, most frequently children (but never dogs). Many a mind is tortured and many a tooth is sucked (!!)
Max and I talk about how these stories reflect his own disjointed childhood. We talk about awful true crimes and why he’s addicted to information that is bad for him. We also try to pin down precisely what it is about human teeth that seem so universally unnerving… plus some references to my favourite creepypasta stories.
This is the best bad time you’ll have this week.
Enjoy!
Abnormal Statistics was published by Apocalypse Party on March 23rd
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
The Haunting of Camp Winter Falcon (2022), by Jonathan RaabThis Appearing House (2022), by Ally Malinenko“The Whimper of Whipped Dogs” (1973), by Harlan EllisonSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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Wagons West this week, with a guest I’ve been trying to get on the show since the early days. It’s Victor Lavalle.
I had always wanted to speak to him about The Ballad of Black Tom in the dream that we could join together to call Lovecraft names. As it turns out, that will have to wait, cos he’s brought out a brand-new novel … and it’s a Weird Western.
Cue squealing!! It’s one of my favourite sub-genres.
We talk about homesteading and wilderness, about bad neighbours and New York City, about family and fidelity to truth and the need for happy endings … and there’s an awful lot of chat about monsters.
This is one of the best episodes of the year so far. You’ll learn, you’ll laugh, you’ll almost certainly cry. Why aren’t you crying? What’s wrong with you? Are you heartless??
Enjoy!
Lone Women was published by on March 28thth by One World
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
The Ballad of Black Tom (2016), by Victor LavalleThe Changeling (2017), by Victor LavalleThe Devil in Silver (2012), by Victor LavalleMontana Women Homesteaders: A Field of One’s Own (2009), by Dr Sarah CarterThe Autobiography of My Mother (1996), by Jamaica KincaidSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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There is no cool and collected way to introduce this week’s episode. Our guest is Margaret Atwood.
Yes, that Margaret Atwood. The author of The Handmaid’s Tale. One of the few writer’s who genuinely deserves to be called an icon (though she may be tired of the term). She published her first novel in 1969 and now as she enters her seventh decade of writing, her stories are no less challenging or surprising.
Her new collection, Old Babes in the Wood is a feast of darkness and light. It swerves from myth to sci-fi, to body horror, all bookended by stories about love and loss and grief. And she came on this little show to talk about it.
We unveil the inspirations behind some of the stories. We talk about disease and dystopia through history, the dangers of Canadian wilderness, men who turn into bears, the relationship of horror and slapstick, and her own haunted house.
It was a privilege.
Enjoy!
Old Babes in the Wood was published by on March 7th by Vintage and Doubleday
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
Bunny (2019), by Mona AwadCarmilla (1872), by Sheridan Le Fanu The Handmaids Tale (1984), by Margaret AtwoodOryx and Crake (2003), by Margaret AtwoodAlias Grace (1996), by Margaret AtwoodLady Oracle (1976), by Margaret AtwoodBlack Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature (1983), ed. Alberto ManguelDark Arrows: Chronicles of Revenge (1985), ed. Alberto ManguelOn Writing (2000), by Stephen KingThe Death of Grass (1956), by John ChristopherSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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Vampires, finally! After years of recording a horror podcast, I’ve finally recorded a conversation about the first thing you all probably think of if I said “horror monster.” Actually, at this very moment, maybe you’d name a Floridian politician but you get my drift…
I’m delighted to be joined by Jacqueline Holland, to talk about her new novel of bloodsucking and cursed immortality, The God of Endings. As with so many books featured on this show, it’s an offbeat look at an old trope, with a vampire that has no problem with garlic and who is not at all horny! She’s also a pre-school teacher in the 80s. That’s REALLY hardcore!
Jacqueline and I talk about horror imposter-syndrome, the history of New England vampires, monstrous mothers, the terror of living forever, and how she has always been…in her own words… a dark weirdo.
Enjoy!
The God of Endings was published by on February 7th by Flatiron Books
Other books mentioned in this episode include:
What I Didn’t See, and Other Stories (2002), by Karen Joy FowlerWe Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013), by Karen Joy FowlerFood for the Dead: On the Trail of New England’s Vampires (2001), by Michael BellSomething Wicked This Way Comes (1962), by Ray BradburyThe Martian Chronicles (1950), by Ray BradburyThe Shining (1977), by Stephen KingJust Like Mother (2022), by Anne Heltzel – Episode 92The Upstairs House (2021), by Julia Fine – Episode 27Support Talking Scared on Patreon
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This week I take a road trip with Matt Ruff, into the more monstrous corners of the universe. Sure, some of them are alien planets… but some are here on earth, with the racists!
Matt is best known as the author of 2016’s Lovecraft Country. He never planned to write a sequel, yet here it is. The Destroyer of Worlds picks up several years later, when Atticus, Letetia, Montrose and Hipolyta et al are still battling malign forces both human and otherworldly.
I went into it nervously, thinking surely a white author can’t pull of a story about Black characters in Jim Crow America without really sh***ing the bed. I was wrong!
Matt and I debate the responsibility and potential pitfalls of the project, and what his books get right that other ventriloquised stories get wrong. But we also talk about monsters and comic horror and the terror and joy of a wide-open universe. And of course, Lovecraft. Though, not kindly.
Enjoy!
The Destroyer of Worlds was published by on February 21st by HarperCollinsSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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I like my ghosts like I like my podcasts – weird and slightly furious.
Thankfully, this week delivers on both counts – with Johnny Compton’s The Spite House delivering more ghosts than you think you could fit into 250-pages … and none of them are anything less than fuming!
Johnny talks us through the odd, off-kilter history of spite houses, we trace the legacy of the American haunted house novel, discuss ghost lore and dismiss orbs. We talk about complex father figures and I have my smuggest ever moment of being accidentally right about something.
It’s a blast. Johnny is a joy to talk to and his book gives great ghostliness.
Enjoy!
The Spite House was published by on February 7th by Tor Nightfire.
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It’s a Valentine’s day episode and what better to celebrate today than a conversation about cruelty, brutal folklore, political terror and black magic? Don’t tell me I don’t understand my audience.
I’m beyond delighted to welcome Mariana Enriquez to the show to talk about her massive novel, Our Share of Night. It features all of the above ingredients, in a 700+ page roam through decades of Argentinian history, demonic misconduct.
This ranks amongst the most unstructured conversations I’ve had on this show. I just say some words and then let Mariana let rip. But to give you a taster – we cover her current boredom with the short story, the double standard of harming kids in fiction, houses that eat people, Freddie Krueger and Heathclife and why horror is inevitable in Argentinian fiction
Enjoy!
Our Share of Night was published by Granta in the UK in October, 2022 and in the US on 7th February, 2023 by Hogarth
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Black Maybe: Liminal Tales (2022), by Attila VeresThe Dangers of Smoking in Bed (2009), by Mariana EnriquezThings We Lost in the Fire (2017), by Mariana EnriquezShuggie Bain (2020), by Douglas StuartIn Patagonia (1977), by Bruce ChatwinMary: An Awakening of Terror (2022), by Nat CassidyREAD: Smithsonian article about Chiloe and the imbunche
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Are you ready for another bloody confrontation? Same rules, different setting (actually still my attic bedroom) and more gore?
Stephen Graham Jones AKA Professor Slasher, returns to Talking Scared to discuss Don’t Fear the Reaper, the sequel to his zeitgeist-blasting slasher-ode, My Heart is a Chainsaw. Reaper takes us back to Proofrock, Idaho for a freezing night of rage and bloodshed, with returning favourites and a whole new killer who reads like the distillation of American carnage.
That all sounds suitably epic. Hopefully this conversation matches. Stephen and I talk about favourite slasher sequels, minority monsters in fiction, getting to know Jade Daniels even better, and the importance of writing yourself into a corner.
This is an episode a lot of you have been waiting for. Enjoy. And watch out for hook-handed men.
Enjoy!
Don’t Fear the Reaper was published by Saga and Titan Books on 7th February, 2023
Other books mentioned in this episode:
Maeve Fly (2023), by C.J. LeadeMy Heart is a Chainsaw (2021), by Stephen Graham JonesThe Final Girl Support Group (2021), by Grady HendrixMoon of the Crusted Snow (2018), by Waubgeshig RiceSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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It’s not even the end of January and we’re already dealing with the second apocalypse of the year.
This one is written by CJ Tudor, whose new novel, The Drift, moves her out of the crime chillers she is best-known for, into a whole other world of horror.
It’s a series of locked room mysteries, occurring in the hideous aftermath of global pandemic. And if you are a little sick of global pandemics (who isn’t?) then at least this one has rage zombies and lots of murder.
CJ and I talk about many things, from genre expectations, to failed novels, grief to TV adaptation – but the pandemic is a dominant theme. We talk about about some personal loss, so if that would be a trigger for you, go in pre-warned.
But mostly, it’s a lovely chat with “Britain’s answer to Stephen King.”
Enjoy!
The Drift was published by Penguin on Jan 19th in the UK and Jan 31st in the US.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Burning Girls (2021), by C.J. Tudor
The Chalk Man (2018), by C.J. Tudor
Sign Here (2022), by Claudia Lux
To contribute to Laird Barron’s GoFundMe, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/laird-barron-hospital-costs-medication-costs.
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When it comes to stress, they say selling a house is up there with divorce and death. Now imagine that house is haunted… by demonic puppets.
Yeah – that’s the premise of Grady Hendrix’s brand-new horror novel, How to Sell a Haunted House. It combines Grady’s trademark humour, genre-knowledge and playfulness, with a genuinely frightening story about homes, and all the things they contain, both comforting and downright nasty.
Grady and I dive into the economics of haunting, the value of earnestness in a world of irony, and we discover the difference between marionettes and hand puppets … which is more frightening that you would expect.
It’s a fun conversation, about a joyfully creepy book.
Enjoy!
How To Sell A Haunted House was published by Berkley on Jan 17th 2003.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Final Girl Support Group (2020), by Grady HendrixHorrorstör (2014), by Grady HendrixWe Sold Our Souls (2018), by Grady HendrixMy Heart is a Chainsaw (2020), by Stephen Graham JonesThe Pallbearer’s Club (2022), by Paul TremblayMoth Manor (1978), by Martha Sherman BaconTo donate to the fundraiser for Laird Barron, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/laird-barron-hospital-costs-medication-costs, and thanks SO much.
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…AAAND WE’RE BACK!
I hope you’re slipping into 2023 like it’s a warm bath, but either way this week’s episode will be a cold, sharp system shock.
The guest is Stephen Markley; the book is The Deluge – a 900-page beast of ecological and societal disintegration, and the best book I have read in decades. Imagine The Stand was based on rigorous scientific research and was, y’know, about to happen to us all for real.
Yeah! This is a scary one, even if it would never be listed in the horror part of the bookshop.
Stephen and I talk about (re)considering apocalyptic fiction, choosing characters, how real events outpaced the writing of the book, and how the climate crisis forces us to ask some uncomfortable questions about social issues.
Like the book I question, this episode is heavy and challenging and frightening, but maybe… just maybe… it will give you some hope.
Enjoy!
The Deluge was published by Simon & Schuster on Jan 10th 2003.
Other books mentioned in this episode:
The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet (2022) by Hal Harvey and Justin GillisWorld War Z (2006), by Max BrooksZen and the Art of Saving the Planet (2021), by Thich Nhat HanhThe Stand (1990), by Stephen KingSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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The year is almost over. What is left to do except offer you my last-minute ranking of the best books I’ve read and enjoyed in 2022.
I will warn you – I am poorly and my voice sounds like ten miles of bad gravel. This sounds like the Reba McIntyre book club. I am HUSKY!!
Hang around for the afterword when my voice finally gives out as I labour over a long and elaborate thank-you for listening and supporting the show this year. At times 2022 has felt like a waking nightmare, but here in Spookybooklandia, we’ve kept things ironically nice.
Love to you all.
Happy New Year. Here’s to the next.
Books mentioned:
A Child Alone With Strangers (2022), by Philip FracassiAll the White Spaces (2022), by Ally Wilkes Mary: An Awakening of Terror (2022), by Nat Cassidy Burn the Plans (2022), by Tyler Jones The Hollow Kind (2022), by Andy DavidsonScreams from the Dark (2022), ed. Ellen DatlowHouse of Hunger (2022), by Alexis HendersonReluctant Immortals (2022), by Gwendolyne KisteThen I Woke Up (2022), by Malcolm DevlinThe Clackity (2022), by Lora SenfSupport Talking Scared on Patreon
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