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Things get disinhibited on Talking Scared this week, when CJ Leede joins us for a conversation about her new novel, American Rapture.

The novel plunges middle America into a torrid apocalypse, as a sexual plague spreads across the nation, creating “lust hell on earth.” In this framework, C.J crafts a story of sexual awakening, sacrifice, found family, hypocrisy and cruelty. It’s a book that is both extreme and comforting in equal measure.

We talk about that crazy balancing act, about the threat of fundamentalist thought, the terror of demons, the delights of Americana, and the cathartic power of killing your characters.

Oh…and gear up for some very forthright opinions on religion.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• Maeve Fly (2023), by C.J. Leede
• American Gods (2001), by Neil Gaiman
• Bury Your Gays (2024), by Chuck Tingle
• Camp Damascus (2023), by Chuck Tingle

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Hold hands, we need to stick together.

This week’s episode plunges us into the impossible and endless dark, with Sofia Ajram and her experimental, existential headf*ck of a debut novella, Coup de Grâce. It’s the tale of a man who gets lost in an endless subway station – and the monsters inside (and inside himself)

We talk about everything from the mythical history of mazes, to legends of the early internet, the mystery of Elisa Lam and what Sonic the Hedgehog has to tell us about the readers role in a story. Plus, a fair bit of chat about mental health, depression and suicidal ideation.

That makes it sound a lot less fun than it is, but only fair to warn you.

This is an episode for the adventurous and terminally online.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• I Am the River (2018), by T.E. Grau
• Water Statues (1980), by Fleur Jaeggy
• Misery (1987), by Stephen King
• House of Leaves (2000), by Mark Z. Danielewski

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I started Off Book so that I could speak to some of the brightest dark stars in the wider universe of horror.

This week that plan comes to absolute fruition – ‘cos Kate Siegel is Talking Scared!

Yes, Kate Siegel, scream-queen of our generation, horror maven, acting superstar and now director of extraterrestrial found-footage nightmare (!!) ”Stowaway.” (a segment from the new V/H/S Beyond)

Kate talks to me about the steep learning curve of making that short, the camera techniques she uses to disorientate, bewilder and horrify. She talks about her approach to finding character, especially in her collaborations with her husband, Mike Flanagan – and she talks about the horror stories she loves most in the world.

She also calls me out very early on. How the hell did I recover??

Enjoy!

V/H/S Beyond is streaming now on Shudder

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Release your inner child!

…I mean through reading, not by letting it burst out of your stomach like some horrible sugar-coated xenomorph.

Lora Senf can help. Her Blight Harbor Trilogy is a piece of magic, an umbilicus of imagination between the tired old grump that you’re halfway to becoming, and the wide-eyed wonder you once were.

Lora and I talk about the challenge and reward of writing horror for kids, we talk about the influence of M.C Escher and his mad architecture, we talk about Bradbury and King and other inspirations (including the tiny role that I played in this story). And we also talk about the profound heartsick sorrow of loneliness.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• The Hike (2016), by Drew Magary
• The Library at Mount Char (2015), by Scott Hawkins
• “Kaleidoscope,” (1949), by Ray Bradbury
• All Summer in a Day (1954), by Ray Bradbury
• “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950), by Ray Bradbury
• The Foghorn (1950), by Ray Bradbury
• Pet Semetary (1983), by Stephen King
• Misery (1987) by Stephen King
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), by Ray Bradbury
• Coraline (2002), by Neil Gaiman
• The House With a Clock in its Walls (1973), by John Bellairs

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More devilish fun on Talking Scared this week when an old friend returns to talk about god, angels, demons and other things out there in the cold reaches of the universe.

Johnny Compton is the author of The Spite House, one of my most admired books from 2022. In his newest, Devils Kill Devils, he starts with a compelling question – “what if your Guardian Angel was a murderous threat” – and then heads off in grander directions.

We talk about how Johnny’s childhood religious confusion played a role in this book, what we both love about world-building and fan-theories, and our shared enthusiasm for the Alien universe. And Johnny gives my current favourite answer to the questions “what really freaked him out recently?”

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

The Spite House (2022), by Johnny Compton

Carrion Comfort (1989), by Dan Simmons

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Keith Rosson is our first guest to be personally recommended by Stephen King!

And the praise doesn’t stop there. Keith’s Fever House was one of the biggest hits of 2023, and now he’s back with the sequel, The Devil By Name, which takes the contained punk-rock fury of the first book in a whole different, nation-spanning direction.

This is an epic tale of occult magic, diabolical messages, punk rock, political machinations and, eventually, apocalypse. So there’s a lot to talk about. And I hope you enjoy the following. Especially the part where I crowbar Stevie Nicks into the conversation, because I’ve developed the world’s most belated obsession with her.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• Mercy of the Tide (2017), by Keith Rosson
• Spiral (1995), by Koji Suzuki
• The Stand (1990), by Stephen King
• Knockemstiff (2008), by Donald Ray Pollock
• The Low Desert: Gangster Stories (2021), by Tod Goldberg
• Controlled Burn: Stories of Prison, Crime, and Men (2005), by Scott Wolven

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Laird Barron is on the podcast. This feels like cause for celebration.

Not only is Laird Barron a phenomenal writer. Not only is it wonderful that he’s back to writing and talking about writing. Not only am I lucky to be able to speak to him…

We also talked about DOGS!

Granted, a cybernetic, immortal monster hound called Rex – but a dog nonetheless. That’s just one of the crazy concepts that make up the stories in Laird’s new collection, Not a Speck of Light… and I mean crazy. These stories involve evil fathers, strange invasions, billionaire bird-women and a disaster-addicted monster – and we talk about how Laird balances the bizarre and brutal, the cosmic and the cynical, the horrific and the hardboiled.

Plus a lot of info on a very exciting project he’s currently working hard on.

Let’s all just be happy, Laird Barron is back. He’s writing. And he’s Talking Scared.

Enjoy.

Join the Laird Barron Reddit Read-along

Other books mentioned:

• When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (2021), edited by Ellen Datlow
• The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All (2013), by Laird Barron
• Blood Standard (2018), by Laird Barron
• The Fisherman (2016), by John Langan
• “On Skua Island” – in Mr Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (2009), by John Langan
• The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron (2014), edited by Ross E. Lockhart and Jason Steele
• The Delicate Prey, and Other Stories (1950), by Paul Bowles
• The Sheltering Sky (1949), by Paul Bowles

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Are you a Weenie? Don’t be offended. I am.

Weenies are the curious-but-nervous. Those of us who love horror, but who never feel safe from its power to ruin our sleep (and a week of our life). If that’s you, or if you know someone who suffers from Weenie-ism, then Emily Hughes is here!

Emily’s new book, Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch is a public service for the scared. It will save relationships, help ease you into horror and hopefully teach you a thing or two about fear along the way.

In this conversation, we talk about how Emily came to write this most particular of books, and how she chose which films made the grade. We also hear about her own relationship with horror, from the film that haunted her as a child all the way to her grown-up reintroduction to scary movies.

And I finally try to back up my dislike for Hereditary.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• Birdbox (2014), by Josh Malerman
• Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films (2022), by Nina Nesseth
• Tampa (2013), by Alissa Nutting
• Come Closer (2003), by Sara Gran
• The Family Plot (2016) by Cherie Priest
• Camp Damascus (2023), by Chuck Tingle
• Cuckoo (2024), by Gretchen Felker-Martin
• Manhunt (2022), by Gretchen Felker-Martin

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