Fear Feasts

What would you do if you were a young lady and were proposed to by the local lord who was hideous and had a ghastly beard? What would you do if your poverty compelled you to accept his offer and you moved with him to his magnificent castle in Brittany, complete with servants, jewels, delectable foods and much wine? What would you do if your husband gave you the keys to all the rooms in his castle...

In this episode of Fear Feasts, Alessandra and Vanessa venture into the dark fairy-tale world of Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece, Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Set in Spain in 1944, against the backdrop of Franco's dictatorship, the film follows young Ophelia as she navigates a brutal world of political repression while simultaneously undertaking a series of mysterious supernatural tasks. T...

What would you do if you fell in love with a prince on a boat who ate oysters and fell overboard? Since you're a mermaid, you'd save him and fall madly in love with him, right? What would you do if you sold your singing voice to the sea witch and her flesh-eating eels to become human? What would you do if your husband kidnapped a mermaid and kept trying to feed her fish and potatoes when a...

What would you do if your horrible mother married a dude with a beautiful daughter and made you and your plain sister feel terrible about yourselves? What would you do if your beautiful stepsister became the house servant and went around in ugly clothes with ashes in her hair and no shoes? What if your mother tried to make you pretty and didn't allow you to eat? What if you found out there was...

What would you do if you were a young lady with hair black as ebony, lips red as rubies, and skin white as snow? You'd probably be called Snow White, right? What if your father married a woman who hated you and she tried to have you killed so she could eat your heart and absorb your beauty? What would you do if you were rescued by dwarves and a wicked witch tried to kill you AGAIN by making yo...

This week, we dive into Tale of Tales (dir. Matteo Garrone, 2015) and explore the rich tapestry of fairy tales by Giambattista Basile on which the film is based. Drawing from Basile’s 17th-century collection Lo cunto de li cunti (also known as The Pentamerone ), we look at how the film adapts these dark, fantastical stories for a contemporary audience- examining themes, imagery, and the enduring p...

What would you do if you and your sibling kept being kicked out of the house by your mean and starving mother and were left to find food on your own? What if you came across a house made of candy, gingerbread and sugar? You'd start eating it unless you were dumb. What if the house was owned by a witch who wanted to fatten you and your sibling up so she could eat you? Gross, right? What if the...

What would you do if you were a young woman running through the forest in a red cape, taking cake and wine to your dear grandmother, and were surprised by the big bad wolf? What if you found out that your grandmother was actually a wolf herself? What if the wolf turned out to be a man who could shapeshift? What if the wolf ate you and your grandmother for lunch? What if the wolf loved sausages and...

We are thrilled to introduce you to Season Five! We'll be analyzing the connections between food and horror in fairy tales, both literature and in film. After all, what is more frightening than being eaten by a wolf, getting lost in the woods because birds ate your breadcrumb trail, eating a poisoned apple, having your coach revert back into a pumpkin, or having a witch take away your pregnant...

Serve It Forth: A Food History Festival   18 October 2025 – Online We’re bringing together writers, historians, podcasters, and curious minds for a day of delicious discovery. Talks, conversations… all from the comfort of your own kitchen. In this bonus episode, Allie (one dark half of Fear Feasts!) is joined by her friends and fellow food historians Thomas Ntinas, Sam Bilton, and Neil Buttery. To...

What would you do if your mother lost her mind, cut off your dad's finger, went into a mental institution, came out and wanted to cook up a feast for Halloween? That's the premise of Guile Branco's darkly hilarious and horrific film A Halloween Feast, and the subject of our bonus episode today! We interviewed Branco on his latest film, the connection between food and horror (something...

Allie and Vanessa sink their teeth into Salem’s Lot , exploring the hunger that haunts Stephen King’s classic novel, the eerie 1979 miniseries by Tobe Hooper, and Gary Dauberman’s 2024 film. From small-town suppers to vampiric cravings, this episode serves up a feast of unholy appetites…

What would you do if you were a gorgeous blond vampire who loved attention and fame but were constantly seeking new diversions? What if being immortal and unable to enjoy treats such as red wine, chocolate custard, pasta and steak was getting to be too much to bear? What if drinking blood and living perpetually at night had lost its charm? What if a strange man made you an offer of switching bodie...

A devilishly delectable taste of next week's episode!

This very fun and special episode features our favorite guest, Jamieson Ridenhour, creator of the podcast Palimpsest, as we analyze Sheridan Le Fanu's masterpiece of vampirism. Jamieson Ridenhour https://www.jamiesonridenhourwriter.com/ Carmilla (1871-72) J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Edited by Jamieson Ridenhour (2009) Available at:  https://www.valancourtbooks.com/carmilla-1871-72.html Carmilla Josep...

A horrifyingly hungry taste of next week's episode!

What would you do if you were a bored Southern housewife in a book club that focused on true crime, horror and murder, in addition to drinking wine and eating lots of snacks? What would you do if your boring doctor husband and bratty, dysfunctional kids befriended the strange new guy who moved in just next door? What would you do if the strange new guy started showing up at your house around dinne...

A tastily terrifying tidbit of next week's episode!

What would you do if you were an angst-ridden teenager with a secret crush on the new boy in the neighborhood and a taste for fish and chips? What would you do if your vomiting vegan sister was chased through the woods, nearly attacked then turned around and killed her would-be assaulter by sinking her teeth into him? What would you do if your seemingly normal mother, who loved to bake bread, make...

A scrumptiously scary taste of our upcoming episode!

What would you do if you were working as a waitress for a catering company, trying hard to make ends meet and serving bloody beef carpaccio at every event? What if you took a DNA test and received an invitation to an elegant wedding from a your long-lost cousin in England that you barely knew? What if, when you got to the estate where the wedding was being held, you met the estate owner and fell i...

A diabolically delicious taste of our upcoming episode!

We are hosting our annual Christmas episode with a very special guest! The talented and witty Jamieson Ridenhour, creator of the podcast Palimpsest and author of many works of horror, joins us as we discuss horror, feminism, cheap brandy, snickerdoodles and obscene phone calls in the 1974 masterpiece Black Christmas , and its less-than-stellar remakes from 2006 and 2019, so please join us! Learn m...

What would you do if you were a young girl in the 1970s with a diplomat father, a vanished mother, an addiction to sweet desserts, and a possible family secret involving a famous Transylvanian count whose family symbol was a dragon? What would you do if one day your father disappeared to search for your mother and you were left to go after him, traveling through various cities and eating bread and...

A deliciously diabolical taste of our upcoming episode!