Horror from the High Desert

On this inaugural edition of the Horror From the High Desert "Book Club," Bram Stoker Award-winning author Christa Carmen ("The Daughters of Block Island," "Beneath the Poet's House") returns to the podcast to talk with Scotty about Tracy Sierra's superlative home-invasion thiller "Nightwatching" (2024, Pamela Dorman Books). They discuss the novel's unique h...

Time for another The Weirdest Thing crossover with special guest/cohost Amelia Ampuero. She joins Scotty this week to do a deep dive into AMC's adaptation/re-imagining of Anne Rice's classic novel "Interview With the Vampire" (which just finished its second season this summer). Need something to binge over the holidays? You could sure do a lot worse than this series. WARNING: Spoilers be...

Author Belicia Rhea comes onto the podcast to talk to Scotty about influences as diverse as Ray Bradbury, Bruno Schulz, and "House of Leaves," terrible elementary school teachers, amazing college professors, and establishing her own voice in the strange netherworld between surrealism, literary fiction, and horror. And they discuss her short fiction, as well as her debut novella "Vor...

Author and filmmaker Joshua Hull comes onto the podcast to talk to Scotty about making microbudget horror films in Indiana, how his love of alternative movie posters lead to his first nonfiction book project "Underexposed! The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made" (2021, Abrams Books), finding the perfect collaborators in making the acclaimed comedy-horror film "Glorious" (2022, Shudd...

Two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author V. Castro comes onto the podcast to talk to Scotty about growing up in Texas, her early interest in horror , the inspiration she draws from Mexican culture and history, using her fiction to explore themes of grief and trauma while also creating space for joy, hope, and sexuality in her work, and more. They discuss her acclaimed, Stoker-nominated novella...

Author C.J. Leede returns to the podcast, this time to talk to Scotty about her new novel "American Rapture" (October 15, Tor Nightfire). They discuss the influence of her religious upbringing, her thoughts on purity culture, their mutual anxiety about the apocalypse, their shared love of American kitsch, and more. They also talk about this year's surprise hit "The First Omen,"...

Author N.J. Gallegos returns to the podcast to talk to Scotty about her new novel "The Fatal Mind" (October 15, Winding Road Stories). They talk about N.J.'s day job as an ER doctor, and how that inspired the particular suspense in "The Fatal Mind." They also discuss concussions, moral gray areas, murky ethics, the rush that happens when saving a life...and the specific squick-...

This week Scotty talks to Bram Stoker Award-winning author/editor James Chambers about his upcoming anthology "Where the Silent Ones Watch" (Oct 6, Hippocampus Press). Featuring genre luminaries like John Langan, Nancy Holder, Lee Murray, Michael Cisco, and many more, this anthology is inspired by the work of famed weird fiction writer William Hope Hodgson — author of the classic novels...

This week Scotty talks to authors Rae Wilde and C.S. Humble about Rae's forthcoming dark fiction collection "I Do Not Apologize About My Position on Men" (November 2024, Off Limits Press). They discuss the individual stories, feminist and sapphic horror in general, Rae's unique connection to and fascination with the sea, the practice of decentering men in her fiction, the act of depictin...

Listen to Part 2 of this special BONUS EPISODE featuring the new anthology “The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks,” edited by Tom Deady and published September 3, 2024 by Greymore Publishing. In Part 2, Scotty talks to: Cover Artist Lynne Hansen Author Johnny Compton (“A Devil We Used to Know”) Author Rebecca Rowland ("Better By You, Better Than Me”) Author Richard Chizmar (...

Listen to Part 1 of a special BONUS EPISODE featuring the new anthology “The Rack: Stories Inspired by Vintage Horror Paperbacks,” edited by Tom Deady and published September 3, 2024 by Greymore Publishing. In Part 1, Scotty talks to: Editor Tom Deady Author Christa Carmen (“Blood of My Blood”) Author Larry Hinkle (That Chemical Glow”) Author Candace Nola (“They Look Back”) Author Ronald Malfi (“O...

This week Scotty talks to Christa Carmen about her Bram Stoker Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated first novel "The Daughters of Block Island" (2023, Thomas & Mercer), as well as her upcoming novel "Beneath the Poet's House" (due in December of this year). They discuss the importance of Stephen King's "On Writing" on her early career, the influence o...

Scotty talks to award-winning author Rena Mason about her upbringing in both northern California and upstate New York, her early introduction to horror through "Godzilla" and Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are," how a bad experience with an English professor, family obligations, and her career as an OR nurse steered her away from a literary career, but how a frustratin...

Scotty talks to Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award-winning author, editor, anthologist, and publisher Eric J. Guignard about growing up in sunny southern California, how his early interest in "Hardy Boys" adventure novels combined with his fascination with the short horror tale to craft his own unique sensibility, and how--after the 2008 financial crash--he finally decided to pursue h...

Author Angela Sylvaine returns, this time to talk to Scotty about about her debut fiction collection "The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls" (2024, Dark Matter INK). They do a deep dive into the inspiration and history behind some of the individual stories, and they discuss the theme of "lost girls" more generally. They also talk about the upcoming re-release of Angela's freshly...

Boston-bestie Mandy Connor is back to talk about the recent hit film "Late Night with the Devil" (2023), the cult classic "Creep" (2014), our new shared obsession around "submechanophobia," and a few of the horror movies we're most excited to see this year. WARNING: Spoilers for "Creep" begin at around the 30:00 mark, and go until about 33:00. Trailer for &q...

Scotty talks to author, editor, and publisher Aric Sundquist about growing up a "Yooper" in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and how his mother's love of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, sparked his early interest in dark fiction. Aric discusses the influence of Koontz, King (especially his 1978 collection "Night Shift" and the subsequent 1985 anthology film adaptation "Cat's Eye&...

Happy StokerCon, everyone! To celebrate this year's Bram Stoker Awards, Scotty has brought back some favorite guests to talk about the nominated anthology "American Cannibal" (Maenad Press, 2023). Editor Rebecca Rowland and authors Gwendolyn Kiste and Daniel Braum are here to talk about the book, their contributions, and to further explore the weird and wonderful world of cannibalism thr...

Scotty talks to author C.J. Leede about going from a sci-fi and fantasy-reading medieval studies major who had "never read a horror novel in [her] life" to becoming the author of "Maeve Fly" (2023, Tor Nightfire), which is nominated this year for both a Splatterpunk Award and a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. C.J. talks about immersing herself in ho...

Scotty talks to author Robert P. Ottone about growing up on Long Island, his decision to leave his job as a copywriter and become a teacher while also pursuing a career as a writer, and the pushback he received writing horror while working toward an MFA in Children's Literature. Robert also discusses the importance of writing as an outlet for grief, his early forays into publishing, and major infl...

Scotty talks to author Rachel Eve Moulton about her acclaimed novels "Tinfoil Butterfly" (2019) and "The Insatiable Volt Sisters" (2023), both from MCD x FSG Books. Along the way they discuss Rachel's upbringing in Antioch, Ohio, her early influences from Flannery O'Connor to Stephen King, the importance of place in her work, the culture shock of moving from Rhode Island to New...

Scotty talks to comic-book artist and writer Aaron Campbell about his early horror influences from Dungeons and Dragons, T.E.D. Klein, and H.P. Lovecraft, and the labyrinthine path through the early days of his career. They discuss "Infidel" (2018, Image Comics), Aaron's acclaimed collaboration with writer Pornsak Pichetshote and colorist José Villarrubia, which was named one of NPR's &q...

Scotty talks to author Larry Hinkle about his excellent new collection "The Space Between" (February 14, Trepidatio Publishing). They discuss how Larry's mother helped him discover his early love of horror, but also how negative experiences in writing workshops pushed him out of fiction writing for nearly three decades. After Scotty cools down from his rant about bad teachers, they talk...

So why is Scotty having a former segment director for Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a guest on his horror podcast? Well, aside from being one of his oldest friends, Maureen Bharoocha is also the director of two Lifetime Network thrillers, along with the upcoming teen horror/comedy "The Prank" ( March 15, from Iconic Events ). Scotty and Maureen talk about her upbringing in a mixed Catholic/Musli...

Scotty talks to author Gwendolyn Kiste about her recent short stories "The Hungry Wives of Bleak Street" and "Hear, Hearth, Heartbeat," as well as her upcoming novel "The Haunting of Velkwood" (coming March 5 from Saga Press). They talk about the role of hope in the modern horror story, how the Gothic manifests in the American Rust Belt, and more. They also discuss Pe...