Horror from the High Desert

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...

Scotty talks to director Thom Eberhardt about his long career in the movie industry, from his admittedly humble beginnings helming the cult thriller "Sole Survivor" (1984) to directing two of the Britain's greatest actors in the Sherlock Holmes comedy "Without a Clue" (1988). Of course, they also discuss Thom's classically bonkers apocalyptic teen horror comedy "Night of t...

Boston-bestie Mandy Connor returns to talk about two movies and a novel. She and Scotty begin with their disappointment in the 2023 Heather Graham vehicle "Suitable Flesh," a supposed "spiritual successor" to the classically bonkers 1980s Stuart Gordon films "Re-Animator" (1985) and "From Beyond" (1986). Things improve significantly with their discussion of...

Welcome to 2024! Scotty kicks off the new year by talking to horror and crime-fiction author Derik Cavignano. The two discuss Derik's upbringing in Boston, his early influences, and how the city's legendary history of organized crime impacted his writing. They touch on Derik's recent short story "Temple of the Righteous Harvest" (available in the 2023 "Monstorm" charity antholo...

Scotty closes out 2023 by talking to author Josh Schlossberg about his new novel "Charwood," his award-winning novella "Malinae," Jewish and folk horror, taking inspiration from Josh's interest in ecology and forest protection, writing flawed characters with empathy, and more. They also talk about the Denver Horror Collective and its track record of releasing superlative anthol...

Scotty and author Angela Sylvaine talk about her new YA horror novel "Frost Bite," misconceptions about YA and what it means to write YA in the current moment. They also talk about Angela's early days in the snowy reaches of North Dakota, and how the pressure to be "Midwestern nice" steered her toward horror. They discuss the inspiration that came from 1980s monster movies...an...

Scotty has a special crossover episode this week with his guest Amelia Ampuero. She's--of course---the cohost of his other podcast, The Weirdest Thing. Amelia is joining Horror from the High Desert to talk about the works of filmmaker Mike Flanagan--specifically his four acclaimed Netflix limited series: "The Haunting of Hill House" (2018), "The Haunting of Bly Manor" (2020), &...

This week Scotty talks to author Sam Rebelein about his short story "One Big Cry for Help" ("A Pile of Bodies, A Pile of Heads," Sinister Smile Press , 2021) and his debut novel "Edenville," which was just released in October from William Morrow . They also talk awkward high-school memories, early horror influences, balancing humor with fear, and the idea of writing w...

Scotty and author Michelle Renee Lane discuss her 2019 Stoker-nominated novel "Invisible Chains," as well as her short fiction and her more recent "The Courtship of Nora Fagan," which is the first of a five-part "erotic paranormal romance" series. They talk about their own personal definitions of horror, the sometimes tricky balance between horror and romance, the ide...