Horror in the Margins

Pod People, do we have a conversation for you! In this episode, we speak with Claire Fuller, the award-winning author of Hunger and Thirst, a novel that explores girlhood and belonging and desire and the things that haunt us. We discuss the intersection of sculpture and storytelling, cursed homesteads, the complexity of female friendships, and how disgusting and unsettling flies are, both in the b...

Calling all Y2K babes - this interview is for you! In this episode, we talk to Wendy Dalrymple, a purveyor of Florida Gothic and #PinkHorror, about her latest book, Bed Rot Baby in which our sugar baby protagonist begins to rot...like, literally. We chat about unlikeable girls, body horror, he power of roll-on body glitter to unite us all, energy vampires, the trouble with preserving one's im...

Pod People, have you missed us? We took a much-needed break during January and February 2026, but we are back, baby, with a very special episode about our adventures at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival! Yes, we traipsed to the mountains of Park City, Utah, to catch incredible film premieres and do a little celeb sighting. And boy do we have stories!  Listen to us talk about the blessing that was Se...

Pod People, it's a new year! The horrors persist, but so do we. We hope 2026 is off to a great start for you, and if it isn't, perhaps a new episode will help to soothe the soul?  In this episode, we discuss Vic Effects, an indie psychological horror film that's currently making the rounds at film festivals! We were lucky enough to receive a screener from writer and director Chris S...

In this episode, we talk to Nebula, Ignyte, Hugo, Locus, and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated writer of speculative short fiction Thomas Ha about his debut short story collection, Uncertain Sons and Other Stories. We discuss immersive storytelling and grounding tales in reality even when navigating apocalyptic and fantastical worlds, a whole lotta writing craft, the conundrum of running or fighting...

Pod People, it's been an exceptional year for the horror genre, so we decided to pause so we could take stock of some of the media we've enjoyed thus far. We talk the films Weapons, Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and more, as well as some books we've loved, including Old Soul by Susan Barker, Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, Diavola by Jennifer Thorne, and The Skin You&ap...

Pod People, your intrepid hosts both turned 40 this year, and we decided that called for celebration! How are we celebrating on the pod? We each picked one of our all-time favorite horror films to revisit and discuss in depth. First, we discussed Nikki's pick, Alien, and now it's time to go low, low, low, low, low, low, low with Tiffany's pick, Neil Marshall's The Descent (2005...

Let's talk beauty standards, cultural assimilation, body horror, and filmmaking, Pod People! In this episode, we chat with award-winning Aotearoan Lee Murray about the film Grafted, on which she was a writer. We discuss how she brought her lived experience as a third generation Chinese New Zealander to the script for Grafted, the relatable desire to fit in even at the cost of cultural identit...

Pod People, your intrepid hosts both turned 40 this year, and we decided that called for celebration! How are we celebrating on the pod? We each picked one of our all-time favorite horror films to revisit and discuss in depth. First up is Nikki's pick - Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). Join us as we explore space in the Nostromo, ogle over mama-Xenomorph's wet-wet-wet grandeur, and empa...

In this episode, we to talk to Tracy Cross about the first two books in her Conjure series, Rootwork and A Gathering of Weapons! We discuss the differences between Hoodoo and Voodoo, fetishism and appropriation of Black culture in post-Reconstruction Louisiana, biblical retribution and ridding the world of evil, Tracy's heritage and how it influenced and inspired the Conjure series, books and...

To the moon and beyond! In this episode, we chat with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy author Pedro Iniguez about his Bram Stoker nominated poetry collection, Mexicans on the Moon: Speculative Poetry from a Possible Future. We discuss the importance of representation and inclusivity within the sci-fi and horror genres, the unique, four-part structure of Mexicans on the Moon, the themes of the collectio...

Pod People, have we got a discussion for you! We recount our adventures attending Labyrinth in Concert and Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw before diving into a conversation about Pascal Plante's Red Rooms. We chat about the real-world court case that inspired the film, crime fandom, the assumptions we made about Kelly-Anne's motives during our first watches, and that incr...

Pod People, are you ready to go underground with us? Maybe play the Elevator Game? In this episode, we speak with the incredible Sofia Ajram about his Bram Stoker-nominated novella Coup de Grâce. We discuss Greek mythology, anomalous architecture, liminal spaces, mental illness and suicidality, the myth of "purple prose," and that storytelling device toward the end of the book. Content w...

You voted, we listened! In honor of the late, great David Lynch, we watched Mulholland Dr, and woo boy, do we have thoughts. We discuss Lynch's movies-within-a-movie approach, the film's exploration of the seedy underbelly of LA and the film industry, the worst criminal in the world, Americana, the inability to trust anything you see or experience in Mulholland Dr, and more.  Do you have...

In this episode, talk to Donyae Coles about her Bram Stoker-nominated novel Midnight Rooms, a Gothic fever dream of a debut! We discuss Gothic and fairytale storytelling traditions, the innate horrors of isolation, dark desire and writing sex scenes, the lack of bodily autonomy and the immense amount of gaslighting women endured in historical times, biracial heritage and otherness in Midnight Room...

Pod People, we went to a film festival! Well, kind of. As we did last year, we bought virtual Sundance Film Festival tickets and had the chance to catch Didn't Die, an apocalyptic zombie flick directed by Meera Menon. We discuss the film's obvious nods to George Romero, the different ways we as humans cope with tragedy, Indian representation in horror, how zombie movies just feel more re...

We're back for Season 3, Pod People! Did you miss us? We missed you! We're kicking off 2025 with a true mindfuck of a film, which feels very apropos given...well, everything. So settle in as we discuss Greg Jardin's It's What's Inside, which is currently streaming on Netflix. It's a body-swapping good time and a story that examines bodily autonomy, the fluidity of mem...

The holidays are upon us, which means the end of the year looms ahead (and that isn't ominous or creepy or anything, right?). We decided to squeeze in one more conversation for 2024, and honestly, this episode is basically a bestie hang. In this episode, we discuss some of our favorite moments of the year, what we're looking forward to in 2025, goal-setting, and you, Pod People, without...

Comic lovers, this episode is for you! It was our pleasure to have Jordan Morris, comic author, comedian, and podcaster, on the show to discuss his recently published graphic novel, Youth Group. We discuss the comics that introduced us to thought bubbles and visual storytelling, Bowen "Bones" McCurdy's incredible artwork, writing comedy for print, the way youth groups were always re...

In this episode, we laugh, cry, and philosophize with Callie Ott, an incredible actress, comedian, and the creator of Final Girl: The Musical, which debuted at the Hollywood Fringe Festival earlier this year. Inspired by true events, the one-woman show combines side-splitting humor and poignant explorations of toxic relationships and cycles of abuse through the lens of the final girl trope. We dis...

On this very special episode of Horror in the Margins, we discuss the horror films that made us, the cinematic experiences that have influenced our art, made us think differently about the world, and scared the shit out of us! We also discuss the outcome of the recent presidential election, the passing of horror legend Tony Todd, and how horror can be healing.  Pod People, please prioritize your m...

Happy Halloween, Pod People! On today's very special episode, we talk to Katelin Stack, a film director, producer, and an actress in the recently released indie slasher Haunt Season. We get some behind-the-scenes insight into being a scare actor in a haunt and talk about Katelin's early horror influences, creative kills in slasher films, pumpkin pinups, the rise of indie horror, and what...

We talk to M. Lopes da Silva about his strange, sensual, anti-capitalist, and emotional collection Infinity Mathing at the Shore and Other Disruptions. We discuss vulnerability as a writing superpower, billboards and advertisements as inspiration for poetry, the difficult but beautiful road to embracing identity, Mitch's relationship to art as a creator, subject, and consumer...and so much mo...

We're coming at you with a special episode for the start of spooky season, Pod People! Inspired by discussions in the horror community about whether Oz Perkins' Longlegs is a "scary" film and whether it qualifies as horror (spoiler alert, we definitely think it does), we discuss Longlegs within this context and also share five films that have shaped our understanding and love f...

Pod People, we had the opportunity to see Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat talk about their experiences filming Paranormal Activity at Midsummer Scream back in July...so we decided it was time to revisit a classic that was a pivotal addition to the found footage subgenre. We discuss our favorite experiences at Midsummer Scream, Katie and Micah's new podcast, Paranormal Activity: True Tales o...