Chthonica: a podcast on fictional horror

Greg Greene interviews horror great and New York Times bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones on the re-release of his novel All the Beautiful Sinners and flash fiction collection States of Grace as well as the new omnibus edition of his IDW comic series Earthdivers! We talk about flash fiction, horror films, comics, and Neanderthals! Also available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/1-28zmlwaVo

Greg Greene and Edward Meehan host horror authors Nathan Ballingrud and Michael Wehunt on their new books! Ballingrud's CATHEDRAL OF THE DROWNED drops October 21, 2025 from Tor Nightmare, and Wehunt's THE OCTOBER FILM HAUNT was released by St Martin's Press on September 30, 2025. Both are magnificent! Join us for a fun (and sometimes sobering) conversation on defying literary categorization, social media, the paranormal, and horror as a genre of transcendence! Video version on Youtube.

Greg Greene interviews horror author Philip Fracassi on his new horror novel THE AUTUMN SPRINGS RETIREMENT HOME MASSACRE, dropping September 30, 2025 from Tor Nightfire! We enjoy a spoiler-free discussion of AUTUMN SPRINGS, including building a novel-length mystery, depicting the fullness of life as a senior, what it's like to be mentored by Laird Barron. He even shares a pair of his own personal paranormal experiences! Also available on Youtube.

Greg Greene interviews horror & espionage author (and 35-year intelligence community veteran) Alma Katsu on her new horror novel FIEND, dropping September 23, 2025 from Putnam! Alma's one of the most fascinating writers working today. We discuss FIEND along with the current political environment, AI, being a woman leader in a historically male-dominated work environment, and the paranormal. 00:00 - Welcome horror & espionage author Alma Katsu! 01:00 - Alma gives us the pitch for her new book FIEND 02:14 - Is writing fiction different from writing historical fiction? (Spoiler: YES)  03:42 - The fictitious Berisha family and the real Katsu family 05:54 - Family Dynamics of the Rich & Famous (Of the richest man in the world, Alma says, "He's a special case 'cause he's so darn weird, right? He sort of *breeds* children.") 11:21 - The Berisha dynasty: family, business, and clan. And why make them Albanian? 15:42 - Maris, the middle daughter: gender, favor, and patriarchy 19:30 - Living with a lineage of secrets 22:22 - "We're in an age now, kind of like the 90s, the old Gordon Gecko thing, where greed is good, right? That all people care about is wealth." 26:16 - Monsters and the nature of evil   28:29 - Maris Berisha  32:02 - Maris faces the frequent challenge of women in leadership roles: "Be in control, but not controlling."   35:49 - American oligarchy  39:00 - Truthiness: "What we're going through is historic to the Untied States. We're seeing information being used as propaganda really, at levels that we used to see in Russia." 42:03 - Alma on AI-based propaganda: "It's hard not to be super-pessimistic." 45:25 - What the supernatural does for this story. 49:47 - The paranormal burden of proof 54:34 - Film and TV options!

Greg Greene interviews legendary horror author John Langan in this spoiler-free conversation about his collection LOST IN THE DARK, available August 5, 2025 from Word Horde! Chthonica is also available on Youtube.