Talking Scared

• 230 – Alex Grecian & Weirdos in the West

  Saddle up for a weird west week on Talking Scared. The start of a loose trilogy of sorts.   This first instalment features Alex Grecian, talking about his fantastical vision of the Old West (and East) in 2023’s Red Rabbit and the brand-new follow-up, Rose of Jericho.   We cover western inspirations, the melancholia of ghosts, Kansas legends and surprising witches. There’s also a nerdy little cryptid section thrown in there too cos you know I can’t resist.   It’s a charmer this week. With a glint in its eye.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   The Yard (2012), by Alex Grecian Lonesome Dove (1985), by Larry McMurtry The Staircase in the Woods (forthcoming 2025), by Chuck Wendig The Summer People (2015), by Kelly Link “Skinders Veil,” in White Cat, Black Dog (2023), by Kelly Link Knock Knock, Open Wide (2023), by Neil Sharpson Pet Semetary (1983), by Stephen King Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 229 – Agustina Bazterrica & The Wicked Nuns of Oz

  No one is doing dystopia right now like Agustina Bazterrica.   After Tender is the Flesh made us all consider vegetarianism, now she’s back for a long hard look at patriarchy, religion and populism in The Unworthy.   It’s a quiet end of the world, set almost entirely in the confines of a strange convent, and the cult who will do anything to maintain their power.   We talk about how Agustina finds the necessary voice of her characters, why love is just another form of madness, how science-fiction just can’t look away from misogyny, and how she once read five books to find a new word for penis.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Tender is the Flesh (2017), by Agustina Bazterrica The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), by Margaret Atwood Caliban and the Witch (2004), by Silvia Federici Dune (1965), by Frank Herbert A Canticle For Liebowitz (1959), by Walter M. Miller Jr. Silent Spring (1962), by Rachel Carson Fever Dream (2014), by Samanta Schweblin Los Demenios En El Convento (1985), by Fernando Benitez Brat (2024), by Gabriel Smith The Perfect Nanny (2016), by Leila Slimani   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Off Book #7 – Scott Derrickson

  The latest Off Book episode has me facing my demons. My guest is Scott Derrickson, one of the best horror movie makers to ever do it. He scared us with Sinister, moved us with The Black Phone, marvelled us with Doctor Strange, and ruined my life with The Exorcism of Emily Rose. He’s back with The Gorge, a mad genre mashup, starring Anya-Taylor Joy and Miles Teller,  currently streaming on Apple+. Scott joins me for a leisurely conversation about making that artistically-inclined ‘drive-in’ movie, as well as a tour through the highs (and lows) of his filmography. We get into the beauty and terror of super 8 film, his relationship with Joe Hill, and the challenge of the substantial, character led horror film. All complemented with blasts of lilting birdsong from Scott’s LA garden. Plus, a little hint of what to expect from The Black Phone 2! Enjoy!   Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 228 – Sophie White & An Island of Formless Dread

  Ready to hear a conversation about some devastatingly dark things?   Sophie White and I have got you covered!   In this expansive chat, we talk about her calculatingly distressing novel, Where I End – in which an isolated island community plays host to the worst, cruellest kind of loneliness. And that books is a springboard for others things, psychosis, weaponised empathy, real-life atrocity and the way that all that darkness can seep into a place forever.   But then we also have a good old chat about books we love, and we swear a lot… so there’s a bright side.   This is a key conversation for me. A pivotal episode.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Recipes For a Nervous Breakdown (2016), by Sophie White Corpsing: My Body and Other Horror Shows (2020), by Sophie White Apt Pupil (1982), by Stephen King The Yellow Wallpaper (1892), by Charlotte Perkins Gilman The Girl Next Door (1989), by Jack Ketchum Sharkheart: A Love Story (2023), by Emily Habeck The Lamb (2025), by Lucy Rose Tender is the Flesh (2017), by Augustina Bazterrica Lunar Park (2005), by Bret Easton Ellis Our Wives Under the Seas (2022), by Julia Armfield Follow Me To Ground (2018), by Sue Rainsford   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected]   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• 227 – Kirsty Logan & Queer as in F**K You

  The title speaks volumes this week. It’s a mission statement.   Kirsty Logan is the master of certain kind of edgy, on-the-margins fiction, Queer in every meaning of the word. She can be witchy and folkloric, or contemporary and cutting edge – and all of that range is showcased in her new collection, No & Other Love Stories.   We talk about female desire and monstrous fantasy, formal experimentation and the personal logic of stories…and some reassuringly unsettling focus on the erotics of human flesh and menstruation.   Don’t say we shy away here at Talking Scared.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Things We Say in the Dark (2019), by Kirsty Logan The Unfamiliar: A Queer Motherhood Memoir (2023), by Kirsty Logan “Skeleton,” by Ray Bradbury (1945), by Ray Bradbury Carrion Crow (2025), by Heather Parry “Tiptoe,” in Not a Speck of Light (2024), by Laird Barron   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to [email protected]   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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