Castle of Horror Podcast

This week we have a special Second Bite look at two films which we love and deserve more attention: 1970’s Count Yorga, Vampire and its 1971 sequel The Return of Count Yorga. This is Episode 479! Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1971), both written and directed by Bob Kelljan and starring Robert Quarry, revitalized the vampire genre by transplanting the classic Dracula formula into contemporary California. We are joined once again by Tony-award-winning, Oscar-nominated writer  John Logan, whose new film on Michael Jackson, Michael, opens in April.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

onight we’re chatting with Daniel Kraus, author of the new book PARTIALLY DEVOURED: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World. PARTIALLY DEVOURED (On sale March 10, 2026) is an examination of a horror movie classic’s importance to our history, culture, and psychology, a perfect blend of research and memoir in the vein of Quentin Tarantino's Cinema Speculation.Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His novel, Whalefall, received a front-cover review in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more. The film adaptation, co-written by Kraus, will be released by 20th Century Studios in October 2026. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we take a look at the 1967 Hammer film Frankenstein Created Woman. This is Episode 478! Frankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg. The screenplay was written by Anthony Hinds (as John Elder). It is the fourth film in Hammer's Frankenstein series.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we continue our Valentine's Day series of films with a look at the 2009 film My Bloody Valentine 3D. This is Episode 477! My Bloody Valentine 3D is a 2009 American 3D slasher film directed and co-edited by Patrick Lussier, and written by Todd Farmer and Zane Smith. A remake of the 1981 Canadian film, it stars Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith and Kevin Tighe. The film focuses on the residents of a small town that is plagued by a serial killer in mining gear on Valentine's Day, who is believed to be the same murderer who was thought to have died a decade prior.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we continue our Valentine's Day series of films with a look at the 1981 film My Bloody Valentine. This is Episode 476! My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film directed by George Mihalka from a screenplay by John Beaird. It features an ensemble cast that includes Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Valentine's Day party, only to incur the vengeful wrath of a maniac in mining gear who begins a killing spree.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we dive into a Valentine's Day series of films with a look at the 2025 film Heart Eyes. This is Episode 475!  Heart Eyes is a 2025 American romantic comedy slasher film directed by Josh Ruben from a screenplay by Phillip Murphy, Christopher Landon and Michael Kennedy. The film stars Olivia Holt as Ally McCabe and Mason Gooding as Jay Simmons, following two coworkers who find themselves targeted by the "Heart Eyes Killer"—a masked serial killer who hunts couples on Valentine's Day. When the two are mistaken for a romantic couple, they must survive the night and uncover the killer's identity.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with Christina Kovac, author of the new book WATCH US FALL. Christina Kovac is a mystery author and former DC broadcast news producer with 17 years of experience managing Washington, DC newsrooms and producing crime and political stories. Her career in television journalism spanned Fox Five's Ten O'Clock News, ABC affiliate WJLA, and NBC News. She is the author of The Cutaway and lives with her family outside Washington, DC.In the book, main character Lucy is part of a small, tight-knit group of friends known as the Sweeties who live in a Georgetown row house, focused on their careers and romantic drama until one of them, Addie's, ex-boyfriend, an up-and-coming newscaster, suddenly goes missing. WATCH US FALL is out this month from Simon & Schuster.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1966 film Kill Baby Kill!  This is Episode #474! Kill, Baby, Kill (Italian: Operazione paura, lit. 'Operation Fear') is a 1966 Italian Gothic supernatural horror film directed by Mario Bava and starring Giacomo Rossi Stuart and Erika Blanc. Written by Bava, Romano Migliorini, and Roberto Natale, the film focuses on a small European village in the early 1900s that is being terrorized by the ghost of a murderous young girl.John calls this movie "the most gothic film ever made."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we have a look at the 1951 film SCROOGE.  This is Episode #473! Scrooge (released as A Christmas Carol in the United States) is a 1951 British Christmas fantasy drama film and an adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (1843). It stars Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and was produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, with a screenplay by Noel Langley. It also features Michael Hordern, Kathleen Harrison, George Cole, Hermione Baddeley, Mervyn Johns, Clifford Mollison, Jack Warner, Ernest Thesiger and Patrick Macnee. Peter Bull narrates portions of Charles Dickens's words at the beginning and end of the film, and appears on-screen as a businessman.Upon its initial release, the movie was largely ignored by critics, and reactions from those that did watch it were varied. Nevertheless, the movie attracted a strong following on television, and subsequent reviews have been significantly more positive, with many critics considering it one of the best adaptions of the novel, with general praise for the performances, particularly Sim's portrayal of Scrooge.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with Vanessa F. Penney, author of The Witch of Willow Sound, distributed by Simon & Schuster.  The book is a Canadian best-seller, a feminist gothic tale with a tough-as-nails female protagonist who must find her elderly aunt, long suspected of being a witch.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we are joined by the Monster Movie Happy Hour Podcast for a look at Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 film FRANKENSTEIN.  This is Episode #472! Frankenstein is a 2025 American gothic drama film produced, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The film stars Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi as the Creature, and Mia Goth as Elizabeth, with Felix Kammerer, David Bradley, Lars Mikkelsen, Christian Convery, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz in the supporting roles. The story follows the life of Victor Frankenstein, an egotistical scientist whose experiment in creating new life results in dangerous consequences when his monstrous creation comes to life. Frankenstein had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 30, 2025. It began a limited theatrical release on October 17, 2025, with a global digital release by Netflix on November 7. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Elordi's performance receiving acclaim.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1965 film Planet of the Vampires.  This is Episode #471!Planet of the Vampires (Italian: Terrore nello spazio, lit. 'Terror in Space'; released in the UK as The Demon Planet) is a 1965 science fiction horror film directed and co-written by Mario Bava, produced by Fulvio Lucisano, and starring Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell. The screenplay was based on an Italian-language science fiction short story, Renato Pestriniero's "One Night of 21 Hours.” The film follows the horrific experiences of the crew members of two giant spaceships that have crash-landed on a forbidding, unexplored planet. The disembodied inhabitants of the world possess the bodies of the crew who died during the crash, and use the animated corpses to stalk and kill the remaining survivors.The film was co-produced by Italian International Film and American International Pictures (AIP), with some financing provided by Spain's Castilla Cooperativa Cinematográfica. AIP released Planet of the Vampires as the supporting film on a double feature with Daniel Haller's Die, Monster, Die! (1965).Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with national bestselling author Christina Henry, whose first hardcover, The Place Where They Buried Your Heart (Berkley, Nov. 4), blends haunting suspense with deeply human themes.Christina is known for her dark fantasy and horror novels (Good Girls Don’t Die, The Ghost Tree, The House That Horror Built), each exploring the shadows in both supernatural forces and human hearts. Her latest is a chilling, emotionally layered haunted house story set in Chicago, where a sister must confront the darkness that claimed her brother decades earlier. And that same house may still be hungry.  The book has received praise from the New York Times, Paul Tremblay and Christopher Golden, both of whom I’ve talked to on this show.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with Jeremiah Dylan Cook, author of A Mythos of Monsters and Madness which is out now. The book assembles thirteen loosely connected tales of terror from horror writer Jeremiah Dylan Cook.Jeremiah Dylan Cook is a horror writer whose work has been published by The NoSleep Podcast, Castle Bridge Media, Tales to Terrify, Ghost Orchid Press, The Lovecraft eZine, Hippocampus Press, Necronomicon Press, and Eye Contact. He won Purple Wall Stories February 2021 Writing Competition, and the Ligonier Valley Writers 2018 Flash Fiction Contest. He’s the Managing Editor of New Pulp Tales. You can follow him on X @JeremiahCook1.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we continue a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest, three-time-Oscar nominated screenwriter John Logan, with a look at the 1964 film Blood and Black Lace.  This is Episode #470!Blood and Black Lace (Italian: 6 donne per l'assassino, lit. 'Six Women for the Murderer') is a 1964 giallo film directed by Mario Bava and starring Eva Bartok and Cameron Mitchell. The story concerns the brutal murders of a Roman fashion house's models, committed by a masked killer in a desperate attempt to obtain a scandal-revealing diary.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we have a Halloween film, the 1993 animated film The Halloween Tree. This is episode 469! The Halloween Tree is a 1993 American animated fantasy-drama television film produced by Hanna-Barbera and based on Ray Bradbury's 1972 fantasy novel of the same name. The film tells the story of a group of trick-or-treating children who learn about the origins and influences of Halloween when one of their friends is spirited away by mysterious forces. Bradbury serves as the narrator of the film, which also stars Leonard Nimoy as the children's guide, Mr. Moundshroud. Bradbury also wrote the film's Emmy Award winning screenplay. The animation of the film was produced overseas for Hanna-Barbera by Fil-Cartoons in the Philippines. The film premiered on ABC on October 2, 1993.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with Brian Asman, who’s been called “a singular voice in horror fiction,” author of MAN, F*CK THIS HOUSE (AND OTHER DISASTERS) from Blackstone Publishing,  a collection of six brand-new stories of hauntings and California Weirdness. Brian Asman is a writer, actor, and director from San Diego. He’s the author of Good Dogs from Blackstone Publishing. His other books include I’m Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today, Neo Arcana, Nunchuck City, Jailbroke, Our Black Hearts Beat as One, and Return of the Living Elves. Find him on social media (@thebrianasman) or his website (www.BrianAsmanBooks.com).In the titular “Man, F*ck This House,” Sabrina Haskins and her family have just moved into their dream home. At first glance, the house is perfect. But things aren’t what they seem. Sabrina is hearing odd noises, seeing strange visions. Their neighbors are odd or absent. And Sabrina’s already-fraught relationship with her son is about to be tested in a way no parent could ever imagine. Because while the Haskins family might be the newest owners of this house, they’re far from its only residents…Join us!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

This week we kick off a cycle of Mario Bava films curated by special guest John Logan (Penny Dreadful, Skyfall, Gladiator) with a look at the 1963 film The Whip and the Body.  This is Episode #468!  The Whip and the Body (Italian: La frusta e il corpo) is a 1963 gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava under the alias "John M. Old". The film is about Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) who is ostracized by his father for his relationship with a servant girl and her eventual suicide. He later returns to reclaim his title and his former fiancée Nevenka (Daliah Lavi) who is now his brother's wife. Menliff is later found murdered, but the locals believe his ghost has returned to haunt the castle for revenge.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tony Salvaggio checks in to discuss the highlights of Fantastic Fest 2023, where he watched an impressive 35 movies across various genres. From horror films exploring trauma to unique international cinema, Tony breaks down standout films like "Marama," "Obsession," and the newest "Silent Night, Deadly Night." He shares insights into the current state of genre filmmaking, emphasizing the importance of independent film festivals in showcasing diverse storytelling. Hear about secret screenings, unexpected gems, and Tony's passionate take on why genre cinema remains vibrant and essential.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.

Tonight we’re chatting with Linus O’Brien, director of STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR in Theaters on September 26. The documentary is written by Avner Shiloah, and Produced by Adam Gibbs, Garret Price, Avner Shiloah, Linus O'Brien. Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror is a joyful and wild ride through the tale of the cultural juggernaut that is The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which began as a 1973 musical stage production and became a 1975 film with Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Charles Gray, and more, with a historic following. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/castle-of-horror-podcast--4268760/support.