Healthy Fears

The natural world is many things, including incredibly violent. Eruptions, earthquakes and storms can release more ferocious energy than any weapon human beings have ever used. One can only imagine how horrifying it would be if nature actually had a mind and intent to kill. Ray Bradbury did imagine this, in fact, and gave us the incredible short horror story, "The Wind."

What has sharp teeth, a powerful bite and deadly-fast reflexes? Well, a lot of things that can kill us, as it turns out, but in this episode we focus on a certain heavy, armored, toothy reptile which appeared in 3 films (2 of which were actually good) in 2007.

There are likely many more creatures, cryptids and fearsome critters that you're unaware of than there are ones you're familiar with. In fact, even the devils you think you know may be more unknown to you than you realize. And it's only natural to fear the unknown, especially when the unknown is unnatural. Primary subjects for this episode include local lore and the Golden Age of Radio horror play, "The Thing on the Fourble Board."

Putting trust in anyone is inherently risky. Even those closest to us can ultimately prove untrustworthy--whether they are malicious or simply misguided--in dangerous ways. This week's episode focuses on The Haunting of Hill House (2018 series) and the film Eve's Bayou.

Some outsiders are too powerful and malicious to be anything but frightening. Carnivorous river monsters pretending to be human, for instance. Primary subject of this episode: Michael McDowell's Blackwater Saga.

Being the outcast can be a frightening experience. In the real world and in fiction, it can leave one susceptible to persecution and prosecution, or even turn you into an unwilling "hero" fighting a menace the rest of the crowd refuses to face. Primary subjects of this Episode: First Blood and Jaws

No one wants to be imprisoned--truly imprisoned--against their will. But not all confines are made equal, and the potential associated horrors can vary greatly.

From Rhoda Penmark and her precursors through the scary kids who kicked off the horror boom and beyond, frightening children have been a genre fixture for a long, long time.

Four movies. Four years. One lesson: stay out of the dark.

Healthy Fears Episode 1 explores the fear of sleep as it appears in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.