Talking Scared

It’s walk or die this week on Talking Scared, as we’re joined by the screenwriter of The Long Walk.   JT wrote and directed 2024’s cult-hit Strange Darling, and now he’s brought his pen to bear, in finally bringing Stephen King’s beloved early novel to the screen. Along with director, Francis Lawrence, JT has created one of the best King adaptations EVER(!!) and he joins me to talk about exactly how they got this shuffling monster over the finish line.   JT tells us all about his journey from actor to writer and director and his feelings about creative control. We discuss the obvious structural hurdles that kept this film from being made for so many years. We acknowledge it’s strain of very dark humour, but also how seriously the movie contends with the threat of the gun in American life.   It’s a good conversation about an awesome movie.   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

School is back in session. Professor Langan is here!   No-one gives good literary conversation like John Langan – and this week he returns to Talking Scared to discuss the watery influences, metafictional experimentation, and snake-legged women in his new collection: Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions.   It’s my favourite collection of John’s so far, and as ever, he merely used it for a jumping-off point into a cosy fireside conversation about all the books and stories that he keeps in his Alexandrian Library of a head!   It’s the most accessible college course you’ll ever take. Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   The Fisherman (2017), by John Langan Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies (2022), by John Langan Survivor Song (2020), by Paul Tremblay Fever House (2023), by Keith Rosson King Sorrow (2025), by Joe Hill Great Expectations (1861), by Charles Dickens Dombey and Son (1848), by Charles Dickens Jane Eyre (1847), by Charlotte Bronte Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature (2025), edited by Becky Spratford “Lamia” (1820), by John Keats She Said Destroy (2017), by Nadia Bulkin Issues With Authority (2025), by Nadia Bulkin A Game in Yellow (2025), by Hailey Piper   EVENT LINKS  Powerhouse of Horror Party (October 24th, 2025) – Tickets Creepaway Summer Camp (June 29th – July 3rd 2026) – Tickets   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ready for some rough rural Gothic?   Kailee Pederson’s Sacrifical Animals was one of my top horror novels of 2024. I missed Kailee first time round, but now the book is out in paperback, I jumped at the chance to speak to her.  I was NOT prepared for how highbrow this would go though. From a story about toxic families, American Gothic and Chinese mythology, we found our way to opera, classic Latin texts, and more.   But we also talk about violence and sex and evil. So it really does cover all the bases.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Wuthering Heights (1847), by Emily Bronte East of Eden (1952), by John Steinbeck Blood Meridian (1985), by Cormac McCarthy The Road (2006), by Cormac McCarthy Absolom, Absolom (1936), by William Faulkner Salome (1893), by Oscar Wilde   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And so this infected Summer of the Stand comes to an end. With Part Two of The End of the World As We Know It – more conversations between contributors to this epic anthology, each expanding King’s OG novel in new ways.   This time around we have 8 guests, each armed with a story, pitted together in four short burst of conversation. I’m not saying who, cos that would spoil the fun… but there are BIG names. We discuss sadness and hope, evil birds and heroic dogs, varied visions of the far far future, and we look at how the Superflu has ravaged other parts of the world beyond the USA.   This anthology really is a who’s who of horror in this golden, apocalyptic age of ours – and it’s been a privilege to put these episodes together for you.   But I am off for a nap now.   Enjoy!   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No full treatment of The Stand would be complete without a look at Mick Garris’ landmark television adaptation. In 1994 he put together an adjacent epic, transforming 1300 pages into 8 hours of prime-time viewing.   It was my introduction to Stephen King. It is one of my fondest memories with my dad.   So it’s a true honour to get Mick on the show to talk about how it all came together. The scriptwriting with King, the killer cast, the Hollywood gossip, and the traffic-stopping shoot.   Plus, we talk about how Mick’s creative life has been entwined with King’s – for better or for worse.   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Summer of The Stand continues!   We may have reached the final pages of the novel, but the power of its story expands ever outwards. Now we turn to the brand-new anthology of stories set in King’s plague-shocked world   In The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand, editors Brian Keene and Christopher Golden have pulled together 36 of the biggest and brightest names in horror, and charged them with expanding Captain Trips and the good-versus-evil battle to new frontiers.   With so many contributors to consider, no single roundtable could ever suffice. So I’ve done something a little different, and a little more befitting of this mammoth project. It’s a lot of conversation, about a lot of very different stories.   Enjoy!   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fourth Let Us Palaver Nat is all about The Stand and Randall Flagg, and how it all connects to The Dark Tower – all the stuff that Chris (and you virgin listeners) could not, should not, yet know.   We also get especially geeky (even by OUR standards) about all the easter eggs and Tower references that Nat has packed into his short story for the forthcoming expanded Stand anthology.   If you’ve been to the Tower before, enjoy this. If not, stay away or the Dark Man will get you!   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, the circle closes… for now.   Here is the second and final part of our deep dive into Stephen King’s The Stand – the first of many major diversions on our way to The Dark Tower.   Last time we introduced the plague and the all-American heroes who survive it; this time we meet some of the weirder folk from the fringes of this apocalypse.   And we finally tangle with Randall Flagg, the Dark Man, the Walking Dude – our link to Mid-World and the travails of Roland Deschain.   We are loving making this for you. We hope you're enjoying listening.   Pre-order Chris’s Shitshow HERE   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time for a side quest.   Yes, this is the Dark Tower Readalong… you are not mistaken. But there are other worlds, and other books, and some of them have to be read for the fullest, most satisfying experience of Stephen King’s great saga.   In this first (of what will be many) diversions from the Ka-Tet’s quest, Nat, Chris and I turn to The Stand – the titanic tale of two tribes going to war. It’s a big big book, so this had to be a two-part thing. Here in episode one, we introduce Stu, Frannie, Larry and Nick, and discuss all things phlegmy and flu-like, and hint at why this book plays its part in the Dark Tower.   Plus. Rick Astley. Just wait.   Part Two is out next week, or available immediately on Patreon. M-O-O-N, that spells thank you, to anyone who signs up and supports the show. Laws yes!   Enjoy!   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After we spent last week in the muck and mire, this episode takes us up where skies are blue.   Just watch for the mushroom clouds.   The guest is Scott Carson, pseudonym of thriller writer, Michael Koryta, and author of The Chill (2020), Where They Wait (2021), and last year’s phenomenal Lost Man’s Lane. His new novel, Departure 37 is something totally different – it has Cold-War conspiracy, AI anxiety, tech-terror and nuclear brinkmanship.   Y’know, it’s like the news … but fun!   Scott and I discuss all of that, as well as the aviation mysteries that fascinate us both, and I give a much-deserved nod to the 90s brilliance of Michael Crichton.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Where They Wait (2021), by Scott Carson Lost Man’s Lane (2024), by Scott Carson The Chill (2020), by Scott Carson Sole Survivor (1997), by Dean Koontz The Shining (1977), by Stephen King Nuclear War: A Scenario (2024), by Annie Jacobsen Six Days of the Condor (1974), by James Grady The Auctioneer (1975), by Joan Samson King Sorrow (2025), by Joe Hill 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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Kraus has never lacked for ambition in his fiction – but Angel Down may be the most audacious horror book of the year. It’s the story of broken men and a fallen angel in the trenches of the First World War.   Oh … and it’s told in one long 300 page sentence. Cos Daniel can. It’s not a gimmick, nor pretentiousness. No, this week, you’ll hear how the medium is very much the message. As well as our conversation about angels in horror, capturing the particular nightmare of 1914, and all the practical challenge that come with this single-sentence attempt.     It’s an inspiring episode.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus Blood Sugar (2019), by Daniel Kraus The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: Volume One (2015), by Daniel Kraus Ducks, Newburyport (2019), by Lucy Ellman Hurricane Season (2017), by Fernanda Melchor Wolf at the Table (2024), by Adam Rapp The Remembered Soldier (2025), by Anjet Daanje From Under the Truck (2024), by Josh Brolin 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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back on the trails for a mind-melting trip this week.   Wendy Wagner is in the hot-seat, playing shaman as we discuss The Girl in the Creek – her brand new novel of fungoid-terror, eco-thrills and psychedelic strangeness. It’s a beautiful, bewildering hallucination of a book.   Wendy’s inspirationsrange from cutting edge science to the antics of Scooby Doo and the gang, along with a sprinkle of Lovecraft, and a hint of self-hypnosis. We cover it all, along with a discussion of eco-grief, higher states of consciousness, weird non-fiction obsessions and a little bit of trail running chat – which I promise we make macabre.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   “An Infestation of Blue” (2023), by Wendy Wagner The Deer Kings (2021), by Wendy Wagner Entangled Lives (2023), by Merlin Sheldrake Are We Smart Enough To Know How Smart Animals Are? (2016), by Frans de Waal The Zoologist’s Guide to the Galaxy: What Animals on Earth Reveal About Aliens – and Ourselves (2020), by Arik Kershenbaum “The Colour Out of Space,” (1927), by H.P. Lovecraft Lost in the Dark, and Other Excursions (2025), by John Langan The October Film Haunt (2025), by Michael Wehunt   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we’re talking about my Roman Empire. BIGFOOT!!   But this time I have good reason to get geeky – my guest is Giano Cromley, hairy-hominid enthusiast, certified wildlife tracker, and author of the deeply charming American Mythology.   It’s the story of a group of lost souls, joined in their search for the fabled ‘squatch of the North American woods. It’s spooky for sure, but just as concerned with wonder and friendship as it is with fear.   Giano and I talk at length about Bigfoot – our theories, our stance, his personal encounter – as well as the treatment of positive male friendship in the novel, and the role that sceptics and pseudoscience play in our culture.   This one was a blast for me. I hope you enjoy it.   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m coming to you from the heatwave from hell – and I’ve never been more burdened by my body.  And that is exactly the topic that this week’s guest has written all about. Rose Keating is an Irish writer, whose debut collection, Oddbody, presses enquiring fingers deep into the bizarre meat of our lives. These stories are about the inherent disgust of bodies and their processes.   There are women who lay eggs each morning, dads who turn into tapeworms, and ghosts who are toxically obsessed with these meat sacks we’re all carrying around. Rose and I have a great conversation about fem-gore, surrealism and the mad outer limits of body horror.   Enjoy.   Other books mentioned: Where I End (2022), by Sophie White “Skeleton” in The October Country (1955), by Ray Bradbury “The Swimmer” (1964), by John Cheever “The School” (1974), by Donald Barthelme The Debutante and Other Stories (2017), by Leonora Carrington Mystery Lights (2024), by Lena Valencia Earthlings (2018), by Sayaka Murata   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to talk righteous violence!   S.A. Cosby is a writer on a meteoric rise. After the insane success of Razorblade Tears, and the Gothic horrors of All the Sinners Bleed, he’s back with a fresh crime epic of titanic brutality.   King of Ashes is the tale of a family under threat from criminal forces, and the shocking depths they will go to in their fight back. It’s a challenging book, full of unexpected character arcs, Shakespearean intrigue, and a candid exploration of kink.   It’s also bloody, very damn bloody. The crematorium at the story’s centre gets well fed!!   We talk about all of that, as well as the strange commonalities of our small town lives, and the influence of violent men.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   All The Sinners Bleed (2023), by S.A. Cosby Razorblade Tears (2021), by S.A. Cosby Blacktop Wasteland (2020), by S.A. Cosby A Thousand Acres (1991), by Jane Smiley “The Dog Park,” (1983), by Dennis Etchinson Darkness, Take My Hand (1996), by Dennis Lehane Gone, Baby, Gone (1998) by Dennis Lehane Jar of Hearts (2018), by Jennifer Hillier   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes monsters are real!   This week’s episode is a foray into non-fiction, but no less scary for it. I’m talking to Pulitzer-winning Caroline Fraser about Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers   This is no grotesque revelling in death and sadism,however. Murderland examines the extreme violence that plagued her native Pacific Northwest in the late 20th century – and posits a link with the environmental damage of heavy industry in the region.   It’s a compelling argument, and a horribly fascinating book. I slip the jokes in where I can (mostly at BTK’s expense), but this one is a chiller!   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   Praire Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder (2017), by Caroline Fraser God's Perfect Child: Living and Dying in the Christian Science Church (1999), by Caroline Fraser The Balkan Trilogy (1960), by Olivia Manning   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vampirism is time travel.   It’s also tragedy and freedom and Queerness, and sex and death.   We talk about all of these thing with V.E. Schwab, when we sink our teeth into her new epic novel, Bury our Bones in the Midnight Soil.   It’s the story of three women who lead complicated, violent, sensual lives across the centuries. The interconnect. They love. They kill.   It wasn’t the book I was expecting…and I loved it. I think you’ll love this conversation too.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2020), by V.E. Schwab Vicious (2013),  by V.E. Schwab Carmilla (1872), by Sheridan Le Fanu The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (2025), by Stephen Graham Jones The Vampire Lestat (1985), by Anne Rice The Time Traveller’s Wife (2003), by Audrey Niffenegger King of Ashes (2025), by S.A. Cosby Razorblade Tears (2021), by S.A. Cosby   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The third Let Us Palaver minisode (though this one is not so mini) – in which Nat and I reflect on The Waste Lands in full spoiler mode…and say REALLY mean things about Chris and his hurtful opinions.   If you’ve been to the Tower before, I hope you dig this. Unless you agree with Chris about [redacted], in which case you’re dead to us.   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re finally on the path of The Beam.   The Dark Tower Readalong reaches the land of wonder and ruination, in Book 3, The Waste Lands. Accompanied by Nat and Chris, we battle the great bear, get dirty in the speaking ring, and brave the streets of Lud.   But we also have the first quake in our Ka-tet, when Chris offers the most egregiously wrong opinion that anyone could offer on these books. You may agree with him… but if you do, we have a problem.   I have never cursed or yelled so much on this show before!!   Nonetheless, we have fun, we push on, and we’re still friends (just about).   Enjoy!   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Connolly is, in my opinion, the greatest living writer working in the overlap of crime and horror. His long-running series of novels—focused on the Strange cases of his haunted detective, Charlie Parker—is now over twenty books strong. The latest, The Children of Eve is a pivotal instalment, so this seemed a good time to get John on the show, to grill him about this saga’s many mysteries, and hideous horrors.   We talk about creating iconic villains, writing violence against the vulnerable, the monstrous feminine and the strange truth of Parker’s nature.   There’s also some very exciting info on a possible TV adaptation!   Enjoy!   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 talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices