LOTF 24: I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, with Guest Host Stephanie from Books in the Freezer

In this episode, we are joined by Stephanie from Books in the Freezer podcast for an in-depth conversation about Iain Reid’s novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things.

Back cover synopsis:

“In this deeply suspenseful and irresistibly unnerving debut novel, a man and his girlfriend are on their way to a secluded farm. When the two take an unexpected detour, she is left stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape at all. What follows is a twisted unraveling that will haunt you long after the last page is turned.”

“In this smart, suspenseful, and intense literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. This edgy, haunting debut is tense, gripping, and atmospheric. It pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.”

Show Notes

• Book “siblings”

  • Husk by Rachel Autumn Deering

  • Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

  • The Sixth Sense (film)

  • Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall

• Initial impressions

• What made it scary?

• THAT ENDING!!! Major spoilers from 00:36:15 to 01:02:45

• Stephanie’s super power: spontaneous time travel + invisibility (a la The Bright Sessions podcast)

• Classic book Stephanie doesn’t plan on reading: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

• Find Stephanie: Instagram | Youtube

• Find Books in the Freezer: Website | Instagram | Twitter

LOTF 23: Tropisode #2 | Haunted Houses with Kathryn E. McGee

In this special Halloween episode, we are thrilled to bring you our second Tropisode! Today’s episode is all about Haunted Houses. As you know, with these episodes we invite a guest with some expertise on the trope we’re exploring. Today, we’re happy to welcome Kathryn E. McGee BACK to the show.

Our listeners might remember Kathryn from LOTF 03, in which we talked about the highlights from StokerCon 2018. As you know, we met Kathryn in grad school. We’ve brought her back on the show today because during her time in our MFA program, she established herself as a Haunted House expert. We think you’ll find her expertise valuable!

Show Notes:

• Kathryn’s early writing, and how her career as an architectural historian fueled her interest in haunted houses.

• Why are haunted houses so scary?

  • American Nightmares by Dale Bailey

• Early haunted house stories

  • The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

  • The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe

• What’s the difference between haunted house stories and ghost stories?

  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

  • The Shining by Stephen King

  • Monster House film

• Kathryn’s Haunted House Recs

  • Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

  • Hell House by Richard Matheson

  • Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

  • The Shining by Stephen King

  • The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

  • House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

  • Lunar Park by Bred Easton Ellis

  • Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix

  • Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

    • “The Resident”

  • Audrey’s Door by Sarah Langan

• The Thing in the Labyrinth Horror Book Club at The Last Bookstore

• Find Kathryn: Twitter | Website

Photo by Ján Jakub Naništa on Unsplash

LOTF 22: Michael David Wilson on Childhood Nightmares, This Is Horror Origins, Personal Growth, and the Girl in the Video

In this episode we chat with Michael David Wilson, the founder, editor in chief, and podcast host over at This Is Horror. Michael has done amazing work to promote the horror genre and has provided an invaluable resource for writers at all stages of their careers. In this conversation, we take a deep dive into his early writing (you won’t want to miss his retelling of James and the Chocolate Tree!), we explore his religious upbringing and how that connects to his love of horror. We also talk about the path that led him to start This Is Horror, and we learn about his forthcoming novella, The Girl in the Video, out next year from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing.

Show Notes:

• This Is Horror Story Unboxed “The Lottery” with guests the Ladies of the Fright, Lisa Quigley & Mackenzie Kiera

• Michael’s early writing (“James and the Chocolate Tree”) and early interest in horror

• Theological discussion. We discuss Michael’s recurring childhood nightmare, and how his religious upbringing informed his interest in horror.

• This Is Horror origin story

• Early influences

  • Black Static magazine

  • Scream magazine

    • David Moody

    • Adam Neville

  • Booked Podcast

  • The Geeks Guide to the Galaxy

  • Horror, etc

  • The Creative Penn

  • Smart Passive Income

• Neil Gaiman quote: “Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”

• Joe R. Lansdale

• Jack Ketchum

• The Girl in the Video, Michael’s novella, is forthcoming from Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing

• Livia Llewellyn

• Gwendolyn Kiste

• Josh Malerman

• Michael’s superpower: to know exactly what someone needs when they are down or in a negative state. The cost: to feel what they are feeling. Ultimate empathy.

• Classic book Michael will never read: Ender’s Game

• Find Michael: Website | Twitter

• Don’t forget to check out the This Is Horror Podcast Patreon. I am personally a member at the $4 level and it’s worth every penny. You can support them for as little as $1 a month. I am passionate about supporting artists in their endeavors and the awesome guys at This Is Horror are deserving of every dollar you can spare. Check it out!

Photo by Ricky Turner on Unsplash