This week on Horror Heals, we’re joined by debut horror author Grace Daly, who once called herself “a coward to the core.” Jump scares? No thanks. Gore? Absolutely not. But everything changed when Grace's chronic illness forced her to confront a very real kind of body horror—one she couldn't turn off, mute, or escape.
In this powerful and unflinchingly honest episode, Grace shares how her diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome cracked open a terrifying but oddly comforting door into the horror genre. We talk about finding catharsis in blood and guts, the comfort of monsters when your body feels like the enemy, and why disabled voices are crucial in horror storytelling.
We also dive into:
Grace proves you don’t have to be fearless to face the dark—you just have to be ready.
📚 Guest: Grace Daly
Grace is a former IT project manager turned horror writer who lives with multiple chronic invisible illnesses. Her debut novel The Scald Crow drops this October and blends Irish folklore, body horror, and razor-sharp humor with unflinching honesty about disability and identity.
💬 “My body is a horror show. So I figured—I might as well write one.”
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If you want to support our guests, check the show notes for links to their work, conventions, and fundraising pages.
You can also listen to our sister podcast Family Twist, a show about DNA surprises, identity, and the families we find along the way.
Horror Heals is produced by How the Cow Ate the Cabbage LLC.
Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.
