This is not your average horror podcast interview.
In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Corey and Kendall sit down with author and illustrator Drew Huff, whose work isn’t just inspired by trauma, it is shaped by it. Drew speaks openly about the lasting effects of growing up with an alcoholic father, and the surreal, devastating responsibility of handling his estate after his sudden overdose. At 22, she was the next of kin, and the only one left to clean up the mess.
We trace the emotional terrain between that loss and her debut horror novel Free Burn, a splatterpunk epic soaked in unresolved rage, haunted inheritance, and the desire to break generational cycles. We also dive into the dark underbelly of creative industries, as Drew recounts her experience being emotionally manipulated and professionally exploited by a predatory freelance editor.
We talk about how The Shining saved her. How Doctor Sleep helped her forgive. And how Pet Sematary revealed the quiet truth of grief: that we sometimes choose destruction over despair, because destruction hurts less.
This is a conversation about being queer in a community that doesn’t always feel like yours. About leaving behind the security of a paycheck for the hope of a future. About the monstrous parts of ourselves we write not to hide, but to understand.
Drew Huff (she/her) is a queer horror and speculative fiction author and illustrator based in Washington State. Her debut novel, Free Burn, was released by Dark Matter INK in 2024, and her next cosmic horror release, The Divine Flesh, arrived March 2025. Her work explores themes of grief, addiction, emotional inheritance, and queer rage—with stories that don’t flinch from life’s ugliest truths.
She is currently preparing to relocate from a conservative hometown to Seattle in pursuit of creative community and healing. Drew is living proof that horror can be both a weapon and a mirror—and that survival doesn’t have to be silent.
Thank you for listening to Horror Heals.
Share the show with someone who loves horror and someone who needs a little healing.
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.
