Shows
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW Classic: Moths by Rosalind AsheWe are rerunning the classic episode to celebrate the upcoming release of Moths through Valancourt Books as part of their Monster, She Wrote series. Preorders open now, shipping in July 2025! Rosalind Ashe’s Moths was marketed as a book for fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca. And there are some similarities: a beautiful old estate with a crumbling wing. A young wife who moves in determined to make it her own. And a dead woman haunting the home that was once hers. But what would happen if Rebecca had possessed the body of the new wife? That...2025-04-0147 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast"The End of the Voyage" by Bora ChungIn “The End of the Voyage,” a short story in Bora Chung’s collection Your Utopia , a group escapes a pandemic here on Earth by jumping into a spaceship. As they search for a safe place to live, their trip takes a dark turn. Recommended in this episode: Beach Read by Emily Henry NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. UP NEXT: Banned Books Buy our books here, including our...2025-03-1857 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastSo Thirsty by Rachel HarrisonIn So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison, Sloane Parker HATES birthday celebrations, but her husband and best friend Naomi conspire to give Sloane a weekend away at a posh lakeside cottage. The girls’ weekend away takes a dark and bloody turn, however, after a wild night out with some mysterious strangers. Recommended in this episode: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas and A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small busine...2025-03-0458 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastLinghun by Ai JiangLinghun by Ai Jiang is set in the mysterious HOME, a suburb of Toronto, where the residents live among the ghosts. Winqi, a high school senior, must navigate her new town, where grief cuts everyone off from the rest of the world. Recommended in this episode: “The Center for Immortality Research” in Your Utopia by Bora Chung) and Mike Chen’s Here and Now and Then NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. UP NEXT: So Thirsty by Rachel Har...2025-02-1858 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastYou'll Like My Mother (film adaptation)Last episode, we read the Gothic horror You’ll Like My Mother by Naomi A. Hintze, which was recently re-released with Valancourt Books. In it, a pregnant widow named Francesca is trapped in her mother-in-law’s home and must escape. This episode, we are discussing The 1972 film adaptation of You’ll Like My Mother, starring Patty Duke. Recommended in this episode: Barstow by David Ian McKendry and Rebekah McKendry, Forget This Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke, and The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of o...2025-02-041h 01
The Monster She Wrote PodcastYou'll Like My Mother by Naomi A. HintzePregnant Francesca finds herself a widow at a young age after her husband is sent to Vietnam. Without support from her family, she embarks on a cross-country journey to her late husband’s family home in Ohio. While she’s never met her mother-in-law, she hopes that she will be welcomed in. His childhood home, though, is nothing like she was told it was–and her new mother-in-law might be more dangerous than she anticipated. Recommended in this episode: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline 2025-01-2158 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW Classic: The Woman in BlackMel and Lisa are busy gearing up for a new season in this new year! In the meantime, enjoy this classic episode of the podcast, perfect for the Gothic feeling that is January. UP NEXT: Season 6 kicks off with Naomi A. Hintze's You'll Like my Mother. 2025-01-071h 16
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW Classic: AdaptationEnjoy this classic podcast episode and have a happy and safe holiday season! NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. More info about the Canadian museum exhibit here: https://www.orillia.ca/en/visiting/exhibits.aspx?_mid_=28224 (Opening October 5 until December 20, 2024 - Temporary Exhibit) UP NEXT: The holiday season is approaching, and we are going to take full advantage. So the podcast will be on hiatus for the remainder of 2024. We will run a few of our favorite holi...2024-12-2459 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW Classic: Helen Oyeyemi's GingerbreadEnjoy this classic podcast episode and have a happy and safe holiday season! NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. More info about the Canadian museum exhibit here: https://www.orillia.ca/en/visiting/exhibits.aspx?_mid_=28224 (Opening October 5 until December 20, 2024 - Temporary Exhibit) UP NEXT: The holiday season is approaching, and we are going to take full advantage. So the podcast will be on hiatus for the remainder of 2024. We will run a few of our favorite holi...2024-12-1054 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastJenny Kiefer's This Wretched ValleyIn Jenny Kiefer’s This Wretched Valley, there is a bad place just off a highway in a secluded forest in Kentucky. When a small group made up of geology grad students and rock climbers set up camp there to document a previously unknown rock wall, they find more than they bargained for. The place is old. And it isn’t always what it seems. Recommended in this episode: Grady Hendrix’s Witchcraft for Wayward Girls NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and he...2024-11-2642 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with Jenny KieferJenny Kiefer is a debut author, avid rock climber, and Kentucky resident. She also owns and manages Butcher Cabin Books, a horror bookstore in Louisville, KY, with her mother. Her background is in copywriting and journalism, and she is the recipient of the Miracle Monocle Editor’s Award for Emerging Writers and four Society of Professional Journalism Awards. She was a 2021 Pitch Wars mentee and is a member of the Horror Writers Association. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small...2024-11-1231 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastHalloween Special: Agatha All AlongFor Toil and Trouble, our book, we did a deep dive into research of the witch. And since the witch is a mainstay of this time of year, we thought it would be fun to do a little bit of a different episode today. We watched the first two episodes of Disney Plus’s Agatha All Along. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. More info about the Canadian museum exhibit here: https://www.orillia...2024-10-2944 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastChrista Carmen's The Daughters of Block IslandIn this episode, we are discussing Christa Carmen’s meta Gothic novel The Daughters of Block Island with special guest Crystal O’Leary-Davidson. Crystal O’Leary-Davidson, writing as C. O. Davidson has published fiction in PseudoPod, Cemetery Gates, and in anthologies, most recently Hard to Find: An Anthology of New Southern Gothic. Her story, “The Mark,” in Vastarien, was recognized by editor Ellen Datlow in her anthology of The Best of Horror of the Year, Vol. 15 as one of the works of “notable dark fiction in 2022.” An English professor at Middle Georgia State University, she teaches classes...2024-10-1554 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastThe Unmothers by Leslie J. AndersonAbout The Unmothers: After the death of her husband, journalist Marshall is sent to the small town of Raeford to investigate a clearly ridiculous rumor—that a horse has given birth to a human baby. As she's pulled deeper into the town and its guarded people, she realizes Raeford may be harboring more dark secrets than she expected. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. Recommended in this episode: The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir...2024-10-0144 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with Leslie J. AndersonLeslie J. Anderson has spent much of her life riding, training, and caring for horses. Her collection of poetry, An Inheritance of Stone, was nominated for an Elgin Award. She has a master’s in creative writing from Ohio University and lives in Ohio with her family. The Unmothers is her debut novel. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. UP NEXT: The Unmothers Buy our books here, including our newest Toil and Trouble. 2024-09-1742 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastJoyce Carol Oates's "The Long-Legged Girl"Joyce Carol Oates’s story “The Long-Legged Girl” (collected in Night-Gaunts) is part horror story, part cozy mystery…after all, the plot of the story revolves around a teapot. That tea contains poison, of course, but the sentiment is there nonetheless. Our story begins as a frustrated housewife hosts her professor-husband’s young, gorgeous, and yes, long-legged student at their home. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. Recommended in this episode: I Was a Teenage Slasher by Steph...2024-09-031h 02
The Monster She Wrote PodcastTananarive Due’s The ReformatoryJoin Mel and Lisa as we discuss Tananarive Due’s The Reformatory. When 12-year-old Robert Stephens is sent to Gracetown School For Boys, a reformatory, he finds himself in a nightmare. Like many children in Gracetown, Florida, he has a special ability to see ghosts, a “talent” which the warden exploits, charging Robbie with the task of getting rid of the “haints” of the boys who died because of the warden’s cruel treatment. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our favorite books at our shop–and help out small businesses. ...2024-08-2046 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastLora Senf's The ClackityJoin Lisa and Mel as they discuss Lora Senf’s The Clackity. Young Evie lives with her aunt in Blight Harbor–a seemingly quiet small town where everyone knows each other and looks out for each other. There’s just one small problem: it is the seventh most haunted town in America. Nearly everywhere you go, there are ghosts. Most are friendly. Still, there are some places everyone avoids. Like the abattoir. But now Evie must go there to save her aunt, who has gone missing. NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Fi...2024-08-0646 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastAnnouncing Our Bookshop.Org Shop! We have a bookshop.org shop set up. Now you can shop for all of your favorite horror books by women. You’ll find Lisa's books, Mel’s books, and the books you hear about on this podcast. Plus, bookshop helps small bookstores. Find all of our favorite books at Bookshop.org shop now! 2024-07-2302 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastGwendolyn Kiste's "Your Mother's Love is an ApocalypseMothers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are good, caring, and loving. And some are a bit more complicated. Sometimes it feels like a mother can be out to absolutely destroy your world–the mother at the heart of Gwendolyn Kiste’s story “Your Mother’s Love is an Apocalypse” (from the Mother Knows Best anthology) is of the latter ilk. Kiste explores the difficult mother-daughter relationship and asks the question: when does the responsibility of the daughter to take care of the mother end? NEWS: We have a Bookshop.org shop now! Find all of our f...2024-07-2340 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastRachel Harrison's Black SheepSPOILERS ABOUND! This novel contains a TWIST you don’t want to ruin, so listen at your own risk. Vesper Wright left home at eighteen to escape her family, who has been entrenched in a religious cult community for decades, and she hasn’t looked back. That is, until she gets a wedding invitation for her childhood best friend’s marriage to her high school love. She doesn’t know who sent the invitation or if she is even welcome back home, but she finds that curiosity is too overwhelming and decides she has to attend. Whoever said you...2024-07-0955 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastTananarive Due's "Summer"Tananarive Due’s “Summer” (from her story collection Ghost Summer) is set in her fictional town of Gracetown, Florida, where the humid and murky swamps hide bodies and demon leeches. It’s not a place to raise a baby–or maybe it is. Recommended in this episode: Shirley Jackson’s Sundial and Netflix’s Bridgerton UP NEXT: Rachel Harrison’s Black Sheep Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2024-06-2547 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastCynthia Pelayo's Forgotten SistersSisters Anna and Jennie live in a big house right on the Chicago river, where they are dealing with the grief following the aftermath of a family tragedy and the dead bodies that keep floating to the surface of the water. So join us as we discuss Cynthia Pelayo’s Forgotten Sisters, a novel that is part ghost story, part fairy tale, and part real-life Chicago history. Recommended in this episode: Abigail UP NEXT: Tananarive Due’s “Summer” Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2024-06-1136 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with author Cynthia PelayoCynthia Pelayo is a Bram Stoker Award® winning and International Latino Book Award winning author and poet. She is the author of Children of Chicago, The Shoemaker’s Magician, Loteria, Santa Muerte, The Missing, and Poems of My Night, all of which have been nominated for International Latino Book Awards. Poems of My Night was also nominated for an Elgin Award. Her collection of poetry, Into the Forest and All the Way Through explores true crime, that of the epidemic of missing and murdered women in the United States. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, a Master of...2024-05-2835 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastTanith Lee's "Beauty"If you ever thought to yourself, “I wish Beauty and the Beast had aliens in it,” then today’s story is for you. In her short story “Beauty,” Tanith Lee takes the classic fairy tale out of the castles and forests and into the stars. Recommended in this episode: Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake UP NEXT: Interview with author Cythia Pelayo Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2024-05-1457 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastGwendolyn Kiste’s The Haunting of VelkwoodThe mysterious Velkwood Vicinity is an occult and paranormal marvel, occupying the interest of scientists and conspiracy theorists alike. But for three friends, Talitha, Brett, and Grace, the Velkwood Vicinity is their painful past. It’s the neighborhood they grew up in, and where their families still live–as ghosts. But now, Talitha returns, hoping for answers and maybe closure. The past is never really dead, though, and it may be more than she bargained for. Recommended in this episode: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo UP NEXT: Tanith Lee’s short story “Beauty” Buy Toil...2024-04-3051 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with Gwendolyn KisteJoin Lisa and Mel as we talk with author Gwendolyn Kiste about her newest novel, The Haunting of Velkwood. Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, Pretty Marys All in a Row, and The Haunting of Velkwood. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including Lit Hub, Nightmare, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, CrimeReads, Tor Nightfire, The Lineup, and The Dark. She's a Lambda Literary Award winner, and her fiction has also received the This Is Horror award for Novel of the Year as w...2024-04-1636 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastFill Your TBR Pile!This episode is a little different from our usual format, but we promise you'll love it. It's all about book recommendations and what Mel and Lisa are loving right now. UP NEXT: An interview with author Gwendolyn Kiste! Buy Toil and Trouble here!2024-04-0231 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast"Shambleau" by C. L. MooreA rogue adventurer meets a woman with snakes for hair, and he falls under her seductive spell. Luckily, a friend gives our hero a heads up: don’t look in her eyes for that leads only to certain doom. No, we aren’t talking about the legend of Perseus and Medusa. This is a space adventure story set on Mars, and written by C L Moore. Recommended: Starling House and Never Whistle at Night UP NEXT: A recommendation episode! Buy Toil and Trouble here!2024-03-1955 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastKelly Link's "Stone Animals"Kelly Link’s “Stone Animals” begins with an unspoken question, immediately throwing readers into an ambiguous but nightmarish journey as a family moves into a new home, where nothing is as it should be. Rabbits are taking over the yard. The children are eating grass and complaining of haunted items. And the husband never wants to come home. But is it really a haunted home? Or has this family made it that way by moving their own baggage into this contested domestic space? Recommended in this ep: Carissa Orlando’s The September House; The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendo...2024-03-0554 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastT. Kingfisher's What Moves the DeadWhat Moves the Dead is T. Kingfisher’s retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher.” More than that though, it’s the tale of Alex Easton, a retired soldier, who visits their dying friend, Madeline, at her family manor. Something very sinister is going on, and it’s up to Alex, along with their newfound friends, a mycologist and a doctor, to figure it out before it’s too late. Recommended in this episode: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno Garcia UP NEXT: Kelly Link’s “Stone Animals” Bu...2024-02-2052 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastTanith Lee's "Louisa the Poisoner"Louisa was raised in isolation in a cottage deep in the woods by a mysterious witch. It sounds like the start of a fairy tale, but this story takes twists and turns as Louisa leaves her home for the outside world. She’s no princess…and this is no fairy tale. This is a Gothic tale with plenty of intrigue, led by a rather unusual heroine. Join us as we discuss Tanith Lee’s “Louisa the Poisoner.” Recommended in this episode: Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series UP NEXT: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher2024-02-061h 00
The Monster She Wrote PodcastOur 100th Episode!We made it to 100 episodes! Join us as we look back at the writing of the book and as we look to the future of the podcast! UP NEXT: Tanith Lee’s “Louisa the Poisoner” Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2024-01-2340 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW Classic: "Christmas Meeting"We are on hiatus for the December holidays. Please enjoy this classic episode from our archives. We will be back in 2024 with a brand new season and a special celebration of our 100th episode. Have a happy holiday season, from Lisa and Mel. 2024-01-0941 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW Classic: Connie Willis's "Newsletter"Please enjoy this classic episode from our archives. Enjoy your holiday season, and we will be back in 2024 with a brand new season and a special celebration of our 100th episode. 2023-12-2650 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastAda Buisson’s “The Ghost’s Summons”A young doctor is called into the home of a wealthy man, but rather than seeing the sick patient he is expecting, he is greeted with a seemingly healthy man, who offers him a thousand pounds to attend a death bed. The doctor, who isn’t a rich man himself, reluctantly accepts the strange request. Of course, this is a ghost story, so the doctor doesn’t know exactly what he is in for…Join us as we discuss Ada Buisson’s “The Ghost’s Summons.” Story originally published in Belgravia (January 1868); Collected in The Valancourt Book...2023-12-1244 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastRachel Harrison's The ReturnExactly two years after she disappeared, Julie mysteriously comes back, with no memory of where she’s been. To celebrate her return, Julie’s friends get together for a girls’ weekend away at a remote hotel. Things, however, are not all wonderful–Julie doesn’t seem like herself at all. Something else, something more sinister and dangerous, is hiding beneath the surface, and it all comes out over the course of the trip. Recommended in this episode: Elizabeth Hand's A Haunting on the Hill and Patrick Stewart's autobiography Making It So UP NEXT: Ada Buisson's "The Ghost...2023-11-281h 02
The Monster She Wrote PodcastEdith Wharton's All SoulsSarah Clayborne is a widow, living alone in an old and stately manor house called Whitegates. One Halloween, Sarah takes a walk and slips on a frozen puddle, injuring her ankle. She takes to bed in her old and lonely home. Her painful broken foot is the least of her troubles, however, as she finds herself in the center of a good old fashioned ghost story. Recommended in this episode: Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher UP NEXT: Rachel Harrison's The Return We will be back in two weeks when we disc...2023-11-1456 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastHalloween SpecialHappy Halloween from the Monster, She Wrote podcast! UP NEXT: "All Souls" by Edith Wharton Buy Toil and Trouble here!2023-10-3139 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastSilvia Moreno-Garcia's "Lacrimosa"Ramon left his home in Mexico a long time ago, settling first in California and then in Vancouver. But now, he worries that his past may have followed him, in the form of a homeless woman, a woman he is convinced is a La Llorona. Read the story here. Recommended in this episode: CJ Leede’s Maeve Fly UP NEXT: A Halloween special episode Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-10-1736 minThe Monster She Wrote PodcastSpooky Season RecommendationsToday, we are doing things a little differently. Since this is our first episode in October–the best month of the year if you ask us–we thought we’d do an extended recommendations episode, all with the intent of getting you ready for spooky season. UP NEXT: “Lacrimosa” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Read it here at Nightmare Magazine Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-10-0334 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastLisa Does the Unthinkable: Watches Star Trek (AKA Our “Sub Rosa” Episode)When Dr. Beverly Crusher’s grandmother passes away, she visits her home planet, a place made to look like old world Scotland on Earth, in order to pay her respects. As it turns out, she gets much more than a sad goodbye. Her grandmother had a secret life, complete with a young lover named Ronin, a man who takes an interest in Dr. Crusher. Ronin, however, is much more than he seems, and Dr. Crusher finds herself in the middle of a ghost romance. Or is it more like ghost possession? Recommended in this episode: Lisa Tuttle’s Rid...2023-09-1958 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastRosalind Ashe’s MothsRosalind Ashe’s Moths (1976) was marketed as a book for fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca. And there are some similarities: a beautiful old estate with a crumbling wing. A young wife who moves in determined to make it her own. And a dead woman haunting the home that was once hers. But what would happen if Rebecca had possessed the body of the new wife? That’s what Ashe’s book posits. So join us as we discuss Moths. Recommended in this episode: Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy UP NEXT: St...2023-09-0546 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMy Cousin Rachel (2017 film)Last week, we discussed Daphne Du Maurier’s novel My Cousin Rachel. Today, we thought it would be fun to look at the 2017 film adaptation, starring Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin. Recommended in this episode: Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird UP NEXT: Rosalind Ashe’s Moths Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-08-2237 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastDaphne Du Maurier's My Cousin RachelPhillip has lived with his guardian Ambrose Ashley on Ambrose’s manor in the English countryside since Philip was a child and his parents’ death left him orphaned. Philip’s idyllic life is upturned, however, when Ambrose leaves for Italy, where he meets a mysterious woman named Rachel and swiftly marries her. Things take a dark turn when Ambrose dies suddenly–leaving letters behind that suggest perhaps Rachel was to blame. Following the tragedy, Rachel travels to the manor house, where she further turns Philip’s life upside down. But the question remains: is Rachel a scheming villain or an innocen...2023-08-0856 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastIn Margaret St. Clair’s “Flowering Evil"In Margaret St. Clair’s “Flowering Evil," Amy Dinsmore is quite the gardener. She loves tending to her collection of Martian and Venusian plants, flowers, and succulents. But one plant, in particular, is a little bit more than she bargained for. Originally published in Planet Stories vol 4 num 7, Summer 1950, this story can be found in audio format in Pseudopod (825, August 2022) and in text via an archive. Recommended in this episode: Cherie Dimaline’s VenCo UP NEXT: Daphne DuMaurier’s My Cousin Rachel Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-07-2551 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with Sadie HartmannSadie Hartmann aka Mother Horror is the co-owner of the horror fiction subscription company, Night Worms and the Bram Stoker Awards® nominated editor of her own horror fiction imprint, Dark Hart. Her non-fiction book about horror books titled, 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered for Page Street Books is coming, August 2023. She lives in the PNW with her husband of 20+ years where they stare at Mt Rainier, eat street tacos, and hang out with their 3 kids. They have a Frenchie named Owen. Preorder Sadie’s book here. UP NEXT...2023-07-1143 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastNadia Bulkin's "Wish You Were Here"In Nadia Bulkin’s story “Wish You Were Here,” Dimas is escorting American tourists on a city tour in Bali. He’s only trying to do his job, but the tourists become much more than a simple annoyance when they begin to ask about Jelankung, an Indonesian way of contacting the spirits of the dead. Read the story here and the interview with Nadia Bulkin here. Recommended in this episode: Anne Serling’s As I Knew Him: My Father, Rod Serling UP NEXT: An interview with Sadie Hartmann 2023-06-2741 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMargaret St. Clair's "The Island of the Hands"Dirk has lost his wife, Joan, and he is devastated by grief. Joan was a pilot who crashed during a routine flight, and he knows there isn’t any hope of her survival because he was talking to her on the radio when she crashed. He knows she went down in the ocean with no land in sight, and he knows the search was futile. But, despite all evidence to the contrary, he still feels like there’s a chance she’s alive. He feels like there is a compass in his mind telling him precisely where to find her. H...2023-06-1350 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastGet to Know Lisa and Mel: Reader EditionGet to know Mel and Lisa: reader edition! Recommended in this episode: Shirley Jackson’s short stories UP NEXT: Margaret St. Clair’s “The Island of the Hands” Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-05-3047 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with R. A. BusbyAuthor of the novella Corporate Body and the Shirley Jackson Award-winning story "Not the Man I Married," R.A. Busby spends her spare time running in the desert with her dog and finding weird things to write about. Buy Corporate Body here (or anywhere books or sold). Recommended in this episode: Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper UP NEXT: Get to know Mel and Lisa’s reading styles! Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-05-1634 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastR. A. Busby's "Not the Man I Married"TW: Domestic Violence/Abuse The narrator of “Not the Man I Married” has a happy life. She lives in a big house with her husband, Charles, and their two children, Bella and baby Charlie. Everything seems wonderful…until one day a man comes home who looks like Charles, walks like Charles, and even talks like Charles. Only this isn’t Charles at all. It’s a monster wearing Charles’s body like some kind of horrible wet suit. So begins the terrible and strange fight for her family’s life. Read the story here. Read the article ment...2023-05-0245 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastChesya Burke's "Haint Me Too"Ghosts come in many forms. In Chesya Burke’s story “Haint Me Too,” this ghost is of the angry kind. She haunts the Myrtle House, a Southern plantation home, inhabited by “the Perfect Southern American Dream” (“father, mother, three boys and two girls”). Young Shea, the daughter of a Black sharecropping family living on the land, witnesses the haint that lives in Myrtle House. She sees its terror–and its power. And soon, events unfold that force Shea to seek out that exact power. Read Hex Life for this story. Recommended in this episode: Showtime’s Yellowjackets and...2023-04-1854 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast“The Debt” by Ania AhlbornIn her short story “The Debt,” Ania Ahlborn weaves a modern fairytale. Karolin is an 11 year old girl, supposedly visiting her grandmother in Poland for the first time, but her grandmother is nowhere to be found. She’s traveled there with her father, both of them still reeling from the death of Karolin’s mother one year earlier. Karolin is enchanted by the quaint town and the lush dark green forest that surrounds it. The forest is a magical place, but that magic turns dark when Karolin loses her way and can’t find her way out. Can she survive th...2023-04-0455 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastThe Hacienda by Isabel CañasFollowing the Mexican War of Independence, Beatriz finds her life in ruins: her father has been executed and she is left to take care of her family. Her only hope is a good marriage–so she marries the wealthy but mysterious Don Rodolpho, following the death of his first wife. Beatriz moves into Rodolpho’s aging home, the Hacienda San Isidro. But that is only the start of Beatriz’s troubles. There’s something supernatural and evil in San Isidro, something that doesn’t want Beatriz there. With the help of the local priest Andres, Beatriz begins a fight for her li...2023-03-2146 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastLisa Loring, the first Wednesday AddamsWednesday Addams is a well-known and much beloved character in the horror genre. We all know her trademark macabre attitude, all-black goth dress with the white collar, and of course, her pigtail braids. Much less is known about Lisa Loring, the first actress to portray the original Wednesday on television. Loring recently passed, so today’s episode is dedicated to her. Recommended in this episode: YOU on Netflix UP NEXT: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas Buy Toil and Trouble here! 2023-03-0731 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastTananarive Due's The BetweenWhen Hilton James’s wife, the only elected African American judge in Dade County, FL, begins receiving racist hate mail threatening her and Hilton and their two children, he understandably becomes obsessed with discovering who the culprit is and protecting his family from them. However, this crisis is not the only one he is facing. After years of feeling that he had moved on from a childhood trauma involving his grandmother, he is once again facing disturbed sleep and weird nightmares, both when he sleeps and while waking. As he negotiates these two monstrous situations, one external and one in...2023-02-2140 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast“The Cactus” by Mildred JohnsonWhen Edith Porter’s friend Abby sends her a cutting from a cactus she found while on a trip in Mexico, Edith decides to try to bring it back to life among her collection of cactus plants. To her surprise and delight, it turns green and begins to grow. And grow. And grow. It’s the fastest growing cactus she’s ever seen, and it doesn’t really look exactly like any other cactus, either. As the cactus gets bigger, Edith’s previously sedate life becomes increasingly strange, and although it seems absurd at first, she begins to wonder if the cac...2023-02-0745 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast2022 In ReviewJoin Lisa and Mel as they share their favorite books, television shows, and movies from 2022. Next Episode: Mildred Johnson’s “The Cactus” (Weird Tales story) Buy Toil and Trouble wherever you get books! 2023-01-2432 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastHelen Oyeyemi's GingerbreadAn unusual episode for an unusual book! Helen Oyeyemi’s novel Gingerbread is a tale about a mother Harriet and her daughter Perdita–and Harriet’s famous Gingerbread recipe, which she learned from her mother. Harriet wants to use it to impress the mothers at her daughter’s school. Sounds normal enough, right? Not quite. This is an Oyeyemi book, so of course, things must take a turn of the stranger kind. Recommended in this episode: Don DeLillo's White Noise (and the Netflix adaptation) and Tananarive Due's The Between Coming up soon: Mildred Johnson’s...2023-01-1053 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastMSW CLASSIC: Connie Willis's “In Coppelius’s Toyshop”Coppelius’s Toyshop is one of the busiest stores in New York during the Christmas season. With life-sized toy soldiers on either side of the entrance and characters straight out of fairy tales roaming the aisles filled with toys, it’s a paradise for kids of all ages. It’s not a paradise, however, for Connie Willis’s narrator, who is late for a Knicks game and just learned his new girlfriend has a kid that needs to be watched until her friend can pick him up from the toy store. To make matters worse, the narrator hates kids, and he h...2022-12-1359 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastConnie Willis's "Newsletter"Christmas is not always the easiest time of year for people. There’s often the headache of travel through busy airports, the annoyance of trying to plan a meal that will accommodate everyone’s schedules, and of course, the pressure to put your best foot forward in your annual Christmas card. All of that becomes much more complicated, however, when pod people begin to overtake your town, which is exactly the predicament the main character faces in Connie Willis’s story “Newsletter.” Recommended in this episode: Stephen King's Firestarter and the second season of White Lotus on HBO We will be back in...2022-11-2945 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastPriya Sharma's "Fabulous Beasts"This Priya Sharma story was published on Tor.com in July of 2015, and collected in her 2018 collection All the Fabulous Beasts. Here is the description from Tor: “'Fabulous Beasts' by Priya Sharma is a horror novelette about a strange woman living in luxury with her lover, but irrevocably tied to her childhood of deprivation and dark secrets in northwest England. The woman recalls the unravelling of the family upon her uncle’s release from prison." The story is still available to read on Tor.com. CW/TW: Please be warned that this story deals with difficult content and...2022-11-1552 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastRachel Harrison's CackleAnnie’s life has been turned upside down. Her boyfriend broke up with her after nearly a decade together, and she can’t afford to live in New York City without his help splitting the rent. Without many options, she accepts a teaching job in a small town of Rowan. Her life changes when she meets the mysterious and magical Sophie. Sophie seems wonderful, but the townspeople seem to fear her. And her huge manor is haunted by vengeful ghosts and spiders that can grow to the size of dogs. Is Sophie a friend to Annie? Or a powerful foe...2022-11-0159 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with Rachel HarrisonRachel Harrison is the author of Cackle and The Return, which was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, and as an Audible Original. She lives in Western New York with her husband and their cat/overlord. Her newest book is Such Sharp Teeth. Recommended in this episode: They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe UP NEXT: We discuss Harrison's book Cackle TOIL AND TROUBLE is out OCTOBER 25. PREORDER NOW!2022-10-1828 min
Book Squad GoalsOthersode #72: Witches In, Children Out / Hocus Pocus 2 with Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. AndersonCome little children and join us for our witchiest episode ever as we discuss “Hocus Pocus 2.” We’re joined by returning guests Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson, authors of “Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult,” who contribute their expert knowledge to our conversation about the long-awaited sequel to the 90s Halloween classic. After the review, we dig into “Toil and Trouble,” covering Mel and Lisa’s favorite witchy research topics, their thoughts on witchtok, and the very real Satanic Panic we’re going through at this very moment. We also read some listener feedback from podcast superfan...2022-10-181h 50
For the Love of BooksMonster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kröger & Melanie R. AndersonHappy Halloween everyone!
Your host Cindy and Lucy continue on their Halloween book-bingeing list with Lisa Kröger's & Melanie R. Anderson's Monster, She Wrote detailing female authors who have greatly contributed to the horror, suspense, thriller, and everything else genre. It's an informative book to read and learn from. Scary and non scary lovers will find something to add to their book to-read list. Enjoy!2022-10-1124 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastEllen Oh's "Spirit Hunters"12-year-old Harper Raine and her family have moved from New York City to a suburb of Washington, D.C., for a new start. Harper is trying to work through wounds left by a traumatic series of events in her past that harmed her physically, mentally, and emotionally and left her with gaps in her memory. Her parents, however, have unknowingly picked the worst new home for Harper to live in: the Grady House. Harper quickly learns from her new friend Dayo that the house has a bad reputation and a creepy history. When Harper starts experiencing cold spots, hearing...2022-10-0443 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastEpisode 68: "The Sin Eater"PREORDER TOIL AND TROUBLE In Elizabeth Walter’s story “The Sin-Eater,” Clive Tomlinson gets more than he bargained for on a trip to the Welsh Border to see and sketch an old pre-Reformation church. On his way back to his hotel, he is waylaid by a couple on a farm who are oddly insistent that he visit their ill son, Eddie. Clive quickly realizes that Eddie is dead, and he rushes through drinking some wine and eating a scone under pressure from the older couple. Later, he learns he took part in a sin-eating ritual, something the modern...2022-09-2059 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastEpisode 67: Women in Science Fiction (Nichelle Nichols)PREORDER TOIL AND TROUBLE You know her as Uhura from the Star Trek universe, but her impact went far beyond the sci-fi world. Born in 1932 in Illinois, she had many careers before working with Gene Rodenberry. She was a model, a singer, a dancer, most notably working with Duke Ellington. Robert Heinlein dedicated his novel Friday (about a female artificial human) to her, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the 90s, and she garnered numerous awards, including The Life Career Award at the 42nd Saturn Awards. But we are here to talk...2022-09-0640 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastInterview with Gwendolyn KisteGwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, Pretty Marys All in a Row, and The Invention of Ghosts. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Nightmare Magazine, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vastarien, Tor's Nightfire, Black Static, The Dark, Daily Science Fiction, Interzone, and LampLight, among others. Originally from Ohio, she now resides on an abandoned horse farm outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, two cats, and not nearly enough ghosts. Find her online at gwendolynkiste.com. BUY R...2022-08-2332 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastThe Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria MachadoWARNING FOR THIS EPISODE: We do discuss sexual assault as it relates to the plot of the story. Shudder-to-Think, Pennsylvania, is a dying coal town. People don’t stay around for long because it isn’t safe for those who live there. Friends El and Octavia learn that the hard way when they wake up one evening in a movie theater with no memory of what has happened. Their subsequent quest for understanding leads them to the strange creatures in the deep, dark woods and the even stranger history of their town. Recommended in this e...2022-08-0959 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastDonna Tartt's The Secret HistoryWe are back from our brief hiatus, and in this episode, we welcome writer and academic Crystal O'Leary Davidson! Make sure to check out her short fiction. In Donna Tartt’s The Secret History Richard Papen recounts his ill-fated time at Hampden College in Vermont. A second-year transfer from California, Richard, middle class and awkward amongst his privileged peers, becomes fascinated with a group of students studying under the mysterious Julian Morrow, a Professor of Classics. At first, Richard is denied entry into Julian’s Classics curriculum. Julian is extremely selective. But after Richard has a serendipitous encou...2022-07-261h 03
The Monster She Wrote PodcastBunny by Mona AwadNEWS: Mel and Lisa are taking a brief hiatus so the next episode will be four weeks away instead of two...WE WILL BE BACK! Samantha Heather Mackey is an MFA student at the prestigious Warren University located somewhere in New England. She splits her time between hanging out with her mysterious friend Ava in a ramshackle house in town and taking workshop classes with the rest of her all-female fiction cohort on campus. She prefers the company of Ava to her writing peers, however. The other four students have bonded into an extremely codependent, cult-like hivemind...2022-06-281h 01
The Monster She Wrote PodcastAllison V. Harding’s “The Underbody”When his six year old son says he saw a man outside their home, Dr. Holland thinks it is a case of overactive imagination. Mister Mole, as his son calls his new friend, wants to take the young boy for a walk. What could be so sinister in that? Turns out a lot. When another boy in the neighborhood turns up dead, though, Dr. Holland begins to wonder if there isn’t more to Mister Mole after all. Harding's story archived: https://archive.org/details/Weird_Tales_v42n01_1949-11 Recommended in this episode: Carmen Maria Machado's gra...2022-06-1453 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast“The Corner Shop” by Cynthia AsquithThe narrator in Cynthia Asquith’s “The Corner Shop” has a relatable problem: he needs to buy a wedding gift. So, one foggy, cold London night, he stops into a little antique shop and finds exactly what he needs. He enjoys the shop so much that he returns again. This time, though, he buys something for himself: a little jade frog. The frog turns out to be more than he bargained for, and the narrator finds himself pulled into a family drama and maybe the center of a ghost story. Recommended in this episode: Roald Dahl's Book of Ghos...2022-05-3145 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast“Harry” by Rosemary Timperley In Rosemary Timperley’s 1955 story “Harry,” a mother finds herself terrified of her daughter’s new imaginary friend named Harry. At first, it irritates Mrs. James to see 5-year-old Christine chatter away to someone who is not there when she plays by the rose bush in the yard. However, she becomes more distressed when Christine becomes increasingly attached to Harry. Mrs. James’s husband and the family doctor tell her this is normal behavior for children, especially when they haven’t met many other kids yet, but she decides to start an investigation into the past. As she learns more, she rea...2022-05-1752 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast“Speech Sounds” by Octavia ButlerOctavia Butler’s “Speech Sounds” imagines a world that has been ravaged by a disease. The illness ravages the brain especially, attacking the ability to process and use language. For our protagonist, who used to be a history professor, losing the ability to read and write has hit especially hard. Recommended in this episode: Ruth Ware audiobooks and Outer Range NEXT UP: “Harry” by Rosemary Timperley Please rate and review us, or better yet, tell a friend. Our social media is @MonsterWrote on Twitter and Instagram. Our email is monsterwrote@gmail.com. This epi...2022-05-0356 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastAngela Carter’s “The Company of Wolves”Wolves are a staple of horror literature and fairy tales alike. They are fierce creatures that walk the woods, reminding us of the dangers that lurk once we leave the confines of comfortable and safe civilization. In her short story “The Company of Wolves,” Angela Carter retells the familiar tale of "little red riding hood," examining the very real world danger that women often navigate every day. Recommended in this episode: Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw and The Institute by Stephen King UP NEXT: “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler Please rate and review u...2022-04-1958 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastEveril Worrell's "The Canal"Two words: Goth Byron The narrator of Everil Worrell’s “The Canal” is a man who enjoys long walks at night on the edge of the city. Really, what could go wrong? As it turns out, a lot. Narrator Morton comes across a mysterious woman who is living on a half-sunken boat, on the far edge of a disused canal. He only speaks to her for a short while, but it is enough. Morton is enamored of this secretive beauty, and he agrees to do whatever it takes to be close to her. He will live to regret...2022-04-0557 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastDorothy Quick’s “The Artist and the Door”“The advent of the artist and the door was almost simultaneous. I have always wondered if the one would have been as sinister without the other.” Thus begins Dorothy Quick’s story “The Artist and the Door,” first published in Weird Tales in November 1952. The narrator, who is a successful author, lays out an innocent situation. She purchased a fixer-upper Elizabethan farmhouse and painstakingly restored it. In search of the perfect door, she attended an auction and found just the thing for her home. The only problem is that the house the door used to be a part of was haunted an...2022-03-221h 01
The Monster She Wrote PodcastNalo Hopkinson's "The Easthound"Nalo Hopkinson’s “The Easthound” tells the story of twins, Millie and Jolly, as they navigate the dangers of a post-apocalyptic world. A pandemic has taken most of the adults, and now, the children must fend for themselves. There’s danger of starvation and disease, but there is also danger in simply growing up. Millie and Jolly cannot stay children forever, and this story is about how they deal with pending adulthood and what that means in this new world. Recommended in this episode: Gemma Files's Experimental Film UP NEXT: Dorothy Quick’s “The Artist and the Door”...2022-03-0854 min
The Monster She Wrote Podcast"The Prayer of Ninety Cats" by Caitlín R. Kiernan“The Prayer of Ninety Cats” by Caitlín R. Kiernan is a story about a film critic watching a film, specifically a fictional film about Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess. Through the description of this experience, however, Kiernan moves the reader beyond the spectacle of the theater and film to explorations of film history and critique, discussions of representation and illusion, and questions of how and why we adapt histories and legends for the screen. Recommended in this episode: Thornhill by Pam Smy UP NEXT: Nalo Hopkinson’s “The Easthound” Please rate and review us, or better yet, t...2022-02-2252 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastHolly Black's Doll BonesPoppy, Zack and Alice are three friends who meet after school to play a game of fantasy and imagination. They use dolls and action figures to tell an elaborate story involving pirates, mermaids, and other adventurers. The main story involves the Great Queen, a bone-china doll who lives in the glass cabinet at Poppy’s house. Zach wants to stop the game, because his father believes middle school is too old to play make-believe, but Poppy brings the friends together one last time. She’s been dreaming of the ghost inside of the china doll–and the ghost won’t rest unt...2022-02-0857 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastBehind the Attic Wall12 year-old Maggie has been moved from boarding house to boarding house. She’s never quite fit in anywhere, as every new school has labeled her “impossible to handle.” Maggie is sent to live at the former Adelphi Hills Academy, a large manor house that looks more like an institution, with her only living relatives, her great aunts Lillian and Harriet, who are cold, severe women obsessed with health and good manners, and her great uncle Morris, who tries his best to bond with the sickly Maggie–to no avail. Maggie is lonely at Adelphi Hills–until she begins to hear the v...2022-01-251h 02
The Monster She Wrote PodcastThe Dollhouse MurdersWhile spending time with her Aunt Clare in her grandparents’ old house, 12-year-old, going on 13, Amy Treloar makes a startling discovery in the attic. A dollhouse that is an exact replica of the house she is staying in! At first, she is excited about the possibilities of the dollhouse–she loves miniatures–but her excitement quickly turns to terror when she realizes it isn’t a typical dollhouse. At certain times, the dollhouse lights up, and the dolls are never in the places she leaves them. Recommended in this episode: Cruelly Yours by Cassandra Peterson and Artie and the Wolf Moo...2022-01-1150 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastRhoda Broughton's "The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth"Elizabeth de Wynt and Cecilia Montresor are friends, writing letters back and forth, sharing news of their lives as friends do. Elizabeth is traveling, while Cecilia is getting settled into a new house in London. The house is perfect, but it did come with startingly cheap rent for the city. Cecilia’s letters turn darker and more suspenseful as the story progresses, and it becomes clear that something sinister lives within the walls of the house at number 32 in May Fair. Recommended: Louise Erdrich's The Sentence Next Episode: Betty Ren Wright's The Dollhouse Murders and hor...2021-12-2857 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastRosemary Timperley's Christmas MeetingIn Rosemary Timperley’s story “Christmas Meeting,” two lonely people find company during the holiday season. [Story can be found in Roald Dahl’s Book of Ghost Stories (1983)] Recommended: Yellowjackets on Showtime; Ruth Ware’s The Turn of the Key NEXT EPISODE: “The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth” by Rhoda Broughton Theme music is “Misconception” by Nicolas Gasparini, used with permission.2021-12-1441 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastConnie Willis's "Adaptation"You know the most famous Christmas ghost story of them all. A miserly, miserable man must learn the true meaning of Christmas by meeting with three appropriately themed holiday specters. There have been many spins and takes on Dickens’s famous tale, but one of our favorites is Connie Willis’s “Adaptation.” In Willis’s story, a divorced father confronts the Spirit of Christmas Future at a bookstore. Recommended: Stephen Graham Jones's The Only Good Indians UP NEXT: Rosemary Timperley's "Christmas Meeting” Please rate and review us, or better yet, tell a friend. Our social...2021-11-3058 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastJeanette Winterson's "Dark Christmas"The narrator of Jeanette Winterson’s “Dark Christmas” will be celebrating Christmas at Highfallen House with friends. No one seems to know who owns the house and is letting them stay there, but that doesn't seem to matter. The narrator goes ahead to spend a night alone in the house before picking up their friends from the train station. After a warm meal and a bottle of wine, they hear strange noises from the attic above, but ignore them. The next day, the narrator’s friends do not show and send a cryptic text message instead. They don’t show the f...2021-11-161h 12
The Monster She Wrote PodcastElsa Lanchester in Bell, Book, and CandleFollowing our discussion of Elsa Lanchester and her iconic role as The Bride of Frankenstein, we wanted to take another look at another one of her iconic films, this time, Bell, Book, and Candle. In the film, Gillian is a shop owner--and a secret witch. Using her occult powers (and her cat familiar, Pyewacket), Gillian sets out to woo her neighbor, the handsome and engaged Shep, using a love spell. Elsa Lanchester stands out in her role as Gillian’s magical Aunt Queenie. Recommended in this episode: Stephen Graham Jones's The Only Good Indians, Stephen King's The Long...2021-11-0249 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastElsa Lanchester: The Bride of FrankensteinShe’s one of the most recognizable women in classic horror as the Bride of Frankenstein in the 1935 film. And her iconic moment was only for the last five minutes of the movie. Elsa Lanchester was an actress who knew how to command a screen, even with no lines. So, join us, as today we discuss the actress and her starring role. Recommended in this episode: Rachel Harrison's Cackle Next Episode: Bell, Book, and Candle Please rate and review us, or better yet, tell a friend. Our social media is @MonsterWrote on T...2021-10-1949 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastGwendolyn Kiste's " The Eight People Who Murdered Me"In Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), Mina Harker makes it to the final battle against the vampire, even though she fell victim to his bite along the way. Her best friend Lucy Westenra wasn’t that lucky. A vivid character in her own right, she succumbs to Dracula and becomes a vampire. Even more disturbingly, she preys upon children. The methods the men use to stop her are gruesome: she is staked, and her head is removed. To top it all off, the men seem more disgusted by her forward and unladylike behavior as a monster than by her vampiric expl...2021-10-0550 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastElvira: Mistress of the DarkIn this 1988 horror comedy, Cassandra Peterson plays her best known role, the Gothic horror host queen, Elvira. In this film (which was co-written by Peterson), Elvira must move to a conservative small town in Massachusetts in order to take care of the affairs of a recently deceased aunt. Elvira’s scandalous ways soon shake up the town, and not everyone wants--including the evil Chastity Pariah--wants her around. Join us as we discuss the movie classic Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. Recommended in this episode: LulaRich, Malignant, and Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop Mysteries Up Next: "The Ei...2021-09-2157 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastThe Horror Hosts: Vampira and ElviraYou know these women. You know their long black dresses, usually with dangerously plunging necklines. You know their jet black hair and “vampy” makeup. You know their sinister sense of humor. They are the horror hosts who made B-Movies on television a fun, and sometimes scandalous, affair. That’s right, today, we are discussing Maila Nurmi and Cassandra Peterson, the women better known as Vampira and Elvira. Recommended in this episode: The Chair on Netflix; Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror by Scott Poole and Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson NEXT EPISODE: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1...2021-09-0744 min
The Monster She Wrote PodcastLaura (1944)Laura Hunt has been murdered, her body disfigured by a close range shotgun blast. When Detective McPherson joins the murder investigation, he becomes fascinated by the murder victim, and he quickly collects a small group of four suspects. One is Waldo Lydecker, the man who claims he made Laura, from her career to her personal appearance; one is Shelby Carpenter, the shiftless man she might have been about to marry; and one is her aunt, Ann Treadwell, who was in love with the scoundrel Laura was about to marry. The fourth suspect is Laura Hunt, because, spoiler alert, Laura...2021-08-241h 02
The Monster She Wrote PodcastCarmen Maria Machado's "Especially Heinous"Content Warning: We do discuss sexual assault and murder in this episode, but not in great detail. Still, we wanted to place a warning for those who might be triggered by such content. Here's the number for the Sexual Assault Hotline, for those who may need it: 1-800-656-4673. We all know the words: “In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.” That’s, of cou...2021-08-101h 07
Ladies of the FrightLisa Kröger & Melanie R. Anderson | Monster, She WroteThis episode of Ladies of the Fright is brought to you by Inkshares. This October experienceViolet, the second novel of Stoker-nominated Kill Creek author Scott Thomas. Violet follows Kris Barlow, who after the death of her husband returns to a long-abandoned lake house. She soon finds that the town of Pacington, Kansas is not as it seems, and that a presence has been awaiting her return. Bird Box author Josh Malerman calls it a "master class in immersion." Jason Heller of National Public Radio calls it "indelible" and says that the "sheer, skin-crawling fright is masterful." Available in bookstores natio...2019-10-181h 16
The Department of Tangents PodcastMonster, She Wrote Authors Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson On the History of Female Horror Writing, Plus New Comedy from Corey RodriguesIf you ask a random reader to name foundational women horror writers, you might get two or three names. Mary Shelley. Shirley Jackson. Maybe Daphne du Maurier or Anne Rice. But as Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson point out in their new book, Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror & Speculative Fiction, if that’s where our knowledge begins and ends, we’re missing out on a lot. Eli Colter, who wrote, amongst other things, weird westerns. C.L. Moore who helped introduce swashbuckling rebels into the sci-fi canon. Angela Carter’s re-imagining of folk tales. There are also w...2019-10-101h 25Book Squad GoalsOthersode #32: We Have Always Lived in the Castle with Lisa Kröger and Melanie Anderson!It’s time to get spooky with the #BookSquad and special guests Lisa Kröger and Melanie Anderson, authors of "Monster, She Wrote" (just out from Quirk!!) and hosts of the Know Fear Cast! Join us as we discuss the Shirley Jackson classic "We Have Always Lived in the Castle." We talk about what makes the book frightening, sympathetic magic and rituals, why we love ghosts, and how Shirley Jackson fits into the horror genre. Plus, learn all about Lisa and Melanie’s book and some horror queens you might not have heard of. Head to the #BookSquadBlog for more conte...2019-09-231h 31