Send us a Text Message. Why do we keep heading back to the woods? WHY?? Nothing good ever happens there. Alexander James would argue otherwise, but he’s clearly made of sterner stuff than me. In his debut novel, The Woodkin, Alex parlays his love of the wild outdoors into a story that heads toward a familiar backwoods nightmares, before veering far off the beaten trail into something stranger and even scarier. 

 In this episode we talk about his love for the woods of the Pacific Northwest (and yes! I ask him about Bigfoot of course). We cover the controversy surrounding an earlier title choice, the influence of D&D; on his writing and the trick to realistically depicting fear in fiction. 
It’s a happy hike into darkness.  
Enjoy 
The Woodkin was published August 22nd by CamCat Books

 Other books mentioned in this episode include:

Dark Mountain (1992), by Richard LaymonOffseason (1980), by Jack KetchumMexican Gothic (2020), by Silvia Moreno-GarciaThe Hacienda (2022), by Isabel CañasI'm a Search and Rescue Officer for the US Forest Service, I Have Some Stories to Tell CritStupid Podcast (Alex's D&D; podcast)

 Support Talking Scared on Patreon Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com 

 Support the Show.

159 – Alexander James & An Encounter in the Woods

Conversations with the biggest names in horror fiction. A podcast for horror readers who want to know where their favourite stories came from . . . and what frightens the people who wrote them.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

Books

Send us a Text Message. In the second Off Book episode we get out of our armchairs and go on a real adventure. Well, not really – but we talk to two people who do.   Danielle and Cassie are the hosts of National Park After Dark – a podcast catering to the “morbid outdoor enthusiast.” They have skyrocketed to success, with well-researches stories of murder, maulings and mad incidents out in the world’s national parks.    I’ve listened for years now and I’m delighted to finally get the chance to ask them all the questions… what is their favourite flavour of outdoor macabre? Is there a particular unsolved mystery that burns a hole in their brain? What’s the scariest thing they’ve encountered out there… and should we reintroduce wolves to the UK? (Yes!)   You don’t need to like the outdoors to enjoy this episode. Danielle and Cassie do the hard work for us.    Just enjoy!   Books mentioned:   Wolfish: Wolf, Self and the Stories we Tell About Fear, Ferocity and Freedom (2023), by Erica Berry A Bolt From the Blue: The Epic True Story of Danger, Daring ad Heroism at 15,000 Feet (2012), by Jennifer Woodlief The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), by Stephen King Where the Dead Wait (2023), by Ally Wilkes Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (1997), by Travis Walton   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

Off Book #2 – National Park After Dark

Send us a Text Message. Paul Tremblay returns to Talking Scared on a long orbit, like that fabled Planet X that’s going to kill us all.    He’s back after two years for another discussion of horror aesthetics, introspective terrors and mixed-media nightmares – this time in Horror Movie, his meta-take on cursed cinema and lethal creativity.    Horror Movie is about young filmmakers and the shoot that marks them all, even unto death. It’s also about the making of art, the machinery of fear and the cynicism of Hollywood. But beneath all that self-reflexive interrogation, it’s also just a damn creepy story. And Paul talks to me about all of it.   Note – there is jet lag aplenty in this episode. An arms race of confusion and forgetfulness. It makes for a good time. Bear with us.   Enjoy   Other books mentioned:The Pallbearer’s Club (2022), by Paul TremblayA Head Full of Ghosts (2015), by Paul Tremblay“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966), by Joyce Carol OatesGreasy Lake and Other Stories (1985), by T. C. BoyleThe Stand (1978/1990), by Stephen KingA Better World (2024), by Sarah LanganCurdle Creek (2024), by Yvonne Battle-Felton  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

198 – Paul Tremblay & The Book is Better

Send us a Text Message. Elle Nash’s Deliver Me ruined my week. In the best possible way.   This book, about a woman so desperate for a child that she does truly terrible, no-good things, contains some of the bleakest, most brutal scenes I’ve read in a while. And it’s not even really being treated as a horror novel.    Elle and I talk about that.   We also talk about the hot-button topics of the novel, the patriarchy, the toxic Christianity, the… insect erotica! But we also discuss her wandering heart and the empathy and provocation that drives her work.   It’s a lovely, laid back conversation about a challenging book.   Enjoy   Other books mentioned:   Geek Love (1989), by Katherine Dunn Violent Faculties (2024), by Charlene Elsby Frisk (1991), by Dennis Cooper   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

197 – Elle Nash & Insects in the Ozarks

Send us a Text Message. Todd Keisling can write the hell out of a short story. So well, in fact, that they may convince you to resist a bully, stop going to church, or tell your boss to f**k off!    Cold, Black and Infinite is full of liminal tales of the between-places. Cosmic “Otherness” that defies religion or belief. Corporate soul-hells that take everything you have…and more.   Weird then, that they are so fun.   Todd and I talk about all of that connective tissue between his stories. Plus, we map The Southland, this “pocket cosmos” of weird Appalachia that is destined to be the stage for the next era in his career.   It’s a blast. And this conversation is the anti-corporate, anti-fundamentalism, anti-bully screed you’ve been waiting for.   Enjoy.   Cold, Black and Infinite was released September 2023, By Cemetery Dance    Other books mentioned:Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors (2017), by Todd KeislingThe Final Reconciliation (2018), by Todd KeislingDevil’s Creek (20200, by Todd KeislingIn the Lake of the Woods (1994), by Tim O’BrienThe Raw Shark Texts (2007), by Steven Hall‘Salem’s Lot (1975), by Stephen KingThe Bad Book (2021), ed. by John D. Taff (contains “Gethsemane”)The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters (2002), by Chip KiddThe Ceremonies (1984), by T. E. D. Klein  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

196 – Todd Keisling & The Eras Tour: Horror Version

Send us a Text Message. Something new for me this week. A bold venture into uncharted territory.    The graphic novel!!   As is proper, I’ve started with one of the best. Emil Ferris joins me to talk through the creation of her landmark epic, My Favourite Thing is Monsters. Volume 1 came out in 2017 to rapturous acclaim, and now, Volume 2 picks up exactly where that story of cute werewolves and cherished monsters let off. This is an EVENT!!   Emil talks me through this alternative form of storytelling. She tells me about the laborious process behind the books, and how it saved her life (literally). Most of all though, we talk creativity, and how art and monsters are the things that will preserve humanity.   Enjoy.   My Favourite Thing is Monsters is released May 28thth from Fantagraphics    Other books mentioned:   Maus (1986), by Art Spiegelman The Talisman (1984), by Stephen King and Peter Straub The Shape of Water (2018), by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

159 – Alexander James & An Encounter in the Woods

Download our free app to listen on your phone