Fear is the Mind Killer

Larry Clow is a tight bro from way back when that shares my love of fear and horror media and also happens to experience a range of parasomnias. From sleep walking to sleep paralysis, Larry's night time experience is one that he could not always trust to deliver him safely to the next day. We talk about the things that happen to us in those times, the oddly consistent geography of our landscapes, and confusing fabricated memories experienced in dreams with those of our waking life.

Sean Dempsey is a friend of mine who spent six years serving in the United States Army. Two of those years were spent on the ground in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In this episode we talk about the ceaseless terror of being at war, what happens when you bring what's leftover home with you, and how being constantly on alert for disaster adapts to regular life.

Also, here's the scene from Threads that we talk about: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrHoMSRZOS4

Allen Greenfield is a professional weirdo whose contributions to UFOlogy, parapsychology, and the occult cannot possibly be overstated. He is the author of Secret Cipher of the UFOnauts, which found itself at the center of the paranormal obsession, Hellier, as well as The Roots of Modern Magick, The Compleat Rite of Memphis, and The Grail Within.

In this episode we talk about the necessity of fear on the path of enlightenment and what sort of spooky business puts a person on a path where they deliberately surround themself with all manner of high strangeness

Peter Bebergal is the author of Season of the Witch: How the Occult Saved Rock and Roll, Strange Frequencies: The Extraordinary Story of the Technological Quest for the Supernatural and is the editor of the short fiction collection Appendix N: The Eldritch Roots of Dungeons and Dragons. In this episode we discuss a fear of heights so acute that it interferes with his life, the presence of symbols and superstitions in his childhood and the all-time classic horror movie, The Exorcist.

Sarah Elizabeth is an introvert and an author. Her book, The Art of the Occult: A Visual Sourcebook for the Modern Mystic put her squarely in nightmare territory as its examination of esoteric symbolism and occult nature of many works or art was ripe for criticism from academics and art historians. We also discuss finding horror in the mundane and whether its right to use Dracula as a noun or proper noun.

Coming soon! Fear is the Mind Killer is a podcast about the things that frighten us and the foundations on which that fear is built. Listen in on a candid conversation that seeks to sort out the tangled nest of psychology to get to the core of the amygdala and understand why we react the way we do to things that are scary. Your host, Bryan White, will talk to people whose jobs or whose interests direct them to stare into the darkness and why they do it when their brain is sending them clear signals to get away from there.