FRIGHT SCHOOL

Welcome to another Fright School Field Trip! We took ourselves out for Korean BBQ and 28 DAYS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE! We discuss the latest film from Nia DaCosta in terms of being the middle of a trilogy, the state of horror at prestigious award ceremonies, competency porn, and the sweet moves of Ralph Fiennes.

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Welcome Back to Fright School! We often reflect on our show as an archive of our lives and the context in which we are creating it in. This particular recording day was heavy after multiple deaths and incarcerations of both Immigrants and US citizens and the ongoing oppressive response from our government. Wherever you are listening to us from, we have your backs and send love and solidarity.

This week we continue our franchise deep dive with THE NUN. We discuss the horror genre's obsession with nuns, the Conjuring films' reliance of self-harm narratives, and analysis of the film as an allegory for the extensive abuse within the Catholic Church.

Please consider supporting Bail Funds in your area to support the ongoing, necessary work of protestors and other people working to defend us all from tyranny and fascist violence:

The National Bail Fund Network: Directory of Community Bail Funds

Suggested Reading:

One nun's take on horror film 'The Nun' by Rose Pacatte

An Allegorical Reading of “The Nun” (2018) as Commentary on Religious Abuse by vacationbibleschool95

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Welcome back to Fright School! We reminisce on old school Vines and social media trends. Joe shares his love of HEATED RIVALRY which Joshua immediately tries to ruin with Queer theory. Is Joshua trying to gatekeep horror? This week, we continue our franchise deep dive in to the Conjuring Universe with ANNABELLE! We discuss the history of the Warren's case, the Magical Black Person trope, and review why dolls are so scary.

We encourage all to donate to bail funds in your area to support the necessary work of activists around the country:

The National Bail Fund Network: Directory of Community Bail Funds

Suggested Reading:

Oh, The Horror: Annabelle Review by Hana Shafi

There’s a Psychological Reason Dolls Are So Spooky By Shayla Love

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Welcome back to Fright School! This week, we reflect on the past year of Fright School episodes. We promise we have so much more planned for this year barring an apocalypse which seems more and more likely! Joshua and Joe share what they did for New Years. It's that time of year again: franchise deep dive and this time we're grabbing our rosaries and plunging into THE CONJURING UNIVERSE! We kick off with THE CONJURING by discussing our love of Lili Taylor, the history of exorcism in the Catholic church, the heteronormativity of the film, and perhaps over reliance on the body-ody-ody of horror work that came before.

Suggested Reading:

“The Conjuring”: Right-wing, woman-hating and really scary By Andrew O'Hehir

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Happy New Fear, Fright School! We're breaking down the best in horror television and movies and what we hope to catch up on!

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Welcome to a jam packed edition of Fright School! This week we welcome to the Wes Craven Memorial Library LUXE THE DRAG QUEEN! Like the rest of the world, we are catching up on the latest episodes of STRANGER THINGS! SPOILER ALERT! Joshua spent the fall watching GILMORE GIRLS instead of rewatching the exploits of Eleven and the Gang so he is a bit lost in the Upside Down. Luxe tells us about her horror journey and how the genre intersects with drag. Let's get sickening with the QUEENS OF THE DEAD! Tina Romero invites us all to the last drag show before the apocalypse offering a critique of how the Queer community can devour its own. We discuss internalizing self-hatred, the role apps and phones have in killing Queer community, enabling self-destruction, and offer our thoughts on a new era of horror: Dragsploitation. When there's no more room in hell, let's have a kiki!

Find LUXE THE DRAG QUEEN here!

Recommended Reading:

SUFF Interview: Glitter and Gore: Tina Romero on Queens of the Dead by Nadine Whitney

Why Tina Romero put a queer twist on her father’s zombie-movie legacy with Queens of the Dead by Aimee Hart

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Happy Halloween Fright School! The Freaky Kiki Horror Ball 2 was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came or supported the ball! Joshua has returned to Stars Hollow to Joe's utter delight. This week, we pledge allegiance to the tree of Aunt Gladys by chatting all things WEAPONS! We discuss embracing the grotesque in the Trump Era, Hagsploitation, the film as Grimm's Fairy Tale, alcoholism allusions, and school shooting allegories. WEAPONS is about everything and nothing.

'Weapons' exposes the dark underbelly of American suburbia by Justin Chang

‘Weapons’: An Aimless Fable of Modern Horror by Greta Wilkinson

“Weapons” — No Child Left Behind by Nicole Veneto

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Zefyr Lisowski is a poet, essayist, educator, and author of two poetry collections, Blood Boxand Girl Work, along with the forthcoming essay collection Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love releasing October 7th 2025 from Harper Perennial.  

Joshua Napier from Fright School had the opportunity to catch up with Zefyr about her new essay collection and the impact of the horror genre in her life. In this wide ranging interview, they discuss Zefyr’s writing influences, the Queer relationship to horror films, the theme of “gay escape” in SCREAM, the trouble with werewolves as trans metaphor, and the incomparable work of the late artist Greer Lankton.  

Preorder Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love here: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/uncanny-valley-girls-zefyr-lisowski?variant=43555228287010

Follow Zefyr on Instagram @zefrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr 

For more information and details of upcoming events visit: https://zefyrlisowski.com/

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Welcome back to Fright School! This week, Joshua cries Elder Millennial Abuse and continues to pine for Hugh Jackman. Joe has thoughts on MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and LILO & STITCH. Joshua joined a GEEKSCAPE live to break down the new Paul Reubens documentary PEE WEE AS HIMSELF. We took a trip to our local cinema to check out BRING HER BACK! Spoilers abound! We discuss the psycho biddy genre, the cult of counseling, and grief as a means to an end.

‘Bring Her Back’ Review: A Foster Mother Like No Other

The Geekscape "Pee-Wee As Himself" Discussion

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