Brian Sepanzyk joins the show to discuss his short film Defile and the way empathy can curdle into survival horror.

The conversation explores remote cabin dread, moral gray zones, relationship collapse, and the fear that begins when your alarm bells go off too late.

Brian talks about building unease before violence, using the woods as a boundary between the ordinary and the monstrous, and deciding what to leave unexplained.

We also get into his other films, including Compulsion and In the Shadow of God, along with his work developing Into the Abyss.

Along the way, Brian discusses indie filmmaking, VFX work, writing under pressure, editing painful cuts, horror influences, and the creative outlet he finds in his band Waingro.

Website and professional profile:
https://image-engine.com/crew/brian-sepanzyk/

IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1559870/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/briantologist/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BSepanzyk/

Defile coverage and interview pages:
https://www.leagueoffilmmakers.com/defile-when-horror-becomes-a-mirror-for-modern-anxiety/

https://readrange.com/brian-sepanzyk-in-the-shadow-of-god/

YouTube interview and short-film pages:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nUFupbEKFk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9R-IBvfLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpaAr5HhB2k

To watch or stream his short films and related work, these are the verified platform pages I found:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9R-IBvfLA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpaAr5HhB2k

https://letterboxd.com/film/defile-2025/

I did not find verified Amazon or Barnes & Noble purchase pages for Brian Sepanzyk’s films or books in the current search results, so I’m not listing unverified storefront links here.

Waingro official music pages:
https://waingro.bandcamp.com/music

https://waingro.bandcamp.com/album/sports

https://waingro.bandcamp.com/album/iii

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1tqsK5Px4s5tH6Mkehw6Dk

Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/waingro/935148728

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/waingrovancouver/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/waingro_van/

Support The Dark Mind Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Film and interview pagesBuy and stream film workMusic and band linksSupport The Dark Mind Podcast

In this episode, Vincent sits down with author Ben Young to discuss his new novel Ride the Spiral.

Ben talks about turning real life grief, parenting struggles, and the search for answers into cosmic horror.

The conversation explores neurodivergence, desperation, mental health, string theory, absurdism, and the terror of not being able to fix the people you love.

Ben also discusses the influence of Stephen King, Tool, heavy music, indie horror, and the process of writing characters who are already at the end of their rope before the monster appears.

Ride the Spiral is available through Aethon and Wicked House, and signed copies and more of Ben’s work can be found at benyoungstories.com.

Ben Young Website

https://www.benyoungstories.com

Ben Young Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/benyoungstories/

Ben Young Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/benyoungstories/

Ben Young TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/@benyoung_stories

Ride the Spiral from Wicked House Publishing

https://wickedhouse.com/book/ride-the-spiral/

Ben Young on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/43073675.Ben_Young

Stuck on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/196306469-stuck

Home on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Ben-Young-ebook/dp/B0CWXW5F63/

Ride the Spiral on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Spiral-Cosmic-Horror-Novel-ebook/dp/

Support The Dark Mind Podcast

https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Kathleen Rhodes joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss her new novel Vampire Missionaries.

We talk about Mormon missionaries, vampires, religious pressure, dark comedy, and the horror of questioning what you were raised to believe.

Kathleen also shares how her background in psychiatric mental health shaped the way she writes trauma, identity, resilience, and characters at their rawest.

We also discuss her debut novel The Dark Road, Jungian psychology, inner demons, child protectors, and the strange space where horror and healing meet.

Vampire Missionaries is available now from Dead Sky Publishing.

Kathleen Rhodes websites and social links

https://thedarkroad.net

https://deadskypublishing.com/portfolio-item/vampire-missionaries/

https://go.authorsguild.org/members/9245

https://crimereads.com/author/kathleenrhodes/

Social media

https://www.instagram.com/kathleenrhodeswrites/

https://x.com/kathleenRho1

https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.rhodes.7106/

Where to buy Vampire Missionaries

https://www.amazon.com/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vampire-missionaries-kathleen-rhodes/1147739683

https://www.target.com/p/vampire-missionaries-by-kathleen-rhodes-paperback/-/A-1010435925

https://bookshop.org/p/books/vampire-missionaries-kathleen-rhodes/cd33bdb282ebdb73

https://www.indigo.ca/products/vampire-missionaries

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/50927687.Kathleen_Rhodes

Support The Dark Mind Podcast

https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Ian Domowitz joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss Initial Condition, the third novella in his dark fantasy series The Mechanic’s Diary.

The conversation explores Hanzi Boss, a being bred through a 16th century alchemical recipe and taught language like a machine learning to speak.

Ian and Vincent dig into golems, homunculi, Jewish mysticism, artificial intelligence, consciousness, and the terrifying idea that speech itself could be treated as a crime.

They also discuss why lived experience may matter more than training data, how ancient myth can give fantasy credibility, and why Ian refuses to let generative AI write his fiction.

The episode moves from dark fantasy into philosophy, ethics, writing craft, Wall Street, military life, and what it means to create a being that was made by man but still wants to understand its place in the world.

Official Website

https://www.iandomowitz.com

Ian Domowitz on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/iandomowitz/

Ian Domowitz on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/iandomowitz

Ian Domowitz on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6684744.Ian_Domowitz

Ian Domowitz Books on Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/6684744.Ian_Domowitz

Ian Domowitz on Academia.edu

https://independent.academia.edu/IDomowitz

Ian Domowitz on Medium

https://uxdesign.cc/@idomowitz

Buy Ian Domowitz on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0D5LQ7LZ3

Buy Initial Condition on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN1F1QVY

Buy Ian Domowitz on Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Ian%20Domowitz%22

Buy Initial Condition on Barnes and Noble

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/%22Initial%20Condition%22%20%22Ian%20Domowitz%22

Buy Ian Domowitz on Bookshop.org

https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=Ian%20Domowitz

Buy Four Laws for the Artificially Intelligent on Bookshop.org

https://bookshop.org/p/books/four-laws-for-the-artificially-intelligent-ian-domowitz/0660ff188ff10887

Buy Ian Domowitz on Apple Books

https://books.apple.com/us/search?term=Ian%20Domowitz

Buy Ian Domowitz on Kobo

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?query=Ian%20Domowitz

Stream Ian Domowitz on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/search/Ian%20Domowitz

Author Talk with Ian Domowitz on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/76z0kuQuHPUGub2VsJuxXw

Skull Session with Dan Henk and Ian Domowitz on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NTPRLPOClviwkE8CM9fQh

Author Talk on Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/author-talk/id1551896025

Support The Dark Mind Podcast

https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Erin Louis joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss her grounded horror thriller There's No Grave Like Home.The novel follows Georgia, a former exotic dancer in her mid-forties forced to return to the rural hometown she fled decades ago after inheriting her estranged father's house.Erin opens up about how growing up as an outsider in a small town shaped the antagonists and the atmosphere of the book.We explore how over two decades of working as an exotic dancer became an informal sociological study that fuels everything she writes.Erin talks about her transition from afterlife satire in the Hellbound series to a more serious, real-world horror approach.We get into her writing process, her refusal to be boxed into any genre, and why her characters tend to take the wheel.Erin also shares her journey through secular advocacy, her work with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and how losing her mother without the comfort of an afterlife changed the way she copes through writing.We discuss the emotional weight of starting over in your forties, the pressure of perception, and finding fulfillment on the other side of it.This is a raw and honest conversation about horror, identity, grief, and the lives we live between the pages.Websitehttps://www.erinlouis.comBiohttps://www.erinlouis.com/bioBloghttps://www.erinlouis.com/blogSocial MediaFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/erinlouis666/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/erinlouis666/TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@erinlouis666Blueskyhttps://bsky.app/profile/erinlouis666.bsky.socialGoodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11119009.Erin_LouisLinktreehttps://linktr.ee/erinlouis666Buy Erin Louis’s BooksAmazon Author Pagehttps://www.amazon.com/Erin-Louis/e/B00QSHHOW6There’s No Grave Like Home on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GFNWL3ZNThere’s No Grave Like Home on Google Bookshttps://books.google.com/books/about/There_s_No_Grave_Like_Home.html?id=8KvG0QEACAAJSouth of Heaven on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/South-Heaven-Erin-Louis/dp/1953905552South of Heaven on Bookshophttps://bookshop.org/p/books/south-of-heaven-erin-louis/854f3f79c35de9ee?ean=9781953905550Hell Awaits on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0F3JH8J66Colleen on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Colleen-Erin-Louis-ebook/dp/B0CJ759BS4/Stripper Noir on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Stripper-Noir-Armand-Rosamilla-ebook/dp/B0BPNBJP28The Dead Shall Rise on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Dead-Shall-Rise-Mysteries-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B0CCQ89QP8The Dead Shall Rise on Bookshophttps://bookshop.org/a/15248/9781957133577Dirty Thoughts and Awkward Boners on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7S1QK67Expose Yourself on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Expose-Yourself-Risks-Question-Everything-ebook/dp/B07W1B4R3QDirty Money on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/1544767226Think You Want To Be A Stripper on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Think-you-want-be-stripper/dp/1723577030AudiobooksAudible Author Pagehttps://www.audible.com/author/Erin-Louis/B00QSHHOW6Dirty Money on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/pd/Dirty-Money-Audiobook/B0BRTJPKV3Hell Awaits on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/ac/Hell-Awaits-Audiobook/B0FQDQ8NC5Dirty Thoughts and Awkward Boners on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/ac/Dirty-Thoughts-and-Awkward-Boners-Audiobook/B0BM1QHCF3Think You Want To Be A Stripper on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/pd/Think-You-Want-to-Be-a-Stripper-Audiobook/B0829D1MFSStripper Noir on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/pd/Stripper-Noir-Audiobook/B0C3WVKM3SSouth of Heaven on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/pd/South-of-Heaven-Audiobook/B0CB76Y5GWExpose Yourself on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/pd/Expose-Yourself-Audiobook/B0815SJML4Colleen on Audiblehttps://www.audible.com/pd/Colleen-Audiobook/B0CWWY32V1Signed CopiesEmail Erin Louis for signed [email protected] The Dark Mind Podcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Andrew Adams returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his new Cemetery Dance Publications novel, Crossroads, Inc.The book is set in the dying backwoods town of Glanton, where the air is toxic, the water is undrinkable, and the people have been forgotten.When a life insurance company called Crossroads, Inc. rolls into town offering cash advances on policies repaid in severed body parts, what begins as desperation quickly becomes compliance, addiction, and the normalization of the unthinkable.At the center of the story is thirteen year old Hannah Cassady, the skeptic of her family and the one who sees the lie before the adults do.At the center of the company is Samuel Sterling, a smooth talking CEO in a purple suit with pearly white veneers who never needs to raise his voice to get what he wants.Andrew and Vincent dig into the seed of the premise, the Faustian roots of the title, and the way the novel layers body horror on top of addiction, economic collapse, and manufactured hope.They talk about Hannah as the moral compass of the story, the Cassady siblings as a single unit splintering under pressure, and the slow normalization of mutilation inside a community that has run out of options.They also get into the real world echoes behind the brew, the opiate crisis, legalized vice, and the way desperate people respond to anyone who finally acknowledges their suffering.Beyond the book, Andrew opens up about his path from welder and aerospace engineer to writing sixteen books in under four years, the grind of the indie horror world, and what it meant to land at Cemetery Dance Publications.He talks about his literary influences from Cormac McCarthy and A Clockwork Orange to Hunter S. Thompson and Ronald Malfi, his friendships with writers like Duncan Ralston, Emma E. Murray, and Jyl Glenn, and the daily reality of writing at night around a full time job and a family.This is a conversation about bodies as currency, hope as a trap, and the quiet horror of watching a town talk itself into giving up a piece of itself one finger at a time.Website: https://www.symposiumofthereaper.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew_adams_author/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrew_adams_authorThreads: https://www.threads.net/@andrew_adams_authorGoodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/567299.Andrew_AdamsBuy Crossroads, Inc. from Cemetery Dance Publications: https://www.cemeterydance.com/CrossroadsInc.htmlCrossroads, Inc. on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GPYZJYSL/Andrew Adams books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Andrew+Adams+horror&i=stripbooksAndrew Adams on Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Andrew-Adams/B0BYD1LQXYAndrew Adams on Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/andrew+adams+horrorAndrew Adams on Godless: https://godless.com/products/andrew-adamsSupport The Dark Mind Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

In this episode of The Dark Mind Podcast, Vincent Midgard sits down with author Daniel Grace.They discuss Grace’s debut novel, In the Wake of Golgotha, a dark literary thriller that reimagines Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate in modern New York.The conversation explores guilt, reincarnation, capital punishment, faith, betrayal, and the psychological weight of history.Grace also talks about the philosophical core of the novel, the challenge of humanizing figures history has flattened into symbols, and the uneasy line between destiny and choice.The episode also touches on his background in advertising, his work in the wine world, and how those experiences shaped his life as a writer.If you’re drawn to dark fiction that wrestles with morality, memory, and the long shadow of spiritual violence, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.DANIEL GRACE — AUTHOR LINKSOfficial Websitehttps://www.danielmarkgrace.comBook — Purchase & StreamAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wake-Golgotha-Daniel-Grace/dp/B0D4P7V7H9Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-wake-of-golgotha-daniel-grace/1148623446Koehler Books: https://www.koehlerbooks.com/book/in-the-wake-of-golgotha/Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/in-the-wake-of-golgotha/id1881627596Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0GTRKQ1P6Social MediaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielmarkgrace/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielmarkgraceWineryIl Molino di Grace: https://www.ilmolinodigrace.itContactAuthor Email: [email protected] (John Koehler): [email protected] THE DARK MIND PODCASTPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

In this episode of The Dark Mind Podcast, Vincent Midgard sits down with filmmaker Erich Cannon to discuss his feature film His Monster.They explore the film’s roots in Japanese folklore, its addiction allegory, and the emotional terrain of grief, denial, and spiritual drowning that drives the story.Erich also talks about practical creature effects, the influence of The X-Files, writing from personal experience, and why the Oregon coast became the perfect setting for this kind of dread.The conversation also moves through his journey in sobriety, his DIY approach to filmmaking and distribution, his early work as a production assistant, and the hard lessons that shaped Compassionate Disaster Films.They also touch on Braving Rapids, his connection to Phantogram, his producing work on The Cuckoo Clock, and the creative life he is building in Joshua Tree.This is a thoughtful conversation about horror, recovery, folklore, discipline, and the monsters people live with.WebsitesCompassionate Disaster Films: https://www.compassionatedisasterfilms.comDirector Portfolio: https://www.compassionatedisasterfilms.com/erichcannonSocial MediaInstagram (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/erichcannonInstagram (Company): https://www.instagram.com/compassionatedisasterfilmsX (Twitter): https://x.com/erichcannonFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/compassionatedisasterfilmsLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erich-cannon-0b5284a5Where to Watch & StreamHis Monster (2026) & Columbia River Canoe Project (2024)Currently on theatrical and festival tours. Check the official site for screening dates and locations:https://www.compassionatedisasterfilms.comBraving Rapids (2025)Tubi (Free): https://tubitv.com/movies/100038953/braving-rapidsFandango at Home (Vudu): https://athome.fandango.com/content/browse/details/Braving-Rapids/4192853Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Braving+Rapids+movieFall City (2018)Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Fall+City+movieApple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/fall-cityPoint B (2015)Tubi (Free): https://tubitv.com/search/Point%20BAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Point+B+moviePhysical Media (DVDs)Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Erich+CannonSupport The Dark Mind Podcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

In this episode, I’m joined by author Lee Stackhouse to discuss Diary of a Damsel Dame, a dark psychological horror novel about obsession, projection, love, and violence.

We talk about Delilah Vale as both predator and wounded inner child, and why readers can feel repulsed by her while still wanting to protect her.

Lee opens up about writing from trauma, using the diary format to capture a secret inner life, and building a character who feels disturbingly human rather than symbolic.

We also get into trigger warnings, female villainy, toxic relationships, Substack serialization, book cover design, and the emotional cost of writing from personal truth.

Along the way, Lee shares stories about collaborative horror projects, surviving abusive workplaces, living in the woods in Vermont, and why Gordon Ramsay is the perfect creative palate cleanser.

Lee Stackhouse Links

Website / Main Hub
https://leestackhouse.substack.com

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lee__stackhouse/

TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@lee_stackhouse

Goodreads (Author + Book)
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61171497.Lee_Stackhouse
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243238238-diary-of-a-damsel-dame

Buy Diary of a Damsel Dame
Amazon: https://a.co/d/02bML2lT
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/diary-of-a-damsel-dame-lee-stackhouse/1148695486

Support The Dark Mind Podcast
https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Andrew Najberg returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his new novel, Eat the Light.The book follows two young sisters, Alyssa and Tabitha, who are locked in a fallout shelter by their father and left to survive alone when they emerge into a world that no longer exists.The streets are empty, the rain corrodes everything it touches, and glowing figures known as the Shimmer People stalk the ruins with no logic and no mercy.Najberg breaks down how he used light itself as the ultimate horror element, making it both the thing that sustains the sisters and the thing that can kill them.He discusses writing young protagonists with genuine agency, drawing on his real relationship with his sister and his own children to build the bond between Alyssa and Tabitha.The conversation explores how the novel functions as a philosophical survival story, forcing two children to define meaning and morality in a world stripped of every support system.Najberg also reflects on the influence of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, the origins of the story's beloved character Pom Pom, and what it means to write horror from a place of genuine personal fear.Websiteshttps://andrewnajberg.comSocial Mediahttps://www.facebook.com/andrew.najberg/https://www.facebook.com/AndrewNajbergAuthor/https://www.instagram.com/andrewnajberg/https://x.com/AndrewNajbergBuy Eat the Light & Other Bookshttps://www.amazon.com/Eat-Light-Andrew-Najberg/dp/B0F1Z5Z5Z5 (Eat the Light on Amazon; search for others like The Mobius Door)https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eat-the-light-andrew-najberg/1146400211 (related title; search Eat the Light)Stream Audiobookshttps://www.audible.com/author/Andrew-Najberg/B0CBNGGV9H (Gollitok, The Mobius Door, Extinction Dream)Support The Dark Mind Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast