The Dark Mind Podcast

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

In this episode of The Dark Mind Podcast, Vincent Midgard sits down with filmmaker Jethro Waters to discuss his surreal southern gothic feature Gunfighter Paradise.​They explore the film’s collision of religion, grief, guns, greed, and dark humor, and how Waters sees it as an expression of the American psychosis.​Waters breaks down how his upbringing in the rural South, his father’s background as a Vietnam veteran and gunsmith, and his own experience with competitive speed shooting shaped the emotional and visual language of the film.​The conversation also dives into surrealism, David Lynch comparisons, cinematic rhythm, visual authenticity, and why Waters wanted the violence in the film to feel sincere rather than stylized.​They discuss Confederate reenactors, the film’s cable installer character, Renato Casaro’s hand-painted poster, and the role dark comedy plays in carrying dread without undercutting trauma.​Beyond Gunfighter Paradise, Waters talks about his upcoming documentary on Vietnam veterans and PTSD, his work as a colorist on Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, his music video background, and the literary influences that feed his scripts.​He also reflects on teaching cinematography at UNCSA, the realities of independent filmmaking, his war against motion smoothing, and the creative life he has built outside the studio.JETHRO WATERSOfficial Websitehttps://www.jethrowaters.comGunfighter Paradise Official Film Sitehttps://www.gunfightermovie.comIMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm9135866/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jethrowaters/BUY TICKETS TO GUNFIGHTER PARADISE IN THEATERSAMC Theatreshttps://www.amctheatres.com/movies/gunfighter-paradise-83099Fandangohttps://www.fandango.com/gunfighter-paradise-2024-244731/movie-overviewRequest a Screening Near You (Gathr)https://gathr.com/films/gunfighter-paradiseSTREAM OR BUY F11 AND BE THEREApple TVhttps://tv.apple.com/us/movie/f11-and-be-there/umc.cmc.3il2kfqnoe5d4zwc3urnk5tqmAmazon Prime Videohttps://www.amazon.com/F11-Be-There/dp/B08FBHCKQBOVIDhttps://www.ovid.tvKanopy (Free with library card)https://www.kanopy.comPBShttps://www.pbs.org/video/f11-and-be-there-7gjtfc/SUPPORT THE DARK MIND PODCASTPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

Tamika Thompson returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss her debut novel The Curse of Hester Gardens, a Black Gothic horror story rooted in grief, motherhood, faith, and survival.

​

In this episode, we explore how haunted public housing transforms the classic haunted house framework into something inescapable, where economics, danger, and the supernatural are all bound together.

​

Tamika talks about growing up working class in Detroit, the oral storytelling traditions in her family, and how fear became both a lived reality and a literary language for her work.

​

We also dig into moral complexity, youth violence, religion, systemic neglect, and why the real monster in the story is often the conditions people are forced to survive.

​

Along the way, Tamika reflects on her journalism background, her writing process, the role of research in shaping the novel, and what she hopes readers are left questioning after the final page.

​

If you love horror that is psychologically sharp, socially grounded, and emotionally devastating, this is an episode you do not want to miss.

CONNECT WITH TAMIKA THOMPSON

Website:

https://www.tamikathompson.com

Newsletter/Blog (Tamika Talks Terror): https://www.tamikathompson.com/tamika-talks-terror

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tamikathompson

Instagram: https://instagram.com/tamikadthompson

TikTok:

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

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tamikathompson.bsky.social

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@tamikadthompson

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

X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamikathompson

LinkedIn:

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tamikathompson

BUY THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Hester-Gardens-Tamika-Thompson/dp/1645663191

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-tamika-thompson/1147750299

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/shop/tamikathompson

Penguin Random House:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804756/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-by-tamika-thompson/

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237693607-the-curse-of-hester-gardens

BUY UNSHOD, CACKLING, AND NAKED

Universal Book Link: https://mybook.to/unshod

Audible:

https://www.audible.com/author/Tamika-Thompson/B07XFFMRNP

BUY SALAMANDER JUSTICE

Universal Book Link: https://mybook.to/salamander

SUPPORT THE DARK MIND PODCAST

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

Death metal guitarist, horror novelist, and accidental publisher Jeremy Wagner joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his savage new novel Wretch.

Set in Chicago during the hottest summer on record, Wretch follows three men on a collision course: a hard-boiled detective tracking a killer who should not exist, a mob boss running on grief and vengeance, and Derek Hoffman, a steroid-abusing sociopath whose body and mind have been rewritten by an experimental drug called LIBIDONAL.

Wagner breaks down how a real person he knew in the 1990s planted the seed for Derek Hoffman.
He talks about his own experience as a human guinea pig in a pharmaceutical research program and how it inspired the Big Pharma horror at the heart of the story.
He explains why he spent months interviewing a retired Chicago police detective and doing ride-alongs to get the psychology of law enforcement exactly right.
He discusses why even the most monstrous characters in the book needed layers, backstory, and something worth losing.
He reveals the one scene in the book that he knew would be misread as pure shock value, and why it was never written that way.

Wagner also talks about becoming an accidental publisher with Dead Sky Publishing, what horror fiction needs more of right now, and why Broken Hope lyrics were always micro horror stories long before the novels began.

Wretch is available now wherever books are sold.

LINKS:

Website
https://jeremyxwagner.com

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

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

X (Twitter)
https://x.com/JeremyXWagner

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3145526.Jeremy_Wagner

IMDb
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7990420

WRETCH - WHERE TO BUY

Dead Sky Publishing
https://deadskypublishing.com

Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1639511326

Barnes and Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wretch-jeremy-wagner/1143024616

Bookshop.org
https://bookshop.org/p/books/wretch-jeremy-wagner/de816042391431e5

MUSIC - STREAM AND LISTEN

Broken Hope on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7yFcBZceMVuvIoTnZXprFd

Broken Hope on Apple Music
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/broken-hope/74969262

Earthburner on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fqhfpH3XM8547KokH7tZm

DEAD SKY PUBLISHING

Website
https://deadskypublishing.com

X (Twitter)
https://x.com/DeadSkyPub

Substack
https://substack.com/@deadskypublishing

BROKEN HOPE

Website
https://brokenhope.com

EARTHBURNER

Website
https://earthburner.com

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

N.J. Gallegos returns to The Dark Mind Podcast.

She is an Emergency Medicine physician, horror author, and co-host of the Scream Kings Horror Podcast.

Her new novella, Eat Your Heart Out, is published by Black Hare Press and releases March 14, 2026.

The book follows Jules, a first-year medical student with an exceptional mind for anatomy and a carefully controlled emotional life.

That control shatters when she meets Maureen, a magnetic and confident woman who effortlessly draws desire.

What begins as attraction quickly deepens into something darker and more consuming.

Jules mistakes intensity for intimacy, chemistry for destiny, and fixation for love.

As their relationship lurches between passion and distance, Jules begins to unravel.

The boundaries between study and obsession blur.

In this episode, Gallegos breaks down the psychology of obsession, the powder keg of medical school, the cultural narratives that make devotion dangerous, and what it means to write a toxic queer relationship without flinching.

She also discusses how her years working in the emergency room shape the horror she puts on the page.

Website): https://njgallegos.com/

Author Store): https://www.njgallegos.com/products

X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/DrSpooky_ER

Bluesky): https://bsky.app/profile/drspookyer.bsky.social

Goodreads): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22352302.N_J_Gallegos

Buy Eat Your Heart Out

Apple Books): https://books.apple.com/us/book/eat-your-heart-out/id6757347465

Kobo): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/eat-your-heart-out-22

Black Hare Press): https://blackharepress.com/products/eat-your-heart-out-by-nj-gallegos

Buy The Fatal Mind

Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/stores/N.J.-Gallegos/author/B0CGMS4BSJ

Barnes and Noble): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fatal-mind-n-j-gallegos/1146422660

Audible): https://www.audible.com/author/NJ-Gallegos/B0CGMS4BSJ

Buy The Broken Heart

Barnes and Noble): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-heart-n-j-gallegos/1143619606

Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/stores/N.J.-Gallegos/author/B0CGMS4BSJ

Scream Kings Podcast

Website): https://www.screamkingspodcast.com

Apple Podcasts): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scream-kings/id1286579957

Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/4xb6C1lAYeFSeZUP7ySnGS

Publisher

Winding Road Stories): https://windingroadstories.com/project/n-j-gallegos/

Black Hare Press): https://blackharepress.com/products/eat-your-heart-out-by-nj-gallegos

Support The Dark Mind Podcast

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

In 1990, two men disguised as Boston police officers stole 13 priceless works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what became the largest art heist in history, valued at over $1 billion.

FBI Special Agent Geoffrey Kelly spent 28 years as one of the founding members of the FBI Art Crime Team, and in 2002 inherited this cold case.

Rather than working it as a standard property crime, Kelly treated the missing paintings as fugitives, enlisting the media and public to help track them down.

In his new book, 13 Perfect Fugitives, Kelly pulls back the curtain on the full investigation, separating fact from decades of myth and misinformation surrounding the case.

Kelly also served as the real-life inspiration for Jon Hamm's FBI agent character in the film The Town, and currently teaches at Harvard Extension School alongside the Gardner Museum's security director.

The paintings remain missing to this day, but Kelly believes they will be found.

WEBSITE

Argus Cultural Property Consultantshttps://arguscpc.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

LinkedIn (Geoffrey Kelly)https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-kelly-7a18202b8/

LinkedIn (Argus CPC)https://www.linkedin.com/company/argus-cultural-property-consultants

Facebook (Argus CPC)https://www.facebook.com/arguscpc

Bluesky (Argus CPC)https://bsky.app/profile/arguscpc.bsky.social

X/Twitter (Argus CPC)https://x.com/ArgusCPC

BUY THE BOOK: THIRTEEN PERFECT FUGITIVES

Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FDGTZJH9

Barnes and Noblehttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thirteen-perfect-fugitives-geoffrey-kelly/1147669547?ean=9798895653173

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

In this episode, author Blaine Daigle returns to discuss his latest novel, Porcelain Lullaby.

The book follows two estranged brothers, Jake and Nate Shepherd, whose childhood ended in violence when they woke to find their parents dead.

Twenty years later, they receive a message from their long-dead mother calling them to Meadowland, an abandoned orphanage in rural Pennsylvania.

We explore how the brothers hold two completely different memories of that traumatic night, and how those conflicting explanations drive the entire narrative.

Blaine discusses his approach to gothic horror, the use of music boxes as harbingers of dread, and why small shadows lurking in periphery vision are more terrifying than big monsters.

We dive into the concept of place as predator, examining how locations can absorb negative energy and develop hostile personalities.

Blaine also reflects on why Porcelain Lullaby represents the distillation of themes he's explored across all five of his books, from childhood trauma to fractured family dynamics.

He shares insights on his cover design process, the calcifying effect of collective town denial, and why unreliable memory makes for compelling psychological horror.

This is a deep conversation about grief horror, the uncanny valley of porcelain dolls, and refusing to write the same story twice.

Official Website:
https://www.blainedaigle.com/

Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Blaine-Daigle-Author-100086562623387/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blainedaigleauthor/
X (Twitter): https://x.com/bdaigle_author
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25085884.Blaine_Daigle

Amazon:
Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BTB8JHCX

Barnes & Noble:
The Broken Places (eBook): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-places-blaine-daigle/1147045506
The Broken Places (Audiobook): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-places-blaine-daigle/1143258859

Publisher (Wicked House):
Porcelain Lullaby: https://wickedhouse.com/book/porcelain-lullaby/

Audiobooks:
Podium Audio: https://podiumentertainment.com/authors/1345/blaine-daigle

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

In this episode, filmmaker Alex Domenici joins us to discuss his horror short Never Let You Go.

The film follows a woman whose abusive ex-boyfriend reaches from beyond the grave to bind them together through an occult ritual.

Alex shares how he invested most of his life savings into the production, building elaborate sets and shooting in real caves outside Los Angeles.

We explore the film's themes of trauma, supernatural horror, and what it means to be trapped by the past both physically and spiritually.

Alex discusses his 20-year journey in filmmaking and why this is the first film he's truly proud of.

He opens up about working with top-tier sound designers at Sony Studios, the challenges of practical effects, and the emotional toll of bringing psychological horror to life.

We also dive into his other films including Call from Kelly, The Clapper, and Arts and Crafts.

Alex talks about imposter syndrome, manifestation, and the pressure of betting everything on a single project.

The film premiered at Screamfest at the TCL Chinese Theatre before being released on ALTER's YouTube channel in January 2026.

This is a raw, honest conversation about independent horror filmmaking, creative obsession, and refusing to compromise your vision.

ALEX DOMENICI

Instagram (Personal):
https://www.instagram.com/alex__domenici/

Instagram (Never Let You Go Film):
https://www.instagram.com/neverletyougo_film/

YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@AlexDomenici

IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7503436/

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-domenici-127314109

Email:
[email protected]

WATCH ALEX DOMENICI'S FILMS

Never Let You Go (2024) - FREE on ALTER YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh0nBbt3qKk

Call from Kelly (2023) - FREE on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROzjqNHe8oQ

The Clapper (2019) - FREE on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9lclBwaFa8

Arts & Crafts (2016) - Available on Alex's YouTube Channel

SUPPORT THE DARK MIND PODCAST

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

Jon Cohn returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his latest novel, The Creed Falls Massacres, a genre-bending collision of 80s slasher horror and cosmic body horror.

Seventeen years after the Camp Creed massacre, final girl Jamie Campbell faces a town divided over whether she is a hero or a murderer.

When a meteor crashes on the anniversary of the killings and the Silver Fox killer returns, Jamie and her daughter Claire must survive both a personal vendetta and a town-wide plague of mutated monsters.

Jon and Vincent explore post-truth societies, multi-generational trauma, the horror of doubt, and what happens when communities weaponize skepticism against survivors.

The conversation dives into Jon's inspiration from the failed promise of the 2018 Halloween trilogy, his Freddy vs Jason approach to blending horror subgenres, and why he considers this cosmic plague story pure horror rather than science fiction.

They also discuss influencer culture horror in Slashtag, the death of long-form content, TikTok as a special circle of hell, and why doom scrolling might be the scariest thing we face today.

Jon Cohn is an award-winning horror author and board game designer whose work includes The Island Mother, Slashtag, Kill Beth, and collaborations with Eli Roth on the Thanksgiving board game.

Buy The Creed Falls Massacres, leave a review, and join the conversation about final girls, false narratives, and quantum nightmares.

Jon Cohn - Author Website & Social Media

Official Website
https://www.joncohnauthor.com

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

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

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

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21703052.Jon_Cohn

Buy Jon Cohn's Books

The Creed Falls Massacres - Bookshop.org
https://bookshop.org/a/91271/9781959798897

Barnes & Noble - Jon Cohn Author Page
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Jon+Cohn

Amazon - Search for Jon Cohn books
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Jon+Cohn+author

Support The Dark Mind Podcast

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