Lucio Fulci is often remembered as the “Godfather of Gore” or the director of ruptured eyes, melting flesh, and apocalyptic endings. But my guest today says we don’t really know the real Fulci, and there’s so much more to this important figure in horror. 

Matt Rogerson has written extensively on Fulci’s relationship to faith in his new book Fulci’s Inferno: Fulci's Inferno: Faith in the Films of a Horror and Giallo Auteur. 

And in this episode we explore how Catholic imagery, spiritual crisis, and Dantean architecture shape films like The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, Zombi 2 and more. 

Listen if you want to understand why Fulci’s horror feels less like shock and more like a horrific revelation.

*This episode contains spoilers for:

Don’t Torture a Duckling 

…but as Matt says, you’ve had since 1972…

Find Matt @bavalamp and @1428publishing on Instagram

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In this episode we’re with Canadian historical fiction author, Cinda Gault.

Cinda schools us on incredible Canadian women of history we all should know more about and how she is remedying that with her fiction.

We also discuss the roots of the horror genre, slaying vampires, 18th century final girls, Canadian abortion law, and Cinda's own incredible work in the feminist movement in the 1970s.

Cinda brings a deep reverence for women’s stories, and through her historical fiction, she continues to illuminate the voices that history tried to hush, but that refuse to stay silent.

This episode is spoiler free!

Follow Cinda on Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/6170707.Cinda_Gault

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Are we (already) letting AI replace us? 

In this episode, I explore the growing cultural shift toward AI companionship, AI relationships, and emotional automation. Artificial intelligence is increasingly over-stepping into our world and now, even into roles once reserved for real human intimacy and connection.

But this episode isn’t just about digital horror or even AI ethics or even the future of technology.

It’s about language and how we’re using computer and robot terminology to describe human emotions and behavior: We “process” grief. We “download” information. We “optimize” relationships. We talk about burnout as "a system crash" and treat heartbreak like "corrupted data" to "file away" as a lesson for the future.  

In the end I’m really wondering: as automation expands beyond labor and into love, what does that mean for human connection, empathy, and identity?

Are we building machines to act more human, or are we training ourselves to feel less?

*This episode contains MAJOR spoilers for:

• Companion (2025)
• M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

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Let's explore liminality, trauma, and coming-of-age horror through the lens of my newest project as part of Darkest Margins, curated and edited by our guest, Matt Rogerson.

We get into more of what to expect from a much-needed contribution to horror scholarship and a little of what Matt went through to bring this project to the horror community.

We'll then talk about Matt's own contribution to the project where he analyzes adolescence and generational representation to uncover why horror treats youth more honestly than mainstream teen films (ahem, John Hughes, your homophobia is showing!).

*May contain spoilers for"

• Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)

• Demonia (1990)

Darkest Margins: 24 Essays on Liminality and Liminal Spaces in the Horror Genre

*Curated and Edited by Matt Rogerson, with a Foreword by Dr Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, DARKEST MARGINS is a collection of twenty four essays from leading and up-and-coming genre writers exploring expressions of liminality and liminal spaces in the horror genre, across cinema, literature, television, art and video games. Taking in the anthropological, psychological and architectural liminality, and accompanied by four stunning pieces of original artwork, the assembled academic and engaging essays undertake what has not been done on this scale before: to explore, map, analyze and discuss those rites of passage, states of ambiguity or disorientation and physical waypoints in a wide variety of works across more than a century of horror media.

Get a copy: https://www.thebrokenbinding.co.uk/product-page/darkest-margins-24-essays-on-liminality-and-liminal-spaces-in-the-horror-genre

Follow Matt @bavalamp and @1428publishing

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Joined in this episode by author, friend, and returning guest, Kimberly Pinzon, to critically examine how sexual assault is portrayed in horror films and why these depictions are so often shaped by male directors.

She's got some stuff to say!

We specifically look at rape revenge horror and question who has the authority to tell these stories and whether “artistic freedom” is being used to justify gendered harm on screen.

We explore how horror cinema repeatedly centers female suffering, the power dynamics behind these creative choices, and more reasons why representation behind the camera matters.

Our hope is that this conversation furthers the the case for more women directors in horror and greater accountability in how trauma is depicted in film.

Content note: discussion of violent sexual assault and gender-based harm.

*This episode contains spoilers for:

Last House on the Left (1974, 2009)

I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Deliverance (1972)

Revenge (2017)

Follow Kimberly Pinzon @modernmonstress (IG and TikTok)

Check out Final Girl Redux and other books on Goodreads.

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They’re calling 2026 the year we go back to analog.

And in this first episode of Season 6, I’m joined by authors Wendy Dalrymple and Grace Reynolds, the editors behind a new anthology of nostalgia horror that digs into our first precious memories of the genre we all love.

We explore how modern horror has embraced nostalgia through shows like Stranger Things, the rise of horror remakes, and our collective obsession with reboots, and retro media.

Plus we learn more about the global experiences of growing up with horror that maybe wasn't all Halloween and Blockbuster through Wendy and Grace's new anthology project, Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane.

This conversation unpacks the emotional pull of nostalgia, how and why horror is the perfect genre to examine who we used to be.

So if the past has been calling lately, this episode might explain why.

Grab your copy!

Poisoned Soup for the Macabre, Depraved, and Insane

More from Wendy > wendydalrymple.com

Wendy on Instagram @wendydalrymplewrites

Grace on Instagram @gravereynolds

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A nightmare team collab episode that unpacks modern masculinity in lad/bro holiday horror, all by random selection with Horror Roulette Pod. 

During the month of Movember we watched a film that examines how traditional ideas of masculinity are challenged, and sometimes reinforced, when men seek escape, connection, and meaning. 

This episode is a mash up of scholarly analysis with random fun and a new podcast friendship.

Join Spooky Scholars host, Ashe Woodward and guests Nellie and Anthony from Horror Roulette pod for a very special 1-hour episode to last you the rest of the year!!

This episode contains MAJOR spoilers for:

• The Ritual (2017)
• Hereditary (2018)
• Companion (2025)
  

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Enjoy the show? Trade ya for a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review!

Mometu is carving out a rare space in the (FREE) streaming world: a platform that refuses to let algorithms decide what audiences see.

In this episode, president of Mometu, Bryan Louzil, joins me to discuss the philosophy behind hand-picking films, the challenges of curation in an automated landscape, and why horror and horror lovers especially benefit from a human touch.

Plus, learn more about how Mometu is also hands on in the indie film space, supporting new filmmakers and literally funding the future of film on their platform.

For listeners curious about the future of streaming (especially with this week's Netflix-Warner Bros. fiasco!). This one will give you hope that there are still some film companies that actually like films!

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To celebrate our 100th episode, we’re diving straight into my newest writing project: an exploration of the Flatliners universe and how its gothic architecture, liminal spaces, and resurrection imagery mirror the film’s trauma narrative and each character’s desperate push toward restoration and rebirth.

And because it’s episode 100, we’re turning that lens on ourselves too.

We look at our own restoration arc: where the show started, how it’s evolved, and where Spooky Scholars is heading in 2026 as we dig even deeper into horror analysis, film theory, and the dark academia vibes you’ve all been a part of creating with us.

*This episode may contain spoilers for:

• Flatliners (2022)
• Flatliners (2017)

💀Follow us on Instagram @spooky.scholars

💀💀Join the ongoing conversation and LIVE salon each month at spookyscholars.com

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Enjoying the show? Trade ya for a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review!

Wanna share private thoughts? Eww, but ok. 

Get in touch via email at  ✉️ [email protected]

Ever noticed how many horror characters and plots mirror the experience of neurodivergence?

Think Carrie channeling raw emotion into telekinesis, Percy Jackson reframing dyslexia and ADHD as signs of his power, or how just the disorientation and misreadings in Evil Dead echo the anxieties baked into our standardized school system.

My guest this week, Russell Von Brocklen, is a dyslexia expert and someone who lives with dyslexia himself. His work has helped countless learners tap into their own strengths and rethink what dyslexia actually means and challenge the traditional stigma.

In this episode we learn that with the right tools and support, what many people label as a “curse” often reveals itself as a genuine superpower.

We explore how misreadings can spiral into chaos on screen, how they reflect real-life moments of confusion or overwhelm, and what horror can teach us about questioning the idea of “normal” altogether.

*This episode may contain spoilers for:

• Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Theif (2010)

• Evil Dead (1981)

💀Find out more about Russel and his work at dyslexiaclasses.com

💀Follow us on Instagram @spooky.scholars

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🖤Full show notes at patreon.com/spookyscholars

Enjoy the show? Trade ya for a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review!

Wanna share private thoughts? Eww, but ok. 

Get in touch via email at  ✉️ [email protected]