Three years of the pandemic is enough. We stared into the abyss, and it changed us. And horror movies got us through.

Horror movies also told us the scary and ugly truth about how monstrous we were. As we spent our Seasons in the Abyss, here are some trends I noticed... and NO ZOMBIE MOVIES INCLUDED!

PART ONE OF TWO.

Movies Discussed: 

SYNCHRONIC (2020)

ST. MAUD (2021)

DEMENTER (2021)

THE VIGIL (2021)

RELIC (2022)

HIS HOUSE (2020)

HOST (2020)

DASHCAM (2022)

Here's my Postmortem on the 2022 Christmas Holiday Season, where I discuss Killer Santas, Trolls, and Yule Logs, and the death of "The War on Christmas!"

Movies Discussed:

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983)

TROLL (2022)

CHRISTMAS, BLOODY CHRISTMAS (2022)

THE MEAN ONE (2022)

VIOLENT NIGHT (2022)

ADULT SWIM'S YULE LOG (2022)

Happiest of Holidays to you! 

Just in time for Christmas Eve is the Hellbent for Horror Annual Christmas Ghost Story!

Keeping the old British tradition going, I've been reading ghost stories for Christmas over the last few years. Because Christmas and horror go together like cookies and milk and Santa!

This year's story is M.R. James' "Casting the Runes," which is the story that was adapted into the excellent 1957 film directed by Jacques Tournier, Night of the Demon, released as Curse of the Demon in the USA. 

Enjoy the show, and stay safe and spooky into 2023!

CASTING THE RUNES (1911)  by M.R. James

NIGHT OF THE DEMON, aka, CURSE OF THE DEMON (1957)

Join acclaimed horror author Vince V. Cava (CREEPYPASTA, JUST A LITTLE TERRIBLE) as we look at how comedy and horror work together (or not). We discuss Bizarro horror, Creepypasta, crazy Anime, and "the Amazon Smut Illuminati."

This is a pre-recorded live podcast from the FAN EXPO-SAN FRANCISCO performed on Black Friday (11/25/2022).

It's no surprise that I love Halloween and that I love decorating my place into a haunted House for Trick-or-Treaters to enjoy. 

But there is a specific history behind my love of Halloween, and in this episode, I'm going to "open a vein" and give you more insight into what makes me believe that horror brings people together and, for some of us, frees us and gives us purpose.

Special Edition: I read my short story, THE RELEQUARIANS. 

I hope you like the show!

Every town has ghosts, and the late George Romero is Pittsburgh's beloved boogeyman!

Romero still looms large there, and I was honored to visit the George A. Romero Archival Collection (1962-2017) at the Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh.

Horror Studies Collection Coordinator Ben Rubin sat for an interview and gave me a tour of the vast collection that documents his career through the ups and downs and how Pittsburgh became "the Zombie Capitol of the World."

I hope you like the show!

Special thanks to Ben Rubin and the Hillman Library at the University of Pittsburgh for their kind cooperation.

Movies Discussed:

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The Amusement Park (1975)

Martin (1977)

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Creepshow (1982)

Day of the Dead (1985)

Monkey Shines (1988)

Tales From the Darkside (1990)

Two Evil Eyes (1990)

Night of the Living Dead (1990)

The Dark Half (1993)

Jacaranda Joe (short film) (1994)

Bruiser (2000)

Land of the Dead (2005)

Freddy's glove! Jason's machete! Jigsaw's mask! Leatherface's Chainsaw!

Like any religion, horror and sci-fi movies can be such a spiritual experience for fans that props and costumes can become holy relics.

Join my guests, James Azrael and Ernesto Avina, partners, and curators of The Horror & SciFi Prop Preservation Association (HSPPA), as they discuss passion, obsession, and how art is in the eye of the beholder.

What is the "Holy Grail" of movie props? Might it be...the Holy Grail itself?

Props! Monsters! Museums! What more could you want?

Would you believe that at the center of their story are...cupcakes?

Listen and find out what the hell that even means!

I hope you like the show!

Movies Discussed:

It's Just a Game (2018)

So What? (Dee Snyder music video- 2016)

Pieces (1982)

Motel Hell (1980)

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Paul Taylor (Pinhead- Hellraiser Judgment -2018)

Enrique Murciano

Harry Potter Hufflepuff

Seed of Chucky (2004)

Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003)

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Boogie Nights (1997)

Wishmaster (1997)

The Exorcist (1973)

Jason X (2001)

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Puppet Master (1989)

Troll (1986)

Resident Evil (2002)

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Tusk (2014)

Se7en (1995)

Hellraiser (1987)

Before the MCU became mainstream and before horror films won Oscars, Horror Hosts helped create the Monster Kid Culture and legitimize fandom and genre conventions.

My guest, John Stanley, was not only the legendary host of Creature Features on KTVU-2 from 1979-to 1984, but also a novelist, film critic, and horror film director (NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD).

Join us as we talk horror host history straight from the source, what it was like to be there when ALIEN, PHANTASM, and even STAR TREK first premiered, and how fans resurrected the horror host culture!

Get John Stanley’s newest book, “The Career that Dripped Horror” and any of his books and DVDs here:

I hope you enjoy the show!

Films, folks, and shows discussed:

NIGHTMARE IN BLOOD (1977)

CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)

CREATURE FEATURES- KTVU (1971-1984)

ALIEN (1979)

PHANTASM (1979)

ROBERT BLOCH

RAY BRADBURY

STEPHEN KING

LEONARD NIMOY

Music and Horror are kindred spirits. And many of us love it when music and horror meet in the shadows of our imaginations. 

Join my guests, the hosts of the excellent DISCOVER THE HORROR PODCAST as we look at how we were attracted to the dark side of music, our influences, and how many different ways music express that darkness.

This is a joint podcast with my good friends from Discover the Horror and the music conversation, focusing on horror movie soundtracks, continues on their podcast. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Biup3H 

What do Rupert Holmes and Black Sabbath have in common? Listen and find out!

Just when you thought all the festivities were over...

There's one more gift under the horror tree for you!

Keeping the old British tradition going, I've been reading ghost stories for Christmas over the last few years. Because Christmas and horror go together like cookies and milk and Santa!

So, here are two stories for 2021!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Blessed Yule to all of you!

I hope you enjoy the show!

Stories Performed:

"The Kit Bag" by Algernon Blackwood

First published 1908 in Pall Mall Magazine

"Dark Christmas" by Jeanette Winterson

Published December 24, 2013, in The Guardian as part of the “Guardian Weekend magazine’s Christmas ghost stories” series.

You can read the entire story on the Guardian website: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/24/christmas-ghost-stories-dark-jeanette-winterson

Passion makes us do crazy things.

For many lifelong horror fans, the love of the genre is so intense that being a spectator is no longer enough. These fans are compelled to have their creative voices heard. Some paint, others start podcasts, or they write articles and books.

And then there are the really crazy ones who decide they want to make their own full-length horror movies!

In this episode, we speak to Hope Madden and George Wolf, the creative team behind the Fright Club Podcast as they prepare to shoot their feature film, OBSTACLE CORPSE!

Join me as we talk about their lifelong love of horror, from their "First Kisses" to their long-standing careers in radio and television as film critics in Columbus, Ohio, and what they think are the ingredients that make a horror movie memorable! 

Watch the OBSTACLE CORPSE feature trailer here:

https://vimeo.com/477691195

Here is a link to the OBSTACLE CORPSE Indiegogo link:

https://vimeo.com/598451526

Follow Hope and George at Maddwolf:

https://www.facebook.com/maddwolfcolumbus/

Skinwalkers! Psychic Vampires! Desert Gods! Cat People! Pagan Sex Beasts! Sentient Forests! Witchcraft! Ancient lands that Feed on humans! Mountain and Snow Goddesses!

The Weird Fiction of the 19th and 20th Centuries paved the way for modern horror and science fiction, and one of the greatest voices was Algernon Blackwood, whose work inspired none other than H.P. Lovecraft.

Join my guest, Scarlett Amaris (H.P. Lovecraft's Color out of Space, The Theatre Bizarre, and the Saurimonde book trilogy) as we look at some of our favorite Blackwood short stories and discuss his amazing life (he said all his stories were "autobiographical") and his influence on modern horror!

For some of us, going a little crazy is just the time when life starts getting fun.

Madness? Mania? Fanaticism? Call it what you like.

I call it passion, and I am drawn to people who need to create something out of their mad love. The creation might seem crazy to the average person, but to those it speaks to, it is a beautiful gift.

My guest is Jay Michaels, independent stage and film producer, director, and actor, who is also the host and executive producer of Phoenix FearCon, Arizona's Largest Independent Horror Film Festival and Convention Since 2006.

Join us as we discuss our lifetime loves of the horror genre and the gift of mad passion!

And…join us LIVE in Tempe, Arizona, on October 15th and 16th at the Sun Studios of Arizona! You can get tickets here: https://phoenixfearcon.com/box-office/

The woods are nature at its most feral. The deep, dark forest is the original home of the boogeyman, long before there were dark closets and basements and that space under your bed.

The Folk Horror subgenre has gained a new audience as more young filmmakers exploit the fine line between the natural and the supernatural...and openly ask if there's a line at all.

In honor of Kier-La Janisse's fantastic and masterful documentary, "WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR", I welcome writer/producer/author/editor/and horror journalist, KAT ELLINGER (Editor-in-Chief of Diabolique Magazine) to discuss Folk Horror, the history of Heathenism in England, and several other obsessions!

Summer isn't over yet!

And neither is my discussion of the passion of fandom and how it makes us do crazy things for what we love!

In this episode, I talk with Joe Gaudin and Matt Masters, the owners of the Skyline Drive-in in Shelbyville, Indiana about how they took a dying drive-in and turned it into a movie-lovers paradise!

They specialize in a two-day Dusk-To-Dawn Show of horror movies, and gourmet food to die for!

This is the "official" 100th episode of Hellbent for Horror!

In this episode, I want to discuss PASSION, the driving force behind creativity, and the mad devotion to movies, art, and pop culture we call fandom.

Fandom can make us seem crazy, but that mad passion can change lives, and I discuss the amazing story of the resurrection of The Mahoning Drive-In and the way their passion for movies enchanted a worldwide community.