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PODCAST

The Spooky Scholars Podcast

The best horror analysis podcast for the BIG questions we ask of horror movies and books: The symbolism of slime? A zombie zeitgeist? Your weapon choice to survive a slasher? Anyone can summarize and review a horror movie but there"s SO much more to horror than the list of shrills and kills. Horror is the genre pushing boundaries and taking society to task with monsters and mayhem, slashing and sex/gender play. Horror is EXTRA, and you need a friend (or podcast host) to ask, "WTF did I just watch?"

tv & film film history

All Episodes

00:15:39

Demon Seed Doomsday: How Scary Is the AI “Great Pause"?

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/10/06

AI was supposed to make our lives easier. So why does it increasingly feel like we’re living inside a horror movie?In this episode of the mini-series How Scary Is It?, we’re looking at the very real fears surrounding artificial intelligence, from the recent calls for caution and “pauses” in AI development to the question of what happens when we build systems that become more powerful, more autonomous, and harder to control.We’re revisiting Demon Seed (1977), where an AI becomes obsessed with its

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00:17:29

Second Screening: How Scary Are Our Attention Spans...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/09/22

Ever find yourself checking your phone during a horror movie? Looking away when something gross happens? Talking to your friend because you’re totally not scared? Congratulations: you’ve just discovered second screening.Second screening is the increasingly common habit of using a second device or otherwise splitting your attention while watching a film or TV show. But horror has a particular problem with it: the genre depends on your attention, anticipation, and willingness to surrender yourself to

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00:32:31

Final Perimenopausal Divorced Girl: Who Really...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/09/08

What happens when the girls who grew up watching Final Girls… become ...women?In this episode of Spooky Scholars, we look at one of horror’s most iconic tropes through a very specific lens: perimenopause, divorce, and Gen X finally being fucking done.Drawing on Carol J. Clover’s influential work on the Final Girl, I look at Laurie Strode, Nancy Thompson, Alice, Jess, and the women who survived the horror movies of our youth and asks why they hit differently when you’re in your 40s than they did when

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00:21:46

Candyman & the Making of Monsters: Shadow Work...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/08/18

Gentrification, racism, horror, storytelling, and the making of monsters: Candyman (2021) asks who gets to tell a story and who gets turned into the villain. In this Part 2 shadow work analysis of Candyman (2021), I explore power, cultural appropriation, mythology, race, identity, and the uncomfortable question of what happens when we inherit (and try to profit from) someone else’s story.*This episode contains spoilers for:Candyman (1992)Candyman (2021)💀💀Follow us on Instagram

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00:26:00

Candyman & the Collapse of Certainty: A Shadow Work...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/07/28

This episode is an exploration of what happens when the horror movie you loved as a kid turns out to be about the exact trauma you're living through!Buckle up, because this episode gets personal.Before we get into the 1992 horror classic Candyman, I’m dropping the tea on my divorce, betrayal, and what it feels like when someone you trusted completely destroys the reality you thought you were living in.(Yes, we are processing our trauma through horror movies, where've you been?)But this isn’t just a

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00:28:40

Gaslighting, Grief, and Psychological Horror with...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/07/07

In this episode I’m with author Claire Fuller. We talk about her sixth book, Hunger and Thirst, (available now!), where she’s finally come over to the fully dark side even though she has quite an extensive horror background.In our conversation, Claire unpacks the darker side of ambition and friendship, examining how themes of manipulation and coercion shape the story in unsettling ways.We also talk about her background with sculpture and how that made its way into Hunger and Thirst. I really enjoyed

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00:25:05

Monster Mentors: What Your Favorite Monster Says...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/06/23

What if we thought of monsters as the self-help gurus of the goths?!In this part 2 on this premise, we explore what our favorite monsters can teach us about our shadows and how we can be better humans. I know, ewww. We get into how mummys remind us we need to stop tending to old wounds, how demons show up when we're greedy, and how the invisible man reveals the walls we build to keep people at arm's length.This is Part Two of looking closely at the shadow sides of monster lore and the very human

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00:27:47

Stories, Support, and Speculative Fiction with Author...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/06/09

This week, I’m joined by author Dianna Gunn to talk about writing across genres, finding inspiration in tabletop gaming and fantasy worlds, and why online communities remain such an important part of the literary ecosystem.We discuss the realities of indie publishing, creative burnout, weaving trauma and healing into speculative fiction, and the surprising ways horror and fantasy often overlap. Dianna also shares how community support has shaped her career and why no writer should do it all

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00:25:26

Monster Mentors: What Your Favorite Monster Says...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/06/03

What if we thought of monsters as the self-help gurus of the goths?!In this episode we explore what our favorite monsters can teach us about our shadows and how we can be better humans. I know, ewww. We get into how vampires reveal our fear of mortality, how werewolves reflect the struggle to control our impulses, and how we all have ghosts in our past that we just can’t let go of. This is Part One of looking closely at the shadow sides of monster lore and the very human flaws they reflect back at

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00:25:00

What Shadows are Hiding in Horror’s Greatest...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/05/26

What do classic horror icons reveal about us?In this episode, I’m with horror narrator and creator, Professor Shadow to explore the human shadow hidden inside classic monsters and those of his own creation.We talk about why horror continues to resonate across generations, how monsters embody our fears, desires, shame, rage, and loneliness, and why horror can sometimes reveal truths that everyday life tries to suppress.Plus, we talk about the monster in the room—AI (yes, that’s an em dash,

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00:27:41

Society's Shadow Side: How Horror Takes Systems to Task

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/05/20

What does horror allow us to feel safely that everyday life often punishes?In this episode, we explore horror as an emotional classification system that shows us how socially forbidden emotions finally get permission to exist under certain subgenres of horror: possession films, body horror, slashers and paranormal hauntings, different horror subgenres may reflect different emotional states we’re taught to suppress in real life.It’s what society tells us is appropriate to fear and how we’re supposed

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00:35:02

Monster Men: Masculinity in Horror with Author Eric...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/05/12

How is horror handling masculinity?In this episode, I’m with horror author Eric Miller for a fascinating deep dive into masculinity, vulnerability, trauma, loneliness, and why horror may be the perfect genre for exploring all of it.Together, we dissect iconic male characters, examining the stark contrast between toxic masculinity and authentic heroism. We bring in emotionally repressed antiheroes compassionate survivors, and villains for villains’ sake. This conversation explores horror, sci-fi,

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00:20:48

Shadow Selves of Horror: Facing Your Dark Side &...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/05/05

We're back after a two month break of processing a... nightmare. In this personal, solo episode I'm sharing what I've learned about dark nights of the soul and shadow work, through the lens of horror. And you're gonna want to hear this!I share what I’ve been moving through with divorce, processing pain, and the patterns I've missed in horror movies I love.Because that’s what they do. They show us the patterns in ourselves we desperately try to avoid. In this episode, I'm

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00:35:04

La Fulci Vida: A Love Letter to an Italian Horror...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/02/24

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

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00:42:34

Wild Women with Expert Cinda Gault

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/02/17

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

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00:31:03

Robot Replacement: The Horror of Artificial Intimacy

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/02/10

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

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00:44:09

Liminal Horror and Lived Experience: Inside Darkest...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/02/03

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

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00:39:30

Artistic Expression or Exploitation? A Serious Call...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/01/27

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

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00:45:40

Nostalgia Horror: Rose-Colored Memories with Wendy...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2026/01/20

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

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01:06:10

Ritual Roulette: Bro Trip Horror with Horror Roulette...

The Spooky Scholars Podcast ·

2025/12/16

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

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123 results

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