Talking Horror

Rachel Redd
  • 4.9 (16)
  • Books

Welcome to Talking Horror Podcast, where we dive into the stories that haunt us. Hosted by Rachel Redd, this show features conversations with horror and thriller authors about their books, their writing process, and what draws them into the shadows. From psychological dread to supernatural terror, we explore the dark stories readers can’t get enough of and why they are so important to fiction. Each week Rachel talks with today’s most exciting horror and thriller authors about the stories that linger long after the lights go out.

  1. 2d ago

    Neil McRobert on Good Boy: How Walking His Dog Sparked a Horror Novella Stephen King Loved

    Neil McRobert is the host of the Talking Scared podcast, a PhD in Gothic literature, and the author of the Stephen King blurbed novella Good Boy, with the chapbook House of Butterflies coming in December. Neil shares how a Vulture reading list for True Detective: Night Country led to Good Boy, a Northern Weird folk horror novella about a man, his dog, and a child-eating monster in a small English town. He explains why Good Boy is his answer to Stephen King's It, and what it really says about bigotry and getting stuck in your hometown. He gets honest about imposter syndrome at StokerCon, perfectionism, and why every podcast host should read the damn book. Plus, first details on House of Butterflies, set in a 1964 leaded gasoline refinery, and Bad Home, a violent home invasion novel about economic inequality. Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Neil McRobert 02:44 – Harryhausen, Norse Serpents and a Lifelong Love of Monsters 04:31 – Dad Telling Him the Plot of Carrie on Holiday in Greece 05:19 – Point Horror and Getting His Mum Called Into School 07:00 – A Working Class Kid Who Wanted to Be a Film Director 08:47 – A PhD in Gothic Studies (and Horror Metafiction) 10:06 – Manny in Switzerland, Llama Farmer, Michelin Star Kitchen 13:10 – Why Writing Is Torture: Perfectionism and Type 2 Fun 15:32 – Imposter Syndrome and Not Feeling "In the Club" 17:52 – Quitting His Job in Lockdown and Emailing Paul Tremblay 21:30 – Fearless on Stage, Terrified of Rabies 24:25 – The Thrill of the Chase: How He Landed Stephen King 27:35 – A Rocky Mountain Horror Camp and Finding Your People 30:57 – Social Media Dopamine and Performative Rage Online 33:59 – The StokerCon Moment That Finally Made Him Write 37:43 – A Vulture Article, Bear Season and the Northern Weird Series 40:58 – 1,500 Words a Day: Writing Good Boy in Three Weeks 41:46 – Ted the Jack Russell and the Tree That Started It All 45:16 – Stephen King's It in a Small English Town 47:24 – Small British Towns, Bigotry and the Real Jim Howarth 50:35 – Doing Good Without Posting About It 52:18 – Growing Up on the Knee of Stephen King 57:33 – Why You Need to Read Dolores Claiborne 58:39 – Spinning Plates: Podcast Scripts and Reading Until 2 a.m. 1:02:53 – "Read the Damn Book": Why Hosts Have to Do the Homework 1:04:31 – The Day Stephen King Sent Him the New Talisman Manuscript 1:07:56 – House of Butterflies: Leaded Gasoline Horror in 1964 New Jersey 1:08:54 – Bad Home: Writing a Cruel Book With Heart 1:14:18 – Neil's Underrated Pick: The Hill in the Dark Grove Grab your copy of Good Boy: https://www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/books/p/goodboy/9781068563102 Connect with Neil McRobert: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkscaredpod/ X: https://x.com/TalkScaredPod Talking Scared Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-scared/id1530064310 Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  2. Sep 29

    Isabel Cañas on The House of Gardenias, Mexican Gothic Horror & Why Humans Are the Real Monsters

    Isabel Cañas is the USA Today bestselling, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and her YA gothic debut, The House of Gardenias. Isabel shares how an "air quotes too Mexican" rejection on her honeymoon in Mexico City led to The Hacienda, and how she defended her PhD in medieval Islamic history the day before it came out. She reveals the 1850s quote from Rio Grande bandit Juan Cortina about "flocks of vampires" that turned Vampires of El Norte into a story about settler colonialism. She connects The Possession of Alba Díaz to pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and the fall of Roe v. Wade. And she opens up about the real family story, her grandfather's abusive stepmother counting tortillas, that opens The House of Gardenias. Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Isabel Cañas 06:25 – A Self-Proclaimed Scaredy Cat Reading Dracula Under the Desk 09:12 – The YA Fantasy Books by Women of Color That Cracked Her Brain Open 10:14 – "Too Mexican": Two Novels That Died on Submission 11:34 – A Honeymoon Rejection in Mexico City and the Birth of The Hacienda 14:59 – Writing for Your Id: The Secret Lecture Passed Between Writers 19:44 – Kitchen Table Storytelling and the Grandfather Who Inspired The House of Gardenias 24:33 – The Turkish Grammar Tense Made Just for Gossip 25:48 – Becoming a Published Author and a Doctor in 24 Hours 28:25 – A Medievalist's Research Obsession (and Why the Embroidery Has to Go) 32:56 – Would She Ever Write a Modern Gothic? 36:33 – "Lol, It's Actually Colonialism": Why Humans Are the Real Monsters 43:17 – Vampires of El Norte and the One-Sentence Pitch That Sold It 48:12 – The 1850s Post Office List Where She Found Néstor 53:46 – The Real "Flocks of Vampires" Quote Behind the Book 57:52 – The Possession of Alba Díaz: Pregnancy, Control, and Who Owns a Woman's Body 1:06:56 – The House of Gardenias: A Nightmare, a Grudge, and Her YA Comeback 1:12:51 – Grief, Loss, and the "Flesh and Blood" Editing Passes 1:20:19 – 200,000 Words and What's Coming Next Grab your copy of The House of Gardenias: https://amzn.to/4qvK89l Connect with Isabel Cañas: Website: https://isabelcanas.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isabelcanas_/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@isabelcanasauthor Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  3. Sep 22

    Noelle Ihli on The Last to Drown: The Real Serial Killer Behind Her Darkest Thriller Yet

    Noelle Ihli is the international bestselling, Bram Stoker Award longlisted author of Ask for Andrea, Grey After Dark, and her latest thriller, The Last to Drown. Noelle breaks down how the real case of serial killer Israel Keyes shaped the stalker terrorizing a women's rafting retreat in The Last to Drown, and the true story of an Olympic athlete's abduction behind Grey After Dark. She talks about ghostwriting fiction before her own career, self-publishing her debut The Thicket after fifty rejection letters, and the cover redesign that turned Ask for Andrea into a BookTok phenomenon. Noelle also opens up about the Ted Bundy documentary that inspired the ghosts in Ask for Andrea, and how she protects her creative process from online criticism. Timestamps: 00:00 – Cold Open: "A Little More Empathy for Victims and Survivors" 00:57 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Noelle Ihli 02:59 – A Childhood Drawn to "the Scary, the Spooky" and Watching Censored Horror at "Clean Flicks" 07:28 – Inside the Secret World of Ghostwriting Fiction 16:18 – Why True Crime and the Chowchilla Kidnapping Shape Her Fiction 22:15 – Fifty Rejection Letters Before Self-Publishing The Thicket 25:40 – The Cover Redesign That Turned Ask for Andrea Into a BookTok Avalanche 31:35 – Setting Boundaries With Reviews (and the Shirt With Her Best and Worst Ones) 38:49 – The Ted Bundy Documentary Behind Ask for Andrea's Ghosts 48:08 – The Real Late-Night Car Chase Behind Run on Red 52:01 – The Olympic Athlete Abduction That Inspired Grey After Dark 56:49 – Israel Keyes, the Serial Killer Behind The Last to Drown 1:05:16 – First Look at Her Darkest Book Yet, Coming in 2027 Grab your copy of The Last to Drown: https://amzn.to/45weT4w Connect with Noelle Ihli: Website: https://noellewihli.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noelleihliauthor/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@noelleihliauthor Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  4. Sep 15

    Leopoldo Gout on Dyslexia, Scent Memory & Writing Rooted After Losing Everything

    Leopoldo Gout is the acclaimed visual artist and author behind the horror novel Pinata, the Ghost Radio series, and out today, his stunning new novel, Rooted. Leopoldo breaks down the true, horrifying history behind Pinata, how Spanish conquistadors forced Aztec children to break piñatas containing their own gods. He talks about the real artifact repatriation lawsuits reclaiming stolen Mexican heritage from Europe that inspired Rooted's archaeologist lead, and his mission to reverse engineer the trope of the evil witch into a protector. Leopoldo also opens up about writing as a dyslexic author, his unusual "photographic scent memory," and the real history behind the word abracadabra. Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Leopoldo Gout 02:52 – "I Don't See Horror as Spooky, I See It as Beauty" 04:13 – Day of the Dead vs. the James Bond Carnival Version 08:03 – Discovering Horror as Social Commentary Through Night of the Living Dead 14:42 – Losing His Home and Studio to a Fire He Believes Was Arson 20:56 – His "Photographic Scent Memory" and How It Shapes His Prose 37:10 – The True, Horrific History Behind Pinata's Piñatas 41:00 – The Real Lawyer Fighting to Reclaim Mexico's Stolen Artifacts 44:19 – Reverse Engineering the Witch: Rooted's Central Idea 1:05:15 – First Look at His New Anthology Story, Luz e Fer 1:17:22 – "I Don't Believe There's a Genre Called Horror" Grab your copy of Rooted: https://amzn.to/4bUk95u Connect with Leopoldo Gout: Website: https://www.leopoldogout.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leopoldoleopoldo/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leopoldogout Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  5. Sep 8

    Nick Roberts on Addiction, Demons & Why Fans Ask "Is He Okay?"

    Nick Roberts is the award winning, indie horror author behind the bestselling Exorcist's House trilogy, Mean Spirited, and his debut novel Anathema, and he's one of the most reliably terrifying voices working in horror today. He talks about being a hybrid author, splitting his work between Crystal Lake, Wicked House, his own imprint Spooky WV, and now Zando's new horror line Evil Twin. Nick breaks down structuring The Exorcist's House: Genesis like The Godfather Part II, and building suspense the way Stephen King does in 1408. He opens up about writing addiction and recovery into Anathema and Mean Spirited, and the dog named Conehead who ended up hijacking the latter. Plus, a first look at his possession anthology Haunted Minds with a foreword by Stephen Graham Jones, his next novel Can You Help Me With an Exorcism?, and his story in the Shining anthology Views from the Overlook. Timestamps: 00:48 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Nick Roberts 02:33 – The "Is Nick Roberts Okay?" Reaction Readers Have to His Books 04:26 – Falling in Love with Horror Through Library Book Covers and Goosebumps 07:01 – Did Horror Ever Scare Him? Renting Pulp Fiction and Discovering the Craft 09:26 – The Writer-Director Dream That Fell Apart Before Film School 11:00 – Teaching English While Sneaking In Horror Film Electives 16:36 – Why Every Nick Roberts Book Starts as a Movie in His Head 17:37 – Being a Hybrid Author: Balancing Crystal Lake, Wicked House, and Self-Publishing 23:18 – From Anathema's COVID Release to Quitting Teaching for Full-Time Writing 30:44 – Why He Pantses Instead of Plots (and the Stephen Graham Jones Line That Inspired Him) 32:10 – The Stephen Graham Jones Outline He Wrote Just to Throw in the Trash 34:16 – Winning the Horror Authors Guild Debut Novel Award for Anathema 37:16 – Writing Recovery and Addiction Into Anathema and Mean Spirited 43:34 – Building Scares Like Stephen King's 1408 48:45 – Structuring The Exorcist's House: Genesis Like The Godfather Part II 54:01 – Falling In Love With a Character Before Something Horrible Happens 56:16 – Writing From the Killer's POV in My Corpse Has a Heartbeat 59:34 – First Look at the Haunted Minds Possession Anthology With Stephen Graham Jones 1:05:15 – A Tease of His Work in Progress, Appalachian Chainsaw Grab your copy of The Exorcist's House: https://amzn.to/4zoEcmB Connect with Nick Roberts: Website: https://www.nickrobertsauthor.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spookywv/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@spookywv Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  6. Sep 1

    Rachel Harrison on Kiss Slay Replay, Killing the Final Girl Trope & Writing Funny Horror

    Rachel Harrison is the New York Times bestselling author of The Return, Such Sharp Teeth, and Play Nice, back this week with her brand new release, Kiss Slay Replay. She talks about subverting the classic final girl trope in her new wedding-weekend time loop novel, and why she pushes back on being boxed in as a "feminist horror" author. Rachel opens up about landing her literary agent through a Twitter pitch contest called PitDark, and releasing her debut, The Return, during the first week of COVID lockdown. She also breaks down the shower epiphany about lady werewolf mythology that became Such Sharp Teeth, and the Blink-182 song that sparked Kiss Slay Replay's time loop. Plus, a first look at her next book and her nerves about her first ever European tour. Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Rachel Harrison 01:47 – Horror as a "Will They or Won't They" Rom-Com: Her Path Into the Genre 06:09 – From a Screenwriting Major to a PA Job on The Newlywed Game 09:58 – The Persistence Advice She Swears By 10:42 – The Return, a Bram Stoker Nomination, and Chasing Traditional Publishing 11:42 – The Twitter Pitch Contest, PitDark, That Landed Her Literary Agent 14:02 – Debuting a Novel in the First Week of COVID Lockdown 18:02 – Creep Away Camp, Barbie Girl Karaoke, and a Duet With Nat Cassidy 20:08 – Why Humor Is Baked Into Every Rachel Harrison Book 21:32 – Her Two Kinds of Protagonists: Sad Sacks and Women Who Have Their Shit Together 24:21 – Character Never Comes First: How She Actually Builds a Story 25:48 – The Applebee's Line That Unlocked Black Sheep's Vesper 32:58 – On Bristling at Being Labeled a "Feminist Horror" Author 40:45 – Prioritizing Art Over Content Before It's All AI Slop 44:43 – The Shower Epiphany Behind Such Sharp Teeth's Werewolf Body Horror 51:13 – Growing Up in Enormous Families and Building Play Nice's Three Sisters 57:54 – The Blink-182 Song That Sparked Kiss Slay Replay's Time Loop 1:02:52 – Subverting the Final Girl Trope With a Protagonist Who's Just F****d 1:04:45 – Why Horror and Joy Aren't Opposites for Her 1:08:05 – First Look at Her Next Book: The "Emo, Sepia-Toned" One 1:10:28 – Gearing Up for Her First-Ever European Tour Connect with Rachel Harrison: Website: https://www.rachel-harrison.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelharrisonsghost/ Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  7. Aug 25

    Caleb Stephens on Becoming the Internet's "Dad Thriller Guy"

    Caleb Stephens joins Talking Horror to talk The Girls in the Cabin, If You Lie, and You'll Never Know, and how he went from a decade as a corporate accountant to becoming the internet's self-proclaimed "dad thriller guy." Rachel Redd sits down with the award winning and Colorado Book Award finalist author for a wide-ranging conversation on writing thrillers with horror baked in, surviving traditional publishing rejection, and building a career one breadcrumb at a time. Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Caleb Stephens 01:41 – Rachel's 2 AM Reading Marathon and the Twist She Didn't See Coming 07:04 – From Alan Dean Foster to Stephen King: A Childhood Built on Fantasy and Horror 10:32 – Ten Years as a Corporate Accountant Before Taking the Leap 12:48 – Five Years, One Unpublishable Novel, and a Verdict From the Guy Who Wrote Jumanji 14:41 – Short Stories, Craft Books, and a Writer's Digest Honorable Mention 21:38 – The Fool's Cap Method and Why Gillian Flynn Can Pants a Whole Thriller 29:58 – The Girls in the Cabin's Two Year Agent Rollercoaster 32:27 – Getting Picked Up by the UK's Largest Indie Publisher and Discovering BookTok 34:02 – Why Feeders Flopped and He Became "The Dad Thriller Guy" 38:30 – Making Colorado's Deadly Weather a Character in The Girls in the Cabin 43:48 – Rewriting a Book Seven Times and Turning the Dad Into a Bigger Jerk 46:31 – Missing a Publishing Deadline and Self-Publishing If You Lie Out of Fear 48:26 – Writing Through Sciatica and a Full Manuscript Rewrite 53:39 – Building a Gone Girl Tribute Twist Into You'll Never Know 1:02:34 – First Look at Don't Hesitate: A Dad and Son Hunting Trip Gone Wrong 1:05:02 – Why Grief Keeps Showing Up in Every Book He Writes 1:07:45 – The Paperback Pre-Order Problem No One Talks About 1:10:21 – Book Recommendations: S.A. Cosby, John Boyne, and More Grab your copy of The Girls in the Cabin: [LINK] Connect with Caleb Stephens: Website: https://www.calebstephensauthor.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calebstephensauthor/?hl=en Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

  8. Aug 18

    Adam Cesare on Selling Books Out of His Car Before Frendo Made Him a Bestseller

    Adam Cesare joins Talking Horror to talk Lights, Camera, Frendo, the fourth book in his Clown in a Cornfield series, and how fifteen years of self-publishing, folded presses, and selling books out of the trunk of his car built the readership that eventually made him a Bram Stoker Award winner. Rachel Redd sits down with the USA Today bestselling author of Video Night, Mercy House, and Influencer for a conversation about franchise iconography, vampire obsession, and why he loves his sequels more than his original books. Adam opens up about the small video rental section that scared him as a kid, and how a legendary horror editor's small press, his own self-publishing hustle, and a Big Five pickup fifteen years later all led to Mercy House getting "orphaned" pre-launch and later rewritten from scratch. He also confesses he genuinely likes the Clown in a Cornfield sequels better than the original, Bram Stoker win included. Plus his near-academic obsession with Frendo's mask and a first look at Bloodsick, his 14 POV vampire epic coming in January. 00:01 Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Adam Cesare 03:41 The Origin Story: A Supermarket Video Rental Aisle on Long Island 05:55 Running Out of Two Different Wes Craven Movies as a Kid 07:56 Stephen King on Cassette Tape and an Early Obsession With Spawn 13:53 Writing Video Night in College Before He Could Legally Drink 17:05 Chasing Down an Editor and Landing at a Small Horror Press 19:58 From Self-Published Oddity to a Big Five Book 22:56 The Used Car Salesman Theory of Surviving Publishing 28:37 If You Can't Love It, Quit: His Advice for Writers 34:15 Video Night: A Melancholic Alien Invasion Love Letter 40:22 Mercy House and Getting Orphaned by Random House Hydra 44:06 Rewriting Mercy House From Scratch Eleven Years Later 51:08 Confessing He Loves the Sequels More Than the Original 54:43 Lights, Camera, Frendo: Book Four Is Finally Out 59:04 The Auteurist Theory Behind a Long-Running Slasher Franchise 1:03:01 Why He Obsesses Over Every Detail of Frendo's Mask 1:08:37 A First Look at Bloodsick, His 14 POV Vampire Epic 1:15:45 Why Horror Is Living Through a Genuine Golden Era Grab your copy of Lights, Camera, Frendo: https://amzn.to/4wKDUUW Connect with Adam Cesare: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamcesare/?hl=en Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!

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4.9
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Welcome to Talking Horror Podcast, where we dive into the stories that haunt us. Hosted by Rachel Redd, this show features conversations with horror and thriller authors about their books, their writing process, and what draws them into the shadows. From psychological dread to supernatural terror, we explore the dark stories readers can’t get enough of and why they are so important to fiction. Each week Rachel talks with today’s most exciting horror and thriller authors about the stories that linger long after the lights go out.

Information

  • Creator
    Rachel Redd
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    28
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rachel Redd
  • Show Website
    Talking Horror

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