Horror Joy

Latest Episodes:

Paul Tremblay on Meet Your Maker - Live at Next Chapter Bookshop Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

In this live-recorded episode of 'Horror Joy,' the hosts are joined by New York Times bestselling author Paul Tremblay at Next Chapter Bookshop in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Tremblay discusses various themes in his works and answers audience questions. Topics include the relationship between joy and horror, his journey to becoming a writer, inspirations for his horror novels targeted towards younger audiences, and the significance of artistic creation amidst technological advancements. The conversation also touches on Tremblay's personal experiences and emotions tied to his works, including the film adaptation of his novel 'The Cabin at the End of the World.'

Next Chapter Bookshop

Another

Check out our first episode with Paul - Horror (Un)Masked

Jake Tri (of Nightmare Soup) on Meet Your Maker Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Horror Joy, hosts Jeff and Brian introduce a new podcast series titled 'Meet Your Maker,' focusing on conversations with horror creators. Their first guest is Jake Tri, the author of 'Nightmare Soup,' a crowdfunded horror anthology reminiscent of 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.' Jake discusses the inspiration behind 'Nightmare Soup,' the resurgence of horror popularity, and the interplay between horror and joy. The conversation also delves into nostalgia, the creation process with illustrator Andy Sciazko, and plans for future projects, including a potential 'Nightmare Soup' movie. Listeners are also treated to insights about specific stories in 'Nightmare Soup' and recommendations for other horror media.

Nightmare Soup

Kickstarter Page

Andy Sciazko Art

Horror Joy - Nostalgia Horror (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark)

00:00 Meet Jake Tri: Author of Nightmare Soup

06:44 Creating Nightmare Soup

12:44 Intended Audience and Inspirations

19:01 Favorite Stories from Nightmare Soup

22:28 Nightmare Soup's Future and Movie Plans

26:34 Where to Find Nightmare Soup

28:44 Recent Horror Recommendations

The Professor is In - Revisiting a Year of Horror Joy with Kevin Wetmore, Jr. Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

In this special anniversary episode of Horror Joy, hosts Brian Onishi and Jeff Stoyanoff reflect on their first year of celebrating the emotional and intellectual joys of horror.

They discuss their favorite moments, memorable interviews with horror figures likePaul Tremblay, S. Trimble and Stephen Graham Jones, and the impact of films like Jaws, The Blair Witch Project, and Silence of the Lambs.

The episode features an in-depth conversation with Professor Kevin Wetmore, who shares his insights on the communal and personal joys of horror, the evolving nature of the genre post-9/11, and the significance of the 'final girl' trope. Wetmore also discusses his work in theater and medieval literature, emphasizing how horror brings people together and helps them confront their deepest fears.

So, grab your favorite haunted blue book and settle in for some schooling. But don’t fall asleep, you never know where you’ll wake up.

02:06 Introducing Kevin Whitmore Jr.

06:41 The Community Aspect of Horror

13:41 Jaws: The Original Summer Blockbuster

18:47 The Perception of Horror as a Lesser Genre

24:56 Exploring Horror Post 9/11

27:45 The Impact of 9/11 on Slasher Films

30:41 Final Destination: Death as the Ultimate Slasher

33:45 Medieval Horror and Theater

38:13 The Essence of Horror in Theater and Film

44:47 Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations

Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol Clover

Post 9/11 Horror In American Cinema by Kevin Wetmore Jr.

Eaters of the Dead – Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters by Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

Kevin Wetmore, Jr.

The Worm at the Core – The Role of Death in Life by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom Pyszczynski

When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy

Qui Nguyen

Meet Your Maker: A New Horror Joy Series (Trailer) Jul 14, 2025

Show notes

Join your favorite Horror podcasters as they introduce 'Meet Your Maker,' a new series from Horror Joy. This show is dedicated to interviewing some of the best-known and emerging Horror authors, including Clay McLeod Chapman, Victoria Dalpe, Sadie Hartmann (AKA Mother Horror), John Langan, Thomas Ha, Jake Tri, Kat Silva, and many more. Each 30-minute episode will explore new books, stories, and films, offering fans weekly content filled with more horror and joy.

Final Destination 1, 2, 3 Jun 30, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Horror Joy, we turn back time to solve the puzzle of the first three films of the Final Destination franchise, exploring the ways they engage with the horrors of the new millennium, its politics, and its technologies. The series’ horrors are doubled when we realize that the first film starts off with an exploding plane, uncannily anticipating the 9/11 terrorist attacks that fundamentally reshaped the United States of America, the Middle East, and the geopolitics of never-ending surveillance due to the specter of terrorism.

They discuss:

· How these films reflect the anxieties of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the twin specters of Y2K and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

· How the themes of technology, societal change, and existential dread, show up differently in each film

· The role of Tony Todd's (Bludworth) character as a potential personification of death

· And reflect on how the trilogy evolved into a commentary on the modern human condition.

So, charge your camera batteries and death proof your rusty fishing hooks because the roller coaster is about to leave the station. It’s your last chance to get off the ride. But don’t worry, we’ll remember your place in line.

William Stevenson. "Late Slasher: Remediation to Premediation in Urban Legend, Gossip, and Final Destination."

Danse Macabre

Camus - The Myth of Sisyphus

Heidegger - Being and Time

Never Whistle at Night Jun 16, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of 'Horror Joy,' hosts Brian and Jeff delve into the 2023 anthology Never Whistle at Night, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. This collection, featuring indigenous dark fiction, navigates the intersections of horror, colonization, and representation.

We discuss:

· The impact of these stories both in the classroom and as a means of broadening perspectives

· Key stories such as 'White Hills,' 'The Ones Who Killed Us,' and 'Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth,'

· The importance of blood and the construction of identity

· The joy and complexity found in these narratives

These stories navigate the tension of imagined and real worlds, mortals and monsters, blood and identity, and community and isolation. They call us to reconsider our preconceptions of the world, and they remind us that all of us (in the United States) occupy stolen lands.

So, keep your lips from whistling and settle into the comfortably uncomfortable worlds of these stories. But don’t lose track of the trail. While this may be an invitation, that doesn’t necessarily mean it's safe.

Indigenous Futurisms and Decolonial Horror: An Interview with Rebecca Roanhorse by Madelyn Marie Schoonover

One drop rule

Plessy V. Ferguson

Indigenous Horror by Heather Hall

Orientalism by Edward Said

Black/Southern Gothic - Sinners and The Reformatory Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

Right now in the US, it feels like we're living in a haunted house of historical racial horrors, with "DEI" being demonized and books banned. Southern and Black Gothic literature, however, bravely uncover these past atrocities and their ongoing impact.

On this Horror Joy episode, we welcome author Briana N. Cox to explore Black/Southern Horror. First, we bite into Ryan Coogler's 2025 hit Sinners, which uses vampiric imagery to explore race, greed, music, and time. Then, we turn to Tananarive Due’s 2023 masterpiece, The Reformatory. Based on the real-life Dozier School for Boys, it follows young Robert Stephens, Jr. through a thinly veiled juvenile prison, using exaggerated sentences, "haints," and a KKK siege to connect slavery, Jim Crow, and incarceration.

Like English Gothic, Black/Southern Gothic uses crumbling infrastructure and outdated systems, replacing castles with plantations and secret rooms with prison control mechanisms. As Bridget M. Marshall notes, these genres share "creepy buildings, mysterious landscapes, unhealthy obsessions with the past, revelations of dark secrets, acts of violence, and troubled mental states." Horror is always political, but Black/Southern Gothic highlights how we're all haunted by our collective past.

Join us to find joy and heartbreak in these troubling histories and horrific tales. Just remember: don't be seduced by every song, and always, ALWAYS, fight the KKK!

Black Bodies, White Gazes by George Yancy

The Return of the Repressed: The Subprime Haunted House by Jaleesa Rena Harris

Briana N. Cox

The Moonshot Initiative

PedroParo2

“Tilt the mirror”: An Interview with Tananarive Due

Cop Horror - Se7en and Memories of a Murder May 19, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Horror Joy, Brian and Jeff explore the themes of justice, truth, and morality through the examination of two iconic cop horror films: David Fincher's 'Seven' (1995) and Bong Joon-ho's 'Memories of Murder' (2003).

We discuss:

· The portrayal of police ineptitude and brutality

· Sin as a model for understanding moral judgements

· The impact of male ambition on women's bodies

· The bleakness of a futureless world

So, grab your detective kit and come along as we travel the long way out of hell up to the light. But make sure to keep your head along the way (and don’t dropkick anyone), lest you become vengeance, lest you become wrath.

Apocalyptic Dread: American Film at the Turn of the Millennium by Kirsten Moana Thompson

Se7en: Medieval Justice, Modern Justice by Valerie Allen

“Why American Studies Needs to Think about Korean Cinema, or, Transnational Genres in the Films of Bong Joon-Ho” by Christina Klein

"Murder and Meaning: The Ordinariness of Violence in Memories of Murder" by Reza Pourmikail.

00:00 Introduction to Cop Horror

Beginning – 29:10: ‘Se7en' by David Fincher

29:15 – 46:58: Memories of Murder: A Dive into South Korean Crime

46:58 – End: Finding Joy in Dark Cinema

90s Teen Slashers - Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer May 05, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of Horror Joy, hosts Brian and Jeff revisit the iconic nineties teen slasher films Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997).

They explore how Scream redefined the slasher genre with its meta-horror elements and adherence to and subversion of classic horror rules.
They contrast this with I Know What You Did Last Summer’s more traditional approach, discussing its themes of future anxiety, class conflict, and the psychological impact of social expectations.
They reflect on the nostalgia of the VHS era and the communal aspect of watching horror films.

By the episode's end, Brian and Jeff conclude that Scream holds up as a genre-defining classic but I Know What You Did Last Summer is not an especially good or scary movie.

So, what is your favorite scary movie? Grab your cordless phone and rekindle the hope of the approaching new millennium. But don’t hold on too tight, because we all know how quickly that could be dashed by a ubiquitous masked killer. And if we get lost along the way, don’t worry. We’ll be right back.

Killing Mr. Griffin

Lois Duncan

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath

Valerie Wee - "Resurrecting and Updating the Teen Slasher: The Case of Scream"

Matt Frucci - "'I Know What You Did Last Summer' is no 'Scream'"

Alexandra West - The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula

00:00 The Rules of the Slasher Genre

01:05 Teen Slashers: Scream vs. I Know What You Did Last Summer

02:46 Personal Nostalgia and Cultural Impact

04:39 Revisiting Scream: A Cultural Phenomenon

06:10 The Opening Scene: Setting the Stage for Horror

09:59 The Meta Commentary and Rules of Survival

23:03 The Two Killers Twist and Technological Intrusions

32:16 Repressed Sexual Activity in Slashers

32:44 Final Thoughts on Scream

34:35 Introduction to I Know What You Did Last Summer

35:07 Plot Breakdown and Character Analysis

36:31 Comparing Casts and Performances

38:33 Critiques and Reviews

41:42 Class and Social Commentary

47:29 Mental Health and Urban Legends

54:07 Finding Joy in 90s Teen Slashers

58:50 Concluding Thoughts and Future Discussions

Buffalo, Confession, Vampire - An Interview with Stephen Graham Jones Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

This week on Horror Joy, Brian and Jeff welcome New York Times best-selling author Stephen Graham Jones to the show. We'll be discussing his incredible new novel, "The Buffalo Hunter, Hunter," and delving into the intricate themes it explores:

Community, Inherited Guilt, Justice, and the Construction of Truth: We examine how these complex societal issues are portrayed within the narrative of "The Buffalo Hunter, Hunter," and consider the unique lens that horror fiction offers for exploring these themes.
The Relationship Between Joy and Horror in Storytelling: We'll explore the nuanced ways in which seemingly disparate emotions like joy and horror can coexist and even enhance the storytelling experience, creating deeper resonance with the audience.
The Complexities of Vampires and Slashers: We'll analyze the enduring appeal of these iconic figures in the horror genre, discussing their multifaceted representations and the cultural anxieties they often reflect.
The Significance of Community Among Horror Creators and Fans: We'll discuss the vital role of community within the horror landscape, highlighting the support, inspiration, and connection it fosters for both creators and enthusiasts.

In addition to discussing his latest work, Stephen will share his perspectives on writing, his enthusiasm for basketball, and some recent horror narratives that he have brought him joy.

So grab a slice of your favorite confessional cake and join us as we talk horror, joy, and everything in between with Stephen Graham Jones. Be sure to keep your lanterns lit and your senses alert lest the vampire come for you in the darkness.

Ahh Zombies

Hi-Phi Nation – Vampires

Victorian Psycho

Maeve Fly by C.J. Lee

Happy Death Day directed by Christopher Landon

The Cabin in the Woods

Also See: A Horror Apocalypse – Meta-Horror, Masks, and The Cabin in the Woods

The Legend of Beaver Dam

Spider by Nash Edgerton

00:00 Introduction to Stephen Graham Jones' Latest Novel

02:33 Exploring the Relationship Between Joy and Horror

05:47 The Concept of Conversion in Vampire Stories