Mostly Horror

Latest Episodes:

Episode 283: Tony DiTerlizzi on "The Wump" and the Horrors of Growing Up Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

This week, we got to bring back #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, best known for co-creating the children’s book series The Spiderwick Chronicles with Holly Black. The series has sold over 20 million copies and has been adapted into a feature film and video game.

His newest book, The Wump, is a dark supernatural middle-grade coming-of-age story coming out on September 29th. We spoke with Tony all about the inspiration behind the book and its exploration of anger, fear, and anxiety at a young age, especially when dealing with bullies and unreliable adult figures.

We also got to hear about his process as both an author and illustrator, the thought behind the book’s color choices, and the conversations he had with a child psychologist friend while shaping the story. It’s a wonderful book that both kids and adults can take something away from, and we’re sure you’ll love this conversation with our incredibly creative and multi-talented guest. So…

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Episode 282: Mostly Horror Rewind - Levi Holloway's Grey House Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

This week, we have another fun Mostly Horror rewind! We bring back a previous episode when we talked to Levi Holloway, the writer of the play “Grey House” and the recently premiered "Paranormal Activity" Broadway production. We talk all about the effects of seeing Nightmare on Elm Street at a young age, horror in theater, damaging your psyche by returning to old favorites, and more!

Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

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Episode 281: Tattooing Meets Horror with Josh Todaro Sep 10, 2026

Show notes

Today, we’re joined by Melbourne-based tattoo artist Josh Todaro, who’s amassed a huge online following for his movie and horror-inspired tattoo style. But he’s not just killing it in the tattoo game. Josh is also a film writer and director, and the creator of the horror short film Button Man. This year, he even had the opportunity to work as a tattoo consultant on Insidious Chapter 6: Out of the Further, with his hands actually featured in the film!

We chatted all about his experience growing up in a spooky house surrounded by his mother’s massive (and very creepy) doll collection, what first got him into art and tattooing, and how he developed his unique style. He also shared all about his experience working on the latest installment of the Insidious franchise, gave us his thoughts on whether aliens are real, and shared some exciting things he’s cooking up in the movie world.

If you love tattoos AND horror movies ...

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Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

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Episode 280: Mostly Horror Rewind - A Band of Horror Characters Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

This episode, we have a super fun Mostly Horror Rewind!

We’re bringing back an old episode from years ago, when we brought on our friends Brandon and Bruce to build bands using horror characters. From Six Shooter of Puppet Master on the keys to Pennywise on the drums to The Babadook as the lead vocalist, we compare our ideal horror character bands, share our wild band names, and debate why these characters would make perfect, and probably terrifying, bands. It's a game we had a blast playing, and we're sure you'll have a great time tuning in, so...

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Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

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Episode 279: Can "The Brave Little Toaster" Be Considered Horror? Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

We're bringing back our Mostly Horror rubric for another movie, this time with the 1987 Disney animated film, The Brave Little Toaster. It's a movie that we watched as young kids, and despite it being a Disney animation, its nightmare scenes, eerie music, and dark undertones still unsettle us to this day. That's why we put it to the test to determine whether we'd consider it not a horror film, horror adjacent, mostly horror, or a certified horror film.

We take into consideration its iconography and put it through the campfire test (would it still be horror if it were a story told around a campfire?), the crowd test (how would others react?), and residue test (how much did it haunt you after watching it?) to come to our conclusions. And with its terrifying clown nightmare scene, themes of suicide, and creepy settings, The Brave Little Toaster might have more horror to it than you remember.

So come on this journey with us as we dig up this movie from our childhood that still sits unsettlingly with us to this day. Did this movie scare you as a kid? How much of it would you consider horror? Make sure to ...

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Follow Us on Social Media:

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TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

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Episode 278: A Conversation with Leigh Whannell, Co-Creator of Insidious and Saw Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we welcome back filmmaker Leigh Whannell, the co-creator of horror franchise favorites like Saw and Insidious, and the director of films like The Invisible Man and Wolf Man. He’s back as a producer on the latest film in the Insidious franchise, Insidious: Out of the Further, coming August 21st.

Leigh shared how Insidious came about from a desire for creative freedom, discussed his creative partnership with James Wan, the lasting impact of Saw and Insidious, and how these franchises have evolved over the years. Plus, we got into the story behind “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” whether ghosts are real, and, of course, some of Leigh’s great horror recommendations.

It was awesome to have Leigh back on the show, and he had plenty of great stories, insights, and recs to share, so…

COME HANG OUT!!

Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

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Episode 277: Is Coraline a Horror Movie? Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

This week, we bring back Xanthe, one of the hosts of the podcast Kindergeist, to talk about children’s horror. After catching up on all the latest news with her podcast and her current PhD research on children’s perspectives on horror, we put our “Is It Horror?” rubric to the test with another film: Coraline.

This time, we break down the film’s intent and horror iconography, try out the “campfire test” (would this still be a scary story if told around a campfire?), and more to decide whether this amazing stop-motion animated film is not a horror film, horror adjacent, mostly horror, or a certified horror film. And even though it’s considered a “kids’ movie,” the button eyes, spider webs, and eerie soundtrack make it much scarier than we might expect from a children's animated film.

Do you think Coraline is a horror film? Make sure to tune in for this fun conversation, and …

COME HANG OUT!!!

Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 276: Is Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" A Horror Film? Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

This week, we're trying something new.

Our show is built around the idea that some films may not be "traditional" horror, but still feel mostly horror, or at least horror-adjacent. To explore that idea, we've created a rubric to determine whether a film qualifies as horror.

For our first attempt, there was no better film to put to the test than Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. We're joined by our friend Bruce as we evaluate the film across five categories: its intent, its storytelling DNA (how much of the film is built from horror storytelling), the horror experience, its horror iconography, and, ultimately, whether it should be classified as not horror, horror-adjacent, mostly horror, or a certified horror film.

Do you think Nolan's The Odyssey is horror? We'd love to hear your thoughts. So…

COME HANG OUT!!!

Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 275: Nick Antosca - From Channel Zero to Cape Fear Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

This week, we sat down with writer, producer, and showrunner Nick Antosca, the creator behind the shows Channel Zero, The Act, Brand New Cherry Flavor, and the new Apple TV+ series Cape Fear, whose season finale just aired.

Nick shared how Jaws and Night of the Living Dead first introduced him to horror as a child and also gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what a showrunner actually does. We also discussed Cape Fear and how he reimagined the iconic story for modern audiences, reinvented Max Cady with Javier Bardem in the role, and approached the adaptation. And of course, Nick shared some great horror recommendations that every fan should check out.

This was an awesome conversation about adaptation and the creative process behind some incredible horror projects, sooo…

COME HANG OUT!!!

Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode 274: Her Private Hell With Director Nicholas Winding Refn Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

This week Director Nicolas Winding Refn joins us this week for a wide ranging conversation covering his career from Pusher through Bronson, Drive, and Neon Demon, up to his latest film, Her Private Hell, starring Sophie Thatcher.

Refn returns after a ten year break from feature filmmaking, following a near death health scare he's been open about. He breaks down his creative process in detail, including his use of a triangle structure to connect disparate ideas into a single story, and how images, rather than plot, are always his true starting point.

Its a great conversation about the creative process, sooo...

COME HANG OUT!!!

Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform to help us reach more horror fans like you!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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