The Scares That Shaped Us

Latest Episodes:

Episode 72: Night of the Living Dead with Daniel Kraus May 13, 2026

Show notes

Daniel Kraus returns! The newly minted Pulitzer Prize Winner is back on the show to talk about his book Partially Devoured, a memoir and critical analysis of Night of the Living Dead, which we means we spend the whole conversation going deep on the most influential zombie film of all time!

- Partially Devoured is available now!

- Check out Daniel's website for updates on everything he's doing!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 71: Interview with the Vampire with Lindy Ryan May 06, 2026

Show notes

It's an Anne Rice episode! Author Lindy Ryan joins the show to talk about her latest novel, Dollface, writing about life as a horror author, crafting her own approach to slashers, and more, all while we dig into Rice's legendary debut novel, Interview with the Vampire!

- Dollface is available now!

- Check out Lindy's website for updates on everything she's doing!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 70: The Wicker Man with Crossroads Folk Horror Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

This week on the show, Matthew's joined by Candice Bailey and Gavin Lees, editors of the new magazine Crossroads: Folk Horror in the United States! We talk about founding the magazine, their personal interest in folk horror, and of course, the folk horror film by which all others are measured, 1973's The Wicker Man!

- Pick up Issue One of Crossroads!

- Follow Crossroads on Instagram and BlueSky!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 69: I Saw The TV Glow with Kailee Pedersen and Briana N. Cox Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Two great guests in one jam-packed episode! This week, Matthew's joined by authors Kailee Pedersen and Briana N. Cox to talk about their new books! We dig into Kailee's upcoming novel The Minimalist, Briana's new book Indigent, and then we dive deep into the emotional, haunting perfect of I Saw The TV Glow!

- Pick up Briana's book Indigent!

- Pre-order Kailee's second novel The Minimalist!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 68: The Hitcher with Max Booth Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

Max Booth is back! The author of We Need to Do Something, The Last Haunt and more joins us this week to talk about her work, her new Patreon, and much more, and we dig into one of the all-time great '80s horror films, The Hitcher!

- Check out Max's Patreon!

- Head over to Ghoulish Books and buy stuff!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 67: "Fabulous Beasts" with Eric LaRocca Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Eric LaRocca returns! This week on the show, we're talking to Eric about his wonderful new novel Wretch, and digging deep into Priya Sharma's phenomenal "Fabulous Beasts." If you love body horror, transgressive family stories, and more, you won't want to miss this one!

- Wretch arrives March 24 from Saga Press.

- Check out Eric's website for updates on everything he's doing!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 66: Tales of Edgar Allan Poe with Annie Neugebauer Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

It's Episode 66! Just 600 more to go until we hit horror's favorite number! This week, Matthew welcomes celebrated author Annie Neugebauer to talk about her amazing new collection, You Have to Let Them Bleed, and we dig deep into the many tales of misunderstood horror master Edgar Allan Poe. We cover everything from "The Raven" to "The Fall of the House of Usher" to "The Black Cat" in this one, so Poe-heads strap in!

- You Have to Let Them Bleed arrives March 17 from Bad Hand Books.

- Check out Annie's website for updates on everything she's doing!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 65: "The Penance" with Johnny Compton Feb 18, 2026

Show notes

Johnny Compton returns! The author of The Spite House and Devils Kill Devils joins the pod for the second time to talk about his new novel, Dead First! We get into writing horror noir, Johnny's favorite crime writers, and much more, all in the middle of a terrific discussion on Saki's chilling short story "The Penance."

- Check out Johnny's website for updates on everything he's got coming up.

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 64: Return to Oz with Alex Woodroe Feb 04, 2026

Show notes

This week, we're joined by Alex Woodroe, author and editor-in-chief of Tenebrous Press! We chat about her new book, The Night Ship, how she views "New Weird Horror" at this stage in her career, and much more. And of course, we dive into the dark fantastic of Return to Oz!

- Check out the Tenebrous Press website!

- Head to Alex's website for updates on everything she's got going on!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin

Episode 63: The Omen with John Adams and Toby Poser Jan 21, 2026

Show notes

We're back! For our first regular episode of 2026, we're talking to two of my favorite horror filmmakers, John Adams and Toby Poser of Adams Family Films! We dig into the making of their new film Mother of Flies, discuss the process of writing and directing as a family, and much more, and then we dive deep into 1976's The Omen and its sequels!

- Mother of Flies hits Shudder January 23!

- Sign up for our newsletter for even more horror goodness.

- Follow the show on BlueSky and Facebook!

- Want to ask Matthew a question? Offer a recommendation? Something else? Email us: scaresthatshapeduspodcast@gmail.com

Hosted by Matthew Jackson

Produced by Matthew and Lyndsay Jackson

Logo and Web Design by Lyndsay Jackson

Music by Dmytro Kuvalin