Talking Scared

School is back in session. Professor Langan is here!   No-one gives good literary conversation like John Langan – and this week he returns to Talking Scared to discuss the watery influences, metafictional experimentation, and snake-legged women in his new collection: Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions.   It’s my favourite collection of John’s so far, and as ever, he merely used it for a jumping-off point into a cosy fireside conversation about all the books and stories that he keeps in his Alexandrian Library of a head!   It’s the most accessible college course you’ll ever take. Enjoy!   Other books mentioned:   The Fisherman (2017), by John Langan Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies (2022), by John Langan Survivor Song (2020), by Paul Tremblay Fever House (2023), by Keith Rosson King Sorrow (2025), by Joe Hill Great Expectations (1861), by Charles Dickens Dombey and Son (1848), by Charles Dickens Jane Eyre (1847), by Charlotte Bronte Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature (2025), edited by Becky Spratford “Lamia” (1820), by John Keats She Said Destroy (2017), by Nadia Bulkin Issues With Authority (2025), by Nadia Bulkin A Game in Yellow (2025), by Hailey Piper   EVENT LINKS  Powerhouse of Horror Party (October 24th, 2025) – Tickets Creepaway Summer Camp (June 29th – July 3rd 2026) – Tickets   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ready for some rough rural Gothic?   Kailee Pederson’s Sacrifical Animals was one of my top horror novels of 2024. I missed Kailee first time round, but now the book is out in paperback, I jumped at the chance to speak to her.  I was NOT prepared for how highbrow this would go though. From a story about toxic families, American Gothic and Chinese mythology, we found our way to opera, classic Latin texts, and more.   But we also talk about violence and sex and evil. So it really does cover all the bases.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Wuthering Heights (1847), by Emily Bronte East of Eden (1952), by John Steinbeck Blood Meridian (1985), by Cormac McCarthy The Road (2006), by Cormac McCarthy Absolom, Absolom (1936), by William Faulkner Salome (1893), by Oscar Wilde   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

And so this infected Summer of the Stand comes to an end. With Part Two of The End of the World As We Know It – more conversations between contributors to this epic anthology, each expanding King’s OG novel in new ways.   This time around we have 8 guests, each armed with a story, pitted together in four short burst of conversation. I’m not saying who, cos that would spoil the fun… but there are BIG names. We discuss sadness and hope, evil birds and heroic dogs, varied visions of the far far future, and we look at how the Superflu has ravaged other parts of the world beyond the USA.   This anthology really is a who’s who of horror in this golden, apocalyptic age of ours – and it’s been a privilege to put these episodes together for you.   But I am off for a nap now.   Enjoy!   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No full treatment of The Stand would be complete without a look at Mick Garris’ landmark television adaptation. In 1994 he put together an adjacent epic, transforming 1300 pages into 8 hours of prime-time viewing.   It was my introduction to Stephen King. It is one of my fondest memories with my dad.   So it’s a true honour to get Mick on the show to talk about how it all came together. The scriptwriting with King, the killer cast, the Hollywood gossip, and the traffic-stopping shoot.   Plus, we talk about how Mick’s creative life has been entwined with King’s – for better or for worse.   Enjoy   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Summer of The Stand continues!   We may have reached the final pages of the novel, but the power of its story expands ever outwards. Now we turn to the brand-new anthology of stories set in King’s plague-shocked world   In The End of the World as We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand, editors Brian Keene and Christopher Golden have pulled together 36 of the biggest and brightest names in horror, and charged them with expanding Captain Trips and the good-versus-evil battle to new frontiers.   With so many contributors to consider, no single roundtable could ever suffice. So I’ve done something a little different, and a little more befitting of this mammoth project. It’s a lot of conversation, about a lot of very different stories.   Enjoy!   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fourth Let Us Palaver Nat is all about The Stand and Randall Flagg, and how it all connects to The Dark Tower – all the stuff that Chris (and you virgin listeners) could not, should not, yet know.   We also get especially geeky (even by OUR standards) about all the easter eggs and Tower references that Nat has packed into his short story for the forthcoming expanded Stand anthology.   If you’ve been to the Tower before, enjoy this. If not, stay away or the Dark Man will get you!   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, the circle closes… for now.   Here is the second and final part of our deep dive into Stephen King’s The Stand – the first of many major diversions on our way to The Dark Tower.   Last time we introduced the plague and the all-American heroes who survive it; this time we meet some of the weirder folk from the fringes of this apocalypse.   And we finally tangle with Randall Flagg, the Dark Man, the Walking Dude – our link to Mid-World and the travails of Roland Deschain.   We are loving making this for you. We hope you're enjoying listening.   Pre-order Chris’s Shitshow HERE   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time for a side quest.   Yes, this is the Dark Tower Readalong… you are not mistaken. But there are other worlds, and other books, and some of them have to be read for the fullest, most satisfying experience of Stephen King’s great saga.   In this first (of what will be many) diversions from the Ka-Tet’s quest, Nat, Chris and I turn to The Stand – the titanic tale of two tribes going to war. It’s a big big book, so this had to be a two-part thing. Here in episode one, we introduce Stu, Frannie, Larry and Nick, and discuss all things phlegmy and flu-like, and hint at why this book plays its part in the Dark Tower.   Plus. Rick Astley. Just wait.   Part Two is out next week, or available immediately on Patreon. M-O-O-N, that spells thank you, to anyone who signs up and supports the show. Laws yes!   Enjoy!   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After we spent last week in the muck and mire, this episode takes us up where skies are blue.   Just watch for the mushroom clouds.   The guest is Scott Carson, pseudonym of thriller writer, Michael Koryta, and author of The Chill (2020), Where They Wait (2021), and last year’s phenomenal Lost Man’s Lane. His new novel, Departure 37 is something totally different – it has Cold-War conspiracy, AI anxiety, tech-terror and nuclear brinkmanship.   Y’know, it’s like the news … but fun!   Scott and I discuss all of that, as well as the aviation mysteries that fascinate us both, and I give a much-deserved nod to the 90s brilliance of Michael Crichton.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Where They Wait (2021), by Scott Carson Lost Man’s Lane (2024), by Scott Carson The Chill (2020), by Scott Carson Sole Survivor (1997), by Dean Koontz The Shining (1977), by Stephen King Nuclear War: A Scenario (2024), by Annie Jacobsen Six Days of the Condor (1974), by James Grady The Auctioneer (1975), by Joan Samson King Sorrow (2025), by Joe Hill Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daniel Kraus has never lacked for ambition in his fiction – but Angel Down may be the most audacious horror book of the year. It’s the story of broken men and a fallen angel in the trenches of the First World War.   Oh … and it’s told in one long 300 page sentence. Cos Daniel can. It’s not a gimmick, nor pretentiousness. No, this week, you’ll hear how the medium is very much the message. As well as our conversation about angels in horror, capturing the particular nightmare of 1914, and all the practical challenge that come with this single-sentence attempt.     It’s an inspiring episode.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus Blood Sugar (2019), by Daniel Kraus The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: Volume One (2015), by Daniel Kraus Ducks, Newburyport (2019), by Lucy Ellman Hurricane Season (2017), by Fernanda Melchor Wolf at the Table (2024), by Adam Rapp The Remembered Soldier (2025), by Anjet Daanje From Under the Truck (2024), by Josh Brolin Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social  on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices