Skip to content
Sign in
Artwork for Talking Scared
ArtsBooksSociety & Culture

Talking Scared

Neil McRobert

Conversations with the biggest names in horror fiction. A podcast for horror readers who want to know where their favourite stories came from . . . and what frightens the people who wrote them.

Play
Open in
  • 23 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 1 hr 20 min
  • English

Episodes 23

NewestOldestLongest
All20Unplayed20In progress0Played0
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Tuesday · 1 hr 16 min

    292 – Chuck Wendig & Little Vulgar Hell-Babies

    Wendig is here!! The man my wife refers to as “Chuck Apples” (as opposed to “Chuck Fight Club) is back to talk about his most fun, yet nastiest book to date. The Calamities is what would happen if The Godfather had cenobites, if Logan Roy had made a pact with monsters, it prompts me to ask the questions “who’s your favourite demon Chuck?” That kinda book. Chuck tells us how the study of demonology has underpinned almost his entire writing career. We discuss the increasingly tight links between his novels, the influence of D&D structure, and the challenge of making the reader care about some of the worst-behaved characters in the world. And I drop the C-bomb for the first time on air. That damn baby deserves it. Enjoy! Other books mentioned: Staircase in the Woods (2024), by Chuck Wendig Daytide (2026), by Chris Panatier The Three Body Problem (2008), by Cixin Liu Books of Blood (1984-88), by Clive Barker Cabal (1988), by Clive Barker Pandemonium: A Visual History of Demonology (2021), by Ed Simon Blacktail (2026), by Scott Hawkins Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • August 18 · 1 hr 29 min

    291 – Natasha Pulley & No Priests Were Harmed in the Making of this Podcast

    No one let the Pope listen to this week’s episode. Our guest is Natasha Pulley, genre-defying author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, The Bedlam Stacks, The Kingdoms, and now, in the The Salt King she pits the Vatican and Catholic Doctrine against something much, much older, lurking in the salt mines of the world. It leads us to a conversation about faith of many kinds, about reality-adjacent fiction, the horrid truth of Sodom and Gomorrah, dark representations of the Catholic Church, and the challenge of fusing folk horror and global apocalypse. There are also some holy dick pics. Enjoy! Other books mentioned: Gentle Things (2026), by Danielle Giles Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2024), by Susanna Clarke The Hill in the Dark Grove (2026), by Liam Higginson The Name of the Rose (1980), by Umberto Eco Foundation (1951), by Isaac Asimov A Canticle for Liebowitz (1959), by Walter M. Miller Jr Father Alberto and the Flying Girl (2026), by Timothy X Atack Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • August 14 · 1 hr 15 min

    Off Book #23 – Are We Doomed? A Cheerful Guide to Apocalypse, with Ben Bradford

    Happy Friday! Let’s talk about the end of the world. Our guest is Ben Bradford, creator and host of Are We Doomed? – the new hit podcast examining the existential risks facing humanity. “Dammit Neil”, I hear you say “Are we not suffering enough.” To you I reply … sure, Ben and I make talk nukes and rogue AI, climate change and supervolcanoes, but believe me, you’ll feel more optimistic at the end of this episode! Somehow, the general answer to Are We Doomed seems to be “no, not if we don’t want to be.” So have faith, listen, and have a great weekend. Enjoy! Support Talking Scared and get become a Patreon subscriber. Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • August 11 · 1 hr 14 min

    290 – Liam Higginson & Awful Things in Lonely Farmhouses

    Finally, we dare venture to the darkest land of all. Wales! After years of avoiding the terror of the Valleys, Liam Higginson takes us to The Hill in the Dark Grove – his debut novel of isolation, folk-memory, and things unearthed from the soil of a mountain farm. We talk about the link between folklore and nationalism, about marriage and madness (not linked) and why it’s always men who go barmy in these situations. This is up there with my favourite books of the year. Enjoy! Other books mentioned: The Shining (1977), by Stephen King Incidents Around the House (2024), by Josh Malerman The Salt King (2026), by Natasha Pulley Small Gods (1992), by Terry Pratchett Meet Me at the Surface (2024), by Jodie Matthews Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil (1998), by Avram Davison and Grania Davis North Woods (2023), by Daniel Mason Country People (2026), by Daniel Mason Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • August 4 · 1 hr 14 min

    289 – Annie Jacobsen & Be Afraid… Be Very Afraid

    This may be my scariest episode ever! We’ve covered non-fiction before, but rarely is the truth more frightening than the stories we tell. This week it just might be… cos Annie Jacobsen is here with Biological War: A Scenario. It unveils a narrative of speculative reality, in which an engineered pathogen escapes a lab, and runs rampant through our civilisation. Cities fall, millions die, the lights go out. I dared myself to read it. I dare you to listen to Annie tell us about her research, and the stuff she found that scares the hell out of her. Enjoy (sort of!) Other books mentioned: Nuclear War: A Scenario (2024), by Annie Jacobsen “A Modest Proposal” (1729), by Jonathan Swift World War Z (2006), by Max Brooks The Deluge (2023), by Stephen Markley A Brief History of the Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters (2021), by Andrew H. Knoll Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • July 31 · 41 min

    Let Us Palaver #10 – Wolves of the Calla Debrief

    In our main Wolves of the Calla Deep Dive, we came within touching distance of the Dark Tower’s biggest secret yet. Chris doesn’t know what to think, which is just where Nat and I want him. So we stuck around to talk in full-spoiler terms about all the stuff Chris is yet to discover, and our own thoughts on books to come, on choice lines from Calla, and just what that reveal in the final pages really means for the nature of Roland’s world. Enjoy. But for your father’s sake Do Not Listen if you haven’t read the entire Dark Tower saga!! 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

  • July 28 · 2 hr 30 min

    The Dark Tower Deep Dive #10 – Wolves of the Calla

    Hallelujah, come commala, we’re back together! Finally, after stopping for side missions with Jack Sawyer, and a pair of stories of Roland’s younger days, we’re back in Midworld’s here-and-now to push on towards the Dark Tower. It’s time for Wolves of the Calla, a novel of old friends, new enemies…and a quite surprising amount of boobs. This is also where certain things start to get REAL!! We’re on the precipice of great discovery and you can hear Chris Panatier try to deal with it. Enjoy folken! Support Talking Scared on Patreon (say thankya!) 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

  • July 21 · 1 hr 11 min

    288 – Danielle Giles & A Spoonful of Skulldust (Makes the Medicine Go Down)

    Time for a horrid history lesson. Daniell Giles is the author of medieval gothic Mere (2025), and the brand-new Restoration horror-show, Gentle Things. In this episode she talks about the nightmare of research, the similarities between the 1660s and our own sh**ty decade, and how much we both love Sarah Waters. But mostly it’s a guided tour of a dirty period in history, of murder, misogyny and… medicinal cannibalism! Yes, it’s a thing, and it’s nasty. Enjoy Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • July 14 · 1 hr 15 min

    287 – Megan Bontrager & The Cave of Cosmic Narcissism

    I hope you have your headtorch this week – cos we’re going to some deep, dark places. Megan Bontrager’s debut novel, The Sea Hides its Dead, is a story of a mysterious cave, an unprepared expedition, and the monstrous secrets they find within. It’s shadowed by Lovecraft, it has big freaky monsters, and a whole deep mythology to unpick. In short it’s my kinda story. The exact level of geekery I like to discuss. Discuss we do. Meghan and I talk about video game inspirations, global sea cults, monsters and mysteries in The Bible, and worst of all – sleazy academics. Plus, I give my honest opinion on spelunking! (It’s not favourable) Enjoy Other books mentioned: The Eye of Ouroboros (2024), by Megan Bontrager The Caretaker (2026), by Marcus Kliewer The Fisherman (2017), by John Langan The Ruins (2006), by Scott Smith Babylon, South Dakota (2026), by Tom Lin The Faceless Thing We Adore (2025), by Hester Steel Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • July 7 · 1 hr 21 min

    286 – Chuck Tingle & Kill the Vegan Rockstars

    Love is very very real on this week’s episode. The man, the myth, Chuck Tingle returns for a conversation about his latest novel, Fabulous Bodies – a story of body horror, influencer culture, artistic integrity and glam rock graverobbing. We talk about all of that, as well as the different rules for famous people, combining humour and extreme violence, we get some nuggets of info about Chuck’s youth, and I rant about how I hate Coldplay. Chuck is a force for good in the world. Hear his words. Read his books. Enjoy. Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 30 · 1 hr 11 min

    285 – Paul Tremblay & Eternity at Bernie’s

    This week we’re putting the boot right into the ribs of the AI Industry, but doing it in horrific style, with Paul Tremblay and Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep. It’s a story of a young gamer, tasked with piloting a man’s comatose body across the United States using AI tech. But deep inside, the man is still conscious, and what he’s experiencing is nightmarish. Dark stuff, but surprisingly fun, maybe even funny. Paul and I talk about the humour and the human indignity of his story. He discusses the challenges of writing such a bodily novel, the horrific potential of endless virtual suffering, and we hear notes from the frontline of his legal case against ChatGPT. Always a joy to have Paul on the show! Enjoy. Other books mentioned: The Sister’s Brothers (2011), by Patrick DeWitt “No, Artificial Intelligence is Not Conscious” (2026), by Ted Chiang – in The Atlantic Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), by Mary Roach The Deluge (2023), by Stephen Markley The Feeling of Life Itself: Why Consciousness Is Widespread But Can't Be Computed (2019), by Christof Koch “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” (1967), by Harlan Ellison The Loop (2020), by Jeremy Robert Johnson A Short Stay in Hell (2009), by Stephen L. Peck The Flayed Man (2026), by Chloe Lauter Tillinghast (2026), by Clare Cavenagh Trad Wife (2026), by Sarah Langan Babylon, South Dakota (2026), by Tom Lin The Rouse (2026), by China Mieville Desert Radio (2026), by Pamela Durgin Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 26 · 1 hr 36 min

    Off Book #22 – Scaredy Boys & The Coward’s Guide to Horror Movies (Part 2)

    Part Two of my Scaredy Boy special, in which I quiz my friends in fear, Damo, Sean and To—AKA the Scaredy Boys themselves—about what they’ve seen and suffered through in their podcasting mission to conquer horror movies. We talk number one examples of dread, disgust and despair. We pick our favourite horror villains. We talk about the films we’ll never watch again and those we’re too scared to watch in the first place. Consider this a viewing guide for the brave and the frightened alike. Enjoy! Support Talking Scared and get become a Patreon subscriber. Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 23 · 1 hr 25 min

    284 – Tom Lin & Who Wants to Live Forever?

    Would you rather die or live on and on and on and on… That’s one of the questions at the heart of Tom Lin’s Babylon, South Dakota. It’s a novel about a Chinese family who inherit an American farm, and whose lives are forever changed when the US military build strange missile silos on their land. It’s weird, inexplicable, deep, epic, sad and joyful and all the other things that make a good book. But it’s also dark. It prompts questions that might keep you awake in the warm depths of the summer night. And Tom and I talk about all of it. Enjoy. Other books mentioned: The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (2021), by Tom Lin “On Exactitude in Science” (1947), by Jorge Luis Borges “The Library of Babel,” (1941), by Jorge Luis Borges Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (1990), by James Tiptree Jr. End of Days: Ruby Ridge, the Apocalypse and the Unmaking of America (2026), by Chris Jennings Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 19 · 1 hr 20 min

    Off Book #21 – Scaredy Boys & The Coward’s Guide to Horror Movies (Part 1)

    The first of a two-part special with the Scaredy Boys, my brothers-in-cowardice from Down Under. Damo, Tom and Sean are famously and unashamedly terrified of horror movies, and started a podcast to face their fears. Since 2020 they’ve been watching and analysing a horror movie every week – so now they’ve probably seen more than most of us. I got them onto Talking Scared to discuss their insane project, their changing attitudes to horror, and ask them some specific questions about what they’ve learned to love and fear along the way. Episode Two is out next Friday, or available right now for Patreon subscribers Enjoy! Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 16 · 1 hr 5 min

    283 – Naomi Kritzer & It Could Happen Anywhere

    I dunno if this week’s episode is a dystopian nightmare or just a realist thriller. Naomi Krtizer, multi-award winning author of sci-fi and horror, join me for a conversation about her new novella, Obstetrix. It follows the struggles of doctor, kidnapped by a cult to work as their in-house OBGYN. What follows is a balance between personal survival and the obligation to the women in her care. Naomi and I talk about the state of healthcare and reproductive rights in America, which is never not a serious conversation. But we try to lighten the mood with some chat about the respite of reading (and re-reading), and the working definition of cults. Enjoy. Other books mentioned: “Monster” (2020), by Naomi Kritzer American War (2017), Omar El Akkad The Midnight Shift (2025), by Cheon Seon-Ran Nestlings (2023), by Nat Cassidy The God of Endings (2023), by Jacqueline Holland Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 9 · 1 hr 19 min

    282 – CJ Leede & Peeling Back the Skin of the World

    Horror’s reigning Queen of Extreme returns to the show! CJ Leede is the author of Maeve Fly and American Rapture, and if you’re abreast of contemporary horror you’ve heard of her twisted take on Americana. She’s back to talk about her third novel, Headlights, in which people are waking up from fugue-like states, to find themselves draped in the flayed skins of other people. What’s going on? Who’s doing it? Is it human or supernatural? Does it have anything at all to do with Stephen King’s The Shining? And where does the songwriting magic of John Denver come into things? CJ answers these and many other similarly weird questions. There’s so much to cover, we barely even talk about the act of skinning someone alive. Enjoy. Other books mentioned: The Shining (1977), by Stephen King Doctor Sleep (2013), by Stephen King How to Disappear Completely (2027), by Liz Kerin Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • June 2 · 1 hr 16 min

    281 – Melissa Albert & The Howling Strangeness

    Melissa Albert’s novel may be called The Children, but it’s certainly not for kids. This is a story about the dark creativity behind bright make-believe, about the pretty lies of childhood and the brutal truths of growing up. It’s about writers and writing and as you’ll hear me point out, it does for fantasy fiction what Stephen King’s Misery did for Gothic romance. And by god do we talk about all of that. As well as celebrating a character that I believe to be one of the best “bad-mothers” in recent fiction (and the secret hero of the book!) But maybe that’s just me. I’m twisted. Enjoy. Other books mentioned: The Hazel Wood (2018), by Melissa Albert The Magicians (2009), by Lev Grossman Daytide (2026), by Chris Panatier When You Reach Me (2009) by Rebecca Stead Fangirl (2013), by Rainbow Rowell This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (2026), by Ilona Andrews Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • May 29 · 1 hr 10 min

    Off Book #20 – Petrified, with Peter Dunne

    Off to Old Dublin Town to have creepy tales pumped direct into our earholes this week. I’m joined by Peter Dunne, the writer and director of Petrified — Ireland’s premier horror drama podcast. It’s a horror show with a vein of Irish humour, but it’s not afraid to get really nasty when the chance arises. Across dozens of episodes, Peter and the team have offered serial killing parents, haunted lighthouses, doomed housing estates and possessed call centres. And now and then they shatter the fourth wall to curse the audience! And despite being surely the busiest man in podcasting, Peter talks to me all about it. Enjoy! Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • May 26 · 1 hr 16 min

    280 – Neena Viel & Go Heinous or Go Home

    Disgust, despair and belly laughs on the show this week – with Neena Viel and her new novel, I’ll Watch Your Baby. It’s a dense, troubling tale of child theft, social horror and demons, with plenty of putrid feet to give you a summertime ick! But if the book is a sickener, the author is a delight. Neena makes me do a proper full-on guffaw (has anyone EVER guffawed?), whilst we talk about urban-vs-rural horror, reprehensible acts and problematic protagonists, and the abiding lie of the Welfare Queen trope. Enjoy. Laugh. Even learn (up to you!) Other books mentioned: Listen to Your Sister (2025), by Neena Viel The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth (2019), by Josh Levin On Sundays She Picked Flowers (2026), by Yah Yah Schofield The Night Pool (2026), by Lauren Lee Smith Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  • May 22 · 36 min

    Let Us Palaver #9 – The Wind Through the Keyhole Debrief

    A little more chat as the last of the starkblast fades. In this bonus Palaver episode, Nat and I stick around to dissect Chris’s disproportionate love for The Wind Through the Keyhole. We talk about what, if any conclusions can be drawn from this book, and then we get onto King’s intersections with Lovecraft and Tolkien – and some deep cut Dark Tower references elsewhere in the canon. Enjoy. But Do Not Listen if you haven’t read the entire Dark Tower saga!! 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

Showing 1–20 of 23 episodes