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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices