Podcast · Arts & Books

Talking Scared

by Neil McRobert · English · Arts & Books

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.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 17 min
Latest: 13 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 25 minNew

299 – Will Maclean & Uneasy Islands in Time

In Solace House, Will Maclean takes us back to the 90s for a drug-fuelled trip through some mindbending architecture. It’s a chance to get nostalgic for a more innocent time, when the clothes were baggy, the music was better, and you could spend a summer spent renovating an old asylum without needing to put in on TikTok. It’s all fun and games until the existential terror kicks in and the fabric of reality comes unwoven. Enjoy. This one was a good laugh. The Apparition Phase (2020), by Will Maclean And He Shall Appear (2025), by Kate van der Borgh The Modern Antiquarian (1998), by Julian…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

6 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
298 – Stephen King & The Final Turn of the Big Combination
This episode needs no attempt at a witty introduction. Stephen King is back to talk about Other Worlds Than These – the concluding volume of The Talisman saga, begun with Peter Straub 45 years ago. We keep it spoiler-free, but we talk about Jack Sawyer’s journey and how it entwines with The Dark Tower. We reflect on The Talisman and Black House, on Wolf and my heartbreak. We discuss Peter’s inspiration for the story and how King summoned him to bring it to a close. And we even get some hints of what’s cooking in Steve’s brain for future projects. It seems he’s never slowing down, no matter…
29 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 29 min
297 – Kyle Winkler & Roll For Your “F**K You” Stats
Leaning into absolute high geekery this week – with Kyle Winkler’s novel of how family game night can go badly wrong! The Ship of Death is about a cursed (and I mean CURSED!) tabletop role-playing game and the unlucky couple who choose to play it. Or, as Kyle describes it “Dark Jumanji.” It prompts a conversation about games in life and fiction. Epistolary structure and found-fiction. We discuss his relationship with the bizarre, his love for mysteries without answers, we consider who is really responsible for the world-building in a story, and we pay a lot of respect to cosmic horror…
22 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 13 min
296 – Deena Helm & Horror Says Free Palestine
This week’s episode shows what a good haunted house can do. Deena Helm is a mixed American-Palestinian author, who’s debut novel, Our Cut of Salt, puts all the power of the Gothic to use in framing the occupation and oppression of Palestine. It takes place before the ongoing genocide, but offer a chance to consider how horror fiction can play its part in framing that obscenity. That all sounds heavy, and it rightfully is – but this book also has a frightening, tragic and murderous house at its core… so there’s (our kind) of fun to be had as well. This is an important episode for the show. I…
15 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 32 min
295 – Chris Panatier & If These Walls Could Talk
Home is where the horror is this week, with Chris Panatier and Worry Box! This latest offering from Panatier’s uniquely strange mind is a complete revision of the haunted house as we know it. It’s a house that means well, but understands little. Couple that with a family in flux and a child suffering intrusive thoughts, and you have a recipe for terrible, no-good disaster. In short, it’s 400 pages of slowly tightening dread! I hope you enjoy. Other books mentioned: The Redemption of Morgan Bright (2024), by Chris Panatier This House isn’t Haunted but We Are (2025), by Stephen Howard Our Cut…
8 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 50 min
294 – China Miéville & A Million Dreaming Words for Ghost
There are big books and big books. This week we cover a HUGE book. China Miéville is the guest. The award-winning author of Perdido Street Station, Embassytown, The City & the City, and other modern speculative classics – and he’s back with a book two decades in the making. The Rouse is an epic of true proportions, a 1300-page saga of the twentieth century, rife with war, atrocity, tragedy, and a secret war fought with ghosts?? That’s the premise but it barely touches the sides of this ginormous undertaking. This is not just a conversation, it’s a search for answers – in which we plumb the…
1 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 5 min
293 – James Tynion IV & How to Draw a Dismembered Child
James Tynion IV is a modern master of the horror comic. He’s the maniac behind so many contemporary classic series, but perhaps none are such pop-culture behemoths as Something is Killing the Children. I mean… with a title like that, how could it fail? With the new omnibus collection out right now, and an in-world novel (co-authored with Kiersten White) coming in October, I thought now was a good time to get James on the show and talk monsters, masks, mythology and the most baddass hero in graphic novels. Enjoy! Other books mentioned: The Woods (2014-2017), by James Tynion IV Memetic…
25 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 17 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…
18 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 30 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.…
14 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 16 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…
11 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 15 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…
4 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 15 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:…
31 Jul 2026 · 42 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…
28 Jul 2026 · 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…
21 Jul 2026 · 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…
14 Jul 2026 · 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…
7 Jul 2026 · 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 –…
30 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 12 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…
26 Jun 2026 · 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…
23 Jun 2026 · 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…
19 Jun 2026 · 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…
16 Jun 2026 · 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…
9 Jun 2026 · 1 hr 20 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…
2 Jun 2026 · 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.…
29 May 2026 · 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…
26 May 2026 · 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…
22 May 2026 · 37 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…
19 May 2026 · 2 hr 20 min
The Dark Tower Deep Dive #9 – The Wind Through the Keyhole
Whilst the wind and world howls outside, we can all hunker indoors for the latest Dark Tower Deep Dive into King’s 2012 novel-of-stories, The Wind Through the Keyhole. To some, this could be an inessential pitstop, a mere nostalgic coda, written long after the climax of the main saga. To others it’s a testament to Stephen King’s raw storytelling chops, which shed a little more purpling light on Roland’s failing, fading world. You’ll have to listen to find out where we each stand. But I promise there will be talk of story structure, and Billy Bumblers, and certain Randall Flagg. And you’ll…
12 May 2026 · 1 hr 17 min
279 – Sarah Langan & The Mask Eats the Face
Trad wives are taking over horror in 2026 – but I predict none will be more frightening and more gorgeously WEIRD than Sarah Langan’s novel. It’s the tale of a young woman in the dying era of journalism and the YouTube influencer who offers her hope, and much worse things…. I absolutely loved it. Sarah and I talk about the trad wife phenomenon, where it comes from, what it means, and how it’s all really based in cold hard capitalism. We talk about literary influences, about sustaining extreme weirdness in fiction, and why establishing character properly is so important. And we even recall…
8 May 2026 · 1 hr 35 min
Off Book #19 – Dark Documentaries, with Kaelyn from Heart Starts Pounding
Kaelyn Moore returns to talk scared, straight from the helm of Heart Starts Pounding – her mega podcast of mysteries, murder and the macabre. She watches a lot of dark documentaries for research. I asked her to come talk about a few that recently inspired her (or disturbed her). We cover serial killers, cursed objects and a relationship that will give you serious ICK! But of course, this being Talking Scared, we also spin off into a conversation about ethics, belief and the justice system. ** I apologise to you as well as Kaelyn for my terrible suggestion of a documentary to watch. Hopefully…

About Talking Scared

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.

Talking Scared is a English arts & books podcast from Neil McRobert. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Neil McRobert
Language: English
Category: Arts & Books
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 1 hr 17 min
Latest episode: 13 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1530064310

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