The Horror Heals Podcast
The Horror Heals Podcast is about how horror culture, movies, and performers aid so many of us with mental wellness. Firsthand we’ve seen and heard the power of horror to help us feel better mentally. (Being part of the horror convention community is great for lowering our anxiety!)Here’s the “why and how” of the Horror Heals Podcast:Kendall and Corey host the podcast with guests on each episode, including horror enthusiasts who are willing to share their stories about how horror has helped them heal, be it from trauma, anxiety, depression, or whatever their circumstances.They will also feature luminaries from the horror world who will share—one—how being part of the community is great for their own mental health and—two—will share stories of meeting fans and their experiences with healing through horror.After hosting our successful Family Twist podcast for two years, Kendall and Corey pondered a horror podcast, but with so many in existence, we wondered, “How can we be heard in the noise?” Corey had an “aha” moment at the horror convention earlier this year.He was in line to meet director, Sam Raimi, packed in tightly. Corey observed a young man in the next row, clearly nearing a panic attack. He was obviously in distress. Corey was about to ask the people in front of and behind him if they wouldn’t mind holding his spot in line so he could step away if he needed to. Then someone asked the young man about the stack of DVDs he was holding.Immediately, the distressed young man’s demeanor changed. The anxiety seemed to melt away as he chatted with his new friend. He was seemingly fine and relaxed for the duration of the line. That is the healing magic of horror—just one example of many.
Episodes
73 episodes
The Final Girl Isn’t Lucky. She’s Prepared
What if horror isn’t just entertainment, but a tool for survival?In this episode of Horror Heals, Corey sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Lana Holmes to explore how horror movies mirror real-life trauma, resilience, and m...
From Freddy to Fine Art, How Whit Hertford Uses Creativity to Heal
What happens when horror, art, and real-life trauma all collide?In this episode, we sit down with Whit Hertford, known to horror fans as Jacob from A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 and to movie lovers as the kid who gets shocked in <...
Dark, Surreal, and Healing, Kamaria Williams on the Power of Horror
Horror isn’t just about fear. For Kamaria Williams, it’s about healing.In this episode of Horror Heals, we sit down with actor, writer, and filmmaker Kamaria Williams to explore how horror became her creative outlet and emotional process...
Mingle, Jingle, and Scream, Jill Schoelen’s Horror Christmas
It’s Christmas, dammnit, and Horror Heals is decking the halls with horror, heart, and holiday cheer.This episode marks the relaunch of one of our most beloved Christmas conversations, featuring horror icon Jill Schoelen, actress,...
Why Black Christmas Still Haunts Us Every Holiday Season
Black Christmas may have turned fifty last year, but its power has never faded. This episode is a relaunch of one of Horror Heals’ most important holiday conversations, revisiting why Bob Clark’s bleak, unsettling classic stil...
Wicked Turns Dark: Gregory Maguire on Oz, Power and Monsters
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Wicked, we bring you something rare and unexpected. Years ago Corey sat down with Gregory Maguire for a candid, hilarious and deeply thoughtful conversation about the moral complexity of Oz, th...
Women in Horror: Possessing Power from The Exorcist to Prey
Women in Horror are reshaping the genre, from the lingering dread of The Exorcist to modern Final Person heroes like Naru in Prey. In this episode, Kimberly Ramsawak, creator of Horror Concierge and founder of Horror and Her, joins us for her f...
Beyond Lost in Space: The Eternal Orbit of June Lockhart
What happens when an actress who played make-believe among the stars helps real astronauts reach them?In this special tribute episode of Horror Heals, Corey honors the life and legacy of June Lockhart, who passe...
Beatrice Boepple on Amanda Krueger, Trauma, Horror Fandom & Why Horror Heals
Beatrice Boepple (Amanda Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street 5) joins Horror Heals for one of the most powerful conversations we’ve had about horror, trauma, empathy, and why these stories matter so much....
How a Scream Queen Saved Me
What happens when the VHS kid who found safety with scream queens grows up and becomes the cosplay that inspires the original star?If horror has ever been your coping tool, your comfort movie, or your mirror when life got loud, Gregory’s...
The World Feels Like a Horror Movie. Here’s How to Survive It.
The world feels heavy. Anxiety is high, headlines are grim, and creative burnout is real. This week, Horror Heals host Corey Stulce sits down with Lee Murray ONZM to talk about how horror can help us process the darkne...
50 Years of Rocky Horror, 50 Years of Queer Survival
This year marks the 50th anniversary of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," and what better way to celebrate than to explore its legacy as a queer lifeline.In Part Two of our conversation with the creator behind Queer for Fear, we dig into ...
Queer Horror, Wicked Witches, and Why We Need Monsters
In this episode of Horror Heals, Corey sits down with Heather, the force behind Queer for Fear. Part One of this two-parter dives deep into the queer relationship with horror, the villains we secretly love, and how the genre b...
Sidney Prescott, Salem Honeymoons, and Why Horror Heals
In this episode of Horror Heals, Corey and Kendall sit down with psychotherapist and horror enthusiast Candis Green. From her childhood obsession with Halloween and witches to her professional use of Jungian dream work and archetypes, ...
Triggered by Terror: Why Some Horror Hurts (and Heals)
In this episode of Horror Heals, Corey and Kendall are joined by filmmaker Andrew Jara, who opens up about creating a horror film rooted in his own experience with anxiety, panic attacks, and the slow, quiet devastatio...
Carving Out Space For Disability in Horror
This week, we're slicing through the surface of the horror world to spotlight something truly revolutionary. Corey and Kendall sit down with filmmaker, podcaster, and horror disruptor Ariel Baska, whose life was forever changed...
Scared Sick: How Horror Helped Me Face My Body
This week on Horror Heals, we’re joined by debut horror author Grace Daly, who once called herself “a coward to the core.” Jump scares? No thanks. Gore? Absolutely not. But everything changed when Grace's chronic illne...
Confessions of a Scare Actor
What happens when childhood nightmares become your calling card? In this episode of Horror Heals, scare actor Omar Ortega joins Corey and Kendall to talk about growing up inside a family-owned video store, how Nigh...
The Weight of the Ghosts We Inherit
This is not your average horror podcast interview.In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Corey and Kendall sit down with author and illustrator Drew Huff, whose work isn’t just inspired by trauma, it is shaped by it. Drew...
Scream Together, Dream Together
What do you get when you cross two horror-loving writers, a glow-in-the-dark monster, and a six-year-old in a Jason mask? A conversation that’s equal parts creepy, creative, and surprisingly grounded.Vienna and John join Corey (with Kend...
Sean Whalen Spills His Guts On Depression, Directing & the Power of Horror
In this cathartic and wonderfully chaotic episode of Horror Heals, Corey and Kendall sit down with cult horror icon Sean Whalen, best known as Roach from Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs, to t...
A Werewolf Saved My Life
What if your deepest trauma gave birth to the monster that saved you? In this revealing and powerful episode, we sink our teeth into a transformative conversation with a horror author and former teacher who quite literally wrote his way through...
Therapy in Terror: Why Horror is Good for the Mind
In this episode of the Horror Heals podcast, Corey and Kendall are joined by the talented horror author Rachel M. Martens, who has made a career out of writing stories that not only thrill, but also serve as a therapeutic outlet. From childhood...
