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
95 episodes
A New Nightmare for Amityville
The Amityville house has been revisited so many times that it’s easy to forget there’s a real town around it. Robert P. Ottone grew up about 20 minutes away. In his new novel, "Amityville Awakens," he imagines the house being torn down and asks...
How to Build a Nightmare
Haunted house season is here, and we are talking with a man who has been paid to scare people for nearly 50 years.Leonard Pickel has designed or consulted on more than 300 haunted attractions. His résumé includes work for Universal Studi...
The Horror Movies We Just Can’t Watch
Nicole Davis loves horror. Kendall loves horror. But neither one wants anything to do with a home invasion movie.In Part 2, we compare notes on the horror we simply cannot handle. Home invasions are a big one, but caves, claustrophobia a...
Freddy Krueger Was More Predictable Than Real Life
Writer Nicole Davis grew up afraid of haunted houses, but not necessarily because of what might jump out at her. She didn’t trust the people inside them.Nicole grew up adopted in rural Alabama, at the end of a road where anyone showing u...
Welcome Home, Weirdos and Queerdos
In Part 1 with Ash from Dead Puppy Studios, we heard how someone once terrified of horror ended up making human-skin masks and scaring the hell out of people for fun. Part 2 gets even more persona...
From Terrified to Terrifying
Ash from Dead Puppy Studios makes human-skin masks, special effects, creepy props and the occasional skin lamp. Ash has also worked as a scare actor, including a memorable turn as a Sout...
Growing Up in the Town of the Living Dead
What happens when you grow up loving horror in the town that gave us "Night of the Living Dead?"Filmmaker and actor Robert Oppel joins Kendall for a trip through Pittsburgh horror history, beginning with George Romero, "Dawn of the Dead"...
They Said a Trans Scream Queen Would Never Happen
Timothy Waldron wanted to be a scream queen. The problem? People in the film industry kept telling her it wasn’t going to happen.She had other plans. Timothy joins Corey for a funny, candid and occasionally very bloody conversation about...
Can Horror Help You Heal? A Psychologist Explains
What do donor conception, horror movies, therapy, and horror conventions possibly have in common? More than you might think.In this special crossover episode of Horror Heals and Family Twist, Corey and Kendall welcome psych...
Demon Twink and the Healing Power of Horror
On the surface, Demon Twink is exactly what the title promises: a stylish, campy queer horror film packed with demons, dark humor and a deal with the devil. Underneath, it is something much deeper.Filmmaker Steven George joins C...
Infernal Tramps: Why Horror Helps Us Face Ourselves
What if horror isn't about escaping reality, but facing it?Author Alex Grass joins Horror Heals to discuss his new short story collection, Infernal Tramps, a wildly imaginative blend of unsettling, darkly funny and deeply human ho...
Tiny Ghosts, Big Healing
Can a horror movie become part of your wellness routine? For artist Heather Wagner, it already has.Living with an arthritis-like condition affecting her hands, Heather discovered that creating art while watching horror films became much ...
Adrienne King: The Episode That Defines Horror Heals
When we launched Horror Heals, there was one guest we knew we had to have: Adrienne King.Best known as Alice Hardy, the original final girl from Friday the 13th, Adrienne gave horror one of its most unforgettable surviv...
The Scariest Thing Isn't the Monster
What if the thing that scares us most isn't lurking in the shadows?Filmmaker Shal Ngo joins Corey and Kendall for a conversation that starts with horror movies and ends somewhere much deeper. They explore why fear can be healing, ...
100 Years of Mel Brooks and Still Making Horror Fans Laugh!
Happy 100th Birthday, Mel Brooks!To celebrate one of the greatest storytellers of all time, we're opening up the Horror Heals vault and sharing one of Corey's favorite interviews.Long before Horror Heals, Corey had the chan...
Get Me Doug Jones! The Monster Behind the Magic
Doug Jones has spent four decades bringing some of the most unforgettable characters in film and television to life. From Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy to Hocus Pocus, The Shape of Water, and Star Trek: Discovery
The Monsters We Call Family
What if the hardest people to face aren't the monsters? They're family.This week on Horror Heals, Kendall sits down with actor, writer, and producer Rae Jones to celebrate Soul Sisters, a Halloween-set horror short t...
Why Rocky Horror Still Makes Us Feel Seen with Linus O'Brien
Let's do the Time Warp.This week, Corey speaks with filmmaker Linus O'Brien, director of Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror and son of Richard O'Brien, for a conversation that feels like hanging out in the lobby after a ...
Why Horror Fans Feel Like Family with Spooky Kisses, Part 2
In part two of our conversation with Spooky Kisses, the discussion shifts from haunted attractions and horror conventions to something even more interesting: the people who make these communities feel like home.We talk about why horror f...
Why Horror People Always Find Each Other with Spooky Kisses
What happens when horror fans sit down and just start talking?In part one of our conversation with Spooky Kisses, we go everywhere, haunted attractions, horror conventions, scare acting, creepy abandoned places, terrifying childhood memo...
Horror, Anxiety, and the Videos We Shouldn’t Have Watched
What happens when the internet stops feeling like entertainment and starts feeling like a nightmare?On this episode of Horror Heals, Corey and Kendall talk with filmmaker Zack Ogle about his unsettling indie horror film
From Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark to creating with blood and hair
Horror fans don’t just consume stories.A lot of us create because of them.In this episode of Horror Heals, Corey sits down with horror-inspired artist Christian Baloga for a deeply personal conversation about fear, trauma...
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...