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5 of 34

The Professor is In - Revisiting a Year of Horror Joy with Kevin Wetmore, Jr.
In this special anniversary episode of Horror Joy, hosts Brian Onishi and Jeff Stoyanoff reflect on their first year of celebrating the emotional and intellectual joys of horror.They discuss their favorite moments, memorable interviews with horror figures likePaul Tremblay, S. Trimble and Stephen Graham Jones, and the impact of films like Jaws, The Blair Witch Project, and Silence of the Lambs.The episode features an in-depth conversation with Professor Kevin Wetmore, who shares his insights on the communal and personal joys of horror, the evolving nature of the genre post-9/11, and the significance of the 'final girl' trope. Wetmore also discusses his work in theater and medieval literature, emphasizing how horror brings people together and helps them confront their deepest fears.So, grab your favorite haunted blue book and settle in for some schooling. But don’t fall asleep, you never know where you’ll wake up. 02:06 Introducing Kevin Whitmore Jr.06:41 The Community Aspect of Horror13:41 Jaws: The Original Summer Blockbuster18:47 The Perception of Horror as a Lesser Genre24:56 Exploring Horror Post 9/1127:45 The Impact of 9/11 on Slasher Films30:41 Final Destination: Death as the Ultimate Slasher33:45 Medieval Horror and Theater38:13 The Essence of Horror in Theater and Film44:47 Concluding Thoughts and Recommendations Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol CloverPost 9/11 Horror In American Cinema by Kevin Wetmore Jr.Eaters of the Dead – Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters by Kevin Wetmore, Jr.Kevin Wetmore, Jr.The Worm at the Core – The Role of Death in Life by Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, and Tom PyszczynskiWhen the Wolf Comes Home by Nat CassidyQui Nguyen
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Meet Your Maker: A New Horror Joy Series (Trailer)
Join your favorite Horror podcasters as they introduce 'Meet Your Maker,' a new series from Horror Joy. This show is dedicated to interviewing some of the best-known and emerging Horror authors, including Clay McLeod Chapman, Victoria Dalpe, Sadie Hartmann (AKA Mother Horror), John Langan, Thomas Ha, Jake Tri, Kat Silva, and many more. Each 30-minute episode will explore new books, stories, and films, offering fans weekly content filled with more horror and joy.
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Final Destination 1, 2, 3
In this episode of Horror Joy, we turn back time to solve the puzzle of the first three films of the Final Destination franchise, exploring the ways they engage with the horrors of the new millennium, its politics, and its technologies. The series’ horrors are doubled when we realize that the first film starts off with an exploding plane, uncannily anticipating the 9/11 terrorist attacks that fundamentally reshaped the United States of America, the Middle East, and the geopolitics of never-ending surveillance due to the specter of terrorism.They discuss:· How these films reflect the anxieties of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including the twin specters of Y2K and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.· How the themes of technology, societal change, and existential dread, show up differently in each film· The role of Tony Todd's (Bludworth) character as a potential personification of death· And reflect on how the trilogy evolved into a commentary on the modern human condition.So, charge your camera batteries and death proof your rusty fishing hooks because the roller coaster is about to leave the station. It’s your last chance to get off the ride. But don’t worry, we’ll remember your place in line.William Stevenson. "Late Slasher: Remediation to Premediation in Urban Legend, Gossip, and Final Destination."Danse MacabreCamus - The Myth of SisyphusHeidegger - Being and Time
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Never Whistle at Night
In this episode of 'Horror Joy,' hosts Brian and Jeff delve into the 2023 anthology Never Whistle at Night, edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. This collection, featuring indigenous dark fiction, navigates the intersections of horror, colonization, and representation.We discuss:· The impact of these stories both in the classroom and as a means of broadening perspectives· Key stories such as 'White Hills,' 'The Ones Who Killed Us,' and 'Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth,'· The importance of blood and the construction of identity· The joy and complexity found in these narrativesThese stories navigate the tension of imagined and real worlds, mortals and monsters, blood and identity, and community and isolation. They call us to reconsider our preconceptions of the world, and they remind us that all of us (in the United States) occupy stolen lands. So, keep your lips from whistling and settle into the comfortably uncomfortable worlds of these stories. But don’t lose track of the trail. While this may be an invitation, that doesn’t necessarily mean it's safe. Indigenous Futurisms and Decolonial Horror: An Interview with Rebecca Roanhorse by Madelyn Marie SchoonoverOne drop rulePlessy V. FergusonIndigenous Horror by Heather HallOrientalism by Edward Said
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Black/Southern Gothic - Sinners and The Reformatory
Right now in the US, it feels like we're living in a haunted house of historical racial horrors, with "DEI" being demonized and books banned. Southern and Black Gothic literature, however, bravely uncover these past atrocities and their ongoing impact.On this Horror Joy episode, we welcome author Briana N. Cox to explore Black/Southern Horror. First, we bite into Ryan Coogler's 2025 hit Sinners, which uses vampiric imagery to explore race, greed, music, and time. Then, we turn to Tananarive Due’s 2023 masterpiece, The Reformatory. Based on the real-life Dozier School for Boys, it follows young Robert Stephens, Jr. through a thinly veiled juvenile prison, using exaggerated sentences, "haints," and a KKK siege to connect slavery, Jim Crow, and incarceration.Like English Gothic, Black/Southern Gothic uses crumbling infrastructure and outdated systems, replacing castles with plantations and secret rooms with prison control mechanisms. As Bridget M. Marshall notes, these genres share "creepy buildings, mysterious landscapes, unhealthy obsessions with the past, revelations of dark secrets, acts of violence, and troubled mental states." Horror is always political, but Black/Southern Gothic highlights how we're all haunted by our collective past.Join us to find joy and heartbreak in these troubling histories and horrific tales. Just remember: don't be seduced by every song, and always, ALWAYS, fight the KKK!Black Bodies, White Gazes by George YancyThe Return of the Repressed: The Subprime Haunted House by Jaleesa Rena HarrisBriana N. CoxThe Moonshot InitiativePedroParo2“Tilt the mirror”: An Interview with Tananarive Due
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