Courtney Summers is back on the podcast to talk about the re-animation and adaptation of her 2012 young adult novel, This is Not a Test.

Books Mentioned:

• This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
• Ring by Koji Suzuki
• “The Birds” by Daphne DuMaurier (From After Midnight)
• Under the Skin by Michel Faber
• Who Goes There by John W. Campbell
• I Know What You Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan
• Foe by Iain Reid
• Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
• The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
• The Ruins by Scott Smith

Chilling Obsession: The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Check out the Final Girl Playlist

Support the podcast on Patreon to access the newsletter, The Cold Front and the bonus series, The House at the End of Fear Street and get early, ad-free access to episodes.

So this is the new year

Welcome to 2026 listeners, it's looking like we are in for another great year of horror full of fresh voices and terrors.

It's the perfect time to join the Books in the Freezer Reading Challenge. 

Books Mentioned: 

• This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
• Pig Wife by Abbey Luck
• A Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. James
• I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200 by Robert Brockway
• Mama Came Callin' by Ezra Clayton Daniels
• Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn
• Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaeffer
• The Body by Bethany C. Morrow
• For Human Use by Sarah G. Pierce
• How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson
• Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward
• Dollface by Lindy Ryan
• Greedy by Callie Kazumi
• Dead First by Johnny Compton 
• First Date by Gemma Amor
• Sweetside Motel by E.L. Chen
• You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom by Vincent Tirado
• Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran
• Wretch: or the Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw by Eric LaRocca
• Curse of Hester Gardens by Tamika Thompson
• Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas
• Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
• Molka by Monika Kim
• Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman
• The Seventh Sister by Dawn Kurtagich
• Odessa by Gabrielle Sher
• The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
• Shy Girl by Mia Ballard
• Not Your Final Girl by Mikayla Randolph
• Accumulation by Aimee Pokwata
• Make Me Better by Sarah Gailley
• Femme Feral by Sam Beckbessinger
• Headlights by CJ Leede
• Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay

Check out the Final Girl Playlist

 

 

 

Full episode available on Patreon

Angela Sylvaine, horror author and the internet's favorite Cheerful Goth has stopped by Fear Street to talk about what is going on in the Secret Bedroom in Lea Carson's house. We talk about Benetton sweaters, VHS rental problems, Victorian ghost girls and more

2025 has come to an end, so that means it’s time to break down our standout reads of the year. I am joined by my friend, fellow podcaster and reviewer, Anna Dupre of the Anna Rose Reads Podcast. This was a year full of cannibalism, sweeping historicals, and weird little horny books, so a great year!

Books Mentioned: Short Story Collections/ Anthologies

• Teenage Girls Can Be Demons by Hailey Piper
• Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
• You Glow in the Dark by Liliana Colanzi (translated by Chris Andrews)
• The Poorly Made and Other Things by Sam Rebelein
• Oddbody by Rose Keating
• PUNK goes HORROR: A Mixtape Anthology edited by William Sterling
• It’s the End of the World As We Know It: New Tales from Stephen King’s Stand edited by Brian Keene and Christopher Golden

Graphic Novels

• A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll
• Saint Catherine by Anna Meyer
• Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Hogarth

Young Adult Horror

• Showstopper by Lily Anderson
• Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
• The Overnight (#3) by RL Stine

Middle Grade Horror

• Ride or Die by Delilah S. Dawson 
• Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave by Ally Russell
• Another by Paul Tremblay
• Broken Dolls by Ally Malinenko

Non-Fiction

• Sick Houses: Haunted Homes and the Architecture of Dread by Layla Taylor
• There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib
• Scream With Me: Horror Films and the Rise of American Feminism by Eleanor Johnson
• The Midcentury Kitchen: America’s Favorite Room, from Workspace to Dreamscape, 1940s-1970s by Sarah Archer

Non-Horror

• Blob : A Love Story by Maggies Su
• The Favorites by Layne Fargo
• The Wedding People by Allison Espach
• Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan

Horror Novella

• Spread Me by Sarah Gailley
• The Film You Are About to See by Hailey Newlin

Horror Debut

• Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
• The Lamb by Lucy Rose 
• House of Beth by Kerry Cullen 
• Good Boy by Neil McRobert   

Horror Novel

• Blood On Her Tongue by Johanna Van Veen
• Immaculate Conception by LIng Ling Huang
• When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
• Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
• Play Nice by Rachel Harrison 
• Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
• Of Flesh and Blood: The Untold Story of the Cajun Cannibal by NL Lavin and Hunter Burke
• Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi Demeester
• What Hunger by Catherine Dang
• Itch! By Gemma Amor
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• King Sorrow by Joe Hill

Final Girl Song

Check out the final girl songs here!

Support Books in the Freezer on Patreon to get access to the series, The House at the End of Fear Street, early episodes, polls and more

I was joined by author Jenny Kiefer to talk about her latest novel Crafting for Sinners and locked room horror stories

Books Mentioned: 

• Crafting for Sinner by Jenny Kiefer
• The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica
• Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
• The Troop by Nick Cutter
• The Handyman Method by Andrew F. Sullivan and Nick Cutter
• Exiles by Mason Coile
• Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy
• How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
• We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III

Final Girl Song

Check out the final girl songs here!

Merch is finally available! Join the Reading Challenge! How to support Books in the Freezer

We are on Patreon! Check us out! There’s a lot of fun going on in the Patreon community. At the Final Girl level you can get episodes early and find out about topics and guests beforehand. Axe-Wielding Maniacs get to be part of a Voxer group chat and join in Netflix movie nights. Malevolent Spirits get everything that’s been mentioned and bonus episodes!

Share this:

Come one! Come all to my conversation with author Chris Panatier. We are talking about his book Shitshow from Sobelo Books and carnival horror. 

Movies Mentioned: 

• Carnival of Souls
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
• Final Destination 3
• House of 1000 Corpses
• Big Fish
• Nope
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Books Mentioned: 

• Shitshow by Chris Panatier
• Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
• Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
• Ride or Die by Delilah S. Dawson
• The Only Harmless Great Thing by Bo Bolander
• Hide by Kiersten White
• Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
• The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney

Final Girl Song

Check out the final girl songs here!

Merch is finally available! Join the Reading Challenge! How to support Books in the Freezer

We are on Patreon! Check us out! There’s a lot of fun going on in the Patreon community. At the Final Girl level you can get episodes early and find out about topics and guests beforehand. Axe-Wielding Maniacs get to be part of a Voxer group chat and join in Netflix movie nights. Malevolent Spirits get everything that’s been mentioned and bonus episodes!

 

This is a repost of an episode from 2024 where Jocelyn and I discussed Frankenstein Retellings! 

Have you watched the new Guillermo Del Toro Frankenstein? What did you think of it? 

 

Shownotes here

Author Joe Hill is on the show this week to talk about his latest book King Sorrow and whether a horror story is only as good as its villains. 

Books mentioned: 

• King Sorrow by Joe Hill
• The Fireman by Joe Hill
• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
• The Secret History by Donna Tart 
• Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez 
• The Passage by Justin Cronin
• The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
• The Gunslinger by Stephen King
• Fright or Flight: 17 Turbulent Tales edited by Bev Vincent and Stephen King
• Double Feature by Owen King
• The Trap  by Tabitha King
• Save Yourself by Kelly Braffet
• Rovers by Richard Lange
• 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill 
• Locke and Key: The Golden Age by Joe HIll
• Sea Dogs by Joe Hill 
• Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Let the Right One In by John Ajvde Lindqvist

Final Girl Song

Check out the final girl songs here!

Merch is finally available! Join the Reading Challenge! How to support Books in the Freezer

We are on Patreon! Check us out! There’s a lot of fun going on in the Patreon community. At the Final Girl level you can get episodes early and find out about topics and guests beforehand. Axe-Wielding Maniacs get to be part of a Voxer group chat and join in Netflix movie nights. Malevolent Spirits get everything that’s been mentioned and bonus episodes!

 

I was thrilled that Victor LaValle was able to join me to help recommend books with jerk main characters. Be sure the check out the new paperback editions of four of his books and catch The Devil in Silver on AMC in 2026. 

Books mentioned: 

• The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle
• The Changeling by Victor LaValle
• The Shining by Stephen King
• American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis
• The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
• Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

• A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe

Final Girl Song

Check out the final girl songs here!

Merch is finally available! Join the Reading Challenge! How to support Books in the Freezer

We are on Patreon! Check us out! There’s a lot of fun going on in the Patreon community. At the Final Girl level you can get episodes early and find out about topics and guests beforehand. Axe-Wielding Maniacs get to be part of a Voxer group chat and join in Netflix movie nights. Malevolent Spirits get everything that’s been mentioned and bonus episodes!

Full episode available on Patreon

It's Fear Street Friday and this week we are heading to Camp Nightwing! I was very happy to be joined by Liz Sower from the fantastic Ghosts in the Burbs podcast. 

Synopsis:
Who killed the counselor?

“I could kill you!” screamed Geri Marcus.

Could she? Would she? something is very wrong at Camp Nightwing, and junior counselor Holly Flynn is determined to solve the mystery before it destroys the camp!

The trouble begins with frightening acts of vandalism. After each, a red feather is left behind—signature of the culprit.

Suddenly, one of the counselors is dead. “An accident,” say the police. But Holly knows better—and she knows she’s next. Holly can’t trust anyone now, not even her best friend, as she stalks the camp killer—and hopes that it soon won’t be “lights out” for her!

Neil McRobert is back on the pod today. This time as a published author!! We are here to talk about his fantastic novella Good Boy and the horrors of small towns. 

Books Mentioned: 

• Good Boy by Neil McRobert\
• Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon
• Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
• The Ghosts of Sleath by James Herbert
• The Low Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado
• Jackal by Erin E Adams
• The Night Country by Stewart O Nan
• Itch! by Gemma Amor
• The Poorly Made and Other Things by Sam Rebelein
• The October Film Haunt by Michael Wehunt
• It by Stephen King

Final Girl Song

Check out the final girl songs here!

Merch is finally available! Join the Reading Challenge! How to support Books in the Freezer

We are on Patreon! Check us out! There’s a lot of fun going on in the Patreon community. At the Final Girl level you can get episodes early and find out about topics and guests beforehand. Axe-Wielding Maniacs get to be part of a Voxer group chat and join in Netflix movie nights. Malevolent Spirits get everything that’s been mentioned and bonus episodes!