Books in the Freezer - A Horror Fiction Podcast

I was joined by author Tracy Cross to talk about her short story collection Sinner Man Hand and Other Folk Horrors out from Dark INK, and Ancestral Horror. We are talking generational trauma and some Hoodoo representation in horror. We have an absolute blast, and you will too.

Movies Mentioned:

• Sinners
• Beloved
• Eve's Bayou
• Skeleton Key
• The Last Exorcism
• Serpent and the Rainbow

Books Mentioned:

• Sinner Man Hand and Other Folk Horrors by Tracy Cross
• When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen
• Root Magicby Eden Royce
• Psychopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce
• Model Home by Rivers Solomon
• Ring Shoutby P. Djeli Clark
• On Sundays She Picked Flowersby Yah Yah Schofield
• The Good House by Tananarive Due

Chilling Obsession: Case File and Invisible Choir

Final Girl Song: Waiting Room by Fugazi

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This episode is brought to you by The Need by Megan Mostyn-Brown, available NOW

This episode originally aired March of 2024, but I think spooky season is always a great time to talk about the effect of RL Stine's Goosebumps series and Brian is always a delight.

Shownotes: https://booksinthefreezer.com/2024/03/05/episode-170-goosebumps-readalikes-with-brian-mcauley/

I was joined by author Sarah Langan to talk about her latest horror novel Trad Wife and horror books that are bringing the Trad Wife vibes.

Books Mentioned:

• Trad Wife by Sarah Langan
• The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
• Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
• The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy
• Accumulation by Aimee Pokwatka
• The Bus on Thursday by Shirley Barret
• Out There by Kate Folk
• Lady of the House by Grace Reynolds
• House of Beth by Kerry Cullen
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
• Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne Valente

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What if the new boy at school was being accused of your best friend's MURDER??

Kristen and I discuss the dated references and fashion in this snippet of The House at the End of Fear Street.

Listen to the full episode on Patreon

We're talking terror in the airwaves. Jocelyn is back on the pod to talk about radio horror this week. What is your favorite radio horror story?

Movies:

• Pontypool
• Lords of Salem
• Vast of Night
• The Fog
• Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
• Play Misty For Me
• Joyride
• Southbound

Books:

• Rules of the Roadby CB Jones
• Kill Radio by Lauren Bolger
• A Lonely Broadcast: Book One by Kel Byron
• Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout
• Christineby Stephen King
• The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson
• Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs
• Desert Radio by Pamela M. Durgin

Chilling Obsession:

Hellebore magazine

The Drama (2026)

Final Girl Song: Come to Daddy by Aphex Twin

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Summer isn't over yet, so I was joined by Brandon Baker (@baker_reads) to talk about aquatic horror! We're talking about what could be lurking in the water, and how sometimes that's none of our business.

Movies Mentioned:

• Lake Placid
• Deep Blue Sea
• 47 Meters Down
• 47 Meters Down Uncaged
• Sea Fever
• Underwater
• Jaws
• The Lighthouse
• Pirhana
• Frankenfish
• Sharknado
• Ghost Ship
• Sphere
• The Creature From the Black Lagoon

Books Mentioned:

• Reliquaryby Hannah Whitten
• Invasive Species by Ellery Adams
• Dark Water: Stories by Koji Suzuki (translated by Glynne Walley)
• The Deep by Nick Cutter
• Whalefallby Daniel Kraus
• The Low, Low Whistleby Laurel Hightower
• From Below by Darcy Coates
• Chlorineby Jade Song
• Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
• The Devil and the Deep edited by Ellen Datlow

Chilling Obsession:

• Junk bugs
• S(p)lasher Flicks by Cullen Wade

Final Girl Song:

Posing for Cars by Japanese Breakfast

We are so back! It's Fear Street Friday and as summer is winding down what a perfect time to get away from Shadyside and spend some time in a beach town with some camp friends. What could possibly go wrong? Bookseller extraordinaire Marguerite and I break down this ridiculously unhinged entry.

Warning - not in this clip, but this book does include a pretty gnarly animal death

Full episode available at Patreon

I was joined by Bram-Stoker Award winning author and returning guest, Clay McLeod Chapman to talk about his latest novel Devil Inside and Horrormance.

Movies Mentioned:

• Lisa Frankenstein
• Warm Bodies
• The Mummy
• Heart Eyes
• Bones and All
• Your Monster
• Obsession
• Possession (1981)

Books Mentioned:

• Devil Inside by Clay McLeod Chapman
• Jenny Will Eat You Now by Gillian Daniels
• Spread Meby Sarah Gailley
• A Dowry of Bloodby ST Gibson
• Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin
• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison
• Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
• Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas
• Someone You Can Build A Nest Inby John Wisell
• Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper
• Headlightsby CJ Leede
• Love Never Dies: Romance in Horror Moviesby Emma Cole

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Final Girl Song: You Should Not Be Doing That by Amyl and the Sniffers

Chilling Obsession:

Have we always been the caretakers? I am joined by reviewer George Dunn (@georgesreads) to talk about horror stories that are centered around the giving or receiving care either professionally or for a loved one.

Movies:

• Relic
• The Taking of Deborah Logan
• Insidious
• The Perfection
• The Haunting
• Would You Rather?
• Saint Maud
• The Skeleton Key
• I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House
• Misery

Books:

• A Veritable Household Pet by Viggy Parr Hampton
• The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
• Frost Biteby Angela Sylvaine
• The Vessel by Adam Nevill
• The Only One Left by Riley Sager
• Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
• The Shining by Stephen King
• Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy
• Nestlingsby Nat Cassidy
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• My Darling Girlby Jennifer McMahon
• We Spread by Iain Reid

Chilling Obsession: The Ervil LaBaron Cult

Final Girl Playlist:

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The 2026 Books in the Freezer Reading Challenge

Get your tickets for Rachel Harrison's Kiss Slay Replay event at BottleRocket courtesy of White Whale Books (9/10)

Patreonfun

Books Mentioned:

• Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
• The Red Sacrament by Sara Hinkley
• The Sea Hides Its Dead by Megan Bontrager
• Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith
• Cross My Heart, I Hope You Die by Mallory Arnold
• The Flayed Manby Chloe Lautner
• Meat Beesby Dane Erbach
• The Quiet Resurrection of Sister Evelida Livingston by Nick Wallin
• Devil Insideby Clay McLeod Chapman
• Stay Buried by Jennifer McMahon
• Reliquaryby Hannah Whitten
• The Calamitiesby Chuck Wendig
• The House That Eats the Dead by Max Doty
• The Minimalistby Kailee Pedersen
• These Walls Remember by Del Sandeen
• Lights! Camera! Frendo! by Adam Cesare
• The Burn Lineby Jonathan Sims
• Blacktailby Scott Hawkins
• Kiss Slay Replayby Rachel Harrison
• Pictures of You by Josh Malerman
• This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want by Hailey Piper
• Mazywoodby Tananarive Due
• Worry Boxby Christopher Panatier
• Trad Wife by Sarah Langan
• Nightjarsby Michael Wehunt
• The Ship of Deathby Kyle Winkler
• The House Built on Alligator Bones by Sophia Honeycutt
• It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller
• Quaint Folk by Bitter Carella
• Bruja's Nestby Brenda LaTorre
• What Feeds Belowby Tatiana Schlotte-Bonne
• Amityville Awakensby Robert Ottone
• This B Just Won't Die by Tanya Pell
• Solace Houseby William MacLean
• Off the Reservationby Stephen Graham Jones
• What A Nightmare by Rebekah Faubion
• Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun
• There Used to Be People Here by Kennedy Cole

CJ Leede is in the house and we are solving crimes! Not really, but we are talking about her latest novel Headlights and blend of horror and crime, weird (and romantic!) sex scenes, the importance of pop culture in stories, the romance of Americana, her upcoming work and more! We also talk about books that balance the tightrope of crime and horror, some with possibly vampires and some with definitely vampires

Movies/Shows Mentioned:

• True Detective (Season 1)
• Seven
• Hannibal
• Longlegs
• Red Dragon
• Zodiac

Books Mentioned:

• Headlightsby CJ Leede
• The Gathering by CJ Tudor
• The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
• All These Bodies by Kendare Blank
• The Grownupby Gillian Flynn
• Hydra (Six Stories #2) by Matt Weselowski
• The Library at Mount Charby Scott Hawkins
• Mothersuckerby Kim Boyhun (translated by Archana Madhavan)
• The Outsider by Stephen King
• All the Sinners Bleed by SA Cosby
• Broken Harbor (Dublin Murder Squad #4)by Tana French

Chilling Obsessions: Hacks and Wuthering Heights

Final Girl Song: Wolf Like Me

I basically forced Anna from Anna Rose Reads to watch Mad Men, so we decided to record an episode to get all of our thoughts out and decide what books to recommend for each character.

Books Mentioned:

• Gerald's Game by Stephen King
• Small Town Horror with Ronald Malfi
• The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
• Trad Wife by Saratoga Schafer
• The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
• Her Body & Other Partiesby Carmen Maria Machado
• The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson
• Duma Keyby Stephen King
• The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
• All's Well by Mona Awad
• Greedyby Callie Kazumi
• The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls by Angela Sylvaine
• The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn Kiste
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Misery by Stephen King
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• 11/22/63 by Stephen King
• Breathe In, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley

Chilling Obsessions:

Something Very Bad is Going to Happen (Netflix)

Challengers

Final Girl Playlist

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I bid you welcome, listener

Anette is on the podcast today to discuss books that were inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula

Movies/Shows:

• Renfield
• The Last Voyage of the Demeter
• Dracula 20000
• Dracula Untold
• Nosferatu
• Penny Dreadful

Books:

• A Route of Ice and Salt by Jose Luis Zarate
• Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
• Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
• Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
• "Abraham's Boys" by Joe Hill
• "The 8 People Who Murdered Me" by Gwendolyn Kiste
• Brenda and Effie Mysteries
• The Fox & the Devil

Chilling Obsession - Eye of the Devil Movie

Final Girl Song - Which Witch by Florence and the Machine

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Howdy y'all. We're heading down to the honkytonk with author Grace Reynolds to talk about her slasher novella Neon Moon and Texas Horror

Movies:

• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre : The Next Generation
• X
• Pearl
• The Town That Dreaded Sundown
• House of 1000 Corpses
• 3 From Hell

Books:

• Neon Moon by Grace Reynolds
• In the Valley of the Sunby Andy Davidson
• Spite House by Johnny Compton
• Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton
• Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan
• Rising Sun Over the Devil's Nest by Sirius
• Goddess of Filth by V Castro
• Stargazers by LP Hernandez
• The Haunting of Alejandra by V Castro
• When the Devil by Emma E Murray
• The Devil Takes You Homeby Gabino Iglesias
• Sh!tshow by Chris Panatier

Chilling Obsession: The rise of Trad Wife Horror

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.

Gwendolyn Kiste is on the pod to talk about her latest short story collection and fairy tale horror.

Movies:

• The Ugly Stepsister
• Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
• The Lure
• The Company of Wolves
• La Belle et la Bete
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Books Mentioned:

• The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn Kiste
• The Candy Houseby Jennifer Egan (Goon Squad #2)
• The Bloody Chamberby Angela Carter
• Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
• Wendy Darlingby AC Wise
• Hookedby AC Wise
• Chlorine by Jade Song
• Sing Me Your Scars by Damien Angelica Walters
• House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A Craig
• Small Favorsby Erin A Craig
• The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo
• Every Heart a Doorwayby Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children #1)
• White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link
• It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo

Chilling Obsession - Eye of the Devil Movie

Final Girl Song - Which Witch by Florence and the Machine

Join our Patreoncommunity

Listen to the full episode here.

What happens when a small decision turns into a dangerous web of lies? Wealthy girl Carter is going to find out. This was a very interesting entry into the fear street series

“You can check out anytime you’d like, but you can never leeeeaaaave”

Originally aired 5/17/22

What’s so scary about hotels? Is it the being away from home? Is it the idea that you don’t know who’s there with you? Is it the idea that someone could be watching you?

Books Mentioned:

• The Return by Rachel Harrison
• Horror Hotelby Victoria Fulton and Faith McClaren
• The Nightly Disease by Max Booth III
• The Summer Job by Adam Cesare
• The Lastby Hanna Jameson
• The Grand Hotelby Scott Kenemore
• Securityby Gina Wohlsdorf
• Deadfall Hotelby Steve Rasnic Tem
• Creepers by David Morrell
• The Resortby Bentley Little
• Psycho (trilogy) by Robert Bloch
• When the Reckoning Comesby LaTanya McQueen
• A Certain Hungerby Chelsea G. Summers
• Tender is the Flesh by Agustine Bazterrica
• Nightbitchby Rachel Yoder

Final Girl Song

Jocelyn picked “666” by Anvil for her third final girl song. Really getting into those kids with bikes vibes. Check it out here!

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!

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Are you a fan of audiobooks?

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Full episode available here.

Happy Fear Street Friday! Author Rae Wilde is here to talk to me about this very Single White Female story that somehow ends up being the DARKEST entry in this franchise. Holy gaslighting and psychological warfare

Are time loops stressful? Rachel and I discuss how anxious people consume time loop media and talk about her upcoming novel, Kiss Slay Replay. We talk about horror movies and books that play with the idea of time or time travel. So let’s dive in and make sure not to mess up this timeline.

Movies Mentioned:

• Happy Death Day
• Palm Springs
• Donnie Darko
• Totally Killer
• Time Cut
• The Butterfly Effect
• Sliding Doors

Books Mentioned:

• Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison
• The Shining Girlsby Lauren Beukes
• Kindred by Octavia Butler
• Slade House by David Mitchell
• 11/22/63 by Stephen King
• The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• My Death by Lisa Tuttle
• The Haunting of Velkwoodby Gwendolyn Kiste

Chilling Obsession: Four Weddings on HBO Max & This is Propaganda

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.

It's time to talk about Summer Scares again and I'm so thrilled to be joined by author Jennifer McMahon and Konrad Stump to talk about this year's books and how to get involved.

Summer Scares Guide

Books Mentioned:

• A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock
• Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and Theodore C Van Alst
• Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
• What We Harvestby Ann Fraistat
• Gorgeous Gruesome Faces by Linda Cheng
• Our Shadows Have Clawsedited by Yamile Saied Mendez & Amparo Ortiz
• Garlic and the Vampireby Bree Paulsen
• It Came From the Treesby Ally Russell
• This Appearing House by Ally Malinenko

Join our Patreoncommunity to listen to get access to ad-free and early episodes and access to the House at the End of Fear Street bonus series.