Talking Scared

• 261 — The State of the Horror Nation 2025, with Emily Hughes, Anna Dupre & George Dunn

  Welcome to the now sixth annual State of the Horror Nation.   This is the mega-episode, in which I gather a darkly-inclined supergroup of horror fans and commentators—a horror cabinet, if you will—to cast their informed eyes and minds over the year’s best horror.   We talk trends, generation gaps, terrifying moments, and pick what they consider to be their favourite scary books of 2025.   I am just a bystander and the man with the edit button. Bringing the talent and the opinion are Emily Hughes, Anna Dupre and George Dunn. Together they present a tapestry of horror in red and black and other hideous colours.   Suffer your TBR piles.   Enjoy.   Books Picked   Angel Down (2025), by Daniel Kraus Black Flame (2025), by Gretchen Felker Martin Futility (2025), Nuzo Ozoh One Yellow Eye (2025), by Leigh Radford Play Nice (2025), by Rachel Harrison Spread Me (2025), by Sarah Gailey Veil (2025), by Jonathan Janz When the Wolf Comes Home (2025), by Nat Cassidy What Hunger (2025), by Catherine Dang   Books Anticipated   Cruelty Free (2026), by Caroline Glenn Daytide (2026), by Chris Panatier Femme Feral (2026), by Sam Bessinger For Human Use (2026), by Sarah G. Pierce Headlights (2026), by C.J. Leede Itch (2025), by Gemma Amor Japanese Gothic (2026), by Kylie Lee Baker Kiss Slay Replay (2026), by Rachel Harrison I Know a Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours (2026), by Nat Cassidy Molka (2026), by Monika Kim Nothing Tastes as Good (2026), by Luke Dumas Nowhere Burning (2026), by Catriona Ward On Sunday’s She Picked Flowers (2026), by Yah Yah Schofield Our Cut of Salt (2026), by Deena Helm Persona (2026), by Aiofe Josie Clements The Children (2026), by Melissa Albert The Curse of Hester Gardens (2026), by Tamika Thompson The Fourth Wife (2026), by Linda Hamilton The Hive (2026), by Ronald Malfi The Last Story of Jamie Gunn (TBC), by Thomas Olde Heuvelt The Red Sacrament (2026), by Sara Hinkley Spoiled Milk (2026), by Avery Curran Trad Wife (2026), by Sarah Langan Worry Box (2026), by Chris Panatier Wretch (2026), by Eric LaRocca   Other Books Mentioned   Come Knocking (2025), by Mike Bockoven Old Soul (2025), by Susan Barker Rekt (2025), by Alex Gonzalez The Lamb (2025), by Lucy Rose The Starving Saints (2025), by Caitlin Starling Bat Eater, and Other Names for Cora Zeng (2025), by Kylie Lee Baker Greedy (2026) by Callie Kazumi The Eyes Are the Best Part (2024), by Monika Kim Wake Up and Open Your Eyes (2025), by Clay McLeod Chapman The Unworthy (2025), by Augustina Bazterrica     Support Talking Scared on Patreon Emily Hughes Patreon link is here   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• [From the Vault] Carmen Maria Machado & Passing Literary Kidney Stones

  It’s all about memory this week.   Remember that time literary superstar Carmen Maria Machado came on the show? No? Well here’s your chance to catch up on what you missed.   Carmen spoke to me about Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House – the former a collection of folktale and fable, spun to hideous effect; the latter a piercing fictionalised memoir of abuse and haunted relationships.   This was a daunting interview – we went deep into life, love and all the horrors they can bring. But we came up smiling.   It’s a happy memory.   Enjoy.   The Argonauts (2015), by Maggie Nelson The Ghost Variations (2021), by Kevin Brockmeier A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade (2014), by Kevin Brockmeier Proxies: Essays Near Knowing (2016), by Brian Blanchfield Monster Portraits (2018), by Sofia Samatar The Hot Zone (1994), by Richard Preston The Haunting of Hill House (1959), by Shirley Jackson The Bloody Chamber (1979), by Angela Carter   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• [From the Vault] Jeff VanderMeer and Our First On-Air Murder

  Jeff VanderMeer and I did not fall out!!   This is a myth that has arisen since Jeff came on the show back in 2021, to discuss his eco-espionage crisis thriller, Hummingbird Salamander.   Well, this trip back to the Vault will hopefully dispel that rumour.   Instead what you’ll hear is a conversation with the Emperor of Weird fiction, talking about conservation and climate catastrophe, about plans to save the world and the villainy of tech – and about the furthest (Southern) reaches of a mad imagination.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Annihilation (2014), by Jeff VanderMeer Borne (2017), by Jeff VanderMeer The Rain Heron (2020), by Robbie Arnaut Support Talking Scared on Patreon Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• [From the Vault] Will Dean & The Two Faces of Off-Grid Living

  Revisiting a true highlight this week!   Will Dean’s The Last Thing to Burn is one of very few 10/10 books i've ever featured on this podcast. It’s a flawless study of isolation, survival, exploitation and the most toxic of masculinities – all about a Vietnamese immigrant, trapped in the home of her ‘husband,’ the monstrous Leonard.   Will is an amazing writer, with an amazing life. He’s creating classics like this, as well as the ongoing Tuva Moodyson series, all from the depths of a Scandinavian forest. We talk about his journey from small town UK to his fairytale present, the role of landscape and isolation in his work, broken psyches and much more…   Trust me, this book will stay with you!   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Misery (1987), by Stephen King On Writing (2000), by Stephen King Room (2010), by Emma Donaghue The Collector (1963), by John Fowles The Road (2006), by  Cormac McCarthy Asylum (1996), by Patrick McGrath Tickets for the Northern Weird event at Blackwells, Manchester.   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• [From the Vault] Courtney Summers & The Master of the Bitch

  This flashback episode takes us to early 2021, when I was joined by Courtney Summers – the boundary-pushing author of dark YA fictions for a corrective lesson.   Courtney came on the show to discuss The Project, a novel of sinister elite cults, evil charisma and radicalisation. At the time Trump had just been kicked out of office, so those things seemed safe to talk about.   Alas… they are maybe scarier now.   Enjoy!   Other books mentioned: Sadie (2018), by Courtney Summers Redder Days (2021), by Sue Rainsford The Children of Red Peak (2020), by Craig Di Louie The Need (2019), by Helen Phillips Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch   Come talk books on Bluesky @talkscaredpod.bsky.social on Instagram/Threads, or email direct to [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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