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In this episode of Drawn to Darkness, we dive into Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, a genre-bending vampire period drama set in 1930s Jim Crow Mississippi. Joined by special guest Makeda Pennycooke, life and anti-racism coach, we unpack a film that is as gorgeous as it is unsettling, layering horror, history, and music. We break down vampire lore, our favorite characters, standout performances (Michael B. Jordan playing twins), the transcendent musical moments, and the symbolism woven throughout, from religion and ancestral knowledge to systems of white supremacy, power, and assimilation.

Content & Spoiler Warning

This episode contains full spoilers for Sinners and our discussion includes reference to violence, gore, and body horror (it’s a vampire movie). Some of the deeper horrors include racism, white supremacy, the Ku Klux Klan, lynching, and child loss. There’s also a snake that gets killed and drool. Really really gross drool.

Palate Cleanser

After all that intensity, Caroline and Makeda’s cure? TikTok’s National Parks content (also dubbed “Only Parks”)

Passages with Amanda Jacobson from Wine & Crime (Twilight season recap)

Recommendations

Films & TV:

• Eight Mile for more from Omar Miller (Cornbread).
• Friday Night Lights and The Wire for early Michael B. Jordan and Raising Dion - lighter Michael B. Jordan content for the kids.
• What We Do in the Shadows - always WWDITS
• Blade, Interview with the Vampire, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), Let the Right One In, Abigail, Dracula, Midnight Mass for more vampire picks
• The Haunting of Hill House, Fall of the House of Usher for layered horror storytelling with a director who likes actors and sticks with them.
• Get Out for themes of appropriation and identity.
• Lovecraft Country for horror grounded in racial history.
• Across the Spider-Verse for Hailee Steinfeld fans

Books & Reading:

• The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone
• A History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter
• Passing by Nella Larsen
• The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
• A Discovery of Witches (book series) by Deborah Harkness
• Ted Chiang’s Story of your Life and Others for the melding of time.

Podcasts & Other:

• Reel Conversations with Britt and Bree for black women’s perspectives on Sinners
• The Next Best Picture Podcast Sinners episode for lots of background info.
• Horror Joy podcast episode on Sinners and The Reformatory
• Time Bandits for questioning who writes history

Documentary/True Crime:

• Lost Women of Alaska - produced by Octavia Spencer

Homework:

Goodfellas - a lighter pick with a Chicago Mafia connection

And Start reading The Devil in the White City - another Chicago-based story blending crime and history

And remember, if someone asks to be invited in, say no!

We’ll see you next time—only on Drawn to Darkness.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for our cover art (Instagram: @nancyazano) and Harry Kidd for our music (Instagram: @harryjkidd, Spotify).

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Welcome back to Drawn to Darkness. This week, we are joined by special guest Gillian Pensavalle from True Crime Obsessed to discuss West of Memphis (2012), Amy Berg’s documentary that revisits the case of the West Memphis Three. In 1993, Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers were murdered and with little evidence and rising panic about satanic rituals, police quickly focused on three local teenagers: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Misskelley. Despite inconsistent confessions, lack of physical evidence, and alibis, all three were convicted, and Echols was sentenced to death. West of Memphis follows the nearly 20-year fight to free and exonerate them. Meanwhile, the real perpetrator remains unidentified.

We unpack wrongful convictions, moral panic, police misconduct, what Damien is like in real life, and the long, exhausting fight for justice. We explore how three teenagers were targeted as “weird kids,” how fear of satanism shaped a narrative with no evidence, and why decades later they may be free from prison, but still aren’t exonerated.

Spoiler + Content Warning

This episode and the documentary include discussion and imagery of the murder of children, child abuse, castration, false confessions, prison abuse, solitary confinement, systemic injustice, wrongful convictions, and satanic panic. We also spoil the documentary.

Palate Cleanser

• True Crime Obsessed – if you like a laugh along with your true crime.
• Spending time with family (as simple as ice cream or Del’s Lemonade)

Recommendations

• Bob Ruff’s Truth & Justice podcast (Season 5)
• Mara Leveritt’s Devil’s Knot (deep dive into courtroom details)
• Wrongful Conviction podcast (featuring interviews with Damien Echols and Jason Baldwin)
• Satan Wants You (documentary about Satanic Panic)
• Sarah Marshall’s podcast You’re Wrong About + The Devil You Know
• Stranger Things (Eddie Munson inspired by Damien Echols)
• Mindhunter (John Douglas appears in the case)
• The Crucible (mass hysteria and scapegoating)
• Stand By Me, The Goonies, It (kids, innocence, and loss)
• The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell for a Medical Examiner who knows what she’s doing.
• The Hurricane with Denzel Washington for more wrongful convictions
• The Craft and The Perks of Being a Wallflower - for the “weird” kids
• Lord of the Rings and listen to Pearl Jam (support the celebrities who championed the West Memphis 3)
• Damien Echols’ books, podcast, and Patreon

Homework

Next episode, we’ll discuss Sinners before shifting gears slightly with:

• Goodfellas
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (it’s a book, so start now!)

And remember, always insist on a lawyer!

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for our cover art (Instagram: @nancyazano) and Harry Kidd for our music (Instagram: @harryjkidd, Spotify).

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In this bonus “Chatroom” episode of Drawn To Darkness, I (Annie) chat with horror author Josiah Furcinitti to discuss his chilling short story Bedguard, featured in the anthology Lies Beyond, a horror anthology exploring death, fear, and the unknown. In Bedguard, Anna is at first only worried about the growing distance between herself and her husband David. But when he starts suffering from terrifying nightmares, seeing mysterious scratches on his body, and falling violently out of bed, Anna realises too late that something unspeakable is targeting them.

Listen to me read Bedguard, then stick around for our conversation on horror tropes (something under the bed, creatures that feed on fear, creepy kids, dolls), our horror origin stories, deeper fears, and our some of our favourite books and movies.

We also discuss the ambiguity of storytelling and what happens to a story when it’s released into the world, and the relationship between anxiety and horror consumption.

Meanwhile, we gush over the media that scared and shaped us, including Revival, It, The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon, Pet Semetary and Carrie by Stephen King, as well as The X-Files, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Midsommar, Sinners, Candyman, and Peter Jackson’s King Kong. But it’s not all horror. Josiah also loves Parks and Rec.

Where you can find Lies Beyond:

You can find Lies Beyond on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IngramSpark. Follow Josiah on Instagram on @authorjosiahfurcinitti.

Homework for Next Episode

Watch: West of Memphis

Our next episode will feature Gillian Pensavalle from True Crime Obsessed and The Hamilcast to discuss the West Memphis Three, and the ongoing fight for their full exoneration.

Then, back to horror with Sinners, featuring Choctaw vampire hunters and 16 Academy Award nominations!

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for our cover art (Instagram: @nancyazano) and Harry Kidd for our music (Instagram: @harryjkidd, Spotify).