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  • Lee Stackhouse: Brutal Precision and Eerie Tenderness

    Lee Stackhouse: Brutal Precision and Eerie Tenderness
    2026/04/07

    In this episode, I’m joined by author Lee Stackhouse to discuss Diary of a Damsel Dame, a dark psychological horror novel about obsession, projection, love, and violence.

    We talk about Delilah Vale as both predator and wounded inner child, and why readers can feel repulsed by her while still wanting to protect her.

    Lee opens up about writing from trauma, using the diary format to capture a secret inner life, and building a character who feels disturbingly human rather than symbolic.

    We also get into trigger warnings, female villainy, toxic relationships, Substack serialization, book cover design, and the emotional cost of writing from personal truth.

    Along the way, Lee shares stories about collaborative horror projects, surviving abusive workplaces, living in the woods in Vermont, and why Gordon Ramsay is the perfect creative palate cleanser.


    Lee Stackhouse Links

    Website / Main Hub
    https://leestackhouse.substack.com

    Instagram
    https://www.instagram.com/lee__stackhouse/

    TikTok
    https://www.tiktok.com/@lee_stackhouse

    Goodreads (Author + Book)
    https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/61171497.Lee_Stackhouse
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243238238-diary-of-a-damsel-dame

    Buy Diary of a Damsel Dame
    Amazon: https://a.co/d/02bML2lT
    Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/diary-of-a-damsel-dame-lee-stackhouse/1148695486

    Support The Dark Mind Podcast
    https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 15 分
  • Andrew Najberg Returns: Inside the Apocalyptic Horror of Eat the Light

    Andrew Najberg Returns: Inside the Apocalyptic Horror of Eat the Light
    2026/03/31

    Andrew Najberg returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his new novel, Eat the Light.The book follows two young sisters, Alyssa and Tabitha, who are locked in a fallout shelter by their father and left to survive alone when they emerge into a world that no longer exists.The streets are empty, the rain corrodes everything it touches, and glowing figures known as the Shimmer People stalk the ruins with no logic and no mercy.Najberg breaks down how he used light itself as the ultimate horror element, making it both the thing that sustains the sisters and the thing that can kill them.He discusses writing young protagonists with genuine agency, drawing on his real relationship with his sister and his own children to build the bond between Alyssa and Tabitha.The conversation explores how the novel functions as a philosophical survival story, forcing two children to define meaning and morality in a world stripped of every support system.Najberg also reflects on the influence of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, the origins of the story's beloved character Pom Pom, and what it means to write horror from a place of genuine personal fear.Websiteshttps://andrewnajberg.comSocial Mediahttps://www.facebook.com/andrew.najberg/https://www.facebook.com/AndrewNajbergAuthor/https://www.instagram.com/andrewnajberg/https://x.com/AndrewNajbergBuy Eat the Light & Other Bookshttps://www.amazon.com/Eat-Light-Andrew-Najberg/dp/B0F1Z5Z5Z5 (Eat the Light on Amazon; search for others like The Mobius Door)https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eat-the-light-andrew-najberg/1146400211 (related title; search Eat the Light)Stream Audiobookshttps://www.audible.com/author/Andrew-Najberg/B0CBNGGV9H (Gollitok, The Mobius Door, Extinction Dream)Support The Dark Mind Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 11 分
  • Jethro Waters on Grief, Guns, and God in Gunfighter Paradise

    Jethro Waters on Grief, Guns, and God in Gunfighter Paradise
    2026/03/24

    In this episode of The Dark Mind Podcast, Vincent Midgard sits down with filmmaker Jethro Waters to discuss his surreal southern gothic feature Gunfighter Paradise.​They explore the film’s collision of religion, grief, guns, greed, and dark humor, and how Waters sees it as an expression of the American psychosis.​Waters breaks down how his upbringing in the rural South, his father’s background as a Vietnam veteran and gunsmith, and his own experience with competitive speed shooting shaped the emotional and visual language of the film.​The conversation also dives into surrealism, David Lynch comparisons, cinematic rhythm, visual authenticity, and why Waters wanted the violence in the film to feel sincere rather than stylized.​They discuss Confederate reenactors, the film’s cable installer character, Renato Casaro’s hand-painted poster, and the role dark comedy plays in carrying dread without undercutting trauma.​Beyond Gunfighter Paradise, Waters talks about his upcoming documentary on Vietnam veterans and PTSD, his work as a colorist on Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy, his music video background, and the literary influences that feed his scripts.​He also reflects on teaching cinematography at UNCSA, the realities of independent filmmaking, his war against motion smoothing, and the creative life he has built outside the studio.JETHRO WATERSOfficial Websitehttps://www.jethrowaters.comGunfighter Paradise Official Film Sitehttps://www.gunfightermovie.comIMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm9135866/Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jethrowaters/BUY TICKETS TO GUNFIGHTER PARADISE IN THEATERSAMC Theatreshttps://www.amctheatres.com/movies/gunfighter-paradise-83099Fandangohttps://www.fandango.com/gunfighter-paradise-2024-244731/movie-overviewRequest a Screening Near You (Gathr)https://gathr.com/films/gunfighter-paradiseSTREAM OR BUY F11 AND BE THEREApple TVhttps://tv.apple.com/us/movie/f11-and-be-there/umc.cmc.3il2kfqnoe5d4zwc3urnk5tqmAmazon Prime Videohttps://www.amazon.com/F11-Be-There/dp/B08FBHCKQBOVIDhttps://www.ovid.tvKanopy (Free with library card)https://www.kanopy.comPBShttps://www.pbs.org/video/f11-and-be-there-7gjtfc/SUPPORT THE DARK MIND PODCASTPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 22 分
  • Tamika Thompson: No Ghosts Needed

    Tamika Thompson: No Ghosts Needed
    2026/03/17

    Tamika Thompson returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss her debut novel The Curse of Hester Gardens, a Black Gothic horror story rooted in grief, motherhood, faith, and survival.

    ​

    In this episode, we explore how haunted public housing transforms the classic haunted house framework into something inescapable, where economics, danger, and the supernatural are all bound together.

    ​

    Tamika talks about growing up working class in Detroit, the oral storytelling traditions in her family, and how fear became both a lived reality and a literary language for her work.

    ​

    We also dig into moral complexity, youth violence, religion, systemic neglect, and why the real monster in the story is often the conditions people are forced to survive.

    ​

    Along the way, Tamika reflects on her journalism background, her writing process, the role of research in shaping the novel, and what she hopes readers are left questioning after the final page.

    ​

    If you love horror that is psychologically sharp, socially grounded, and emotionally devastating, this is an episode you do not want to miss.


    CONNECT WITH TAMIKA THOMPSON


    Website:

    https://www.tamikathompson.com


    Newsletter/Blog (Tamika Talks Terror): https://www.tamikathompson.com/tamika-talks-terror


    Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tamikathompson


    Instagram: https://instagram.com/tamikadthompson


    TikTok:

    https://www.tiktok.com/@tamikadthompson


    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tamikathompson.bsky.social


    Threads: https://www.threads.net/@tamikadthompson


    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamikathompsonauthor


    X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamikathompson


    LinkedIn:

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamikathompson


    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tamikathompson


    BUY THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENS


    Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Hester-Gardens-Tamika-Thompson/dp/1645663191


    Barnes and Noble:

    https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-tamika-thompson/1147750299


    Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/shop/tamikathompson


    Penguin Random House:

    https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804756/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-by-tamika-thompson/


    Goodreads:

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237693607-the-curse-of-hester-gardens


    BUY UNSHOD, CACKLING, AND NAKED


    Universal Book Link: https://mybook.to/unshod


    Audible:

    https://www.audible.com/author/Tamika-Thompson/B07XFFMRNP


    BUY SALAMANDER JUSTICE


    Universal Book Link: https://mybook.to/salamander


    SUPPORT THE DARK MIND PODCAST


    Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 7 分
  • Jeremy Wagner: The Drug, The Detective, and The Meat Grinder

    Jeremy Wagner: The Drug, The Detective, and The Meat Grinder
    2026/03/10
    Death metal guitarist, horror novelist, and accidental publisher Jeremy Wagner joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his savage new novel Wretch.Set in Chicago during the hottest summer on record, Wretch follows three men on a collision course: a hard-boiled detective tracking a killer who should not exist, a mob boss running on grief and vengeance, and Derek Hoffman, a steroid-abusing sociopath whose body and mind have been rewritten by an experimental drug called LIBIDONAL.Wagner breaks down how a real person he knew in the 1990s planted the seed for Derek Hoffman.He talks about his own experience as a human guinea pig in a pharmaceutical research program and how it inspired the Big Pharma horror at the heart of the story.He explains why he spent months interviewing a retired Chicago police detective and doing ride-alongs to get the psychology of law enforcement exactly right.He discusses why even the most monstrous characters in the book needed layers, backstory, and something worth losing.He reveals the one scene in the book that he knew would be misread as pure shock value, and why it was never written that way.Wagner also talks about becoming an accidental publisher with Dead Sky Publishing, what horror fiction needs more of right now, and why Broken Hope lyrics were always micro horror stories long before the novels began.Wretch is available now wherever books are sold.LINKS:Websitehttps://jeremyxwagner.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jeremyxwagnerFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/JeremyWagnerOfficialX (Twitter)https://x.com/JeremyXWagnerGoodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3145526.Jeremy_WagnerIMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm7990420WRETCH - WHERE TO BUYDead Sky Publishinghttps://deadskypublishing.comAmazonhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/1639511326Barnes and Noblehttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wretch-jeremy-wagner/1143024616Bookshop.orghttps://bookshop.org/p/books/wretch-jeremy-wagner/de816042391431e5MUSIC - STREAM AND LISTENBroken Hope on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/7yFcBZceMVuvIoTnZXprFdBroken Hope on Apple Musichttps://music.apple.com/us/artist/broken-hope/74969262Earthburner on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/7fqhfpH3XM8547KokH7tZmDEAD SKY PUBLISHINGWebsitehttps://deadskypublishing.comX (Twitter)https://x.com/DeadSkyPubSubstackhttps://substack.com/@deadskypublishingBROKEN HOPEWebsitehttps://brokenhope.comEARTHBURNERWebsitehttps://earthburner.comSupport The Dark Mind Podcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 10 分
  • N.J. Gallegos: Anatomy of an Obsession

    N.J. Gallegos: Anatomy of an Obsession
    2026/03/03
    N.J. Gallegos returns to The Dark Mind Podcast.She is an Emergency Medicine physician, horror author, and co-host of the Scream Kings Horror Podcast.Her new novella, Eat Your Heart Out, is published by Black Hare Press and releases March 14, 2026.The book follows Jules, a first-year medical student with an exceptional mind for anatomy and a carefully controlled emotional life.That control shatters when she meets Maureen, a magnetic and confident woman who effortlessly draws desire.What begins as attraction quickly deepens into something darker and more consuming.Jules mistakes intensity for intimacy, chemistry for destiny, and fixation for love.As their relationship lurches between passion and distance, Jules begins to unravel.The boundaries between study and obsession blur.In this episode, Gallegos breaks down the psychology of obsession, the powder keg of medical school, the cultural narratives that make devotion dangerous, and what it means to write a toxic queer relationship without flinching.She also discusses how her years working in the emergency room shape the horror she puts on the page.Website): https://njgallegos.com/Author Store): https://www.njgallegos.com/productsX (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/DrSpooky_ERBluesky): https://bsky.app/profile/drspookyer.bsky.socialGoodreads): https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22352302.N_J_GallegosBuy Eat Your Heart OutApple Books): https://books.apple.com/us/book/eat-your-heart-out/id6757347465Kobo): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/eat-your-heart-out-22Black Hare Press): https://blackharepress.com/products/eat-your-heart-out-by-nj-gallegosBuy The Fatal MindAmazon): https://www.amazon.com/stores/N.J.-Gallegos/author/B0CGMS4BSJBarnes and Noble): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fatal-mind-n-j-gallegos/1146422660Audible): https://www.audible.com/author/NJ-Gallegos/B0CGMS4BSJBuy The Broken HeartBarnes and Noble): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-heart-n-j-gallegos/1143619606Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/stores/N.J.-Gallegos/author/B0CGMS4BSJScream Kings PodcastWebsite): https://www.screamkingspodcast.comApple Podcasts): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scream-kings/id1286579957Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/4xb6C1lAYeFSeZUP7ySnGSPublisherWinding Road Stories): https://windingroadstories.com/project/n-j-gallegos/Black Hare Press): https://blackharepress.com/products/eat-your-heart-out-by-nj-gallegosSupport The Dark Mind PodcastPatreon): https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 8 分
  • Geoffrey Kelly: The FBI's Hunt for 13 Perfect Fugitives

    Geoffrey Kelly: The FBI's Hunt for 13 Perfect Fugitives
    2026/02/24

    In 1990, two men disguised as Boston police officers stole 13 priceless works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in what became the largest art heist in history, valued at over $1 billion.

    FBI Special Agent Geoffrey Kelly spent 28 years as one of the founding members of the FBI Art Crime Team, and in 2002 inherited this cold case.

    Rather than working it as a standard property crime, Kelly treated the missing paintings as fugitives, enlisting the media and public to help track them down.

    In his new book, 13 Perfect Fugitives, Kelly pulls back the curtain on the full investigation, separating fact from decades of myth and misinformation surrounding the case.

    Kelly also served as the real-life inspiration for Jon Hamm's FBI agent character in the film The Town, and currently teaches at Harvard Extension School alongside the Gardner Museum's security director.

    The paintings remain missing to this day, but Kelly believes they will be found.

    WEBSITE

    Argus Cultural Property Consultantshttps://arguscpc.com

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    LinkedIn (Geoffrey Kelly)https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffrey-kelly-7a18202b8/

    LinkedIn (Argus CPC)https://www.linkedin.com/company/argus-cultural-property-consultants

    Facebook (Argus CPC)https://www.facebook.com/arguscpc

    Bluesky (Argus CPC)https://bsky.app/profile/arguscpc.bsky.social

    X/Twitter (Argus CPC)https://x.com/ArgusCPC

    BUY THE BOOK: THIRTEEN PERFECT FUGITIVES

    Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0FDGTZJH9

    Barnes and Noblehttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thirteen-perfect-fugitives-geoffrey-kelly/1147669547?ean=9798895653173

    Support The Dark Mind Podcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 11 分
  • Blaine Daigle: Fatigue, Fatherhood, and the Fear That Bleeds into Fiction

    Blaine Daigle: Fatigue, Fatherhood, and the Fear That Bleeds into Fiction
    2026/02/17

    In this episode, author Blaine Daigle returns to discuss his latest novel, Porcelain Lullaby.

    The book follows two estranged brothers, Jake and Nate Shepherd, whose childhood ended in violence when they woke to find their parents dead.

    Twenty years later, they receive a message from their long-dead mother calling them to Meadowland, an abandoned orphanage in rural Pennsylvania.

    We explore how the brothers hold two completely different memories of that traumatic night, and how those conflicting explanations drive the entire narrative.

    Blaine discusses his approach to gothic horror, the use of music boxes as harbingers of dread, and why small shadows lurking in periphery vision are more terrifying than big monsters.

    We dive into the concept of place as predator, examining how locations can absorb negative energy and develop hostile personalities.

    Blaine also reflects on why Porcelain Lullaby represents the distillation of themes he's explored across all five of his books, from childhood trauma to fractured family dynamics.

    He shares insights on his cover design process, the calcifying effect of collective town denial, and why unreliable memory makes for compelling psychological horror.

    This is a deep conversation about grief horror, the uncanny valley of porcelain dolls, and refusing to write the same story twice.


    Official Website:
    https://www.blainedaigle.com/

    Social Media:
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Blaine-Daigle-Author-100086562623387/
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blainedaigleauthor/
    X (Twitter): https://x.com/bdaigle_author
    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25085884.Blaine_Daigle

    Amazon:
    Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BTB8JHCX

    Barnes & Noble:
    The Broken Places (eBook): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-places-blaine-daigle/1147045506
    The Broken Places (Audiobook): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-places-blaine-daigle/1143258859

    Publisher (Wicked House):
    Porcelain Lullaby: https://wickedhouse.com/book/porcelain-lullaby/

    Audiobooks:
    Podium Audio: https://podiumentertainment.com/authors/1345/blaine-daigle

    Support The Dark Mind Podcast:
    https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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    1 時間 16 分