Hauntings II with Kristen O’Neal

“I don't think that just because something is scary, that makes it horror.”

Welcome to a very special horror-forward Creative Chat with the amazing Kristen O'Neal: author of Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, and the co-creator of the Thin Places Radio Podcast (TPR).

After an amazing chat with Kristen and her TPR collaborator Kaitlin Bruder back in Season One, I wanted to invite her back on the podcast to talk more about why she finds comfort in horror, her thoughts on the emerging (and nebulous) genre of "cozy horror,” and what's haunting her right now, horror-wise — in fact, the second half of this chat is a veritable what's-what of horror film recommendations. Here’s a teaser:

Kristen is an unmitigated delight; I'm so glad to share our conversation with all of you. Read along with the episode: transcript is here. (CW: Mentions of body horror; medical talk; horror films and imagery with moderate detail.)

Enjoy!

xx, aa

[ Teaser video transcript; dialogue playing over music bed ]

kristen o’neal: I mean, it's kind of fun to hit the ground running, when something is wrong the whole time, but it's also really fun to be like: here's what we're losing; like, here is the foundation that we're gonna build before everything goes wrong.

allison arth: Now on the Little Oracles podcast, a very Haunted Creative Chat with writer and the co-creator of the Thin Places Radio podcast, Kristen O’Neal.

aa: When did you get into horror, and why did it draw you in?

ko: Yeah; I always loved really spooky things; I love ghost stories; I love monsters. But I don't think that just because something is scary, that makes it horror. There's a lot with the structure of how it progresses, especially. And how things, like, ratchet up along the course of the narrative.

aa: This thing that you’re saying about the Babadook being this metaphor for grief: I'm wondering if that is kind of where that interest in horror lies for you.

ko: The thing about horror that I really enjoy is that there’s so many different offshoots and categories for it; and, like, so many of those different layers. I think something that's actually very powerful about genre fiction: there's so much space to put in just really clear metaphors. There's something very primal about horror that lends it also to that metaphorical strength.

aa: During our first chat, you said, “There’s something so comforting about horror.”

ko: I think the stuff that I find comforting about it is the inclusion of, you know, this slight body horror; this kind of frightening, like, archetype. I think the comfort is inherent in those things. These horror movie endings, or these horror movie punishments, there is, kind of, sometimes more than one way to look at it. That’s the real, like, root reason why I think horror is comforting: because it's– it's not lying to you.

aa: Find Little Oracles wherever you get podcasts.