My guest today is Nina Nesseth, writer of Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films. This gem of a non-fiction book is a pop-science look at fear, how and why horror films get under our skin, and why we keep coming back for more. In my conversation with Nina, I focused on the practical applications of her findings. In other words, we explored the ways in which movie makers can weaponize human psychology.

SHOW NOTES
* You can find Nina here and here and here ;
* Nina’s book is Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films ;
* Val Lewton was the genius behind the Lewton Bus from Cat People (1942) ;
* Nina’s favorite director who too few people know about is Julia Ducournau.

Justin Mayfield always wanted to be a makeup artist. It has allowed him to work on a huge variety of projects which include fake blood, prosthetic genitals and decaying biker zombies. Justin used these mad skills to transform himself into BellaLu Ghostly, the spooky spinster of TikTok.

SHOW NOTES
* BellaLu Ghostly on TikTok
* Justin’s website
* The movie Justin worked on was L.A. Slasher
* Movies mentioned: Blood Quantum, Wolfcop, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie and Retardead
* For more horror drag, check out The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula

Victor LaValle started his career writing literary novels. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, literary novels are what English literature profs fawn over, the kind of works that win Nobel Prizes. They’re highbrow, serious stuff and writing them was making Victor miserable. His switch to writing horror novels full of monsters is what made him fall in love with writing again. And the world is a better place for it.

SHOW NOTES
* Victor’s website is here.

Literary agents like Alec Shane are to writers what parents are to infants (though without so much love and tenderness). They understand the world of publishing way better than writers and their job is to guide writers through said world. With their help, that 90,000 word manuscript you the writer slaved over for years can become something people can sit down with and read. And if you’re a horror writer, it’s scary how an agent like Alec can change your life.

SHOW NOTES
* Alec’s Manuscript Wishlist page is here;
* Click on the following links to find the books of the horror writers Alec represents: Adam Cesare, Nat Cassidy, Justin Joschko, Hank Early and F. Paul Wilson.

Anyone can make a narrative podcast. Unlike with a television series, the barrier to entry is very low. But that doesn’t mean making one as compelling as Video Palace is a walk in the park. Creators Mike Monello, Nick Braccia, Ben Rock and Bob DeRosa teamed up to make what is one of the best narrative horror podcast out there. If you’ve ever thought about making your own narrative podcast, listen up.

SHOW NOTES
* Examples of Video Palace episode scripts are available here;
* The Video Palace world was continued in the book Video Palace: In Search of the Eyeless Man;
* Catchers is the new podcast created by Ben and Bob;
* Ben mentions this page on Dee Bradley Baker’s website for all things podcasting gear;
* Great narrative podcasts mentioned during the conversation: The Bright Sessions, Parkdale Haunt, Malevolent, In The Dark, StartUp and Crimetown.

Ethan Hawke was the one who suggested Chris Norr when he and Scott Derrickson were preparing to shoot Sinister. Chris is no one-trick pony cinematographer. In his long career, he’s shot everything from horror to Disney princess movies. He’s worked on feature films, short films and television series. He is, in other words, a master of the lens and the lights.

SHOW NOTES
* IMDb link : Chris Norr.
* Chris’ inspirations for the dark look of Sinister: Carvaggio, an Italian painter active in Rome around the year 1600; Alan Pakula’s Klute shot by Gordon Willis, aka the Prince of Darkness; and David Fincher’s Se7en. 
* The project Chris is currently working on for Apple TV is an adaptation of The Changeling by Victor LaValle who we also interviewed in a separate episode of the show. Recently, Chris also worked on Hello Tomorrow!, also for Apple TV, and Jules, a film with Ben Kingsley which should be available shortly.
* Though Chris mentions Leica and Cooke, brands aren’t Chris’ first thought when choosing a lens. Rather, he likes prime lenses in the 25 to 32 mm range. This allows him to be closer to his subject and still see the background.

Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker were given free reign when they were hired as the composers for Showtime’s Yellowjackets. This was darker than anything they’d done together before. Anna, not being a horror fan, often worked with her eyes closed. Despite this, the result of their collaboration shoots every episode into the stratosphere. It is no exaggeration to say that Yellowjackets would not be as scary or thrilling without the work of Craig and Anna.

SHOW NOTES
* IMDb links : Craig Wedren and Anna Waronker.
* Theodore Shapiro was the composer who worked on the soundtrack for Yellowjackets’ pilot episode.
* Besides Anna and Craig’s voices, you can also hear vocals from Caroline Shaw on the soundtrack.
* Craig’s musical inspirations for the soundtrack: the Dreams Less Sweet album by Psychic TV and the self-titled album Fever Ray.
* Anna mentions the Cocteau Twins as one of her musical inspirations for the soundtrack.
* The instrument Craig plays is an unman manda, created by Jherek Bischoff, a fellow musician and composer.