This Is Horror

TOD 104 Once We Were Monster Kids Panel at HP Lovecraft Film Festival 2021

This podcast presents the panel We Once Were Monster Kids from the HP Lovecraft Film Festival 2021, moderated by Anya Martin and featuring Gwendolyn Kiste, Craig Laurance Gidney, Ian McDowell, and Eden Royce. This episode was recorded on October 10, 2021.

Show Notes

In this podcast taped during the virtual segment of the HP Lovecraft Film Festival 2021, Anya Martin moderates the panel “We Once Were Monster Kids: Experiencing and Writing About Weird Childhoods,” featuring Gwendolyn Kiste, Craig Laurance Gidney, Ian McDowell, and the debut The Outer Dark appearance of Eden Royce, who received a 2020 Shirley Jackson Award nomination for her story ‘Room and Board Included, Demonology Extra’ (Cooties Shot Required: There are Things You Must Know anthology, Broken Eye Books). Some of the best Weird and horror fiction features child protagonists. Do children have not just a sense of wonder but also a greater comfort with The Weird? How did the panelists’ own childhood experiences and pop culture favorites lay a foundation for their own horror and Weird fiction? Panelists will also share their favorite Weird and horror tales and media featuring kids, both classic and contemporary. After you listen, be sure to check the show notes for links to all the books and media recommended by the panelists, and also a bonus additional list recommended by you, members of The Outer Dark community, via social media. This episode was recorded on Sunday October 10, 2021.

If you’re looking to treat yourself with Something Weird, visit our STORE at theouterdark.org to purchase T-shirts, tote bags, mugs, and coasters with The Outer Dark logo designed by Nick Gucker. All proceeds fund the podcast and future The Outer Dark Symposia. When will the next The Outer Dark Symposium happen? Our answer is always when it’s safe. Watch out for a survey and more announcements soon.

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Additional Links

Aurora Monster Model Kits

Tales to Tremble By (Ed. Stephen P.  Sutton, Western Publishing Co., 1966)

More Tales to Tremble By (Ed. Stephen P. Sutton, Western Publishing Co., 1968)

Hammer Films

Goosebumps book series by R.L. Stine

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (1973, trailer)

Trilogy of Terror (1975, trailer)

Count Gore de Vol (Washington Post article)

CountGore.com

The She-Creature (1956, trailer)

Gigantis, The Fire Monster, aka Godzilla Raids Again (1955, trailer)

Dark Shadows (TV soap opera)

House of Wax (1953, trailer)

Friday Night Frights with Dead Ernest (Turner Broadcasting, Channel 17, Atlanta, 1970s)

‘What They Cut from King Kong’ (Gurney Journey)

The Witch Family by Eleanor Estes

READ: ‘Sredni Vashtar’ by Saki

READ: ‘The Thing in the Cellar’ by David Keller (Weird Fiction Review)

‘The Shed’ by E. Everett Evans (Stories from The Borderland)

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeline L’Engle

It by Stephen King (novel, Wiki)

The Dark is Rising Sequence series by Susan Cooper

READ: ‘The Red Lodge’ by H.R. Wakefield (Scary for Kids)

LISTEN: ‘It!’ by Theodore Sturgeon

The Omen (1976, trailer)

The Bad Seed (1956, trailer)

‘The smart sophisticated pulp fiction of Jane Rice’ (Ian McDowell, Yes Weekly, 2017)

READ: ‘The Idol of the Flies’ by Jane Rice (Unknown , 1942)

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

Village of the Damned (1960, trailer)

The Other (1972, trailer)

‘Brenda’ by Margaret St. Clair

The Exorcist (1973, trailer)

‘Craig Laurance Gidney on Loving a Haunted City’ (Tor Nightfire)

Gorgo (1961, trailer)

War of the Gargantuas (1966, trailer)

READ: The Ghastlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey

WATCH: In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (read aloud with animation)

Revival by Stephen King (first part)

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

More Fiction and Films Recommended by The Outer Dark Community:

Monster Squad (1987, trailer)

Invaders From Mars (1953, trailer)

‘The Father Thing’ by Philip K. Dick (ISFDB)

‘Thus I Refute Beelzy’ by John Collier

Nuts by Gahan Wilson

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Jester

Paperhouse (1987, trailer)

‘Omphalos’ by Livia Llewellyn

‘Notebook Found in a Deserted House’ by Robert Bloch

The Ghost Belonged to Me by Richard Peck

The Missing Persons League By Frank Bonham

Shadowland by Peter Straub

The Ghostly Trio by Nancy Woollcott Smith

Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindquist

The Bone Weaver’s Orchard by Sarah Read

Show Credits

Hosts/Producers: Scott Nicolay and Anya Martin

Co-Host, News from The Weird: Justin Steele

Co-Host, Reviews from The Weird: Gordon B. White

Symposium Assistant Director: Melanie Crew

Symposium Programming Coordinator: Jess Lewis

Symposium Logistics: Melissa Eisner

Logo Design: Nick “The Hat” Gucker

Music: Michael Griffin