Podcasts
John Darnielle on Devil House, True Crime, and Stephen King [The Losers’ Club Podcast]
As the driving force behind The Mountain Goats, John Darnielle has long been lauded for his rich, dense lyricism, where emotional landmines lay in wait beside deep references to classic literature, forgotten history, and pop cultural ephemera.
The prolific songwriter published his debut novel, Wolf In White Van, in 2014, and that knotty and genre-steeped character study went on to score a National Book Award nomination. Darnielle followed Wolf… with Universal Harvester in 2017 and then Devil House this past January. The latter, Darnielle’s most ambitious work yet, follows a successful true crime chronicler who moves into the abandoned porno store where a pair of grisly murders occurred several years back.
Today, Losers Randall Colburn and Mel Kassel sit down with Darnielle to discuss Devil House, the ethics in true crime writing, modern horror, and, of course, Stephen King. It’s the first installment of a new series for The Losers’ Club in which they interview modern genre authors about their latest works. Needless to say, they couldn’t have asked for a better inaugural subject as Darnielle’s enthusiasm and curiosity are infectious.
Stream the full discussion below and stay tuned next week when the Losers shack up at the Hole-in-the-Wall to discuss King’s 2001 science fiction horror novel Dreamcatcher. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS.
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Coming Soon & Now Showing is a monthly series on Halloweenies that catches up on the latest horror headlines and round robins capsule reviews of new and old horrors.
This month, Michael Roffman and Justin Gerber discuss the blockbuster weekend involving Backrooms and Obsession. They also brush on some franchise news and dust off oldies for the first time: 1987’s Dead of Winter and 1977’s False Face.
Stream the episode below. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and the Universal Monsters.This year? Hellraiser!
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Re-Animator, Darkman), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Manhunter, ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.