Horror Shots Podcast

We've all been susceptible to the power of suggestion or given into our beliefs at one point in time, however sometimes people take it a little too far. Knocking on a stranger's door to hand out pamphlets is one thing, but luring your friend into the woods to stab them 19 times is on a complete other level. But that's exactly what happened in May of 2014 in a small county in Wisconsin.What happened on that fateful May day is shrouded in mystery and intrigue not just because two 12 year old girls stabbed their best friend and left her for dead, but because it all boiled down to an internet phenomenon called Slender Man, and the obsession that Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser had with the fictitious creature. Depending on what circles of the internet you follow, you may or may not know who Slender Man is, but the long and short of it is he's a creation that was borne from a photoshopping contest. From there, his lore expanded and spread like wildfire.The near urban legend stature of the Slender Man spawned many,

It’s not every week that I take a look at the more common myths and cultures around the world - I feel at times there’s not much I can add to those topics. However, while looking for this week’s topic I came across a familiar, yet distant topic, Jormungand, or the world serpent. While I couldn’t find a great deal of information on the world serpent itself, it did lead me down the rabbit hole of Norse mythology, specifically the relationship between Jormungand and Thor, the Nine Worlds, and the World Tree.The inherent relationship between all of these different aspects is something that’s truly fascinating. The world tree, Yggdrasil is such an important concept, yet very little is actually known about its significance in the grand scheme of things. We know it has a relationship to Midgard (the visible world), Asgard (home of the gods), and Jotunheim (home of the giants), but how the other six worlds sit in relation is unknown. There have been theories, poems, and stories told about all of these, but there wasn

For anybody who fancies themselves a gamer, the term The Wild Hunt might ring familiar from The Witcher franchise. Anybody who studies folklore, history, or mythology, it might have historical connotations associated with it. And for those of you who have no interest in either, you might not be familiar with the term at all. Nevertheless, The Wild Hunt is a phenomenon of sorts that was popularized throughout much of Europe, with one of the first mentions of it taking place in 1127, however the event dates back even further, going into the days of Odin.The Wild Hunt, like many other semi-religious events, has evolved over the years depending on what religion was in power. It was once considered a pegan tradition, but eventually morphed into one with more Christian motifs to it. Regardless of the localization or region, the Wild Hunt always had a distinct leader; for some it was the Fairy King, others it was a devil. Generally, the Wild hunt was associated with the dead, an army, and the changing of the seasons

Once again I revisit a case from the past, and something that I’ve had an intense interest in since my youngest years - faeries. Yes, those whimsical little flying folk that live in trees and in knolls. I think most people think of Tinkerbell when they think of faeries, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, faeries and their lore go back hundreds upon hundreds of years. This week’s episode explores one man who has such a connection with the faerie folk that he’s considered the leading expert on the topic. His name is Reverend Robert Kirk, and if you believe the tales, and his journals, not only did he write on the topic of faeries and document their tales and existence, but he spent time with them, lived with them, and perhaps even punished by them.It wasn’t until after his death that Kirk became known for his journals and stories, and it’s even believed that maybe he didn’t die at all. He had such a fondness for the seelie realm that he perhaps chose to stay there, leaving his mortal body behind.

For far too long I’ve been neglecting Canadian folklore, dark history, and stories. I’ve started to remedy that in the last few weeks, and I’m continuing on with it this week with the Wendigo story of Swift Runner. Back in the late 1800’s, an indigenous trapper called Swift Runner committed a horrible, terrible… vile act. He murdered, and presumably ate his entire family. It’s shocking, obviously, but why did he do such a terrible thing, and is there more to his tale than meets the eye? He believed himself to be, as well as believed by others, to have been taken over by a Wendigo. I’ve done a number of podcasts on that topic, but the long and short of it is that the Wendigo is a shapeshifting, evil spirit that takes over, or takes the form of a human and forced cannibalism. That’s the real Cole’s Notes version. It’s much more complicated and in depth than that. But, you’ll have to listen to the other episodes on it to find out more. Beyond being a potential victim of the Wendigo, Swift Runner may ha

My fascination with UFO’s continues today with a look at one of, if not the best documented case of UFO activity to have ever happened. No, I’m not talk about Roswell, or Area 51 for the cases surrounding those mysterious sites aren’t actually identified as UFO or alien activity by the US government, but the one I have for you today is. Falcon lake is a geographical area located near Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is in the mid-western part of Canada (best way to describe it). It’s a place that’s been known to have some extreme weather, but also beautiful scenery - and it also happens to be the place where one Stan Michalak encountered not one, but two unidentified flying objects. Stan was an amateur geologist, and he was out surveying the area around Falcon Lake one spring evening when he spotted two cigar shaped objects in the skies above, when suddenly one went down. Being a former military man, Stan felt it was his duty to investigate the object, and when he did, he was completely shocked. What laid befor

So, I’m just going to get this out there: I’ve been on a bit of UFO kick as of late. I admit it, and I have no idea why. Maybe I was visited recently and my memory was wiped, but on a subconscious level something was imprinted. Who knows. Nevertheless, I have another UFO story for you, and although it’s not as big or well known as the Phoenix lights, or as insane as the Heaven’s Gate cult, it’s a very important one for a couple of reasons. What incident is this, you may be asking? Well, I’m talking about something that happened in 1967 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada - specifically a place called Shag Harbour. Now, before I go into the details, I just want to send my well wishes to the victims of the recent Nova Scotia mass shooting. It was a despicable act, and I recorded this episode prior to that heinous crime. But I don’t want to linger on that too long, you’re here for something dark, not something terrible.In October of 1967, a pilot and his co-pilot noticed something strange outside their Air Cana

Boy, were the 70’s a strange time. We had free love, hippies, drugs… none of which I was around for. But with that new mentality, the new views on freedom came some pretty unique, and even bizarre views on a variety of things. One person with extremely different views was a man called Marshall Applewhite, and his partner, Bonnie Nettles. The pair believed they were chosen prophets from an alien race who were destined to lead a select chosen few to ascend to evolve to the next rung of evolution. Pretty wacky stuff, right? Well, that was just the start.Nettles and Applewhite took their ideas to a panel, printed fliers and brochures, and eventually amassed a small following of 35 plus people in the end. Their preaching and ideals became known as Heaven’s Gate, and among their beliefs was that Mary (as in the virgin Mary) was impregnated by aliens, and that Applewhite himself was possessed by the very same spirit that inhabited Jesus. Oh, and he would save his followers from Lucifer. Like I said, wacky stuff.In t

Dracula: A name that has struck fear into the hearts of the populous ever since the publication of the novel in 1897. But what was the basis for the character? Many cite the formidable Vlad Tepes, or Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler… Essentially a guy called Vlad who was the prince of Wallachia in the 1400’s. However, the truth might not be that black and white, and maybe many of us have been wrong in the assumption that Vlad was the inspiration.As it turns out, Bram Stoker never set foot in Romania, where Wallachia happened to lie, and never saw the infamous castle in person - rather it was a drawing that sparked the imagination of Stoker. Granted, it was a drawing of a Romanian castle. Nevertheless, Vlad the Impaler himself didn’t directly inspire Dracula, and the name, Vlad Dracul was actually Vlad II, The Impaler’s father.I’m giving away far too much here. The relationship between the real life Vlad, who had a very interesting life, and Dracula is quite thin, but that doesn’t mean the creation of the charact

In March of 1997, the residents of Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding areas were treated to a sight never really before seen by human eyes. In an unprecedented episode, I look at maybe the most marvelous and spectacular UFO sighting in the history of the world. This is, of course, the Phoenix Lights. Sure, there might be more famous or popular incidents featuring UFO’s, such as Roswell, but not many can boast the same degree of evidence and eyewitnesses.It was getting into the evening of March 13th when not one, but two incidents occurred, with multiple people witnessing at least one encounter. These encounters? Well, they’re described as a massive V shaped formation of lights just hovering over the skies of the Phoenix, Arizona area. It’s a phenomenon that wasn’t just witnessed by countless people, but was also captured on video and film by multiple sources as well, and these witnesses weren’t drugged up alley-rats - they were respected members of society, such as police and the State Governor at the time

First off, I have to apologize for missing last week. Sadly, I just couldn’t find the time, despite being stuck at home - like many of you are. Some things came up, and I just didn’t have the privacy I would have liked. Nevertheless, I’m back this week with a brand new History of Demons episode - something I might just be expanding in the coming weeks. And this week I thought I would dedicate to the granddaddy of them all (almost literally), Belial.Belial is such an interesting character to look at. Described as the King of Evil, and one who panders to the wicked, including perverts, atheists, and more or less anybody with a disturbed soul, Belial might just be older than the Devil himself. He’s one of the first, and one of the few that God himself has disavowed. He might also be responsible for the term later describing Satan, the Prince of Darkness. He’s a real nasty and evil demon, who was featured throughout history in a number of texts, notably the Dead Seas Scrolls. His presence isn’t just isolated

This week’s episode toes the line between true crime and the supernatural. It’s a weird one, and it comes to us as a request from Talia on Facebook, and I’m so glad she brought it to my attention. All throughout the world there have been some pretty weird and unsolved crimes, but what happened in 1966 Brazil has to be near the top. Two men, Miguel and Manoel claimed to have business outside of their town in Rio de Janeiro, made one quick stop for some water, then were found dead three days later. Not too odd is it? Well, what if I told you they were found wearing suits, raincoats, towels, a note with instructions… and wearing masks? Oh, and they were lying supine, as if they were sleeping. Double oh, they were told to take two capsules containing unknown substances. Yeah, flashes of Jonestown, right?Is that strange enough yet? I hope so, because this episode is all about what happened to them as we follow their last known hours, and what the theories are surrounding their death. Of course, the investigat

Sadly this week was a rough one for me on a personal note. Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, I was officially laid off from my job for the foreseeable future, and so it was stressful, and I could really dedicate all the time I wanted to for this week’s episode. Nevertheless, the lay-off does mean that I’ll have plenty of time in the coming weeks to give you some high quality stuff. And with that out of the way, this week’s episode comes to us in the form of the History of Demons series, which was (and still is) a Patreon only series. However, this felt like a good week to bring it back to the mainstream.I take a look at Michelle Belanger’s incredible encyclopedia, The Dictionary of Demons, and I figure the best place to start would be the letter A. Now, I had covered some of the demons in that section of the book in the past, so I skipped those ones and went onto some lesser known ones. There are a plethora of demons out there, and not all are well known or documented, so I thought it’d be fun to showcase some

At least once in everybody’s life they’ve heard of it. Maybe you’ve even been afraid of it. The thing that lurks in the shadows, the monster in the closet or under the bed; of course I’m talking about the bogeyman. It seems that tales of child-snatching monsters is a tale as old as time, and for as long as humans can recall, we’ve had the bogeyman. The first instance of that particular name being recorded even dates back to the 1500’s. The bogeyman is a fascinating topic as it’s one of those stories and legends that spans centuries and cultures, though very few describe the same thing, which is something I’ve talked about in the past. It’s a curious thing, different cultures worlds away, over massive periods of time have tales for the same things. It’s incredibly interesting, and the bogeyman is no exception. Ultimately, the bogeyman is a classic example of exploring morals. Naughty children beware, for the evil that wanders the dark of night will snatch up up lest you behave. Of course the bogeyman

Sadly, today brings us to the end of this amazing journey through various women in honor of Women in Horror Month, and today is an incredibly special one. You know her as the outgoing and charismatic Dawn from Terrifier or Lauren from Return to Nuke ‘em High, this is Catherine Corcoran. For all her talent and success, she is incredibly humble and down to Earth, but she also knows the responsibility that comes with that success. She’s an avid supporter and champion for equal rights and pay in Hollywood and independent films (and the working world in general). She makes sure to get the word out about that noble cause whenever she can.During our interview, we talked about a huge range of topics from her experiences on different sets (I was SO curious what a Troma set was like), to what it was like to see herself bifurcated on screen, and everything in between. As expected, Catherine is a wonderful storyteller, and she told some seriously entertaining tales. Lastly, Catherine was kind enough to share some importa

In our penultimate interview for Women in Horror Month, I bring you yet another multi-talented individual by the name of Ember Burns. Now, Ember has accomplished a lot in her young career, acting in 36 different titles! 36! She’s also directed four projects of her own. She’s got a lot of range, and her talent is undeniable, and it shows in all of her work. In front of the camera, she’s known for her horror roles, and has a ton of great stuff coming up as well; the next few years are going to be quite busy for this budding star.Behind the camera though, Ember has shot a couple of PSAs, as well as a couple of shorts. Her upcoming film The Motel looks to be a festival favorite, as she’s poured her heart and soul into it. The film is going to be a horror classic, filled with violence, scares, and maybe even a twist or two - something she couldn’t really go into, understandably. Beyond that, we talk about a whole slew of topics, from her career and inspirations, to crowdfunding and the obstacles involved in making

*DICLAIMER* There were some technical difficulties with the audio in this episode. I do apologize for the quality of the recording. *DISCLAIMER*Brittany Blanton is one of those people who always seems to have something on the go. She has the poise and presence of an industry veteran, but hasn’t been involved in film for as long as she gives off, which is, to me, very impressive. Brittany really embodies what Women in Horror Month is all about in terms of work ethic, passion, and seizing the opportunity when it comes. In Just five short years, Brittany has appeared in, or will appear in 24 different projects, with many of them filming later this year. If that doesn’t scream work ethic, I don’t know what does.With just a few more interviews left in this series, I believe Brittany was one of the first - and even now our chat stays with me. She leaves an impression with people, and that is so important in the film industry. With that said though, I’m excited to see what her future brings. An upcoming film called

In the world of podcasting, there is no shortage of fantastic things to listen to, and the Ghoulish Cast falls among that grouping. Danielle is one half of said podcast, and along with her co-host interviews any number of guests in an engaging and informative way. They’re guest range from stars to up-and-comers in the horror genre, and every episode is a pleasure to listen to. Danielle has a bit of a history in the podcasting world, and like most of us, has gone through a few changes before landing on a format and style that works for her, and thankfully she had!Danielle’s presence and enthusiasm really shows in her work and passion for horror. She was great to talk to, and has a lot of insight into the podverse, as well as a lot of great stories from both her time on the Ghoulish Cast, and life in general. I’ve talked to a lot of incredible women in my series, and it was really fun to chat to somebody in my line of medium - the podcast. Sharing tales and talking about the industry was really interesting for

What happens behind the scenes of films? Well, there’s a lot, and we’ve looked into some of what people do during our interview series, but there’s one woman who really embodies that behind-the-scenes essence. That woman is Helen Lyons-Curran, and she is a director, producer, and writer, and one of her latest projects, Ends Meat is going to have big things coming its way. Beyond that, she is the director of the Starburst International Film Fest.Helen really exemplifies what it means to make sure things run smoothly, and to overcome any obstacles that come her way. Thankfully, as you’ll hear in our chat, she’s had a lot of things run without a hitch, which just goes to show her talent. People want to work with her, and when the rest of the cast and crew are happy, things tend to go pretty well. She also touches on her other projects, such as Choke and her experiences working with different talents, equipment, and on different genres outside of horror.This is what Women in Horror Month is really all about. The

So, during our time with Women in Horror Month, I’ve talked to a great assortment of people, that has been established, but today is a truly different one. Sarah is one of the founders of Geeks Who Eat, a brand dedicated to making recipes based off of films of all genres, and as somebody who is terrible at cooking (even if Sarah doesn’t believe people can’t cook), I found her work to be fascinating and completely unique to the industry.In the time that Geeks Who Eat has been around, Sarah and her husband have worked a great deal of events, and they have even worked for massive production companies in one way or another. She shares her recipes with the world, and they are all completely original as well. From fantasy to horror, there’s something for everybody on her site. However, horror is where her heart is. She has such a passion for food, movies, and especially horror, that it brought her and her husband together in a very touching way.Geeks Who Eat is an incredibly popular website and brand, they have a c