Scotty talks to author Gwendolyn Kiste about her recent short stories "The Hungry Wives of Bleak Street" and "Hear, Hearth, Heartbeat," as well as her upcoming novel "The Haunting of Velkwood" (coming March 5 from Saga Press). They talk about the role of hope in the modern horror story, how the Gothic manifests in the American Rust Belt, and more. They also discuss Peter Weir's classic Australian New Wave film, "Picnic at Hanging Rock" – how it works as a horror movie, and how it has influenced Gwendolyn's own work.

WARNING: There are some spoilers for "The Haunting of Velkwood." They occur between minute 40:05 and minute 47:50.

You can find Gwendolyn online at https://www.gwendolynkiste.com

Listen to Scotty's original interview with Gwendolyn on "The Weirdest Thing" podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weirdest-thing/id1534847356?i=1000576573882

Pre-order "The Haunting of Velkwood" at https://shop.riverstonebookstore.com/book/9781982172374

To read "The Hungry Wives of Bleak Street," buy the "American Cannibal" anthology, edited by friend-of-the-pod Rebecca Rowland, here: https://rowlandbooks.com/american-cannibal

To read "Hear, Hearth, Heartbeat," buy "The Cellar Door Issue #2: Forbidden Magic," edited by Aric Sundquist (and, y'know, also featuring a story by Scotty, just in case y'all are interested): https://www.darkpeninsulapress.com/forbidden-magic.html

Check out the next episode of friend-of-the-pod Daniel Braum's YouTube show "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and dicussions with a diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's YouTube channel. The next episode will be on February 27, and features author Dan Franklin.

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