Scaredy Cat and Horror Hound

Content warnings: emetophobia, discussions of violence done to children, discussions of violence done to kids with special needs,

Happy spooky month, listeners! Just like we did for Pride Month(s), Carson and Laney are doing a two-part episode series covering movies that celebrate and embody the best holiday of the year: Halloween! For a more lighthearted start to this series, we review Trick R Treat, the 2009 campy graphic novel-esque anthology film that introduced one of Halloween’s iconic characters, Sam the Spirit of Halloween. Learn about the traditions and unique experiences that Carson and Laney have had on...

content warnings: trypanophobia, emetaphobia, body dysmorphia, discussions of disordered eating and grotesque food, graphic descriptions of gore and body horror.

Ready for a gross one? Join Laney and Carson (aka MonstroCarsoLaney) in their first explicitly body horror film discussion for the critically acclaimed and beautifully grotesque 2024’s The Substance! Topics include: why all that good so disgusting; needles and teeth and fingernails, oh my!; self perpetuating cycles of harm all for the benefit of the male gaze; storytelling and visual narratives through setting and color; women can be old and beautiful! Order now for a free carton of...

Content warnings: explicit discussions of sex and sexuality, monsterf*cking, mentions of emetaphobia content, brief mentions of necrophiliaIt’s finally time for bouncing on it crrrrazy stylllle!

From the recent prolific memes, online discourse, and even award show notoriety, most of us have some preconceived notions about the 2024 Nosferatu remake by Robert Eggers of the 1922 silent film. Does the film live up to the hype it’s been given? Does over-hyping a movie lead to disappointed audiences? Should there have been more or less horniness? Join Carson and Laney as they debate the various themes and motifs of E...

There is still time…for celebrating and honoring Pride 2025! In Part 2 of our Pride episodes, Carson and Laney take a step back from the usual goofs and gags for a more serious in depth look at gender dysphoria and the reality of growing up trans in the incredibly moving I Saw the TV Glow. Join your hosts as they get vulnerable about growing up in and out of various closets, the internal struggles queer and trans folks face as they come into who they are, and the ways in which we protect ourselves even at the cost of our ow...

Content warning: homophobia, mild discussions of sexual assault, emetophobia

Happy Pride, Scaredy Cats and Horror Hounds! In Part 1 of our two part Pride 2025 episodes, Carson and Laney take a trip down memory lane to their own high school years (cringe) while discussing the queer cult classic Jennifer’s Body. Themes include: comphet, being in love with your best friend, experiencing high school as a queer girl in and out of the closet, and, of course, vampirism and monstrosity as metaphors for queer love and sexuality. Is sandbox love really forever? Do we all owe major apologies to Me...

Content warning: deep dive into toxic masculinity and incel mindsets, discussions of AIDS crisis, gendered violence

Need to return some videotapes? Well switch on your Walkman and tune into the latest episode of Scaredy Cat and Horror Hound on your way! We're back from the hazy post-graduation hiatus and ready to share our tastefully thick business cards with you.

In this extra special extra long episode, Carson and Laney welcome their first guest, Carson’s partner and friend of the pod Maddie, to peel back the person-suit exterior of one Patrick Bateman and see what’s un...

We accept her, we accept her! In this episode, Laney brings the cult classic Freaks to chat about with Carson. Topics include marginalized bodies, disability in horror, and a little bit of the history of film and censorship. Trapeze through this movie about able bodies taking advantage of disabilities, the difference between exploitation and opportunity, and representation in film over the span of nearly a century.

Gooble gobble, gooble gobble!

Mentions: Alok Vaid-Menon, Cherry 2000, the bargain bin of Blockbuster, and lost media

Content warning: discussions of child sexual abuse, violence towards minors, alcoholism, child neglect

One, two, don’t let your nightmares come true! Returning to classic 80’s slashers, Laney and Carson discuss the infamous Freddy Krueger and the introduction of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. While going back to Wes Craven and his Scream rules, we critique the classic teen slasher genre and its focus on the horrors of teen sexuality, and question how slight variations in narrative change the way an audience reacts to a villain. Carson brings insights from his favorite queer horror essay anthology (It C...

Content warning: brief discussions of child abuse and sexual violence

Now you know what we are, now you know what YOU are! Laney and Carson travel to the Murder Capital of the World for this episode on Lost Boys! In this episode, we discuss queer vampires, the Satanic Panic, and a pure Freudian slip about one of Laney’s favorite K-pop groups. We dissect film through the queer lens, theory of disidentification (José Esteban Muñoz 1999), and the many versions of vampire metaphors used in media. Join us, drink some of this, be one of us!

Content warning: religious trauma, abuse

Carson and Laney go back to the 1600’s for this episode about The VVitch.

Robert Eggers takes us on a whirlwind of religious zealotry, scary jackrabbits and goats, and the kind of witchcraft that makes you go “eugh.” We chat about Robert Eggers like we know him personally and how that relates to auteur theory. Join us as we sign our names in the big spooky book and discuss the VVitch.

Content warning: there are discussion of bullying, menstruation, religious trauma, and sexual assault in this episode. Discussion of sexual assault starts at 1:03:43 and ends at 1:06:20. Listen with care.

They’re all going to laugh at you! Laney and Carson are going back to high school to talk about Carrie. An adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel turned into a classic horror movie, Brian De Palma sure did a great job of showing us what grown men think it feels like being a bullied high school girl. As we get ready for prom, we discuss things like the...

What’s your favorite scary movie? This week, Carson and Laney talk about Scream, the 1996 classic slasher film with the spooky masked murderer Ghostface terrorizing the quaint little town of Woodsboro, California. Topics of discussion include the horror of being a wealthy white American teen in the 90s, queercoding of villains trying to destroy the nuclear family ideal, and why sex is a killer in teen horror movies. It’s the millennium! Motives are incidental! Also, RIP Stu Macher, you would have loved he/they pronouns.

In this pilot of Scaredy Cat and Horror Hound, Laney and Carson introduce themselves and why we’re talk about about horror films in the first place. We touch on the first horror movies we ever watched, what we think makes horror good or bad, and why Carson has to hold Laney’s hand through the process of talking about scary movies. We hope you enjoy the journey as much as we do!