Healthy Fears

AFFLICTED, a Horror Audio Drama from the minds behind the NIGHTLIGHT Podcast, is coming in October of 2022. Described as Lovecraft Country meets True Blood this seasonal anthology podcast needs our support. I've chipped in, and you can too through the following link: bit.ly/supportafflicted Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Taking a brief hiatus to prioritize some writing work that pays the bills. Planning to return for the remaining 5 episodes of the season in early July. In late July, I'll be at the Midsummer Scream Halloween & Horror Convention in Long Beach, California, alongside Sapphire Sandalo of Stories With Sapphire, Andrew Tate of Let's Not Meet, and Shelby Scott of Scare You to Sleep.https://midsummerscream.org/In the meantime, here's to good health and less fear. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There are more cars on the road than ever before, driving faster than was legally allowed or even possible in different parts of the past. Yet most of us don't think of roads as particularly scary in an everyday, real world sense. Still, stories of haunted or cursed roads, phantom cars, and more abound. From stories of murderous highwaymen, to beliefs and practices centered around the supernatural energy of crossroads, to urban legends of the classic urban legend of the vanishing hitchhiker, this episode covers why roads have long been seen as unsafe, often in strange or unexpected ways.----------------------My debut novel, THE SPITE HOUSE, is available for pre-order now through Barnes & Noble or an indie bookseller near you.----------------------For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Thor." by Haxxy. licensed through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On my way to looking at the Bradbury classic Something Wicked This Way Comes, I dip, dive, dart and drop through some other stories--real and imagined-- that feature frightful fairs and alarming amusement parks. ----------------------My debut novel, THE SPITE HOUSE, is available for pre-order now through Barnes & Noble or an indie bookseller near you.----------------------For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Nightmare on Main St." by Sunshine Music. licensed through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Beyond being and easy excuse to entertain my appeal for alliteration, this episode's title gives us two words with an unexpected history. Said history underlines the fears that we can have of staying as a guest in a strange place. From murderous hosts like Procrustes, to oppressively haunted lodgings like The Overlook, this episode is all about the haunts and horrors human beings have experienced or invented while staying at hotels.----------------------My debut novel, THE SPITE HOUSE, is available for pre-order now through Barnes & Noble or an indie bookseller near you.----------------------For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Summer House" by Mocha Music. licensed through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Despite a ton of misplaced distrust in medicine and medical staff plaguing society in recent years, there are still many valid reasons to be nervous about going to the hospital. In fact, the very nature of hospitals--what they're designed for--makes them understandably frightening. We can hope for the best when we have to visit a hospital, but we also know that it's a place where, inevitably, the worst is possible even in spite of best efforts.In this episode I cover how hospitals have been featured in horror fiction, and also in ghostlore, with a particular focus on a lesser-known, allegedly haunted hospital I was familiar with as a kid: Mississippi's Old Biloxi Hospital.----------------------My debut novel, THE SPITE HOUSE, is available for pre-order now through Barnes & Noble or an indie bookseller near you.----------------------For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Abandoned House" by Mocha Music. licensed through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sometimes, people disappear. There is something uniquely terrifying and captivating about the prospect of vanishing, or having someone you care about vanish. Even when there is a likely answer, the lack of absolute certainty regarding the fate of the missing can produce mysteries that puzzle us for decades or even centuries. From the Roanoke colonists, to the passengers of the Mary Celeste, to the works of Ambrose Bierce, and Joan Lindsay's classic Picnic at Hanging Rock, our fascination with and fear of unexplained disappearances can be strong enough to encourage the confusion of fact with fiction.----------------------My debut novel, THE SPITE HOUSE, is available for pre-order now through Barnes & Noble or an indie bookseller near you.----------------------For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Down the Mines" by Tenacious Orchestra. licensed through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I dare say most of us have something we're hiding. For many of us it's something relatively mundane and harmless, but that may still cause us some embarrassment if exposed. For some it could be something for which you're largely blameless, but that you're still willing to lie about to keep it a secret. And for others, still, it could be a crime you've masterminded. In any case, it is rational to fear having certain truths revealed at your expense, as shown in the instant horror classic His House, and Bree Newsome's short horror film gem, Wake.For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Indistinct" by Mocha Music, licensed through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As a famous, catchy PSA song puts it, there are many "dumb" ways to die. Of course, for the dying person, the fact that their demise might be seen as laughable to observers with some distance likely wouldn't make their death any more palatable. If anything, it might give them greater urgency stay alive, if for no other reason than to avoid having their final moments become a potential punchline. In this episode I talk about a range of people and characters, from medieval nobles to Golden Age Comics murderers, who are all subject to what Bill the Butcher of Gangs of New York termed, "an ignominious end."Seanbaby article that covers Vault of Horror 23: https://www.cracked.com/blog/6-weird-things-that-terrified-our-nerd-grandparents For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode by Jeffrey Pines. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hatred is not strictly an unproductive, seemingly unnatural emotion. Sometimes hate is understandable, and even a motivation, if directed against an injustice or imbalance. Unfortunately, we too often see it deployed in service of maintaining injustices or imbalances, by powerful people who want to keep--or grow--their wealth and influence. This episode opens with the relatable hatred felt by the character Iraxi, from Zin E. Rocklyn's novella Flowers for the Sea, and ends with prejudiced, manipulated, and ultimately violent hatred found in the 1976 film Canoa: A Shameful Memory.For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Portland Road" by Klaus Hergersheimer, licensed through Shutterstock. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The electric chair was once the go-to method of execution in the United States, and "the chair" still holds a unique position in America's history of capital punishment. In aftermath of more than a decade of debates about how "cruel and unusual" execution may or not be, four horror movies emerged over the course three years in the 1980's. Prison, Destroyer, The Horror Show (aka House III), and Shocker are all films about criminals who die in the chair, only to come back to life newly empowered to kill. One of those movies, however, stands apart from the others in an important way...For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Heightened Tensions" by Zeonium, licenced through Shutterstock Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Placing someone in a world that doesn't make sense to them--that operates on its own, unpredictable form of "logic"--creates ideal conditions for comedy (Looney Tunes), absurdist fantasy (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)... or horror. Which can range from tales as impossible as Octavia Butler's Kindred, to stories that are more terrifyingly plausible than some may realize, such as Kafka's absurd nightmare The Trial.Matt Robinson Liquefaction videos:Example of Liquefaction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afBqD8Hm2AkExample of Liquefaction 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29ht6SSWQMs For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Graves" by Arenas, licensed through Shutterstock. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga aka NikNPhaser, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For something we have relatively little of in the first place, control is something many of us dread losing. Maybe that initial scarcity of it is the root of the degree of our fear. After all, you'd be more afraid of spilling a cup of water if it was all the water you had, than if you could easily draw more from a well. One character I focus on this week, Truman Burbank from The Truman Show, spends most of his life unaware of being controlled and manipulated by others. Another, Bodie Broadus from The Wire, is painfully aware of how little control he has, but futilely dreams of gaining more.For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Alien Autopsy" by Robert Ashbridge, licensed through Shutterstock. Sources: Cave, Stephen. “There's No Such Thing as Free Will.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 3 Jan. 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/480750/. Mark, Griffiths D. “The Truman Show Delusion.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 10 Aug. 2016, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201608/the-truman-show-delusion.  Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Generally speaking, societies across the world agree that our beloved dead ideally belong in a certain, final resting place, and that place is out of sight. The idea of people who are dead--or who should be dead--remaining among us is a consistent source of horror. In this episode I talk about our fear of dead bodies that aren't at rest, either because they never were buried or, in the case of Timothy Baterman, from Pet Sematary, because they returned to us.For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com. For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.com The opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Grey Smoke" by Mocha Music licensed through Shutterstock.Sources: Sayer, Chloë. The Day of the Dead: A Visual Compendium. Laurence King Publishing, 2021. “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park.” Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park by Diego Rivera, https://www.diegorivera.org/dream-of-a-sunday-afternoon-in-alameda-park.jsp. Romelus, Yvana. “Your Favorite Haitian Lwa - Baron Samedi | Thee Voodoo Family.” Chronicles of a Zoe, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIgxo45ApGQ.  Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One of the three hints for the classic coffin riddle indicates that the person "using" the coffin--the person within it--doesn't know it. This isn't always the case, however. In this episode I explore the long-held fear of premature burial, from real world safety coffins, to the frequent appearance of this horrific fate in Golden Age horror comics.For episode sources, scripts and more, visit healthyfears.com.For my publication credits, visit JohnnyCompton.comThe opening theme for Healthy Fears: “Dark Game Background Loop” by Claudiu D. Moga, licensed through Envato.The closing theme for Healthy Fears: “Hitchcock Thriller” by JBlanks, licensed through Envato.Other music for this episode: "Grey Smoke" by Mocha Music licensed through ShutterstockSources:ArteLeonardo School - Florence, Italy, https://www.arteleonardo.com/en/blog/159/the-story-of-ginevra-degli-almieri.University of Michigan Library online - A Full and True Relation of a Maid Living in Newgate Street in London Who Was Buried on Saturday the 27 of This Instant December, and Taken up (Supposed to Be Alive) the 30 of the Same, Being Buried near Christ-Church Hospital in the Church-Yard of the Same., https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A40585.0001.001/1:1?rgn=div1%3Bview.Angelone, Caitlin. 'To Be Buried Alive Is, beyond Question, the Most Terrible of These Extremes Which Has Ever Fallen to the Lot of Mere Mortality.', 12 Apr. 2016, https://histmed.collegeofphysicians.org/to-be-buried-alive-is-beyond-question/.Karswell. THE HORRORS OF IT ALL, http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/search/label/buried%20alive.“Premature Burial.” The British Medical Journal, vol. 1, no. 2250, BMJ, 1904, pp. 386–386, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20279516.Sharry. “My Name Is Anna, but Call Me Annie.” A Haunting Legacy: The True Story of Annie Mary Twente, 30 Sept. 2018, https://ahauntinglegacy.wordpress.com/2018/09/26/call-me-anna/.“A Young Lady Buried Alive.” Daily Telegraph, 31 Mar. 1884, p. 4.“News Notes.” The Dayton Herald, 5 Feb. 1884, p. 3.  Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

From Sonny Liston to a couple of iconic 80's film heroes, multiple people and characters have provided examples of how fear can motivate you to win a fight.HealthyFears.comJohnnyCompton.comOpening theme for Healthy Fears - "Dark Game Background Loop" by Claudiu D. Moga. Licensed through Envato Elements.Closing theme for Healthy Fears - "Hitchcock Thriller" by JBlanks. Licensed through Envato ElementsOther music for this episode - "Dread" by Tenacious Orchestra. Licensed through Shutterstock Inc. Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Season 2 of Healthy Fears will begin in earnest starting February 15th, 2022, and continue with weekly episodes through a 20-episode season.Also, with this announcement, I explain what's been going on with my writing, and anything else that kept me from the podcast through all of 2021.HealthyFears.comJohnnyCompton.com Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/healthy-fears. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The natural world is many things, including incredibly violent. Eruptions, earthquakes and storms can release more ferocious energy than any weapon human beings have ever used. One can only imagine how horrifying it would be if nature actually had a mind and intent to kill. Ray Bradbury did imagine this, in fact, and gave us the incredible short horror story, "The Wind."

What has sharp teeth, a powerful bite and deadly-fast reflexes? Well, a lot of things that can kill us, as it turns out, but in this episode we focus on a certain heavy, armored, toothy reptile which appeared in 3 films (2 of which were actually good) in 2007.

There are likely many more creatures, cryptids and fearsome critters that you're unaware of than there are ones you're familiar with. In fact, even the devils you think you know may be more unknown to you than you realize. And it's only natural to fear the unknown, especially when the unknown is unnatural. Primary subjects for this episode include local lore and the Golden Age of Radio horror play, "The Thing on the Fourble Board."

Putting trust in anyone is inherently risky. Even those closest to us can ultimately prove untrustworthy--whether they are malicious or simply misguided--in dangerous ways. This week's episode focuses on The Haunting of Hill House (2018 series) and the film Eve's Bayou.

Some outsiders are too powerful and malicious to be anything but frightening. Carnivorous river monsters pretending to be human, for instance. Primary subject of this episode: Michael McDowell's Blackwater Saga.

Being the outcast can be a frightening experience. In the real world and in fiction, it can leave one susceptible to persecution and prosecution, or even turn you into an unwilling "hero" fighting a menace the rest of the crowd refuses to face. Primary subjects of this Episode: First Blood and Jaws

No one wants to be imprisoned--truly imprisoned--against their will. But not all confines are made equal, and the potential associated horrors can vary greatly.

From Rhoda Penmark and her precursors through the scary kids who kicked off the horror boom and beyond, frightening children have been a genre fixture for a long, long time.

Four movies. Four years. One lesson: stay out of the dark.

Healthy Fears Episode 1 explores the fear of sleep as it appears in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.