Podcast
The Dark Mind Podcast
Hosted by Vincent Midgard · EN
Join your intrepid host, Vincent Midgard, as he interviews writers and filmmakers who produce works in dark literature and film, including horror, noir, gothic, as well as nonfiction and documentaries on dark subject matter.
24episodes
Episodes
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Tamika Thompson: No Ghosts Needed
Mar 1701:07:15Tap to summarizeTamika Thompson returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss her debut novel The Curse of Hester Gardens, a Black Gothic horror story rooted in grief, motherhood, faith, and survival.In this episode, we explore how haunted public housing transforms the classic haunted house framework into something inescapable, where economics, danger, and the supernatural are all bound together.Tamika talks about growing up working class in Detroit, the oral storytelling traditions in her family, and how fear became both a lived reality and a literary language for her work.We also dig into moral complexity, youth violence, religion, systemic neglect, and why the real monster in the story is often the conditions people are forced to survive.Along the way, Tamika reflects on her journalism background, her writing process, the role of research in shaping the novel, and what she hopes readers are left questioning after the final page.If you love horror that is psychologically sharp, socially grounded, and emotionally devastating, this is an episode you do not want to miss.CONNECT WITH TAMIKA THOMPSONWebsite: https://www.tamikathompson.comNewsletter/Blog (Tamika Talks Terror): https://www.tamikathompson.com/tamika-talks-terrorLinktree: https://linktr.ee/tamikathompsonInstagram: https://instagram.com/tamikadthompsonTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tamikadthompsonBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tamikathompson.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.net/@tamikadthompsonFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/tamikathompsonauthorX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tamikathompsonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamikathompsonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tamikathompsonBUY THE CURSE OF HESTER GARDENSAmazon: https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Hester-Gardens-Tamika-Thompson/dp/1645663191Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-tamika-thompson/1147750299Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/shop/tamikathompsonPenguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804756/the-curse-of-hester-gardens-by-tamika-thompson/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/237693607-the-curse-of-hester-gardensBUY UNSHOD, CACKLING, AND NAKEDUniversal Book Link: https://mybook.to/unshodAudible: https://www.audible.com/author/Tamika-Thompson/B07XFFMRNPBUY SALAMANDER JUSTICEUniversal Book Link: https://mybook.to/salamanderSUPPORT THE DARK MIND PODCASTPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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Jeremy Wagner: The Drug, The Detective, and The Meat Grinder
Mar 1001:10:18Tap to summarizeDeath metal guitarist, horror novelist, and accidental publisher Jeremy Wagner joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his savage new novel Wretch.Set in Chicago during the hottest summer on record, Wretch follows three men on a collision course: a hard-boiled detective tracking a killer who should not exist, a mob boss running on grief and vengeance, and Derek Hoffman, a steroid-abusing sociopath whose body and mind have been rewritten by an experimental drug called LIBIDONAL.Wagner breaks down how a real person he knew in the 1990s planted the seed for Derek Hoffman.He talks about his own experience as a human guinea pig in a pharmaceutical research program and how it inspired the Big Pharma horror at the heart of the story.He explains why he spent months interviewing a retired Chicago police detective and doing ride-alongs to get the psychology of law enforcement exactly right.He discusses why even the most monstrous characters in the book needed layers, backstory, and something worth losing.He reveals the one scene in the book that he knew would be misread as pure shock value, and why it was never written that way.Wagner also talks about becoming an accidental publisher with Dead Sky Publishing, what horror fiction needs more of right now, and why Broken Hope lyrics were always micro horror stories long before the novels began.Wretch is available now wherever books are sold.LINKS:Websitehttps://jeremyxwagner.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/jeremyxwagnerFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/JeremyWagnerOfficialX (Twitter)https://x.com/JeremyXWagnerGoodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3145526.Jeremy_WagnerIMDbhttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm7990420WRETCH - WHERE TO BUYDead Sky Publishinghttps://deadskypublishing.comAmazonhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/1639511326Barnes and Noblehttps://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wretch-jeremy-wagner/1143024616Bookshop.orghttps://bookshop.org/p/books/wretch-jeremy-wagner/de816042391431e5MUSIC - STREAM AND LISTENBroken Hope on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/7yFcBZceMVuvIoTnZXprFdBroken Hope on Apple Musichttps://music.apple.com/us/artist/broken-hope/74969262Earthburner on Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/artist/7fqhfpH3XM8547KokH7tZmDEAD SKY PUBLISHINGWebsitehttps://deadskypublishing.comX (Twitter)https://x.com/DeadSkyPubSubstackhttps://substack.com/@deadskypublishingBROKEN HOPEWebsitehttps://brokenhope.comEARTHBURNERWebsitehttps://earthburner.comSupport The Dark Mind Podcasthttps://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast
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Paula D. Ashe
Jul 18, 2023Tap to summarizePaula D. Ashe is a writer of short stories, and novellas within the transgressive horror genre. Her short stories have been published in mulitple anthologies and she is a Bram Stoker award finalist as well as recently winning a Shirley Jackson Award.She joins Vince on the show to discuss her collection of short stories and a novella entitled "We Are Here to Hurt Each Other." They discuss the prevalence of child abuse, what draws her to writing such incendiary prose, the influence of eastern religions on her conception of the role of suffering in life, as well as her internal creative process.Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/stores/Paula-D.-Ashe/author/B0071DTH7Q?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=trueFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/pauladashe/Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5259697.Paula_D_AsheTwitter:https://twitter.com/pauladashe?lang=enSubstack:https://substack.com/@pauladasheACPL Interview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpibsUFYFFMDark Mind Podcast Newsletter:https://mailchi.mp/720644de464c/newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Alana K. Drex
Jan 17, 2023Tap to summarizeAlana K. Drex is a horror writer that thrives in the gothic subgenre. She joins Vince to talk about her debut novella "Sleeping Celeste."They discuss her writing process, upcoming projects, horrible movie sequels that they hate--but watch anyway, as well as the travails of sleep paralysis. Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/stores/Alana-K.-Drex/author/B0BRC2KS8V?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=trueInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/alana.k.drex/Tiktokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@alana.k.drexGoodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21811052.Alana_K_Drex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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