A podcast dedicated to exploring the origins of horror tropes, the folklore behind it, and the representation of women and non binary folks within it! In each series we deep dive a particular theme or trope, and we dissect it to an inch of its life! Hosted by Dr Megan Kenny and Clelia McElroy, and edited by Adam Hynes.
In this last episode, we sink our teeth into Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction (1995), a bleak, philosophical vampire film steeped in existential dread, moral corruption and the dark side of intellectualism. Following philosophy student Kathleen’s descent into vampirism, we explore the film’s collision of academia and addiction, questioning whether knowledge can save us from our own monstrosity — or simply give us the language to justify it. After all, what could be more Dark Academia than confronting the darkest corners of human nature in the pursuit of knowledge?
***
Synopsis
Kathleen Conklin is an introverted philosophy doctoral student at NYU writing her thesis on the nature of evil and the atrocities of war. While walking home one night she is dragged off the street and bitten by a mysterious woman named Casanova.
Kathleen begins experiencing physical illness, a hatred of sunlight, and an overwhelming, uncontrollable craving for human blood…As her condition worsens, Kathleen spirals deeper into moral depravity, and utilises her philosophical studies to try and rationalise her actions.
****
Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows
Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg
6 Oct 2026
DARK ACADEMIA 3. CANDYMAN (Rose, 1992)
In this episode, we head into the graffiti-covered corridors of Cabrini-Green for Bernard Rose’s Candyman (1992), a haunting blend of urban legend, folklore and psychological horror. We explore Helen Lyle’s investigation into the terrifying myth of Candyman, and the film’s fascination with belief, storytelling and the ways legends take on a life of their own. But beneath the supernatural horror lies something even more disturbing: a story about race, class, violence and the histories that communities are forced to carry.
****
Synopsis
Helen Lyle is a graduate student researching urban legends when she becomes fascinated by a particularly gruesome one: the story of Candyman, a vengeful spirit who, legend has it, can be summoned by saying his name five times into a mirror.
Her investigation leads her to Cabrini-Green, the Chicago housing project where Candyman was supposedly lynched and burned alive. Residents there are convinced that the legend has returned — and that it’s connected to a string of brutal murders haunting the community.
As she digs deeper into the legend, the line between folklore and reality begins to blur — and Helen soon discovers that some urban legends are dangerous precisely because people believe they’re only stories.
****
Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows
Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg
****
Show Notes
Candyman: The Urban Legend That Bled Into Reality - (https://urbanlegendsmysteryandmyth.com/2025/10/candyman-urban-legend-that-bled-into.html)
Examining the Urban Legends That Inspired 'Candyman' - Bloody Disgusting (https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3679694/examining-urban-legends-inspired-candymaneditorial/)
Candyman: the urban legends behind the movie and why we find them irresistible (https://theconversation.com/candyman-the-urban-legends-behind-the-movie-and-why-we-find-them-irresistible-167126)
https://allthatsinteresting.com/history-uncovered/candyman (https://allthatsinteresting.com/history-uncovered/candyman)
Understanding Ritual Possession: Invocation, Evocation, and Connecting with the Divine (https://www.wiccamagazine.com/blog/understanding-ritual-possession-invocation-evocation)
Invoking Bloody Mary | M.P. Pellicer (https://www.storiesofthesupernatural.info/strangerthanfiction/invoking-bloody-mary)
Sweets to the sweet featurette - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM7N6cn620M&t=861s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM7N6cn620M&t=861s)
23 Sept 2026
DARK ACADEMIA 2. Tesis (Amenabar, 1996)
We would like to give a content warning for this episode. We will be discussing both fictionalised and real instances of violence that may be disturbing to listeners. Listener discretion is advised.
'Give the audience what they want'
In this episode, we discuss Tesis, the 1996 debut feature from Spanish film director Alejandro Amenabar (best internationally known for his 2001 film The Others)
****
Synopsis
Ángela is a university student researching audiovisual violence for her thesis when she stumbles across a videotape hidden away in the school archives. Angela soon realises that the tape is no ordinary film - It’s a recording of the torture and murder of a student who’s disappeared a couple of years ago
Her search for answers draws her towards Chema, a fellow student whose obsession with horror cinema borders on pathological, and Bosco, a charismatic classmate whose charm conceals something much darker. Before long, Ángela finds herself descending into a labyrinth where academic curiosity, voyeurism and genuine brutality become impossible to separate.
****
Editing and theme music by Adam Hynes @adamnarrows
Follow the hosts of Monstrous Flesh on social media @monstrous_flesh and @monstrousmeg
****
Show Notes:
https://www.doubleexposurecu.com/post/blood-in-the-archive-thesis-1996 (https://www.doubleexposurecu.com/post/blood-in-the-archive-thesis-1996)
Snuff movies and the cultural controversy of the 1970s (https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/snuff-movie-cultural-controversy-1970s/)
A Vietnamese Murder Has Given the World Its First Real ‘Snuff’ Movie (https://www.vice.com/en/article/snuff-movie-the-vietnamese-butcher-13k/)
Snuff film | Film | Research Starters | EBSCO Research (https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/film/snuff-film)
Abstract | Consuming Ghost Stories: The Spectre of Snuff Films is Haunting Canadian Obscenity | CanLII (https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2023CanLIIDocs2399#!fragment/zoupio-_Tocpdf_bk_0_1/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zhoBMAzZgI1TMADMwCMASgA0ybKUIQAiokK4AntADkGyREJhcCJSvVadegyADKeUgCF1AJQCiAGScA1AIIA5AMJPJUjA+aFJ2cXEgA)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
1,501
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
28 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 44 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
40
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
51
Contact Monstrous Flesh
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Monstrous Flesh?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
