Do you ever wonder what film terrified your favorite horror filmmaker when they were a kid? On Scarred For Life, hosts Terry and Mary Beth chat with horror filmmakers, game devs, actors, writers and more about that one film that terrified them growing up and made them horror fans for life. Full episodes release Mondays, and Little Cuts minisodes on Fridays. Get bonus content on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/scarredforlifepodcast).
Episode 279: Author Alma Katsu and The Twilight Zone Episode "The Dummy" (1962)
This week we're joined by author Alma Katsu! We talk about her latest novel Fiend, which is out wherever you get your books on Tuesday, September 16th. We talk about her history working intelligence and the roundabout way she got into writing as well as her relationship to genre and how difficult it is to scare her as an adult. Then we go back to 1962 when Alma saw part of The Twilight Zone episode, "The Dummy" (Season 3, Episode 33). Ventriloquist dummies, stunning cinematography, a surprise Uncle Ben connection and ultimately why this episode is her Scarred for Life pick.
You can visit Alma's website to keep up with her latest writing as well as her Substack. You can also follow her on Bluesky.
Follow Mary Beth, Terry and the Podcast on Bluesky. We’re also on Twitter (sorta) with the same usernames. We also have a Letterboxd HQ account, so follow us there, too!
Support us on Patreon!
If you want to support our podcast, please please take a moment to go rate us on Spotify and give us a rating and review on iTunes. It really helps us out with the algorithms. We also have a YouTube channel! Ask us for our Discord server!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
21 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT
Episode 278: The Purge Creator James DeMonaco and Helter Skelter (1976)
This week we chat with James DeMonaco about his latest film The Home, starring Pete Davidson. We chat about the absolutely haunted filming location, Pete's dramatic role and how much fun it was to film the third act. Then we discover James' horror history and why Helter Skelter terrified him as a child and made him obsessed with the Manson Family.
Go see The Home in theaters on Friday July 25th!
Follow Mary Beth, Terry and the Podcast on Bluesky. We’re also on Twitter (sorta) with the same usernames. We also have a Letterboxd HQ account, so follow us there, too!
Support us on Patreon!
If you want to support our podcast, please please take a moment to go rate us on Spotify and give us a rating and review on iTunes. It really helps us out with the algorithms. We also have a YouTube channel! Ask us for our Discord server!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
14 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT
Episode 277: Abruptio Writer/Director Evan Marlowe and The Amityville Horror (1979)
This week we chat with Evan Marlowe about his latest film Abruptio. We chat about making life-sized puppets, working 10 years to bring the project the life, getting star power for voices (hello Jordan Peele!) and so much more before digging into Evan's horror history, the world's shared fear of Jaws and ultimately why The Amityville Horror terrified him growing up.
Check out Abruptio on VOD and Tubi. You can also get Evan's latest novel Surrender, Earth! on Amazon.
Follow Mary Beth, Terry and the Podcast on Bluesky. We’re also on Twitter (sorta) with the same usernames. We also have a Letterboxd HQ account, so follow us there, too!
Support us on Patreon!
If you want to support our podcast, please please take a moment to go rate us on Spotify and give us a rating and review on iTunes. It really helps us out with the algorithms. We also have a YouTube channel! Ask us for our Discord server!
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Inside a recent episode
Episode 279: Author Alma Katsu and The Twilight Zone Episode "The Dummy" (1962)
Published 15 Sept 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] So I took that opportunity and the other thing was, you know, people were always telling me, you're too young to be a novelist, you haven't lived, you haven't had life experiences. So I thought, well, what would be better to gather life experiences than to go work in intelligence? Completely, I mean, nothing about the field, right? So I took the job and I thought I'd just stay a few years, but it really was quite an amazing career and I ended up having a whole career there. But in intelligence, especially at the time I joined, they really didn't like you to have a life outside of your work, particularly driving. […]
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