The Dark Mind Podcast

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.

The Dark Mind Podcast is a arts podcast hosted by Vincent Midgard, with 225 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Vincent Midgard hosts The Dark Mind Podcast, a arts show with 225 episodes published.

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  Episode #9

  Marc E. Fitch: Horror, Human Nature, and Moral Complicity

  Sep 29, 20261h 15mS25

  On this episode of The Dark Mind Podcast, horror author and investigative reporter Marc E. Fitch joins me to discuss his new short story collection, There Was No One There. We talk about the capacity for evil hidden inside ordinary people and why Marc believes a scare lasts a moment, while horror comes home with you. Marc shares the real-life experiences behind his stories, from a frightening moment in the ocean with his daughter to the Christian hymn that inspired The Starry Crown. He explains how the collection's order follows the rise and fall of a piece of classical music, and why he rewrote the ending of Monster Parade twenty-five times. We also discuss how investigative journalism and horror fiction feed each other, and why he believes much more of life rests on belief than we like to admit. Marc reflects on thirteen years bartending beside a bus station, twelve years in inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and the harder view of the world those years left him with. Finally, he talks about raising four teenagers and why parenthood is the most frightening thing he has ever done. Official Website https://www.marcefitch.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/marce.fitch/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MarcE.Fitch/[ facebook ] X https://x.com/fitch_marc[ x ] Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6506478.Marc_E_Fitch Inside Investigator https://insideinvestigator.org/marc-e-fitch/ There Was No One There on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HDVVQ9PQ There Was No One There on Kindle https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H1FL1ZTD There Was No One There on Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/9781958842744[ barnesandnoble ] There Was No One There on Audible https://www.audible.com/author/Marc-E-Fitch/B00DW6GDV4[ audible ] Support The Dark Mind Podcast https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #8

  Chris Panatier on Fatherhood, Fear, and Intrusive Thoughts

  Sep 22, 20261h 6mS25

  Chris Panatier returns to The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his new novel Worry Box, out September 22 from Angry Robot. The book follows the Martin family as they move into a new home while preparing to adopt their foster daughter, Lailah. Troubled by increasingly violent intrusive thoughts, Lailah writes them down and hides them inside a homemade worry box, hoping to quiet her mind. When disturbing events begin unfolding around the house, the family is forced to question whether the danger comes from Lailah, their new home, or something none of them fully understand. In this conversation, Chris explains why he set out to write a horror novel in which every character is genuinely doing their best and things still fall apart. He talks openly about drawing Lailah's intrusive thoughts from his own experience, which intensified after his daughter was born. He describes the research he did into adoption and foster care, and his decision to avoid the story readers might expect. We get into Alison and Nathan, two parents with very different histories, and the point where they stop being a team and start butting heads. Chris also discusses Dru, the sister who holds on the longest, and why she became one of his all time favorite characters. He breaks down his approach to the house itself, which he treated as a member of the family with a history and a point of view of its own. He shares his theory that a house is essentially a sponge that absorbs the residue of everyone who has lived in it. We talk about the kinship between Worry Box and A Head Full of Ghosts, and where the two books diverge. Chris explains how humor functions as a pressure release valve inside an otherwise intense story. He reflects on twenty five years of trial work, and how prying a story out of unwilling hands taught him that a story never simply arrives intact. He talks about rewriting this book several times, and how instinct in art is acquired through repetition rather than something you are born with. Chris also looks ahead to Daytide arriving from Saga Press, a collaborative comedy slasher with Sam Rebelein called Final Girl Greg, and a forthcoming Angry Robot novel titled So You Want to Summon a Demon. He closes with a candid look at burnout, envy, and why he now celebrates every other writer's success. Official Website https://chrispanatier.com/[ chrispanatier ] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/chrispanatier/ Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18894703.Chris_Panatier[ goodreads ] Publisher Page for Worry Box https://angryrobotbooks.com/books/worry-box/[ angryrobotbooks ] Penguin Random House https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/827562/worry-box-by-chris-panatier/[ penguinrandomhouse ] Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/1836730322 Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/worry-box-chris-panatier/1149014636 Support The Dark Mind Podcast https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

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  Episode #7

  Megan Mostyn-Brown: Writing Horror That Eats at Us

  Sep 15, 20261h 7mS25

  Megan Mostyn-Brown joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss her debut horror novel, The Need. The novel follows a family living with a rare genetic disorder that requires those who inherit it to consume human flesh or die. Megan explores how this gruesome compulsion becomes a source of shame and survival for one family but a symbol of privilege and power for another. Our conversation examines cannibalism, class inequality, food insecurity, body image, inherited trauma, family secrecy, and the moral boundaries people create to justify survival. Megan also discusses balancing body horror with dark comedy, writing six distinct first-person narrators, and transforming a television concept considered too grisly for the screen into a psychologically intimate novel. We trace her creative journey from child actor and playwright to television writer and producer on series including Gotham, NOS4A2, Bodkin, and Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. Official Author Page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2348127/megan-mostyn-brown/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganmostynbrown/ The Need from Penguin Random House: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/803620/the-need-by-megan-mostyn-brown/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+Need+Megan+Mostyn-Brown Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-need-megan-mostyn-brown/1148963720 Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/search?term=The%20Need%20Megan%20Mostyn-Brown Libro.fm Audiobook: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9798217407941-the-need Support The Dark Mind Podcast https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

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  Episode #6

  James Oliver: Building the Debilitator Splatterverse

  Sep 8, 20261h 21mS25

  Extreme horror author, audiobook narrator, and Sadistic Force musician James Oliver joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss Debilitator: A Collection of Wretchedness. His first short story collection combines eight stories and a poem, connecting new material with characters and events from his earlier books. James discusses using graphic violence, bodily disgust, sexual transgression, and dark comedy to confront social frustration and test the boundaries readers bring to extreme horror. The conversation explores the collection’s interconnected world, its most difficult material, and the challenges of adapting the stories for an audiobook and limited cassette edition. James also discusses independent publishing through Pure Abandon Press, editing the extreme metal horror anthology Rotten Requiems, writing children’s fiction as J. W. Oliver, and the relationship between his fiction and music. James Oliver Links Official Website: https://www.jamesoliverhorror.com/ Official Store: https://www.jamesoliverhorror.com/products Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejamesoliver/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW2SE8R-RqaAYhSPBvFCuIg Substack: https://jamesoliverhorror.substack.com/ All Social Links: https://linktr.ee/jamesoliverhorror Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/54899971.James_Oliver Sadistic Force Official Website: https://sadisticforce.com/ Sadistic Force Bandcamp: https://sadisticforce.bandcamp.com/ Buy or Stream James Oliver’s Work Debilitator Book on Tape: https://www.jamesoliverhorror.com/product/debilitator-book-on-tape Audible Author Page: https://www.audible.com/author/James-Oliver/B0DX7MJZVX Storytel: https://www.storytel.com/in/narrators/james-oliver-evelyn-albarran-oliver-carietta-dorsch-jason-rowe-1299447 Amazon, Genital Rot: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DX7CY2RZ/ Amazon, Sacrificial Slaughter: https://www.amazon.com/Sacrificial-Slaughter-James-Oliver-ebook/dp/B0FHP9MMND Barnes & Noble, Sacrificial Slaughter: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sacrificial-slaughter-r-e-shambrook/1147651321 Godless, Sacrificial Slaughter: https://godless.com/products/sacrificial-slaughter-by-james-oliver-and-r-e-shambrook-july-23rd?_pos=1&_sid=0efbae9eae&_ss=r Support The Dark Mind Podcast [https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast](https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast)

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  Episode #5

  Mike Salt: Isolation, Art, and Cosmic Dread

  Sep 1, 20261h 14mS25

  Author Mike Salt joins The Dark Mind Podcast to discuss his psychological horror novel No One Was Ever Really in This Place. The story follows Felix, a man struggling with anxiety, depression, and invisibility who awakens to find his city completely empty. Mike discusses building an artificial and unsettling world, blending psychological horror with cosmic dread, and writing about isolation without losing sight of human vulnerability. The conversation also explores his Linkville stories, the collaborative Price Manor universe, his direct relationship with readers, and his fast, minimally polished writing process. Mike also reflects on family, supernatural experiences, and the personal fears that find their way into his fiction. Official Website, Currently Unavailable https://www.mikesaltauthor.com Official Store https://mikesalt.bigcartel.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mike_salt/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_salt TikTok Shop https://shop.tiktok.com/us/store/mike-salt-spooky-author/7494225790817305839 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mikesaltmoose X https://x.com/mikesaltmoose Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14987021.Mike_Salt No One Was Ever Really in This Place at Wicked House https://wickedhouse.com/book/no-one-was-ever-really-in-this-place/ Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GSGXSLSN Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/No-One-Was-Ever-Really-in-This-Place-Audiobook/B0HD1FLMKD Support The Dark Mind Podcast https://www.patreon.com/c/thedarkmindpodcast

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