This week is full of muck and murk and mushrooms. We flit amongst the trees, we bed on moss, we howl at the moon.

Daisy Pearce is entering her bog witch era!

The author takes us to her native Cornwall, for a story of haunting and imprisonment, small town baggage and creepy houses in the woods. We talk about the oppressive landscape and the mythical texture of the place. We ask whether anyone in a small town can ever really leave high school behind… and we really look at the fine art of trepanation AKA – having a hole drilled in your head (and what it would feel like!)

 

Enjoy!

 

Other books mentioned:

• Something in the Walls (2025), by Daisy Pearce
• Water Shall Refuse Them (2019), by Lucy McKnight Hardy
• A Head Full of Ghosts (2015), by Paul Tremblay
• Itch (2025), by Gemma Amor
• The Man From the Train : The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery (2017), by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James
• A Simple Plan (1993), by Scott Smith
• From Hell (1999), by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell

Support Talking Scared on Patreon

 

Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch

 

Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices