63 – Mark Kermode and Angels, Demons and White Eyed Kids (AKA, the Hallowe’en Special)

Send us a text Normally we talk books - but horror movies are a Hallowe’en staple. Turn the lights down, wrap yourself in a blanket, choose your snack of choice and then torment yourself terribly. It’s what we do. Now, Mark Kermode knows a thing or two about scary movies. The UK’s most prominent film critic has a special fondness for horror movies, as well as a grounding in the books that inspired many of the best. I asked him on the show for this Hallowe’en special episode, to talk about his favourite book-to-movie horror adaptations. No one who has ever heard Mark speak for more than ten minutes will have any doubt what his number one is – but the others may surprise you. At the very least, you’ll came away with suggestions for books to read and movies to watch over this most frightful of weekends. Oh, and if you like Mickey Rourke, then just hold out for the last five minutes… Enjoy! Books mentioned in this episode include: The Exorcist (1971), by William Peter Blatty Falling Angel (1978), by William Hjortsberg The Midwich Cuckoos (1957), by John Wyndham The Haunting of Hill House (1959), by Shirley Jackson “Don’t Look Now”, in Not After Midnight, and Other Stories (1971), by Daphne Du Maurier The Exorcist: BFI Modern Classics (1997), by Mark Kermode Ghost Story (1979), by Peter Straub Link to the Guardian Article on the state of the horror novel – https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/29/chapter-and-curse-is-the-horror-novel-entering-a-golden-age Support the show on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com. Download Novellic on Google Play or Apple Store. Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices