SHRINK CHAT: Silent Night, Deadly Night, Salem’s Lot & Near Dark

Is Billy in Silent Night, Deadly Night a killer Santa, or a case study in what childhood trauma does?

Trigger warning: The Silent Night, Deadly Night discussion (about 10:00 to 16:25) covers a child witnessing his mother’s sexual assault and murder, abuse in an orphanage, and crude humor about the film’s nudity.

It’s Shrink Chat, our weekly horror roundup, from the week of Thanksgiving 2020. We remember Ken Spears, the Scooby-Doo co-creator who started a lot of us on horror and detective stories. Our buddy watch, live on our Patreon Discord, is Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984). Then we take on the original Salem’s Lot miniseries, Blood Vessel on Shudder, and Kathryn Bigelow’s cult vampire Western Near Dark. Plus Cathy’s Horror Facts lead to The Hitcher, and we argue over who wins if Hannibal Lecter ever met Dexter Morgan.

Therapists Shannon and Cathy talk about how much trauma a slasher can stack onto one character to explain a killer, why bad movies are better in a group, why practical vampire effects depend on good acting, and stepping away from horror to manage stress during the 2020 election.

Covered in this episode:

• Ken Spears and Scooby-Doo
• The Hitcher (1986), Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell, in Horror Facts with Cath
• The Dexter revival announcement and Hannibal vs Dexter
• Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
• Salem’s Lot (1979), Tobe Hooper, David Soul and Danny Glick at the window
• Blood Vessel (2019)
• Near Dark (1987), Kathryn Bigelow, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen
• Comfort viewing: The Mandalorian

Clinical themes: childhood trauma and PTSD, triggers, institutional abuse, moral compass in fictional killers, stress and media breaks.

Corrections and updates: Ken Spears co-created Scooby-Doo with Joe Ruby. In Salem’s Lot, Geoffrey Lewis plays Mike Ryerson, the town gravedigger. The Dexter revival premiered in 2021 as Dexter: New Blood.

Related episodes:

• WINTER HORROR: Krampus, Black Christmas, 30 Days of Night & Gremlins
• SHRINK CHAT: All Hallows’ Eve, Art the Clown, Baby Jane & Housebound
• DIAGNOSIS: Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham from NBC’s Hannibal

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Two licensed therapists, one forensic psychologist, one clinical LMFT, take apart the minds behind the crimes.

Until then... sleep safe. 😴
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