Years of Fear: A History of Horror
Years of Fear is a horror history podcast that explores the movies that shaped horror, the people that made them, and the culture that made them possible. Each episode centers on the most important horror films of every year, beginning in 1960 with the first true Slasher film and all the way through the modern era.
Episodes
In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho ushered in the modern era of horror filmmaking. But in order for the film to make the impact that Hitch wanted, he was going to need to overcome several massive obstacles to fulfill his vision. Whether it was the censor board, struggles with the music editing, or the very way that films were screened at the time, it was all going to be an uphill battle. Join us for the conclusion to our two-part d...
In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock released Psycho, a bold new sort of horror film that shocked audience's with it's sequences of murder and depravity, including a shower stabbing sequence that is firmly in the canon of iconic film moments. But where did this cinematic burst of bloodlust come from? In part 1 of our debut episode of Years of Fear, we explore the evolution of the first 60+ years of onscreen violence and death that lead up to ...
From the creator of Toxic Schlock comes "Years of Fear: A History of Horror", a horror history podcast that explores the movies that shaped horror, the people that made them, and the culture that made them possible. Every episode explores the most important horror film of the year, beginning in 1960 with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
This preview clip of the show's debut episode, which premieres on 10/23/2025, sets the table for the b...
Stick around after the episode to hear the final words from host Micha...
Our Monster Movie series enters the golden age of practical FX with an exploration of David Cronenberg's 1986 classic THE FLY! We covered Cronenberg's early career in our episode on THE BROOD during our Body Horror series, and now we follow it up with a deep dive into his incredible run of Scanners, Videodrome, and the Dead Zone, leading to his botched attempt at TOTAL RECALL, and the tragedy that made his work on The...
Our Monster Movie series continues with a deep dive on the king of all monsters GODZILLA! We explore the slew of tragic historical events that led to the inception of the 1954 Kaiju classic GOJIRA, the early life of director Ishiro Honda, and the cultural impact left in the film's wake. We're then joined by Winston Ward of the fantastic magazine and podcast INFINITE WORLDS to discuss the history, evolution, and legacy...
In a very special bonus Monster Movie episode, John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) returns to the show to discuss 50s b-movies, the evolution and perception of Monster Movies, MST3K, and his film pick, the 1958 gem THE CRAWLING EYE.
As we discuss in the intro, since this was a last minute addition to our Monster Movie series, this episode skips our usual historical/cultural background section and jumps straight to our deep dive int...
Our special Halloween bonus episode has come around once more, and Michael is again joined by his wife Sam, but this time around, they do a ranking of the Halloween franchise!! Its not as bad as they make it sound in the episode, and most of the Halloween movies have some great moments, but its also a series with some absolute absurdity in between them. Where do Rob Zombie's remake films rank in the series? What about...
We kick off our final Toxic Schlock mini series on Monster movies by going back to where it all started: FRANKENSTEIN! We explore the early life of author Mary Shelly and the road to the creation of her debut novel, and how it ended up in 1931 as the most iconic horror film of all time. We're then joined by the hosts of Horror Vanguard to discuss Shelley, Boris Karloff, and the politics (and many adaptations) of Frankenstein!
In the early 20th century, HP Lovecraft revolutionized horror literature by bringing horror to a cosmic level of despair and incorporating a philosophical level of pessimism to mankind's place in uncaring universe. This concept has been expanded and developed in recent decades, with authors like Thomas Ligotti and Eugene Thacker helping bring cosmic horror into mainstream pop culture like True Detective and Jay-Z music videos.
In ...
In 1693, the infamous Salem Witch Trials ended in nineteen innocent people being executed. Although this is the most famous case of witch killings in America, the decades before showed New England being gripped by Witchcraft with hysteria, with accounts of alleged demonic possessions and subsequent executions, setting a precedent for the Salem controversies that followed.
We end our series on Satan in horror with an exploration of...
The 1980s was an era defined by fear of Satan and the Occult, with a prevailing sentiment that we were all surrounded by an evil cabal of devil worshippers. Regardless of the fact that this was fiction, it shaped culture for years to come. In 2009, Ti West released the film THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, where we see what it would like if these evil cults were real. In today's episode of Toxic Schlock we explore what led to the Satanic Pa...
Our series on Satan in Horror rolls on with an exploration of the iconic 1976 classic THE OMEN! We dive into the rise of doomsday conspiracy theories in the early 1970s, and how this speculation completely changed the landscape of both mainstream religion and pop culture forever. We're then joined by returning guest Chris Colohan to discuss The Omen, it's iconic soundtrack, the self written mythology of a cursed production, how it ...
Raise those horns and invert those crosses, because we're kicking off our series on SATAN in Horror with an exploration of the 1968 all-time classic film ROSEMARY'S BABY. We dig into the early history of the devil in pop culture, the original novel's author Ira Levin, b-movie director William Castle's bid to make an adaptation, and director Roman Polanski's traumatic early life experiences. After that, we're joined by Ivotres Littl...
We bring our slasher series to a close with a deep dive into the film that redefined and resurrected the genre, Wes Craven's 1996 blockbuster "SCREAM". We explore the career of Craven, his continuous impact on the genre for 3 decades in a row, and the path to his 90s masterpiece . We're then joined by Tom Breihan (Stereogum, Av Club) to discuss the film's stacked cast, the John Hughes-esque writing of Kevin Williamson, the sad stat...
Pack your sleeping bag, because this week we are going to Camp Crystal Lake for a deep dive into the most iconic Slasher film series of all time: FRIDAY THE 13TH! We explore the film's original HALLOWEEN knock off origins, Shaun Cunningham's early career with Wes Craven, the invention of Jason, Tom Savini's FX, and it's impact on the Slasher genre. After that, Inge Johansson (Gatuplan, ex-Against Me/Totalt Java Morker/ The Internat...
We continue our Slasher series with a deep dive into one of the best and most important horror films of all time THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. We kick it off by exploring the early life of director Tobe Hooper, the real life inspirations behind the film, and the shoestring budget under which it was created. We're then joined by Sam Sutherland (155, Extremely Online, Junior Battles) to discuss the film, what sets it apart from other ...
Time to kick off our next mini-series: SLASHERS! In this episode, we dive into the early films that begat the blood soaked Slasher boom of the 1980s, with an in-depth exploration of the man who helped define the genre: MARIO BAVA! We explore his early work in cinematography, the creation of the Giallo genre with films like BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, and his film that kick started the Slasher genre: A BAY OF BLOOD! After that, Michael si...
Our Body Horror series is going out with a bang! We're going to Japan to explore the 1989 Cyberpunk classic TETSUO: THE IRON MAN! We explore his early Kaiju passions, the influence of Akira Kurosawa, dealing with disapproving parents, and how his debut film came to be! We're then joined by Gregg Harrington of the podcast Neon Brainiacs to discuss the film, Nine Inch Nails, d-beat soundtracks, the incredible industrial score, and h...
Our Body Horror series rolls on with a dive into Stuart Gordon and his slimey classic FROM BEYOND. We explore Stuart's early radical theater roots, run-ins with the law, HP Lovecraft, and Re-Animator. We are then joined by Ben Roberts of the fantastic new comic CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE to discuss From Beyond. Stick around after the interview for our first mailbag segment!
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