Black Magic Treehouse
We travel back to the creepy kid culture of the past, one bargain bin item at a time. Come on up and join the club!
Episodes
Jose drops Eric like a bad shoe for a conversation with A.D. Aro (@bumps_in_the_night_books on Insta). Together they traverse the forest of irresponsibility that grew from the mind of M.D. Spenser by way of a particularly unsane entry in the Shivers series, The Curse of the New Kid! Is this just American Psycho for elementary students? Does vomitation really carry the comedic weight Jose thinks it does? And how many faculty members...
If a picture is worth a thousand words and your thoughts cost a penny apiece, then today's episode might just save your life! No, we don't know what that means, either. What we do know is that, as Jose and Eric guide you through a cross-section of thirty-second terrors from this 2009 collection, you will be able to say with certainty that you heard them speak for a particular length of time.
After earning an extra long summer break by graduating early from the Class of Sass (and Horror), Eric and Jose return to reading, writing, and rill silly names with the first entry of the ultimate children's anthology series of the '90s: Bruce Coville's Book of Monsters! The stories--and the creatures within--rip, slap, rule, and rock.
Have you ever been to camp? Was it creepy? Have no fear, the Lord is here! Rod Randall uses the horror genre to teach us a thing or two about the Bible or...something.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if all of your worst nightmares came true? Wonder no longer, for the listener-submitted tale read aloud in this episode answers that question--and more! One more. It answers exactly one more question.
Let's venture into new territory--that of an anthology series to rival Goosebumps: Strange Matter! This one is about phantom greasers who drive through walls, up buildings, and over oceans in a bid to recruit fresh victims for--what, exactly? Well, telling you would spoil the twist, wouldn't it?
Jose makes his triumphant return to the pod with nothing but boxing shorts and a dream! A BAD dream! Or several! That comprise the folklore compendium Short & Shivery! A rival series to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark! Does this episode merit so many exclamation points? NO!
On a second excursion into the realm of the trilogies-of-teeny-tiny-terror known as Fright Time, Eric welcomes a new guest into the treehouse--his girlfriend! Take that, everyone who says I'm patently unlovable. Adana fills in for the pretending-to-be-busy-to-get-out-of-work Jose and gives her thoughts on Creatures from the Ice, Dead-End Drive-In, and Strange Exchange. We'll either have to bring her back on the show someday or else...
Remember those books you could apparently buy at the dollar store with a price tag of $7.95? Nothing is spookier than cognitive dissonance! Anyway, Eric doesn't remember that (although the dollar store may be where he picked up Gooflumps) but Jose had rollicking fun reading entries in the Fright Time series whenever he got a break from all those child beauty pageants his mom was always entering him into. Three spine-tingling storie...
Monster Kids Don't Host Podcasts! Except that they do, in the form of Eric and Jose, who celebrate the Ghoultide season with winter-appropriate entries in the popular children's chapter book series, the Bailey School Kids! At what point do child sleuths cross over from "charming" to "obnoxious"? Is the best case scenario that all the adults in Bailey City are just weirdos with boundary issues? Could the series be rebooted for Gen Z...
What do you do when you have an opportunity to record a podcast episode and you've done no preparation whatsoever? You shoot the breeze, of course! Or the 'bumps. Eric and Jose reminisce about the ghoulish godfather of '90s children's horror, R.L. Stine, and his plethora of peculiar paperbacks. Reader beware--we'll throw our arms in the air like we just don't care!
On this Very Special Episode of Black Magic Treehouse, Jose regales Eric with a tale of his own creation: a little ditty crafted in childhood that bears more than a passing resemblance to Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and, needless to say, Mortal Kombat. Evil Mirror tells the story of a boy's horrific (and surprisingly action-packed) encounter with his shadow self. Tune in for a heartfelt moral about how sometimes, the t...
Halloween is over, except in our hearts. Join Eric once more as he runs down the second half of his October watchlist, offering thoughts on first-time watches including The Stendhal Syndrome, the Spanish-language version of Universal's Dracula, Offseason, Basket Case, Lord of Illusions, Satan's Rhapsody, The Bloody Pit of Horror, Books of Blood, Tourist Trap, Five Nights at Freddy's, The Night Strangler, The Hole in the Ground, The...
Jocelyn Heaney's anthology about our friend the shark contains precisely one good story. At least that's the way Eric remembers it from his time spent with the collection following a Scholastic book fair in 5th grade. And by "good" he means someone gets eaten by a shark and it is goretastic. Jose is also here, relating memories of trips to the beach that include monster roleplays under tree tunnels and tricking his mother into thin...
Eric took the October Challenge, and since nothing is valid unless you're sharing it online, he decided to drop a bonus podcast series all by his lonesome detailing his thoughts on the horror movies he's watched this month! Part One includes mini-reviews (or ramblings) for: Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Funhouse, At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, 1922, Possessor, Meg 2: The Trench, Twins of Evil, Destiny, ...
On the first of two VERY SPECIAL Halloween episodes, Jose and Eric discuss the ninth entry in a post-Goosebumps anthology horror series entitled (You're Invited to a Creepover) by the mysterious, and apparently pseudonymous, P.J. Night. They swap Halloween memories, recommend Halloween activities, and occasionally say things about the actual book. Fangs for stopping by!
On part two of our Are You Afraid of the Dark? retrospective, we discuss the three-part meta-episode, The Tale of the Silver Sight! Jose and Eric bag on child actors, bag on the writing, and bag on the look and feel of the post-revival show. But they love it...they swear.
Opening music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio
As the last dog day of August slips by, join us on a trip to a utopian ladder-filled library as we pore through junior encyclopedias for classic creature features. The yellowing pages! The crummy Xeroxed black-and-white photographs! The musty scent of a book that ought to have been "weeded" (an industry term, apparently) decades ago. Ah, nostalgia, thy name is Crestwood. Also, Jose and Eric discuss why they will probably never do a...
Popular Podcasts
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.