Penn State Altoona faculty’s podcast features horror author Rachel Harrison

ALTOONA, Pa. - Penn State Altoona faculty members Brian Onishi, associate professor of philosophy, and Jeff Stoyanoff, assistant professor of English and of women's, gender and sexuality studies, have released a new episode of their "Horror Joy" podcast. In the latest episode, the hosts interview Rachel Harrison - author of "The Return," "Such Sharp Teeth," "So Thirsty" and "Black Sheep" - about the relationship between horror and joy, her writing origin story and her novel "Play Nice."

Harrison describes horror's joy as catharsis and a safe space for fear, anxiety, and "big feelings," offering empowerment through survival and, as a writer, control. She recounts studying screenwriting, moving from LA to New York, working on TV jobs, writing short speculative fiction and publishing "The Return" in 2020.

Harris discusses finding community - especially through Clay McLeod Chapman and Nat Cassidy - during lockdown and navigating "cafeteria anxiety." On haunted houses, she emphasizes home as supposed safety, and explores tropes of women not being believed, gaslighting and emotional abuse, including "Play Nice's" book-within-a-book framing.

The author previews her upcoming work, "Kiss, Slay, Replay," recommends Liz Kerin's "How to Disappear Completely" and praises the Netflix series "Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen."

The full episode can be accessed on podcast providers or on Red Circle.