#229: Spiral (2021)

It may be 11/11, but this genie in a bottle (or djinn in an amulet) isn’t here to make your dreams come true.  Be careful what you wish for in 1997’s Wishmaster.Follow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: Wishmaster IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120524/trivia/?_ssoLoop=1Wishmaster Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wishmaster_(film)Why Wishmasters Is Kinda a Mess (But Still Really Fun) for Wicked Horror: https://www.wickedhorror.com/features/retrospectives/wishmaster-kind-mess-still-really-fun/#google_vignette

Lestat de Lioncourt creeped his way into our Halloween costumes and he was a warning of what was to come when we meet him broodier than ever in his modern day melancholy.  Find out what happens when he meets his match in Akasha, Queen of the Damned (2002).Follow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: Gómez, Max. “22 Years Later, The Queen of the Damned Deserves a Chance at Immortality: How the Highly Controversial 2002 Book-to-Film Adaptation Became a Glorified Gothic Nu Metal Cult Classic.” Medium, 31 Dec. 2024, https://medium.com/@thehecate1989/the-queen-of-the-damned-deserves-a-chance-at-immortality-how-the-highly-controversial-2002-7a8bd2d3cf23. mak3330. “The Queen of the Damned Was Cinema’s First Disposable Black Girlfriend Trope: Thoughts on, Racism, Intersectionality + Desirability Politics.” Reddit, r/InterviewVampire, https://www.reddit.com/r/InterviewVampire/comments/1w20o79/the_queen_of_the_damned_was_cinemas_first/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.Poole, W. Scott. “Undead Americans.” Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsessions with the Hideous and the Haunting. 2nd edition. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2018. Print.“Queen of the Damned” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_the_Damned. Accessed October 2026. “Queen of the Damned (2002)” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238546/. Accessed October 2026.

Trick [o]r’ Treat (2007), whorrors!  ***CONTENT WARNING: death of a child, sexual assaultFollow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: Costumes and Sexuality in Michael Dougherty’s ‘Trick ‘r Treat’ by Jenn Adams: https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/417368/costumes-and-sexuality-in-michael-doughertys-trick-r-treat/Trick ‘r Treat IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0862856/trivia/?_ssoLoop=1Trick ‘r Treat Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick_%27r_TreatThe Trick ‘r Treat Scene that Quietly Rewrote Werewolf Lore by Amy Watkins: https://www.cbr.com/trick-r-treat-werewolf-scene/

It’s episode 6 of a ghost hunting show and the crew thinks this asylum will be as relaxing as a bath - until the doors disappear and the bath water runs red.  Fool around with some found footage with us in Grave Encounters (2011).***CONTENT WARNING: discussion of suicide Follow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: Grave Encounters Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_Encounters

We’re in a castle in Transylvania, but the blood in this movie is more powerful than you think.  Listen for the sounds of church (or grave) bells and keep an eye on the Abbess as we recount The Nun (2018).  ***CONTENT WARNING: discussion of suicide Follow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: “Houska Castle.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houska_Castle. Accessed 24 Sept. 2026.Pacatte, Rose. “One Nun’s Take on Horror Film ‘The Nun.’” National Catholic Reporter, 6 Sept. 2018, https://www.ncronline.org/culture/one-nuns-take-horror-film-nun “The Nun (2018 Film)” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nun_(2018_film)   “The Nun” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5814060/trivia/?ref_=tt_dyk_trv 

A broken mirror is typically a bad omen, but what happens when a mirror’s grasp on a traumatized detective refuses to crack?  Find out what lingers in the reflections of the charred Mayflower in 2008’s Mirrors.***CONTENT WARNING: discussion of addiction, suicide, 9/11Follow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: Mirrors (2008): The Madness that Moves Men by Ruth Bushi: https://www.thehaughtyculturist.com/films/mirrors-2008-horror-film-commentary-analysis/Mirrors Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirrors_(2008_film)

A witch’s potion and a nasty rumor shouldn’t be enough to kick off centuries of drama, but when the Puritans are involved, all bets are off (but deals with the devil are on).  Find out the true origin story of the Shadyside curse in Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (2021).***CONTENT WARNING: discussion of homophobia, hangingFollow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: “Fear Street Part Three: 1666.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_Street_Part_Three:_1666   “Fear Street: Part Three - 1666.” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9701942/  “Fear Street Part 3: 1666 (2021) KILL COUNT” YouTube, uploaded by Dead Meat: 5 Sept. 2021.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1A9A_shNV0   Jorge, Marina Soler, and Ana Karolina Aparecida Alves da Silva. "The Slasher Trilogy Fear Street in a Comparative Perspective: Between Intertextuality and Diversity." Comparative Cinema, vol. 13, no. 24, 2025, pp. 67-91, https://doi.org/10.31009/cc.2025.v13.i24.04 

The year is 1978 and the campers are competing, the counselors are kissing, and the axe-wielding maniac is here to spoil the fun . . . but not before the nurse ranting of a curse foretells the prophecy to come.  Find out why this one hits so close to home in Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (2021).   ***CONTENT WARNING: discussion of suicideFollow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: “Fear Street Part Two: 1978.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_Street_Part_Two:_1978  “Fear Street: Part Two - 1978.” IMDb. imdb.com/title/tt9701940/ “Fear Street Part 2: 1978 (2021) KILL COUNT” YouTube, uploaded by Dead Meat: 29 Aug. 2021.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S_dc2cmoZY  Jorge, Marina Soler, and Ana Karolina Aparecida Alves da Silva. "The Slasher Trilogy Fear Street in a Comparative Perspective: Between Intertextuality and Diversity." Comparative Cinema, vol. 13, no. 24, 2025, pp. 67-91, https://doi.org/10.31009/cc.2025.v13.i24.04 

The year is 1994 and AOL Instant Messenger is pinging, the mall is the place you (don’t) wanna be, and your ex ignores your mix tape to date a football player.  Not scary enough?  A masked killer with a unique bloodlust is on the prowl, and he’s not the only one.  Watch out for flying Gatorade coolers as you make your turn on to Fear Street (1994) (2021).***CONTENT WARNING: discussion of suicideFollow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: “Fear Street Part One: 1994.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_Street_Part_One:_1994 “Fear Street: Part One - 1994.” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6566576/ “List of Fear Street Books.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fear_Street_books “Fear Street: 1994 Is a Queer Love Story.” IndieWire, 2021, https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/fear-street-netflix-queer-love-story-1234647232/. Watermeier, Sam. “Fear Street Part 1: 1994.” Midwest Film Journal, 4 July 2021, https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2021/07/04/fear-street-part-1-1994/?utm_source=chatgpt.com. “Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021) KILL COUNT.” YouTube, uploaded by Dead Meat: 22 Aug. 2021.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrerqYACSQU 

Billy’s on vacation, John Kramer is a distant memory, but a copy cat has got the police department’s tongue on what could be causing this next string of killings.  Follow us to the end of the Spiral (2021) to reach our conclusion of Sawtember!***CONTENT WARNING: police brutality Follow us on Instagram at @thewhorrorspodcastEmail us at [email protected] by Gabrielle Fatula ([email protected])Music: Epic Industrial Music Trailer by SeverMusicProdStandard Music License Sources: Spiral (2021 Film) Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_(2021_film) Spiral (2021) IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10342730/ JiggySawGirl. TikTok, uploaded 23 Dec. 2022, https://www.tiktok.com/@jiggysawgirl/video/7180514292423347498. Accessed 21 July 2026.