#69: America's Satanic Panic

Dim the lights, grab your candy bucket, and gather ‘round the TV set, kids, because it’s the Itty Bitty Horror Halloween Special! 📺 👻 🎃 This year, Luis and Tim swing open the doors to their own haunted pasts, joined by a very special guest star: Jen, owner of Mother Tongue Cafe & Bar! We discuss our favorite halloween memories from our little itty bitty years to our more mature years...👀 We also rank our favorite halloween candies (and worst ones!) AND share our recommended double features!  Plus Jen calls out Tim for his previous decision to rank Laurie Strode over Ripley (from our Final Girls Tournament)! So pop the popcorn, check under the bed, and don’t touch that dial! Also join us TONIGHT for a live event: Horror Movie Trivia Night at Mother Tongue Cafe & Bar (308 41st St, Oakland). Doors open at 7:00 pm and trivia starts at 7:30 pm. Admission is FREE! Reserve your spot here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horror-movie-trivia-on-all-hallows-eve-tickets-2000932080717 Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Podcast Theme Song by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic

You've been warned about him your whole life. In the 1980s, America went looking for the devil and found him in daycare centers, heavy metal records, and teenage bedrooms. Luis and Tim dig into the Satanic Panic, from the 1985 Senate hearing that gave us the Parental Advisory sticker to a Texas house fire where two rock posters helped send a man to his execution. Then they tune in to Geraldo Rivera's record-breaking devil worship special, the BBC's Ghostwatch, and the day Marilyn Manson went on Donahue to talk about moshing. We're also hosting a horror trivia night at Mother Tongue on October 30th. It's our first time hosting one, and if you're in the Bay Area, grab your FREE tickets HERE Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Podcast Theme Song by Gail Gallagher Sources: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_panic • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parents_Music_Resource_Center • https://wams.nyhistory.org/primary-source/music-censorship/ • https://www.npr.org/2025/09/12/nx-s1-5460888/music-parental-advisory-sticker-tipper-gore • https://washingtonian.com/2015/02/02/5-excellent-moments-from-the-senates-1985-rock-lyrics-hearing/ • https://loudwire.com/twisted-sisters-dee-snider-1985-pmrc-senate-hearing/ • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Snider • https://www.newsweek.com/2015/10/09/oral-history-tipper-gores-war-explicit-rock-lyrics-dee-snider-373103.html • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_Advisory • https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/death-by-fire/ • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Todd_Willingham • https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/03/18/willingham-prosecutor-accused-of-misconduct • https://innocenceproject.org/texas-prosecutor-untroubled-by-willingham-evidence/ • https://www.npr.org/transcripts/997559036 • https://gizmodo.com/when-geraldo-rivera-took-on-satanism-and-a-very-confus-5829171 • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwatch • https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/37153/1/that-time-marilyn-manson-was-on-a-talk-show-about-moshing • https://loudwire.com/young-marilyn-manson-debates-moshing-with-parents-1995/

You've heard her music at the top of every episode. This time, Luis and Tim sit down with the composer behind it, Gail Gallagher, to talk about how she got into composing, how she found her way into horror, and her new horror album, May Contain Ghosts. Gail plays a few tracks blind while Luis and Tim guess the scenes they belong to, then reveals what actually inspired each one. They close out by handing her a stack of horror movies to watch, including a few classics she's never seen. Listen to May Contain Ghosts at gailgallaghermusic.com/may-contain-ghosts and follow her at @gailgmusic on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Gail is hosting a listening party for May Contain Ghosts on October 24th at 4 PM at Goodness, a community space off Piedmont, near Pete's. Bring a sketchpad, a craft, and a drink, and listen to the full album. RSVP at the album link above. We're also hosting a horror trivia night at Mother Tongue on October 30th. It's our first time hosting one, and if you're in the Bay Area, grab your FREE tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horror-movie-trivia-on-all-hallows-eve-tickets-2000932080717 Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Podcast Theme Song by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Sources: • http://gailgallaghermusic.com/may-contain-ghosts • https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horror-movie-trivia-on-all-hallows-eve-tickets-2000932080717

The Evolution of Hagsploitation: 2000 & Beyond Hollywood has always had a role waiting for women over 40: unhinged, decaying, possibly a witch, definitely screaming at some point. Luis and Tim welcome back resident cinephile Chris Stevens to trace what happened to the "psycho biddy" after 2000, from Requiem for a Dream and The Substance to The Taking of Deborah Logan, Hereditary, Barbarian, and Ti West's X trilogy. Are we supposed to fear these women, or grieve them? Our personal Top 5 Hagsploitation films are on Substack under Itty Bitty Horror Podcast (link in the show notes). Films Discussed Requiem for a Dream (2000) The Others (2001) Halloween H20 The Substance (2024) The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014) The Visit (2015) Hereditary (2018) Suspiria (2018) Barbarian (2022) X (2022), Pearl (2022), MaXXXine (2024) Drag Me to Hell  Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Podcast Theme Song by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Sources Hammer Films, "Hagsploitation: All This Time We Could Have Been Friends": https://hammerfilms.com/blogs/news/hagsploitation-all-this-time-we-could-have-been-friends

In this episode of the Itty Bitty Horror Podcast, we head to Mexico for three chilling stories about women who became legends. We talk about La Planchada, the mysterious nurse who is said to appear in hospitals, La Pascualita, the eerily lifelike bridal mannequin displayed in Chihuahua, and Juana Barraza, the real life serial killer known as the “Little Old Lady Killer.” Three women, three very different stories, and plenty of Mexican folklore, mystery, and horror to unpack. Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Podcast Theme Song by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Sources:  La Planchada seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2012/06/mexican-ghost-story-la-planchada.html reddit.com/r/Thetruthishere, u/slayingimmortal La Pascualita naturallywicked.store/blogs/news/the-chilling-tale-of-la-pascualita youtube.com/watch?v=0F111v0KY80 truthintheshadowscmp.com/post/the-legend-of-la-pascualita-the-bride-who-never-died-by-kandy-gutierrez-truth-in-the-shadows-cri factschology.com/mmm-podcast-articles/pascualita-corpse-bride-mexico Juana Barraza medium.com/tftunderworld, "From Mexican Wrestling Sensation to Serial Killer," by Tim Reynolds crimereads.com/juana-barraza-the-woman-who-was-killing-mexicos-elderly-women oxygen.com/crime-news/what-happened-to-mexican-serial-killer-juana-barraza criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Juana_Barraza en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juana_Barraza allthatsinteresting.com/juana-barraza  

New Episode: Dominican Republic: Noches Malditas (Cursed Nights) Dominican folklore runs deeper than campfire stories, and Luis and Tim spend this episode proving it. They start with the tangled history behind it all, Taíno belief, Spanish Catholicism, and West African spiritual tradition, all layered on top of each other for centuries, before diving into three very different creatures born from that mix. First up is El Bacá, a demon summoned through a pact with the devil, including a real, academically documented case of the legend surfacing on the floor of an actual Santiago garment factory in the early 2000s, complete with unexplained deaths, blood in the machinery, and a night shift nobody could keep staffed. Then it's La Ciguapa, the mountain woman with backward feet who's impossible to track, and whose 1866 origin story turns out to be tangled up with real slave rebellions and a newly independent nation deciding who got to belong. They close with El Galipote, a shapeshifter from the San Juan region who's said to be born, not made, and who can turn into a dog, a bird, or even a tree standing quietly by the road. Buy You Should Have Been Nicer to My Mom here Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Podcast Theme Song by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Sources:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bac%C3%A1_(mythological_creature)  https://www.international.ucla.edu/lai/article/202890  https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/3601/Betes-NoiresSorcery-as-History-in-the-Haitian  https://brill.com/view/journals/nwig/87/3-4/article-p294_2.xml https://pisqueya.com/blogs/news/4-dominican-urban-legends-of-dark-creatures-that-go-bump-in-the-night https://www.colonialzone-dr.com/el-baca/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galipote_(mythological_creature)

New Episode: San Francisco kicked its dead out over a century ago, and Colma became the town built to hold them. Luis and Tim dig into the strange history of “the City of the Dead,” home to 1.5 million bodies and 17 cemeteries with barely any living residents, before turning back to San Francisco itself, where not everyone made the move. They cover the true story of “Miranda Eve,” a sealed 1800s casket found in a Lone Mountain backyard that turned out to be missing toddler Edith Howard Cook; a 155-year-old family tombstone uncovered by electricians under a home on Iris Avenue; and the unsettling fact that a Target on Geary and Masonic sits directly on top of a former Calvary Cemetery burial ground. Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM ! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Music by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Sources:  •https://www.kqed.org/news/10779164/why-are-so-many-dead-people-in-colma-and-so-few-in-san-francisco •https://abc7news.com/1800s-girl-found-in-backyard-of-san-francisco-home-casket-miranda-eve-identity-edith-howard-cook-identified/1973171/ •https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/155-year-old-family-tombstone-found-San-Francisco-11748125.php •https://underscoresf.com/remember-theres-a-san-francisco-target-built-on-a-cemetery/

P63: Aqua Tofana e Il Mostro di Via Bagnera: This week Tim and Luis head to Italy for a double dose of dark history. First up: Aqua Tofana, the near-undetectable poison invented by Giulia Tofana in 17th century Rome, sold to desperate women looking to escape violent marriages, and blamed for hundreds of deaths across Sicily, Naples, and Rome. Then it’s on to 19th century Milan, where Antonio Boggia, considered Italy’s first serial killer, lured victims into a warehouse on the narrowest street in the city and buried them beneath the floor. Poison, an ax, and a street that still supposedly holds a ghost. Buon ascolto. Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM ! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Music by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Sources:  Wikipedia — Giulia Tofana: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulia_Tofana Wikipedia — Aqua Tofana: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_Tofana Mike Dash, "Aqua Tofana: slow-poisoning and husband-killing in 17th century Italy": https://mikedashhistory.com/2015/04/06/aqua-tofana-slow-poisoning-and-husband-killing-in-17th-century-italy/ Wikipedia — Antonio Boggia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Boggia Secret Maps, "Via Bagnera - Antonio Boggia": https://www.secretmaps.net/en/via-bagnera-antonio-boggia-the-first-italian-serial-killer/ Turismo Roma (official), "The Ghosts of Rome": https://www.turismoroma.it/en/page/ghosts-rome Journeys to Italy, "Ghost Stories of Rome": https://www.journeystoitaly.com/ghost-stories-of-rome-haunted-sites-and-legends/ ItalyGuides.it, "Top 10 famous ghosts of Rome": https://www.italyguides.it/en/lazio/rome/travel-guides/travel-tips/top-10-famous-ghosts-of-rome 3 Days in Milan, "Milan's most macabre places": https://3daysinmilan.com/milans-most-macabre-places/ YesMilano (official Milan tourism), "A super-scary itinerary in Milan": https://www.yesmilano.it/en/see-and-do/itineraries/super-scary-itinerary

2 Wheels. 1 Story.  First, we spin a wheel with horror characters we've discussed in previous episodes (think La Llorona, Evil Santa Claus). Second, we spin a second wheel with different day to day activities (applies for a loan, gets kicked out of an Airbnb).  Then Tim & Luis come up with a scenario on how this would play out. You won't want to miss this!  Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM ! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Music by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic

In this episode of Itty Bitty Horror, we’re heading back into the dark corners of Reddit, specifically the legendary /nosleep subreddit, to uncover a story so absurd and terrifying, it’ll have you canceling your upcoming flight!  This week, we’re discussing the nightmare tale: “I’ve Been Flying for Almost Thirty Hours and the Flight Attendants Won’t Stop Crying.” What starts as a simple red-eye flight from NYC to LA quickly spirals into pure psychological horror when one passenger realizes the flight… never lands. Six hours turns into days. Days turn into months. No layovers. No escape. Just nonstop terror at 30,000 feet. The story unfolds in three parts with voice 'acting' by Luis & Tim. Make sure you fasten your seatbelts and keep an eye out for these pesky flight attendants!  --- Follow us for upcoming episodes & other spooky stories on INSTAGRAM ! Check us out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts! (LINKTREE) Hosted by: Luis & Tim Artwork by: Quy Music by Gail Gallagher Website: www.gailgallaghermusic.com Instagram: @gailgmusic Story links: Parts 1, 2, 3