Just in time for the Halloween season, the Superfan Podcast has returned with all-new episodes “in which the people who make the stories that scare you talk about the spooky stories that they love!” For season three of the Superfan Podcast, which Daily Dead is proud to be a sponsor of, co-hosts Kristen Simon and David Hyde are joined by an all-star line-up of award-winning comic book writers and artists, including Patrick Horvath, Tyler Crook, Victor LaValle, Mat Johnson, Matt Wagner, and Kelley Jones.
For our latest interview, I wanted to turn the attention toward Superfan Podcast co-hosts David Hyde and Kristen Simon for a Halloween season Q&A, discussing must-watch horror movies, favorite Halloween memories, decorations to die for, the perfect seasonal cocktails, playlist picks, and more!
Is there a horror film or films that you must watch every year during the Halloween season?
David Hyde: There are some key touchstones for me. Like most horror nerds, I love the classics – the seminal Universal Monster movies, the Hammer films, Val Lewton’s movies for RKO, like the original Cat People and Curse of the Cat People. I’m a big fan of the Scream franchise and their particular brand of puzzle box mysteries. But the three movies I watch almost every year are Bram Stoker’s Dracula, American Werewolf in London, and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. Is it really Halloween if I don’t watch those movies? I don’t think so!
Kristen Simon: I’m one of those who watch Practical Magic every year. This year I watched it, plus saw the sequel in the theater. Not really a horror film, but it does have an accidental homicide and an ancestral curse.
David Hyde: I’ve actually never seen Practical Magic, but I’ll have to follow Kris’ recommendation and check it out. And I will say that I am inspired by the conversation on this season of the Superfan podcast with Victor LaValle and Mat Johnson about John Carpenter’s The Thing. I feel like I’m due for a re-watch of that movie. Both Victor and Mat re-watch that movie every year and after talking with them about their love of Carpenter’s first big studio picture, I can understand why it’s an annual rewatch for both of them.
Do you have a favorite Halloween party or trick or treating memory that you can share?
Kristen Simon: I think it was when I dressed my dog up as Michaelangelo (TMNT) for the IDW Halloween party three years ago. This year she’s going to be a slice of pizza. In honor of being in Chicago, where the pizza is clearly the best.
David Hyde: The year I proposed to my then girlfriend, now wife, I wanted us to dress as Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride of Frankenstein. I planned on proposing at the party, in front of our friends. But then I got the ring…. and I just could not wait three weeks until the party. I proposed that night! We still wore those costumes and the night became a celebration of our engagement, instead of a spooky surprise proposal.
Are you eyeing any new decorations this Halloween season or have you picked up anything already?
Kristen Simon: My parents have this life-sized creepy cloaked skeleton that they put in a different spot outside every year. They told me that they can’t put it on the porch anymore because it scared the kids too much, and they wouldn’t ring the doorbell. So this year, I stuck it there in a chair with a sign around its neck that said “Waiting for Halloween candy since the 1900’s…maybe I should have rung the doorbell?” I figured both adults and kids would get a kick out of that!
David Hyde: We do try to get at least one new Halloween decoration each year. Last year we got mid-century Halloween salt and pepper shakers for our undead luau. This year we got these incredible mid-century style Halloween buckets from Lush which are super stylish.
Do you have any tips or tricks for our readers that are throwing a Halloween party this year?
Kristen Simon: Always have more food and drink than you think you’ll need. Better to have too much than too little.
David Hyde: Listen to Kris!
Also, not everyone likes to dress up in costumes, but those that do, create a theme. Following last year’s undead luau, we hosted a space odyssey costume party this year. Not everyone was dressed ready to be beamed up, but a lot of people were, and it just brought the whole night to the next level.
Do you have a go-to Halloween cocktail or mocktail?
David Hyde: We have a number of Halloween themed cocktails that I like to serve friends, but the one I come back to the most is probably The Skeleton Key, because it sounds spooky and tastes delicious.
Kristen Simon: I have a mocktail that can turn into a cocktail. It’s multi-purpose. I get high-end apple cider (the kind that is freshly made, not processed), put it in a crockpot with cinnamon sticks, orange slices and whole allspice. Keep it on low, and that’s my mulled apple cider. Ladle yourself a mugful, add in a shot of Ole Smoky Apple Pie Moonshine, and watch out! This drink creeps up on you if you’re not careful!
For readers putting together their Halloween party playlist, do you have any song recommendations that you wouldn’t find on a typical Halloween playlist?
Kristen Simon: David Hyde puts together the best Halloween playlists! He sends one to me every year. As a matter of fact, I believe he added one to the show notes of the first episode of season three, with Patrick Horvath and Tyler Crook talking about David Lynch!
David Hyde: Aww thanks, Kris.
When pulling together any playlist, you want to balance the deep cuts with the music everyone wants to hear. For this year’s Halloween playlist, with its outer space theme, I was not afraid to get obscure. We have Leonard Nimoy singing and we have William Shantner singing, but we also have songs that will make you want to dance: Parliament, Kraftwork, “The Purple People Eater.” I also worked in a number of references to this spooky season of the Superfan podcast, so there’s the Ventures “Twilight Zone,” for the Ricahrd Matheson episode with Eric Powell and Steve Niles, and a song from The Thing soundtrack, as a nod to the conversation with Vic LaValle and Mat Johnson about Carpenter’s The Thing.
If you got pulled into the middle of a horror movie, book, or comic book, what would you pick and why?
Kristen Simon: Dogwitch. The original influencer! Dan Schaffer was ahead of his time with that comic. I loved that series when it was coming out. That girl gave zero f’s about how people felt about her, she just followed her passions! Her gory, fiendish, heinous passions…which she filmed and then released direct to home video. Amazing. Living life on her own terms.
David Hyde: What a fun question! I think I’d want to be in Young Frankenstein because one it’s one of the safer narratives to be dropped into and also because Terri Garr, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Gene Hackman are one of the great casts of all time and there would be so much laughter and joy among the spooky shadows and laboratory experiments.
You know, Kris, we really should have done an episode in which we talk about Young Frankenstein and Practical Magic….
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To catch up on this season’s episodes, we’ve included links and YouTube embeds below. Want even more of the Superfan Podcast? They’ll be dropping a special treat for paid subscribers on Halloween: a fun-sized episode in which Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones talk about making Dracula graphic novels.
From the Press Release: “Just in time for the spooky season, the Superfan Podcast is back with all-new episodes, in which the people who make the stories that scare you talk about the spooky stories that they love. For season three of the Superfan Podcast, co-hosts Kristen Simon (Executive Editor at Mad Cave Studios’ Nakama Press) and David Hyde (Superfan Promotions founder) are joined by an all-star line-up of award-winning comic book writers and artists who are both experts and enthusiasts of the horror genre. The season’s episodes pair friends and creative collaborators talking about a favorite, shared, spooky obsession.
The Superfan Podcast season three debuts with a conversation about David Lynch with the creative team of Oni Press’ eagerly awaited Archie in Hell series: Patrick Horvath, the Eisner Award Nominated creator of Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees, and Tyler Crook, the Russ Manning award-winning co-creator of Harrow County. The episode provides a compelling and in-depth exploration of a filmmaker so influential that his last name became an adjective for surreal storytelling: Lynchian. The duo discuss Lynch’s dream-like, extreme, and often horrific and violent filmography, the appeal of his controversial and diversive adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, and the many, many references to The Wizard of Oz in his stories.
“In previous seasons of the Superfan Podcast, we interviewed the people who make the comics you love talk about the things they love… that aren’t comics,” said co-host Kris Simon. “This season, we decided to pair two friends and unleash their shared enthusiasm for their favorite horror and crime stories. The result is a series of strange, dark, deep dives. If you listen to these episodes, you’ll have an excuse to revisit a favorite horror story or maybe you’ll be introduced to something new that will keep you up late at night.”
In episode two of the new season, award-winning novelist, comic book writer and screenwriter Mat Johnson (Pym, The Fall of the House of Usher) and his good friend, the award-winning novelist and comic book writer Victor LaValle (The Changeling, The Devil In Silver) discuss John Carpenter’s seminal, special effects masterpiece The Thing and the story’s many iterations in literature, film, and games. In episode three, Matt Wagner (Grendel) and his friend and collaborator on the blockbuster Dracula graphic novels from Orlock Press, artist Kelley Jones (Batman: Red Rain, The Sandman), discuss two very different films: Brian De Palma’s gonzo 1974 epic, Phantom Of The Paradise and famed director Krzysztof Kieślowski’s ambitious TV mini-series The Dekalog. In episode four, 30 Days of Night co-creator Steve Niles and The Goon creator Eric Powell discuss their shared love of the novelist and screenwriter Richard Matheson, the author of I Am Legend and a towering figure in the world of horror, whose writing inspired Stephen King, Anne Rice, George Romero, and Edgar Wright. The spooky season of the Superfan Podcast concludes in November with Nicole Goux and Mariko Tamaki, the Eisner Award-winning creators of the critically acclaimed YA graphic novel mystery This Place Kills Me, talking about 1980s murder mystery detective shows — specifically Murder She Wrote and Columbo — for a charming, crime fueled conversation in honor of Noirvember.
“This isn’t a show about trivia or obscure details; this is a show about fandom, by fans, for fans,” said co-host David Hyde. “The Superfan Podcast is a love letter to the stories that inspire the creators who inspire us. We’ll ask: was David Lynch the last modern surrealist? Why don’t more people know about Richard Matheson? Why are some stories remade so often? Is The Dekalog really a horror story? You’ll have to tune in to find out.”
For each episode, the co-hosts share a dessert recipe and a recommended cocktail and sometimes a mocktail inspired by the conversation. Episodes also include “call-in questions” from some of the biggest creators in comics, many of whom appeared in previous seasons of the show.
The Superfan Podcast is a production of Superfan Media. The Superfan Podcast theme song is performed by the band Low in the Shag, featuring Daniel Shulman on bass, Sasha Brustinov on keyboards, Ziv Fisher on drums, Eric Garcia on guitar, Jacob Shulman on saxophone, and Derek Zimmerman on percussion. The song was written by Daniel Shulman, who has played bass for Garbage and is currently performing with The Halloween Jack, alongside Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses), Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), and Eric Dover (Alice Cooper). The Superfan Podcast logo is designed by Criswell Lappin, former Creative Director of the legendary Metropolis Magazine, whose design work can be seen at criswelllappin.com. Season three is edited by Dara Z and sponsored by the Daily Dead, Fanbase Press, and Superfan Promotions. The season three promo image is by Christian Gossett, c-host of seasons one and two of the Superfan Podcast.
For more information, follow the Superfan Podcast on Substack, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube and visit https://superfanmedia.net. For show notes, behind-the-scenes information, dessert and cocktail recipes, and round table fandom conversations and interviews, follow the Superfan Signal.”
