Bad Books for Bad People

May 19 2024 2.5k
Bad Books for Bad People Podcast artwork

Every month (or so), Tenebrous Kate and Jack Guignol cover the weirdest, kinkiest, and most outrageous fiction we can unearth. The books discussed range from classics of gothic literature to startling works of new weird, from romantic potboilers to horror epics, from cult favorites to obscure pulp treasures. Join us for a smarter-than-average look at WAY-weirder-than-average books.

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Episode 76: Joyland - Murder, Manhood and MILFery

May 19 2024 108 mins  
Stephen King’s 2013 novel Joyland is the author’s second effort for publisher Hard Case Crime. Jack and Kate are ready to track the clues in this story of murder, romance, and amusement park professionals. What happens when the King of Horror gets a chance to be the Crime Writer Guy? Can the main character of his book ever achieve full carny acceptance? Why doesn’t the magica

Episode 75: Live Girls - Vampire Hookers vs. Ping Pong balls

Mar 23 2024 118 mins  
Ray Garton’s 1986 horror novel Live Girls may have the perfect bad book pitch: vampire hookers in seedy vintage Times Square. Jack and Kate travel back to a golden age of sleaze and encounter smokeshow bloodsucking strippers, donut-inspired dirty talk, and dancefloor remixes of “The Old Rugged Cross.” What perverted compulsion makes a vampire turn the worst dudes in the world

Episode 74: Nightmare House and Airport 77

Feb 19 2024 108 mins  
Once again, Jack and Kate trade reviews of books from their archives. This time around, Jack explores the terrifying mystery and romance of Rae Foley’s Nightmare House (1968) and Kate plunges straight into disaster with Airport 77 (1977). Why is dealing marijuana a worse crime than murder? Does a nightmare dude make a nightmare house into a nightmare home? Whose dick will be comp

Episode 73: Best of 2023

Dec 24 2023 95 mins  
Jack and Kate look at what they've read and watched in the year that was 2023 and make some recommendations in the world of books and beyond. The rules of engagement are simple: the hosts each choose one movie, album, TV show, and book that was the best experience of its kind, regardless of when it was actually produced. A little bit new, a little bit old, and a whole lot of weirdn

Episode 72: Spawn - Welcome to 90s Hell

Nov 27 2023 128 mins  
Todd McFarlane’s Spawn is one of the great comics success stories of the 1990s, and yet… our hosts remain in semi-complete ignorance of this undead superhero. Jack and Kate decide to educate themselves by reading the first 18 issues of the series where they encounter a world of bedazzlement, from shape-shifting demons and mafia cyborgs to a controversial Neil Gaiman collab. Oth

Episode 71: Vampira and Elvira - The Real Women Behind the Halloween Queens

Oct 14 2023 185 mins  
In a special, super-extended, spooky season episode, your hosts read a double feature of horror hostess biographies! Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi by Sandra Niemi and Yours Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson recount the drama-filled careers of two of the most iconic, goth-adjacent TV figures of all time. Jack and Kate take a candid look at

Episode 70: Priests of the Abomination and Still Dead, Book of the Dead 2

Sep 20 2023 125 mins  
In this episode, your hosts dig deep into their collection of vintage paperbacks and share their thoughts on dusty, lurid tales from decades past. Kate reads The Priests of the Abomination, a cult-flavored 1970 crime conspiracy thriller from Ivor Drummond, and Jack selects three gruesome stories from the zombie horror anthology Still Dead: Book of the Dead 2. Do rich people have

Episode 69: The Dead Run - an Exploitation Movie in Book Form

Aug 27 2023 93 mins  
Adam Mansbach brings on the two-fisted action in his 2013 novel The Dead Run, with the results capturing the exhilarating vibe of a vintage exploitation movie. When a series of crimes challenges the police on both sides of the US-Mexican border, the authorities learn that a shocking conspiracy may be afoot. What’s the most outrageous self-defense weapon? How wise is it to attemp

Episode 68: Edogawa Ranpo - The Grandaddy of Ero Guro

Aug 02 2023 77 mins  
Edogawa Ranpo pioneered the Japanese-language mystery story, taking inspiration from his pseudo-namesake Edgar Allan Poe and ultimately developing his own unique–and deeply disturbing–authorial voice. Jack and Kate take a look at three short stories from the collection Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination and encounter a world of erotic, grotesque nonsense. How do Ranpo’

Episode 67: The Open Curtain - Mormonsploitation?

Jun 03 2023 89 mins  
Brian Evenson’s 2006 novel The Open Curtain tracks the budding relationship between two Mormon teens… through the lens of mental illness, alienation, and ritual murder. Evenson’s novel takes Jack and Kate on a deeply uncomfortable journey into the darkest aspects of religion. Which gym teacher should be on duty when you start a beef with another student? Why should you always