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