Penn State Altoona professor interviews Kailee Pedersen on ‘Horror Joy’ podcast

ALTOONA, Pa. — Penn State Altoona faculty members Brian Onishi, associate professor of philosophy, and Jeff Stoyanoff, associate professor of English and of women's, gender and sexuality studies, have released a new episode of their "Horror Joy" podcast. In the latest “Meet Your Maker” episode, Onishi interviews horror writer and opera singer Kailee Pedersen about the relationship between horror and joy, which Pedersen links to the genre’s transgressive freedom, including psychological unsettlement and marginalized protagonists.



Pedersen discusses her writing origins (starting seriously at 13, early Neopets fan fiction, and supportive teachers), her path from poetry and creative nonfiction to novels and how horror “found” her through an interest in uncomfortable, suppressed aspects of human psychology. Onishi and Pedersen discuss her books “Pastorale,” “Sacrificial Animals” and “The Minimalist,” including how “The Minimalist” draws heavily on real experiences in classical music, including pressure, failure, mental health, suicide, racialization, antisemitism and homophobia, Pedersen said. The two explore trauma-based “haunting,” genre as marketing, first-person narration, prepared piano references and Pedersen’s current horror joy in playing Call of Cthulhu tabletop RPGs.



The full episodes of "Horror Joy" can be accessed on podcast providers or on Red Circle.