Altoona faculty’s podcast delves into joy, meaning and mythmaking in horror

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 "Meet Your Maker" episode, the hosts are joined by author A.C. Wise to talk about joy in horror, her books "The Ghost Sequences" (2021) and "Out of the Drowning Deep" (2024), and her new novel "Ballad of the Bone Road" (Jan. 26, 2026).

Wise describes horror's joy as an adrenaline-driven extreme emotional response akin to excitement and traces her horror roots to "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," darker fairy tales and lifelong ghost-story interests. The hosts and Wise discuss how others react to her genre work, her day job at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and shifts in speculative fiction toward mainstream popularity and genre mashups.

Wise explains "Out of the Drowning Deep" as a noir/horror/science-fantasy blend exploring faith, meaning-making and a feedback loop between divinity and belief, including inhuman, unsettling angels. She recounts the near-rights-issue backstory of "The Ghost Sequences" cover and notes the title story's inspiration from a ghost-themed art installation.

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