Here’s Why You Need to Listen to The Living Fears
Hello, Ghouls and Gals!
My name is Nicole, and I am finally posting my first blog here at Unbrandable. Let me tell you a little bit more about myself, before I go on and tell you what’s on my brain. I am twenty-nine years old (’90s baby!). I have a wonderful husband. I love tattoos; I have twelve of them. I like to change my hairstyle and color up quite often. I play roller derby for the local team here called West Kentucky Rockin’ Rollers. I know you guys want to know what my roller derby name is, and if you don’t, too bad. I’m telling you anyway. My roller derby name is Thriller Jackson, and if that doesn’t tell you I love all things that are creepy, spooky, sci-fi, horror, supernatural, etc. I really don’t know what will. I have always found myself to kind of be an out of the ordinary type of girl. I never felt like I truly fit in with most groups, until I found my derby team, and now you guys.
I remember the first time I went to a Wizard World Comic Con and the feeling that just overcame me. I felt at home. I am thankful for this amazing opportunity to work for Unbrandable Media where I finally get to do what I love while getting a paycheck for it. (That’s always a plus.) This has always been a dream of mine. Within the last few years, I really started getting into podcasts. Oh, of course, as a female who loves true crime, I started with those first. I slowly started to venture out into other types of podcasts, like audio dramas.
The Living Fears is just that. Forrest County Sheriff’s Deputy Maggie Burroughs is having a bad day. First there was the cold, wet winter weather, then a car accident on an icy bridge, and finally a routine stop to investigate a claim of neglected children. At an ages-old abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, she finds a little girl and boy, and ends up (as one does in any horror story) dealing with far more than she could have ever expected. [PEH1]
When I was listening to the podcast, I started thinking about similarities to other horror touchstones from my world. The Living Fears reminds me, in strictly non-mask wearing ways, of the movie Scream, in its use of (and twists on) time honored tropes of horror. Just like that silver screen classic, The Living Fears is an onslaught of self-referential (if you love horror, like I love horror) thrills and chills. They are both truly juggernauts, inspired by decade upon decade of OG horror on the screen, on the radio, and in fiction. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as films of this type go. Scream is still a wonderful piece of cinema horror history.
That comparison started my mind pondering their similarities. Think about it. You have two small towns with some strange things happening recently. Both have the police force involved. Both have characters who were aware of real-world horror films and openly discussed the clichés that they attempted to subvert. In Scream, you have the cop who is trying to catch the killer and help the teenagers out, only to get in the way and almost get himself killed.
Deputy Dwight “Dewey” Riley : Well, a “serial killer” is not really correct. Gotta knock off a couple more to get that title. Scream (1996)
You have Maggie in The Living Fears getting called to this creepy house, in the middle of nowhere, about kids needing to be taken in because of neglect, and not to mention terrible icy weather. I come from a small town, and when there is bad weather no one—and I mean no one—wants to be out in that mess. Therefore, I can see a relation in both stories in more ways than not. [PEH2]
I had anoth[PEH3] er thought when Maggie starts talking to the kids to find out if they are alone or if they have parents. She straight up pretty much ignores everything Boy tells[PEH4] her. She plays the typical I am not going to believe anything that comes out of this child’s mouth, or just let it go in one ear and out the other. I caught myself talking to the computer while listening like, “OMG, Lady! Can’t you tell these kids are not what they appear to be?” She is truly the typical horror adult not actually paying close attention to the danger drawing ever closer, minute by minute.
Then my mind jumped (don’t worry, it landed safely) to another classic staple in the “spooky shit” library of my interests. This time a television show that The Living Fears reminds me of, Supernatural. The reason why, I think, my brain made this all-too-natural connection between the show and the podcast is Father. Clearly a spiritual relation if ever there was one. Father has the whole Supernatural vibe to him. Without a doubt. An epic creature of darkness from the distant past, packed with lore and-well, bang. Dead on, to a T. He could easily have faced off with Sam and Dean.
But moreover, let me take it back to Maggie, the deputy in The Living Fears. She reminds me of the character Sheriff Jody Mills. In Supernatural, Sheriff Jody Mills is a small-town cop who gets called to a strange scene where supernatural events occur in her first episode. She is very skeptical of the truth she sees unfolding right in front of her. The evidence is literally walking around in front of her face! The dead in her town suddenly rise from their graves and start continuing the lives they had before they passed. Very good episode and story, but that’s just one comparison, and I could go on and on forever making comparisons between the whole series of Supernatural and Father from The Living Fears.
Sheriff Jody Mills:
“You want me to enlist my men in a protection detail against vampires? Frank’s still in the dark about what hit him last night. The guy still has nightmares about the barn episode of Walking Dead.” (Supernatural 2005)
I hope you enjoyed this little rambling foray into my mind. I know I did. I also hope you’ve had a chance to check out the other blog posts on here, and even more so The Living Fears podcast, and (because this is online and I’m therefore obligated by all the digital laws to say this) liked and subscribed to all our social media pages. I’m going to do my best to post more content as we enter spooky season.
Currently we’re nearing the end of production on our upcoming series Veronica, so look forward to all our upcoming content (posts, artwork, and various assorted other materials) related to that project. What’s that? You want to know more about it now? Well, ok, I guess. Since you asked so nicely. Veronica will be a seven-season paranormal action/thriller audio drama. If you love anything to do with vampires, ghosts, zombies, magic, and thrilling things that go bump in the night, this series is for you. Here’s a brief description.
For Veronica Fischer, the night-to-night life of a vampire madam in Middle America is tough enough before she adopts Rachel Gregory, an eight-year-old ghost. After Veronica’s house is set on fire, Rachel disappears, warrants are out for Veronica’s arrest, and there’s a hit out on her unlife, Veronica realizes she’s going to need some help. Now, Veronica has to contend with horny zombies, violent spirits, and murderous grave robbers if she’s ever going to find Rachel and discover the awful truth of the coming supernatural storm.
See what I mean? Small-town life can be hard for a dead girl.
All right, well, thanks for sticking with me to the end, and thanks for all the kind words, questions, and for your rapt attention and complete agreement with me, I always appreciate it. That goes for everyone except you. I heard what you said and it wasn’t nice. So, consider yourself on notice. Don’t make me take a tone with you. But anyway, to everyone else, I wish you only the best that spooky season has to offer.
Until next time, my dear Ghouls and Gals!
Sincerely,
Nicole
