Show Notes
In this episode of Talking Horror, Rachel Redd sits down with the brilliant Johanna Van Veen. Known for her haunting and intimate gothic novels My Darling, Dreadful Thing and Blood on Her Tongue, Johanna dives deep into how her historical fascinations and the unique dynamic of being a triplet have shaped her deeply unsettling stories.
We discuss her childhood terror of reading the Dutch equivalent of Goosebumps, the catharsis of writing unlikable women and sapphic romances in traditional gothic settings, and the bizarre history of bedazzled catacomb saints. Whether you're a lover of dark folklore, a fan of emotionally complex monster-human relationships, or just looking for your next gothic horror obsession, this conversation is for you.
Timestamps: 00:00 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Connecting Across Time Zones 04:10 – Johanna’s Horror Origin Story: Dutch Goosebumps 07:17 – The Family Computer & Learning to Blind Type 10:25 – Drowning Fairies & Mermaid Curses: Dutch Folklore Explained 12:53 – Being a Triplet & Channeling Sibling Dynamics into Middle-Grade Fiction 15:21 – A Modern Millennial Meet-Cute: Tumblr Fanfiction 17:08 – The Tumultuous Road to Publication & Scrapped First Drafts 30:17 – My Darling, Dreadful Thing: Grief, Mediums, and Comforting Monsters 39:54 – Blood on Her Tongue: Vampires, Unlikable Women, and Forms of Hunger 45:54 – Book History, 17th-Century Gratitude Journals, and Puritans 53:28 – Power Structures & Why Queer Romance Belongs in Gothic Fiction 57:33 – Bone of My Bone: The Thirty Years' War and Bedazzled Skeletons 1:06:25 – Future Releases & Rapid-Fire Gothic Game
Connect with Johanna Van Veen: Website: https://johannavanveen.com/ Instagram: @johannavanveen1997 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42245290.Johanna_van_Veen
Follow Talking Horror Podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelreddreads/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelredd
If you enjoyed this episode, please Like, Subscribe, and hit the notification bell to help us grow the horror community!
More from Talking Horror
Taylor Grothe, who also writes as T.G. Laine, is the author of the YA folk horror debut Hollow, the upcoming Monstrous Beautiful Things, and the new sapphic dark academia horror romance Lethal Kiss.
CONTENT WARNING: This episode covers some sensitive topics such as Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence.
Neil McRobert is the host of the Talking Scared podcast, a PhD in Gothic literature, and the author of the Stephen King blurbed novella Good Boy, with the chapbook House of Butterflies coming in December. Neil shares how a Vulture reading list for True Detective: Night Country led to Good Boy, a Northern Weird folk horror novella about a man, his dog, and a child-eating monster in a small English town. He explains why Good Boy is his answer to Stephen King's It, and what it really says about bigotry and getting stuck in your hometown. He gets honest about imposter syndrome at StokerCon, perfectionism, and why every podcast host should read the damn book. Plus, first details on House of Butterflies, set in a 1964 leaded gasoline refinery, and Bad Home, a violent home invasion novel about economic inequality.
Isabel Cañas is the USA Today bestselling, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of The Hacienda, Vampires of El Norte, and her YA gothic debut, The House of Gardenias. Isabel shares how an "air quotes too Mexican" rejection on her honeymoon in Mexico City led to The Hacienda, and how she defended her PhD in medieval Islamic history the day before it came out. She reveals the 1850s quote from Rio Grande bandit Juan Cortina about "flocks of vampires" that turned Vampires of El Norte into a story about settler colonialism. She connects The Possession of Alba Díaz to pregnancy, bodily autonomy, and the fall of Roe v. Wade. And she opens up about the real family story, her grandfather's abusive stepmother counting tortillas, that opens The House of Gardenias.
Noelle Ihli is the international bestselling, Bram Stoker Award longlisted author of Ask for Andrea, Grey After Dark, and her latest thriller, The Last to Drown.