Neil McRobert on Good Boy: How Walking His Dog Sparked a Horror Novella Stephen King Loved

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.

Timestamps: 00:01 – Welcome to Talking Horror & Meeting Neil McRobert 02:44 – Harryhausen, Norse Serpents and a Lifelong Love of Monsters 04:31 – Dad Telling Him the Plot of Carrie on Holiday in Greece 05:19 – Point Horror and Getting His Mum Called Into School 07:00 – A Working Class Kid Who Wanted to Be a Film Director 08:47 – A PhD in Gothic Studies (and Horror Metafiction) 10:06 – Manny in Switzerland, Llama Farmer, Michelin Star Kitchen 13:10 – Why Writing Is Torture: Perfectionism and Type 2 Fun 15:32 – Imposter Syndrome and Not Feeling "In the Club" 17:52 – Quitting His Job in Lockdown and Emailing Paul Tremblay 21:30 – Fearless on Stage, Terrified of Rabies 24:25 – The Thrill of the Chase: How He Landed Stephen King 27:35 – A Rocky Mountain Horror Camp and Finding Your People 30:57 – Social Media Dopamine and Performative Rage Online 33:59 – The StokerCon Moment That Finally Made Him Write 37:43 – A Vulture Article, Bear Season and the Northern Weird Series 40:58 – 1,500 Words a Day: Writing Good Boy in Three Weeks 41:46 – Ted the Jack Russell and the Tree That Started It All 45:16 – Stephen King's It in a Small English Town 47:24 – Small British Towns, Bigotry and the Real Jim Howarth 50:35 – Doing Good Without Posting About It 52:18 – Growing Up on the Knee of Stephen King 57:33 – Why You Need to Read Dolores Claiborne 58:39 – Spinning Plates: Podcast Scripts and Reading Until 2 a.m. 1:02:53 – "Read the Damn Book": Why Hosts Have to Do the Homework 1:04:31 – The Day Stephen King Sent Him the New Talisman Manuscript 1:07:56 – House of Butterflies: Leaded Gasoline Horror in 1964 New Jersey 1:08:54 – Bad Home: Writing a Cruel Book With Heart 1:14:18 – Neil's Underrated Pick: The Hill in the Dark Grove

Grab your copy of Good Boy: https://www.wildhuntbooks.co.uk/books/p/goodboy/9781068563102

Connect with Neil McRobert: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkscaredpod/ X: https://x.com/TalkScaredPod Talking Scared Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-scared/id1530064310

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!