The Night Crew Podcast

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with Elizabeth DeVecchi to talk about her journey into horror writing, the strange sparks that turn into terrifying stories, and how fear itself can become creative fuel. Elizabeth shares how a quirky rescue dog inspired her debut novel A Whisper in the Dark, how her dark imagination started young, and why horror became the perfect genre for turning real-life anxieties...

In part four of this chilling Succubus series on The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks brings the legend into the modern world. This episode explores the terrifying connection between succubus folklore and sleep paralysis, breaking down what happens in the brain when you wake up frozen, feel a weight on your chest, and sense something evil in the room. Brad also digs into modern succubus encounter reports, the global history of the ol...

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with Andrew Najberg for a deep dive into horror writing, indie publishing, and the passion it takes to keep dark stories alive. Andrew talks about his journey from poetry and fiction to publishing novels like The Mobius Door, Gollitok, Extinction Dream, The Neverborn Thief, and Eat the Light, while also helping shape the horror landscape as co-owner and co-editor-in-ch...

In part three of this chilling Succubus series on The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks explores the darkest turn in the legend’s history: the moment the succubus stopped being folklore and became part of the machinery of fear, theology, and execution. This episode dives into medieval demonology, the church’s obsession with incubi and succubi, the bizarre theology behind demon reproduction, and the horrifying role texts li...

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar to talk about teaching horror writing, building a life as an author and scholar, and why horror gives writers the freedom to explore both the grotesque and the deeply human. They discuss Cassandra’s work as an English professor, her popular horror writing class, her love of Edgar Allan Poe, and the inspiration behind books l...

In part two of this chilling Succubus series on The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks takes listeners on a terrifying global tour of the world’s most haunting night demons and succubus-like creatures. From Lamia and Empusa in ancient Greece to the Manananggal in the Philippines, the Pontianak in Southeast Asia, Yuki-onna in Japan, the Rusalka in Slavic folklore, and the Shtriga in Albanian legend, this episode explores the eerie...

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with Megan Stockton to talk about her writing journey, her love of horror fiction, and why she prefers to break the rules rather than follow them. They dive into Megan’s approach to self-publishing, writing in multiple dark genres, and creating stories that range from crime thrillers and atmospheric horror to extreme horror, splatterpunk, and dark romance. Megan ...

The succubus has been turned into a Halloween costume, a video game boss, and a punchline — but the original version? She's older than vampires, older than werewolves, older than the word demon itself. Tonight, the Night Crew launches a brand-new series on the world's oldest night-predator, and we start where every good monster story starts: at the very beginning.

In Episode 1 of the Succubi series...

n this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with Danielle Muething, the narrator of The Night Crew 2, for a deep dive into the world of horror audiobook narration. They talk about how Danielle got started as a professional actor turned audiobook narrator, what it takes to voice a full cast of characters, how she builds fear and tension using only her voice, and what it’s like bringing monsters, succubi, hun...

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with S.E. Howard for a fun, insightful, and creepy conversation about her journey from paranormal romance to psychological horror, the craft of writing unsettling fiction, and her chilling latest novel, What Lies Unseen. They talk about haunted abilities, communicating with the dead, building dread, writing believable fear, surviving the messy middle of a manuscript, a...

What happens when hunger becomes something far worse than survival? In this chilling episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks dives deep into the terrifying legend of the Wendigo, one of the most haunting creatures in Native American and First Nations folklore. This episode explores the Algonquin origins of the Wendigo myth, its connection to winter, isolation, cannibalism, and the horrifying idea of endless, unsatisfied hunge...

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with Ali Toothman to talk about her writing journey, her emotionally raw revenge horror novel Libby Lives, and how horror became both an escape and a form of healing. Ali opens up about starting with poetry and flash fiction, battling imposter syndrome, navigating the indie horror world, and why writing dark, violent, and psychologically intense stories can be deeply c...

Is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde secretly a werewolf story? In this chilling episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks heads into Victorian London, gothic horror, and the dark psychology of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella to explore the beast hiding beneath respectability. From duality, transformation horror, and the fear of the monster within, this episode connects Jekyll and Hyde to the same prima...

Tonight on the Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks heads deep into the dark legends of the American Southwest to explore the terrifying myth of the Skinwalker. Rooted in Navajo folklore, the Skinwalker is not your typical monster — it’s a shape-shifting witch tied to taboo, fear, voice mimicry, and stories so disturbing they make the classic werewolf legend feel almost safe. From the meaning of yee naaldlooshii to the eerie ...

What happens when French werewolf legends cross the Atlantic and sink into the Louisiana swamp?

They become the Rougarou.

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks continues the werewolf deep dive, moving from the Beast of Gévaudan and the Beast of Bray Road into Cajun country to explore the terrifying legend of the Rougarou (also spelled Loup-Garou or Roux-Ga-Roux) — Louisiana’s cursed wolf-man of the bayou...

What connects 18th-century France, rural Wisconsin, and the swamps of Louisiana?

A wolf that walks like a man.

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks traces the chilling lineage of werewolf lore from the documented terror of the Beast of Gévaudan to modern sightings of the Beast of Bray Road, uncovering how the French Loupgarou (Loup-Garou) legend migrated across the Atlantic and evolved into the American Rougarou.

W...

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks sits down with horror author Blaine Daigle, a Louisiana-born writer whose work blends Southern Gothic dread, folk horror, and deeply human fear. The conversation centers on Blaine’s latest novel, Porcelain Lullaby, a chilling story of two estranged brothers, a haunted past, and an abandoned orphanage hiding the truth beneath its porcelain surface.

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From yak hair and spirit gum to latex nightmares and CGI abs, Hollywood’s obsession with werewolves has been messy, painful, and absolutely unforgettable.

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, Brad Ricks howls his way through the full cinematic history of the werewolf — from Lon Chaney Jr.’s tragic Wolf Man and 1950s teenage angst, through the gooey practical-effects glor...

What happens when indie horror fiction collides with slashers, cosmic dread, board game design, and one of the most terrifying monsters ever put on television?

In this episode of The Night Crew Podcast, horror author and game designer Jon Cohn joins host Brad Ricks for a deep-dive conversation into the art, anxiety, and obsession behind modern horror storytelling.

Jon talks about:

• Growing up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and wh...