Do you still check the backseat before driving? Are you worried the call is coming from inside the house? Welcome back to Drawn to Darkness, the podcast where we explore our obsessions with horror and true crime. This week, we dissect It Follows—David Robert Mitchell’s dreamy, dread-drenched indie horror film about a sexually transmitted curse that never stops walking… slowly… toward you. We dive into horror tropes, uncomfortable symbolism, the ethics of passing on the curse, and whether being beautiful makes you safer—or just a more convenient carrier. We break down its ambiguous setting, genre-bending aesthetic (Napoleon Dynamite-meets-80s slasher film?), and the eerie effectiveness of slow, silent menace. We debate a baffling pool plan, and whether you should sleep with strangers to stay alive (spoiler: we vote no), whether aging or assault is the true horror, and get very creeped out by the Tall Man. And just for fun, this episode hearkens back to our 90s teen years, with references to Dawson’s Creek, 90210, Jordan Catalano, and the Backstreet Boys.

Spoiler alert and trigger warning:

This episode contains spoilers and mentions of sexual assault and suicide, and the film has gruesome imagery, stalking, sexual assault, and jump scares.

Recommendations If You Liked It Follows:

• Terminator 1 & 2 (another unrelenting hunter)
• Charade (just because the characters watch it)
• Barbarian, 8 Mile, & Don’t Breathe (grim Detroit vibes + housing horror)
• The Ring (unstoppable supernatural curse)
• Let the Right One In (slow-burn horror + pool finale)
• Smile (cursed by trauma)
• Urban Legend, Scream, & Disturbing Behavior (90s teen horror nostalgia)
• Friday the 13th / Halloween (slasher canon)

Palate Cleanser:

Feeling haunted? Rewatch Season 1 of Schitt’s Creek. It’s joyful and full of Alexis energy. Also, shout-out to Toy Story 2—because after forensic files, you need those bloopers.

Homework:

Watch The Fox Hollow Murders. As always, tell your friends, leave a review on iTunes, email your thoughts (or mannequin-related nightmares) to DrawnToDarknessPod@gmail.com.. See you in two weeks on Drawn to Darkness.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for our cover art. Check her out on Facebook and instagram and Harry Kidd for our intro and outro music. You can find him on Spotify.

Want more analysis of It Follows?

https://henridecorinth.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/on-mitchells-it-follows-2014-literary-allusions/

https://the-artifice.com/it-follows/

Do your friends think you're weird because you’re obsessed with true crime? Or because you want to talk about how horrifying online dating really is? Then you’re in the right place. Welcome back to Drawn to Darkness, where horror and true crime get cosy. In this episode, we go deep into Sweet Bobby, a jaw-dropping catfishing documentary that’s so twisted it feels like fiction—except it’s not.

Kirat’s story is every online dater’s worst nightmare: what starts as a promising online relationship with a doctor named Bobby turns into an 8-year saga of manipulation, abuse, and deception. We unpack why Sweet Bobby hits so hard—and why it’s not just a story about catfishing, but about the darker side of human psychology, loneliness, and misplaced trust.

Palate cleanser:
Heal your childhood wounds and watch White Lotus (which is more likely to open them)

Recommendations for when you need more of that spine-crawling betrayal energy:

• The Stranger Beside Me by Anne Rule – True crime royalty meets personal horror.
• Baby Reindeer (Netflix) – Another chilling case of stalking, obsession, and blurred identities.
• The Talented Mr. Ripley – Fake it till you (literally) make it... into someone else's life.
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann – Lies, manipulation, and murder in early 20th-century America.
• Friends -"the one with Russ" to meet fun Bobby.
• BTK documentaries and interviews with his daughter – How do you process it when your dad is a serial killer?

Homework assignment:
It Follows – a modern supernatural horror film that explores fear, intimacy, and relentless pursuit.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for providing our cover art. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/azanoart

And Harry Kidd for composing and recording our opening score. Check him out on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/43BiFkkOHykD8n9g4z0Qd7

Do your friends think you’re weird because you like horror and true crime? Then join us on Drawn to Darkness. In our debut episode, we dive into the horror novel Penpal by Dathan Auerbach–a harrowing cult classic that started as a Reddit creepypasta and has since haunted readers worldwide. Warning: this one’s not for the faint-hearted—and yes, we will discuss spoilers! Penpal is a story about childhood innocence, fractured memories, and the terrifying consequences of being noticed by the wrong person. What begins as an elementary school penpal project quickly spirals into a haunting exploration of stalking, trauma, and the disconnect between children and the adults meant to protect them.

Through personal anecdotes, sharp critique, and a dose of dark humour, we unpack not just what makes Penpal so unsettling, but why stories like this resonate so deeply with our deepest fears. We dig into the book’s structure, born from serialized reddit posts—an origin story that’s both its strength and weakness. Expect some plot holes, but also some of the most unsettling scenes you'll ever read, like a whispered ‘hello’ from the woods that’ll stick with you long after the lights are out. We wrap up with personal stalker stories, and what this book teaches us about survival.

Spoiler and Trigger warning: This episode contains discussion of children being stalked and harmed by a paedophile, and we will be spoiling key plot details.

Palate cleanser: The Fresh Prince re-enactment to “Anxiety.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI0BKE8m-dk

Recommendations:

• The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
• Exhalation by Ted Chiang (specifically The Truth of Fact. The Truth of Feeling)
• Interview with Dathan Auerbach on The Conner & Smith Show
• No sleep reddit and podcast https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/

Homework assignment:

Sweet Bobby (documentary). So grab a flashlight, cuddle with your cat, and bring your mace to the woods. We’ll see you in two weeks for another episode of Drawn to Darkness..

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for providing our cover art. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/azanoart

And Harry Kidd for composing and recording our opening score. Check him out on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/43BiFkkOHykD8n9g4z0Qd7