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The Amityville house has been revisited so many times that it’s easy to forget there’s a real town around it. Robert P. Ottone grew up about 20 minutes away. In his new novel, "Amityville Awakens," he imagines the house being torn down and asks what happens next.

Robert joins Corey and Kendall to talk about his connection to the case, including the night his father announced news of the DeFeo murders on the radio. He explains why he returned to the original Amityville account for inspiration, what he thinks the movies have done to the story, and why he wanted his novel to include both Amityville and North Amityville.

There’s more on Robert’s mind than a haunted house. He talks about the changes he’s seen on Long Island, the migrant workers whose labor helps sustain it, and his experience teaching adults who came to English classes after long shifts. It’s a conversation about the people who live in a place most of us know only from horror movies.

We also talk about the films that made Robert a horror fan, trade opinions on newer releases, and get a Tubi recommendation. Robert had the title right: it’s "Match." And when we ask him to name a favorite final person, he takes the question in a direction we didn’t expect.

Amityville Awakens arrives October 6, 2026.

• Preorder a signed copy from CLASH Books
• Preorder the paperback through Bookshop.org
• Find the audiobook through Simon & Schuster
• Watch Match on Tubi

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.

Thank you for listening to Horror Heals.

Share the show with someone who loves horror and someone who needs a little healing.

If you want to support our guests, check the show notes for links to their work, conventions, and fundraising pages.

You can also listen to our sister podcast Family Twist, a show about DNA surprises, identity, and the families we find along the way.

Horror Heals is produced by Mosaic Multimedia LLC.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.

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Haunted house season is here, and we are talking with a man who has been paid to scare people for nearly 50 years.

Leonard Pickel has designed or consulted on more than 300 haunted attractions. His résumé includes work for Universal Studios Florida, Six Flags and Madison Square Garden, along with creating Hauntrepreneurs, Haunted Attraction Magazine and HAuNTcon.

Leonard gives Corey and Kendall the inside scoop on how haunted houses are designed, what makes a scare work and how the industry has changed during his remarkable career. He also explains what haunt designers notice that the rest of us completely miss while we are busy screaming and searching for the exit.

It is a playful trip through the art, psychology and business of making people pay to be terrified.

Learn more about Leonard at https://hauntrepreneurs.com.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.

Thank you for listening to Horror Heals.

Share the show with someone who loves horror and someone who needs a little healing.

If you want to support our guests, check the show notes for links to their work, conventions, and fundraising pages.

You can also listen to our sister podcast Family Twist, a show about DNA surprises, identity, and the families we find along the way.

Horror Heals is produced by Mosaic Multimedia LLC.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.

Send us Fan Mail

Nicole Davis loves horror. Kendall loves horror. But neither one wants anything to do with a home invasion movie.

In Part 2, we compare notes on the horror we simply cannot handle. Home invasions are a big one, but caves, claustrophobia and a few other nightmare scenarios make the list, too. Just because you host or appear on a podcast called Horror Heals does not mean you have to watch ALL the horror.

We also hear more of Nicole’s adoption story, and this is where things get wild. She shares the story of the letter her adoptive mother wrote to Alabama Gov. George Wallace and why Nicole still has questions about the role it may have played in her adoption. Then there’s the Ancestry DNA match Nicole almost ignored.

She had spent years trying to identify her biological father and believed he had died. So when another DNA notification showed up, Nicole wasn’t exactly rushing to investigate. Eventually she did, and discovered a 27% match that changed everything she thought she knew.

There’s a lot packed into Part 2: horror movies, adoption, DNA, family secrets and plenty of laughs along the way.

And we want to hear from you: What horror movie, scene or entire subgenre can you absolutely NOT watch?

Thank you for listening to Horror Heals.

Share the show with someone who loves horror and someone who needs a little healing.

If you want to support our guests, check the show notes for links to their work, conventions, and fundraising pages.

You can also listen to our sister podcast Family Twist, a show about DNA surprises, identity, and the families we find along the way.

Horror Heals is produced by Mosaic Multimedia LLC.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.