At the beginning of the interview, Meaghan and Arthur kick things off with genuine excitement about their guest: Jonathan Janz, a well-known name in the horror writing community. He’s written everything from creature horror to psychological terror, and now he’s got his name on a Stephen King-inspired anthology. Naturally, we were curious.
Jonathan walks us through how this all came together, and it’s a story that honestly feels magical.
It began with two writers, Brian Keene and Christopher Golden, who wanted to honor Joe R. Lansdale. They organized a tribute anthology set in Lansdale’s bizarre, gritty Drive-In universe. King, a friend of both writers and Lansdale himself, read the book — and loved it.
So then came the bold move. Keene and Golden emailed King to ask if he’d allow an anthology inspired by The Stand, one of King’s most iconic works. That kind of thing just doesn’t happen. King had never given that permission before. But, as Janz tells it, King’s reply came back fast and enthusiastic: “Do it!!!!”
No guidelines, no creative leash. Just a green light to create. Jonathan was invited to contribute, and the result was The End of the World as We Know It: Tales Inspired by The Stand. It became a New York Times bestseller.
Timing-wise, this project came together as Janz was also deep into work on Veil, his latest sci-fi horror novel, which adds another big entry to his already strong bibliography.
So yeah, that’s the kind of career moment that doesn’t come around often, and he’s riding it with well-earned pride.
Childhood Ghosts and VHS Nightmares: How Horror Found Him Early
Next, Meaghan and Arthur dig into Jonathan’s origin story as a horror fan and writer. It turns out, horror wasn’t something he stumbled into. It was kind of baked into his life from the beginning.
Born just days before Halloween and raised next to a graveyard, his literal playgrounds were tombstones and deep, dark woods. Add in a mom who loved The Twilight Zone and In Search Of with Leonard Nimoy, and you’ve got a horror-fueled childhood.
She’d even bring home Edgar Allan Poe audiobooks, on vinyl, no less, which he listened to at five years old. Imagine being that little and hearing The Tell-Tale Heart read by Basil Rathbone. That sticks with you.
Jonathan admits he didn’t get into reading seriously until his teenage years, but he was all about movies growing up. One of his earliest traumatic (but in a good way) film memories?
The Terminator. Yes, we all think of it as sci-fi action now, but at ten years old, Schwarzenegger’s emotionless, unstoppable killing machine was pure nightmare fuel. Then came A Nightmare on Elm Street, and like many of us, Freddy Krueger kept him awake for weeks.
We all related hard when he talked about watching scary movies too young and being scared by them. There’s something nostalgic and a little funny about it now, but back then? Terrifying.
And let’s be honest, so many of us grew up the same way, sneaking horror films late at night and regretting (but secretly loving) the fear that came after.
What Makes Horror So Powerful — And Why People Keep Underestimating It
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation comes when Meaghan and Arthur ask Jonathan what he thinks horror does better than any other genre. He’s got a thoughtful take on this, one that we couldn’t stop nodding along with.
For Jonathan, horror is limitless. It’s a genre that removes the boundaries we place on human behavior. There’s no ceiling, no floor. Everything is fair game. And because of that, it can capture the full emotional range of the human experience, joy, grief, love, terror, and everything in between.
But here’s the frustrating part: people still look down on horror. They dismiss it as blood, guts, and shock value. As Jonathan points out, this underestimation actually works in horror’s favor. Every year, there’s surprise at how horror overperforms at the box office or how it’s “suddenly” having a moment in bookstores, as if this wasn’t always the case.
Horror is where creativity thrives. It blends with every other genre: romance, history, sci-fi, drama. It’s also where some of the most inventive storytelling happens. Whether it’s indie hits or big-budget films, the genre just keeps evolving.
And let’s not forget the current horror boom. Jonathan is genuinely thrilled about what’s happening in both film and publishing. He talks about directors like Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse), Parker Finn (Smile), and, of course, Mike Flanagan, whose name now practically guarantees quality horror.
There’s something powerful about this new generation of horror creators being recognized not just as genre filmmakers but as auteurs. Janz is hopeful that studios will keep giving them space to do their thing.
What He’s Reading, Writing, and Looking Forward To
Toward the end, the conversation turns toward books and what’s been exciting Jonathan lately. He’s a generous guy and gives a shout-out to some fellow authors, including lesser-known talent Faye Snowden, whom he thinks more people need to read.
He also gushes over two standout books: The Reformatory by Tananarive Due and Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. The first is a painful, honest, and haunting read that stayed with him long after he finished it.
The second, by one of his closest friends, features actual jump scares on the page, something incredibly rare in prose, and it’s already slated for a 2026 film release.
Jonathan’s clearly excited for the future, too. He teases a “massive” upcoming book announcement that he can’t yet reveal but assures listeners it’s going to be something big. He’s also hoping Veil becomes part of a trilogy.
There are even some things “happening on the West Coast,” which we all know is code for a potential screen adaptation. So fingers crossed there.
The rapid-fire round at the end is fun, too.
He prefers haunted house horror over wilderness stories, likes clear endings more than ambiguous ones when writing, and has a personal reason why being watched scares him more than being alone.
It ties back to a disturbing childhood memory involving strangers peeking through the windows of his childhood home, something he reflects on with eerie honesty.
Finally, his favorite horror movie of the year? Sinners for its artistic brilliance, but Bring Her Back hit him the hardest emotionally. It’s the kind of film that stuck with him, painful, sad, and powerful.
Which, if you’re a horror fan, you know is exactly what makes the genre so good.