Episode 12 of Our First Fears is a conversation with Bram Stoker Award finalist Ally Malinenko about Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and several other classic terrors. We talk about unreliable narrators, teaching horror to kids in classrooms, childhood perception of time, and what truly lies behind Poe’s “pale blue eye,” as well as his Raven’s refrain of “nevermore.” We get personal here with our own experiences of writing through stress, anxiety, and physical illness, and how scary story-telling can be a kind of balm, not only for us, but also for our audiences.  

Ally Malinenko is the author of the middle grade novels, Ghost Girl and This Appearing House. Both are available now at your favorite local bookshops and libraries. 

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(Content warning: murder, mental illness, anxiety, depression, cancer, and questions of mortality)