Can you imagine a time when there were only a handful of horror podcasts? That was the landscape when Jack Campisi and I started Monster Men way back in 2011. We had no idea what we were doing, but decided to give it a go to help promote my first book. Thirteen years later, we’re still at it…and more!

Since then, we’ve met some amazing people who have branched out into their own podcasts. So, here’s a little podcast history all the way to the present. If you’re looking for some rabbit holes of entertainment to tumble down, there’s plenty to choose from.

Now, take my hand and let’s walk to where it all began, with two guys who love horror and wanted to do a podcast about buds at a bar talking about their favorite genre. Monster Men was born in my living room. We started with an episode called Vampires Kinda Suck and now, 186 episodes later, we talked to author Kristin Dearborn about her latest book and all things skunk apes. Quite a few episodes under our belt about cryptids.

A few years later, we were contacted by this dude called Jason Brant who had a new show called Drinking with Jason (RIP…to the show, not Jason). The concept was and is brilliant. He invited horror authors and the like to his show, asked them for their favorite adult beverage so he would drink it along with them during the show. It made for funny conversations. Until he discovered that most horror authors drank milk or water. Sigh. Jack and I were on separate episodes. You can watch them here. And yes, we imbibed a lot of booze.

Now, Jack and I must have made a good impression, because in 2017, Jason had an idea to do a horror review show and he asked the crusty Monster Men to join the band. On a late May evening, Final Guys was born! As of this date with just under 350 episodes under our belt, we’re going stronger than ever, broadcasting live every Tuesday night. Every episode features a drinking game, award winning news, a curation of horror movies, books and games, and a deep dive into our main feature. Oh, and a gang of nut bars in the live chat who we can’t live without!

In 2020 while we were trapped in our houses drinking way too much, the Final Guys added author Tim Meyer to the gang. He had a long running audio podcast called Aperture Hour that has since closed their microphones. When Tim had to step away from being a regular, we added author Chad Lutzke to the regular lineup. Now, Chad had a pretty cool long form podcast called PaleoCheeze (another RIP). Here’s an episode with the Monster Men as we discuss The Fly!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the most popular podcast of them all, Jason Brant’s hilarious So Bad It’s Good. Think MST for a new generation. Big ups to Steven Seagal for making so many terrible movies. Jason and the gang kill it every week, and now have a warehouse full of crappy movies to mine for the next thousand years.

But that’s not all! Jason and Chad have since started another podcast, Bleeding Page. On it, they interview some pretty incredible horror authors. If you’re a writer or fan of the genre, it’s a must listen. Here’s an episode with Chad’s writing hero, the legendary Joe Lansdale.

I have joined forced with some great folks across the pond and their fun movie review show, Bloody Good Screen. I’m usually called to action when there are terrible movies to review and no one else wants to watch them, but I did just compete in their annual trivia contest (and came in a respectable second).

Brand new, out of the box, is Chad’s Creepy Couch, where he and his lovely wife watch horror flicks new to both or one of them. You get their funny reactions as they watch, sometimes a quirky skit or two, and a wrap up. And a pretty cool 70s feeling opening.

Last but not least is another new podcast, but this one has nothing to do with horror. Jason’s alpha male brother Bryan and his family sold their beautiful McMansion in TX to rebuild the family farm in rural PA. Armstrong Acres Farm is a no-holds barred riches to rags, DIY story that unfolds every week, showing all of the warts that come with rebuilding a property. Turn off that ridiculous HG channel and see how this kind of work is really done.

And that, for now, is the whole shebang. Will there be more? I’m sure. Until then, check these fun shows out and escape from the total misery of real life for a while.