Ghosts: Home Is Where the Horror Is

Ghost stories are everywhere. But why do they all look the same? In this episode, Neil breaks down the unspoken rules that govern every haunted house story you've ever encountered — from Shirley Jackson to Poltergeist to your mate's cousin's thing that happened that one time.

Because the ghost is rarely the most frightening thing in the building.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House (1959)

Henry James, The Turn of the Screw (1898)

The Amityville Horror — Jay Anson (1977) / film dir. Stuart Rosenberg (1979)

Poltergeist — dir. Tobe Hooper (1982)

The Haunting — dir. Robert Wise (1963)

The Conjuring 2 — dir. James Wan (2016)

Sinister — dir. Scott Derrickson (2012)

The Haunting of Hill House series — Mike Flanagan, Netflix (2018)

Night Swim — dir. Bryce McGuire (2024)

Host — dir. Rob Savage (2020)

Unfriended — dir. Levan Gabriadze (2014)

The Enfield Poltergeist (1977) — Guy Lyon Playfair, This House Is Haunted (1980)

Cock Lane and Common-Sense — Andrew Lang (1894)

Derek Acorah / Kreed Kafer incident — Most Haunted, Living TV

THE COMPANION PIECES

Essay: Scratching Fanny — the first haunting to go viral - therulespodcast.substack.com/

Fiction: How to Gay — the companion short story - therulespodcast.substack.com/

The Rules is an independent podcast from Pegasus Podcasts. New episodes drop weekly. If you liked this one, the best thing you can do is tell someone.

The genre that made every outsider feel seen, and left the system completely intact.

High school movies are a pressure valve. They make you feel understood just enough that nobody asks why the hierarchy is still standing. In this episode we look at the unwritten rules of the genre the cliques that never go away, the parties where the hunting ground has a John Hughes soundtrack, the adults who fail you, the one who doesn't, the lesson that costs nothing, and the rule underneath all the others: you just have to get through it. Featuring The Breakfast Club, Heathers, Pretty in Pink, Clueless, Booksmart, Mean Girls, Easy A, and Carrie.

Substack

Pegasus Podcasts

Youtube Version

Bluesky

Instagram

TikTok

Email: pegasuspodcasts@gmail.com

​

Written and produced by Neil

Music by Oliver Chapman

Recorded and mixed by Oliver Chapman at Sirkus

Sources:

The Breakfast Club (1985), dir. John Hughes

Pretty in Pink (1986), dir. Howard Deutch

Weird Science (1985), dir. John Hughes

Heathers (1988), dir. Michael Lehmann

Clueless (1995), dir. Amy Heckerling

Carrie (1976), dir. Brian De Palma

Mean Girls (2004), dir. Mark Waters

Easy A (2010), dir. Will Gluck

Booksmart (2019), dir. Olivia Wilde

Pump Up the Volume (1990), dir. Allan Moyle

American Pie (1999), dir. Paul Weitz

Porky's (1981), dir. Bob Clark

*Any resemblance to a real podcast is purely coincidental. No animals were harmed. May contain nuts. People who read all the show notes are undeniably sexier than those that don't. Subscribers to my Substack agree that their appearance visibly improved within 10 minutes.

Hello again, this shownote reading is becoming a habit with you.

Merry Christmas! We made it. It's the night before Christmas and we managed to get the final episode out! Find out why that is a Christmas miracle when you listen to the show. In this episode, you can marvel at my ability to get drunk on three sips of espresso martini while I present you with a little Christmas Eve buffet of Christmas facts to small for an episode for themselves.

Thank you everyone has listened this year. It's been ace! I'll probably write a couple of bits on my Substack so keep an eye out. I'm definitely going to do another podcast in the new year so keep this feed live.

I hope you all have the Christmas you want.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Content warning: I say the 's' word, sometimes with relish in the discussion of a defecating log!

Sources: My brain, 1974 edition.

Here's all the ways you can contact me.

Email – wydkachristmas@gmail.com

Bluesky - @solsixer.bsky.social

Newsletter - What You Don't Know About Christmas | Neil Chapman | Substack

Discord: -What You Don't Know About Christmas Discord

If you hear anything you think needs correcting, get in touch. If there’s anything you would like to know, get in touch! I’d also love to hear your own Christmas traditions whether it’s specific to your family, your country, or your culture. Some photos of Christmassy stuff would be great too.

Feeling generous?

Christmas is coming, The goose is getting fat, Please put a penny in the podcasters hat.

If you haven’t got a penny, A ha’penny will do, If you haven’t got a ha’penny, Then don’t worry about it just enjoy the show guilt free.

Hey, I get it, times are tough and shelling out extra for a podcast is not what you need to be doing, especially at Christmas. But if you’re doing okay or recently had a visit from three ghosts and feel compelled to buy everyone big poultry you can always tip us instead at:

https://ko-fi.com/whatyoudontknow