Episode 116: Witches - From Salem To Witches In Horror Films

Episode 118: Halfway to Halloween - All Things Spooky with ScareNetwork.TV

In this Halfway to Halloween episode, Matt sits down with Billy Lewis, founder of ScareNetwork.TV, to talk cryptids, ghost stories, and the indie streaming platform he's built to give paranormal, horror, true crime, and monster content a real home. They get into the Florida footage that ended up in the Smithsonian, the hunt for Chessie on the Chesapeake Bay, and why every town has a story worth telling. CRYPTIDS & PARANORMAL COVERED: The Skunk Ape, Dave Shealy and the famous Glades footage, the Skunk Ape museum, Chessie and the Chesapeake Bay sightings, the Love Point footage, the dissertation on Chessie, Bigfoot, regional ghost stories and haunted locations SCARE NETWORK TV: Original paranormal, horror, true crime, and monster content — documentaries, narrative features, series, and podcasts you won't find anywhere else. Available on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Google Play. INFLUENCES & SHOWS DISCUSSED: Tales from the Crypt, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Jailhouse (Billy Lewis), Jack Osbourne's paranormal work Big thanks to Tony Barber [https://www.instagram.com/tbdapilot/] and the team at Creative AV and Entertainment (CAVE) for producing the show. WATCH SCARE NETWORK TV: * Web: https://scarenetwork.tv [https://scarenetwork.tv] * Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google Play * Watch Matt's work on the platform too or visit the following links below! https://youtu.be/gsVoQbUboSA https://youtu.be/A4K0Z3PWXsQ https://youtu.be/5aSpaMxAs0M Follow Billy Lewis & Scare Network: https://www.instagram.com/scarenetwork.tv/ [https://www.instagram.com/scarenetwork.tv/] SHOW OVERVIEW: Website: thescarymovieproject.com [https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/] Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics! Now with spoilerier spoilers! https://youtube.com/live/jZzx90i3ygw?feature=share

Episode 117: Capture - Director Bruce Wemple's Cursed Camcorder Horror

In this episode, Matt sits down with director Bruce Wemple [https://www.instagram.com/brucemwemple/] to break down his new haunted-house horror CAPTURE (2026), out now on VOD from Uncork'd Entertainment. They dig into the on-set glitch that inspired the film, the year-long hunt for a 1995 Sony mini-DV camcorder, and the early-2000s J-horror DNA buried in every frame. FILM DISCUSSED: Capture (2026), directed by Bruce Wemple, starring Kaitlyn Lunardi, Cedric Gegel, and Chris Cimperman. A lifelong orphan inherits her parents' abandoned house and finds a cursed camcorder and a box of mini-DV tapes hiding the gruesome truth about her family's past. CRAFT & GEAR COVERED: Outline-first writing process, locking down the perfect upstate New York location, casting Kaitlyn Lunardi in dual roles, run-and-gun shooting at the empty train station, the cursed 1995 Sony camcorder (and burning it at wrap), Red Komodo at full-frame 6K with the Metabones speed booster, DZO Vespid primes, Canon FD vintage glass, Aperture 300D/600D lighting, Quasar tubes, killing the exposition scene in the edit INFLUENCES & COMPARISONS: Sinister, The Ring, Dark Water, Pulse, The Beyond, The Blair Witch Project, The Conjuring, The Innocents, The Haunting (1963), The Woman in Black (2012), 13 Ghosts, Annabelle: Creation, Evil Dead 2, Halloween, Psycho BRUCE WEMPLE'S OTHER FILMS: Lake Artifact, Monstrous, Wendigo, Dawn of the Beast, The Hangman, The North Witch, The Retreat WATCH CAPTURE (2026): - Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Capture-Bruce-Wemple/dp/B0GK9TK1X2 - Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/capture/umc.cmc.659i765lhv23nzk4hvb804v3t - Roku: https://www.roku.com/whats-on/movies/capture?id=7271e4325a9512d7706b31940099b03b Distributed by Uncork'd Entertainment. Follow Bruce Wemple: https://www.instagram.com/brucewemple/ [https://www.instagram.com/brucewemple/] SHOW OVERVIEW: Website: thescarymovieproject.com [https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/] Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics! Now with spoilerier spoilers! https://youtube.com/live/jZzx90i3ygw?feature=share

Episode 116: Witches - From Salem To Witches In Horror Films

In this episode, Matt and Tara explore the fascinating and complex history of witches—from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to modern Wicca and paganism, then dive into witches in horror films and television. HISTORY COVERED: Salem Witch Trials 1692, Giles Corey pressed to death, torture methods (swimming a witch, the rack, Iron Maiden), Malleus Maleficarum witch hunting guide, 80,000 executed in Europe (1500-1660), modern Wicca founded by Gerald Gardner (1950s), contemporary persecution still happening worldwide MOVIES & SHOWS DISCUSSED: The Blair Witch Project, The Witch/VVitch, Lords of Salem, The Craft, Practical Magic, Witches of Eastwick, Hocus Pocus, American Horror Story: Coven, Sabrina the Teenage Witch vs Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Supernatural, Bewitched RESOURCES MENTIONED: • Time Life: Witches and Witchcraft • Scott Cunningham Wicca books • History.com: "Witches, Real Origins, Hunts and Trials" - https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches • The Atlantic: "Inside Paganism" - https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/inside-paganism/381764/ • Salem Witch Museum - https://salemwitchmuseum.com/ Special thanks to Megan Loney, Rachel Sullivan, Emily Cole, and Emily Fornof for research contributions. Follow Tara Garwood: https://www.instagram.com/tarakatafilms/ SHOW OVERVIEW: Website: thescarymovieproject.com [https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/] Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics! Now with spoilerier spoilers! https://youtube.com/live/jZzx90i3ygw?feature=share

BONUS: Nano Influencers Panel - AwesomeCon 2026

Matt joins fellow creators at Awesome Con 2026 for a panel on building authentic communities as nano influencers. Topics include finding your niche, engaging followers, handling burnout, and why passion beats profit. With Blair Witch Experience creator Matt Blazi, author Neil Cohen, and more. Plus audience Q&A! Matt Blazi: https://www.instagram.com/monrozombi/ Larissa Staszak: https://www.instagram.com/themidnightcreative05/ Neil Cohen: https://www.instagram.com/exitzerozombie/ And very special guests Nortsauce and Flygutzz!: https://www.instagram.com/nortsauce/, https://www.instagram.com/flygutzz/ SHOW OVERVIEW: Website: thescarymovieproject.com [https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/] Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics! Now with spoilerier spoilers! https://youtube.com/live/jZzx90i3ygw?feature=share

Episode 115: Hereditary - Ari Aster's Cult Horror Masterpiece

Matt and Sara Alepin [https://www.instagram.com/sarawithoutanh/] break down Ari Aster's devastating 2018 debut HEREDITARY, starring Toni Collette in a career-defining performance. From practical effects to hidden symbolism, we explore why this cerebral family horror demands multiple viewings. All hail Paimon! Hereditary trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wWKNij_1M [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6wWKNij_1M] Follow Sara Alepin - https://www.instagram.com/sarawithoutanh/ [https://www.instagram.com/sarawithoutanh/] The history of Paimon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paimon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paimon] SHOW OVERVIEW: Website: thescarymovieproject.com [https://www.thescarymovieproject.com/] Get your horror movie fix with filmmaker and horror junkie Matt Lolich, as he reviews and deep dives into horror movies and other spooky topics! Now with spoilerier spoilers! https://youtube.com/live/jZzx90i3ygw?feature=share