Becky also interviews several independent filmmakers, who had only 13 days to produce each short horror film in the annual Sinema Challenge. We even managed to coax a spontaneous true ghost story out of Shane Morton, AKA professor Morté, horror host of Silver Scream Spook Show. Then, Becky tells Diana funny stories about being trapped on a 12-hour tour with her mom, and the awkward joy of attending the rather bawdy film festival with her teen daughter. There were so many weird and funny outtakes from this episode, which we shared on Patreon.

Listen to the full episode right here:

or watch the video of our interview with Tina Romero and other horror filmmakers on YouTube:

Want to cut straight to the interview? Here’s the short version, containing only the interview Homespun Haints did with Queens of the Dead director Tina Romero.

About the Guest: Tina Romero

It may not surprise you that someone with this last name would be in the zombie business. Yet even when her career veered into the film industry, Tina was always certain she would never make a zombie movie. That certainty suddenly imploded the day she read a headline basically asking why the queer community was devouring its own. The metaphor highlighted the insidious presence of various discriminatory -isms within a community who are united mainly by the discrimination they face themselves. What better way to make social commentary art that metaphorically screams harmful infighting than zombies?

Did our whimsical interview questions pique your curiosity about more practical matters related to the experience of making Queens of the Dead? To hear Tina answer slightly more traditional interview questions, we highly recommend watching the Q&A she did at BAFF after the screening we found on the BAFF Facebook Page. Even if only for the relatable (according to Diana) moment when she calls her partner Liz to the stage and the two decide to share a single chair.

The Buried Alive Film Festival is Alanta’s Horror Film Fest

The 18th annual BAFF screened Queens of the Dead on November 9, 2025. BAFF also awarded Tina Romero with their 2025 filmmaker of the year award.

The BAFF Sinema Challenge: Short Horror Films

Imagine you’re given an abstract topic, one random card from Cards Against Humanity, and you have only 13 days to create a short horror film based on both. This is the Sinema Challenge independent filmmakers face every spooky season at BAFF.

In this episode, Becky does on-the-spot mini-interviews with several indie filmmakers who participated in the challenge, including Marta Correa, Chad Hudson, Vicki Shaplida, Levi Morgan, and Lexi Anthony.

Plaza Theater Atlanta

The Plaza Theater, Atlanta’s hub for cult movies, is the perfect venue for a horror film fest. It’s where we go if we’re in the mood to do the Time Warp with other weirdoes.

Queens of the Dead: Where it Screened + Watch Info

Queens of the Dead (directed by Tina Romero) had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 7, 2025. It also screened at NewFest and SLASH in 2025.

Hopefully, this episode convinced you to watch the film! It really is a fun ride. The gore glittered, but the camp never overpowers the emotional tone of survival horror. We loved the way it unabashedly flips the script by having only one cis-het character, and yet they don’t kill him off at the beginning. It stays true to the nostalgic Romero zombie style and social commentary you crave.

Where to Stream Queens of the Dead

Official trailer on YouTube:

As of Jan 25, 2026, you can watch Queens of the Dead at home with a free trial of AMC+, or on Shudder, or rent it from Amazon Prime Video. Find other current streaming options at queensofthedead.com, including AppleTV, Xfinity, YouTube, and Vudu.

What did you think of Queens of the Dead? Did you catch all the cameos? Did Jack Haven really just quote Gremlins? Which character would you cosplay? What interview questions would you want to ask Tina Romero? Let us know by commenting on the YouTube video, or on our Patreon, where we’re all just trying to survive another spooky day.

The post Homespun Haints Buried Alive with Tina Romero appeared first on Homespun Haints.

The southernmost city in the United States is known for its party scene, its colorful culture, and, of course, its ghosts. Key West, once named the Bone Cay by the Spaniards, is one of the top four most haunted cities in the U.S., for good reason.

And Nixie, a guide for some of the island’s most ghostly attractions, is about to tell you all about it. Of course, Nixie has had her own encounters with the island’s deceased residents. Because if you die on this island, apparently you stay on the island. Forever. Grab yourself a slice of frozen, chocolate-dipped key lime pie on a stick and get ready to be scared, today, on Homespun Haints.

Get this episode on YouTube:

Or listen to this episode right here:

About the Guest: Nixie Buettner, Key West Ghost Tour Guide

Becky met Nixie on the Ghosts and Gravestones tour in Key West, Florida. The ghost tour guide originally hails from Austin, TX, where she was constantly spotting orbs. She used to be a skeptic of the paranormal, until she started to work at the haunted Shipwreck Museum, where she caught a spirit called Daddy Long Legs on video.

Becky loved the trolley tour she took with Nixie earlier in 2024. If you’re in Key West looking for a great ghost tour, check out the Ghosts and Gravestones, and ask for her specifically using the stage name “Daphne” . Besides being a ghost tour guide, Nixie is also an artist and entrepreneur. Check out Nixie’s artwork on Instagram @saga_of_eggs.

Becky and Diana’s Recipe for Lazy Haint Spray

Gaaranteed to at least temporarily remove lazy haints out from under your sofa. Feel free to make your own from the following recipe, so that your home also smells fresh and unhainted!

Lazy Haint Spritz Spray Recipe:

• 8 tsp filtered water
• 2 tsp of rubbing alcohol, witch hazel in alcohol, or bathtub gin.
• 10 drops of lemon essential oil
• 10 drops of sage essential oil
• 10 drops of rosemary essential oil

Add all ingredients to a glass spritz bottle or a very well cleaned out old empty Windex bottle.

Make it a cute label so you don’t get it confused with your Spirit Summoning Spray. That would be a hot mess.

Is the Key West Shipwreck Museum Haunted?

In today’s episode, Nixie tells us her first-hand account of this haunted stop on her Key West ghost tour. Wreckers, or individuals who would dive down to Salvage materials from shipwrecks, were once a major part of the island’s economy.

Interestingly, the basement of the museum is now a theater, used to be a morgue. An underground, below sea level morgue. Eew.

The Cursed Silver Bar

Nixie saw the same full-body apparition walk by the supposedly cursed silver bar at the Key West Shipwreck Museum at least twice. They actually caught a spirit called Daddy Long Legs on video.

The bar has a complex and sordid reputation on the island. Becky wouldn’t even touch the silver bar. Nixie HAS TO touch the bar for her job, so she tells herself, “it’s only dangerous when wet.”

The museum credits the bar with being associated with 6 distinct shipwrecks. Causation aside, what are the odds that all 6 ships that attempted to transport this bar of silver over the water ended up at the bottom of the sea? The only way the bar eventually made it safely to shore was to drag it underwater all the way to land.

Where other people die, we profit! -not the island’s official slogan

How to Safely Take Photos of Robert the Doll Without Getting Cursed

Nixie tells us that, if you want to take a picture Robert the Doll, you must follow three rules, or else you may be cursed.

Robert’s Rules of Disorder

• Politely greet Robert the Doll,
• Respectfully ask permission to take his photo,
• Politely say goodbye to Robert. A “thank you” wouldn’t hurt, either.

This whole practice might seem like hyped-up superstition, as most tourists blithely ignore all posted signage to do as they please. Surely the hundreds of tourists who visit the museum every year and take Robert the Doll’s photograph without following all three rules aren’t all cursed, are they?

Well, it would seem that yes, they are. People who don’t follow the rules while taking aphotograph of Robert the Doll end up regretting it later, when the bad luck starts. So many people, in fact, that the museum receives over 1000 apology letters annually. A staff member apparently has to read the apology letter to Robert the Doll aloud to invoke his forgiveness. Then, the staff posts the letters on a wall right next to him. We’re not sure if this is primarily for the doll’s ego, or to serve as a warning to tourists of the future.

The Real Life Corpse Bride Who is NOT Resting in Key West Cemetery

In the Early 1900’s, a young woman on the brink of death went for an xray. The xray tech, Carl Tanzler, saw her, and immediately recognized her as the woman he’d been literally dreaming about. For the rest of her short life, he begged for her hand in marriage, even though both of them were already married. Countless times, Elena turned him down….remember that, it’ll be important later.

Because tuberculosis was basically a death sentence at the time, nobody was shocked when the sick young woman passed away…but at least one person was thrilled with the development. Tanzler (the xray tech, going by Count von Cosel) had more money than Elena’s family, so he built a mausoleum in Key West Cemetery for Elena’s final resting place. Or, semi-final resting place, at least. The “count” visited the mausoleum as often as he could, until one night, he heard her voice, singing a familiar melody. Tanzler saw this as Elena asking him to release her spirit.

Taking the ghostly request way too literally, Tanzler committed what he believed to be the ultimate act of love: graverobbing. Talk about a grand gesture. That’s right—he got over her resisting his advances in life, and decided that he would free her spirit from it’s earthly prison by bringing her corpse home with him to be his bride. Because dead girls can’t say “no”.

There’s much more to this creepy true crime story. Listen to today’s interview with Key West ghost tour guide Nixie for the most sensational details. Or, you can read the official biography of Count von Cosel, for more historical context. For the inner workings of his mind, you can even read Tanzler’s own diary of his misadventures with Elena.

Will you join us for our next book club meetup?

Our next meetup (on Zoom) will be the second Monday in November. All you need to do to be in the Homespun Haints book club is join our Patreon (at any level, including free), read the book of the month, show up at the Zoom from the link on Patreon, and contribute to the conversation without being an asshole. Most of our books are an off-the-beaten-path horror by women or minority authors. Right now we’re all reading Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas. Won’t you join us, for a spooky day?

The post How To Take Photos of Robert the Doll Without Being Cursed appeared first on Homespun Haints.

AI-generated transcript of this episode available upon request.

About the Guest: Renee Huff

For the first time in its history, Renee is bringing the Haunted House FearFest to the US. Per the HHFF website, “Haunted House FearFest is an independent horror film festival celebrating our passion for bone-chilling horror presented by cutting-edge independent filmmakers and game developers worldwide. Our goal is to share our love of horror and its sub-genres such as giallo, monsters, slasher, zombie, gore, supernatural, psycho, and more!”

If you’re a horror film maker or game developer and you think you’ve got what it takes to give Renee nightmares and win the coveted Grim Reaper Award, submit your project here. If you’re a horror movie fan who’s ready to brave the nightmares yourself, follow on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for updates on the venue and more. You might just see Becky and Diana there, October 5-8th, 2023.

Episode Show Notes about Horror Movies and Nightmares

Why do we feel more haunted when we’re alone?

Renee never really felt too frightened of the entities in her space while there were other living souls around. It wasn’t until she was living on her own that the presences really started to take a toll on her nerves. Fortunately, her cat Bette Davis found her at just the right time.

Are cats good companions for those of us living alone? Or should we say, those of us who are the only living person in our home? What do cats and other pets do to shield us from the paranormal? Becky says her cats are worthless as ghost catchers, and they should stick to mice. Diana’s dog refuses to even consider going down into the haunted basement, although she’s just fine going down all other staircases. Still, even a scaredy cat makes us feel more at ease when spooky things start happening. Is it just the presence of another beating heart, or is there something supernatural about pets?

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

This spooky teen show from Nickelodeon recently rebooted. The nostalgia was surely enough to get a lot of Gen Xers to tune in for the new version. But in today’s saturated teen vampire, teen werewolf, teen ghost, and teen witch television landscape, the reboot mainly seems to highlight just how few horror-centric paranormal TV options there were for us spooky teens in the early 90’s.

If you’re feeling nostalgic for some childhood horror content that probably won’t cause any nightmares beyond reminding you of your 90’s wardrobe, you can watch the original show here.

Can Horror Movies Cause Nightmares?

Renee insists her nightmares have nothing to do with her affinity for horror movies. However, for the rest of us, our dreams tend to focus on what we experienced within the last 48 hours. Therefore, it’s not uncommon for your dreams to turn scary after watching something terrifying.

Horror movies, full of their uncomfortable themes and jump-scares, can cause spikes in stress. If you’re anxious already, this increase in stress and all those chemicals that go with them can invade your dreams, causing nightmares. Your dreams are a way for your mind to work through and process what you recently experienced, so if you found a film particularly troubling, your brain is going to want to try to figure it out while you sleep. Which can, of course, cause a less than restful night.

Some of us weirdos actually enjoy these nightmares. But if you’re the type of person who just wants to have dreams that mimic a romcom, be sure you work out your emotions about the movie you watched before you hit the hay. Journaling about your emotions and discussing the film with someone else long before you go to bed can help.

What is it like being an empath in New York City?

Becky and Diana hope to make it to NYC to see the HHFF in person this October! But this interview raised some concerns we need to address. When Renee described her situation as an empath living in one of the most populous areas of the US, Diana got a little intimidated.

Becky and Diana both have empathic tendencies, which they both have trouble switching off. After years of living in sprawling neighborhoods, in relative isolation, what will it feel like sleeping sandwiched between hundreds of other people on the same city block? Will the population density of the living attack our senses? Is that a bad thing? How should we protect ourselves?

Let us know on our Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/homespunhaints, or I’m very afraid we’ll have a spooky day!

The post Will You Share Your Nightmares? appeared first on Homespun Haints.

Press play below to listen now:

Scariest Podcasts: Episode Summary

On this podcast, each episode presents a standalone story of true paranormal activity that transports the listener into a world of horror. We interview many people who have seen ghosts and supernatural phenomena. And there have been a significant portion of those haunted people with supernatural encounters who have seen—something—with glowing red eyes.

Our guest, Stephanie, was in a dark place when she saw dozens of entities surrounding her bed, all with the same glowing red eyes. These chilling supernatural creatures were so numerous they blocked out the sunlight that would have been streaming into her room. Did the eyes indicate something evil, that usually hides out in the darkest corners? Or could they have meant something else?

If you’d like to listen to some of our best scary Halloween podcast episodes that these supernatural occurrences reminded us of, check out Charlie Punched a Ghost or You Can’t See its Mouth but you Know it’s Grinning.

Not-So-Scary Podcast Promo

Today’s promo is from The Mindless Morning Show, a captivating podcast that provides listeners an immersive experience in irreverent comedy storytelling.

Update: the Mindless Morning Show’s last podcast episode aired in 2022, but you can still access their archive of nearly 100 free episodes! Also, we interviewed these guys in season 4. Listen to their episode on our podcast, which includes a strange story about a creepy disembodied supernatural foot, and government conspiracies about the mystery of Tesla’s purported death ray.

About the guest: Stephanie Long

Stephanie Long is the owner of the fabulous Stephanie Marie Marketing, and is Homespun Haints’ personal SEO maven. If you have any sort of website that you want people to find on Google, you seriously need to track her down! Follow her for great marketing tips and updates on Linkedin and IG.

Real life horrors: Suicide is absolutely never the answer.

Fair warning: some parts of this story might be unsettling, and this might not be the best podcast to listen to right now if you’re feeling mentally unwell yourself. We’ve both been in an impossibly hard place before and we both have ongoing issues with depression. The best thing we’ve done that helped, ever, is to connect with other people. No matter what the problem is, there is someone out there who’s been there, who can relate with and understand anything you’re going through, who wants to hear your stories about what’s going on with you, and who yeah, actually freaking cares, however unlikely that might feel, because they’ve been there.

This is literally why the volunteers who man the Suicide Prevention Hotline do it; because they are thankful that they were able to talk to someone, or wish their loved one had been able to before making a snap judgment. It’s totally confidential and you do not have to use your real name.

They’re so inclusive that they have, I shit you not, TWELVE different gender identities to choose from on their live chat survey, including fill-in-the-blank. If you’re a talking-out-loud kind of person, call them at 1-800-273-8255. Professional help and this hotline exist because MANY people around the world feel suicidal every day; 20,000 people visit the Suicide Prevention Hotline chat every month. It can’t do any harm to talk about it to a good listener who wants to hear your story, no matter how unsettling it may be.

Horror movies, scary podcasts, and haunted attractions: love ’em or hate ’em?

Stephanie is a die hard fan of the horror genre. Even Stephanie’s best friends who love ghost stories are too scared to watch horror movies about ghosts, listen to scary podcasts, or go to haunted Halloween attractions with her. Conversely, we love being so scared we pee ourselves, at least in controlled situations. That’s the best reason we can come up with for why we started this scary podcast on all things horror: we just want you to tell us horror stories!

Where do you stand on the spectrum, from scaredy cat to scream queen? Let us know in our private Facebook group that you absolutely should be a part of if you aren’t already.

We hope we’ve provided the best horror stories and scary Halloween podcast experience you’ve had so far!

The best scary podcasts specialize in bringing horror stories to life with suspense, storytelling, and immersive sound design in their audio recordings. We try to maintain a balance with our unique blend of folklore storytelling and non-fiction interviews about eerie encounters with paranormal phenomena. Our goal is that the speculation our podcast employs about the unsolved mysteries which our guests present us with stimulate your brain and speed your heartbeat at least a little.

From psychological thrillers and family drama to ghostly folklore and conspiracy theories, Homespun Haints covers a diverse range of horror themes. This variety ensures there’s something to scare everyone, making it one of the best spooky podcasts around. It’s available for free listening on all major podcast platforms. Whether you’re a truck driver or road tripper listening from the car, or tucked into your cozy bed, looking for chilling tales to unwind with, Homespun Haints podcast wants to be there to provide the perfect blend of horror and lore for you.

And stay tuned; our little horror podcast is just going to get even more chilling from here until October 31st. We really appreciate all our listeners…Homespinnerettes…Hainters…Hainted Loves? Oh, that reminds us, don’t forget to get on our social and vote for the best cute & creepy nickname for yourselves, fans! After all, our beloved clair-audience is the best part of doing this scary podcast. Whether you’re one of our new listeners or one of our biggest fans, we appreciate you, by any name! Thank you for listening, and, until next time, have a spooky day!

The post A Room Too Crowded with Demons appeared first on Homespun Haints.