Mystic Horror Author SM Hallow and the New THE HALLS OF THE DEAD

My guest is the acclaimed author SM Hallow! We discuss the brand-new thriller THE HALLS OF THE DEAD and her previous work, HOW TO SURVIVE THIS FAIRYTALE. SM shares the very personal inspirations behind each of the edge-of-your-seat reads. The Halls of the Dead is a queer Gothic horror novel set in 1849 London, that follows Irene Shallcross Haley as she attempts the first true resurrection in two thousand years after her lover Agnes is executed for witchcraft. The revived Agnes returns changed—haunted, hungry, and bound to a malignant ghost—forcing Irene and her undead husband St. John to navigate love, death, magic, and vengeance while evading the man who condemned Agnes. How to Survive This Fairytale is a dark, queer, second‑person fairy‑tale remix following Hansel, trapped inside a story controlled by a cruel narrator. After years of being forced into horrific acts by the Evil Queen and repeatedly denied a happy ending, Hansel decides to rewrite his fate—challenging narrative determinism, trauma, and the morality of fairy‑tale archetypes