Cheap Chills - On Art and Monsters (Ben Walker-Storey)

Ben Walker-Storey is back for a new kind of Cheap Chills Podcast!

This is a quick check-in to let you know what we'll be doing here each week. 

For me, there’s nothing better than wrapping myself into a blanket-burrito and checking out something spooky and weird. Whether its a reclusive creep inviting lone travelers into his castle or there are monsters battling it out over Tokyo, I want more!
(just no blood, OK?)

I’m also an illustrator, graphic artist and animator and for the last seven years I’ve been creating for my own spooky, weird brand called Cheap Chills. 

But more and more lately, I’ve been wondering about other creators. What are their stories? What drives them to paint monsters or make latex masks, little dioramas of VHS rental stores, synth-wave soundtracks or even their own genre films? 

So for this series I’m going to be talking with other artists and creators about our memories of all things spooky and weird and how they influence what we do now.

Plus as often as humanly possible I’ll be delving into some deep-dive histories from monster-kid pop culture.
 
Subscribe now and join me every week for the Cheap Chills Podcast!

Cheap Chills on Instagram

Cheapchillsfanclub.com

The Cheap Chills Podcast is back with a new format! Host Ben Walker-Storey talks with other creatives about the spooky, weird stuff from our younger days and how it influenced the art, film, music et cetera that we make now.
 
This week Ben is joined by Joshua Sterling, also known as Haunting Season on TikTok, Instagram and Youtube. He tells Ben about how a friendship made through Twitter led to a ghost hunting trip to Minnesota. And they compare stories about hauntings, sneaking around in churches, collaborating (or not) on films, sobriety, the way our brains envision things (or not) and our random mental associations. 
 
Not to be a spoiler but the films, The 6th Sense, Alien, Dr Sleep, Terrifier, Terrifier 2, And Your Name is Jonah, the Saw movies, It Comes at Night, Under the Skin, Hereditary, and Pet Sematary come up as well. 
 
Find Joshua here: 
@hauntingseason on Tiktok
@Hauntingseason on Instagram
 
Get More Cheap Chills: 
cheapchillsfanclub.com
Follow us on Instagram
Cheap Chills on YouTube

Buy me a Coffee

This week Ben’s flying solo! First its the odd tale of the time Hammer Films and Walt Disney both set out to make a film about Dr. Syn, the Pirate turned Preacher/ Smuggler.
 
Then, in a very special Let’s Check in With Ben, he talks about the emotional roller-coaster ride that was the recent Estate Sale of someone with geeky, Gen X taste and a flair for hoarding. 

Ben also chats about a book that was his first glimpse into grown-up comic book art, The Penguin Book of Comics, 1967.



The Cheap Chills Podcast is Produced by Ben Walker-Storey

** Some of the links below are affiliate links, earning a royalty on any purchases at no extra expense to you, thank you! **

Hammer Horror 8-Film Collection [Blu-ray or DVD]
 https://amzn.to/3L4dMyH

Dr. Syn, alias The Scarecrow on YouTube
https://youtu.be/7sOHSwbrZzs?si=pOhBdyH8Np-p3aWU

The Penguin Book of Comics
https://amzn.to/463zGMh

This week Ben is joined by someone who was there for all of it, Ben’s brother Jimmy Walker. They get into memories and thoughts on the series, Friday the 13th...The Series (1987-90). That’s the one not featuring anyone with a hockey mask or machete. Instead this one stars (Louise) Robey and John D. LeMay as Micki and Bryan, two VERY attractive, young cousins who hunt for cursed objects and return them to an evil antique Store. This show was a HUGE influence on Ben in his High School years. And apparently for Jimmy, not so much.

In a very special Let's check in with Ben (mid-point break), Ben talks about ways he currently deals with anxiety and overwhelm. He's found that his forms of escapism can help alleviate stress in the moment and ultimately lead to some clarity on goals and what can be done in the now- Which you also get to hear about. 
 
Ben and Jimmy also get into some movies that scared the craps out of them back in the day and explore the idea that some horror is great for dates and some is not. 

This week I am joined by Kenneth Filmer, who is half of a Film and Television/Promotion company in New York City called Khloaris. Khloaris produces films and hosts screening parties in unusual places like back-alleys of industrial neighborhoods and has built a community of like-minded, film-loving oddballs. 
 
We came into this with a theme in mind so keep an ear out for the part of our conversation about working at video rental stores (Tower video and Kim's Video) but we got into so much more! From the purpose of transgressive media to Davie Allan's fuzz-guitar film scores to what exactly an executive producer does for a film like Ghost Team starring Amy Sedaris, Jon Heder and Justin Long.
 
This is a long one so we also got into our thoughts on the Gene Simmons and Kiss, Corey Feldman, how social media can limit our ability as creators and the origin story of Cheap Chills.

Ben is joined this week by artist, mom and teacher, Audrey Rose, also known as Mad Monster Lady.
This week's (official) topic is the Crestwood Monsters series of books. They talk about how monsters are relatable because they are also weirdos dealing with rejection. They also get into real life monsters like narcissists, sociopaths and serial killers and why Satanism isn’t scary. 
And in a very special “Let’s Check in with Ben,” Ben defers to next week to unload all that’s going on with him.
You may notice the podcast is AD-FREE! If you dig the show and want to show support, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! Whenever you want. No subsciption involved.
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills
Follow Audrey Rose in Instagram at @madmonsterlady

Hey gang, this week Ben is taking calls on the new Lost Movie Hotline. Listeners who caught a movie when they were little, one that seared itself into their memories, can now call in with a voicemail for Ben. If he doesn't recognize your lost movie maybe the Cheap Chills community will! We do what we can.
Ben describes his own lost movie. It's something that he's been wondering about for 45 YEARS! If you like terror and intrigue among a handful of people stranded on the beach, this film is for you. 
Then in a very special "Let's Check in with Ben" he talks about the art projects he's just finished and bigger ones on the slab. And a bit about what's going on with him at home. 
*****
You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is AD-FREE! If you dig the show and want to show support, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! Whenever you want. No subsciption involved.
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills
Some links below are affilate links. Clicking through helps support the pod at no extra expense to you, thanks! 
Watch The Flesh Eaters on Tubi
Buy The Mutations on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3WEyjQT
Rent James and the Giant Peach - https://amzn.to/3WEyjQT

Hey Gang! This week I'm joined by Jules Fischer, an Indi Comic book Artist from Berlin, Germany. We get into all kinds of stuff! Her influeces, Charles Burns, Dan Clowes and Jamie Hernandez sent her down a path of self discovery through comic-book making. Plus fake food freaks her out, but in a good way! 
We also get into how horror stories help us deal with anxiety and depression. And how creating art will expose your deepest thoughts and feelings to the world. 
In a very special Let's Check in With Ben, I talk about something that blew me away this week, The Sweet Electric's New Planet (Liam Lynch). It reminded me of a "song" I made like 15, 16 years ago called Another Planet Entirely. It's oddly personal and never been heard by the public before but its included at the end of the podcast, yer welcome!
Jules Fischer on Instagram
Cheap Chills on Instagram
Walter Wick Studio

*****
You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is has no commercials. If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! I literally have no money. Is anyone reading this? 
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills
Links below are affilate links. Clicking through helps support the pod at no extra expense to you, thanks! 
The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
Parents 1989 starring Randy Quaid, Blu-Ray
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes, paperback
Black Hole by Charles Burns, paperback

Introducing a new segment, "Continue Watching?" where Ben goes through his Tubi, Continue Watching list and talks about the movies he didn't get through; gems like Yeti: Giant of the 20th Century, War of The God Monsters, The Monster Club TV show and more.
Ben takes a call on the Lost Movie Hotline. Does he know what film this caller’s talking about? If not, maybe you do! Call in and let us know! speakpipe.com/CheapChills
And in a very special Let’s check in with Ben, Ben’s feeling rusty. Specifically when it comes to drawing on paper. What if we draw together with some weekly prompts? #CheapChillsSketchClub? #CheapchillsMonster? #DoHashtagsEvenWorkAnymore?He also talks his alter-ego, Roman Candelabrä and how it can help with his life-long discomfort in front of video cameras.

*****
You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is has no commercials. If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! I literally have no money. Is anyone reading this? 
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

*****
Music and editing for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Ben Walker-Storey.

This week Ben is busy with something very frightening if common among us these days, bills! So we've dug up (get it? GET IT??) a spooky gem from the early days of this podcast, Monsters in Turtlenecks has Ben and his wife (who is her own person) Amanda getting into what is likely THE biggest influence on how Ben became the monster-loving weirdo he is today, The Monster Club starring Vincent Price, John Carradine and Donald Pleasence.
******* 
You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is has no commercials. If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! I literally have no money. Is anyone reading this? 
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

Affiliate Links below (commissions may be earned):
Get the Monster Club on Amazon

*****
Music and editing for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Ben Walker-Storey.

Welcome to the Cheap Chills podcast, where artists and creators who love spooky, weird stuff can get together and talk spooky weird art ….talk.
A few months ago, I was alone in bed watching The Cup Head show. It’s something I had tried to put on for our son when it came out but it was too creepy for him and he went back to watching something about trains with eyes.
Anyway, I was blown away by just how good this cartoon was! It’s very very inspired by animation from the  1930s but looks better than studios like Fliescher could manage back then. The animation, the jokes, holy craps the backgrounds. The second episode came on and I paid more attention to the credits. Created by Dave Wasson.
It was one of those moments where I thought, man if I can get back into podcasting, maybe I could talk to people like this. A few months and a few Instagram DMs later and here we are.
You’ve seen his work on the Mickey Mouse shorts on Disney+, Time Squad, Star vs the Forces of Evil, oh Yeah cartoons and The Cuphead Show. Here it is, my conversation with animation Writer and Director, Dave Wasson.

We discuss the Cuphead game developed by Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, advice for indie animators, The most inspiring music for making 1930s-style animation (Check out the playlist below!), jazz album covers of the 50s, Popeye, Betty Boop, Roger Ramjet, Rocky and Bulwinkle, and those amazing 3-dimensional backgrounds they incorporated into Fleischer brothers cartoons.

Plus a new segment! Join Roman Candelabrä for Roman Candelabrä's Mystery Moment as he explores the strange connection between Betty Boop and The Smiths. 

Follow Dave Wasson on Instagram: @arkansassugarpants

******* 
You may notice the Cheap Chills podcast is has no commercials. If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! I literally have no money. Is anyone reading this? 
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

*****
Music and editing for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Ben Walker-Storey.

This week I’m joined by Art Director, Justin Moll, who is known as Dr. Wolfenbergen by night (and likely weekends). His personal art (and upcoming zine) is stripped down, simple yet gritty...and kinda dark. So I love it. We talk about the hot rod scene, making zines, the lost art of making band flyers at the 24 hour photocopy shop and then we really get into the nitty, grits of making low-fi digital art and the power of squinting. 
We also get into comparing notes on musical inspiration (Mortician or Skinny Puppy? Is Iron Maiden relaxing?) and tell about the times we were kinda scared to buy an album but totally did.
In a very special “Let’s Check in with Ben” I talk about the new drawing club I’m starting on Instagram and reflect on the rebooted podcast.
********

Follow Justin on Instagram: @Dr.Wolfenbergen

******* 
If you dig the show and want to support us, please leave a review wherever you get podcasts. If you'd like to "Buy me a Coffee" that would be amazing too! 
buymeacoffee.com/cheapchills

*****
Music for the Cheap Chills Podcast by Badger Meyer.


**Also discussed word dump: Return of the Living Dead, the Art of Friend Prices, True Grit brush collection, High Tide Recordings, The CSA Charles S Anderson Catalog, Evil on Paramount+

Ben Walker Storey (Illustrator and comedy, horror nerd) and Amanda Walker Storey (Makeup Artist turned Vintage Clothing reseller) are husband and wife trying to find something to watch. Ben shows his wife trailers for horror and B movies. Tangents ensue.

It's Episode 1 (Part 1) of the Cheap Chills show!

In this episode Ben and Amanda talk a bit about how home life turned into the format of the show, then explore a couple classic horror films involving evil menacing vegetables, flowers and weeds: 1974's The Mutations (AKA Freakmaker)with Donald Pleasence, and Day of the Triffids. They finish out part 1 by improvising a pitch for their own modern plant monster film, Amazon Orchids.

Check back next week for Episode 1, part 2 of Plant Monsters.

Part 2 of Ben and Amanda's exploration of weird plant monster movies. In this episode they look at Roger Corman's 1960 classic, Little Shop of Horrors. As well as Swamp Thing and Return of Swamp Thing. We learn a bit more about Amanda's hatred for all things swampy.

Clearly, Ben has a Big Foot fetish. Ben shows Amanda trailers to some of the classic Sasquatch films of the 70s and on into the 80s. There are so many mysteries. What is the creature? How can something so conspicuous as Bigfoot stay hidden? Will there ever be an episode of Cheap Chills that doesn't bring up Arkansas?

In the second half of their Bigfoot / Yeti talk, Ben and Amanda examine the scariest of the Bigfoots. Here's a hint: He has major beef with Steve Austin.
Tangents include 80s movies named after food, and the holy trinity of childhood perils, piraña quicksand and lava. Plus Ben and Amanda come up with a Skiers vs. Snowboarders vs. Yeti movie.
Special thanks to Kepi Ghoulie for this episode’s Bigfoot outro music!

Neighbor and comedian, Gabe Callahan joins Ben and Amanda as we examine The Asphyx, plus all the Ghostbusters.
Before they delve into deep personal fears and the movies that bothered their souls, Ben, Amanda and Gabe pitch a found footage-style movie about film students who stumble on their own Asphyx while re-hashing 1973's Asphyx.

Bonus! Ben sits down with comedian, Drew Platt to talk about a movie that terrified him as a kid, Pet Sematary.

Plus Kepi Ghoulie's cover of Pet Sematatary! Thanks Kepi!

This week, Ben and Amanda check out movies about evil body parts.
Amanda and Ben each pitch their own evil body part film.
Plus! Nightmares from childhood. Nightmare boyfriends. And Amanda discuses her aversion to being fed romantically.

Welcome to the Club! Ben has a religious experience while watching the 1981 film, Monster Club. Amanda is on board with the whole thing. That's a first!

Ben and Amanda watch clips from five movies that freaked people the eff out as kids. Can it be a good thing to be traumatized as a younger?

It's Birthday Week so Ben and Amanda look at some cult movies from Amanda's birth year, 1981. Time Bandits, Ghost Story and Escape From New York. They launch seamlessly into tangents about American fast food in Asia, roping dad into a John Carpenter concert, the downside of pizza and benefits of lounge music.

Ben and Amanda explore a few of the unforgettable movies of 1973, The Baby, Legend of Hell House, Godspell and Psychomania. Plus personal tales of cat attacks, a Second Coming movie pitch, and more!

This episode is devoted to the mysterious disappearance of Jim Bray, star (along with Linda Blair) of 1978's Roller Boogie. Ben and Amanda reveal their personal attachment to roller-skating and pitch a heavily fictionalized Jim Bray biopic.

Ben and Amanda watch the trailer for Stephen King's Graveyard Shift and swap tales of awful jobs from their pasts. Plus, reasons not to go to Art school, the wordy horror of Lovecraft and white jeans.

We watch the trailers for Parents, Soylent Green and C.H.U.D. and talk man-eaters, man-made meat, and man-meat. Plus, do younger siblings get less genetic beauty juice? And, who said Sir-we-have-no-control-over-the-robots-at-all?

Ben and Amanda wipe the dust from Mom's VHS collection. It's a lovely evening at home complete with a workout, beauty and pampering, a feature film and some late night romance.

Ben and Amanda watch the trailers for Duel, The Car, Christine and Maximum Overdrive. They talk about when it was cool to be a trucker, their own road rage, car chase experiences and the terror that lays waiting in the garbage disposal. The couple caps it off by writing a possessed car-teen comedy on the fly.

In episode 18 of The Cheap Chills Show, Ben and Amanda delve into one of Ben's visceral fears, bodies dissolving into husks and vapors. The couple watch clips from cult classic films and discuss people melting, drying up and blowing away, turning into evil yogurt, and being left below. Plus a mysterious Hometown Horror and the couple come face to face with local wildlife in the foothills of California.

In this episode, Ben and Amanda talk briefly about the horror of knowing the people in your hometown feel very differently about current events. Which leads to the theme of the show: The Addams Family and the hosts' goal of living "Full Addams". Ben reads his Addams Code. The couple also tell tales from the back rooms of Northern California's Goth dance clubs.

In this episode, Ben and Amanda check out some favorite knock-offs of our favorite cult movies of the 1970s and 80s.
A few trailers for movies in post-apocalyptic and barbarian genres prompt some personal stories from Ben. Amanda also explores her lifelong fear of outer space.
Plus! Are we made by Ancient Aliens?

Ben and Amanda are joined by Entertainment journalist and former Famous Monsters of Filmland Editor, David. Weiner. We watch trailers to films that were featured on some of our favorite, classic FM covers. We recall some classic FM memories, and that time we teamed up to cover the release of Dana Gould's Stan Against Evil (IFC). Plus why is Vincent Price such a stud? And who else has the "IT" Factor?

This time Ben and Amanda are joined by Producer, Director, Actor, Lowell Northrop (Hap & Leonard). They watch trailers to some movies about extra parts growing out of people's bodies and talk about vestigial twins, love and loss between the conjoined, an awful lot about Ben's artwork and a bit about dark side.

Ben and Amanda watch clips from Friday the 13th, The Series and wonder if there are cursed items in their own home. Plus Amanda gets a tour of the historic (haunted?)Cary House Hotel from Eugene Butler, The Halloween Man.

This time, Ben and Amanda watch clips from David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch then tell their stories about cockroaches and hoarders. They check out clips from Videodrome which launches Ben into a Shark Tank pitch for a ground-breaking, new adult product. One more trailer, Chatterbox gets the two into the realm of disappointing sex comedies and those 80s movies about switching gender.

This episode is brought to you by Cheap Chills Clothing and Amazon.com. Support the show and get Halloween-inspired apparel, designed by Cheap Chills' own Ben Walker Storey by searching "Cheap Chills All Hallows Eve" on Amazon.

Ben and Amanda start of with a bit of a State of the Podcast address as it's Episode 25 and the 1 year mark for Cheap Chills. Then it's Bad Apples spoiling....the World? at least the neighborhood. Ben and Amanda talk about their favorite bad boys, Damien from the Omen series and John Waters' Cry Baby Walker. What's up with doomsday people who are worried about the Mark of the Beast? The couple finish up the show by telling a strange story from 6th grade learning camp while creating an "Escalator Pitch" for a movie that brings together all the bad kids from the greaser to the Anti-Christ.

In this special 1 year anniversary show, Ben and Amanda veer away from movies to have a fireside chat about their most memorable Halloweens. The costumes, trick or treating, taking sexy pictures with Gramma. Plus some tangents about unfortunate swimwear.

Ben is joined by Super 7's Josh Herbolsheimer. They talk about the new lines of Reaction figures, Universal Monsters (Can we just call him Frankenstein, already?) Plus art school and collisions with celebrities.

Ben is joined by guest, co-host Kristen Lucas. Kristen is a comedian and actor who once tried to win over the crowd at an audition with a Cry Baby reference. Ben and Kristen check out the fun in the sun and teenagers making Hey-Hey in some beach horror movies.

Plus! Hear the true story of the time Ben got a call from Gallagher.

This episode brought to you by Suckerman.

Check out www.kristenreneelucas.com
On Instagram & Twitter @TheKris10Lucas

Amanda is Back! We're back!
Ben and Amanda talk about what happens when you are awake during surgery. They take a big step toward living "Full Addams" (Family). Then they explore the idea of "smudging" and bad vibes in a home. Plus a few personal ghost stories!

Ben and Amanda introduce a new segment, Conspiracy Something, Say Something and talk about a strange pattern emerging in children's programing. They give more thought and tips on going "Full Addams" (living like the Addams Family), then launch into the main topic: Time Travel. What would you do if you went back to High School? Can you convince a stranger to do something just because you are from the future? Would a vapor trail help?

Ben and Amanda talk Satan, Satanism and their experiences growing up Christian, going to church getting spooked by Devil-talk. Half-way through, the couple takes a break to have a crazy-mom-off.
Then it's back to the Beast, discussing the alleged former Satanic High Priest turned "Christian Comedian" of the 1980s, Mike Warnke. Plus, what are the best loved Satans in pop culture? And what are the "Satanic bands" of the 80s?

This episode is brought to you by Devil Dogs.

In this return to greatness, Ben and Amanda unpack everything they know, think and feel about those sexy, blood-sucking fiends: Vampires. Ben starts the show with a brief rant about the age-old conflict between grumpy curmudgeons and you meddling, sardine-like teenagers. Then it's full-tilt into all the movie vampires: Bram Stoker's Dracula, Lost Boys, True Blood, Hammer films, Nosferatu, Ed Wood (it counts), Shadow of the Vampire, Blade. Ben even re-enacts a scene from a Twilight movie. Plus a few seedy personal vampire stories!

This episode is brought to you by our upcoming grown-up coloring book, Monster Funk.

We're back! This time, Ben reads selections from his new self-published, Adult coloring book, Monster Funk. Friendship, rejection, career lows, embarrassment: Ben tells the incredibly personal stories that are behind the poo and fart jokes. Amanda recalls coloring with scented markers and rates all the smells. Plus Amanda and Ben share a Hometown Horror story and compare some of the grossest things about parenthood verses living in San Francisco.

Live at STAB Comedy Theater in Sacramento, California! Ben & Amanda talk about the Hometown Horrors of the fun-zone in Grass Valley and fighting old ladies at estate sales. Then it's on to the cults! What is a cult? What is a sex-cult? Aren't they all sex-cults, really? Ben & Amanda discuss their favorite movies about cults and recount that time they went to a party thrown by pyramid-scheming, life-coaching, sex-cultists.

Then it's questions from the audience (and Instagram) for our super-computer, iDuddits!

Thank you Sacpodfest.

They said it wouldn't happen. But the stars aligned and Cheap Chills lives on! This time Ben and Amanda talk about fate and destiny, delving into some personal stories after delving into other personal stories for their popular "Hometown Horrors" segment.

Check out Rin Tanaka's series of street fashion books, My Freedamn!

Pick up a copy of Ben's new book, Monster Funk, in adult coloring book form or as a full-color picture book (paperback or ebook), all on Amazon.com. THIS JUST IN! Ben just released one more version, this one for kids (no words, just fun monsters). "A Coloring Book of Gross Monsters" will be available on Amazon July 20th.

Amanda's new Etsy store is called Irreverent Finery. Follow the Instagram too, @Irreverent-Finery.

Thanks for your support!