An Interview With Steve Capone Jr on Costs of Living
Horror isn’t always about haunted houses or ancient curses. Sometimes, it’s the creeping dread of daily life—the suffocating rules of a suburban HOA, the slow unraveling of a workplace routine, or the existential weight of what it costs to simply exist. That’s exactly the kind of horror Steve Capone Jr. explores in Cost of Living, the debut anthology from Whisper House Press.
We recently sat down with Steve to discuss the making of this collection and the philosophy behind his press. A seasoned teacher, award-winning writer, and former philosophy grad student, Steve brings an analytical yet deeply empathetic eye to editing. His approach blends his love of narrative with his belief in fiction as a means of connecting across perspectives. And in horror, he’s found a genre where strange situations and unthinkable choices can become powerful thought experiments, what he calls “intuition pumps” borrowed from the language of ethics.
In this interview, Steve opens up about the press’s beginnings, the kinds of stories that made it into Cost of Living, and why he believes horror is uniquely suited for amplifying marginalized voices. We also touch on his second anthology, Dread Mondays, and get insight into how working with students and running Whisper House Press have sharpened his instincts as both an editor and a writer.
If you’re a fan of horror that’s as smart and strange as it is scary, or if you’re a writer curious about the behind-the-scenes of anthology curation, you need to check this one out!
https://youtu.be/mSy7v0j_r_8
Thanks for joining us for this deep dive into Cost of Living with Steve Capone Jr. If you’re as intrigued as we are, be sure to check out the anthology when it drops on September 1st, and keep an eye out for Dread Mondays this October.
Want more from Whisper House Press? Visit WhisperHousePress.com to explore their ongoing submissions, monthly featured authors, and updates on future releases. And if you’re a horror author looking for a press that truly supports its contributors, you might just find your publishing home here.
Until next time, keep writing, keep reading, and remember: everything has a cost.
