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Welcome back to Drawn to Darkness, the podcast where we deep dive into our favourite horror and true crime. In this episode, we head deep into the peeling wallpaper, raccoon-infested attic, rotting walls and shingles, and extraordinary psychology of Grey Gardens, the 1975 direct-cinema documentary that follows Big Edie and Little Edie Beale, two formerly glamorous socialites now living in overwhelming decay and filth in their once-grand Hamptons estate. We unpack the house as gothic horror, Little Edie’s charm, yearning, and self-loathing (as well as her fabulous head scarves), Big Edie’s pride in her aristocratic past, the mother daughter dynamic, and then men who didn’t help (at least Jackie Kennedy Onassis stepped in). We discuss the film’s reputation as a masterpiece, the tension between fascination and voyeurism and its connection to contemporary reality TV such as Hoarders.

Content & Spoiler Warning

In addition to spoilers, this episode contains discussion of animal neglect and unsanitary living conditions, including cat faeces, raccoons, fleas, and hoarding, Toxic mother–daughter relationships, psychological distress, Isolation, mental health concerns, and hints of past trauma

Palate Cleanser

TikTok trend of people strolling through HomeGoods and dramatically “discovering” absurdly specific décor items (like a “bird on a golden twig” or a “portrait of an elephant in a bathtub, but just the butt”). Just for fun.

All the Star Wars, including Rebels

The Whimsical Muse on Threads, an account full of cozy, bookish, soft-rain-in-Edinburgh energy to restore your faith in the world.

Recommendations:

Films & TV:

• Grey Gardens (2009) — The Drew Barrymore/Jessica Lange dramatization
• Documentary Now! — “Sandy Passage” — Bill Hader and Fred Armisen’s hilarious Grey Gardens parody
• Gimme Shelter — Another documentary by the Maysles Brothers
• American Horror Story: Season 1— For claustrophobic house-based dread
• Feud: Capote v. the Swans — For more on high-society mythology (creative non-fiction)
• Arrested Development and Schitt’s Creek— Wealthy family, disastrous decline, narcissistic mother: say no more
• The Haunting of Hill House — For more gothic “dancing alone in an empty house”

Books & Literary Connections

• The Marble Fawn of Grey Gardens by Jerry Torre and the novel by Nathanial Hawthorne
• The Fall of the House of Usher (Edgar Allan Poe)
• The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
• A Raisin in the Sun & Langston Hughes’ “Harlem” (what happens to a dream deferred?)
• The Great Gatsby for Gilded Age illusions

Other Fascinating Rabbit Holes

• The Winchester Mystery House — Another sprawling home built on grief, ghosts, and possible madness

Homework Assignment:

Caroline is taking us into the horrors of scientific research gone wrong. Listen to the two-part “Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment” series from the podcast You’re Wrong About. We’ll explore the real-life horror of government-sanctioned cruelty, medical racism, and scientific exploitation.

Special thanks to Nancy Azano for our cover art (Instagram: @nancyazano) and to Harry Kidd for our opening score (Instagram: @harryjkidd)