About Season 1

Hysteria – Season 1 contains nine spooky pieces of horror fiction by, about, and for women. Since it’s premiere in 2021, Season 1 has been downloaded over 15,000 times.

All episodes can be rated PG! If you’re creeped out by disturbing gore or horror, this podcast is safe for you.

The role of women in the horror genre has been vastly limited. As we look back on the biggest voices within the history of horror, male names and perspectives dominate the landscape. Women are typically relegated to background characters, set dressing, or pathetic victims. The first season of Hysteria, we only read stories where women are brought to the forefront as main characters or authors.

Because nothing is scarier than sexism.

Each episode contains a chilling performance of a dark tale. Each story is written by a woman, and some provides a commentary about living as a woman in the early 20th century.

Meet the Performers

Emily Schooley

Emily Schooley is an award-winning actor, voiceover artist, emerging filmmaker, and badass creative changemaker working to build a kinder and more inclusive world. She is especially passionate about creating strong women-led media that highlights authentic diverse representation. Most recently, you may have heard her as Roxie Gibson in the audio drama series Y2K Redux. You can help support Emily in her quest to smash the patriarchy by joining her community over on Patreon.

Charisma O'Keefe

Charisma O’Keefe is a multidisciplinary creative living in Orlando, Florida. Charisma is a human rights activist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Love Doesn’t Hurt Inc, a nonprofit committed to ending teen dating violence. Her work at Love Doesn’t Hurt, lifestyle brand Kismet + Charisma, the Heart and Hustle Podcast, and in her creative partnerships, finds her at the intersection of creativity, wellness, and entrepreneurship working with artists, nonprofits, and small business owners to create content that inspires others to heal, embrace what makes them unique, and lead with kindness.

Katie Self

Katie is an actor and singer born and raised in Los Angeles. She has sung at Rockwell Table and Stage, danced at Tokyo Disney Sea, and voiced many a Google commercial. When she’s not performing with the likes of Susan Egan, Josh Groban, or Goofy, you can find her at home playing video games with her cat on her lap and her husband snuggled up beside her playing a different video game.

Ebonie Butler

Ebonie, also known as Metal & Coffee, is a full-time web developer and is the founder of the WordPress Women of Color community. She is also a Metal DJ, having been featured on various radio streaming platforms. Eager to share her knowledge and uplift other underrepresented groups, Ebonie also does livestreams on Twitch where she codes and works on various projects live while answering viewer questions about the code she is working on and what they can do to get into the tech industry. And last but not least, Ebonie is a huge horror fan and loves to play horror video games on stream as well. Linktr.ee

Laura Byrne

Laura Byrne Is a North NJ based actor/director/designer who has appeared in productions around the tri-state area since age 5 when her cousin typecast her as the Little Redheaded Girl in Charlie Brown. She is a 6-time Perry award nominee with nominations in both performance and design. She recently appeared in T-Squared’s Reading Series in Night of the Iguana and The Seagull, This Is Our Story with InterACT, and Catch the Morning with Apricot Sky Productions. Favorite past roles include Maggie in Jake’s Women, The Ensemble in The Laramie Project, Bunny in Gemini, Frances in Light Up the Sky.

Rebecca Mathis

Whether it’s the way two songs work when played back to back on the radio, or the way a couple walks down the street like they’re the only two people in the world, REBECCA MATHIS can’t help but be drawn to the stories that surround us. She’s an urban fantasy author, a stage combat actor, an audiobook narrator, and an easily-excitable creature of chaos. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband, their blended family, and two goofy dogs.

You can learn more about Rebecca’s books at BeccaLynnMathis.com, or follow her on Twitter (@DR34MR) or Instagram (@BeccaLynnMathis).

Laura Fisher

Laura Fisher is a New Orleans-based music artist. Her stylistic range is wide: from alternative pop to electronic, to grunge and art rock; she also has a strong neoclassical root from a childhood studying under world-renowned Turkish pianist Meral Guneyman.

The songs you hear in Hysteria are selections from Fisher’s 2020 albun of short piano songs, APOPHENIA. Her most recent release — Fiction / La Belle Indifference — was produced by Adam Keil and released in fall 2021 on Strange Daisy Records.

Fisher has performed independently all over the world: from an underground bunker for the Sacred and Profane Festival on Peaks Island, ME; to an enchanting ski lodge in famed Niseko, Japan; from the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama; to Lincoln Center in New York City.

She is currently working on a follow up EP to her most recent synth/dream pop release.

Melanie Mercado-Connor

Writer, traveler, singer, showrunner, and modern muse, Melanie Mercado-Connor has literally done all of the things. She is currently managing and/or co-writing a number of projects on and off the waves, not the least of which is Unlooting!, the unboxing series made especially for Dungeons and Dragons players now wrapping up its first season on YouTube. Melanie can usually be found making coffee, gathering her friends for shenanigans, and always in the company of her beloved husband, Eddie, and their twin feline terrors, Sans and Papyrus. You can follow Melanie’s journey through life and art on Instagram (@sworded_love) and be the first to see which wild projects come up next.