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In this spine-tingling episode, we watch the 1962 psychological thriller "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and dive deep into the hagsploitation film subgenre it spawned. When Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Joan Crawford found themselves discarded by studios as they aged, they turned to horror – creating a film that both exploited and empowered ageing women in cinema.

We explore how society's fear of ageing women transforms them into monstrous figures on screen. From Baby Jane's disturbing childlike makeup on an elderly face to the twisted sister dynamic, this film confronts our cultural anxieties about women who dare to age visibly.

The episode also unpacks the infamous feud between Davis and Crawford, Hollywood's persistent ageism, and why these "psycho-biddy" films found devoted audiences in queer communities. We trace hagsploitation's evolution from the 1960s to contemporary examples like "X" and "The Substance," revealing how little has changed in Hollywood's treatment of women over the age of 50.

Join us as we brush the cobwebs off this terrifying tale, shedding light on what makes ageing women both feared and fascinating in horror cinema.

Key moments

• 02:40 – "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" plot overview
• 07:35 – The birth of hagsploitation
• 10:52 – Hollywood's war on ageing women
• 14:39 – The double-edged sword of hagsploitation
• 19:51 – Abjection and the monstrous-feminine
• 30:28 – Screen queens and drag queens
• 32:40 – Bette vs. Joan
• 34:50 – Hagsploitation makes a comeback

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View all my sources for each episode and read the episode transcript here.

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What do the White Witch of Jamaica’s Rose Hall and New Orleans tour staple Madame LaLaurie have in common? They're both infamous female figures in ghost lore, accused of monstrous violence during the era of slavery. But dig a little deeper, and a more disturbing truth emerges. Annie Palmer – the so-called White Witch – never existed, and Delphine LaLaurie’s real crimes were reshaped into gothic horror for public consumption. In this episode, we unpack how gendered narratives helped white societies displace guilt over slavery onto individual women.

Using the monstrous-feminine as a lens, we explore how these legends reflect colonial anxieties, racial taboos, and the fear of women wielding power. Why are Annie and Delphine the most famous symbols of slave-owning cruelty, while male perpetrators fade into obscurity?

Join Paranormal Pajama Party as we look past the ghost stories and uncover the systems that wrote these women into history as convenient villains.

Key moments

• 0:42 – A dutiful wife… and a murderess?
• 13:31 – From torture chamber to wedding venue
• 14:50 – The White Witch who never lived
• 18:26 – No villains needed – slavery was hell
• 22:53 – Delphine LaLaurie: monstrous and real
• 25:58 – When women become symbols
• 31:37 – The lady becomes a monster
  
  

If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review Paranormal Pajama Party to help others discover it!

View all my sources for each episode and read the episode transcript here.

Follow @ParanormalPJParty on Instagram.

Send me a text message!

Join me to examine one of Japan's most influential ghost stories – Botan Dōrō (The Peony Lantern). This tale of love beyond death helped establish the archetype of the long-haired vengeful female ghost in Japanese horror. When handsome samurai Shinzaburō falls for the beautiful Otsuyu, their love seems destined for tragedy. Unluckily for him, even death won't keep them apart.

We'll explore how this story evolved from a Chinese Buddhist morality tale into a cornerstone of Japanese horror, spawning countless adaptations from kabuki theatre to erotica. Learn how changing attitudes toward women's spiritual power in feudal Japan gave rise to the vengeful female ghost trope, and what samurai’s wives were up to while their husbands were out fighting each other.

This ghostly tale of passion and promises reveals the impossible standards faced by samurai women – and why even death itself couldn't free them from society's expectations.

Key moments:

• 0:48 – Botan Doro, or, The Peony Lantern
• 15:25 – Historical Japan, women, and spirits
• 17:50 – Gender roles among samurai
• 20:49 – Otsuyu as a monster girl
• 23:05 – Oyoné's emotional labour
• 25:18 – Who's the stronger samurai?
• 28:41 – A word about Rangda, Barong, and hope

If you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review Paranormal Pajama Party to help others discover it!

View all my sources for each episode and read the episode transcript here.

Follow @ParanormalPJParty on Instagram.