Brooke MacKenzie Knows The Horrors of Parenting

In this Halloween-timed episode, Ophira Eisenberg talks with Brooklyn-based horror author and poet Brooke Mackenzie, who balances writing ghost stories with parenting her five-year-old daughter. Brooke describes her haunted Minnesota childhood home—once owned by a member of the Pillsbury family—complete with a female ghost in the basement and a handsy spirit in an old pony shed. She recounts asking “the powers that be” in college to take away her ability to see ghosts after too many eerie encounters at Sarah Lawrence. Ophira and Brooke trade jokes about “geriatric motherhood,” with Brooke explaining how she had her daughter at 40 after infertility struggles and found calm in later-in-life parenting. She also shares how the pandemic sent her family from Manhattan to a haunted mountain town in Northern California, where she wrote much of her horror fiction. Brooke reveals that her story “The Elevator Game”—inspired by the real-life Eliza Lam mystery—launched her career at 39 and led to her collections Ghost Games and The Scary ABC Diary. They discuss the rise of women in horror, how horror offers catharsis and justice, and how motherhood made her writing darker and more body-focused (“once you’ve had every fluid on you…”). The episode ends with Ophira laughing about diaper blowout memories while Brooke jokes that she now spends more time on beta-fish forums than parenting. 📍October Shows are in Bozeman, MT, WI, MN, MO and November 9th new Standup Special Taping at The Comedy Cellar in NY! Details at https://www.ophiraeisenberg.comCome to the Taping at the Comedy Cellar on Sun Nov 9th! 5pm: https://www.comedycellar.com/reservations-newyork/?showid=1762725600 7pm: https://www.comedycellar.com/reservations-newyork/?showid=1762732860 Follow Brooke MacKenzie : https://www.instagram.com/mackbrookepro/ See Ophira LIVE: https://www.ophiraeisenberg.com/events/ SUBSCRIBE so you never miss O thing: https://www.ophiraeisenberg.com/sign-up Follow PIAJ:  https://www.instagram.com/parentingisajoke/ https://parentingisajoke.substack.com/   Follow Ophira: https://www.instagram.com/ophirae/ https://www.facebook.com/OphiraEisenberg/ https://www.tiktok.com/@ophiranyc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices https://www.instagram.com/marylynnrajskub/?hl=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices