It’s been thirteen years since Orin McCabe was accused of killing his family in a gruesome moment of violence. As he sits on death row, an intrepid yet motley crew of ghost hunters take up the task of investigating the house where the murders happened, to determine if some otherworldly force could have fueled McCabe’s rage. Soon, something much more insidious makes itself known and must quickly be contained before it spreads and capitalizes on America’s thirst for violence, which would undoubtedly spread like a plague across the land.
Michael W. Conrad and Dave Chisholm weave a twist on the classic Haunted House subgenre. It starts innoccuously enough, with a by-the-numbers Ghost Hunters approach. Might as well be a found footage movie, one of a dozen. But then as Dave says in the episode:
You want to yawn, and then suddenly you’re WIDE AWAKE.
The series combines cosmic horror, unreliable narrators, unique takes on the afterlife and hauntings, and mashes it all together into a narrative that surprises. And leaves you thinking well after the final page is turned.
The collected graphic novel can be pre-ordered here! (releases January 2026)
You can listen to this episode on your podcast platform of choice:
Wine Trivia Question of the Week
In 2020, during our own most recent pandemic or "plague" known as Covid, which wine variety overtook Chardonnay in both volume and sales in the US for the first time?
Try your luck above, then scroll to the bottom of this post to find the answer!
The Pairings
Dallas’ Wine
2018 Red Car Syrah, Sonoma Coast, California
A Northern Rhone look-alike, this Red Car Syrah has is all the things: it's plummy; there's the smokey, almost gamey note swirling around on the pallette; and of course, those peppery, herby, spicy notes. Each glass is a full experience, similar to the way each issue of Plague House is a full experience. It's a wine you savor which is also the way I (Dallas) describe this comic series.
The Sonoma Coast is a vast appellation that runs across a giant swath of central California and is well known for its Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and cool climate Syrahs.
According to the winery, the 2018 growing season was perfect for coastal Syrah; cool, moderate and consistent. Grapes were hand harvested in mid-October, and included fruit from several clones which were then fermented separately in small open top tanks. Utilizing moderate stem inclusion, gas & gravity flow, the wines were aged on lees for 15 months.
Dave’s Pairing
In one of our previous horror story pairings, our vry first Book pairing, we covered the novel BENIGHTED aka THE OLD DARK HOUSE (and we covered that classic 1930's movie adaptation in the same episode - so everyone go check out the BENIGHTED episode to hear our take on both) and I paired BENIGHTED with a Coffee Amaro.
And PLAGUE HOUSE gave me similar vibes, it needed something bitter and strong, yet exciting and balanced with a certain sweetness as well, because it's a very exciting read, though challenging, just like a good Amaro.
So I chose AMARO SFUMATO RABARBARO (say that 10 times fast.)
"Amaro" means "bitter", "Sfumato" means "smoky" - and specifically in reference to Renaissance painting, the transition between light and dark. "Rabarbaro" is "Rhubarb", as this Amaro's main ingredient is an ancient Chinese Rhubarb that has grown in Trentino Aldo Aldige in Northeern Italy for generations now. A proprietary blend of alpine herbs and sweet alpine berries round out the ingredients list.
Flavors include candied orange peels, celery salt, flint, pickled herbs, green strawberries (not red!), and raspberry preserves. The entry is rich and fruity. Smoothens out on the mid-palate on its way to a dry, bitter, long finish. It also pairs excellently with Mezcal, and can make an incredible Mezcal-based Negroni!
Wine Trivia Answer
B) Cabernet Sauvignon!
And there you go. In Cab Sauv reigned proper King during the pandemic. Who said people are complex and crave variety? Data certainly doesn’t. ;P
