Interview with John Baltisberger | Author of Vicar of Fists

John Baltisberger, author of *Vicar of Fists*. Art by Luke Spooner, used with permission of the author.

Welcome to the weird world of John Baltisberger. With his prose and poetry, the award-winning writer breathes new life into the genre of Jewish horror and beyond. Blending elements of faith with fear, Baltisberger produces works with a ferocity that makes other writer’s heads spin—almost 40 pieces to date. “My wife jokes it’s because I don’t sleep,” the Austin-based writer says. “I should sleep, but I like being productive.” When not pouring his heart into his own work, Baltisberger also serves as the publishing editor of Madness Heart Press, an indie publisher of experimental and transgressive fiction. He’s also an accomplished game creator, having written and designed role playing games like Odd Gobs as well as content in the Mörk Borg universe.

When he’s not writing, Balstisberger can be found raving about kaiju on social media—his readers even refer to him as Kaiju Poet. “I’ve loved monsters like Godzilla since I was young, when I realized a good Godzilla movie never really was about the giant monster. It’s more of a metaphor. When Godzilla movies talk about serious things, they touch my soul. When they don't, they still bring me so much joy.” It’s almost like Baltisberger knew I would ask about kaiju—on our Zoom call, he proudly sported a Godzilla t-shirt.

Speaking of large things terrorizing cities, Baltisberger also serves on the committee of KillerCon an annual gathering of horror writers happening this weekend in Austin, Texas. Surely that’s all of his talents, right? Nope. Baltisberger has acted on stage and in films in the past. I first saw him playing a corpse in Cheap Devils, an indie short film written by Nathan Southard and directed by Shrader Thomas.

Ready to dive into John’s work? Pick up his latest release, Vicar of Fists, here.

Interview

What makes Jewish horror different from ordinary horror?
Most people think of Judaism as being Christianity without Jesus and it's simply not. The mythological roots stem from the same tree but they are as much in common as a pug and a dire wolf. A lot of people who know about Judaism don't really know its lore and the customs. There's just so much to pull from even before you get to the horrifying history of the Jewish people. My book War of Dictates pulls from the Talmud, the theological history of the Jewish people. A lot of it is really horrifying, very splatterpunk even before I got to my grubby hands on it.

You write in three different modes: poetry, prose and game scripts? Which of these is most enjoyable for you?
I think my poetry is the thing that people would say I'm best at. But it’s probably the thing I do least because I think it’s the hardest to pull off well. When I’m writing prose, there’s a certain level of depth I expect myself to hit that is sometimes exhausting. My recent book before this new one, Dybbuk in the Doorway, is extremely bleak, but I think it’s some of my best writing. It took a lot out of me. I really like writing games because it's so much less pressure. They're all rewarding in different ways. I can't imagine giving up any of them.

You seem to thrive during live readings of your work, where other writers often squirm.
I was an actor for a while—I have training on cold reading scripts. I also learned how to read live by going to other author readings that were standard. The writer gets up there and starts reading on Chapter One and read until their time is up. I would rather push nails through my ears. I realized there should never be a point where you are trying to get through something to get to the good part. When you read it needs to get their attention immediately. My suggestion is to write something specifically to perform and then practice standing in front of the mirror. Read it out loud to figure the dialogue, the inflection, find out what the character is confident about and what they’re afraid of. Don’t be scared to look dumb. Don’t be scared to yell if the character yells. Don't be scared to look silly because the audience is going to eat that up. On the other hand if you try to take yourself to seriously, the audience will also know and probably laugh at you.

Let’s imagine one of your Jewish villains achieves Michael Myers-level status in culture. Who would that be?
I was thinking of doing an entire series with the force from Dybbuk in the Doorway—they’re sexy and in many ways, unstoppable. I would liken them to sort of a Pinhead-esque level of horror, not necessarily evil, but certainly not in line with human morals. Terrifying and harmful.

Let’s imagine author John Baltisberger is cast as a character in the latest torture-porn flick. What’s his grisly on-screen demise?
I would want them to put a tube down my throat down and then pour cockroaches in. Like, force all these cockroaches through until my stomach ruptures and cockroaches explode out everywhere, while also simultaneously eating my body and coming out of my orifices. Death by cockroach explosion.