Wicked Turns Dark: Gregory Maguire on Oz, Power and Monsters

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To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Wicked, we bring you something rare and unexpected. Years ago Corey sat down with Gregory Maguire for a candid, hilarious and deeply thoughtful conversation about the moral complexity of Oz, the origins of Elphaba, the impact of politics on fantasy, and the loose ends that make his work feel so human. The original audio has been lost to time. But with the help of AI we rebuilt the conversation from Corey’s transcript. And because it is Horror Heals we could not resist adding a twist. The recreated Corey voice is performed as a British woman named Imogen, which gives the entire interview a surprising charm.

What makes this conversation special is how timely it still feels. Gregory speaks openly about public rage, war, art under pressure, and the ways fantasy helps us process the truths we cannot face directly. He talks about readers who misinterpret his work, fans who adore his characters, and the younger audiences who discovered Wicked through the musical and wanted more. He also shares early and often painful stories from his first book signings, which proves that even bestselling authors start small.

Corey opens the episode by explaining why The Wizard of Oz has always carried a streak of horror. Baum’s original books, the classic MGM film, and the darker modern retellings all share unsettling elements. Flying monkeys. Bewitched forests. Shifting reality. Dreams that turn against you. For many of us, Oz was our first exposure to the uncanny, long before we had the vocabulary for horror. It is no surprise that fans of Wicked often overlap with fans of the horror genre.

This special episode blends nostalgia, literature, Oz lore and the darker emotional themes that make Wicked endure. Whether you came for the witch, the musical, or the monsters under the yellow brick road, this conversation shines a light on why Gregory Maguire’s world continues to resonate.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse, it is.

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Horror Heals is produced by How the Cow Ate the Cabbage LLC.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.