Hey folks, B-Sol here with what I guess is an explanation of sorts, and one which I feel is important and necessary. Earlier today, The Vault of Horror’s Ms. Horror Blogosphere competition was the subject of a very angry post by Heidi Martinuzzi of Pretty-Scary.net, which is basically the epicenter of the female online horror world. I was taken aback and saddened a bit by this, and thus the need to explain myself.

Firstly and most importantly, I wish to humbly offer my sincerest apologies to anyone who has taken offense at the contest or found it to be demeaning toward the contestants. Particularly the actual contestants, but also to readers in general, whether male or female–and also to those who declined participation, such as Bloofer Lady of the excellent blog Horror Crypt, a great writer who bowed out over some very valid concerns regarding this very issue.

In her post, “New Annoying and Unnecessary Women’s Contest”, Heidi described the competition as “a truly nauseating attempt at attention grabbing and women-judging.” She goes on to write, among other things, that “despite being a contest amongst bloggers, who are writers and journalists, each entry requires a photo of the lady and a bio. Which begs the question – why aren’t they just being judged on the quality of their blog and writing? Answer: because it is never too late to judge women based on their looks.”

Again, I’m saddened that my idea could be construed in this way by anyone, and it’s upsetting to think that this was the unwitting result on my part. This was the farthest from my intention–rather, my intention was to break up the boy’s club that online horror writing can very often be, and to bring some attention to a very talented group women bloggers and the sites they run. Simply put, I was trying to give props to these women, not tear them down, and it’s unfortunate that it would instead be taken in such a way. For this, once again, I apologize.

The bottom line is, that when it comes to online horror journalism from a female perspective, Pretty-Scary is basically the gold standard. And so to be judged so harshly from a source I so greatly respect, is quite a blow, I won’t lie. To be honest, I very much considered inviting Heidi herself to participate in the competition, but decided against it since her site is on a completely different level, and quite beyond the concept of a “horror blogosphere” in my opinion. Heidi and Pretty-Scary, quite simply, are much bigger than my little contest.

I have tremendous admiration for Heidi and Pretty-Scary. Thus it’s confusing to read, for example, on her Facebook page, when mentioning my contest: “While I hate promoting things I hate, I like to promote ‘hate’”–when my own intention was never to promote any kind of hate at all, but rather to give attention and credit to talented female bloggers.

I feel the need to address some specific concerns here. Firstly, it seems that much has been made of some of the questions I chose to include in the interviews, specificially the “Bang, Marry, Kill” question and the “Whose baby would you most want to have” question. These kinds of questions were included to add a little levity, and prevent things from being taken a little too seriously. After all, the spirit of the competition is fun, first and foremost, and I wanted to lighten things up so as to avoid the whole thing getting too pretentious or heavy. After all, this is a blogger competition; we are not selecting a new Pope here.

Further, very similar counterpart questions would certainly have been included by me should the contest have been among male bloggers. In fact, I should point out that the winner of the contest has the option of hosting a Mr. Horror Blogosphere competition, and should she choose to do so, I encourage her to include those very questions.

Again, I apologize if such questions were construed as sexist. I was a bit worried at first that some might think this, and I fully respect that opinion. My intention was only light-hearted fun to take the piss out of the proceedings a bit, but I fully concede I may have been a bit naive in this regard.

Now let’s talk about the whole “picture” issue. Yes, I asked participants to submit pictures of themselves to go with their interviews. Let me explain why. In putting this contest together, part of what I was trying to accomplish was to get each of these writers across as personalities, as people–quite literally, to put a face to the words. I did not ask the contestants to sex it up, or anything like that. All I did was ask for pictures they were comfortable using, and that’s what I was sent. My intention was never to objectify these woman, and quite frankly it does them all a disservice to suggest that simply by their posting pictures of themselves with their entries, it suddenly becomes some kind of meat market.

More to this point, Heidi specifically calls out one of the contestants, Aleata Illusion, for suggesting that sexuality and aesthetics may possibly play a role in the perception of female bloggers more than male: “Aleata,” she writes, “if you want anyone to take you seriously as a writer, it is a bad thing. If you want to be an Internet blog celebrity, which many people do, go right ahead. This will make it easier to separate the women from the girls when we get all that sorted out.” The validity of Aleata’s statement aside, I can’t help but feel that there is more demeaning going on in this comment than anything going on in the actual contest. Again, I only wanted to build these writers up, not tear them down.

Does sexuality play a part here? Are aesthetics involved to one degree or another in the proceedings? I’d be a patronizing liar if I said no. Of course they are, to a certain degree. Although the contest is about the women as bloggers first and foremost, yes, some voters may be motivated partly by appearance, and yes, some participants, to varying degrees, took advantage of their feminine sexuality to help add to their advantage.

But isn’t sexuality part of who are as human beings? And if women–or men–choose to play a bit with it, to have some fun with it, isn’t that their prerogative? Especially within this crazy genre we all love so much, in which sexuality plays such an undeniable role (hence the double meaning of the name “Pretty-Scary” itself)? But alas, these are questions that feminism itself has been struggling with for generations, and I have no illusions of being able to settle them here.

While my apology is sincere for those who have taken offense, I do not find the Ms. Horror Blogosphere competition to be sexist or demeaning. Nor do I find Pretty-Scary.net’s Scary Stud of the Year competition to be sexist or demeaning. It’s all in good fun, and helps bring attention to some talented individuals in the field.

The Scary Studs concept spotlights a different man in horror every month or so. At the end of the year, one of the men is selected as the “Scary Stud of the Year”. The participants come from all areas of horror, and although mainly focusing on those directly involved in the movie business, there are occasionally others like Shock Till You Drop writer Ryan “Rotten” Turek, the October 2008 Scary Stud.

Turek’s entry comes with photos, including this one, accompanied by the caption, “It’s all the heavy axe-wielding that gives his shoulders their excellent tone and musculature.”

Of Ryan, Heidi writes, “He’s super sexy and knows a bunch of stuff about horror films… Ryan proves that with a ‘can do’ attitude, any horror reporter can make the women swoon!… Whether he’s hosting a panel at a Fangoria Convention… or hanging out at local Los Angeles hot spots… he does it being Tall, Dark, and Handsome. Check out our awesome new Mr. October: Ryan Rotten Turek, who graces our site with his awesomely studly and genuinely enjoyable presence.”

Ryan is asked questions like, “What is your sexiest quality? Describe in detail…“; “What’s your workout routine? I.E. How did you get such nice arms?“; “People often speculate on your hair care activities. How long does it take you to do your hair, and in detail, can you describe for us what you do and any product you may use?“; “Say something totally nondescript and diplomatic about other major horror websites… with an underlying tension about how you really think your site is better than everyone else’s”; “When female horror fans see you, would you say there is more of a ‘weeping’ effect, or a ’screaming’ effect because of how much they love you?” and “What’s the sexiest thing a woman has ever done for you?” At the conclusion, she encourages readers to “Give Ryan some sugar, baby” at Shock Till You Drop, or his MySpace page.

Again, it’s all in good fun, and it helps give some exposure to a talented online horror writer. I do not take offense at this or any of the other entries for Scary Stud of the Year. I can only hope that the Mr. Horror Blogosphere competition, should it take place, will be anywhere near as cool.

In closing, I’d like to hear what you fine folks think of all this. Was this whole thing a colossal misstep on the part of ol’ B-Sol? Are you getting a kick out of discovering a bunch of great horror blogs, or getting sickened to your stomach? I sincerely hope it’s the former, as that was all it was intended to accomplish. Making it a contest only adds to the interest and draws even more potential readers to these sites, which was the idea all along. I hope it continues to happen , and again apologize for any offense caused.

Astute Vault-Dwellers (I know you’re out there) will note that I usually do top 10 lists on Tuesdays, not Thursdays. However, this is a special occasion–namely the Boris Karloff Blogathon, hosted by Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia. And since I wasn’t able to do it on Tuesday due to Ms. Horror Blogosphere duties (polls now open, by the way, please vote), I’m breaking the rules and doing a Thursday Top 10.

You’re probably reading a lot of posts about Karloff’s portrayal of the Frankenstein Monster in James Whale’s 1931 masterpiece. And rightfully so, this being the week of Karloff’s birthday, and that being his most deservedly famous movie role. It made his career, and stands as perhaps the single greatest pantomime performance in the history of cinema. Yet Karloff was a fine actor who did so much more in later years, and that is why I’m dedicating this list to the “best of the rest” of his legendary career…

10. Gruesome
For someone with his “unique” look, it was only natural for Karloff to play one of Dick Tracy’s trademark rogue’s gallery, which he finally did in Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947)–the fourth and final of RKO’s Dick Tracy movie series (and generally considered to be the best). While not one of his finest movies, it’s notable for the novelty of Karloff as a comic strip villain.

9. Prof. Morlant
The Ghoul (1933) is often referred to as the film that kicked off the British horror film tradition, and what better way to do so than with Karloff as a vengeful Egyptologist back from the dead. Amongst a stellar cast including Cedric Harwicke, Ernest “Dr. Pretorius” Thesiger and a young Ralph Richardson, Boris still stands out.

8. Dr. Fu-Manchu
Politically correct, shmolitically shmorrect. Karloff shines as the devious Mandarin mastermind in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932). Unlike Christopher Lee, who played the part several times in the 1960s for Hammer, this was Karloff’s only appearance as the good doctor–Paramount’s answer to the successful early 1930s MGM series starring Warner Oland.

7. Master George Sims
For the last of his Val Lewton trilogy, Bedlam (1946), Karloff plays the corrupt, sniveling director of the titular mental institution. By turns sadistic, manipulative and cowardly, he excels as the true highlight of one of Lewton’s drier efforts. Plus, it’s just very cool to see him stomping around in 18th century garb.

6. Dr. Gustav Niemann
The least known and appreciated of Karloff’s parts for Universal’s monster series, which is unfortunate. As the proverbial “mad scientist” in House of Frankenstein (1944), Karloff is deliciously evil, proving–more than a dozen years after kicking off the series in the role of the Monster–that he still had it. He also gets a kick-ass hunchback assistant in J. Carrol Naish.

5. The Grinch
You had to know it was coming, and no, this is not a mere sentimental favorite from childhood. Anyone who’s seen Chuck Jones’ immortal animated TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) can vouch for just how remarkable Karloff is as the voice of the green guy. So much so, that Jim Carrey hamfistedly aped him in the abysmal 2000 live action adaptation.

4. Hjalmar Poelzig
With a name like that, he better be good–and Karloff is much more than that in The Black Cat (1934) arguably the greatest of his team-ups with fellow monster legend Bela Lugosi. Boris plays a sinister Satan-worshipper (with a very rad haircut, I might add)–quite a daring part which would soon become dicier territory thanks to the rise of the Hays Committee.

3. Imhotep/Ardath Bay
Karloff’s “other” great Universal monster role, and you might be surprised that it’s not my number one here. As excellent as he is in the dual starring role of The Mummy (1932), I would argue that this particular Uni effort is one of the studio’s more overrated. In particular, there are two other Karloff roles I personally prefer. And they are…

2. Jonathan Brewster
This one’s kind of tricky. The unforgettable role was written for Karloff, who played it on Broadway in 1941 to rave reviews. Preferring to support the stage production, however, he declined to play the part in the film version. He did, however, play it in three different TV versions in 1949, 1955 and 1962. I love this character, and rank it high based on the legendary word-of-mouth regarding Karloff’s performance. Had I been fortunate enough to see it live, I would have easily placed it at number one.

1. Cabman John Gray
Having said that, the role I do choose for number one is this one, from the first of his Lewton films, The Body Snatcher. As I elaborated in my recent review of the movie, Karloff is simply awe-inspiring as the menacing John Gray. But this is no two-dimensional villain part–rather, it’s a complex and nuanced performance which Karloff digs into with great gusto. For my money, this is his finest hour outside of his iconic role as the Monster in the first three Frankenstein pictures. Simply puy, it is classic Karloff.

After weeks of spotlighting the candidates, the time is finally here. Voting is now officially open for Ms. Horror Blogosphere! Please find the ballot containing all the nominees at the very top of the right-hand sidebar.

The voting period will be ten days, ending on Friday, December 4. Voters are limited to one vote apiece. The top five vote-getters will then advance to the next level of the contest. A new vote will then be held, lasting five days, after which the official winner of Ms. Horror Blogosphere 2009 will be announced.

For anyone who may be interested in directing voters to the poll from their own site, feel free to grab the official voting banner above the poll, and link it to The Vault of Horror (http://thevaultofhorror.net).

Also, I have an extra added incentive to announce. The winner of the contest not only gets bragging rights and the right to display the nifty Ms. Horror Blogosphere 2009 on her site–she will also get to choose an honest-to-goodnes prize. It will be her choice between the excellent coffee-table book Hammer Glamour, or the Max Brooks graphic novel The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks.

Thanks again to all our very talented entrants, as well as to all you voters out there. Once again, here are the links to each of the nominated blogs are below. You can find the spotlight interview for each of the nominated bloggers by scrolling down to previous Vault posts…

• Aleata Illusion: GoreGoreDancer’s Movie Reviews
• Alison Nastasi: The Screamstress
• Andre Dumas: The Horror Digest
• B-Movie Becky: The Horror Effect
• BJ-C: Day of the Woman
• Chris Hadden: Fascination with Fear
• The Divemistress: Zombots!
• Emily I.: The Deadly Doll’s House of Horror Nonsense
• Heather Santrous: Mermaid Heather
• Jennifer Golden: Zombies Are Magic!
• Kitty LeClaw: Killer Kittens from Beyond the Grave
• Maweanne: The Spooky Brew
• Monster Scholar: Monster Land
• Ms. Harker: Musings Across a Continuum
• Nicki Nix: Hey! Look Behind You!
• Nos: Confessions of a Gore Whore
• Rhonny Reaper: Dollar Bin Horror
• Sarah Jahier: Fatally Yours
• Tara Judah: Midnight Movie Review
• Tenebrous Kate: Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire
• Wednesday’s Child: In It for the Kills

Blogger: Jennifer Golden
Blog: Zombies Are Magic!

I’m a mild-mannered working girl (not that kind) from Palo Alto, California. I have loved horror since I was a little girl. My parents were horror fans, and I would throw a fit if they didn’t let me watch whatever nasty VHS they had brought home for the weekend. I grew up on Hellraiser, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, and any zombie film my parents could get their hands on. Being a class-A scaredy cat I also had numerous dreams about these monsters I grew up with, especially Romero’s Zombies (hence the name of my blog: Zombies are Magic–because they are). Two discoveries let my inner horror geek blossom as an adult: Universal Monster Movies and the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Since then, I have started to embrace the monsters that once (and still do) haunt my dreams. When I grow up I want to be a horror writer, but for now I am content writing reviews for films like Cannibal Holocaust.

Are significant others generally freaked out or psyched by your horror proclivities?
My husband is very supportive, even though he doesn’t care for horror himself. Others are more surprised than freaked out, probably because I look like a librarian.

Why is it that there seems to be more female horror fans than ever before? Are more women watching horror, or are more women admitting to watching horror?
Women have always loved horror, but now that more of us are “out of the closet” so to speak, we are letting our horror freak flags fly. Horror lets people experience emotions that we normally wouldn’t. It’s exciting, and for me that is the appeal.

How would you best describe your blog?
Profanity-laden.

Is image more important for female horror bloggers than male? If so, why?
Only if you insist it be. I think it would be hard to tell if my blog was written by a man or woman if it wasn’t for the cat pictures or constant apologies to my husband.

If you could have the baby of one figure in the world of horror, real or fictional, who would it be? Not including Bruce Campbell/Ash…
David Cronenberg, Clive Barker, Sam Raimi, Joe Hill, Neil Gaiman, Dr. Frankenstein as played by Colin Clive… Obviously I have never thought about this before….

Why do all of you like Campbell so much, anyway?
Pretty simple. It’s the chin.

Blogger: Kitty LeClaw
Blog: Killer Kittens from Beyond the Grave

“A cat as black as blackest coal is out upon her midnight stroll. Her steps are soft, her walk is slow, her eyes are gold, they flash and glow. And so I run, and so I duck. I do not need her black-cat luck.”
KKFBTG is a sexy scream dream of horror hotness, chock-full of tasteful T&A and gore, movies, comics, poetry and more… a juicy blog for anyone possessing a serious taste for all things pussy gato.

What initially drew you to the horror genre?
I love the feeling of being scared. The rush of adrenaline, the pounding of the heart, the quickening of the breath–all of these are sensations which I have a profound level of appreciation for. I have never been particularly sporty, so I guess I need to get the blood pumping, somehow! I’ve always loved watching scary movies, and devoured books on the paranormal when I probably should have been reading Nancy Drew novels. It came as a complete surprise to me that not everyone shared my affinity for the things that go “bump!” in the night. I always took great pride in being the sort of kid who could outlast all her friends in a late-night horror movie marathon.

Are significant others generally freaked out or psyched by your horror proclivities?
I tend to discriminate against people (significant others included) who aren’t into horror, thus robbing them of the opportunity to discriminate against me because I am!
I guess you could say that I’m very “out” about my interests in the spooky stuff. My apartment is nowhere near child safe. It’s not even parent safe! Oh, all the unholy things my poor, Catholic parents have to see when they come for a visit! I have found that it’s not just my Mom and Dad who are a little freaked out by my horror sensibilities, but the general public, as well. The Repair Guy always has to make a rude comment before fixing the furnace…
As a rule, I don’t think that guys really like it when a girl is scarier than they are. Draw your own conclusions.

What made you decide to blog?
I love writing, and I love horror, so joining the “Blogosfear” was a good, natural fit for me. It’s definitely a step up from the horror/mystery novel I wrote out in longhand when I was 12! I churned out notebook after notebook of a scary story that I pretty much made up as I went along. A group of my friends were reading it as I wrote, so it was really great to get feedback while still in the writing/development process. In that respect, blogging is very similar. It’s the readership and feedback that bloggers crave. Otherwise, we’d all just keep our own, private diaries.

Who is your biggest inspiration?
In terms of me becoming a depraved gore junkie, I have to give my parents full credit. Having no idea what they were getting themselves into, they fostered my love of horror from an early age. I vividly recall watching the movie CARRIE with my Mother, who thought it was strange that the jolting final scene didn’t send me sobbing into her bosom. Over the next couple of weeks, she brought home all sorts of harrowing titles, in the hopes of achieving a “normal” reaction from her young daughter. By the time we watched THE EXORCIST, it was too late to turn back. I was hooked on horror.
(For the record, The Exorcist scared the living daylights out of me. I slept with a crucifix under my pillow for weeks, and couldn’t look up at a second storey window without feeling like I was going to puke.)

How would you best describe your blog?
My blog’s subheading is: “A kitten’s perspective on horror in film, music, art and literature,” and I think my blog provides precisely that–my perspective (meow!) Admittedly, I’m not keen enough to be hip to what’s happening in horror headlines most of the time. For the most part, I think my blog is like an esoteric ride down a slightly more demonic version of Willy Wonka’s chocolate river. I rarely plan posts in advance. I write ‘em up as I watch ‘em, and I call ‘em as I see ‘em.
I apologize to the English language for the final sentence of the above paragraph.

Bang, Marry or Kill: Freddy, Jason, Michael. Please explain your answer.
I’m only answering this question because it’s a bona fide FREDDY VS. JASON-style trivia question! I’d bang Freddy, because viciously tormenting people through their dreams is HOT. I’d marry Jason, because, of the three of them, I think he has the softest heart. I would kill Michael Myers, because it’s been a really long time since someone made a good HALLOWEEN movie, and it’s a shame, because it was once a proud continuing saga.

Several days ago, you may recall my review of the amazing little underground zombie short film Chemical 12-D, which I so blithely referred to as “Seven Minutes of Zombie Heaven”. The flick screened a little over a week ago at the Zombie Outbreak festival in Chicago, and the buzz has been growing ever since. It’s just now wrapping up a screening at the Tromadance festival in New Mexico.

And now, I’ve gotten word from the filmmaker, Mac Eldridge of Water Cooler Productions, that Chemical 12-D is on-sale beginning today on DVD, for just a one-week period. So if your interest was piqued by my review and you’ve been curious about seeing the movie for yourself, this is your chance. I’ve gotten lots of requests from people asking to find out how they can see it–well folks, now you can.

The DVD is being sold directly from the Water Cooler Productions website, so head over there if you’re so inclined and support this very rare gem, a low-budget indy horror short that is actually very good and made at mainstream professional standards. Reportedly, the proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund the boys’ next film–which sounds like a damn worthy cause to me.

Blogger: Monster Scholar
Blog: Monster Land

I’m an aspiring Ph.D. student in English with a penchant for monsters and horror films. I wanted to be Anne Baxter as Nefertiri in the Ten Commandments when I grew up, but when that didn’t work out I turned to studying literature. I teach composition to college freshmen, and in my spare time I watch horror movies, blog, lurk and write seminar papers.

What initially drew you to the horror genre?
I’ve always been drawn to monsters ever since I was little and Where the Wild Things Are was one of my favorite books as a child. I began identifying with monsters in high school when the rigor of social pressure made me feel like an outcast. It wasn’t until later that I realized monsters are powerful in their difference. No one can stop Frankenstein, and the Phantom of the Opera will have his revenge. Monsters and horror helped me to see my own difference as a strength, and it’s something that has empowered me ever since.

Are significant others generally freaked out or psyched by your horror proclivities?
I am blessed with a husband who gets me and supports my fanaticism for the genre. After we started dating, he took a class with me on monsters in literature, which earned him brownie points from the beginning. We have an agreement: If he watches horror movies with me, I’ll watch kung fu movies with him.

What made you decide to blog?
I was doing research for a bibliography paper on Frankenstein when I stumbled across Pierre Fournier’s blog Frankensteinia. Before then, I thought blogs were for lonely people who wanted to update the world on what their cat had coughed up that morning. It wasn’t until I saw Frankensteinia that I realized a blog could be a medium for something more serious than the vagaries of day-to-day human existence. I blog about horror because it forces me to watch horror films and have an opinion about them. Also, there are few horror blogs that look at the genre from a critical and/or academic standpoint. Some that come to mind are I Love Horror, The Gore Gore Girl and the Tomb of the Headless Werewolf. I saw a niche where I could contribute my own point of view, and jumped at the chance.

Who is your biggest inspiration?
My best friend Stacy. We met when I was a senior in high school and she was in college during a production of Major Barbara. We were backstage and she was reading a copy of Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls. The director of the play took an interest, and asked to see what she was reading. Stacy handed over the book, calm as anything, at a time when I was ashamed to be seen reading Laurell K. Hamilton in public. The director was promptly horrified at the detailed description of some guy’s throat being torn out, to which Stacy replied nonchalantly “Yeah, they’re vampires. It’s what they do.” She was so fearless, and that inspired me to be out in the open about my love of monsters.

How would you best describe your blog?
My blog is a critical examination of monsters with a feminist slant. I am by no means a feminazi, but I can’t ignore how being a woman affects my reading of horror texts. I’m primarily interested in how monsters function as an expression of society’s fears. Horror is a unique genre, because it embodies a return of what is consciously repressed in mainstream culture, from the sci-fi horror films of the 1950’s that represent fears of communism during the Red Scare, to the horrors of Vietnam represented in the monstrous family of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Bang, Marry or Kill: Freddy, Jason, Michael. Please explain your answer.
I would have to marry Freddy because he has the most personality of the bunch. I appreciate his flair for the theatrical, and I could see myself having long conversations with him about Freud and the meaning of dreams. I would kill Jason because he’s been brought back from the dead one too many times and he has mommy issues. That leaves Michael. He’s the strong silent type, and I think I could help him overcome his psycho-sexual issues with a little sexual healing.

Blogger: Tara Judah
Blog: Midnight Movie Reviews

I’m a film librarian at 20th Century Flicks in Bristol, UK and also a columnist (known as Videodrone) for DVD Snapshot, as well as a reviewer for The 405. I holds a BA in English Literature & Language with Film Studies, and a Masters degree in Contemporary Cinema Cultures (both from King’s College London). Prior to entering the world of academia, I tried my hand at acting and have appeared in a small number of shorts, features and television.

- Photo (c) Kelly Humphries -

What initially drew you to the horror genre? Though this may sound strange, it probably begins with gangster films. As a child I wasn’t allowed to watch horror films and, as a direct result of my parents’ paranoia, was too scared to watch them with my friends at sleepover parties. But as my love for film grew, I developed a small passion for American gangster films. After a while I decided that if I could enjoy watching that level of violence in the gangster genre without compromising my ability to disavow, then horror really couldn’t be all too different.

Are significant others generally freaked out or psyched by your horror proclivities? No, I don’t think so. I’m of the opinion that viewing is an active cognitive process, and as my significant other knows, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m personally interested in acting out any of the things I take pleasure in watching.

Why is it that there seems to be more female horror fans than ever before? Are more women watching horror, or are more women admitting to watching horror?
I don’t actually think that it’s specific to women. I think the overarching change is that the horror genre is enjoying a revival right now. Horror has a strange and complex history, and there have certainly been times when horror fit into a cult cinema category. But as the mainstream broadens its conditions and envelops much of what once was cult, people feel more at ease in enjoying, or perhaps just admitting to enjoying, what it has to offer. Similarly, as genres change and adapt to their audiences over time, crossing into genre hybridity, as we see with the emergence of many horror/comedies, horror/thrillers, horror/dramas and so on, it is only natural that horror would enjoy a wider and more popular reception–though I do think this is relevant to both male and female viewers.

What made you decide to blog? I was so enraged when I saw Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire at the cinema earlier this year that I felt the need to write it down. I had a lot of time on my hands, so I thought I might as well start up a blog and see what happened with it.

How does it feel to be a female horror blogger in a world where it seems necessary to have a beard to write about horror movies? Do you find that you’re not taken as seriously? I have no interest in writing for people who are concerned about my gender, or any other personal identity politics, for that matter. Assessment of written material should always be based on that which is written first and foremost, so if people don’t take me seriously because of my genitals or lack of facial hair, then I can’t say I’d be interested in how they might respond to my work anyway.

Is image more important for female horror bloggers than male? If so, why? I don’t think image is at all an important factor in blogging, though I imagine a great deal of other people do. Personally, I think the content is what matters.

Blogger: Ms. Harker
Blog: Musings Across a Continuum

Who is Ms Harker? By day a professional bleeding heart, by night (and lets face it, that’s the only time that counts) a blooming blogger and horror enthusiast. How did this come to be? I have my Dad to thank for my macabre leanings. We used to sit up at night and watch Twin Peaks together. He indulged my love for all things Palmer, buying me Laura’s diary and the soundtrack. We had running jokes about the owls not being what they seem! He convinced me one night–I think I was about fourteen–to stay up with him to watch the Exorcist. And although I barely slept for a week afterwards, I had caught the horror bug. From there, I devoured the Anne Rice books and sought out vampires and ghosts where I could find them. However, I do have a particular weakness for Asian horror, and of course those of the fanged persuasion, as long as they don’t god damn sparkle in the sunlight!

What initially drew you to the horror genre?

Why is it that there seems to be more female horror fans than ever before? Are more women watching horror, or are more women admitting to watching horror?
Interesting question. I could get all hairy legged feminist on you (by the way, I wax regularly) and say that women are increasingly doing a lot of things that are not typically seen as ‘female’ roles due to breaking through a variety of glass ceilings, shredding our heads in the process and emerging in bloody glory, pieces of skull showing, shaking off the penile oppression we have suffered for years. But I won’t. I have many female friends who have enjoyed horror from an early age and still do. Perhaps it’s a generational thing. Maybe its the phenomenon of blogging that has allowed women to have a voice on what has typically been a male domain. You have to admit that production companies are onto it–things like Twilight (disgustingly), The Vampire Diaries and True Blood are not pitched at the fellas!

Who is your biggest inspiration?
If we are talking graphic novels, it would have to be fellow Aussie Ben Templesmith. If we are talking writing, I still have a huge respect for Anne Rice despite her going into the light, shall we say. However, the obvious legend of all things fanged is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, of which I have one normal copy and one illustrated by the aforementioned Ben Templesmith! With films, it’s a tie between David Lynch and Tim Burton. All have created images and worlds of darkness, of the obscure or the supernatural; all in ways that have influenced what I read, watch and even how I write.

Blogger: Heather Santrous
Blog: Mermaid Heather

I’m 22 and fresh out of college. Ever since I took a chemistry class in high school, and discovered I was good at it, I have wanted to use it in forensic science. I don’t know if this is an extension of my love for horror movies or not. I do watch some films from this view point at times. Six months out of college, I have managed to find a job in a forensics lab at last. This has made me cut back on my blog some, but I am sure I will find the time again once I get into the swing of things. I have always been big into swimming–I know that “mermaid” is a cheesy nickname, but I have been called that for a long time now. It is often said I am the happiest when in the water, so I’m told I should have been a mermaid in life.

What initially drew you to the horror genre?
I can blame my dad. When I was little, I was too afraid to watch scary movies. I would try sometimes, but always chicken out at some point in the movie. I remember trying to watch The Shining on TV one day, but every time I thought something scary was about to happen, I would leave the room. Then one day, I think when I was around the age of 10, my dad wanted to watch a movie with me. He would not tell me anything about the movie, except that it was called Halloween. From the title alone, I had a feeling it was going to be scary, but I went with my dad to watch it anyway. I managed to sit through the whole movie for once, and we had a talk about it after that. Even though I would still get scared by horror movies, I was no longer afraid to watch them.

Why is it that there seems to be more female horror fans than ever before? Are more women watching horror, or are more women admitting to watching horror?
I think we have always been out there, but we are starting to let guys know that they aren’t the only ones that like the genre. That being said, I have never heard a guy refuse to watch a horror movie. I still run across some women that will say they can’t watch horror movies because they gives them nightmares. So there is still something of a gap there.

What made you decide to blog?
My blog actually started as a class project. In my freshman year of college, we were told to make a blog and write about anything we wanted. The purpose was to see how well we could write. I made “mermaid heather” right away, thinking that I would be writing about swimming. Swimming has always been my first love, so seemed like the best thing to write about. After I made the blog though, I got to thinking about it. I decided that writing about swimming would be rather boring. I had been reading the “Final Girl” blog before this, and I thought that horror was something that I loved as well. I figured I would try my hand at it, which didn’t start off so well, and see where it took me. I have been doing it ever since, heading into five years now.

Who is your biggest inspiration?
I don’t aspire to become an actress or anything like that, but if I had to pick one to look up to, I would have to choose Christina Ricci. She is just an awesome actress no matter which genre she is in. I think Stacie, the woman behind “Final Girl”, has inspired a lot of us, including myself.

Bang, Marry or Kill: Freddy, Jason, Michael. Please explain your answer.
Such an odd question. I think I would have to kill Freddy. He’d rather be in my dreams, so rather hard to have a sex life. I would have to kill Jason as well–he never sticks around except to kill. It also depends on which Jason, too. If we are talking the zombie Jason, then eww. Michael, on the other hand, will sometimes stand around being the silent type. I like that in a guy sometimes. The mask gives him an air of mystery, also. Mystery can be a lot of fun, so I can see myself wanting to marry him.

If you could have the baby of one figure in the world of horror, real or fictional, who would it be?
This is an easy question for me. I usually talk more about the women in the films I watch, instead of the guys. But there has been one guy though that really stands out to me, Shane Brolly. Shane plays Kraven in the Underworld films. I have thought of other actors as sexy before, but I have to say that Shane is the only one I would sleep with at the drop of a hat. He is just so sexy.