Dear Horror Fans: A Love Letter
Spoiler alert: this letter is going to be an internal struggle. A horror fan mustn’t ever reveal their soft side! I am chomping at the bit to rattle off a string of obscenities on this page. I don’t know if I can censor myself. I will try. I might fail.
So… we’re highlighting women in horror this week. I suppose I can now consider myself a “woman in horror”, perhaps through my treasured title as the resident “Monster Honey” over at The Horror Honeys . Or maybe as a result of my twisted after-hours job producing the horror films of Night Walker Cinema. OK, there was the shameless promotion, but really, hop on over and check them out. You won’t regret it.
Still with me? Thanks for sticking through that.
In reality, I jumped on the horror bandwagon from a very young age. I wrote a bit about this in another article featured on this wonderful site several months ago. In that article I posed a question: is there a “profile” of a horror fan? Is there something about us that is sick, or wrong, or just plain crazy?
Wait- don’t answer that.
Since writing that article, I believe I have found an answer. YES, we have a “profile”. This profile is in stark contrast to what many have conjectured in the popular media. I wrote this very early in my tweeting career, but I still believe it to be true: horror fans FEEL deeper, play HARDER, love FIERCELY, give COMPLETELY, and are THE most supportive people I have EVER met. Many of us also struggle harder with our own torturous demons.
But WHY, or more importantly, HOW? How can we go from cheering on a dismemberment by chainsaw one moment, to gushing about our beloved children and pets, offering praise (and sometimes honest criticism) to peers, donating to a worthy cause, or listening to a friend in need?
Because we fucking CARE.
I told you I would fail.
Whether it is loving or hating something, you are going to know our stance. Male or female, we will fully and systematically defend ourselves and others. We are not for the faint of heart. We really should come with those warning signs you see at roller coasters.
Horror encompasses every single genre of film. Drama, comedy, action, adventure, romance- you name it, horror has covered it. On TOP of all of this, you then have to SCARE the audience, or elicit another raw emotion. It’s not easy to do, and it’s a sad fact that horror doesn’t gain more praise in the industry.
THIS is why I love horror, why I love what I do, and most importantly, why I love all of YOU. I hope you do too.
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As mentioned, Danica is a producer for Night Walker Cinema, “Monster Honey” for The Horror Honeys and a great friend of the website. You can and should follow her on twitter