Great question, thank you for asking…
Am I a serial killer?
No, well…at least not yet, but you never know when you’re gonna get bumped on the head hard enough to completely change your personality (HELLO CTE)…
So, I’m going to say no…for now…with a 10-year goal of staying that way.
Am I deranged?
No, but if no one ever reads this, I’m basically talking/typing to myself, so…I guess I could be stepping in that direction?
The most obvious answer for me is: I love horror movies because I was raised on them.
Not even a little kidding.
I can’t really remember a lot before I was 3 years old, but I have clear memories of not even being 8 yet and watching “Nightmare on Elm Street” with my mom and brothers (I have 3 of them, and yes, we all love horror…fun fact, my dad does not, and yes, I hope to feature him in some way in the future). I even have memories of staying up Friday nights watching “Big Chuck and Little John” (an old-school Cleveland favorite pastime) and hoping there’d be a horror movie on (even if it was the 20th time I’d watch “Phantom of the Opera” with Robert Englund).
Growing up, my mom was my movie buddy; for all genres, not just horror, but we always looked forward to a good horror flick…even a bad one, because at least we’d see previews for potentially good horror movies beforehand (Silver linings, people!)…
Unfortunately, my mom passed away from cancer (seriously, FUCK CANCER) almost 7 years ago as I type this, and I’ve lost my movie buddy. Sometimes, I will meet up with one of my brothers to see something we know we’re super excited about (For example, we got together to watch “It: Chapter 2” and celebrate our birthdays), but the amount of times I’ve seen new movies in theaters, and watched a new movie at home has gone significantly down…and that makes me sad…
So, why the increased obsession with horror movies now? Why have I started writing songs about horror movies? Why start this blog, or write short stories (soon to come) dedicated to the genre?
Because it reminds me of the times that made me happy. Because I believe that seeing the horrific scenarios playing out in fiction prepares me for the horrors of the real world. I can emotionally process the things I see in the news, or the horrors happening to people I care about because I wasn’t shielded from terror at an early age.
On top of my personal reasons, horror in general does not get enough credit for the positive influence it has on society. In a time when it was uncommon to see a person of color play a male lead role in a mainstream movie, George A. Romero cast Duane Jones in the 1968 classic: “Night of the Living Dead”. Women…granted, mostly white, cisgendered, straight women…which gave me good role models, but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of representation, and I will try to be as inclusive as possible in this space because horror movies should be for EVERYONE…took on the hero role dominated by men, which established the “Final Girl” trope.
Thank you, horror movies.
Going back to inclusion, you can now look to programs such as “American Horror Story” and “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” for LGBTQIA (I apologize if I missed any letters) and POC representation, both in the characters and the actors/actresses.
I respect horror; the politics of it; the art of it.
That’s why horror.
