February is Women in Horror Month. In fact February 2019 is the tenth Women in Horror Month or WiHMX. Ten years! How did it start? Why is it important? What am I doing to celebrate the month? I shall attempt to answer these three questions in this blog post.
A Decade of Women in Horror
Hannah Neurotica founded the grass-roots movement to celebrate women’s contributions to the horror genre in film, literature and beyond. Ax Wound is the official home of WiHM and for the past four years they have hosted the Ax Wound Film Festival. Each year the event encourages female horror creators to support each other and cross-promote. A blood drive in collaboration with Twisted Twins productions is a highlight of each year. This year the Soska Twins produced “Sammy” a short film to encourage people to donate blood.
Why should we celebrate?
I’m drawn to horror because of my own experiences. There is a freedom and validation that Horror offers people like me. I’ve suffered from depression since I was a teenager. I have been the victim of sexual assault (like many women) and I have always seen things (in shadows and patterns) that make me question what reality looks like for different people. I truly believe Horror is a genre capable of uniting women and making us stronger.
However, Horror is still considered a male-dominated genre, as are most genres outside romance. WiHM plays an important role in promoting those women creating and enjoying Horror. No longer are we simply the victims or the final girl. Now we are making people scream. I always look forward to February and have discovered many new Horror women during the events.
How am I celebrating?
I have been interviewed by Gingernuts of Horror, Promote Horror and Unusual Fiction for and about WiHMX. I will link to those interviews when they go live. I am also a contributor to the Women in Horror anthology Another Beautiful Nightmare, published by Vamptasy Publishing and released on Feb 1, 2019. Look back on earlier blog posts for interviews with other contributors. My story is “Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and follows the story of Natalie after her mother dies. Natalie is alone and unloved, no one understands her pain, no one except her demonic friends and mentors.
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