Welcome to another edition of Biff Bam Pop’s 31 Days of Horror!
Every year BBP writers make sure your October is full of the spooky stuff – rundowns of our favourite movies and why they still matter to us; recaps of ongoing television shows with a horrific bent; comics, books, movies and more. The majority of BBP contributors love the horror genre, and even better, love to write about it.
This year, we’re going to have some guests join us as well. Towards the end of the summer, I started reaching out to some friends and colleagues about whether they’d like to contribute to 31 Days of Horror. They’re writers and singers and actors. They’re supremely talented in their fields. And then, as I sat down to write this introduction, it hit me.
They’re all women.
Now, believe me or not, that wasn’t part of the plan. My original thought was two-fold: I wanted talented writers with a love of horror to contribute, and I wanted people with a reach, who I thought would help introduce our site to new readers. It wasn’t about sex at all. I just thought about who would enjoy the work, and who I thought would be the best fit. As it turned out, they all happened to be some of the most ass-kicking women I know.
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, though. Some of the strongest names in the horror genre these days are women: Andrea Subisati and one-time BBP contributor Alexandra West are the brains behind The Faculty of Horror, one of the most popular horror podcasts around. Monica Kuebler is the architect behind the Library of the Damned, which BBP is proud to be a part of. Jennifer Lynch has been directing episodes of The Walking Dead and American Horror Story. Jen and Sylvia Soska are the hosts of Hellevator and the creators of American Mary, one of the best horror films of the past five years. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone magazine recently listed Buffy The Vampire Slayer as one of the 100 best television shows ever made. And while the 2016 Ghostbusters film may not have been the massive hit everyone wanted it to be, there’s little question that the characters have resonated with women, young and old (along with dads of daughters too – my princess and I just watched the extended version of the film, out on Blu-ray on October 7th, and it’s still great).
Look at Biff Bam Pop too, and you’ll see our ranks are filled with incredibly astute female writers who know a thing or two about horror, including Less Lee Moore, the mastermind behind Popshifter, Loretta Sisco, whose ongoing look at all things serial killer make for fascinating reading, and Marie Gilbert, our beloved Steampunk Granny. All of them are braver souls than I.
I’m not going to pretend I know or understand why anyone is drawn to horror, be they men or women. I can’t really explain my own ongoing fascination with a genre that oftentimes finds me covering my eyes. Some view the genre as the bastard child of the film world and don’t understand the appeal. What I do know is that, perhaps more than any genre out there, those of us that love horror love it something fierce and committed. That’s one of the reasons that, along with my day job at SiriusXM and my night job steering the Biff Bam Pop ship, I also spend time as a Staff Writer of Rue Morgue magazine, where I contribute both to the print magazine and the website.
So this month, as the moon rises, the wolves howl, and Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin to rise once more, I’m so excited to read what our special guests and regular contributors, both men and women, have to share with you. If anything, we’re all guaranteed a bloody good time.
