What Women Want…in Horror
From the archives: Paula Guran interviews women writers, editors, and readers — including Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tabitha King, Joyce Carol Oates, and yours truly — about what women look for in horror film and fiction.
A lot of the appeal of horror for women comes from its gothic roots,” says writer, editor, critic Pam Keesey. “Gothic literature, often dismissed as ‘women’s literature,’ was women’s adventure literature, women’s quest literature. Traditional gothic literature often put women at the center of the story, testing their strength, intelligence, bravery, and endurance, often in the face of supernatural adversity. Those elements still appear with frequency in horror films and literature — John Carpenter’s Halloween comes to mind — and I think is, in part, what women find appealing about horror.
Read the full article: What Women Want…in Horror.
Nothing is Original
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photos, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery — celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from — it’s where you take them to.’
~ Jim Jarmusch
Christopher Lee Knighted — “Arise, Sir Dracula”
This just in! Christopher Lee was knighted by Prince Charles in a ceremony eariler today. Remembered fondly by many for his role in many classic Hammer Horror films, he was discovered by a new audience in his roles in Tim Burton’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the soon-to-be-released Alice in Wonderland, as well as his role as Saruman in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Look for him in the first Hammer film to be released in more than 30 years, The Resident, co-starring Hilary Swank.
Queer Vampires: A Morbid Curiosity
Queer vampires, Vampire-Con, and me featured in Frontiers in L.A. magazine
From Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire and Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer to today’s craze over Twilight and True Blood, the vampire genre has come from out of the grave to take center stage.
Why Vampires Never Die
There’s an interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times this morning by Guillermo del Toro entitled “Why Vampires Never Die.” He makes an interesting case for the contemporary resurgence of the popularity of the vampire.
In part, del Toro suggests that it is our own technological arrogance that fuels this inner need for a connection to, if not a belief in, monsters. “For most people then,” he writes, “the only remote place remains within. ‘Know thyself’ we do not.”
Musings & Meditations 
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