[WiHM] Interview with Hear Us Scream Founder and Podcast Host Cat Benstead
Tell us a little bit about yourself! What is your role in the horror community?
My name is Cat Benstead and I am the Founder and Co-EiC of Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror online. I am also the creator and one of the editors of Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror anthology series, a collection of personal essays exploring connections to horror. In my spare time, I host two podcasts; TGIF: A Horror Movies Podcast and Australia’s number one True Blood Rewatch Podcast with one of my best friends, Addie.
What was the first thing you encountered that made you fall in love with horror?
Growing up I had always known horror movies existed, my Dad rarely let us rent them and on the odd occasion we were allowed we’d watch movies that scared me for like (I swear it’s thanks to The Sixth Sense that I have emetophobia). It wasn’t until about 2 years ago, midway into the first lockdown in Australia, that I fell in love. Not only did I fall in love with the movies, I fell in love with the community and the incredible people I was meeting through my love of movies.
What does the horror community mean to you?
The horror community has some of the most talented, caring, inspiring people that I have ever met in my entire life. Everyday I am amazed by the sheer brilliance that emanates from these people and their creativity. The horror community has welcomed me with open arms and offered me a space to be myself, something that I was really struggling with before I met people in horror.
There have been times where I haven’t been able to find a community that I belong to (that’s to many identity crisis’s), finding the horror community has been an incredible experience. It’s a place where not only I belong, but where I have met some of my most cherished friends. During the pandemic I took a leap of faith by joining the online horror community (after experiencing some toxic behaviour in online gaming communities) and I am so grateful that I trusted my gut on the leap Since 2020, I have met amazing people, watched incredible movies, interviewed my favourite director of all time, and have developed lifelong friendships. Without my love of horror, I would have missed out on getting to know some of the greatest people on earth.
Who are your favourite women in horror?
Where do I even start! I work with two of the most inspiring women on Hear Us Scream online, Blayne and Violet. They are so wonderful, creative, compassionate and inspiring, I am so grateful to have them on the team. There are incredibly talented writers on the Scream Team; Shea, R.C. Amber, Rebecca, Jessica, Taylor, Dulce, and Dylyn.
Dylyn who is an absolute powerhouse, having recently launched an incredibly important website The Bloody Bedroom that bring awareness to chronic illnesses, disabilities, and neurodivergency. I have so much love for them as a friend, as a writer, and as a content creator. Dylyn is so wonderful and provides wonderful insight into everything they consume, I love hearing them talk about horror and what it means to them. It has definitely sparked a little fire with my own passion about horror.
Kay Lynch has become one of the most inspiring people to me. Running a film festival that is one of my favourite festivals of all time is so amazing. They seem like the coolest and most compassionate person in the horror community.
And of course Mae Murray! Mae is a beacon of everything that the horror community means to me. She is incredibly talented and just launched one of my favourite books of the year so far, The Book of Queer Saints. Everyone needs a Mae in their life, she absolutely kicks so much ass and does so much good for the community, a bright shining star that the horror world needs!
If you could invite one woman from horror to dinner who would you invite and why?
This is hard because I would absolutely adore having the entire Scream Team! However, I adore the idea of having dinner with Barbara Crampton! She is such a badass actress, horror lover, and filmmaker. I’m awed all the time with how much “cool” she radiates! I’d love to pick her brain and learn more about her love of horror.
Women in horror have been making progress, but it’s clear that a lot of work is still needed to ensure that representation is correct and widespread . What is the importance of Women in Horror Month?
There is so much work already happening to achieve both recognition and awareness of women in horror. I want to see more women being showcased for their incredible work and more often. Even though Women in Horror Month is a great time to celebrate the dedication and hard work of women in all facets of horror, I would love to see this happening all year round.
I think the most important element that needs recognition is women as fans of horror. We are out there and we absolutely love horror movies and everything horror adjacent. For a long time women were ignored as horror popular culture fans and experienced gatekeeping. Whilst this seems to be improving, it still feels dominated by men. Horror is for everyone and by showcasing the work and love of women as horror creators and horror fans, it highlights how significant women are to the genre.
In honour of celebrating Women in Horror, who do you believe readers should keep an eye on in terms of women in horror?
I’m a massive podcast gal, so I always have something going on in the background; My favourite podcasts include: Girl, That’s Scary, Bodies of Horror, Ghoulfriends, Ladies and Ligaments, A Nightmare on Fierce Street, Pod Mortem, To Dye For, and ScaryCrit. I absolutely love listening to femme centred podcasts as the perspective is so important
Everyone should also follow the awesome work of Ali Chappell, she has launched her latest short film, Verified. I recently spoke with her for the first time and honestly she is just amazing. So creative and just a wonderful beam of sunshine!
Fiction and reading wise I am so into Caitlin Marceau’s work, she has some more work coming out over the year! If you’re into short stories, pick up a copy of Palimpsest, it’s brilliant. Looking for a lot more fiction and poetry coming out from incredible writers in the horror community. Keep an eye on Anna Cheung, Laurel Hightower, Antonia Ward, Hailey Piper, Mae Murray, Nikki R. Leigh, Shea McGee, and S.C. Parris!
What do you have coming in 2022 that you can talk to us about?
This year Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror Volume Two will be released. We have just chosen the 35 essays that will be in the volume and are so excited to get the announcements rolling over the next few weeks. Once that happens, we will be launching the crowd funding campaign.
Towards the middle of the year, I am hoping to get working on a YouTube series with some friends I made on Twitter! It will be a video series where women talk about a range of topics in horror and just nerd out about the genre. We were hoping to get the ball rolling on the production soon but life keeps getting in the way! Hopefully soon we’re kicking goals with the series.
Other than that, lots of TGIF episodes (when I have the capacity to edit), being guests on other podcasts (ask me I am always interested in chatting). I am also looking into launching a podcast network for Hear Us Scream, so keep an eye out for more information on that one!