[WiHM] Interview with Horror Scholar, Shellie
Tell us a little bit about yourself! What is your role in the horror community?
I’m a horror scholar and writer. I got my PhD in 2020 and that focused on found footage horror and cultural trauma specifically, but I’ve written on Blumhouse, torture horror and horror television before. I’ve contributed essays to various Bluray releases and I’m also one of the co-founders and co-convenors of the Horror Studies Special Interest Group for the British Association of Film, Television, and Screen Studies. Through that group I have - with my co-convenors, Laura Mee and Kate Egan launched a book series called Hidden Horror Histories (which aims to uncover previously overlooked horror creatives) and we also run a monthly online event called Weekday Night Bites!
What was the first thing you encountered that made you fall in love with horror?
My horror fan origin story starts when I was 6 years old. I have an older brother who was very into the genre and used to rent VHS tapes over and over. I wasn’t allowed in the living room when they were on but I used to watch them through the crack in the door. One day, he flung open the door and kind of said “Ok, you really want to watch this? Come on in!” - The film was Evil Dead 2. I got into a bit of trouble the next day at school for charging around the playground screaming “dead by dawn!” but from that moment on I was hooked. I spent a lot of my later childhood and teenage years wandering around VHS rental shops watching all the horror I could get my hands on.
What does the horror community mean to you?
The horror community is where I’ve found some of my absolute best friends. Horror is a genre that has allowed me to work through various feelings and trauma - it’s made me feel like I’m not alone, and that other people think the same way as me. The majority of horror fans are some of the nicest, kindest, sweetest and most generous people you could ever wish to meet.
What have been some of your most cherished highlights working in horror?
In my job, as a University Lecturer, it’s always great when I get to introduce students to the genre, or inspire them to think about it in a different way. I’ve had students tell me that they weren’t horror fans but that now they are going to try it a bit more - that’s always fantastic.
Through my work I have also got to meet and speak to people I admire - Ruggero Deodato was a particular highlight there. Something that I’m always going to cherish is my experience in holding a class on found footage horror for the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies - I just had the absolute best time talking about my love of the subgenre and even got to do a fun, bloody practical effect at the end!
Who are your favourite women in horror?
Mary Lambert is my absolute first woman in horror love - Pet Sematary has been a massive favourite of mine since I was a kid. Mary Harron, Karyn Kusama and Julia Ducournau too, just absolute geniuses. I love Barbara Crampton, Amy Seitmetz, Brea Grant, Linnea Quigley and Katherine Isabelle - I’ll watch absolutely anything that they are involved in. I recently watched Fresh (2022) and LOVED it, so I’m really excited to see what Mimi Cave does next! Likewise with Rose Glass. Oooh, and Jenn Wexler too! The Ranger (2018) is one of the absolute high points of horror from the last few years for me.
Writer wise - Laura Mee, Kate Egan, Alison Pierse, Stella Gaynor and a host of other up and coming horror academics too.
If you could invite one woman from horror to dinner who would you invite and why?
That is a really hard question! Probably Mary Harron - I just really want to pick her brain about American Psycho and about the New York punk scene in the 70s!
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?
Women in Horror Month is vitally important in shining a light on women’s role in the genre, which has been (and is) so often overlooked, I think it’s a great way to address wider issues of diversity in the genre too. It helps to challenge preconceptions about the genre - that it’s by men, about men, for men - and that can only be a good thing!
In honour of celebrating Women in Horror, who do you believe readers should keep an eye on in terms of women in horror?
There is so much amazing content being made by women at the moment, so if I list people I’m terrified I will leave someone out. In addition to the women I’ve mentioned so far, I’m always on the lookout for new creators and writers to become obsessed with and to be honest I’ve found the best way to find these people is through social media - women’s contributions to the genre are still really overlooked, so there is no point waiting for information to find you, you have to go find it yourself!
What do you have coming in 2022 that you can talk to us about?
Well, I have two books on the way - Blood on the Lens: Trauma and Anxiety in American Found Footage Horror Cinema and another on Pet Sematary. These should both be released either later this year or early next. We’ve also got some cool stuff coming up in the Horror Studies Special Interest Group - including the launch of Miranda Corcoran’s book: Teen Witches: Witchcraft and Adolescence in American Popular Culture, and a one day symposium on Yellowjackets!
