Hey there, ghoulies!

This may be one of, if not the, most bi-polar posts I’ve ever made, but hopefully you’ll put up with my self-congratulatory bullshit long enough for me to show some appreciation for a large group of other people.

This was originally intended to be 2 different posts. One a piece celebrating the site’s 3rd Anniversary, and one to serve as a kick-off to our 3rd year of the Halloween Horrors Reader Submission Series. I should probably change the name for next year’s series as a large majority of each year’s contributor are friends, some I’ve known many years. Most of the remaining contributors tend to be writers and hosts from other websites and podcasts. Quite a few of these folks then become the friends returning for the following year.

Let’s get the “anniversary” portion out of the way. I had already written a piece about how the website started. However, after reading it, I couldn’t help but think, “Ehh, who cares?”. The next idea was to ask the audience (that’s you) to send me questions about myself or the site that they wanted answered. 2 people contacted me.

The first person asked if I shipped to the UK. The answer is “no”. Mostly because I don’t sell anything.

The next 3 questions came in an email from someone named “El Duderino”. As “El Duderino” did not include an actual name, I will just refer to them as “El Dude”, purely for my own amusement. “El Dude” has some great questions, so I’m using all of them.

Q: The name of your page/site is “Horror and SONS.”  Are you grooming your son to take over and/or participate more as he grows up? 

A: I have 2 sons, ages 7 and (almost) 3. While both are named after characters and/or actors from the horror genre, I’m pretty certain that neither is familiar with the actors or characters that they are named after. More so the 3-year-old.

While I would love nothing more than to have at least one of my sons continue on the website, it’s not something I would push on them. Both boys are VERY aware of Daddy’s obsession with horror. Some of that obsession has even spilled into their bedrooms, as both have posters of horror films on their bedroom walls. My posters. Don’t judge. Okay, maybe judge a little.

Q: Are they horror fans too?

The 3-year-old is, obviously, too young to be much of a fan of anything…. except Star Wars. And superheroes. That said, even at his young age, he’s had enough exposure to certain facets of the genre to recognize them. He knows who Jason Voorhees is, and even occasionally mimics the “ki, ki, ki, ma, ma, ma” sounds when he sees him.

My oldest son has had constant exposure to horror (and questionable parenting) since he was born. He’s seen most of the Halloween and Friday the 13th films, albeit in edited-for-TV format. While Micheal Myers has given him nightmares more than a few times, he still asks to watch the movies with us come the Halloween season. Yes, even Season of the Witch.

That said, I’m still not sure that I could call them “fans” at this point.

Q: How much time would you estimate that you spend on your website and Facebook page each week? 

Do you remember Duane and Belial at the beginning of the first Basket Case film? That’s me with the Facebook page. I try desperately to keep it “fun”. Probably too “desperately”.

As for the website, not enough time. As a “one-man army”, finding time to write new pieces for the site can sometimes be tricky. I never want to feel like I’m falling behind or not doing as much as I could. That said, as I am usually “forced” to write late at night while my family is sleeping, I ALWAYS feel like I’m falling behind or not doing as much as I could.

However, in an attempt to actually answer the question…

An average review for the site usually takes me 2 or 3 days to write. I watch each review movie twice. The first viewing is when I generally determine whether or not I enjoyed the film. The second viewing is when I make my notes or look for things that I may have missed the first time. These viewings may take hours as I generally pause the film to make whatever notes strike me at that moment. I say “at the moment” as a large portion of those thoughts or ideas doesn’t make it into the “final” review.

Q: What are a few of your favorite horror movies?

Ya know… I don’t think I’ve ever directly answered this. My 3 favorites are Re-Animator, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and Night of the Living Dead. Despite my devotion to horror, I grew up a sci-fi fan, so I still have massive affection for the Godzilla fans, Star Trek episodes, and weekend UHF marathons of 1970’s “giant animal” films that started my lifelong adoration for monsters, aliens, and giant bunnies. Especially giant bunnies.

However, if we are TRULY coming clean, my all-time favorite film is The Naked Gun.

And there you go! Thank you for allowing me to have some fun these last 3 years! That said, I don’t think I’ll be writing one of these pieces next year. Besides feeling more than a bit “self-serving” and “egotistical”, the site’s anniversary has become so unimportant when compared to what October has in store for us.

Let’s face it! Most horror fans LOVE Halloween. The memories of trick-or-treating, dressed as our favorite monsters or heroes, still resonant fondly with so many of us. We still gather around the television to watch marathons of movies we’ve seen dozens of times, but yet still eagerly await like a new release. The long-told stories of wandering spirits and restless dead still linger like shadows on a moonlit October night, frightening generations of children.

The Halloween Horrors series was started as not only a way to (hopefully) help us all get a little more excited about the Halloween season, but also as a platform for other to share why the love this genre and this holiday that continuously brings so many of us together.

This year, we are scheduled to have 28 different contributors, each of whom will be sharing their stories of why one specific character is special or memorable to them. These characters will be coming from a multitude of horror films, television shows, and even one character from the world of comics. This may be the author’s favorite character, one that they feel deserves to be better known, the one that got them into horror in the beginning, or even one that they admire.

I hope you will show each and every one of these fine freaks a warm response. I can not state enough just how much I appreciate their taking time out of their lives to help continue to make this series a success. I also hope that this series helps motivate those wanting to share their own stories to do so. You never know where it might lead you.

It might even lead you to write a piece just like this one.