In order to work on my new website I have had to go into files I haven't even looked at for years, in some cases nearly a decade. This got me thinking about the dark days, which most people in the horror community have either forgotten or pretend to. It wasn't a nice period. We were at war with each other. Filmmakers were sabotaging other filmmakers film projects. People in horror were trying to unfairly destroy the reputations of their peers. It was a sad mess and the people responsible for all this chaos were the horror cliques and The Horror Socials. These groups thought they ran horror and horror fans had to bow to their wishes.
One of the main issues, besides these ego cases acting like gangsters, is that these people made up ridiculous requirements for being considered a horror fan.
Shit, I recall a certain horror social I got stuck dealing with in a Skype group I was involved in. This person thought she was a superstar in horror because she was the THIRD host in a popular horror podcast that was hosted by a second tier horror news website. Also she was an ambassador for Women in Horror Month, which she used to promote how great she was while harassing and cyber stalking a very well known independent actress. Even though she's Jewish she was actually a major contributor to the infamous Women in Horror Fem-Nazi incident.
Anyway, a friend of mine was just starting out in horror and she was constantly ripping him down because he didn't know the names of the directors and casts of the popular horror films, or to be precise what she and her horror social friends considered the most popular, the rest of the fan base be damned.
She said he couldn't be a horror fan because he didn't know the right people.Shit, she was a GOD because SHE was close friends with the Soskas! Give me a fucking break.
This bitch gave me nothing but shit because I stated FACTIALLY that I helped the Soskas for years after they graduated film school and were promoting Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Fuck man, I gave them their second interview and had them on my podcasts síx times. Jen and Sylvia sent me holiday cards and birthday cards. Shit, they spoke to my sister and niece on the phone. But Miss Horror Social said I was full of shit and anyway you have to actually meet them face to face because knowing someone on the internet didn't count. Oh, and also I had mental problems because I said I knew several actresses and actors and worked with them on films and via my podcasts. She knew this because she took psychology and socialogy in college. Give me a fucking break! I took both psychiatry, psychology, and socialogy in college, I had two scholarships and had to have a lot of classes. This doesn't mean I have the credentials to diagnose anyone. And, Miss Horror Social worker as a bartender in a strip bar. I doubt they provided her an office for her to have a psychiatric practice.
I actually went off on her about this. I asked her if she had a plaque and a practice? I informed her if she didn't then shut her trap. Bitch didn't like that. Oh, also in regards to her extremely close friends...after bitching at me for two years that I was deluded thinking I knew and had a relationship with the Sockas, well until they stabbed me and Mr Highland in the back, it turns out she hadn't met the Soskas in person until well after she blasted me about how knowing a person on social media meant you were not friends with them...Take that bitch!!!! Haaaaaa ! Oh, and that bitch said I hated women and was a bigot because I used the term "Bitch." Give me a fucking break. I live in California. We call everyone bitches. I call guys bitches. But Miss I'm a Horror Superstar because I had my head cut off in a three minute scene at the beginning of a slasher film. Give me a fucking break the production team used a reusable girl head that didn't even look like you. You are like Elissa Dowling making a big deal about being in a two second shot at the beginning of the film DREAD. All the other people in those shots got four seconds. HaaaH!
Anyway, Miss Horror Social would have a complete mental break if I called her a bitch. It was like I called her the C word. But the thing is she had no issue with C. She even came on the Skype chat wearing a C*** shirt.
So, point is, and yes I could have expressed this without composing an essay, horror should be for everyone with no restrictions except no egotistical cliques, because those cause more problems than they are worth. Horror is for everyone who enjoys it. We don't have to know every detail to be a fan. We NEED to be a community that welcomes newcomers with open arms. People should not be "Put in their place." No one belongs to be at the back of the vendor's room at conventions. No artist needs to be put on probation to be allowed to participate at a convention. No one controls the community except the community. No one is "Cool" ,we are horror fans and the world outside our community considers us broken and sick people. We need to be better to each other and give ourselves the respect the outside world denied us. We are a family and we may not like some of us but that is ok as long as we don't wrong then.
Currently, horror is moving in that direction. There has been false starts and situation that knock is back. Please at least to to make our community it's better self.
End of essay...