I already talked about Final Girls a little bit when I discussed why I was writing my current NaNoWriMo novel centering around a group of Final Girls in a crisis situation, but I wanted to dive deeper to explain why I don’t have a favorable opinion of a book that – based on the reviews – a whole hell of a lot of people liked.
Unpopular opinion ahead.
I don’t like hype.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love it when an old favorite comes out with a sequel or someone rewrites a classic to make it more inclusive or modern. I’ve even been known to get hopeful about a total reboot.
What I don’t get behind are “the summer’s first big hit!”, “the blockbuster everyone is talking about!”, or my favorite author’s “pick of the year!”
So when I do let myself ride that crazy train, I try not to let myself get too taken in. That’s probably why I had such a problem with the book many people were raving about this summer.
While writing the last few stories of SPOOKYGIRLS, I knew I needed to brush up on the latest short horror fiction. I started reading several before I finally came across one I could finish, Contribution to Mankind by Linda Acaster.
Most people who know me know that Halloween is my favorite holiday. As long as I can remember, I have awaited its arrival even more eagerly than Christmas or my own birthday. I guess I’ve just always been a little strange.
But once I reached a certain age – somewhere in my teens, as I recall – Halloween started to lose its luster. I still love it… but something had changed. Is it possible that Halloween is lost to me?
We’ve all read the lists before. “Top 186 Horror Movies”. “31 Spooktacular Flicks”. “Countdown of 13 Scary Movies To Watch Halloween Night So Your Girlfriend’s Panties Drop To The Floor”.
And so on. They come out every year around this time, and we gobble them up like Hannibal Lecter consumes… well… anyone.
Never one to pass up a chance to add my voice to a discussion close to my little dark heart, I decided to choose three movies that represent Halloween to me.
I love Halloween. It’s been my favorite holiday since I was a spooky tot, and I’ve looked forward to it every year, even though I’m easily creeped out.
Halloween helped inspire my love of all things spooky. It’s why I’ve written scary stories since I was a kid, and why I’m happy to announce that my anthology, SPOOKYGIRLS, will be released in time for this year’s celebration.
Once upon a time, I was an aspiring horror writer. I started a blog, a Twitter account (my first!), and started writing short stories.
Then everything went off the rails.
