Love for Horror

I fell in love with horror at an early age. I came about it honestly… from a father that loved black and white monster flicks, a mother who was a constant reader of Stephen King and a Brother in Law that lived for the B horror section of Mom and Pop Video Shops… and I was a wimp!

I was scared of my own shadow. I couldn’t watch Teen Wolf without having to sleep in my parents room for a week. I hated it. I wanted to be cool like all of those people that I looked up to… so I started pushing myself. I would put Halloween decorations in my room year round. I would read Goosebumps and Fear Street novels until the wee hours of the morning. Every horror dare from Bloody Mary to Whistling by a Grave yard were eked out with my best friend, David Cairo. Halloween wasn’t a holiday, it was a holy day.

Somewhere along the journey, I was no longer was forcing myself into horror to be brave but I searched for it because it was fun! I didn’t want to trick r treat any longer… I wanted to scare the kids who came to my house for candy. I didn’t just want to see movies that came to Riverdale Cinemark but I searched out every film Video 2 C had to offer and eventually started downloading them online.

Eventually, I wanted to start creating horror. It started with telling stories to kids at school, a complete emulation of Are You Afraid of the Dark. A teacher and my mother encouraged me to write the stories down. That stuck… I’m very glad they pushed me toward that. I loved writing. I won several competitions in 6th grade alone and became known in schools as the writer. Didn’t matter when I played football or got into photography or any of my other interests, I was the writer.

And Ladies and Gentlemen, that writer wrote horror!

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried my hand in all aspects of horror. I’ve made films, I’ve made art, I’ve taught. Horror has been my life’s work and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a beautiful genre and unique way to talk about life. It’s helped me become a more balanced man.

So tell me, dear readers, when did horror first speak to you?