Friday, February 28, 2020

YA/MG Horror Spotlight February 2020

The Ladies of Horror Fiction team is putting a spotlight on Young Adult and Middle Grade horror each month. Below we are featuring the books that were released in February as well as what our team has been reading and reviewing.

New Releases

Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2) by Justina Ireland

The sequel to Dread Nation is a journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodermus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880’s America.

What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears – as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won’t be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by – and that Jane needs her, too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive – even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

Published February 4th 2020 by Balzer + Bray | Amazon | Goodreads

The Haunting by Lindsey Duga

A dark family secret prompts a ghost to wreak havoc in this spooky novel in the spirit of Mary Downing Hahn.
The only life 12-year-old Emily has ever known is the cold, unloved existence of being an orphan. But everything changes when the Thorntons, a young couple from London, adopt Emily, whisking her away to a new life at their grand estate.

At first, life at Blackthorn Manor is wonderful. But as Emily explores the grounds and rooms, she stumbles upon a mysterious girl named Kat, who appears to be similar in age, and the two become fast friends.

That’s when things take a turn for the worse. Kat seems to know a curious amount about the estate, and strange things happen whenever she’s around. In one case, Emily narrowly avoids getting toppled by a bookcase in the library; in another, the fire erupts in the fireplace, nearly burning Emily’s hands. It’s almost as if someone — or something — wants Emily dead.

Emily must find out what happened to the Thorntons and, more important, how Kat is connected to these strange goings-on at Blackthorn Manor before it’s too late!

Published February 4th 2020 by Scholastic Press | Amazon | Goodreads

Young Adult Books Reviewed

This month Audra read and reviewed Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand. Be sure to check out her full review (“I think this is a unique idea and a great example of the daring and dark places that YA horror is going.“)

Emily read and really enjoyed The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich. Don’t miss her review (“This story was unique, and it stands out for me. I’ll be reading more from Dawn Kurtagich soon!“)

Middle Grade Books Reviewed

This month Emily also read and reviewed Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh. Be sure to check out her review (“This was a good mysterious ghost story, and I enjoyed reading it.“)

Jen read and absolutely loved Where the Woods End by Charlotte Salter. Don’t miss her 5 star review (“It was so imaginative, and I was captivated by it from the start.“)

Currently Reading

House of Salt and Sorrow

Jen is currently reading House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig so stayed tuned for an upcoming review of that as well!


Have you read any of the books we read or reviewed this month? Let us know what YA or MG books you have read recently!

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Guest Post: Women in Horror by Annie Neugebauer


I’ve written for Women in Horror Month more times than I can keep track of anymore, and I’ve still scarcely scratched the surface. How could I, when women are such an expansive group—when horror is such a wide-ranging genre? I talk about feminism, history, and contemporary badasses I adore. I talk about books and movies and shows worth seeking out. I talk about my own experiences being both lifted up and quietly pushed to the side. How, then, have I never actually talked about women in horror as its own titular topic?

Seems simple enough. So, what do I have to say about women in horror?

I mined the depths of my own impressions and beliefs for days. I waded through stereotypes that do and don’t fit me personally. Girlhood, motherhood, female bodies, femininity, and a better inclusiveness of womanhood than all of that. I began to worry that I can’t speak to any experience but my own. I began to wonder if I can even truly speak to that. Is there such thing as womanhood? What are the defining characteristics?

I tried on as many different answers as I could find, and at the end of it all, there were no universally true defining characteristics, but there were two shared experiences: suppression and fear.

I’m just a bundle of cheer wrapped up in a pretty pink bow, huh?

There are many, many things I love about being a woman. There are experiences and lessons and skills that many attribute directly to womanhood. But using an inclusive definition of the word, I can’t quite get behind such generalizations, no matter how positive they may be.

Suppression, though. I believe that’s something every single person who does or has ever identified as a woman has experienced. Whether as overt as rape, assault, and abuse, or as subtle as promotion caps, unequal pay, and societal expectations, all who pass through the world as women must face attempts at suppression. It doesn’t have to stop us. It doesn’t have to win. But we have to face it.

This terrible, undeniable truth leads to the second shared experience of womanhood: fear. How can anyone with any awareness of their surroundings move through the world under constant (however subtle, however unlikely) threat of assault and not know fear? Again, this isn’t quite as negative as it sounds, because facing fear can be one of the most strengthening, empowering experiences any human can have, but women can’t avoid it. Pepper spray on your keychain. Eyes on the stranger. Cross your legs. It’s so deeply rooted in our existence that many of us often (or even usually) don’t think about it—but fear is always waiting.

It’s no wonder that we’re drawn to horror. It’s no wonder that we’re so good at writing it.

And circling back to that first shared experience… it’s no wonder that said writing isn’t as acknowledged, praised, shared, and read as our male colleagues’ work.

Women in Horror Month isn’t an attention-seeking whine or a self-indulgent luxury; it’s an evitable movement sprung from the essence of womanhood itself. It is the art of fear and the natural rebellion against suppression. We are women. We know horror.

It is far simpler than equality or fairness or ethics. Anyone who isn’t reading horror by women is missing out. They’re missing out on the rich diversity of half the world. It’s their loss, not ours. Ours came long, long ago. Let us tell you about it.


Annie Neugebauer is a two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author with work appearing and forthcoming in more than a hundred publications, including magazines such as Cemetery Dance, Apex, and Black Static, as well as anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volumes 3 & 4 and #1 Amazon bestsellers Killing It Softly and Fire. She’s a member of the Horror Writers Association and a columnist for Writer Unboxed and LitReactor. She lives in Texas with two crazy cute cats and a husband who’s exceptionally well-prepared for the zombie apocalypse. You can visit her at www.AnnieNeugebauer.com for news, poems, organizational tools for writers, and more.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

What We're Reading #40

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Here are a few book recommendations to make your day even brighter.

Red Eye by Claire C. Riley Book Cover

Red Eye by Claire C. Riley & Eli Constant

This is the worst flight ever!
** Rose is excited for her new adventure, but as her guilt grows, so does the tension on the plane. Sam thinks the worst thing about her week was her doomed wedding, she was wrong. **

When a red-eye flight from London to Los Angeles brings two strangers together, they have no idea that it’s the end of the bloody world!

Rose, a British runaway, is ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Her hopes are high, her funds are low, and nothing is going to rain on her parade.

Except maybe the apocalypse!

Sam is an American ballerina on her way home from a hellish vacation. She’s tired of culture, tired of traveling, and seriously tired of men. She can’t wait to get home.

That is until everyone turns into flesh-eating zombies!

Neither woman expects their exhausting overnight flight to devolve into bloody carnage of terror and mayhem.

But when you’re over 30,000 feet in the air
and there’s nowhere to run
and nowhere to hide…
what else can you do but team up with as many survivors as possible and try to stay alive?

Start this epic zombie apocalypse thriller written by USA Today Bestseller Claire C. Riley and Victoria Cage Author Eli Constant.

Goodreads | Amazon

Lilyn’s Teaser Review

A fun read that gives you a suitable amount of well-worded gore. I wouldn’t mind picking up the next episode.

Read Lilyn’s entire review at Goodreads.

Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey Book Cover

Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey

Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems.

Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them.

All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale.

One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed—violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface. Then Cassie’s own sister undergoes the dark change. If she is to survive, Cassie must find her way in an adult world where every sin is justified, and only the truth is unforgivable.

Goodreads | Amazon

Audra’s Teaser Review

If you like coming-of-age horror tales, especially nostalgic ones like ItDecember Park, or Boy’s Life, you’ll probably enjoy this tale and appreciate it for its excellent leading lady.

Read Audra’s entire review at Goodreads.

Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess

Cirque Berzerk by Jessica Guess

The summer of 1989 brought terror to the town of Shadows Creek, Florida in the form of a massacre at the local carnival, Cirque Berserk. One fateful night, a group of teens killed a dozen people then disappeared into thin air. No one knows why they did it, where they went, or even how many of them there were, but legend has it they still roam the abandoned carnival, looking for blood to spill.

Thirty years later, best friends, Sam and Rochelle, are in the midst of a boring senior trip when they learn about the infamous Cirque Berserk. Seeking one last adventure, they and their friends journey to the nearby Shadows Creek to see if the urban legends about Cirque Berserk are true. But waiting for them beyond the carnival gates is a night of brutality, bloodshed, and betrayal.

Will they make they make it out alive, or will the carnival’s past demons extinguish their futures?

Goodreads | Amazon

Alex’s Teaser Review

If you enjoy slasher books and movies then this needs to go to the top of your TBR! 5 stars from me – and I need to read anything and everything that Guess delivers from here on!

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you found something to add to your tbr list. Please share your recent reads with us in the comments below.

If you are a LOHF writer and have a book you’d like us to consider for a review please visit our review submission page here.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Black History Month Guest Post: We Can be Better, Horror Peeps by R.J. Joseph


I once attended World Horror Convention and a seasoned, white, male horror writer decided to convince me I should join the Horror Writers Association. That was cool. I appreciated that he felt HWA was a good organization to be a part of and I did want more information. The way he decided I should get this information was, “[I had] to meet Chelsea. She’s a great gal.” Of course, my blackity black, female senses started tingling. Gal? Okay.

When he finally found “Chelsea” and me in the same place, he introduced us. “Chelsea” was, of course, another Black woman. And her name wasn’t even Chelsea. After she rolled her eyes in the universal soul weary way we do, she told me her real name and said it was good to meet me. I felt just as weary as she, but I was also fan-girling because I’d read her work and I admired her and her artistry. The only redeeming thing about the whole incident was I got to meet an excellent writer whom I considered a trailblazer. 

Other experiences that weren’t quite as egregious as that were still hurtful. I’ve been told I was “so cute, like a little black Kewpie doll, with your gapped teeth” by a fellow female horror writer—nevermind that I couldn’t remember ever seeing a Kewpie doll with its mouth open so you could even see its teeth. Check the box for Public Racist Microagression. 

I’ve had my work rejected by venues that support submissions by writers of color because “The actions of the main character are unbelievable”, when her actions were expressly those of a poor, Black, single mother. Check the box for Black Experience is Not the Black Experience We Approve. 

I’ve had publication venues tell me my stories were, basically, too Black for them. Another check for the box labeled Our Other Readers Won’t Want to Read About Black Folks. 

I’ve been given congratulations on winning an award that a different black, female artist won…while still at the event. Check: All Black Women Look Alike. The list goes on and on.

At this point, it’s fair to question why I continue to write horror and write about the horror genre. The answer is simple: I can’t not do it. I love the horror genre and my writing is a huge part of who I am. My critiques on gender and race within the horror genre come from a place of love and a lifetime of engagement. I’m not the only female horror writer of color who has experienced these types of things. We have to be better, horror peeps.

If someone who loves you painfully but unconditionally can’t hold you to a higher standard of inclusivity and equity while motivating and imploring you to be better, who can? 


R. J. Joseph is a Texas based writer/professor who must exorcise the demons of her imagination so they don’t haunt her. A life-long horror fan and writer, she mostly enjoys writing creatively and academically about the intersections of race and gender in the horror genre. She is excited to have been a contributor to two Bram Stoker finalist works: the fiction anthology of black female horror writers, Sycorax’s Daughters, and the edited collection of academic essays, Uncovering Stranger Things: Essays on Eighties Nostalgia, Cynicism and Innocence in the Series. Academic endeavors include an upcoming academic presentation at StokerCon 2020, in Scarborough, UK, at the Ann Radcliffe Academic Conference. She is also directing the academic programming track for the Multiverse Convention of Science Fiction and Fantasy (October 2020) and organizing the POP-UP Academic Conference on Popular Fiction at Lone Star College University Park campus (October 2020).


When R. J. isn’t writing, teaching, or reading voraciously, she can be found wrangling one or seven various sproutlings from her blended family of 11…which also includes one husband and two furry hellbeasts that like to pretend they’re dogs sometimes.

R. J. can be found lurking (and occasionally even peeking out) on social media:

Twitter: @rjacksonjoseph
Facebook: facebook.com/rhonda.jacksonjoseph
Facebook official: fb.me/rhondajacksonjosephwriter
Instagram: @rjacksonjoseph
Blog: https://rjjoseph.wordpress.com/
Email: horrorblackademic@gmail.com

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/rjjoseph

Friday, February 21, 2020

Shelf Edition: Stephanie M. Wytovich

Our February guest for Shelf Edition is another of our favorite Ladies of Horror Fiction authors, Stephanie M. Wytovich!

Do you have any recent favorite LOHF books?

I’m positively obsessed with Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series, and I’m currently in the midst of reading The Migration by Helen Marshall and I love it so far. I will also happily plug Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson.

What LOHF books do you have on your TBR?

Oh, this list is truly endless, but to share a couple: Benny Rose, The Cannibal King by Hailey Piper; Doll Crimes by Karen Runge; The Deep by Alma Katsu; Geek Love by Katherine Dunn; The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh; Wilder Girls by Rory Power; The Dead Girl’s Club by Damien Angelica Walters; The Hag Witch of Tripp Creek by Sommer Canon; Out of Water by Sarah Read; Bunny by Mona Awad; Frankissstein:A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson; Mary Shelley Makes a Monster by Octavia Cade; Let’s Play White by Chesya Burke; In Dreams We Rot by Betty Rocksteady; and The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns.

Stephanie Wytovich Book Stack

Where do you find recommendations? Are there any LOHF books that have been recommended to you that you loved?

I get a lot of my book recommendations from social media, namely Twitter and Instagram. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Night Worms and the LOHF team here, too, because I’m forever adding to my TBR thanks to those fine folks! I will also confess that I carry around a notebook and have a section in my phone for book and film recommendations that people give me in passing, in class, at conferences, etc., plus I take pictures at book stores and at the library of other books I want to read when I’m there browsing or picking up my order.

I really loved The Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White, The Rust Maidens by Gwendolyn Kiste, and My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

Where do you shop for books?

Everywhere! I love getting books directly from the author and/or the publisher, but I also go to Indie bookstores, Barnes and Noble, Half Price Books, Goodwill, Audible, etc. byAnd don’t even get me started about book buying at conferences and conventions. I usually have to have a suitcase dedicated strictly to books when I travel, ha!

Are there any upcoming LOHF releases you’re excited about?

I absolutely can’t wait for Wonderland by Zoe Stage to come out, and I’m very much looking forward to Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923 edited by Lisa Morton and Leslie S. Klinger. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t add The Fourth Whore by EV Knight.

Stephanie Wytovich Book Photo

Can you tell us anything about your own new or upcoming releases?

Sure thing! My poetry collection, The Apocalyptic Mannequin, was published with Raw Dog Screaming Press last fall, and it’s a book that challenges our concepts of death and how we define the body, while also commenting on real-life fears and traumas surrounding the current state of our planet and how we, as humans, treat each other. Outside of standalone work, you can also expect to see my poetry in Issue 2 of The Macabre Museum this spring, as well as in the anthology Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey, published via Written Backwards. I also have a short story in the upcoming Dark Regions Press anthology, Christmas Horror Vol. 3.

The Apocalyptic Mannequin

Where can people find you on social media?

Twitter: @swytovich

Instagram: @swytovich

Blog: http://stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com/

Website: https://www.stephaniemwytovich.com/

Author Bio

Stephanie M. Wytovich

Stephanie M. Wytovich is an American poet, novelist, and essayist. Her work has been showcased in numerous venues such as Weird Tales, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Fantastic Tales of Terror, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror: Volume 2, The Best Horror of the Year: Volume 8, as well as many others. Wytovich is the Poetry Editor for Raw Dog Screaming Press, an adjunct at Western Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Point Park University, and a mentor with Crystal Lake Publishing. She is a member of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, an active member of the Horror Writers Association, and a graduate of Seton Hill University’s MFA program for Writing Popular Fiction. Her Bram Stoker Award-winning poetry collection, Brothel, earned a home with Raw Dog Screaming Press alongside Hysteria: A Collection of Madness, Mourning Jewelry, An Exorcism of Angels, Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare, and most recently, The Apocalyptic Mannequin. Her debut novel, The Eighth, is published with Dark Regions Press. Follow Wytovich on her blog at http://stephaniewytovich.blogspot.com/ and on twitter @SWytovich.

Thank you for joining us, Stephanie! Our tbr piles also thank you! If you would like to be featured on a future shelf edition please leave a note in the comments. We’d love to see your shelves!

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

What We're Reading #39

It’s time to add more books to your pile! Who am I kidding? It’s always time to add more books to your pile. Here are a few recommend reads to get you started.

Mary Shelley Makes A Monster by Octavia Cade

Mary Shelley Makes A Monster by Octavia Cade

All our monsters are mirrors. And when Mary Shelley’s monster—built from her life rather than her pen, born out of biography instead of blood—outlives its mother, that monster goes looking for a substitute. But all the monster really knows of women is that women write, and so the search for a replacement takes it first to Katherine Mansfield, and then to other women who know what mutilated things can be made from ink and mirrors…

Goodreads | Amazon

Alex’s Teaser Review

The writing is smart, creative, and entertaining. A solid collection of work!

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Curse of the Ladderman by Angela Archer Book Cover

Curse of the Ladderman by Angela Archer

Sticks and stones may brake my bones but an evil spirit will kill me…

Following a brutal murder, rumours of a deadly curse emerge. The curse of the Ladderman. No one takes it too seriously until Rik and his friends unleash the curse on themselves.

As Rik’s world crumbles, he has nowhere to hide from the invisible demon intent on killing him. Traumatized by his past, terrified by his future, can Rik survive the curse of the Ladderman or will death be his only salvation?

The Ladderman is a “must read” novella by Angela Archer. If you enjoy compelling characters, deadly plights, and merciless villains, then you’ll love this.

Grab your copy of The Ladderman and discover the evil within…

Goodreads | Amazon

Lilyn’s Teaser Review

The author does a great job of throwing you in the deep end with everything that’s happening and she packs a lot of action into about seventy pages. It kept me engaged the entire read.

Read Lilyn’s entire review at Goodreads.

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley Book Cover

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley

A dark and brutal vision of the future, this is not a tale for the faint of heart.

To start: there will be love. The word was dead. Then it rose from under the earth, took form, came to us and demanded our attention.

In the Valley of the Rocks, Nate is the storyteller, the voice and memory of the Group. Through the nights beyond women, William leads with youth and strength. Doctor Ben tends to their wounds in the dying days of man. Everyone has a role, even Uncle Ted, who spends so much time out in the woods.

For what can man hope to achieve in a world without women? When the past is only grief how long should you hold on to it? What secrets can the forest offer to change it all?

Discover The Beauty.

Goodreads | Amazon

Toni’s Teaser Review

Whiteley’s writing is very straight to the point and I am here for it. This isn’t my first of Whiteley’s books that I have reviewed. But I have to say it is my favorite. It is the weird quotient that I loved about the book. Whiteley’s imagination is amazing. The pacing of the story was spot on for me. It was a fast read that as a reader I needed to know what happened next. There weren’t any unneeded scenes to fill the story out. The flow was perfect and the emotion of the characters shine through the story.

Read Toni’s entire review at The Misadventures of a Reader.

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you found something to add to your tbr list. Please share your recent reads with us in the comments below.

If you are a LOHF writer and have a book you’d like us to consider for a review please visit our review submission page here.

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Black History Month Guest Post:Dear Horror, Do you Love Me? Check Yes or No. by Jessica Guess.

February is a bit of a chameleon of a month. It is a month of love, a celebration of women in horror and Black History Month. I am so pleased to have a guest post by Jessica Guess.


If you identify as a woman and love horror, then February is your time to shine. As a black woman who loves horror, this month is especially significant because February has the distinguished honor of being both Black History Month and Women in Horror Month. Though this may seem like Christmas for black girl horror junkies like me, for a long time it was only a reminder that though I loved horror, horror didn’t necessarily love me back.

I grew up watching Freddy Krueger and reading R.L. Stine and Stephen King. I loved stories about slashers, haunted houses, and possessed cars, but I’d be lying if I said reading and watching stories that rarely had a black character stick around past the first victim stage didn’t have a negative effect on my writing. I’m ashamed to admit it now, but for a long time, most of the characters in my stories were white. Not because I didn’t want them to be black or any other race, but because horror felt like such a white thing. It didn’t feel like it belonged to anyone else. 

My love for horror felt one-sided. Like if I wrote it a note during lunch asking if it wanted to be mine, it would check “No.”

It took years of working on my craft and a quote from Toni Morrison to undo what decades of single stories had told me about people of color and horror. “If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” 

My interpretation of what the late Ms. Morrison said is, “Write what you want to see.” I want to see black final girls. I want to see black female villains. I want to see black women who are vulnerable and selfish and make huge, murderous mistakes. I want it to check “Yes.” When I was growing up, there wasn’t much hope for this, but now the tide is shifting.

What I’d give to be a young black girl growing up in this era of horror. Granted, it’s not perfect. The genre has quite a way to go in terms of diversity. But if we take this past year as an indication of horror’s trajectory, it’s becoming a place where black women won’t have to struggle to see themselves. 

In 2019, we had movies like UsSweetheartLittle MonstersEscape RoomDoctor Sleep, and Ma, which all had black women as lead characters. That’s seven horror movies in one year where we got to see ourselves as villains, final girls, and powerful little bad-asses. And that’s not even counting Tananarive Due and Ashley Blackwell’s Shudder documentary, Horror Noire.

 It feels like horror is starting to check “Yes.” But what about all the other little girls writing notes during lunch and recess? 

I fully intend to keep writing what I want to see, but I know that some of what I want to see is up to someone else to write. I want to see more horror on the page and on the screen by women of all races and ethnicities. I want more movies like Tigers Are Not Afraid and Verónica. I want more books like Maria the Wanted and Her Body and Other Parties. I want, I want, I want…

Really, what I want is for the genre that so many women of color love to finally love us all back. 


Jessica Guess is a writer and English teacher who hails from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She earned her Creative Writing MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2018 and is the founder of the website Black Girl’s Guide to Horrorwhere she examines horror movies in terms of quality and intersectionality. Her creative work has been featured in Luna Station Quarterly and Mused BellaOnline Literary Review. Her debut novella, Cirque Berserk, will be available for purchase February 20th 2020. 

Monday, February 17, 2020

Guest Post: Burning Bright: How Women Poets Conquered Horror Poetry by Jennifer Barnes


It’s been exciting to watch the discussion around Women in Horror Month expand over the years from why we need it, to how to support women in horror. It is now no longer possible to put out an all-male anthology or magazine without controversy, and we continue to see women horror writers publishing successfully. 

One place where the success of women is most obvious to me is in horror poetry. As managing editor for Raw Dog Screaming press I have seen first-hand a sharply increased interest in horror poetry and it’s the female poets who are leading the charge. If you tally the winners of the Bram Stoker award for Superior Achievement in Poetry since it was first given in 2000, there have been more women to receive this prize than men. By my unofficial count 15 women have been recipients compared to 11 men. Interestingly the women poets seem to collaborate more often so there are several years with multiple winners. You can start listing off the top of your head horror novelists or short story writers and not hit upon a woman, but you really can’t make a list of contemporary horror poets without including a few ladies. Powerhouses like Linda Addison, Charlee Jacob, Marge Simon, Christina Sng, Mary Turzillo, Corrine de Winter, and Stephanie M. Wytovich have been publishing for years, some for decades, and they have many awards, collections and hundreds of published poems to their names. 

One common thread is that many women who are poets actively support the scene as editors, board members, mentors, and volunteers. They are always supporting and showcasing other dark poets, and I think that is one of the keys to their success. Poetry editor for RDSP and several volumes of the HWA Poetry Showcase, Stephanie M. Wytovich, is always working to champion the female voice, “As the horror genre evolves, it’s doing so with a female-forward perspective in an attempt to even the playing field and get rid of stereotypes surrounding character tropes such as: the satanic pregnancy, the witch, the virgin, the final girl, the damsel-in-distress, etc. Because of that, female poets are also exploring and rewriting the way that we as readers interpret female body horror, sexuality, assault, and mental health in a way that is not only refreshingly honest and unapologetic, but new and very much needed.” Wytovich’s collection Brothela recipient of the Bram Stoker Award, tackles all these issues and more.

There have been a string of female poets whose collections have made a splash including Claire C. Holland, Donna Lynch, Lucy A. Snyder, Cina Pelayo, Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi, Saba Razvi and Sara Tantlinger and others. Readers are really responding to their work and it’s common to hear people say they never enjoyed poetry until they picked up one of these author’s books.

As both a publicist and poet Erin Sweet Al-Mehairi, author of the collection Breathe. Breathe. is a keen observer of publishing trends. “I believe women in horror poetry have really begun to open their flood gates so to speak and put their traumas, pain, regrets, hurt… all into their writing. With the ability to write deeply emotional words full of imagery we’ve been able to give readers a glimpse into the most intense and heartbreaking scenes from our lives that’s resonating more than ever before, not only with other women but with men too. I’ve never met so many men supporting women’s writing as I have with men supporting horror poetry and to me that speaks volumes.

She continues, “We’ve broken through barriers with women and men both who weren’t ‘poetry readers’ but learned to realize it’s relatable and real and raw and they like that because for some they’ve experienced similar things. Also, people can read it in short snippets over time or drown in it all at once, but everyone seems slightly changed after they connect with us through dark poetry.” 

Yet in any realm where the power dynamics are uneven there is also bound to be subversion and protest and that is certainly true in horror and poetry both. “I think the reason horror poetry by women is accepted is—in part—because of subtle, ingrained sexism,” Bram Stoker nominee Donna Lynch explains. “Women seem to get a lot of doubt cast on them when it comes to horror, as though they aren’t going to be raw or terrifying enough. Between that, and an outdated and erroneous belief that poetry is an inherently delicate medium, you get a really poor sense of what’s happening in the genre. So often I hear people saying they don’t ‘do’ poetry. People seem to forget the long (and predominantly male) history of dark, emotional, and terrifying poetry. It’s such a misunderstood art. 

“On the positive side, however, I think so many women have found their voice in poetry because it allows for so many complex ideas to happen hard and fast, and to be consumed quickly (though not always easily). And while horror poetry is not a new thing, women being able to use their voices without fear or societal backlash is, relatively speaking. We’ve got a lot to say, and it’s the perfect medium in which to say it.” In fact, Lynch’s own collection, Choking Back the Devil is a perfect example of complex, powerful ideas packed into a small space.

As with so many aspects of life, the doors of opportunity are not always wide open for women so they often take a backdoor approach. “Women are full of dark, complicated emotions, and many of us are full of anger – yet we’re always told to repress any emotion that isn’t pretty. I think dark poetry can be a bit of a covert way of expressing traditionally ‘unacceptable’ emotions,” says Claire C. Holland whose collection I am Not Your Final Girl is a manifesto of female strength.

“Writing horror poetry has been cathartic for me during my most difficult years, its brevity perfect for a life with little time to oneself and no support system,” says Christina Sng author of the Stoker winning A Collection of Nightmares. “It allows a poet to tell the story of her life in fragments of terrifying nightmares and enigmatic dreamscapes, leading a reader to wonder which is fact and which is fiction. As a reader weaned on confessional poets like Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, I believe it is the empathetic relatability of horror poetry that has led to its popularity because too many of us are living the same stories they tell.”

Regardless of the reason why women are at the forefront of the current swell of interest in horror poetry one thing is clear; they are here to stay. “Women have bloomed in horror poetry by transforming the hard edges delivered by life into searingly exquisite songs. Disavowing victimhood, we turn to, not away from shadowy corners filled with broken hearts, violence, and the ashes of hope. We will not be quiet,” declares HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Linda D. Addison co-author of The Place of Broken Things.

Additional recommended reading:

Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder
The Devil’s Dreamland (Bram Stoker Award winner) by Sara Tantlinger 

Four Elements by Charlee Jacob, Rain Graves, Marge Simon and Linda D. Addison

heliophobia by Saba Syed Razvi

Poems of My Night by Cynthia Pelayo

Satan’s Sweethearts by Marge Simon and Mary Turzillo


Jennifer Barnes is managing editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press and has been in publishing for more than 15 years. She spent four years as an editor for The Dream People Literary Magazine. Her children’s book, Better Haunted Homes and Gardens, illustrated by Kristen Margiotta, is a seasonal favorite. Jennifer graduated from The University of Maryland with a BA in English and a concentration in poetry. She is also an accomplished graphic designer.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

What We're Reading #38

The Ladies of Horror Fiction have our three weekly recommendations for you. Get ready to buy some books!

The Festering Ones Book Cover

The Festering Ones by S.H. Cooper

A monster lurking in the mountain.

A mysterious cult seeking a doorway.

An otherworldly evil waiting to be unleashed.

Faith York was a young girl when she saw her father dragged into the ground by a spider-armed woman, never to be seen again. Twenty years later, the events of that day continue to haunt her, and her need for answers has only grown stronger with time. After her estranged mother’s death forces her to return home, old wounds are reopened and Faith finally decides to face her demons. What started as a search for closure soon pits her against a shadowy cult known as The Gathered and the eldritch beings they worship. With reality becoming more blurred by the day and the thousand eyes of an alien deity fixed on her, Faith must decide if the dark secrets of White Crow Mountain are really worth losing herself over.

Goodreads | Amazon

Emily’s Teaser Review

I enjoyed this one so much, so I would love to see more stories set in this world. If you love reading about cults, creepy creatures, and good characters, I highly recommend picking this one up!

Read Emily’s entire review at Goodreads.

The Ladder Man Book Angela Archer Book Cover

The Ladder Man by Angela Archer

A rhyme and a game will summon him by name…​

Buried in the walls of the Phoenix Hotel lies a dark and deadly past. After a hotel worker is brutally murdered, Detectives Golding and Turnbull arrive to head up the investigation.

Meanwhile, rumours of the legendary Ladderman spread. Rik Slater and his friends don’t take it too seriously…until his friends start dying.

Rik realises the legend is real and he will be the next victim. Terrified by his future, Rik has to decide whether to go it alone or trust the police. They’ve failed to help him before, will they be able to help him now?

Will anyone be able to stop the Ladderman?

If you enjoy real-life characters, bloody murders, and death lurking in the shadows, then this novella is right up your street.

Goodreads | Amazon

Alex’s Teaser Review

Fans of horror with a touch of urban legend will enjoy this novella. I do not know if The Ladderman is a real tale or not, but I would place him up there with Candyman and Bloody Mary in terms of being able to scare, threaten, and cause harm!

Read Alex’s entire review at Goodreads.

Ritualistic Human Sacrifice by C.V. Hunt

Ritualistic Human Sacrifice by C.V. Hunt

Nick Graves is a miserable man. Every day he comes home from his dream job to a stale marriage. On the day he finally summons the courage to tell his wife, Eve, he wants a divorce she has exciting news for him – she’s pregnant.

Nick is a spiteful man. He purchases his dream home in an ideal location far away from family, friends, and coworkers. It’s a life changing decision he’s chosen to make without Eve’s consultation.

Nick is a terrified man. He quickly realizes the residents of his new hometown are a bit eccentric. After a trip to the local doctor’s office Eve begins to behave strangely. And once Nick finds out what’s really going on he’ll never be able to look at Eve the same way.

Goodreads | Amazon

Laurie’s Teaser Review

The fun of this book is the anticipation. I knew something strange was going on and something horrible was going to happen and I could NOT wait for it to begin! 

Read Laurie’s entire review at Bark At The Ghoul’s.

Thanks for joining us today! We hope you found something to add to your tbr list. Please share your recent reads with us in the comments below.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Guest Post: Everyday Horrors by Kathleen Kaufman

When I was sixteen, my friend Emily was summarily dumped by her long-distance boyfriend.   Emily decided the best way to deal with her angst was to burn all his letters, pictures, valentines, and notes.  In an age before the internet, this amounted to quite a lot.   It was so decided that I, as her trusty sidekick, would accompany her to a local park, at night, alone, with a bag of sentimentally charged paper products and burn them in the barbeque pit, and Emily’s grief  and anger would be released back into the night sky.   It was going to be beautiful.    

We pulled into the bottleneck parking lot (important to note for later…) and parked at the far end near the barbeque pit.  For close to thirty minutes, we burned letter after letter, Emily cried, danced, and celebrated the symbolic uncoupling of her relationship.  And if I had been able to let go of the crippling fear of being arrested by park security, it would have been beautiful.    

At one point, a truck pulls into the lot, I watch it slowly approach, park near our car, and sit.   Emily is unconcerned.   What do you think they’re doing, I ask.   Do teddy bears burn she replies?   They sit, minutes pass.   Eventually, Emily also cannot ignore the growing discomfort that is spreading through the park like an invisible fog.   We turn and watch the truck, feeling the sets of eyes watching us watching them.   Okay, I say, no biggie, time to go, we’ll just walk back slowly, drive off, no worries. 

We still  have a lot of worries.   

I pour water over our ceremonial altar, and we walk as normally as you can when icy terror is racing down your spine.   At one point, still fifty feet or so from our car, we both break into a run.    

The truck takes off, directly toward us.   By some miracle of time and space, we make it to the car and Emily manages to start the engine and throw it into gear.   The truck swings wide as it sees us in motion, it races to the bottleneck opening of the lot.   Emily hits the gas and we futilely try to overtake the truck, which has a considerable head start.   

We lose.   The truck blocks the exit to the street.   

Emily screeches to a halt.   We stare blindly at the truck blocking our way for what feels to be eternity.   We didn’t scream, we didn’t cry.   It was a cold, hard silence that filled the space between us, each imagining what the occupants of the truck were planning to do to us.   

Hold on.  Emily whispers, her voice barely audible.   She revs the engine of her tiny compact car, and then hits the gas.   For a moment, I think she’s planning on ramming the truck, until she swerves at the last moment, jumps the curb and flies onto the grass of the park.    The car is screaming in protest as she plunges forward over grass, through a rubber floored play yard and directly through a decorative wooden fence.   She jumps another curb, sending the car momentarily airborne before it hits the thankfully empty street.  She blows through a red light and doesn’t stop driving until we hit a brightly lit grocery store parking lot about a mile away.  

Did the truck chase us as we cut across the park?   Were they on our tail all the way to the safety of the neon lights?   I have no idea.   I stopped breathing in those minutes and decided that whatever came of it, it was better than being gutted and left by the barbeque grill in the park at night.   

So why are women such a steadily growing force in horror?   Why do so very many women write horror and dark fantasy?  Why are over 70% of the reviews of true crime on Amazon and Goodreads attributed to women?*   

I have a theory, and it lies in conversations we are just starting to really have about the state of the world, and a woman’s place in it.   Women have always been taught to look in the shadows, to seek out the subliminal threat in a seemingly innocent offer of a walk home, a ride, a drink.   We have been taught to lean into our fear, to act with suspicion and when we do not, when we trust too openly, we are called foolish.   There is a presupposition that if we are not constantly guarding ourselves from the worst possible outcome, then we invited it to come to the light.   

The truth is, that horror comes naturally to me, because I, like so many others, was taught to expect it.   

I never told my mother about what happened in the park, I never told anyone about it until I was an adult and far removed from the paralyzing potential of that night.   The reason was that I knew what the reaction would be.   We were in the park, alone, at night.   Of course we were inviting harm.   If we’d been murdered, there would have been an underlying caveat that well, they were kind of asking for it, weren’t they?   Out there like that…what did they think was going to happen?   

So, why do I write horror?  I can only say that I don’t have a choice.  It’s what comes out when I sit down to write.  It’s what I see in my mind’s eye when I’m imagining a story.  It’s the meandering path I wander down mentally when I see the art, dance, a symphony performance, a guy with a guitar on 3rd Street Promenade.   Ever since I could string words together, I have been imagining the darkest and weirdest backstory, outcome and consequence.   

I am surrounded by female horror writers.  From the minute I joined the Horror Writers Association, I was befriended and mentored by the likes of Kaaron Waaren, Lee Murray, Denise Hamilton, Lisa Morton, Kate Jonez.   There are so many more names to list, it’s impossible.   As I wandered into the world of published works, there was no shortage of women who also had no choice in what they saw in the shadows and what they imagined lay behind seemingly innocuous gestures and words.  I imagine we all have stories that we never told our mothers, and still haunt the back of our stories and poems.    For me, it is my way of understanding the world, preparing for it, explaining to myself what I have seen.   And to read the work of other women writers, is to see the landscape as they have walked it, and all the hidden horrors that lie in our everyday existence.  

*thanks to NYTimes Book Review 2019 for stats on women in horror and true crime


Kathleen Kaufman is a native Coloradan and long-time resident of Los Angeles.   Her prose has been praised by Kirkus Reviews as “crisp, elegant” and “genuinely chilling” by Booklist.   She is the author of The Tree MuseumThe Lairdbalor, soon to be a feature film with Echo Lake Studios and director Nicholas Verso, Hag, and Diabhal due out in October 2019.   Kathleen is a monster enthusiast, Olympic-level insomniac and aficionado of all things unsettling.   When not writing, she can be found teaching literature and composition at Santa Monica College or hanging out with a good book.   She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, terrier and a pack of cats.  

Friday, February 7, 2020

February 2020 LOHF New Releases

Each month the Ladies of Horror Fiction team posts all of the books we are aware of that will be releasing during that month. If you are involved in the process of publishing a horror book written by a female author, please reach out to us and let us know so we can help to spotlight the book’s release!

Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland

Deathless Divide (Dread Nation #2) by Justina Ireland

The sequel to Dread Nation is a journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.

After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.

But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodermus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880’s America.

What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears – as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.

But she won’t be in it alone.

Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by – and that Jane needs her, too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.

Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive – even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.

Published February 4th 2020 by Balzer + Bray | Amazon | Goodreads

The Haunting by Lindsey Duga

The Haunting by Lindsey Duga

A dark family secret prompts a ghost to wreak havoc in this spooky novel in the spirit of Mary Downing Hahn.
The only life 12-year-old Emily has ever known is the cold, unloved existence of being an orphan. But everything changes when the Thorntons, a young couple from London, adopt Emily, whisking her away to a new life at their grand estate.

At first, life at Blackthorn Manor is wonderful. But as Emily explores the grounds and rooms, she stumbles upon a mysterious girl named Kat, who appears to be similar in age, and the two become fast friends.

That’s when things take a turn for the worse. Kat seems to know a curious amount about the estate, and strange things happen whenever she’s around. In one case, Emily narrowly avoids getting toppled by a bookcase in the library; in another, the fire erupts in the fireplace, nearly burning Emily’s hands. It’s almost as if someone — or something — wants Emily dead.

Emily must find out what happened to the Thorntons and, more important, how Kat is connected to these strange goings-on at Blackthorn Manor before it’s too late!

Published February 4th 2020 by Scholastic Press | Amazon | Goodreads

Hexis by Charlene Elsby

Hexis by Charlene Elsby

I’m not relentless. “Relentless” makes it sound like there’s something called “relent” and that I’m lacking it. In that sense, I’m not relentless, but perhaps I’m unrelenting. I could relent if I wanted to. But he always has to die. I mean “always” in two senses: at all times and all of the time. I can’t kill him all of the time. That would take too long. But all of the times I did, I did. I’d do it again. I could relent if I wanted to, but instead I’d do it again. If he’s different, then he’s the same and if he’s the same, he’s got to go. If he were different and not the same, then there would be two things and I’d only have to kill one of them. If only I only had to kill one of him. What a life I would live, if only I only had to kill him the one time. But death doesn’t always do him in.

Published February 4th 2020 by CLASH BOOKS | Amazon | Goodreads

 The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

Expected publication: February 18th 2020 by Berkley | Amazon | Goodreads

 Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess

Cirque Berserk by Jessica Guess

The summer of 1989 brought terror to the town of Shadows Creek, Florida in the form of a massacre at the local carnival, Cirque Berserk. One fateful night, a group of teens killed a dozen people then disappeared into thin air. No one knows why they did it, where they went, or even how many of them there were, but legend has it they still roam the abandoned carnival, looking for blood to spill.

Thirty years later, best friends, Sam and Rochelle, are in the midst of a boring senior trip when they learn about the infamous Cirque Berserk. Seeking one last adventure, they and their friends journey to the nearby Shadows Creek to see if the urban legends about Cirque Berserk are true. But waiting for them beyond the carnival gates is a night of brutality, bloodshed, and betrayal.

Will they make they make it out alive, or will the carnival’s past demons extinguish their futures?

Expected publication: February 20th 2020 by Unnerving | Amazon | Goodreads

Belle Manor Haunting

Belle Manor Haunting (Addison Lockhart #4) by Cheryl Bradshaw

The door to Addison Lockhart’s room opens. Five-year-old Sara Belle walks in. The child seems lost and confused. Addison reaches out, grabs Sara’s hand, and the room goes black.

Addison’s eyes open to find she’s been transported several decades into the past. She’s sitting in the back seat of a car. Sara is beside her. The car stops at an intersection. Moments later another vehicle in the opposite direction barrels through the stop sign, slamming into the car before jerking the vehicle into reverse and fleeing the scene. Who is the driver of the other car? And what secrets within the walls of Belle Manor provide the answer to little Sara’s untimely demise?

If you enjoy a mystery with a supernatural twist, you’ll enjoy this fast-paced, bestselling series written by a New York Times bestselling author.

Expected publication: February 29th 2020 by Pixie Publishing | Amazon | Goodreads


Have we missed any February 2020 LOHF titles you are excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Horror Directors for WIHM

It’s February and cold outside! But let’s ignore the snow and snuggle up with books and films to celebrate Women in Horror Month. There are so many amazing voices to seek out: writers, actors, directors, reviewers—OH MY!

Thinking about horror films, people tend to gravitate toward the classics: Psycho, Halloween, Scream, Jaws, The Exorcist . . . it tends to be a fairly male-dominated list of directors. But it is not the case that women aren’t creating horror. The ladies are deep in the trenches of the terrifying and they are bringing us some incredibly scary and brilliant films. Here are a few female directors who are making waves in horror.

Jennifer Kent

I don’t know anyone who has seen The Babadook (2013) and not been blown away by it. It is a deeply scary monster movie, but it is also a deeply moving tale exploring mother and son dynamics. Kent burst onto the scene as an innovative and forward-thinking writer/director with this original movie, and everyone has been waiting to see what she’d do next.

Her most recent project is The Nightingale (2019), a revenge tale set in the Tasmanian wilderness in the 1820s, and it is disturbing. Possibly one of the most disturbing movies I’ve ever sat through, and I mean that in the best way possible. It also leans into modern social issues, thinking about gender and racial disparities, and the violence humans are capable of. It is available to stream now.

Issa López

López knocked it out of the park with the social commentary filled dark fairy tale that was Tigers Are Not Afraid (2019), a Shudder exclusive film. From the perspective of a group of young children, the film explores the dangerous and violent arena of drug cartels, ghosts, and living on the street.

This inspiring director has a few more movies in the works. The one I am over the moon (pun-intended, read on:) excited about is a supernatural folklore film that will be produced by Guillermo del Toro and is rumored to be a werewolf-western. Can’t wait! She is also set to write and direct an adaptation of the Matthew Baker short story, Lost Souls.

Floria Sigismondi

One movie that has definitely caused some excited rumblings in the horror fiction community is The Turning (2020), a modern interpretation of Henry James’s classic novella The Turn of the Screw. It is a unique adaptation, and the ending is definitely starting conversations.

Sigismondi is a talented creator whose work goes beyond film. She is also a visual artist with a beautiful monograph available of her photography and has directed music videos for the likes of Justin Timberlake, Marilyn Manson, Katy Perry, Pink, and David Bowie.

Next, Sigismondi will be working on an independent venture, but no details have been released yet!

Jenn Wexler

The Ranger (2018) was Wexler’s directorial debut, and she is certainly one to watch. If you were into Green Room (2015), this one will be up your alley: a group of teen punks hide out in the woods, only to become pursued by an unhinged park ranger. It’s a subversive take on the classic ’80s slasher, and it’s campy, bloody, and stylish.

She is also a producer with several great movies under her belt: Depraved (2019), Most Beautiful Island (2017), Like Me (2017), Psychopaths (2017), and Darling (2015).

Sophia Takal

One of the big conversation pieces of the holiday season (well, at least MY holiday season of horror) was the modern remake, Black Christmas (2019). More than a remake of the 1974 classic of the same name—arguably the first slasher film—Takal’s vision, co-written with April Wolfe (p.s. check out her podcast Switchblade Sisters), this film is a re-envisioning of what Black Christmas could be.

A story about a group of sorority sisters who are violently murdered one by one is the perfect breeding ground to put some of the recent issues surrounding gender in our society up on the screen. This is an empowering film for #MeToo supporters and anyone who has a problem with the state of politics in our nation.

Takal is also responsible for the thriller Always Shine (2016), a dark rumination on female friendships and ambition.

Coralie Fargeat

One of my favorite recent films, Revenge (2017), was written and directed by this French filmmaker. If you shy away from the rape-revenge subgenre of horror, this is one you might want to check out. It subverts the cliched tropes of horror and reclaims the genre with a feminist point of view and a badass female lead.

When this movie hit Shudder, it became the most-watched movie debut in the platform’s history. I can’t wait to see what Fargeat comes up with next!

If you have any other Women Horror director recommendations let us know in the comments!

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