Why support Indie Horror?

The next new horror event will most likely come from a new way of looking at things by a young writer desperate to be heard by an audience. There are numerous writers in independent horror with raw talent yearning to terrify us. All they need is encouragement and a chance. Here are a few examples from history of people who were once unknown, and subsequently terrified their generation – and beyond – with their stories.

Edgar Allan Poe. From out of nowhere, Poe smashed gothic conventions and created a new kind of supernatural horror.

H P Lovecraft. As a response to a request from an acquaintance, Lovecraft created Dagon which set him on a lifelong crusade to turn horror cosmic.

William Blatty. Mostly known as an assistant to Blake Edwards, he took a little known real life incident and created the Exorcist. It altered our thoughts about religion and the supernatural.

Robert Bloch. After writing hundreds of mostly unnoticed stories, Bloch saw a news article on a serial killer and reimagined it as Psycho.

Jeff Rice. Hammering away at a novel in the pre-Watergate era, Rice created a character almost as supernal as Sherlock Holmes: Karl Kolchak.

Mary Shelley. On a bet, she and Dr. Polidari were dared by Lord Byron to come up with a tale that would scare him. Polidari did sort of an OK vampire story, but – oh my – did she ever come up with a doozie.

Dante. Embroiled in local politics, the Florence child of fortune created a horrific satire that still stuns us in its elegance and drama. A lot of our images of Hell come from his work.

Robert Howard. Sitting at home in Texas, Howard wanted to be an adventurer. Instead, he wrote stories that even took the breath away from Clark Smith and Howard Lovecraft.

John Carpenter. Longing to make a movie in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Carpenter became a film student, entered the lower echelons of Hollywood, and with a $300,000 budget came up with a simple story plot involving horrific doings on Halloween. Movies were never the same afterwards.

Who will be next?

Support your local Independent Horror writer!