It’s February, and that means it’s time again for Women in Horror Month, the annual celebration that shines the spotlight on the contributions of all the female creators—writers, artists, movie directors, producers, special makeup artists, special effects experts, etc.—who’ve brought thrills and chills to generations of fans around the world. And the Women in Horror Month website is the place to go to find out all about the events scheduled for this year. To quote the organization’s most recent press release:
Women in Horror Month (WiHM) is an international, grassroots initiative, which encourages supporters to learn about and showcase the underrepresented work of women in the horror industries. Whether they are on the screen, behind the scenes, or contributing in their other various artistic ways, it is clear that women love, appreciate, and contribute to the horror genre.
WiHM celebrates these contributions to horror throughout the year via the official WiHM blog, Ax Wound, The Ax Wound Film Festival, and with the official WiHM event/project database in February. This database—in conjunction with the WiHM social media fan base—actively promotes do-it-yourself annual film screenings, blogs/articles, podcasts, and any other form of creative media with the ultimate goal of helping works by and featuring women reach a wider audience.
This inclusive and positive movement is open to everyone, just as we believe the horror genre should be.
For more information, visit the WiHM site.
We’re also getting involved with the celebration. Next Tuesday, February 7, we’ll be releasing the first entry in our SWC Horror Bites chapbook series: White Fell—The Werewolf, the acclaimed tale of love and lycanthropy by Clemence Annie Housman. It’s a story considered by some literary scholars to be the first feminist werewolf story.
We’ll be running biographical posts about Housman, as well as ones on Ruth Rose, who co-wrote the original King Kong and wrote Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young; Kong’s costar and “love interest,” Ann Darrow; and Fay Wray, the actress who brought Ann to film life. The fact that these last three just happen to tie-in to our upcoming Illustrated Classic e-book edition of the 1932 novelization of King Kong is purely coincidental. 😉
And then there’s the week we’ll be spending celebrating the 145th anniversary of Carmilla, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic vampire tale of love and obsession (which is available through the SWC webstore in print and digital formats).
It’s going to be one busy Women in Horror Month around here—hope you’ll join us for the festivities!
