Stella Desire

Stella Desire is a horror host from the Philaelphia area. Stella is a frequent and popular celebrity guest at horror conventions all over the country. She is best known for hosting the late night horror movie television show "Saturday Night Dead."The program was hosted by Stella , dubbed "the man-eater from Manayunk" (a section near the Schuylkill River, a working-class neighborhood) or the "Daughter of Desire," Stella delighted in half-clad gorgeous young men and often had one or two hanging in her dungeon awaiting her pleasure. According to her biography, Stella was "born in North Libido, New Jersey, a small village outside of Atlantic City. She is the only child of traveling hecklers. Her parents dropped her in a plastic basket at Fifth and Shunk in front of Guido's Hair Weaving and Plumbing Supplies, but for all intents and purposes she was raised by a flock of pigeons".


Reincarnated 37 times, Stella was just your typical "ghoul" next door. In real life, she is Karen Scioli, a South Philadelphia born actress and homemaker who weekly donned a push-up bra, slinky black dress, feather boa, false eyelashes and a mole on her right cheek. Contrary to misinformation formerly stated here, Stella was not a vampiress, or monster, she was a vamp of the traditional sense as opposed to the more commonly portrayed supernatural variety, Scioli clarified this in the documentary film American Scary.


It was a pleasure to hear Karen reminisce about her days (better make that nights) on "Saturay Night Dead." She also discussed her latest projects such as the online soap opera "Goth Mothers of Transylvania."


Tell us about Goth Mothers of Transylvania.
Goth Mothers is a new comedy/horror Gothic Soap opera web series on youtube. It premiered on Friday the 13th in Jan. of 2012. The first episode is now up (in 5 acts). Written by myself and Glenn Davish, directed by Marshall Evans and starring some of the most insane and talented actors around. It’s the story of 5 horrible and filthy rich women who are the elite of Transylvania. I play The Baroness Vanessa Von Schtupen, an 840 year old Vampire and I get to wear a fabulous wig. It also stars Robert Billbrough who played Hives, Stella‘s butler on Saturday Night Dead.


Trachea the Shapeshifter – Lisa Talerico
Bummy the Mummy – Lorraine Brita
Blair the Witch – Germaine Phelps
Lobotomy the Psychic hairdresser – Victoria Papale
And Helga Schtupendouch – Pat D’Aguanno
And introducing Chiya Stonehill as Nurse Honey Bunny.
   


  How did you get your start?
That’s a tough quesiton, depending on how far back you want to go! I’ve always been in show bisuiness. My sister Cathy and  I played our accordions on Steel Pier in Atlantic City (Tony Grant Star of Tomorrow) back when they still had The Diving Horse. I’m sure you can find footage of the Diving Horse on youtube. Disturbing. Hmmm. Maybe I should bring back the Diving Horse in episode two of Goth Mothers. A vampire horse?


Anyway, if you’re talking about Stella, I auditioned for the role in the summer of 1984. I was living in NYC and doing stand up. Alfina, my bff from Philly (I’m a Philly girl, born and raised) sent me a newspaper article about KYW-TV’s (now CBS3) search for a horror movie hostess. It was like the search for Scarlet in Gone with the Wind. At least that’s how I like to see it. Anyway, 150 people showed up for the audition and I was one of ten call-backs. I auditioned for the role at 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It was weird auditioning for a horror hostess at that time of day on a Sunday. Something scariligious and titilating about it. After the call backs, I got a call 3 days later telling me I got the part. I quit my office job in NYC (even though Stella’s starting salary was grim. No pun intended) and  the rest is history!  


Why do they call you the Maneater from Manayunk?
Well, when I got the part and I worked with the producer, Steve Bronstein, to put the show together (I was hired in August, the first show taped in September) we wanted to give Stella a catchy title. Elvira was on the air in L.A. at this time and a huge rising star. Her “title” was “Elvira, Mistress of the Dark”. So the station wanted something for Stella.


Manayunk is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. All hilly, built on a stone cliff and dotted with old Victorian homes. It was also a real blue collar working neighborhood with row homes so it had that typical Philly “Rocky” vibe. And The Maneater From Manayunk just sounded so right. Couldn’t believe I was going to be called a Maneater! But there you have it. Stella! The Maneater From Manayunk. By the way, I’m extremely proud of my moniker and I was the Grand Marshall of the Canal Day Parade for two years (Manayunk has a famous canal running through it).  


Tell us about Saturday Night Dead.
See above for the birth of the show, but it first aired September 29th, 1984 and was on until Oct. of 1990. We came on the air at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday night (Sunday morning) right after Saturday Night Live. Thus, Staurday Night Dead. Perfect. Because of this, we had an amazing lead-in so my ratings were always high. As was my audience. Since I came on at such a horrific hour, I was popular with college kids, bar hoppers and prison inmates. Occassionally I meet people who tell me as a kid they snuck down and watched SND secretly. I’d like to appoligize to all of them here and now.


This was the year VCRs were just hitting the market in a big way. October 1984 was when I purchased my very first VCR. We all bought one because of the show – my mom Florence, my mother and father-in-law, the whole family. Really expensive, too. We paid about $450 for our first, top loader VCR.


SND was a cult hit almost immediately. In the beginning, we showed amazing old horror movies. Remember, this was a time when you couldn’t order a movie on-line. There was no on-line. So here was everyone’s chance to watch good ol’ scary movies late at night.


I LOVED the Hammer House series we started off with all the colorful Vincent Price, gothic Poe movies. Same ones I went to see on Saturday matinees with my sister when we were kids in Philly. Everyone responded to them and we set a silly, fun tone with our show.


At first SND was a bunch of bits surrounding the week’s movie. But soon we developed a horror sit-com of our own with “continuing next week” story lines. It was a blast! Crazy cast of characters, wonderfully bad movies, who could aslk for more??  


  What was the worst movie you ever showed on your TV show?  
Hands down it has to be ‘Frankenstein VS Dracula”. It was made in 1971 in someone’s backyard. Wow. I’m not even sure if I watched the whole movie. But I remember both Frankenstein and Dracula having a very 70’s vibe with side-burns and shiny disco costumes. That’s how I remember it.  


Name some of the celebrity guests you featured on your show.
I had a lot of amazing local celebs and station cross-promotion stars on my show. Famous kiddie show stars from MY childhood (Sally Star, Pixanne) but the one guest who blew us all away was John Zacherley!!!! He was beloved in Philly and we knew him as Roland. Roland was Philly’s very first horror host, back in 1958. I believe he was the country’s second horror host on TV, the first being Maila Nurmi aka Vampira. Zacherley was The grandfather of Horror Hosting. We were beside ourselves to have him as a guest. Not just us, the cast members, but the entire station.


I also had Bobby Rydell (LOVED him) and Robert Hazzard, and Rip Taylor. They were all amazing. I slept with each one. (kidding). But I did a lot of TV promos too, like telethons and such, and thru those I met many more. I sat next to Michael J. Fox on a phone bank for a Children’s Hospital telethon. His show Family Ties had just aired for the first time so I’m sure he was on a huge promo tour. Since I was local and he had absolutely no idea who Stella was, I’m sure he thought I was some sort of local hooker. I also met and had photos taken with Mr. T. Rumor has it he loved Stella. And I loved him.


What I loved most was having all the up and coming hot comics and actors on my show. It meant a lot to me to showcase local talent. I would have the cast of Nunsense on or dancers from a show that came into town but mostly I loved having the stand ups and improve actors on. We laughed, all the time.  


Do you think your show was too risque for prime time televison?
Absoultey yes. We were even too risque for the wee hours of the morning. But that was part of our charm.  


Were you inspred by Elvira or Vampira?  
Elvira was the reason I got the job!! She was a huge hot hit at the time. KYW just bought a package of great horror movies and they wanted to follow Philly’s tradition of having a horror host. We had two before, both males (Roland and Dr. Shock). With Elvira, the sexy valley girl horror hostess, KYW decided cleavage was the way to go. Voila. Stella. So thank you Miss Peterson!!!


I didn’t know about Vampira until after I got the role as Stella. Now her name is revered in my household. I’m on my knees as I answer this.  


  Name some of your favorite horror films.
 My favorite of all time is The Exorcist. I still break out in a sweat just thinking about it. I went to see it at the movies with my mom. We both had read the book and yet we still went. We kept trying to stop each other from running out screaming.  


My second favorite is Strait Jacket with Joan Crawford. It was my first psychological thriller/slasher movie. Joan Crawford was so bizarre in the movie, especially when she got all dressed up and tried to be sexy. Scared the daylights out of me.


My favorite monster, the one that scared me the most, was the Wolfman. Always terrified me.  


Name some of your favorite horror books.
The Exorcist of course. But my favorite scary writer is Robert Dunbar. He wrote The Pines, and Willy and a lot of horrifying short stories. If you haven’t read The Pines, you should. Especially if you’re from Jersey. He took the legend of The Jersey Devil and amped it up into something skin crawling and terrifying.  


  Why do you think people enjoy staying up so late to watch horror movies?
Almost everyone loves to be scared, especially in a safe haven like your living room or bedroom under the covers. It’s fun to be scared when you know you won’t really be hurt. Why is that fun? I have no idea! I guess you could call it an adreneline rush.  


Why do you think people pay good money or invest valuable time to watch bad movies?
It’s such an escape to watch bad movies. It’s the “campy factor”. You can’t worry about real life problems when you’re watching bad actors with a bad script get ripped to shreds.


My sister and I invested all our after school hours glued to the TV watching Dark Shadows. We were scared to death at 4 o’clock in broad daylight watching it on a tiny black and white tv. So….much…..fun.  


If they made a movie about your life, which actress would you like to see play you?
Wow. I‘d have to say Meryl Streep. Why wouldn’t I want Meryl Streep to play me? Besides, I know she could handle the Philly acent to perfection.  


  What are your latest projects?
Right now Goth Mothers of Transylvania is my baby. I’m DYING to do episode two but have to figure out a way to raise money for that. But the project that is taking up all of my time right now is my new puppy Scooch. I adopted him from The Voorhees Animal Orphange. He’s a year old and hilarious.


I have a few other projects I’m working on for the near future, not in the horror world. I have another character named Rere DiNucci, a South Philly hairdresser that has been quite popular in Philly. Rere was on WOGL radio for about 6 or 7 years in Philly and I believe she’s going to be making some kind of annoying come back.    


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
I had a rough childhood. We were poor and my father was an alcoholic. But my mother was a smart, funny, hard working woman who devoted her life to raising me and my sister. In spite of all the hardships, my mom managed to add magic to our lives. She always encouraged me to follow my passion, and that was always acting. I credit my mom, Florence, for giving me the courage to face the tough world of showbusiness. And the rest was all about my cleavage.  

Scout Tafoya

Scout Tafoya is an independent horror movie director from my native Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It was fun to discuss the creative process of low budget filmmaking with him. Inspiration, talent and hard work motivate this young man to do what he loves most. He is already very prolific having made ten feature films. Scout also has lots of plans and ideas for future films.


What inspired you to make movies?
I don't know that there was a moment or an incident; it's just always been that way. As far back as I can remember, I've known that I was going to make films. The first thing I remember, as far back as memory goes, is watching Aliens with my parents. From there it was onto Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Birds, Hard Boiled and Them! By the time it occurred to me I could be anything I wanted to, there was just no chance I was going to be an architect or a politician. Everywhere I looked I saw stories I wanted to tell. Everytime I looked out a window, I was daydreaming screenplay ideas. I just didn't know how to express this yet.


First Clip from Eyam



What are some of your favorite films?
I could give you pages and pages per choice, so I'll try it keep it a relatively simple list. There are perfect films: Alien, L'avventura, Sweet Movie, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Long Day Closes, Let The Right One In, Pandora & The Flying Dutchman, The Last Picture Show, Apocalypse Now Redux, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blue Velvet, 13 Assassins, White Material, A Lake, Who Can Kill A Child?, The Thing, 8 1/2, The Beaches of Agnes, Onibaba, Betty Blue, The Devils, There Will Be Blood, The Pianist, Water Lilies, Hunger, The Wild Bunch, If...., I Fidanzati, L'Argent, The Exorcist, Le Cercle Rouge, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Murderous Maids. And then there films that are dear to my heart that occupy stranger places in history and maybe aren't 100% perfect: Lancelot Du Lac, Blow-Up, Ride Lonesome, The Train, Vampire Circus, Hundra, The Big Bird Cage, The Mansion of Madness, Razorback, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie, Caravaggio, Bronson, Vampir Cuadecuc, Time of the Wolf, Bad Lieutenant, Vincere, Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, Mr. Freedom, Sorcerer, etc. etc. etc.


Second Clip From Eyam



Do you think low budget movies like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity are game changers for aspiring filmmakers?
No. In the wake of Blair Witch, I don't remember a flood of modestly budgeted horror films with novel ideas coming from major studios. I remember Lance Weiler and Eduardo Sanchez making their next films for even less money and releasing them straight to DVD while major studios made sequels to Friday the 13th and Halloween, started remaking asian horror and old slasher films, adapting video games and pitching tent-poles under anything mildly successful. When Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows came out, the party was pretty much over. As for Paranormal, all I've noticed in the wake of that is a lot of found footage-y movies, which completely misses the point. If studios saw that you could make more films for that kind of money and started spreading it around, that'd be great, but they're not.


They're putting Oren Peli's name on Chernobyl Diaries, which was just Paranormal with CGI and more people. Look at a list of the best horror films last year; no real evidence that Paranormal's had any kind of effect. There's really only Paranormal 3 (of course directed by other found footage guys) and Insidious (which was essentially a bigger budget remake and not worth the time it takes to watch it) to speak of.


People everywhere are making found footage movies but it's not like they're spending any less than they would have on some other kind of movie, nor does it guarantee them a release. Look at Atrocious - that was a micro-budget Spanish film given a token VOD/DVD release and I think I was one of fifteen people in this country who saw it. It could be that it's Spanish and had subtitles, but it wasn't granted as large a release as Paranormal, Chernobyl or much else.


Something interesting comes out and makes a pile of money they'll just remake it or give it a sequel because it's easier than trusting another new idea. A low budget film succeeding never means that other little guys will get to make their dream projects. It just means that studios will go looking for people to direct their version of Paranormal or Saw or whatever else makes a truckload of money first. If Paranormal had the desired effect then The Innkeepers would have been bought by a major and given a real release because it's a better film made for a pittance. Or instead of remaking The Silent House, they would have just released it.


Why horror films as opposed to another genre?
There are few experiences I love more than watching a film and having the hell scared out of me. I've always loved it, I'll always love it. I don't fight it, either, I love being scared. When The Woman in Black came out, I was psyched to see Hammer Films returning to its gothic roots - that it was so delightfully terrifying was icing on the cake. I love a film like that because I can see the gears turning. I know something terrifying is coming and I'm frightened in anticipation and then when it happens I'm even more scared. I love it! I grew up looking for the next terrifying thing. The Thing was a childhood favourite. My dad and I would watch films like Alien, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Beast Within, Dawn of the Dead, Pumpkinhead and Razorback so by the time I was in the seventh grade, I thought I'd seen it all; I went looking for new and terrifying things because normal genre fare wasn't cutting it. When I started making films I wasn't confident I knew how to scare people. I was pretty sure I could disorient, but I didn't want to rely on just what I'd already seen. I didn't want to put kids in a cabin and hope for the best. I want to make films that would have haunted me as a kid, or at the very least, I want to make horror films that feel like nothing else in the genre. In a way it's an unavoidable challenge. It's one thing to scare people; it's another to stay with them. Make something they can't forget. They don't want to forget. Alien is still terrifying and a perfect movie; I'd be an idiot to think I could make a film that good, but that's where I'm aiming.


What was your first feature length movie?
I made a film called http://www.honorszombiefilms.com/2012/06/riverbed-2012-redux.html The Riverbed in late 2009/2010 with my closest friends but it took me too long to edit; I'd shot it all wrong and didn't realize it until it was too late. I just re-edited it into a silent film to cover up my mistakes and tell the story better. Because that took so long, the first feature film of mine that people got to see was called http://www.honorszombiefilms.com/2010/10/to-all-my-friends-on-all-their.html To All My Friends On Their Birthdays, which was a kind of Godardian film essay I made after seeing his later video work, especially Film Socialisme - I must have started editing the day after I saw it. I had fucked up my first dramatic feature, so I just did what I was pretty sure I was good at; filming trees, abandoned buildings, movie theatres, and my friends while I talk about film. In a way it's the perfect primer to my work because it's magnificently pretentious. Though I've never made another film like it, so it's also maybe not the best place to start. Somewhere in that same time period I made an hour long documentary called http://www.honorszombiefilms.com/2010/04/no-fourth-wall.html - No Fourth Wall about a disco-based Shakespeare production called The Donkey Show, which I'm still very fond of.


Third Clip from Eyam



How many movies have you made?
Counting documentaries, I've made ten feature films, though only eight of them I'd call done. I'm filming my eleventh and twelfth right now and http://www.indiegogo.com/littledeaths Fundraising For The Thirteenth


Your father Dennis Tafoya is a successful novelist. Did he influence your decision to pursue the arts?
In every way. I didn't read any of his fiction until about three or four years ago, but if I watched films as a kid it was because of my parents. My mom and dad both had favourites and I memorized them. It was because they loved films so much that I watched what I did, loved what I did and they started me on my way to writing and directing. My dad and I would talk for hours (we still do) about what we'd do differently than the people making whatever big film was released that week.


There seems to be many talented writers and independent filmmakers and artists of all sorts in Bucks County. Why do think that is?
Part of it is that in the 60s and 70s this place become a hideout for artists and great thinkers and their kids are now creating great art. Speaking for myself and a few of my friends, we're poor and a little damaged and creating is what we know how to do. And we're all in the same boat. I love seeing what my friends do. I love seeing their fingerprints all over their art. My friend and creative partner Tucker Johnson sent me 3 minutes of a film he just started shooting and they were so obviously and wonderfully his. His personality was etched into every second of those three minutes. I can't wait to see more. If I had money, I'd give ten grand and a camera to everyone of my friends, even the ones who don't want to make films, and then just screen the resulting work back to back. That would be the absolute coolest thing to me. Even if I never 'make it' I hope my films do my collaborators some good, because they've all been so supportive and they're all talented in a hundred different ways.


Your feature film Eyam was very unique. Like certain big budget films like 1979’s Alien or this year’s The Dark Knight Rises (ending), sometimes the actors were not in on the joke. The joke was rather on them. What is it about keeping actors in the dark that makes for a better movie?
Well I don't know that it translates to everything, but in the case of Eyam, I knew these guys would be committed to their characters and I had a feeling that most of them would relish the opportunity to get as scared as I like to get. You can point a camera at someone and say "get scared" but I just wanted to see what would happen if everyone was sure that their reactions were genuine. That these guys were really frightened. If they were, I thought the audience might feel twice as scared and twice as unsafe. I figured if I could scare the actors, that'd be a good start. But also what I was after more than anything was a record of real human behavior. Alex Heim, who's been in several of my films including Eyam, says she thinks of the film as an observational documentary more than a fiction film. Which was the nicest thing she could have said.


What I absolutely wanted was to record how these people interacted with each other in this tiny microcosm of community. Tucker, who was assistant director and cinematographer/only other crew member on Eyam, and I had our work cut out for us just following these guys and stumbling upon beautiful moments I could never have planned. Obviously the circumstances are dire (the world may have ended), but they have to wake up, shower and greet the day. I wanted to show the nuances of their lives and interactions as much as I wanted to make a horror film. It was about how they live as much as what happens next.


Music seems to play a very important part of the plot of your films. How do you select an appropriate soundtrack?
Music comes from two places for me. I think that knowing about film history is one of the most important things you can do as a director. You have to know what's come before you so that you know what ground has been tread and where you can go now. I fill my films with references to the movies that have impacted me and film music is a very important tool. The right song can fill a scene with meaning it may never have had; I love digging through history to find strange and bewitching songs from long forgotten films. It's a tiny love letter as well as a way to tonally focus a scene. The other side is that I know too many excellent composers to not use their work. My friend Cooper McKim is a pianist and songwriter who has done amazing work for me and continues to do so.


My good friend Laura Jorgensen's music has been a pretty huge part of my work. I've been playing music with Theo Blasko for years and it just made sense to put her voice in my movies. A good example of both sides of this equation is in my film Tron Wayne Gacy. I had precious few opportunities for music because the film was under presentational restrictions and any music had to make sense in the context of the way I was telling the story.


Cooper was busy and so pointed me to his good friend Julian Moehring who was able to give me piano pieces that captured the mindset of the lead character, who's supposed to be practicing to drown out reality. Another scene was designed as a tribute to fourth wall breaking dance sequences in films like Bande à part and Picnic. So I searched through music of that era and came across something that sounded like it might have been in a Godard or Bellocchio film of the era, by Joe Rumoro and a bunch of unknown sidemen called The Tazmen that as far as I can tell never had much of a release. The idea was to hint at those films while doing something a little bit different. As much as possible I want my musical choices to tell their own stories and highlight talented people who've inspired me.


How did you come up with your ideas?
Most of my ideas come to me on long trips. I used to do most of my scriptwriting on train and bus rides. I'd just stare out the window and let the ideas take shape and then start writing. My film I Need You was born out brainstorming while staring out the window on a bus ride to Maine while listening to J. Tillman's beautiful "No Occassion." A lot of them come from wanting to pay tribute to people (The Riverbed is an homage to Larisa Shepitko, one of the most amazing artists who ever lived; Tron Wayne Gacy is subtitled For Chantal Akerman because of how much I owe her as a storyteller) and some of them come from my cast. My latest film Damnesia happened simply because of Theo Blasko.


I knew I wanted to make a film in a certain way and that she'd be perfect to play this very troubled but very loving character and she'd love the challenge. My horror films come from very specific ideas: The Last Flesh & Blood Show came from an idea I've had for years to make a fairly ordinary and honest romantic film that then becomes a horror film unexpectedly.


Eyam was born out of the idea to make a film about a closed off community in the vein of Lukas Moodysson's excellent film Together, but to go in a completely separate direction. So, as with selecting music, it's a cross between wanting to make films that engage with film history and having exceptionally talented friends. It's often as easy as looking at a headline or sitting alone. The other day two things got me writing. The first, and this happens all the time, I was listening to a song, in this case Radiohead's "The Daily Mail" and there's a line in there about the inmates running the asylum. The arrangement and those words put an image in my head, that turned into a story. I'm twenty pages into a script that was born from that image. The other thing is far more troubling. I was horrified beyond words to hear about that poor couple in Texas who were shot, one of them to death, probably because they were two young women in love with each other.


All of a sudden the only thing in the world I wanted to do was make a film about those two girls going to prom, having a great time, and then going home, knowing tomorrow they'd wake up just as in love as when they went to sleep. The world's cruel, especially to women. I made a decision about a week ago: if I could help it, I'd only write and direct films about women. Hundreds of films every year, many of them about the same fucking things, and how many of them are from uniquely female perspectives? Not enough. If I can help it, my movies are going to be about women.


Do you enjoy the obscure films as much as the big budget blockbusters?
Well, I like them both when they're done right. I'm a little more forgiving if some micro budget romantic dramedy isn't everything I'd hoped it be than if Quentin Tarantino's latest is self-indulgent trash. It comes down to loyalty most of the time. Great example: Prometheus. I love Ridley Scott. Loved his work before I knew who he was. So having grown up with Alien I was naturally excited for Prometheus. And I'm also much more willing to overlook its flawed screenplay because it was something he felt passionately about and as usual the filmmaking is first rate. It's a movie about curiousity, which makes it a rarity among trillion dollar studio films.


So long as the passion and ideas are there, it doesn't matter how much money went into it. That said my list of the best films of all time has far more tiny Italian arthouse hits than your average American actioner. I'll give anything a chance but I admit that I'm a little more at ease watching ambient psychodrama than big budget spectacle; if you can combine them as in Apocalypse Now Redux or The New World, all the better! By and large, my favourite films are in languages I don't speak. What's interesting is the languages the films themselves speak.


Lance Hammer's Ballast has very similar handwriting to Pablo Larrain's Tony Manero and Cristiann Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, even if they're all in different languages and there are of course huge differences in each film's craft and style. I just find so much more to like and understand about an unbroken take of two people discussing something uncomfortable, than in your average car chase, no matter how visceral or well-edited. The break-up in Tuesday, After Christmas is far more harrowing and terrifying than anything in the Saw or Final Destination films. And Radu Muntean, the director, just sits there, observing it. He understands that just taking in life changing events with the same patient eye that witnesses passionate moments and mundane shopping trips. In a handful of moments, lives are made, ruined, changed. That's the language those films speak, and it's one I've been trying to learn. With every film, I enunciate a little clearer and hopefully my accent will become pronounced enough that people know it's me speaking right away.


Who does your editing?
I do, mostly. Tucker will sometimes do the legwork (my film A Knock at the Door was largely his doing) and he always tells me where I'm running long. I rely on my friends to tell me when something's not working and why.


You are on a limited budget. How do you get so many people to act in your films?
I really don't know. I've put my actors through so many outrageous things. It's criminal that I'm not paying them (not that I could). And yet they continue to come out and do insane, incredible work. Maybe it's my enthusiasm or the way I see things; I don't pretend to know, but I'm beyond lucky to have them by my side. The performances in my movies are electrifying and I'm perfectly content knowing I can only take partial credit for how good they are. I believe in my actors and give them room, but they're brilliant without me, I promise. So many of the people who show up in my films only act for me, which first of all is one of the best feelings a director can have, secondly, I think this is also why they're of such rare quality. I'm catching them at very particular moments in their lives. These are intoxicating people with unique energies and presences and I know that they'll make fascinating people out of the characters I give them. I'm incredibly fortunate that I get to create and collaborate with them.


Why do outdoor scenes of nature play such a large part of your films?
I'm something of a contradiction: I love nature and yet I'm terrified of it. We were filming the other day and I noticed a giant spider (it was bigger than a child's hand) hiding out in the corner of our location which sent me into a hysterical screaming fit. I could barely concentrate enough to get the shot just thinking about the goddamn thing existing near me. In a way, going out into the woods and shooting is my way of coming to terms with how terrifying it all is and trying to appreciate it up close rather than just from afar. I know it's beautiful and I wish I were a little more at home out there, but the truth is my world is fixed to computers. I edit on them, I communicate with them, I find and watch films on them, I need them. I wish I didn't. The way most of us interact with them is boring and they bring out the worst in us. So by going out into the woods and filming all these gorgeous things that existed long before us, continue to thrive in spite of our destructive relationship to the world, and will be here long after we're gone, I'm trying to be less afraid, but I'm also trying to show what little of it's been untouched. I worry we're killing more than we can re-grow. So I just want to find what I can so that people realize what's out there and why we need to treat it with respect. I'm terrified of that fucking spider, but I get why he's important, and that the world wouldn't be as beautiful without him.


What's the difference in your opinion from a short film and a music video?
The idea has to fit the music or your dead. Also, rhythm. You need the edit to match what you're seeing or have a damn good reason why you haven't. A short film for me is an excuse to tell a story or explore an idea without conventional dialogue or editing. The video work I've done comes from a song telling me a story. It's my job to tell that story to everyone else. Also, I think I'm slightly better at music videos.


What's next for you?
Eyam has its world premiere on July 21st at the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art. Most of the cast and I will be there for a post-screening reception and Q and A/fundraiser for the next film.


I'm in the middle of a longer project about reincarnation that'll take me most of this year to finish. Damnesia, about a girl's life flashing before her eyes, wraps up very soon and I'll start editing that early July. I have one last scene to film which I'll do when one of my actors gets back from a tour on the 1st of July. It's intended as a kind of gift for people who donate to my next project, House of Little Deaths, a movie that, like Eyam, will be entirely improvised. House is about prostitution and objectification and I have an insanely talented group of actors and designers lined up. We're 20% of the way to our $6000 goal, which we need to meet by mid-July. I cross my fingers with every film I make that it will be the one that gets someone's attention and starts playing festivals seriously, but I do sincerely believe this film will be something special. The subject matter is very important to me; a national conversation should be open about prostitution and men's very harmful relationship to women and it's just being ignored. Society owes women this dialogue.


The sex trade exists because there's a demand for it but men are scarcely blamed. It's easier to say that these women are beyond consideration, which is disgusting and unacceptable. We've all had a hand in creating a world where this happens and yet do nothing to ensure the health and safety of sex workers. The film won't change the world, but if anyone walks out thinking about how they can make this debate a little louder than it is now, I'll be happy. Once I wrap House and the reincarnation film, I'm certain something else will have come along. My dream is to go make films for Why Not or Wild Bunch in Romania or France. The film I'm writing now is set in Estonia in World War II. A man can dream.


If you had an unlimited multi-million dollar budge, what would be your dream project?
I've said before I want to make the ultimate Women-in-Prison film (The Most Sensuous Game), but I'll change my answer here. I've been fine-tuning a script for a horror film with elements of a western since the 10th grade. I think I'm close to there. A friend recently read it and said it made her cry, so I felt like all those years sculpting this piece paid off. I'd need a huge budget for sets and costumes but also largely to pay for my dream cast which includes Evanna Lynch, Radha Mitchell, Paul Schneider and Pat Healy. I'd also been dreaming about Michael Nyman on the score, Jack Fisk doing production design and Harris Savides behind the camera.


Another thing I've been contemplating is a series of films or a TV series based on a great little B-movie called Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory. It'd be set in the late 50s, I'd build a private, all-girl's school set, staff it with incredibly capable actors like Sylvie Testud, Sean Bean, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Jeremy Northam, Kelly McDonald, Julie Sokolowski, Edward Hogg, Miranda Otto and Ian Hart, get a whole bunch of new, unknown actors to play students and have a mystery play out over the course of a year. Or a semester if that's too much time taken out of everyone's life. Let the actors make all their own decisions about who to trust and how to survive when bad things start happening. So on the one hand it's a horror story but on the other you're watching the growth of a whole host of people whose lives would be difficult enough without the stress brought on by the generic elements. And for once the full moon part of the werewolf mythology could be used properly/sparingly.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
At the risk of being pretentious: At the end of his documentary Chung Kuo, Michelangelo Antonioni says that there's an old proverb that says you can paint a tiger, but you can't paint its bones. In this way, he says you can film the people of China but not their hearts. Granted this was in the early 70s and he was making a political point, but it still stuck with me. Someone once asked me if I do anything particularly well and the thing that came immediately to mind was secrecy. I make movies about people who have a lot on their mind but can't express themselves. There are a lot of reasons why - they're not sure how, they don't fully understand everything they're feeling, they don't want to hurt the people closest to them, they don't want to come off as anything but polite - but the point is they all keep secrets. We all do. So I put these people and their faces in the spotlight, trying to capture inner turmoil as it manifests itself in imperceptible twitches, changes, smiles, glances and raised brows. I want to film the tiger and its bones.


And in celebrating every corner of the medium's history, paying homage to everything from Ken Russell to Germaine Dulac, Joshua Logan to Takashi Miike, David Lean to Jack Hill, Bruce LaBruce to Byron Haskin, Joe Swanberg to Edgar G. Ulmer, Djibril Diop Mambety to Russ Meyer, Tsai Ming-Liang to Clare Denis, I want to do the same thing to film. Every movie has a lesson to impart and I'm still learning all the time so that I can keep making my films richer.


Links
Fundraising site for the next film is here:
www.indiegogo.com/littledeaths


Trailer for Last Flesh & Blood Show is here:
https://vimeo.com/35768068


Trailer for Eyam is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZAg0S7759I

Charles Day

Charles Day is a talented fiction writer from New York State. His writing is diverse because it includes both YA and adult fiction as well as novels and published short stories. It was great to interview him about his books, his day job and his love of Stephen King and King's son Joe Hill.

How did you get involved with writing? Do you prefer short stories or novels in terms of telling a story?

A few years back I began writing my first novel, “Deep Within,” while working on a secured psych unit doing evening and overnight shifts. After I finished it and started sending it around, all I received was rejection after rejection, so I placed it back in my drawer. About a year later I started going on line to these small press publishers who were looking for submissions for short stories into their anthologies. So I started writing short stories. Well, in less than two years, I received a bunch of rejections, but I still managed to sell 14 short stories to various small press publishers. I also finally was able to sell my first novel, “Deep Within” to Twisted Library Press, last May.

Yet, many of the short stories that were rejected were because I put too much into my stories, and I also received information from editors that I should expand on these stories; make them longer so I could build more into my plots and characters. This made me realize that I could write a novella, and eventually novels. Now, I’m all about longer fiction because I like to get totally immersed into my protagonists and storylines, with no restrictions on word count.

Who are some of your influences?

I have many influences. The first came to me when I was young; playing out movie characters with my friends from all the fun I had watching movies. I always wanted to be an actor or director, write screenplays those kinds of things, but never really pursued any of it. As time went on, I read many books and became influenced by Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, Douglas Clegg, and so many more. My newest influence was last year at the Stoker conference, when I received an arm hug from Joe Hill. I had read his book “Horns,” but after listening to him talk about his graphic novels, I went on and read almost everything from him. He is now my biggest influence.


Over the last couple of years, my peer influences also come from my writer friends and their stories. I also get so much motivation and reassurance from my mentors, such as Peter Giglio, Gregory L. Norris, Hollie and Henry Snider. And then there are those who have taught me so much through shared conversations and their overall professionalism, such as Lisa Morton and Vince Liaguno, two board members on the Horror Writers Association, and I guess unofficial mentors for me. I truly look up to them both as they are huge inspirations with regards to writing and navigating this sometimes very complex publishing industry.

How many hours a day do you spend writing?

Well, that’s the hard part. Most of my writing is either very early in the AM, or late at night, after my three-year old goes to sleep. I’m sure many writers can relate to this. Most of us have day jobs as well. So you have to improvise!

You’ve done some dark stuff here. Why did you decide to write a YA book?

It’s funny because I never thought when I wrote “Legend of the Pumpkin Thief,” that I was writing a YA novel, it was after I submitted the story to an editor, Erika Gilbert, who was looking for YA novels, that I found out I had a true YA book here. Of course I had to change my main character from 14 to 17, and then I resubmitted and had it accepted.

What do you love most about fiction?

I love when I can get a hold of a book that just takes me to an imaginary world, holds me by the neck and doesn’t let go until the very end. I love a book full of action and suspense, great character building where I’m in love with the characters well after I finish the book. That’s what I love most about fiction.

What is your day job?

I’ve spent over twenty-five years in the mental health industry. I’ve worked twelve years on a secured psych unit, finished college with a Masters degree in Public Administration, and subsequently held positions as a director, faculty instructor, and case manager.

Currently, I’m employed with the Family Service League and work with the NYS Office Of Aging’s Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. I’m their Adult Home Coordinator and I’m responsible for a sleuth of volunteers who go into adult homes to advocate for residents. If there is an issue of concern and they need me to come in and do an investigation or to just help advocate, I’m there. I really enjoy my day job. I get to go up to Albany and meet with our NY assembly members and senators, and I also get to meet so many providers, consumers, and caregivers in the adult care community, many who I’ve come to know over my years in the business as friends.

How does your work environment influence your writing?

That’s simple. Being in a people driven business, I’ve met so many personalities in my career, it’s easy to pick out people I can make into interesting characters for a story I’m writing.

What are your favorite horror movies and books?

Oh man, I could name so many. I loved Aliens, Nightmare on Elm Street, the Shining, etc. As for books, everything Joe Hill and Stephen King have written, and many horror books from my writer friends.

Which one of your books would you like to see made into a movie?

Without a doubt,“The Legend of the Pumpkin Thief.” It would be so cool to use the computer animation of say, “Monster House,” and use that to create my characters from Legend

Tell us about Evil Jester Press.

EJP was born from continued conversations between myself and my executive editor, Peter Giglio, who came up with the idea to start a press based on the avatar I was using when I first joined many of the small press forums. The evil little jester became my alter ego, my muse, my best friend. EJP is a small press publisher of great horror, including our semi-annual evil jester digests. Feel free to visit our website at www.eviljesterpress.com to find out about our latest books and submissions.

Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.

I’ll give you my bio as that seems to be the best way to showcase my work and what I love to write.

Charles Day A.K.A, the evil little Jester, is the Horror Writers Association’s Mentor Program Committee Chairperson, and a member of the New England Horror Writers Association. He's published 14 short stories with various small press publishers.

His biggest successes to date are the recent sales of his first YA western horror trilogy “KYLE MCGERTT, DESTROYER OF THE INDIAN CURSES, BOOK ONE: THE HUNT FOR THE GHOULISH BARTENDER (Blood Bound Books Nov/Dec 2012) his horror novel, DEEP WITHIN (Twisted Library Press, summer 2012), and a mystery novella DEADLY WORKOUT (Dopamavoli Books, spring 2012).

His published works available now are his YA horror novel, LEGEND OF THE PUMPKIN THIEF (Noble YA Publishers LLC.), his mystery novelette THE PLAN (Naked Snake Press) and his horror novella LOCKDOWN (Included in Hannibal’s Manor, Wicked East Press) which received an endorsement from four-time Bram Stoker award wining author, Lisa Morton.

He also edited his first anthology TALES OF TERROR & MAYHEM FROM DEEP WITHIN THE BOX (Wicked East Press, winter 2012) compiled with 24 terrifying stories by amazingly talented authors, including four-time Bram Stoker nominated author Jeremy C. Shipp. Includes the debut, never before told story of just how his alter ego, the evil little jester became so damn evil, titled THE GIFT, by Charles Day, edited by Hollie Snider & Jessica Weiss.

He is the founder/owner of Hidden Thoughts Press- Non fiction works where the primary focus is mental wellness collections- and Evil Jester Press, a fiction imprint.

William R. Potter

William R. Potter is a writer of thrillers and horror fiction from British Columbia. He is an accomplished independent author. He enjoys creating characters with great depth that are true to real life. His books emphasize suspense and terror rather than mere gore. The Fright Factory is his latest thriller. It's a great tale of sheer horror and it's getting some serious attention.


When did you write your first novel?
I wrote my first novel over sixteen months in 2007-2008.


How many books have you written?
I’ve written eight and have published six.


How many hours a day do you write?
Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t keep track of the hours. When I’m going full bore on a book I try to write 5,000 words a week.


You feature a serial killer who murders people with a scythe in The Fright Factory. What serial killers in other books have inspired your villain?
I didn’t realize it as I was writing TFF, however I’m sure movie villains like Michael Myers had more to do with me inventing Jess Lawless than any I had read about.


What is your favorite book?
Hideaway by Dean Koontz.


What is your favorite movie?
The “Alien” Series.


What horror movies scare you?
Horror movies don’t really scare me. They do however, thrill, shock and entertain.


Would you ever consider writing a book outside of the horror genre?
Absolutely. Most of my books are outside the horror genre.


What are your current projects?
I’m working on a sci-fi series, a drama-suspense novel and a sequel to Dead of Knight, my police thriller.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
You could say I was bitten by the writing bug at an early age. Shortly after watching the first remake of King Kong, around the age of ten or eleven, I scribbled a few lines about a mutant crab and called it a book.


I returned to my love of storytelling in my twenties, writing numerous short stories. "Lighting the Dark Side-Six Modern Tales" represents my work from the past several years and is my first published book. The collection received the Editor's Choice Award for short stories from AllBooks Review International in 2009.


All three novellas from the short story collection "Lighting the Dark Side" have now been published Direct to Kindle as stand-alone books. They are:


Bent, Not Broken (suspense) Surviving the Fall (thriller) October 18, 2012 (sci-fi suspense)


"DEAD of KNIGHT A Jack Staal Mystery" is my first full novel. The Fright Factory (horror) was published in September 2011. New books are in the works will be published shortly.


I live in New Westminster, Canada with my wife and two children.


http://www.williamrpotter.com

Count Gore de Vol

Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire has always been one of my favorite books. Now I finally get to interview one myself . His name is Count Gore de Vol. He was a television horror host who originally appeared on Washington DC's WDCA from 1973 to 1987 This was of course when he was not secretly sucking human blood at night. His human alias Dick Dyzel helped him disguise the true evil vampire that he is. Now 35 years later Count Gore is still very busy. In 1998, Count Gore De Vol became the first horror host to present a weekly show on the Internet, featuring streaming video of movies and shorts hosted by The Count, and interviews with celebrities. It was an honor to interiew him about his work and how the horror field has changed over the years. Count Gore, thanks for letting me interview you and PLEASE DON'T DRINK OUR BLOOD!!!!!


When did you begin performing?
As with many entertainers, I’ve been performing, in one way or another, all my life. But I started my career as a TV horror host in 1971, when I took on the role of vampire M.T. Graves on WDXR-TV in Paducah, Kentucky. However, as is the case with most horror hosts, I was also doing a lot other things that really paid my salary: News Anchor, Radio DJ, Director and I also produced and hosted a one hour long, five day a week live children’s show as Bozo the Clown. You see, small market TV gave the new performer lots of opportunities to try everything.


What was your first TV show?
My first appearance on TV was as news anchor for the 10 pm news on WDXR. But it was the Bozo Circus that was the first show that I really controlled. It was a great training ground for both producing and performing. My second show, which ran concurrently, was “Night of Terror,” which was on every Saturday night. Here I applied a lot of what I learned as Bozo.


How do you rehearse for playing this part or is this the real you?
I’ve been told that Count Gore is an extension of my real personality, that I otherwise keep hidden. I wouldn’t say I rehearse as much as I take time to put myself into the character. I do this by creating a show outline, doing research and then psyching myself up while getting into makeup.


Count Gore de Vol is an interesting character name. How did you come up with that?
There have been much speculation on this. Most people think it was a take off on writer Gore Vidal, but that may not be totally true. I hedge on this question because I don’t know the exact answer. I was in discussion about a name for the character after I got a job at WDCA in Washington, DC. The general manager finally agreed to let me do it in 1973, but he wanted a name with ‘gore’ in it. So, I said, “What about Count Gore?” He thought about it and said, “I like it, but it needs more.” So, out of frustration I blurted out, “How about something off the wall, maybe Count Gore De Vol?” He said to go for it. Now, was I influenced by the fact there was a copy of “Lincoln” by Gore Vidal on the manager’s desk or was it that I drove by the De Vol funeral home everyday on the way to work? I honestly don’t know. But I do know I trademarked the character immediately, which was a smart move.


Why did you want creature feature films to be your work?
It was not on my list of things I wanted to do in TV. As I pointed out, I was doing lots of other exciting things, but I found that I enjoyed “talking dirty to adults on Saturday night.” Once I took ownership of the character, I then had incentive get into it. After much consideration in 1998 I felt that I enjoyed the character and the work enough to bring it to the Internet to become the first horror host of the web.


Is Bela Lugosi influence on your work?
OF COURSE!! He was so cool. Dark, suave, deadly and a ladies man. How could not be influenced by the originator of the film version of Dracula. Now I liked Christopher Lee in the Hammer films, but Bela was my model.


What is your favorite horror book?
This is hard to acknowledge, but I don’t read much horror. Actually I don’t have time to read much at all, except on vacation. But, that being said, I really liked the first book in the “True Blood” series.


What is your favorite horror movie?
I HATE this question! So, I’ll answer a different question. “What is your favorite scary movie?” The answer is, “Alien!” Most people classify this as science fiction, but scares come in all genres and no matter how many times I see it, I still get chills.


What books scare you?
The Internal Revenue Service Tax Code!


Would you ever considered acting outside of the horror genre or playing a different character like you did in Don Dohler’s films?
What, you don’t think Don’s films were in the horror genre? As an actor, which I finally realized was my true vocation only a few years ago, I would be delighted to play a lot of different characters….as long as they were challenging.


What are your current projects?
I’m currently changing the focus on the web program. Because all Internet and cable access hosts are limited to showing the same public domain films, I’ve decided to focus more heavily on new, exciting horror, sci-fi and fantasy short films. There’s so much wonderful talent that needs exposure and I have a New Blood Showcase that strives to do that. I still will continue showing the classic “B” movies, but I would like to become a major resource when it comes to new short films.


I’m also introducing a new line of infants Onesies and Toddler T-shorts. I think it’s time I started introducing a new generation to the world of horror hosts.


The concept of hosting a creature features show on the internet is remarkably unique. Fans like me grew up watching Chiller and other shows on television. Do you think it’s better to watch this entertainment whenever you want or to anticipate it coming every Saturday afternoon?
That’s a thought provoking question. It was first raised by Tim Davis, a local special effects expert in the documentary about my career, “Every Other Day Is Halloween.” He really loved the anticipation and therefore was not that excited about 24/7 access. I can certainly appreciate that. But, on the other hand, a person can set up their own sense of anticipation by scheduling to watch my Internet show at the particular time that works best for them. The important this is that my show can now be seen on your big screen TV thanks to easy to use interface devices like the Roku Box and Boxee Box. We are living through rapidly changing world of media opportunities and which is best will be determined by the gods of the market place.


What do you see as the main differences between the classic horror films and the movies being made today?
The main difference is the application of technology and the ability to be more graphic in both violence and sex. But remember, as you look back at the history of all movies, they all reflected the time period in which they were made. Therefore every new generation will make and remake the old stories in ways that will relate to them. We look back and hold up certain old films as ‘classic,’ forgetting that they represent a small fraction of the films made at that particular time and only became ‘classic’ because they struck some sort of resonance with the audience. I think the same thing will happen with today’s films….a few that will be treasured and a lot the will be forgotten.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
This is where my ghost writer….if I had one…should come in. But since I don’t have one, I’ll have to do it myself. On reflection there’s not much more I can add because you’ve asked the right questions. In quick summary, I got into the horror hosting as an after thought, I enjoyed doing it and continue enjoying it as new challenges of technology and distribution appear on the horizon. I love watching the growth in horror hosting I see around the USA and even the world and feel privileged to have played a part in it’s very scary history.


www.countgore.com


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Count-Gore-de-Vol/102887969752662


My shows can be watched on Roku or Boxee Box through my Vimeo and Blip.tv channels
https://vimeo.com/channels/countgore
http://blip.tv/count-gore
Dick Dyszel


http://www.amazon.com/Every-Other-Day-Is-Halloween/dp/B0034KVTKI

Movies: Storage 24

Release Date: 29 June 2012 (UK)


London is in chaos. A military cargo plane has crashed leaving its highly classified contents strewn across the city. Completely unaware London is in lockdown, Charlie (Noel Clarke) and Shelley (Antonia Campbell-Hughes), accompanied by best friends Mark (Colin O'Donoghue) and Nikki (Laura Haddock), are at Storage 24 dividing up their possessions after a recent break-up. Suddenly, the power goes off. Trapped in a dark maze of endless corridors, a mystery predator is hunting them one by one. In a place designed to keep things in, how do you get out?




Trailer:

Eddy Eder

Eddy Eder is an occupational therapy assistant and the President/Director of The Grand Guignol Horror Society. He studies karate at the New Paltz Karate Academy.He is also a very talented artist who depicts macabre images in his drawings and paintings. He is a frequent attendee of Monster Mania and other horror convention events.


Why the interest in horror?
I got into the genre of horror when I was a child and I developed a passion for it ever since then. I actually do not remember a time when I wasn’t into horror or monsters. I was fascinated by shows like The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, One Step Beyond as well as horror comic books such as House of Mystery, House of Secrets and Creepy and Eerie Magazine. I collected Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine and Monster Movie Books. My very first horror movie book was “A Pictorial History of Horror Movies” by Dennis Gifford.


I remember looking over and over again at the pictures. I enjoyed going to the library and reading collected horror and ghost story anthologies. There were horror sound effects albums that I would put on and close the lights in my room and scare myself while my imagination ran wild. I built Aurora Glow in the Dark Model Kits.


Back before there were DVD players and VHS players we basically caught horror movies on shows like Fright Night and Chiller Theatre. These shows hosted a collection of classic horror movies. I remember waiting up late, with a box of Oreo cookies and milk, to watch the shows. Sometimes on Sunday Afternoons I would lie down on my parent’s bed and watch horror movies that were aired then. Part of enjoying horror movies now kind of reminds me of that comfort level.


It was an interesting time when I grew up. There were all these really cool tourist traps and odd places to go to which my parents brought me to. I saw a real human shrunken head at Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum in St. Augustine, Florida when I was very young. I remember screaming and running out of the room when I recognized it for what it was. I remember a Niagara Falls museum which had a wax display of a bloody woman being led away by two men from a wooden barrel which she went over the Falls in. In Atlantic City there was a Louis Tussand Wax Museum with an incredibly brutal chamber of horrors. The scenes were a mixture of historical torture and Classic Monster Movies. I remember one display was of a man who was hanging by a large hook through his abdomen over a fire. Other influences were circuses, fairs and particularly Dark Rides. The walk-through ones were the creepiest. Growing up I went to the Haunted Mansion at Long Branch and Brigatine Castle in New Jersey. Many of these places do not exist anymore. They were the predecessors of the Modern Halloween Haunted Attractions.


On a more serious note there was a history of religious persecution in my family’s history. My father, my uncle and my grandfather were holocaust survivors and my grandmother, on my mother’s side, survived a pogrom in Russia. I was exposed to knowledge of this inhumanity when I was very young even before they taught about it in school. I remember other kids thinking I was joking when I told them about it. My father was very haunted by it as you can imagine anyone would be who lived through it. He would watch any show that had to deal with the holocaust (usually with actual footage) and he told me things they do not tell you in school. Perhaps part of my interest in the genre is a way of dealing with my early knowledge of real horror. I can certainly watch and look at the more extreme aspects of the horror genre without flinching.  


You've done some amazing artwork dealing with horror themes and the macabre. Where do you get your ideas from?
Thank you. I always loved drawing monsters and fantasy creatures. All of my school notebooks were full of doodles and drawings of some sort of monster. My ideas for my artwork vary in origin. Sometimes they are my interpretation from something I’ve read, something I’ve wrote or even from dreams. I was and still am into horror Role Playing Games and have drawn many of my ideas for them. Recently a lot of my artwork is for the flyers for my horror society events. My girlfriend Tracy actually encouraged me to draw those.  


  Who are your influences with horror themed paintings and sketches? Is Clive Barker among them?
Yes, Clive Barker is certainly an inspiration. I love the mythos he has created in his books and art. I am also inspired by such artists as Gustave Dore, Frank Frazetta, Basil Gogos, James Bama, Boris Vallejo, H.R. Giger, Stephen Gammell who illustrates the Alvin Schwartz Scary Stories books, the incredible artists of EC Comics, Creepy, Eerie and Heavy Metal Magazine.  


What is your day job?
I am an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I currently work in a Head Trauma Center. In the past I’ve worked in nursing homes, elementary schools, in group homes for people with developmental disabilities and a long term Mental Health Facility.  


You attend many conventions such as Monster Mania. Is it to meet the famous members or the horror community or to meet others who enjoy the same things you do?
I do enjoy meeting the guests as well as talking to people who are promoting their artwork and literature. I like checking out the costumes people wear to the conventions. In addition I also enjoy the Q and A’s and Vendor’s rooms. The conventions tend to be fast paced which makes intermingling with other horror fans difficult.  


  What are your favorite horror books?
It’s tough to pick favorites; there are so many great books out there. Authors who have influenced me are Ray Bradbury, H.P. Lovecraft, Harlan Ellison, Joe Lansdale, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Richard Matheson, Roald Dahl, Brian Lumley, Mary Shelley, David Schow, Poppy Z. Brite, Charles L. Grant, Graham Masterson, John Skipp and Craig Spector, M.R. James, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Algernon Blackwood, Robert W. Chambers, Frank Belknap Long, Shirley Jackson, Peter Straub, H.G. Wells and so many others. I enjoy horror related non-fiction books such as those written by David Skal.  


What are your favorite horror movies?
Again it’s a tough question because there really are so many and I own so many. Starting off I like the classic Universal Monster Movies, Hammer Horror Films, AIP films and Amicus Anthology Horror Movies, Val Lewton Films, movies by Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Mario Bava, Tobe Hooper, George Romero, just about anything starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre Films. I love Santa Sangre and really everything else by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Classic Japanese horror movies such as Kuroneko, Kwaidan and Onibaba. I like modern Japanese horror movies like Uzumaki and Battle Royale. I like the classic silent films such as Nosferatu, Faust, The Golem as well as the films of Lon Chaney Sr. I love the staple horror movies such as The Exorcist, The Haunting, Eyes Without a Face and The Shining. I am a big fan of An American Werewolf in London. Again there are so many I am not mentioning. I could probably write an entire book on my favorites.  


  What is Grand Guignol Horror Society of the Hudson Valley?
The Grand Guignol Horror Society is group of people who share the love of the genre of horror and the many ways it is expressed though the arts. We are based in Highland, New York in the Mid Hudson region. We have monthly events from May to October where we present classic horror films as well as creative activities and interactive exhibits for Adults and Children. We often conduct shows outdoors however we also have alternative locations in case of inclement weather. This current season we are beginning our contests which will initially kick off with a short story contest. We have a pretty cool first place trophy which I designed and was sculpted by my friend Giovanni Zorloza. We will follow this with short film contests, art contests, etc.  


What is your ultimate goal in terms of your artwork and the Grand Guignol Horror Society?
Mostly my artwork is currently focused on promoting The Grand Guignol Horror Society. I have been asked to make prints of my work as well as T-Shirts which I eventually will. It would be fun to do some illustration work. The ultimate goal for the Grand Guignol Horror Society is to create an interactive and immersive Horror Faire somewhat like a cross between a Carnival and the Renaissance Fair but geared towards the Horror Genre.  


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
I am not sure what else I can write about myself. I live with my sweetheart Tracy, two cats who are Ultima and Fry and two ferrets who are Fergie and Banshee. I study Karate at the New Paltz Karate Academy. In addition to drawing I also enjoy building model kits particularly figure kits. In addition to my passion for horror movies, I also enjoy Comedy, Fantasy and Sci Fi movies.


We are currently working with my friend Giovanni Zorloza on his horror/revenge movie called Jeffreak. I just played a delivery doctor in it and Tracy plays a major role. Tracy and I met on a paranormal investigation weekend in Western Pennsylvania. We continue to enjoy doing paranormal research.

Donna Galanti

Donna Galanti is another talented author from my native Bucks County, PA. Her novel A HUMAN ELEMENT is an exciting thriller and first rate debut novel. I spoke with Donna about what inspired her to write this critically well received first book.


What is "A HUMAN ELEMENT" about?
One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next.


Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test.


With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him.


Why did you choose that theme for your first novel?
I was inspired to create the world of Laura Armstrong in A HUMAN ELEMENT on her idealistic belief that we all have a redeemable human element inside us, no matter the evil we’ve done – or that’s been done to us. Being adopted, parentless, and raised alone runs through three characters in my book. These are threads from my own life. The characters all react in different ways, so is it their genes that shape who they are or their environment? Ultimately it’s revealed that if we can overcome our genes and thrive through love, we can conquer our obstacles and achieve anything. But without love, we are lost.


How did you get involved with writing? Do you prefer short stories or novels in terms of telling a story?
I’ve written since I could put words together. I wrote short stories and poems in my youth, but prefer the depth of writing a novel. It allows me to get deep into a character and take them through life changing events.


Who are some of your influences?
Early on it was Roald Dahl and C.S. Lewis. Later it became Dean Koontz, Stephen King, John Grisham and Robert James Waller.


Why?
Because they create endearing characters that suffer but transform through some change.


How many hours a day do you spend writing?
I’m not always able to get a creative word quota in each day so I look at the week as a whole which can average 3,000 to 5,000. The days I do write it’s anywhere from one hour to four. Does writing interviews and guest posts count? I seem to be doing a lot of that lately!


You’ve accomplished writing a well received first novel. What would you like to write about next?
I am already deep into the sequel, A HIDDEN ELEMENT. This book is grittier and darker with an evil villain who shatters the life of one family. This book happens over a much shorter span as well, about a month. However, I’m also getting ready to shop out a middle grade adventure fantasy that is a fun romp.


What do you love most about fiction?
That we can create stories as movies in our mind. That words on a page can make us feel strong things – loss, pain, hope.


How does your environment influence your writing?
I have woven my experiences through my writing. Being adopted, being in the Navy, having lived in many places in the U.S., including Hawaii, and England. I relate to the nomad and I think that comes across in the characters I write. They aren’t bound by any one environment, like me. I get restless in the same spot for too long.


What are your favorite horror movies and books?
For a novel, it’s The Stand by Stephen King. It changed my life one summer as a teen. I also enjoy his short story collections. His images stay with me. I am fearful of the garbage disposal thanks to his story, The Mangler. Horror movies that terrify me are Nightmare on Elm Street and Hellraiser. More recently The Ring and The Blair Witch Project (I made the mistake of watching this last one home alone and slept with the lights on all night).


What would your book be like if it was made into a movie?
Phenomenon meets The Dead Zone. Could I please get Hugh Jackman to play the hero, Ben Fieldstone? Hugh?


Tell us about why you love to write.
I love that we can create stories that no one else in the world can create. Then I get to share them with others and hope they enjoy as much as I do.


Please in your own words write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
I now do freelance copywriting for an advertising agency part time while writing novels. If I couldn’t write I would bike, hike, and kayak my days away. I was a photographer in the U.S. Navy before completing a degree in English. After working in corporate communications and marketing for years I launched a resume writing service for some time. I closed up shop to find time to write and lean towards writing dark fiction for adults. I like to call it dark with a dash of hope – and steam. However, I did challenge myself to write a middle grade novel last year, inspired by my son.

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PRAISE FOR A HUMAN ELEMENT
“A HUMAN ELEMENT is an elegant and haunting first novel. Unrelenting, devious but full of heart. Highly recommended.” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of ASSASSIN’S CODE and DEAD OF NIGHT


“A HUMAN ELEMENT is a haunting look at what it means to be human. It’s a suspenseful ride through life and love…and death, with a killer so evil you can’t help but be afraid. An excellent read.” –Janice Gable Bashman, author of WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE, nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.


“A thrilling ride full of believable characters, a terrifying villain, an epic battle for survival, and a love worth killing for. A page-turner filled with fascinating twists and turns!” – Marie Lamba, author of WHAT I MEANT and DRAWN.


BIO:
Donna Galanti is the author of the dark novel A Human Element (Echelon Press). Donna has a B.A. in English and a background in marketing. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, The Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and Pennwriters. She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in Pennsylvania in the U.S. with lots of nooks, fireplaces, and stinkbugs. Visit her at: www.donnagalanti.com


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Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaGalanti Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthor Blog: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/


Purchase A HUMAN ELEMENT here:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/A-Human-Element-ebook/dp/B007IIIZUO/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2





Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-human-element-donna-galanti/1109435439?ean=2940013900530&itm=1&usri=donna+galanti


Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/139981