PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Tracy is not only a writer for PopHorror, but she is also a co-owner of the site (along with Tori Danielle) as well as the editor-in-chief. So, now that that part’s out of the way, on to the questions!
1.) What is your favorite horror TV series?
I’ve been a Supernatural girl since the series started 13 years ago. I also love America Horror Story, although I swear the seasons just keep getting worse ever year. But I keep hoping! There’s also The Walking Dead, Grimm, iZombie and the series A Haunting.
2.) What’s your favorite horror movie soundtrack?
It’s got to be the soundtrack from The Woman. Sean Spillane did such a fantastic job writing and performing those songs.
3.) Who is your favorite horror author?
Besides Stephen King (I’ve been reading his stuff since I was a kid), I love Neal Shusterman (his Unwind books are one of the most relevant and well thought out series I’ve ever read, and his Skinjacker series is fantastic), Kealan Patrick Burke (Currency of Souls is one of my favorites, plus the short stories Peekers, Mr. Goodnight and The Tent), Jack Ketchum (he wrote The Girl Next Door and Off Season/Offspring, the inspiration for The Woman), Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath (his short stories are the best, especially Horror Stories: Twenty-Six Scary Tales), Joe Hill (AKA Steve King’s son, although I didn’t know this when I started reading him. Heart Shaped Box is a terrifying novel and Horns is heartbreaking.)
4.) What really scares you in horror films?
Sharks terrify me because when I was little and on vacation, a still living shark chomped its way up onto the beach the day after we watched Jaws: The Revenge (shut up! I was a little kid). Scarred for life. I can’t stand it when someone in a movie can’t breathe, whether it’s because they’re drowning or being strangled. I don’t like seeing people get poked in the eye with sharp (or dull) things. Oh, and maggots. I cannot stand them. Thanks to Lost Boys, I can’t eat rice without thinking of them, either. Thanks, Joel Schumacker.
5.) What mythical creature or urban legend would you like to see get its own film some day?
I’ve always wanted to see a movie about the Penanggalan, a Southeast Asian creature sometimes thought to be a ghost or a vampire. It’s a detached female head capable of flying about on its own. As it flies, the stomach and entrails dangle below it, and these organs twinkle like fireflies as the Penanggalan moves through the night. Gnarly!
6.) Who is your favorite horror movie director?
I actually have three. The first one is Eli Roth. I love his passion for creating horror and his willingness to go through anything to make things realistic. The second is Lucky McKee, the man behind May (2002), The Woman (20100), The Woods (2006), All Cheerleaders Die (2013), Red (2008 – originally written by Jack Ketchum) and the Masters of Horror episode “Sick Girl” (2006). Last but not least is Adam Green. I respect him both as a person and as a filmmaker. Plus, you know, Victor Crowley.
7.) What are some of your favorite horror shorts?
There are sooooo many. I love The Boxcutters Trilogy (Heir, Familiar and Worm) from director Richard Powell and starring Robert Nolan, For Her… (2017) and Run (2015) directed by Daniel Mark Young, Scary Little Fuckers (2015) from director Nathan Suhur, White Willow (2017) directed by Ryan Swantek, The Confession of Fred Krueger (2015) directed by Nathan Thomas Milliner, and Doll Boy (2010) by “Bloody Bill” Pon, at least so far. I’m sure I’ll be adding more as time goes on.
8.) If electricity and equipment were not a problem, what five horror movies would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?
Jaws is my all-time favorite horror movie, so I’d definitely bring that one. I would also want Feast (2005), Cabin Fever (2002), Hatchet (2006) and The Woman (2011).
9.) Who has the best mask in horror?
At this point, I think my favorite mask would be Babyface’s from The Hills Run Red (2009). Or maybe Chromeskull from Laid to Rest (2009).
10.) What do you like to do when you’re not writing for PopHorror?
When I’m not writing for PopHorror, I’m usually proofing someone else’s article for PopHorror. Although I also do a lot of reading, writing my own fiction, drawing (I designed the PopHorror logo), crocheting, and hanging out with my husband, three teenage daughters (they actually still like me… most of the time), two dogs, cat, leopard gecko and a partridge in a pear tree.
11.) What is your “real” job?
I’m the Assistant to the Children’s Librarian at our town’s public library. Yes, they let me work with kids. Why are you so surprised?
12.) What is your favorite horror movie genre?
Creature features. I especially love tiny, easily hidden, sneaky creatures. Things that could be hiding in your shoe right now and you won’t even know it’s there until you put your shoe on and it takes a sharp little bite out of your big toe.
13.) What’s the view from your writing desk/your favorite place to write?
My Daruma Doll (which will be filled in as soon as I finish my latest short story), some gorgeous Boondock Saints artwork, my signed pic of my favorite Jason Voorhees ever, Derek Mears, a workup of a Walking Dead comic if Daryl Dixon was actually involved and some random Supernatural coloring page I didn’t realize was there until after I took the picture.
