Tina Gunn, Priestess of Screams
I've been under the spell of the strange and unusual since early childhood. I devoured the creepy books written by Alvin Schwartz, R.L. Stine and Lois Duncan—constantly testing how many monsters I could handle inside my head—later progressing to Stephen King, Anne Rice, H.P. Lovecraft and more. Additionally, I had unsupervised access to horror movies, my eyes glued to the screen through parted fingers, leading to recurring nightmares that sparked creative energy.
As my love for the macabre grew into adulthood, horror came to mean more to me than just tricks and treats. It also became a space where I could face my demons, slaying monsters not so easily destroyed in real life.
I consume horror because it deals with the what Carl Jung coined as the "shadow self"... the dark side of the personality we tend to reject or deny. I write horror to bring shadows to light, to confront the proverbial boogeyman... as the deepest work on ourselves is usually the darkest.
Dreadfully yours,
Screamstress