Post by Kelly & Jess
Spinster # 1 - Jess
It is amazing how fast six months can go by when you are doing something that you love. When I approached Kelly back in May/June about starting this project together, I did not envision how amazing it would go and the amount of support and feedback we would get from the Horror community. This project has been very important in helping me heal through the end of my marriage and transitioning into my new life as an independent woman or Spinster. When we started this, I honestly expected just to make a minor blip on the horror radar, but I was excited to do a passion project with a best friend of over 20 years and be able to contribute to a genre I was coming to love.
In the last 6 months, I have been able to grow in so many ways throughout this project. From thinking about creative ideas for episodes and blog posts to podcast editing. My editing skills have been challenged with long distance recording and figuring out ways to spice up our episodes up with music, clips, and trailers. As well as challenge my social anxiety and getting me out on social media more. Now, I know I am still not as active as people would like me to be but I feel I have come a long way from being just an observer in social media to actively participating.
First and foremost I want to thank Kelly for joining me on this journey and for being such a strong force in getting our name and brand out there. Her connections in the local horror community and her constant brave acts of just emailing people about our project (the very idea is like a horror movie to me) has been significant. And really, this project would not have been as successful without her lack of fear and perseverance.
I want to thank my friends and partners for supporting this project from listening to episodes, providing feedback, reading our blog posts, helping with crafts and buying our merchandise. All your support and constant encouragement mean the world to me.
I also want to thank Jess Hyrck for crafting such an amazing logo for SoH and all her help in getting our logos on merchandise.
I want to thank the Anatomy of a Scream for constantly sharing our reviews and blog posts. Their support and encouragement have inspired me to achieve a new goal in 2019. Maybe writing and publishing my first horror article? Who knows!
To all other Horror podcasts out there who have supported and inspired us, The Horror Vanguard, Dead Ringers, The Horror Virgin, Faculty of Horror, Nightmare on Film Street and so many more! I did not expect the reception that we have been receiving and the constant encouragement we have been getting from fans and fellow horror fiends.
But most importantly, I want to thank each and every one of you for all your support over the last six months and the next upcoming six.
Spinster # 2- Kelly
8 months ago when Jess asked me if I wanted to start some form of horror project together, I was beyond shocked and excited. Also, I was nervous - did she want to do another podcast? I wondered….how did I feel about that?! Did I even want to do a podcast? Obviously, I totally went for it as it was great timing for me to develop a hobby and this was perfect since it was related to horror, my favorite genre. With the ever-growing female voices in the horror community, I also thought it was a great time to get involved in something like this.
I am not at all an academic like Jess is, as I am a Veterinary Technician and have only that degree and a specialty to my name. I don't have a film, literary, or gender studies degree. I am an animal nurse and though I really do love my career, it isn't highly intellectually stimulating, but more emotionally challenging. However, I am a 25-year horror fan! That must account for something. I was nervous to start a more intellectual style podcast as I have historically struggled with feeling inadequate, brain-wise, and definitely felt that nasty Imposter Syndrome when we started six months ago. It's essentially gone now as I think we have settled into our podcast motto well; we discuss horror with thoughtful analysis, research, and passion.
It’s been a very interesting, educational and fun six months so far. It’s been a horrific ride! The response in only six months has been incredible, and better than we ever imagined it would be. We can only strive to become better at our craft and continue loving, and sharing that love, of the horror genre as time goes on. It's been a life-changing experience.
I have some thank you’s to give:
To Jess Hrycyk for creating our beautiful, grim and unique logo - it’s exactly representative of us.
To Alex West for giving some practical and solid advice: "Keep working hard and you will find your audience." It made this project less daunting.
To Anatomy of a Scream (Joe and Valeska) for regularly sharing and promoting our work. To Brandon Mercer for taking amazing photos to help promote this project, for now, and until we don't need you anymore (duh, obviously we always will!). To Amazon and McFarland for taking all my money on books and movies for my research. To Rue Morgue and Alison Lang for creating issue #10 of Rue Morgue’s library called Women with Guts for being an inspiration to me as a female horror fan. To Dead Ringers podcast for having us on their show early in our project, trusting us to be guests in their already established podcast. To Horror Vanguard, The Horror Virgin and more on Twitter for sharing our work and already being fans of us.
To my two, new, but wonderful and incredibly supportive partners - Brandon and Adam. Finally to Jess, Spinster #1, for inviting me to work with her and thinking I would be a worthy partner in crime and co-host. She is truly the brains of this operation. Spinsters of Horror made us grow even closer as friends and now I can't even imagine life without it. Spinsters for life! Thanks to all of our supporters and fans for an amazing first six months and here's to 2019! We have a lot of fun stuff planned and we are so goddamn pumped to continue.
Now leave us alone, we need to go feed our cats.
